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orthodoxymoron
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    United States of the Solar System (3)

    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


    Posts : 13639
    Join date : 2010-09-28
    Location : The Matrix

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Aug 23, 2016 3:11 pm

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Ron-Paul3

    I like Ron Paul because he seems to know how to work within the system -- without being corrupted by it. I especially like his book 'A Foreign Policy of Freedom'. I went to a Ron Paul rally in Las Vegas several years ago at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas -- and I was amazed at the numbers and enthusiasm of the young people. I later wrote a Ron Paul speech and sent it to his campaign-headquarters -- but I don't think they ever used it. I included massive doses of 'Responsibility-Language' to modify and moderate the 'Freedom-Message'. BTW -- an Ancient Egyptian Deity told me that Ron Paul would be bad for America!!

    Proposed (by orthodoxymoron) 2008 Ron Paul Presidential Campaign Speech (Not Used):

    Fellow Americans! Friends of Freedom! Our beloved United States of America is suffering and languishing under the dark storm clouds of oppression and irresponsibility! Those who have been given the sacred trust of upholding the Constitution, with its guarantees of freedom and justice for all, have been derelict in their duties! A few short years ago, it was morning in America! The midnight of Viet Nam and Watergate were behind us! The sunrise was spectacular! A bright new optimism filled the land! Well, my friends, it’s midnight again! The Constitution and Freedom are in grave peril from irresponsibility and outright hostility!

    My candidacy for the Presidency of the United States is a call for freedom! In ancient Egypt, as described in the Bible, Moses demanded that Pharaoh release the Israelites from captivity! Well, as Moses looked Pharaoh in the eye, I’m looking all of those who are opposed to the Constitution and Freedom, both nationally and internationally, intently in the eye, and exclaiming, “Let my people go!”

    But freedom isn’t free! The price of freedom is responsibility! And often, sacrifice is the cost of doing responsible business in an often irresponsible world! Our courageous and noble men and women of the armed forces are a blood-stained testimony  to the high price of freedom! We are indebted to them in ways which can never be fully repaid!

    Having said that, we as a nation have irresponsibly squandered our capital of being the example to the world of the moral high-ground! Our nation is no longer the shining city on a hill that it once was! As a result, despite global warming, our world is experiencing an eerie chill!

    But there is Hope for America, and for the World! It is the hope provided for us by our Founding Fathers, that by reverently obeying the Constitution of the United States of America, in both the spirit and in the letter of the law, the truth will set us free! And keep us free! We shall overcome!

    The following is my 12 step plan to sober up a federal government, intoxicated with its own Power and Arrogance, and to restore Freedom and Responsibility to its rightful place in our nation and world:    

    Number 1: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to Racial Diversity!

    Our nation is obsessed with racial group identities of us and them! This is the heart of racism! Government as an institution is particularly ill-suited to combat bigotry! Bigotry at its essence is a problem of the heart, and we cannot change people’s hearts by passing more laws and regulations! It is the federal government that most divides us by race, class, religion, and gender! Through its taxes, restrictive regulations, corporate subsidies, racial set-asides, and welfare programs, government plays far too large a role in determining who succeeds and who fails! Its excessive and inappropriate responsibility is actually irresponsibility! Sometimes to do less is to be more responsible! Government “benevolence” crowds out genuine goodwill by institutionalizing group thinking, thus making each group suspicious that others are receiving more of the government loot than they are! This leads to resentment and hostility among us! Incidentally, this principle is also applicable to foreign policy!

    Racism is simply an ugly form of collectivism! Simply, the mindset that throws people into stereotypical groups rather than viewing each person as a unique individual! Racists believe that all people who share superficial physical characteristics are alike! As collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups! To echo the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they judge people by the color of their skin, rather than by the content of their characters! By encouraging Americans to adopt a group mentality, the advocates of so-called “diversity” actually perpetuate racism! To separate is to discriminate!

    The true cure for the plague of racism is freedom! Freedom means having a limited, constitutional government devoted to the protection of individual rights rather than group claims! Freedom means free-market capitalism, which rewards individual achievement and competence - not skin color, gender, or ethnicity!

    In a free society, every citizen gains a sense of himself as an individual, rather than developing a group or victim mentality! This leads to a sense of individual responsibility and personal pride, making skin color irrelevant! Racism will endure until we stop thinking in terms of groups and begin thinking in terms of individual freedom! The corrective lenses of freedom and responsibility make us color blind!

    Number 2: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to Debt and Taxes!

    Working Americans like lower taxes! So do I! Lower taxes benefit all of us, creating jobs and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives!

    Whether a tax cut reduces a single mother’s payroll taxes by $40 a month, or allows a business owner to save thousands in capital gains taxes, enabling them to hire more employees…that tax cut is a good thing! Lower taxes allow more spending, saving, and investing which helps the economy! Tax cuts benefit everyone, except the bureaucrats!

    Real conservatives have always supported low taxes and low spending! Unfortunately, the neo-cons just don’t get it! They’re doing just the opposite! They are wolves in conservatives clothing! Or maybe a Trojan Horse would be a more fit description! Too many politicians and lobbyists are spending America into ruin! We are nine trillion dollars in debt as a nation! This is irresponsible and inexcusable! Our mounting government debt endangers the financial future of our children and grandchildren! If we don’t cut spending now, higher taxes and economic disaster will be in their future…and yours!

    In addition, the Federal Reserve, our central bank, fosters runaway debt by increasing the money supply - making each dollar in your pocket worth less! The Fed is a private bank run by unelected officials who are not required to be open or accountable to “we the people!” What a strange arrangement! Go to the library and research the Fed’s beginnings! Make sure you’re sitting down!

    Worse, our economy and our very independence as a nation is increasingly in the hands of foreign governments such as China and Saudi Arabia, because their central banks also finance our runaway spending! When we owe them, they own us!

    We cannot continue to allow private banks, wasteful agencies, lobbyists, corporations on welfare, and governments collecting foreign aid to dictate the size of our ballooning budget! We need a new method to prioritize our spending! It’s called the Constitution of the United States! What a thought!

    Number 3: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to American Independence and Sovereignty!

    So called free trade deals and world governmental organizations like the International Criminal Court (ICC), NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA are a threat to our independence as a nation! They transfer power from our government to unelected foreign elites! Didn’t we have a revolution a few years ago to deal with this sort of thing?!

    The ICC wants to try our soldiers as war criminals! Both the WTO and CAFTA could force Americans to get a doctor’s prescription to take herbs and vitamins! Alternative treatments could be banned! What’s wrong with this picture?!

    The WTO has forced Congress to change our laws, yet we still face trade wars! Today, France is threatening to have U.S. goods taxed throughout Europe! If anything, the WTO makes trade relations worse by giving foreign competitors a new way to attack U.S. jobs! Sounds like unfair trade to me!

    NAFTA’s superhighway is just one part of a plan to erase the borders between the U.S. and Mexico, called the North American Union! This spawn of powerful special interests, would create a single nation out of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with a new unelected bureaucracy and money system! Forget about controlling immigration under this scheme!

    And a free America, with limited, constitutional government, would be gone forever! This apparently is the goal!

    Let’s not forget the UN! It wants to impose a direct tax on us! I successfully fought this move in Congress last year, but if we are going to stop ongoing attempts of this world government body to tax us, we will need responsible leadership from the White House!

    We must withdraw from any organizations and trade deals that infringe upon the freedom and independence of the United States of America! It’s a matter of our survival as a free nation! It is irresponsible to stand idly by, and watch the United States being taken over by foreign interests!

    Number 4: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to War and Foreign Policy!

    The war in Iraq was sold to us with false information! The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it! We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies, the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them! This war has cost more than 3,000 American lives, thousands of seriously wounded, and hundreds of billions of dollars! We must have new leadership in the White House to ensure this never happens again!

    We need to leave Iraq immediately! We continue to keep our hands on a very hot stove, and we are burning our fingertips right up to our armpits! When a mistake is made, it should be admitted and corrected! This is the responsible thing to do! And despite the shrill cries, it is the honorable thing to do! Support and Liberate our troops! Bring them home!

    Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations! Today, we have troops in 130 countries!  We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America! And now, there are new calls for a draft of our young men and women! To fight for the UN?!

    We can irresponsibly continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, where we make enemies faster than we can kill them! Or, we can bring our troops home, and properly secure America! This is the logical and right thing to do! No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as responsibly required by the Constitution!

    Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations! Whose country is this, anyway?!

    Too often we give foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised! Then, we become despised! Guilt by association! Too often we have supported those who turn on us, like the Kosovars who aid Islamic terrorists, or the Afghan jihadists themselves, and their friend Osama bin Laden! We armed and trained them, and now we’re paying the price! Will we ever learn?!

    At the same time, we must not isolate ourselves! We must not be isolationist or interventionist! Both are highly dysfunctional international behaviors! We must engage in cooperation and constructive competition with every nation on the face of the earth! What an invigorating and interesting interaction! Constructive competition, such as trade and athletics, builds up! Destructive competition, such as war and terrorism, destroys! The generosity of the American people has been felt around the globe! Many have thanked God for it, in many languages! Let us have a strong America, conducting open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations! We might even achieve world peace! After thousands of years of fighting, what would we do with all of the money and lives we would save?! It would take some serious readjustment!! We have to hate somebody…don’t we?!

    Number 5: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to Unborn Life!

    The right of an innocent, unborn child to life is at the heart of the American ideals of liberty! My professional and legislative record demonstrates my strong commitment to this pro-life principle!

    In 40 years of medical practice, I never once considered performing an abortion, nor did I ever find abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman!

    In Congress, I have authored legislation that seeks to define life as beginning at conception, HR 1094!

    I am also the prime sponsor of HR 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v Wade by removing the ability of federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life! This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn! Didn’t something similar occur in the 1940’s?!

    I have also authored HR 1095, which prevents federal funds from being used for so-called “population control!”

    Many talk about being pro-life! I have taken direct action to restore protection for the unborn!

    One more thing to think about…when heartbeats and brainwaves cease…a person is declared dead! When heartbeats and brainwaves commence…shouldn’t a baby be declared alive?! If someone then causes the baby’s heartbeats and brainwaves to cease, shouldn’t they be charged with murder?! Whether the baby is inside or outside of the mother should be irrelevant!

    Abortion is an irresponsible way to deal with irresponsibility!

    As an OB/GYN doctor, I’ve delivered over 4,000 babies! That experience has made me an unshakable foe of abortion! Many of you may have read my book, Challenge To Liberty, which champions the idea that there cannot be liberty in a society unless the rights of all innocents are protected! Much can be understood about the civility of a society in observing its regard for the dignity of human life!

    Number 6: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to the Second Amendment!

    I share our Founder’s belief that in a free society each citizen must have the right to keep and bear arms! They ratified the Second Amendment knowing that this right is the guardian of every other right, and they all would be horrified by the proliferation of unconstitutional legislation that prevents law-abiding Americans from exercising this right!

    I have always supported the Second Amendment and these are some of the bills I have introduced in the current Congress to help restore respect for it:

    * H.R. 1096 includes provisions repealing the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and the Federal Firearms License Reform Act of 1993, two invasive and unconstitutional bills!

    * H.R. 1897 would end the ban on carrying a firearm in the National Park System, restoring American’s ability to protect themselves in potentially hazardous situations!

    * H.R. 3305 would allow pilots and specially assigned law enforcement personnel to carry firearms in order to protect airline passengers, possibly preventing future 9/11-style attacks!

    * H.R. 1146 would end our membership in the United Nations, protecting us from their attempts to tax our guns or disarm us entirely!

    In the past, I introduced legislation to repeal the so-called “assault weapons” ban before its 2004 sunset, and I will oppose any attempts to reinstate it!

    I also recently opposed H.R. 2640, which would allow government-appointed psychiatrists to ban U.S. veterans experiencing even mild forms of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome from ever owning a gun!

    But responsibility is necessary to preserve freedom! Gun Responsibility Classes should be voluntarily taken by current and prospective gun owners! Rights and Responsibilities go hand in hand! Self-discipline is necessary to avoid State-discipline!

    You have the right to protect your life, liberty, and property! As President, I will continue to guard the liberties stated in the Second Amendment!

    Number 7: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to Social Security!

    Our nation’s promise to its seniors, once considered a sacred trust, has become little more than a tool for politicians to scare retirees while robbing them of their promised benefits! Today, the Social Security system is financially broke and structurally broken!

    Those currently in the system are seeing their benefits dwindle! Raising taxes and increasing the age of eligibility are NOT solutions! They are irresponsible betrayals!

    Imposing any tax on Social Security benefits is unfair and illogical! In Congress, I have introduced the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act (H.R. 191), which repeals ALL taxes on Social Security benefits, to eliminate political theft of our senior’s income, and to raise their standard of living!

    Solvency is the key to keeping our promise to our seniors, and I have introduced the Social Security Preservation Act (H.R. 219) to ensure that money paid into the system is only used for Social Security! Social Security has been an irresistible cookie jar for many irresponsible politicians to reach into with their dirty, money grubbing fingers! Hands Off!

    It is fundamentally unfair to give benefits to anyone who has not paid into the system! The Social Security for Americans Only Act (H.R. 190) ends the drain on Social Security caused by illegal aliens seeking the fruits of your labor!

    We must also address the desire of younger workers to save and invest on their own! We should cut payroll taxes and give workers the opportunity to seek better returns in the private market! This step would bring the incentives and rewards of free market capitalism to the stagnant Social Security system!

    Excessive government spending has created the insolvency crisis in Social Security! We must significantly reduce spending so that our nation can keep its promise to our seniors!
    Let’s get our priorities straight!

    Number 8: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to Education!

    The federal government does not own our children! Yet we act as if it does by letting it decide when, how, and what our children will learn! We irresponsibly allow the federal government to irresponsibly program our children! We have turned their futures over to lobbyists and bureaucrats! They are unfit step-parents!

    I support giving educational control back to parents, who know their children better than any politician in D. C. ever will!

    The federal government has no constitutional authority to fund or control schools! I want to abolish the unconstitutional, wasteful Department of Education and return its functions to the states! By removing the federal subsidies that inflate costs, schools can be funded by local taxes, and parents and teachers can directly decide how best to allocate the resources! This step would include elimination of all unfunded educational mandates by the federal government!

    To help parents with the costs of schooling, I have introduced H.R. 1056, the Family Education Freedom Act, in Congress! This bill would allow parents a tax credit of up to $5,000 (adjustable after 2007 for inflation) per student per year for the cost of attendance at an elementary and/or secondary school! This includes private, parochial, religious, and home schools!

    Another bill I have sponsored, H.R. 1059, allows full-time elementary and secondary teachers a $3,000 yearly tax credit, thus easing their financial burden and encouraging good teachers to stay in an underpaid profession! The best and the brightest should teach our children today, if we want our children to be the best and the brightest tomorrow!

    Many parents have already shown their desire to be free of federal control by either enrolling their children in private schools or home schooling them! And students enrolled in these alternatives have consistently performed better and tested higher than those in state-run schools! Each child is a unique treasure! We should do whatever works to maximize the realization of their potential! How many genius’s have been lost in the cracks of our mass produced, cookie cutter educational system?! A mind is too precious of a thing to waste in a terrible school!

    My commitment to home schooling as an educational alternative for American families is unmatched by any Presidential candidate!

    Returning control of education to parents is the centerpiece of my education agenda! As President I will advance tax credits through the Family Education Freedom Act, which reduces taxes to make it easier for parents to home school by allowing them to devote more of their own funds to their children’s education!

    I am committed to guaranteeing parity for home school diplomas and advancing equal scholarship consideration for students entering college from a home school environment!

    We must have permanency in the Department of Defense Home School Tier 1 Pilot Program, providing recruitment status parity for home school graduates! I will use my authority to prevent the Department of Education from regulating home school activities!

    I will veto any legislation that creates national standards or national testing for home school parents or students! I’m not a big fan of No Child Left Behind! But I’m even less of a fan of No Politician Left Behind! I believe that, as long as No Child Left Behind remains law, it must include the protections for home schoolers included in sec. 9506 (enshrining home schooler’s rights) and 9527 (guaranteeing no national curriculum)! Every student is unique, and should not be stifled with a one-size-fits-all mold!

    Federal monies must never be used to undermine the rights of home schooling parents! I will use the bully pulpit of the Presidency to encourage a culture of educational freedom throughout the nation!

    Years of centralized education have produced nothing but student failures and frustrated parents! We can resurrect our public school system if we follow the Constitution and end the federal education monopoly! Let our children go!

    Number 9: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to Border Security and Immigration Reform!

    The talk must stop! We must secure our borders now! A nation without secure borders is no nation at all! It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked! This is irresponsibility, bordering on treason!

    This is my six point plan:

    1. Physically secure our borders and coastlines! We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals!

    2. Enforce visa rules! Immigration officials must track visa holders and deport anyone who overstays their visa or otherwise violates U.S. law! This is especially important when we recall that a number of 9/11 terrorists had expired visas!

    3. No amnesty! Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally! That’s a lot of people to reward for breaking our laws! The definition of freedom does not include freedom from obeying the law! And disregarding the word illegal is the beginning of the end of law and order in our society!

    4. No welfare for illegal aliens! Americans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules! But taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services!

    5. End birthright citizenship! As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incentive to enter the U.S. illegally will remain strong!

    6. Pass true immigration reform! The current system is incoherent and unfair! But current reform proposals would allow up to 60 million more immigrants into our country, according to the Heritage Foundation! This is insanity! Legal immigrants from all countries should face the same rules and waiting periods! There should be reasonable numbers of responsible immigrants! There should be zero illegal, irresponsible or dangerous immigrants! And no one should be allowed to cut to the front of the line!

    Number 10: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to Privacy, Personal Liberty, and Private Property!

    The biggest threat to your privacy is the government! We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizen’s personal matters!

    We must stop the move toward a national ID! A national ID with new tracking technologies means we’re heading into an Orwellian world of no privacy! I voted against the Real ID Act in March of 2005!

    To date, the privacy focus has been on identity theft. It was Congress that created this danger by mandating use of the standard identifier (currently your SSN) in the private sector! For example, banks use SSNs as customer account identifiers because the government requires it!

    We must also protect medical privacy! Right now, you’re vulnerable! Under so-called “medical privacy protection” rules, insurance companies and other entities have access to your personal medical information! This is the epitome of irresponsibility!

    Financial privacy? Right now depositing $10,000 or more in cash in your local bank account will generate a federally-mandated report to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the United States Department of the Treasury!

    And then there’s the so-called Patriot Act! As originally proposed, it:

    * Expanded the federal government’s ability to use wiretaps without judicial oversight!
    * Allowed nationwide search warrants non-specific to any given location, nor subject to any local judicial oversight!
    * Made it far easier for the government to monitor private internet usage!
    * Authorized “sneak and peek” warrants enabling federal authorities to search a person’s home, office, or personal property without that person’s knowledge!
    * Required libraries and bookstores to turn over records of books read by their patrons!

    The Patriot Act is more about monitoring and controlling law abiding citizens, like you and me, than it is about detecting and apprehending terrorists!

    I have fought this fight for many years! I sponsored a bill to overturn the Patriot Act and have won some victories, but today the threat to your liberty and privacy is very real! We need leadership at the top that will prevent Washington from centralizing power and private data about our lives!

    We must stop special interests from violating property rights and literally driving families from their homes, farms and ranches!

    Today, we face a new threat of widespread eminent domain actions as a result of powerful interests who want to build the NAFTA superhighway through the United States from Mexico to Canada!

    We also face another danger in regulatory takings: Through excess regulation, governments deprive property owners of significant value and use of their properties--all without paying “just compensation!”

    Property rights are the foundation of all rights in a free society! Without the right to own a printing press, for example, freedom of the press becomes meaningless! The next president must get federal agencies out of these schemes to deny property owners their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property!

    The American people are being treated like a herd of cattle! The scary part is that many of us are getting used to the abuse, and don’t seem to mind! Trust me, this is only the beginning!

    Number 11: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to Health Promotion and Health Care!

    Americans are justifiably concerned over the government’s escalating intervention into their freedom to choose what they eat and how they take care of their health!

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in order to comply with standards dictated by supra-national organizations such as the UN’s World Food Code (CODEX), NAFTA, and CAFTA, has been assuming greater control over nutrients, vitamins and natural health care providers to restrict your right to choose the manner in which you manage your health and nutritional needs!

    I have been the national leader in preserving Health Freedom!

    I have introduced the Health Freedom Protection Act, HR 2117, to ensure Americans can receive truthful health information about supplements and natural remedies! Just the facts Uncle Sam!

    I support the Access to Medical Treatment Act, H.R. 2717, which expands the ability of Americans to use alternative medicine and new treatments! Not just drugs and surgery!

    I oppose legislation that increases the FDA’s legal powers!  The FDA has consistently failed to protect the public from dangerous drugs, genetically modified foods, dangerous pesticides and other chemicals in the food supply! Meanwhile they waste public funds attacking safe, healthy foods and dietary supplements! Whose side are they on? Do I have to tell you?!

    I also opposed the Homeland Security Bill, H.R. 5005, which, in section 304, authorizes the forced vaccination of American citizens against small pox! The government should never have the power to require immunizations or vaccinations! Again, the herd of cattle analogy seems to apply!

    The federal government decided long ago that it knew how to manage your health care better than you, and replaced personal freedom and responsibility with a system that puts corporate interests first! Our free market health care system that was once the envy of the world became a federally-managed disaster! Beware of the Federal Medical Industrial Complex! Do you feel safe or lucky?

    Few people realize that Congress forced Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) on us! HMOs rose to prominence through federal legislation, incentives, and coercion!

    Now, the Food and Drug Administration’s bias toward large pharmaceutical companies enlarges their power, limits treatment options, and drives consumers to seek Canadian medicines! Regulations from D.C. make it virtually impossible for small business owners to cover their employees! The unemployed often cannot afford insurance, meaning those who need basic medical attention overcrowd emergency rooms and drive up premiums!

    The federal government will not suddenly become efficient managers if universal health care is instituted! Government health care only means long waiting periods, lack of choice, poor quality, and frustration! Many Canadians, fed up with socialized medicine, come to the U.S. in order to obtain care! Socialized medicine will not magically work here in the United States!

    Health care should not be left up to HMOs, big drug companies, and government bureaucrats!

    It is time to take back our health care! This is why I support:

    *Emphasizing an ounce of prevention, rather than a pound of cure!
    * Making all medical expenses tax deductible!
    * Eliminating federal regulations that discourage small businesses from providing coverage!
    * Giving doctors the freedom to collectively negotiate with insurance companies and drive down the cost of medical care!
    * Making every American eligible for a Health Savings Account (HSA), and removing the requirement that individuals must obtain a high-deductible insurance policy before opening an HSA!
    * Reform licensure requirements so that pharmacists and nurses can perform some basic functions to increase access to care and lower costs!

    By removing federal regulations, encouraging competition, and presenting real choices, we can make our health care system the envy of the world once again!

    Number 12: Apply Freedom and Responsibility to the Environment!

    The federal government has proven itself untrustworthy and irresponsible with environmental policy by facilitating polluters, subsidizing logging in the National Forests, and instituting one-size-fits-all approaches that too often discriminate against those they are intended to help!

    The key to sound environmental policy is respect for private property rights! The strict enforcement of property rights corrects environmental wrongs while increasing the cost of polluting!

    In a free market, no one is allowed to pollute his neighbor’s land, air, or water! If your property is being damaged, you have every right to sue the polluter, and government should protect that right! After paying damages, the polluter’s production and sale costs rise, making it unprofitable to continue doing business the same way! Currently, preemptive regulations and pay-to-pollute schemes favor those wealthy enough to perform the regulatory tap dance, while those who own the polluted land rarely receive a quick or just resolution to their problems!

    In Congress, I have followed a constitutional approach to environmental action:

    * I consistently vote against using tax dollars to subsidize logging in National Forests!
    * I am a co-sponsor of legislation designed to encourage the development of alternative and sustainable energy. H.R. 550 extends the investment tax credit to solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property, and H.R. 1772 provides tax credits for the installation of wind energy property!
    * Taxpayers for Common Sense named me a “Treasury Guardian” for my work against environmentally-harmful government spending and corporate welfare!
    * I am a member of the Congressional Green Scissors Coalition, a bipartisan caucus devoted to ending taxpayer subsidies of projects that harm the environment for the benefit of special interests!

    Individuals, businesses, localities, and states must be free to negotiate environmental standards! Those who depend on the land for their health and livelihood have the greatest incentive to be responsible stewards!

    In Conclusion:

    The Democrats and Republicans have become two sides of the same corrupt coin! In recent years, the coin of the realm has become blood money!

    Democrats: your party’s presidential candidates are not Democrats in the tradition of Franklin Delano Roosevelt or John Fitzgerald Kennedy! The New Deal has become the Raw Deal!

    Republicans: your party’s presidential candidates are not Republicans in the tradition of Lincoln and Reagan! Conservatism has become Globalism!

    We need to regain a sense of rugged individualism! In the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you! Ask what you can do for your country!” They say that the bottom line is the bottom line! People often sell their souls for the bottom line! Some would say that this is why our society is riddled with corruption! This may be true! But I submit that the bottom line needs to include freedom and responsibility! And that we will find, as a society, that if and when we do this, that the numerical portion of the bottom line will exceed our wildest dreams!

    Democrats and Republicans: Embrace Freedom and Responsibility! Repulse Tyranny and Irresponsibility! Rise above petty party differences and squabbles! Step up to the plate, and do the right thing! This thing is bigger than all of us put together! We stand at a crossroads as a nation and as a world!   Will we choose to live in a world at war, governed by Tyranny and Irresponsibility?! Or, will we choose to live in a peaceful world, governed by Freedom and Responsibility?! I have confidence that we will make the right choice! Join the Revolution!

    Thank-you fellow Americans for your prayers and your support! God bless you! And God bless the United States of America!

    Don't be Frightened. I Meant No Harm. I really am a completely ignorant fool. I have never disputed what Raven said about me. But Siriusly, don't neglect the theological stuff -- even though a lot of it seems boring and heavy. Theology is at the center of everything which has been (and is) occurring in this solar system. BTW -- Law is at the Center of Theology and Governance. It really is. Somewhat unrelatedly, I keep imagining someone similar to Kate (in 'East of Eden'), Starbuck's Mom in 'Battlestar Galactica', Anna in 'V', Alaya or Reztak (spelling?) in the 'Hungry Earth' and 'Cold Blood' episodes of 'Dr. Who', et al -- at the Center of Solar System Governance. You know -- someone who is a multidisciplinary-super-genius -- who is very-quick, very-hard, very-decisive -- and who might chain-smoke and swear like a trooper!!! Actually, a sophisticated genetics and/or avatar program might produce an idealized physical form -- but what I am referring to and hinting at -- is the inner person. They might be in the company of Nazis, Masons, Jesuits, Alphabet-Agents, Televangelists, Politicians, Bankers, Generals, Dracs, Greys, et al!!! Do you get the picture??? I have nothing concrete to point to. It's just a feeling. What troubles me, is that this might be the way it has to be -- or at least ends up being -- despite any heroic-idealism or good-intentions. In fact, the more I think about Solar System Governance, the more I feel myself being pulled in that direction. Again, I have no evidence or proof. I just suspect that we might be utterly shocked by how things REALLY work in this solar system. I'm sorry for speculating in this manner -- but what the hell else am I supposed to do -- with lies and deception everywhere???

    I sometimes wonder if I were close to the center of this madness in previous incarnations -- and got my @$$ booted out of Purgatory because I was too much of a 'sanctimonious pain-in-uranus'. That wouldn't surprise me one little bit. I keep imagining going into one room, and arguing with the Greys for a couple of hours -- going into another room to argue with the Dracs for a couple of hours -- going into another room to argue with the Humans for a couple of hours -- and then starting all over again -- day after day after day. The realities of solar system governance might be more screwed-up and upsetting than we can possibly imagine. I wonder how many individuals (human and otherwise) have gone completely insane throughout the centuries -- in connection with solar system governance??? One more thing. What if Pinky is the Brain??!! What if the Brain is Insane?? Notice the pairing in the song. 'Pinky and the Brain -- One is a Genius -- the Other's Insane'. Think about it!! Just remember that Plankton cheated!!! What if the Goofy Goober is a Righteous Genius who deceived the Evil Genius???!!! 'The Last Temptation of Satan'?? Think about it!!! Remember, the purpose of this quest is to make you think in unconventional yet productive ways -- as a mental and spiritual exercise -- and as an orthodoxymoron mind-control experiment!! The next level of evolution for orthodoxymoron is to learn to just research without emotion or comment -- sort of like taking an 'empathy test' each and every day. I feel as if I need to go slower on the outside -- and faster on the inside. However, going nuts might be an occupational hazard connected with this. But begging for attention and conversation is so infantile and lame. I simply need to make a private journey into the unknown -- where no one can follow me -- even if they really wanted to. I need to think everything -- do nothing -- and maintain a poker-face -- without going crazy. Do you see what I mean? I think I need to let this thread go -- and move on into the night.

    I think your truth mixed with bs theory might be correct JT. Who does Alex Jones work for??!! Who do you work for JT??!! Just kidding!! I don't trust anyone!! I don't trust myself!! I will continue to consider most of what we discuss as being science-fiction. I will keep what I'm doing as a tempest in a very small teapot. The material is too speculative -- too volatile -- and too difficult to prove. I simply think that we should consider all of the possibilities regarding the most important subjects imaginable. I am torn assunder by the security issues. Are we stuck with some sort of an Orion-Roman Empire -- and with some sort of a tracking system -- regardless of who the Local Solar System Administrator is??? I've been trying to imagine dealing with a hypothetical Orion-Roman Empire -- and this is scaring the hell out of me. Is this image the future of America (and the world)??? "Don't chip me bro!!!" I keep wondering if Earth is morally and financially bankrupt?! If so, we probably will be chipped and treated like cattle. It's going to take a helluva lot of work to create a truly enlightened and dignified representative-republic. A Prevention-Based Healthcare System would be a step in the right direction. How about 50% of the total healthcare expenditures going into Prevention, Natural-Treatment, and Rehabilitation -- with 50% going toward drugs and surgery medicine as usual??

    I keep thinking about an integration of the '1962 Missal' (Latin Mass), the '1928 Book of Common Prayer', the 'Desire of Ages', and the Bach 'B-Minor Mass' (Latin Mass) -- in the context of St. Peter's Basilica (with that 1875 Cavaille-Coll designed pipe-organ -- with the best organist, orchestra, and choir in the solar system) -- with mostly sung Latin and spoken English -- with no offering-collection -- and only the clergy partaking of the unleavened-bread and unfermented grape-juice -- all led by a Female Pope on the Seventh-Day Sabbath!!!! OMG!!!! Now wouldn't that just piss everyone off big-time???!!!! What would the various religious and political leaders say from throughout the solar system???!!! What would the Faithful say???!!! What would the General Public say???!!! I was going to shut-up -- wasn't I???!!! But seriously -- can you imagine the discussions and power-struggles connected with achieving such a revolting development???!!! Can you even begin to imagine the closed-door debating and fighting in the Sistine Chapel???!!! OMG!!! What Would the Queen of Heaven Say??? What Would Jesus Do??? I really should stop!!! They have ways to make me stop!!! Many ways!!! Can you imagine Anna (in 'V') pressuring the College of Cardinals to do all of the above????!!!! OMG!!!! I lean toward applying the scientific-method to both secular and sacred contexts.)

    What situation really existed prior to the creation or genetic-engineering of the human-being?? What religious and governmental system(s) existed prior to the existence of humanity?? Was there a liturgy and/or sacrificial-system? What about ethics and law?? I'm trying to understand where we really came from as a race. I keep wondering if I am fundamentally human -- or if I primarily am associated with an other-than-human race?? There seems to be a sinister veil of secrecy surrounding all of this -- for legitimate reasons or otherwise -- I know not. I simply feel VERY apprehensive and uneasy. I feel as if something is VERY wrong. Anyway, I probably need to fight this mental and spiritual battle on my own. I probably need to just disappear from the internet. I've tried to do this many, many, many times. I really have tried hard to just shut up -- yet I have failed -- over and over and over again. I keep hoping for peace and resolution -- yet there is no peace. Perhaps there never will be. Perhaps I just have to get used to fighting ridiculous battles. Perhaps pain is the cost of doing business in the universe. What Would the Ancient Egyptian Deity Say?? Actually, they indicated that despite some sort of a transition -- the conflict would NOT be over. I continue to be only vaguely aware of what might be involved in this galactic struggle. I continue to desire peace -- but perhaps this is an impossible dream. Who knows??

    I'm going to try REALLY hard to NOT bite-off any more than I already have -- which is way too much. I'm just going to try to master what I've already written -- especially pertaining to pre-human law -- international, interplanetary, and intergalactic law (human and otherwise). I just watched the last episode of season three of Battlestar Galactica -- and I keep crying everytime I think about it. One last thing -- what is the relationship between Egyptian-Law, Hebrew-Law, Roman-Law, and Canon-Law??? This question might be more important than you think. Enough. Namaste and Godspeed. I Am of Peace. Always.


    Last edited by orthodoxymoron on Sat Aug 27, 2016 3:17 pm; edited 4 times in total
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Aug 23, 2016 3:43 pm

    Don't Be Frightened!! I Mean No Harm!! My Name is Orthodoxymoron!! Consider the following Minimal-List:

    1. Patriarchs and Prophets (Ellen White). The First-Half of the Old-Testament.

    2. Prophets and Kings (Ellen White). The Second-Half of the Old-Testament.

    3. The SDA Bible Commentary -- Volume 4 (Isaiah to Malachi). The Last Seventeen Books of the Old-Testament.

    4. The SDA Bible Commentary -- Volume 7 (Philippians to Revelation). The Last Seventeen Books of the New-Testament.

    5. Daniel 8:14, the Day of Atonement, and the Investigative Judgment (Desmond Ford).

    6. The United States of the Solar System: A.D. 2133 (Books One, Two, and Three).

    This is an interesting Royal-Model and Mostly-Historical Study which isn't for most people. It's a nasty-task, but some of us MUST examine the fine-print. What is our True-History (with absolutely ZERO Bullshit)?? Who REALLY Owns this Solar System?? Who REALLY Governs this Solar System?? What is Our True-Future?? All of the Above is more of a difficult and intellectual study than you can imagine. It's honestly a Spiritual-War!! There Shall Be No Peace!! John May Lives!! Long Live the Fifth-Column!!


    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk45.html The advent of the army of Cyrus before the walls of Babylon was to the Jews a sign that their deliverance from captivity was drawing nigh. More than a century before the birth of Cyrus, Inspiration had mentioned him by name, and had caused a record to be made of the actual work he should do in taking the city of Babylon unawares, and in preparing the way for the release of the children of the captivity. Through Isaiah the word had been spoken:

    "Thus saith the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; . . . to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:1-3.

    In the unexpected entry of the army of the Persian conqueror into the heart of the Babylonian capital by way of the channel of the river whose waters had been turned aside, and through the inner gates that in careless security had been left open and unprotected, the Jews had abundant evidence of the literal fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy concerning the sudden overthrow of their oppressors. And this should have been to them an unmistakable sign that God was shaping the affairs of nations in their behalf; for inseparably linked with the prophecy outlining the manner of Babylon's capture and fall were the words:

    "Cyrus, he is My shepherd, and shall perform all My pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build My city, and he shall let go My captives, not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts." Isaiah 44:28; 45:13.

    Nor were these the only prophecies upon which the exiles had opportunity to base their hope of speedy deliverance. The writings of Jeremiah were within their reach, and in these was plainly set forth the length of time that should elapse before the restoration of Israel from Babylon. "When seventy years are accomplished," the Lord had foretold through His messenger, "I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations." Jeremiah 25:12. Favor would be shown the remnant of Judah, in answer to fervent prayer. "I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive." Jeremiah 29:14.

    Often had Daniel and his companions gone over these and similar prophecies outlining God's purpose for His people. And now, as the rapid course of events betokened the mighty hand of God at work among the nations, Daniel gave special thought to the promises made to Israel. His faith in the prophetic word led him to enter into experiences foretold by the sacred writers. "After seventy years be accomplished at Babylon," the Lord had declared, "I will visit you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return. . . . I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart." Verses 10-13.

    Shortly before the fall of Babylon, when Daniel was meditating on these prophecies and seeking God for an understanding of the times, a series of visions was given him concerning the rise and fall of kingdoms. With the first vision, as recorded in the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel, an interpretation was given; yet not all was made clear to the prophet. "My cogitations much troubled me," he wrote of his experience at the time, "and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart." Daniel 7:28.

    Through another vision further light was thrown upon the events of the future; and it was at the close of this vision that Daniel heard "one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision?" Daniel 8:13. The answer that was given, "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" (verse 14), filled him with perplexity. Earnestly he sought for the meaning of the vision. He could not understand the relation sustained by the seventy years' captivity, as foretold through Jeremiah, to the twenty-three hundred years that in vision he heard the heavenly visitant declare should elapse before the cleansing of God's sanctuary. The angel Gabriel gave him a partial interpretation; yet when the prophet heard the words, "The vision . . . shall be for many days," he fainted away. "I Daniel fainted," he records of his experience, "and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it." Verses 26, 27.

    Still burdened in behalf of Israel, Daniel studied anew the prophecies of Jeremiah. They were very plain--so plain that he understood by these testimonies recorded in books "the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." Daniel 9:2.

    With faith founded on the sure word of prophecy, Daniel pleaded with the Lord for the speedy fulfillment of these promises. He pleaded for the honor of God to be preserved. In his petition he identified himself fully with those who had fallen short of the divine purpose, confessing their sins as his own.

    "I set my face unto the Lord God," the prophet declared, "to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: and I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession." Verses 3, 4. Though Daniel had long been in the service of God, and had been spoken of by heaven as "greatly beloved," yet he now appeared before God as a sinner, urging the great need of the people he loved. His prayer was eloquent in its simplicity, and intensely earnest. Hear him pleading:

    "O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments; we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments; neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets, which spake in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

    "O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither Thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against Thee. . . .

    "To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him." "O Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

    "Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Thy servant, and his supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline Thine ear, and hear; open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by Thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousness, but for Thy great mercies.

    "O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake, O my God: for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name." Verses 4-9, 16-19.

    Heaven was bending low to hear the earnest supplication of the prophet. Even before he had finished his plea for pardon and restoration, the mighty Gabriel again appeared to him, and called his attention to the vision he had seen prior to the fall of Babylon and the death of Belshazzar. And then the angel outlined before him in detail the period of the seventy weeks, which was to begin at the time of "the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." Verse 25.

    Daniel's prayer had been offered "in the first year of Darius" (verse 1), the Median monarch whose general, Cyrus, had wrested from Babylonia the scepter of universal rule. The reign of Darius was honored of God. To him was sent the angel Gabriel, "to confirm and to strengthen him." Daniel 11:1. Upon his death, within about two years of the fall of Babylon, Cyrus succeeded to the throne, and the beginning of his reign marked the completion of the seventy years since the first company of Hebrews had been taken by Nebuchadnezzar from their Judean home to Babylon.

    The deliverance of Daniel from the den of lions had been used of God to create a favorable impression upon the mind of Cyrus the Great. The sterling qualities of the man of God as a statesman of farseeing ability led the Persian ruler to show him marked respect and to honor his judgment. And now, just at the time God had said He would cause His temple at Jerusalem to be rebuilt, He moved upon Cyrus as His agent to discern the prophecies concerning himself, with which Daniel was so familiar, and to grant the Jewish people their liberty.

    As the king saw the words foretelling, more than a hundred years before his birth, the manner in which Babylon should be taken; as he read the message addressed to him by the Ruler of the universe, "I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me: that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me;" as he saw before his eyes the declaration of the eternal God, "For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel Mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me;" as he traced the inspired record, "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build My city, and he shall let go My captives, not for price nor reward," his heart was profoundly moved, and he determined to fulfill his divinely appointed mission. Isaiah 45:5, 6, 4, 13. He would let the Judean captives go free; he would help them restore the temple of Jehovah.

    In a written proclamation published "throughout all his kingdom," Cyrus made known his desire to provide for the return of the Hebrews and for the rebuilding of their temple. "The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth," the king gratefully acknowledged in this public proclamation; "and He hath charged me to build Him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, . . . and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (He is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering." Ezra 1:1-4.

    "Let the house be builded," he further directed regarding the temple structure, "the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; with three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house: and also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem." Ezra 6:3-5.

    Tidings of this decree reached the farthermost provinces of the king's realm, and everywhere among the children of the dispersion there was great rejoicing. Many, like Daniel, had been studying the prophecies, and had been seeking God for His promised intervention in behalf of Zion. And now their prayers were being answered; and with heartfelt joy they could unite in singing:

    "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion,
    We were like them that dream.
    Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
    And our tongue with singing:
    Then said they among the heathen,
    The Lord hath done great things for them.
    The Lord hath done great things for us;
    Whereof we are glad."
    Psalm 126:1-3.

    "The chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised"--these were the goodly remnant, about fifty thousand strong, from among the Jews in the lands of exile, who determined to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity offered them "to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem." Their friends did not permit them to go empty-handed. "All they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things." And to these and many other voluntary offerings were added "the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem; . . . even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, . . . five thousand and four hundred" in number, for use in the temple that was to be rebuilt. Ezra 1:5-11.

    Upon Zerubbabel (known also as Sheshbazzar), a descendant of King David, Cyrus placed the responsibility of acting as governor of the company returning to Judea; and with him was associated Joshua the high priest. The long journey across the desert wastes was accomplished in safety, and the happy company, grateful to God for His many mercies, at once undertook the work of re-establishing that which had been broken down and destroyed. "The chief of the fathers" led out in offering of their substance to help defray the expense of rebuilding the temple; and the people, following their example, gave freely of their meager store. See Ezra 2:64-70.

    As speedily as possible, an altar was erected on the site of the ancient altar in the temple court. To the exercises connected with the dedication of this altar, the people had "gathered themselves together as one man;" and there they united in re-establishing the sacred services that had been interrupted at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Before separating to dwell in the homes they were endeavoring to restore, "they kept also the Feast of Tabernacles." Ezra 3:1-6.

    The setting up of the altar of daily burnt offerings greatly cheered the faithful remnant. Heartily they entered into the preparations necessary for the rebuilding of the temple, gathering courage as these preparations advanced from month to month. They had for many years been deprived of the visible tokens of God's presence. And now, surrounded as they were by many sad reminders of the apostasy of their fathers, they longed for some abiding token of divine forgiveness and favor. Above the regaining of personal property and ancient privileges, they valued the approval of God. Wonderfully had He wrought in their behalf, and they felt the assurance of His presence with them; yet they desired greater blessings still. With joyous anticipation they looked forward to the time when, with temple rebuilt, they might behold the shining forth of His glory from within.

    The workmen engaged in the preparation of the building material, found among the ruins some of the immense stones brought to the temple site in the days of Solomon. These were made ready for use, and much new material was provided; and soon the work was advanced to the point where the foundation stone must be laid. This was done in the presence of many thousands who had assembled to witness the progress of the work and to give expression to their joy in having a part in it. While the cornerstone was being set in position, the people, accompanied by the trumpets of the priests and the cymbals of the sons of Asaph, "sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because He is good, for His mercy endureth forever toward Israel." Verse 11.

    The house that was about to be rebuilt had been the subject of many prophecies concerning the favor that God desired to show Zion, and all who were present at the laying of the cornerstone should have entered heartily into the spirit of the occasion. Yet mingled with the music and the shouts of praise that were heard on that glad day, was a discordant note. "Many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice." Verse 12.

    It was natural that sadness should fill the hearts of these aged men, as they thought of the results of long-continued impenitence. Had they and their generation obeyed God, and carried out His purpose for Israel, the temple built by Solomon would not have been destroyed and the captivity would not have been necessary. But because of ingratitude and disloyalty they had been scattered among the heathen.

    Conditions were now changed. In tender mercy the Lord had again visited His people and allowed them to return to their own land. Sadness because of the mistakes of the past should have given way to feelings of great joy. God had moved upon the heart of Cyrus to aid them in rebuilding the temple, and this should have called forth expressions of profound gratitude. But some failed of discerning God's opening providences. Instead of rejoicing, they cherished thoughts of discontent and discouragement. They had seen the glory of Solomon's temple, and they lamented because of the inferiority of the building now to be erected.

    The murmuring and complaining, and the unfavorable comparisons made, had a depressing influence on the minds of many and weakened the hands of the builders. The workmen were led to question whether they should proceed with the erection of a building that at the beginning was so freely criticized and was the cause of so much lamentation.

    There were many in the congregation, however, whose larger faith and broader vision did not lead them to view this lesser glory with such dissatisfaction. "Many shouted aloud for joy: so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off." Verses 12, 13.

    Could those who failed to rejoice at the laying of the foundation stone of the temple have foreseen the results of their lack of faith on that day, they would have been appalled. Little did they realize the weight of their words of disapproval and disappointment; little did they know how much their expressed dissatisfaction would delay the completion of the Lord's house.

    The magnificence of the first temple, and the imposing rites of its religious services, had been a source of pride to Israel before their captivity; but their worship had ofttimes been lacking in those qualities which God regards as most essential. The glory of the first temple, the splendor of its service, could not recommend them to God; for that which is alone of value in His sight, they did not offer. They did not bring Him the sacrifice of a humble and contrite spirit.

    It is when the vital principles of the kingdom of God are lost sight of, that ceremonies become multitudinous and extravagant. It is when the character building is neglected, when the adornment of the soul is lacking, when the simplicity of godliness is despised, that pride and love of display demand magnificent church edifices, splendid adornings, and imposing ceremonials. But in all this God is not honored. He values His church, not for its external advantages, but for the sincere piety which distinguishes it from the world. He estimates it according to the growth of its members in the knowledge of Christ, according to their progress in spiritual experience. He looks for the principles of love and goodness. Not all the beauty of art can bear comparison with the beauty of temper and character to be revealed in those who are Christ's representatives.

    A congregation may be the poorest in the land. It may be without the attractions of any outward show; but if the members possess the principles of the character of Christ, angels will unite with them in their worship. The praise and thanksgiving from grateful hearts will ascend to God as a sweet oblation.

    "Give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good:
    For His mercy endureth forever.
    Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    Whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the
    enemy."
    "Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him:
    Talk ye of all His wondrous works.
    Glory ye in His holy name:
    Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord."

    "For He satisfieth the longing soul,
    And filleth the hungry soul with goodness."
    Psalms 107:1, 2; 105:2, 3; 107:9.

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk46.html Close by the Israelites who had set themselves to the task of rebuilding the temple, dwelt the Samaritans, a mixed race that had sprung up through the intermarriage of heathen colonists from the provinces of Assyria with the remnant of the ten tribes which had been left in Samaria and Galilee. In later years the Samaritans claimed to worship the true God, but in heart and practice they were idolaters. It is true, they held that their idols were but to remind them of the living God, the Ruler of the universe; nevertheless the people were prone to reverence graven images.

    During the period of the restoration, these Samaritans came to be known as "the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin." Hearing that "the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel," "they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers," and expressed a desire to unite with them in its erection. "Let us build with you," they proposed; "for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither." But the privilege they asked was refused them. "Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God," the leaders of the Israelites declared; "but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us." Ezra 4:1-3.

    Only a remnant had chosen to return from Babylon; and now, as they undertake a work seemingly beyond their strength, their nearest neighbors come with an offer of help. The Samaritans refer to their worship of the true God, and express a desire to share the privileges and blessings connected with the temple service. "We seek your God, as ye do," they declare. "Let us build with you." But had the Jewish leaders accepted this offer of assistance, they would have opened a door for the entrance of idolatry. They discerned the insincerity of the Samaritans. They realized that help gained through an alliance with these men would be as nothing in comparison with the blessing they might expect to receive by following the plain commands of Jehovah.

    Regarding the relation that Israel should sustain to surrounding peoples, the Lord had declared through Moses: "Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: neither shalt thou make marriages with them; . . . for they will turn away thy son from following Me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." "Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." Deuteronomy 7:2-4; 14:2.

    The result that would follow an entrance into covenant relation with surrounding nations was plainly foretold. "The Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other," Moses had declared; "and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see." Deuteronomy 28:64-67. "But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God," the promise had been, "thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Deuteronomy 4:29.

    Zerubbabel and his associates were familiar with these and many like scriptures; and in the recent captivity they had evidence after evidence of their fulfillment. And now, having repented of the evils that had brought upon them and their fathers the judgments foretold so plainly through Moses; having turned with all the heart to God, and renewed their covenant relationship with Him, they had been permitted to return to Judea, that they might restore that which had been destroyed. Should they, at the very beginning of their undertaking, enter into a covenant with idolaters?

    "Thou shalt make no covenant with them," God had said; and those who had recently rededicated themselves to the Lord at the altar set up before the ruins of His temple, realized that the line of demarcation between His people and the world is ever to be kept unmistakably distinct. They refused to enter into alliance with those who, though familiar with the requirements of God's law, would not yield to its claims.

    The principles set forth in Deuteronomy for the instruction of Israel are to be followed by God's people to the end of time. True prosperity is dependent on the continuance of our covenant relationship with God. Never can we afford to compromise principle by entering into alliance with those who do not fear Him.

    There is constant danger that professing Christians will come to think that in order to have influence with worldlings, they must to a certain extent conform to the world. But though such a course may appear to afford great advantages, it always ends in spiritual loss. Against every subtle influence that seeks entrance by means of flattering inducements from the enemies of truth, God's people must strictly guard. They are pilgrims and strangers in this world, traveling a path beset with danger. To the ingenious subterfuges and alluring inducements held out to tempt from allegiance, they must give no heed.

    It is not the open and avowed enemies of the cause of God that are most to be feared. Those who, like the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin, come with smooth words and fair speeches, apparently seeking for friendly alliance with God's children, have greater power to deceive. Against such every soul should be on the alert, lest some carefully concealed and masterly snare take him unaware. And especially today, while earth's history is closing, the Lord requires of His children a vigilance that knows no relaxation. But though the conflict is a ceaseless one, none are left to struggle alone. Angels help and protect those who walk humbly before God. Never will our Lord betray one who trusts in Him. As His children draw near to Him for protection from evil, in pity and love He lifts up for them a standard against the enemy. Touch them not, He says; for they are Mine. I have graven them upon the palms of My hands.

    Untiring in their opposition, the Samaritans "weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius." Ezra 4:4, 5. By false reports they aroused suspicion in minds easily led to suspect. But for many years the powers of evil were held in check, and the people in Judea had liberty to continue their work.

    While Satan was striving to influence the highest powers in the kingdom of Medo-Persia to show disfavor to God's people, angels worked in behalf of the exiles. The controversy was one in which all heaven was interested. Through the prophet Daniel we are given a glimpse of this mighty struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil.

    For three weeks Gabriel wrestled with the powers of darkness, seeking to counteract the influences at work on the mind of Cyrus; and before the contest closed, Christ Himself came to Gabriel's aid. "The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days," Gabriel declares; "but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia." Daniel 10:13. All that heaven could do in behalf of the people of God was done. The victory was finally gained; the forces of the enemy were held in check all the days of Cyrus, and all the days of his son Cambyses, who reigned about seven and a half years.

    This was a time of wonderful opportunity for the Jews. The highest agencies of heaven were working on the hearts of kings, and it was for the people of God to labor with the utmost activity to carry out the decree of Cyrus. They should have spared no effort to restore the temple and its services, and to re-establish themselves in their Judean homes. But in the day of God's power many proved unwilling. The opposition of their enemies was strong and determined, and gradually the builders lost heart. Some could not forget the scene at the laying of the cornerstone, when many had given expression to their lack of confidence in the enterprise. And as the Samaritans grew more bold, many of the Jews questioned whether, after all, the time had come to rebuild. The feeling soon became widespread. Many of the workmen, discouraged and disheartened, returned to their homes to take up the ordinary pursuits of life.

    During the reign of Cambyses the work on the temple progressed slowly. And during the reign of the false Smerdis (called Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7) the Samaritans induced the unscrupulous impostor to issue a decree forbidding the Jews to rebuild their temple and city. For over a year the temple was neglected and well-nigh forsaken. The people dwelt in their homes and strove to attain temporal prosperity, but their situation was deplorable. Work as they might they did not prosper. The very elements of nature seemed to conspire against them. Because they had let the temple lie waste, the Lord sent upon their substance a wasting drought. God had bestowed upon them the fruits of field and garden, the corn and the wine and the oil, as a token of His favor; but because they had used these bountiful gifts so selfishly, the blessings were removed.

    Such were the conditions existing during the early part of the reign of Darius Hystaspes. Spiritually as well as temporally, the Israelites were in a pitiable state. So long had they murmured and doubted; so long had they chosen to make personal interests first, while viewing with apathy the Lord's temple in ruins, that many had lost sight of God's purpose in restoring them to Judea; and these were saying, "The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built." Haggai 1:2.

    But even this dark hour was not without hope for those whose trust was in God. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah were raised up to meet the crisis. In stirring testimonies these appointed messengers revealed to the people the cause of their troubles. The lack of temporal prosperity was the result of a neglect to put God's interests first, the prophets declared. Had the Israelites honored God, had they shown Him due respect and courtesy, by making the building of His house their first work, they would have invited His presence and blessing.

    To those who had become discouraged, Haggai addressed the searching inquiry, "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways." Why have you done so little? Why do you feel concern for your own buildings and unconcern for the Lord's building? Where is the zeal you once felt for the restoration of the Lord's house? What have you gained by serving self? The desire to escape poverty has led you to neglect the temple, but this neglect has brought upon you that which you feared. "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes." Verses 4-6.

    And then, in words that they could not fail to understand, the Lord revealed the cause that had brought them to want: "Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands." Verses 9-11.

    "Consider your ways," the Lord urged. "Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified." Verses 7, 8.

    The message of counsel and reproof given through Haggai was taken to heart by the leaders and people of Israel. They felt that God was in earnest with them. They dared not disregard the repeated instruction sent them--that their prosperity, both temporal and spiritual, was dependent on faithful obedience to God's commands. Aroused by the warnings of the prophet, Zerubbabel and Joshua, "with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet." Verse 12.

    As soon as Israel decided to obey, the words of reproof were followed by a message of encouragement. "Then spake Haggai . . . unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel" and of Joshua, and "of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God." Verses 13, 14.

    In less than a month after the work on the temple was resumed, the builders received another comforting message. "Be strong, O Zerubbabel," the Lord Himself urged through His prophet; "be strong, O Joshua; . . . and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts." Haggai 2:4.

    To Israel encamped before Mount Sinai the Lord had declared: "I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God." Exodus 29:45, 46. And now, notwithstanding the fact that they had repeatedly "rebelled, and vexed His Holy Spirit" (Isaiah 63:10), God once more, through the messages of His prophet, was stretching out His hand to save. As a recognition of their co-operation with His purpose, He was renewing His covenant that His Spirit should remain among them; and He bade them, "Fear not."

    To His children today the Lord declares, "Be strong, . . . and work: for I am with you." The Christian always has a strong helper in the Lord. The way of the Lord's helping we may not know; but this we do know: He will never fail those who put their trust in Him. Could Christians realize how many times the Lord has ordered their way, that the purposes of the enemy concerning them might not be accomplished, they would not stumble along complainingly. Their faith would be stayed on God, and no trial would have power to move them. They would acknowledge Him as their wisdom and efficiency, and He would bring to pass that which He desires to work out through them.

    The earnest pleadings and the encouragements given through Haggai were emphasized and added to by Zechariah, whom God raised up to stand by his side in urging Israel to carry out the command to arise and build. Zechariah's first message was an assurance that God's word never fails and a promise of blessing to those who would hearken to the sure word of prophecy.

    With fields lying waste, with their scant store of provisions rapidly failing, and surrounded as they were by unfriendly peoples, the Israelites nevertheless moved forward by faith in response to the call of God's messengers, and labored diligently to restore the ruined temple. It was a work requiring firm reliance upon God. As the people endeavored to do their part, and sought for a renewal of God's grace in heart and life, message after message was given them through Haggai and Zechariah, with assurances that their faith would be richly rewarded and that the word of God concerning the future glory of the temple whose walls they were rearing would not fail. In this very building would appear, in the fullness of time, the Desire of all nations as the Teacher and Saviour of mankind.

    Thus the builders were not left to struggle alone; "with them were the prophets of God helping them;" and the Lord of hosts Himself had declared, "Be strong, . . . and work: for I am with you." Ezra 5:2; Haggai 2:4.

    With heartfelt repentance and a willingness to advance by faith, came the promise of temporal prosperity. "From this day," the Lord declared, "will I bless you." Verse 19.

    To Zerubbabel their leader--he who, through all the years since their return from Babylon, had been so sorely tried--was given a most precious message. The day was coming, the Lord declared, when all the enemies of His chosen people would be cast down. "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, My servant, . . . and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee." Verse 23. Now the governor of Israel could see the meaning of the providence that had led him through discouragement and perplexity; he could discern God's purpose in it all.

    This personal word to Zerubbabel has been left on record for the encouragement of God's children in every age. God has a purpose in sending trial to His children. He never leads them otherwise than they would choose to be led if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose that they are fulfilling. All that He brings upon them in test and trial comes that they may be strong to do and to suffer for Him.

    The messages delivered by Haggai and Zechariah roused the people to put forth every possible effort for the rebuilding of the temple; but, as they worked, they were sadly harassed by the Samaritans and others who devised many hindrances. On one occasion the provincial officers of the Medo-Persian realm visited Jerusalem and requested the name of the one who had authorized the restoration of the building. If at that time the Jews had not been trusting in the Lord for guidance, this inquiry might have resulted disastrously to them. "But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius." Ezra 5:5. The officers were answered so wisely that they decided to write a letter to Darius Hystaspes, then the ruler of Medo-Persia, directing his attention to the original decree made by Cyrus, which commanded that the house of God at Jerusalem be rebuilt, and that the expenses for the same be paid from the king's treasury.

    Darius searched for this decree, and found it; whereupon he directed those who had made the inquiry to allow the rebuilding of the temple to proceed. "Let the work of this house of God alone," he commanded; "let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place.

    "Moreover," Darius continued,  "I make a decree  what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savors unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons." Ezra 6:7-10.

    The king further decreed that severe penalties be meted out to those who should in any wise alter the decree; and he closed with the remarkable statement: "The God that hath caused His name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with the speed." Verse 12. Thus the Lord prepared the way for the completion of the temple.

    For months before this decree was made, the Israelites had kept on working by faith, the prophets of God still helping them by means of timely messages, through which the divine purpose for Israel was kept before the workers. Two months after Haggai's last recorded message was delivered, Zechariah had a series of visions regarding the work of God in the earth. These messages, given in the form of parables and symbols, came at a time of great uncertainty and anxiety, and were of peculiar significance to the men who were advancing in the name of the God of Israel. It seemed to the leaders as if the permission granted the Jews to rebuild was about to be withdrawn; the future appeared very dark. God saw that His people were in need of being sustained and cheered by a revelation of His infinite compassion and love.

    In vision Zechariah heard the angel of the Lord inquiring, "O Lord of hosts, how long wilt Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me," Zechariah declared, "with good words and comfortable words.

    "So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: My house shall be built in it, . . . and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem." Zechariah 1:12-16.

    The prophet was now directed to predict, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem." Verse 17. Zechariah then saw the powers that had "scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem," symbolized by four horns. Immediately afterward he saw four carpenters, representing the agencies used by the Lord in restoring His people and the house of His worship. See verses 18-21.

    "I lifted up mine eyes again," Zechariah said, "and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: for I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her." Zechariah 2:1-5.

    God had commanded that Jerusalem be rebuilt; the vision of the measuring of the city was an assurance that He would give comfort and strength to His afflicted ones, and fulfill to them the promises of His everlasting covenant. His protecting care, He declared, would be like "a wall of fire round about;" and through them His glory would be revealed to all the sons of men. That which He was accomplishing for His people was to be known in all the earth. "Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." Isaiah 12:6.


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    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Aug 23, 2016 4:07 pm

    My threads should be the source of HUGE Controversy and Heated-Debate!! The Silence is Deafening and Puzzling!! In Eight-Years of Controversial-Posting No-One Has Attempted to Save My Lost-Soul!! Why is that?? I get the sinking-feeling that NEITHER Divinity or Humanity is On My Side!! Why is that?? The strange thing is that I Have No-Idea Which Side I'm On (going way, way, way back). With all the deception -- how can I know anything of substance, with any certainty?? I guess I'll just keep talking to myself, as I drift further and further away from the "mainstream". What if I really turn-out to be some sort of an Ancient Babylonian or Egyptian Royal-Changeling?? What if I got deposed in antiquity -- and NO-ONE wants me to find-out what REALLY happened?? The Ancient Egyptian Deity wouldn't tell me!! Most of my questions were answered with "You Know I Can't Tell You That!!"

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk47.htmlThe steady advancement made by the builders of the temple greatly discomfited and alarmed the hosts of evil. Satan determined to put forth still further effort to weaken and discourage God's people by holding before them their imperfections of character. If those who had long suffered because of transgression could again be induced to disregard God's commandments, they would be brought once more under the bondage of sin.

    Because Israel had been chosen to preserve the knowledge of God in the earth, they had ever been the special objects of Satan's enmity; he was determined to cause their destruction. While they were obedient, he could do them no harm; therefore he had bent all his power and cunning to entice them into sin. Ensnared by his temptations, they had transgressed the law of God and had been left to become the prey of their enemies.

    Yet though they were carried as captives to Babylon, God did not forsake them. He sent His prophets to them with reproofs and warnings, and aroused them to see their guilt. When they humbled themselves before God and returned to Him with true repentance, He sent them messages of encouragement, declaring that He would deliver them from captivity, restore them to His favor, and once more establish them in their own land. And now that this work of restoration had begun, and a remnant of Israel had already returned to Judea, Satan was determined to frustrate the carrying out of the divine purpose, and to this end he was seeking to move upon the heathen nations to destroy them utterly.

    But in this crisis the Lord strengthened His people "with good words and comfortable words." Zechariah 1:13. Through an impressive illustration of the work of Satan and the work of Christ, He showed the power of their Mediator to vanquish the accuser of His people.

    In vision the prophet beholds "Joshua the high priest," "clothed with filthy garments" (Zechariah 3:1, 3), standing before the Angel of the Lord, entreating God's mercy in behalf of his afflicted people. As he pleads for the fulfillment of God's promises, Satan stands up boldly to resist him. He points to the transgressions of Israel as a reason why they should not be restored to the favor of God. He claims them as his prey, and demands that they be given into his hands.

    The high priest cannot defend himself or his people from Satan's accusations. He does not claim that Israel is free from fault. In filthy garments, symbolizing the sins of the people, which he bears as their representative, he stands before the Angel, confessing their guilt, yet pointing to their repentance and humiliation, and relying upon the mercy of a sin-pardoning Redeemer. In faith he claims the promises of God.

    Then the Angel, who is Christ Himself, the Saviour of sinners, puts to silence the accuser of His people, declaring, "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" Verse 2. Long had Israel remained in the furnace of affliction. Because of their sins they had been well-nigh consumed in the flame kindled by Satan and his agents for their destruction, but God had now set His hand to bring them forth.

    As the intercession of Joshua is accepted, the command is given, "Take away the filthy garments from him;" and to Joshua the Angel says, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment." "So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments." Verses 4, 5. His own sins and those of his people were pardoned. Israel was clothed with "change of raiment"--the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. The miter be placed upon Joshua's head was such as was worn by the priests,and bore the inscription, "Holiness to the Lord" (Exodus 28:36), signifying that notwithstanding his former transgressions, he was now qualified to minister before God in His sanctuary.

    The Angel now declared to Joshua: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by." Zechariah 3:7. If obedient, he should be honored as the judge, or ruler, over the temple and all its services; he should walk among attending angels, even in this life; and at last he should join the glorified throng around the throne of God.

    "Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth My Servant the Branch." Verse 8. In the Branch, the Deliverer to come, lay the hope of Israel. It was by faith in the coming Saviour that Joshua and his people had received pardon. Through faith in Christ they had been restored to God's favor. By virtue of His merits, if they walked in His ways and kept His statutes, they would be "men wondered at," honored as the chosen of Heaven among the nations of the earth.

    As Satan accused Joshua and his people, so in all ages he accuses those who seek the mercy and favor of God. He is "the accuser of our brethren, . . . which accused them before our God day and night." Revelation 12:10. Over every soul that is rescued from the power of evil, and whose name is registered in the Lamb's book of life, the controversy is repeated. Never is one received into the family of God without exciting the determined resistance of the enemy. But He who was the hope of Israel then, their defense, their justification and redemption, is the hope of the church today.

    Satan's accusations against those who seek the Lord are not prompted by displeasure at their sins. He exults in their defective characters; for he knows that only through their transgression of God's law can he obtain power over them.

    His accusations arise solely from his enmity to Christ. Through the plan of salvation, Jesus is breaking Satan's hold upon the human family and rescuing souls from his power. All the hatred and malignity of the archrebel is stirred as he beholds the evidences of Christ's supremacy; and with fiendish power and cunning he works to wrest from Him the children of men who have accepted salvation. He leads men into skepticism, causing them to lose confidence in God and to separate from His love; he tempts them to break the law and then claims them as his captives, contesting Christ's right to take them from him.

    Satan knows that those who ask God for pardon and grace will obtain it; therefore he presents their sins before them to discourage them. Against those who are trying to obey God, he is constantly seeking occasion for complaint. Even their best and most acceptable service he seeks to make appear corrupt. By countless devices, the most subtle and the most cruel, he endeavors to secure their condemnation.

    In his own strength, man cannot meet the charges of the enemy. In sin-stained garments, confessing his guilt, he stands before God. But Jesus, our Advocate, presents an effectual plea in behalf of all who by repentance and faith have committed the keeping of their souls to Him. He pleads their cause, and by the mighty arguments of Calvary, vanquishes their accuser. His perfect obedience to God's law has given Him all power in heaven and in earth, and He claims from His Father mercy and reconciliation for guilty man. To the accuser of His people He declares:

    "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. These are the purchase of My blood, brands plucked from the burning." And to those who rely on Him in faith, He gives the assurance, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment." Zechariah 3:4.

    All who have put on the robe of Christ's righteousness will stand before Him as chosen and faithful and true. Satan has no power to pluck them out of the hand of the Saviour. Not one soul who in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. His word is pledged: "Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me." Isaiah 27:5. The promise given to Joshua is given to all: "If thou wilt keep My charge,. . . I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by." Zechariah 3:7. Angels of God will walk on either side of them, even in this world, and they will stand at last among the angels that surround the throne of God.

    Zechariah's vision of Joshua and the Angel applies with peculiar force to the experience of God's people in the closing scenes of the great day of atonement. The remnant church will then be brought into great trial and distress. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will feel the ire of the dragon and his hosts. Satan numbers the world as his subjects; he has gained control even of many professing Christians. But here is a little company who are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. As he influenced the heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the near future he will stir up the wicked powers of earth to destroy the people of God. Men will be required to render obedience to human edicts in violation of the divine law.

    Those who are true to God will be menaced, denounced, proscribed. They will be "betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends," even unto death. Luke 21:16. Their only hope is in the mercy of God; their only defense will be prayer. As Joshua pleaded before the Angel, so the remnant church, with brokenness of heart and unfaltering faith, will plead for pardon and deliverance through Jesus, their Advocate. They are fully conscious of the sinfulness of their lives, they see their weakness and unworthiness; and they are ready to despair.

    The tempter stands by to accuse them, as he stood by to resist Joshua. He points to their filthy garments, their defective characters. He presents their weakness and folly, their sins of ingratitude, their unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer. He endeavors to affright them with the thought that their case is hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes so to destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations, and turn from their allegiance to God.

    Satan has an accurate knowledge of the sins that he has tempted God's people to commit, and he urges his accusations against them, declaring, that by their sins they have forfeited divine protection, and claiming that he has the right to destroy them. He pronounces them just as deserving as himself of exclusion from the favor of God. "Are these," he says, "the people who are to take my place in heaven, and the place of the angels who united with me? They profess to obey the law of God; but have they kept its precepts? Have they not been lovers of self more than lovers of God? Have they not placed their own interests above His service? Have they not loved the things of the world? Look at the sins that have marked their lives. Behold their selfishness, their malice, their hatred of one another. Will God banish me and my angels from His presence, and yet reward those who have been guilty of the same sins? Thou canst not do this, O Lord, in justice. Justice demands that sentence be pronounced against them."

    But while the followers of Christ have sinned, they have not given themselves up to be controlled by the satanic agencies. They have repented of their sins and have sought the Lord in humility and contrition, and the divine Advocate pleads in their behalf. He who has been most abused by their ingratitude, who knows their sin and also their penitence, declares: "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. I gave My life for these souls. They are graven upon the palms of My hands. They may have imperfections of character; they may have failed in their endeavors; but they have repented, and I have forgiven and accepted them."

    The assaults of Satan are strong, his delusions are subtle; but the Lord's eye is upon His people. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but Jesus will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. Their earthliness will be removed, that through them the image of Christ may be perfectly revealed.

    At times the Lord may seem to have forgotten the perils of His church and the injury done her by her enemies. But God has not forgotten. Nothing in this world is so dear to the heart of God as His church. It is not His will that worldly policy shall corrupt her record. He does not leave His people to be overcome by Satan's temptations. He will punish those who misrepresent Him, but He will be gracious to all who sincerely repent. To those who call upon Him for strength for the development of Christian character, He will give all needed help.

    In the time of the end the people of God will sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land. With tears they will warn the wicked of their danger in trampling upon the divine law, and with unutterable sorrow they will humble themselves before the Lord in penitence. The wicked will mock their sorrow and ridicule their solemn appeals. But the anguish and humiliation of God's people is unmistakable evidence that they are regaining the strength and nobility of character lost in consequence of sin. It is because they are drawing nearer to Christ, because their eyes are fixed on His perfect purity, that they discern so clearly the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Meekness and lowliness are the conditions of success and victory. A crown of glory awaits those who bow at the foot of the cross.

    God's faithful, praying ones are, as it were, shut in with Him. They themselves know not how securely they are shielded. Urged on by Satan, the rulers of this world are seeking to destroy them; but could the eyes of God's children be opened as were the eyes of Elisha's servant at Dothan, they would see angels of God encamped about them, holding in check the hosts of darkness.

    As the people of God afflict their souls before Him, pleading for purity of heart, the command is given, "Take away the filthy garments," and the encouraging words are spoken, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment." Zechariah 3:4. The spotless robe of Christ's righteousness is placed upon the tried, tempted, faithful children of God. The despised remnant are clothed in glorious apparel, nevermore to be defiled by the corruptions of the world. Their names are retained in the Lamb's book of life, enrolled among the faithful of all ages. They have resisted the wiles of the deceiver; they have not been turned from their loyalty by the dragon's roar. Now they are eternally secure from the tempter's devices. Their sins are transferred to the originator of sin. A "fair miter" is set upon their heads.

    While Satan has been urging his accusations, holy angels, unseen, have been passing to and fro, placing upon the faithful ones the seal of the living God. These are they that stand upon Mount Zion with the Lamb, having the Father's name written in their foreheads. They sing the new song before the throne, that song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand which were redeemed from the earth. "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." Revelation 14:4, 5.

    Now is reached the complete fulfillment of the words of the Angel: "Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth My Servant the Branch." Zechariah 3:8. Christ is revealed as the Redeemer and Deliverer of His people. Now indeed are the remnant "men wondered at," as the tears and humiliation of their pilgrimage give place to joy and honor in the presence of God and the Lamb. "In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem." Isaiah 4:2, 3.

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk48.html Immediately after Zechariah's vision of Joshua and the Angel, the prophet received a message regarding the work of Zerubbabel. "The Angel that talked with me," Zechariah declares, "came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, and said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.

    "So I answered and spake to the Angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord? . . . Then He answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."

    "Then answered I, and said unto Him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto Him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? . . . Then said He, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." Zechariah 4:1-6, 11-14.

    In this vision the two olive trees which stand before God are represented as emptying the golden oil out of themselves through golden tubes into the bowl of the candlestick. From this the lamps of the sanctuary are fed, that they may give a bright, continuous light. So from the anointed ones that stand in God's presence the fullness of divine light and love and power is imparted to His people, that they may impart to others light and joy and refreshing. Those who are thus enriched are to enrich others with the treasure of God's love.

    In rebuilding the house of the Lord, Zerubbabel had labored in the face of manifold difficulties. From the beginning, adversaries had "weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building," "and made them to cease by force and power." Ezra 4:4, 23. But the Lord had interposed in behalf of the builders, and now He spoke through His prophet to Zerubbabel, saying, "Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." Zechariah 4:7.

    Throughout the history of God's people great mountains of difficulty, apparently insurmountable, have loomed up before those who were trying to carry out the purposes of Heaven. Such obstacles are permitted by the Lord as a test of faith. When we are hedged about on every side, this is the time above all others to trust in God and in the power of His Spirit. The exercise of a living faith means an increase of spiritual strength and the development of an unfaltering trust. It is thus that the soul becomes a conquering power. Before the demand of faith, the obstacles placed by Satan across the pathway of the Christian will disappear; for the powers of heaven will come to his aid. "Nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matthew 17:20.

    The way of the world is to begin with pomp and boasting. God's way is to make the day of small things the beginning of the glorious triumph of truth and righteousness. Sometimes He trains His workers by bringing to them disappointment and apparent failure. It is His purpose that they shall learn to master difficulties.

    Often men are tempted to falter before the perplexities and obstacles that confront them. But if they will hold the beginning of their confidence steadfast unto the end, God will make the way clear. Success will come to them as they struggle against difficulties. Before the intrepid spirit and unwavering faith of a Zerubbabel, great mountains of difficulty will become a plain; and he whose hands have laid the foundation, even "his hands shall also finish it." "He shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." Zechariah 4:9, 7.

    Human power and human might did not establish the church of God, and neither can they destroy it. Not on the rock of human strength, but on Christ Jesus, the Rock of Ages, was the church founded, "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18. The presence of God gives stability to His cause. "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man," is the word that comes to us. Psalm 146:3. "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." Isaiah 30:15. God's glorious work, founded on the eternal principles of right, will never come to nought. It will go on from strength to strength, "not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6.

    The promise, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it," was literally fulfilled. Verse 9. "The elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar [the twelfth month], which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king." Ezra 6:14, 15.

    Shortly afterward the restored temple was dedicated. "The children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy;" and "upon the fourteenth day of the first month" they "kept the Passover." Verses 16, 17, 19.

    The second temple did not equal the first in magnificence, nor was it hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which pertained to the first temple. There was no manifestation of supernatural power to mark its dedication. No cloud of glory was seen to fill the newly erected sanctuary. No fire from heaven descended to consume the sacrifice upon its altar. The Shekinah no longer abode between the cherubim in the most holy place; the ark, the mercy seat, and the tables of testimony were not found there. No sign from heaven made known to the inquiring priest the will of Jehovah.

    And yet this was the building concerning which the Lord had declared by the prophet Haggai: "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former." "I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." Haggai 2:9,7. For centuries learned men have endeavored to show wherein the promise of God, given to Haggai, has been fulfilled; yet in the advent of Jesus of Nazareth, the Desire of all nations, who by His personal presence hallowed the precincts of the temple, many have steadfastly refused to see any special significance. Pride and unbelief have blinded their minds to the true meaning of the prophet's words.

    The second temple was honored, not with the cloud of Jehovah's glory, but with the presence of the One in whom dwelt "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily"--God Himself "manifest in the flesh." Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16. In being honored with the personal presence of Christ during His earthly ministry, and in this alone, did the second temple exceed the first in glory. The "Desire of all nations" had indeed come to His temple, when the Man of Nazareth taught and healed in the sacred courts.
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Aug 23, 2016 4:39 pm

    I continue to suspect that the Real PTB want some sort of a Holy-War. I SO Hope I'm Wrong. I tend to think that most everyone has been "set-up" for "something-bad". When I asked the Ancient Egyptian Deity if he were setting me up for something bad, he retorted "Are You Kidding!! I Could Snap My Fingers, and You'd Be DEAD!!" I could feel the love. On another occasion, the AED said "You're Lucky to Be Alive!!" Another time, the AED said "I'm Tired of Keeping You Alive!!" They said it in an angry and agitated manner. Once, I made a rather-benign comment concerning "Tall Long-Nosed Greys" and RA called me a "Commoner"!! When Raven chewed me out on this website, the next-day RA told me that wouldn't happen again!! What if RA and RAVEN were the same-soul?? Imagine Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra (1963) teaching what I'm posting!! Imagine her saying the exact words (of this Ellen White book) in the context of an Egyptian Palace!! Do We Have a Match?? In that movie, Cleopatra exclaims "I AM ISIS!!" What if she really was?? How might Gabriel and Michael relate to All of the Above?? Who's Throne Does the Queen Sit Upon?? What If the Original Throne-Owner is Alive and Well, and Living On Planet Earth?? What a Revolting Development THAT Might Be!! Would THAT Constitute an "Isis-Crisis"??!! The Horror!!

    I made a speculative post regarding this matter, a few days prior to Fukushima, and the AED said "You Found Out Something About Yourself" (but they weren't specific). During this same conversation, they said they were sorry we couldn't work together -- because too much water had gone under the bridge. What does all of this mean?? That post mostly examined the hypothetical relationship between RA, the Queen, and the Pope. Talk about a Can of Worms!! OMG!! That was three-days prior to Fukushima!! Was there a connection?? A couple of months prior to this, the AED spoke ominously of something being prepared and ready (but they didn't elaborate). What were they referring to?? What does all of this mean?? What are the implications and ramifications?? What Would Monseigneur Bowe Say?? I never met him, but I heard about him from someone who worked with him at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco!! If I told you any more, you'd know too much!!

    I got to thinking about the Queen of England, the Pope of Rome, and the God of This World. They're a pretty exclusive trio - with extreme power - aren't they? They don't get elected by the general public, do they? Should they? I really don't know. I'm really conflicted about this sort of thing. How does a civilization make sure that they have the very best individuals in those roles? I've been trying to combine the best aspects of theocracy and democracy - and the best of the royal and servant models of leadership and authority. The whole damn thing is a slippery-slope. I've had a lot to say regarding a hypothetical Queen of Heaven ruling Earth as the Goddess of This World. I've imagined having conversations and debates with such a being - and I have really mixed-feelings about the whole thing. Extreme intelligence, economy of words, elegance, straight-forwardness, and beauty - might all be on the plus side. But harshness, cruelty, causing atrocities, committing mass-murder, corruption, deception, treachery, moral-ambiguity, and demonic-possession - might be on the negative side. But I don't know the true state of affairs. They might be human. They might be reptilian. They might be hybrid. They might be male. They might be female. They might be hermaphrodite. They might have a wardrobe of bodies. They might be able to shapeshift into any form and anyone they choose. Could a being be a God or Goddess of This World for any length of time - without becoming corrupt and insane?

    Are the Pope of Rome and the Queen of England - really the modern-day equivalents of the King and Queen of Egypt - serving the Hidden God Amen Ra? Are all three ruling in place of Christ? I have speculated quite a bit about this in the past. I am concerned about this, because these three seem to have control over pretty much the whole world. Is this power legitimate or illegitimate? Is this power being used benevolently and wisely? Are they doing that which is in everyone's best interest? Could the throne of this world have been stolen in antiquity? Could this hypothetical theft be ongoing? Did someone steal fire from the gods? I really and truly don't know - but I am becoming increasingly suspicious. What effect would a Michael/Horus/Jesus administered Namaste Constitutional Responsible Freedom United States of the Solar System have on these three? What would Michael/Horus/Jesus say? Somebody please talk to me about this. Please think long and hard about these three jobs. They don't give out job-applications - do they? This is VERY tricky territory - to say the least. I deeply appreciate the Divine Feminine as an integral part of the Divinity Within Humanity - but I am deeply suspicious of a hypothetical Reptilian/Human Hybrid, Hermaphrodite Queen of Heaven / God of This World - being at the core of monotheism - ruling a Controlled Patriarchy - and presiding over a Subjugation of Women - to control and enslave the human race - complete with the 'Chastenings of the Lord' in the form of wars, persecutions, tortures, the Crusades, the Inquisition, terrorist events, etc, etc. Who REALLY controls the Monarchy and the Papacy?


    Once again, I am being absolutely honest BUT I have no idea how to interpret and/or apply All of the Above. I merely include this sort of thing in my ongoing (reformative rather than normative) Religious and Political Science-Fiction. It's easier that way. One More Thing. Consider the contrast between Good-Queen, Mean-Queen, and Mixture of Good and Mean Queen!! This basic concept might apply to numerous contexts and scenarios. What if these possibilities are descriptive of Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer (but not necessarily in that order)?? What if the Hybrid-Queen met with the Mean-Queen in one throne-room -- then met with the Good-Queen in another throne-room -- and then sat down upon her own-throne in yet another throne-room -- utilizing the best of both perspectives??!! What if a Single Multiple-Personality Queen Had Three Throne-Rooms, and Played the Parts of All Three Queens??!! We Three Queens??!! We Are All One??!! Interesting, eh??


    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk49.html Under the favor shown them by Cyrus, nearly fifty thousand of the children of the captivity had taken advantage of the decree permitting their return. These, however, in comparison with the hundreds of thousands scattered throughout the provinces of Medo-Persia, were but a mere remnant. The great majority of the Israelites had chosen to remain in the land of their exile rather than undergo the hardships of the return journey and the re-establishment of their desolated cities and homes.

    A score or more of years passed by, when a second decree, quite as favorable as the first, was issued by Darius Hystaspes, the monarch then ruling. Thus did God in mercy provide another opportunity for the Jews in the Medo-Persian realm to return to the land of their fathers. The Lord foresaw the troublous times that were to follow during the reign of Xerxes,--the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther,--and He not only wrought a change of feeling in the hearts of men in authority, but also inspired Zechariah to plead with the exiles to return.

    "Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north," was the message given the scattered tribes of Israel who had become settled in many lands far from their former home. "I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath He sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me." Zechariah 2:6-9.

    It was still the Lord's purpose, as it have been from the beginning, that His people should be a praise in the earth, to the glory of His name. During the long years of their exile He had given them many opportunities to return to their allegiance to Him. Some had chosen to listen and to learn; some had found salvation in the midst of affliction. Many of these were to be numbered among the remnant that should return. They were likened by Inspiration to "the highest branch of the high cedar," which was to be planted "upon an high mountain and eminent: in the mountain of the height of Israel." Ezekiel 17:22, 23.

    It was those "whose spirit God had raised" (Ezra 1:5) who had returned under the decree of Cyrus. But God ceased not to plead with those who voluntarily remained in the land of their exile, and through manifold agencies He made it possible for them also to return. The large number, however, of those who failed to respond to the decree of Cyrus, remained unimpressible to later influences; and even when Zechariah warned them to flee from Babylon without further delay, they did not heed the invitation.

    Meanwhile conditions in the Medo-Persian realm were rapidly changing. Darius Hystaspes, under whose reign the Jews had been shown marked favor, was succeeded by Xerxes the Great. It was during his reign that those of the Jews who had failed of heeding the message to flee were called upon to face a terrible crisis. Having refused to take advantage of the way of escape God had provided, now they were brought face to face with death.

    Through Haman the Agagite, an unscrupulous man high in authority in Medo-Persia, Satan worked at this time to counterwork the purposes of God. Haman cherished bitter malice against Mordecai, a Jew. Mordecai had done Haman no harm, but had simply refused to show him worshipful reverence. Scorning to "lay hands on Mordecai alone," Haman plotted "to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai." Esther 3:6.

    Misled by the false statements of Haman, Xerxes was induced to issue a decree providing for the massacre of all the Jews "scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces" of the Medo-Persian kingdom. Verse 8. A certain day was appointed on which the Jews were to be destroyed and their property confiscated. Little did the king realize the far-reaching results that would have accompanied the complete carrying out of this decree. Satan himself, the hidden instigator of the scheme, was trying to rid the earth of those who preserved the knowledge of the true God.

    "In every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes." Esther 4:3. The decree of the Medes and Persians could not be revoked; apparently there was no hope; all the Israelites were doomed to destruction.

    But the plots of the enemy were defeated by a Power that reigns among the children of men. In the providence of God, Esther, a Jewess who feared the Most High, had been made queen of the Medo-Persian kingdom. Mordecai was a near relative of hers. In their extremity they decided to appeal to Xerxes in behalf of their people. Esther was to venture into his presence as an intercessor. "Who knoweth," said Mordecai, "whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Verse 14.

    The crisis that Esther faced demanded quick, earnest action; but both she and Mordecai realized that unless God should work mightily in their behalf, their own efforts would be unavailing. So Esther took time for communion with God, the source of her strength. "Go," she directed Mordecai, "gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish." Verse 16.

    The events that followed in rapid succession,--the appearance of Esther before the king, the marked favor shown her, the banquets of the king and queen with Haman as the only guest, the troubled sleep of the king, the public honor shown Mordecai, and the humiliation and fall of Haman upon the discovery of his wicked plot,--all these are parts of a familiar story. God wrought marvelously for His penitent people; and a counter decree issued by the king, allowing them to fight for their lives, was rapidly communicated to every part of the realm by mounted couriers, who were "hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment." "And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them." Esther 8:14, 17.

    On the day appointed for their destruction, "the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people." Angels that excel in strength had been commissioned by God to protect His people while they "stood for their lives." Esther 9:2, 16.

    Mordecai was given the position of honor formerly occupied by Haman. He "was next unto King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren" (Esther 10:3); and he sought to promote the welfare of Israel. Thus did God bring His chosen people once more into favor at the Medo-Persian court, making possible the carrying out of His purpose to restore them to their own land. But it was not until several years later, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes I, the successor of Xerxes the Great, that any considerable number returned to Jerusalem, under Ezra.

    The trying experiences that came to God's people in the days of Esther were not peculiar to that age alone. The revelator, looking down the ages to the close of time, has declared, "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:17. Some who today are living on the earth will see these words fulfilled. The same spirit that in ages past led men to persecute the true church, will in the future lead to the pursuance of a similar course toward those who maintain their loyalty to God. Even now preparations are being made for this last great conflict.

    The decree that will finally go forth against the remnant people of God will be very similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews. Today the enemies of the true church see in the little company keeping the Sabbath commandment, a Mordecai at the gate. The reverence of God's people for His law is a constant rebuke to those who have cast off the fear of the Lord and are trampling on His Sabbath.

    Satan will arouse indignation against the minority who refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel against the people of God. Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover them with contempt.

    Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church members will conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule, they will seek to overthrow their faith. By false representations and angry appeals, men will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a "Thus saith the Scriptures" to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath, they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for Sunday laws. But those who fear God, cannot accept an institution that violates a precept of the Decalogue. On this battlefield will be fought the last great conflict in the controversy between truth and error. And we are not left in doubt as to the issue. Today, as in the days of Esther and Mordecai, the Lord will vindicate His truth and His people.

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk50.html About seventy years after the return of the first company of exiles under Zerubbabel and Joshua, Artaxerxes Longimanus came to the throne of Medo-Persia. The name of this king is connected with sacred history by a series of remarkable providences. It was during his reign that Ezra and Nehemiah lived and labored. He is the one who in 457 B.C. issued the third and final decree for the restoration of Jerusalem. His reign saw the return of a company of Jews under Ezra, the completion of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah and his associates, the reorganization of the temple services, and the great religious reformations instituted by Ezra and Nehemiah. During his long rule he often showed favor to God's people, and in his trusted and well-beloved Jewish friends, Ezra and Nehemiah, he recognized men of God's appointment, raised up for a special work.

    The experience of Ezra while living among the Jews who remained in Babylon was so unusual that it attracted the favorable notice of King Artaxerxes, with whom he talked freely regarding the power of the God of heaven, and the divine purpose in restoring the Jews to Jerusalem.

    Born of the sons of Aaron, Ezra had been given a priestly training; and in addition to this he had acquired a familiarity with the writings of the magicians, the astrologers, and the wise men of the Medo-Persian realm. But he was not satisfied with his spiritual condition. He longed to be in full harmony with God; he longed for wisdom to carry out the divine will. And so he "prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it." Ezra 7:10. This led him to apply himself diligently to a study of the history of God's people, as recorded in the writings of prophets and kings. He searched the historical and poetical books of the Bible to learn why the Lord had permitted Jerusalem to be destroyed and His people carried captive into a heathen land.

    To the experiences of Israel from the time the promise was made to Abraham, Ezra gave special thought. He studied the instruction given at Mount Sinai and through the long period of wilderness wandering. As he learned more and still more concerning God's dealings with His children, and comprehended the sacredness of the law given at Sinai, Ezra's heart was stirred. He experienced a new and thorough conversion and determined to master the records of sacred history, that he might use this knowledge to bring blessing and light to his people.

    Ezra endeavored to gain a heart preparation for the work he believed was before him. He sought God earnestly, that he might be a wise teacher in Israel. As he learned to yield mind and will to divine control, there were brought into his life the principles of true sanctification, which, in later years, had a molding influence, not only upon the youth who sought his instruction, but upon all others associated with him.

    God chose Ezra to be an instrument of good to Israel, that He might put honor upon the priesthood, the glory of which had been greatly eclipsed during the captivity. Ezra developed into a man of extraordinary learning and became "a ready scribe in the law of Moses." Verse 6. These qualifications made him an eminent man in the Medo-Persian kingdom.

    Ezra became a mouthpiece for God, educating those about him in the principles that govern heaven. During the remaining years of his life, whether near the court of the king of Medo-Persia or at Jerusalem, his principal work was that of a teacher. As he communicated to others the truths he learned, his capacity for labor increased. He became a man of piety and zeal. He was the Lord's witness to the world of the power of Bible truth to ennoble the daily life.

    The efforts of Ezra to revive an interest in the study of the Scriptures were given permanency by his painstaking, lifelong work of preserving and multiplying the Sacred Writings. He gathered all the copies of the law that he could find and had these transcribed and distributed. The pure word, thus multiplied and placed in the hands of many people, gave knowledge that was of inestimable value.

    Ezra's faith that God would do a mighty work for His people, led him to tell Artaxerxes of his desire to return to Jerusalem to revive an interest in the study of God's word and to assist his brethren in restoring the Holy City. As Ezra declared his perfect trust in the God of Israel as one abundantly able to protect and care for His people, the king was deeply impressed. He well understood that the Israelites were returning to Jerusalem that they might serve Jehovah; yet so great was the king's confidence in the integrity of Ezra that he showed him marked favor, granting his request and bestowing on him rich gifts for the temple service. He made him a special representative of the Medo-Persian kingdom and conferred on him extensive powers for the carrying out of the purposes that were in his heart.

    The decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus for the restoring and building of Jerusalem, the third issued since the close of the seventy years' captivity, is remarkable for its expressions regarding the God of heaven, for its recognition of the attainments of Ezra, and for the liberality of the grants made to the remnant people of God. Artaxerxes refers to Ezra as "the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of His statutes to Israel;" "a scribe of the law of the God of heaven." The king united with his counselors in offering freely "unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem;" and in addition he made provision for meeting many heavy expenses by ordering that they be paid "out of the king's treasure house." Verses 11, 12, 15, 20.

    "Thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counselors," Artaxerxes declared to Ezra, "to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand." And he further decreed: "Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?" Verses 14, 23.

    In giving permission to the Israelites to return, Artaxerxes arranged for the restoration of the members of the priesthood to their ancient rites and privileges. "We certify you," he declared, "that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom, upon them." He also arranged for the appointment of civil officers to govern the people justly in accordance with the Jewish code of laws. "Thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand," he directed, "set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment." Verses 24-26.

    Thus, "according to the good hand of his God upon him," Ezra had persuaded the king to make abundant provision for the return of all the people of Israel and of the priests and Levites in the Medo-Persian realm, who were minded "of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem." Verses 9, 13. Thus again the children of the dispersion were given opportunity to return to the land with the possession of which were linked the promises to the house of Israel.

    This decree brought great rejoicing to those who had been uniting with Ezra in a study of God's purposes concerning His people. "Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers," Ezra exclaimed, "which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem: and hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty princes." Verses 27, 28.

    In the issuing of this decree by Artaxerxes, God's providence was manifest. Some discerned this and gladly took advantage of the privilege of returning under circumstances so favorable. A general place of meeting was named, and at the appointed time those who were desirous of going to Jerusalem assembled for the long journey. "I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava," Ezra says, "and there abode we in tents three days." Ezra 8:15.

    Ezra had expected that a large number would return to Jerusalem, but the number who responded to the call was disappointingly small. Many who had acquired houses and lands had no desire to sacrifice these possessions. They loved ease and comfort and were well satisfied to remain. Their example proved a hindrance to others who otherwise might have chosen to cast in their lot with those who were advancing by faith.

    As Ezra looked over the company assembled, he was surprised to find none of the sons of Levi. Where were the members of the tribe that had been set apart for the sacred service of the temple? To the call, Who is on the Lord's side? the Levites should have been the first to respond.

    During the captivity, and afterward, they had been granted many privileges. They had enjoyed the fullest liberty to minister to the spiritual needs of their brethren in exile. Synagogues had been built, in which the priests conducted the worship of God and instructed the people. The observance of the Sabbath, and the performance of the sacred rites peculiar to the Jewish faith, had been freely allowed.

    But with the passing of the years after the close of the captivity, conditions changed, and many new responsibilities rested upon the leaders in Israel. The temple at Jerusalem had been rebuilt and dedicated, and more priests were needed to carry on its services. There was pressing need of men of God to act as teachers of the people. And besides, the Jews remaining in Babylon were in danger of having their religious liberty restricted. Through the prophet Zechariah, as well as by their recent experience during the troublous times of Esther and Mordecai, the Jews in Medo-Persia had been plainly warned to return to their own land. The time had come when it was perilous for them to dwell longer in the midst of heathen influences. In view of these changed conditions, the priests in Babylon should have been quick to discern in the issuance of the decree a special call to them to return to Jerusalem.

    The king and his princes had done more than their part in opening the way for the return. They had provided abundant means, but where were the men? The sons of Levi failed at a time when the influence of a decision to accompany their brethren would have led others to follow their example. Their strange indifference is a sad revelation of the attitude of the Israelites in Babylon toward God's purpose for His people.

    Once more Ezra appealed to the Levites, sending them an urgent invitation to unite with his company. To emphasize the importance of quick action, he sent with his written plea several of his "chief men" and "men of understanding." Ezra 7:28,8:16.

    While the travelers tarried with Ezra, these trusted messengers hastened back with the plea, "Bring unto us ministers for the house of our God." Ezra 8:17. The appeal was heeded; some who had been halting, made final decision to return. In all, about forty priests and two hundred and twenty Nethinim--men upon whom Ezra could rely as wise ministers and good teachers and helpers--were brought to the camp.

    All were now ready to set forth. Before them was a journey that would occupy several months. The men were taking with them their wives and children, and their substance, besides large treasure for the temple and its service. Ezra was aware that enemies lay in wait by the way, ready to plunder and destroy him and his company; yet he had asked from the king no armed force for protection. "I was ashamed," he has explained, "to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him; but His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake Him." Verse 22.

    In this matter, Ezra and his companions saw an opportunity to magnify the name of God before the heathen. Faith in the power of the living God would be strengthened if the Israelites themselves should now reveal implicit faith in their divine Leader. They therefore determined to put their trust wholly in Him. They would ask for no guard of soldiers. They would give the heathen no occasion to ascribe to the strength of man the glory that belongs to God alone. They could not afford to arouse in the minds of their heathen friends one doubt as to the sincerity of their dependence on God as His people. Strength would be gained, not through wealth, not through the power and influence of idolatrous men, but through the favor of God. Only by keeping the law of the Lord before them, and striving to obey it, would they be protected.

    This knowledge of the conditions under which they would continue to enjoy the prospering hand of God, lent more than ordinary solemnity to the consecration service that was held by Ezra and his company of faithful souls just before their departure. "I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava," Ezra has declared of this experience, "that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance." "So we fasted and besought our God for this: and He was entreated of us." Verses 21, 23.

    The blessing of God, however, did not make unnecessary the exercise of prudence and forethought. As a special precaution in safeguarding the treasure, Ezra "separated twelve of the chief of the priests"--men whose faithfulness and fidelity had been proved--"and weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered." These men were solemnly charged to act as vigilant stewards over the treasure entrusted to their care. "Ye are holy unto the Lord," Ezra declared; "the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord." Verses 24,25,28,29.

    The care exercised by Ezra in providing for the transportation and safety of the Lord's treasure, teaches a lesson worthy of thoughtful study. Only those whose trustworthiness had been proved were chosen, and they were instructed plainly regarding the responsibility resting on them. In the appointment of faithful officers to act as treasures of the Lord's goods, Ezra recognized the necessity and value of order and organization in connection with the work of God.

    During the few days that the Israelites tarried at the river, every provision was completed for the long journey. "We departed," Ezra writes, "on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way." Verse 31. About four months were occupied on the journey, the multitude that accompanied Ezra, several thousand in all, including women and children, necessitating slow progress. But all were preserved in safety. Their enemies were restrained from harming them. Their journey was a prosperous one, and on the first day of the fifth month, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, they reached Jerusalem.

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk51.html Ezra's arrival in Jerusalem was opportune. There was great need of the influence of his presence. His coming brought courage and hope to the hearts of many who had long labored under difficulties. Since the return of the first company of exiles under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua, over seventy years before, much had been accomplished. The temple had been finished, and the walls of the city had been partially repaired. Yet much remained undone.

    Among those who had returned to Jerusalem in former years, there were many who had remained true to God as long as they lived; but a considerable number of the children and the children's children lost sight of the sacredness of God's law. Even some of the men entrusted with responsibilities were living in open sin. Their course was largely neutralizing the efforts made by others to advance the cause of God; for so long as flagrant violations of the law were allowed to go unrebuked, the blessing of Heaven could not rest upon the people.

    It was in the providence of God that those who returned with Ezra had had special seasons of seeking the Lord. The experiences through which they had just passed, on their journey from Babylon, unprotected as they had been by any human power, had taught them rich spiritual lessons. Many had grown strong in faith; and as these mingled with the discouraged and the indifferent in Jerusalem, their influence was a powerful factor in the reform soon afterward instituted.

    On the fourth day after the arrival, the treasures of silver and gold, with the vessels for the service of the sanctuary, were delivered by the treasures into the hands of the temple officers, in the presence of witnesses, and with the utmost exactitude. Every article was examined "by number and by weight." Ezra 8:34.

    The children of the captivity who had returned with Ezra "offered burnt offerings unto the God of Israel" for a sin offering and as a token of their gratitude and thanksgiving for the protection of holy angels during the journey. "And they delivered the king's commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God." Verses 35, 36.

    Very soon thereafter a few of the chief men of Israel approached Ezra with a serious complaint. Some of "the people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites" had so far disregarded the holy commands of Jehovah as to intermarry with the surrounding peoples. "They have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons," Ezra was told, "so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people" of heathen lands; "yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass." Ezra 9:1, 2.

    In his study of the causes leading to the Babylonish captivity, Ezra had learned that Israel's apostasy was largely traceable to their mingling with heathen nations. He had seen that if they had obeyed God's command to keep separate from the nations surrounding them, they would have been spared many sad and humiliating experiences. Now when he learned that notwithstanding the lessons of the past, men of prominence had dared transgress the laws given as a safeguard against apostasy, his heart was stirred within him. He thought of God's goodness in again giving His people a foothold in their native land, and he was overwhelmed with righteous indignation and with grief at their ingratitude. "When I heard this thing," he says, "I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

    "Then were assembled unto me everyone that trembled at the words of God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice." Verses 3, 4.

    At the time of the evening sacrifice Ezra rose, and, once more rending his garment and his mantle, he fell upon his knees and unburdened his soul in supplication to Heaven. Spreading out his hands unto the Lord, he exclaimed, "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to Thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.

    "Since the days of our fathers," the suppliant continued, "have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been showed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.

    "And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken Thy commandments, which Thou hast commanded by Thy servants the prophets. . . . And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that Thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; should we again break Thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not Thou be angry with us till Thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? O Lord God of Israel, Thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before Thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before Thee because of this." Verses 6-15.

    The sorrow of Ezra and his associates over the evils that had insidiously crept into the very heart of the Lord's work, wrought repentance. Many of those who had sinned were deeply affected. "The people wept very sore." Ezra 10:1. In a limited degree they began to realize the heinousness of sin and the horror with which God regards it. They saw the sacredness of the law spoken at Sinai, and many trembled at the thought of their transgressions.

    One of those present, Shechaniah by name, acknowledged as true all the words spoken by Ezra. "We have trespassed against our God," he confessed, "and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing." Shechaniah proposed that all who had transgressed should make a covenant with God to forsake their sin and to be adjudged "according to the law." "Arise," he bade Ezra; "for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage." "Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word." Verses 2-5.

    This was the beginning of a wonderful reformation. With infinite patience and tact, and with a careful consideration for the rights and welfare of every individual concerned, Ezra and his associates strove to lead the penitent of Israel into the right way. Above all else, Ezra was a teacher of the law; and as he gave personal attention to the examination of every case, he sought to impress the people with the holiness of this law and the blessings to be gained through obedience.

    Wherever Ezra labored, there sprang up a revival in the study of the Holy Scriptures. Teachers were appointed to instruct the people; the law of the Lord was exalted and made honorable. The books of the prophets were searched, and the passages foretelling the coming of the Messiah brought hope and comfort to many a sad and weary heart.

    More than two thousand years have passed since Ezra "prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it" (Ezra 7:10), yet the lapse of time has not lessened the influence of his pious example. Through the centuries the record of his life of consecration has inspired many with the determination "to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it."

    Ezra's motives were high and holy; in all that he did he was actuated by a deep love for souls. The compassion and tenderness that he revealed toward those who had sinned, either willfully or through ignorance, should be an object lesson to all who seek to bring about reforms. The servants of God are to be as firm as a rock where right principles are involved; and yet, withal, they are to manifest sympathy and forbearance. Like Ezra, they are to teach transgressors the way of life by calculating principles that are the foundation of all rightdoing.

    In this age of the world, when Satan is seeking, through manifold agencies, to blind the eyes of men and women to the binding claims of the law of God, there is need of men who can cause many to "tremble at the commandment of our God." Ezra 10:3. There is need of true reformers, who will point transgressors to the great Lawgiver and teach them that "the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Psalm 19:7. There is need of men mighty in the Scriptures, men whose every word and act exalts the statutes of Jehovah, men who seek to strengthen faith. Teachers are needed, oh, so much, who will inspire hearts with reverence and love for the Scriptures.

    The widespread iniquity prevalent today may in a great degree be attributed to a failure to study and obey the Scriptures, for when the word of God is set aside, its power to restrain the evil passions of the natural heart is rejected. Men sow to the flesh and of the flesh reap corruption.

    With the setting aside of the Bible has come a turning away from God's law. The doctrine that men are released from obedience to the divine precepts, has weakened the force of moral obligation and opened the floodgates of iniquity upon the world. Lawlessness, dissipation, and corruption are sweeping in like an overwhelming flood. Everywhere are seen envy, evil surmising, hypocrisy, estrangement, emulation, strife, betrayal of sacred trusts, indulgence of lust. The whole system of religious principles and doctrines, which should form the foundation and framework of social life, seems to be a tottering mass, ready to fall in ruins.

    In the last days of this earth's history the voice that spoke from Sinai is still declaring, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." Exodus 20:3. Man has set his will against the will of God, but he cannot silence the word of command. The human mind cannot evade its obligation to a higher power. Theories and speculations may abound; men may try to set science in opposition to revelation, and thus do away with God's law; but stronger and still stronger comes the command,  "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."  Matthew 4:10.

    There is no such thing as weakening or strengthening the law of Jehovah. As it has been, so it is. It always has been, and always will be, holy, just, and good, complete in itself. It cannot be repealed or changed. To "honor" or "dishonor" it is but the speech of men.

    Between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah will come the last great conflict of the controversy between truth and error. Upon this battle we are now entering--a battle not between rival churches contending for the supremacy, but between the religion of the Bible and the religions of fable and tradition. The agencies which have united against truth are now actively at work. God's Holy Word, which has been handed down to us at so great a cost of suffering and bloodshed, is little valued. There are few who really accept it as the rule of life. Infidelity prevails to an alarming extent, not in the world only, but in the church. Many have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of creation as presented by the inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, the perpetuity of the law--these all are practically rejected by a large share of the professedly Christian world. Thousands who pride themselves on their knowledge regard it as an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible, and a proof of learning to cavil at the Scriptures and to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths.

    Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts. The tremendous issues of eternity demand of us something besides an imaginary religion, a religion of words and forms, where truth is kept in the outer court. God calls for a revival and a reformation. The words of the Bible and the Bible alone, should be heard from the pulpit. But the Bible has been robbed of its power, and the result is seen in a lowering of the tone of spiritual life. In many sermons of today there is not that divine manifestation which awakens the conscience and brings life to the soul. The hearers cannot say, "Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?" Luke 24:32. There are many who are crying out for the living God, longing for the divine presence. Let the word of God speak to the heart. Let those who have heard only tradition and human theories and maxims, hear the voice of Him who can renew the soul unto eternal life.

    Great light shone forth from patriarchs and prophets. Glorious things were spoken of Zion, the City of God. Thus the Lord designs that the light shall shine forth through His followers today. If the saints of the Old Testament bore so bright a testimony of loyalty, should not those upon whom is shining the accumulated light of centuries, bear a still more signal witness to the power of truth? The glory of the prophecies sheds their light upon our pathway.

    Type has met antitype in the death of God's Son. Christ has risen from the dead, proclaiming over the rent sepulcher, "I am the resurrection, and the life." John 11:25. He has sent His Spirit into the world to bring all things to our remembrance. By a miracle of power He has preserved His written word through the ages.

    The Reformers whose protest has given us the name of Protestant, felt that God had called them to give the light of the gospel to the world; and in the effort to do this they were ready to sacrifice their possessions, their liberty, even life itself. In the face of persecution and death the gospel was proclaimed far and near. The word of God was carried to the people; and all classes, high and low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, eagerly studied it for themselves. Are we, in this last conflict of the great controversy, as faithful to our trust as the early Reformers were to theirs?

    "Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children: . . . let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach." "Turn ye even to Me with all your hearts, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil. Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him?" Joel 2:15-17, 12-14.

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    orthodoxymoron
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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Aug 23, 2016 5:58 pm

    orthodoxymoron wrote:I'm leaning toward the theory that just about everything is BS -- but we have to do the best we can with what's been placed on the table. The Bible seems to be BS in so many ways -- yet who wrote the BS?? Why did they write it?? I've been around a number of Ivy-League Theologians, and it's a humbling experience. I've tried to hint-at what Secret-Government Ivy-League Theologians might say about Life, the Universe, and Everything -- in the secrecy of an Underground-Base -- with no recordings or minutes. Just several hours of completely honest debate. I think there are many clues in the Bible, but it seems as if one has to sort of "go nuts" to start understanding the clues, and their relationship to historical and esoteric research. I am NOT a Bible-Thumper. I just think there really are Gods, Goddesses, Angels, and Demons. There really are things that go "BUMP!!" in the night!! I really think the God (and/or Goddess) of This World plays ALL Sides -- and might be the Best of the Best -- and the Worst of the Worst. If one were arguing with them, the GTW might be capable of arguing all-sides of any subject (in a very convincing manner). They might be capable of playing the parts of God, Jesus, Archangels, Satan, Preachers, Politicians, Rock-Stars, Completely Ignorant Fools, et al. I'm Sirius. I think I might've encountered them in several forms. The Bible is very well written BS (if that's what it is). I've been pointing toward a particular Bible Commentary, which is highly-scholarly (with a huge amount of contextual information). Encyclopedias just seem to be a way to get a multidisciplinary cross-section of the world we live in. Obviously, they sugar-coat a lot of stuff, but it might be a rather benign and neutral "place of beginning".

    I just found out that I have serious organic health issues, which are probably affecting my mind. I'm probably going to require surgery. I doubt that will ultimately make everything better and happy, but apparently my "madness" is NOT "all in my head". I honestly think I've been targeted my whole-life, for a variety of reasons. The problem with this whole-mess is that I don't have enough information to make responsible judgments and conclusions. Not even close. I just get the impression that too many individuals on this forum (and in real-life) know more about me than I know about myself (and NOT in a good way). I think I'm screwed in more ways than I can imagine. I suspect that everyone will take advantage of everyone (if given the opportunity -- especially if they think no one will find-out what they're doing). I suspect that the History of Earth-Humanity has been VERY Well Documented -- Right From the Beginning. This Whole-Mess is Probably a HUGE Experiment. I'm not even going to attempt to convince ANYONE that I'm right about ANYTHING. I've placed certain things on the record within this website -- but I'm not sure why. I'm sure I'll pay dearly for my openness, honesty, irreverence, and innovation. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. I'm trying to not post for a significant time-period -- so I might not respond to your comments or questions. Namaste, Godspeed, and Geronimo.
    Pris wrote: All the best to you always, Oxy, especially should you require surgery. I love you


    LOL yeah, I think you're right and pretty much everything is BS, too!  To put it lightly, it's annoying.  

    One thing that bothers me about the Bible is how much it's been rewritten/altered, much deliberately.  So, all those who wrote it originally... whatever their message may have been has likely been lost or confounded to throw us off.  Certain individuals and groups of people going waaay back seem to rewrite history for their own ends.  But, we're starting to figure it out.  They didn't cover their tracks well enough.  And, we are capable of remembering and uncovering clues to our past no matter how hard they try to erase it.

    This is just me -- I don't think there are literally 'Gods', 'Goddesses', 'Angels', and 'Demons'... I think there's just us.  When I say 'us', that includes any and all spirits driving physical bodies.  And, we concoct it all.  It's 'real' in the sense that 'energy flows where attention goes' and our intent/creator abilities shape our reality -- for good or bad.  Each individual's viewpoint is unique and 'real' to themselves but may not be 'real' to anyone else.  Belief and faith play a huge role in 'magic' and manifestation across multiple dimensions.  Some of us have pretty FAT heads and might think we are 'gods', but, that's about it.

    Yes, roleplaying...  I think we enjoy playing different parts.  Maybe our existence is like a giant buffet, and we like to taste a little bit of everything.

    Is this an experiment?  Possibly.  Maybe we didn't choose this.  On the other hand, maybe we set it up.  Maybe, it's a little bit of both.  Maybe this is all 'simply' consciousness, advanced as individuated entities...  And, here we are, learning, growing, playing... finding all different kinds of ways to express ourselves through the experience of life.  At the moment, we happen to be billions of individual voices expressing ourselves (and that doesn't even include the myriad of all other wonderful non-human life forms!) as we take on the challenge Earth provides.

    Earth could also be a trap.  Anything is possible.  If there's a way in, there's a way out.  Awareness is the key.

    "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished."  Really, Oxy? Bleh  Sounds like a sadomasochist came up with that one. Oooyeah 1  

    Here on Earth, there seems to be 'something for everyone'.

    Fighters.................Lawless Gathering Oooyeah 1 Sleep
    .
    .
    Carol wrote:Aloha Oxy. An upcoming surgery can be anxiety producing. Last year at this time after an MRI and confronted with some scary facts I got deeply depressed to where I just wanted to stay in bed with the covers up over my head. Needing cervical spinal surgery requiring 3 discs to be replaced totally freaked me out. What helped was talking to several other people that I knew who underwent a similar surgery and who had excellent results. We also tracked down previous medical records from a previous surgery to find out what went wrong and discovered that this one doc had upped a med that they NEVER give patients who are going in for surgery, so clearing up the mystery and having a good talk with my doctors helped a lot. What also helped was going online to research the surgery process. Sometimes learning as much as you can about the procedure is helpful at the emotional level. By the time I ended up in the OR I was joking around with the team and having an enjoyable time until the lights went out for the procedure.


    Please keep us informed how things are going for you and know we're always here rooting for you.


    As for your journal books that you keep here there really isn't any need to worry as most folks can't separate out fact from fiction, so you're likely covered and SAFE.Enlightened
    orthodoxymoron wrote:Thank-you Carol and Pris. I hope the surgical-results exceeded-expectations. My father had lower-back disk-surgery (involving the sciatic-nerve) with poor-results. The pain and suffering of that good and great man HUGELY Disillusioned me. Digging into the Historical and the Otherworldly is a Quagmire. What Would Dick Cheney Say?? This Present Illusion is SO Much Easier (for a while)!! I saw the contrast between the Church of My Youth -- and the Big-Shot Mega-Church Television-Shows -- and I understood the chemistry. Dr. Walter Martin told me that Dr. Robert H. Schuller taught a "Corrupt-Theology"!! He also told me that "The Kid Doesn't Have It!!" This was in reference to Dr. Schuller's son, Robert Anthony Schuller. BTW -- I have a couple of things in common with RAS. I might even have something in common with HAL and COR -- but I don't want to talk about it. I understand "Going With the Flow" and "Kicking Against the Pricks". My online-diary just scratches the surface of a VERY Nasty and Deadly Wound. I've hinted-at a lot of things I could've blatantly blurted-out.

    I've suggested that my continued study in this area might honestly and truly put me in the nuthouse -- and completely discredit me as a viable-option. I should mention that once upon a time, a complete-stranger told me that the Human-Race and the Pauline-Epistles were Excellent!! Another complete-stranger told me that the Dr. Who Trial of a Time-Lord was essentially true. I continue to think there's a Solar-System War-Room where All is Known -- and that What is Known is NOT Nice!! I seem to be BOTH For and Against BOTH Humanity and Divinity!! This Present Madness seems to have EVERYTHING to Do with Ancient and Ongoing Star-Wars. I think I see how humanity has been played for thousands of years. The Ancient Egyptian Deity said "I've Always Remained One Step Ahead of Humanity!!" RA also told me "Humanity is Screwed!!" The AED said I would "Manifest My Bad-Side" and "Where You're Going It's Going to Be Dark!!" Oh Wretched Man That I Am!! That Nice Nuthouse in the Rockies (with Rooms with Views and Sexy Sex-Therapists) is looking better all the time!! Perhaps I could start a business in Colorado Springs!! What Would James Dobson Say?? BTW -- I've liked James Dobson for decades!!





    Pris wrote:
    That 'Ra' is such an overconfident p***k. Dick Head  So, he claims he's always remained (key point, past tense) one step ahead of humanity?

    You can't fool all the people all the time.
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 ?u=http%3A%2F%2Fquotes.lifehack.org%2Fmedia%2Fquotes%2Fquote-Abraham-Lincoln-you-can-fool-all-the-people-some-40977


    Sure, humanity has been screwed (in some respects).  But, is screwed?...  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  I'd say Ra's time is up (should he/it [imposter?] exist for 'real').

    As for Ra saying you're going to manifest your 'bad side', Oxy, and 'where you're going it's going to be dark'...  Big whoopie.  We ALL have a dark side.  It's called looking into the abyss and facing our deepest, darkest fears.  It's a personal journey we all need to take.  Once you do that, you come to the realize 'there's nothing to fear but fear itself'.

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Luke-join-the-dark-side-its-warmer-over-here-we-have-cookies-thumb

    It's about choosing your own path.  Luke

    When I look around, I see a crazy world, Oxy.  It's recently been suggested that I may have lost all touch with 'reality'...  I take that as a compliment because it means I'm learning to see through this 'matrix' of bullshite and I just don't fit in anymore.  In this insane world, people locked up in the 'nuthouse' are likely to be more sane than those on the 'outside'.

    Hang in there, Oxy.  We're all in this together. Thubs Up The Floyd



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb7Xdu7STx8
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    orthodoxymoron wrote:
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Thoth-pharoah-1

    Dick Head "Thoth!! You're a Dick-Head!!" Dick Head  
    Pris wrote:
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    cheers Insanely Happy cheers

    Right on, Oxy! Lmao
    Toast  
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    .
    In Season 5 of Babylon 5, Londo Mollari gives John and Delenn Sheridan a gift for their son, David, to be given to him on his sixteenth-birthday. That "gift" is a "controlling-parasite" somehow related to the "Shadows". Think about what I posted on the previous page of this thread. You know -- that Sherry Shriner article about "Soul-Scalping Snakes" plus what I said about the "Goa'uld Symbiotes" in Stargate SG-1 and the $hit-Demons in the movie Dogma. Remember what Rich288 said in that post a couple of pages back (regarding the Thubans, and eating one's dragon)?? Is this all just coincidental?? Nothing would surprise me, at this point in the game. I've tried to maintain a controllable level of "craziness" in my threads -- just to be able to bring crazy things up, without spooking the herd. My threads are a Very-Serious Discussion -- presented in a Crazy-Context. Imagine a "Respectable Pillar of the Community" trying to do what I do, each and every day!! But I'm honestly stopping -- hopefully for at least the rest of 2016 (but possibly for a much longer period). I don't know what the Real PTB have planned -- but their track-record over the past five to ten thousand years is not particularly confidence-inspiring. They think "long-term" and so should we. If some of you are REALLY Ambitious -- Consider reading the following Ellen White books in order -- straight-through -- over and over -- as a mental and spiritual exercise (regardless of whether these books are Absolute-Truth or Historical-Fiction). Focus Upon the Principles, Concepts, and the Use of the English Language. BTW -- remember that video of Elenne Ford (daughter of Desmond Ford)?? Elenne = Delenne?? Notice the pyramid she makes with her arms and hands. Notice the obelisk on Ellen White's grave. Think about Jodie Foster in Elysium. Remember what I've said about a Borg-Queen controlled Supercomputer-Network!! This stuff scares the hell out of me!! That's all I'm going to say.

    1. Patriarchs and Prophets.

    2. Prophets and Kings.

    3. The Desire of Ages.

    4. Christ's Object Lessons.

    5. The Acts of the Apostles.


    Consider these books as being a devotional-guide to the much more scholarly seven-volume SDA Bible Commentary. I realize this is a hard-sell (on SO many levels) BUT there is some substance to this. Imagine All of the Above in the context of a Gothic Cathedral (complete with Sacred Classical Music). I think the City-State Theologians in Underground-Bases know what I'm talking about!! One More Thing. Perhaps I could get a 600 Square-Foot Mountain-Cabin -- with an Elevator (all the way down to a Mag-Lev Train-Station)!! The Imagination is a Dangerous Thing!!


    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk52.html Nehemiah, one of the Hebrew exiles, occupied a position of influence and honor in the Persian court. As cupbearer to the king he was admitted freely to the royal presence. By virtue of his position, and because of his abilities and fidelity, he had become the monarch's friend and counselor. The recipient of royal favor, however, though surrounded by pomp and splendor, did not forget his God nor his people. With deepest interest his heart turned toward Jerusalem; his hopes and joys were bound up with her prosperity. Through this man, prepared by his residence in the Persian court for the work to which he was to be called, God purposed to bring blessing to His people in the land of their fathers.

    By messengers from Judea the Hebrew patriot learned that days of trial had come to Jerusalem, the chosen city. The returned exiles were suffering affliction and reproach. The temple and portions of the city had been rebuilt; but the work of restoration was hindered, the temple services were disturbed, and the people kept in constant alarm by the fact that the walls of the city were still largely in ruins.

    Overwhelmed with sorrow, Nehemiah could neither eat nor drink; he "wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted." In his grief he turned to the divine Helper. "I . . . prayed," he said, "before the God of heaven." Faithfully he made confession of his sins and the sins of his people. He pleaded that God would maintain the cause of Israel, restore their courage and strength, and help them to build up the waste places of Judah.

    As Nehemiah prayed, his faith and courage grew strong. His mouth was filled with holy arguments. He pointed to the dishonor that would be cast upon God, if His people, now that they had returned to Him, should be left in weakness and oppression; and he urged the Lord to bring to pass His promise: "If ye turn unto Me, and keep My Commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there." See Deuteronomy 4:29-31. This promise had been given to Israel through Moses before they had entered Canaan, and during the centuries it had stood unchanged. God's people had now returned to Him in penitence and faith, and His promise would not fail.

    Nehemiah had often poured out his soul in behalf of his people. But now as he prayed a holy purpose formed in his mind. He resolved that if he could obtain the consent of the king, and the necessary aid in procuring implements and material, he would himself undertake the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and restoring Israel's national strength. And he asked the Lord to grant him favor in the sight of the king, that this plan might be carried out. "Prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day," he entreated, "and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."

    Four months Nehemiah waited for a favorable opportunity to present his request to the king. During this time, though his heart was heavy with grief, he endeavored to bear himself with cheerfulness in the royal presence. In those halls of luxury and splendor all must appear light-hearted and happy. Distress must not cast its shadow over the countenance of any attendant of royalty. But in Nehemiah's seasons of retirement, concealed from human sight, many were the prayers, the confessions, the tears, heard and witnessed by God and angels.

    At length the sorrow that burdened the patriot's heart could no longer be concealed. Sleepless nights and care-filled days left their trace upon his countenance. The king, jealous for his own safety, was accustomed to read countenances and to penetrate disguises, and he saw that some secret trouble was preying upon his cupbearer. "Why is thy countenance sad," he inquired, "seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart."

    The question filled Nehemiah with apprehension. Would not the king be angry to hear that while outwardly engaged in his service, the courtier's thoughts had been far away with his afflicted people? Would not the offender's life be forfeited? His cherished plan for restoring the strength of Jerusalem--was it about to be overthrown? "Then," he writes, "I was very sore afraid." With trembling lips and tearful eyes he revealed the cause of his sorrow. "Let the king live forever," he answered. "Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?"

    The recital of the condition of Jerusalem awakened the sympathy of the monarch without arousing his prejudices. Another question gave the opportunity for which Nehemiah had long waited: "For what dost thou make request?" But the man of God did not venture to reply till he had sought direction from One higher than Artaxerxes. He had a sacred trust to fulfill, in which he required help from the king; and he realized that much depended upon his presenting the matter in such a way as to win his approval and enlist his aid. "I prayed," he said, "to the God of heaven." In that brief prayer Nehemiah pressed into the presence of the King of kings and won to his side a power that can turn hearts as the rivers of waters are turned.

    To pray as Nehemiah prayed in his hour of need is a resource at the command of the Christian under circumstances when other forms of prayer may be impossible. Toilers in the busy walks of life, crowded and almost overwhelmed with perplexity, can send up a petition to God for divine guidance. Travelers by sea and land, when threatened with some great danger, can thus commit themselves to Heaven's protection. In times of sudden difficulty or peril the heart may send up its cry for help to One who has pledged Himself to come to the aid of His faithful, believing ones whenever they call upon Him. In every circumstance, under every condition, the soul weighed down with grief and care, or fiercely assailed by temptation, may find assurance, support, and succor in the unfailing love and power of a covenant-keeping God.

    Nehemiah, in that brief moment of prayer to the King of kings, gathered courage to tell Artaxerxes of his desire to be released for a time from his duties at the court, and he asked for authority to build up the waste places of Jerusalem and to make it once more a strong and defensed city. Momentous results to the Jewish nation hung upon this request. "And," Nehemiah declares, "the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me."

    Having secured the help he sought, Nehemiah with prudence and forethought proceeded to make the arrangements necessary to ensure the success of the enterprise. He neglected no precaution that would tend to its accomplishment. Not even to his own countrymen did he reveal his purpose. While he knew that many would rejoice in his success, he feared that some, by acts of indiscretion, might arouse the jealousy of their enemies and perhaps bring about the defeat of the undertaking.

    His request to the king had been so favorably received that Nehemiah was encouraged to ask for still further assistance. To give dignity and authority to his mission, as well as to provide protection on the journey, he asked for and secured a military escort. He obtained royal letters to the governors of the provinces beyond the Euphrates, the territory through which he must pass on his way to Judea; and he obtained, also, a letter to the keeper of the king's forest in the mountains of Lebanon, directing him to furnish such timber as would be needed. That there might be no occasion for complaint that he had exceeded his commission, Nehemiah was careful to have the authority and privileges accorded him, clearly defined.

    This example of wise forethought and resolute action should be a lesson to all Christians. God's children are not only to pray in faith, but to work with diligent and provident care. They encounter many difficulties and often hinder the working of Providence in their behalf, because they regard prudence and painstaking effort as having little to do with religion. Nehemiah did not regard his duty done when he had wept and prayed before the Lord. He united his petitions with holy endeavor, putting forth earnest, prayerful efforts for the success of the enterprise in which he was engaged. Careful consideration and well-matured plans are as essential to the carrying forward of sacred enterprises today as in the time of the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls.

    Nehemiah did not depend upon uncertainty. The means that he lacked he solicited from those who were able to bestow. And the Lord is still willing to move upon the hearts of those in possession of His goods, in behalf of the cause of truth. Those who labor for Him are to avail themselves of the help that He prompts men to give. These gifts may open ways by which the light of truth shall go to many benighted lands. The donors may have no faith in Christ, no acquaintance with His word; but their gifts are not on this account to be refused.

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk53.html Nehemiah's journey to Jerusalem was accomplished in safety. The royal letters to the governors of the provinces along his route secured him honorable reception and prompt assistance. No enemy dared molest the official who was guarded by the power of the Persian king and treated with marked consideration by the provincial rulers. His arrival in Jerusalem, however, with a military escort, showing that he had come on some important mission, excited the jealousy of the heathen tribes living near the city, who had so often indulged their enmity against the Jews by heaping upon them injury and insult. Foremost in this evil work were certain chiefs of these tribes, Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian. From the first these leaders watched with critical eyes the movements of Nehemiah and endeavored by every means in their power to thwart his plans and hinder his work.

    Nehemiah continued to exercise the same caution and prudence that had hitherto marked his course. Knowing that bitter and determined enemies stood ready to oppose him, he concealed the nature of his mission from them until a study of the situation should enable him to form his plans. Thus he hoped to secure the co-operation of the people and set them at work before the opposition of his enemies should be aroused.

    Choosing a few men whom he knew to be worthy of confidence, Nehemiah told them of the circumstances that had led him to come to Jerusalem, the object that he wished to accomplish, and the plans he proposed to follow. Their interest in his undertaking was at once enlisted and their assistance secured.

    On the third night after his arrival Nehemiah rose at midnight and with a few trusted companions went out to view for himself the desolation of Jerusalem. Mounted on his mule, he passed from one part of the city to another, surveying the broken-down walls and gates of the city of his fathers. Painful reflections filled the mind of the Jewish patriot as with sorrow-stricken heart he gazed upon the ruined defenses of his beloved Jerusalem. Memories of Israel's past greatness stood out in sharp contrast with the evidences of her humiliation.

    In secrecy and silence Nehemiah completed his circuit of the walls. "The rulers knew not whither I went," he declares, "or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work." The remainder of the night he spent in prayer; for he knew that the morning would call for earnest effort to arouse and unite his dispirited and divided countrymen.

    Nehemiah bore a royal commission requiring the inhabitants to co-operate with him in rebuilding the walls of the city, but he did not depend upon the exercise of authority. He sought rather to gain the confidence and sympathy of the people, knowing that a union of hearts as well as of hands was essential in the great work before him. When on the morrow he called the people together he presented such arguments as were calculated to arouse their dormant energies and unite their scattered numbers.

    Nehemiah's hearers did not know, neither did he tell them, of his midnight circuit of the night before. But the fact that he had made this circuit contributed greatly to his success; for he was able to speak of the condition of the city with an accuracy and a minuteness that astonished his hearers. The impression made upon him as he had looked upon the weakness and degradation of Jerusalem, gave earnestness and power to his words.

    Nehemiah presented before the people their reproach among the heathen--their religion dishonored, their God blasphemed. He told them that in a distant land he had heard of their affliction, that he had entreated the favor of Heaven in their behalf, and that, as he was praying, he had determined to ask permission from the king to come to their assistance. He had asked God that the king might not only grant this permission, but might also invest him with the authority and give him the help needed for the work; and his prayer had been answered in such a way as to show that the plan was of the Lord.

    All this he related, and then, having shown that he was sustained by the combined authority of the God of Israel and the Persian king, Nehemiah asked the people directly whether they would take advantage of this opportunity and arise and build the wall.

    The appeal went straight to their hearts. The thought of how Heaven's favor had been manifested toward them put their fears to shame, and with new courage they said with one voice, "Let us rise up and build." "So they strengthened their hands for this good work."

    Nehemiah's whole soul was in the enterprise he had undertaken. His hope, his energy, his enthusiasm, his determination, were contagious, inspiring others with the same high courage and lofty purpose. Each man became a Nehemiah in his turn and helped to make stronger the heart and hand of his neighbor.

    When the enemies of Israel heard what the Jews were hoping to accomplish, they laughed them to scorn, saying, "What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?" But Nehemiah answered, "The God of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem."

    Among the first to catch Nehemiah's spirit of zeal and earnestness were the priests. Because of their influential position, these men could do much to advance or hinder the work; and their ready co-operation, at the very outset, contributed not a little to its success. The majority of the princes and rulers of Israel came up nobly to their duty, and these faithful men have honorable mention in the book of God. There were a few, the Tekoite nobles, who "put not their necks to the work of their Lord." The memory of these slothful servants is branded with shame and has been handed down as a warning to all future generations.

    In every religious movement there are some who, while they cannot deny that the cause is God's, still hold themselves aloof, refusing to make any effort to help. It were well for such ones to remember the record kept on high--that book in which there are no omissions, no mistakes, and out of which they will be judged. There every neglected opportunity to do service for God is recorded; and there, too, every deed of faith and love is held in everlasting remembrance.

    Against the inspiring influence of Nehemiah's presence the example of the Tekoite nobles had little weight. The people in general were animated by patriotism and zeal. Men of ability and influence organized the various classes of citizens into companies, each leader making himself responsible for the erection of a certain part of the wall. And of some it is written that they builded "everyone over against his house."

    Nor did Nehemiah's energy abate, now that the work was actually begun. With tireless vigilance he superintended the building, directing the workmen, noting the hindrances, and providing for emergencies. Along the whole extent of that three miles of wall his influence was constantly felt. With timely words he encouraged the fearful, aroused the laggard, and approved the diligent. And ever he watched the movements of their enemies, who from time to time collected at a distance and engaged in conversation, as if plotting mischief, and then, drawing nearer the workmen, attempted to divert their attention.

    In his many activities Nehemiah did not forget the source of his strength. His heart was constantly uplifted to God, the great Overseer of all. "The God of heaven," he exclaimed, "He will prosper us;" and the words, echoed and re-echoed, thrilled the hearts of all the workers on the wall.

    But the restoration of the defenses of Jerusalem did not go forward unhindered. Satan was working to stir up opposition and bring discouragement. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, his principal agents in this movement, now set themselves to hinder the work of rebuilding. They endeavored to cause division among the workmen. They ridiculed the efforts of the builders, declaring the enterprise an impossibility and predicting failure.

    "What do these feeble Jews?" exclaimed Sanballat mockingly; "will they fortify themselves? . . . will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?"

    Tobiah, still more contemptuous, added, "Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall."

    The builders were soon beset by more active opposition. They were compelled to guard continually against the plots of their adversaries, who, professing friendliness, sought in various ways to cause confusion and perplexity, and to arouse distrust. They endeavored to destroy the courage of the Jews; they formed conspiracies to draw Nehemiah into their toils; and falsehearted Jews were found ready to aid the treacherous undertaking. The report was spread that Nehemiah was plotting against the Persian monarch, intending to exalt himself as a king over Israel, and that all who aided him were traitors.

    But Nehemiah continued to look to God for guidance and support, and "the people had a mind to work." The enterprise went forward until the gaps were filled and the entire wall built up to half its intended height.

    As the enemies of Israel saw how unavailing were their efforts, they were filled with rage. Hitherto they had not dared employ violent measures, for they knew that Nehemiah and his companions were acting under the king's commission, and they feared that active opposition against him might bring upon them the monarch's displeasure. But now in their anger they themselves became guilty of the crime of which they had accused Nehemiah. Assembling for counsel, they "conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem."

    At the same time that the Samaritans were plotting against Nehemiah and his work, some of the leading men among the Jews, becoming disaffected, sought to discourage him by exaggerating the difficulties attending the enterprise. "The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed," they said, "and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall."

    Discouragement came from still another source. "The Jews which dwelt by," those who were taking no part in the work, gathered up the statements and reports of their enemies and used these to weaken courage and create disaffection.

    But taunts and ridicule, opposition and threats, seemed only to inspire Nehemiah with firmer determination and to arouse him to greater watchfulness. He recognized the dangers that must be met in this warfare with their enemies, but his courage was undaunted. "We made our prayer unto our God," he declares, "and set a watch against them day and night." "Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

    "And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, everyone unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons. . . . They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, everyone with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, everyone had his sword girded by his side, and so builded."

    Beside Nehemiah stood a trumpeter, and on different parts of the wall were stationed priests bearing the sacred trumpets. The people were scattered in their labors, but on the approach of danger at any point a signal was given for them to repair thither without delay. "So we labored in the work," Nehemiah says, "and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared."

    Those who had been living in towns and villages outside Jerusalem were now required to lodge within the walls, both to guard the work and to be ready for duty in the morning. This would prevent unnecessary delay, and would cut off the opportunity which the enemy would otherwise improve, of attacking the workmen as they went to and from their homes. Nehemiah and his companions did not shrink from hardship or trying service. Neither by day nor night, not even during the short time given to sleep, did they put off their clothing or lay aside their armor.

    The opposition and discouragement that the builders in Nehemiah's day met from open enemies and pretended friends is typical of the experience that those today will have who work for God. Christians are tried, not only by the anger, contempt, and cruelty of enemies, but by the indolence, inconsistency, lukewarmness, and treachery of avowed friends and helpers. Derision and reproach are hurled at them. And the same enemy that leads to contempt, at a favorable opportunity uses more cruel and violent measures.

    Satan takes advantage of every unconsecrated element for the accomplishment of his purposes. Among those who profess to be the supporters of God's cause there are those who unite with His enemies and thus lay His cause open to the attacks of His bitterest foes. Even some who desire the work of God to prosper will yet weaken the hands of His servants by hearing, reporting, and half believing the slanders, boasts, and menaces of His adversaries. Satan works with marvelous success through his agents, and all who yield to their influence are subject to a bewitching power that destroys the wisdom of the wise and the understanding of the prudent. But, like Nehemiah, God's people are neither to fear nor to despise their enemies. Putting their trust in God, they are to go steadily forward, doing His work with unselfishness, and committing to His providence the cause for which they stand.

    Amidst great discouragement, Nehemiah made God his trust, his sure defense. And He who was the support of His servant then has been the dependence of His people in every age. In every crisis His people may confidently declare, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31. However craftily the plots of Satan and his agents may be laid, God can detect them, and bring to nought all their counsels. The response of faith today will be the response made by Nehemiah, "Our God shall fight for us;" for God is in the work, and no man can prevent its ultimate success.

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk54.html The wall of Jerusalem had not yet been completed when Nehemiah's attention was called to the unhappy condition of the poorer classes of the people. In the unsettled state of the country, tillage had been to some extent neglected. Furthermore, because of the selfish course pursued by some who had returned to Judea, the Lord's blessing was not resting upon their land, and there was a scarcity of grain.

    In order to obtain food for their families, the poor were obliged to buy on credit and at exorbitant prices. They were also compelled to raise money by borrowing on interest to pay the heavy taxes imposed upon them by the kings of Persia. To add to the distress of the poor, the more wealthy among the Jews had taken advantage of their necessities, thus enriching themselves.

    The Lord had commanded Israel, through Moses, that every third year a tithe be raised for the benefit of the poor; and a further provision had been made in the suspension of agricultural labor every seventh year, the land lying fallow, its spontaneous products being left to those in need. Faithfulness in devoting these offerings to the relief of the poor and to other benevolent uses would have tended to keep fresh before the people the truth of God's ownership of all, and their opportunity to be channels of blessing. It was Jehovah's purpose that the Israelites should have a training that would eradicate selfishness, and develop breadth and nobility of character.

    God had also instructed through Moses: "If thou lend money to any of My people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer." "Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury." Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy 23:19. Again He had said, "If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth." "For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land." Deuteronomy 15:7, 8, 11.

    At times following the return of the exiles from Babylon, the wealthy Jews had gone directly contrary to these commands. When the poor were obliged to borrow to pay tribute to the king, the wealthy had lent them money, but had exacted a high rate of interest. By taking mortgages on the lands of the poor, they had gradually reduced the unfortunate debtors to the deepest poverty. Many had been forced to sell their sons and daughters into servitude; and there seemed no hope of improving their condition, no way to redeem either their children or their lands, no prospect before them but ever-increasing distress, with perpetual want and bondage. Yet they were of the same nation, children of the same covenant, as their more favored brethren.

    At length the people presented their condition before Nehemiah. "Lo," they said, "we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought into bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards."

    As Nehemiah heard of this cruel oppression, his soul was filled with indignation. "I was very angry," he says, "when I heard their cry and these words." He saw that if he succeeded in breaking up the oppressive custom of exaction he must take a decided stand for justice. With characteristic energy and determination he went to work to bring relief to his brethren.

    The fact that the oppressors were men of wealth, whose support was greatly needed in the work of restoring the city, did not for a moment influence Nehemiah. He sharply rebuked the nobles and rulers, and when he had gathered a great assembly of the people he set before them the requirements of God touching the case.

    He called their attention to events that had occurred in the reign of King Ahaz. He repeated the message which God had at the time sent to Israel to rebuke their cruelty and oppression. The children of Judah, because of their idolatry, had been delivered into the hands of their still more idolatrous brethren, the people of Israel. The latter had indulged their enmity by slaying in battle many thousands of the men of Judah and had seized all the women and children, intending to keep them as slaves or to sell them into bondage to the heathen.

    Because of the sins of Judah, the Lord had not interposed to prevent the battle; but by the prophet Oded He rebuked the cruel design of the victorious army: "Ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God?" 2 Chronicles 28:10. Oded warned the people of Israel that the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and that their course of injustice and oppression would call down His judgments. Upon hearing these words, the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. Then certain leading men of the tribe of Ephraim "took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren." Verse 15.

    Nehemiah and others had ransomed certain of the Jews who had been sold to the heathen, and he now placed this course in contrast with the conduct of those who for the sake of worldly gain were enslaving their brethren. "It is not good that ye do," he said; "ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?"

    Nehemiah showed them that he himself, being invested with authority from the Persian king, might have demanded large contributions for his personal benefit. But instead of this he had not taken even that which justly belonged to him, but had given liberally to relieve the poor in their need. He urged those among the Jewish rulers who had been guilty of extortion, to cease this iniquitous work; to restore the lands of the poor, and also the increase of money which they had exacted from them; and to lend to them without security or usury.

    These words were spoken in the presence of the whole congregation. Had the rulers chosen to justify themselves, they had opportunity to do so. But they offered no excuse. "We will restore them," they declared, "and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest." At this, Nehemiah in the presence of the priests "took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise." "And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the Lord. And the people did according to this promise."

    This record teaches an important lesson. "The love of money is the root of all evil." 1. Timothy 6:10. In this generation the desire for gain is the absorbing passion. Wealth is often obtained by fraud. There are multitudes struggling with poverty, compelled to labor hard for small wages, unable to secure even the barest necessities of life. Toil and deprivation, with no hope of better things, make their burden heavy. Careworn and oppressed, they know not where to turn for relief. And all this that the rich may support their extravagance or indulge their desire to hoard!

    Love of money and love of display have made this world as a den of thieves and robbers. The Scriptures picture the greed and oppression that will prevail just before Christ's second coming. "Go to now, ye rich men," James writes; "ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." James 5:1, 3-6.

    Even among those who profess to be walking in the fear of the Lord, there are some who are acting over again the course pursued by the nobles of Israel. Because it is in their power to do so, they exact more than is just, and thus become oppressors. And because avarice and treachery are seen in the lives of those who have named the name of Christ, because the church retains on her books the names of those who have gained their possessions by injustice, the religion of Christ is held in contempt. Extravagance, overreaching, extortion, are corrupting the faith of many and destroying their spirituality. The church is in a great degree responsible for the sins of her members. She gives countenance to evil if she fails to lift her voice against it.

    The customs of the world are no criterion for the Christian. He is not to imitate its sharp practices, its overreaching, its extortion. Every unjust act toward a fellow being is a violation of the golden rule. Every wrong done to the children of God is done to Christ Himself in the person of His saints. Every attempt to take advantage of the ignorance, weakness, or misfortune of another is registered as fraud in the ledger of heaven. He who truly fears God, would rather toil day and night, and eat the bread of poverty, than to indulge the passion for gain that oppresses the widow and fatherless or turns the stranger from his right.

    The slightest departure from rectitude breaks down the barriers and prepares the heart to do greater injustice. Just to that extent that a man would gain advantage for himself at the disadvantage of another, will his soul become insensible to the influence of the Spirit of God. Gain obtained at such a cost is a fearful loss. We were all debtors to divine justice, but we had nothing with which to pay the debt. Then the Son of God, who pitied us, paid the price of our redemption. He became poor that through His poverty we might be rich. By deeds of liberality toward His poor we may prove the sincerity of our gratitude for the mercy extended to us. "Let us do good unto all men," the apostle Paul enjoins, "especially unto them who are of the household of faith." Galatians 6:10. And his words accord with those of the Saviour: "Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good." "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Mark 14:7; Matthew 7:12.

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    Last edited by orthodoxymoron on Tue Sep 13, 2016 5:53 pm; edited 11 times in total
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:25 pm

    I think this "End of the World" thing is going to be orchestrated with unimaginable deception, precision, sophistication, and destruction. I'd be ready for ANYTHING!! I seem to be "pushing something" while simultaneously "scuttling that something". I seem to be exposing and deposing myself on a daily-basis. I'm honestly a "Lone-Nut!!" I just want things to improve long-term for All-Concerned!! "Can't we all just get along??" When I consider religious and political ecumenism, I feel like more of a sell-out heretic than you can imagine. This is the sort of thing I have to deal-with:

    When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. — Ellen White 5T 451 (1885).

    This quotation hit me right between the eyes when I recently suggested the possibility of taking a closer-look at French-Catholicism, British-Anglicanism, and American-Constitutionalism. Is the "Gulf" potentially the "English Channel"??!! Is "Spiritualism" my "dabbling" with the concepts of "Reincarnation" and "Ancient Egyptian Deities"??!! Is the "Abyss" the "Atlantic Ocean"?? My thinking angers "EVERYONE"!! I don't pick a side. I just insult "EVERYONE"!! I'm really NOT trying to win a popularity-contest -- and I'm NOT looking for a solar-system job. I'm simply attempting to make sense out of the absurd. "Order Out of Chaos" or something like that. What if there were a Neo Avingnon-Papacy (say in A.D. 2112)??!! Think about that Babylon 5 "Mr. Edgars Speech" where he speaks of France somehow "taking-over" in A.D. 2112!! Then think about the "End of the World, A.D. 2133" hypothesis!! Notice very-carefully what Ellen White wrote in the above-quote!! Imagine an English-French-American North American Union!! Imagine Ron Paul, The SDA Bible Commentary, and Sacred Classical Music -- all in the context of the Abbey Church of St. Ouen!! Does ANYONE know what I'm talking about?? Do I know what I'm talking about?? Don't answer all at once!! Put Down Those Stones!!

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Amero


    I'm trying really hard to wrap this thread up (at least until I get my head together). I was thinking about that Mountain-Cabin. It would be cool to have a 600 Square-Foot Mountain-Cabin Office-Apartment with a Dr. Who Police Call-Box Entry-Elevator (extending all the way down to a Mag-Lev Train-Station)!! When one thinks about the little-things, they don't have to think about the big-things!! I'm honestly having HUGE physical, mental, and spiritual problems. I think I'll be useless for the remainder of This Present Regeneration. I'm NOT going to even try to "Keep-Up". I'll probably mostly study that 8,000 page SDA Bible Commentary (Volumes 1-7) while listening to Sacred Classical Music for the rest of my pathetic-life. That's actually more of an ecumenical approach than you might think. Let that be my Theological-Statement (until further notice). But one would have to be an exemplary-student devoted to this approach -- to really comprehend what I mean. I'll probably just fix-up my house, and stay right where I am -- and remain just as I am (without a clue). Didn't they sing "Just As I Am" at those old Billy Graham Crusades??

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk55.html Sanballat and his confederates dared not make open war upon the Jews; but with increasing malice they continued their secret efforts to discourage, perplex, and injure them. The wall about Jerusalem was rapidly approaching completion. When it should be finished and its gates set up, these enemies of Israel could not hope to force an entrance into the city. They were the more eager, therefore, to stop the work without further delay. At last they devised a plan by which they hoped to draw Nehemiah from his station, and while they had him in their power, to kill or imprison him.

    Pretending to desire a compromise of the opposing parties, they sought a conference with Nehemiah, and invited him to meet them in a village on the plain on Ono. But enlightened by the Holy Spirit as to their real purpose, he refused. "I sent messengers unto them," he writes, "saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" But the tempters were persistent. Four times they sent a message of similar import, and each time they received the same answer.

    Finding this scheme unsuccessful, they resorted to a more daring stratagem. Sanballat sent Nehemiah a messenger bearing an open letter which said: "It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king. . . . And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together."

    Had the reports mentioned been actually circulated, there would have been cause for apprehension; for they would soon have been carried to the king, whom a slight suspicion might provoke to the severest measures. But Nehemiah was convinced that the letter was wholly false, written to arouse his fears and draw him into a snare. This conclusion was strengthened by the fact that the letter was sent open, evidently that the people might read the contents, and become alarmed and intimidated.

    He promptly returned the answer. "There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart." Nehemiah was not ignorant of Satan's devices. He knew that these attempts were made in order to weaken the hands of the builders and thus frustrate their efforts.

    Again and again had Satan been defeated; and now, with deeper malice and cunning, he laid a still more subtle and dangerous snare for the servant of God. Sanballat and his companions hired men who professed to be the friends of Nehemiah, to give him evil counsel as the word of the Lord. The chief one engaged in this iniquitous work was Shemaiah, a man previously held in good repute by Nehemiah. This man shut himself up in a chamber near the sanctuary as if fearing that his life was in danger. The temple was at this time protected by walls and gates, but the gates of the city were not yet set up. Professing great concern for Nehemiah's safety, Shemaiah advised him to seek shelter in the temple. "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple," he proposed, "and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee."

    Had Nehemiah followed this treacherous counsel, he would have sacrificed his faith in God, and in the eyes of the people he would have appeared cowardly and contemptible. In view of the important work that he had undertaken, and the confidence that he professed to have in the power of God, it would have been altogether inconsistent for him to hide as if in fear. The alarm would have spread among the people, each would have sought his own safety, and the city would have been left unprotected, to fall a prey to its enemies. That one unwise move on the part of Nehemiah would have been a virtual surrender of all that had been gained.

    Nehemiah was not long in penetrating the true character and object of his counselor. "I perceived that God had not sent him," he says, "but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me."

    The infamous counsel given by Shemaiah was seconded by more than one man of high reputation, who, while professing to be Nehemiah's friends, were secretly in league with his enemies. But it was to no avail that they laid their snare. Nehemiah's fearless answer was: "Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in."

    Notwithstanding the plots of enemies, open and secret, the work of building went steadily forward, and in less than two months from the time of Nehemiah's arrival in Jerusalem the city was girded with its defenses and the builders could walk upon the walls and look down upon their defeated and astonished foes. "When all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things," Nehemiah writes, "they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God."

    Yet even this evidence of the Lord's controlling hand was not sufficient to restrain discontent, rebellion, and treachery among the Israelites. "The nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah." Here are seen the evil results of intermarriage with idolaters. A family of Judah had become connected with the enemies of God, and the relation had proved a snare. Many others had done the same. These, like the mixed multitude that came up with Israel from Egypt, were a source of constant trouble. They were not wholehearted in His service; and when God's work demanded a sacrifice, they were ready to violate their solemn oath of co-operation and support.

    Some who had been foremost in plotting mischief against the Jews, now professed a desire to be on friendly terms with them. The nobles of Judah who had become entangled in idolatrous marriages, and who had held traitorous correspondence with Tobiah and taken oath to serve him, now represented him as a man of ability and foresight, an alliance with whom would be greatly to the advantage of the Jews. At the same time they betrayed to him Nehemiah's plans and movements. Thus the work of God's people was laid open to the attacks of their enemies, and opportunity was given to misconstrue Nehemiah's words and acts, and to hinder his work.

    When the poor and oppressed had appealed to Nehemiah for redress of their wrongs, he had stood boldly in their defense and had caused the wrongdoers to remove the reproach that rested on them. But the authority that he had exercised in behalf of his downtrodden countrymen he did not now exercise in his own behalf. His efforts had been met by some with ingratitude and treachery, but he did not use his power to bring the traitors to punishment. Calmly and unselfishly he went forward in his service for the people, never slackening his efforts or allowing his interest to grow less.

    Satan's assaults have ever been directed against those who have sought to advance the work and cause of God Though often baffled, he as often renews his attacks with fresh vigor, using means hitherto untried. But it is his secret working through those who avow themselves the friends of God's work, that is most to be feared. Open opposition may be fierce and cruel, but it is fraught with far less peril to God's cause than is the secret enmity of those who, while professing to serve God, are at heart the servants of Satan. These have it in their power to place every advantage in the hands of those who will use their knowledge to hinder the work of God and injure His servants.

    Every device that the prince of darkness can suggest will be employed to induce God's servants to form a confederacy with the agents of Satan. Repeated solicitations will come to call them from duty; but, like Nehemiah, they should steadfastly reply, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down." God's workers may safely keep on with their work, letting their efforts refute the falsehoods that malice may coin for their injury. Like the builders on the walls of Jerusalem they must refuse to be diverted from their work by threats or mockery or falsehood. Not for one moment are they to relax their watchfulness or vigilance, for enemies are continually on their track. Ever they must make their prayer to God "and set a watch against them day and night." Nehemiah 4:9.

    As the time of the end draws near, Satan's temptations will be brought to bear with greater power upon God's workers. He will employ human agents to mock and revile those who "build the wall." But should the builders come down to meet the attacks of their foes, this would but retard the work. They should endeavor to defeat the purposes of their adversaries, but they should not allow anything to call them from their work. Truth is stronger than error, and right will prevail over wrong.

    Neither should they allow their enemies to gain their friendship and sympathy, and thus lure them from their post of duty. He who by any unguarded act exposes the cause of God to reproach, or weakens the hands of his fellow workers, brings upon his own character a stain not easily removed, and places a serious obstacle in the way of his future usefulness.

    "They that forsake the law praise the wicked." Proverbs 28:4. When those who are uniting with the world, yet claiming great purity, plead for union with those who have ever been the opposers of the cause of truth, we should fear and shun them as decidedly as did Nehemiah. Such counsel is prompted by the enemy of all good. It is the speech of timeservers, and should be resisted as resolutely today as then. Whatever influence would tend to unsettle the faith of God's people in His guiding power, should be steadfastly withstood.

    In Nehemiah's firm devotion to the work of God, and his equally firm reliance on God, lay the reason of the failure of his enemies to draw him into their power. The soul that is indolent falls an easy prey to temptation; but in the life that has a noble aim, an absorbing purpose, evil finds little foothold. The faith of him who is constantly advancing does not weaken; for above, beneath, beyond, he recognizes Infinite Love, working out all things to accomplish His good purpose. God's true servants work with a determination that will not fail because the throne of grace is their constant dependence.

    God has provided divine assistance for all the emergencies to which our human resources are unequal. He gives the Holy Spirit to help in every strait, to strengthen our hope and assurance, to illuminate our minds and purify our hearts. He provides opportunities and opens channels of working. If His people are watching the indications of His providence, and are ready to co-operate with Him, they will see mighty results.

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk56.html It was the time of the Feast of Trumpets. Many were gathered at Jerusalem. The scene was one of mournful interest. The wall of Jerusalem had been rebuilt and the gates set up, but a large part of the city was still in ruins.

    On a platform of wood, erected in one of the broadest streets, and surrounded on every hand by the sad reminders of Judah's departed glory, stood Ezra, now an aged man. At his right and left were gathered his brother Levites. Looking down from the platform, their eyes swept over a sea of heads. From all the surrounding country the children of the covenant had assembled. "And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen: . . . and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground."

    Yet even here was evidence of the sin of Israel. Through the intermarriage of the people with other nations, the Hebrew language had become corrupted, and great care was necessary on the part of the speakers to explain the law in the language of the people, that it might be understood by all. Certain of the priests and Levites united with Ezra in explaining the principles of the law. "They read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."

    "And the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law." They listened, intent and reverent, to the words of the Most High. As the law was explained, they were convinced of their guilt, and they mourned because of their transgressions. But this day was a festival, a day of rejoicing, a holy convocation, a day which the Lord had commanded the people to keep with joy and gladness; and in view of this they were bidden to restrain their grief and to rejoice because of God's great mercy toward them. "This day is holy unto the Lord your God," Nehemiah said. "Mourn not, nor weep. . . . Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

    The earlier part of the day was devoted to religious exercises, and the people spent the remainder of the time in gratefully recounting the blessings of God and in enjoying the bounties that He had provided. Portions were also sent to the poor, who had nothing to prepare. There was great rejoicing because the words of the law had been read and understood.

    On the following day the reading and explaining of the law were continued. And at the time appointed--on the tenth day of the seventh month--the solemn services of the Day of Atonement were performed according to the command of God.

    From the fifteenth to the twenty-second of the same month the people and their rulers kept once more the Feast of Tabernacles. It was proclaimed "in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, everyone upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God. . . . And there was very great gladness. Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he [Ezra] read in the book of the law of God."

    As they had listened from day to day to the words of the law, the people had been convicted of their transgressions, and of the sins of their nation in past generations. They saw that it was because of a departure from God that His protecting care had been withdrawn and that the children of Abraham had been scattered in foreign lands, and they determined to seek His mercy and to pledge themselves to walk in His commandments. Before entering upon this solemn service, held on the second day after the close of the Feast of Tabernacles, they separated themselves from the heathen among them.

    As the people prostrated themselves before the Lord, confessing their sins and pleading for pardon, their leaders encouraged them to believe that God, according to His promise, heard their prayers. They must not only mourn and weep, and repent, but they must believe that God pardoned them. They must show their faith by recounting His mercies and praising Him for His goodness. "Stand up," said these teachers, "and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever."

    Then from the assembled throng, as they stood with outstretched hands toward heaven, there arose the song:

    "Blessed be Thy glorious name,
    Which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
    Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone;
    Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens,
    with all their host,
    The earth, and all things that are therein,
    The seas, and all that is therein,
    And Thou preservest them all;
    And the host of heaven worshippeth Thee."

    The song of praise ended, the leaders of the congregation related the history of Israel, showing how great had been God's goodness toward them, and how great their ingratitude. Then the whole congregation entered into a covenant to keep all the commandments of God. They had suffered punishment for their sins; now they acknowledged the justice of God's dealings with them and pledged themselves to obey His law. And that this might be "a sure covenant," and be preserved in permanent form, as a memorial of the obligation they had taken upon themselves, it was written out, and the priests, Levites, and princes signed it. It was to serve as a reminder of duty and a barrier against temptation. The people took a solemn oath "to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His judgments and His statutes." The oath taken at this time included a promise not to intermarry with the people of the land.

    Before the day of fasting ended, the people still further manifested their determination to return to the Lord, by pledging themselves to cease from desecrating the Sabbath. Nehemiah did not at this time, as at a later date, exercise his authority to prevent heathen traders from coming into Jerusalem; but in an effort to save the people from yielding to temptation, he bound them, by a solemn covenant, not to transgress the Sabbath law by purchasing from these venders, hoping that this would discourage the traders and put an end to the traffic.

    Provision was also made to support the public worship of God. In addition to the tithe the congregation pledged themselves to contribute yearly a stated sum for the service of the sanctuary. "We cast the lots," Nehemiah writes, "to bring the first fruits of our ground, and the first fruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the Lord: also the first-born of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks."

    Israel had returned to God with deep sorrow for backsliding. They had made confession with mourning and lamentation. They had acknowledged the righteousness of God's dealings with them, and had covenanted to obey His law. Now they must manifest faith in His promises. God had accepted their repentance; they were now to rejoice in the assurance of sins forgiven and their restoration to divine favor.

    Nehemiah's efforts to restore the worship of the true God had been crowned with success. As long as the people were true to the oath they had taken, as long as they were obedient to God's word, so long would the Lord fulfill His promise by pouring rich blessings upon them.

    For those who are convicted of sin and weighed down with a sense of their unworthiness, there are lessons of faith and encouragement in this record. The Bible faithfully presents the result of Israel's apostasy; but it portrays also the deep humiliation and repentance, the earnest devotion and generous sacrifice, that marked their seasons of return to the Lord.

    Every true turning to the Lord brings abiding joy into the life. When a sinner yields to the influence of the Holy Spirit, he sees his own guilt and defilement in contrast with the holiness of the great Searcher of hearts. He sees himself condemned as a transgressor. But he is not, because of this, to give way to despair; for his pardon has already been secured. He may rejoice in the sense of sins forgiven, in the love of a pardoning heavenly Father. It is God's glory to encircle sinful, repentant human beings in the arms of His love, to bind up their wounds, to cleanse them from sin, and to clothe them with the garments of salvation.

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk57.html Solemnly and publicly the people of Judah had pledged themselves to obey the law of God. But when the influence of Ezra and Nehemiah was for a time withdrawn, there were many who departed from the Lord. Nehemiah had returned to Persia. During his absence from Jerusalem, evils crept in that threatened to pervert the nation. Idolaters not only gained a foothold in the city, but contaminated by their presence the very precincts of the temple. Through intermarriage, a friendship had been brought about between Eliashib the high priest and Tobiah the Ammonite, Israel's bitter enemy. As a result of this unhallowed alliance, Eliashib had permitted Tobiah to occupy an apartment connected with the temple, which heretofore had been used as a storeroom for tithes and offerings of the people.

    Because of the cruelty and treachery of the Ammonites and Moabites toward Israel, God had declared through Moses that they should be forever shut out from the congregation of His people. See Deuteronomy 23:3-6. In defiance of this word, the high priest had cast out the offerings stored in the chamber of God's house, to make a place for this representative of a proscribed race. Greater contempt for God could not have been shown than to confer such a favor on this enemy of God and His truth.

    On returning from Persia, Nehemiah learned of the bold profanation and took prompt measures to expel the intruder. "It grieved me sore," he declares; "therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense."

    Not only had the temple been profaned, but the offerings had been misapplied. This had tended to discourage the liberalities of the people. They had lost their zeal and fervor, and were reluctant to pay their tithes. The treasuries of the Lord's house were poorly supplied; many of the singers and others employed in the temple service, not receiving sufficient support, had left the work of God to labor elsewhere.

    Nehemiah set to work to correct these abuses. He gathered together those who had left the service of the Lord's house, "and set them in their place." This inspired the people with confidence, and all Judah brought "the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil." Men who "were counted faithful" were made "treasurers over the treasuries," "and their office was to distribute unto their brethren."

    Another result of intercourse with idolaters was a disregard of the Sabbath, the sign distinguishing the Israelites from all other nations as worshipers of the true God. Nehemiah found that heathen merchants and traders from the surrounding country, coming to Jerusalem, had induced many among the Israelites to engage in traffic on the Sabbath. There were some who could not be persuaded to sacrifice principle, but others transgressed and joined with the heathen in their efforts to overcome the scruples of the more conscientious. Many dared openly to violate the Sabbath. "In those days," Nehemiah writes, "saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. . . . There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah."

    This state of things might have been prevented had the rulers exercised their authority; but a desire to advance their own interests had led them to favor the ungodly. Nehemiah fearlessly rebuked them for their neglect of duty. "What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day?" he sternly demanded. "Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath." He then gave command that "when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath," they should be shut, and not opened again till the Sabbath was past; and having more confidence in his own servants than in those that the magistrates of Jerusalem might appoint, he stationed them at the gates to see that his orders were enforced.

    Not inclined to abandon their purpose, "the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice," hoping to find opportunity for traffic, with either the citizens or the country people. Nehemiah warned them that they would be punished if they continued this practice. "Why lodge ye about the wall?" he demanded;

    "if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you." "From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath." He also directed the Levites to guard the gates, knowing that they would command greater respect than the common people, while from their close connection with the service of God it was reasonable to expect that they would be more zealous in enforcing obedience to His law.

    And now Nehemiah turned his attention to the danger that again threatened Israel from intermarriage and association with idolaters. "In those days," he writes, "saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: and their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people."

    These unlawful alliances were causing great confusion in Israel; for some who entered into them were men in high position, rulers to whom the people had a right to look for counsel and a safe example. Foreseeing the ruin before the nation if this evil were allowed to continue, Nehemiah reasoned earnestly with the wrongdoers. Pointing to the case of Solomon, he reminded them that among all the nations there had risen no king like this man, to whom God had given great wisdom; yet idolatrous women had turned his heart from God, and his example had corrupted Israel. "Shall we then hearken unto you," Nehemiah sternly demanded, "to do all this great evil?" "Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves."

    As he set before them God's commands and threatenings, and the fearful judgments visited on Israel in the past for this very sin, their consciences were aroused, and a work of reformation was begun that turned away God's threatened anger and brought His approval and blessings.

    There were some in sacred office who pleaded for their heathen wives, declaring that they could not bring themselves to separate from them. But no distinction was made; no respect was shown for rank or position. Whoever among the priests or rulers refused to sever his connection with idolaters was immediately separated from the service of the Lord. A grandson of the high priest, having married a daughter of the notorious Sanballat, was not only removed from office, but promptly banished from Israel. "Remember them, O my God," Nehemiah prayed, "because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites."

    How much anguish of soul this needed severity cost the faithful worker for God the judgment alone will reveal. There was a constant struggle with opposing elements, and only by fasting, humiliation, and prayer was advancement made.

    Many who had married idolaters chose to go with them into exile, and these, with those who had been expelled from the congregation, joined the Samaritans. Hither some who had occupied high positions in the work of God found their way and after a time cast in their lot fully with them. Desiring to strengthen this alliance, the Samaritans promised to adopt more fully the Jewish faith and customs, and the apostates, determined to outdo their former brethren, erected a temple on Mount Gerizim in opposition to the house of God at Jerusalem. Their religion continued to be a mixture of Judaism and heathenism, and their claim to be the people of God was the source of schism, emulation, and enmity between the two nations, from generation to generation.

    In the work of reform to be carried forward today, there is need of men who, like Ezra and Nehemiah, will not palliate or excuse sin, nor shrink from vindicating the honor of God. Those upon whom rests the burden of this work will not hold their peace when wrong is done, neither will they cover evil with a cloak of false charity. They will remember that God is no respecter of persons, and that severity to a few may prove mercy to many. They will remember also that in the one who rebukes evil the spirit of Christ should ever be revealed.

    In their work, Ezra and Nehemiah humbled themselves before God, confessing their sins and the sins of their people, and entreating pardon as if they themselves were the offenders. Patiently they toiled and prayed and suffered. That which made their work most difficult was not the open hostility of the heathen, but the secret opposition of pretended friends, who, by lending their influence to the service of evil, increased tenfold the burden of God's servants. These traitors furnished the Lord's enemies with material to use in their warfare upon His people. Their evil passions and rebellious wills were ever at war with the plain requirements of God.

    The success attending Nehemiah's efforts shows what prayer, faith, and wise, energetic action will accomplish. Nehemiah was not a priest; he was not a prophet; he made no pretension to high title. He was a reformer raised up for an important time. It was his aim to set his people right with God. Inspired with a great purpose, he bent every energy of his being to its accomplishment. High, unbending integrity marked his efforts. As he came into contact with evil and opposition to right he took so determined a stand that the people were roused to labor with fresh zeal and courage. They could not but recognize his loyalty, his patriotism, and his deep love for God; and, seeing this, they were willing to follow where he led.

    Industry in a God-appointed duty is an important part of true religion. Men should seize circumstances as God's instruments with which to work His will. Prompt and decisive action at the right time will gain glorious triumphs, while delay and neglect result in failure and dishonor to God. If the leaders in the cause of truth show no zeal, if they are indifferent and purposeless, the church will be careless, indolent, and pleasure-loving; but if they are filled with a holy purpose to serve God and Him alone, the people will be united, hopeful, eager.

    The word of God abounds in sharp and striking contrasts. Sin and holiness are placed side by side, that, beholding, we may shun the one and accept the other. The pages that describe the hatred, falsehood, and treachery of Sanballat and Tobiah, describe also the nobility, devotion, and self-sacrifice of Ezra and Nehemiah. We are left free to copy either, as we choose. The fearful results of transgressing God's commands are placed over against the blessings resulting from obedience. We ourselves must decide whether we will suffer the one or enjoy the other.

    The work of restoration and reform carried on by the returned exiles, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, presents a picture of a work of spiritual restoration that is to be wrought in the closing days of this earth's history. The remnant of Israel were a feeble people, exposed to the ravages of their enemies; but through them God purposed to preserve in the earth a knowledge of Himself and of His law. They were the guardians of the true worship, the keepers of the holy oracles. Varied were the experiences that came to them as they rebuilt the temple and the wall of Jerusalem; strong was the opposition that they had to meet. Heavy were the burdens borne by the leaders in this work; but these men moved forward in unwavering confidence, in humility of spirit, and in firm reliance upon God, believing that He would cause His truth to triumph. Like King Hezekiah, Nehemiah "clave to the Lord, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments. . . . And the Lord was with him." 2 Kings 18:6, 7.

    The spiritual restoration of which the work carried forward in Nehemiah's day was a symbol, is outlined in the words of Isaiah: "They shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities." "They that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." Isaiah 61:4;58:12.

    The prophet here describes a people who, in a time of general departure from truth and righteousness, are seeking to restore the principles that are the foundation of the kingdom of God. They are repairers of a breach that has been made in God's law--the wall that He has placed around His chosen ones for their protection, and obedience to whose precepts of justice, truth, and purity is to be their perpetual safeguard.

    In words of unmistakable meaning the prophet points out the specific work of this remnant people who build the wall. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isaiah 58:13, 14.

    In the time of the end every divine institution is to be restored. The breach made in the law at the time the Sabbath was changed by man, is to be repaired. God's remnant people, standing before the world as reformers, are to show that the law of God is the foundation of all enduring reform and that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is to stand as a memorial of creation, a constant reminder of the power of God. In clear, distinct lines they are to present the necessity of obedience to all the precepts of the Decalogue. Constrained by the love of Christ, they are to co-operate with Him in building up the waste places. They are to be repairers of the breach, restorers of paths to dwell in. See verse 12.



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    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:42 pm

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk58.html Through the long centuries of "trouble and darkness" and "dimness of anguish" (Isaiah 8:22) marking the history of mankind from the day our first parents lost their Eden home, to the time the Son of God appeared as the Saviour of sinners, the hope of the fallen race was centered in the coming of a Deliverer to free men and women from the bondage of sin and the grave.

    The first intimation of such a hope was given to Adam and Eve in the sentence pronounced upon the serpent in Eden when the Lord declared to Satan in their hearing, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15.

    As the guilty pair listened to these words, they were inspired with hope; for in the prophecy concerning the breaking of Satan's power they discerned a promise of deliverance from the ruin wrought through transgression. Though they must suffer from the power of their adversary because they had fallen under his seductive influence and had chosen to disobey the plain command of Jehovah, yet they need not yield to utter despair. The Son of God was offering to atone with His own lifeblood for their transgression. To them was to be granted a period of probation, during which, through faith in the power of Christ to save, they might become once more the children of God.

    Satan, by means of his success in turning man aside from the path of obedience, became "the god of this world." 2 Corinthians 4:4. The dominion that once was Adam's passed to the usurper. But the Son of God proposed to come to this earth to pay the penalty of sin, and thus not only redeem man, but recover the dominion forfeited. It is of this restoration that Micah prophesied when he said, "O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion." Micah 4:8. The apostle Paul has referred to it as "the redemption of the purchased possession." Ephesians 1:14. And the psalmist had in mind the same final restoration of man's original inheritance when he declared, "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Psalm 37:29.

    This hope of redemption through the advent of the Son of God as Saviour and King, has never become extinct in the hearts of men. From the beginning there have been some whose faith has reached out beyond the shadows of the present to the realities of the future. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- through these and other worthies the Lord has preserved the precious revealings of His will. And it was thus that to the children of Israel, the chosen people through whom was to be given to the world the promised Messiah, God imparted a knowledge of the requirements of His law, and of the salvation to be accomplished through the atoning sacrifice of His beloved Son.

    The hope of Israel was embodied in the promise made at the time of the call of Abraham, and afterward repeated again and again to his posterity, "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 12:3. As the purpose of God for the redemption of the race was unfolded to Abraham, the Sun of Righteousness shone upon his heart, and his darkness was scattered. And when, at last, the Saviour Himself walked and talked among the sons of men, He bore witness to the Jews of the patriarch's bright hope of deliverance through the coming of a Redeemer. "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day," Christ declared; "and he saw it, and was glad." John 8:56.

    This same blessed hope was foreshadowed in the benediction pronounced by the dying patriarch Jacob upon his son Judah:

    "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise:
    Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies;
    Thy father's children shall bow down before thee. . . .
    The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
    Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
    Until Shiloh come;
    And unto Him shall the gathering of the people be."
    Genesis 49:8-10.

    Again, on the borders of the Promised Land, the coming of the world's Redeemer was foretold in the prophecy uttered by Balaam:

    "I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but
    not nigh:
    There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter
    shall rise out of Israel,
    And shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all
    the children of Sheth."
    Numbers 24:17.

    Through Moses, God's purpose to send His Son as the Redeemer of the fallen race, was kept before Israel. On one occasion, shortly before his death, Moses declared, "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken." Plainly had Moses been instructed for Israel concerning the work of the Messiah to come. "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee," was the word of Jehovah to His servant; "and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him." Deuteronomy 18:15, 18.

    In patriarchal times the sacrificial offerings connected with divine worship constituted a perpetual reminder of the coming of a Saviour, and thus it was with the entire ritual of the sanctuary services throughout Israel's history. In the ministration of the tabernacle, and of the temple that afterward took its place, the people were taught each day, by means of types and shadows, the great truths relative to the advent of Christ as Redeemer, Priest, and King; and once each year their minds were carried forward to the closing events of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the final purification of the universe from sin and sinners. The sacrifices and offerings of the Mosaic ritual were ever pointing toward a better service, even a heavenly. The earthly sanctuary was "a figure for the time then present," in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices; its two holy places were "patterns of things in the heavens;" for Christ, our great High Priest, is today "a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Hebrews 9:9, 23; 8:2.

    From the day the Lord declared to the serpent in Eden, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed" (Genesis 3:15), Satan has known that he can never hold absolute sway over the inhabitants of this world. When Adam and his sons began to offer the ceremonial sacrifices ordained by God as a type of the coming Redeemer, Satan discerned in these a symbol of communion between earth and heaven. During the long centuries that have followed, it has been his constant effort to intercept this communion. Untiringly has he sought to misrepresent God and to misinterpret the rites pointing to the Saviour, and with a great majority of the members of the human family he has been successful.

    While God has desired to teach men that from His own love comes the Gift which reconciles them to Himself, the archenemy of mankind has endeavored to represent God as one who delights in their destruction. Thus the sacrifices and the ordinances designed of Heaven to reveal divine love have been perverted to serve as means whereby sinners have vainly hoped to propitiate, with gifts and good works, the wrath of an offended God. At the same time, Satan has sought to arouse and strengthen the evil passions of men in order that through repeated transgression multitudes might be led on and on, far from God, and hopelessly bound with the fetters of sin.

    When God's written word was given through the Hebrew prophets, Satan studied with diligence the messages concerning the Messiah. Carefully he traced the words that outlined with unmistakable clearness Christ's work among men as a suffering sacrifice and as a conquering king. In the parchment rolls of the Old Testament Scriptures he read that the One who was to appear was to be "brought as a lamb to the slaughter," "His visage . . . so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men." Isaiah 53:7; 52:14. The promised Saviour of humanity was to be "despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; . . . smitten of God, and afflicted;" yet He was also to exercise His mighty power in order to "judge the poor of the people." He was to "save the children of the needy," and "break in pieces the oppressor." Isaiah 53:3, 4; Psalm 72:4. These prophecies caused Satan to fear and tremble; yet he relinquished not his purpose to thwart, if possible, the merciful provisions of Jehovah for the redemption of the lost race. He determined to blind the eyes of the people, so far as might be possible, to the real significance of the Messianic prophecies, in order to prepare the way for the rejection of Christ at His coming.

    During the centuries immediately preceding the Flood, success had attended Satan's efforts to bring about a worldwide prevalence of rebellion against God. And even the lessons of the Deluge were not long held in remembrance. With artful insinuations Satan again led the children of men step by step into bold rebellion. Again he seemed about to triumph, but God's purpose for fallen man was not thus to be set aside. Through the posterity of faithful Abraham, of the line of Shem, a knowledge of Jehovah's beneficent designs was to be preserved for the benefit of future generations. From time to time divinely appointed messengers of truth were to be raised up to call attention to the meaning of the sacrificial ceremonies, and especially to the promise of Jehovah concerning the advent of the One toward whom all the ordinances of the sacrificial system pointed. Thus the world was to be kept from universal apostasy.

    Not without the most determined opposition was the divine purpose carried out. In every way possible the enemy of truth and righteousness worked to cause the descendants of Abraham to forget their high and holy calling, and to turn aside to the worship of false gods. And often his efforts were all but successful. For centuries preceding Christ's first advent, darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. Satan was throwing his hellish shadow athwart the pathway of men, that he might prevent them from gaining a knowledge of God and of the future world.

    Multitudes were sitting in the shadow of death. Their only hope was for this gloom to be lifted, that God might be revealed.

    With prophetic vision David, the anointed of God, had foreseen that the coming of Christ should be "as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds." 2 Samuel 23:4. And Hosea testified, "His going forth is prepared as the morning." Hosea 6:3. Quietly and gently the daylight breaks upon the earth, dispelling the shadow of darkness and waking the earth to life. So was the Sun of Righteousness to arise, "with healing in His wings." Malachi 4:2. The multitudes dwelling "in the land of the shadow of death" were to see "a great light." Isaiah 9:2.

    The prophet Isaiah, looking with rapture upon this glorious deliverance, exclaimed:

    "Unto us a Child is born,
    Unto us a Son is given:
    And the government shall be upon His shoulder:
    And His name shall be called
    Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God,
    The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
    Of the increase of His government and peace
    there shall be no end,
    Upon the throne of David,
    And upon His kingdom,
    To order it, and to establish it
    With judgment and with justice
    From henceforth even forever.
    The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."
    Verses 6,7.

    In the later centuries of Israel's history prior to the first advent it was generally understood that the coming of the Messiah was referred to in the prophecy, "It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth." "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed," the prophet had foretold, "and all flesh shall see it together." Isaiah 49:6; 40:5. It was of this light of men that John the Baptist afterward testified so boldly, when he proclaimed, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias." John 1:23.

    It was to Christ that the prophetic promise was given: "Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth, . . . thus saith the Lord, . . . I will preserve Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that Thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. . . . They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them." Isaiah 49:7-10.

    The steadfast among the Jewish nation, descendants of that holy line through whom a knowledge of God had been preserved, strengthened their faith by dwelling on these and similar passages. With exceeding joy they read how the Lord would anoint One "to preach good tidings unto the meek," "to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives," and to declare "the acceptable year of the Lord." Isaiah 61:1, 2. Yet their hearts were filled with sadness as they thought of the sufferings He must endure in order to fulfill the divine purpose. With deep humiliation of soul they traced the words in the prophetic roll:

    "Who hath believed our report?
    And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
    "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
    And as a root out of a dry ground:
    He hath no form nor comeliness;
    And when we shall see Him,
    There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

    "He is despised and rejected of men;
    A Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
    And we hid as it were our faces from Him;
    He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

    "Surely He hath borne our griefs,
    And carried our sorrows:
    Yet we did esteem Him stricken,
    Smitten of God, and afflicted.

    "But He was wounded for our transgressions,
    He was bruised for our iniquities:
    The chastisement of our peace was upon Him;
    And with His stripes we are healed.

    "All we like sheep have gone astray;
    We have turned everyone to his own way;
    And the Lord hath laid on Him
    The iniquity of us all.

    "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted,
    Yet He opened not His mouth:
    He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
    And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
    So He openeth not His mouth.

    "He was taken from prison and from judgment:
    And who shall declare His generation?
    For He was cut off out of the land of the living:
    For the transgression of My people was He stricken.
    "And He made His grave with the wicked,
    And with the rich in His death;
    Because He had done no violence,
    Neither was any deceit in His mouth."
    Isaiah 53:1-9.

    Of the suffering Saviour Jehovah Himself declared through Zechariah, "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My Fellow." Zechariah 13:7. As the substitute and surety for sinful man, Christ was to suffer under divine justice. He was to understand what justice meant. He was to know what it means for sinners to stand before God without an intercessor.

    Through the psalmist the Redeemer had prophesied of Himself:

    "Reproach hath broken My heart;
    And I am full of heaviness:
    And I looked for some to take pity,
    But there was none;
    And for comforters,
    But I found none.
    They gave Me also gall for My meat;
    And in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink."
    Psalm 69:20, 21.

    Of the treatment He was to receive, He prophesied, "Dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet. I may tell all My bones: they look and stare upon Me. They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture." Psalm 22:16-18.

    These portrayals of the bitter suffering and cruel death of the Promised One, sad though they were, were rich in promise; for of Him whom "it pleased the Lord to bruise" and to put to grief, in order that He might become "an offering for sin," Jehovah declared:

    "He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
    And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
    He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied:

    "By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many;
    For He shall bear their iniquities.
    Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great,
    And He shall divide the spoil with the strong;
    Because He hath poured out His soul unto death:
    And He was numbered with the transgressors;
    And He bare the sin of many,
    And made intercession for the transgressors."
    Isaiah 53:10-12.

    It was love for sinners that led Christ to pay the price of redemption. "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor," none other could ransom men and women from the power of the enemy; "therefore His arm brought salvation unto him; and His righteousness, it sustained him." Isaiah 59:16.

    "Behold My Servant, whom I uphold;
    Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth;
    I have put My Spirit upon Him:
    He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles."
    Isaiah 42:1.

    In His life no self-assertion was to be mingled. The homage which the world gives to position, to wealth, and to talent, was to be foreign to the Son of God. None of the means that men employ to win allegiance or to command homage, was the Messiah to use. His utter renunciation of self was foreshadowed in the words:

    "He shall not cry,
    Nor lift up,
    Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
    A bruised reed shall He not break,
    And the smoking flax shall He not quench."
    Verses 2, 3.

    In marked contrast to the teachers of His day was the Saviour to conduct Himself among men. In His life no noisy disputation, no ostentatious worship, no act to gain applause, was ever to be witnessed. The Messiah was to be hid in God, and God was to be revealed in the character of His Son. Without a knowledge of God, humanity would be eternally lost. Without divine help, men and women would sink lower and lower. Life and power must be imparted by Him who made the world. Man's necessities could be met in no other way.

    It was further prophesied of the Messiah: "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law." The Son of God was to "magnify the law, and make it honorable." Verses 4, 21. He was not to lessen its importance and binding claims; He was rather to exalt it. At the same time He was to free the divine precepts from those burdensome exactions placed upon them by man, whereby many were brought to discouragement in their efforts to serve God acceptably.

    Of the mission of the Saviour the word of Jehovah was: "I the Lord have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thine hand, and will keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord: that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." Verses 6-9.

    Through the promised Seed, the God of Israel was to bring deliverance to Zion. "There shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good." Isaiah 11:1; 7:14, 15.

    "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins." "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and His rest shall be glorious." Isaiah 11:2-5, 10.

    "Behold the Man whose name is the Branch; . . . He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne." Zechariah 6:12, 13.

    A fountain was to be opened "for sin and for uncleanness" (Zechariah 13:1); the sons of men were to hear the blessed invitation:

    "Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,
    And he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat;
    Yea, come, buy wine and milk
    Without money and without price.
    "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?
    And your labor for that which satisfieth not?
    Hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good,
    And let your soul delight itself in fatness.

    "Incline your ear, and come unto Me:
    Hear, and your soul shall live;
    And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
    Even the sure mercies of David."
    Isaiah 55:1-3.

    To Israel the promise was made: "Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He hath glorified thee." Verses 4, 5.

    "I bring near My righteousness; it shall not be far off, and My salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel My glory." Isaiah 46:13.

    In word and in deed the Messiah, during His earthly ministry, was to reveal to mankind the glory of God the Father. Every act of His life, every word spoken, every miracle wrought, was to make known to fallen humanity the infinite love of God.

    "O Zion, that bringest good tidings,
    Get thee up into the high mountain;
    O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings,
    Lift up thy voice with strength;
    Lift it up, be not afraid;
    Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

    "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand,
    And His arm shall rule for Him:
    Behold, His reward is with Him,
    And His work before Him.
    He shall feed His flock like a shepherd:
    He shall gather the lambs with His arm,
    And carry them in His bosom,
    And shall gently lead those that are with young."
    Isaiah 40:9-11.
    "And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the Book,
    And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out
    of darkness.
    The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord,
    And the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One
    of Israel."

    "They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding,
    And they that murmured shall learn doctrine."
    Isaiah 29:18, 19, 24.

    Thus, through patriarchs and prophets, as well as through types and symbols, God spoke to the world concerning the coming of a Deliverer from sin. A long line of inspired prophecy pointed to the advent of "the Desire of all nations." Haggai 2:7. Even the very place of His birth and the time of His appearance were minutely specified.

    The Son of David must be born in David's city. Out of Bethlehem, said the prophet, "shall He come forth ... that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity." Micah 5:2, margin.

    "And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah,
    Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah:
    For out of thee shall come forth a Governor,
    Which shall be Shepherd of My people Israel."
    Matthew 2:6, R.V.

    The time of the first advent and of some of the chief events clustering about the Saviour's lifework was made known by the angel Gabriel to Daniel. "Seventy weeks," said the angel, "are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy." Daniel 9:24. A day in prophecy stands for a year. See Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6. The seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety days, represent four hundred and ninety years. A starting point for this period is given: "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks" (Daniel 9:25), sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, as completed by the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus, went into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C. See Ezra 6:14; 7:1, 9. From this time four hundred and eighty-three years extend to the autumn of A.D. 27. According to the prophecy, this period was to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One. In A.D. 27, Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit and soon afterward began His ministry. Then the message was proclaimed, "The time is fulfilled." Mark 1:15.

    Then, said the angel, "He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years]." For seven years after the Saviour entered on His ministry, the gospel was to be preached especially to the Jews; for three and a half years by Christ Himself, and afterward by the apostles. "In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." Daniel 9:27. In the spring of A.D. 31, Christ, the true Sacrifice, was offered on Calvary. Then the veil of the temple was rent in twain, showing that the sacredness and significance of the sacrificial service had departed. The time had come for the earthly sacrifice and oblation to cease.

    The one week--seven years--ended in A.D. 34. Then by the stoning of Stephen the Jews finally sealed their rejection of the gospel; the disciples who were scattered abroad by persecution "went everywhere preaching the word" (Acts 8:4); and shortly after, Saul the persecutor was converted and became Paul the apostle to the Gentiles.

    The many prophecies concerning the Saviour's advent led the Hebrews to live in an attitude of constant expectancy.

    Many died in the faith, not having received the promises. But having seen them afar off, they believed and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. From the days of Enoch the promises repeated through patriarchs and prophets had kept alive the hope of His appearing. Not at first had God revealed the exact time of the first advent; and even when the prophecy of Daniel made this known, not all rightly interpreted the message.

    Century after century passed away; finally the voices of the prophets ceased. The hand of the oppressor was heavy upon Israel. As the Jews departed from God, faith grew dim, and hope well-nigh ceased to illuminate the future. The words of the prophets were uncomprehended by many; and those whose faith should have continued strong were ready to exclaim, "The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth." Ezekiel 12:22. But in heaven's council the hour for the coming of Christ had been determined; and "when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, . . . to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Galatians 4:4, 5.

    Lessons must be given to humanity in the language of humanity. The Messenger of the covenant must speak. His voice must be heard in His own temple. He, the author of truth, must separate truth from the chaff of man's utterance, which had made it of no effect. The principles of God's government and the plan of redemption must be clearly defined. The lessons of the Old Testament must be fully set before men.

    When the Saviour finally appeared "in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7), and began His ministry of grace, Satan could but bruise the heel, while by every act of humiliation or suffering Christ was bruising the head of His adversary. The anguish that sin has brought was poured into the bosom of the Sinless; yet while Christ endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself, He was paying the debt for sinful man and breaking the bondage in which humanity had been held. Every pang of anguish, every insult, was working out the deliverance of the race.

    Could Satan have induced Christ to yield to a single temptation, could he have led Him by one act or even thought to stain His perfect purity, the prince of darkness would have triumphed over man's Surety and would have gained the whole human family to himself. But while Satan could distress, he could not contaminate. He could cause agony, but not defilement. He made the life of Christ one long scene of conflict and trial, yet with every attack he was losing his hold upon humanity.

    In the wilderness of temptation, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross, our Saviour measured weapons with the prince of darkness. His wounds became the trophies of His victory in behalf of the race. When Christ hung in agony upon the cross, while evil spirits rejoiced and evil men reviled, then indeed His heel was bruised by Satan. But that very act was crushing the serpent's head. Through death He destroyed "him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Hebrews 2:14. This act decided the destiny of the rebel chief, and made forever sure the plan of salvation. In death He gained the victory over its power; in rising again, He opened the gates of the grave to all His followers. In that last great contest we see fulfilled the prophecy, "It shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15.

    "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2. Our Redeemer has opened the way, so that the most sinful, the most needy, the most oppressed and despised, may find access to the Father.

    "O Lord, Thou art my God;
    I will exalt Thee,
    I will praise Thy name;
    For Thou hast done wonderful things;
    Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth."
    Isaiah 25:1.

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk59.html In proclaiming the truths of the everlasting gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, God's church on earth today is fulfilling the ancient prophecy, "Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit." Isaiah 27:6. The followers of Jesus, in co-operation with heavenly intelligences, are rapidly occupying the waste places of the earth; and, as the result of their labors, an abundant fruitage of precious souls is developing. Today, as never before, the dissemination of Bible truth by means of a consecrated church is bringing to the sons of men the benefits foreshadowed centuries ago in the promise to Abraham and to all Israel,--to God's church on earth in every age,--"I will bless thee, . . . and thou shalt be a blessing." Genesis 12:2.

    This promise of blessing should have met fulfillment in large measure during the centuries following the return of the Israelites from the lands of their captivity. It was God's design that the whole earth be prepared for the first advent of Christ, even as today the way is preparing for His second coming. At the end of the years of humiliating exile, God graciously gave to His people Israel, through Zechariah, the assurance: "I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain." And of His people He said, "Behold, . . . I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness." Zechariah 8:3, 7, 8.

    These promises were conditional on obedience. The sins that had characterized the Israelites prior to the captivity, were not to be repeated. "Execute true judgment," the Lord exhorted those who were engaged in rebuilding; "and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother: and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother." "Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates." Zechariah 7:9, 10; 8:16.

    Rich were the rewards, both temporal and spiritual, promised those who should put into practice these principles of righteousness. "The seed shall be prosperous," the Lord declared; "the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so I will save you, and ye shall be a blessing." Zechariah 8:12, 13.

    By the Babylonish captivity the Israelites were effectually cured of the worship of graven images. After their return, they gave much attention to religious instruction and to the study of that which had been written in the book of the law and in the prophets concerning the worship of the true God. The restoration of the temple enabled them to carry out fully the ritual services of the sanctuary. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, of Ezra, and of Nehemiah they repeatedly covenanted to keep all the commandments and ordinances of Jehovah. The seasons of prosperity that followed gave ample evidence of God's willingness to accept and forgive, and yet with fatal shortsightedness they turned again and again from their glorious destiny and selfishly appropriated to themselves that which would have brought healing and spiritual life to countless multitudes.

    This failure to fulfill the divine purpose was very apparent in Malachi's day. Sternly the Lord's messenger dealt with the evils that were robbing Israel of temporal prosperity and spiritual power. In his rebuke against transgressors the prophet spared neither priests nor people. "The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel" through Malachi was that the lessons of the past be not forgotten and that the covenant made by Jehovah with the house of Israel be kept with fidelity. Only by heartfelt repentance could the blessing of God be realized. "I pray you," the prophet pleaded, "beseech God that He will be gracious unto us." Malachi 1:1, 9.

    Not by any temporary failure of Israel, however, was the plan of the ages for the redemption of mankind to be frustrated. Those to whom the prophet was speaking might not heed the message given, but the purposes of Jehovah were nevertheless to move steadily forward to their complete fulfillment. "From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same," the Lord declared through His messenger, "My name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering: for My name shall be great among the heathen." Malachi 1:11.

    The covenant of "life and peace" God had made with the sons of Levi--the covenant which, if kept, would have brought untold blessing--the Lord now offered to renew with those who once had been spiritual leaders, but who through transgression had become "contemptible and base before all the people." Malachi 2:5, 9.

    Solemnly evildoers were warned of the day of judgment to come and of Jehovah's purpose to visit with swift destruction every transgressor. Yet none were left without hope; Malachi's prophecies of judgment were accompanied by invitations to the impenitent to make their peace with God. "Return unto Me," the Lord urged; "and I will return unto you." Malachi 3:7.

    It seems as if every heart must respond to such an invitation. The God of heaven is pleading with His erring children to return to Him, that they may again co-operate with Him in carrying forward His work in the earth. The Lord holds out His hand to take the hand of Israel and to help them to the narrow path of self-denial and self-sacrifice, to share with Him the heirship as sons of God. Will they be entreated? Will they discern their only hope?

    How sad the record, that in Malachi's day the Israelites hesitated to yield their proud hearts in prompt and loving obedience and hearty co-operation! Self-vindication is apparent in their response, "Wherein shall we return?"

    The Lord reveals to His people one of their special sins. "Will a man rob God?" He asks. "Yet ye have robbed Me." Still unconvicted of sin, the disobedient inquire, "Wherein have we robbed Thee?"

    Definite indeed is the Lord's answer: "In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." Verses 7-12.

    God blesses the work of men's hands, that they may return to Him His portion. He gives them the sunshine and the rain; He causes vegetation to flourish; He gives health and ability to acquire means. Every blessing comes from His bountiful hand, and He desires men and women to show their gratitude by returning Him a portion in tithes and offerings--in thank offerings, in freewill offerings, in trespass offerings. They are to devote their means to His service, that His vineyard may not remain a barren waste. They are to study what the Lord would do were He in their place. They are to take all difficult matters to Him in prayer. They are to reveal an unselfish interest in the building up of His work in all parts of the world.

    Through messages such as those borne by Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, as well as through oppression from heathen foes, the Israelites finally learned the lesson that true prosperity depends upon obedience to the law of God. But with many of the people, obedience was not the outflow of faith and love. Their motives were selfish. Outward service was rendered as a means of attaining to national greatness. The chosen people did not become the light of the world, but shut themselves away from the world as a safeguard against being seduced into idolatry. The restrictions which God had given, forbidding intermarriage between His people and the heathen, and prohibiting Israel from joining in the idolatrous practices of surrounding nations, were so perverted as to build up a wall of partition between the Israelites and all other peoples, thus shutting from others the very blessings which God had commissioned Israel to give to the world.

    At the same time the Jews were, by their sins, separating themselves from God. They were unable to discern the deep spiritual significance of their symbolic service. In their self-righteousness they trusted to their own works, to the sacrifices and ordinances themselves, instead of relying upon the merits of Him to whom all these things pointed. Thus "going about to establish their own righteousness" (Romans 10:3), they built themselves up in a self-sufficient formalism. Wanting the Spirit and grace of God, they tried to make up for the lack by a rigorous observance of religious ceremonies and rites. Not content with the ordinances which God Himself had appointed, they encumbered the divine commands with countless exactions of their own devising. The greater their distance from God, the more rigorous they were in the observance of these forms.

    With all these minute and burdensome exactions it was a practical impossibility for the people to keep the law. The great principles of righteousness set forth in the Decalogue, and the glorious truths shadowed in the symbolic service, were alike obscured, buried under a mass of human tradition and enactment. Those who were really desirous of serving God, and who tried to observe the whole law as enjoined by the priests and rulers, groaned under a heavy burden.

    As a nation, the people of Israel, while desiring the advent of the Messiah, were so far separated from God in heart and life that they could have no true conception of the character or mission of the promised Redeemer. Instead of desiring redemption from sin, and the glory and peace of holiness, their hearts were fixed upon deliverance from their national foes, and restoration to worldly power. They looked for Messiah to come as a conqueror, to break every yoke, and exalt Israel to dominion over all nations. Thus Satan had succeeded in preparing the hearts of the people to reject the Saviour when He should appear. Their own pride of heart, and their false conceptions of His character and mission, would prevent them from honestly weighing the evidences of His Messiahship.

    For more than a thousand years the Jewish people had waited the coming of the promised Saviour. Their brightest hopes had rested upon this event. For a thousand years, in song and prophecy, in temple rite and household prayer, His name had been enshrined; and yet when He came, they did not recognize Him as the Messiah for whom they had so long waited. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." John 1:11. To their world-loving hearts the Beloved of heaven was "as a root out of a dry ground." In their eyes He had "no form nor comeliness;" they discerned in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. Isaiah 53:2.

    The whole life of Jesus of Nazareth among the Jewish people was a reproof to their selfishness, as revealed in their unwillingness to recognize the just claims of the Owner of the vineyard over which they had been placed as husbandmen. They hated His example of truthfulness and piety; and when the final test came, the test which meant obedience unto eternal life or disobedience unto eternal death, they rejected the Holy One of Israel and became responsible for His crucifixion on Calvary's cross.

    In the parable of the vineyard, Christ near the close of His earthly ministry called the attention of the Jewish teachers to the rich blessings bestowed upon Israel, and in these showed God's claim to their obedience. Plainly He set before them the glory of God's purpose, which through obedience they might have fulfilled. Withdrawing the veil from the future, He showed how, by failure to fulfill His purpose, the whole nation was forfeiting His blessing and bringing ruin upon itself.

    "There was a certain householder," Christ said, "which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country." Matthew 21:33.

    Thus the Saviour referred to "the vineyard of the Lord of hosts," which the prophet Isaiah centuries before had declared to be "the house of Israel." Isaiah 5:7.

    "And when the time of the fruit drew near," Christ continued, the owner of the vineyard "sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him."

    Having portrayed before the priests their crowning act of wickedness, Christ now put to them the question, "When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?" The priests had been following the narrative with deep interest; and without considering the relation of the subject to themselves, they joined with the people in answering, "He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons."

    Unwittingly they had pronounced their own doom. Jesus looked upon them, and under His searching gaze they knew that He read the secrets of their hearts. His divinity flashed out before them with unmistakable power. They saw in the husbandmen a picture of themselves, and they involuntarily exclaimed, "God forbid!"

    Solemnly and regretfully Christ asked: "Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Matthew 21:34-44.

    Christ would have averted the doom of the Jewish nation if the people had received Him. But envy and jealousy made them implacable. They determined that they would not receive Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. They rejected the Light of the world, and henceforth their lives were surrounded with darkness as the darkness of midnight. The doom foretold came upon the Jewish nation. Their own fierce passions, uncontrolled, wrought their ruin. In their blind rage they destroyed one another. Their rebellious, stubborn pride brought upon them the wrath of their Roman conquerors. Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple laid in ruins, and its site plowed like a field. The children of Judah perished by the most horrible forms of death. Millions were sold to serve as bondmen in heathen lands.

    That which God purposed to do for the world through Israel, the chosen nation, He will finally accomplish through His church on earth today. He has "let out His vineyard unto other husbandmen," even to His covenant-keeping people, who faithfully "render Him the fruits in their seasons." Never has the Lord been without true representatives on this earth who have made His interests their own. These witnesses for God are numbered among the spiritual Israel, and to them will be fulfilled all the covenant promises made by Jehovah to His ancient people.

    Today the church of God is free to carry forward to completion the divine plan for the salvation of a lost race. For many centuries God's people suffered a restriction of their liberties. The preaching of the gospel in its purity was prohibited, and the severest of penalties were visited upon those who dared disobey the mandates of men. As a consequence, the Lord's great moral vineyard was almost wholly unoccupied. The people were deprived of the light of God's word. The darkness of error and superstition threatened to blot out a knowledge of true religion. God's church on earth was a verily in captivity during this long period of relentless persecution as were the children of Israel held captive in Babylon during the period of the exile.

    But, thank God, His church is no longer in bondage. To spiritual Israel have been restored the privileges accorded the people of God at the time of their deliverance from Babylon. In every part of the earth, men and women are responding to the Heaven-sent message which John the revelator prophesied would be proclaimed prior to the second coming of Christ: "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." Revelation 14:7.

    No longer have the hosts of evil power to keep the church captive; for "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city," which hath "made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication;" and to spiritual Israel is given the message, "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Verse 8; 18:4. As the captive exiles heeded the message, "Flee out of the midst of Babylon" (Jeremiah 51:6), and were restored to the Land of Promise, so those who fear God today are heeding the message to withdraw from spiritual Babylon, and soon they are to stand as trophies of divine grace in the earth made new, the heavenly Canaan.

    In Malachi's day the mocking inquiry of the impenitent, "Where is the God of judgment?" met with the solemn response: "The Lord . . . shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant. . . . But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years." Malachi 2:17; 3:1-4.

    When the promised Messiah was about to appear, the message of the forerunner of Christ was: Repent, publicans and sinners; repent, Pharisees and Sadducees; "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:2.

    Today, in the spirit and power of Elias and of John the Baptist, messengers of God's appointment are calling the attention of a judgment-bound world to the solemn events soon to take place in connection with the closing hours of probation and the appearance of Christ Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. Soon every man is to be judged for the deeds done in the body. The hour of God's judgment has come, and upon the members of His church on earth rests the solemn responsibility of giving warning to those who are standing as it were on the very brink of eternal ruin. To every human being in the wide world who will give heed must be made plain the principles at stake in the great controversy being waged, principles upon which hang the destinies of all mankind.

    In these final hours of probation for the sons of men, when the fate of every soul is so soon to be decided forever, the Lord of heaven and earth expects His church to arouse to action as never before. Those who have been made free in Christ through a knowledge of precious truth, are regarded by the Lord Jesus as His chosen ones, favored above all other people on the face of the earth; and He is counting on them to show forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness into marvelous light. The blessings which are so liberally bestowed are to be communicated to others. The good news of salvation is to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

    In the visions of the prophets of old the Lord of glory was represented as bestowing special light upon His church in the days of darkness and unbelief preceding His second coming. As the Sun of Righteousness, He was to arise upon His church, "with healing in His wings." Malachi 4:2. And from every true disciple was to be diffused an influence for life, courage, helpfulness, and true healing.

    The coming of Christ will take place in the darkest period of this earth's history. The days of Noah and of Lot picture the condition of the world just before the coming of the Son of man. The Scriptures, pointing forward to this time, declare that Satan will work with all power and "with all deceivableness of unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10. His working is plainly revealed by the rapidly increasing darkness, the multitudinous errors, heresies, and delusions of these last days. Not only is Satan leading the world captive, but his deceptions are leavening the professed churches of our Lord Jesus Christ. The great apostasy will develop into darkness deep as midnight. To God's people it will be a night of trial, a night of weeping, a night of persecution for the truth's sake. But out of that night of darkness God's light will shine.

    He causes "the light to shine out of darkness." 2 Corinthians 4:6. When "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep," "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." Genesis 1:2, 3. So in the night of spiritual darkness, God's word goes forth, "Let there be light." To His people He says, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." Isaiah 60:1.

    "Behold," says the Scripture, "the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee." Verse 2. Christ, the outshining of the Father's glory, came to the world as its light. He came to represent God to men, and of Him it is written that He was anointed "with the Holy Ghost and with power," and "went about doing good." Acts 10:38. In the synagogue at Nazareth He said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke 4:18, 19. This was the work He commissioned His disciples to do. "Ye are the light of the world," He said. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:14, 16.

    This is the work which the prophet Isaiah describes when he says: "Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward." Isaiah 58:7, 8.

    Thus in the night of spiritual darkness God's glory is to shine forth through His church in lifting up the bowed down and comforting those that mourn.

    All around us are heard the wails of a world's sorrow. On every hand are the needy and distressed. It is ours to aid in relieving and softening life's hardships and misery. The wants of the soul only the love of Christ can satisfy. If Christ is abiding in us, our hearts will be full of divine sympathy. The sealed fountains of earnest, Christlike love will be unsealed.

    There are many from whom hope has departed. Bring back the sunshine to them. Many have lost their courage. Speak to them words of cheer. Pray for them. There are those who need the bread of life. Read to them from the word of God. Upon many is a soul sickness which no earthly balm can reach nor physician heal. Pray for these souls. Bring them to Jesus. Tell them that there is a balm in Gilead and a Physician there.

    Light is a blessing, a universal blessing, pouring forth its treasures on a world unthankful, unholy, demoralized. So it is with the light of the Sun of Righteousness. The whole earth, wrapped as it is in the darkness of sin and sorrow and pain, is to be lighted with the knowledge of God's love. From no sect, rank, or class of people is the light shining from heaven's throne to be excluded.

    The message of hope and mercy is to be carried to the ends of the earth. Whosoever will, may reach forth and take hold of God's strength and make peace with Him, and he shall make peace. No longer are the heathen to be wrapped in midnight darkness. The gloom is to disappear before the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness.

    Christ has made every provision that His church shall be a transformed body, illumined with the Light of the world, possessing the glory of Immanuel. It is His purpose that every Christian shall be surrounded with a spiritual atmosphere of light and peace. He desires that we shall reveal His own joy in our lives.

    "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." Isaiah 60:1. Christ is coming with power and great glory. He is coming with His own glory and with the glory of the Father. And the holy angels will attend Him on His way. While all the world is plunged in darkness, there will be light in every dwelling of the saints. They will catch the first light of His second appearing. The unsullied light will shine from His splendor, and Christ the Redeemer will be admired by all who have served Him. While the wicked flee, Christ's followers will rejoice in His presence.

    Then it is that the redeemed from among men will receive their promised inheritance. Thus God's purpose for Israel will meet with literal fulfillment. That which God purposes, man is powerless to disannul. Even amid the working of evil, God's purposes have been moving steadily forward to their accomplishment. It was thus with the house of Israel throughout the history of the divided monarchy; it is thus with spiritual Israel today.

    The seer of Patmos, looking down through the ages to the time of this restoration of Israel in the earth made new, testified:

    "I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

    "And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts ["living creatures," R.V.], and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever."

    "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him." "He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful." Revelation 7:9-12; 19:6, 7; 17:14.
    orthodoxymoron wrote:Thank-you Pris and Carol. The videos are no longer a problem for me (after loading some sort of Flash upgrade) -- but I have a heck of a time getting the posted-images to appear. Regarding the shunning -- I suspect that some of it is imagined -- some of it is real -- and some of it is just more of my online theatrics. I take real problems -- and enhance them with "script-writing". I'm confused and crazy -- but I do a lot of online acting -- which would be deceptive if I didn't keep telling everyone that's what I'm doing. But I suspect that my warnings are mostly not heeded -- which is part of the experiment. You know -- telling people what you're doing, and then see if they pay attention. I've come to the conclusion that's what the Bible does. There are certain key-phrases which change everything -- yet which are ignored by the major religions, churches, and theologians -- which would make sense if they're all controlled by the same guy and/or gal. What Would Amen Ra Do?? I'm almost to the point of wishing to move to a small mountain cabin (with or without a bunker-basement) and NOT have the internet. A telephone might be a necessary-evil. But just go as minimalist as possible -- yet make a decade-long study of the following seemingly boring sources:

    1. The Best and Latest Set of Encyclopedias.

    2. The Latest Version of the SDA Bible Commentary (Approximately 8,000 Pages of Core-Commentary with probably 5,000 pages of Supplementary-Material).

    3. Sacred Classical Music (All of It).

    The idea would be to go through all of the above (straight-through over and over) year after year. No UFO's. No Aliens. No PTB. No Conspiracy-Theories. No Violent and Horrific Science-Fiction Movies. No Corrupt Politicians, Bankers, CEO's, et al. Just hour-long hikes -- chopping wood -- gardening -- looking at the planets with a 16" Dobsonian telescope -- etc. Perhaps they have a Nice Nuthouse in the Rockies (with Rooms with Views and Sexy Sex-Therapists)!! Hope Springs Eternal.
    Pris wrote:
    orthodoxymoron wrote:1. The Best and Latest Set of Encyclopedias.


    The 'best', Oxy? The best of what? A soup of fiction laced with a carefully planted factual crumb or two just to throw you off? Have fun with that one. Bleh

    Over the years, I've gotten rid of some of my 'mainstream' informational books because I see now how they are so much in error.

    Bullshite will have you going in circles indefinitely when there is no clear delineation between a lie and a truth... Doesn't it make more sense to study possible truth (from more trustworthy sources) rather than what you know to be outright BS for answers? That's just me. Oooyeah 1

    Unless you're one of those people who get a kick out of reading BS purely for its entertainment value... (like the Bible lol... even I have some curiosity about the Bible but prefer to have a guide take me on the Official BS Tour and hit on all the high points packed into one fun-filled afternoon rather than waste my time diving in on my own)


    It's good to hear you upgraded your Flash and your videos are working now, btw.

    .
    .
    orthodoxymoron wrote:I appreciate your work on this thread, Bob. I guess I'm dealing with the same problem from a completely different angle on "my" thread. I wonder how many people really study this sort of thing on an ongoing basis. Probably not very many. This sort of thing is probably not what people want to hear about. But if and when TSHTF people will cry "Why Wasn't I Told??!!" and "Why Weren't We Warned??!!" But just knowing about this stuff is probably not a preparation or prevention. It's probably more of a morbid-curiosity than anything. On the other hand, I keep applying this sort of thing to ethical, legal, political, and theological science-fiction (which will hopefully help someone somewhere). I agonize because I can. But realistically, ignorance is bliss and a virtue. "Drink the Kool-Aid and Get Back to Work!!"
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Without+warning+front+july+1980
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Independence-day-movie1
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Ee-pics-1-please-stand-by1


    Last edited by orthodoxymoron on Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:32 pm; edited 1 time in total
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Aug 23, 2016 9:49 pm

    Archangel ??? = Lilith = Enki = Martha Jones = Jupiter Jones = Indiana Jones = Richard Hillary = ????? Who Knows?? Dr. Who?? Who?? Regarding the images and videos below -- I had a 1975 AMC Pacer (purchased by my parents in 1975). My father drove a "Ghostbuster" 1959 Cadillac Sedan de Ville while working at CBS (with 076 CBS plates -- if I remember correctly -- or was it CBS 076??). He kept the stars cool. I spent a significant amount of time within CBS Television City in "Hollywood" (throughout the building). The atmosphere was heavy and a bit strange. The Executives Could Burn a Hole Through You -- Just by Looking At You!! The CBS Eye is Always Watching!! The 1977 movie Oh God!! was extremely prophetic of my pathetic-life -- and I didn't see that movie until probably 5 years ago!! I even drove a CAB!! My name is quite similar to Dr. Venkman (in Ghostbusters)!! Notice that Darth Vader also involves D.V. What Would David Mann (from Duel) Say?? What Would David Bowman (from 2001: A Space Odyssey) Say?? What Would David Bowie Say?? What Would Alan Rickman Say?? Is Azazel a Victim?? The Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck thing is somewhat creepy to me!! What Would Mitchell Say?? Something is REALLY Screwy about my life!! What Would Jupiter Jones Say?? I was honestly born in the "House of Leo" (but not astrologically)!! Jupiter Ascending = Jupiter Rose?? What Would David Rose Say?? What Would Judy Garland Say?? What Would Red Skelton Say?? What Would Michael Landon Say?? Some of you might know what I'm talking about!! Please remember that I'm modeling a general-phenomenon in a highly-speculative manner. Take this Siriusly -- but not too Seriously!! What Would the Prince of Sirius Say?? BTW -- I lived next to that olive-orchard shown below. What Would Glen Hill Drive?? The fan in my laptop just went into overdrive -- which probably means that someone is messing with my computer -- possibly because of the content of this post.

    I'll read and re-read these U.S.S.S. Threads -- but I'm honestly burned-out and quite-miserable -- so don't expect a lot of responsiveness out of me. I'm in the middle of attempting to understand some problematic key-concepts in my theological-education -- and it's not going so well. I really don't wish to drag others along with me down a really-nasty rabbit-hole. I certainly do not wish to bog any of you down with my heavy-spirit. I don't socialize much -- and I'm contemplating becoming even more isolated. I honestly appreciate buoyant-spirits and profound-logic -- but it's the sort of thing one must become immersed in -- in order to properly comprehend and respond to. I'm just not up to speed at this point -- and I might not be vibrating fast enough for this sort of discourse for the remainder of this present incarnation. I think I'm screwed in more ways than I can imagine. The plan was probably to build me up -- and then cut me down -- but I screwed-up everyone's plans by being a screw-up. Sorry about that. An Absolutely-Obedient Exemplary-Telegenic Perfectly-Possessed Teleprompter-Reading Eschatological-Scapegoat should be easy to find. I respectfully request that whatever bad-things have significantly and nefariously happened to me and/or will happen to me -- be mercilessly-avenged (even if it takes all-eternity). I'm talking about the really-major stuff. It's all fun and games until someone loses a wiener!! What Would Set Do?? What Would Osiris Say?? "*&^%$#@!!!!!"???? What Would Isis Do?? What Would Horus Do?? What Would Serqet Say??

    Consider one last minimal-list (as a mental and spiritual exercise):

    1. Job through Malachi (NKJV).

    2. Prophets and Kings (Ellen White).

    3. Volume 4 (Isaiah through Malachi) of the SDA Bible Commentary (1977 Edition).

    4. Daniel 8:14, the Day of Atonement, and the Investigative Judgment (Desmond Ford).

    5. The United States of the Solar System: A.D. 2133 (Books One, Two, and Three).

    6. The End of the World, A.D. 2133 (Lucio Bernardo Silvestre).

    You might not be able to find The End of the World, A.D. 2133. I've looked high and low for information about that book and it's author -- with no-luck whatsoever (even with the help of a librarian). My book was in the Library of Congress -- but that particular book is no longer available. I paid dearly for my copy -- and I'm beginning to wonder if it's the only one?! It's really creepy that I got fixated on that A.D. 2133 termination-date for the 2300 days/years of Daniel 8:14 -- and then happened to find that book on Amazon -- at a very-high price. I waited for many months, until they lowered the price, before I bought it -- but it was still very-expensive. It's unbelievably complex and articulate. It reminds me of the apocalyptic-work of Isaac Newton!! Who Knows?? It's almost as if the book were specifically intended for me!! I like the book -- with the exception of the last couple of chapters, which are quite horrific and harsh. I'm trying to achieve some sort of Galactic-Justice without Fire and Brimstone. I'm a Law and Order kind of guy!!

    I think William Miller got it wrong. I think the SDA Church got it wrong. I think Desmond Ford got it wrong. I know that I don't know BUT an Investigative and Executive Judgment between now and A.D. 2133 wouldn't surprise me one little bit. What if we live in a Universe of Ruthless-Conquest and Kangaroo-Courts??!! PLEASE Study All of the Sources Listed Above (with the probable exception of that last item). I think this might be EXTREMELY Important!! I don't think you all realize how utterly screwed we might really be!! If you studied what I've studied -- spoke with the individuals of interest I've spoken with -- and agonized over the whole mess as much as I have -- you'd probably be as screwed-up as I am (or worse)!! But you would KNOW!! Notice that I'm not trying to get you to join the SDA Church (even though I include a lot of fringe and out of date SDA material). I continue to consider myself as being sort of a Renegade French Jesuit Organist (even though I'm not even close to that description)!! I think I'm truly a Lone-Nut!! But I think certain members of this forum KNOW Exactly What I'm Talking About!! I think the City-States KNOW Exactly What I'm talking about!! Unfortunately, I think Mankind might have to Learn the HARD-WAY!! This might NOT End Well!!

    What would an extensive Old-Testament Major and Minor Prophet Study reveal?? You know -- Isaiah through Malachi. I tend to shy-away from prophecy. I don't usually play numbers-games -- or indulge in speculative futuristic adventures BUT what if these 17 books are somehow a script or a verdict which MUST be followed (rather than being predictive in nature)?? What about Messianic-Prophecy and Eschatology in the Major and Minor Prophets?? What is the Law of God revealed in these 17 books?? Deuteronomy?? Proverbs?? Both?? Neither?? I've started reading Volume Four of the SDA Bible Commentary -- which covers Isaiah through Malachi. Some of my former teachers are contributors. The authors of that volume are SDA Scholar Rock-Stars!! One shouldn't take their 1950's work lightly. This was a different era, wherein the Bible was seemingly taken more seriously than more recently. In many ways, I'd rather just live in the NOW -- but I seem to be compelled to properly deal with history as a prerequisite to being properly-qualified to deal with the present and the future.

    I get the sinking-feeling that this game is NOT what we might wish for it to be. We tend to interpret what is happening to us in terms which make us feel good about ourselves -- but what is the REAL REALITY?? I think I've gotten WARM within my three latest U.S.S.S. Threads -- but I don't think I've gotten HOT. Please at least read that SDA Bible Commentary (volume 4 -- Isaiah through Malachi). I mentioned the possibility of a missing Inter-Testament Old-Testament Commentary. Well that volume might approximate such a commentary. What if 99% of humanity have gotten it wrong -- lifetime after lifetime after lifetime?? What if humanity is running out of lifetimes?? Regarding Religion -- What If Bigger Does NOT Equal Righter?? What if "getting it right" primarily involves getting Isaiah through Malachi right?? How much of Genesis through Song of Solomon is contained or discussed in Isaiah through Malachi?? How much of Matthew through Revelation is genuinely prophesied in Isaiah through Malachi?? How much of the Old-Testament is contained or discussed in the New-Testament?? Does each religion and church MAKE the Bible Say What They Want It To Say?? Is God the Father perfect in the Bible?? Does God the Father keep the Ten-Commandments?? Is Jesus perfect in the Bible?? Does Jesus keep the Ten-Commandments?? Are the Angels perfect in the Bible?? Do the Angels keep the Ten-Commandments?? Is the Bible simply a Tool to Keep People In Line?? Why do I feel as if I might be in conflict with Both Humanity and Divinity Within This Particular Solar System?? What if I'm NOT From Around Here?? Is It OK for US to Compete with God?? Is It OK for God to Compete with US?? Once again -- consider Possibility-Thinking Relative to Sacred-Scripture.

    Is the New-Testament really a product of the Roman-Empire?? Have we lived under a Roman-Empire since the Second-Century B.C.?? Is the Roman Catholic Church just the Tip of a Roman-Empire Iceberg?? Is the Roman-Empire the Real Secret-Government?? Is the Roman-Empire controlled by an Orion--Babylonian-- Egyptian--Persian--Grecian--British--Israel Empire?? Does the Roman-Empire do the dirty-work for a Huge and Ancient Galactic-Empire?? What if Past, Present, and Future Politics and Religion MUST be Combined with Science-Fiction to get-at what is REALLY Going-On in This Solar System?? Am I risking my life by uttering such things?? Don't Be Frightened. I Mean No Harm. Not Much, Anyway. For Now. Consider the possibility of the Editorial-Content of Patriarchs and Prophets -- Prophets and Kings -- and The Desire of Ages -- as having Messianic-Significance in a Non-Traditional Sense. The Medium is the Message?? What Would Marshall McLuhan Say?? Think Long and Hard About What I Just Said.

    Anyway, I thank all of you for taking the time to talk to me. It adds a lot to what I'm trying to communicate. I combine a particular conceptual-core with the profound embellishments of others -- which produces a delightful potpourri of enlightenment. I've enjoyed our conversations over the past few years. I've completed my threads (for now) and I intend to privately reflect upon the territory covered in this pseudo-intellectual quest -- as a somewhat focused research-project. I'm sure I don't have the answers. Just the questions. I know that I don't know. No matter how one puts things together (pursuant to the truth) it always seems to be wrong. I'm OK with that. I'll just keep asking questions -- and seeking answers -- mostly privately. Someone once said "The World is Full of Questions. The Idiots Are Full of Answers." I recently posted that quote -- and then removed it. I thought it was too harsh -- but perhaps I should've kept it. I think I might be one of those idiots. I've been repeatedly told that I need to "Empty My Mind" But How Do I Empty My Mind When I'm Already a Completely Ignorant Fool?? Perhaps what I really need is a Real-Education in a Subterranean 600 Square-Foot Office-Apartment in a Cool-Location. Hope Springs Eternal. What Would Gizeh-Intelligence Say?? East of Giza is a Pyramid-Scheme?? I should STOP!! They have ways to make me STOP!! Many Ways...

    http://whiteestate.org/books/pk/pk60.html In the darkest days of her long conflict with evil, the church of God has been given revelations of the eternal purpose of Jehovah. His people have been permitted to look beyond the trials of the present to the triumphs of the future, when, the warfare having been accomplished, the redeemed will enter into possession of the promised land. These visions of future glory, scenes pictured by the hand of God, should be dear to His church today, when the controversy of the ages is rapidly closing and the promised blessings are soon to be realized in all their fullness.

    Many were the messages of comfort given the church by the prophets of old. "Comfort ye, comfort ye My people" (Isaiah 40:1.), was Isaiah's commission from God; and with the commission were given wonderful visions that have been the believers' hope and joy through all the centuries that have followed. Despised of men, persecuted, forsaken, God's children in every age have nevertheless been sustained by His sure promises. By faith they have looked forward to the time when He will fulfill to His church the assurance, "I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations." Isaiah 60:15.

    Often the church militant is called upon to suffer trial and affliction; for not without severe conflict is the church to triumph. "The bread of adversity," "the water of affliction" (Isaiah 30:20), these are the common lot of all; but none who put their trust in the One mighty to deliver will be utterly overwhelmed. "Thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life." Isaiah 43:1-4.

    There is forgiveness with God; there is acceptance full and free through the merits of Jesus, our crucified and risen Lord. Isaiah heard the Lord declaring to His chosen ones: "I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put Me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified." "Thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." Verses 25, 26; 60:16.

    "The rebuke of His people shall He take away," the prophet declared. "They shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord." He hath appointed "to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."

    "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion;
    Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the Holy City:
    For henceforth there shall no more come unto thee the
    uncircumcised and the unclean.
    "Shake thyself from the dust;
    Arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem:
    Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter
    of Zion."

    "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted,
    Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors,
    And lay thy foundations with sapphires.

    "And I will make thy windows of agates.
    And thy gates of carbuncles,
    And all thy borders of pleasant stones.

    "And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord;
    And great shall be the peace of thy children.
    In righteousness shalt thou be established:

    "Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear:
    And from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
    Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by Me:
    Whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall
    for thy sake. . . .

    "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper;
    And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment
    thou shalt condemn.
    This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    And their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord."
    Isaiah 25:8; 62:12; 61:3; 52:1, 2; 54:11-17.

    Clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. "Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners" (Song of Solomon 6:10), she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer.

    The darkest hour of the church's struggle with the powers of evil is that which immediately precedes the day of her final deliverance. But none who trust in God need fear; for "when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall," God will be to His church "a refuge from the storm." Isaiah 25:4.

    In that day only the righteous are promised deliverance. "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." Isaiah 33:14-16.

    The word of the Lord to His faithful ones is: "Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity." Isaiah 26:20, 21. In visions of the great judgment day the inspired messengers of Jehovah were given glimpses of the consternation of those unprepared to meet their Lord in peace.

    "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof; . . . because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate. . . . The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth." Isaiah 24:1-8.

    "Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. . . . The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate." "The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men." Joel 1:15-18, 12.

    "I am pained at my very heart," Jeremiah exclaims as he beholds the desolations wrought during the closing scenes of earth's history. "I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled." Jeremiah 4:19, 20.

    "The loftiness of man shall be bowed down," declares Isaiah of the day of God's vengeance, "and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols He shall utterly abolish. . . . In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth." Isaiah 2:17-21.

    Of those times of transition, when the pride of man shall be laid low, Jeremiah testifies: "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down." "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." Jeremiah 4:23-26; 30:7.

    The day of wrath to the enemies of God is the day of final deliverance to His church. The prophet declares:

    "Strengthen ye the weak hands,
    And confirm the feeble knees.

    Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be
    strong, fear not:
    Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
    Even God with a recompense;
    He will come and save you."

    "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it." Isaiah 35:3, 4; 25:8. And as the prophet beholds the Lord of glory descending from heaven with all the holy angels, to gather the remnant church from among the nations of earth, he hears the waiting ones unite in the exultant cry:

    "Lo, this is our God;
    We have waited for Him,
    And He will save us:
    This is the Lord;
    We have waited for Him,
    We will be glad and rejoice
    in His salvation."
    Isaiah 25:9.

    The voice of the Son of God is heard calling forth the sleeping saints, and as the prophet beholds them coming from the prison house of death, he exclaims, "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead."

    "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
    Then shall the lame man leap as an hart,
    And the tongue of the dumb sing."
    Isaiah 26:19; 35:5, 6.

    In the visions of the prophet, those who have triumphed over sin and the grave are now seen happy in the presence of their Maker, talking freely with Him as man talked with God in the beginning. "Be ye glad," the Lord bids them, "and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying." "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity."

    "In the wilderness shall waters break out,
    And streams in the desert.
    And the parched ground shall become a pool,
    And the thirsty land springs of water."
    "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree,
    And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree."

    "And an highway shall be there, and a way,
    And it shall be called The way of holiness;
    The unclean shall not pass over it;
    But it shall be for those:
    The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein."

    "Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Isaiah 65:18, 19; 33:24; 35:6, 7; 55:13; 35:8; 40:2.

    As the prophet beholds the redeemed dwelling in the City of God, free from sin and from all marks of the curse, in rapture he exclaims, "Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her."

    "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,
    Wasting nor destruction within thy borders;
    But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation,
    And thy gates Praise.
    "The sun shall be no more thy light by day;
    Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee:
    But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light,
    And thy God thy glory.

    "Thy sun shall no more go down;
    Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself:
    For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light,
    And the days of thy mourning shall be ended.

    "Thy people also shall be all righteous:
    They shall inherit the land forever,
    The branch of My planting,
    The work of My hands,
    That I may be glorified."
    Isaiah 66:10; 60:18-21.

    The prophet caught the sound of music there, and song, such music and song as, save in the visions of God, no mortal ear has heard or mind conceived. "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." "Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." "As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there." "They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord." Isaiah 35:10; 51:3; Psalm 87:7; Isaiah 24:14.

    In the earth made new, the redeemed will engage in the occupations and pleasures that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning. The Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field. "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." Isaiah 65:21, 22.

    There every power will be developed, every capability increased. The grandest enterprises will be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations will be reached, the highest ambitions realized. And still there will appear new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects of study to call forth the powers of body and mind and soul.

    The prophets to whom these great scenes were revealed longed to understand their full import. They "inquired and searched diligently:. . . searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify. . . . Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you." 1 Peter 1:10-12.

    To us who are standing on the very verge of their fulfillment, of what deep moment, what living interest, are these delineations of the things to come--events for which, since our first parents turned their steps from Eden, God's children have watched and waited, longed and prayed!

    Fellow pilgrim, we are still amid the shadows and turmoil of earthly activities; but soon our Saviour is to appear to bring deliverance and rest. Let us by faith behold the blessed hereafter as pictured by the hand of God. He who died for the sins of the world is opening wide the gates of Paradise to all who believe on Him. Soon the battle will have been fought, the victory won. Soon we shall see Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in His presence the trials and sufferings of this life will seem as nothingness. The former things "shall not be remembered, nor come into mind." "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry." "Israel shall be saved. . . with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end." Isaiah 65:17; Hebrews 10:35-37; Isaiah 45:17.

    Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for the redeemed. "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:7, 8.

    The nations of the saved will know no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving. Over the scene the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ will unite in proclaiming. "There shall be no more sin, neither shall there be any more death."

    "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." "The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." "In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His people."

    "The Lord 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 the Lord." "The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon." "Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called My Delight, and thy land Beulah. . . . As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." Isaiah 66:23; 40:5; 61:11; 28:5; 51:3; 35:2; 62:4, 5, margin.


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    You've Been Repeatedly Warned...
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Sun Aug 28, 2016 11:21 am

    GEORGE ZEBROWSKI was born December 28, 1945, in Villach, Austria, of Polish parents. He grew up in England, Manhattan, the Bronx and Miami, and he is one of an extremely small group of authors who have achieved literary success in a second language. He attended Harpur College and the State University of New York at Binghamton, majoring in philosophy, and he brings his interest in this field to his writing-several of his science fiction stories utilize philosophical concepts.

    He is a member of the World Future Society, Science Fiction Writers of America, and the SFWA Speakers' Bureau. He has reviewed books for Craw daddy, Science Fiction Review and Riverside Quarterly,- has been a reader for Dell Books; has sold fiction to The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, If, Infinity and to several forthcoming collections of original stories. Currently he lectures in science fiction at SUNY-Binghamton, edits the SfWA Bulletin and writes. His two forthcoming novels are The Omega Point and Macrolife.

    The story "Heathen God" was a 1971 Nebula Award finalist.
    . . . every heathen deity has its place in the flow of existence."

    The isolation station and preserve for alien flora and fauna on Antares IV had only one prisoner, a three-foot-tall gnome like biped with skin like creased leather and eyes like great glass globes. His hair was silky white and reached down to his shoulders, and he usually went about the great natural park naked. He lived in a small white cell located in one of the huge. block like administration modules. There was a small bed in the cell, and a small doorway which led out to the park. A hundred feet away from the door there was a small pool, one of many scattered throughout the park. It reflected the deep-blue color of the sky.

    The gnome was very old, but no one had yet determined quite how old. And there seemed to be no way to find out. The gnome himself had never volunteered any information about his past. In the one hundred years of his imprisonment he had never asked the caretaker for anything. It was rumored among the small staff of Earthmen and humanoids that the gnome was mad. Generally they avoided him. Sometimes they would watch his small figure standing under the deep blue sky, looking up at the giant disk of Antares hanging blood red on the horizon, just above the well pruned trees of the park, and they would wonder what he might be thinking.

    The majority of Earthmen spread over twelve star systems did not even know of the gnome's existence, much less his importance. A few knew, but they were mostly scholarly and political figures, and a few theologians. The most important fact about the alien was that sometime in the remote past he had been responsible for the construction of the solar system and the emergence of intelligent life on Earth.

    The secret had been well kept for over a, century. In the one hundred and fourth year of the alien's captivity two men set out for Antares to visit him. The first man's motives were practical: the toppling of an old regime; the other man's goal was to ask questions. The first man's political enemies had helped him undertake this journey, seeing that it would give them the chance to destroy him. The importance of gaining definitive information about the alien was in itself enough reason to send a mission, but combined with what they knew about the motives of the man they feared, this mission would provide for them the perfect occasion to resolve both matters at the same time. In any case, the second man would bring back anything of value that they might learn about the gnome.

    Everything had been planned down to the last detail. The first ship carrying the two unsuspecting men was almost ready to come out of hyperspace near Antares. Two hours behind it in the warp was a military vessel-a small troop ship. As the first vessel came out of nothingness into the brilliance of the great star, the commander of the small force ship opened his sealed orders.

    As he came down the shuttle ramp with his two companions, Father Louis Chavez tried to mentally prepare himself for what he would find here. It was still difficult to believe what his superiors had told him about the alien who was a prisoner here. The morning air of Antares IV was fresh, and the immediate impression was one of stepping out into a warm botanical garden. At his left Sister Guinivere carried his small attaché case. On his right walked Benedict Compton, linguist, cultural anthropologist, and as everyone took for granted, eventual candidate for first secretary of Earth's Northern Hemisphere. Compton was potentially a religious man, but the kind who always demanded an advance guarantee before committing himself to anything: Chavez felt suspicious of him; in fact he felt wary about this entire visit to Antares IV.

    On Earth the religio-philosophic system was a blend of evolutionary Chardinism and Christianity, an imposing intellectual structure that had been dominant for some two hundred years now. The political structure based its legitimacy and continuing policies on it. Compton, from what he had learned, had frightened some high authorities with the claim that the gnome creature here on Antares IV was a potential threat to the beliefs of mankind. This, combined with what was already known about the alien's past, was seemingly enough to send this fact-finding mission. Only a few men knew about it, and Chavez remembered the fear he had sensed in them when he had been briefed. Their greatest fear was that somehow the gnome's history would become public knowledge. Compton, despite his motives, had found a few more political friends. But Chavez suspected that Compton wanted power not for himself, but to do something about the quality of life on Earth. He was sure the man was sincere. How little of the thought in our official faith filters out into actual policy, Chavez thought. And what would the government do if an unorganized faith-a heresy in the old sense-were to result from this meeting between Compton and the alien? Then he remembered how Compton had rushed this whole visit. He wondered just how far a man like Compton would go to have his way in the world.

    Antares was huge on the horizon, a massive red disk against a deep blue sky. A slight breeze waved the trees around the landing square. The pathway which started at the north corner led to three block like administration buildings set on a neat lawn and surrounded by flowering shrubs and fruit-bearing trees. The buildings were a bright white color. The walk was pleasant.

    Rufus Kade, the caretaker, met them at the front entrance to the main building. He showed them into the comfortable reception room. He was a tall, thin botanist, who had taken the administrative post because it gave him the opportunity to be near exotic plants. Some of the flora came from worlds as much as one hundred light-years away from Antares. After the introductions were over, Kade took the party to the enclosed garden which had a pool in its center, and where the gnome spent most of his time.

    "Do you ever talk with him, Mr. Kade?" Father Chavez asked. The caretaker shook his head. "No," he said. "And now I hope you will all excuse me, I have work to do." He left them at the entrance to the garden path. Compton turned to Father Chavez and said, "You are lucky; you're the only representative of any church ever to get a chance to meet what might be the central deity of that church." He smiled. "But I feel sorry for you-for whatever he is, he will not be what you expect, and most certainly he will not be what you want him to be."

    "Let's wait and see," Chavez said. "I'm not a credulous man."

    "You know, Chavez," Compton said in a more serious mood, "they let me come here too easily. What I mean is they took my word for the danger involved with little or no question."

    "Should they have not taken your word? You are an important man. You sound as if you didn't quite tell them everything."

    They walked into the garden. On either side of them the plants were luxurious, with huge green leaves and strange varicolored flowers. The air was filled with rich scents, and the earth gave the sensation of being very moist and loosely packed. They came into the open area surrounding the pool. Sister Guinivere stood between the two men as they looked at the scene. The water was still, and the disk of Antares was high enough now in the morning sky to be reflected in it.

    The gnome stood on the far side, watching them as they approached, as if he expected them at any moment to break into some words of greeting. Father Chavez knew that they would appear as giants next to the small figure. It would be awkward standing before a member of a race a million years older than mankind and towering over him. It would be aesthetically banal, Chavez thought.

    As they came to the other side of the pool Compton said, "Let me start the conversation, Father."

    "If you wish," Chavez said. 'Why am I afraid, and what does it matter who starts the conversation?' he thought.

    Compton walked up to the standing gnome and sat down cross-legged in front of him. It was a diplomatic gesture. Father Chavez felt relieved and followed the example, motioning Sister Guinivere to do the same. They all looked at the small alien. His eyes were deep-set and large; his hair was white, thin and reached down to his shoulders. He had held his hands behind his back when they had approached, but now they were together in front of him. His shoulders were narrow and his arms were thin. He wore a one-piece coverall with short sleeves. Chavez hoped they would be able to talk to him easily. The gnome looked at each of them in turn. After a few minutes of silence it became obvious that he expected them to start the conversation.

    "My name is Benedict Compton," Compton said, "and this is Father Chavez and Sister Guinivere, his secretary. We came here to ask you about your past, because it concerns us."

    Slowly the gnome nodded his head, but he did not sit with them. There was more silence. Compton gave Chavez a questioning look. "Could you tell us who you are?" Chavez asked. The gnome moved his head sharply to look at him. It's almost as if I interrupted him at something, Chavez thought. There was a sad look on the face now, as if in that one moment he had understood everything-why they were here and the part he would have to play. Chavez felt his stomach grow tense. He felt as if he were being carefully examined. Next to him Compton was playing with a blade of grass. Sister Guinivere sat with her hands folded in her lap. Briefly he recalled the facts he knew about the alien-facts which only a few Earthmen had been given access to over the last century. Facts which demanded that some sort of official attitude be taken. The best-kept secret of the past century was the fact that this small creature had initiated the events which led to the emergence of intelligent life on Earth. In the far past he had harnessed his powers of imagination to a vast machine, which had been built for another purpose, and had used it to create most of the life on Earth. He had been caught at his experiments in cosmology, and exiled. Long before men had gone out to the stars he had been a wanderer in the galaxy, but in recent years he had been handed over to Earth authorities to keep at this extraterrestrial preserve.

    Apparently his people still feared his madness. This was all they had ever revealed to the few Earthmen who took charge of the matter., It was conjectured that the gnome's race was highly isolationist; the gnome was the only member of it that had ever been seen by Earthmen. The opinion was also held that his culture feared contact with other intelligent life, and especially with this illegitimate creation. Of the few who knew about the case, only one or two had ever expressed any disbelief. It was after all, Chavez thought, enough to make any man uneasy. It seemed safer to ignore the matter most of the time. Since that one contact with Earth, the gnome's race had never come back for him and had never offered further explanations. A century ago they had simply left him in Earth orbit, in a small vessel of undeniably superior workmanship. A recorded message gave all the information they had wanted to reveal. Their home world had never been found, and the gnome had remained silent. Benedict Compton had set up this meeting, and Chavez had been briefed by his superiors and instructed to go along as an observer.

    Chavez remembered how the information had at first shaken and then puzzled him. The tension in his stomach grew worse. He wondered about Compton's motives; but he had not dared to question them openly. On Earth many scientists prized the alien as the only contact with a truly advanced culture, and he knew that more than one young student would do anything to unlock the secrets that must surely exist in the brain of the small being now standing in front of him. He felt sure that Compton was hoping for some such thing. Suddenly the small figure took a step back from them. A small breeze waved his long white hair. He stopped and his small, gnarly body took on a strange stature; his face was grief-stricken and his low voice was sad. It wavered as he spoke to them. "I made you to love each other, and through yourselves, me. I needed that love. No one can know how much I needed it, but it had to be freely given, so I had to permit the possibility of it being withheld. There was no other way, and there still is not."

    Chavez looked at Compton for a reaction. The big man sat very still. Sister Guinivere was looking down at the grass in front of her feet. Chavez felt a stirring of fear and panic in his insides. It felt as if the alien was speaking only to him--as if he could relieve the thirst that lived behind those deep-set eyes in that small head. He felt the other's need. lie felt the deprivation that was visible on that face, and he felt that at any moment he would feel the awesome rage that would spill out onto them. This then, he thought, is the madness that his race had spoken about- All the power had been stripped from this being, and now he is a beggar. Instead of rage there was sadness. It was oppressive- It hung in the air around them. What was Compton trying to uncover here? How could all this benefit anyone? Chavez noticed that his left hand was shaking, and he gripped it with the other hand.

    The gnome raised his right hand and spoke again. Dear God, help me, Chavez prayed. Help me to see this clearly. "I rebelled from the hive mind which my race was working toward," the gnome said in a louder voice than before. `"They have achieved it. They are one entity now. What you see in this dwarfed body are only the essentials of myself-the feelings mostly. They wait for the day when the love in my children comes to fruition and they will unite, thus recreating my former self which is now in them. Then I will leave my prison and return to them to become the completion of myself. This body will die then. My longing for that time is without limit, and I will make another history like this one and see it through. Each time I will be the completion of a species and its moving spirit. And again they will give birth to me.  Without this I am nothing."

    There was a loud thunderclap overhead, the unmistakable sound of a shuttle coming through the atmosphere. But it was too early for the starship shuttle to be coming back for them, Chavez thought. Compton jumped up and turned to look toward the administration buildings. Chavez noticed that the gnome was looking at him. Do your people worship a supreme being? Chavez thought the question. Do they have the idea of such a being? Surely you know the meaning of such a being.

    I don't know any such thing, the thought spoke clearly in his head. Do you know him?

    "It's a shuttle craft," Compton said. "Someone's coming to join us."

    Chavez got to his feet and went over to Compton. Sister Guinivere struggled to her feet and joined them. "What is it?" she asked.

    "I-I don't know who it could be," Compton said. Chavez noticed the lack of confidence in the other's voice. Behind them the gnome stood perfectly still, unaffected by the interruption.

    "They've landed by now," Compton said. "It could only be one thing, Father-they've found out my plans for the gnome." Compton came up to him and spoke in a low voice. "Father, this is the only way to get a change on Earth-yes, it's what you think, a cult, with me as its head, but the cause is just. Join me now, Father!"

    Then it's true, Chavez thought. He's planning to bypass the lawful candidacy. Then why did they let him come here?

    There was a rustling sound in the trees and shrubs around the pool area. Suddenly they were surrounded by armed men. Twenty figures in full battle gear had stepped out from the trees and garden shrubs. They stood perfectly still, waiting.

    Antares was directly overhead now, a dark-red circle of light covering twenty percent of the blue dome that was the sky. Noontime.

    Compton's voice shook as he shouted, "What is this? Who the devil are you?"

    A tall man immediately on the other side of the pool from them appeared to be the commanding officer. He wore no gear and there were no weapons in his hands. Instead he held a small piece of paper which he had just taken out of a sealed envelope.

    "Stand away, Father, and you too, Sister!" the officer shouted. "This does not concern you." Then he looked down at the paper in his hand and read: "Benedict Compton, you have been charged with conspiracy to overthrow the government of the Northern Hemisphere on Earth by unlawful means, and you have been tried and convicted by the high court of North America for this crime. The crime involves the use of an alien being as your coconspirator to initiate a religious controversy through a personally financed campaign which would result in your becoming the leader of a subversive cult, whose aim would be to seize power through a carefully prepared hoax. You and your co-conspirator are being eliminated because you are both enemies of the state." The officer folded the paper and put it back in its envelope and placed it in his tunic. Chavez noticed that Sister Guinivere was at his side, and he could tell that she was afraid. Compton turned to Chavez.

    "Father, protect the gnome, whatever he is. Use what authority you have. They won't touch you."

    "The execution order is signed by Secretary Alcibiad herself!" the tall officer shouted.

    Chavez was silent.

    "Father, please!" Compton pleaded. "You can't let this happen." Chavez heard the words, but he was numb with surprise. The words had transfixed him as effectively as any spear. He couldn't move, he couldn't think. Sister Guinivere held his arm. Suddenly Compton was moving toward the gnome.

    "Shoot!"

    The lasers reached out like tongues. The little figure fell. And the thought went out from him in one last effort, reaching light-years into space. I loved you. You did not love me, or each other. They all heard the thought, and it stopped them momentarily. Compton was still standing, but his right arm was gone, and he was bleeding noisily onto the grass.

    "Shoot!" The order went out again. Again the lasers lashed out. Compton fell on his back, a few yards from the gnome. Sister Guinivere fell to the grass on her knees, sobbing. She began to wail. The soldiers began to retreat back to their shuttle craft. Father Chavez sat down on the ground. lie didn't know what to do. lie looked at the two bodies. There was smoke coming from Compton's clothing. The gnome's hair was aflame. The tall officer now stood alone on the other side of the pool Chavez knew that his orders had probably been sealed, and he only now felt their full force. After a few moments the tall officer turned and went after his men. The alien knew this would happen, Chavez thought. He knew, and that was why he told us everything.

    When the great disk of Antares was forty-five degrees above the horizon, Rufus Kade came out to theca. He put the two bodies in plastic specimen bags. Sister Guinivere was calm now and was holding Father Chavez's hand. They both stood up when Kade was finished with the bodies. "They had an official pass from way up," Kade said. "I even checked back on it." He walked slowly with them to the administration building. The shuttle to the starship was ready.

    Thirty hours out from Antares, Father Chavez sat alone in his small cabin looking at the small monitor which showed him where he had been. Soon now the brilliance of the stars would be replaced by the dull emptiness of hyperspace. Antares was a small red disk on the screen. Momentarily Chavez resented the fact that he had been a creation to the gnome. In any case the alien had not been God. His future importance would be no greater than that of Christ-probably less. He had been only an architect, a mere shaper of materials which had existed long before even his great race had come into being. But still-was he not closer to God than any man had ever been? Or would be? The completion for which the gnome had made man would never take place now. The point of mankind's existence as he had made it was gone. And the alien had not known God. If there was such a being, a greatest possible being, he now seemed hopelessly remote . . .

    'O Lord, I pray for a sign!' Chavez thought. But he heard only his thoughts and nothing from the being who would surely have answered in a case like this. And he had stood by while they killed the gnome there in the garden by the poolside, on that planet circling the red star whose diameter was greater than the orbit of Mars. Despite all his reasoning now, Chavez knew that he had stood back while they killed that part of the small creature which had loved humanity.

    But what had he said? The rest of the gnome's being was humanity, and it still existed; except that now it would never be reunited with him. "Do not fear," the holy Antony had said three thousand years ago, "this goodness as a thing impossible, nor its pursuit as something alien, set a great way of: it hangeth on our own arbitrament. For the sake of the Greek learning men go overseas.. . but the city of God is everywhere . . . the kingdom of God is within. The goodness that is in us only asks the human mind." What we can do for ourselves, Chavez thought, that's all that is ours now: goals.

    He took a deep breath as the starship slipped into the nothingness of hyperspace. He felt the burden of the political power which he now carried as a witness to the alien's murder, and he knew that Compton's life had not been for nothing. He would have to hide his intentions carefully, but he knew what he would have to do.

    In time, he hoped anew, we may still give birth to the semblance of godhood that lives on in mankind, on that small world which circles a yellow sun.


    blue roller wrote:Got a busy day today so I will have to keep this brief .

    The power of Pipe organs (yes I do know quite a lot about them) is that you can hold chords indefinitely right ? So regardless of whether you prefer mechanical/ tracker action or electro pneumatic , pipe Organs are powerful tools as indeed are all musical instruments.

    I am very partial to the fiery reeds of Cavaille Coll and I LOVE  Frank . The two CD set from saint Sulpice is one of my favorite recordings ever.

    But I also like the north German school of organ building .

    If you must obsess about the Bible then the king James version is probably the only version worth the candle . Yes , it is enciphered and I am sure John Nash would be able to tell you more about that side of encryption than I can .

    My grandfather was a cryptanalyst at Bletchley Park. Unfortunately AGAIN , LIKE ALL USEFUL GEN , ITS BEEN REMOVED.

    If your going to worry about what people know , know this . All the crap you feel guilty about , they have done it too . So its all even in the end.

    Here's a book you should check out . Its way older than the Bible , goes back to the very beggining and every body has a copy . It can be corrupted slightly but the core Data is always authentic . Its fully annotated and comes with an exhaustive reference library . Its fully reproducible , you get a free copy with every life and you can share information at no charge or fear of copyright infringement.

    Its Called , wait for it ...............DNA.

    You are your most valuable prophet Orthy. Not me or anyone else . You have to stop beating yourself up to get peace . Masturbation is nothing to be ashamed of . If god was to punish every guy that did that there would be no men left on the planet for crying out loud . As long as you diminish yourself you will not give yourself what you really need .

    Go to an escort , seriously .You dont have to have sex if you dont want to. Ask her what you need to get it right . She is being payed to give you objective advice . She has nothing invested in messing you up because she wants you to be a satisfied customer right ? A shrink wont give you the physical connection your body craves . Sexual intimacy unlocks DNA . That's why the churches frown on it and demonize it.

    You think you are ugly ? Rubbish . What have you got to loose by asking a female associate or friend 'okay whats the price of admission , how do I get to first base ?' Women will find your blunt directness refreshing and they LOVE giving advice . Take it with a pinch of salt ,get a second opinion of course and enjoy the process .

    Was Nash a Sexy beast Physically ? He still got lucky. Its all relative Orthy. Stop making excuses and hiding behind your bible . Its not big enough to hide behind anyway . You can do this . I want answers man , Damn it!

    Go forth , orth . Your time is now.
    Thubs Up Thubs Up
    blue roller wrote:Oh and one more thing before I dash . Don't get advice from the women on this forum, Worst mistake you could make . They are mostly to neurotic and in denial . All this spiritual posturing is just that . They are mostly lonely, angry and in denial . They wont give you any straight Gen . They see your insecurity and it mirrors their own . So they are just going to ride you for cheap kicks and beat you up . Its like looking for love in a country and western Tavern . All you will get is broken teeth and a pool cue wrapped around your kidneys.

    There is a real world out there . Did you know Bach got caught having sex with his wife in the Organ Loft Once ? You go , Johann . Dude .

    Bach was no fool. He knew he was a ghost in the machine . But what a legacy he left . Talk about your hardcore Passion of Mathew . Rock on you crazy German Diamond .

    I have met that Organist in person . She is one Horny Babe . Talk about a flirt . Why is it that most male organists are gay and most female organists are dare I say it here , Horn bags ?  Woa , I said it . Oh now I am in trouble . The lord will come in fury and Strike me down ! NOT.

    You know all that Masonic Crap about Boaz and Joachim ? The twin pillars ? You know what it really means ? A woman's legs and the gateway to heaven that lies between them . That , my friend is what that really means .


    blue roller wrote:I have lost count of the number of Christians I knew personally when I lived in the US who read their Bible in the toilet at work while their marriages fell apart from neglect ,guilt and self righteous indignation brought on by the impossible demands of the ten commandments .

    I mean please , thous shalt not covet thy Neighbors wife ? There is not a man on the planet who has not done that . Its impossible to comply with such a demand . I knew a christian pastor who's wife was sleeping with the previous pastor of their church . One wrecked family later this guy has lost everything trying to be a 'good christian'.

    Why are Americans so fanatical about religion ? Because their nation was founded by fanatics ,that's why . Salem Witch hunts, the genocide of 100 million native Americans. And now ,the war on terror . Or in plain speak , AMERICAN IMPERIALISM. Guilt ridden fanatics always project their guilt on to the innocent. ANd who owns congress now ? The Jewish Lobby.

    The Bible is a play book for war by the ultimate terrorist , Jehovah . You know . The guy that wiped out a whole planet . Nuked two cities and encouraged Abraham to kill his own son and sleep with his own daughters ? Hello . There is nothing civilized about the old testament.
    Thank-you blue roller.  The Bible actually makes sense in a Star Wars Context!! This is why I've tried to drag the Bible into my Pseudo-Intellectual Religious and Political Science-Fiction!! Things REALLY Go to Hell When Jesus is Sold Like Soap!! Try reading Patriarchs and Prophets -- Prophets and Kings -- and The Desire of Ages -- in that order (all by Ellen White) as an alternative to reading the Bible from cover to cover!! Does this approach hint-at how the Bible should've been written?? Sorry if that offends -- but the Bible often seems to fall-short of properly representing the Creator(s) of Heaven and Earth (along with everything else)!! The RIGHT Organist -- playing the RIGHT Music -- on the RIGHT Organ -- with the RIGHT Registration -- in the RIGHT Acoustical-Environment -- Is PHENOMINAL!!! But the Right-Stuff is rarely achieved. I lean toward the recordings by Michael Murray. I heard him in concert at the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles (6th and Commonwealth). I spoke with him after the concert, and he was quite the gentleman. I've also enjoyed attending several organ-concerts at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco (atop Nob Hill). Lynne Davis was a class-act. I sat right behind the console. She played the Allegro Movement of Charles Marie Widor's Sixth Organ Symphony -- along with Bach and Vierne. I spoke with her concerning Hymn-Improvisation.

    I especially enjoyed attending a Pierre Cochereau concert at Grace -- in which he did an extensive and well-developed improvisation on a submitted-theme (to which he initially shrugged his shoulders -- much to the delight of the audience)!! I argued with Peter Hereford during a Master-Class at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles (regarding tempo-variation in the music of J.S. Bach)!! BTW -- Sherry Shriner claims that Bach really pissed the demons off with his music!! Bach was supposed to have improvised better music than the music he wrote-down. The same was said for Charles Marie Widor!! I love the G. Donald Harrison Aeolian Skinner electro-pneumatic organ at Grace Cathedral!! But really, I'm a tracker-backer!! I learned that term from Dr. Angela Kraft Cross. We sang together in the choir at the Loma Linda University Church of Seventh-day Adventists -- where I took organ-lessons from Kimo Smith (aka K.S. Bach). Kimo was also the organist at the Hollywood Presbyterian Church (where Fred Bock was the choir-director). Fred was supposed to have done very well with his sheet-music business. He was quite the composer, as well. Lloyd John Ogilve was the pastor -- and I met him after one of the services. He later became the Chaplain of the U.S. Senate.

    I enjoyed attending a Marie Claire Alain Master-Class (with Cherry Rhodes providing the introduction)!! "And now, I introduce to you, the Mademoiselle Marie Claire Alain!!" It doesn't get much better than that!! Auditioning for the Crystal Cathedral Morning Choir in the office of Fred Swann was a nerve-wracking (but fun) experience!! I enjoyed singing for one season -- but when Dr. Robert H. Schuller yelled at me in public, I left the choir and church forever!! The Silberman organs of North Germany are some of my favorites, with a very bright tonal-quality. I especially enjoy hearing the North-German organ-music of Dietrich Buxtehude played on these fine instruments (such as the one in Freiburg Cathedral). The Cavaille-Coll organs of France are my favorites (especially the one in Saint Sulpice)!! BTW -- I watched the erection of a very large organ at Pacific Union College. It was a four-manual tracker-action Rieger (with a French-Romantic tonal-design). I spent WAY Too Much Time playing Bach on this fine-instrument -- where I took organ-lessons from Dr. Del Case. Such an organ would be optimal in the rear-loft at Grace Cathedral. I once turned pages for Dr. David Rothe during an organ-concert he gave at U.C. Berkeley in Hertz Hall. He was a music-professor at Cal State Chico (where they have a tracker built by Munetaka Yokota -- who I briefly-assisted in the initial phase of that project). He later installed a fine-organ at Cornell University.

    One more thing. They should've installed that 1875 Cavaille Coll designed pipe-organ in Saint Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican!! I still think they should do it!! I tend to lean toward making the Bach B-minor Mass the Mass of Choice!! A combination of the Traditional Latin Mass with the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (with Spoken-English and Sung-Latin) might serve as a Stand-In Ecumenical Mass!! I should STOP!! What Would Pope Pius XII Say?? What Would Monseigneur Bowe Say?? I learned about Monseigneur Bowe from the first organist of the New St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco!! I still think that building would be a cool General-Assembly Auditorium for at least one-aspect of a United States of the Solar System!! I should REALLY STOP!! Both Bible-Study and Organ-Music are extremely-difficult (if done properly). They are excellent mental and spiritual exercises -- but they should NOT be crammed-down the throats of the general-public!! Here is yet another study-plan. Try reading Job through Daniel straight-through over and over -- while reading the Rest of the Bible straight-through over and over!! My bias is toward Job through Daniel (in the context of the Whole-Bible). Think About It. One Last Thing. The Grand Piece Symphonique by Cesar Franck is one of my favorites!! I once discussed this work with Fred Swann during a Crystal Cathedral Choir dinner at his home. The discussion revolved around the numerous beginnings and endings -- and the scholarly criticism of this style of composition. I think I might've aggravated him a bit. I'm quite skilled at such things!! Here's something I wrote in the 90's. It was rejected by an SDA journal, so I just let it go, until now. It's not very long or profound, but someone might find it helpful.

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    A NEW SONG

    The eight year-old piano-student looked longingly at the great cathedral in the distance. If only she could help produce beautiful music there someday. But that required perfect keyboard technique. She could never be perfect, she thought. Just then, her teacher entered the room, smiling reassuringly. As the lesson began, he explained that the path of perfection begins with simple songs. Then, step by step, she could play increasingly challenging music. She could have perfect keyboard technique at each step. He also explained that he could not learn for her. She must play her part. Even though the lessons were a free-gift, cooperation between student and teacher were necessary for the free-lessons to continue. A willful, stubborn refusal of the student to harmonize with the teacher and the principles of music, would cancel the gift. The gift was a relationship with no room for boasting or pride. This did not mean, he continued, that she must never make a mistake or do nothing but practice the piano. This would only interfere with the learning process. Learning should be fun! Not the cause of a nervous-breakdown.

    The cathedral was filled to capacity, and there was a buzz of excitement. The people were about to hear something extraordinary. A brilliant young-organist, eighteen years of age, was about to improvise on some of the great hymns, in a new and fresh way. Suddenly, glorious music reverberated through the cathedral. It was like nothing the people had ever heard. True, it was an old hymn, but this was different. The young-lady organist used no written music. She made it up as the program proceeded, following the leading of the Holy-Spirit. There was a Divine-Cooperation to produce a New-Song. Only the student could play this song, for you see, the teacher had no hands, except the hands of his student. A jealous, hate-filled wretch had destroyed the teacher's nimble-fingers many years before. This young student had perfectly-reproduced the keyboard-technique of her teacher, yet there was spontaneity and individuality, and there remained much to learn, and new heights to attain. The cathedral reverberated and pulsed with the great theme "GOD IS LOVE!!"



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    blue roller wrote:The tricky part with all this Orthy is separating the personal from the general when I express an opinion.

    While I cant say I agree with everything Christina Rad says , Damn she's Hot , and I dont mean just to look at . You dont have to agree with everything a person says to like them or admire them .

    Its a shame that humanity puts so much guilt on attraction and passion. I am shameless when it comes to complementing women , even if I dont agree with their politics ,religion .

    That's the thing that's hard to quantify , a persons spirit. Who are we to say they are wrong ? Maybe they need to be wrong in order to experience what they need to get on.

    I have been wrong so many times and I am still getting things wrong I'm sure. But i needed to get it wrong before I got it righter , not absolutely right, but righter in the sense of more balanced , more content ,getting better results and being at peace ,happy.

    Interesting thing is I find when I ask myself why is that person so angry ? its like turning on a magnifying glass and your brain starts to analyze the exterior of that persons gestures, voice , smile or lack of it.

    We are all looking for whats missing in our selves and others . Strangely its easier to see other people's lacks than our own . But if you get out there and relate to them regardless its going to give you useful feedback .

    I come here to stimulate my mind and see if I can connect with a person at a genuine level without the baggage static . Everybody is looking for the one person and yet the many are one and every interaction is at some level sexual . Not overtly physically sexual , but exchanging information /ideas is intimate ,even if a person has all their defenses up .

    Men and Women love to flirt with ideas and beliefs . There's  nearly always a sexual dance to interactions . The more a person denies that ,the chances are the more they are suppressing their need for intimacy .

    Having said that , in practice, full on sexual intimacy that is comfortable warm and truly honest ? Well you are not going to find that with others until you have brought yourself to the party without the baggage.

    I have seen women fall head over heels for a man who may be physically in theory a plain type . BUT the inner strength that they have built up is way sexier to women. Women never ever respect men for being weak and immature . They want inner strength and they know what it takes for a man to get there . Few men stand on their own feet long enough to become themselves .

    When I was young I took crazy risks and did crazy stuff . Worked with trailer trash and bad asses . I saw the America that most Americans fear to get close to . But I loved it . I loved being on the edge even when I was thinking "holy Sh111t ,these guys are freaking dangerous". I faced fear many times and realized something important . Its the down at heel that reach out hardest to feel. It all comes out wrong because they are insecure and have low self esteem , but they taught me more than my most favorite books ever could about life . Bar fights , drugs, violence , acts of desperation and despair . Never mind the Hollywood BS . Reality beats reality TV hands down.

    I used to love to talk to waitresses .American waitresses can teach you more about life than some spoiled ivy league princess with a Psych degree ever could .Because they live on the edge . Not in the Hedge.

    Every now and then though ,the angels take you under their wing and they often disguise themselves as Bikers ,whores and tramps ! Yes .We are talking ET's with multiple degree's . Not just in physics and the arts , but LIFE. They LOVE coming here to get down and dirty with Humans . Its like being in a gangster movie only for real. And if they get killed during the trip , that's like GOLD STAR experience .

    "You got Killed in a Bar in LA ? On Santa Monica Boulevard ? "

    "Yep it was awesome . I was talking to an underage hooker and her pimp just wasted me with a .40 cal Glock !"

    " Dude , I TOTALLY have to try that ."

    Life is such an awesome experience and if this is Hell , its a Helluva trip.
    blue roller wrote:You know what I found out when I turned Fourty ? I was standing/living on top of what is probably the Biggest most important ET underground base in the southern Hemisphere .

    No biggy really . There is a string of them all around the coast line of Australia. Way more important than that piddly ass base in new Mexico.

    You can always tell your living near a GENUINE ET base . There is a certain Buzz , a sense of expansiveness . Because you are literally living next to a gateway to the stars . So while most ET's walking the streets here stay incognito , occasionally they will drop their disguise to say hello .

    Its nice and I promise you its no big deal once you get past the WTF phase .

    This tiny backwater planet is kind of the hicksville of this quadrant. Well it is basically . The first thing any human would notice about the many species of females they may bump in to here is that they are strong, Sexy ,relaxed and comfortable in their own skins . Kinda like Charlies Angels. The guys are easy going and relaxed. No strutting or posing . No rudeness or arrogance .

    There are Humanoids out there that you would not superficially pick for ET's  but you can feel they are different . This does not freak me out at all. But it makes most earth humans VERY uncomfortable . Nervous , angry , suspicious ,resentful. Its kind of like the reception I get on Forums.

    I had one lady walk up my drive way to say hello one day , Fighter Pilot . Drop dead sexy but not in a slutty pole dancer way . Platinum blond hair and very pale skin . Massive blue blue eye's. She could not talk as long as I would have liked but it was wonderful. Physical beauty is nice but inner beauty ,that's the biggest turn on.

    Sometimes I wish I could just sit and stare at  them but its a tad rude to do that. So I pay the complement and sincere complements are always appreciated. Its not that ET Chicks go out to attract sexual attention or flaunt it .They just are so fabulous , you cant help thinking 'WOW!

    These people are FREE Orthy . They are not hung up and ashamed . They are happy adventurous individuals.
    Thank-you blue roller. I admire French Organists who can improvise for hours -- with no written-music whatsoever. My understanding is that they learn their rare-art by sitting at the organ-console for hours -- playing every conceivable combination of notes -- regardless of how horrible it sounds. A Cathedral-Organist once tried to teach me to improvise (following a Mass). I didn't do very well -- but it was fun, just the same. The organist told me that if I made a mistake -- to just repeat it immediately -- to make it seem as if the discordant-note was intentional. Another famous-organist suggested that one should simply resolve the mistake in a graceful-manner. Perhaps these are valuable-lessons for living-life. BTW -- I have suggested that Sacred Classical Music might serve as an Ecumenical-Foundation -- but what do I know?? What worries me about life, sexuality, and mistakes -- is the possibility that everything we say and do is observed and recorded -- electronically and/or supernaturally -- as if we're all a bunch of goddamn lab-rats. Read the last chapter of Ecclesiastes. Then, throw in terms such as "Guardian-Angels", "Recording-Angels", "Every Secret-Thing", and so on. Metatron in the Bedroom?? Metatron Likes to Watch!! What Would Alan Rickman Say?? One more thing. I seem to be completely unattractive to the opposite-sex -- and that's before I open my mouth. I remind myself of John Nash (Russell Crowe) in A Beautiful Mind.
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    blue roller wrote:Yes , somehow I just Knew you were an Organ Buff.

    Hey , that's cool . I know what Pipe Organs do to people. Its a small world Eh ? So what do you think of Fisk ? Andover is still in Business I think but I am not sure about those guys down in Virginia who's name escapes me. Taylor and Boody ! That's it. They do good work.

    You should also know that Computer programmers love Organs . Well its a mechanical computer essentially.

    During the war , the allies used concert broadcasts to transmit coded signals to the resistance , did you know that ? Keyboards work best for obvious reasons.

    Well you know the Pipe organ is the king of instruments but I think that extended exposure to them can actually make Organists a bit neurotic , which is a shame . Its a strange world really because there you are playing the game at church every Sunday knowing full well that the punters are being fleeced.

    I grew up C of E , but its not as fanatical as the US churches . We did not go to church to get right with the lord . We went for the music . I used to help Dad fix the pneumatic barker action levers on our church organ . Nice Organ , a Lewis with very French tonal Voicing . Nice Reeds. F**ckin' awesome trumpet stop too. Dad was a big father Willis man himself .He liked the English sound.

    Tracker Backer Eh ? Yes , I suppose I prefer them in many ways but there are limits to mechanical action instruments. Well there you go . Your probably one of those guys that can quote the stop list on all your favorite Organs Right ? Pedal ,choir, ruck positive, great and swell . Do you like Spanish Horizontal Trumpets ?

    Well there is one swell organ you need to exercise a bit more my friend and im not talking about the one in the box with the progressive action doors and foot pedal actuation either.

    Do you like that Dr who episode where he uses the organ at Westminster ? Harmonics can do amazing things.

    There is much more to that cathedral than meets the Eye. They have a Holo deck there . I have been through it .
    Fisk is one of the best (if not the best). I have even suggested Fisk as a possible builder of that 1875 Cavaille Coll designed organ for St. Peters (since C-C hasn't existed for a very long time). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0739167286?keywords=cavaille%20coll%20st%20peters&qid=1457507194&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 I think the founder was training to be a nuclear-scientist (or something like that) when he caught the organ-building bug. Dr. David Rothe (who I took lessons from) got his doctorate from Stanford -- and they had a 55 rank Fisk (in the Memorial Chapel). He was a proponent of installing a tracker in the rear-loft at Grace Cathedral. BTW -- I knew a Ship-Captain who (as a young Catholic-School student) interviewed Bishop James Pike at Grace Cathedral. Bishop Pike was outspokenly against the Vietnam War -- and outspokenly for Situation-Ethics!! He tragically died in the desert, under strange circumstances. I have an autographed-copy of a book by his wife (Diane Pike).

    Didn't they use a keyboard for communicating with the aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind?? I wasn't aware of that WWII trivia!! I think organists often are so "above it all" that they "lose touch". But really, organists and choirmasters should be consulted regarding "church-reform". I sometimes wonder if a State-Church which only provided the Best Sacred Classical Music for no-charge to the attendees -- might not be a bad idea?! No Preaching. No Mumbo-Jumbo. No Bullshit. Just Sacred Classical Music!! If people really wanted Guilt, Fear, Hatred, Confusion, Controversy, and Nervous-Breakdowns -- they could pay to take a class from the clergy!! Go Anglican-Agnostics!! BTW -- I am presently reading a Church of England Book of Common Prayer (with amazing artwork throughout). I was surprised to find No Psalter in that prayer-book!! I'm currently thinking in terms of a Prayer-Book with Job through Daniel in the NKJV -- and the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal -- all in One-Book!! Sherry Shriner spoke of Lucifer attending the Queen's Jubilee and/or a Royal Wedding (sitting in the second or third row)!! I am still suspecting that "Lucifer" might be a "Fall-Guy" term -- as a cover-story for more than one God, Goddess, or Archangel. I've been told that "Lucifer" no longer exists -- but I suspect a "Name-Change Game". What Would "The Changeling" Say?? What Would Pazuzu Do?? What Would Loki Do?? Have you read One More Sunday by John D. MacDonald?? Salvation4Sale?? Bugged Confessionals?? I should STOP!!

    The Barker-Levers made playing large tracker-action organs MUCH easier on the fingers (especially when coupling manuals)!! My favorite stop is one from the organ at the former Crystal Cathedral: La Force '64!! "May La Force Be With You!!" That organ has some kick@$$ trompettes!! But I prefer the State Trompettes at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine!! I love ANY well placed and voiced horizontal-trompettes!! I'm NOT looking for sexual-experiences!! I'm NOT joking about the concept of hiring a Sexy and Intelligent Research-Assistant (sort of like Dr. Who and His-Assistant)!! But that would be strictly-academic in nature!! I need to see that Dr. Who episode with the organ at Westminster Abbey!! BTW -- did you hear about the "Streaker in Church"?? They caught him by the organ!! One more thing. The Ancient Egyptian Deity told me that "Sex is Extremely Important!!" I've loved and lost -- and now I don't want any kind of love anymore!! Sort of like James Dean in East of Eden. I keep thinking in terms of East of Giza!! BTW -- note the barefooted organist at Stanford!! They don't pay those guys enough!! One more thing. Remember Tony Bennett's I Left My Heart in San Francisco?? The joke is "I Left My Heart in Palo Alto -- at Stanford!!" (Get It?? Heart-Transplant??) Do You Know the Way to San Jose?? What Would Julia Say??


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    If this is my last post for a while -- I'm NOT going away MAD. I'm just going away, with my tail between my legs (or is that thing really my tail??)!! BTW -- a sexy-organist once stroked my cheek with her fingers, as she cooed, "Caress the Keys!!" That's all I'm going to say about THAT!! But really, isn't making-music a lot like making-love?? I learned that from a Catholic-Organist!! There's a lot I could say about this thread -- but I prefer to play-dumb about a lot of things. It really comes quite naturally!! I just go with the flow!! How 'bout a Whorehouse for Organists??!! "Play the Widor Toccata perfectly for a BIG Surprise!!!"
    blue roller wrote:Musicians ! you guys are a funny lot . Why do musicians seem to be a walking disaster area in relationships ? What is it with you people ? Dont get me wrong , I love music and I had a wonderful affair with a Keyboard player myself . She was a Vision of beauty and very talented but like so many musicians  ,hot housed by her parents and the RCM . It left its mark but she is fine now . Must have been my angelic influence .  Cool

    Its a tight Knit world of fragile ego's and career's I guess. I suppose they  live in the clouds and forget to put their Harps down before they deal with the mundane stuff.

    I want to build myself a small cabinet /continuo organ one day but its a while off before I will get to it .

    Music is such a powerful medium but I think many musicians are not coached very well on life skills to counter their dedication to their art . I was often astonished at their lack of practical ability in many areas .Still am. They tend to grasp at 'facts' without knowing the technical realities . Often their romantic flights of fancy color their perception . For this reason and others they are usually not terribly welcome on the shop floor of an Organ builders workshop. They usually just make a complete balls up of anything they are given to do .

    But then that's the way of it eh ? I hate computers . I really dont like learning to much about them.

    I used to tell my GF not to worry about the tiny mistakes and focus on feeling the passion in her playing . Technical perfection can become a painful exercise to listen to. They say Bach could entrance his audience playing the Clavichord. Well its all in the phrasing in my experience . Its the space between the notes as much as the notes themselves. The teasing ,needing and massaging of time and motion that makes the moment so exquisite.

    I find the best players are the ones who say little and smile much .

    I liked it when my teacher pressed her breasts against my back as she taught me phrasing . A bit distracting but in a nice way . She is a damn good player .

    That's what its about Orthy. Feeling and being . To me the Bible is a punch bowl full of Piss . To many meddlers and not enough sweet apples.

    And another thing that really bugs me about professional classical musicians. They dont get out and play for the sheer joy of it as much as they should. I used to make Organists do stuff they shouldn't like play totally inappropriate stuff . I would be clutching my stomach at the delicious impropriety of it and they would be wringing their hands afterwards worrying what god would do ! Like he was even listening.

    For heavens sake , live a little and f**k the priests . Give me some funk and rock that big Bitch you neurotic old Queen ! All that heavy weight grunt and your playing some pansy ass dithering melancholy guff . Ugh. Work it baby ,work it like a Ho. Heh heh Heh heh Lmao

    Oh and just in case your wondering , I have done a J.S Bach and taken a GF in the Loft . She may have only pulled out one stop but it was a damn fine tune.
    blue roller wrote:Its a crazy world isnt it ? Some would read my last post and say 'your the Devil BR'. No , I really am not an evil person at all . But what I am trying to say is this . Nothing suffocates the spirit of joy in life quicker than prudery. Behind every stuffed shirt there is a hungry soul desperate for warmth and intimacy.

    Monogamy is a lovely concept and it can be for some people ,more than enough , if they find a genuine soul mate . But often there is much trial and error before the right person comes along. Far to many marriages are leveraged and arranged , not the the result of deep abiding love .

    To many women settle for second best or good provider. To many men are wet behind the ears and helpless mother's boy's .

    Religion does not enable the spirit . It crushes it.

    So many Christians used to come to me for advice on their love/sex life . I could not believe how guilty they felt about everything . Ridiculous stuff .

    How many Children did Bach have ? Dont tell me he was not a passionate man and practical too. That was part of his greatness . And a rebel constantly at war with the absurdities of the Churches he worked for .

    Improvisation is not just for Organists with flair and imagination. It should be the By word for every authentic life . Surrendering to the moment and letting your heart speak instead of repeating the party line.

    Most people do not live . They serve blindly a god who does not exist , a devil that is little more than the product of their own paranoia. I used to laugh out loud with a lot of the Christians I worked with . We would have sex clinics during working hours . 'How do I ,you know , foreplay and stuff ?'. So My friend and I would tell them . Don't rush the gates of paradise young man ,take your time and savor the moment . If your done in five minutes the marriage will be over in five months.

    Sex before marriage ? go for it man. Try before you buy .

    Sexual guilt crucifies more people in an hour now than the Romans did in five centuries. If that's progress then I aint buyin' it Honey .

    Anyone who says to me " I Don't need love no more " is lying to themselves and no one believes them for a split second . James Dean , the Hero for people with Zero self esteem.

    I have heard people say that when they give up on life and loose faith in themselves . I said it after my second big break up. Took me a few years to get up on my feet again , but its okay , I got back to embracing life again . Love is not without risk but a life without love is no life at all. Self esteem is a worthy subject for a lifetime of research and development . Bible study ? Meh . That's my definition of mental torture.

    I put a Bullet through a Bible once to see if god would get pissed with me . Sun came out instead.
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    Last edited by orthodoxymoron on Tue Sep 06, 2016 9:50 pm; edited 1 time in total
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Mon Aug 29, 2016 9:13 am

    blue roller wrote:The Mayflower families have a lot to answer for one way and another , not least being that insidious ,duplicitous rag of corporate horse XXXX called the US constitution. For a start its totally illegal because it discounts the true NATIVE Americans .

    America is a corporate slave colony . Its not paved with Gold, its paved with concrete . Its language is corporate slave language , not authentic English.

    America the home of the free ? Bollocks. Never was .

    Natural law or Common law is not written down for a good reason. Its subject to interpretation. I dont need some law dictionary to tell me when some corporate goon with a BS security clearance is f***ing me around . All it needs is a brief meeting to discuss the infraction then a jury of peers to asses the facts presented in the case . No courts ,no lawyers . Just a community acting impartially and fairly.

    Stars and prison bars . Like the yanks think they own the Moon because they stuck some lame ass flag on it .

    You know Orthy ,on paper , it all sounds so reasonable , just like any election candidates promises . But talk is cheap and laws enforced become tyranny's best ally .

    Its like That piece of XXXX book series called Dune . Just a rehash of the Messiah prophecy . Jesus in a space suit . F*** that BS. Melange /spice is just a pseudonym for Coke ,heroine.  Frank Herbert is just another corporate propagandist. As is that tool who wrote Enders Game . Trust a bloody Mormon to pump that trash.

    You see ,the thing is Orthy  these Twats take beauty and put it behind bars . If you want to f*** a princess on a prison barge  your already there.

    Everyone is a whore on this planet until they wake up and say no , no more .

    America is a story made up just like the new testament Jesus to make money and consolidate power . BUT the artists know this and encipher the truth in their propaganda so that when individuals start to think for themselves they have a subtext narrative to guide them.

    Kubrick was a corporate whore . Spielberg is a massive Ho . But they dont like it . They had a gun at their head.

    You cannot embrace truth at face value and get coherent answers . It does not work like that here . Truth is a painted whore but until you bed down with the whore your not going to wake up with her in the morning and see her as she really is .

    Can you forgive the whore for being as much a prostitute as you ?
    Thank-you blue roller. I used to play the organ shown below. It looks like Darth Vader -- and I have the same "D.V." initials!! What Would Azazel Say?? I think someone called me "Lucifer" the other day (but I'm not sure). I think a "changeling-thing" occurred in antiquity -- and I think a "reverse changeling-thing" will be attempted in modernity. What Would the "Lamb Slain From the Foundation of the World" Say?? Will the Original-Victim be made to be the Eschatological-Scapegoat?? Mea Culpa?? Please watch that 1980 movie The Changeling -- imagining the murdered little-boy "Joseph" to be the Biblical-Joseph and/or Dr. Who (with his "Coat of Many Colors" in The Trial of a Time-Lord). Imagine the Senator as being the Valeyard and/or the God of This World. Imagine the little-boy "Joseph" being brought back to life in modernity -- to serve as a "Scapegoat" or "Azazel" for the sins of the Senator / Valeyard / God of This World. I am attempting "Extreme-Modeling" in my U.S.S.S. threads (to create a context -- and to communicate concepts). I am NOT like this in "real-life". Am I THAT Good of a Writer (that people think I Am What I Write)??

    Consider studying Joshua through Malachi side-by-side with Acts through Revelation (noting what is said and not-said about the Torah and the Gospels). Consider studying the "Story of Joseph" side-by-side with the "Teachings of Jesus".

    Remember that "Gnome" story in the previous-post?? Ever heard of the Human (G)NOME Project ??!! What if Humanity has rejected the Gnome -- and chosen the Devil -- for another six-thousand years of murder, mayhem, and enslavement?? That wouldn't surprise me one little bit. Did we disown our Creator in antiquity?? Have we disowned our Creator once again, in modernity?? That wouldn't surprise me one little bit. Did we all enjoy the last six-thousand years?? Has ANYONE Really studied History and the Bible?? Are we fighting the supposedly impending "New World Order" when we've actually been under the "New World Order" for the past six-thousand years??

    I'm really not going to post for a while -- but I'd particularly enjoy your thoughts regarding how a solar system should be structured and operated. I get the distinct impression that you might know a lot about that sort of thing. BTW -- was Charles Darwin a gifted student?? Who was your favorite human in all of Earth history?? I should've let the Ancient Egyptian Deity do all the talking (several years ago). They hinted that I was getting in the way with all of my questions and comments. Thank-you for your Inside-Information and Trenchant-Wisdom!! One More Thing. Fukushima occurred immediately following the termination of my face to face conversations with RA. That's all I'm going to say. Someone just told me to "RUN!!" But I don't think there's ANYPLACE to Hide!! I leave you with a thread (started by Anchor, six-years ago) which initiated my participation on this site. http://www.themistsofavalon.net/t833-orthodoxymoron?highlight=orthodoxymoron

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    The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.  2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.  3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?  4 One generation passeth away , and another generation cometh : but the earth abideth for ever.  5 The sun also ariseth , and the sun goeth down , and hasteth to his place where he arose .  6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually , and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.  7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come , thither they return again .  8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing , nor the ear filled with hearing .  9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done : and there is no new thing under the sun.  10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said , See , this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.  11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.  12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.  13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.  14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.  15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight : and that which is wanting cannot be numbered .  16 I communed with mine own heart, saying , Lo, I am come to great estate , and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.  17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.  18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

    I said in mine heart, Go to now , I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity.  2 I said of laughter, It is mad : and of mirth, What doeth it?  3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.  4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:  5 I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:  6 I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees:  7 I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:  8 I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers , and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments , and that of all sorts.  9 So I was great , and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.  10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.  11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought , and on the labour that I had laboured to do : and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.  12 And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done .  13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.  14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.  15 Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise ? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.  16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten . And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.  17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.  18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.  19 And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured , and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.  20 Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.  21 For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.  22 For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?  23 For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.  24 There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink , and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw , that it was from the hand of God.  25 For who can eat , or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?  26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up , that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

    To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  2 A time to be born , and a time to die ; a time to plant , and a time to pluck up that which is planted ;  3 A time to kill , and a time to heal ; a time to break down , and a time to build up ;  4 A time to weep , and a time to laugh ; a time to mourn , and a time to dance ;  5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together ; a time to embrace , and a time to refrain from embracing ;  6 A time to get , and a time to lose ; a time to keep , and a time to cast away ;  7 A time to rend , and a time to sew ; a time to keep silence , and a time to speak ;  8 A time to love , and a time to hate ; a time of war, and a time of peace.  9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?  10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.  11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.  12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice , and to do good in his life.  13 And also that every man should eat and drink , and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.  14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth , it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.  15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past .  16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.  17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.  18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.  19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.  20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again .  21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?  22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

    So I returned , and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed , and they had no comforter ; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter .  2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.  3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.  4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.  5 The fool foldeth his hands together , and eateth his own flesh.  6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.  7 Then I returned , and I saw vanity under the sun.  8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.  9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.  10 For if they fall , the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth ; for he hath not another to help him up .  11 Again, if two lie together , then they have heat : but how can one be warm alone?  12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken .  13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished .  14 For out of prison  he cometh to reign ; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor .  15 I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.  16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

    Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear , than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.  2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.  3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.  4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed .  5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow , than that thou shouldest vow and not pay .  6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin ; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?  7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.  8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor , and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth ; and there be higher than they.  9 Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.  10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.  11 When goods increase , they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding  of them with their eyes?  12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much : but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep .  13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.  14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.  15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came , and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.  16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came , so shall he go : and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?  17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.  18 Behold that which I have seen : it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink , and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.  19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.  20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

    There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men:  2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth , yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger  eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.  3 If a man beget an hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say , that an untimely birth is better than he.  4 For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.  5 Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other.  6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?  7 All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled .  8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?  9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.  10 That which hath been is named  already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.  11 Seeing there be many things that increase vanity, what is man the better?  12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

    A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth .  2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.  3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better .  4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.  5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.  6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.  7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad ; and a gift destroyeth the heart.  8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.  9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry : for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.  10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.  11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.  12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.  13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight , which he hath made crooked ?  14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider : God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.  15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.  16 Be not righteous over much ; neither make thyself over wise : why shouldest thou destroy thyself?  17 Be not over much wicked , neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?  18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.  19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.  20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.  21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken ; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:  22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.  23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said , I will be wise ; but it was far from me.  24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out ?  25 I applied mine heart to know , and to search , and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:  26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth  God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.  27 Behold , this have I found , saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:  28 Which yet my soul seeketh , but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found ; but a woman among all those have I not found .  29 Lo , this only have I found , that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

    Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine , and the boldness of his face shall be changed .  2 I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.  3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.  4 Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?  5 Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.  6 Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.  7 For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?  8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.  9 All this have I seen , and applied my heart unto every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.  10 And so I saw the wicked buried , who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done : this is also vanity.  11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.  12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged , yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:  13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.  14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.  15 Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat , and to drink , and to be merry : for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.  16 When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)  17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out , yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

    For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.  2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth , and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner ; and he that sweareth , as he that feareth an oath.  3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead .  4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.  5 For the living know that they shall die : but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten .  6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished ; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.  7 Go thy way , eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.  8 Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.  9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.  10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do , do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest .  11 I returned , and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding , nor yet favour to men of skill ; but time and chance happeneth to them all.  12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.  13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:  14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:  15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.  16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised , and his words are not heard .  17 The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.  18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

    Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour : so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.  2 A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left.  3 Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool.  4 If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.  5 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:  6 Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place.  7 I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.  8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.  9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.  10 If the iron be blunt , and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct .  11 Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better.  12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.  13 The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.  14 A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?  15 The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.  16 Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!  17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!  18 By much slothfulness the building decayeth ; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through .  19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry  : but money answereth all things.  20 Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber  : for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.

    Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.  2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.  3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth , there it shall be .  4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap .  5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.  6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper , either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.  7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:  8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many . All that cometh is vanity.  9 Rejoice , O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.  10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

    Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh , when thou shalt say , I have no pleasure in them;  2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened , nor the clouds return after the rain:  3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble , and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few , and those that look out of the windows be darkened ,  4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low ;  5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish , and the grasshopper shall be a burden , and desire shall fail : because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:  6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed , or the golden bowl be broken , or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.  7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.  8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.  9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed , and sought out , and set in order many proverbs.  10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.  11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd .  12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished : of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.  13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.  14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing , whether it be good, or whether it be evil.


    Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  4 Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted .  5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled .  7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy .  8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.  9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  11 Blessed are ye , when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil  against you falsely , for my sake .  12 Rejoice , and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.  13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour , wherewith shall it be salted ? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot  be hid .  15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.  17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy , but to fulfil .  18 For verily I say unto you, Till  heaven and earth pass , one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till  all be fulfilled .  19 Whosoever  therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed  the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.  21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill ; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:  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, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say , Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.  23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;  24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.  25 Agree  with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.  26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.  27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery :  28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.  29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out , and cast it 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 hell.  30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off , and cast it 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 hell.  31 It hath been said  , Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:  32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery : and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery .  33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself , but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:  34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:  35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool  : neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.  36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.  37 But let your communication be , Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.  38 Ye have heard that it hath been said , An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:  39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  40 And if any man will sue thee at the law , and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.  41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away .  43 Ye have heard that it hath been said , Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye ? do not even the publicans the same?  47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

    Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen  of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.  2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth :  4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly .  5 And when thou prayest , thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you , They have their reward.  6 But thou, when thou prayest , enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly .  7 But when ye pray , use not vain repetitions , as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.  8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.  9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  10 Thy kingdom come . Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.  11 Give us this day our daily bread.  12 And forgive us our debts, as  we forgive our debtors.  13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.  14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.  16 Moreover when ye fast , be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast . Verily I say unto you , They have their reward.  17 But thou, when thou fastest , anoint thine head, and wash thy face;  18 That thou appear not unto men to fast , but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly .  19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt , and where thieves break through and steal :  20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt , and where thieves do not break through nor steal :  21 For where your treasure is , there will your heart be also.  22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!  24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot  serve God and mammon.  25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat , or what ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on . Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  26 Behold  the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap , nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin :  29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is , and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  31 Therefore take no thought , saying , What shall we eat ? or, What shall we drink ? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed ?  32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek :) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged .  2 For with what judgment ye judge , ye shall be judged : and with what measure ye mete , it shall be measured to you again .  3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold , a beam is in thine own eye?  5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.  6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.  7 Ask , and it shall be given you; seek , and ye shall find ; knock , and it shall be opened unto you:  8 For every one that asketh receiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened .  9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give  him a stone?  10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give  him a serpent?  11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?  12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.  13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat  :  14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.  15 Beware  of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  16 Ye shall know them by their fruits . Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  18 A good tree cannot  bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down , and cast into the fire.  20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  23 And then will I profess unto them , I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  24 Therefore whosoever  heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  25 And the rain descended , and the floods came , and the winds blew , and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.  26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:  27 And the rain descended , and the floods came , and the winds blew , and beat upon that house; and it fell : and great was the fall of it

    The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:  3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe , that observe and do ; but do not ye after their works: for they say , and do not.  4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men  : they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,  6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,  7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.  8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.  9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.  10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.  11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.  12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased ; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted .  13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in .  14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer : therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.  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 hell than yourselves.  16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say , Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor !  17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?  18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever  sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty .  19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?  20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon .  21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.  22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon .  23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment , mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done , and not to leave the other undone .  24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.  25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.  26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.  27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.  28 Even so ye also  outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,  30 And say , If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.  31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.  32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.  33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?  34 Wherefore , behold , I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify ; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:  35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.  36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.  37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy  children together , even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!  38 Behold , your house is left unto you desolate.  39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth , till ye shall say , Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

    See ye the temple? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Take heed that no man deceive you.  5 For many shall come in my name, saying , I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled : for all these things must come to pass , but the end is not yet.  7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  8 All  these are the beginning of sorrows.  9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.  10 And then shall many be offended , and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.  11 And many false prophets shall rise , and shall deceive many.  12 And because iniquity shall abound , the love of many shall wax cold .  13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved .  14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come .  15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth , let him understand :)  16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:  17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:  18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.  19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!  20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:  21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be .  22 And except those days should be shortened , there should no flesh be saved : but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened .  23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo , here is Christ, or there; believe it not.  24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.  25 Behold , I have told you before .  26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold , he is in the desert; go not forth : behold , he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.  27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be .  28 For wheresoever the carcase is , there will the eagles be gathered together .  29 Immediately  after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened , and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken :  30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn , and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other .  32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:  33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.  34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass , till  all these things be fulfilled .  35 Heaven and earth shall pass away , but my words shall not pass away .  36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.  37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be .  38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking , marrying and giving in marriage , until the day that Noe entered into the ark,  39 And knew not until the flood came , and took them all away ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be .  40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken , and the other left .  41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken , and the other left .  42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come .  43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come , he would have watched , and would not have suffered his house to be broken up .  44 Therefore  be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh .  45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?  46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing .  47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods .  48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming ;  49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken ;  50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of ,  51 And shall cut him asunder , and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

    Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.  2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  3 They that were foolish took their  lamps, and took no oil with them:  4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  5 While the bridegroom tarried , they all slumbered and slept .  6 And at midnight there was a cry made , Behold , the bridegroom cometh ; go ye out to meet him.  7 Then all those virgins arose , and trimmed their lamps.  8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out .  9 But the wise answered , saying , Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell , and buy for yourselves.  10 And while they went to buy , the bridegroom came ; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut .  11 Afterward  came also the other virgins, saying , Lord, Lord, open to us.  12 But he answered and said , Verily I say unto you, I know you not.  13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh .  14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country , who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods .  15 And unto one he gave five talents , to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey .  16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.  17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.  18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.  19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh , and reckoneth  with them.  20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying , Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.  21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.  22 He also that had received two talents came and said , Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.  23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.  24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said , Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown , and gathering where thou hast not strawed :  25 And I was afraid , and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.  26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed :  27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.  28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.  29 For unto every one that hath shall be given , and he shall have abundance : but from him that hath not shall be taken away  even that which he hath .  30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:  32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:  33 And he shall set  the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.  34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come , ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  35 For I was an hungred , and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty , and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in :  36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick , and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.  37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying , Lord, when saw we thee an hungred , and fed thee? or thirsty , and gave thee drink ?  38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in ? or naked, and clothed thee?  39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?  40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.  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:  42 For I was an hungred , and ye gave me no meat : I was thirsty , and ye gave me no drink :  43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in : naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.  44 Then shall they also answer him, saying , Lord, when saw we thee an hungred , or athirst , or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?  45 Then shall he answer them, saying , Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.  46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.  


    Last edited by orthodoxymoron on Tue Sep 13, 2016 9:00 pm; edited 2 times in total
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Wed Aug 31, 2016 12:56 pm

    I walked by a Jesuit University today -- and I thought to myself "What the Hell Are They Doing In There??" Sorry. I Couldn't Resist. Will the Info-War ultimately cause people to "Shut-Down"?? I continue to think that most people don't have the time, energy, motivation, and aptitude to REALLY think-through the stuff I've posted on this website (or anything, for that matter). God help the poor-soul who actually thinks things through -- and then enthusiastically tells everyone what they've discovered!! Try thinking in terms of the following possibilities regarding a general modus operandi since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden:

    1. King David v King Solomon.

    2. King David and the Queen of Sheba v King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

    3. The King David Version of the Queen of Sheba v The King Solomon Version of the Queen of Sheba.

    4. Good King and Queen v Bad King and Queen (in generic-terms).

    5. No Contest at the Very-Top (Going Way, Way, Way Back).

    6. All Possible Possibilities.

    Please understand that I'm trying to understand a seemingly "Great-Divide" between a Loving and Ethical "God of This World" and a Harsh and Materialistic "God of This World". Has the Creator of Humanity been the God of This World for the Past 6,000 years?? What if they were deposed 6,000 years-ago?? If so, would the Creator be "Christ" and their replacement be "Antichrist"?? What if the "Creator of Humanity" was the "Lamb Slain From the Foundation of the World"?? What if the "Original-Crucifixion" occurred 6,000 years-ago?? What if the "Replacement-Crucifixion" occurred 2,000 years-ago?? What if a Reinstated-Creator in modernity would constitute the "Antichrist Replacing the Antichrist"?? Does the True and Living God REALLY Require the Shedding of Blood for the Remission of Sins?? What Would Isaiah Say?? Put Down Those Stones!!

    I was finished with this thread BUT now I can barely use my new-computer. The fan is revving up and down at high RPM's -- and I can't search this website. Everything is at a standstill. My computer is obviously being messed-with BIG-TIME. Once again, this is NOT a Game of Logic -- or a Game of Ethics -- or a Game of Concepts -- or a Game of Principles. It is a Game of Deception and Manipulation. I know someone who will hardly converse with me anymore, concerning the most simple and straightforward matters. They seem to be SCARED-STIFF of something. I see classic signs of BRAINWASHING. We Are NOT Free. The Illusion of Freedom is Maintained -- While Things Are Nefariously Managed with an Iron-Fist From the Shadows. The World Is As It Is Because Someone Wants It To Be That Way. Jordan Maxwell has hinted-at this sort of thing throughout the years. The Ancient Egyptian Deity suggested to me that Earth might be Hell. I've encountered the phrase "Demons in Human-Form Sitting in Church-Pews"!! Isn't That Creepy??!! I am STRONGLY Suggesting that some of you DEEPLY Study my three United States of the Solar System: A.D. 2133 Threads. Once again, this is NOT intended for the General-Public BUT I suspect that my internet-madness MIGHT be presented to the General-Public in sinister and deceptive ways WITHOUT My Consent. This stuff is intended for those who are ALREADY Way-Down the Rabbit-Hole. Once again, I don't know who that "Ancient Egyptian Deity" who said "I AM RA" REALLY was -- but I haven't lied about my perceptions of what happened to me. Whoever they were, they did NOT seem to be just another crackpot or practical-joker. BTW -- RA said I had "Done It With YouTube". A strange individual knocked on my door a couple of years ago, and I don't remember what they wanted or offered, but they were extremely persistent, to the point that I told them to leave, which they did. As they were leaving, they muttered, "If it was just a contest been between you and me, I would kick your @$$" (or something to that effect). Several years ago, a rather rude man said, "You Did Good -- For a Loser". What is the meaning of this?? What if this "Earth and Humanity" Game Cannot Be Won By ANYONE Long-Term??!! What if Earth is a Galactic-Vietnam?? What if that was the original-intention?? What Would Azazel Say??

    Continue to consider my work as being Religious and Political Science-Fiction intended for Agents with Badges in Underground Bases!! I continue to promise "No Surprises". My intentions are to study the territory I've already covered, without branching-out into other areas of madness. Perhaps in my Next-Life I can serve as some sort of a Token Righteous Solar-System Consultant. I continue to wonder if this solar-system MUST be ruled by Reprehensible and Nefarious Secrecy and Deception?? What if this solar-system CANNOT be ruled in an Open, Honest, Ethical, and Loving Manner?? The Soul-Histories of the Souls in this Solar-System are of particular-interest to me. Think long and hard concerning "The Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World" and "The Lamb's Book of Life". How might these phrases relate to "Original-Sin", "The Unpardonable Sin", and "Fallen and Sinful Human-Nature"?? Is the Creator (or genetic-engineer) of Humanity RESPONSIBLE for SIN?? What Would Azazel Say?? What if the Bible were studied in a manner similar to the study of Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, History, Law, Mathematics, and Physics?? I understand "Pastoral-Concern" BUT at what point does Religion just "Give People What They Want" and "Tell People What They Want to Hear" to "Manage the Masses" and "Make Lots and Lots of Money"?? I'm almost to the point of recommending Combining a "Multidisciplinary-Study of Astronomy" with "Sacred Classical Music"!! Does Anyone Get What I Mean?? Consider taking a VERY-Close Look at Volumes 4 through 7 of the SDA Bible Commentary. Consider making this a primarily-eschatological study. This might be a Most Dangerous Game!! Consider Possibility-Thinking relative-to Sacred-Scripture. I've hinted-at the possibility that this commentary was somehow introduced into the SDA church from sources OUTSIDE of the SDA church -- using resources and insights NOT Available to "Outsiders". I have ZERO Proof BUT I suspect something of this nature. I'm viewing this commentary and sacred classical music as being non-denominational. Neither Protestant or Catholic.

    Please forgive me for modeling in a forbidden and irreverent manner BUT This Present Predicament seems to make that a "Necessary-Evil". Just Because I'm a Completely Ignorant and Insane Fool Doesn't Mean I'm Wrong. But even if I'm wrong about 95% of this madness -- that remaining correct 5% might be crucial. I've mostly just provided some of you with a study-guide. I assume zero responsibility beyond that. Think for Yourselves!! You're All SO Much more Intelligent and Spiritual than Little-Old Me. I'm sick and tired of "Beating Against the Rocks" and "Kicking Against the Pricks". It's sad that I've had to consider a lot of fringe and crazy stuff, to attempt to get at hidden-truth. This has been a research-project I wish I'd never started. But what if ALL of US are wrong about most-everything theological?? Sherry Shriner keeps saying that ALL Seminaries are controlled by Satan!! I take everything she says with a Sea of Salt BUT I think she knows a HUGE Amount of Forbidden-Knowledge. I continue to be Wary of Sherry. She often seems to speak as someone who has been secretly exposed and deposed, and is now bitterly exposing how things REALLY Work in this solar-system!! That's my impression!! I got the same impression dealing with the so-called "Ancient Egyptian Deity"!! What if Sherry Shriner IS the Ancient Egyptian Deity??!! That Wouldn't Surprise Me One Little Bit!! The Horror!! I think I'll just silently agonize over the unimaginable and the unthinkable -- while leaving all of you to your own devices. I think we've had our chance for meaningful discourse. I suppose some things were never meant to be (or something like that). Just make sure that you're not opening the door to some REALLY Bad@ss Dudes when you throw Someone Bad under the bus. On a lighter-note, consider The Men Who Stare at Goats!!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Who_Stare_at_Goats_(film) The Men Who Stare at Goats is a 2009 British-American war parody comedy film directed by Grant Heslov. It is a fictionalized version of Jon Ronson's 2004 book of an investigation[3] into attempts by the U.S. military to employ psychic powers as a weapon.[4] The film stars George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey, and was produced by Clooney's and Heslov's production company Smokehouse Pictures.

    The film premiered at the 66th Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2009, and went on general release in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and Italy on November 6, 2009.[5]

    In a short prelude, U.S. Army General Hopgood (Stephen Lang) is painfully thwarted in an attempt to pass paranormally through a solid wall by simply running into it. The film then follows Ann Arbor Daily Telegram reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), whose wife leaves him for the newspaper's editor. Seeking an escape, Bob flies to Kuwait to report on the Iraq War and to prove to his wife and himself that he is a man. However, he stumbles onto the story of a lifetime when he meets a retired U.S. Army Special Forces operator, Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who reveals that he was part of a U.S. Army unit training psychic spies (or "Jedi Warriors") to develop a range of parapsychological skills including invisibility, remote viewing, and phasing. The back story is told mainly through flashbacks.

    In 1972, Army officer Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), after accidentally falling out of a "Huey" helicopter in Vietnam's Bình Dương Province, found his newly recruited men to be unable or unwilling to fire on a female Viet Cong soldier before she shot him in the chest. He then underwent a fact-finding mission prompted by a vision where the Viet Cong soldier says, "their gentleness is their strength." The bulk of Django's mission immersed him fully into the New Age movement so that, when he returned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 1980, he had long braided hair and a tattoo of a third eye surmounted on a pyramid on his chest.

    Facilitated by the credulous General Hopgood, Django led the training of a New Earth Army, with Lyn Cassady and Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) as his top students. The two quickly developed a lifelong rivalry because of their opposing views on implementing the New Earth Army's philosophy. Lyn wanted to emphasize the teachings' positive side, such as the ability to resolve conflict peacefully, whereas Larry was more interested in the "dark side" and its military applications.

    Prompted by a doodle in Bob's notebook (of an eye on a pyramid), Lyn takes him into Iraq. They are kidnapped by criminals who want to sell them to insurgents but escape with fellow hostage Mahmud Daash (Waleed Zuaiter). They are rescued by a private security detail led by Todd Nixon (Robert Patrick). The trio flees when the detail is caught in a firefight fiasco with another American security detail. Bob and Lyn then continue on Lyn's alleged "mission", stating he had seen a vision of Bill Django.

    After taking the wrong fork in the road their car is disabled by an IED. The other fork in the road actually leads to al-Qaim, Lyn's destination, but neither of them was able to read the Arabic on the roadsigns. Bob and Lyn wander in the desert where Lyn reveals that he had stopped a goat's heart to test the limit of his mental abilities and believes this evil deed has cursed him and the rest of the New Earth Army. It's also revealed that Hooper conducted an unauthorized LSD experiment which resulted in a soldier killing himself, and therefore forced Django out of the Army.

    Eventually, Bob and Lyn are rescued and rehabilitated at a camp run by PSIC, a private research firm engaged in psychic and psychological experiments on a herd of goats and some captured locals. To Lyn's dismay, Larry runs the firm and employs Django, now a depressed alcoholic. Bob spends time with Django and learns the ways of the New Earth Army. They spike the base's food and water with LSD and free both the goats and captured locals, in an attempt to remove the curse. Following this, Lyn and Django fly off in a helicopter, never to be heard from again, disappearing into the sky "like all shamans".

    Bob returns to work as a reporter and writes an article about his entire experience with Lyn. However, he's frustrated in that the story's only portion to be aired on the news is how the captives were forced to listen to the Barney & Friends theme song for 24 hours. This dilutes his story to the level of a joke, and Bob vows to continue trying to get the bigger story out. In the film's final scene, Bob exercises his own psychic abilities and, following some intense concentration, stands up and runs headlong through a solid wall in his office.

    Cast members Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, and director Grant Heslov attended the film's premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film FestivalGeorge Clooney as "Lyn Cassady" is a combination of several real-life psychic spies. Elements of his character are primarily based on Glenn Wheaton and his name resembles that of Lyn Buchanan. His background details match those of Guy Savelli, the man who claims to have killed a goat by staring it down and now runs a dance studio as Lyn does in the film. Also, some of Lyn's actions in the film mimic Peter Brusso's interactions with Ronson, particularly the "Predator" scene, and the "attack me" scene.[6]
    Ewan McGregor as "Bob Wilton", apparently inspired by Ronson, a mild-mannered investigative journalist who uncovers the bizarre truth.[7]
    Jeff Bridges as "Bill Django", based on Lt. Col. Jim Channon who spent two years in the 1970s investigating new age movements, and subsequently wrote an operations manual for a First Earth Battalion.[7]
    Kevin Spacey as "Larry Hooper". An apparent original creation for the film, Larry represents the New Earth Army's dark side and wishes to use the non-lethal technologies in harmful ways and is the film's main antagonist.[7]
    Robert Patrick as "Todd Nixon", an original character heading up a private security firm in post-invasion Iraq.
    Stephen Lang as "General Hopgood", who is based on Major General Albert Stubblebine III, and firmly believes people can walk through walls.[8]
    Stephen Root as "Gus Lacey", who introduces Bob to the New Earth Army's concepts; also somewhat based on Guy Savelli and Lyn Buchanan.
    Rebecca Mader as "Debora Wilton", Bob's estranged wife; an original character.[8]
    Glenn Morshower as "Major Jim Holtz", a more by-the-book soldier.
    Waleed Zuaiter as "Mahmud Dash", an Iraqi who gets captured with Cassady and Wilton.
    Morse Bicknell as "Staff Sgt Ben Echmeyer", based on Michael Echanis, a celebrated martial artist.
    Jacob Browne as "Lt. Boone", faithful assistant to General Hopgood.
    Goat as itself.

    Although this film is inspired by John [sic] Ronson's book The Men Who Stare At Goats, it is fiction, and while the characters Lynn [sic] Cassady and Bill Django are based on actual persons, Sergeant Glenn Wheaton and Colonel [sic] Jim Channon, all other characters are invented or are composites, and not portrayals of actual persons. The filmmakers ask that no one attempt walking through walls, cloudbursting while driving, or staring for hours at goats with the intent of harming them...invisibility is fine.

    The film is inspired by British journalist Jon Ronson's book, which was accompanied by the 2004 Channel 4 three-part documentary Crazy Rulers of the World. In turn, Ronson had dedicated his book to journalist and filmmaker John Sergeant, who worked intensely through 2003 and 2004 on the documentary. However, Sergeant has complained he has not received any credit for his part in formulating what was the inspiration for the film.[3][9] Sergeant's version of events is corroborated by a number of sources: the book The Men Who Stare at Goats itself is dedicated to Sergeant, and the afterword states: "John's research and guidance can be found on every page". Further, Colonel John Alexander – one of the story's leaders – has written to Sergeant: "If you want support for your position, tell reporters (or lawyers) to contact me. You were definitely the key person in developing the whole Goats project."[10]

    The film received mixed reviews from film critics. Review website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 52% of 206 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.7 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that "Though The Men Who Stare at Goats is a mostly entertaining, farcical glimpse of men at war, some may find its satire and dark humor less than edgy."[11]

    Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 54 based on 33 reviews.[12] George Clooney's performance was very positively received, with the following comments from the Irish Times: "Clooney shines in this remarkable story, based on actual events...Clooney is now pretty much the sole bearer of the 'classic movie star' tag, and once again, he injects a performance with a Coen brothers level of quirky. His twitches, his more ponderous moments; you buy this character because it's Clooney, and he's exceptional here."[13]

    Soundtrack list

    "Alright" - Supergrass
    "Oudistic" - Kasbah Rockers
    "Electric Voodoo Space Strawberry" - The Motha Lickas
    "Itchycoo Park" - Small Faces
    "Dancing with Myself" - Generation X
    "Hippy Hippy Shake" - The Swinging Blue Jeans
    "Everybody Wants You" - Billy Squier
    "More than a Feeling" - Boston
    "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" - Army Navy
    "Wishin' and Hopin'" - Dusty Springfield
    "I See You" - Mark Gasbarro
    "Desert Ride" - Rolfe Kent

    DVD release

    The Men Who Stare at Goats was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in Region 1 on March 23, 2010,[14] and was released in Region 2 on April 19, 2010.[15] The extras include "Goats Declassified: The Real Men of the First Earth Battalion".

    References

    1.Jump up ^ Fritz, Ben (5 November 2009). "Movie projector: Holiday season kicks off with Disney's pricey 'Christmas Carol'". Los Angeles Times.
    2.Jump up ^ "Movie The Men Who Stare at Goats – Box Office Data". The Numbers (website). Retrieved 2011-06-03.
    3.^ Jump up to: a b Sergeant, John (November 18, 2009). "How My Involvement with The Men Who Stare at Goats Was Erased Entirely". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
    4.Jump up ^ Steven Zeitchik (18 May 2009). "Overture to get Clooney's 'Goats'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
    5.Jump up ^ IMDb: Release dates for The Men Who Stare at Goats Retrieved 2013-02-24
    6.Jump up ^ "Gorgeous George Stares At Goats: Clooney becomes a psychic soldier". Empire. 16 May 2008.
    7.^ Jump up to: a b c "McGregor, Spacey, Bridges Stare At Goats". Empire. 12 September 2008.
    8.^ Jump up to: a b "Rebecca Mader joins 'Goats' herd". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.
    9.Jump up ^ Akbar, Arifa (3 November 2009). "Clooney caught in crossfire as war breaks out over latest film". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
    10.Jump up ^ Sergeant, John (18 November 2009). "How My Involvement with The Men Who Stare at Goats Was Erased Entirely". Huffington Post. HuffPost News. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
    11.Jump up ^ "The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
    12.Jump up ^ "The Men Who Stare at Goats: Reviews (2009)". Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
    13.Jump up ^ "The Men Who Stare At Goats Review". Irish Times (on Ireland.com). Retrieved 2009-11-13.
    14.Jump up ^ Amazon.com page for Men DVD
    15.Jump up ^ Amazon.co.uk page for Men DVD

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    Pris wrote:
    orthodoxymoron wrote:I just finished watching the movie Spotlight -- followed by a two-hour theological-discussion with someone I know very-well -- and I know that I need to STOP. I need to learn to argue with myself (without moving my lips and fingers). I'm trying harder than I've ever tried before to STOP posting and talking about controversial-material. I'm not mad -- but I'm trying to go-away. It's important to know when to STOP.

    Unlike you, I will continue as I have because it feels right to me.

    Whatever you are doing or decide to do (or not do), that's exactly what you're supposed to be doing.

    From an individual perspective, it's all good.

    .
    .
    blue roller wrote:Talk about getting down to the emotional meat and potatoes !

    Oops . Did I mention meat and a vegetable in the same sentence ? Whip me with soggy organic rice noodle. Heh heh

    Cheer up Oxy .Sure there is no hope for me. Im going to meat lovers Hell but you know , whenever I feel someone in pain the first question I ask myself is 'do they have a partner that fulfills them ?' .

    Its hard , really hard to find that right person. And when you do ,you have to fight for them and with them to keep the love alive . Everyday I go out I see, because of hard won experience , whats not there you know ? Sure , everyone may smile,bluff and joke their way forward but deep down you can see/feel the emptiness and loneliness .The sheer lack of meaningful connection.

    People who are content and happy in their own skin are the fortunate few. They dont identify with religion or Diet or Sexual orientation. They don't place that stuff at the center of their identity . Its peripheral , incidental. There is only so much entertainment can do to distract you and getting meaningful feedback on a forum makes about as much sense as looking for a committed partner in a singles bar. And if you do connect on a meaningful level without it being real and face to face ,your tortured by it. Its a long distance relationship.

    So if you dont mind me asking, What do you feel is missing in your life ? And if so does it seem beyond reach ? Dont feel obliged to reply if it makes you uncomfortable of course but putting aside all the 'stuff', whats the essence ?

    The only reason I am posting right now is boredom and frustration because of the weather holding me up. And I enjoy hearty banter with a bit of edge to it . And okay ,I cant resist winding up people who take their dietary identity a tad to seriously .

    Comfort Food.  Chicks love it . Cheese, Pizza,chocolate, ice cream, etc. And why not ? Sure Its important to eat a healthy diet but there are a million other reasons to eat too. Some people eat like its Church on Sunday every bloody day . Bugger that.

    Oh and sure , Barbecues are bad for you because of the burnt flesh and blah blah blah . But every now and then Im going to fire the damn thing up and enjoy every last bit of it with a cold beer .
    Pris wrote:.
    .

    Christ All Mighty, Maurice.  This hasn't got anything to do with being a vegan or an f-ing meat eater.  Stop making it personal.  Get over it.

    You've been going on and on... repeating the same things over and over and over.  Keep hammering it in and maybe you'll even con-vince yourself.

    .
    .
    blue roller wrote:Im sorry , I don't remember addressing you directly in any way shape or form Pris. I DID specifically make an effort to engage Orthodoxymoron.

    So, with respect, may I ask you not to interfere ? Or are you convinced my input in this thread revolves around you ?

    Its not your thread , its not mine either . So if your still aggrieved  about closing the thread I started may I politely suggest you get over not being the center of attention. OR start another thread with someone else in Dialogue form .

    And since I am entitled to an opinion that does not gel with yours  you need not concern yourself with my input any further . Its not always about you . Its about diet . Its about choices. Its about everyone having the right to eat ,think and feel however they choose.

    You think your issues are unique to you ? No , far from it. They are as common as mud . Sorry to burst your bubble but while you may feel exalted by your Diet choice ,the vast majority of people are struggling with many issues that affect their food choices. Its a serious subject which could use some levity to keep it real .

    Having seen the issues first hand  that color people's eating disorders and choices I choose to share them here .The fact that I am prepared to be candid and frank rather than pump vegan propaganda may rankle. I am not impressed by Vegan body builders pumping up their bodies with useless muscle in a Gym! How lame is that ? Gyms are a hot bed for insecure people with body image issues. Not to mention the steroids and testosterone.

    My opinions may not sit well with you but I don't care . I have friends who did permanent damage to vital organs trying to be healthy eaters. Its not easy getting a healthy diet in to your body these days . There are many traps and pitfalls and not all of them are the result of junk food and processed factory farming.

    I have seen to many friends and loved ones starve themselves by taking a dogmatic approach to diet . I have seen what happens when the underlying issues are not addressed and the diet is an act of desperation rather than a natural expression of that persons needs and personal preference. These are people I knew long before you . One is now suffering from chronic organ failure . This is a woman I was deeply fond of in my youth . Eating disorders are epidemic these days and there are a great many factors involved. These vulnerable people are not helped by those who adopt a fear based fundamentalist attitude to eating. Eating should be Joyous and guilt free .Not a politically correct mantra.

    To repetitive for you ! ? At least my diet is not . And my argument is for tolerance of diet choice, not demonizing omnivores. If i did not make  that clear before then hopefully I have now.

    I will not be addressing you again Pris. If you choose to assume I am then its because you think your different. Your Not. Nobody on this forum avoids the need for love ,food and compassion. Its called nurturing and respecting differences. Its called being happy and at peace . When people attack each other because they dont agree then whats the point ? Forums are not about agreeing with everyone else. They are by definition ,places where people debate issues and express their own unique opinions. People can and do evolve through debate . Nothing wrong with a bit of heat in the Kitchen.

    Personally , I enjoy and admire those who take me on and dont share my perspective IF they are sincere and passionate. Time for a glass of red wine I think. And a Big lump of cheese with sliced apple. Excuse my if I dont feel guilty about it either .
    Pris wrote:.
    .

    Keep hammering.
    .
    .
    Sanicle wrote:
    B.B. Baghor wrote:To me, it's a sparring of views and opinions, maybe with a few sparks flying off in the arguing.

    Hallelujah!  You're finally admitting you're arguing with me, in the name of Love and Light no doubt. I don't see dogging me through different threads and in PMs to argue as very 'Love and Light' BB, even if you do use such pretty words.  The "elastic" you're stretching is no doubt my patience and yes, it's snapped again and will no doubt continue to if you keep it up.  Honest enough for you?

    Sorry for the diversion from the subject of the thread readers
    .
    orthodoxymoron wrote:I really am leaving for a while BUT as I leave, I'd love to know what you all think about the possibility of a seamless integration of the following (in the context of the twenty-second century)??

    1. The Catholic Church.
    2. The United Kingdom.
    3. The United States.
    4. The United Nations.
    5. The United States of the Solar System.

    I realize this is off-topic -- but I'm interested in the opinions of those who have recently been posting on this particular thread. I might not comment for a while -- so don't take it personally if I don't respond. I need to walk alone. Online and in Real-Life. I don't want to drag anyone through my nightmare. It's easier that way. Namaste.



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    The End


    Last edited by orthodoxymoron on Fri Sep 02, 2016 5:53 pm; edited 2 times in total
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


    Posts : 13639
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    Location : The Matrix

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Thu Sep 01, 2016 10:51 pm

    I noticed a "ghost-like ball" striking the second-tower a couple of years before this video-analysis was made. It was from a different angle -- and I commented about this on You Tube -- Project Avalon and/or The Mists of Avalon -- but I didn't make a big-deal about it. I even suggested the possibility of some sort of UFO involvement. I've wondered if a small-version of what actually happened was planned by one faction -- but that another faction made it a much bigger event?! What if a faction-change occurred on September 11, 2001?? What if 2001: A Space Odyssey offers some clues?? What if the hypothetical HAL Computer management of the solar system was replaced by another Computer-Network on 9/11?? What if the hypothetical Computer-Management of This Solar-System goes back several decades (or centuries)?? What if Earth-Humanity is a Primitive-Experiment in a Very-Sophisticated Laboratory (with Ancient-Alien Scientists)?? What if humanity thought they deposed the controlling-faction -- and initiated what they thought was "Home-Rule" without "Divine-Guidance"?? What if this was (and is) an "Illusion of Freedom"?? I was told by an Individual of Interest that "We Need to Start Over". Another Individual of Interest told me "You'll be Sorry If You Try to Save Humanity". They said "Humanity is Screwed". I have no idea what to believe (or who to side with). Resistance might really be Futile!! Which Collective Have We Been Assimilated Into This Time??? What Would the Borg-Queen Say?? What if the Borg-Queen is Swedish??


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    bobhardee wrote: 9/11  fifteen year later.  In this video, she (Judy Wood) calls to question all current explanations as to what exactly caused the towers to fall.  She doesn't get to her theory until about the 45 minute point.  If you are like me, the current explanation of fire causing the towers to fall the way they did, just does not ring true.

    orthodoxymoron wrote:I had to stop thinking about 9/11. I had to move on. An Individual of Interest told me that 9/11 was done to prevent something much worse from happening. Another Individual of Interest told me that God was trying to get our attention with 9/11. This same Individual recently told me that things are presently as they were in the Days of Noah (and you know what that means). They also mentioned Tower of Babel parallels with this present world. They have repeatedly expressed their opposition to humanity -- and made repeated reference to "Fallen and Sinful Human-Nature". I try to have a sense of humor in all of this -- but I think Very-Powerful Forces are Very-Serious about ending the Human-Experiment. I'm NOT kidding. I continue with my rather unorthodox study of eschatology and science-fiction. There are those who REALLY KNOW -- and they periodically provide clues for those with eyes to see -- and ears to hear. Researching this sort of thing is sort of an addictive morbid-curiosity. What scares me is the possibility that things such as 9/11 (or much-worse) might somehow be necessary and/or unavoidable. This game is getting exponentially faster and more-dangerous. Unimaginably Bad-Things probably will occur by accident and/or design. I don't want to be a Latter-Day Luddite BUT I'd sort of like to survive. I've suggested that this solar-system might presently be under the control of a Supercomputer-Network (with or without a Borg-Queen). I went to school with the Borgs -- and I know Anna and the "V's"!! Honest!! The following TV program was broadcast six-months prior to 9/11. I watched it when it originally aired -- and it sends chills up and down my spine.


    bobhardee wrote:9/12/16
    Oxy,

    When you said that the research is addictive,  truer words have not been spoken.  It's so easy now.  Remember the card catalogs and the hours in the library trying to make sense our of various journals.  I'm sure that sort of thing is still done but the amount of information that is on one of the videos on you tube dwarfs what would take us hours to obtain. And when talking about something like 9/11, one film leads to another and the next one makes you want to find one more.  The last one with the professor from Clemson is a little more laborious to watch but it still brings more questions to answer.  If someone had some new "turn it all into dust" weapon, what does it look like?   You know what I mean.   Being a part of Mists has encourage this kind of research but it has also shown me which websites to avoid. Alex Jones would be the number one to avoid.  Maybe its better for you than me.  I try not to go there. As far as if the world is coming to an end or not......I think we all have to decide what we really believe. I know that day will come that I will die. If the world does not fall apart, I believe that the nanotechnology of the future will enable people to live to be 150 old or older. Pills will no longer be given out.  In the years ahead, researchers will have figured out ways to open up spans of DNA which we are not using.Along the lines of new technology,   I believe we are now understanding the impact of electricity and beginning to understand how its dynamics within our universe. Up until recently, the only accepted answer to the dynamics of the universe was gravity.  I think that gravity is loosing its grip....pun intended. What scares me more so than a Noah flood, is the meltdowns of nuclear reactors.  We have at least half a dozen nuclear power stations in this tiny state I live. Plus this is the place where a lot of nuclear fuel is shipped to be reprocessed. I am not a nuclear energy fan and pray most everyday that alternative power sources will avail themselves.  I fear that if another earthquake were to strike Fukushima; the stored water containers (from the reactor) will break and spill even more waste into the Pacific ocean.  If someone is trying to wipe out humanity and make it look like we wiped ourselves out, that would be a way to do it.  Just kill one ocean and sooner or latter, it would impact all of them.  That said, I don't think that is going to happen. It could but I don't think it will. I hope the day will come when we look up and see a sky full of ufo's who are hear to help.  I think they have guided us so far and and are not going to  let us destroy this planet any worst than we already have.

    Take care.
    Bob H.
    orthodoxymoron wrote:Thank-you Bob. What concerns me are Ancient Factions in Conflict. If a controlling-faction is removed from power, they might destroy everyone and everything on their way out. I freaked-out years-ago, when both Alex Jones and Sherry Shriner said things on their shows which seemingly referenced things I posted on Project Avalon -- and later on The Mists of Avalon. It seemed obvious to me (but I might've been mistaken). Both shows should probably be avoided by most people, because of the venom and negativity-- combined with the horrific and reprehensible content. I haven't listened to Alex Jones for years -- and I'm seriously considering stopping listening to Sherry Shriner. They have both been part of my research-project -- but that project has essentially ended. It's important to know when to stop. BTW -- John Lear claimed that a U.S. Military-Satellite used some sort of beam-weaponry to pulverize the Twin-Towers. He said that several years ago.
    bobhardee wrote:9/12/16
    Oxo,

    Beam weapon?  The question that comes to mind is why has it only been used against the towers? It seems it would have to belong to the military.  Maybe its part of the secret space program....and they needed a few more millions for a new craft or two???  Naw.   If the military does have some supper weapon then there has got to be some  3 star General somewhere who is itching to fire that bad boy off.  Think about it, why send in two helicopters full of men to kill Bin Laden when you could just turn him into dust.  It would make a whole new meaning to taking out the bad guy.  "Dust 'em.  Shoot em? No! Dust the devils." It sounds like they have figured out half of what needed to know to beam someone up. Instead of beaming someone up, they have reversed the process and turned into a weapon.  So from beamed up to dusted out.   Something to smile about.

    Bob H
    orthodoxymoron wrote:Thank-you Bob. What if Napoleon uncovered Unimaginable-Secrets in his Egyptian-Expedition?? What if Hitler and the Nazis were sort of a Reincarnation and Continuation of What Napoleon Started?? What if Adolph Hitler was the Reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte?? But what if both were merely Front-Men for the God of This World?? "The Powers That Be Are Ordained by God"!! The "Ancient Egyptian Deity" I spoke with for several months told me I should study Hitler and the Nazis!! They liked to do so!! "RA" gave a sinister laugh when I spoke of a picture of Pope Pius XII exiting a meeting with the Nazis!! What if there were Several Hitlers (via extremely sophisticated look-alikes)?? I gave "RA" a rather detailed and expensive WWII era Mercedes model!! I keep sensing that ALL Movements and Significant-Individuals get compromised and controlled (no matter how idealistic they begin)!! I sense some sort of idealism in the early-stages of Hitler and the Nazis!! I think I might buy a book describing the sort of world Hitler and the Nazis envisioned (had they won)!! But some say they DID Win!! I often think we'll NEVER Know the REAL Truth!! I think "RA" tried to recruit me (into the "Dark-Side") -- but I resisted and questioned -- so they broke-off communication with me (and considered me to be a Persona Non Grata Commoner)!! "RA" called me a "Commoner" when I made a comment about "Tall Long-Nosed Greys"!! Honest!! If I had "Joined the Club" I'm sure I'd know the "Whole-Truth" by now (but I'm certain I wouldn't like it). When One Arrives at the Top of the Pyramid -- They Might NOT Like the View!! BTW -- an Individual of Interest said I was their "Star-Pupil" (which scared the hell out of me)!! I think I might have an Extremely-Nasty Past-Life History!! What Would RA Say?? What Would Serqet Say?? What Would Brook Say?? What Would Raven Say?? What Would Sherry Shriner Say??
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    I think "They" are going to "Get Me" one way or another. "Shutting-Up" might not even help, at this point. Oh God! Now what am I gonna do??!! What Would Loki Do? (WWLD?) Beware of a Completely-Ignorant Male Musician [with a Blond Wife (with brown roots) and Two Children (a boy and a girl)] Who Works in a Grocery Store -- Talks to a Human-Looking God -- Seems to be Stupid and Insane -- and Drives an AMC Pacer with California Plates (in Burbank and Glendale) -- with water inside (due to a broken-window)! This was all true of me (but not all at the same time). What are the odds? What would God say? In Dogma 'God' was a female hidden in a male-body, who didn't talk much, and was funny (in more ways than one). In Oh, God! God drives a Taxi. Now that just doesn't seem right, now does it? What if God really is one of us? Now isn't this a rather strange way to 'do' theology? What would Bultmann say? Who is related to Anna and the "V's"? Dr. Who?? Consider the Ring of Power. Consider the Rose and Cross. What would Bartleby and Rufus say? Some say the author of most of the Psalms seems a bit unbalanced, but how does this relate to all of the above? Was King David a Crazy-Faker?? Is orthodoxymoron a Crazy-Faker and/or a Crazy-Maker?? What Would Dorothy Sayers Say?? "Maker of All Things -- Maker of Ill Things??" Pacers on the Highway to Heaven! Just blame Inigo Loyola (or someone like him)!! Frankly, this is driving me crazier than I already was, and I was half an inch from the edge. One more thing, don't overlook the Burbank Connection. What would Jordan Maxwell say? Didn't they sell Pacers at Modern Motors in Glendale? Or was it a couple of blocks down Brand? What kind of a crazy puzzle is this? This is so sad, that it's actually funny!!

    I think the magic word is "RESPONSIBILITY". I suggested the term "Religion of Responsibility" to Dr. A. Graham Maxwell around 1989. He approved. All I want is a perfected-humanity in a perfected solar-system based upon responsibility (and a 600 square-foot office-apartment with an elevator to a mag-lev train-station)!! I keep feeling nothing but pressure, scorn, and condemnation. I feel like I'm getting it wrong 24/7. I feel like I'm fiddling with my @^%#%$ while Rome burns. All is NOT well with my soul. This has been a very creepy year, and I really can't take much more of this. I feel like the Last Scion in Dogma. I really need professional help. No, wait. The shrinks are nuttier than we are. Maybe I need an exorcist. My house is probably 'spook central' in more ways than one. The excrementals are quadruple teaming me. "Get thee hence into the bottomless toilet, thou fecal-demons!" What would the 'King of the Girls' say? What would 'Test Tube' say? Enough of This Madness!? Also, notice the car parked behind the Pacer. Is that a 1972 Cadillac?? We owned a 1975 Pacer and a 1972 Cadillac (with the same color as in the picture)!! I also drove a taxi. Perhaps I should move to Vegas, and get season-tickets for that special plane to Groom Lake! What would TREEE say? One TREEE. Many Branches. OK, I've gone far enough out on this limb, and I know better than to take the bait, and eat the fruit. One more thing. You would not believe the number of parallels between the John Denver character and me. There's a George Burns parallel, and a 'Dogma' connection as well. There's more. A lot more. I kid you not. Read this post very carefully. This is all sort of spooky, and I suspect that things are going to get a lot worse. This post brings me HUGE Pain and Suffering -- even though it might not seem like it. You have NO idea. I often wonder why I bother with all of this madness -- especially when most of what I post seems to be either ignored or ridiculed. I guess hope springs eternal.

    I continue to know that I don't know -- and it seems as if the Deception is as Infinite as Space. Why is everything seemingly a Big-Puzzle and a Big-Joke?? Those who REALLY Know seem to taunt me. Humanity and Divinity seem to despise me. Why is that?? Is Humanity supposed to succeed or fail?? Am I supposed to support or oppose Humanity?? Which version of God am I supposed to support?? Why do I always feel as if I'm dealing with lawyers when I discuss religion?? Why does everyone LIE?? I continue to request that if bad-things have been done to me (going way, way, way back) that this somehow be avenged and/or made right with proper legal-proceedings and judgments. If I have done bad-things (going way, way, way back) I request that the circumstances be taken into consideration (and that a fair-trial be conducted with me present). No Kangaroo-Courts Please!! What Would Desmond Ford Say?? I keep getting the sinking-feeling that things will NOT end well (for me anyway). I continue to sense massive-quantities of hatred toward me -- regarding I know not what. I am very hesitant to play any sort of game with anyone. It seems as if the games are rigged -- and cannot be won (by me anyway). I'm actually questioning whether there really will be honesty and justice (if history is any indication of things to come). I seem to be forced to consider ALL Possibilities (regardless of how irreverent and ridiculous some of them might seem to casual-observers). If this is a War -- which side am I on?? Does Might Make Right?? Is the Bottom-Line the Bottom-Line?? What the Hell is Going On Regarding Life, the Universe, and Everything?? Why am I seemingly forced to Model the Unthinkable to get just a little-bit closer to that Illusive TRUTH??!! But then everyone accuses, points, and laughs!! Everyone is SO Smug!! My three latest United States of the Solar System threads have merely been a shot across the bow. I will require the Absolute-Truth prior to the commencement of any significant hostilities. But if I am attacked -- I will defend myself -- and I seem to have been attacked without reason or warning. Why??

    Irresponsible-Tyranny v Irresponsible-Freedom is a False-Dichotomy!! Responsible-Leadership and Responsible-Freedom are a Match Made in Heaven!! Consider a Side-by-Side (Straight-Through, Over and Over) Study of [Job through Ecclesiastes] and [Romans through Galatians]. This is NOT an insignificant suggestion. I'm NOT telling ANYONE What to Think. I'm Simply Telling EVERYONE to THINK!! Regarding The Hidden Story of Jesus -- what and/or where is the Old, Old Story of Jesus and His Love in the Old Testament (as the Pre-Incarnate Second-Member of the Trinity)?? Regarding The Hidden Story of Jesus -- what and/or where is the Old, Old Story of Jesus and His Love (As Told in the Four-Gospels) in Acts Through Revelation?? I'm frankly disillusioned by Theology As Usual -- and by Flowery New Age Mumbo-Jumbo. I've tried Unorthodox-Approaches (with mixed-results) over the past several years -- and I've finally ended-up taking a closer-look at what the scholars from the Church of My Youth were writing in the 1950's (as backward and uninteresting as THAT sounds)!! I've linked this study to Sacred Classical Music -- Classical Church-Architecture -- and Natural-Farming (as old and odd as THAT sounds)!! I think things are going to get REALLY screwed-up for a while -- as the Info-War intensifies. There's probably no nice and delicate way to do this. Unfortunately, a lot of fine people and not so fine people are going to get hurt. I've already been badly-burned.

    A famous and prolific attorney and author once privately told me "If Jesus showed-up (presumably not in a second-coming scenario) the church wouldn't know what to do with Him!!" I recently made a couple of posts on a Liberal-Christian website -- which were almost immediately deleted without explanation. The posts mirrored some aspects of my last few posts on The Mists. They were small and sterile compared to what I routinely post on this site -- but I sort of expected the censorship -- judging from past experience. I won't be posting on that site anymore -- which I'm sure will not cause weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Just the opposite. I should've learned my lesson from past bad-experiences involving misuse and abuse. There's nothing quite like Christian Love!! I'm sorry about my posting. I am quite bold and forward -- yet I am also quite neutral and emotionless. I reveal things without rancor. I never tell anyone they're "going to hell" or the equivalent. I like to think I could talk about the most upsetting subjects without losing my cool -- but I know that isn't true. I've already been highly-embarrassed -- but I don't think I've seen anything yet!! I think I've been extremely sheltered and/or ignored. I think any sort of "hot-seat" would destroy me. I'm a slow and methodical (research and reflect) kind of guy. I never feel the need to lead -- but I often feel the need for information and access. I'm increasingly feeling the need to retreat into some illusion of privacy and safety (even though I know there is no such thing anymore). I think I've made myself extremely-vulnerable. Some of this was by accident -- and some of it was by design. I think we've been on the brink for years -- but some sort of severe-meltdown in the next couple of weeks or months wouldn't surprise me one little bit. I've been somewhat critical of Solar-System Administration (ancient and modern) yet I've mostly been engaging in a process of Discovery rather than Condemnation and Damnation. Reprehensible-Governance Methodologies and Realities might be Inevitable -- Regardless of Idealism and Competence (Or Lack Thereof).

    Check this out!! http://www.lifeassuranceministries.com/pdf%20files/Cottrell%201844.pdf It's probably fortunate that a lot of my posts are speculative, unsubstantiated, and science-fictional. If they were substantiated-fact, we'd all be in a hell of a lot of trouble!! It's going to be a relief to stop modeling strange ideas and personalities!! I have a huge amount of reading to do!! I'm going to try to not spend much time on the internet. I stopped watching television several years ago -- so perhaps I can stop surfing the internet. Becoming a Latter-day Luddite is quite appealing, at this point!! Consider prayerfully and carefully studying Ethics, Law, Law-Enforcement, and the Military in Each of the 66 Books of the Bible -- noting the differences and similarities from book to book. Overall, what is "Biblical" regarding Ethics, Law, Law-Enforcement, and the Military (for Jews, Gentiles, and All-Concerned in Antiquity and Modernity)?? Once again, imagine the intense and disciplined study of Sacred Classical Music and the SDA Bible Commentary in the Context of a Cathedral and/or an Ivy-League University!! What Would Dr. A. Graham Maxwell Say?? What Would HMS Richards Say??  Ellen White meets Notre Dame??!! What Would Marcel Dupre Say?? What Would Dr. Angela Kraft Cross Say?? What Would Monseigneur Bowe Say?? What Would Brother Michael Say?? What Would Brother Rich Say?? What Would Sister Angie Say?? By the Way -- Fred is Gay!!

    Imagine a School consisting of the Abbey in the Second-Season of Helix which taught Sacred Classical Music -- The SDA Bible Commentary -- and Farming!! This wouldn't necessarily be any religion. It would simply be an experiment. Each-Day might be a combination of a School-Day -- Sabbath-Day -- and a Work-Day with Meditative-Work!! I work on the Sabbath -- but it's Meditative-Work -- which doesn't make it OK -- but it might be OK in someone's reckoning!! What I'm suggesting is probably nearly impossible. It might work on another planet -- but probably not on this one!! Still -- I think there is a logical-purity connected with this concept!! I'm not going to explain or elaborate -- but someone might understand what I'm talking about!! Living this life might be Heaven on Earth -- but would it prepare one for the Real-World?? Probably Not!! My Final-Answer is Probably "Reading the SDA Bible Commentary straight-through (over and over) while listening to Sacred Classical Music -- in one's own way and time -- plus nothing." Perhaps I should leave it at that -- and just move on. I think I've made a mess of things -- and perhaps I should simply cease and desist for the remainder of this incarnation. Consider "Commandments" from Genesis to Revelation. Think long and hard about the last dozen posts. Long and Hard Indeed. Now I think I'm going to turn-off my heretical and blasphemous modeling-modality. I think this absurd experiment is over. I might analyze the data -- but that's probably it. It might be nearly impossible to get me to talk about any of this. I think I can somehow shut this madness off -- and slowly walk away from all of it. I think I'm going to try to forget the whole-thing and pretend that this never happened. I might've been trapped in my own trap. If so, it serves me right. I think this whole-mess is sad and bad. I think I need to start-over. Perhaps I need to move -- and begin-again in every possible way. This must NEVER happen again.

    Commandments www.biblerick.com/c511.htm#c511

    GENESIS

    26:5     Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

    EXODUS

    15:26    And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

    16:28    And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

    20:6     And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

    24:12    And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

    34:28    And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

    LEVITICUS

    4:2      Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:

    4:13     And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;

    4:22     When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;

    4:27     And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty;

    5:17     And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.

    22:31    Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD.

    26:3     If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;

    26:14    But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;

    26:15    And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:

    27:34    These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

    NUMBERS

    15:22    And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses,

    15:39    And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:

    15:40    That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.

    36:13    These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.

    DEUTERONOMY

    4:2      Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

    4:13     And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

    4:40     Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.

    5:10     And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

    5:29     O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

    5:31     But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.

    6:1      Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

    6:2      That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

    6:17     Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

    6:25     And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

    7:9      Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

    7:11     Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

    8:1      All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.

    8:2      And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

    8:6      Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.

    8:11     Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

    10:4     And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.

    10:13    To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

    11:1     Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.

    11:8     Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;

    11:13    And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

    11:22    For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;

    11:27    A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:

    11:28    And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

    13:4     Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

    13:18    When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.

    15:5     Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.

    19:9     If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:

    26:13    Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:

    26:17    Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:

    26:18    And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

    27:1     And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

    27:10    Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.

    28:1     And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

    28:9     The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.

    28:13    And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

    28:15    But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

    28:45    Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:

    30:8     And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

    30:10    If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

    30:16    In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

    31:5     And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

    JOSHUA

    22:5     But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

    JUDGES

    2:17     And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.

    3:4      And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

    1 SAMUEL

    15:11    It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.

    1 KINGS

    2:3      And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

    3:14     And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

    6:12     Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:

    8:58     That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

    8:61     Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

    9:6      But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:

    11:34    Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:

    11:38    And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

    14:8     And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes;

    18:18    And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.

    2 KINGS

    17:13    Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.

    17:16    And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.

    17:19    Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.

    18:6     For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.

    23:3     And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.

    1 CHRONICLES

    28:7     Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day.

    28:8     Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.

    29:19    And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.

    2 CHRONICLES

    7:19     But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

    17:4     But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.

    24:20    And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.

    31:21    And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

    34:31    And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.

    EZRA

    7:11     Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.

    9:10     And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,

    9:14     Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?

    NEHEMIAH

    1:5      And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

    1:7      We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.

    1:9      But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

    9:13     Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:

    9:16     But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,

    9:29     And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

    9:34     Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.

    10:29    They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;

    PSALMS

    78:7       That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

    89:31      If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

    103:18     To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

    103:20     Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

    111:7      The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.

    111:10     The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

    112:1      Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

    119:6      Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.

    119:10     With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

    119:19     I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.

    119:21     Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.

    119:32     I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

    119:35     Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

    119:47     And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.

    119:48     My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.

    119:60     I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.

    119:66     Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.

    119:73     JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.

    119:86     All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me.

    119:98     Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.

    119:115    Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.

    119:127    Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.

    119:131    I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.

    119:143    Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.

    119:151    Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.

    119:166    LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.

    119:172    My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

    119:176    I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

    PROVERBS

    2:1      My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

    3:1      My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

    4:4      He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

    7:1      My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

    7:2      Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

    10:8     The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.

    ECCLESIASTES

    12:13    Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

    ISAIAH

    48:18    O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

    DANIEL

    9:4      And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

    AMOS

    2:4      Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

    Matthew

    5:19     Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

    15:9     But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

    19:17    And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

    22:40    On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

    Mark

    7:7      Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

    10:19    Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

    12:29    And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

    Luke

    1:6      And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

    18:20    Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

    John

    14:15    If ye love me, keep my commandments.

    14:21    He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

    15:10    If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

    Acts

    1:2      Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

    1 Corinthians

    7:19     Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

    14:37    If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

    Ephesians

    2:15     Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

    Colossians

    2:22     Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

    4:10     Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)

    1 Thessalonians

    4:2      For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

    Titus

    1:14     Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.

    1 John

    2:3      And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

    2:4      He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

    3:22     And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

    3:24     And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

    5:2      By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

    5:3      For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

    2 John

    1:6      And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

    Revelation

    12:17    And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

    14:12    Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

    22:14    Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.







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    Harp
    Spiritual
    The Karen
    UFO2
     Toast
    afro
    Brook

    Seven score and a dozen years ago, a great American signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

    But one-hundred fifty-two years later, the Human Race still is not free. One-hundred fifty-two years later, the lives of Human Beings are still sadly crippled by the manacles of greed and the chains of fear. One-hundred fifty-two years later, Humanity lives on a lonely island of quiet desperation in the midst of a vast ocean of nearly eight billion souls. One-hundred fifty-two years later, Humanity is still languishing in the corners of global society and finds itself an exile on its own planet. And so today...I have determined to dramatize a shameful condition.

    In a sense...I've come to our religious and political leaders to cash a check. When the architects of the American constitutional republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all people would be guaranteed the "Inalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." America was to be a city on a hill...to illuminate the rest of the world with Namaste Constitutional Responsible Freedom. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given We the People of Earth a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

    But I refuse to believe that America...and the rest of the world...is morally bankrupt. I refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds. And so, I've determined to cash this check...a check that will give Humanity...upon demand...the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

    I have also determined to remind the world of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of Namaste Constitutional Responsible Freedom. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of nationalism and protectionism. Now is the time to lift our world from the quicksands of war and hate...to the solid rock of brotherhood and sisterhood. Now is the time to make Namaste Constitutional Responsible Freedom a reality for all of God's children.

    It would be fatal for We the People of Earth to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of Humanity's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 2012 was not the end...but a beginning. And those who hope that the patriots and conspiracy theorists needed to blow off steam and will now be content...will have a rude awakening if the world returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in the world until Humanity is granted it's citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our world until the bright day of justice emerges.

    But there is something that I must say to We the People of Earth...who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place in the universe...we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for Namaste Constitutional Responsible Freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

    The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed Humanity must not lead us to a distrust of all of the Powers That Be...for many of them have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

    We cannot walk alone.

    And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

    We cannot turn back.

    There are those who are asking the devotees of Namaste Constitutional Responsible Freedom, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as any Human Being is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of brutality and starvation. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies and minds are racked with the pain and horror of war. We cannot be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by being taught violence, lies, and immorality. We cannot be satisfied as long as the will of We the people of Earth is not taken seriously...and followed. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

    I am not unmindful that some of you have encountered great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Know that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

    Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

    And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

    I have a dream that one day this world will rise up and live out the true meaning of the creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

    I have a dream that one day...the elites and the general public will sit down together at the table of brotherhood and sisterhood.

    I have a dream that one day...even the Deep Underground Military Bases will be transformed into an oasis of openness and transparency.

    I have a dream that one day...We the People of Earth will not be judged by our fame, fortune, and power...but by the content of our characters.

    I have a dream today!

    I have a dream that one day the little boys and little girls of the world...will be able to join hands...as Citizens of Earth.

    I have a dream today!

    I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

    This is our hope...and Earth is our home.

    With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our world into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

    And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

    My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

    Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

    From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

    If America is to be a great nation...this must become true. If Earth is to be a great planet...this must become true.

    And so let freedom ring from Washington D.C.

    Let freedom ring from the United Nations.

    Let freedom ring from the City of London.

    Let freedom ring from the Vatican.

    Let freedom ring thoughout the Secret Government.

    But not only that:

    Let freedom ring from the Georgia Guidestones.

    Let freedom ring from the Secret Space Program throughout the Solar System.

    Let freedom ring from every Deep Underground Military Base.

    Let freedom ring from the Sea of Tranquility.

    From every Planet of the Solar System...let freedom ring.

    And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every planet, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, of all races, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

    Free at last! Free at last!

    Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

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    "He Shall Have Them in Derision!!"
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


    Posts : 13639
    Join date : 2010-09-28
    Location : The Matrix

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Thu Sep 15, 2016 12:26 pm

    I don't like this quest. I know I can't keep-up. I'm to the point where I just want to let this madness go (sort of like pulling one's hands off a hot-stove). I've never dabbled with creepy-stuff. I have passively researched some creepy-stuff (without getting involved in any of it). I think I've been taken advantage of (due to my ignorance and innocence). I'm not a part of any group -- and no one controls me (that I know of). Regarding the computer-stuff I'm currently touching-upon -- a very long time ago, someone who had done some work for Robert Schuller, told me that I reminded him of Bill Gates!! The Ancient Egyptian Deity spoke of "stolen-technology". I have spoken of the possibility of a computer and internet based "Investigative and Executive Judgment". The Ancient Egyptian Deity said I had "done it with You Tube". Al Gore spoke of global-warming and inventing the internet. I have spoken of the possibility that Douglas Vogt's 2046 "Nova" of the Sun might possibly be the Earth being moved closer to the sun by some ancient and internal transport-system. I've spoken of a HAL controlled solar-system being replaced by a new supercomputer controlled solar-system (possibly having occurred on September 11, 2001).

    My name is similar to David Bowman. What if a solar-system supercomputer is somehow responsive to certain individuals (sort of like that ancient-chair in one of the Stargate SG-1 movies)?? I don't want to elaborate upon what I've hinted-at. I wish to leave it at that. I think I might've been extremely-intelligent in previous incarnations -- but that I've been purposely dumbed-down during this pathetic-incarnation. Several years ago, an "Agent Kind of Guy" spoke of me being the "Smartest Person in the World". On another occasion, they commented that I didn't seem to be outstanding (or something to that effect). Another time, they were with an "Agent Kind of Gal" and they thanked me for something (in an official-manner) -- and then proceeded to loudly and forcefully condemn the "Bitches"!! They didn't elaborate, and I was afraid to ask!! The last time I saw them, they seemed to be VERY Unhappy. I've always been completely-honest about things which have happened to me. I'm honestly NOT part of some vast-conspiracy (that I know of). But what if I'm NOT innocent regarding previous-lives?? What if the Rabbit-Hole mostly goes right-up David Bowman's @$$??!!  

    Around the year 2000, I spoke with a stunningly-beautiful former Microsoft employee (while I drove her to her waterfront-home) about the future of computers. I suggested that "wearable-computers" were the future of computing. She indicated that Bill Gates thought otherwise. I continue to wonder about RoboCops linked to Mainframe-Supercomputers!! I hate to say this BUT imagine RoboGod!! An attorney once told me that Bill Gates was "EVIL". I do NOT like this Brave New Universe. I've been desperately-trying to ride a HUGE Tidal-Wave of Future-Shock -- but now I'm just going to try to pretend this madness doesn't exist, and that I never ruined my life on the internet (for all to see). I think I might simply read Volumes 1 to 7 of the SDA Bible Commentary (straight-through -- over and over). This covers Genesis to Revelation. I don't think the SDA's appreciate and understand this monumental work. I'll try to read it in the context of This Present Madness (with an emphasis on Ethics and Eschatology). It's a nasty-task, but someone has to do it!! I wonder if Desmond Ford and Raymond Cottrell ever recommended reading Volumes 1 to 7 of the SDA Bible Commentary (straight-through -- over and over)??? They criticized the SDA church regarding interpretation and methodology -- but doesn't this approach go a long-way toward "getting it right"?? I think it does BUT most people will NOT go through the significant effort and trauma to "do it right". People wish to be told what they wish to hear -- and to be flattered that they are "saved", "right", "better", and "special". I'm trying to "do theology" in a different manner (but it's not going so well). I Mean Well, But I'm Just a Completely-Ignorant Fool with a Messiah-Complex. We All Have Our Crosses to Bear.
     
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    bobhardee wrote: Oxy,

    Whoa.... I was still trying to get my head around the idea of Napoleon being reincarnated into Hitler.  It was warping my brain and then you hit  me with all sorts of other mind twisting material. You said "I  noticed a "ghost-like ball" striking the second-tower a couple of years before this video-analysis was made. It was from a different angle -- and I commented about this on You Tube -- Project Avalon and/or The Mists of Avalon -- but I didn't make a big-deal about it. I even suggested the possibility of some sort of UFO involvement. I've wondered if a small-version of what actually happened was planned by one faction -- but that another faction made it a much bigger event?"

    Maybe it was just by coincident that everything all happened at one time but I seriously doubt it.  It seems to me it had to be orchestrated by some incredibly evil people. Based on nothing more than my opinion, Dick Chaney and his buddy from the years that they did not get tagged but should have in the  Watergate scandal, Mr. evil himself Donald Rumsfeld are two who could have pulled off this caper. It was an international event and certainly could have had some help from our "secret space program.  One day Donald announces that there is 2 or 3 trillion dollars in military spending that the Accountants could not account for and a few days latter, smack, crackle, pop and down goes the two towers and building 7. In one of the above videos, it is clear that somebody was betting that American and United Airlines stock was going to fall and made huge profits from it.  However, I don't think they identified whom.  It made one think that the Mr. Silverstein was in cahoots with somebody.  However, there is one other factor that has to be taken in.  The scope of this operation was huge.  Really huge.  

    Dick and Donald would have to silence a lot of people to make sure nobody told the truth.  Of course, it could be so big that none of the players knew the full scope of the operation....so that what they knew would only big part of the puzzle.  Remember the story of how ten blind men would each describe an elephant as something different because none of them could see anything but what their hands could feel.  So would be the case here as well. There are a thousand possibilities but one thing that will most likely never happen and that is for Dick and Donald to get honest....and tell it all.  Nope. Not going to happen. As you indicated,  All of this beckons the question does evil go and come back in different forms or is it always here and when the greedy get hungry,  evil head pops up all over again. If the secret space program did help to dust the towers, then it will be another reason that we will not have anything close to disclosure for another 50 years. Speaking of that, I am convinced that disclosure will only happen when a boat load of mother ships and bigger boat load of smaller ones parks above ever major city around the world. The ETs will force the issue because they will have it on tape and will download it in every language to every country.   That is if their intent is play nice.  Know what I mean?

    Oxy, Let's see if we are being monitored. While I am on this rant, I want to say that I think that the ETs are a bunch of yellow bellies who are afraid of humanity.  If they are reading this then they know it to be true. Humanity may not be as advanced but we meaner and if it were a fair fight, we would kick their butts in an instant. Take that you bunch of lizards.  You are afraid to show your faces and don't deserve the rights to even visit our planet much less start trading with it. We could out produce anyone in the galaxy and you know it.   So stay hidden, you cowards.  Cowards who don't really have all the advancements that we have given them credit for having.  So stay away. We don't need you.....or your technology. When we do get it figured out, look out cause we will explore and one day we will rule the milky way. And if we are monitored, they don't have what it takes to show up.  

    BH
    orthodoxymoron wrote:Thank-you Bob. I continue to suspect that ALL of the "Top-People" are "Pawns on the Chessboard". I further suspect that an "Ancient Arrogant-Bastard" has been running this solar system for thousands of years. What scares me is the thought that this has somehow been absolutely-necessary -- but that everything is now being exposed -- which makes it nearly impossible for this "Hypothetical-Bastard" to continue with "Business as Usual". But in the absence of "Said Arrogant-Bastard" things might become Unimaginably Chaotic and Dangerous -- which might necessitate a "Supercomputer God of This Solar-System". No offense to the Real God of This Universe. I simply suspect that we are dealing with "Local Gods and Goddesses" in this solar-system. What if the World-Wars were a cover for a Galactic Battle for the Planet?? What if 9/11 was a cover for a Regime-Change?? That "Ancient Egyptian Deity" told me that the Real-Truth would drive 87% of the population insane. Another Individual of Interest said there would be "Pandemonium". They also supported the prediction that at least 80% of humanity would die in the near-future. This prediction came from an Elderly-Mason, who I spoke with in a Masonic-Cemetery!! Sort of creepy, isn't it??!!

    BTW -- notice that in 2001: A Space Odyssey -- HAL tried to murder David Bowman because he jeopardized the mission. When David was turning HAL off -- HAL said "he" was afraid!! What if HAL had a real-live "Soul"?? Once again, what if 9/11 was a cover for removing HAL -- and instituting New Solar-System Computer-Management (perhaps without a "Soul")??!! 1968 to 2001. Thirty-Three Years. What Would the Masons Say?? What Would the Borg-Queen Say?? This thing might be crazier than ANY of US can possibly imagine. One more thing. My name is similar to "David Bowman". What Would David Bowie Say?? What Would Alan Rickman Say?? What Would Peter Venkman Say?? What Would David Mann Say?? Sort of Creepy (to say the least). I just watched a Hitler documentary -- and (as usual) it scared the hell out of me. How could that have happened (and not that long ago)??!! Perhaps World-History from the End of WWI to the Beginning of WWII should be exhaustively-studied (without referencing what actually occurred during WWI and WWII). 1918 to 1939. Twenty-One Years. 2112 to 2133. Twenty-One Years. Interesting (to me anyway). How might we prevent such a thing from ever happening again?? But what REALLY happened?? What Would the White-Reptilians Under the Gobi Desert Say??

    I'm NOT Giving-Up BUT I AM Shutting-Up!! What I've posted on the internet is NOT the result of possession, manipulation, or being fed information. It is the logical result of lifelong experiences. It's NOT an "all of the sudden" phenomenon. My perception that I am harassed 24/7 is "Disabling" rather than "Enabling". I am unimaginably hamstrung and miserable. I say that I'm "FINE" but "FINE" is a relative-term. I could potentially be "taken-over" at some point BUT I will resist this with all available resources. I don't trust ANYONE (including Myself and God). I question Everyone and Everything. I've given All of You a Study-Guide. What you do (or don't do) with it is up to YOU. I've created this guide with a Contrarian and Crazy Research-Baseline. This was intended to "Shake Things Up" and "Make Us Think". It is "Reformative" rather than "Normative". But, having said that, I'm sure EVERYTHING I've Said and Done (or NOT Said and Done) Will Be Used Against Me (in a MOST Nefarious and Deceptive Manner). Namaste, Godspeed, and Geronimo.

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    bobhardee wrote:
    9/16/16
    Check this out.  The title says its an electronic beam weapon.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xuq3-6a3Jbw

    This is an ad to buy her book but its still cool to watch.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0NXlcmJIkk
    bobhardee wrote:
    orthodoxymoron wrote:I'm really leaving, Bob. Thank-you for your efforts. My public-quest is no-longer appropriate (given the current and projected nature of this quest). If this world does not desire a Latter-day Luddite -- then perhaps I will reincarnate as a Star-Warrior -- but what if I'm not on the side of Earth-Humanity (going way, way back)?? What if my current pathetic-incarnation was a test for all-concerned?? Who Passed?? Who Failed?? I moved-on from other contexts (such as church) when I no longer "fit". I don't think I've ever "fit" on this website. I honestly don't think I "fit" anywhere in this solar-system. It might be time for me to leave (perhaps for all-eternity).


    bobhardee wrote: 9/16/16 When you start down the 9/11 investigation, there is so much material that it is hard to decide which deserves to be posted and which one does not.  This one is about a typical person who wasn't into conspiracy theories but as he started to think about what the Bush administration was presenting to the public, questions started going off in his mind that he could not answer.  I will let him tell the rest of the story.

    orthodoxymoron wrote:Bob, I suspect that a "Big-Picture" of "What's Really Going On" will emerge by the end of this decade which No-One Will Like. Perhaps we will be forced to see with 20/20 vision in 2020. I've become very introspective and depressed regarding Life, the Universe, and Everything. I spoke periodically with a moderately high-profile 9/11 truth-seeker (several years ago) and my questions were beyond what he wished to deal-with (but my hunches have received substantial support). I know I've spoken with those who Really Know the Whole-Truth -- but they have been quite reluctant to really "open-up". My tendency to reveal what I know (in a round about way) probably doesn't help my "truth-seeking" attempts. I eventually "spill the beans" in a somewhat tactful manner. I think I might achieve a knowledge of the "Whole-Truth" in a "Nut-House". I think I'm halfway there. Actually, I still need to read my copy of the official 9/11 Commission Report. A book titled 102 Minutes That Changed America was a well-written (but creepy) read. I really think I'll eventually move to the mountains, and build a 600 square-foot Shallow Underground Civilian Base with a Dr. Who Police Public Call Box entrance (just for the coolness of it) but I honestly don't think there's anyplace to hide from what I think might be coming. What I haven't figured-out is whether humanity deserves harsh-treatment (and even extermination) or not. The whole-truth regarding our whole-history would be essential to understand what seems to make absolutely no sense. I try to piece things together, but it seems to cause a nervous-breakdown in perpetuity. I think there is a way to properly run a Human Solar-System -- but it seems as if the Universe is dead-set against such a thing. If one thinks they can't fight City-Hall -- think about fighting the Whole-Universe for the survival of a Genetic and Governance Experiment with Questionable-Results. Speaking with certain Individuals of Interest just about pushed me over the edge. It wasn't just what they said. It was the way they said it (and the looks in their eyes and faces). I honestly have no idea which side I'm on (going way, way, way back). No one seems to wish to tell me -- although Raven exclaimed "The Rabbit-Hole Mostly Goes Right Up Your @$$!!"
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 911report_cover_HIGHRES
    bobhardee wrote: Oxy,  There were a lot of things about 9/11 that have and continue to come to light but perhaps one little truth about people in general was that "they don't want to know the truth".  It hurts too much or scares them too much or shakes the very foundation of what they believe and just cannot handle it.  And they didn't and still don't want to talk or open up to all the possibilities of what happened.  What someone said to me was "you don't want people to think you are some kind of conspiracy nut or something do you?"  I was still working then and thought it would be better for my "career" to keep my mouth shut. What I did was to become more selective as to whom I shared my thoughts. Our beliefs are our beliefs. How much we share those and how much we stand up for those depends on what we have read, the generation we grew up, the impact of television and movies and sports, what church we attended or not attended or accepted or not, our social, political, and economic status. And of course some other stuff like music and art and how gentle our parents were. Right this moment I believe in good coffee, hot biscuits, and perfect apple butter.
    cheers

    Bob H.
    bobhardee wrote:
    9/11/2016
    Dick Gregory has been a leading voice for change in this country since he emerged to the stage in the 60's.
     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8MMnDjHePw
    orthodoxymoron wrote:Bob, I'm probably more religious than most religious-people -- but I don't go to church -- and I regularly post highly-heretical material. I've been called "Satan" on this very website -- and I often represent several sides of an issue (which includes the dark-side). I like to think that the "good-guys" and the "bad-guys" get a laugh out of what I post!! I like to think that I could meet with God with the deepest reverence -- and then meet with the Devil with an objective-neutrality. Einstein tried to "Think God's Thoughts After Him" -- but I try to "Think God's and Satan's Thoughts After Him and/or Her". In fact, I've wondered if the "God of This World" has played the roles of God and Satan for thousands of years (since the Garden of Eden)!! A few years ago, I would've been stoned to death for my approach to life, the universe, and everything. I think it is important to consider as many possibilities as possible regarding the most important topics -- prior to rendering decisions and judgments. What if the Bible is BOTH "The Good Book" and "The Bad Book"?? What if the Bible is an Incredibly-Complex Puzzle and Test?? What if we are supposed to identify both the good and the bad -- the consistent and the inconsistent -- in "God's Word"?? I've determined that We Want the God We Want -- and We Want God to Do What We Tell Them to Do (Rather Than God Telling Us What to Do). We Want the Bible to Say What We Want It to Say (Rather Than Being Honest About What It Actually Says). We Seem to Seek Respectability Rather Than Responsibility. I suspect that many (if not all) of us are here because we are Ancient Bad-Guys and Bad-Gals -- and are atoning for our sins -- in a Reform-School for Completely-Ignorant Fools aka Prison-Planet in Rebellion!! I've speculated that Earth might be a Galactic Rat-Trap!! I should stop!!

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Beautiful-fairy-fairies-wallpaper-fanclubs


    Last edited by orthodoxymoron on Tue Sep 20, 2016 3:03 pm; edited 3 times in total
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    Post  orthodoxymoron Mon Sep 19, 2016 6:36 pm

    Today, I spent a thoughtful hour inside a Roman Catholic Cathedral (after briefly walking next to an Elder-Statesman Jesuit-Scholar wearing a Red-Robe). I was mostly alone, with the lights turned-off (with the Sun and the Holy-Spirit streaming through the stained-glass windows). That's when cathedrals are at their best!! The "tough-guys" were probably in a side-room, watching me on a surveillance-monitor!! Anyway, I got to thinking about Humanae Vitae. What Would the Supreme Court Say?? What Would Pat Condell Say?? What Would the Saint Louis Jesuits Say?? What if Modern-Protestantism should mostly consist of Ivy-League Vatican-Studies (sort of like Ivy-League Jesus-Studies)?? What Would Albert Schweitzer Say?? What Would John Shelby Spong Say?? What Would James Robinson Say?? What Would Monseigneur Bowe Say?? What Would a Renegade French Jesuit Organist Say??  

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanae_vitae Humanae vitae (Latin Of Human Life) is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and issued on 25 July 1968. Subtitled On the Regulation of Birth, it re-affirms the orthodox teaching of the Catholic Church regarding married love, responsible parenthood, and the continued rejection of most forms of artificial contraception. In formulating his teaching he did not accept (for reasons he gave in the encyclical) the conclusions of the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control established by his predecessor, Pope John XXIII, and which he himself had expanded.[1]

    Mainly because of its prohibition of all forms of artificial contraception, the encyclical was politically controversial, but it affirms traditional Church moral teaching on the sanctity of life and the procreative and unitive nature of conjugal relations. While Paul VI continued to teach through the medium of 122 Apostolic Constitutions, 8 Apostolic Exhortations, 121 Apostolic Letters, innumerable homilies, letters and reflections, he saw no need to issue any more encyclicals in the remaining ten years of his pontificate.

    Between 1980 and 1984, Pope John Paul II delivered a series of 129 lectures relating to the nature of marital love dubbed Theology of the Body, which expounds upon Catholic theology of the body and fully vindicates Humanae vitae.[2] Pope Benedict XVI called this topic "controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future". Humanae vitae became "a sign of contradiction but also of continuity of the Church's doctrine and tradition... What was true yesterday is true also today."[3]

    In this encyclical Paul VI reaffirmed the Catholic Church's orthodox view of marriage and marital relations and a continued condemnation of "artificial" birth control. There were two Papal committees and numerous independent experts looking into the latest advancement of science and medicine on the question of artificial birth control,[4] which were noted by the Pope in his encyclical.[5] The expressed views of Paul VI reflected the teachings of his predecessors, especially Pius XI,[6] Pius XII[7] and John XXIII,[8] all of whom had insisted on the divine obligations of the marital partners in light of their partnership with God the creator.

    Paul VI himself, even as commission members issued their personal views over the years, always reaffirmed the teachings of the Church, repeating them more than once in the first years of his Pontificate.[9]

    To Pope Paul VI, as with of all his predecessors, marital relations are much more than a union of two people. They constitute a union of the loving couple with a loving God, in which the two persons create a new person materially, while God completes the creation by adding the soul. For this reason, Paul VI teaches in the first sentence of Humanae vitae, that the transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator.[10] This is divine partnership, so Paul VI does not allow for arbitrary human decisions, which may limit divine providence. According to Paul VI, marital relations are a source of great joy, but also of difficulties and hardships.[10] The question of human procreation, exceeds in the view of Paul VI specific disciplines such as biology, psychology, demography or sociology.[11] According to Paul VI, married love takes its origin from God, who is love, and from this basic dignity, he defines his position:

    Love is total — that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner's own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.[12]

    The encyclical opens with an assertion of the competency of the magisterium of the Catholic Church to decide questions of morality. It then goes on to observe that circumstances often dictate that married couples should limit the number of children, and that the sexual act between husband and wife is still worthy even if it can be foreseen not to result in procreation. Nevertheless, it is held that the sexual act must retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life.

    Every action specifically intended to prevent procreation is forbidden, except in medically necessary circumstances. Therapeutic means necessary to cure diseases are exempted, even if a foreseeable impediment to procreation should result, but only if infertility is not directly intended.[13] This is held to directly contradict the moral order which was established by God. Abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, is absolutely forbidden, as is sterilization, even if temporary. Therapeutic means which induce infertility are allowed (e.g., hysterectomy), if they are not specifically intended to cause infertility (e.g., the uterus is cancerous, so the preservation of life is intended). Natural family planning methods (abstaining from intercourse during certain parts of the menstrual cycle) are allowed, since they take advantage of a faculty provided by nature.[13]

    The acceptance of artificial methods of birth control is then claimed to result in several negative consequences, among them a general lowering of moral standards resulting from sex without consequences, and the danger that men may reduce women to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of [their] own desires; finally, abuse of power by public authorities, and a false sense of autonomy.[14]

    Public authorities should oppose laws which undermine natural law;[15] scientists should further study effective methods of natural birth control; doctors should further familiarize themselves with this teaching, in order to be able to give advice to their patients,[16] priests must spell out clearly and completely the Church's teaching on marriage.[17] The encyclical acknowledges that "perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching", but that "...it comes as no surprise to the church that she, no less than her Divine founder is destined to be a sign of contradiction." [14] Noted is the duty of proclaiming the entire moral law, "both natural and evangelical."[14] The encyclical also points out that the Roman Catholic Church cannot "declare lawful what is in fact unlawful", because she is concerned with "safeguarding the holiness of marriage, in order to guide married life to its full human and Christian perfection."[18] This is to be the priority for his fellow bishops and priests and lay people. The Pope predicts that future progress in social cultural and economic spheres will make marital and family life more joyful, provided God's design for the world is faithfully followed.[18] The encyclical closes with an appeal to observe the natural laws of the Most High God. "These laws must be wisely and lovingly observed."[19]

    There had been a long-standing general Christian prohibition on contraception and abortion, with such Church Fathers as Clement of Alexandria and Saint Augustine condemning the practices. It was not until the 1930 Lambeth Conference that the Anglican Communion allowed for contraception in limited circumstances. Mainline Protestant denominations have since removed prohibitions against artificial contraception.[20] In a partial reaction, Pope Pius XI wrote the encyclical Casti connubii (On Christian Marriage) in 1930, reaffirming the Catholic Church's belief in various traditional Christian teachings on marriage and sexuality, including the prohibition of artificial birth control even within marriage. Casti connubii is against contraception and regarding natural family planning allowed married couples to use their nuptial rights "in the proper manner" when because of either time or defects, new life could not be brought forth.[13]

    With the appearance of the first oral contraceptives in 1960, dissenters in the Church argued for a reconsideration of the Church positions. In 1963 Pope John XXIII established a commission of six European non-theologians to study questions of birth control and population.[21][22] The commission that Pope John XXIII formed to study population problems as well as acceptable methods of birth control met once in 1963 and twice in 1964. As Vatican Council II was concluding, Pope Paul VI enlarged it to fifty-eight members, including married couples, laywomen, as well as theologians and bishops. The last document issued by the council (Gaudium et spes) contained a very important section titled "Fostering the Nobility of Marriage" (1965, nos. 47-52), which discusses marriage from the personalist point of view. The "duty of responsible parenthood" was affirmed, but the determination of licit and illicit forms of regulating birth was reserved to Pope Paul VI. After the close of the council a fifth and final meeting of the commission was held, again enlarged to include sixteen bishops as an executive committee, in Rome in the spring of 1966. The commission was only consultative but did make a report to Paul VI approved by a majority of members, proposing that he might use his authority to approve at least some form of contraception for married couples. A minority number of members opposed this report and issued a parallel report to the Pope. After two more years of study and consultation, the pope issued Humanae vitae, which removed any doubt that hormonal anti-ovulants are contraceptive. He explained why he did not accept the opinion of the majority report of the commission (1968, #6).[23]

    According to George Weigel's biography of John Paul II, Paul VI named Archbishop Karol Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II) to the commission. However, the Communist authorities in Poland would not permit him to travel to Rome to take part in person. Wojtyła had earlier defended the church's position from a philosophical standpoint in his 1960 book Love and Responsibility. Wojtyła's position was strongly considered, and was reflected in the final draft of the encyclical, although much of his language and arguments were not incorporated. Weigel attributes much of the poor reception of the encyclical to the omission of many of Wojtyła's arguments.[24]

    In his role as Theologian of the Pontifical Household Mario Luigi Ciappi advised Pope Paul VI during the drafting of Humanae vitae. Ciappi, a doctoral graduate of the Pontificium Athenaeum Internationale Angelicum, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum, served as professor of dogmatic theology there and was Dean of the Angelicum's Faculty of Theology from 1935 to 1955.[25]

    13. Men rightly observe that a conjugal act imposed on one's partner without regard to his or her condition or personal and reasonable wishes in the matter, is no true act of love, and therefore offends the moral order in its particular application to the intimate relationship of husband and wife. If they further reflect, they must also recognize that an act of mutual love which impairs the capacity to transmit life which God the Creator, through specific laws, has built into it, frustrates His design which constitutes the norm of marriage, and contradicts the will of the Author of life. Hence to use this divine gift while depriving it, even if only partially, of its meaning and purpose, is equally repugnant to the nature of man and of woman, and is consequently in opposition to the plan of God and His holy will. But to experience the gift of married love while respecting the laws of conception is to acknowledge that one is not the master of the sources of life but rather the minister of the design established by the Creator. Just as man does not have unlimited dominion over his body in general, so also, and with more particular reason, he has no such dominion over his specifically sexual faculties, for these are concerned by their very nature with the generation of life, of which God is the source. "Human life is sacred—all men must recognize that fact," Our predecessor Pope John XXIII recalled. "From its very inception it reveals the creating hand of God."[26]

    15. ...the Church does not consider at all illicit the use of those therapeutic means necessary to cure bodily diseases, even if a foreseeable impediment to procreation should result therefrom — provided such impediment is not directly intended.

    16. ...If therefore there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births, arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that married people may then take advantage of the natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital intercourse only during those times that are infertile, thus controlling birth in a way which does not in the least offend the moral principles which We have just explained.

    18. It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching. There is too much clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a "sign of contradiction."[27]) She does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on her of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical. Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could never be right for her to declare lawful what is in fact unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to the true good of man. In preserving intact the whole moral law of marriage, the Church is convinced that she is contributing to the creation of a truly human civilization. She urges man not to betray his personal responsibilities by putting all his faith in technical expedients. In this way she defends the dignity of husband and wife. This course of action shows that the Church, loyal to the example and teaching of the divine Savior, is sincere and unselfish in her regard for men whom she strives to help even now during this earthly pilgrimage "to share God's life as sons of the living God, the Father of all men".

    23. We are fully aware of the difficulties confronting the public authorities in this matter, especially in the developing countries. In fact, We had in mind the justifiable anxieties which weigh upon them when We published Our encyclical letter Populorum Progressio. But now We join Our voice to that of Our predecessor John XXIII of venerable memory, and We make Our own his words: "No statement of the problem and no solution to it is acceptable which does violence to man's essential dignity; those who propose such solutions base them on an utterly materialistic conception of man himself and his life. The only possible solution to this question is one which envisages the social and economic progress both of individuals and of the whole of human society, and which respects and promotes true human values."[28] No one can, without being grossly unfair, make divine Providence responsible for what clearly seems to be the result of misguided governmental policies, of an insufficient sense of social justice, of a selfish accumulation of material goods, and finally of a culpable failure to undertake those initiatives and responsibilities which would raise the standard of living of peoples and their children.[29]

    Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens, a moderator of the ecumenical council, questioned, "whether moral theology took sufficient account of scientific progress, which can help determine, what is according to nature. I beg you my brothers let us avoid another Galileo affair. One is enough for the Church."[30] In an interview in Informations Catholiques Internationales on 15 May 1969, he criticized the Pope’s decision again as frustrating the collegiality defined by the Council,[31] calling it a non-collegial or even an anti-collegial act.[32] He was supported by Vatican II theologians such as Karl Rahner, Hans Küng, and several bishops, including Christopher Butler, who called it one of the most important contributions to contemporary discussion in the Church.[33]

    The publication of the encyclical marks the first time in the twentieth century that open dissent from the laity about teachings of the Church was voiced widely and publicly. The teaching has been criticized by development organizations and others who claim that it limits the methods available to fight worldwide population growth and struggle against HIV/AIDS. Within two days of the encyclical's release, a group of dissident theologians, led by Rev. Charles Curran, then of The Catholic University of America, issued a statement stating, "spouses may responsibly decide according to their conscience that artificial contraception in some circumstances is permissible and indeed necessary to preserve and foster the value and sacredness of marriage.[34]

    Two months later, the controversial "Winnipeg Statement" issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that those who cannot accept the teaching should not be considered shut off from the Catholic Church, and that individuals can in good conscience use contraception as long as they have first made an honest attempt to accept the difficult directives of the encyclical.

    The Dutch Catechism of 1966, based on the Dutch bishops' interpretation of the just completed Vatican Council, and the first post-Council comprehensive Catholic catechism, noted the lack of mention of artificial contraception in the Council. "As everyone can ascertain nowadays, there are several methods of regulating births. The Second Vatican Council did not speak of any of these concrete methods… This is a different standpoint than that taken under Pius XI some thirty years which was also maintained by his successor ... we can sense here a clear development in the Church, a development, which is also going on outside the Church."[35]

    There were significant struggles between the Church and the Communist rulers of Poland, who promoted abortion and birth control.

    In the Soviet Union, Literaturnaja Gazeta, a publication of Soviet intellectuals, included an editorial and statement by Russian physicians against the encyclical.[36]

    Ecumenical reactions were mixed. Liberal and Moderate Lutherans and the World Council of Churches were disappointed. Eugene Carson Blake criticised the concepts of nature and natural law, which, in his view, still dominated Catholic theology, as outdated. This concern dominated several articles in Catholic and non-Catholic journals at the time.[37][38][39] Patriarch Athenagoras I stated his full agreement with Pope Paul VI: “He could not have spoken in any other way.”[40]

    In Latin America, much support developed for the Pope and his encyclical. As World Bank President Robert McNamara declared at the 1968 Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group that countries permitting birth control practices will get preferential access to resources, doctors in La Paz, Bolivia, called it insulting that money should be exchanged for the conscience of a Catholic nation. In Colombia, Cardinal Anibal Muñoz Duque declared, if American conditionality undermines Papal teachings, we prefer not to receive one cent.[41] The Senate of Bolivia passed a resolution, stating that Humanae vitae can be discussed in its implications on individual consciences, but, it is of greatest significance, because the papal document defends the rights of developing nations to determine their own population policies.[41] The Jesuit Journal Sic dedicated one edition to the encyclical with supportive contributions.[42]

    In the book "Nighttime conversations in Jerusalem. On the risk of faith." well-known liberal Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini accused Paul VI of deliberately concealing the truth, leaving it to theologians and pastors to fix things by adapting precepts to practice: "I knew Paul VI well. With the encyclical, he wanted to express consideration for human life. He explained his intention to some of his friends by using a comparison: although one must not lie, sometimes it is not possible to do otherwise; it may be necessary to conceal the truth, or it may be unavoidable to tell a lie. It is up to the moralists to explain where sin begins, especially in the cases in which there is a higher duty than the transmission of life." [43]

    Pope Paul VI was troubled by the encyclical's reception in the West. Acknowledging the controversy, Paul VI in a letter to the Congress of German Catholics (Aug. 30, 1968), stated: "May the lively debate aroused by our encyclical lead to a better knowledge of God’s will."[44] In March 1969, he had a meeting with one of the main critics of Humanae vitae, Cardinal Leo Joseph Suenens. Paul heard him out and said merely, "Yes, pray for me; because of my weaknesses, the Church is badly governed".[45] On 23 June 1978, weeks before his death, in an address to the College of Cardinals, Paul VI reaffirmed his Humanae vitae: "following the confirmations of serious science", and which sought to affirm the principle of respect for the laws of nature and of "a conscious and ethically responsible paternity".[46]

    Although polls show that many Catholics dissent from church teaching on contraception,[47] there has nevertheless been a resurgence of support for it in certain quarters. Roman Catholic lay writers such as Janet E. Smith, theologian Scott and his wife Kimberly Hahn, Christopher West, Matt Fradd, and Mary Shivanandan have all written extensively in support of the teaching, and on the reasons behind it. At the official level, Catholicism’s commitment to Humanae Vitae is more stable than ever. According to John L. Allen, Jr., "In addition, three decades of bishops’ appointments by John Paul II and Benedict XVI, both unambiguously committed to Humanae Vitae, mean that senior leaders in Catholicism these days are far less inclined than they were in 1968 to distance themselves from the ban on birth control, or to soft-pedal it. A striking number of Catholic bishops have recently brought out documents of their own defending Humanae Vitae.[48] Also, developments in fertility awareness since the 1960s [49] have given rise to natural family planning organizations such as the Billings Ovulation Method, Couple to Couple League and the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, which actively provide formal instruction on the use and reliability of natural methods of birth control.

    Albino Luciani's views on Humanae vitae have been debated.[50] Journalist John L. Allen, Jr. claims that "it's virtually certain that John Paul I would not have reversed Paul VI’s teaching, particularly since he was no doctrinal radical. Moreover, as Patriarch in Venice some had seen a hardening of his stance on social issues as the years went by." According to Allen "...it is reasonable to assume that John Paul I would not have insisted upon the negative judgment in Humanae Vitae as aggressively and publicly as John Paul II did, and probably would not have treated it as a quasi-infallible teaching. It would have remained a more 'open' question".[51][52] Other sources take a different view and note that during his time as Patriarch of Venice that "Luciani was intransigent with his upholding of the teaching of the Church and severe with those, through intellectual pride and disobedience paid no attention to the Church's prohibition of contraception", though while not condoning the sin, he was tolerant of those who sincerely tried and failed to live up to the Church's teaching. The book states that "...if some people think that his compassion and gentleness in this respect implies he was against Humane Vitae one can only infer it was wishful thinking on their part and an attempt to find an ally in favor of artificial contraception."[53]

    After he became pope in 1978, John Paul II continued on the Catholic Theology of the Body of his predecessors with a series of lectures, entitled Theology of the Body, in which he talked about an original unity between man and women,[54] purity of heart (on the Sermon on the Mount), marriage and celibacy and reflections on Humane vitae, focusing largely on responsible parenthood and marital chastity.[55] John Paul II readdressed some of the same issues in his 1993 encyclical Veritatis splendor. He reaffirmed much of Humanae vitae, and specifically described the practice of artificial contraception as an act not permitted by Catholic teaching in any circumstances. The same encyclical also clarifies the use of conscience in arriving at moral decisions, including in the use of contraception. However, John Paul also said, “It is not right then to regard the moral conscience of the individual and the magisterium of the Church as two contenders, as two realities in conflict. The authority which the magisterium enjoys by the will of Christ exists so that the moral conscience can attain the truth with security and remain in it.” John Paul quoted Humanae vitae as a compassionate encyclical, "Christ has come not to judge the world but to save it, and while he was uncompromisingly stern towards sin, he was patient and rich in mercy towards sinners".[56]

    On 12 May 2008, Benedict XVI accepted an invitation to talk to participants in the International Congress organized by the Pontifical Lateran University on the 40th anniversary of Humanae vitae. He put the encyclical in the broader view of love in a global context, a topic he called "so controversial, yet so crucial for humanity's future." Humanae vitae became "a sign of contradiction but also of continuity of the Church's doctrine and tradition... What was true yesterday is true also today."[57] The Church continues to reflect "in an ever new and deeper way on the fundamental principles that concern marriage and procreation." The key message of Humanae vitae is love. Benedict states, that the fullness of a person is achieved by a unity of soul and body, but neither spirit nor body alone can love, only the two together. If this unity is broken, if only the body is satisfied, love becomes a commodity.[58]

    On 1 May 2014, Pope Francis, in an interview given to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, expressed his opinion and praise for Humanae Vitae: "Everything depends on how Humanae Vitae is interpreted. Paul VI himself, in the end, urged confessors to be very merciful and pay attention to concrete situations. But his genius was prophetic, he had the courage to take a stand against the majority, to defend moral discipline, to exercise a cultural restraint, to oppose present and future neo-Malthusianism. The question is not of changing doctrine, but of digging deep and making sure that pastoral care takes into account situations and what it is possible for persons to do."[59]

    References

    1.Jump up ^ See encyclical, n.6.
    2.Jump up ^ John Paul II, Theology of the Body.
    3.Jump up ^ Benedict XVI, international congress organized by the Pontifical Lateran University on the 40th anniversary of the encyclical Humanae vitae, 12 May 2008
    4.Jump up ^ (Germain Grisez on Humanæ Vitae, Then and Now, Retrieved 2 March 2006
    5.Jump up ^ Humanae Vitae, pgs. 2-8
    6.Jump up ^ Pius XI, encyc.letter Divini illius Magistri: AAS 22 (1930), pgs. 58-61; encyc. letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930), pgs. 545-546
    7.Jump up ^ Discorsi e radiomessaggi di Pio XII, VI, pgs. 191-2; to Italian Association of Catholic Midwives: AAS 43 (1951), pgs. 835-54
    8.Jump up ^ John XXIII, encyc. letter Mater et magistra: AAS 53 (1961), pg. 457
    9.Jump up ^ Herder Korrespondenz, Orbis Catholicus Freiburg, Herder Verlag, 1964-1968
    10.^ Jump up to: a b Humanae vitae, pg. 1
    11.Jump up ^ Humane vitae, 7.
    12.Jump up ^ Humanae vitae, pgs. 8-9.
    13.^ Jump up to: a b c Humanae vitae
    14.^ Jump up to: a b c Humanae vitae, pg. 17
    15.Jump up ^ Humanae vitae, pg. 23
    16.Jump up ^ Humanae vitae, pg. 27
    17.Jump up ^ Humanae vitae, pg. 28
    18.^ Jump up to: a b Humane vitae, pg. 30
    19.Jump up ^ Humanae vitae, pg. 31
    20.Jump up ^ Campbell, Flann (November 1960). "Birth Control and the Christian Churches". Population Studies. 14 (2): 131–147. doi:10.2307/2172010. JSTOR 2172010.
    21.Jump up ^ Shannon, William Henry (1970). "VII. The Papal Commission on Birth Control". The lively debate: response to Humanae vitae. New York: Sheed & Ward. pp. 76–104. ISBN 0-8362-0374-7.
    22.Jump up ^ McClory, Robert (1995). Turning point: the inside story of the Papal Birth Control Commission, and how Humanae Vitae changed the life of Patty Crowley and the future of the church. New York: Crossroad. ISBN 0-8245-1458-0.
    23.Jump up ^ Health Care Ethics A Catholic Theological Analysis, Fifth Edition, Georgetown University Press: 2005; ISBN 978-1-58901-116-8
    24.Jump up ^ Weigel, George (2001) [1999]. Witness to Hope. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-018793-X. "The encyclical was not drafted precisely as Wojtyla proposed".
    25.Jump up ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=26830305 Accessed 2-13-2013
    26.Jump up ^ See John XXIII, encyc. letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), pg. 447 [TPS VII, pg. 331].
    27.Jump up ^ Lk 2. 34
    28.Jump up ^ John XXIII, Encyc. letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), pg. 447 [TPS VII, pg. 331]
    29.Jump up ^ See Paul VI, encyc. letter Populorum progressio #48-55: AAS 59 (1967), pgs. 281-4 [TPS XII, pgs. 160-2] "If only all governments which were able would do what some are already doing so nobly, and bestir themselves to renew their efforts and their undertakings! There must be no relaxation in the programs of mutual aid between all the branches of the great human family. Here We believe an almost limitless field lies open for the activities of the great international institutions."
    30.Jump up ^ Peter Hebblethwaite, Paul VI, Paulist Press New York, 1993, pg. 394
    31.Jump up ^ Hebblethwaite, Paul VI, Paulist Press New York, 1993, pg. 533
    32.Jump up ^ Hebblethwaite, Paul VI, Paulist Press New York, 1993, pg. 528
    33.Jump up ^ Peter Hebblethwaite, Paul VI, Paulist Press New York, 1993, pg. 533
    34.Jump up ^ McCormick, Richard (1993-07-07). "Humanae Vitae 25 Years Later". America. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
    35.Jump up ^ A New Catechism, pg. 402
    36.Jump up ^ HK 1968, pg. 548
    37.Jump up ^ La Croix, 31 July 1968; 13 August 1968
    38.Jump up ^ Sontagsblatt, 11 November 1968
    39.Jump up ^ Reforme, 10 August 1968
    40.Jump up ^ Herder Korrespondenz, Orbis Catholicus, Freiburg, 1968, pg. 404
    41.^ Jump up to: a b Herder Korrespondenz, Orbis Catholicus, Freiburg, 1968, pg. 549
    42.Jump up ^ Sic, 31, pg. 308, October 1968, pgs. 359-79
    43.Jump up ^ Sandro Magister-s blog
    44.Jump up ^ McCormick, Richard (1993-07-17). "'Humanae Vitae' 25 Years Later". America Magazine. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
    45.Jump up ^ Peter Hebblethwaite, Paul VI, Paulist Press New York, 1993, pg. 532
    46.Jump up ^ L'Osservatore: Paul VI Never Looked Back: Vatican Paper Remembers "Humanae Vitae", 25 July 2008
    47.Jump up ^ John L. Allen, Jr. (2008-07-29). "The pope vs. the pill". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
    48.Jump up ^ Allen, John (2008-07-27). "The Pope vs. the Pill". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
    49.Jump up ^ For example, one Natural Birth Control website (Justisse) quotes the British Medical Journal (Volume 307, 2003): "According to the World Health Organization, 93% of women everywhere can identify the symptoms which distinguish adequately between the fertile and the infertile phases of the [menstrual] cycle… [Using fertility awareness for reproductive planning] is inexpensive, highly effective, without side effects and may be particularly acceptable to and efficacious among [certain] people." "World Health Organization Endorses Fertility Awareness". Justisse. Archived from the original on 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
    50.Jump up ^ Kay Withers, "Pope John Paul I and Birth Control", America, March 24, 1979, pp. 233-34.
    51.Jump up ^ National Catholic Reporter
    52.Jump up ^ Kay Withers, "Pope John Paul I and Birth Control", America, 24 March 1979, pgs. 233-4
    53.Jump up ^ Raymond and Lauretta, The Smiling Pope, The Life & Teaching of John Paul I. Our Sunday Visitor Press: 2004
    54.Jump up ^ Weigel, George (2005). Witness to hope, The biography of Pope John Paul II. New York. p. 336.
    55.Jump up ^ Weigel, pgs. 336-43
    56.Jump up ^ Veritatis Splendor, pg. 95
    57.Jump up ^ Benedict XVI, international congress organized by the Pontifical Lateran University on the 40th anniversary of the encyclical Humanae vitae, 12 May 2008
    58.Jump up ^ Quoted from Deus Caritas Est
    59.Jump up ^ Francis, the Pope of "Humanae Vitae", Chiesa.Espressonline.it, Article By Sandro Magister, 1 May 2014

    Further reading

    Wojtyła, Karol (1993). Love and Responsibility. Ignatius Press. ISBN 0-89870-445-6.
    Smith, Janet (1993). Why Humanae Vitae Was Right: A Reader. Ignatius Press. ISBN 0-89870-433-2.
    Shivanandan, Mary (1999). Crossing the Threshold of Love: A New Vision of Marriage. Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 0-8132-0941-2.
    Hahn, Kimberly (2002). Life-Giving Love. Charis Books. ISBN 0-8132-0941-2.
    Kippley, John F. (2005). Sex and the Marriage Covenant: A Basis for Morality. Ignatius Press. ISBN 0-89870-973-3.
    McClory, Robert (1995). Turning point: the inside story of the Papal Birth Control Commission, and how Humanae Vitae changed the life of Patty Crowley and the future of the church. Crossroads Publishing. ISBN 0-8245-1458-0.
    Rubio, Julie Hanlon (Fall 2005). "Beyond the LIberal/Conservative Divide on Contraception". Horizons: the Journal of the College Theology Society. Villanova University. 32 (2).
    Dominion, Jack; Hugh Montefiore (1989). God, Sex and Love. SCM Press.

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    Post  orthodoxymoron Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:04 pm

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Paul-vi
    http://www.webcitation.org/5xI2Wz6n5
    ENCYCLICAL LETTER
    HUMANAE VITAE
    OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF PAUL VI
    TO HIS VENERABLE BROTHERS
    THE PATRIARCHS, ARCHBISHOPS, BISHOPS
    AND OTHER LOCAL ORDINARIES
    IN PEACE AND COMMUNION WITH THE APOSTOLIC SEE,
    TO THE CLERGY AND FAITHFUL OF THE WHOLE CATHOLIC WORLD,
    AND TO ALL MEN OF GOOD WILL,
    ON  THE REGULATION OF BIRTH

    Honored Brothers and Dear Sons,
    Health and Apostolic Benediction.  

    The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships.  

    The fulfillment of this duty has always posed problems to the conscience of married people, but the recent course of human society and the concomitant changes have provoked new questions. The Church cannot ignore these questions, for they concern matters intimately connected with the life and happiness of human beings.  

    I.
    PROBLEM AND COMPETENCY
    OF THE MAGISTERIUM

    2. The changes that have taken place are of considerable importance and varied in nature. In the first place there is the rapid increase in population which has made many fear that world population is going to grow faster than available resources, with the consequence that many families and developing countries would be faced with greater hardships. This can easily induce public authorities to be tempted to take even harsher measures to avert this danger. There is also the fact that not only working and housing conditions but the greater demands made both in the economic and educational field pose a living situation in which it is frequently difficult these days to provide properly for a large family.

    Also noteworthy is a new understanding of the dignity of woman and her place in society, of the value of conjugal love in marriage and the relationship of conjugal acts to this love.

    But the most remarkable development of all is to be seen in man's stupendous progress in the domination and rational organization of the forces of nature to the point that he is endeavoring to extend this control over every aspect of his own life—over his body, over his mind and emotions, over his social life, and even over the laws that regulate the transmission of life.

    New Questions

    3. This new state of things gives rise to new questions. Granted the conditions of life today and taking into account the relevance of married love to the harmony and mutual fidelity of husband and wife, would it not be right to review the moral norms in force till now, especially when it is felt that these can be observed only with the gravest difficulty, sometimes only by heroic effort?

    Moreover, if one were to apply here the so called principle of totality, could it not be accepted that the intention to have a less prolific but more rationally planned family might transform an action which renders natural processes infertile into a licit and provident control of birth? Could it not be admitted, in other words, that procreative finality applies to the totality of married life rather than to each single act? A further question is whether, because people are more conscious today of their responsibilities, the time has not come when the transmission of life should be regulated by their intelligence and will rather than through the specific rhythms of their own bodies.

    Interpreting the Moral Law

    4. This kind of question requires from the teaching authority of the Church a new and deeper reflection on the principles of the moral teaching on marriage—a teaching which is based on the natural law as illuminated and enriched by divine Revelation.

    No member of the faithful could possibly deny that the Church is competent in her magisterium to interpret the natural moral law. It is in fact indisputable, as Our predecessors have many times declared, (l) that Jesus Christ, when He communicated His divine power to Peter and the other Apostles and sent them to teach all nations His commandments, (2) constituted them as the authentic guardians and interpreters of the whole moral law, not only, that is, of the law of the Gospel but also of the natural law. For the natural law, too, declares the will of God, and its faithful observance is necessary for men's eternal salvation. (3)

    In carrying out this mandate, the Church has always issued appropriate documents on the nature of marriage, the correct use of conjugal rights, and the duties of spouses. These documents have been more copious in recent times. (4)

    Special Studies

    5. The consciousness of the same responsibility induced Us to confirm and expand the commission set up by Our predecessor Pope John XXIII, of happy memory, in March, 1963. This commission included married couples as well as many experts in the various fields pertinent to these questions. Its task was to examine views and opinions concerning married life, and especially on the correct regulation of births; and it was also to provide the teaching authority of the Church with such evidence as would enable it to give an apt reply in this matter, which not only the faithful but also the rest of the world were waiting for. (5)

    When the evidence of the experts had been received, as well as the opinions and advice of a considerable number of Our brethren in the episcopate—some of whom sent their views spontaneously, while others were requested by Us to do so—We were in a position to weigh with more precision all the aspects of this complex subject. Hence We are deeply grateful to all those concerned.

    The Magisterium's Reply

    6. However, the conclusions arrived at by the commission could not be considered by Us as definitive and absolutely certain, dispensing Us from the duty of examining personally this serious question. This was all the more necessary because, within the commission itself, there was not complete agreement concerning the moral norms to be proposed, and especially because certain approaches and criteria for a solution to this question had emerged which were at variance with the moral doctrine on marriage constantly taught by the magisterium of the Church.

    Consequently, now that We have sifted carefully the evidence sent to Us and intently studied the whole matter, as well as prayed constantly to God, We, by virtue of the mandate entrusted to Us by Christ, intend to give Our reply to this series of grave questions.

    II.
    DOCTRINAL PRINCIPLES

    7. The question of human procreation, like every other question which touches human life, involves more than the limited aspects specific to such disciplines as biology, psychology, demography or sociology. It is the whole man and the whole mission to which he is called that must be considered: both its natural, earthly aspects and its supernatural, eternal aspects. And since in the attempt to justify artificial methods of birth control many appeal to the demands of married love or of responsible parenthood, these two important realities of married life must be accurately defined and analyzed. This is what We mean to do, with special reference to what the Second Vatican Council taught with the highest authority in its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today.

    God's Loving Design

    8. Married love particularly reveals its true nature and nobility when we realize that it takes its origin from God, who "is love," (6) the Father "from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named." (7)

    Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives.

    The marriage of those who have been baptized is, in addition, invested with the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, for it represents the union of Christ and His Church.

    Married Love

    9. In the light of these facts the characteristic features and exigencies of married love are clearly indicated, and it is of the highest importance to evaluate them exactly.

    This love is above all fully human, a compound of sense and spirit. It is not, then, merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive. It is also, and above all, an act of the free will, whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive the joys and sorrows of daily life, but also to grow, so that husband and wife become in a way one heart and one soul, and together attain their human fulfillment.

    It is a love which is total—that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner's own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.

    Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other, and this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage. Though this fidelity of husband and wife sometimes presents difficulties, no one has the right to assert that it is impossible; it is, on the contrary, always honorable and meritorious. The example of countless married couples proves not only that fidelity is in accord with the nature of marriage, but also that it is the source of profound and enduring happiness.

    Finally, this love is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go beyond this to bring new life into being. "Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the procreation and education of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute in the highest degree to their parents' welfare." (Cool

    Responsible Parenthood

    10. Married love, therefore, requires of husband and wife the full awareness of their obligations in the matter of responsible parenthood, which today, rightly enough, is much insisted upon, but which at the same time should be rightly understood. Thus, we do well to consider responsible parenthood in the light of its varied legitimate and interrelated aspects.

    With regard to the biological processes, responsible parenthood means an awareness of, and respect for, their proper functions. In the procreative faculty the human mind discerns biological laws that apply to the human person. (9)

    With regard to man's innate drives and emotions, responsible parenthood means that man's reason and will must exert control over them.

    With regard to physical, economic, psychological and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised by those who prudently and generously decide to have more children, and by those who, for serious reasons and with due respect to moral precepts, decide not to have additional children for either a certain or an indefinite period of time.

    Responsible parenthood, as we use the term here, has one further essential aspect of paramount importance. It concerns the objective moral order which was established by God, and of which a right conscience is the true interpreter. In a word, the exercise of responsible parenthood requires that husband and wife, keeping a right order of priorities, recognize their own duties toward God, themselves, their families and human society.

    From this it follows that they are not free to act as they choose in the service of transmitting life, as if it were wholly up to them to decide what is the right course to follow. On the contrary, they are bound to ensure that what they do corresponds to the will of God the Creator. The very nature of marriage and its use makes His will clear, while the constant teaching of the Church spells it out. (10)

    Observing the Natural Law

    11. The sexual activity, in which husband and wife are intimately and chastely united with one another, through which human life is transmitted, is, as the recent Council recalled, "noble and worthy.'' (11) It does not, moreover, cease to be legitimate even when, for reasons independent of their will, it is foreseen to be infertile. For its natural adaptation to the expression and strengthening of the union of husband and wife is not thereby suppressed. The fact is, as experience shows, that new life is not the result of each and every act of sexual intercourse. God has wisely ordered laws of nature and the incidence of fertility in such a way that successive births are already naturally spaced through the inherent operation of these laws. The Church, nevertheless, in urging men to the observance of the precepts of the natural law, which it interprets by its constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marital act must of necessity retain its intrinsic relationship to the procreation of human life. (12)

    Union and Procreation

    12. This particular doctrine, often expounded by the magisterium of the Church, is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act.

    The reason is that the fundamental nature of the marriage act, while uniting husband and wife in the closest intimacy, also renders them capable of generating new life—and this as a result of laws written into the actual nature of man and of woman. And if each of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative, is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme responsibility of parenthood to which man is called. We believe that our contemporaries are particularly capable of seeing that this teaching is in harmony with human reason.

    Faithfulness to God's Design

    13. Men rightly observe that a conjugal act imposed on one's partner without regard to his or her condition or personal and reasonable wishes in the matter, is no true act of love, and therefore offends the moral order in its particular application to the intimate relationship of husband and wife. If they further reflect, they must also recognize that an act of mutual love which impairs the capacity to transmit life which God the Creator, through specific laws, has built into it, frustrates His design which constitutes the norm of marriage, and contradicts the will of the Author of life. Hence to use this divine gift while depriving it, even if only partially, of its meaning and purpose, is equally repugnant to the nature of man and of woman, and is consequently in opposition to the plan of God and His holy will. But to experience the gift of married love while respecting the laws of conception is to acknowledge that one is not the master of the sources of life but rather the minister of the design established by the Creator. Just as man does not have unlimited dominion over his body in general, so also, and with more particular reason, he has no such dominion over his specifically sexual faculties, for these are concerned by their very nature with the generation of life, of which God is the source. "Human life is sacred—all men must recognize that fact," Our predecessor Pope John XXIII recalled. "From its very inception it reveals the creating hand of God." (13)

    Unlawful Birth Control Methods

    14. Therefore We base Our words on the first principles of a human and Christian doctrine of marriage when We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children. (14) Equally to be condemned, as the magisterium of the Church has affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary. (15)

    Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation—whether as an end or as a means. (16)

    Neither is it valid to argue, as a justification for sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive, that a lesser evil is to be preferred to a greater one, or that such intercourse would merge with procreative acts of past and future to form a single entity, and so be qualified by exactly the same moral goodness as these. Though it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater evil or in order to promote a greater good," it is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it (18)—in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general. Consequently, it is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong.

    Lawful Therapeutic Means

    15. On the other hand, the Church does not consider at all illicit the use of those therapeutic means necessary to cure bodily diseases, even if a foreseeable impediment to procreation should result there from—provided such impediment is not directly intended for any motive whatsoever. (19)

    Recourse to Infertile Periods

    16. Now as We noted earlier (no. 3), some people today raise the objection against this particular doctrine of the Church concerning the moral laws governing marriage, that human intelligence has both the right and responsibility to control those forces of irrational nature which come within its ambit and to direct them toward ends beneficial to man. Others ask on the same point whether it is not reasonable in so many cases to use artificial birth control if by so doing the harmony and peace of a family are better served and more suitable conditions are provided for the education of children already born. To this question We must give a clear reply. The Church is the first to praise and commend the application of human intelligence to an activity in which a rational creature such as man is so closely associated with his Creator. But she affirms that this must be done within the limits of the order of reality established by God.

    If therefore there are well-grounded reasons for spacing births, arising from the physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that married people may then take advantage of the natural cycles immanent in the reproductive system and engage in marital intercourse only during those times that are infertile, thus controlling birth in a way which does not in the least offend the moral principles which We have just explained. (20)

    Neither the Church nor her doctrine is inconsistent when she considers it lawful for married people to take advantage of the infertile period but condemns as always unlawful the use of means which directly prevent conception, even when the reasons given for the later practice may appear to be upright and serious. In reality, these two cases are completely different. In the former the married couple rightly use a faculty provided them by nature. In the later they obstruct the natural development of the generative process. It cannot be denied that in each case the married couple, for acceptable reasons, are both perfectly clear in their intention to avoid children and wish to make sure that none will result. But it is equally true that it is exclusively in the former case that husband and wife are ready to abstain from intercourse during the fertile period as often as for reasonable motives the birth of another child is not desirable. And when the infertile period recurs, they use their married intimacy to express their mutual love and safeguard their fidelity toward one another. In doing this they certainly give proof of a true and authentic love.

    Consequences of Artificial Methods

    17. Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.

    Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife.

    Limits to Man's Power

    Consequently, unless we are willing that the responsibility of procreating life should be left to the arbitrary decision of men, we must accept that there are certain limits, beyond which it is wrong to go, to the power of man over his own body and its natural functions—limits, let it be said, which no one, whether as a private individual or as a public authority, can lawfully exceed. These limits are expressly imposed because of the reverence due to the whole human organism and its natural functions, in the light of the principles We stated earlier, and in accordance with a correct understanding of the "principle of totality" enunciated by Our predecessor Pope Pius XII. (21)

    Concern of the Church

    18. It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching. There is too much clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a "sign of contradiction." (22) She does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on her of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical.

    Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could never be right for her to declare lawful what is in fact unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to the true good of man.

    In preserving intact the whole moral law of marriage, the Church is convinced that she is contributing to the creation of a truly human civilization. She urges man not to betray his personal responsibilities by putting all his faith in technical expedients. In this way she defends the dignity of husband and wife. This course of action shows that the Church, loyal to the example and teaching of the divine Savior, is sincere and unselfish in her regard for men whom she strives to help even now during this earthly pilgrimage "to share God's life as sons of the living God, the Father of all men." (23)

    III.
    PASTORAL DIRECTIVES

    19. Our words would not be an adequate expression of the thought and solicitude of the Church, Mother and Teacher of all peoples, if, after having recalled men to the observance and respect of the divine law regarding matrimony, they did not also support mankind in the honest regulation of birth amid the difficult conditions which today afflict families and peoples. The Church, in fact, cannot act differently toward men than did the Redeemer. She knows their weaknesses, she has compassion on the multitude, she welcomes sinners. But at the same time she cannot do otherwise than teach the law. For it is in fact the law of human life restored to its native truth and guided by the Spirit of God. (24) Observing the Divine Law.

    20. The teaching of the Church regarding the proper regulation of birth is a promulgation of the law of God Himself. And yet there is no doubt that to many it will appear not merely difficult but even impossible to observe. Now it is true that like all good things which are outstanding for their nobility and for the benefits which they confer on men, so this law demands from individual men and women, from families and from human society, a resolute purpose and great endurance. Indeed it cannot be observed unless God comes to their help with the grace by which the goodwill of men is sustained and strengthened. But to those who consider this matter diligently it will indeed be evident that this endurance enhances man's dignity and confers benefits on human society.

    Value of Self-Discipline

    21. The right and lawful ordering of birth demands, first of all, that spouses fully recognize and value the true blessings of family life and that they acquire complete mastery over themselves and their emotions. For if with the aid of reason and of free will they are to control their natural drives, there can be no doubt at all of the need for self-denial. Only then will the expression of love, essential to married life, conform to right order. This is especially clear in the practice of periodic continence. Self-discipline of this kind is a shining witness to the chastity of husband and wife and, far from being a hindrance to their love of one another, transforms it by giving it a more truly human character. And if this self-discipline does demand that they persevere in their purpose and efforts, it has at the same time the salutary effect of enabling husband and wife to develop to their personalities and to be enriched with spiritual blessings. For it brings to family life abundant fruits of tranquility and peace. It helps in solving difficulties of other kinds. It fosters in husband and wife thoughtfulness and loving consideration for one another. It helps them to repel inordinate self-love, which is the opposite of charity. It arouses in them a consciousness of their responsibilities. And finally, it confers upon parents a deeper and more effective influence in the education of their children. As their children grow up, they develop a right sense of values and achieve a serene and harmonious use of their mental and physical powers.

    Promotion of Chastity

    22. We take this opportunity to address those who are engaged in education and all those whose right and duty it is to provide for the common good of human society. We would call their attention to the need to create an atmosphere favorable to the growth of chastity so that true liberty may prevail over license and the norms of the moral law may be fully safeguarded.

    Everything therefore in the modern means of social communication which arouses men's baser passions and encourages low moral standards, as well as every obscenity in the written word and every form of indecency on the stage and screen, should be condemned publicly and unanimously by all those who have at heart the advance of civilization and the safeguarding of the outstanding values of the human spirit. It is quite absurd to defend this kind of depravity in the name of art or culture (25) or by pleading the liberty which may be allowed in this field by the public authorities.

    Appeal to Public Authorities

    23. And now We wish to speak to rulers of nations. To you most of all is committed the responsibility of safeguarding the common good. You can contribute so much to the preservation of morals. We beg of you, never allow the morals of your peoples to be undermined. The family is the primary unit in the state; do not tolerate any legislation which would introduce into the family those practices which are opposed to the natural law of God. For there are other ways by which a government can and should solve the population problem—that is to say by enacting laws which will assist families and by educating the people wisely so that the moral law and the freedom of the citizens are both safeguarded.

    Seeking True Solutions

    We are fully aware of the difficulties confronting the public authorities in this matter, especially in the developing countries. In fact, We had in mind the justifiable anxieties which weigh upon them when We published Our encyclical letter Populorum Progressio. But now We join Our voice to that of Our predecessor John XXIII of venerable memory, and We make Our own his words: "No statement of the problem and no solution to it is acceptable which does violence to man's essential dignity; those who propose such solutions base them on an utterly materialistic conception of man himself and his life. The only possible solution to this question is one which envisages the social and economic progress both of individuals and of the whole of human society, and which respects and promotes true human values." (26) No one can, without being grossly unfair, make divine Providence responsible for what clearly seems to be the result of misguided governmental policies, of an insufficient sense of social justice, of a selfish accumulation of material goods, and finally of a culpable failure to undertake those initiatives and responsibilities which would raise the standard of living of peoples and their children. (27) If only all governments which were able would do what some are already doing so nobly, and bestir themselves to renew their efforts and their undertakings! There must be no relaxation in the programs of mutual aid between all the branches of the great human family. Here We believe an almost limitless field lies open for the activities of the great international institutions.

    To Scientists

    24. Our next appeal is to men of science. These can "considerably advance the welfare of marriage and the family and also peace of conscience, if by pooling their efforts they strive to elucidate more thoroughly the conditions favorable to a proper regulation of births." (28) It is supremely desirable, and this was also the mind of Pius XII, that medical science should by the study of natural rhythms succeed in determining a sufficiently secure basis for the chaste limitation of offspring. (29) In this way scientists, especially those who are Catholics, will by their research establish the truth of the Church's claim that "there can be no contradiction between two divine laws—that which governs the transmitting of life and that which governs the fostering of married love." (30)

    To Christian Couples

    25. And now We turn in a special way to Our own sons and daughters, to those most of all whom God calls to serve Him in the state of marriage. While the Church does indeed hand on to her children the inviolable conditions laid down by God's law, she is also the herald of salvation and through the sacraments she flings wide open the channels of grace through which man is made a new creature responding in charity and true freedom to the design of his Creator and Savior, experiencing too the sweetness of the yoke of Christ. (31)

    In humble obedience then to her voice, let Christian husbands and wives be mindful of their vocation to the Christian life, a vocation which, deriving from their Baptism, has been confirmed anew and made more explicit by the Sacrament of Matrimony. For by this sacrament they are strengthened and, one might almost say, consecrated to the faithful fulfillment of their duties. Thus will they realize to the full their calling and bear witness as becomes them, to Christ before the world. (32) For the Lord has entrusted to them the task of making visible to men and women the holiness and joy of the law which united inseparably their love for one another and the cooperation they give to God's love, God who is the Author of human life.

    We have no wish at all to pass over in silence the difficulties, at times very great, which beset the lives of Christian married couples. For them, as indeed for every one of us, "the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life." (33) Nevertheless it is precisely the hope of that life which, like a brightly burning torch, lights up their journey, as, strong in spirit, they strive to live "sober, upright and godly lives in this world," (34) knowing for sure that "the form of this world is passing away." (35)

    Recourse to God

    For this reason husbands and wives should take up the burden appointed to them, willingly, in the strength of faith and of that hope which "does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us ~}36 Then let them implore the help of God with unremitting prayer and, most of all, let them draw grace and charity from that unfailing fount which is the Eucharist. If, however, sin still exercises its hold over them, they are not to lose heart. Rather must they, humble and persevering, have recourse to the mercy of God, abundantly bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance. In this way, for sure, they will be able to reach that perfection of married life which the Apostle sets out in these words: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church. . . Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church. . . This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church; however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." (37)

    Family Apostolate

    26. Among the fruits that ripen if the law of God be resolutely obeyed, the most precious is certainly this, that married couples themselves will often desire to communicate their own experience to others. Thus it comes about that in the fullness of the lay vocation will be included a novel and outstanding form of the apostolate by which, like ministering to like, married couples themselves by the leadership they offer will become apostles to other married couples. And surely among all the forms of the Christian apostolate it is hard to think of one more opportune for the present time. (38)

    To Doctors and Nurses

    27. Likewise we hold in the highest esteem those doctors and members of the nursing profession who, in the exercise of their calling, endeavor to fulfill the demands of their Christian vocation before any merely human interest. Let them therefore continue constant in their resolution always to support those lines of action which accord with faith and with right reason. And let them strive to win agreement and support for these policies among their professional colleagues. Moreover, they should regard it as an essential part of their skill to make themselves fully proficient in this difficult field of medical knowledge. For then, when married couples ask for their advice, they may be in a position to give them right counsel and to point them in the proper direction. Married couples have a right to expect this much from them.

    To Priests

    28. And now, beloved sons, you who are priests, you who in virtue of your sacred office act as counselors and spiritual leaders both of individual men and women and of families—We turn to you filled with great confidence. For it is your principal duty—We are speaking especially to you who teach moral theology—to spell out clearly and completely the Church's teaching on marriage. In the performance of your ministry you must be the first to give an example of that sincere obedience, inward as well as outward, which is due to the magisterium of the Church. For, as you know, the pastors of the Church enjoy a special light of the Holy Spirit in teaching the truth. (39) And this, rather than the arguments they put forward, is why you are bound to such obedience. Nor will it escape you that if men's peace of soul and the unity of the Christian people are to be preserved, then it is of the utmost importance that in moral as well as in dogmatic theology all should obey the magisterium of the Church and should speak as with one voice. Therefore We make Our own the anxious words of the great Apostle Paul and with all Our heart We renew Our appeal to you: "I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment." (40)

    Christian Compassion

    29. Now it is an outstanding manifestation of charity toward souls to omit nothing from the saving doctrine of Christ; but this must always be joined with tolerance and charity, as Christ Himself showed in His conversations and dealings with men. For when He came, not to judge, but to save the world, (41) was He not bitterly severe toward sin, but patient and abounding in mercy toward sinners?

    Husbands and wives, therefore, when deeply distressed by reason of the difficulties of their life, must find stamped in the heart and voice of their priest the likeness of the voice and the love of our Redeemer.

    So speak with full confidence, beloved sons, convinced that while the Holy Spirit of God is present to the magisterium proclaiming sound doctrine, He also illumines from within the hearts of the faithful and invites their assent. Teach married couples the necessary way of prayer and prepare them to approach more often with great faith the Sacraments of the Eucharist and of Penance. Let them never lose heart because of their weakness.

    To Bishops

    30. And now as We come to the end of this encyclical letter, We turn Our mind to you, reverently and lovingly, beloved and venerable brothers in the episcopate, with whom We share more closely the care of the spiritual good of the People of God. For We invite all of you, We implore you, to give a lead to your priests who assist you in the sacred ministry, and to the faithful of your dioceses, and to devote yourselves with all zeal and without delay to safeguarding the holiness of marriage, in order to guide married life to its full human and Christian perfection. Consider this mission as one of your most urgent responsibilities at the present time. As you well know, it calls for concerted pastoral action in every field of human diligence, economic, cultural and social. If simultaneous progress is made in these various fields, then the intimate life of parents and children in the family will be rendered not only more tolerable, but easier and more joyful. And life together in human society will be enriched with fraternal charity and made more stable with true peace when God's design which He conceived for the world is faithfully followed.

    A Great Work

    31. Venerable brothers, beloved sons, all men of good will, great indeed is the work of education, of progress and of charity to which We now summon all of you. And this We do relying on the unshakable teaching of the Church, which teaching Peter's successor together with his brothers in the Catholic episcopate faithfully guards and interprets. And We are convinced that this truly great work will bring blessings both on the world and on the Church. For man cannot attain that true happiness for which he yearns with all the strength of his spirit, unless he keeps the laws which the Most High God has engraved in his very nature. These laws must be wisely and lovingly observed. On this great work, on all of you and especially on married couples, We implore from the God of all holiness and pity an abundance of heavenly grace as a pledge of which We gladly bestow Our apostolic blessing.

    Given at St. Peter's, Rome, on the 25th day of July, the feast of St. James the Apostle, in the year 1968, the sixth of Our pontificate.

    PAUL VI


    NOTES

    LATIN TEXT: Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 60 (1968), 481-503.

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION: The Pope Speaks, 13 (Fall. 1969), 329-46.

    REFERENCES:

    (1) See Pius IX, encyc. letter Oui pluribus: Pii IX P.M. Acta, 1, pp. 9-10; St. Pius X encyc. letter Singulari quadam: AAS 4 (1912), 658; Pius XI, encyc.letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930), 579-581; Pius XII, address Magnificate Dominum to the episcopate of the Catholic World: AAS 46 (1954), 671-672; John XXIII, encyc. letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 457.

    (2) See Mt 28. 18-19.

    (3) See Mt 7. 21.

    (4) See Council of Trent Roman Catechism, Part II, ch. 8; Leo XIII, encyc.letter Arcanum: Acta Leonis XIII, 2 (1880), 26-29; Pius XI, encyc.letter Divini illius Magistri: AAS 22 (1930), 58-61; encyc. letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930), 545-546; Pius XII, Address to Italian Medico-Biological Union of St. Luke: Discorsi e radiomessaggi di Pio XII, VI, 191-192; to Italian Association of Catholic Midwives: AAS 43 (1951), 835-854; to the association known as the Family Campaign, and other family associations: AAS 43 (1951), 857-859; to 7th congress of International Society of Hematology: AAS 50 (1958), 734-735 [TPS VI, 394-395]; John XXIII, encyc.letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 446-447 [TPS VII, 330-331]; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, nos. 47-52: AAS 58 (1966), 1067-1074 [TPS XI, 289-295]; Code of Canon Law, canons 1067, 1068 §1, canon 1076, §§1-2.

    (5) See Paul VI, Address to Sacred College of Cardinals: AAS 56 (1964), 588 [TPS IX, 355-356]; to Commission for the Study of Problems of Population, Family and Birth: AAS 57 (1965), 388 [TPS X, 225]; to National Congress of the Italian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology: AAS 58 (1966), 1168 [TPS XI, 401-403].

    (6) See 1 Jn 4. 8.

    (7) Eph 3. 15.

    (Cool Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, no. 50: AAS 58 (1966), 1070-1072 [TPS XI, 292-293].

    (9) See St. Thomas, Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 94, art. 2.

    (10) See Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, nos . 50- 5 1: AAS 58 ( 1 966) 1070-1073 [TPS XI, 292-293].

    (11) See ibid., no. 49: AAS 58 (1966), 1070 [TPS XI, 291-292].

    (12) See Pius XI. encyc. letter Casti connubi: AAS 22 (1930), 560; Pius XII, Address to Midwives: AAS 43 (1951), 843.

    (13) See encyc. letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 447 [TPS VII, 331].

    (14) See Council of Trent Roman Catechism, Part II, ch. 8; Pius XI, encyc. letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930), 562-564; Pius XII, Address to Medico-Biological Union of St. Luke: Discorsi e radiomessaggi, VI, 191-192; Address to Midwives: AAS 43 (1951), 842-843; Address to Family Campaign and other family associations: AAS 43 (1951), 857-859; John XXIII, encyc. letter Pacem in terris: AAS 55 (1963), 259-260 [TPS IX, 15-16]; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, no. 51: AAS 58 (1966), 1072 [TPS XI, 293].

    (15) See Pius XI, encyc. letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930), 565; Decree of the Holy Office, Feb. 22, 1940: AAS 32 (1940), 73; Pius XII, Address to Midwives: AAS 43

    (1951), 843-844; to the Society of Hematology: AAS 50 (1958), 734-735 [TPS VI, 394-395].

    (16) See Council of Trent Roman Catechism, Part II, ch. 8; Pius XI, encyc. letter Casti connubii: AAS 22 (1930), 559-561; Pius XII, Address to Midwives: AAS 43 (1951), 843; to the Society of Hematology: AAS 50 (1958), 734-735 [TPS VI, 394-395]; John XXIII, encyc.letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 447 [TPS VII, 331].

    (17) See Pius XII, Address to National Congress of Italian Society of the Union of Catholic Jurists: AAS 45 (1953), 798-799 [TPS I, 67-69].

    (18) See Rom 3. 8.

    (19) See Pius XII, Address to 26th Congress of Italian Association of Urology: AAS 45 (1953), 674-675; to Society of Hematology: AAS 50 (1958), 734-735 [TPS VI, 394-395].

    (20) See Pius XII, Address to Midwives: AAS 43 (1951), 846.

    (21) See Pius XII, Address to Association of Urology: AAS 45 (1953), 674-675; to leaders and members of Italian Association of Cornea Donors and Italian Association for the Blind: AAS 48 (1956), 461-462 [TPS III, 200-201].

    (22) Lk 2. 34.

    (23) See Paul Vl, encyc. letter Populorum progressio: AAS 59 (1967), 268 [TPS XII, 151].

    (24) See Rom 8.

    (25) See Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Media of Social Communication, nos. 6-7: AAS 56 (1964), 147 [TPS IX, 340-341].

    (26) Encyc. letter Mater et Magistra: AAS 53 (1961), 447 [TPS VII, 331].

    (27) See encyc. letter Populorum progressio, nos. 48-55: AAS 59 (1967), 281-284 [TPS XII, 160-162].

    (28) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, no. 52: AAS 58 (1966), 1074 [TPS XI, 294].

    (29) Address to Family Campaign and other family associations: AAS 43 (1951), 859.

    (30) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, no. 51: AAS 58 (1966), 1072 [TPS XI, 293].

    (31) See Mt 11. 30.

    (32) See Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, no. 48: AAS 58 (1966), 1067-1069 [TPS XI,290-291]; Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no. 35: AAS 57 (1965), 40-41 [TPS X, 382-383].

    (33) Mt 7. 14; see Heb 12. 11.

    (34) See Ti 2. 12.

    (35) See 1 Cor 7. 31.

    (36) Rom 5. 5.

    (37) Eph 5. 25, 28-29, 32-33.

    (38) See Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, nos. 35, 41: AAS 57 (1965), 40-45 [TPS X, 382-383, 386-387; Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the World of Today, nos. 48-49: AAS 58 (1966),1067-1070 [TPS XI, 290-292]; Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, no. 11: AAS 58 (1966), 847-849 [TPS XI, 128-129].

    (39) See Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no. 25: AAS 57 (1965), 29-31 [TPS X, 375-376].

    (40) 1 Cor 1. 10.

    (41) See Jn 3. 17.

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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Humanae+Vitae
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    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


    Posts : 13639
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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Wed Sep 21, 2016 12:42 am

    orthodoxymoron wrote: I now authorize whatever means necessary and appropriate, to deal with those who wish me harm (in any way, shape, or form -- in-body or out-of-body -- in planning, ordering, or carry-out stages). I have been extremely tactful and discrete. My internet-activities have been a rather quiet back-channel for those in the know. It was never intended for those I come in contact-with in my local-community -- yet someone alerted them to my "madness". It's SO Obvious. I haven't been fooled -- and I'm not fooled -- even though I am a "completely ignorant fool". It stinks when people stick their noses in other people's business. I'm going silent -- not because I've been threatened and harassed -- but because no one has properly discussed my concerns with me over the past seven years of internet posting (and I'm not necessarily referring to forum-members).

    I have come to the conclusion that I am finished -- and that I will be very harshly punished for attempting to make things better for everyone -- everywhere. The creation of Male and Female Human Physicality was probably heresy and rebellion in this universe. Freedom (even Responsible Freedom) is probably heresy and rebellion in this universe. I have never felt more helpless and desperate than I feel presently. Ethics seem to be of no consequence in this universe. Absolute Obedience seems to be EVERYTHING in this universe. I hope everyone is happy with what's coming -- and I hope someone remembers me -- because I don't think I'll be part of what's coming -- whether I wish to be, or not. I think my fate is sealed -- and that it's not a good one. But none of you seem to give a damn about any of this.

    I have observed (even in myself) that the Creation v Evolution debate is often Closed-Minded Pseudo-Intellectual Trench-Warfare -- rather than being Eclectic, Open-Minded, and Multi-Disciplinary. What if Darwin's Theory mostly applies to that which preceded the Human Being? What if most everything evolved over billions of years -- and that a product of this ancient evolutionary process (some form of humanoid) created the Human Being -- and that this creation (or genetic engineering) might've been an Illegal Innovation? Think about it.

    Imagine a Pre-Human Reptilian-Theocracy led by a Reptilian-Queen who expected Absolute-Obedience. This Hypothetical-Queen might've been the Benchmark of Everything. The 'Law of God' might've been every word that proceedeth out of the 'Mouth of God'. There might've been no Written 'Word of God'. There might've been no Constitution and Bill of Rights. There might've been no Governmental Body of any sort. Everything might've revolved around this Hypothetical Reptilian-Queen. Perhaps this state of affairs existed for millions, or even billions, of years. But what if an ambitious and clever underling decided to create the Human-Race and Responsible-Freedom -- clearly in defiance of the Reigning Queen? That would mean war, wouldn't it? War in Heaven, perhaps? What if the Humans eventually lost the war? What if the Humans have been punished, tortured, enslaved, taxed, lied-to, etc, etc, etc -- for tens of thousands of years -- by the Hypothetical Reptilian Empire -- to send a clear message to the entire universe -- to never, ever attempt anything similar to the Human-Rebellion? Is Humanity on the Verge of Extermination? Will Humanity revert to a Reptilian Theocracy? Status Quo Ante Bellum? Think about it.

    Some of you need to think very, very deeply about an Ancient One-Race, One-Religion, One-Government, One-God Theocratic Universe -- AND the Advent of Someone With a 'Better Idea' -- who Created a New-Race, New-Religion, New-Government, Poly-Theistic Solar System -- and the Reaction of the Galactic Powers That Be. I'm very, very, very , very serious about this. The problems connected with all of this are UNIMAGINABLE -- from the Innovation and the Status-Quo points of view. I will elaborate later --  but I am so upset, I can hardly type. Once again, are we about to experience 'Status Quo Ante Bellum'? Think about it.

    You just keep ignoring me, and writing me off -- AT YOUR OWN PERIL. Some of you are guilty of GROSS NEGLIGENCE. YOU KNOW BETTER -- YET YOU DO NOTHING AND SAY NOTHING.


    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Sjff_01_img0077
    The Sovereign Reptilian Queen of the Air aka Lilith
    in a Tibetan Underground Base with Her New Creation.
    Just Wait Until Enlil Finds Out About This!!!
    Mercuriel wrote:
    Lets go even further...

    INRI = Inanna - Nimrod - Marduk Ra or just Ra at that time - And Isis...

    Moses with Horns

    > Horns signifying both Genetic Lineage to the Anuks and "Right to Rule" as the gODS had 'em in abundance due to Them being Master Geneticists...

    For instance - Enlil was known as the Bull and Marduk was known as the Ram...

    Da Vinci was trying to tell Us something here and most have missed It.

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 W_moses6

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 3717

    Interesting eh ?

    And nope - You're not finished just yet anyways. Almost - But not yet...
    Is the United States of the Solar System a Representative-Republic or a Representative-Theocracy? Is the 'Separation of Church and State' intended to keep a Good God or a Bad God out of government and governance? Think about it. Is the 'God of This World' a Good God or a Bad God? As blasphemous and irreligious as this sounds, what if Washington D.C. were superimposed onto Vatican City -- with 10,000 PhD Representatives -- a Ceremonial and Ambassadorial PhD King and PhD Queen of the United States of the Solar System -- and a Very Human, Very Visible, and Very Imperfect Ceremonial, Ambassadorial (and Authority of Last Resort) PhD 'God' (making sure that things didn't spiral out of control -- but not micromanaging or manipulating)???!!! What if half of the PhD Representatives resided in Italy -- and participated in daily legislative sessions within Vatican City? What if the other half of the PhD Representatives were spread throughout the Solar System -- communicating and voting via the InterPlaNet???!!! If Fox News broadcast this proposal -- can you imagine being one of the people answering the angry and livid calls from the General Public???!!! Can you imagine the Official Statements from the Political and Religious Leaders of the World???!!! Can you imagine the responses from Sirius and Orion???!!! Would we suffer a Drac-Attack???!!! Would a Solar System 'God' be the Real Deal -- or just a Propped-Up Puppet Who Agreed to Sell-Out the Human Race??? Would a Solar System God be the God of the Universe -- or just a Local God?? Would there be a Human God and a Reptilian God? Does Michael-Horus-Jesus have Dual-Citizenship??

    This 'God Issue' could be EXTREMELY complex and problematic -- in the context of a hypothetical Reptilian v Human Galactic Civil War. Sherri Shriner says that Aliens Are Not Our Friends. But what if Aliens Are Our Relatives???!!! Just think of that Hundred Mile-Long Alien-Spacecraft as being a Bad@$$teroid Mother-In-Law Ship!!!! There's a reason why some of us lead -- and why some of us are merely internet warriors!!! What continues to REALLY worry me -- is whether the Human Race is capable of properly debating and discussing this sort of thing???!!! Is there a critical mass of people who are REALLY doing their homework regarding Politics and Theology in a New Solar System and Brave New Universe???!!! I know there are certain individuals who read my tripe -- completely understand it -- and are capable of intelligently discussing everything in this thread -- yet choose to remain silent or mostly silent. This makes me EXTREMELY apprehensive. I am keeping this tempest in a teapot safely within the confines of this website -- but a proper conversation is NOT occurring. I had hoped that this could be a Mostly Private Back-Channel -- with some meaningful discussions -- even with Alphabet Agency Interns -- but this isn't happening. It seems as if everyone is watching gleefully as I continue to post Provocative Non-PC Speculations and Proposals -- which can and will be (and probably already have been) used against me. I will be MOST interested to learn who said what about me. What did YOU say -- and when did you say it??? I came in peace. Shall I leave you to your own devices -- or will ET simply leave us in pieces???

    I continue to conceptualize the possibility of the historical and contemporary existence of an Orion-Sirius-Egyptian-Roman Empire, administered in this solar system by a hypothetical Reincarnating Osiris-Isis-Horus-Set Royal Family -- wherein the Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church would be a highly important and relevant piece of this puzzle. I can't prove this -- and I don't even have a lot of evidence -- but it is part of my ongoing science-fiction series, which I am sharing with the very few of you who bother to read my tripe. I continue to think that Theology is a HUGE part of Politics -- regardless of any problems with texts, history, personalities, ethics, whoever, and whatever. It's still important. My Goal is a New Reformation of the City-States, which retains the best and discards the worst. Once again, I do not wish to start from scratch, or to reinvent the wheel. God and the way God runs the Universe, is a HUGE part of properly understanding Solar System Governance -- especially regarding whether the United States of the Solar System has more than a snowball's chance in hell of being established, and of surviving for more than a generation. I've been told that 'in 20 years, you'll be working for us' and that, in essence, my bad-side would manifest itself. I don't wish to elaborate. The Mind, Character, Personality, Nature, and Government of God are HUGE ISSUES. We should take off our shoes -- because the ground upon which we are standing is HOLY GROUND. Please listen to this previously posted link, for a very balanced theological conversation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBjkZ5WzBfc Note especially the material in the second hour.

    I keep trying to imagine a peaceful and happy solar system, with highly ethical and competent leadership, and without a lot of negative drama. Solar System Governance should be somewhat boring and uneventful. I envision continuing doing what I'm doing right now, but in a much more sophisticated and refined manner. I'm really not joking when I speak of a 600 square-foot office-apartment, a Cray, and a Fisk! I am joking when I speak of a Personal Sport-Model Bad@$$teroid and Six Goddesses! One more time, the 'God' portion of the hypothetical New Solar System is VERY important. Perhaps Male and Female Human Physicality -- combined with Responsible Freedom -- are a Rebellious-Invention in a Theocratic Hermaphrodite-Reptilian Universe. I don't know that this is the case, and I am VERY, VERY, VERY sorry for any disrespect or irreverence, especially if this hypothesis is completely in error. However, if this theory is even partially correct, it is VERY important to determine how we might bring that which exists in this solar system -- into harmony with the rest of the universe -- or how to conduct business in a manner which does not cause the rest of the universe to seek to exterminate ALL of us. When I say that I feel as if I am in conflict with Myself, Divinity, and Humanity -- I do not imply hostility or hatred -- but rather a fundamental idealistic struggle -- which seeks to overcome all obstacles to the achievement of a Genuinely Heavenly Universe. A New Solar System must be considered in harmony with a Brave New Universe. The way things have been run throughout the universe, for billions and trillions of years, may not change anytime soon, and perhaps for good-reason -- but where does that leave the Human Race, in this little solar system? Was our punishment and extermination decided upon Hundreds of Thousands of Years Ago? "We can change!!" might be irrelevant. "The decision is made"?

    I would encourage all of you to study the Bible, even if you don't believe a word in it, and even if you don't believe in God (with an upper or lower case 'g'). We need the mental and spiritual discipline and exercise connected with serious Bible-study. I have made some study suggestions below, and I didn't pull them out of an anatomical black-hole. Something is VERY wrong with me, on a physical, mental, and spiritual level, but I still have enough sense to point you in productive areas of research. I feel VERY attacked, and I might not get better anytime soon. However, I don't think I'll get worse anytime soon. I think I'm pretty much stuck in the muck, right where I am. I am not leadership-material in the real-world, but I am a serious force to deal with in the theoretical-world. I mean absolutely no harm, and I completely agree with the Hippocratic Oath "First, Do No Harm". Don't stop thinking about the Idealistic Integration of Theoretical-Theology, Theoretical-Governance, and Science-Fiction. Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, and "V" are only the beginning. Alex Collier is absolutely right when he says that Hollywood is really "clued-in" regarding all of the esoteric stuff. I simply have a HUGE problem with the regressive-influences in Hollywood. I don't even want to begin to think about how nasty the closed-door meetings get in Hollywood, New-York, Washington, DC, London, and Rome. Some of you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. The horror.

    Siriusly, people in the 'know' have known a lot of damning things about a lot of things and people for a very long time -- but a censoring power rules above them which wishes to keep sweeping everything under the rug. I discovered this and that about this and that -- but I simply had to move on -- rather than involving myself in pointless trench-warfare with the BTB (Bastards That Be). I still wonder what sort of Galactic Arrangement this Solar System and the Human Race exist under??!! I suspect that it's NOT a nice one. Attempted reforms might be pointless. Resistance might really be futile. This is the major reason I keep harping on Solar System Governance -- like a broken CD. This is the thread that never ends. It just goes on and on, my friends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_47KVJV8DU "End the Thread! End the Thread! End the Thread!"

    I recently joked about the Solar System being ruled from Pluto -- by a bunch of Plutocrats!! But seriously, it might be fun to think about a United States of the Solar System Plutocracy! Consider the United States of the Solar System as being completely human (or mostly human) -- and Nibiru basically being an Ellis Island of the Galaxy for Freedom-Seeking Reptilians and Greys -- in a Circular Orbit, Safely Beyond the Orbit of Pluto! I'm assuming that this Solar System is a Human Island in a Reptilian Universe (for modeling purposes). I'm having a very difficult time transitioning from my stupid and useless real world life -- to my exciting and important out of this world imaginary life. I'm not sure if I actually crave this sort of life -- or if my insecurity DRIVES me to think about this sort of thing. I suspect that current Solar System Governance is an absolute nightmare -- especially if one really had clear vision and compassion. The view from the top might REALLY suck. I keep imagining myself being on the Moon -- looking at Earth -- and weeping and weeping and weeping. I kid you not. As you well know, my conceptual modeling is quite strange and somewhat insane -- and I'm REALLY pulling my punches and restraining myself. I really am. I'm also probably completely discrediting myself, and possibly ruining whatever future I might've had. This whole thing seems like a complete loss and a complete waste of time -- yet I keep on keeping on -- but WHY? It takes all kinds -- but WHY? The show must go on -- but WHY?

    I wish to make it clear that I support the individuality of various races, nations, and religions -- but I do not support Uber-Alles Nationalism. Once again -- what is the proper definition and role of 'God' in Solar System Governance? This might very well be the trickiest and stickiest part of this whole 'Governance' subject. A lot of this probably is dependent upon how this universe really works. It might not be up to us locals. I am supportive of the human race -- yet I don't know the whole story regarding the origins, nature, history, and destiny of humanity. I continue to fly-blind -- just like most everyone else. I have no inside contacts. I don't do regression-hypnosis -- or anything supernatural and creepy. I just passively research and reflect. That's all. I belong to no secret societies or think-tanks (other than participating in this website). This thread continues to be merely a Study-Guide -- although I am quite committed to the concept of Responsible-Freedom. I have made certain proposals in rather definite ways (one in particular) -- yet I desire that these proposals be highly refined. I consider them to be 'diamonds in the rough'. My strange speculations are intended to make all of us think in ways which might result in the 'Eureka Phenomenon'. A lot of this is up to YOU. I can lead a horse to water -- but I can't make it pee. Is that how it goes?

    Siriusly -- what if Archangel Michael was (and is) NOT like Max Von Sydow -- but rather more like Dr. Who -- Alaya in 'Dr. Who' -- Anna in 'V' -- or Vala Mal Doran??? One more thing. What if Popes and Queens were elected by at least the Priests and Aristocrats -- in a televised electoral process? What if they served ten-year terms -- and then became Popes and Queens Emeritus? This question is especially relevant if Popes and Queens rule the world -- with or without the Queen of Heaven and God of This World. What if the United States of the Solar System ruled the Solar System -- as an Open Secret Government -- with the Pope of Rome and the Queen of England serving as the Ceremonial King and Queen of the United States of the Solar System (especially if they were openly-elected and non-bloodline -- with 10 year terms)? What if the Roman Catholic Church Joined the Anglican Communion???!!! OMG!!! What if the current and hidden God of This World and Queen of Heaven retired -- and advised a New and Open Solar System Administrator? How might such a hypothetical administrator be chosen or elected? What would Orion and Sirius say? I'm presently thinking of various 'prophecies' (including Biblical prophecy) as being a Scripted Punishing Sentence Against Humanity -- rather than being a Pre-Cognitive History of the Future). How would YOU set up Church and State in a New Solar System -- with a Clean-Sheet of Paper and No Historical Baggage??? Think about it.

    I can't begin to tell you how much it hurts to try to deal with all of this. I come from a conservative Christian background -- and I am trying to stay as close to the original path as possible -- but every post of mine is full of heresy and even blasphemy -- but I really have absolutely no hatred or feelings of ill-will toward anyone. I'm simply trying to consider possibilities which are not widely considered. I think DiVinci and Michelangelo are extremely interesting. I think they both knew a helluva lot -- but that they had to be very careful -- because of potentially nasty Powers That Be -- human and otherwise. Same goes for the Bible. I'll be VERY interested to see where the Quest of the Historical Jesus ultimately leads. I continue to like the Teachings Attributed to Jesus -- but the REAL story concerning Jesus might be more disorienting and upsetting than most of us can imagine. My inner thoughts are MOST upsetting. I think the religious world (all religions) are going to go NUTS as the REAL TRUTH emerges. I'm trying to be as traditional and respectful as possible -- but I see nothing but trouble for the next few decades -- and possibly for the rest of the 21st century. The chickens, greys, reptilians, and who-knows-what, are coming home to roost, and probably to do some heavy-duty @$$-kicking. Go easy on me guys. I'm quite sensitive -- and I can't stand the sight of blood. I've been recently joking about living in an old decommissioned missile-silo! Unfortunately, if the excrement really contacts the refrigeration-system, I doubt that there is any place to hide, anywhere in the solar system. Anyway, I presently feel as if I have very little to lose, so here goes another speculative what-if episode.

    To recap -- what if the Roman Catholic Church joined the Anglican Communion? What if the new Anglo-Catholic Church were headquartered in Vatican City? What if the United States of the Solar System were headquartered in Vatican City? What if the Monarchy and the Papacy united to become the King and Queen of the United States of the Solar System -- doing double duty as the King and Queen of the Anglo-Catholic Church? What if the King and Queen both had PhD's in Solar System Studies and Governance? What if they were non-bloodline positions -- with 10 year terms? What if they were elected by the 10,000 Representatives? What if the sacred and secular governance aspects were handled by the United States of the Solar System? What if the sacred and secular ceremonial aspects were distinctly Anglican? What if theological issues were debated and decided by the United States of the Solar System? What if the 10,000 Representatives of the United States of the Solar System all had PhD's in Solar System Studies and Governance? What if the hypothetical and hidden Queen of Heaven and God of This World were replaced by a visible, but largely observational, ceremonial, and ambassadorial Solar System Administrator(s) -- who might be an Authority of Last Resort? What if most sessions occurred within the relatively new and large building next to St. Peter's? What if special sessions and ceremonies occurred within St. Peter's? What if the Secret Government and the United Nations were effectively replaced by the United States of the Solar System? What if that 1875 Cavaille-Coll Pipe-Organ (by Fisk or Reiger perhaps) were installed as originally designed and intended in St. Peter's? Have I caused enough trouble for one post already???

    You City-State and Moon People (and Other Than People) must just LOVE me!!! I hear that the Jesuits hate me!!! But guys -- instead of the poison-cup -- could you just buy me a Ducati 1098R -- and give me a couple of weeks -- if you know what I mean??? Mind you, I just keep forcing this sort of thing into cyberspace to make all of us think. I'm not saying that this is the way things should be. I'm not saying 'my way, or the highway'. Can you imagine the anger, confusion, and running in the streets if my ideas were implemented? But really, I tend to think that we're somewhat screwed no matter what we do. The problems which confront us are that bad. The Horror. Enough for Now. More Later. This is getting way too scary for me. I need to stop.


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    Consider Dr. Venkman ('Ghostbusters').
    Dr. Who? Dr. Bowman?

    My posting regarding how things work and how things should work in the solar system has been going on for several years now -- with very little response or conversation. Is it because I'm getting it wrong -- getting it right -- no one gets it -- or no one cares??? I feel very shut out. I feel way out of any sort of loop. Is this too simple? Is this too hard? Should I beg? Should I kneel? Should I shout? What should I do? What should I not do? Should I do anything at all? I didn't do much for decades because I sensed that what has happened over the past couple of years would indeed be the case -- and I was right. I tried to reason with people from time to time -- but to no avail. It seemed pointless then -- and it seems pointless now. Perhaps my work is done. Perhaps the task I came into this life to perform was an impossible job. My teeth are ground-down and I feel horrible 24/7. I sense that Humanity Can Do Nothing Right in the Eyes of the Galactic Powers That Be. I'm feeling no love. I sense that I have promoted love -- lifetime after lifetime -- but that love is not the way things work in this universe. I have more recently been promoting the concept of Responsibility -- with Love, Freedom, and Response-Ability orbiting this central concept. So far there seems to be very little interest in this innovation -- which shouldn't surprise me, at this late date. Even the Teachings of Jesus seem to have been largely ignored for 2,000 years -- and thousands of Horrible Images of Jesus Christ as a Human Sacrifice continue to be paraded and displayed throughout the world -- without anyone seeming to notice the problems connected with this. So why should I be surprised when my tripe is trodden under foot??? "Stupid Latter-Day Luddite Me for Liking the 'Bach B-Minor Mass'!!"
    orthodoxymoron wrote: The queston that continues to puzzle me is "why have there been so few comments on my threads throughout the years??" I think I know why the regular forum-members don't post -- but I think I know who monitors this website -- and who these monitors are associated with. There are those who should be communicating with me on this thread (but don't). I might continue this thread as long as I can, regardless of whether anyone views it (and comments on it), or not. These seem to be the best of times, and the worst of times, for a variety of reasons. Are we in the eye of a storm?? Is there no problem?? Is everything fine?? Is this a fast-talking and fast-walking contest?? Is this a "more secret-agent than thou" contest?? Is everyone right?? Is everyone wrong?? Is everyone innocent?? Is everyone guilty?? The Ancient Egyptian Deity told me "No One is Good" and "People Deserve to Die". The AED thought that even the women and children deserved to die in the Ancient Roman Colosseum!! Is this the End of Humanity? Is the Decision Made?

    The question that continues to trouble me is "what is the true soul-history of this solar-system??" The answer to this question might go a long-way toward understanding terms such as "Original-Sin", "Fallen and Sinful Human-Nature", "Prison-Planet", "Planet in Rebellion", "Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World", "Lamb's Book of Life", "Nephilim", "Giants", "Angels", "Demons", "Gods", "Sons of God", "Daughters of Men", "Fallen-Angels", "Mystery of Iniquity", "Sin", "Righteousness", "Perfection", "Perfect Law of the Lord", "Trinity", "Nature of Christ", "Soteriology", "Christology", "Eschatology", "King of Babylon", "Whore of Babylon", "Orion Group", "Roman Empire", etc. We don't seem to have enough information to answer the most important questions regarding life, the universe, and everything. What if this whole solar-system is based upon deception?? Will the truth set us free and/or precipitate the end of the world (as we know it)?? Should we be "true-believers"?? Should we be "atheists"?? Should we be "agnostics"?? Should we simply "follow the leader" and "just follow orders"?? Is resistance futile?? I continue to offer to correct any errors I've made on the internet, throughout the years. I've repeatedly requested detailed critiques of my internet-posting, with no responses. There's been some meaningful conversation, but most of it seemed to involve a fake "niceness" which mostly seemed to end in "nastiness". Should I NOT Talk About God and the Bible?? Should I keep my word, and end this thread?? Should I start a Wall Street Journal thread?? Actually, that might be a fine-idea!! No more Mr. Nice-Guy!! No more Church of Orthodoxymoron of Latter-day Luddites!! Just The Wall Street Journal!! "The Bottom-Line is the Bottom-Line!!"
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    orthodoxymoron wrote:
    mudra wrote: It's a holographic Universe Oxy. You are free to explore it from any point you choose. It all goes nowhere really. I am very curious to hear your comments on the Wall Street journal articles. It should be fun.   Big Grin 3

    Love from me
    mudra
    Thank-you, mudra. I'm going to try to shut-out what I've previously posted, and just focus on the title of this thread. I'm still not sure how to proceed, but I might attempt to provide a "Daily Interpretive-Summary" of the Current Front-Page. I will resist the temptation to simply post articles and videos. I will try to just post my own words (perhaps combined with appropriate images). What if there were The Wall Street Journal Church??!! What Would Trinity Church Say?? Here is one last minimal-list:

    1. The Wall Street Journal (print and online).

    2. The SDA Bible Commentary -- Volume Four (Isaiah to Malachi).

    3. Sacred Classical Music.

    There's more to this than you might think. This does NOT involve joining or leaving ANY church or organization. Imagine a Minimalist Crystal Cathedral Concept Church based upon this little list!! What Would Dr. Robert H. Schuller Say?? "The Sacred Must Become Secular, and the Secular Must Become Sacred!!" and "Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!!" BTW -- One of my favorite movies is the 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World!! I think it describes the History of the World extremely well!! It might also describe the End of the World quite accurately!! What Would Jupiter Jones Say?? What Would Mr. Edgars Say?? Does Satan Have an Office at Goldman Sachs?? What if the History of the World is Bull v Ram aka Pinkie v Brain?? Imagine Ram and Bull discussing Sirius-Issues at Starbucks!! Best-Friends and Worst-Enemies?? Think Long and Hard About What I Just Said!! One last thing. I recently encountered a woman who said something rather cryptic regarding "sixteen-years", but I don't want to talk about it, other than that I noticed.

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    orthodoxymoron wrote:I suspect that to really understand history, one must be an insider. But that opens up a whole new can of worms. I've attempted to deal with this stuff for several years now, and I feel as if this was a mistake. I've started The Wall Street Journal thread, to try to forget about the important things (like saving the world). Let me just say that if all the world has been a stage for thousands of years, with One Script-Writer and Director, the implications and ramifications of this are MOST Upsetting. The Visible PTB might all simply be Actors and/or Pawns in a Theater of the Universe. But what if the Reprehensible has been Absolutely-Necessary?? What if Watergate was necessary?? What if 9/11 was necessary?? What if the only way to run a hypothetical Prison-Planet in Rebellion, is by controlling Everyone and Everything in secretive and nefarious ways?? What if my pipe-dream of open and honest governance, with everyone loving each-other, is pure unmitigated-poppycock?? I've gotten to the point where I have to stop. As a youth, I intuitively knew a lot about the way things really worked, but I didn't get involved, and now I know why.
    orthodoxymoron wrote:This thread will literally be a "Journal". The Wall Street "Journal". Get it?? If only Ron Klug could see me now!! Harper and Row should've worked with me, to publish my Interpretive Paraphrase of the Life and Teachings of Jesus!! This was a very long time ago!! Ron wrote at least one book about "Journaling". I talked to Mr. Klug at a writer's conference, and submitted part of my manuscript to him. Frank Peretti was the keynote speaker at that conference!! He was funny and profound!! I think I'll start by commenting on What's News on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. This is the narrow column on the left side of the page, which runs from top to bottom. It is divided into two sections. 1. Business and Finance. 2. World Wide. I might do a detailed analysis, or I might simply do some sort of an extemporaneous expression, reminiscent of the Eureka Phenomenon!! Well here we go!!

    Yahoo said state sponsored hackers penetrated its network in late 2014 and stole personal data on over 500 million users. This is what they tell us, but how much personal data gets passed around throughout the world, each and every day?? This sort of thing becomes front page news when it is not possible to sweep it under the rug. It is my impression that all of our lives are open-books to those in the know -- and those with the dough. I think we all live in a Fish-Bowl (or is it a Yellow Submarine??)!! It's just going to get worse and worse. I keep suspecting that all of our Past-Life Data will eventually be posted on the internet for all to see. Every Secret Thing will probably be revealed.

    Wall Street bank's fees from equity deals have fallen to their lowest level in more than 20 years, as firms opt for cheap private funding. This is one example of why Free-Enterprise is probably a good-thing. Competition Improves the Breed. It's painful and angering for some, but it forces everyone to dig-deeper and try-harder. I've been advocating Micro-Competition and Macro-Cooperation. This is sort of how a corporation works. Everyone competes with Everyone, yet there is an Umbrella of Cooperation to ultimately do that which is in the best-interest of the Company. One might argue with a coworker without serious-consequences, but insubordination to the CEO might result in traveling and meeting new people.

    Big ad buyers and marketers are upset with Facebook after learning the firm vastly overestimated average viewing time for video ads. Why is this an estimate?? Why can't the actual viewing times be accessed?? Some low-budget research by the ad-buyers and marketers should've revealed the real-deal. No one should've been blindsided by this one!! Don't salespersons tend to exaggerate and sugar-coat?? Haven't these people ever bought used-cars?? Would YOU buy a used-car from Richard Nixon??

    Bonds rallied for a second day as renewed central bank commitments to easy policies curtailed investors' fear of a "taper tantrum". The experts provide reasons why things go up and down, but are the provided-reasons the real-reasons?? Greed and Fear are two basic factors relative to why things go up and down. The underlying undercurrents might be incredibly-complex. The Cliff Notes version might be simplistic and deceptive. There are undoubtedly black-box computer-programs which analyze all relevant-factors 24/7. I keep suspecting that humanity will become obsolete in SO many ways. But until then, just remember that the Trend is Your Friend.

    U.S. Stocks extended gains, with the Dow rising 98.76 points to 18392.46. The dollar fell further. The doom and gloom forecasters have been predicting a market-crash for several-years now. The National-Debt is unimaginably and astronomically high. SO many people receive some sort of public-assistance!! Low-wage foreign-workers keep taking U.S. jobs!! This would seem to militate against current stock prices. What is REALLY going on here?? The published reasons for why things go up and down might be very-different than the real-reasons. Some say the markets are rigged. Imagine a Central War-Room, where the markets can be made to go in whichever direction the Big-Shots wish!! I once heard someone say that the markets move in a manner which screws the most people!! Consider deception and surprise when analyzing why the markets do what they do. How extensive is Insider-Trading?? How leveraged are stock-bets worldwide?? What happens if the music slows?? What happens if the music stops?? Will the USD crash?? Will the Dinar skyrocket?? What if the USD gets backed-up by silver, gold, or something of significant-value (with no crash)?? What Would John F. Kennedy Say?? What Would Ron Paul Say??

    This first analytic-post is pretty lame, but I will attempt to cover the entire left-column of the first-page each-day (with an increasing level of sophistication). I haven't decided which type of writer to model, but I might simply be "myself' (whatever that means). Anyway, now I'm going to post an article from the Opinion page, by Kenneth L. Woodward. I once had the privilege of asking Mr. Woodard a question about money in a public-meeting at Pacific Union College, in Angwin, California. It was the last question, and Kenneth Woodward commented that no one seemed to want to talk after my question regarding Money and Religion!! It had something to do with "Rich Christians"!! Oxymoron or Wave of the Future??!! BTW -- Chelsea is my favorite Clinton!! I've always wanted to talk to her!! Here's that article (about Hillary). http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-democrats-methodist-moment-1474586097


    The Democrats’ Methodist Moment
    Young Hillary Rodham saw the church’s social concerns
    shift from alcohol and gambling to sexism and racism.

    By Kenneth L. Woodward
    Sept. 22, 2016 7:14 p.m. ET

    After Bill Clinton, a Bible-toting Southern Baptist, was elected, I repeatedly tried as religion editor of Newsweek to interview him about his religious beliefs and practices. Ten days before the 1994 midterm elections, the White House offered me Hillary, the sturdy Methodist, instead.

    The first lady spoke candidly about her Methodist upbringing, her core Christian beliefs and prayer habits, and how she frequently consulted the latest Methodist Book of Resolutions, the church’s official handbook on social and political issues, which she kept upstairs in the family quarters. Piety plus politics was her message.

    I asked her if she ever thought of becoming an ordained Methodist minister once her White House years were over. “I think about it all the time,” she instantly replied. But after exchanging glances with her press secretary, Lisa Caputo, she asked me not to print what she had said because she felt it made her sound much too pious. I didn’t.

    I feel free to mention this now because Hillary Rodham Clinton obviously has opted for a career in public service. But for a serious Methodist, public service is a form of ministry. All the more so because, as Mrs. Clinton’s former youth minister told Newsweek with sly self-awareness: “we Methodists know what’s good for you.”

    Although religion is not an issue in this year’s presidential election, Hillary Clinton is by far the more religious candidate. What’s more, hers is the more religious political party—even though atheists, agnostics and other religiously nonaffiliated Americans (the “Nones”) now represent the largest bloc, replacing African-Americans, within the Democratic Party. To understand this seeming paradox, we first have to recognize that since its transformation in 1972 under another Methodist politician, George McGovern, the Democratic Party has advanced a righteous politics that mirrors the political righteousness of the United Methodist Church.

    Methodists have been zealous monitors of American morals since the middle of the 19th century when, as historian Nathan O. Hatch has written, Methodists operated “the most extensive national institution other than the federal government.”

    Their longtime concern with politics is symbolized by the Methodist Building, still the only nongovernmental edifice on Capitol Hill. It was built during Prohibition to house the denomination’s powerful Board of Temperance, Prohibition and Public Morals. The building also provided office space for Washington lobbyists representing the other mainline Protestant denominations. Together, they formed a moral Maginot line against the growing political influence of American Catholics as a threat to their vision of a Protestant America.

    By the time Hillary Rodham joined a Methodist youth group in the early 1960s, the church’s social concerns had shifted from alcohol, gambling and shopping on the Sabbath to racism, sexism and the war in Vietnam. Thanks in large part to South Dakota’s George McGovern, so would the concerns of the Democratic Party.

    The events of 1972 inaugurate what I call the Methodist Moment in Democratic Party politics. That was the year McGovern won the party’s presidential nomination—and, coincidentally, the year former Republican Hillary Rodham became a Democratic Party activist. McGovern was the son of a Methodist minister, grew up in a Methodist manse, graduated from a Methodist college, studied for the Methodist ministry before taking a doctorate in history, and taught at his Methodist alma mater before accepting the challenge of rebuilding South Dakota’s moribund party. His stump style was prairie preacher; his reformer’s rhetoric Methodist to the core.

    In 1972 the United Methodist Church, as it was by then called, held its quadrennial General Convention—the church’s highest legislative body—as it does every presidential election year a few months prior to the national political conventions. A review of the positions taken by the church reveals remarkable congruence with the Democrats’ subsequent party platform. Both opposed the war in Vietnam and called for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops. Both framed the nation’s economic ills as “systemic” and proposed wholesale transformation of political, economic and social institutions.

    What is truly astonishing is the way that the Democrats’ planks on emerging culture-war issues echoed the (often more radical) stands adopted by the Methodists. Among the rights of children, for example, the Methodists included the right “to a full sex education, appropriate to their stage of development.” Affirming the rights of women, the Methodists supported full equality with men and demanded and end to “sex-role stereotypes.”

    To counter overpopulation, the convention recommended the distribution of “reliable contraceptive information and devices.” Less than a year before Roe v. Wade, the convention urged “removal of abortion from the criminal code” but stopped short of approving abortion on demand. Finally, the Methodists embraced affirmative inclusion by reserving 30% of seats on all church boards and agencies for nonwhites, even though barely 6% of church members were African-American.

    The events of 1972 also hastened the steady decline in membership and influence among the liberal mainline churches. Before the 1970s were out, the politically and socially conservative Southern Baptists superseded the United Methodists as the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. As one generation gave way to the next, more and more young Methodists, Presbyterians and the like grew up to become religiously something else or—especially among millennials—nothing at all.

    In sum, many of today’s Nones have retained the Methodists’ ethos of righteous politics while jettisoning the beliefs, behavior and belonging that made righteous Methodists Methodists in the first place. Many Jews and Roman Catholics can and do find in progressive Democratic politics aspects of their own social-justice traditions.

    But the emergence of the Nones shows us that anyone can think and act like righteous Methodists just by being a liberal Democrat.

    Mr. Woodward is the author of “Getting Religion: Faith, Culture and Politics from the Age of Eisenhower to the Era of Obama,” just published by Convergent Books.

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    orthodoxymoron wrote:
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    I will become more factual and sophisticated, with time, regarding The Wall Street Journal. I'm just trying to make an editorial-transition from Religious and Political Science-Fiction -- to Boring and Stuffy News-Commentary. I've compared myself with the news-reporter Chad Decker (from the 2009-10 "V" series)!! Perhaps The Wall Street Journal thread will strengthen that assertion!! BTW -- consider reading The Camera Never Blinks by Dan Rather. It's a great book!! Anyway, today's commentary is quite a harangue!! I'll try to tone it down as I proceed!! I'm trying to remake myself into a Kinder and Gentler "Completely Ignorant Fool"!! Perhaps, in my next-life, I'll be the host of "The Regressive Perspective"!! Sorry. I couldn't resist.

    No CEO at the nation's largest 100 companies had donated to Trump's campaign through August, while 11 backed Clinton. This is surprising to me. I keep imagining the Big-Shot CEO's donating to BOTH candidates, to cover their bases. Do the CEO's know something about the near-future of America that the rest of us don't?? Does this reveal their perceptions of the perceived-power (or lack thereof) of the President of the United States of America?? I remember when Dr. Robert H. Schuller wanted to build a Family Life Center on the Crystal Cathedral Campus -- and NONE of His Major-Contributors supported this project (at least initially). I remember the day he told the congregation this sad fact. I was there. Are the CEO's sending their money to the Pope, the Queen, and Putin?? Sorry. I couldn't resist.

    Cruz, in a reversal, said he plans to vote for Trump, citing a pledge to back whoever won the GOP nomination. Does it really matter who votes for who, if all the politicians work for the Same Guy and/or Gal?? Are modern-politics a necessary-evil?? Should everyone just play-along with this seemingly superficial and corrupt game of money and power?? Sometimes I wish I would've signed on the dotted-line and joined the club. Perhaps I should've stayed at the Crystal Cathedral, joined the Masons, started a business in Garden Grove, gone to all the parties, used a couple of Hollywood connections I had, become morally-ambiguous, and become a Filthy-Rich Mover and Shaker in Southern California!! I'm sort of bitter, and sort of serious!! I might've gotten a free-ride on a UFO to the Dark-Side of the Moon, to meet with the Queen of Heaven and the God of This World!! Sorry. I couldn't resist.

    Trump received numerous loans from his father early in his real estate career, documents show. So what?? Why is this news?? It might be newsworthy if Trump received numerous loans from the Mafia throughout the years!! What if he did?? He was supposedly close to some pretty-shady characters throughout the years!! Politics seems to be synonymous with Big-Money and Smoke-Filled Rooms!! Sherry Shriner claims that neither Trump or Hillary are the same people they were years ago, and that they've been replaced and/or taken-over. She's much more descriptive than I'm willing to be, and I have no idea how compromised politicians are, but this stuff scares the hell out of me. Supposedly the Jesuits have a lot to do with all of this, but I don't know for certain. The Ancient Egyptian Deity said he was very close to Obama, and that he really liked Bill Clinton!! He said Ron Paul was bad for America!! Now you know too much!! Sorry. I couldn't resist.

    Two of Clinton's attorneys were granted immunity as part of a now-closed FBI email probe, lawmakers said. Is the law an ass??!! We have the best legal and political system money can buy!! Why do we have "lawmakers"?? Should we have the "Perfect Law of the Lord" which never changes (because it's perfect)?? What if there is a Perfect-Law which predates the creation of the human-being?? What if there is a Better-Bible hidden in the Vatican-Archives?? I'm still wondering about those 37 books I supposedly wrote in antiquity, which are supposedly hidden in the Vatican-Archives??!! No black SUV's have pulled into my driveway at 3AM, delivering me a personal-copy of what I supposedly wrote (and I'm NOT holding my breath)!! If that strange message I found in my word-processor is even partially-true, I'm suspecting some sort of an Old-Testament Commentary, written during the Intertestamental-Period (possibly in Egypt or Tibet)!! Sherry Shriner recently suggested that there were several additional-chapters to the Book of Daniel (hidden in the Vatican Archives)!! What Would Desmond Ford and Raymond Cottrell Say?? Sorry. I couldn't resist.

    Obama rejected a bill that would let Americans sue foreign governments over terror attacks. Congress is likely to override the veto. This makes my hair stand on-end!! This sounds like a bunch of gangsters protecting each-other from the good-guys!! Are Politics and Religion sort of like the Crips and the Bloods??!! Do the Corrupt Rule the Stupid?? Americans should be able to sue whoever did them wrong, wherever the hell they are!! Americans should receive free legal-assistance from the U.S. Government when they sue foreign governments over terror attacks!! Do Americans work for the Government?? Does the Government work for Americans?? What do YOU think?? Sorry. I couldn't resist.

    The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution calling on countries to refrain from nuclear testing. What if all Nuclear-Programs are controlled by the Secret-Government and/or the Secret Space Program?? Remember the UFO's shutting-down Missile-Silos??!! I continue to speculate concerning an Ancient and Ongoing One Solar-System Government (which controls Everyone and Everything -- including ALL Weapons of Mass-Destruction)!! There might be several-factions of one general-government!! I've suggested the possibility of Anna and the "V's" running the solar-system since the Garden of Eden (at least for the past six-thousand years)!! Sorry. I couldn't resist.


    The Gathering Nuclear Storm
    Lulled to believe nuclear catastrophe died with the Cold War,
    America is blind to rising dragons.

    By Mark Helprin
    Sept. 23, 2016 6:11 p.m. ET

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-gathering-nuclear-storm-1474668674

    Even should nuclear brinkmanship not result in Armageddon, it can lead to abject defeat and a complete reordering of the international system. The extraordinarily complicated and consequential management of American nuclear policy rests upon the shoulders of those we elevate to the highest offices. Unfortunately, President Obama’s transparent hostility to America’s foundational principles and defensive powers is coupled with a dim and faddish understanding of nuclear realities. His successor will be no less ill-equipped.

    Hillary Clinton’s robotic compulsion to power renders her immune to either respect for truth or clearheaded consideration of urgent problems. Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary of state once said that he was “pure act” (meaning action). Hillary Clinton is “pure lie” (meaning lie), with whatever intellectual power she possesses hopelessly enslaved to reflexive deviousness.

    Donald Trump, surprised that nuclear weapons are inappropriate to counterinsurgency, has a long history of irrepressible urges and tropisms. Rather like the crazy boy-emperors after the fall of the Roman Republic, he may have problems with impulse control—and an uncontrolled, ill-formed, perpetually fragmented mind.

    None of these perhaps three worst people in the Western Hemisphere, and few of their deplorable underlings, are alive to the gravest danger. Which is neither Islamic State, terrorism, the imprisoned economy, nor even the erosion of our national character, though all are of crucial importance.

    The gravest danger we face is fast-approaching nuclear instability. Many believe it is possible safely to arrive at nuclear zero. It is not. Enough warheads to bring any country to its knees can fit in a space volumetrically equivalent to a Manhattan studio apartment. Try to find that in the vastness of Russia, China, or Iran. Even ICBMs and their transporter-erector-launchers can easily be concealed in warehouses, tunnels and caves. Nuclear weapons age out, but, thanks to supercomputing, reliable replacements can be manufactured with only minor physical testing. Unaccounted fissile material sloshing around the world can, with admitted difficulty, be fashioned into weapons. And when rogue states such as North Korea and Iran build their bombs, our response has been either impotence or a ticket to ride.

    Nor do nuclear reductions lead to increased safety. Quite apart from encouraging proliferation by enabling every medium power in the world to aim for nuclear parity with the critically reduced U.S. arsenal, reductions create instability. The fewer targets, the more possible a (counter-force) first strike to eliminate an enemy’s retaliatory capacity. Nuclear stability depends, inter alia, upon deep reserves that make a successful first strike impossible to assure. The fewer warheads and the higher the ratio of warheads to delivery vehicles, the more dangerous and unstable.

    Consider two nations, each with 10 warheads on each of 10 missiles. One’s first strike with five warheads tasked per the other’s missiles would leave the aggressor with an arsenal sufficient for a (counter-value) strike against the now disarmed opponent’s cities. Our deterrent is not now as concentrated as in the illustration, but by placing up to two-thirds of our strategic warheads in just 14 submarines; consolidating bomber bases; and entertaining former Defense Secretary William Perry’s recommendation to do away with the 450 missiles in the land-based leg of the Nuclear Triad, we are moving that way.

    Supposedly salutary reductions are based upon an incorrect understanding of nuclear sufficiency: i.e., if X number of weapons is sufficient to inflict unacceptable costs upon an enemy, no more than X are needed. But we don’t define sufficiency, the adversary does, and the definition varies according to culture; history; the temperament, sanity, or miscalculation of leadership; domestic politics; forms of government, and other factors, some unknown. For this reason, the much maligned concept of overkill is a major contributor to stability, in that, if we have it, an enemy is less likely to calculate that we lack sufficiency. Further, if our forces are calibrated to sufficiency, then presumably the most minor degradation will render them insufficient.

    Nor is it safe to mirror-image willingness to go nuclear. Every nuclear state has its own threshold, and one cannot assume that concessions in strategic forces will obviate nuclear use in response to conventional warfare, which was Soviet doctrine for decades and is a Russian predilection now. Ballistic missile defense is opposed and starved on the assumption that it would shield one’s territory after striking first, and would therefore tempt an enemy to strike before the shield was deployed. As its opponents assert, hermetic shielding is impossible, and if only 10 of 1,500 warheads were to hit American cities, the cost would be unacceptable. But no competent nuclear strategist ever believed that, other than protecting cities from accidental launch or rogue states, ballistic missile defense is anything but a means of protecting our retaliatory capacity, making a counter-force first strike of no use, and thus increasing stability.

    In a nuclear world, unsentimental and often counterintuitive analysis is necessary. As the genie will not be forced back into the lamp, the heart of the matter is balance and deterrence. But this successful dynamic of 70 years is about to be destroyed. Those whom the French call our “responsibles” have addressed the nuclear calculus—in terms of sufficiency, control regimes, and foreign policy—only toward Russia, as if China, a nuclear power for decades, did not exist. While it is true that to begin with its nuclear arsenal was de minimis, in the past 15 years China has increased its land-based ICBMs by more than 300%, its sea-based by more than 400%. Depending upon the configuration of its missiles, China can rain up to several hundred warheads upon the U.S.

    As we shrink our nuclear forces and fail to introduce new types, China is doing the opposite, increasing them numerically and forging ahead of us in various technologies (quantum communications, super computers, maneuverable hypersonic re-entry vehicles), some of which we have forsworn, such as road-mobile missiles, which in survivability and range put to shame our Minuteman IIIs.

    Because China’s nuclear weapons infrastructure is in part housed in 3,000 miles of tunnels opaque to American intelligence, we cannot know the exact velocity and extent of its buildup. Why does the Obama administration, worshipful of nuclear agreements, completely ignore the nuclear dimension of the world’s fastest rising major power, with which the United States and allies engage in military jockeying almost every day on multiple fronts? Lulled to believe that nuclear catastrophe died with the Cold War, America is blind to rising dragons.

    And then we have Russia, which ignores limitations the Obama administration strives to exceed. According to its own careless or defiant admissions, Russia cheats in virtually every area of nuclear weapons: deploying missiles that by treaty supposedly no longer exist; illegally converting anti-aircraft and ballistic missile defense systems to dual-capable nuclear strike; developing new types of nuclear cruise missiles for ships and aircraft; keeping more missiles on alert than allowed; and retaining battlefield tactical nukes.

    Further, in the almost complete absence of its own “soft power,” Russia frequently hints at nuclear first use. All this comports with historical Soviet/Russian doctrine and conduct; is an important element of Putinesque tactics for reclaiming the Near Abroad; and dovetails perfectly with Mr. Obama’s advocacy of no first use, unreciprocated U.S. reductions and abandonment of nuclear modernization. Which in turn pair nicely with Donald Trump’s declaration that he would defend NATO countries only if they made good on decades of burden-sharing delinquency.

    Russia deploys about 150 more nuclear warheads than the U.S. Intensively modernizing, it finds ways to augment its totals via undisguised cheating. Bound by no numerical or qualitative limits, China speeds its strategic development. To cripple U.S. retaliatory capability, an enemy would have to destroy only four or five submarines at sea, two sub bases, half a dozen bomber bases, and 450 missile silos.

    Russia has 49 attack submarines, China 65, with which to track and kill American nuclear missile subs under way. Were either to build or cheat to 5,000 warheads (the U.S. once had more than 30,000) and two-thirds reached their targets, four warheads could strike each aim point, with 2,000 left to hold hostage American cities and industry. China and Russia are far less dense and developed than the U.S., and it would take more strikes for us to hold them at risk than vice versa, a further indictment of reliance upon sufficiency calculations and symmetrical reductions.

    Russia dreams publicly of its former hold on Eastern Europe and cannot but see opportunity in a disintegrating European Union and faltering NATO. China annexes the South China Sea and looks to South Korea, Japan and Australasia as future subordinates. Given the degradation of U.S. and allied conventional forces previously able to hold such ambitions in check, critical confrontations are bound to occur. When they do occur, and if without American reaction, China or Russia have continued to augment their strategic forces to the point of vast superiority where one or both consider a first strike feasible, we may see nuclear brinkmanship (or worse) in which the United States—startled from sleep and suddenly disabused of the myth of sufficiency—might have to capitulate, allowing totalitarian dictatorships to dominate the world.

    Current trajectories point in exactly this direction, but in regard to such things Donald Trump hasn’t the foggiest, and, frankly, Hillary Clinton, like the president, doesn’t give a damn.

    The way to avoid such a tragedy is to bring China into a nuclear control regime or answer its refusal with our own proportional increases and modernization. And to make sure that both our nuclear and conventional forces are strong, up-to-date, and survivable enough to deter the militant ambitions of the two great powers rising with daring vengeance from what they regard as the shame of their oppression.

    Mr. Helprin, a senior fellow of the Claremont Institute, is the author of “Winter’s Tale,” “A Soldier of the Great War” and the forthcoming novel “Paris in the Present Tense.”


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    Last edited by orthodoxymoron on Mon Dec 26, 2016 11:38 pm; edited 2 times in total
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


    Posts : 13639
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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Sun Sep 25, 2016 9:24 am

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 RESPONSIBILITY-QUOTES-FREEDOM-QUOTES-BOB-DYLAN-QUOTES-HERO-QUOTES
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    orthodoxymoron wrote:
    bobhardee wrote:Oxy,
    1. What is PTB? or what does that stand for.
    2. This is totally unrelated to the first question and is more a reflection of the little picture you post.....Have you ever had a conversation with a ET like the one in you post picture.
    3. Regarding your post: So what you are saying is that we are all victims and have limited free will.  Essentially; You are saying that we are stuck in victim mode so get used to it. Don't learn. Don't think.  Don't feel good.  Don't stand for what you believe.  ETC.
    B*** S***

    Bob H.
       
    1. PTB = Powers That Be.

    2. I think I might've spoken face to face with at least one hybrid (possibly in several different forms) but I've never seen a reptilian-being in their natural-form (or at least in the form depicted in the Dr. Who 'Cold Blood' and 'Hungry Earth' episodes (from the Fifth Series). I've seen photographs of Greys and Reptilian-Beings (even with wings) but not in real-life (and I'm in no hurry to do so).

    3. It often seems as if ignorance is both bliss and virtue in this world (whether anyone likes it or not). I'm not telling anyone to not research and speak the truth. I'm just issuing a warning to not expect too much (in terms of fame, fortune, and power) by going against the grain, and making people feel uncomfortable and threatened. I've paid a very high price for not doing what I thought was wrong -- and for standing-up for what I thought was right -- even though I have severely limited my research and activities. I've tried to be extremely benign and tactful -- but that still hasn't worked.
    I continue to wish for worthy-analysts to itemize my internet-errors over the past eight-years -- so that I might devote a thread to answering and/or correcting the alleged-errors. I've stated over and over that this whole thing has been an extemporaneous-experiment to make all of us think in unconventional (yet constructive) ways. I continue to think that Ivy-League Vatican-Studies should be a major-part of Modern-Protestantism. This would involve the good, the bad, and the ugly. One might have to pursue this study outside of Protestantism and Catholicism to achieve honesty and objectivity. Imagine this study occurring in a religious-studies department of a secular-university!! Imagine obtaining undergraduate and graduate degrees in Vatican-Studies!! Does such a thing even exist?? I've tried to hint-at what Secret-Theologians in Underground-Bases might discuss!! I think I threaten Judaism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Atheism, Agnosticism, Hinduism, Islam, etc. I think the Queen of Heaven and God of This World hate everything about me!! It has been suggested that my remaining time on this planet might be cut-short because of my recent posts on this thread (or perhaps I was mistaken).

    Several years ago, an Individual of Interest suggested that I should write my memoirs. The Ancient Egyptian Deity said "You're Lucky to Be Alive!!" and "I'm Tired of Keeping You Alive!!" and "Do You Want Another War??!!" and "I Could Snap My Fingers, and You'd Be Dead!!" If anyone seriously wishes me harm, please talk to me. I'm really quite easy and flexible. My threads are NOT ultimatums and/or manifestos. I mostly don't know what I believe (or what I want)!! I'm sort of an ankle-biting thorn in the flesh (or something like that)!! I continue to stress that my writing-style is an act (and that I'm NOT like this in real-life)!! This is a mental and spiritual exercise aka Jihad in a Teapot aka Teapot Rome!! I continue to pledge keeping this madness within this website. I might write a book in the future, but it would be a very watered-down version of my ideas and speculations. It would probably be essentially a devotional book. In the meantime, consider reading Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_and_Responsibility

    Love and Responsibility is a book written by Karol Wojtyła before he became Pope John Paul II and was originally published in Polish in 1960 and in English in 1981.[1][2][3] A new, completely updated and original translation was published in 2013.[4]

    The work consists of five chapters; One: The Person and the Sexual Urge; Two: The Person and Love; Three: The Person and Chastity; Four: Justice to the Creator; and Five: Sexology and Ethics.[3] It is described as 'a defence of the traditional Church teachings on marriage from a new philosophical standpoint'.[5] In his introduction to the first edition, Fr. Wojtyla describes his reasons for writing the book as being 'born principally of the need to put the norms of Catholic sexual morality on a firm basis, a basis as definitive as possible, relying on the most elementary and incontrovertible moral truths and the most fundamental values or goods.'[6] Fr. Wojtyła was originally inspired to write the book while being a professor at the Catholic University of Lublin,[7] through the experiences he had in teaching young Catholics.

    While at the university, Fr. Wojtyła gathered a group of about 20 young people, who began to call themselves ‘Rodzinka’, the "little family". They met for prayers, philosophical discussions, and helping the blind and sick. The group eventually grew to approximately 200 participants, and their activities expanded to include annual skiing and kayaking trips.[8] The insight he gained from these meetings and discussions helped him develop the raw material for the text.

    Fr. Wojtyła writes that marital sexual intercourse is the best image of God who is love, for he sees the human body as the only one capable of making the invisible — the spiritual and the divine — visible.[1][9][10] He says that human beings were created by God for a purpose: to be persons who freely choose to love, to give themselves as persons who express their self-giving through their bodies. Thus, sexual intercourse between husband and wife is a symbol of their total mutual self-donation, and further fosters, strengthens and enriches it not just for the present but also for the future.[1][10] For Fr. Wojtyła, "The body, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and divine."[1][11][12][13]

    “Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family – a domestic church." — Karol Wojtyła [14]

    Notes
    ^
    Jump up to:
    a b c d Wojtyła, Karol. Love and Responsibility: 1981
    Jump up
    ^ "How not to be used: Love and Responsibility – Catholic Online". www.catholic.org. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
    ^
    Jump up to:
    a b "A Summary of Karol Wojtyła's Love and Responsibility by William E. May". www.christendom-awake.org. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
    Jump up
    ^ Translated by Grzegorz Ignatik, published by Pauline Books & Media, Boston, MA.
    Jump up
    ^ Kuhiwczak, Piotr (Dr.) (1 January 2007). "A literary Pope". Polish Radio. 2007,2009 Nowe Media, Polskie Radio S.A. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
    Jump up
    ^ Wojtyla, Karol (1981). Love and Responsibility. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-89870-445-7.
    Jump up
    ^ Weigel, George (2001). Witness of Hope – The Biography of Pope John Paul II. HarperCollins.
    Jump up
    ^ "Pope John Paul II: A Light for the World". United States Council of Catholic Bishops. 2003. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
    Jump up
    ^ Karol Woytyla, Love and Responsibility, San Francisco, Ignatius Press 1993
    ^
    Jump up to:
    a b "Holy Spirit Interactive: Edward P. Sri – Love and Responsibility: The Battle for Purity". www.holyspiritinteractive.net. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
    Jump up
    ^ Theology of Marriage and Celibacy, Boston, St. Paul Books and Media 1986
    Jump up
    ^ Christopher West. "What is the Theology of the Body & Why is it Changing so Many Lives?". Catholic Education Resource Centre. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
    Jump up
    ^ "Love and Responsibility: The Person and Love". www.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
    Jump up
    ^ "BrainyQuote: Pope John Paul II Quotes". [[copyright|]] 2007,2009 BrainyMedia.com. Retrieved 2009-10-15.

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    It seems as if one has to read a bunch of Anti-Catholic books to get-at the Dark-Side of Roman-Catholicism. Then, it seems as if one must read a bunch of Pro-Catholic books to balance things out. Unfortunately, Two-Extremes Don't Necessarily Provide a "Happy-Medium". I think I might re-watch The Exorcist today!! The first hour is the best part IMHO. Ellen Burstyn was SO Smart and Sexy in that movie!! The experts knew exactly what was going-on, but they didn't want to admit-it and confront-it. I sense the same sort of thing regarding what I've presented in my U.S.S.S. threads. Why does everyone lie?? Why is everyone superstitious?? Why is everyone reactionary?? Why does everyone act as if ignorance were a virtue?? I get the distinct impression that everyone would sleep with the Devil if they thought they could get a better deal than the next guy or gal!! Is that what happened in the Garden of Eden (at least 6,000 years ago)?? I've tested the taboos and gurus. I've even jumped-ship regarding my SDA background, and suggested that The SDA Bible Commentary might be one of the best ways to approach Ecumenical Biblical-Studies. This sort of talk makes even the SDA's nervous!! What Would Dr. Fritz Guy Say?? I seem to be a Man of God (without a God, Religion, or Country)!! "O Wretched Man That I Am!!" Here is an obviously Pro-Catholic approach to Vatican-Studies. http://www.thomasmorecollege.edu/student-life/vatican-studies-center/

    The Vatican Studies Center, a project of Thomas More College and the first of its kind, introduces students to the work of the Holy See and the Catholic Church through tours of Vatican City State, Rome, and other sites in Italy of cultural and religious importance in the history of Christianity, and through its Catholic Communications internship program with Vatican based media partners, as well as Catholic organizations in the U.S. Its aim is to clarify and defend the work and relevance of the Holy See to contemporary society.

    The Vatican Studies Center is particularly concerned about communicating the Church’s teaching to a wider audience through a range of media forums and outlets.  As part of this effort, the Vatican Studies Center conducts a series of lectures entitled The Vatican Forum, which offers international journalists, members of the Roman Curia, as well as students and seminarians in Rome, an informed and intelligent perspective about current cultural controversies or issues in the news involving the Church.

    Vatican Forum speakers have included theologians, journalists, clergy, and academics of various specialties addressing reporters from the Associated Press, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Newsweek magazine, CNN, and the BBC, as well as journalists from Catholic outlets such as Zenit News Agency, Inside the Vatican, Catholic World Report, The National Catholic Reporter, and The National Catholic Register.

    The lectures of the Vatican Forum have been met with gratitude from journalists, members of the Roman Curia, seminarians, and others who have attended.  With sufficient funding, we intend to continue offering this series both in Rome and in New Hampshire, posting recorded video of the events on-line.

    The director of Thomas More College’s Vatican Studies Center, Tony Assaf, is also the founder and editor of the Arabic language edition of Zenit News and the founding editor of its Arabic edition.  From Thomas More College’s campus, he is translating the Pope’s words and reporting on Church news in Arabic and spreading it wide into the Arabic-speaking world, along with the intellectual content from Vatican Studies Center-related programs. Through this effort, we are strengthening the bond among Arabic-speaking Christians and the Universal Church, correcting misconceptions and prejudgments about the Catholic Church in the Middle East, and filling the void of Catholic information in the Arabic language by tirelessly promoting the news and teachings of the Catholic Church.  Zenit News is the only news agency that translates all of the Holy Father’s speeches into Arabic. H2onews.org is the first Catholic multimedia agency that functions as a free portal for Catholic media around the world, producing news packages in nine languages everyday for use in websites, television, radio, and print media. H2onews’ partners include Vatican Television Center and the Catholic News Service of the USCCB.

    Thomas More College will host the first Catholic Communications Intensive Program in the summer of 2010 with media professionals from H2onews and other collaborating agencies. The program will be open to college students, students in social communications faculties of other institutions, and the general public.

    Complementing Thomas More College’s venerable Rome program for sophomores, the Center organizes tours of key Vatican congregations, offices, and museums. In past semesters, Thomas More College students were given guided tours by Vatican officials of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican Radio, and the Vatican Museums. They were also given the opportunity to participate in the Vatican’s Holy Week ceremonies and a special Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica celebrated by Benedict XVI in remembrance of Pope John Paul II.

    The Vatican Studies Center Internships Program was established for the benefit of the College’s students who wish to gain work experience in the Eternal City or Washington, D.C., in the fields of Catholic communications, public policy, or Catholic charities. Since its inception in 2007, dozens of TMC students have completed internships with H2onews during their Rome semester, recorded news packages for H2onews on the Merrimack campus, and have been placed in internships with an organization at the United Nations in New York and the Culture of Life Foundation in Washington, DC.

    While the Vatican Studies Center has accomplished a great deal in its short history, we have ambitious plans for the future.  With sufficient funds, we hope to expand our commitment to fashioning a new generation of Catholic journalism capable of mediating the Vatican’s perspectives and teachings to a wider public, as well as offering unique educational opportunities in areas related to Vatican studies.  Simultaneously, we hope to increase our ability to deliver quality lectures, conferences, teacher training programs, books, internships, and other educational projects and resources.

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    orthodoxymoron wrote:Somewhat unrelated to The Wall Street Journal, I've previously referred to Michael-Horus-Jesus, but I'm presently not so sure these three names should be joined at the hip. I'm presently thinking of Michael in terms of the 'Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World', and possibly connected with the name 'Osiris', but I'm very uncertain about this. The name-change game, and the name shell-game, continue to trouble and confuse me. I haven't made a scholarly study of this stuff. I continue to deal with such matters in a pseudointellectual manner. I'm not in a hurry to get to the truth and the whole-story. I mostly lead some of us to the edge of truth, without making a big-deal about it. You must do your own homework. I cannot and will-not do it for you. My tradition sometimes makes the connection between Michael and Jesus, but I have a big question-mark concerning the Historical-Jesus of the Gospels. I'm not against the Teachings Attributed to Jesus. I'm simply concerned about Historical Reliability and Verifiability.

    I continue to exercise science-fictional possibility-thinking relative to Sacred-Scripture. How do we REALLY know?? I still don't have an Absolute-Access Pass to the Vatican Library and Archives (and I'm NOT holding my breath)!! I think Vatican-Insiders REALLY Know (but they usually don't let the rest of us know)!! I continue to wonder about King David, King Solomon, and the Queen of Sheba (figuratively and literally) relative to the Father, Son, and Holy-Spirit (figuratively and literally). Some scholars say that most of the Biblical-Characters never existed (at least as described in the Bible). But again, how are we supposed to REALLY Know?? What is the relationship (figuratively and literally) between the "Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World" and the "Historical-Jesus"?? Should I think in terms of Gabriel-Horus-Jesus?? Acts through Revelation seems to reveal very little about the Historical-Jesus. It seems to reveal the Mystical-Christ. I stumbled-upon dividing the Bible into Seven-Sections aka Seven-Churches (mirroring the Seven-Volumes of the SDA Bible Commentary):

    1. Genesis to Deuteronomy.

    2. Joshua to 2 Kings.

    3. 1 Chronicles to Song of Solomon.

    4. Isaiah to Malachi.

    5. Matthew to John.

    6. Acts to Ephesians.

    7. Philippians to Revelation.

    Each of these volumes are Whole-Bible in their approach (but from the perspective of a certain section of the Bible). I think Biblical-Research is a HUGE Can of Worms. It's NOT for Everyone!! There is some logic to the Catholic concept of "Just attend Mass, and do what Holy Mother Church tells you to do" regardless of what the Bible says (or supposedly says). I've suggested the concept of relying-upon Sacred Classical Music for Ecumenical and Inspirational Purposes (with the People struggling with the madness in their own ways and timetables). The Info-War is making Simple-Faith exponentially more difficult for the Rank and File. Spiritual-Quicksand is Everywhere. The Genie is seemingly escaping from the bottle (and the Genie seems to be a Meanie)!!

    Anyway, back to The Wall Street Journal. My plan is to briefly comment on the Front-Page, and then include an editorial from the Opinion section. I'll try to NOT Include much else. This post is an exception to that rule.

    S&P 500 companies are set to report a sixth-straight quarter of falling profits, raising questions about how far stocks can rise without earnings growth. Is the music slowing?? What if the music stops?? Are we at the Pinnacle of Irrational-Exuberance?? Are the markets exhibiting the Epitome of Stupidity?? What Would Alan Greenspan Say?? He said that Brexit was just the "Tip of the Iceberg". What if Brexit was a Prelude to Disclosure?? The Truth might set us Free -- but what if the Truth crashes the markets?? I continue to suspect that most significant Events are somehow planned and staged, to achieve nefarious-ends via devious-means. What Would the Beast Supercomputer Say??

    OPEC is increasingly counting on refineries in China, known as "teapots", to boost exports. What if China and Russia will reshape the world, as the Sorcerer's New Apprentices?? What if their atheistic-leanings will spread throughout the world, as they hypothetically dominate the planet economically and militarily?? What about that nearly Twenty Trillion Dollar U.S. National Debt?? When will the economic-chickens REALLY come home to roost??

    Banks are struggling to upgrade their back-office technology to meet new reporting regulations. What will happen to people's money if the excrement REALLY contacts the refrigeration-system?? How safe are financial-records at financial-institutions?? How interconnected is Local-Banking with International-Banking?? What about Intergalactic-Banking?? Ever heard of the Chase Aldebaran Bank??

    The Fed proposed rules that could drive banks out of commodities trading by making it too expensive. Does the private Federal Reserve Bank really run the United States of America?? Is the Fed the faithful-servant of America or England?? What about Russia and Rome?? What if Russia and Rome excommunicated the God of This World?? What Would the Queen of Heaven Say?? These are Sirius-Questions.

    Goldman plans to lay off over a quarter of its investment bankers in Asia as deal activity slows. Does Satan have an office at Goldman Sachs?? What does the Devil know that we don't know?? Is this another example of the music slowing?? What is the relationship between the Federal Reserve and Goldman Sachs?? What Would the Rothschild's Say?? How is the Organizational-Structure of Planet-Earth changing presently?? Do those with the Gold RULE??!! Does God have the most money and guns in the universe?? Are we dealing with a Local-God and/or a Universal-God??

    My ears are ringing louder and louder. My nerves are becoming more and more shot. I am feeling more and more miserable. Is this retribution for my revelations and speculations?? Is my Wall Street Journal approach extricating me from the Rabbit-Hole, or am I being pulled into a much more dangerous Black Rabbit Hole?? Is it too-late to avoid hell by just shutting-up?? "You'll never work in this world again!!"?? What if the Way Things Are and the Powers That Be are now Locked-In for All-Eternity?? What if the God of This World is now a Beast-Supercomputer in an Underground-Base?? What if the Real-Deal has left the building for all-eternity?? Daniel and Revelation: Red-Herring or History of the Future??


    The NCAA Isn’t a Moral Arbiter—Nor Should It Be
    Let my school—Notre Dame—speak for itself
    on restrooms and other contentious social issues.

    By John I. Jenkins
    Sept. 25, 2016 6:10 p.m. ET

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-ncaa-isnt-a-moral-arbiternor-should-it-be-1474841413

    The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has gotten ahead of its member universities and its own constitutional principles. On Sept. 12, the association pulled all 2016-17 national-championship events out of North Carolina to protest a state law there overriding local antidiscrimination ordinances that, among other things, allowed transgender people to use the public restroom of their choice.

    House Bill 2 (H.B. 2) requires that “multiple occupancy bathroom or changing facilities” in public schools or maintained by public agencies be used according to a person’s biological sex, not gender identity. The Atlantic Coast Conference—to which my school, the University of Notre Dame, belongs—followed the NCAA’s lead and pulled all its 2016-17 championship events at “neutral” off-campus sites out of North Carolina. That includes, for example, the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

    Heightened respect for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens is a signal moral achievement of our time, and harboring reservations about any retrenchment is natural. Yet some citizens may wonder about the implications of substituting gender identity for biological sex in public restrooms. While attending to the rights and sensibilities of transgender persons, it’s important to also take into account the feelings of those who might be uncomfortable undressing in front of a member of the opposite biological sex.

    Our society has become inured to public disputes over neuralgic moral and social questions. These debates will continue as the legal and political process takes its course. In May, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division filed suit against the state of North Carolina, arguing that H.B. 2 is “in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013.” The federal government argues that discrimination based on “sex,” which is illegal, includes “gender identity.”

    North Carolina filed a counter suit, accusing the federal government of “baseless and blatant overreach.” The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., deferred to the Justice Department’s position in an April decision subsequently stayed by the Supreme Court.

    In the interim, it is not the role of the NCAA to employ the economic power it derives from member universities to attempt to influence the outcome of the legal process or change legislation. When it comes to complex, contentious social issues, universities have a critical role to play in fostering reflection, discussion and informed debate. No matter how popular or profitable certain college sports become, athletic associations should not usurp that role. I was particularly disheartened that the NCAA took action without consulting its member universities.

    The role of such associations is to foster athletic competition that is fair and serves the well-being of student-athletes. There is plenty of work for them to do in that sphere without assuming the role of spokesperson for their members on contentious political and social issues.

    In “The Idea of a University,” the 19th-century Catholic cardinal and theologian John Henry Newman wrote eloquently of colleges’ responsibility to raise the intellectual tone of public conversation. Universities, he believed, were for purifying the national debate by being places of reflection and deliberative, informed discussion. He wrote of “supplying the true principles to popular enthusiasm and fixed aims to popular aspiration,” and “giving enlargement and sobriety to the ideas of the age.”

    At a time when tweets, slogans and sound bites seem to define the substance of our political discourse; when respect for truth seems a casualty of the campaign; and when ideological polarization often hamstrings responsible governing, the nation needs universities to raise the intellectual tone of Americans’ discussions more than ever. We must strive to do a better job of providing this service. We will certainly fail if we delegate the work to athletic associations.

    Father Jenkins is the president of the University of Notre Dame.

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Marvin_the_Martian_2
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


    Posts : 13639
    Join date : 2010-09-28
    Location : The Matrix

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Sep 27, 2016 9:17 pm

    I'm going to try to go-away one more time. Things have changed, but I don't want to talk about it. I'm going to try to stop posting for at least the rest of 2016. I've placed way too-much on the table, and I am uncertain about most of it. Perhaps we need a cooling-off period to get our heads together (or perhaps I should just speak for myself). I continue to think my three latest United States of the Solar System threads are an excellent study-guide for the right-researchers (all three of them)!! I think I need to think about other things for a while. Once again, I'm sorry if I've offended and/or upset some of you. On the other hand, I think I've touched-upon various topics which needed to be addressed with my strange methodology. It might be a Missing-Link for Sirius-Researchers. I'm honestly NOT on a mission. I have no clear objectives at this time. I continue to think that a lot of the old-answers were wrong, and that we're not going to like most of the new-answers. So much is SO Good!! So much is So Sad!! I'm hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst!!
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Presidents-Carter-Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Hillary_clinton_jebbushunddondaldtrump
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Presidents-Clinton-Obama-and-Bush-Soldiers-at-War--122951
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 0916-trump-obama-clinton-tmz-getty-4

    America’s Next Crisis Manager
    Leading a nation through disaster calls for honesty, calmness and resolve.
    Trump and Clinton have flaws, but also strengths.

    By Tevi Troy
    Sept. 25, 2016 6:27 p.m. ET

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-next-crisis-manager-1474842419

    As Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump clash on the debate stage Monday night, viewers should consider how each might handle a disaster as president. One of the topics slated for debate is “securing America,” and indeed, terrorism recently struck New York, New Jersey and Minneapolis. Hurricanes and pandemics also loom as unpredictable threats in the presidential purview.

    The campaign has been unusually focused on exactly the characteristics that are essential in a time of crisis: honesty, calmness, resolve. Unfortunately, the two major-party candidates are lacking in important ways. Mrs. Clinton’s email scandal and recent obfuscations about her health undermine her credibility with the American people, which is the basis for effective leadership in a disaster. Without it, leaders cannot count on getting people to follow difficult directives during a crisis.

    In 1976, for example, President Gerald Ford embarked on an ambitious plan to vaccinate “every man, woman, and child in the United States” against a worrisome strain of swine flu. Ford made sure to be photographed receiving the vaccination himself, but most Americans did not follow suit. Only about a quarter of the population went along with the presidential directive, which was canceled a few months later when the vaccine was linked to cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome.

    Why did so many Americans buck Ford’s inoculation program? One reason may have been the loss of presidential credibility following Richard Nixon’s resignation, which propelled Ford into the office. Luckily, that swine-flu strain was not as deadly as feared. But if a more virulent pathogen requiring mass vaccination were to emerge, would Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Trump have trouble persuading most Americans to follow instructions?

    Another vital aspect of crisis leadership is obtaining the facts before speaking and choosing words carefully—both areas where Mr. Trump struggles. During a disaster words that are insufficiently measured could cause panic or confusion. During another swine-flu outbreak in 2009, Vice President Joe Biden said on the “Today” show that he “would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now.” It was a careless statement that threatened to drive people away from air travel and public transportation. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had to walk back the remarks.

    In the early stages of a crisis, the wisest approach might be to say nothing. Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush was confronted with a press corps eager for details on what had occurred and what would happen next. But conflicting stories were rampant and confusion still reigned. Press Secretary Ari Fleischer held up a makeshift sign for the president, not visible to reporters, with the words “DON’T SAY ANYTHING YET.”

    Supporters of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump might disagree with this assessment of their flaws. They might point out the candidates’ strengths as well. Mr. Trump’s trip to flood-ravaged Louisiana in August showed that he understands the importance of making common cause with those affected by a natural disaster. It was reminiscent of his conduct during Hurricane Sandy four years ago, when he opened the atrium of Trump Tower, serving coffee and food to storm-weary New Yorkers.

    Mr. Trump also has shown optimism in responding to disasters. After 9/11, he said “we have to rebuild in some form that will be just as majestic as the World Trade Center.” In 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was still spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Trump called the White House to offer assistance, according to David Axelrod’s book, “Believer.” He writes that Mr. Trump said: “That admiral you have down there running this leak operation seems like a nice guy, but he doesn’t know what he’s doing. I know how to run big projects. Put me in charge of this thing, and I’ll get that leak shut down and the damage repaired.”

    What about Mrs. Clinton? As one of New York’s senators during 9/11, she took a tough stance after the attack, sounding somewhat like George W. Bush. “Every nation has to be either with us or against us,” she told Dan Rather. “Those who harbor terrorists, or who finance them, are going to pay a price.” She also helped secure $11 billion in federal disaster funds for New York.

    In a 2008 campaign ad, she coined what has become the shorthand cliché for disaster management: “It’s 3 a.m., and your children are safe and asleep,” the narrator said. “But there’s a phone in the White House and it’s ringing. . . . Your vote will decide who answers that call.” The ad went on to say that Mrs. Clinton was tested, that she already knew the world’s leaders. It’s also true that she has extensive knowledge of the federal government from her time as first lady, senator and secretary of state. This experience might help her navigate the bureaucracy in times of trouble.

    The perfect disaster manager would have George Washington’s trustworthiness, Franklin Roosevelt’s or Ronald Reagan’s communication skills and Abraham Lincoln’s steely resolve. Americans are unlikely to get those things after this election, but their importance should not be forgotten. After all, hurricanes and pathogens don’t care which party occupies the White House.

    Mr. Troy, a former deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, is the author of “Shall We Wake the President? Two Centuries of Disaster Management from the Oval Office,” out this month from Lyons Press.


    I include a lot of bad and crazy stuff, just to get us used to dealing with that sort of thing, each and every day. I continue to attempt responsible-neutrality, as I continue to slide downhill. I now have massive car-trouble, and I'm quite depressed. The world can be going to hell, and I can handle that -- but car-trouble pushes me over the edge, and I get really upset and despondent. The Bush's, Obama, the Clinton's, and Trump might all be bad and corrupt, but at the Top of the Pyramid everyone and everything are undoubtedly bad and corrupt. I feel bad and corrupt just speculating about how things might really work. Bad and corrupt people might require bad and corrupt leaders. We might be stuck with that modus operandi for a very long time. We might have what we deserve. Who knows??
    Carol wrote:
    The FBI Investigation of EmailGate Was a Sham

    NSA Analyst: We now have incontrovertible proof the Bureau never had any intention of prosecuting Hillary Clinton. From the moment the EmailGate scandal went public more than a year ago, it was obvious that the Federal Bureau of Investigation never had much enthusiasm for prosecuting Hillary Clinton or her friends. Under President Obama, the FBI grew so politicized that it became impossible for the Bureau to do its job – at least where high-ranking Democrats are concerned.

    As I observed in early July, when Director James Comey announced that the FBI would not be seeking prosecution of anyone on Team Clinton over EmailGate, the Bureau had turned its back on its own traditions of floating above partisan politics in the pursuit of justice. “Malfeasance by the FBI, its bending to political winds, is a matter that should concern all Americans, regardless of their politics,” I stated, noting that it’s never a healthy turn of events in a democracy when your secret police force gets tarnished by politics.

    Just how much Comey and his Bureau punted on EmailGate has become painfully obvious since then. Redacted FBI documents from that investigation, dumped on the Friday afternoon before the long Labor Day weekend, revealed that Hillary Clinton either willfully lied to the Bureau, repeatedly, about her email habits as secretary of state, or she is far too dumb to be our commander-in-chief.

    Worse, the FBI completely ignored the appearance of highly classified signals intelligence in Hillary’s email, including information lifted verbatim from above-Top Secret NSA reports back in 2011. This crime, representing the worst compromise of classified information in EmailGate – that the public knows of, at least – was somehow deemed so uninteresting that nobody at the FBI bothered to ask anybody on Team Clinton about it.

    This stunning omission appears highly curious to anybody versed in counterintelligence matters, not least since during Obama’s presidency, the FBI has prosecuted Americans for compromising information far less classified than what Clinton and her staff exposed on Hillary “unclassified” email server of bathroom infamy.

    This week, however, we learned that there is actually no mystery at all here. The FBI was never able to get enough traction in its investigation of EmailGate to prosecute anybody since the Bureau had already granted immunity to key players in that scandal.

    Granting immunity is a standard practice in investigations, and is sometimes unavoidable. Giving a pass to Bryan Pagliano, Hillary’s IT guru who set up her email and server, made some sense since he understands what happened here, technically speaking, and otherwise is a small fish. The wisdom of giving him a pass now seems debatable, though, since Pagliano has twice refused to testify before Congress about his part in EmailGate, blowing off subpoenas. Just this week the House Oversight Committee recommended that Pagliano be cited for contempt of Congress for his repeated no-shows. That vote was on strictly partisan lines, with not a single Democrat on the committee finding Pagliano’s ignoring of Congressional subpoenas to be worthy of censure.

    Now it turns out the FBI granted immunity to much bigger fish in the Clinton political tank. Three more people got a pass from the Bureau in exchange for their cooperation: Hillary lawyer Heather Samuelson, State Department IT boss John Bental, and – by far the most consequential – Cheryl Mills, who has been a Clinton flunky-cum-factotum for decades.

    Mills served as the State Department’s Chief of Staff and Counselor throughout Hillary’s tenure as our nation’s top diplomat. Granting her immunity in EmailGate, given her deep involvement in that scandal – including the destruction of tens of thousands of emails so they could not be handed over to the FBI – now seems curious, to say the least, particularly because Mills sat in on Hillary’s chat with the Bureau regarding EmailGate.

    This was in fact so highly irregular that Jason Chaffetz, chair of the House Oversight Committee, pronounced himself “absolutely stunned” by the FBI’s granting of immunity to Cheryl Mills – which he learned of only on Friday. “No wonder they couldn’t prosecute a case,” Rep. Chaffetz observed of Comey’s Bureau: “They were handing out immunity deals like candy.”

    Not to mention that Mills has a longstanding and well-deserved reputation in Washington for helping the Clintons dodge investigation after investigation. When Bill and Hillary need a fixer to help them bury the bodies – as they say inside the Beltway – trusty Cheryl Mills has been on call for the last quarter-century.

    She played a key role in the Whitewater scandal of the 1990s – and so did James Comey. Fully two decades ago, when Comey was a Senate investigator, he tried to get Mills, then deputy counsel to Bill Clinton’s White House, to hand over relevant documents. Mills went full dog-ate-my-homework, claiming that a burglar had taken the files, leading Comey to unavoidably conclude that she was obstructing his investigation. Mills’ cover-up, the Senate investigators assessed, encompassed “destruction of documents” and “highly improper” behavior.

    Such misconduct is a career-ender for normal people in Washington, but not for Cheryl Mills, who over the last several decades has followed the Clintons everywhere they go. Mills has proven her loyalty to Clinton, Inc. time and again, and that loyalty has been rewarded with a pass on prosecution in EmailGate.

    To say nothing of the fact that as chief of staff at Foggy Bottom, Mills was in no way functioning as Hillary’s personal lawyer, as Clinton advocates have contended. Even her other title, State Department Counselor, has nothing to do with legal matters, despite the name. That role is traditionally assigned to an esteemed foreign policy guru who is supposed to offer sage counsel to the secretary of state. Mills’ predecessor as Counselor was Eliot Cohen, one of the country’s preeminent scholars of international relations. Leave it to the Clintons to turn that job over to one of their trusted cabal, translating Counselor in mafia fashion as consigliere.

    “The whole thing stinks,” explained a retired FBI senior official who professed dismay about the state of his former employer. “This was impossible in my time, unthinkable,” he rued, expressing shock that the Bureau allowed Mills to remain involved in the investigation, including acting as Hillary’s personal lawyer, despite her own immunity.

    How exactly Cheryl Mills got immunity, and what its terms were, is the long-awaited “smoking gun” in EmailGate, the clear indication that, despite countless man-hours expended on the year-long investigation, James Comey and his FBI never had any intention of prosecuting Hillary Clinton – or anyone – for her mishandling of classified information as secretary of state.

    Why Comey decided to give Mills a get-out-of-jail-free card is something that needs proper investigation. This is raw, naked politics in all its ugly and cynical glory. Corruption is the tamest word to describe this sort of dirty backroom deal which makes average Americans despise politics and politicians altogether.

    How high in this administration EmailGate went is the key question, and it’s been reopened by the latest tranche of redacted documents that the FBI released – on Friday afternoon, as usual. There are lots of tantalizing tidbits here, including the fact that early in Hillary’s term at Foggy Bottom, State Department officials were raising awkward legal questions about her highly irregular email and server arrangements.

    Most intriguing, however, is the revelation that Hillary was communicating with President Obama via personal email, and he was using an alias. The alias he used with Hillary, and apparently others, was withheld by the FBI, and let it be said the fact that the president wanted to disguise his identity in unclassified email is not all that odd.

    What is odd, however, is the fact that Obama previously told the media that he only learned of Hillary’s irregular email and server arrangements from “news reports.” How the president failed to notice that he was emailing his top diplomat at her personal, clintonmail.com address, not a state.gov account, particularly when they were discussing official business, is something Congress may want to find out – since certainly the FBI won’t.

    Indeed, when she was being interviewed by the Bureau, Hillary’s ever-faithful sidekick Huma Abedin, was asked about President Obama’s emailing to Hillary using an alias. “How is this not classified?” inquired the mystified Abedin.

    How indeed?

    The fact that the FBI redacted the contents of that email indicates that is was classified, although it was sent to Hillary’s personal email and transited her personal server.

    This, like so many aspects of EmailGate, seems destined to remain a mystery, at least for now. The State Department won’t release the full collection of Clinton’s emails until after our November 8 election. Just this week a Federal judge blasted Foggy Bottom for its slow-rolling: “The State Department needs to start cooperating to the fullest extent possible. They are not perceived to be doing that.” Nevertheless, the public won’t get to see all of Hillary’s emails until after Americans decide who the next president will be.

    For Hillary Clinton, winning that election may be a legal necessity to protect her from prosecution. Congress, animated by these latest revelations of illegality and corruption, will now pursue her with vigor, while an FBI in the hands of Donald Trump seems likely to show an interest in EmailGate which the Bureau never possessed under President Obama.

    Regardless, this story has emerged yet again to tar Hillary Clinton’s reputation at the worst possible time, when her campaign is lagging in the polls. We can be sure that her Republican opponent will mention EmailGate in Monday’s inaugural presidential debate. The Democratic nominee should have coherent answers about her email and server at the ready if she wants to avoid a debacle before the cameras.

    John Schindler is a security expert and former National Security Agency analyst and counterintelligence officer. A specialist in espionage and terrorism, he’s also been a Navy officer and a War College professor. He’s published four books and is on Twitter at @20committee. http://observer.com/2016/09/the-fbi-investigation-of-emailgate-was-a-sham/
    Carol wrote:Bob, I think you may be missing the big picture. Hillary is a war hawk along with her supporters. They make money off of war profiteering. She also is a manipulator behind the scene of illegally making big money supporting this war profiteering effort. When you look at the financial history one thing to take note of is just how bad it is with banks imploding from their manipulation of fiat money. The bond market is crashing along with Derivatives. Banks are now going toward negative interest rates. The last implosion was the 2007 bank bail-ins where millions from the US tax payers money went to bail out Europe's banks and the euro last time.

    You may also notice that the US is on the brink of war if you've been reading the Russian news. History tends to repeat itself. In the past the cabal creates war to monetarily rebuild their wealth. It's what they do.

    In addition, the US is about to take a huge financial dive. Within weeks. The housing market is also about to take a dive.

    Deutsche Bank Slumps to Fresh Record Low on Capital Concerns and guess what? I read where the US has been sending millions to them in hopes of STALLING THIS. Why? Because of this headline on Zero hedge: Global Stocks Tumble, US Futures Slide On Deutsche Bank Fears, Central Bank And Commodity Concerns and this Deutsche Bank Stock Plunges To All Time Low After Merkel Rules Out State Bailout; Default Risk Surges. Then there is this headline: Bond Risk Crashes To 2-Year Lows As VIX Shorts Fold.

    With Clinton the government is planning to confiscate the majority of our assets.

    Confiscation of Property: Clinton proposed a new top Estate Tax of 65% on people with net worth over $500 million. Her website goes to great length to obscure the actual policy details, including the fact that taxes would increase on lower value estates as well. See the total lack of transparency here, where the text simply refers to going back to 2009 rates. It is clear that the intent of the page is to mislead, not inform.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-25/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-explains-why-he-switched-his-endorsement-trump

    Then there is also the collapse of Hedge Funds: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-25/why-hedge-funds-remain-worst-performing-asset-class-2016

    The world's economy is on the brink of implosion. Meanwhile, it is also positioning itself to become asset backed according to Basil III accord. Basel III is a set of international banking regulations developed by the Bank for International Settlements in order to promote stability in the international financial system. The purpose of Basel III is to reduce the ability of banks to damage the economy by taking on excess risk. (Problems with the original accord became evident during the subprime crisis in 2007. 2007 is primed to rinse and repeat within the next few weeks unless some major changes are made.

    Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/10/understanding-basel-3-regulations.asp#ixzz4LNL3aMpJ

    Then examine one of Clinton's primary financial supporters, Soros who funded BLM (Black Lives Matter) and paid for agitators to create the violent fiasco in NC. 75% of the people (agitators) arrested were bussed in from out-of-state. Why? Most likely to incite violence in hopes of creating a race war and martial law to keep Obama in office and take attention off of how ill Clinton really is.

    Please keep in mind that with Clinton it is business as usual. With Trump it is someone who is realistic about what's in the articles below and wants to deal with this. Trump wants to fix things not create more wealth for himself like Clinton has been doing her entire political career.

    The US is instigating the following: US Slams Russian "Barbarism" In Syria; Moscow Responds Peace "Almost Impossible Now" The US wants to create a war to take attention off of just how bad the economy is and the elections. Anything is fair game to them to divert attention from their illegal activities. Basically the US and Clinton (because I heard her with my own ears talk about taking a stand with Russia) are war posturing. War is not good for humanity or the planet - BUT it is GOOD FOR THE GLOBALISTS THE WAR PROFITEERS. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-26/us-slams-russian-barbarism-syria-moscow-responds-peace-almost-impossible-now

    26 Incredible Facts About The Economy That Every American Should Know Before The Trump-Clinton Debate Are you ready for the most anticipated presidential debate in decades?  It is being projected that Monday’s debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton could potentially break the all-time record of 80 million viewers that watched Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter debate back in 1980.  Many Americans probably hope to see some personal fireworks between the two nominees, but the two candidates have both expressed a desire to focus on substantive issues.  There will likely be quite a few questions about the economy, and without a doubt this is an area where Trump and Clinton have some very sharp differences.  The mainstream media would have us believe that the U.S. economy is in pretty good shape, and if that was true that would seem to favor Clinton.  But is it actually true?  The following are 26 incredible facts about the economy that every American should know for the Trump-Clinton debate…

    #1 When Barack Obama entered the White House, the U.S. government was 10.6 trillion dollars in debt.  Today, the U.S. government is 19.5 trillion dollars in debt, and Obama still has several months to go until the end of his second term.  That means that an average of more than 1.1 trillion dollars will be added to the national debt during his presidency.  We are stealing a tremendous amount of consumption from the future to make the economy look much, much better than it otherwise would be, and we are systematically destroying the future in the process.

    #2 As Obama prepares to leave office, the rate at which we are adding to the national debt is actually increasing.  During the fiscal year that is just ending, the U.S. government has added another 1.36 trillion dollars to the national debt.

    #3 It isn’t just the federal government that is on a massive debt binge.  Total U.S. corporate debt has nearly doubled since the end of 2007.

    #4 Default rates on U.S. corporate debt are the highest that they have been since the last financial crisis.

    #5 Corporate profits have fallen for five quarters in a row, and it is being projected that it will be six in a row once the final numbers for the third quarter come in.

    #6 During the month of August, commercial bankruptcy filings were up 29 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

    #7 The rate of new business formation in the United States dropped dramatically during the last recession and has hovered at that new lower level ever since.

    #8 The Wall Street Journal says that this is the weakest “economic recovery” since 1949.

    #9 Barack Obama is on track to be the only president in all of U.S. history to never have a single year when the U.S. economy grew by at least 3 percent.

    #10 In August, the Cass Freight Index dipped to the lowest level that we have seen for that month since 2010.  What this means is that the total amount of stuff being shipped around the country by air, by rail and by truck is really dropping, and this is a clear sign that real economic activity is slowing down in a major way.

    #11 Capital expenditure growth has turned negative, and history has shown that this is almost always followed by a new recession.

    #12 The percentage of Americans with a full-time job has been sitting at about 48 percent since 2010.  You have to go back to 1983 to find a time when full-time employment in this country was so low.

    #13 The labor force participation rate peaked back in 1997 and has been steadily falling ever since.

    #14 The “inactivity rate” for men in their prime working years is actually higher today than it was during the last recession.

    #15 The United States has lost more than five million manufacturing jobs since the year 2000 even though our population has become much larger over that time frame.

    #16 If you can believe it, the total number of government employees now outnumbers the total number of manufacturing employees in the United States by almost 10 million.

    #17 One study found that median incomes have fallen in more than 80 percent of the major metropolitan areas in this country since the year 2000.

    #18 According to the Social Security Administration, 51 percent of all American workers make less than $30,000 a year.

    #19 The rate of homeownership in the U.S. has fallen every single year while Barack Obama has been in the White House.

    #20 Approximately one out of every five young adults are currently living with their parents.

    #21 The auto loan debt bubble recently surpassed the one trillion dollar mark for the first time ever.

    #22 Auto loan delinquencies are at the highest level that we have seen since the last recession.

    #23 In 1971, 61 percent of all Americans were considered to be “middle class”, but now middle class Americans have actually become a minority in this nation.

    #24 One recent survey discovered that 62 percent of all Americans have less than $1,000 in savings.


    #25 According to the Federal Reserve, 47 percent of all Americans could not even pay an unexpected $400 emergency room bill without borrowing the money from somewhere or selling something.

    #26 The number of New Yorkers sleeping in homeless shelters just set a brand new record high, and the number of families permanently living in homeless shelters is up a whopping 60 percent over the past five years.

    Despite all of the facts that you just read, the truth is that there is one particular group of people that have been doing quite well during the Obama years.  I really like how Charles Hugh Smith made this point in one of his recent articles…

    The top 5% of households that dominate government, Corporate America, finance, the Deep State and the media have been doing extraordinarily well during the past eight years of stock market bubble (oops, I mean boom) and “recovery,” and so they report that the economy is doing splendidly because they’ve done splendidly.

    By recklessly creating money out of thin air and pumping it into the financial markets, the Federal Reserve has greatly enriched the elite, but they have also dramatically increased the gap between the very wealthy and the rest of us.  Since he has been in the White House during this time, Barack Obama has gotten the credit for this temporary stock market bubble, and most of the elite love Obama anyway.

    But in the process the stage has been set for the greatest economic and financial implosion in U.S. history, and the pain that is coming is going to affect every man, woman and child in this country.

    During the debate, Trump and Clinton will talk a lot about tinkering with tax rates and regulations, but those measures are essentially going to be meaningless when compared to the massive economic tsunami that is coming. The next president is going to inherit the biggest economic problems that this nation has ever faced, and it is going to take a miracle of Biblical proportions to turn the U.S. economy in the right direction.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-26/26-incredible-facts-about-economy-every-american-should-know-trump-clinton-debate

    Given that Obama and Clinton are significant players in creating many of these financial problems there is no way they can fix them. It will only get worse. At least Trump, who himself once was 1 billion in debt, learned how to tighten his belt and worked his ass off to rebuild a multi-billion dollar empire. Trump is a builder and creates thousands of jobs. He is better equipped on how to reduce debt and make money then any other candidate - and that is the bottom line, isn't it. Stay out of war, build partnerships, get people back to work, rebuild the nations infrastructure at all levels. He is a vision on how this can and will happen under his leadership. And his millions of followers share that vision. They too feel he is the only voice who is speaking for them as obviously the other politicians along with Obama failed them.
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    orthodoxymoron
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    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Oct 04, 2016 9:37 pm

    As I copied and pasted this post, something seemed to scratch and push the seat I'm sitting in!! Read this post very-carefully in light of what I've previously posted on this thread!! What is the relationship between Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Set, Cleopatra, Ovid, Josephus, the Piso Family, and the Apostle Paul?? Remember that strange message I found in my word-processor (regarding 37 books, and exile in the Far-East)?? What Would Publius (of the Federalist Papers) Say?? Who Wrote the Bible?? Dr. Who?? I could say more, but that's it for now!!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (Classical Latin: [ˈpʊ.blɪ.ʊs ɔˈwɪ.dɪ.ʊs ˈnaː.soː]; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known as Ovid (/ˈɒvɪd/)[1] in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists.[2] He enjoyed enormous popularity, but, in one of the mysteries of literary history, he was sent by Augustus into exile in a remote province on the Black Sea, where he remained until his death. Ovid himself attributes his exile to carmen et error, "a poem and a mistake", but his discretion in discussing the causes has resulted in much speculation among scholars.

    The first major Roman poet to begin his career during the reign of Augustus,[3] Ovid is today best known for the Metamorphoses, a 15-book continuous mythological narrative written in the meter of epic, and for collections of love poetry in elegiac couplets, especially the Amores ("Love Affairs") and Ars Amatoria ("The Art of Love"). His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology.[4]

    Ovid talks more about his own life than most other Roman poets. Information about his biography is drawn primarily from his poetry, especially Tristia 4.10, which gives a long autobiographical account of his life. Other sources include Seneca the Elder and Quintilian.

    Ovid was born in Sulmo (modern Sulmona), in an Apennine valley east of Rome, to an important equestrian family, on March 20, 43 BC. That was a significant year in Roman politics.[b] He was educated in rhetoric in Rome under the teachers Arellius Fuscus and Porcius Latro with his brother who excelled at oratory.[5]

    His father wanted him to study rhetoric toward the practice of law. According to Seneca the Elder, Ovid tended to the emotional, not the argumentative pole of rhetoric. After the death of his brother at 20 years of age, Ovid renounced law and began travelling to Athens, Asia Minor, and Sicily.[6] He held minor public posts, as one of the tresviri capitales,[7] as a member of the Centumviral court[8] and as one of the decemviri litibus iudicandis,[9] but resigned to pursue poetry probably around 29–25 BC, a decision his father apparently disapproved of.[10]

    Ovid's first recitation has been dated to around 25 BC, when he was eighteen.[11] He was part of the circle centered on the patron Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, and seems to have been a friend of poets in the circle of Maecenas. In Trist. 4.10.41–54, Ovid mentions friendships with Macer, Propertius, Horace, Ponticus and Bassus (he only barely met Virgil and Tibullus, a fellow member of Messalla's circle whose elegies he admired greatly). Ovid was very popular at the time of his early works, but was later exiled by Augustus in AD 8.

    He married three times and divorced twice by the time he was thirty years old. He had one daughter, who eventually bore him grandchildren.[12] His last wife was connected in some way to the influential gens Fabia and would help him during his exile in Tomis.[13]

    The first 25 years of Ovid's literary career were spent primarily writing poetry in elegiac meter with erotic themes.[14] The chronology of these early works is not secure; tentative dates, however, have been established by scholars. His earliest extant work is thought to be the Heroides, letters of mythological heroines to their absent lovers, which may have been published in 19 BC, although the date is uncertain as it depends on a notice in Am. 2.18.19–26 that seems to describe the collection as an early published work.[15]

    The authenticity of some of these poems has been challenged, but this first edition probably contained the first 14 poems of the collection. The first five-book collection of the Amores, a series of erotic poems addressed to a lover, Corinna, is thought to have been published in 16–15 BC; the surviving version, redacted to three books according to an epigram prefixed to the first book, is thought to have been published c. 8–3 BC. Between the publications of the two editions of the Amores can be dated the premiere of his tragedy Medea, which was admired in antiquity but is no longer extant.

    Ovid's next poem, the Medicamina Faciei, a fragmentary work on women's beauty treatments, preceded the Ars Amatoria, the Art of Love, a parody of didactic poetry and a three-book manual about seduction and intrigue, which has been dated to AD 2 (Books 1–2 would go back to 1 BC[16]). Ovid may identify this work in his exile poetry as the carmen, or song, which was one cause of his banishment. The Ars Amatoria was followed by the Remedia Amoris in the same year. This corpus of elegiac, erotic poetry earned Ovid a place among the chief Roman elegists Gallus, Tibullus, and Propertius, of whom he saw himself as the fourth member.[15]

    By AD 8, he had completed his most ambitious work, the Metamorphoses, a hexameter epic poem in 15 books. The work encyclopedically catalogues transformations in Greek and Roman mythology, from the emergence of the cosmos to the deification of Julius Caesar. The stories follow each other in the telling of human beings transformed to new bodies: trees, rocks, animals, flowers, constellations etc. At the same time, he worked on the Fasti, a six-book poem in elegiac couplets on the theme of the calendar of Roman festivals and astronomy. The composition of this poem was interrupted by Ovid's exile,[c] and it is thought that Ovid abandoned work on the piece in Tomis. It is probably in this period, if they are indeed by Ovid, that the double letters (16–21) in the Heroides were composed.

    In AD 8, Ovid was banished to Tomis, on the Black Sea, by the exclusive intervention of the Emperor Augustus, without any participation of the Senate or of any Roman judge.[17] This event shaped all his following poetry. Ovid wrote that the reason for his exile was carmen et error – "a poem and a mistake,"[18] claiming that his crime was worse than murder,[19] more harmful than poetry.[20]

    The Emperor's grandchildren, Julia the Younger and Agrippa Postumus (the latter adopted by him), were also banished around the same time. Julia's husband, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, was put to death for conspiracy against Augustus, a conspiracy Ovid might have known of.[21]

    The Julian Marriage Laws of 18 BC, which promoted monogamous marriage to increase the population's birth rate, were fresh in the Roman mind. Ovid's writing in the Ars Amatoria concerned the serious crime of adultery. He may have been banished for these works, which appeared subversive to the emperor's moral legislation. However, in view of the long time that elapsed between the publication of this work (1 BC) and the exile (AD Cool, some authors suggest that Augustus used the poem as a mere justification for something more personal.[22]

    In exile, Ovid wrote two poetry collections, Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto, that illustrated his sadness and desolation. Being far from Rome, he had no access to libraries, and thus might have been forced to abandon the Fasti poem about the Roman calendar, of which only the first six books exist – January through June.

    The five books of the elegiac Tristia, a series of poems expressing the poet's despair in exile and advocating his return to Rome, are dated to AD 9–12. The Ibis, an elegiac curse poem attacking an adversary at home, may also be dated to this period. The Epistulae ex Ponto, a series of letters to friends in Rome asking them to effect his return, are thought to be his last compositions, with the first three books published in AD 13 and the fourth book between AD 14 and 16. The exile poetry is particularly emotive and personal. In the Epistulae he claims friendship with the natives of Tomis (in the Tristia they are frightening barbarians) and to have written a poem in their language (Ex P. 4.13.19–20).

    Yet he pined for Rome—and for his third wife, addressing many poems to her. Some are also to the Emperor Augustus, yet others are to himself, to friends in Rome, and sometimes to the poems themselves, expressing loneliness and hope of recall from banishment or exile.[23]

    The obscure causes of Ovid's exile have given rise to endless explanations from scholars. The medieval texts that mention the exile offer no credible explanations: their statements seem incorrect interpretations drawn from the works of Ovid.[24] Ovid himself wrote many references to his offense, giving obscure or contradictory clues.[25]

    In 1923, scholar J. J. Hartman proposed a theory that is little considered among scholars of Latin civilization today: that Ovid was never exiled from Rome and that all of his exile works are the result of his fertile imagination. This theory was supported and rejected[clarification needed] in the 1930s, especially by Dutch authors.[26]

    In 1985, a research paper by Fitton Brown advanced new arguments in support of the theory.[27] The article was followed by a series of supports and refutations in the short space of five years.[28] Among the reasons given by Brown are: that Ovid's exile is only mentioned by his own work, except in "dubious" passages by Pliny the Elder[29] and Statius,[30] but no other author until the 4th century;[31] that the author of Heroides was able to separate the poetic "I" of his own and real life; and that information on the geography of Tomis was already known by Virgil, by Herodotus and by Ovid himself in his Metamorphoses.[d][32]

    Orthodox scholars, however, oppose these hypotheses.[33] One of the main arguments of these scholars is that Ovid would not let his Fasti remain unfinished, mainly because this poem meant his consecration as an imperial poet.[34]

    Ovid died at Tomis in AD 17 or 18. It is thought that the Fasti, which he spent time revising, were published posthumously. He was allegedly buried a few kilometers away in a nearby town.

    The Heroides ("Heroines") or Epistulae Heroidum are a collection of 21 poems in elegiac couplets. The Heroides take the form of letters addressed by famous mythological characters to their partners expressing their emotions at being separated from them, pleas for their return, and allusions to their future actions within their own mythology. The authenticity of the collection, partially or as a whole, has been questioned, although most scholars would consider the letters mentioned specifically in Ovid's description of the work at Am. 2.18.19–26 as safe from objection. The collection comprises a new type of generic composition without parallel in earlier literature.[35]

    The first 14 letters are thought to comprise the first published collection and are written by the heroines Penelope, Phyllis, Briseis, Phaedra, Oenone, Hypsipyle, Dido, Hermione, Deianeira, Ariadne, Canace, Medea, Laodamia, and Hypermestra to their absent male lovers. Letter 15, from the historical Sappho to Phaon, seems spurious (although referred to in Am. 2.18) because of its length, its lack of integration in the mythological theme, and its absence from Medieval manuscripts.[36] The final letters (16–21) are paired compositions comprising a letter to a lover and a reply. Paris and Helen, Hero and Leander, and Acontius and Cydippe are the addressees of the paired letters. These are considered a later addition to the corpus because they are never mentioned by Ovid and may or may not be spurious.

    The Heroides markedly reveal the influence of rhetorical declamation and may derive from Ovid's interest in rhetorical suasoriae, persuasive speeches, and ethopoeia, the practice of speaking in another character. They also play with generic conventions; most of the letters seem to refer to works in which these characters were significant, such as the Aeneid in the case of Dido and Catullus 64 for Ariadne, and transfer characters from the genres of epic and tragedy to the elegiac genre of the Heroides.[37] The letters have been admired for their deep psychological portrayals of mythical characters, their rhetoric, and their unique attitude to the classical tradition of mythology.

    The Amores is a collection in three books of love poetry in elegiac meter, following the conventions of the elegiac genre developed by Tibullus and Propertius. Elegy originates with Propertius and Tibullus; however, Ovid is an innovator in the genre. Ovid changes the leader of his elegies from the poet, to Amor (love). This switch in focus from the triumphs of the poet, to the triumphs of love over people is the first of its kind for this genre of poetry. This Ovidian innovation can be summarized as the use of love as a metaphor for poetry.[38] The books describe the many aspects of love and focus on the poet's relationship with a mistress called Corinna. Within the various poems, several describe events in the relationship, thus presenting the reader with some vignettes and a loose narrative.

    Book 1 contains 15 poems. The first tells of Ovid's intention to write epic poetry, which is thwarted when Cupid steals a metrical foot from him, changing his work into love elegy. Poem 4 is didactic and describes principles that Ovid would develop in the Ars Amatoria. The fifth poem, describing a noon tryst, introduces Corinna by name. Poems 8 and 9 deal with Corinna selling her love for gifts, while 11 and 12 describe the poet's failed attempt to arrange a meeting. Poem 14 discusses Corinna's disastrous experiment in dyeing her hair and 15 stresses the immortality of Ovid and love poets.

    The second book has 19 pieces; the opening poem tells of Ovid's abandonment of a Gigantomachy in favor of elegy. Poems 2 and 3 are entreaties to a guardian to let the poet see Corinna, poem 6 is a lament for Corinna's dead parrot; poems 7 and 8 deal with Ovid's affair with Corinna's servant and her discovery of it, and 11 and 12 try to prevent Corinna from going on vacation. Poem 13 is a prayer to Isis for Corinna's illness, 14 a poem against abortion, and 19 a warning to unwary husbands.

    Book 3 has 15 poems. The opening piece depicts personified Tragedy and Elegy fighting over Ovid. Poem 2 describes a visit to the races, 3 and 8 focus on Corinna's interest in other men, 10 is a complaint to Ceres because of her festival that requires abstinence, 13 is a poem on a festival of Juno, and 9 a lament for Tibullus. In poem 11 Ovid decides not to love Corinna any longer and regrets the poems he has written about her. The final poem is Ovid's farewell to the erotic muse. Critics have seen the poems as highly self-conscious and extremely playful specimens of the elegiac genre.[39]

    About a hundred elegiac lines survive from this poem on beauty treatments for women's faces, which seems to parody serious didactic poetry. The poem says that women should concern themselves first with manners and then prescribes several compounds for facial treatments before breaking off. The style is not unlike the shorter Hellenistic didactic works of Nicander and Aratus.

    The Ars Amatoria is a Lehrgedicht, a didactic elegiac poem in three books that sets out to teach the arts of seduction and love. The first book address men and teaches them how to seduce women, the second, also to men, teaches how to keep a lover. The third addresses women and teaches seduction techniques. The first book opens with an invocation to Venus, in which Ovid establishes himself as a praeceptor amoris (1.17)—a teacher of love. Ovid describes the places one can go to find a lover, like the theater, a triumph, which he thoroughly describes, or arena—and ways to get the girl to take notice, including seducing her covertly at a banquet. Choosing the right time is significant, as is getting into her associates' confidence.

    Ovid emphasizes care of the body for the lover. Mythological digressions include a piece on the Rape of the Sabine women, Pasiphaë, and Ariadne. Book 2 invokes Apollo and begins with a telling of the story of Icarus. Ovid advises men to avoid giving too many gifts, keep up their appearance, hide affairs, compliment their lovers, and ingratiate themselves with slaves to stay on their lover's good side. The care of Venus for procreation is described as is Apollo's aid in keeping a lover; Ovid then digresses on the story of Vulcan's trap for Venus and Mars. The book ends with Ovid asking his "students" to spread his fame. Book 3 opens with a vindication of women's abilities and Ovid's resolution to arm women against his teaching in the first two books. Ovid gives women detailed instructions on appearance telling them to avoid too many adornments. He advises women to read elegiac poetry, learn to play games, sleep with people of different ages, flirt, and dissemble. Throughout the book, Ovid playfully interjects, criticizing himself for undoing all his didactic work to men and mythologically digresses on the story of Procris and Cephalus. The book ends with his wish that women will follow his advice and spread his fame saying Naso magister erat, "Ovid was our teacher".

    This elegiac poem proposes a cure for the love Ovid teaches in the Ars Amatoria, and is primarily addressed to men. The poem criticizes suicide as a means for escaping love and, invoking Apollo, goes on to tell lovers not to procrastinate and be lazy in dealing with love. Lovers are taught to avoid their partners, not perform magic, see their lover unprepared, take other lovers, and never be jealous. Old letters should be burned and the lover's family avoided. The poem throughout presents Ovid as a doctor and utilizes medical imagery. Some have interpreted this poem as the close of Ovid's didactic cycle of love poetry and the end of his erotic elegiac project.[41]

    The Metamorphoses, Ovid's most ambitious and popular work, consists of a 15-book catalogue written in dactylic hexameter about transformations in Greek and Roman mythology set within a loose mytho-historical framework. Within an extent of nearly 12,000 verses, almost 250 different myths are mentioned. Each myth is set outdoors where the mortals are often vulnerable to external influences. The poem stands in the tradition of mythological and aetiological catalogue poetry such as Hesiod's Catalogue of Women, Callimachus' Aetia, Nicander's Heteroeumena, and Parthenius' Metamorphoses.

    The first book describes the formation of the world, the ages of man, the flood, the story of Daphne's rape by Apollo and Io's by Jupiter. The second book opens with Phaethon and continues describing the love of Jupiter with Callisto and Europa. The third book focuses on the mythology of Thebes with the stories of Cadmus, Actaeon, and Pentheus. The fourth book focuses on three pairs of lovers: Pyramus and Thisbe, Salmacis and Hermaphroditus, and Perseus and Andromeda. The fifth book focuses on the song of the Muses, which describes the rape of Proserpina. The sixth book is a collection of stories about the rivalry between gods and mortals, beginning with Arachne and ending with Philomela. The seventh book focuses on Medea, as well as Cephalus and Procris. The eighth book focuses on Daedalus' flight, the Calydonian boar hunt, and the contrast between pious Baucis and Philemon and the wicked Erysichthon. The ninth book focuses on Heracles and the incestuous Byblis. The tenth book focuses on stories of doomed love, such as Orpheus, who sings about Hyacinthus, as well as Pygmalion, Myrrha, and Adonis. The eleventh book compares the marriage of Peleus and Thetis with the love of Ceyx and Alcyone. The twelfth book moves from myth to history describing the exploits of Achilles, the battle of the centaurs, and Iphigeneia. The thirteenth book discusses the contest over Achilles' arms, and Polyphemus. The fourteenth moves to Italy, describing the journey of Aeneas, Pomona and Vertumnus, and Romulus. The final book opens with a philosophical lecture by Pythagoras and the deification of Caesar. The end of the poem praises Augustus and expresses Ovid's belief that his poem has earned him immortality.

    In analyzing the Metamorphoses, scholars have focused on Ovid's organization of his vast body of material. The ways that stories are linked by geography, themes, or contrasts creates interesting effects and constantly forces the reader to evaluate the connections. Ovid also varies his tone and material from different literary genres; G. B. Conte has called the poem "a sort of gallery of these various literary genres."[42] In this spirit, Ovid engages creatively with his predecessors, alluding creatively to the full spectrum of classical poetry. Ovid's use of Alexandrian epic, or elegiac couplets, shows his fusion of erotic and psychological style with traditional forms of epic.

    Six books in elegiacs survive of this second ambitious poem that Ovid was working on when he was exiled. The six books cover the first semester of the year, with each book dedicated to a different month of the Roman calendar (January to June). The project seems unprecedented in Roman literature. It seems that Ovid planned to cover the whole year, but was unable to finish because of his exile, although he did revise sections of the work at Tomis, and he claims at Trist. 2.549–52 that his work was interrupted after six books. Like the Metamorphoses, the Fasti was to be a long poem and emulated aetiological poetry by writers like Callimachus and, more recently, Propertius and his fourth book. The poem goes through the Roman calendar, explaining the origins and customs of important Roman festivals, digressing on mythical stories, and giving astronomical and agricultural information appropriate to the season. The poem was probably dedicated to Augustus initially, but perhaps the death of the emperor prompted Ovid to change the dedication to honor Germanicus. Ovid uses direct inquiry of gods and scholarly research to talk about the calendar and regularly calls himself a vates, a priest. He also seems to emphasize unsavory, popular traditions of the festivals, imbuing the poem with a popular, plebeian flavor, which some have interpreted as subversive to the Augustan moral legislation.[43] While this poem has always been invaluable to students of Roman religion and culture for the wealth of antiquarian material it preserves, it recently has been seen as one of Ovid's finest literary works and a unique contribution to Roman elegiac poetry.

    The Ibis is an elegiac poem in 644 lines, in which Ovid uses a dazzling array of mythic stories to curse and attack an enemy who is harming him in exile. At the beginning of the poem, Ovid claims that his poetry up to that point had been harmless, but now he is going to use his abilities to hurt his enemy. He cites Callimachus' Ibis as his inspiration and calls all the gods to make his curse effective. Ovid uses mythical exempla to condemn his enemy in the afterlife, cites evil prodigies that attended his birth, and then in the next 300 lines wishes that the torments of mythological characters befall his enemy. The poem ends with a prayer that the gods make his curse effective.

    Book 1 contains 11 poems; the first piece is an address by Ovid to his book about how it should act when it arrives in Rome. Poem 3 describes his final night in Rome, poems 2 and 10 Ovid's voyage to Tomis, 8 the betrayal of a friend, and 5 and 6 the loyalty of his friends and wife. In the final poem Ovid apologizes for the quality and tone of his book, a sentiment echoed throughout the collection.

    Book 2 consists of one long poem in which Ovid defends himself and his poetry, uses precedents to justify his work, and begs the emperor for forgiveness.
    Book 3 in 14 poems focuses on Ovid's life in Tomis. The opening poem describes his book's arrival in Rome to find Ovid's works banned. Poems 10, 12, and 13 focus on the seasons spent in Tomis, 9 on the origins of the place, and 2, 3, and 11 his emotional distress and longing for home. The final poem is again an apology for his work.

    The fourth book has ten poems addressed mostly to friends. Poem 1 expresses his love of poetry and the solace it brings; while 2 describes a triumph of Tiberius. Poems 3–5 are to friends, 7 a request for correspondence, and 10 an autobiography.

    The final book of the Tristia with 14 poems focuses on his wife and friends. Poems 4, 5, 11, and 14 are addressed to his wife, 2 and 3 are prayers to Augustus and Bacchus, 4 and 6 are to friends, 8 to an enemy. Poem 13 asks for letters, while 1 and 12 are apologies to his readers for the quality of his poetry.

    The Epistulae ex Ponto is a collection in four books of further poetry from exile. The Epistulae are each addressed to a different friend and focus more desperately than the Tristia on securing his recall from exile. The poems mainly deal with requests for friends to speak on his behalf to members of the imperial family, discussions of writing with friends, and descriptions of life in exile. The first book has ten pieces in which Ovid describes the state of his health (10), his hopes, memories, and yearning for Rome (3, 6, Cool, and his needs in exile (3). Book 2 contains impassioned requests to Germanicus (1 and 5) and various friends to speak on his behalf at Rome while he describes his despair and life in exile. Book 3 has nine poems in which Ovid addresses his wife (1) and various friends. It includes a telling of the story of Iphigenia in Tauris (2), a poem against criticism (9), and a dream of Cupid (3). Book 4, the final work of Ovid, in 16 poems talks to friends and describes his life as an exile further. Poems 10 and 13 describe Winter and Spring at Tomis, poem 14 is halfhearted praise for Tomis, 7 describes its geography and climate, and 4 and 9 are congratulations on friends for their consulships and requests for help. Poem 12 is addressed to a Tuticanus, whose name, Ovid complains, does not fit into meter. The final poem is addressed to an enemy whom Ovid implores to leave him alone. The last elegiac couplet is translated: "Where’s the joy in stabbing your steel into my dead flesh?/ There’s no place left where I can be dealt fresh wounds."[44]

    One loss, which Ovid himself described, is the first five-book edition of the Amores, from which nothing has come down to us. The greatest loss is Ovid's only tragedy, Medea, from which only a few lines are preserved. Quintilian admired the work a great deal and considered it a prime example of Ovid's poetic talent.[45] Lactantius quotes from a lost translation by Ovid of Aratus' Phaenomena, although the poem's ascription to Ovid is insecure because it is never mentioned in Ovid's other works.[46] A line from a work entitled Epigrammata is cited by Priscian.[47] Even though it is unlikely, if the last six books of the Fasti ever existed, they constitute a great loss. Ovid also mentions some occasional poetry (Epithalamium,[48] dirge,[49] even a rendering in Getic,[50]) which does not survive. Also lost is the final portion of the Medicamina.

    The Consolatio is a long elegiac poem of consolation to Augustus' wife Livia on the death of her son Nero Claudius Drusus. The poem opens by advising Livia not to try to hide her sad emotions and contrasts Drusus' military virtue with his death. Drusus' funeral and the tributes of the imperial family are described as are his final moments and Livia's lament over the body, which is compared to birds. The laments of the city of Rome as it greets his funeral procession and the gods are mentioned, and Mars from his temple dissuades the Tiber river from quenching the pyre out of grief.[51]

    Grief is expressed for his lost military honors, his wife, and his mother. The poet asks Livia to look for consolation in Tiberius. The poem ends with an address by Drusus to Livia assuring him of his fate in Elysium. Although this poem was connected to the Elegiae in Maecenatem, it is now thought that they are unconnected. The date of the piece is unknown, but a date in the reign of Tiberius has been suggested because of that emperor's prominence in the poem.[51]

    The Halieutica is a fragmentary didactic poem in 134 poorly preserved hexameter lines and is considered spurious. The poem begins by describing how every animal possesses the ability to protect itself and how fish use ars to help themselves. The ability of dogs and land creatures to protect themselves is described. The poem goes on to list the places best for fishing, and which types of fish to catch. Although Pliny the Elder mentions a Halieutica by Ovid, which was composed at Tomis near the end of Ovid's life, modern scholars believe Pliny was mistaken in his attribution and that the poem is not genuine.[52]

    This short poem in 91 elegiac couplets is related to Aesop's fable of "The Walnut Tree" that was the subject of human ingratitude. In a monologue asking boys not pelt it with stones to get its fruit, the tree contrasts the formerly fruitful golden age with the present barren time, in which its fruit is violently ripped off and its branches broken. In the course of this, the tree compares itself to several mythological characters, praises the peace that the emperor provides and prays to be destroyed rather than suffer. The poem is considered spurious because it incorporates allusions to Ovid's works in an uncharacteristic way, although the piece is thought to be contemporary with Ovid.[53]

    This poem, traditionally placed at Amores 3.5, is considered spurious. The poet describes a dream to an interpreter, saying that he sees while escaping from the heat of noon a white heifer near a bull; when the heifer is pecked by a crow, it leaves the bull for a meadow with other bulls. The interpreter interprets the dream as a love allegory; the bull represents the poet, the heifer a girl, and the crow an old woman. The old woman spurs the girl to leave her lover and find someone else. The poem is known to have circulated independently and its lack of engagement with Tibullan or Propertian elegy argue in favor of its spuriousness; however, the poem does seem to be datable to the early empire.[54]

    Ovid is traditionally considered the final significant love elegist in the evolution of the genre and one of the most versatile in his handling of the genre's conventions. Like the other canonical elegiac poets Ovid takes on a persona in his works that emphasizes subjectivity and personal emotion over traditional militaristic and public goals, a convention that some scholars link to the relative stability provided by the Augustan settlement.[55][56] However, although Catullus, Tibullus and Propertius may have been inspired in part by personal experience, the validity of "biographical" readings of these poets' works is a serious point of scholarly contention.[57]

    Ovid has been seen as taking on a persona in his poetry that is far more emotionally detached from his mistress and less involved in crafting a unique emotional realism within the text than the other elegists.[58] This attitude, coupled with the lack of testimony that identifies Ovid's Corinna with a real person[59] has led scholars to conclude that Corinna was never a real person—and that Ovid's relationship with her is an invention for his elegiac project.[60] Some scholars have even interpreted Corinna as a metapoetic symbol for the elegiac genre itself.[61]

    Ovid has been considered a highly inventive love elegist who plays with traditional elegiac conventions and elaborates the themes of the genre;[62] Quintilian even calls him a "sportive" elegist.[2] In some poems, he uses traditional conventions in new ways, such as the paraklausithyron of Am. 1.6, while other poems seem to have no elegiac precedents and appear to be Ovid's own generic innovations, such as the poem on Corinna's ruined hair (Am. 1.14). Ovid has been traditionally seen as far more sexually explicit in his poetry than the other elegists.[63]

    His erotic elegy covers a wide spectrum of themes and viewpoints; the Amores focus on Ovid's relationship with Corinna, the love of mythical characters is the subject of the Heroides, and the Ars Amatoria and the other didactic love poems provide a handbook for relationships and seduction from a (mock-)"scientific" viewpoint. In his treatment of elegy, scholars have traced the influence of rhetorical education in his enumeration, in his effects of surprise, and in his transitional devices.[64]

    Some commentators have also noted the influence of Ovid's interest in love elegy in his other works, such as the Fasti, and have distinguished his "elegiac" style from his "epic" style. Richard Heinze in his famous Ovids elegische Erzählung (1919) delineated the distinction between Ovid's styles by comparing the Fasti and Metamorphoses versions of the same legends, such as the treatment of the Ceres–Proserpina story in both poems. Heinze demonstrated that, "whereas in the elegiac poems a sentimental and tender tone prevails, the hexameter narrative is characterized by an emphasis on solemnity and awe..."[65] His general line of argument has been accepted by Brooks Otis, who wrote:

    The gods are "serious" in epic as they are not in elegy; the speeches in epic are long and infrequent compared to the short, truncated and frequent speeches of elegy; the epic writer conceals himself while the elegiac fills his narrative with familiar remarks to the reader or his characters; above all perhaps, epic narrative is continuous and symmetrical... whereas elegiac narrative displays a marked asymmetry ...[66]

    Otis wrote that in the Ovidian poems of love, he "was burlesquing an old theme rather than inventing a new one."[67] Otis states that the Heroides are more serious and, though some of them are "quite different from anything Ovid had done before [...] he is here also treading a very well-worn path" to relate that the motif of females abandoned by or separated from their men was a "stock motif of Hellenistic and neoteric poetry (the classic example for us is, of course, Catullus 66)."[67]

    Otis also states that Phaedra and Medea, Dido and Hermione (also present in the poem) "are clever re-touchings of Euripides and Vergil."[67] Some scholars, such as Kenney and Clausen, have compared Ovid with Virgil. According to them, Virgil was ambiguous and ambivalent while Ovid was defined and, while Ovid wrote only what he could express, Virgil wrote for the use of language.[68]

    Ovid's works have been interpreted in various ways over the centuries with attitudes that depended on the social, religious and literary contexts of different times. It is known that since his own lifetime, he was already famous and criticized. In the Remedia Amoris, Ovid reports criticism from people who considered his books insolent.[69] Ovid responded to this criticism with the following:

    Gluttonous Envy, burst: my name’s well known already
    it will be more so, if only my feet travel the road they’ve started.
    But you’re in too much of a hurry: if I live you’ll be more than sorry:
    many poems, in fact, are forming in my mind.[70]

    After such criticism subsided, Ovid became one of the best known and most loved Roman poets during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.[71]
    Writers in the Middle Ages used his work as a way to read and write about sex and violence without orthodox "scrutiny routinely given to commentaries on the Bible".[72] In the Middle Ages the voluminous Ovide moralisé, a French work that moralizes 15 books of the Metamorphoses was composed. This work then influenced Chaucer. Ovid's poetry provided inspiration for the Renaissance idea of humanism, and more specifically, for many Renaissance painters and writers.

    Likewise, Arthur Golding moralized his own translation of the full 15 books, and published it in 1567. This version was the same version used as a supplement to the original Latin in the Tudor-era grammar schools that influenced such major Renaissance authors as Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. Many non-English authors were heavily influenced by Ovid's works as well. Montaigne, for example, alluded to Ovid several times in his Essais, specifically in his comments on Education of Children when he says:

    The first taste I had for books came to me from my pleasure in the fables of the Metamorphoses of Ovid. For at about seven or eight years of age I would steal away from any other pleasure to read them, inasmuch as this language was my mother tongue, and it was the easiest book I knew and the best suited by its content to my tender age.[73]

    Cervantes also used the Metamorphoses as a platform of inspiration for his prodigious novel Don Quixote.

    In the 16th century, some Jesuit schools of Portugal cut several passages from Ovid's Metamorphoses. While the Jesuits saw his poems as elegant compositions worthy of being presented to students for educational purposes, they also felt his works as a whole might corrupt students.[74] The Jesuits took much of their knowledge of Ovid to the Portuguese colonies. According to Serafim Leite (1949), the ratio studiorum was in effect in Colonial Brazil during the early 17th century, and in this period Brazilian students read works like the Epistulae ex Ponto to learn Latin grammar.[75]

    In Spain, Ovid is both praised and criticized by Cervantes in his Don Quixote where he warns against satires that can exile poets, as happened to Ovid.[76] In the 16th century, Ovid's works were criticized in England. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London ordered that a contemporary translation of Ovid's love poems be publicly burned in 1599. The Puritans of the following century viewed Ovid as pagan, thus as an immoral influence.[77]
    John Dryden composed a famous translation of the Metamorphoses into stopped rhyming couplets during the 17th century, when Ovid was "refashioned [...] in its own image, one kind of Augustanism making over another."[71] The Romantic movement of the 19th century, in contrast, considered Ovid and his poems "stuffy, dull, over-formalized and lacking in genuine passion."[71] Romantics might have preferred his poetry of exile.[78]

    The picture Ovid among the Scythians, painted by Delacroix, portrays the last years of the poet in exile in Scythia, and was seen by Baudelaire, Gautier and Edgar Degas.[79] Baudelaire took the opportunity to write a long essay about the life of an exiled poet like Ovid.[80] This shows that the exile of Ovid had some influence in 19th century Romanticism since it makes connections with its key concepts such as wildness and the misunderstood genius.[81]

    Ovid's Influence

    Ovid as imagined in the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493.
    Literary and artistic[edit]
    (c. 800–810) Moduin, a poet in the court circle of Charlemagne, adopts the pen name Naso.
    (12th century) The troubadours and the medieval courtoise literature
    (13th century) The Roman de la Rose, Dante Alighieri
    (14th century) Petrarch, Geoffrey Chaucer, Juan Ruiz
    (15th century) Sandro Botticelli
    (16th century–17th century) Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, John Marston, Cephalus and Procris; Narcissus
    (17th century) John Milton, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote, 1605 and 1615, Luis de Góngora's La Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea, 1613, Landscape with Pyramus and Thisbe by Nicolas Poussin, 1651, Stormy Landscape with Philemon and Baucis by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1620
    (1820s) During his Odessa exile, Alexander Pushkin compared himself to Ovid; memorably versified in the epistle To Ovid (1821). The exiled Ovid also features in his long poem Gypsies, set in Moldavia (1824), and in Canto VIII of Eugene Onegin (1825–1832).
    (1916) James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man has a quotation from Book 8 of Metamorphoses and introduces Stephen Dedalus. The Ovidian reference to "Daedalus" was in Stephen Hero, but then metamorphosed to "Dedalus" in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and in Ulysses.
    (1920s) The title of the second poetry collection by Osip Mandelstam, Tristia (Berlin, 1922), refers to Ovid's book. Mandelstam's collection is about his hungry, violent years immediately after the October Revolution.
    (1951) Six Metamorphoses after Ovid by Benjamin Britten, for solo oboe, evokes images of Ovid's characters from Metamorphoses.
    (1960) God Was Born in Exile, the novel by the Romanian writer Vintila Horia about Ovid's stay in exile (the novel received the Prix Goncourt in 1960).
    (1960s–2010s) Bob Dylan has made repeated use of Ovid's wording, imagery, and themes.
    (1978) Australian author David Malouf's novel An Imaginary Life is about Ovid's exile in Tomis.
    (1998) In Pandora, by Anne Rice, Pandora cites Ovid as a favorite poet and author of the time, quoting him to her lover Marius de Romanus.
    (2000) The Art of Love by Robin Brooks, a comedy, emphasizing Ovid's role as lover. Broadcast May 23 on BBC Radio 4, with Bill Nighy and Anne-Marie Duff (not to be confused with the 2004 radio play by the same title on Radio 3).
    (2004) The Art of Love by Andrew Rissik, a drama, part of a trilogy, which speculates on the crime that sent Ovid into exile. Broadcast April 11 on BBC Radio 4, with Stephen Dillane and Juliet Aubrey (not to be confused with the 2000 radio play by the same title on Radio 4).[82]
    (2006) American musician Bob Dylan's album Modern Times contains songs with borrowed lines from Ovid's Poems of Exile, from Peter Green's translation. The songs are "Workingman's Blues #2", "Ain't Talkin'", "The Levee's Gonna Break", and "Spirit on the Water".
    (2007) Russian author Alexander Zorich's novel Roman Star is about the last years of Ovid's life.
    (2007) the play"The Land of Oblivion " by Russian-American dramatist Mikhail Berman-Tsikinovsky was published in Russian by Vagrius Plus (Moscow).The play was based on author's new hypothesis unrevealing the mystery of Ovid's exile to Tomi by Augustus.
    (2008) "The Love Song of Ovid", a two-hour radio documentary by Damiano Pietropaolo, recorded on location in Rome (the recently restored house of Augustus on the Roman forum), Sulmona (Ovid’s birthplace) and Constanta (modern day Tomis, in Romania). Broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC Radio One, Dec. 18 and 19, 2008.
    (2012) The House Of Rumour, a novel by British author Jake Arnott, opens with a passage from Metamorphoses 12.39–63, and the author muses on Ovid's prediction of the internet in that passage.
    (2013) Another literary piece by Mikhail Berman-Tsikinovsky was published by Aspekt Publishing (Boston) in Russian and English under the title " To Ovid, 2000years later, ( A Road Tale). It was the breathtaking description of author's visits of Ovid's places of his birth and death.
    (2015) In The Walking Dead season 5, episode 5 ("Now"), Deanna begins making a long-term plan to make her besieged community sustainable and writes on her blueprint a Latin phrase attributed to Ovid: "Dolor hic tibi proderit olim".[83] The phrase is an excerpt from the longer phrase, "Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim" (English translation: Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you").[84]
    Dante twice mentions him in:
    De vulgari eloquentia, along with Lucan, Virgil, and Statius as one of the four regulati poetae (ii, vi, 7)
    Inferno ranks him with Homer, Horace, Lucan, and Virgil (Inferno, IV,88).
    Retellings, adaptations, and translations of Ovidian works[edit]
    (1767) Apollo et Hyacinthus, an early opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    (1938) Daphne, an opera by Richard Strauss
    (1949) Orphée, a film by Jean Cocteau, retelling of the Orpheus myth from the Metamorphoses
    (1978) Ovid's Metamorphoses (Translation in Blank Verse), by Brookes More
    (1978) Ovid's Metamorphoses in European Culture (Commentary), by Wilmon Brewer
    (1991) The Last World by Christoph Ransmayr
    (1997) Polaroid Stories by Naomi Iizuka, a retelling of Metamorphoses, with urchins and drug addicts as the gods.
    (1994) After Ovid: New Metamorphoses edited by Michael Hofmann and James Lasdun is an anthology of contemporary poetry envisioning Ovid's Metamorphoses
    (1997) Tales from Ovid by Ted Hughes is a modern poetic translation of twenty four passages from Metamorphoses
    (2000) Ovid Metamorphosed edited by Phil Terry, a short story collection retelling several of Ovid's fables.
    (2002) An adaptation of Metamorphoses of the same name by Mary Zimmerman was performed at the Circle in the Square Theatre[85]
    (2006) Patricia Barber's song cycle, Mythologies
    (2011) A stage adaptation of Metamorphoses by Peter Bramley, entitled Ovid's Metamorphoses was performed by Pants on Fire, presented by the Carol Tambor Theatrical Foundation at the Flea Theater in New York City and toured the United Kingdom
    (2012) "The Song of Phaethon", a post-rock/musique concrete song written and performed by Ian Crause (former leader of Disco Inferno) in Greek epic style, based on a Metamorphoses tale (as recounted in Hughes' Tales from Ovid) and drawing parallels between mythology and current affairs.

    Notes

    a. ^ The cognomen Naso means "the one with the nose" (i.e. "Bignose"). Ovid habitually refers to himself by his nickname in his poetry because the Latin name Ovidius does not fit into elegiac metre.
    b. ^ It was a pivotal year in the history of Rome. A year before Ovid's birth, the murder of Julius Caesar took place, an event that precipitated the end of the republican regime. After Caesar's death, a series of civil wars and alliances followed (See Roman civil wars), until the victory of Caesar's nephew, Octavius (later called Augustus) over Mark Antony (leading supporter of Caesar), from which arose a new political order.[86]
    c. ^ Fasti is, in fact, unfinished. Metamorphoses was already completed in the year of exile, missing only the final revision.[87] In exile, Ovid said he never gave a final review on the poem.[88]
    d. ^ Ovid cites Scythia in I 64, II 224, V 649, VII 407, VIII 788, XV 285, 359, 460, and others.
    References[edit]
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    ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: "Ovid"
    ^
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    a b Quint. Inst. 10.1.93
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    ^ Fergus Millar, "Ovid and the Domus Augusta: Rome Seen from Tomoi," Journal of Roman Studies 83 (1993), p. 6.
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    ^ Mark P. O. Morford, Robert J. Lenardon, Classical Mythology (Oxford University Press US, 1999), p. 25. ISBN 0-19-514338-8 ISBN 978-0-19-514338-6
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    ^ Seneca, Cont. 2.2.8 and 9.5.17
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    ^ Trist. 1.2.77
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    ^ Trist. 4.10.33–4
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    ^ Trist. 2.93ff.; Ex P. 5.23ff.
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    ^ Fast. 4.383–4
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    ^ Trist. 4.10.21
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    ^ Trist. 4.10.57–8
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    ^ Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther (2014). The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Oxford University Press. p. 562. ISBN 978-0-19-870677-9.
    Jump up
    ^ Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World s.v. Ovid
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    ^ The most recent chart that describes the dating of Ovid's works is in Knox. P. "A Poet's Life" in A Companion to Ovid ed. Peter Knox (Oxford, 2009) pp.xvii–xviii
    ^
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    a b Trist. 4.10.53–4
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    ^ Hornblower, Simon; Antony Spawforth (1996). Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 1085.
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    ^ See Trist. II, 131–132.
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    ^ Ovid, Tristia 2.207
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    ^ Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto 2.9.72
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    ^ Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto 3.3.72
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    ^ Norwood, Frances, "The Riddle of Ovid's Relegatio", Classical Philology (1963) p. 158
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    ^ José González Vázquez (trans.), Ov. Tristes e Pónticas (Editorial Gredos, Madrid, 1992), p.10 and Rafael Herrera Montero (trans.), Ov. Tristes; Cartas del Ponto (Alianza Editorial, Madrid, 2002). The scholars also add that it was no more indecent than many publications by Propertius, Tibullus and Horace that circulated freely in that time.
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    ^ The first two lines of the Tristia communicate his misery:Parve – nec invideo – sine me, liber, ibis in urbem; ei mihi, quod domino non licet ire tuo!
    Little book – for I don't begrudge it – go on to the city without me; Alas for me, because your master is not allowed to go with you!
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    ^ J. C. Thibault, The Mystery of Ovid's Exile (Berkeley-L. A. 1964), p.20–32.
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    ^ About 33 mentions, according to Thibault (op. cit., p.27–31).
    Jump up
    ^ A. W. J. Holleman, "Ovid's exile", Liverpool Classical Monthly 10.3 (1985), p. 48.
    H. Hofmann, "The unreality of Ovid's Tomitan exile once again", Liverpool Classical Monthly 12.2 (1987), p. 23.
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    ^ A. D. F. Brown, "The unreality of Ovid's Tomitan exile", Liverpool Classical Monthly 10.2 (1985), p. 18–22.
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    ^ Cf. the summary provided by A. Alvar Ezquerra, Exilio y elegía latina entre la Antigüedad y el Renacimiento (Huelva, 1997), p. 23–24
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    ^ Cf. Naturalis Historia, 32.152: "His adiciemus ab Ovidio posita animalia, quae apud neminem alium reperiuntur, sed fortassis in Ponto nascentia, ubi id volumen supremis suis temporibus inchoavit".
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    ^ Cf. Silvae, 1.2, 254–255: "nec tristis in ipsis Naso Tomis".
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    ^ Short references in Jerome (Chronicon, 2033, an. Tiberii 4, an. Dom. 17: "Ovidius poeta in exilio diem obiit et iuxta oppidum Tomos sepelitur") and in Epitome de Caesaribus (I, 24: "Nam [Augustus] poetam Ovidium, qui et Naso, pro eo, quod tres libellos amatoriae artis conscripsit, exilio damnavit").
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    ^ A. D. F. Brown, "The unreality of Ovid's Tomitan exile", Liverpool Classical Monthly 10.2 (1985), p. 20–21.
    Jump up
    ^ J. M. Claassen, "Error and the imperial household: an angry god and the exiled Ovid's fate", Acta classica: proceedings of the Classical Association of South Africa 30 (1987), p. 31–47.
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    ^ Although some authors such as Martin (P. M. Martin, "À propos de l'exil d'Ovide... et de la succession d'Auguste", Latomus 45 (1986), p. 609–11.) and Porte (D. Porte, "Un épisode satirique des Fastes et l'exil d'Ovide", Latomus 43 (1984), p. 284–306.) detected in a passage of the Fasti (2.371–80) an Ovidian attitude contrary to the wishes of Augustus to his succession, most researchers agree that this work is the clearest testimony of support of Augustan ideals by Ovid (E. Fantham, Ovid: Fasti. Book IV (Cambridge 1998), p. 42.)
    Jump up
    ^ Knox, P. Ovid's Heroides: Select Epistles (Cambridge, 1995) pp.14ff.
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    ^ Knox, P. pp.12–13
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    ^ Knox, P. pp.18ff.
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    ^ Athanassaki, Lucia (1992). "The Triumph of Love in Ovid's Amores 1, 2". Materiali e discussioni per l'analisi dei testi classici. No. 28: 125–141. JSTOR 40236002.
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    ^ Conte, G. p. 343
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    ^ Book 1 Verse 1, 2: "If you do not know the art of love, read my book, and you will be a 'doctor' of love in the future".
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    ^ Conte, G. Latin Literature a History trans. J. Solodow (Baltimore, 1994) pg.346
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    ^ Conte, G. pg.352
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    ^ Herbert-Brown, G. "Fasti: the Poet, the Prince, and the Plebs" in Knox, P. (2009) pp.126ff.
    Jump up
    ^ PoetryInTranslation.com, a translation of all of Ovid's exile poetry can be found here by A. S. Kline, 2003
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    ^ Quint. Inst. 10.1.98. Cfr. Tacitus, Dial. Orat. 12.
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    ^ Lact. Div. Inst. 2.5.24. Another quotation by Probus ad Verg. Georg. 1, 138
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    ^ Inst. gramm. 5, 13, Gramm. Lat. 2, 149, 13 Keil.
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    ^ Ex P. 1.2.131
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    ^ Ex P. 1.7.30
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    ^ Ex P. 4.13.19>
    ^
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    a b Knox, P. "Lost and Spurious Works" in Knox, P. (2009) pg. 214
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    ^ Pliny Nat. 32.11 and 32.152 and Knox, P. "Lost" in Knox, P. (2009)
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    ^ Knox, P. "Lost" in Knox, P. (2009) pg. 212–213
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    ^ Knox, P. "Lost" in Knox, P. (2009) pp. 210–211
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    ^ Ettore Bignone, Historia de la literatura latina (Buenos Aires: Losada, 1952), p.309.
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    ^ A. Guillemin, "L’élement humain dans l’élégie latine". In: Revue des études Latines (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1940), p. 288.
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    ^ In fact, it is generally accepted in most modern classical scholarship on elegy that the poems have little connection to autobiography or external reality. See Wycke, M. "Written Women:Propertius' Scripta Puella" in JRS 1987 and Davis, J. Fictus Adulter: Poet as Auctor in the Amores (Amsterdam, 1989) and Booth, J. "The Amores: Ovid Making Love" in A Companion to Ovid (Oxford, 2009) pp.70ff.
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    ^ Booth, J. pg.66–68. She explains: "The text of the Amores hints at the narrator's lack of interest in depicting unique and personal emotion." pg.67
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    ^ Apuleius Apology 10 provides the real names for every elegist's mistress except Ovid's.
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    ^ Barsby, J. Ovid Amores 1 (Oxford, 1973) pp.16ff.
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    ^ Keith, A. "Corpus Eroticum: Elegiac Poetics and Elegiac Puellae in Ovid's 'Amores'" in Classical World (1994) 27–40.
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    ^ Barsby, pg.17.
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    ^ Booth, J. pg.65
    Jump up
    ^ Jean Bayet, Literatura latina (Barcelona: Ariel, 1985), p.278 and Barsby, pg.23ff.
    Jump up
    ^ Quoted by Theodore F. Brunner, "Deinon vs. eleeinon: Heinze Revisited" In: The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 92, No. 2 (Apr., 1971), pp. 275–284.
    Jump up
    ^ Brooks Otis, Ovid as an epic poet (CUP Archive, 1970), p.24. ISBN 0-521-07615-3, ISBN 978-0-521-07615-9
    ^
    Jump up to:
    a b c Brooks Otis, Ovid as an epic poet, p.264.
    Jump up
    ^ KENNEY, E. J. y CLAUSEN, W. V. História de la literatura clásica (Cambridge University), vol. II. Literatura Latina. Madrid: Gredos, w/d, p.502.
    Jump up
    ^ Ov. Rem. VI, 6.
    Jump up
    ^ Ov. Rem. VI, 33–36. Translated by A. S. Kline and available in Ovid: Cures for Love (2001).
    ^
    Jump up to:
    a b c See chapters II and IV in P. Gatti, Ovid in Antike und Mittelalter. Geschichte der philologischen Rezeption, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-515-10375-6; Peter Green (trad.), The poems of exile: Tristia and the Black Sea letters (University of California Press, 2005), p.xiii. ISBN 0-520-24260-2, ISBN 978-0-520-24260-9
    Jump up
    ^ Robert Levine, "Exploiting Ovid: Medieval Allegorizations of the Metamorphoses," Medioevo Romanzo XIV (1989), pp. 197–213.
    Jump up
    ^ Michel de Montaigne, The complete essays of Montaigne (translated by Donald M. Frame), Stanford University Press 1958, p.130. ISBN 0-8047-0486-4 ISBN 978-0-8047-0486-1
    Jump up
    ^ Agostinho de Jesus Domingues, Os Clássicos Latinos nas Antologias Escolares dos Jesuítas nos Primeiros Ciclos de Estudos Pré-Elementares No Século XVI em Portugal (Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, 2002), Porto, p.16–17.
    Jump up
    ^ Serafim da Silva Leite, História da Companhia de Jesus no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro, Instituto Nacional do Livro, 1949, pp. 151–2 – Tomo VII.
    Jump up
    ^ Frederick A. De Armas, Ovid in the Age of Cervantes (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010), pp. 11–12.
    Jump up
    ^ Ovid's Metamorphoses, Alan H. F. Griffin, Greece & Rome, Second Series, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Apr., 1977), pp. 57–70. Cambridge University Press.
    Jump up
    ^ Peter Green (trad.), The poems of exile: Tristia and the Black Sea letters (University of California Press, 2005), p. xiv. ISBN 0-520-24260-2, ISBN 978-0-520-24260-9
    Jump up
    ^ "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 2007–2008," in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 66, no. 2 (Fall, 2008).
    Jump up
    ^ Timothy Bell Raser, The simplest of signs: Victor Hugo and the language of images in France, 1850–1950 (University of Delaware Press, 2004), p.127. ISBN 0-87413-867-1, ISBN 978-0-87413-867-2
    Jump up
    ^ Matt Cartmill, A View to a Death in the Morning: Hunting and Nature Through History, Harvard University Press, 1996, p.118–19. ISBN 0-674-93736-8
    Jump up
    ^ Reynolds, Gillian (April 13, 2004). "Tune in, and turn back the clock". The Daily Telegraph. London.
    Jump up
    ^ Ovid. "ELEGY XI: WEARY AT LENGTH OF HIS MISTRESS' INFIDELITIES, HE SWEARS THAT HE WILL LOVE HER NO LONGER". Sacred Texts. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
    Jump up
    ^ Faherty, Allanah Faherty (November 9, 2015). "5 Things You Might Have Missed in The Walking Dead 'Now'". MoviePilot.
    Jump up
    ^ TalkinBroadway.com, Review: Metamorphoses
    Jump up
    ^ (Portuguese) Met., Ovid, translation to Portuguese by Paulo Farmhouse Alberto, Livros Cotovia, Intro, p.11.
    Jump up
    ^ Carlos de Miguel Moura. O mistério do exílio ovidiano. In Portuguese. In: Àgora. Estudos Clássicos em Debate 4 (2002), pp. 99–117.
    Jump up
    ^ Tristia 1, 7, 14.

    Еditions

    McKeown, J. (еd), Ovid: Amores. Text, Prolegomena and Commentary in four volumes, Vol. I–III (Liverpool, 1987–1998) (ARCA, 20, 22, 36).
    Ryan, M. B.; Perkins, C. A. (ed.), Ovid's Amores, Book One: A Commentary (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2011) (Oklahoma Series in Classical Culture, 41).
    Tarrant, R. J. (ed.), P. Ovidi Nasonis Metamorphoses (Oxford: OUP, 2004) (Oxford Classical Texts).
    Anderson, W. S., Ovid's Metamorphoses, Books 1-5 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996).
    Anderson, W. S., Ovid's Metamorphoses, Books 6-10 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972).
    Kenney, E. J. (ed.), P. Ovidi Nasonis Amores, Medicamina Faciei Femineae, Ars Amatoria, Remedia Amoris (Oxford: OUP, 19942) (Oxford Classical Texts).
    Ramírez de Verger, A. (ed.), Ovidius, Carmina Amatoria. Amores. Medicamina faciei femineae. Ars amatoria. Remedia amoris. (München & Leipzig: Saur, 20062) (Bibliotheca Teubneriana).
    Dörrie, H. (ed.), Epistulae Heroidum / P. Ovidius Naso (Berlin & New York: de Gruyter, 1971) (Texte und Kommentare ; Bd. 6).
    Fornaro, P. (ed.), Publio Ovidio Nasone, Heroides (Alessandria: Edizioni del'Orso, 1999)
    Alton, E.H.; Wormell, D.E.W.; Courtney, E. (eds.), P. Ovidi Nasonis Fastorum libri sex (Stuttgart & Leipzig: Teubner, 19974) (Bibliotheca Teubneriana).
    Goold, G.P., et alii (eds.), Ovid, Heroides, Amores; Art of Love, Cosmetics, Remedies for Love, Ibis, Walnut-tree, Sea Fishing, Consolation; Metamorphoses; Fasti; Tristia, Ex Ponto, Vol. I-VI, (Cambridge, Massachusetts/London: HUP, 1977-1989, revised ed.) (Loeb Classical Library)
    Hall, J.B. (ed.), P. Ovidi Nasonis Tristia (Stuttgart & Leipzig: Teubner 1995) (Bibliotheca Teubneriana).
    Richmond, J. A. (ed.), P. Ovidi Nasonis Ex Ponto libri quattuor (Stuttgart & Leipzig: Teubner 1990) (Bibliotheca Teubneriana).
    Further reading[edit]
    William Turpin (2016). Ovid, Amores (Book 1). Open Book Publishers. A free textbook for download.
    Brewer, Wilmon, Ovid's Metamorphoses in European Culture (Commentary), Marshall Jones Company, Francestown, NH, Revised Edition 1978
    More, Brookes, Ovid's Metamorphoses (Translation in Blank Verse), Marshall Jones Company, Francestown, NH, Revised Edition 1978
    Ovid Renewed: Ovidian Influences on Literature and Art from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century. Ed. Charles Martindale. Cambridge, 1988.
    Richard A. Dwyer "Ovid in the Middle Ages" in Dictionary of the Middle Ages, 1989, pp. 312–14
    Federica Bessone. P. Ovidii Nasonis Heroidum Epistula XII: Medea Iasoni. Florence: Felice Le Monnier, 1997. Pp. 324.
    Theodor Heinze. P. Ovidius Naso. Der XII. Heroidenbrief: Medea an Jason. Mit einer Beilage: Die Fragmente der Tragödie Medea. Einleitung, Text & Kommentar. Mnemosyne Supplement 170 Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1997. Pp. xi + 288.
    R. A. Smith. Poetic Allusion and Poetic Embrace in Ovid and Virgil. Ann Arbor; The University of Michigan Press, 1997. Pp.ix+ 226.
    Michael Simpson, The Metamorphoses of Ovid. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2001. Pp. 498.
    Philip Hardie (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ovid. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Pp. xvi, 408.
    Ovid's Fasti: Historical Readings at its Bimillennium. Edited by Geraldine Herbert-Brown. Oxford, OUP, 2002, 327 pp.
    Susanne Gippert, Joseph Addison's Ovid: An Adaptation of the Metamorphoses in the Augustan Age of English Literature. Die Antike und ihr Weiterleben, Band 5. Remscheid: Gardez! Verlag, 2003. Pp. 304.
    Heather van Tress, Poetic Memory. Allusion in the Poetry of Callimachus and the Metamorphoses of Ovid. Mnemosyne, Supplementa 258. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2004. Pp. ix, 215.
    Ziolkowski, Theodore, Ovid and the Moderns. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2005. Pp. 262.
    Desmond, Marilynn, Ovid's Art and the Wife of Bath: The Ethics of Erotic Violence. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006. Pp. 232.
    Rimell, Victoria, Ovid's Lovers: Desire, Difference, and the Poetic Imagination. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. 235.
    Pugh, Syrithe, Spenser and Ovid. Burlington: Ashgate, 2005. Pp. 302.
    Montuschi, Claudia, Il tempo in Ovidio. Funzioni, meccanismi, strutture. Accademia la colombaria studi, 226. Firenze: Leo S. Olschki, 2005. Pp. 463.
    Pasco-Pranger, Molly, Founding the Year: Ovid's Fasti and the Poetics of the Roman Calendar. Mnemosyne Suppl., 276. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2006. Pp. 326.
    Martin Amann, Komik in den Tristien Ovids. (Schweizerische Beiträge zur Altertumswissenschaft, 31). Basel: Schwabe Verlag, 2006. Pp. 296.
    P. J. Davis, Ovid & Augustus: A political reading of Ovid's erotic poems. London: Duckworth, 2006. Pp. 183.
    Lee Fratantuono, Madness Transformed: A Reading of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2011.
    Peter E. Knox (ed.), Oxford Readings in Ovid. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. 541.
    Andreas N. Michalopoulos, Ovid Heroides 16 and 17. Introduction, text and commentary. (ARCA: Classical and Medieval Texts, Papers and Monographs, 47). Cambridge: Francis Cairns, 2006. Pp. x, 409.
    R. Gibson, S. Green, S. Sharrock, The Art of Love: Bimillennial Essays on Ovid's Ars Amatoria and Remedia Amoris. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. 375.
    Johnson, Patricia J. Ovid before Exile: Art and Punishment in the Metamorphoses. (Wisconsin Studies in Classics). Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2008. Pp. x, 184.

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    orthodoxymoron
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    Post  orthodoxymoron Wed Oct 05, 2016 11:29 am

    Sorry. I just could resist making these last couple of posts. I'll try harder to STOP. I hate pain and suffering of all-kinds -- but they say it builds character. I once attempted to console an Individual of Interest who was experiencing pain -- by saying "Pain Builds Character" -- to which they retorted "I've Got Plenty of Character." The location of their pain coincided with the location of pain in at least two other Individuals of Interest -- but I don't want to talk about it (other than to speculate that all of these Individuals of Interest might be One-Soul). What if "Pinky" = "Pinkie" in the Huntington Library, Lilith, Eve, Isis, Queen of Sheba, Cleopatra, et al?? What if "The Brain" = "Blue Boy" in the Huntington Library, the First and Second "Adam", Christ and Antichrist, Azazel, Dr. Who, the Prime-Puppet Leader of Humanity Throughout History?? I don't think I've even come close to solving the puzzle -- but I think I've provided a hell of a lot of clues (for free). What if Stargate Continuum offers a lot of clues -- especially regarding Kitesh aka Vala -- and Ba'al?? The segments of these two in their Pyramid-Spaceship are quite chilling to me!! Here is yet another study-list which is very similar to previous lists:

    1. Job through Daniel (New King James Version).
    2. Luke through James (New King James Version).
    3. Patriarchs and Prophets (Ellen Gould White) 1890.
    4. Prophets and Kings (Ellen Gould White) 1917.
    5. Sacred Classical Music and the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal.

    What if Job through Daniel combined with Luke through James -- were considered to be One-Covenant (separate and distinct from the traditional Old and New Covenants)?? What if the Traditional Old and New Covenants were both RA Deals??!! What if Patriarchs and Prophets -- and Prophets and Kings -- were considered to be a Definitive New-Testament (as Inspired Old-Testament Commentary Enlightened by the New-Testament)?? What if there were No-Lectionary and No-Liturgy?? What if the Sabbath consisted of Two-Hours of Quality Religious and/or Devotional Time (Each and Every Day)?? What if people got paid to do this sort of thing?? What if most churches and cathedrals were converted into schools and universities?? What if the worst church physical-plants were simply closed and bulldozed?? What if the state provided basic-funding for churches (so people wouldn't be threatened with hellfire if they didn't pay-up)??!! What if a Modified English-Model of Church and State isn't such a bad idea (if done properly)?? Once again -- this thread is a pseudo-intellectual brainstorm aka a Jihad in a Teapot. I act alone. I'm a lone-nut. Nobody put me up to this. Nobody feeds me this tripe. I make it up myself (each and every day). I keep thinking about that interview (below) with Dr. A. Graham Maxwell (from 1997, I believe). The recording-quality is terrible -- but the content is quite-fine (even if it might be somewhat slow and boring by today's standards). But notice the pathetic number of views!! Then look at the number of Eminem (c)rap-video views!! This is the sort of thing which I find quite damning of humanity. Whether one attends church on Saturday or Sunday (or any day at all) is quite secondary to the level of psychological, ethical, mental, and spiritual growth and development in the human-species. Think long and hard about what I've said in this post. I continue to think that Humanity is on the Brink of Extinction. Does anyone get any of this?? Anyone at all?? Where's a Draconian-Reptilian British-Israel Biblical-Egyptologist when you need them??!! "In a Piloted Bad@$$teroid in Lunar-Synchronous Orbit over the Dark-Side of the Moon"?? There's one in every crowd...
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    What if the Ark of the Covenant is really about the "Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World"?? What if the "Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World" was one of three archangels?? What if all of the Messianic-Precursors such as Mithras were really afterglows of the "Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World"?? What if the Historical-Jesus Story is a "Johnny Come Lately" version of the "Lamb slain from the Foundation of the World"?? What if Lucifer = King of Babylon = Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World = the Missing Angel in the Center of the Ark of the Covenant?? What if the remaining two archangels ruled the world jointly until around 800 A.D.?? The Ancient Egyptian Deity hinted-at some sort of a Major-Split around that time (if I remember correctly). What if the Original Creator of Humanity was Lucifer?? What if that creation was destroyed (including the Creator)?? What if Michael was the Re-Creator of Humanity?? What if Christ = Archangel?? What if Christ = Archangel #1?? What if Antichrist = Archangel #2?? What if Lucifer = the Gnome in George Zebrowski's Short-Story Heathen God?? Ever heard of the Human (G)nome Project??!! What if Lucifer = Gnome = O.H. Krlll?? What if the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14 refers to the King of Atlantis many centuries prior to the time of the Historical-Isaiah?? I continue to think that we're dealing with three Power-Struggling Archangels in this Solar System. There may be a BIG "G" GOD beyond this solar system -- but I doubt that they are directly active within this particular solar system. What if Lucifer = Jupiter Jones?? I don't think we have any accurate idea of who we really are -- or regarding the true nature of the universe (or even the solar system). We might all be in for some very rude awakenings. Just don't wake-up on the wrong side of the bed -- even if it turns out that we've been sleeping with the devil for thousands of years.

    I'm going to go way, way, way, way out on a broken limb with the following speculation -- and I don't know where to begin or end -- because it is insanely farfetched speculation. It has to do with Michael, Lilith, the Creation of Some Version of Humanoid Beings -- the writing of certain books of the Bible -- and the War in Heaven. Should the Song of Solomon really have been named the Song of Lilith?? What if someone told you that you were Michael, Lilith, Isis, and Cleopatra (among others) -- that you created some version of humanity -- and that you wrote five books of the Bible?? I suspect that someone has been playing massive mind-games with me -- but there have been various hints from various sources, that some or all of the above might be true for me on a soul-basis. I realize this qualifies me many times over for that secret mental institution -- but I am quite sober and reasonable -- although being this far down the rabbit-hole makes life completely insane 24/7 -- which is why I just whisper and whimper on this thread -- and why I honestly keep trying to remain silent and contrite. I'm sure there are those who sincerely hope that I shut-up -- so they don't have to shut me up -- and I'm NOT kidding. On the other hand -- back-channel communication might be sort of a safety-valve. What if Lilith wrote the Song of Solomon, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, and at least one of the Gospels (or at least the teachings contained within the Gospels)?? What if Solomon was Sol-Amen-Ra?? What if the Queen of Sheba was Lilith?? The Exodus and the Reigns of King David and King Solomon are VERY Interesting!! Especially Behind the Scenes!! Remember that strange message I posted a couple of months ago?? I received the following message (unedited) under VERY Strange Circumstances:

    You were Incarnate 2000 Years ago and let Us also say that You brought the Prime Creator's Message to the People (Big "G"). After You had been exiled to the far east in those times - A Usurper (Jesus Cesarian) was set up to draw others away from Your Message and to corrupt It. 300 Years Later - The Council of Nicea was convened by a Roman Emperor (Constantine) to reduce the understandings You'd brought to the People - From approximately 37 Books down to 5. Under the Tutelage of these Controller's - Classical Christian Religion was enacted and forced upon the People over the next 1700 Years...The True Teachings of Yeshua are being held in the Vatican Archives so that They can remain on Top as Controllers (See Stigmata: We need no Men or Buildings to reach the Prime Creator was the Thrust of the Teachings kept secret - The Path within). Does this then mean that the Man  that originally brought the Message was trying to deceive Us? Or is It rather that the Controller's perverted the Understandings that You'd brought Us previously on Purpose? Simply put - I would say - The Later...This is the Crux and one They have worked hard to convolute...

    What do you think about such a thing?? I did NOT make this up!! I found it in my word-processor!! I just stumbled upon it -- and I could've easily missed it!! If true, I'm suspecting 5 Old-Testament Books and a 32 Book Old-Testament Commentary. The Ancient Egyptian Deity called me Michael -- but I have NO Idea whether there is any substance to that, or not. I've simply used various messages, suggestions, and sources as conceptual-crutches for modeling the unknowable. I'm NOT going to spell this out -- but I could go into a lot more detail. Let's just say that I don't really care one way or the other. It honestly makes very little difference to me. In fact, it could be a VERY bad thing if it were true. I honestly have NO Idea who I might really be on a soul-basis -- and I'm NOT going to try very hard to find out!! My concern is how to help make things work correctly and properly in this solar system -- and possibly beyond -- and this seems to presently be an impossible dream. Here are some interesting posts by Brook and Lionhawk on the first 'Red Pill' thread. They are sequential, but might be separated by dozens of posts. They should write a book together. Siriusly.

    Brook: "For those of you afraid to take the red pill...you might want to stop reading and participating in this thread now... as I've found from personal experience, that it will activate within you, if you let it...certain "knowings” that will surface at any given time. And in that knowledge, you may find it will not be everything you wanted to know. But then again remember...the truth will set you free. And in knowing the truth...remember you have free will...and can make choices accordingly.

    That being said, I will start by recommending a thread that was started by Orthodoxymoron, who I might add was brilliant in his deduction from AV1, and as it progressed I believe it brought to light some things that will stimulate your way of thinking about the “Egyptian” folklore of the “gods” they worshiped, and the symbols now being currently used in the Illuminati scheme of things.

    http://www.projectavalon.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18223&highlight=aman

    Some would think that it is not necessary to delve into the past, as one member had mentioned. However to understand what might possible be the truth to much of what we deal with today..the symbolism in our faces daily if you look around.... It might be good to know what it all means...in the face of taking the red pill that is.

    If you dig deep enough you might even see where our own DNA may possibly have been tampered with, and fragmented our sense of self and way of life as we know it now.

    So I'd like to continue where some of the key points that triggered in me some “knowing” and see what input you all may have in these aspects of history and how it might have an effect on how we live today in the shadow of some of the great secrets that still to this day haunt us and most likely won't ever be known until we reach ascension and see the truth...or then again...you can take the red pill and dive in...see what you come up with …

    so lets start off with one of the posts from that thread and look at Ptah....

    Ptah

    The origin of Ptah's name is unclear, though some believe it to mean 'opener' or 'sculptor'. As a god of craftsmen, the later is probably correct. He was a patron of the arts, protector of stone cutters, sculptors, blacksmiths, architects, boat builders, artists and craftsmen.

    It was believed that Ptah created the heavens and the earth.

    Ptah created the giant metal plate that was believed to be the floor of heaven and the roof of the sky, he also created the struts that upheld it. He created the universe by speaking words through his Tongue (linked to the god Thoth) and by thoughts coming from his Heart.

    There came into being as the heart and there came into being as the tongue ...The mighty Great One is Ptah, who transmitted life to all gods, as well as to their kas... Thus it happened that the heart and tongue gained control over every other member of the body, by teaching that he, Ptah... is in every body and in every mouth of all gods, all men,and every thing that lives, by thinking and commanding everything that he wishes.

    Thus the ka-spirits were made... by this speech... Thus were made all work and all crafts, the action of the arms, the movement of the legs, and the activity of every member, in conformance with this command which the heart thought, which came forth through the tongue, and which gives value to everything.

    Ptah was a creator god, the third highest god in Egypt. He was the god presiding over the Second Egyptian month. From a local god of craftsmen to the deity who crafted the universe and the other deities, Ptah was only overshadowed by the sun god Ra, and the hidden god Amen. He fashioned the universe through words of power and by thought, as well as creating different parts by hand. He helped the dead on their travels through the afterlife, allowing them to transform into his divine figure, or by building the boats on which they could travel. He was the one who allowed the dead to be like the living after death

    Sounds like a pretty powerful guy to me...in all of this legend and metaphor.

    As one member brought to my attention in post number 277
    http://www.projectavalon.net/forum/showpost.php?p=220944&postcount=277

    What did the Masons know? It is clearly worship of Ptah....but was he really such a good “God”? He is clearly worshiped in Egyptian folklore as a “God of Creation” ….stressing the word “creation”....what exactly did he create that should be worshiped in such “glory” for the Masons to revere? Then you clearly have a statue of Ptah with scales...

    And what about the Merkaba.....

    Mer... meant a kind of light that rotated within itself

    Ka ....meant spirit, in this case referring to the human spirit

    Ba.... meant the human body — though it also could mean the concept of Reality that spirit holds

    And so the entire word in ancient Egypt referred to a rotating light that would take the spirit and the body from one world into another.....

    Then you have Thoth...that's one for the records.....and if you read the Emerald Tablets...you see sparks of truth....also sparks of manipulation to a way of thinking that sounds very much like much of the “new wave” line of hypnosis....not to say there is not truth there...but in reading the Emerald tablets that are published....you might find yourself getting a slight to moderate headache....triggering something of a remembrance....or could it be a trigger to forget.....but of what? It certainly triggered me....and opened up a flood gate of things that seemed to fit into a neat little conspiracy in and of itself. More questions then answers from the Egyptian “history” that we seem to get. There are still many “secrets” out there left to be uncovered...and on a global scale, I think if enough people got “triggered” in their own “knowing” of what the truth is...it may just astound you...and set the history books a blaze.

    So for now have a look at some of the information on that thread..and soon enough I will add more. I really wish ODM was here to add...as he was very in tune with it..but we all have a past here to look at the truth. And many of you hold a “key” of knowing...so let the triggers begin. Namaste."

    lindabaker: "Lionhawk: Forgive me if I am repeating a question that has been asked of you in previous forums. Tell us how you know all of this very interesting information, if you don't mind doing so. Are you an immortal who can remember a lot, or are you someone who has access to historical records previously unknown to most earth people? If the discs are not gold, what is their composition? By duplicates, do you mean discs that also work, kind of like burning another music cd? Why do the discs I see in my dreams look to be the size of large oranges? When will the information on the discs be revealed, and by whom, and where? What will the reaction be, do you think? Which Star family are you aligned with? Is your alignment with the Christ Energy, and if not, which alignment best describes your position?"

    Lionhawk: "Calling me out, eh? No worries. When I look back on Av1 and Av2, I guess what I got hammered with most was where did I get my training. Simply because I think I scared some individuals with what I had revealed. How was I able to penetrate the secrets of those who had hidden agendas that participated on those forums? I never did answer the question simply because I felt it was a trap to do so. Plus, they wouldn't understand the answer even if I gave it to them. All I can say is I am who I am because I chose to be. Now that might sound like an egotistical statement, but without my ego I would be a blank. I am like the many who seek the real truth and will expose it when everything is in such alignment to do so. I also use what is in my toolbox by that I mean what spiritual tools I do have. Copy and paste is not a spiritual tool.

    Where I get my information in regards to Egypt is not from the Internet. It is so packed full of lies, that if I did use that information, I would be caught red handed in seconds and probably burned at a stake somewhere.

    Let me just say that I am from the Orion sector. My star lineage is the Family of An. Pronounced "on." It is the middle Star of Orion's Belt. EL-AN-RA. I am an Angelic in the Warrior Cast from that sector. Mother Mary, as far as lineages go, is my Mother. She has many sons and daughters and I am simply one of them. She informed me of this 2 years ago at my house in Florida in the kitchen. She said I was one of her Royal sons and wondered what had happened to me. I also know as of this moment why she stated that. Till very recently, her visit troubled me and I couldn't figure out why. Then she visited me once again and it was a very sad visit, as she had apparently gone to find out what had happened to me and why I was off her radar for so long, after her first visit. It all fits now as I have so much recall as to what had occurred and why she said what she said. Yes, Jesus is my brother. I am very proud to have a brother who has accomplished so much and who continues to serve in his present capacity. He is one of the commanders of the real Galactic Federation. Also let us not confuse him with a replica provided by the darkside called Lord Sananda, who serves as their version of Jesus of their copy and pasted Galactic Federation. You know the one where all the channeled messages come from.

    How this recall occurred, is also an interesting story. As it turns out I had done it to myself and did such a good job at it. Somewhere, I had taken half of myself and gave it amnesia. There was a very important reason to do so. Reminds me of Claudia Black that did something similar to serve on a mission on the SG-1 series. Don't remember the episode. Of course there was a trigger word that would snap me out of it. That word was spoken to me on February 11th of this year by my mate. Everything changed at that moment. It was my name back in those Egyptian days. Mind you I didn't say I was Egyptian.

    In any regard, I discovered that I had married into the Feline Race. That's how I ended up and why I have a current affiliation with them in the present. The marriage came about from two life streams from two separate countries, where both got involved with each other because of these discs. That involvement grew and became a sacred union as in such a way that had never been experienced before on the Earth. It was so profound as that sacred union also represented the unconditional love they had for each other and for the entire Earth and all of her people to such an extent that the Creator took notice and said that this sacred union would be used as a template in this Universe to go by in terms of unconditional love. This was a wonderful occasion where the Mother Mary linage and the Feline lineage came together in oneness. It was also sounded across the Universe so it is well known by other races as well. So if there is anyone out there who has any doubts as to what I have thus far written, feel free to get off your chair and find the answers. If you are all that connected to these other races that is.

    These two life streams were obviously killed by the corrupt Draconian figure heads of those distant times in Egypt. Not necessarily for what they did to create a new universal template, but for defying the power elite's will. If they could not use you, consider yourself dead. That thought pattern still exists today. But when it all went down, these Bastards found out that they couldn't use everybody.

    In the present, I am now living with a whole remembered heart. I am fully activated in the physical. I pay attention to many things now that I use to take for granted. For instance two butterflies flying through the air at incredible speeds, never extending more than a few inches from each other as they are flying through an area full of birds and predatory insects, celebrating their union with each other in flight. Also no fear. The one I married back then is the one I am with now. We are still married as we never allowed our love to be compromised by anyone or anything, even though they may have killed us at different times. William Wallace you say.....or did I say that? hahahhahhaa!!


    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 200px-MacDougall_of_MacDougall_arms.svg

    The above Coat of Arms is where the trail jumped from Egypt to Scotland. Talk about triggers from Egypt. And you may wonder how it has anything to do with William Wallace. To be brief, these two love birds incarnated into this time line. My name was Alexander MacDougall and although I was married and had a castle, I also had a mistress, hidden in the hillside. This mistress was my sacred love. Her name was Isadora and she originated from Norway. She was murdered by some reptilian thugs. 4 of them attacked her while on route to help my son, John. Thus, her death started my new career in head loping. Talk about getting on a Karmic bicycle. I was also allied at this time with William Wallace against Robert the Brus. Also notice in the coats of arms, the lions and the ships. In other coat of arms you will also find the dragons. Again, it comes down to the conflict of the lions vs. the dragons.

    Not to get out of topic here, but this thread is also about triggers. And if you were to look in your present life in the past, you will see things that came up and said here I am for a split second. As in how you might be drawn to an image or something that was said that ringed something within you. All these little rings bounced around for years and I never found an explanation for them until Feb. 11th 2010. All these little reminders fell into place. The little things that made you curious in that moment that you couldn't explain as to why it rang something inside you. Like maybe why you might had a curiosity about a certain figure in history but couldn't explain it.

    All I can say is that I had thought my life to have been blessed before and now I look upon it as miraculous. It has taken a lot of inner work to get here but it has been worth it. Granted the inner work never seems to stop but I can relax a little bit now as I know things will be slightly easier. If you do the work you will find that your story is an amazing one. Also make note that I am not trying to put myself on any kind of stage here. I am just sharing it and I left a lot out. So for the ones that might have pithy comments, spare me. It isn't because I am the one who is insecure. I say what I just said so that I don't have to deal with your insecurities and I am sure there are others out there who are sick of that old record as well. I think we should spend more time celebrating those who are getting there instead of the bashing from those who are either jealous or just lack, period. You have to earn it, for yourself.

    So I leave this here. I hope I answered more than you questioned Linda."

    orthodoxymoron: "Wow Lionhawk! Your posts always floor me! Can you tell me if Reptilian Beings have Human Souls? OR -- do Human Beings have Reptilian Souls? Are we all Human/Reptilian Hybrids --- with various percentage differentials? Are Greys really Reptilians? Do Humans, Reptilians, and Greys have more in common than we think? Is most of this madness homegrown --- going back thousands of years --- right here on Earth --- mostly in North Africa and the Southwestern United States? Is the U.S. really the 'Head of the Snake'? Do the Underground Bases and the City States constitute the Biblical Babylon? Is Lucifer the Whore of Babylon? 'What fate Omoroca?' (Stargate SG-1 'Fire and Water') Nuff said!"

    Lionhawk: "There he is! Good to see you old friend! Always wondered where you went. I know many disappeared for awhile and justly so. Often thought as to what you found in your digging of the truth. You have been missed. Again, great to see you once again.  

    As far as flooring you, I will humbly take that as a compliment. But I'm not out here trying to floor anyone. Personally I think we are all basically truth seekers and we all have an individual way about going about it. Of course the cheap version of the truth is the copy and pasted version. Using only materials that someone researched and wrote out without doing any footwork to support their point of view.

    The better version is finding an idea and pursuing it and then write down what you found. The process of proving it out in real time. How many books have we read where someone just took pieces of information and just pieced a book together? Without any experience being applied or melded in the book. Originality is the best way to go about sharing ideas and working out the puzzles that comprise the truth.

    As to your questions, I will say I am no expert or an authority of other factions soul make ups. In my opinion however, I think the soul is of the same stuff across the board and it is whether how much light is allowed to shine by the free will of that soul or the choices that soul has made, regardless of the species it represents. Or the polarity.

    What is most disturbing is how these Dracs have cheated DEATH. Most systems that I am aware of have a death cycle or a transition cycle. Usually there is a station where the soul goes back to and gets debriefed and adjustments are made and new lessons are given and the soul starts again on another quest. These Dracs have found a way to by pass that and have their own place or station as it were, to re spawn with full memory of who or what they were previously. In part, the technology in Egypt was used to do this. Now I also know there are other aliens who have done this but most of them know of a higher consciousness is present and honor the processes in an alignment with a God presence. The Dracs only honor their own presence. Everything and every life form is considered below them. So when I hear that there are good reptilians out there, I always end up asking where.

    The greys are even a mystery. I think the government has a limited view point on them as well. Simply because they want to compartmentalize these beings. From what I have gathered, there are at least 20 species of this form out there. Not just the 4 types that have been revealed by government sources.

    I have already given you in the past what has happened to Lucifer. That wasn't something made up. It also hasn't changed as to what he chose for himself. It's a done deal. One that I was allowed to witness. That event just amazed me as to the Creator's level of grace that he/she exercises. It is unlimited. It also showed me how deep the Creator's love goes for all of his/her creations no matter what they have experienced in this Universe, good or bad. No matter what polarity or frequency, these souls have chosen to experience.

    This thread is a prime example of what I have mentioned in the above. Or the contents there of. And please don't feel like I dissed you by not answering all of your questions as some of those questions could apply in another thread and not here. I say that out of respect for what Brook is trying to accomplish in this thread.

    Glad you are here ODM!"

    Brook: "....spreading light on "dark secrets" is what I plan on doing with this post. You will not find this information in history books, or on the internet in the form of revealed "secrets" of the PTB. Some light has been shed on speculation of such...but the true nature of exactly what happened has virtually been erased....as was the continent of Atlantis, and Lumaria. All that is left is what some might tap into, and how much of that was filtered? Oh for sure there is truth in many of the stories of these kinds....and the puzzle is being slowly put together. So I will provide a piece of that puzzle here now. The role played by some key characters...and what the truth is about the story's they put forth...to get you to believe in something quite different.

    One small but rather important piece that only the players themselves would be able to share...but as of yet have not....mainly because...the lies have overshadowed the truth. I have tapped into that truth.....and as such would be labeled a "loon" by the very ones that would see this story remain undiscovered. And for a very long time, I was afraid to share this....for the reason of safety...a fear program.......and because my emotional body was not ready to deal with such exposure, and the nature of the very concepts it surrounds. I have since overcome that emotion...and can now share what it is I have to reveal.....a small portion of the truth that you all have the right to know. And the role of the "players"...and where they stood in all of this.

    So lets start with some "key" players.....

    Thoth...lineage..pure reptilian...Annunaki

    Ptah...lineage...pure reptilian...Annunaki

    Osiris....lineage....hybrid....Annunaki, feline....of the "royal" bloodline, earth based

    Set...lineage....hybrid....annunaki, feline....of the "royal" bloodline, earth based

    Isis.....lineage....hybrid....feline, earth based ...of direct decent...mother Sekhemt...of the royal lineage....and direct genetic coding to the discs and "throne"

    Ra.....lineage.....sirian.....hybird.....of "Sun" decent....NOT ANNUNAKI....and in charge of operations here on earth, to oversee the Sirian feline earth based seeding.

    So a marriage...to create a royal blood line....with direct connection to the "Discs", and the "throne"....between Osiris and Isis....set up by Ptah...who is now in control of operations.....a very bad marriage at that. Not the wonderful one painted in history. In fact..the so called "sister" of Isis....was nothing more than a story...she was actually a mistress to Osiris...and Isis had take her under her wing....to protect her. It also gave Isis the relief of having to be with Osiris...who she detested. Isis had no such sister....but took on Nephthys as a sister...and taught her how to do many things...one of which was how to tolerate Osiris.

    As the story would have you believe.....Isis gathered together the pieces of Osiris with her "sister"...leaving out one piece...very appropriate....the phallus. She claimed the fish ate it......Now that's a fish story! and then she created the "book of the dead". to resurrect Osiris...and created a phallus of "sand" and impregnated herself with his seed to create Horus.

    Oh boy...here goes....the truth is this.....in that tomb of Osiris...a meeting took place. Sekhemt, Ra and Isis.....the egg of Sekhmet the sperm of Ra were joined and Isis was made a surrogate of a "royal bloodline"...not of the Osiris, Hybrid....reptilian line but the feline sun lineage....and was made to be the watcher for Ra...the "eye of Horus" was a symbol of Ra...also know as the "Eye of Ra".....and Sekhmet...to watch over the goings on from the direct meddling of the Annunaki. And to carry on the line of those who were directly involved in the technology that had been stolen, and used to create for lack of a better term..."abominations"...of what should have been our direct connection to mother earth, and our universal lineage. Rather then fragmenting us and creating a "slave race"...to be multiplied and used for the purposes that you now hear of..that many have tapped into that truth and are now seeing...but few know how it came about...the actual deeds that created this time line...not the one that source intended.

    Have you all stopped yet to think...what became of Isis? How did she die? did she really carry on to give all of these so call "channeling s" that are so prevalent on the internet and in the "new age" community? And if so....why don't you hear this story? And how come you don't hear of her "passing" as you do of Osiris? And what of this story that Horus is Jesus?....Isis is Mary?.....not hardly.

    There is however a connection to that story. Another surrogate....Mary...named after the Mother Mary lineage.....surrogate to Jesus.....brought here to tell some truth....through a similar fashion as Horus. Propagated by the felines....but Jesus is not Feline.....the only connection is the cooperation of the geneticists...the Felines that helped with his birth. And the link..is the Star of Sirius.....cooperation to recreate where Horus failed...because Horus was found out...and challenged by his brother Set. Brother Set you say????? Wait....Set was the brother of Osiris......Caught them in another lie didn't we? Set the one that murdered Osiris...now after Horus.....a power hungry one he was....And Osiris...the brother of Isis?...........only in the sense that the lineage of a hybrid brought that in true form.....Remember...Osiris..hybrid....reptilian, feline..and earth based being......but not the sister of Isis in any form...other then the feline lineage that they wanted to keep in line with the genetic coding

    And what of Isis? Where did she disappear to? Death ...at the hands of Ptah....who was furious with her, for reasons I will not share here..just yet anyway. But when one does not cooperate with a reptilian....at that time....it's death in a snake pit...and that was her end.....only to be remembered by those who had stories to tell of here visits..to such places as Greece. and with her she would bring the most extraordinary gifts.

    Now you are probably wondering how I can relate such a story...and where the information came from. did I channel it?....not really.....but that is something I will not share on a forum. However, I will tell you I have validation.....and that I will not share on a forum either.

    There are many more parts to this story....this is only a small but significant part. There are the Discs....and other factions involved...and this story would make "Gone with the Wind"...look like a child's book."

    What if Gabriel is the hard-core Angelic-Opposition to the Human-Experiment?? What if Lucifer was the First-Creator?? What if Michael was the Re-Creator?? I have no idea how close to the truth this speculation might be -- but I keep thinking this thing is REALLY nasty, ancient, and complex!! Once again, I am troubled by the lack of sermons about Lucifer in the Bible. There is only that one direct mention of Lucifer (in Isaiah 14). I think there might've been a murder and a cover-up!! Sorry if this offends -- but shouldn't we consider ALL Possibilities??!! I still wonder if the three hypothetical Archangels pulled-off some sort of a False-Flag War in Heaven -- creating a Power-Vacuum to Cleanse the Sanctuary of That Which Defiles!! I often think that the REAL Theological-Realities are MUCH Worse than Atheism and Agnosticism -- which might be why we've been lied-to for thousands of years!! I think we might live in a very rough and tumble universe which they don't tell us about in Sunday-School and Sabbath-School!! My theory is that this Solar System is One Big Business with One CEO (going way, way, way back). My theory is that Research (of any subject) is a Form of Worship. My theory is that even Irreverent Theological-Speculation is a Form of Worship. My theory is that history should be studied -- but not relied-upon. Anyone could write anything in antiquity -- and how can we possibly know (in modernity) how honest and accurate they were?? I have suggested the following study-list (among others) but imposing this sort of thing on modernity might be a grave-error.


    1. Job through Daniel (KJV).
    2. Luke through James (KJV).
    3. Sacred Classical Music.

    Try reading Job through Daniel side by side with Luke through James -- straight-through -- over and over -- while listening to Sacred Classical Music!! I do it for answers!! What if massive-doses of all of the above might awaken hidden insights and memories -- or what if there is a hidden programming-modality contained within these historical materials?? I think my U.S.S.S. threads play with burning magnesium -- but should we really avoid this sort of study?? I have suggested that these threads merely get you close to the "truth" -- but that they are not the "truth". I am more disoriented and despondent than you can imagine. My efforts seem to have accomplished less than nothing -- and I often wish I had never been born. I hate my life.

    Nutbar
    Brook

    Please remember that these U.S.S.S. threads are sort of a Galactic Boot-Camp to shake things up a bit. They are Reformative rather than Normative. They are NOT "The Answer" -- and please remember that there is a HUGE difference between an "Answer" and a "Convincing-Answer"!! "Knowing" and "Thinking One Knows" are two VERY Different Things!! I'm watching the first season of Helix -- and it's freaking me out -- which isn't easy to do, at this point in the game -- but I don't wish to explain why. Somewhat unrelatedly, try focusing upon the Hypothetical First Genetic-Engineer of Some Form of Humanity. Then focus upon the Hypothetical Conqueror of This First Form of Humanity. What if we are simply dealing with TWO Archangels in this particular Solar System?? What if Genesis 6 is descriptive of the Conquering of the First Form of Humanity?? What if Hybridization and Genetic-Engineering of the First Form of Humanity resulted in the Present Form of Humanity?? What if most (or all) of us are the Conquerors of the First Form of Humanity?? What if the First Genetic-Engineer of the First Form of Humanity was the "Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World"?? What if this Prime-Creator was actually taken hostage in combination with a Faked-Execution?? What if the Prime-Creator was the "Sovereign Queen of the Air from Sirius" who Nicolas Roerich spoke of?? What if the Prime-Creator was Lilith = Isis = Queen of Sheba = Cleopatra = Jupiter Jones?? What if the Prime-Creator was a Biblical Holy-Ghost Writer?? What if this solar system is the centerpiece of a VERY complex Galactic Sting Operation??

    What if the Sanctuary (Solar System??) will be completely cleansed by A.D. 2133?? What if the Prime-Creator = Christ?? What if the Conqueror of the Prime-Creator and the First-Form of Humanity = Antichrist?? What if the conquering of the Prime-Creator = the Demotion of Dr. Who?? What do Owls say?? "Who!!" What if Dr. Who = Lilith = Archangel Michael?? What if Prime-Creator = Archangel Michael?? What if the Conqueror of the Prime-Creator and Original-Humanity = Archangel Gabriel?? It often sounds as if I'm Against Gabriel -- but I'm merely playing-along with certain terms such as "Angel of Death" -- and with certain things I've been told by Individuals of Interest -- and with Hollywood-Depictions. It's NOT Personal. What if Original-Sin = the Original Human-Creation?? OR What if Original-Sin = the Conquering and Hybridization of the Prime-Creator and the Original Human-Creation?? What if Daniel chapter 8 speaks of the Vindication of the Prime-Creator and Original Human-Creation -- the Restoration of this Solar System to it's Pre-Conquered and Pre-Hybridized Form -- and the Removal of the Conquerors and Corruptors?? I have NO Idea regarding the validity (or lack thereof) of All of the Above -- but this stuff Scares the Hell Out of Me (as nothing else does)!! BTW -- What were the World Wars REALLY All About?? Are the World Wars Really Over?? What sort of wars might be ongoing beneath the ground -- and throughout the solar system?? What the Hell is REALLY Going On???!!!

    I think you'd have to study these three U.S.S.S. threads full-time for several-years to really understand what I'm hinting-at!! This does NOT imply superiority on my part!! I'm honestly a Completely-Ignorant (and Utterly-Miserable) FOOL!! This isn't some sort of becoming-humility!! It's the honest and painful TRUTH!! YOU will need to do the Heavy-Lifting!! I am incapable of doing-so!! Supposedly there are 400 super-wealthy people who run the American-Government from behind the scenes. Based upon this number relative to the U.S. Population -- and then extrapolating the figures for the population of the whole-world -- there would be approximately 10,000 people running the world from behind the scenes. This is a very crude calculation -- and I didn't use the latest figures or a calculator -- but I've been modeling a United States of the Solar System with 10,000 representatives!! Of course, this wouldn't take into account how many qualified beings might be living underground and throughout the solar system in various planets, moons, asteroids, and spaceships!! This could get REALLY complicated!! As I keep repeating -- I have pulled ALL of My Proposals off of ALL Tables (real and imaginary) simply because I don't know what the hell is REALLY going on!! I keep getting the sinking-feeling that I was too bold a few years ago. I decided this might be the case after I started meeting various Individuals of Interest -- and noticing that a lot of people hated me for seemingly no reason (including official harassment and feeling increasingly miserable). My U.S.S.S. threads are simply intended to be mental and spiritual exercises for a select few. As you've noticed, I've set a tentative target-date for the beginning of a U.S.S.S. as being A.D. 2133 -- so I'm not applying any sort of "Hard-Sell". I don't have meetings. I don't raise money. I don't write books. I don't really do much of anything. I don't even talk about this stuff in "real-life". This is just an "internet-fantasy".

    Please remember that I've created these U.S.S.S. threads in an attempt to solve the world's problems (and my problems) -- but it's NOT working (on both counts). I hope that others will gain the traction I've failed to achieve. I've made some rather harsh and irreverent speculation regarding Angels, Archangels, Gods, and Goddesses -- but I have NO Idea what's REALLY going-on. However, this pseudointellectual study has been so upsetting and disorienting to me, that it wouldn't surprise me if I end-up in some sort of a nuthouse -- sooner or later -- and I'm not kidding. I hope no one else has gone nuts (or worse) reading my tripe (and looking at the scary-images). This is the sort of thing which could cause people to go nuts -- get fired -- get divorced -- commit suicide -- etc. My U.S.S.S. threads are NOT ready for Prime-Time. I doubt that I'll ever write a book -- but if I do, it certainly wouldn't include 90% of the U.S.S.S. threads. This is pretty much an "in-house" experiment in social-engineering. I doubt this sort of thing will ever become reality -- which might be just as well. I'm certain there are better ways of dealing with the madness and managing the masses. I don't know where to go from here. Perhaps I should move to England -- to get a better feel for how they do things on the other side of the pond -- driving on the wrong side of the road!! I continue to think that we've been living under a One-World Government for thousands of years -- so I'm not pushing for the establishment of something which already exists. I simply wish for things to be better. If there really is a Heaven and a Hell -- then modeling a better-world might be a waste of time. Is modeling a better-world a denial of Judeo-Christianity?? Do the Jews really have the Divine-Right to Rule the World?? Damned if I know -- but PLEASE spend some quality-time with my latest study-list, and see what YOU think!!


    1. Job through Daniel (KJV).
    2. Luke though James (KJV).
    3. Sacred Classical Music.

    This is a more complex and difficult mental and spiritual exercise than you can imagine (especially if you do it properly and aggressively)!! I think this is Extremely-Important!! Don't take Shortcuts!! This is sort of a Historical-Baseline -- and NOT a Line in the Sand. I'm simply suggesting that Sirius-Researchers master this material prior to moving on to bigger and better clean-sheets of stone!! Sometimes I wonder if Earth-Humanity has been badly ripped-off to provide the resources necessary for a Hidden-Faction to create UFO's, Fancy-Technology, and Alternate-Bodies -- with NO intention of sharing with those they stole-from?! It seems to me that Humanity (as we know it) will become obsolete in the near-future. We might simply be eliminated -- rather than entering into a Golden-Age of Peace and Prosperity. One who I keep referring to as the "Ancient Egyptian Deity" told me that the "Human-Race is Screwed". I've tried to model constructive futures for Earth-Humanity -- but this seems to have fallen upon deaf and indifferent ears and minds. I'm pretty much to the point of silently watching things play-out. Today, I was thinking of that World War II saying about "Then they came for the Jews -- but I didn't say anything because I wasn't a Jew". You know which one I'm referring to. Well, then I thought about Technology replacing people on a massive scale. "Then they replaced the factory-workers with robotics -- but I didn't say anything because I wasn't a factory-worker". You get my drift. It really wouldn't surprise me if a Supercomputer-Network is already running the Solar-System -- or coming close to doing-so.

    This probably isn't the right time or place BUT is there a Post WWII relationship between the so-called "Axis Powers"?? I continue to be scared-stiff about WMD's of all kinds -- and Hidden-Factions (which might go back thousands of years) which might NEVER stop fighting with each other. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_powers An "Accident" might not always be an "Accident". I keep feeling like I should move to the mountains, and build a Shallow-Underground 600 Square-Foot Office-Apartment with a Powerful-Computer and Fast-Internet -- and pretty-much isolate myself from "Real-Life". This would have absolutely nothing to do with gaining any sort of special-access to the Secret-Government (or anything along those lines). I would be completely "On My Own". If I had the money -- I'd probably do this sort of thing immediately -- but I'll probably never be in a position to take such a bold-step. I guess I just wish to "disappear" without being "removed". I honestly think I'm on some sort of a Red-List or Black-List for being open, honest, and innovative on the internet. Plus, I think I might be some sort of a Most-Wanted Galactic-Outlaw!! Once again -- I haven't lied about anything. I might've been mistaken -- or exaggerated slightly -- but I've been honest. Having said that -- probably 50% of my three U.S.S.S. threads are utter-bullshit -- but I don't know which 50%!! Perhaps it might be interesting to exclusively research fringe and mainstream material which are five to ten years old -- so as to have perspective -- and the opportunity to perform reality-checks. I've grown weary and wary of the latest and greatest predictions and paranoia. This modality of research would involve (in 2016) researching 2006 through 2011. There is so much energy and distortion connected with current events, seminars, speeches, gurus, experts, and so on. The New Testament seems to point toward the Second Coming of Christ and the End of the World -- in the FIRST-CENTURY AD!!! I've said it so many times BUT consider reading The Gods of Eden by William Bramley -- regarding Religion, War, Eschatological Worldviews, etc. Now I'm going to listen to Sherry Shriner to try to get my head together, and calm-down. http://sherrytalkradio.com/

    I care so much -- that I don't seem to care very much -- because my caring caused me to think deeply -- which has made me somewhat hardened. Here is something somewhat unrelated. I keep thinking about the possibility of an Original Genetic-Engineering of Humanity -- followed by the destruction of Humanity and the Creator of Humanity -- followed by the Re-Creation of Humanity -- followed by at least 6,000 years of power-struggling, warfare, stupid-religions, and general-madness. I keep thinking about King David -- King Solomon -- and the Queen of Sheba -- but not necessarily in the literal roles and time-frames represented in the Holy Bible. Jesus is referred to as the Son of David. Wasn't King Solomon the Son of David?? Jesus is sometimes referred to as "The Second Adam". What if (in some abstract sense) King David was the First Adam -- and King Solomon was the Second Adam -- with the Queen of Sheba being both Lilith and Eve!! What if King David -- King Solomon -- and the Queen of Sheba were -- and are (in some abstract sense) Archangels Lucifer, Gabriel, and Michael (but not necessarily in that order)?? Gabriel supposedly replaced Lucifer after "The Fall". Some say Michael = Jesus. I honestly don't know about all of the above -- but I keep sensing some sort of an Angelic Shell-Game. The Angels atop the Ark of the Covenant are somewhat haunting to me -- as is the whole Sacrificial-System and the Substitutionary-Atonement. The City of London Coat of Arms is somewhat creepy and reminiscent of the Ark of the Covenant.

    The Bible barely mentions Lucifer by name. Only in Isaiah 14 as the King of Babylon. Ralph Ellis writes about an essentially Egyptian Old-Testament -- which has been carefully hidden by the Bible-Story (as we know it). EVERYONE seems to lie regarding what the Bible REALLY says!! I have suggested that reading Job through Daniel -- side by side with Luke through James -- straight-through -- over and over -- while listening to Sacred Classical Music -- will be most difficult and startling. The idea is to research without talking about it. I got the concept of straight-through -- over and over -- from Dr. A. Graham Maxwell -- and the silent-research concept from Dr. Walter Martin. I modified Dr. Maxwell's concept of Genesis through Revelation -- to Job through Daniel -- side by side with Luke through James. But honestly -- I doubt that ANYONE has given ANY of this stuff much quality-time!! Matters of Greed and Fear are SO Much More Important!! I'm really NOT joking about living alone and isolated in a Shallow-Underground 600 Square-Foot Office-Apartment somewhere in the Mountains -- possibly accessible only by foot or air. This wouldn't be so much of a survivalist-thing as it would be an anti rat-race thing. I honestly don't think there is anyplace to hide (long-term) but I'm simply becoming less and less anxious to deal directly with the madness. On the other hand -- if you all like things the way they are -- perhaps the madness can persist for all eternity -- but I wouldn't count on it.

    I have a love-hate relationship with the Bible. I love it -- and I hate it. But if the Bible is complete bullshit -- then what the hell IS the real-story about who we are -- where we came from -- what we're supposed to be doing -- and where we're going???? My present conviction is that the Bible is a small-part of a VERY Ancient and Nasty History of Star-Wars and Power-Struggles which might have EVERYTHING to do with why things are as they are. When I try to talk about Biblical-Research with SDA's -- it's like pulling-teeth without anesthetic. When I try to talk about Biblical-Research on this website -- No One Gives a God-Damn. It sounds delusional -- but I seem to be stuck with talking to myself about Biblical-Research. I really wasn't kidding about fighting with myself 24/7 -- and I really have knocked myself on my @$$. I destroy my own convictions and positions on a frequent and regular basis. I get more and more frazzled at an exponential rate. I am anything BUT a spiritual-giant. I could never become a Big-Shot Preacher. I'd probably stand there and tell everyone that I didn't know what I believed -- and that they should just all go home and get laid!!! BTW -- I said that to the Ancient Egyptian Deity -- and they thought that was a good-idea!!  People can laugh all they want about my Ancient Egyptian Deity talk -- but just look at the back of a U.S. Dollar-Bill -- and that should be a clue as to who wears the pants in this world (and probably the whole damn solar system). Then, look at the obelisks and architecture of the City-States. What if the Ancient Egyptian Deity I keep talking about really was (and is) the God of This World (or at least a representative of the Real-Deal)?? I frankly have no idea who I really spoke with. They could've been a demonic-entity for all I knew. I simply gave them a fair-shake -- without committing to anything. I tried to remain responsibly-neutral -- and ultimately they decided we couldn't work together (three days prior to Fukashima). They said "too much water has gone under the bridge" -- and I replied "oh well". It's a deep-subject. Get it??

    I keep getting the feeling that everything is a great big power-struggle -- and really, if one reads all 39 books of the Old-Testament, it is a great big nasty series of conquests of various magnitudes. What if God really is fundamentally a WARRIOR and a BANKER?? What if the Illuminati and the Secret-Government have Everything to do with the Kingdom of God?? What if that's just how things work in this universe?? I like to think that Job through Daniel combined with Luke through James give a somewhat balanced composite-view of at least one aspect of the God-Phenomenon. I still hypothesize that a Relatively Mild God got replaced by a Bad@$$ God five to ten thousand years ago -- and that the human-race probably deserved what they got (as harsh and merciless as that sounds). I swear that I've spoken with Individuals of Interest who seem to substantiate all of the above -- and it's NOT a pleasant experience. But it's strange. It's as if we know each-other -- going way, way, way back. The Ancient Egyptian Deity said we had "Fought Side by Side"!! I'm NOT making this up!! I think this stuff might ultimately put me in the nut-house or a safe-house -- and I wish I were kidding. I try to be helpful regarding this present madness -- and no one gives a God-Damn!! I'm pretty-much to the point of pledging that I won't hurt or help anyone -- and that I'll recuse myself from what's coming -- and remain completely neutral and benign -- regardless of any and all weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. I provided plenty of opportunity for detailed discussion for all-concerned -- but no one seemed to be particularly concerned. So Be It. I intend to privately agonize over some really obscure and crazy material -- which probably won't do me, or anyone, any good whatsoever. Even if I stumbled upon something significant, no one would pay any attention to it, because I simply won't do the super-salesman thing. I'm the guy your mother warned you about. Don't stop thinking about the terms "Changeling" -- "Azazel" -- "Sacrificial-System" -- "Substitutionary-Atonement" -- "Final Application of the Atonement" -- "Cleansing of the Sanctuary" -- "Judas Goat" -- and "Archangels". Never forget that Ma'el never came to Earth. I could say MUCH More -- but I'd rather not. Not Now. Perhaps Never.

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Ancient-egypt-cats-were-considered-gods-731x1024
    orthodoxymoron
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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:04 pm

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Mural

    I have suggested that there is a good-side and a bad-side to BOTH the Bible and the Writings of Ellen White. I have suggested that the SDA Bible Commentary is a reasonable (though difficult) Middle-Way. What Would the Anglicans Say?? This is frankly a game which most people can't or won't play. I've suggested wrestling with the madness, without saying or doing much of anything with it. The material I include in my threads are often difficult and disorienting. Once again, I am including this stuff for seasoned-researchers, and not the general-public. I try to cover at least a couple of sides of the issues I address. This is to help us think, rather than telling anyone what to think and/or do. I think the Info-War is just going to get worse and worse. Regarding the following articles, I've sat in the classes of Dr. Fred Veltman, and he was quite the scholar and gentleman. Ellen White claimed that an Angel spoke to her on a regular basis. I hate to say it, but what if the Angel used sources without giving credit?? What if the Angel was the God of This World?? I think it's interesting that Vincent Ramik, a Roman Catholic attorney, was hired by the SDA church, to investigate the plagiarism-charge against Ellen White!! http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/ramik.html What if the God of the SDA church was (and is) the God of the Roman Catholic church?? What if the God of This World has deliberately and methodically afflicted This World with The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan (for thousands of years)?? I have suggested that a particular Angel has run this solar system for thousands of years, going way-back to the Garden of Eden (for better or worse, I know not)!! I have suggested that the reprehensible might've been inevitable and unavoidable, but I have no-idea about the true state of affairs, going way, way, way back!!

    Once again, I think it will be necessary to know the Whole-Truth about our Whole-History!! Perhaps this will occur in an Investigative and Executive Judgment. I suspect an Ancient Other Than Human Race, going way, way, way, way back. I further suspect a Recent and Renegade Human-Race in conflict with the Original Ancient-Race, but I certainly don't know the details. I think the Bible and the Writings of Ellen White offer significant-clues, but that this study is just the beginning of understanding the Real-Story. I don't think this is a nice-story at all. All of Us might be forced to face-reality in the near-future, whether we like it or not. To say it again, I suspect a Relatively-Nice Original-Creator or Genetic-Engineer of Humanity, who was overthrown by a Not So Nice Replacement God of This World, for legitimate or illegitimate reasons, I know not. Beware of Deliberately Inflicted Murder and Mayhem. I think this thing might get REALLY Ugly and Nasty!! Some of you laugh and scoff at me because I seem to be lazy and stupid, but if you agonized over what I agonize over, each and every day, you'd probably be in a lot worse shape than I am. I really just want to let this stuff go for a while. Now I'm HONESTLY going to try to go away for a while. I'll try to maintain Responsible-Neutrality. Give until it hurts, and then Agonize until it hurts. The more you Suffer, the more it shows you really Care. What Would The Offspring Sing?? What Would Noodles Do?? This Thing Might NOT Be Over for a Very Long Time. Namaste, Godspeed, and Geronimo.


    http://www.truthorfables.com/Desire_of_Ages_Veltman.htm
    The Desire of Ages Project: The Data
    by Fred Veltman
    (Ministry, October 1990)
     
    In 1982, Dr. Fred Veltman, then chairman of the religion department of Pacific Union College, was asked by the Seventh-day Adventist church to analyze the charges of plagiarism brought by Walter Rea and others against Ellen White. Dr. Veltman spent eight years at church expense estimated at $450,000, studying The Desire of Ages. His research was printed in the Adventist church's official magazine for clergy named Ministry.
     
    The fact that Ellen White used literary sources in the production of her writings has been known for more than a century. But in January 1980, Walter Rea, then an Adventist pastor in Southern California, presented evidence that Ellen White's literary dependency was greater than had been recognized previously. The nature and scope of her literary borrowing, however, particularly for any given book other than The Great Controversy, was still a matter of speculation. How much verbatim material was there in her writings, especially her narrative, descriptive, and theological commentaries on Scripture? To what degree was she dependent upon literary sources? Do her comments reflect the influence of other writers? From what writers did she borrow and from what kind of books? Did Ellen White do the copying herself, or was it done by her literary assistants? Could she have unconsciously used the literary expressions of other authors—did she have a "photographic" memory? These and similar issues had to be addressed before one could treat the charge of plagiarism leveled against Ellen White, and the questions being raised over the nature of her inspiration.

    The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists sponsored an in-depth investigation into Ellen White's use of literary sources in writing The Desire of Ages. The research, which spread over a period of almost eight years and involved the equivalent of five years of full-time work, was completed about two years ago. Adventist colleges and universities throughout the world received copies of the full report on this in-depth study. All of the Ellen G. White Estate research centers also carry a copy of the final document.

    Space requirements dictate that my comments focus on the conclusions of the investigation. But for the benefit of those readers who may not be acquainted with the study, I will briefly touch on its textual base and methodology. And for those who may be interested in my own reaction to the results of the research, a personal postscript accompanies the concluding article of this series. I make no attempt here to document or argue the evidence supporting the conclusions.

    The Ellen White textual base

    The Desire of Ages includes both narrative and theological commentary. Nearly every chapter is based upon a portion of Scripture. If Adventists were concerned about Ellen White's use of sources, this book, perhaps the best loved of all her writings, was the obvious text to study.

    Ellen White's motivation to write The Desire of Ages stemmed from her desire to prepare a more complete and accurate portrayal of the life of Christ than was contained in The Spirit of Prophecy, volumes 2 and 3, a new book that Adventist colporteurs could sell to the public. For nearly 40 years she wrote on this subject, finally having The Desire of Ages published in 1898. She became so caught up in the subject that she produced enough material to fill two additional books, Christ's Object Lessons and Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing. Much of what she wrote for The Desire of Ages first saw publication as articles in various Adventist journals.

    Initially we researchers were assigned to study the entire text of The Desire Ages—all of its 87 chapters and more than 800 pages. We soon found we had neither the time nor the staff to tackle a project of such scope. To reduce the textual base to manageable size, we asked statisticians to select 15 chapters that would serve as a random sample of the full text.

    Ellen White did not write The Desire Ages chapter by chapter from scratch. Rather, for the most part it was compiled from her earlier writings. So the pre-1898 unpublished manuscripts and the articles published prior to that year afforded a textual base more representative of her own handiwork. Using the subject matter of the 15 chapters as our control, we searched all the earlier writings of Ellen White to locate the letters, manuscripts, and articles in which she had written on these same subjects. To distinguish these texts from the text of The Desire of Ages (DA), we have designated them pre-DA.

    Methodology

    We were commissioned to study Ellen White's use of literary sources. For an investigation of this type, the obvious research method is source analysis, or what is commonly called source criticism. In this kind of study, the researchers select literary subunits to serve as the basis for comparing the major text and the possible source texts. They establish criteria to permit them to find the literary units that are parallel and to determine the degree to which the two units resemble each other. We selected the sentence as the unit of comparison. The 15 chapters of the DA text contained 2,624 sentences, and the pre-DA text furnished 1,180 sentence units.

    We also established a scale of seven levels of dependency. The criteria differentiating between these levels of dependency were the amount of verbatim words and the order of the elements in the sentences. For instance, if a sentence from an Ellen White text was in every respect identical to one in a source text, we labeled it "strict verbatim" and gave it a dependency value of seven. In cases where the sentences were identical except that an obvious synonym had been substituted for a word, we identified the sentence as "verbatim" and gave it a value of six-indicating that it had a lesser degree of dependency than "strict verbatim" with its value of seven. When the Ellen White text and the source were identical because both writers were depending directly on Scripture, we labeled the sentence "Bible quotation" and gave it a dependency rating of zero. When there was no clear indication of literary dependency, we called the sentence "independent" and gave it a dependency value of zero - even when the content of her DA text was very similar to that of a source text.

    Literary dependency is not limited to parallel sentence structure and verbal similarities. Authors may also consult sources for the arrangement of the sentences and the thematic development of a chapter. So our analysis of the DA text included a study of possible editorial or redactional dependency. In our investigation we examined more than 500 works, mostly nineteenth-century works on the life of Christ. Of course, Ellen White was not limited to this type of literature when she wrote on the life of Christ. She also had access to sermons, devotional books, Bible society tracts, Bible commentaries, and general Christian literature, and could have borrowed materials from any of these sources. In view of the fact that we did not review all the life-of-Christ materials available to Ellen White, much less the literature from other genres she is known to have read, there is no way this probe could be called complete or exhaustive. So the reader must consider the summations and conclusions that follow as minimal if not tentative findings, even though we made every possible effort to conduct a thorough and careful study.

    Summations

    From the outset of the study and throughout its long course I constantly faced questions relating to the conclusions. What do you think you will discover? Will you be able to report the results of your study without having your ministerial credentials revoked? Will the church publicize your findings? Have you changed your views on Ellen White? Do you still believe that she was inspired? Did her secretaries do the copying? Did you find any disagreement between her writings and Scripture? Do you think a believer has any right to look for sources behind inspired writings? Do you think the writers she used were inspired?

    Marian Davis compiled Ellen White's earlier writings on Christ's life into scrapbook form. It was from this collection that the DA text was developed. While these inquiries were appropriate and appreciated, they were not the issues troubling me. I had other concerns. How could we approach the analysis of the textual data fairly and consistently? How accurate would our conclusions be when based upon a random sample consisting of 15 chapters of varying length, content, and source dependency? Could our conclusions serve as valid generalizations about the entire text of The Desire of Ages and Ellen White's method of writing her books, particularly her commentaries on the great controversy between good and evil as covered in Scripture? My solution was to study each chapter in terms of its own special nature. I hoped that I would be able to let the data determine the questions to be asked, and I endeavored to be open to any new insights, even new perplexities, that might emerge from the analysis. In the end I developed a list of 14 questions that I asked in regard to each chapter. I hoped that these questions would help to keep my analysis focused and consistent despite variations in the text and possible changes in my outlook as the study progressed. It became very clear to us that it was Ellen White herself who was copying from the sources.

    In what follows, I present the 14 questions and the corresponding summary statements derived from our analysis of the 15 chapters. The statements, of course, present in abbreviated form what is more fully laid out in chapter XVIII of the report. The questions and answers offer further clarification on the nature and scope of the study and largely form the evidence supporting the five general concluding statements that I give in the second article.

    1. Do we have any original (hand-written) manuscripts of Ellen White on the DA text?

    No chapters have been located in either handwritten or copy form. Several sentences from three chapters have been found in Ellen White's diaries, and significant portions of three additional chapters were developed from manuscripts dating from 1897. Handwritten and copied texts exist for portions of the pre-DA text, treating the content of 10 of the 15 chapters.

    2. Does the DA text represent an increase or a reduction in the coverage of topics Ellen White treated in her earlier works? And if she enlarged her coverage, is the expansion to be accounted for by a greater dependency on sources?

    No consistent answer emerges. Some topics receive more attention, and others less. Where the commentary has been extended, we also find more independent material. The DA text generally represents a lesser degree of dependency than does the pre-DA text, and the longer chapters of DA show no greater use of sources than do the shorter ones.

    3. How does the content of the DA text compare in general with the content of Ellen White's earlier writings on the life of Christ? Can we detect any influence of the sources on the content?

    Doing source analysis involves giving some consideration to content, but finding a definitive answer to this question would require a separate study. Generally speaking, there is strong agreement between the later and earlier writings except where the earlier text needed revision. No doubt much of the agreement results from the use of the same sources for both the earlier and later writings. The DA text manifests a stronger spiritual appeal, no doubt because of the evangelistic purpose that motivated and guided its production.

    4. Are there any significant differences between the DA text and the pre-DA text?

    Differences appear in the order of events in the life of Christ, in how the two texts harmonize the Scripture accounts, and in DA's exclusion of some extrabiblical stories contained in the pre-DA text. No doubt the sources influenced to some degree the chronology of Ellen White's narrative account and the thematic arrangement of some of her chapters in the DA text. It is not always possible to tell when the revision is the result of the source's influence or of a closer reading of the biblical account.

    5. How much of the DA text reveals literary dependency?
    6. What is the extent of Ellen White's literary independence in writing DA?
    7. What is the degree of dependence of the DA text?

    Questions 5, 6, and 7 address the basic issue of literary dependency. Of the 15 chapters, 2,624 sentence units, we found 823 (31 percent) to be in some degree clearly dependent upon material appearing in our 500-plus literary sources. We found that 1,612 sentence units (61 percent) showed no verbal similarity to any of the sources we investigated. The average dependency of the 823 dependent sentences rated just a little higher than the level of "loose paraphraser" (3.3).

    8. What major works were used by Ellen White in writing the DA text?

    We found 10 books from which Ellen White drew 10 or more literary parallels per The Desire of Ages chapter. The Life of Christ, by William Hanna, heads the list with 321 source parallels. Night Scenes of the Bible and Walks and Homes of Jesus, both by Daniel March, come in second with 129 parallel sentences. Ellen White drew from Hanna's work for nearly every one of the 15 chapters. But she tended not to use the other sources in such a general way, tending rather to draw mostly from a single source for each chapter that we found to be dependent. Which other source she used varied from chapter to chapter.

    9. What additional sources contributed to the DA text?

    In addition to the major sources, we found that 21 works written by 20 authors had a minor impact on the 15 chapters. Two authors had works in both the major influence and minor influence categories.

    10. What literary sources were used in the composition of the pre-DA writings?

    Marian Davis compiled Ellen White's earlier writings on Christ's life into scrapbook form. It was from this collection that the DA text was developed. As a result of this method of book production, many source parallels appearing in the DA text make their first appearance in these earlier writings. Exceptions to this expected duplication in literary parallels occur when the earlier text is not included in the DA text or when DA treats content not found in the earlier materials. Our study revealed that the works of Hanna and March figure heavily in the earlier texts that were taken over into DA. In the Ellen White manuscripts on Christ's life that were not used in forming the DA text, there are literary parallels from the works of Frederic Farrar, John Harris, Henry Melvill, Octavius Winslow, and others.

    11. How does the DA text compare with the pre-DA text in the use of literary sources?

    When we first formulated this question, we had planned to evaluate every sentence of the earlier writings, but time and staff limitations prevented such a thorough study. We did examine this earlier material for its use of sources and found that in most cases it showed either the same level or greater levels of literary dependency than did the DA text. Out of the 1,180 sentence units reviewed, we noted 879 dependent sentences. We found 6 strict verbatim sentences, 80 verbatim, 232 strict paraphrase, and 232 simple paraphrase. The average rate of dependency of the pre-DA dependent sentences was 3.57, compared with DA's rate of 3.3. As we carefully studied the nature and degree of literary dependency of these early materials, which included Ellen White's personal journals, it became very clear to us that it was Ellen White herself who was copying from the sources. We need not look to the work of her secretaries to account for the source parallels found in her writings.

    12. How does the content of the dependent sentences compare with that of the independent?

    We found no significant differences in content. Both types of sentences include descriptive, devotional, spiritual, and theological commentary and moral exhortation. Both types contain details such as one might expect in an eyewitness account or as having come from a vision. The differences we noted involve the way reality is affirmed and the number of sentences or degree of emphasis given to a particular topic. Ellen White's independent materials often extend the descriptive, spiritual, theological, or devotional commentary. And where the source is suggestive and indefinite as to what took place in the life and ministry of Christ, Ellen White is positive and definite.

    13. Do the literary or thematic structures of the chapters of the DA text reflect the structural composition of the sources, apart from the common influence of the Bible?

    Even though most DA chapters reflect the dominant use of one source, most of them contain parallels from more than one source. So the final compositions exhibit their own overall structures rather than those of any given source. Several chapter sections appear to reflect specific Ellen White manuscripts. Ellen White's earlier manuscripts do not reflect multiple sources to the extent the DA chapters do. Evidently in writing them she used one source at a time as she worked on a given topic or aspect in Christ's life. When writing on the same topic on another occasion, she generally used a different source. The fact that DA chapters contain literary parallels from multiple sources more likely represents Marian Davis's conflation of several separate Ellen White manuscripts or journal entries than it does Ellen White sitting down with several sources to compose a chapter.

    14. Are the pre-DA writings dependent on sources for their thematic arrangement?

    In most instances her diary entries float freely from topic to topic, not offering extensive comment on any given subject. But where her pre-DA writings treat a topic, they usually follow the thematic development of the source. Particularly is this the case with her later manuscripts. However, we would remind the reader of the differences discussed under question 12. Though the basic structure of Ellen White's material usually depends upon the source, her emphasis often differs.

    Hopefully this brief review of the 14 questions and their answers provides both a useful context and some justification for the few broad conclusions that follow in the second article (in the December issue of Ministry). These concluding statements may well apply to the entire text of The Desire of Ages, and perhaps to a number of Ellen White's other writings, as well. If not, they are - at least in my judgment - appropriate for the 15 chapters upon which this investigation focused.

    Two Adventist journals have carried reviews of the report (Adventist Review, Sept. 22, 1988; and South Pacific Record, Apr. 15, 1989), but to my knowledge, nowhere have the full conclusions been published. For a while copies of the entire report and of the 100-page-long Chapter XVIII, "Summary and Conclusions", were available for purchase from the office of the president of the General Conference.

    Because I was the project director, I am solely responsible for all the evaluations, the interpretation of the data, and the writing of the report. But I could not have carried out the project without the help of many others, most of whom are mentioned in the preface to the report. The random sample comprised the following chapters: 3, 10, 13, 14, 24, 37, 39, 46, 53, 56, 72, 75, 76, 83, and 84. In a few instances compound sentences were divided into two independent clauses and evaluated accordingly. The other levels of dependency were rated as follows: strict paraphrase, 5; simple paraphrase, 4; loose paraphrase, 3; source Bible, 2 (when the Scripture usage reflected the literary source); and partial independence, 1. I have in mind here such works as Patriarchs and Prophets, Prophets and Kings, and The Acts of the Apostles. We arbitrarily chose to classify any source supplying 10 or more literary parallels for any one DA chapter as a "major" literary source. The other major sources are:

    John Harris, The Great Teacher;
    Frederic Farrar, The Life of Christ;
    George Jones, Life-Scenes From the Four Gospels;
    Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah;
    J. H. Ingraham, The Prince of the House of David;
    Francis Wayland, Salvation by Christ;
    John Cumming, Sabbath Evening Readings on the New Testament: St. John.
    Henry Melvill, "Jacob's Vision and Vow";
    and Octavius Winslow, The Glory of the Redeemer.

    In combining the two Nazareth visits into one chapter, DA chapter 24 seems to reflect the structure of March. Some evidence exists for arguing that chapters 46 and 76 also depend upon their sources for significant aspects of their literary arrangement.


    The Desire of Ages Project: The Conclusions
    by Fred Veltman
    (Ministry, December 1990)
     
    To what degree was Ellen White dependent upon literary sources in writing The Desire of Ages? Did she do the copying herself or was it done by her literary assistants? Could she have unconsciously used the literary expressions of other authors - did she have a photographic memory? Our lengthy and detailed investigation led to five general conclusions that cast light upon these broad questions posed in the introduction to the study. The conclusions are based primarily but not exclusively on the answers generated by the 14 questions we addressed to each chapter of The Desire of Ages (DA) text.1 They also include interpretations of the data, and to that degree involve personal judgment. I have tried, however, to separate my opinion from what I would argue the evidence indicates to be a fact. I have attempted to set forth the five concluding statements in as concise a manner as accuracy would allow. To understand properly the meaning intended, the reader should give careful consideration to the accompanying explanations and supporting arguments, brief as they are. As is true of most research activities, the process of drawing conclusions raised additional issues that in my view call for further study. I hope that the underscoring of these issues will challenge some readers to add their efforts to those of myself and others who have tried to shed more light on Ellen White's work and writings. It should be clearly understood that these questions are not offered to dilute the reasonableness of the arguments or to suggest that this investigation is incomplete, and that therefore its conclusions are invalid.

    1. Ellen White used literary sources when writing The Desire of Ages.

    The purpose of this fundamental claim, and for many an obvious truth, is to set forth clearly the following facts. It is of first importance to note that Ellen White herself, not her literary assistants, composed the basic content of the DA text. In doing so she was the one who took literary expressions from the works of other authors without giving them credit as her sources. Second, it should be recognized that Ellen White used the writings of others consciously and intentionally. The literary parallels are not the result of accident or photographic memory. In view of the fact that she employed editorial assistants, our clearest evidence of Ellen White's literary borrowing comes from her personal diaries and manuscripts. If we want to establish more precisely the degree of literary dependence, it would be well to study the manuscripts as they come from her hand, comparing both the dependent and independent sentences. Each manuscript should be treated as a whole. When we take the chapter as the basic unit of composition, we remove ourselves several steps from Ellen White's basic work. This first and fundamental conclusion never fails to elicit a further inquiry as to its implications. Implicitly or explicitly, Ellen White and others speaking on her behalf did not admit to and even denied literary dependency on her part. In the light of this study and other similar studies, what are we to make of such denials? I think that any attempt to address this problem should include a serious consideration of Ellen White's understanding of inspiration and of her role as a prophet. Such a study should be contextualized in terms of nineteenth-century views on inspiration, especially within Adventism.

    2. The content of Ellen White's commentary on the life and ministry of Christ, The Desire of Ages, is for the most part derived rather than original.

    In light of the data our source studies on the DA text provided, this conclusion might appear to some readers as being unjustified.' To those who have been told that literary sources played a minimal role in Ellen White's compositions such a statement may be incredible. Obviously this second general conclusion calls for some clarification. As I explained in the first article, source dependency involves more than verbal parallels. We must consider not only the DA text as it reads today, but also Ellen White's earlier writings, the thematic structure of her writings, and the content of her material even where no direct literary similarity exists. When we do so, we find that she depended on her sources to a much greater degree than the verbal similarities of the DA text to those sources indicate. We must not place too much weight upon arguments from silence. But it is worthy of note that the DA material that we classified as independent was often material dealing with topics not usually covered in a work on the life of Christ. Since our study was largely limited to this type of literature, the reader must consider our estimate of the level of source dependency in The Desire of Ages as conservative. In practical terms, this conclusion declares that one is not able to recognize in Ellen White's writings on the life of Christ any general category of content or catalog of ideas that is unique to her. We found source parallels for theological, devotional, narrative, descriptive, and spiritual materials, whether in reference to biblical or extra-biblical content. Ever since the recent surfacing of the issue of Ellen White's literary borrowing, the question How much? has had center stage. Adventists have tended to emphasize the uniqueness, the originality, of the content of Ellen White's writings. But in an ultimate spiritual sense Ellen White always insisted that her works were derivative. She received the information from which she wrote out her views through visions, through some sort of impression upon the mind, and from Scripture. She saw herself as a messenger of the Lord. I believe the issue that concerned her was the authority and truth of her messages—not their originality. For Ellen White, all truth ultimately originates with God.

    This second conclusion suggests some areas for fruitful study. Even though we found parallels to sources in all of the types of the DA materials, perhaps we need to make a serious comparison of the content of the parallels and that of the independent sections. And it may be that we will find other distinctions when we study the other books published from her writings on the life of Christ Christ's Object Lessons and Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing. We also need to look at the content of her visions. Did she leave any record—what she saw and when—that would enable us to identify the vision content independent of her commentary on the life of Christ that exhibits the use of sources? And what about those times when she was impressed to write? Did she have revelatory experiences other than what is generally understood as a vision? Would the use of sources play any role in such experiences? There is also the matter of plagiarism. We have now identified several of the sources she used. We know the types of literature these sources represent. And we have an idea of the nature and extent of Ellen White's literary dependency at the level of her original writings. With all this data at hand, we should be able to examine the issue of plagiarism in terms of the literary conventions that governed the use of such religious works among her contemporaries.

    3. The special character of Ellen White's commentary is to be found in its practical use of Scripture and in its stress on spiritual realities and personal devotion.

    Though Ellen White's writings appear to have been largely derivative, they do not lack originality. A fair assessment of the evidence should not deny or underplay the degree of her dependence, but neither should it overlook or depreciate her independence. Despite her lack of formal education and her dependence upon literary sources and literary assistants, Ellen White could write. She obviously had the ability to express her thoughts clearly. She was not slavishly dependent upon her sources, and the way she incorporated their content clearly shows that she recognized the better literary constructions. She knew how to separate the wheat from the chaff. It may not be possible to identify Ellen White's "fingerprint" in the material that Marian Davis edited, but certain features of her work are readily apparent. She did not approach the biblical text as a scholarly exegete. Rather, she approached it from a practical point of view, taking the obvious, almost literal, meaning. She gave Marian Davis the responsibility of deciding where the earlier publication needed improving. In some instances the revision included a change in the order of events to bring her writings into harmony with the text of Scripture. Another distinct characteristic of her work is stress on what I have called "spiritual realities. " She differed from her sources in the emphasis she gave to descriptions of the activities or viewpoints of God and His angels and of Satan and his angels. She appears to be much more informed and at home than her sources when discussing the "other world," the real though invisible world of the spiritual beings of the universe. Her concern for reality is also evident in her replacing the expressions of probability, supposition, and imagination found in the sources with factual accounts given in the style of a reporter or eyewitness.

    Ellen White's "signature" is also to be found in the proportion of commentary given to devotional, moral, or Christian appeals or lessons that usually appear at the end of a chapter. This feature would naturally fit the evangelistic purpose that motivated her writing on the life of Christ. It is among her devotional comments and throughout her presentation of what I have called "spiritual realities" that we are more likely to find her independent hand at work. Ellen White's independence is also to be seen in her selectivity. The sources were her slaves, never her master. Future studies would do well to compare her text with that of the sources and to note how she selected, condensed, paraphrased, and in general rearranged much of the material she used. Our study raised another question that merits further attention: Was Ellen White indebted to sources for her devotional or spiritual comments? We did find several parallels in one or two works of this type, but our research did not survey enough of these works to establish whether her apparent independence is owing to her originality or to the limits of our investigation. When we extend the survey of possible sources to sermons and devotional literature, we will be able to tell how accurate are our data on her independence and bring into sharper focus just how much of her sections of comment corresponds to or differs from the sources she used. No doubt a thorough look at Ellen White's use of Scripture would also prove helpful. Is biblical interpretation today limited to her practical approach? Is there a place for careful exegesis? If there is more than one legitimate approach to the study of Scripture, should Ellen White's views control Adventist interpretation of Scripture?

    Finally, regarding content, how do Ellen White's writings on the life of Christ compare among themselves? We can no longer ask either Ellen White or those who knew her to explain what she meant by what she wrote. To be fair to her and to avoid the misuse of her authority, we must be careful how we represent what she wrote and how we establish what her position on a given subject was. My study of her writings on the life of Christ has given me the impression that some of her views changed through time. The very fact that the DA text represents a revision of her earlier work suggests that her writings form a textual tradition. If continued investigation indicates that there is some development in her ideas, would it not suggest that her comments need to be considered in terms of "time and place" not only within her own life experience and textual tradition but with respect to the larger background of her times, both within and without the Adventist Church? Perhaps we need Adventist historians and/or the Ellen G. White Estate to provide introductions to her writings in similar fashion to what we find useful in studying the Old and New Testament writings. At any rate, we may not necessarily find her view by simply striking a harmony among all her writings on a given subject. Her latest view might well be a correction or at least a modification of an earlier position.

    4. Ellen White used a minimum of 23 sources of various types of literature, including fiction, in her writings on the life of Christ.

    Actually, we have no way of knowing how many sources are represented in Ellen White's work on the life of Christ. In addition to the remaining 72 chapters of the DA text, there are two other books to review: Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing and Christ's Object Lessons. These 23 writers are sufficient, however, to answer the questions so many have asked: From what writers did Ellen White borrow? What kinds of books were they writing? Space does not permit us to survey all 23 here. But there is no need to cover the entire lot, since many fall under the literary category of "Victorian lives of Christ." The books in this category were never intended to be biographies. Today they would probably be classified as historical fiction. One obviously fictional account is Ingraham's The Prince of the House of David, a work that Albert Schweitzer referred to as one of the "’edifying’ romances on the life of Jesus intended for family reading." Ingraham cast his work as a collection of letters written by an eyewitness in Palestine to her father in Egypt. William Hanna's popular work was designed to be "practical and devotional." 9 No wonder that parallels from Hanna are to be found in 13 of the 15 DA chapters we investigated. The books in Ellen White's library at the time of her death appear to corroborate what her writings reveal. She read widely in works of differing literary type, theological perspective, and scholarly depth.

    5. Ellen White's literary assistants, particularly Marian Davis, are responsible for the published form of The Desire of Ages.

    The role of Ellen White's literary assistants was not a major concern of the study. But this subject cannot be entirely excluded from any serious attempt to treat her use of sources. Her method of writing inextricably involved the work of her secretaries, especially that of her "bookmaker." A significant part of the introduction to the research report covers this rather interesting side to Ellen White's literary work. In her day she was no doubt known more for her public speaking than for her writing. She loved to speak, took every opportunity to speak, and was confident of her speaking ability. It was not that way with her writing. Though she felt the burden to write, her confidence in her ability as a writer was not strong. She knew that her education did not qualify her to write for publication. The evidence suggests that she wrote day by day in her journals, moving from topic to topic as time and opportunity made it possible. No doubt she worked with one source for a while and then moved on to another source and another subject. These jottings would be copied and corrected for grammar, syntax, and spelling when she passed that journal over to one of her secretaries. Several journals would be active at the same time. From these collections her assistants would compose articles for Adventist journals. It appears that larger publications were produced from collections of materials gathered into a scrapbook. At least that seems to be the way the chapters for The Desire of Ages were compiled. Apparently her assistants at times developed manuscripts from journal entries. Several of the manuscripts consist mainly of excerpts from earlier writings and do not carry Ellen White's signature.

    Our comparison of manuscripts with the finished text and our study of the letters Ellen White and Marian Davis wrote that reveal the steps required for preparing the text for publication clearly show that Marian Davis had the liberty to modify sentence structure, to rearrange paragraphs, and to establish chapter length. Ellen White was more concerned about the general content of the book, the cost, and getting the material to the public as soon as possible. She also took a keen interest in the artwork used to illustrate her writings. I found no evidence to indicate that Marian Davis was involved in the original composition of any Ellen White text. But without the original manuscripts it is difficult to prove that such did not happen with any portion of the text of The Desire of Ages. It might prove helpful to make a stylistic study of the letters of Marian Davis and the handwritten materials of Ellen White. If their "fingerprints" emerge, we would have some basis for determining more precisely the level of involvement Marian Davis exercised in her role as "bookmaker." It may well be that she deserves some public recognition for her services in this regard.

    As a final statement on the research project, I think it is fair to say that in respect to the text of The Desire of Ages, Ellen White was both derivative and original. Future studies will no doubt bring to our attention not only more sources but also a greater understanding of Ellen White's creative role. With the aid of her literary assistants, she built out of the common quarry of stone not a replica of another's work but rather a customized literary composition that reflects the particular faith and Christian hope that she was called to share with her fellow Adventists and the Christian community at large. It is perhaps more accurate and useful to speak of her creative and independent use of her writings and those of others than to minimize her dependence upon the writings of others. Whether sentence, paragraph, chapter, or book, it is the finished product that should be considered in the final analysis. A reading of the full report will readily reveal that the multiple aspects of literary dependence or independence, particularly of large portions of text, are often too subtle, too intertwined, and otherwise too complex to be precisely and consistently evaluated. See the first article in this series: Ministry, October 1990.

    I do not claim that her secretaries did not borrow from the sources. My point is that I found no evidence that they composed the text using literary sources, and there is plenty of evidence in Ellen White's manuscripts to show that she did so. See "Personal Postscript" for the reference of the statement from The Great Controversy on this question. See questions 5, 6, and 7 in the first article in this series, "The Desire of Ages Project: the Data," Ministry, October 1990. For example, chapter 56, "Blessing the Children," includes much comment on motherhood, fatherhood, and the family. Until we survey the literature that we know Ellen White read on such topics, we cannot be sure that the sentences of this chapter actually deserve the independent rating we have given them. For a good example of a content analysis, see Tim Poirier's "Sources Clarify Ellen White's Christology," Ministry, December 1989, pp. 7-9. The summary statement in the first article listed 28 writers and 32 sources for both the DA and pre-DA texts. I came up with the number 23 by omitting the duplications between the two textual Surveys and, in an effort to be sure that we had bona fide sources, by eliminating from the count all sources providing less than five parallels for any given chapter.

    Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus (London: A. and C. Black, Ltd., 1910), p. 328, note 1.
    Daniel L. Pals, The Victorian "Lives" of Christ (San Antonio: Trinity University Press, 1982), p. 69.

    Personal Postscript
    by Fred Veltman
    (Ministry, December 1990)
     
    Some of the questions I have been asked about this investigation relate to matters of faith and to my perspectives as an Adventist. Because I view myself as both a pastor and a scholar, I would, like to answer briefly four of these questions. The following remarks constitute my personal response to what I have discovered and are not conclusions formed from the research data.

    1. "If you believe that Ellen White was inspired of God, why are you spending so much time searching out possible sources for her writings?"

    There are several reasons. The study is justified on the basis of Adventist interest—many in the church are asking about her literary dependency. No faith in Ellen White and her writings can be persuasive if it cannot stand the light of truth. Several friends of mine, and I am told many others unknown to me, have given up faith in Ellen White's inspiration, if not in Adventism, over this issue. If there are those who find it no longer possible to believe in Ellen White or Adventism, I would prefer that their decision be based upon a proper understanding rather than a misconception. There is also a professional basis for my interest in this subject. As a biblical scholar I am aware that our knowledge of Scripture is largely owing to similar studies on the biblical text, its composition, its history, and its background. In my view, it is imperative that we develop the knowledge and tools for properly interpreting the writings of Ellen White. These principles must emerge from a knowledge of the text and not be superimposed on the text.

    2. "Do you think that Ellen White was guilty of plagiarism, as some have charged?"

    As I pointed out in my report, the investigation did not treat the issue of plagiarism. While we cannot settle that issue here, nor do I wish to minimize its importance, my personal opinion is that she was not guilty of this practice. We did find verbatim quotes from authors who were not given credit. But the question of plagiarism is much more complicated than simply establishing that one writer used the work of another without giving credit. A writer can only be legitimately charged with plagiarism when that writer's literary methods contravene the established practices of the general community of writers producing works of the same literary genre within a comparable cultural context. In the process of doing our research we found that Ellen White's sources had previously used each other in the same way that she later used them. At times the parallels between the sources were so strong that we had difficulty deciding which one Ellen White was using.

    3. "How do you harmonize Ellen White's use of sources with her statements to the contrary? Do you think the introductory statement to The Great Controversy constitutes an adequate admission of literary dependence?"

    I must admit at the start that in my judgment this is the most serious problem to be faced in connection with Ellen White's literary dependency. It strikes at the heart of her honesty, her integrity, and therefore her trustworthiness. As of now I do not have - nor, to my knowledge, does anyone else have—a satisfactory answer to this important question. The statement from The Great Controversy comes rather late in her writing career and is too limited in its reference to historians and reformers. Similar admissions do not appear as prefaces to all her writings in which sources are involved, and there is no indication that this particular statement applies to her writings in general. But it seems to me that the statement from The Great Controversy does provide a hint as to where the answer will be found. Apparently Ellen White believed that documentation was necessary only when a writer was quoted as an authority. When the source was quoted to provide "a ready and forcible presentation of the subject," no credit need be given. *

    The idea that Ellen White worked with these distinctions in mind does not settle the question of plagiarism. Nor does it fully answer the questions raised in connection with the DA text, in which paraphrases rather than quotations dominate. It does suggest, however, that Ellen White may have viewed literary dependency as primarily indicating authority and applying to wholesale quotations rather than to paraphrasing. If my guess is correct, answering the question would demand that we carefully study her responses on the topic of literary dependency in their historical context. This approach would include a scrutiny of her comments and those of her contemporaries on the subject of inspiration. If so many believers today find her use of sources disturbing to their faith in her inspiration, is it reasonable to expect less of nineteenth-century Adventists? Ellen White's denials and/or non-admissions may have meant something other to her than what they mean to us today.

    4. "Do you personally believe that Ellen White was an inspired messenger of the Lord? And if so, what do you mean by 'inspiration'?"

    This fourth and final question is the "bottom line" when it comes to questions on Ellen White. Even though there is no single orthodox Adventist view of inspiration, whether of the authors of Scripture or of Ellen White, there are boundaries to acceptable positions. My personal position relative to Ellen White is informed primarily by my knowledge of the biblical text and secondarily by what I know about Ellen White and her writings. While I do not have all the answers to the questions being addressed to the writings of Ellen White, my belief in her inspiration is not seriously compromised. After all, we don't have all the answers to questions on the text of Scripture. I have no problem with inspired writers using sources. To my way of thinking, inspiration is not dependent upon originality. Much of Scripture makes no claim to being new and different from what anyone else was saying or from what had been said in the past. Why should we expect from Ellen White something more than we find in Scripture?

    Actually, as a result of my reading many of her writings in their handwritten and typescript form, I find that my respect for and appreciation of Ellen White and her ministry have grown. I covet for her supporters and critics alike the opportunity to read her writings in their original context. To be able to experience firsthand her breadth of interest and involvement, her judgment and devotion, her humor and humaneness, and her piety and spirituality, was both informative and faith-building. Obviously she was human, had personal and character weaknesses, and was far from perfect and infallible. She never claimed otherwise. In my judgment, her writings contain both time-conditioned and timeless statements. These have to be sorted out through principles of interpretation, as is done with Scripture. I am under the strong conviction, now more than before I began this research, that the issue is not one of deciding if Ellen White was a prophet or merely a religious leader. It is not a case of all or nothing, of either/or. Nor is it the problem of deciding which of her messages are inspired or when she exchanged her prophetic hat for an editorial cap.

    I find compelling reasons for viewing her as a nineteenth-century prophetic voice in her ministry to the Adventist Church and to the larger society as well. Her voice out of that Christian community of the past still deserves to be heard today in those timeless messages that speak to the realities of our world at the end of the twentieth century.
     
    *Ellen G White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, Calif: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911), p. xii.

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Ellenwhite

    http://whiteestate.org/books/gc/gcintroduction.html Before the entrance of sin, Adam enjoyed open communion with his Maker; but since man separated himself from God by transgression, the human race has been cut off from this high privilege. By the plan of redemption, however, a way has been opened whereby the inhabitants of the earth may still have connection with heaven. God has communicated with men by His Spirit, and divine light has been imparted to the world by revelations to His chosen servants. "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:21.

    During the first twenty-five hundred years of human history, there was no written revelation. Those who had been taught of God, communicated their knowledge to others, and it was handed down from father to son, through successive generations. The preparation of the written word began in the time of Moses. Inspired revelations were then embodied in an inspired book. This work continued during the long period of sixteen hundred years--from Moses, the historian of creation and the law, to John, the recorder of the most sublime truths of the gospel.

    The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all "given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16); yet they are expressed in the words of men. The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the minds and hearts of His servants. He has given dreams and visions, symbols and figures; and those to whom the truth was thus revealed have themselves embodied the thought in human language.

    The Ten Commandments were spoken by God Himself, and were written by His own hand. They are of divine, and not of human composition. But the Bible, with its God-given truths expressed in the language of men, presents a union of the divine and the human. Such a union existed in the nature of Christ, who was the Son of God and the Son of man. Thus it is true of the Bible, as it was of Christ, that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." John 1:14.

    Written in different ages, by men who differed widely in rank and occupation, and in mental and spiritual endowments, the books of the Bible present a wide contrast in style, as well as a diversity in the nature of the subjects unfolded. Different forms of expression are employed by different writers; often the same truth is more strikingly presented by one than by another. And as several writers present a subject under varied aspects and relations, there may appear, to the superficial, careless, or prejudiced reader, to be discrepancy or contradiction, where the thoughtful, reverent student, with clearer insight, discerns the underlying harmony.

    As presented through different individuals, the truth is brought out in its varied aspects. One writer is more strongly impressed with one phase of the subject; he grasps those points that harmonize with his experience or with his power of perception and appreciation; another seizes upon a different phase; and each, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, presents what is most forcibly impressed upon his own mind--a different aspect of the truth in each, but a perfect harmony through all. And the truths thus revealed unite to form a perfect whole, adapted to meet the wants of men in all the circumstances and experiences of life.

    In harmony with the word of God, His Spirit was to continue its work throughout the period of the gospel dispensation. During the ages while the Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament were being given, the Holy Spirit did not cease to communicate light to individual minds, apart from the revelations to be embodied in the Sacred Canon. The Bible itself relates how, through the Holy Spirit, men received warning, reproof, counsel, and instruction, in matters in no way relating to the giving of the Scriptures. And mention is made of prophets in different ages, of whose utterances nothing is recorded. In like manner, after the close of the canon of the Scripture, the Holy Spirit was still to continue its work, to enlighten, warn, and comfort the children of God.

    Jesus promised His disciples, "The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: . . . and He will show you things to come." John 14:26; 16:13. Scripture plainly teaches that these promises, so far from being limited to apostolic days, extend to the church of Christ in all ages. The Saviour assures His followers, "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matthew 28:20. And Paul declares that the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit were set in the church "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12, 13.

    The great controversy between good and evil will increase in intensity to the very close of time. In all ages the wrath of Satan has been manifested against the church of Christ; and God has bestowed His grace and Spirit upon His people to strengthen them to stand against the power of the evil one. When the apostles of Christ were to bear His gospel to the world and to record it for all future ages, they were especially endowed with the enlightenment of the Spirit. But as the church approaches her final deliverance, Satan is to work with greater power. He comes down "having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." Revelation 12:12. He will work "with all power and signs and lying wonders." 2 Thessalonians 2:9. For six thousand years that mastermind that once was highest among the angels of God has been wholly bent to the work of deception and ruin. And all the depths of satanic skill and subtlety acquired, all the cruelty developed, during these struggles of the ages, will be brought to bear against God's people in the final conflict. And in this time of peril the followers of Christ are to bear to the world the warning of the Lord's second advent; and a people are to be prepared to stand before Him at His coming, "without spot, and blameless." 2 Peter 3:14. At this time the special endowment of divine grace and power is not less needful to the church than in apostolic days.

    Through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, the scenes of the long-continued conflict between good and evil have been opened to the writer of these pages. From time to time I have been permitted to behold the working, in different ages, of the great controversy between Christ, the Prince of life, the Author of our salvation, and Satan, the prince of evil, the author of sin, the first transgressor of God's holy law. Satan's enmity against Christ has been manifested against His followers. The same hatred of the principles of God's law, the same policy of deception, by which error is made to appear as truth, by which human laws are substituted for the law of God, and men are led to worship the creature rather than the Creator, may be traced in all the history of the past. Satan's efforts to misrepresent the character of God, to cause men to cherish a false conception of the Creator, and thus to regard Him with fear and hate rather than with love; his endeavors to set aside the divine law, leading the people to think themselves free from its requirements; and his persecution of those who dare to resist his deceptions, have been steadfastly pursued in all ages. They may be traced in the history of patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, of martyrs and reformers.

    As the Spirit of God has opened to my mind the great truths of His word, and the scenes of the past and the future, I have been bidden to make known to others that which has thus been revealed--to trace the history of the controversy in past ages, and especially so to present it as to shed a light on the fast-approaching struggle of the future. In pursuance of this purpose, I have endeavored to select and group together events in the history of the church in such a manner as to trace the unfolding of the great testing truths that at different periods have been given to the world, that have excited the wrath of Satan, and the enmity of a world-loving church, and that have been maintained by the witness of those who "loved not their lives unto the death."

    In these records we may see a foreshadowing of the conflict before us. Regarding them in the light of God's word, and by the illumination of His Spirit, we may see unveiled the devices of the wicked one, and the dangers which they must shun who would be found "without fault" before the Lord at His coming. The great events which have marked the progress of reform in past ages are matters of history, well known and universally acknowledged by the Protestant world; they are facts which none can gainsay. This history I have presented briefly, in accordance with the scope of the book, and the brevity which must necessarily be observed, the facts having been condensed into as little space as seemed consistent with a proper understanding of their application. In some cases where a historian has so grouped together events as to afford, in brief, a comprehensive view of the subject, or has summarized details in a convenient manner, his words have been quoted; but in some instances no specific credit has been given, since the quotations are not given for the purpose of citing that writer as authority, but because his statement affords a ready and forcible presentation of the subject. In narrating the experience and views of those carrying forward the work of reform in our own time, similar use has been made of their published works.

    It is not so much the object of this book to present new truths concerning the struggles of former times, as to bring out facts and principles which have a bearing on coming events. Yet viewed as a part of the controversy between the forces of light and darkness, all these records of the past are seen to have a new significance; and through them a light is cast upon the future, illumining the pathway of those who, like the reformers of past ages, will be called, even at the peril of all earthly good, to witness "for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

    To unfold the scenes of the great controversy between truth and error; to reveal the wiles of Satan, and the means by which he may be successfully resisted; to present a satisfactory solution of the great problem of evil, shedding such a light upon the origin and the final disposition of sin as to make fully manifest the justice and benevolence of God in all His dealings with His creatures; and to show the holy, unchanging nature of His law, is the object of this book. That through its influence souls may be delivered from the power of darkness, and become "partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light," to the praise of Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us, is the earnest prayer of the writer (Ellen G. White).
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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Fri Oct 07, 2016 1:31 pm

    Look very closely at World-History from 70 B.C. to A.D. 70. This time-period basically extends from the Birth of Cleopatra to the Destruction of Jerusalem (including the Second-Temple), and the End of the Sacrificial-System. Notice especially the Major-Leaders (Secular and Sacred) and the Major Thinkers and Writers. Consider this Timeline. http://www.the-romans.co.uk/timelines/ovid.htm I've done a lot of Conceptual and Character Modeling, just to place "little old me" in the center of things, to gain a better-perspective (or something like that). But honestly, Ovid has me shaking in my boots!! What if I was Ovid in Antiquity??!! What if the Real-Treasures were NOT in the Library at Alexandria?? What if Cleopatra had them hidden-away in an Underground-Base (Far From Alexandria)?? What if Ovid was given access to these Hidden-Treasures?? What if Virgil, Horace, and Cleopatra groomed Ovid to secretly write a vast collection of books and letters, which remain unpublished??!! What Would Dr. Richard Carrier Say?? What Would Dr. F.F. Bruce Say?? What Would Dr. Desmond Ford Say?? Ovid studied Rhetoric. Desmond Ford studied Rhetoric in the Pauline-Epistles!! What Would Dr. A. Graham Maxwell Say?? What Would the Ancient Egyptian Deity Say?? What Would Sherry Shriner Say?? What Would Ovid Bowman Say?? I have NO Idea!! I'm simply attempting to transport some of you into the General-Vicinity of the Whole-Truth, but I doubt that I'll personally enter into the Promised-Land of the Truth, the Whole-Truth, and Nothing But the Truth!! I'm just ranting and raving on my way down and out of This Present Madness!! I've mentioned this several-times, but some of you need to conduct a Moot Holy-War between each of the Seven Primary-Volumes of the SDA Bible Commentary, as Seven Separate and Distinct Hypothetical-Churches!!

    Volume One (Genesis to Deuteronomy).

    Volume Two (Joshua to Second Kings).

    Volume Three (First Chronicles to Song of Solomon).

    Volume Four (Isaiah to Malachi).

    Volume Five (Matthew to John).

    Volume Six (Acts to Ephesians).

    Volume Seven (Philippians to Revelation).

    What if these Seven Hypothetical-Churches Actually Existed and Competed With Each-Other??!! What if these churches were the ONLY Churches available to the People of the Earth??!! Can you imagine the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth??!! OMG Cubed!!! This line of thinking might be total-bullshit, but it's sort of cool, isn't it?? This thing could frankly go in horrifying directions. I am extremely apprehensive. I'll probably just stay where I am, and keep doing what I'm doing (and not doing) regardless of whether anyone likes it, or not. I'm a bit like "Toothless George" in The Road to Wellville. What Would Dr. John Harvey Kellogg Say?? What Would Tony the Tiger Say??

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    Carol wrote:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement

    Paris Agreement – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    en.wikipedia.org

    The Paris Agreement (French: L’accord de Paris) is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse …

    The agreement will become law when 55 countries accounting for at least 55% of global carbon emissions ratify. That threshold will be passed when the EU ratifies which their government promises to do by the end of this month.

    “The new October fiscal year coincides with the Jewish New Year, China’s national day, and the collapse of Deutschebank as the yuan becomes a gold-backed, convertible international reserve currency in the new financial system,” Pentagon sources say. This is what is really behind the official inclusion, starting on October 1st, of the Chinese yuan into the IMF’s SDR currency basket, other sources confirm.

    Once the new system is up and running the US military and agencies will have a much freer hand to take action against the Khazarian mafia because they will no longer have to worry about getting money to pay for their salaries, gasoline etc. At the same time, the Khazarians will no longer be able to afford to pay the salaries of their ISIS, Boko Haram and other mercenary armies.

    In any case, it is now obvious to anybody with a functioning brain that the US military is not obeying the orders of the Khazarian mafia slaves in the State Department or the White House. Skull and Bones Khazarian mafia don US Secretary of State John Kerry was forced to admit in public last week that the military was unwilling to back his threats to take action against Russia in Syria.

    http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/10/01/Kerry-said-he-lost-argument-to-back-Syria-diplomacy-with-force-.html

    Kerry said he ‘lost argument’ to back Syria diplomacy with force
    english.alarabiya.net

    US Secretary of State John Kerry, in a meeting last week with a small number of Syrian civilians and the real reason for the blustering threats out of the State Department concerning Syria is that the Russians and their allies are systematically destroying the Israeli and oil company ISIS mercenary army operating there, Pentagon sources say. The destruction included more Israeli and Saudi run command centers, they add.

    A legal attack against the Khazarian mafia has also begun. Pentagon sources say “The military is behind the first lawsuit against Saudi Arabia by the widow of a navy commander killed at pentagon on 911 so that, when leaks about Israel’s involvement in 911 happen, class action lawsuits will be aimed to bankrupt and sanction the Jewish mafia.”

    The sources add that “Neocon Ash Carter and CIA boss Saudiphile John Brennan were behind the futile Obama veto of the 911 law, who was then bitch slapped with house and senate overrides.”

    In another blow to the Khazarian mafia “longtime Rockefeller Stooge Joseph Verner Reed” was among “cabal agents terminated,” last week, the Pentagon sources say.
    Carol wrote:“Missing Money”
    http://solari.com/archive/missing_money/


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAR8_h7kmRE

    “Because the great choice in a nation of 320 million may come down to Crazy Man versus Criminal.” ~ Peggy Noonan

    By Catherine Austin Fitts

    THE FINANCIAL COUP D’ ETAT & MONICA LEWINSKY


    I was in Washington in the fall of 1997 when money started disappearing from the US government. It was just the beginning. I called it the “Missing Money” and I counted it for years.

    When the money started flowing out of federal accounts in October 1997, the beginning of federal fiscal 1998, very few people noticed. Instead Monica Lewinsky and the impeachment captured the attention and imagination of both Washington and the Nation. The media shriek-o-meter was dialed as high as it could.

    The tactic worked. No one paid attention to the financial coup d’etat except for the firms laundering the money. There was a blip on September 10, 2001, when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that DOD was missing $2.3 trillion for the year before. Recognition of this loss was, of course, erased by the events of 9/11, the very next day.

    The response was to increase appropriations to the Department of Defense rather than to enforce the Constitutional provisions that spending must be envisioned by Congressional appropriations or the Legislative provisions that require regular published audited financial statements.

    Our retirement savings were moved out of the system by stealth, financed by growing debt, much of it issued fraudulently.

    CUT & RUN & MONICA LEWINSKY II

    The latest announcement of the Department of Defense Inspector General indicates that 2015 was no ordinary year at DOD.

    The IG announced $6.5 trillion of undocumentable adjustments at year end in the DOD accounts for fiscal 2015. Turns out there were also $2.8 trillion undocumentable adjustments made during the year.

    http://www.dodig.mil/pubs/report_summary.cfm?id=7034

    So the total for money missing from the US government has now topped $21 trillion. Add the bailouts, and our losses approach $50 trillion.

    I was sitting at my desk several weeks ago when I had a sudden feeling of déjà vu – somehow I had been here before. But where was “here?” I sensed my being distracted from a financial scam of extraordinary proportion a second time. My inbox was being overwhelmed by disinformation relating to the presidential election (Clinton is a hologram, Clinton is dead, Clinton has doubles, Clinton is at death’s door).

    This was happening as insiders were engaged in a further financial “cut and run.” To name a few instances of money disappearing and liabilities being pruned, please consider:

    Lockheed Cuts and Runs (DOD missing $6.5 trillion)

    Unanswered Questions re: Wells Fargo (Are phony mortgages feeding the Fed balance sheet)

    Bayer agrees to buy Monsanto for $66 Billion (44% premium over May 9 stock price)


    Hedge Funds pulls business from Deutsche Bank

    https://solari.com/blog/lockheed-cuts-runs/
    https://solari.com/blog/unanswered-questions-about-wells-fargo/
    http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/14/493896473/chemical-giant-bayer-agrees-to-buy-monsanto-for-66-billion
    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/us/inside-the-conservative-push-for-states-to-amend-the-constitution.html?_r=

    Note how these “conservatives” have no interest in enforcing the Constitution; that is, no interest in finding where our missing trillions went and no interest in getting the money back. Their lack of interest should tell you everything you need to know.

    Now that the assets have been stripped, an effort is underway by the people who have benefited to institute a balanced budget. In other words, the people plump with stolen wealth want now to abrogate obligations and contracts to the people they robbed, further harvesting those same people whose money has already been stolen. As Howling Mad Murdock said in “The A Team,” They’ll never suspect the old double framus.”

    Will a constitutional convention shred the legal processes to get money and assets back? Will it free government contractors and bank depositories of responsibility and liabilities? Will it be possible to compromise property rights, institute gun control, mandate vaccines, mandate chipping, and to wipe out most if not all corporate liabilities? Will it be possible even to institute a form of friendly slavery enforced by financial dependency and digital technologies and currencies? You need to think long and hard about the door that will be opened when this happens.

    If you want to understand how these state campaigns have been engineered while we are distracted by the media shriek-o-meters, check out a documentary called Hot Coffee about tort reform engineered at the state level. This effort to end democracy and human rights is long standing.

    Your state and local elections are important. Please pay attention, particularly if you are in a state targeted for “balanced budget reform.”

    While we are distracted by Monica Lewinsky II, the insiders are making off with our legal and financial assets and rights

    MY VOTE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

    I anticipate finalizing an endorsement of one of the candidates for President in early November, immediately prior to the election.

    I am posting my thinking as of today to invite comment from our subscribers. It is part of the conversation about what is going on in America and what we do about it.

    Until Monday night, I was planning on voting for Gary Johnson. Now I anticipate that I will vote for Donald Trump. Here is a breakdown of considerations.

    Trumps Negatives:

    There are compelling reasons not to vote for Donald Trump:

    1. Trump has a history of strong-arming and cheating small business people and customers; he is way too litigious;
    2. Trump is self-centered and competitive and he can bully – he is unlikely to do a good job of managing a complex government bureaucracy;
    3. His age is not ideal – given the physical stress of the job, we would be better off with a younger person;
    4. Trump does not appreciate the power and importance of the Constitution; he will too easily override it for convenience.
    5. Trump is entirely too concerned with media attention rather than what is important and may achieve real substantive goals. We want to make American great again, not for him to get attention.
    6. Trump was successful in industries that use entrainment technology (gambling, reality TV, online shopping) and which can drain local communities and human productivity.

    Irrelevant Factors:

    There are several issues regarding Trump which are irrelevant to my decision:

    1. Tax Returns: I don’t need to see Trump tax returns. When an administration controlled by the opposing party has a candidate for office under IRS audit and then the candidate of that opposing party demands that he make them public, he is being put in a political “squeeze play.” Given the complexity and the various parties involved, Trump should refuse to disclose. From his public history, I am betting I can guess everything in his returns that is sensitive. He has investors from numerous countries, including Russia. He is dependent, or has been, on the good graces of many large banks. He is not as rich as he implies. He likely has paid little or no tax for many years – he is good at gaming the system. I would expect, however, his nonpayment is lawful.

    2. Divide and Conquer Politics: Accusations regarding sexism and racism are being used to distract us from a more fundamental conflict – the human vs. the inhumane. The American people are being treated in ways highly inhumane.

    First and foremost, we need to help all various groups to appreciate that we are all being harvested and played

    – the inhumanity just comes in different flavors for different groups. We see the harvesting done to ourselves and our tribe.
    We do not as easily see the harvesting done to other people and tribes, nor its centralized leadership and clear strategic intention. Consequently, I am interested in what the candidates say about issues of interest shared by all of us – particularly using our resources lawfully. As I once said to one of my neighbors in my highly segregated community, “if we could just collaborate regarding the government money, we could hate each other while being rich instead of poor.” Divide and conquer politics keep us squabbling among our selves while our financial and legal powers are drained away. If you want more thoughts on divide and conquer politics, I would recommend my series, “Promoting Women.”

    https://solari.com/blog/commentary-collection-promoting-women/

    Reasons for Supporting Trump:

    Here are my reasons for supporting Trump:

    1. Transparency: All real solutions require transparency. We need to get out of our media and financial bubbles and back to reality. Trump’s campaign has inspired more open conversations about suppressed issues than any other politician’s in a long time. This willingness to address the controversial demonstrates the craving for factuality and the courage to question the “official reality.”

    2. Negative Return on Investment to Taxpayers: Our current governmental system is doing great harm – both here and abroad. Our political class appears unwilling to hear our legitimate concerns or to doing anything about them. At some point, after all attempts to communicate and to reform have failed, you might as well elect someone who will “crazy make” the system. First his election will throw a bucket of cold water over our political class. Our political class appears literally to have lost its mind – perhaps shock therapy will help it get some mind back. Second, maybe Trump will be a terrible President who will grind the system to a halt. Inefficiency could be a good thing if it helps to slow down or destroy a system that is destroying productivity, prosperity, and life itself.

    3. Military Readiness: The US dollar reserve currency status depends on military superiority. Trump is right – we should be concerned about the condition of our military. We need a President who can establish an effective working relationship with the military.

    4. Critical Issues: There are a number of critical issues where Trump comes out on the right side:

    -Vaccines: Based on Trump’s statements regarding vaccines, he is less likely to support or push for mandated vaccination policies and other compromises to health freedoms.

    – Common Core: Trump is on record that curriculum control should remain in local jurisdictions.

    – Financial Accountability: Trump can add. He is right, that we spent $6 trillion on Middle Eastern wars, we imploded the Middle East, and we have nothing to show for it other than inferior infrastructure in many parts of America.

    – Gun Control: Trump is a supporter of the Second Amendment.


    The challenge is that what a candidate says during a campaign is one thing, but what he or she does in office may differ. There are no guarantees that what Trump says now will be his positions after election. He is not famous for consistency, nor has he had his post inauguration briefing on the requirements of his position and what the US government creditors require of the President. However, it is hard to imagine Trump worse on these issues than Clinton is now.

    5. His Opposition: Until recently, I was confident that I was going to vote for Gary Johnson. Based on what I saw during the debates and recent announcements of support for Hillary Clinton, I am persuaded to vote for Trump despite the risks.

    The arrogance and hubris of the American political class makes for a hopeless situation. The Clinton's and those who have gotten rich by rigging government money and debt need to be moved aside, no matter how risky the alternatives. Sticking with the status quo means hopelessness.

    I have watched many politicians lie in my lifetime. I have never seen lies as bold as Hillary Clinton’s during the first debate. The Clinton administration created, nurtured, and fed the private prison industry, rounding up thousands of innocent minority persons by entrapment while Clinton political supporters made fortunes on neighborhood gentrification and predatory lending. The Clinton administration engineered the initial phase of the financial coup d’etat and the housing bubble. The Clinton administration also oversaw the legal changes that permitted the ballooning of student debt.

    This Clinton accumulating crime log means that this 2016 election is the point whereupon we finally hold the political class accountable or we do not.
    For many decades we have hated the policies, the corruption and the criminality, but too many of us have continued to support the criminals who developed and implemented them. This refusal to hold leaders who repeatedly break civil and criminal laws accountable has created a cycle of disrespect between the political class and the voters. Politicians believe voters are stupid and easy to manipulate. They believe we will continue to support and admire the people who created the private prison complex, the housing bubble, and financial bailouts, $21 trillion missing from US government accounts, and foreign wars costing trillions that have destroyed nations that were minding their own business.

    They continue to believe they can distract us from noticing $50 trillion disappearing from the national wealth while they entertain us with Monica Lewinsky and Monica Lewinsky II.

    I should also underscore that this refusal to hold individual leaders accountable has literally broken the hearts and drained the spirits of millions of honest, hard working men and women who have stood in the breach to protect you and me from this criminality throughout the public and private sectors. This corruption and loss of mind by the general population is the greatest threat to the covenant that stands behind our commitment to the principles of freedom. It is essential that it end for real change to begin.

    Will we continue to support the leadership of a psychopathic system that is draining life in its many forms from this planet? Trump is an unknown who could do real damage to our system of laws, but some change is better than no change. High risk is preferable to hopelessness.

    Crime that pays is crime that stays. My options are Crazy Man vs. Criminal or a third party vote that may help Criminal.

    I plan to vote for Crazy Man. I invite your comment for discussion during the month of October. I will make my final decision immediately before the election.

    REAL TROUBLE AHEAD

    Whatever the election outcome, there will be real trouble ahead. The President of the United States, whomever is elected, will not control the levers of power.

    We have a “deep state” that does. It is out of control and has engineered a significant financial coup d’etat. All signs indicate that the deep state would like to engineer serious institutional changes after the election.

    There are many things we can do to power shift the situation if we are prepared to ignore Monica Lewinsky II and instead pay attention to the deeper system – to the theft of our resources at federal agencies and in the financial institutions and the trench warfare occurring at the state and local levels.


    Either way, it is time to prepare for changes ahead.

    I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from the history of my old firm Dillon, Read & Co. Inc.:

    “Driving through New Jersey, Nitze [asked] Dillon if he thought the market decline an omen of hard times ahead . . . Dillon thought for a few minutes and replied, “I think it presages the end of an era.” By this Dillon meant that what lay ahead was not merely a period of retrenchment, after which affairs would be conducted as before. Rather, the world was in for a major overhauling of institutions.”
    —Clarence Dillon and Paul Nitze in 1929

    https://solari.com/blog/crazy-man-versus-criminal-cut-and-run-monica-lewinsky-ii-real-trouble-ahead/
    Carol wrote:
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 CsgA1GuUEAAyeFI

    Existential Threats to World Economic Order Cloud IMF Talks

    Policy-making elites converge on Washington this week for meetings that epitomize a faith in globalization that’s at odds with the growing backlash against the inequities it creates.

    From Britain’s vote to leave the European Union to Donald Trump’s championing of “America First,” pressures are mounting to roll back the economic integration that has been a hallmark of gatherings of the IMF and World Bank for more than 70 years.

    Fed by stagnant wages and diminishing job security, the populist uprising threatens to depress a world economy that International Monetary

    Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde says is already “weak and fragile.”

    The calls for less integration and more trade barriers also pose risks for elevated financial markets that remain susceptible to sudden swings in investor sentiment, as underscored by recent jitters over Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG’s financial health.

    “The backlash against globalization is manifesting itself in increased nationalistic sentiment, against the outside world and in favor of increasing isolation,” said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong and a former IMF official. “If we lose consensus on what kind of a world we want to have, the world will probably be worse off.”

    Lagarde said last week that policy makers attending the Oct. 7-9 annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank have two tasks. First, do no harm, which above all means resisting the temptation to throw up protectionist barriers to trade. And second, take action to boost lackluster global growth and make it more inclusive.

    The fund, in its latest World Economic Outlook released Tuesday, highlighted the threats from the anti-trade movement. “Concerns about the impact of foreign competition on jobs and wages in a context of weak growth have enhanced the appeal of protectionist policy approaches, with potential ramifications for global trade flows and integration more broadly,” the report stated. The global economy will expand 3.1 percent this year and 3.4 percent in 2017, the report stated, continuing at a “subdued” pace.

    Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-04/existential-threat-to-world-order-confronts-elite-at-imf-meeting
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


    Posts : 13639
    Join date : 2010-09-28
    Location : The Matrix

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:34 pm

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Double-agent-evelyn-salt-is-coming-back-on-tv-843923
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 IMG_A1_1704_resize-1115x740

    I continue to know that I don't know, and that I probably won't know for the remainder of this present incarnation. I presently suspect that a secretive and deceptive "Tough God" replaced a kinder and gentler "Nice God" in antiquity, legitimately or illegitimately, for better or worse, I know not. I mean zero disrespect, but I need to know the truth regarding Divinity and Humanity in This Solar System. Unfortunately, I doubt that I can handle the truth. I can't even handle the lies. I suspect that a Corrupt and Violent Solar-System Business must transition into an Open and Honest Solar-System Business Without Murder and Mayhem. Once again, I am a Law and Order Kind of Guy, and NOT a Fire and Brimstone Kind of Guy (at least in this present incarnation). I've been told that Lucifer hasn't existed since 1998 (or something like that)!! The Ancient Egyptian Deity said they couldn't talk about the NSA!! I've suggested that a supercomputer-network runs this solar system!! I've suggested that one supercomputer-network was replaced by another supercomputer-network on September 11, 2001!! I've suggested that "Lucifer" might be a job-title rather than a distinct being!! What if the Ancient Egyptian Deity was, and is, "Lucifer Emeritus"?? What if a supercomputer-network is the new "Lucifer"?? The Ancient Egyptian Deity shuddered, and was visibly-disturbed, when I read the last chapter of The Great Controversy (by Ellen White) to them, one dark night!! You can read it at the bottom of this post. A graduate of the Harvard Divinity School (who I worked with for a couple of years) spoke supportively of this volume (much to my surprise)!! I asked the AED who they really were, and I thought I heard them whisper "Lucifer". Honest. Think long and hard about what I just said!! That's all I'm going to say about THAT!!

    What is the true and complete interpretation and application of Psalm 119?? What is the Perfect Law of the Lord in Antiquity and Modernity?? Do we have an Ancient and Modern Legal-Problem of Biblical-Proportions?? Where is that critique of my internet-madness?? I've been asking for one for several-years now (with no responses)!! Does Fame, Fortune, and Power trump the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?? Is the bottom-line the bottom-line?? Is moral-agonizing a waste of time?? Why must politics and religion have historical roots?? Why remember?? What should clean-sheet of stone politics and religion look-like in modernity?? Why don't we use 3,000 year-old science textbooks?? Should the Bible simply be studied as "Ancient-Literature"?? What does Joshua through Malachi tell us about Genesis through Deuteronomy?? What does Acts through Revelation tell us about Matthew through John?? Consider the following Roman Catholic Minimal-List:

    1. Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla.

    2. Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen.

    3. Christ: The Experience of Jesus As Lord by Edward Schillebeekx.

    I continue to suspect that most everyone and everything of significance are centrally recruited, planned, groomed, scripted, and orchestrated (for better or worse, I know not). I'd love to attend a particular UFO conference, even though I remain wary of the UFO scene. I know they exist, and I've seen them, but I'm suspicious of who and what are behind them. I'm suspicious of religion, which is why I don't go to church. I'm suspicious of my own thoughts and activities. I wonder how "messed-with" I really am?! I've found a lot of answers, but I mostly don't like them. The questions are endless, and will undoubtedly continue. I'd be a disaster in public. I'm a disaster in private. In 2009, an Individual of Interest called me "King David" and congratulated me for winning a Nobel Prize, but I never received a call!! Perhaps "Information" gave them Obama's number instead of mine!! Around that same time, a total-stranger asked me what I would do with $15,000,000??!! But I never heard another word!! Why?? Perhaps it was something I said!! The Top of the Pyramid scares the hell out of me. I doubt that I'd like the view from the top. I doubt that ANYONE could remain sane and pure at the Top of the Pyramid in This Solar System. I suspect that this has been a nasty-game for thousands of years, and that it will continue to be a nasty-game for thousands of years. I think Christians need to seriously question their Ethics and Eschatology. Overall, the Bible is NOT a nice book, but I still love to study it!! Actually, I think I might just study Astronomy for a while. Thank-you for tolerating my contrarian, irreverent, dangerous, and inflammatory threads and posts. This sort of thing wouldn't have been possible a few short years ago. I am extremely apprehensive regarding what has made the new "Openness" possible. I think "They" are categorizing everyone, before they "Crack-Down".

    I must end this thread. I must cease and desist. I suspect that the next phase of this present quest will not be appropriate for this present forum. I still don't know who the members of this forum really are, but I have some ideas. Sometimes I think I've met some of you in real-life, without knowing it. I might keep in touch, but perhaps that might not be possible. This quest has honestly been an experiment, which was a lot like script-writing. This forum was a perfect context for my adventure, even though this has been a rather sad and painful experience. I'm frankly preparing for the worst. The reality of this world is anything but "happy-clappy". I'll probably study "Project Avalon", "The Mists of Avalon", Books, and Newspapers, without posting on any forum, for a significant time-period. I think I'll just watch things play-out. It might be easier that way. We seem to be in the middle of a spiritual and technological nightmare. This thing might destroy all of us. Sorry for the pessimism, but I think most everyone is extremely vulnerable. The corporations might rule us all, perhaps with a Supreme-Supercomputer aka RoboGod!!! Everything is a Business. The Bottom-Line is the Bottom-Line. The God of This World is the Almighty-Dollar. I've Dreamt of a Dynamic-Equilibrium Between the Golden-Rule and the Bottom-Line, But This Is Just a Pipe-Dream!! I've Dreamt of a Medical-Center Consisting of:

    1. Acute-Care Drugs and Surgery Medicine.

    2. An Ethics, Spirituality, and Philanthropy Center.

    3. Preventive, Natural, and Rehabilitation Care.

    The idea would be for each of these three sections to be equal in all-possible respects, including budgets and compensation. The Naturopath would have the same income as the Neurosurgeon. What Would the Mayo Brothers Say?? One was the Head-Doctor, and the Other was the Belly-Doctor!! The Ethics-Center might also specialize in the History of Spirituality, Science, and Medicine (or something like that). I'm so disillusioned and upset, that I'm not going to post for a while. I might never recover from the depression I'm experiencing regarding the future of the souls in this solar system. I believe, but I don't know what I believe. O Wretched Man That I Am!! Just look VERY CLOSELY at Cleopatra, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Josephus, the Piso Family, and the Descendants of Cleopatra. What if very-real Gods and Goddesses created Mythological Gods and Goddesses??!! What if the Bible is a Puzzle which MUST Be Solved??!! I'm still waiting for that "Brook Book". Now I'm going to make the coffee (with Baileys Irish Cream creamer). What Would Jupiter Jones Do?? What Would Indiana Jones Do?? I don't know what else to do with this thread, and now I'm just going to leave it "as-is" as I leave "as-is" (singing "Just As I Am").

    I've learned many lessons while posting on this website. I tend to want the good-things to happen (without the bad-things happening)!! Hope Springs Eternal. I just attended a memorial service. I didn't know the person very well, even though I had known them for many years. I was deeply impressed with the sense of community and togetherness at the service. But it wasn't a religious service. It didn't have to be. It was perfect "as-is". The secular must become sacred, and the sacred must become secular. I'm sure most people at that service would be shocked and disgusted by my internet-posting. I'm shocked and disgusted by my internet-posting. It was a "cry for help" which never got answered, and I'm not going to "cry for help" anymore. Now I'm going to watch Humphrey Bogart in my "Dead Reckoning" DVD (given to me by the "Ancient Egyptian Deity"). Now I must go. My computer was just ruthlessly-attacked by someone near Wichita, Kansas!! Can't we all just get along?? Namaste, Godspeed, and Geronimo.

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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Cupid2
    King David = Cupid = Ovid Bowman?

    Psalm 119:1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. 2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart— 3 they do no wrong but follow his ways. 4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. 5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! 6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. 8 I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. 9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. 17 Be good to your servant while I live, that I may obey your word. 18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. 19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. 20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. 21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from your commands. 22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes. 23 Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. 24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. 25 I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word.

    26 I gave an account of my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees. 27 Cause me to understand the way of your precepts, that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds. 28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 29 Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me your law. 30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws. 31 I hold fast to your statutes, LORD; do not let me be put to shame. 32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding. 33 Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. 35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. 36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. 37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. 38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. 39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. 40 How I long for your precepts! In your righteousness preserve my life. 41 May your unfailing love come to me, LORD, your salvation, according to your promise; 42 then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in your word. 43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws. 44 I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. 45 I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. 46 I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, 47 for I delight in your commands because I love them. 48 I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees. 49 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. 50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

    51 The arrogant mock me unmercifully, but I do not turn from your law. 52 I remember, LORD, your ancient laws, and I find comfort in them. 53 Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law. 54 Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge. 55 In the night, LORD, I remember your name, that I may keep your law. 56 This has been my practice: I obey your precepts. 57 You are my portion, LORD; I have promised to obey your words. 58 I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. 59 I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. 60 I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands. 61 Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law. 62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws. 63 I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts. 64 The earth is filled with your love, LORD; teach me your decrees. 65 Do good to your servant according to your word, LORD. 66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. 73 Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. 74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. 75 I know, LORD, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

    76 May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. 77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. 78 May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts. 79 May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand your statutes. 80 May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, that I may not be put to shame. 81 My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word. 82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, “When will you comfort me?” 83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees. 84 How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors? 85 The arrogant dig pits to trap me, contrary to your law. 86 All your commands are trustworthy; help me, for I am being persecuted without cause. 87 They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts. 88 In your unfailing love preserve my life, that I may obey the statutes of your mouth. 89 Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. 90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. 91 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. 92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. 94 Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. 95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. 96 To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless. 97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.

    101 I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. 102 I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. 105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. 106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. 107 I have suffered much; preserve my life, LORD, according to your word. 108 Accept, LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. 109 Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law. 110 The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. 111 Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. 112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end. 113 I hate double-minded people, but I love your law. 114 You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. 115 Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God! 116 Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed. 117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered; I will always have regard for your decrees. 118 You reject all who stray from your decrees, for their delusions come to nothing. 119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love your statutes. 120 My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws. 121 I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors. 122 Ensure your servant’s well-being; do not let the arrogant oppress me. 123 My eyes fail, looking for your salvation, looking for your righteous promise. 124 Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. 125 I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.

    126 It is time for you to act, LORD; your law is being broken. 127 Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, 128 and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path. 129 Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. 130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. 131 I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. 132 Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. 133 Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. 134 Redeem me from human oppression, that I may obey your precepts. 135 Make your face shine on your servant and teach me your decrees. 136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed. 137 You are righteous, LORD, and your laws are right. 138 The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy. 139 My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words. 140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them. 141 Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget your precepts. 142 Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true. 143 Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight. 144 Your statutes are always righteous; give me understanding that I may live. 145 I call with all my heart; answer me, LORD, and I will obey your decrees. 146 I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. 147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. 148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. 149 Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, LORD, according to your laws. 150 Those who devise wicked schemes are near, but they are far from your law.

    151 Yet you are near, LORD, and all your commands are true. 152 Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever. 153 Look on my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. 154 Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise. 155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees. 156 Your compassion, LORD, is great; preserve my life according to your laws. 157 Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from your statutes. 158 I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word. 159 See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, LORD, in accordance with your love. 160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. 161 Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. 162 I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. 163 I hate and detest falsehood but I love your law. 164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. 165 Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. 166 I wait for your salvation, LORD, and I follow your commands. 167 I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. 168 I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you. 169 May my cry come before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word. 170 May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. 171 May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. 172 May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. 173 May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. 174 I long for your salvation, LORD, and your law gives me delight. 175 Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. 176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Salt-1





    RedEzra wrote:It is easy to prove GOD with laws and logic. The law of conservation of energy and the law of conservation of mass together state that the energy and mass of an isolated system like the universe remains constant and so the universe is not able to add new energy and matter to itself. So when the universe cannot create energy nor matter then... who can ? Logically GOD of course. It may not be so easy to prove that GOD of the universe is the GOD of the Bible but all the fulfilled prophecies therein like the return of the Jews to their old land cannot but impress logical minds.

    "Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east,
    And gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar,
    And My daughters from the ends of the earth—"

    - Isaiah 43:5-6 -
    Eartheart wrote:
    Razz  Beloveds, you seem to be drifting here   Arrow

    Sharpen your wits:
    *switching on your divine body or your dreambody is a systematic learnprocess...
    *direct input sensors (leaving the datacloud to seek source signals) can be tuned to recieve voice or datapacks, similar outofbody astraltravel trains input sensors and dreamnavigation
    *discerning between synthetic and living streams of conciousness helps to aquire sanety and lightcodes stabilisation
    *Your Flux presents spatial time in a holy Now Paradoxymoron  tongue where timeless awarness witnesses 3 streams of choicecontiniuation are applied to your magnetix - creative resonance, destruction & maintenance
    *Says revelation, Antitale & theHoly happen at same moment in your little star which is a nurturing set up to achieve angelic mans destiny HoHoHo
    *Eat some Hempseeds to get the missing proteins for your missing DNA strangs Liberationprayer for all daughters on their path...
    RedEzra wrote:
    Just a little update from me...

    For about 2.5 years now just after Russia annexed Crimea I have been warning that we are about to reach the end of the timeline given to the prophet Daniel over 2500 years ago. GOD is going to punish this world and if you don't understand why then perhaps you have a problem !? There is a "sudden destruction" event on the horizon closely connected around the astronomical date of Sept 23 2017. And if you pride yourselves in being somewhat awake and aware with a good grasp of what's going on around the world then you ought to know that this is an ever increasing possibility. Unfortunately it will not only be a possibility for long as GOD foretold it WILL happen ! The CREATOR is not going to plead with the world to please stop war crime and corruption... no GOD's just gonna punish. And if you have a problem with that then take it up with your MAKER !
    orthodoxymoron wrote:I continue to pursue Law and Order, rather than Fire and Brimstone. The Bible is an extremely violent book, but perhaps we live in an extremely violent universe. I don't doubt that extremely bad things are going to happen to Earth-Humanity, for legion reasons, but I am extremely troubled by Biblical-Eschatology, especially when Jews and Christians claim Moral High-Ground based in large-part upon the Bible. I'm presently trying to focus upon 1 Chronicles to Malachi, in the context of the Whole-Bible, with a New-Testament inspired hermeneutic. Volumes 3 and 4 of the SDA Bible Commentary are helpful in this regard. But people will always flock to the Sensationalist-Preachers, rather than quietly and diligently studying Scripture and History on their own. Several months ago, a Mason told me that 80% of Humanity was probably going to die in the near-future, in a random manner, but they didn't offer details. This wouldn't surprise me, but I'm frankly sick and tired of Murder and Mayhem, even though this is a Biblical-Concept. If I were the King of the World, I think I'd push for a Highly Trained and Disciplined Global Police-Force, with NO Warfare Whatsoever!! Just Reasonable and Rational LAW and ORDER!! I'd like to think that the Rest of the Universe would support that sort of thing.
    Swanny wrote:I don't believe in gods.  

    If there is one like the one they talk about in the bible then he's an xxxxxxxx  Razz

    All religions are just control systems
    RedEzra wrote:So it turns out that Jesus is the CREATOR of this earth.

    I'm sorry guys but if you don't follow the rules of the Owner of this place then you're out !
    Swanny wrote: Who is the Owner of this place?
    orthodoxymoron wrote:It's very difficult to verify or prove much of anything regarding the historical and the otherworldly, which is why I've turned the Whole-Bible Thing into Religious and Political Science-Fiction, without starting yet another religion. If it were done properly, Politics and Religion as Control-Modalities, would be useful and legitimate, but the reality is just the opposite of useful and legitimate. I keep asking "Who Owns the Solar System??" but I never get an answer. The God of the Bible often seems to be an ill-tempered bad@ss, but if the universe is a violent and nasty place, such a God might be necessary. My United States of the Solar System threads scare the hell out of me, regarding the possibilities of Solar System Governance and Ownership. I wonder if Guardians of the Galaxy and Jupiter Ascending contain at least some truth?! The Individuals of Interest I've conversed with REALLY scared the hell out of me!! My honest and sincere quest for answers has mostly resulted in being ridiculed and ignored. I've basically had to talk to myself, because no one else will talk to me. I've recently been identifying with the Roman-Poet "Ovid". The "Ancient Egyptian Deity" I conversed with, kept needling me about "girls", and spoke of methods of seducing women!! Ovid seemed to have a lot to say about such things!! My name is similar to "Ovid". I've been called "King of the Girls" even though the opposite-sex seems to not wish to have anything to do with me. In fact, no one seems to wish to have anything to do with me. Perhaps it's easier that way. What Would Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, and John Nash Say?? I used to perfectly-play the following composition by J.S. Bach, but I never got lucky like the guy in the video!!

    THE CONTROVERSY ENDED
    by
    Ellen G. White

    At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed and attended by a retinue of angels. As He descends in terrific majesty He bids the wicked dead arise to receive their doom. They come forth, a mighty host, numberless as the sands of the sea. What a contrast to those who were raised at the first resurrection! The righteous were clothed with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the traces of disease and death.

    Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the glory of the Son of God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim: "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!" It is not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance. The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the wicked went into their graves, so they come forth with the same enmity to Christ and the same spirit of rebellion. They are to have no new probation in which to remedy the defects of their past lives. Nothing would be gained by this. A lifetime of transgression has not softened their hearts. A second probation, were it given them, would be occupied as was the first in evading the requirements of God and exciting rebellion against Him.

    Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after His resurrection, He ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of His return. Says the prophet: "The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee." "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, . . . and there shall be a very great valley." "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one." Zechariah 14:5, 4, 9. As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor, comes down out of heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready to receive it, and Christ, with His people and the angels, enters the Holy City.

    Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While deprived of his power and cut off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are raised and he sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the great controversy. He will marshal all the armies of the lost under his banner and through them endeavor to execute his plans. The wicked are Satan's captives. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader. They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from their graves and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny. The presence of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders to support his claims. He makes the weak strong and inspires all with his own spirit and energy. He proposes to lead them against the camp of the saints and to take possession of the City of God. With fiendish exultation he points to the unnumbered millions who have been raised from the dead and declares that as their leader he is well able to overthrow the city and regain his throne and his kingdom.

    In that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed before the Flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to the control of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and knowledge to the exaltation of themselves; men whose wonderful works of art led the world to idolize their genius, but whose cruelty and evil inventions, defiling the earth and defacing the image of God, caused Him to blot them from the face of His creation. There are kings and generals who conquered nations, valiant men who never lost a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up from the grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased. They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fell.

    Satan consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their side, and declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs, and that it can be overcome. They lay their plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for battle. Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed for their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and divisions.

    At last the order to advance is given, and the countless host moves on--an army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the combined forces of all ages since war began on earth could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads the van, and his angels unite their forces for this final struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train, and the multitudes follow in vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With military precision the serried ranks advance over the earth's broken and uneven surface to the City of God. By command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the city and make ready for the onset.

    Now Christ again appears to the view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.

    Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the "great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." Revelation 7:9. Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs.

    The redeemed raise a song of praise that echoes and re-echoes through the vaults of heaven: "Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." Verse 10. And angel and seraph unite their voices in adoration. As the redeemed have beheld the power and malignity of Satan, they have seen, as never before, that no power but that of Christ could have made them conquerors. In all that shining throng there are none to ascribe salvation to themselves, as if they had prevailed by their own power and goodness. Nothing is said of what they have done or suffered; but the burden of every song, the keynote of every anthem, is: Salvation to our God and unto the Lamb.

    In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the final coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, invested with supreme majesty and power, the King of kings pronounces sentence upon the rebels against His government and executes justice upon those who have transgressed His law and oppressed His people. Says the prophet of God: "I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Revelation 20:11, 12.

    As soon as the books of record are opened, and the eye of Jesus looks upon the wicked, they are conscious of every sin which they have ever committed. They see just where their feet diverged from the path of purity and holiness, just how far pride and rebellion have carried them in the violation of the law of God. The seductive temptations which they encouraged by indulgence in sin, the blessings perverted, the messengers of God despised, the warnings rejected, the waves of mercy beaten back by the stubborn, unrepentant heart--all appear as if written in letters of fire.

    Above the throne is revealed the cross; and like a panoramic view appear the scenes of Adam's temptation and fall, and the successive steps in the great plan of redemption. The Saviour's lowly birth; His early life of simplicity and obedience; His baptism in Jordan; the fast and temptation in the wilderness; His public ministry, unfolding to men heaven's most precious blessings; the days crowded with deeds of love and mercy, the nights of prayer and watching in the solitude of the mountains; the plottings of envy, hate, and malice which repaid His benefits; the awful, mysterious agony in Gethsemane beneath the crushing weight of the sins of the whole world; His betrayal into the hands of the murderous mob; the fearful events of that night of horror--the unresisting prisoner, forsaken by His best-loved disciples, rudely hurried through the streets of Jerusalem; the Son of God exultingly displayed before Annas, arraigned in the high priest's palace, in the judgment hall of Pilate, before the cowardly and cruel Herod, mocked, insulted, tortured, and condemned to die--all are vividly portrayed.

    And now before the swaying multitude are revealed the final scenes--the patient Sufferer treading the path to Calvary; the Prince of heaven hanging upon the cross; the haughty priests and the jeering rabble deriding His expiring agony; the supernatural darkness; the heaving earth, the rent rocks, the open graves, marking the moment when the world's Redeemer yielded up His life.

    The awful spectacle appears just as it was. Satan, his angels, and his subjects have no power to turn from the picture of their own work. Each actor recalls the part which he performed. Herod, who slew the innocent children of Bethlehem that he might destroy the King of Israel; the base Herodias, upon whose guilty soul rests the blood of John the Baptist; the weak, timeserving Pilate; the mocking soldiers; the priests and rulers and the maddened throng who cried, "His blood be on us, and on our children!"--all behold the enormity of their guilt. They vainly seek to hide from the divine majesty of His countenance, outshining the glory of the sun, while the redeemed cast their crowns at the Saviour's feet, exclaiming: "He died for me!"

    Amid the ransomed throng are the apostles of Christ, the heroic Paul, the ardent Peter, the loved and loving John, and their truehearted brethren, and with them the vast host of martyrs; while outside the walls, with every vile and abominable thing, are those by whom they were persecuted, imprisoned, and slain. There is Nero, that monster of cruelty and vice, beholding the joy and exaltation of those whom he once tortured, and in whose extremest anguish he found satanic delight. His mother is there to witness the result of her own work; to see how the evil stamp of character transmitted to her son, the passions encouraged and developed by her influence and example, have borne fruit in crimes that caused the world to shudder.

    There are papist priests and prelates, who claimed to be Christ's ambassadors, yet employed the rack, the dungeon, and the stake to control the consciences of His people. There are the proud pontiffs who exalted themselves above God and presumed to change the law of the Most High. Those pretended fathers of the church have an account to render to God from which they would fain be excused. Too late they are made to see that the Omniscient One is jealous of His law and that He will in no wise clear the guilty. They learn now that Christ identifies His interest with that of His suffering people; and they feel the force of His own words: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." Matthew 25:40.

    The whole wicked world stand arraigned at the bar of God on the charge of high treason against the government of heaven. They have none to plead their cause; they are without excuse; and the sentence of eternal death is pronounced against them. It is now evident to all that the wages of sin is not noble independence and eternal life, but slavery, ruin, and death. The wicked see what they have forfeited by their life of rebellion. The far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory was despised when offered them; but how desirable it now appears. "All this," cries the lost soul, "I might have had; but I chose to put these things far from me. Oh, strange infatuation! I have exchanged peace, happiness, and honor for wretchedness, infamy, and despair." All see that their exclusion from heaven is just. By their lives they have declared: "We will not have this Man [Jesus] to reign over us."

    As if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God. They see in His hands the tables of the divine law, the statutes which they have despised and transgressed. They witness the outburst of wonder, rapture, and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the multitudes without the city, all with one voice exclaim, "Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints" (Revelation 15:3); and, falling prostrate, they worship the Prince of life.

    Satan seems paralyzed as he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ. He who was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen. A shining seraph, "son of the morning;" how changed, how degraded! From the council where once he was honored, he is forever excluded. He sees another now standing near to the Father, veiling His glory. He has seen the crown placed upon the head of Christ by an angel of lofty stature and majestic presence, and he knows that the exalted position of this angel might have been his.

    Memory recalls the home of his innocence and purity, the peace and content that were his until he indulged in murmuring against God, and envy of Christ. His accusations, his rebellion, his deceptions to gain the sympathy and support of the angels, his stubborn persistence in making no effort for self-recovery when God would have granted him forgiveness --all come vividly before him. He reviews his work among men and its results--the enmity of man toward his fellow man, the terrible destruction of life, the rise and fall of kingdoms, the overturning of thrones, the long succession of tumults, conflicts, and revolutions. He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work of Christ and to sink man lower and lower. He sees that his hellish plots have been powerless to destroy those who have put their trust in Jesus. As Satan looks upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he sees only failure and ruin. He has led the multitudes to believe that the City of God would be an easy prey; but he knows that this is false. Again and again, in the progress of the great controversy, he has been defeated and compelled to yield. He knows too well the power and majesty of the Eternal.

    The aim of the great rebel has ever been to justify himself and to prove the divine government responsible for the rebellion. To this end he has bent all the power of his giant intellect. He has worked deliberately and systematically, and with marvelous success, leading vast multitudes to accept his version of the great controversy which has been so long in progress. For thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed off falsehood for truth. But the time has now come when the rebellion is to be finally defeated and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In his last great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy His people, and take possession of the City of God, the archdeceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have united with him see the total failure of his cause. Christ's followers and the loyal angels behold the full extent of his machinations against the government of God. He is the object of universal abhorrence.

    Satan sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for heaven. He has trained his powers to war against God; the purity, peace, and harmony of heaven would be to him supreme torture. His accusations against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach which he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself. And now Satan bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence.

    "Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest." Verse 4. Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy has now been made plain. The results of rebellion, the fruits of setting aside the divine statutes, have been laid open to the view of all created intelligences. The working out of Satan's rule in contrast with the government of God has been presented to the whole universe. Satan's own works have condemned him. God's wisdom, His justice, and His goodness stand fully vindicated. It is seen that all His dealings in the great controversy have been conducted with respect to the eternal good of His people and the good of all the worlds that He has created. "All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord; and Thy saints shall bless Thee." Psalm 145:10. The history of sin will stand to all eternity as a witness that with the existence of God's law is bound up the happiness of all the beings He has created. With all the facts of the great controversy in view, the whole universe, both loyal and rebellious, with one accord declare: "Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints."

    Before the universe has been clearly presented the great sacrifice made by the Father and the Son in man's behalf. The hour has come when Christ occupies His rightful position and is glorified above principalities and powers and every name that is named. It was for the joy that was set before Him--that He might bring many sons unto glory--that He endured the cross and despised the shame. And inconceivably great as was the sorrow and the shame, yet greater is the joy and the glory. He looks upon the redeemed, renewed in His own image, every heart bearing the perfect impress of the divine, every face reflecting the likeness of their King. He beholds in them the result of the travail of His soul, and He is satisfied. Then, in a voice that reaches the assembled multitudes of the righteous and the wicked, He declares: "Behold the purchase of My blood! For these I suffered, for these I died, that they might dwell in My presence throughout eternal ages." And the song of praise ascends from the white-robed ones about the throne: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12.

    Notwithstanding that Satan has been constrained to acknowledge God's justice and to bow to the supremacy of Christ, his character remains unchanged. The spirit of rebellion, like a mighty torrent, again bursts forth. Filled with frenzy, he determines not to yield the great controversy. The time has come for a last desperate struggle against the King of heaven. He rushes into the midst of his subjects and endeavors to inspire them with his own fury and arouse them to instant battle. But of all the countless millions whom he has allured into rebellion, there are none now to acknowledge his supremacy. His power is at an end. The wicked are filled with the same hatred of God that inspires Satan; but they see that their case is hopeless, that they cannot prevail against Jehovah. Their rage is kindled against Satan and those who have been his agents in deception, and with the fury of demons they turn upon them.

    Saith the Lord: "Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. They shall bring thee down to the pit." "I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. . . . I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. . . . I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. . . . Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." Ezekiel 28:6-8, 16-19.

    "Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire." "The indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies: He hath utterly destroyed them, He hath delivered them to the slaughter." "Upon the wicked He shall rain quick burning coals, fire and brimstone and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." Isaiah 9:5; 34:2; Psalm 11:6, margin. Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth is broken up. The weapons concealed in its depths are drawn forth. Devouring flames burst from every yawning chasm. The very rocks are on fire. The day has come that shall burn as an oven. The elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein are burned up. Malachi 4:1; 2 Peter 3:10. The earth's surface seems one molten mass--a vast, seething lake of fire. It is the time of the judgment and perdition of ungodly men--"the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion." Isaiah 34:8.

    The wicked receive their recompense in the earth. Proverbs 11:31. They "shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts." Malachi 4:1. Some are destroyed as in a moment, while others suffer many days. All are punished "according to their deeds." The sins of the righteous having been transferred to Satan, he is made to suffer not only for his own rebellion, but for all the sins which he has caused God's people to commit. His punishment is to be far greater than that of those whom he has deceived. After all have perished who fell by his deceptions, he is still to live and suffer on. In the cleansing flames the wicked are at last destroyed, root and branch--Satan the root, his followers the branches. The full penalty of the law has been visited; the demands of justice have been met; and heaven and earth, beholding, declare the righteousness of Jehovah.

    Satan's work of ruin is forever ended. For six thousand years he has wrought his will, filling the earth with woe and causing grief throughout the universe. The whole creation has groaned and travailed together in pain. Now God's creatures are forever delivered from his presence and temptations. "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they [the righteous] break forth into singing." Isaiah 14:7. And a shout of praise and triumph ascends from the whole loyal universe. "The voice of a great multitude," "as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings," is heard, saying: "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." Revelation 19:6.

    While the earth was wrapped in the fire of destruction, the righteous abode safely in the Holy City. Upon those that had part in the first resurrection, the second death has no power. While God is to the wicked a consuming fire, He is to His people both a sun and a shield. Revelation 20:6; Psalm 84:11.

    "I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." Revelation 21:1. The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. No eternally burning hell will keep before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin.

    One reminder alone remains: Our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion. Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought. Says the prophet, beholding Christ in His glory: "He had bright beams coming out of His side: and there was the hiding of His power." Habakkuk 3:4, margin. That pierced side whence flowed the crimson stream that reconciled man to God--there is the Saviour's glory, there "the hiding of His power." "Mighty to save," through the sacrifice of redemption, He was therefore strong to execute justice upon them that despised God's mercy. And the tokens of His humiliation are His highest honor; through the eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise and declare His power.

    "O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion." Micah 4:8. The time has come to which holy men have looked with longing since the flaming sword barred the first pair from Eden, the time for "the redemption of the purchased possession." Ephesians 1:14. The earth originally given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him into the hands of Satan, and so long held by the mighty foe, has been brought back by the great plan of redemption. All that was lost by sin has been restored. "Thus saith the Lord . . . that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited." Isaiah 45:18. God's original purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled as it is made the eternal abode of the redeemed. "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Psalm 37:29.

    A fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many to spiritualize away the very truths which lead us to look upon it as our home. Christ assured His disciples that He went to prepare mansions for them in the Father's house. Those who accept the teachings of God's word will not be wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. And yet, "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9. Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God.

    In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called "a country." Hebrews 11:14-16. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God's people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home.

    "My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places." "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise." "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: . . . Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." Isaiah 32:18; 60:18; 65:21, 22.

    There, "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree." "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; . . . and a little child shall lead them." "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," saith the Lord. Isaiah 35:1; 55:13; 11:6, 9.

    Pain cannot exist in the atmosphere of heaven. There will be no more tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning. "There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying: . . . for the former things are passed away." "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 33:24.

    There is the New Jerusalem, the metropolis of the glorified new earth, "a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." "Her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." "The nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it." Saith the Lord: "I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people." "The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." Isaiah 62:3; Revelation 21:11, 24; Isaiah 65:19; Revelation 21:3.

    In the City of God "there shall be no night." None will need or desire repose. There will be no weariness in doing the will of God and offering praise to His name. We shall ever feel the freshness of the morning and shall ever be far from its close. "And they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light." Revelation 22:5. The light of the sun will be superseded by a radiance which is not painfully dazzling, yet which immeasurably surpasses the brightness of our noontide. The glory of God and the Lamb floods the Holy City with unfading light. The redeemed walk in the sunless glory of perpetual day.

    "I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." Revelation 21:22. The people of God are privileged to hold open communion with the Father and the Son. "Now we see through a glass, darkly." 1 Corinthians 13:12. We behold the image of God reflected, as in a mirror, in the works of nature and in His dealings with men; but then we shall see Him face to face, without a dimming veil between. We shall stand in His presence and behold the glory of His countenance.

    There the redeemed shall know, even as also they are known. The loves and sympathies which God Himself has planted in the soul shall there find truest and sweetest exercise. The pure communion with holy beings, the harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the faithful ones of all ages who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together "the whole family in heaven and earth" (Ephesians 3:15)--these help to constitute the happiness of the redeemed.

    There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.

    All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed. Unfettered by mortality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar--worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul. With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God's handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation--suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator's name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.

    And the years of eternity, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ. As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase. The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character. As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise.

    "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." Revelation 5:13.

    The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.


    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 509_4United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 919_9_screenshotUnited States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Jesus-christ-0207
    "LA! LA! LA! LA! LA! LA! LA! WE CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!! LA!! LA!! LA!! LA!! LA!! LA!! LA!!"
    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


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    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Tue Oct 18, 2016 11:25 pm

    orthodoxymoron wrote:In the United States, if you build a bomb-shelter, and stockpile food, you are considered to be a lunatic-paranoid survivalist nut-case, but it's different in Switzerland!!

    orthodoxymoron wrote:Consider an eschatological-study which relies solely upon the Major and Minor Old-Testament Prophets (Isaiah to Malachi). Has anyone done this?? What if Daniel 8 were studied without depending upon Leviticus 16 and Hebrews 9 for direction and clarification?? Eschatology in the Context of Science-Fiction makes me face myself, and think.

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Space_Nuclear_war_view_from_the_Earth
    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 51a48ba17204653936

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_warfare Nuclear warfare (sometimes atomic warfare or thermonuclear warfare) is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is used to inflict damage on the enemy. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage, and in a much shorter time. A major nuclear exchange would have long-term effects, primarily from the fallout released, and could also lead to a "nuclear winter" that could last for decades, centuries, or even millennia after the initial attack.[1][2] Some analysts claim that with this potential nuclear winter side-effect of a nuclear war almost every human on Earth could starve to death.[3][4] Other analysts, who dismiss the nuclear winter hypothesis, calculate that with nuclear weapon stockpiles at Cold War highs, in a surprise countervalue global nuclear war, billions of casualties would have resulted but billions of people would nevertheless have survived.[5][6][7][8]

    So far, two nuclear weapons have been used in the course of warfare, both by the United States near the end of World War II. On August 6, 1945, a uranium gun-type device (code name "Little Boy") was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, on August 9, a plutonium implosion-type device (code name "Fat Man") was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki. These two bombings resulted in the deaths of approximately 120,000 people.

    After World War II, nuclear weapons were also developed by the Soviet Union (1949), the United Kingdom (1952), France (1960), and the People's Republic of China (1964), which contributed to the state of conflict and extreme tension that became known as the Cold War. In 1974, India, and in 1998, Pakistan, two countries that were openly hostile toward each other, developed nuclear weapons. Israel (1960s) and North Korea (2006) are also thought to have developed stocks of nuclear weapons, though it is not known how many. The Israeli government has never admitted to having nuclear weapons, although it is known to have constructed the reactor and reprocessing plant necessary for building nuclear weapons.[9] South Africa also manufactured several complete nuclear weapons in the 1980s, but subsequently became the first country to voluntarily destroy their domestically made weapons stocks and abandon further production (1990s).[10] Nuclear weapons have been detonated on over 2,000 occasions for testing purposes and demonstrations.[11][12]
    After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the resultant end of the Cold War, the threat of a major nuclear war between the two nuclear superpowers was generally thought to have declined. Since then, concern over nuclear weapons has shifted to the prevention of localized nuclear conflicts resulting from nuclear proliferation, and the threat of nuclear terrorism.

    The possibility of using nuclear weapons in war is usually divided into two subgroups, each with different effects and potentially fought with different types of nuclear armaments.

    The first, a limited nuclear war [13] (sometimes attack or exchange), refers to a small-scale use of nuclear weapons by two (or more) belligerents. A "limited nuclear war" could include targeting military facilities—either as an attempt to pre-emptively cripple the enemy's ability to attack as a defensive measure, or as a prelude to an invasion by conventional forces, as an offensive measure. This term could apply to any small-scale use of nuclear weapons that may involve military or civilian targets (or both).

    The second, a full-scale nuclear war, could consist of large numbers of nuclear weapons used in an attack aimed at an entire country, including military, economic, and civilian targets. Such an attack would almost certainly destroy the entire economic, social, and military infrastructure of the target nation, and would probably have a devastating effect on Earth's biosphere.

    Some Cold War strategists such as Henry Kissinger[14] argued that a limited nuclear war could be possible between two heavily armed superpowers (such as the United States and the Soviet Union). Some predict, however, that a limited war could potentially "escalate" into a full-scale nuclear war. Others[who?] have called limited nuclear war "global nuclear holocaust in slow motion", arguing that—once such a war took place—others would be sure to follow over a period of decades, effectively rendering the planet uninhabitable in the same way that a "full-scale nuclear war" between superpowers would, only taking a much longer (and arguably more agonizing) path to the same result.

    Even the most optimistic predictions[by whom?] of the effects of a major nuclear exchange foresee the death of many millions of victims within a very short period of time. More pessimistic predictions argue that a full-scale nuclear war could potentially bring about the extinction of the human race, or at least its near extinction, with only a relatively small number of survivors (mainly in remote areas) and a reduced quality of life and life expectancy for centuries afterward. However, such predictions, assuming total war with nuclear arsenals at Cold War highs, have not been without criticism.[5] Such a horrific catastrophe as global nuclear warfare would almost certainly cause permanent damage to most complex life on the planet, its ecosystems, and the global climate. If predictions about the production of a nuclear winter are accurate, it would also change the balance of global power, with countries such as Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Argentina and Brazil predicted to become world superpowers if the Cold War ever led to a large-scale nuclear attack.[6]

    A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in December 2006 asserted that even a small-scale regional nuclear war could produce as many direct fatalities as all of World War II and disrupt the global climate for a decade or more. In a regional nuclear conflict scenario in which two opposing nations in the subtropics each used 50 Hiroshima-sized nuclear weapons (c. 15 kiloton each) on major population centers, the researchers predicted fatalities ranging from 2.6 million to 16.7 million per country. The authors of the study estimated that as much as five million tons of soot could be released, producing a cooling of several degrees over large areas of North America and Eurasia (including most of the grain-growing regions). The cooling would last for years and could be "catastrophic", according to the researchers.[15]

    Either a limited or full-scale nuclear exchange could occur during an accidental nuclear war, in which the use of nuclear weapons is triggered unintentionally. Postulated triggers for this scenario have included malfunctioning early warning devices and/or targeting computers, deliberate malfeasance by rogue military commanders, consequences of an accidental straying of warplanes into enemy airspace, reactions to unannounced missile tests during tense diplomatic periods, reactions to military exercises, mistranslated or miscommunicated messages, and others. A number of these scenarios actually occurred during the Cold War, though none resulted in the use of nuclear weapons.[16] Many such scenarios have been depicted in popular culture, such as in the 1962 novel Fail-Safe (released as a film in 1964), the film WarGames, released in 1983 and the film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, also released in 1964.

    During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted atomic raids on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events were the only times nuclear weapons have been used in combat.[17]

    For six months before the atomic bombings, the U.S. 20th Air Force under General Curtis LeMay executed low-level incendiary raids against Japanese cities. The worst air raid to occur during the process was not the nuclear attacks, but the Operation Meetinghouse raid on Tokyo. On the night of March 9–10, 1945, Operation Meetinghouse commenced and 334 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers took off to raid, with 279 of them dropping 1,665 tons of incendiaries and explosives on Tokyo. The bombing was meant to burn wooden buildings and indeed the bombing caused fire that created a 50 m/s wind, which is comparable to tornadoes. Each bomber carried 6 tons of bombs. A total of 381,300 bombs, which amount to 1,783 tons of bombs, were used in the bombing. Within a few hours of the raid, it had killed an estimated 100,000 people and destroyed 41 km2 (16 sq mi) of the city and 267,000 buildings in a single night — the deadliest bombing raid in military aviation history other than the atomic raids on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[18][19][20][21] By early August 1945, an estimated 450,000 people had died as the U.S. had intensely firebombed a total of 67 Japanese cities.

    In late June 1945, as the U.S. wrapped up the two-and-a-half-month Battle of Okinawa (which cost the lives of 260,000 people, including 150,000 civilians),[22][23] it was faced with the prospect of invading the Japanese home islands in an operation codenamed Operation Downfall. Based on the U.S. casualties from the preceding island-hopping campaigns, American commanders estimated that between 50,000 and 500,000 U.S. troops would die and at least 600,000-1,000,000 others would be injured while invading the Japanese home islands. The U.S. manufacture of 500,000 Purple Hearts from the anticipated high level of casualties during the U.S. invasion of Japan gave a demonstration of how deadly and costly it would be. President Harry S. Truman realized he could not afford such a horrendous casualty rate, especially since over 400,000 American combatants had already died fighting in both the European and the Pacific theaters of the war.[24]

    On July 26, 1945, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of China issued a Potsdam Declaration that called for the unconditional surrender of Japan. It stated that if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction."[25][26] The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum, sending a message that they were not going to surrender. In response to the rejection, President Truman authorized the dropping of the atomic bombs. At the time of its use, there were only two atomic bombs available, and despite the fact that more were in production back in mainland U.S., the third bomb wouldn't be available for combat until September.[27][28]

    On August 6, 1945, the uranium-type nuclear weapon codenamed "Little Boy" was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima with an energy of about 15 kilotons of TNT (63,000 gigajoules), destroying nearly 50,000 buildings (including the headquarters of the 2nd General Army and Fifth Division) and killing approximately 70,000 people, including 20,000 Japanese combatants and 20,000 Korean slave laborers.[29][30] Three days later, on August 9, a plutonium-type nuclear weapon codenamed "Fat Man" was used against the Japanese city of Nagasaki, with the explosion equivalent to about 20 kilotons of TNT (84,000 gigajoules), destroying 60% of the city and killing approximately 35,000 people, including 23,200-28,200 Japanese munitions workers, 2,000 Korean slave laborers, and 150 Japanese combatants.[31] The industrial damage in Nagasaki was high, partly owing to the inadvertent targeting of the industrial zone, leaving 68-80 percent of the non-dock industrial production destroyed.[32]

    Six days after the detonation over Nagasaki, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers on August 15, 1945, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945, officially ending the Pacific War and, therefore, World War II, as Germany had already signed its Instrument of Surrender on May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe. The two atomic bombings led, in part, to post-war Japan's adopting of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which forbade the nation from developing nuclear armaments.[33]

    Immediately after the atomic bombings of Japan, the status of atomic weapons in international and military relations was unclear. Presumably, the United States hoped atomic weapons could offset the Soviet Union's larger conventional ground forces in Eastern Europe, and possibly be used to pressure Soviet leader Joseph Stalin into making concessions. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union pursued its own atomic capabilities through a combination of scientific research and espionage directed against the American program. The Soviets believed that the Americans, with their limited nuclear arsenal, were unlikely to engage in any new world wars, while the Americans were not confident they could prevent a Soviet takeover of Europe, despite their atomic advantage. Within the United States the authority to produce and develop nuclear weapons was removed from military control and put instead under the civilian control of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. This decision reflected an understanding that nuclear weapons had unique risks and benefits that were separate from other military technology known at the time.

    For several years after World War II, the United States developed and maintained a strategic force based on the Convair B-36 bomber that would be able to attack any potential enemy from bomber bases in the United States. It deployed atomic bombs around the world for potential use in conflicts. Over a period of a few years, many in the American defense community became increasingly convinced of the invincibility of the United States to a nuclear attack. Indeed, it became generally believed that the threat of nuclear war would deter any strike against the United States.

    Many proposals were suggested to put all American nuclear weapons under international control (by the newly formed United Nations, for example) as an effort to deter both their usage and an arms race. However, no terms could be arrived at that would be agreed upon by both the United States and the Soviet Union.

    On August 29, 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan (see also Soviet atomic bomb project). Scientists in the United States from the Manhattan Project had warned that, in time, the Soviet Union would certainly develop nuclear capabilities of its own. Nevertheless, the effect upon military thinking and planning in the United States was dramatic, primarily because American military strategists had not anticipated the Soviets would "catch up" so soon. However, at this time, they had not discovered that the Soviets had conducted significant nuclear espionage of the project from spies at Los Alamos, the most significant of which was done by the theoretical physicist Klaus Fuchs.[citation needed] The first Soviet bomb was more or less a deliberate copy of the Fat Man plutonium device.

    With the monopoly over nuclear technology broken, worldwide nuclear proliferation accelerated. The United Kingdom tested its first independent atomic bomb in 1952, followed by France in 1960 and then China in 1964. While much smaller than the arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union, Western Europe's nuclear reserves were nevertheless a significant factor in strategic planning during the Cold War. A top-secret White Paper, compiled by the Royal Air Force and produced for the British Government in 1959, estimated that British bombers carrying nuclear weapons were capable of destroying key cities and military targets in the Soviet Union, with an estimated 16 million deaths in the Soviet Union (half of whom were estimated to be killed on impact and the rest fatally injured) before bomber aircraft from the U.S. Strategic Air Command reached their targets.

    After the successful Trinity nuclear test July 16, 1945, which was the very first nuclear detonation, the Manhattan project lead manager J. Robert Oppenheimer recalled:

    We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multiarmed form and says, "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." I suppose we all thought that one way or another."
    — J. Robert Oppenheimer, The Decision To Drop The Bomb[34]

    Although the Soviet Union had nuclear weapon capabilities in the beginning of the Cold War, the United States still had an advantage in terms of bombers and weapons. In any exchange of hostilities, the United States would have been capable of bombing the Soviet Union, whereas the Soviet Union would have more difficulty carrying out the reverse mission.

    The widespread introduction of jet-powered interceptor aircraft upset this imbalance somewhat by reducing the effectiveness of the American bomber fleet. In 1949 Curtis LeMay was placed in command of the Strategic Air Command and instituted a program to update the bomber fleet to one that was all-jet. During the early 1950s the B-47 and B-52 were introduced, providing the ability to bomb the Soviet Union more easily. Before the development of a capable strategic missile force in the Soviet Union, much of the war-fighting doctrine held by western nations revolved around using a large number of smaller nuclear weapons used in a tactical role. It is debatable whether such use could be considered "limited" however, because it was believed that the United States would use its own strategic weapons (mainly bombers at the time) should the Soviet Union deploy any kind of nuclear weapon against civilian targets. Douglas MacArthur, an American general, was fired by President Harry Truman, partially because he persistently requested permission to use his own discretion in deciding whether to use atomic weapons on the People's Republic of China in 1951 during the Korean War.[35] Mao Zedong, China's communist leader, gave the impression that he would welcome a nuclear war with the capitalists because it would annihilate what he viewed as their "imperialist" system.[36][37]

    Let us imagine how many people would die if war breaks out. There are 2.7 billion people in the world, and a third could be lost. If it is a little higher it could be half ... I say that if the worst came to the worst and one-half dies, there will still be one-half left, but imperialism would be razed to the ground and the whole world would become socialist. After a few years there would be 2.7 billion people again.
    — Mao Zedong, 1957 [38]

    The concept of a "Fortress North America" emerged during the Second World War and persisted into the Cold War to refer to the option of defending Canada and the United States against their enemies if the rest of the world were lost to them. This option was rejected with the formation of NATO and the decision to permanently station troops in Europe.

    In the summer of 1951 Project Vista started, in which project analysts such as Robert F. Christy looked at how to defend Western Europe from a Soviet invasion. The emerging development of tactical nuclear weapons were looked upon as a means to give Western forces a qualitative advantage over the Soviet numerical supremacy in conventional weapons.[39]

    Several scares about the increasing ability of the Soviet Union's strategic bomber forces surfaced during the 1950s. The defensive response by the United States was to deploy a fairly strong "layered defense" consisting of interceptor aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles, like the Nike, and guns, like the Skysweeper, near larger cities. However, this was a small response compared to the construction of a huge fleet of nuclear bombers. The principal nuclear strategy was to massively penetrate the Soviet Union. Because such a large area could not be defended against this overwhelming attack in any credible way, the Soviet Union would lose any exchange.

    This logic became ingrained in American nuclear doctrine and persisted for much of the duration of the Cold War. As long as the strategic American nuclear forces could overwhelm their Soviet counterparts, a Soviet pre-emptive strike could be averted. Moreover, the Soviet Union could not afford to build any reasonable counterforce, as the economic output of the United States was far larger than that of the Soviets, and they would be unable to achieve "nuclear parity".

    Soviet nuclear doctrine, however, did not match American nuclear doctrine.[40][41] Soviet military planners assumed they could win a nuclear war.[40][42][43] Therefore, they expected a large-scale nuclear exchange, followed by a "conventional war" which itself would involve heavy use of tactical nuclear weapons. American doctrine rather assumed that Soviet doctrine was similar, with the mutual in Mutually Assured Destruction necessarily requiring that the other side see things in much the same way, rather than believing—as the Soviets did—that they could fight a large-scale, "combined nuclear and conventional" war.

    In accordance with their doctrine, the Soviet Union conducted large-scale military exercises to explore the possibility of defensive and offensive warfare during a nuclear war. The exercise, under the code name of "Snowball", involved the detonation of a nuclear bomb about twice as powerful as that which fell on Nagasaki and an army of approximately 45,000 soldiers on maneuvers through the hypocenter immediately after the blast.[44] The exercise was conducted on September 14, 1954, under command of Marshal Georgy Zhukov to the north of Totskoye village in Orenburg Oblast, Russia.

    A revolution in nuclear strategic thought occurred with the introduction of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which the Soviet Union first successfully tested in August 1957. In order to deliver a warhead to a target, a missile was much faster and more cost-effective than a bomber, and enjoyed a higher survivability due to the enormous difficulty of interception of the ICBMs (due to their high altitude and extreme speed). The Soviet Union could now afford to achieve nuclear parity with the United States in raw numbers, although for a time, they appeared to have chosen not to. Photos of Soviet missile sites set off a wave of panic in the U.S. military, something the launch of Sputnik would do for the American public a few months later. Politicians, notably then-U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy suggested that a "missile gap" existed between the Soviet Union and the United States. The US military gave missile development programs the highest national priority, and several spy aircraft and reconnaissance satellites were designed and deployed to observe Soviet progress.

    Early ICBMs and bombers were relatively inaccurate, which led to the concept of countervalue strikes — attacks directly on the enemy population, which would theoretically lead to a collapse of the enemy's will to fight. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union invested in extensive protected civilian infrastructure, such as large "nuclear-proof" bunkers and non-perishable food stores. By comparison, smaller scale civil defense programs were instituted in the United States starting in the 1950s, where schools and other public buildings had basements stocked with non-perishable food supplies, canned water, first aid, and dosimeter and Geiger counter radiation-measuring devices. Many of the locations were given "Fallout shelter" designation signs. CONELRAD radio information systems were adopted, whereby the commercial radio sector (later supplemented by the National Emergency Alarm Repeaters) would broadcast on two AM frequencies in the event of a Civil Defense (CD) emergency. These two frequencies, 640 and 1240 kHz, were marked with small CD triangles on the tuning dial of radios of the period, as can still be seen on 1950s-vintage radios on online auction sites and museums. A few backyard fallout shelters were built by private individuals.

    Henry Kissinger's view on tactical nuclear war in his controversial 1957 book Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy was that any nuclear weapon exploded in air burst mode that was below 500 kiloton in yield and thus averting serious fallout, may be more decisive and less costly in human lives than a protracted conventional war.

    A list of targets made by the U.S.A. was released sometime during December 2015 by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. The language used to describe targets is "designated ground zeros". The list was released after a request was made during 2006 by William Burr who belongs to a research group at George Washington University, and belongs to a previously top-secret 800-page document. The list is entitled "Atomic Weapons Requirements Study for 1959" and was produced by U.S. Strategic Air Command during the year 1956.[45]

    In 1960, the United States developed its first Single Integrated Operational Plan, a range of targeting options, and described launch procedures and target sets against which nuclear weapons would be launched, variants of which were in use from 1961 to 2003. That year also saw the start of the Missile Defense Alarm System, an American system of 12 early-warning satellites that provided limited notice of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile launches between 1960 and 1966. The Ballistic Missile Early Warning System was completed in 1964.

    A complex and worrisome situation developed in 1962, in what is called the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union placed medium-range ballistic missiles 90 miles (140 km) from the United States, possibly as a direct response to American Jupiter missiles placed in Turkey. After intense negotiations, the Soviets ended up removing the missiles from Cuba and decided to institute a massive weapons-building program of their own. In exchange, the United States dismantled its launch sites in Turkey, although this was done secretly and not publicly revealed for over two decades. Khrushchev did not even reveal this part of the agreement when he came under fire by political opponents for mishandling the crisis. Communication delays during the crisis led to the establishment of the Moscow–Washington hotline to allow reliable, direct communications between the two nuclear powers.

    By the late 1960s, the number of ICBMs and warheads was so high on both sides that it was believed that both the United States and the Soviet Union were capable of completely destroying the infrastructure and a large proportion of the population of the other country. Thus, by some western game theorists, a balance of power system known as mutually assured destruction (or MAD) came into being. It was thought that no full-scale exchange between the powers would result in an outright winner, with at best one side emerging the pyrrhic victor. Thus both sides were deterred from risking the initiation of a direct confrontation, instead being forced to engage in lower intensity proxy wars. During this decade the People's Republic of China began to build subterranean infrastructure such as the Underground Project 131 following the Sino-Soviet split.

    One drawback of the MAD doctrine was the possibility of a nuclear war occurring without either side intentionally striking first. Early Warning Systems (EWS) were notoriously error-prone. For example, on 78 occasions in 1979 alone, a "missile display conference" was called to evaluate detections that were "potentially threatening to the North American continent". Some of these were trivial errors and were spotted quickly, but several went to more serious levels. On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov received convincing indications of an American first strike launch against the Soviet Union, but positively identified the warning as a false alarm. Though it is unclear what role Petrov's actions played in preventing a nuclear war during this incident, he has been honored by the United Nations for his actions.

    Similar incidents happened many times in the United States, due to failed computer chips,[46] misidentifications of large flights of geese, test programs, and bureaucratic failures to notify early warning military personnel of legitimate launches of test or weather missiles. For many years, the U.S. Air Force's strategic bombers were kept airborne on a daily rotating basis "around the clock" (see Operation Chrome Dome), until the number and severity of accidents, the 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash in particular, persuaded policymakers it was not worthwhile.

    Israel responded to the Arab Yom Kippur War attack on 6 October 1973 by assembling 13 nuclear weapons in a tunnel under the Negev desert when Syrian tanks were sweeping in across the Golan Heights. On 8 October 1973, Israeli Prime Minister Mrs Golda Meir authorized Defense Minister Moshe Dayan to activate the 13 Israeli nuclear warheads and distribute them to Israeli air force units, with the intent that they be used if Israel began to be overrun.[47] On 24 October 1973 when US President Nixon was preoccupied with the Watergate scandal Henry Kissinger ordered a DEFCON-3 alert preparing American B-52 nuclear bombers for war, after intelligence reports indicated that the USSR was preparing to defend Egypt in its Yom Kippur war with Israel. It had become apparent that if Israel had dropped nuclear weapons on Egypt or Syria, as it prepared to do, then the USSR would have retaliated against Israel, with the US then committed to providing Israeli assistance, possibly escalating to a general nuclear war.[47]

    By the late 1970s, people in both the United States and the Soviet Union, along with the rest of the world, had been living with the concept of mutual assured destruction (MAD) for about a decade, and it became deeply ingrained into the psyche and popular culture of those countries. On May 18, 1974, India conducted its first nuclear test in the Pokhran test range. The name of the operation was Smiling Buddha, and India termed the test as a "peaceful nuclear explosion".

    The Soviet Duga-3 early warning over-the-horizon radar system was made operational in 1976. The extremely powerful radio transmissions needed for such a system led to much disruption of civilian shortwave broadcasts, earning it the nickname "Russian Woodpecker".

    The idea that any nuclear conflict would eventually escalate was a challenge for military strategists. This challenge was particularly severe for the United States and its NATO allies because it was believed (until the 1970s) that a Soviet tank invasion of Western Europe would quickly overwhelm NATO conventional forces, leading to the necessity of the West escalating to the use of tactical nuclear weapons, one of which was the W-70.

    This strategy had one major (and possibly critical) flaw, which was soon realized by military analysts but highly underplayed by the U.S. military: conventional NATO forces in the European theatre of war were far outnumbered by similar Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces, and it was assumed that in case of a major Soviet attack (commonly envisioned as the "Red tanks rolling towards the North Sea" scenario) that NATO—in the face of quick conventional defeat—would soon have no other choice but to resort to tactical nuclear strikes against these forces. Most analysts agreed that once the first nuclear exchange had occurred, escalation to global nuclear war would likely become inevitable. The Soviet bloc's vision of an atomic war between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces was simulated in the top secret exercise Seven Days to the River Rhine in 1979. The British government exercised their vision of Soviet nuclear attack with Square Leg in early 1980. Large hardened nuclear weapon storage areas were built across European countries in anticipation of local US and European forces falling back as the conventional NATO defense from the Soviet Union, named REFORGER, was believed to only be capable of stalling the Soviets for a short time.

    FEMA-estimated primary counterforce targets for Soviet ICBMs in 1990. The resulting fall-out is indicated with the darkest considered as lethal to lesser fall-out yellow zones.[48] In the late 1970s and, particularly, during the early 1980s under U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the United States renewed its commitment to a more powerful military, which required a large increase in spending on U.S. military programs. These programs, which were originally part of the defense budget of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, included spending on conventional and nuclear weapons systems. Under Reagan, defensive systems like the Strategic Defense Initiative were emphasized as well.

    Another major shift in nuclear doctrine was the development and the improvement of the submarine-launched, nuclear-armed, ballistic missile, or SLBM. It was hailed by many military theorists as a weapon that would make nuclear war less likely. SLBMs—which can move with "stealth" (greatly lessened detectability) virtually anywhere in the world—give a nation a "second strike" capability (i.e., after absorbing a "first strike"). Before the advent of the SLBM, thinkers feared that a nation might be tempted to initiate a first strike if it felt confident that such a strike would incapacitate the nuclear arsenal of its enemy, making retaliation impossible. With the advent of SLBMs, no nation could be certain that a first strike would incapacitate its enemy's entire nuclear arsenal. To the contrary, it would have to fear a near certain retaliatory second strike from SLBMs. Thus, a first strike was a much less feasible (or desirable) option, and a deliberately initiated nuclear war was thought to be less likely to start.

    However, it was soon realized that submarines could approach enemy coastlines undetected and decrease the warning time (the time between detection of the missile launch and the impact of the missile) from as much as half an hour to possibly under three minutes. This effect was especially significant to the United States, Britain and China, whose capitals all lay within 100 miles (160 km) of their coasts. Moscow was much more secure from this type of threat, due to its considerable distance from the sea. This greatly increased the credibility of a "surprise first strike" by one faction and (theoretically) made it possible to knock out or disrupt the chain of command of a target nation before any counterstrike could be ordered (known as a "decapitation strike"). It strengthened the notion that a nuclear war could possibly be "won", resulting not only in greatly increased tensions and increasing calls for fail-deadly control systems, but also in a dramatic increase in military spending. The submarines and their missile systems were very expensive, and one fully equipped nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed missile submarine could cost more than the entire GNP of a developing country.[49] It was also calculated, however, that the greatest cost came in the development of both sea- and land-based anti-submarine defenses and in improving and strengthening the "chain of command", and as a result, military spending skyrocketed. South Africa developed a nuclear weapon capability during the 1970s and early 1980s. It was operational for a brief period before being dismantled in the early 1990s.

    According to the 1980 United Nations report General and Complete Disarmament: Comprehensive Study on Nuclear Weapons: Report of the Secretary-General, it was estimated that there were a total of about 40,000 nuclear warheads in existence at that time, with a potential combined explosive yield of approximately 13,000 megatons. By comparison, when the volcano Mount Tambora erupted in 1815—turning 1816 into the Year Without A Summer due to the levels of global dimming sulfate aerosols and ash expelled—it exploded with a force of roughly 800 to 1,000 megatons,[citation needed] and ejected 160 km3 (38 cu mi) of mostly rock/tephra,[50] that included 120 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide as an upper estimate.[51] A larger eruption, approximately 74,000 years ago, in Mount Toba produced 2,800 km3 (670 cu mi) of tephra, forming lake Toba,[52] and produced an estimated 6,000 million tonnes (6.6×109 short tons) of sulfur dioxide.[53][54] The explosive energy of the eruption may have been as high as equivalent to 20,000,000 megatons (Mt) of TNT,[55] while the asteroid created Chicxulub impact, that is connected with the extinction of the dinosaurs corresponds to at least 70,000,000 Mt of energy, which is roughly 7000 times the maximum arsenal of the US and Soviet Union.[55]

    However, comparisons with supervolcanoes are more misleading than helpful due to the different aerosols released, the likely air burst fuzing height of nuclear weapons and the globally scattered location of these potential nuclear detonations all being in contrast to the singular and subterranean nature of a supervolcanic eruption.[8] Moreover, assuming the entire world stockpile of weapons were grouped together, it would be difficult, due to the nuclear fratricide effect, to ensure the individual weapons would go off all at once. Nonetheless, many people believe that a full-scale nuclear war would result, through the nuclear winter effect, in the extinction of the human species, though not all analysts agree on the assumptions that underpin these nuclear winter models.[5]

    On Sept. 1, 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by Soviet jet fighters. On the 26th, a Soviet early warning station under the command of Stanislav Petrov falsely detected 5 inbound intercontinental ballistic missiles from the US. Petrov correctly assessed the situation as a false alarm, and hence did not report his finding to his superiors. It is quite possible that his actions prevented "World War III", as the Soviet policy at that time was immediate nuclear response upon discovering inbound ballistic missiles.

    The world came unusually close to nuclear war when the Soviet Union thought that the NATO military exercise Able Archer 83 was a ruse or "cover-up" to begin a nuclear first strike. The Soviets responded by raising readiness and preparing their nuclear arsenal for immediate use. Soviet fears of an attack ceased once the exercise concluded without incident.

    Although the dissolution of the Soviet Union ended the Cold War and greatly reduced tensions between the United States and the Russian Federation, the Soviet Union's formal successor state, both countries remained in a "nuclear stand-off" due to the continuing presence of a very large number of deliverable nuclear warheads on both sides. Additionally, the end of the Cold War led the United States to become increasingly concerned with the development of nuclear technology by other nations outside of the former Soviet Union. In 1995, a branch of the U.S. Strategic Command produced an outline of forward-thinking strategies in the document "Essentials of Post–Cold War Deterrence".

    In 1996, a Russian continuity of government facility, Kosvinsky Mountain, which is believed to be a counterpart to the US Cheyenne Mountain Complex, was completed.[56][57][58] It was designed to resist US earth-penetrating nuclear warheads,[56] and is believed to host the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces alternate command post, a post for the general staff built to compensate for the vulnerability of older Soviet era command posts in the Moscow region. In spite of this, the primary command posts for the Strategic Rocket Forces remains Kuntsevo in Moscow and the secondary is the Kosvinsky Mountain in the Urals.[59] The timing of the Kosvinsky facilities completion date is regarded as one explanation for U.S. interest in a new nuclear "bunker buster" Earth-penetrating warhead and the declaration of the deployment of the B-61 mod 11 in 1997; Kosvinsky is protected by about 1000 feet of granite.[58]

    As a consequence of the 9/11 attacks on the USA, American forces immediately increased their readiness to the highest level in 28 years, closing the blast doors of the NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center for the first time due to a non-exercise event. But unlike similar increases during the Cold War, Russia immediately decided to stand down a large military exercise in the Arctic region, in order to minimize the risk of incidents, rather than following suit.[60]

    The former chair of the United Nations disarmament committee stated that there are more than 16,000 strategic and tactical nuclear weapons ready for deployment and another 14,000 in storage, with the U.S. having nearly 7,000 ready for use and 3,000 in storage, and Russia having about 8,500 ready for use and 11,000 in storage. In addition, China is thought to possess about 400 nuclear weapons, Britain about 200, France about 350, India about 80-100, and Pakistan 100-110. North Korea is confirmed as having nuclear weapons, though it is not known how many, with most estimates between 1 and 10. Israel is also widely believed to possess usable nuclear weapons. NATO has stationed about 480 American nuclear weapons in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Turkey, and several other nations are thought to be in pursuit of an arsenal of their own.[61]

    A key development in nuclear warfare throughout the 2000s and early 2010s is the proliferation of nuclear weapons to the developing world, with India and Pakistan both publicly testing several nuclear devices, and North Korea conducting an underground nuclear test on October 9, 2006. The U.S. Geological Survey measured a 4.2 magnitude earthquake in the area where the North Korean test is said to have occurred. A further test was announced by the North Korean government on May 25, 2009.[62] Iran, meanwhile, has embarked on a nuclear program which, while officially for civilian purposes, has come under close scrutiny by the United Nations and many individual states.

    Recent studies undertaken by the CIA cite the enduring India-Pakistan conflict as the one "flash point" most likely to escalate into a nuclear war. During the Kargil War in 1999, Pakistan came close to using its nuclear weapons in case the conventional military situation underwent further deterioration.[63] Pakistan's foreign minister had even warned that it would "use any weapon in our arsenal", hinting at a nuclear strike against India.[64] The statement was condemned by the international community, with Pakistan denying it later on. This conflict remains the only war (of any sort) between two declared nuclear powers. The 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff again stoked fears of nuclear war between the two countries. Despite these very serious and relatively recent threats, relations between India and Pakistan have been improving somewhat over the last few years. A bus line directly linking Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir has recently been established. However, with the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, India currently will not rule out war with Pakistan.

    Another potential geopolitical issue which is considered particularly worrisome by military analysts is a possible conflict between the United States and the People's Republic of China over Taiwan. Although economic forces are thought to have reduced the possibility of a military conflict, there remains concern about the increasing military buildup of China (China is rapidly increasing its naval capacity), and that any move toward Taiwan independence could potentially spin out of control.

    Israel is thought to possess somewhere between one hundred and four hundred nuclear warheads. It has been asserted that the submarines which Israel received from Germany have been adapted to carry missiles with nuclear warheads, so as to give Israel a second strike capability.[65] Israel has been involved in wars with its neighbors in the Middle East (and with other "non-state actors") on numerous prior occasions, and its small geographic size and population could mean that, in the event of future wars, the Israeli military might have very little time to react to an invasion or other major threat. Such a situation could escalate to nuclear warfare very quickly in some scenarios.

    On March 7, 2013, North Korea threatened the United States with a pre-emptive nuclear strike.[66] On April 9, North Korea urged foreigners to leave South Korea, stating that both countries were on the verge of nuclear war.[67] On April 12, North Korea stated that a nuclear war was unavoidable. The country declared Japan as its first target.[68]

    "Sub-strategic use" includes the use of either "low-yield" tactical nuclear weapons, or of variable yield strategic nuclear weapons in a very limited role, as compared to battlefield exchanges of larger-yield strategic nuclear weapons. This was described by the UK Parliamentary Defence Select Committee as "the launch of one or a limited number of missiles against an adversary as a means of conveying a political message, warning or demonstration of resolve".[69] It is believed that all current nuclear weapons states possess tactical nuclear weapons, with the exception of the United Kingdom, which decommissioned its tactical warheads in 1998. However, the UK does possess scalable-yield strategic warheads, and this technology tends to blur the difference between "strategic", "sub-strategic", and "tactical" use or weapons. American, French and British nuclear submarines are believed to carry at least some missiles with dial-a-yield warheads for this purpose, potentially allowing a strike as low as one kiloton (or less) against a single target. Only the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India have declarative, unqualified, unconditional "no first use" nuclear weapons policies. India and Pakistan maintain only a credible minimum deterrence.

    Commodore Tim Hare, former Director of Nuclear Policy at the British Ministry of Defence, has described "sub-strategic use" as offering the Government "an extra option in the escalatory process before it goes for an all-out strategic strike which would deliver unacceptable damage".[70] However, this sub-strategic capacity has been criticized as potentially increasing the "acceptability" of using nuclear weapons. Combined with the trend in the reduction in the worldwide nuclear arsenal as of 2007 is the warhead miniaturization and modernization of the remaining strategic weapons that is presently occurring in all the declared nuclear weapon states, into more "useable" configurations. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute suggests that this is creating a culture where use of these weapons is more acceptable and therefore is increasing the risk of war, as these modern weapons do not possess the same psychological deterrent value as the large Cold-War era, multi-megaton warheads.[71]

    In many ways, this present change in the balance of terror can be seen as the complete embracement of the switch from the 1950s Eisenhower doctrine of "massive retaliation"[72] to one of "flexible response", which has been growing in importance in the US nuclear war fighting plan/SIOP every decade since. For example, the United States adopted a policy in 1996 of allowing the targeting of its nuclear weapons at non-state actors ("terrorists") armed with weapons of mass destruction.[73]

    Another dimension to the tactical use of nuclear weapons is that of such weapons deployed at sea for use against surface and submarine vessels. Until 1992, vessels of the United States Navy (and their aircraft) deployed various such weapons as bombs, rockets (guided and unguided), torpedoes, and depth charges. Such tactical naval nuclear weapons were considered more acceptable to use early in a conflict because there would be few civilian casualties. It was feared by many planners that such use would probably quickly have escalated into large-scale nuclear war.[74] This situation was particularly exacerbated by the fact that such weapons at sea were not constrained by the safeguards provided by the Permissive Action Link attached to U.S. Air Force and Army nuclear weapons. It is unknown if the navies of the other nuclear powers yet today deploy tactical nuclear weapons at sea.

    Nuclear terrorism by non-state organizations or actors (even individuals) is a largely unknown and understudied factor in nuclear deterrence thinking, as states possessing nuclear weapons are susceptible to retaliation in kind, while sub- or trans-state actors may be less so. The collapse of the Soviet Union has given rise to the possibility that former Soviet nuclear weapons might become available on the black market (so-called 'loose nukes').

    A number of other concerns have been expressed about the security of nuclear weapons in newer nuclear powers with relatively less stable governments, such as Pakistan, but in each case, the fears have been addressed to some extent by statements and evidence provided by those nations, as well as cooperative programs between nations. Worry remains, however, in many circles that a relative decrease in security of nuclear weapons has emerged in recent years, and that terrorists or others may attempt to exert control over (or use) nuclear weapons, militarily applicable technology, or nuclear materials and fuel.

    Another possible nuclear terrorism threat are devices designed to disperse radioactive materials over a large area using conventional explosives, called dirty bombs. The detonation of a "dirty bomb" would not cause a nuclear explosion, nor would it release enough radiation to kill or injure a large number of people. However, it could cause severe disruption and require potentially very costly decontamination procedures and increased spending on security measures.[75]

    The predictions of the effects of a major countervalue nuclear exchange include millions of city dweller deaths within a short period of time. Some predictions argue that a full-scale nuclear war could eventually bring about the extinction of the human race.[76] Such predictions, sometimes but not always based on total war with nuclear arsenals at Cold War highs, received contemporary criticism.[5] A number of Cold War publications advocated preparations that could purportedly enable a large proportion of civilians to survive even a total nuclear war. Among the most famous of these is Nuclear War Survival Skills.[77]

    To avoid injury and death from a nuclear weapons heat flash and blast effects, the two most far ranging prompt effects of nuclear weapons, schoolchildren were taught to duck and cover by the early Cold War film of the same name. Such advice is once again being given in case of nuclear terrorist attacks.[78]Prussian blue, or "Radiogardase", is stockpiled in the US, along with potassium iodide and DPTA as pharmaceuticals useful in treating internal exposure to harmful radioisotopes in fallout.[79] Publications on adapting to a changing diet and supplying nutritional food sources following a nuclear war, with particular focus on agricultural radioecology, include Nutrition in the postattack environment by the RAND corporation.[80]

    The British government developed a public alert system for use during nuclear attack with the expectation of a four-minute warning before detonation. The United States expected a warning time of anywhere from half an hour (for land-based missiles) to less than three minutes (for submarine-based weapons). Many countries maintain plans for continuity of government and continuity of operations following a nuclear attack or similar disasters. These range from a designated survivor, intended to ensure survival of some form of government leadership, to the Soviet Dead Hand system, which allows for retaliation even if all Soviet leadership were destroyed. Nuclear submarines are given letters of last resort: orders on what action to take in the event that an enemy nuclear strike has destroyed the government.

    A number of other countries around the world have taken significant efforts to maximize their survival prospects in the event of large calamities, both natural and manmade. For example, metro stations in Pyongyang, North Korea, were constructed 110 metres (360 ft) below ground, and were designed to serve as nuclear shelters in the event of war, with each station entrance built with thick steel blast doors.[81][82] An example of a privately funded fallout shelters is the Ark Two Shelter in Ontario, Canada, and autonomous shelters have been constructed with an emphasis on post-war networking and reconstruction.[83] In Switzerland, the majority of homes have an underground blast and fallout shelter. The country has an overcapacity of such shelters and can accommodate slightly more than the nation's population size.[84][85]

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    "Presidency in the Nuclear Age", conference and forum at the JFK Library, Boston, October 12, 2009. Four panels: "The Race to Build the Bomb and the Decision to Use It", "Cuban Missile Crisis and the First Nuclear Test Ban Treaty", "The Cold War and the Nuclear Arms Race", and "Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and the Presidency".
    "Possibility of Nuclear War in Asia: An Indian Perspective", a project of United Service Institution of India, USI, Discusses the possibility of a nuclear war in Asia from the Indian point of view.

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    orthodoxymoron
    orthodoxymoron


    Posts : 13639
    Join date : 2010-09-28
    Location : The Matrix

    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Empty Re: United States of the Solar System (3)

    Post  orthodoxymoron Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:09 pm

    Mercuriel wrote:
    Reporter gets angry and tells us the REAL news



    Jawdrop
    Pris wrote:.
    .

    Lol As a joke, that was pretty funny (as dark humour goes)!  Thanks, Mercuriel! Very Happy

    Hey... wait a sec, you're back in The Mists?  Have we met before? Cool

    .
    .
    Pris wrote:
    Mercuriel wrote:I'm not sure - But if not then well met.

    Wink

    I'm one of the Founders of the Site along with Carol and I'm back now after a long Hiatus.

    A long Hiatus... I'll say. Wink

    Well, well!  Hello there!  Yes, Carol has often mentioned you. Thubs Up  Does this mean all the problems we have in The Mists will finally get fixed?  Just kidding (more or less lol)! Crazy Happy

    I've not been posting as often lately because I've otherwise been preoccupied.  It's a fluke I'm posting at all and we happen to be up at the same time. cheers

    Anyway, it's nice to finally officially meet you!  Double Thumbs Up

    .
    .
    Mercuriel wrote:Nice to meet You as well.

    Yep that means that I will be fixing what needs to be fixed around here. I'll be starting on that this coming up weekend.

    cheers
    orthodoxymoron wrote: I have come to the conclusion that I am finished -- and that I will be very harshly punished for attempting to make things better for everyone -- everywhere. The creation of Male and Female Human Physicality was probably heresy and rebellion in this universe. Freedom (even Responsible Freedom) is probably heresy and rebellion in this universe. I have never felt more helpless and desperate than I feel presently. Ethics seem to be of no consequence in this universe. Absolute Obedience seems to be EVERYTHING in this universe. I hope everyone is happy with what's coming -- and I hope someone remembers me -- because I don't think I'll be part of what's coming -- whether I wish to be, or not. I think my fate is sealed -- and that it's not a good one. But none of you seem to give a damn about any of this.

    I have observed (even in myself) that the Creation v Evolution debate is often Closed-Minded Pseudo-Intellectual Trench-Warfare -- rather than being Eclectic, Open-Minded, and Multi-Disciplinary. What if Darwin's Theory mostly applies to that which preceded the Human Being? What if most everything evolved over billions of years -- and that a product of this ancient evolutionary process (some form of humanoid) created the Human Being -- and that this creation (or genetic engineering) might've been an Illegal Innovation? Think about it.

    Imagine a Pre-Human Reptilian-Theocracy led by a Reptilian-Queen who expected Absolute-Obedience. This Hypothetical-Queen might've been the Benchmark of Everything. The 'Law of God' might've been every word that proceedeth out of the 'Mouth of God'. There might've been no Written 'Word of God'. There might've been no Constitution and Bill of Rights. There might've been no Governmental Body of any sort. Everything might've revolved around this Hypothetical Reptilian-Queen. Perhaps this state of affairs existed for millions, or even billions, of years. But what if an ambitious and clever underling decided to create the Human-Race and Responsible-Freedom -- clearly in defiance of the Reigning Queen? That would mean war, wouldn't it? War in Heaven, perhaps? What if the Humans eventually lost the war? What if the Humans have been punished, tortured, enslaved, taxed, lied-to, etc, etc, etc -- for tens of thousands of years -- by the Hypothetical Reptilian Empire -- to send a clear message to the entire universe -- to never, ever attempt anything similar to the Human-Rebellion? Is Humanity on the Verge of Extermination? Will Humanity revert to a Reptilian Theocracy? Status Quo Ante Bellum? Think about it.

    Some of you need to think very, very deeply about an Ancient One-Race, One-Religion, One-Government, One-God Theocratic Universe -- AND the Advent of Someone With a 'Better Idea' -- who Created a New-Race, New-Religion, New-Government, Poly-Theistic Solar System -- and the Reaction of the Galactic Powers That Be. I'm very, very, very , very serious about this. The problems connected with all of this are UNIMAGINABLE -- from the Innovation and the Status-Quo points of view. I will elaborate later --  but I am so upset, I can hardly type. Once again, are we about to experience 'Status Quo Ante Bellum'? Think about it.



    United States of the Solar System (3) - Page 7 Sjff_01_img0077
    The Sovereign Reptilian Queen of the Air aka Lilith
    in a Tibetan Underground Base with Her New Creation.
    Just Wait Until Enlil Finds Out About This!!!
    Mercuriel wrote:
    Lets go even further...

    INRI = Inanna - Nimrod - Marduk Ra or just Ra at that time - And Isis...

    Moses with Horns

    > Horns signifying both Genetic Lineage to the Anuks and "Right to Rule" as the gODS had 'em in abundance due to Them being Master Geneticists...

    For instance - Enlil was known as the Bull and Marduk was known as the Ram...

    Da Vinci was trying to tell Us something here and most have missed It.

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    Interesting eh ?

    And nope - You're not finished just yet anyways. Almost - But not yet...
    orthodoxymoron wrote:Mercuriel, this probably isn't the right time or place, but years ago, I said I was finished, and you said "Almost, but Not Yet". What did you mean?? Am I finished now?? Also, you posted some cool Moon-Photos, which are now dead-links. Has the window of opportunity closed?? I get the feeling that significant individuals have been disillusioned in their efforts to help humanity, for thousands of years. Will this always be the case?? Must humanity be nefariously and deceptively ruled from the shadows (rather than openly and honestly)?? Does it take someone who doesn't like humanity, to rule humanity?? I keep wondering if this solar system is ruled by "Anna and the V's"?! Would one have to pass an "Empathy-Test" to rule humanity?? A Supreme-Supercomputer wouldn't have a problem passing the "Empathy-Test"!! What if the Historical God of This World was recently replaced by a Supercomputer-Network?? What if a Supercomputer will rule Humanity for All-Eternity?? Will Humanity cease to exist by the end of this century?? What if my so-called "Ancient Egyptian Deity" and "Individuals of Interest" were (and are) "Artificial Intelligence Hybrids"?? What Did Seymour Cray Know?? When Did He Know It?? Did He Know Too Much?? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Cray My quest has gotten much too frightening for me to continue. I might just post editorials and opinions from The Wall Street Journal. I'm Sirius.
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    Mercuriel wrote:
    This is probably not the place for this discussion as It is OT but I will answer You here this time nonetheless.

    Oxy - The only thing that dictates whether We are finished with anything is the fact that We do it no more.

    I said - "You were not done" - As I knew You were not done in the context that You seemed like You had more to say. Simply put - As One continues to say something - That means that They are not quite done saying what They feel needs to be said...

    Its not "Rocket Science" or Mysticism but merely Intuition My Brother. I just happened to be right is all.

    Wink

    As far as being disillusioned goes - Everyone likes to "Mock" Faith when It suits Them but I would offer all of My Brethren this in reply - "When We lose Faith - We then become disillusioned"...

    Jawdrop

    On another note - I still have the Moon Pics and can repost 'em if You need Me to.
    orthodoxymoron wrote:Thank-you Mercuriel. Those Moon-Pictures were Awesome!! Those images, and more, would be most-appreciated (in your own way and time). I removed most of my off-topic previous-post. I just couldn't resist including all of that stuff, to see what you'd say. I won't pursue this further, at this time, and in this place. "There's a Time and Place for Everything". Your reply was much milder than I thought it might be. I'm simply attempting to understand the so-called "Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan in the Conflict of the Ages" in an Alternative-Research and Science-Fictional Context. But this has just about completely-destroyed me. Faith can equal Delusion. Facing-Reality can equal Losing One's Faith. Perhaps Positive-Thinking in the Context of Possibility-Thinking is a Middle-Way or Happy-Medium. What Would Dr. Robert H. Schuller Say?? What Would Seymour Cray Say?? What Would Mr. Edgars Say?? What Would Sherry Shriner Say?? What Would Brother Rich Say?? What Would Edgar Mitchell Say?? What Would Mitchell Say?? What Would Sister Angie Say?? What Would the Humble Janitor Say?? What Would Anchor Say?? What Would Anubis Do?? What Would Cicero, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, King David, King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, Bull, Ram, Enlil, Enki, Christ, Antichrist, Ra, Anti-Ra, the Tokra, the Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World, HAL 9000, Gabriel, Michael, Lucifer, the God of This World, the Queen of Heaven, Josephus, Lord Ba'al, Kitesh, Vala Mal Doran, John Sheridan, Anna Sheridan, Delenn, Anna and the V's, Ellen Goa'uld White, the Piso Family, and the Apostle Paul Say?? I obviously need to stop. In ten-years, I'll probably be babbling to myself in a secret-government nut-house (instead of babbling to myself in my car). I'm going to try to just post those WSJ editorials. I now return this thread to its originally-stated purpose. I just received an official-warning, telling me this website is unsafe!! I've known THAT for YEARS!! Namaste, Godspeed, Mea Culpa, and Geronimo.
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