Retrobyter

Shalom, George. Philippians 4:8-9 (KJV) 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. It seems to me that the answer to the "deadly D's" is to switch one's focus from oneself to God Himself. Look for the OPPOSITES in God that counter these "deadly D's!" Instead of "Discouragement," realize God's ENCOURAGEMENT! Instead of "Discomfort," experience God's COMFORT! Instead of "Dissatisfaction," anticipate God's SATISFACTION soon to become our REALITY! Instead of "Distraction," experience God's FOCUS! Instead of "Disappointment," realize God's PRIDE in you, His DEAR CHILD, whom He LOVES VERY MUCH! Instead of "Disgruntledness," experience God's PATIENCE and ANTICIPATE His GLORIOUS FUTURE He has PLANNED for YOU! Instead of "Disruption," find God's WONDERFUL PEACE! Instead of "Disillusionment," discover God's CONCRETE REALITY and your part in His INTRICATE PLAN! Instead of "Disqualification," know that God makes NO MISTAKES and you are INFINITELY QUALIFIED for whatever He has planned for YOU to perform! Instead of "Dispossession," know that God has made you ACCEPTED in His Beloved and you are CO-HEIRS with His Son, the Messiah Yeshua`! Instead of "Disturbance," relax in God's LOVE and JOY! Instead of "Distortion," see with God's CLARITY! Instead of "Disunity," know that God is ONE and that... John 14:20 ..."ye shall know that I (Yeshua`) am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." Instead of "Destruction," know that God gives us ETERNAL, ABUNDANT LIFE! Instead of "Deception," know that God is TRUE and that Yeshua` said "I am the ... TRUTH! Instead of "Doubt," TRUST the God who knows and controls every subatomic particle in the entire universe that expands into countless galaxies each consisting of countless stars and somewhere in between, probably closer to the subatomic particles than the stars, He cares for US! And, as per turtletwo, instead of "Despair," TAKE HEART and have CONFIDENCE in our WONDERFUL, AWESOME GOD!

Shalom, turtletwo. May the shalom of God comfort your heart. I'm praying for her well-being.

Shalom, Oseas Ramos de Siqueira. I find a LOT of errors in your thinking, my brother. Let's start with an obvious one: You quoted with comments, "Rev. 7:v2 - And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth (Jews) and the sea, (Gentile peoples)," but this is an allegorical interpretation of that verse that DOES NOT HAVE biblical authentication! The "earth" is simply the "GROUND." The "sea" is simply the "WATER." Where do you get off calling the earth "the Jews?" or the sea "the Gentiles?!" There's no biblical authority to do this.

Shalom, again, turtletwo. I should also mention that I, as a lover of mathematics, find it fascinating that the ellipse (which is what an orbit truly is) can be explained by epicycles. The formula for an ellipse that is wider than it is tall is ((x - h)^2) / (a^2) + ((y - k)^2) / (b^2) = 1. (This was written in old "computerese," like for the computer languages BASIC, FORTRAN, COBOL, or C, so that the whole formula could be written on a single line. Simply solve for the variable for which you are looking, forcing all the other variables to be known values, and make it into an assignment formula to find unknown values. I also added spaces for clarity. Some computer languages would have rejected the spaces. The caret ["^"] means "raised to the power of"; thus, "^2" means "raised to the power of 2" or "raised to the second power" or "squared.") The formula for an ellipse that is taller than it is wide is ((x - h)^2) / (b^2) + ((y - k)^2) / (a^2) = 1. The formula for a circle is ((x - h)^2) + ((y - k)^2) = r^2. In all three cases, the center of the figure is at (h, k) on the Cartesian coordinate sytem in two-space, where "h" is the x-value of the center and "k" is the y-value of the center described from some fixed source called the "origin" at (0,0). "a" describes the distance from the center to the major vertex of the ellipse, "b" describes the distance from the center to the minor vertex of the ellipse, and "r" describes the length of the radius of that circle. In an epicycle, the center of the inner circle is tracing out the outer circle, and the path of the object is traveling in some fashion around the path of the inner circle. To mesh the two formulae together would be to let the x-and y-values of the outer circle describe the h- and k-values of the inner circle. Thus, the x- and y-values of the inner circle would provide the coordinates of the observed object at some point in time on the plane through the earth called the "ecliptic." With the values picked carefully and correctly, it will describe the path of the ellipse! Later, it was discovered that an ellipse around a single object, such as the sun, would have to have the object at one of the foci (plural of "focus" point) at one time of the trace of the ellipse and at the other one of the foci at the opposite time of the trace. This meant that the object, acting as the focus point, was ALSO MOVING from one focus point to the other focus point! Thus, the mere fact that an object was traveling in the path of an ellipse around another object proved that the more central object was also moving. Of course, NONE of this math - not of the heliocentric model with its ellipses and not of the geocentric model with its epicycles - tells WHY the objects would be so moving. It wasn't until Sir Isaac Newton proposed the laws of gravitation and motion that we now had a force to explain why one object would be moving about another - gravity.

Shalom, turtletwo. Mathematics is the key. The timing of the planets is not a new thing, but it should not have been set aside when the truth was discovered in the 1500s. The amount of time that Mercury takes to move back and forth in the heavens near the sun is less time than that of Venus' travels back and forth in proximity to the sun. See, before they realized that these were orbits around the sun, they used the concept of "epicycles," defined thus: By using the maximum distances in the angles formed by the travels of the planets in relationship to the sun as well as the frequency of the cycles of the movements, the calculations could be formed to suggest that we were seeing circular paths of these planets around the sun from an oblique perspective, that is, from the edge of the circle, instead of the complex epicycle system. That was true at least for the "planets" (a word meaning "wanderers") called Mercury and Venus. The other three planets, called "Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn," had paths that circled the earth at various times, but always came back to the sun from our perspective. Their patterns had cycles in the years instead of days. These, too, were described by complex epicycles at first, but were explained in time to be nearly circular orbits revolving about the sun as the sun revolved about the earth. It was discovered by Copernicus that the earth could be described to be moving about the sun as easily as it is described to be the sun moving about the earth, and that placed our planet on a nearly circular orbit between the inner planets and the known outer planets. Thus, the heliocentric solar system was theorized. This heliocentric model described the movement of the planets much easier than all the complex epicycles once used for the geocentric model. And, I haven't even mentioned retrograde motion or varying magnitudes of the planets as they changed positions among the backdrop of the stars. However, this gives one a beginning point for the investigation. (See Rochester.edu's Coperincan9 page.) As far as their Scripture verses are concerned, the Scriptures are NOT written either to support or to deny scientific theory or evidence. They are written from the perspective of human beings on the (sur)face of the earth. For all the interpretations of Genesis 1 and 2, the truth is that the account of Creation is about the formation of the biosphere of this planet and the inhabitants of this planet. If one will notice, the Days of Creation are arranged in this way: Day 1 = Creation of light and darkness, Day 2 = Creation of the atmosphere among the waters, Day 3 = Creation of the land and vegetation for food, Day 4 = Creation of the "inhabitants" of the light and darkness - the lights from the sun, moon, and stars Day 5 = Creation of the inhabitants of the atmosphere and waters - the birds and the sea creatures Day 6 = Creation of the inhabitants of the land - the cattle (ALL domesticated herds and flocks), the beasts of the field, and everything that creepeth upon the land. Ironically, I should have also included mankind.

Shabbat shalom, turtletwo. "A sin which is not unto death" is a crime that is not a capital crime. It's an infraction of God's Law that is not punishable by death. This means to pray for the person that God not hold him guilty for that sin - that crime - give him or her space to repent. The "sin which is unto death" is a capital crime, one that IS punishable by death, such as murder or disobediece to parents under the Mosaic Law. If one has committed a crime, such as murder, that is punishable by death, then the person will die according to the Law, even when it's the laws of the state. No amount of prayer to God, who is holier and more righteous than the laws of the state, will be able to undo the physical sentence that the perpetrator rightly receives. This has nothing, however, to do with crying out to God for His forgiveness. It's whether a person can intervene with God for another to have that person's sentence reduced.

Shabbat shalom, Sojourner414. Excuse me, but can you show me the verse that gives YOU the authority to remove an organization's "lampstand?" As far as reducing one's post to the "level of a three-year old," it's not a bad idea. "Out of the mouths of babes ... ." As far as when the Lord Messiah Yeshua` comes before/within/after the Tribulation, have you noticed that one's position is determined by how one defines the "Tribulation?" Perhaps, since movement to or away from a point is described by either the movement of the observer or the movement of the point (or the movement of both), then perhaps the Time when the Messiah comes back will be based more on where you place the Tribulation than when the Lord comes. And, there are MANY assumptions that are made by any camp to which one belongs. For instance, why does the "Tribulation" have to be 7 years long? Why is the "Tribulation" so often associated with the 70th Week of Daniel when there's no Scriptural proof for such an association? Where's the Scripture verses that prove that? That's the most FUNDAMENTAL assumption that is made about the "Tribulation" on which those who hold pretrib, midtrib ("pre-wrath"), partial trib, or posttrib have hung their belief-systems. The problem, as I see it, is making a simple noun into a LABEL for something. What IS a "tribulation" anyway? Can there be more than one of them? How long can they be? When one realizes that the word "tribulation" is a translation of the Greek word "thlipsis" and that this one Greek word was translated in the KJV as "tribulation," "afflicted," "affliction," "anguish," "burdened," "persecution," and "trouble," then perhaps we should be looking at the verses containing these words, as well, before coming to any rash, sudden conclusions. I have no intention of "silencing you" (not that I could), but I do feel that you need to take your emotions down a notch. We're family here, and we're trying to work through these questions together. We should be in an attitude of cooperation, not of competition or controversy. If we come to the point when we are at loggerheads, then we need simply and gently (gentlemanly) to agree to disagree. State your points clearly and with Scripture to back up what you say, and I'll have no problem with what you say or how you say it. There are some groups that are under such urgency, that they don't think they have the time to analyze a position. They just need to latch onto that position which they've been taught, and go full steam ahead! But, if "each one wins one a year," did you know that we could evangelize the whole world in much less than a single lifetime? Remember the story about the inventor of chess? It's mostly just a legend now, but the story goes that the ruler of his country so loved the game that he gave its inventor the right to choose how he would be paid for it. He said simply to have all the wheat that one would get if one placed a single grain of wheat on the first square of the chessboard and double that number for each successive square on the board. So, the ruler agreed and the doubling began: 1+2+4+8+16+32+64+128+256 (first row)+ 512+1024+2048+4096+8192+16,384+32,768+65,536 (second row, only six more rows to go)+ 131,072+262,144+524,288 (over a bushel of wheat now)+... . It wasn't long before the ruler discovered that all the granaries and coffers of the kingdom couldn't supply the wheat the man had asked for! Instead, so the legend goes, the inventor was beheaded for his impudence! The same is true for evangelization, and we're not starting with just one individual, but if "each one won one a year," we would be doubling our numbers each year! And that is not even taking into consideration the power of the Holy Spirit of God, or the fact that we can certainly win more than one person a year! Just consider the Billy Graham crusades, for instance! So, urgency is not a valid excuse for laziness in making sure we're teaching others the right things. Let's all work together on these topics.

Shabbat shalom, ayin jade (green eyes). May YHWH God be close to you at all times and comfort you through this ordeal. I've had to deal with cancer in my life, too, but God was with me through it all. I'm now - for the moment - cancer free, and I'm hoping you will share the same prognosis soon! We all love you, sister, and pray for your healing. I believe God has more work for you to do; so, He will heal you. Just remember, though, that healing in this life is temporary at best, but we have a Resurrection coming in which we will get NEW bodies like that of our Lord Yeshua` the Messiah! They will be strong, indestructible, immortal, and incorruptible bodies in which we will live forever with our God and our Rescuer. He will deliver us from death, pain, and disease, and give us REAL eternal, everlasting life on a new earth with new skies. We will be HOME when the New Jerusalem is our "house" and the New Earth is our "back yard," breathing the air of our New Sky. How awesome it will be to see that holy city glowing in God's resplendent light and outdoing the sun in its brightness! How funny it will be to see the moon mixed up in its phases as it reflects both lights on its surface! (Isa. 24:23) The beautiful, brightly glowing, blood-red gem of a city, almost 1,380 miles long, wide and high, will tower high above the green grasses and forests below. The city gates will be 460 miles apart and huge rivers will flow out its gates onto the surface of the New Earth. Each gate will be named for one of the twelve tribes of Israel; so, I would imagine that each river will also be so named. Inside the city walls of blood-red jasper, the city buildings and even the street will be constructed of pure gold. The foundational levels of the city, each named for a different apostle of the Lord, will be made from different gemstones of varying colors; so, the "floor" of one level will be one color, while the "roof" of that level, the foundation above it, will be a different color, and the gold will reflect the various hues throughout the city. Waterfalls and cascades will be plentiful as the water winds its way from the throne of God and of the Lamb in its pinnacle - its capstone - its "head stone of the corner" - down through the median of the street of that city. And, on either side of the river, within the median of this huge street, will be a park (Greek: paradeisos, pronounced "par-ah-DICE-os" and transliterated as "paradise"; Hebrew: pardeec pronounced "par-DACE") of trees - an orchard - of the species of tree known as the Tree of Life. There will be MILLIONS of these trees planted throughout the city! I also imagine that, since the round gates of pearl will always stand open, commemorating the Resurrection of our Lord, that the trees will also migrate out of the gates onto the surface of the New Earth, following the River(s) of the Water of Life. After all, the leaves of the trees are for the "healing of the nations." God is not through with us, yet, and whether we continue to live in the now or the near future of this age is irrelevant, except for how God can use us to further His glory, but we have lives in the far future that will NEVER fade or grow old or die! This is my gift to you. Read about the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22. Since "soon" is a relative term, see you soon, sis!

Shabbat shalom, turtletwo. False teachings may or may not be a problem. If it has nothing to do with one's "salvation"; that is, how God justifies an individual, then it may just be a difference of opinion based on one's interpretation of the Scriptures. If it has something to do with that person's justification by God (often called that person's "salvation"), then by all means pursue the issue, but like in these forums, NEVER attack the person! STICK TO THE TOPIC! Assuming that you care for this person deeply (because you said, [he or she is] "very dear to me"), ALWAYS keep your lines of communication open! In fact, if you came off sounding "preachy" in your last encounter, you may need to say you're sorry and ask forgiveness. (Yes, whether or not the other person is wrong in believing this "false teaching," "two wrongs don't make a right!") ASK QUESTIONS! Don't be "preachy," but honestly ask why they believe such-and-such. Then, relax and allow the person to answer the question. If something doesn't sound right to you, dig a little deeper with questions. Upon what or whom are they trusting? Do they feel they need to DO something to be accepted by God? If so, then you can give them the good news that God's acceptance is not based on one's merit! In fact, there's nothing we COULD do to merit "salvation!" It is GOD who justifies! And, always try to give them Scripture for that good news: Romans 8:31-39 (KJV) 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul also said, Ephesians 1:3-14 (KJV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved (i.e., Jesus Himself). 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest (down payment) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. I sincerely hope this helps you, but remember how you were justified by God, and use your own testimony to share God's love with your loved one.

Shalom, turtletwo. I'll be praying, too. Remember: It's GOD who has the power; not our faith. Our faith is simply when we trust Him for His love and answer to prayer. He loves you and your son; trust Him for His best.

Shalom, listener24. Montana Marv is correct; without the ashes of a red heifer, there could be no "third Temple." It's a necessary "ingredient" for prophecy to be fulfilled about a new Temple yet to be built. We know that such a Temple will exist from prophecy, but it's always thrilling to see the pieces fall into place.

Shalom, Tzephanyahu. First, allow me to point out that "bless" and "bliss" come from the same root in English. To "bless" someone is to make that someone "happy!" To pay truly for someone's meal or to provide clothes for someone's back or to provide a roof over someone's head IS to make that someone happy! However, we need also to discuss the Hebrew word translated as "bless" in the Scriptures: The word is usually a form of "baruwkh," the imperative form of the verb "baarakh." 1288 baarakh (baw-rak'). A primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason) -- X abundantly, X altogether, X at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, X greatly, X indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, X still, thank. So, to "bless God" is to "kneel to God" or to "bend the knee before God." Such obeisance would be pleasing to God and make Him happy. After all, He is worthy of our adoration and our reverence. When God blesses us, He doesn't move; so instead, He is lifting US up in some way! That is, He is exalting us or He is giving us something beneficial, whether that be status, monetary benefits, or benefits in some other way, such as health. He is treating us as His dear, special children. And, the Bible word for "special" is "holy." "Holy" does NOT mean "righteous"; it means "singled out" or "special." We become someone whom God has noticed and singles out, usually to benefit Himself in some way, as well. He gives us the means by which we can perform His will in some way. We become mutually beneficial to each other.

Shalom, Tzephanyahu. I totally agree with you. To make matters worse, some people say simply, "Praise God!" and think that they have just praised Him. Which, if you think about it, is really a command for someone else to praise Him! Those people who say "Praise God!" are neither praising Him themselves and are commanding someone else to do it instead! To praise someone is to brag on that someone to others! That's hard to do alone. It's telling others that one is proud of his or her God, and one must give REASONS why he or she is so proud of God! We've been given many examples in Scripture, but the one that first comes to my mind is the song that the children of Israel sang having been delivered from Pharaoh and his armies through the Red Sea: Exodus 15:1-21 (KJV) 1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation (deliverance; rescue): he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. 4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. 6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. 8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. 10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. 11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. 14 The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. 15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. 17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever. 19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. 20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Now, THAT'S high praise! Travelers passing by would hear this song and wonder at its words! They would check out the claims and find the dead Egyptians and their horses all along the Red Sea's coastline as well as the remains of their chariots. They would pass this information along to the then-present inhabitants of the Land to which the children of Israel were traveling. One can only imagine the reactions they would have to the news!

Shalom, Whisperpoetry. Oh, to be sure! You can always ask us questions! I can't say we'll always have an answer, but we can at the least research the answer(s) out together! You just never said what you needed your answer for, so I was just covering all the bases. I didn't feel you were actually "cheating." Glad you found it; however, you should know that "Torah" really means "instruction," not "law." The Torah was made for man, not man for the Torah. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask away.

Shalom, listener24. A person's "name" was the means by which a ruler could make his orders effective. It was a way to signify the AUTHORITY behind his orders. When Yeshua` said, "I will do whatever you ask in my name," He was saying, "I will do whatever you ask on my authority." However, that implies two things: First, it must be something that Yeshua` would wish, and second, it must be something that is important enough for which to invoke His authority. One cannot just wish for anything and expect his or her wish to be instantly fulfilled. That would be counterproductive to God's Will, which Yeshua` will certainly also perform.