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Thursday, November 26, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
The First Jesus? (National Geographic Lies)
There is a new special on as I type this (9:12 pm) on the National Geographic Channel (or "Nat Geo" as they insist on calling themselves). The entire basis for this show is that a stone tablet talking about a Jewish slave named Simon (who's name doesn't even appear on the tablet) was the "first Jesus" or "first Messiah." Basically, they say that there was a concept of a Messiah raising from the dead that predates Jesus. Wow! Really?! THERE CALLED PROPHCIES!!! Of course there was!!!
The narrator of the show said about the evidence of Jesus' life: "There is none." That is a blatant outright lie! Just forget Josephus' writings. Just forget Tacitus' writing's calling Jesus a crazy heretic because He said to not worship the Roman gods. Just forget about Pliny the Younger talking about Christians worshipping Christ "as a god." Just forget about the Alexamenos graffito that mocks Christians by depicting them worshipping a blasphemous picture of Jesus with the head of a donkey on the cross. Yeah, no evidence at all.
This show is a load of garbage full of lies and idiocy! Truthfully, it just makes them seem desperate.
The narrator of the show said about the evidence of Jesus' life: "There is none." That is a blatant outright lie! Just forget Josephus' writings. Just forget Tacitus' writing's calling Jesus a crazy heretic because He said to not worship the Roman gods. Just forget about Pliny the Younger talking about Christians worshipping Christ "as a god." Just forget about the Alexamenos graffito that mocks Christians by depicting them worshipping a blasphemous picture of Jesus with the head of a donkey on the cross. Yeah, no evidence at all.
This show is a load of garbage full of lies and idiocy! Truthfully, it just makes them seem desperate.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
More Ponderings on Angels
If you’ve not read the original post, click here.
I have been thinking --a dangerous thing, I know--what if beings such as the Cherubim and Seraphim aren’t even “angels?” Let’s examine some biblical terms for angels:
Aggelos (Greek)
A messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God
Mal'ak (Hebrew)
Messenger, representative messenger angel the theophanic angel [1]
Notice a similarity? These words applied to “angels” mean that the beings they are referring to are, basically, messengers. Cherubim and Seraphim are never referred to as “angels.” They are not called “messengers.” But what are they called?
I have been thinking --a dangerous thing, I know--what if beings such as the Cherubim and Seraphim aren’t even “angels?” Let’s examine some biblical terms for angels:
Aggelos (Greek)
A messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God
Mal'ak (Hebrew)
Messenger, representative messenger angel the theophanic angel [1]
Notice a similarity? These words applied to “angels” mean that the beings they are referring to are, basically, messengers. Cherubim and Seraphim are never referred to as “angels.” They are not called “messengers.” But what are they called?
Ezekiel 1
“Living creatures”
Revelation 4
“Beasts”
It would seem that the Cherubim and Seraphim are more akin to heavenly “creatures” than messengers. Here is an interesting verse relating a vision of God:
2 Samuel 22:11
“And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.”
The traditional depiction of a cherub is usually a baby angel with wings. Those are mythical beings and are actually called “putti.” Next, and the usual depiction with regard to Scripture, is that of a man with wings. But, as you know from the verses posted in my last post concerning angels, cherubs and seraphim look nothing like this.
Consider the above verse again, “And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly.” If cherubim, regardless of their mixed animal traits, bore any humanoid resemblance, would God be riding on the back of one?
Speaking of which, the Bible never says specifically if cherubs--or seraphim for that matter--have two or four legs. But considering the above it seems more likely that they have four. Look at the picture at the beginning of this post. It is from ancient Babylon and is known as a “shedu.” Consider also the Egyptian and Greek sphinx, and the medieval European griffin. What do they all have in common? They are all four legged, other-worldly “beasts” with traits of lions, bulls, eagles, and men.
It would seem that the biblical depiction of God riding a cherub through the sky, and the historical depiction of similar creatures as four legged beasts, would give us a picture of beings unlike the humanoid “messengers” that interacted with Abraham, Lot, and King David, and would seem to imply they are more like heavenly creatures that serve different purposes entirely (well, maybe not entirely, but you get the gist of what I’m saying).
So, in conclusion…well, I don’t really have a conclusion. Just a warning. The next time somebody tries to pawn off some old painting of a cherub as a baby angel or a man with wings…uh, don’t believe them.
“Living creatures”
Revelation 4
“Beasts”
It would seem that the Cherubim and Seraphim are more akin to heavenly “creatures” than messengers. Here is an interesting verse relating a vision of God:
2 Samuel 22:11
“And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.”
The traditional depiction of a cherub is usually a baby angel with wings. Those are mythical beings and are actually called “putti.” Next, and the usual depiction with regard to Scripture, is that of a man with wings. But, as you know from the verses posted in my last post concerning angels, cherubs and seraphim look nothing like this.
Consider the above verse again, “And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly.” If cherubim, regardless of their mixed animal traits, bore any humanoid resemblance, would God be riding on the back of one?
Speaking of which, the Bible never says specifically if cherubs--or seraphim for that matter--have two or four legs. But considering the above it seems more likely that they have four. Look at the picture at the beginning of this post. It is from ancient Babylon and is known as a “shedu.” Consider also the Egyptian and Greek sphinx, and the medieval European griffin. What do they all have in common? They are all four legged, other-worldly “beasts” with traits of lions, bulls, eagles, and men.
It would seem that the biblical depiction of God riding a cherub through the sky, and the historical depiction of similar creatures as four legged beasts, would give us a picture of beings unlike the humanoid “messengers” that interacted with Abraham, Lot, and King David, and would seem to imply they are more like heavenly creatures that serve different purposes entirely (well, maybe not entirely, but you get the gist of what I’m saying).
So, in conclusion…well, I don’t really have a conclusion. Just a warning. The next time somebody tries to pawn off some old painting of a cherub as a baby angel or a man with wings…uh, don’t believe them.
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[1] BibleStudyTools.com, Greek and Hebrew Lexicons. http://www.biblestudytools.com/search/?q=angel&rc=LEX&rc2=&ps=10&s=References
Have Yourself a Merry Psychic Christmas
I found this disturbing little number in a Christmas catalog (you know, one of those things that tries to suck you dry of your hard-earned monies by tempting you with products that are way too expensive for their own good) that arrived in the mail today and was rather disgusted. Truthfully, I doubt too many people will be able to buy this $100 box of deception, especially considering the economy, but it will also doubtlessly tempt both young and old into thinking about “real” psychic “powers.”
If you want to know more about that subject from a Christian perspective, I would suggest heading on over to Russ Dizdar’s website: http://shatterthedarkness.net/.
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Thursday, November 12, 2009
Ponderings on Angels
I was just thinking about how some angels have the attributes of animals. For instance, Cherubim have attributes of a lion, eagle, ox (or bull), and a man.
The Cherubim in the book of Ezekiel (chapters 1, 10, and 11) seem to be made up of all these things at once:
Ezekiel 1:5-11
“Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.”
In the book of Revelation, there appears to be Seraphim (Seraphim have six wings, Isaiah 6:2) which have only one face but similar attributes:
Revelation 4:6-8
“…and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”
Why would God ascribe these traits to His messengers? I had a funny thought—maybe He made some of the animals in the image of the angels. The Bible does not tell us when the angels were made. I always kind of assumed it was in the beginning, when God created the “heavens and the earth,” because angels dwell in the heavens. The Bible does tell us the following:
Job 36:6-7
“Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
This still does not tell us when angels were made, however. Just that they were around when God laid the foundations of the earth.
Then I noticed, if my theory was true, that would mean that God would have made angels in His image before He made man in his image. They do have some traits of men, some even more than the Cherubim. So that makes the theory seem unlikely.
Then I thought, “Maybe God picked animals that He considered noble and ascribed their traits to His angels.” He does show favor to characteristics of certain animals; the noble eagle, the powerful bull, the mighty lion, and of course, the being that God favors most (though not an animal): man.
I guess we’ll never know when angels were made while we’re here on earth, or why God ascribed the attributes of both man and animal to them, but it’s something I plan to ask when I get to Heaven.
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The Cherubim in the book of Ezekiel (chapters 1, 10, and 11) seem to be made up of all these things at once:
Ezekiel 1:5-11
“Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.”
In the book of Revelation, there appears to be Seraphim (Seraphim have six wings, Isaiah 6:2) which have only one face but similar attributes:
Revelation 4:6-8
“…and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”
Why would God ascribe these traits to His messengers? I had a funny thought—maybe He made some of the animals in the image of the angels. The Bible does not tell us when the angels were made. I always kind of assumed it was in the beginning, when God created the “heavens and the earth,” because angels dwell in the heavens. The Bible does tell us the following:
Job 36:6-7
“Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
This still does not tell us when angels were made, however. Just that they were around when God laid the foundations of the earth.
Then I noticed, if my theory was true, that would mean that God would have made angels in His image before He made man in his image. They do have some traits of men, some even more than the Cherubim. So that makes the theory seem unlikely.
Then I thought, “Maybe God picked animals that He considered noble and ascribed their traits to His angels.” He does show favor to characteristics of certain animals; the noble eagle, the powerful bull, the mighty lion, and of course, the being that God favors most (though not an animal): man.
I guess we’ll never know when angels were made while we’re here on earth, or why God ascribed the attributes of both man and animal to them, but it’s something I plan to ask when I get to Heaven.
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Saturday, November 7, 2009
Iron Dragons
I case anyone wants a good book to read (or listen to) I would highly recommend "Iron Dragons - Book 1 of The Saramond Quests" by Christian author, analyst, and radio personality Derek P. Gilbert. To listen to the free audio book version (read by the author himself), click here.
Family Fare
I was watching an episode of "The Way of the Master" (hosted by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron) the other day and I was struck by something that Ray Comfort pointed out: G rated movies make several times more money than R rated movies. And they try and act like R rated movies are all the public want! To read a study about this subject, click here.
Dedication
For my first post I will dedicate this blog to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May He put a guard over my mouth as I talk, my mind as I think, and my fingers as I type. May I glorify Him with this blog and may He use it to bring souls unto Him. Amen.
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