Tag: Christianity

The Strange Woman

Proverbs 5:3 “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.”

The strange woman in the book of Proverbs is a strange woman & the strange woman as in the harlot of Babylon which is the mother of harlots–so like mother, like daughter. She is juxtaposed to wisdom in the book. The strange woman is an adulteress & consider this series:

Proverbs 7:18 “Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.

19 For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:

20 He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.”

I refuse to believe that a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can miss the bigger implications in the above series (Mark 13:34).

To return to the article’s opening verses from Proverbs 5, I searched the scriptures & here are some correlations & contrasts to the verses about the strange woman (I added the roman numerals to clearly delineate the sections–there is a lot of scripture):

I: Proverbs 5:3 “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb…”

Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb…”

She speaks some pleasant words, they drop as an honeycomb, thus they drop like honey. In contrast the law, testimony, statutes, commandment, fear & judgments of the LORD (Psalms 19:7-9):

Psalms 19:10 “..sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

II: Proverbs 5:3 “…and her mouth is smoother than oil:”

This section took me a long time to correlate (or as I believe not in the nature of a boast: the Lord finally showed me) because I was focussed entirely on the oil.  Her mouth is smoother than oil–she speaks smoother than smooth things:

Isaiah 30:10 “Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:”

The people only wanted to hear smooth things even if they are lies. The subject of peace always sounds like a smooth thing, but is it truth?:

Jeremiah 8:11 “For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”

Thus, I correlate the sequence to a false prophetess:

Revelation 2:20 “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.”

III Proverbs 5:4 “But her end is bitter as wormwood,…”

If you recall in section I, the judgments of the LORD (Psalm 19:7-10) are included amongst the things that,  “…are sweeter also than the honey and the honeycomb.”

Amos 5:7 “Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,”

Romans 1:32 “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Thus we have the judgment of God & the woman promotes celebrating the opposite (readers of Romans 1 should understand a common popular issue that certainly relates). The word wormwood correlates to bitterness (Lam 3:15, Rev 8:10-11):

Deuteronomy 32:32 “For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:

33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.”

With the venoms of asps, see Romans 3:13-3:18, which includes:

Romans 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Juxtaposed to the wormwood & the bitterness of that vine:

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.”

In Revelation 8:11 “..and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.” Thus, the waters poisoned by Wormwood are a deadly drink:

Mark 16:18 “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them…”

IV Proverbs 5:4 “..sharp as a twoedged sword. ”

Her end is as sharp as a twoedged sword. That is an end to be feared:

Luke 12:5 “But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”

Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”

Her end is sharp as a twoedged sword, but:

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword…”

V Proverbs 5:5 “Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.”

Concerning the same strange woman:

Proverbs 2:19 “None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”

The strange women takes us in quite a different direction than life:

Matthew 7:13 “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.”

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

VI Proverbs 5:6 “Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.”

She could make you ponder the path of life (for example ponder John 14:6), like the common claim that there are many religions & many different paths to God. That is not what the word of God says:

1 Timothy 2:15 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

1 John 2:22 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”

One can never be certain because of her moveable ways; the opposite of simplicity:

2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Her ways are moveable, in contrast:

Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love & the Leviathan (Poem)

My secret love burned but
my love is no secret
my countenance exposes
other-worldly roses
but she was only flattered
whilst I was enamored

Lovelorn as if I had been
born to burn inside for
the rest of my days
Torn by desires to fulfill
an unceasing fire or
simply get away

Limbo, my final abode
if I stayed on that road
Happy was she, to keep me
romantically hopeless, a
personal Sisyphus
I was sick of this

Her stare turned into frost
my flames did not exhaust
she was forever lost
fervor grew only higher
inferno absent of pyre
I was about to expire

Months, my mind and body waned
to others, I was insane
I kept on praying
Then one hopeless afternoon
like the harrowing of hell
my soul, did swell

Jonah 2:2 “And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.”

Unsound Eschatology

I will begin the article by defining what may be Christian jargon for some. I do not do so as if I am standing on an intellectual pedestal & I am feeding the lowly masses. Familiarity with terminology is no measure of intelligence. That is why I dislike the slang phrase dumbing down. So one never heard a term before or it is not a routine part of one’s vocabulary–that would be uninformed or unaware, not dumb.

Doctrine–A collection of beliefs that are supposed to be based off the word of God. A doctrine may encompass several supporting scriptures from different books & chapters of the Bible. Sometimes the label for the doctrine is based off an older language; also the label is used for brevity.  Thus, one may not find the verbatim label for the doctrine in scriptures. For instance the rapture is used instead of the, “…caught up” (1 Thess 4:17). That label is derived from an older language. Another example for brevity is the harrowing of hell. Not all doctrine universally agreed upon via interpretation, but the label is an abbreviated way to highlight a subject for those who already have familiarity.

Eschatology–The doctrine of last things. To say end times is a reference to the same study.

Unsound Eschatology–Unsound doctrine of last things. An unreliable collection of beliefs concerning the end times because the collection of beliefs do not align with the Bible. Doctrine is not unsound or unreliable on the basis that it does not align with human reason or logic. The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is not logical or rational IAW with human reason. That is why I am not a fan of rational faith. The term itself entails cognitive dissonance.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Faith is not going to meet a human endorsed rational or logical cause & effect formula. Some will accuse us of blind faith–which the phrase itself is like saying round circle: “the evidence of things not seen.” Blind faith? Guilty–so what? Not only is my faith irrational–it is exciting. On the topic of logic & reason, many versions of Christian doctrines have been warped via the influence of Plato or Aristotle. The two men wrote some interesting things, but an attempt to glean anything from the Holy Bible on the basis of their writings is error. Christians should be on guard when scholars or theologians routinely toss the terms rationality, logic or reason into the mix.

John 20:29 “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

The existence of giants is not rational by our modern measure, yet God not only speaks of giants, but He also tells how big a certain giant’s bedstead was & that his bedstead was in a particular place at a particular time:

Deuteronomy 3:11 “For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.”

The dimensions of the bedstead are in the area of 13 feet long & 6 feet wide. The inference was not that Og owned a huge bed, but Og required a huge bed with strong support (iron). If the inference was luxury–we would have been told about Og’s gold or many possessions. All that being said, the size of Og does not align with modern human rationality. This might shake up some folks, but the giants existed–sound doctrine (Ecc 1:9; Gen 6:4; Dan 2:43). It is unsupported by modern human reason, but supported by the scripture.

All that wraps back around to eschatology. The manner of eschatology is molded by whether one has faith in the word of God or human reason or rationality:

2 Peter 3:3 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”

(Compare to Exodus 32:1)

What people believe about the last things, whether they happen 10 minutes or 10 centuries from now–affects our modus operandi here & now. Generally speaking, there are two vastly different versions of eschatology being promoted within Christian institutions. I am not speaking of disagreements like whether the rapture occurs before, during or after the great tribulation. The two general doctrines are night & day.

I speak of one eschatology that involves patience (Rev 13:10) & another that leads to the belief that men will build the kingdom of heaven on earth (tower of Babel–part 2). One mode promotes the word of God & the other mode promotes oppressed & oppressor philosophy. Both camps utilize the Bible, but one in a greater capacity & one in a lesser capacity.

I am going to discuss a severe case of unsound eschatology connected to terrible things from the other camp. Note that the entire other camp may not be near as extreme, but their doctrine is akin to this example:

Notorious communist cult leader Jim Jones once slammed a King James Bible on the floor & exclaimed to his congregation, “My grand-daddy believed this Bible–and he was racist!” Although Jones quoted scripture from time to time; this action displayed the treasure of his heart (Luke 6:45). He obsessively spoke on the likes of diversity, racism & sexism.

Eventually the entire cult packed up, went off to a jungle & through precepts such as equality–they planned on building the kingdom of heaven on earth. As is the routine with communism; the end of the matter was mass murder.  Some call it mass suicide, but it was mass suicide at gun point.

I must note this is not about a Church ever addressing items like racism, but rather a question: can there ever be a Sunday or two absent of the mention of diversity, racism, sexism or equality? Can scripture such as Hebrews 1 be about Who it is about or must it somehow be related to that agenda?

Based on frequency, is the focus the Lord Jesus Christ, His return & resurrection (1 Cor 15:12-14) or is it a steady stream of oppressed & oppressor rhetoric which promotes insurrection (Barabbas–Mark 15:7) against the perceived status quo?

The night camp’s eschatology leaves no room for Biblically sound eschatology. Through democracy, diversity, equality, no-borders, socialism–it promotes that men will build the kingdom of heaven on earth, the communist utopia. Where does the world worshipping the beast, the mark of the beast, the return of Christ or the battle of armageddon fit in?

In order to propagate the night camp’s version of events–unsound things are promoted across the board. A classic example is the claim that in the Book of Revelation, the emperor of Rome at the time was the beast. Negative:

Revelation 17:8 “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.”

So, “was, and is not; and shall ascend” does not fit the narrative of what would have been at the time the scripture was penned–a current emperor of Rome. Another question along the lines of the night camp’s narrative–when was the mark of the beast? When did people have to get the name, mark or number of a Roman Emperor in their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell (Rev 13:16-17)?

Thus, the night camp’s claim is that the Apostle John wrote in the apocalyptic style of the day to reflect what was going on the world around him. Take note: there is not a thing about it being the word of God in such a statement. That is a common marker to watch out for with the night camp. They ascribe too much agency to the human pens–inspired like poets instead of God giving them words & visions to write down:

2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

“All scripture is given..” is often confused with “inspiration is given.” The inspiration of God was the vehicle (“by”) for all scripture that is given. The men did not take artistic liberties as if John the Apostle thought, “I think I will write this piece in the popular apocalyptic style of today.”  In fact the night camp’s claim alludes that the Apostle John was not shown a vision by God.

This article could become book length. I will wind it down by stating that the night camp’s eschatology is like, “As a community, we are going to build the best city that we can.” There is not anything wrong with building a nice city, but the problem is–that is the end of their religion; to build the best city that they can (Gen 11). It is also a pragmatic religion. They want to see things now, they want to make things happen now. Everything is of a temporal nature. Constant oppressed & oppressor rhetoric imparts bitterness. Frankly, all Americans are force fed enough the same rhetoric from the media, the education system, the entertainment industry…the world.

The day camp’s eschatology is patiently enduring the downward spiral of the world. This is not to state that justice should be ignored where it is in our power to do something. The day camp does not lie–lot’s of bad things are going to happen. At some point the world will break it’s cycle of up’s & down’s and only head down, down, down. Bible believing Christians are going to have zero desire to even breath in that world, but they must endure & have faith that everything will end up how the Bible says it will end up. A rational faith will not do because nearly everything around will be heading the opposite direction of the faith. Rationally, pragmatically, the faith will appear not to be working in the world at the time (Rev 13:7). Most importantly, it must be a faith that resides in the heart:

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes & Corinthians

Ecclesiastes 9:11 “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.”

1 Corinthians 1:26 “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

Resurrection versus Insurrection

Mark 15:7 “And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.”

Barabbas is a portrait of antichrist. He was in prison–like the beast in the bottomless pit (Rev 17:8). Barabbas was brought out of that pit & he was set in counter-distinction to our Lord Jesus Christ. Pilate gave the Jews the choice of which of two that he should release (Matt 27:17).

The main idea of this article is to focus on Barabbas & his insurrection versus the Lord Jesus Christ & His bodily resurrection. The words resurrection & insurrection are close words in English & Greek.

Insurrection–Greek: stasis (G4714) “Standing”

Resurrection–Greek: anastasis (G386) “Standing up again”

A pastor named John A. Stormer wrote a book called None Dare Call it Treason. In his book there is a fantastic chapter about how the communists (called democrats in the modern US) infiltrated Christian seminaries beginning in the late 19th Century. He highlighted their altering of scripture via Biblical revisions & their doctrine.

The doctrine of the communist infiltrators weighs entirely on socialism & social justice–then they place Jesus (no titles) like a cherry on top of their agenda. The communists always preach a communist revolution, more properly, an insurrection (stasis). The communist mode is to promote anything they can as an alleged injustice perpetuated by a national government. Once they receive the desired change on one hot issue–they immediately move on to another (usually manufactured) crisis. They never cease complaining about a government; they never rest (Isaiah 57:20).

1 Timothy 2:1 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

The communist goal is to have insurrections & overthrows of national governments. They want a communist, no border’s, worldwide government. That is their deficient version of heaven (utopia) & it is all about this world.

Hebrews 11:16 “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

The resurrection focusses on the after-life of this world. If one is a declared Christian; yet, they never see it fit in the course of their doctrine to mention the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ–alarm bells should be ringing. I do not speak of a psychological, philosophical or metaphorical resurrection–the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only did the Lord give us a litmus test for doctrine (1 John 4:1-3), but the importance of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ cannot be overstated & if that fact is never mentioned in one’s doctrine?

1 Corinthians 15:13 “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”

By no means do I claim that any mention of politics in preaching is wrong. However, is that the consistent primary topic of one’s is preaching? Instead of the word of God is it always about painting foreign opportunists as refugees or climate change or healthcare–basically the Democratic Party platform? If you go to Church, is the preaching constantly in line with the hot topics propagated on MSNBC, CNN or Fox News? Is the preaching the result of an unction from the Holy Spirit or is it an unction from human media?

Thus, the focus is doctrine. Is the preaching all about fomenting insurrection against a current government? The counter-distinction between Barabbas (a picture of the beast) & our Lord Jesus Christ includes insurrection versus resurrection.

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Global Religion Preached by Corporations

Genesis 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

1 Timothy 2:14 “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

“But man seeks to worship what is established beyond dispute, so that all men would agree at once to worship it. For these pitiful creatures are concerned not only to find something that all would believe in and worship; what is essential is that all may be together in it. This craving for community of worship is the chief misery of every man individually and of all humanity from the beginning of time.”

–The Brothers Karamzov (The Grand Inquisitor) by Fydor Dostoyevksy

“It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills.”

–Pastor Adrian Rogers

One the greatest cheerleaders for universal religion is global corporations. This fact is proved by the universalists most important religious ceremony–the Super Bowl or Super Ba’al as I call it. Many of the commercials during Super Ba’al are not even advertisements for their products; instead, they preach a hollow religion & mention their company or product in passing.

The corporate sponsored Super Ba’al half time shows culminate with crowd produced ambiguous messages such as believe in love or one love. The messages are meaningless in themselves. People can love money (1 Tim 6:10) or love darkness (John 3:19). Nothing about the global corporate religious messages indicate, “Oh–don’t believe in that love.” Also, one love is about as superficial as a message could be. What or who is the object of that one love?

The corporation driven religion is all about togetherness. Yes, the globalists grand religion is lead by the likes of Disney, Nike, Coca Cola, Gillette… Togetherness is not love. A crime syndicate could not only have togetherness, but all involved could have the same goal. Is that love? No. In order to have that false kinship, togetherness, their universal religion must be a general & empty thing– as broad & as wide as possible.

Matthew 7:3 “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.”

Zacchaeus: The Fruit of the Sycomore Tree

Amos 7:12 “Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court. 14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: 15 And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.”

There are several prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ (according to the scriptures) in the provided portion from the book of Amos. I heard a saying, this will not be an exact rendition, but I agree with it: “The Bible is shallow enough for a toddler to drink from & deep enough for scholar to swim & never touch the bottom.” Even the punctuation marks are not idle when it comes to the word of God.

That being the case, let us shift our focus to one thing–the sycomore fruit in Amos 7:14. I believe this prophesy was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ with Zacchaeus. In Luke 19, the Lord is not ambiguous in respect to the kind of tree that Zacchaeus climbed. When he climbed the sycomore tree, he became it’s de facto fruit. It was a delightful blessing from the Lord this morning. Many times, like many other Christians, I read the passage concerning Zacchaeus & never had a second thought about the kind of tree he climbed. Even the traditional hymn Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man mentions the kind of tree. Thus, God tells us the kind of tree & if God says it–it is important:

Luke 19:1 “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. 6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. 8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

 

 

Purgatorio–Turning Point (Virgil’s Discourse on Love)

Dante Alighieri’s Inferno is a fine standalone. Hell is thick, dark, exhausting & simply escaping it offers satisfaction enough for the majority of readers. There are more reasons people often vacate The Comedy at Purgatorio. If one continues to climb Mount Purgatorio it is at Canto 51 & 52 (of 100) that we reach the turning point or prime catharsis for Dante’s real life. Catharsis (Greek) & Purgatorio (Latin) are close to the same words.

The dilemma of the entire poem is love.  Dante had a secret, burning, never realized, thus unrequited love for Beatrice. Also take into account his later exile from the city of Florence. On top of that, consider that Dante poetically tells us in the first three lines of the book that he was in the midst of most likely a PTSD episode or emotional time travel event (love madness or obsessive love can manifest due to PTSD). All the former emotions from Dante’s Vita Nuova time period may have flooded back in coupled with the emotions from his recent exile.

I must point out that Dante’s Limbo is the first circle of the Inferno because that is the initiation for a similar experience to Dante’s. The modern usuage of “Limbo” is not knowing something or waiting for an answer–incorrect according to Dante’s usage. His Limbo is a constant desire coupled with the tormenting knowledge that there is no hope of fulfillment:

“For such defects, and not for other guilt,
Lost are we and are only so far punished,
That without hope we live on in desire.”

Inferno 4.40-42

Dante may have been experiencing a PTSD duality when he began writing  The Divine Comedy as they call it, but the proper title per Dante “Here beginnith the comedy of Dante Alighieri, a Florentine by birth, but not in manners”:

“MIDWAY upon the journey of our life”

Inferno 1.1

It is our (plural) life (singular). It is not our lives because Dante is not including our lives in the equation, but the separate parts of his life, to wit–him from sometime from the past occupying the same space as him from the present.This time-travel duality was best reflected by Dante in Inferno 8 & 9. The cantos reflect emotional events from two distant times in Dante’s life. Both events are portrayed just outside the walls of the city of Dis.

The walls of Dis separate the Inferno’s 5th & 6th Circles. The 5th Circle is the punishment for the Irascible & the Sullen or those overcome by bitterness–wrath. Both real life events (Beatrice & Exile) threatened to leave Dante in a stasis–bitterness. In the poem both events attempt to permanently halt his journey in the circle of wrath.

Inferno 8 reflects the emotions from Dante’s exile. The city of Dis is a hellish representation of the city of Florence (IE it has mosque towers instead of Christian spires). When Dante & his guide Virgil reach the walls of the city, the denizens on top of the wall state that Virgil can come in, but Dante cannot pass. Virgil is the symbol for Dante’s poetry. Florence wanted the poetry (or an association with it), but not the poet. Dante could have been in a perpetual state of bitterness over his exile.

Inferno 9–we are still outside the walls of Dis. This canto reflects the emotions from Dante’s episode in Vita Nuova XIV. In the Inferno, three Furies land on the mosque towers & call for Medusa to turn Dante into stone–a transfiguration. In Vita Nuova XIV, Dante was neck deep in his love madness for Beatrice. His friend invited him to what was allegedly a simple gathering of lovely women–he did not even know Beatrice would be there.

The entry & sonnet are slightly ambiguous, but the historian Boccaccio believes it was a small wedding reception dinner. The new bride–Beatrice. At the sight of Beatrice & her love interest, as Dante puts it, he suffered a transfiguration. He became pale & sickly. A few of the women at the gathering (The Furies) & Beatrice (Medusa) began to giggle & mock Dante for his sickly appearance. Dante was mocked by the woman he loved during a great moment of suffering. Again, Dante could have been perpetually bitter over the matter.

“You join with other ladies to deride me
and do not think, my lady, for what cause
I cut so awkward and grotesque a figure…”

Vita Nuova XIV, 1-3

Dante & Beatrice’s reciprocal relationship prior to his transfiguration, according to Dante, was nothing more than Beatrice giving Dante one friendly greeting on the street (love madness). It was a long, secret, building, burning love I had for a woman that initiated my event. Like Dante with Beatrice, I fell in love with her at first sight, but it was a long time before any association. At best, it’s climax, the relationship was only an association between us in the setting of a formal environment.

It was so much more to me because the long building secret desire (Proverbs 27:5). Once the association went south, even though it never actually went north, I had heard 2nd hand that she claimed, “We were never even friends.” You can be frozen in a state bitterness over such a thing.

Once you are able to resume a fully functional state after a bout with love madness or unrequited love, you desire answers. It is apparent Dante long sought answers to the same questions I had.

When we feel the true emotion of love, we believe it is automatically good. But if it is good, how could it lead us into disaster? How can the recipient hate it so much? Was a person’s love madness a simple pride problem instead? Most importantly–was it actually love?

In Inferno, sin is punished. In Purgatorio, vice is purged. Both realms have circles of wrath. Dante spends much time & was halted before leaving the circles of wrath in Inferno & Purgatorio. It is Purgatorio’s circle of wrath where Virgil provides the discourse on love. This discourse provides Dante with some answers to questions I posted in the paragraph above:

“Hence thou mayst comprehend that love must be
The seed within yourselves of every virtue,
And every act that merits punishment.”

Purgatorio 17.103-105

“The natural was ever without error;
But err the other may by evil object,
Or by too much, or by too little vigour.”

Purgatorio 17.94-96

“Now may apparent be to thee how hidden
The truth is from those people, who aver
All love is in itself a laudable thing,

Because its matter may perchance appear
Aye to be good; but yet not each impression
Is good, albeit good may be the wax.”

Purgatorio 18.34-39

I love the allegory of the wax. The wax is love & good nonetheless–regardless of the impression (seal) in it.

Love in itself, is intrinsically good. Enter the object/subject of that love (John 3:19) or the degree in respects to a certain object/subject. During my event, which included the unrequited love, those I told said it was obsession. I was offended by the claim & countered that it was love. We were both right according to Dante. Love madness is love…but it’s not destiny. There is the rub–the thought that it must destiny due to the personal strength of the emotion.

In conclusion, if you suffer through obssession or love madness (I consider the latter a more accurate label), even if it is or isn’t a byproduct of something else–you want some answers. Is loving someone who doesn’t love you (or doesn’t return it to nearly the same degree) some sort of crime? No, because who can understand the subject of unrequitted love better than God?

John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

Modern “Peace” and “Toxicity.”

I have noted a trend that when many say “peace,” they mean, “avoid or flee.” Often they must flee “toxic” or “negative” people to preserve their convenience. The first problem with that method is the person automatically assumes only everybody else can be “toxic” or “negative.” So the individual is allegedly in a perfect state of peace, unless someone disrupts their fantasy existence in any way. This modern peace is complete selfishness.

The purveyors of the toxic people theories apparently cannot discern the difference between positive & negative versus good & evil. They are mutually exclusive concepts. To ask someone not use opoids is a negative request, but good. You will notice that the toxic investigators are inconsistent. It is all right to be negative when it concerns something they do not agree with; however, any negative proposition towards something they find agreeable–that is when the other person is allegedly being negative or toxic.

Thus, the sum total of that faux version of peace equals: the successful elimination of anything or anyone contrary to one’s personal agenda. If the other person accrues enough bad checkmarks on their toxic checklists–elimination. Strikingly, consider the fact that if one refers to a toxic people checklist to determine who should or should not be in their lives–that is a demand that everyone must obey their standard or else. Is not manipulation suppose to be a toxic behaviour?

One of the most wicked things about the toxic people theory is that truth is meaningless to these people. The truth can be positive or negative, but they only want what they consider the positive truths in their vicinity. Anything negative, even if it is the truth, must not be allowed to abide in their own personal Garden of Eden.

I am sure all of our social media news feeds are full of empty memes that speak of avoiding negativity, avoiding drama, rising above, endless memes about how to achieve love & peace. The exhaustive mentions of such subjects can be a display that the person is compensating for the lack of it in their own hearts.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Peace will not result from anything the world has to offer–that includes modern psychology. So following the latest checklist from the latest trendy journal is not going to work. For that peace in our hearts, we need to abide in the true vine (John 15:1)–the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”

Peace is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). It is either produced by that or it is not produced in the heart at all; regardless of any fluffy language that proceeds from a person’s mouth. Also it cannot be broken down nor understood by psychologists.

Philippians 4:27 “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Moving on to peace with others. It is not a bad thing to regularly avoid confrontation, but fleeing all confrontations will not lead to peace. Sometimes confrontations produce good results. Perhaps there were unknown extenuating circumstances in a conflict with another? After that revelation, two people might have peace with each other, but they would never have peace by avoiding that confrontation. They would never know the truth of the matter; they would never know the other person did _________ because of ________.

So because the toxic investigators are not interested in truth, they are not interested peace. Only subjective truth can preserve their selfish bubbles. Their self-absorbed, no-drama behaviour often prevents true peace.

Being judgmental is also toxic behaviour–yet you are supposed to refer to a checklist created by a psychologist to judge if other people are worthy of your presence?  Toxic people checklists could serve a better purpose by judging whether one is a human being or a cyborg. No bad checkmarks = robot.

No one is going to find peace by demanding that everyone else in their life must walk on eggshells around them. Trying to control others with arbitrary checklist will not fix one’s own bitter heart. These insane checklists will not only drive toxic people out of their life, they will eventually drive everyone out of their life. There is something known as forgiveness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Time of Jezebel: a Microcosm of the End

1 Kings 21:23 “And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.”

Revelations 17:16 “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”

The time of Jezebel in Israel is a microcosm of end times. Hopefully the reader is familiar with the events surrounding Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21) and can relate it to the parable of the wicked husbandmen (Matt 21:33-43) delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ.

I will point out this involves progressive revelation. The situation with Naboth is a real event and a prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. The orders Jezebel gave in order to seize Naboth’s vineyard align with the Jews accusations concerning Jesus Christ:

1 Kings 21:10 “And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.”

Matthew 26:65 “Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.”

Luke 23:2 “And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.”

The builders rejected the chief corner stone (Jesus Christ). Throughout the Jezebel saga there are many items that correlate to the 1st and coming advent of the Lord Jesus. I believe the full scope of the prophecy eventually encompasses the whole world. Everyone who is not a Christian will worship the beast and the harlot rides the beast. The ten horns on the heads of the beast are ten kings (Rev 17:12) and they hate the harlot.

Jezebel was a Zidonian, the daughter of a king named Ethbaal (1 Kings 16:31). During the microcosm, Jezebel controlled the religion of Israel. She cut off the prophets of the LORD, brought in Baal worship & witchcraft. Note: some of the prophets were hidden from her.

During the course of Ahab & Jezebel there were two prophets–Elijah & Elisha. Some teach that when Elijah was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind in front of Elijah, that this represents the rapture of end times believers. I do not disagree, but I will display more. The Lord Jesus Christ was in the heart of the Earth for three days, rose from the dead and after 40 days ascended into heaven. Before this the Lord Jesus said:

John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

In this comparison I believe the succession event from Elijah to Elisha is a portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ ascending & sending the Holy spirit:

2 Kings 2:9 “And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.”

2 Kings 2:15 “And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.”

1 Kings 2:17 “And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.”

In the last the verse provided, the prophets wanted to look for Elijah just in case he ended up on a mountainside. At first Elisha refused, but after they urged he allowed them to go.  So in the provided OT verses, Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, it happened and the prophets searched for Elijah three days. All that correlates to the Lord Jesus Christ. Ah…you ask about the double portion:

John 14:12 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

King Ahab died (1 Kings 22) before Jezebel. His son Joram (aka Jehoram 2 Chronicles 22:6) became king of Israel, but Jezebel was still in Jezreel. Elisha sent a prophet to anoint Jehu as king of Israel. Joram was recovering from a wound at Jezreel and Ahaziah king of Judah was visiting him. Jehu rode to Jezreel and  Joram & Ahaziah rode out to meet him. Jehu slew them. When Jehu reached the compound Jezebel readied herself:

2 Kings 9:20 “And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.”

Revelation 18:7 “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.”

The aforementioned verses correlate well. Here is the end of the exchange between Jezebel (who stood at a window) and Jehu (who was on horseback on the ground):

2 Kings 9:32 “And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. 33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot.”

Revelation 18:21 “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.”

Not only does the first part of Rev 21 correlate with the event, but also the last phrase. Jehu went inside the compound and dined. He told his servants to go outside and bury Jezebel. Just like Babylon shall be find no more, Jezebel’s remains:

2 Kings 9:35 “And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: 37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.”

After the fall of Jezebel (Babylon), Jehu destroyed the temple, altars & worshippers of Baal & the rest of Ahab’s kin:

2 Kings 9:7 “And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.”

Revelation 19:2 “For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”

There are more correlation’s for the events. Earlier in the saga, Elijah was on the run because Jezebel threatened to kill him. There is more to that story, but Elijah thought he was the last of the true worshippers. Notice the correlation between the worship of an image of a false god:

Romans 11:3 “Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.”

Revelation 13:15 “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

There are more correlations from 1 & 2 Kings that relate to either the 1st or coming advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, but this article provides quite a bit. From my reading Babylon falls first (via the ten kings) & then the Lord Jesus returns (Rev 19:11)–the battle of Armageddon occurs.

From my reading, Babylon falls during the wrath of God (the vials of wrath). There are saints that are overcome by the beast (Rev 11:7) prior to that. So believers do face tribulation, but concerning the wrath of God:

Romans 5:9 “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”