I Can't Study Tonight...

Forget studying tonight. I'll wake up early in the morning and study. My roommate has music on, and I can hear it and can't study. Since the music is gospel music, I grant that she might be doing the more important thing--e.g.:

³⁸ Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’^[a]feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

⁴¹ And Jesus^[b] answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

I can sleep more easily with the music on that I can study with it on. Also anyway, the exam's not until 6:00 PM; so from 9:30 to 5:50 (excepting 1:00-3:00 for "The Geraldo Rivera Show" on KABC, and 5:00-5:50 to get a late lunch and get to the Physics Building), I have plenty of time to study--and without music being played, so that I can focus.

Who Are The "Palestinians"?

I've blogged on this somewhat before, but Deuteronomy 32:21 finally (along with Romans 10:19) had click in my head that the "Palestinians" are a foolish "nation" and are not a people:

Romans 10:19

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁹ But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:

“I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,
I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.”^[a]

Footnotes:

1. Romans 10:19 Deuteronomy 32:21

I got that the Romans renamed Israel and the surrounding regions "Palestine", but I wanted to give that the Palestinians were at least partly-- if not entirely-- the Pleshetim still in existence for a long time. Masada2000.org's and others' points finally clicked with me. The "Palestinians" of 70 AD to the present never have been a people-- they have always been a mixture of Pleshetim (who were originally Cretean Yavanim) and Arabs (e.g., the Edomim and the Yishma'elim). Many "Palestinian" Arabs indeed are Christians ("I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation"), Mohamedian ("I will move you to anger by a foolish nation."), and/or stealers of Israel (e.g., the Dome of the Rock stealing the Temple Mount):

• “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! 
² Thus says the Lord God: “Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,’”’ ³ therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people”... ⁵ therefore thus says the Lord God: “Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.”’...
• ^[T]herefore thus says the Lord God: “Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.”’ 

By the way, if Ashkenazic and other Jews weren't the real Jews, the "Palestinian" Arabs would accept us as Jews instead of try to kick us out of our land.

  

Is "How Do You Like Me Now?!" Actually A Mean Song?

An excerpt from the lyrics:

When I took off to Tennessee

I heard that you made fun of me

Never imagined I'd make it this far
Then you married into money[,] girl

Ain't it a cruel and funny world?

He took your dreams and [he] tore them apart.
He never comes home

And you're always alone

And your kids hear you cryin' down the hall
Alarm clock starts ringin'

Who could that be singin'

It's me[,] baby, with your wake up call!
How do you like me now?

How do you like me now,

Now that I'm on my way?

Do you still think I'm crazy

Standin' here today?

I couldn't make you love me

But I always dreamed about living in your radio

How do you like me now?

Another excerpt:

[Yeah,] I was always the crazy one
I broke into the stadium 
And I wrote your number on the 50 yard line
You were always the perfect one
And the valedictorian[,] so
Under your number[,] I wrote "call for a good time"

[And] I only wanted to [get] your attention
But you overlooked me somehow

So we can see that:

1. He started the trouble with criminal trespass, vandalism, and publication of another party's personal information with a malicious intent to do so, and he has the hutzpah to complain about her overlooking him.
2. He's not very forgiving.
3. He's vengeful and vindictive.

Not that I'm perfect, and not that Toby Keith's a Christian (or at least acting like a Christian at the present time, anyway); nonetheless, this song of Toby Keith's penmanship goes against everything Biblical. For example:

• Romans 12:19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 
• Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
• Psalm 83:16 Fill their faces with shame,That they may seek Your name, O Lord.

By the way, the context of Psalm 83 is that David desires to Israel should be avenged against Anti Semites. Toby Keith acts toward his former crush as if she put him through what Anti Semites have put Israel through over countless years-- and yet David is more forgiving. As a last resort, David wants for legitimate enemies of Israel (who never even did any bad to many of the Anti Semites in the first place), that they "be confounded and dismayed forever;Yes, let them be put to shame and perish, That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth." 

Toby Keith acts as if his former crush was a Nazi who put countless Jews and gentiles, including Corrie ten Boom, through an inexplicable amount of pain. Yet, many of us have been perhaps beyond forgiving and even forgetful in some ways (for example, in buying Mercedes Benzes and hosting ".de" domain websites), and Corrie ten Boom forgave her former Nazi captor. By the way, the L-rd has the right to hate and laugh at the wicked; we do not, since we are human and imperfect; and even the L-rd does not desire that anyone should perish (See Ezekiel 33:11 and 2 Peter 3:8-9.), though He predestines (See Romans 9:10-24.). 

Here's the video for itself, though, so that you can judge for yourself:

"Hell Is Not A Jewish Concept". Or Is It? And About Legalism...

 To be fair, even Tanakh (Hadashah not included for the purposes of this discussion) indisputably and unequivocally warns of Gehenna or Gei Hinnom along with Gan 'Eden (Yesha'yahu 66:17-24, Dani'el 12:2-3). Even Talmud Bavli talks of Gei Hinnom (e.g., Gittin 57a; where, according to the Munich Codex of the Talmud, they believe that Yeshua is). Gei Hinnom is and should be no joke. As Max Lucado states, we too often make light of Gei Hinnom.


So if you continue to reject Yeshua as Mashiach, you may be among the Yehudim who are not of the remnant. Yesha'yahu 66:17-24 admonishes clearly:

“Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves,
To go to the gardens
After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,
Shall be consumed together,” says the Lord.

¹⁸ “For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. ¹⁹ I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul^[a] and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. ²⁰ Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to theLord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. ²¹ And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²² “For as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
²³ And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

²⁴ “And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

The same goes for (as Hadashah is included in this discussion of) those who insist that a Meshichi must be shomer Torah, "who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage" (Galatians 2:4b). When you observe Pesach, think about why you are compelled to do it: you might not actually be under chen, or grace:

"7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about[c] with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

"10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. 13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. 14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. 15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." (From Ivrim 7).

You can be easily condemned to Gei Hinnom for still keeping all 613 mitzvot while claiming to be under chen:

For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins...

¹¹ And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

¹⁵ But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,

¹⁶ “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”^[c] 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”^[d] 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Hold Fast Your Confession

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water...

²⁶ For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said,“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”^[e] says the Lord.^[f] And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”^[g]31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

(From Ivrim 10)

Many have fallen away, if they even had yeshu'at v'chen to begin with because they "have become estranged from Christ, [they] who attempt to be justified by law; [they] have fallen from grace." However, if you observe Pesach and the other mo'edim without compelling yourself and others to do so as a means of tzedek v'tzedekah, you're okay:

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord;^[a] and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and rose^[b] and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.^[c] 

Why Swami B.G. Narasingha Is Dead Wrong About Magen David (or Magen Sikkut)

This guy is dead wrong about what he calls "Sat-kona". Firstly, he disparages the historical and Tanakh account of David HaMelekh ben Yishai:

"The Biblical [Old Testament/Torah] myth of King David begins when David as a simple Shepard boy slays the Philistine giant, Goliath. David fell Goliath with a stone from his sling and then cut off the giant's head. David was promoted to commander of the armies of King Saul and married into the king's family. Later Saul was killed in battle and David became King and the myth says that God shielded David during his many battles. The Sat-kona has been adopted by Jews to represent the protection or shield that God provided for David."


Secondly, he uses Darwinian (carbon dating-based, poor, Darwinian Evolution-proselytizing) archaeology:


"12) LEBANON
A ring was found in the Lebanese city of Sidon with the shape of Sat-kona, which was dated from the 7th Century BCE. Sidon was one of the most important Phoenician cities and may well have been the oldest." 

The Earth is not even 7,000 years old. On the Jewish calendar, it is 5771 (P'rushi 5772) with some 164-165 years unaccounted for-- so we may be in 5935-5936 at maximum. Thirdly-- and this was discussed before-- Magen David is Magen Sikkut v'Ki'yun for the Non-Messianic Jew, whether or not he or she intends for it to be. 

Purim Is Tomorrow, And Thank G-d That Haman (Ron Paul) Hasn't Won...

But Newt Gingrich has a real Haman or Ahasuerus complex. He is arrogant, looks at the "elite" and "establishment" like Vashti (that is, Gingrich doesn't find having self respect and a little good kind of pride acceptable; just like Ahasuerus didn't find Vashti's self respect and pride acceptable), and has hutzpah-- Haman had hutzpah to step on the Jews, the blessings to the nations; Gingrich has hutzpah to step on the voters who are hoping to defeat Obama, and the voters (who include Jews like myself) could well be blessings to Israel (if we don't vote for arrogant Newt, Santorum, and Ron Paul-- the especial Haman-- anyway). 

The GOP will not be a party just for show and a party to be a crown jewel for both the Far Right (who do not speak for the Republican Party) and Obama (who would love to show a defeatable candidate as his weak, too-pretty Vashti; his prize)

By the way, how Vashti got kicked out of the palace of Ahasuerus:

¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, ¹¹ to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold. ¹² But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.

¹³ Then the king said to the wise men who understood the times (for this was the king’s manner toward all who knew law and justice, ¹⁴ those closest to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who had access to the king’s presence, and who ranked highest in the kingdom): ¹⁵ “What shall we do to Queen Vashti, according to law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs?”

¹⁶ And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: “Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes, and all the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁷ For the queen’s behavior will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.’ ¹⁸ This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king’s officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath. ¹⁹ If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. ²⁰ When the king’s decree which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire (for it is great), all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small.”

Jewish Sources On "HaSatan" or "The Adversary", or "The Devil"

BecomingJewish.org:


Satan

Satan, or more properly, HaSatan is an angel who resides in the heavenly realm. HaSatan means the accuser or the adversary. The term Satan or HaSatan is used in three different contexts within the Tanach.^[1]

First, as an enemy in war as seen in I Kings 5:18: And now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, (there is) neither adversary (שָׂטָן) nor evil occurrence.^[2]

Second, as an accuser before the seat of judgment as seen in Psalm 109:6: Set a wicked man over him, and let an adversary (וְשָׂטָן) stand at his right hand.^[2]

Third, as an adversary in the general sense of the term as seen in II Samuel 19:23...

HaSatan is an angel who watches over the activities of humanity, searching for mankind’s sins and then appearing as their accuser to Hashem. HaSatan is not considered an opponent to Hashem as Christianity teaches. Monotheistic teachings are no more disturbed by the existence of HaSatan than by the presence of other beings that go before Hashem. This view is shown in Zechariah 3:1-2 where HaSatan is described as the adversary of the high priest Joshua....

Head Coverings By Devorah:

Ha-satan is Identified with the Yetzer Ra:

In Judaism, ha-satan (the adversary) is mostly identified with the yetzer ra, but also identified with one who leads astray, then brings accusations against man.  Its chief functions is those of temptation, accusation and punishment.  Under the control of G-d it acts solely with divine permission to carry out its deeds.

As we see in the book of Iyov, ha-satan's function is described as that of testing the sincerity of men's characters.  Ha-satan is at all times under the control of G-d and keeps within the limits which G-d has fixed for it.

In Talmudic literature, ha-satan's function is to strengthen man's moral sense by lending him into temptation....  

Orthodox Judaism: Purpose of HaSatan:

Firstly, "the Devil" and "Satan" are one and the same - I think this nomenclature is used interchangeably rather than to show they are different entities.  

Satan is indeed G-d's angel (messenger) sent with the explicit purpose of making us the best we can be - challenging us to do the right thing by presenting a not-so-clear choice.  Remember Deuteronomy 30 - choose between life and good, or death and evil - and we are perfectly capable of making the right choice.  Satan is sent to not throw you off the righteous path, but to help you walk it in a more confident way.  

Hashem gives us all our challenges in order for us to overcome them and become stronger. Only in adversity do we grow; otherwise, we would not advance at all.  It doesn't mean Hashem sends Satan to drive you into evil; He sends Satan so you could choose good and therefore become more like Hashem.  

The statement you quoted correctly states that evil is created only by the absence of good.  Speaking in more spiritual terms, G-d is the ultimate good, and everything is G-d, so evil appears with G-dlessness. We are constantly challenged to stay on the side of light, on the side of good, on the side of G-d - that way, we are actually active participants in the process of creation...


For more, see "HaSatan Judaism", Google search term.