NOTES ON POLYGAMY

The misunderstanding about polygamy stems from a misunderstanding about the marriage relationship. Yashua said, in Matthew 19:4-6, that YHWH ordained marriage between man and wife (singular) “from the beginning.” God never intended men to marry more than one wife. The first man said to have more than one wife in the Bible was Lamech, a murderer and man of the most degenerate kind of evil. “YHWH made one wife for Adam—not a harem!” Take Abraham, for example. His wife could not bear a son, though Yah had promised Abraham he would have one. Instead of simply continuing on and trusting Him, Abraham and Sarah reasoned that Hagar should bear a child for Abraham. Hagar successfully conceived, yet this only brought more trouble into their lives. In addition to the intense jealousy the situation provoked in Sarah, YHWH did not accept Ishmael (Hagar’s son) as the heir to the promises of Abraham. Later, Yah ordered Abraham to send Hagar away. After the birth of Isaac, Abraham had no more concubines—it wasn’t until after Sarah’s death that Abraham took another wife. Mr. Armstrong wrote. “He started the human family out as He ordained they should go—a family of one man and one wife! If we examine the fruits, as Yashuah commanded, we can see that not one of these plural marriages worked out well. Check it out friends. These were great men, but they did make mistakes, mistakes that were recorded for “our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

WHY THE DREAM STATE?

During our "metaphysical tune-up", the soul is in a realm beyond time and space. Past, present, and future are unified into one. The panorama of a human life span is fully displayed from birth to death. In addition to getting a recharge, the soul oftentimes catches sight of events that are coming our way, both positive and negative. These glimpses are then filtered down to the body, where they take the form of dreams. Most of our dreams are a combo-plate special. In other words, one aspect of a dream consists of the events, experiences, and thoughts currently occupying our conscious minds. Interspersed into this mixture are visions of the soul that dwell in the subconscious. According to Kabbalah, dreams offer us the opportunity to understand our negative character traits. They can help us learn what it is we need to change in order to grow spiritually. Of course, we must know how to read and interpret the dream in order to discern this wisdom. Moreover, if a person has no intent or desire to change or experience spiritual growth and transformation (probably 95% of the world remains stuck in this category), then the messages of the soul are that much harder to detect. In fact, we probably won't even remember the majority our dreams. TRUTH & CONSEQUENCES All of our negative actions towards other people carry repercussions, as dictated by the universal law of cause and effect. We can deny this spiritual truth. Ignore it. Doubt it. Or not even realize it. Nonetheless, for every envious glance, unkind word, and short-tempered response that we put "out there," there is an equal negative consequence coming our way. Consider it the ultimate boomerang effect. All the repercussions looming over the horizon are what our soul perceives during sleep. Really serious consequences foreseen by the soul usually produce nightmares. If we are open-minded, we can extrapolate the messages from our nightmares and begin to understand what we have to change about ourselves. Spiritual change is the proactive way to deflect negative effects. It is said that King David was a man of extraordinary spiritual character. Whenever he experienced a terrifying nightmare, he was able to glean the message from it and make the necessary spiritual corrections in his life. On the other hand, the Zohar tells us that an unjust man will often be shown a happy dream (an untruthful one) so as to lead him further astray from the path of the truth. This spiritual principle is explained in the following Zohar text: Whoever sets out to purify himself is purified from above, and whoever sets out to defile himself is similarly defiled from above. Zohar II, 200a The more spiritual an individual is, the more truthful the dream he experiences. When a person is bent on self-centered behavior, if they are enslaved to their own ego, this will tilt the scales of power from the soul to the body. Thus, it makes it far more difficult for the soul to elevate during sleep. Source: www.kabbalah.com

EVEN DAVID WAS WRONG

2 Samuel 11-12 As David walked on the roof of his house one evening, he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. Someone told him she was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, a Hittite soldier off fighting with David’s army. David should have put Bathsheba out of his mind when he heard she was married, but he didn’t. Read the entire lesson text... David makes his worst mistake yet. He takes his neighbor's wife, and tries to cover it up. He kills the woman's husband when he can't conceal the error. But YHWH knows the truth. Can we hide from YHWH? No. Can we cover up our sin? No - it just leads to more sin. David has a habit of letting situations escalate. When he was hiding in Ziklag, his lies became betrayal. When he moved the ark incorrectly, Uzzah died. Now, a man and a baby die for his sin. * David acts as if he has done nothing wrong- even to God! So God sends the prophet Nathan to tell David a story. Nathan tells David he is just like this man because he took Uriah's only wife. David is very upset. He begs God's forgiveness and prepares to do what he can to restore his relationship with God. * Although he is forgiven, David had serious consequences to deal with. First, the child conceived would die. Also - David's many children would always fight. This is especially hard on David because he loves all his children very much. We can be forgiven, but there may still be consequences of our sins. Uriah was still dead, despite David's repentance.

GETHSEMANE

SOMEDAY I WILL BE HERE.

IN TIMES OF TROUBLE

William Barclay says we might add a new beatitude to the list: “Blessed is the man who has nothing to hide." Sometimes all you can do is to simply speak the truth about your own heart. If that’s not enough, talking for hours isn’t likely to make a difference. In times of trouble I have often prayed this way, “Lord, let your will be done and let the truth come out.” That prayer satisfies the heart because it is a prayer for God’s will to be done, not my will. I usually have an idea of how I think things should work out, but my ideas do not equal God’s will. So in praying that prayer, I am implicitly admitting that my understanding is flawed, that I see things from my point of view, and that God’s will is very likely to be different from my own perception. And it’s a prayer that God will bring the truth out by any means he chooses. Source: www.keepbelieving.com

LUNI-SOLAR CALENDAR

http://www.worldslastchance.com/lunisolarcalendar/web/WlcWeb.html

REASON TO BE HUMBLE

(Malachi 1:3; Romans 9:13) Answer: Malachi 1:2-3 declares, “’I have loved you,’” says the LORD. But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' ‘Was not Esau Jacob's brother?’ the LORD says. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.’” Malachi 1:2-3 is quoted and alluded to in Romans 9:10-13, “Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” Why did God love Jacob and hate Esau? If God is love (1 John 4:8), how could He hate anyone? When studying the Bible, it is critically important to always study the context of a particular Bible verse or passage. In these instances, the Prophet Malachi and the Apostle Paul are using the name “Esau” to refer to the Edomites, who were the descendants of Esau. Isaac and Rebekah had two sons, Esau and Jacob. God chose Jacob (whom He later renamed Israel) to be the father of His chosen people, the Israelites. God rejected Esau (who was also called Edom), and did not choose him to be the father of His chosen people. Esau’s and his descendants, the Edomites, were in many ways blessed by God (Genesis 33:9; Genesis chapter 36). So, considering the context, God loving Jacob and hating Esau has nothing to do with the human emotions of love and hate. It has everything to do with God choosing one man and his descendants and rejecting another man and his descendants. God chose Abraham out of all the men in the world. The Bible very well could say, “Abraham I loved, and every other man I hated.” God chose Abraham’s son Isaac instead of Abraham’s son Ishmael. The Bible very well could say, “Isaac I loved, and Ishmael I hated.” Romans chapter 9 makes it abundantly clear that loving Jacob and hating Esau was entirely related to which of them God chose. Hundreds of years after Jacob and Esau had died, the Israelites and Edomites became bitter enemies. The Edomites often aided Israel’s enemies in attacks on Israel. Esau’s descendants brought God’s curse upon themselves. Genesis 27:29 tells us, “May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.” This is a nice article that I have found somewhere which I posted here. It tells of a truth that YHWH favors one person over another therefore there is really nothing can be done if a person is already damned in His sight even if he has not yet done anything wrong. Just like Judas Escariot who was already ordained to be a man of perdition. It is truly fearful to be already hated by YHWH even from the womb as can be gleaned from the holy scriptures. That is why there is great reason to be humble even as we regard those who are perishing with much fear and trembling.