Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
——————–
This is the Gospel reading that will be read aloud by a priest on the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow a reading from Isaiah, when Isaiah volunteered, “Here I am. Send me,” leading Isaiah to ask, “How long Yahweh?” to which Yahweh said, “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is utterly desolate.” That will be followed by a singing of Psalm 138, where David sang: “Though the Lord be high, he cares for the lowly; he perceives the haughty from afar.” That pair will precede the Epistle reading from First Corinthians, where Paul wrote: “For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”
It is important to keep in mind the Gospel of Luke acts as the story of Mother Mary, relative to her eyewitness accounts [divinely inspired to recall] of Jesus. In this regard, Luke is the one Gospel that I see which seems to follow a different order of events in Jesus’ life, differing from the accounts of the other Gospel writers. None of that acts to weaken any of the others, as everything must be taken as the truth being told. Still, from having just read Luke’s forth chapter, when Jesus was tested in the wilderness, before appearing in Nazareth to be rejected, and now picking three of his disciples [who would have been with him in Nazareth], this should be seen as a mother’s emotionally driven memory of divine events in Jesus’ life, of which she was not present to witness everything.
Relative to this seeming disorder of events, much of the detail offered in this account in Luke is very similar to the details stated in John’s Gospel. In John’s Gospel, however, Peter and his partners catching a load of fish so heavy it began to sink the boat is told in his last chapter, which seems to me to be a dream sequence, rather than a real event witnessed. In a dream, John could have been shown a much earlier event, which is the one detailed by Luke, where the central element that connects to John’s dream is the sincerity of Peter. Here, Peter is said to tell Jesus, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” In John’s dream, Peter sees an old man on the shore that looks nothing like Jesus, but he knows it is him, going to meet him. What follows is Jesus questioning the love Simon Peter had for Jesus, where the word “philos” becomes a view of love that leads to sins.
Where this account of an event differs is when the scene of Luke’s fourth chapter has moved to the Sea of Galilee, called the lake of Gennesaret. Not far to the south of Capernaum is the ancient place called Gennesaret. I was the place that lent its name to the western plain along the northwestern shore of the sea. By using this name, it is likely that the docks where Jesus was standing, where “the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,” means two things. First, Jesus had other negative experiences in synagogues [especially those around Capernaum, where Jesus had moved before beginning his ministry], so he was making a large flatland area be where he preached in the ‘open air,’ no longer welcomed in the synagogues. Second, it says his fishermen disciples [Simon, James and John of Zebedee] still had their ‘day jobs,’ where their fishing boats were moored at a place where large wharfs had been build. So, Jesus was there [as stated in Matthew and Mark] to get those three to follow him full-time, while he already had people drawn to hear him speak and teach.
In this reading that tells of “two boats,” it is vital to grasp that these boats were not small row boats. They were boats with sails that were fishing boats, built to accommodate fishermen. It would be these boats that were owned by Simon, James and John [along with their families – fathers, sons, and daughters] that would be used in the crossing of the Sea of Galilee to the docks on the eastern shore, where Jesus would regularly preach to the multitudes [the sermons on the mount and the feedings of five and four thousand]. It should also be noted that Jesus himself was not a trained boatman. Thus, when on one of the boats during a storm, Jesus was asleep, not manning a position. The boats became one mode of transportation, which is first shown as being used here, when Jesus asked Peter to let him preach from his boat; so, he asked him to position the boat off the shoreline, anchor it, so Jesus could speak to those crowing the docks. That would help those who were fishermen and were trying to clean nets after having worked all night long. It was because Peter did this to help Jesus that Jesus then helped Peter by telling him to drop his nets.
In the exchange between Peter and Jesus, where Peter initially rejected the idea of reloading the nets, after having fished all night long and then taken the nets off the boat to clean them, he reflects the natural way of human beings, when it comes to Scripture. It is natural to read these verses about Jesus and think, “Yeah, that worked for them then, but nothing like that ever happens to me.” Following a reading about Jesus being rejected in Nazareth, we are finding him being politely rejected by his own disciple. Peter identifies himself as a disciple by calling Jesus “Master” [“Epistata”].
The word “epistata” is rooted in “epistates,” which means, “superintendence, attention,” (Strong’s Definition) while implying, “master, teacher, chief, commander.” (Strong’s Usage) The capitalization elevates this word to a divine level of meaning, where Peter called Jesus a “Commander,” which should be seen in nautical rankings as the Owner of the fleet. This identification can now be seen as an investment issue, where Joseph [the ‘adoptive’ father of Jesus] had wealth, which was used by the sons of Mary to purchase boats, for the purpose of using them to fish, thereby providing both food and income to the family. As such, HELPS Word-studies says this about the word: “properly, the legal standing of ownership referring to the master-in-charge, i.e. the one fully authorized (aptly acknowledged as the leader).” By seeing this as Jesus being the ‘boss’ of the “two boat” fleet’s sailors [most likely relatives employed in the fishing business], Jesus acted like the first pope making a decree, which Peter begrudgingly complied with. Peter was probably thinking, “What does this land lover know about fishing?”
The result of the suggestion [seen as an order] says Jesus was indeed the “Master,” as not just the son of Joseph, but the Son of God [Yahweh]. Jesus was not speaking from any fishing expertise, but speaking as the Son who only spoke the Word of the Father. Yahweh was going to lead every fish in the Sea of Galilee – as their “Master” – to the nets of Peter, so the catch would be more than “two boats” could safely take on board. Because Peter’s soul immediately knew Jesus was much smarter than he was, so Peter’s soul knew Jesus knew his heart, when he was thinking Jesus was just some guy trying to act big, when he had no knowledge about fishing [most likely, that time of day was when nobody ever caught fish]. So, it was with great guilt that Peter prostrated himself before Jesus, begging him to “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
This admission of Peter [as divinely inspired as it was] needs to be seen as the power of confession. Without Peter having done nothing wrong outwardly, other than mildly protest that casting their nets was just what they finished doing … all night lone [with no luck], it was his inward guilt that was his sin. Peter then reflects those who easily and naturally reject the voice that says, “Give it one more shot,” from a perspective that thinks, “You have no clue what I do and what my failures are.” Peter’s confession before Jesus was from his knowing Jesus was the hand of Yahweh on earth, who knows more than he will ever know. Unlike the Nazarenes who attempted to throw Jesus off a cliff, because they naturally thought they knew what it was they were doing [when they did not], Peter admitted his sins and submitted his body to Jesus and his soul to Yahweh.
More than the catch of a lifetime meaning lots of money in their pockets, where Peter, James and John gave out a shout, “Thank you Jesus!” [like so many who think worshiping Jesus will bring them material windfalls], the catch of fish became meaningless. It meant more to the three disciples to see that Jesus was a guidance that had come into their lives, where his lead was from a much higher power than any the three had ever known. From that day onward, they put their complete faith and trust in what Jesus told them to do. This is what submitting one’s soul to Yahweh means, as this is the first step in an eternal love affair. Jesus stand in everyone’s ‘boat’ as the Word of the Gospels. Jesus is speaking to every reader through the words of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Every reader is just like Peter, as all see Jesus as the Commander who says, “Do this” and “Do that,” when in the hearts of the readers are whispers, “You don’t know the half ….” Everything Jesus says comes from Yahweh, and Yahweh knows ALL.
When Jesus then told the three, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people,” that says two things. First is says complete trust in what Jesus says must happen. It is the trust that leads to divine marriage of a soul to Yahweh – one receives the Spirit. When that Spirit has penetrated one’s soul, then the soul of Jesus will be resurrected within – twin souls in one body of flesh. That divine possession will make Jesus the “Master” of one’s ‘boat’ [body of flesh]. As such, the second thing is – once one has become reborn as Jesus – then he will lead your body of flesh [like a disciple that is an Apostle-Saint] into ministry. There one will fish for souls, to repeat the whole process.
As the Gospel reading to be read aloud on the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, the dawning must be that having Jesus within one’s soul will bring insight that must be trusted. As novices learning to enter ministry, the temptation is to overthink everything. One tries to figure out, “What would Jesus do?” That is too much self-importance and not enough faith and trust. When one’s soul has indeed married Yahweh and one’s soul now has a ‘brother’ in Jesus, with his soul now leading one’s flesh, the tendency is to do as one has always done – figure things out. The period after the Epiphany is to begins leaving the decisions up to a much higher power. It might lead to some embarrassments and it might lead to some failures; but this is when one needs to learn how to just the power of the Spirit, so one learns how a Saint really works.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land. [ס]
[7] Blessed are those who trust in Yahweh,
whose trust is Yahweh.
[8] They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
[9] The heart is devious above all else;
it is perverse–
who can understand it?
[10] I Yahweh test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings. [ס]
——————–
This is the Old Testament selection to be read aloud on the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will precede a singing of Psalm 1, where David wrote: “Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful!” That pair will be followed by a reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian Christians, where he wrote: “We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ–whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Luke, where Jesus told the crowd that which is called “the Beatitudes,” one of which is this: “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.”
There seems to be no reasoning behind the Episcopal Church’s decisions to either number verses or remove the numbers. This song of Jeremiah is one where they have been removed. While this prevents them from changing the numbers to suit their needs [not advisable in divine texts], it becomes confusing to those interpreting the original language [in this case Hebrew] into English for the purpose of study and reflection. For that reason, I have added the numbers in bold type, surrounded by brackets, so no one will think the Episcopal Church did that. I will then refer to the verses by number in my following observations.
In these six verses, five times Jeremiah wrote the name “Yahweh” and five time the NRSV [et al English translation services] has mutated that proper name to a generic “the Lord.” One can only assume that the great fear that keeps Christian owners of Holy Bibles from uttering the proper name of the God they profess to worship is this is the name only allowed to Jewish folk. This is what would be found in the Holy scrolls of the Torah, Psalms, and Prophets. That reasoning must be from demonic possession, because Yahweh did not create clubs of humans to cheer for Him. Yahweh chose souls in human flesh to submit their souls to Him in marriage, so those souls would each and all take on the name of Yahweh, which can be seen as “Israel.” One does not take on the name of “That place in the Mid-East” when one worships “the Lord” one’s soul is afraid to say aloud in a Christian church service.
As a little touch of detail, at the end of verses six and ten are found the mark known as a “semekh.” That is the fifteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet, but it is used as a mark that denotes completion of a “setumah,” which is: “A closed parashah (a section of a book in the Hebrew text of the Tanakh), set apart by a space in the middle of the line of text, with the previous portion ending before the space, and the next portion starting after it.” [Wiktionary] I have added them to show a need for pause, to reflect on that presented as separate.
The NRSV gives the first thirteen verses of Jeremiah 17 the title “Judah’s Sin and Punishment.” My Hebrew reference – BibleHub Interlinear – gives them the title “The Sin and Punishment of Judah.” The first two-plus verses set up this song by stating, “The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts, and on the horns of their altars, while their children remember their altars and their sacred poles, beside every green tree, and on the high hills, on the mountains in the open country.” This needs to be seen as turning the attention of the after the Epiphany time period to the alternative to a soul having married Yahweh, given birth to His Son Jesus, and entered ministry as one Anointed by Yahweh. Those who do not make this life change are sinners; and, sinners will always pay the price for their rejection of Yahweh in their souls.
Verse three [not read aloud] completes this thought, where Jeremiah spoke as Yahweh, telling all those who had faith they could do no wrong, as the beloved chosen children of Israel, the one’s Moses freed from bondage in Egypt, “Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your sin throughout all your territory.” He then condemned them as having any rights to claim favor from Yahweh, by writing, “By your own act you shall lose the heritage that I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.” That “forever fire” is eternal damnation of their souls. Only Yahweh is a forever gift of favor. Wealth in the material realm only lasts until death separates a soul from its dead matter.
In these six verses there is no mention of Judah. That name only appears once in the entire chapter of Jeremiah’s book. The name Jerusalem appears three times, all well beyond the scope of the verses read today. When “Judah” is seen to mean “Praised” or “Let Him Be Praised” [meaning Yahweh] and “Jerusalem” is seen to mean “Teaching Peace” or “In Awe Of Peace,” then everything written in this chapter applies to all people, at all times, as the punishment for sins [those rejecting Yahweh and His Covenant] applies to all people, not just the Jews of Judah. This is why this reading is read during the after the Epiphany time period.
This reading selection from Jeremiah is only scheduled to be read on the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, with one other possibility being Proper 1, Year C. The problem with that is the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany only occurs when Easter is later in the year [allowing for more than five Sundays after the Epiphany], but there is only a Proper 1 set of readings, when Easter comes early in the year, reducing the period after the Epiphany to less than six. So, the plan is an either or, not a both. So, addressing the punishment of sins is an issue rarely put forth, through this reading from Jeremiah.
Verse five states the proper name “Yahweh” twice. Jeremiah begins by saying, “Thus says Yahweh,” which only a true prophet of Yahweh can state truthfully. Simply by seeing that presence within Jeremiah can the assumption be made that Jeremiah was not a sinner, because Yahweh spoke through him. To then follow up that statement of divine possession by saying, “cursed the man who trusts in mankind [“ha-adam”], this says “a man cursed” is not possessed by Yahweh. Instead, those souls have put their faith in themselves or others like them. For Jeremiah then speak as Yahweh, saying “flesh is the strength [that mankind counts on, which] puts Yahweh out of their heart,” the aspect of “heart” [“lib·bōw,” from “leb”] is the love that marries a soul [“leb” means “inner self”] to Yahweh. It is thus divine marriage to Yahweh’s Spirit that possesses the non-sinners, allowing Yahweh to speak through them. The “curse” placed on “man” is the same self-inflicted “curse” that Cain took, when he rejected Yahweh and killed his brother Abel.
Verse six then has Jeremiah speaking still as Yahweh, when he compares the souls of those who place their faith in the abilities of the flesh to bring them great rewards [rejecting the promise of salvation from marriage to Yahweh]. That is said to be like a shrub that grows from the soil [earth, ergo the dust and clay of “flesh”], which is dependent on rainfall to grow [another natural element of the earth – water]. This dependence on self or other selves will always lead to a “wilderness” environment, where the lack of inner emotions [the dew of heaven] will “parch” one’s soul, making life on earth become a “desert” condition. The use of “salt” [from “mə·lê·ḥāh”] means the “land” [more metaphor for “flesh”] will be “barren” and the lack of “inhabitants” [from “ṯê·šêḇ”] means the material realm is the only place one can “dwell.” There will be no giving birth to the Son of Yahweh; thus, there will be no promise of eternal salvation, when a soul can count of “dwelling” in heaven after the death of the flesh [an inevitable occurrence].
Verse six ends with the semekh, so one can see that Yahweh’s comments through Jeremiah are completed at that point. This mark then denotes that the voice of Jeremiah has returned to the text, still with the understanding that Yahweh leads his words at all times. The mark lets the reader know that Yahweh’s direct quote is ended.
Verse seven is then a short statement, but it too states the proper name “Yahweh” twice. In the NRSV translation, which says [“Yahweh” corrections made], “Blessed are those who trust in Yahweh, whose trust is Yahweh,” the word translated as “blessed” is “bā·rūḵ,” from “barak.” While the translation as “blessed” is certainly true, the deeper meaning says “kneeling are those .” The act of “kneeling” is found at altars, in rites where two are joined in holy matrimony. The word translated as “those” is actually “hag·ge·ḇer,” which was written in verse five, stating “the man” [used prior as “the man cursed”]. Here, instead of being curse for rejecting Yahweh in marriage, “the man kneels” in a sign of submission to Yahweh, which means that soul has become the possession of Yahweh, as His spiritual wife. The element of “trust” can then be seen as the true “faith” that comes from a personal experience of Yahweh – one knows His power and glory. Through absolute submission of self, “Yahweh is” [from “wə·hā·yāh Yah-weh”] in the man’s soul, becoming the “hope” that is the promise of salvation.
In verse eight, Jeremiah then says the soul in a body of flesh that marries Yahweh and receives His Spirit will be like a “tree” [not a shrub] that is planted near a plentiful source of “water” [“mayim”], such as a “river” or “stream” [“yū·ḇal”]. This addition of the “water” element then symbolizes the inner emotions that relates to the love bond of marriage. The “flesh” that is a “tree” is given the ability to grow tall, due to the inner flow of living “waters,” which symbolizes the inner presence of Jesus’ soul. Whereas the “shrub” was “barren,” the tree is able to take the heat and drought and produce “leaves” and “fruit,” which becomes that which helps others to survive. The “tree” can then be seen as the “vine” that produces “good fruit.”
The NRSV turns verse nine into a question, which is not posed by Jeremiah. Verse nine is a statement, which is relative to the “fruit” produced by the “tree,” nourished by the flows of “water.” The literal translation of this verse is this: “tracked by footprints the heart above all and desperately sick it ; who can know it .” While the Hebrew word “” can translate as a question asking “who?” the fact that Jeremiah did not make this be stated as a question says “who” is Yahweh, as the one knowing one’s “heart” – meaning one’s soul. By reading “‘ā·qōḇ” as being relative to the “footprints” one leaves in one’s history, it is then the path taken by the sinners of the world – those who reject marriage to Yahweh – that invariably leads one from the “sickness” [from “wə·’ā·nuš,” form of “anash”] that is the near death lack of “water” and spiritual food. It is the pains of their souls, from having been driven by the soul’s own poor life choices to a state of despair, that they seek the “fruit” of Yahweh’s wives – His ministers – who feed those confessing their sins, realizing that Yahweh is “who knows” what is best for a soul.
In verse ten, Jeremiah turns the pen over to Yahweh, who again speak through the prophet, beginning verse ten by saying, “I Yahweh.” In this, the Hebrew word “ani” is a statement that says “I,” which is the first-person singular pronoun that states “self.” While it can be read as Yahweh speaking of Himself, the deeper value of this word’s usage says all whose personal self-identification is “Yahweh,” and their “I” has been willingly and lovingly placed in His “trust, so Jeremiah becomes an example of one whose “I” is “Yahweh,” making it possible for Yahweh to speak through Jeremiah.
Following the end of verse nine, where the seeming question was asked [as a statement of truth], “who can know it,” where “it” is one’s “heart” or “inner self,” the answer now becomes all who submit to Yahweh in marriage, so their souls can allow Yahweh to speak through them, saying, “I Yahweh.” Yahweh then said through Jeremiah that this presence as divine possession comes from a “search of hearts,” or Yahweh knowing what secrets are hidden within one’s soul. Not only is a soul “tested” for sincerity, as expressed in sincere confession, but Yahweh also wants the “mind,” where the influences of worldly desires linger, purged. It is the “mind” [from “kə·lā·yō·wṯ,” meaning “kidney,” implying “heart, inward parts, and mind”] that demonic spirits begin ‘live-in relationships’ that sway souls to follow the desires of the flesh. Yahweh knows what demon spirits try to hide deep within the convolutions of ‘big brains.’ A soul cannot fully submit to Yahweh, when it retains love of self, in any form, fashion, or shape.
This must be purged in confession, because without a soul coming to terms with why it is in great despair in the first place, the seeds of sinful thoughts will again take root and grow. Thus, Yahweh said He knew “the ways” and “the doings,” which is “the fruit” of the “shrubs” of the earth. While some berries might well feed the evil birds [dark angels] that enjoy the taste of a soul’s production of sins, those berries can be poisonous and useless to others of mankind. As the saying goes, “A tiger cannot change its stripes,” the same can be said of human souls in marriages [possessions] with demonic spirits [unclean spirits]. Those souls must absolutely divorce themselves from those unfruitful relationship; and, such a legal proceeding can only come with the help of Yahweh. This is how Jesus was able to cast out demons who possessed human souls.
Because this was Yahweh again directly speaking through Jeremiah, this verse ends with a semekh. Yahweh will speak at other times in this chapter, but those are not part of today’s reading selection.
As a reading for the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, the point is to see even more the reason why one has been allowed to marry a soul to Yahweh. It is to give birth to His Son and enter ministry. One is expected to produce the good fruits of spiritual food, which will draw the true seekers to one. This is the ministry of a Christ, where Jesus speaks through one, just as Yahweh spoke through Jeremiah. The truth must be heard, so a lost soul can be found and come to the altar of marriage with Yahweh.
1 Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *
nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!
2 Their delight is in the law of Yahweh, *
and they meditate on his law day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *
everything they do shall prosper.
4 It is not so with the wicked; *
they are like chaff which the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *
nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.
6 For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, *
but the way of the wicked is doomed.
——————–
This is the Psalm that will be read aloud in unison or sung by a cantor on the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. This follows the Old Testament reading from Jeremiah, which begins with Yahweh saying, “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from Yahweh.” This pair will be followed by the Epistle reading from First Corinthians, where Paul wrote: “How can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Luke, where it is written: “Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.”
Psalm 1 is a song that is read on six occasions in the lectionary cycle, with is connected to the Jeremiah reading for the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, as well as when the pair will be read on the rare Proper 1 Sundays in Year C. In the Jeremiah reading, we see the prophet saying, “Thus said Yahweh,” with the selected verses then spoken by Yahweh a close parallel to these words spoken by David. The two are so similar, it is easy to see Yahweh spoke through David also; so, this message equally applies to everyone, at all times. One is either a prophet whose soul is married to Yahweh, through which He speaks; or, one is the wicked sinners to whom Yahweh speaks through His prophets.
I wrote my views on this song of David when it was a reading selection for the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20, Year B). At that time Psalm 1 was one of five possible readings, from which two would be chosen. That makes this song be applicable to a wide range of lessons; and, part of that is the “two paths” this song points out: wicked or righteous. When it holds more of a ‘stand-alone’ position, it can be read for its own merits. My commentary posted in August 2021 can be read by searching this site. The same values still apply, at all times. So, I welcome all to read those views now. However, with this paired with the Jeremiah 17 reading, when Yahweh spoke through the prophet, I want to do a comparison of these two readings now.
The literal translation of verse one begins by saying either “blessed” or “happy,” as a form of the Hebrew word “esher” is written [“’aš·rê-”]. This word is hyphenated, as this state of being cannot stand alone. It needs to connect to “the man” [from “hā·’îš”]. Thus the combination word written – “’aš·rê-hā·’îš” – is the focus of this song, because that leads to a comma that separates this state of being from that written that follows. Thus, “the man who is blessed” is “the man who finds happiness,” with that “delight” explained in verse two as coming from Yahweh.
The remainder of verse one then literally says, “who not does walk in the counsel of the criminal and in the manner of the sinful not does stand ; and in the seat of the mocker not sits .” The repeating of the word “not” three times then makes this first verse be what being “blessed” and “happy” is measured by. The use of “not” says being “blessed” and being “happy” is a state of self that is “not criminal, not sinful, and not a mockery” of the purpose of Judaic religious “Law.”
Now, in verse five of the Jeremiah 17 reading, the literal translation of the Hebrew says this: “thus says Yahweh cursed the man who puts trust in mankind , and makes flesh his strength , and from Yahweh turns aside whose heart .” This verse finds the word “not” absent, thus making this reflect the opposite that Yahweh spoke through David, where being “happy” and “blessed” can now be seen to “not” be “cursed.” To be “cursed” means to be “criminal,” relative to the Law of Moses, to willingly break the laws [be “sinful”] and “mock” those who try to maintain their Agreement with Yahweh. To “not” be “happy” and “blessed” means to put one’s “trust in mankind,” where the “strength” of a “man” of wealth, position and influence is seen as greater than faith in Yahweh. Here, the prosperity of Israel under David was much closer to “happiness” and “blessedness” than was any of the lands that had later split in two, following a series of leaders who led their peoples to ruin.
With that said, David’s second verse then literally translates to say, “that if in the direction of Yahweh his pleasure and in his law he speaks , day and night .” This then is David explaining the source of the “blessing” and the “happiness” that keeps one [“not”] from being “cursed” [as Yahweh stated through Jeremiah]. In this verse the same root word is repeated: “torah.” The transliterations “bə·ṯō·w·raṯ” [“in the direction of”] and “ū·ḇə·ṯō·w·rā·ṯōw” [“and in his law”] takes the same root word and applies equal meaning, from different perspectives. First, the Law is an agreement, which “directs” one’s way of living, so to be a wife of Yahweh. The Covenant is a vow of marriage, where a soul in flesh submits itself to Yahweh as His bride, His wife in holy matrimony. This is not a forced enslavement, but a mutual promise to go in the “direction” the Husband leads. Then, the second focus on the Law is as statement of “love,” where it is a “pleasure” to be “directed” in how to act, which includes how to “speak.” The focus then placed on “day and night” says the Law gives “light” that leads one,” especially when “darkness” comes. The “night” (as always) is metaphor for “death,” so the “light” will continue beyond one’s end of human flesh.
From that, verse seven in Jeremiah’s song of Yahweh sings [literally]: “has knelt the man who trusts Yahweh ; and becomes Yahweh as one’s hope .” This has the Hebrew word “bā·rūḵ,” where the root word “barak” can equally mean “to kneel” or “to bless,” used as a statement of marriage, when one submits to Yahweh while “kneeling” at the altar of marriage. That submission does not come from defeat, as a forced commitment, but as a willing sacrifice of self to a higher power, out of true love and devotion. It is that “trust” that becomes the faith of person experience of Yahweh within that becomes the “hope” and “confidence” [from “miḇ·ṭa·ḥōw”] that is a parallel to David’s use of “day and night.” It is “trust” in the “direction” the Law provides – leading one to be righteous – that is the “pleasure” of “hope.”
In David’s third verse, the literal translation says: “and he shall be , like a tree planted by rivers of water where its fruit brings forth in its season , and whose leaf not shall wither ; and all that he does shall prosper .” The first and last segment of verse three connect to say, “and he shall be … and all that he does shall prosper.” This is a statement of those souls in human flesh who submit to Yahweh in marriage and experience the “pleasure” of His Law and the promise of salvation. In between is the same metaphor of this wife of Yahweh [souls coming in both male and female bodies of flesh], who is “like a tree planted by rivers of water,” which is the “living waters” Jesus spoke of, to the Samaritan woman at the well. It is that eternal presence of Yahweh merged with one’s soul that “brings forth fruit,” which is ministry, in willing service to Yahweh. When David said “whose leaf shall not whither,” the meaning is a soul married to Yahweh’s Spirit is never going to be uprooted from that marriage.
This has to clearly be seen repeated in Jeremiah’s eighth verse, which literally translates to say: “for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters , and by the stream that spreads forth its roots , and not will fear when comes heat , but will be its leaf green ; and in the time of drought not will be fearful , nor will cease from yielding fruit .” This says basically the same thing as David. That does not prove Jeremiah had memorized Psalm 1 and forgot where he heard the words. Jeremiah wrote, thus said Yahweh, which is the truth; so, that says Yahweh spoke through David, saying the same about His wives-servants-prophets.
In David’s fourth verse, where he returns focus to the “criminal, wicked” [from “hā·rə·šā·‘îm”], he again uses the negative “not” [combined as “not so” – “lō-kên”], pointing out the difference between the Law-breakers and Yahweh’s devoted wives-saints-prophets. Here they are said to be like the “chaff” [“kam·mōṣ”], which when compared to “fruit” is that living only to protect the inner fruit that is edible. Once picked, the “chaff” is separated from grain, becoming like a dead branch that has no leaves, thus no fruit. When David sang the “chaff” is blow away in the wind, the deeper meaning sees the transliteration “rū·aḥ” as the “breath” of life. Thus, those who are like “chaff” are souls [“ruach”] that are headed towards the reincarnation of death, “not” eternal life.
This vision of David is then parallel to that spoken by Yahweh through Jeremiah, in his sixth verse, where those souls that will not be like “trees planted by waters,” as they will be [literally translated]: “for it shall become like a shrub in the desert , and not shall see when comes good , but shall dwell in parched places in the mouth , land barren and not inhabited .” In this, the Hebrew word “midbar” is often translated as “wilderness,” when the reality is it means “mouth.” While being a “parched mouth” says Yahweh was referring to those souls who would not speak well of the Law, it says their inability to speak the truth of Scripture has also left their souls wandering aimlessly in “barren land” that cannot support plant life that bears good fruit. This makes one who claims to be a child of Yahweh, as a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel the equivalent of a Gentile, none of who know Yahweh through a marriage Agreement.
This is where David sang of judgment in verse five. That verse literally says, “above thus not shall arise the criminal” [or “wicked”] in the judgment ; not the sinners in the congregation of the righteous .” The use of “qum” [as “yā·qu·mū”] is commonly translated as “to stand,” but when “judgment” is understood to be of a spiritual [soul] nature, not physical, the meaning should be read as “arise,” which means an elevated soul that receives the ‘Promised Land’ that is heaven or eternal life away from reincarnation. Those who have not committed to the Law, never marrying their souls to Yahweh’s Spirit, will be “judged” as “criminals,” thus “wicked.” Because those souls will “not” be part of the “congregation of the righteous,” deemed “sinners,” those souls will be turned away from eternal life, forced [by their own actions and inactions] to reap the emptiness that they have sown. This says marriage to Yahweh is a soul’s only course towards “righteous” living.
This correlates to Jeremiah writing, in verse six, that Yahweh said those souls who would “not see when comes good” are blind to the presence of Yahweh. Jesus told the young, rich ruler that only “God is good,” which now can be see as Yahweh speaking of Himself as that unseen that is the presence of “goodness,” which is “righteousness.” By one “not seeing good,” one is a “sinner” and thereby one that will be “judged” as “chaff.” The “land of salt [or barrenness] that is uninhabited” is the realm of death, which is where judgment sends a “criminal” soul.
In David’s last verse [verse six], he literally stated: “that knows Yahweh the way of the righteous ; but the way of the criminal shall perish .” This might seem to be a statement about what Yahweh “know,” but Yahweh is omniscient, so He knows all. The aspect of knowledge is what a soul in the flesh has welcomed within. When it has married Yahweh, then is “knows Yahweh” and is led by that knowledge to a “path of righteousness.” On the other hand, those who take a “path” that is away from the commitment of the Covenant [marriage to Yahweh], those “criminals” will lead themselves to an end [“to perish”] that lacks the inner insight of divine wisdom. Thus, those souls will be lost and count on grasping straws to save them from judgment; but those efforts will not help.
This also relates to Jeremiah’s last statement by Yahweh, which said the “wicked” will find a “land barren,” which is metaphor for a “soul in a body of flesh without Yahweh.” Being “barren,” with a “parched mouth,” says one’s soul has no knowledge to speak of. By leading oneself to a place that is uninhabited, this is the departure of a soul from a body of flesh at death. When death means judgment, “to perish” means condemnation” of a soul. Therefore, the only way to be saved from such a self-induced fate is to marry one’s soul to Yahweh and let His Law lead one to a life of righteousness and eternal salvation.
As a song of David that is connected to the Jeremiah reading on both the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany and Proper 1, Year C, the reason must be seen as making it clear that there are only two paths to take in life. One path comes from a soul that chooses to marry itself with Yahweh, by doing everything humanly possible to show Yahweh one sincerely loves Him. This can be a life that devotes itself to learning the Law and studying Scripture. Such actions will become a profession of love and elicit a proposal of divine marriage; at which time divine insight will begin to flow, making one’s love grow stronger. A life in service to Yahweh makes one turn away from all the bells and whistles that life throws around as distraction. On the other hand, those souls who do not act to show Yahweh one’s love for Him, they will be distracted and live lives of sin. Over time, when the guilt of one’s “criminal” behavior seem insurmountable, one’s soul will either collapse in guilt and beg Yahweh for forgiveness, which can bring redemption and the promise of salvation. However, many souls will refuse to beg for forgiveness, leading them to further acts as sinners; and, those souls shall perish.
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ–whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
——————–
This is the Epistle selection for the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. Before this will be read aloud, a reading from Jeremiah, where he quoted Yahweh as saying, “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from Yahweh. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” That will be followed by a singing of Psalm 1, where David wrote, “It is not so with the wicked; they are like chaff which the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.” All readings will accompany the Gospel selection from Luke, where it is written: “And all in the crowd were trying to touch [Jesus], for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then [Jesus] looked up at his disciples and said” what is called The Beatitudes.
These selected verses from Paul’s first letter to the true Christians he left behind in Corinth is given the ‘title’ “The Resurrection of the Dead.” This is based on Paul having written the words “nekrōn” and “egēgertai,” meaning “dead” and “has been raised” [six times and eight times respectively]. The word “ēgeiren” [meaning “it has been raised”] is written twice more. What seems to have been totally missed from these selected verses is the name “Jesus,” which only appears twice in this whole chapter [once in verse 31 and once in verse 57], none of which comes in these nine verses selected for reading. Therefore, any assumptions made that connect “Jesus” to the one “dead,” who “has been raised,” is incorrectly putting words in Paul’s mouth [pen on paper].
What Paul did write in these verses [nine times] is “Christ,” written as “Christos” [six times], “Christon” [once], and “Christō” [twice], all of which are statements about the divine “Anointment” by Yahweh. The capitalized word “Christ” is NOT the last name of Jesus, as if Paul was saying, “Mr. Christ.” This is a major stumbling block that modern Christians [not Jesusians] need to learn to get over. It is vital to understand the meaning of the word “Christ,” to begin to understand what Paul wrote in this reading selection.
In the Epistle selection for the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, the selection was from this same chapter of First Corinthians; and, in that Paul is shown [in English translations] to say, “Christ died.” In my commentary about that reading, I pointed out how impossible it is for an “Anointment” by Yahweh to “die.” The word translated as “died” actually means to separate away from at death, such that the physical body of Jesus was enabled by Yahweh to die, because Yahweh separated His “Anointment” from His Son. This says Paul was explaining how the “Christ” is Yahweh’s blessing placed on all souls who submit their self-egos and self-wills to serve Him. Jesus is THE Christ that was created by Yahweh for the purpose of saving souls [the name “Jesus” means “Yah[weh] Will Save” or “Yah[weh] Saves”]; so, just as a servant kneels before a king and is touched by the sword of power, “rising a knight,” so too does a disciple kneel before Yahweh, being touched by the “Christ” of Yahweh, “rising as Jesus reborn.” The death in this picture is what Paul was writing about here; and, that is the death of self-ego, so one can be “raised” as Jesus – Christ again in the flesh.
Carefully observe these two seemingly identical pictures and see if you can tell how one shows dead bodies [“nekrōn“], while the other shows dead bodies that have been “raised in Christ.” [Hint: Don’t let the funeral setting give you the wrong impression.]
A key element of divine Scripture that so often is obliterated by English translations is capitalization. A capitalized word written is more often than not diminished to the obscurity of meaningless dribble, when some words purposefully written in the lower-case are capitalized by the lower-g gods of translation. One such erasure of a divinely elevated word is seen here, when verse twelve is show to begin by stating, “Now if.” That is not what is written, as the first word written by Paul in this verse is “Ei,” meaning “If,” which is an important ‘big If’ to contemplate.
To see this word in the light of purposeful divine elevation, Paul is using it to set the conditions of Sainthood. “If” one’s soul has been saved by Yahweh, such that the soul in question “has been raised” to a divine state of being [a Saint, versus a sinner], then one must meet the requirements of that divine condition – “If.” With that understood, Paul then wrote [literally translated], “If now Christ is proclaimed that [is because] out from of a dead body it has been raised , by what means says within any that [is because] a resurrection of a dead body not it exists ?”
The “If” of great importance is then relative to belief that Jesus was the Son of Yahweh [the soul of Adam recreated in the womb of Mary], who as that soul reborn was “Anointed” by Yahweh when created, thereby always a “Christ.” It is the “Christ” state of being that granted Jesus [the man in the flesh] eternal life, meaning he was born a ‘hero’ or a ‘demigod,’ so he could not die. It was an impossibility. However, the question that must meet the conditional hypothesis is this: If the “Anointment” of Yahweh were to come out of his body of flesh, allowing Jesus the man to die, then the Spirit of “Anointment” had to be “raised” from that body of flesh, making death be possible.”
The second half of this conditional then is Paul referring to himself, the Corinthian Christians and all Apostles [before and after, forever], as they were born without any divine Spirit from Yahweh possessing their souls, so all of their bodies of flesh were death waiting to happen. Thus, the “If – then” scenario is this: If is impossible for a dead body to be able to resurrect as a “Christ,” if the “Christ” of Jesus had not been raised from his body of flesh. The Christ of Jesus’ flesh had to separate away from him [at death], so his soul could then be resurrected in the dead flesh animated by lost souls, transferring eternal life to that which was dead. That is the If that associates with resurrection of the dead.
With that condition set, Paul then stated another “if” scenario, which is not divinely elevated. It is a mundane “if,” because this condition is based on the first conditional “If” not being true. Here, Paul literally said: “if now a resurrection of a dead body not exists , not Christ has been raised .”
This says the opposite of a Saint having received the “Anointment” of Yahweh, granting his or her soul eternal life [resurrection], such that “if not” so exists a “Christ,” then that dead flesh has not been raised as a “Christ.” This clearly says that the presence of “the Christ” – Yahweh’s “Anointment” of Holiness – is the only way to escape the guaranteed death that comes to a soul animating a body of flesh. There can be no eternal life promise to a soul-body that has not received this “Anointment” from Yahweh.
Paul then added another mundane condition, stating: “if now Christ not has been raised , empty therefore [kai] this preaching of us , empty kai this faith of you .” This says that “if their dead bodies made alive by souls alone have not been “Anointed” by Yahweh, they everything about them is empty of meaning. This importantly says their preaching the truth is empty words; and, importantly, that emptiness means they have no faith to pass onto others.” In that, the word “kai” is placed within brackets by Paul, which is a symbolic way of stating the conditional that says, “if one’s soul is empty of the Christ, then preaching about it cannot be added.” The brackets surrounding “kai” becomes symbolic of multiplication by zero, were zero is what is possible to be preached.
This says that without all of them having become “Christs,” there is absolutely zero way Christianity is true. That mundane conditional is only based on the assumption that there has been no “Christ raised” from Jesus’s dead body of flesh, so Jesus could be reborn in others – dead bodies of flesh – making them all become “Christs.” It is being “Anointed” by Yahweh that means eternal life “has been raised” in them.
Following that last scenario, where there is no “Christ” at all, Paul then wrote of a false ministry. His words written literally translate into English, saying “we have learned now kai false witnesses of this of God , since we have born witness according to of this of God , because he raised up this Christ , whom not he has raised if therefore a dead body not [it] raised .”
In the last segment of words, Paul reconfirmed the first segments of words, by restating the negative “if” scenario as that which must be given as true, for the rest to also be true. If not having become a “Christ” of Yahweh [“raised” to know the promise of eternal life beyond death], then everything Paul and the Corinthian Christians said was “false witness.” Being a “witness” means having personal experience. Thus, if having been “raised as a Christ” is not personal experience witnessed, then everything they say is a lie against God. This is because everything they say is based on having the premise be that they are all led by God to speak His truth. If that is false, then they condemn their souls by speaking lies about a “Christ having been raised in dead bodies.”
In the sixteenth verse, Paul then wrote another ‘big IF,’ where the capitalization of “Ei” again divinely elevates the word to place focus on the condition of truth being met, relative to “Christ having been raised in a dead body” of flesh. Here, he wrote [literally]: “If indeed [those] dead bodies not [those] raised , not Christ has been raised .” In this, the truth says a dead body [a soul trapped within a body, giving it the appearance of life] cannot be “raised” to a state of eternal life [where death is impossible for a soul – i.e.: no more reincarnations into dead matter]. That transformation is impossible without the addition of the “Christ” in a soul, as Yahweh’s “Anointment” [which He does for all His wives].
In the seventeenth verse, Paul again returned to a mundane scenario – a condition of “if” – where he expounded on that condition of truth. Here, Paul literally wrote: “if now Christ not has been raised , useless this belief of you (exists) ; still you exist within these sins of you .” This says the truth is the “Christ has been raised in dead bodies,” but “if” this state is “not” to be the truth for one individual [a simple soul in a dead body], then there is no true faith, only “useless belief.” All “beliefs” based on religious principles [or anything else] can do and will do nothing to eliminate one’s existence within and the existence of “sins,” which surround “you” at all times. If not surrounded by the true “Christ,” then one is surrounded by the truth of “sins.”
In verse seventeen, Paul set the Greek word “estin” between parentheses. The word translates as “I am, exist.” The parentheses take the existence of life and makes it unseen – the symbolism of parentheses identifying an aside. Thus, from saying “of you” [“autou“], a possessive state “of being,” the true “existence” of life that is unseen is one’s soul. A “Christ raised” is like a soul – invisible – but whereas a body shows signs of life, indicating a soul’s presence, the Christ becomes an inward part “of you,” as that invisible possessing Spirit that gains control over a soul.
From that set of truths, Paul then wrote in verse eighteen: “therefore kai those having died within Christ have been destroyed .” In this, the presence of “kai” [as always] announces the important conclusion that can be drawn from the truth of Christ having “been raised in dead bodies.” The important truth that follows having been raided by Yahweh’s “Anointment” says all death [a “nekron”] “has been destroyed” by that power that “raises” a soul from the sins of the flesh. All sins have “perished,” as far as having any further influence over a soul that Yahweh has “Anointed.” It says that a soul has to relinquish control over its body of flesh to receive the Christ presence; and, that means a self-ego must “die,” in order to be reborn as the Son.
Thus, in verse nineteen, Paul was led to write, “if within this life here , within Christ having expectations [we] exist , merely , more to be desperate of allhumanity we exist .” In the first segment of words, the word “life” [“zōē”] becomes a statement of one’s soul having been raised through the resurrection of Jesus’ soul, making one be reborn a “Christ.” The condition is now a statement that “if Christ, then expectations come” to one so “raised.” The “expectations” [from “ēlpikotes”] is ministry, as Jesus reborn, as a “Christ” of Yahweh.
The separation of one word between comma marks – “merely,” from “monon” – states one soul’s self-worth is no longer any motivating factor to consider, as “alone” or as “only” self is not why a dead body will have been “raised.” The “expectations,” with none other to be considered, is to seek out “more to be desperate of all humanity,” who are those others still souls in dead bodies of flesh. Saints are “raised” as Jesus reborn to make others also be “raised” as “Christs.”
The twentieth verse is separated from the prior verses, because it is seen as the transitional verse that leads to the next section of the letter. The BibleHub calls this next section “The Order of Resurrection,” following these verses prior being named “The Resurrection of the Dead.” The NRSV uses that same initial heading, but does not name the verses after verse nineteen as anything new. Still, because BibleHub denotes a transition point of focus, the separation provided by the NRSV says they too recognize verse twenty as when Paul takes a new slant. The verse then says, “Now on top of this Christ has been raised out from dead bodies , first-fruits of those having death .”
Here, this verse is begun by a capitalized “Nyni,” which means “Now” must be read as a divinely elevated statement of the truth having been determined that “dead bodies have been raised from being dead bodies, due to the truth of Yahweh’s Anointment.” This makes the word “Now” be a statement about the truth that Paul and the true Christians of Corinth knew personally at that time. That knowledge was they all were possessed by Yahweh, becoming His Christs, with each existing as a resurrection of the Jesus soul within them. The “Now” is still “Now,” as Christianity read it today. The divine elevation means “Now” is all times present when a soul existing in the world with the Christ raised within, such that “Now” is when the purpose ministry takes hold, representing the fruit of the vine of Christ has matured.
The last word in verse twenty is “kekoimēmenōn,” which was used similarly in verse eighteen, written as “koimēthentes.” These words are rooted in “koimaó,” which speaks metaphorically of “death,” as “sleep, fall asleep.” When Jesus was told of Lazarus being ill and near death, Jesus said he was “only sleeping,” when Jesus knew his flesh had died; but Jesus knew the soul awaited to be “raised” and returned to a body revived from death. Thus, Paul is saying the purpose of ministry is for those who “had fallen asleep within Christ” to awaken and go in ministry to others who have their souls “having death” to be “raised.” In this regard for ministry, Paul used the term “aparchē,” which translates as “first-fruits.”
The use of “first-fruits” is a reference to the unripe grains, fruits and vegetables gathers in omer measures [like a bushel], which were placed in the Temple of Jerusalem and held there for fifty days, at which time a high priest would then deem them fit to eat [on Shavuot, the Fiftieth Day or Pentecost]. It was on Pentecost Sunday that the disciples suddenly became Apostles and began spreading the message of truth, so souls in bodies of dead flesh could ‘awaken’ and be “raised” Spiritually. Thus, all of the first true Christians were likewise “first-fruits” that needed to preach the truth of the “Christ” to lost Jews [and Gentiles]. Thus, Paul would go on to use of the word “tagmata,” or “order” that was “of Christ,” meaning Christianity.
The problem people have with reading these verses and understanding what the heck Paul was writing about comes from people reading or hearing “Christ” and thinking that is the last name of Jesus. Thinking that makes everyone imagine Paul was demanding one believe that Jesus did die and resurrect; and, those who believe that become like Paul [et al]. That misses the point of each soul in a dead body of flesh needing to become Jesus reborn, because of marriage of a soul to Yahweh and becoming “raised in Christ” to be His Son Anointed again.
When Christianity today looks at itself seriously, then it has to conclude as Paul wrote mundanely, “There can be no resurrection of the dead, because Christ has not been raised.” That is the truth, because nobody is preaching as Christ raised [no Saints, no Apostles] the lesson that to be saved and gain eternal life with Yahweh. That lesson says one must be a Christ resurrected. Instead of teaching that truth, people laze about in pews, committing every sin under the sun, waiting for Jesus to come down on a cloud, with a fiery sword and destroy sin, while taking do-nothings to heaven. That was the state of failed religion that had Yahweh send His Son to save. That led to true Christianity; but then religious organizations cut the heads off true Saints; and, acts of that nature began the decline we so much enjoy today.
As a reading selected to be read aloud on the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, the point made by Paul has to be seen by all who were indeed souls married to Yahweh, presented with His Son Jesus [on Christmas] and approved for intern ministry [the Epiphany], which now sees that ministry in need of being to preach to others how to do the same thing. Few people are doing that; so, fewer are thinking that is possible. It is time to get Christianity back on track and rolling towards the goal of true ministry.
Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.”
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”
——————–
This is the Gospel selection to be read aloud by a priest on the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow a reading from Jeremiah, where the prophet wrote, “Blessed are those who trust in Yahweh, whose trust is Yahweh.” That will be followed by a singing of Psalm 1, where David wrote: “For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.” That pair will precede an Epistle reading from First Corinthians, where Paul wrote, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.”
This reading from Luke needs to be read as two readings connected together. Verses seventeen through nineteen need to be seen as a set-up, similar to that told in Matthew’s fourth chapter, at the end (verses twenty-three to twenty-five). When Matthew changed chapters, telling of Jesus speaking from the mount [erroneously called “The Sermon on the Mount,” because Matthew’s fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters tell of many sermons spoken from the same location]. That location is established here in the first three verses (as well as Matthews last three verses in his fourth chapter).
Relative to what Luke wrote in verses twenty through twenty-six, this equates to that told by Matthew in the first ‘sermon on the mount,’ which has generally been termed “The Beatitudes.” The Beatitudes are found in Matthew 5:3-12, where they all begin with the Greek word “Makarioi,” all capitalized, meaning this is a divine level of “Blessing,” not some ‘run of the mill’ speaking of words at a grocery store checkout [“Have a blessed day!”]. I have written a quite in-depth analysis of Matthew’ account of ‘the Beatitudes,’ which can be found at this link. I recommend reading that to get a deeper perspective of what I will assume is common knowledge in this observation I am about to make. However, this view of Luke’s recall of ‘the Beatitudes’ is not as long as that written of by Matthew, and Luke wrote also of the “Woes” (which Matthew did not).
Because the “Woes” make a connection to a reading in Amos, Jesus would have spoken of that on a Sabbath when the lesson for the people [normally read in a synagogue, from scrolls] was from that prophet’s scroll. Here, one should see that Jesus addressed a reading lesson on one Sabbath, which would have been a separate ‘sermon’ from his ‘church’ on the mount-by-the-sea. One should also see that the mount did not afford Jesus a secure place to store ancient scrolls, from which he could ceremoniously have an attendant pull one from each Sabbath and hand it to him. Because Jesus was the Son of Yahweh and had the Mind of Christ, Jesus spoke as the scrolls had all been written in his heart [i.e.: soul]. Finally, the “Woes” can be seen as a prophecy of condemnation given to the self-righteous; and, that can be an explanation for why Jesus moved to a hillside that overlooked a flat plain by the sea, rather than go to a synagogue in a nearby town. When Jesus took to the mount it was for two reasons: First, it could accommodate a larger crowd; and, Second, Jesus had been rejected from entering the synagogues, because he spoke words explaining Scripture that no one had ever heard spoken before.
One of the elements of divine Scripture – that of the New Testament, written in Greek – is the marker word “kai.” This word simply translates as “and” and is sometimes translated as that, or as “also,” or totally ignored and tossed out like Yahweh’s leftover garbage. In Man’s self-imposed god-like state, where Man gets to tell Yahweh what Yahweh meant, the ‘low priests’ of translation slither up to the church leaders [who are not literate in Greek or Hebrew, or Latin, wishing English to be the one language of God], hissing, “God stutters a lot through His prophets, so we struck out the stutters and made up some stuff. Believe it.”
The reality is “kai” comes in two forms: capitalized as “Kai,” and in the lower-case “kai.” The first means “Great importance to follow,” with the second meaning “importance to follow.” This means that every use of the word “kai” denotes key elements of any dogmatic rule of canon law that needs to be followed. If those markers of importance are not followed, then one will end up lost on the path to religious belief. Being lost on that path means one can only be found when some saint wanders along and says, “You need to learn how to read the roadmap to heaven” [divine Scripture]
In the three verses above, which is the set-up to the ‘divided-in-two sermon’ that follows, Luke wrote the word “kai” ten times – the first capitalized and the rest in the lower-case. This says the capitalized “Kai,” which begins these three verses, is what sets those verses apart from the verses that follow. The nine internal uses of “kai” are then fully supporting that capitalization that begins these verses. In the above NRSV translation, there are eight translations of “and,” with one of them capitalized (not the one capitalized by Luke). The only thing all those uses of “and” tell a reader or listener is only this: Luke sure wrote “and” a lot. No importance is noted. However, when the remaining seven verses are read [in Greek], there are only five uses of the same word (a decrease in usage), with the word beginning the ‘Beatitudes’ also being a capitalized “Kai,” followed then by four internal uses in the lower-case. At all times the word “kai” should be read more like punctuation to follow and not like some poorly educated lad has fallen in love with saying, “You know,” in between the limited thoughts that come into his mind.
In the three verses of Matthew’s Greek, at the end of chapter four [the equivalent of Luke 6:17-19] those verses begin with a capitalized “Kai,” with another capitalized “Kai” beginning the last verse [25]. There are then fourteen other uses of the lower-case “kai.” In Matthew’s listing of “the Beatitudes,” he used the word “kai” only four times, all in the lower-case. This quite obvious ability to not say “and” proves every word of Scripture is written with purpose, from divine insight, with all coming from Yahweh through a prophet. When Jesus said he did not come to change one iota of Scripture [that written prior to the New Testament], one should keep that in mind when getting on one’s knees and praying to English memorizations (that are little more than paraphrases that have thrown the baby of truth out with the dirty bath water of translation) is a profession of ignorance, refusing to take any responsibility to understand the truth.
Here is verses seventeen through nineteen properly translated into English – literally:
17 Kai having descended in company with of themselves , he made a stand on the basis of an area flat , kai the common people many of learners of the same [as him] , kai an assemblage often of this people [laity] away from all this Judea [Place Of Jews] , kai Jerusalem [Teaching Peace] , kai this by the sea of Tyre [Rock] , kai Sidon [Fishery] ,
18 who came to have heard of himself kai to have healed from of those maladies of themselves . kai those disturbed away from spirits impure were served .
19 kai all this the common people were desiring to lay hold of of the same [of him] , because might [or strength] in the presence of of himself was going out [or coming out] kai healing everyone .
———-
When one realizes the use of “kai” is as a marker of importance, One can then see that the four capitalized words found in segments four, five, six and seven – which appear simply as names of places – are all marked as importance to be realized in that which follows. That marker says it is important to look at the meaning behind the names. Thus, one can see how Luke told: 1.) The assemblage was for Jews only; 2.) The purpose for the assemblage was the truth of what a synagogue should do for Jews, which is Teach the Peace of Scripture; 3.) The assemblage of Jews being taught by Jesus was by the Mount [a Rock] beside the Sea of Galilee; and, 4.) The purpose of the assemblage of Jews by the mount by the sea was to fish for the souls that were lost and seeking to be found by Yahweh [thus not a synagogue, but a Fishery].
In all of this three-verse selection, the words “autou” [“of him”] “autōn” [“of them”] are found, written three times and once respectively. The root word “autos” can equally mean: “self, the same, or he-she-it-they.” When one realizes Jesus spoke more to souls than brains, the aspect of “self” is more intended to be seen from those uses, because a “self” is a “soul.” Thus, the use says the common people (who were all Jews) were drawn to Jesus so they could be “the same” as his soul [himself]. This simple pronoun is completely unseen as such, when the truth is right before one’s eyes to see … when one is led to see it and one’s soul has divine assistance to see.
In verse seventeen, where the aspect of illness is seen, it is important to realize that Jews with physical maladies – those visible to others – were kept out of synagogues. A large open area that was flat, with excellent acoustics, where hearing did not require shouting [a wind-aided phenomena], all could gather without punishment from the rabbis and leaders of Jewish worship rules. Still, many “maladies” were unseen, as spiritual famine was the cause. The two marks of importance in verse seventeen combine to say the “maladies” of sin were due to demonic possession [unclean spirits], which (by coming close to Jesus and hearing his word) were chased away. Thus, simply from having access to Jesus on a Sabbath, seeing and hearing Jesus speak cleansed the souls of those impure.
Verse nineteen then states the importance of this healing’s lasting effect. The souls of the seekers were not only touching the essence of Jesus once for cleansing [like a baptism], but in addition, the soul of Jesus replaced the demon spirits with his own spirit [a divine possession]. Thus, those who were cleaned by him “took hold of his spirit-soul,” which was “going out” from Jesus and “coming into” those who sought salvation. This was a “healing” that was not just for a few who were sick, lame, or infirm. It was for “all” who sought spiritual “healing.” Jesus was indeed the food of heaven that starving souls needed to feast upon.
———-
Now, in verse seventeen, in the third segment of words, Luke wrote the word “mathētōn,” which has the same root word meaning as does the word written in verse twenty: “mathētas.” That meaning is this: “a disciple,” implying “a learner, a pupil.” When verse seventeen attaches that word to “many common people” or “a large crowd,” this is different than verse twenty, where the implication is more quaint. Verse twenty states Jesus spoke to “the disciples of him” [again finding that pronoun “autou,” meaning the spirit of Jesus was permanently attached to their souls … “the same of him”]. While what Jesus then spoke, relative to the ‘Beatitudes,’ is a truth for all “students” of Jesus and would have been heard by all within the acoustics of the mount, the reality is many are called, but few respond when called. One must seek to be found and one must knock for a door to be opened. Therefore, verse twenty’s address to “the disciples” is more associated to the twelve then; although it applies equally to all who ever become Saints.
In my linked commentary about Matthew’s account of ‘the Beatitudes,’ I made it be clearly stated that “Blessed” means one who has been “Blessed” by Yahweh, therefore one filled with His Spirit and made a Saint. The Latin word “beatitudo” means “happiness, blessedness,” which is the Roman Church’s way of translating the capitalized word written by both Luke and Matthew: “Makarioi.” That Greek word (commonly in the lower-case) means, “blessed, happy,” implying “to be envied.” The capitalization divinely elevates the usage by Luke and Matthew to a state of being that can only be brought on by Yahweh. Thus, ‘the Beatitudes’ are Jesus stating the ways to determine who are Saints [and thereby who are not].
Because all of the “disciples” (other than Judas Iscariot) became Apostles, therefore Saints, it is easy to see Jesus talking to them directly. However, any number of Saints walked the earth after having come in touch with the voice of Yahweh, spoken as Jesus in a Saint. A Saint, like Jesus, is a soul married to Yahweh, having been Anointed by His Spirit [baptized], so His Son is then reborn in countless bodies of flesh. Many Saints have spread Christianity around the globe, most of whom were never recognized by that title, awarded by the religious organization established in Rome [et al].
To understand what Luke wrote about the “Blessed” Saints, I refer the reader to the commentary on Matthew. I will now more closely examine the “Woes” recalled by Mother Mary, which Luke recorded in Scripture.
The Greek word written by Luke that is translated as “Woe” is “Ouai.” That word is written in the capitalized form three times, with the first time written being in the lower-case. The lower-case usage follows the capitalized first word of verse twenty-four, which is “Plēn,” meaning “Yet, Except,” implying in usage “However, Nevertheless, But, Except that, Yet.” The capitalization of a conjunction means the divine elevation is an “Exception” to the divinely elevated meaning of “Blessed.” Thus, “ouai” meaning, “alas! woe!” becomes elevated divinely as an explanation of what transpires when a soul is not “Blessed” [by “Exception”]. The “Exception” is “woe!,” which Luke then later capitalized, to show a divinely elevated state of “Woe.”
Here, it is again worthwhile to dissect the three verses telling of “Except woe!” and “Woe,” as I did to the first three verses of this reading. In this, one will find the presence of “kai” is diminished greatly (only once appearing); but there is a shift in focus placed on the presence of capitalized words, which can easily be ‘lost in translation.’ That dissection is as follows:
24 Except woe! yourselves they wealthy , Because you are holding back this calling to aid one of yourselves .
25 Woe to yourselves those having been satisfied in the present , you will desire earnestly . Woe those smiling in the present , Because you will feel guilt kai lament .
26 Woe whenever well-perceived ⇔ of yourselves command all these human , According to these of them indeed they made those false prophets them fathers of themselves .
I believe when these verses are read this way, it is easy to see verse twenty-four pointing to those who find their souls in bodies of flesh that are surrounded by plenty (not severe shortage of necessities). That comfort then keeps those souls from seeing a need to marry their souls to Yahweh and help their own souls [“one of yourselves” who are “wealthy” materially].
In verse twenty-five, it is easy to see the repetition of “now” or “in the present” being the inability to see the future. When wealth has brought one comforts that seem secure, they are hindered by not knowing the need to desire spiritual food, seeing its lack as important to seek it to become plentiful. When those are finding comfort in Scripture allowing them to cheat others for their own personal gains [“God wants you to be successful” bullshit, which Jews worship in the god Mammon], the time will come when Judgment will be the time for balancing the scales. At death a soul who neglected other souls, through self-worship, will feel immense “guilt,” with it important to see how their “lament” will not be temporary, but long-lasting.
In verse twenty-six, it is easy to see the “⇔” symbol of Greek text, which is completely erased in the NRSV English translation. That is a mathematical symbol that is called a “left right arrow.” The symbol is placed in divine Scripture [New Testament] when the words written can be either true or not true. The symbol means that stated before [left arrow] is true if that written to follow [right arrow] is also true. If the two are not equally true [the equal mark in between the arrows], then that written is false. In the text above, the statement of truth says, “If one is well-perceived and speaks highly of oneself among other humans,” then the truth speaks of one who is self-centered. One who is “self-centered” can never submit one’s soul [a soul is a self] to Yahweh; so, one’s fate will be based on how well others of the human race accept one’s commands as a god of the world.
When this is seen, it becomes a statement of truth that follows, where Jesus said the judgment of humanity can be swayed by people of importance on earth. Their desire to have their egos stroked will lead translators of Scripture to say everything good is deserved by the great human beings on earth. They, of course [and unfortunately], will need to live forever (as do the true gods), so a higher Judgment will never come to them. As the “father” of their own self-worth, the true Father will deny having ever married that soul; so, Judgment will be harsh.
When all of this is tied together, so Jesus created a place with no ups and downs of religious rules and by-laws to contend with are present [a “flat area”], and with no expectations to learn Scripture without explanations made possible [seekers receiving the Spirit], the Scriptures in four Gospels become the “assemblages” of Jesus’ lessons. The lesson today is one that teaches a soul is either a Saint [those “Blessed” by Yahweh] or one that ain’t [those who mope around on Judgment Day saying, “Woe! is me.”].
As a reading selection to be read aloud by a priest on the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, the danger is not laying back in your pew [the one marked by your ever-present scent, with pillows and tissues kept in a pew to ward off anyone else from daring to ever sit there] and thinking, “Thank you God for making me be beatified.” True Saints rarely sit in pews, because they are either standing in front of them [a true priest of Yahweh, reborn as Jesus] or one is trying to teach the truth of Scripture in the real world; all while being stoned to death by the rocks thrown by those Woe! people. Even while being stoned to death, the Saints look up to Yahweh and Jesus, saying, “Forgive them Yahweh, because they do not know what they are doing.”
oseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for elohim sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. elohim sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but ha-elohim; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, elohim has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there–since there are five more years of famine to come–so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.'”
And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
——————–
This is the Old Testament selection to be read aloud on the seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will precede a singing of selected verses from Psalm 37, where David wrote: “Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.” That pair will then be followed by the Epistle selection from First Corinthians, where Paul wrote, “What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Luke, where it is written: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”
In this selection of verses, four times the NRSV translated a form of “elohim” as “God.” In all of the forty-fifth chapter of Genesis those are the only four such references. In this, it highlights the fact that the name Yahweh was not yet known, as that name was told to Moses at the burning bush. While it has to be grasped that Jacob was taught his ‘religious beliefs’ by his father Isaac, with his taught to him by Abraham, those Patriarchs knew the voice of Yahweh, but not by name. The Hebrew word “elohim” is clearly the plural form of “el,” which states “gods.” To say someone wrote the word for “gods,” while meaning the singular is a lie and is man playing a god [be that man a Jewish rabbinical scholar or a master of the Hebrew language], so to say “gods” means “God” is flat out wrong.
The ”elohim” must be understood as being the “angels” created by Yahweh to serve Him on earth. Some of those “elohim” refuse to help mankind, whom they made in their likeness for Yahweh [day six of the Creation]. That means there are fallen “elohim” and there are guardian “elohim,” which watch over souls in human flesh. In this regard, one needs to know the history of Joseph.
Joseph was born in Genesis 30. Jacob wrestled with his demon “elohim” [or “el”] in Genesis 32. It was at that time that Jacob became a Yahweh elohim, because that was when he received the title “Israel.” That presence in Jacob did not pass on to his children. In Genesis 37 we are told of Joseph’s dreams, which he told his family. Joseph was then seventeen years old; and, we are told he was Jacob’s favorite son. That led his brothers to sell him into slavery, after an attempt to kill him failed. Here, one must realize that Joseph is not wrestling with his demon, because he has received the guardianship of Yahweh’s elohim, knowing the heart and soul of Joseph, so Joseph becomes an extension of Yahweh to a son of Jacob’s [Israel’s]. So, Joseph sees visions as a prophet, which are brought to him via “elohim.” Thus, Joseph was taught by his father Jacob [then a Yahweh elohim as Israel] about the “gods” that watch over souls in flesh on earth.
This makes the important elements to grasp from this reading be the concepts of “brothers” and “father,” as being relative to “elohim.” This story, other than being something that becomes ‘ho-hum history’ to souls in human flesh walking the earth in the year 2022, be pointless. One has to ask oneself, “Why does this history lesson matter to me?”
Brothers by another mother.
The name “Joseph” means “Increaser” or “May He Add.” This means that is the importance that has to come from this lesson, because the name Joseph is stated five times. The verses skipped over in today’s selection [12-14] all state the name Benjamin; so, that name is avoided in the meaning of this lesson. None of the other brothers of Joseph are named. Only “Joseph” becomes important to grasp. This means the story is about “brothers” being “increased” to the level of being that state of “Israel” that was the “father” [Israel, elevated from Jacob] needs to be caught. This means the “addition” to the “brothers” is the presence of guardianship by the “elohim.”
This reading then makes Joseph be metaphor for Jesus. Sinful brothers have had a ‘come to Jesus meeting.’ Their sins are known; and, they feel deep, inner guilt.
When the reason the brothers have come to Joseph is realized to be famine, which is said to be still “five more years of famine to come,” that can only be something a prophet can forecast accurately, because he is led by the “elohim.” Ordinary humans cannot be fully accurate in predicting the weather the next day, much less five years from today. By seeing this as more than a story telling one to believe in something that happened a long time ago, to people modern Christians have no real relationship with (physically, via blood), the higher element of famine needs to be seen on a spiritual level. More than a scarcity of physical food, Biblical famine means souls are starved and very thin.
The “father” [Jacob] of the “brothers” [the twelve sons, with Joseph and Benjamin] has had no effect on anyone else’s spiritual transformation, meaning he only led Joseph to seek spiritual nourishment from his own encounter with “elohim.” This means that Joseph is more of a spiritual influence on his family, in the same way Mary’s husband Joseph was not how the soul of Jesus became an “elohim.” Each soul must be starved or famished spiritually to seek the help of Yahweh [which comes in the name of Jesus]; and, this is the deeper implication of this story: the lost souls were led by desperation to find their redemption, and through realizing their guilts they were saved.
As an Old Testament reading for the seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, the point to see here is the theme that runs through all the selections for this day. It is we who … all of us … are from sinful pasts, so we all have been blessed by Yahweh when our souls have become His elohim on earth. The “brothers” of Joseph were the past that had to be and then it had to be released, so the past no longer had any holds on the present and future. The future always holds spiritual famine; and, the only way to be saved from spiritual death is change. A soul must move to “Goshen,” where an inundation of Spirit makes one’s soul fertile and well-nourished. The “brothers” of Joseph reflect the brotherhood of mankind, where that which connects us all is sin. The call to stand before Jesus is then a call to become divinely elevated “brothers,” where a soul has wrestled with its demons and freed itself to be possessed by Yahweh and His Son Jesus. This theme needs to be seen as the test or one’s merit as a potential bride to Yahweh, when one can be guarded by an inner elohim.
Someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
——————–
This is the Epistle selection to be read aloud on the seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow a reading from Genesis, where the brothers of Joseph have come before him, seeking help during a famine, unknowing that he was the brother they attempted to kill, whom they sold into slavery into Egypt. We read Joseph tell his brothers, “So it was not you who sent me here, but ha-elohim having made me a father to Pharaoh, and ule-adown of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” That is then followed by a singing of parts of Psalm 37, which includes: “Be still before Yahweh and wait patiently for him; do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, the one who succeeds in evil schemes.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Luke, where Jesus said, “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
In this time period after the Epiphany, this makes the third Sunday in a row that has lessons coming from chapter fifteen of Paul’s first letter to the true Christians of Corinth. The first lesson hinged on understanding his writing “Christ died,” where an “Anointment” from Yahweh cannot “die.” Instead, that “Anointment” of Jesus had to be separated from his body. That separation allowed death of the body of Jesus, but made the soul [a.k.a. “the Christ”] available to become the vine that merged with the fruit of that “Anointment.” That then led to Paul writing, “Christ has been raised from the dead.” The separation of the “Christ” from Jesus made it possible for the souls inhabiting dead bodies of flesh [as far as eternal life is concerned] to be “raised” by having the “Christ” Spirit be “raised” in them. All of this is now leading to Paul placing focus on how bodies of flesh are death awaiting, but the souls and the “Anointment” by Yahweh are the truth of eternal life. Everything fits together, so all supports each other as the truth being told.
Because this is thirteen verses of text, which skips over three other verses in between, this is far too much written that a casual reader would care to find me writing about in deep discernment. The test of a true Christian can be found in all the Epistles, most of which were written by Paul. The lazy soul – a true non-Christian – will never care to read much that delves deeply into explaining divine text. Most will let someone else tell them what it means and think little about that opinion afterwards. An industrious soul – one of a true Christian, possessed by Yahweh and His Son Jesus – will be exactly like Paul and those Saints he wrote to in Corinth. Each word of the written text would be seen as a powerful statement sent to them by Yahweh, which they would ponder deeply, with divine assistance.
That means the Corinthians were just like all whose souls have married Yahweh, becoming His “Anointed” [His “Christs”], and had become the Mother of Jesus, just like Mary. When it is written that “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19, after listening to the shepherds tell her what the angel spoke), it was the deep meaning that Mary treasured, which came from the Word of Yahweh, told through His messengers [a.k.a. “angels” in shepherd’s clothing].
To do as I have done in the past (for longer sections of Paul’s writings), I will now cut the wheat (so to speak, using Paul’s analogy) and thresh the grains for your consumption. That means I will now be presenting only the capitalized words that come from these verses, shown as a reflection of what these verses place divine focus on. Those capitalized words are as follows:
“Alla” – “But, Otherwise, On the other hand, Except, However” ………………………….. Verse 35
“Pōs” – “How?, In what manner, By what means” ……………………………………………….. Verse 35
To then take these and line them up in one statement, that capitalized statement says:
“Except By what means God, In this way Forasmuch as Was born Adam [the Only Son of Yahweh, therefore the soul of Jesus], Adam [the Only Son of Yahweh, therefore the soul of Jesus] On the other hand This [divine resurrection of Jesus’ soul] of God.”
That says everything about being raised from the dead is dependent on “God.” It has nothing to do with bodies of flesh being “raised,” as bodies of flesh are like the hull covering a seed within – a body covering a soul. The hull does not grow anything, so the hull dies. It does not get raised. Only the soul becomes raised. Thus, the soul of Paul and the Corinthians [and all the Saints] are raised by God implanting their souls with the soul of His Son Adam. The name “Jesus” means “Yah[weh] Saves,” so Adam was made by Yahweh for the purpose of holding the soul of Jesus. Therefore, the body that was Adam died, so the soul named Jesus could be raised. Everything divinely come about “of God.”
In verse thirty-six, after Paul calls those who question how dead bodies can be raised, he used the analogy of a seed. Seeds are sown for the purpose of growing grains. Paul surmised that nothing can grow [thus be raised] if death does not occur first. That which must die, as far as seeds of grain are concerned, is the hull, or seed coat (testa). When the analogy is applied to human beings, this means the death of the body of flesh must come first, so the soul can be released. However, there is a caveat to this which must be seen as reflecting Paul and all the Saints.
The seed analogy is a human being (soul in body) that has been placed on earth by Yahweh, as purposeful seeds to be planted and grown into Saints. As such, it makes no sense for the body of flesh to die, as that would raise the question asked by fools: How does a dead body get up and walk around again? While Jesus raised Lazarus to prove that is possible by Yahweh [all things are possible by Yahweh], the point of death must be seen as figurative [although the raising of Lazarus becomes metaphor for what all Saints must go through]. As such the hull or seed coat is that of worldly sins. The death of a sinful way of living must be shed, so the soul can be raised to become Jesus reborn. That is the point of verse thirty-eight (and thirty-nine).
In verse forty-two, it begins by stating: “kai this resurrection of this of dead , it is sown in decay , it is raised in immortality .” This importantly says Jesus’ soul is resurrected, but not in his body of flesh that died. His body of flesh was his “seed coat,” which released his soul as a plant that grows – the vine of Christ [where Christ is not the last name of Jesus, but the name of the vine of Yahweh]. That divine soul resurrects in the dead bodies that have souls leading sinful lives. That “resurrection of this of dead” is the transformative presence that is “sown into decay,” which is sinful flesh. With the soul of Jesus resurrected within the soul of one who was before dead to sin, the result is Jesus reborn, with a soul of a sinner then cleansed and thereby raised by being granted eternal life [“immortality”].
The paradoxes stated in verses forty-one and forty-two – “sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown in body natural, raised in body spiritual” – says the death of the old brings on the birth of the new. The new is a Saint in the name of Jesus Christ.
The conditional stated as a thought of reality says, “If there is a body natural , there exists kai spiritual.” This says ALL human beings that are thought to be living [a big If] are so thought because they have souls giving animation to dead bodies of flesh [the natural]. The importance that marks one as being alive is the “spiritual,” which is the soul. When Paul wrote, “there exists,” the word “estin” is a statement saying, “I am, I exist,” which can only be by the presence of a soul bringing life to dead flesh [waiting to return to that state of death – dust]. The soul is the “spiritual” that is within the “body natural” [the seed covering].
Verse forty-three then quotes Scripture [Genesis two], where Paul said, “Was Born this first human Adam into the soul living ; this till the end Adam into a soul life-giving.” This is Paul understanding the meaning of Genesis 2, which is misunderstood by those who are not Saints. It is Paul saying that Yahweh created Adam, so Adam would be the metaphorical seed that would die of outer shell, releasing the soul of life so a vine could eternally grow, producing “life-giving” fruit.
In verse forty-four, Paul explained this creation of Adam was not so his death would initially lead to the soul of Jesus. Adam would be sent into the world, descended from demigod (or hero) to “natural” human being (which lived naturally nine hundred thirty years). That “first” birth and death would lead to the soul of Adam becoming the “spiritual” presence that would be reborn in others afterwards. This is a story of reincarnation, which is the history of the Patriarchs of the Holy Bible (the Torah). Still, the soul of Adam would return, sown into Mary, to be named “Jesus” – “Yahweh Will Save.” Yahweh will save through the resurrection of His Son Adam’s soul in the souls that are His seeds sown on earth.
Verses forty-five through forty-nine then expand on this history that led to Jesus. Verse forty-six and forty-seven speak of the first man and the second man, where this is a statement of the “doubly fruitful” presence of the soul of Jesus resurrected in the soul of one who has married Yahweh, becoming cleansed of past sins. Verse forty-eight is then saying, in essence, the dust of a Saint is made so by the spirit of Jesus [Adam raised spiritually as the eternal life of the true vine]. Verse forty-nine says the image of Saul will become the image of Paul, where Jacob transformed into Israel, by wrestling with one’s demons and coming out victorious – through Yahweh’s help.
In verse fifty, Paul referenced the “brothers’ [not ‘and sisters’], because the true Christians of Corinth had all be reborn as Jesus, the Son of Yahweh. They were all spiritually raised brothers(males and females alike). Paul said the kingdom of heaven is not something that is an “inheritance,” which means being born a Jew (and thereby that applies equally to those calling themselves Christians today) was no justification to claim a right to gain heaven after death. No body of flesh will ever enter the spiritual realm of Yahweh, as that is a realm only for souls. This means only souls who have gained the right to truthfully say at Judgment, “I have been reborn as Jesus!” get to enter. That means only Saints go to heaven. That says only those in the name of Jesus get eternal Salvation.
As a reading selected to be read on the seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, the lesson to be gained is the death of the old self, in order to be reborn anew as a Saint. Paul’s explanation here of resurrection is clearly saying a Spiritual transformation must take place, His naming Adam gives depth to the uses of Ephraim being the firstborn, where that name means “Doubly Fruitful.” The dual “man” – the first man of dust and the second man of spirit or soul – is explaining the resurrection of Jesus, as the Christ, so two ‘men’ exist as one [males and females equally of humanity]. That resurrection make all souls likewise reborn be related, as “brothers.” When one enters ministry as Jesus reborn, one must be like Paul and understand these things. It was Paul’s personal experience that allowed him to testify to what the resurrection meant [the seed analogy], which allowed him to let others see the truth for themselves. Without that personal experience, one is (in the words of Paul) a “fool.”
Jesus said, “I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
——————–
This is the Gospel selection that will be read aloud by a priest on the seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will be preceded by a reading from Genesis, where Joseph told his brothers, “Come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.” That will be followed by a singing of Psalm 37, where David wrote, “The lowly shall possess the land; they will delight in abundance of peace. But the deliverance of the righteous comes from Yahweh; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. Yahweh will help them and rescue them; he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them, because they seek refuge in him.” That pair will be followed by a reading from Frist Corinthians, where Paul wrote: “So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
Here is where one can see that Jesus is not just talking aimlessly about things that should be done, as some, “Oh, by the way, do this” kind of rant on the mount [calling Matthew’s three chapters – 5, 6, & 7 – one ‘sermon on the mount’]. The “Woes” of last Sunday’s Gospel lesson referred to Amos 6:1-7 and the ‘Beatitudes before that referred to Psalm 1:1-6. Today’s references that are headed ‘Love Your Enemies’ address the teachings of Leviticus 24:17-23 [‘An Eye For An Eye’]. This means all of the teachings from the mount by the sea were spread out over time. However, the lessons taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath were what Jesus reviewed, but not on the Sabbath; instead he taught on Sundays, the day after, letting the Jews know the truth that went untold in the synagogues.
When one sees the lesson of Leviticus saying “kill one who kills; and, maim one who maims,” one needs to realize that law was passed on to the Israelites by Moses, as the messenger of Yahweh. When Jesus said, “I have not come to change one iota of the law, but to fulfill it,” this says the Law saying, “kill those who kill unjustly and equally punish physically those who permanently injure others” is Yahweh’s Word. The caveat of the Law that is important to grasp is this: It only applied to the Israelites in the wilderness with Moses. This means anyone else in the world that was not chosen by Yahweh to be His children – PRIESTS OF HIM – need not bother learning these laws, because they only apply to those agreeing to the Covenant [the Law] of Yahweh, which means marrying their souls to Him. The permanence of the Leviticus Law says it shall always be: If a priest of Yahweh kills another priest of Yahweh, then the Law calls for an automatic rejection of the killer [sinner-lawbreaker] from the ‘God’s chosen people’ club.
[Aside: For all the people who pander to criminals, crapping all over the families of victims of crime, who think “Give criminals another chance [perpetually] and avoid cruel and unusual punishment,” they should try living for forty years in an exclusive environment, where you have no prisons and no people being trained to watch criminals. Imagine letting the rapist murderer you say should go free lives next door to you [or in your basement]. See how well that works out for you. To outcast those from that exclusive Israelite group would mean a cruel and unusual death by starvation, or being ripped apart by wild animals, or being bitten by poisonous snakes. The just thing to do was kill or maim the criminal and it is done. Besides, no dust will have been harmed in the killing of a criminal. Dust returns to dust; and, a soul cannot be harmed by slamming heavy rocks against the skull and brain of a criminal that soul possessed. Still, the world is no longer an exclusive arrangement for saints married to Yahweh; and, crime can only exist in the physical world, alongside the panderers of crime.]
When one realizes that Jesus was not telling the whole world to love one another – the Socialist mantra that uses religious beliefs to destroy religious people from within – that is because that would change more than an iota of the law; and, then one can begin to understand what Jesus was saying. First of all, he was teaching this because it was the reading publicly read on the Sabbath; and, second of all he was explaining it, because no one knew why Yahweh told Moses to tell the Israelites to use killing as a means of restoring order in a selective group, where that group would not work if everyone did not comply with the marriage vows. Thus, no one had taught how the heck you do that. After all, they all had stone piles for killing lawbreakers; and, that was really kind of a fun thing for the Israelites to do, ridding the Judaic club of wrongdoers, with Yahweh’s consent … as explained by some hired hand or false shepherd.
The key term in verse twenty-seven is “enemy,” from “echthrous,” transliterated as “echthros.” According to Strong’s, this word means, “hostile,” implying in usage, “hated, hostile; substitute for: an enemy.” This says the primary translation should be “Love your haters,” or “Love those hostile to you.” The root of all – enemies, haters, hostiles – is anger and rage. Guess what? Anger and rage can be known to be the motivations for killing and harming others unjustly.
This then leads to the solution, where Luke wrote the capitalized word “Agapate,” which divinely elevates “love” to a Spiritual Love that can only come from a soul being truly married to Yahweh. When one knows the whole world is not filled with the Holy Spirit of Yahweh’s “Love” – having not agreed to His Laws – then it is moronic to go around preaching, “love, love, love … love is all you need” Beatles crap. That crap was taught on the Sabbath in the synagogues, making it necessary for Jesus to go to the mount on Sundays and clear things up.
The people today are miserable when told to “love” anyone who hates them. They all ask, “How the heck do I love a criminal?” Nobody has been giving them the “How to” sermons. They just play a Beatles’ record and hope the bliss of a 3-minute song gets the bigger bills out of the billfold. The “How to” of Jesus is not to love [in the lower-case], but to “Love” because Yahweh is within a priest of His.
In the accepted substitution of “haters” as “enemies,” one needs to realize that an “enemy” is an enemy for a reason. Muslims are taught to hate Christians. Communists are taught to hate Capitalists. When one knows someone hates him or her, the feeling becomes mutual. Hate spawns hate. Human love does nothing to remove hate. Both “love” and “hate” are human emotions; and, the world is the only place where hate can exist, which means hate is a natural phenomena that will never be eliminated from the world.
When Stephen was being stoned to death, hate motivated his killers. When Stephen cried out, “Forgive them Yahweh because they do not know what they are doing” [to their souls … from misinterpreting the Law], he spoke out from having been filled with the divine “Love” of Yahweh. None of those who murdered Stephen [and Saul was holding all the cloaks of the murderers] felt remorse, just because Stephen expressed “Love” to his “haters.” Haters “love” to hate; so, killing a criminal satiated their desires to bash in someone’s head; and, who better than one who makes it easy to hate him or her? Stoning Stephen was like an orgasmic moment to the self-righteous Jews. So, Jesus was not suggesting that an ordinary human feeling – the kind that is more associated with putting the ole peepee in the oohlala “love”, a run of the mill, degenerate human “love” – would do anything towards eliminating hatred.
[Ref: Notice how the French always hate the Germans and the British, but will always show their “love” by surrendering to the German’s hatred of the French, thereby letting the Brits hate the Germans, exacting revenge punishment for them [with the Brits always calling for backup from their colonies]. That is how bastardization of Law takes place in the real world, when there are no French, Germans, or English who have their souls married to Yahweh. That is too Jewish; and, they all hate Jews.]
The way to “Love” your “haters” is to let them hate you, without your presence to make their rage and anger become elevated. Prancing before your “enemies,” like some sixties ‘love child’ … tossing daisies about from a basket, singing Beatles’ tunes … will only make the haters hate more. Jesus was saying, “Accept that those married to Yahweh will always have haters; so, the “Love” of Yahweh means leave them alone, staying calm in separate [exclusive] environments, where “Love” can govern all. Being where the haters cannot see you means their hate will naturally abate.
Where the translation appears to say, “do good to those who hate you,” the correct translation says [literally in English]: “honorably act to these hating you”. Here, it becomes vital to see how Jesus would constantly be confronted by those Jews who wanted Jesus to join their side and do what they say, or be killed as their enemy. Jesus always “acted honorably” to their tricks and traps, plots and ploys. Jesus “acted honorably” because his soul was in “Love” with Yahweh the Father, and Jesus spoke to their trick questions with truth; and, “The truth shall shut up thy enemies.”
Because we know this lesson now has little to do with the hate that comes to Jews from Gentiles, we can see that the lesson of Leviticus had nothing to do with outside hate, that which is brought on by not understanding the exclusive environment Moses had led the Israelites into. Jesus was addressing the Jews that hated other Jews. When all Jews were supposed to [the theory of Judaism] “Love” one another – neighbors exclusively in relationship – they forgot to understand that “Love” of Yahweh erased all hate from their hearts. That becomes the lesson that hate is a natural emotion of Gentiles, which included misguided human loves; but the truth of being a wife of Yahweh [His chosen souls in human flesh] means to only “Love.” This lesson then readily applies to Christians who hate other Christians; so, “Love your haters” applies to all the different fans of teams in the sport that has arisen from denominational religion.
When verse twenty-eight is shown to say, “bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you,” this is where Baptists become so good at making enemies of other Christians. This is because they teach their women who run cash registers at supermarkets to say, “Have a blessed day!”, as if anyone other than Yahweh can “bless” anything. The word written by Luke is “eulogeite,” which means “to speak well of, praise.” That means one has been “blessed” with that ability to “Love” Yahweh; but it does not say that having been blessed means one has a bucket of “blessings” to carry and then freely hand out to others. Being “blessed” by Yahweh is how one can “Love.” It is that inner source blessing that leads one to “speak” the truth; so, those who “curse you” need to know the truth, because “cursing” one who “Loves” Yahweh curses Yahweh and condemns their souls. So, one “speaks the truth to those cursing,” in order to save them from ruin. Tell them the truth they did not know; and, only those who “Love” will know the truth, so it can be told.
The element of “prayer” says what Stephen did, as he was being stoned to death. Here, it is vital to realize that “prayer” is one’s soul talking to Yahweh, in the same way a child naturally talks to its parents. This means to “pray for those who abuse you” means to ask the Father for the strength to withstand abuse: insults, wrongful treatment, and threats. This is done privately, as Jesus taught, not publicly, as Billy Graham orating a pre-planned “prayer” that asked loudly for God to eliminate all abuse in the world [says Billy, or else]. That does nothing but make people think, “Who does he think he is that he can act higher and mightier than me?” Such public displays [mixed audiences] only leads to more abuse, and more hatred.
Verse twenty-nine then is shown to state: “If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.” In this, there is no conditional stated [no “if”]. The literal translation into English says, “this punishing you on the basis of this jawbone , present kai this other .” Here, the Greek word “siagona” only implies a “cheek,” because it truly means a “jawbone.” This becomes a word synonymous with Sampson’s physical use of the “jawbone” of a donkey [an ass], so he made asses out of a thousand Philistines who were his enemies. By seeing that, Jesus was pointing out how one does not slap the cheeks of enemies, because striking out always means another strike in retribution is coming back.
When the enemy is one who shares the same religious views, to speak so strongly the truth that it slaps the donkey into one, such talk makes one become enraged into a hater enemy. In that case, one must realize the harm caused by one’s speech [the ‘jawbone of an ass’]. This means one must willingly offer the one ‘hurt by the truth’ to slap back verbally, realizing they have earned that right [without further words spoken]. In other words, Jesus said, “Say your peace, based on “Love,” but then allow the other to strike back [with words or a slap on the face].
As for the element of a cloak and a tunic, this has nothing to do with those who break the Law and speak backtalk. It was not Jesus speaking of granting the poor the right to be criminals [thieves], because they are poor. That is an iota of legal change. Here, it is important to remember that Saul was standing there when the angered Jews had made up their minds to stone Stephen to death. Saul held the cloaks of those using the stones to murder Stephen. This should be seen as symbolic, not simply Jews saying, “Here, hold my cloak. I don’t want to get any blood splatter on it.”
Because Jews are supposed to be the priests of Yahweh [unlike the rest of the world], they wear a cloak [an outer garment] that says, “I am a righteous and upright Jew.” To then kill someone for breaking the Law, that outer declaration must be removed. Priests do not murder. Taking off one’s cloak acts to de-priest a Jew. Still, on the other hand to the cheek, when someone has physically removed the outer garment of another Jew, that denotes a priestly Jew has refused to accept that other Jew as a priest of Yahweh. When a Jew has been unjustly striped of his outer garment of priesthood, then one should give up his undergarment as well as a statement of illegal punishment being administered. The undergarment is then symbolic of the hidden truth that lies covered by outer pretense. To offer to remove the undergarment then says, “I have nothing to hide.” That is why Stephen asked Yahweh to forgive the pretenders, who exposed their inner beings when they removed their cloaks for Saul to hold.
Verse thirty is then shown to say [NRSV]: “Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.” Here, the literal translation into English says, “to all requesting you , give , kai from of this of raising this yours , not ask it back .” There is absolutely nothing written that makes this about things [as “goods”]. The key verb that begins this is “aitounti,” which is the Present Participle of “aiteó,” meaning “to ask, request,” implying “to petition, demand.” In the mildest sense, where “beg” is used as in “I beg your pardon,” this is not some dire plea being made. Remembering all this began with Jesus speaking of “Love,” which is the presence of Yahweh within one’s soul [the only way a capitalized “Love” is possible], the “asking of you” is a “request” for the same “Love” one knows [“of you”].
As Jesus stood on the mount teaching, he was doing what he said to do: “giving of himself” to others who sought him, wanting him to “give.” A saint is Jesus reborn, so they too are being told to “give” the truth to others freely, so they too can have the same presence that is within “you” be “raised away from you” and settled upon them. Once the Spirit of divine marriage has been “given” by Yahweh, through Jesus’ rebirth in “you,” then this cannot be asked for in return. A Saint cannot pass on the Holy Spirit [the Spirit that makes one be Holy] and then say, “Whoa! That was just a loaner that has to be given back.” Once saved, always saved; so, there is no need to ask for a return salvation.
Verse thirty-one is then somewhat enigmatic, when it is translated to say, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” When such a translation is taught and memorized, to put the shoe on the other foot makes it a terrible thing to wish upon anyone. All the haters of the world [there are many more than those who “Love” divinely] are routinely “doing unto others” as they see fit. To read this as Jesus saying, “It is alright to kill one who kills, because they asked for it by killing – I did unto others by killing, so I secretly desire someone to kill me” is the error of this translation.
The truth literally has Jesus saying, “kai according as you desire that they should do to you these humans , do this of them in like manner .” This importantly says one should act from one’s heart-center [a soul in Love with Yahweh], so one is led by Jesus within to teach the truth, to all people at all times. When this projection of the Spirit shines upon others, they will react in kind. Thus, the NRSV translation is true when one sees that a heart filled with hate will then make one act in hateful ways, returning hate from others, who are then one’s enemies; so, the key to a positive return is to marry one’s soul to Yahweh and be reborn as His Son. When one’s soul is in “Love,” then one acts according to the way Yahweh wants you to act, as His minister of truth. Being truthful to others means one expects the truth in return; and, Yahweh always knows the hearts of others, thus the truth will be known.
In verses thirty-two through thirty-four, Jesus asked a series of questions, in which he gave clear answers. All are stated as conditional, beginning with the word “if.” What is missed in the NRSV translation is these three verses begin with a capitalized “Kai,” which divinely elevates these verses to a separate focus that needs to be seen, relative to the understanding of divine “Love.” The NRSV poses these three verses as:
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.”
The reality of that written is this:
“Kai i f you love those loving you , of what sort of to yourself favor exists ?kai indeed these sinning those loving themselves , they love .” “kai indeed if you should do good those doing good of you , of what sort of to yourself favor exists ? kai those sinners this of same do .” “kai if you all should lend beside of whom you expect to have received back , of what sort of to yourself favor exists ?kai sinners to sinners they borrow [and lend] , in order that they might have received this equally .”
Beginning with a capitalized “Kai,” which raises these verses to a divine level of importance, with five subsequent [rhetorical] questions and answers shown to have importance, the divine level of understanding says these verses only apply to the righteous, who are those souls married to Yahweh. With the importance focusing on “sinners,” this says all the “love” the Beatles sang of is a physical understanding of “love,” which ALL humans know. ALL humans are also sinners, until they find the “Love” that comes from a soul sacrificing itself to Yahweh in divine marriage.
In these three verses the words “hymin charis estin” are stated three time. The word “hymin” needs to be read as “yourself,” where a “self” is a “soul.” The word “estin” needs to be seen as “I am, I exist,” where that “existence” is relative to one’s “soul” being in a body of flesh. The word “charis” says “grace, favor, thanks, or kindness,” which must be seen as the “favor” that comes upon a “soul’s existence” by Yahweh. Therefore, all questions ask, “what sort of favor from Yahweh is placed on one’s soul for doing as sinners do?” That is a rhetorical question that knows the answer: There can be no favor from Yahweh, no grace from God above, by sinning in the name of human “love.”
Verse thirty-five then plays off these questions that are obviously answered, where the NRSV shows Jesus saying, “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.”
Unfortunately, because the translation services do not understand divine text, in particular the importance of capitalization and “kai” usage, the capitalized “But” has little effect in directing one’s eyes to the divinely elevated state of exception being made. A capitalized “Plēn” is not expressed as the “Exception” being made that is relative to the difference between human “love” and divine “Love.”
Verse thirty-five literally translates as follows:
“Except that love those haters of yourselves , kai do that which is good , kai lend , nothing them hoping to receive from , kai will exist this recompense of yourself much ,kai you will exists sons of the Most High ; because of him good exists on the basis of those ungrateful kai wicked .”
Here, the first word and the last word are capitalized. The “Except that” is a divinely elevated position that rejects the limits of human “love,” which is the “love those haters” possess. That is different than the “Love” possessed “of yourselves,” where again the use of “self” must be read as a “soul.” This becomes a statement that says the divinely elevated “Except that love” is “Love.” To possess Yahweh’s “Love” importantly means one can ‘do good” – which Jesus told the young, rich man, “Only God is good.” Doing “good” is only possible through marriage to Yahweh. Then, when in possession of Yahweh, as His saints, those souls “lend” the truth of Yahweh, so others can receive that gift. Since that gift is Yahweh’s to give, one’s soul should “expect nothing in return. “ They “should hope” lost souls will “receive from” one’s soul the Spirit of Yahweh and His Son’s soul. Because one’s soul is already possessed by Yahweh and led by Jesus, the “reward” is eternal life, where “yourself” is one’s soul to be receiving the “much” of heaven. Finally, the importance is one’s soul in the flesh becomes [“exists”] as one of the “sons” of Yahweh – the “Most High” – which means all have become Jesus resurrected within them.
Following a semicolon mark, which makes a new statement relative to the prior, Jesus is then found stating that the presence of Yahweh in souls in human flesh is necessary “because His good” needs to “exist” in a world that is filled with “ungrateful” souls in human flesh. Because of those, who are importantly identified as the “wicked” or “evil” presence in the world, saints are necessary. This says saints are needed to combat the demonic possession of souls, which leads to a world of haters, only knowing human “love.”
Verse thirty-six then identifies the “Most High” as “the Father,” when Jesus said, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” The capitalization of “Pater” becomes a divinely elevated meaning as Yahweh, but now the “Most High” is related to one’s soul. This NRSV translation over simplifies the capitalization that says, “Be merciful.”
The truth here is the capitalized word “Ginesthe” is written, which states the second person plural form of “ginomai,” meaning “to come into being, to happen, to become,” but implying “you all be Born merciful.” In that divinely elevated word, it becomes presumptuous to think a human has any innate qualities that allow it to naturally be “merciful.” Just as it is beyond a human’s ability to “bless” anyone, as only Yahweh can do that, the same acts of “mercy” are now divinely “Born” from above, so one’s “mercy” is given by Jesus being within. This is one’s own “mercy given,” thus it is “according as [importantly] this Father of yourself merciful exists”.
There, the word “kai” is enclosed in brackets, which means the importance is internal and unseen. The presence of one’s “mercy” is not readily seen as that of the “Father,” because His “existence” in one is Spiritual. Therefore, the “mercy” one receives does not mean physical benefit; so, the “mercy” given by Jesus to others is a likewise invisible gift of Spirit. This says “mercy” to a soul that has never known “Love” erases all the sins of hatred, so Yahweh has given “mercy” to one who seeks to marry Yahweh, confessing one’s sins. This “mercy” is projected to others as the truth being told, so lost souls can see the errors of their ways, as having been limited by human definitions.
In the NRSV translation of verse thirty-seven, many people toss this about with little thought given that which is written. As read above, people learn to quote: “ Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.”
I remember, back when the War on Terror was new and all the talk-radio was abuzz with revenge, some radio host quoted this verse on judging. In response to that a woman called in and identified herself as a Catholic nun, who had been taught the meaning of these words differently. She said they meant (in effect), “You will be judged by Yahweh, based on the way you judge.” To not judge, when one knows the Law, means to accept sin. To accept sin means one’s soul will be judged as a sinner. In other words, to “not judge” according to the Law, because one misreads the Law and thinks it is okay to sin, says one will be judged as a sinner, even if one thought one was following the Law. Judgement is not based on self-saving through memorizing a document; it is based on one knowing the truth and then judging the lack of that truth in others, so one teaches the truth in judgment. This twist on meaning means the literal needs to be understood.
That written literally translates into English as saying this:
“Kai not judge , kai not lest you shall be judged ; kai not pass sentence on , kai not lest you shall be sentenced , set free , kai you will be released .”
The double negatives written twice – “ou mē” or “no not” – better translate as “not lest,” where “lest” is defined as “with the intention of preventing (something undesirable); to avoid the risk of.” The negative before that then says, in effect, “to not judge and to not condemn” means [like the Catholic nun was taught] one’s soul will itself be “not judged” favorably by Yahweh, so the judgment of condemnation of sinners will be the same one gets. The meaning must be seen as Jesus instructing one filled with “Love” to judge and condemn sins as a wife of Yahweh, reborn as His Son, so one does not coddle sin by pandering. That is a complete misunderstanding of “Love.”
When the final segment of verse thirty-seven is seen as “set free,” rather than “forgive,” the Greek word written is “apolyete,” the second person plural, present imperative active form of “apoluó,” which means: “to set free, release,” implying in usage, “release, let go, send away, divorce, am rid.” In that, the use of “divorce” needs to be realized, when one is speaking of a divine engagement-marriage to Yahweh. If that connection has not been made – by one professing to be a child of Yahweh [a Jew] or a child of Jesus [a Christian] – then one’s soul will have “set itself free” or “released itself” from Yahweh’s judgment and guidance. Therefore, there is no “forgiveness” that can be – with “forgiveness” in the same category of “blessings” and being “merciful” – especially if one’s soul has “divorced” Yahweh.
Verse thirty-eight then says [NRSV], “give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” In this, it is true that a period mark comes after “give, and it will be given to you.” That mark creates a new complete thought that follows; but divine language does not follow the syntaxial rules of normal Greek-English. There is no capitalized word that follows the period mark. This is because capitalization is not happenstance, it is divinely thought and written.
The truth of verse thirty-eight is this:
“give , kai it will be given of to yourself . measure as the outward sign of the inner good , pressed together , shaken together , overflowing , they will be given into this bosom of yourself , which indeed to measure the measure of you , they will be measured in return of yourself .”
Here, again, the mistake is seeing a word like “give” and wetting your panties about thinking in terms of things. One then askes, “Oh my! How much can I give? A hundred dollars a week? A million dollars a year? How much do I need to give to the church to get into heaven?”
That which matters to Yahweh is spiritual. He has no need for money of any kind. Thus, the only possible meaning for “give” is one’s soul. It is one’s only possession one has that Yahweh values. It was given to each human being alive by Yahweh at birth, when He breathed all souls into all living bodies of flesh. The choice now, to which Jesus spoke, is to “give” one’s soul back, or die a sinner [and repeat the same mistakes in the next life].
Seeing “yourself” as “your soul” says to “give” your soul to Yahweh. That then means your soul will be given Yahweh’s Spirit in return, which means a divine marriage takes place. The purpose of all marriage is to bring forth children; so, giving of oneself in the self-sacrifice of Holy Matrimony means the birth of His Son Jesus. With Jesus resurrected in one’s soul, then the promise of eternal life is the gift given in return.
That promise is “measured” in Judgment. The Greek word “kalon” is written and translated simply as “good,” as in “A good measure.” In reality, the word’s use implies, “beautiful, as an outward sign of the inward good, noble, honorable character; good, worthy, honorable, noble, and seen to be so.” Knowing that only God can be “good,” this states the presence of Yahweh is one’s “measure” for salvation. This then says Yahweh and His Son Jesus become “pressed together” with one’s soul in one’s body of flesh. It says all is “shaken together” in the blood of Christ. This is so the mixture of body and blood, soul and spirit, Father and Son is “overflowing” with the rivers of living waters that will save others. This will be placed “into the bosom” of one’s being [body-soul]; and this mixture will become what one’s soul will be measured by at the time of Judgment. This is then “the return of your soul” to be one with Yahweh in His Spiritual realm.
As a reading selection for the seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, this needs to be seen as Jesus speaking to one from the mount by the sea, so one knows the only way to follow the Law of Moses is to marry one’s soul to Yahweh. Because the marriage vows are written in the Covenant, the only way to understand that written is to have it be written on the walls of one’s heart [i.e.: soul]; and, that comes when Jesus is resurrected within one’s soul. Jesus knows all the Law; and, his teaching today shows how little one whose soul is not married to Yahweh knows about “Love.” The meaning is purely Spiritual, which is impossible to grasp merely on human terms. To know “Love” means to know Yahweh in marriage – a personal experience, not hearsay. One needs to be guided by the divine being within; and, that is the point of internship during the after the Epiphany time period. One needs to practice testing the meaning of Scripture and being amazed at what one has revealed to one’s soul.
Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that Yahweh had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; but whenever Moses went in before Yahweh to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
——————–
This is the Old Testament selection that will be read aloud on the last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will precede a singing of Psalm 99, where David wrote, “Yahweh is King; let the people tremble; he is enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth shake.” That pair will be followed by a reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian Christians, where he wrote: “We have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Luke, which is generally called “the Transfiguration.” There Luke wrote, “Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”–not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.”
In these selected verses read aloud today, it is important to realize that chapter thirty-four of Exodus begins with the story that tells of Yahweh commanding Moses to come back up the mountain and the tablets which he broke will be replaced. This is ten chapters after we are told that Moses spent forty days on the mountain (Exodus 24:18), which is information that follows Moses reading from the “book of the covenant” (Exodus 24:7) to the elders, with everything agreed to by holy sacrifices on an altar fire. The following chapter then tells the details of the Covenant, which pertained to the Tabernacle, an Ark for the Covenant, and the priests who would maintain the Tabernacle. Then there is a magical jump to Moses being back on the mountain, when he sees the waywardness of the Israelites and he brakes the tablets after coming down from the mountain (Exodus 32:15-19).
One has to see this as a prophecy of the coming of Jesus and the New Covenant, rather than a historical repeating of an event that happened already. The breaking of the tablets must be seen as the actions of the Israelite people, who later acted in ways that broke their agreement with Yahweh. The return of Moses to the mountain needs to then be seen as Moses dying and going to heaven.
Because Moses was a Yahweh elohim, he was essentially the soul of Adam resurrected within his soul that was named Moses. The soul of Adam is, of course, the one we call Jesus. This means this reading (when understood in this light) is a perfect match for the Gospel reading that tells of the Transfiguration, when Jesus’ soul appeared with the souls of Moses and Elijah, as a gathering of the souls who were all reborn Adams, with Jesus himself being the second set of tablets written by Yahweh on the mountain. The Holy mountain is wherever Yahweh is; so, Mount Sinai and Mount Hermon (the “high mountain” that overlooks the Syrian plain) were physical locations that were Spiritually identical.
To drive this point home, the three yearly feasts that the Israelites (thus all afterwards that would be equally considered to be “children of God” … including Jews and Christians) were commanded to recognize includes the times of the Passover escape from Egyptian bondage, the feast of harvesting the first fruits, and the feast of harvest at the end of the growing season. In that, the Passover is a set date each year, with the feast of the first fruits gathered being fifty days after Passover [15 Nisan]. That number of days is based on symbolizing the ten days it took the Israelites to reach Mount Sinai and then forty days with Moses on the mountain, when he came down with the Law on the fiftieth day. There is no Yahweh-commanded recognition of a second coming down of Moses, with a second set of tablets. There is no New festivals commanded by God to remember, although the Jews have added a few on their own. Still, a second set of stone tablets would seem like a good one to commemorate; and, there is no such date set aside each year to recognize [the festival of the Golden Calf?]. This means this second set of Holy Tablets has to be relative to the coming down of Moses as Jesus.
When this concept has been grasped, one can then see this glow on the face of Moses was not something that he is shown to have displayed prior. The “skin of his face shone” needs to be seen as a halo, in a similar way one is depicted around the heads of saints in early Christian artwork. It is this “shining” that denotes the presence of the Adam soul (now called Jesus, meaning “Yahweh Saves”), that is the Doubly Fruitful presence of the Yahweh elohim soul. A natural soul in a body of flesh produces an aura that surrounds itself; but a divine possession by the Son of Yahweh radiates more greatly, as a halo.
We read verse thirty saying [NRSV]: “When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him.” Here, one should realize Aaron held the position of High Priest of the Tabernacle; but, in this second version of Moses bringing down new tablets, it was Aaron who coordinated the collection of gold (jewelry), when worry about Moses being gone so long led the rabble to control the leader to be filled with fear. The gold collected was then melted down and formed into the idol of a golden calf. That means Aaron is metaphor in this second telling for the later human beings who would be put in Aaronic positions of leadership, leading the Israelites away from Yahweh, towards the worship of Baals. So, when Aaron became just like all the other Israelites who saw Moses as shining like Yahweh in their presence, it was their fear that becomes synonymous with the rejection of Jesus when he was in the midst of the elders and high priests of Jerusalem.
[Aside: When Exodus 32 tells of Moses breaking the tablets, there then was an order given to the “sons of Levi” to take swords and kill those who caused the idol to be erected. We are told three thousand were executed for this, with Aaron called shameful for not controlling those actors. It would make sense that Aaron would be among the first executed; but his not being one of those killed says this is a prophecy of future kings, whose fates would be determined by Yahweh after their natural deaths.]
In the verses that speak of the “face” of Moses, it becomes worthwhile to go back to Exodus 20, where the “Ten Commandments” are stated. In these selected verses the Hebrew words “pā·nāw” and “pə·nê” are written six times (four times and two times, respectively). All are rooted in the Hebrew word “paneh,” which mean “face.” Still, this exact same word – “pā·nāw” – is found used in Exodus 34:6, where the NRSV translations shows, “Yahweh passed before him,” where the word that means “face” is translated as “him,” a reference to Moses [from “al-pā·nāw” saying “before him”]. This is where the First Commandment needs to be shown in the Hebrew, as: “lō yih·yeh- lə·ḵā ’ĕ·lō·hîm ’ă·ḥê·rîm al-pā·nā·ya.” The NRSV translates this as saying, “you shall have no other gods before me.” The reality is this says, “not shall have you elohim others before my face.” The Hebrew word “pā·nā·ya” is a construct of “paneh,” just as are “pā·nāw” and “pə·nê.”
In addition to these clearly translated words that say “face,” verse 34 is shown by the NRSV to say: “but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him.” Here, the Hebrew shows: “ū·ḇə·ḇō mō·šeh lip̄·nê Yah-weh lə·ḏab·bêr ’it·tōw,” where “lip̄·nê” is yet another construct of “paneh,” now translated as “before.” The Hebrew literally translates to state, “but whenever came into Moses the face of Yahweh to speak to him”. This says that Yahweh was not holding shop on top of Mount Sinai, but within Moses, because Moses was one of Yahweh’s elohim. Whenever Moses spoke to Yahweh, Moses wore “the face” of Yahweh “before” Yahweh.
When this is realized, all uses of “face” – from the root “paneh” – should be read in Hebrew Scripture as relative to this Commandment. The “face” a soul that is married to Yahweh wears must be the “face” of Yahweh. That “face” is then the projection made by a Yahweh elohim, where an elohim can be any other gods – self included (because a soul is a ‘minor’ elohim), but most dangerously is the “face” worn by a soul possessed by a demon elohim. Thus, when Moses spoke to Yahweh, he did so wearing Yahweh’s “face upon” his [when “al-pā·nāw” says “upon face.”].
Because this element of “face” needs to be seen as that worn by all saints-apostles reborn as Jesus, each soul resurrected in his name, each soul designated a Christ by Yahweh, this becomes fulfilling the first of the marriage vows that are represented in the Covenant. Because Moses only went up Mount Sinai one time and only came down with the Law one time, this facial glow of Moses must be seen as Jesus promising that the Law would be written on the hearts [i.e.: souls] of those who followed him [became him resurrected within their souls]. One becomes a walking, talking Moses reincarnated [a true Lawyer] when Jesus is within one’s soul; so, the shine is wearing the “face” of Yahweh. The “veil” is then no one seeing all that presence visibly. The “veil” is then all Saints and Apostles looking like normal people; but remove the “veil” and one finds the truth of Yahweh’s Spirit within.
The element of a “veil” needs to be seen as a symbol of a bride. As such, Moses’ soul was married to Yahweh. The glow on a face can also be seen as the beauty of his divine pregnancy, carrying the soul of Adam within his ‘womb.’ This makes a “veil” be the covering that says to others, “I am taken.” Some believe the tradition of a bride wearing a veil was to hide herself away from demon spirits, to keep evil from interfering with the happiness of divine marriage. The fact that Moses wore a veil can then be seen as a statement of the femininity of all souls in human flesh (regardless of human gender). All are then brides-to-be, in waiting for their most holy Husband. The use of veils in human marriage ceremonies, where the bride is the one wearing the veil, to be removed after the wedding is official, says all who are truly engaged to Yahweh will wear a symbol that says, “I am Yahweh’s bride.”
In the symbolism of the tent of meeting [“mishkān”], this needs to be seen as the body of flesh, where the body is a soul’s “covering, place of dwelling, residence.” When Moses would enter into this place, so the veil could be removed, the symbolism that must be understood today is a state of reverence for Yahweh. This can come about as visions or dreams, when one is alone with one’s thoughts. This means one has designated one’s body as a temple unto Yahweh, making one’s body become “Holy ground.” More than some external building, the “tent of meeting” is when one enters a state of prayer … an opening of the heart and mind to Yahweh … at which time the veil of human flesh is dropped and it becomes a soul speaking with the Father Spirit, as the Son reborn.
In the Gospel reading connected to this reading, on the last Sunday after the Epiphany, Peter, James and John witnessed the glowing presence of Moses, Elijah and Jesus, prompting Peter to ask if he should pitch a tent for the guests. There, he spoke from fear, just as did the Israelites who saw the skin of Moses’ face shining. The three witnessing that says they too were in a divine state being, one that connected their souls to Yahweh. Thus, when Peter spoke, Yahweh spoke back … loudly and clearly. For Yahweh to say, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” that says Peter, James, and John were all chosen by Yahweh to become His servants. They were instructed to listen to their inner voice, who was known to be the soul of Adam, as Jesus reborn. So, in effect, each had become themselves tabernacles – tents of meeting – in whom all would have the ability to speak with Yahweh, through being the Son Jesus reborn.
As the Old Testament reading choice for the last Sunday after the Epiphany, in the Year C, this says Moses was the model for all the Israelites to follow, in the same way Jesus was the model for all Christians to follow. The point is to become Jesus, not keep him external to oneself out of fear that seeing Yahweh will mean one’s death. It is true that all who look upon Yahweh must die; but that death is the sacrifice of oneself (submission of one’s soul) to forever serve Yahweh. To serve Yahweh, one must die of self so one’s “face” of ego does not attempt to “face” Yahweh. That cannot happen. That would mean the marriage of a soul to Yahweh will cease and the soul will experience death when the body dies. One has to figuratively die (permanently of self-importance) and shine the brightness that is Yahweh’s truth – the light of Christ to lead the world to salvation. That shining light has to come from within one’s soul, so that becomes the halo of a Saint.
he is enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth shake.
2 Yahweh is great in Zion; *
he is high above all peoples.
3 Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *
he is the Holy One.
4 “O mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; *
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”
5 Proclaim the greatness of Yahwehelohenu and fall down before his footstool; *
he is the Holy One.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *
they called upon Yahweh, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *
they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
8 Yahweh elohenu, you answered them indeed; *
you were el who forgave them, yet punished them for their evil deeds.
9 Proclaim the greatness of Yahweh elohenu and worship him upon his holy hill; *
for Yahweh elohenu is the Holy One.
——————–
This is the Psalm that will be read aloud in unison or sung by a cantor on the last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow a reading from Exodus, where a dreamlike prophecy is told in the breaking of the Tablets, causing Moses to go back up for a second set. Upon his return his face glowed from having talked with Yahweh. We then read, “When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them.” After the first two readings, there will be a presentation from Paul’s second letter to the Christians of Corinth. There he wrote, “Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.” All will then accompany the Gospel reading from Luke, where Jesus was Transfigured. We read there, “Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.”
In the above translation presented, one should note that in seven places David wrote the proper name “Yahweh,” which I have restored in bold type. Each of those specific namings are routinely translated as “the Lord,” which is wrong, because it makes Yahweh be distant, unknown, and separate from one’s soul. It is vital to know the name of one’s divine Husband, if one is seeking redemption and salvation.
Relative to those seven namings, David combine with Yahweh the Hebrew word “elohenu,” which states “our gods.” David wrote “elohenu” four times. The plural number is clearly written; and, to highlight that known difference, David also wrote the singular number word “el,” which is one “god.” At no time did David call Yahweh a God, because Yahweh is more than a “god.” Yahweh is the Creator of all, which includes all “gods.” The combination of words that are “Yahweh elohim” is reference to Adam, who was a creation of Yahweh’s on the seventh day, for the purpose of saving the souls of mankind. The application of “our” to “elohim” [“elohenu“] means Yahweh is the possessor of these “gods,” of whom David and the true Israelites were, having been souls married to Yahweh and receiving the soul of Adam within those souls, saving them. Because they were saved souls by Yahweh, they were all Jesus resurrections; and, that is the meaning of “Yahweh elohenu.” Thus, I have restored all “elohenu” and “el” words written by David, in italics.
The language of Hebrew has no capital letters. As such, a word like Yahweh becomes capitalized as a proper noun, with capitalization being the rules of syntax that English follows. In this song of praise, names of places and people are likewise capitalized in English translation: Zion, Jacob, Moses, Aaron and Samuel. All proper names have meaning behind the names, which must be understood, because those names were given with that meaning purposefully identifying a soul born into flesh. Even the name “Yahweh” means “I AM that I AM,” which says, “Do not call me Lord.” Still, the NRSV has taken the liberty to capitalize every first word of a verse, in addition to leading readers to think the words churned out by that service have been translated as godly, in some way. Thus, they bastardize everything by capitalizing such words as: King, Name, Holy One, in addition to God [from “gods”]. All of this confuses those who read Scripture, rather than helping them be led to understanding.
Verse one is better stated as such: “Yahweh reigns let them be excited the peoples ; he dwells the cherubim , let be shaken the earth .” In this, it is clear that when Samuel told Yahweh “the peoples” wanted to have a “king” be appointed to them, so they could be like other “peoples,” Yahweh said, “I Am their King.” This is now how David projected the “reign” of Yahweh. The construct that twice says “let” means Yahweh “reigns” within those who “let” Yahweh control their souls, which is then the “excitement” of divine marriage. To see this as a presence that leads one to “tremble” means all should fear Yahweh not being his or her “King” within. Here, the word “cherubim” is understood as a form of angels, who were depicted atop the Ark; but those angels are a plural number of “elohim.” Thus, where Yahweh “dwells” is with the “cherubim.” This makes the “cherubim” be synonymous with a “Yahweh elohim;” and, when the “earth shakes,” the “earth” is one’s body of flesh, with the “shaking” again is relative to the inner presence of Yahweh’s Spirit, so one’s soul is “moved” to action by Yahweh’s commands.
In verse two, the transliterated word “bə·ṣî·yō·wn” is translated as the name “Zion.” That means nothing to Christians today. Zionism is a political movement that has absolutely no belief in God. It is all about the theft of land and a valuable possession being allowed to Jews. The lower-case “zion” means “a dry place.” A “dry place” is where there is a void of spiritual emotions. Thus, verse two literally states, “Yahweh in a dry place great ; and exalting it , upon all the peoples .” This says the presence of Yahweh coming into a soul that was alone in the flesh will expand greatly, in all ways of righteous being. When this is projected as a land (as where Jerusalem was David’s capitol city), this heart-center says the whole being that was one nation under Yahweh was then “exalted” – defined as: “placed at a high or powerful level; held in high regard.” When David was “exalted,” so too were all those “peoples” who followed his lead and commands.
Verse three then shows the capitalizations of “Name” and “Holy One.” In this, the first Hebrew word written, “yō·w·ḏū,” is a form that again states “let them,” where that allowed to the “peoples” is the ability to “cast” about “your name.” Here, the “your,” as is seen in “our elohim,” is a statement of possession. This means the “name” cast out or thrown away is one’s own “name,” because one’s soul has taken on the “name” of Yahweh, which comes from divine marriage to Yahweh’s Spirit. That “name” is Israel. Thus, the whole of verse three literally states, “let them cast your name great and fearing , sacred he .” This says a soul has become divinely possessed, as a Yahweh elohim (an angel in His name raised within one’s soul), so one is now “in the name of Yahweh,” which one “fears” ever losing that presence within. That presence is what makes one become “holy.” It is impossible to declare Yahweh as “holy,” because one cannot truly know what “holy” means, until Yahweh has transformed a sinner into a saint.
Verse four then literally sings, “and the mighty king judgment it loves you to be firm in uprightness ; judgement and righteousness , in the supplanter you have made .” In that, the word “supplanter” is used to replace the word that becomes capitalized as “Jacob.” This says that it is the “love” in one’s heart for Yahweh that He is attracted to and returns “love” to a soul, who has welcomed Yahweh as one’s “king.” The entrance of Yahweh, through divine marriage, then gives “strength” that is necessary to become “upright” in one’s life. The “judgement“ that a soul is directed by Yahweh to see is then the direction that the soul takes, which is a life that is “righteous.” This means the “supplanter” that one’s soul had been prior is itself “supplanted” by the Spirit of Yahweh. One has “grabbed the heel” of Yahweh, which means a soul has fully submitted to be at the feet of Him.
A mass gathering of human brides. Imagine all of Israel, under David, as being brides of Yahweh (males and females alike).
Verse five is then where David wrote the first of the four “Yahweh elohenu” in Psalm 99. After having sung of Yahweh dwelling with “cherubim,” which was an “exalted” state of being [from verses 1 and 2], this divine state is now repeated in verse five. The literal English translation of the Hebrew says, “they exalt Yahweh our elohim, and bow down footstools to his feet , sacredhe .” This, again needs to be seen as “they” being who is “exalted” by the presence of “Yahweh” within their souls. The collective means many are divinely possessed in the same way, so all are the “elohim” that are possessed as His, thus in a related relationship, as “our.” All have submitted to the presence of Yahweh in divine marriage, so all are wives who obey every command of their Husband. That places them as “footstools” at His “feet,” which says they have become subjects of useful purpose. As His “footstools” they have become “sacred,” to be put into His service as ministers and priests.
In verse six is found the names of Moses, Aaron and Samuel. Those names bear the following meanings: “Moses” – “Child, Rescued From Drowning In Water; Extracted, Loan; Hidden, Covered.” “Aaron” – “Bright; Accumulation; Center Of Cheer.” “Samuel” – “Name Of God; Heard Of God.” The differences in each name’s meanings come from which vowels are used to place between the consonants the Hebrew is mostly written in. From this, the literal translation of verse six says, “hidden center of cheer within his priests , and heard of el within those who called upon his name ; they called to Yahweh and he answered them .” This becomes a reflection of how ALL souls who serve Yahweh become just like Moses, Aaron and Samuel. In the name Samuel, the “el” must be realized as one of the collective “elohim,” which is an “angel in the flesh,” an extension of Yahweh’s hand onto the earth. They are His elohim, which is a “hidden center of cheer” that ministers to the lost souls (as “priests”). Seeing “el” as a divinely inspired saint-apostle-priest means David sang that only they can “hear” the voice of Yahweh “calling” them and “telling them” how to act.
Verse seven the literally translates into English as saying, “in the pillar cloud he spoke to them , they preserved his witnesses , and the statutes he gave them .” Following a verse that appears to name Moses and Aaron, the “pillar cloud” is assumed to be a physical phenomena that led the Israelite peoples by day. Because Samuel was not one who was so led as is written in the Exodus, “in the pillar cloud” needs to be seen for the truth that relates to the Exodus and this song of praise by David. A “pillar” is physically “a tall vertical structure” and symbolically “a person regarded as reliably providing essential support for something.” This means “in the pillar” becomes a statement of all Yahweh’s elohim who are “upright” in the way they lead their lives (influenced or led by Yahweh). The “cloud” is then the inner nebulosity that is His Spirit. It is from within this divine presence that Yahweh speaks and is heard. That personal experience makes a soul in flesh become a “witness,” whose “testimonies” are truthful, “preserving” the truth told by Yahweh in ministry that leads others (continuously) to Yahweh in marriage. The “statutes” become the Law that not only states the marriage vows, but explains them as truthful and purposeful for receiving eternal salvation.
Verse eight then presents the second use of “Yahweh elohenu,” which again is a statement of Yahweh possessing many souls, all of which are His elohim, and all of who collectively call upon Yahweh’s name in marriage [“our”]. Here, the literal English translation says: “Yahweh elohenu you answered them el lifting up you came to them ; and through you avenged according to their deeds .” In that, the use of “el” becomes the singular number of the plural “elohim.” The “answer” relates back to verse six, where those who serve Yahweh as His wives are “called” to do so, and they “respond” to that call. The “call” then goes out from souls for salvation, which Yahweh then “answers.” The creation of a soul that is elevated to the status of one of Yahweh’s “angels in the flesh” [a “god”] says those souls have been “uplifted,” when Yahweh’s spirit “came upon them.” This service of a soul then restores it from all past sins; and, it leads one to “avenge” those sins known to be done by others, through active ministry in the name of Yahweh.
Verse nine then includes two references to “Yahweh elohenu,” while repeating this as a state that is “exalted.” The literal English translation can then be read as: “those exalted Yahweh elohenu, and bow down at mountain of his sacredness ; when holy , Yahweh elohenu .” In this, again, no human can possibly “exalt Yahweh.” Likewise, no human can call Yahweh “sacred” or “holy.” Yahweh’s presence is what “exalts those” who are His “elohim,” who all refer to Yahweh as His wives (as “our”). Those souls who have come into that state of being, by the presence of Yahweh – married to His Spirit as His elohim” – they are then transformed from sinners to “saints,” from unholy to “holy.” Therefore, no one can call the Spirit of Yahweh “Holy,” as only those possessed by that Spirit will know the truth of being “Holy.” That truth means being a Yahweh elohim.
In this Psalm are the names of Moses and Aaron. That presence means this Psalm was selected to be read along with the Exodus reading that mentions both names. The Epistle reading from Second Corinthians also names Moses, as does the Gospel reading from Luke. It is important to see this mention of Aaron, in the same breath with Moses and Samuel, as representative of a priest of Yahweh, who was likewise filled with the Spirit of Yahweh and the first designated High Priest of the Tabernacle. This shows that the Aaron of the Exodus reading, who feared Moses, is not a true reflection of Aaron, but one who is of the Aaronic line – a high priest of the Temple – when the Covenant had been broken and Jesus came down from the mountain as the replacement for Moses [the bearer of the New Covenant]. This Psalm confirms that account from Exodus is a prophecy, not a repeat of the Law of Moses.
As a reading for the last Sunday after the Epiphany, it is important to see this as a song that gives praise to the known collective that were (are and always will be) Yahweh’s elohim. David was one “el” of that nation that truly lived up to the name “Israel,” as he was a king of those who all claimed Yahweh as their Spiritual Husband. If one goes about reading David writing four times “Lord our God,” that does nothing to tell the reader – the singer of praise! – that all souls are expected to serve Yahweh as one of His “angels in the flesh.” That means dying of self-ego and bowing down as a footstool at the feet of Yahweh. There can be no words of praise spoken about Yahweh, if one has not been possessed by His Spirit. Then Yahweh can make it known to one the truth of being exalted and the truth about being sacred and holy. The measure of that is one speaking the Word one’s soul receives from Yahweh, after having entered His cloud and become one of His pillars meant to lead the lost to salvation. As the last Sunday after the Epiphany, one should be on the verge of internship, when the final exams are coming [Lent]. If you do not know how to sing this song of praise, there will be no survival when self-sacrifice cannot be avoided.
Explaining the Readings 