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Acts, Language, Teaching

Acts 16:16-34 – Imprisoned by a world that does not care

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With Paul and Silas, we came to Philippi in Macedonia, a Roman colony, and, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

——————–

This is the mandatory Easter season selection from the Book of Acts, which will be read aloud on the seventh Sunday of Easter, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will precede a singing of Psalm 97, where David wrote: “Yahweh loves those who hate evil; he preserves the lives of his saints and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.” That pair of readings will be followed by the Year C Epistle choice from John’s Revelation. There, the prophet wrote of hearing a voice saying, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.” All will accompany the Gospel selection from John, where he remembered Jesus praying, saying “As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

I wrote this commentary in response to an online Bible Study class, where a minister addressed this reading. That commentary has since been deleted. As the focus was on verse thirty-two, rather than the whole, I will offer new observations that see the whole of this reading as relative to the Easter season and when the dead have been raised by receiving the soul of Jesus within their souls.

Verse sixteen begins with the capitalized “Egeneto,” which is the third-person singular Aorist Indicative Active form of “ginomai,” meaning “to come into being, to happen, to become,” implying also “to be born, happen, come about.” This is a standard verb that conveys something else to write about; however, this word is capitalized, which bring a divine elevation to the way it should be read. Certainly something else happened to Paul and Silas, but following the conversion of Lydia and her household at the place of prayer in Philippi (a Roman colony), verse sixteen then placed importance to be noted that “Was Born now,” where “Birth” is the coming of Jesus-within upon others; so, other souls can be “Reborn” as Jesus.

When this is followed by Luke writing, “we were going to the place of prayer,” this is the same place of prayer where Paul and the others encountered Lydia and other women, when Paul’s speaking the word of Yahweh (as Jesus reborn) opened their hearts. We read that Lydia was “a certain women,” and now we read that another “certain girl met us.” I firmly believe the use of “tis” (“certain one”) means a Jew. As such, the place of prayer was for Jewish women to go to pray, as there was no Jewish synagogue (nor a rabbi-teacher) in Philippi. This says many of the women there were dispersed Israelites, many in mixed marriages to Roman men, as well as women taken as slaves (employees), as they had no Jewish husbands and refused to marry outside their religious beliefs.

One must assume that this girl was not going to the place of prayer with her masters (“kyriois”), as it is unlikely she was kept on a leash and not allowed to go alone outside the gates to the place of prayer by the river. As one who recognized a need to pray daily, at morning, noon, and evening times, she would have met Paul and fellows without her owner-controllers. Those men would have provided for this girl, as they made money off her ability to prophesy; and, without their care, she would have no one else to turn to for sustenance. Thus, rather than think Paul used his inner Jesus to find out things about this girl, the better way to read this is the soul of Jesus led Paul to engage the girl in conversation, where she openly told the apostles that she was being used by men.

When we are told the girl had “a spirit of Python” (“pneuma Pythōna”), this must be read as a statement of a possessing “spirit,” which has a capitalized name that means “Python, a mythical serpent slain by Apollo.” This must be read as confirmation that David’s singing of the Leviathan in the sea of souls is what this girl had been possessed by. It was not a demonic “spirit,” per se, as much as it was an attachment to the girl’s soul, which she did not ask for. One could almost say it was sent to her so the girl would not die of neglect, without parents. A “spirit” that gave her an ability to truthfully prophesy – even if such a ‘spirit possession” was misused by others, it at least provided for the girl’s survival in the world. Thus, we read, “she continued [to shriek the truth of Paul and the others] for days,” there was no immediate need found to cast out a demon “spirit.”

In the story of Jesus’ ministry, when he went to “the region of the Gerasenes” and encountered a man with many demon spirit possessing him, led by one named “Legion,” we read that when Jesus approached the man his spirit shouted out, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” Here, the girl’s spirit also knew Jesus was with Paul et al and said they were “servants of this of God of this Most High.” The same words of identification were used in two places, at different times, which says Jesus was present in both places, in different ways. The soul of Jesus is readily known to all “spirits,” which means all “spirits” are “elohim” in Hebrew.

When we then read, “Paul, very much annoyed,” this says it was Paul who was moved by anger, when that is not the case. The Greek word written is “diaponētheis,” which is the Aorist Participle of the word meaning “to toil through, to be worn out or annoyed,” implying “to be greatly troubled.” The truth of the word says, “bring on exhausting, depleting grief which results in “piercing fatigue.” This more appropriately says Paul was “exhausted” from hearing the girl shout that they were servants of God every day. Paul was trying to recognize the girl spoke the truth; but his fatigue became time for Jesus to erupt from within Paul, telling the “spirit” to leave the girl. When he said, “in the name of Jesus Christ,” that confirmed that everything the girl had shouted was the truth. Paul was reborn as Jesus, having taken on the “name” of Yahweh [Israel], such that the “elohim” within his soul was the Yahweh elohim of Adam-Jesus. We then find that the “spirit” left the girl “that hour.” This means she stopped shouting the truth at the apostles; but after prayers, when she returned to her Roman keepers (within an hour), she was found to no longer have the power of prophecy.

After her “masters’ realized she no longer was possessed by the “spirit Python,” having explained how Paul commanded it to leave her, in the “name of Jesus Christ,” those men immediately went and forcibly grabbed Paul and Silas and took them before “the leaders of the marketplace,” who somehow depended on the girl to forecast the best produce and merchandise to sell, for the highest price. That meant not only had the “masters” of the girl profited from he spirit possession, but so too did the vendors that paid the “masters” for ‘insider trading tips.’ That lack of a ‘cash cow’ meant many men were angered; so, they all led Paul and Silas down to the Roman “magistrate’s” office, to file a complaint.

It must be realized that Paul and Silas were not severely beaten and thrown in prison for freeing a Jewish girl from being possessed by a overwhelming “spirit,” which denied Roman slave owners from profiting. They were punished for being Jewish men coming into a Gentile colony of Romans, telling them about salvation of soul being what they offered; and, those Romans saw no value in that. So, when we read they “had torn off their garments” (where “himation” means “outer cloak or robe”), those were most likely the robs of a Jewish priest. By wearing such identifying outerwear, they would readily identify themselves as Jews, most easily identified by other Jews. The rejection of Jews by Romans mirrored the lower-class standing that Jews had in Rome. Thus, the ministry to Gentiles was primarily those mixed-blood diaspora, who were rejected by the mainstream Jews of Jerusalem. Certainly this story shows Gentiles rejecting Jews; but the women (who were like the Samaritan woman at the well who Jesus spoke to) of Philippi in Macedonia were knowledgeable of the Law, to some degree. The story coming about the jailer becomes the fulfillment of the vision Paul had in Troas, as “a certain man crying out to come help us.”

In verse twenty-five where is says, “About midnight,” the Greek word written, which is capitalized (thus divinely elevated in meaning” is “Kata.” The lower-case spelling means “down, against, according to,” with the word properly meaning: “down from, i.e. from a higher to a lower plane, with special reference to the terminus (end-point).” [HELPS Word-studies] Thus, the divinely elevated statement made is Paul and Silas had gone “Down” from the heights of being priests of Yahweh [Apostles-Saints], as Jesus reborn, to being prisoners with their feet in stocks, in the most hidden away cell in the Philippi jail. Therefore, the word “midnight” brings on the connotations of the “darkness” of a sinful world. Still, in that lack of divine light being allowed to shine in the depths of a jail, Paul and Silas were “praying.”

In the scenes established in John’s Revelation this Easter season, we have read of those who were “inhabitants” of Christianity [the “city descending from heaven”] being those souls who will never need the light of the sun or the moon, because the “lamp of the Lamb” will make it always s nice, sunny day in their souls. This needs to be seen as how the “praying” in the darkness was their talking with Yahweh, through the light of His Son, their souls His Christ (thus true “Christians”). It was then the inner elohim that was the soul of Jesus in both Paul and Silas, who began “singing praising to of this of God,” with their souls joining in on the songs. This must be seen as the Psalm 148 and Psalm 67 themes of praising Yahweh, which I wrote about. This says there was absolutely no darkness surrounding Paul and Silas’ souls, after having been stripped of their robes, beaten severely and locked up like dangerous animals.

Now, without knowing the materials used to construct this jail, if it was made with thick, soundproof walls (of stone and mortar), for anyone else imprisoned in the jail to hear Paul and Silas praying and singing praises to Yahweh, at best they would make dim sounds in a bleak place. This means verse twenty-five saying, “the prisoners were listening to them,” is another example of “autōn” (typically translating as “them,” but means “self, same, and themselves [in the plural],” where a “self” is a “soul,” so the souls of the “prisoners” “were listening” to “the souls” of Paul and Silas singing praises to Yahweh. That means they were all souls hearing songs of praise be led by the inner Jesus in Paul and Silas.

When the story then says: “Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken,” it is important to realize that Greece is a place where earthquakes happen with regularity, then and today. Still, in the Greek text, the literal translation says nothing about “violent.” Instead, it says, “suddenly now a shaking [which can imply an “earthquake”] was born great.” In that, the Greek word “egeneto” is found again, this time in the lower-case. While there can be seen a major earthquake taking place, the connection of “egeneto” to “megas” needs to remind us how were pray over our food saying, “God is great.” Thus, one of Yahweh’s faithful (not everybody) would read these words in Greek and see how the “foundations of the prison house were shaken” by movement caused divinely (not Mother Nature). It was “born” of the “great” Yahweh.

We know this is more than just a natural earth tremor because after a semicolon we are told (literally translated), “(they) were opened now these doors all , kai chains (there) were loosened .” Certainly, in a natural earthquake, where the foundations of a building are greatly moved, walls might collapse and ceilings fall in, but “chains” being “loosened” can only mean the places where chains were attached to walls crumbled, freeing those bolts and rings, so people in chains would be still attached to chains, but able to walk out opened doors, dragging their chains. This means a better translation comes when “doors” is read as “opportunities” and “chains loosened” is seen as “imprisonments abandoned.” This new light is speaking less of Yahweh sending forth a jailbreak chance for Paul and Silas and more about the lost souls that filled that “prison house,” including that of the jailer. Yahweh sent forth an “opportunity” for the lost to turn away from the lifestyles that “imprisoned” their souls, so they could open their hearts to receive salvation.

The element of it being “midnight” and total darkness was everywhere in the rubble, says the soul of the jailer feared his soul was lost forever. His threat to kill himself with his own sword said he assumed he would be blamed for a natural disaster; so, his life being secured with a paying job was over. Without that physical security, he would be better off dead. That speaks loudly as the point in life when all lost souls have reached rock bottom – a personal earthquake has shaken one’s “foundations” of the flesh, which are what “imprison” one’s soul. To die by one’s own sword says one has come to the realization that everything happening in one’s life is not caused by others, but by one’s own lack of self-worth. When darkness surrounds one’s big brain, then the imagination turns to everything bad and worse. The jailer is then a reflection on all readers of this Scripture, who is not a soul married to Yahweh, having received His Spirit and made a Saint, so the soul of Jesus could resurrect within one’s soul.

This is why Paul shouted out to the jailer, when total darkness could not be how Paul knew physically to shout out. Paul and Silas had souls that were forever in the light of Christ (a Yahweh Anointment, not the ‘last name’ of Jesus) surrounding their soul; so, they spiritually saw the soul of the jailer and knew he was in need of help. The fact that the jailer had to bring in fire to light the prison house and physically see that all the prisoners were still there says it was impossible to physically see the jailer pick up his sword to commit suicide. [Presumably he did not holler out, “I am going to kill myself with this sword of mine, if everyone escaped!” That would be spineless; and, spineless wimps are not hired to be jailers.]

Now when it is shown written (NRSV), “Paul shouted in a loud voice,” the truth of the Greek translates literally to this: “summoned now << this Paul >> ⇔ << great to voice >> ”. In this there are inset double brackets surrounding “this Paul” and “great to voice.” In between is a left right arrow, which says “this Paul” is true if “great to voice” is true. The value judgment of what is true is in seeing “great to voice” (“megalē phōnē”) as being different than “Paul,” but the same as “Paul.” This would be the soul of Jesus calling out to the jailer; and, while the “voice” might or might not have been loud, it spoke loudly to the jailer’s soul. Thus, following is said, “Not (a capitalized word of divine elevation) do to yourself harm.” In that, the soul of Jesus spoke to the soul of the jailer (“yourself” = “your soul”) says he had not yet harmed his soul irreparably. Thus, when we then are shown Paul and Silas speaking, we read “they spoke to his soul this word of this Lord.” The “Lord” is Jesus within their soul-bodies. This relates back to when the pair were in Troas and were hindered from “speaking the word of this Sacred Spirit.”

Thus, the jailer and his family (like Lydia and her household) were all saved. Nobody escaped the prison house. Only souls were freed to return to Yahweh and become His servants.

As a mandatory reading from the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter season (this selection only read during this seventh Sunday of the Year C season), it is important to see the souls that were saved by Paul and Silas being imprisoned in Philippi. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he wrote the names Euodia and Syntyche, both women of that assembly of true Christians. The name “Euodia” means “Good Road, Right Way, Good Luck!,” while the name “Syntyche” means “Collective (Mis-)Fortune, Total Happenstance, Completely By Chance.” Because the souls saved by Paul and Silas (Luke and Timothy) had all been women prior to this event in the prison, it is very possible that Syntyche was the name of the girl who was called “a fortune-teller” (“manteuomenē”). The Greek is a combined word, where “Syn” (as “sun”) means “together with,” while “tuche” means “fortune or chance.” As it is most likely her Roman owners would sell her or cast her away, her encounter with the soul of Jesus in Paul would have saved her soul in the same way the jailer’s soul was saved. That makes it probable that Lydia’s house took the girl in; so, Euodia would most likely be one of Lydia’s household.

In a season where the theme is always souls of the dead (lost and unsaved) being raised to eternal life, by the resurrection of Yahweh’s Son in His new servants, it is imperative to see this story being nothing about imprisonment, but instead freedom allowed to a lost soul. The levels this story takes shows how easy it is to become possessed by an “elohim,” who takes the form of a serpent (“Pythōna” or “Python” was a Leviathan swimming in a sea of soul, with the girl his captive [she was imprisoned by that spirit]), which says it is just as easy for us to fall prey to “spirits” that are not offering a soul salvation, as much as bringing in a form of torment that cannot be easily escaped from. The Roman slave-owners who profited from her abilities to prophesy speaks of all the corrupt people in the world who climb on top of the shoulder of the weak, controlling us for their benefits. It is the ”marketplace” that souls are bought and sold; so, vendors are those who are only looking out for their own self-interests (not anyone else’s). The “magistrates” are the government officials who know pleasing those with money, power, and influence is better than serving God or His Laws. Thus, the prison house is where all souls live, when in the flesh on the physical plane. It takes a “great shaking” in one’s soul “foundations” to be reduced to the rubble that sees death as all one has to look forward to.

This is the word spoken by Luke. It is written to shake the foundations of oneself. It is meant for readers to hear the word of this of Yahweh spoken to their souls.

Aside Note: I have been led to write more about the girl who was possessed by the “spirit Python.” I feel it is important information that does not fit this commentary, without being a distraction. It is best read separately. The article can be accessed by searching this title: The girl having a “spirit Python”.

Language, Psalms, Teaching

Psalm 97 – A multitude of islands married to the same Yahweh, all resurrections of His same Son

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1 Yahweh is King; let the earth rejoice; *

let the multitude of the isles be glad.

2 Clouds and darkness are round about him, *

righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.

3 A fire goes before him *

and burns up his enemies on every side.

4 His lightnings light up the world; *

the earth sees it and is afraid.

5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh, *

at the presence of adown of the whole earth.

6 The heavens declare his righteousness, *

and all the peoples see his glory.

7 Confounded be all who worship carved images and delight in false gods idols! *

Bow down before him, all elohim.

8 Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice, *

because of your judgments, Yahweh.

9 For you are Yahweh, most high over all the earth; *

you are exalted far above all elohim.

10 Yahweh loves those who hate evil; *

he preserves the lives of his saints and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11 Light has sprung up for the righteous, *

and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted.

12 Rejoice in Yahweh, you righteous, *

and give thanks to his holy Name.

——————–

This is the Psalm that will be read aloud in unison or sung by a cantor on the seventh Sunday of Easter, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow a mandatory Easter reading from Acts, this time where Paul and Silas are imprisoned in Philippi. We read: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.” The psalm of David will be followed by a Year C staple of readings from Revelation, where John wrote, “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from John, where we read: “Jesus prayed for his disciples, and then he said. “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

In the above translation you will find I have made several changes. The first and foremost is the NRSV (and all others) erroneously translating “Yahweh” as “Lord.” The Hebrew word for “lord” is “adon” and a singular construct form of that word is found written in verse five. There, I have restored the Hebrew written by David (a transliteration), which is “adown,” meaning “of lord.” The NRSV has confused all readers by making this appear to be the same as “Yahweh,” by capitalizing it as “of the Lord.” It does not make such a statement. Additionally, in verse seven I have stricken out the translation of “bā·’ĕ·lî·lîm,” as “false gods.” The word means “worthlessness,” but is translated most routinely (16 times out of 20 appearances in the Hebrew texts) as “idols.” I have replaced that translation into the text. Finally, in verses seven and nine are found the word “elohim” written, which is a masculine plural noun, not the singular “God,” as is usually the NRSV translation. However, because it here suits their wistful need to see “elohim” as a plural “gods,” in the lower case, they have translated these two words as “you gods” and “gods” (respectfully), with that missing the point of what “elohim” meant to David. Thus, I have restored “elohim” in the above text.

Because I am dissatisfied with the NRSV translation, I will now reproduce each verse in a literal translation, which can (optionally) be compared to the one above. This will show how often paraphrases are produced, which takes the truth and bends it around preconceptions, which quite frequently are missing the point, thus misleading and dangerous. It is important to realize that David was not like some pop singer-musician on some network television production, where he wrote lyrics he felt would make him a rock-country-pop star. His words, like the music he played to them as songs, were all divinely inspired. Yahweh is singing to us through David’s Psalms. In comparison, badly paraphrased English translations of Scripture have been turned into the music played in Christian churches, when the quotes they sing popularly about are some translator’s paraphrases and often not the point of that written. Realizing this makes it important to understand how David was not writing catchy jingles to stroke his ego. He was moved to record divine word musically.

The first verse sings literally in English: “Yahweh reigns let rejoice the earth ; let be glad , islands many .” In the NRSV translation, they capitalize “King,” which becomes a paraphrase and preconception that “God is King.” David was the King of people who were a true nation of “Israelites” – those Who Retained Yahweh as their inner elohim. In the Easter readings from John’s Revelation, the “throne” is within one’s soul; and, that is what David was singing here: Yahweh reigns within my soul. This understanding then allows one to see “earth” as metaphor for “flesh and blood,” or within the physical body of David. The expansion of “earth” beyond David, to his Israelite followers, says then that their “flesh” was also where Yahweh reigned; so all who had Yahweh’s Spirit within their souls could “rejoice” and “let be glad.” When David then sang of “islands many,” this refers to the individuality of where “Yahweh reigns.” He does not reign as a distant King, hidden away behind the clouds of the sky, but in each and every “island” whose soul has married His Spirit, making Him become one’s King. The rejoicing and gladness come from that inner presence, which is His elohim – the soul of Jesus resurrected within one’s individual soul.

Verse two then literally translates into English as: “mass of cloud and thick cloud round about him ; rightness and judgment , the foundation of his throne .” The double words stating “cloud” is David speaking of the impossibility to see Yahweh, when one does not wear his face upon one’s soul. This means the uses of “cloud” are those confusions that surround each “island” that must seek and find Yahweh. To make the clouds disappear, one must then live a life of “rightness,” which will become a life of righteousness, when an elohim has been born within one’s soul, following marriage of a soul to Yahweh’s Spirit. Yahweh will judge one’s merits, based on the way one’s soul judges self and others. This becomes the ‘dating’ dance done to attract Yahweh and remove the clouds. Those “foundations” of lifestyle will prepare one’s soul for divine marriage, when the “seat” of the Spirit that will “reign” within will be placed in one’s soul.

Verse three then translates into English as, “a fire on the face of him walks ; and will blaze his enemies .” While this projects connotations of the pillar of smoke during day (the cloud) and the fire behind the Israelite at night, here the word “lə·p̄ā·nāw” (from “paneh”) needs to be read as the “fire” being the Spirit of Yahweh, which is the light of His “face” that shines so one can see the path of righteousness and “walk” that path. This “fire” will then “blaze” away “one’s enemies,” such that all “enemies” to oneself are self-inflicted wounds, due to allowing sin to reign over one’s soul and flesh. The “fire” of the “face” of Yahweh will “burn away” those influences, so they no longer enslave one’s soul.

Verse four then says in literal English translation, “he made lights his lightings the world ; it has seen and trembles the earth .” This is David singing about the “many islands” who have married Yahweh and put the “fire of his face” on theirs; so, Yahweh has made each and everyone of them “his lights” utilized for Him “lighting the world” from its darkness of mortal death. All souls alone in bodies of flesh are condemned to die and repeat, until they either see the light and marry their souls to Yahweh for salvation, or do worse sins and become burned in the great flames of the abyss. It is the saints and apostles who carry forth the light of truth that allows the world to see their fates, should they not surrender their selves and become servants to Yahweh. The alternative brings forth “trembles” of fear, both for being condemned to darkness and from losing eternal life from turning away from Yahweh, once saved. Fear of losing Yahweh is the only fear to be allowed.

Verse five then sings literally in English, “mountains like wax melt at the presence of Yahweh ; at the presence , of the lord of all the earth .” Here, again, the use of “earth” must be read as metaphor for the body of flesh (which is made up of matter). This then is reflected in “mountains,” which are not heaps of rock and dirt, by souls in human bodies of flesh who think they are mighty and above all others. Those self-perceived heights “melt like wax,” once Yahweh becomes present within their souls. They are then able to see how miniscule a worldly position is, as no matter how high one achieves in the world of death, death will always overcome that height. This is why David sang singularly of “at the presence,” as when one’s soul becomes “in the presence” of Yahweh, then one bows in submission, lowering one’s face from attempting to stand as almighty before the true Almighty. When David used the construct “adown,” which means “of the lord,” this sings of the inner “presence” that is Yahweh’s elohim. This is the ”presence” of the soul of Jesus, who becomes the “lord” over each individual soul married to Yahweh. This is “all those in the flesh” who walk the face of the “earth” as “lights” for Yahweh.

Verse six then says in literal English: “he has told the heavens his righteousness ; and they see all the peoples his abundance .” Here, Yahweh speaks to souls, which makes “heavens” be metaphor for all things spiritual, which souls are. A soul alone cannot choose to live a life of righteousness, as the world will influence the flesh to convince the soul to allow it to sin. When “he has told” is understood to be Yahweh speaking to the soul-flesh through His elohim (Jesus resurrected within a soul-body), “his righteousness” is then directed to the subservient soul-body to live as commanded; and, that is by “his righteousness.” Once this change has been done, the possessed souls are able to see how easy “righteousness” comes, due to the “abundance” brought within by this gift of an elohim.

Verse seven then sings in literal English, “they will be put to shame all those who are serving idols , those boasting of worthlessness ; they worship him all elohim .” Here, the strikethrough can be seen truthfully stated, where it is most important for Christians today to see a wooden cross as a “carved image” or an “idol of worship.” To worship Jesus’ death on a cross, is to worship one’s own death in a mortal existence, doing absolutely nothing to hang their own soul-bodies on a cross and die of self-will and self-ego, so one can be raised from the dead and be resurrected as Jesus. The symbolism of a “stake” (shaped like a cross) is to hold the vine of Yahweh, which is the growth of His Son Jesus (the vine), so the branches producing fruit are kept high off the ground (the life of righteousness gained by that stake). To worship, “I am saved because Jesus died for my sins” is to “boast of worthlessness,” as one’s soul that plans on still sinning, because Jesus did all the work so it can keep sinning. That is worthless worship of all the demonic elohim that exist in the world, making souls become their prey and worship their worthlessness (money, power, influence … that all ends up given back in death). When David sang, “they worship him all elohim,” this is how Jesus can command demon elohim to leave souls they possess. They do as commanded because “all elohim worship Yahweh.” They do not worship souls alone in the flesh, those who worship their own worthless selves as gods.

Verse eight then literally sings in English, “they have heard and they will rejoice dryness [the meaning of zion] , and they will rejoice the daughters of praisers [the meaning of judah] ; purpose of your judgment Yahweh .” Here, the seeming proper names “Zion” and “Judah” must be replaced with the meaning behind the names. As such, “dryness” is a state of selflessness, where there are no emotions feeding the soul from the flesh. This outer dryness is kept moist by the inner presence of an elohim of Yahweh (Jesus). As “daughters” these souls have become the brides of Yahweh, in divine marriage; and, once married so Jesus is resurrected within each soul of those “daughters,” then Jesus becomes the “praiser” that leads the host soul to also join in the “praise” given to Yahweh. The “purpose” or “intent” of this inner “praise” is another soul has been “judged” cleansed of all past sins, thereby destined to eternal salvation. This salvation means “Yahweh Saves,” which is the meaning of the name “Jesus.”

Verse nine then sings in literal English, saying “for you Yahweh most high above all the earth ; exceedingly you have ascended , above all elohim .” Once again, the metaphor of “earth” must be read as meaning “flesh.” The Hebrew stating “for you Yahweh” says souls have submitted themselves to Yahweh in divine marriage. This brings within a soul-body His Spirit, which is a Spirit “high above” a spirit that is a soul, which was given by Yahweh to rule over its flesh. Once divinely married, Yahweh becomes the ruler over everything a soul-flesh does. In that divine union, which brings about the resurrection of the soul of Yahweh’s Son Jesus, all souls becoming the wives (mothers) will have “exceedingly ascended” to a higher state of being. That inner presence of Jesus in “all” becomes their “elohim” that is the same within “all.” Jesus the Yahweh elohim will become the Lord of every soul-body, thereby being “above all,” acting “for you Yahweh.”

Verse ten then has a literal English translation that sings, “those loving Yahweh hate evil preserving those souls of his saints ; from the hand of the wicked he takes away them .” When the Hebrew word “aheb” (“to love”) is used, it goes far beyond all human concepts of mortal “love,” to a statement of divine union, through the most holy forms of matrimony. To “love Yahweh” is to be one with Him and know His “love.” While Jesus told his disciples to “love one another as I have loved you,” this was Yahweh speaking through His Son, about a form of “love” none of the disciples understood at that time. Still, to have David sing that “loving Yahweh hates” is beyond the comprehension of the feeble minds held dear by pretend priests (hired hands and false shepherds), who break out in worship of The Beatles, singing, “love, love, love … love is all you need” … when they do not have any idea what “loving Yahweh” means (having never walked that sacrificial path of marriage).

To “hate evil” says Yahweh and Jesus agree, “You cannot serve two masters, because you will hate the one and love the other.” If Yahweh told David his “loving Yahweh” meant his soul must “hate evil,” then that is a Commandment that says “hate evil.” One hates evil by wanting to have nothing to do with it; but today’s Christian priesthood (in the Catholic denominations especially evident) goes out of its way to become the evil that Yahweh hates, decorating their pagan houses of worship with the worthlessness of rainbow colored flags and vestments. They praise homosexuality as if they have souls that are “loving Yahweh,” when they do not. Their evil ways speak for their souls. None of them are “saints,” so none of their souls have been “preserved” as saved (guarded and watched over by Jesus). The “hand of the wicked” is all forms of sin. To promote forgiveness of sin, while avowing, “I am a practicing sinner!” is to speak praise for being a lost soul, leading other lost souls to damnation and ruin. Thus, such false shepherds and hired hands are ”snatching away” the victory of salvation possible, from the jaws of eternal salvation to be gained.

Verse eleven then sings in literal English, “a light is being sown by the righteous ; and to the right of heart joy .” Here, David sang of the joy brought within the souls of Yahweh’s wives, coming to them as his “lights” placed in the world, to lead lost souls to Yahweh. The use of “sown” (“zara”) says Yahweh is the owner of fertile land, who plants good wheat to feed the world. His seed is His Son’s soul, which died on a cross in the same way a seed loses its outer covering. Then its inner purpose can grow through its vine and branches that produce good fruit. To be a part of that plan brings a soul great happiness and fulfillment.

Verse twelve then translates literally into English, singing “they rejoice your righteousness Yahweh ; and give thanks , in the memorial of his sacredness .” This sings praises by those souls who have been saved by the presence of Yahweh’s Son Jesus. It is that inner presence, as one’s Lord, who leads the sheep to “righteousness,” as their individual soul’s Good Shepherd. All souls saved “give thanks” for having been found and having been allowed to submit fully unto Yahweh. It is their souls in bodies of flesh that become the “memorials” of Jesus reborn, as it is his presence within that makes them walk the face of the earth as Jesus reborn. Again, in the times of David the name “Jesus” still had the meaning, “Yahweh Saves.”

As the Psalm to be sung on the seventh Sunday of Easter, mostly sung during this Year C Easter season (it is also sung in the II service on Christmas, all Years), it is important to see the depth of meaning being applied to rebirth, as a song of praise by souls having been raised from the dead, with Jesus being born anew within them. In these verses are found several mentions of “joy, rejoicing, gladness, and giving thanks.” It is a song of praise, where the impetus of praise comes from the presence of an “elohim” within. That “elohim” must be seen as a divine possession, sent by Yahweh; and, we know the name of that “elohim” as Jesus – a name that means “Yahweh Saves.” Jesus is not the only “elohim,” which David knew and sang about. Every sin one’s soul-flesh can become addicted to is an “elohim” that is sent by Satan to test if a soul’s will, to see if it will succumb to evil influences. When one’s soul has been protected by Yahweh, as marked by Jesus, then one knows divine love through divine possession. It is that divine possession that casts out all other spirits, because they too know the “love of Yahweh.” To know Jesus is to know his soul as one’s Lord; and that love will lead one’s soul to hate evil. It will not ever again fall for the tricks of the serpent; and, it will teach others to walk the path of righteousness, not the road to ruin.

Language, Revelations, Teaching

Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21 – DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING, or else

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At the end of the visions I, John, heard these words:

[12] “See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. [13] I am the Alpha and the Omega Ὦ, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

[14] Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.

[deleted verse fifteen]

[16] “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

[17] The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”

And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”

And let everyone who is thirsty come.

Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.

[deleted verses eighteen and nineteen]

[20] The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

[21] The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

——————–

This is the Year C Epistle selection that all come from Revelation, which will be read aloud on the seventh Sunday of Easter, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. The readings for this day will begin with a mandatory Acts reading, where we learn: “A slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.”

That will be followed by a singing of Psalm 97, where David wrote, “Yahweh loves those who hate evil; he preserves the lives of his saints and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.”

All will accompany the Gospel selection from John, where the prophet wrote of Jesus praying, “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

In the above presentation, one will see there are omitted verses [three]. Rather than have expected regular attendees to realize the Year C lectionary features Revelation as the Epistle selections each Sunday, where everyone has been keeping abreast of John writing about his divine vision, the Episcopal Church has found need to make up a pretend verse that says, “At the end of the visions I, John, heard these words.” That is not written. In verse eight [not read aloud by a priest, nor listed as a verse that will be read] is written [NRSV]: “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me.” The Church chose not to read that verse wholly.

In verse eight, John says, “I fell down to worship before the feet of this angel [Jesus, as a Yahweh elohim] of this showing me these (visions).” That says John’s was worshiping an “elohim,” not the Creator of all, including His elohim (the soul giving his flesh life). So, in verse nine, the angel [Jesus] tells John, “Look upon (me) not, [because] I am a fellow servant of you, kai of all brothers of you [apostles-saints – m & f] , kai of all keeping these words of this of this book – of this to God worship !” That says Jesus is sent by Yahweh to His servants, which makes Jesus a servant in the same manner as all apostles and saints. It says: Do not worship apostles and saints; and, Do not worship Jesus. The exclamation point makes it be very clearly stated: Worship God! [Yahweh]

In verse ten, Jesus (the angel) tells John “Not to seal this book.” This prophecy is to be known by all. Thus, one can read between the lines and hear Jesus saying, “When you parse out verses to read in buildings of worship, make sure you do not omit anything that is important [and it is all important].” Then Jesus (the angel) said, “The time indeed near exists,” meaning the time to know what this book of divine visions and divine words reveal [an Apocalypse] is always when they should be understood and acted upon. So, Jesus (the angel) told John, in verse eleven:

“this being unrighteous, let him (or her) be unrighteous still ; kai this being defiled, let him (or her) be defiled still ; kai this being righteous, righteousness let him (or her) practice still ; kai this set apart by God , let him (or her) be set apart by God still .”

This means this book, when read, most likely will not be understood by those who are not divinely possessed. Being a sinner and freely reading this book will not save their souls. Likewise, being an apostle or saint and understanding what this book truly says will not change one’s soul from be possessed … by knowing what John wrote means. The apostles and saints will be sent to find the seekers of truth and tell them the meaning of other Scripture; and, then it will be up to those souls to decide which path their bodies of flesh will walk: unrighteousness or righteousness.

In verse twelve, the angel (Jesus) is speaking the Word of Yahweh. He first says importantly (via capitalization of “Idou”), “Behold!” This says open your mind’s eye (a soul’s vision) and “See!” the truth that is known. When the voice spoke in the first-person, adding “I AM” to “coming quickly,” this is not about Jesus coming, but Judgment “coming” to all mortals; and, that always comes faster than a soul in the flesh would like. This then links back to Jesus (the angel) having said, “The time indeed near exists.” [Verse ten] So, when that time of Judgment comes, the ”reward” or “punishment” (“misthos” means the same thing, as “payment for work done”) that will come, measured by who had the soul of Jesus “of me with of myself” (a “self” equals a “soul”). Those souls married to Yahweh and reborn as His Son Jesus will be led to do the works [remember the Easter season is when lessons from Acts are read] that will gain Judgement of eternal life [a reward, not a punishment].

This is where Jesus (the angel) repeated what was said in Revelation 21:5 (the Epistle selection for the fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C), where “Alpha” is spelled out, but the symbol for omega is written (capitalized, as “Ω”). The Greek letter is open at the bottom, which reflects where sin enters the soul-body. Jesus, as the Alpha completes the meaning of “omega,” which is a word that says “great [“mega”] O.” A great “O” is a completed circle. So, Jesus completes us; and, the Greek word “telos” properly means: “consummation (the end-goal, purpose), such as closure with all its results.” [HELPS Word-studies] As the “end times,” when every mortal human will face the death of a body of flesh, when its soul is judged, one should want to be judged for having already figuratively died of self, married Yahweh in submission to His Will, and been the soul where the soul of Jesus has been resurrected. That presence of Jesus keeps a soul-flesh from reverting back to a sinful way of life. That presence of Jesus within defines one as an apostle-saint.

Now, in verses fourteen and fifteen, Jesus (the angel) summed up this “reward” or “punishment” phase of Judgment. In verse fourteen, John wrote the capitalized word “Makarioi,” which is a word of divine elevation, meaning “Blessed.” Matthew wrote that word nine times in his fifth chapter, when remembering what Jesus said on the mount by the sea. Many people use the Latin equivalent word, and call Matthew 5:3-12 the “Beatitudes.” In reality, what “Makarioi” is divinely elevated to say is: This marks a Saint, or One Set Apart by Yahweh. That is the capitalized meaning of “Blessed.” So, verse fourteen says “Saints” are those “washing the robes of their souls” [that makes the flesh be metaphorically a robe]. They are the ones who live righteously [led by the soul of Jesus only, no shortcuts possible]. They are the ones fed the fruit from the “tree of life;” so, they are the souls that pass through the ‘Jesus gate,’ as the flock of Yahweh, into the “city” that is Christianity [those Teaching Peace as Jesus reborn].

When verse fifteen is omitted, this would be when Dana Carvey could resurrect his SNL days and become “church lady” again, saying, “Isn’t that special.” It begs the question, “What about those who don’t get a good Judgement Day grade? Church lady would ask, “What about those who go to S A T A N?”

Verse fifteen is omitted. It says, “without these dogs , kai these poisoners , kai these fornicators , kai these murderers , kai these idol worshipers , kai all loving kai making lies .” Obviously, nobody sitting aloft on the altar stage in a priestly chair situated cozily in an Episcopal Church wants to have this be read aloud. None of the hired hands or false shepherds want to take the chance that a parishioner might actually listen and hear Yahweh telling John, in a divine auditory experience, this verse that is contrary to who has their robes washed clean by Jesus. That is because it would not take much to prompt someone actually listening to ask, “Isn’t that you priest?” Therefore, the Church has decided it is best to cut this verse out.

When one immerses oneself in readings from divine Scripture, it is easy to get the feel that the whole world is hunky-dory and everyone is headed the same direction. Reading from Revelation and getting the image in one’s mind of so many angels and saints standing around the throne and the Lamb makes it seem that every soul goes to heaven when it dies. The reality, when one wakes from that daydream, is for every saint or apostle that walks the earth as a TRUE CHRISTIAN there are myriads more that wallow in sin like hogs in mud. The entire point of true Christianity [the “city” without a temple, where all inhabitants are Jesus reborn, as tabernacles of the throne, reborn by the Lamb] is to lead seekers to become Jesus sent out into ministry in the flesh again and again. When a denominated group of religious philosophers call themselves “Christian” and only plan on leading sheeples into the pews, where they can be fleeced to pay the mortgage of buildings and insurance benefits for hired hands … with nobody ever taught the truth of the Word … well then … there are a lot more sinners in the world [headed to bad Judgements] than there are saints. Deleting that truth as a serious warning is just an example of what Jesus (the angel) meant when he told John, “Leave the book unsealed. The trash will burn itself as trash. The sheep will be saved, as always.”

In verse sixteen, the literal English that translates from the Greek text is this: “I , Jesus , am sent this angel of me to bear witness to your soul [“you” or “yourself”] these on the basis of these assemblies . I exist this root kai this offspring of David , this star this bright this dawning light .” In this are two ‘sentences,’ or complete statements. The first is begun by a capitalized “Egō,” which is divinely elevated to be a statement of Yahweh being the “self” that is then named “Jesus.” When “Jesus” is stated separately and capitalized, it must be read as a statement that says “Yahweh Saves.” The conversation to this point was last on Judgment and Salvation, so this verse says the “I” of Yahweh Judges, with His favor given to those He Saved in the name of His Son. The second statement begins with a lower-case “egō,” followed by “eimi,” which says “I am” or “I exist,” where the lower-case is the soul of Jesus being the Lord over the soul-flesh of all Yahweh’s wife-souls. As such, Yahweh “exists” as “Jesus” in apostles-saints; and, Jesus is “this angel sent to bear witness to your soul” that Jesus is Yahweh incarnate in true Christians. Those are the “assemblies” [a.k.a. “churches”] that are so-called [Christian] because of this divine presence sent by Yahweh, as His Anointed to receive His Son – all are Baptized with the Spirit as Christs. All are then Jesus reborn. The “assemblies testify” to that truth of soul-being – “Jesus exists” in all of their souls.

In the second sentence, Jesus said he was “this root,” which is the vine through which the Spirit of the Father flows, reaching all the branches, being the impetus to produce good fruit. When John placed “kai,” as a signal to see importance to follow, the good fruit of the vine can then be seen as “this offspring,” meaning “fruit.” In that, the word translating as “root” can also translate as “shoot” or “sprout.” This means the possessive case stating “of David” means the capitalization of that name forces one to see the divine elevation coming through the meaning behind the name, which is “Beloved.” The good fruit of the “root” of Yahweh is the love of Yahweh, which flows through His Son and into his apostles-saints. This can then be seen as the “tree of life,” where the presence of Jesus within becomes the “star” that brings life to the physical world. That life comes from the “light” is shines forth. The “brightness” of the sun (the only “star” that matters to the Earth) shines through the good fruit, so seekers can ‘see the light’ and have the “dawning” of salvation come over them. When they see the light shone by apostles and saints, they can submit their souls to Yahweh, as all before them have done. When no one ever rises from a pew in a building with mortgage payments and hired hands to pay, then no light of Jesus is shining upon their souls. They then never leave as good fruit produced by a priest, minister, or preacher who is a soul alone in a body of flesh, unaware of what the book of life says. The blind leading the blind will always end up in pits.

To make sure Jesus was telling John about a divine marriage of souls to Yahweh (each individually wed), verse seventeen has Jesus say, “Kai [great importance to follow] this Spirit kai this bride speak , Come ! kai this hearing , let him (or her) say , Come ! kai this thirsting let him (or her) come ; this desiring , let him (or her) receive water of life freely .” The use of “kai” between “Spirit” and “bride” says the ”Spirit” does not speak outside of a soul that possesses a body of flesh. Since all mortals are of feminine essence (souls in bodies that are males and females) then the “Spirit” (meaning Yahweh) must marry a soul in human flesh. That divine union allows the voice of Yahweh to be heard, which is inviting all souls in bodies of flesh to also marry His “Spirit.” The key words here (introduced by the word “kai”) are “dipsōn” [“thirsting”] and “thelōn” [“desiring”]. Yahweh is not interested in any soul that is looking for free samples in the grocery store. To drink freely of “living waters,” those which maintain the Baptism of the “Spirit,” one must be a seeker who loves the idea of submission of self to Yahweh, in order to be risen from the dead as His Son Jesus reborn.

In my main reference source [BibleHub Interlinear], verses eighteen through twenty-one are headed with this notice: “Nothing May Be Added.” The NRSV places no such heading beyond its heading before verse eight, which says the rest of the chapter tells the “Epilogue and Benediction.” When you leave out three verses here, there is no need to remind anyone, “Oh yeah! Jesus said do not add anything or subtract [another word for “omit”] anything.” He said if you add anything then whoever does that will bring plagues upon their souls. Anyone who subtracts anything will lose their name being added to the tree of life. So, rather than spoil all the fun of a soul leaving its dead body of flesh and finding out it is plagued and marked as dead limbs to be thrown into the fire, I will leave it up to the readers to check out what is written, which the Episcopal Church has subtracted from your ‘daily bread’ on this last Sunday of Easter.

Verses twenty and twenty-one say, if one is a witness to the presence of Jesus within, then one will shout out “Yes!” to all written here in John’s Revelation. One will say, “It is the truth!” [the meaning of “Amen”] They look forward to death, so they say, “I AM (is) coming quickly. Come, Lord Jesus!” … and lead me to Yahweh, as my “Lord.” In verse twenty-one, where we read [NRSV], “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints,” the actual text says, “Hē charis tou Kyriou Iēsou (Christou) meta pantōn <hagiōn . Amēn > .” If you look closely, you will notice the “Christou” is in parentheses, as an aside, which is seen as optional text [another subtraction of what is written here]. Because it is in parentheses the NRSV does not translate “Christ” in this last verse. The reality is the parentheses separates that capitalized possessive word from “Jesus,” so it is not meant to be read as his ‘last name.’ As an aside, it says all who have “Jesus” as the “Lord” over their souls are (separately and equally) “Christs.”

The Genitive case (the possessive) is also not clearly shown in this translation. It literally says, “This” [the “coming of Lord Jesus”] is by “grace of Lord of Jesus (of Christ) with all.” Then, there are angle brackets separating “saints” (or “sacred ones”) from a period mark, still within a set of angle brackets. This word is then silently stated. This means “all” who are shown “grace” – the “grace” presented by Yahweh – are each one “Anointed” by Him (thus “of Christ”). Yahweh sends “Lord Jesus,” so he will “come Lord Jesus.” To whom he goes, those will be “saints,” but the caveat is none will know it while alive in a body of flesh. Saints Act first; and, then they are Beatified posthumously, never considering themselves anything more than servant-wives of Yahweh, reborn as His Son. Then, still within the silence of a statement unspoken, “Amen” repeats, “This is the truth.”

As a standard Revelation selection for the seventh Sunday of Easter (Year C), when the season places focus on souls in bodies of flesh being raised from the dead (mortal condemnation of reincarnation, if not saved by Jesus), this is a great example of why so many calling themselves “Christian” will find their souls gathered at each’s own personal Judgment Day and placed in with all the goats (not the sheep). None of them will have a clue what they did to deserve being given a failing grade; but that will be due to them bowing down and worshiping their priest, minister, or preacher (add in rabbis too), who told them everything they wanted to hear [none of it true]. Maybe they bowed down before a cross with dead Jesus on it, hanging on the wall of a church? They did not read this book, which says, “Do not worship Jesus. Worship God!” One worships God by being His loving wife in a divine union of soul to Spirit (see the references to “Saints). Eternal salvation is based on Acts, which means more than getting fanny blisters from sitting on the same spot in the same pew for a lifetime. Acts means being filled with the soul of Jesus and taking your body of flesh on the road in ministry, letting seekers find the truth flowing from your lips (Jesus speaking through you!). That puts your soul in the sheep group at Judgment Day, but you will not know what you did to deserve that either. That is because your self will have long ago been sacrificed at the altar to Yahweh. Your works will have kept you too busy to count your blessings [or read your press clippings].

John, Language, Teaching

John 17:20-26 – Jesus prayed for Christianity to remain true to the intent

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Jesus prayed for his disciples, and then he said. “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

“Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

——————–

This is the Gospel selection that will be read aloud by a priest on the seventh Sunday of Easter, Year C, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. It will follow a mandatory Easter season reading from Acts, this time where we read: “Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” That will precede a singing of Psalm 97, where David wrote: “For you are Yahweh, most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all elohim.” Those will be followed by a Year C standard selection from John’s Revelation, where he wrote of Jesus (an angel) saying, “The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.”

In my main resource for Scripture [BibleHub Interlinear], I see titles placed before sections of text. In John’s chapter seventeen, verses one to five are headed by “Prayer for the Son.” Verses six through nineteen are headed “Prayer for the Disciples.” Verses twenty through twenty-six [the last of chapter seventeen] are headed “Prayer for all Believers.” At no place in the text written by John [the one divinely inspired to write Scripture] did he write, “Jesus prayed for his disciples, and then he said.” This is like a header applied by the Episcopal Church … to sum up their thoughts [most unholy originated in a Big Brain] about what led to this selection of verses, beginning at verse twenty. This makes the pewples’ minds be prepared to only think about Scripture in a historical past concept, where Jesus praying for long dead people has nothing applicable to anyone blistering his or her ass in a pew today. Just squirm a little more and put up with the reading. It will all be over when the priest makes you forget everything heard read aloud, talking about his or her favorite philosophical author you never heard of.

When Jesus prayed long ago, he prayed with a witness [his son John], while the rest of the Jewish world in Jerusalem was still getting drunk on Seder wine and all were three sheets to the wind. That is basically what church congregations are like every Sunday. The words of Jesus were recorded – here especially, in his prayer – to be heard by the ears and minds of those he prayed for: Christians. In verse twenty, Jesus said (in Greek): “alla kai peri tōn pisteuontōn dia tou logou autōn eis eme .” He said that after saying, “Not for these [those long dead disciples not too far away from where Jesus prayed … all drunk as skinks] now do I ask only.”

The Greek text that followed says literally: “but importantly all around concern to those of believing on account of of thisof expression of though [“of word”] of their souls [“them” or “themselves”] in union with my soul [“mine” or “myself”].” When one reads that slowly and ponders what Jesus said to his Father (Yahweh), one can see how Jesus prayed for everyone in the future of the world, who would be just like those devoted, drunken disciples of his. That means (when the drunk wore off on Pentecost morning) all souls married to Yahweh that give resurrected rebirth to Jesus’ soul. In that way only can a soul in a body of flesh understand “this word” or “this expression of thought” contained in Scripture. The sobering presence of Jesus as one’s divine Lord over both one’s soul and flesh makes one a saint; and, those who are saints today were included in this prayer recorded by John.

In verse twenty-one, Jesus began by asking “that all may be one,” where the plural number of “all” means “all souls,” where “one” is then the soul of Jesus as their Lord. The number “all” is a vast number of true Christians, where every “one” of them is in the same divine name: “Jesus.” When Jesus then said, “just as you, Father,” that was a statement that all would be “one” through divine Anointment, as a Christ. Then to further explain, “within me, kai I within you, that kai they within to us may be,” that defines what “all as one” means. This would then be the only way for the “world to have faith that you me sent.” Faith does not come by someone telling another, “God sent Jesus to die on the cross to save your sinner butt.” Faith comes by being Jesus reborn and knowing personally that Yahweh sent the soul of Jesus into your soul, to be His Son reborn.

Verse twenty-two begins with a capitalized “Kago.” A lower-case “kago” was written in verse twenty-one, where “kago” is a contraction of “kai” and “egó.” That is shown above as “kai I,” which denotes the importance of the identity of Jesus being derived from Yahweh, as the Father Created the Son. That divine creation is then projected in the capitalized “Kago,” where great importance is placed on this identity that is the “glory that you [Yahweh] have given me [Jesus].” That divine “honor” is Created to be passed on forevermore in willing subjects [wife souls of Yahweh]. That “honor” bestowed is so each soul that resurrects the soul of Jesus [the Adam Creation, a Yahweh elohim] becomes equally a Son of Yahweh (all brothers spiritually [including the females]), in the flesh of a human being [mankind]. Without knowing that “honor” of Yahweh => in Jesus => in saint, faith in that is impossible.

Verse twenty-three then begins with a lower-case “egó,” which says all saints can identify as Jesus reborn, when his soul exists “within their souls” [“them” or “themselves”]. Jesus then importantly said (use of “kai”) “you within me – that they may be perfected in unity.” That “perfection” is the Trinity coming into an individual. The Father is the Spirit of Baptismal marriage, the son is one’s soul in flesh as the Son resurrected, and the Spiritual presence that links all together as one is what makes Holiness walk the earth as Jesus reborn is Sacred (call it “Holy,” along with the “Spirit”). The perfection is recreated many times over: Father, Son, and soul Set Apart by God.

In vampire movies one sees people protect their souls by making a cross with their arms or holding out a wooden cross to make the vampire hide his face. This should be done whenever a priest, minister, or pastor begins to wax poetically about “love.” When Jesus said, “you sent me importantly you loved their souls [“them” or “themselves”] according to the manner in which me you loved,” that is not anywhere close to relatable to mortal (emotional) touchy-feely “love.” Babies are born “loving” their mothers and fathers and siblings and relatives. That is the closest “love” that equates to the “love” of Yahweh (unconditional love); but, still, that pales in comparison to the truth of divine “love.” Cross yourselves when priests begin to play the Beatle records that sing about a perverse form of human “love.” It is like a vampire coming to suck the life blood out of your bodies. If they can convince you that you know what “love” is, without ever experiencing true divine “love,” then you will never seek to know that true “love.” Without that desire to know God’s love, by knowing what it feels like to be Jesus resurrected in your soul, your soul in the flesh will become like a zombie – the living dead. The “love” of God is what raises souls from the dead.

In verse twenty-four, John wrote of Jesus praying: “Father , this you have offered me , I desire that where exist I , that all ones may be with me , that they may experience this honor this mine , that you offered me because you loved me in advance of laying down of inhabitants of the world .” Where Jesus said he was “offered” (“dedōkas” used twice), this means Yahweh created his soul for the purpose of dying of flesh, so that soul would be released to enter other souls, so other souls could be saved (“Jesus” means “Yahweh Saves”). Jesus’ soul was “offered” as the eternal sacrificial lamb to possess the soul-flesh of others, in order to be “where exist I.” Every soul into which Jesus’ soul is resurrected is where “all ones may be with me,” as Jesus reborn. This inner presence is the “love” of Yahweh for saving souls. It is the “love” of Yahweh found in Jesus that those saved souls can “experience this honor this mine.” The “glory” of Yahweh is His “love” placed into the soul of His Son. When Jesus is one with another soul, that soul submits to his possession, so that soul becomes his, as him reborn in flesh. This “love” of Yahweh was known before the first human being was made by Yahweh’s elohim. He knew this “love” would wait until Creation had been completed; and, likewise, each soul’s creation into a body of flesh becomes completed by the “love” of Yahweh added to it, in the soul of Jesus.

In verse twenty-five, Jesus then said, “Father approved , kai this world you not they have known , I now you they have come to know , kai these they have come to know that you me sent .” When John wrote the Greek words, “Pater dikaie,” the NRSV has translated this as “Righteous Father,” which becomes an absurdity. No human being has the right or power to deem any state of being upon Yahweh. Yahweh is undefinable; and, “righteousness” is a state of human existence, brought on by the presence of Yahweh’s Spirit and the resurrection of His Son’s soul, so it is an impossibility to call Yahweh “Righteous.” The Greek word “dikaie” means “approved by God” or “just in the eyes of God.” This means Jesus did not define his “Father,” but instead said all in whom the soul of Jesus would save them they would be those “approved” by the “Father,” as those souls “justly” chosen. Those souls prove they are marriage worthy (by keeping their lamps filled with oil at all times).

The two important elements of this verse then say, “the world is born of souls breathed out by Yahweh at birth, but all remembrances of Yahweh have been erased by their presence in bodies of flesh.” Only when the “I” identity of Jesus is born into those souls chosen as “just” or “approved” can they come to know Yahweh (an awakened remembrance). Once that knowledge of Jesus is known, then those souls will know that Yahweh was the “Father,” who sent the Son into one of His wife-souls (many times over).

In verse twenty-six, John began by writing the word “kai,” denoting importance is stated when Jesus said, “I have made known to them the name of you.” That “name known” is “Jesus,” which says “Yahweh Saves.” Jesus then importantly said, “I will make known,” where the first-person singular “I” says a soul becoming identified by the soul of Jesus will know Yahweh as His Son reborn. Jesus then said this knowledge made known will be “so that this love which you love me within their souls [“them” or “themselves”].” This say the all-encompassing “love” of Yahweh will then be known by souls born into human flesh; and, they will know that is an indescribable “love,” just as Yahweh cannot be defined in human terms. This then led to Jesus ending his prayer by saying, “kai I within their souls [“them” or “themselves”].” They will know the “love” of the Father by identifying importantly as His Son, in whose soul the “love” of Yahweh permeates.

As the Gospel selection to be read aloud on the seventh and final Sunday of the Easter season (not counting Pentecost Sunday), the focus of the Easter season must always be remembered to be souls raised from the dead. This prayer of Jesus is for the continued presence his soul would find in all future times, where souls submitting to Yahweh’s Will will be rewarded by being raised from the dead and made His Sons (boys and girls alike). The flaw in Christian thinking is Jesus is someone to worship, more so than Yahweh; and, that is wrong. This prayer asks Yahweh the Father to allow souls to become the new disciples of Jesus, so they will know that means marrying their souls to Yahweh, so his soul can be resurrected within their souls. The Trinity must be perfection found in each true Christian, because Christianity is not a club made up of dead do-nothings.