Tag: religion

John 12, Jesus anointed at Bethany, the triumphal entry.

We are now at A.D. 30.

Spikenard is still available ( and still expensive)

The most important week in history is about to begin.

This raises one question:

Passover A.D. 30 was the most important in world history, so let us find out the exact date. To find out we must know about

The Jewish calendar is luni-solar. Leap months occur in year 3,6,8,11,14,17 and 19  to make Passover occur early spring. The keys on a piano can help memorize which year has a leap month. (The Muslim calendar on the other hand is strictly lunar, so the month of Ramadan occur 11 days earlier every year, making 103 Muslim years every century).

We must synchronize time with a total solar eclipse, which gives the perfect time for starting a Jewish new month. There was a perfect Solar eclipse in 2006.

There is a second source for solar eclipse calculations

The eclipse had its maximum 11 37 A.M. Nov 24 A.D. 29 over Jerusalem (solar time)

But there is one more twist in the calculations:

Now back to the biblical narrative:

Prophecy from Psalm 118:25 Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord, and from Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

The sign was not that he rode on a donkey. Lots of people rode on donkeys. No the sign was that the donkey colt was unbroken, and that was the sign.

Isaiah 53:1-5 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Is 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

John 8, The sinful woman, the validity of Jesus’ testimony, before Abraham was born, I am!

The verses 7:53 to 8:11 are not in the earliest manuscripts, but have been added later, maybe as late as around 1100 A.D. The stylistic differences hint at not being written by the apostle John. They did however exist as a separate document from the first century, and were added to complete Jesus dialogue at the feast of Tabernacles. The verses could have been placed elsewhere, since they break up Jesus dialogue at the Temple. However, they were at some time accepted as inspired and are included in most manuscripts (Textus Receptus).

“Go and sin no more”, Jesus last words to the woman, after not condemning her for her past but looking to the future.

John 7, Jesus teaching at the feast of tabernacles.

Technically it was Jesus’ half brothers, since Jesus was adopted by Joseph.

From Leviticus 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. It was an absolute command, and had to be performed on the eighth day, even if that was a Sabbath.

John 6, Jesus feeds five thousand, He is the bread of life, walks on the water and has the words of eternal life. Many disciples abandon him.

Five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Twelve baskets left over after all were satisfied!

The Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) is about 8 miles wide at its widest point.

“I am, not fear ye”

Some comments on “eat of my flesh and drink of my blood.” Jesus explained that the Word was his flesh, but he didn’t explain what the blood meant. The disciples knew from Genesis 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Jesus was clearly pointing to the future complete atonement on the Cross, but this was before the Cross, so how were they to get it? It did not make sense until fifty days after his death, burial and resurrection when the Holy Spirit came “like a mighty wind”.

Then it became clear that His flesh symbolizes the word of God and his blood symbolizes His sacrifice on the cross and saving us from all our sin.

John 4, the woman at the well, healing of the official’s son at Capernaum.

Richard Blanchard (1925-2004)

It would have been much easier to follow the Jordan River up to Galilee.There are two possible routes, both cumbersome.

Nobody draws water in the middle of the day unless they have to.

Jesus spoke in Aramaic, which makes the statement “I am” even stronger. Jesus claimed he is God.

As opposed to the previous “I am” Jesus said “I am” at many other occasions. These are normal I ams, and does not in any way imply divinity or eternity.

The last word is “cosmos”. Jesus really is the savior of the universe.

The piezoelectric effect of tears, a source of power?

The piezoelectric effect

of tears, this we must not neglect.

For the climate change cries

that bring tears to their eyes,

is power that powers their sect.

From wattsupwiththat 

From the UNIVERSITY OF LIMERICK and the “now if we can just keep people wailing about climate change we’ll have sustainable energy” department. Reports are that “weepy Bill McKibben” will be the first large scale electric tears generation facility. Eric Holthaus will be in the control group:

Irish scientists can now produce electricity from tears

A team of Irish scientists has discovered that applying pressure to a protein found in egg whites and tears can generate electricity. The researchers from the Bernal Institute, University of Limerick (UL), Ireland, observed that crystals of lysozyme, a model protein that is abundant in egg whites of birds as well as in the tears, saliva and milk of mammals can generate electricity when pressed. Their report is published today (October 2) in the journal, Applied Physics Letters.

The amount of electricity generated is negligible, but the emotional tension generated can produce strong emotional power.

John 1, In the beginning was the Word.

Alone in the world the New World Translation (Jehova’s Witnesses) claims that “the word was a god”. But then again, JW do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as one person of the triune God.

Tekna – teachable ones, not just sons

Verse 16 is very interesting. The second half reads in Greek “και χαριν αντι χαριτος”  which literally translates “and grace instead of grace” King James translation reads “and grace for grace, which lost a lot in the translation. The first “grace” is in the accusative, the second in the genitive. A better translation would be ” and proactive, dynamic grace instead of grace more like mercy. The Old Testament concept of grace is more like mercy, the New Testament concept of grace is best expressed in Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Notice the world “sin” is singular.

There are many songs on “the Lamb of God”

Here is an example of the importance that the sin is in singular.

 

Daniel 5, the handwriting on the wall.

Nabonidus cylinders from Ur  (around 540 BC) are noteworthy. The cylinders state:

“As for me, Nabonidus, king of Babylon, save me from sinning against your great godhead and grant me as a present a life long of days, and as for Belshazzar, the eldest son -my offspring- instill reverence for your great godhead in his heart and may he not commit any cultic mistake, may he be sated with a life of plenitude.”[3]

The written Aramaic and Hebrew writings recorded only the consonants. The context determined what the words meant and how they were pronounced. Writing four words on the wall without context made it impossible to really determine what the saying meant, apart from inspiration from God.