MetalSlasher wrote:I find the Old Testament gets boring right after the Exodus so that's when I skip ahead to the New Testament. Never completely read through the Old Testament. Too many weird and uncomfortable passages for me.
If you ever have an interest in trying again pick up a the Oxford Study Bible. It taken you through all the translation variations, summarizes scholarly interpretation, etc. It's quite fascinating to read from that kind of historical perspective.
From the Ernest L. Wilkinson Diaries: "ELW dreams he's spattered w/ grease. Hundreds steal his greasy pants."
Doc? Time to excommunicate this fool. Nip this LittlerNipper in the bud.
LilNip wrote:God is LORD of ALL. But the simple reality is that no one is twisting your little arm. Don't read along if you do not wish to. Don't consider the fact that the Bible is far superior to any other text ever written. Don't believe the fact that GOD created one man for one woman and never intended divorce, multiple partners, or gay partners...
“25 And the Lord spake unto the Angel that guarded the eastern gate, saying 'Where is the flaming sword that was given unto thee?' 26 And the Angel said, 'I had it here only a moment ago, I must have put it down some where, forget my own head next.' 27 And the Lord did not ask him again.” ― Neil Gaiman, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
The word that defines Agnes Nutter is "Witch." It tells me that her Nice and Accurate Prophecies have an value.
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"LilNip wrote:The word that defines Agnes Nutter is "Witch." It tells me that that her Nice and Accurate Prophecies have an value.
How do you get EVIL out of nice and accurate?
As far as I know:
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (1990) is a World Fantasy Award-nominated novel...
The Bible, and the Book of Mormon should be nominated for that title.
Other stupid opinion about? How many angels can dance... etc.
Nutter is the comparative of nut. Nomen est omen.
- Whenever a poet or preacher, chief or wizard spouts gibberish, the human race spends centuries deciphering the message. - Umberto Eco - To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin. - Cardinal Bellarmine at the trial of Galilei
"LilNip wrote:The word that defines Agnes Nutter is "Witch." It tells me that that her Nice and Accurate Prophecies have an value.
How do you get EVIL out of nice and accurate?
The very same way as when The Serpent in Eden said, "You will not surely die." What is being said may sound nice, but a lie or half truth is most certainly not accurate.
Listen silently before me, you lands across the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Now come and speak. The court has readied your case.
Who has stirred up this one from the east, victorious at every step? Who, indeed, but the Lord? God has given him victory over many nations and permitted him to trample kings underfoot and to put entire armies to the sword.
He chases them away and goes on safely, though the paths he follows are new.
Who has done such great deeds, directing occurrences for generations of mankind as they proceed? It is I, the Lord, the beginning and the ending; I alone.
The lands across the sea watch in fear and await news of Cyrus’s new campaigns. Remote lands tremble and get ready for war.
Craftsmen help each other as they rush to fabricate new idols to protect them. The artisan hurries the goldsmith, and the molder assists at the anvil. “Great,” they say. It's progressing along smoothly. Now we can attach the arms.” Carefully they assemble parts together and then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over!
But you, Israel, are mine, my chosen ones; for you are of Abraham’s family, and he was My friend.
I have called you back from across the earth and said that you must serve only me, for I have chosen you and will not toss you out.
Fear nothing, for I am with you. Do not be shocked. I am your God. I will strengthen and help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
See, all your angry enemies lie confused and embarrassed. Anyone opposing you will die.
You will search for them in vain because they are all be gone.
I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God—and I say to you, Don’t fear; I am here to assist you.
Despised though you are, fear not, dear Israel; for I will help you. I am your Redeemer ---the Holy One of Israel.
You shall be a new and sharp-toothed threshing instrument to tear your enemies apart, making dust of mountains.
You shall toss them in the air; the wind shall blow them all away; whirlwinds shall scatter them. And the joy of the Lord shall fill you full; you shall glory in the God of Israel.
When the poor and needy seek water and there is none, I will answer when they cry to me. I, Israel’s God, will never forsake them.
I will open up rivers for them on high plateaus, bringing fountains of water to the valleys! In the deserts will be pools of water, and rivers fed by springs shall flow across the dry, dessert.
I will plant trees—cedars, myrtle, olive trees, cypress, fir, and pine—on barren land. 20 Everyone will see this miracle and understand that it is God who did it, Israel’s Holy One.
Can your idols make any claims as these? Let them demonstrate what they can do, says God, the King of Israel.
Let them try to tell us what occurred in the past or what the future holds.
Yes, that’s it! If you are gods, explain what will happen next! Do some mighty miracle that causes us to stand amazed.
But no! You are less than nothing and do nothing. Anyone who chooses you needs a shrink!
But I have stirred up Cyrus from the north and east; he will come against the nations and call on my name, and I will give him victory over kings and princes. He will slam them as a potter slams clay.
Who but I have told you this would happen? Who else predicted this, making you admit that he was right? No one else! None other said one word!
I was the first to tell Jerusalem, “See, help is on the way!”
Not one of your idols explained this. Not one gave any answer when asked.
See, they are all foolish, worthless things; your idols are wind and empty.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
1 Keep silent towards Me, O isles, And the peoples pass on [to] power, They come nigh, then they speak, `Together -- to judgment we draw near.'
2 Who stirred up from the east a righteous one? He calleth him to His foot, He giveth before him nations, And kings He causeth him to rule, He giveth [them] as dust [to] his sword, As driven stubble [to] his bow.
3 He pursueth them, he passeth over in safety A path with his feet he entereth not.
4 Who hath wrought and done, Calling the generations from the first? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last I [am] He.
5 Seen have isles and fear, ends of the earth tremble, They have drawn near, yea, they come.
6 Each his neighbour they help, And to his brother he saith, `Be strong.'
7 And strengthen doth an artizan the refiner, A smoother [with] a hammer, Him who is beating [on] an anvil, Saying, `For joining it [is] good,' And he strengtheneth it with nails, it is not moved!
8 -- And thou, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham, My lover,
9 Whom I have taken hold of, from the ends of the earth, And from its near places I have called thee, And I say to thee, My servant Thou [art], I have chosen thee, and not rejected thee.
10 Be not afraid, for with thee I [am], Look not around, for I [am] thy God, I have strengthened thee, Yea, I have helped thee, yea, I upheld thee, With the right hand of My righteousness.
11 Lo, all those displeased with thee, They are ashamed and blush, They are as nothing, yea, perish Do the men who strive with thee.
12 Thou seekest them, and findest them not, The men who debate with thee, They are as nothing, yea, as nothing, The men who war with thee.
13 For I, Jehovah thy God, Am strengthening thy right hand, He who is saying to thee, `Fear not, I have helped thee.'
14 Fear not, O worm Jacob, ye men of Israel, I helped thee, an affirmation of Jehovah, Even thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Lo, I have set thee for a new sharp threshing instrument, Possessing teeth, thou threshest mountains, And beatest small, and hills as chaff thou makest.
16 Thou winnowest them, and a wind lifteth them up, And a whirlwind scattereth them, And thou -- thou rejoicest in Jehovah, In the Holy One of Israel dost boast thyself.
17 The poor and the needy are seeking water, And there is none, Their tongue with thirst hath failed, I, Jehovah do answer them, The God of Israel -- I forsake them not.
18 I open on high places rivers, And in midst of valleys fountains, I make a wilderness become a pond of water, And a dry land become springs of water.
19 I give in a wilderness the cedar, Shittah, and myrtle, and oil-tree, I set in a desert the fir-pine and box-wood together.
20 So that they see, and know, And regard, and act wisely together, For the hand of Jehovah hath done this, And the Holy One of Israel hath prepared it.
21 Bring near your cause, saith Jehovah, Bring nigh your mighty ones, saith the king of Jacob.
22 They bring nigh, and declare to us that which doth happen, The first things -- what they [are] declare ye, And we set our heart, and know their latter end, Or the coming things cause us to hear.
23 Declare the things that are coming hereafter, And we know that ye [are] gods, Yea, ye may do good or do evil, And we look around and see [it] together.
24 Lo, ye [are] of nothing, and your work of nought, An abomination -- it fixeth on you.
25 I have stirred up [one] from the north, And he cometh, From the rising of the sun he calleth in My name, And he cometh in [on] prefects as [on] clay, And as a potter treadeth down mire.
26 Who hath declared from the first, and we know? And beforetime, and we say, `Righteous?' yea, there is none declaring, Yea, there is none proclaiming, Yea, there is none hearing your sayings.
27 First to Zion, Behold, behold them, And to Jerusalem one proclaiming tidings I give,
28 And I see that there is no man, Yea, of these that there is no counsellor, And I ask them, and they return word:
29 `Lo, all of them [are] vanity, Nought [are] their works, Wind and emptiness their molten images!'
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explaining how Satan's Angels behave, NG wrote:“He had heard about talking to plants in the early seventies, on Radio Four, and thought it was an excellent idea. Although talking is perhaps the wrong word for what Crowley did. What he did was put the fear of God into them. More precisely, the fear of Crowley. In addition to which, every couple of months Crowley would pick out a plant that was growing too slowly, or succumbing to leaf-wilt or browning, or just didn't look quite as good as the others, and he would carry it around to all the other plants. "Say goodbye to your friend," he'd say to them. "He just couldn't cut it. . . " Then he would leave the flat with the offending plant, and return an hour or so later with a large, empty flower pot, which he would leave somewhere conspicuously around the flat. The plants were the most luxurious, verdant, and beautiful in London. Also the most terrified.” ― Neil Gaiman, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
“Look at my servant that I strengthen. He is my select, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring the nations justice.
He will not yell or raise his voice publically.
He will not injure the weakest reed or put out a sputtering flame. He will bring justice to all wronged.
He will not hesitate or lose his will until justice prevails everywhere on earth. Even distant lands beyond seas await his lessons.”
God, created the heavens and spread them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath and life to everyone traversing the earth. And he says,
“I, the Lord, have called you to illustrate my righteousness. I will take you in hand and protect you, and I will hand you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations.
You will cause the blind to see, and free the captives from prison, extracating those who sit in dark dungeons.
“I am the Lord; that's me! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with manmade idols.
Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.”
Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing his praises around the earth! Sing, all sailors seas, all you who live on distant shores.
Join in the chorus, you desert towns; let the villages of Kedar rejoice! Let the people of Sela sing joyously; shout praises from mountaintops!
Let the whole world glorify the Lord; let it sing his praise.
The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero. He will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout His battle cry and vanquish all opposition.
He will say, “I have remain silent. Yes, I have bid my time. But now, like a woman in child birth, I will cry and groan and pant.
I will level the mountains and hills, blight all their greenery, turn the rivers into desert and will dry up all the ponds.
I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along unfamiliar paths --- brightening the darkness before them and smoothing out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will do these things. I will not forsake them.
But those who trust in idols, who say, ‘In you we trust,’ I will be turned away in shame.
“Listen, you deaf! Look and perceive, you blind!
Who is as blind as My Own people, My servant? Who's as deaf as My messenger --- as blind as my chosen people, the servant of the Lord?
You see and recognize what is right but refuse to be motivated by it. You hear with your ear, but it goes out the other.”
Because he is righteous, the Lord has exalted his glorious law.
His own people have been robbed, plundered, enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped. They are fair game for anyone and have no one to protect them nor return them home.
Who will hear these ancient lessons and observe the ruinous results awaiting you in the future?
Who allowed Israel to be robbed and injured? It was the Lord, against whom we sinned, for the people would not follow His leading, nor obey His regulation.
The result is, He poured fury upon them and destroyed them in battle. They were swallowed in flames, but they still refused to comprehend ------ they did not learn their lesson.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
1 Lo, My servant, I take hold on him, My chosen one -- My soul hath accepted, I have put My Spirit upon him, Judgment to nations he bringeth forth.
2 He doth not cry, nor lift up, Nor cause his voice to be heard, in the street.
3 A bruised reed he breaketh not, And dim flax he quencheth not, To truth he bringeth forth judgment.
4 He doth not become weak nor bruised, Till he setteth judgment in the earth, And for his law isles wait with hope.
5 Thus said God, Jehovah, preparing The heavens, and stretching them out, Spreading out the earth and its productions, Giving breath to the people on it, And spirit to those walking in it.
6 I, Jehovah, did call thee in righteousness, And I lay hold on thy hand, and keep thee, And I give thee for a covenant of a people, And a light of nations.
7 To open the eyes of the blind, To bring forth from prison the bound one, From the house of restraint those sitting in darkness.
8 I [am] Jehovah, this [is] My name, And Mine honour to another I give not, Nor My praise to graven images.
9 The former things, lo, have come, And new things I am declaring, Before they spring up I cause you to hear.
10 Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, Ye who are going down to the sea, and its fulness, Isles, and their inhabitants.
11 The wilderness and its cities do lift up [the voice], The villages Kedar doth inhabit, Sing do the inhabitants of Sela, From the top of mountains they cry.
12 They ascribe to Jehovah honour, And His praise in the isles they declare.
13 Jehovah as a mighty one goeth forth. As a man of war He stirreth up zeal, He crieth, yea, He shrieketh, Against His enemies He showeth Himself mighty.
14 I have kept silent from of old, I keep silent, I refrain myself, As a travailing woman I cry out, I desolate and swallow up together.
15 I make waste mountains and hills, And all their herbs I dry up, And I have made rivers become isles, And ponds I dry up.
16 And I have caused the blind to go, In a way they have not known, In paths they have not known I cause them to tread, I make a dark place before them become light, And unlevelled places become a plain, These [are] the things I have done to them, And I have not forsaken them.
17 Removed backward -- utterly ashamed, Are those trusting in a graven image, Those saying to a molten image, `Ye [are] our gods.'
18 Ye deaf, hear; and ye blind, look to see.
19 Who [is] blind but My servant? And deaf as My messenger I send? Who [is] blind as he who is at peace, Yea, blind, as the servant of Jehovah?
20 Seeing many things, and thou observest not, Opening ears, and he heareth not.
21 Jehovah hath delight for the sake of His righteousness, He magnifieth law, and maketh honourable.
22 And this [is] a people seized and spoiled, Snared in holes -- all of them, And in houses of restraint they were hidden, They have been for a prey, And there is no deliverer, A spoil, and none is saying, `Restore.'
23 Who among you giveth ear [to] this? Attendeth, and heareth afterwards.
24 Who hath given Jacob for a spoil, And Israel to the spoilers? Is it not Jehovah -- He against whom we sinned? Yea, they have not been willing in His ways to walk, Nor have they hearkened to His law.
25 And He poureth on him fury, His anger, and the strength of battle, And it setteth him on fire round about, And he hath not known, And it burneth against him, and he layeth it not to heart!
Now the Lord who created you, dear Israel, says not to fear, for He has ransomed you and called you by name; you belong to Him.
When you go through deep waters and great trials, He will be along side. When you go through cascades of difficulties , you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, the flames will not consume you.
I am the Lord your God, your Savior, the Holy One of Israel. I handed Egypt and Ethiopia and Seba over to Cyrus in exchange as ransom for you.
Others died that you might survive; I traded their lives for yours because you are important to me and honored, and I love you.
Don’t fear, for I am with you. I will gather you from everywhere.
I will bring my children back to Israel from anywhere on the earth.
All who claim me as their God will come, for I have made them for my glory; I created them.
Bring them back to me though blind to see Me and deaf to My call.
Gather the nations together! Which of all their idols ever has revealed such things? Which can predict even tomorrow? Where are the witnesses of anything they said? If there are none, then they must confess that only God can prophesy.
The Lord say that He has witnesses, Israel witnesses and serves, chosen to know and to believe and to understand that there exists only one God. There is no other God, there never has been and never will be. [Here is a very anti Mormon rhetoric revelation in God's Word]
He is Lord ---- there is no additional Savior.
Whenever you have tossed out your idols, God has demonstrated to you His power. With one word God saved you. You have witnessed this; you are God's witnesses that it is true.
From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do.
The Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says that for your sakes He will send an invading army against Babylon that will walk in, almost unscathed. The boasts of the Babylonians will turn to cries of fear.
I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator and King.
I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a path right through the sea.
I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses, to lie beneath the waves, dead, their lives snuffed out like candle flames.
But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what God is going to do!
God is going to do something new. He has already begun! See? God will make a road through the wilderness of the world for my people to go home, and create rivers for them in the desert!
The wild animals in the fields will be thankful, the jackals and ostriches too, for giving them water in the wilderness, yes, springs in the desert, so that God's my chosen people, can be refreshed.
God designed Israel for Himself, and these people will some day honor Him before the world.
O people, you won’t ask for God's help; you have grown tired of God!
You have not brought lambs for burnt offerings nor honored God with sacrifices. Yet God's requests for offerings and incense have been very few! God has not treated you as slaves.
You have brought no sweet-smelling incense nor pleasing sacrificial fat. No, you have presented only sins---wearying God with only your faults.
God alone blots away sins for His Own sake and will never regard them again.
Remind Him of this promise of forgiveness, for together you both must talk concerning your sins. Plead your case for God forgiving you.
From the beginning your ancestors sinned against God and transgressed His law.
This is why God deposed your priests and destroyed Israel, leaving her in shame.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
1 And now, thus said Jehovah, Thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Fashioner, O Israel, Be not afraid, for I have redeemed thee, I have called on thy name -- thou [art] Mine.
2 When thou passest into waters, I [am] with thee, And into floods, they do not overflow thee, When thou goest into fire, thou art not burnt, And a flame doth not burn against thee.
3 For I -- Jehovah thy God, The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour, I have appointed Egypt thine atonement, Cush and Seba in thy stead.
4 Since thou wast precious in Mine eyes, Thou wast honoured, and I have loved thee, And I appoint men in thy stead, And peoples instead of thy life.
5 Be not afraid, for I [am] with thee, From the east I bring in thy seed, And from the west I gather thee.
6 I am saying to the north, `Give up,' And to the south, `Restrain not.' Bring in My sons from afar, And My daughters from the end of the earth.
7 Every one who is called by My name, Even for My honour I have created him, I have formed him, yea, I have made him.
8 He brought out a blind people who have eyes, And deaf ones who have ears.
9 All the nations have been gathered together, And the peoples are assembled, Who among them declareth this, And former things causeth us to hear? They give their witnesses, And they are declared righteous, And they hear and say, `Truth.'
10 Ye [are] My witnesses, an affirmation of Jehovah, And My servant whom I have chosen, So that ye know and give credence to Me, And understand that I [am] He, Before Me there was no God formed, And after Me there is none.
11 I -- I [am] Jehovah, And besides Me there is no saviour.
12 I -- I declared, and saved, and proclaimed, And there is no stranger with you, And ye [are] My witnesses, an affirmation of Jehovah, And I [am] God.
13 Even from the day I [am] He, And there is no deliverer from My hand, I work, and who doth turn it back?
14 Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: `For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And caused bars to descend -- all of them, And the Chaldeans, whose song [is] in the ships.
15 I [am] Jehovah, your Holy One, Creator of Israel, your King.'
16 Thus said Jehovah, Who is giving in the sea a way, And in the strong waters a path.
17 Who is bringing forth chariot and horse, A force, even a strong one: `Together they lie down -- they rise not, They have been extinguished, As flax they have been quenched.'
18 Remember not former things, And ancient things consider not.
19 Lo, I am doing a new thing, now it springeth up, Do ye not know it? Yea, I put in a wilderness a way, In a desolate place -- floods.
20 Honour me doth the beast of the field, Dragons and daughters of an ostrich, For I have given in a wilderness waters, Floods in a desolate place, To give drink to My people -- My chosen.
21 This people I have formed for Myself, My praise they recount.
22 And Me thou hast not called, O Jacob, For thou hast been wearied of me, O Israel,
23 Thou hast not brought in to Me, The lamb of thy burnt-offerings, And [with] thy sacrifices thou hast not honoured Me, I have not caused thee to serve with a present, Nor wearied thee with frankincense.
24 Thou hast not bought for Me with money sweet cane, And [with] the fat of thy sacrifices hast not filled Me, Only -- thou hast caused Me to serve with thy sins, Thou hast wearied Me with thine iniquities.
25 I -- I [am] He who is blotting out Thy transgressions for Mine own sake, And thy sins I do not remember.
26 Cause me to remember -- we are judged together, Declare thou that thou mayest be justified.
27 Thy first father sinned, And thine interpreters transgressed against me,
28 And I pollute princes of the sanctuary, And I give Jacob to destruction, and Israel to revilings!
value.