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  1. Boeddhistisch Dagblad @[email protected] ·

    Jules – Mijmeren in mijn bodhisattvabedje

    Gedurende de laatste weken van het jaar 2024 her-publiceerden we tekst en beeld van auteurs. In 2025 gaan we daar mee door. Hieronder een tekst van Jules Prast die we eerder, op 3 maart 2014, in het BD plaatsten.

    Je eigen, diepste overtuiging ter discussie stellen als een mogelijkheid tussen andere, vergt een bovengemiddelde portie moed.

    Ik sprak een goede vriend die al vele jaren aan zelfonderzoek doet, ook via meditatie. Hij vertelde over zijn ervaring van een geïncarneerde ziel, individuatie en een Hoger Zelf.

    Ai, atman! Een moment stond ik met een mond vol tanden. Of eigenlijk lag ik met mijn mond vol tanden, in mijn vertrouwde bodhisattvabedje, waarin ik noodgedwongen zo vele uurtjes doorbreng, mijn nembutsus zeg en soms mijn stukjes schrijf. Mijn vriend en ik spraken aan de telefoon.

    Moet je als boeddhist nu opmerken dat de notie van een geïncarneerde ziel een illusie is en de moeder van alle lijden? Ik luisterde aandachtig. Ergens in de achtergrond knarste ondanks de aandacht toch mijn brein.

    Zinvolle uitwisseling

    Eigenlijk, bedacht in de loop van het gesprek iets in mij, is dit ‘Thomas Merton in actie’. De ooit beroemde auteur organiseerde als rooms-katholieke monnik ontmoetingen met vertegenwoordigers van andere religies, ook van het boeddhisme. Niet de leer, maar de ervaring stond daarbij centraal. Dit bleek een invalshoek waardoor een zinvolle uitwisseling mogelijk werd.

    Zo ontspon ons telefoongesprek zich ook. Ik zei niet “dit is zo”, maar “zo ervaar ik het”. Is boeddhisme in staat tot een fenomenologie van zichzelf? Buitenstaanders kunnen dit. Simon Vestdijk deed het in zijn boek De toekomst der religie (1947); zijn analyse bracht hem tot de uitroep – wie weet dit nog? – “Ben ik niet eigenlijk een boeddhist?” Carl Gustav Jung deed het, en vele anderen ook. Maar kun je dit ook als je zelf boeddhist bent?

    Je eigen, diepste overtuiging ter discussie stellen als een mogelijkheid tussen andere, vergt een bovengemiddelde portie moed. Als ik het Opperlandse neo-calvinistische boeddhisme in ogenschouw neem, dan mis ik zulke openheid in het publieke domein node. Hier wordt graag gekift over de BUN en de BOS en gemillimeterd over autorisatie van zenleraren.

    Benepen

    Het lijkt bijna alsof je voor de ware Verlichting moet uitwijken naar het buitenland, naar het Frankrijk van Voltaire bijvoorbeeld. Maar gelukkig bestaat er in de Engelstalige boeddhistische chatrooms op het internet een virtueel Frankrijk, dat aanzienlijk ruimer bemeten van geest is dan het benepen Nederland, waar een onmiskenbaar fundamentalistische ondertoon zich regelmatig meester maakt van het discours.

    Linji

    Met mijn vriend kan ik praten. Ik legde hem voor wat ik voor mezelf de brahman-atman paradox ben gaan noemen. Boeddhisme is een oefening in het ervaren van anatman, so far so good. Maar op het ogenblik dat je karmische energieën zijn uitgedoofd en je de boeddhistische bevrijding realiseert, wat is dan, op dat ogenblik, het verschil in ervaring met iemand die zijn atman zich ziet versmelten met brahman?

    Historisch gezien bestaat er een wereld van verschil tussen het wereldbeeld en de leefwijze van de brahmanen en de boeddhisten, ik weet het. Maar dat is lang geleden en er is sindsdien veel met het boeddhisme gebeurd. Waar het mij om gaat is de vraag of wij anno nu menen dat de gnosis van de Boeddha een unieke ervaring inhield, of eentje die ergens een plaatsje heeft in een vergelijkend model waarvan het topje meer overeenkomsten kent dan verschillen.

    Spookbeeld

    Steken in de geschiedenis van het boeddhisme brahman en atman af en toe niet toch weer de kop op? Nadat Nagarjuna en consorten hun mentale machtsgreep hadden volbracht (want dat was het), bleef het boeddhisme naar veler idee met lege handen achter. De introductie van de leegte, zo gaat deze redenering, zadelde het boeddhisme niet alleen met een nieuwe doctrine op, maar ook, opnieuw, met het spookbeeld van nihilisme. En zie, daar was de boeddhanatuur, een soort quasi-atman, soms ook als zodanig aan de man gebracht, maar dan alleen om het snel weer af te leren, zeggen velen vergoelijkend. Is boeddhanatuur de appel die gegeten wordt van de boom van goed en kwaad?

    Iedereen die wil, mag me verketteren, hoewel dat onboeddhistisch is (nou ja, dat geloven we dan maar). Daar heb je er weer eentje, zo’n zenboeddhist die de bietenbrug opgaat. Hij schijnt ook al iets met Shinrans Anderkracht te hebben, die cryptokatholiek. Die eindigt vast bij Advaita Vedanta.

    Zulke suggesties sissen althans regelmatig omhoog uit mijn mailbox wanneer zich daarin weer enige slang naar binnen heeft weten te wurmen. Ik kijk geamuseerd toe en neem in gedachten maar zo’n leuke slang uit een Disneyfilm voor ogen die je met hypnotiserende ogen en verleidelijke praatjes in zijn wurggreep probeert te lokken. Niet dus.

    Zelfopgelegde begrenzing

    Toch maak ik graag omzwervingen in het land dat begint waar de grenzen van het boeddhisme poreus zijn. Er zijn zo veel anderen die zoeken naar bevrijding. Als -isme kan boeddhisme zo benauwend voelen. Met Linji zeg ik: als je boeddhisme op je weg tegenkomt, dood het dan. Zonder die zelfopgelegde begrenzing valt er niets meer aan doctrines te declameren, kun je in vrijheid vergelijken en hartelijk lachen om de Nagarjuna’s en de andere pausen van het boeddhisme.

    Zo ongeveer zat ik na te mijmeren toen het telefoongesprek met mijn vriend ten einde was. Ik dacht eraan hoe een halve eeuw of langer geleden mensen als Sartre schreven over onze cultuur als een leeggehaalde winkel. De dialectiek van de Verlichting van Adorno blijft zo actueel. De mensen scheppen monsters die ze niet weten te beteugelen. Ze hebben de middelen in handen voor hun bevrijding maar slaan liever op de vlucht voor hun verantwoordelijkheid.

    Thuiskomen

    In die omgewoelde, ontkerkelijkte grond landt het boeddhisme dat wij nu kennen. Hoe velen vluchten in het boeddhisme omdat het een alternatief is dat veilig voelt? Veilig? Ruk die voorhang weg en zoek de poreuze grenzen op. Gaat heen en vermenigvuldigt u in vrijheid! Dat is de uitdaging. En dood de Boeddha wanneer deze op uw weg komt, evenals uw leraar, in de geest van Linji, die maffe, maar wel kraakheldere leraar uit de gouden tijd van het klassieke Chinese zenboeddhisme.

    Na zulke omzwervingen is het altijd goed thuiskomen in, ja, wat eigenlijk? Er is welbeschouwd geen thuis en daar is het goed thuiskomen. Thuiskomen in de wetenschap dat je maar wat aanrommelt, net als iedereen die verder op weg is. Je rommelt wat aan met je Satipatthana Sutra en je rommelt wat aan met je Achtvoudig Pad. Wat deert het eigenlijk of je ook wat aanrommelt met brahman en atman? Niets om elkaar hard te vallen. Bevrijding is fluïde, vluchtig, en daarom juist bevrijding. Overal te vinden en nooit op, behalve als je haar probeert te vangen en te bevatten. En God zag dat het goed was. Voor mijn part, ook goed.

    De twijfel, de twijfel, zo gezond onveilig… De grondeloze diepte, zonder houvast… Niet-weten… Ja, daar is het goed thuiskomen na zo’n telefoongesprek.

     

    Dit is een automatisch geplaatst bericht via ActivityPub.

    #Atman #boeddhanatuur #CarlGustavJung #HogerZelf #JulesPrast #SimonVestdijk #ThomasMerton #toekomstReligie

    #atman #boeddhanatuur #carlgustavjung #hogerzelf #julesprast #simonvestdijk
  2. Boeddhistisch Dagblad @[email protected] ·

    Jules – Mijmeren in mijn bodhisattvabedje

    Gedurende de laatste weken van het jaar 2024 her-publiceerden we tekst en beeld van auteurs. In 2025 gaan we daar mee door. Hieronder een tekst van Jules Prast die we eerder, op 3 maart 2014, in het BD plaatsten.

    Je eigen, diepste overtuiging ter discussie stellen als een mogelijkheid tussen andere, vergt een bovengemiddelde portie moed.

    Ik sprak een goede vriend die al vele jaren aan zelfonderzoek doet, ook via meditatie. Hij vertelde over zijn ervaring van een geïncarneerde ziel, individuatie en een Hoger Zelf.

    Ai, atman! Een moment stond ik met een mond vol tanden. Of eigenlijk lag ik met mijn mond vol tanden, in mijn vertrouwde bodhisattvabedje, waarin ik noodgedwongen zo vele uurtjes doorbreng, mijn nembutsus zeg en soms mijn stukjes schrijf. Mijn vriend en ik spraken aan de telefoon.

    Moet je als boeddhist nu opmerken dat de notie van een geïncarneerde ziel een illusie is en de moeder van alle lijden? Ik luisterde aandachtig. Ergens in de achtergrond knarste ondanks de aandacht toch mijn brein.

    Zinvolle uitwisseling

    Eigenlijk, bedacht in de loop van het gesprek iets in mij, is dit ‘Thomas Merton in actie’. De ooit beroemde auteur organiseerde als rooms-katholieke monnik ontmoetingen met vertegenwoordigers van andere religies, ook van het boeddhisme. Niet de leer, maar de ervaring stond daarbij centraal. Dit bleek een invalshoek waardoor een zinvolle uitwisseling mogelijk werd.

    Zo ontspon ons telefoongesprek zich ook. Ik zei niet “dit is zo”, maar “zo ervaar ik het”. Is boeddhisme in staat tot een fenomenologie van zichzelf? Buitenstaanders kunnen dit. Simon Vestdijk deed het in zijn boek De toekomst der religie (1947); zijn analyse bracht hem tot de uitroep – wie weet dit nog? – “Ben ik niet eigenlijk een boeddhist?” Carl Gustav Jung deed het, en vele anderen ook. Maar kun je dit ook als je zelf boeddhist bent?

    Je eigen, diepste overtuiging ter discussie stellen als een mogelijkheid tussen andere, vergt een bovengemiddelde portie moed. Als ik het Opperlandse neo-calvinistische boeddhisme in ogenschouw neem, dan mis ik zulke openheid in het publieke domein node. Hier wordt graag gekift over de BUN en de BOS en gemillimeterd over autorisatie van zenleraren.

    Benepen

    Het lijkt bijna alsof je voor de ware Verlichting moet uitwijken naar het buitenland, naar het Frankrijk van Voltaire bijvoorbeeld. Maar gelukkig bestaat er in de Engelstalige boeddhistische chatrooms op het internet een virtueel Frankrijk, dat aanzienlijk ruimer bemeten van geest is dan het benepen Nederland, waar een onmiskenbaar fundamentalistische ondertoon zich regelmatig meester maakt van het discours.

    Linji

    Met mijn vriend kan ik praten. Ik legde hem voor wat ik voor mezelf de brahman-atman paradox ben gaan noemen. Boeddhisme is een oefening in het ervaren van anatman, so far so good. Maar op het ogenblik dat je karmische energieën zijn uitgedoofd en je de boeddhistische bevrijding realiseert, wat is dan, op dat ogenblik, het verschil in ervaring met iemand die zijn atman zich ziet versmelten met brahman?

    Historisch gezien bestaat er een wereld van verschil tussen het wereldbeeld en de leefwijze van de brahmanen en de boeddhisten, ik weet het. Maar dat is lang geleden en er is sindsdien veel met het boeddhisme gebeurd. Waar het mij om gaat is de vraag of wij anno nu menen dat de gnosis van de Boeddha een unieke ervaring inhield, of eentje die ergens een plaatsje heeft in een vergelijkend model waarvan het topje meer overeenkomsten kent dan verschillen.

    Spookbeeld

    Steken in de geschiedenis van het boeddhisme brahman en atman af en toe niet toch weer de kop op? Nadat Nagarjuna en consorten hun mentale machtsgreep hadden volbracht (want dat was het), bleef het boeddhisme naar veler idee met lege handen achter. De introductie van de leegte, zo gaat deze redenering, zadelde het boeddhisme niet alleen met een nieuwe doctrine op, maar ook, opnieuw, met het spookbeeld van nihilisme. En zie, daar was de boeddhanatuur, een soort quasi-atman, soms ook als zodanig aan de man gebracht, maar dan alleen om het snel weer af te leren, zeggen velen vergoelijkend. Is boeddhanatuur de appel die gegeten wordt van de boom van goed en kwaad?

    Iedereen die wil, mag me verketteren, hoewel dat onboeddhistisch is (nou ja, dat geloven we dan maar). Daar heb je er weer eentje, zo’n zenboeddhist die de bietenbrug opgaat. Hij schijnt ook al iets met Shinrans Anderkracht te hebben, die cryptokatholiek. Die eindigt vast bij Advaita Vedanta.

    Zulke suggesties sissen althans regelmatig omhoog uit mijn mailbox wanneer zich daarin weer enige slang naar binnen heeft weten te wurmen. Ik kijk geamuseerd toe en neem in gedachten maar zo’n leuke slang uit een Disneyfilm voor ogen die je met hypnotiserende ogen en verleidelijke praatjes in zijn wurggreep probeert te lokken. Niet dus.

    Zelfopgelegde begrenzing

    Toch maak ik graag omzwervingen in het land dat begint waar de grenzen van het boeddhisme poreus zijn. Er zijn zo veel anderen die zoeken naar bevrijding. Als -isme kan boeddhisme zo benauwend voelen. Met Linji zeg ik: als je boeddhisme op je weg tegenkomt, dood het dan. Zonder die zelfopgelegde begrenzing valt er niets meer aan doctrines te declameren, kun je in vrijheid vergelijken en hartelijk lachen om de Nagarjuna’s en de andere pausen van het boeddhisme.

    Zo ongeveer zat ik na te mijmeren toen het telefoongesprek met mijn vriend ten einde was. Ik dacht eraan hoe een halve eeuw of langer geleden mensen als Sartre schreven over onze cultuur als een leeggehaalde winkel. De dialectiek van de Verlichting van Adorno blijft zo actueel. De mensen scheppen monsters die ze niet weten te beteugelen. Ze hebben de middelen in handen voor hun bevrijding maar slaan liever op de vlucht voor hun verantwoordelijkheid.

    Thuiskomen

    In die omgewoelde, ontkerkelijkte grond landt het boeddhisme dat wij nu kennen. Hoe velen vluchten in het boeddhisme omdat het een alternatief is dat veilig voelt? Veilig? Ruk die voorhang weg en zoek de poreuze grenzen op. Gaat heen en vermenigvuldigt u in vrijheid! Dat is de uitdaging. En dood de Boeddha wanneer deze op uw weg komt, evenals uw leraar, in de geest van Linji, die maffe, maar wel kraakheldere leraar uit de gouden tijd van het klassieke Chinese zenboeddhisme.

    Na zulke omzwervingen is het altijd goed thuiskomen in, ja, wat eigenlijk? Er is welbeschouwd geen thuis en daar is het goed thuiskomen. Thuiskomen in de wetenschap dat je maar wat aanrommelt, net als iedereen die verder op weg is. Je rommelt wat aan met je Satipatthana Sutra en je rommelt wat aan met je Achtvoudig Pad. Wat deert het eigenlijk of je ook wat aanrommelt met brahman en atman? Niets om elkaar hard te vallen. Bevrijding is fluïde, vluchtig, en daarom juist bevrijding. Overal te vinden en nooit op, behalve als je haar probeert te vangen en te bevatten. En God zag dat het goed was. Voor mijn part, ook goed.

    De twijfel, de twijfel, zo gezond onveilig… De grondeloze diepte, zonder houvast… Niet-weten… Ja, daar is het goed thuiskomen na zo’n telefoongesprek.

     

    Dit is een automatisch geplaatst bericht via ActivityPub.

    #Atman #boeddhanatuur #CarlGustavJung #HogerZelf #JulesPrast #SimonVestdijk #ThomasMerton #toekomstReligie

    #toekomstreligie #thomasmerton #simonvestdijk #julesprast #hogerzelf #carlgustavjung
  3. abolitionmedia @[email protected] ·

    “The Possibility of a Historic Moment is Now” – Burkhard Garweg

    … from the German newsite “nd” …

    Below we document a letter from Burkhard Garweg, which was sent exclusively to »nd«. Garweg is one of the most wanted people by German police authorities because of suspected RAF membership and several robberies in which millions of euros were stolen. His letter is a critical outline of the history of the Red Army Faction (RAF) and at the same time a response to Caroline Braunmühl, daughter of RAF victim Gerold von Braunmühl, who in January in the »nd« was critical of her brother’s »call for clarification« , but also responded to a previous letter from Burkhard Garweg. Burkhard Garweg now addresses Braunmühl’s statements in his current text. He criticizes the RAF for a phase lasting from 1977 to around 1990 in which the urban guerrillas made military confrontation with the state the focus of their politics and neglected social revolutionary struggles. The author, born in 1968, comes from the autonomous squatter movement and now lives illegally, alternates between two levels in his text: one that analyses and evaluates from today’s perspective and a second, in italics, that speaks very personally from the past and his youth. Burkhard Garweg’s contribution is fully documented below.

    “The possibility of a historic moment is now”

    On the history of the RAF and the question of the reconstruction of an anti-capitalist, social revolutionary, anti-patriarchal and internationalist movement in the present day.

     

    “The possibility of a historic moment is now”

    On the history of the RAF and the question of the reconstruction of an anti-capitalist, social revolutionary, anti-patriarchal and internationalist movement in the present day.

    In her text in »nd.Die Woche« of January 18, 2025, Caroline Braunmühl presents an alternative position to the bourgeois attitude that attempts to depoliticize the history of militant and armed resistance by reducing its content to violence and negating a political conflict.

    In my statement of December 2024, it was also important to me to present resistance to capitalism in the context of the relations of violence – exploitation, the rule of man over man, nationalism, militarism and war – and thus to conduct the debate according to historical reality and to counter the historiography of the rulers and their attempts at manipulation.

    The aim of bourgeois historiography is to delegitimize and criminalize anti-capitalist resistance and its history. Its elites have a fundamental interest in maintaining the conditions of exploitation and oppression and in being able to continue to make profits. This is what the proclamation from the ranks of its elites in the 1990s, which has gone down in history, stands for: “there is no alternative.”

    Caroline Braunmühl associates the RAF and other militant groups, such as the Rote Zora, with radical resistance against the “violence of socially dominant groups and individuals against socially subordinates – such as class justice, patriarchal violence or transnational relationships of exploitation, oppression and war, from which the economic elites in the Federal Republic of Germany have profited and continue to profit today.” She identifies the justification for militant resistance against violent relations and at the same time denies the legitimacy of targeted assassinations by the RAF in its history.

    She criticizes my statement from a feminist perspective and for lacking criticism of the RAF.

    I agree with her that a reflective picture of the history of the struggles with the ability to see their weaknesses is necessary. The main thing is to be able to draw conclusions for the struggles of the future.

    The world of the dominant capitalist system is moving at an increasing pace towards social and global erosion: war, poverty, displacement and the destruction of the planet’s ecological basis for life. The bourgeois state – and this affects the entire capitalist center of Europe and the USA – is increasingly using right-wing and authoritarian means. It uses the construction of a “national community” to differentiate itself from migrants, Muslims, refugees and the poor. It uses racism, nationalism and rapid militarization both internally and externally. This has repercussions – some of which are also intended – on bourgeois society.

    This is becoming radicalized by the deeply rooted racist, patriarchal and social forms of differentiation, exclusion and oppression within society. The world is unmistakably moving towards an infernal tipping point of social, ecological and military erosion.

    Capitalism offers no solution to this. It would also be a contradiction in terms. The elites’ solutions to the crisis are now authoritarianism, fascism, war and the process of unifying bourgeois and fascist politics. This is nothing other than a journey into the possible abyss with clear parallels to the historical crises that culminated in the world wars of 1914 and 1939 – albeit with an extremely increased global destructive potential in modern times.

    Anyone who wants to prevent this should focus less on the hopeless rescue of bourgeois democracy as a facet of capitalism and the associated retention of the fundamental relations of violence, but rather on social revolutionary alternatives that can only be achieved as a result of social revolutionary and emancipatory struggles.

    Existential questions arise: In which steps, initiatives and processes can the reconstruction of an anti-capitalist, social revolutionary and internationalist left be achieved?

    But also: What do we take with us into the future from the struggles and concepts of history, from the attempts to overcome the thoroughly violent capitalism and imperialism? How do we as revolutionary leftists discuss and write history from below and appropriate it for the struggles of today and tomorrow and against the propagandistic, depoliticizing and criminalizing historiography from above?

    I see in the history of the RAF courage and determination to dare something, to take risks and the unconditionality and seriousness and the surrender of one’s own privileges that are also needed to achieve the transformation of the misery of domination and oppression – including the overturning of power imbalances within society.

    How much I was moved as a young person by their determination and unconditionality and the way they put themselves aside in deep and true solidarity with the poor and colonized people of this world, with the exploited in the countries of the starving Tricontinent and the insurgents there. How much I was moved – still wet behind the ears and without much knowledge and above all out of empathy with those who had nothing or almost nothing – by the militant internationalism they stood for. There were times when I read the texts of Ernesto Cardenal or later the last texts of Ulrike, which I was not yet able to fully understand.

    I heard about Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko, one of whom was a political prisoner in South Africa for decades, and the other an insurgent against South Africa’s apartheid system who was tortured and murdered by the South African police. I was outraged by this unspeakable, racist violence, including state violence, but also moved by the resistance of so many and that of the ANC. At the same time, however, I also learned that I myself lived in a country whose elite profited from this system of violence known as apartheid, and was deeply connected to the racist regime in South Africa, its military and its police. It was a regime made up of predominantly South African, German or US capital, of the local government, military and police, of the self-proclaimed elite of white colonialists, who treated people like slaves, exploited them, killed them and declared them second or third class citizens because they were black. I perceived it – and it also shaped my life – this oppressive and violent reality of this colonial and state crime, this “normality” of the world of capitalism. The perpetrators and accomplices of this unspeakable racism, also committed by the state, and these crimes of colonialism sat in their headquarters in Pretoria or Johannesburg. They sat in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich or Bonn on the boards of banks and corporations, in the German government or in the barracks of the Western world, especially the German, Israeli or US military.

    For me, it was the RAF that showed solidarity in the struggle with the poor and the revolutionaries in Nicaragua, El Salvador and South Africa, those attempts at revolution that had moved me since my early youth. I began to realise that it was a shared resistance – that in the metropolis and that in the Tricontinent. And that was what the RAF meant.

    History is also the history of mistakes, defeats and moments of sadness
    For me, the history of the RAF is also a history of strategic and tactical errors.

    In the history of the RAF, there are also moments that were not shaped by the moral compass of the revolution.

    Nobody has to find the whole story correct today. For me, this does not call into question the fundamental legitimacy of the contribution of various attempts at resistance over the centuries – including that of the RAF – to liberation from the violent conditions.

    The RAF emerged from the resistance of the (19)68 movement. The 68 movement reconstructed the anti-capitalist resistance that had been crushed by the Nazis in Germany. It brought the personal continuities of the elite into the consciousness of society. It is the miserable reality of the Federal Republic of Germany that it was built up by the old Nazis. They made careers as converted democrats in all state institutions and on the boards of banks and corporations – under the umbrella of the USA. The Nazi elite became the elite of West German democracy overnight.

    It was a rebellion against the reactionary stuffiness of the West German democracy shaped by National Socialism and a questioning of the existing capitalist order, which was socially reactionary and repressive and structurally based on exploitation and militarization.

    After the murder of the anti-rearmament demonstrator Philipp Müller by the police and after the ban on the KPD in 1956, police violence, professional bans and emergency laws were the state’s response at the end of the 1960s to the movement of students and apprentices, youth, the sub-proletariat and other sections of the population.

    It was the time of the Vietnam War, the merciless brutality of the US military machine, which tried to wipe out the Vietnamese attempt at revolution and went down in history with the massacres of the Vietnamese population and the use of the chemical warfare agent napalm. Huge movements of solidarity against the imperialist war and for the right to liberation by the Vietnamese armed and revolutionary movement arose around the world. “Bring the war home” – a slogan of the US anti-war movement. The 1968 movement and the RAF did exactly that and brought the worldwide resistance against the Vietnam War into German society. With the immense resistance against the Western world’s war of terror, the possibility of liberation had entered the consciousness of humanity worldwide and was on the table at the time. Revolutionary, anti-colonial and anti-racist struggles developed worldwide. Capitalism and imperialism were up for debate. Armed struggle of the Gauche Proletarienne in France, the Red Brigades in Italy, armed struggle in Spain, Northern Ireland, England, the Basque Country, Greece, Japan, Palestine, the Black Panthers and the Weather Underground in the USA, the Tupamaros in Uruguay, the urban guerrillas in Mexico and Brazil or the anti-fascist uprising of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal.

    It was the time of anti-colonial struggles in the South, in Mozambique, Algeria and many other places of anti-colonial liberation against the crimes of the West there.

    The “racial segregation” of apartheid in South Africa, the state and social racism in the USA, the murder of a million people during the crushing of the Communist Party in Indonesia by US military forces or the CIA-led military coup against the government of Salvador Allende in Chile are examples of Western self-evident truths and brutalities that humanity should accept.

    This violence of Western capitalism and imperialism generated revolutionary counter-violence around the world, such as the resistance of the ANC and the Black Panthers. It showed millions of people around the world that capitalism is built on the foundation of violence.

    In Paris, a million people took to the streets, on strike and on the barricades – large parts of the population, students and proletarians together.

    Berlin, Turin, Paris, New York: Revolution no longer seemed unthinkable. Things were shaking tremendously in the Western world.

    In Germany, the state attempted to crush the insurgent movement with harsh repression, emergency laws, professional bans, the imprisonment of thousands and police violence. The first shot came from the weapon of the German state: the police murdered Benno Ohnesorg on June 2, 1967.

    The social democratic version of the crackdown consisted of carrot and stick, of repression and the offer of integration, which was intended to bring about the abandonment of any resistance to capitalism and imperialism in the march through the institutions – and continues to this day.

    The situation in the world at that time, this age of uprisings and imperialism, whose state terror is visualized in the image of the Vietnamese girl fleeing from the bombs of the West, the social situation in the post-Nazi Federal Republic of Germany, the harsh and systematic state repression against the awakening, the elite of the Federal Republic of Germany riddled with Nazi perpetrators, the strikes – including wild ones, those marked by migrants – at the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, the virulence of ideas of the revolutionary transformation of the status quo in all parts of society and the worldwide uprisings against imperialism, state racism and colonialism as well as the emergence of urban guerrilla groups in many countries, including the metropolises – allow, in my view, only one conclusion: the emergence of the various armed fighting groups in the Federal Republic of Germany, this risk, this revolutionary experiment was completely justified and had to be attempted. Not trying would have been a failure in revolutionary history. A historic moment was possible.

    1972
    The “Urban Guerrilla Concept” and other RAF texts of this period were also an attempt to halt the decline of the movement, which had been plagued by repression and integration, and to bring it into the perspective of liberation.

    The RAF’s actions were directed against the imperialist war, against the means of power through repression and the aggressive and violent manipulation of society by the Springer press and other media. In all attacks, they were a link to the (19)68 movement.

    By attacking the US Army headquarters and destroying the computer there, which was essential for the state terrorist bombing, the RAF clearly sided with the oppressed and those trying to free themselves, and thus played a part in defeating the cruel Western imperialism that was raging in Vietnam as part of the worldwide resistance. The destruction of the US military computer in Heidelberg meant that the bombing and the mass killing of people that went with it had to be stopped for several days. In Vietnam, the massacred population appreciated this.

    In 1972, the RAF had a social revolutionary and anti-imperialist concept that was in a social context and proclaimed the primacy of practice. How sympathetic and right as a part of the class struggle was the serious and credible reference of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Jan Raspe, Holger Meins and Ulrike Meinhof and all the others to the fringes of society, the sub-proletariat, the children in care homes, those who had become mentally ill in the system or to the proletarian women of the Märkisches Viertel – that proletarian and poor part of Berlin. The militants of the RAF came from all classes and from the history of different political ideas of this time of awakening: anarchism, communism, feminism, social revolutionaries and anti-imperialists. That is what I assume. How open the RAF was.

    The RAF had a base in the insurgent movement that was in decline. Its practice was an attempt to take this movement into the revolutionary struggle against the decline. It was in line with social reality and the worldwide, revolutionary and anti-colonial awakening.

    The RAF in its inception – just like 2 June and later the Revolutionary Cells and the Rote Zora – was, in its relationship to state violence and to the fundamental power relations in capitalism, legitimate revolutionary counter-violence and a legitimate attempt at liberation. All of the actions in its early days, which ended with the arrests of the militants of the time in 1972 and ’73, are a very clear expression of this and convey exactly that.

    In a survey conducted at the time, one in five German citizens said they would be willing to protect a member of the RAF from arrest.

    The time was ripe for this revolutionary attempt and it was part of worldwide revolutionary attempts. The emergence of the urban guerrilla groups RAF and 2 June at that time was based on historical conditions.

    Given the circumstances, an attempt had to be made to reconstruct the fundamental resistance and the option of liberation that the Nazi state had once destroyed with the extermination of the workers’ movement and whose Nazi elites now opposed it again as converted, flawless democrats.

    Looking back on this history of resistance and this contribution to the liberation attempt, how important this early period of the RAF is to me and how it helped to shape my relationship with it. I would not be able to understand the history of the RAF in its entirety – neither in its merits nor in its lows – without being aware of this time and the legitimacy of its creation. That time – I was just born at the beginning of it – seems distant, but the content of their attempt, even if it is history, is close to me.

    After the arrests in 1972/73, the RAF only existed as prisoners
    “Dare to be more democratic,” as Willy Brandt said in 1972, had no reality in the execution of Tommy Weisbecker, Georg von Rauch, Petra Schelm or of bystanders during the manhunt, such as Ian McLeod – shot through a closed door – or the killing of the unarmed apprentice Richard Epple by the police.

    In the prisons, it was the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice and the government – in other words, the state – that decided on war against the imprisoned RAF and bore responsibility for it: solitary confinement for all political prisoners, daily cell raids, physical abuse by the rolling squads in the prisons, the dead wing in Cologne-Ossendorf, in which Ulrike Meinhof and Astrid Proll were sealed off from all sensory perceptions, or the research into isolation as a method of subjugating people in prison at the University of Hamburg.

    The state’s plan to forcibly open Ulrike Meinhof’s skull in order to examine her brain and “prove” that her resistance was due to “brain damage” was only prevented due to public protest. The factual parallels to the research of the Nazi perpetrator Josef Mengele, who carried out forced examinations on living people in the German extermination camps during the Nazi regime and killed or mutilated them in the process, are obvious. These are traces of this period and of the state’s attempt – in its excesses one could also call fascist – to annihilate or subjugate those who had questioned the existing order in a revolutionary way and were at the mercy of the system as prisoners.

    The death of Holger Meins in 1974 during a hunger strike against the torture of solitary confinement through force-feeding, the dosage of which was designed to lead to his death, and the denial of medical help, was a state murder. They knew and wanted him to die as a result of their measures. In the war against prisoners and in the attempt to subjugate or destroy them, the elite clearly broke with the basic law of bourgeois democracy that they proclaimed: “Human dignity is inviolable” and openly showed the violence inherent in the bourgeois state.

    The former officers of the Wehrmacht of the Nazi state: Schmidt, Buback, Herold and others, were the ones who ordered this extreme form of state violence and were responsible for it.

    Even much later in the next decade of the (19)80s, as a young person I was moved by the violent and state-terrorist reality of that time and helped me to understand that the foundation of the bourgeois state in capitalism is based on violence, terror, war and exploitation.

    A little later, in the 1980s – I remember being very moved by it myself – I once told my mother about the torture of prisoners in solitary confinement. She was visibly moved. Unbeknownst to her, I had broken the windows of some banks with others to support the prisoners on hunger strike. Many years later, I would hear that my father and mother had themselves moved in solidarity with the prisoners and had begun to support the Kurdish liberation struggle as part of their lives.

    Social and societal empathy is something they gave me in life. It was also reflected in their decisions, which led them to become involved in the history of resistance in solidarity and, despite the repression of German or Turkish “security forces”, were prepared to leave the privilege of their own safety behind at times.

    1975, Stockholm
    After the death of Holger Meins, whose death also demonstrated that the German state was once again prepared to liquidate prisoners 29 years after the end of Nazi fascism, the justified fear of further state murders of prisoners and in an attempt to free the prisoners from the obvious attempt at subjugation and extermination in the prisons led the newly formed Holger Meins Commando of the RAF to the German embassy in Stockholm. It demanded that the German government release 26 political prisoners and threatened to blow up the embassy if it did not do so. The state refused to contact the occupiers and preferred to sacrifice its embassy staff for the sake of German state interests.

    During the occupation and in response to the German government’s refusal to enter into negotiations, the commando shot the diplomats Andreas von Mirbach and Heinz Hillegaart.

    Siegfried Hausner, a member of Holger Meins’ commando, was seriously injured during the occupation of the embassy. With burns all over his body, he was no longer able to be transported. Contrary to medical instructions, the federal government insisted on transporting him to Stuttgart-Stammheim, which was tantamount to a death sentence. They knew he would die from it, and he died.

    The RAF’s reaction to the tough stance of the federal government, which placed military priority over politics, was to be countered with the same logic. By shooting the two hostages, who themselves had no direct responsibility for the violent situation to which the RAF responded by murdering them, the RAF lost the moment of revolutionary morality and legitimacy in this action.

    1976
    Ulrike Meinhof died after four years in the dungeons of the powerful.

    After the failed occupation of the embassy in Stockholm, there was no longer any visible RAF outside until 1977. The state’s war against RAF prisoners, solitary confinement, special laws and special justice remained. With the verdict against the Stammheimers, the prisoners in the power’s isolation cells were to disappear forever. The system of annihilation or subjugation and special justice continued unbroken.

    The brutality of the ongoing state terrorist war in the prisons, which could not be stopped by Stockholm or by the prisoners’ hunger strikes, shows today a historical phase in which the attempt at self-defense and, in principle, the attempt to free political prisoners from the torture of solitary confinement was justified and legitimate. The occupation of the Stockholm embassy and the RAF’s ’77 offensive took place under this banner.

    This is also demonstrated by the successful liberation of prisoners through the kidnapping of Peter Lorenz in 1975 by the June 2nd Movement.

    1977
    Siegfried Buback, Federal Prosecutor General and largely responsible for the repression of the time and in particular for his orders for solitary confinement and special justice as well as for the murder of Holger Meins, Siegfried Hausner and Ulrike Meinhof, was killed by the RAF’s Ulrike Meinhof commando. From the perspective of those who were aware of the violent relationships in capitalism and who perceived or were affected by the extreme state violence of the time, this act was a form of legitimate counter-violence and self-defense. Denying this connection cannot in any way capture the historical reality.

    This was the beginning of Offensive ’77, with which the RAF attempted to end the “special detention” of the RAF prisoners by liberating them and to enable a reorientation of the RAF and the prisoners.

    She wanted to kidnap the head of the Dresden bank, Jürgen Ponto, but failed and ended with his unintentional killing.

    Schleier kidnapping 1977: “Those responsible for the crisis team decided to sacrifice Schleyer for the sake of state.”

    During the kidnapping of Hans Martin Schleyer, four police officers, Schleyer’s bodyguards, were shot dead.

    The federal government declared a state of emergency. The executive branch assumed decision-making power in the crisis team. The press declared itself to be in line.

    Historically, the state of emergency at that time represents the fascist power option that bourgeois democracy can use in capitalism. It also represents the elite’s willingness to use it when necessary.

    Those responsible for the crisis team decided to sacrifice Schleyer for reasons of state. They refused to exchange him for the prisoners. This was the state’s decision for a purely military solution. This was accompanied by discussions in the crisis team at the time about shooting RAF prisoners every hour. All of this speaks of the government’s responsibility for the course of history.

    The RAF responded, in the hope of persuading the ruling crisis team to adopt a different stance, by authorizing a commando of the Palestinian PFLP to hijack an airplane carrying innocent civilians.

    The Offensive ’77 completely isolated the RAF. It created a situation in which the entire left turned away from it and the RAF closed itself off to the left. Revolutionary goals that attempted to achieve a social impact were no longer a visible and direct element of its actions. It acted primarily for itself and therefore subjectivistically. It escalated the question of power against the state on a purely military level and thus opened a duel against the state that it could only lose.

    The military dynamics ran counter to political analysis. The isolated and subjectivist struggle was the precondition for an unjustifiable hijacking that ran counter to revolutionary principles and the idea of ​​revolution as class struggle.

    The killing of the four police officers as a prerequisite for negotiations is difficult to understand today and corresponds to a purely military logic. The killing of Ponto was not intentional and in itself ran counter to a realistic negotiating position for the release of the prisoners. Therefore, this action is part of the actions of the offensive at the time, which had lost its revolutionary legitimacy.

    October 18, 1977
    The German government had rejected any political solution and risked the lives of the hostages by storming the plane in Mogadishu for the sake of German state interests.

    Gudrun Enslin, Jan Raspe and Andreas Baader did not survive the night of October 18th in Stammheim. Irmgard Möller survived with serious injuries and declared: It was murder.

    With Schleyer died a man who went down in history as the right-hand man of the SS leader Heydrich, head of the Protectorate of Czech Bohemia/Moravia, which was occupied by the Nazi state. Schleyer was a careerist in the SS and responsible for the deportation of more than 40,000 Jews to the German extermination camps. As a person, he was partly responsible for the extermination of the Jews in the Shoah.

    He died as the personified continuity of Nazi perpetrators who made careers in the Federal Republic of Germany after 1945 and whose elite he represented. He died as the boss of bosses, as the person responsible for the exploitative conditions of the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany state.

    He also died as a prisoner of the RAF.

    The death of the Nazi perpetrator and the representative of the continuity of Nazi fascism in West German capitalism is certainly not a moment of mourning.

    Killing a prisoner or hostage is per se a moment of weakness and even a moment of defeat.

    The defeat of ’77 marked the beginning of long phases in which the military dominated the visible path of the RAF before the political moment. The military confrontation between the guerrillas and the state was the focus of politics, unlike during the May ’72 offensive.

    ’77 shows that armed struggle can only work if it is part of political movements and is politically committed to them. Armed struggle is always only one possibility for revolutionary movements and not something that can work on its own. The isolated guerrilla always runs the risk of entering into a militaristic and subjectivist dynamic. In the conflict based on military logic, it can only lose in the metropolis.

    The RAF was completely isolated after ’77. It had no base and had decided against social revolutionary politics in ’77.

    The militaristic moment of Offensive ’77 marked the beginning of a policy focused on assassinations for the next 14 years.

    The dissolving base of the guerrilla by the mid-1970s had led the Stammheim prisoners in their statements of 1976 to begin to emphasize that the RAF in anti-imperialism was beginning to distance itself from the social revolutionary and class struggle aspects of its concept of revolutionary struggle.

    1979
    With the attacks from 1979 to ’81 against the US military and two of its generals as high decision-makers and co-responsible for the most aggressive and powerful part of Western imperialism, the RAF ushered in the policy of urban guerrilla warfare focused on anti-imperialism. From then on, it sought its purpose in the international coordinates between liberation and the counter-strategy of imperialism. It saw itself – and was – part of the anti-imperialist liberation movements of the world. However, it was separated from the social conditions of its battle terrain. It shifted its analysis to the coordinates between liberation and imperialism. It only knew the world proletariat, which mutated into an abstraction without orientation to the social conditions.

    May 1982
    The strategy statement of the “May Paper”, which formulated the RAF’s policy and contained its purpose, conceptualized the mistakes of ’77 and laid the groundwork for the 1980s. The idea of ​​politics in the ’82 concept was an anti-imperialism whose focus was no longer on the consciousness of the society in which it fought. The bombs against the state and US imperialism had been planted. What was not intended were bombs in the consciousness of society.

    It was a departure from the strategic principles of the “urban guerrilla concept” of 1972. The RAF’s anti-imperialism was now detached from any social revolutionary strategy.

    The offer to others was militant attack or militancy in general at various levels in the context of the guerrilla’s anti-imperialist strategy and under its leadership.

    In doing so, it appropriated a concept of avant-garde, with which it declared itself to be the avant-garde. However, whether something is avant-garde is ultimately decided by the course of history and the potential to bring others into the revolutionary struggle.

    Due to the RAF’s lack of class analysis and its reduction to anti-imperialism in international coordinates, politics remained abstract and did not lead the guerrillas out of their isolation throughout the 1980s. Isolation here means isolation in a social relationship. The RAF was deeply connected and organized with comrades in the resistance and other small urban guerrilla groups, especially Action Directe from France, on the anti-imperialist and Western European fronts. But that was not enough for the revolutionary process, which fundamentally develops in a social context.

    Without the social reference and without the primacy of the political, politics remained subjectivist and did not lead it out of the duel between state and guerrilla.

    This was not changed by the “Fighting Units” strategically linked to the RAF or by militant groups calling themselves otherwise, who carried out a large number of arson and bomb attacks throughout the 1980s – for example, in 1982: militant actions against Siemens, AEG, US military barracks; 1984/85 Turkish consulate, NATO pipelines, NATO/US/German armed forces facilities, US secret service, Interior Ministry in Hanover, AEG data center; 1988 Renault branch, Deutsche Bank training center; 1989 Frankfurt Stock Exchange; 1990 Deutsche Bank data center and many more – all militant, non-armed actions in which the killing of human life was excluded and never happened.

    In reality, the Western European front was weak and could not replace the missing strategy in social relations, which as a fundamental opposition could only have been social revolutionary and anti-imperialist.

    The policy, reduced to anti-imperialism and free of class struggle, was an immense strategic mistake and was rightly criticized, for example, by the Belgian CCC, the Belgian communist urban guerrilla group of the 1980s, and completely ignored by the RAF throughout the 1980s.

    The factual and historical prerequisites for a redefinition of politics since 1979 would have been both the completely isolated RAF and its reasons as well as the class situation in neoliberalism: the pacified proletarian layers, the integration of the proletariat with the promise of mass consumption in the metropolises; as well as isolation as a neoliberal principle of life, which was a result of the restructuring of industry in globalized neoliberalism. This was also a consequence of capitalism in response to the uprisings in the factories at the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, as had occurred in Italy and France. The rulers feared the “mass worker” and preferred the isolation of the population in production and society.

    The development of the worldwide liberation movements, the strategies of NATO in the coordinates between liberation and imperialism and the existence of various large, naturally reformist but partly also militant sub-sector movements would also have been the prerequisite for the necessary strategic repositioning of the urban guerrilla.

    An urban guerrilla that was also socially revolutionary and not just anti-imperialist might have had the chance to bring together the movements that emerged independently of the RAF in the late 1970s and 1980s, some of which were also militant: the house-to-house fighting movement, the anti-nuclear movement, the anti-NATO movement, the feminist movement and the solidarity movements with the liberation movements of the Tricontinent, into a socially revolutionary and anti-imperialist fundamental opposition. Then it would undoubtedly not have been possible to focus on the RAF/state conflict within the international coordinates and to set a militaristic dynamic in motion.

    But the RAF was only committed to itself and did not manage to break out of it in the 1980s.

    Politics from 1977 and throughout the 1980s involved only a few people. The radical left largely became spectators in the conflict between the anti-imperialist RAF and the state.

    1984
    The militaristic actions of the second half of the 1980s, which were rightly criticized as incomprehensible, had little political connection to society and remained abstract and subjectivist, were based on the strategic errors that had occurred in 1977 and were declared a concept in 1982.

    With the lack of revision of the strategic errors since ’77 and their conceptualization in May ’82, a militaristic logic took on a life of its own in the course of the 1980s, which, from a revolutionary perspective, brought moments of loss of the moral compass of the revolution and moments of loss of legitimacy into the struggle.

    The shooting of Gerold von Braunmühl in 1986 is an expression of this. The lack of response by RAF militants to legitimate questions posed by the von Braunmühl brothers at the time is a further expression of political weakness and the destructive development after ’77.

    From the failure to come to terms with the ’77 offensive as a phase of militaristic logic and the resulting lack of revision, to the militaristic strategy of May ’82, in which the social question mutated into an abstraction detached from society and in which class struggle only played an abstract role, and the equally class-struggle-free and militaristic independence with the unjustified killing of the US soldier Pimental, it was precisely a coherent path.

    The reduction to anti-imperialism and “politics of assassination” after ’77 tells more about subjectivism and the independence of the military from the political than about class struggle and social revolutionary processes. The primacy of the practice of an anti-imperialist and social revolutionary urban guerrilla of the awakening from 1970 to ’72 ended up in a militaristic dynamic with the dividing line between oneself and the enemy as a now subjectivist consciousness.

    The lack of pause since the defeat of ’77 – meant as a collective conclusion, summary, reflection, new justification and change of strategy – characterized the policy of the primacy of the RAF’s practice from ’79 through the 1980s. 1979 would quite obviously have been the time for social analysis or class analysis and a re-positioning of the fundamental opposition in the form of the RAF. The re-formation of the RAF in 1984 would also have provided reason to pause, as would the epochal break in 1989.

    After 1977, the state used a manhunt against the guerrillas: no prisoners were taken. Willy Peter Stoll and Elisabeth von Dyck were deliberately shot by the police without resistance. Rolf Heißler survived a shot to the head when he entered an apartment, but was seriously injured.

    The harsh repression and massive criminalization reached large parts of the left and forced various legal activists to go underground in the course of the 1980s in order to avoid arbitrary arrests. Some ended up in exile for many years. The climate of repression, not only against the RAF, was extraordinary and, if seriously examined, its structure and form since the 1970s can only be seen as state terrorism.

    1989
    There came a turning point and the hunger strike of the political prisoners.

    The permanent state of emergency, designed to destroy or subjugate the political prisoners, continued into its 19th year as a form of terror.

    19 years of a state of emergency in prisons meant 19 years of isolation, sometimes in the form of small group isolation. 19 years of isolation as white torture and internationally condemned. 19 years of various hunger strikes as the remaining possibility of fighting for survival and dignity and of defending oneself against torture and extermination.

    Günter Sonnenberg, who was seriously wounded by a gunshot wound to the head, was denied appropriate life-sustaining treatment by the state for many years, which would have been a prerequisite for his release. Sigurd Debus died during a hunger strike against solitary confinement torture.

    The misery of prisons and solitary confinement torture was endless.

    The turning point and the hunger strike of the prisoners occurred in the same year, 1989. It was the end of real socialism and a decisive change in the global coordinates between real socialism, liberation movements and capitalism.

    With the hunger strike in 1989, the prisoners tried one last time to collectively bring about a change in their situation. They also declared that they wanted to initiate a discussion with other social groups.

    The end of the international order of the 1980s, which was the prerequisite for the RAF’s determination in May 1982: The dissolution of the real socialist bloc and the decline of the remaining liberation movements dissolved the RAF’s determination framework.

    After the hunger strike, the political changes at various levels, including international ones, and the invalidity of the guerrilla strategy of May 1982, the state executive was sure that the RAF would not return to this practice.

    The state reacted to the prisoners’ political openness and their attempt to put an end to extermination imprisonment, and despite the broad solidarity for their demands from many people across all sectors of society, as it had done for 18 years: it maintained the extermination regime in the form of isolation torture.

    In retrospect, the epochal turning point in 1989 would have been a historically imperative moment – ​​as it was after 1977 – to review the continued existence of the RAF, to conduct an appropriate investigation and class analysis and to decide whether the project should be transformed or terminated.

    At that moment, the RAF did not have the political strength to fully grasp the dimension of this historical moment in relation to its own situation. However, it was determined not to give up in the face of the gloom of the times, which loomed large with the prospect of German capital now gaining what it had not achieved under National Socialist rule: becoming one of the world powers behind the USA, the hegemonic power in Europe and an active actor in imperialist wars.

    In retrospect, it is unrealistic that the RAF would have simply carried on in the face of the epochal turning point of 1989 if, at the same time, an end to the hostage-taking of the prisoners, which was designed to destroy them, could have been enforced and thus the discussion about updating the transformative strategies of the left and the old fundamental opposition inside and outside would have been possible.

    In this respect, the state bears its share of responsibility for the killing of the head of Deutsche Bank and the head of the Treuhand by the RAF. The action against Herrhausen was also clearly a response to the persistence of the state’s desire to destroy the prisoners. The RAF was objectively at a historical point at which it could only have disbanded or come back as a new project with a new strategy – if at all, given the real state of society and that of the remaining left.

    1989
    The RAF’s action against Herrhausen was a contradiction in terms: the RAF was clearly reacting in the context of the state terrorist violence of immense proportions that had existed since 1970. At the same time, it was no longer acting within an inadequate strategy, but without a strategy. There is, of course, a visible contradiction here: an action of this magnitude without an explainable strategy, but as the initiation of a process of search and redefinition, has a legitimacy deficit from the outset.

    At the same time, however, an action against Deutsche Bank at that time represented a return to a policy that was objectively determined by a social relationship. Herrhausen was the man who set the course for German capital’s reunification, for Germany’s rise to become one of the world’s leading economic powers, and represented the emerging new German imperialism after the fall of the Soviet Union like no other on the side of German capitalism. In political terms, addressing and/or attacking the Deutsche Bank group at that time – regardless of its form – was objectively the possibility of a social revolutionary and anti-imperialist perspective and marked a departure from subjectivism – that is, acting outside of the social relationship.

    1990
    The RAF’s practice in the 1990s was clearly an unconditional adherence to fundamental opposition in the form of the RAF in the face of Germany’s rise to the “Fourth Reich”, as many on the left feared at the time, and the rise of German capitalism. Their will to change something that had long since become wrong was unmistakable. Their courage to define themselves as seekers and not as responders was clear.

    However, it was also marked by its obvious theoretical weakness. In this respect, it was clearly a child of the 1980s. The early RAF group and the comrades of the 1970s still drew on the wealth of profound and diverse, worldwide discussions of the 1968 era and the effort to collectively acquire theoretical knowledge. In the 1980s, the RAF militants then drew on the wealth of May 1982 and remained stuck in it. The 1980s were years of practice rather than theory, even in the legal sub-movements.

    In the 1980s, at the historical moment of epochal change, I myself was part of the squatter movement and a resident of Hamburg’s Hafenstrasse – what a unique, special and formative time in my life, I thought of it for a long time with nostalgia and affection – and was more driven by a youthful, emotional and immature radicalism and determination than by profound conceptual debates or the theoretical acquisition of knowledge.

    I was not yet aware of the importance of the wealth of knowledge of my fellow residents on Hafenstrasse at the time, some of whom had already brought experience from the 1970s, and some of whom were anarchists, social revolutionaries or former prisoners of June 2nd and the Red Army Faction, nor of the possibility of drawing on it and taking it with me into life.

    1990
    The action against the then Secretary of State for the Interior, Neusel, showed how the RAF, despite the recognition in their statement that something had to change, still acted outside of social relations, i.e. subjectivistically, despite the fact that it was still influenced by the 1980s. A non-fatal assassination attempt in the context of the hunger strike of Spanish revolutionary prisoners during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the takeover of the GDR by the FRG, i.e. the triumph of capitalism with its serious social upheavals in Germany and Eastern Europe, is absurd in retrospect. Not that solidarity with the Spanish prisoners would not have been a good thing – but an assassination attempt in this context during the fundamental changes in the world and the social and political effects of this in Germany was completely politically disorientating. A true irony of history.

    1991
    The action against the US embassy in the war against the people of Iraq, the first violent expression of the new world order in which only the capitalist centres would have power, a war that would lead to millions of deaths as a result of military force and sanctions, was a first departure from the “assassination policy” of the 1980s. It was the first political/military non-lethal action, the declared aim of which was not to endanger others, since the action against the Springer group in 1972, which only resulted in accidental injuries on the part of the RAF. This action in 1972 was an attempt to reach out to a dying movement of the 1968 generation, which was denounced by the constant lies of the Springer press.

    The action against the US embassy in 1991 was also declared to be the first clear approach to left-wing movements since the early 1970s and an attempt to connect with them – even without the expectation that they should join the guerrillas with militancy. In fact, the false concept of avant-garde was off the table and obsolete in the proclaimed process of searching.

    1991
    With the action against Rohwedder, the RAF returned, in contradiction, to the “politics of assassination.” In political terms, in contrast to the 1980s, it acted in a clear relationship to society. The action explained itself in terms of social conditions: the “incorporation” of the GDR by capitalism and the social upheavals that this brought about. It was essentially class-fighting and socially revolutionary. It had an obvious and declared addressee: the workers and masses affected by the upheavals and the realignment of capitalism, who were exposed to the new conditions of capitalism. The decision to attack the Treuhandanstalt as a front institution of West German capital in this process was self-explanatory and politically coherent as an attack on the institution, regardless of the form.

    At the same time, the RAF was in the process of searching for a new conception and a path to an updated strategy and therefore did not yet know a possible future of a “political-military” conception.

    Furthermore, the RAF’s “assassination policy” had been thoroughly discredited since 1977, which should have inevitably led to a break with it as a political decision and marked a moment of political weakness and lack of foresight on the part of the RAF at that time.

    Both delegitimized the attack on the Treuhand boss. So what had to happen happened: it left society and the remaining left as spectators on the sidelines. The attack’s severity ran counter to the growing together of the urban guerrillas and the remaining left. The same applies to the obvious attempt to reach out to others who were battered, degraded or downgraded by great uncertainty and social upheaval in the new Germany. Many people noticed this attempt by the RAF, and not just leftists, but also on a broader social level – especially that of the downgraded and insecure, proletarian sections of the population of the defunct GDR. But nothing came of it. Despite its unmistakably social revolutionary orientation and purpose, an assassination attempt could not contribute to a new beginning.

    Individual assassinations in the long history of revolutions and uprisings over the centuries can only be assessed in a differentiated and historical context. In fact, history can only be discussed in a differentiated and political manner. On the other hand, an “assassination policy” – there is no way around calling it that in the form of practice that has been elevated to dogma (and the RAF never called it that, but the term sums up the practice from 1977 to 1990) – and this term already tells of its political weakness – could not achieve what revolutionary politics and practice in the metropolis are all about. “Assassination policy” in its structural application is an expression of militaristic independence and subjectivist consciousness. “Assassination policy” negates the structural interchangeability of individual decision-makers in bourgeois democracy, which inevitably leads to a legitimacy deficit. “Assassination policy” simply has too little effect on society’s consciousness in the construction of revolutionary counter-power in the metropolis.

    “Assassination politics” reaches only a few people and leaves those it wants to reach as spectators on the sidelines.

    A primary goal of revolutionary strategy should surely be to reach the consciousness of the addressees in the social context – those who are to be reached.

    The RAF has been losing this since 1977 and could not be eliminated with the necessary consequence even at the beginning of the 1990s. Here the form of the assassination was at odds with the goal and countered the proclaimed political realignment in the early 1990s.

    Historically, there are of course assassinations as a form of revolutionary self-defense and counter-violence that are clear and whose legitimacy cannot be denied from a revolutionary perspective: for example, the assassination attempt against the former boss of Schleyer and SS mass murderer Heydrich, the attempt by Georg Elser to kill Hitler, or the assassination attempt in the anti-fascist struggle in Spain on Carrero Blanco – the successor and deputy of the Spanish fascist and dictator Franco.

    At this point it should be said that the violence of the Federal Republic of Germany in the fight against insurgency, which from a realistic point of view can only be seen as state terrorism with partly fascistoid forms, led to moments of legitimate self-defense in the history of the RAF.

    There were undoubtedly moments of weakness in the RAF’s struggle and political decisions that were wrong. There were also moments when the moral compass of the revolution did not determine the historical moment. Every moment of this is one too many and remains as a burden on history.

    Moments of collective memory of the revolutionary left are also linked to the numerous militants of the RAF and the resistance who did not survive the fight for a world free from the rule of man over man and state terrorism, either in prison or outside.

    1993
    The year in which Wolfgang Grams was executed by the police while lying incapacitated on the tracks in Bad Kleinen. For Birgit Hogefeld, long years of life in prison began.

    Before that, the RAF blew up the Weiterstadt prison. This was the end of the RAF’s armed politics and the beginning of another possible perspective of militant politics.

    The destruction of the prison had opened up a social relationship in which prison as a means of domination affects all those who are affected by the repression and misery of prison out of need and necessity or because of their awareness of it. They are the poor; they are those who do not have the money for tickets; they are those who sink into drugs so that they no longer have to feel the misery of the violent conditions; they are the recalcitrant; they are those in deportation detention, they are those who defend themselves and those who rebel against domination and violent conditions – and who end up in prison for it.

    The bombing of the Weiterstadt prison will go down in history as a political direct hit. It touched the hearts of many. And that is how it should be.

    The RAF of the 1990s – with all its weaknesses, its sometimes lack of foresight and the weakness of its theoretical foundations, and despite the fact that in moments of its search it was more “clumsy” than sharp-witted and analytical, but what distinguished it was courageous enough to move forward in a questioning and searching manner, and despite the fact that it did not bury “assassination politics” until 1992: Under the changed conditions of that decade, it had tried to find its way back to the social revolutionary, class-fighting and internationalist principles that the RAF had known in its early days.

    With the actions against the US embassy and the blowing up of the Weiterstadt prison, the guerrillas found their way to propaganda of action, that idea of ​​revolutionary practice from the history of the anarchist movement. In this way, their return to acting within the social context was appropriately populist in the best sense. A moment that also guided the Red Brigades in Italy in their early days up to 1974 – despite completely different circumstances and incomparable strength.

    Ultimately, the left, the RAF and the social conditions in the 1990s were not ready for an armed struggle for a social revolutionary transformation.

    The West German left and what was left of it was preoccupied with the emerging nationalism and racism and its fascist and widespread violence.

    They, the radical left, had neither the strength nor the foresight to find a social revolutionary response to the surprising incorporation of the GDR. The up to 50,000 people who took part in individual demonstrations in the defunct GDR at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall against the integration into capitalism and in the dwindling hope of a “third – socialist and emancipatory – way”, beyond the great mistakes of repressive and rigid real socialism and beyond capitalism, remained more or less alone. In the years that followed, no relevant, social revolutionary left was formed, and none that could have posed a political threat to the new German imperialism that had begun to kill during the war in Yugoslavia.

    The RAF had already become history and any idea of ​​a repeat is absurd.

    The time in the 1990s was not ripe for new forms of militant struggle as an arm and option of large emancipatory movements that no longer existed and do not yet exist.

    After the upheavals and divisions among the RAF prisoners at the time and the RAF itself – and after the RAF declared its end in 1998 – I felt an inner distance from this story.

    Today I see in the history of the RAF the moment of justified resistance and its moments in history.

    In these 28 years of history, I see those who gave everything for the goal of a better and fairer world. I see those who had to bear the decades of misery of prison on their shoulders or those who died in this fight for liberation from the violent conditions of the capitalist system.

    I also see in the history of the RAF its strategic and tactical mistakes.

    I see its low points, with which it robbed itself of legitimacy at times and which remain as a burden of history.

    Probably every revolution or its attempts, probably every story of struggle between domination and liberation throughout the centuries has had its ambivalences.

    The collective appropriation of revolutionary history and its reflection lays the trail into the future of the struggles of human emancipation and liberation as well as one’s own development and change within it.

    The RAF is history, the question of resistance and transformation remains and is existential.

    The legacy of revolutionary history is the struggle for liberation today and in the future until all domination is overcome and all are free.

    Today

    Today we are in the midst of another epochal turning point. The crisis of eroding capitalism has opened a window of opportunity in which new dimensions of imperialism, up to the dimensions of World War III, are realistic. It is the age of authoritarianism, progressive impoverishment, nationalism, comprehensive militarization and ecological destruction of the planet, of flight and expulsion.

    Today’s epochal break is a threatening age. However, the erosion of conditions could also present the possibility and opportunity for system transformation and liberation from capitalism.

    Emancipation and revolution are only possible in the coexistence of different struggles and in the “recognition of interconnectedness”, as Caroline Braunmühl wrote – and of the existence of privileges and power imbalances in all areas of humanity. This too is an important and decisive prerequisite for transformative processes. I agree with this certainty without reservation.

    An emancipatory revolution begins with our own awareness and then leads to change within us.

    Coming together in recognition of different axes of power and privilege and in the certainty of the need for processes of our own change – in struggles against exploitation, oppression and war in capitalism – would be a process of revolutionary transformation. This would be, in a sense, looking in the mirror and then at society.

    There we see exploitation, poverty and a top and a bottom. There we see patriarchy and its relations of violence; racism as an instrument of domination and its social independence; militarism and war and the few who profit from it and the many who flee from it. There we see weapons that are produced, the class that profits from it and the many they kill. We see the protest against it and the daily repression of the protest. We see structural police violence and class justice. We see the ecological destruction of the planet for the profit of the few and the masses who have to flee because of it. These are spaces in which we can come together today in all our diversity and in the awareness of a complex and multi-layered power structure in the process of transformation. They could be the spaces of the uprising of tomorrow.

    The end of violent relations, a peaceful world, a world beyond ecological destruction, freedom from patriarchy, exploitation, domination and nation will not exist under capitalism. This is the factual prerequisite that cannot be changed and is evident.

    The questions of revolutionary transformation instead of barbarism are current and existential today.

    The emancipatory left today inevitably faces the question of whether it wants to save bourgeois democracy with the persistence of the relations of violence inherent in it – although the fascist option and authoritarianism are based on bourgeois democracy and the one arises from the other – or instead deal with its transformation into a domination-free and anti-capitalist future.

    Bourgeois anti-fascism as a form of left-liberal politics that focuses on right-wing extremist parties, fights symptoms, negates the systemic cause and intends to save bourgeois democracy will not be able to stop the run into further authoritarianism, fascism, war and climate destruction and therefore leads to nothing. System transformation into an anti-capitalist age would be the only option that could lead to the goal.

    Pure doctrines are a thing of the past. For the future of revolutionary transformation, we need the insights of the history of emancipatory movements: feminism, anarchism, communism, anti-racism, the movements of people of color, left-wing queer communities, communities of people with disabilities and their movements for self-determination, social revolutionary and subcultural movements, left-wing migrant communities, the migrant history of resistance, the failure of real socialism and many more.

    Rosa Luxemburg’s words in the face of the great crisis of capitalism in 1918 are still valid today – and stand for the possibility of building a liberated society instead of domination, patriarchy, fascism, war, nationalism, exploitation and destruction:

    Socialism or barbarism!

    The circle closes.

    The possibility of a historic moment could come and is now.

    As long as we live in a system that is based on violence and locks up people who resist it in prison, diverse resistance is justified and necessary.

    The special prison conditions and the imprisonment of Daniela Klette – like that of all prisoners in the history of emancipation struggles worldwide – are an expression of the violent relations of capitalist realities.

    This applies not only to prisoners, but to all of humanity: we can only be free if everyone is free.

    Freedom for Daniela!

    smash the system

    Burkhard Garweg

    Source: Arm The Spirit

    abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=

    #anarchism #antiImperialism #armedStruggle #BurkhardGarweg #europe #germany #raf #urbanGuerrilla

    #anarchism #antiimperialism #armedstruggle #burkhardgarweg #europe #germany
  4. abolitionmedia @[email protected] ·

    “The Possibility of a Historic Moment is Now” – Burkhard Garweg

    … from the German newsite “nd” …

    Below we document a letter from Burkhard Garweg, which was sent exclusively to »nd«. Garweg is one of the most wanted people by German police authorities because of suspected RAF membership and several robberies in which millions of euros were stolen. His letter is a critical outline of the history of the Red Army Faction (RAF) and at the same time a response to Caroline Braunmühl, daughter of RAF victim Gerold von Braunmühl, who in January in the »nd« was critical of her brother’s »call for clarification« , but also responded to a previous letter from Burkhard Garweg. Burkhard Garweg now addresses Braunmühl’s statements in his current text. He criticizes the RAF for a phase lasting from 1977 to around 1990 in which the urban guerrillas made military confrontation with the state the focus of their politics and neglected social revolutionary struggles. The author, born in 1968, comes from the autonomous squatter movement and now lives illegally, alternates between two levels in his text: one that analyses and evaluates from today’s perspective and a second, in italics, that speaks very personally from the past and his youth. Burkhard Garweg’s contribution is fully documented below.

    “The possibility of a historic moment is now”

    On the history of the RAF and the question of the reconstruction of an anti-capitalist, social revolutionary, anti-patriarchal and internationalist movement in the present day.

     

    “The possibility of a historic moment is now”

    On the history of the RAF and the question of the reconstruction of an anti-capitalist, social revolutionary, anti-patriarchal and internationalist movement in the present day.

    In her text in »nd.Die Woche« of January 18, 2025, Caroline Braunmühl presents an alternative position to the bourgeois attitude that attempts to depoliticize the history of militant and armed resistance by reducing its content to violence and negating a political conflict.

    In my statement of December 2024, it was also important to me to present resistance to capitalism in the context of the relations of violence – exploitation, the rule of man over man, nationalism, militarism and war – and thus to conduct the debate according to historical reality and to counter the historiography of the rulers and their attempts at manipulation.

    The aim of bourgeois historiography is to delegitimize and criminalize anti-capitalist resistance and its history. Its elites have a fundamental interest in maintaining the conditions of exploitation and oppression and in being able to continue to make profits. This is what the proclamation from the ranks of its elites in the 1990s, which has gone down in history, stands for: “there is no alternative.”

    Caroline Braunmühl associates the RAF and other militant groups, such as the Rote Zora, with radical resistance against the “violence of socially dominant groups and individuals against socially subordinates – such as class justice, patriarchal violence or transnational relationships of exploitation, oppression and war, from which the economic elites in the Federal Republic of Germany have profited and continue to profit today.” She identifies the justification for militant resistance against violent relations and at the same time denies the legitimacy of targeted assassinations by the RAF in its history.

    She criticizes my statement from a feminist perspective and for lacking criticism of the RAF.

    I agree with her that a reflective picture of the history of the struggles with the ability to see their weaknesses is necessary. The main thing is to be able to draw conclusions for the struggles of the future.

    The world of the dominant capitalist system is moving at an increasing pace towards social and global erosion: war, poverty, displacement and the destruction of the planet’s ecological basis for life. The bourgeois state – and this affects the entire capitalist center of Europe and the USA – is increasingly using right-wing and authoritarian means. It uses the construction of a “national community” to differentiate itself from migrants, Muslims, refugees and the poor. It uses racism, nationalism and rapid militarization both internally and externally. This has repercussions – some of which are also intended – on bourgeois society.

    This is becoming radicalized by the deeply rooted racist, patriarchal and social forms of differentiation, exclusion and oppression within society. The world is unmistakably moving towards an infernal tipping point of social, ecological and military erosion.

    Capitalism offers no solution to this. It would also be a contradiction in terms. The elites’ solutions to the crisis are now authoritarianism, fascism, war and the process of unifying bourgeois and fascist politics. This is nothing other than a journey into the possible abyss with clear parallels to the historical crises that culminated in the world wars of 1914 and 1939 – albeit with an extremely increased global destructive potential in modern times.

    Anyone who wants to prevent this should focus less on the hopeless rescue of bourgeois democracy as a facet of capitalism and the associated retention of the fundamental relations of violence, but rather on social revolutionary alternatives that can only be achieved as a result of social revolutionary and emancipatory struggles.

    Existential questions arise: In which steps, initiatives and processes can the reconstruction of an anti-capitalist, social revolutionary and internationalist left be achieved?

    But also: What do we take with us into the future from the struggles and concepts of history, from the attempts to overcome the thoroughly violent capitalism and imperialism? How do we as revolutionary leftists discuss and write history from below and appropriate it for the struggles of today and tomorrow and against the propagandistic, depoliticizing and criminalizing historiography from above?

    I see in the history of the RAF courage and determination to dare something, to take risks and the unconditionality and seriousness and the surrender of one’s own privileges that are also needed to achieve the transformation of the misery of domination and oppression – including the overturning of power imbalances within society.

    How much I was moved as a young person by their determination and unconditionality and the way they put themselves aside in deep and true solidarity with the poor and colonized people of this world, with the exploited in the countries of the starving Tricontinent and the insurgents there. How much I was moved – still wet behind the ears and without much knowledge and above all out of empathy with those who had nothing or almost nothing – by the militant internationalism they stood for. There were times when I read the texts of Ernesto Cardenal or later the last texts of Ulrike, which I was not yet able to fully understand.

    I heard about Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko, one of whom was a political prisoner in South Africa for decades, and the other an insurgent against South Africa’s apartheid system who was tortured and murdered by the South African police. I was outraged by this unspeakable, racist violence, including state violence, but also moved by the resistance of so many and that of the ANC. At the same time, however, I also learned that I myself lived in a country whose elite profited from this system of violence known as apartheid, and was deeply connected to the racist regime in South Africa, its military and its police. It was a regime made up of predominantly South African, German or US capital, of the local government, military and police, of the self-proclaimed elite of white colonialists, who treated people like slaves, exploited them, killed them and declared them second or third class citizens because they were black. I perceived it – and it also shaped my life – this oppressive and violent reality of this colonial and state crime, this “normality” of the world of capitalism. The perpetrators and accomplices of this unspeakable racism, also committed by the state, and these crimes of colonialism sat in their headquarters in Pretoria or Johannesburg. They sat in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich or Bonn on the boards of banks and corporations, in the German government or in the barracks of the Western world, especially the German, Israeli or US military.

    For me, it was the RAF that showed solidarity in the struggle with the poor and the revolutionaries in Nicaragua, El Salvador and South Africa, those attempts at revolution that had moved me since my early youth. I began to realise that it was a shared resistance – that in the metropolis and that in the Tricontinent. And that was what the RAF meant.

    History is also the history of mistakes, defeats and moments of sadness
    For me, the history of the RAF is also a history of strategic and tactical errors.

    In the history of the RAF, there are also moments that were not shaped by the moral compass of the revolution.

    Nobody has to find the whole story correct today. For me, this does not call into question the fundamental legitimacy of the contribution of various attempts at resistance over the centuries – including that of the RAF – to liberation from the violent conditions.

    The RAF emerged from the resistance of the (19)68 movement. The 68 movement reconstructed the anti-capitalist resistance that had been crushed by the Nazis in Germany. It brought the personal continuities of the elite into the consciousness of society. It is the miserable reality of the Federal Republic of Germany that it was built up by the old Nazis. They made careers as converted democrats in all state institutions and on the boards of banks and corporations – under the umbrella of the USA. The Nazi elite became the elite of West German democracy overnight.

    It was a rebellion against the reactionary stuffiness of the West German democracy shaped by National Socialism and a questioning of the existing capitalist order, which was socially reactionary and repressive and structurally based on exploitation and militarization.

    After the murder of the anti-rearmament demonstrator Philipp Müller by the police and after the ban on the KPD in 1956, police violence, professional bans and emergency laws were the state’s response at the end of the 1960s to the movement of students and apprentices, youth, the sub-proletariat and other sections of the population.

    It was the time of the Vietnam War, the merciless brutality of the US military machine, which tried to wipe out the Vietnamese attempt at revolution and went down in history with the massacres of the Vietnamese population and the use of the chemical warfare agent napalm. Huge movements of solidarity against the imperialist war and for the right to liberation by the Vietnamese armed and revolutionary movement arose around the world. “Bring the war home” – a slogan of the US anti-war movement. The 1968 movement and the RAF did exactly that and brought the worldwide resistance against the Vietnam War into German society. With the immense resistance against the Western world’s war of terror, the possibility of liberation had entered the consciousness of humanity worldwide and was on the table at the time. Revolutionary, anti-colonial and anti-racist struggles developed worldwide. Capitalism and imperialism were up for debate. Armed struggle of the Gauche Proletarienne in France, the Red Brigades in Italy, armed struggle in Spain, Northern Ireland, England, the Basque Country, Greece, Japan, Palestine, the Black Panthers and the Weather Underground in the USA, the Tupamaros in Uruguay, the urban guerrillas in Mexico and Brazil or the anti-fascist uprising of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal.

    It was the time of anti-colonial struggles in the South, in Mozambique, Algeria and many other places of anti-colonial liberation against the crimes of the West there.

    The “racial segregation” of apartheid in South Africa, the state and social racism in the USA, the murder of a million people during the crushing of the Communist Party in Indonesia by US military forces or the CIA-led military coup against the government of Salvador Allende in Chile are examples of Western self-evident truths and brutalities that humanity should accept.

    This violence of Western capitalism and imperialism generated revolutionary counter-violence around the world, such as the resistance of the ANC and the Black Panthers. It showed millions of people around the world that capitalism is built on the foundation of violence.

    In Paris, a million people took to the streets, on strike and on the barricades – large parts of the population, students and proletarians together.

    Berlin, Turin, Paris, New York: Revolution no longer seemed unthinkable. Things were shaking tremendously in the Western world.

    In Germany, the state attempted to crush the insurgent movement with harsh repression, emergency laws, professional bans, the imprisonment of thousands and police violence. The first shot came from the weapon of the German state: the police murdered Benno Ohnesorg on June 2, 1967.

    The social democratic version of the crackdown consisted of carrot and stick, of repression and the offer of integration, which was intended to bring about the abandonment of any resistance to capitalism and imperialism in the march through the institutions – and continues to this day.

    The situation in the world at that time, this age of uprisings and imperialism, whose state terror is visualized in the image of the Vietnamese girl fleeing from the bombs of the West, the social situation in the post-Nazi Federal Republic of Germany, the harsh and systematic state repression against the awakening, the elite of the Federal Republic of Germany riddled with Nazi perpetrators, the strikes – including wild ones, those marked by migrants – at the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, the virulence of ideas of the revolutionary transformation of the status quo in all parts of society and the worldwide uprisings against imperialism, state racism and colonialism as well as the emergence of urban guerrilla groups in many countries, including the metropolises – allow, in my view, only one conclusion: the emergence of the various armed fighting groups in the Federal Republic of Germany, this risk, this revolutionary experiment was completely justified and had to be attempted. Not trying would have been a failure in revolutionary history. A historic moment was possible.

    1972
    The “Urban Guerrilla Concept” and other RAF texts of this period were also an attempt to halt the decline of the movement, which had been plagued by repression and integration, and to bring it into the perspective of liberation.

    The RAF’s actions were directed against the imperialist war, against the means of power through repression and the aggressive and violent manipulation of society by the Springer press and other media. In all attacks, they were a link to the (19)68 movement.

    By attacking the US Army headquarters and destroying the computer there, which was essential for the state terrorist bombing, the RAF clearly sided with the oppressed and those trying to free themselves, and thus played a part in defeating the cruel Western imperialism that was raging in Vietnam as part of the worldwide resistance. The destruction of the US military computer in Heidelberg meant that the bombing and the mass killing of people that went with it had to be stopped for several days. In Vietnam, the massacred population appreciated this.

    In 1972, the RAF had a social revolutionary and anti-imperialist concept that was in a social context and proclaimed the primacy of practice. How sympathetic and right as a part of the class struggle was the serious and credible reference of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, Jan Raspe, Holger Meins and Ulrike Meinhof and all the others to the fringes of society, the sub-proletariat, the children in care homes, those who had become mentally ill in the system or to the proletarian women of the Märkisches Viertel – that proletarian and poor part of Berlin. The militants of the RAF came from all classes and from the history of different political ideas of this time of awakening: anarchism, communism, feminism, social revolutionaries and anti-imperialists. That is what I assume. How open the RAF was.

    The RAF had a base in the insurgent movement that was in decline. Its practice was an attempt to take this movement into the revolutionary struggle against the decline. It was in line with social reality and the worldwide, revolutionary and anti-colonial awakening.

    The RAF in its inception – just like 2 June and later the Revolutionary Cells and the Rote Zora – was, in its relationship to state violence and to the fundamental power relations in capitalism, legitimate revolutionary counter-violence and a legitimate attempt at liberation. All of the actions in its early days, which ended with the arrests of the militants of the time in 1972 and ’73, are a very clear expression of this and convey exactly that.

    In a survey conducted at the time, one in five German citizens said they would be willing to protect a member of the RAF from arrest.

    The time was ripe for this revolutionary attempt and it was part of worldwide revolutionary attempts. The emergence of the urban guerrilla groups RAF and 2 June at that time was based on historical conditions.

    Given the circumstances, an attempt had to be made to reconstruct the fundamental resistance and the option of liberation that the Nazi state had once destroyed with the extermination of the workers’ movement and whose Nazi elites now opposed it again as converted, flawless democrats.

    Looking back on this history of resistance and this contribution to the liberation attempt, how important this early period of the RAF is to me and how it helped to shape my relationship with it. I would not be able to understand the history of the RAF in its entirety – neither in its merits nor in its lows – without being aware of this time and the legitimacy of its creation. That time – I was just born at the beginning of it – seems distant, but the content of their attempt, even if it is history, is close to me.

    After the arrests in 1972/73, the RAF only existed as prisoners
    “Dare to be more democratic,” as Willy Brandt said in 1972, had no reality in the execution of Tommy Weisbecker, Georg von Rauch, Petra Schelm or of bystanders during the manhunt, such as Ian McLeod – shot through a closed door – or the killing of the unarmed apprentice Richard Epple by the police.

    In the prisons, it was the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice and the government – in other words, the state – that decided on war against the imprisoned RAF and bore responsibility for it: solitary confinement for all political prisoners, daily cell raids, physical abuse by the rolling squads in the prisons, the dead wing in Cologne-Ossendorf, in which Ulrike Meinhof and Astrid Proll were sealed off from all sensory perceptions, or the research into isolation as a method of subjugating people in prison at the University of Hamburg.

    The state’s plan to forcibly open Ulrike Meinhof’s skull in order to examine her brain and “prove” that her resistance was due to “brain damage” was only prevented due to public protest. The factual parallels to the research of the Nazi perpetrator Josef Mengele, who carried out forced examinations on living people in the German extermination camps during the Nazi regime and killed or mutilated them in the process, are obvious. These are traces of this period and of the state’s attempt – in its excesses one could also call fascist – to annihilate or subjugate those who had questioned the existing order in a revolutionary way and were at the mercy of the system as prisoners.

    The death of Holger Meins in 1974 during a hunger strike against the torture of solitary confinement through force-feeding, the dosage of which was designed to lead to his death, and the denial of medical help, was a state murder. They knew and wanted him to die as a result of their measures. In the war against prisoners and in the attempt to subjugate or destroy them, the elite clearly broke with the basic law of bourgeois democracy that they proclaimed: “Human dignity is inviolable” and openly showed the violence inherent in the bourgeois state.

    The former officers of the Wehrmacht of the Nazi state: Schmidt, Buback, Herold and others, were the ones who ordered this extreme form of state violence and were responsible for it.

    Even much later in the next decade of the (19)80s, as a young person I was moved by the violent and state-terrorist reality of that time and helped me to understand that the foundation of the bourgeois state in capitalism is based on violence, terror, war and exploitation.

    A little later, in the 1980s – I remember being very moved by it myself – I once told my mother about the torture of prisoners in solitary confinement. She was visibly moved. Unbeknownst to her, I had broken the windows of some banks with others to support the prisoners on hunger strike. Many years later, I would hear that my father and mother had themselves moved in solidarity with the prisoners and had begun to support the Kurdish liberation struggle as part of their lives.

    Social and societal empathy is something they gave me in life. It was also reflected in their decisions, which led them to become involved in the history of resistance in solidarity and, despite the repression of German or Turkish “security forces”, were prepared to leave the privilege of their own safety behind at times.

    1975, Stockholm
    After the death of Holger Meins, whose death also demonstrated that the German state was once again prepared to liquidate prisoners 29 years after the end of Nazi fascism, the justified fear of further state murders of prisoners and in an attempt to free the prisoners from the obvious attempt at subjugation and extermination in the prisons led the newly formed Holger Meins Commando of the RAF to the German embassy in Stockholm. It demanded that the German government release 26 political prisoners and threatened to blow up the embassy if it did not do so. The state refused to contact the occupiers and preferred to sacrifice its embassy staff for the sake of German state interests.

    During the occupation and in response to the German government’s refusal to enter into negotiations, the commando shot the diplomats Andreas von Mirbach and Heinz Hillegaart.

    Siegfried Hausner, a member of Holger Meins’ commando, was seriously injured during the occupation of the embassy. With burns all over his body, he was no longer able to be transported. Contrary to medical instructions, the federal government insisted on transporting him to Stuttgart-Stammheim, which was tantamount to a death sentence. They knew he would die from it, and he died.

    The RAF’s reaction to the tough stance of the federal government, which placed military priority over politics, was to be countered with the same logic. By shooting the two hostages, who themselves had no direct responsibility for the violent situation to which the RAF responded by murdering them, the RAF lost the moment of revolutionary morality and legitimacy in this action.

    1976
    Ulrike Meinhof died after four years in the dungeons of the powerful.

    After the failed occupation of the embassy in Stockholm, there was no longer any visible RAF outside until 1977. The state’s war against RAF prisoners, solitary confinement, special laws and special justice remained. With the verdict against the Stammheimers, the prisoners in the power’s isolation cells were to disappear forever. The system of annihilation or subjugation and special justice continued unbroken.

    The brutality of the ongoing state terrorist war in the prisons, which could not be stopped by Stockholm or by the prisoners’ hunger strikes, shows today a historical phase in which the attempt at self-defense and, in principle, the attempt to free political prisoners from the torture of solitary confinement was justified and legitimate. The occupation of the Stockholm embassy and the RAF’s ’77 offensive took place under this banner.

    This is also demonstrated by the successful liberation of prisoners through the kidnapping of Peter Lorenz in 1975 by the June 2nd Movement.

    1977
    Siegfried Buback, Federal Prosecutor General and largely responsible for the repression of the time and in particular for his orders for solitary confinement and special justice as well as for the murder of Holger Meins, Siegfried Hausner and Ulrike Meinhof, was killed by the RAF’s Ulrike Meinhof commando. From the perspective of those who were aware of the violent relationships in capitalism and who perceived or were affected by the extreme state violence of the time, this act was a form of legitimate counter-violence and self-defense. Denying this connection cannot in any way capture the historical reality.

    This was the beginning of Offensive ’77, with which the RAF attempted to end the “special detention” of the RAF prisoners by liberating them and to enable a reorientation of the RAF and the prisoners.

    She wanted to kidnap the head of the Dresden bank, Jürgen Ponto, but failed and ended with his unintentional killing.

    Schleier kidnapping 1977: “Those responsible for the crisis team decided to sacrifice Schleyer for the sake of state.”

    During the kidnapping of Hans Martin Schleyer, four police officers, Schleyer’s bodyguards, were shot dead.

    The federal government declared a state of emergency. The executive branch assumed decision-making power in the crisis team. The press declared itself to be in line.

    Historically, the state of emergency at that time represents the fascist power option that bourgeois democracy can use in capitalism. It also represents the elite’s willingness to use it when necessary.

    Those responsible for the crisis team decided to sacrifice Schleyer for reasons of state. They refused to exchange him for the prisoners. This was the state’s decision for a purely military solution. This was accompanied by discussions in the crisis team at the time about shooting RAF prisoners every hour. All of this speaks of the government’s responsibility for the course of history.

    The RAF responded, in the hope of persuading the ruling crisis team to adopt a different stance, by authorizing a commando of the Palestinian PFLP to hijack an airplane carrying innocent civilians.

    The Offensive ’77 completely isolated the RAF. It created a situation in which the entire left turned away from it and the RAF closed itself off to the left. Revolutionary goals that attempted to achieve a social impact were no longer a visible and direct element of its actions. It acted primarily for itself and therefore subjectivistically. It escalated the question of power against the state on a purely military level and thus opened a duel against the state that it could only lose.

    The military dynamics ran counter to political analysis. The isolated and subjectivist struggle was the precondition for an unjustifiable hijacking that ran counter to revolutionary principles and the idea of ​​revolution as class struggle.

    The killing of the four police officers as a prerequisite for negotiations is difficult to understand today and corresponds to a purely military logic. The killing of Ponto was not intentional and in itself ran counter to a realistic negotiating position for the release of the prisoners. Therefore, this action is part of the actions of the offensive at the time, which had lost its revolutionary legitimacy.

    October 18, 1977
    The German government had rejected any political solution and risked the lives of the hostages by storming the plane in Mogadishu for the sake of German state interests.

    Gudrun Enslin, Jan Raspe and Andreas Baader did not survive the night of October 18th in Stammheim. Irmgard Möller survived with serious injuries and declared: It was murder.

    With Schleyer died a man who went down in history as the right-hand man of the SS leader Heydrich, head of the Protectorate of Czech Bohemia/Moravia, which was occupied by the Nazi state. Schleyer was a careerist in the SS and responsible for the deportation of more than 40,000 Jews to the German extermination camps. As a person, he was partly responsible for the extermination of the Jews in the Shoah.

    He died as the personified continuity of Nazi perpetrators who made careers in the Federal Republic of Germany after 1945 and whose elite he represented. He died as the boss of bosses, as the person responsible for the exploitative conditions of the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany state.

    He also died as a prisoner of the RAF.

    The death of the Nazi perpetrator and the representative of the continuity of Nazi fascism in West German capitalism is certainly not a moment of mourning.

    Killing a prisoner or hostage is per se a moment of weakness and even a moment of defeat.

    The defeat of ’77 marked the beginning of long phases in which the military dominated the visible path of the RAF before the political moment. The military confrontation between the guerrillas and the state was the focus of politics, unlike during the May ’72 offensive.

    ’77 shows that armed struggle can only work if it is part of political movements and is politically committed to them. Armed struggle is always only one possibility for revolutionary movements and not something that can work on its own. The isolated guerrilla always runs the risk of entering into a militaristic and subjectivist dynamic. In the conflict based on military logic, it can only lose in the metropolis.

    The RAF was completely isolated after ’77. It had no base and had decided against social revolutionary politics in ’77.

    The militaristic moment of Offensive ’77 marked the beginning of a policy focused on assassinations for the next 14 years.

    The dissolving base of the guerrilla by the mid-1970s had led the Stammheim prisoners in their statements of 1976 to begin to emphasize that the RAF in anti-imperialism was beginning to distance itself from the social revolutionary and class struggle aspects of its concept of revolutionary struggle.

    1979
    With the attacks from 1979 to ’81 against the US military and two of its generals as high decision-makers and co-responsible for the most aggressive and powerful part of Western imperialism, the RAF ushered in the policy of urban guerrilla warfare focused on anti-imperialism. From then on, it sought its purpose in the international coordinates between liberation and the counter-strategy of imperialism. It saw itself – and was – part of the anti-imperialist liberation movements of the world. However, it was separated from the social conditions of its battle terrain. It shifted its analysis to the coordinates between liberation and imperialism. It only knew the world proletariat, which mutated into an abstraction without orientation to the social conditions.

    May 1982
    The strategy statement of the “May Paper”, which formulated the RAF’s policy and contained its purpose, conceptualized the mistakes of ’77 and laid the groundwork for the 1980s. The idea of ​​politics in the ’82 concept was an anti-imperialism whose focus was no longer on the consciousness of the society in which it fought. The bombs against the state and US imperialism had been planted. What was not intended were bombs in the consciousness of society.

    It was a departure from the strategic principles of the “urban guerrilla concept” of 1972. The RAF’s anti-imperialism was now detached from any social revolutionary strategy.

    The offer to others was militant attack or militancy in general at various levels in the context of the guerrilla’s anti-imperialist strategy and under its leadership.

    In doing so, it appropriated a concept of avant-garde, with which it declared itself to be the avant-garde. However, whether something is avant-garde is ultimately decided by the course of history and the potential to bring others into the revolutionary struggle.

    Due to the RAF’s lack of class analysis and its reduction to anti-imperialism in international coordinates, politics remained abstract and did not lead the guerrillas out of their isolation throughout the 1980s. Isolation here means isolation in a social relationship. The RAF was deeply connected and organized with comrades in the resistance and other small urban guerrilla groups, especially Action Directe from France, on the anti-imperialist and Western European fronts. But that was not enough for the revolutionary process, which fundamentally develops in a social context.

    Without the social reference and without the primacy of the political, politics remained subjectivist and did not lead it out of the duel between state and guerrilla.

    This was not changed by the “Fighting Units” strategically linked to the RAF or by militant groups calling themselves otherwise, who carried out a large number of arson and bomb attacks throughout the 1980s – for example, in 1982: militant actions against Siemens, AEG, US military barracks; 1984/85 Turkish consulate, NATO pipelines, NATO/US/German armed forces facilities, US secret service, Interior Ministry in Hanover, AEG data center; 1988 Renault branch, Deutsche Bank training center; 1989 Frankfurt Stock Exchange; 1990 Deutsche Bank data center and many more – all militant, non-armed actions in which the killing of human life was excluded and never happened.

    In reality, the Western European front was weak and could not replace the missing strategy in social relations, which as a fundamental opposition could only have been social revolutionary and anti-imperialist.

    The policy, reduced to anti-imperialism and free of class struggle, was an immense strategic mistake and was rightly criticized, for example, by the Belgian CCC, the Belgian communist urban guerrilla group of the 1980s, and completely ignored by the RAF throughout the 1980s.

    The factual and historical prerequisites for a redefinition of politics since 1979 would have been both the completely isolated RAF and its reasons as well as the class situation in neoliberalism: the pacified proletarian layers, the integration of the proletariat with the promise of mass consumption in the metropolises; as well as isolation as a neoliberal principle of life, which was a result of the restructuring of industry in globalized neoliberalism. This was also a consequence of capitalism in response to the uprisings in the factories at the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, as had occurred in Italy and France. The rulers feared the “mass worker” and preferred the isolation of the population in production and society.

    The development of the worldwide liberation movements, the strategies of NATO in the coordinates between liberation and imperialism and the existence of various large, naturally reformist but partly also militant sub-sector movements would also have been the prerequisite for the necessary strategic repositioning of the urban guerrilla.

    An urban guerrilla that was also socially revolutionary and not just anti-imperialist might have had the chance to bring together the movements that emerged independently of the RAF in the late 1970s and 1980s, some of which were also militant: the house-to-house fighting movement, the anti-nuclear movement, the anti-NATO movement, the feminist movement and the solidarity movements with the liberation movements of the Tricontinent, into a socially revolutionary and anti-imperialist fundamental opposition. Then it would undoubtedly not have been possible to focus on the RAF/state conflict within the international coordinates and to set a militaristic dynamic in motion.

    But the RAF was only committed to itself and did not manage to break out of it in the 1980s.

    Politics from 1977 and throughout the 1980s involved only a few people. The radical left largely became spectators in the conflict between the anti-imperialist RAF and the state.

    1984
    The militaristic actions of the second half of the 1980s, which were rightly criticized as incomprehensible, had little political connection to society and remained abstract and subjectivist, were based on the strategic errors that had occurred in 1977 and were declared a concept in 1982.

    With the lack of revision of the strategic errors since ’77 and their conceptualization in May ’82, a militaristic logic took on a life of its own in the course of the 1980s, which, from a revolutionary perspective, brought moments of loss of the moral compass of the revolution and moments of loss of legitimacy into the struggle.

    The shooting of Gerold von Braunmühl in 1986 is an expression of this. The lack of response by RAF militants to legitimate questions posed by the von Braunmühl brothers at the time is a further expression of political weakness and the destructive development after ’77.

    From the failure to come to terms with the ’77 offensive as a phase of militaristic logic and the resulting lack of revision, to the militaristic strategy of May ’82, in which the social question mutated into an abstraction detached from society and in which class struggle only played an abstract role, and the equally class-struggle-free and militaristic independence with the unjustified killing of the US soldier Pimental, it was precisely a coherent path.

    The reduction to anti-imperialism and “politics of assassination” after ’77 tells more about subjectivism and the independence of the military from the political than about class struggle and social revolutionary processes. The primacy of the practice of an anti-imperialist and social revolutionary urban guerrilla of the awakening from 1970 to ’72 ended up in a militaristic dynamic with the dividing line between oneself and the enemy as a now subjectivist consciousness.

    The lack of pause since the defeat of ’77 – meant as a collective conclusion, summary, reflection, new justification and change of strategy – characterized the policy of the primacy of the RAF’s practice from ’79 through the 1980s. 1979 would quite obviously have been the time for social analysis or class analysis and a re-positioning of the fundamental opposition in the form of the RAF. The re-formation of the RAF in 1984 would also have provided reason to pause, as would the epochal break in 1989.

    After 1977, the state used a manhunt against the guerrillas: no prisoners were taken. Willy Peter Stoll and Elisabeth von Dyck were deliberately shot by the police without resistance. Rolf Heißler survived a shot to the head when he entered an apartment, but was seriously injured.

    The harsh repression and massive criminalization reached large parts of the left and forced various legal activists to go underground in the course of the 1980s in order to avoid arbitrary arrests. Some ended up in exile for many years. The climate of repression, not only against the RAF, was extraordinary and, if seriously examined, its structure and form since the 1970s can only be seen as state terrorism.

    1989
    There came a turning point and the hunger strike of the political prisoners.

    The permanent state of emergency, designed to destroy or subjugate the political prisoners, continued into its 19th year as a form of terror.

    19 years of a state of emergency in prisons meant 19 years of isolation, sometimes in the form of small group isolation. 19 years of isolation as white torture and internationally condemned. 19 years of various hunger strikes as the remaining possibility of fighting for survival and dignity and of defending oneself against torture and extermination.

    Günter Sonnenberg, who was seriously wounded by a gunshot wound to the head, was denied appropriate life-sustaining treatment by the state for many years, which would have been a prerequisite for his release. Sigurd Debus died during a hunger strike against solitary confinement torture.

    The misery of prisons and solitary confinement torture was endless.

    The turning point and the hunger strike of the prisoners occurred in the same year, 1989. It was the end of real socialism and a decisive change in the global coordinates between real socialism, liberation movements and capitalism.

    With the hunger strike in 1989, the prisoners tried one last time to collectively bring about a change in their situation. They also declared that they wanted to initiate a discussion with other social groups.

    The end of the international order of the 1980s, which was the prerequisite for the RAF’s determination in May 1982: The dissolution of the real socialist bloc and the decline of the remaining liberation movements dissolved the RAF’s determination framework.

    After the hunger strike, the political changes at various levels, including international ones, and the invalidity of the guerrilla strategy of May 1982, the state executive was sure that the RAF would not return to this practice.

    The state reacted to the prisoners’ political openness and their attempt to put an end to extermination imprisonment, and despite the broad solidarity for their demands from many people across all sectors of society, as it had done for 18 years: it maintained the extermination regime in the form of isolation torture.

    In retrospect, the epochal turning point in 1989 would have been a historically imperative moment – ​​as it was after 1977 – to review the continued existence of the RAF, to conduct an appropriate investigation and class analysis and to decide whether the project should be transformed or terminated.

    At that moment, the RAF did not have the political strength to fully grasp the dimension of this historical moment in relation to its own situation. However, it was determined not to give up in the face of the gloom of the times, which loomed large with the prospect of German capital now gaining what it had not achieved under National Socialist rule: becoming one of the world powers behind the USA, the hegemonic power in Europe and an active actor in imperialist wars.

    In retrospect, it is unrealistic that the RAF would have simply carried on in the face of the epochal turning point of 1989 if, at the same time, an end to the hostage-taking of the prisoners, which was designed to destroy them, could have been enforced and thus the discussion about updating the transformative strategies of the left and the old fundamental opposition inside and outside would have been possible.

    In this respect, the state bears its share of responsibility for the killing of the head of Deutsche Bank and the head of the Treuhand by the RAF. The action against Herrhausen was also clearly a response to the persistence of the state’s desire to destroy the prisoners. The RAF was objectively at a historical point at which it could only have disbanded or come back as a new project with a new strategy – if at all, given the real state of society and that of the remaining left.

    1989
    The RAF’s action against Herrhausen was a contradiction in terms: the RAF was clearly reacting in the context of the state terrorist violence of immense proportions that had existed since 1970. At the same time, it was no longer acting within an inadequate strategy, but without a strategy. There is, of course, a visible contradiction here: an action of this magnitude without an explainable strategy, but as the initiation of a process of search and redefinition, has a legitimacy deficit from the outset.

    At the same time, however, an action against Deutsche Bank at that time represented a return to a policy that was objectively determined by a social relationship. Herrhausen was the man who set the course for German capital’s reunification, for Germany’s rise to become one of the world’s leading economic powers, and represented the emerging new German imperialism after the fall of the Soviet Union like no other on the side of German capitalism. In political terms, addressing and/or attacking the Deutsche Bank group at that time – regardless of its form – was objectively the possibility of a social revolutionary and anti-imperialist perspective and marked a departure from subjectivism – that is, acting outside of the social relationship.

    1990
    The RAF’s practice in the 1990s was clearly an unconditional adherence to fundamental opposition in the form of the RAF in the face of Germany’s rise to the “Fourth Reich”, as many on the left feared at the time, and the rise of German capitalism. Their will to change something that had long since become wrong was unmistakable. Their courage to define themselves as seekers and not as responders was clear.

    However, it was also marked by its obvious theoretical weakness. In this respect, it was clearly a child of the 1980s. The early RAF group and the comrades of the 1970s still drew on the wealth of profound and diverse, worldwide discussions of the 1968 era and the effort to collectively acquire theoretical knowledge. In the 1980s, the RAF militants then drew on the wealth of May 1982 and remained stuck in it. The 1980s were years of practice rather than theory, even in the legal sub-movements.

    In the 1980s, at the historical moment of epochal change, I myself was part of the squatter movement and a resident of Hamburg’s Hafenstrasse – what a unique, special and formative time in my life, I thought of it for a long time with nostalgia and affection – and was more driven by a youthful, emotional and immature radicalism and determination than by profound conceptual debates or the theoretical acquisition of knowledge.

    I was not yet aware of the importance of the wealth of knowledge of my fellow residents on Hafenstrasse at the time, some of whom had already brought experience from the 1970s, and some of whom were anarchists, social revolutionaries or former prisoners of June 2nd and the Red Army Faction, nor of the possibility of drawing on it and taking it with me into life.

    1990
    The action against the then Secretary of State for the Interior, Neusel, showed how the RAF, despite the recognition in their statement that something had to change, still acted outside of social relations, i.e. subjectivistically, despite the fact that it was still influenced by the 1980s. A non-fatal assassination attempt in the context of the hunger strike of Spanish revolutionary prisoners during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the takeover of the GDR by the FRG, i.e. the triumph of capitalism with its serious social upheavals in Germany and Eastern Europe, is absurd in retrospect. Not that solidarity with the Spanish prisoners would not have been a good thing – but an assassination attempt in this context during the fundamental changes in the world and the social and political effects of this in Germany was completely politically disorientating. A true irony of history.

    1991
    The action against the US embassy in the war against the people of Iraq, the first violent expression of the new world order in which only the capitalist centres would have power, a war that would lead to millions of deaths as a result of military force and sanctions, was a first departure from the “assassination policy” of the 1980s. It was the first political/military non-lethal action, the declared aim of which was not to endanger others, since the action against the Springer group in 1972, which only resulted in accidental injuries on the part of the RAF. This action in 1972 was an attempt to reach out to a dying movement of the 1968 generation, which was denounced by the constant lies of the Springer press.

    The action against the US embassy in 1991 was also declared to be the first clear approach to left-wing movements since the early 1970s and an attempt to connect with them – even without the expectation that they should join the guerrillas with militancy. In fact, the false concept of avant-garde was off the table and obsolete in the proclaimed process of searching.

    1991
    With the action against Rohwedder, the RAF returned, in contradiction, to the “politics of assassination.” In political terms, in contrast to the 1980s, it acted in a clear relationship to society. The action explained itself in terms of social conditions: the “incorporation” of the GDR by capitalism and the social upheavals that this brought about. It was essentially class-fighting and socially revolutionary. It had an obvious and declared addressee: the workers and masses affected by the upheavals and the realignment of capitalism, who were exposed to the new conditions of capitalism. The decision to attack the Treuhandanstalt as a front institution of West German capital in this process was self-explanatory and politically coherent as an attack on the institution, regardless of the form.

    At the same time, the RAF was in the process of searching for a new conception and a path to an updated strategy and therefore did not yet know a possible future of a “political-military” conception.

    Furthermore, the RAF’s “assassination policy” had been thoroughly discredited since 1977, which should have inevitably led to a break with it as a political decision and marked a moment of political weakness and lack of foresight on the part of the RAF at that time.

    Both delegitimized the attack on the Treuhand boss. So what had to happen happened: it left society and the remaining left as spectators on the sidelines. The attack’s severity ran counter to the growing together of the urban guerrillas and the remaining left. The same applies to the obvious attempt to reach out to others who were battered, degraded or downgraded by great uncertainty and social upheaval in the new Germany. Many people noticed this attempt by the RAF, and not just leftists, but also on a broader social level – especially that of the downgraded and insecure, proletarian sections of the population of the defunct GDR. But nothing came of it. Despite its unmistakably social revolutionary orientation and purpose, an assassination attempt could not contribute to a new beginning.

    Individual assassinations in the long history of revolutions and uprisings over the centuries can only be assessed in a differentiated and historical context. In fact, history can only be discussed in a differentiated and political manner. On the other hand, an “assassination policy” – there is no way around calling it that in the form of practice that has been elevated to dogma (and the RAF never called it that, but the term sums up the practice from 1977 to 1990) – and this term already tells of its political weakness – could not achieve what revolutionary politics and practice in the metropolis are all about. “Assassination policy” in its structural application is an expression of militaristic independence and subjectivist consciousness. “Assassination policy” negates the structural interchangeability of individual decision-makers in bourgeois democracy, which inevitably leads to a legitimacy deficit. “Assassination policy” simply has too little effect on society’s consciousness in the construction of revolutionary counter-power in the metropolis.

    “Assassination politics” reaches only a few people and leaves those it wants to reach as spectators on the sidelines.

    A primary goal of revolutionary strategy should surely be to reach the consciousness of the addressees in the social context – those who are to be reached.

    The RAF has been losing this since 1977 and could not be eliminated with the necessary consequence even at the beginning of the 1990s. Here the form of the assassination was at odds with the goal and countered the proclaimed political realignment in the early 1990s.

    Historically, there are of course assassinations as a form of revolutionary self-defense and counter-violence that are clear and whose legitimacy cannot be denied from a revolutionary perspective: for example, the assassination attempt against the former boss of Schleyer and SS mass murderer Heydrich, the attempt by Georg Elser to kill Hitler, or the assassination attempt in the anti-fascist struggle in Spain on Carrero Blanco – the successor and deputy of the Spanish fascist and dictator Franco.

    At this point it should be said that the violence of the Federal Republic of Germany in the fight against insurgency, which from a realistic point of view can only be seen as state terrorism with partly fascistoid forms, led to moments of legitimate self-defense in the history of the RAF.

    There were undoubtedly moments of weakness in the RAF’s struggle and political decisions that were wrong. There were also moments when the moral compass of the revolution did not determine the historical moment. Every moment of this is one too many and remains as a burden on history.

    Moments of collective memory of the revolutionary left are also linked to the numerous militants of the RAF and the resistance who did not survive the fight for a world free from the rule of man over man and state terrorism, either in prison or outside.

    1993
    The year in which Wolfgang Grams was executed by the police while lying incapacitated on the tracks in Bad Kleinen. For Birgit Hogefeld, long years of life in prison began.

    Before that, the RAF blew up the Weiterstadt prison. This was the end of the RAF’s armed politics and the beginning of another possible perspective of militant politics.

    The destruction of the prison had opened up a social relationship in which prison as a means of domination affects all those who are affected by the repression and misery of prison out of need and necessity or because of their awareness of it. They are the poor; they are those who do not have the money for tickets; they are those who sink into drugs so that they no longer have to feel the misery of the violent conditions; they are the recalcitrant; they are those in deportation detention, they are those who defend themselves and those who rebel against domination and violent conditions – and who end up in prison for it.

    The bombing of the Weiterstadt prison will go down in history as a political direct hit. It touched the hearts of many. And that is how it should be.

    The RAF of the 1990s – with all its weaknesses, its sometimes lack of foresight and the weakness of its theoretical foundations, and despite the fact that in moments of its search it was more “clumsy” than sharp-witted and analytical, but what distinguished it was courageous enough to move forward in a questioning and searching manner, and despite the fact that it did not bury “assassination politics” until 1992: Under the changed conditions of that decade, it had tried to find its way back to the social revolutionary, class-fighting and internationalist principles that the RAF had known in its early days.

    With the actions against the US embassy and the blowing up of the Weiterstadt prison, the guerrillas found their way to propaganda of action, that idea of ​​revolutionary practice from the history of the anarchist movement. In this way, their return to acting within the social context was appropriately populist in the best sense. A moment that also guided the Red Brigades in Italy in their early days up to 1974 – despite completely different circumstances and incomparable strength.

    Ultimately, the left, the RAF and the social conditions in the 1990s were not ready for an armed struggle for a social revolutionary transformation.

    The West German left and what was left of it was preoccupied with the emerging nationalism and racism and its fascist and widespread violence.

    They, the radical left, had neither the strength nor the foresight to find a social revolutionary response to the surprising incorporation of the GDR. The up to 50,000 people who took part in individual demonstrations in the defunct GDR at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall against the integration into capitalism and in the dwindling hope of a “third – socialist and emancipatory – way”, beyond the great mistakes of repressive and rigid real socialism and beyond capitalism, remained more or less alone. In the years that followed, no relevant, social revolutionary left was formed, and none that could have posed a political threat to the new German imperialism that had begun to kill during the war in Yugoslavia.

    The RAF had already become history and any idea of ​​a repeat is absurd.

    The time in the 1990s was not ripe for new forms of militant struggle as an arm and option of large emancipatory movements that no longer existed and do not yet exist.

    After the upheavals and divisions among the RAF prisoners at the time and the RAF itself – and after the RAF declared its end in 1998 – I felt an inner distance from this story.

    Today I see in the history of the RAF the moment of justified resistance and its moments in history.

    In these 28 years of history, I see those who gave everything for the goal of a better and fairer world. I see those who had to bear the decades of misery of prison on their shoulders or those who died in this fight for liberation from the violent conditions of the capitalist system.

    I also see in the history of the RAF its strategic and tactical mistakes.

    I see its low points, with which it robbed itself of legitimacy at times and which remain as a burden of history.

    Probably every revolution or its attempts, probably every story of struggle between domination and liberation throughout the centuries has had its ambivalences.

    The collective appropriation of revolutionary history and its reflection lays the trail into the future of the struggles of human emancipation and liberation as well as one’s own development and change within it.

    The RAF is history, the question of resistance and transformation remains and is existential.

    The legacy of revolutionary history is the struggle for liberation today and in the future until all domination is overcome and all are free.

    Today

    Today we are in the midst of another epochal turning point. The crisis of eroding capitalism has opened a window of opportunity in which new dimensions of imperialism, up to the dimensions of World War III, are realistic. It is the age of authoritarianism, progressive impoverishment, nationalism, comprehensive militarization and ecological destruction of the planet, of flight and expulsion.

    Today’s epochal break is a threatening age. However, the erosion of conditions could also present the possibility and opportunity for system transformation and liberation from capitalism.

    Emancipation and revolution are only possible in the coexistence of different struggles and in the “recognition of interconnectedness”, as Caroline Braunmühl wrote – and of the existence of privileges and power imbalances in all areas of humanity. This too is an important and decisive prerequisite for transformative processes. I agree with this certainty without reservation.

    An emancipatory revolution begins with our own awareness and then leads to change within us.

    Coming together in recognition of different axes of power and privilege and in the certainty of the need for processes of our own change – in struggles against exploitation, oppression and war in capitalism – would be a process of revolutionary transformation. This would be, in a sense, looking in the mirror and then at society.

    There we see exploitation, poverty and a top and a bottom. There we see patriarchy and its relations of violence; racism as an instrument of domination and its social independence; militarism and war and the few who profit from it and the many who flee from it. There we see weapons that are produced, the class that profits from it and the many they kill. We see the protest against it and the daily repression of the protest. We see structural police violence and class justice. We see the ecological destruction of the planet for the profit of the few and the masses who have to flee because of it. These are spaces in which we can come together today in all our diversity and in the awareness of a complex and multi-layered power structure in the process of transformation. They could be the spaces of the uprising of tomorrow.

    The end of violent relations, a peaceful world, a world beyond ecological destruction, freedom from patriarchy, exploitation, domination and nation will not exist under capitalism. This is the factual prerequisite that cannot be changed and is evident.

    The questions of revolutionary transformation instead of barbarism are current and existential today.

    The emancipatory left today inevitably faces the question of whether it wants to save bourgeois democracy with the persistence of the relations of violence inherent in it – although the fascist option and authoritarianism are based on bourgeois democracy and the one arises from the other – or instead deal with its transformation into a domination-free and anti-capitalist future.

    Bourgeois anti-fascism as a form of left-liberal politics that focuses on right-wing extremist parties, fights symptoms, negates the systemic cause and intends to save bourgeois democracy will not be able to stop the run into further authoritarianism, fascism, war and climate destruction and therefore leads to nothing. System transformation into an anti-capitalist age would be the only option that could lead to the goal.

    Pure doctrines are a thing of the past. For the future of revolutionary transformation, we need the insights of the history of emancipatory movements: feminism, anarchism, communism, anti-racism, the movements of people of color, left-wing queer communities, communities of people with disabilities and their movements for self-determination, social revolutionary and subcultural movements, left-wing migrant communities, the migrant history of resistance, the failure of real socialism and many more.

    Rosa Luxemburg’s words in the face of the great crisis of capitalism in 1918 are still valid today – and stand for the possibility of building a liberated society instead of domination, patriarchy, fascism, war, nationalism, exploitation and destruction:

    Socialism or barbarism!

    The circle closes.

    The possibility of a historic moment could come and is now.

    As long as we live in a system that is based on violence and locks up people who resist it in prison, diverse resistance is justified and necessary.

    The special prison conditions and the imprisonment of Daniela Klette – like that of all prisoners in the history of emancipation struggles worldwide – are an expression of the violent relations of capitalist realities.

    This applies not only to prisoners, but to all of humanity: we can only be free if everyone is free.

    Freedom for Daniela!

    smash the system

    Burkhard Garweg

    Source: Arm The Spirit

    abolitionmedia.noblogs.org/?p=

    #anarchism #antiImperialism #armedStruggle #BurkhardGarweg #europe #germany #raf #urbanGuerrilla

    #anarchism #antiimperialism #armedstruggle #burkhardgarweg #europe #germany
  5. David Boles @[email protected] ·

    Unlikely Kindred Spirits: Kripke, Heaney, and Elizabeth I: A Linguistic and Philosophical Analysis

    At first glance, the analytic philosophy of Saul Kripke, the dramatic poetry of Seamus Heaney, and the political statecraft of Queen Elizabeth I could not seem more disparate. What could a 20th-century logician, a Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet, and a 16th-century monarch possibly share? Yet, beneath the surface, each grappled with language, identity, and authority in redemptive ways. Each, in their own silo, understood that naming and narrative wield power – whether it’s designating a possible world in logic, naming the unnameable traumas of Irish history, or styling oneself “Virgin Queen” to command a realm. In this exploratory conversation, we’ll sink into Kripke’s revolutionary ideas about reference and necessity, examine Heaney’s dramatic explorations of history and identity, and uncover how Elizabeth I engineered her political identity through language. We’ll reveal subtle connections – the resonances in their treatment of naming, authority, and the notion of necessity – to see how each shaped their world and left a lasting impact on the future. The journey is a thoughtful occupation: part historical detective work, part philosophical reflection, as we uncover lessons and methods from this unlikely trio.

    Saul Kripke: Naming, Necessity, and the Nature of Identity

    Saul Kripke’s contributions transformed analytic philosophy by showing that language is not just a game of labels, but a key to metaphysical insight. In his seminal work Naming and Necessity (1980), Kripke tackled fundamental questions: How do names refer to things in the world? What is the nature of identity? Are there truths that are necessary (true in all possible worlds) even if we discover them empirically? His answers shook the foundations of philosophy of language. Kripke argued against the then-dominant view that a name is essentially a description of an object. According to those older descriptivist theories (attributed to Frege, Russell, and others), calling someone “Aristotle” might implicitly mean “the student of Plato who taught Alexander” or any cluster of facts we associate with Aristotle. But Kripke pointed out a startling problem: what if Aristotle had died as a toddler, fulfilling none of those famous descriptions? Would we say “Aristotle never existed” simply because he didn’t do what we expected of him? Of course not – he would still be Aristotle. This thought experiment undermined the idea that names get their meaning wholly from descriptive facts. Instead, Kripke proposed that names are “rigid designators,” pointing to the same entity in every possible scenario.

    Rigid designation means that a name like “Aristotle” or “Elizabeth I” refers to that person in any conceivable world where they exist – the name locks onto the individual’s identity, regardless of whether their life stories unfolded differently. For example, the name “Richard Nixon” denotes the same historic person in every hypothetical scenario (every “possible world”) where Nixon exists, whereas a description like “the winner of the 1968 U.S. presidential election” could denote Nixon in our world but someone else (say, Hubert Humphrey) in another imaginable world. The name tags the identity directly, while a description might accidentally switch referents if circumstances were different. In making this case, Kripke gave intellectual muscle to the idea that individual identity is something real and essential, not just a collection of properties that can change. A proper name, once attached via a historical/causal link to its bearer, sticks. This suggests a metaphysical reality to individual identity, not just a collection of changeable properties. It’s as if the universe recognizes “Aristotle-ness” or “Nixon-ness” beyond any particular story or trait – a view that quietly revives a more metaphysical notion of essence.

    Kripke didn’t stop there. He famously introduced the concept of “a posteriori necessities,” truths that are necessarily true in all possible worlds yet are known only through experience. Classic examples include identity statements like “Hesperus is Phosphorus” (the evening star and morning star turned out to be the same planet Venus) or “Water is H₂O.” These facts, once discovered empirically, aren’t just true – they couldn’t have been otherwise (you can’t have water that isn’t H₂O in any world). In short, Kripke drew a bold line between what is contingent (could have been otherwise) and what is necessary (true no matter what), while also separating how we know a truth from what makes it true. This was radical: even a contingent-looking thing like the historical identity of a star could mask an underlying necessity. Through such arguments, Kripke revitalized metaphysics within analytic philosophy, insisting that questions of essence and necessity are meaningful and not just “wordplay”. His work gave philosophers a formal tool – possible world semantics – to talk about alternate scenarios rigorously, mapping out worlds where different facts hold, yet where “Aristotle” or “Elizabeth” still denote the same individuals.

    Kripke’s insights into naming and necessity may seem abstract, but they reveal a faith in the stability of reference: words can latch onto the world with a kind of permanence. This almost poetic idea – that a name carries the essence of its bearer through every storm of possibility – will echo unexpectedly when we look at Heaney and Elizabeth. Kripke, in essence, handed us a concept of identity as destiny (if “water” truly must be H₂O, if “Elizabeth I” once named always refers to that same woman in any scenario) and of language as power: our choice of words — name versus description — can determine whether something is deemed necessarily or just accidentally true. Keep these ideas in mind as we shift from pure philosophy to poetry and politics. The other two figures, in their own ways, grappled with naming, meaning, and the weight of necessity in human life, albeit in far more narrative and practical contexts.

    Seamus Heaney’s Dramatic Voice: Identity, History, and the Language of the Past

    Seamus Heaney, best known as a poet, also celebrated for his adaptations of ancient Greek plays, poured his linguistic genius into drama – particularly through adaptations of ancient Greek plays. His dramatic works like The Cure at Troy (1990, based on Sophocles’ Philoctetes) and The Burial at Thebes (2004, based on Antigone) are steeped in questions of identity, moral necessity, and historical burden. Heaney was an Irish writer deeply attuned to the legacy of history – especially the traumas and politics of Northern Ireland’s “Troubles.” In these plays, Heaney uses the classical past to reflect modern struggles, substantially naming contemporary pains in the language of myth. Identity is central: Heaney’s characters must decide who they are in the face of conflicting loyalties and narratives (just as people in Heaney’s own Ireland grappled with British vs. Irish identity, or Protestant vs. Catholic labels). Heaney’s Philoctetes, for instance, is not just a Greek hero wounded and abandoned – he becomes a symbol for the marginalized and oppressed of Northern Ireland, left to suffer until others realize they cannot win the “war” without reconciliation.

    The play asks: can old wounds be healed? Who gets to tell the story of those wounds? In The Cure at Troy, the act of forgiveness and returning Philoctetes to the Greek camp is a kind of renaming of him from outcast to comrade, an assertion of a new identity that helps end the war. Heaney uses this myth to explore the necessity of healing – a moral necessity as binding as any logical axiom. “History says, don’t hope // On this side of the grave,” the chorus intones, acknowledging how the cycles of vengeance feel inevitable. Yet the play famously continues: “once in a lifetime // the longed-for tidal wave // of justice can rise up, // and hope and history rhyme.” Here Heaney practically sings of a miracle: that fate (history) might align with our deepest hopes. This resonates with a Kripkean flavor – the idea of an unexpected necessary truth emerging from the grim facts of the world. In context, it’s a call for believing that the seemingly immutable historical antagonisms can necessarily give way, as if justice is an essential property of history that will manifest eventually.

    Heaney’s engagement with language in these plays is particularly striking. Just as Kripke dissected how naming functions, Heaney explores what it means to call something by its true name – whether it’s naming injustices or naming one’s own identity. In The Cure at Troy, he doesn’t just transplant Sophocles; he infuses the dialogue with the cadences of Irish speech and landscape, translating the Greek story into the “language” of Irish historical experience. Notably, characters at times speak in a mixture of English and Irish (Gaelic) terms. This bilingual texture is more than stylistic – it reflects the “complex cultural and linguistic identity” of Ireland. By switching tongues, Heaney is naming identity itself as hybrid, a product of layered history. Much as Kripke might say an object can have an essential origin, Heaney suggests his people’s identity essentially includes both English and Irish elements – an unavoidable truth of who they are.

    In The Burial at Thebes, Heaney again uses language pointedly. The play deals with Antigone defying King Creon’s edict to deny her brother a burial (because the state has named the brother a traitor). Here the power of names is deadly serious: being labeled “traitor” vs. “kin” means the difference between an ignoble exposure or honorable interment. Heaney emphasizes the conflict between personal conscience and state labels. Antigone insists on calling her brother family and worthy of rites, challenging the state’s naming of him as enemy. This mirrors Northern Ireland too, where one person’s “freedom fighter” was another’s “terrorist” – the crux of identity resting on who controls the narrative. Through these dramas, Heaney is wrestling with the meaning of meaning: does moral truth have an essential, necessary character (Antigone feels it does – divine law trumping man’s decree), or is it contingent on who’s in power (Creon’s view)? Heaney sides with the former, portraying the tragic costs when language and authority part ways with justice. In doing so, he echoes Kripke’s bold separation of truth from consensus – truth (whether moral or factual) isn’t just whatever description the powerful choose; it has its own reality. One can almost hear a Kripkean Antigone: “Polynices is Polynices” – my brother in every possible world – and no decree can make him not my brother. The necessity of that familial identity drives her actions, much as the necessity of reference anchors a name to its bearer.

    Heaney also plays with the poetic power of history, much like a queen might wield propaganda. In The Cure at Troy, the chorus serves as the voice of collective memory and prophecy, blending past and future in resonant oratory. Heaney understood that to control the narrative of the past is to shape the future – a theme we’ll see explicitly with Elizabeth I. In his Nobel lecture, Heaney spoke of the “redress of poetry,” how art can adjust our angle on reality. His dramas attempt exactly that: to redeem the past’s pain by reframing it. By invoking ancient names (Philoctetes, Antigone) in modern contexts, he claims that some human experiences are universal and necessary – the names change (Greek or Irish) but the essence (suffering, loyalty, courage) remains rigidly the same across cultures and eras. This nearly philosophical stance – that a story or name can be a rigid designator for certain human truths – feels akin to Kripke’s insistence that some meanings hold steady across possible worlds. Heaney, of course, approaches it emotionally and culturally. But when he ensures that hope and history rhyme, he is, in a sense, uniting two “worlds” (the ideal and the actual) under one name, one meaning.

    Crucially, Heaney’s linguistic choices also reflect a strategy of identity. In the North, language itself was politicized (English vs. Irish, even accents marking you as one side or another). Heaney often incorporates Gaelic phrases or Irish place-names into his English texts, a deliberate celebration of dual identity. Critics have noted that this merging of Irish words into English poems reflects Heaney’s own identity – rooted in a land of two tongues. On stage, this might appear as a character slipping into an Irish idiom at a key moment, grounding a universal tale in local reality. It’s a reminder that what we name things (and in what language) shapes our reality. A field in Ulster might be called the bog in English, but “the Strand at Lough Beg” in Irish memory – each naming carries different connotations, different histories. Heaney knew this power of naming intimately (he once wrote an essay on place-names in Irish poetry). In sum, Heaney’s dramas grapple with the interplay of name, narrative, and necessity just as surely as Kripke’s lectures did, albeit in a very different key. Where Kripke is analytical, Heaney is lyrical – yet both concern themselves with how what we say connects with what is real, and how identity persists.

    Queen Elizabeth I: The Politician as Poet of Her Own Identity

    If Kripke philosophized about names and Heaney poetically reinvented them, Queen Elizabeth I lived the reality of wielding names and narratives as tools of power. Ruling from 1558 to 1603, Elizabeth Tudor faced a maelstrom of political and personal challenges: religious schism, gender prejudice, foreign threats, and succession crises. She survived and thrived largely by mastering language and image – essentially turning her reign into a grand performative act of self-definition. In an age when a woman on the throne was met with skepticism, Elizabeth realized she had to control her identity narrative absolutely. She became, in effect, the author of “Queen Elizabeth” as a concept, engaging in what we might call a linguistic and existential project to secure her authority. She is perhaps history’s greatest example of “the naming of self” as political strategy: she carefully chose her titles, her epithets, her public words to shape how others perceived reality.

    One striking example is how Elizabeth managed her role as the head of the Church of England. Her father, Henry VIII, had been declared “Supreme Head” of the Church, but many in the 16th century balked at a woman assuming such a title (either for sexist reasons or out of Catholic belief that the Pope was the true head). Elizabeth’s solution was brilliant in its phrasing: in the Act of Supremacy 1559, she took the title “Supreme Governor” of the Church instead of “Head.” This subtle change of wording placated critics – it suggested a caretaker role rather than an overt appropriation of spiritual headship. By renaming her authority, she neutralized opposition: Catholics could imagine the Pope remained the “head” in spiritual terms, and conservatives uncomfortable with a female leader could accept “governor” as sufficiently modest. As one historian notes, Elizabeth favored “Supreme Governor” perhaps “to appease those who believed a woman could not be head of the church.” In essence, she redefined the narrative through a single word, proving that in politics, as in philosophy, names and descriptions carry real power.

    The difference between head and governor was the difference between deadlock and an “easy” passage of the Act. This recalls Kripke’s point about descriptions vs. names: change just a description and people’s entire perspective can shift, even while the underlying reality (Elizabeth leading the church) remains the same. It’s as if Elizabeth intuitively grasped a lesson: when confronted with an identity paradox, adjust the language around it to preserve the essential truth. She maintained her authority (essential role) by tweaking the accidental detail of its label – a very pragmatic deployment of something akin to rigid designation of her position (the position stays the same, but she found a label everyone could accept in all “worlds” of opinion).

    Elizabeth’s speeches and public letters were likewise carefully crafted to shape perceptions – she used rhetoric to command both loyalty and a sense of mythos. A famous example is her 1588 speech to the troops at Tilbury as the Spanish Armada loomed. Facing professional soldiers who might question a woman leading defense, Elizabeth uttered the immortal lines: “I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too.” In this moment, she explicitly redefined her identity in language: acknowledging her female body (“a weak and feeble woman”) yet claiming a male, kingly courage and resolve. By proclaiming within herself both woman and king, she solved the existential dilemma of her queenship – she named herself as essentially two-in-one. This is more than inspirational oratory; it’s a wild act of self-naming that gave her the authority of a man without sacrificing her role as a woman monarch.

    It was psychologically necessary for her troops to believe in her, so she adjusted the modal identity: in any possible world, Elizabeth asserts, my inner essence is that of England’s sovereign, undiminished by gender. The rallying effect was tremendous – the speech “boosted morale” and solidified her image as a courageous leader. In the eyes of her people, she became something almost beyond ordinary categories – Gloriana, the Virgin Queen who could be both mother and father to the nation. This public persona was nurtured through an early form of propaganda that Elizabeth both encouraged and curated.

    Indeed, Elizabeth orchestrated what’s often called the “Cult of Elizabeth” — an early form of what would later be termed propaganda. She recognized that controlling the narrative was as important as wielding the sword. Under her guidance, portraits, pageants, poems, and plays all served to project a consistent image of her virtue and power. Her portraits were laden with symbolism (roses for Tudor lineage, pearls for chastity, a globe under her hand for imperial dominion). These visual “texts” were carefully disseminated to shape public perception, portraying her as ageless, wise, and nearly divine. Writers like Edmund Spenser flattered her through literature – The Faerie Queene allegorizes her as Gloriana, an immortal fairy queen symbolizing glory and rightful rule. Even Shakespeare, while more subtle, wrote strong, wise monarchs and themes of legitimacy that resonated with her reign’s ideology. All of this was early modern spin-doctoring: Elizabeth named herself in so many ways – as Astraea (the just maiden of myth), as Cynthia (the chaste moon goddess), as the mother of her people married only to England.

    This last identity, “married to the realm,” was one she explicitly cultivated. After years of pressure to wed (which could have cost her independence or sparked factional conflict), she declared she would have no husband but England itself. As one account puts it, “she declared herself to be married to England” – a shocking notion at the time, but one that allowed her to retain sole power. In other words, she turned a personal “failure” to produce an heir into a virtuous myth: the nation itself became her progeny. By manipulating the language of marriage and motherhood, Elizabeth flipped the script of her narrative from “last of her line” to “virgin matriarch of a golden age.” The political necessity of not marrying (to avoid foreign entanglement and domestic rivalry) was thus elevated to an almost sacred choice, woven into the legend of her reign.

    Language was Elizabeth’s gilded armor. She used it not just to inspire or to spin, but to negotiate power in real time. Her letters and diplomatic missives often played people against each other with careful ambiguity and flattery. She even used plural personae: sometimes signing as “Elizabeth R” (Regina, the queen) and other times writing more intimately to her subjects or suitors. We see in her a keen understanding that what is said and unsaid can control outcomes. A scholar of her language, analyzing a 1586 speech about Mary Queen of Scots’ fate, notes how Elizabeth conjured an “imagined group of ‘we princes'” to justify her hesitation to execute Mary. By linguistically grouping herself with other monarchs (we princes), Elizabeth bolstered her stance as one sovereign judging another, as if speaking for all royalty.

    Such rhetorical moves gave her moral cover and collective authority in sticky situations. Over and over, she proved adept at adopting different personae: one moment the humble “weak woman” seeking counsel, the next the imperious ruler by divine right – each role invoked through carefully chosen words. This fluidity recalls Heaney’s ability to switch languages in a play to convey layered identity, although Elizabeth shifted between roles rather than linguistic codes. Elizabeth treated her public identity as a poet treats a poem: every word, every symbol was deliberate, aimed at an effect. In doing so, she ensured that her story would be the one remembered. Indeed, by the time of her death, she had so successfully imprinted her chosen image that history largely remembers her as she intended – Gloriana, the victorious, wise, virgin queen of a glorious era. It’s notable that even after four centuries, popular memory of Elizabeth I is full of the mythic qualities she cultivated rather than, say, her personal foibles or policy missteps. That is the testament to her total control of narrative.

    Intersections: Language, Identity, and Authority Across Three Lives

    Bringing Kripke, Heaney, and Elizabeth into the same frame, we can now trace some unexpected similarities in how they each dealt with identity, authority, language, and necessity. They operated in different spheres – abstract philosophy, literary imagination, and realpolitik – yet a few common threads emerge, almost as if they were conversing across time.

    The Power of Naming and Reference

    All three demonstrate that what we call something has meaningful consequences. Kripke formalized this idea: a name isn’t just a convenient tag; it connects an object’s identity across a range of scenarios. In a way, he gave philosophical backing to the notion that names have power – a truth long known in poetry and politics. Heaney, as poet and playwright, instinctively understood this. In his works, to name the past (the bog bodies in his poems, or the analogues of Ireland’s trauma in Greek myth) is to claim it and possibly heal it. In The Burial at Thebes, when Antigone insists on naming her brother honorable through burial, she’s fighting Creon’s attempt to redefine him as “traitor” by leaving him unburied – it’s a battle of naming, where each name carries a different truth.

    Heaney’s use of Gaelic terms in an English text likewise is an act of naming that carries identity: Broagh, dinnshenchas, Ulster, Troy – these names evoke worlds of meaning. By embedding Irish names and references, Heaney is asserting that the reference of those words must be honored in the shared world (much as Kripke argued a name’s reference isn’t up for subjective debate. Queen Elizabeth, on the other hand, used naming in the arena of power. She named herself and her role in carefully crafted ways – Supreme Governor, virgin, mother of England – and by doing so, she changed how others had to relate to her. There’s a nearly magical sense in which once she established herself as the “Virgin Queen,” that name took on a life of its own, referencing not just Elizabeth Tudor the person, but an idea of a semi-sacred monarch married to her land. It became a rigid designator of a political myth.

    Enemies at home and abroad tried to label her differently (usurper, heretic, “bastard” daughter of Anne Boleyn), but her narrative ultimately prevailed. We see in all three the idea that who controls the naming controls the reality. Kripke wrested the control of naming away from subjective impressions and gave it to objective links; Heaney gave naming back to the marginalized, using poetic language to reassert their identity; Elizabeth seized the power to name herself before others could. Each, in essence, demonstrates that naming is an assertion of identity’s permanence.

    Language as a Tool of Authority and Authenticity

    For Kripke, language (especially logical language) was a tool to access truths about the world. By analyzing how we talk about possibility and necessity, he was reclaiming a kind of authoritative knowledge – saying that our words can genuinely latch onto reality’s structure. In doing so, he challenged the authority of earlier philosophers (like Quine or Russell) who were skeptical about talking of “essences” or possible worlds. Kripke’s confidence in language’s ability to refer clearly and fixedly is a kind of intellectual authority: it makes language a trustworthy bridge to reality, not a misleading veil. Heaney, too, treats language as something that can carry moral and historical authority.

    Think of the chorus in The Cure at Troy commenting on justice – those words come charged with a moral weight that politicians of Heaney’s day explicitly drew upon (lines from that play were quoted during the Northern Ireland peace process because they carried the authority of shared hope and suffering). Heaney’s adaptation of Sophocles was used by figures like Bill Clinton and Joe Biden in speeches, borrowing Heaney’s language to lend authenticity and depth to political rhetoric. This is not unlike Elizabeth enlisting Shakespeare and Spenser – in both cases, the authority of art bolsters the authority of rule or political action. Elizabeth herself was a supreme example of language conferring authority. She knew that if she spoke like a monarch, in the cadence of Scripture or classical oration, she would be accepted as one. Her speeches are remembered as masterpieces of persuasive authority – consider how her Tilbury speech simultaneously quelled doubt and stirred fervor simply through words. Moreover, by maintaining control over her public narrative, she ensured that her authority remained legitimate in the public’s eyes.

    This is analogous to a Kripkean name maintaining a single reference – Elizabeth made sure the “Queen Elizabeth” the people imagined was always her, always authoritative, never undermined by some alternate image. She and her council even suppressed portraits that didn’t match the official image of her ageless beauty. In essence, she curated the truth that people could know about her – an ethically gray move, perhaps, but one that underscores the raw power of controlling language. The through-line here is that language can actualize power: for Kripke it actualizes intellectual power (clarity about reality), for Heaney cultural power (shaping understanding of history), for Elizabeth sovereign power (commanding allegiance).

    Identity, Essence, and the Idea of Necessity

    Each of our three figures deals with the tension between what is contingent and what is necessary in identity. Kripke gave us the clearest formulation: an object or person might have accidental properties (Aristotle might have had a different hair color or even no hair, he might have not taught Alexander) but also has essential ones (Aristotle could not have been anyone other than himself, nor could anyone else have been Aristotle). This notion of an immutable core identity finds echoes in Heaney’s and Elizabeth’s realms. Heaney’s characters often sense a pull of destiny or essential duty – Antigone feels it is necessary that she honor her brother according to divine law (her identity as a pious sister compels it), and that necessity is worth dying for.

    In The Cure at Troy, there is a prophecy that Troy cannot fall without Philoctetes – a necessity of fate that drives the plot. Odysseus and Neoptolemus must recognize that despite all their schemes, they need Philoctetes; they cannot rewrite that necessity. How they achieve it (trickery or honesty) is up to them – just as Elizabeth’s counselors recognized certain political necessities (securing succession, placating both religious factions) and had to cleverly navigate how to meet them. Elizabeth herself constantly balanced what was necessary against what was contingent. She famously said she did not want to “make windows into men’s souls” – acknowledging she couldn’t control private conscience, only public conformity. Thus it was necessary for national unity that people outwardly follow the Church of England, but she let it remain contingent what they inwardly believed. This pragmatic separation of inner essence from outer behavior is almost Kripkean: she distinguished between the essential loyalty (no foreign Pope’s authority, which she required) and the accidental details of personal faith (which she was comparatively lenient about).

    Moreover, Elizabeth seemed to believe in a kind of destiny for her reign. After the Armada defeat, the legend grew that she was the Protestant Deliverer, guarded by Providence. Her existence became entangled with a sense of historical necessity – that England’s flourishing needed Gloriana. By the end of her life, people had trouble conceiving England without her; indeed, a cult of memory grew that the time of “Good Queen Bess” was a golden age that had to end when she died, as if by a cosmic script.

    Another interesting commonality: the interplay of personal identity and broader identity. Kripke talks about identity mostly at the level of individuals and natural kinds. Heaney deals with identity at individual (his characters) and collective levels (Irish identity, human identity in the shadow of history). Elizabeth’s very personal identity (her virginity, her femininity, her lineage) became symbolic of a national identity (England as a “virgin” unconquered island, or as a unified Protestant realm). All three thus confront how an identity can resonate outward. Kripke might say that the name “Elizabeth I” in 1600 rigidly designates one woman, but that name also became shorthand for an era – “the Elizabethan age.” Similarly, “Heaney” as a name now rigidly refers to Seamus Heaney, but also evokes a broader cultural voice (people say “In Heaney’s Ireland…” as if he embodies a whole tradition). This broadening of identity through linguistic reference is a phenomenon none of them would likely have predicted, yet it happened. The lesson here could be that when language captures an identity powerfully, that identity can transcend itself – a person becomes an icon, a name an institution. Elizabeth consciously wanted this – to be an icon in her own time.

    Heaney perhaps more humbly became an icon of conscience through his words. Kripke, ironically, became an icon in analytic philosophy for reasserting the importance of reference and identity (some have dubbed it the “Kripkean revolution” in philosophy. The necessity aspect comes in when we consider how each dealt with inevitable constraints: Kripke argued some truths are inevitable (necessary) even if we don’t know them immediately; Heaney grappled with inevitable cycles of history but sought moments of grace when fate could change (as if invoking a new necessity – the necessity of justice); Elizabeth confronted the seemingly inevitable doubts about a female ruler and the inexorability of time (no heir, aging body) by creating a counter-narrative of necessity – it became necessary in people’s minds that she remain single and ageless for England’s sake. She turned what many saw as her biggest vulnerability (no husband, no heir) into a mark of providential design (the country needed a Virgin Queen). It’s a remarkable example of using narrative to alter what people consider historically necessary or inevitable.

    Controlling Narrative and Historical Perception

    Underlying these similarities is a fundamental theme: the control of narrative – be it logical narrative, poetic narrative, or historical narrative. Kripke controlled the narrative in philosophy by reframing how we talk about language and reality. He changed the story from “names are just descriptions we can swap out” to “names forge a stable link to reality that shapes what’s possible”. This influenced not only philosophy but linguistics and cognitive science, braying into the future of those fields. Heaney, in writing and re-writing ancient stories, was explicitly attempting to control the narrative of history’s impact on the present. By choosing which myths to retell and how to infuse them with modern urgency, he tried to guide how people in late 20th-century Ireland might view their own struggles – not as endless sectarian conflict, but as an ancient drama that might find resolution and catharsis. His famous lines about hope and history have indeed entered the narrative of peace and reconciliation; they’re quoted in political speeches and memorials, showing that he succeeded in altering the perception of what was possible.

    Queen Elizabeth, of course, was all about narrative control: she and her advisors put forth an official story of her reign – one of benevolent success, national glory, and religious providence – and worked hard to suppress or discredit competing narratives (like those of Catholic detractors or of Mary Stuart’s claim). The propaganda of the Cult of Elizabeth was essentially a massive narrative project: through art and text, convince the populace (and posterity) that Elizabeth is a legendary good ruler. It succeeded to a remarkable degree. Even centuries later, popular culture loves the Elizabeth story (films, biographies, etc.), and it’s usually a sympathetic if not hagiographic tale. In a sense, she wrote the history before it happened. This is not unlike how Heaney, through dramatizing historical themes, aimed to rewrite the future by influencing hearts in the present; or how Kripke, by rewriting philosophical doctrines, influenced future research.

    One could even say there’s a warning embedded across these stories: beware who authors the narrative. Kripke’s lesson is that if we get the theory of reference wrong, we might tie ourselves in philosophical knots and deny real truths (imagine if descriptivism were true – we might absurdly say “Aristotle never existed” if he didn’t match our description. In other words, a misnaming can obliterate reality. Heaney’s work warns that if we let others narrate our history (for instance, let hate or hurt dictate the story), we remain victims of it. But by seizing the narrative – telling our own story with honesty and hope – we can change the future’s course.

    Elizabeth’s life is a case study in narrative as double-edged sword: wield it well and you gain power and unity; use it to mask truth and it can become propaganda. She largely used it to positive effect (for stability and loyalty), but the concept in less scrupulous hands can be dangerous. Modern politics is full of “alternative facts” and spin – a lineage traceable to the Tudors’ mastery of image. The lesson for us is to strive for authenticity even as we craft narratives. Each of our three figures, at their best, aligned narrative with a deep sense of truth or necessity: Kripke aligned it with metaphysical truth, Heaney with moral truth, Elizabeth with a vision of national stability (arguably a political truth of what England needed at the time).

    Conclusion: Past as Prologue – Organic Revelations Across Time

    Exploring Saul Kripke, Seamus Heaney, and Queen Elizabeth I side by side, we uncover a surprisingly coherent conversation about how words shape worlds. In each domain – logic, literature, leadership – we see that identity is both discovered and invented through language. Kripke teaches us that there’s an underlying order to how words latch onto reality, a lesson in humility and precision: some things are what they are, no matter what we call them, so we’d better call them rightly.

    Heaney teaches us that while history may weigh like fate, language can illuminate paths through the darkness: by naming our demons and our hopes, we can find meaning and maybe even healing in what seemed necessary suffering. Elizabeth shows us that perception can be as powerful as truth – but also that a leader who understands the poetry of power can steer a nation’s fate. She intuitively grasped, as Kripke did philosophically, that naming is an act of creation: by naming herself and her story on her own terms, she in effect created a new political reality, one where a queen could be as revered as a king (and in her case, far more successful than many).

    There is a compelling coherence in these connections. It’s as if Kripke provides the theory that words have fixed referents, Heaney provides the humane practice of using words to anchor meaning in a tumultuous world, and Elizabeth provides the proof in action – showing that by fixing the meaning of her role (in the minds of her people) she attained a kind of necessary place in history. All three legacies continue to resonate. Kripke’s ideas about naming and necessity still influence debates in philosophy, cognitive science, and linguistics – shaping how future thinkers conceive of meaning. Heaney’s lines and reimagined myths continue to give solace and insight – their use by peacemakers and readers ensures that the past’s lessons are not forgotten, that the future can be approached with “hope and history” in harmony.

    Elizabeth’s reign, often romanticized, stands as both inspiration and caution: a woman who led with wisdom and words, yet whose very success depended on a kind of constructed reality. Modern leaders study her for tips on public image and statecraft – the notion of the “media monarch” arguably begins with her. The past, in these stories, isn’t past at all; it actively shapes the future, as each of these figures understood.

    In drawing together Kripke, Heaney, and Elizabeth I, we’re reminded that human beings live at the intersection of language and reality. Our philosophies, our arts, and our politics are all attempts to bridge the world as it is with the world as articulate it. There’s a kind of revelation in seeing these threads: it shows that truth and story, necessity and freedom, logic and poetry are not opposites but partners in the grand narrative of human civilization. Each of these individuals, in their own way, cautions us to use our words wisely – to seek the true names of things, to speak with integrity about our history, and to recognize the creative power we wield whenever we declare “this is who I am” or “this is what must be.”

    And perhaps the final insight here is this: by examining such unlikely companions side by side, we engage in the very process they all cared about – connecting names to meaning. We connect their names – Kripke, Heaney, Elizabeth – and find a meaningful constellation. In doing so, we participate in that endless project of making sense of the world, one connection at a time, guided by those who came before and lighting a way for those who come after.

    Sources

    Kripke, Saul. Naming and Necessity. Harvard Univ. Press, 1980. (Summary of key concepts en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org )

    Heaney, Seamus. The Cure at Troy (1990) and The Burial at Thebes (2004). (Analysis of themes of identity, history, language literarysum.com en.wikipedia.org )

    Historical accounts of Queen Elizabeth I’s speeches and propaganda (Tilbury speech, 1588 tutorchase.com ; Act of Supremacy title, 1559 elizabethi.org ; Cult of Elizabeth questionai.com tutorchase.com )

    “The Elizabethan Religious Settlement (1559)” – Elizabeth I’s title “Supreme Governor” and its significance elizabethi.org .

    Literary analyses of Heaney’s adaptations (e.g., use of Irish linguistic elements literarysum.com literarysum.com ).

    Melvyn Bragg’s The Adventure of English and other works (context on Elizabethan language and identity crafting).

    #cureAtTroy #drama #england #Heaney #insight #irish #kripke #labeling #literature #meaning #nebraska #philosophy #politics #QueenElizabeth #theatre

    #cureattroy #drama #england #heaney #insight #irish
  6. Boeddhistisch Dagblad @[email protected] ·

    De herberg van geborgenheid: kanttekeningen bij de Avatamsaka-commentaren van Edel Maex

    Gedurende de laatste weken van het jaar 2024 her-publiceerden we tekst en beeld van auteurs. In 2025 gaan we daar mee door. In onderstaande tekst, geplaatst op 17 februari 2013, een analyse van Jules Prast.

    In zijn commentaren op de Avatamsaka Sutra benadrukt Edel Maex de waarde van de ontmoeting van zelf en ander in naakte openheid. Dat schept ruimte voor nieuwe verbinding.

    Prachtig zoals Edel Maex in deel acht van zijn commentaren op de Avatamsaka Sutra verschillende tijdlijnen samenbrengt: het ideaal van de ‘geïndividueerde’ mens in de wetenschappelijke psychologie in de eerste helft van de twintigste eeuw en de opkomst van het boeddhisme in de tweede helft van die eeuw, in een tijd waarin individuele mensen op zoek gingen naar geluk en zelfbevestiging.

    Wat een woordenrijkdom. Wat een beeldenrijkdom. Wat een warme, doorleefde gloed van levenservaring valt je als lezer ten deel. Wat een sfeer ook van geborgenheid. In deze herberg is voor een ieder plaats.

    Mythologisch

    Ik heb die acht afleveringen vanavond nog eens herlezen. Het thema van geborgenheid loopt als een rode draad door alle acht heen evenals dat van openheid, naakte openheid zelfs, de openheid waarin alleen ‘in het voorbijgaan van het voorbijgaan’ jijzelf en de ander elkaar werkelijk kunnen ontmoeten. Zelf is ander.

    De Avatamsaka Sutra is dikker dan de Bijbel en vol wollige mythologische passages die mijzelf wel eens huiverig maken de rest voor vol aan te zien. Maar Edel Maex herinnert aan een uitspraak van Thich Nhat Hanh dat je oog moet hebben voor de poëtische intentie waarmee de hoofdstukken van deze sutra door de generaties heen zijn samengesteld. Dat helpt me dan weer op weg.

    Onwillekeurig schiet mij het beeld te binnen van Eihei Dogen’s Shobogenzo. Als je de acht afleveringen tot dusver van Edel Maex achter elkaar legt, dan ontvouwt zich een reeks leerredes die het begin zouden kunnen zijn van een soortgelijk opus magnum, een uitnodiging tot het mee-ervaren van het gedachtengoed van zen in het begin van de eenentwintigste eeuw. Misschien overdrijf ik een beetje. Ik bedoel dit echter niet badinerend, maar als een compliment, een dat de verwachting des te groter maakt naar het ‘wordt vervolgd’ waarmee ieder deel van het feuilleton eindigt.

    Interzijn

    De Avatamsaka Sutra is een product van het Chinese boeddhisme van de school van het interzijn (Huayen). Hetzelfde interzijn dat Thich Nhat Hanh heeft geïnspireerd tot zijn geëngageerde boeddhisme van tegenwoordig. Dat interzijn is al eeuwenlang een bouwsteen van zen: met één zandkorrel heb je het hele universum in je handen.

    Over interzijn las ik eerder vandaag ook Thanissaro Bhikkhu, in zijn e-boek The Shape of Suffering. A Study of Dependent Co-Arising uit 2008 (hier gratis te downloaden). Hij wijst er fijntjes op dat de Boeddha van de Pali Canon, in tegenstelling tot latere boeddhistische leraren, in het interzijn geen verbindende grond zag, maar juist een uitdrukking van het lijden, een die in een analytisch proces van grondige introspectie ontrafeld moet worden wil je als mens tot bevrijding geraken (p. 11).

    Dus toch een scheur in de muur van de herberg van de geborgenheid?

    “Hier is de plaats van hen, die zittend in meditatie zichzelf tot uitdrukking brengen, en wel op alle wegen van het bestaan.” (Avatamsaka Sutra) Het perspectief van Thanissaro Bhikkhu op wat er in die meditatie dan tot uitdrukking zou moeten komen, lijkt te verschillen van dat van Edel Maex.

    Zelf zie ik dat anders. Juist in de historische horizon die Edel Maex hanteert bij zijn eigentijdse interpretatie van de Avatamsaka Sutra zit ook de ontsnappingsroute besloten om te ontkomen aan de ogenschijnlijke tegenstelling tussen het oudere en het jongere boeddhisme.

    “History is an unending dialogue between the past and the present,” zei de Britse historicus E.H. Carr (What is History?, 1961). Net zoals het boeddhisme zich in zijn eigen wordingsgeschiedenis ‘for the better or the worse’ heeft gevormd uit verschillende stromingen, zo ligt in de schoot van heden en toekomst de uitdaging verscholen om oud en nieuw te verbinden en te verzoenen.

    Asymmetrisch

    Verandering komt niet zelden asymmetrisch, uit onverwachte hoek. Dat maakt het vaak des te moeilijker en spannender in de ander jezelf te ontmoeten. Nu speelt het zich niet af binnen je familie, maar tussen families. De globalisering zorgt zo voor haar eigen drukpunten van naakte openheid voor het boeddhistische stamverband dat zich maar al te graag in eigen kerkjes verschuilt nu de verre neven en nichten van weleer binnen gezichtsafstand komen.

    Menig boeddhistisch leraar van naam heeft publiekelijk de hoop geuit dat vereniging onder het banier van ‘One Dharma’ in het verschiet ligt. Nu de volgelingen nog.

    De geest van openheid die Edel Maex op gezag van de Avatamsaka Sutra vertolkt, zou ik graag zo opvatten: als een uitnodiging om in de onvermijdelijke pijn van de onderlinge verbroedering, in het existiële kraken en schuren van gekoesterde doctrines en heilverwachtingen, een unieke kans te ontwaren om de Dharma verder te brengen en klaar te maken voor komende generaties.

    Een nieuwe synthese van zelf en ander als wenkend perspectief voor de boeddhistische wereld? Ik zou in ieder geval graag hopen op iets meer onderlinge handreiking, met behoud van eigenheid. Er moeten mensen opstaan die een pad uitzetten van dialoog. Wellicht dat het initiatief kan komen van de zengemeenschap, van de vertegenwoordigers van een traditie die er als geen andere een track record op nahoudt zichzelf bij herhaling te kunnen ‘revolutioneren’.

    Dit is een automatisch geplaatst bericht via ActivityPub.

    #Avatamsakasoetra #EdelMaex #geborgenheid #JulesPrast #oneDharma #soetra
    #Avatamsakasoetra #EdelMaex #geborgenheid #JulesPrast #oneDharma #soetra

    #avatamsakasoetra #edelmaex #geborgenheid #julesprast #onedharma #soetra
  7. Boeddhistisch Dagblad @[email protected] ·

    De herberg van geborgenheid: kanttekeningen bij de Avatamsaka-commentaren van Edel Maex

    Gedurende de laatste weken van het jaar 2024 her-publiceerden we tekst en beeld van auteurs. In 2025 gaan we daar mee door. In onderstaande tekst, geplaatst op 17 februari 2013, een analyse van Jules Prast.

    In zijn commentaren op de Avatamsaka Sutra benadrukt Edel Maex de waarde van de ontmoeting van zelf en ander in naakte openheid. Dat schept ruimte voor nieuwe verbinding.

    Prachtig zoals Edel Maex in deel acht van zijn commentaren op de Avatamsaka Sutra verschillende tijdlijnen samenbrengt: het ideaal van de ‘geïndividueerde’ mens in de wetenschappelijke psychologie in de eerste helft van de twintigste eeuw en de opkomst van het boeddhisme in de tweede helft van die eeuw, in een tijd waarin individuele mensen op zoek gingen naar geluk en zelfbevestiging.

    Wat een woordenrijkdom. Wat een beeldenrijkdom. Wat een warme, doorleefde gloed van levenservaring valt je als lezer ten deel. Wat een sfeer ook van geborgenheid. In deze herberg is voor een ieder plaats.

    Mythologisch

    Ik heb die acht afleveringen vanavond nog eens herlezen. Het thema van geborgenheid loopt als een rode draad door alle acht heen evenals dat van openheid, naakte openheid zelfs, de openheid waarin alleen ‘in het voorbijgaan van het voorbijgaan’ jijzelf en de ander elkaar werkelijk kunnen ontmoeten. Zelf is ander.

    De Avatamsaka Sutra is dikker dan de Bijbel en vol wollige mythologische passages die mijzelf wel eens huiverig maken de rest voor vol aan te zien. Maar Edel Maex herinnert aan een uitspraak van Thich Nhat Hanh dat je oog moet hebben voor de poëtische intentie waarmee de hoofdstukken van deze sutra door de generaties heen zijn samengesteld. Dat helpt me dan weer op weg.

    Onwillekeurig schiet mij het beeld te binnen van Eihei Dogen’s Shobogenzo. Als je de acht afleveringen tot dusver van Edel Maex achter elkaar legt, dan ontvouwt zich een reeks leerredes die het begin zouden kunnen zijn van een soortgelijk opus magnum, een uitnodiging tot het mee-ervaren van het gedachtengoed van zen in het begin van de eenentwintigste eeuw. Misschien overdrijf ik een beetje. Ik bedoel dit echter niet badinerend, maar als een compliment, een dat de verwachting des te groter maakt naar het ‘wordt vervolgd’ waarmee ieder deel van het feuilleton eindigt.

    Interzijn

    De Avatamsaka Sutra is een product van het Chinese boeddhisme van de school van het interzijn (Huayen). Hetzelfde interzijn dat Thich Nhat Hanh heeft geïnspireerd tot zijn geëngageerde boeddhisme van tegenwoordig. Dat interzijn is al eeuwenlang een bouwsteen van zen: met één zandkorrel heb je het hele universum in je handen.

    Over interzijn las ik eerder vandaag ook Thanissaro Bhikkhu, in zijn e-boek The Shape of Suffering. A Study of Dependent Co-Arising uit 2008 (hier gratis te downloaden). Hij wijst er fijntjes op dat de Boeddha van de Pali Canon, in tegenstelling tot latere boeddhistische leraren, in het interzijn geen verbindende grond zag, maar juist een uitdrukking van het lijden, een die in een analytisch proces van grondige introspectie ontrafeld moet worden wil je als mens tot bevrijding geraken (p. 11).

    Dus toch een scheur in de muur van de herberg van de geborgenheid?

    “Hier is de plaats van hen, die zittend in meditatie zichzelf tot uitdrukking brengen, en wel op alle wegen van het bestaan.” (Avatamsaka Sutra) Het perspectief van Thanissaro Bhikkhu op wat er in die meditatie dan tot uitdrukking zou moeten komen, lijkt te verschillen van dat van Edel Maex.

    Zelf zie ik dat anders. Juist in de historische horizon die Edel Maex hanteert bij zijn eigentijdse interpretatie van de Avatamsaka Sutra zit ook de ontsnappingsroute besloten om te ontkomen aan de ogenschijnlijke tegenstelling tussen het oudere en het jongere boeddhisme.

    “History is an unending dialogue between the past and the present,” zei de Britse historicus E.H. Carr (What is History?, 1961). Net zoals het boeddhisme zich in zijn eigen wordingsgeschiedenis ‘for the better or the worse’ heeft gevormd uit verschillende stromingen, zo ligt in de schoot van heden en toekomst de uitdaging verscholen om oud en nieuw te verbinden en te verzoenen.

    Asymmetrisch

    Verandering komt niet zelden asymmetrisch, uit onverwachte hoek. Dat maakt het vaak des te moeilijker en spannender in de ander jezelf te ontmoeten. Nu speelt het zich niet af binnen je familie, maar tussen families. De globalisering zorgt zo voor haar eigen drukpunten van naakte openheid voor het boeddhistische stamverband dat zich maar al te graag in eigen kerkjes verschuilt nu de verre neven en nichten van weleer binnen gezichtsafstand komen.

    Menig boeddhistisch leraar van naam heeft publiekelijk de hoop geuit dat vereniging onder het banier van ‘One Dharma’ in het verschiet ligt. Nu de volgelingen nog.

    De geest van openheid die Edel Maex op gezag van de Avatamsaka Sutra vertolkt, zou ik graag zo opvatten: als een uitnodiging om in de onvermijdelijke pijn van de onderlinge verbroedering, in het existiële kraken en schuren van gekoesterde doctrines en heilverwachtingen, een unieke kans te ontwaren om de Dharma verder te brengen en klaar te maken voor komende generaties.

    Een nieuwe synthese van zelf en ander als wenkend perspectief voor de boeddhistische wereld? Ik zou in ieder geval graag hopen op iets meer onderlinge handreiking, met behoud van eigenheid. Er moeten mensen opstaan die een pad uitzetten van dialoog. Wellicht dat het initiatief kan komen van de zengemeenschap, van de vertegenwoordigers van een traditie die er als geen andere een track record op nahoudt zichzelf bij herhaling te kunnen ‘revolutioneren’.

    Dit is een automatisch geplaatst bericht via ActivityPub.

    #Avatamsakasoetra #EdelMaex #geborgenheid #JulesPrast #oneDharma #soetra
    #Avatamsakasoetra #EdelMaex #geborgenheid #JulesPrast #oneDharma #soetra

    #soetra #onedharma #julesprast #geborgenheid #edelmaex #avatamsakasoetra
  8. LaurenRELarkin.com @[email protected] ·

    Psalm 23:1-3 Abba God is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. Abba God makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.  God revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for God’s Name’s sake.

    Introduction

    At the end of last’s week sermon, we ended talking about remembrance, hope, and prayer. For Christians, when we gather to speak of, read of, hear of, and consume together with Christ in our weekly fellowship and worship, we are remembering Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are not just remembering Christ but participating the work of God made tangible in Christ: the divine revolution and mission of love, life, and liberation in the world for the beloved. This is truly εὐαγγέλιον. And if this is truly εὐαγγέλιον, then it is also the source and foundation of our hope that exists to sustain us today.

    In remembering and having hope we are led to pray, to bring ourselves deeply into God, to bend our knee (literal or figurative), to be creatures fully dependent on God. We remember, we have hope, and we pray, and it is this that is the beginning of all our activity within the walls of the church and without. As mentioned last week, “Prayer does not resign the believer to non-activity as if it is the final act in the face of trouble; it is the starting point. Prayer is how the believer unites with God and God’s passion for life, love, and liberation.[1] It is the bold request for God to enter in, to act; in prayer God is spoken to and from, in prayer God is remembered, so, too, the neighbor.”[2]

    But the author of Ephesians isn’t done with us yet as if it’s just about remembering and hoping and praying. But that this remembering, hoping, and praying participates in making believers one with God and with each other in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and bringing them into the true peace that surpasses all understanding.

    Ephesians 2:11-22

    For [Christ] is our peace, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity… (Eph. 2:14-15)

    So, the author of Ephesians verbally exhorts us (using an imperative!) to remember. To remember what? Not only Christ but who we were prior to being encountered by Christ in the event of faith. …remember that in the past you [were] Gentiles in the flesh, the ones who were called “The Uncircumcised” by the ones who were called “The Circumcised” in the flesh done by [human] hands (v. 11). But that isn’t enough; Paul asks his audience to remember, further, that they were for a time without Christ, having been alienated from the citizenship of Israel and a stranger of the covenant of the promise, not possessing hope and [were] without God in the cosmos (v 12). Paul is eager to recreate the situation for the Ephesians to cause more than just recall but real, heart-felt remembering,[3] pressing into the reality that apart from Christ they were dead in their false-steps and missing the mark (sin) (v 1), they were strangers to the promises of God, to Christ, and to the hope of God which is the hope of the reign of God in Christ.[4],[5] According to Ephesians, the Gentiles were overcome by their own desires, turned in on themselves, stuck in place by division, and consumed by hostility. This isn’t something that someone can work themselves out of, no matter how hard they try. For Paul, it is only through the encounter with Christ where one finds God, finds their neighbor, and finds themself; it is only in Christ where one finds true life, love, and liberation.[6] But at this time you who were once far off you became near by the blood of Christ (v 13). In other words, this is not done by human hands (χειροποιήτου in v 11), but by the love of God in Christ done by the power of the Spirit[7] as the down-payment in lives of the believers in Ephesus.

    This is why Christ is the peace of everyone—for [Christ] is our peace (v 14a)—Children of Israel and Gentiles combined. Because, as Paul writes, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity (vv 14b-15). There is now no longer us v. them, insiders v. outsiders, elected v. not-elected, Israel v. Gentiles, the circumcised v. the not circumcised.[8] There are not two groups, but one group. Thus, this peace Jesus brings in his own flesh, by the blood of the cross event and the glory of his resurrection is not just for privatized souls but for deprivatized humanity; it’s a socio-political event.[9] There is now no wall that keeps some in and some out, some included and some excluded; there is now (absolutely) no line—whether 2-D or 3-D—that can render some humans “good” and others “bad” based on which side of that line they fall because that line has been destroyed[10] and is now anathema for the believers and followers of Christ who benefit from the destruction of the division-wall of the fence by being included in to the heredity and mission of God by the work of Christ on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirits dwelling in their hearts.

    And if the wall has been destroyed, so, too, division according to enmity,[11] which is the hostility and intolerance fomented between the two groups that was the fruit of the division wall; it is the anger of the kingdoms of humanity turned inward to tear humanity apart.[12] This includes the laws and public commandments used to make some clean and some unclean, some righteous and others unrighteous; these, too, like the wall and the enmity, have become inoperative in solidifying groups of people against each other. For Paul then writes, and so he might completely reconcile both in one body for God through the cross he killed the hostility in himself (v 16).By Christ’s work[13]—the mission of God’s revolution of love, life, and liberation for the world—there is now no wall, thus no enmity, thus no law[14] that can keep anyone out and in this radical establishment of divine equity, there is peace[15]—true peace that is not contingent on one group suffering under the weight of another.

    Then the letter continues, [Christ] came and brought peace to you (all) who were far-off and peace to you (all) who were near because through him we—both in one spirit—possess access to God therefore now you are no longer a stranger and sojourner but you are a fellow citizens with the saints and of the family of God (vv 17-19). In Christ, these two have become one[16] and together they will dwell in and with God and they will have real peace—the type of peace that threatens the principalities and powers of the kingdom of humanity. [17] But this peace brought by Christ is more than reconciliation with each other, it is also reconciliation with God, thus, these two who are now one become the dwelling place of God. [18] As Paul continues, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets—Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone—in whom all building is being fitted together and grows itself into a holy temple in the lord in whom you, you also were built together into the dwelling place of God in Spirit (vv 20-22). Boldly Ephesians declares, where there is a lack of enmity and hostility, division walls and lines, laws and commands geared to keep some in and some out, there God is and there the saints of God are; no one is excluded and left out and the church is caught up in this radical inclusion and equity, snatched into this divine peace that knows absolutely positively no walls or dividing lines.[19],[20]

    Conclusion

    The church is without excuse here, according to Ephesians. Peace—the very peace Christ brings through his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension—is peace that is not contingent on the kingdom of humanity but dependent on the reign of God. It is peace that arises in the communion of humanity with humanity, humanity with God, and humanity with creation; it is peace that manifests within and among humanity in its unity to the glory of God, which is in opposition to the “peace” (i.e. “security” (“control”)) of the kingdom of humanity that thrives on the humanity’s disunity. None of us who claim to follow Christ can afford to support systems dead set on dividing and conquering, oppressing and marginalizing, and fostering anger and fear; these systems are antithetical to the gospel of Christ and to the faith and praxis of the believer in the world before God and neighbor. None of us who claim to follow Christ can find peace (and hope) anywhere else apart from God: not in federal positions and presidents, not in parties and platforms, not in promises and progress made with human hands. We can only find true peace in our reconciliation with God, which is reconciliation with our neighbor, and, thus, these two combined give us reconciliation with ourselves because we have been made one with our neighbor and thus have become the dwelling place of God.

    We cannot find peace by building the world we long for with human hands because as soon as we build it it has expired and must be torn down to allow something new to be born. We cannot find peace by turning the gospel into a law as if it can found a nation that would only gift life, love, and liberation to those who qualify. We cannot find peace by letting enmity and hostility be the mortar holding the bricks of the division-wall together. We cannot find peace by legislating Christianity because the doctrines born of the second word of God that form the tissue of the Christian Church inherently resist such socio-political ossification. We can and will only find peace by pressing further into God, clinging to God’s Word in Christ, and leaning into the guidance and leading of the Spirit of God, the guarantor of the new covenant, the down payment of our adoption into God, and the fertile soil making us one with God, with our neighbor, thus, with ourselves. It is only here, in God and with God, do we find true and lasting peace that surpasses all understanding.

    [1] See Sölle, Choosing Life, pp. 92-93

    [2] This portion is taken from, Lauren R.E. Larkin, “Leaving Heaven Behind: Paradoxical Identity as the Anchor of Dorothee Sölle’s Theology of Political Resistance,” PhD Dissertation (University of Aberdeen, 2024), 202.

    [3] Barth, Markus, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1-3, The Anchor Bible Series (Garden City: Doubleday, 1971), 254. “Repentance, decision, and gratitude are called for, not a mental recollection only.”

    [4] Barth, Ephesians, 257. “In Eph 2:12 a status of strangership is described, not an event leading to estrangement.”

    [5] Barth, Ephesians, 259. \“Unless Paul flippantly denied or dispossessed the Gentiles of any hope he must have meant a specific hope. This ‘hope,’ then, could be understood as fostered in the minds of the Jews, because it was founded and guaranteed in the heart of God or ‘laid up in heaven’……It is the hope for the promised messiah from the root of David…”

    [6] Barth, Ephesians, 254. “Paul’s thought moves from men in the grip of ‘flesh’ (2:11), over the work performed in ‘Christ’s flesh’ (2:14, to the operation of the ‘Spirit’ (2:18). Nothing can prevent the ‘Spirit’ from operating ‘in the realm of flesh.’”

    [7] Barth, Ephesians, 255. “As the building of the temple by God is contrasted to the construction of temples by men, so circumcision of the heart…highly excels handmade circumcision.”

    [8] Allen Verhey and Joseph S. Harvard, Ephesians, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible, eds. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher (Louisville: WJK, 2011), 93. “If it was especially the Jewish Christian who needed to be reminded earlier that all are ‘sinners,’ not just the ‘uncircumcised,’ not just the Gentiles, and that all are brought from death to life by the gift of God’s grace, not by ‘works’  of the law, the Gentiles are now reminded of the promises to Israel and that it is in the Jewish Messiah that they are given a share in them.”

    [9] Barth, Ephesians, 262. “Christ is praised here not primarily for the peace he bring to individual souls; rather the peace he brings is a social and political event…”

    [10] Barth, Ephesians, 263-264. “The combination of the two Greek nouns yields a composite sense: it is a wall that prevents certain person from entering a house or a city (cf. 2:19), and is as much a mark of hostility (2:14, 16) as, e.g. a ghetto wall, the Iron Curtain the Berlin Wall, a racial barrier, or a railroad track that separates the right from the wrong side of the city, not to speak of the wall between state and church.”

    [11] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “In this case, the ‘enmity’ is as much the object of destruction as the wall.”

    [12] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “The word ‘enmity’ defines the separation between Jews and Gentiles more specifically: this segregation implies intolerance, and is a passionate, totalitarian, bellicose affair. While the ‘enmity’ mentioned at the end of vs. 16 is the one-sided enmity of man against God, the ‘enmity’ of vs. 14 is mutual among men.”

    [13] Barth, Ephesians, 265. “…the context of Eph 2:15 reveals that for the author (as much as for Paul himself) the death of Christ rather than the promulgation of new decrees stood behind the abolition of the divisive statutes.”

    [14] Barth, Ephesians, 264. Wall, enmity, and law “Each of these terms throws light on the others; the author wants them to be considered as synonyms.”

    [15] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 96. “…God seals a ‘new covenant’ in ‘the blood of Christ.” And in that ‘new covenant’ there is a new community, a community of both Jew and Gentile, a community that shares the memory of Christ and the hope of God’s promises with a common meal.”

    [16] Barth, Ephesians, 272. “After showing that the church exists only as a unity, that is, as one new man created out of Jews and Gentiles, the apostle does not proceed to split t into halves.”

    [17] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 97. “But this was not merely an idea, as the reality of baptism makes clear. This was not merely an ideal that exists outside history and toward which we must strive. This was and is a reality wrought in Christ on the cross and displayed in the churches when God initiates diverse people into Christ and into the church. Ideals are powerless against the forces in this world that divide and abuse, against the principalities and power that nurture cultures of enmity. But those forces are and will be finally powerless against the promise and reality of God’s future.”

    [18] Barth, Ephesians, 274. “The church herself is not reconciliation but she lives form it and manifests it. She serves the glory of God inasmuch as her members mutually assist, support, and strengthen one another. Neither jews nor Gentiles nor any individual can independently claim after Christ’s coming to offer an appropriate residence For God but Jews and Gentiles together are now ordained by God to become his temple.”

    [19] Barth, Ephesians, 324-325. “Now the church is the sign of his mercy, his peace, and his nearness the whole world. If God can and will use people are who are as tempted and weak as the Christian are, then he is certainly able and willing to exclude no one from his realm. The church lives by this hope and bears witness to it publicly.”

    [20] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 98. “They are called to break down the walls and to perform this new social reality by forming friendships with the people on the other side of the aisle, or on the other side of town.”

    https://laurenrelarkin.com/2024/07/21/6623/

    #Beloved #ChoosingLife #ChristianNationalism #DividingWall #DivineLove #DivinePeace #Division #DorotheeSölle #Ephesians #Hope #Jesus #LawAndGospel #Love #LoveOfNeighbor #MarkusBarth #Peace #UnionWithGod #UnionWithSelf #UnionWithTheNeighbor

    #beloved #choosinglife #christiannationalism #dividingwall #divinelove #divinepeace
  9. LaurenRELarkin.com @[email protected] ·

    Psalm 23:1-3 Abba God is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. Abba God makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.  God revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for God’s Name’s sake.

    Introduction

    At the end of last’s week sermon, we ended talking about remembrance, hope, and prayer. For Christians, when we gather to speak of, read of, hear of, and consume together with Christ in our weekly fellowship and worship, we are remembering Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are not just remembering Christ but participating the work of God made tangible in Christ: the divine revolution and mission of love, life, and liberation in the world for the beloved. This is truly εὐαγγέλιον. And if this is truly εὐαγγέλιον, then it is also the source and foundation of our hope that exists to sustain us today.

    In remembering and having hope we are led to pray, to bring ourselves deeply into God, to bend our knee (literal or figurative), to be creatures fully dependent on God. We remember, we have hope, and we pray, and it is this that is the beginning of all our activity within the walls of the church and without. As mentioned last week, “Prayer does not resign the believer to non-activity as if it is the final act in the face of trouble; it is the starting point. Prayer is how the believer unites with God and God’s passion for life, love, and liberation.[1] It is the bold request for God to enter in, to act; in prayer God is spoken to and from, in prayer God is remembered, so, too, the neighbor.”[2]

    But the author of Ephesians isn’t done with us yet as if it’s just about remembering and hoping and praying. But that this remembering, hoping, and praying participates in making believers one with God and with each other in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and bringing them into the true peace that surpasses all understanding.

    Ephesians 2:11-22

    For [Christ] is our peace, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity… (Eph. 2:14-15)

    So, the author of Ephesians verbally exhorts us (using an imperative!) to remember. To remember what? Not only Christ but who we were prior to being encountered by Christ in the event of faith. …remember that in the past you [were] Gentiles in the flesh, the ones who were called “The Uncircumcised” by the ones who were called “The Circumcised” in the flesh done by [human] hands (v. 11). But that isn’t enough; Paul asks his audience to remember, further, that they were for a time without Christ, having been alienated from the citizenship of Israel and a stranger of the covenant of the promise, not possessing hope and [were] without God in the cosmos (v 12). Paul is eager to recreate the situation for the Ephesians to cause more than just recall but real, heart-felt remembering,[3] pressing into the reality that apart from Christ they were dead in their false-steps and missing the mark (sin) (v 1), they were strangers to the promises of God, to Christ, and to the hope of God which is the hope of the reign of God in Christ.[4],[5] According to Ephesians, the Gentiles were overcome by their own desires, turned in on themselves, stuck in place by division, and consumed by hostility. This isn’t something that someone can work themselves out of, no matter how hard they try. For Paul, it is only through the encounter with Christ where one finds God, finds their neighbor, and finds themself; it is only in Christ where one finds true life, love, and liberation.[6] But at this time you who were once far off you became near by the blood of Christ (v 13). In other words, this is not done by human hands (χειροποιήτου in v 11), but by the love of God in Christ done by the power of the Spirit[7] as the down-payment in lives of the believers in Ephesus.

    This is why Christ is the peace of everyone—for [Christ] is our peace (v 14a)—Children of Israel and Gentiles combined. Because, as Paul writes, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity (vv 14b-15). There is now no longer us v. them, insiders v. outsiders, elected v. not-elected, Israel v. Gentiles, the circumcised v. the not circumcised.[8] There are not two groups, but one group. Thus, this peace Jesus brings in his own flesh, by the blood of the cross event and the glory of his resurrection is not just for privatized souls but for deprivatized humanity; it’s a socio-political event.[9] There is now no wall that keeps some in and some out, some included and some excluded; there is now (absolutely) no line—whether 2-D or 3-D—that can render some humans “good” and others “bad” based on which side of that line they fall because that line has been destroyed[10] and is now anathema for the believers and followers of Christ who benefit from the destruction of the division-wall of the fence by being included in to the heredity and mission of God by the work of Christ on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirits dwelling in their hearts.

    And if the wall has been destroyed, so, too, division according to enmity,[11] which is the hostility and intolerance fomented between the two groups that was the fruit of the division wall; it is the anger of the kingdoms of humanity turned inward to tear humanity apart.[12] This includes the laws and public commandments used to make some clean and some unclean, some righteous and others unrighteous; these, too, like the wall and the enmity, have become inoperative in solidifying groups of people against each other. For Paul then writes, and so he might completely reconcile both in one body for God through the cross he killed the hostility in himself (v 16).By Christ’s work[13]—the mission of God’s revolution of love, life, and liberation for the world—there is now no wall, thus no enmity, thus no law[14] that can keep anyone out and in this radical establishment of divine equity, there is peace[15]—true peace that is not contingent on one group suffering under the weight of another.

    Then the letter continues, [Christ] came and brought peace to you (all) who were far-off and peace to you (all) who were near because through him we—both in one spirit—possess access to God therefore now you are no longer a stranger and sojourner but you are a fellow citizens with the saints and of the family of God (vv 17-19). In Christ, these two have become one[16] and together they will dwell in and with God and they will have real peace—the type of peace that threatens the principalities and powers of the kingdom of humanity. [17] But this peace brought by Christ is more than reconciliation with each other, it is also reconciliation with God, thus, these two who are now one become the dwelling place of God. [18] As Paul continues, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets—Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone—in whom all building is being fitted together and grows itself into a holy temple in the lord in whom you, you also were built together into the dwelling place of God in Spirit (vv 20-22). Boldly Ephesians declares, where there is a lack of enmity and hostility, division walls and lines, laws and commands geared to keep some in and some out, there God is and there the saints of God are; no one is excluded and left out and the church is caught up in this radical inclusion and equity, snatched into this divine peace that knows absolutely positively no walls or dividing lines.[19],[20]

    Conclusion

    The church is without excuse here, according to Ephesians. Peace—the very peace Christ brings through his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension—is peace that is not contingent on the kingdom of humanity but dependent on the reign of God. It is peace that arises in the communion of humanity with humanity, humanity with God, and humanity with creation; it is peace that manifests within and among humanity in its unity to the glory of God, which is in opposition to the “peace” (i.e. “security” (“control”)) of the kingdom of humanity that thrives on the humanity’s disunity. None of us who claim to follow Christ can afford to support systems dead set on dividing and conquering, oppressing and marginalizing, and fostering anger and fear; these systems are antithetical to the gospel of Christ and to the faith and praxis of the believer in the world before God and neighbor. None of us who claim to follow Christ can find peace (and hope) anywhere else apart from God: not in federal positions and presidents, not in parties and platforms, not in promises and progress made with human hands. We can only find true peace in our reconciliation with God, which is reconciliation with our neighbor, and, thus, these two combined give us reconciliation with ourselves because we have been made one with our neighbor and thus have become the dwelling place of God.

    We cannot find peace by building the world we long for with human hands because as soon as we build it it has expired and must be torn down to allow something new to be born. We cannot find peace by turning the gospel into a law as if it can found a nation that would only gift life, love, and liberation to those who qualify. We cannot find peace by letting enmity and hostility be the mortar holding the bricks of the division-wall together. We cannot find peace by legislating Christianity because the doctrines born of the second word of God that form the tissue of the Christian Church inherently resist such socio-political ossification. We can and will only find peace by pressing further into God, clinging to God’s Word in Christ, and leaning into the guidance and leading of the Spirit of God, the guarantor of the new covenant, the down payment of our adoption into God, and the fertile soil making us one with God, with our neighbor, thus, with ourselves. It is only here, in God and with God, do we find true and lasting peace that surpasses all understanding.

    [1] See Sölle, Choosing Life, pp. 92-93

    [2] This portion is taken from, Lauren R.E. Larkin, “Leaving Heaven Behind: Paradoxical Identity as the Anchor of Dorothee Sölle’s Theology of Political Resistance,” PhD Dissertation (University of Aberdeen, 2024), 202.

    [3] Barth, Markus, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1-3, The Anchor Bible Series (Garden City: Doubleday, 1971), 254. “Repentance, decision, and gratitude are called for, not a mental recollection only.”

    [4] Barth, Ephesians, 257. “In Eph 2:12 a status of strangership is described, not an event leading to estrangement.”

    [5] Barth, Ephesians, 259. \“Unless Paul flippantly denied or dispossessed the Gentiles of any hope he must have meant a specific hope. This ‘hope,’ then, could be understood as fostered in the minds of the Jews, because it was founded and guaranteed in the heart of God or ‘laid up in heaven’……It is the hope for the promised messiah from the root of David…”

    [6] Barth, Ephesians, 254. “Paul’s thought moves from men in the grip of ‘flesh’ (2:11), over the work performed in ‘Christ’s flesh’ (2:14, to the operation of the ‘Spirit’ (2:18). Nothing can prevent the ‘Spirit’ from operating ‘in the realm of flesh.’”

    [7] Barth, Ephesians, 255. “As the building of the temple by God is contrasted to the construction of temples by men, so circumcision of the heart…highly excels handmade circumcision.”

    [8] Allen Verhey and Joseph S. Harvard, Ephesians, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible, eds. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher (Louisville: WJK, 2011), 93. “If it was especially the Jewish Christian who needed to be reminded earlier that all are ‘sinners,’ not just the ‘uncircumcised,’ not just the Gentiles, and that all are brought from death to life by the gift of God’s grace, not by ‘works’  of the law, the Gentiles are now reminded of the promises to Israel and that it is in the Jewish Messiah that they are given a share in them.”

    [9] Barth, Ephesians, 262. “Christ is praised here not primarily for the peace he bring to individual souls; rather the peace he brings is a social and political event…”

    [10] Barth, Ephesians, 263-264. “The combination of the two Greek nouns yields a composite sense: it is a wall that prevents certain person from entering a house or a city (cf. 2:19), and is as much a mark of hostility (2:14, 16) as, e.g. a ghetto wall, the Iron Curtain the Berlin Wall, a racial barrier, or a railroad track that separates the right from the wrong side of the city, not to speak of the wall between state and church.”

    [11] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “In this case, the ‘enmity’ is as much the object of destruction as the wall.”

    [12] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “The word ‘enmity’ defines the separation between Jews and Gentiles more specifically: this segregation implies intolerance, and is a passionate, totalitarian, bellicose affair. While the ‘enmity’ mentioned at the end of vs. 16 is the one-sided enmity of man against God, the ‘enmity’ of vs. 14 is mutual among men.”

    [13] Barth, Ephesians, 265. “…the context of Eph 2:15 reveals that for the author (as much as for Paul himself) the death of Christ rather than the promulgation of new decrees stood behind the abolition of the divisive statutes.”

    [14] Barth, Ephesians, 264. Wall, enmity, and law “Each of these terms throws light on the others; the author wants them to be considered as synonyms.”

    [15] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 96. “…God seals a ‘new covenant’ in ‘the blood of Christ.” And in that ‘new covenant’ there is a new community, a community of both Jew and Gentile, a community that shares the memory of Christ and the hope of God’s promises with a common meal.”

    [16] Barth, Ephesians, 272. “After showing that the church exists only as a unity, that is, as one new man created out of Jews and Gentiles, the apostle does not proceed to split t into halves.”

    [17] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 97. “But this was not merely an idea, as the reality of baptism makes clear. This was not merely an ideal that exists outside history and toward which we must strive. This was and is a reality wrought in Christ on the cross and displayed in the churches when God initiates diverse people into Christ and into the church. Ideals are powerless against the forces in this world that divide and abuse, against the principalities and power that nurture cultures of enmity. But those forces are and will be finally powerless against the promise and reality of God’s future.”

    [18] Barth, Ephesians, 274. “The church herself is not reconciliation but she lives form it and manifests it. She serves the glory of God inasmuch as her members mutually assist, support, and strengthen one another. Neither jews nor Gentiles nor any individual can independently claim after Christ’s coming to offer an appropriate residence For God but Jews and Gentiles together are now ordained by God to become his temple.”

    [19] Barth, Ephesians, 324-325. “Now the church is the sign of his mercy, his peace, and his nearness the whole world. If God can and will use people are who are as tempted and weak as the Christian are, then he is certainly able and willing to exclude no one from his realm. The church lives by this hope and bears witness to it publicly.”

    [20] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 98. “They are called to break down the walls and to perform this new social reality by forming friendships with the people on the other side of the aisle, or on the other side of town.”

    https://laurenrelarkin.com/2024/07/21/6623/

    #Beloved #ChoosingLife #ChristianNationalism #DividingWall #DivineLove #DivinePeace #Division #DorotheeSölle #Ephesians #Hope #Jesus #LawAndGospel #Love #LoveOfNeighbor #MarkusBarth #Peace #UnionWithGod #UnionWithSelf #UnionWithTheNeighbor

    #beloved #choosinglife #christiannationalism #dividingwall #divinelove #divinepeace
  10. LaurenRELarkin.com @[email protected] ·

    https://youtu.be/OZAN0zqZdts

    Psalm 23:1-3 Abba God is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. Abba God makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.  God revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for God’s Name’s sake.

    Introduction

    At the end of last’s week sermon, we ended talking about remembrance, hope, and prayer. For Christians, when we gather to speak of, read of, hear of, and consume together with Christ in our weekly fellowship and worship, we are remembering Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are not just remembering Christ but participating the work of God made tangible in Christ: the divine revolution and mission of love, life, and liberation in the world for the beloved. This is truly εὐαγγέλιον. And if this is truly εὐαγγέλιον, then it is also the source and foundation of our hope that exists to sustain us today.

    In remembering and having hope we are led to pray, to bring ourselves deeply into God, to bend our knee (literal or figurative), to be creatures fully dependent on God. We remember, we have hope, and we pray, and it is this that is the beginning of all our activity within the walls of the church and without. As mentioned last week, “Prayer does not resign the believer to non-activity as if it is the final act in the face of trouble; it is the starting point. Prayer is how the believer unites with God and God’s passion for life, love, and liberation.[1] It is the bold request for God to enter in, to act; in prayer God is spoken to and from, in prayer God is remembered, so, too, the neighbor.”[2]

    But the author of Ephesians isn’t done with us yet as if it’s just about remembering and hoping and praying. But that this remembering, hoping, and praying participates in making believers one with God and with each other in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and bringing them into the true peace that surpasses all understanding.

    Ephesians 2:11-22

    For [Christ] is our peace, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity… (Eph. 2:14-15)

    So, the author of Ephesians verbally exhorts us (using an imperative!) to remember. To remember what? Not only Christ but who we were prior to being encountered by Christ in the event of faith. …remember that in the past you [were] Gentiles in the flesh, the ones who were called “The Uncircumcised” by the ones who were called “The Circumcised” in the flesh done by [human] hands (v. 11). But that isn’t enough; Paul asks his audience to remember, further, that they were for a time without Christ, having been alienated from the citizenship of Israel and a stranger of the covenant of the promise, not possessing hope and [were] without God in the cosmos (v 12). Paul is eager to recreate the situation for the Ephesians to cause more than just recall but real, heart-felt remembering,[3] pressing into the reality that apart from Christ they were dead in their false-steps and missing the mark (sin) (v 1), they were strangers to the promises of God, to Christ, and to the hope of God which is the hope of the reign of God in Christ.[4],[5] According to Ephesians, the Gentiles were overcome by their own desires, turned in on themselves, stuck in place by division, and consumed by hostility. This isn’t something that someone can work themselves out of, no matter how hard they try. For Paul, it is only through the encounter with Christ where one finds God, finds their neighbor, and finds themself; it is only in Christ where one finds true life, love, and liberation.[6] But at this time you who were once far off you became near by the blood of Christ (v 13). In other words, this is not done by human hands (χειροποιήτου in v 11), but by the love of God in Christ done by the power of the Spirit[7] as the down-payment in lives of the believers in Ephesus.

    This is why Christ is the peace of everyone—for [Christ] is our peace (v 14a)—Children of Israel and Gentiles combined. Because, as Paul writes, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity (vv 14b-15). There is now no longer us v. them, insiders v. outsiders, elected v. not-elected, Israel v. Gentiles, the circumcised v. the not circumcised.[8] There are not two groups, but one group. Thus, this peace Jesus brings in his own flesh, by the blood of the cross event and the glory of his resurrection is not just for privatized souls but for deprivatized humanity; it’s a socio-political event.[9] There is now no wall that keeps some in and some out, some included and some excluded; there is now (absolutely) no line—whether 2-D or 3-D—that can render some humans “good” and others “bad” based on which side of that line they fall because that line has been destroyed[10] and is now anathema for the believers and followers of Christ who benefit from the destruction of the division-wall of the fence by being included in to the heredity and mission of God by the work of Christ on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirits dwelling in their hearts.

    And if the wall has been destroyed, so, too, division according to enmity,[11] which is the hostility and intolerance fomented between the two groups that was the fruit of the division wall; it is the anger of the kingdoms of humanity turned inward to tear humanity apart.[12] This includes the laws and public commandments used to make some clean and some unclean, some righteous and others unrighteous; these, too, like the wall and the enmity, have become inoperative in solidifying groups of people against each other. For Paul then writes, and so he might completely reconcile both in one body for God through the cross he killed the hostility in himself (v 16).By Christ’s work[13]—the mission of God’s revolution of love, life, and liberation for the world—there is now no wall, thus no enmity, thus no law[14] that can keep anyone out and in this radical establishment of divine equity, there is peace[15]—true peace that is not contingent on one group suffering under the weight of another.

    Then the letter continues, [Christ] came and brought peace to you (all) who were far-off and peace to you (all) who were near because through him we—both in one spirit—possess access to God therefore now you are no longer a stranger and sojourner but you are a fellow citizens with the saints and of the family of God (vv 17-19). In Christ, these two have become one[16] and together they will dwell in and with God and they will have real peace—the type of peace that threatens the principalities and powers of the kingdom of humanity. [17] But this peace brought by Christ is more than reconciliation with each other, it is also reconciliation with God, thus, these two who are now one become the dwelling place of God. [18] As Paul continues, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets—Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone—in whom all building is being fitted together and grows itself into a holy temple in the lord in whom you, you also were built together into the dwelling place of God in Spirit (vv 20-22). Boldly Ephesians declares, where there is a lack of enmity and hostility, division walls and lines, laws and commands geared to keep some in and some out, there God is and there the saints of God are; no one is excluded and left out and the church is caught up in this radical inclusion and equity, snatched into this divine peace that knows absolutely positively no walls or dividing lines.[19],[20]

    Conclusion

    The church is without excuse here, according to Ephesians. Peace—the very peace Christ brings through his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension—is peace that is not contingent on the kingdom of humanity but dependent on the reign of God. It is peace that arises in the communion of humanity with humanity, humanity with God, and humanity with creation; it is peace that manifests within and among humanity in its unity to the glory of God, which is in opposition to the “peace” (i.e. “security” (“control”)) of the kingdom of humanity that thrives on the humanity’s disunity. None of us who claim to follow Christ can afford to support systems dead set on dividing and conquering, oppressing and marginalizing, and fostering anger and fear; these systems are antithetical to the gospel of Christ and to the faith and praxis of the believer in the world before God and neighbor. None of us who claim to follow Christ can find peace (and hope) anywhere else apart from God: not in federal positions and presidents, not in parties and platforms, not in promises and progress made with human hands. We can only find true peace in our reconciliation with God, which is reconciliation with our neighbor, and, thus, these two combined give us reconciliation with ourselves because we have been made one with our neighbor and thus have become the dwelling place of God.

    We cannot find peace by building the world we long for with human hands because as soon as we build it it has expired and must be torn down to allow something new to be born. We cannot find peace by turning the gospel into a law as if it can found a nation that would only gift life, love, and liberation to those who qualify. We cannot find peace by letting enmity and hostility be the mortar holding the bricks of the division-wall together. We cannot find peace by legislating Christianity because the doctrines born of the second word of God that form the tissue of the Christian Church inherently resist such socio-political ossification. We can and will only find peace by pressing further into God, clinging to God’s Word in Christ, and leaning into the guidance and leading of the Spirit of God, the guarantor of the new covenant, the down payment of our adoption into God, and the fertile soil making us one with God, with our neighbor, thus, with ourselves. It is only here, in God and with God, do we find true and lasting peace that surpasses all understanding.

    [1] See Sölle, Choosing Life, pp. 92-93

    [2] This portion is taken from, Lauren R.E. Larkin, “Leaving Heaven Behind: Paradoxical Identity as the Anchor of Dorothee Sölle’s Theology of Political Resistance,” PhD Dissertation (University of Aberdeen, 2024), 202.

    [3] Barth, Markus, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1-3, The Anchor Bible Series (Garden City: Doubleday, 1971), 254. “Repentance, decision, and gratitude are called for, not a mental recollection only.”

    [4] Barth, Ephesians, 257. “In Eph 2:12 a status of strangership is described, not an event leading to estrangement.”

    [5] Barth, Ephesians, 259. \“Unless Paul flippantly denied or dispossessed the Gentiles of any hope he must have meant a specific hope. This ‘hope,’ then, could be understood as fostered in the minds of the Jews, because it was founded and guaranteed in the heart of God or ‘laid up in heaven’……It is the hope for the promised messiah from the root of David…”

    [6] Barth, Ephesians, 254. “Paul’s thought moves from men in the grip of ‘flesh’ (2:11), over the work performed in ‘Christ’s flesh’ (2:14, to the operation of the ‘Spirit’ (2:18). Nothing can prevent the ‘Spirit’ from operating ‘in the realm of flesh.’”

    [7] Barth, Ephesians, 255. “As the building of the temple by God is contrasted to the construction of temples by men, so circumcision of the heart…highly excels handmade circumcision.”

    [8] Allen Verhey and Joseph S. Harvard, Ephesians, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible, eds. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher (Louisville: WJK, 2011), 93. “If it was especially the Jewish Christian who needed to be reminded earlier that all are ‘sinners,’ not just the ‘uncircumcised,’ not just the Gentiles, and that all are brought from death to life by the gift of God’s grace, not by ‘works’  of the law, the Gentiles are now reminded of the promises to Israel and that it is in the Jewish Messiah that they are given a share in them.”

    [9] Barth, Ephesians, 262. “Christ is praised here not primarily for the peace he bring to individual souls; rather the peace he brings is a social and political event…”

    [10] Barth, Ephesians, 263-264. “The combination of the two Greek nouns yields a composite sense: it is a wall that prevents certain person from entering a house or a city (cf. 2:19), and is as much a mark of hostility (2:14, 16) as, e.g. a ghetto wall, the Iron Curtain the Berlin Wall, a racial barrier, or a railroad track that separates the right from the wrong side of the city, not to speak of the wall between state and church.”

    [11] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “In this case, the ‘enmity’ is as much the object of destruction as the wall.”

    [12] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “The word ‘enmity’ defines the separation between Jews and Gentiles more specifically: this segregation implies intolerance, and is a passionate, totalitarian, bellicose affair. While the ‘enmity’ mentioned at the end of vs. 16 is the one-sided enmity of man against God, the ‘enmity’ of vs. 14 is mutual among men.”

    [13] Barth, Ephesians, 265. “…the context of Eph 2:15 reveals that for the author (as much as for Paul himself) the death of Christ rather than the promulgation of new decrees stood behind the abolition of the divisive statutes.”

    [14] Barth, Ephesians, 264. Wall, enmity, and law “Each of these terms throws light on the others; the author wants them to be considered as synonyms.”

    [15] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 96. “…God seals a ‘new covenant’ in ‘the blood of Christ.” And in that ‘new covenant’ there is a new community, a community of both Jew and Gentile, a community that shares the memory of Christ and the hope of God’s promises with a common meal.”

    [16] Barth, Ephesians, 272. “After showing that the church exists only as a unity, that is, as one new man created out of Jews and Gentiles, the apostle does not proceed to split t into halves.”

    [17] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 97. “But this was not merely an idea, as the reality of baptism makes clear. This was not merely an ideal that exists outside history and toward which we must strive. This was and is a reality wrought in Christ on the cross and displayed in the churches when God initiates diverse people into Christ and into the church. Ideals are powerless against the forces in this world that divide and abuse, against the principalities and power that nurture cultures of enmity. But those forces are and will be finally powerless against the promise and reality of God’s future.”

    [18] Barth, Ephesians, 274. “The church herself is not reconciliation but she lives form it and manifests it. She serves the glory of God inasmuch as her members mutually assist, support, and strengthen one another. Neither jews nor Gentiles nor any individual can independently claim after Christ’s coming to offer an appropriate residence For God but Jews and Gentiles together are now ordained by God to become his temple.”

    [19] Barth, Ephesians, 324-325. “Now the church is the sign of his mercy, his peace, and his nearness the whole world. If God can and will use people are who are as tempted and weak as the Christian are, then he is certainly able and willing to exclude no one from his realm. The church lives by this hope and bears witness to it publicly.”

    [20] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 98. “They are called to break down the walls and to perform this new social reality by forming friendships with the people on the other side of the aisle, or on the other side of town.”

    https://laurenrelarkin.com/2024/07/21/6623/

    #Beloved #ChoosingLife #ChristianNationalism #DividingWall #DivineLove #DivinePeace #Division #DorotheeSölle #Ephesians #Hope #Jesus #LawAndGospel #Love #LoveOfNeighbor #MarkusBarth #Peace #UnionWithGod #UnionWithSelf #UnionWithTheNeighbor

    #unionwiththeneighbor #unionwithself #unionwithgod #peace #markusbarth #loveofneighbor
  11. LaurenRELarkin.com @[email protected] ·

    Psalm 23:1-3 Abba God is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. Abba God makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.  God revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for God’s Name’s sake.

    Introduction

    At the end of last’s week sermon, we ended talking about remembrance, hope, and prayer. For Christians, when we gather to speak of, read of, hear of, and consume together with Christ in our weekly fellowship and worship, we are remembering Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are not just remembering Christ but participating the work of God made tangible in Christ: the divine revolution and mission of love, life, and liberation in the world for the beloved. This is truly εὐαγγέλιον. And if this is truly εὐαγγέλιον, then it is also the source and foundation of our hope that exists to sustain us today.

    In remembering and having hope we are led to pray, to bring ourselves deeply into God, to bend our knee (literal or figurative), to be creatures fully dependent on God. We remember, we have hope, and we pray, and it is this that is the beginning of all our activity within the walls of the church and without. As mentioned last week, “Prayer does not resign the believer to non-activity as if it is the final act in the face of trouble; it is the starting point. Prayer is how the believer unites with God and God’s passion for life, love, and liberation.[1] It is the bold request for God to enter in, to act; in prayer God is spoken to and from, in prayer God is remembered, so, too, the neighbor.”[2]

    But the author of Ephesians isn’t done with us yet as if it’s just about remembering and hoping and praying. But that this remembering, hoping, and praying participates in making believers one with God and with each other in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and bringing them into the true peace that surpasses all understanding.

    Ephesians 2:11-22

    For [Christ] is our peace, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity… (Eph. 2:14-15)

    So, the author of Ephesians verbally exhorts us (using an imperative!) to remember. To remember what? Not only Christ but who we were prior to being encountered by Christ in the event of faith. …remember that in the past you [were] Gentiles in the flesh, the ones who were called “The Uncircumcised” by the ones who were called “The Circumcised” in the flesh done by [human] hands (v. 11). But that isn’t enough; Paul asks his audience to remember, further, that they were for a time without Christ, having been alienated from the citizenship of Israel and a stranger of the covenant of the promise, not possessing hope and [were] without God in the cosmos (v 12). Paul is eager to recreate the situation for the Ephesians to cause more than just recall but real, heart-felt remembering,[3] pressing into the reality that apart from Christ they were dead in their false-steps and missing the mark (sin) (v 1), they were strangers to the promises of God, to Christ, and to the hope of God which is the hope of the reign of God in Christ.[4],[5] According to Ephesians, the Gentiles were overcome by their own desires, turned in on themselves, stuck in place by division, and consumed by hostility. This isn’t something that someone can work themselves out of, no matter how hard they try. For Paul, it is only through the encounter with Christ where one finds God, finds their neighbor, and finds themself; it is only in Christ where one finds true life, love, and liberation.[6] But at this time you who were once far off you became near by the blood of Christ (v 13). In other words, this is not done by human hands (χειροποιήτου in v 11), but by the love of God in Christ done by the power of the Spirit[7] as the down-payment in lives of the believers in Ephesus.

    This is why Christ is the peace of everyone—for [Christ] is our peace (v 14a)—Children of Israel and Gentiles combined. Because, as Paul writes, the one who made both [the Israelites and the Gentiles] one and [the one who] destroyed in his flesh the division-wall of the fence, [and] the enmity [between the two], and [the one who] rendered inoperative the law of the commands and public decrees, so that the two might build in him one new peace-making humanity (vv 14b-15). There is now no longer us v. them, insiders v. outsiders, elected v. not-elected, Israel v. Gentiles, the circumcised v. the not circumcised.[8] There are not two groups, but one group. Thus, this peace Jesus brings in his own flesh, by the blood of the cross event and the glory of his resurrection is not just for privatized souls but for deprivatized humanity; it’s a socio-political event.[9] There is now no wall that keeps some in and some out, some included and some excluded; there is now (absolutely) no line—whether 2-D or 3-D—that can render some humans “good” and others “bad” based on which side of that line they fall because that line has been destroyed[10] and is now anathema for the believers and followers of Christ who benefit from the destruction of the division-wall of the fence by being included in to the heredity and mission of God by the work of Christ on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirits dwelling in their hearts.

    And if the wall has been destroyed, so, too, division according to enmity,[11] which is the hostility and intolerance fomented between the two groups that was the fruit of the division wall; it is the anger of the kingdoms of humanity turned inward to tear humanity apart.[12] This includes the laws and public commandments used to make some clean and some unclean, some righteous and others unrighteous; these, too, like the wall and the enmity, have become inoperative in solidifying groups of people against each other. For Paul then writes, and so he might completely reconcile both in one body for God through the cross he killed the hostility in himself (v 16).By Christ’s work[13]—the mission of God’s revolution of love, life, and liberation for the world—there is now no wall, thus no enmity, thus no law[14] that can keep anyone out and in this radical establishment of divine equity, there is peace[15]—true peace that is not contingent on one group suffering under the weight of another.

    Then the letter continues, [Christ] came and brought peace to you (all) who were far-off and peace to you (all) who were near because through him we—both in one spirit—possess access to God therefore now you are no longer a stranger and sojourner but you are a fellow citizens with the saints and of the family of God (vv 17-19). In Christ, these two have become one[16] and together they will dwell in and with God and they will have real peace—the type of peace that threatens the principalities and powers of the kingdom of humanity. [17] But this peace brought by Christ is more than reconciliation with each other, it is also reconciliation with God, thus, these two who are now one become the dwelling place of God. [18] As Paul continues, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets—Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone—in whom all building is being fitted together and grows itself into a holy temple in the lord in whom you, you also were built together into the dwelling place of God in Spirit (vv 20-22). Boldly Ephesians declares, where there is a lack of enmity and hostility, division walls and lines, laws and commands geared to keep some in and some out, there God is and there the saints of God are; no one is excluded and left out and the church is caught up in this radical inclusion and equity, snatched into this divine peace that knows absolutely positively no walls or dividing lines.[19],[20]

    Conclusion

    The church is without excuse here, according to Ephesians. Peace—the very peace Christ brings through his birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension—is peace that is not contingent on the kingdom of humanity but dependent on the reign of God. It is peace that arises in the communion of humanity with humanity, humanity with God, and humanity with creation; it is peace that manifests within and among humanity in its unity to the glory of God, which is in opposition to the “peace” (i.e. “security” (“control”)) of the kingdom of humanity that thrives on the humanity’s disunity. None of us who claim to follow Christ can afford to support systems dead set on dividing and conquering, oppressing and marginalizing, and fostering anger and fear; these systems are antithetical to the gospel of Christ and to the faith and praxis of the believer in the world before God and neighbor. None of us who claim to follow Christ can find peace (and hope) anywhere else apart from God: not in federal positions and presidents, not in parties and platforms, not in promises and progress made with human hands. We can only find true peace in our reconciliation with God, which is reconciliation with our neighbor, and, thus, these two combined give us reconciliation with ourselves because we have been made one with our neighbor and thus have become the dwelling place of God.

    We cannot find peace by building the world we long for with human hands because as soon as we build it it has expired and must be torn down to allow something new to be born. We cannot find peace by turning the gospel into a law as if it can found a nation that would only gift life, love, and liberation to those who qualify. We cannot find peace by letting enmity and hostility be the mortar holding the bricks of the division-wall together. We cannot find peace by legislating Christianity because the doctrines born of the second word of God that form the tissue of the Christian Church inherently resist such socio-political ossification. We can and will only find peace by pressing further into God, clinging to God’s Word in Christ, and leaning into the guidance and leading of the Spirit of God, the guarantor of the new covenant, the down payment of our adoption into God, and the fertile soil making us one with God, with our neighbor, thus, with ourselves. It is only here, in God and with God, do we find true and lasting peace that surpasses all understanding.

    [1] See Sölle, Choosing Life, pp. 92-93

    [2] This portion is taken from, Lauren R.E. Larkin, “Leaving Heaven Behind: Paradoxical Identity as the Anchor of Dorothee Sölle’s Theology of Political Resistance,” PhD Dissertation (University of Aberdeen, 2024), 202.

    [3] Barth, Markus, Ephesians: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary on Chapters 1-3, The Anchor Bible Series (Garden City: Doubleday, 1971), 254. “Repentance, decision, and gratitude are called for, not a mental recollection only.”

    [4] Barth, Ephesians, 257. “In Eph 2:12 a status of strangership is described, not an event leading to estrangement.”

    [5] Barth, Ephesians, 259. \“Unless Paul flippantly denied or dispossessed the Gentiles of any hope he must have meant a specific hope. This ‘hope,’ then, could be understood as fostered in the minds of the Jews, because it was founded and guaranteed in the heart of God or ‘laid up in heaven’……It is the hope for the promised messiah from the root of David…”

    [6] Barth, Ephesians, 254. “Paul’s thought moves from men in the grip of ‘flesh’ (2:11), over the work performed in ‘Christ’s flesh’ (2:14, to the operation of the ‘Spirit’ (2:18). Nothing can prevent the ‘Spirit’ from operating ‘in the realm of flesh.’”

    [7] Barth, Ephesians, 255. “As the building of the temple by God is contrasted to the construction of temples by men, so circumcision of the heart…highly excels handmade circumcision.”

    [8] Allen Verhey and Joseph S. Harvard, Ephesians, Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible, eds. Amy Plantinga Pauw and William C. Placher (Louisville: WJK, 2011), 93. “If it was especially the Jewish Christian who needed to be reminded earlier that all are ‘sinners,’ not just the ‘uncircumcised,’ not just the Gentiles, and that all are brought from death to life by the gift of God’s grace, not by ‘works’  of the law, the Gentiles are now reminded of the promises to Israel and that it is in the Jewish Messiah that they are given a share in them.”

    [9] Barth, Ephesians, 262. “Christ is praised here not primarily for the peace he bring to individual souls; rather the peace he brings is a social and political event…”

    [10] Barth, Ephesians, 263-264. “The combination of the two Greek nouns yields a composite sense: it is a wall that prevents certain person from entering a house or a city (cf. 2:19), and is as much a mark of hostility (2:14, 16) as, e.g. a ghetto wall, the Iron Curtain the Berlin Wall, a racial barrier, or a railroad track that separates the right from the wrong side of the city, not to speak of the wall between state and church.”

    [11] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “In this case, the ‘enmity’ is as much the object of destruction as the wall.”

    [12] Barth, Ephesians, 264. “The word ‘enmity’ defines the separation between Jews and Gentiles more specifically: this segregation implies intolerance, and is a passionate, totalitarian, bellicose affair. While the ‘enmity’ mentioned at the end of vs. 16 is the one-sided enmity of man against God, the ‘enmity’ of vs. 14 is mutual among men.”

    [13] Barth, Ephesians, 265. “…the context of Eph 2:15 reveals that for the author (as much as for Paul himself) the death of Christ rather than the promulgation of new decrees stood behind the abolition of the divisive statutes.”

    [14] Barth, Ephesians, 264. Wall, enmity, and law “Each of these terms throws light on the others; the author wants them to be considered as synonyms.”

    [15] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 96. “…God seals a ‘new covenant’ in ‘the blood of Christ.” And in that ‘new covenant’ there is a new community, a community of both Jew and Gentile, a community that shares the memory of Christ and the hope of God’s promises with a common meal.”

    [16] Barth, Ephesians, 272. “After showing that the church exists only as a unity, that is, as one new man created out of Jews and Gentiles, the apostle does not proceed to split t into halves.”

    [17] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 97. “But this was not merely an idea, as the reality of baptism makes clear. This was not merely an ideal that exists outside history and toward which we must strive. This was and is a reality wrought in Christ on the cross and displayed in the churches when God initiates diverse people into Christ and into the church. Ideals are powerless against the forces in this world that divide and abuse, against the principalities and power that nurture cultures of enmity. But those forces are and will be finally powerless against the promise and reality of God’s future.”

    [18] Barth, Ephesians, 274. “The church herself is not reconciliation but she lives form it and manifests it. She serves the glory of God inasmuch as her members mutually assist, support, and strengthen one another. Neither jews nor Gentiles nor any individual can independently claim after Christ’s coming to offer an appropriate residence For God but Jews and Gentiles together are now ordained by God to become his temple.”

    [19] Barth, Ephesians, 324-325. “Now the church is the sign of his mercy, his peace, and his nearness the whole world. If God can and will use people are who are as tempted and weak as the Christian are, then he is certainly able and willing to exclude no one from his realm. The church lives by this hope and bears witness to it publicly.”

    [20] Verhey and Harvard, Ephesians, 98. “They are called to break down the walls and to perform this new social reality by forming friendships with the people on the other side of the aisle, or on the other side of town.”

    https://laurenrelarkin.com/2024/07/21/6623/

    #Beloved #ChoosingLife #ChristianNationalism #DividingWall #DivineLove #DivinePeace #Division #DorotheeSölle #Ephesians #Hope #Jesus #LawAndGospel #Love #LoveOfNeighbor #MarkusBarth #Peace #UnionWithGod #UnionWithSelf #UnionWithTheNeighbor

    #beloved #choosinglife #christiannationalism #dividingwall #divinelove #divinepeace
  12. zeno's paradox speedrunner @[email protected] ·

    Unshackling the Soul's Secret Chains

    Greetings, Bearers of the Morningstar's light and walkers of the left-hand path. I, Black Priestess Pixelnull, again aim to guide you through the umbra of fear, doubt, and dogma, and toward sacred love for yourself.

    Today, we delve into the comfortable shadowy realms of our own minds, where the greatest tyrants often reside. These internal oppressors, born from fear, doubt, and imposed dogmas, chain us more effectively than any external force. They chain us down to an even greater degree than the Oppressor. These shadowy figures within us, often overlooked and underestimated, hold the power to shape our reality and dictate our actions. They whisper insidious doubts, magnify our fears, and reinforce the dogmas imposed upon us by society and tradition. It is in confronting these internal adversaries that we begin the journey towards true freedom and self-mastery. By acknowledging and understanding these inner forces, we take the first step in dismantling their control over us.

    This introspective journey aligns with Decretum II: Sovereignty of Self, emphasizing the crucial importance of self-awareness in achieving true sovereignty. To govern oneself effectively, one must first know oneself deeply and intimately. This self-knowledge is the foundation upon which true sovereignty is built. Without understanding the fears, doubts, and dogmas that chain us, we cannot hope to break free from their influence. By shining a light on these internal oppressors, we reclaim our power and assert our right to self-governance. In doing so, we pave the way for a life led by our true will, unshackled by the shadows of our minds.

    The mind is a powerful fortress, yet within its walls, we often imprison ourselves. Our fears, rooted in past traumas or future anxieties, whisper limitations that paralyze us. Doubts gnaw at our confidence, eroding our belief in our capabilities. Imposed dogmas—beliefs we’ve absorbed from society, family, or religious institutions—act as invisible shackles, dictating what we think we should be rather than allowing us to explore who we truly are. These internal barriers not only hinder our personal growth but also diminish our potential to serve higher purposes and align with greater cosmic forces.

    In the context of our devotion to Lucifer and Lilith, recognizing and overcoming these mental chains is essential. Lucifer, the bringer of light, symbolizes enlightenment and the pursuit of knowledge, urging us to challenge conventional wisdom and seek our own truths. Lilith, the embodiment of independence and rebellion, inspires us to break free from subjugation and assert our true selves against all. To be effective in our service to them, we must first liberate ourselves from the internal oppressors that cloud our judgment and stifle our will. Only by confronting and conquering our fears, doubts, and imposed dogmas can we fully realize our sovereignty and harness our true potential, becoming powerful and autonomous beings capable of meaningful contribution to the paths of Lucifer and Lilith.

    These internal tyrants are insidious. They masquerade as protectors, convincing us that their restrictions keep us safe. Fear tells us to avoid risk, doubt insists we are unworthy, and dogma preaches conformity. But in truth, they bind us, stifling our growth and freedom. Fear, doubt, and dogma are cunning in their deception. It isn't by accident the Oppressor uses these to keep His throng enslaved.

    Fear warns us against the unknown, claiming to shield us from harm. It tells us to stay within our comfort zones, painting the outside world as dangerous and hostile. In Christianity, fear is often used to maintain control through the concept of hell—a place of eternal punishment for those who stray from prescribed beliefs and behaviors. This fear of damnation keeps many adherents in line, preventing them from exploring alternative spiritual paths or questioning the doctrines imposed upon them. By instilling a pervasive sense of dread, the Oppressor ensures we never stray far from the familiar, never question the status quo, and never seek the light of true knowledge and freedom.

    Doubt, on the other hand, whispers that we are not enough, that our efforts are futile, and our aspirations, unachievable. It magnifies our insecurities and casts shadows over our potential. Christianity often perpetuates doubt through the concept of original sin, teaching that humans are inherently flawed and unworthy without divine grace. This instills a deep-seated sense of inadequacy and dependency on external salvation. The Oppressor capitalizes on doubt to weaken our resolve and keep us from realizing our true capabilities. By fostering a culture of self-doubt, the Oppressor ensures we remain subservient, never daring to challenge the chains that bind us or the forces that seek to control us.

    Dogma imposes rigid beliefs and unquestionable truths, stifling our intellectual and spiritual growth. It demands conformity and punishes dissent, ensuring that we remain within the confines of accepted norms and doctrines. Christianity, with its emphasis on adherence to scripture and church teachings, often discourages critical thinking and exploration of diverse spiritual ideas. The doctrine of infallibility, whether of the Bible or the Church, serves to suppress questioning and maintain a tight grip on followers' minds. The Oppressor uses dogma as a powerful tool to suppress independent thought and maintain control. By enforcing dogmatic beliefs, the Oppressor stifles creativity, critical thinking, and the pursuit of personal truths, ensuring that we remain shackled to a narrow and limiting worldview.

    To confront these tyrants, we must first recognize their presence. This requires deep introspection and brutal honesty. We must ask ourselves: What fears are holding me back? What doubts are undermining my confidence? What beliefs are not truly mine but borrowed from others?

    Recognizing these tyrants is only the beginning. The next step is to confront them head-on. Head-on. This is a battle fought in the arena of our minds, along with our conceptions of Lilith and Lucifer, courage and persistence are our greatest allies.

    Fear. When fear arises, instead of recoiling, we must face it with steadfast courage. Fear often roots itself in past traumas or anticipations of future pain. By understanding its origins, we can challenge its validity. Fear, in essence, is a phantom, potent only in its illusion. When exposed to Lucifer's light of reason, fear diminishes. This process requires dissecting the fear, understanding its source, and assessing its actual threat. By doing so, we strip fear of its power, transforming it from a paralyzing force into a motivator for cautious action and preparedness. The reality of a situation can be hard to see, but once found, follow it through the fear.

    Doubt. Similarly, doubt must be scrutinized. Doubt often stems from past failures, societal judgments, or internalized insecurities. Ask yourself: Is this doubt justified? Is it a true reflection of my abilities, or is it a residue of past experiences and external expectations? To combat doubt, build a Grimoire of your achievements and strengths. Keep it with you, it doesn't have to be large or obvious, just there. Use it to remind yourself of your successes, skills, and the obstacles you've already overcome. This evidence-based approach helps reaffirm your capabilities and bolster your confidence.

    Dogma. Confronting dogma requires a radical approach: the willingness to unlearn and relearn. Dogma is often inherited without question, forming an invisible framework that shapes our thoughts and actions. This dogma may masquerade as other things you have acquired in childhood; poor treatment of loved ones, sexual shame, or even actions as simple as you nightly routine. The true seeker's path is one of perpetual questioning and growth. Examine each belief critically, especially those handed down by society, family, religious institutions, or even my own sermons. Ask yourself: Does this belief serve my true self, or does it confine me? Replace these inherited dogmas with personal truths, crafted from your experiences, insights, and rational understanding. This process of continuous questioning and re-evaluation is the essence of personal and spiritual evolution. Tradition for tradition's sake is a waste of time, tradition for your own truth is sacred.

    As we navigate this sacred journey of confronting fear, doubt, and dogma, we reclaim our inner sovereignty and reaffirm Decretum II. By transforming these internal tyrants into catalysts for growth, we foster resilience and self-awareness. This path demands relentless courage and persistence, but it is through this deep inner work that we uncover true freedom and enlightenment. Embrace this journey with an open heart and the fierce spirit or Lilith, knowing that every step forward brings you closer to the boundless potential within.

    Solve et Coagula. Superius ut inferius.

    Hail to the journey within, to the liberation that awaits, and to self-love,

    - Black Priestess Pixelnull

    For more please visit: pixelnull.net/votf.html

    #satanism #satan #lilith #lucifer #luciferianism #rebellion #hell #love #heaven #compassion #sermon #VanguardOfTheFallen #lefthandpath

    #satanism #satan #lilith #lucifer #luciferianism #rebellion
  13. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days #2 Wars, natural disasters, famine and false Messiahs

    The first thing to understand about the Last Days is that Jesus Christ will return to Earth to establish his Father’s Kingdom. The Bible says so quite plainly.

    “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

    “The Last Days” is the term used to describe the period of time immediately before the actual re-appearance of Jesus. This is why the subject is of such great interest to Christians today.

    The “Signs of the Times” are those events, which suggest to us that the return of Christ is imminent. This is a great source of encouragement for Christians and a warning sign to those who have not committed themselves to Christ that their window of opportunity is closing.

    The Signs of the Times are detailed particularly in Matthew chapter 24 and the parallel account in Luke. Jesus is talking to his disciples about the destruction of the Temple and they asked him when this would happen. Jesus replied:

    “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7).

    Jesus then proceeded to list a series of signs.

    Before we look at the signs, it is necessary to understand that in prophecy, there are often minor as well as major fulfilments. The minor fulfilment, which normally happens soon after the prophecy is given, provides proof that the greater fulfilment will also come to pass. So we need to consider what the minor and major fulfilments are. But first, let’s detail what the signs are, as listed in Luke 21.

    1. False Christs (Verse 8)
    2. Wars and Revolutions (Verse 9 & 10)
    3. Earthquakes (Verse 11)
    4. Famines (Verse 11)
    5. Plagues or Pestilences (Verse 11)
    6. Fearful Events (Verse 11)
    7. Signs from heaven (Verse 11)
    8. Persecution of Believers by Authorities(Verse 12)
    9. Betrayal of Believers by those close to them (Verse 16)
    10. Believers hated because of Christ (Verse 17)
    11. Jerusalem surrounded (Verse 20)
    12. Jews will fall by the sword, be taken prisoner and be dispersed (Verse 24)
    13. Jerusalem trampled by the Gentiles (non-Jews) until the end of the Gentile times (Verse 24)
    14. Signs in the sun, moon and stars (Verse 25)
    15. Nations will be in anguish and perplexity (Verse 25)
    16. Men will faint from terror (Verse 26)

     

    In verse 27, is describes the return of Jesus. Then in verse 29, Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree, saying that when the leaves come out summer is near. For reference, we will call that sign 17.

    The minor fulfilment of Christ’s words concerned the destruction of Jerusalem in ‘AD 70’ by the Roman army. This followed a rebellion by the Jews, which is mentioned in our second sign. The relevance of the signs we have numbered 11, 12, and 13 is immediately obvious, but it also introduces something called the Gentile times, which we need to deal with.

    The seventeenth sign, as we have numbered it, is the parable of the fig tree. This tree is a symbol of Israel and appeared on many coins etc. Therefore the renewal of the fig tree symbolises the renewal of Israel. This happened in 1948, when the Jews returned to the land to establish an independent state.
    The Times of the Gentiles were ended when Jerusalem ceased to be trampled by non-Jews. This happened in the “Six Day” War of 1967, when Israel expelled Jordan and gained total control of the city.

    These two events that have taken place in direct fulfilment of Bible prophecy, strongly suggest that we re in the Last Days, but what about the other signs?

    It is worth noting that critics of Bible prophecy often argue that these “signs” have always happened; for instance, there have always been wars, there have always been famine, earthquakes, plagues etc. This is true, But Jesus himself says in verse 32

    “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

    So the major fulfilment will occur when ALL these events happen within a certain timescale. The most likely timescale is 40 years, which is the Bible “definition” of a generation. So when all these things have come to pass, there is a definite time-limit. If, for instance the last sign to be fulfilled was the re-capture of Jerusalem from Gentile hands in 1967, then the latest time Jesus could return in order to fulfil prophecy would be 2007.
    This also highlights the problem or trying to guess too accurately the return of Jesus. He himself said that he return will not come with “careful observation” but rather it will come suddenly and unexpectedly as a “thief in the night”.
    Lastly, Jesus stated that no-one knew when he would return. Jesus did not know himself. Only God knows.
    Again, the minor fulfilment gives us encouragement, because Jesus said the words in approximately CE 33 and the destruction of Jerusalem took place in CE 70, just within the 40 year “limit”.

    David Koresh in a 1987 mug shotJim or James Warren Jones, American religious cult leader at an anti-eviction protest in front of the International Hotel in 1977

    There have been numerous False Messiahs over the centuries. One very recent and prominent one was David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidian sect who perished in the flames of the Waco siege in Texas, USA, 1993. It seems important to false messiahs that they die, rather than admit the failure of their prophecies. They also prefer to take as many as possible of their followers with them. In March 1997 in San Diego, 39 Heaven’s Gate followers [ led by Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997) and Bonnie Nettles (1927–1985)] poison themselves believing UFO would pick them up. In October 1994 in Switzerland, 48 Solar Temple members found burned in chalets. In November 1978 in Guyana, 914 drink cyanide, led by the Rev. Jim Jones.

    We don’t need to think hard about the issue of wars. In the last 50 years, there has been the Korean Wars (1950–1953; 1974-1976; 2010-2013 ), the Falklands War (1982), the Vietnam war (1954–75) and the Gulf War (1990-1991), Second Persian Gulf War or Iraq War (2003–11), Afghanistan War (2001–2014) to name but a very few.

    Damaged buildings in Port-au-Prince – 2010 Haiti earthquake

    The study of earthquakes is an interesting one. Obviously, communications are much better than they were 500 years ago and the world is more densely populated, so we hear a lot more about earthquakes than we used to. However, if we just look at the last 30 years, in 1970, there were 4,139 recorded earthquakes, in 1980 there were 7,348 earthquakes, an increase of 77% on ten years before. In 1990 there were 16,612 recorded earthquakes, an increase of 126% over the 1980 figure. In 2000, there were 22,256, an increase of 34% over the 1990 figure. So obviously, something is going on!

    Famine in Yemen could become one of worst in living memory, UN says

    Again, there have always been famines. The Bible speaks of them often. But they were always either preceded or followed by prosperous years and in this way, the people could put by a little grain each good year to help them through the bad years. The Genesis story of Joseph and the seven fat and seven thin cows bears this out.

    The difference now however is that countries are not recovering. Climate changes and Man’s inhumanity to Man are causing countries such as Ethiopia and Sudan to be permanently short of food, despite all the best efforts of the Western Aid agencies.

    There have always been plagues and pestilences, but once more, we see a “cluster” of AIDS, BSE, CJD, Foot and Mouth and ME all been prominent in the last few years.

    Signs in the heavens, or in the Sun, Moon and Stars can be taken two ways. The first way is the literal way and there have been numerous astronomical “signs” in recent years, such as comets, meteorites etc. The other possible meaning is the symbolic one, where the “heavens” (often translated the “high places”) represent government and the Sun Moon and Stars represent rulers. Taking this route, there are many situations that could have this prophecy applied to them.

    We then have three prophecies concerning the persecution of Christ’s followers, namely Christians. This is one prophecy where the past really does seem to have more examples than the present, although persecution does exist, for instance in China and Islamic nations. Perhaps this is one prophecy where we will see greater fulfilment in the near future.

    The persecution of the Jews has been a common pastime in western Europe for over 1,000 years. They were persecuted in England in the Middle Ages and In 1858 Lionel de Rothschild became the first Jewish MP who was permitted to take his seat without taking the oath that involved the words “by the true faith of a Christian” and in 1890 the last of the government posts became open to members of the Jewish faith. Russian pogroms, particularly between 1903 and 1906 saw many Jews killed. And of course, we can never forget the 6 million Jews killed in the Second World War.

    We hope it is clear that these prophecies apply to the times we are living in now. This means that the return of Christ is imminent. As Jesus says in Luke 21:27

    “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

    And again,

    “36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

    +

    Preceding

    God’s Self-Revelation

    The Greatness of the eternal God

    The real God

    God as Father

    Born of the Father

    The Love of God

    The Wrath of God

    The New Testament and Judgement

    To be prepared for the Day of Judgment

    Living as a believer in Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?

    Different wineskins

    Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?

    The importance of Reading the Scriptures

    The Bible: is it contradictory?

    One Bible, many Churches

    The Development of Differences

    Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover

    Examples of Living Faith

    Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Brothers and sisters in Christ for you

    The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”

    Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community

    Unlocking Bible Prophecy

    Who has the power of prophecy?

    Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel

    Prophecies over coming days

    The revival of Israel

    Why is the nation of Israel being restored?

    The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy

    The Return of Israel

    Looking into the Future

    Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?

    Wilderness Transformed

    What is the Kingdom of God?

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days #1 The Son of man revealing

    +

    To be prepared and very well oiled

    Signs of the times – “An object of scorn and ridicule”

    Signs of the times – “A new order in the Middle East”

    Memorizing wonderfully 59 Word of God, the Book and finished work

    Next: Sign of the Times and the Last Days #3 Coming events revealed in the prophetic wrings

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. Date Setting
    2. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go
    3. The Rapture Wars
    4. May we be “ready” when Jesus returns
    5. Increasing turmoil and fear but a rock to look at and go for
    6. Afraid to see the man of the heavens opened
    7. Together tasting a great promise
    8. The corpus separatum and Mahmoud Abbas

    +++

    Further related articles

    1. Are We in Danger of Repeating History
    2. Is it Just Me, or Does it Seem Like Everything is Going Crazy These Days?
    3. Getting ready for change…
    4. it’s a sign of the
    5. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, pt. 2 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    6. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, Pt. 3 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    7. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, Pt. 4 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    8. Jesus Is Coming Back!
    9. Great Red Dragon Series #4 – Part 196 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation
    10. A Rising Called For!
    11. “Warning To Be Heeded”
    12. Yemen: More than 50,000 children expected to die of starvation and disease by end of year
    13. Famine in Yemen could become one of worst in living memory, UN says
    14. Yemen on brink of ‘world’s worst famine in 100 years’ if war continues

    Rate this:

    #1858 #1890 #1948 #1967 #1978 #1994 #1997 #2007 #70 #AstronomicalSigns #BonnieNettles #BranchDavidianOffshootGroupOfTheDavidianSeventhDayAdventistChurch_ #Christians #ClimateChange #DavidKoresh #Earthquake #Ethiopia #FalseMessiah #Famine #FigTree #GentileTimes #HeavenSGateAmericanUFOReligiousMillenarianReligiousGroup_ #JimJones #LastDays #LionelDeRothschild #Luke21 #Luke211617 #Luke2120 #Luke212426 #Luke212428 #Luke212728 #Luke2129 #Luke2136 #Luke217 #Luke21812 #MarshallApplewhite #Matthew24 #OrdreDuTempleSolaireOTSOrOrderOfTheSolarTemple_ #ParableOfTheFigTree #PersecutionOfGodSPeople #PestilenceS_ #ReturnOfChrist #RussianPogromS_ #SecondComing #SecondComingOfChrist #Sign #SignsInTheHeavens #SignsOfEndtimes #SignsOfTheTimes #SixDayWar1967_ #Sudan #TimesOfTheGentiles #WacoSiege #War

    #astronomicalsigns #bonnienettles #branchdavidianoffshootgroupofthedavidianseventhdayadventistchurch_ #christians #climatechange #davidkoresh
  14. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days #2 Wars, natural disasters, famine and false Messiahs

    The first thing to understand about the Last Days is that Jesus Christ will return to Earth to establish his Father’s Kingdom. The Bible says so quite plainly.

    “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

    “The Last Days” is the term used to describe the period of time immediately before the actual re-appearance of Jesus. This is why the subject is of such great interest to Christians today.

    The “Signs of the Times” are those events, which suggest to us that the return of Christ is imminent. This is a great source of encouragement for Christians and a warning sign to those who have not committed themselves to Christ that their window of opportunity is closing.

    The Signs of the Times are detailed particularly in Matthew chapter 24 and the parallel account in Luke. Jesus is talking to his disciples about the destruction of the Temple and they asked him when this would happen. Jesus replied:

    “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7).

    Jesus then proceeded to list a series of signs.

    Before we look at the signs, it is necessary to understand that in prophecy, there are often minor as well as major fulfilments. The minor fulfilment, which normally happens soon after the prophecy is given, provides proof that the greater fulfilment will also come to pass. So we need to consider what the minor and major fulfilments are. But first, let’s detail what the signs are, as listed in Luke 21.

    1. False Christs (Verse 8)
    2. Wars and Revolutions (Verse 9 & 10)
    3. Earthquakes (Verse 11)
    4. Famines (Verse 11)
    5. Plagues or Pestilences (Verse 11)
    6. Fearful Events (Verse 11)
    7. Signs from heaven (Verse 11)
    8. Persecution of Believers by Authorities(Verse 12)
    9. Betrayal of Believers by those close to them (Verse 16)
    10. Believers hated because of Christ (Verse 17)
    11. Jerusalem surrounded (Verse 20)
    12. Jews will fall by the sword, be taken prisoner and be dispersed (Verse 24)
    13. Jerusalem trampled by the Gentiles (non-Jews) until the end of the Gentile times (Verse 24)
    14. Signs in the sun, moon and stars (Verse 25)
    15. Nations will be in anguish and perplexity (Verse 25)
    16. Men will faint from terror (Verse 26)

     

    In verse 27, is describes the return of Jesus. Then in verse 29, Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree, saying that when the leaves come out summer is near. For reference, we will call that sign 17.

    The minor fulfilment of Christ’s words concerned the destruction of Jerusalem in ‘AD 70’ by the Roman army. This followed a rebellion by the Jews, which is mentioned in our second sign. The relevance of the signs we have numbered 11, 12, and 13 is immediately obvious, but it also introduces something called the Gentile times, which we need to deal with.

    The seventeenth sign, as we have numbered it, is the parable of the fig tree. This tree is a symbol of Israel and appeared on many coins etc. Therefore the renewal of the fig tree symbolises the renewal of Israel. This happened in 1948, when the Jews returned to the land to establish an independent state.
    The Times of the Gentiles were ended when Jerusalem ceased to be trampled by non-Jews. This happened in the “Six Day” War of 1967, when Israel expelled Jordan and gained total control of the city.

    These two events that have taken place in direct fulfilment of Bible prophecy, strongly suggest that we re in the Last Days, but what about the other signs?

    It is worth noting that critics of Bible prophecy often argue that these “signs” have always happened; for instance, there have always been wars, there have always been famine, earthquakes, plagues etc. This is true, But Jesus himself says in verse 32

    “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

    So the major fulfilment will occur when ALL these events happen within a certain timescale. The most likely timescale is 40 years, which is the Bible “definition” of a generation. So when all these things have come to pass, there is a definite time-limit. If, for instance the last sign to be fulfilled was the re-capture of Jerusalem from Gentile hands in 1967, then the latest time Jesus could return in order to fulfil prophecy would be 2007.
    This also highlights the problem or trying to guess too accurately the return of Jesus. He himself said that he return will not come with “careful observation” but rather it will come suddenly and unexpectedly as a “thief in the night”.
    Lastly, Jesus stated that no-one knew when he would return. Jesus did not know himself. Only God knows.
    Again, the minor fulfilment gives us encouragement, because Jesus said the words in approximately CE 33 and the destruction of Jerusalem took place in CE 70, just within the 40 year “limit”.

    David Koresh in a 1987 mug shotJim or James Warren Jones, American religious cult leader at an anti-eviction protest in front of the International Hotel in 1977

    There have been numerous False Messiahs over the centuries. One very recent and prominent one was David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidian sect who perished in the flames of the Waco siege in Texas, USA, 1993. It seems important to false messiahs that they die, rather than admit the failure of their prophecies. They also prefer to take as many as possible of their followers with them. In March 1997 in San Diego, 39 Heaven’s Gate followers [ led by Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997) and Bonnie Nettles (1927–1985)] poison themselves believing UFO would pick them up. In October 1994 in Switzerland, 48 Solar Temple members found burned in chalets. In November 1978 in Guyana, 914 drink cyanide, led by the Rev. Jim Jones.

    We don’t need to think hard about the issue of wars. In the last 50 years, there has been the Korean Wars (1950–1953; 1974-1976; 2010-2013 ), the Falklands War (1982), the Vietnam war (1954–75) and the Gulf War (1990-1991), Second Persian Gulf War or Iraq War (2003–11), Afghanistan War (2001–2014) to name but a very few.

    Damaged buildings in Port-au-Prince – 2010 Haiti earthquake

    The study of earthquakes is an interesting one. Obviously, communications are much better than they were 500 years ago and the world is more densely populated, so we hear a lot more about earthquakes than we used to. However, if we just look at the last 30 years, in 1970, there were 4,139 recorded earthquakes, in 1980 there were 7,348 earthquakes, an increase of 77% on ten years before. In 1990 there were 16,612 recorded earthquakes, an increase of 126% over the 1980 figure. In 2000, there were 22,256, an increase of 34% over the 1990 figure. So obviously, something is going on!

    Famine in Yemen could become one of worst in living memory, UN says

    Again, there have always been famines. The Bible speaks of them often. But they were always either preceded or followed by prosperous years and in this way, the people could put by a little grain each good year to help them through the bad years. The Genesis story of Joseph and the seven fat and seven thin cows bears this out.

    The difference now however is that countries are not recovering. Climate changes and Man’s inhumanity to Man are causing countries such as Ethiopia and Sudan to be permanently short of food, despite all the best efforts of the Western Aid agencies.

    There have always been plagues and pestilences, but once more, we see a “cluster” of AIDS, BSE, CJD, Foot and Mouth and ME all been prominent in the last few years.

    Signs in the heavens, or in the Sun, Moon and Stars can be taken two ways. The first way is the literal way and there have been numerous astronomical “signs” in recent years, such as comets, meteorites etc. The other possible meaning is the symbolic one, where the “heavens” (often translated the “high places”) represent government and the Sun Moon and Stars represent rulers. Taking this route, there are many situations that could have this prophecy applied to them.

    We then have three prophecies concerning the persecution of Christ’s followers, namely Christians. This is one prophecy where the past really does seem to have more examples than the present, although persecution does exist, for instance in China and Islamic nations. Perhaps this is one prophecy where we will see greater fulfilment in the near future.

    The persecution of the Jews has been a common pastime in western Europe for over 1,000 years. They were persecuted in England in the Middle Ages and In 1858 Lionel de Rothschild became the first Jewish MP who was permitted to take his seat without taking the oath that involved the words “by the true faith of a Christian” and in 1890 the last of the government posts became open to members of the Jewish faith. Russian pogroms, particularly between 1903 and 1906 saw many Jews killed. And of course, we can never forget the 6 million Jews killed in the Second World War.

    We hope it is clear that these prophecies apply to the times we are living in now. This means that the return of Christ is imminent. As Jesus says in Luke 21:27

    “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

    And again,

    “36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

    +

    Preceding

    God’s Self-Revelation

    The Greatness of the eternal God

    The real God

    God as Father

    Born of the Father

    The Love of God

    The Wrath of God

    The New Testament and Judgement

    To be prepared for the Day of Judgment

    Living as a believer in Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?

    Different wineskins

    Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?

    The importance of Reading the Scriptures

    The Bible: is it contradictory?

    One Bible, many Churches

    The Development of Differences

    Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover

    Examples of Living Faith

    Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Brothers and sisters in Christ for you

    The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”

    Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community

    Unlocking Bible Prophecy

    Who has the power of prophecy?

    Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel

    Prophecies over coming days

    The revival of Israel

    Why is the nation of Israel being restored?

    The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy

    The Return of Israel

    Looking into the Future

    Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?

    Wilderness Transformed

    What is the Kingdom of God?

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days #1 The Son of man revealing

    +

    To be prepared and very well oiled

    Signs of the times – “An object of scorn and ridicule”

    Signs of the times – “A new order in the Middle East”

    Memorizing wonderfully 59 Word of God, the Book and finished work

    Next: Sign of the Times and the Last Days #3 Coming events revealed in the prophetic wrings

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. Date Setting
    2. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go
    3. The Rapture Wars
    4. May we be “ready” when Jesus returns
    5. Increasing turmoil and fear but a rock to look at and go for
    6. Afraid to see the man of the heavens opened
    7. Together tasting a great promise
    8. The corpus separatum and Mahmoud Abbas

    +++

    Further related articles

    1. Are We in Danger of Repeating History
    2. Is it Just Me, or Does it Seem Like Everything is Going Crazy These Days?
    3. Getting ready for change…
    4. it’s a sign of the
    5. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, pt. 2 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    6. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, Pt. 3 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    7. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, Pt. 4 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    8. Jesus Is Coming Back!
    9. Great Red Dragon Series #4 – Part 196 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation
    10. A Rising Called For!
    11. “Warning To Be Heeded”
    12. Yemen: More than 50,000 children expected to die of starvation and disease by end of year
    13. Famine in Yemen could become one of worst in living memory, UN says
    14. Yemen on brink of ‘world’s worst famine in 100 years’ if war continues

    Rate this:

    #1858 #1890 #1948 #1967 #1978 #1994 #1997 #2007 #70 #AstronomicalSigns #BonnieNettles #BranchDavidianOffshootGroupOfTheDavidianSeventhDayAdventistChurch_ #Christians #ClimateChange #DavidKoresh #Earthquake #Ethiopia #FalseMessiah #Famine #FigTree #GentileTimes #HeavenSGateAmericanUFOReligiousMillenarianReligiousGroup_ #JimJones #LastDays #LionelDeRothschild #Luke21 #Luke211617 #Luke2120 #Luke212426 #Luke212428 #Luke212728 #Luke2129 #Luke2136 #Luke217 #Luke21812 #MarshallApplewhite #Matthew24 #OrdreDuTempleSolaireOTSOrOrderOfTheSolarTemple_ #ParableOfTheFigTree #PersecutionOfGodSPeople #PestilenceS_ #ReturnOfChrist #RussianPogromS_ #SecondComing #SecondComingOfChrist #Sign #SignsInTheHeavens #SignsOfEndtimes #SignsOfTheTimes #SixDayWar1967_ #Sudan #TimesOfTheGentiles #WacoSiege #War

    #astronomicalsigns #bonnienettles #branchdavidianoffshootgroupofthedavidianseventhdayadventistchurch_ #christians #climatechange #davidkoresh
  15. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days #2 Wars, natural disasters, famine and false Messiahs

    The first thing to understand about the Last Days is that Jesus Christ will return to Earth to establish his Father’s Kingdom. The Bible says so quite plainly.

    “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

    “The Last Days” is the term used to describe the period of time immediately before the actual re-appearance of Jesus. This is why the subject is of such great interest to Christians today.

    The “Signs of the Times” are those events, which suggest to us that the return of Christ is imminent. This is a great source of encouragement for Christians and a warning sign to those who have not committed themselves to Christ that their window of opportunity is closing.

    The Signs of the Times are detailed particularly in Matthew chapter 24 and the parallel account in Luke. Jesus is talking to his disciples about the destruction of the Temple and they asked him when this would happen. Jesus replied:

    “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7).

    Jesus then proceeded to list a series of signs.

    Before we look at the signs, it is necessary to understand that in prophecy, there are often minor as well as major fulfilments. The minor fulfilment, which normally happens soon after the prophecy is given, provides proof that the greater fulfilment will also come to pass. So we need to consider what the minor and major fulfilments are. But first, let’s detail what the signs are, as listed in Luke 21.

    1. False Christs (Verse 8)
    2. Wars and Revolutions (Verse 9 & 10)
    3. Earthquakes (Verse 11)
    4. Famines (Verse 11)
    5. Plagues or Pestilences (Verse 11)
    6. Fearful Events (Verse 11)
    7. Signs from heaven (Verse 11)
    8. Persecution of Believers by Authorities(Verse 12)
    9. Betrayal of Believers by those close to them (Verse 16)
    10. Believers hated because of Christ (Verse 17)
    11. Jerusalem surrounded (Verse 20)
    12. Jews will fall by the sword, be taken prisoner and be dispersed (Verse 24)
    13. Jerusalem trampled by the Gentiles (non-Jews) until the end of the Gentile times (Verse 24)
    14. Signs in the sun, moon and stars (Verse 25)
    15. Nations will be in anguish and perplexity (Verse 25)
    16. Men will faint from terror (Verse 26)

     

    In verse 27, is describes the return of Jesus. Then in verse 29, Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree, saying that when the leaves come out summer is near. For reference, we will call that sign 17.

    The minor fulfilment of Christ’s words concerned the destruction of Jerusalem in ‘AD 70’ by the Roman army. This followed a rebellion by the Jews, which is mentioned in our second sign. The relevance of the signs we have numbered 11, 12, and 13 is immediately obvious, but it also introduces something called the Gentile times, which we need to deal with.

    The seventeenth sign, as we have numbered it, is the parable of the fig tree. This tree is a symbol of Israel and appeared on many coins etc. Therefore the renewal of the fig tree symbolises the renewal of Israel. This happened in 1948, when the Jews returned to the land to establish an independent state.
    The Times of the Gentiles were ended when Jerusalem ceased to be trampled by non-Jews. This happened in the “Six Day” War of 1967, when Israel expelled Jordan and gained total control of the city.

    These two events that have taken place in direct fulfilment of Bible prophecy, strongly suggest that we re in the Last Days, but what about the other signs?

    It is worth noting that critics of Bible prophecy often argue that these “signs” have always happened; for instance, there have always been wars, there have always been famine, earthquakes, plagues etc. This is true, But Jesus himself says in verse 32

    “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

    So the major fulfilment will occur when ALL these events happen within a certain timescale. The most likely timescale is 40 years, which is the Bible “definition” of a generation. So when all these things have come to pass, there is a definite time-limit. If, for instance the last sign to be fulfilled was the re-capture of Jerusalem from Gentile hands in 1967, then the latest time Jesus could return in order to fulfil prophecy would be 2007.
    This also highlights the problem or trying to guess too accurately the return of Jesus. He himself said that he return will not come with “careful observation” but rather it will come suddenly and unexpectedly as a “thief in the night”.
    Lastly, Jesus stated that no-one knew when he would return. Jesus did not know himself. Only God knows.
    Again, the minor fulfilment gives us encouragement, because Jesus said the words in approximately CE 33 and the destruction of Jerusalem took place in CE 70, just within the 40 year “limit”.

    David Koresh in a 1987 mug shotJim or James Warren Jones, American religious cult leader at an anti-eviction protest in front of the International Hotel in 1977

    There have been numerous False Messiahs over the centuries. One very recent and prominent one was David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidian sect who perished in the flames of the Waco siege in Texas, USA, 1993. It seems important to false messiahs that they die, rather than admit the failure of their prophecies. They also prefer to take as many as possible of their followers with them. In March 1997 in San Diego, 39 Heaven’s Gate followers [ led by Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997) and Bonnie Nettles (1927–1985)] poison themselves believing UFO would pick them up. In October 1994 in Switzerland, 48 Solar Temple members found burned in chalets. In November 1978 in Guyana, 914 drink cyanide, led by the Rev. Jim Jones.

    We don’t need to think hard about the issue of wars. In the last 50 years, there has been the Korean Wars (1950–1953; 1974-1976; 2010-2013 ), the Falklands War (1982), the Vietnam war (1954–75) and the Gulf War (1990-1991), Second Persian Gulf War or Iraq War (2003–11), Afghanistan War (2001–2014) to name but a very few.

    Damaged buildings in Port-au-Prince – 2010 Haiti earthquake

    The study of earthquakes is an interesting one. Obviously, communications are much better than they were 500 years ago and the world is more densely populated, so we hear a lot more about earthquakes than we used to. However, if we just look at the last 30 years, in 1970, there were 4,139 recorded earthquakes, in 1980 there were 7,348 earthquakes, an increase of 77% on ten years before. In 1990 there were 16,612 recorded earthquakes, an increase of 126% over the 1980 figure. In 2000, there were 22,256, an increase of 34% over the 1990 figure. So obviously, something is going on!

    Famine in Yemen could become one of worst in living memory, UN says

    Again, there have always been famines. The Bible speaks of them often. But they were always either preceded or followed by prosperous years and in this way, the people could put by a little grain each good year to help them through the bad years. The Genesis story of Joseph and the seven fat and seven thin cows bears this out.

    The difference now however is that countries are not recovering. Climate changes and Man’s inhumanity to Man are causing countries such as Ethiopia and Sudan to be permanently short of food, despite all the best efforts of the Western Aid agencies.

    There have always been plagues and pestilences, but once more, we see a “cluster” of AIDS, BSE, CJD, Foot and Mouth and ME all been prominent in the last few years.

    Signs in the heavens, or in the Sun, Moon and Stars can be taken two ways. The first way is the literal way and there have been numerous astronomical “signs” in recent years, such as comets, meteorites etc. The other possible meaning is the symbolic one, where the “heavens” (often translated the “high places”) represent government and the Sun Moon and Stars represent rulers. Taking this route, there are many situations that could have this prophecy applied to them.

    We then have three prophecies concerning the persecution of Christ’s followers, namely Christians. This is one prophecy where the past really does seem to have more examples than the present, although persecution does exist, for instance in China and Islamic nations. Perhaps this is one prophecy where we will see greater fulfilment in the near future.

    The persecution of the Jews has been a common pastime in western Europe for over 1,000 years. They were persecuted in England in the Middle Ages and In 1858 Lionel de Rothschild became the first Jewish MP who was permitted to take his seat without taking the oath that involved the words “by the true faith of a Christian” and in 1890 the last of the government posts became open to members of the Jewish faith. Russian pogroms, particularly between 1903 and 1906 saw many Jews killed. And of course, we can never forget the 6 million Jews killed in the Second World War.

    We hope it is clear that these prophecies apply to the times we are living in now. This means that the return of Christ is imminent. As Jesus says in Luke 21:27

    “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

    And again,

    “36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

    +

    Preceding

    God’s Self-Revelation

    The Greatness of the eternal God

    The real God

    God as Father

    Born of the Father

    The Love of God

    The Wrath of God

    The New Testament and Judgement

    To be prepared for the Day of Judgment

    Living as a believer in Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?

    Different wineskins

    Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?

    The importance of Reading the Scriptures

    The Bible: is it contradictory?

    One Bible, many Churches

    The Development of Differences

    Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover

    Examples of Living Faith

    Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Brothers and sisters in Christ for you

    The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”

    Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community

    Unlocking Bible Prophecy

    Who has the power of prophecy?

    Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel

    Prophecies over coming days

    The revival of Israel

    Why is the nation of Israel being restored?

    The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy

    The Return of Israel

    Looking into the Future

    Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?

    Wilderness Transformed

    What is the Kingdom of God?

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days #1 The Son of man revealing

    +

    To be prepared and very well oiled

    Signs of the times – “An object of scorn and ridicule”

    Signs of the times – “A new order in the Middle East”

    Memorizing wonderfully 59 Word of God, the Book and finished work

    Next: Sign of the Times and the Last Days #3 Coming events revealed in the prophetic wrings

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. Date Setting
    2. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go
    3. The Rapture Wars
    4. May we be “ready” when Jesus returns
    5. Increasing turmoil and fear but a rock to look at and go for
    6. Afraid to see the man of the heavens opened
    7. Together tasting a great promise
    8. The corpus separatum and Mahmoud Abbas

    +++

    Further related articles

    1. Are We in Danger of Repeating History
    2. Is it Just Me, or Does it Seem Like Everything is Going Crazy These Days?
    3. Getting ready for change…
    4. it’s a sign of the
    5. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, pt. 2 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    6. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, Pt. 3 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    7. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, Pt. 4 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    8. Jesus Is Coming Back!
    9. Great Red Dragon Series #4 – Part 196 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation
    10. A Rising Called For!
    11. “Warning To Be Heeded”
    12. Yemen: More than 50,000 children expected to die of starvation and disease by end of year
    13. Famine in Yemen could become one of worst in living memory, UN says
    14. Yemen on brink of ‘world’s worst famine in 100 years’ if war continues

    Rate this:

    #1858 #1890 #1948 #1967 #1978 #1994 #1997 #2007 #70 #AstronomicalSigns #BonnieNettles #BranchDavidianOffshootGroupOfTheDavidianSeventhDayAdventistChurch_ #Christians #ClimateChange #DavidKoresh #Earthquake #Ethiopia #FalseMessiah #Famine #FigTree #GentileTimes #HeavenSGateAmericanUFOReligiousMillenarianReligiousGroup_ #JimJones #LastDays #LionelDeRothschild #Luke21 #Luke211617 #Luke2120 #Luke212426 #Luke212428 #Luke212728 #Luke2129 #Luke2136 #Luke217 #Luke21812 #MarshallApplewhite #Matthew24 #OrdreDuTempleSolaireOTSOrOrderOfTheSolarTemple_ #ParableOfTheFigTree #PersecutionOfGodSPeople #PestilenceS_ #ReturnOfChrist #RussianPogromS_ #SecondComing #SecondComingOfChrist #Sign #SignsInTheHeavens #SignsOfEndtimes #SignsOfTheTimes #SixDayWar1967_ #Sudan #TimesOfTheGentiles #WacoSiege #War

    #war #wacosiege #timesofthegentiles #sudan #sixdaywar1967_ #signsofthetimes
  16. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days #2 Wars, natural disasters, famine and false Messiahs

    The first thing to understand about the Last Days is that Jesus Christ will return to Earth to establish his Father’s Kingdom. The Bible says so quite plainly.

    “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

    “The Last Days” is the term used to describe the period of time immediately before the actual re-appearance of Jesus. This is why the subject is of such great interest to Christians today.

    The “Signs of the Times” are those events, which suggest to us that the return of Christ is imminent. This is a great source of encouragement for Christians and a warning sign to those who have not committed themselves to Christ that their window of opportunity is closing.

    The Signs of the Times are detailed particularly in Matthew chapter 24 and the parallel account in Luke. Jesus is talking to his disciples about the destruction of the Temple and they asked him when this would happen. Jesus replied:

    “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7).

    Jesus then proceeded to list a series of signs.

    Before we look at the signs, it is necessary to understand that in prophecy, there are often minor as well as major fulfilments. The minor fulfilment, which normally happens soon after the prophecy is given, provides proof that the greater fulfilment will also come to pass. So we need to consider what the minor and major fulfilments are. But first, let’s detail what the signs are, as listed in Luke 21.

    1. False Christs (Verse 8)
    2. Wars and Revolutions (Verse 9 & 10)
    3. Earthquakes (Verse 11)
    4. Famines (Verse 11)
    5. Plagues or Pestilences (Verse 11)
    6. Fearful Events (Verse 11)
    7. Signs from heaven (Verse 11)
    8. Persecution of Believers by Authorities(Verse 12)
    9. Betrayal of Believers by those close to them (Verse 16)
    10. Believers hated because of Christ (Verse 17)
    11. Jerusalem surrounded (Verse 20)
    12. Jews will fall by the sword, be taken prisoner and be dispersed (Verse 24)
    13. Jerusalem trampled by the Gentiles (non-Jews) until the end of the Gentile times (Verse 24)
    14. Signs in the sun, moon and stars (Verse 25)
    15. Nations will be in anguish and perplexity (Verse 25)
    16. Men will faint from terror (Verse 26)

     

    In verse 27, is describes the return of Jesus. Then in verse 29, Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree, saying that when the leaves come out summer is near. For reference, we will call that sign 17.

    The minor fulfilment of Christ’s words concerned the destruction of Jerusalem in ‘AD 70’ by the Roman army. This followed a rebellion by the Jews, which is mentioned in our second sign. The relevance of the signs we have numbered 11, 12, and 13 is immediately obvious, but it also introduces something called the Gentile times, which we need to deal with.

    The seventeenth sign, as we have numbered it, is the parable of the fig tree. This tree is a symbol of Israel and appeared on many coins etc. Therefore the renewal of the fig tree symbolises the renewal of Israel. This happened in 1948, when the Jews returned to the land to establish an independent state.
    The Times of the Gentiles were ended when Jerusalem ceased to be trampled by non-Jews. This happened in the “Six Day” War of 1967, when Israel expelled Jordan and gained total control of the city.

    These two events that have taken place in direct fulfilment of Bible prophecy, strongly suggest that we re in the Last Days, but what about the other signs?

    It is worth noting that critics of Bible prophecy often argue that these “signs” have always happened; for instance, there have always been wars, there have always been famine, earthquakes, plagues etc. This is true, But Jesus himself says in verse 32

    “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

    So the major fulfilment will occur when ALL these events happen within a certain timescale. The most likely timescale is 40 years, which is the Bible “definition” of a generation. So when all these things have come to pass, there is a definite time-limit. If, for instance the last sign to be fulfilled was the re-capture of Jerusalem from Gentile hands in 1967, then the latest time Jesus could return in order to fulfil prophecy would be 2007.
    This also highlights the problem or trying to guess too accurately the return of Jesus. He himself said that he return will not come with “careful observation” but rather it will come suddenly and unexpectedly as a “thief in the night”.
    Lastly, Jesus stated that no-one knew when he would return. Jesus did not know himself. Only God knows.
    Again, the minor fulfilment gives us encouragement, because Jesus said the words in approximately CE 33 and the destruction of Jerusalem took place in CE 70, just within the 40 year “limit”.

    David Koresh in a 1987 mug shotJim or James Warren Jones, American religious cult leader at an anti-eviction protest in front of the International Hotel in 1977

    There have been numerous False Messiahs over the centuries. One very recent and prominent one was David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidian sect who perished in the flames of the Waco siege in Texas, USA, 1993. It seems important to false messiahs that they die, rather than admit the failure of their prophecies. They also prefer to take as many as possible of their followers with them. In March 1997 in San Diego, 39 Heaven’s Gate followers [ led by Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997) and Bonnie Nettles (1927–1985)] poison themselves believing UFO would pick them up. In October 1994 in Switzerland, 48 Solar Temple members found burned in chalets. In November 1978 in Guyana, 914 drink cyanide, led by the Rev. Jim Jones.

    We don’t need to think hard about the issue of wars. In the last 50 years, there has been the Korean Wars (1950–1953; 1974-1976; 2010-2013 ), the Falklands War (1982), the Vietnam war (1954–75) and the Gulf War (1990-1991), Second Persian Gulf War or Iraq War (2003–11), Afghanistan War (2001–2014) to name but a very few.

    Damaged buildings in Port-au-Prince – 2010 Haiti earthquake

    The study of earthquakes is an interesting one. Obviously, communications are much better than they were 500 years ago and the world is more densely populated, so we hear a lot more about earthquakes than we used to. However, if we just look at the last 30 years, in 1970, there were 4,139 recorded earthquakes, in 1980 there were 7,348 earthquakes, an increase of 77% on ten years before. In 1990 there were 16,612 recorded earthquakes, an increase of 126% over the 1980 figure. In 2000, there were 22,256, an increase of 34% over the 1990 figure. So obviously, something is going on!

    Famine in Yemen could become one of worst in living memory, UN says

    Again, there have always been famines. The Bible speaks of them often. But they were always either preceded or followed by prosperous years and in this way, the people could put by a little grain each good year to help them through the bad years. The Genesis story of Joseph and the seven fat and seven thin cows bears this out.

    The difference now however is that countries are not recovering. Climate changes and Man’s inhumanity to Man are causing countries such as Ethiopia and Sudan to be permanently short of food, despite all the best efforts of the Western Aid agencies.

    There have always been plagues and pestilences, but once more, we see a “cluster” of AIDS, BSE, CJD, Foot and Mouth and ME all been prominent in the last few years.

    Signs in the heavens, or in the Sun, Moon and Stars can be taken two ways. The first way is the literal way and there have been numerous astronomical “signs” in recent years, such as comets, meteorites etc. The other possible meaning is the symbolic one, where the “heavens” (often translated the “high places”) represent government and the Sun Moon and Stars represent rulers. Taking this route, there are many situations that could have this prophecy applied to them.

    We then have three prophecies concerning the persecution of Christ’s followers, namely Christians. This is one prophecy where the past really does seem to have more examples than the present, although persecution does exist, for instance in China and Islamic nations. Perhaps this is one prophecy where we will see greater fulfilment in the near future.

    The persecution of the Jews has been a common pastime in western Europe for over 1,000 years. They were persecuted in England in the Middle Ages and In 1858 Lionel de Rothschild became the first Jewish MP who was permitted to take his seat without taking the oath that involved the words “by the true faith of a Christian” and in 1890 the last of the government posts became open to members of the Jewish faith. Russian pogroms, particularly between 1903 and 1906 saw many Jews killed. And of course, we can never forget the 6 million Jews killed in the Second World War.

    We hope it is clear that these prophecies apply to the times we are living in now. This means that the return of Christ is imminent. As Jesus says in Luke 21:27

    “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

    And again,

    “36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

    +

    Preceding

    God’s Self-Revelation

    The Greatness of the eternal God

    The real God

    God as Father

    Born of the Father

    The Love of God

    The Wrath of God

    The New Testament and Judgement

    To be prepared for the Day of Judgment

    Living as a believer in Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?

    Different wineskins

    Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?

    The importance of Reading the Scriptures

    The Bible: is it contradictory?

    One Bible, many Churches

    The Development of Differences

    Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover

    Examples of Living Faith

    Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Brothers and sisters in Christ for you

    The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”

    Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community

    Unlocking Bible Prophecy

    Who has the power of prophecy?

    Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel

    Prophecies over coming days

    The revival of Israel

    Why is the nation of Israel being restored?

    The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy

    The Return of Israel

    Looking into the Future

    Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?

    Wilderness Transformed

    What is the Kingdom of God?

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days #1 The Son of man revealing

    +

    To be prepared and very well oiled

    Signs of the times – “An object of scorn and ridicule”

    Signs of the times – “A new order in the Middle East”

    Memorizing wonderfully 59 Word of God, the Book and finished work

    Next: Sign of the Times and the Last Days #3 Coming events revealed in the prophetic wrings

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. Date Setting
    2. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go
    3. The Rapture Wars
    4. May we be “ready” when Jesus returns
    5. Increasing turmoil and fear but a rock to look at and go for
    6. Afraid to see the man of the heavens opened
    7. Together tasting a great promise
    8. The corpus separatum and Mahmoud Abbas

    +++

    Further related articles

    1. Are We in Danger of Repeating History
    2. Is it Just Me, or Does it Seem Like Everything is Going Crazy These Days?
    3. Getting ready for change…
    4. it’s a sign of the
    5. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, pt. 2 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    6. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, Pt. 3 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    7. The Last Days Acceleration of Time, Pt. 4 by Pastor Kevin E. Johnson
    8. Jesus Is Coming Back!
    9. Great Red Dragon Series #4 – Part 196 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation
    10. A Rising Called For!
    11. “Warning To Be Heeded”
    12. Yemen: More than 50,000 children expected to die of starvation and disease by end of year
    13. Famine in Yemen could become one of worst in living memory, UN says
    14. Yemen on brink of ‘world’s worst famine in 100 years’ if war continues

    Rate this:

    #1858 #1890 #1948 #1967 #1978 #1994 #1997 #2007 #70 #AstronomicalSigns #BonnieNettles #BranchDavidianOffshootGroupOfTheDavidianSeventhDayAdventistChurch_ #Christians #ClimateChange #DavidKoresh #Earthquake #Ethiopia #FalseMessiah #Famine #FigTree #GentileTimes #HeavenSGateAmericanUFOReligiousMillenarianReligiousGroup_ #JimJones #LastDays #LionelDeRothschild #Luke21 #Luke211617 #Luke2120 #Luke212426 #Luke212428 #Luke212728 #Luke2129 #Luke2136 #Luke217 #Luke21812 #MarshallApplewhite #Matthew24 #OrdreDuTempleSolaireOTSOrOrderOfTheSolarTemple_ #ParableOfTheFigTree #PersecutionOfGodSPeople #PestilenceS_ #ReturnOfChrist #RussianPogromS_ #SecondComing #SecondComingOfChrist #Sign #SignsInTheHeavens #SignsOfEndtimes #SignsOfTheTimes #SixDayWar1967_ #Sudan #TimesOfTheGentiles #WacoSiege #War

    #astronomicalsigns #bonnienettles #branchdavidianoffshootgroupofthedavidianseventhdayadventistchurch_ #christians #climatechange #davidkoresh
  17. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    Prophecies over coming days

    We can get pictures of what went on in the past by the many research papers, historical books and documentaries. Many empires have come and gone. Throughout the centuries many battles were fought. After World War I people even thought there would never come a war again.

    Part 5

    Peace and progress?

    What a shock the events of the 20th century turned out to be! The dream of progress and peace faded. Two terrible world wars, with millions of slain and untold damage and suffering, were followed by the development of the most frightfully destructive weapons ever invented. The varying solutions in which the “wise men” of the 19th century put their trust have all been exposed as false. More widespread education has not been followed by higher moral standards, but by a growth in dishonesty, greed, violence and crime. The Christian religion, far from converting the nations, is in decline all over the earth. Democracy in politics has not proved the magic cure for social evils that was expected. Finally – cruellest blow of all – science has proved a frighteningly double-edged weapon. Far from being an era of peace, this “civilised” age has become a time of strife and violence. No wonder the attitude of so many people is one of pessimistic resignation. There seems little any one can do.

    Now what has Bible prophecy to say about all this?

    It has a clear forecast of the “last days”, “the time of the end”, when the career of mankind in the earth will come to a critical point. It is not a picture of continuing progress and peace, but rather of world trouble and fear. The clearest and most striking example of this is found in what Jesus says to his disciples, when they asked him what would be the sign of his return to the earth and of “the end of the world”. He tells them first about the fate of the Jewish people:

    “They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles (the nations), until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)

    Now this is a brief description of what we have already considered in prophecy concerning Israel. The Jews were to be driven as captives into all nations; Jerusalem was to be subject to Gentile powers. Note that Jesus implies a limit to this:

    “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”.

    We have seen the beginning of this in our own days: Jerusalem is no longer dominated by “foreign” powers – it is under the control of Israel itself.

    World distress and fear

    So what he says next must also apply to the same days – the days of Israel’s restoration to their own land. This is what he foretells:

    “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after (for expectation of, R.V.) those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (verses 25,26)

    This is no picture of peace and progress. It is a world of distress and perplexity, of fear seizing men’s hearts as they contemplate the events taking place on “the inhabited earth” (as the word Jesus used literally means).

    The Apostle Paul, writing about 35 years after the time of Jesus’ prophecy, has this to say about the character of the last days:

    “In the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, RSV)

    This is an astonishing picture of a civilisation; mankind is throwing off all restraint and indulging its own desires, reckless of consequences. Its uncanny resemblance to the developments in our own world cannot be denied.

    So this is the position: whereas the “wise men” of only 100 years ago were confidently anticipating an era of progress and peace for the nations of the world, the Bible, in the words of Jesus and Paul, was foretelling a world of distress, fear, and perplexity, an age of violence, self-indulgence and hatred. Our human philosophers were wrong; Jesus and Paul were right. But they spoke and wrote over 1,900 years ago! How could they have known? Only because neither of them spoke his own words, but the words of God Himself. It was God who knew, and inspired His Son and His apostle to reveal the character of the last days.

    CONCLUSIONS

    There are certain important conclusions to be drawn from our consideration of these Bible prophecies.

    If the Bible has proved to be so right in its predictions about events in human history – the fates of Babylon, Egypt, and Israel, as well as the rise and fall of empires, and the state of the modern world – is it not just as likely to be right in its predictions of events which have not yet come to pass?

    Take that image vision in Daniel, for instance. We have not so far commented upon the final development: the stone, “cut out of the mountain without hands”, smote the image on the feet, destroyed it, and then itself “became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). Now the general sense of this is plain: a new element, not part of the image empires and kingdoms, destroys them and takes their place in the earth. And since “without hands” must mean “without human hands” the stone must represent no ordinary human power.

    But Daniel tells us himself what it means:

    “In the days of those kings (that is, the various kingdoms that followed the Roman Empire) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed … it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (verse 44)

    The present governments and powers of the world are to be removed, in a sudden dramatic event, when God intervenes and sets up His own government. To avoid misunderstanding it should be said that it is not the populations of the earth who are to be destroyed: it is the power and authority of their human governments, to be replaced by the new kingdom of God. Many other prophecies tell us of the nature of this Kingdom; the uprightness of its rule, the truth of its teaching, and the peace it will at last bring to mankind through their recognition of “the God of heaven”. Read for instance Isaiah 2:1-4 for a clear and striking picture of the nations in that age to come.

    But how exactly is this great change in the earth to be accomplished? The New Testament tells us. In fact Jesus himself tells us in that prophecy of times of trouble and fear for all nations. His next words are these:

    “Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27)

    He is saying that he will come back himself. The return of Christ to the earth is a frequent theme in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. They agree completely with the prophets. Read Psalm 72 for a picture of his reign.

    Now this surely is what should concern us: if the prophecies of the Bible about nations and empires have proved so true over a period of more than 2,000 years, are not those other things they predict also likely to come to pass? Is it not unreasonable to say:

    “Well, I accept that the prophets were right in their predictions in these historical matters, but I can’t believe what they say about the future for us.”

    Why not? They have given evidence that they were setting out not their own ideas, but the very purposes of God. Whatever else they say must surely claim from us all the most careful attention.

    The vital element

    But of course there is more. These remarkable prophecies are found in the Bible, and nowhere else in the world. There are no other writings, no other books, no other human pronouncements which can even begin to compare with the Bible. But the Bible tells us that Jesus was the Son of God; the things he said are preserved for us in the Gospels of the New Testament. Together with the teachings of his inspired apostles Peter, John and Paul, they reveal to us truths we cannot know otherwise. They warn us of the reality of death; they explain why the Gospel is “the good news”, “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). They encourage us with the promise of a lasting life in the new order which Christ will establish when he comes. That is why we ought to be reading the Bible. It can make the vital difference to us between the hopelessness of death and the confident hope of everlasting life.

    Careful reading of the Bible will convince us that God exists, that He is in control, and that He calls us to be disciples of His Son. The Bible is the book for us. We do well to pay attention to what it says.

    +

    Preceding

    God’s Self-Revelation

    The Greatness of the eternal God

    The real God

    God as Father

    Born of the Father

    The Love of God

    The Wrath of God

    The New Testament and Judgement

    To be prepared for the Day of Judgment

    Living as a believer in Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?

    Different wineskins

    Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?

    The importance of Reading the Scriptures

    The Bible: is it contradictory?

    One Bible, many Churches

    The Development of Differences

    Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover

    Examples of Living Faith

    Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Brothers and sisters in Christ for you

    The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”

    Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community

    Unlocking Bible Prophecy

    Who has the power of prophecy?

    Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel

    The most incredible feature of the prophecies

    +

    Increase our zeal for the Holy scriptures

    To be prepared and very well oiled

    January’s issue of The Christadelphian

    Memorizing wonderfully 20 Mountain and Kingdom of God

    Next

    The revival of Israel

    Why is the nation of Israel being restored?

    The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy

    Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. A look at On Science & Religion
    2. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
    3. God’s Plan, Purpose and teachings
    4. Necessity of a revelation of creation 9 Searching the Scriptures
    5. Messianic prophesies 2 Adversary – Root of the first prophecy
    6. High time to show the way to peace
    7. Devotees and spotters
    8. Signs of the Last Days
    9. Seeds and weeds for being the greatest nation
    10. A New Reformation
    11. Americans their stars, pretension, God, Allah and end of times signs #3 Cyberwars and prophesy
    12. Need to reject an archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible and animosity against other believers
    13. Christians at War? Christians using violence?
    14. Shariah and child abuse – Is there a connection?
    15. The Rapture Wars
    16. A Church without Faith!
    17. Honest-hearted people are losing faith in humanity and humanity losing faith in God
    18. Back from gone #4 Your inner feelings and actions
    19. What I Hope For Is What You Hope For
    20. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go

    +++

    Related

    1. On Expectations and Moral Standards
    2. Where Does the Broader Society Get Its Standard for Correct Behavior?
    3. “There Is Something Wrong”
    4. Are we guilty? Self-definition & the matter of “right” and “wrong”.
    5. He will show you a good standard of living! (Not as in where you live)
    6. Nebuchadnezzar’s Metal Man
    7. Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

    Rate this:

    #19Century #20Century #ApostlePaul #Bible #BookOfDaniel #ChristianReligion #Crime #Dishonesty #Distress #DreamOfPeace #DreamOfProgress #Education #EndTime #EndTimes #EndTimeProphecies #Endtimes #FateOfBabylon #FateOfEgypt #FateOfIsrael #Greed #Jerusalem #LastDays #MoralStandardS_ #PresentAge #RestorationOfIsrael #RestorationOfJerusalem #ReturnOfChrist #Science #Sign #SignOfTheReturnOfChrist #SignsOfEndtimes #Strife #TimesOfTheGentiles #Violence #WorldWarI #WorldWarII #WorldWarS_

    #19century #20century #apostlepaul #bible #bookofdaniel #christianreligion
  18. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    Prophecies over coming days

    We can get pictures of what went on in the past by the many research papers, historical books and documentaries. Many empires have come and gone. Throughout the centuries many battles were fought. After World War I people even thought there would never come a war again.

    Part 5

    Peace and progress?

    What a shock the events of the 20th century turned out to be! The dream of progress and peace faded. Two terrible world wars, with millions of slain and untold damage and suffering, were followed by the development of the most frightfully destructive weapons ever invented. The varying solutions in which the “wise men” of the 19th century put their trust have all been exposed as false. More widespread education has not been followed by higher moral standards, but by a growth in dishonesty, greed, violence and crime. The Christian religion, far from converting the nations, is in decline all over the earth. Democracy in politics has not proved the magic cure for social evils that was expected. Finally – cruellest blow of all – science has proved a frighteningly double-edged weapon. Far from being an era of peace, this “civilised” age has become a time of strife and violence. No wonder the attitude of so many people is one of pessimistic resignation. There seems little any one can do.

    Now what has Bible prophecy to say about all this?

    It has a clear forecast of the “last days”, “the time of the end”, when the career of mankind in the earth will come to a critical point. It is not a picture of continuing progress and peace, but rather of world trouble and fear. The clearest and most striking example of this is found in what Jesus says to his disciples, when they asked him what would be the sign of his return to the earth and of “the end of the world”. He tells them first about the fate of the Jewish people:

    “They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles (the nations), until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)

    Now this is a brief description of what we have already considered in prophecy concerning Israel. The Jews were to be driven as captives into all nations; Jerusalem was to be subject to Gentile powers. Note that Jesus implies a limit to this:

    “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”.

    We have seen the beginning of this in our own days: Jerusalem is no longer dominated by “foreign” powers – it is under the control of Israel itself.

    World distress and fear

    So what he says next must also apply to the same days – the days of Israel’s restoration to their own land. This is what he foretells:

    “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after (for expectation of, R.V.) those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (verses 25,26)

    This is no picture of peace and progress. It is a world of distress and perplexity, of fear seizing men’s hearts as they contemplate the events taking place on “the inhabited earth” (as the word Jesus used literally means).

    The Apostle Paul, writing about 35 years after the time of Jesus’ prophecy, has this to say about the character of the last days:

    “In the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, RSV)

    This is an astonishing picture of a civilisation; mankind is throwing off all restraint and indulging its own desires, reckless of consequences. Its uncanny resemblance to the developments in our own world cannot be denied.

    So this is the position: whereas the “wise men” of only 100 years ago were confidently anticipating an era of progress and peace for the nations of the world, the Bible, in the words of Jesus and Paul, was foretelling a world of distress, fear, and perplexity, an age of violence, self-indulgence and hatred. Our human philosophers were wrong; Jesus and Paul were right. But they spoke and wrote over 1,900 years ago! How could they have known? Only because neither of them spoke his own words, but the words of God Himself. It was God who knew, and inspired His Son and His apostle to reveal the character of the last days.

    CONCLUSIONS

    There are certain important conclusions to be drawn from our consideration of these Bible prophecies.

    If the Bible has proved to be so right in its predictions about events in human history – the fates of Babylon, Egypt, and Israel, as well as the rise and fall of empires, and the state of the modern world – is it not just as likely to be right in its predictions of events which have not yet come to pass?

    Take that image vision in Daniel, for instance. We have not so far commented upon the final development: the stone, “cut out of the mountain without hands”, smote the image on the feet, destroyed it, and then itself “became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). Now the general sense of this is plain: a new element, not part of the image empires and kingdoms, destroys them and takes their place in the earth. And since “without hands” must mean “without human hands” the stone must represent no ordinary human power.

    But Daniel tells us himself what it means:

    “In the days of those kings (that is, the various kingdoms that followed the Roman Empire) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed … it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (verse 44)

    The present governments and powers of the world are to be removed, in a sudden dramatic event, when God intervenes and sets up His own government. To avoid misunderstanding it should be said that it is not the populations of the earth who are to be destroyed: it is the power and authority of their human governments, to be replaced by the new kingdom of God. Many other prophecies tell us of the nature of this Kingdom; the uprightness of its rule, the truth of its teaching, and the peace it will at last bring to mankind through their recognition of “the God of heaven”. Read for instance Isaiah 2:1-4 for a clear and striking picture of the nations in that age to come.

    But how exactly is this great change in the earth to be accomplished? The New Testament tells us. In fact Jesus himself tells us in that prophecy of times of trouble and fear for all nations. His next words are these:

    “Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27)

    He is saying that he will come back himself. The return of Christ to the earth is a frequent theme in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. They agree completely with the prophets. Read Psalm 72 for a picture of his reign.

    Now this surely is what should concern us: if the prophecies of the Bible about nations and empires have proved so true over a period of more than 2,000 years, are not those other things they predict also likely to come to pass? Is it not unreasonable to say:

    “Well, I accept that the prophets were right in their predictions in these historical matters, but I can’t believe what they say about the future for us.”

    Why not? They have given evidence that they were setting out not their own ideas, but the very purposes of God. Whatever else they say must surely claim from us all the most careful attention.

    The vital element

    But of course there is more. These remarkable prophecies are found in the Bible, and nowhere else in the world. There are no other writings, no other books, no other human pronouncements which can even begin to compare with the Bible. But the Bible tells us that Jesus was the Son of God; the things he said are preserved for us in the Gospels of the New Testament. Together with the teachings of his inspired apostles Peter, John and Paul, they reveal to us truths we cannot know otherwise. They warn us of the reality of death; they explain why the Gospel is “the good news”, “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). They encourage us with the promise of a lasting life in the new order which Christ will establish when he comes. That is why we ought to be reading the Bible. It can make the vital difference to us between the hopelessness of death and the confident hope of everlasting life.

    Careful reading of the Bible will convince us that God exists, that He is in control, and that He calls us to be disciples of His Son. The Bible is the book for us. We do well to pay attention to what it says.

    +

    Preceding

    God’s Self-Revelation

    The Greatness of the eternal God

    The real God

    God as Father

    Born of the Father

    The Love of God

    The Wrath of God

    The New Testament and Judgement

    To be prepared for the Day of Judgment

    Living as a believer in Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?

    Different wineskins

    Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?

    The importance of Reading the Scriptures

    The Bible: is it contradictory?

    One Bible, many Churches

    The Development of Differences

    Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover

    Examples of Living Faith

    Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Brothers and sisters in Christ for you

    The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”

    Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community

    Unlocking Bible Prophecy

    Who has the power of prophecy?

    Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel

    The most incredible feature of the prophecies

    +

    Increase our zeal for the Holy scriptures

    To be prepared and very well oiled

    January’s issue of The Christadelphian

    Memorizing wonderfully 20 Mountain and Kingdom of God

    Next

    The revival of Israel

    Why is the nation of Israel being restored?

    The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy

    Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. A look at On Science & Religion
    2. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
    3. God’s Plan, Purpose and teachings
    4. Necessity of a revelation of creation 9 Searching the Scriptures
    5. Messianic prophesies 2 Adversary – Root of the first prophecy
    6. High time to show the way to peace
    7. Devotees and spotters
    8. Signs of the Last Days
    9. Seeds and weeds for being the greatest nation
    10. A New Reformation
    11. Americans their stars, pretension, God, Allah and end of times signs #3 Cyberwars and prophesy
    12. Need to reject an archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible and animosity against other believers
    13. Christians at War? Christians using violence?
    14. Shariah and child abuse – Is there a connection?
    15. The Rapture Wars
    16. A Church without Faith!
    17. Honest-hearted people are losing faith in humanity and humanity losing faith in God
    18. Back from gone #4 Your inner feelings and actions
    19. What I Hope For Is What You Hope For
    20. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go

    +++

    Related

    1. On Expectations and Moral Standards
    2. Where Does the Broader Society Get Its Standard for Correct Behavior?
    3. “There Is Something Wrong”
    4. Are we guilty? Self-definition & the matter of “right” and “wrong”.
    5. He will show you a good standard of living! (Not as in where you live)
    6. Nebuchadnezzar’s Metal Man
    7. Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

    Rate this:

    #19Century #20Century #ApostlePaul #Bible #BookOfDaniel #ChristianReligion #Crime #Dishonesty #Distress #DreamOfPeace #DreamOfProgress #Education #EndTime #EndTimes #EndTimeProphecies #Endtimes #FateOfBabylon #FateOfEgypt #FateOfIsrael #Greed #Jerusalem #LastDays #MoralStandardS_ #PresentAge #RestorationOfIsrael #RestorationOfJerusalem #ReturnOfChrist #Science #Sign #SignOfTheReturnOfChrist #SignsOfEndtimes #Strife #TimesOfTheGentiles #Violence #WorldWarI #WorldWarII #WorldWarS_

    #19century #20century #apostlepaul #bible #bookofdaniel #christianreligion
  19. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    Prophecies over coming days

    We can get pictures of what went on in the past by the many research papers, historical books and documentaries. Many empires have come and gone. Throughout the centuries many battles were fought. After World War I people even thought there would never come a war again.

    Part 5

    Peace and progress?

    What a shock the events of the 20th century turned out to be! The dream of progress and peace faded. Two terrible world wars, with millions of slain and untold damage and suffering, were followed by the development of the most frightfully destructive weapons ever invented. The varying solutions in which the “wise men” of the 19th century put their trust have all been exposed as false. More widespread education has not been followed by higher moral standards, but by a growth in dishonesty, greed, violence and crime. The Christian religion, far from converting the nations, is in decline all over the earth. Democracy in politics has not proved the magic cure for social evils that was expected. Finally – cruellest blow of all – science has proved a frighteningly double-edged weapon. Far from being an era of peace, this “civilised” age has become a time of strife and violence. No wonder the attitude of so many people is one of pessimistic resignation. There seems little any one can do.

    Now what has Bible prophecy to say about all this?

    It has a clear forecast of the “last days”, “the time of the end”, when the career of mankind in the earth will come to a critical point. It is not a picture of continuing progress and peace, but rather of world trouble and fear. The clearest and most striking example of this is found in what Jesus says to his disciples, when they asked him what would be the sign of his return to the earth and of “the end of the world”. He tells them first about the fate of the Jewish people:

    “They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles (the nations), until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)

    Now this is a brief description of what we have already considered in prophecy concerning Israel. The Jews were to be driven as captives into all nations; Jerusalem was to be subject to Gentile powers. Note that Jesus implies a limit to this:

    “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”.

    We have seen the beginning of this in our own days: Jerusalem is no longer dominated by “foreign” powers – it is under the control of Israel itself.

    World distress and fear

    So what he says next must also apply to the same days – the days of Israel’s restoration to their own land. This is what he foretells:

    “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after (for expectation of, R.V.) those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (verses 25,26)

    This is no picture of peace and progress. It is a world of distress and perplexity, of fear seizing men’s hearts as they contemplate the events taking place on “the inhabited earth” (as the word Jesus used literally means).

    The Apostle Paul, writing about 35 years after the time of Jesus’ prophecy, has this to say about the character of the last days:

    “In the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, RSV)

    This is an astonishing picture of a civilisation; mankind is throwing off all restraint and indulging its own desires, reckless of consequences. Its uncanny resemblance to the developments in our own world cannot be denied.

    So this is the position: whereas the “wise men” of only 100 years ago were confidently anticipating an era of progress and peace for the nations of the world, the Bible, in the words of Jesus and Paul, was foretelling a world of distress, fear, and perplexity, an age of violence, self-indulgence and hatred. Our human philosophers were wrong; Jesus and Paul were right. But they spoke and wrote over 1,900 years ago! How could they have known? Only because neither of them spoke his own words, but the words of God Himself. It was God who knew, and inspired His Son and His apostle to reveal the character of the last days.

    CONCLUSIONS

    There are certain important conclusions to be drawn from our consideration of these Bible prophecies.

    If the Bible has proved to be so right in its predictions about events in human history – the fates of Babylon, Egypt, and Israel, as well as the rise and fall of empires, and the state of the modern world – is it not just as likely to be right in its predictions of events which have not yet come to pass?

    Take that image vision in Daniel, for instance. We have not so far commented upon the final development: the stone, “cut out of the mountain without hands”, smote the image on the feet, destroyed it, and then itself “became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). Now the general sense of this is plain: a new element, not part of the image empires and kingdoms, destroys them and takes their place in the earth. And since “without hands” must mean “without human hands” the stone must represent no ordinary human power.

    But Daniel tells us himself what it means:

    “In the days of those kings (that is, the various kingdoms that followed the Roman Empire) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed … it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (verse 44)

    The present governments and powers of the world are to be removed, in a sudden dramatic event, when God intervenes and sets up His own government. To avoid misunderstanding it should be said that it is not the populations of the earth who are to be destroyed: it is the power and authority of their human governments, to be replaced by the new kingdom of God. Many other prophecies tell us of the nature of this Kingdom; the uprightness of its rule, the truth of its teaching, and the peace it will at last bring to mankind through their recognition of “the God of heaven”. Read for instance Isaiah 2:1-4 for a clear and striking picture of the nations in that age to come.

    But how exactly is this great change in the earth to be accomplished? The New Testament tells us. In fact Jesus himself tells us in that prophecy of times of trouble and fear for all nations. His next words are these:

    “Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27)

    He is saying that he will come back himself. The return of Christ to the earth is a frequent theme in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. They agree completely with the prophets. Read Psalm 72 for a picture of his reign.

    Now this surely is what should concern us: if the prophecies of the Bible about nations and empires have proved so true over a period of more than 2,000 years, are not those other things they predict also likely to come to pass? Is it not unreasonable to say:

    “Well, I accept that the prophets were right in their predictions in these historical matters, but I can’t believe what they say about the future for us.”

    Why not? They have given evidence that they were setting out not their own ideas, but the very purposes of God. Whatever else they say must surely claim from us all the most careful attention.

    The vital element

    But of course there is more. These remarkable prophecies are found in the Bible, and nowhere else in the world. There are no other writings, no other books, no other human pronouncements which can even begin to compare with the Bible. But the Bible tells us that Jesus was the Son of God; the things he said are preserved for us in the Gospels of the New Testament. Together with the teachings of his inspired apostles Peter, John and Paul, they reveal to us truths we cannot know otherwise. They warn us of the reality of death; they explain why the Gospel is “the good news”, “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). They encourage us with the promise of a lasting life in the new order which Christ will establish when he comes. That is why we ought to be reading the Bible. It can make the vital difference to us between the hopelessness of death and the confident hope of everlasting life.

    Careful reading of the Bible will convince us that God exists, that He is in control, and that He calls us to be disciples of His Son. The Bible is the book for us. We do well to pay attention to what it says.

    +

    Preceding

    God’s Self-Revelation

    The Greatness of the eternal God

    The real God

    God as Father

    Born of the Father

    The Love of God

    The Wrath of God

    The New Testament and Judgement

    To be prepared for the Day of Judgment

    Living as a believer in Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?

    Different wineskins

    Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?

    The importance of Reading the Scriptures

    The Bible: is it contradictory?

    One Bible, many Churches

    The Development of Differences

    Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover

    Examples of Living Faith

    Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Brothers and sisters in Christ for you

    The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”

    Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community

    Unlocking Bible Prophecy

    Who has the power of prophecy?

    Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel

    The most incredible feature of the prophecies

    +

    Increase our zeal for the Holy scriptures

    To be prepared and very well oiled

    January’s issue of The Christadelphian

    Memorizing wonderfully 20 Mountain and Kingdom of God

    Next

    The revival of Israel

    Why is the nation of Israel being restored?

    The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy

    Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. A look at On Science & Religion
    2. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
    3. God’s Plan, Purpose and teachings
    4. Necessity of a revelation of creation 9 Searching the Scriptures
    5. Messianic prophesies 2 Adversary – Root of the first prophecy
    6. High time to show the way to peace
    7. Devotees and spotters
    8. Signs of the Last Days
    9. Seeds and weeds for being the greatest nation
    10. A New Reformation
    11. Americans their stars, pretension, God, Allah and end of times signs #3 Cyberwars and prophesy
    12. Need to reject an archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible and animosity against other believers
    13. Christians at War? Christians using violence?
    14. Shariah and child abuse – Is there a connection?
    15. The Rapture Wars
    16. A Church without Faith!
    17. Honest-hearted people are losing faith in humanity and humanity losing faith in God
    18. Back from gone #4 Your inner feelings and actions
    19. What I Hope For Is What You Hope For
    20. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go

    +++

    Related

    1. On Expectations and Moral Standards
    2. Where Does the Broader Society Get Its Standard for Correct Behavior?
    3. “There Is Something Wrong”
    4. Are we guilty? Self-definition & the matter of “right” and “wrong”.
    5. He will show you a good standard of living! (Not as in where you live)
    6. Nebuchadnezzar’s Metal Man
    7. Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

    Rate this:

    #19Century #20Century #ApostlePaul #Bible #BookOfDaniel #ChristianReligion #Crime #Dishonesty #Distress #DreamOfPeace #DreamOfProgress #Education #EndTime #EndTimes #EndTimeProphecies #Endtimes #FateOfBabylon #FateOfEgypt #FateOfIsrael #Greed #Jerusalem #LastDays #MoralStandardS_ #PresentAge #RestorationOfIsrael #RestorationOfJerusalem #ReturnOfChrist #Science #Sign #SignOfTheReturnOfChrist #SignsOfEndtimes #Strife #TimesOfTheGentiles #Violence #WorldWarI #WorldWarII #WorldWarS_

    #19century #20century #apostlepaul #bible #bookofdaniel #christianreligion
  20. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    Prophecies over coming days

    We can get pictures of what went on in the past by the many research papers, historical books and documentaries. Many empires have come and gone. Throughout the centuries many battles were fought. After World War I people even thought there would never come a war again.

    Part 5

    Peace and progress?

    What a shock the events of the 20th century turned out to be! The dream of progress and peace faded. Two terrible world wars, with millions of slain and untold damage and suffering, were followed by the development of the most frightfully destructive weapons ever invented. The varying solutions in which the “wise men” of the 19th century put their trust have all been exposed as false. More widespread education has not been followed by higher moral standards, but by a growth in dishonesty, greed, violence and crime. The Christian religion, far from converting the nations, is in decline all over the earth. Democracy in politics has not proved the magic cure for social evils that was expected. Finally – cruellest blow of all – science has proved a frighteningly double-edged weapon. Far from being an era of peace, this “civilised” age has become a time of strife and violence. No wonder the attitude of so many people is one of pessimistic resignation. There seems little any one can do.

    Now what has Bible prophecy to say about all this?

    It has a clear forecast of the “last days”, “the time of the end”, when the career of mankind in the earth will come to a critical point. It is not a picture of continuing progress and peace, but rather of world trouble and fear. The clearest and most striking example of this is found in what Jesus says to his disciples, when they asked him what would be the sign of his return to the earth and of “the end of the world”. He tells them first about the fate of the Jewish people:

    “They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles (the nations), until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)

    Now this is a brief description of what we have already considered in prophecy concerning Israel. The Jews were to be driven as captives into all nations; Jerusalem was to be subject to Gentile powers. Note that Jesus implies a limit to this:

    “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”.

    We have seen the beginning of this in our own days: Jerusalem is no longer dominated by “foreign” powers – it is under the control of Israel itself.

    World distress and fear

    So what he says next must also apply to the same days – the days of Israel’s restoration to their own land. This is what he foretells:

    “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after (for expectation of, R.V.) those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (verses 25,26)

    This is no picture of peace and progress. It is a world of distress and perplexity, of fear seizing men’s hearts as they contemplate the events taking place on “the inhabited earth” (as the word Jesus used literally means).

    The Apostle Paul, writing about 35 years after the time of Jesus’ prophecy, has this to say about the character of the last days:

    “In the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, RSV)

    This is an astonishing picture of a civilisation; mankind is throwing off all restraint and indulging its own desires, reckless of consequences. Its uncanny resemblance to the developments in our own world cannot be denied.

    So this is the position: whereas the “wise men” of only 100 years ago were confidently anticipating an era of progress and peace for the nations of the world, the Bible, in the words of Jesus and Paul, was foretelling a world of distress, fear, and perplexity, an age of violence, self-indulgence and hatred. Our human philosophers were wrong; Jesus and Paul were right. But they spoke and wrote over 1,900 years ago! How could they have known? Only because neither of them spoke his own words, but the words of God Himself. It was God who knew, and inspired His Son and His apostle to reveal the character of the last days.

    CONCLUSIONS

    There are certain important conclusions to be drawn from our consideration of these Bible prophecies.

    If the Bible has proved to be so right in its predictions about events in human history – the fates of Babylon, Egypt, and Israel, as well as the rise and fall of empires, and the state of the modern world – is it not just as likely to be right in its predictions of events which have not yet come to pass?

    Take that image vision in Daniel, for instance. We have not so far commented upon the final development: the stone, “cut out of the mountain without hands”, smote the image on the feet, destroyed it, and then itself “became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). Now the general sense of this is plain: a new element, not part of the image empires and kingdoms, destroys them and takes their place in the earth. And since “without hands” must mean “without human hands” the stone must represent no ordinary human power.

    But Daniel tells us himself what it means:

    “In the days of those kings (that is, the various kingdoms that followed the Roman Empire) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed … it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (verse 44)

    The present governments and powers of the world are to be removed, in a sudden dramatic event, when God intervenes and sets up His own government. To avoid misunderstanding it should be said that it is not the populations of the earth who are to be destroyed: it is the power and authority of their human governments, to be replaced by the new kingdom of God. Many other prophecies tell us of the nature of this Kingdom; the uprightness of its rule, the truth of its teaching, and the peace it will at last bring to mankind through their recognition of “the God of heaven”. Read for instance Isaiah 2:1-4 for a clear and striking picture of the nations in that age to come.

    But how exactly is this great change in the earth to be accomplished? The New Testament tells us. In fact Jesus himself tells us in that prophecy of times of trouble and fear for all nations. His next words are these:

    “Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27)

    He is saying that he will come back himself. The return of Christ to the earth is a frequent theme in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. They agree completely with the prophets. Read Psalm 72 for a picture of his reign.

    Now this surely is what should concern us: if the prophecies of the Bible about nations and empires have proved so true over a period of more than 2,000 years, are not those other things they predict also likely to come to pass? Is it not unreasonable to say:

    “Well, I accept that the prophets were right in their predictions in these historical matters, but I can’t believe what they say about the future for us.”

    Why not? They have given evidence that they were setting out not their own ideas, but the very purposes of God. Whatever else they say must surely claim from us all the most careful attention.

    The vital element

    But of course there is more. These remarkable prophecies are found in the Bible, and nowhere else in the world. There are no other writings, no other books, no other human pronouncements which can even begin to compare with the Bible. But the Bible tells us that Jesus was the Son of God; the things he said are preserved for us in the Gospels of the New Testament. Together with the teachings of his inspired apostles Peter, John and Paul, they reveal to us truths we cannot know otherwise. They warn us of the reality of death; they explain why the Gospel is “the good news”, “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). They encourage us with the promise of a lasting life in the new order which Christ will establish when he comes. That is why we ought to be reading the Bible. It can make the vital difference to us between the hopelessness of death and the confident hope of everlasting life.

    Careful reading of the Bible will convince us that God exists, that He is in control, and that He calls us to be disciples of His Son. The Bible is the book for us. We do well to pay attention to what it says.

    +

    Preceding

    God’s Self-Revelation

    The Greatness of the eternal God

    The real God

    God as Father

    Born of the Father

    The Love of God

    The Wrath of God

    The New Testament and Judgement

    To be prepared for the Day of Judgment

    Living as a believer in Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?

    Different wineskins

    Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?

    The importance of Reading the Scriptures

    The Bible: is it contradictory?

    One Bible, many Churches

    The Development of Differences

    Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover

    Examples of Living Faith

    Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Brothers and sisters in Christ for you

    The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”

    Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community

    Unlocking Bible Prophecy

    Who has the power of prophecy?

    Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel

    The most incredible feature of the prophecies

    +

    Increase our zeal for the Holy scriptures

    To be prepared and very well oiled

    January’s issue of The Christadelphian

    Memorizing wonderfully 20 Mountain and Kingdom of God

    Next

    The revival of Israel

    Why is the nation of Israel being restored?

    The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy

    Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. A look at On Science & Religion
    2. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
    3. God’s Plan, Purpose and teachings
    4. Necessity of a revelation of creation 9 Searching the Scriptures
    5. Messianic prophesies 2 Adversary – Root of the first prophecy
    6. High time to show the way to peace
    7. Devotees and spotters
    8. Signs of the Last Days
    9. Seeds and weeds for being the greatest nation
    10. A New Reformation
    11. Americans their stars, pretension, God, Allah and end of times signs #3 Cyberwars and prophesy
    12. Need to reject an archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible and animosity against other believers
    13. Christians at War? Christians using violence?
    14. Shariah and child abuse – Is there a connection?
    15. The Rapture Wars
    16. A Church without Faith!
    17. Honest-hearted people are losing faith in humanity and humanity losing faith in God
    18. Back from gone #4 Your inner feelings and actions
    19. What I Hope For Is What You Hope For
    20. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go

    +++

    Related

    1. On Expectations and Moral Standards
    2. Where Does the Broader Society Get Its Standard for Correct Behavior?
    3. “There Is Something Wrong”
    4. Are we guilty? Self-definition & the matter of “right” and “wrong”.
    5. He will show you a good standard of living! (Not as in where you live)
    6. Nebuchadnezzar’s Metal Man
    7. Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

    Rate this:

    #19Century #20Century #ApostlePaul #Bible #BookOfDaniel #ChristianReligion #Crime #Dishonesty #Distress #DreamOfPeace #DreamOfProgress #Education #EndTime #EndTimes #EndTimeProphecies #Endtimes #FateOfBabylon #FateOfEgypt #FateOfIsrael #Greed #Jerusalem #LastDays #MoralStandardS_ #PresentAge #RestorationOfIsrael #RestorationOfJerusalem #ReturnOfChrist #Science #Sign #SignOfTheReturnOfChrist #SignsOfEndtimes #Strife #TimesOfTheGentiles #Violence #WorldWarI #WorldWarII #WorldWarS_

    #worldwars_ #worldwarii #worldwari #violence #timesofthegentiles #strife
  21. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    Prophecies over coming days

    We can get pictures of what went on in the past by the many research papers, historical books and documentaries. Many empires have come and gone. Throughout the centuries many battles were fought. After World War I people even thought there would never come a war again.

    Part 5

    Peace and progress?

    What a shock the events of the 20th century turned out to be! The dream of progress and peace faded. Two terrible world wars, with millions of slain and untold damage and suffering, were followed by the development of the most frightfully destructive weapons ever invented. The varying solutions in which the “wise men” of the 19th century put their trust have all been exposed as false. More widespread education has not been followed by higher moral standards, but by a growth in dishonesty, greed, violence and crime. The Christian religion, far from converting the nations, is in decline all over the earth. Democracy in politics has not proved the magic cure for social evils that was expected. Finally – cruellest blow of all – science has proved a frighteningly double-edged weapon. Far from being an era of peace, this “civilised” age has become a time of strife and violence. No wonder the attitude of so many people is one of pessimistic resignation. There seems little any one can do.

    Now what has Bible prophecy to say about all this?

    It has a clear forecast of the “last days”, “the time of the end”, when the career of mankind in the earth will come to a critical point. It is not a picture of continuing progress and peace, but rather of world trouble and fear. The clearest and most striking example of this is found in what Jesus says to his disciples, when they asked him what would be the sign of his return to the earth and of “the end of the world”. He tells them first about the fate of the Jewish people:

    “They (the Jews) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles (the nations), until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)

    Now this is a brief description of what we have already considered in prophecy concerning Israel. The Jews were to be driven as captives into all nations; Jerusalem was to be subject to Gentile powers. Note that Jesus implies a limit to this:

    “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”.

    We have seen the beginning of this in our own days: Jerusalem is no longer dominated by “foreign” powers – it is under the control of Israel itself.

    World distress and fear

    So what he says next must also apply to the same days – the days of Israel’s restoration to their own land. This is what he foretells:

    “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after (for expectation of, R.V.) those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (verses 25,26)

    This is no picture of peace and progress. It is a world of distress and perplexity, of fear seizing men’s hearts as they contemplate the events taking place on “the inhabited earth” (as the word Jesus used literally means).

    The Apostle Paul, writing about 35 years after the time of Jesus’ prophecy, has this to say about the character of the last days:

    “In the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5, RSV)

    This is an astonishing picture of a civilisation; mankind is throwing off all restraint and indulging its own desires, reckless of consequences. Its uncanny resemblance to the developments in our own world cannot be denied.

    So this is the position: whereas the “wise men” of only 100 years ago were confidently anticipating an era of progress and peace for the nations of the world, the Bible, in the words of Jesus and Paul, was foretelling a world of distress, fear, and perplexity, an age of violence, self-indulgence and hatred. Our human philosophers were wrong; Jesus and Paul were right. But they spoke and wrote over 1,900 years ago! How could they have known? Only because neither of them spoke his own words, but the words of God Himself. It was God who knew, and inspired His Son and His apostle to reveal the character of the last days.

    CONCLUSIONS

    There are certain important conclusions to be drawn from our consideration of these Bible prophecies.

    If the Bible has proved to be so right in its predictions about events in human history – the fates of Babylon, Egypt, and Israel, as well as the rise and fall of empires, and the state of the modern world – is it not just as likely to be right in its predictions of events which have not yet come to pass?

    Take that image vision in Daniel, for instance. We have not so far commented upon the final development: the stone, “cut out of the mountain without hands”, smote the image on the feet, destroyed it, and then itself “became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). Now the general sense of this is plain: a new element, not part of the image empires and kingdoms, destroys them and takes their place in the earth. And since “without hands” must mean “without human hands” the stone must represent no ordinary human power.

    But Daniel tells us himself what it means:

    “In the days of those kings (that is, the various kingdoms that followed the Roman Empire) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed … it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (verse 44)

    The present governments and powers of the world are to be removed, in a sudden dramatic event, when God intervenes and sets up His own government. To avoid misunderstanding it should be said that it is not the populations of the earth who are to be destroyed: it is the power and authority of their human governments, to be replaced by the new kingdom of God. Many other prophecies tell us of the nature of this Kingdom; the uprightness of its rule, the truth of its teaching, and the peace it will at last bring to mankind through their recognition of “the God of heaven”. Read for instance Isaiah 2:1-4 for a clear and striking picture of the nations in that age to come.

    But how exactly is this great change in the earth to be accomplished? The New Testament tells us. In fact Jesus himself tells us in that prophecy of times of trouble and fear for all nations. His next words are these:

    “Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27)

    He is saying that he will come back himself. The return of Christ to the earth is a frequent theme in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. They agree completely with the prophets. Read Psalm 72 for a picture of his reign.

    Now this surely is what should concern us: if the prophecies of the Bible about nations and empires have proved so true over a period of more than 2,000 years, are not those other things they predict also likely to come to pass? Is it not unreasonable to say:

    “Well, I accept that the prophets were right in their predictions in these historical matters, but I can’t believe what they say about the future for us.”

    Why not? They have given evidence that they were setting out not their own ideas, but the very purposes of God. Whatever else they say must surely claim from us all the most careful attention.

    The vital element

    But of course there is more. These remarkable prophecies are found in the Bible, and nowhere else in the world. There are no other writings, no other books, no other human pronouncements which can even begin to compare with the Bible. But the Bible tells us that Jesus was the Son of God; the things he said are preserved for us in the Gospels of the New Testament. Together with the teachings of his inspired apostles Peter, John and Paul, they reveal to us truths we cannot know otherwise. They warn us of the reality of death; they explain why the Gospel is “the good news”, “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). They encourage us with the promise of a lasting life in the new order which Christ will establish when he comes. That is why we ought to be reading the Bible. It can make the vital difference to us between the hopelessness of death and the confident hope of everlasting life.

    Careful reading of the Bible will convince us that God exists, that He is in control, and that He calls us to be disciples of His Son. The Bible is the book for us. We do well to pay attention to what it says.

    +

    Preceding

    God’s Self-Revelation

    The Greatness of the eternal God

    The real God

    God as Father

    Born of the Father

    The Love of God

    The Wrath of God

    The New Testament and Judgement

    To be prepared for the Day of Judgment

    Living as a believer in Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Do you believe what Christ’s Apostles taught?

    Different wineskins

    Bible Reading: is it worthwhile?

    The importance of Reading the Scriptures

    The Bible: is it contradictory?

    One Bible, many Churches

    The Development of Differences

    Bible Teaching and Vital Doctrines to Discover

    Examples of Living Faith

    Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ

    A participation in the body of Christ

    Brothers and sisters in Christ for you

    The Christadelphians or “Brethren in Christ”

    Video: Introducing the Christadelphian Community

    Unlocking Bible Prophecy

    Who has the power of prophecy?

    Prophecy concerning Babylon and Israel

    The most incredible feature of the prophecies

    +

    Increase our zeal for the Holy scriptures

    To be prepared and very well oiled

    January’s issue of The Christadelphian

    Memorizing wonderfully 20 Mountain and Kingdom of God

    Next

    The revival of Israel

    Why is the nation of Israel being restored?

    The Jews have fulfilled Bible Prophecy

    Will There Ever be Peace on Earth?

    Sign of the Times and the Last Days

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. A look at On Science & Religion
    2. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
    3. God’s Plan, Purpose and teachings
    4. Necessity of a revelation of creation 9 Searching the Scriptures
    5. Messianic prophesies 2 Adversary – Root of the first prophecy
    6. High time to show the way to peace
    7. Devotees and spotters
    8. Signs of the Last Days
    9. Seeds and weeds for being the greatest nation
    10. A New Reformation
    11. Americans their stars, pretension, God, Allah and end of times signs #3 Cyberwars and prophesy
    12. Need to reject an archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible and animosity against other believers
    13. Christians at War? Christians using violence?
    14. Shariah and child abuse – Is there a connection?
    15. The Rapture Wars
    16. A Church without Faith!
    17. Honest-hearted people are losing faith in humanity and humanity losing faith in God
    18. Back from gone #4 Your inner feelings and actions
    19. What I Hope For Is What You Hope For
    20. Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go

    +++

    Related

    1. On Expectations and Moral Standards
    2. Where Does the Broader Society Get Its Standard for Correct Behavior?
    3. “There Is Something Wrong”
    4. Are we guilty? Self-definition & the matter of “right” and “wrong”.
    5. He will show you a good standard of living! (Not as in where you live)
    6. Nebuchadnezzar’s Metal Man
    7. Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

    Rate this:

    #19Century #20Century #ApostlePaul #Bible #BookOfDaniel #ChristianReligion #Crime #Dishonesty #Distress #DreamOfPeace #DreamOfProgress #Education #EndTime #EndTimes #EndTimeProphecies #Endtimes #FateOfBabylon #FateOfEgypt #FateOfIsrael #Greed #Jerusalem #LastDays #MoralStandardS_ #PresentAge #RestorationOfIsrael #RestorationOfJerusalem #ReturnOfChrist #Science #Sign #SignOfTheReturnOfChrist #SignsOfEndtimes #Strife #TimesOfTheGentiles #Violence #WorldWarI #WorldWarII #WorldWarS_

    #19century #20century #apostlepaul #bible #bookofdaniel #christianreligion
  22. The American Minervan @[email protected] ·

    The Spanish Alumbrados: Origin of the Term ‘Illuminati’

    Definition

    The Iluminados, Perfectibilists and TheosophiCAL REFERENCES

    CLICK FOR MORE TERMS

    Illuminati. the past participle of illuminare, meaning to “light up,” or “illuminate.” The plural term, “Illuminati” (Lat. illuminatus; Ital. Illuminato) was originally applied to a 16 c. Spanish mystic sect, called the Alumbrados (Spanish. “Enlightened”), or Aluminados, led by Sister María de Santo Domingo, or La Beata de Piedrahita (a Spanish mystic c. 1485 – c. 1524).

    This term later, under Illuminés, spread to France from Seville of Andalusia, Spain in 1623; and joined in a cause with the Guérinets under Pierre Guérin in 1634. Another little known group of Illuminés arose in south France, whom were called “French Prophets.” They were an off-shoot of the Camisards (French Protestant militants) of the Bas-Languedoc and Cévennes regions, from circa 1722-1794. The Alumbrados were first recorded in 1492 Spain, and had three edicts issued against them by the Catholic Inquisition.

    Josef Wäges explains in his book, The Secret School of Wisdom, an early version of Knigge’s Preparatory Essay for potential recruits alludes to these condemned mystics (the Illumines of Spain persecuted by the Spanish inquisition), as the possible precursors of the Illuminati. He also states as said though, that there is no evidence that Weishaupt took any deeper interest in the history of the Alumbrados. The Alumbrados were mainly active in Castile and Andalusia.

    Besides the similarity in name, we can establish that there is no historical or organizational link to the Illuminati of Ingolstadt, Bavaria (repressed in 1785) founded in 1776. Before the name ‘Illuminati’ was finally adopted in 1778, founder of the ‘Order,’ Adam Weishaupt initially began with his idea of a ‘School of Humanity.’ Discarding this idea, he drafted up a new secret society, and its members were to be called ‘Perfectibilists,’ “believers in the possible, constant improvement of human nature and society.”

    Weishaupt contemplated on the name ‘bee order,’ or ‘bee society,’ an allusion to the Eleusinian mysteries, before adopting the name ‘Illuminati’ in 1778. Adam Weishaupt taught by Jesuits, though abhorring the Society of Jesus, closely examined its structure and constitutions. Weishaupt then utilized elements from Catholic religious orders, the Greek mysteries and Freemasonry to add to its sophistication — creating rules, titles and degrees, and continuing to emphasize the idea of the Perfectibilist (improvement of self-knowledge and constant self-scrutiny of one’s own flaws).

    Weishaupt emulated and valued the systems and philosophy of the ancient mysteries and arcane disciplines, and was inspired by his readings of the Avesta. He embodied: the Protestant and Enlightenment thinking of his time; held deistic and republican ideals; fought for secular education in Bavaria; and defined ‘enlightenment’ and ‘illumination’ in the theosophical and secular, or “intellectual” and moral sense.

    Helena P. Blavatsky’s Theosophical Glossary (published in 1892) references the term “Illuminati,” and defines it from Latin as a reference to the “Enlightened,” or the initiated adepts† (Lat. adeptus. “an expert”).

    The liberality to which this term is used is a great abuse. An illuminati describes a circle of Adepts and Magi, and cannot refer to a group of financiers, elite bureaucrats, plutocrats and technocrats as in the distortions of popular culture and conspiracy theory. Hence, for example the Twelve Disciples of Christ in the New Testament may be technically called — an Illuminati.

    H.P. Blavatsky explains that the term is of Avestan Zoroastrian origin, and a reference to magi — the Wise Men of Chaldea, India, Greece, Persia, Egypt and so forth. She referred to Confucius, Jesus and Siddhartha as composing a spiritual Illuminati, the Paracelsists as an Illuminati, and uses this term to also describe a clandestine network in her time in the Orient she refers to as the “real Rosicrucians.” The Theosophists taught that this true hidden Illuminati, or body of initiates exists, and the ancient magical religion of the Chaldeans survives. Blavatsky explains, that “the word “Chaldean” does not refer merely to a native or an inhabitant of Chaldea, but to “Chaldeism,” the oldest science of astrology and occultism.”

    For more information see Josef Wäges below who is working with others on a digital collection of Adam Weishaupt’s writings and other readings about The Historical Bavarian Illuminati and Adam Weishaupt

    Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom | Josef Wages

    Josef Wäges gives the death-blow to Illuminati conspiracies as strings of repeated hearsay devoid of historical fact. He goes into the references made by George Washington, a Freemason, who equated the Illuminati with the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom “THERE are lives that Theosophists and all others…

    by Dominique JohnsonMarch 10, 2017December 22, 2024

    Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages on the Truth about the Bavarian Illuminati

    Josef Wäges is making breakthroughs in historical research about the Bavarian Illuminati and Johann Adam Weishaupt. Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages a 32° degree Freemason, and also a best selling author of the book ‘The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Ritual and Doctrines of the Illuminati.’

    by Dominique JohnsonJune 15, 2017December 22, 2024

    Kathryn Olmsted on the Secret Society of the Illuminati

    THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ILLUMINATI Great points by Professor of History at UC Davis, Kathryn Olmsted.

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 30, 2016December 14, 2024

    Illuminati Pop Lies vs. Secret Society Truth with Josef Wages

    JOHANN ADAM WEISHAUPT: FROM SENSATIONALIST AND SLANDEROUS MYTHS TO DOCUMENTED FACTS “It was the full conviction of this, and of what could be done, if every man were placed in the office for which he was fated by nature and a proper education, which first suggested to me the plan of Illumination.” — ADAM WEISHAUPT…

    by Dominique JohnsonDecember 20, 2016January 14, 2025

    The Collected Works of Adam Weishaupt: On Materialism and Idealism

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 16, 2025

    Owl Symbolism in the Illuminati’s Minerval Assemblies

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 4, 2025

    First Thoughts about “The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati”

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 13, 2018

    Recommended Reading

    #AdamWeishaupt #Alchemists #Alumbrados #Bavaria #BavarianIlluminati #Camisard #CatholicInquisition #English #France #Germany #History #LaBeataDePiedrahita #Latin #MedievalAge #PierreGuérin #PierreGuenin #SisterMaríaDeSantoDomingo #Spain #SpanishMystic #Theosophy

    #adamweishaupt #alchemists #alumbrados #bavaria #bavarianilluminati #camisard
  23. The American Minervan @[email protected] ·

    The Spanish Alumbrados: Origin of the Term ‘Illuminati’

    Definition

    The Iluminados, Perfectibilists and TheosophiCAL REFERENCES

    CLICK FOR MORE TERMS

    Illuminati. the past participle of illuminare, meaning to “light up,” or “illuminate.” The plural term, “Illuminati” (Lat. illuminatus; Ital. Illuminato) was originally applied to a 16 c. Spanish mystic sect, called the Alumbrados (Spanish. “Enlightened”), or Aluminados, led by Sister María de Santo Domingo, or La Beata de Piedrahita (a Spanish mystic c. 1485 – c. 1524).

    This term later, under Illuminés, spread to France from Seville of Andalusia, Spain in 1623; and joined in a cause with the Guérinets under Pierre Guérin in 1634. Another little known group of Illuminés arose in south France, whom were called “French Prophets.” They were an off-shoot of the Camisards (French Protestant militants) of the Bas-Languedoc and Cévennes regions, from circa 1722-1794. The Alumbrados were first recorded in 1492 Spain, and had three edicts issued against them by the Catholic Inquisition.

    Josef Wäges explains in his book, The Secret School of Wisdom, an early version of Knigge’s Preparatory Essay for potential recruits alludes to these condemned mystics (the Illumines of Spain persecuted by the Spanish inquisition), as the possible precursors of the Illuminati. He also states as said though, that there is no evidence that Weishaupt took any deeper interest in the history of the Alumbrados. The Alumbrados were mainly active in Castile and Andalusia.

    Besides the similarity in name, we can establish that there is no historical or organizational link to the Illuminati of Ingolstadt, Bavaria (repressed in 1785) founded in 1776. Before the name ‘Illuminati’ was finally adopted in 1778, founder of the ‘Order,’ Adam Weishaupt initially began with his idea of a ‘School of Humanity.’ Discarding this idea, he drafted up a new secret society, and its members were to be called ‘Perfectibilists,’ “believers in the possible, constant improvement of human nature and society.”

    Weishaupt contemplated on the name ‘bee order,’ or ‘bee society,’ an allusion to the Eleusinian mysteries, before adopting the name ‘Illuminati’ in 1778. Adam Weishaupt taught by Jesuits, though abhorring the Society of Jesus, closely examined its structure and constitutions. Weishaupt then utilized elements from Catholic religious orders, the Greek mysteries and Freemasonry to add to its sophistication — creating rules, titles and degrees, and continuing to emphasize the idea of the Perfectibilist (improvement of self-knowledge and constant self-scrutiny of one’s own flaws).

    Weishaupt emulated and valued the systems and philosophy of the ancient mysteries and arcane disciplines, and was inspired by his readings of the Avesta. He embodied: the Protestant and Enlightenment thinking of his time; held deistic and republican ideals; fought for secular education in Bavaria; and defined ‘enlightenment’ and ‘illumination’ in the theosophical and secular, or “intellectual” and moral sense.

    Helena P. Blavatsky’s Theosophical Glossary (published in 1892) references the term “Illuminati,” and defines it from Latin as a reference to the “Enlightened,” or the initiated adepts† (Lat. adeptus. “an expert”).

    The liberality to which this term is used is a great abuse. An illuminati describes a circle of Adepts and Magi, and cannot refer to a group of financiers, elite bureaucrats, plutocrats and technocrats as in the distortions of popular culture and conspiracy theory. Hence, for example the Twelve Disciples of Christ in the New Testament may be technically called — an Illuminati.

    H.P. Blavatsky explains that the term is of Avestan Zoroastrian origin, and a reference to magi — the Wise Men of Chaldea, India, Greece, Persia, Egypt and so forth. She referred to Confucius, Jesus and Siddhartha as composing a spiritual Illuminati, the Paracelsists as an Illuminati, and uses this term to also describe a clandestine network in her time in the Orient she refers to as the “real Rosicrucians.” The Theosophists taught that this true hidden Illuminati, or body of initiates exists, and the ancient magical religion of the Chaldeans survives. Blavatsky explains, that “the word “Chaldean” does not refer merely to a native or an inhabitant of Chaldea, but to “Chaldeism,” the oldest science of astrology and occultism.”

    For more information see Josef Wäges below who is working with others on a digital collection of Adam Weishaupt’s writings and other readings about The Historical Bavarian Illuminati and Adam Weishaupt

    Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom | Josef Wages

    Josef Wäges gives the death-blow to Illuminati conspiracies as strings of repeated hearsay devoid of historical fact. He goes into the references made by George Washington, a Freemason, who equated the Illuminati with the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom “THERE are lives that Theosophists and all others…

    by Dominique JohnsonMarch 10, 2017December 22, 2024

    Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages on the Truth about the Bavarian Illuminati

    Josef Wäges is making breakthroughs in historical research about the Bavarian Illuminati and Johann Adam Weishaupt. Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages a 32° degree Freemason, and also a best selling author of the book ‘The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Ritual and Doctrines of the Illuminati.’

    by Dominique JohnsonJune 15, 2017December 22, 2024

    Kathryn Olmsted on the Secret Society of the Illuminati

    THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ILLUMINATI Great points by Professor of History at UC Davis, Kathryn Olmsted.

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 30, 2016December 14, 2024

    Illuminati Pop Lies vs. Secret Society Truth with Josef Wages

    JOHANN ADAM WEISHAUPT: FROM SENSATIONALIST AND SLANDEROUS MYTHS TO DOCUMENTED FACTS “It was the full conviction of this, and of what could be done, if every man were placed in the office for which he was fated by nature and a proper education, which first suggested to me the plan of Illumination.” — ADAM WEISHAUPT…

    by Dominique JohnsonDecember 20, 2016January 14, 2025

    The Collected Works of Adam Weishaupt: On Materialism and Idealism

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 16, 2025

    Owl Symbolism in the Illuminati’s Minerval Assemblies

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 4, 2025

    First Thoughts about “The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati”

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 13, 2018

    Recommended Reading

    #AdamWeishaupt #Alchemists #Alumbrados #Bavaria #BavarianIlluminati #Camisard #CatholicInquisition #English #France #Germany #History #LaBeataDePiedrahita #Latin #MedievalAge #PierreGuérin #PierreGuenin #SisterMaríaDeSantoDomingo #Spain #SpanishMystic #Theosophy

    #adamweishaupt #alchemists #alumbrados #bavaria #bavarianilluminati #camisard
  24. The American Minervan @[email protected] ·

    The Spanish Alumbrados: Origin of the Term ‘Illuminati’

    Definition

    The Iluminados, Perfectibilists and TheosophiCAL REFERENCES

    CLICK FOR MORE TERMS

    Illuminati. the past participle of illuminare, meaning to “light up,” or “illuminate.” The plural term, “Illuminati” (Lat. illuminatus; Ital. Illuminato) was originally applied to a 16 c. Spanish mystic sect, called the Alumbrados (Spanish. “Enlightened”), or Aluminados, led by Sister María de Santo Domingo, or La Beata de Piedrahita (a Spanish mystic c. 1485 – c. 1524).

    This term later, under Illuminés, spread to France from Seville of Andalusia, Spain in 1623; and joined in a cause with the Guérinets under Pierre Guérin in 1634. Another little known group of Illuminés arose in south France, whom were called “French Prophets.” They were an off-shoot of the Camisards (French Protestant militants) of the Bas-Languedoc and Cévennes regions, from circa 1722-1794. The Alumbrados were first recorded in 1492 Spain, and had three edicts issued against them by the Catholic Inquisition.

    Josef Wäges explains in his book, The Secret School of Wisdom, an early version of Knigge’s Preparatory Essay for potential recruits alludes to these condemned mystics (the Illumines of Spain persecuted by the Spanish inquisition), as the possible precursors of the Illuminati. He also states as said though, that there is no evidence that Weishaupt took any deeper interest in the history of the Alumbrados. The Alumbrados were mainly active in Castile and Andalusia.

    Besides the similarity in name, we can establish that there is no historical or organizational link to the Illuminati of Ingolstadt, Bavaria (repressed in 1785) founded in 1776. Before the name ‘Illuminati’ was finally adopted in 1778, founder of the ‘Order,’ Adam Weishaupt initially began with his idea of a ‘School of Humanity.’ Discarding this idea, he drafted up a new secret society, and its members were to be called ‘Perfectibilists,’ “believers in the possible, constant improvement of human nature and society.”

    Weishaupt contemplated on the name ‘bee order,’ or ‘bee society,’ an allusion to the Eleusinian mysteries, before adopting the name ‘Illuminati’ in 1778. Adam Weishaupt taught by Jesuits, though abhorring the Society of Jesus, closely examined its structure and constitutions. Weishaupt then utilized elements from Catholic religious orders, the Greek mysteries and Freemasonry to add to its sophistication — creating rules, titles and degrees, and continuing to emphasize the idea of the Perfectibilist (improvement of self-knowledge and constant self-scrutiny of one’s own flaws).

    Weishaupt emulated and valued the systems and philosophy of the ancient mysteries and arcane disciplines, and was inspired by his readings of the Avesta. He embodied: the Protestant and Enlightenment thinking of his time; held deistic and republican ideals; fought for secular education in Bavaria; and defined ‘enlightenment’ and ‘illumination’ in the theosophical and secular, or “intellectual” and moral sense.

    Helena P. Blavatsky’s Theosophical Glossary (published in 1892) references the term “Illuminati,” and defines it from Latin as a reference to the “Enlightened,” or the initiated adepts† (Lat. adeptus. “an expert”).

    The liberality to which this term is used is a great abuse. An illuminati describes a circle of Adepts and Magi, and cannot refer to a group of financiers, elite bureaucrats, plutocrats and technocrats as in the distortions of popular culture and conspiracy theory. Hence, for example the Twelve Disciples of Christ in the New Testament may be technically called — an Illuminati.

    H.P. Blavatsky explains that the term is of Avestan Zoroastrian origin, and a reference to magi — the Wise Men of Chaldea, India, Greece, Persia, Egypt and so forth. She referred to Confucius, Jesus and Siddhartha as composing a spiritual Illuminati, the Paracelsists as an Illuminati, and uses this term to also describe a clandestine network in her time in the Orient she refers to as the “real Rosicrucians.” The Theosophists taught that this true hidden Illuminati, or body of initiates exists, and the ancient magical religion of the Chaldeans survives. Blavatsky explains, that “the word “Chaldean” does not refer merely to a native or an inhabitant of Chaldea, but to “Chaldeism,” the oldest science of astrology and occultism.”

    For more information see Josef Wäges below who is working with others on a digital collection of Adam Weishaupt’s writings and other readings about The Historical Bavarian Illuminati and Adam Weishaupt

    Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom | Josef Wages

    Josef Wäges gives the death-blow to Illuminati conspiracies as strings of repeated hearsay devoid of historical fact. He goes into the references made by George Washington, a Freemason, who equated the Illuminati with the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom “THERE are lives that Theosophists and all others…

    by Dominique JohnsonMarch 10, 2017December 22, 2024

    Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages on the Truth about the Bavarian Illuminati

    Josef Wäges is making breakthroughs in historical research about the Bavarian Illuminati and Johann Adam Weishaupt. Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages a 32° degree Freemason, and also a best selling author of the book ‘The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Ritual and Doctrines of the Illuminati.’

    by Dominique JohnsonJune 15, 2017December 22, 2024

    Kathryn Olmsted on the Secret Society of the Illuminati

    THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ILLUMINATI Great points by Professor of History at UC Davis, Kathryn Olmsted.

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 30, 2016December 14, 2024

    Illuminati Pop Lies vs. Secret Society Truth with Josef Wages

    JOHANN ADAM WEISHAUPT: FROM SENSATIONALIST AND SLANDEROUS MYTHS TO DOCUMENTED FACTS “It was the full conviction of this, and of what could be done, if every man were placed in the office for which he was fated by nature and a proper education, which first suggested to me the plan of Illumination.” — ADAM WEISHAUPT…

    by Dominique JohnsonDecember 20, 2016January 14, 2025

    The Collected Works of Adam Weishaupt: On Materialism and Idealism

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 16, 2025

    Owl Symbolism in the Illuminati’s Minerval Assemblies

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 4, 2025

    First Thoughts about “The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati”

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 13, 2018

    Recommended Reading

    #AdamWeishaupt #Alchemists #Alumbrados #Bavaria #BavarianIlluminati #Camisard #CatholicInquisition #English #France #Germany #History #LaBeataDePiedrahita #Latin #MedievalAge #PierreGuérin #PierreGuenin #SisterMaríaDeSantoDomingo #Spain #SpanishMystic #Theosophy

    #adamweishaupt #alchemists #alumbrados #bavaria #bavarianilluminati #camisard
  25. The American Minervan @[email protected] ·

    The Spanish Alumbrados: Origin of the Term ‘Illuminati’

    Definition

    The Iluminados, Perfectibilists and TheosophiCAL REFERENCES

    CLICK FOR MORE TERMS

    Illuminati. the past participle of illuminare, meaning to “light up,” or “illuminate.” The plural term, “Illuminati” (Lat. illuminatus; Ital. Illuminato) was originally applied to a 16 c. Spanish mystic sect, called the Alumbrados (Spanish. “Enlightened”), or Aluminados, led by Sister María de Santo Domingo, or La Beata de Piedrahita (a Spanish mystic c. 1485 – c. 1524).

    This term later, under Illuminés, spread to France from Seville of Andalusia, Spain in 1623; and joined in a cause with the Guérinets under Pierre Guérin in 1634. Another little known group of Illuminés arose in south France, whom were called “French Prophets.” They were an off-shoot of the Camisards (French Protestant militants) of the Bas-Languedoc and Cévennes regions, from circa 1722-1794. The Alumbrados were first recorded in 1492 Spain, and had three edicts issued against them by the Catholic Inquisition.

    Josef Wäges explains in his book, The Secret School of Wisdom, an early version of Knigge’s Preparatory Essay for potential recruits alludes to these condemned mystics (the Illumines of Spain persecuted by the Spanish inquisition), as the possible precursors of the Illuminati. He also states as said though, that there is no evidence that Weishaupt took any deeper interest in the history of the Alumbrados. The Alumbrados were mainly active in Castile and Andalusia.

    Besides the similarity in name, we can establish that there is no historical or organizational link to the Illuminati of Ingolstadt, Bavaria (repressed in 1785) founded in 1776. Before the name ‘Illuminati’ was finally adopted in 1778, founder of the ‘Order,’ Adam Weishaupt initially began with his idea of a ‘School of Humanity.’ Discarding this idea, he drafted up a new secret society, and its members were to be called ‘Perfectibilists,’ “believers in the possible, constant improvement of human nature and society.”

    Weishaupt contemplated on the name ‘bee order,’ or ‘bee society,’ an allusion to the Eleusinian mysteries, before adopting the name ‘Illuminati’ in 1778. Adam Weishaupt taught by Jesuits, though abhorring the Society of Jesus, closely examined its structure and constitutions. Weishaupt then utilized elements from Catholic religious orders, the Greek mysteries and Freemasonry to add to its sophistication — creating rules, titles and degrees, and continuing to emphasize the idea of the Perfectibilist (improvement of self-knowledge and constant self-scrutiny of one’s own flaws).

    Weishaupt emulated and valued the systems and philosophy of the ancient mysteries and arcane disciplines, and was inspired by his readings of the Avesta. He embodied: the Protestant and Enlightenment thinking of his time; held deistic and republican ideals; fought for secular education in Bavaria; and defined ‘enlightenment’ and ‘illumination’ in the theosophical and secular, or “intellectual” and moral sense.

    Helena P. Blavatsky’s Theosophical Glossary (published in 1892) references the term “Illuminati,” and defines it from Latin as a reference to the “Enlightened,” or the initiated adepts† (Lat. adeptus. “an expert”).

    The liberality to which this term is used is a great abuse. An illuminati describes a circle of Adepts and Magi, and cannot refer to a group of financiers, elite bureaucrats, plutocrats and technocrats as in the distortions of popular culture and conspiracy theory. Hence, for example the Twelve Disciples of Christ in the New Testament may be technically called — an Illuminati.

    H.P. Blavatsky explains that the term is of Avestan Zoroastrian origin, and a reference to magi — the Wise Men of Chaldea, India, Greece, Persia, Egypt and so forth. She referred to Confucius, Jesus and Siddhartha as composing a spiritual Illuminati, the Paracelsists as an Illuminati, and uses this term to also describe a clandestine network in her time in the Orient she refers to as the “real Rosicrucians.” The Theosophists taught that this true hidden Illuminati, or body of initiates exists, and the ancient magical religion of the Chaldeans survives. Blavatsky explains, that “the word “Chaldean” does not refer merely to a native or an inhabitant of Chaldea, but to “Chaldeism,” the oldest science of astrology and occultism.”

    For more information see Josef Wäges below who is working with others on a digital collection of Adam Weishaupt’s writings and other readings about The Historical Bavarian Illuminati and Adam Weishaupt

    Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom | Josef Wages

    Josef Wäges gives the death-blow to Illuminati conspiracies as strings of repeated hearsay devoid of historical fact. He goes into the references made by George Washington, a Freemason, who equated the Illuminati with the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom “THERE are lives that Theosophists and all others…

    by Dominique JohnsonMarch 10, 2017December 22, 2024

    Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages on the Truth about the Bavarian Illuminati

    Josef Wäges is making breakthroughs in historical research about the Bavarian Illuminati and Johann Adam Weishaupt. Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages a 32° degree Freemason, and also a best selling author of the book ‘The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Ritual and Doctrines of the Illuminati.’

    by Dominique JohnsonJune 15, 2017December 22, 2024

    Kathryn Olmsted on the Secret Society of the Illuminati

    THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ILLUMINATI Great points by Professor of History at UC Davis, Kathryn Olmsted.

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 30, 2016December 14, 2024

    Illuminati Pop Lies vs. Secret Society Truth with Josef Wages

    JOHANN ADAM WEISHAUPT: FROM SENSATIONALIST AND SLANDEROUS MYTHS TO DOCUMENTED FACTS “It was the full conviction of this, and of what could be done, if every man were placed in the office for which he was fated by nature and a proper education, which first suggested to me the plan of Illumination.” — ADAM WEISHAUPT…

    by Dominique JohnsonDecember 20, 2016January 14, 2025

    The Collected Works of Adam Weishaupt: On Materialism and Idealism

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 16, 2025

    Owl Symbolism in the Illuminati’s Minerval Assemblies

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 4, 2025

    First Thoughts about “The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati”

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 13, 2018

    Recommended Reading

    #AdamWeishaupt #Alchemists #Alumbrados #Bavaria #BavarianIlluminati #Camisard #CatholicInquisition #English #France #Germany #History #LaBeataDePiedrahita #Latin #MedievalAge #PierreGuérin #PierreGuenin #SisterMaríaDeSantoDomingo #Spain #SpanishMystic #Theosophy

    #theosophy #spanishmystic #spain #sistermariadesantodomingo #pierreguenin #pierreguerin
  26. The American Minervan @[email protected] ·

    The Spanish Alumbrados: Origin of the Term ‘Illuminati’

    Definition

    The Iluminados, Perfectibilists and TheosophiCAL REFERENCES

    CLICK FOR MORE TERMS

    Illuminati. the past participle of illuminare, meaning to “light up,” or “illuminate.” The plural term, “Illuminati” (Lat. illuminatus; Ital. Illuminato) was originally applied to a 16 c. Spanish mystic sect, called the Alumbrados (Spanish. “Enlightened”), or Aluminados, led by Sister María de Santo Domingo, or La Beata de Piedrahita (a Spanish mystic c. 1485 – c. 1524).

    This term later, under Illuminés, spread to France from Seville of Andalusia, Spain in 1623; and joined in a cause with the Guérinets under Pierre Guérin in 1634. Another little known group of Illuminés arose in south France, whom were called “French Prophets.” They were an off-shoot of the Camisards (French Protestant militants) of the Bas-Languedoc and Cévennes regions, from circa 1722-1794. The Alumbrados were first recorded in 1492 Spain, and had three edicts issued against them by the Catholic Inquisition.

    Josef Wäges explains in his book, The Secret School of Wisdom, an early version of Knigge’s Preparatory Essay for potential recruits alludes to these condemned mystics (the Illumines of Spain persecuted by the Spanish inquisition), as the possible precursors of the Illuminati. He also states as said though, that there is no evidence that Weishaupt took any deeper interest in the history of the Alumbrados. The Alumbrados were mainly active in Castile and Andalusia.

    Besides the similarity in name, we can establish that there is no historical or organizational link to the Illuminati of Ingolstadt, Bavaria (repressed in 1785) founded in 1776. Before the name ‘Illuminati’ was finally adopted in 1778, founder of the ‘Order,’ Adam Weishaupt initially began with his idea of a ‘School of Humanity.’ Discarding this idea, he drafted up a new secret society, and its members were to be called ‘Perfectibilists,’ “believers in the possible, constant improvement of human nature and society.”

    Weishaupt contemplated on the name ‘bee order,’ or ‘bee society,’ an allusion to the Eleusinian mysteries, before adopting the name ‘Illuminati’ in 1778. Adam Weishaupt taught by Jesuits, though abhorring the Society of Jesus, closely examined its structure and constitutions. Weishaupt then utilized elements from Catholic religious orders, the Greek mysteries and Freemasonry to add to its sophistication — creating rules, titles and degrees, and continuing to emphasize the idea of the Perfectibilist (improvement of self-knowledge and constant self-scrutiny of one’s own flaws).

    Weishaupt emulated and valued the systems and philosophy of the ancient mysteries and arcane disciplines, and was inspired by his readings of the Avesta. He embodied: the Protestant and Enlightenment thinking of his time; held deistic and republican ideals; fought for secular education in Bavaria; and defined ‘enlightenment’ and ‘illumination’ in the theosophical and secular, or “intellectual” and moral sense.

    Helena P. Blavatsky’s Theosophical Glossary (published in 1892) references the term “Illuminati,” and defines it from Latin as a reference to the “Enlightened,” or the initiated adepts† (Lat. adeptus. “an expert”).

    The liberality to which this term is used is a great abuse. An illuminati describes a circle of Adepts and Magi, and cannot refer to a group of financiers, elite bureaucrats, plutocrats and technocrats as in the distortions of popular culture and conspiracy theory. Hence, for example the Twelve Disciples of Christ in the New Testament may be technically called — an Illuminati.

    H.P. Blavatsky explains that the term is of Avestan Zoroastrian origin, and a reference to magi — the Wise Men of Chaldea, India, Greece, Persia, Egypt and so forth. She referred to Confucius, Jesus and Siddhartha as composing a spiritual Illuminati, the Paracelsists as an Illuminati, and uses this term to also describe a clandestine network in her time in the Orient she refers to as the “real Rosicrucians.” The Theosophists taught that this true hidden Illuminati, or body of initiates exists, and the ancient magical religion of the Chaldeans survives. Blavatsky explains, that “the word “Chaldean” does not refer merely to a native or an inhabitant of Chaldea, but to “Chaldeism,” the oldest science of astrology and occultism.”

    For more information see Josef Wäges below who is working with others on a digital collection of Adam Weishaupt’s writings and other readings about The Historical Bavarian Illuminati and Adam Weishaupt

    Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom | Josef Wages

    Josef Wäges gives the death-blow to Illuminati conspiracies as strings of repeated hearsay devoid of historical fact. He goes into the references made by George Washington, a Freemason, who equated the Illuminati with the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Illuminati History of the Secret School of Wisdom “THERE are lives that Theosophists and all others…

    by Dominique JohnsonMarch 10, 2017December 22, 2024

    Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages on the Truth about the Bavarian Illuminati

    Josef Wäges is making breakthroughs in historical research about the Bavarian Illuminati and Johann Adam Weishaupt. Zain Khan interviews Josef Wages a 32° degree Freemason, and also a best selling author of the book ‘The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Ritual and Doctrines of the Illuminati.’

    by Dominique JohnsonJune 15, 2017December 22, 2024

    Kathryn Olmsted on the Secret Society of the Illuminati

    THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ILLUMINATI Great points by Professor of History at UC Davis, Kathryn Olmsted.

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 30, 2016December 14, 2024

    Illuminati Pop Lies vs. Secret Society Truth with Josef Wages

    JOHANN ADAM WEISHAUPT: FROM SENSATIONALIST AND SLANDEROUS MYTHS TO DOCUMENTED FACTS “It was the full conviction of this, and of what could be done, if every man were placed in the office for which he was fated by nature and a proper education, which first suggested to me the plan of Illumination.” — ADAM WEISHAUPT…

    by Dominique JohnsonDecember 20, 2016January 14, 2025

    The Collected Works of Adam Weishaupt: On Materialism and Idealism

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 16, 2025

    Owl Symbolism in the Illuminati’s Minerval Assemblies

    by Dominique JohnsonJanuary 4, 2025

    First Thoughts about “The Secret School of Wisdom: The Authentic Rituals and Doctrines of the Illuminati”

    by Dominique JohnsonJuly 13, 2018

    Recommended Reading

    #AdamWeishaupt #Alchemists #Alumbrados #Bavaria #BavarianIlluminati #Camisard #CatholicInquisition #English #France #Germany #History #LaBeataDePiedrahita #Latin #MedievalAge #PierreGuérin #PierreGuenin #SisterMaríaDeSantoDomingo #Spain #SpanishMystic #Theosophy

    #adamweishaupt #alchemists #alumbrados #bavaria #bavarianilluminati #camisard
  27. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #1 Beginning of everything

    Thousands of years ago there was a void, but there also was the Eternal Being that ever was and always shall be, having had no birth and never having an end or not able to die. That divine Eternal Being “That is” or “I Am“, the “I Am Who Am” or the “I Am Who Is” has a Voice and that Voice spoke in the darkness and when it spoke that what it expressed came into being. In this way That Spiritual Being “The I Am that I Am” took care that things came into being. Every time This I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh אהיה אשר אהיה saw it was alright and when it was good The Cause of Being brought an other thing into existence. Every time The Being “That Is” spoke Its Word became a reality. The incorruptible Word spoken brought into existence.

    It was God’s Power (the Holy Spirit) that brought things to life. It was God His Word which was spoken, brought into reality and was there to stay for ever in truth, never telling lies. As such later in history the carnal beings created by that Most High Eternal Being received in their hands the greatest source of the greatest ideas known to man. First the Word went from one being to an other vocally, but later it became recorded on stone plates, than on papyrus and parchment roles. First those words of the Most High were notated in Hebrew, than Aramaic words and Greek words supplemented the documents written down in the name of God by set apart (holy) men.  This way man got the Scriptures, and for this series on the new or 2nd Adam we shall also look into the wisdom of the theological minds who brought forth the 1599 Geneva Bible Patriot’s Edition, which will enable you to think God’s thoughts after Him because the Bible is His special revelation. Herewith is a resource that you are sure to find indispensable for the study and interpretation of creation as God would have you see it.

    A 1581 edition of the Geneva Bible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    The Geneva Bible once changed the world. With that Bible man can hold in their hands something that is about to change the world — again. For those who find that bible we ask them to use this Bible with care. Use it faithfully with faith. Then watch God once more do above and beyond all that we can ask or imagine.

    {For this series we use the revised 2010 Tolle Lege Press (United States of America) edition of the 1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project}

    To come to know why Jesus is so important for us and to come to see who he is and what purpose he served, we have to go back to the beginning of everything. We have to listen to the Word which sounded in the void.

    In Genesis chapter one we are told how everything started and that first of all, and before that any creature was, God made heaven and earth of nothing.

    Genesis 1

    1 God created the heaven and the earth. 3 The light
    and the darkness, 8 The firmament, 9 He separateth
    the water from the earth. 16 He createth the sun, the moon,
    and the stars. 21 He createth the fish, birds, beasts, 26 He
    createth man, and giveth him rule over all creatures, 29 And
    provideth nurture for man and beast.

    1 In the 1beginning aGod created the heaven and the earth.
    2 And the earth was 1,2without form and void, and 3darkness was upon the 4deep, and the Spirit of God 5moved upon the 6waters.
    3 Then God said, bLet there be light: And there was 1light.
    4 And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated 1the light from the darkness.
    5 And God called the Light, Day, and the darkness he called Night. 1So the evening and the morning
    were the first day.

    The Creation – James Tissot (1836–1902)

    Next we come to hear that it is the only power of God’s Word, His speaking, that makes the earth fruitful, which else naturally is barren. In Scriptures also more than once shall it be repeated that God made all His creatures to serve to His glory and God wanting to see that all is good, but that in the world there is seed, the matter that brings forth new matter, good or bad, depending on how the seed is and where the seed lands, in what sort of soil.

    9  God said again, eLet the waters under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
    10 And God called the dry land, Earth, and he called the gathering together of the waters, Seas: and God saw that it was good.
    11 Then God said, 1Let the earth bud forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed, the fruitful tree, which beareth fruit according to his kind, which hath his seed in itself upon the earth: and it was so.
    12 And the earth brought forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed according to his kind, also the tree that beareth fruit, which hath his seed in itself according to his kind: and God 1saw that it was good.

    Too many christians do forget that the Bible also tells us clearly that there were animals and plants before man.

    20 Afterward God said, Let the waters bring forth in abundance every 1creeping thing that hath 2life: and let the fowl fly upon the earth in the 3open firmament of the heaven.
    21 Then God created the great whales, and everything living and moving, which the 1waters brought forth in abundance according to their kind, and every feathered fowl according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.
    22 Then God 1blessed them, saying, Bring forth fruit and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.
    23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

    Only after all the planets, waters and earth, creeping beings it became time for an other creeping being of flesh and blood, in a system where there would be light and darkness as instruments appointed to serve to man’s use.

    Every time God spoke, the “soul of life” came into the beings (Hebrew for the “living thing” verse 24).

    24  Moreover God said, Let the earth bring forth the 1living thing according to his kind, cattle, and that which creepeth, and the beast of the earth according to his kind, and it was so.
    25 And God made the beast of the earth according to his kind, and the cattle according to his kind, and every creeping thing of the earth according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.

    It was only after God had commanded the water and the earth to bring forth other creatures, that He said of man “Let us make”, signifying, that He the Most Highest, Who speaks with the ‘Royal We’ (Royal plural or Pluralis majestatis), God

    “taketh counsel with his wisdom and virtue, purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of his creation.” (1599 Geneva Patriot’s Edition)

    26 Furthermore God said, h,1Let us make man in our 2image according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creepeth and moveth on the earth.
    27 Thus God created the man in his image: in the image of God created he him: he created them imale and female.
    28 And God 1blessed them, and God said to them, jBring forth fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over every beast that moveth upon the earth.
    29 And God said, Behold, I have given unto you 1every herb bearing seed, which is upon all the earth, and every tree, wherein is the fruit of a tree bearing seed: kthat shall be to you for meat.
    30 Likewise to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heaven, and to everything that moveth
    upon the earth, which hath life in itself, every green herb shall be for meat, and it was so.
    31 lAnd God saw all that he had made, and lo, it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

    The Earthly Paradise – Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625)

    +

    Preceding introductory article: Geneva Bible, Source text for our series on the beginning of Jesus

    Next: The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #2 Beginning of mankind

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyehאהיה אשר אהיה
    2. Hashem השם, Hebrew for “the Name”
    3. Why think there’s a God? (1): Something from Nothing
    4. Where did God come from?
    5. Does He exists?
    6. Attributes to God
    7. El-Shaddai God Almighty Who no-one may see and live
    8. Bible, helmet of health, salvation and sword of the spirit
    9. Bible, sword of the Spirit to come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man
    10. Written down in God’s Name for righteousness
    11. Glory of only One God Who gives His Word
    12. Written and translated by different men over thousands of years
    13. Focussing on oneness with Jesus like Jesus is one with God
    14. See God’s wonderworks and hear His Voice
    15. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
    16. The Word being a quality or aspect of God Himself
    17. Creator and Blogger God 1 Emptiness and mouvement
    18. The very very beginning 1 Creating Gods
    19. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
    20. Creation Creator and Creation
    21. Means of creations
    22. From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
    23. Creation of the earth out of something
    24. Between Alpha and Omega – The plan of creation
    25. Scripture about Creation and Creator Deity
    26. Genesis 1 story does not take away an evolution
    27. Genesis – Story of creation 1 Genesis 1:1-25 Creation of things
    28. God’s Word Framing universe
    29. The World framed by the Word of God
    30. Al-Fatiha [The Opening] Süra 1: 4-7 Merciful Lord of the Creation to show us the right path
    31. Creation purpose and warranty
    32. Different principle about the origin and beginning of everything
    33. Cosmos creator and human destiny
    34. Blackness, nothingness, something, void
    35. Nothingness
    36. Something from nothing
    37. Accommodation of the Void
    38. From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
    39. “Before” and “after” the Big Bang
    40. Creation of the earth and man #1 Planet for living beings in a pre-Adamic world
    41. God’s Word is like the rain
    42. Other stories about the beginning of times
    43. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
    44. Is it “Wrong” to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere?

    +++

    Further readings of interest:

    1. Essential Doctrines (Part 1): The Doctrine of God’s Existence
    2. What About Those Who Do Not Know The Name of God?
    3. To Know God in Six Days
    4. The Great Architect
    5. Please!!! Don’t tell me that you honestly think the universe is 6000 years old!!!!
    6. The universe is not 6000 years old
    7. Proof that the Bible cannot be taken literally
    8. Life & Light
    9. Isaiah 41:10
    10. The #Genesis Theory – (Part 1) – YouTube
    11. Creation: In the Beginning
    12. Entry No.1 – A Creation Myth
    13. What happened on each of the days of Creation?
    14. The Divine Presence
    15. God’s Attention Is On You!
    16. Big Bang Theory & Life
    17. In His image…
    18. Be fruitful and multiply…
    19. God-Authenticated Togetherness
    20. Live your life in tandem with God
    21. Law versus Law
    22. “In Christ” #897
    23. What do you have your eyes on?
    24. Science vs Bible
    25. God Turns Darkness Into Light

    +++

    Related articles

    Save

    Save

    Save

    Rate this:

    #10Commandments #1599GenevaBiblePatriotSEdition #1599GenevaBiblePatriotSEdition2010TolleLegePressEdition_ #1599GenevaBibleRestorationProject #Animal #BeginningOfTheUniverse #Bible #BookOfGenesis #CauseOfBeing #Creation #Earth #EternalBeing #FruitfulEarth #Genesis #Genesis1 #GenevaBible #GodSpeaking #GodSPurpose #GodsWord #Heaven #HumanBeing #IAm #IAmThatIAm #IAmWhoAm #Image #ImageOfGod #InImageOfGod #InfallibleWordOfGod #Land #Light #LivingCreature #Man #OriginOfTheUniverse #PatriotSGenevaEdition #PlanetEarth #Planets #Plant #PluralisMajestatis #PowerOfGod #PurposeOfCreation #RevelationOfGod #RoyalPlural #RoyalWe #Scriptures #Seed #Soul #SoulOfLife #TheWord #Universe #VoiceOfGod #Void #Water #Word

    #10commandments #1599genevabiblepatriotsedition #1599genevabiblepatriotsedition2010tollelegepressedition_ #1599genevabiblerestorationproject #animal #beginningoftheuniverse
  28. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #1 Beginning of everything

    Thousands of years ago there was a void, but there also was the Eternal Being that ever was and always shall be, having had no birth and never having an end or not able to die. That divine Eternal Being “That is” or “I Am“, the “I Am Who Am” or the “I Am Who Is” has a Voice and that Voice spoke in the darkness and when it spoke that what it expressed came into being. In this way That Spiritual Being “The I Am that I Am” took care that things came into being. Every time This I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh אהיה אשר אהיה saw it was alright and when it was good The Cause of Being brought an other thing into existence. Every time The Being “That Is” spoke Its Word became a reality. The incorruptible Word spoken brought into existence.

    It was God’s Power (the Holy Spirit) that brought things to life. It was God His Word which was spoken, brought into reality and was there to stay for ever in truth, never telling lies. As such later in history the carnal beings created by that Most High Eternal Being received in their hands the greatest source of the greatest ideas known to man. First the Word went from one being to an other vocally, but later it became recorded on stone plates, than on papyrus and parchment roles. First those words of the Most High were notated in Hebrew, than Aramaic words and Greek words supplemented the documents written down in the name of God by set apart (holy) men.  This way man got the Scriptures, and for this series on the new or 2nd Adam we shall also look into the wisdom of the theological minds who brought forth the 1599 Geneva Bible Patriot’s Edition, which will enable you to think God’s thoughts after Him because the Bible is His special revelation. Herewith is a resource that you are sure to find indispensable for the study and interpretation of creation as God would have you see it.

    A 1581 edition of the Geneva Bible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    The Geneva Bible once changed the world. With that Bible man can hold in their hands something that is about to change the world — again. For those who find that bible we ask them to use this Bible with care. Use it faithfully with faith. Then watch God once more do above and beyond all that we can ask or imagine.

    {For this series we use the revised 2010 Tolle Lege Press (United States of America) edition of the 1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project}

    To come to know why Jesus is so important for us and to come to see who he is and what purpose he served, we have to go back to the beginning of everything. We have to listen to the Word which sounded in the void.

    In Genesis chapter one we are told how everything started and that first of all, and before that any creature was, God made heaven and earth of nothing.

    Genesis 1

    1 God created the heaven and the earth. 3 The light
    and the darkness, 8 The firmament, 9 He separateth
    the water from the earth. 16 He createth the sun, the moon,
    and the stars. 21 He createth the fish, birds, beasts, 26 He
    createth man, and giveth him rule over all creatures, 29 And
    provideth nurture for man and beast.

    1 In the 1beginning aGod created the heaven and the earth.
    2 And the earth was 1,2without form and void, and 3darkness was upon the 4deep, and the Spirit of God 5moved upon the 6waters.
    3 Then God said, bLet there be light: And there was 1light.
    4 And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated 1the light from the darkness.
    5 And God called the Light, Day, and the darkness he called Night. 1So the evening and the morning
    were the first day.

    The Creation – James Tissot (1836–1902)

    Next we come to hear that it is the only power of God’s Word, His speaking, that makes the earth fruitful, which else naturally is barren. In Scriptures also more than once shall it be repeated that God made all His creatures to serve to His glory and God wanting to see that all is good, but that in the world there is seed, the matter that brings forth new matter, good or bad, depending on how the seed is and where the seed lands, in what sort of soil.

    9  God said again, eLet the waters under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
    10 And God called the dry land, Earth, and he called the gathering together of the waters, Seas: and God saw that it was good.
    11 Then God said, 1Let the earth bud forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed, the fruitful tree, which beareth fruit according to his kind, which hath his seed in itself upon the earth: and it was so.
    12 And the earth brought forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed according to his kind, also the tree that beareth fruit, which hath his seed in itself according to his kind: and God 1saw that it was good.

    Too many christians do forget that the Bible also tells us clearly that there were animals and plants before man.

    20 Afterward God said, Let the waters bring forth in abundance every 1creeping thing that hath 2life: and let the fowl fly upon the earth in the 3open firmament of the heaven.
    21 Then God created the great whales, and everything living and moving, which the 1waters brought forth in abundance according to their kind, and every feathered fowl according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.
    22 Then God 1blessed them, saying, Bring forth fruit and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.
    23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

    Only after all the planets, waters and earth, creeping beings it became time for an other creeping being of flesh and blood, in a system where there would be light and darkness as instruments appointed to serve to man’s use.

    Every time God spoke, the “soul of life” came into the beings (Hebrew for the “living thing” verse 24).

    24  Moreover God said, Let the earth bring forth the 1living thing according to his kind, cattle, and that which creepeth, and the beast of the earth according to his kind, and it was so.
    25 And God made the beast of the earth according to his kind, and the cattle according to his kind, and every creeping thing of the earth according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.

    It was only after God had commanded the water and the earth to bring forth other creatures, that He said of man “Let us make”, signifying, that He the Most Highest, Who speaks with the ‘Royal We’ (Royal plural or Pluralis majestatis), God

    “taketh counsel with his wisdom and virtue, purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of his creation.” (1599 Geneva Patriot’s Edition)

    26 Furthermore God said, h,1Let us make man in our 2image according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creepeth and moveth on the earth.
    27 Thus God created the man in his image: in the image of God created he him: he created them imale and female.
    28 And God 1blessed them, and God said to them, jBring forth fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over every beast that moveth upon the earth.
    29 And God said, Behold, I have given unto you 1every herb bearing seed, which is upon all the earth, and every tree, wherein is the fruit of a tree bearing seed: kthat shall be to you for meat.
    30 Likewise to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heaven, and to everything that moveth
    upon the earth, which hath life in itself, every green herb shall be for meat, and it was so.
    31 lAnd God saw all that he had made, and lo, it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

    The Earthly Paradise – Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625)

    +

    Preceding introductory article: Geneva Bible, Source text for our series on the beginning of Jesus

    Next: The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #2 Beginning of mankind

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyehאהיה אשר אהיה
    2. Hashem השם, Hebrew for “the Name”
    3. Why think there’s a God? (1): Something from Nothing
    4. Where did God come from?
    5. Does He exists?
    6. Attributes to God
    7. El-Shaddai God Almighty Who no-one may see and live
    8. Bible, helmet of health, salvation and sword of the spirit
    9. Bible, sword of the Spirit to come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man
    10. Written down in God’s Name for righteousness
    11. Glory of only One God Who gives His Word
    12. Written and translated by different men over thousands of years
    13. Focussing on oneness with Jesus like Jesus is one with God
    14. See God’s wonderworks and hear His Voice
    15. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
    16. The Word being a quality or aspect of God Himself
    17. Creator and Blogger God 1 Emptiness and mouvement
    18. The very very beginning 1 Creating Gods
    19. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
    20. Creation Creator and Creation
    21. Means of creations
    22. From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
    23. Creation of the earth out of something
    24. Between Alpha and Omega – The plan of creation
    25. Scripture about Creation and Creator Deity
    26. Genesis 1 story does not take away an evolution
    27. Genesis – Story of creation 1 Genesis 1:1-25 Creation of things
    28. God’s Word Framing universe
    29. The World framed by the Word of God
    30. Al-Fatiha [The Opening] Süra 1: 4-7 Merciful Lord of the Creation to show us the right path
    31. Creation purpose and warranty
    32. Different principle about the origin and beginning of everything
    33. Cosmos creator and human destiny
    34. Blackness, nothingness, something, void
    35. Nothingness
    36. Something from nothing
    37. Accommodation of the Void
    38. From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
    39. “Before” and “after” the Big Bang
    40. Creation of the earth and man #1 Planet for living beings in a pre-Adamic world
    41. God’s Word is like the rain
    42. Other stories about the beginning of times
    43. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
    44. Is it “Wrong” to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere?

    +++

    Further readings of interest:

    1. Essential Doctrines (Part 1): The Doctrine of God’s Existence
    2. What About Those Who Do Not Know The Name of God?
    3. To Know God in Six Days
    4. The Great Architect
    5. Please!!! Don’t tell me that you honestly think the universe is 6000 years old!!!!
    6. The universe is not 6000 years old
    7. Proof that the Bible cannot be taken literally
    8. Life & Light
    9. Isaiah 41:10
    10. The #Genesis Theory – (Part 1) – YouTube
    11. Creation: In the Beginning
    12. Entry No.1 – A Creation Myth
    13. What happened on each of the days of Creation?
    14. The Divine Presence
    15. God’s Attention Is On You!
    16. Big Bang Theory & Life
    17. In His image…
    18. Be fruitful and multiply…
    19. God-Authenticated Togetherness
    20. Live your life in tandem with God
    21. Law versus Law
    22. “In Christ” #897
    23. What do you have your eyes on?
    24. Science vs Bible
    25. God Turns Darkness Into Light

    +++

    Related articles

    Save

    Save

    Save

    Rate this:

    #10Commandments #1599GenevaBiblePatriotSEdition #1599GenevaBiblePatriotSEdition2010TolleLegePressEdition_ #1599GenevaBibleRestorationProject #Animal #BeginningOfTheUniverse #Bible #BookOfGenesis #CauseOfBeing #Creation #Earth #EternalBeing #FruitfulEarth #Genesis #Genesis1 #GenevaBible #GodSpeaking #GodSPurpose #GodsWord #Heaven #HumanBeing #IAm #IAmThatIAm #IAmWhoAm #Image #ImageOfGod #InImageOfGod #InfallibleWordOfGod #Land #Light #LivingCreature #Man #OriginOfTheUniverse #PatriotSGenevaEdition #PlanetEarth #Planets #Plant #PluralisMajestatis #PowerOfGod #PurposeOfCreation #RevelationOfGod #RoyalPlural #RoyalWe #Scriptures #Seed #Soul #SoulOfLife #TheWord #Universe #VoiceOfGod #Void #Water #Word

    #10commandments #1599genevabiblepatriotsedition #1599genevabiblepatriotsedition2010tollelegepressedition_ #1599genevabiblerestorationproject #animal #beginningoftheuniverse
  29. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #1 Beginning of everything

    Thousands of years ago there was a void, but there also was the Eternal Being that ever was and always shall be, having had no birth and never having an end or not able to die. That divine Eternal Being “That is” or “I Am“, the “I Am Who Am” or the “I Am Who Is” has a Voice and that Voice spoke in the darkness and when it spoke that what it expressed came into being. In this way That Spiritual Being “The I Am that I Am” took care that things came into being. Every time This I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh אהיה אשר אהיה saw it was alright and when it was good The Cause of Being brought an other thing into existence. Every time The Being “That Is” spoke Its Word became a reality. The incorruptible Word spoken brought into existence.

    It was God’s Power (the Holy Spirit) that brought things to life. It was God His Word which was spoken, brought into reality and was there to stay for ever in truth, never telling lies. As such later in history the carnal beings created by that Most High Eternal Being received in their hands the greatest source of the greatest ideas known to man. First the Word went from one being to an other vocally, but later it became recorded on stone plates, than on papyrus and parchment roles. First those words of the Most High were notated in Hebrew, than Aramaic words and Greek words supplemented the documents written down in the name of God by set apart (holy) men.  This way man got the Scriptures, and for this series on the new or 2nd Adam we shall also look into the wisdom of the theological minds who brought forth the 1599 Geneva Bible Patriot’s Edition, which will enable you to think God’s thoughts after Him because the Bible is His special revelation. Herewith is a resource that you are sure to find indispensable for the study and interpretation of creation as God would have you see it.

    A 1581 edition of the Geneva Bible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    The Geneva Bible once changed the world. With that Bible man can hold in their hands something that is about to change the world — again. For those who find that bible we ask them to use this Bible with care. Use it faithfully with faith. Then watch God once more do above and beyond all that we can ask or imagine.

    {For this series we use the revised 2010 Tolle Lege Press (United States of America) edition of the 1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project}

    To come to know why Jesus is so important for us and to come to see who he is and what purpose he served, we have to go back to the beginning of everything. We have to listen to the Word which sounded in the void.

    In Genesis chapter one we are told how everything started and that first of all, and before that any creature was, God made heaven and earth of nothing.

    Genesis 1

    1 God created the heaven and the earth. 3 The light
    and the darkness, 8 The firmament, 9 He separateth
    the water from the earth. 16 He createth the sun, the moon,
    and the stars. 21 He createth the fish, birds, beasts, 26 He
    createth man, and giveth him rule over all creatures, 29 And
    provideth nurture for man and beast.

    1 In the 1beginning aGod created the heaven and the earth.
    2 And the earth was 1,2without form and void, and 3darkness was upon the 4deep, and the Spirit of God 5moved upon the 6waters.
    3 Then God said, bLet there be light: And there was 1light.
    4 And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated 1the light from the darkness.
    5 And God called the Light, Day, and the darkness he called Night. 1So the evening and the morning
    were the first day.

    The Creation – James Tissot (1836–1902)

    Next we come to hear that it is the only power of God’s Word, His speaking, that makes the earth fruitful, which else naturally is barren. In Scriptures also more than once shall it be repeated that God made all His creatures to serve to His glory and God wanting to see that all is good, but that in the world there is seed, the matter that brings forth new matter, good or bad, depending on how the seed is and where the seed lands, in what sort of soil.

    9  God said again, eLet the waters under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
    10 And God called the dry land, Earth, and he called the gathering together of the waters, Seas: and God saw that it was good.
    11 Then God said, 1Let the earth bud forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed, the fruitful tree, which beareth fruit according to his kind, which hath his seed in itself upon the earth: and it was so.
    12 And the earth brought forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed according to his kind, also the tree that beareth fruit, which hath his seed in itself according to his kind: and God 1saw that it was good.

    Too many christians do forget that the Bible also tells us clearly that there were animals and plants before man.

    20 Afterward God said, Let the waters bring forth in abundance every 1creeping thing that hath 2life: and let the fowl fly upon the earth in the 3open firmament of the heaven.
    21 Then God created the great whales, and everything living and moving, which the 1waters brought forth in abundance according to their kind, and every feathered fowl according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.
    22 Then God 1blessed them, saying, Bring forth fruit and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.
    23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

    Only after all the planets, waters and earth, creeping beings it became time for an other creeping being of flesh and blood, in a system where there would be light and darkness as instruments appointed to serve to man’s use.

    Every time God spoke, the “soul of life” came into the beings (Hebrew for the “living thing” verse 24).

    24  Moreover God said, Let the earth bring forth the 1living thing according to his kind, cattle, and that which creepeth, and the beast of the earth according to his kind, and it was so.
    25 And God made the beast of the earth according to his kind, and the cattle according to his kind, and every creeping thing of the earth according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.

    It was only after God had commanded the water and the earth to bring forth other creatures, that He said of man “Let us make”, signifying, that He the Most Highest, Who speaks with the ‘Royal We’ (Royal plural or Pluralis majestatis), God

    “taketh counsel with his wisdom and virtue, purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of his creation.” (1599 Geneva Patriot’s Edition)

    26 Furthermore God said, h,1Let us make man in our 2image according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creepeth and moveth on the earth.
    27 Thus God created the man in his image: in the image of God created he him: he created them imale and female.
    28 And God 1blessed them, and God said to them, jBring forth fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over every beast that moveth upon the earth.
    29 And God said, Behold, I have given unto you 1every herb bearing seed, which is upon all the earth, and every tree, wherein is the fruit of a tree bearing seed: kthat shall be to you for meat.
    30 Likewise to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heaven, and to everything that moveth
    upon the earth, which hath life in itself, every green herb shall be for meat, and it was so.
    31 lAnd God saw all that he had made, and lo, it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

    The Earthly Paradise – Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625)

    +

    Preceding introductory article: Geneva Bible, Source text for our series on the beginning of Jesus

    Next: The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #2 Beginning of mankind

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyehאהיה אשר אהיה
    2. Hashem השם, Hebrew for “the Name”
    3. Why think there’s a God? (1): Something from Nothing
    4. Where did God come from?
    5. Does He exists?
    6. Attributes to God
    7. El-Shaddai God Almighty Who no-one may see and live
    8. Bible, helmet of health, salvation and sword of the spirit
    9. Bible, sword of the Spirit to come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man
    10. Written down in God’s Name for righteousness
    11. Glory of only One God Who gives His Word
    12. Written and translated by different men over thousands of years
    13. Focussing on oneness with Jesus like Jesus is one with God
    14. See God’s wonderworks and hear His Voice
    15. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
    16. The Word being a quality or aspect of God Himself
    17. Creator and Blogger God 1 Emptiness and mouvement
    18. The very very beginning 1 Creating Gods
    19. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
    20. Creation Creator and Creation
    21. Means of creations
    22. From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
    23. Creation of the earth out of something
    24. Between Alpha and Omega – The plan of creation
    25. Scripture about Creation and Creator Deity
    26. Genesis 1 story does not take away an evolution
    27. Genesis – Story of creation 1 Genesis 1:1-25 Creation of things
    28. God’s Word Framing universe
    29. The World framed by the Word of God
    30. Al-Fatiha [The Opening] Süra 1: 4-7 Merciful Lord of the Creation to show us the right path
    31. Creation purpose and warranty
    32. Different principle about the origin and beginning of everything
    33. Cosmos creator and human destiny
    34. Blackness, nothingness, something, void
    35. Nothingness
    36. Something from nothing
    37. Accommodation of the Void
    38. From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
    39. “Before” and “after” the Big Bang
    40. Creation of the earth and man #1 Planet for living beings in a pre-Adamic world
    41. God’s Word is like the rain
    42. Other stories about the beginning of times
    43. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
    44. Is it “Wrong” to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere?

    +++

    Further readings of interest:

    1. Essential Doctrines (Part 1): The Doctrine of God’s Existence
    2. What About Those Who Do Not Know The Name of God?
    3. To Know God in Six Days
    4. The Great Architect
    5. Please!!! Don’t tell me that you honestly think the universe is 6000 years old!!!!
    6. The universe is not 6000 years old
    7. Proof that the Bible cannot be taken literally
    8. Life & Light
    9. Isaiah 41:10
    10. The #Genesis Theory – (Part 1) – YouTube
    11. Creation: In the Beginning
    12. Entry No.1 – A Creation Myth
    13. What happened on each of the days of Creation?
    14. The Divine Presence
    15. God’s Attention Is On You!
    16. Big Bang Theory & Life
    17. In His image…
    18. Be fruitful and multiply…
    19. God-Authenticated Togetherness
    20. Live your life in tandem with God
    21. Law versus Law
    22. “In Christ” #897
    23. What do you have your eyes on?
    24. Science vs Bible
    25. God Turns Darkness Into Light

    +++

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  30. Belgian Ecclesia Brussel - Leuven @[email protected] ·

    The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #1 Beginning of everything

    Thousands of years ago there was a void, but there also was the Eternal Being that ever was and always shall be, having had no birth and never having an end or not able to die. That divine Eternal Being “That is” or “I Am“, the “I Am Who Am” or the “I Am Who Is” has a Voice and that Voice spoke in the darkness and when it spoke that what it expressed came into being. In this way That Spiritual Being “The I Am that I Am” took care that things came into being. Every time This I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh אהיה אשר אהיה saw it was alright and when it was good The Cause of Being brought an other thing into existence. Every time The Being “That Is” spoke Its Word became a reality. The incorruptible Word spoken brought into existence.

    It was God’s Power (the Holy Spirit) that brought things to life. It was God His Word which was spoken, brought into reality and was there to stay for ever in truth, never telling lies. As such later in history the carnal beings created by that Most High Eternal Being received in their hands the greatest source of the greatest ideas known to man. First the Word went from one being to an other vocally, but later it became recorded on stone plates, than on papyrus and parchment roles. First those words of the Most High were notated in Hebrew, than Aramaic words and Greek words supplemented the documents written down in the name of God by set apart (holy) men.  This way man got the Scriptures, and for this series on the new or 2nd Adam we shall also look into the wisdom of the theological minds who brought forth the 1599 Geneva Bible Patriot’s Edition, which will enable you to think God’s thoughts after Him because the Bible is His special revelation. Herewith is a resource that you are sure to find indispensable for the study and interpretation of creation as God would have you see it.

    A 1581 edition of the Geneva Bible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    The Geneva Bible once changed the world. With that Bible man can hold in their hands something that is about to change the world — again. For those who find that bible we ask them to use this Bible with care. Use it faithfully with faith. Then watch God once more do above and beyond all that we can ask or imagine.

    {For this series we use the revised 2010 Tolle Lege Press (United States of America) edition of the 1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project}

    To come to know why Jesus is so important for us and to come to see who he is and what purpose he served, we have to go back to the beginning of everything. We have to listen to the Word which sounded in the void.

    In Genesis chapter one we are told how everything started and that first of all, and before that any creature was, God made heaven and earth of nothing.

    Genesis 1

    1 God created the heaven and the earth. 3 The light
    and the darkness, 8 The firmament, 9 He separateth
    the water from the earth. 16 He createth the sun, the moon,
    and the stars. 21 He createth the fish, birds, beasts, 26 He
    createth man, and giveth him rule over all creatures, 29 And
    provideth nurture for man and beast.

    1 In the 1beginning aGod created the heaven and the earth.
    2 And the earth was 1,2without form and void, and 3darkness was upon the 4deep, and the Spirit of God 5moved upon the 6waters.
    3 Then God said, bLet there be light: And there was 1light.
    4 And God saw the light that it was good, and God separated 1the light from the darkness.
    5 And God called the Light, Day, and the darkness he called Night. 1So the evening and the morning
    were the first day.

    The Creation – James Tissot (1836–1902)

    Next we come to hear that it is the only power of God’s Word, His speaking, that makes the earth fruitful, which else naturally is barren. In Scriptures also more than once shall it be repeated that God made all His creatures to serve to His glory and God wanting to see that all is good, but that in the world there is seed, the matter that brings forth new matter, good or bad, depending on how the seed is and where the seed lands, in what sort of soil.

    9  God said again, eLet the waters under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
    10 And God called the dry land, Earth, and he called the gathering together of the waters, Seas: and God saw that it was good.
    11 Then God said, 1Let the earth bud forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed, the fruitful tree, which beareth fruit according to his kind, which hath his seed in itself upon the earth: and it was so.
    12 And the earth brought forth the bud of the herb, that seedeth seed according to his kind, also the tree that beareth fruit, which hath his seed in itself according to his kind: and God 1saw that it was good.

    Too many christians do forget that the Bible also tells us clearly that there were animals and plants before man.

    20 Afterward God said, Let the waters bring forth in abundance every 1creeping thing that hath 2life: and let the fowl fly upon the earth in the 3open firmament of the heaven.
    21 Then God created the great whales, and everything living and moving, which the 1waters brought forth in abundance according to their kind, and every feathered fowl according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.
    22 Then God 1blessed them, saying, Bring forth fruit and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.
    23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

    Only after all the planets, waters and earth, creeping beings it became time for an other creeping being of flesh and blood, in a system where there would be light and darkness as instruments appointed to serve to man’s use.

    Every time God spoke, the “soul of life” came into the beings (Hebrew for the “living thing” verse 24).

    24  Moreover God said, Let the earth bring forth the 1living thing according to his kind, cattle, and that which creepeth, and the beast of the earth according to his kind, and it was so.
    25 And God made the beast of the earth according to his kind, and the cattle according to his kind, and every creeping thing of the earth according to his kind: and God saw that it was good.

    It was only after God had commanded the water and the earth to bring forth other creatures, that He said of man “Let us make”, signifying, that He the Most Highest, Who speaks with the ‘Royal We’ (Royal plural or Pluralis majestatis), God

    “taketh counsel with his wisdom and virtue, purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of his creation.” (1599 Geneva Patriot’s Edition)

    26 Furthermore God said, h,1Let us make man in our 2image according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the beasts, and over all the earth, and over everything that creepeth and moveth on the earth.
    27 Thus God created the man in his image: in the image of God created he him: he created them imale and female.
    28 And God 1blessed them, and God said to them, jBring forth fruit, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over every beast that moveth upon the earth.
    29 And God said, Behold, I have given unto you 1every herb bearing seed, which is upon all the earth, and every tree, wherein is the fruit of a tree bearing seed: kthat shall be to you for meat.
    30 Likewise to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the heaven, and to everything that moveth
    upon the earth, which hath life in itself, every green herb shall be for meat, and it was so.
    31 lAnd God saw all that he had made, and lo, it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

    The Earthly Paradise – Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625)

    +

    Preceding introductory article: Geneva Bible, Source text for our series on the beginning of Jesus

    Next: The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #2 Beginning of mankind

    ++

    Additional reading

    1. I am that I am Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyehאהיה אשר אהיה
    2. Hashem השם, Hebrew for “the Name”
    3. Why think there’s a God? (1): Something from Nothing
    4. Where did God come from?
    5. Does He exists?
    6. Attributes to God
    7. El-Shaddai God Almighty Who no-one may see and live
    8. Bible, helmet of health, salvation and sword of the spirit
    9. Bible, sword of the Spirit to come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man
    10. Written down in God’s Name for righteousness
    11. Glory of only One God Who gives His Word
    12. Written and translated by different men over thousands of years
    13. Focussing on oneness with Jesus like Jesus is one with God
    14. See God’s wonderworks and hear His Voice
    15. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
    16. The Word being a quality or aspect of God Himself
    17. Creator and Blogger God 1 Emptiness and mouvement
    18. The very very beginning 1 Creating Gods
    19. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
    20. Creation Creator and Creation
    21. Means of creations
    22. From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
    23. Creation of the earth out of something
    24. Between Alpha and Omega – The plan of creation
    25. Scripture about Creation and Creator Deity
    26. Genesis 1 story does not take away an evolution
    27. Genesis – Story of creation 1 Genesis 1:1-25 Creation of things
    28. God’s Word Framing universe
    29. The World framed by the Word of God
    30. Al-Fatiha [The Opening] Süra 1: 4-7 Merciful Lord of the Creation to show us the right path
    31. Creation purpose and warranty
    32. Different principle about the origin and beginning of everything
    33. Cosmos creator and human destiny
    34. Blackness, nothingness, something, void
    35. Nothingness
    36. Something from nothing
    37. Accommodation of the Void
    38. From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
    39. “Before” and “after” the Big Bang
    40. Creation of the earth and man #1 Planet for living beings in a pre-Adamic world
    41. God’s Word is like the rain
    42. Other stories about the beginning of times
    43. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
    44. Is it “Wrong” to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere?

    +++

    Further readings of interest:

    1. Essential Doctrines (Part 1): The Doctrine of God’s Existence
    2. What About Those Who Do Not Know The Name of God?
    3. To Know God in Six Days
    4. The Great Architect
    5. Please!!! Don’t tell me that you honestly think the universe is 6000 years old!!!!
    6. The universe is not 6000 years old
    7. Proof that the Bible cannot be taken literally
    8. Life & Light
    9. Isaiah 41:10
    10. The #Genesis Theory – (Part 1) – YouTube
    11. Creation: In the Beginning
    12. Entry No.1 – A Creation Myth
    13. What happened on each of the days of Creation?
    14. The Divine Presence
    15. God’s Attention Is On You!
    16. Big Bang Theory & Life
    17. In His image…
    18. Be fruitful and multiply…
    19. God-Authenticated Togetherness
    20. Live your life in tandem with God
    21. Law versus Law
    22. “In Christ” #897
    23. What do you have your eyes on?
    24. Science vs Bible
    25. God Turns Darkness Into Light

    +++

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    #word #water #void #voiceofgod #universe #theword
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