Living peaceably with your fellow man
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
(all men and women of color have benefited to the advancement of this country ben carson first surgeon to perform siamese twin head removal Extraordinary african americans Susans Altman)
"i said you are gods you are all sons of the most high"
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."'
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace.
They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace.
The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.
Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die
A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal
A time to break down, and a time to build up
A time to weep, a time to laugh
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones;
A time embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, and a time to lose
A time to keep, and a time to throw away
A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence a time to speak
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
The words of Agur the soft of Jakeh, his utterance. This man decalred to lithiel--to Ithiel and Ucal:
Surely I am more stupid than any man,
And do not have the understanding of a man.
I neither learned wisdom
Nor have knowledge of the Holy one.
Who has ascened into heaven or descended?
Who has gathered the win in his fists?
Who has bound the waters in garment?
What is his name, and what is his son's name, if you know?
Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
Do not add to his words, Lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
Two things I request of you
Deprive me not before I die:
Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches------
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I full and deny You,
And say "Who is the Lord?"
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
Do not malign a servant to his master,
Lest he curse you, and you be found guily.
There is a generation that curses its father,
And does not bless its mother.
There is a generation that is
pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
There is a generation-----oh
how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are lifted up,
There is a generation whose
teeth are like swords,
and whose fangs are like knives,
To devour the poor from off the earth
And the needy from among men.
The leech has two daughters
Give and Give!
There are three things that are never satisfied,
Four never say, "Enough!"
The grave
The barren womb,
The earth that is not satisfied with water
And the fire never says, "Enough"
The eye that mocks his father
And scorns obedience to his mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out
And the young eagles will eat it.
There are three things which are too wonderful for me
Yes four which I do not understand:
The way of an eagle in the air,
The way of a serpent on a rock
The way of a ship in the midst of the sea,
And the way of man with a virgin,
This is the way of an adulterous woman:
She eats and wipes her mouth,
And says, "I have done no wickedness."
For three things the earth is perturbed,
Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
A hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.
There are four things which are little on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
The ants are a people not strong,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
The rock badgers are a feeble folk,
Yet they make their homes in crags;
The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks
The spider skillfully grasps with its hands
And it is in kings palaces.
There are three things which are majestic in pace
Yes, four which are stately in walk
A lion, which is might among beasts
And does not turn away from any;
A greyhound,
A male goat also,
And a king whose troops are with him.
If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have devised evil,
put your hand on your mouth.
FOr as the churning of milk produces butter,
And wringing the nose produces blood,
So the forcing of wrath produces strife
Keep my commands and live,
And my law as the apple of your eye.
The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! aS IT IS WRITTEN MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDTH OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD"
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.
"i said you are gods you are all sons of the most high"
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart
My son, keep my words,
And treasure my commands within you.
Keep my commands and live,
And my law as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart
My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.""The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen."
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
"......let him turn from evil do good seek peace and pursue it"
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
8 He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints.alpha dog douglas pullins jr
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path.
10 When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
"Nothing should have a more powerful effect upon a saint's spirit than to consider his blissful estate in heaven as being the reward for all his conflicts here on earth."
"That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell."
He that can live alone resembles a brute beast in nothing the sage in much and god in everything
For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. "
But whoever fails to find me harms himself all who hate me love death.
Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm"The Way of Heaven does one good but never does one harm.......; let the one who is vile continue to be vile
"For the director of music. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good."; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy."
The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself, The more he gives to others, the more he gets himself. The Way of Heaven does one good but never does one harm. The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete. Master Yoda
"You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. the body is a temple."
"Nothing should have a more powerful effect upon a saint's spirit......"
Who alone is wise,[h]
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,[i]
Both now and forever.
Amen.
God Alpha and Omega First and Last Beginning and End
Angels were created before God created the world
Lucifer (White & his first likeness as a serpent)
Adam & Eve (white)
Mary
Jesus Christ our Savior (different ethnicity)
Before the 12
"i said you are gods you are all sons of the most high"
"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men and women to do nothing."
"He or she who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he or she who helps to perpetrate it. He or she who
accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. "
"For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. "
"The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds."
"Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,"
Lucifer
All that is Evil
?As far as the seven deadly sins are concerned, Lucifer is responsible for pride (pride in possessions) in mortals (human beings). This sin comes from Lucifer’s own pride resulting in his downfall from Heaven. Lucifer loved himself above anything, and without ignorance as an excuse. Ranked highest of angels, with his seat in Heaven next to God, God allowed him power over earth. When God left his seat, however, Lucifer sat himself on the heavenly throne. This outlandish display of Lucifer’s pride started a war among Angels, and when Michael finally succeeded in banishing Lucifer from heaven he was cast down to Earth and called Satan. The angels that followed him in the fall became the demons currently causing all the afflictions of human nature, with Lucifer as the reigning King.
Mere plebeians need not to worry too much about Lucifer’s strong hold on Earth, as he targets more prominent figures to be victims of his direct company. Historically his presence has been seen in the prideful tyrannical rulers of Rome, but some could make arguments that his charisma is making a resurgence in more recent world leaders.
Pride
Main article: Pride
Building the Tower of Babel was, for Dante, an example of pride. Painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder
In almost every list, pride (Latin, superbia), or hubris (Greek), is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and the source of the others. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbour." In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, pride is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the titulary famed Parisian doctor. In perhaps the best-known example, the story of Lucifer, pride (his desire to compete with God) was what caused his fall from Heaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan. In Dante's Divine Comedy, the penitents were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs to induce feelings of humility.
Lust
Envy
Wrath
Greed
Sloth
Pride
Gluttony
Lucifer
he is the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience and he is in the spirit of those who inflict evil and injury upon people
(Fear, hatred, covetousness, anger, aggression, jealousy and malevolence won't inherit the kingdom of God.)
"Everyone who is in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished."
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred (abomination), contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity (The state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something), strife (Angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict), jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Lucifer (The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! "behavior or actions" his children ) "wicked one" is responsible for pride (pride in possessions) in human beings. Racism is hatred.....will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Lucifer will always try and confuse, confound, and mislead us." ".....Satan hinders(hinder the plans god has for a person and their family) us."
Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wickedMany will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked."There is no fear of God before their eyes.". None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.". None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand."For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. (god doesn't like drama)
---------------
"America is a land where men govern, but women rule. "
Bad Girls Club
The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! aS IT IS WRITTEN MAN (and woman thats what the holy being means by "man") SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDTH OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD"
Living peaeably with your fellow man
all liars
nothing can tame the tounge it is a restless evil full of deceit
"Why you all in my ear? Talkin' a whole bunch of shit that I ain't tryin' to hear Get back mothafucker........"
"And an adultress will prey on his precious on his precious life"
-------------------
Psalms 91:1 Whoever goes to the LORD for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,
Psa 91:2 can say to him, "You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in you I trust."
Psa 91:3 He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases.
Psa 91:4 He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you.
Psa 91:5 You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day
Psa 91:6 or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight.
(my favorite)Psa 91:7 A thousand may fall dead beside you, ten thousand all around you, but you will not be harmed."they fall in line one at a time ready to play lol"
Psa 91:8 You will look and see how the wicked are punished.
Psa 91:9 You have made the LORD your defender, the Most High your protector,
Psa 91:10 and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home.
Psa 91:11 God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go. Psa
91:12 They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones.
Psa 91:13 You will trample down lions and snakes, fierce lions and poisonous snakes.
Psa 91:14 God says, "I will save those who love me and will protect those who acknowledge me as LORD.
Psa 91:15 When they call to me, I will answer them; when they are in trouble, I will be with them. I will rescue them and honor them.
Psa 91:16 I will reward them with long life; I will save them.
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die
A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal
A time to break down, and a time to build up
A time to weep, a time to laugh
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones;
A time embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, and a time to lose
A time to keep, and a time to throw away
A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence a time to speak
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
God explains to Job in a long diatribe that God created everything in existence, including Job, and does not have to abide by the rules, since he created the rules. His primary point is that Job, with his feeble, finite mind, cannot possibly comprehend the first thing about what is right or good or true, under God, that God alone comprehends righteousness, goodness, and truth, and that man must do as God commands.
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
8 He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path.
10 When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
"Nothing should have a more powerful effect upon a saint's spirit than to consider his blissful estate in heaven as being the reward for all his conflicts here on earth."
"That the saints may enjoy their beatitude and the grace of God more abundantly they are permitted to see the punishment of the damned in hell."
There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
"If God is for us, who can be against us?"
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
In struggling for human dignity the oppressed people of the world not succumb to the temptation of becoming indulging in hate campaigns. To retaliate with hate and bitterness would do nothing but intensify the existence of hate in our world. We have learned through the grim realities of life and history that hate and violence solve nothing.
God rules history and so accomplishes his plans without difficulty.Living peaceably with your fellow man.For God is not a God of confusion but of peace."all planned by God “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord.""...but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming." "It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them."
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
""Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me."
"There were several different hopes of a 'Messiah', a saviour, whom God would send, and such hopes ran high at the time of JEsus."
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."always fight for your future
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man (woman), but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand."from every bullet that hit and battle won and lost
"God has a purpose. Yes, God has a plan."
"But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
"All your children will be trained up by the lord and great will be the peace of your children"
"Satan hinders us trying to hinder the plans god has for a person, family, and a country and their future and he is in the spirit of those who inflict evil and injury upon people"
"Nothing can tame the tounge it is a restless evil full of deceit"a disgusting mouth
"There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever."
"For the director of music. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good."; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.""
"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "The for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth."
"May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you."
"Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either."
"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.""........no violence will come near your home."
"God will fight for you and you will only have to stay silent"
"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live"
Jesus Christ was the most important man whoever lived and he lived a sinless and perfect life killed Jesus Christ because of pride and hatred" because he didn't come to bring peace but the sword and he stayed silent he was full of grace and truth (are you truly the son of the living god?) (...they will either love one and hate the other)(God planned the death of his own son "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." to reconcile sinful man to god through Jesus Christ)"For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.""And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the Father full of grace and truth."
Martin Luther King Jr (Civil rights movement god planned the death of Martin luther king jr)
Abraham Lincoln (emancipation proclamation)
Albert Einstein (atomic bomb)
Moses free gods people
Gandhi
Master Yoda (answered to someone higher than him and was full of grace and truth grace of God more abundantly)
Will smith
Jada pinkett smith
Olivia Wilde
Tao
Jason sudeikis
World war 2
World war
Civil war
Fred Hammond (gospel singer) was almost aborted.
Saved by Christians in Baltimore
".....for there are some who are ignorant of God......"
Lucifer
All that is Evil
?As far as the seven deadly sins are concerned, Lucifer is responsible for pride (pride in possessions) in mortals (human beings). This sin comes from Lucifer’s own pride resulting in his downfall from Heaven. Lucifer loved himself above anything, and without ignorance as an excuse. Ranked highest of angels, with his seat in Heaven next to God, God allowed him power over earth. When God left his seat, however, Lucifer sat himself on the heavenly throne. This outlandish display of Lucifer’s pride started a war among Angels, and when Michael finally succeeded in banishing Lucifer from heaven he was cast down to Earth and called Satan. The angels that followed him in the fall became the demons currently causing all the afflictions of human nature, with Lucifer as the reigning King.
Mere plebeians need not to worry too much about Lucifer’s strong hold on Earth, as he targets more prominent figures to be victims of his direct company. Historically his presence has been seen in the prideful tyrannical rulers of Rome, but some could make arguments that his charisma is making a resurgence in more recent world leaders.
Pride
Main article: Pride
Building the Tower of Babel was, for Dante, an example of pride. Painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder
In almost every list, pride (Latin, superbia), or hubris (Greek), is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and the source of the others. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbour." In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, pride is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the titulary famed Parisian doctor. In perhaps the best-known example, the story of Lucifer, pride (his desire to compete with God) was what caused his fall from Heaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan. In Dante's Divine Comedy, the penitents were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs to induce feelings of humility.
"And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.”Atrocities in history and also in the 90s when people never even sought after god nor did they care to find him (he sent jesus christ to stop atrocities like people going to hell because it was only prepared for the devil and his angels and other atrocities such as the things that happened during the civil rights movement when terrible Bloodlust happened because of a persons skin color and other terrible things like spitting and peeing and lynching and other and the devil is responsible for pride and hatred (Racism) and also atrocities like when people threw babies off cliffs because of deformities)
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor[g] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[h] 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
God has sent titans
Living peaceably with your fellow man
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
"i said you are gods you are all sons of the most high"
Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring[a] and hers;
he will crush[b] your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d] because she would become the mother of all the living.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel.
We all come from Adam and eve
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
We all come from Adam and eve
The lighter a persons skin color the more insane they are
The darker a persons skin the harder they struggle and fight
"Now the works of the flesh are evident: hatred......won't inherit the kingdom of god""Racism is nonsense"Genotype and Phenotype"Devil is responsible for pride and hatred"
Culture - the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education and experience in life
corruption - inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful
"Confusion comes of the devil, because there is no truth in him. He is a liar and a thief, and Lucifer will always try and confuse, confound, and mislead us."
"Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,"
"For the director of music. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good."
"They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves (Devil is responsible for pride and hatred)of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved."
"......the devil is responsible for trying to hinder the plans god has for a person and their family........"
"They love to see a nigga dead up, in jail, Living in a world where we set up to fail."
"racism is nonsense/hatred won't inherit the kingdom of god"
George Washington and a city planner by the name of Pierre L'enfant chose the site. A competition was held for the design, which was narrowed down to 9 candidates. In 1791 James Hoban, an Irish architect, won the commission to build the presidential residence and his design was eventually built. The British burned it in 1814, but it was rebuilt and enlarged under Hoban's direction. In the 1820s, Hoban added eastern and western terraces. The latest addition of the West Wing (1902) and East Wing (1942) provided additional office space.
The actual Construction Workers:
According to CNN, Washington Times, USA Today and many other reports... Of the 600 people who helped build the white house, about 400 were slaves and the masters of said slaves..
"There was a labor shortage. According to the White House Historical Association, the commissioners planning the building of the new District of Columbia originally planned to import workers from Europe. But when recruitment failed to meet their needs, they turned to slave owners, who would hire out small groups of slaves to earn money. The slaves were involved not
-
only in cutting logs and removing stumps for construction of the new buildings and streets in D.C... Black quarrymen, sawyers, brick makers, and carpenters fashioned raw materials into the products used to erect the White House" reports the Historical Association..."
First, it is a marvelous expression of Jesus ability to match words with actions. One of the great tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying. A persistent schizophrenia leaves so many of us tragically divided against ourselves. On the one hand, we proudly profess certain sublime and noble principles, but on the other hand we sadly practice the very antithesis of those principles. How often are our lives characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds! We talk eloquently about our commitment to the principles of Christianity, and yet our lives are saturated with the practices of paganism We proclaim our devotion to democracy, but we sadly practice the very opposite of the democratic creed. We talk passionately about peace, and at the same time we assiduously prepare for war.
And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period, is that we have been forced to a point where we're going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history - but the demands didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world it's nonviolence or nonexistence.
If we assume that life is worth living and that man has right to survival, then we must find an alternative to war. In a day when vehicles hurtle through outer space and guided ballistic missiles carve highways of death through the strtosphere, no nation can claim victory in war.
I am indebted to my wife Coretta, without whose love, sacrifices, and loyalty neighter life nor work would bring fulfillment. She has given me words of consolation when I needed them and a well ordered home where Christian love is a reality.
Cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? Expedience asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, s it right?
As long as there is poverty in the world I can never be totally rich..... As long as people are afflicted with debilitating diseases I can never be totally healthy....I can never be what I ought to be, until you are what you ought to be.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the person. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it it calls up resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had.
In struggling for human dignity the oppressed people of the world not succumb to the temptation of becoming indulging in hate campaigns.
to retaliate with hate and bitterness would do nothing but intensify the existence of hate in our world.
We have learned through the grim realities of life history that hate and violence solve nothing.
They only serve to push us deeper and deeper into the mire. Violence begets violence; hate begets hate; and toughness begets a greater toughness. It is all a descending spiral, and the end is destruction - for everybody.
Let us be practical and ask the question, How do we love our enemies? First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. It is impossible even to begin the act of loving one's enemies without the prior acceptance of the necessity, over and over again, of forgiving those who inflict evil and injury upon us..... Second, we must recognize that the evil deed of the enemy-neightbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy. This simply means that there is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. When we look beneath the surface, beaneath the impulsive evil deed, we see within our enemy-neighbor a measure of goodness and know that the viciousness and evilness of his acts are not quite representative of all that he is.
Dr. King's extraordinary speech is quoted in full below:
"I Have A Dream"
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope to millions of slaves, who had been seared in the flames of whithering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the colored America is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the colored American is still sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination. "Living peaceably with your fellow man....""Live peaceably with all men......"
One hundred years later, the colored American lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the colored American is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we have come to our Nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every America was to fall heir.
This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men (God rules history and people of all color help the advancement of a country and people of all color arrested and don't help for the advancement of this country), would be guaranteed to the inalienable rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "Live peaceably with all men......."
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given its colored people a bad check, a check that has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.
We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is not time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.
Now it the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
Now it the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
Now is the time to make justice a reality to all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of it's colored citizens. This sweltering summer of the colored people's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the colored Americans needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.
There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the colored citizen is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the colored person's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.
We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for white only."
We cannot be satisfied as long as a colored person in Mississippi cannot vote and a colored person in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.
No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of your trials and tribulations. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality.
You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our modern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you, my friends, we have the difficulties of today and tomorrow.
I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; that one day right
down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.
With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."
The Passion of Christ is one of the most controversial movies of all times. The movie makes evident, in gruesome details, the horrific flagellation and crucifixion endured by Jesus Christ before His death.
Many Christians applaud Gibson’s efforts and see the movie as a very useful tool in enlightening the masses about what Jesus Christ has done to save the world. On the other hand, Jews, understandably, fear that the movie might ignite more anti-Semitism and persecution.
Recently, a major network reviewed the events that led to Jesus Christ’s death, with the help of four Biblical scholars. At the end of the documentary, the four scholars were asked who they believed had killed Jesus Christ. The unanimous answer was: “Pilate and the Romans.”
Who really killed Jesus Christ? Different people hold differing views. Some are firm on the idea that the Jews were primarily responsible. Others insist that the real culprit was Pontius Pilate. Some may argue that Satan was the force that inspired the whole scenario. Many Christians would, instead, yell out: “We did it! Our sins killed Jesus Christ!”
Though all the above points of view have merit, there is another critical and enlightening dimension that must be included to fully comprehend who really killed Jesus Christ. But first let’s analyze the extent to which the main participants contributed to Jesus Christ’s death.
DID THE JEWS KILL JESUS CHRIST?
Through the centuries, the Jews have been blamed as being the ones who were responsible for Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Did the Jews really kill Jesus Christ? No doubt the accusers of Jesus Christ were Jews, but it would be absurd to point to all the Jews in Judea as being accusers of Jesus Christ. Let’s not forget that “ multitudes,” had followed and had seen Jesus Christ’s miracles over his 3 ½ years of preaching (Matthew 15:29-31). A great many had been healed from incurable diseases. Some had been brought back from the dead. A lot of Jews, consequently, felt nothing but gratitude toward this young miraculous preacher. Many religious leaders, on the other hand, were filled with envy and bitterness, because of Jesus Christ’s accusations and condemnations and, according to the Gospels, wished to get rid of Him in any way they could (Matthew 12:14).
Jesus Christ, on several occasions, called the Pharisees “hypocrites,” “serpents,” and “brood of vipers,” and He described them as untrustworthy leaders in front of huge crowds (Matthew 23). Their status within the nation had been undermined publicly by someone the crowds looked up to and believed in. This was a great and unacceptable humiliation. Therefore, the Pharisees were always on the lookout for opportunities that would allow them to accuse and kill Jesus Christ.
Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of the sellers of doves (Matthew 21:12). Both groups, most certainly, would have thirsted for revenge as well. No doubt, when the opportunity came to get even, they were ready to make Jesus Christ pay for the affront.
The top religious leaders refused to share the limelight with the young man from Nazareth and feared that He would have become the acclaimed leader of the people. They, most of all, plotted to find fault in Him, so as to get Him killed: “Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the High Priest, who was called Caiphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him" (Matthew 26:4).
It is interesting to note that they were conscious of the fact that the majority of the people liked Jesus Jesus and, therefore, decided not to kill Him “
during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people” (Matthew 26: 1-5). They knew that the masses had to be handled carefully, to keep them from turning against them. Thus, their plan had to be skillfully conceived so as to convince the people that Jesus Christ was a blasphemer and that He deserved death.
Furthermore, the Gospel of Matthew tells us that when Jesus Christ was brought to the Sanhedrin, “The Chief Priest, the elders, and the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death” (26: 59-61), and found several. Finally, Jesus Christ’s own words were found sufficient to condemn Him to death. Thus, in the morning, “...all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death” (27:1). Later, when Pilate tried to release Jesus Christ, they vehemently insisted that He had to be killed, and the angry crowd that was present, as well as the priests, finally prevailed (Luke 23: 23).
Who was, therefore, present when Pilate asked the crowd if they wanted Jesus freed or killed? We can safely assume that the aforementioned groups were there. Others present were probably locals who may have known little about Jesus Christ and who blindly followed the religious leaders and took their accusations as trustworthy.
Were all the Jews, therefore, guilty of Jesus Christ’s death? Absolutely not. Were most of the religious leaders guilty? According to the Gospel story, they were. They plotted to capture Jesus Christ, they found false witnesses to inculpate Him, and they refused to believe His word, though His mighty works supported His claims. The religious leaders wanted Him dead and did not cease until their aim to have him killed was accomplished.
DID PONTIUS PILATE KILL JESUS CHRIST?
Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. He was Caesar’s representative and, as such, was the greatest authority in the land. He had power over life and death. Thus, in the morning, Jesus Christ was brought to him for the final verdict. Pilate interviewed Christ and made his power clear to Him: "Do you not know that I have power to crucify You and power to release You" (John 19:10). Afterwards, he shared his obvious conclusion with the chief priests: “I find no fault in him.” (Luke 23:4).
Though he was convinced of Jesus Christ’s innocence, and though he tried to dissuade the priests and the crowd from their aim to have Christ killed, he finally relented to the blood-thirsty religious leaders: "When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it" (Matthew 27:24). The reason why he surrendered to the will of the angry crowd is given to us in the Gospel of John: "The Jews insisted, we have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God. When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid..."(John 19:7-8).
Clearly Pilate’s decision was motivated by the fear of a potential revolt. Therefore, to keep the leaders happy, and to prevent a dangerous rebellion, he relented to their request. Thus, though Pilate had the power to prevent Jesus Christ’s death, he chose to sacrifice an innocent man to keep the peace. Pilate, therefore, was a willing participant and contributed to Christ’s death.
DID SATAN KILL JESUS CHRIST?
Satan was no doubt the major force behind the whole gruesome scenario. He had attempted to neutralize and destroy Jesus Christ from the start, by tempting Him and by trying to bring about His spiritual destruction. He continued tempting Jesus all the way to the end.
No doubt, Satan nurtured the spirit of envy and bitterness in the religious leaders; no doubt he influenced Pilate’s decision to have Him scourged mercilessly. Without any doubt, Satan moved the unrelenting crowds to request the death penalty by a gruesome crucifixion. He wanted Jesus Christ to be traumatized beyond endurance, hoping that He would finally give up and surrender.
Though it may be difficult to know the exact extent of Satan's contribution, he was there and he was heavily involved.
DID THE THE SINS OF THE WORLD KILL JESUS CHRIST?
Many theologians would claim that the real culprit for Jesus Christ’s death were the sins of humanity and man’s need for redemption. Humans sinned from the beginning and have needed redemption ever since. During the time of ancient of Israel, God instituted a sacrificial system meant to emphasize the seriousness of sin and its demand for payment. Capital sins, related to the transgression of most of the Ten Commandments, could not be paid for by any sacrifice; the penalty was death. In fact, the Bible is quite dogmatic about the fact that the penalty of sin is death with or without the Law (Romans 6:23).
To prevent such dramatic end for all of humanity, there was a need for a sacrifice that would suffice as payment for all our sins. Only a Divine Being could be such a sacrifice, as Paul explains in chapter ten of the Book of Hebrews.
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sin."
5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
“ Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’”
8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them ” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
The Son of God was the only sufficient payment for the sins of the world. Therefore, it is justified to say that our sins killed Jesus Christ.
THE ULTIMATE CAUSE
So far we have seen that there are several contributors to the death of Jesus Christ. Pilate, the religious leaders, Satan, the sins of the world. All can be listed as valid contributors to the final verdict. But is this all there is to the story?
Let’s look closely at some aspects that have not yet been considered.
God the Father and Jesus Christ did not have to go through the gruesome experience of the flagellation and crucifixion of Christ. They could have simply allowed humanity to reap the fruits of its doing and could have moved on without humanity. God did not have to send Jesus to die for the sins of Mankind. He did not have to watch His “beloved Son" go through an agonizing flagellation and a horrific death on the cross.
Jesus Christ did not have to offer Himself for anyone. He had it all. Yet, He divested Himself of power and glory, came to live as a man and went through the agony of abuse and humiliation. He also suffered excruciating pain through the flagellation and agonized for six hours hanging from a cross.
AND HE DID NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH ANY OF IT!
Yet, these two perplexing beings chose the path of anguish so as to manifest their love for all of us. They chose to deliver us from the death penalty and eternal extinction, though it would have meant anguish they had never experienced before.
Who ultimately killed Jesus Christ then? Was it Pilate, or the Jewish leaders, Satan, or our sins?
IT WAS GOD'S AND CHRIST'S LOVE FOR HUMANITY THAT ULTIMATELY KILLED JESUS CHRIST.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whomsoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
God the Father loves us humans so much that He was willing to go through unfathomable anguish for us, by offering His only Son to be scourged and then to be nailed to a cross. It was His love that prevented our merited extinction. It was His love that brought us unmerited forgiveness and opened the possibility of eternal life for all humans.
Jesus Christ agreed to do God's will, fully conscious of the horrific ramifications that His decision would have had for Him. Yet, He was greatly encouraged by the fact that his future suffering would have brought about salvation for all of humanity: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6: 51).
This is love -- unfathomable love.
Who, therefore, killed Jesus Christ? The answer should be clear by now: The Jewish leaders wished it; Pilate could have, but did not prevent it; Satan incited it; our sins demanded it. Most of all, though, it was God the Father who willed it, and it was Jesus Christ who willingly offered himself to be sacrificed -- for the Jewish leaders who wanted Him killed, for Pilate who washed his hands, for the Roman soldiers who scourged and crucified Him, for you and for me, and for all of humanity that He and the Father love so deeply.
Therefore, as you watch Mel Gibson’s movie, please remember that God the Father willed and allowed the gruesome sufferings of Jesus Christ. Remember also that Jesus Christ willingly became a part of the horrendous ordeal. Most of all, consider how much God and Christ love you, that they would be willing to go through so much for your sake so that you and I, and the whole world, would not experience eternal destruction.
What an honor and blessing it is to have a Father and a Brother who love us this much.
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Location Memphis, Tennessee
Date April 4, 1968
6:01 p.m. (Central Time)
Target Martin Luther King, Jr.
Weapon(s) Remington 760 Gamemaster
Perpetrators James Earl Ray according to a criminal case; Loyd Jowers & "unknown co-conspirators" according to a later civil case
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader of the African-American civil rights movement and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who became known for his advancement of civil rights by using civil disobedience. He was assassinated by James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05PM that evening. James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary, was arrested in London at Heathrow Airport, extradited to the United States, and charged with the crime. On March 10, 1969, Ray entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in the Tennessee state penitentiary.[1] Ray later made many attempts to withdraw his guilty plea and be tried by a jury, but was unsuccessful; he died in prison on April 23, 1998, at the age of 70.[2]
[edit]King on death
King received death threats constantly due to his prominence in the civil rights movement. As a consequence of these threats, he confronted death constantly, making it a central part of his philosophy. He believed, and taught, that murder could not stop the struggle for equal rights. After the 1963 JFK assassination, he told his wife Coretta: "This is what is going to happen to me also. I keep telling you, this is a sick society."[3][4]
[edit]Memphis
King traveled to Memphis, Tennessee in support of striking African American sanitation workers. The workers had staged a walkout on February 11, 1968, to protest unequal wages and working conditions. At the time, Memphis paid black workers significantly lower wages than whites. In addition, unlike their white counterparts, blacks received no pay if they stayed home during bad weather; consequently, most blacks were compelled to work even in driving rain and snow storms.[5][6][7]
On April 3, King returned to Memphis to address a gathering at the Mason Temple (World Headquarters of the Church of God in Christ). His airline flight to Memphis was delayed by a bomb threat against his plane.[8][9] With a thunderstorm raging outside, King delivered the last speech of his life, now known as the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address. As he neared the close, he made reference to the bomb threat:
And then I got to Memphis. And some began to say the threats... or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers? Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. [applause] And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! [applause] And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord![10]
[edit]Assassination
King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, owned by businessman Walter Bailey (and named after his wife). King's close friend and colleague Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, who was King's roommate in the motel room the day of the assassination, told the House Select Committee on Assassinations that King and his entourage stayed in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel so often that it was known as the "King-Abernathy Suite."[11]
According to biographer Taylor Branch, King's last words were to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was going to attend: "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty."[12]
The Lorraine Motel, where Dr. King was assassinated, is now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum. The wreath marks the approximate place Dr. King was standing at the time.
At 6:01 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, 1968, while he was standing on the motel's second floor balcony, King was struck by a single .30 bullet fired from a Remington 760 Gamemaster.[13] The bullet entered through his right cheek, breaking his jaw, neck and several vertebrae as it travelled down his spinal cord, severing the jugular vein and major arteries in the process before lodging in his shoulder. By the force of the blast, King's necktie was ripped completely off his shirt. He fell violently backwards onto the balcony unconscious. Shortly after the shot was fired, witnesses saw James Earl Ray fleeing from a rooming house across the street from the Lorraine Motel where he was renting a room. A package was dumped close to the site that included a rifle and binoculars with Ray's fingerprints on them. The rifle had been purchased by Ray under an alias six days before. A worldwide manhunt was triggered that culminated in the arrest of Ray at London Heathrow Airport two months later.[14]
Abernathy heard the shot from inside the motel room and ran to the balcony to find King on the floor. King was bleeding profusely from the wound in his cheek.[13][15]King had no pulse and Young believed he was dead. Abernathy managed to stop the bleeding and King's pulse was heard again.
The unconscious King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where doctors opened his chest and performed manual heart massage. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. According to Taylor Branch, King's autopsy revealed that though he was only 39 years old, he had the heart of a 60 year old man.[16]
[edit]Responses
[edit]Within the movement
For some, King's assassination meant the end of a strategy of non-violence.[17]
Others simply reaffirmed the need to carry on his work. Leaders within the SCLC confirmed that they would carry on this Poor People's Campaign in his absence.[18] Some black leaders argued the need to continue King's tradition of nonviolence.[17]
[edit]Robert F. Kennedy speech
Kennedy giving his speech.
Main article: Robert F. Kennedy's speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
A speech on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. was given on April 4, 1968, by New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy (who was assassinated two months later). Kennedy was campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination and had spoken at the University of Notre Dame and Ball State University earlier that day.[19] Before boarding a plane to fly to Indianapolis for one last campaign speech in a predominantly black neighborhood of the city he learned that Martin Luther King had been shot, leading Kennedy press secretary Frank Mankiewicz to suggest that he ask the audience to pray for the King family and ask them to follow King's deeply-held belief in non-violence.[20] They did not learn that King was dead until they landed in Indianapolis.
Both Mankiewicz and speechwriter Adam Walinsky drafted notes immediately before the rally for Kennedy's use, but Kennedy refused Walinsky's notes, instead using some that he had likely written on the ride over; Mankiewicz arrived after Kennedy had already begun to speak.[21] Prior to arriving at the rally, the Chief of Police in Indianapolis told Kennedy that he could not provide protection and that giving the remarks would be too dangerous,[22] but Kennedy decided to go ahead regardless. Standing on a podium mounted on a flatbed truck, Kennedy spoke for just four minutes and fifty-seven seconds.[23]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Speech on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy was the first to inform the audience of the death of Martin Luther King, causing some in the audience to scream and wail. Several of Kennedy's aides were even worried that the delivery of this information would result in a riot.[24] Once the audience quieted down, Kennedy acknowledged that many in the audience would be filled with anger. But then Kennedy went on: "For those of you who are black and are tempted to fill with -- be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man." These remarks surprised Kennedy aides, who had never heard him speak publicly of John F. Kennedy's death.[25] Kennedy continued, saying that the country had to make an effort to "go beyond these rather difficult times," and then quoted a poem by the Greek playwright Aeschylus, on the theme of the wisdom that comes, against one's will, from pain. To conclude, Kennedy said that the country needed and wanted unity between blacks and whites, asked the audience members to pray for the King family and the country, and once more quoted the ancient Greeks.
The speech was credited in part with preventing post-assassination rioting in Indianapolis where it was given, though there were riots in many other parts of the country.[26] It is widely considered one of the most important speeches in American history.[27]
[edit]President Johnson
President Lyndon Johnson was in the Oval Office, planning a consultation in Hawaii with Vietnam War military commanders. After press secretary George Christian informed him of the assassination at 8:20PM, he canceled the trip to Hawaii and turned his attention homeward. He assigned Attorney General Ramsey Clark to investigate the assassination in Memphis. He also made a personal call to Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott King.[28]
[edit]White America
In the wake of King's death, journalists reported callous or hostile reactions from many parts of white America, particularly in the south. Journalist David Halberstam, who reported on King's funeral, recounted a comment at an affluent white dinner party: "One of the wives—station wagon, three children, forty-five-thousand-dollar house—leaned over and said, 'I wish you had spit in his face for me.' It was a stunning moment; I wondered for a long time afterwards what King could possibly have done to her, in what conceivable way he could have threatened her, why this passionate hate."[29]
On the other hand, a survey sent to a group of college trustees revealed that their opinions of King had increased after his assassination.[3]
An editorial in the New York Times praised King, called his murder a "national disaster" and his cause "just."[30][31]
Public figures generally praised King. Even George Wallace, a notorious segregationist, described the assassination as a "senseless, regrettable act."[17]
[edit]Riots
Main article: King assassination riots
Colleagues of Dr. King in the civil rights movement called for a non-violent response to the assassination, to honor his most deeply-held beliefs. James Farmer, Jr. said:
"Dr. King would be greatly distressed to find that his blood had triggered off bloodshed and disorder... I think instead the nation should be quiet; black and white, and we should be in a prayerful mood, which would be in keeping with his life. We should make that kind of dedication and commitment to the goals which his life served to solving the domestic problems. That's the memorial, that's the kind of memorial we should build for him. It's just not appropriate for there to be violent retaliations, and that kind of demonstration in the wake of the murder of this pacifist and man of peace."[32]
The more militant Stokely Carmichael, however, called for more forceful action, saying:
"White America killed Dr. King last night. She made a whole lot easier for a whole lot of black people today. There no longer needs to be intellectual discussions, black people know that they have to get guns. White America will live to cry that she killed Dr. King last night. It would have been better if she had killed Rap Brown and/or Stokley Carmichael, but when she killed Dr. King, she lost."[32]
Despite the urging of many leaders, the assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in more than 100 cities.[33] After the assassination, the city of Memphis quickly settled the strike on favorable terms to the sanitation workers.[34][35]
[edit]FBI Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation took responsibility for investigating King's death. J. Edgar Hoover, who had previously made efforts to undermine King's reputation, told Johnson that his agency would attempt to find the culprit(s).[28]
Many documents pertaining to this investigation remain classified, and are slated to remain secret until 2027. A proposed Records Collection Act, similar to a 1992 law concerning the Kennedy assassination, would require their immediate release.[36]
[edit]Funeral
Main article: Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr.
President Lyndon B. Johnson declared April 7 a national day of mourning for the lost civil rights leader. A crowd of 300,000 attended his funeral two days later, on April 9.[28] Vice President Hubert Humphrey attended on behalf of Lyndon B. Johnson, who was at a meeting on the Vietnam War at Camp David. (There were fears that Johnson might be hit with protests and abuses over the war if he attended). At his widow's request, King eulogized himself: His last sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, a recording of his famous 'Drum Major' sermon, given on February 4, 1968, was played at the funeral. In that sermon he makes a request that at his funeral no mention of his awards and honors be made, but that it be said that he tried to "feed the hungry," "clothe the naked," "be right on the [Vietnam] war question," and "love and serve humanity." Per King's request, his good friend Mahalia Jackson sang his favorite hymn, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at his funeral. Rebecca Burns wrote about the funeral in Burial for a King.
[edit]James Earl Ray
[edit]Capture and guilty plea
Two months after King's death, escaped convict James Earl Ray was captured at London Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the United Kingdom for Angola, Rhodesia or South Africa[37] on a false Canadian passport in the name of Ramon George Sneyd.[38] Ray was quickly extradited to Tennessee and charged with King's murder, confessing to the assassination on March 10, 1969 (although he recanted this confession three days later).
On the advice of his attorney Percy Foreman, Ray took a guilty plea to avoid a trial conviction and thus the possibility of receiving the death penalty. Ray was sentenced to a 99-year prison term.[39]
Ray fired Foreman as his attorney (from then on derisively calling him "Percy Fourflusher") claiming that a man he met in Montreal, Canada with the alias "Raul" was involved, as was his brother Johnny, but not himself, further asserting through his attorney Jack Kershaw that although he did not "personally shoot King," he may have been "partially responsible without knowing it," hinting at a conspiracy.[40] He spent the remainder of his life attempting (unsuccessfully) to withdraw his guilty plea and secure the trial he never had. In 1997, Martin Luther King's son Dexter King met with Ray, and publicly supported Ray's efforts to obtain a retrial.[41]
Dr. William Pepper remained James Earl Ray's attorney until Ray's death and then carried on, on behalf of the King family. The King family does not believe Ray had anything to do with the murder of Martin Luther King.[42]
[edit]Escape
Ray and seven other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee, on June 10, 1977. They were recaptured on June 13, three days later, and returned to prison.[43] One more year was added to his previous sentence to total 100 years. Shortly after, Ray testified that he did not shoot King to the House Select Committee on Assassinations.
[edit]Death
Ray died in prison on April 23, 1998, at the age of 70 from complications related to kidney disease, caused by hepatitis C (probably contracted as a result of a blood transfusion given after a stabbing while at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary). It was also confirmed in the autopsy that he died of liver failure.
[edit]Allegations of conspiracy
The King family and others believe that the assassination was carried out by a conspiracy involving the US government, and that James Earl Ray was a scapegoat. This conclusion was affirmed by a jury in a 1999 civil trial.[44]
In 2004, Jesse Jackson, who was with King at the time of his death, noted:
The fact is there were saboteurs to disrupt the march. [And] within our own organization, we found a very key person who was on the government payroll. So infiltration within, saboteurs from without and the press attacks.
I will never believe that James Earl Ray had the motive, the money and the mobility to have done it himself. Our government was very involved in setting the stage for and I think the escape route for James Earl Ray.[45]
According to biographer Taylor Branch, King's friend and colleague James Bevel put it more bluntly: "[T]here is no way a ten-cent white boy could develop a plan to kill a million-dollar black man."[46]
The impending occupation of Washington D.C. by the Poor People's Campaign is suggested as a primary motivate for a federal assassination.[44] Reverend James Lawson also noted during the civil trial that King alienated President Johnson and other powerful government actors when he repudiated the Vietnam War on April 4, 1967—exactly one year before the assassination.[47]
[edit]Ray as scapegoat
Some claim that Ray's confession was given under pressure, and that he had been threatened with the death penalty if he did not confess.[48][49]
Many suspecting a conspiracy in the assassination point out the two separate ballistic tests conducted on the Remington Gamemaster had neither conclusively proved Ray had been the killer nor that it had even been the murder weapon.[50][51] Moreover, witnesses surrounding King at the moment of the shooting say the shot was fired from a different location, from behind thick shrubbery near the rooming house, and not from the rooming house window.[52]
The tomb of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, located on the grounds of the King Center in Atlanta
[edit]Civil case for conspiracy
In 1999, the King family conducted a civil case to consider the existence of an assassination conspiracy. The suit (for wrongful death) mentioned only Loyd Jowers, but also described a government conspiracy.[44]
The jury–six blacks and six whites—found that King had been the victim of assassination by a conspiracy involving the Memphis police as well as federal agencies. This verdict affirmed Ray's innocence, which the King family has always maintained.[53][47]William F. Pepper represented the King family in the trial.[54][55][56] The family requested a mere $100 in restitution to show that they were not pursuing the case for financial gain.
[edit]Denials of conspiracy
King biographer David Garrow disagrees with William F. Pepper's claims that the government killed King. He is supported by author Gerald Posner.[57]
In 2000, the Department of Justice completed the investigation about Jowers' claims but did not find evidence to support the allegations about conspiracy. The investigation report recommends no further investigation unless some new reliable facts are presented.[58]
[edit]Henry Clay Wilson theory
A church minister, Ronald Denton Wilson, claimed his father, Henry Clay Wilson, assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr., not James Earl Ray.[59] He stated, "It wasn't a racist thing; he thought Martin Luther King was connected with communism, and he wanted to get him out of the way." But Wilson had reportedly admitted previously that his father was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.[60]
Moses
In the Hebrew Bible, the narratives of Moses are in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was a son of Amram, a member of the Levite tribe of Israel descended from Jacob, and his wife, Jochebed.[13] Jochebed (also Yocheved) was kin to Amram's father Kehath (Exodus 6:20). Moses had one older (by seven years) sister, Miriam, and one older (by three years) brother, Aaron.[13] According to Genesis 46:11, Amram's father Kehath immigrated to Egypt with 70 of Jacob's household, making Moses part of the second generation of Israelites born during their time in Egypt.[14]
In the Exodus account, the birth of Moses occurred at a time when an unnamed Egyptian Pharaoh had commanded that all male Hebrew children born be killed by drowning in the river Nile. Jochebed, the wife of the Levite Amram, bore a son and kept him concealed for three months.[13][15][16] When she could keep him hidden no longer, rather than deliver him to be killed, she set him adrift on the Nile River in a small craft of bulrushes coated in pitch.[15] Moses' sister Miriam observed the progress of the tiny boat until it reached a place where Pharaoh's daughter (Bithiah,[13] Thermuthis [17]) was bathing with her handmaidens. It is said that she spotted the baby in the basket and had her handmaiden fetch it for her. Miriam came forward and asked Pharaoh's daughter if she would like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby.[13] Thereafter, Jochebed was employed as the child's nurse. He grew up and was brought to Pharaoh's daughter and became her son and a younger brother to the future Pharaoh of Egypt. Moses would not be able to become Pharaoh because he was not the 'blood' son of Bithiah, and he was the youngest.[18][better source needed]
Shepherd in Midian
After Moses had reached adulthood, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses killed the Egyptian and buried his body in the sand.[15] Moses soon discovered that the affair was known, and that Pharaoh was likely to put him to death for it; he then fled from Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula.[15] In Midian he stopped at a well where he protected seven shepherdesses from a band of rude shepherds. The shepherdesses' father Hobab adopted him as his son. Hobab gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage, and made him the superintendent of his herds.[15][19][20] Moses lived in Midian for forty years as a shepherd, during which time his son Gershom was born.[15][21] One day, Moses led his flock to Mount Horeb (Exodus 3), usually identified with Mount Sinai — a mountain that was thought in the Middle Ages to be located on the Sinai Peninsula. There he saw a bush that burned, but was not consumed. When Moses came to look more closely, God spoke to him from the bush, revealing his name to Moses.[15]
Egypt: the Plagues and the Exodus
Moses before the Pharaoh, a 6th century miniature from the Syriac Bible of Paris.
Moses strikes water from the stone, by Francesco Bacchiacca
Moses with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, painting by Rembrandt (1659)
A unique portrayal of Moses with a New Testament summary of the Old Testament law inscribed on the tablets. A stained glass window at St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston, SC
Moses holding up his arms during the battle, assisted by Aaron and Hur. Painting by John Everett Millais
God commanded Moses to go to Egypt and deliver his fellow Hebrews from bondage.[22] On the way Moses was nearly killed by God because his son was not circumcised. He was met on the way by his elder brother, Aaron, and gained a hearing with his oppressed kindred after they returned to Egypt, who believed Moses and Aaron after they saw the signs that were performed in the midst of the Israelite assembly.[23] Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him that the Lord God of Israel wanted Pharaoh to permit the Israelites to celebrate a feast in the wilderness. Pharaoh replied that he did not know their God and would not permit them to go. They gained a second hearing with Pharaoh and changed Moses' rod into a serpent, but Pharaoh's magicians did the same with their rods. Moses and Aaron met Pharaoh at the Nile riverbank, and Moses had Aaron turn the river to blood, but Pharaoh's magicians could do the same. Moses obtained a fourth meeting, and had Aaron bring frogs from the Nile to overrun Egypt, but Pharaoh's magicians were able to do the same thing. Pharaoh asked Moses to remove the frogs and promised to let the Israelites go observe their feast in the wilderness in return. Pharaoh decided against letting the Israelites leave to observe the feast.[24] Eventually Pharaoh let the Hebrews depart after Moses' God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians. The third and fourth were the plague of gnats and flies. The fifth was diseases on the Egyptians' cattle, oxen, goats, sheep, camels, and horses. The sixth was boils on the skins of Egyptians. Seventh, fiery hail and thunder. The eighth plague was locusts. The ninth plague was total darkness. The tenth plague was the slaying of the Egyptian male first-born children, whereupon such terror seized the Egyptians that they ordered the Hebrews to leave. The events are commemorated as Passover, referring to how the plague "passed over" the houses of the Israelites while smiting the Egyptians.[25]
The crossing of the Red Sea
Main article: The Exodus
Moses then led his people eastward, beginning the long journey to Canaan. The procession moved slowly, and found it necessary to encamp three times before passing the Egyptian frontier — some believe at the Great Bitter Lake, while others propose sites as far south as the northern tip of the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Pharaoh had a change of heart, and was in pursuit of them with a large army. Shut in between this army and the sea, the Israelites despaired, but Exodus records that God divided the waters so that they passed safely across on dry ground. There is some contention about this passage, since an earlier incorrect translation of Yam Suph to Red Sea was later found to have meant Reed Sea.[26] When the Egyptian army attempted to follow, God permitted the waters to return upon them and drown them.
The people then continued to Marsa marching for three days along the wilderness of the Shur [27] without finding water. Then they came to Elim where twelve water springs and 70 Palm trees greeted them.[28] From Elim they set out again and after 45 days they reached the wilderness of Sin between Elim and Sinai.
From there they reached the plain of Rephidim, completing the crossing of the Red Sea.
Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments
Main article: Ten Commandments
According to the Bible, after crossing the Red Sea and leading the Israelites towards the desert, Moses was summoned by God to Mount Sinai, also referred to as Mount Horeb, the same place where Moses had first talked to the Burning Bush, tended the flocks of Jethro his father-in-law, and later produced water by striking the rock with his staff and directed the battle with the Amalekites.
Moses stayed on the mountain for 40 days and nights, a period in which he received the Ten Commandments directly from God. Moses then descended from the mountain with intent to deliver the commandments to the people, but upon his arrival he saw that the people were involved in the sin of the Golden Calf. In terrible anger, Moses broke the commandment tablets[29] and ordered his own tribe (the Levites) to go through the camp and kill everyone, including family and friends,[30] upon which the Levites killed about 3,000 people, some of whom were children.[31] God later commanded Moses to inscribe two other tablets, to replace the ones Moses smashed,[32] so Moses went to the mountain again, for another period of 40 days and nights, and when he returned, the commandments were finally given.
In Jewish tradition, Moses is referred to as "The Lawgiver" for this singular achievement of delivering the Ten Commandments.
The years in the wilderness
A statue of Moses smiting the rock stands in Washington Park, Albany, New York.
When the people arrived at Marah, the water was bitter, causing the people to murmur against Moses. Moses cast a tree into the water, and the water became sweet.[33][34] Later in the journey the people began running low on supplies and again murmured against Moses and Aaron and said they would have preferred to die in Egypt, but God's provision of manna from the sky in the morning and quail in the evening took care of the situation.[35][36] When the people camped in Rephidim, there was no water, so the people complained again and said, "Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" Moses struck a rock with his staff, and water came forth.[37][38]
Amalekites arrived and attacked the Israelites. In response, Moses bade Joshua lead the men to fight while he stood on a hill with the rod of God in his hand. As long as Moses held the rod up, Israel dominated the fighting, but if Moses let down his hands, the tide of the battle turned in favor of the Amalekites. Because Moses was getting tired, Aaron and Hur had Moses sit on a rock. Aaron held up one arm, Hur held up the other arm, and the Israelites routed the Amalekites.[39][40]
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came to see Moses and brought Moses' wife and two sons with him. After Moses had told Jethro how the Israelites had escaped Egypt, Jethro went to offer sacrifices to the Lord, and then ate bread with the elders. The next day Jethro observed how Moses sat from morning to night giving judgement for the people. Jethro suggested that Moses appoint judges for lesser matters, a suggestion Moses heeded.[41]
When the Israelites came to Sinai, they pitched camp near the mountain. Moses commanded the people not to touch the mountain. Moses received the Ten Commandments orally (but not yet in tablet form) and other moral laws. He then went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders to see the god of Israel. Before Moses went up the mountain to receive the tablets, he told the elders to direct any questions that arose to Aaron or Hur. While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving instruction on the laws for the Israelite community, the Israelites went to Aaron and asked him to make gods for them. After Aaron had received golden earrings from the people, he made a golden calf and said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." A "solemnity of the Lord" was proclaimed for the following day, which began in the morning with sacrifices and was followed by revelry.
After Moses had persuaded the Lord not to destroy the people of Israel, he went down from the mountain and was met by Joshua. Moses destroyed the calf and rebuked Aaron for the sin he had brought upon the people. Seeing that the people were uncontrollable, Moses went to the entry of the camp and said, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." All the sons of Levi rallied around Moses, who ordered them to go from gate to gate slaying the idolators.[42][43]
Following this, according to the last chapters of Exodus, the Tabernacle was constructed, the priestly law ordained, the plan of encampment arranged both for the Levites and the non-priestly tribes, and the Tabernacle consecrated. Moses was given eight prayer laws that were to be carried out in regards to the Tabernacle. These laws included light, incense and sacrifice.[44]
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on account of his marriage to an Ethiopian, Josephus explains the marriage of Moses to this Ethiopian in the Antiquities of the Jews[45][better source needed] and about him being the only one through whom the Lord spoke. Miriam was punished with leprosy for seven days.[46]
The people left Hazeroth and pitched camp in the wilderness of Paran.[47] (Paran is a vaguely defined region in the northern part of the Sinai peninsula, just south of Canaan) Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan as scouts, including most famously Caleb and Joshua. After forty days, they returned to the Israelite camp, bringing back grapes and other produce as samples of the regions fertility. Although all the spies agreed that the land's resources were spectacular, only two of the twelve spies (Joshua and Caleb) were willing to try to conquer it, and are nearly stoned for their unpopular opinion. The people began weeping and wanted to return to Egypt. Moses turned down the opportunity to have the Israelites completely destroyed and a great nation made from his own offspring, and instead he told the people that they would wander the wilderness for forty years until all those twenty years or older who had refused to enter Canaan had died, and that their children would then enter and possess Canaan. Early the next morning, the Israelites said they had sinned and now wanted to take possession of Canaan. Moses told them not to attempt it, but the Israelites chose to disobey Moses and invade Canaan, but were repulsed by the Amalekites and Canaanites.[48]
The Tribe of Reuben, led by Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and 250 Israelite princes accused Moses and Aaron of raising themselves over the rest of the people. Moses told them to come the next morning with a censer for every man. Dathan and Abiram refused to come when summoned by Moses. Moses went to the place of Dathan and Abiram's tents. After Moses spoke the ground opened up and engulfed Dathan and Abiram's tents, after which it closed again. Fire consumed the 250 men with the censers. Moses had the censers taken and made into plates to cover the altar. The following day, the Israelites came and accused Moses and Aaron of having killed his fellow Israelites. The people were struck with a plague that killed 14,700 persons, and was only ended when Aaron went with his censer into the midst of the people.[49] To prevent further murmurings and settle the matter permanently, Moses had each of the chief princes of the non-Levitic tribes write his name on his staff and had them lay them in the sanctuary. He also had Aaron write his name on his staff and had it placed in the tabernacle. The next day, when Moses went into the tabernacle, Aaron's staff had budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds.[50]
After leaving Sinai, the Israelites camped in Kadesh. After more complaints from the Israelites, Moses struck the stone twice, and water gushed forth. However, because Moses and Aaron had not shown the Lord's holiness, they were not permitted to enter the land to be given to the Israelites.[51] This was the second occasion Moses struck a rock to bring forth water; however, it appears that both sites were named Meribah after these two incidents.
Moses lifts up the brass serpent, curing the Israelites from poisonous snake bites in a painting by BenjaminWest.
Now ready to enter Canaan, the Israelites abandoned the idea of attacking the Canaanites head-on in Hebron, a city in the southern part of Canaan. Having been informed by spies that they were too strong, it was decided that they would flank Hebron by going further East, around the Dead Sea. This required that they pass through Edom, Moab, and Ammon. These three tribes were considered Hebrews by the Israelites as descendants of Lot, and therefore could not be attacked. However they were also rivals, and did not therefore give permission to allow the Israelites to pass openly through their territory. So Moses lead his people carefully along the eastern border of Edom, the southernmost of these territories. While the Israelites were making their journey around Edom, they complained about the manna. After many of the people had been bitten by serpents and died, Moses made the brass serpent and mounted it on a pole, and if those who were bitten looked at it, they did not die.[52] According to the Biblical Book of Kings this brass serpent remained in existence until the days of King Hezekiah, who destroyed it after persons began treating it as an idol.[53] When they reached Moab, it was revealed that Moab had been attacked and defeated by the Amorites led by a king named Sihon. The Amorites were a non-Hebrew Canaanic people who once held power in the Fertile Crescent. When Moses asked the Amorites for passage and it was refused, Moses attacked the Amorites (as non-Hebrews, the Israelites had no reservations in attacking them), presumably weakened by conflict with the Moabites, and defeated them.[54] The Israelites, now holding the territory of the Amorites just north of Moab, desired to expand their holdings by acquiring Bashan, a fertile territory north of Ammon famous for its oak trees and cattle. It was led by a king named Og. Later rabbinical legends made Og a survivor of the flood, suggesting the he had sat on the Ark and was fed by Noah. The Israelites fought with Og's forces at Edrei, on the southern border of Bashan, where the Israelites were victorious and slew every man, woman, and child of his cities and took spoil for their bounty.[54]
Balak, king of Moab, having heard of the Israelites' conquests, feared that his territory might be next. Therefore he sent elders of Moab, and of Midian, to Balaam (apparently a powerful and respected prophet), son of Beor (Bible), to induce him to come and curse the Israelites. Balaam's location is unclear. Balaam sent back word that he could only do what God commands, and God has, via a dream, told him not to go. Moab consequently sent higher ranking priests and offers Balaam honours, and so God tells Balaam to go with them. Balaam thus set out with two servants to go to Balak, but an Angel tried to prevent him. At first the Angel is seen only by the ass Balaam is riding. After Balaam started to punish the ass for refusing to move, it is miraculously given the power to speak to Balaam, and it complains about Balaam's treatment. At this point, Balaam was allowed to see the angel, who informed him that the ass is the only reason the Angel did not kill Balaam. Balaam immediately repented, but is told to go on.[55]
Russian Orthodox icon of the prophet Moses, gesturing towards the burning bush. 18th century (Iconostasis of Transfiguration Church, Kizhi Monastery, Karelia, Russia).
Balak met with Balaam at Kirjath-huzoth, and they went to the high places of Baal, and offered sacrifices at seven altars, leading to Balaam being given a prophecy by God, which Balaam relates to Balak. However, the prophecy blesses Israel; Balak remonstrated, but Balaam reminded him that he can only speak the words put in his mouth, so Balak taook him to another high place at Pisgah, to try again. Building another seven altars here, and making sacrifices on each, Balaam provided another prophecy blessing Israel. Balaam was finally taken by a now very frustrated Balak to Peor, and, after the seven sacrifices there, decided not to seek enchantments but instead looked on the Israelites from the peak. The spirit of God came upon Balaam and he delivered a third positive prophecy concerning Israel. Balak's anger rose to the point where he threatened Balaam, but Balaam merely offered a prediction of fate. Balaam then looked on the Kenites, and Amalekites and offered two more predictions of fate. Balak and Balaam then go to their respective homes. Later, Balaam informed Balak and the Midianites that, if they wished to overcome the Israelites for a short interval, they needed to seduce the Israelites to engage in idolatry.[56][better source needed] The Midianites sent beautiful women to the Israelite camp to seduce the young men to partake in idolatry, and the attempt proved successful.[57]
God then commanded Moses to kill and hang the heads of everyone who had engaged in idolatry, and Moses ordered the judges to carry out the mass execution. At the same time, one of the Israelites brought home a Midianitish woman in the sight of the congregation. Upon seeing this, Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, took a javelin in his hand and thrust through both the Israelite and the Midianitish woman, which turned away the wrath of God. By that time, however, the plague inflicted on the Israelites had already killed about twenty-four thousand persons. Moses was then told that because Phinehas had averted the wrath of God from the Israelites, Phinehas and his descendents were given the pledge of an everlasting priesthood.[58] After Moses had taken a census of the people, he sent an army to avenge the perceived evil brought on the Israelites by the Midianites. Numbers 31 says Moses instructed the Israelite soldiers to kill every Midianite woman, boy, and non-virgin girl, although virgin girls were shared amongst the soldiers.[59] The Israelites killed Balaam, and the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba.[60]
Moses appointed Joshua, son of Nun, to succeed him as the leader of the Israelites.[61] Moses then died at the age of 120.[62]
Death
Bust of Moses at Earl Hall at Columbia University in New York City
Moses was warned that he would not be permitted to lead the Israelites across the Jordan river, because of his trespass at the waters of Meribah (Deut. 32:51) but would die on its eastern shores (Num. 20:12).[63] He therefore assembled the tribes, and delivered to them a parting address, which is taken to form the Book of Deuteronomy.[63]
When Moses finished, he sang a song and pronounced a blessing on the people. He then went up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, looked over the promised land of Israel spread out before him, and died, at the age of one hundred and twenty, according to Talmudic legend on 7 Adar, his 120th birthday exactly.[64] God Himself buried him in an unknown grave in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor (Deut. 34:6).[16][63]
Moses was thus the human instrument in the creation of the nation of Israel by communicating to it the Torah.[63] More humble than any other man (Num. 12:3), he enjoyed unique privileges, for "there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom YHWH knew face to face" (Deut. 34:10).[63] See also Jude 1:9 and Zechariah 3.
The Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.
From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone along the road to slavery's final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom.
The original of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, is in the National Archives in Washington, DC. With the text covering five pages the document was originally tied with narrow red and blue ribbons, which were attached to the signature page by a wafered impression of the seal of the United States. Most of the ribbon remains; parts of the seal are still decipherable, but other parts have worn off.
The document was bound with other proclamations in a large volume preserved for many years by the Department of State. When it was prepared for binding, it was reinforced with strips along the center folds and then mounted on a still larger sheet of heavy paper. Written in red ink on the upper right-hand corner of this large sheet is the number of the Proclamation, 95, given to it by the Department of State long after it was signed. With other records, the volume containing the Emancipation Proclamation was transferred in 1936 from the Department of State to the National Archives of the United States.
