Dear Lord, Creator of all things; seen and un-seen, known and un-known, great and small. Father of fathers, merciful and loving God, forgive me for my sins and give me strength to be forgiving of others, as our Lord Jesus showed and taught us through your Grace in the Holy Spirit.
As we marvel in the miracles You do and will grant us from our spark of the Christ Mind, at our known moment, until we pass over to Your Infinite Glory Moment we give thanks for the Mercies we don't deserve, but which You so lovingly share with us.
I ask in Jesus' Name that You heal Samantha and lift her from the sickness she has; and I thank You for all attention You pay to the family You have bestowed on me and me on them. We give all thanks and glory to You, Oh Lord and forever praise Your Name above all others; for You are the One and True God, in the Loving Name of Your Son and Our Lord Jesus... Amen.
Dress in your Armor Everyday
Answer a Call to Revival
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Books Not Found In the Modern Bible :: The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
Back Story: Conflicts of Youth
TESTAMENT OF REUBEN
The First-Born Son of Jacob and Leah.
[SOURCE] | EXCERPT | Retrieved by Pat Darnell | May 28, 2011 | Bryan TX
Reuben, the first-born son of Jacob and Leah. The man of experience counsels against fornication and points out the ways in. which men are most apt to fall into error.
2 Two years after the death of Joseph his brother, when Reuben fell ill, his sons and his sons' sons were gathered together to visit him.
...
11 And now hear me, my children, what things I saw concerning the seven spirits of deceit, when I repented.
12 Seven spirits therefore are appointed against man, and they are the leaders in the works of youth.
13 And seven other spirits are given to him at his creation, that through them should be done every work of man.
14 The first is the spirit of life, with which the constitution of man is created.
15 The second is the sense of sight, with which ariseth desire.
16 The third is the sense of hearing, with which cometh teaching.
17 The fourth is the sense of smell, with which tastes are given to draw air and breath.
18 The fifth is the power of speech, with which cometh knowledge.
19 The sixth is the sense of taste, with which cometh the eating of meats and drinks; and by it strength is produced, for in food is the foundation of strength.
20 The seventh is the power of procreation and sexual intercourse, with which through love of pleasure sins enter in.
21 Wherefore it is the last in order of creation, and the first in that of youth, because it is filled with ignorance, and leadeth the youth as a blind man to a pit, and as a beast to a precipice.
22 Besides all these there is an eighth spirit of sleep, with which is brought about the trance of nature and the of death.
23 With these spirits are mingled the spirits of error.
24 First, the spirit of fornication is seated in the nature and in the senses;
25 The second, the spirit of insatiableness in the belly;
26 The third, the spirit of fighting, in the liver and gall.
27 The fourth is the spirit of obsequiousness and chicanery, that through officious attention one may be fair in seeming.
28 The fifth is the spirit of pride, that one may be boastful and arrogant.
29 The sixth is the spirit of lying, in perdition and jealousy to practise deceits, and concealments from kindred and friends.
30 The seventh is the spirit of injustice, with which are thefts and acts of rapacity, that a man may fulfil the desire of his heart; for injustice worketh together with the other spirits by the taking of gifts.
31 And with all these the spirit of sleep is joined which is that of error and fantasy.
32 And so perisheth every young man, darkening his mind from the truth, and not understanding the law of God, nor obeying the admonitions of his fathers, as befell me also in my youth.
33 And now, my children, love the truth, and it will preserve you: hear ye the words of Reuben your father.
34 Pay no heed to the face of a woman,
35 Nor associate with another man's wife,
36 Nor meddle with affairs of womankind.
37 For had I not seen Bilhah bathing in a covered place, I had not fallen into this great iniquity.
38 For my mind taking in the thought of the woman's nakedness, suffered me not to sleep until I had wrought the abominable thing.
39 For while Jacob our father had gone to Isaac his father, when we were in Eder, near to Ephrath in Bethlehem, Bilhah became drunk and was asleep uncovered in her chamber.
40 Having therefore gone in and beheld her nakedness, I wrought the impiety without her perceiving it, and leaving her sleeping departed.
41 And forthwith an angel of God revealed to my father concerning my impiety, and he came and mourned over me, and touched her no more. (LINK)
___________
REFERENCES:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/fbe/fbe266.htm
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/fbe/fbe267.htm
TESTAMENT OF REUBEN
The First-Born Son of Jacob and Leah.
[SOURCE] | EXCERPT | Retrieved by Pat Darnell | May 28, 2011 | Bryan TX
Reuben, the first-born son of Jacob and Leah. The man of experience counsels against fornication and points out the ways in. which men are most apt to fall into error.
"The instances of the influence of these writings on the New Testament are notable in the Sermon on the Mount which reflects the spirit and even uses phrases from these Testaments. St. Paul appears to have borrowed so freely that it seems as though he must have carried a copy of the Testaments with him on his travels.1 ... THE Copy of the Testament of Reuben, even the commands which he gave his sons before he died in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life.
"Thus, the reader has before him in these pages what is at once striking for its blunt primitive style and valuable as some of the actual source books of the Bible. (SOURCE)"
2 Two years after the death of Joseph his brother, when Reuben fell ill, his sons and his sons' sons were gathered together to visit him.
...
11 And now hear me, my children, what things I saw concerning the seven spirits of deceit, when I repented.
12 Seven spirits therefore are appointed against man, and they are the leaders in the works of youth.
13 And seven other spirits are given to him at his creation, that through them should be done every work of man.
14 The first is the spirit of life, with which the constitution of man is created.
15 The second is the sense of sight, with which ariseth desire.
16 The third is the sense of hearing, with which cometh teaching.
17 The fourth is the sense of smell, with which tastes are given to draw air and breath.
18 The fifth is the power of speech, with which cometh knowledge.
19 The sixth is the sense of taste, with which cometh the eating of meats and drinks; and by it strength is produced, for in food is the foundation of strength.
20 The seventh is the power of procreation and sexual intercourse, with which through love of pleasure sins enter in.
21 Wherefore it is the last in order of creation, and the first in that of youth, because it is filled with ignorance, and leadeth the youth as a blind man to a pit, and as a beast to a precipice.
22 Besides all these there is an eighth spirit of sleep, with which is brought about the trance of nature and the of death.
23 With these spirits are mingled the spirits of error.
24 First, the spirit of fornication is seated in the nature and in the senses;
25 The second, the spirit of insatiableness in the belly;
26 The third, the spirit of fighting, in the liver and gall.
27 The fourth is the spirit of obsequiousness and chicanery, that through officious attention one may be fair in seeming.
28 The fifth is the spirit of pride, that one may be boastful and arrogant.
29 The sixth is the spirit of lying, in perdition and jealousy to practise deceits, and concealments from kindred and friends.
30 The seventh is the spirit of injustice, with which are thefts and acts of rapacity, that a man may fulfil the desire of his heart; for injustice worketh together with the other spirits by the taking of gifts.
31 And with all these the spirit of sleep is joined which is that of error and fantasy.
32 And so perisheth every young man, darkening his mind from the truth, and not understanding the law of God, nor obeying the admonitions of his fathers, as befell me also in my youth.
33 And now, my children, love the truth, and it will preserve you: hear ye the words of Reuben your father.
34 Pay no heed to the face of a woman,
35 Nor associate with another man's wife,
36 Nor meddle with affairs of womankind.
37 For had I not seen Bilhah bathing in a covered place, I had not fallen into this great iniquity.
38 For my mind taking in the thought of the woman's nakedness, suffered me not to sleep until I had wrought the abominable thing.
39 For while Jacob our father had gone to Isaac his father, when we were in Eder, near to Ephrath in Bethlehem, Bilhah became drunk and was asleep uncovered in her chamber.
40 Having therefore gone in and beheld her nakedness, I wrought the impiety without her perceiving it, and leaving her sleeping departed.
41 And forthwith an angel of God revealed to my father concerning my impiety, and he came and mourned over me, and touched her no more. (LINK)
___________
REFERENCES:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/fbe/fbe266.htm
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/fbe/fbe267.htm
*
*
*
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tree of Life: A Poem
[I]t is impossible to speak of the history of something before we know the thing itself...
Retrieved by Pat Darnell
Behold that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures were created,
The Upper Simple Light had filled the whole existence.
And there was no vacancy, such as an empty air, a hollow,
But all was filled with that Simple, Boundless Light.
And there was no such part as head, or end,
But everything was One, Simple Light, balanced evenly and equally,
And it was called “the Light of Ein Sof (Infinity).”
And when upon His simple will, came the desire to create the worlds and emanate the emanations,
To bring to light the perfection of His deeds, His names, His appellations,
Which was the cause of the creation of the worlds,
Then the Ein Sof restricted Himself, in His middle point, precisely at the center,
And He restricted that Light, and drew far off to the sides around that middle point.
And there remained an empty space, an empty air, a vacuum
Precisely from the middle point.
And that restriction was equally around that empty, middle point,
So that the space was evenly circled around it.
And after the restriction, when the vacant space remained empty
Precisely in the middle of the Light of Ein Sof,
A place was formed, where the Emanations, Creations, Formations, and Actions might reside.
Then from the Light of Ein Sof, a single line hung down from Above, lowered into that space.
And through that line, He emanated, created, formed, and made all the worlds.
Prior to these four worlds, there was one Light of Ein Sof, whose Name is One, in wondrous, hidden unity,
And even in the angles closest to Him
There is no force and no attainment in The Ein Sof,
As there is no mind of a created that could attain Him,
For He has no place, no boundary, no name.
The Ari, The Tree of Life, Part One, Gate One
LINK:
http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/frame/2854?/eng/content/view/full/2854&main
Retrieved by Pat Darnell
Behold that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures were created,
The Upper Simple Light had filled the whole existence.
And there was no vacancy, such as an empty air, a hollow,
But all was filled with that Simple, Boundless Light.
And there was no such part as head, or end,
But everything was One, Simple Light, balanced evenly and equally,
And it was called “the Light of Ein Sof (Infinity).”
And when upon His simple will, came the desire to create the worlds and emanate the emanations,
To bring to light the perfection of His deeds, His names, His appellations,
Which was the cause of the creation of the worlds,
Then the Ein Sof restricted Himself, in His middle point, precisely at the center,
And He restricted that Light, and drew far off to the sides around that middle point.
And there remained an empty space, an empty air, a vacuum
Precisely from the middle point.
And that restriction was equally around that empty, middle point,
So that the space was evenly circled around it.
And after the restriction, when the vacant space remained empty
Precisely in the middle of the Light of Ein Sof,
A place was formed, where the Emanations, Creations, Formations, and Actions might reside.
Then from the Light of Ein Sof, a single line hung down from Above, lowered into that space.
And through that line, He emanated, created, formed, and made all the worlds.
Prior to these four worlds, there was one Light of Ein Sof, whose Name is One, in wondrous, hidden unity,
And even in the angles closest to Him
There is no force and no attainment in The Ein Sof,
As there is no mind of a created that could attain Him,
For He has no place, no boundary, no name.
The Ari, The Tree of Life, Part One, Gate One
LINK:
http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/frame/2854?/eng/content/view/full/2854&main
The greatest contemporary Kabbalists, Rav Yehuda Ashlag, and his son and successor, Rav Baruch Ashlag, provide valid answers to life’s most fundamental question: “What is the meaning of my life?” Based on their interpretations of The Book of Zohar, and The Tree of Life, we can now learn how to benefit from the wisdom of Kabbalah on a day-to-day basis.
In addition to authentic texts by these great Kabbalists, this book offers illustrations that accurately depict the evolution of the Upper Worlds as Kabbalists experience them, as well as several helpful essays to enhance our understanding of the texts.
In Kabbalah for the Student, Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, Rav Baruch Ashlag’s personal assistant and prime student, compiled all the texts a Kabbalah student would need in order to attain the spiritual worlds. In his daily lessons, Rav Laitman bases his teaching on these inspiring texts, thus helping novices and veterans alike to better understand the spiritual path we undertake on our fascinating journey to the Higher Realms.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Personal Study Prayer
Heavenly Father, God the Creator, Almighty One ... today I wonder why I have been so nonspiritual all my life. How did I miss those lessons that explained how our unseen spiritual world is structured?
I remember being a child, happy running and playing all day long. Then I became a young man with deeper thoughts. But somehow I remained shallow, and silly, and without knowledge of wisdom or of workings of the spirit. However, as I got older I did begin praying for wisdom.
For me some of what I read sticks with me. And, I had read in Proverbs that some things must be prayed for diligently, for instance, wisdom requires much prayer.
I cherish the wisdom that came to me from my prayers. I held wisdom close to my chest to warm my heart, until one day wisdom became part of my heart. It was like a motor turned on, and my body was changed.
But I stopped there for some reason. I suppose I was satisfied with this. It is good to be satisfied with some things. And I lived for many years happy in this, though suspecting I was incomplete.
It turns out, I am given long life; and, I found later as a man becoming a father, that I needed many more skills, like long-suffering, loving-kindness, purity and salvation, and things of the spirit.
It was then I learned how impatient I had become in asking for these spiritual gifts that I thought I was entitled to. I began looking for short-cuts. During this time, it turns out, I prayed most often asking the Holy Spirit to fill me, my wife, and our children.
You see I was confused, not about the Holy Spirit; but, enlightenment still takes much prayer, and patience in obtaining... I forgot the lesson I had learned on Wisdom.
Back then work days were long, bothersome, fractured, rising and falling. It seemed I went to battle everyday. I became very tired of fighting with everyone, everything, and with being angry. I noticed that when in a state of anger, I am furthest one can get from the Father ....
Anger lasted too many years during family raising. I was very bad, judgmental and belligerent, sloven and coward, and often totally outlandish. Seldom was I wise anymore, and again I stood incomplete for many years. I seek another chance for wising up:
Father, make me an instrument of your peace;
Fill me with the white light of the Christ Mind
Make me a good steward of your gifts
Help me to know what I suspect --
That you have filled the world with Mercy, and,
You seek from me fruit of your Spirit,
that you love us all and want us to live.
AMEN.
I remember being a child, happy running and playing all day long. Then I became a young man with deeper thoughts. But somehow I remained shallow, and silly, and without knowledge of wisdom or of workings of the spirit. However, as I got older I did begin praying for wisdom.
For me some of what I read sticks with me. And, I had read in Proverbs that some things must be prayed for diligently, for instance, wisdom requires much prayer.
I cherish the wisdom that came to me from my prayers. I held wisdom close to my chest to warm my heart, until one day wisdom became part of my heart. It was like a motor turned on, and my body was changed.
But I stopped there for some reason. I suppose I was satisfied with this. It is good to be satisfied with some things. And I lived for many years happy in this, though suspecting I was incomplete.
It turns out, I am given long life; and, I found later as a man becoming a father, that I needed many more skills, like long-suffering, loving-kindness, purity and salvation, and things of the spirit.
It was then I learned how impatient I had become in asking for these spiritual gifts that I thought I was entitled to. I began looking for short-cuts. During this time, it turns out, I prayed most often asking the Holy Spirit to fill me, my wife, and our children.
You see I was confused, not about the Holy Spirit; but, enlightenment still takes much prayer, and patience in obtaining... I forgot the lesson I had learned on Wisdom.
Back then work days were long, bothersome, fractured, rising and falling. It seemed I went to battle everyday. I became very tired of fighting with everyone, everything, and with being angry. I noticed that when in a state of anger, I am furthest one can get from the Father ....
Anger lasted too many years during family raising. I was very bad, judgmental and belligerent, sloven and coward, and often totally outlandish. Seldom was I wise anymore, and again I stood incomplete for many years. I seek another chance for wising up:
Father, make me an instrument of your peace;
Fill me with the white light of the Christ Mind
Make me a good steward of your gifts
Help me to know what I suspect --
That you have filled the world with Mercy, and,
You seek from me fruit of your Spirit,
that you love us all and want us to live.
AMEN.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thesis of Truth and Purity from the Zohar
Do we achieve Spirituality?
" ...
We see that in our world one cannot advance with the help of the pure forces. On the contrary, it is his egoistic aspirations that provide man with the strength to conquer everything in the world. How often do we see fervent fanatics immersed in their impure desires to capture for themselves both this world and the next, whereas one that aspires to the Creator has no strength for even a slightest spiritual movement! In our world there is no proof or confirmation that man advances on the right path. And under no circumstances should one draw conclusions based on one’s life experience or “common sense.”
So how can a person in this world exist and advance towards the Goal of creation if he is unable to tell good from bad, pure from impure? There is one sign by which one can distinguish purity from impurity: impure forces bear no spiritual fruit. Thus, those that advance through the impure worlds ABYA do not attain anything spiritual, whereas those who are connected to the pure forces reap spiritual fruit on their path.
As it is explained in the “Introduction to The Study of Ten Sefirot” (items 19-23), if man advances along the right path, he attains the secrets of the Torah in three to five years. The Creator helps those who wish to acquire altruistic desires over and above their own requests, and thus one attains the desired goal. From below, man aspires to the Creator with his small desire (MAN), and from Above, the Creator pours onto him tremendous spiritual desires and strength (MAD). [SOURCE] ... "
_____________
" ... We cannot imagine the spiritual world because our sensory organs cannot detect it. Thus, to describe the objects and concepts still unattainable by us, Kabbalists use several techniques, languages. The whole Torah speaks only of the creation, governing, and correction of the world; never about history, geography, or anything else. As it is said in the Torah itself, the Torah is the sacred names, that is, manifestations of the Creator, the degrees and methods of His attainment.
Kabbalists, those who ascend to the spiritual world and thus establish direct contact with the Creator, convey this information to us using four languages:
All the languages speak about the same thing – the attainment of the Creator by us, those living in this world. For this is the sole purpose of our creation, and according to the Creator’s design, we must devote all of our physical, mental, and spiritual abilities only to it. And if we were to aspire only to this, we would naturally use our language only for this purpose. After all, everything that is given to us is only for the fulfillment of this exclusive goal – the attainment of the sensation of the Creator, while still in this life. ... "
" ...
We see that in our world one cannot advance with the help of the pure forces. On the contrary, it is his egoistic aspirations that provide man with the strength to conquer everything in the world. How often do we see fervent fanatics immersed in their impure desires to capture for themselves both this world and the next, whereas one that aspires to the Creator has no strength for even a slightest spiritual movement! In our world there is no proof or confirmation that man advances on the right path. And under no circumstances should one draw conclusions based on one’s life experience or “common sense.”
So how can a person in this world exist and advance towards the Goal of creation if he is unable to tell good from bad, pure from impure? There is one sign by which one can distinguish purity from impurity: impure forces bear no spiritual fruit. Thus, those that advance through the impure worlds ABYA do not attain anything spiritual, whereas those who are connected to the pure forces reap spiritual fruit on their path.
As it is explained in the “Introduction to The Study of Ten Sefirot” (items 19-23), if man advances along the right path, he attains the secrets of the Torah in three to five years. The Creator helps those who wish to acquire altruistic desires over and above their own requests, and thus one attains the desired goal. From below, man aspires to the Creator with his small desire (MAN), and from Above, the Creator pours onto him tremendous spiritual desires and strength (MAD). [SOURCE] ... "
_____________
23. When the Creator thought to create the world, all the letters of the alphabet came to Him in reverse order from last (Tav) to first (Aleph). The letter Tav entered first and said, “Master of the world! It is good, and also seemly of You, to create the world with me, with my properties. For I am the seal on Your ring, called EmeT (truth), that ends with the letter Tav. And that is why You are called truth, and why it would befit the King to begin the universe with the letter Tav, and to create the world by her, by her properties.______________
The Creator answered: “You are beautiful and sincere, but do not merit the world that I conceived to be created by your properties, since you are destined to be marked on the foreheads of the truly faithful who fulfill all of Torah from Aleph to Tav (from the first letter to the last), and perished because of you” (Talmud Bavli, Shabbat, 55)
" ... We cannot imagine the spiritual world because our sensory organs cannot detect it. Thus, to describe the objects and concepts still unattainable by us, Kabbalists use several techniques, languages. The whole Torah speaks only of the creation, governing, and correction of the world; never about history, geography, or anything else. As it is said in the Torah itself, the Torah is the sacred names, that is, manifestations of the Creator, the degrees and methods of His attainment.
Kabbalists, those who ascend to the spiritual world and thus establish direct contact with the Creator, convey this information to us using four languages:
- The language of the TaNaKh (Torah – Pentateuch, Nevi’im – Prophets, Ketuvim – Writings/Hagiographa). This is the language of the written Torah.
- The language of laws.
- The language of legends.
- The language of Sefirot and Partzufim – the language of Kabbalah.
All the languages speak about the same thing – the attainment of the Creator by us, those living in this world. For this is the sole purpose of our creation, and according to the Creator’s design, we must devote all of our physical, mental, and spiritual abilities only to it. And if we were to aspire only to this, we would naturally use our language only for this purpose. After all, everything that is given to us is only for the fulfillment of this exclusive goal – the attainment of the sensation of the Creator, while still in this life. ... "
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)