DOCSLIB.ORG

Paradise Asenath 18; 4 Baruch 9)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Paradise Asenath 18; 4 Baruch 9) 2 Enoch 8–9; 3 Baruch 4; Joseph and Paradise Asenath 18; 4 Baruch 9). In the NT, PARADISE. A loanword from Old the religious meaning “Paradise” Persian (pairi-daēza), which means alone is evident (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor “enclosure,” then “park” or “garden.” 12:3; Rev 2:7). It appears in Late Biblical Hebrew as The biblical Garden of Eden pardēs, only with profane meaning attracted non-Jewish conceptions of a (Neh 2:8 [RSV: “forest”]; Cant 4:13 paradisiac garden. The development [RSV: “orchard”]; Eccl 2:5 [RSV of “Paradise” within Judaism was “park”]). The profane meaning aided by the image of a special garden, continues in Mishnaic Hebrew pardēs Eden, free of any trouble or “park” (e.g., t. Beṣa 1.10) and in inconvenience, in which the human Jewish Aramaic pardēs (āʾ) “garden” and divine were close and collegial, in (e.g., B. Meṣ. 103a). which every tree was “pleasant to the The Old Persian etymon is also the sight and good for food” (Gen 2:8), source of the Greek loanword and from which flowed four rivers paradeisos. In the LXX paradeisos (Gen 2:10–14). Mixed with these denotes God’s garden (Gen 2:8–10, images were the following concepts: 16), and the shift from secular to the Isaianic words that Zion will religious meaning has been made. become like Eden and the garden of The religious meaning—God’s the Lord (Isa 51:3), that God’s people will be as a watered garden (Isa garden or Paradise—entered Jewish 58:11), and his planting (of special thought and vocabulary after the trees in the desert [Isa 41:18–19]) for Babylonian Exile, was combined with his glory (Isa 60:13); Jeremiah’s the hope of a blessed eschaton, and vision that the righteous are those appears in the Apocrypha (2 Esdr 4:7; whom God will plant in the promised 6:2; 7:36, 123; 8:52) and frequently land in faithfulness (Jer 32:41). in other early Jewish writings (Psalms Related images are Ezekiel’s images of of Solomon 14; Sib. Or. frag. 3.46–48; the garden of God, the trees of Eden, Beṣa Beṣa (= Yom Ṭob) . Baba Meṣiʿa B. Meṣ Baba Meṣiʿa Sib. Or. Sibylline Oracles and the trees by the waters (Ezek generations …” (Jub. 17:16). One of 31:8–9; cf. 36:35). Equally important the most interesting early examples is for the understanding of the Jewish found in the sectarian psalms from development of Paradise are the Qumran called the Hodayoth. Psalmist’s words, which were According to column 8, the Righteous memorized by devout Jews: “Blessed Teacher probably looks back on his is the man who … delights … in the life and allegorically forsees his Law of the Lord, … He is like a tree community as the one that will planted by streams of water, that produce the eternal planting from yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf which shall issue the shoot for the does not wither” (Ps 1:1–3). glorious Eden (1QH 8, cf. 1QS 8.4–5; This symbolic language, as well as CD 1.7–8). The image of Paradise is other images and myths, combined in fully developed in 2 Enoch 8, numerous ways to produce the Jewish according to which Enoch is taken concept of Paradise. One of the “up to the third heaven, and … earliest passages is 1 Enoch 32, looked downward, and … saw according to which Enoch journeys to Paradise. And that place is the east and “came to the garden of inconceivably pleasant … And in the righteousness and saw beyond those midst … the tree of life, at that place trees … the tree of wisdom … from where the LORD takes a rest when he which (his) precursors, ate and … goes into paradise” (2 En. 8:1–3 [J]). realized that they were naked and According to the Apocalypse of Moses, (so) … were expelled from the Paradise is not only in the third garden” (1 En. 32:3–6). Another early heaven (40:2), it is also on the earth image is found in Jubilees. Abraham (38:5). Paradise is thus obviously “perceived that from him there would situated in different places according be a righteous planting for eternal to early Jewish documents. It is on the earth either far to the east (1 En. 1 En. 1 Enoch (Ethiopic Apocalypse) CD Cairo (Genizah), Damascus Document [= S. Jub. Jubilees Schechter, Documents of Jewish Sectaries, vol. 1, 1QH Hōdāyôt (Thanksgiving Hymns) from Qumran Fragments of a Zadokite Work, Cambridge, 1910. Cave 1 Repr. New York, 1970] 1QS Serek hayyaḥad (Rule of the Community, 2 En. 2 Enoch (Slavonic Apocalypse) Manual of Discipline) 32:2–3, 2 En. 42:3–4), to the attempt to resolve the tension arising northeast perhaps (1 En. 61:1–13), from placing Paradise on the earth between the northeast and the west (1 and also in the third heaven. Jews did En. 70:3–4), to the north (1 En. 77:3– not think about diverse places, but 4), to the far west perhaps (Jos. JW only one and the same Paradise. In 4 2.155–56), but never to the south Ezra, Ezra is told, “for you … Paradise (but see 1 En. 77:1–2). It can be is opened, the tree of life is planted, readily seen, from this brief list, that the age to come is prepared, plenty is the books collected together as 1 provided, a city is built, rest is Enoch are a repository of many appointed …” (8:52; cf. Apocalypse of diverse Jewish ideas. Abraham 21). The Jewish apocalypses contain the conviction that the final Paradise is sometimes perceived (or second) age will be characterized as the (post resurrection) by the blessed state at creation of the intermediate abode of the righteous first age, but without the possibility of (1 Enoch 37–70), or as the hidden disobedience, disharmony, eschatological place of the righteous discomfort, and discontinuity. Only in (2 Enoch 8). Other passages describe this sense can it be said that the the righteous enjoying life in Paradise Paradise of the first age reappears in or Eden, but provide no indication of the second (final) age. The Jewish their duration there (Apocalypse of myth of Paradise is so developed by Abraham 21). It is also frequently the end of the 1st century C.E. that the portrayed as closed (4 Ezra 7), as one author of Joseph and Aseneth freely would expect from the Genesis borrowed from it in describing the account of the expulsion; note 2 En. garden beneath Aseneth’s tower. 42:3[J], “And I ascended into the east, into the Paradise of Eden, where Such creative ideas in early Jewish rest is prepared for the righteous. And theology influenced Christians. it is open as far as the third heaven; According to Luke 23:43 Jesus tells but it is closed from this world.” This the repentant thief that he will be with passage seems to result from an him that day in Paradise. Paul reveals Jos. Josephus 1st first JW Josephus, The Jewish War (= Bellum Judaicum) that he was taken up into the third Eccl. 2:5; RSV “parks”; Cant. 4:13; heaven, and thus probably into RSV “orchard”). The LXX uses Paradise (2 Cor 12:3). The author of parádeisos to translate Heb. gan, gannâ the Odes of Solomon describes “garden,” including references to the Paradise; as also in the Psalms of garden of Gen. 2–3, as does Philo. Solomon but in contrast to many other Speculations about texts according to which the righteous Paradise/Eden, envisioned as hidden eat the fruit of the trees (see T. Levi in some terrestrial or celestial 18:11; Rev 2:7), the righteous are location, were common in post-Old portrayed as “blooming and fruit- Testament Jewish writings (e.g., 2 bearing trees.” The poet proclaims, Esdr. 4:7; 7:36; Adam And Eve 25, “Blessed, O Lord, are they who are 29, 37ff.). Descriptions of revelatory planted in your Land, and who have a journeys to Paradise also appeared in place in your Paradise” (Odes Sol. the literature (e.g., 2 En. 8; Apoc. Abr. 1 11:18; cf. Gos. Thom. 19). 21:6). Paul’s rapture into the third PARADISE (Heb. pardēs; Gk. heaven and Paradise (2 Cor. 12:2–4) is related to such speculations. parádeisos; from O.Pers. pairi-daēza According to the Talmud (Ḥag. 14b), “enclosure”).† A term introduced into four rabbis are said to have entered Greek by Xenophon to indicate the Paradise, usually interpreted as a game parks and pleasure gardens of metaphor for mystical or Persian kings and nobles. By the third philosophical speculation; this is as century B.C., it came to mean any close as rabbinic literature comes to a park or garden. The three occurrences use of pardēs as a religious technical of pardēs in the Old Testament are all term, and even this instance may be a late and all have a literal, secular product of Hellenistic influence. meaning (Neh. 2:8; RSV “forest”; T. Levi Testament of Levi † Major revision Odes Sol. Odes of Solomon LXX Septuagint Gos. Thom. Gospel According to Thomas (NHC II,2) 2 Esdr. 2 Esdras 1 Charlesworth, J. H. (1992). Paradise. In D. N. Adam And Eve Life of Adam and Eve Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary 2 En. 2 Enoch (Vol. 5, pp. 154–155). New York: Doubleday. Apoc. Abr. Apocalypse of Abraham O.Pers. Old Persian Along with “spatial” concerns (pairidaēza-) and means a garden with Paradise, eschatological ideas with a wall.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bur¯Aq Depicted As Amanita Muscaria in a 15Th Century Timurid-Illuminated Manuscript?
    ORIGINAL ARTICLE Journal of Psychedelic Studies 3(2), pp. 133–141 (2019) DOI: 10.1556/2054.2019.023 First published online September 24, 2019 Bur¯aq depicted as Amanita muscaria in a 15th century Timurid-illuminated manuscript? ALAN PIPER* Independent Scholar, Newham, London, UK (Received: May 8, 2019; accepted: August 2, 2019) A series of illustrations in a 15th century Timurid manuscript record the mi’raj, the ascent through the seven heavens by Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam. Several of the illustrations depict Bur¯aq, the fabulous creature by means of which Mohammed achieves his ascent, with distinctive features of the Amanita muscaria mushroom. A. muscaria or “fly agaric” is a psychoactive mushroom used by Siberian shamans to enter the spirit world for the purposes of conversing with spirits or diagnosing and curing disease. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the author explores the routes by which Bur¯aq could have come to be depicted in this manuscript with the characteristics of a psychoactive fungus, when any suggestion that the Prophet might have had recourse to a drug to accomplish his spirit journey would be anathema to orthodox Islam. There is no suggestion that Mohammad’s night journey (isra) or ascent (mi’raj) was accomplished under the influence of a psychoactive mushroom or plant. Keywords: Mi’raj, Timurid, Central Asia, shamanism, Siberia, Amanita muscaria CULTURAL CONTEXT Bur¯aq depicted as Amanita muscaria in the mi’raj manscript The mi’raj manuscript In the Muslim tradition, the mi’raj was preceded by the isra or “Night Journey” during which Mohammed traveled An illustrated manuscript depicting, in a series of miniatures, overnight from Mecca to Jerusalem by means of a fabulous thesuccessivestagesofthemi’raj, the miraculous ascent of beast called Bur¯aq.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Fitrah As an Element in the Personality of a Da’I in Achieving the Identity of a True Da’I
    International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 3 No. 4 [Special Issue - February 2012] THE ROLE OF FITRAH AS AN ELEMENT IN THE PERSONALITY OF A DA’I IN ACHIEVING THE IDENTITY OF A TRUE DA’I Zaizul Ab. Rahman Jabatan Usuluddin dan Falsafah Islamic Studies Faculty Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Malaysia Abstract In the era of fast-paced development, a dā„ī is constantly faced with a variety of challenges as a result of globalization, among which are attacks on mentality headed and sponsored by other religious groups. A strong element of true fitrah (which translates as „disposition‟) is a critical requirement in dealing with these challenges by supplying oneself with knowledge, faith and good deeds. With these elements, a dā„ī can face the era of globalization that is so rife with tribulations. A dā„ī that has no true identity is an easy mark for exploitation by those with interest in doing so. Introduction Fitrah is a highly important factor in shaping the identity of a dā„ī who is capable of carrying out a successful mission in his da‟wah movements. A dā„ī who is not in possession of an element of fitrah that has been sown with the seeds of an untainted personality cannot face the trials he will encounter from the target audience of his da‟wah. This is especially so if a comparison is made to the missionaries of other religions such as Christianity, whose missions move systematically and with detailed planning. Fitrah in Developing the Personality of a Dā‘ī In Islam, “tendency” may bear similarity to the term “fitrah”.
    [Show full text]
  • Heaven in the Early History of Western Religions
    Alison Joanne GREIG University of Wales Trinity Saint David MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology Module Name: Dissertation Module Code: AHAH7001 Alison Joanne Greig Student No. 27001842 31 December 2012 Heaven in the early history of Western religions Chapter 1 Approaches to concepts of heaven This dissertation examines concepts of heaven in the early history of Western religions and the extent to which themes found in other traditions are found in Christianity. Russell, in A History of Heaven, investigates the origins of the concept of heaven, which he dates at about 200 B.C.E. and observes that heaven, a concept that has shaped much of Christian thought and attitudes, has been strangely neglected by modern historians.1 Christianity has played a central role in Western civilization and instructs its believers to direct their life in this world with a view to achieving eternal life in the next, as observed by Liebeschuetz. 2 It is of the greatest historical importance that a very large number of people could for many centuries be persuaded to see life in an imperfect visible world as merely a stage in their progress to a world that was perfect but invisible; yet, it has been neglected as a subject for study. Russell notes that Heaven: A History3 by McDannell and Lang mainly offers sociological insights.4 Russell holds that the most important aspects of the concept of heaven are the beatific vision and the mystical union.5 Heaven, he says, is the state of being in 1 Jeffrey Burton Russell, A History of Heaven – The Singing Silence (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997) xiii, xiv.
    [Show full text]
  • Revelation, Session 4 Seven Trumpets Revelation 8:6-11:19 It Is
    Revelation, Session 4 Seven Trumpets Revelation 8:6-11:19 It is perhaps most helpful not to think of this central section of Revelation as a kind of timeline, with the drama of the seals followed by the drama of the trumpets followed by the drama of the bowls. Rather what we have here is a kind of triptych, with three panels set up beside each other. Or we can think of it as a kind of split screen motion picture with events juxtaposed against each other simultaneously. In each case what Revelation affirms is the power of judgment and the hope of redemption. In each case the power of the judgment is presented in such dramatic, almost overwhelming images that it is hard to grasp the hope, but in each case there is a fundamental affirmation of salvation that is there if we can pay enough attention, or rally enough faith. The depiction of the trumpet will in itself will resonate with John’s readers or hearers. There is the trumpet that calls people to worship at the temple. There is the trumpet that sounded before the fall of Jericho. There is the trumpet that is regularly part of the scenario for the last days in early Christian expectation: “For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1Thess. 4:16) “Listen, I will tell you a mystery, we will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
    [Show full text]
  • Esoteric Buddhism by A.P
    Esoteric Buddhism by A.P. Sinnett Esoteric Buddhism by A.P. Sinnett Author also of The Occult World President of the London Lodge of the Theosophical Society Fifth edition, annotated and enlarged by the author London, Chapman and Hall Ltd 1885 Page 1 Esoteric Buddhism by A.P. Sinnett CONTENTS Preface to the Annotated Edition Preface to the Original Edition CHAPTER I - Esoteric Teachers Nature of the Present Exposition - Seclusion of Eastern Knowledge - The Arhats and their Attributes - The Mahatmas - Occultists generally - Isolated Mystics - Inferior Yogis - Occult Training - The Great Purpose -Its Incidental Consequences - Present Concessions CHAPTER II - The Constitution of Man Esoteric Cosmogony - Where to Begin - Working back from Man to Universe - Analysis of Man - The Seven Principles CHAPTER III -The Planetary Chain Esoteric Views of Evolution - The Chain of Globes - Progress of Man round them - The Spiral Advance - Original Evolution of the Globes - The Lower Kingdoms CHAPTER IV -The World Periods Uniformity of Nature- Rounds and Races - The Septenary Law - Objective and Subjective Lives - Total Incarnations - Former Races on Earth - Periodic Cataclysms - Atlantis - Lemuria - The Cyclic Law CHAPTER V - Devachan Spiritual Destinies of the Ego - Karma - Division of the Principles of Death - Progress of the Higher Duad - Existence in Devachan - Subjective Progress - Avitchi - Earthly Connection with Devachan - Devachanic Periods CHAPTER VI - Kâma Loca The Astral Shell - Its Habitat - Its Nature - Surviving Impulses - Elementals -
    [Show full text]
  • The Marvels of the Number Seven in the Noble Qur'an
    THE MARVELS OF THE NUMBER SEVEN IN THE NOBLE QUR’AN AbdulDaem Al-Kaheel Translated by Mohammed R. Al Salah The Marvels of the Number Seven in the Noble Qur’an Book Summary This book sheds light upon a recent discovery centred around one of the most exciting topics in world religion and Islam in particular: the miracles of the Noble Qur’an. After studying thousands of Qur’anic words and passages, I have arrived at what can be considered the discovery of an intricate numeric system that rests within the verses of the Noble Qur’an. By the blessing of God Almighty, I have succeeded – after a detailed and methodical investigation – in proving both the existence and accuracy of this prolific numeric system, which comprehensively covers the Qur’an’s chapters, verses, words and letters. This new phenomenon will be referred to as the ‘numeric miracle’ of the Qur’an. The foundation and basis of this numeric system is the number 7, one of the most significant numbers in the Noble Qur’an1 (if not the most significant), and a hint, perhaps, that the Creator of the seven heavens is indeed the One Who sent down this Book, preserving it from distortion. This work is an attempt at establishing firm scientific and ethical grounds on which to base any study of the numeric miracle. A sound scientific approach must be adhered to whenever Qur’anic numbers are analysed, and this is something that I have honoured throughout this study and hope that fellow researchers will honour as well. A substantially large collection of profound numerical truths will be conveyed in this book.
    [Show full text]
  • James Whitbourn the Seven Heavens and Other Choral Works
    James Whitbourn The Seven Heavens And other choral works The Seven Heavens 1 I. The Moon 4:52 2 II. Mars 4:32 3 III. Mercury 4:21 4 IV. Jupiter 2:56 5 V. Venus 4:48 6 VI. Saturn 5:21 7 VII. The Sun 5:20 8 Ada 6:15 9 Video caelos apertos 4:18 10 The Voices Stilled 5:45 11 Eternal Rest 4:19 12 Gratias agimus tibi 2:11 13 Canticle of Mary 6:28 14 Canticle of Simeon 4:04 Total playing time: 65:34 Cor Cantiamo Eric A. Johnson, conductor The music Notes by the composer The Seven Heavens (2014/2016) Chamber Version The Seven Heavens is a musical portrait of C. S. Lewis portrayed in the imagery of the mediaeval planets. The work has its genesis in Belfast, where C. S. Lewis was born and the city which he always called home, even though he lived and worked in Oxford for most of his life. The Seven Heavens was commissioned by my friends in the Belfast Philharmonic and their conductor Stephen Doughty for a celebratory concert with the Ulster Orchestra. It was for the close of the 2014-2015 concert season which marked the 140th anniversary of the choir’s foundation in 1874. The initial scoring was for huge orchestra—fitting for the Ulster Hall—and even made use of the hall’s famous and majestic organ. After the magnificent 2015 Belfast première another opportunity arose from conversations with my friend Eric Johnson who was keen to commission a work for his renowned choir Cor Cantiamo.
    [Show full text]
  • Heaven, Paradise, Sheol, Hell & Hades
    Heaven, Paradise, Sheol, Hell & Hades o you know where you are going after this life? The vast majority of people believe that there is a life after this one, D and most people do not believe we all go to the same place. The Old Testament talks about Sheol, the recesses of Sheol, Abaddon, and heaven, while the New Testament uses the terms Hades, hell or Gehenna, the abyss or Tartarus, the lake of fire, Paradise, and heaven. This study will explain these biblical terms and end by explaining what happens to Chris- tians after they die. Destiny of the Body. In the Old Testament the the wicked who have died. terms for death and life after this world are vivid. Th ey are Amos 9:2 says that people can dig into Sheol. serious reminders that each person will die someday. Th ose who reject God will not be going to a vacation spot or to a Th ough they dig into Sheol, from there shall My hand take them place where they can talk with their friends and have a party. Amos 9:2 (NASB) Th e Bible makes it clear the spiritually wicked will spend eternity in eternal torment. Th is clearly implies that Sheol is in the ground, and the next SHEOL - THE GRAVE. Th e word Sheol is the common word verse reveals that Sheol is the dust of the ground. for the grave in Will it go down the Old Testa- with me to Sheol? ment for both Shall we together the righteous go down into the and unrighteous.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 15: 'From Shahāda to 'Aqīda
    15 FROM SHAHĀDA TO ʿAQĪDA: CONVERSION TO ISLAM, CATECHISATION AND SUNNITISATION IN SIXTEENTH- CENTURY OTTOMAN RUMELI Tijana Krstić n a recent article, Derin Terzioğlu introduced a heretofore unknown seventeenth- Icentury catechetical work in Ottoman Turkish by a certain Nushi al-Nasıhi. Hailing most probably from the Ottoman European domains (Rumeli) and writing in roughly the 1630s, Nushi lamented the state of basic religious instruction in the empire and blamed the woes of the Ottoman state on insuffi cient knowledge of faith and on lax- ity in the observance of religious laws. He went on to outline a detailed plan of how the condition should be remedied: the authorities should send out town criers to all neighbourhoods and announce that from that point on everyone over the age of seven regardless of their social status would be examined on their knowledge of ‘faith and Islam and ablution and ritual prayer’ (īmāndan ve İslāmdan ve ābdest ve namāzdan suʾāl idüp).1 He further enjoined that those who fail to show satisfactory knowledge should be ‘publicly scolded, administered discretionary punishment or evicted from the neighbourhood’.2 The effect of this expulsion of ‘heretics’, he suggested, would also be the conversion of non-Muslims, who would fl ock to the true faith upon this evidence of the Muslims’ commitment to it.3 Nushi al-Nasıhi was not writing in the early days of Islam’s spread in Rumeli; rather, his work dates to a different phase in the process of Islam’s establishment in the Ottoman Empire, a phase that scholars have recently begun to refer to as ‘Sunni- tisation’ and/or ‘confessionalisation’.4 This phase seems to begin in the early sixteenth century and continues throughout the seventeenth, and is characterised by a greater concern within the Ottoman Muslim community about Sunni orthodoxy and ortho- praxy according to the Hanafi legal tradition.
    [Show full text]
  • Celestial Topography: Mapping the Divine Realms of Antiquity
    Celestial Topography: Mapping the Divine Realms of Antiquity by Amy Marie Fisher A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department for the Study of Religion University of Toronto © Copyright by Amy Marie Fisher 2015 Celestial Topography: Mapping the Divine Realms of Antiquity Amy Marie Fisher Doctorate of Philosophy Department for the Study of Religion University of Toronto 2015 Abstract This dissertation explores the cartographic descriptions and depictions of the heavens in antiquity, specifically the 1st century BCE through the early 5th century CE. The physical nature of the heavens and the loci each portrayal includes or excludes tells the reader a great deal about the communities creating and engaging with these various understandings of the heavens. This study offers a series of snapshots of differing depictions of the heavens from various times and places in early Judaism and Christianity; the poetic Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the depictions of 1st Century CE apocalypses, the first explicitly Christian tour of heaven in the Visio Pauli, and the artistic renderings of late antique Palestinian synagogue mosaics. In order to read these many spaces and their mythic places out, the study engages with various critical spatial theories, demonstrating that a nuanced deployment of modern spatial theory can yield fruitful results in the study of antiquity. In addition it offers one answer to the question of why the heavens developed and became so complex in the second temple and post second temple period. This dissertation suggests that this complexity was a natural development of pre-exilic proclivities for seeing the earthly temple as a miniature copy of the heavenly one; albeit one forced to develop due to imperial expansion upon the earth.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 5- Table of Contents
    Chapter 5- Table of Contents 5 Five main scriptural entities ..................................................................................... 2 5.1 Earth ................................................................................................................ 2 5.2 Heavens ........................................................................................................... 3 5.3 Paradise ........................................................................................................... 5 5.4 Gardens of Eden .............................................................................................. 6 5.5 World .............................................................................................................. 8 5.5.1 Vishnu and the World............................................................................... 9 5.5.2 Tower of Babel and the World................................................................ 10 5.5.3 Alignment .............................................................................................. 11 www.ScripturesAndI.com 1 5 Five main scriptural entities For any organized religion followers, scriptural readers, and researchers five major scriptural entities play crucial role in scripture interpretations and outcomes. Every major religious teaching circumvents around these entities and we all are familiar with them though meaning varies depending on our orientations. They are Earth, Heaven, Paradise, Garden of Eden and the world. I will not discuss Hell here but will
    [Show full text]
  • The Expository Times. an Early Jewish and Christian
    THE EXPOSITORY TIMES. AN EARLY JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN BELIEF. BY THE REv. R. H. CHARLES, M.A., ExETER CoLLEGE, OxFORD. I I. WE have now to consider whether Christian con­ And I hurled him ,from the heights with his ceptions of heaven were shaped, or in any degree angels. And he was flying in the air continually influenced, by already existing views of that nature. above the abyss.' The latter explanation of ~v roZ> A knowledge of ancient thought on this subject ~7rovpav{o~> is probably right. In Col. i. 20, how­ would naturally lead us to expect such an influence ever, we must, if we deal honestly with the context, at work, and we find on ·examination that our ex­ suppose some such a view of the heavens as that pectations are in certain respects fully realised. given in the Slavonic Enoch to underlie the words : First, from 2 Cor. xii. 2, 3, we learn that St.· Paul ·,to reconcile all things unto Himself, whether believed in a plurality of the heavens : 'I knew a things upon earth or things in the heavens.' That man in Christ fourteen years ago . such a one 'things upon earth' need to be reconciled to God caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such is universally intelligible; but, so far as I am a mar~ ... how he was caught up into paradise.' aware, no exegete has hit)1erto recognised any Heretofore exegetes have been divided as . to such necessity on the part of ' things· in the whether St. Paul believed in the existence of heavens.' Yet this is the obvious meaning of the three heavens or of seven.
    [Show full text]