Amos 9 – The Destruction of the Sanctuary & Ancient Man’s Cults, Sects, and Religions: Jainism (6 of 9)

Hands OutAs I’ve said before I don’t understand why people can believe in an idea or a man-made god, and not You?

You created the earth and that would also mean that You control it, including the weather and everything that happens.

For example, Amos 8:8  – “…as by the flood of Egypt.” – each year the Nile in Egypt overflows, rising as much as 25 feet, and it floods the entire valley except for the towns and villages standing above it. 1 1

Can people really think that this happens by coincidence?  The earth and sky have no power over themselves, somebody has to cause this to happen.  Buddha is dead and there is no wooden or stone god that can make this happen.  What happens on earth is controlled only by You.

Nothing happens that You don’t cause or allow the devil to do.  You created everything and You control everything, there’s nothing You can’t do.

“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matt 19:26).

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Col 1:15-18).

The  following chapter is the last one of Amos so tomorrow we will look at…

Amos 9
The Destruction of the Sanctuary

2 THE GREAT WELL SPRING
THE GREAT WELL SPRING – the “Well of the Essenes” was the source of all life in Wadi Essiah (Essene Canyon). Flowing from an oven shaped opening in the southern Karmeliya (“Carmelite”) Ridge and thence flowing through covered rock channels to all other areas of the ancient Nazorean Monastery. Yeshua and his disciples would have drunk deeply from this pure flowing “Essene Well”, and would have drunk wine and eaten fresh garden produce produced from its healing waters.

1 I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

 2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

9:2-4 – these verses emphasize the impossibility of escape from God’s impending judgment.  The imaginary extremes to which a person might go may be compared with those in Ps 139:7-12.  God’s domain includes every place, even the realm of the grave.

3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:

“Serpent” – in pagan mythology, the fierce monster of the sea.  If someone should seek to escape by hiding in the depths, he could still not evade God, or even there all are subject to Him.

4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.

5 And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

6 It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.

3 A double burial in Raqefet
A double burial in Raqefet Cave on Israels Mount Carmel.

7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

“Children of the Ethiopians” – a dark-skinned people who lived south of Egypt, probably in the upper Nile region.

8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.

10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

The verse is also regarded as Messianic in the Jewish Talmud.

4 This sketch is from ancient Egypt
This sketch is from ancient Egypt during the time of Ramesses II. It depicts Ethiopian prisoners chained to one another around their necks. The prisoner on the far left also has his elbows bound.

12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

9:13-15 – after all the forecasts of destruction, death and death, Amos’s final words picture a glorious Edenic prosperity, when the seasons will run together so that sowing and reaping are without interval, and there will be a continuous supply of fresh produce of the conditions portrayed in 4:6-11.

14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

Ancient Man’s Cults, Sects, and Religions:
Jainism

This is a religion of ancient origins that has elements of both Hinduism and Buddhism.

HISTORY

From the Sanskrit word jina, meaning “he who conquers,” Jainism has a relatively long history. The founder was Vardhamana Mahavira (599-527 B.C.) in Kundalapur, India. In a life similar to that of Gautama Buddha, he renounced the ways of the world and set out to discover true enlightenment.

5 Vardhamana Mahavira
Vardhamana Mahavira

Unlike the Buddha, however, Mahavira limited himself to a life of asceticism. In Buddhist tradition, suffering must be conquered by eliminating it.

In Jainist thought, Mahavira was one of 24 jinas, or tirthankara—that is to say, those who have gained perfect knowledge and have overcome all suffering.

The Hindu aspect to Jainism lies in its more religious dimension, namely, that all knowledge leads to the elimination of all karma.

After the death of Mahavira, a following developed around his teachings. In the 3rd century, also similar to Buddhism, the group split into two distinct sects— the Stanakvasis and the Terapanthis.

While the former is more a movement of the priestly caste, the latter is the relatively modern movement and is more liberal in that it is open to the laity. Jainism in general as well as both major sects exist largely in India today. In the early 20th century there was a reformer of the movement whose name was Kanji Svami Panth.

Organization

Most Jain centers and temples are in India, though there are centers throughout the world. World gatherings are held for participants worldwide. Each center is independently run and operated.

6 Kundalgiri Jain
Kundalgiri Jain Temples at Kundalpur, near Damoh, Madhya Pradesh.

Membership

There are estimated to be four to six million adherents to Jainism worldwide, with the majority living in India. There are, however, at least 75,000 practicing Jainists in America and adherents in Europe, particularly England. In Canada and the United States there are 55 Jainist centers.

Teachings

Jainism follows the pattern of the Eastern religions and teaches a cyclical view of history. The soul is eternal and is on a wheel of rebirth, the goal of which is to obtain moksha (liberation through knowledge or enlightenment). The liberation process comes through the concept of ahimsa (absence of harm to living creatures).

Karma

Like Hinduism, Jainism teaches that karma is the universal law of retributive justice. There is a twist, however. The soul collects karma tangibly. The amassing of good karma results in the ability of souls (plural) to attain enlightenment.

Asikayas

In Jainist thought, five asikayas summarize all there is in the known universe: jiva (soul), dha (motion), adharma (rest), pugdala (atoms), and askasha (space).

7 Figure of Gautaam Buddha
Figure of Gautaam Buddha

Cosmology

The Jainist conception of the world is tripartite, namely, heaven, earth, and hell. As in the case of Hinduism, the highest levels are occupied by the most enlightened, the tirthankams. The level to which a soul is assigned depends on the amount of enlightenment attained.

Sin

Sin is ignorance and the lack of an ascetic life.

Salvation

Salvation, called moksha or “liberation,” depends on the willingness to live an ascetic life. The complete ascetic achieves complete knowledge (salvation).

Time

There are six ascending and six descending periods of time. The six ascending eras are characterized by complete happiness and bliss; the six descending periods are periods of suffering, misery, and unhappiness.

Jainists believe that the earth is currently in the fifth the descending eras. But these eras can overlap each other and exist at one and the same time as an admixture to life and a balance. Too much bliss and happiness will result in complacency and the postponing of smoksha; a life filled with too much misery will result in a despairing attitude.

8 Bahubali monolith of Shravanabelagola
Bahubali monolith of Shravanabelagola

Much of the response of traditional Christianity to Jainism can be read in the book’s evaluations of Hinduism and Buddhism. Most important to reiterate here is that the soul, for Christianity, does indeed have a beginning, originating at birth.

Jainism, like Hinduism understands that salvation lies in a gnostic quest for inner enlightenment and self-knowledge. For Christianity, salvation is based on faith and trust, and if there is any knowledge at issue, it is the knowledge of sin, for which Jesus Christ atoned in his death on the cross (Rom. 3:21-24; 1 Cor. 2:2).

Conclusion

Jainists are among the wealthiest of India’s citizenry, largely because they tend to pursue business careers and shy away from agricultural and vocational professions.  But since they believe in an ascetic lifestyle, there is a strong tendency away from crass materialism.

….Obadiah.

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