The story below is quite the story and Father, I’m sorry to tell you, but it’s much more exciting than Your story about the creation of heaven and earth (Gen 1-23). Not meaning that all Your stories aren’t exciting and even though they may not all be exciting, they are educational and true.
Now, You tossing Satan out of heaven is pretty cool (Is 14:12-17; Eze 28:1-19). But the most stimulating, exhilarating, and breathtaking story in the Bible or anywhere is Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is more than a story, He’s a legend, and He’s the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He’s life, true absolute life:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, buy by me” (Jn 14:6).
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (Jn 15:5).
Here is what’s confusing, Ancient Man did things that we can’t do today, nor do we understand how they did it, e.g., the pyramids, (“The Mystery of Ancient Man)” but then they believe in the above cockamamie story.
And another thing, that story may not be correct, can you believe that? Therefore, tomorrow we’ll look at…
Luke 15
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
“The Parable of the Lost Son” (Lk 15:11-32), more-or-less explains God in a nutshell.
When you read it realize that you are the prodigal and the father is God.
2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
“Murmured” – the people complained among themselves but not openly.
Same thing that’s happening here in America, people complain about something, like Obama Care or the fact that he was born in Kenya, but do nothing about it.
As Mark Twain said:
Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.
The Jews finally did do something about their complaint, or at least they thought they did. In the United States, all that will ever happen is people will continue to complain.
That isn’t because no one wants to do more, it’s because the majority of this country won’t respond to their own complaints.
The United States is no longer the home of the “free and the brave”, it’s more like the “fooled and the weak.”
3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
“Joy shall be in heaven” – God’s concern and joy at the sinner’s repentance are set in stark contrast to the attitude of the Pharisees and the scribes.
“Just person which need no repentance” – probably irony: those who think they are righteous (such as the Pharisees and the scribes) and feel no need to repent.
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.
10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
“To feed swine” – the ultimate indignity for a Jew; not only was the work distasteful but pigs were “unclean” animals to the Jews.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my fathers have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
“All that I have is thine” – the meaning of this is obvious, we are to be happy for people when their lives become better, not bitter because ours hasn’t changed or gotten better.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Creation of the World
In the beginning there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love came Light and Day. Once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the earth appeared.
Then Erebus slept with Night, who gave birth to Ether, the heavenly light, and to Day the earthly light. Then Night alone produced Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis, and others that come to man out of darkness.
Meanwhile Gaea alone gave birth to Uranus, the heavens. Uranus became Gaea’s mate covering her on all sides. Together they produced the three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans.
However, Uranus was a bad father and husband. He hated the Hecatoncheires. He imprisoned them by pushing them into the hidden places of the earth, Gaea’s womb. This angered Gaea and she plotted against Uranus.
She made a flint sickle and tried to get her children to attack Uranus. All were too afraid except, the youngest Titan, Cronus.
Gaea and Cronus set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with Gaea at night. Cronus grabbed his father and castrated him, with the stone sickle, throwing the severed genitals into the ocean. The fate of Uranus is not clear. He either died, withdrew from the earth, or exiled himself to Italy.
As he departed he promised that Cronus and the Titans would be punished. From his spilt blood came the Giants, the Ash Tree Nymphs, and the Erinnyes. From the sea foam where his genitals fell came Aphrodite.
Cronus became the next ruler. He imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus. He married his sister Rhea; under his rule the Titans had many offspring. He ruled for many ages.
However, Gaea and Uranus both had prophesied that he would be overthrown by a son. To avoid this Cronus swallowed each of his children as they were born. Rhea was angry at the treatment of the children and plotted against Cronus.
When it came time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea hid herself, and then she left the child to be raised by nymphs. To conceal her act she wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and passed it off as the baby to Cronus, who swallowed it.
This child was Zeus. He grew into a handsome youth on Crete. He consulted Metis on how to defeat Cronus. She prepared a drink for Cronus design to make him vomit up the other children.
Rhea convinced Cronus to accept his son and Zeus was allowed to return to Mount Olympus as Cronus’s cupbearer. This gave Zeus the opportunity to slip Cronus the specially prepared drink. This worked as planned and the other five children were vomited up.
Being gods they were unharmed. They were thankful to Zeus and made him their leader.
Cronus was yet to be defeated. He and the Titans, except Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Oceanus, fought to retain their power. Atlas became their leader in battle and it looked for some time as though they would win and put the young gods down.
However, Zeus was cunning. He went down to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires. Prometheus joined Zeus as well. He returned to battle with his new allies. The Cyclopes provided Zeus with lightning bolts for weapons.
The Hecatoncheires he set in ambush armed with boulders. With the time right, Zeus retreated, drawing the Titans into the Hecatoncheires’s ambush. The Hecatoncheires rained down hundreds of boulders with such a fury the Titans thought the mountains were falling on them. They broke and ran giving Zeus victory.
Zeus exiled the Titans who had fought against him into Tartarus. Except for Atlas, who was singled out for the special punishment of holding the world on his shoulders.
Another name was Adrasteia, meaning “the inescapable.”[1] The Greeks personified vengeful fate as a remorseless goddess: the goddess of revenge. The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νέμειν [némein], meaning “to give what is due.”However, even after this victory Zeus was not safe. Gaea angry that her children had been imprisoned gave birth to a last offspring, Typhoeus. Typhoeus was so fearsome that most of the gods fled.
However, Zeus faced the monster and flinging his lightning bolts was able to kill it. Typhoeus was buried under Mount Etna in Sicily.
Much later a final challenge to Zeus rule was made by the Giants. They went so far as to attempt to invade Mount Olympus, piling mountain upon mountain in an effort to reach the top. But, the gods had grown strong and with the help of Heracles the Giants were subdued or killed.
…Creation of the World II.