Post by jackson on Mar 4, 2012 22:24:11 GMT
In ancient times, the temple was the place where a body of individuals gathered to worship. Whom or what was worshipped varied among the devotees; some worshipped flowers and trees, others worshipped rocks and wood, others worshipped the planets including the sun, and others worshipped idols that had been carefully crafted with workman's tools.
Into this time period, arose a man named Abraham; he lived much of his life in the city of Ur, home of the moon god and his all-famous ziggurat; knowledge was the greatest and most prized of the citizens of Ur, so much so that they zealously and diligently taught their students the five basic lessons every student should know--arithmatic, math, reading, writing, and geography. The mysticism of the people living there in the city of Ur were communicated to the students through each of the five subjects and growing up in this environment, the children learned about the GOK and that in order to obtain salvation from the greatest evil, ignorance, they had to daily amass knowledge in order to live enlightened lives and be considered wise by their overseers and others in the community.
While there were many temples in those days dedicated to different objects of worship, by far the most popular one was the GOK's temple. You see, there was a great king named Sargon who realized that many of the people were barbarous because they didn't have a leader or any rules (everyone followed their own conscience at the time, you see); determined to conquer all the then-known territory of the world, Sargon went forward with his plan and one by one, each of the cities fell under his powerful influence and control. One of the changes Sargon made was establishing a common religion for everyone everywhere to follow; there were also other minor cults in the days of Sargon's kingship, however, he gave them the freedom to practice their particular religious persuasion.
Anyways...
Here comes Abraham; he was one of those kids who grew up in one of the wisest societies at the time and learned the same lessons all the other children had too. One day, however, everything changed; he came home and told his family that there was this Deity that had spoken to him and told him to leave everything behind and trust in Him to provide for everything. His family thought he was insane though; after all, getting knowledge was the ultimate goal in life and following in the ways of the God of Knowledge was all that truly mattered--why leave one of the wisest cities on earth to serve some unknown God that nobody knew anything about? It is said that when one of Nimrod's cousins, who was the governor over the district, heard about the matter and called Abraham to court, telling him that if he wouldn't bow to the moon, he would get thrown into a fiery furnace.
Whether this old tradition is true or not, one thing is certain; because of Abraham's faith in this unknown God, he left everything behind, trusted in Him, and worshipped Him alone. We know this to be the truth because of the blood ritual Abraham performed when he was in the wilderness with his God--he cut an animal in half and at night, miraculously, a flaming torch passed in between the two animal parts. From the manuscripts of that time period, we read of a similar ritual that Hittites performed when they were promising to serve their god(s); in the same way, Abraham was promising this unknown God that he would fulfill his end of the bargain to serve Him.
Of course...bear in mind that Abraham performed this sacrifice to an unknown God.
Thousands of years later, when the Greek empire arose to prominence, they would build a judicial court for trying criminals; this hill came to be known as Mars Hill. After the Romans rose to power, it became a forum for discussing new ideas and it is from this very spot that a certain fellow gave a speech from; a man who, in earlier years and in blind zeal for God, had thought he was doing God a great service by killing people who didn't agree with him. This same man, who had been greatly humbled, stood before everyone at the Aereopagus and stated these words:
[/quote]
This man is Jesus Christ...
Do you believe it?
Into this time period, arose a man named Abraham; he lived much of his life in the city of Ur, home of the moon god and his all-famous ziggurat; knowledge was the greatest and most prized of the citizens of Ur, so much so that they zealously and diligently taught their students the five basic lessons every student should know--arithmatic, math, reading, writing, and geography. The mysticism of the people living there in the city of Ur were communicated to the students through each of the five subjects and growing up in this environment, the children learned about the GOK and that in order to obtain salvation from the greatest evil, ignorance, they had to daily amass knowledge in order to live enlightened lives and be considered wise by their overseers and others in the community.
While there were many temples in those days dedicated to different objects of worship, by far the most popular one was the GOK's temple. You see, there was a great king named Sargon who realized that many of the people were barbarous because they didn't have a leader or any rules (everyone followed their own conscience at the time, you see); determined to conquer all the then-known territory of the world, Sargon went forward with his plan and one by one, each of the cities fell under his powerful influence and control. One of the changes Sargon made was establishing a common religion for everyone everywhere to follow; there were also other minor cults in the days of Sargon's kingship, however, he gave them the freedom to practice their particular religious persuasion.
Anyways...
Here comes Abraham; he was one of those kids who grew up in one of the wisest societies at the time and learned the same lessons all the other children had too. One day, however, everything changed; he came home and told his family that there was this Deity that had spoken to him and told him to leave everything behind and trust in Him to provide for everything. His family thought he was insane though; after all, getting knowledge was the ultimate goal in life and following in the ways of the God of Knowledge was all that truly mattered--why leave one of the wisest cities on earth to serve some unknown God that nobody knew anything about? It is said that when one of Nimrod's cousins, who was the governor over the district, heard about the matter and called Abraham to court, telling him that if he wouldn't bow to the moon, he would get thrown into a fiery furnace.
Whether this old tradition is true or not, one thing is certain; because of Abraham's faith in this unknown God, he left everything behind, trusted in Him, and worshipped Him alone. We know this to be the truth because of the blood ritual Abraham performed when he was in the wilderness with his God--he cut an animal in half and at night, miraculously, a flaming torch passed in between the two animal parts. From the manuscripts of that time period, we read of a similar ritual that Hittites performed when they were promising to serve their god(s); in the same way, Abraham was promising this unknown God that he would fulfill his end of the bargain to serve Him.
Of course...bear in mind that Abraham performed this sacrifice to an unknown God.
Thousands of years later, when the Greek empire arose to prominence, they would build a judicial court for trying criminals; this hill came to be known as Mars Hill. After the Romans rose to power, it became a forum for discussing new ideas and it is from this very spot that a certain fellow gave a speech from; a man who, in earlier years and in blind zeal for God, had thought he was doing God a great service by killing people who didn't agree with him. This same man, who had been greatly humbled, stood before everyone at the Aereopagus and stated these words:
“Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. From one man, he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. From one man, he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
This man is Jesus Christ...
Do you believe it?