In the Classifieds section I have a few of these nice books for sale. All in Mint Condition.

I have the following for sale for $50.00 each which includes shipping to the lower 48. All in Mint Condition.

Jeremiah                              Matthew
Luke                                     Mark
Twelve Prophets                   Galatians-Philemon
Deuteronomy                        


And the last book has these in it-Lamentations, Prayer of Jeremiah, Epistle of Jeremiah,
and the Epistles of Baruch.

I have recently finished and published The Original Holy Peshitta Bible Translated as an e book. Also published is the The Original Holy Peshitta Bible Translated (the Old Testament) in hardcover. See both book offerings and more at: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/gbauscher

Merry Christmas!

Dave Bauscher

I very recently published my English translation of the Minor Prophets from the Peshitta Old Testament, according to Codex Ambrosianus (6th century). Here is the link: http://www.lulu.com/shop/rev-glenn-david...92723.html

Go to aramaicnt.com and look for "Purchase" at the top of the home page and then for Dave's Storefront to see my newest publications. I have completed the Peshitta Interlinear Bible and also the complete Peshitta Bible in plain English, (not in one volume) except for Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon.

Hello everyone. What is the Aramaic word in Daniel 7:14? And does it refer to worship (the way Christ would be worshiped), to serve (the way a political figure would be served), or can it be used both ways?

"14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."

Another select vintage from the late Ernest Martin. I can't say I agree with every jot and tittle he ever wrote but I find that he was on the right track in this area and I've only found stronger biblical support over many years.

Snippet:

Quote:“And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark.”

• Revelation 13:16–17

Quote:“You shall bind them for a sign [or mark] upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes [in the forehead].”

• Deuteronomy 6:8

This one's an oldie but a goodie. A 1981 report from the late Ernest Martin. Go make yourself a cup of coffee and come back because this one is a page turner, or screen scroller.. It floored me when I read it way back in the day and it still has me coming back to it today. Don't miss the footnotes either -- I guess reading it on the original URL is best for the hotlinks and formatting issues. Hope you enjoy and print copies to share!

Quote:“… in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascends up for the ages of the ages: and they have no rest day or night.”

• Revelation 14:10–11

Quote:“For it is the day of YHWH’s vengeance, and the year of recompense for the controversy of Zion. And the streams [of Edom] shall be turned into pitch, and the dust into brimstone, and the land [of Edom] shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke shall go up forever [for the age]: from generation to generation it shall lie waste.”

• Isaiah 34:8–10

Quote:“Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication [promiscuity] and going over to strange flesh, are set forth [are presently set forth] for an EXAMPLE, suffering [are presently suffering] the vengeance of age-lasting fire.”

• Jude verse 7

Quote:“Wisdom saved a man [Lot] from a destruction of the godless, and he escaped the fire that came down on the Five Cities, cities whose wickedness is still attested by a SMOKING waste.”

• Wisdom of Solomon 10:7

Quote:“The fire of the lightning is most difficult to extinguish, and creeps on pervading everything and smoldering. And a most evident proof of this is to be found in what IS SEEN TO THIS DAY: for the smoke which is still emitted, and the sulphur that men dig up there, are a proof of the calamity which befell that country.”

• On Abraham 1.140–141, Yonge translation 2

Quote:“In the midst of the lake is the source of the fire and also there are great quantities of asphalt in the middle. The eruption is uncertain, because the movements of fire have no order known to us, as it is of many other gases.”

• The Geography of Strabo, Book XVI, chapter 2, §44 4

Quote:“Together with the asphalt there arises a great deal of soot, smoke, and [gases] invisible to the sight, by which brass, silver, and everything shining, even gold, is tarnished.”

• The Geography of Strabo, Book XVI, chapter 2, §42

Quote:“The lake was formed by earthquakes and boiling outbursts OF FIRE, and hot water impregnated with bitumen and brimstone [sulfur].”

• The Geography of Strabo, Book XVI, chapter 2, §44

Quote:“The south of Syria, that is, the hollow through which the Jordan flows, is a country of volcanoes [volcanic activity]: the bituminous and sulfurous sources of the Lake Asphaltis [the Dead Sea], the lava, the pumice stones thrown upon its banks, and the hot-baths of Tiberius, demonstrate that this valley has been the seat of subterranean fire, which is not yet extinguished. Clouds of smoke are often observed to issue from the lake, and new crevices to be formed upon its banks.”

• Volney, Travels, vol. 1, pp. 281–282

Quote:“At one time today the sea assumed an aspect peculiarly sombre. ... The great evaporation enveloped it in a thin, transparent vapor its purple tinge contrasting strangely with the extraordinary color of the sea beneath, and, where they blended in the distance, giving it the appearance of smoke from burning sulfur It seemed a vast cauldron of metal, fused but motionless. In the afternoon of the same day it looked like molten lead. At night it had the exact hue of absinthe [or Wormwood].”

• Journal of Royal Society, ibid. pp. 276, 324

Figure  1:  US Geological Survey, http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pag...tonic.html,
accessed January 4, 2010

• “[T]he wilderness of Judaea. In the Old Testament this land is called the Jeshinion, a word meaning devastation” (p. 312).
   
• “It is one of the driest and most poisoned regions on our planet” (p. 269).
   
• “Those fifteen miles of chaos [east of Jerusalem], sinking [downward] to a stretch of the Dead Sea, you begin to understand the influence of the desert on Jewish imagination and literature. It gave the ancient natives of Judaea … the sense of living next door to doom; the sense of how narrow is the border between life and death; the awe of the power of God, who can make contiguous regions so opposite in character” (p. 314).
   
• “For hours, as you travel across these hills, you may feel no sign of life, except the scorpions and vipers which your passage startles, in the distance a few wild goats or gazelles, and at night the wailing of the jackal and the hyena’s howl” (p. 317).
   
• From “the heart of the country” near Jerusalem, the wilderness of Judaea “carries the violence and desolation” right down to the Dead Sea Valley (p. 313–314).
  

• “These are being prepared for the hosts of Azael, so that they may take them and cast them into the abyss [the bottomless pit] of complete condemnation” (Enoch 54:5).
   
• “And God will imprison those angels, who have shown unrighteousness in that burning valley [that is, the eastern parts of Gehenna, the Wady en-Nar] in the mountains of Israel” (Enoch 67:4).
  

Quote:“I saw a star fall from heaven into the earth: and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit [the abyss]. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace.”

• Revelation 9:1–2

Quote:“For it is the day of YHWH’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams shall be turned into pitch, and the dust into brimstone, and the land [of Edom] shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for the age [olam]: from generation to generation it shall lie waste.”

• Isaiah 34:8–10

Quote:“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their place.”

• Revelation 6:12–14

Quote:“For it is the day of YHWH’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.”

• Isaiah 34:8–9

Quote:“… all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falls off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.”

• Isaiah 34:4–5

Quote:“Assemble yourselves, and come, all you heathen [nations], and gather yourselves together round about. ... Let the heathen [nations] be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of YHWH is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall cease their shining. ... And the heavens and the earth shall shake.”

• Joel 3:11–12, 14–16

Quote:“And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto YHWH.”

• Jeremiah 31:40

Quote:“And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea [the Mediterranean], exceeding many.”

• Ezekiel 47:10

1. ten generations for the pre-flood world until a destruction; also
    
2. ten generations until the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah in Abraham’s day; and
    
3. ten generations of the Millennium that will see a fiery judgment also at its end.
   

Quote:“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for them that love him.”

• 1 Corinthians 2:9

Matthew 7: 7 - 14 (RSV):

[7] "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
[8] For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
[9] Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
[10] Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
[11] If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
[12] So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
[13] "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
[14] For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.


Hello everyone --

I'm following another Trail again.  The above Passage reads, to me, as another of the "Herod Stories".  Herod builds a Safe Harbor at Caesarea, hocks everything in the palace to buy bread from the Procurator Petronius in Egypt and distributes the bread to everyone regardless of whether people support Herod or not.  Many are worried that this "Goodwill" will lead people astray.  There is a BLISTERING famine throughout Judea and Syria occurring at this time.

There are "Jokes" in this .  Verses 7 - 8 tell of those who would seek any type of help..  The key "Joke" is verse 9.  The Safe Harbor is constructed by dropping giant stones in the harbor to form a breakwater.

Mark 9: 42 (RSV) (Also: Matthew 18: 6):

[42] "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

If you look up this verse in the Interlinear on this site, you get the important literal, "...millstone of a donkey...".

Verse 10 continues: "Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent".  A nod to the Story of Moses and the Staff.
...
Which leads us to verse 11. 

"[11] If you then, who are evil...

Fairly simple, yes?  Maybe.

The Interlinear has "...and if...<you>...who are imperfect...".

Precisely at the point where an identifier for "Herod" would be found is "<you>" in inequality brackets.  Why?  We may find the most trivial reason here but I ask for some help. 

Thank you,

Charles

NT scholars Bart Ehrman and Mike Licona had a debate last month over the historical reliability of the Gospels posted on Licona's youtube channel here. Even in the position of pro-authenticity Licona is handicapped with western biases and compromises built into the scholarship he relies on to defend the NT. I wanted to highlight one of the glaring flaws in Ehrman's argument which Licona didn't really address which I thought was most important and I posted about on Licona's channel. I later made a 3.5 min video showing how youtube (Google) is running algorithms (and likely machine learning/AI) in favor of Bart Ehrman on Licona's channel rigging the comments section (I've even had my own post disappear from one of my own videos before among other things so this is no surprise to me.) Here are a few posts:

@39:38 Ehrman: "..king Herod died in the year 4 BCE"

This is a perfect example of why I personally don't take the word of a scholar at face value, however expert or well meaning, neither pro or con, neither a consensus without fact checking as much as possible with a close eye on original text and languages, or as close as possible and an open mind.

To state the obvious: the bible nor Josephus says Herod died in 4 BCE. This date is inferred from Josephus saying that Herod died soon after a lunar eclipse before the spring Passover like the one in 4 BCE.

What many don't realize is that there was another eclipse in 1 BCE -- a total lunar eclipse unlike the traditional partial one -- and it allows enough time for all the events surrounding Herod's funeral to fit perfectly unlike the problematic 4 BCE date. I've verified this with professional astronomy software myself.

The popular view of Herod's death in 4 BCE does not account for all the facts we have from the historical record. However, some of the latest published scholarship shows that when other pieces of evidence typically overlooked is carefully considered it rather points to Herod having died in 1 BCE.

Steinmann, Andrew E. "When Did Herod the Great Reign?"
Novum Testamentum, Volume 51, Number 1, 2009
PDF FREE ONLINE

This new time frame fits the events like a glove from an historical, astronomical, and biblical point of view, unlike the traditional time frame. It fixes problems like a good solution to a problem is supposed to. The old time frame creates unnecessary problems critics capitalize on (a frequent 'pattern' I have come across for 15 years studying the scriptures).

With the new date of Herod's death, scholars like the late Ernest L. Martin were able to find the (wandering) star of Bethlehem and it fits the descriptions of Matthew to a tee, not to mention other surrounding details provided by Luke, and more astronomical signs mentioned in Revelation 12.1-2 while also providing deeper Christian/Jewish fulfillment to the festivals of Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah and even rabbinic expectations (see the last link below).

The new date of Herod's death (1 BCE) is like a new key that opens an old chest nobody could open before with an old key, and now new amazing treasures are revealed but many people still insist the old key is the best one and are keeping the treasure chest locked and the treasures hidden from the world. This is very sad.

Astronomy and the Death of King Herod
askelm.com/star/star010.htm

The Lunar Eclipse of Josephus
askelm.com/star/star011.htm

The Real Star of Bethlehem
askelm.com/star/star004.htm

***
Tertullian mentioned Roman records of censuses during the time of Christ's birth when Saturninus was governor of Syria. Does this conflict with Luke's record? No. Josephus mentioned that there were governors (plural) in Syria during the rule of Saturninus, naming at least 2. It would seem from his background that Quirinius was a special type of governor at this time, or as Justin Martyr referred to him, a procurator, a special delegate for census taking.

More info: askelm.com/star/star014.htm

***

Ehrman resorts to an unfounded conspiracy theory to speculate that Luke and others (presumably Luke was not isolated and able to hide his gospel from the original apostles and disciples) lied about the birth of Jesus for religious reasons. This too relies on a popular presumption and creates unnecessary problems. Luke doesn't actually state that "everyone" had to go to their ancestor's city from a 1000 years previous:

Luke2.3 "And all went to be registered, each to HIS OWN TOWN."
Cf Syriac, כלנשׁ "all men"

Luke is speaking of MEN going to THEIR OWN town in this verse, but then he makes a distinction with those who were of the House of David, royal lineage, and includes Mary (which supports the idea that Matthew's genealogy is of Mary as even Matthew's text indicates in the Syriac text and also hinted at in the Greek text). This was not the normal procedure for a census/enrollment, so why assume it was an ordinary census/enrollment?

Luke2.4 "Joseph also went up from Galilee.. to the city of David.. called Bethlehem BECAUSE he was of the house and lineage of David"

These curious details show this was no ordinary census and was concerned with royal lineage and is distinct from the previous general statement in verse 3.

What could Jewish royal descendants possibly have to do with this?

There's a lot of background to this but in a nutshell, it was at this time that not only the Jews but also the Roman elite knew of the messianic expectations of a Jewish ruler to rise in the East and conquer the world. This is why the Roman puppet Herod had to kill off candidates to the throne when the magi came looking for the messiah and why Herod and the people in Jerusalem were 'troubled' when they heard of the news from the magi (Mat 2.3).

Herod was apparently following a precedent Suetonius mentions from the Roman Senate that said the world ruler had to come from Rome (ie, Caesar) when a group of magi made a false start coming to the Roman Senate some 60 years previously as Suetonius tells us (De Vita Caesarum: Divus Augustus).

The Jews had a history of mutiny by this time and Rome was sensitive to the political conditions and messianic expectations in the region (having the city-sized Fort Antonia adjacent to the Jewish temple itself, where some believe the western wall is from rather than the temple which was utterly destroyed as Josephus witnessed and Jesus foretold). This concern was even leveraged by the enemies of Christ to manipulate Pontius Pilate into doing their bidding (John 19.12). Josephus tells us this expectation is what led to the Jewish revolts against Rome and eventually to the destruction and desolation of the temple and the city. (2The 2.3 takes on a new meaning perhaps: Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy (מרודותא rebellion, apostasy; ἀποστασί revolt, rebellion, abandonment) comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.. Note: the Caesar held the office of pontifex maximus, now held by the Roman bishop)

In light of this political situation and the new time frame mentioned above moving Herod's death to 1 BCE, we now have a new solution to Luke’s census/enrollment on the table: Josephus spoke of an oath of allegiance (like a covenant) about a year to 15 months prior to the death of Herod in all the empire. The late Dr. Martin gives us information that makes the most sense of the the most data in this area of research rather than resorting to speculative conspiracy theories with little to no supporting data:

..the year 2 B.C.E. was one of the most important and glorious in the career of Augustus. It was the Silver Jubilee of his supreme rule over the Empire and the year in which the Senate awarded him the country’s highest decoration the “Pater Patriae” (Father of the Country). There was no year like it for majestic celebrations in Rome, and since the significance of the festivities involved the entirety of the Empire, there can be little doubt that similar anniversary ceremonies were ordained by Augustus and the Senate for all the provinces.

It should be remembered that back in 27 B.C.E. Augustus was given complete and absolute allegiance by the Senate and people of Rome. Would there not have been a renewal of their loyalty to Augustus in the Jubilee year? If so, we could well have a reference to an Empire-wide registration of loyalty to the emperor. Josephus mentioned that Augustus demanded an oath of allegiance about twelve or fifteen months before the death of Herod. This event would fit nicely with a decree going out from Augustus in 3 B.C.E. that all were to give an oath of allegiance to him at some designated time during the year. Obviously, the recording of oaths (where people ascribed their names) was a type of registration. That is what Luke said the census was. It was an enrollment of people.

Full chapter: askelm.com/star/star014.htm

In a 'token gesture' for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the Israeli group “Hamikdash Betzion” (The Temple in Zion) headed by Prof. Rab. Hillel Weiss have minted 1000 silver half-shekels with Trump's image next to king Cyrus' on one side and an the temple on the other.


Rabbi Mordechai Persoff said that Trump, like Cyrus, made a "big declaration that Jerusalem is the capital of the holy people.

[...]

Mikdash bills itself as a non-profit educational and religious organization. The donations will "help spread the light of Jerusalem and the spirit of the Holy Temple throughout the world," it said.

Israel has warmly welcomed Trump's move, which angered Palestinians.

The Trump coin is likely to rile Iranians, who uniformly respect King Cyrus as an ancient Persian hero.

Full story:
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/israel-...s-capital/


From Arutz Sheva:

Temple organizations have issued a half-shekel coin, the likes of which the Torah mandates every Jewish male must donate to the Temple, with a weight of 9.5 grams in real silver.

[...]

Prof. Hillel Weiss, Chairman of the organization “Hamikdash Betzion” (The Temple in Zion), says that the motivation to embed the image of the President of the United States on the coin is gratitude for his support of Israel and especially for the recognition of our sovereignty over Jerusalem.. "This is a historic act for which the Jewish people is grateful," says Weiss, who believes that the declaration sets off a process at the height of which the Temple will be rebuilt.


On the other hand, warns Weiss, the coin is a reminder of what happened to those benevolent kingdoms when they turned back from their great declarations. Cyrus, in the language of the sages, "missed," was swayed by factions opposed to building the Temple and halted its construction - and only ruled for three years. And the British empire, which renounced and crushed the Balfour Declaration, was shattered as a superpower on the stage of history.

"The Trump Declaration must continue with a declaration of the role of the Jews in establishing the Temple in its place. Only then will President Trump's international ambitions come true in the Middle East.”

Full story:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/242249


What next, "Trump Temple" complete with casinos (casting lots) and boutiques in the outer court with the merchants and money changers? I hear he knows a thing or two about large building projects. Only you won't be able to buy or sell there unless you pledge allegiance to the 'messiah' and take the mark of the name in his Sinai/Noahide covenant, but I suppose we'll find out the details before very long.

Things are feeling more surreal by the minute.


Flashback: Sanhedrin to Trump-Putin: Fulfill Cyrus-like role in Jerusalem (2016-11-15)
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/220289

...Prof. Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the Sanhedrin, said, "The political conditions today, in which the two most important national leaders in the world support the Jewish right to Jerusalem as their spiritual inheritance, is historically unprecedented.”

He said that the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, coupled with Putin’s expressed desire for the Temple's rebuilding, prompted the Sanhedrin to send a letter to both leaders. The letter proposes that they act jointly as did King Cyrus of Persia 2,500 years ago and show most practically that they recognize the importance of Israel and the Holy Temple.

“We are poised to rebuild the Temple," Weiss said.