Saturday 29 November 2014

Noah, the movie, not Noah from the Bible

I only recently saw the move "Noah"with Russel Crowe. Even knowing that it differed quite a lot from the Bible beforehand, I was still disappointed. I was a bit puzzled by the movie and how it was different from the Bible. I even recognized the word "zohar", but not making the connection to its meaning as the book of Kabbalah.

To me the greatest misrepresentations where the character of the Creator (who are totally without mercy in the film, while being merciful to righteous Noah and his family (and all the surviving animals) in the Bible. He also made clear His intentions in the Bible and there is no indication that what Noah did or why was unknown to his neighbours... rather that they did not pay attention to his message. Being obedient to God in the Bible therefore has a totally different result on Noah's character... one of mercy and thankfulness, rather than the inner struggle of the movie.

And finally the dots connected when I read the following article: http://drbrianmattson.com/journal/2014/3/31/sympathy-for-the-devil . ... So much makes sense now. Even why God is portrayed as "the baddy", mean and merciless. This is always been the ploy of the enemy, right from the garden of Eden when he accused the Lord of being deceitful and not wanting the best for Adam and Eve. Truly he is a liar and the father of the lie!

Wednesday 26 November 2014

The works of Christ


"Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
I never really read what was written here until recently. As I was reading this passage my eyes were drawn to the phrase "the deeds of the Christ". What were these "deeds of the Christ" (or "the works of Christ" as in my translation)? It is not called "the deeds of Jesus". It wasn't simply the fact that Jesus were doing wonders. Many prophets (e.g. Moses, Elijah, Elisha) did wonders in the past. But it was specifically works that identify the Messiah (the Christ / the Anointed One). Isaiah 35: 5-6 among others, makes it clear that these were signs of the coming Kingdom...
He will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

This why it is not simply called the „deeds of Jesus“, since it was not simply miracles, but very specific miracles that were prophesied to be Messianic („the deeds of the Anointed“).