The Old Testament

The Story of The Creation
(Adam and Eva).
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Noah and the flood.
The tower and the babble in Babylon.
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Around 1700-2000 before Christ.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The history about the twelve sons of Israel (Jacob).
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Around 1300 before Christ.
The walk from Egypt to Canaan.
Moses leads through the desert. The migration takes forty years.
The Law of Moses.
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Joshua, who had been the apprentice of Moses, leads into the promised land.
First Israel conquers the area east of the Jordan river, then Israel conquers Jericho west of the Jordan river, then the rest of the country.
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Around 1200-1020 before Christ.
The time of the judges.
Canaan is conquered and the twelve tribes of Israel inhabit the country – but without eliminating all seven tribes living there despite the commandment of God.
Israel is ruled by judges, among them Samson.
Ruth is the great grandmother of David.
•
Around 1020-926 before Christ.
The united kingdom.
Saul, David, and Salomon are the three first kings of Israel.
Thereafter a split kingdom between Judah and Israel.

One does not know when The Book of Job is written.

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SAUL (from the tribe of Benjamin). Is appointed by Samuel after the Israelites ask for a king. Gathers Israel and start the conquest of the Philistines (the trade people by the coast of the Mediterranean sea). But is disobeying God and therefore the kingdom is given David after him. Saul dies in a battle with the Philistines.

DAVID (from the tribe of Judah). King around 1000-962 before Christ. Appointed by Samuel. Becomes general by Saul, but Saul becomes hostile towards him. Because of that David must flee and be on the run until Saul dies. The great king of Israel. A lot of great warriors. Defeats the Philistines and neighbouring people and establishes a big kingdom. Nathan prophesises that the son, the family, of David shall rule over an eternal kingdom – in other words that Messiah will go out from David. Conquers Jerusalem and puts the Arch of The Covenant there. Prepares the building of the temple. Takes Bathsheba (the mother of Salomon) from Uriah and let Uriah be killed in battle. The great sin of David. He also let his people count, what he and Israel pays for. But he admits his sin. Is challenged by his son Absalom, but Absalom is killed and the rebellion fought.

SALOMON (son of David with Bathsheba). Dies around 926 before Christ. Builds the temple of Jerusalem and fills the temple with big treasuries. Establishes a great kingdom in peace and harmony. Widely known for his wisdom and his wealth. Is visited and honoured by the queen of Shebah. But makes high places outside Jerusalem and is by his many wives turned towards foreign gods. Ahijah prophesises that the kingdom for that reason after him will be divided in two.

After Salomon that is what happens. In the North Israel is established, constituted by most of the twelve tribes. Samaria becomes the main city of Israel. In the South the kingdom continues under the sons of David, the kingdom now by the name of Judah. Jerusalem continues to be the main city of Judah. In the Book of Kings and in the Chronicles we are told about endless strife between the two kingdoms, and we are told about war to keep the Arameans (in the North East) and the Assyrians (in the South East, later called Babylonians) from life. The books of the prophets (not mentioned here) give witness of apostasy and of continuous weakening of the power Israel inhabited under David and Salomon. Gilead (East of the Jordan River) and Galilee (in the North) (that is the kingdom of Israel) fall for the Assyrians in 733-32 at the same time as Damascus is conquered. Samaria is destroyed in 721 and the people of Israel is subjected to captivation (Assyrian captivity). In the South Judah is independent longer, but in 597 Jerusalem finally falls for the Babylonian king and a flock of the most prominent of Judah is abducted to Babylonian exile. The temple is destroyed in 587 and the second group of Judah is abducted to Babylonian exile.

In 539-538 Babylonia falls for Persia (for Cyrus II), residing even further East. Judah (approximately 40.000 people) is permitted to go home. The temple is rebuilt under the leadership of Zerubbabel and the priest Ezra (who returned to Judah in 485). Esther (The Book of Esther) becomes in these times Persian queen (for king Xerxes 1) and saves the Jewish people from extermination. Nehemiah leads the third group back to Judah in 444 and rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days. The Old Testament ends with the release of Israel from the Babylonian captivity.

WHAT YEAR

The creation (Adam and Eve) around 4000 B.C.
The time of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) before 1700 B.C.
The stay in Egypt 1700-1250 B.C
The time of the judges 1200-1020 B.C.
The united kingdom 1020-926 B.C.
. Thereafter divided in
.. Judah 926-587 B.C.
.. Israel 926-722 B.C.
... Assyrian rule over Israel 722-587 B.C.
Babylonian rule 587-538 B.C.
.. The temple is destroyed 587 B.C.
Persian rule 538-332 B.C.
Hellenistic time332-63 B.C.
... Alexander The Great 332 B.C.
... Syrian Antiochus III 198 B.C.
Roman rule 63 B.C. - 325 A.C.
. The temple is destroyed 70 A.C.

The dates are approximates, taken from different sources.

The question of the Reformation

The Reformation was primarily a question of how the relation between man and God should be understood. More precisely the conflict was about how Christians should understand themselves, and the centre of the conflict was the question of free will. Important in the formation of the parties was the discourse on free will between Luther and Erasmus starting in 1521, the year after Luther had been banned by the Pope.

Erasmus defended The Church view. He defined free will like this: “… By freedom of the will we understand in this connection the power of the human will whereby man can apply to or turn away from that which leads into eternal salvation. …” He wrote that every man had a free will. He formulated three kinds of laws which the human being is born under: (1) The Law of Nature, which tells everyone that it is unjust to do to another what one does not wish to suffer oneself. (2) The Law of Good Works, which issues commands and sanctions them with punishment. (3) The law of Faith, which poses even more difficult commandments to follow than The Law of Good Works but which we are able to follow by the abundant grace of God. Erasmus wrote that God expects us to follow the commandments and act good and that it would be ridiculous “… to command one to make a choice, if he were incapable of turning in either direction. …”

Luther stated there was no such thing as free will and that the notion of free will makes man poor. He wrote: “The essence of Christianity which you describe … is without Christ, without the Spirit, and chillier than ice. …” Luther stated he refuted the notion of free will by the “thunderbolt” he formulates, which says: “… It is … essentially necessary and wholesome for Christians to know that God foreknows nothing contingently, but that he foresees, purposes and does all things according to His immutable, eternal and infallible will. ...” In other words there is no way man can change anything. Luther condemns the reason which Erasmus teaches us by which we follow laws as a creation of the Pope to restrain common people by the laws of good deeds formulated and he writes that people’s consciousness should be governed by God alone. He stated that “… when God is not present to work in us, everything we do is evil, …” A man void of the Spirit of God does not do evil against his reason as if his will was chosen but he does so spontaneously and willingly. “… And this willingness and desire of doing evil he cannot, by his own strength, eliminate, restrain or change. …” Differently, Luther wrote: “… when God works in us, the will is changed under the sweet influence of the Spirit of God. It desires and acts not from compulsion, but responsively of its own desire and inclination. …” Righteousness is according to Luther not a position gained by any work but a God given feeling: Righteousness comes first, then the good works.

Jesus said: “… many are called, but few are chosen.” We can understand the dispute in light of these words and give both Erasmus and Luther right: Many are called, as Erasmus states, to follow Christ. And few are chosen the way Luther states to be righteous by grace. But we can investigate the dispute a little bit further and acknowledge two kinds of modus in our relationship with God: (1) By fear of and love to the Father we will feel fresh. And (2) By loving our neighbour as we love ourselves, in other words by loving the Son, the consequence of our actions, we will feel free. Fresh and free is what God wants us to be. The question is if we can feel free without feeling fresh. According to Erasmus we can. According to Luther we can not. Jesus himself did not give a definite answer to the question. After Christ most of us no longer follow the prescripts of The Law, which would make us feel fresh. But Jesus said: “… Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till it all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. …”

Meaning it

Contemporary Christianity is superfluous. There is no wish to be fresh and worthy, and there is no ambition for or understanding of the Son. People are shameless and irresponsible thereby.

But we take a dangerous road if focusing on discipleship. Insistence upon any strict, disciplined devotedness can easily be misinterpreted and understood as a program regarding the right way of being. Any reference to biblical commands for holiness may further ground such an understanding, and the effect would be a perception of Jesus as poor without any pride or strength and of Christian holiness as self-chastisement and rule-obeying. But Christian holiness is as far from being from the snake as lions and lambs to the snake are.

People are shameless and irresponsible. That is the problem. And God gave no rules regarding way of behaviour. That is the case. So how do we get Christians back on the right track? How can there be a right track when there is no right way to behave?

The answer is that we all have God in us. God condemns bad ways and supports good ways by giving us feelings. And God wants us to feel fresh and feel free. Fresh we feel when our relationship to God the Father is all right. And Moses told us when that is. Following the Ten Commandments is necessary. Following the precepts of The Law is useful. And Following the rules of The Law regarding cleaning is lovely. By dedicating ourselves to the notion of Moses we will feel irreproachable for sin in that respect we have crucified the flesh, and we will feel the love of God the Father to us as flesh – as persons. Free we feel when our relationship to God the Son is all right. And Jesus told us when that is. By faith in our own doings as of love we will put the outcome in the hands of God and leave ourselves to the judgement of Christ. By acting in love we will be looked after and supported. And Jesus showed us what love is: Jesus went to the cross so that the rest of us could live. By acting in love our consciousness will be clear and we will feel the love of God the Son to us.

This is self denial: (1) To crucify the lust of the flesh by living by The Law. And (2) To have faith in our own doings as of love.

By feeling fresh and free we will be in the Holy Spirit. This is the Holy Spirit: Acting in the love of the Father to the Son.

Now there is a question if we can feel free without feeling fresh. The question is if we by good deeds can satisfy God without having the constitution to make good deeds. That was the question of the Reformation.

To a Russian girl

All people have sinned. When people sin, when people act against their consciousness, they have two opportunities. Either they admit their sin and condemn it and seek God in repentance. Or they try to excuse their behaviour. In the latter case they will create an authority which explains their actions and makes the behaviour healthy or normal. They will create a “mommy” who supports them and enables them by her spirit. This god of excuse is Mammon. Nature can be such a power or god (psychiatry is created in the belief of Mammon). And culture can be such a power or god (communism is created in the belief of Mammon).

Having created Mammon one will think of what kind of behaviour this god expects. And “mommy” expects us to be strong and successful. By being successful we will make Mammon happy. And so being natural (psychiatry) and being popular (communism) becomes extremely valuable. The overall value is success, both in explaining the god and in being a follower. The best manifestation of success is though power and wealth. Those believing in Mammon will seek power and wealth as the meaning of life.

Jesus Christ said:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
(St. Matthew 6:19-21)

As human beings we judge others as we judge ourselves. The follower of Mammon will think others, as he himself, are excusing themselves by their behaviour. And he will think others are acting on the grounds of necessity (psychiatry) or utility (communism) as he is himself. The follower of Mammon will not recognize love.

Jesus Christ said:

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
(St. Matthew 6:22-23)

A follower of Mammon is not a follower of God, whatever he says. A follower of God would go to Christ after his sin, begging for forgiveness. And he will, in humility and by charity, act totally different from the follower of Mammon once he is forgiven.

Jesus Christ said:

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
(St. Matthew 6:24)

Even Salomon

Even Salomon condemned psychology, by which we examine our motifs and excuse and explain our values; by which the reasons for the way we act is sought laid dead:

Proverbs 20:24-25 (King James Version)

“Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.”

The Son

Jesus is The Son. Jesus is the Son of Man and so the meaning of life. He is the outcome of every action, he is the life after the death of any thing we do. King David wrote (Psalm, 2:11-12): "Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." I believe the shamelessness of today is due to the fact there is no fear of The Son.