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bacon-sandwich-of-dionysus · 2 years

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Adapting The Devil and Abrahamic Concepts

Note: This following post is not intended to dismantle or bash anyone's beliefs, all that is said is not intended to cause fear or anger in anyone who is of any of these faiths. What I say is not an indication of my alignment with any faith or ideology, this post is just a little, and slightly philosophical, ramble.

Oh, and as per usual, I am terrible with grammar and silly mistakes are bound to be in this so I'm sorry in advance!

Now that's out the way, on with the ramble!

So... whilst I'm following the Mandela Catalog closely with my eyeballs and also writing my own chaos (which I am currently in two minds about releasing tidbits of but that's a whole other kettle of fish), I realised something.

We need to explore Abrahamic concepts more often!

When you delve into the more esoteric and "deep" ideas within the various scriptures of the Abrahamic faiths, things get interesting and thought-provoking regarding humanity, incomprehension and purpose.

This is the part where I start talking about the Devil, because of course I gotta bring in the og Big Bad. I feel as though, this is gonna sound extremely bad pfft, he's severely underused in media. I say this because when you start getting into the research surrounding him, things start getting really, really bizarre.

First off, Satan is not a name, it is a title. Satan, or as I know him, Shaitan, is Hebrew in origin and means Adversary. It is a position, not inherently a name or identity, it's more like a part of an identity, like how a certain job can be a part of who you are but not necessarily all of you as a person. Satan is a position in this reality, not the name or identity of the entity who holds this title.

Now, why do I bring this up?

Well, some people have an issue with the existence of Satan and not just because he's evil, but because his existence doesn't make sense when you think of God. God is supposed to be all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good, but how can God be any of these things if Satan exists? God would have to not possess at least one of the aforementioned aspects; for example, if God let Satan happen because God did not foresee, then surely God is not all-knowing.

Which leads to the "theory" if you will, regarding the necessity of the Adversary. Without evil, there can be no good. So, the Adversary is needed, but is the Adversary aware of that?

If we go along the belief that Satan was an angel and the belief that angels have no freewill, which is more islamic but wahey guess I've outed my Muslim background, that means that Satan is essentially performing his function as he is not capable of choice.

However, time and time again, we have read that Satan is a rebel, which suggests that there was a choice that was made. So, I propose this, what if he has the illusion of choice?

Satan is in torment, yes, but it is not because of the horrors of Hell, but rather, the torment of trying to fight a battle you could never win. What if, like the cycle of Samsara, Satan is fighting to break free from his chains in angelhood and be free, hence either making himself human or a new god.

Imagine if the Devil is just a complex primordial force trying to be something simpler? Imagine the thing you feared the most, was just as scared himself?

Satan remains terrible, but he makes me think. He's this scary, primal force of nature that is somewhat human, or at least trying to be human, trying to be something he's not.

It reminds me of this quote Sotha Sil once said about Vivec from TES Online; "He wishes to be all things at all times. Every race, every gender, every hero. Both divine and finite... but in the end, he can only be Vivec."

Same goes here, perhaps Satan wants to be everything, angel, god, human, good, but he can only be the Adversary.

Abrahamic philosophy, from my understanding, is about acceptance and submission to reality, whether it be through one's worship or through acknowledgement of this alone. Submission isn't just about bending the knee, it's about submitting to yourself, your identity, to the deity who created reality and to the nature of that reality. It pretty much is the understanding of the fact you exist and you exist in this particular, human way. Again, this is my understanding and opinion and people will have their own ideas, so please note I don't represent anyone when I say this 😅 .

Satan cannot submit because he does not accept his identity. He goes against that very philosophy and we need that. Without that example of necessary rebellion, we would not be able to understand our own inner conflicts. For he represents conflict on the personal and cosmic scale.

And that conflict, the complexities of Abrahamic faith, predestiny, freewill, that really frightening fear Abrahamic faiths present when it comes to angels, Satan and God, are not explored enough.

Frankly, I think the show Lucifer really missed the opportunity to get weird and wonderful. They touched upon Satan and his relationship with God and the nature of his freewill or potentially lack thereof. However, they never really delved into it and I'm so sad about that, especially with the acting talent of Tom Ellis- we could have got some spicy stuff.

But that's also why I adore the Mandela Catalog. That godly horror of this cosmic creation crashing down on us like a ton of bricks with all its anger and fear is exactly what I have been yearning for in an abrahamic adaption. The world around us in the Mandela Catalog is falling apart because something which isn't God is trying to be, the Adversary is trying to be his own opposition and that dismantles his very sense of self.

And that is also what I want to do in my own writing, explore this creature of despair and horror and peel back the layers to see what lies under the title of Adversary. I want to know and explore what this entity is, what he is to himself and what he is to humanity, to those who are subject to his madness.

Satan is bad, but what is it to be the opposing darkness, when you can't be anything else?

This is just my hot take lol. But it's a hot take I've been mulling over for a while and I just needed to get out there :).

Thanks for reading my little diatribe!

#netflix lucifer #tom ellis #mandela catalogue #analog horror #ah yes writing #writing #sus gabriel #abrahamic religions #satan #lucifer morningstar #philosophy #thinking #small brain #brain dump #demons #alex kister #cosmic horror #i am sleep deprived #alright tumblr gobble this up!

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elendsessor · 8 months

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wanna point out that while doing extra research on demikids demons i stumbled across a really interesting duo that are based on what i can describe as “bible fanfiction before bible fanfiction existed.”

yellow one is watcher, the other is grigori. i call them fanfic demons because yeah they’re based on biblical apocrypha—stuff that’s non canon to the og scriptures. they mainly relate to the book of enoch and the book of jubilees. grigori are fallen watchers. many watchers fell because they wanted to bone human women thus creating nephilim. apocrypha has been used as a basis for plenty of demons in the franchise especially for the leaders of the grigori, but we have yet to see any nephilim as just a general race (which i would like to see). in terms of open acknowledgement for both types of watchers as races, though, this is technically the first without it being a recolor.

like a lot of early megaten, there was no actual art available for some demons, then usually being recolors or only available in a sprite form. in the first smt it’s just a recolor of ichimokuren, also getting a tweaked description so it made sense as to why it’s a floating eyeball. it’s not actually accurate to actual watcher lore in terms of how they’re physically described. in giten it’s not even a recolor it’s just ichimokuren under a different name. only other appearance was in the main last bible trilogy and it was just a collection of eyes. meanwhile, grigori didn’t exist at all until demikids so congrats????

of course watchers and grigori weren’t described as birds—a lot of demikids designs are very cartoony to help with the pg clean family friendly appearance—but i do actually think they look pretty neat regardless.

a fun fact: mastema in the book of jubilees rules over the nephilim so you can technically say he has ties to demikids watchers.

#shantien rambles #smt #demikids #megaten

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waitingforwinterwinds · 1 year

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Game of Thrones - 54 DAENERYS VI (pages 563-574)

Dany and friends visit the market for a fun day out while her husband is hunting, and meet a wine seller who causes a significant change in Drogo's plans.

"The stallion who mounts the world has no need of iron chairs." Dany propped herself up on her elbow to look up at him (...) "It was prophesied that the stallion will ride to the ends of the earth," she said. "The earth ends at the black salt sea," Drogo answered at once. ... "You must talk to my lord husband," Dany said. "Drogo says the stallion who mounts the world will have all the lands of the earth to rule, and no need to cross the poison water. He talks of leading his khalasar east after Rhaego is born, to plunder the lands around the Jade Sea."

Oh now that's interesting. Up until now, Dany's interest in Westeros has been tangential at best, it's just some place that she's heard about that her brother feels felt belonged to him. Dany has had repeated moments of "if I can have this life I have now, or a simpler one, forever, I would be happy." But now that Viserys is dead, she's campaigning for her son to get the Iron Throne.

The riders let them come and go from unmolested, so long as they observed the peace of the sacred city, did not profane the Mother of Mountains or the Womb of the World, and honored the crones of the dosh khaleen with the traditional gifts of salt, silver, and seed. The Dothraki did not truly comprehend this business of buying and selling things. ... She saw a beautiful feathered cloak from the Summer Isles, and took it for a gift. In return, she gave the merchant a silver medallion from her belt. That was how it was done among the Dothraki.

The salt and seed make complete sense, salt is the og preservative, nutritionally important and has a variety of practical uses including making food taste good, seeds can be used as food, fodder or growing crops. Silver makes sense in the more abstract, I would love to know if there's a specific reason for silver over other metals.

But you know what's never made sense to me? The idea that the Dothraki have zero concept of buy and sell. Like, they receive a gift and they give a gift in return, that's literally trade, buy and sell is just trade where we use something that has little other use (ie gold and silver) and agree each thing is tradable for a set amount of that. But she says 'did not truly comprehend' so they do kind of get it, possibly they just think it's dumb. But the way it gets brought up sometimes I have to wonder is GRRM implying that the Dothraki aren't smart enough to understand the set price trade system, or that the entire culture is composed of asshats who'd steal from a tip jar (or worse leave a fake bill that quotes scripture on one side. Like "My 65 page, fully coloured comic book that took a year to make, pay what you think it's worth." *Puts a single dollar in the jar* kind of people.) Obviously in Dothraki gift swapping, Merchants are making losses, but I suppose as long as the losses aren't life or limbs? (D&D and the show continues to be bad at translating things = 🥛)

- and Kayakayanaya with iron rings in their nipples and rubies in their cheeks, -

Okay for a second there I was imagining those stretcher earrings but with a giant slab of ruby in the hole and set in the cheek, but it's probably more like those cute little dimple piercings... right?

Dany felt disappointed, but Quaro liked his sausage so well he decided to have another one, and Rakharo had to outdo him and eat three more, belching loudly. Dany giggled. "You have not laughed since your brother the Kahl Raggat was crowned by Drogo," said Irri. "It is good to see you laugh, Khaleesi."

oh no 🚩 Be honest, how many of this group are going to die? NO, WAIT! Don't tell me. Let it blind side me, otherwise I'll be sad ahead of time. This is such a cute scene though. This, I want this for her so bad, low stakes and cute friend dates. (We'll ignore everyone on this outing who's not Dany either works for her, her husband or is a slave. They can be her friends too. Multitasking.)

Dany stumbled and lost her feet. "No," she screamed, thrusting her hands out to break her fall... and Doreah caught her by the arm and wrenched her backward, so she landed on her legs and not her belly.

Doreah MVP!!!!!!

"This poisoner was the first," Ser Jorah Mormont warned him, "but he will not be the last. Men will risk much for a lordship."

Well he would have been if Bobby B hadn't once again decided to severely inconvenience everyone around him!

"And to Rhaego son of Drogo, the stallion who will mount the world, to him I also pledge a gift. To him I will give this iron chair his mother's father sat in. I will give him the Seven Kingdoms. I, Drogo, will do this thing."

Psh, yeah, now that it's about a personal insult to you, but not when your wife was asking for it.

"- I will kill the men in the iron suits and tear down their stone houses. I will rape their women, take their children as slaves, and bring their broken gods back to Vaes Dothrak to bow down beneath the Mother of Mountains. -"

Classy. Die in a hole.

Sorry, the Drogo hate is back in full swing, like dude, just admit you weren't doing this because it's what Dany wanted, you didn't care about the Seven Kingdoms until they came after your property wife. Call her Moon of my Life all you want, but we all know this was about affection for her, it was about wounded ego for you. Creep.

#a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #game of thrones #got #daenerys targeryan #a chapter a day reading

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dearest-lady-disdain · 2 years

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hi! what’s your favorite movie? <3

loving vincent (2017) is literally a work of art and it's so heart-wrenching in a very non-obvious way, to me at least, as i always feel a certain kind of despair whenever i watch it. it's sad, it's melancholy, i really like it.

another melancholy film with a similar tinge of sadness and one of my all time favourites as well would be marie antoinette (2006) directed by sofia coppola, starring kirsten dunst as the titular character. i adore the coming of age aspect of this particular piece as it works incredibly well with the overall theme and not only is it absolutely ingenius, but it also humanizes marie antoinette and reminds the modern audience that she was, in fact, really young when she came to france and all of that.

pride and prejudice (2005) might not be the most faithful adaptation and one of the criticisms i always see people having is that it overlooks the social commentary aspect of austen's work and focuses more on the romance of it all, but i'll be damned if it's not pretty fucking hilarious. which makes sense considering its source material - however, however, did it have excellent boiled potatoes? i don't recall that from the og austenian scripture

#excuse my lack of manners i was raised in the cave and yes that is a reference to that plato thing #ask me about my favourite anything and prepare for death #another melancholy film i like would be maurice but the fail and cringe discussions i've seen about it on the internet...#lydia has ran away with mr wickham is peak tragedy and peak comedy at the same time

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ancestorsofjudah · 7 months

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1 Kings 16: 29-34. "The Jasmine Flowers."

This is the end of a section focusing on the aspects of Jewish Royalty that are up and down, but never completely stable; we do not achieve Malchut through the attributes of these persons singly or together. We know this as the Kingdom split, it fell, we are Kingless and thus Kingdomless now as we have been for nearly three thousand years.

No one understands the Torah, no follows the decrees, there is expansion, but not encompassing of the human race in its ambitions. There are excesses and scarcities, utter stupidity, slaughter and filth all around us. We have made them happen. A sovereign personality does none of these things.

All we have read so far detailed how much work God had to invest in disciplining and guiding His Kings, none of whom lived long or well enough to shape or change the world.

They wanted more than they could consume, they chased the Beauty Boys around, worshipped their penis cocks and payed homage to their own, built altars between themselves and their subjects, burnt incense, filled the air with confusing foggy sweetly scented lies that went bad on them.

We conclude this section with our favorite Royal Foibles, Baal and Jezebel the King and Queen of hell. The question we need to answer is which noble aspects of the Kings of Israel do we yet possess and what can we mound up from them?

Or is Israel to remain a province of Egypt, a meandering, sandering race of noble born men who continue to choose panedemic over purpose?

Ahab Becomes King of Israel

Ahab, "God is Father, God is Brother" was the son of "Ecstatic Worship." We know this goes both ways. There are some brotherhoods out there that are very passionate about all the wrong things and there is no stopping them. Recall the Kingdom did not allow Tibni, the Intelligence Shield to join the mix.

Jews are supposed to be the smartest people on earth. This is a commandment it is not a drill. All worship and all intelligence must be performed at the same time or Sovereignty will be elusive and its enemies will be many:

29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.

30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.

31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.

32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

34 In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

The Thirty Eighth Year of Asa =1630, או‎גאֶפֶס‎, ogapes.

og="bread thrown on the fire" "the baker"

ap=The root cluster עוף ('wp), עיף ('yp), and יעף (y'p) appears to reflect a general sense of elevation, and from that come words that have to do with flight, or with being eminent, or with overshadowing and hence covering or protecting.

This cluster is arguably one of those Scriptural phenomena that reflect the vast complexity and simultaneous simplicity, intelligence and efficiency of the Hebrew language. In translations this verbal unity must sadly be fractured, and a large majority of Bible enthusiasts will never know what treasures lie within.

es="Respond to the counsel; use the wooden idols for kindling, and wake up the mind."

It is used to denote wood for kindling (Joshua 9:23), wood as a building material (Genesis 6:14, 2 Kings 12:13), and items made of wood (Exodus 7:19, Deuteronomy 19:5). And hence it may be used to denote (wooden) idols (Deuteronomy 4:28) or gallows, stake or similar means of execution (Genesis 40:19, Deuteronomy 21:22). The theological meaning of the Biblical tree (from the two trees in Paradise related to the fall of man, to the cross of Christ, to the restored Tree of Life as witnessed by John the Revelator - REVELATION 22:2) seem to promote a relationship with the verb עוץ ('us) meaning to counsel or regard.

Ahab reigned in Samaria, "the nightwatchful place" for 22 years.

22 years alone is 3171, גאז‎‎א, gaza, strength. If we look at the entire phrase, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years, a different value is obtained, 5470, ה‎דז‎אֶפֶס, the dzepes.

Dz=das or duz,

"In Mesopotamian thought the shedu was a supernatural protective power for whose presence the gods were invoked," and makes the observation that, "Good and evil are in the moral, not the metaphysical". In The Religion Of Israel, Y. Kaufmann writes, "When the gods of the nations are called shedim it is not meant that they are evil spirits, but that they are insubstantial shades, 'no-gods,' with neither divine nor demonic functions".

epes= see above

The implication of Ahab ruling during this time for this length of time is a spark of enlightenment as to the difference between reading a scripture, where all the gods, angels, and demons play, and how we are really supposed to act in life and how to contrast the nobleman from the diabolic and apply the correct diagnosis, the motivations behind his condition.

When a man acts out and claims it is his Godliness this is called idolatry. It is forbidden because it asks the masses to forigve evil in the Name of God and this is as ridiculous as it is profane.

The greatest example is the Crucifixion. God has not forgiven those Romans for that murder conducted so calledly in His Name. It is doubtful He ever will. This obscenity has warped humanity since.

To marry oneself and humanity alongside oneself to obscenity is to create a graven image, one that is fixed indelibably in the mind. We are sentient however and can scrub the writing about that nonsense surrounding how holy and saced things really are without much effort, correct?

Omri did not explain the errors of the former kings with ethical conduct, and he in fact was worse, creating a graven image, a habit for iniquity in his court:

v. 31 explains: The King also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.

Jezebel= "do not cohabitate with this girl."

Ethbaal=

The ubiquitous particle את ('et) usually marks the accusative (the subject of a sentence) but often has an unclear function. Sometimes it (or an identical second particle) indicates a close relationship between the words that surround it, and can be translated with "with" or "near."

The form את ('et) is also the base of the four second person pronouns, meaning "you": (אתה, you man; את, you woman; אתם, you men and אתן, you women).

Baal="The god on the ground"

The verb בעל (ba'al) means to exercise dominion over; to own, control or be lord over. The ubiquitous noun בעל (ba'al) means lord, master and even husband, and its feminine counterpart בעלה (ba'ala) means mistress or landlady.

God is obviously called 'lord' all over the Bible and the sin of the Baal priests (1 Kings 18:40) was not that they called upon some other deity but rather their incessant howling of the word 'lord' without any further responsibility or effects (see Matthew 7:21 and 11:4-5).

The King married someone no one with sense would marry, and then she and the king nurtured irresponsibility within one another. Of what type?

He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

Asherah Poles are big dirty penises. They do not do a good job of setting policy, excuting the law, or providing good and plenty for the nation, just for the unsanitary hootchies that come calling.

=5167, ה‎אוז,‎ ‎"the Oz".

An Oz is a strong man. This goes both ways. It can mean "refuge" or "sharp, intelligent" it can also mean a powerful despot, an autocrat. The people know when they are the ones going up on the chopping block and then the funeral pyre instead of all that ails society.

About the Strong Man, In Matthew 12:29, Jesus said people were seeing Him “bind the strong man,” referring to Satan. This means the king, the people, the temple, all of society need to reject the strength of the Strong Man and rule according to the principals prescribed by secular law.

Shame never once barred a freak or a fuckup from brutalizing his people, only the law has the strength that can match a strong man and take back the power he stole. Religion can prevent him from surfacing from the ranks again, but once the dim of wit allow a tyrant to surface, the law is the only thing that can overpower him:

see v. 34:

In Ahab’s time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

Hiel= Life Itself

The verb חיה (haya) means to live and life is all about resonance between elements — molecules working together to make a living cell, cells working together to make a living organism and human minds working together to make a living nation.

Adjective חי (hay) means living and adjective חיה (hayeh) means lively. Noun חיה (hayya) means life or living thing, and may also be used to describe a vibrant community. Plural noun חיים (hayyim) literally means livings but describes the whole palette of activities a living being engages in: one's making-a-living.

Bethel= the House of God

Jericho=the Fragrant Place, (refers to the jasmine and orange flowers that grow there)

Abiram= "father of pride, not of arrogance"

Segub=spiritual warfare in large numbers

Our verb focuses on the unified behavior of any closely interlinked group, whether it's an army that moves as a single unit but with separate divisions (Numbers 31:7), or Levites serving in the tabernacle (Numbers 4:23) or women serving at the tabernacle's entrance (Exodus 38:8). Since in the Old Testament large, unified groups are usually armies, this verb mostly expresses military engagement. But to conclude that our verb is essentially military — and therefore that the servants of the tabernacle were engaged in spiritual warfare (as per HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament) — is fantastic and wildly off the wall.

Joshua= freedom from oppression

The verb ישע (yasha') means to be unrestricted and thus to be free and thus to be saved (from restriction, from oppression and thus from ultimate demise). A doer of this verb is a savior. Nouns ישועה (yeshua), ישע (yesha') and תשועה (teshua) mean salvation. Adjective שוע (shoa') means (financially) independent, freed in an economic sense.

Nun=many persons living in prosperous conditions.

Here we have it: It is the King of Israel's responsibility to ensure this world, the House of God is wholly inhospitable to tyrants and tyrantitas, dull or dumb persons who rule oppressively without government, science, or technology at their disposal.

Should the world fall prey to such persons, the Melachim says large numbers of educated persons should act in the Name of the Lord and remove them power.

As for what happens to humanity after that: The answer is found in the meaning of for the jasmine fragrance found in Jericho:

After Reuben did teshuvah, he merited bringing the duda’im [jasmine flowers], (Gen. 30:14) which resulted in the birth of Issachar, who is from the good side of Cain the firstborn. Eve said when Cain was born, "I have acquired a man with G‑d," (Gen. 4:1) which is actually an allusion [to Cain’s rectification through Issachar], since both Eve and Leah were from the level of bina, which as we know is called Imma Ila’a [the supernal maternal aspect].

The answer is: We rebound. We organize around the principals that have never let us down, that bring out the good in us and we never stop teaching why must never stop. That is the binah, the "foundation of learning" indicated by this Kabbalah of the Scent of the Jasmine Flowers. We don't have a King of Israel or a Kingdom of Israel but we do have the binah, and that means no matter what has happened, all is not yet lost.

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desi-lgbt-fest · 2 years

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hi! I'm desi diaspora and I often feel like my gender and the way I perceive it is both 'too western' and that the ways in which my understanding of hinduism affects how I see my gender are wrong/incomplete because I didn't have a great relationship with hinduism growing up. Like I feel like my soul has never had a gender through reincarnations etc but I'm not really sure that makes sense in hindu scripture. Do you think diaspora folks like myself can view/apply non-Western understandings of gender the 'wrong way'? Does that matter? idk thanks for reading this ramble

In online spaces, gender relations are very critically viewed reviewed and overviewed (in my-og mod- opinion). It's a safe space to muse and explore. But that exploration involves confusion, being lost and possibly panicking that you may never find a way. I'll see if i can help you out here. Caution, it'll be long.

Most of exploration regarding gender in Indian context, that I've come across is done by Indian feminists, criticising restricting gender roles for women. But that involved just broadening the horizons rather than leaving the region behind. In newer age, same thing is being done for men. Men CAN cry. Woman CAN be a girlboss (hashtag, buy our product 60% off for woman's day)

All the stuff regarding leaving the assigned gender and transing it to your true gender, however, is rarely discussed or shown. We know it exists. We have activism surrounding supporting trans people. But our most current efforts (quite rightfully) are focused on helping them survive rather than do a deep dive into psyche of transing gender as an Indian person and bringing it into mainstream conversation.

We as young internet people, have only come across discussions of transgenderism in western context. We know it only in relation to western gender and their gender conflicts.

It's like having an unnamed emotion and learning a word for it in a foreign language. It's untranslatable into your mother tongue, but how could it be? You're feeling it. What does it mean if you can't speak it however you want to? What do you mean i can't explain what blorbo means to my mom? Why should you care if your existing dictionary is insufficient for you and if you found a better one?

If there's anything from Hinduism that i take away is that you are temporary. The bodily form mortals assume is fickle and rigid and bound in duties. Only gods with their destinies prewritten in curses and countercurses get remade in whatever form suits the narrative. There's no rule that cannot be broken when it comes to them.

So become a god. Get remade in whatever form you want and own your narrative.

#i am neither a hindu scholar nor a queer scholar #but i hope this helps #og mod #desi queer #desi lgbt #desi tag #gender identity #hinduism #hindu queer #transgender #asks #anonymous #long post

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nolabballgirl · 4 years

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Skam: Ranking the Sana Seasons

So in light of Skam España’s upcoming Amira season, I thought I would watch all of the existing Sana seasons (Skam OG, Druck, Skam Italia, and Skam France) and give my rankings, coming from the perspective of a cis Muslim woman of color from the US.

Overall, none of the seasons lived up to their potential, and none really explored Islamophobia or racism is any meaningful way. They definitely could have benefitted from more Muslims (if any at all) in the writer’s room. For example, most of the remakes (Druck did the best here) miss the mark on approaching the main conflict between Sana and her non-Muslim love interest. They even have most Sanas asking a parent or Googling why a Muslim man can marry whoever he wants but a Muslim woman can’t, so I’m not sure if they are trying for some backdoor feminist angle. First, that’s not accurate. Scripturally, a Muslim man cannot marry an atheist or an agnostic either, which is how the Sanas’ love interests are generally coded. Second, for me, the actual question is more of interpretation of faith. Seeing a five-times per day praying, hijabi Muslim woman grappling with following the scripture and then *wanting* to be with a non-muslim knowing that not only does it go against her faith, but that he wouldn’t participate in a huge part of her life (e.g. imagine the loneliness of fasting all of Ramadan by yourself year after year) is the drama and love and heartbreak I want to see examined.

Tbh, I thought Amira N.’s guest appearance on Lucas Rubio’s YouTube channel gave us a more in depth dive than pretty much all these other seasons combined, but anyway, here we go:

1. Druck S4 (Amira M.) - I really love Amira M. (her spunk, attitude, and incorporation of faith into her life). But, they completely shortchanged Amira by giving her fewer episodes and essentially turning it into the Mia and Hanna show by the end. However, across the remakes, I thought Amira’s story arc and confidence in her Islam was the best depicted so far.

Amira M. and Mohammed have the best Yousana chemistry. The romantic tension is so palpable. Plus, Mohammed standing guard and not having her Maghrib prayer interrupted was such a thoughtful touch! (in the other remakes, there are always people making out or barging in when Sana is trying to pray).

All the remakes have shown the Sanas praying, but here we have scenes with Amira reciting her prayers out loud for the audience to hear (not the usual mumble-core), and Tua has such a nice reciting voice (qira’at) :)

Druck didn’t ruin the Girl Squad for me (even though they pretty much gave Kiki a personality transplant to get there!)

But, Druck played this season super safe and did not engage in any *real* conversations with the GS surrounding racism and Islamophobia, so major missed opportunity there! We only had snapshots of Amira dealing with racist third parties here and there, but no cohesive resolution.

Omar and Essam’s storylines really went nowhere. They could have done so much more with these characters and their struggles fitting in to German society. Although I do think the “house party/left behind bottle of alcohol” scene fit better with Essam and his friends vs. having it be Amira trying to fit in with another group of girls.

Like with Skam Italia, it feels like something is missing when one of the Girl Squad members is MIA (here, Mia/Noora), but Druck overcompensated and not in a good way.

2. Skam OG (Sana B.) - Sana is the OG bada$$. I’ll admit it took me a little while to get warmed up to her, but I love how this season showed her vulnerability. I also thought she and Yousef had great chemistry. Plus, Sana and Even friendships are pure gold :)

However, I didn’t like:

the characterization of the Girl Squad and how Sana was essentially pushed out in favor of the Pepsi Max girls (come on Girl Squad - do better!)

the Noora/Yousef flirtation/make out - unnecessary other than to give Noora more screen time. And not a fan of wrapping up storylines with text message exposition...

the Sana/Isak bench scene. Yes, there were some good moments but I didn’t like putting the onus back on Sana to be the one doing all the work and answering all the dumb questions. It’s so exhausting.

the cyberbullying story, followed by Sana messaging William behind Noora’s back - left a sour taste in my mouth RE: Sana’s motives without any great or meaningful resolution (sidenote: props to Skam España for moving this to Eva’s season - makes a lot more sense!)

3. Skam Italia (Sana A.) - So despite my misgivings with SkamIt due to its casting issues, I was excited coming into this season because I saw a lot of hype on social media. But, it turned out to basically be a carbon copy of the Skam OG season, so it left me disappointed overall.

Sana and Malik are cute, but...

I really didn't care for the Girl Squad this season, and the treatment felt even worse than the GS of Skam OG’s season 4. The dynamic was really all over the place - they pushed Sana out in favor of the BCU girls and essentially let them badmouth her and accuse her of sabotaging their vacation house. But as soon as Silvia is the one who gets insulted, then all of a sudden we’re a Girl Squad again? Where’s the kindness and understanding? Where are my Sisters Forever?!

It’s always weird to me when one of the Girl Squad members is MIA (here, Eleonora/Noora was gone for most of the season), so it just feels like something is missing.

Gay conversion therapy storyline - yes, this is an important topic that affects religious households, but there was no in depth treatment to it, like at all. And do I hate that they gave the intolerance storyline to a Muslim family and imam when there’s already rampant Islamophobia in Italy? Yes! But, more so it takes away from Sana’s story. It was more of an excuse to incorporate Martino/Niccolo into S4 instead of developing Sana as a character and having Skam Italia deal with racism and Islamophobia head on. Also, it was a case of another character (Sana) speaking for Luai instead of having Luai speak for himself about his experience and trauma.

Sana taking off her hijab in Filippo/Martino’s apt - lol...it’s just not realistic.

4. Skam France (Imane) - The worst. Do I need to say more? Okay, I will.

The casual, unchecked racism jumps out.

The casual, unchecked Islamophobia jumps out.

Um, Girl Squad - look at what you’re doing, look at your choices. Seriously, talk about ruining characters and ruining a Girl Squad.

Dragging out Sofiane and Manon’s relationship. Totally undercuts the Imane and Sofiane chemistry compared to the other remakes. Yousef/Mohammed would never.

Followed by the Manon and Charles show. *roll eyes*

Someone please rescue Imane. Girl, go hang with Jamila and Lamia. You’ll be so much happier.

Someone give the Bakhellals their own show far away from here.

#skam españa #skam #skam italia #skam france #druck #long post #sana bakkoush #amira mahmood #amira naybet #sana allagui #imane bakhellal

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kat-hawke · 4 years

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Uull lwhuk h'iwn

(Following [Ul basha krix])

Only a few days had passed since her previous trip to Uldum, but the spread of darkness had shifted as if it had been a year. Stretching further across the sanders, the sky was now littered with platforms and towering structures of obsidian, all of which held that red glow and carved scripture. The sight alone sent chills running over Kat’s shoulders and down her spine, the power in the air nearly tangible.

"Kat...” Alyssa spoke up, no doubt feeling the shift in environmental power. “I think it's time to tell me what your goal is out here. I can't help if you don't."

"The same as it was before. There's already souls out here for the taking, little to no effort." Kat’s answer was vague as she stared at the gateway to Ny’alotha at the opposite end of the river.

"You're building to something. You need them for a reason.... My soul is as dark as yours. You can trust me. You have to, or I won't keep doing my part in this."

Annoyance quickly swept over her emotion at the vague threat. Pausing for a moment as her gaze shifted to the twisted fields below. Attempting to simply force the warlock into submission would likely yield poor results and she was right, some trust had to be given.

"Saving your soul will require quite a bit of power and untained essence to weave in the damaged parts that the fel would leave in it's absence. There's also the matter of my own, which... I'm still unsure of, I've tried in the past but was never successful." An honest answer, though lacking detail.

"Okay." A pause, as if she’d let the conversation end there. "Your soul has changed, noticeably. I'm concerned. Don't just dismiss it."

"It's always changing, a constant flux. I step too close to a Ren'dorei or Lightforged it spikes one way or the other." Kat clearly dismissive, against Alyssa’s warning.

"Not like this Kat. The outline has changed, the dark is darker. I've seen what more or less looks like. This is new."

A quiet exhale against the mask pulled up over the lower face as her gaze dropped to the stone beneath her feet. Alyssa was right and she knew it, everything she experienced during the dagger’s absence put the risks in a true perspective and her fears were becoming a reality.

‘Gag yoh'ghyl og hoq uul'gwa.’ The clawing whisper interjected.

"It's fine." She dismissed the topic, again, as she set off to descend upon the site of torment cells.

"Stop saying that!" Alyssa's voice comes with more force this time, anger bubbling up in it. "What did you say the other day? 'I should have listened to you?' Get out of your own ass and listen to me, I'm trying to keep you alive."

"What do you want me to say?!" She snapped back, nearly losing her footing on the crumbling walkway. "That this shit scares me? You think I don't know the risks? Or that I'd be out here for someone other than myself? I know, okay... I know. I'm trusting you to keep me safe, do I need to say that?"

"I want you to accept that this isn't normal, that you can't keep going the same way you are. Something came back with you from Uldum."

"Yeah, I uh...” Previous denial began to crumble as Alyssa spoke, realizing the folly in her former plan and giving into the whispers of the obelisk she restored within her own home. “I stole one of the cultists tomes. It's back at home though." Another half truth.

"Maybe that was it, but it's stuck to you more than just that." Alyssa held a hint of that fear in her voice. "It hears us and sees us. I'm sure of that."

"Darling, if you could see the world right now you'd understand just how much of an understatement that is." There was a hint of amusement in her tone, but no less serious than she typically was as she scanned the horizon of growing appendages. "It's rather grotesque."

"What do you want?" The way Alyssa asks is off.

"What?" Confusion and annoyance apparent as raven brows pushed together. "Are you serious? I already told you..."

No response came, just silence. Kat huffed softly as eyes rolled, muttering a quiet ‘whatever’ into the mask as she snuck across the rooftops of the abandoned farm hovels.

Dropping along the back wall she kept herself pressed to the bricks, side stepping to the corner as a knife pulled from the waist. Spinning the blade over in the fingers her grip tightened, peering around the corner to gauge her timing until the lone cultist would draw near. The internal clock ticked away, gloved fingers flexing one by one with each second that passed until the figures shadow approached the desired mark.

Pivoting out on one leg she struck, the blade darting through the air like lightning and plunging into the chest of the cultist, a female orc whose skin turned violet from the corruption. Kat’s free hand grabbed hold the robes, dragging the victim back around the corner and out of sight.

The slight misjudgment in height caused her blade to miss the heart by a mere inch, giving the orc the opportunity to struggle. The massive hand reaching out and locking onto the Director’s neck, constricting with the brutish strength. The runes on her bracers sparked and flared faintly in the moment, immediately triggering alarm as adrenaline began to flow.

“Buy a girl a drink first.” She spat out from beneath the choking hold, her knife repeatedly stabbing the orc’s chest in several quick bursts. The brute strength began to wane, the other arm spinning over to free her throat from the weakened grasp. Without hesitation she rushed forward in a headbutt to the orc’s nose, the bone breaking in the collision as it collapsed to the ground, life seeping away into the sand.

Rubbing at the leather around the neck Kat took a few larger breaths, the sense of alarm fading away as she stepped over the body. “Sorry, no’ my type.”

Sheathing the bloodied knife at the waist again she quickly inspected the bracers, concerned still by the flare. There had been no outward use of magic from the orc, yet they resisted something. Whatever it was had been unseen and it only incubated the growing fear in her mind. Swallowing the lump in her throat she moved along the building again, settling in between the two to further scope her destination.

Two torment cells, housing captured Ramkahen citizens, were now unattended only a few yards away. Their position along a low stone wall provided her cover to allow Alyssa to work, but patrolling beheaders and worms above were still an obstacle of timing.

Before she could move the bracers flared again, stronger and brighter this time, enough to cause pain in the soul as if something or someone had snuffed a cigarette against her very core. Panic and fear grew tenfold at the very thought of her bracers failing, allowing not just an outside influence to touch her soul but the enchantments held her in a balance.

‘Iilth ma paf'qi'ag sk'halahs.’

Fingers fumbled as they searched for the azerite crystal around her neck, pulling the chain to free the stone from beneath the leather armor. In a tight grasp she drew power from the crystal, expending over half its charge to fight back against whatever unseen force was attacking her only safeguard of the soul.

The opposing force diminished until it was nothing under the backlash, the flare in the runes of the bracers vanishing. With a relieved breath she fell into the wall, catching herself with one arm as her gaze quickly dropped to inspect the bracers, hairline cracks running from end to end. Her heart skipped a beat as the apparent damage had been done, minor as it was, a chink in the spiritual armor was a fatal risk.

"Kat..." Alyssa suddenly spoke, sounding drained. "You're right...you're going to get me killed."

"That—” It suddenly clicks in Kat’s head, anger and confusion mixing in an instant, thoughts reeling as she tried to make sense of it. “Was that you? I thought something was attacking my bracers. I didn't know what. I panicked, we'll both be dead if they fail."

"Maybe, I was fighting whatever this thing attached to your soul is. It says we'll betray each other, that it will await in the dark, that it wants us to see the truth...” There were hints on uncertainty. “Kat I don't know how to fight this. It felt like it started to draw my space into the Sleeping City again."

Suddenly it made sense, her gaze cut across the horizon to the Ny’alotha gateway again. "It's just fucking with your head, Alyssa. That's what it does. It was goading you to fight, don't you see? It wanted you to lash out, to break the safeguards I have around my soul."

"Guess it's good I couldn't reach my felfire then." Guilt hung in Alyssa’s words.

"Yeah..." Kat let the single word trail off as she began to isolate her emotions again. Realizing that if her counterpart could no longer separate the illusions from reality then she couldn’t keep her safe, that the way she fought would only open a more detrimental doorway.

"How do you know what's real?"

That inquiry was the confirmation she feared she would receive. Frozen in place by confliction she stared across the empty field at the torment cells, unable or just unwilling to answer the question.

"Already know 'be careful' isn't useful. We're riding the edge Kat. I don't want to die. Do better."

"You do better." Anger began to win the struggle as she retorted. "You realize what would happen if my bracers shattered, here, of all places? Not even you could prevent what would come next."

"I'm doing the best I can with the limited information I have."

"And I'm not?" Kat’s jaw clenched and the teeth ground.

"Nevermind," an irritated tone from the warlock quickly came in response. "We survived it. It's fine."

"What do you want me to say?" Also irritated now, Kat leaned further against the wall, forced to wait for a group of writhing worms overhead to pass. "I can't always tell what's real either, okay. I need you."

"I don't know Kat! I'm dead, I'm stuck in a damn knife, I don't know where I am, or what’s going on, and the only person I can talk to is one of the least open people I've ever met. I'm frustrated, angry, and confused, and I'm trying to focus on the one thing I can do which is try to keep you alive."

"Yeah, alright, fine. I'm sorry." Responding quickly she was caught off guard by the other’s response. Her jaw shifted from one side to the other as guilt and anger swelled again. No apology would ever be enough for what she had done.

"I need to recharge.” Alyssa finally broke the long silence. “I'm going to just...do that for a bit. Call me if you need me."

Another sudden realization of her insensitively struck, shifting that swelling anger and guilt into remorse and regret. Drawing Alyssa’s dagger from the sheath at the thigh the blade turned over in her hand, cradled in both palms as she stared down upon the weakened glow of the engravings. Hanging her head for a fleeting moment she didn’t think twice before expending one of her two vials of liquid azerite, pouring the blue and gold fluid over the engravings.

Unsure if it would even work there was a pleased breath as the substance was absorbed and the dagger’s illumination returned to full strength. Kat didn’t expect a ‘thank you’ or any sort of gratification, the fact her aid had not been rejected was enough. Swallowing a bit of her pride she broke the silence.

"Let's just go home. I'll find another way. I know I'm not the most open person, I just...I don't know how to be anymore. I hate this, the fighting. I thought you were gone and it was my fault, and I couldn't handle that. Then you came back and I just— It made me realize how much I needed you and now I'm out here fucking it all up again."

When Alyssa didn’t respond there was a brief feeling of pain across the heart, lips pulling to one side beneath the mask as she sheathed the dagger again. Perhaps that was deserved, after everything she’d done. Glancing upward towards the torment cells again she stared for a moment, shaking her head before turning away to retreat to the desert once more.

It didn’t seem to matter how many times Kat said something, the silence she continued to get in response was near deafening. The lack of conversation made the trek back to the secluded oasis camp seem long, more so by the fact she had to detour as a swarm of cultists and faceless ones had migrated into the path she originally took.

“I’m sorry.” Alyssa’s sudden return carrying like an echo on the wind. “I didn’t mean to snap like that I just... You keep saying you’re going to help me but then you don’t. I’m starting to doubt you really want to save me, or just use me like everyone else.”

That cut deep, deeper than Kat thought it would to hear. Pressing on through the sands she kept her head down, biting the lower lip as swallowed pride again to allow some honestly.

‘En'othk uulg'shuul.’

“Helping you get away from the fel was always my intention, that much has been true since I said it. Where to start is a mystery I’ve yet to solve. The risk of damaging you, killing you, I just can’t take it. Not again. Most of the rituals I’ve found would consume the dagger in the process, and by extension you.”

“But you still hesitate to collect enough power for a true effort?”

“It’s not that simple, Alyssa.”

“Quit making excuses, Kat. Don’t be a prisoner in your own body. I know you hold yourself back, I can see it. You’re afraid I’ll leave and disapprove but I’m just as dark as you. I still love you.”

She was right. Again. Kat held back out of fear, fear of abandonment and of the darkness taking control. Refusing to admit it she stormed around the corner of the cliff face, coming to a sudden halt as her eyes landed upon the large obsidian construction before her. A massive platform with stairs leading up from either side. Another pair of stairs upon the platform met at a single point before a dark altar, a towering obelisk on either side that stretched upward for nearly half a mile.

Several whispers invaded the mind as she stared upon the twisted writings in the blood red glow of the stones. Disorienting at first but her feet continued to move, step after step she drew closer to the blacken stone. Her heart beat faster, pounding in the ears as the boots climbed the stairs, subconsciously moving as if in a fog.

Pain seared across the shoulders, the carved scripture in her flesh breaking through the glamour, illuminating through the leather armor in a matching hue to the sigils of obelisks. Her methodical advance coming to a halt before the altar between the obelisks, gaze turned upward as the mask pulled away to collect around the neck.

A sudden weight pulled against her very core, like trees falling in a forest against her back it forced her to the knees. Fog of the mind clearing as the pain from the burning scripture across her shoulders was now her’s to bear in full, dragging a scream of tortured pain through her throat.

[ @alyssa-ward ]

(Chapter I: Dark Secrets) (Chapter II: Descent) ( [pt.I] [pt.II] [pt.III] [pt.IV] [pt.V] )

#ic #plotlines #Ascension #pt.VI

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deetvar-moved · 5 years

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With the memes of “your ships boil down to this”, how would you describe the ships that you really like?

I tend to like ships that focus on a sense of growth in and out of the relationship. There’s obviously a bias I got for shy guy/outgoing girl because I’ve always been the shy guy all my life.But in the case of my ultimate ship of Lewyn’var, it’s because it tickles all metrics of what I value. Angst, a deep sense of growth, a continuing drama and fleeting idyllic romance so close in their grasp, and allows me to flex my muscles in the subjects I like. The pairing is as much a character study as it is an excuse for me to worldbuild my interpretation of Jugdral.Lewyn’var allows me to do that. In a small snippet, I called Sety “Yudic,” an old syncretism that by Lewyn’s time has lost its original meaning. Yudic means just or righteous, but it’s a clear embellishment from Crusader times where they equated Forseti as an aspect/avatar of Yudu/Gran. I intend to do the same with Nova. Except Ethnic Nova sounds wrong. Ethnia Nova? Ethis Nova? Ethonia Nova? I also intend to have Silesian scriptures portray Neir as more of a pushover or coward, or reckless. Virgil did the same in calling Odysseus/Ulysses as “deceitful” or how the Popol Vuh has a possible slander toward older Mayan practices. So the idea here applies. Sety and Forseti get major prominence in their respective scriptures, and the other Crusaders are there to uplift OG Sety by comparison. And when I say scriptures, I do mean that. There are multiple and each has slight authorial differences in interpretation and view of Forseti/Sety. Religion gets the full treatment in Learn To Fly, not flavor text.

#Deet'var speaks #Learn To Fly #Lewyn/var #thelastaprilfool

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thoughtsfromthegm · 5 years

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Prophets in the Promised Land - Design Journal 1

Intro and Explanation

I’m working on a Jewish Dogs in the Vineyard hack, one that let’s the players take up the roles of traveling Prophets or Rabbis going from community to community, rooting out sin and corruption, delivering divine judgement, and possibly performing miracles. This journal is to track my progress working on the game and to hold my thoughts and questions for me between game dev sessions.

Summary of Work So Far

This is my third day (non-consecutive) of working on this game. I’m counting any day that I write out a DitV-sized section of text as a day that I have worked on the game. Obviously I’m going to be churning through thoughts about it when I’m not sitting and typing but people can’t play a game made out of thoughts (yet). Any day where I work on the game I want to write a journal post about it.

Day 1

The first day that I worked on the game I just made a to-do list. It was 2 pages long, and 1.5 of those pages are devoted to just endless questions about when and where to set the game. Jewish culture isn’t one thing in one place at one time, and I didn’t know which setting I wanted to put the game in. The time of the Patriarchs? Of the Prophets? The Judges? The Jewish diaspora in the Islamic Golden Age? An eastern European town a la Fiddler on the Roof? Literally Deseret but Jewish?

I was especially not looking forward to was tackling gender roles.

Day 2

I think I’ve settled on the idea of incorporating all the different parts of Jewish history into the same setting. It’ll take some hand waving but I like the idea of Rabbis (Prophets? Judges?) being able to interact with and pass judgement on Jewry through history. I’ve also decided that my Deseret is going to just straight up be the Promised Land of Israel, but without any of the specifics. I’m going to claim the geography, climate, and mythopoetic significance the place and completely strip away all of the literal, historical, or Biblical markers. No famous historical cities, no places of biblical significance, no Temple, no Jerusalem, nothing that players can grab onto and say “but it means this because that happened here!” This is the the land of potential that God promised us, not the land we actually got.

I’ve also found that a great hack for productivity so far has been to just take a section of the original DitV book, put the same heading in a gdoc, and then rewrite the entire section. Having a concrete starting point that I need to break away from an change really helps me get my thoughts in order.

Output of Day 2:

Chapter 1: How to Play

I: How to Play

The land I imagine follows, very roughly, the climate and geographic contours of Israel. In the south you have a desert something like the Negev, a western coastline along something like the Mediterranean Sea, hills and mountains and to the east a lush, water-giving valley something like the Jordan Valley. The summer is long, hot and dry, and the winter is short, cold and wet.

The setting imagines a Jewish people plucked from the various times and places of the diaspora and placed in a fantastic version of Israel.

This section could be renamed “What I know about Israel”. I am Well Equipped(tm) for this project.

Chapter 2: A Land of Milk And Honey

II: A Land of Milk and Honey

I will bring you to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Setting

I’m just making stuff up! I have an image in my head, a picture of what the characters look like, what the towns and landscapes look like, and my thoughts in this chapter follow from it.

As you play the game, you’ll form your own picture of its world. Make up details to fit your picture, don’t worry about sticking to mine.

It’s especially important to note that everyone playing will form a slightly different picture, leading to slightly different details. That’s fine! As GM, it falls to you to draw the other players’ details into the confirmed, consensus “reality” of the game. When a player asks you, “is there a [whatever] here?” you should either say yes outright, or turn the question back to the group: “I dunno, does it make sense to you all that there’d be a [whatever] here?” Similarly, if you think that a detail you’re introducing might be at all surprising or controversial, take it to the group: “I want there to be a [whatever] here. Does that make sense to everybody?”

This bit is quoted straight from OG DitV, with a little bit left off the end. I’ll probably rewrite the bit I left off in my own voice later.

The Regions

In the south, baked and weathered by the desert sun, tent-dwelling nomads still wander the wilderness, and ascetics embark on journeys of spiritual discovery; along the western coastline, prosperous, cosmopolitan port towns bustle with trade, civil intrigue, and culture clash with foreign visitors and immigrants; in the eastern valley region, military tensions and territory skirmishes simmer around the valuable natural resources; in the northern mountains, the Chosen People live under the oppressive regimes of foreign powers; and in the central hill lands people live among the ruins of the Temple Cities, reminders of holier days.

This is my rough dream for the setting, a bunch of different pseudo-historical settings all somehow existing in proximity to, but separate from each other. I want to carry some of the philosophical baggage of each into the game but leave out the set-in-stone history. It also gives lots of license for the players and GM to play in a bunch of different scenarios: war-time, peace-time, “peace”-time, pogrom, prosperity, etc.

I use too many semi-colons;

Day 3

Day 3 output:

Chapter 2: A Land of Milk And Honey

The Times

The diversity of locations in the Promised Land means you have a chance to visit pastiches and facsimiles of communities from times and cultures across the span of Jewish history. A given town or community will have its own local flavor, whether that be bronze-age tent dwellers and sheep herders or tight-knit enclaves that seem lifted out of (or rather, still somehow located in) an eastern European town at the beginning of the industrial revolution.

There are only three restrictions on this panoply of choices: first, the time of the Bible is past and even though you may seem to be interacting with Jews from times long gone by, they are not contemporaries of any scriptural or historical figures; second, the Holocaust has not happened and nowhere is post-WWII; and third, no matter the seeming time period, the Temple and Jerusalem have been destroyed, although whether it was razed by enemy armies or demolished as divine punishment is unclear and somewhat mysterious.

Got specific about my ideas for how to make all these times and places coexist, and what kinds of setting(s) I want in the game. I think it implies the right amount and kind of hand-wavey-ness. I might need to explicitly specifiy in the “creating towns” section that these anachronistic elements don’t appear next to each other, each place is a unified setting. Your Prophets are the only things that are out of place but that’s the point. You’re here to unsettle some shit.

#game design #prophets in the promised land #dogs in the vineyard

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sketching-shark · 1 year

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Is their two *Tangs* in LMK like I remember that in the end of JTTW that the monk separated from his body, but what if his body just kept on living. Its kinda like when Heracles died and his divine half went to Olympus and his mortal half went on to guard Hades.

Anon I am not even kidding when I say that is literally the coolest and most metal explanation for Tang Shifu's whole thing I've yet encountered. It could be the basis for some really interesting stories about identity, morality, and even questions about what's left behind after "the end" of a journey if Flying Bark goes in that direction.

TBH I had almost forgotten about that scene near the end of JTTW where Tang Sanzang & co are taking a boat across a massive river to reach Spirit Vulture Peak where the Buddha resides, which is ridiculous of me because at least in the 2012 Anthony C. Yu translation it's a wonderful mix of spiritual delight and body horror. To quote the work itself:

"As they [the pilgrims] all stood on the gunwhale, the Buddhist Patriarch gently punted the vessel away from shore. All at once they saw a corpse floating down upstream, the sight of which filled the elder [Tang Sanzang] with terror.

'Don't be afraid, Master,' said Pilgrim [Sun Wukong], laughing. 'It's actually you!'

'It's you! It's you!' said Eight Rules [Zhu Bajie] also.

Clapping his hands, Sha Monk also said, 'It's you! It's you!'

Adding his voice to the chorus, the boatman also said, 'That's you! Congratulations! Congratulations!' Then the three disciples repeated this chanting in unison as the boat was punted across the water. In no time at all, they crossed the Divine Cloud-Transcending Ferry all safe and sound. Only then did Tripitaka turn and skip lightly onto the other shore. We have here a testimonial poem, which says:

Delivered from their mortal flesh and bone

A primal spirit of mutual love has grown.

Their work done, they become Buddhas this day,

Free of their former six-six senses' sway."

---

So you do essentially have a scene in Xiyouji that has the Tang monk looking at horror at his own corpse as it floats away, yet this is ultimately portrayed as a good thing because it was only through separating himself from his earthly flesh that he could complete the journey and become the Buddha of Candana Merit. So if you're continuing that into the legoland story, just imagine what a blow that would be to Tang Shifu if he finds out he's not Tang Sanzang's reincarnation, not even a regular man with a soul like any other, but is just the Tang Monk's abandoned earthly flesh that somehow developed a will. And since I believe there should be more done to maintain the moral complexity of the og classic in even its silly cartoon retellings, there's the open question over whether Tang Shifu as Tang Sanzang's abandoned body would even really feel he has the right to feel abandoned, given that A) Tang Sanzang had no idea that he would even be parted from his earthly flesh as part of becoming a buddha and B) The whole POINT of going on the journey was to get Buddhist scriptures that would allow for the redemption of countless damned souls...

#ask answered #monkie kid #monkie kid tang shifu #xiyouji #sometimes my anons come up with the coolest story ideas #journey to the west #jttw #this is making me curious as to if anyone has taken advantage of this plot point to write about the adventures of tang sanzang's corpse lol

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dfroza · 4 years

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To the lost & found:

Today’s reading from the book of Luke with chapter 15:

[The Story of the Lost Sheep]

By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, “He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.” Their grumbling triggered this story.

“Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Celebrate with me! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

[The Story of the Lost Coin]

“Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”

[The Story of the Lost Son]

Then he said, “There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’

“So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.

“That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father.

“When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’

“But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.

“All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’

“The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’

“His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”

The Book of Luke, Chapter 15 (The Message)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 12th chapter of Joshua that documents the kings the Israelites had engaged in war with:

[The Defeated Kings]

These are the kings that the People of Israel defeated and whose land they took on the east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon, with the whole eastern side of the Arabah Valley.

Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned from Heshbon: His rule extended from Aroer, which sits at the edge of the Arnon Gorge, from the middle of the gorge and over half of Gilead to the Gorge of the Jabbok River, which is the border of the Ammonites. His rule included the eastern Arabah Valley from the Sea of Kinnereth to the Arabah Sea (the Salt Sea), eastward toward Beth Jeshimoth and southward to the slopes of Pisgah.

And Og king of Bashan, one of the last of the Rephaim who reigned from Ashtaroth and Edrei: His rule extended from Mount Hermon and Salecah over the whole of Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites (the other half of Gilead) to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

Moses the servant of God and the People of Israel defeated them. And Moses the servant of God gave this land as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half of the tribe of Manasseh.

And these are the kings of the land that Joshua and the People of Israel defeated in the country west of the Jordan, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon south to Mount Halak, which towers over Seir. Joshua gave this land to the tribes of Israel as a possession, according to their divisions: lands in the mountains, the western foothills, and the Arabah Valley, on the slopes, and in the wilderness and the Negev desert (lands on which Hittites, Amorites and Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites had lived). The kings were:

The king of Jericho one

The king of Ai (near Bethel) one

The king of Jerusalem one

The king of Hebron one

The king of Jarmuth one

The king of Lachish one

The king of Eglon one

The king of Gezer one

The king of Debir one

The king of Geder one

The king of Hormah one

The king of Arad one

The king of Libnah one

The king of Adullam one

The king of Makkedah one

The king of Bethel one

The king of Tappuah one

The king of Hepher one

The king of Aphek one

The king of Lasharon one

The king of Madon one

The king of Hazor one

The king of Shimron Meron one

The king of Acshaph one

The king of Taanach one

The king of Megiddo one

The king of Kedesh one

The king of Jokneam in Carmel one

The king of Dor (Naphoth Dor) one

The king of Goyim in Gilgal one

The king of Tirzah one

A total of thirty-one kings.

The Book of Joshua, Chapter 12 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Thursday, August 13 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

One of the greatest mistakes is to forget who you really are and your beloved status before the LORD... "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine" (Isa. 43:1). Forgetting who you are leads to forgetting who the LORD is, just as forgetting who the LORD is leads to forgetting who you are...

The Torah declares: "You are children of the LORD your God (בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַיהוָה אֱלהֵיכֶם). You shall not cut yourselves for the dead” (Deut. 14:1). In this verse, Moses reminds the people that they are children of the Eternal (יהוה) and therefore they were not to mourn for the dead like those without hope of life beyond the grave... Our God, the Father of Israel, is the Source of Life, and even if our earthly fathers die, we will never be orphans, because the LORD, the Everlasting God who is the "God of the spirits of all flesh" (אֱלהֵי הָרוּחת לְכָל־בָּשָׂר), always watches over us: "He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber" (Psalm 121:3). But if we forget who we are, if we lose sight of our place in the Heavenly Father's heart, then we are likely to fall into a state of excessive and self-destructive mourning over the losses we experience in this world. In the most tragic cases, this can lead to the darkness of unremedied despair, "living among the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones" (Mark 5:5). On the other hand, if remember our place at the Father's table as his children, if we take hold that we are beloved of God - his very own "treasured people" - then we will regard the difficulties we encounter in this world as a test of faith intended for our good (Deut. 8:3,16, Jer. 29:11).

God regards us as his beloved children, and therefore we trust him as a child trusts his father. We may not always understand all that our father does, but we have complete faith in his good will toward us, even in the face of death itself. We do not engage in self-destructive mourning, then, because we are treasured by God and we trust in God’s promises for eternal life (John 11:25). Because of this, Jewish halachah (legal custom) puts limits to grieving practices. Excessive mourning, interminable gloom, self-destructive anger, or the refusal to let go of our fear may indicate a lack of faith in God’s care as our Father. Remember where it says "God works all things together for good," for that includes even physical death... Let us therefore "hope to the LORD (קַוֵּה אֶל־יְהוָה); be strong and strengthen our heart; and (again) let us hope to the LORD" (Psalm 27:14). [Hebrew for Christians]

Here is the Hebrew audio for Isaiah 43:1 -

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/isa43-1b-jjp.mp3

For more on the topic please see:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Re_eh/Segulah/segulah.html

8.12.20 • Facebook

We are responsible to walk in truth and to reject what is false (1 John 4:6). This implies that we have a moral and spiritual duty to think clearly and not to abuse our minds (Phil. 4:8; Rom. 12:2). The LORD our God will help us to do this, as Yeshua said: "I will ask the Father, and he will give you a Helper (παράκλητος, someone "called to one's side"), to be with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth (רוּחַ הָאֱמֶת), whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him" (John 14:16-17). The Spirit of Truth helps us "discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable, and perfect" (Rom. 12:2) and empowers us to take “every thought captive” to the reality of the Divine Presence (2 Cor. 10:4-5). Truth is connected to memory - both in our personal histories as well as the history of God's redemptive actions performed on our behalf. Hence we are constantly commanded to remember what God has done for us and to "diligently repeat" the truth to our children (Deut. 6:4-9). Similarly, the Spirit of Truth brings to remembrance the words of Yeshua to our hearts (John 14:26).

Followers of Yeshua are commanded to love the truth and to think clearly about their faith. The ministry of reconciliation itself is defined as “the word of truth, by the power of God, through weapons of righteousness” (2 Cor. 6:7). Indeed, the word of truth (τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας) is a synonym for the “gospel of salvation” itself (Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5; James 1:18). We are saved by Yeshua, who is the “way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). God commands all people to believe this truth (Acts 17:30-31; 1 Tim. 2:4). People perish because “they refuse to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thess. 2:10-12). Therefore we see that the issue of truth is central to salvation itself....

Genuine teshuvah (repentance) implies that we will change our thinking in order to be transformed by God's truth. The follower of Messiah “cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth” (2 Cor. 13:8). During this Season of Teshuvah, may God help us all to think clearly and to turn our thoughts to Him. May He protect us from the vanity of a darkened mind and from all distractions that attempt to seduce us away from Him. May the LORD give us the purity of heart to know and do His will in the truth. Amen. [Hebrew for Christians]

8.12.20 • Facebook

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kabane52 · 7 years

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A Biblical-Theological Exegesis of Numbers 24

Numbers 24 is a fascinating and rich Scripture- perhaps the most deeply messianic text in the Pentateuch. We are told that Israel is "like gardens beside a river" and that "his seed shall be in many waters." The poetic seams in the Pentateuch draw heavily on Genesis 1-11, and this is no exception. The reference to "gardens beside a river" is an allusion to Genesis 2-3, where the garden of Eden is planted so that a river divides in it and flows out to the world. The four rivers flowing from Mt. Eden mark the boundaries of the outlying lands, symbolizing the nations. Those lands have different resources than the land of Eden, and later in history, the kings of Israel (the land of Israel symbolizes the land of Eden) trade with other lands in order to gain resources to dedicate to the Temple. Revelation 21 has the resources described in Genesis 2 integrated into the temple-city of God. These other lands are the nations of the world, and that Balaam describes the "seed" of Israel being in "many waters" is a reference to the promise of Genesis 17: Abraham will be the "father of many nations."

Next, Balaam moves from discussing corporate Israel to discussing its messianic king. The king has already been described in Genesis 49:8-12, where he is described in terms taken from Joseph's dream so as to connect the story of Joseph with the story of the future messianic king. The king from the line of Judah is the same as the king here, as Numbers 24:9 describes him in terms taken directly from Genesis 49:9.The Masoretic text says that the king will be "higher than Agag" but every other ancient witness to the text of Numbers 24:7 says that "his king shall be higher than Gog." That this is the correct reading is confirmed by Ezekiel 38:17 when God says that Gog is "he of whom I spoke in former days." Numbers 24:14 says that the prophecy will come to pass "in the latter days."

So who is Gog? There is a popular misconception that Gog is another nation besides Magog. In reality, Gog is the king of Magog. The closest parallel to "Gog" is found immediately preceding the narrative of Balak and Balaam, in Numbers 21:33, where we are told that "Og the king of Bashan" came out against Israel.According to Deuteronomy 3:11, "Og" was of the remnant of the Rephaim, who are giants related to the Nephilim. This is intimately woven together with the theme of the "seed of the Serpent" in Scripture, these giants being descended from the "sons of God" and "daughters of Man" (I do not think this refers to literal copulation but to ritual consecration and possession, but that's a topic for another time), so that Og is a representative of the Dragon-Serpent. That this is the case is confirmed by the association of Bashan with the Serpent. Not only does Bashan, according to Michael Heiser, mean "Serpent", but it is associated with Serpents with respect to the Tribe of Dan. Genesis 49:17 says that Dan shall be a "serpent by the way", and Deuteronomy 33:22 expands on this by saying that Dan "leaps from Bashan."

Why is Gog later described in Ezekiel as the "king of Magog"? I think it is because Magog is the second nation mentioned in Genesis 10, and Gog is also described as ruling over "Gomer" in Ezekiel 38-39, which is the first nation mentioned in Genesis 10. That these two nations are specifically mentioned is a sign that they are symbolically all nations which gather together under the rule of Satan. Revelation 20:7-10 therefore describes the Battle of Gog and Magog as a battle where Satan gathers all the nations in an attack on the city of God.

We can learn more about the messiah from this passage. Numbers 23 poetically describes Israel's exodus from Egypt and subsequent victories. Numbers 24:8 takes this description and applies it personally to the king from the line of Judah. The king is a personal representative of the whole nation, and the messianic king sums up Israel's story in Himself and brings it to completion in a new exodus. The king is thus like Moses- Pharaoh tried to destroy Israel three times, and his third attempt produced Moses, through whom God brought salvation to Israel. Balak likewise tried to curse Israel three times, the third attempt at a curse producing a prophecy of a king who would come out of Egypt. Moses himself is described as having "become king in Jeshurun" by the giving of the law in Deuteronomy 33:5, and Deuteronomy 30:1-14 describes the new exodus as a time when the hearts of the people will be circumcised so that they can do the Torah.

Moreover, Numbers 24:9 refers to both Genesis 27:9 and 12:3 (Blessed are those who bless you, cursed are those who curse you), applying it to the future king from the line of Judah. Genesis 3:15 begins the theme of "seed" by prophesying a seed from the Woman who will crush the head of the Serpent, and Genesis 12:3 picks up that theme, speaking of covenantal promises made with Abraham's seed- the five blessings of Genesis 12:1-3 undo the five curses of Genesis 1-11. When Numbers 24 picks up this theme, it focuses Israel's election onto a single royal seed from the line of Judah, in whom and through whom the promises are fulfilled. This is where Paul gets the idea he does in Galatians 3:16, when he identifies the singular Seed of Abraham as the Messiah. Paul is not making things up, but reading the Torah with close attention to its literary craftsmanship and design.

Numbers 24:15-24 gives more information about this king- and provides signs for the time of his coming. Balaam beholds the king in a vision, but says he is "not now" and "not near." Calling him a "scepter" which rises out of Israel alludes to the "scepter" which "shall not depart from Judah" in Genesis 49:10. We are told that he shall "crush the forehead of Moab." References to head crushing allude to the promise of the Seed who will crush the head of the Serpent in Genesis 3:15. Why Moab? I can think of two reasons. First, Balak is the king of Moab, and the king who tries to curse Israel is defeated by the seed from Israel. Second, Moab's origin is described in Genesis 19:31-38 in the same terms that describe the curse of Canaan in Genesis 9:25. The curse of Canaan, in turn, is described in terms of the curse on the Serpent in Genesis 3:14- the Serpent and Canaan are the only two individuals directly cursed in Genesis, Cain being cursed through the ground. But why are we told that the king will "break down all the sons of Seth"? This is somewhat speculative, but my view is this. Both Moab and arguably Canaan were produced through sexual depravity, and the fall of the sons of Seth is described in Genesis 6:1-4, where, in my view, they gave their daughters to the wicked "sons of God" in order to produce "mighty men"- conquerors whom they believed would be capable of defending the Sethites from the mighty Cainite civilization described in Genesis 4:17-24. That the fathers gave away their daughters to these beings alludes to Adam's failure to guard his bride from the Serpent and explains why the sons of God were able to take "as many as they chose." The commandment of Leviticus 18:21 reminds us of this sin, commanding fathers to "not give any of your seed to offer them to Molech."

This understanding of why Moab and Seth are mentioned together is congruent with two textual features: the allusion to the giant-king Og in 24:7 and the fact that Numbers 22-24 is immediately followed by Numbers 25, which describes how Israel "began to whore with the daughters of Moab" and "yoked himself to Baal of Peor." There's exactly the theme I was describing- marriage with demonic false gods. So the king's crushing the head of Moab and breaking down the sons of Seth refers to his destruction of the Satanic serpent as well as all those who are allied with him.

Next, we are told that Israel will dispossess Edom and Mt. Seir. This prophecy is echoed in the tiny book of Obadiah, which structurally follows Amos 9:11-15, which itself alludes to Numbers 24. Amos 9:11-15 says that God will raise the "booth of David that is fallen." This is a reference to the Davidic tabernacle, placed on Mt. Zion, which had a number of special features. Most importantly, it involved the unprecedented (both before and after, until the time of Christ) participation of Gentiles in Israel's worship. Amos says that Israel will "possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name." "Edom" is almost identical to "Adam" and there are a number of connections between the story of Esau, father of Edom, and the story of Adam. The story of Jacob and Esau retells the story of Cain and Abel with a happy ending- Esau seeks to kill Jacob, but in the end, he is converted. The reconciliation of a divided humanity. Throughout the Scriptures, Edom will represent fallen humanity which rejoices in violence against his brother- but the promise of conversion never lurks too far in the background. Israel's possession of the "remnant of Edom" is interpreted in the Septuagint as the possession of the "remnant of humankind", and James applies it to the conversion of Gentiles in Acts 15. Amos 9:14-15 alludes to the poetic seams of the Pentateuch, with Israel's replanted "gardens" coming from Numbers 24:7 and the "planting" of Israel herself on the holy mountain coming from Exodus 15:17. The four long poems of the Pentateuch (Genesis 49, Exodus 15, Numbers 23-24, Deuteronomy 32-33) literarily echo one another, and that Amos alludes to both in a single passage indicates that the prophecy is based on the Torah as it is understood through its literary structure.

Amos, having prophesied the possession of the remnant of Edom, is immediately followed by Obadiah, which is a prophecy against Edom. In order to understand why a prophecy against Edom can be understood in the sense of both conversion and judgment, one most understand the typology of death in Scripture. Baptism is a death. The difference is that it is followed by resurrection. This is why Revelation 9:18, describing the killing of a "third of mankind" is actually about conversion- it echoes Zechariah 13-14, which refers to a third of the holy city being converted and transfigured. "Jesus" is simply the name "Joshua", and Jesus is indeed the New Joshua. He devotes the entire world to complete destruction: but His people rise from the dead in glorified form. The prophecy against Edom, understood as a sign of divided humanity, has both blessing and cursing aspects. Consider what Obadiah says:

(Obadiah 1:15-17) For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been. But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.

All nations shall be brought to the holy mountain to drink the wine of judgment. But this is drawn from Isaiah 25:

(Isaiah 25:6-8) On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

God prepares a feast for all nations on His holy mountain. There are some who drink and are judged as a consequence- they drink the "wine of God's wrath" (Revelation 14:10) whereas others drink and are transfigured by death and resurrection. The complete annihilation of Edom refers both to the conversion of a part of humanity and the destruction of the other part. Obadiah 1:18 calls the house of Jacob and the "house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble." Let your light shine before the nations: God's Spirit radiates through His people, blessing and warming the righteous but destroying the wicked. That the house of Joseph is mentioned specifically is fascinating, given his role in Genesis of feeding all the nations with Bread and Wine- there's the feast prophesied by Obadiah.

Alluding to Numbers 24, we are told that "those of the Negeb shall possess Mt. Esau", and the prophecy ends on this optimistic note:

(Obadiah 1:21) Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.

There is the "kingdom" referred to in Numbers 24:7. "Saviors" go up to Mt. Zion to rule Mt. Esau. In Isaiah 2:1-4, the Torah comes from Zion. The nations of the world ascend Mt. Zion in order to receive judicial wisdom so that they might rule their own peoples. That is why ascent to Mt. Zion is the means through which "Saviors" rule "Mt. Esau", and that's how the "kingdom shall be the Lord's.

Back to the text of Numbers 24. Understanding that the dispossession of Mt. Esau refers to the spread of the kingdom of God to all the Earth, and the conversion of the nations, the next verse is illuminated. It says that "one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities." That word for "dominion" was last used in Genesis 1:28, where God calls Adam to "subdue the earth" and "have dominion." The king of Numbers 24 is the last Adam, the king who exercises dominion and completes Adam's mission to subdue (the same word for conquer) all the nations of the Earth. Indeed, Obadiah refers to "survivors", saying that there shall be "no survivor for the house of Esau." Why? Because the nations shall be "called by my name" (Amos 9:12). They are given a new name- all are devoted to destruction by Jesus, but some rise from the dead with a new name. Fallen humanity does not survive as fallen humanity, but is transfigured into a new humanity.

Finally, we are given the timeframe for the coming of the king. Three events are described by Balaam, each of them coming at a time when Israel's condition in covenant history is transfigured:

1. "Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction." This occurs when King Saul invades and destroys the Amalekites, devoting most of them to complete destruction. It comes when the period of the judges comes to an end and Israel is transformed into a Kingdom.

2. The Kenites are taken away when "Asshur takes you away captive." This refers to the rise of the Assyrian Empire and their policy of exiling the nations from their native lands in order to uproot the indigenous cultures and prevent the possibility of provincial rebellion. The rise of the Assyrian Empire comes when the Northern Kingdom is destroyed and Israel and Judah are transformed from kingdoms into a host of prophetic witnesses to the nations. No longer are the nations coming to Israel to learn, but Israelites like Jonah, Elijah, and Elisha are being sent out to the nations to witness, and the whole nation becomes a nation of witnesses at the exile of Judah and return, when God spreads them "abroad as the four winds of heaven." (Zechariah 2:6). Ezekiel 8 says the Spirit of God left the Holy of Holies and dwelt with the exiles, and the windy Spirit of God makes God's people windy- they are the four winds of heaven.

3. "Ships shall come from Kittim and shall afflict Asshur and Eber." This is the most interesting, because the passage is quoted in Daniel 11:

(Daniel 11:30) For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant.

Kittim refers to the Roman people, and Daniel 11 narrates the history of the old covenant down from Darius' day to the time of Christ. This passage refers to the Roman intervention against Antiochus Epiphanes, a descendant of Asshur, which also afflicts the wicked in Israel who allied with Antiochus and attempted to buy the priesthood- Jews are descendants of Eber, for which reason they are called Hebrews. This series of events marks the end of the Zadokite high priests and begins the last period of Israel's history before the coming of the messianic high priest. Hence, when the narrative of Antiochus is completed in 11:35, Daniel calls the subsequent events at the "appointed time" those which await "the time of the end."

Thus, Balaam, after saying that the rise of the scepter from Judah is "not near" gives three sequential historical events, each marking a crucial turn in Israel's covenant history, so that when these events are completed, the coming of the messianic king is known to be "near."

This is much, much longer than I initially meant it to be. But I wanted to show an important point: the Scriptures are about Jesus, but one can only fully appreciate the specificity of their picture when one pays attention to all of the details of the text. At first, things will seem randomly and haphazardly organized, with most of the text appearing opaque. But as one understands the network of typological and symbolic associations developed in Scripture itself, and as one understands the ways in which later Scriptures use earlier Scriptures, the picture begins to sharpen up. As it sharpens further, we behold the Lord Jesus Christ, whom Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings foretold. We must recognize two crucial points. First, the biblical use of earlier Scripture is not identical to "the New Testament use of the Old Testament", as important as that is. Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is a cumulative echo of itself. The Old Testament uses the Old Testament. Second, the biblical Jesus is not limited to the New Testament. What I mean by that is that the whole of Scripture reveals Jesus, and because of this, if we only understand Jesus from the New Testament, we don't have a complete picture. It is only when the Old and New Testaments are understood as mutually interlocking that one sees the entirety of the icon, with all of its beautiful and majestic detail.

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