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"He shall be tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy messengers, and before the Lamb.
And the smoke of their torment shall ascend evermore: and they shall have no rest day nor night"
Re 14
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THE ORIGINAL 13 - A Documentary History of Religion in America's First Thirteen States
"The whole power over the subject of religion is left exclusively to the State governments, to be acted upon according to their sense of justice and the State Constitutions," wrote Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story in his Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833.
Who was Joseph Story?
He was the founder of Harvard Law School and appointed to the Supreme Court by President James Madison - the same James Madison who introduced the First Amendment in the first session of Congress.
To understand the progression of religious freedom in America, it is necessary to review the Constitutions of the original thirteen States, together with the Colonial Charters that preceded them, i.e.:
VIRGINIA CHARTER OF KING JAMES I, 1606 "...propagating of Christian Religion to such People as yet live in Darkness..."
DELAWARE CHARTER OF KING ADOLPHUS, 1626 "...further propagation of the Holy Gospel..."
MASSACHUSETTS CONSTITUTION, 1780, Part 1, Article 3 "Every denomination of Christians...shall be equally under the protection of the law and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established..."
PENNSYLVANIA CONSTITUTION, 1968, Article 1, Section 3 "All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences..."
NORTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION, 1971, Article 11, Section 4 "Beneficent provision for the poor, the unfortunate, and the orphan is one of the first duties of a civilized and a Christian state..."
Examining Charters, Constitutions, Court Decisions and Correspondence, this overview of history is intended as a study help for those interested in discovering the role religion played in America's original thirteen States.
The Federal Courts used the 14th Amendment to remove religion from States' jurisdiction, most notably in the 1947 Everson v. Board of Education case, and subsequently evolved it into its present interpretation (this subject of also addressed in the book BACKFIRED-A Nation Born for Religious Tolerance No Longer Tolerates the Religion of Its Founders, and the book ENDANGERED SPEECHES-How the ACLU, IRS & LBJ Threaten the Extinction of Free Speech.)
(THE ORIGINAL 13 is a 416 page paperback book with some illustrations)
https://americanminute.com/col....lections/printed-boo
2 Peter 2:2—3, “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not” The KJV is very blunt when it comes to this concept — evil people will advertise and cause you to buy into and support their evil, but they will get what they deserve.
"They that forsake the Law, praise the wicked: but they that keep the Law, set themselves against them."
Pr 28
Everyone loves the Apostle Paul... except ya know... about his thoughts on what women should do and shouldn't do in Church. ?
Let's face it, Paul is not easy to understand. He talks like Jordan Peterson, saying something in the most complex wordy way possible. ?
"...also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things,
in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. "
(2Pe 3:15-16 NKJV)
Perhaps it is because of Paul's high level intellectual reading that he has become a favorite apostle of many lukewarm/bad pastors.
If you take Paul's writings as an island to themselves without interpreting with the rest of Scripture, he becomes ripe for "twisting".
He'll say a few sentences seeming to imply one thing and then say in the next sentence that he is by no means implying what you just thought he was. ?
I say this not to mock him. The man was a GENIUS. Knew more about Scripture than probably 10 Bible scholars put together. ?
But combine his wordy nature with the fact that his letters are essentially someone else's mail that we are reading, and you get a situation where we GUESS what specific issues he is addressing.
So what's the answer to decoding Paul? Easy, assume that he doesn't contradict other Scripture and you will be just fine. Specifically interpret him through the Old Testament.
Why the Old? Because that is ALL that the Bereans had to fact check him with.
Acts 17:10-11
"Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. "
(Act 17:10-11 NKJV)
Thought for Today: Friday July 21:
Remember, our Creator thinks enough of you to have sent Someone very special so that you may have life – Abundantly, joyfully, completely and victoriously!
BIBLE STUDY LESSON 12
SERIES V --- JOURNEYS FOR YESHUA
COMPELLED TO GO
THE THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY: MACEDONIA, GREECE AND TROAS
From Acts 20
When the disturbance in Ephesus was over, Paul called for a meeting with the believers. He encouraged them, said goodbye, and left for Macedonia. In each place he passed through along the way, he preached to the believers. From Macedonia he went to Greece, but learning of a plot against his life, returned through Macedonia instead of sailing directly for Syria, as he had planned. Some of Paul’s traveling companions went ahead and waited for him at Troas, including Sopater, son of Pyrrhus, from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; Timothy; and Trophimus, from Asia. When the Passover was ended, Paul and his companions sailed for Troas, arriving in five days, and there they remained for a week. The believers gathered for a Saturday evening service to break bread together. This was held in an upper room, lighted with numerous lamps. Since Paul would leave the next morning, he preached an unusually long sermon. About midnight a young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in an open window, became so drowsy that he couldn’t stay awake, and fell to his death three stories below. Paul rushed down and took Eutychus into his arms. [Don’t be afraid,] Paul said. [He’s alive!] Then everyone went upstairs again to finish the service, which went until dawn. When they all realized that Eutychus was alive and well, they were most grateful. Some of Paul’s companions went ahead to Assos by ship, while he travelled by land. There he boarded the ship and sailed to Mitylene, then the next day to a place opposite Chios, and the following day to Samos. One day later he arrived at Miletus. Paul had not planned to stop at Ephesus, which was close to Miletus, for he was anxious to get to Jerusalem in time for Shavuot. But when the ship docked at Miletus, he sent word for the elders at Ephesus to meet him there, so that he might have some parting remarks with them. [You all realize how I have served the Adonai humbly, even in the midst of tears and dangers from those who wanted to kill me. But no matter what happened to me, I always told you what you should know, both publicly and in the privacy of your homes, preaching the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, urging them to turn from sin to YHVH through Yeshua Moshiach. [Now Ruach HaKodesh leads me to Jerusalem, where I am not sure what will happen to me, except that He has told me, again and again in each place I have been, that suffering and imprisonment are waiting for me. But my life has no value except that I do the work the Adonai Yeshua wants me to do, sharing the Gospel of YHVH’s grace with others. This is the last time you will see me. I want to remind you that I have faithfully presented the Gospel to you, so no one can blame me if you fail to accept YHVH’s message. But I want to leave a warning with you. Stand guard for yourselves and those whom Ruach HaKodesh has put into your care, for you are like shepherds over YHVH’s ‘sheep,’ which He purchased with His own blood. Savage wolves will come among your sheep when I leave, and even some of you will distort YHVH’s truth to get followers. So be careful. Remember how for three years I watched over you night and clay, mingling my teaching with my tears. In my absence I must commit you to YHVH and His Word of Grace, which will strengthen you and let you inherit from all those He has sanctified as His people. You all know that I have never tried to get rich, or acquire fine clothing, but have worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. Not only that, but I have set an example in helping the poor, for as Yeshua said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’] After he spoke with the Ephesian elders, he knelt and prayed with them. They wept, embraced him, and kissed him, and were most sorrowful that he had said they would never see him again. Then they said their final good-byes and escorted him to the ship.
COMMENTARY
LAMPS
The early believers did not have long-burning candles. They depended on small clay lamps for light. These lamps did not hold enough oil to burn all night. After four or five hours their flame sputtered and died. Most Roman lamps were shaped like a covered bowl with a spout on one side. The reservoir was filled with olive oil through a hole in the lid. A piece of twisted linen or flax was inserted in the side spout with its end in the oil, and functioned as a wick. Without a chimney to protect the flame, these ancient lamps gave only a dim and unsteady light. A few lamps were designed for special purposes. Some had chains so that they could be hung from the ceiling, others sat on tall stands which stood on the floor. Many had handles so that they could be carried easily from room to room. Although the poor man’s lamp was made of clay, many wealthy Romans owned elaborate bronze lamps. These were decorated with animal figures or famous scenes from Roman mythology.
I love it when my wife gets in a baking mood. ???
This time she said the most beautiful words “Chocolate Cheesecake” ?
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