|
Post by Always on Apr 27, 2011 13:03:30 GMT 10
THE UNTOLD STORY OF DANIEL
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. in the Jewish canon, the Book of Daniel is included with the Writings not in the Prophets. The Book tells of how Daniel, a Judean exile at the court of Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Daniel becomes a high government official because he delivers various interpretations of dreams by the royal court.
The traditional notions about Daniel are when he was offered to the lions and his apocalyptic visions. But there are untold stories of Daniel which I believe Christians ought to know.
Narrative 1: Idol Worship of Bel
The chapter is formed of three independent narratives, which place Daniel at the court of Cyrus, king of the Persians: "When King Astyages was laid to rest with his ancestors, Cyrus the Persian succeeded to his kingdom. "There Daniel "was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of all his Friends" (14:1).
The narrative of Bel (14:1-22) ridicules the worship of idols. In it, the king asks Daniel, "Do you not think that Bel is a living god? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?" to which Daniel answers that the idol is made of clay covered bronze and thus, cannot eat or drink. Enraged, the king then demands that the 70 priests of Bel show him who consumes the offerings made to the idol. The priests then challenge the king to set the offerings as usual (which were "twelve great measures of fine flour, and forty sheep, and six vessels of wine") and then seal the entrance to the temple with his ring: if Bel does not consume the offerings, the priests are to be sentenced to death; otherwise, Daniel is to be killed.
Daniel then proves through a ruse (by scattering ashes on the whole perimeter on the temple in the presence of the king after the priests have left) that the sacred meal of Bel is actually consumed at night by the priests and their wives and children, who entered through a secret door when the temple's doors were sealed.
The next morning, Daniel calls attention to the footprints on the temple's floor; the priests of Bel were then arrested and, confessing their deed, showed the secret passage that they used to sneak inside the temple. They, their wives and children are then put to death, and Daniel is permitted to destroy the idol of Bel and the temple.
SOURCE: HISTORY CHANNEL/WIKIPEDIA
|
|
|
Post by dabeyonder on Apr 27, 2011 13:48:54 GMT 10
|
|
|
Post by dabeyonder on Apr 27, 2011 13:53:41 GMT 10
|
|
|
Post by dabeyonder on Apr 27, 2011 14:05:51 GMT 10
NARRATIVE II: The Gluttonous Dragon
In the brief but autonomous companion narrative of the dragon (14:23-30), "there was a great dragon, which the Babylonians revered." In this case the supposed god is no idol. However, Daniel slays the dragon by raking pitch, fat, and hair (trichas) to make cakes (mazas, barley-cakes, but translated "lumps") that cause the dragon to burst open upon consumption. In other variants, other ingredients serve the purpose: in a form known to the Midrash, straw was fed in which nails were hidden, or skins of camels were filled with hot coals.
SOURCE: HISTORY CHANNEL/WIKIPEDIA/YOUTUBE
|
|
|
Post by Always on Apr 27, 2011 14:23:12 GMT 10
|
|
|
Post by Always on Apr 27, 2011 14:29:13 GMT 10
As a result, the Babylonians are indignant. "The king has become a Jew; he has destroyed Bel, and killed the dragon, and slaughtered the priests," they say, and demand that Daniel be handed over to them.
NARRATIVE III: The Prophecy of Habakkuk
The third narrative (14:31-42), Daniel in the Lions' Den, is apparently Daniel's first or second trip. It has been made into a consequence of the preceding episode, but the Septuagint precedes it with the notice, "From the prophecy of Habakkuk, son of Jesus, of the tribe of Levi." Daniel remains unharmed in the den with seven lions, fed by the miraculous transportation of the prophet Habakkuk. "On the seventh day the king came to mourn for Daniel. When he came to the den he looked in, and there sat Daniel! The king shouted with a loud voice, 'You are great, O Lord, the God of Daniel, and there is no other besides you!' Then he pulled Daniel out, and threw into the den those who had attempted his destruction, and they were instantly eaten before his eyes."
Some have suggested that the Daniel in Bel and the Dragon is different from that of Daniel 1-13.
The Greek text of "Bel and the Dragon" exists in two versions. One, represented in a minority of manuscripts, sometimes called the "Old Greek" version, seems to represent the Septuagint translation, evidently so unsatisfactory that the early Church opted to substitute Theodotion's version in its place, in the official copies of the LXX that have survived.
SOURCE: HISTORY CHANNEL/WIKIPEDIA/YOUTUBE
|
|
|
Post by Always on Apr 27, 2011 14:35:14 GMT 10
|
|
|
Post by Always on Apr 27, 2011 14:41:03 GMT 10
NEXT:
SOMETHING GREATER THAN SOLOMON IS HERE ;D
|
|
|
Post by linsi on Apr 28, 2011 18:17:11 GMT 10
I have a book about these----
about nephilims, abraham and some of his stories not in the bible and many more---
---i have a book ;D
|
|
|
Post by Always on Apr 28, 2011 21:11:13 GMT 10
I have a book about these----
about nephilims, abraham and some of his stories not in the bible and many more---
---i have a book ;D
So please post them here and it is up to you to choose them wisely for those ones than can have moral implications.
Peace to all!
|
|
|
Post by Always on May 11, 2011 16:40:07 GMT 10
THE SEAL OF SOLOMON AND ITS LEGEND
In Medieval Jewish, Christian and Islamic legends, the Seal of Solomon was a magical signet ring said to have been possessed by King Solomon, which variously gave him the power to command demons, genies (or jinni), or to speak with animals.
SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
In one of the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, an evil jinn is described as being imprisoned in a copper bottle for 1,800 years by a lead seal stamped by the ring. Other, later books (Pseudomonarchia Daemonum) manage to fit far more demons in the bottle.
In some versions of the story, the ring was made of brass and iron, carved with the Name of God, and set with four jewels. In later versions the ring simply bore the symbol now called the Star of David (hexagram), often within a circle, usually with the two triangles interlaced (hence chiral) rather than intersecting. Often the gaps are filled with dots or other symbols. Other versions have it as a pentagram or other more complicated figures. Works on demonology typically depict the pattern of the seal as being two concentric circles, with a number of mystical sigils between the inner and outer circles, and various more-or-less complex geometric shapes within the inner square.
In one story it is claimed that the demon Sakhr deceived one of Solomon's sisters into giving him the ring. Sakhr then ruled in his stead for forty days (or years, in some versions) while Solomon wandered the country in poverty. However eventually Sakhr threw the ring into the sea, where it was swallowed by a fish, caught by a fisherman, and served to Solomon. Ecclesiastes 9:12 may be a reference to the sudden change from king to pauper.
In alchemy, the combination of the fire and water symbols (up and down triangles) is known as the Seal of Solomon. The symbol is representative of the combination of opposites and transmutation. By combining the alchemical symbols for fire (upwards triangle) and water (downwards triangle), the alchemical symbols for earth and air are also created. The downwards facing triangle is divided along the center by the base line of the opposite triangle. This is the alchemical symbol for earth. Conversely, the upwards triangle divided by the base line of the downwards triangle is the alchemical symbol for air. The Seal of Solomon is all that is unified in perfect balance; the Spirit Wheel.
TESTAMENT OF SOLOMON
The text reads like a self-help manual against demonic activity, with a moral to follow.
When a demon named Ornias harasses a young lad (who is favored by Solomon) by stealing half his pay and sucking out his vitality through the lad's thumb on his right hand, Solomon prays in the temple and receives from the archangel Michael a ring with the seal of God (in the shape of a hexagram having the name of God inscribed within) on it which will enable him to command the demons (Seal of Solomon). Solomon lends the ring to the lad who, by throwing the ring at the demon Ornias, stamps him with the seal and brings him under control. Then Solomon orders the demon Ornias to take the ring and similarly imprint the prince of demons who is Beelzeboul/Beelzebul.
With Beelzebul under his command Solomon now has the entire race of demons at his bidding to build the temple. Beelzebul reveals he was formerly the highest ranking angel in Heaven.
In Chapter 18 the demons of the 36 decans appear with names that sometimes seem to be conscious distortions of the traditional names for the decans and claim responsibility mostly for various ailments and pains. They provide the magical formulae by which they may be banished. For example, the thirty-third demon is Rhyx Phtheneoth who causes sore throat and tonsilitis and can be driven off by writing the word Leikourgos on ivy leaves and heaping them into a pile.
Solomon's final demon encounter involves sending a servant boy with his ring to take captive a wind demon who is harassing the land of Arabia. The boy is to hold a wineskin against the wind with the ring in front of it, and then tie up the bag when it is full. The boy succeeds in his task and returns with the wineskin. The imprisoned demon calls himself Ephippas and it is by his power that a corner stone, thought to be too large to lift, is raised into the entrance of the temple.
Then Ephippas and another demon from the Red Sea bring a miraculous column made of something purple (translation obscure) from out of the Red Sea. This Red Sea demon reveals himself as Amelouith who claimed to be the demon who supported the Egyptian magicians against Moses and who hardened Pharaoh's heart but had been caught with the Egyptian host when the sea returned and held down by this pillar until Ephippas came and together they could lift it.
There follows a short conclusion in which Solomon describes how he fell in love with a Shunammite woman and agreed to worship Remphan and Moloch. Solomon agrees to sacrifice to them, but only sacrifices the blood of locust by simply crushing them with his hand. Immediately, the Spirit of God departs from him and he is made foolish and his name a joke to both humans and demons.
Along with the negative presentation she is given in the Bible, the Testament of Solomon presents the Queen of Sheba as a witch, indicating that the author had an awareness of Jewish tradition, which had argued the same.
Solomon concludes his text with a warning to mankind. He reminds mankind not to be like he was; to be both aware of the present and the future: To understand the consequences of your actions before you act
|
|