#Elisha- Prophet of God

[ohholydyke]

When the prophet Elijah faced a government that wanted him dead, he wanted to die, so God sent an angel—a messenger of the Lord—who put their hands on him, brought him food and said “Arise, eat.”

And when Elijah laid back down because he lacked the strength to continue, the angel came again. They put their hands on him, brought him food and said “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

And Elijah got up and ate. Until he was ready to engage in his long journey to the mountain of God.

When he got there, the government still wanted the prophet dead, so Elijah still wanted to die. So God told him to stand on the mountain while He came by, so that Elijah could be near God and see Him.

Elijah looked for God in the roaring wind, but God was not there. He looked for God in the earthquake, but God was not there. He looked for God in fire, but God was not there.

And then Elijah heard a gentle breeze, and God was there. In comfort. In stillness. In gentleness.

And when Elijah left, still despairing over facing a government that wanted him dead, God sent him to Damascus with the promise that Elijah would anoint new kings and a new prophet. He found Elisha, his companion and fellow prophet, who stood with Elijah as they weathered the storm of government, grief and fear together. And then they built a new world.

Elijah outlived those who wanted him dead. But he did not do it alone. Comfort, touch, food—these are the essentials. These get us out of bed. These keep us alive. The message from God when Elijah is lying down in despair isn’t “get to work,” it isn’t “focus on resisting,” it isn’t “mourn,” it isn’t chastisement. It’s “arise, eat.”

Communion, gentleness, stillness, focus—these are what motivate us to do the work. Elijah was driven by despair into God’s arms. Maybe that works for you—I will be spending my day in prayer alongside my local parish and participating in a communal Mincha service. Maybe the communion and gentleness for you is other people. Your friends, family, loved ones. Maybe it’s yourself—sitting in meditation, art, music, screaming, cooking, sobbing, stretching, gardening. Do something to be in communion with someone or something today. If you have no one, commune with yourself. Commune with plants and your pets and the wind and the water and the candlelight and anywhere you feel that gentle breeze. Stillness, focus, connection.

Finally, companionship, organizing, community, action, solidarity—these are what allow us to do the work. The journey is too great for us alone. We need each other. We will weather this storm together. We will weather the grief and mourning and despair and anger and outrage and whatever the next few years have in store for us, and we will do it standing alongside each other.

Remember—if things get overwhelming, return to the basics. Lay down. Eat. Rest. Repeat until you can find communion and stillness. And repeat both until you can find the strength to journey on and create meaningful relationships and resistance with others.

As final thoughts, I will share the prayer I have prayed regularly since I began my own journey alongside God as a blessing to anyone who may benefit from hearing it:

May God give you eyes that you may see, ears that you may hear, and lips that speak the truth in righteousness. May you receive a caring heart and open mind. May the Lord bless the work of your hands and that which you give others.

And, to those for whom Christ may be a comfort:

May the Risen Savior grant you peace. May He help you to become more like Him and find solace in Him and His Passion. May the five wounds of Christ serve as a map guiding you to His gentle breeze.

May the Holy Virgin light your way and intercede for us all, comfort the afflicted, hear our sorrows, and show us the Blessed Fruit of her womb Jesus.

Em nome do Pai, do Filho, e do Espírito Santo,

Amém.

EDIT: This post is blowing up a bit so I feel the need to expressly state (as if my blog isn’t statement enough) that this is a queer leftist message. I stand with Palestine, Sudan, the Congo and all peoples struggling to be free. I stand with Black, Brown and Indigenous peoples suffering under colonialism, racism and imperialism, I stand with queer people, I stand with the houseless, I stand with anarchists and witches and freedom fighters. The idea of self care expressed here is explicitly indebted to Audre Lorde—the act of placing boundaries with yourself in order to have the energy to do the work of fighting for liberation, freedom and equality. Her concept applied to the labor regularly performed by Black women in being forced to advocate for their own humanity, which ought to be acknowledged, but in its principles we may also find a path to guide the rest of us towards a foundation of sustainable movement. My faith is based around the acknowledgment that Jesus Christ did not come to establish a kingdom of man, or a hierarchy of oppression, but a kingdom of God built for the oppressed.

[lordgodjehovahsway]

2 Kings 10: Jehu Tells The Elders And Guardians Of Ahab's Children To Make One Of Them King

1 Now there were in Samaria seventy sons of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab’s children. He said, 

2 “You have your master’s sons with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons. Now as soon as this letter reaches you, 

3 choose the best and most worthy of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s house.”

4 But they were terrified and said, “If two kings could not resist him, how can we?”

5 So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best.”

6 Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”

Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them. 

7 When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. 

8 When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the princes.”

Then Jehu ordered, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”

9 The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? 

10 Know, then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he announced through his servant Elijah.” 

11 So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.

12 Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria. At Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 

13 he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?”

They said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah, and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother.”

14 “Take them alive!” he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth Eked—forty-two of them. He left no survivor.

15 After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab son of Rekab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”

“I am,” Jehonadab answered.

“If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.” So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot. 

16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.” Then he had him ride along in his chariot.

17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab’s family; he destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah.

Servants of Baal Killed

18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 

19 Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.

20 Jehu said, “Call an assembly in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 

21 Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. 

22 And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.

23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around and see that no one who serves the Lord is here with you—only servants of Baal.” 

24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”

25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. 

26 They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it. 

27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.

28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 

29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.

30 The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” 

31 Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory 

33 east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.

34 As for the other events of Jehu’s reign, all he did, and all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

35 Jehu rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king. 

36 The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

[scripture-pictures]

[biblebloodhound]

A Divine Appointment (2 Kings 8:1-6)

In order to allow the good to completely fill us, we must be totally emptied of everything else.

The prophet Elisha and the Shunammite woman, by Pieter Lastman, 1620 Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had brought back to life: “You and your household must go away and live wherever you can, because the Lord has called for a famine. It is coming to the land and will last seven years.” So the woman went and did what the man of God asked. She and her household moved away, living in…

[heartofashepherd]

Elijah’s Rapture and Elisha’s Promotion (2 Kings 2) - A Bible study from...

[igate777]

(via TRACKING THE SEASON WITH CALIBRATED PROPHETIC GPS. PART 3.)

[whencyclopedia]

Jezebel

Jezebel (d. c. 842 BCE) was the Phoenician Princess of Sidon who married Ahab, King of Israel (r. c. 871 - c. 852 BCE) according to the biblical books of I and II Kings, where she is portrayed unfavorably as a conniving harlot who corrupts Israel and flaunts the commandments of God.

Her story is only known through the Bible (though recent archaeological evidence has confirmed her historicity) where she is depicted as the evil antagonist of Elijah, the prophet of the god Yahweh. The contests between Jezebel and Elijah are related as a battle for the religious future of the people of Israel as Jezebel encourages the native Canaanite polytheism and Elijah fights for the monotheistic vision of a single, all-powerful male god.

In the end, Elijah wins this battle as Jezebel is assassinated by her own guards, thrown from a palace window to the street below where she is eaten by dogs. Her death, the biblical authors note, was prophesied earlier by Elijah and is shown to have come to pass precisely according to his words and, so, in accord with the will of Elijah's god.

Her name has become synonymous with the concept of the evil seductress owing to the interpretation of some of her actions (such as putting on make-up in order to, allegedly, seduce her adversary Jehu, who is anointed by Elijah's successor, Elisha, to destroy her) and calling a woman a “jezebel” is to label her as sexually promiscuous and lacking in morals.

Recent scholarship, however, has tried to reverse this association and Jezebel is increasingly recognized as a strong woman who refused to abide by what she saw as the oppressive nature of her husband's religious culture and tried to change it.

Jezebel's Changing Reputation

The story as given in I and II Kings presents Jezebel as an evil influence from the moment of her arrival in Israel who corrupts her husband, the court, and the people by trying to impose her “godless” beliefs on the Chosen People of the one true god. I Kings 16: 30-33 presents King Ahab as a wicked king seduced by the corrupting influence of his new wife and is an audience's introduction to the story:

Ahab, son of Omri, did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only , but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 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.

Traditionally, the story of Jezebel is one of a corrupting influence on a king who had already shown himself a poor representative of his kingdom's religious culture. The biblical account assumes a reader's knowledge that Jezebel, coming from Sidon, would have worshipped the god Baal and his consort Astarte along with many other deities and also assumes one would know that the polytheism of the Sidonians was comparable to that of the Canaanites prior to the rise of Israel and monotheism in their land. Since monotheism and the kingdom of Israel are presented in a positive light, Jezebel, Sidon, and Ahab are cast negatively.

It could be that the biblical narrative depicts events, more or less, accurately but this view is challenged by modern-day scholarship which increasingly leans toward a new interpretation of the clash between Jezebel and Elijah as demonstrating the conflict between polytheism and monotheism in the region during the 9th century BCE. In this interpretation, Jezebel is understood as a princess, the daughter of a king and priest, trying to maintain her cultural heritage in a foreign land against a religion she could not accept. The historian and biblical scholar Janet Howe Gaines comments:

For more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. This ancient queen has been denounced as a murderer, prostitute and enemy of God, and her name has been adopted for lingerie lines and World War II missiles alike. But just how depraved was Jezebel? In recent years, scholars have tried to reclaim the shadowy female figures whose tales are often only partially told in the Bible. (1)

Although she has been associated with seduction, depravity, and harlotry for centuries, a more accurate understanding of Jezebel emerges as one considers the possibility she was simply a woman who refused to submit to the religious beliefs and practices of her husband and his culture. The recent scholarship, which has led to a better understanding of the civilization of Phoenicia, the role of women, and the struggle of the adherents of the Hebrew god Yahweh for dominance over the older faith of the Canaanites, suggests a different, and more favorable, picture of Jezebel than the traditional understanding of her. The scholarly trend now is to consider the likely possibility she was a woman ahead of her time married into a culture whose religious class saw her as a formidable threat.

Continue reading...

[vomittedsoap]

The Ladder has to be one of the best episodes of The Terror(not that the otheres are worse but ykwim). The speech Crozier gives that features the story of Jacob's Ladder as well as the rest of the writing from Sir John that basically reiterates what he said to Collins before he descended in his diving suit (something like "God lies in all realms") has such a chokehold on me...The whole episode is so eloquent, like even Irving's speech to Hickey about bettering himself while he has the chance and the world being born anew from an ark is beautifully said.

Interestingly, the story of Jacob's Ladder happens when Jacob lays his head on stone to sleep in an ancient city called Bethel, which means "House of God" and kind of made its debut in this verse. There's a fable/morality tale that takes place in Bethel when Elisha(the current prophet at the time) is taunted by a mob of teenagers, whom he curses, and God sends she-bears to kill 42 of them.

"And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them." 2 Kings 2:23-24 (King James Version)

Basically the story is teaching that you shouldn't jeer at prophets no matter how much you dislike what they're saying. Possibly there's parallels here with Tuunbaq.?? The She-bear?

I mean I'm not the most well-versed with Bible stories like this one so if any of you know more feel free to share. It's just interesting to me.

[artandthebible]

The Miracles of Prophet Elisha

Artist: Giorgio Vasari (Italian, 1511-1574)

Date: c. 1566

Medium: Oil on Wood

Collection: Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Description

This composition is a typical example of a painting for private worship, a genre that was popular with Vasari. The subject is a scene from the life of the Prophet Elisha, who during famine saved his people making edible wild herbs. Elisha is one of the biblical prophets whose miracles prefigured those of Christ. A man in the middle ground carries a basket, because Elisha miraculously multiplied the available food.

In spite of the modest size of the work, the artist insists on elaborating a composition of great complexity and refinement, characteristics which would reappear in the profane paintings of the Studiolo executed thirty years later.

Death in the Pot | 2 Kings 4: 38-41, NIV

Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.”

One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

[lauralot89]

Named Angels

Fallen angels are not included. Neither are gnostic angels because I'm tired.

Aker: Named in the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra as one of the nine angels who will govern at the end of the world.

Al-Khidr: Also known as al-Khadir, Khader, Khidr, Hidr, Khizr, Kathir, Khazer, Khadr, Khedher, Khizir, Khizar, or Khilr. The Servant of God whom Moses accompanies in the Quran is identified as Al-Khidr by Islamic scholars.

Ambriel: Ambriel is an angel associated with the month of May.

Arariel: Described in the Talmud as the angel in charge of the waters of the Earth.

Ariel: An angel in Jewish and Christian mysticism. Ariel has dominion over beasts, creative forces, the North, and elemental spirits.

Arphugitonos: Named in the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra as one of the nine angels who will govern at the end of the world.

Artiya'il: An angel appearing in the hadith. Artiya'il removes grief and anxiety from humans.

Atid: One of two angels in Islamic tradition who records a person's actions. This record is used to confront each person on the Day of Judgment.

Azrael: The angel of death. Azrael is one of the four archangels in Islam.

Beburos: Named in the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra as one of the nine angels who will govern at the end of the world.

Camael: Also known as Chamuel, Khamuel, Camiel, Cameel and Camniel. One of the twelve Kabbalah angels, Camael is assigned to the fifth sephirah in the tree of life.

Cassiel: Also known as Qafsiel or Qaspiel. In Jewish and Christian mysticism, Cassiel is described by various roles, such as the angel of Saturn the angel of the moon, the angel of tears, and the angel of temperance. Cassiel is sometimes said to preside over the death of young men.

Dobiel: Also known as Dubbiel. Dobiel is the guardian angel of Ancient Persia.

Gabriel: An angel who announces God's will to men. Gabriel is considered in archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. Gabriel appears to Daniel to explain his prophetic visions. Gabriel foretold the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and the Annunciation of Jesus to Mary. Gabriel appeared twice to Muhammad. In the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Gabriel lived a mortal life as the prophet Noah. Gabriel was named in the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra as one of the nine angels who will govern at the end of the world.

Gabuthelon: Named in the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra as one of the nine angels who will govern at the end of the world.

Haniel: Also known as Hananel, Anael, Hanael or Aniel. Haniel is sometimes listed as one of the seven archangels. In Kabbalah, Haniel is associated with the seventh sephirah.

Jegudiel: Also known as Iehudiel. Jegudiel is one of the seven archangels of the Eastern Orthodox Church tradition. Jegudiel is the patron saint of hard work and leadership and is often depicted holding a whip (as a punishment for sinners) and a crown (as a gift for the righteous).

Jerahmeel: Also known as Jeremiel, Eremiel, or Ieremihel. Jerahmeel is recognized as an archangel in Lutheran, Angelican, and Orthodox traditions. Jerahmeel is said to comfort the righteous dead in the Bosom of Abraham, or to guard heaven with St. Peter.

Jophiel: Also known as Dina, Iophiel, Iofiel, Jofiel, Yofiel, Youfiel, Zophiel, or Zuriel. In Anglican tradition, Jophiel is an archangel and in Kabbalah, Jophiel is associated with the sephirah chokmah. Some sources list Jophiel as the angel who guards the garden of Eden with a flaming sword.

Kalqa'il: Kalqa'il is an Islamic angel who guards the entrance of the fifth heaven.

Lailah: An angel appearing in the Talmud. Lailah is associated with conception, pregnancy, and the night.

Maalik: An Islamic angel of hell. Maalik carries out God's punishment on wrongdoers.

Metatron: Described in the Talmud as the heavenly scribe, Metatron is allowed to sit in the presence of God to record the deeds of Israel. Metatron was mistaken by Elisha ben Abuyah for a deity, and was subsequently lashed 60 times with a fiery rod to demonstrate that the Metatron was an angel and could be punished, unlike a god. In mystic writings, Metatron is the form Enoch took after his ascension. In Islam, Metatron is the angel of the veil and alone knows what lies beyond it.

Michael: Also known as Mika'il or Mikal. The prince of Israel and prince of the Heavenly Host. Michael is regarded as an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition, and is the only angel explicitly identified as an archangel in the Christian Bible. In the book of Daniel, Michael fought the prince of Persia. In Revelation, Michael fought Satan and cast him out of heaven. Michael and Gabriel are the angels said to have shown Muhammad paradise and hell. In Jewish tradition, Michael prevented the sacrifice of Isaac by providing a ram. Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses believe Michael is another name for Jesus in heaven. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints, Michael is the same person as Adam. Michael is named in the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra as one of the nine angels who will govern at the end of the world.

Moroni: In angel in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Moroni was the guardian of the golden plates from which Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon, and appeared to Smith numerous times.

Muriel: Muriel is a Domination, a class of angel in the second angelic sphere. Muriel is associated with the month of June.

Nuriel: Regarded in some traditions as the same being as the angel Uriel. Nuriel is the angel of hailstorms and commands an army of 500,000 angels made of water and fire.

Pahaliah: Pahaliah is the angel of Redemption. Pahaliah is a throne, an class of angel in the first angelic sphere.

Puriel: Puriel accompanied Abraham on a journey to heaven. Puriel is tasked with examining the souls of those brought to heaven.

Raphael: Known in Islam as Israfel or Israfil. Raphael is regarded as an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. It is believed that Raphael is the angel in the Gospel of John who stirs the pool of Bethesda. In Islam, Raphael will blow the trumpet which signals the Day of Judgment, and the hadith lists him as the angel closest to God. Named in the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra as one of the nine angels who will govern at the end of the world.

Raqib: One of two angels in Islamic tradition who records a person's actions. This record is used to confront each person on the Day of Judgment.

Raziel: Also known as Gallitsur. Raziel is the angel of secrets and mysteries, and the keeper of all magic. In Kabbalah, Raziel is associated with the sepirah chokmak.

Riḍwan: Also known as Riswan. Riḍwan is an Islamic angel who guards the gates of heaven.

Sabrael: Sabrael is an angel appearing in the apocryphal works the Testament of Solomon and 3 Enoch.

Sachiel: Also known as Sariel, Suriel, Suriyel, Sikhael, Sixael, Satquel, Satquiel, Saquiel, Seriel, Sauriel, Saraqael, Sarakiel, Suruel, Surufel, Souriel, or Sachquiel. Sachiel is a cherub who is associated with charity and wealth.

Sahaquiel: Listed as one of the archangels in the Third Book of Enoch. Sahaquiel is attended by "496,000 myriads of ministering angels."

Samkhiel: An angel of Gehenna, Samkhiel is the angel of destruction. Samkhiel torments the wicked to cleanse their souls and eventually reuinte them with God.

Sandalphon: An archangel in mystical traditions of Judaism and early Christianity. Sandalphon is said to gather prayers and bring them to God. Some sources regard Sandalphon as an angelic ascension of Elijah.

Sarathiel: Also known as Serathiel. Sarathiel is an archangel in the Oriental Orthodox tradition.

Selaphiel: Also known as Sealtiel, Selatiel, or Selathiel. Selaphiel is regarded as an archangel in the Byzantine Catholic and Greek Orthodox traditions. Selaphiel is sometimes viewed as the angel in Revelation who offers people's prayers to God.

Uriel: Also known as Phanuel. Uriel is often depicted as a cherub and is the angel of repentance. Uriel is regarded as an archangel in Russian Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Anglican traditions, as well as in Kabbalhah. Named in the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra as one of the nine angels who will govern at the end of the world.

Uziel: Also known as Usiel. Uziel is an archangel in 3 Enoch.

Yahoel: Also known as Jahoel, Jehoel, or Yaoel. Yahoel is charged with destroying idolators and restraining the Leviathian. Some sources list Yahoel as the chief angel of the Seraphim. Another lists Yahoel as one of the names of Metatron.

Zadkiel: Also known as Hasdiel. In Kabbalah, Zadkiel is an archangel associated with the fourth sephirah.

Zaphkiel: Also known as Tzaphqiel, Tzaphkiel, Zaphchial, Zaphiel, or Zelel. Zaphkiel is the chief angel of the thrones and is regarded in some traditions as the same angel as Raphael.

Zebuleon: Named in the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra as one of the nine angels who will govern at the end of the world.

Zephaniel: Zephaniel is the chief angel of the Ishim in Kabbalah.

Zerachiel: Also known as Zachariel, Zakhariel or Saraqael. An angel who leads souls to judgment and is set over those who "sin in the spirit."

Zotiel: Zotiel is an angel mentioned in the Book of Enoch.

[monasteryicons]

1 - Turning the bad times into good times We have been here before, and chances are we will find ourselves here again – history shows us that this is the way of this world. What to do? Saint Augustine answers: “Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.”

2 - "You are the light of the world." What an incredible statement by Christ! As men and women of prayer, we are not weak, we are not powerless. And together, our seemingly small lights can bring a great illumination. In the 1940’s a religious teacher brought his students to a nighttime concert at the Hollywood Bowl. At one point small candles were distributed to the audience members, and at a signal everyone lit their candle. The amphitheater was gloriously illuminated! The lesson being ended, the teacher led his students out of the concert.

3 - "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." - Saint John Vianney These words from Saint James the Apostle should not be taken lightly. The history of the Church abounds in stories of the miraculous effect of prayer, and even science has finally begun to catch up with the religion and realize this. In 1988 Dr. Randolph Byrd organized a double-blind study of 393 patients in a coronary unit, dividing them into two randomized groups, one of which was put on a list to receive intercessory prayer on their behalf without their knowledge. The other group was a control and was not prayed for. The study concluded that the patients in the first group scored statistically lower in the severity of their medical needs, showing that prayers even from remote strangers positively affected the outcome of their medical treatment. It works! (But you already knew that.)

4 - Don't forget your heavenly friends The sense of isolation and of powerlessness are probably what make difficult times so painful for so many. But as Christians, we are never alone, we are never helpless. Don’t forget to call on your heavenly friends, who are always ready and eager to help you and all those you pray for – the holy angels, the saints, and of course our Lord and the Blessed Virgin. “The Church Militant” is not just a metaphor. We are part of, and surrounded by a great heavenly army.

When the king of Syria sent a great army to capture the prophet Elisha, the prophet’s terrified servant cried “What shall we do?” Mystically seeing the great angelic army which God had sent to protect him, Elisha told his servant: “Fear not, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16)

5 - Pray for your enemies - Betsie Ten Boom Christ taught that we must recognize the reality of evil in the world; ours is not a faith of rose-colored glasses. As Christians, how should we react to this evil? Among other things, Christ taught us to pray for our enemies. Think of the tortured condition of the people wreaking havoc in the world at this time. As difficult as it may be, let us bring them too before God in prayer, that His light will drive the darkness out of their hearts and minds.

After some months of their imprisonment in a Ravensbruck concentration camp because they concealed Jews in their home in Holland, the two Dutch sisters Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom learned the identity of the Dutch man who had colluded with the Nazis and betrayed their family. Corrie brimmed with hatred for the man who had brought such suffering literally to their doorstep. Her father was dead because of this man, and it was because of that traitor that Betsie was slowly dying. When she asked her sister “Doesn’t it bother you?” she replied “Oh yes, Corrie! Terribly! I’ve felt for him ever since I knew—and pray for him whenever his name comes into my mind.” As Betsie grew weaker, she kept insisting that she and Corrie had work to do after the war. She planned to have rehabilitation homes – with green paint and window boxes – for concentration camp survivors as well as for people who had helped the Nazis.

[lordgodjehovahsway]

2 Kings 6: Elisha Allows His Servants To Build A Meeting Place For Them To Gather

1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 

2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”

And he said, “Go.”

3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”

“I will,” Elisha replied. 

4 And he went with them.

They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 

5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”

6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 

7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.

Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans

8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”

9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 

10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.

11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”

12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”

13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 

14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the��Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.

20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.

21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”

22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 

23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.

Famine in Besieged Samaria

24 Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. 

25 There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.

26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”

27 The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?” 

28 Then he asked her, “What’s the matter?”

She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son.’ 

29 So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him.”

30 When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth on his body. 

31 He said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!”

32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Don’t you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?” 

33 While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him.

The king said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

[andijaart]

+++🙏🏻God Bless🕊️+++

The Prophet Elijah the Tishbite

MEMORIAL DAY AUGUST 2

In the flesh, the Angel, the foundation of the prophets, the second Forerunner of the coming of Christ, Elijah the glorious, who sent grace from above to Elisha to drive away diseases and purify lepers, therefore he gives healing to those who honor him.

💫International Orthodox Art Corporation Andcross May the blessing of the Lord be upon you!

[biblebloodhound]

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand (Matthew 14:13-21)

Most of our plans don’t require us to do anything impossible, so we simply settle for the possible.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand, by John Reilly (1928-2010) When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s…

[holystormfire]

John 6:1-15

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

Feeding of the Five Thousand (July),

Painting by Marten van Valckenborch (1535–1612),

Painted circa 1580,

Oil on canvas

© Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Gospel Reading

Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.

Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.

Reflection on the painting

Today's miracle is one of the best known Gospel stories that we all love. But note how this miracle of multiplication is not the first time this occurred in the Bible. Jesus Christ was not the first to multiply barley loaves to feed a crowd. In 2 Kings 4, the prophet Elisha faced a similar situation. During a famine, a man brought barley loaves to Elisha to feed 100 people, likely his students. The man doubted that the loaves would be enough, but Elisha told him to distribute the bread anyway. Miraculously, the bread multiplied, and everyone had enough to eat with leftovers remaining. There were fewer people there, but nevertheless a miraculous multiplication took place.

The other thing to note, is how public this miracle is. Some of Jesus’ miracles were private, like for example when he would heal someone away from the crowds. Plenty of examples we know. Others were semi-private, such as turning water into wine, or witnessed only by His disciples, like walking on water. However, the miracle of feeding the 5,000 was the most publicly witnessed of all His miracles. This is because this miracle prefigures the Eucharist. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, John doesn’t include a direct account of the Last Supper’s institution of the Eucharist. Instead, through the feeding miracle and the subsequent Bread of Life discourse, John emphasises Jesus offering Himself as spiritual sustenance, foreshadowing the Eucharist.

At the heart of our Flemish painting, we see Jesus, blessing the loaves and fishes. His presence is the focal point, drawing the viewer’s eye to the central miracle. To the left of Jesus we see the disciples, actively distributing the multiplied food to the crowd. Their dynamic poses and expressions reflect the astonishment and joy of the miracle. The crowd, composed of men, women, and children, showcases a variety of expressions. Some are reaching out for food, while others are already eating or watching the event unfold. The serene landscape to the right showcases people harvesting. We are all asked through our participation in the eucharist to work in God's fields, forever abundant in fruits.

by Father Patrick van der Vorst

[eesirachs]

Anon who asked about the suicides here. Unfortunately I'll need the specific locations/texts (of at least two, I think). It's not that I don't believe in you!! I'm just trying to show it to someone

of course-

king saul kills himself via the sword in 1 sam 31. i have posted often about how god sees this death and never gets over it, and that is at least partly why he later incarnates as a non-roman (roman citizens would die by the sword: i think god feared dying as saul did)

sign-acts as self harm: see ezekiel's self-harm sign-acts: isolation in ezek 3:31; immobilization ezek 4:4-8; eating over excrement ezek 4:9; see also jeremiah's self-harm sign-acts: exposure to elements jer 13; auto-yoking in jer 27

elijah praying to die: 1 kngs 19:4; knowing elisha will also end up praying to die: ibid v. 20 ("what have i done to you!?")

tobit praying to die: tobit 3 (sarah also has a prayer for death here)

moses praying to die: numb 11:13

jonah prays to die and then attempts suicide via the elements: jonah 4

psalmist 88 also prays to die and, in fact, enacts a semiotic death (writing from the grave). this is one of two psalms that does not end in resolution with god

samuel asking to be put to rest after already dying: 1 sam 28

many close to god also express, without intention to enact and without real plea, their wanting-to-die: see job (all of it), jeremiah (jer 20), and rebekah (gen 27:46)

there are many more than what my post listed. almost every prophetic sign act is self-harm. and, in the second testament, you have (very famously) the apostle paul saying he struggles with suicidal ideation, as well as the suicide of judas, which lacks any affective response precisely because none suffice. keep in mind that in the ancient world, self harm and auto-death looked like, and meant, very different things than they do today. keep also in mind that in each pericope here, god shares in the wanting-to-die, never answering the plea or condoning or condemning, but holding gently unto the pain