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ace-of-pythons · 4 years ago

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Proceedings of the Men Of Letters on Angels

The following text will examine the Biology, Culture, and Psychology of Angels. These creatures have not been observed since 1901 [See Recorded Angelic Sightings by Matt Powell, pg. 893] and remain mysterious. Many would suggest that Angels are presented well in religion and are covered in their entirety. On the contrary, many paintings from the 1700's and journals from the 1800's depict another side of Angels that show many contradictions. This text is meant to be a compilation of many of the different literary records of the Men of Letters American [A31d], British [B85g], Mongolian [M59u], and Egyptian [E93k] chapters.

Compiled and written by Sebastian Outlander of the Men of Letters British Chapter

1963

Biology & Physiology

Angels are beings that inhabit the waves of light in multiple parallel spaces, or dimensions. The theoretical reason that they are able to exist between spaces, is that they travel at too high a speed for humans or our technology to detect. It is assumed that the energy Angel's are made of is faster than light. Using this speed, a massive amount of Kinetic energy is formed and is possibly how Angels get their power. The light that makes up their incorporeal forms is often referred to as "Grace". [The Journal of William Greyson, The Murder of Grace (painting by Brianna Colt)] The collection of an Angel's Grace is know as a "True Form" as seen in both numerous journals and the Bible. [See Biblical Accurate Angels, sketches by Juliet Robinson] Angel True Forms are too bright for any one person to lay their eyes upon. There have been several accounts of people being found dead with their eyes burned out of their skull. Whether Angels were the cause of these deaths or not is still up to debate.

Angels can not show their true forms to the creatures of Earth but many take a mortal vessel to communicate. These vessels are usually devout followers of the Lord and will follow an Angel's word. Angels need to have the vessel's permission to enter, unlike demons who can possess a person unwillingly. [The Vessel (1875, Mia Partens)]. These vessels may or may not be able to contain the Angel's full power, and in that case, their body will start to disintegrate and their mind will be null and void. This is, in fact, more desirable than meeting an Angel out of their vessel. An Angel's true voice alone is able to shatter glass, make ear drums bleed, and shake the earth. Seeing an Angel's true form is securing a sure destruction, as the image can burn a victim's eyes, and even brain, out of their skull.

Angels are known to be more like soldiers than expected. The Men of Letters Egyptian [E93k] chapter recovered a silver blade with markings of an ancient language. Upon further investigation, it was discovered to be Enochian, the language of the Angels [See Angelic Culture and Rankings] . The blade of the Angel is safely stored in the Egyptian [E93k] chapter house [Building 4, Row 28, 13b]. Other weapons have been recovered from dig sites across the globe. A long sword believed to be used by a subset of Angels [details unknown, American chapter, Main bunker, Room 24, 58c], a curved spiral blade believed to be used for ceremonial reasons [British chapter, Chapter house, A37b], and a peculiar spear also carved with Enochian [Stolen from the American chapter house in 1958]. Angels are believed to be fierce fighters, and precise in their attacks. According to the Daily Musings of a Wanderer, [Mary Wanderer, 1253] a female Angel was able to throw a silver blade around 50 feet and hit the direct center of her target. It is unknown if this Angel was trained for ranged weapons or if she had the same skill as the rest of the Host. [The Heavenly Host, all Angels known in heaven]

One of the oldest books that has been acquired by the Men of Letters is an untitled journal from both an unknown author and unknown date, although our scientists believe that it dates back to before Christ. This book contains information on Angel wings and culture and was discovered somewhere in Africa by townsfolk. A few of the illustrations have been recreated for this index, so in event of disaster, the information in the book will not be lost.

Angel wings are mostly held in the Ether and are rarely brought into our plane. Although they are rarely brought here doesn't mean they can not be. It is unsure how an Angel does this, but a common theory is that they either use an Enochian spell or that they are intrinsically able to control what plane their wings are on. An Angel is extremely vulnerable while their wings are out, so it is understandable that it is a rare occurrence.

The diagrams that have been found [The unknown book, A Complete Study of Angels (1901, Lily Sunder)] are almost exact to the structure of bird wings. It can be assumed that God created birds to mimic his first creation. The diagram shows that Angel wings have primary feathers and secondary feathers, primary coverts and secondary coverts, marginal coverts, and an alula on each wing. While each of the individual parts of the wing are depicted on the diagram, each section will be described in detail.

The largest feathers at the tips of the wings are grouped as the primary feathers, which help the Angel gain thrust. The long feathers on the rest of the wing are called the secondaries, which help the Angel gain lift. The next layer of feathers up is called the covert. The primary coverts cover the primary feathers and the secondary coverts cover the secondary feathers. The top most layer is called the marginal coverts. All sections of coverts are meant to stream-line the wing as to reduce the amount of drag. The alula is the thumb-like feather that is used during flight to lessen the speed of sharp angles and dives.

According to the text, Angels have created a culture around their wings, [See Angelic Culture section of text] as many have different shapes, sizes, and even colors. Not all Angels have white wings like many paintings portray them as. Each color represents a different personality trait, some being more common than others. The book goes into detail on what each color means. It is unsure if this is accurate or not. Below is the paraphrased section on wing colors from the text.

"White represents Heaven and purity, shades of purple represent logic and the ability to use it well, red represents anger and a tendency to lash out, yellow represents bravery and fearlessness, the lightest blue represents intelligence and one's ability to use it in battle, and silver represents loyalty. All of these colors are the most common among Angels.

Indigo represents an Angel's resourcefulness, orange represents an Angel with a cunning nature, dark green represents stealth, jade represents an Angel's stubborn nature, and cyan represents high prowess. These colors are uncommon wing colors in Heaven.

Dark brown represents Earth, rose represents ruthlessness, coral represents power and pride, tan represents compassion, and the darkest blue represents curiosity. These colors are rare and not seen often in Heaven.

Gold, grey, and black are rare enough that only a handful of Angels are known to have them. Gold may represents a flair for the dramatics in such a way that an Angel would go above and beyond to impress. The only Angel known with this coloration is the Archangel Gabriel. Grey is believed to be independence and doubt, as it is noted that before an Angel fell, grey feathers were seen mixed in with their normal colors. Black is the most unknown color. According to the unknown book, Angels have differing opinions on what it means or what causes it. Black could represent an Angel who has been to the deepest pits of hell, or could be what a Fallen Angel's wings would be. Rebellion was also noted frequently."

Angels can display multiple colors at once, or can change their colors during their next molt. Each Angel has a slightly different molt period. It is said that "An Angel will shed their grace of physical form every millennium and begin anew with colors unable to be perceived by the humble human mind." [Life of Light (1534, Leo Morris)] The estimate of one-thousand years between molts may be 100 or more years off, depending on the individual, the state of an Angel, or the inevitable change of an Angel's colors.

Angelic Culture and Rankings

Angels have been a prominent piece of religion for centuries, and many different types and ranks have been presented. Some put the Powers as the highest rank, others have Principalities, while some have Archangels. [Rings of Heaven (1904, Anthony Stine), Angelic Omens (1800, A.Z. Fell), The First (1734, Eve Heartt)]. When averaging all media in the Men of Letter's possession, we can create an accurate ranking system.

Archangels are the highest ranking Angels and the first to be created. There are four documented Archangels. Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, and Lucifer, who was cast out of heaven. The next rank is Seraphs or the Seraphim. They are the commanders and leaders of Heaven's army. There are different sub-categories within the Seraphim, similar to those who lead battles and those who order the battles to be fought. Then comes the common ranking of "Angel". They are the soldiers, the writers, and the guards. They are meant to fill any role given to them. The lowest ranking Angels are the Cherubs, as they are the ones meant to deal with humans and human relations.

Within these ranks many Angels will create some form of sibling bonds during molt. Molting is believed to be quite painful and difficult to deal with, so Angels will help each other. The painting labeled "The Bond" [1634, Paul Theos] depicted two Angels sitting while one is combing through the other's feathers. Outside of molting, it is believed that the partners will fight together and spend much time in each other's company. From a first-hand account of an Angel [Host, (1102, Akobel)], it is known that Angels see each other as siblings. Molting partners seem to have a closer sibling bond with each other then with the rest of the Host.

Due to Lily Sunder's book [A Complete Study of Angels (1901, Lily Sunder)], we now know more about the way Angel's age and train, although it is much different then how humans grow. Because Angels are created from God Himself, they are incapable of being infants or children. The youngest Angels are referred to as "fledglings" when they are first created. Fledglings are not children but are still inexperienced in relation to their older companions. Any fledglings that were created were positioned with an older sibling, to help train, teach, and care for them. The reason that these Fledglings had older siblings to begin with is that not all Angel's were created at the same time. There were multiple generations of Angels created. The first Angels were the Archangels, as they are God's oldest and they represent power. The second generation, or first choir, was meant to represent defense. The third generation, or second choir, was meant to represent agility. The fourth and final generation, or the third choir, was meant to represent endurance. Eventually there were no new fledglings created and the ones that did exist grew older. Today, fledglings are essentially an extinct species.

The fledgling's guardian would care for their needs, help with the first molts, and teach them how to fight and follow orders. Fight training would include training in defense, offence with weapons such as spears and swords, battle strategy, and learning about their enemies, such as demons and monsters. Not all fledglings would be warriors and commanders, but all would receive basic training and knowledge. Many of these Angels would become archivists and shepherds. In regards to care, the guardian would show them how to take care of their wings, help them heal any injuries, and teach them how to fly and properly use their powers. Molting would also be taken care of by the guardian until the fledgling could find a molt partner.

Angels are known to have both the first spoken language and the first written language. It is known as Enochian. The Angels have many weapons and tablets carved with this language. It is unknown what these carvings and texts mean, as no one can decipher them. All songs and communication between Angels is conducted in Enochian, although they understand all of the worlds later languages.

Psychology

Not much is known about how an Angel's mind works, or even how much free will they display. Their culture is based upon worship of God and following orders. Loyalty is an important trait in Heaven, and is rewarded. The Archangels are the highest rank, and by that default, they are the ones depicted to have the most autonomy. There is no room for mistakes in Heaven and it has been seen that free will creates disorder in many cases.

Although loyalty is desired and autonomy is frowned upon, there are Angels who dislike the system of Heaven. These Angels are referred to as the "Fallen". Angels who wish to have more free will can flee from the host to Earth in what seems to be two ways. An Angel can flee to Earth and take a human vessel and use the many Angelic wardings to help avoid the Host. The second way is more dangerous and precarious. An Angel can rip their own Grace out to be born as humans with no memory of Heaven. This has not happened often according to the book Host. [1102, Akobel] The Fallen have been associated with black wings and Lucifer although only one of which is remotely true. The few Angels that have fallen have been seen with a few black feathers, but there is no guarantee they are working with or for Lucifer.

There is much more information now then there was back a hundred years and it is much easier to find. Although an Angel may never step foot on this planet again, it is a curious thing to learn about their culture and biology. They are celestial creatures we may never understand completely, but we live in their world. It is my hope that this text can be of use to understand both Angels themselves and spell work that revolves around them.

-Sebastian Outlander

This work is inspired by many wing fics and Flight by northernsparrow.

#supernatural #supernatural lore #Spn #spn lore #supernatural headcanon #angel headcanons #angel lore #men of letters #this is a project ive been working on for a while #and im so excited i actually finished it #its basically a collection of my angel headcannons #but in a outsider pov #i might make another post showing the details and nods to the show and a little easter egg #i just hope someone finds the interesting or enjoyable

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Evil Season 2 Episode 2 Review: A Is for Angel

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This Evil review contains spoilers.

Evil Season 2 Episode 2

Evil season 2, episode 2, “A Is for Angel,” finds a new twist in the series’ main thrust. It is a monster-of-the-week installment which may result in an exorcism, but this time the intruding influence is not demonic. Raymond (Brandon J. Dirden), a parishioner at St. Johns, is possessed by an angel, or so he claims. On the surface, it may appear the presence may not be as malignant as a servant of Satan, but it is equally diabolical.

The designation of angels and demons, black and white magic, is a form of spiritual racism. During the course of the episode, Dr Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) brings up the evils angels have done, according to the Bible, at the behest of God. She even cites Saint Augustine. Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi), of course, just gives her a quizzical look. While the show only cites a few examples, the most prevalent being Sodom and Gomora, it becomes apparent collateral damage has been evenly distributed. Raymond begins his ascent into angelic possession with a similar idea, he is giving away all his earthly possessions to help less fortunate souls. Bishop Thomas Marx (Peter Scolari) assigns David Acosta (Mike Colter) the task of deciphering deviltry.

“Are you the angel that wrestled with Jacob,” David asks the intrusive force inside the all-too faithful follower. Brandon J. Dirden is incredibly effective as Raymond. He is there and he isn’t there, and plays his part in a nether region. We can’t see what he sees, but we believe in the conviction of his sight. The sad arc of the archangel’s intrusion on the marriage plays out in the eyes of his wife, played by Joniece Abbott-Pratt. They are cinemascopes into the family drama. Two months from giving birth, she dims the lights of hope incrementally until there is nothing bright showing in her future.

Her arc is disproportionally sad, but also prophetically reflective on the persistent sins of the present. Raymond’s idea of living biblically only sets restrictions on her. Her ultimate fate also suffers from a vastly mis-measured distribution. That’s a lot of salt for a little lady, even if she is with child. “Who are you to question God,” the archangel asks when David ponders the innocent victims of almighty wrath. “God is the measure of just.”

The justice portrayed is fierce, and it shows the evil of a jealous god. When it’s pointed out that Sodom would have been spared if there were ten righteous people there, Raymond, as the archangel Michael, says “But there were not.” Kristen is right when she says this man poses a danger to the community. The angel of death makes V-Ger from the original Star Trek look tolerant. There’s no appeasing some creatures, especially when they enforce the belief that rebirth can only come after devastation.

The post-apocalyptic city which appears in the visions of the second bowl is very well rendered, and benefit from its sparse presentation. David’s visit from the archangel is effective because of the naturalness of Acosta’s reaction. The special effects-rendered figure is impressive, evoking the more Biblically accurate representations of other angels. But it is the reverence and fear in David’s body which sells it. When he drops to his knees, it is chilling, but only as an afterthought. He doesn’t fall into terror. He kneels in respect. It is an interesting juxtaposition in a horror series.

Much of why Evil works to scare an audience is because all of the suspense is as tilted as the camera angles. A passing train is very creepy during Kristen’s talk with a homicide cop, but David can reasonably ask a towering Lovecraftian-looking-creature, “are you the archangel?” The juxtaposition of suspense is crucial to the overall effect, brightening the darker places illuminates the shadows and throws shade on everything.

As frightening as any of the conceptual possibilities are, the humor wins out. “A Is for Angel” features top comedic talent, Andrea Martin and Aasif Mandvi. Their most dramatic moments are made more real by the comedy which infuses it. It is everyday humor, commonplace in any workplace, family or subway car. It informs the performances, grounding them without ever becoming comic relief. For that, Leland Townshend (Michael Emerson) steals the episode, as he sinks deeper into divine comedy. It really all builds up to his confession, and he’s hardly sorry for his offenses.

“Take your dried-up ovaries and crawl back under the rock that you came from,” Leland tells Kristen’s mother Sheryl (Christine Lahti) as he breaks their engagement in a wedding planner’s office. He says he only dated her to hurt Kristen, and now that she’s feeling the pain, he wants to pay it forward. Leland’s fall from disgrace is even more comedic, as he finds Sheryl may not be quite as injured as he thought. He also starts to miss the promised marital bliss when he notices the more adorable aspects of his former fiancée which he overlooked. “Die you stupid pig fuck,” she writes in blood on the wall of his office, and he is so smitten he wants to rush to confession.

Of course, before Leland gets to circle jerk around his appointed priest, he has to face down Sister Andrea, who is offended by his hygiene. “Nuns are irrelevant,” he tells her. “Go off and pray.” By the time he is sitting back-to-back with David riffing on old sins, Leland is fully on. He closes his schtick with the gag about the woman of the “Black persuasion,” named Julia. He convinced her she was a burden on her family and friends after becoming terminally ill. We wonder how David can keep himself from landing the punch line.

All the characters get comedy bits. David has to sit through the retelling of the plot of Scarface during practice confessions. “My middle name is trouble,” Kristen gets to say with an almost straight face. Who does she think she is, Elvis? We can nearly discern a curl in her upper lip. The death of Orson LeReaux, a major sub-arc in the proceedings, continues to unravel in unexpected ways. One of the interesting things about Evil is how a main character is a killer. Regardless of how justified it may have been, it’s very rare that a hero in a show, who is playing a former district attorney expert no less, is actually concealing a capital crime. But it is also a mortal sin, and Kristen asks David about the killing in a roundabout way while Ben adds the suspense from the sidelines.

“Pain is for tourists,” Sister Andrea says, and gives David harsh advice with her tough love. She points out how millions of people talk with God every day through prayer, but the impatient soon-to-be priest is trying to “force God to talk to you.” Her first suggestion is to allow the most lucid of dreams to dance to the beat of a metronome. This allows David to astrally travel through the sandy desert of time in a subtly theosophical sequence bridging faiths. We see figures of an ornate lamp and a locust, which foreshadows things to come.

The scopolamine patch overdose diagnosis is perfectly valid, but it doesn’t explain the connections David makes with the archangel. It also doesn’t explain why Raymond was able to save a family of strangers from a car wreck, or how he knew to burn a probable pedophile. “A Is for Angel” confirms the commitment Evil has to ambiguous explanations. As long as there are more questions than answers, balance remains uneasily stable, and emotionally satisfying.

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Evil airs Sundays on Paramount+.

The post Evil Season 2 Episode 2 Review: A Is for Angel appeared first on Den of Geek.

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quranreadalong · 7 years ago

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#118, Surah 21

THE QURAN READ-ALONG: DAY 118

Hello everyone. As I’m writing this in mid-May, we’re a week away from the start of Ramadan. For those of you who are not Muslim, part of Ramadan involves an extra prayer called tarawih. The goal of this, which is usually quite late at night and lasts over an hour every day, is to get through the entire Quran by the end of Ramadan. The experience is every bit as thrilling as you’re imagining. As a kid, I mostly spaced out and thought about SasuNaru fanfic during tarawih. This blog is like a very, very slowed-down version of that so y’all are strengthening your iman, congrats. I deserve to get into jannah for this @Allah

Anyway, the rest of the surah is just a series of brief mentions of various prophets. And it’s gonna get weird.

21:76 brings us Noah, who was saved from the flood; everyone else was drowned because they were evildoers who denied Allah’s revelations. Neutral and bad, respectively. Next up: David and Solomon.

And David and Solomon, when they gave judgment concerning the field, when people's sheep had strayed and browsed therein by night; and We were witnesses to their judgment.

We will see later in surah 38 that people apparently came to David with quarrels about their neighbors’ sheep all the time! Solomon isn’t mentioned in that one, though, so most scholars assume this is a separate sheep-related incident. Ibn Kathir says it’s about this story:

Grapes ... were spoiled by the sheep. Dawud (David) ruled that the owner of the grapes should keep the sheep. Sulayman (Solomon) said, `...Give the grapes to the owner of the sheep and let him tend them until they grow back as they were, and give the sheep to the owner of the grapes and let him benefit from them until the grapes have grown back as they were. Then the grapes should be given back to their owner, and the sheep should be given back to their owner’

I assume this is some lost Jewish tradition--I can’t find it anywhere, at least. Regardless, Solomon was the one with knowledge here, whereas David was given the gift of music as in the Bible and also...

We taught him the art of making garments (of mail) to protect you in your daring.

...making coats of mail, I guess? There are a couple of places that Mohammed could’ve gotten this from. The first is chapter 17 of the first Book of Samuel, though that doesn’t actually say David made the armor, only that he wore it: “Saul clothed David in his own garment; he placed a bronze helmet on his head and fastened a breastplate on him”. Other translations substitute “breastplate” with “chain-mail”, though the former seems to be more accurate. David then takes the armor off because it’s too heavy. (The Quran says that the armor was made out of iron, not brass/copper.) Perhaps the evident confusion over the term otherwise translated as “breastplate”, coupled with knowledge that chain-mail did not exist in this era, led to some tradition about David being divinely inspired to make it himself. I assume it goes without saying that no archaeologists have found evidence of chain-mail armor dating to David’s supposed era in Israel.

Alternatively, it could be based on this line from the preceding chapter of the Book of Samuel, in which David is named Saul’s armor-bearer. So in one chapter he puts armor on Saul, and in the next Saul puts the armor on him. Regardless, the idea that he made the armor is probably from another lost Jewish tradition relating to those two chapters of Samuel.

Let’s leave David behind for a second and turn to Solomon. Allah bestowed wind jutsu upon him as well as the power to command “evil ones”, apparently. We will see in surah 24 that this is meant literally--Solomon controlled the wind and made jinn do his bidding. Now this one is a fun story. Mohammed got this from a probably Greek Christian apocryphal work called the Testament of Solomon. Its plot is literally a shonen manga. Please allow me to summarize from wikipedia:

It describes how Solomon was enabled to build his temple by commanding demons by means of a magical ring that was entrusted to him by the archangel Michael.

One of the demons that Solomon imprisons in his magic ring is called Ephippas, a wind demon harassing.... Arabs! Once Ephippas is controlled by Solomon, he uses his powers in conjunction with the powers of other imprisoned demons to build his temple, lifting the cornerstone to its proper place with the power of wind. This apocryphal text (based on earlier Jewish tales of the magic ring of King Solomon) was very popular throughout Islamic history, and it made it into the Quran in in the form of this story.

Next! Job was afflicted with adversity and begged for mercy from Allah, which Allah granted. Neutral and boring, nothing weird going on there. But then! 21:85:

And (mention) Ishmael, and Idris, and Dhu'l-Kifl. All were of the steadfast.

We know Ishmael (Abraham’s son by Hagar), and we’ve seen Idris before (no one knows, maybe Enoch). But who in the name of Allah is “Dhul-Kifl”? His title literally means “one who has double [something]”, but it may be an Arabized version of some other name rather than a name with an actual meaning. Some people think he’s supposed to be Ezekiel. This is based solely on an 18th century traveler saying that some people called Ezekiel some variant of “Dhul-Kifl”, which seems sort of circular. They probably called him that because early Muslims connected the two, yeah?

As with Idris, we have no idea who he’s meant to be, because he’s only mentioned here and in one more similarly vague ayah later on. My pet theory is that it’s just a title for Joseph, who in the Bible receives double his brothers’ inheritance. But he can be whoever you want him to be! In any case, all were righteous and brought into Allah’s mercy.

Following those prophets is “Dhun-Nun”, meaning “he who has the (big) fish”, meaning Jonah. He rebels against Allah and then repents and pleads for mercy, as in the Biblical tale, and then Allah forgives him and makes the big fish spit him out. We’ll see that story in surah 37.

Second to last for today is Zechariah (father of John the Baptist), who begged Allah for a son. In 21:90, Allah hears his prayer and grants his wife the ability to become pregnant in her old age because she and her husband were good people (I guess that’s good?). Then Mohammed mentions how the virgin Mary was made to bear Jesus.

And that’s it for the prophet marathon.

NEXT TIME: We end the surah; Allah is needy and whiny.

The Quran Read-Along: Day 118

Ayat: 16

Good: 1 (21:90)

Neutral: 14 (21:76, 21:78-89, 21:91-91)

Bad: 1 (21:77)

Kuffar hell counter: 0

⇚ previous day | next day ⇛

#quranreadalong #surah 21 #al anbiya

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christsbride · 7 years ago

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The Watchtower's New World Translation of the Bible

There are many bible translations but none that contradict each other except for the New World Translation. This translation translates words and ideas differently causing conflict with the other translations. Both can not be true so is the New World Translation a true biblical translation? This article will look a a few areas of the translation where words are changed or added and explore the true meaning found in the Alexandrian, Byzantine, and Old Testament ancient texts. Cross or Stake? The New World Translation renders the Greek term word staurós ("cross") as "torture stake" because Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe that Jesus was crucified on a cross. The English word for "cross" comes from the latin word "crux". Whether "stake" or "cross" is used; this still does not negate the detailed history of the use of the thing. Roman historian Tacitus describes such events. Criminals, with their crossbeams are then mounted on the fixed pole for the purpose of slow painful deaths. Jewish historian Josephus (born only a few years after Jesus was killed) records people caught by Romans, being nailed to them. Roman politician Cicero, who wrote around 30BC, recorded the gruesome nature of this kind of execution. Seneca the Younger, a Roman philosopher who lived during Jesus' time, described the method as means to humiliate. Jehovah's Witnesses argue that Jesus was crucified on a crux simplex, and that the crux immissa was an invention of Emperor Constantine round the 4th century in defense of Christianity; but a graffito found in a taberna in Puteoli, dating to the time of Trajan or Hadrian (late 1st century to early 2nd century CE) shows a T shaped crucifixion. The New Testament writings about the crucifixion of Jesus do not specifically describe the shape of the cross, but the early writings that do speak of its shape, from about the year 100 CE on, describe it as shaped like the letter T (the Greek letter tau) or as composed of an upright and a transverse beam, sometimes with a small projection in the upright. When considering actual Roman history we can conclude that simply calling it a 'stake' is an insufficient word choice. An example of poor choice words in translations that can negatively impact the understanding is this: The concept of our desperate need for Jesus. If I was to say in greek, "I moved to Jesus". That is a good thing. But if I was to have actually said in greek "I sprinted to Jesus"; notice the big difference. Yes, sprinting is moving, but sprinting illuminates the desperation. The New World translation would have used the word 'move' instead of 'sprint' because of their own theological agendas and would argue that 'moving' is what the greek word means- this is called deceptive truth. Even though sprinting is moving and can mean moving, the author meant a more specific word to illuminate the truth. Thus, with true historic evidences we can conclude that the 'cross' is best. Therefore, we can conclude that Jesus was in fact crucified on a "cross". With this we can already see poor word choices in the New World Translation. The reasoning for that poor word choice is due to an attempt to morph unbiblical teachings forced by changing the wording in scripture. Not only does the word choice not fully express the message but it conflicts with actual historical facts. The Place of The Dead- Hell? The New World Translation does not translate the words sheol, hades, and gehenna as "hell” because Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in hell. Aside from the theological misunderstandings of God's Justice and Love with Hell; and looking at the actual meanings expressed in the ancient biblical texts in the cultures it was written in we can see the same poor word choice issue. In Jewish tradition, gehenna, is the place of fire and torment for the wicked (Kiddushin 4.14, Avot 1.5; 5.19, 20, Tosefta t. Bereshith 6.15, and Babylonian Talmud b.Rosh Hashanah 16b:7a; b. Bereshith 28b). This place is know for this because historically and traditionally this is where children were burned to a pagan god. The same place Jesus states in Matthew 5:22, 29-30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6). Sheol and Hades are cultural words that are synonyms for the same place describing a general sense of the world of the dead. The context points to the specificity of the truth about this place. In general, scripture tells us of a literal place where wicked and fallen angels will go for eternal torment. But if God is Just and Loving, how then can he send anyone there? Simple. People choose to go there and because God is ultimately loving, he gives them what they ultimately desire; separation from himself. It is God's justice that requires payment for sin; thus this place apart from him is their rightful and just payment for their sins. God remains perfectly Just and Loving by giving people what they ultimately desire with the perfect judged consequences of it. This place is called Hell in English and the descriptive words are synonyms of that place. The importance of understanding the culture and synonyms is key. Misunderstanding this leads to unbiblical ideas which influences incorrect translations. That is exactly what happened with the New World Translation. The teachers of the Jehovah's Witness religion failed to properly understand Hell. They invented an idea about this subject and injected that false idea into how they translate the bible. Already Came or Still Coming? The NWT gives the translation "presence" instead of “coming” for the Greek word parousia because Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ has already returned in the early 1900s. This translation is soley based on the concept that Jesus already came. When the authors wrote the word, in context, was in future tense. Jesus' physical presence was coming. The translation of this word in the NWT is completely dependent on the idea that Jesus already came. Did he? Acts 1:9-11 specifically tells us that he physically ascended into heaven AND will return the same way. Therefore we know that he will physically descend from heaven in the future. Jesus discussed this with the Apostles in Matthew 24:3-32. There are some huge points that need to be made here. First, Jesus warns the Apostles (and us) about false Christs and false prophets. "And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you... For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many... Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many... Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him... For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect." Jehovah's Witnesses aren't the only ones who claim that Jesus already came. Ann Lee (1736–1784), the founder and leader of the Shakers believed she was the female incarnation of Christ on Earth. William W. Davies (1833–1906), leader of a Latter Day Saint group. He taught his followers that he was the archangel Michael, and also declared that the infant was the reincarnated Jesus Christ. Sun Myung Moon (1920–2012), believed by members of the Unification Church to be the Messiah and the Second Coming of Christ. Yahweh ben Yahweh (1935–2007), born as Hulon Mitchell, Jr., a black nationalist and separatist who created the Nation of Yahweh in 1979 in Liberty City, Florida. His self-proclaimed name means "God, Son of God". He could have only been deeming himself to be "son of God", not God, but many of his followers clearly deem him to be God Incarnate. Inri Cristo (1948–), a Brazilian who claims to be the second Jesus reincarnated in 1969. Apollo Quiboloy (1950–) is the founder and leader of a Philippines-based Restorationist church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. He has made claims that he is the "Appointed Son of God". Alan John Miller (1962–), more commonly known as A.J. Miller, a former Jehovah's Witness elder and current leader of the Australia-based Divine Truth movement. Miller claims to be Jesus Christ reincarnated. This just to name a few throughout history. The Jehovah Witness claim is nothing new. How do we know they aren't? We continue reading in Matthew 24: "So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them... For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be... And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory... For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah... and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be." And just like that; the entire earth will know. The entire earth will see him. "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will." (Matthew 24:21) The power and great glory of his coming will be so great and so grand; more grand than the beginning of the World! Well, the whole world did not see anything. The power and glory was not that great if the Jehovah's Witnesses are right... Their claim of him already coming conflicts with what Jesus revealed; therefore he has not come yet. With that said, the NWT rendering of the word "presence" instead of "coming" is very incorrect because the more accurate word is in fact 'coming'. There was nothing like the flood, nothing more powerful than creation, no great and grand power or glory, and "ALL" the tribes of the earth did not see anything. All Other Things? In Colossians 1:16, the NWT inserts the word “other” despite its being completely absent from the original Greek text. It does this to give the view that “all other things” were created by Christ, instead of what the text says, “all things were created by Christ.” This is to go along with their belief that Christ is a created being, which they believe because they deny the Trinity. The NWT also adds the word other four times to Colossians 1:15-17. This implies that Jesus was first created AND THEN He created other things. There is no word in the Greek text for other. The NWT translators added it in order to put their false doctrine into the text. The Alexandrian Text Types read "ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα" which literally states "For by Him all things were created". They continue to read "καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν πρὸ πάντων" which literally states "He is before all things". The dishonest insertion of the word "other" attempts to impute something that is NOT stated in scripture. The Word was a god? This is a typical verse JW use in defense of their beliefs; John 1:1. But this defense is solely based on an idea injected into the bible and not originally from the bible. The original Greek text reads, “and God was The Word.” The NWT renders it as “the word was a god.” This is not just a matter of correct translation, but of reading one's preconceived theology into the text, rather than allowing the text to speak for itself. The most revealing evidence of the Watchtower's bias is their inconsistent translation technique. Throughout the Gospel of John, the Greek word theon occurs without a definite article. The New World Translation renders none of these as “a god.” Just three verses after John 1:1, the New World Translation translates another case of theos without the indefinite article as "God." Even more inconsistent, in John 1:18, the NWT translates the same term as both "God" and "god" in the very same sentence. When considering the historical and cultural context of "God" in Israel we see that they were monotheistic. The earliest church teachers also taught monotheism. Given the time of the writing of scripture, singular "God" is the absolute most correct translation. The NWT cherry picks how to translate the word based on its own ideas outside of the bible to fit its invented teachings. It is also important to note that if the author wanted to express a plurality of gods, the greek language could. In other greek writings, when talking about the pantheon of gods, they do. Therefore, the author could have chosen to express that here; but he didn't. The odd inconsistent justification is 'Jesus is just a lesser god' But this then comes into conflict with strict monotheistic verses in the bible. This is also self defeating because he is still a god. But if there is only one Almighty God, than there can not be other gods, even if to a lesser extent; because by definition of God, there could not be more than one. Another attempt to justify the existence of 'lesser gods' they will misunderstand Exodus 4:16 and Exodus 7:1. But this is easy to spot the fallacy in the fact that Moses was only stated to be made "AS God" and not "A God". Moses was "as God" in the sense that he was given the authority and power to display powerful miracles that decimated much of Egypt. This does not make him "a god" because his authority and power came from THE monotheistic GOD in the first place. YHWH Second, Jehovah is not a Biblical word. It was created by combining the original Hebrew name for God YHWH and adonai (word used by Jews who didn’t want to say God’s name). The resulting combined word, “Jehovah” has been used for the name God by many groups but it is not found in the Bible. Nowhere do you find the word Jehovah in the original languages, Hebrew or Greek. Instead the New Testament uses the words “Lord” [Greek: Kurios] and “God” [Greek: theos] when talking about God. The writers never used Jehovah, even when quoting the Old Testament. The Greek New Testament source for the New World Translation, Westcott and Hort, never used Jehovah. They used kurios for Lord and theos for God. The Kingdom Interlinear confirms Jehovah was never in the original text. This interlinear published by the Watchtower Organization shows how kurios (Lord) and theos (God) were changed to Jehovah in the English translation. When it comes to this translation we find it almost universally rejected by noted scholars in the field of Biblical translations according to Dr. Ron Rhodes. British scholar H.H. Rowley asserted, ‘from the beginning to end this volume is a shining example of how the Bible should not be translated.’ Indeed, Rowley said, this translation is ‘an insult to the Word of God.’” Dr. Julius Manti, author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, calls the New World translation “a shocking mistranslation.” Dr. Bruce M. Metzger, professor of New Testament at Princeton University, calls the New World translation “a frightful mistranslation,” “erroneous,” “pernicious,” and “reprehensible.” Dr. William Barclay concluded that “the deliberate distortion of truth by this sect is seen in their New Testament translation. It is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest.” Former Jehovah witness David Reed notes, “an unbiased observer will quickly note that such anonymity also shields the translators from any blame for errors or distortions in their renderings. And it prevents scholars from checking their credentials.” The Watchtower Society must have been utterly embarrassed when the names of the translators of the New World translation were made known to the public. The reason for concern was the translation committee was completely unqualified for the task. Four of the five men in the committee had no Hebrew or Greek training whatsoever (they had only a high school education). The Fifth, Fred W. Franz, claimed to know Hebrew and Greek, but upon examination under oath in a court of law in Edinburg Scotland he failed a basic Hebrew test. Raymond Victor Franz, Fredrick's nephew, was a member of the divine Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. He later left the JW after studying the Bible and comparing it to JW teachings. He later wrote Crisis of Conscience (1983) and In Search of Christian Freedom (1991) that detailed his experiences with the Jehovah's Witnesses and their inner workings and teachings. Just these two examples prove the fallibility of the Governing Body and exposed it as less than divinely inspired by Almighty God. Which, also, exposes the fallacies of the NWT. Internal Theological Contradictions There exist theological inconsistencies between the NWT and Watchtower theology. Isaiah 40-48. By simply reading these eight chapters, or at least select passages from within them, and comparing them to other biblical teachings, major cracks in the foundation of the Watchtower’s primary biblical translation emerge. Matt. 3:3 uses Isaiah for Jesus. John 10:14 Jesus as the shepherd as in Isa 40:11. When reading from the NWT; Matthew 3:3 even validates that Isaiah was speaking about Jesus and John The Baptist and records Jesus claiming to the shepherd as stated in Isaiah 40:11. And announced in just two verses prior is the statement from Isaiah "Here is your God." and "like a shepherd HE will care for HIS flock". Remember, this verses is talking about Almighty God. Then in John 10:14, Jesus literally states "I know my sheep and my sheep know me". These issues come from comparing the NWT with itself. These are just a few examples, but it is recommended to study Isaiah 40-48 and compare it to what is stated in the synoptic gospels. CONCLUSION If ANY of these issues are true, than it proves the NWT has errors in its translation method. Aside from translation errors, it is important to see that the translation method itself directly influenced by ideas invented outside of The Bible. Then, the ideas, injected into the translation. The source for the Biblical ideas comes from ignorant assumptions and misunderstandings, cherry picked from what the Bible actually declares. To truly understand scripture one must keep in mind the cultural and historical implications associated with it; and interpret scripture with the totality of scripture and not from one or two selected verses and then jump to conclusions without the whole of scripture being reconciled. Miss translations such as stake, Misunderstandings such as sheol, hades, and gehenna. Extra-biblical injected theology such as presence instead of coming. Added words such as "a" and "other". Extra-biblical created words such as Jehovah. Self existent contradictions such as in Isaiah compared to Matthew and John. These examples prove the New World Translation is not a translation of God's Word but rather a translation morphed into The Watchtower's teachings. The source for the ideas that change the translation methods is from those who attempt to translate without proper education and preconceived extra-biblical beliefs. The JW argument comes down to this: The New World Translation is the most correct translation because the Watchtower re-translated the bible based off of Watchtower beliefs found in the New World Translation. That is the same as saying: A circle is a square because a square is a circle. This logical fallacy is called Circular Reasoning; and thus, is illogical. Defending the New World Translation is the argument that the NWT is true because it is from the Watchtower, because the Watchtower is in the NWT of which it translated. As compared to the argument for the NASB for example; which is based from the Alexandrian Text types and Masoritic Texts simply translated into English using the common understanding of the language, culture, and history of the authors. Also read The Jehovah's Witnesses If you have any questions or comments about this article please contact us or join our discussion forms

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