” Ra´ca “

Matthew 5:22

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Raca
Ra´ca    (rā´kå)

a.

1.

A term of reproach used by the Jews of our Savior’s time, meaning “worthless.”

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy”

Colossians 2:8

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Scientology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986), starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics.^[4] Hubbard characterized Scientology as a religion, and in 1953 incorporated the Church of Scientology in Camden, New Jersey.^[5][6]
Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature.^[7] Its method of spiritual rehabilitation is a type of counselling known as auditing, in which practitioners aim to consciously re-experience painful or traumatic events in their past in order to free themselves of their limiting effects.^[8] Study materials and auditing courses are made available to members in return for specified donations.^[9] Scientology is legally recognized as a tax-exempt religion in the United States, Italy,^[10][11] South Africa,^[12] Australia,^[13] Sweden,^[14] New Zealand,^[15][16] Portugal^[17] and Spain;^{[18][19][20][21][22]} the Church of Scientology emphasizes this as proof that it is a bona fide religion.^[23] In other countries, notably Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Scientology does not have comparable religious status.
A large number of organizations overseeing the application of Scientology have been established,^[24] the most notable of these being the Church of Scientology. Scientology sponsors a variety of social-service programs.^[24][25] These include the Narconon anti-drug program, the Criminon prison rehabilitation program, the Study Tech education methodology, the Volunteer Ministers, the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, and a set of moral guidelines expressed in a booklet called The Way to Happiness.^[26]
The Church of Scientology is one of the most controversial new religious movements to have arisen in the 20th century. It has often been described as a cult that financially defrauds and abuses its members, charging exorbitant fees for its spiritual services.^[9][27][28] In response, Scientologists have argued that theirs is a genuine religious movement that has been misrepresented, maligned and persecuted.^[29] The Church of Scientology has consistently used litigation against its critics, and its aggressiveness in pursuing its foes has been condemned as harassment.^[30][31] Further controversy has focused on Scientology’s belief that souls (“thetans”) reincarnate and have lived on other planets before living on Earth,^[32] and that some of the related teachings are not revealed to practitioners until they have paid thousands of dollars to the Church of Scientology.^[33][34] Another controversial belief held by Scientologists is that the practice of psychiatry is destructive and abusive and must be abolished.^[35][36]

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Fishman/time-behar.html
According to the Cult Awareness Network, whose 23 chapters monitor more than 200 “mind control” cults, no group prompts more telephone pleas for help than does Scientology. Says Cynthia Kisser, the network’s Chicago-based executive director: “Scientology is quite likely the most ruthless, the most classically terroristic, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the country has ever seen. No cult extracts more money from its members.” [Note: since publication of this article, the Cult Awareness Network has been taken over by Scientology. Do not contact them!] Agrees Vicki Aznaran, who was one of Scientology’s six key leaders until she bolted from the church in 1987: “This is a criminal organization, day in and day out. It makes Jim and Tammy [Bakker] look like kindergarten.” To explore Scientology’s reach, TIME conducted more than 150 interviews and reviewed hundreds of court records and internal Scientology documents. Church officials refused to be interviewed. The investigation paints a picture of a depraved yet thriving enterprise. Most cults fail to outlast their founder, but Scientology has prospered since Hubbard’s death in 1986. In a court filing, one of the cult’s many entities — the Church of Spiritual Technology — listed $503 million in income just for 1987. High-level defectors say the parent organization has squirreled away an estimated $400 million in bank accounts in Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Cyprus. Scientology probably has about 50,000 active members, far fewer than the 8 million the group claims. But in one sense, that inflated figure rings true: millions of people have been affected in one way or another by Hubbard’s bizarre creation.

“ye cannot be partakers of YHVH table, and of the table of devils”

2 Corinthians 6:14
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

1 Corinthians 10:28
But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is YHVH, and the fulness thereof:

1 Corinthians 10:21
Ye cannot drink the cup of YHVH, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of YHVH table, and of the table of devils.

Burns supper

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, author of many Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet’s birthday, 25 January, sometimes also known as Robert Burns Day or Burns Night, although they may in principle be held at any time of the year.
Burns suppers are most common in Scotland and Northern Ireland but occur wherever there are Burns Clubs, Scottish Societies, expatriate Scots, or aficionados of Burns’ poetry. There is a particularly strong tradition of them in southern New Zealand‘s main city Dunedin, of which Burns’ nephew Thomas Burns was a founding father.
The first suppers were held in Ayrshire at the end of the 18th century by Robert Burns’ friends on the anniversary of his death, 21 July, In Memoriam and they have been a regular occurrence ever since. The first Burns club, known as The Mother Club, was founded in Greenock in 1801 by merchants born in Ayrshire, some of whom had known Burns. They held the first Burns supper on what they thought was his birthday on 29 January 1802, but in 1803 discovered from the Ayr parish records that the correct date was 25 January 1759,^[1] and since then suppers have been held on 25 January, Burns’ birthday.
Burns suppers may be formal or informal. Both typically include haggis (a traditional Scottish dish celebrated by Burns in Address to a Haggis), Scotch whisky and the recitation of Burns’ poetry. Formal dinners are hosted by organisations such as Burns clubs, the Freemasons or St Andrews Societies and occasionally end with dancing when ladies are present. Formal suppers follow a standard format as follows

Contents

• 1 Order of the supper
  • 1.1 Start of the evening
  • 1.2 Host’s welcoming speech
  • 1.3 “Piping” of the haggis
  • 1.4 Supper
  • 1.5 Immortal memory
  • 1.6 Appreciation
  • 1.7 Toast to the Lassies
  • 1.8 Reply to the Toast to the Lassies
  • 1.9 Other toasts and speeches
  • 1.10 Works by Burns
  • 1.11 Closing

“Piping” of the haggis

Everyone stands as the main course is brought in. This is always a haggis on a large dish. It is usually brought in by the cook, generally while a piper plays bagpipes and leads the way to the host’s table, where the haggis is laid down. He/she might play ‘A man’s a man for a’ that‘, ‘Robbie Burns Medley’ or ‘The Star O’ Robbie Burns’.^[2] The host, or perhaps a guest with a talent, then recites the Address to a Haggis

Great chieftain o’ the puddin-race

Addressing the haggis

Address To a Haggis
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o’ the puddin-race! Aboon them a’ ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o’ a grace As lang’s my arm.	(sonsie = jolly/cheerful) (aboon = above) (painch = paunch/stomach, thairm = intestine)
The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies like a distant hill, Your pin wad help to mend a mill In time o’ need, While thro’ your pores the dews distil Like amber bead.	(hurdies = buttocks)
His knife see rustic Labour dicht, An’ cut you up wi’ ready slicht, Trenching your gushing entrails bricht, Like ony ditch; And then, O what a glorious sicht, Warm-reekin, rich!	(dicht = wipe, here with the idea of sharpening) (slicht = skill) (reeking = steaming)
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an’ strive: Deil tak the hindmaist! on they drive, Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve, Are bent like drums; Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive, “Bethankit” hums.	(deil = devil) (swall’d = swollen, kytes = bellies, belyve = soon) (bent like = tight as) (auld Guidman = the man of the house, rive = tear, i.e. burst)
Is there that o’re his French ragout Or olio that wad staw a sow, Or fricassee wad mak her spew Wi’ perfect scunner, Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view On sic a dinner?	(olio = stew, from Spanish olla’/stew pot, staw = make sick) (scunner = disgust)
Poor devil! see him ower his trash, As feckless as a wither’d rash, His spindle shank, a guid whip-lash, His nieve a nit; Thro’ bloody flood or field to dash, O how unfit!	(nieve = fist, nit = louse’s egg, i.e. tiny)
But mark the Rustic, haggis fed, The trembling earth resounds his tread. Clap in his wallie nieve a blade, He’ll mak it whistle; An’ legs an’ arms, an’ heads will sned, Like taps o’ thristle.	(wallie = mighty, nieve = fist) (sned = cut off) (thristle = thistle)
Ye Pow’rs wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o’ fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinkin ware That jaups in luggies; But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer, Gie her a haggis!	(skinkin ware = watery soup) (jaups = slops about, luggies = two-”eared” (handled) continental bowls)

At the line His knife see rustic Labour dicht the speaker normally draws and cleans a knife, and at the line An’ cut you up wi’ ready slicht, plunges it into the haggis and cuts it open from end to end. When done properly this “ceremony” is a highlight of the evening.

Pagan Santa / Thor

Germanic paganism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age up until their Christianization during the Mediaeval period. It has been described as being "a system of interlocking and closely interrelated religious worldviews and practices rather than as one indivisible religion" and as such consisted of "individual worshippers, family traditions and regional cults within a broadly consistent framework".^[1]

Germanic paganism took various different forms in each different area of the Germanic world. The best documented version was that of 10th and 11th century Norse paganism, although other information can be found from Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic sources. Scattered references are also found in the earliest writings of other Germanic peoples and Roman descriptions. The information can be supplemented with archaeological finds and remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in later folklore.

Being pagan in nature, Germanic paganism was polytheistic, with some underlying similarities to other Indo-European traditions. Many of the deities found in Germanic paganism appeared under similar names across the Germanic peoples, most notably the god known to the Germans as Wodan, to the Anglo-Saxons as Woden, and to the Norse as Odin, as well as the god known to the Germans as Donar, to the Anglo-Saxons as Þunor and to the Norse as Thor.

Encyclopedia Britannica describes the role of Nordic mythology in the life of Santa:

Sinterklaas was adopted by the country's English-speaking majority under the name Santa Claus, and his legend of a kindly old man was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents. ("Santa Claus" Encyclopaedia Britannica 99)

Nicholas' existence is not attested by any historical document, so nothing certain is known of his life except that he was probably bishop of Myra in the fourth century. . .
("Nicholas, Saint" Encyclopaedia Britannica 99)Nicholas, Saint (lived 4th century), Christian prelate, patron saint of Russia, traditionally associated with Christmas celebrations. The accounts of his life are confused and historically unconfirmed.
("Nicholas, Saint" Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)

Unfortunately, very little is known about the real St. Nicholas. Countless legends have grown up around this very popular saint, but very little historical evidence is available. (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 130)

Because the saint's life is so unreliably documented, Pope Paul VI ordered the feast of Saint Nicholas dropped from the official Roman Catholic calendar in 1969. ("Santa Claus" Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)Nearly everyone repeats this story [the Dutch-Santa]. . . But when we look at the evidence—that is, the newspapers, magazines, diaries, books, broadsides, music, sculpture, and merchandise of past times, the picture is not substantiated. (Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p. 362)

There is no evidence that it [Santa Claus] existed in New Amsterdam, or for a century after occupation. . . (Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p. 362)

I have not found evidence of St. Nicholas in any form—in juveniles or periodicals or diaries—in the period of Dutch rule, or straight through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the year 1773. (Jones, Charles. W. "Knickerbocker Santa Claus." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly, October 1954, Volume XXXVIII Number Four, p. 362)

In certain German children’s games, the Saint Nicholas figure itself is the Dark Helper, a devil who wants to punish children, but is stopped from doing so by Christ. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman.St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 105)

Black Pete, the ‘grandfather’ of our modern Santa Claus. Known in Holland as Zwarte Piet, this eighteenth-century German version, is—like his ancient shamanic ancestor—still horned, fur-clad, scary, and less than kind to children. Although portrayed as the slave helper of Saint Nicholas, the two are, in many villages, blended into one character. This figure often has the name Nikolass or Klaus, but has the swarthy appearance of the Dark Helper. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 98)

It is the Christkind who brings the presents, accompanied by one of its many devilish companions, Knecht Rupprecht, Pelznickle, Ru-Klas. . . (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 70)

It seems obvious, therefore, that Santa Claus can be neither the alter ego of Saint Nicholas nor the brainchild of Washington Irving. . . If we peek behind the imposing Saint Nicholas, we see, glowering in the shadows, the saint’s reprobate companion, Black Pete. He, like Santa, has a coat of hair, a disheveled beard, a bag, and ashes on his face. . . In fact, it is this creature, rather than Irving’s creation or an Asian saint, who fathered Santa Claus. (Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 15)

In many areas of Germany, Hans Trapp is the demon who accompanies Christkind on its gift-giving round. . . (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 75)

Another Christmas demon from lower Austria, Krampus or Grampus, accompanies St. Nicholas on December 6. (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack. New York: Random House, 2004, p. 94)

Like Santa, Sinterklaas and the Dark Helper were also supposed to have the peculiar habit of entering homes through the chimney. . . (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 102)

In Sarajevo in Bosnia, Saint Nickolas appears with gifts for the children in spite of the war and shelling. He is assisted by a small black devil who scares the children. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 102)

Ruprecht here plays the part of bogeyman, a black, hairy, horned, cannibalistic, stick-carrying nightmare. His role and character are of unmitigated evil, the ultimate horror that could befall children who had been remiss in learning their prayers and doing their lessons. He was hell on earth. (Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 155)

To the medieval Dutch, Black Peter was another name for the devil. Somewhere along the way, he was subdued by St. Nicholas and forced to be his servant. (Del Re, Gerard and Patricia. The Christmas Almanack.New York: Random House, 2004, p. 44)

In Denmark, Sweden, and Norway creatures resembling both the Schimmelreiter and the Klapperbock are or were to be met with at Christmas. . . People seem to have had a bad conscience about these things, for there are stories connecting them with the Devil. A girl, for instance, who danced at midnight with a straw Julebuk, found that her partner was no puppet but the Evil One himself. (Miles, Clement A. Christmas in Ritual and Tradition Christian and Pagan. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912, p. 202)
Thus, in parts of Europe, the Church turned Herne into Saint Nicholas’ captive, chained Dark Helper, none other than Satan, the Dark One, symbolic of all evil. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1995, p. 97)

Old Nick: A well-known British name of the Devil. It seems probable that this name is derived from the Dutch Nikken, the devil..." (Shepard, Leslie A. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. New York: Gale Research Inc. 1991, p. 650) Nick, the devil. (Skeat, Walter W. Concise Dictionary of English Etymology. Ware: Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1993, p. 304)
Devil: Besides the name Satan, he is also called Beelzebub, Lucifer . . . and in popular or rustic speech by many familiar terms as Old Nick . . . (Oxford English Dictionary)
Nicholas is one of the most common devil’s names in German, a name that remains today when Satan is referred as Old Nick. (Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 69)

Thor was the god of the peasants and the common people. He was represented as an elderly man, jovial and friendly, of heavy build, with a long white beard. His element was the fire, his color red. The rumble and roar of thunder were said to be caused by the rolling of his chariot, for he alone among the gods never rode on horseback but drove in a chariot drawn by two white goats (called Cracker and Gnasher). He was fighting the giants of ice and snow, and thus became the Yule-god. He was said to live in the "Northland" where he had his palace among icebergs. By our pagan forefathers he was considered as the cheerful and friendly god, never harming the humans but rather helping and protecting them. The fireplace in every home was especially sacred to him, and he was said to come down through the chimney into his element, the fire. (Guerber, H.A. Myths of Northern Lands. New York: American Book CoThor represents Santa Claus. The book, The Story of the Christmas Symbols, records:

Swedish children wait eagerly for Jultomten, a gnome whose sleigh is drawn by the Julbocker, the goats of the thunder god Thor. With his red suit and cap, and a bulging sack on his back, he looks much like the American Santa Claus. (Barth, Edna. Holly, Reindeer, and Colored Lights, The Story of the Christmas Symbols. New York: Clarion Books, 1971, p. 49)

In the Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, author Francis Weiser traces the origin of Santa to Thor: "Behind the name Santa Claus actually stands the figure of the pagan Germanic god Thor." (Weiser, Francis X. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1952, p. 113) Here, [Thor] then, is the true origin of our "Santa Claus." . . . With the Christian saint whose name he still bears, however, this Santa Claus has really nothing to do. (Weiser, Francis X. Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1952, p. 114)
"It was Thor who in the last days of heathenism was regarded as the chief antagonist of Christ." (Davidson, H.R. Ellis. Scandinavian Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1982, p. 133) In case you are not aware, an "antagonist" is an enemy, adversary or replacement. 

Worldbook Encyclopedia, "Some of Santa Claus's characteristics date back many centuries. For example, the belief that Santa enters the house through the chimney developed from an old Norse legend. The Norse believed that the goddess Hertha appeared in the fireplace and brought good luck to the home."

Pagan Festival on 25 Dec

Pagan Festival on 25 Dec

The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336AD in the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). A few years later Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of The Messiah would be celebrated on the 25th December. The following Sun-deities were all born on 25 December, according to their legends: Crishna (Vishnu), Mithra (Mithras), Osiris, Horus, Hercules, Dionysus (Bacchus), Tammuz, Indra, Buddha. Therein we also read of the Scandinavian goddess Frigga in whose honor a "Mother-night" festival was held at the winter solstice 25 December, as well as a similar great feast of Yule, where a boar was offered at the winter solstice in honor of Frey .

Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church ... the first
evidence of the feast is from Egypt." (Catholic Encyclopaedia 1911 edition)
There is no authoritative tradition as to the day or month of Christ's birth ...
The winter solstice was regarded as the birthday of the sun and at Rome a pagan festival of the nativity of 'sol invictus' was introduced by the Emperor
Aurelian on 25th December (Chambers Encyclopaedia 1970)

The Christmas card represented a convenient and sophisticated evolution of the ancient custom of giving blessings or good wishes for the New Year.
"The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain"
Prof. R. Hutton

Sol Invictus
From Wikipedia,
Sol Invictus was the official sun god of the later Roman empire. The cult was
created by Aurelian in 274, who made it an official cult alongside the
traditional Roman cults. Scholars disagree whether the new deity was a
refoundation of the ancient Latin cult of Sol[1], a revival of the cult of
Elagabalus[2] or completely new[3]. The god was favoured by emperors after
Aurelian and appeared on their coins until Constantine.[4] The last inscription referring to Sol Invictus dates to 387 AD.[5] and there were enough devotees in the 5th century that Augustine found it necessary to preach against them.[6] A festival on 25 Dec. is sometimes thought to be responsible for the date of Christmas

How Did Christmas Come to Be Celebrated on December 25?
Increase Mather, A Testimony against Several Prophane and Superstitious Customs, Now Practiced by Some in New England (London, 1687), p. 35. See also Stephen Nissenbaum, The Battle for Christmas: A Cultural History of America's Most Cherished Holiday, New York: Vintage Books, 1997, p. 4.

A. Roman pagans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the weeklong celebration. The festival began when Roman authorities chose "an enemy of the Roman people" to represent the "Lord of Misrule." Each Roman community selected a victim whom they forced to indulge in food and other physical pleasures throughout the week.

At the festival's conclusion, December 25th, Roman authorities believed they
were destroying the forces of darkness by brutally murdering this innocent man or woman.

B. The ancient Greek writer poet and historian Lucian (in his dialogue entitled
Saturnalia) describes the festival's observance in his time. In addition to
human sacrifice, he mentions these customs: widespread intoxication; going from house to house while singing naked; rape and other sexual license; and consuming human-shaped biscuits (still produced in some English and most German bakeries during the Christmas season).

C. In the 4th century CE, Christianity imported the Saturnalia festival hoping
to take the pagan masses in with it. Christian leaders succeeded in converting
to Christianity large numbers of pagans by promising them that they could
continue to celebrate the Saturnalia as Christians.[2]

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 11 ; page 390.
"During the later periods of Roman history, sun worship gained in importance and ultimately led to what has been called a 'solar monotheism.' Nearly all the gods of the period were possessed of Solar qualities. The feast of Sol and Victus (open unconquered Sun) on December 25th was celebrated with great joy, and eventually this date was taken over by the Christians as Christmas, the birthday of Christ."

“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of YHVH, without rebuke”

Ephesians 5:1
Be ye therefore followers of YHVH, as dear children;

Philippians 2:15
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of YHVH, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Acts 2:40
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

Jeremiah 51:45
My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of YHVH

2 Corinthians 6:17
Wherefore come out from among them,and be ye separate,saith YHVH, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you

Revelation 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying,Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Revelation 2:5
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Matthew 5:14
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Proverbs 4:18
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Abomination of Desolation

1 Maccabees (Apocrypha), chapter 1

Compare with Revised Standard Version: 1Mac.01

1: And it happened, after that Alexander son of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettiim, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first over Greece,
2: And made many wars, and won many strong holds, and slew the kings of the earth,
3: And went through to the ends of the earth, and took spoils of many nations, insomuch that the earth was quiet before him; whereupon he was exalted and his heart was lifted up.
4: And he gathered a mighty strong host and ruled over countries, and nations, and kings, who became tributaries unto him.
5: And after these things he fell sick, and perceived that he should die.
6: Wherefore he called his servants, such as were honorable, and had been brought up with him from his youth, and parted his kingdom among them, while he was yet alive.
7: So Alexander reigned twelves years, and then died.
8: And his servants bare rule every one in his place.
9: And after his death they all put crowns upon themselves; so did their sons after them many years: and evils were multiplied in the earth.
10: And there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king, who had been an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.
11: In those days went there out of Yisrayl wicked men, who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make a covenant with the heathen that are round about us: for since we departed from them we have had much sorrow.
12: So this device pleased them well.
13: Then certain of the people were so forward herein, that they went to the king, who gave them license to do after the ordinances of the heathen:
14: Whereupon they built a place of exercise at Jerusalem according to the customs of the heathen:
15: And made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathen, and were sold to do mischief.
16: Now when the kingdom was established before Antiochus, he thought to reign over Egypt that he might have the dominion of two realms.
17: Wherefore he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots, and elephants, and horsemen, and a great navy,
18: And made war against Ptolemee king of Egypt: but Ptolemee was afraid of him, and fled; and many were wounded to death.
19: Thus they got the strong cities in the land of Egypt and he took the spoils thereof.
20: And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Yisrayl and Jerusalem with a great multitude,
21: And entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof,
22: And the table of the shew bread, and the pouring vessels, and the vials. and the censers of gold, and the veil, and the crown, and the golden ornaments that were before the temple, all which he pulled off.
23: He took also the silver and the gold, and the precious vessels: also he took the hidden treasures which he found.
24: And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly.
25: Therefore there was a great mourning in Yisrayl, in every place where they were;
26: So that the princes and elders mourned, the virgins and young men were made feeble, and the beauty of women was changed.
27: Every bridegroom took up lamentation, and she that sat in the marriage chamber was in heaviness,
28: The land also was moved for the inhabitants thereof, and all the house of Jacob was covered with confusion.
29: And after two years fully expired the king sent his chief collector of tribute unto the cities of Juda, who came unto Jerusalem with a great multitude,
30: And spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed much people of Israel.
31: And when he had taken the spoils of the city, he set it on fire, and pulled down the houses and walls thereof on every side.
32: But the women and children took they captive, and possessed the cattle.
33: Then builded they the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with mighty towers, and made it a strong hold for them.
34: And they put therein a sinful nation, wicked men, and fortified themselves therein.
35: They stored it also with armor and victuals, and when they had gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem, they laid them up there, and so they became a sore snare:
36: For it was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil adversary to Yisrayl.
37: Thus they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it:
38: Insomuch that the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them: whereupon the city was made an habitation of strangers, and became strange to those that were born in her; and her own children left her.
39: Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness, her feasts were turned into mourning, her Sabbaths into reproach her honor into contempt.
40: As had been her glory, so was her dishonor increased, and her excellency was turned into mourning.
41: Moreover king Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom, that all should be one people,
42: And every one should leave his laws: so all the heathen agreed according to the commandment of the king.
43: Yea, many also of the Yisraylites consented to his religion, and sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the sabbath.
44: For the king had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities of Juda that they should follow the strange laws of the land,
45: And forbid burnt offerings, and sacrifice, and drink offerings, in the temple; and that they should profane the Sabbaths and festival days:
46: And pollute the sanctuary and holy people:
47: Set up altars, and groves, and chapels of idols, and sacrifice swine's flesh, and unclean beasts:
48: That they should also leave their children uncircumcised, and make their souls abominable with all manner of uncleanness and profanation:
49: To the end they might forget the law, and change all the ordinances.
50: And whosoever would not do according to the commandment of the king, he said, he should die.
51: In the selfsame manner wrote he to his whole kingdom, and appointed overseers over all the people, commanding the cities of Juda to sacrifice, city by city.
52: Then many of the people were gathered unto them, to wit every one that forsook the law; and so they committed evils in the land;
53: And drove the Yisraylites into secret places, even wheresoever they could flee for succour.
54: Now the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Juda on every side;
55: And burnt incense at the doors of their houses, and in the streets.
56: And when they had rent in pieces the books of the law which they found, they burnt them with fire.
57: And whosoever was found with any the book of the testament, or if any committed to the law, the king's commandment was, that they should put him to death.
58: Thus did they by their authority unto the Yisraylites every month, to as many as were found in the cities.
59: Now the five and twentieth day of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol altar, which was upon the altar of YHVH.
60: At which time according to the commandment they put to death certain women, that had caused their children to be circumcised.
61: And they hanged the infants about their necks, and rifled their houses, and slew them that had circumcised them.
62: Howbeit many in Yisrayl were fully resolved and confirmed in themselves not to eat any unclean thing.
63: Wherefore the rather to die, that they might not be defiled with meats, and that they might not profane the holy covenant: so then they died.
64: And there was very great wrath upon Yisrayl.

Land of Kittim: Greece. The name referred originally to inhabitants of Kiti, capital of the isle of Cyprus, then to any Cypriots (Isaiah 23:1; Jeremiah 2:10), later to Greeks in general, and finally even to Romans. See note on Daniel 11:30. Darius: Darius III, Codoman (336-331 B.C.).

The year one hundred and thirty-seven: Antiochus IV seized the throne in September, 175 B.C. Dates are given in this book according to the Seleucid era, which however was reckoned in two different ways. Antiochians considered this date to be October, 312 B.C. (Syrian calendar), while Babylonians and Jewish priests accepted April, 311 B.C. as the commencement of the era (temple calendar). The author of 1 Macc dates political events by the Syrian calendar but religious events by the temple calendar. Accordingly, the civil New Year occurred variously in September or October, the biblical New Year is March or April.
Gymnasium: symbol and center of athletic and intellectual life, it was the chief instrument of Hellenistic propaganda. Hebrev's youth were attracted by sports and encouraged to join youth clubs. They received training in military skills and in the duties of citizens. Through participation in the intellectual life, many were gradually won over to paganism.

Elephants: an important part of Seleucid armament. About 300 B.C. Seleucus I, founder of the dynasty, procured five hundred of them from India; cf 1 Macc 6:34-37.

Defeated Egypt in the year one hundred and forty-three: 169 B.C. No mention is made in 1 Mc of the second expedition to Egypt a year later, described in 2 Macc 5:1, 11; Daniel 11:25, 19 records both.
City of David: not Mount Zion on the eastern hill of Jerusalem, which David captured from the Jebusites (2 Sam 5:7), but a new fortress built on the western hill and overlooking the temple and its courts on Mount Zion. It was occupied for twenty-six years by the Syro-Macedonian garrison, together with apostate Jews, and was a continual threat to the temple and the Hebrev people (1 Macc 1:36); cf 1 Macc 13:49-51.
Fifteenth day of the month Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five: December 6, 167 B.C. Horrible abomination: in the original Hebrew, a contemptuous pun on the title "Lord of heaven" given to the god Zeus Olympios, to whom an image or perhaps an altar was erected upon the altar of holocausts in the temple of Jerusalem; cf Daniel 9:27; 11:31.

Scrolls of the law: one or more of the first five books of the Old Testament.

The temple defiled

Then it happened: "On the fifteenth day of the month Kislev in the year 145" , which corresponds to 167 B.C., "they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar" of the temple . This was apparently a pagan altar with an image of the Greek chief god Zeus set up atop the temple altar. After all, to the Greek mind the Father of the Hebrev's simply equated to the chief god in the Greeks' pantheon.

We are further told: "Pagan sacrifices were offered in front of houses and in the streets. Any books of the Law which were found were torn up and burned, and anyone who was caught with a copy of the sacred books or who obeyed the Law was put to death by order of the king. Month after month these wicked people used their power against the Yisraylites caught in the towns. On the twenty-fifth of the month, these same evil people offered sacrifices on the pagan altar erected on top of the altar in the Temple" (verses 55-59, TEV). Indeed, pigs, declared unclean in YHVH law (Deuteronomy 14:8), were offered over His own altar.

An Analysis of the Abomination of Desolation
Dr. Randall Price
The phrase “abomination of desolation” or “desolating abomination”/ “abomination that makes desolate” translating the Hebrev Old Testament term shiqqutz(im) meshomem and the Greek New Testament term bdelugma tes eremoseos, appears in prophetic contexts dealing with the desecration and defilement of the Hebrev Temple in Jerusalem.  In the Old Testament the phrase occurs in only in Daniel (9:27; 11:31; 12:11). In these texts the form of the Hebrev term for “desolation” appears as the Pol’el participle shomem or meshomem which has a range of verbal meanings: “devastate, desolate, desert, appall, with nominal derivatives: waste, horror, devastation, or appallment. It has been used to describe an attitude of appalling horror due to criminal and barbaric acts of idolatry.

 Therefore, the basic idea of the root is the desolation caused by some great disaster, usually as a result of divine judgment. The Pol’el stem here has a causative (or better, factitive) force similar to the use of the Hiphil, except that the Hiphil generally involves a physical devastation, while the Pol’el seems to put more stress on the fact that someone has actively caused desecration.

In the case of the Temple such an act would render it ritually unfit for the worship and service of YHVH. In Daniel, two nuances of the term: "desolation due to war "and "desolation due to idolatry," are combined in Daniel 8:13, which describes the condition of Jerusalem under foreign domination: “How long will be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression that causes desolation so as to permit both the Sanctuary and its vessels to be trampled?" This is very similar to the description of Jerusalem in Daniel 12:11 where a foreign invader has both abolished the regular sacrifice and substituted "an abomination that causes desolation.” When combined with the Hebrev term for “abomination” (shiqqutz) the idea of the forcible intrusion of idolatry into a place of sanctity in order to cause defilement is significantly intensified.
The “abomination,”  the Antichrist’s act of enthroning himself in the place of deity to “display himself” (Greek, apodeiknunta) as God (literally, “that he is God”).

This blasphemous act fulfills Daniel’s prediction that the Antichrist that “will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and speak monstrous things against the God of gods” (Daniel 11:36) and with the Adversarial background of Revelation 12:9, 12-17; 13:4-10) has allusions to Isaiah 14:13-14 and Ezekiel 28:2-9 where the usurping figures addressed have sought to “raise [their] throne above the stars of God,” “make themselves like the Most High,” and declared “I am a god; I sit in the seat of the gods.”