The Zohar or “Splendor, radiance” is widely considered the most important work of the Kabbalah, which involves Jewish mysticism. These groups of books include scriptural interpretations as well as material on theology, and in them include the rituals performed by High Priest on the Day of Atonement. The Zohar connects the real world with the spiritual world on a mystical level through the hierarchy of the High Priest to illustrate a stronger bond with man and God, which is something that the Tractate Yoma and Leviticus 16 does not do. The upper world and lower world in the Zohar are relating to, and are established by, the same principal; the lower world is Israel, and the upper world is the angels. I will be explaining the mystical message …show more content…
The High Priest must make the bond with the holy name with his mouth. “Once the bond has been made and sanctified by his mouth [the Priest], the voice descends and touches him, and the word is illumined in the mouth of the priest and he says “you shall be cleansed’ (Zohar 6)” Both Leviticus 16 and the Yoma take this day to ask for cleansing as well, as citizens enter the Temple and pray to their God, but the Zohar puts much more emphasis on the High Priest and his spiritual connection to …show more content…
16 and the Tractate Yoma, as the High Priest must enter the heavens of angels. A gold cord is attached to the Priest’s foot as he is surrounded by three ranks, his brethren of other priests, the Levites, and the rest of the people. “He turns towards the place to which he is going. He takes three steps, and closes his eyes, and is bound to the realm above. He enters the place that he has to enter, and he hears the sound of wings of the cherubim, who sing and beat their wings that are stretched out toward the heavens. (Zohar 6)” This experience is completely different to Leviticus 16 and the Yoma, and this process determines whether or not this High Priest is welcomed by Him or not. If the Priest has been worthy and there is joy in the world above, then a ray of light will shine, with the smell of beautiful mountain balsam in the world above, and cherubim (angles) lift up their wings and sing. Then the priest knows he has been accepted, and it’s a moment of joy for everyone. The people then know that the Priests prayer has been accepted, and he then goes back to saying his prayer to finish his connection to God. This spiritual experience the High Priest undergoes is completely different compared to the Yoma and Lev. 16. The Zohar focuses much more on the Priests portion on the Day of Atonement, because through his actions on that day there then follows joy upon joy for everyone, both
Christianity is one of the most popular religions of the early 21st century. Through the course of Christianity's first millennia it was able to rise from its original twelve followers to become the state religion of Rome and the mighty empire which it held. However, unbeknownst to many, the concepts that exist in Christianity and Judaism (the religion from which Christianity spawned) were initially conceived by the nearly dead religion of Zoroaster. Christianity is closely modeled after the Zoroastrain's beliefs in the afterlife, redemption, judgment, duality of deities, apocalypse and messiahs. Whether Christianity adopted or coincidentally shared the beliefs of the Zoroastrians is up for debate. Regardless, the similarities are staggering.
Based on a version of Psalm 94.2: ‘Let us come before his presence in confession’.
Aaron, as the high priest, refers to Christ as our heavenly High Priest, who is the ultimate mediator between God and man. Only through Jesus Christ we can find access to God.
Monotheism became different than previous “national religions” where the one god worshipped is more important than the other gods; instead, it is one true god that demands devotion - and for the Israelites, only Yaweh
(From the Greek expository dictionary)- ?It is used in the NT in Luke 11:38 of washing oneself (as in 2Kings 5:14, ?dipped himself,? Sept.); see also Isa. 21:4, lit., ?lawlessness overwhelms me.? In the early chapters of the four Gospels and in Acts 1:5; 11:16; 19:4, it is used of the rite performed by John the Baptist who called upon the people to repent that they might receive remission of sins. Those who obeyed came ?confessing their sins,? thus acknowledging their unfitness to be in the Messiah?s coming kingdom. Distinct from this is the ?baptism? enjoined by Christ, Matt. 28:19, a ?baptism? to be undergone by believers, thus witnessing to their identification with Him in death, burial, and resurrection (e.g. Acts 19:5; Rom. 6:3-4; 1Cor. 1:13-17, 12:13; Gal. 3:27; Col 2:12). The phrase in Matt. 28:19, ?baptizing them into the Name? (RV; cf. Acts 8:16), would indicate that the ?baptized? person was closely bound to, or became property of, the one in whose name he was ?baptized.?
Sanctification is the process of being made Holy. In the process of being made holy, the life of the believer is changing. The believer begins to slowly and painfully (mentally, Romans 12:2) go from living of the flesh, to living a life of the spirit. The process of being made Holy comes at the work of justification, the works of Jesus Christ. We can only produce what is Holy, by allowing what is Holy (Jesus Christ) to change our lives (1 Corinthians 1:30) salvation, than after salvation God immediately begins to work to change our lives so that we can represent Him. Looking into the Old Testament and New Testament, we can see the major emphasis on the works of sanctification on the God's children lives.
“Then the High Priest ordered all uninitiated persons to depart, invested me in a new linen garment and let me by the hand into the inner recesses of the sanctuary itself, I have no doubt, curious reader, that you are eager to know what happened when I entered. If I were allowed to tell you, and you were allowed to be told, you would soon hear everything; but, as it is, my tongue would suffer for its indiscretion and your ears for their inquisitiveness.”
The Old Testament is divided into six major sections. During each of these sections, elements of Old Testament history foreshadow various New Testament themes and events. Some of these various accounts recorded in the Old Testament are prophetical in nature and foretell specific details about various events that will be fulfilled in New Testament times. Each of the six major sections carries its own unique overarching theme that will in some way tie into New Testament history and theology. The six major sections of Old Testament are: creation (Genesis 1-11), covenant (Genesis 12-50), congr...
Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion that is the first religion to develop a monotheistic belief system. Zoroastrianism is heavily influential in the formation of the many religions, but more specifically, Christianity. For example, both religions believe in dualism, which is the concept that there are two original spirits: good and evil. In Zoroastrianism the good god is Ahura Mazda with the evil god being Angra Mainyu (Oxtoby, 5). In Christianity the good god is just referred to as God or Lord while the evil god is simply referred to as the Devil. In class we learned about the founder of Zoroastrianism, Zoroaster who was born into the warrior class who travels from his hometown to convince King Vishtaspa of his message who then converts his kingdom to Zoroastrianism. Mirroring this in Christianity, Jesus of Nazareth, known as Christ is the founder of Christianity spreading his message of resurrection and monotheism (Oxtoby, 143). Additionally, both religions believe that Ahura Mazda and God were the creators of the world, respectively, and how it came to be and also sharing the monotheistic belief that these two gods are the only ones to worship. Both religions have an emphasis on morality and good ethics, with Zoroastrianism having five particular points while Christianity stemmed from this which also has a moral code which is known as the Ten Commandments (Oxtoby, 5). While both religious share the importance of death and reincarnation the two differ on burial rites. In Zoroastrianism the belief is that the dead should be disposed of in the “towers of silence” so that birds of prey can eat their remains (Oxtoby, 5). In Christianity, the belief is to give the person a proper burial ceremony and then to bury the body in a gra...
Thessalonians 4:3 says, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified” It is God’s goal for his people is to be blameless and holy. Once saved, we are no longer prisoner of our sin and sanctification begins. Sanctification is a process and not instantaneous. It involves you and God to make you free from sin. The process is striving to live a Christian life-style according to the word of God. In order to continue sanctification we have to put forth effort into our transformation by putting away vices and renewing our mind to be holy and just. Sanctification affects us and everyone around us and brings peace and joy into our lives. It makes us become an example to help fellowship with others in Christ and to support and grow with each other. As we grow in holiness, we aim to reflect Christ.
Zephaniah the prophet, the opening verse of the book Zephaniah is given a genealogy stretching back four generations. Starting with the son of Cushi. Cushi could be a personal name, but also means Ethiopian . This raises the question as to whether an editor thought that someone who may have come from foreign, perhaps immigrant stock needed a longer pedigree to justify his true Jewishness. Zephaniah is also the great-grandson of Hezekiah; giving rise to speculation as to whether this was King Hezekiah.
The ancient Greeks saw in Zoroastrianism the archetype of the dualistic view of the world and of man's destiny. Zoroaster was supposed to have instructed Pythagoras in Babylon and to have inspired the Chaldean doctrines of astrology and magic, could be considered the arch-heretic. In more recent times the study of Zorastrianism has played a decisive part in reconstructing the religion and social structure of the Indo-European peoples. Though Zoroastrianism was never, even in the thinking of its founder, as aggressively monotheistic as, for instance, Judaism or Islam, it does represent an original attempt at unifying under the worship of one supreme god a polytheistic religion comparable to those of the ancient Greeks, Latins, Indians and other early peoples.
The first sacrament is Baptism. The ordinary minister of Baptism is a Priest, Bishop or Pope (not Deacon). In special cases anybody can baptize as long as they follow the proper form of the church. (De Ferrari 63) A pertinent symbol of Baptism would be Holy Water, which symbolizes what a priest uses to baptize someone. (De Ferrari 65) Baptism is when somebody officially becomes a part of the Catholic Church. (De Ferrari 64) One reason it is important would be because Jesus said, “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he can’t enter the kingdom of God.” (New Revised Standard Edition, John 3:5) Another reason this is important is because it is the door of spiritual life. Also with it we are made members of Christ and His body, the Church. (De Ferrari 62)
Only through the words of consecration, “This is my Body… and this is my Blood”, can we truly experience the fruits of the Eucharist. This is only possible through God’s accordance with the Scriptures, Sacraments(the Eucharist in this case), minister(priest or bishop), and the people of the Church(The Body of Christ). Just like Jesus and his disciples during the Last Supper, all of the members of the Mass join in intercession in order to properly bestow power upon the Sacrament of the Eucharist. As the priest serves as a representation of Jesus, we serve as his disciples.
The Jewish beliefs are very similar to those of the Christian’s and the Muslim’s. They believe history and faith are interconnected and everything is part of God’s plan. The sacred text is the Torah and all of the rules and stories and this is where all the rules and stories were written down. Another religious writing is the Ten Commandments. This is believed to be the set of ten rules given to them by God through Moses. Moses, along with Abraham are two of the most important people to the Jewish population. Abraham is the founder of the faith, who made the covenant with God. Moses renewed the covenant with God and received the commandments. He was the one who led the Israelites out of persecution in Egypt, across the Red Sea. Later, many of the Jews moved away from the homeland in a movement called Diaspora. Many settled together in communities that allowed the traditions to survive. Now, Judaism is a major world religion (Ellis Esler, 58-60).