"Every Time We Are Gathered
Hi Christine, What a beautiful song and singers. I loved the little boy – he was so talented, not that the other children weren’t, but he won my heart. And every singer sang with their souls – as if they meant every word they sang. Very uplifting. Thank you for thinking of us and sending this on. It is a pity that this group is drifting away – like the clouds in the sky – big, strong white pillars of strength whilst we were in the Bible class, and now the winds of time has dissipated them, leaving us floating into the unknown. Not that our spiritual strength was Ray’s responsibility, no, definitely not, but he certainly strengthened our faith and taught us things about the Bible I, for one, would never have been able to interpret myself, and be empowered. Maybe we could keep this group going – chatting about spiritual matters through emails, sharing insights and experiences we’re having in these changing times. Just a thought. Thanks for contacting us, Blessings, Merlene From: Christine Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2023 4:47 PM To: b4uc@groups.io Subject: [b4uc] Watch "Every Time We Are Gathered - THE ASIDORS 2022 COVERS" on YouTube https://youtu.be/DNCS4qi-HlM Here's a song some of you may like to take with you into the uncharted seas of 2023. This clip epitomises the 2 most precious things we have and which are under increasing attack from modern trends, political and social: 1 The family (nuclear or extended) and 2 our God-given faith, (without which there is no meaning to anything). This SDA South Korean family have shared much inspiring music, both as this core family unit and also as the much larger clan of sibs, in-laws, cousins, kids etc. True meaning of inclusivity! If interested, check out their group version of: This world is not my Home. Oratorio may be my 1st preference for worship music, but the Asidor family make a great change of style It's been great to share in R09 classes with you all over the past 5+ years. Maybe see you again someday.... Christine M
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Watch "Every Time We Are Gathered - THE ASIDORS 2022 COVERS" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/DNCS4qi-HlM Here's a song some of you may like to take with you into the uncharted seas of 2023. This clip epitomises the 2 most precious things we have and which are under increasing attack from modern trends, political and social: 1 The family (nuclear or extended) and 2 our God-given faith, (without which there is no meaning to anything). This SDA South Korean family have shared much inspiring music, both as this core family unit and also as the much larger clan of sibs, in-laws, cousins, kids etc. True meaning of inclusivity! If interested, check out their group version of: This world is not my Home. Oratorio may be my 1st preference for worship music, but the Asidor family make a great change of style It's been great to share in R09 classes with you all over the past 5+ years. Maybe see you again someday.... Christine M
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My Thursday mornings now....
Zooming around tables with tucker on a tray instead of zooming through Ray's lessons from The Book. (Well, l do get free coffee and snacks)
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Ray's update & etc
Hello Ray & erstwhile fellow R09ers Thanks for the update, Ray. What a tremendous amount of time and energy contributed by so many researchers are represented in those 700 pages. Sadly, l don't know whether my phone has the capacity to handle that quantity of download.... Now so much is coming to light, it would seem on a daily basis, and yet most folk appear incapable of noticing. (Maybe that's a choice.) Just prior to finding your message, Ray, l'd watched Alex Newman on New American interview Karen Kingston, whose analysis of the Pfizer contract indicates that the intent was to produce a bioweapon. She further indicates that Pfizer can actually be held accountable for the many deaths and life-altering injuries inflicted by this substance they created. She's one of a growing army of truth seekers and truth revealers! I believe that this year we may be in for, as the Chinese proverb states, 'interesting times'. Nonetheless we know whom we believe and we know His saving power. Linda and l enjoy keeping in touch. That's a bonus for me on top of all that wonderful and hugely appreciated teaching from you, Ray. And so, as Tiny Tim observed: 'God bless us, every one!' Christine
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Happy New Year 2023 and Australia Day 2023 as well as update of Pfizer Research Findings
Well, hello again, everyone! It's been a long time since we met, and three months have passed since my update on the Pfizer Vaccine study that I participated in. It is now my pleasure to offer you a free PDF copy of a newly released book on the first fifty findings of the study, which after one week is now the #1 Best Seller in Science Methodology and Statistics on Amazon.com.au. The book is titled 'War Room / DailyClout Pfizer Documents Analysis Volunteers’ Reports eBook: Find Out What Pfizer, FDA Tried to Conceal'. You can download a PDF of this 700-page book for free from my Dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/drkpam4v1jethpt/January-20th-edit-with-foreword-DailyClout-War-Room-Pfizer-Reports%20-%20Copy.pdf?dl=0 As you may expect, this is a large file and may take a short while to download. The research can be a bit daunting and certainly is not everyone's cup of tea. It simply assesses the many thousands of research documents on Pfizer's experimental gene therapy mRNA COVID vaccine that Pfizer and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conspired to have classified and hidden from the public for 75 years. Fortunately, they were challenged in court. These papers are still largely ignored by the mainstream media and governments, but they are essential for anyone wanting to make informed decisions about their personal health and that of their loved ones. Please take a moment to remember your life in 2019 before the Chinese Communists deliberately released (for whatever reason) the COVID-19 pandemic that was out of control in China on the World. Contrast it with your life today. The experimental gene therapies pushed on Western countries as a follow-up to the COVID-19 pandemic are now widely known to be unsafe, and yet many governments are still pushing these 'experimental vaccinations' on their citizens. This book does not examine why this is, it merely looks at what Big Pharma knew to be true and wanted to remain hidden. You are free to do what you wish with this PDF. I personally am so grateful that my faith and my Biblical worldview have given me a sound perspective to view these past few turbulent years. I am also thankful that our studies before the pandemic helped sharpen that faith, and for that I will eternally be grateful to you. Thank you. Blessings, Ray -------------- On Thursday, 6 October 2022 at 12:44:46 pm AEST, Ray via groups.io <ray.sarlin@...> wrote: G'day all, For any of you who are interested, this article includes an excellent overview article and also a link to the detailed findings and reports of the analysis of the released Pfizer documents. The article is in French, but if you right-click on your mouse, a menu comes up that includes "Translate to English". #PfizerDocuments: In the United States, scientists' legal battle for transparency | Michèle Rivasi (michele-rivasi.eu) As the article explains, Pfizer and the U.S. Government agencies responsible for public health conspired to hide the data relied upon by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to license COVID-19 vaccines for 75 years. On August 27, 2021, a "collective" named the Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to release that data and, when unsuccessful, sued the FDA in September 2021 to release the data. This suit resulted in a February 2022 court order to release the data amounting to some 400,000 pages progressively over one year. Another collective called the WarRoom was formed on Dr. Naomi Wolf's website dailyclout.io to analyse the documents as they were released. This volunteer group was comprised of 3,500 researchers, doctors, nurses, biostatisticians, medical fraud investigators, and laboratory clinicians organised into five teams, backstopped by another team of some 350 lawyers. The article explains the findings well, and I commend it to you. As mentioned, the article also links to a large 33.5MB PDF file entitled "August 25, 2022, War Room/DailyClout Pfizer Research Volunteers Consolidated Reports and Op-Eds." If interested, you may wish to visit the websit
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Update of Pfizer Research Findings 3
G'day all, For any of you who are interested, this article includes an excellent overview article and also a link to the detailed findings and reports of the analysis of the released Pfizer documents. The article is in French, but if you right-click on your mouse, a menu comes up that includes "Translate to English". #PfizerDocuments: In the United States, scientists' legal battle for transparency | Michèle Rivasi (michele-rivasi.eu) As the article explains, Pfizer and the U.S. Government agencies responsible for public health conspired to hide the data relied upon by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to license COVID-19 vaccines for 75 years. On August 27, 2021, a "collective" named the Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to release that data and, when unsuccessful, sued the FDA in September 2021 to release the data. This suit resulted in a February 2022 court order to release the data amounting to some 400,000 pages progressively over one year. Another collective called the WarRoom was formed on Dr. Naomi Wolf's website dailyclout.io to analyse the documents as they were released. This volunteer group was comprised of 3,500 researchers, doctors, nurses, biostatisticians, medical fraud investigators, and laboratory clinicians organised into five teams, backstopped by another team of some 350 lawyers. The article explains the findings well, and I commend it to you. As mentioned, the article also links to a large 33.5MB PDF file entitled "August 25, 2022, War Room/DailyClout Pfizer Research Volunteers Consolidated Reports and Op-Eds." If interested, you may wish to visit the website dailyclout.io. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the COVID-19 vaccinations originally pushed through under the then U.S. Government's "Project Warp Speed" with good intentions of addressing the not yet fully understood Coronavirus Pandemic were seized upon and misused by hostile powers to help implement their "Great Reset," an ongoing effort to ultimately consolidate global political, economic, technological, and social control. The results have led to the world-wide chaos of the past two years, with the breakout of wars, the global energy crisis, massive inflation, food shortages, and pending famine. The war in Ukraine exacerbated by sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines threatens to go nuclear, yet this localised border crisis could have easily been resolved before it started but for the machinations of the USA regime which continues to fund the war. The globalists control formerly free countries like Canada and New Zealand. But the globalists moved too fast and popular resistance has surfaced in many parts of the world as diverse as Sri Lanka, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden. The United States is anything but united as it heads to a midterm election in a month that will help determine the future direction or even the continuing existence of the country. I could go on but you probably know all this already. We are so lucky to live in Australia. May God bless each of you! Ray
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Recent R09 emails 2
Hello Ray and R09 members, Ray, l feel other class members have already said it all, nonetheless...... We've been privileged for quite some years now to benefit from the carefully researched content and beautiful presentation of your classes. And also benefited from your sincere intent to further our knowledge and understanding of the most important book in the world - and to enjoy it! All greatly appreciated and missed. I daresay we could call you our tour guide through space and time! ('Much have l travelled in realms of gold, and many goodly states and kingdoms seen.' etc, etc.) The weekly Thursday highlight may have gone into recess, but our Father knows our individual needs. In February, He led me to a church where l have access to an enthusiastic study group and a pastor who delivers solid (and urgent) messages on prophecy. But l still miss your unique insights, Ray. What an undertaking to be engaged in - working to expose lies and deceit on a global scale. More power to you, Ray, and also your many colleagues around the world! There have been many and various wise ones from the outset but they've struggled to be heard, mainly because of mainstream censorship. They've often been forced to find other platforms and probably feel each like a tiny David facing Goliaths, with his brothers and all. God said that our works were prepared for us before we were born. Well, Ray, you surely were handed a bristling agenda. I imagine we've all been praying for you, Ray, and will continue to do so. My prayers for you focus on healing from the injection injury you mentioned and also for stamina to persevere in and success with this important research. To appropriate a phrase from Prophecy Watchers: See you here, there or in the air! Christine
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Update: U3A Course R09 (Bible) for Term 4, 2022 3
Hi Merlene, Thank you for your kind letter. Until 8 November I will not be able to focus on preparing teaching materials. After that, it will depend upon what happens. The medical research that I have been involved with continues to be both important and time-consuming, with new tranches of Pfizer documents being released monthly. Thus far the work has resulted in numerous press releases, articles, interviews, public-interest lawsuits, the development of legislation, and several books. Key findings are now being used to create public-facing reports. Findings have been used in the USA and Europe to affect government policy on vaccinations, lockdowns, and masking. Numerous other legitimate medical research projects are now confirming many of our findings and conclusions. I used "legitimate" because various global elitist organizations and international oligarchs have politicized the COVID-19 pandemic and have poured billions into corrupted academic and public health "studies" that further their strategic objectives. They unfortunately now control a number of Western nations and are attempting to consolidate their control over the USA, the major impediment to global governance. The loss of faith in government institutions and nascent worldwide energy and food crises are part of this. Another recent global initiative has seen the legalization of euthanasia or assisted suicide in six EU nations, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, and five U.S. states. The supposed underlying "rationale" for these destructive and counter-intuitive policies relates to mythologized climate change and overpopulation. By the way, if this sounds Biblical, it's because it is! See Revelation 13, Daniel 2:41-42, Daniel 7:16-24, and so on. Remember that a logical conclusion of the disasters and plagues in Revelation Chapters 6 to 11 is the creation of such a monumental global crisis that people will embrace anything that promises relief. But some people are fighting back. Things aren't hopeless; it just may be that our hope lies not in this world. Jesus said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27) My understanding is that next month will see the final tranche of documents released, and I have been asked to contribute to a book on the experience of those of us researching. My effort has truly been an insignificant part of a worldwide project team of 3,500 researchers and 1,000 lawyers, but I have found it personally rewarding. So thanks again for your email. I really miss our weekly sessions. Blessings, Ray On Sunday, 4 September 2022 at 01:51:51 pm AEST, Merlene <merlene@...> wrote: Hi Ray, Having received the U3A Class Schedule for the last term of 2022, I noticed that you have decided not to offer your Bible classes. I know it takes a lot of time to prepare any class for U3A, and your presentations and content would be no different, in fact, probably take more time and energy than most. I do miss them, but understand completely that there are other worthwhile things in life that make it to the head of the queue at times. Whatever you are now involved with I wish you every success, and look forward to a time when you might consider returning to teach us more about the Bible and how it works for us in these very difficult and treacherous times, when there seems no good or hope is on the immediate horizon. Blessings, Merlene PS I do miss you ....
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U3A Course R09 (Bible) for Term 4, 2022
Hi Ray, Having received the U3A Class Schedule for the last term of 2022, I noticed that you have decided not to offer your Bible classes. I know it takes a lot of time to prepare any class for U3A, and your presentations and content would be no different, in fact, probably take more time and energy than most. I do miss them, but understand completely that there are other worthwhile things in life that make it to the head of the queue at times. Whatever you are now involved with I wish you every success, and look forward to a time when you might consider returning to teach us more about the Bible and how it works for us in these very difficult and treacherous times, when there seems no good or hope is on the immediate horizon. Blessings, Merlene PS I do miss you ....
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U3A Course R09 (Bible) for Term 3, 2020 - (INACTIVE)
Hi Ray, Sad to learn of your decision for U3A Course R09 (Bible) to remain inactive for Term 3, but understand. Hopefully you will be in a position to return to these classes for Term 4. They contain invaluable soul food, something lacking greatly in today’s society and climate. Blessings, Merlene
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Announcement about U3A Course R09 (Bible) for Term 3, 2020 - (INACTIVE)
Hello everyone, I regret to advise you that the U3A course "What the Bible is About" will remain inactive for another term. During the past six weeks, I have undertaken (volunteer) consulting work that has kept me completely engaged. I am one of 250 lawyers and 3,000 volunteers (including doctors, immunologists, academics, and researchers) reviewing some 55,000 pages of COVID-19 vaccine test data released by Pfizer Biopharmaceutical Company after a court order. Pfizer had unsuccessfully attempted to avoid disclosure of this data for 75 years. Our study of the released documents for research irregularities and adverse outcomes has already uncovered evidence of massive global fraud of an unimaginable scale. Our vetted and reviewed research findings are turned over to the legal team for litigation. For example, before the vaccine was released just after the November 2020 US election, the documents show that Pfizer knew that vaccine efficacy waned over time (i.e., two doses were not enough). They also knew that the Alpha variant specifically targeted the elderly with co-morbidities and not the general population. By late 2020 when the Delta variant surfaced, Pfizer was aware that the vaccine had little efficacy against Delta, and was actually more harmful than beneficial when the Omicron variant arrived a year later. Yet this knowledge was ruthlessly suppressed by Big Pharma, Big Media, and Big Tech in collaboration with the US government agencies designed to protect public health, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), even as they outlawed effective therapeutics and pushed the ineffective vaccine as the only permissible medical treatment. It seems that global and US oligarchical elites seized upon the COVID-19 panic in an ongoing but as-yet unsuccessful attempt to establish their "Great Reset" (aka, global world government) by fundamentally suppressing human freedoms through lockdowns and mandates while morphing the USA, the primary guarantor of the free world, from the Constitutional Republic into a globally-focused statist government. Not only did the lockdowns bankrupt many businesses (over 110,000 in the USA alone), but a reputable study of 672 American children born during the pandemic (aged between 3 months and 3 years) showed that their mean IQ was roughly 22 points below the standardized mean of 100. These are but two of the many social impacts of the lockdowns. If you would like more details on the general and specific situations referred to above, Dr. Naomi Wolf, the facilitator of the project, has just published a new book entitled, "The Bodies of Others: The New Authoritarians, COVID-19 and the War Against the Human." This extremely important and informative, but very readable, book is available on Amazon. You can read the preface and the first two chapters online for free at https://www.amazon.com.au/. There's not a lot I can do about the world situation, but the project I'm on is one thing and it's important! The work is ongoing, so I haven't the time to do justice to U3A Course R09 preparation and have extended it as inactive for another term. I hope that rolling the U3A course over another term doesn't inconvenience you too much. BTW, one of the reasons for my interest (besides the fact that this existential crisis coincides perfectly with Biblical prophecy) is personal. Any vaccine can cause adverse events but statistically, they should be so rare that they never happen to anyone you know. But I was briefly hospitalized soon after receiving my second AstraZeneca dose, and have experienced circulation problems and a persistent skin rash ever since. Thank you. Blessings, Ray
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Second question
Hello Ray and fellow Bible group members, Firstly please accept my apologies for bombarding you with my reply to Ray re document Q.For some reason my computer did not receive my first reply and this led me to keep sending it. Question 2 Ray, In your three and half page attached pdf to you discussion on Document Q you set out the following: "Given the prevailing traditional Catholic understanding that Mark had been written first (a theory since seriously challenged)" I have always been comfortable with the opinion that Mark was the first gospel written although we will never know for sure. please expand on your comment (a theory since seriously challenged) Blessings, Ian
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Question on the Synoptic Gospel problem - an academic Quagmire 5
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPEL PROBLEM – AN ACADEMIC QUAGMIRE G’day all, Although U3A Class R09 is on hiatus over Term 2, 2022, the discussion forum and website are still open. Please feel free to comment on or ask anything. This email addresses the following query: QUESTION FROM A PARTICIPANT: We don’t know who actually wrote the synoptic gospels whether it was the disciples themselves or their scribes. Some books I have read written by bible scholars refer to a hypothetical document “Q”. This mystery document is supposed to be the first ever written account of the synoptic gospels and these accounts have been copied, translated and modified down through the ages. Whether the theory is that there were three documents “Q “, one for each disciple, or just one, I am not sure. I would appreciate your opinion on how the very first accounts of each of the synoptic gospels have been identified and your thoughts on a document or documents “Q” Further to the preliminary answer provided a week or so ago, I have attached a 3-1/2 page PDF response (with lots of graphics) entitled "What About Q.pdf". In addition, two academic papers are attached for those who may want to look deeper. “The Lost Gospel Of Q—Fact Or Fantasy?” by Dr. Eta Linnemann - educated among the very heart of the beast that originated this heresy (for that's what it is), she rebelled against the theory and gives a cogent discussion in this lengthy paper. For the record, she published a shorter paper in the Biblical Archaeology Review that despite my membership I was unable to download. “The Gospel of Q: A Public Domain Translation” by Dr. Mark Mattison. This academic paper on the pro-Q side saves you from wading through all the convoluted jargon and gives you a look in English at what the Q-source issue is all about. I really enjoyed doing this research. Thanks heaps for the question. I hope that I've answered your query okay. Blessings, Ray Tutor U3A E09
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Question on "tribulation for ten days" in Revelation 2:10 (Smyrna) 2
Hi Christine, Thanks for the great question. As usual, I'll provide the answer you asked for as well as a lot of additional information that makes the point. Details are included in the attached PDF. First, "ten days" likely has little or nothing to do with the spiritual meaning of the number ten. As you'll see, there is nothing "ordinally perfect" in the various explanations of the "ten" which commentators have long debated. There are four general explanations (and a host of best-forgotten other ones which I've omitted): Noted Scottish theologian Wiliam Barclay wrote, “The expression ten days is not to be taken literally; it is the normal Greek expression for a short time.” This is confirmed in Thayer's Greek Lexicon: G1176 deka; (1) a primary number; ten; (2) i.e., to last a short time: Revelation 2:10; cf. Daniel 1:12, 14; Numbers 11:19. The plain text indicates that Jesus was warning certain Smyrnaeans that they would be imprisoned for ten days. Prison then was for those awaiting trial and execution, not for rehabilitation. They could expect tribulation because of this satanic persecution, but their pain was measured and limited by God and their reward for being faithful until death is the victor’s crown (stephanos) of (eternal) life. Please refer to the attached PDF for further information. Some commentators (Clarke) think that Jesus was using “prophetic days,” where each day corresponds to a year. Hence, they read the term to mean “ten years of tribulation.” Please refer to the attached PDF for analysis. The next theory about “ten years” posits that Jesus meant persecution over the reign of ten Roman Emperors, from Nero through Diocletian. This theory was set out in John Foxe’s highly influential Acts and Monuments aka Book of Martyrs (1563) and is still popular today. Please refer to the attached PDF for analysis and table setting out the Ten Roman Persecutions. Conclusion: There is no compelling reason to think that Jesus was giving a coded message about the length of Domitian’s persecution or ten emperors or whatever. It seems most likely that He said what He meant, that Christians are not promised to be kept from persecution, but we will be kept through persecution and it will be for a limited time (that we can endure). Blessings, Ray U3A R09 Tutor On Monday, 9 May 2022, 03:15:27 pm AEST, Christine <cjmcfadyen46@...> wrote: Hi Ray Thank you for the good wishes for Mothers' Day. Question re church at Smyrna : Rev 2:10 '...Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.' Please, Ray, what is your understanding of the significance of 'ten days'? I understand that in Hebrew this number represents numerical perfection but does that have bearing in this context? You may well have commented on this when covering Revelation in semester 2 2019, but l was unable to attend R09 at that time. Thanks for your ever readiness to give interesting and helpful responses to our queries Christine
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Q&A: Why Jesus linked John with Mary at the Cross 3
G'day all, While the U3A course R09 "What the Bible is about" is on hiatus, our discussion board is still available to discuss biblical issues. As we approach Mother's Day, a question came up in the course of some emails that I'd like to share with you. Question Why did Jesus give custodianship of His mother, Mary, to his disciple John, instead of to his brother(s)? One of the "throw-away" facts included in the New Testament that tends to pass without analysis is John 19:26-27 where Jesus, on the cusp of death on the Cross, directed the Apostle John, His (first) cousin, to take of His mother, Mary, despite the fact that Mary had at least four living sons per Matthew 13:55. John, as the youngest of the Twelve, would likely have been younger than at least some, if not all, of Mary's sons. The Roman Catholic Church doesn't have a problem with this since they declared Mary ever-virgin (this is a topic in itself) and assigned Jesus' half-brothers to a mother or mothers other than Mary, either a sister of Mary or an earlier wife or wives of Joseph. However, with their focus on sola scriptura (the Bible as the sole authority), the Protestant reformers recognized that scripture only required belief in the virgin birth, but was silent on perpetual virginity. Some early reformers like Luther and Zwingli who had been Catholic priests held on to the idea of perpetual virginity, but Protestantism largely rejects it. I'll address this question from the scriptural (Protestant) perspective.John 19:26-27 states, "When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!' And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home." English (KJV) Strong's Greek Root Tense mother g3384 μήτηρ mētēr 1) a mother 2) metaphor. the source of something behold g2400 ἰδού idou behold, see, lo son! g5207 υἱός huios 1) a son d) in a wider sense, a descendant, one of the posterity of any one of, 1) the children of Israel 2) sons of Abraham e) used to describe one who depends on another or is his follower 1) a pupil 3) son of God b) used to describe those who are born again (Lk. 20:36) and of angels and of Jesus Christ c) of those whom God esteems as sons, whom he loves, protects and benefits above others 1) in the OT used of the Jews 2) in the NT of Christians 3) those whose character God, as a loving father, shapes by chastisements (Heb. 12:5-8) d) those who revere God as their father, the pious worshippers of God, those who in character and life resemble God, those who are governed by the Spirit of God, repose the same calm and joyful trust in God that children do in their parents (Rom. 8:14, Gal. 3:26 ), and hereafter in the blessedness and glory of the life eternal will openly wear this dignity of the sons of God. A term used preeminently of Jesus Christ, as enjoying the supreme love of God, united to him in affectionate intimacy, privy to his saving councils, obedient to the Father's will in all his acts Rationale The majority of Protestant commentators suggest Jesus, Mary's first-born son, established the relationship re-alignments noted in John 19:26-27 because none of Mary’s other sons were Christians at the time. As an aside, this is supported by the Bible Codes, where equidistant letter sequence (ELS) codes that underlay Isaiah 53 (a prophecy of His trial and crucifixion) include all names noted in the New Testament to be present at the crucifixion but exclude the names of His brethren James, Joses, Simon, and Judas (Jude) (Matthew 13:55). Mary was already a widow; it is probable from reading the Gospels that Joseph was no longer living and that Jesus her firstborn had been her primary support. Thus from the Cross Jesus was transferring His duty to maintain His Mother into the care of John, the only disciple still standing by Him (others would return later). This was a tremendous honour to John, as he well knew being “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” “Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when
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Question
Hi Ray Thank you for the good wishes for Mothers' Day. Question re church at Smyrna : Rev 2:10 '...Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.' Please, Ray, what is your understanding of the significance of 'ten days'? I understand that in Hebrew this number represents numerical perfection but does that have bearing in this context? You may well have commented on this when covering Revelation in semester 2 2019, but l was unable to attend R09 at that time. Thanks for your ever readiness to give interesting and helpful responses to our queries Christine
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Document "Q" 4
Hi Ray, We don’t know who actually wrote the synoptic gospels whether it was the disciples themselves or their scribes. Some books I have read written by bible scholars refer to a hypothetical document “Q”.This mystery document is supposed to be the first ever written account of the synoptic gospels and these accounts have been copied, translated and modified down through the ages. Whether the theory is that there were three documents “Q “, one for each disciple, or just one, I am not sure. I would appreciate your opinion on how the very first accounts of each of the synoptic gospels have been identified and your thoughts on a document or documents “Q” Blessings, Ian
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U3A Course R09 (What the Bible is about) Term 2, 2022 Enrolments 14
Good day all, Less than a week away from commencing our Term 2 classes for U3A course R09 What the Bible is About - An Informed Appreciation of the Bible, enrolment is below the minimum required to hold the course. This has unfortunately happened to many of the U3A courses. As a result, I am saddened to announce that the course will not be held for Term 2, which commences next week. At present, I intend to resume classes in Term 3 2022 which runs from 11 July to 16 September, possibly resuming face-to-face (F2F) classes or in a mixed F2F/Zoom mode. With your permission, I'll keep your email addresses so that I can keep you informed at that time. Since 2017, we have covered 52 of the 66 books of the Bible. That's nearly 80%, and I have materials drafted or prepared for most of the remainder. Please email me with any suggestions that might support the revival of R09. I'm especially interested in any ideas on repackaging or marketing the course to help attract new enrollees and revive the interest that you and so many others have shown over the past five years. Thank you for your interest in R09. It's been a real blessing to me. Blessings, Ray Ray Sarlin U3A R09 Tutor
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U3A Course R09 (What the Bible is about) Q&A on Mark 16:9-20
G’day all, Although U3A Class R09 is on hiatus over Term 2, 2022, the discussion forum and website are still open. Please feel free to comment on or ask anything Bible-related. For example, last Sunday one of the participants sent an email with the following: QUESTION FROM A PARTICIPANT: Even if the class doesn't resume this term, are you still available for comment on queries? One I've meant to run past you for weeks concerns the final verses of Mark's gospel and Pawson's comments on these in his Unlocking the Bible. No problem, though, if you want/need a break from this aspect of your class as well. ANSWER: You ask two questions, a general one about the ending of Mark and a more specific one about David Pawson’s comments on it. I’ll address the latter first. I love David Pawson, consider him perhaps the finest Bible teacher of the modern era, and rely heavily upon his work. I owned and studied a complete set of his VHS tapes including the entire “Unlocking the Bible” series. That said, there are a few things that I disagree with, and one is the ending of Mark. He accepted as fact that Mark’s gospel finishes at Mark 16:8 in the middle of a sentence with the strange phrase, “for they were afraid of….” He then identified at least three possible reasons why this might be: (1) Mark intended to end thusly; (2) Mark was interrupted and never finished; and (3) the ending was lost in some way. He further goes on to mention that other endings have been added, a shorter version (which first appears in the late fourth century A.D. and most commentators readily dismiss) and the longer version of Mark 16:9-20 that appears in most English Bibles today and which most commentators acknowledge, to quote Pawson, “does reflect what the early church believed….” [THE ANSWER NOW INCLUDES 3-1/2 PAGES OF DETAILS IN THE ATTACHED PDF.] TOPIC HEADINGS INCLUDE: The primary argument against Mark 16:9-20 Documentary evidence for the authenticity of Mark 16:9-20 Structural evidence for the inspiration of Mark 16:9-20 Structural evidence for the inclusion of Mark 16:9-20 with the Gospel of Mark I’m sure that anyone who has read this far will appreciate that I will restrict this section to note that Panin demonstrates that not only was Mark 16:9-20 necessary to complete Mark’s gospel and end on a note of hope rather than despair, but it is consistent structurally and gematrically with the verses that precede it. There is no human explanation for the incredible and precise fit. Conclusion This answer only lightly touches on evidence regarding the authenticity of Mark 16:9-20, but even from this cursory examination, it would seem apparent that these 12 verses were in the original but were expurgated from the corrupt Alexandrian codices (this topic I could prattle on about for hours) that form the foundation for most modern English versions of the New Testament. So that’s where I disagree with David Pawson. His reasoning why Mark’s gospel finishes at Mark 16:8 errors in its underlying assumption that Westcott and Hort were correct in promoting the Alexandrian codices as the “earliest and most reliable” versions of the New Testament. One hundred and forty years after that assumption was made, they are no longer seen as reliable, and three fragments of Mark (𝔓45, 𝔓88, and 𝔓137) dated to before they were allegedly written are probably earlier than the codices which cannot trace their provenance until at least some 1,000 years later. Thanks for the questions. Blessings, Ray
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Final session of U3A Course R09 (What the Bible is about) for Term 1 2022 will start at 10:45 AM today 31 March 2022
Good morning all, Ray Sarlin is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting of the U3A course R09 What the Bible is About - An Informed Appreciation of the Bible. This will be our final session for Term 1 of 2022. We will conclude our study of Paul's letter to the Colossians, his treatise on the preeminence of Christ. The course will run from 10:45 AM-12:00 Noon Brisbane time. Details to join the Zoom Meeting are: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84271042854?pwd=QVFUVkNJSDZKc2RqWFZYak9ZRUNXQT09 Meeting ID: 842 7104 2854 Passcode: 793751 Alternatively, use 07 3185 3730 if you prefer to dial in by telephone in Queensland. Blessings, Ray Ray Sarlin U3A R09 Tutor
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