Usurper Antiochus IV Defiled First Temple In Jerusalem
Antiochus attacked defiled First Temple in Jerusalem
sacrificed a pig on holy altar erected a statue of Zeus
as himself in the temple raided sacred Temple treasury...
minted his 'Theos Epiphanes' God manifest coins
at Antioch silver tetradrachm of Antiochus IV struck
'Basileus Antiochus God Manifest Bearer of Victory'
'Basileus Antiochus translates 'The king made manifest'
'made manifest' implies the deification of Antiochus
face shown with radiate crown indicating aura of divinity...
Antiochus IV the 'little horn' of Daniel 8: 9? Banned
the traditional religion of the entire Jewish people?
Outlawed all sacred Jewish religious rites traditions?
Observant Jews were ordered to worship Olympian Zeus
as supreme god forbidden from keeping sacred Sabbath?
Forbidden from celebrating traditional feasts forbidden...
from admitting to be a Jew? Decree issued ordered Jews
to adopt Greek customs partake of Greek sacrifices
to put to death all Jews who would not publically consent?
Antiochus raging like a wild animal took Jerusalem
by storm 'ordered his soldiers to cut down without
mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took
refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young
and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter
of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty
thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent
death, and the same number being sold into slavery.'
Antiochus IV antichrist archetype prefigure antichrist!
2 Maccabees 5: 11-14.
Two Jewish women arrested for having circumcised sons
on prescribed eight day 'were publicly paraded about the city
with their babies hanging at their breasts then thrown down
from the top of the city wall'? Jews who assembled
in nearby caves to observe the sabbath in secret
were betrayed' all burned to death to enforce decree.
2 Maccabees 6: 1-11
Antiochus 'The Mad One' the first vile Seleucid
king to use divine epithets on his minted coins
to proclaim himself divinity god made manifest
forced Jews to abandon customs of their ancestors
at pain of death to live no longer by the laws of God
Antiochus was struck down by disease in 164 BC...
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Related quotes
Yet did that Antiochus, who was also called Dionysius, become an origin of troubles again.
quote by Flavius Josephus
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Fall Of The Temple In 70 A.D.!
back across centuries
century after century
to the fall of Jerusalem
in 70AD Josephus says
claims that 1,100,000
Jews died most slain
were peaceful citizens
weak starving unarmed
butchered where caught
heaps of Jewish corpses
mounted higher higher
about God’s own altar
blood in streams flowed
down the Temple's steps
Roman supreme command
passion cruelly unleashed
detestation of Jews rage
overpowering battle lust
in legions now uncontrolled
legions spurred on by
craved fever gold lust
expectation of faith’s loot
observing now everything
around them made of gold
flames consumed
the chambers
that surrounded
the sanctuary
flame burning frenzy
roaring penetrated
the Holy of Holies
the inner sanctum
the Temple is ablaze iron attackers plunderer countless Jewish people
are caught slaughtered there is given no pity
for age sex rank priests laymen women children all alike were butchered every civil class pursued crushed in war’s iron grip
at siege's bile end faceless
masses are slaughtered
cred cried out for mercy
offered resistance makes
no difference to blood lust
far wind wide now streaming flames spread up hill’s height massive temple ablaze signal beacon pyre burning before God’s eye judgement given
shrieks falling victims heard through bite roar of vengeful flames lust war cries Roman legions sweep now en masse upwards exterminating with
thrusting killing red swords encircled now by fire swords rebels yell dismayed now at their late zealously defended
temples’ fate panic people cut
off above by fire flee into welcoming birth blades
of blood bathing legions hear cries on Temple Mount blended with fear multitudes
in siege city Jerusalem below as exhausted Jews tongue-tied as a result of hunger previously behold the Holy Temple aflame found strength to lament to wail
Temple Mount now everywhere enveloped in flames boils over upon its sacred base as blood more abundant bleeds from fresh slain as soldiers climb body heaps
to viciously chase down few last
Jewish pitiful fleeing fugitives on the 10th of Av (5th of August)
sentence very same day Babylon
burned First Temple in 586 B.C.
What became of Jews
sparred from death?
Thousands enslaved
were sent to suffer die
in vast mines of Egypt.
Thousands were dispersed
to arenas throughout
the entire evil Empire
to be viewed butchered
for public amusement.
The Temple's sacred relics
were taken to pagan Rome
where they were displayed
in celebration of this victory
the seven-branched candlestick
the golden table of the shew-bread
the golden trumpets were carried
through Rome’s streets in triumph.
What became of the key to the sanctuary?
According to temple legend a hand
appeared from heaven and took the key
from the hand of the priest who had
climbed to the top of the main tower!
Josephus recorded the Romans set fire to the temple on the 10th day of the 5th Jewish month. This is a lunar calendar and the correct date on our calendar is mathematically calculated correctly as Sunday, August 5, AD 70. Many other dates are incorrectly and confusingly posted. Josephus implied the day before the burning was a Saturday, the Jewish sabbath.
See also 'Forty Years Of Warning' and 'Temple And City Were Destroyed In 70 A.D.! '
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Chanukah And Christmas
(footnote)
2100 years ago a band of Jews defeated the Greek army
And drove them off their land, reclaiming the holy temple
In Jerusalem and rededicating it to the service of god.
when they sought to light the temples menorah
They found only a single cruse of olive oil that
escaped contamination by the Greeks.
Miraculously the one day supply lasted eight days.
The sages instituted the festival of Chanukah
To publicize these miracles.
The Dreidel which is a four sided top with a
Hebrew letter on each side which means
“ a great miracle happened here”
was used later on in the years to give thanks to god
Without the enemy knowing that they were praying.
Chanukah, the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.
Chanukah is probably one of the best known Jewish holidays, not because of any great religious significance, but because of its proximity to Christmas. Many non-Jews (and even many assimilated Jews!) think of this holiday as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate gift-giving and decoration. It is bitterly ironic that this holiday, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and suppression of Jewish religion, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday on our calendar.
Christmas and Chanukah are known world wide
But these two faiths do not collide.
They walk hand in hand
For they came out of the promised land.
You see: the son of god was born a Jew
The Romans felt this was taboo.
No other religion could exist
This was controlled by the Romans fist.
JESUS preached in synagogues throughout the lands
Something that the Romans did withstand.
His own people wanted his death
But little did they know
That with this- a new faith would grow.
The cross on which he died became a symbol
Of Christianity, and that’s the way
God meant it to be.
Chanukah is eight days of giving while the Christian
Holiday is just one day, but during these
holidays we all kneel and pray.
We give GOD thanks for all the beauties of the earth
And for family and friends, and it is something
That will never end.
As long as man holds a belief in their hearts
And faith, -then all will be overcome and
Let GODS will be done.
poem by Louis Rams
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The Valley Of Tears
The fabric of our literature,
Interwoven with images to swing the muse;
Life and leisure,
Gods and heroes,
Of the Biblical polemic to teach others when,
We have a narrow cover to wrap up.
Antiochus Epiphanes,
Like the message od Herod the antipas;
Stammering lips to speak,
I am in the valley of tears!
The sounding of the trumpet,
In the assembly of the gods;
Ny ears caught a whisper when,
The spirits brushed past by.
Bodies of clay,
In the land of gods and heroes;
To pass through the middle of it like,
The loud cymbals of an unknown city.
An interwoven image,
Tears heavier than the sands of the sea;
Wisdom is for your mind,
Knowledge is for your being,
Understanding is for your guide,
A fabric from the noise of many waters!
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Forty Years Of Warning
Why did God wait forty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus?
An entire generation?
Before was fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus about the destruction of the Temple and fate of Jerusalem!
The number forty is symbolic of trial testing and punishment in Biblical symbolism.
Moses lead the Israelites through forty years of punishment in the wilderness before a new generation
was allowed to enter
the promised land.
Was waiting this forty years
to definitively
prove God's patience?
To allow the Jews time to repent
to turn back to God
to exhibit appropriate
behaviour and worship
so that God could
bless them as God desired
instead of punishing
them as he had warned?
Copyright © Terence GeorgeCraddock
See also 'Temple And City Were Destroyed In 70 A.D.! ' and 'The Fall Of The Temple In 70 A.D.! '
poem by Terence George Craddock
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The Jews are the most tenacious people in history. Hebron is there to prove it. It ties 20 miles south of Jerusalem, 3,000 feet up in the Judaean hills. There, in the Cave of Machpelah, are the Tombs of the Patriarchs. According to ancient tradition, one sepulcher, itself of great antiquity, contains the mortal remains of Abraham, founder of the Jewish religion and ancestor of the Jewish race. Paired with his tomb is that of his wife Sarah. Within the building are the twin tombs of his son Isaac and his wife Rebecca. Across the inner courtyard is another pair of tombs, of Abraham's grandson Jacob and his wife Leah. Just outside the building is the tomb of their son Joseph. This is where the 4,000-year history of the Jews, in so far as it can be anchored in time and place, began.
Paul Johnson in A History of the Jews, Chapter One: Israelites (1987)
Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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Bible in Poetry: Gospel of St. Mark (Chapter 15)
As morning came, the whole Sanhedrin crowd-
Chief priests, elders and scribes, held a council;
They bound and handed him o’er to Pilate;
When Pilate asked, “Are you the king of Jews? ”
He said to him in reply, “You say so! ”
The chief priests accused Him of many things;
And Pilate asked Him, “Have you an answer?
How many things they accuse you of, Look! ”
But Pilate was amazed as He didn’t talk.
They used to free a prisoner on feast days.
A murderer called Barabbas was brought in
From prison with rebels, for murder crimes;
The crowd pressed Pilate do as was custom;
Pilate asked, “Shall I free the ‘King of Jews’? ”
He knew the chief priests had envy on Him.
They made the crowd to free just Barabbas.
“What should I do with Jesus? ” asked Pilate.
They shouted together, “Crucify Him.”
“What evil has this man done? asked Pilate.
They shouted still loudly, “Crucify Him.”
Pilate freed the murderer, Barabbas.
He ordered Jesus to be scourged and led;
The soldiers took Him to the praetorium;
In purple clothed, a crown of thorns was placed,
Atop His head and they saluted Him,
“Hail, king of Jews and struck his head by reed.”
They spat on Him, knelt as if in homage:
They mocked at Him and stripped Him off his cloak;
They dressed Him in his own clothes and led Him.
A Cyrenian passer-by, Simon
Was made to help Him to carry the cross;
They brought him to Golgotha, ‘Place of skull’!
They gave Him wine with myrrh which He didn’t take;
They cast lots for his clothes; crucified Him,
At nine o’clock in the morning that day.
‘The King of Jews’ was inscribed on the cross.
Two robbers too were crucified with Him.
Some passed by Him and said, “The man who said
He would destroy the temple and rebuild
In three days’ time. Save yourself and come down”
Let Messiah come down from cross alive,
So that we may believe He’s king of Jews!
At noon, the land was covered by darkness
Till three in the afternoon, when He died.
He cried aloud, “Eloi, Eloi, lema
Sabachthani, meaning, ‘my God, my God,
Why hast thou forsaken me in this way? ”
Some by-standers said, “He calls Elijah! ”
One soaked a sponge in vinegar and held
It up to Him to drink, upon a reed.
Jesus uttered a loud cry, breathed His last.
The veil of sanctuary was torn in two.
A centurion who witnessed how he died
Remarked, “Truly, this was the Son of God! ”
Some women stood looking from a distance;
Mary Magdalene and Mary were there;
They’d followed Him from Galilee slowly.
Some women came from Jerusalem too.
When evening came, the day before Sabbath,
Joseph of Arimathea met Pilate
And requested for Jesus’ body!
But Pilate was amazed that He had died;
Joseph brought linen cloth and wrapped Him up.
They laid Him in a tomb hewn out of rock!
A stone was rolled across the entrance then.
Both Marys watched where Jesus’ body lay!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 5-20-2007
poem by John Celes
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Bible Stories: Esther (Part IIA)
In reward for his great service,
Haman, son of Hammedatha,
Was raised to the highest rank,
Second to just the King himself;
All servants and all officials
Would kneel and bow their head to him
As per the royal order then;
But Mordecai would ne’er do this;
All wondered why he thus behaved;
Being a Jew was his excuse.
When servants told Haman of this,
He was much angered by the news;
He planned to punish Mordecai,
And destroy every Jew that lived!
All Jews would be killed in one day-
The thirteenth day of Adar month,
In the twelfth year of the King’s reign.
Haman brain-washed the king and said:
“Scattered among your kingdom, Sir,
Are certain people with own laws,
Who do not obey King’s orders.
Haman would pay a heavy sum
In silver to the treasury,
If King issued a new decree
To have them destroyed in one day.
They were a hurdle to progress;
The king handed his signet ring
To Haman, as he impressed him;
He empowered him to act fast;
Calling all scribes, then Haman wrote
An order on the King’s behalf
And sealed it with the royal ring:
“All Jews in all the provinces
Both young and old, of both sexes
Would face mass annihilation;
Their goods would be confiscated! ”
The king’s decree was sent to all
The Governors of his kingdom,
To make forthwith preparations.
poem by John Celes
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Al-Aqsa is in DANGER!
The mosque in our dear country Palestine
The mosque that is pumping in our hearts
The mosque that should belong to all Muslims
The mosque that is slowly falling apart
Where the Zionists have stepped in
With their dirty hands and shoes
They have touched our holy mosque’s walls
The Zionists including the Jews
They are digging tunnels under our mosque
Hoping the Al-Aqsa mosque to collapse one day
They are hoping to build their own Jewish temple as a replacement
That they won’t even let the Muslims enter their mosque and pray
the Jews and the Zionists have stepped in our Holy Mosque
Doing what they please
Purposely stepping in with their dirty shoes
And forcing our Muslim brothers and sisters to leave
How can we stay silent?
And our silence is the cause
Of all of the destruction happening in our holy mosque
Caused by our enemies’ filthy jaws
Al Aqsa mosque belongs to all Muslims
Not just the Palestinians alone
This mosque is our life
This mosque is our home
The Jews and the Zionists have stepped in
Where the prophet (peace be upon him) and his followers once stayed
Our enemies are standing in our mosque with their unclean bodies
On top of the grounds where our beloved ones once prayed!
The Arabs’ silence MUST end
Where we can finally pray in our mosque and here the prophet’s beautiful, echoing sound
And we shall say “No, you Zionists and Jews. THIS IS OUR MOSQUE! ”
“AND YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO STEP A FOOT ON ITS GROUND! ”
poem by Marria Attar
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A young Levite among priests
A young Levite among priests,
He remained long on morning watch.
Jewish night grew thick around him,
The ruined temple was solemnly being raised.
He said: the yellow of the skies is alarming.
Run, priests, for night is already over the Euphrates!
But the elders thought: this is not our fault;
Behold the black and yellow light, the joy, the Jews.
He was with us when, on the stream's shore,
We swaddled the sabbath in precious linen
With a heavy menorah lit the night of Jerusalem,
The heady fumes of non-existence.
poem by Osip Emilevich Mandelstam
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This night is irredeemable
This night is irredeemable.
Where you are, it is still bright.
At the gates of Jerusalem,
a black sun is alight.
The yellow sun is hurting,
sleep, baby, sleep.
The Jews in the Temple’s burning
buried my mother deep.
Without rabbi, without blessing,
over her ashes, there,
the Jews in the Temple’s burning
chanted the prayer.
Over this mother,
Israel’s voice was sung.
I woke in a glittering cradle,
lit by a black sun.
poem by Osip Emilevich Mandelstam
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Legumes
Sephardic Jews,
Ashkenazi Jews,
Legumes;
Of this Common Era to expose my love to you,
But the 'Jewish Book of Why' is all that you have.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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The City of David
God sits up in Heaven and laughs as the nations imagine a vain thing,
For the internationalism of Jerusalem, is the song they seem to sing.
And it is far from an original song that all the nations are singing,
For God made Jerusalem the center of this world before their being.
For God Himself purged the land of Canaan to be the land of the Jew,
And He told Moses to prepare to worship at a place I will show you.
But Moses never crossed the Jordan and was buried by God's own Hand,
And Joshua took over to lead the Israelites into The Promised Land.
And from the time of Moses through the Judges wherever the Jews went,
The Ark of God's Covenant and the Glory of God remained under a tent.
It was not until God gave Israel rest under King David their leader,
That in the City God chose, he desired to make God a house of cedar.
The City that God chose was Jerusalem, on which He placed His Name,
For it is The City of David, and on it God's Name will always remain.
God remembered His Promise to David, and his desire was not ignored,
For God had told David's son Solomon to build a temple for The Lord.
Then God consecrated this temple by putting His Name on it forever,
And this promise to Solomon by God, He can not and He will not sever.
So even though things look quite gloomy in Jerusalem today my friend,
Zechariah says The Lord will inherit Judah to choose Jerusalem again.
(Copyright © 06/2002)
Bible Stories: Esther (Part V, D)
The Jews Defend Themselves:
On thirteenth day of Adar month,
Jews carried out the King’s order;
Their enemies were killed that day;
The people were afraid of them.
The governors, princes and scribes
Feared Mordecai’s rising power;
The King too honored him greatly.
In Susa, five hundred were killed,
Including ten sons of Haman;
All foes of Jews were caught that day;
Such things happened throughout the land;
As per the wish of Queen Esther,
All ten sons of Haman were hung
On poles in Susa openly!
That day, fifteen thousand were killed;
Their properties were seized elsewhere.
Jews celebrated on next day;
The day was declared ‘holiday’;
They exchanged gifts, food and greetings!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 4-18-2007
poem by John Celes
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The Alphabet
The letters of the Jews as strict as flames
Or little terrible flowers lean
Stubbornly upwards through the perfect ages,
Singing through solid stone the sacred names.
The letters of the Jews are black and clean
And lie in chain-line over Christian pages.
The chosen letters bristle like barbed wire
That hedge the flesh of man,
Twisting and tightening the book that warns.
These words, this burning bush, this flickering pyre
Unsacrifices the bled son of man
Yet plaits his crown of thorns.
Where go the tipsy idols of the Roman
Past synagogues of patient time,
Where go the sisters of the Gothic rose,
Where go the blue eyes of the Polish women
Past the almost natural crime,
Past the still speaking embers of ghettos,
There rise the tinder flowers of the Jews.
The letters of the Jews are dancing knives
That carve the heart of darkness seven ways.
These are the letters that all men refuse
And will refuse until the king arrives
And will refuse until the death of time
And all is rolled back in the book of days.
poem by Karl Shapiro
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Bible Stories: Esther (Part IIIA)
Esther’s Problems:
Mordecai saw Haman’s order;
He walked through the city crying,
Just dressed in sack-cloth and ashes,
Until he reached the royal gates,
To tell Esther and seek her help.
Her eunuchs brought this news to her;
With anguished heart, she sent garments;
But Mordecai refused the clothes;
He gave Haman’s order to her:
‘All Jews would be killed in one day! ’
Haman was second to the king
And sentenced every Jew to death.
Mordecai explained to Hathach
The things that Esther was to do;
She was to pray to God before
She met the king and pleads with him,
To save the lives of all the Jews.
Esther sent the eunuch saying,
She had not been called by the king
For nearly thirty days till then;
One who saw him without summon,
Would be put to death by routine,
Unless the king held his scepter!
But Mordecai reminded her,
Her family will have to die,
And Esther too, a Jew, though queen!
There was no time to wait or plan;
Invoking God’s help, she must start.
Esther told all Jews in Susa
To fast for three days and three nights
And then she went to see the king,
Even if she had to perish!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 4-17-2007
poem by John Celes
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Bible Stories: Daniel, Bel and the Dragon
When King Astyages died,
Cyrus of Persia became king;
Daniel was his honored companion.
The Babylonians’ idol was Bel;
Each day, they offered twelve bushels of flour,
Forty sheep and fifty gallons of wine;
The king too worshipped Bel;
But Daniel worshipped his own God!
When the King asked Daniel,
‘Why don’t you worship Bel? ’
Daniel answered he didn’t revere
Any man-made idols,
But worshipped the One, living God,
Who’d created heaven and the earth.
The king asked him, “Isn’t Bel’s a living God?
He eats and drinks each day”
But Daniel told him not to be deceived;
The idol was just inner clay,
And outer brass that never ate nor drank.
The angered King ushered the priests,
And ordered them to prove
That Bel ate /drank each day;
If so, Daniel would die for blasphemy;
If not, all of them would be killed;
The priests agreed to prove the same;
There were seventy priests, their wives and children.
The king entered the temple;
The priests asked him to place the food
And wine himself, and shut the door,
And seal it by his signet ring;
The priests didn’t care as below the statue,
They had a secret route through which they went
In and out, devouring the offerings.
When the food had been placed,
Then Daniel sifted ashes all
O’er the temple-floor;
With the help of servants,
in the king’s presence and left;
The door was sealed by the king’s ring.
At night, the priests and others secretly
went in and ate everything;
Next day, the king with Daniel came
And opened the sealed temple door,
But found that the food had vanished!
The king shouted aloud to Bel,
“You’re great and undeceiving God.”
But Daniel laughed and showed the king
The footsteps on the temple’s floor;
The king agreed that it was that of
men, women and children.
The enraged king then seized the priests
They showed the secret route;
They were all put to death;
The king gave Daniel the temple of Bel;
Daniel destroyed both Bel and the temple.
The Babylonians revered a dragon;
The king asked Daniel, “Isn’t this a living God? ”
But Daniel said that he worshipped
Only his one, living God;
If permitted by the king,
He would slay the dragon
by sword or club.
So, Daniel fed the dragon
Cakes containing pitch, fat and hair;
The dragon consumed it all
and burst open dead!
The angered Babylonians
Spread word that the king had turned a Jew;
They demanded that Daniel
Be put into a lion’s den;
Compelled, the king did as they urged.
Daniel was inside the den
For six days with seven lions;
The lions were not fed anything;
They were denied the daily food
Of two human bodies and two sheep.
The prophet Habakkuk was in Judea;
While taking food to the reapers,
God sent an angel to him
And ordered him take dinner to Daniel;
Habakkuk told he had never seen Babylon,
The angel took him by his crown of head
And put him aloft the lion’s den with the food;
The prophet shouted to Daniel
To come and eat the food given by God;
Daniel thanked the Lord for his remembrance.
On seventh day, the king went to the den,
He thought that Daniel would be dead;
To his utter surprise, he was alive;
He took him out and praised
The one living God of Daniel.
He threw into the lion’s den;
All those who plotted against Daniel;
Immediately, they were all killed
And devoured by the hungry lions.
(4-11-2007)
poem by John Celes
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We're Jews, my family, and Jews break down into two distinct subcultures: book Jews and money Jews. We were money Jews.
I Had Parents-They Were Jews
I HAD PARENTS /THEY WERE JEWS
I had parents-
They were Jews-
I am a Jew
But what of their childrens’ children
And their children, if they have them?
What of this one Freedman- Zeibert family?
What of us, the only family I come from?
What of us?
Where are the Jews?
Will there be any
In a generation or two?
What of all those generations who struggled and sacrificed and stayed alive before us as Jews?
What of them?
What of me?
What of us?
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Bible in Poetry: Gospel of St. John (Chapter 7)
So, Jesus moved to Galilee;
He did not go to Judea,
As Jews had planned to kill Him fast.
With feast of Tabernacles near,
His brothers asked Jesus to leave
To Judea, so that other
Disciples saw the works, He did.
A secret person can’t be known;
You have to manifest to world.
His brothers did not believe Him.
But Jesus said, ‘My time hasn’t come
Yet, time is always right for you.’
‘The world cannot hate you but they
Hate me as I expose evils; .
You go for Feast; I will not go
Because my time hasn’t come as yet! ’
So, Jesus stayed at Galilee.
When brothers left, then Jesus went
To Judea but in secret.
The Jews were searching for Jesus,
Amidst the Feast by asking all;
The crowds did speak about Jesus;
Some said he was a good person;
Some others felt, he misled crowds.
Afraid of Jews, no one dared speak.
When Jewish Feast was half-over,
Jesus entered Temple to teach;
His knowledge of scripture was fine
Astonishing the Jews right there;
‘How does he know although unread? ’
They asked and Jesus answered them,
‘My teaching’s from Him who sent me.’
Whoev’r did choose to do His will,
Will know my teaching comes from God,
And doesn’t originate from me1’
‘If one then speaks on own, he seeks
His glory own; but whoev’r speaks
The glory of the one who sent
Is truthful and infallible.
Did Moses not give you the law?
Yet, none of you does keep the same;
Why do you try to kill me thus? ’
The crowd replied, ‘You are possessed.
Who is trying to kill you, say? ’
And Jesus said, ‘I did one work
And you are all simply amazed.
Though Moses gave circumcision,
(It came from Patriarchs truly)
You circumcise on Sabbath day? ’
‘When circumcision on Sabbath
Doesn’t break the law of Moses, then,
Why are you angry just because
I healed a person on Sabbath?
Stop judging by looks but be just.’
Someone remarked, ‘Isn’t he the one
Who they are trying to kill but
How openly he speaks of things!
Do they agree He’s Messiah?
But we all know wherefrom he hails,
Yet, none can know whence Messiah comes? ’
So, Jesus spoke aloud and said,
‘Although you know from where I come,
I did not come all on my own,
But from the one who sent me here,
Of whom you know not anything.’
Although they tried to arrest him,
None could succeed; His hour hadn’t come!
But many in the crowd believed,
And asked, ‘Will Messiah do more? ’
When Pharisees had heard their talk,
They sent some guards to arrest him.
So, Jesus said, ’ I’ll stay with you
A little while and then I’ll go
To one who’d sent me to this earth.
You’ll look for me but cannot find;
You cannot come to where I go.’
So Jews asked one another then,
‘To where he goes, we cannot find?
Is he going to teach the Greeks?
What do his sayings truly mean? ’
On Feast’s last day, then Jesus spoke,
‘Let one who thirsts, come to me, drink.’
As scriptures say, ‘He who believes
Me, rivers of living water
Will flow out from within him then.’
He referred to the Holy Ghost
Though Jesus hadn’t been glorified.
Some from the crowd who heard these words
Remarked, this is the Prophet true! ’
Others said, ’ this is Messiah!
But messiah is not Galilean? ’
Does scripture not say he will be
From the family of David?
And come from Bethlehem, his place?
There was a confusion ’midst crowd.
Some even wanted his arrest.;
But none laid hands on him for now.
So, Pharisees asked, ‘why didn’t you bring him? ’
They said, ‘none has spoken like this before! ’
Pharisees said, ‘You’ve been deceived.’
‘Do authorities too believe?
This crowd which doesn’t the law knows is accursed.’
Then Nicodemus asked of them,
‘Does law condemn before hearing?
They asked, ’ Are you from Galilee?
See that no prophet comes from there.’
Copyright by Dr John Celes 5-22-2007
poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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