Syntax

Syntax

According to the dictionary, the syntax is the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences; in other words, how linguistic elements (as words) are put together to form constituents (as phrases or clauses).  It comes from the Greek word: suntaxis – a compound word.  The word Suntaxis is formed from sun- 'together' + tassein 'arrange' (To arrange together).  There is a system.

Each language has its own rules for syntax; which means that each language will order the words differently.  Thus, in English, the noun goes before the adjective, and In Spanish, the adjective goes before the noun.  The adjective modifies or describes the noun.  For example, the red book is in Spanish "el libro rojo" (The book red).  Distilled water is agua destilada(water distilled).

Another example is the term remote control.  Remote is the adjective and control the noun.  With this device, you can control another device from a distance or remotely.  In Spanish, the word is "control remoto."  Same meaning but the noun and adjective are switched.

Now different languages also arrange concepts differently.  In the English language, we tend to explain things starting with the cause through the effect.  In the Hebrew language, they may do it differently.   Let us take, for example, Micah 6:8 to explain this.  Let us read it first,

Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Many consider this verse the best for biblical ethics and describes the true Christian lifestyle. To better understand what God is saying through Micah, we need to become acquainted with one crucial feature of biblical Hebrew thinking. When biblical authors want to explain a sequence of different actions, they describe them usually from the effect to the cause. This principle works from the visible to the invisible, from the superficial to the real, from the outside to the inside. We think and speak differently today; we explain things from cause to effect.

To understand what Micah is saying, to catch his message, we need to reverse his sequence of thoughts. We need to begin to study this verse, starting from the end. Thus, the proper sequence for us today is:
First, "Walk humbly with the Lord!"; this is the cause of all other actions described.

Second, "Love mercy!"; this is the first result.

Finally, "Act justly!"; this is the additional consequence.

The implication here is that the carnal man is incapable of doing this on his own.  He will either love merciful or act justly, not both.  In turn, those who walked humbly before the Lord will both do justly and love mercy.  If you only have one of them you are not walking humbly before the Lord.  Ellen White says,

The laws of the nations bear marks of the infirmities and passions of the unrenewed heart; but God's laws bear the stamp of the divine, and if they are obeyed, they will lead to a tender regard for the rights and privileges of others. . .  His watchful care is over all the interests of His children, and He declares He will undertake the cause of the afflicted and the oppressed. If they cry unto Him, He says, "I will hear; for I am gracious."

A man of means, if he possesses strict integrity, and loves and fears God, might be a benefactor to the poor. He can help them and take no more interest [on the money he lends] than can be mercifully exacted. He thus meets with no loss himself, and his unfortunate neighbor greatly benefits; for the helping man saved the unfortunate man from the hands of the dishonest schemer. The principles of the golden rule are not to be lost sight of for a moment in any business transaction. . . . God never designed that one person should prey upon another. He jealously guards the rights of His children, and in the books of Heaven, a great loss is set down on the side of the unjust dealer. {BLJ 170.3}

And, let us not forget that "…Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40).

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Sabbath: A Day of Love

Sabbath: A Day of Love

 A group of young people from a Pentecostal Church in Ethiopia had heard Pastor John - a 7th Day Adventist Preacher - preach. They put his name up to be a speaker at their camp meeting.  The leaders of the Church were horrified that the young people had asked a Seventh-day Adventist preacher to be their speaker at the camp meeting (this was for the youth department).

There was a little bit of discussion, and then the leaders said, "Why don't we let God solve the outcome?"  So they agreed to have three days of fasting and prayer.  On the third day, while they were praying together, the leader (our equivalent of Conference President) said, "The Lord has impressed me that the answer should be yes."  So they called Pastor John, and he gave a series on the cross and then some of these young people, mainly university students, began coming to the Adventist Church.  And, some of the leaders started coming, and then the Pastor of Church where they had the camp meeting (with a membership of over 800) began coming.  Eventually, the whole Church began keeping the Sabbath and called themselves "Seventh-day Pentecostals."

 The Sabbath School Secretary of the Union saw this Pastor coming out of the Church, and he said to Pastor John, "Why don't you try to bring these people into our church?"  And I said, "Why don't you ask him?"  (The Pentecostal leader had already told Pastor John why they wouldn't join the Adventist Church.).  So, the Pentecostal Pastor said to Pastor John, "Now you are putting me on the spot."  Pastor John said, "No, I want [the other Adventist Pastor] to hear from your lips why you are not joining our church."  The Pentecostal leader said, "When you Adventists learn to love each other, (like the Pentecostals love each other) we'll join your church."   Unfortunately, The Pentecostal leader saw that the Church was divided into factions — tribal and nationals. So, during the Sabbath, the worship was segregated, because of prejudice and discrimination. That is why he said, "When you Adventists learn to love each other, we will join your church.".  And, the poor Sabbath School Secretary had no answer to give him.

 The Church in Christ day was no different.  They had taken Sabbath rest to mean that God stopped working, but that is not what it meant.  God rested from creating not working.  So, for the Jews to enforce their no working policy during the Sabbath, they had made the Sabbath a burden with their strict rules and requirements.  They turned the Sabbath into a curse instead of a blessing.    

 In Desire of Ages pages 206 and 207, Ellen White elaborated upon the difference between the Jewish Sabbath and Jesus' Sabbath says that Jesus had come to "magnify the law, and make it honorable." He was not to lessen its dignity, but to exalt it. The scripture says, "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth" (Isaiah 42:21, 4).  Christ had come to free the Sabbath.  To release it from the burdensome requirements the Jews created, thus making the Sabbath a curse instead of a blessing.

 She adds that "it was for this reason He had chosen the Sabbath upon which to perform the act of healing at Bethesda (John 5). He could have healed the sick man as well on any other day of the week; or He might simply have cured him, without bidding him bear away his bed. But this would not have given Him the opportunity He desired. A wise purpose underlay every act of Christ's life on earth. Everything He did was important: in itself and in its teaching.  

The Lord asked the man to carry his bed throughout the city so all city the could see the great work that the Lord performed upon him.  The man carrying his bed would raise the question of what it was lawful to do on the Sabbath and would open the way for Him to denounce the restrictions of the Jews regarding the Lord's Day, and to declare their traditions void.

 You would think that the healing of a fellow Jew would have made them rejoice, but the Jews were more interested in their rules than the wellbeing of their neighbor.  This religious establishment was manifested hardness of the in the healing of the man blind from birth (John 9). Verse 16 reveals how little mercy they had,

John 9:16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

Talk about law without love!

Ellen White continues saying that Jesus stated to them that the work of relieving the afflicted was in harmony with the Sabbath law. God's angels are ever descending and ascending between heaven and earth to minister to suffering humanity. Jesus declared, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." All days are God's, in which to carry out His plans for the human race. If the Jews' interpretation of the law was correct, then Jehovah - whose work has quickened and upheld every living thing since first He laid the foundations of the earth - was at fault.  The Jews interpretation of the law would imply that He who pronounced His work good and instituted the Sabbath to commemorate its completion, must put a period to His labor, and stop the never-ending routine of the universe.  Should God forbid nature from continuing its never-ending work from which all men benefit?  In such a case, men would faint and die.

And man also has work to perform on this day.   Man must attend to the necessities of life, by caring for the sick and supplying the wants of the needy. He will not be held guiltless who neglects to relieve suffering on the Sabbath. God's holy rest day was made for man, and acts of mercy are in perfect harmony with its intent. God does not desire His creatures to suffer an hour's pain that may be relieved upon the Sabbath or any other day.

 The demands upon God are even higher upon the Sabbath than upon other days. His people then leave their usual employment and spend their time in meditation and worship. They ask more favors of Him on the Sabbath than upon other days. They demand His special attention. They crave His choicest blessings. God does not wait for the Sabbath to pass before He grants these requests. Heaven's work never ceases, and men should never rest from doing good. The Sabbath is not intended to be a period of useless inactivity. The law forbids secular labor on the rest day of the Lord; the toil that gains a livelihood must cease; no work for worldly pleasure or profit is lawful upon that day; but as God stopped His labor of creating, and rested upon the Sabbath and blessed it, so man is to leave the occupations of his daily life, and devote those sacred hours to healthful rest, to worship, and to holy deeds. The work of Christ in healing the sick was in perfect accord with the law. It honored the Sabbath.

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

The Essence of Prophecy

The Essence of Prophecy

Victoria went to the store to buy cologne.  She was looking for a specific brand.  It was a very exclusive perfume, tough to find.  The clerk gave her the news, "The good news is there is one bottle left.  The next news may be good or bad; it depends on you.  We only have the extract."  Victoria asked the clerk, "Excuse my ignorance, but what is the extract?"  The clerk replied, "The extract is the most concentrated form of perfume sold.  Because it is more concentrated, the scent is more intense and lasts longer."  Victoria's curiosity was piqued, "You mean to tell me that perfume is eluted?  The clerk graciously replied, "Well, yes.  The essence of the scent is eluted in ethanol and water.  The more concentrated it is, the better and of course, the more expensive.  That is why they say the best perfume comes in smaller bottles.  They are more concentrated.  Which also means you can put on less amount, and still smell as well as when you put a lot of cologne, which is more diluted."  Victoria then asked the clerk, "So it is like concentrated juice or something similar?  The clerk laughed at her ingenuity but realized she got the picture, and then said, "Yes.  The concentrated juice would be the essence that we dissolve in water."

Besides perfume, many of the things we buy or eat have essential ingredients.  For example, bread has flour, omelets' have eggs, and prescriptions usually have an active ingredient.  The word essence comes from the Latin word that means "To be."  Essence may be defined as the intrinsic or indispensable properties that serve to characterize or identify something; the most important ingredient; the crucial element; an extract that has the fundamental properties of a substance in concentrated form (An extract in a solution of alcohol, such as perfume or scent); or something that exists, especially a spiritual or incorporeal entity.  Without the essential extract, perfume is nothing but alcohol.

With this in mind let us read Revelation 19:10,

Revelation 19:10, "And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy."

What does essence have to do with this verse?  It is interesting that in the Biblical Greek, the word "spirit" used in this verse can be translated as essence.  Prophecy is an utterance said by a person who is inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal to us our Sin and God's solution for Sin in the person of Jesus.  The essence of prophecy, according to Revelation 19:10, is the Testimony of Jesus.  All prophecy that comes from God is essentially giving a witness of Jesus as the Savior of the World.

The idea mentioned above has an interesting connotation for those chosen at the end to be the recipients of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the latter rain.  Revelation 19:10 and 12:17 says that they have the Testimony of Jesus.  The Lord will entrust them with the Loud Cry of Revelation 18.  This outpouring of power will come with prophetic gifts as we read in Joel 2: 28, 29:

Joel 2: 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
Joel 2: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit.

This select group -that Revelation calls the 144,000 - will all be prophets, just as Elijah (Malachi 4:5).  However, just as Elijah, their primary mission will not be the destruction and slaughter of Baal worshipers.  No, it will be to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:6).  What the verse describes will only happen if those who hear this loud cry message: listen and heed the message to turn their hearts to God.

Ellen White says that we should all strive to be a part of this select group.  However, many of us will not be part of this group.  We will sleep before the Lord pours the latter rain.  But, just as David was not given the privilege of building the Temple, and was, however, given the opportunity of training the one who would, we too are given the privilege of training - in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6) - those who will receive this unique and powerful outpouring of the Spirit.  We are to make sure they receive the former rain, which will prepare them to grow to the fullness, stature, and perfection of Christ.  When they forsake all Sin and reflect the perfect character of Christ's righteousness, then the latter rain will be poured on them.  The pouring of the latter rain will enable this group to finish the work of spreading the loud cry – the Gospel - to all parts of the World.  It will also prepare them for the unique privilege of seeing Christ return, and to be translated to Heaven as described in (1 Corinthians 15: 51 – 55).

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Interrelationship in History

Interrelationship in History

 The reputation of Professor Menas preceded him.  If you came into the classroom when he was closing his roll book, he would not reopen it to mark you as "present."  The other thing he did was that only the highest score had an A, all others had B and the rest.  But he was a great teacher.  He made History interesting.  When he got excited about what he was teaching us, Professor Menas dramatized what he was narrating.  As when it came to describing wars, he stood up from his desk made bomb noises and air boxed.  More importantly, perhaps, to Professor Menas history was not just a collection of names, dates, and events, but a series of interrelated events.  Each meaningful event in History was a reaction or response to a previous one.  

 For example, there is a reason why Spanish royalty gave Columbus their support for the trip across the ocean, Spain was one the first monarchies with a united kingdom in Europe.  No longer concerned with inner-territorial issues, they decided to look outside of Spain.  No event is isolated from others.

This view of History also applies to the Biblical view of History; even when we factor in God's continual involvement in human History.  As our lesson states, God sometimes caused events to happen, and sometimes He allowed them to happen to achieve His purpose.

 We consider the Babylonian army's invasion of Judah.  This invasion was not an isolated incident without historical context.  The Babylonians wanted to invade Judah because Judah had precious objects they liked and wanted.  To understand this, we have to go back to Judah's History to the era of King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah.  When Hezekiah ruled, he purposed in his heart to reform Judah so that Judah would be in harmony with God's law.  In moments of crisis, he prayed to God and consulted with the prophets (Isaiah 37).  The King wanted to do God's will.  But, when he got sick in older age, God sent a message to King Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah: "put your affairs in order" (Isaiah 38:1).  Hezekiah refused to do God's will this time (2 Chronicles 32:25).  He pleaded for healing and extra time to live.  King Hezekiah felt entitled because if his long years of faithfulness to God (Isaiah 38: 2 – 3).  The Lord granted Hezekiah's petition, and as a sign to Hezekiah, the Lord made the Sun turn one hour back. But, this unleashed a series of events that proved to be the beginning of the undoing of Hezekiah's reform.

Puzzled by the strange phenomena of the Sun going backward, the Babylonians studied this event wanting to know what happened.  They inquired and found out about Hezekiah's petition to God.  So, they set out to meet Hezekiah and really to find out what kind of God can control the Sun's movements.  When the Babylonians showed up, Hezekiah made no mention of God.  Instead, the King  "shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not" (Isaiah 39: 2).  The Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to rebuke Hezekiah. We read in verses 3 through 7,

 Isaiah 39:3 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? And from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.
Isaiah 39:4 Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.
Isaiah 39:5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts:
Isaiah 39:6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 39:7 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon.

 In taking all the glory to himself, Hezekiah had piqued the interest in the Babylonians for all they saw.  The Babylonians coveted what they saw.  The Babylonians set in the hearts to return one day and acquire them. We know they kept a record about what saw because when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah, he not only brought captives from among the Jews to Babylon but also some of these sacred objects his predecessors had seen.  From among these objects were the ones that Belshazzar used that fateful night when the Medo-Persians invaded Babylon (Daniel 5:3).

 In the surface, we could say that what we learn from this story is to be careful who you let in your house, and once they are in, what you allow them to see.  On a deeper level, we learn that today's mishap has farther repercussion than just our immediate lives.  The adverse consequences will be felt generations after.  Just look at Adam and Eve.  We are still paying for their mishap.  Doing God's will and giving him the glory can save us from unnecessary suffering.  It will not spare from suffering altogether.  It will save us and others from the pain that could have been prevented. 

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz