What is Divine Grace?

Grace=predestination. Gravity applies to all mass and energy and so likely does grace apply to all spirit, although God obviously designs quantity and qualities of anything. God's will is one and effective in all things. Categorizing, defining things with language is a human activity,that dimly resembles some ways of God. One might compare grace to a video game program design in which all humans are players that pre-determines outcomes and sorts players into sheep and goats . One must be one or the other and the programmer decided who would be sheep or goats and wrote that into the programming code. Believers in the Programmer regard grace as iterations of the lines of code, as it is written.

Astro-Intell Agents Having Trouble Finding Alien Civilizations

In more than 100,000 galaxies no signs of the existence of an advanced civilization have been found (see the S.A. article http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/alien-supercivilizations-absent-from-100-000-nearby-galaxies/ )

Primitive advanced alien civilizations may conceal themselves from predators or be destroyed. There may be a sort of Occam's Razor or Diner's Dilemma progression for survival of the meekest I would think. Yet they may conceal their conspicuous consumption waste energy as dark energy exhaust to expand space-time faster thus throwing off cosmologist's careful calculations.

I would guess that throwing a reflecting-energy collecting emergency blanket around the sun would not be an optimal remedy for increasing 1960s era paradigms for energy use requirements to advance civilizations-that seems something like a poetically ironic oxymoron.

Smarter and bigger breadboxes require more and more energy-even stars and galaxies must be surrounded and digested without thought for energy dieting or food-fuel efficiency ratios. Quality over quantity is what ecological economic cosmologists probably prefer.

image credit: Hubble Space Telescope

The Need for Long-Term Stability in Presidential Economic Policy

The primary challenge facing the American electorate is to bring stability to the U.S. economy. Idealists and pragmatics alike may want a President fluent in ecological economics able to innovate reform yet that just isn't going to happen the next couple of decades. In fact since the end of the Reagan administration the Presidency has been unstable with poor economic or moral leadership weakening the long-term economic stability in the post-cold war era. So what is the best prospect for longer-range stability in the Presidency.

Actually it would be a Walker-Rubio administration for 16 years with Democrats pressuring environmental change 7 years from now. That is the best the country going to get, and its not that bad.

In the Kingdom of God (Where the Lord Lives)

In the 8th century B.C. -Isaiah 49-"6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One,

to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a

servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship,

because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and

he shall choose thee.

8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee,

and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee,

and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to

cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

Isaiah Chapter 9- "6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the

government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called

Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The

Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no

end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and

to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for

ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform thishing out of his wings

shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel."

circa 1000 B.C.-2nd Samuel: "Chapter 7

1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the

LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;

2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an

house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.

3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the

LORD is with thee.

4 ¶ And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came

unto Nathan, saying,

5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou

build me an house for me to dwell in?

6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I

brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but

have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle."

When the Lord appeared in person, God's local residence was no longer in an ark in a Temple. The Temple in effect was the Lord himself.

circa 30 A.D.-Matthew Chapter 8 "20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath

not where to lay his head."

circa 30 A.D.-Mark 8 "31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man

must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."

circa 30 A.D.-John 2 "18 ¶ Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

Like an empty obsolete building, the Temple of Herod was not where God dwelt after the Lord's ministry. When Jesus was crucified and died, the veil of the Temple was torn asunder. The old covenant was ended finally and the new covenant begun.

Matthew 27 "50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;"

CHAPTER 53

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the

LORD revealed?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root

out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we

shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and

acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he

was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 ¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we

did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for

our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with

his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to

his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his

mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep

before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall

declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living:

for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his

mouth.

10 ¶ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:

when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his

seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall

prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by

his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall

bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall

divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul

unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare

the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Select Messianic Prophecies of the OT

The Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament are sometimes mentioned in church yet little enough known to many Christians. I thought I'd post these passages while reading an OT Theology course. They are quite remarkable. 

8th century B.C. Isaiah 42-"5  Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."

Zecharia 13
"1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness."

"6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine
hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the
house of my friends. 7 ¶ Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the
sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two
parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them"

Isaiah-Chapter 11
"1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a
Branch shall grow out of his roots:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked"

Isaiah Chapter 9-"6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform thishing out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel."

Isaiah Chapter 53" 1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he
was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 ¶ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 ¶ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Matthew 8:17, 12:18-21,42:1 refer to Isaiah 53
1 Peter 2:24, Romans 4:25 cite Isaiah 53 in support of Jesus' atoning death
53:10- Jesus was killed with thieves (wicked) and placed in a tomb paid for by the wealthy Pharisee Nicodemus (rich)

Isaiah 49-"6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to
raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One,
to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a
servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship,
because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and
he shall choose thee.
8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee,
and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee,
and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to
cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in
darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their
pastures shall be in all high places."

Isaiah Chapter 11: "10  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest
shall be glorious. 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people,
which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros,
and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath,
and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble
the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from
the four corners of the earth.
13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of
Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall
not vex Ephraim.
14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the
west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their
hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey
them.
15 And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian
sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river,
and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over
dryshod.
16 And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people,
which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that
he came up out of the land of Egypt."

Isaiah Chapter 19-"21 And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea,
they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. 22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.
23 ¶ In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and
the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and
the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. 24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria,"

Isaiah Chapter 61

"1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath
 anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
 opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
4 ¶ And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former
desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of
many generations.
5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the
alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you
the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in
their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
7 ¶ For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they
shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess
the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
8 For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering;
and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting
covenant with them.
9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their
offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge
them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my
God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath
covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh
himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her
jewels.
11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden
causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD
will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the
nations."

Jesus read Isaiah 61 at the start of his ministry in Luke 4:16 " And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath
 anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath
 sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance
 to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set
at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."
Isaiah 65...Revelation 21 have resonating ideas on afterlife
Isaiah 66 verse 21 about new heaven and Earth

Revelation 21
This could describe a modern high-tech world, perhaps witha cloud of space station-habitats facing the sun with no oceanic travel or communication barriers on Earth-a world that is new in virtue of the new covenant. A world that is new from a spiritual point of view rather than simply material. Isn't the church already the bride of Christ-rather than some sort of future potential relationship that wasn't already established? Isn't the new Jerusalem the new covenant with Israel-Jacob-the saved, or center of God's spiritual kingdom of God that replaced that lost to Roman occupation and destruction?

This new Earth might be one that is developed over time as the kingdom of God increases, keeping with prophecies that are sometimes fulfilled over time rather than instantly like video-game scene flipping.

Revelation Chapter 21
"1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 
]14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk
in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for
there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."

Contexts of Theonomy

Theonomy is a tough word to pin down. Don't some use it to mean a society governed by God's law, or the eschaton ruled by God's law or will as people understand it including teleology? Doesn't it mean more than simply the legalistic social environment and works of traditional first century Jews or better yet, Muslims today living by Sharia? Tillich wrote about theonomy within an existential context, and that wasn't totally plain to me. Jesus has laws of conduct for people to live by in faith comprising Christian ethics, yet for argumentative purposes, say social conduct is entirely grace without temptations arising and with people as virtual automatons with salvation programming installed-isn't that still a God's law (equivalent to his will in some respects) environment of theonomy (where God rules). So that is what theonomy is perhaps-a place where God rules and one is aware of that and chooses to obey rather than sin?

Poems from Archipelago; Transition Space

I read a couple of poems from 'Archipelago Transition Space.

Poetry Train America

Poetry Train America is a large, interesting book by a Princeton-based writer named John E. Wordslinger. I appreciate being mentioned in chapter 18; Alaska poets.
https://www.facebook.com/PoetryTrainAmerica

https://www.facebook.com/pages/John-E-WordSlinger/875794729144160

http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-e-wordslinger/poetry-train-america/paperback/product-21069509.html

President Wants Congress to Vote for Lynch? (singular sense)

After six years of being President of the United States President Obama has asked Congress to vote to give him a Lynch for attorney general. Understandably the Congress may be recalcitrant about Lynching this late in the second term of the first black President except for Bill Clinton who claimed to be the first black President-possibly dissimulating a little.

President Obama must have sort sort of a sense of humor in his toolkit.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/obama-says-cites-senate-dysfunction-in-delay-to-confirm-lynch/ar-AAba7js

The Everlasting Davidic Kingdom of Jesus Christ

Isaiah, Jeremiah and the Lord all spoke prophecy about the near term (as well as the distant). The protoevangelium and the seed of the woman, the Abrahamic promise, blessing upon all the nations, the Davidic promise and an eternal kingdom through the seed of the woman, Abraham's heirs and the House of David, the Lord Jesus Christ descended from David through Mary point to Jesus Christ as the King of kings and Lord of Lords.

Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the

government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called

Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The

Prince of Peace."

Jesus spoke of prophecy that would be fulfilled in the generation of his day in the first century, and that the kingdom of God was at hand. The Davidic kingdom in the form the Lord actualized it is eternal. How so then would it not have started in the first century? It continues to increase in numbers today. The pre-trib paradigm is just wrong.

John too as a prophet spoke to the impending crisis of his day. The beast was Nero and the tribulation was the persecution of Christians and impending destruction of Jerusalem. Is their any prophetic tradition, or a preponderance of prophets whom address solely distant events without relevant to people living in their generation?