The meme and Tweet progression will speak for itself.
About the decline in Church attendance, and even believing in God, let alone one specific belief system….
Lots of people are at the edge of something these days. We are not alone.
— checkmate
This has been making the rounds. I’m not sure anyone should toss an AR-15, though.
Carlin:
And now, to remember an evening in 1983 when half of the swim team showed up at one of the Southern Maryland town’s two movie theaters to watch Rocky III. No, it was not planned that way. Just a happy accident.
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One of the obstacles to full understanding of just what the enemy is all about revolves around the concept of symbolism.
Symbolism actually evolved in Christianity prior to the splintering of the Faith in the west in the sixteenth century Anno Domini, and the rich tradition of said symbolism is one of the aspects of the culture that was destroyed along with a lot of stained glass windows, altar stones, and other art work when the revolt happened.
From last week:
More on the symbols of Christ Himself next week. (There are a number.)
Alright, here we go. From the Apocalypse, Chapter 1:
[7] Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves because of him. Even so. Amen. [8]I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
We start with the Greek as the VERY early Church used it quite a bit along with Aramaic and Latin.
The Alpha and Omega are fairly obvious and do appear entwined sometimes, but not on Tabernacles and the gates to Sanctuaries. On those Church features, they appear separately.
The Chi Rho, the first two Greek letters in the name Christ, appears, usually, by itself. The symbolism is obvious here, and that symbol has been used as long as the Ichthys from last week had.
When Latin became far more prominent in the Church, the MONOGRAM began to appear.
The letters IHS are the first in each word of the Latin phrase, Iesus Hominum Salvator, or, Jesus, Man/Mankind’s Savior. The place most people encounter the Monogram is in the Seal of the Jesuits, along with the nails of the cross, and the cross itself.
The sunburst motif became popular somewhere around the Renaissance, and it still appears in the form of Monstrances, although of late, the newer ones tend to look like the reliquaries they are. At any rate, Christ is the center of the universe is where that goes.
“Saying with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction.”
Apocalypse (Revelation) 5:12
The Paschal Lamb is pretty obvious.
From the Medieval Bestiaries comes a different symbol.
The stag is a symbol for Christ, Who tramples and destroys the Devil. Early bestiaries describe the stag as a relentless enemy of snakes. The stag was believed to pursue snakes into their holes or rock crevices, flushing them out by flooding the hole with the breath or water from its mouth, and devouring them.
https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/f022-Stag.htm
Interestingly enough, this is the symbol that the other side appropriated.
Harry, the supposed “chosen one” throws the Petronus charm to ward off the evil spirits, and it takes the form of a silver stag.
The other side is not original at all.
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And now for the business portion.
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MATTHEW 14:22-33
22Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 27But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” 28And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” 29He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; 30but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
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