Marbaniang, Domenic

Heb. 8:6 - "based on better promises" The Old Testament was based on earthly promises that pertained to this life (prosperity, posterity, longevity, etc). The New Testament, however, is based on better heavenly promises that pertain to a life eternal that never grows old, to an inheritance that never fades (Heb.8:6). It is very important for a Christian to understand the difference of life under the Old Covenant and life in the New Covenant. The New Covenant comes with the promise of the Holy Spirit, of eternal life, of eternal inheritance, of eternal rest, and much more.

"Do not quench the Spirit." (1Thess.5:19) The Spirit is quenched by: 1. Ignoring the voice of the Spirit (Heb.4:7) 2. By careless talk (Eph.4:29) 3. By lovelessness, bitterness, anger, and lack of forgiveness (Eph.4:30,31) 4. By willful sinning and not esteeming highly the value of Christ's blood (Heb.10:29) 5. By opposing the work of the Spirit (Matt.12:31,32). When one hardens his heart against the voice of the Spirit, the Spirit will stop striving with him. It leads to abandonment (Rom.1:21-26) When one piles up careless and corrupt talking, his fountain is defiled and his rudder has turned his ship to self-destruction (James 2:1-6). Instead, one should pray in the Spirit and sing spiritual hymns and encourage others in Christ (Eph.5:18-20) When one cannot love his brother and sister, hatred blinds his eyes (1Jn.2:11), and he doesn't have the life of God. When one continues to willfully sin and has no esteem for the blood of Christ, he insults the Spirit of Grace (

"Silver and gold have I none..." (Acts 3:6) How often the things that we seek after are not what Christ left for us when He ascended to heaven! How attractive is a religion that promises silver, gold, good job, land, house, prosperity, and all worldly things! Jesus didn't leave any of such things for His disciples. But, these are what the modern Judas Iscariots are trying to sell Jesus off for; for filthy lucre that is good for none. And, no wonder only Judas got some silver out of Jesus, by betraying Him with a kiss. He had to sell Him. In history past, the Church sold relics and indulgences promising people a place in heaven; in the present scenario, they invite people to "sow seed" of money to reap more money; testimonies are used as ideal adverts that take off the eyes from the real Jesus of the manger onto some other Jesus who makes people forget that they are pilgrims and travelers in this rapidly degenerating world. But, what does Jesus want us to pursue?

"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." (Jn.12:24) There comes a time when you have to stop being fruit and start bearing fruit; but, that only comes by dying to the compulsions that hinder us from falling into the bosom of God, the Ground of our soul.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2Co.1:3) ~The New Testament, after the Cross, no longer addresses God as the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob", since that term applied only to those under the Old Covenant. Through the Seed, the Son of Promise, Jesus, we are brought into a New Covenant that He made with His own blood. Now, God is known to us as the "God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." His sonship is according to the Spirit; His priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek. Therefore, we no longer have confidence in the flesh, in genealogies or ethnicities; we are children of God by faith alone in Jesus. New wineskins for new wine; the new can never be put into the old..

God is our Father. 1. A Caring Father (Mat.6:32) 2. A Chastening Father (Heb.12:6) 3. A Comforting Father (2Cor.1:3)....

Satapatha Brahmana Part II (SBE26) , Julius Eggeling tr. [1885], at sacred-texts.com There is no indication of temples in the Vedic period. Also, there is no record of idol worship in the Vedas. However, there is mention of altars. The altar ( vedi ) was considered to be earth’s extremest limit; and sacrifice, the navel of the world (RV.1.164.35). One of the altars was made to sit on the earth, was considered to be eye-shaped, and the sacrifice was directed sun-ward. Trimmed ladle was used to pour oil into the altar’s fire (RV.6.11.5). However, there were altars of various other shapes as well. B.G. Sidharth suggests a possible “connection between the fire altars in Turkmenistan (Togolok) and Afghanistan (Dashly) and the Harappan civilization, particularly Kalibangan, where there are seven fire altars, and also with the Harappan seal showing worship at a fire altar with seven accompanying deities.”[1] He tries to reconcile these archaeological discoveries with the concept of the seven

Max Mueller (1823-1900) There have been various interpretations of Vedic theology throughout history. But, one of the most original was suggested by Max Muller (1823-1900), an authority on the Sanskrit language and translator of several ancient scriptures, which helped him compare religions not only theologically but also linguistically. In his Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by the Religions of India (1878), Max Muller considered Vedic religion to preliminarily involve mainly the worship of the Sky God or the Heavenly Father. He writes: Five thousand years ago, or, it may be earlier, the Aryans, speaking as yet neither Sanskrit, Greek, nor Latin, called him Dyu patar, Heaven-father. Four thousand years ago, or, it may be earlier, the Aryans who had travelled southward to the rivers of Penjab, called him Dyaush-pita, Heaven-father. Three thousand years ago, or, it may be earlier, the Aryans on the shores of the Hellespont, called him Ζευς πατηρ [Zeus pate

Rig Veda Manuscript “Veda” means “knowledge.” The chief scriptures of the Vedic age were the four Vedas: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda. These were chiefly books of hymns that were sung or chanted during the sacrifices. They were composed in Vedic Sanskrit. Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanisads were attached to each of these Vedas later on. In the original format, the four Vedas are referred to as the Samhitas (or Collection). The Vedas are considered to have been orally passed on and put to writing only later on. The original texts of the hymns are thought to have been metrical in nature. However, with the establishment of Shakas (branches) of theological learning in various parts of Northern India, these Vedic texts were annotated with Brahmana discussions on the text. The metrical texts were also considered to have been tampered with by the application of rules of sound combination resulting in a somewhat obscure text. There have been various attempts to restore the

The Vedic Age begins with the supposed arrival of the Aryans and the composition of the Rig Veda. Again, there are differences of opinion regarding whether the Aryans really arrived or they were the original inhabitants of the land. For instance, in his History of India, Mountstuart Elphistone wrote, “There is no reason whatever for thinking that the Hindus ever inhabited any country but their present one; and as little for denying that they may have done so before the earliest trace of their records or traditions.”[1] Elphinstone argued this from the absence of any Vedic allusion “to a prior residence, or to a knowledge of more than the name of any country out of India.” However, his arguments do not convince most historians. Keay notes: ..it is certainly curious that the Vedas say nothing of life in central Asia, nor of an epic journey thence through the mountains… The usual explanation is that, by the time the Vedas were composed, this migration was so remote that all memory of it h

The earliest traces of some form of religion in the Indian sub-continent were discovered at the excavated sites of the Harappan Civilization (also known as the Indus-Valley Civilization) that is dated to have flourished between c3000-1700BC. Modern scholarship seems to be more in favor of the theory that the Harappan Civilization was closer to Dravidian than to Aryan. This is concluded on the basis of meticulous study especially of the Indus script on seals and on figures discovered at the sites. Fig.1 Unicorn Seal Asko Parpola of Helsinki University, who specializes in the Indus script, has tried to argue a relationship between the Indus and Tamil languages.[1] In his lecture, “A Dravidian Solution to the Indus Script Problem,” delivered at the World Classical Tamil Conference, Coimbatore, in June 2010, Parpola suggested that the underlying language of the Indus script was Proto-Dravidian and tried to identify in it astrological symbols and also religious deities that were supposedly