Unifying the Faith: The Vatican and US Cuba Relations

I just posted an article on my other blog, Unifying the Faith, and I simply had to share it on here since most of my readers are on this blog which is the oldest of the two. The post is not directly related to apologetics per se; however, it is based on an extremely important topic for me, so I really hope you enjoy reading it. The link to the article is below. Blessings!


Unifying the Faith: The Vatican and US Cuba Relations

Interesting Timelines in the Bible

God spoke to Abraham, and one of the things God told him is found in Genesis 22:18 which reads: "...and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves (RSV Bible)..."

Many centuries later or about 1300 years later, to be more accurate, the Prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 61:11, 

"For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations (RSV Bible)."

The JPS Tanakh in English reads as follows for this same previous verse:

"For as the earth bringeth forth her growth, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause victory and glory to spring forth before all the nations (JPS Tanakh)."

Actually, the foregoing Chapter begins in Isaiah 61:1, which reads:

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, (RSV Bible)."

A little over 700 years later, Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth, and read from this same portion of Isaiah, and this is documented in Luke 4: 16-19 which reads:

"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (RSV Bible).’"

Yes, once again, I have taken Scriptures out of context; however, I am sure that these words and sentences somehow work their way into all of our minds, and as we process them the significance may vary for some, but the theme seems to not change. It seems that God wants all to be blessed, and this is a very inclusive message, instead of exclusive. Moreover, in John 12: 32 Jesus said: “…and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself (RSV Bible)." Yes, Jesus said “all.” Definitely, the timelines in the Bible are very interesting because eventually time is no more in the Bible, but that is another subject for another time, did I say “time?” I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this brief post, and that everyone is having a wonderful Hanukkah and Christmas Season


References:

JPS Tanakh

RSV Bible