The Story of Day Two

Genesis 1:6-8

The light of the first cycle of light called Day One is fading away and the evening of Day Two has begun. The time of darkness has begun, but this time there is the surety that light will return again. On the first day the god chose to use its creative power to change darkness. Today it chooses to change the deep waters.

And the god said:

“Let there be a RAQIYA – a solid dome-like structure –

in the middle of the deep waters

that separates the waters beneath it from the waters above it.”

And the god made the RAQIYA.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

The Story of Day One

I call the first story in the Bible “The Story of the Kingdom of Life” (Genesis 1:1-2:4a). Because of the powerful religious institutions that have been guardians of Jewish and Christian Scriptures, translations reflect the linguistic structures of the scribes that copied the ancient manuscripts and the authoritarian institutions in charge of the translators.

This is a very ancient story, but it contains universal truths. This is my version of the biblical story written for 21^st century Americans without any distracting footnotes. Listen to your feeling, before you try to analyze the words. Your feelings and emotions will alert you to the presence ancient treasures embedded in the text – wisdom principles, values, morals and ideas related to life.

I will upload a BHC Explorers Version of this story soon with footnotes for those who want to dig deeper into the ancient Hebrew text behind my version. Bookmark the “Wisdom Page” because that will be where you find them. Also, your comments and suggestions are welcomed (Click Here to contact me).

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The Story of Day One

It is before the beginning of time and the breathing spirit of a god is hovering above the surface of deep shoreless waters in total and complete darkness. In the most lifeless environment one can imagine, the god visualizes a Kingdom of Life. This god is unnamed, but we are told it is a creator that creates by changing things that exist. Only three things exist now – the god, deep waters and total darkness.

The god chooses the darkness to change first. It uses its breath to form and speak these words, “Light exist!” And instantly light exists! This light isn’t like the light that comes from the sun, fire or a smartphone. It is the light that comes from the breath of this god.” Think of it is as “the energy of life and the light of enlightenment.” With that breath, life came into existence outside of the god.

This god uses a standard to measure its words and actions. It measures to see if words and actions are “good for life.” In the language of this god, “words and actions that are good for life” are called “TOV.” When the god measured the newly created light – they were found to be TOV, good for life!

Now the god, deep waters, darkness and light exist. The next step in the process of creation is “make clear distinctions between things that exist” and the god does this “by naming them.” The god named light “Day” and darkness “Night.” In order for the Kingdom of Life to exist, darkness and light are both needed. They will exist together in perpetual cycles of time.

Each cycle begins with darkness and the beginning of Night is called “evening,” while the beginning of Day is called “morning.” The first cycle has now been completed and it is called “Day One” because it marks the first appearance of light. It also marks the creation of time.

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I will continue this series in future emails. I hope you found this informative and enjoyed it. Thank you for reading it.

May Your Life be Blessed with Health, Safety, Completeness and Friends,
Jim Myers

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Did God Really Say “Your Husband Shall Rule Over You?”

Unto the woman God said . . .

your husband shall rule over you.

(Genesis 3:16)

Words of the Bible affect people’s lives in many ways. The eleven words above have affected the lives of hundreds of millions of women over the past 2,000 years. Right now these words may be affecting your life or the lives of your wife, your mother, your daughter or the lives of other women you know.

We learned something very important about the stories in the first ten chapters of Genesis by using our Linguistic Models and Guidelines many years ago.

All of the stories after the first story must be viewed in light of the first story.

The first story reveals The Wisdom of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. Bible readers must be familiar the wisdom principles revealed in the first story before they will be able to understand the lessons taught in the other stories. The principles of the first story that are related to the verse above are these. Continue reading at -

https://mailchi.mp/d0fc29c70e1f/did-god-really-say-your-husband-shall-rule-over-you

Can We Agree on the Meanings of Two Words? It Could Change Our Lives!

This is a great example of why key biblical words cannot be accurately translated by one English word. Two of the most important Hebrew words in the Bible are TOV (sounds like “toe-v”) and RA (rah) – translated “good” and “evil.” But the words “good” and “evil” do not communicate the same meanings as TOV and RA. Continue reading at -

https://mailchi.mp/d54eb3d2bbee/can-we-agree-on-the-meanings-of-two-words-it-could-change-our-lives

Jewish and Christian Institutions from the Tabernacle of Moses to Protestantism

I have been tied up updating the Biblical Heritage Center website and I think you will find it easier to use to explore biblical heritages. Today I created the Institutions Page, a hub for information about central institutions of Judaism and Christianity from the Tabernacle of Moses in the 13^th century BCE to Protestantism in the 16^th century CE. They all played important roles in the evolution of our biblical heritages. As you read each one, think about what you now about it. If you go to the BHC website (CLICK HERE) you will find links to much more information about each one.

Jewish Institutions

● Tabernacle of Moses

● The United Kingdom

● First Temple in Jerusalem

● The Divided Kingdom

​● Tel Motza Temple

● Temple at Elephantine

● Second Temple in Jerusalem

● Temple at Leontopolis

● Jewish Sects

​● Destruction of the Second Temple

● Rabbinic Judaism

​● Humanistic Judaism

Christianity

● Yeshua Movement (fits in the Jewish timeline after “Jewish Sects”)

● Saul Movement

● Paul Movement

● 2nd & 3rd Century Christian Movements

● 4th Century Christian Movements

● Roman Catholic Church

● The Great Schism

● Eastern Orthodox Church

​

​​● Protestant Christianity

As I said above, if you view the following information on the BHC website (CLICK HERE) each of the above has or soon will have links to more information. I hope you found this informative, thank you for reading it.

May Your Life be Blessed with Health, Safety, Completeness and Friends,
Jim Myers

☼ Your help would be greatly appreciated! Click Here to Donate.

☼ Subscribe to this BHC Mail List – Click Here (Subscriptions are FREE!)

☼ Please “Like our Facebook Page” - Click Here.

☼ Visit the BHC website (Click Here).

Some Quick Lessons about Life from Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve (not their names in the ancient Hebrew texts) are the 3^rd and 4^th humans to appear in the Bible. They are in the second story in Genesis. The 1^st and 2^nd humans appeared in the first story, but they weren’t named and they didn’t say or do anything. In that story, an unnamed god created them both at the same time in its image, and gave them instructions on how to live the perfect lives. Continue reading at --

https://mailchi.mp/ce18d3903b72/some-quick-lessons-about-life-from-adam-and-eve

Guideline for Discussing the Elephants in the Room

Time Tested for 30 Years

I created this Guideline to resolve conflicts and disagreements that were disrupting Bible studies when I introduced new information that challenged doctrines of our denomination. It transformed those situations into educational opportunities and created a "team mentality."

It established the value of facts,
gave everyone permission to question each other,
and defined the goal of removing errors from our belief systems.

We use it in our educational emails too. I encourage you to adopt and promote it in your Bible studies too. By the way, it also works on Political and Economic Belief Systems too!

See Other BHC Models by Clicking Here

I hope you enjoyed this and found it informative. Please share and discuss it with others -- and thank you for reading it.

May Your Life be Blessed with Health, Safety, Completeness and Friends,
Jim Myers

☼ Your help would be greatly appreciated! Click Here to Donate.

☼ Subscribe to this BHC Mail List -- Click Here. (Subscriptions are FREE!)

☼ Please “Like our Facebook Page” - Click Here.

☼ Visit the BHC website (Click Here).

Six Steps that Help Your Brain Function Better and Control Your Elephant.

The human brain operates on two very different levels – conscious and subconscious. The subconscious level, as an information processor, is one million times faster than the conscious level. Unless you get the conscious level more involved, the subconscious will absolutely control your life. Continue reading at --

https://mailchi.mp/ba9d378893da/six-steps-that-help-your-brain-function-better-and-control-your-elephant

Did You Know Adam Could Have Lived Forever After He Sinned?

When you are reading the Jewish Scriptures (Christian Old Testament), if you notice a word that appears seven times, pay close attention to it. Ancient scribes did it to highlight very important words – it was like placing a red flag in the text so readers wouldn’t miss them. But many translators did miss it in this verse “Behold, the man has become like MIMENU!” They said “Us,” but they are wrong.

Read more at -

https://mailchi.mp/2edcd81ccae6/did-you-know-adam-could-have-lived-forever-after-he-sinned

The Parable of the Lost Coin

The Parable of the Lost Coin is found in Luke 15.8-10.

Or what woman, having ten drachmas, if she would lose one drachma,

does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek resolutely until she finds?

Our previous study was about a man that owned 100 sheep, not a poor shepherd. This parable is about a woman who has ten drachmas (silver coins) – she is by no means a marginal, outcast, or poor woman. She’s not only relatively well-off, she has a house. Luke 15 confirms what we know from other sources: women in Judea have access to their own funds – they are hardly the poorest of the poor. All four Gospels, in various ways, describe interactions Yeshua, the Jewish Jesus, had with women. So, a parable about a woman would have appealed to his female followers. Continue reading at - https://mailchi.mp/5d167f8aef1f/the-parable-of-the-lost-coin

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

“Which person among you,

having a hundred sheep and losing one out of them . . .”

Let me put his words in a 21^st century American context:

“Which person among you, having a million dollars . . .”

Most of people reading either Yeshua’s words or mine would have answered: “Not I.” People back then and today would be impressed by two things – being asked if they are that wealthy and thinking they would lose part of it.

In Yeshua’s world, a peasant might own five sheep, so noticing that only four were grazing on a hillside would be easy. However, one sheep missing from a flock of a hundred sheep would be easy to overlook. But this owner did notice it and immediately took whatever steps were needed to make the flock whole again. Continue reading at -

https://mailchi.mp/4d21675b1356/the-parable-of-the-lost-sheep

Ending the cycles of chaos that are destroying our society.

Back in 2008 the American public was blindsided by the Great Recession. Guess what? We have been blindsided again. I call these “blindside events” - “cycles of chaos.”

Chaos is a state of extreme confusion and disorder.

Putting a dozen dogs and a dozen cats in the same room, or a dozen Republicans and a dozen Democrats on the same committee, would probably lead to utter chaos. So what can we, the people whose lives are directly affected, do to end or weaken the cycles of chaos? Continue reading at -

https://mailchi.mp/92339fb2487c/ending-the-cycles-of-chaos-that-are-destroying-our-society

Reconnecting Americans through Their Biblical Heritages

What is your philosophy of life? You may not be able to explain it, but you have one. Your life experiences have produced beliefs about who and what you are, beliefs about how to have different types of relationships (with your spouse/partner, children, extended family, circles of friends and strangers), beliefs about how you spend your time, beliefs about what you value and what you don’t, and beliefs that are the standards you use to judge your actions and the actions of others. You may not be able to clearly and concisely communicate them, but “you feel them” every day.

A primary source of many American beliefs is Christianity. Today, however, when people hear the word “Christianity,” they think about God, Jesus, afterlife and conflicts. Christianity, as a religion, has served America in another very important way. Continue reading at -

https://mailchi.mp/b4f5c2002ee8/reconnecting-americans-through-their-biblical-heritages