"Let us make man in our image,
according to our likeness"
(Genesis 1:26)

God Created Man in his Spiritual Image

Man and woman were created in the image of God: "Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every creeping animal that is moving on the earth.” And God went on to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. Further, God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many, fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving on the earth" (Genesis 1:26-28). It was to the spiritual image of God that they were created, that is, to say, with the divine ability to "create" life (in their case procreation), by having children, but also to administer the earth, the plant life, animal and human lives, all with the help of God. The action of man and woman would be in the spiritual image of God, imbued with love and wisdom (1 Corinthians 13:1).

How to understand that the man and the woman (the spiritual Man) would be the image of God on the planet Earth? The spiritual Man would have the role of "god", as if Jehovah had been directly on earth to carry out his will. Taking up the main orientations of God for the administration of the Earth by Man, there are two major ones:

- The creation of new human beings by procreation between a man and his wife, united in the sacred bonds of divine marriage and as well as the education of their descent: "Be fruitful and become many, fill the earth".

- The second great divine orientation, for the mission of humans, regarding the Earth, would be to "subdue it": "Have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving on the earth". It is the administration of the wild and domestic animal kingdom with all that this includes, namely the administration of territories and their resources, for humans and wild and domestic animals.

These two great administrative orientations of the Earth could have been directly carried out by God. However, God wanted and wants the Spiritual Man to be the representative of God or the image of God's loving sovereignty over the planet Earth. Consequently, the man and the woman would have the role of the image of God on earth for the children who should honor their father and their mother who will have given them life and administer the animal kingdom which would be subject to them, as the 'one naturally submits to God.

To clearly show that the fact that God delegates some missions to his intelligent creatures, assigning them the function of "god", as a representative in his image, let us take the example of Moses and Aaron who had to appear before the Pharaoh of Egypt. Here is what it is written: “Jehovah then said to Moses: “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your own brother will become your prophet You are to repeat everything that I will command you, and Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh, and he will send the Israelites away from his land" (Exodus 7:1,2). We see from this text that Jehovah commissioned Moses to have the function of "God", connected with his mission.

Still regarding humans exercising the function that normally belongs to God, that of judge, here is what is written in Psalms 82:6: "I have said, ‘You are gods, All of you are sons of the Most High'". Moreover, Jesus Christ takes up this text in John 10:34, to show that if it is written in the Bible (the Law), the very fact that Jesus designates himself as the Son of God, was in no way blasphemous (John 10:34-36).

Likewise, the spiritual Man who will administer the Earth, in the future earthly paradise, will have the function of "God", reflecting the loving image of his sovereignty over humans, and over the animal kingdom and as well as for the reasonable administration of the earth's natural resources. Thus the fact that Man is in the image of God means that in certain aspects of his missions entrusted by God, Man will have the role of "god", without usurping, of course, the place of God: "Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God’s form, did not even consider the idea of trying to be equal to God" (Philippians 2:5,6).

Meditation on the biblical book of the Ecclesiastes

The biblical book of the Ecclesiastes is very exactly in the theme of the existential reflection of the meaning of human life with some questions linked to death and hope. The Ecclesiastes puts them in two important perspectives: the description of the life which would be stripped of all spirituality, and on the other hand, which would be in a spiritual way of life. The Ecclesiastes will be analyzed chapter by chapter with first, after reading, a brief summary of its content, with pointing out some interesting biblical verses.

The central theme is: "The greatest vanity!” the congregator has said, “the greatest vanity! Everything is vanity!" (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The theme of the absurdity of the current human condition is illustrated by many examples. The human condition that leads him inexorably to death, so what he will undertake, in the end, this will be useless.

There is not only this realistic but also dark observation, there is also the best solution, written in the last words in the chapter 12: "The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the [true] God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole obligation of man. 14For the true God himself will bring every sort of work into the judgment in relation to every hidden thing, as to whether it is good or bad" (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14). If this book begins with a very dark aspect of existence, the counterpoint is the solution of the good relationship with God, that can get us out of this absurd cycle, of this existence, by granting us the everlasting life (John 316.36; 17:3). Throughout this observation of absurdity, there is an alternation between the spiritual darkness, our current human condition and the spiritual light, the fact that God can deliver us from this dead end.

Ecclesiastes chapter 1: after this famous sentence of the absurd dimension of human life with regard to death which is the conclusion. This chapter compares it to cycles of nature that one cannot prevent: the cycle of replacement of one generation by another, the sunrise, followed by the sunset, the wind movement, the circulation of water... The human life is like these cycles which we cannot get out of it, the birth, the life, the illness, the old age and the death, a generation replacing another... King Solomon (presenting himself as the "Congregator" (Ecclesia) of these reflections), shows, with his prestigious life experience, the relentless observation of vanity and the absurdity of human existence. This observation is impactful, because his life is the archetype of a successful human life:

The words of the congregator, the son of David the king in Jerusalem. 2“The greatest vanity!” the congregator has said, “the greatest vanity! Everything is vanity!” 3What profit does a man have in all his hard work at which he works hard under the sun? 4A generation is going, and a generation is coming; but the earth is standing even to time indefinite. 5And the sun also has flashed forth, and the sun has set, and it is coming panting to its place where it is going to flash forth.
6The wind is going to the south, and it is circling around to the north. Round and round it is continually circling, and right back to its circlings the wind is returning.
7All the winter torrents are going forth to the sea, yet the sea itself is not full. To the place where the winter torrents are going forth, there they are returning so as to go forth. 8All things are wearisome; no one is able to speak of it. The eye is not satisfied at seeing, neither is the ear filled from hearing. 9That which has come to be, that is what will come to be; and that which has been done, that is what will be done; and so there is nothing new under the sun. 10Does anything exist of which one may say: “See this; it is new”? It has already had existence for time indefinite; what has come into existence is from time prior to us. 11There is no remembrance of people of former times, nor will there be of those also who will come to be later. There will prove to be no remembrance even of them among those who will come to be still later on.
12I, the congregator, happened to be king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I set my heart to seek and explore wisdom in relation to everything that has been done under the heavens—the calamitous occupation that God has given to the sons of mankind in which to be occupied. 14I saw all the works that were done under the sun, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind.
15That which is made crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot possibly be counted. 16I, even I, spoke with my heart, saying: “Look! I myself have greatly increased in wisdom more than anyone that happened to be before me in Jerusalem, and my own heart saw a great deal of wisdom and knowledge.” 17And I proceeded to give my heart to knowing wisdom and to knowing madness, and I have come to know folly, that this too is a striving after wind. 18For in the abundance of wisdom there is an abundance of vexation, so that he that increases knowledge increases pain.

"That which is made crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot possibly be counted" (Ecclesiastes 1:15). The deep solutions to change the spiritual darkness of the human condition, are not within reach, for example; it will not be able to solve the simple and tragic problem of aging, the complete eradication of diseases and death (Romans 5:12; 6:23).

"For in the abundance of wisdom there is an abundance of vexation, so that he that increases knowledge increases pain" (Ecclesiastes 1:18). The great knowledge leads to hyper lucidity, which for its part, leads to a great suffering... If the great knowledge is obviously useful, however, very often, it leads to the awareness of a life leading to a dead end of the human condition, which in the end, can only make it emotionally suffer...

Ecclesiastes chapter 2: it is a summary of all the successful way of life of king Salomon, and at end, repeating as conclusion, the theme of the beginning of the book of the Ecclesiastes: "This too is vanity and a striving after wind" (Ecclesiastes 2:26):

I said, even I, in my heart: “Do come now, let me try you out with rejoicing. Also, see good.” And, look! that too was vanity. 2I said to laughter: “Insanity!” and to rejoicing: “What is this doing?”
3I explored with my heart by cheering my flesh even with wine, while I was leading my heart with wisdom, even to lay hold on folly until I could see what good there was to the sons of mankind in what they did under the heavens for the number of the days of their life. 4I engaged in greater works. I built houses for myself; I planted vineyards for myself. 5I made gardens and parks for myself, and I planted in them fruit trees of all sorts. 6I made pools of water for myself, to irrigate with them the forest, springing up with trees. 7I acquired menservants and maidservants, and I came to have sons of the household. Also, livestock, cattle and flocks in great quantity I came to have, more so than all those who happened to be before me in Jerusalem. 8I accumulated also silver and gold for myself, and property peculiar to kings and the jurisdictional districts. I made male singers and female singers for myself and the exquisite delights of the sons of mankind, a lady, even ladies. 9And I became greater and increased more than anyone that happened to be before me in Jerusalem. Moreover, my own wisdom remained mine.
10And anything that my eyes asked for I did not keep away from them. I did not hold back my heart from any sort of rejoicing, for my heart was joyful because of all my hard work, and this came to be my portion from all my hard work. 11And I, even I, turned toward all the works of mine that my hands had done and toward the hard work that I had worked hard to accomplish, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing of advantage under the sun.
12And I, even I, turned to see wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the earthling man do who comes in after the king? The thing that people have already done. 13And I saw, even I, that there exists more advantage for wisdom than for folly, just as there is more advantage for light than for darkness.
14As regards anyone wise, his eyes are in his head; but the stupid one is walking on in sheer darkness. And I have come to know, I too, that there is one eventuality that eventuates to them all. 15And I myself said in my heart: “An eventuality like that upon the stupid one will eventuate to me, yes, me.” Why, then, had I become wise, I overmuch so at that time? And I spoke in my heart: “This too is vanity.” 16For there is no more remembrance of the wise one than of the stupid one to time indefinite. In the days that are already coming in, everyone is certainly forgotten; and how will the wise one die? Along with the stupid one.
17And I hated life, because the work that has been done under the sun was calamitous from my standpoint, for everything was vanity and a striving after wind. 18And I, even I, hated all my hard work at which I was working hard under the sun, that I would leave behind for the man who would come to be after me. 19And who is there knowing whether he will prove to be wise or foolish? Yet he will take control over all my hard work at which I worked hard and at which I showed wisdom under the sun. This too is vanity. 20And I myself turned around toward making my heart despair over all the hard work at which I had worked hard under the sun. 21For there exists the man whose hard work has been with wisdom and with knowledge and with proficiency, but to a man that has not worked hard at such a thing will be given the portion of that one. This too is vanity and a big calamity.
22For what does a man come to have for all his hard work and for the striving of his heart with which he is working hard under the sun? 23For all his days his occupation means pains and vexation, also during the night his heart just does not lie down. This too is mere vanity.
24With a man there is nothing better [than] that he should eat and indeed drink and cause his soul to see good because of his hard work. This too I have seen, even I, that this is from the hand of the [true] God. 25For who eats and who drinks better than I do?
26For to the man that is good before him he has given wisdom and knowledge and rejoicing, but to the sinner he has given the occupation of gathering and bringing together merely to give to the one that is good before the [true] God. This too is vanity and a striving after wind.

"For there is no more remembrance of the wise one than of the stupid one to time indefinite. In the days that are already coming in, everyone is certainly forgotten; and how will the wise one die? Along with the stupid one" (Ecclesiastes 2:16). The wisdom of Solomon is very famous, as it emerges in the biblical books of Proverbs and the Ecclesiastes. However, in the current state of things, did this old wise man condition benefit him? Not at all, because his reputation did not exempt him from dying, like the stupid with his foolishness... So, in the current state of things, there is no superiority of the wise one over the stupid one…

"With a man there is nothing better than that he should eat and indeed drink and cause his soul to see good because of his hard work. This too I have seen, even I, that this is from the hand of the [true] God. 25For who eats and who drinks better than I do?" (Ecclesiastes 2:24,25). It would seem to be an encouragement to a life simply based on pleasures, to hedonism. We must consider the context to understand that this is not the case. The previous verses show that there are humans who work hard and who live for a constant concern for their work, without the possibility of enjoying its result. Thus, in the case of these two extremes, a life of restless work, and a life where one takes advantage of his work by enjoying its fruit, this last alternative is better.

Ecclesiastes chapter 3: It is a reflection on the time and the human works that split it. Verses 1 to 9, show that time exists by the actions that delimit it. Verse 11, shows that God has given man this spiritual capacity to understand what is time, until the understanding of the eternity, the everlasting time. This knowledge increases much more the feeling of the extreme brevity of life. Verses 18 to 21, show that death is the opposite of life. There is no superiority of the wise one over the stupid one (see chapter 2), nor even the superiority of man over the animal, with regard, the end, the death:

For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens: 2a time for birth and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot what was planted; 3a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build; 4a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to wail and a time to skip about; 5a time to throw stones away and a time to bring stones together; a time to embrace and a time to keep away from embracing; 6a time to seek and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away; 7a time to rip apart and a time to sew together; a time to keep quiet and a time to speak; 8a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. 9What advantage is there for the doer in what he is working hard at?
10I have seen the occupation that God has given to the sons of mankind in which to be occupied. 11Everything he has made pretty in its time. Even time indefinite he has put in their heart, that mankind may never find out the work that the [true] God has made from the start to the finish. 12I have come to know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good during one’s life; 13and also that every man should eat and indeed drink and see good for all his hard work. It is the gift of God.
14I have come to know that everything that the [true] God makes, it will prove to be to time indefinite. To it there is nothing to add and from it there is nothing to subtract; but the [true] God himself has made it, that people may be afraid on account of him.
15What has happened to be, it had already been, and what is to come to be has already proved to be; and the [true] God himself keeps seeking that which is pursued.
16And I have further seen under the sun the place of justice where there was wickedness and the place of righteousness where wickedness was. 17I myself have said in my heart: “The [true] God will judge both the righteous one and the wicked one, for there is a time for every affair and concerning every work there.”
18I, even I, have said in my heart with regard to the sons of mankind that the [true] God is going to select them, that they may see that they themselves are beasts. 19For there is an eventuality as respects the sons of mankind and an eventuality as respects the beast, and they have the same eventuality. As the one dies, so the other dies; and they all have but one spirit, so that there is no superiority of the man over the beast, for everything is vanity. 20All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust. 21Who is there knowing the spirit of the sons of mankind, whether it is ascending upward; and the spirit of the beast, whether it is descending downward to the earth? 22And I have seen that there is nothing better than that the man should rejoice in his works, for that is his portion; because who will bring him in to look on what is going to be after him?

"Even time indefinite he has put in their heart" (Ecclesiastes 3:11): God gave to the man the understanding of the abstract notion of time and eternity. It is an important point showing that in the beginning, man was created to live to enjoy the "time indefinite" of life, the everlasting life (Genesis 2:7). How could a God of love, have created humans able to understand the eternity, without being able to enjoy it, making his life only from 70 to 80 years or a little more? (See the page why? https://yomelyah.com/435935499).

"And I have further seen under the sun the place of justice where there was wickedness and the place of righteousness where wickedness was. 17I myself have said in my heart: “The true God will judge both the righteous one and the wicked one, for there is a time for every affair and concerning every work there" (Ecclesiastes 3:16,17). Even if wickedness currently predominates, in the end, God will ask everyone an account for their acts (Romans 14:12).

Ecclesiastes chapter 4: It is a description of the desperate condition of oppressed people who suffer so much that, sometimes, the condition of the dead who no longer suffer, is better (read verse 2):

And I myself returned that I might see all the acts of oppression that are being done under the sun, and, look! the tears of those being oppressed, but they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, so that they had no comforter. 2And I congratulated the dead who had already died rather than the living who were still alive. 3So better than both of them [is] the one who has not yet come to be, who has not seen the calamitous work that is being done under the sun.
4And I myself have seen all the hard work and all the proficiency in work, that it means the rivalry of one toward another; this also is vanity and a striving after the wind.
5The stupid one is folding his hands and is eating his own flesh.
6Better is a handful of rest than a double handful of hard work and striving after the wind.
7I myself returned that I might see the vanity under the sun: 8There exists one, but not a second one; also no son or brother does he have, but there is no end to all his hard work. Also, his eyes themselves are not satisfied with riches: “And for whom am I working hard and causing my soul to lack in good things?” This too is vanity, and it is a calamitous occupation.
9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their hard work. 10For if one of them should fall, the other one can raise his partner up. But how will it be with just the one who falls when there is not another to raise him up?
11Moreover, if two lie down together, they also will certainly get warm; but how can just one keep warm? 12And if somebody could overpower one alone, two together could make a stand against him. And a threefold cord cannot quickly be torn in two.
13Better is a needy but wise child than an old but stupid king, who has not come to know enough to be warned any longer. 14For he has gone forth from the prison house itself to become king, although in the kingship of this one he had been born as one of little means. 15I have seen all those alive who are walking about under the sun, [how it goes] with the child, who is second, that stands up in the other one’s place. 16There is no end to all the people, to all those before whom he happened to be; neither will people afterward rejoice in him, for this too is vanity and a striving after the wind.

The last verses in chapter 4 (13-16), show what can be responsible for the suffering of the oppressed people... They can be governed by real bandits, who have no legitimacy to reign as king: "For he has gone forth from the prison house itself to become king, although in the kingship of this one he had been born as one of little means" (Ecclesiastes 4:14). And there is no shortage of examples in world history, showing that peoples have often been governed by real murderers, psychopaths who have massacred hundreds, thousands, even millions of humans, in labor camps and concentration camps. The mediocrity of these oppressive individuals is comparable to that of the human who is second, usurping the “other one's place”: "I have seen all those alive who are walking about under the sun, how it goes with the child, who is second, that stands up in the other one’s place" (Ecclesiastes 4:15).

Ecclesiastes Chapter 5: It is a compilation of proverbial sentences like to the biblical book of Proverbs. Nevertheless, what emerges, is that when we pray God, wanting, for example to "vow a vow", it is necessary to be very careful about what we are going to tell Him. For God, each word that comes out of our mouth is important. Thus, whoever makes a vow before God, by his own words, will be attached as by a rope that he will not able to cut:

Guard your feet whenever you go to the house of the [true] God; and let there be a drawing near to hear, rather than to give a sacrifice as the stupid ones do, for they are not aware of doing what is bad.
2Do not hurry yourself as regards your mouth; and as for your heart, let it not be hasty to bring forth a word before the [true] God. For the [true] God is in the heavens but you are on the earth. That is why your words should prove to be few. 3For a dream certainly comes in because of abundance of occupation, and the voice of a stupid one because of the abundance of words. 4Whenever you vow a vow to God, do not hesitate to pay it, for there is no delight in the stupid ones. What you vow, pay. 5Better is it that you vow not than that you vow and do not pay. 6Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin, neither say before the angel that it was a mistake. Why should the [true] God become indignant on account of your voice and have to wreck the work of your hands? 7For because of abundance [of occupation] there are dreams, and there are vanities and words in abundance. But fear the [true] God himself.
8If you see any oppression of the one of little means and the violent taking away of judgment and of righteousness in a jurisdictional district, do not be amazed over the affair, for one that is higher than the high one is watching, and there are those who are high above them.
9Also, the profit of the earth is among them all; for a field the king himself has been served.
10A mere lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver, neither any lover of wealth with income. This too is vanity.
11When good things become many, those eating them certainly become many. And what advantage is there to the grand owner of them, except looking [at them] with his eyes?
12Sweet is the sleep of the one serving, regardless of whether it is little or much that he eats; but the plenty belonging to the rich one is not permitting him to sleep.
13There exists a grave calamity that I have seen under the sun: riches being kept for their grand owner to his calamity. 14And those riches have perished because of a calamitous occupation, and he has become father to a son when there is nothing at all in his hand.
15Just as one has come forth from his mother’s belly, naked will one go away again, just as one came; and nothing at all can one carry away for his hard work, which he can take along with his hand.
16And this too is a grave calamity: exactly as one has come, so one will go away; and what profit is there to the one who keeps working hard for the wind? 17Also, all his days he eats in darkness itself, with a great deal of vexation, with sickness on his part and [cause for] indignation.
18Look! The best thing that I myself have seen, which is pretty, is that one should eat and drink and see good for all his hard work with which he works hard under the sun for the number of the days of his life that the [true] God has given him, for that is his portion. 19Also every man to whom the [true] God has given riches and material possessions, he has even empowered him to eat from it and to carry off his portion and to rejoice in his hard work. This is the gift of God. 20For not often will he remember the days of his life, because the [true] God is preoccupying [him] with the rejoicing of his heart.

Some important points of the chapter, without systematically commenting them all, but as a meditation theme:

"Also, the profit of the earth is among them all; for a field the king himself has been served" (Ecclesiastes 5:9). Whatever the economic system established by men, they will always depend on the food power of the nourishing land, the agricultural land, and even the kings do not escape it...

"Sweet is the sleep of the one serving, regardless of whether it is little or much that he eats; but the plenty belonging to the rich one is not permitting him to sleep" (Ecclesiastes 5:12)...

"Just as one has come forth from his mother’s belly, naked will one go away again, just as one came; and nothing at all can one carry away for his hard work, which he can take along with his hand" (Ecclesiastes 5:15)… "And this too is a grave calamity: exactly as one has come, so one will go away; and what profit is there to the one who keeps working hard for the wind? 17Also, all his days he eats in darkness itself, with a great deal of vexation, with sickness on his part and cause for indignation" (Ecclesiastes 5:16,17)…

"For because of abundance of occupation there are dreams" (Ecclesiastes 5:7). According to the Bible, not all dreams are premonitory signs. Dreams are often the result of the brain activity of the storage of souvenirs of the actions during the occupation of the day, often surreal, until artistic...

Ecclesiastes chapter 6: This is the theme of enjoying and not enjoying of the good result of a work. Sometimes, a man may not see the good result of his work, due to God action, or due to man putting himself in this situation. Anyway, in both cases, it is an expression of vanity or what is absurd:

There exists a calamity that I have seen under the sun, and it is frequent among mankind: 2a man to whom the [true] God gives riches and material possessions and glory and who, for his soul, is in no need of anything that he shows himself longing for, and yet the [true] God does not enable him to eat from it, although a mere foreigner may eat it. This is vanity and it is a bad sickness. 3If a man should become a father a hundred times, and he should live many years, so that numerous the days of his years should become, yet his own soul is not satisfied with good things and even the grave has not become his, I must say that one prematurely born is better off than he is. 4For in vain has this one come and in darkness he goes away, and with darkness his own name will be covered. 5Even the sun itself he has not seen, neither known. This one has rest rather than the former one. 6Even supposing that he has lived a thousand years twice over and yet he has not seen what is good, is it not to just one place that everyone is going?
7All the hard work of mankind is for their mouth, but even their own soul does not get filled. 8For what advantage does the wise have over the stupid one? What does the afflicted one have in knowing how to walk in front of the living ones? 9Better is the seeing by the eyes than the walking about of the soul. This too is vanity and a striving after the wind.
10Whatever has come to be, its name has already been pronounced, and it has become known what man is; and he is not able to plead his cause with one that is more powerful than he is.
11Because there exist many things that are causing much vanity, what advantage does a man have? 12For who is there knowing what good a man has in life for the number of the days of his vain life, when he spends them like a shadow? For who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?

"Better is the seeing by the eyes than the walking about of the soul. This too is vanity and a striving after the wind" (Ecclesiastes 6:9). A life that has a purpose or a specific goal, is better experienced than that without any objective, creating a form of an existential wandering, as empty life...

"Because there exist many things that are causing much vanity, what advantage does a man have? 12For who is there knowing what good a man has in life for the number of the days of his vain life, when he spends them like a shadow? For who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 6:11,12). It is a form of repetition of the central theme of the Ecclesiastes book, on the vanity of the existence of the condemned and subjected mortal man, in spite of himself, to the deadly law of sin inherited from Adam (Ecclesiastes 1:2; Romans 5:12).

Ecclesiastes chapter 7: There is the same structure as the book of Proverbs, with its proverbial sentences. However, we can note a dominant proverbial maxim, namely, the end of an event or a thing, is better than its beginning:

A name is better than good oil, and the day of death than the day of one’s being born. 2Better is it to go to the house of mourning than to go to the banquet house, because that is the end of all mankind; and the one alive should take [it] to his heart. 3Better is vexation than laughter, for by the crossness of the face the heart becomes better. 4The heart of the wise ones is in the house of mourning, but the heart of the stupid ones is in the house of rejoicing.
5Better is it to hear the rebuke of someone wise than to be the man hearing the song of the stupid ones. 6For as the sound of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the stupid one; and this too is vanity. 7For mere oppression may make a wise one act crazy, and a gift can destroy the heart.
8Better is the end afterward of a matter than its beginning. Better is one who is patient than one who is haughty in spirit. 9Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones.
10Do not say: “Why has it happened that the former days proved to be better than these?” for it is not due to wisdom that you have asked about this.
11Wisdom along with an inheritance is good and is advantageous for those seeing the sun. 12For wisdom is for a protection [the same as] money is for a protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom itself preserves alive its owners.
13See the work of the [true] God, for who is able to make straight what he has made crooked? 14On a good day prove yourself to be in goodness, and on a calamitous day see that the [true] God has made even this exactly as that, to the intent that mankind may not discover anything at all after them.
15Everything I have seen during my vain days. There exists the righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there exists the wicked one continuing long in his badness.
16Do not become righteous overmuch, nor show yourself excessively wise. Why should you cause desolation to yourself? 17Do not be wicked overmuch, nor become foolish. Why should you die when it is not your time? 18It is better that you should take hold of the one, but from the other also do not withdraw your hand; for he that fears God will go forth with them all.
19Wisdom itself is stronger for the wise one than ten men in power who happened to be in a city. 20For there is no man righteous in the earth that keeps doing good and does not sin.
21Also, do not give your heart to all the words that people may speak, that you may not hear your servant calling down evil upon you. 22For your own heart well knows even many times that you, even you, have called down evil upon others.
23All this I have tested with wisdom. I said: “I will become wise.” But it was far from me. 24What has come to be is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out? 25I myself turned around, even my heart did, to know and to explore and to search for wisdom and the reason of things, and to know about the wickedness of stupidity and the foolishness of madness; 26and I was finding out: More bitter than death [I found] the woman who is herself nets for hunting and whose heart is dragnets [and] whose hands are fetters. One is good before the [true] God if one escapes from her, but one is sinning if one is captured by her.
27“See! This I have found,” said the congregator, “one thing [taken] after another, to find out the sum-up, 28which my soul has continuously sought, but I have not found. One man out of a thousand I have found, but a woman among all these I have not found. 29See! This only I have found, that the [true] God made mankind upright, but they themselves have sought out many plans”.

"A name is better than good oil, and the day of death than the day of one’s being born" (Ecclesiastes 7:1-4). It is at the end of a life, that a human has made a beautiful or a bad name, a renown or a reputation (good or bad) before God and men. Given that death is naturally part of the human condition, it is necessary sometimes, to think about it, especially when accompanying the family and friends, in the expression of their mourning, due to the loss of a loved one. The fact of wanting to deny this reality by leading a life essentially oriented on pleasures, without any reflection on this reality, is completely stupid: "Better is vexation than laughter, for by the crossness of the face the heart becomes better. 4 The heart of the wise ones is in the house of mourning, but the heart of the stupid ones is in the house of rejoicing" (Ecclesiastes 7:3,4).

"For mere oppression may make a wise one act crazy, and a gift can destroy the heart" (Ecclesiastes 7:7). An extreme physical and emotional suffering can cause the loss of the psychological, mental until the spiritual balance of a person who has the reputation of being a wise one (see the example of Asaph in Psalms 73).

"Everything I have seen during my vain days. There exists the righteous one perishing in his righteousness, and there exists the wicked one continuing long in his badness" (Ecclesiastes 7:15). There is a same proverbial sentence in the chapter 8: "There exists a vanity that is carried out on the earth, that there exist righteous ones to whom it is happening as if for the work of the wicked ones, and there exist wicked ones to whom it is happening as if for the work of the righteous ones. I said that this too is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 8:14). The absurd human condition, created surrealistic situations, the righteous who die prematurely because of their justice and the bad guys who manage to live for a long time. The righteous ones suffering from horrible death in labor camps and concentration camps, so as not to compromise with their conscience, while the torturers die cozy in their bed, after a long life and a beautiful old age. Sometimes the vision of things is completely reversed, the righteous man has the result of life of the bad guy and the wicked one with good results in life, by accusing reversal and inversion of values (read Isaiah 5:20). This is another revolting expression of the current absurdity of the human condition (read Habacuc 1:2-4).

"Do not become righteous overmuch, nor show yourself excessively wise. Why should you cause desolation to yourself?" (Ecclesiastes 7:16). This text shows that a psychological rigidity that even tends towards what is right, can create serious relationship problems. The best example is that of the Pharisees of the time of Jesus Christ, who ended up having a high opinion of their person, while despising those who were not like them (read Luke 18:9-14).

Ecclesiastes chapter 8: "Who is there like the wise one? And who is there knowing the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of a man itself causes his face to shine, and even the sternness of his face is changed for the better" (Ecclesiastes 8:1). The expression of the superiority of wisdom is expressed in chapter 8 in different ways:

Who is there like the wise one? And who is there knowing the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of a man itself causes his face to shine, and even the sternness of his face is changed [for the better].
2I [say:] “Keep the very order of the king, and that out of regard for the oath of God. 3Do not hurry yourself, that you may go out from before him. Do not stand in a bad thing. For all that he delights [to do] he will do, 4because the word of the king is the power of control; and who may say to him: ‘What are you doing?’”
5He that is keeping the commandment will not know any calamitous thing, and the wise heart will know both time and judgment. 6For there exists a time and judgment even for every affair, because the calamity of mankind is abundant upon them. 7For there is no one knowing what will come to be, because who can tell him just how it will come to be?
8There is no man having power over the spirit to restrain the spirit; neither is there any power of control in the day of death; nor is there any discharge in the war. And wickedness will provide no escape for those indulging in it.
9All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, [during] the time that man has dominated man to his injury. 10But, though this is so, I have seen the wicked ones being buried, how they came in and how they would go away from the holy place itself and be forgotten in the city where they acted that way. This too is vanity.
11Because sentence against a bad work has not been executed speedily, that is why the heart of the sons of men has become fully set in them to do bad. 12Although a sinner may be doing bad a hundred times and continuing a long time as he pleases, yet I am also aware that it will turn out well with those fearing the [true] God, because they were in fear of him. 13But it will not turn out well at all with the wicked one, neither will he prolong his days that are like a shadow, because he is not in fear of God.
14There exists a vanity that is carried out on the earth, that there exist righteous ones to whom it is happening as if for the work of the wicked ones, and there exist wicked ones to whom it is happening as if for the work of the righteous ones. I said that this too is vanity.
15And I myself commended rejoicing, because mankind have nothing better under the sun than to eat and drink and rejoice, and that it should accompany them in their hard work for the days of their life, which the [true] God has given them under the sun. 16In accord with this I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the occupation that is carried on in the earth, because there is one seeing no sleep with his eyes, either by day or by night.
17And I saw all the work of the [true] God, how mankind are not able to find out the work that has been done under the sun; however much mankind keep working hard to seek, yet they do not find out. And even if they should say they are wise enough to know, they would be unable to find out.

"Because sentence against a bad work has not been executed speedily, that is why the heart of the sons of men has become fully set in them to do bad" (Ecclesiastes 8:11). In the countries where the justice is lax towards offenders, generate in fact, always more delinquency.

"All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, during the time that man has dominated man to his injury" (Ecclesiastes 8:9). The thousands of pages of history books, are there to testify that the ruling classes have often made peoples suffer, exploiting them for their profit (Ezekiel Chapter 34)...

"And I saw all the work of the true God, how mankind are not able to find out the work that has been done under the sun; however much mankind keep working hard to seek, yet they do not find out. And even if they should say they are wise enough to know, they would be unable to find out" (Ecclesiastes 8:17). The great knowledge creates an opposite sensation, that is to say, that we do not know much. The more we seek or study a subject, the more there are other research doors that open, which gives the feeling that we did not find much.

Ecclesiastes chapter 9: this is the theme of the end of life, but also of the coincidence of unforeseen events that can tip existence:

For I took all this to my heart, even to search out all this, that the righteous ones and the wise ones and their works are in the hand of the [true] God. Mankind are not aware of either the love or the hate that were all prior to them. 2All are the same in what all have. One eventuality there is to the righteous one and the wicked one, the good one and the clean one and the unclean one, and the one sacrificing and the one that is not sacrificing. The good one is the same as the sinner; the one swearing is the same as whoever has been afraid of a sworn oath. 3This is what is calamitous in all that has been done under the sun, that, because there is one eventuality to all, the heart of the sons of men is also full of bad; and there is madness in their heart during their lifetime, and after it—to the dead ones!
4For as respects whoever is joined to all the living there exists confidence, because a live dog is better off than a dead lion. 5For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. 6Also, their love and their hate and their jealousy have already perished, and they have no portion anymore to time indefinite in anything that has to be done under the sun.
7Go, eat your food with rejoicing and drink your wine with a good heart, because already the [true] God has found pleasure in your works. 8On every occasion let your garments prove to be white, and let oil not be lacking upon your head. 9See life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life that He has given you under the sun, all the days of your vanity, for that is your portion in life and in your hard work with which you are working hard under the sun. 10All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheʹol, the place to which you are going.
11I returned to see under the sun that the swift do not have the race, nor the mighty ones the battle, nor do the wise also have the food, nor do the understanding ones also have the riches, nor do even those having knowledge have the favor; because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all. 12For man also does not know his time. Just like fishes that are being taken in an evil net, and like birds that are being taken in a trap, so the sons of men themselves are being ensnared at a calamitous time, when it falls upon them suddenly.
13Also this I saw as respects wisdom under the sun—and it was great to me: 14There was a little city, and the men in it were few; and there came to it a great king, and he surrounded it and built against it great strongholds. 15And there was found in it a man, needy [but] wise, and that one provided escape for the city by his wisdom. But no man remembered that needy man. 16And I myself said: “Wisdom is better than mightiness; yet the wisdom of the needy one is despised, and his words are not listened to.”
17The words of the wise ones in quietness are more to be heard than the cry of one ruling among stupid people.
18Wisdom is better than implements for fighting, and merely one sinner can destroy much good.

Let us stop on the theme of the death condition. In the examination of chapter 3:19-21, the observation is clear, death is the opposite of life: "For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. (…) All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going" (Ecclesiastes 9:5,10). This idea is repeated in chapter 9. However, what about many testimonies that would seem to say the opposite? Indeed, the Bible mentions that humans could "inquire the dead" (Deuteronomy 18:9-13). However, this practice, of inquiring the dead is, according to the context of Deuteronomy 18, classified as being an occult practice, that is to say, in connection with the direct relationship with demons. The Bible clearly designates the promoters of this lie, Satan the devil and the demons, describing death as a stage leading to another kind of life. They are demonic imposters who pretend to be the dead who can speak and contact the living ones. The second testimony, of this occult practice of inquiring the dead, is that of king Saul, who sought to inquire the dead "Samuel", through a woman spirit medium (1 Samuel 28:3,11).

"I returned to see under the sun that the swift do not have the race, nor the mighty ones the battle, nor do the wise also have the food, nor do the understanding ones also have the riches, nor do even those having knowledge have the favor; because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all. For man also does not know his time. Just like fishes that are being taken in an evil net, and like birds that are being taken in a trap, so the sons of men themselves are being ensnared at a calamitous time, when it falls upon them suddenly" (Ecclesiastes 9:11,12). Suffering can be the result of "unforeseen occurrence" which makes the people to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. At no time Jesus Christ said that victims of accidents or natural disasters would have sinned more than others, or even that God causes such events to punish sinners. Whether, currently, illnesses, accidents or natural disasters, are not provoked by God and those who are victims do not have more sin than the others.

"Wisdom is better than mightiness; yet the wisdom of the needy one is despised, and his words are not listened to" (Ecclesiastes 9:13-16). The current observation is: people very rarely ask the point of view of a needy one, even if he is a very wise one. On the other hand, we often see very rich people, without any instruction, sometimes until stupid, to whom they ask for their point of view, until to give advice to the people.

Ecclesiastes chapter 10: It is a series of proverbial sentences, which we will bring out some interesting points:

Dead flies are what cause the oil of the ointment maker to stink, to bubble forth. So a little foolishness does to one who is precious for wisdom and glory.
2The heart of the wise is at his right hand, but the heart of the stupid at his left hand. 3And also in whatever way the foolish one is walking, his own heart is lacking, and he certainly says to everybody that he is foolish.
4If the spirit of a ruler should mount up against you, do not leave your own place, for calmness itself allays great sins.
5There exists something calamitous that I have seen under the sun, as when there is a mistake going forth on account of the one in power: 6Foolishness has been put in many high positions, but the rich ones themselves keep dwelling merely in a low condition.
7I have seen servants on horses but princes walking on the earth just like servants.
8He that is digging a pit will himself fall right into it; and he that is breaking through a stone wall, a serpent will bite him.
9He that is quarrying out stones will hurt himself with them. He that is splitting logs will have to be careful with them.
10If an iron tool has become blunt and someone has not whetted its edge, then he will exert his own vital energies. So the using of wisdom to success means advantage.
11If the serpent bites when no charming results, then there is no advantage to the one indulging in the tongue.
12The words of the mouth of the wise one mean favor, but the lips of the stupid one swallow him up. 13The start of the words of his mouth is foolishness, and the end afterward of his mouth is calamitous madness. 14And the foolish one speaks many words.
Man does not know what will come to be; and that which will come to be after him, who can tell him?
15The hard work of the stupid ones makes them weary, because not one has come to know how to go to the city.
16How will it be with you, O land, when your king is a boy and your own princes keep eating even in the morning? 17Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of noble ones and your own princes eat at the proper time for mightiness, not for mere drinking.
18Through great laziness the beamwork sinks in, and through the letting down of the hands the house leaks.
19Bread is for the laughter of the workers, and wine itself makes life rejoice; but money is what meets a response in all things.
20Even in your bedroom do not call down evil upon the king himself, and in the interior rooms where you lie down do not call down evil upon anyone rich; for a flying creature of the heavens will convey the sound and something owning wings will tell the matter.

"The heart of the wise is at his right hand, but the heart of the stupid at his left hand. 3 And also in whatever way the foolish one is walking, his own heart is lacking, and he certainly says to everybody that he is foolish" (Ecclesiastes 10:2,3). The verse three seems to give the meaning of the verse two. The heart, the right and the left, are symbolic. The heart symbolizes, in this context, the ability to take good or bad decisions. The left seems to symbolize stupidity or clumsiness. Generally, humans are right-handed, and the right side can mean what is accomplished with skill and wisdom. While things done with the left hand can be done awkwardly. In another biblical context, Jesus Christ symbolized the right by God approval, and the left, by the position of disapproval, in the illustration of sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46).

"I have seen servants on horses but princes walking on the earth just like servants" (Ecclesiastes 10:7). Often, in this system of things, it can have an inversion of values (Isaiah 5:20). A human with a great spiritual integrity, with noble feelings, like a prince, can be treated as a simple servant and with contempt. In the other hand, there are humans only able of being servants, without noble feelings, sometimes have a high rank and are seen as princes. This is a bit of repetition, in another form, of what it is written in Ecclesiastes 7:15 and 8:14.

"Even in your bedroom do not call down evil upon the king himself, and in the interior rooms where you lie down do not call down evil upon anyone rich; for a flying creature of the heavens will convey the sound and something owning wings will tell the matter" (Ecclesiastes 10:20). In most cases, confidential things, over time, end up being known, as Jesus Christ said: "For there is nothing hidden that will not become manifest, neither anything carefully concealed that will never become known and never come into the open" (Luke 8:17).

Ecclesiastes chapter 11: it is the general theme of this chapter which illustrates the fact that perseverance is often rewarded, it is enough to endure and to be patient:

Send out your bread upon the surface of the waters, for in the course of many days you will find it again. 2Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what calamity will occur on the earth.
3If the clouds are filled [with water], they empty out a sheer downpour upon the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or if to the north, in the place where the tree falls there it will prove to be.
4He that is watching the wind will not sow seed; and he that is looking at the clouds will not reap.
5Just as you are not aware of what is the way of the spirit in the bones in the belly of her that is pregnant, in like manner you do not know the work of the [true] God, who does all things.
6In the morning sow your seed and until the evening do not let your hand rest; for you are not knowing where this will have success, either here or there, or whether both of them will alike be good.
7The light is also sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun; 8for if a man should live even many years, in all of them let him rejoice. And let him remember the days of darkness, though they could be many; every [day] that has come in is vanity.
9Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart do you good in the days of your young manhood, and walk in the ways of your heart and in the things seen by your eyes. But know that on account of all these the [true] God will bring you into judgment. 10So remove vexation from your heart, and ward off calamity from your flesh; for youth and the prime of life are vanity.

"He that is watching the wind will not sow seed; and he that is looking at the clouds will not reap" (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Someone who is constantly in examining a situation before taking action, seems to show a sick fear of failure. It is important to know how to take risks when undertaking a project, without constantly waiting for all the conditions to be met, to ultimately take action. If someone is in the disposition of mind, of the zero risk, ultimately, will not do much in life, "he that is looking at the clouds will not reap".

Ecclesiastes chapter 12: it is the poetic conclusion of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, that encourages us to take advantage of our relatively brief existence to serve God. It is advisable to take advantage of the youth, the physical, mental and spiritual capacities, to put them at the service of our Creator, who has the capacity to give us back the life, by granting us everlasting life:

“Remember, now, your Grand Creator in the days of your young manhood, before the calamitous days proceed to come, or the years have arrived when you will say: “I have no delight in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark, and the clouds have returned, afterward the downpour; 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the men of vital energy have bent themselves, and the grinding women have quit working because they have become few, and the ladies seeing at the windows have found it dark; 4 and the doors onto the street have been closed, when the sound of the grinding mill becomes low, and one gets up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song sound low. 5 Also, they have become afraid merely at what is high, and there are terrors in the way. And the almond tree carries blossoms, and the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry bursts, because man is walking to his long-lasting house and the wailers have marched around in the street; 6 before the silver cord is removed, and the golden bowl gets crushed, and the jar at the spring is broken, and the waterwheel for the cistern has been crushed. 7 Then the dust returns to the earth just as it happened to be and the spirit itself returns to the true God who gave it.

8 “The greatest vanity!” said the congregator, “Everything is vanity.”

9 And besides the fact that the congregator had become wise, he also taught the people knowledge continually, and he pondered and made a thorough search, that he might arrange many proverbs in order. 10 The congregator sought to find the delightful words and the writing of correct words of truth.

11 The words of the wise ones are like oxgoads, and just like nails driven in are those indulging in collections of sentences; they have been given from one shepherd. 12 As regards anything besides these, my son, take a warning: To the making of many books there is no end, and much devotion to them is wearisome to the flesh.

13 The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the [true] God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole obligation of man. 14 For the [true] God himself will bring every sort of work into the judgment in relation to every hidden thing, as to whether it is good or bad” (Ecclesiastes chapter 12).

In this chapter, there is a metaphorical description of old age phenomena, when there is no more pleasure (verse 1). The moment when old people gradually lose the sight (verse 2), when the hands are shaking, the back is bending, the teeth fall, the eyes lose their visual acuity (verse 3), the progressive loss of hearing (verse 4), losing one's balance, the gray hair, loss of leg agility, which gradually lead it to the last destination, the tomb (verse 5-7). This means that the theme of the beginning (in Ecclesiastes 1:2), is repeated: “The greatest vanity!” said the congregator, “Everything is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 12:8). Therefore, here is the conclusion that makes it possible to understand what should be the choice of a human who would like to give a real meaning to his life:

"The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the true God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole obligation of man. 14 For the true God himself will bring every sort of work into the judgment in relation to every hidden thing, as to whether it is good or bad" (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14).

The sacred value of life

Since the man and the woman are in the spiritual image of God, an act of voluntary homicide, even involuntary, is a sin against the spiritual image of God. Anyone who causes the death of another human being, from a atonement point of view, must pay for it with his own life. This is what Jehovah God made clear to Noah and his family, after the flood, on leaving the ark: "Besides that, I will demand an accounting for your lifeblood. I will demand an accounting from every living creature; and from each man I will demand an accounting for the life of his brother. Anyone shedding man’s blood, by man will his own blood be shed, for in God’s image He made man" (Genesis 9:5,6).

The Avenger of Blood

For God, both voluntary or an involuntary manslayer is a very serious act. In the old Mosaïque Law, there was the law of the avenger of blood. Of course, we are no longer, as Christians, under the authority of this set of laws. Nevertheless, we can learn from God's way of thinking about the sacred value of human life:

"You should choose cities convenient for yourselves to serve as cities of refuge, where the manslayer who unintentionally kills someone should flee. These cities will serve as a refuge for you from the blood avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly. The six cities of refuge that you provide will serve this purpose. You will provide three cities on this side of the Jordan and three cities in the land of Caʹnaan to serve as cities of refuge. These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites, for the foreign resident, and for the settler among them, for anyone to flee there who unintentionally kills someone" (Numbers 35:11-15).

Verses 16-29, it is written about the provisions that allowed to accidental manslayer to find protection in these cities of refuge.

Verses 22 to 25, especially, it is written that a court would rule whether he was a willful homicide or not. In the case of accidental manslayer, he was allowed into the city of refuge to protect himself from the blood avenger until the death of the high priest. Even if this disposition was merciful, it was a very serious obligation because it was so to speak, this man was under house arrest (city of refuge), maybe even until the end of his life, because he had to wait for the death of the high priest. In the case of a murderer, the blood avenger, the closest relative of the victim, could put him to death without incurring a bloodguilt before God (verse 19-21).

We are no longer, as Christians, under this legal procedure because Christ is the end of the law (Romans 10:4). However, these legal provisions allow us to better understand God's thinking about the sacred value of human life and blood (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Christian is no longer allowed to take revenge, especially by using violence: "Return evil for evil to no one. Take into consideration what is fine from the viewpoint of all men. If possible, as far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: “‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay,’ says Jehovah.” But “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing this you will heap fiery coals on his head.” Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good" (Romans 12:17-21).

The Human Body is a Spiritual Temple

The Apostle Paul and also the Apostle Peter emphasized that on an individual level, the human body represents a temple to worship God:

"Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that the spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple" (1 Corinthians 3:16,17).

"But I consider it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you with reminders, knowing as I do that my tabernacle is soon to be removed, just as also our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me" (2 Peter 1:13,14).

If the human body is like a spiritual temple to worship God, it is obvious that the life that animates this "temple" is sacred. This life is represented by the blood: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). The word soul means that "life" is in the blood. Jehovah asks that everyone take care of this temple: "Therefore, I appeal to you by the compassions of God, brothers, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason" (Romans 12: 1). This body was conceived, from the beginning, for a sacred service to God, that is to say, to conform to the plan which he had originally foreseen at the time of the creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26-28). Therefore, we must maintain this body in a state of "holiness" according to the will of God. We will also see that we must not only care for the physical and spiritual integrity of our body and our life, but also not harm that of others. We will examine certain biblical principles that will allow us to better respect the sacred aspect of life and blood.

The Respect for the Integrity

of the Human Body

The first commandment based on love for God and the love of neighbor is the fundamental basis of all the principles that govern the sacred value of life: "On these two commandments the whole Law hangs, and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).

Deadly hatred is forbidden: "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has everlasting life remaining in him" (1 John 3:15). Murder and willful homicide are forbidden, whether for personal reasons, by religious or state patriotism: "Then Jesus said to him: “Return your sword to its place, for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword"" (Matthew 26:52).

(The end of patriotism)

It is forbidden to put one's life in danger unnecessarily and that of others. The Christian must abstain from practicing dangerous sports, which can cause wounds, to see the death of the imprudent one and that of others (for example the life of the rescuers who would come to assist him), which would constitute a bloodguilt before God: "The shrewd person sees the danger and conceals himself, But the inexperienced keep right on going and suffer the consequences" (Proverbs 27:12).

It may be added that a careless attitude, such as driving a vehicle dangerously, which could not only put us in danger, but also endanger the lives of others, even involuntarily mortal wounds, could constitute a bloodguilt before God : "If you build a new house, you must also make a parapet for your roof, so that you may not bring bloodguilt on your house because of someone falling from it" (Deuteronomy 22: 8; Exodus 21:29). Even if we are no longer under the Mosaic Law, and therefore not allowed to apply such a sentence, this law shows God's point of view on murderous negligence...

In the introduction, we have seen that the human body is a spiritual temple to be cared of it (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Peter 1:13,14, Romans 12:1). Therefore, suicide is forbidden. In addition, all forms of drug use that destroy the body and its mobility, creating physical dependence is prohibited. The Bible condemns the excess of alcohol and not its moderate consumption. In the Bible, the excesses of the table are condemned: "Do not be among those who drink too much wine, Among those who gorge themselves on meat" (Proverbs 23:20 condemnation of excess; 1 Timothy 5:23: moderation in the consumption of wine).

(The Elementary Teaching of the Bible - What's Forbidden in the Bible (Part 2))

"He will render judgment among the nations And set matters straight respecting many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, Nor will they learn war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4). To no longer learn warfare, obviously means not to practice at once, combat sports or martial arts, even tinged with religious propaganda which would be to say that it is for a "defensive" purpose. Transforming a human body into a "defensive weapon", can quickly become "an offensive weapon" that can hurt or kill... Christians should not feast on violent sports shows or films extolling gratuitous violence. This is completely detestable to Jehovah God: "Jehovah examines the righteous one as well as the wicked one; He hates anyone who loves violence" (Psalms 11:5).

According to the Bible, the voluntary abortion of an embryo or fetus is strictly forbidden. In the Bible, the child to be born, in the belly of his mother, has his own individuality before God, from conception, whether in the form of an embryo or a fetus: "Your eyes even saw me as an embryo; All its parts were written in your book Regarding the days when they were formed, Before any of them existed" (Psalms 139:16). The New World Translation of the Bible (TMN), uses the word "embryo". The comparison with other translations has confirmed the accuracy of this word. The "Interlinear Hebrew Bible" (OT), based on the Manuscript, Leningrad's Westminster Codex with vowels, translates as "embryo". According to the KJV and the YLT Bible Translations, it is translated as "Unformed Substance" or "Substance". There is no doubt that the Hebrew text describes the baby to be born from conception, as soon as it is hardly an "embryo". Here is what we read in the Mosaic Law, concerning the aggression, even accidental, of a pregnant woman:

"If men should struggle with each other and they hurt a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but no fatality results, the offender must pay the damages imposed on him by the husband of the woman; and he must pay it through the judges. But if a fatality does occur, then you must give life for life" (Exodus 21:22,23).

This law does not fix a minimum number of weeks of gestation, to consider that such an accident, in case of abortion, is a proven homicide on the child. The use of abortion pills is an act of voluntary abortion. The Bible does not prohibit birth control, decided by the couple (they must not provoke the abortion). Abortive methods used as contraception, are condemned in the Bible.

We are the sentinels of our temple

The apostle Paul said that we are soldiers of Christ who fight, not against flesh and blood but against dark spiritual forces: "Finally, go on acquiring power in the Lord and in the mightiness of his strength. Put on the complete suit of armor from God so that you may be able to stand firm against the crafty acts of the Devil;  because we have a struggle, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.  For this reason take up the complete suit of armor from God, so that you may be able to resist in the wicked day and, after you have accomplished everything, to stand firm" (Ephesians 6:10-13).

What is the purpose of this spiritual struggle? By maintaining our integrity and faithfulness to God and his Son Jesus Christ, we will have the fulfillment of the hope of everlasting life: "But the one who has endured to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13) (Words of Christ). The spiritual stake of this integrity is very important. Job, a man who suffered many cruel attacks from the devil, losing his ten children, all his possessions, he had a serious illness and even being insulted by his own friends, this is what he said: "It is unthinkable for me to declare you men righteous! Until I die, I will not renounce my integrity!" (Job 27:5). Job's second wave of trial, Satan the devil attacked Job's physical integrity with a very serious illness (Job 1:7- 12; 2:2-6).

Integrity is the expression of spiritual completeness (or perfection), which God accepts as such. In the Hebrew text portion of the Bible, the Old Testament, the word "integrity", is translated from the Hebrew "tummâh" (Strong's Concordance (H8538)), which means, "innocence" in the sense of lack of guilt. This Hebrew word comes from another root "tôm" (Strong's Concordance (H8537)), which can mean: complete, integrity, perfect, perfection, right, righteousness: "It is unthinkable for me to declare you men righteous! Until I die, I will not renounce my integrity!" (Job 27:5). Thus, following the example of the faithful servant of God, Job, a human, man or woman, can reach completeness, perfection, integrity, in the eyes of God and of Christ, and this, despite our genetically and spiritually sinful human condition, inherited from Adam (Romans 5:12).

Currently Satan the devil uses deception, through some of his human spiritual sons, to attack our spiritual integrity, which includes our human body (John 8:44 Jesus Christ, speaking to the Pharisees, tells them that their father is the devil). This is why we must put on the spiritual armor mentioned by the apostle Paul: "Stand firm, therefore, with the belt of truth fastened around your waist, wearing the breastplate of righteousness,  and having your feet shod in readiness to declare the good news of peace.  Besides all of this, take up the large shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the wicked one’s burning arrows.  Also, accept the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word,  while with every form of prayer and supplication you carry on prayer on every occasion in spirit" (Ephesians 6:14-18).

By putting these different spiritual elements of the armor of the soldier of Christ, then we can face the spiritual and mental violence of the current attacks of the devil through his earthly agents who are engineers of murderous lies and diversion (John 8:44, in this verse Jesus Christ equates the devil's lie with "homicide" or murder, because he has caused the loss of mankind. Lying and propaganda can cause many deaths).

With this spiritual armor, we will be excellent spiritual soldiers and sentinels of this temple that God has entrusted to us, namely our human body. In the book of Revelation, there is a question of a mark made by the wild beast on the right hand of the inhabitants of the earth, using coercion: "It puts under compulsion all people—the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the free and the slaves—that these should be marked on their right hand or on their forehead, and that nobody can buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name" (Revelation 13:16,17). Let us therefore remain spiritually on the watch like sentinels who watch over the integrity of the temple that God has entrusted to us.

The Casus Belli Against Human Body Integrity

in CBRN World War

(Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear)

(Ezekiel 34)

The shepherds, who feed themselves

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to the shepherds, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Is it not the flock that the shepherds should feed? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fattest animal, but you do not feed the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bandaged the injured or brought back the strays or looked for the lost; rather, you have ruled them with harshness and tyranny. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; they were scattered and became food for every wild beast of the field. My sheep were straying on all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the surface of the earth, with no one searching for them or seeking to find them”” (Ezekiel 34:2-6).

As we have seen above, the human body was created by God and given to us as a divine inheritance, to take care of it, like a temple that we inhabit and which should be inhabited by the spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 3:16 "The Spirit of God dwells in you"). This body and the life in it, do not belong to any state or entity that would like to be globalist, nor even to any religious organization. The human body we have and the life in it, belong to God, because He is the Source and Creator of the Life (Revelation 4:11).

Jesus Christ said to pay back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's (Luke 20:25). The Christian who pays back to Caesar what is Caesar's, has a respectful attitude towards the authorities of his country. In 1 Peter 2:17 it is written to fear God and to honor the king. Depending on the context, the king is the repository of the authority of the country over which he reigns. The apostle Paul, in the letter to the Romans (13:1-7), encourages all Christians to respect governments and their representatives, that could be kings, princes, presidents, ministers, deputies… This passage shows that we must respect those who are empowered to enforce the law, namely the police, the military in some countries, judges and various representatives of administrations, such as, for example, teachers, professors, principals, tax inspectors… This being said, Jesus Christ added that we must pay back what belongs to God. Our body and the life in it belong to God. Therefore, if any human government ask us for our life or the life of our children, the answer will be the same as the apostle Peter said in a court: "We must obey God as ruler rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

In what follows, it is not to encourage the disrespect to the governmental authorities in place, but to take note of a situation which seems to be like what it is written in the prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 34, quoted at the beginning of the article, and to take the necessary measures to respect the biblical principles on the sacred value of life and blood. What are the observable facts?

The world is currently living, since November 2019, in fact, a Casus Belli, a CBRN world war (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear), against the integrity of the human body of peoples (the lost and scattered sheep). The human body has been created by God and given to us as a divine inheritance, to take care of it, like a temple that we live in and which should be inhabited by the spirit of God: "Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that the spirit of God dwells in you? " (1 Corinthians 3:16). This human body and his life, do not belong to any state, nor even to any earthly religious entity.

This worldwide Casus Belli against the integrity of the human body, which God has entrusted to us, is not made with tanks, bombs and cannons. It is organized against the backdrop of international trafficking of military viruses (leaving a P4-type laboratory (officially manufacturing military viruses in the context of CBRN-type wars)) and cleverly orchestrated propaganda (social engineering), with the aim of to terrify the people. The basic principle of these death labs is to collect viruses that are normally found in nature, in the animal reign, and which are basically harmless to humans; they are usually not transmissible and if so, they are usually not fatal. These demonic laboratories work to make these viruses transmissible to humans through "sequencing" with an extremely complex manufactoring process that can take several months. The diabolical purpose is to obtain a "gain of function", that is to say, in this case, to make so that this (or these) virus to be fatal for the man, while increasing, of the lethality of this manufactured military virus (references or patents for these military viruses can be found at NIH GenBank or somewhere in the WHO archives (at least from one of these countries). By the way, the NIH has suppressed information from Wuhan labs on the genetic sequencing of the military virus, according to Watchdog's FOIA (March 30, 2022)) (What is Happening in Shanghai?) (Chinese Style Social Credit, Begins in Italy (Bologna)).

(Social Credit with Chinese Style and the 2030 Agenda: This agenda was adopted by the UN in September 2015 after two years of negotiations including governments and civil society. The 2030 Agenda is part of a globalist ideology, particularly in the countries of the NATO zone and its partners (Western Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand...). It is in these areas of the world that the fundamentalist and sectarian ideology of "Covidism", which undermines the bodily integrity of peoples, has taken root (The situation in Shanghai (China) is an illustration of this taken to its extreme and in many respects, can give us a future glimpse of this kind of dictatorship on the scale of several united states, even world). Situations of a global “pandemic”, or of climate emergency, are ready-made pretexts to establish a dictatorship, in a progressive and hidden way, over all peoples. The “voluntary” establishment of “social credit” in Italy (Bologna and Rome (end of March 2022)), is only the beginning of this process, which is part of the future establishment, latent and perverse, of an obligation"...).

After its spread, obviously "fortuitous" (not checked in one, or the other way), of this lethal military virus, follows a world press campaign, which will certify, that it is a question of a "leak" as a type accident in a nuclear power plant. We must know that a P4 laboratory, is one of the most secure places in the world. They will say, for example, that it comes from the animal reign, which is a half-truth, because it is both true and false, therefore false (true + false = false). A second stage follows, essentially based on propagandist social engineering, based on fear with repeated morbid messages and reports, to frighten the people and above all, to insist on the fact that there is no medical remedy, or even any molecule to be able to cure this military virus. The only solution is to wait for the messianic injectable chemical that will save the life of mankind.

This Casus Belli is accompanied by an experimentation of mass gene therapy on healthy human bodies, not sick, on an international scale, on all peoples (scattered sheep), injectable chemicals, more or less coercive (in defiance of the Nuremberg Code - 1947 (see the 10 articles at the end of the page) (The current worldwide gene therapy, is still officially, in the experimentation phase, therefore, it fits perfectly into the legal framework of the Nuremberg Code - 1947)). Those at the head of nations or groups of nations, who order repeated injections of these poisons into healthy human bodies, have links of financial interest known to all, direct or indirect.

This CBRN-type wars Casus Belli uses the media corrupted by money and coordinated with one another as a propaganda tool with the Goebbel 's process of propaganda (spokesman for the Hitler Nazi regime). It is common knowledge that they are in the pay of many corrupt billionaire oligarchs, who also influence many governments (the shepherds who have been feeding themselves). They create a false reality (a surreality), to frighten the people (the scattered sheep), with the purpose to mislead them psychologically and mentally, in the aim to make them adopt irrational behaviors, by successive contradictory decisions and completely assumed lies. By the administration of this social engineering of harassment and long-term mental torture, these shepherds who have been feeding themselves, obtain the consent by nervous and mental exhaustion of the scattered sheep, with a more or less latent coercion (See Ezekiel 34).

In Isaiah 5:20 it is written: "Woe to those who say that good is bad and bad is good, Those who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, Those who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!". This text describes very accurately the perverse and demonic inversions of values ​​of these engineers of lies and murderous manipulation (John 8:44). These shepherds who are feeding themselves, have forbidden doctors to treat the elderly with inexpensive molecules. Then these same shepherds who are feeding themselves, ask the children to risk their own health, until their life, for these same old people whom they put in danger of death by forbidding the doctors to treat them. These same shepherds who are feeding themselves, ask children to risk their own health, until their lives, for adults when it should be the opposite, namely that it is adults who should be willing to risk their lives for children, representing the future of humanity...

Many doctors, nurses, orderlies and housekeepers, working in medical care, were at the front to provide assistance to people affected by this military virus. Many have paid for it with their lives (What is happening in France regarding caregivers, firefighters and other people (in connection with the medical community), suspended and fired without pay, without unemployment, not reinstated, for refusing the experimental injection? (Video only in French language)). Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ, will not forget them at the time of the resurrection (Acts 24:15; Hebrews 6:10). The courageous men and women who have so far denounced this Casus belli, have paid for it with their lives for some, with solitary confinement and imprisonment for others and they are treated as "conspirators", a coined term by the CIA in 1965, following the Warren Commission (official account of the circumstances surrounding the assassination of JFK).

By the way, the current senatorial commissions are, in fact, real morbid plays. We observe a diabolical role-playing games between these commissions of "inquiries", which make a game of finding fault to the people summoned and questioned, and the latter who, in the end, leave as they came in, that is free to continue their sordid works. These senatorial commissions bypass the role of prosecutors, judges and courts, who should imprison and judge these murderers, these sons of Josef Mengele, who carried out these experimental gene injections of masses, which caused the death of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children around the world, and millions of debilitating consequences for those who survived. These murderous liars apply the logic of the collective suicide of peoples, like Jim Jones and David Koresh, gurus who did not want to die alone, but who wanted to be accompanied in their madness by their hundreds of followers who committed "suicide". We also live, in a logic of global, economic, diplomatic massive destruction which causes wars and the destruction of peoples. They are in the same logic of murderous headlong rush, like these two sect leaders.

As we are very close to the Great Tribulation, a prophecy from Revelation and the book of Daniel is being fulfilled before our eyes: "He also tells me: “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, for the appointed time is near. Let the one who is unrighteous continue in unrighteousness, and let the filthy one continue in his filth; but let the righteous one continue in righteousness, and let the holy one continue in holiness"" (Revelation 22:10,11). "Many will cleanse themselves and whiten themselves and will be refined. And the wicked ones will act wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand; but those having insight will understand” (Daniel 12:10). Until King Jesus Christ sweeps these scoundrels off the face of the earth during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 19:11-21), those who practice righteousness in their hearts pray this prayer to the Heavenly Father daily, Jehovah God: "Finally, brothers, carry on prayer for us, that the word of Jehovah may keep spreading rapidly and being glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be rescued from harmful and wicked men, for faith is not a possession of all people. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the wicked one" (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3).

In this worldwide diabolical situation, which attacks the bodily integrity of men, women, children and even, unfortunately, that of infants, what must the Christian do, to please Jehovah God and his Son Jesus Christ?

Jehovah asks everyone to take care of the human body as a temple: "Therefore, I appeal to you by the compassion of God, brothers, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason" (Romans 12:1). This body has been created for a sacred service to God, that is, to conform to the purpose which he originally made at the time of the creation of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26-28).

Taking medication is a personal decision, weighing the risks for our life. It must be done in a medical setting, to be treated. This medication should not be done under governmental or moral coercion, for example within the framework of a congregation. If this were the case, these governmental authorities, see spiritual, would go beyond article 1 of the Nuremberg Code - 1947, which forbids medical experiments under harassment (Reminder: the worldwide gene therapy in progress, is still officially, in the experimental  process, therefore, it fits perfectly into the legal framework of the Nuremberg Code - 1947): "The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion. (…)" (Extract from article 1, of the Nuremberg Code - 1947).

In the current context, Christians must double their vigilance. He should refrain from bringing in experimental chemicals, especially for reasons unrelated to their health and that of their own children. These experimental injectable products have so far caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people around the world, and made thousands more seriously ill (VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (www.vaers.hhs.gov)). Most of these gene injections are made for reasons that have nothing to do with the health of adults and even less that of children, but rather, under non-medical pretexts of privilege, to be able to go to restaurants, bowling or other places of pleasure, justified by completely fallacious arguments and in the form of blackmail. Others have been forced on pain of losing their jobs and source of income. The fact of requiring that in order to go to a place, to have an object or a product penetrate our body, is in no way a medical act, but an act of marking, as one would do for animals, before d to enter an enclosure ; it is a marked violation of the spiritual and sacred dimension of the integrity of the human body.

Parents should seriously consider this issue, for their children and for them, in prayer to face this strange and sometimes distressing situation. Teachers of the Word of God should think seriously, with much prayer, on this question because this situation is not trivial regarding the biblical spirituality and more generally ethics (Romans 14:12). It is quite normal to feel disoriented, perplexed and surprised when faced with this extremely perverse attack from Satan the devil and his human demons. Let us pray to Jehovah God, let us ask for his help, He is merciful. If we think at first that we have not made the best decision, it can happen to anyone. Jehovah God sees our good intentions. Let us be courageous, let us trust in Jehovah God and his beloved Son Jesus Christ and they will support us (Proverbs 3:5,6). Let us not be afraid and be strong, let us support each other, whether with family, friends, or in congregation, let us love each other (John 13:34,35).

Christian Shepherds, how have you behaved in this matter?

The world has been victim to a global experimentation with a chemical that was injected for reasons based on a false claim. Pfizer would not have tested the effectiveness of its vaccines on the transmission of the virus. However, many Christian shepherds have pressured the sheep in their congregation to be injected, based on this false claim of the "vaccine" which would prevent the transmission of the virus. Even more serious, this pressure was exerted on young people who were for the most part not in danger if they did not get injected.

Tens of thousands of people died as a result of this experimental injection. Millions of people around the world have had extremely serious consequences as a result of this experimental injection. And what about this excess of mortality observed in recent times, even among young people? However, to "weight" the seriousness of the after-effects, some analyze the situation in terms of statistics... But for Jehovah God, the death of a single innocent human being, is in no way a "statistic"... In other words, if a Christian shepherd encouraged such an experimental injection, on the scale of the congregation for which he would be responsible before Jehovah God and Jesus Christ, and that this would have caused serious after-effects, until the death of only one of his sheep, in what situation does he find himself before God and his Son?

Here is what we can read in Deuteronomy, regarding the discovery of the body of a dead man in the field: "If someone is found slain in a field of the land that Jehovah your God is giving you to possess and it is not known who killed him, your elders and judges should go out and measure the distance from the dead body to the cities that surround it. Then the elders of the city nearest to the body should take from the herd a young cow that has never been put to work, that has never pulled in a yoke, and the elders of that city should lead the young cow down to a valley running with water where no tilling or sowing of seed has been done, and they should break the neck of the young cow there in the valley. And the priests, the Levites, will approach because Jehovah your God has chosen them to minister to him, to pronounce blessings in the name of Jehovah. They will declare how every dispute involving violence should be resolved. Then all the elders of the city who are nearest to the dead body should wash their hands over the young cow whose neck was broken in the valley, and they should declare, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. Do not hold this against your people Israel, whom you redeemed, O Jehovah, and do not let guilt for innocent blood remain among your people Israel.’ Then the bloodguilt will not be held against them. In this way you will remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst by doing what is right in Jehovah’s eyes" (Deuteronomy 21:1-9).

For Jehovah God and his Son and King Jesus Christ, the death of even one of their congregational sheep is nothing trivial according to Deuteronomy 21:1-9. It is appropriate, that in each Christian congregation, the shepherds make their examination of conscience, regarding this affair and draw the consequences... Do they fulfill, yes or no, still the conditions of Christian shepherds (Read 1 Timothy 3:1-7) ?

The ten points of the Nuremberg Code - 1947

1 - The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. This latter element requires that before the acceptance of an affirmative decision by the experimental subject there should be made known to him the nature, duration, and purpose of the experiment; the method and means by which it is to be conducted; all inconveniences and hazards reasonably to be expected; and the effects upon his health or person which may possibly come from his participation in the experiment. The duty and responsibility for ascertaining the quality of the consent rests upon each individual who initiates, directs, or engages in the experiment. It is a personal duty and responsibility which may not be delegated to another with impunity.

2 - The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of society, unprocurable by other methods or means of study, and not random and unnecessary in nature.

3 - The experiment should be so designed and based on the results of animal experimentation and a knowledge of the natural history of the disease or other problem under study that the anticipated results will justify the performance of the experiment.

4 - The experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury.

5 - No experiment should be conducted where there is an a priori reason to believe that death or disabling injury will occur; except, perhaps, in those experiments where the experimental physicians also serve as subjects.

6 - The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved by the experiment.

7 - Proper preparations should be made and adequate facilities provided to protect the experimental subject against even remote possibilities of injury, disability, or death.

8 - The experiment should be conducted only by scientifically qualified persons. The highest degree of skill and care should be required through all stages of the experiment of those who conduct or engage in the experiment.

9 - During the course of the experiment the human subject should be at liberty to bring the experiment to an end if he has reached the physical or mental state where continuation of the experiment seems to him to be impossible.

10 - During the course of the experiment the scientist in charge must be prepared to terminate the experiment at any stage, if he has probable cause to believe, in the exercise of the good faith, superior skill and careful judgment required of him, that a continuation of the experiment is likely to result in injury, disability, or death to the experimental subject.

God Forgives if there is Sincere Repentance

The narrative about King Manasseh, which has shed much blood, is the demonstration of how far Jehovah's mercy can be applied to sincere repentance. In the biblical narrative, it is written about wickedness of King Manasseh: "Ma·nasʹseh also shed innocent blood in very great quantity until he had filled Jerusalem from one end to the other, besides his sin of causing Judah to sin by doing what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah" (2 Kings 21:16). Because of his bad deeds, God punished him: "Jehovah kept speaking to Ma·nasʹseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So Jehovah brought against them the army chiefs of the king of As·syrʹi·a, and they captured Ma·nasʹseh with hooks and bound him with two copper fetters and took him to Babylon" (2 Chronicles 33: 10,11). However, for as incredible as it may be, this king ended up sincerely repenting of his evil deeds and obtaining Jehovah's mercy: "In his distress, he begged Jehovah his God for favor and kept humbling himself greatly before the God of his forefathers. He kept praying to Him, and He was moved by his entreaty and heard his request for favor, and He restored him to Jerusalem to his kingship. Then Ma·nasʹseh came to know that Jehovah is the true God" (2 Chronicles 33:12,13). What is the reason for this biblical example?

Many men and women have made irreversible mistakes, such as killing many humans (in the context of conflict) or taking part in abortions, sometimes even late. Many of them think that it is impossible that God would forgive them. Add to this a deep feeling of remorse and indignity. Regarding Jehovah's immense mercy, this is what it says: ""Come, now, and let us set matters straight between us,” says Jehovah. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They will be made as white as snow; Though they are as red as crimson cloth, They will become like wool"" (Isaiah 1:18). This verse is especially addressed to those men and women who sincerely repent before God, asking for forgiveness: God forgives sincere repentance on the basis of the precious blood of Jesus Christ: "My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not commit a sin. And yet, if anyone does commit a sin, we have a helper with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one. And he is a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, yet not for ours only but also for the whole world’s" (1 John 2:1,2). Moreover, Jehovah God will resurrect the millions of dead who were victims of the many genocides (John 5:28,29). What is irreversible for man, is not for God (Matthew 19:26 "to God all things are possible").

It is possible that even if the mercy of God applies to sincere repentance, a feeling of remorse and indignity will continue to harass them. However, they must know that God is greater than hearts: "By this we will know that we originate with the truth, and we will assure our hearts before him regarding whatever our hearts may condemn us in, because God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. Beloved ones, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have freeness of speech toward God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we are observing his commandments and doing what is pleasing in his eyes" (1 John 3:19-22).

(Jesus Christ is the only path to everlasting life)

 Life and Death

 Everlasting Judgment and

 Everlasting Salvation

The Life

Jehovah God is the Creator of life, He is the Source of Life: "With you is the source of life; By your light we can see light" (Psalm 36:9; Hebrews 3:4; Revelation 4:11).

Jehovah God created the first man and the first woman: "And Jehovah God went on to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living person" (Genesis 2:7,22 (creation of Eve, the first woman)).

The word "soul" applied to both man and animals, comes from the Hebrew word "neʹphesh [נֶפֶשׁ]", the Greek, "psy·kheʹ [ψυχή]" and from the Latin "aʹni·ma" (Genesis 1:20,21,24 (Bible verses where the word "soul" is applied to animals)). It is easy to understand, given the biblical context, that the soul refers to the living being itself, for both man and animal. Therefore, the soul refers to bodily shape of animal and human being.

Still in the biblical context, the word soul can be poetically applied to the "ego" (latin), that is oneself: "How long will my soul have anxious concern, With grief in my heart each day? How long will my enemy triumph over me? (…) My soul has been sleepless from grief. Strengthen me according to your word" (Psalms 13:2; 119:28).

The soul can allude to life itself: "Just as her soul was going out ​(for she was dying)" (Genesis 35:18) (This quote is according to the death of Rachel, giving birth to her son Benjamin). “Whoever finds his soul will lose it, and whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it. (…) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Really, what good will it do a man if he gains the whole world but loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?" (Matthew 10:39; 16:25,26). The New Testament was written in Greek, which means that the word "soul" is translated from the Greek word "ψυχή (psukhê)".

The expression "living soul" shows in itself that the soul can die or be destroyed (the opposite would have been a pleonasm in the case of the concept of "the immortal soul"): "putting to death the souls who should not die and keeping alive the souls who should not live (…) The soul who sins is the one who will die" (Ezekiel 13:19; 18:4,20). Many other biblical texts show that the soul can die and, of course, cannot survive (in an invisible way) its own death...

According to the Bible, the soul is different from the spirit ("ruach" in Hebrew and "pneuma" in Greek). The spirit (connected with the soul) refers to the "breath of life". Therefore, the breath, the air, the wind is an impersonal energy which animates the human soul and that of the animal soul. In Genesis 2:7 it is written: "And Jehovah God went on to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life". The Hebrew word for "breath of life" is "neshamah", which is synonymous with the word "ruah" or the Greek word "pneuma". Indeed, in the Septuagint (Greek biblical text, translated from Hebrew), the expression "neshamah" from Genesis 2:7 was translated as "pnoe" (spirit, breath).

The word "spirit" can refer to spirit beings like God (John 4:24), spirit creatures (1 Kings 2:21,22) and the resurrected Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:45). In Genesis (6:3), the expression "my spirit" is a way of referring to oneself.

It is important not to mix up the different meanings of the word "spirit"; the breath of life which animates the soul is an impersonal energy, while the word "spirit" applying to God, to the risen Jesus Christ and to the angels, are beings animated by a personal energy, endowed with a conscience and intelligence.

The Death

It is God himself who defines it. Comparing Genesis 2:17 with 3:19, where it is written that if Adam disobeyed the commandment regarding to the forbidden fruit, he would surely die. At end, Adam disobeyed. Here is what it is written in the judgment of God against Adam and Eve: "In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return" (Genesis 3:19). Therefore, death is the opposite of life, and the return to nonexistence (Psalm 146:3,4; Ecclesiastes 3:19,20; 9:5,10). Jehovah God, in his judgment, evokes the return to dust which is more generally designated in the Bible by an expression of symbolic place such as Sheol (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek), or even the "sea" where de very many humans perished (Revelation 20:13). Therefore, it is not difficult to understand and accept this simple biblical teaching point, death is absolute inexistence. The soul dies and the spirit or the vital energy disappears: “Do not put your trust in princes Nor in a son of man, who cannot bring salvation. His spirit goes out, he returns to the ground; On that very day his thoughts perish" (Psalms 146:3,4).

The Second Death, The Fiery Lake, The Gehenna

The expressions "second death" and "fiery lake", which have been misinterpreted, have led to frightening and unbiblical human dogmas such as fiery hell and purgatory... They are in the book of Revelation: "The one who conquers will by no means be harmed by the second death" (Revelation 2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8). In Revelation 20:14, there is the connection between the second death and the fiery lake: "And death and the Grave were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire". It should be noted that this place is just as symbolic as are (generically) the death and Hades (place of the dead). In what part of the biblical history does the "fiery lake" come from? The book of Revelation mentions both the Ten Plagues of Egypt and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, even to the point of using a cross-referenced expression such as "Sodom and Egypt" (Revelation 11: 8). The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is biblically associated with fire and everlasting judgment (Hebrews 6:2; 2 Peter 3:7).

Therefore, this  lake of fire mentioned in Revelation, probably alludes to the panoramic vision that Abraham had of the Dead Sea, after the destruction of all the cities like Sodom and Gomorrah, on its seaside perimeter (the city of Zoar having been spared by God for the sake of Lot (Genesis 19:23)). Here is the account of the awe-inspiring sight of the Dead Sea shortly after the destruction: "Now Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Jehovah. When he looked down toward Sodʹom and Go·morʹrah and all the land of the district, he saw quite a sight. There was dense smoke rising from the land like the dense smoke of a kiln! So when God destroyed the cities of the district, God kept Abraham in mind by sending Lot out from the cities he overthrew, the cities where Lot had been dwelling" (Genesis 19:27-29). Therefore, the "lake of fire" probably refers to the sight of destruction over almost the entire seaside perimeter of the Dead Sea (an inland sea as a great lake). This destruction symbolizes death, the result of everlasting judgment, that is, without the possibility of resurrection.

The expression Gehenna of fire, used by Jesus Christ, has exactly the same meaning of everlasting destruction or death without the possibility of resurrection. Where was Gehenna? It was located in the south of Jerusalem, outside the city walls. It was simply the dumping ground for the city of Jerusalem, which existed in the time of Jesus Christ and was called, the Valley of Hinnon (Ge Hinnom) or Gehenna. The rubbish of the city were thrown and burned there, as well as the corpses of animals and criminals after their execution, unworthy of a burial (even, in the biblical collective imagination, unworthy of a resurrection ("With the burial of a donkey he will be buried, Dragged about and thrown away, Outside the gates of Jerusalem"(Jeremiah 22:19)).

The translation of the Bible into Latin has created confusion in the understanding of the condition of the dead. As we have seen, it is important to differentiate between the Hebrew word Sheol and the Greek word Hades, on the one hand, with Gehenna on the other. In some translations of the Bible, these three words have been translated as the original Latin word hell (infernus). In doing so, it created confusion in the understanding of the word gehenna, becoming an unbiblical teaching of the existence of a fiery hell.

Jesus Christ used the word "Gehenna" or "Gehenna of fire," as a real place known to all his contemporaries, to illustrate the everlasting judgment and the idea of ​​destruction without the possibility of resurrection, the second death. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ referred to this place three times, without necessarily specifying its meaning. Why ? Quite simply, even in Galilee 100 km north of Jerusalem, this place of destruction was well known and did not require any description or explanation (Matthew 5:22,29,30). Gehenna is associated with a fire that does not put out, why? For the obvious reason that such a place, near a city would have represented a danger to the health of most inhabitants, if it had not been fueled by a permanent or constant fire, based on sulfur, in order to decompose all the waste of the city more quickly (Mark 9:47,48).

Does the lake of fire mentioned in Revelation represent the place of Gehenna? Yes, as to its symbolism of everlasting destruction. No, as to the geographical allusion to this place; Gehenna was not a place like a lake or an inland sea. Moreover, this expression does not appear directly, or even in an enigmatic way, in the book of Revelation.

Salvation By Coming Out Of The Great Tribulation

And By The Resurrection

The Great crowd, in Revelation 7:9-17, are peoples who will come out of the Great Tribulation and will live forever in the Earthly Paradise: "After this I saw, and look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. And they keep shouting with a loud voice, saying: “Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell facedown before the throne and worshipped God, saying: “Amen! Let the praise and the glory and the wisdom and the thanksgiving and the honor and the power and the strength be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” In response one of the elders said to me: “These who are dressed in the white robes, who are they and where did they come from?” So right away I said to him: “My lord, you are the one who knows.” And he said to me: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. That is why they are before the throne of God, and they are rendering him sacred service day and night in his temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down on them nor any scorching heat, because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them and will guide them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes”" (Revelation 7:9-17).

There will be a heavenly resurrection.  Only 144000 people will go to heaven with Jesus Christ (Revelation 7: 3-8; 14:1-5): "Then I saw, and look! the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who have his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. I heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; and the sound that I heard was like singers who accompany themselves by playing on their harps. And they are singing what seems to be a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one was able to master that song except the 144,000, who have been bought from the earth. These are the ones who did not defile themselves with women; in fact, they are virgins. These are the ones who keep following the Lamb no matter where he goes. These were bought from among mankind as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, and no deceit was found in their mouths; they are without blemish" (Revelation 14:1-5).

There will be an earthly resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous after the Great Tribulation, during the 1000 years reign: "Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, and those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15). The unrighteous resurrected will be judged on the basis of their behavior (AFTER their resurrection) during the 1000 years reign (and not on the basis of their past life) (Revelation 20:11-13).

THE PROMISE OF GOD

YHWH REVEALED NAME

HOW TO PRAY GOD ?

READ THE BIBLE DAILY

BIBLICAL TEACHING

SPIRITUAL MATURITY

IN CONGREGATION

PREACH THE GOOD NEWS

THE GREAT CROWD

THE SACRED VALUE OF BLOOD

MAIN MENU

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK BLOG