Deciphering Night and Day OR Day and Night?*

(Times and Seasons Series: Post #III)

[When the Lutes edition, Joseph Smith Translation, of the Bible, is used, strikeouts and bold type show the JST corrections.]

From my studies so far, the question of whether a new day begins at sunrise or sunset often seems to hinge on the definitions we insist on using — on the context we permit. Does morning or morrow mean “next day” or does it mean “the dawning of light”? Does day mean only daylight? or can it mean a 24-hour period? It seems to me, in some instances of disagreement, both positions could be argued using the same scriptures. In other instances, the case strongly supports a specific position.

So, further to the Déjà Vu Times II post of September 2, 2022,¹ here are three additional considerations in exploring questions of signs, seasons, days, and years:

1. Was light the first thing created as claimed by many in support of sunrise²?
Light³ is first mentioned in verse three (first day). Verse one also mentions heaven and earth, but they are both called forth later and defined: heaven being the divider of waters above from waters below (vs. 4-8, second day); and earth being dry land (vs. 9-10, third day). In fact, earth seems to have two definitions: first as whole structure in verse one (before light) , and second as a portion of structure being “dry land” in verse ten. The waters, however, seem to have existed before everything, even light. So we have the question: Were the waters preexisting or were they the first creation (organization), though not mentioned as created or brought forth?

This is the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) description of events:

1 And it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Behold,  I reveal unto you concerning this heaven and this earth; write the words which I speak.
2 I am the Beginning and the End; the Almighty God. By mine Only Begotten I created these things.
3 1 Yea, in the beginning God I created formed2 the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest.
4 2 And the earth was without form empty, and void desolate;3 and I caused darkness was to come upon the face of the deep.
5 2 And the my Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, for I am God.
6 3 And I, God, said, Let there be light, and there was light.⁴

From Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, we read:

Elements Are Eternal
In the translation “without form and void” it should read, empty and desolate. The word created should be formed, or organized. (p. 181)

From the Book of Abraham, we read:

1 AND then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.
2 And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate, because they had not formed anything but the earth; and darkness reigned upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of the Gods was brooding upon the face of the waters. (Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 4:1-2; bold emphasis added.)

Thus it seems that, in addition to waters, darkness preceded light in the unfolding of this heaven and earth creation / organization, (not to mention that the sun and moon did not appear till the fourth day, Genesis 1:14-19), which may lead us to:

2. More Symbolism:
In additional to the symbolism from Part I⁵:

▪ If astronomers are correct, there seems to be much more dark matter than luminous matter which is like an unfolding continuum of moving from the dark into the light, from the unseen into the seen.
"We became astronomers thinking we were studying the universe, and now we learn that we are just studying the 5 percent that is luminous." Vera Rubin⁶

▪ Providing an explanation for dark matter remains one of the biggest prizes in astronomy. However, in 1999, a possibly even more puzzling phenomenon was uncovered. It was discovered that 68 percent of the universe was neither matter nor dark matter, but so-called dark energy. Dark matter makes up 27 percent; visible matter comprises a mere 5 percent.
"For the moment we might very well call them DUNNOS (for Dark Unknown Nonreflective Nondetectable Objects Somewhere)." Bill Bryson⁷

3. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: No Firm Consensus
If Mary Magdalene came “the first day of the week” “early, when it was yet dark,” does that not mean that the first day had already begun while it was yet dark, before the sunrise?

1 THE first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. [JST adds only: and two angels sitting thereon.]
2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. (New Testament | John 20:1-2: bold emphasis added)

This seems to contradict the accounts of Matthew and Mark which are the accounts argued by sunrise proponents.

1 IN the end of the sabbath [JST: day], as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, [JST: early in the morning] came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (New Testament | Matthew 28:1)

1 AND when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. (New Testament | Mark 16:1-2)

Whereas Luke leaves the question unresolved.

1 NOW upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they [JST: the women] came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. (New Testament | Luke 24:1)

Thus, deciphering the the truth of night and day or day and night continues.

---------------------------------------/
*JST Genesis 1:18-21 | KJV Genesis 1:14-19
18 14– 15 And I, God, said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth; and it was so.
19 16 And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon.
20 16– 18 And he made the stars also were made, even according to my word; and I, God, set them in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth; and the sun to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.
21 18– 19 And I, God, saw that it all things which I had made was were good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Lutes, Kenneth and Lyndell. Joseph Smith Translation (p. 19). Lutes Publishing. Kindle Edition. (JST Genesis 1:18-21 | KJV Genesis 1:14-19)

1. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/09/deciphering-heavens-times-signs-and.html
2. Light being the first thing created is one of the chief arguments for many proponents of the “day begins at sunrise” as is stated here by Dave Wright (circa min. 8) “When Does the Day Begin in Scripture?” (World's Last Chance | Dec 8, 2019 | Time 55:00 min) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe424_hURSw
Also: ▪ “When Does a Day Begin?” (World's Last Chance | Oct 7, 2012 | Time 15:00 min) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnjAfhPBg3I&t=8s ;
▪ Sabbath at Sunset? Absurd and Impossible! (World's Last Chance | Dec 16, 2016 | Time 27:21 min) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWKq_YiWTNA
Or just web-search “new day begins at sunrise” to encounter numerous examples.
3. KJV Old Testament | Genesis 1:1-3
   1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
   2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
   3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
   4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
   5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
   6 ¶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
   7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
   8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
   9 ¶ And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
   10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
4. Lutes, Kenneth and Lyndell. Joseph Smith Translation (p. 18). Lutes Publishing. Kindle Edition. (JST OT Genesis 1:1-6; KJV Genesis 1:1-3)
Internal footnotes in quote refer to Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Comp. Joseph Fielding Smith (p. 181)
5. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/09/deciphering-heavens-times-signs-and.html
6. DK. The Astronomy Book (Big Ideas) (p. 550). DK Publishing. Kindle Edition.
7. DK. The Astronomy Book (Big Ideas) (p. 556). DK Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Signs, Seasons, Days, and Years: # II (Enoch)

(Times and Seasons Series: Post #II)

The Luminaries

As background to further exploration of this “Signs, Seasons, Days, and Years” series, below is a table gleaned from The Book of the Courses of the Heavenly Luminaries (LXXII-LXXXII)¹ that purports to be a record of Enoch, father of Methuselah, and a prime character in Pearl of Great Price | Moses, chapters 6-8. Could there be truths in these descriptions to help us sort out the signs, seasons, days, years, and calendar despite the changes, corruptions, and disruptions over time and catastrophe? Over a period of study, will these descriptions by Enoch match observation? (All bold emphasis in paragraphs is added.)

1. The book of the courses of the luminaries of the heaven, the relations of each, according to their classes, their dominion and their seasons, according to their names and places of origin, and according to their months, which Uriel, the holy angel, who was with me, who is their guide, showed me; and he showed me all their laws exactly as they are, and how it is with regard to all the years of the world and unto eternity, till the new creation is accomplished which dureth till eternity.
2. And this is the first law of the luminaries: the luminary the Sun has its rising in the eastern portals of the heaven, and its setting in the western portals of the heaven.
3. And I saw six portals in which the sun rises, and six portals in which the sun sets and the moon rises and sets in these portals, and the leaders of the stars and those whom they lead: six in the east and six in the west, and all following each other in accurately corresponding order: also many windows to the right and left of these portals.
4. And first there goes forth the great luminary, named the Sun, and his circumference is like the circumference of the heaven, and he is quite filled with illuminating and heating fire. ...
7. And in that fourth portal from which the sun rises in the first month are twelve window-openings, from which proceed a flame when they are opened in their season.²

Summary of the Laws of “CHAPTER LXXII. The Sun.³

CHAPTER LXXIII. [The Moon]
1. And after this law I saw another law dealing with the smaller luminary, which is named the Moon.
2. And her circumference is like the circumference of the heaven, and her chariot in which she rides is driven by the wind, and light is given to her in (definite) measure.
3. And her rising and setting change every month: and her days are like the days of the sun, and when her light is uniform (i.e. full) it amounts to the seventh part of the light of the sun.
4. And thus she rises. And her first phase in the east comes forth on the thirtieth morning: and on that day she becomes visible, and constitutes for you the first phase of the moon on the thirtieth day together with the sun in the portal where the sun rises.
5. And the one half of her goes forth by a seventh part, and her whole circumference is empty, without light, with the exception of one-seventh part of it, (and) the fourteenth part of her light.
6. And when she receives one-seventh part of the half of her light, her light amounts to one-seventh part and the half thereof.
7. And she sets with the sun, and when the sun rises the moon rises with him and receives the half of one part of light, and in that night in the beginning of her morning [in the commencement of the lunar day] the moon sets with the sun, and is invisible that night with the fourteen parts and the half of one of them.
8. And she rises on that day with exactly a seventh part, and comes forth and recedes from the rising of the sun, and in her remaining days she becomes bright in the (remaining) thirteen parts.⁴

CHAPTER LXXIV.
1. And I saw another course, a law for her, (and) how according to that law she performs her monthly revolution.
2. And all these Uriel, the holy angel who is the leader of them all, showed to me, and their positions, and I wrote down their positions as he showed them to me, and I wrote down their months as they were, and the appearance of their lights till fifteen days were accomplished.
3. In single seventh parts she accomplishes all her light in the east, and in single seventh parts accomplishes all her darkness in the west.
4. And in certain months she alters her settings, and in certain months she pursues her own peculiar course.
5. In two months the moon sets with the sun: in those two middle portals the third and the fourth.⁵

CHAPTER LXXV.
1. And the leaders of the heads of the thousands, who are placed over the whole creation and over all the stars, have also to do with the four intercalary days, being inseparable from their office, according to the reckoning of the year, and these render service on the four days which are not reckoned in the reckoning of the year.
2. And owing to them men go wrong therein, for those luminaries truly render service on the world-stations, one in the first portal, one in the third portal of the heaven, one in the fourth portal, and one in the sixth portal, and the exactness of the year is accomplished through its separate three hundred and sixty-four stations.
3. For the signs and the times and the years and the days the angel Uriel showed to me, whom the Lord of glory hath set for ever over all the luminaries of the heaven, in the heaven and in the world, that they should rule on the face of the heaven and be seen on the earth, and be leaders for the day and the night, i.e. the sun, moon, and stars, and all the ministering creatures which make their revolution in all the chariots of the heaven.
4. In like manner twelve doors Uriel showed me, open in the circumference of the sun's chariot in the heaven, through which the rays of the sun break forth: and from them is warmth diffused over the earth, when they are opened at their appointed seasons.
5. [And for the winds and the spirit of the dew† when they are opened, standing open in the heavens at the ends.]
6. As for the twelve portals [east and west] in the heaven, at the ends of the earth, out of which go forth the sun, moon, and stars, and all the works of heaven in the east and in the west.
7. There are many windows open to the left and right of them, and one window at its (appointed) season produces warmth, corresponding (as these do) to those doors from which the stars come forth according as He has commanded them, and wherein they set corresponding to their number.
8. And I saw chariots in the heaven, running in the world, above those portals in which revolve the stars that never set.
9. And one is larger than all the rest, and it is that that makes its course through the entire world. ⁶

CHAPTER LXXVI.
The Twelve Windows and their Portals
1 And at the ends of the earth I saw twelve portals open to all the quarters (of the heaven), from which the winds go forth and blow over the earth.
2. Three of them are open on the face (i.e. the east) of the heavens, and three in the west, and three on the right (i.e. the south) of the heaven, and three on the left (i.e. the north).
3. And the three first are those of the east, and three are of †the north, and three [after those on the left] of the south†, and three of the west.
4. Through four of these come winds of blessing and prosperity, and from those eight come hurtful winds: when they are sent, they bring destruction on all the earth and on the water upon it, and on all who dwell thereon, and on everything which is in the water and on the land.
5. And the first wind from those portals, called the east wind, comes forth through the first portal which is in the east, inclining towards the south: from it come forth desolation, drought, heat, and destruction.
6. And through the second portal in the middle comes what is fitting, and from it there come rain and fruitfulness and prosperity and dew; and through the third portal which lies toward the north come cold and drought.
7. And after these come forth the south winds through three portals: through the first portal of them inclining to the east comes forth a hot wind.
8. And through the middle portal next to it there come forth fragrant smells, and dew and rain, and prosperity and health.
9. And through the third portal lying to the west come forth dew and rain, locusts and desolation.
10. And after these the north winds: from the seventh portal in the east come dew and rain, locusts and desolation.
11. And from the middle portal come in a direct direction health and rain and dew and prosperity; and through the third portal in the west come cloud and hoar-frost, and snow and rain, and dew and locusts.
12. And after these [four] are the west winds: through the first portal adjoining the north come forth dew and hoar-frost, and cold and snow and frost. And from the middle portal come forth dew and rain, and prosperity and blessing; and through the last portal which adjoins the south come forth drought and desolation, and burning and destruction.
14. And the twelve portals of the four quarters of the heaven are therewith completed, and and all their laws and all their plagues and all their benefactions have I shown to thee, my son Methuselah.⁷

CHAPTER LXXVIII.
The Sun and Moon: the Waxing and Waning of the Moon.
1. And the names of the sun are the following: the first Orjârês, and the second Tômâs.
2. And the moon has four names: the first name is Asônjâ, the second Eblâ, the third Benâsê, and the fourth Erâe.
3. These are the two great luminaries: their circumference is like the circumference of the heaven, and the size of the circumference of both is alike.
4. In the circumference of the sun there are seven portions of light which are added to it more than to the moon, and in definite measures it is s transferred till the seventh portion of the sun is exhausted.
5. And they set and enter the portals of the west, and make their revolution by the north, and come forth through the eastern portals on the face of the heaven.
6. And when the moon rises one-fourteenth part appears in the heaven: ⌈ the light becomes full in her ⌉: on the fourteenth day she accomplishes her light.
7. And fifteen parts of light are transferred to her till the fifteenth day (when) her light is accomplished, according to the sign of the year, and she becomes fifteen parts, and the moon grows by (the addition of) fourteenth parts.
8. And in her waning (the moon) decreases on the first day to fourteen parts of her light, on the second to thirteen parts of light, on the third to twelve, on the fourth to eleven, on the fifth to ten, on the sixth to nine, on the seventh to eight, on the eighth to seven, on the ninth to six, on the tenth to five, on the eleventh to four, on the twelfth to three, on the thirteenth to two, on the fourteenth to the half of a seventh, and all her remaining light disappears wholly on the fifteenth.
9. And in certain months the month has twenty-nine days and once twenty-eight.
10. And Uriel showed me another law: when light is transferred to the moon, and on which side it is transferred to her by the sun.
11. During all the period during which the moon is growing in her light, she is transferring it to herself when opposite to the sun during fourteen days [her light is accomplished in the heaven], and when she is illumined throughout, her light is accomplished full in the heaven.
12. And on the first day she is called the new moon, for on that day the light rises upon her.
13. She becomes full moon exactly on the day when the sun sets in the west, and from the east she rises at night, and the moon shines the whole night through till the sun rises over against her and the moon is seen over against the sun.
14. On the side whence the light of the moon comes forth, there again she wanes till all the light vanishes and all the days of the month are at an end, and her circumference is empty, void of light.
15. And three months she makes of thirty days, and at her time she makes three months of twenty-nine days each, in which she accomplishes her waning in the first period of time, and in the first portal for one hundred and seventy-seven days.
16. And in the time of her going out she appears for three months (of) thirty days each, and for three months she appears (of) twenty-nine each.
17. At night she appears like a man for twenty days each time, and by day she appears like the heaven, and there is nothing else in her save her light.⁸

CHAPTER LXXXII.
Charge given to Enoch: the four Intercalary Days: the Stars which lead the Seasons and the Months.
1. And now, my son Methuselah, all these things I am recounting to thee and writing down for thee, and I have revealed to thee everything, and given thee books concerning all these: so preserve, my son Methuselah, the books from thy father's hand, and (see) that thou deliver them to the generations of the world.
2. I have given Wisdom to thee and to thy children, [And thy children that shall be to thee], That they may give it to their children for generations, This wisdom (namely) that passeth their thought.
3. And those who understand it shall not sleep,
4. Blessed are all the righteous, blessed are all those who walk in the way of righteousness and sin not as the sinners, in the reckoning of all their days in which the sun traverses the heaven, entering into and departing from the portals for thirty days with the heads of thousands of the order of the stars, together with the four which are intercalated which divide the four portions of the year, which lead them and enter with them four days.
5. Owing to them men shall be at fault and not reckon them in the whole reckoning of the year: yea, men shall be at fault, and not recognize them accurately.
6. For they belong to the reckoning of the year and are truly recorded (thereon) for ever, one in the first portal and one in the third, and one in the fourth and one in the sixth, and the year is completed in three hundred and sixty-four days.
7. And the account thereof is accurate and the recorded reckoning thereof exact; for the luminaries, and months and festivals, and years and days, has Uriel shown and revealed to me, to whom the Lord of the whole creation of the world hath subjected the host of heaven.
8. And he has power over night and day in the heaven to cause the light to give light to men--sun, moon, and stars, and all the powers of the heaven which revolve in their circular chariots.
9. And these are the orders of the stars, which set in their places, and in their seasons and festivals and months.
10. And these are the names of those who lead them, who watch that they enter at their times, in their orders, in their seasons, in their months, in their periods of dominion, and in their positions.
11. Their four leaders who divide the four parts of the year enter first; and after them the twelve leaders of the orders who divide the months; and for the three hundred and sixty (days) there are heads over thousands who divide the days; and for the four intercalary days there are the leaders which sunder the four parts of the year.
12. And these heads over thousands are intercalated between leader and leader, each behind a station, but their leaders make the division. And these are the names of the leaders who divide the four parts of the year which are ordained: Mîlkî’êl, Hel’emmêlêk, and Mêl’êjal, and Nârêl.
13. And the names of those who lead them: Adnâr’êl, and Îjâsûsa’êl, and ’Elômê’êl--these three follow the leaders of the orders, and there is one that follows the three leaders of the orders which follow those leaders of stations that divide the four parts of the year.
14. [missing or mis-numbered]
15. In the beginning of the year Melkejâl rises first and rules, who is named †Tam’âinî† and sun, and all the days of his dominion whilst he bears rule are ninety-one days.
16. And these are the signs of the days which are to be seen on earth in the days of his dominion: sweat, and heat, and calms; and all the trees bear fruit, and leaves are produced on all the trees, and the harvest of wheat, and the rose-flowers, and all the flowers which come forth in the field, but the trees of the winter season become withered.
17. And these are the names of the leaders which are under them: Berka’êl, Zêlebs’êl, and another who is added a head of a thousand, called Hîlûjâsĕph: and the days of the dominion of this (leader) are at an end.
18. The next leader after him is Hêl’emmêlêk, whom one names the shining sun, and all the days of his light are ninety-one days.
19. And these are the signs of (his) days on the earth: glowing heat and dryness, and the trees ripen their fruits and produce all their fruits ripe and ready, and the sheep pair and become pregnant, and all the fruits of the earth are gathered in, and everything that is in the fields, and the winepress: these things take place in the days of his dominion.
20. These are the names, and the orders, and the leaders of those heads of thousands: Gîdâ’îjal, Kê’êl, and Hê’êl, and the name of the head of a thousand which is added to them, Asfâ’êl’: and the days of his dominion are at an end.⁹

---------------------------------/
1. Anonymous, Enoch. The Book of Enoch: The Complete Collection (Translation and commentary by R.H. Charles) (Alpha Centauri Religion 9201) (Kindle Locations 2500-2502). Alpha Centauri Publishers. Kindle Edition.(
Also accessible at https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Enoch_%28Charles%29
Other info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch#The_Astronomical_Book
2. Anonymous, Enoch. The Book of Enoch: The Complete Collection (Translation and commentary by R.H. Charles) (Alpha Centauri Religion 9201) (Kindle Locations 2504-2522). Alpha Centauri Publishers. Kindle Edition.
3. Ibid. (Kindle Location 2503). (Table was prepared September 11-12, 2022 by SMS from data under this heading LXXII. Any miscalculation errors are hers.)
4. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2580-2597).
5. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2598-2606).
6. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2635-2650).
7. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2651-2681).
8. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2717-2737).
9. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2815-2867).

Deciphering the Heavens: Times, Signs, and Seasons? # I

(Times and Seasons Series: Post #I)

Until recently, I never realized how many diverse opinions and controversies about Biblical times, signs, and seasons have been published concerning:

▪ new moon v. full moon;
▪ fixed calendar v. continuous calendar;
▪ real sabbaths v. false sabbaths;
▪ sunset v. sunrise to mark the beginning of a day;
▪ full days v. partial days to calculate “three days and three nights”;
▪ etc.

The jump start to this diversity exploration began in reading a lengthy post¹ asserting that sunrise, not sunset, should mark the beginning of a new (Biblical) day where day, in the Genesis creation account, is claimed to mean just daylight (if I understand the analysis presented).

However, remembering that the Book of Abraham account gave a fuller “evening to evening” description, I posted this comment:

Should we also consider these?
Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 4:5, 8, ETC)
5 And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until morning they called night; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of that which they called day and night.
…
8 And the Gods called the expanse, Heaven. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and this was the second time that they called night and day.
ETC. (Abr. 4:13, 19, 23, 31) (SMS 2022-08-30 11:43)

The blogger replied:

If you are trying to use those verses to show the day starts in the evening, you are taking them out of context. As this post and https://seekingyhwh.org/2018/12/09/on-the-morrow-morning/ from the BoM and https://seekingyhwh.org/2018/10/30/highlights-from-sunrise-or-sunset/ from the Bible give multitude of examples the day starts in the morning with real life examples. (Steven 2022-08-30 11:51)

I have carefully read these posts and others, and watched several videos (with many more posts and videos in queue), seeking to understand and test the sunrise assertion. But for now, I will make only four initial observations:

1. Meaning of day?
Did the ancients consider a more-or-less 24-hour period (day?) different from us? When someone asks: What day were you born? do we not reply with a specific date, regardless of the degree of darkness or light at the time of birth? If someone, through accident or illness, had lost track of time (then or now), and awoke at 2 AM (or during the third watch) to ask, What day is it? would we reply: It's not day, it's night? Or would we say: It's Tuesday, or, it's the third day of the week, or, it's the ____ day of ________ ? And if night cannot count as the dark part of a day, what do we make of Ezekiel referring to the “day of the new moon” (Ezek. 46:1, 6)?  If the full definition, use, and context of day² were allowed, would it sustain the “sunrise” claim?

2. Reconciling New Month, New Day?
Our 24-hour, secular calendaring marks a new day as beginning a nanosecond after midnight which passes without any sign of “new day.” Some mechanical or digital device must inform us, whereas, with the ancients (according to tradition), no device, just nature's sunset, was needed to inform of a new, 24-hour period / day. And yes, the same nature argument could be said of the sunrise, but how do we reconcile new moon / new month (when the crescent moon first becomes visible in the evening) with a new day that doesn't begin until the next sunrise? Does the month begin 12 hours before its first new day? Or is the allegation that the “day of the new moon” means the new month and day begin together at sunrise after the first appearance of the new crescent the prior evening? Possible, yes, but the heavy reliance on the word morrow to establish sunrise as the beginning of a new 24-hour count could as readily sustain the sunset tradition which brings us to the:

3. Meaning of Morrow?
Many scriptural quotes containing the word morrow were given to concretize the sunrise position, BUT morrow has more definitions than “the next day.”³ The archaic one simply means “morning.”

Definition of morrow
1 archaic : MORNING
2: the next day
3: the time immediately after a specified event
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morrow

4. Symbolism?
▪ If the earth began in darkness:

1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.(Old Testament | Genesis 1:1-3);

▪ if our mortal journey begins and endures nine months of darkness before birthing into light;
▪ if our spiritual journey is one of moving from darkness into increasing levels of enlightenment, e.g.:

6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God— (Book of Mormon | Alma 19:6)

7 But behold, verily, verily, I say unto you that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me;
8 But the day soon cometh that ye shall see me, and know that I am; for the veil of darkness shall soon be rent, and he that is not purified shall not abide the day.(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 38:7-8)

then, would not a 24-hour day — repeatedly moving from a marked darkness into daylight — daily witness the direction and purpose of our journey if we remained conscious and observant of it?

9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. (New Testament | John 11:9-10)⁴

Yes, I believe that God's calendar and clock situated in the observable heavens are not as precise or understandable as they once were because of deception, forgetfulness, ignorance, corruption, and catastrophic celestial and world events. We have been caught up in the ways and abuses of a Babylonian system of domination and deception (not to mention God's own interventions according to His purposes⁵). It can be very challenging to figure things out: analyzing words, meanings, traditions, ideas, etc., but often I write to explore what makes sense through the prism of scripture, just as the above blogger did. Have we both  narrowed or broadened meanings to achieve a desired result? So many conflicts and questions seem rooted in God's words without knowing the accompanying images in God's mind.⁶ Thus, I intend, in coming weeks, to seek greater light concerning times, signs, and seasons. Speaking for myself, it is long overdue.

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1. https://seekingyhwh.org/2022/08/01/the-undiscovered-sabbath-secret-you-should-know/ (a re-post of a lengthy article by Milton Carnes)
https://seekingyhwh.org/2018/10/30/highlights-from-sunrise-or-sunset/
https://seekingyhwh.org/2018/12/09/on-the-morrow-morning/
2. Definition of day
  1a: the time of light between one night and the next // the shortest day of the year
    b: DAYLIGHT sense 1 // woke up at the break of day
    : DAYTIME // sleeps during the day and works at night
  2 astronomy : the period of rotation of a planet (such as earth) or a moon on its axis // the length of one day on Mars
  3: the mean solar day of 24 hours beginning at midnight by mean time // open seven days a week // the first day of every month // Take one pill two times a day.
  4: a specified day or date // their wedding day // the day of her birth
  5: a specified time or period : AGE // in grandfather's day—often used in plural // the old days // the days of sailing ships
  6: the conflict or contention of the day // played hard and won the& day
  7: the time established by usage or law for work, school, or business // starts his day with a cup of coffee // after a long day at school // We have a busy day tomorrow.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/day
3. See also: https://www.quotescosmos.com/bible/bible-concordance/H1242.html
[Strong's Concordance, Hebrew Dictionary | Early, morning, morrow, properly, dawn (as the break of day) | Hebrew: בֹּקֶר, bōqer (H1242) | 188 King James Bible Verses]
4. This scripture was used to support a sunrise day, but I see it merely as a narrow, descriptive use as opposed to a comprehensive use.
5. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 121:12
   12 And also that God hath set his hand and seal to change the times and seasons, and to blind their minds, that they may not understand his marvelous workings; that he may prove them also and take them in their own craftiness;
Old Testament | Daniel 2:19-22
   19 ¶ Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
   20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
   21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
   22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
6. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2015/02/words-without-images.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2014/02/here-and-there.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2016/03/considerations.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2016/03/3-flags.html

At Our Peril

Almost the entire history of this world has been a recycling litany of conspiracy upon conspiracy of people without conscience (PWOCs) who have conned, conscripted, or gained control of others in pursuit or protection of power, gain, glory, and domination.

So, if we don't open our eyes and ears: if we keep trusting in the powers-that-be; in the appearance of things; in the façade of exceptionalism; in the lies of people without conscience; how will we ever

​“awake to a sense of [our] awful situation”?¹

And what is our awful situation?

▪ secret combinations to get power and gain that are everywhere amongst us;¹
▪ murderous combinations intent on getting power and gain;¹
▪ combinations committed “to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and ... the destruction of all people.”¹

How long can we pretend we are safe because “we have done nothing wrong”? Do we not know that the enemy of all good considers every goodness and virtue to be a punishable offence? how set-ups and false evidence are so easily arranged?

Here is one more inside witness of our awful situation from seven years ago. What might we have prevented had we, en masse, listened and insisted on accountability, justice, and judgment in 2015 instead of so many falling into the mass formation hypnosis² of 2020 to the present?

NSA Whistleblower William Binney: The Future of FREEDOM (Richard Grove | Jan. 28, 2015 | Time 2:35:00min.) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3owk7vEEOvs&t=2129s

See also: Bill Binney in His Own Words (Crowd Source the Truth | Time 59:40) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPqDmTftW94 | NOTE: no longer available here, but can be accessed through the WayBackMachine by copy and pasting the above link or using this link: https://web.archive.org/web/20220411031706/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPqDmTftW94

How long are we going to sustain evil by

▪ our silence;
▪ our inaction;
▪ our trust in the merits of those who have attained worldly power, wealth, and fame;
▪ our participation, both witting and unwitting, in power and gain agendas;
▪ our refusal to hear or credit the numerous witnesses concerning CIA, FBI, DEA. DOJ (ETC., ETC., ETC.) infiltration and corruption;
▪ our denial (or justification) of gov't. sanctioned / sponsored secret human experimentation, targeting, propaganda, psy-ops, coups, running of drugs and weapons, treason, murder, etc., etc.

Every soul who awakens and ceases to believe in or cooperate with deception and corruption is one less servitor of the evil that has captured the powers and so many naïve people.

For a deeper dive into our awful situation consider accessing the comprehensive collection of evidence and exposure at:

The Duke Report | https://thedukereport.com/
E.G. Who Bombed Alexandr Dugin?, or other daily conversations
(The Reality Operating System: The Duke Report | Aug 21, 2022 | Time 1:37:30 min.) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1uLr-Y1QMY&list=WL
If this link becomes censored or unavailable, copy and paste the link into the WayBackMachine (Internet archive) to access it there.

________________________/
1. Book of Mormon | Ether 8:22-26 ~ 22 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not. 23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be. 24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up. 25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning. 26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved.
2. Psychology of Totalitarianism with Mattias Desmet | EWO#022 (Laurence Easeman | June 28, 2022 | Time 1:36:58 min. ) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoNviq2KdJs

“Live Not By Lies”*

For those who have recently watched the documentary, “What is a Woman?,”¹ and thereafter observed the web and media frenzy, fanaticism, and coercive fallout, it should be obvious how far we have descended into a tyranny of  “make-believe”; thus the question: How much are we each going to participate in sustaining that tyranny? Are we, in alleged sympathy / empathy² or fear, going to help normalize and parrot the fictions that, at core, mock the creation and particularities of male and female?³ (especially the female?)

Surely we should not be surprised that an all-encompassing tyranny of fiction should be the prevailing character of these end-times? We may never have imagined the various directions that the pretenses would take, but have we not been warned?

16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?⁴

Most of us have (so far) survived the myriad deceptions of the COVID narrative, but now, an even more transparent narrative of trans-supremacy is taking center-stage where all people must affirm the new-genders narrative or be targeted for bullying, phobic-labelling, or character destruction, in déjà vu of other tyrannies as described by Solzhenitsyn:

The permanent lie becomes the only safe form of existence, in the same way as betrayal. Every wag of the tongue can be overheard by someone, every facial expression observed by someone. Therefore every word, if it does not have to be a direct lie, is nonetheless obliged not to contradict the general, common lie. There exists a collection of ready-made phrases, of labels, a selection of ready-made lies. And not one single speech nor one single essay or article nor one single book— be it scientific, journalistic, critical, or “literary,” so-called— can exist without the use of these primary clichés. In the most scientific of texts it is required that someone’s false authority or false priority be upheld somewhere, and that someone be cursed for telling the truth; without this lie even an academic work cannot see the light of day. And what can be said about those shrill meetings and trashy lunch-break gatherings where you are compelled to vote against your own opinion, to pretend to be glad over what distresses you?⁵

The choice — live by lies or “live not by lies” — is being forced upon more and more of us with each passing day. Make one mis-speak against the supreme narrative and the browbeating, bullying  begins. But considering that Satan has been called “a liar from the beginning” and the “father of lies” (whose agenda is to deceive and destroy the world⁶) should we not be exceedingly vigilant in discerning and standing for truth and against pretense; refusing to be groomed into accepting fantasy claims that biological men are women with the capacity to give birth? It seems we are progressing from one mass-psychosis event to another, as so graphically described here.⁷

Yes, I believe struggling dysphorics (and their advocates) must be free to voice their feelings and beliefs, but they must not be affirmed in believing they have a right to compel others to believe or advocate for their beliefs, feelings, or claims. As to so-called professionals advocating for and profiting from (irreversible), surgical intervention for dysphoric minors, perhaps they can be compelled to endure awareness training sessions (in similitude of those compulsory sensitivity ones) in order to discern their placement on the mass-formation psychosis spectrum, as well as to learn the difference between science and pscience.⁸

To bolster and understand the need for courage and commitment to truth and reality, please listen to this truth-filled podcast. Let us choose to “live not by lies.” The consequence for choosing otherwise leads to destruction.⁹ Let us each be a brake against a deepening mass-formation psychosis.

Live Not By Lies | Rod Dreher & Dr Jordan B Peterson
(Jordan Peterson | July 7, 2022 | Time 1:20:25) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1JuWVeJS-E also at https://www.dailywire.com/episode/totalitarianism-a-pathway-to-hell
(For discussion time-markers in the podcast see footnote 10.)

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* Title of a book by Rod Dreher. Live Not By Lies a manual for christian dissidents https://www.amazon.com/Live-Not-Lies-Christian-Dissidents-ebook/dp/B088F2ZYTV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=DQD5DDBMNUCD&keywords=live+not+by+lies+a+manual+for+christian+dissidents&qid=1657341162&sprefix=live+not+by+lies%2Caps%2C363&sr=8-1

1. https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman (for members of Daily Wire)
Note: many segments are available free on YouTube by searching Matt Walsh, and “What is a Woman?”
2. Sympathy and empathy do not require others to affirm life choices that fly in the face of history, science, experience, and observation. Compassion does not require converting fictions into facts because of feelings. Most people, in many places, are free to choose their dress and social presentation in order to express their feelings, but the notion that affirmation and praise of such choices is mandatory resides at the end of the power-abuse spectrum. We have come to this point in history after decades of social engineering and power abuse designed to foster confusion, dysphoria,  and anxiety. Dysphoria of every kind is unfortunate.
3. If some want to argue the evolution of male / female, there is yet no evidence in millennia of history of an XY human having the capacity to give birth; nor is such even remotely on the horizon.. Such is gaslighting at its finest and most extreme. (https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2019/07/gaslighting-way-of-wo.html)
Old Testament | Genesis 1:27
   27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Old Testament | Genesis 5:1-2
   1 THIS is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
   2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
New Testament | Matthew 19:4–6; see also Mark 10:6-9
   4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
   5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
   6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 20:17-20
   17 By these things we know that there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them;
   18 And that he created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness, created he them;
   19 And gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him, the only living and true God, and that he should be the only being whom they should worship.
   20 But by the transgression of these holy laws man became sensual and devilish, and became fallen man.
Pearl of Great Price | Moses 2:27
   27 And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.
Pearl of Great Price | Moses 6:9)
9 In the image of his own body, male and female, created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created and became living souls in the land upon the footstool of God.
Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 4:26-28
   26 And the Gods took counsel among themselves and said: Let us go down and form man in our image, after our likeness; and we will give them dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
   27 So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.
   28 And the Gods said: We will bless them. And the Gods said: We will cause them to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
4. Old Testament | Isaiah 29:16
5. Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I.. The Gulag Archipelago (p. 339). Harper Perennial. Kindle Edition. (Bold emphasis added.)
6. New Testament | John 8:44
   44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:6
   6 And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world.
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 2:17-18
   17 And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God.
   18 And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.
Book of Mormon | Ether 8:25
   25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 123:7
   7 It is an imperative duty that we owe to God, to angels, with whom we shall be brought to stand, and also to ourselves, to our wives and children, who have been made to bow down with grief, sorrow, and care, under the most damning hand of murder, tyranny, and oppression, supported and urged on and upheld by the influence of that spirit which hath so strongly riveted the creeds of the fathers, who have inherited lies, upon the hearts of the children, and filled the world with confusion, and has been growing stronger and stronger, and is now the very mainspring of all corruption, and the whole earth groans under the weight of its iniquity.
Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:3-4
   3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
   4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
Book of Mormon | Alma 5:25
   25 I say unto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from the beginning, or suppose that he is a liar from the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have place in the kingdom of heaven; but they shall be cast out for they are the children of the kingdom of the devil.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 93:24-25
   24 And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;
   25 And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.
7. Ivor Cummns with Mattias Desmet | Ep150 Stunning: My Most Important Interview Yet - HOW Covid Happened (July 7, 2022 | Time 1:10:39) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPisp_VgEO8
See also: https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2021/08/manufacturing-psychosis.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2021/10/breaking-mass-formation.html
8. Pscience is the corrupted offshoot of honorable Science. It is the inevitable consequence of man's obsessive pursuit and protection of power, gain, glory, and domination. Pscience is pseudo, psychopathic, propagandizing, plagiarizing, psy-opic, and above all, profit-obsessed, and profit-driven. This obsessive pursuit and protection by people without conscience is often enabled by naïve, trusting, or fear-filled acolytes and servitors. Pscience is a one-faith, one-dogma, heretic-fearing, self-deceiving, other-censoring system. The 21st Century question is: What are we now enabling or supporting? science or pscience?
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2021/06/death-of-science-tyranny-of-pscience.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2020/10/pscience.html
https://dejavu-times.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-representative-history-of-pscience.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2021/12/when-pscience-becomes-god.html
9. Old Testament | Psalms 101:7
   7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
Old Testament | Proverbs 19:5, also 9
   5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.
Old Testament | Proverbs 29:12
   12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
Old Testament | Isaiah 28:15-17
   15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
   16 ¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
   17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
Old Testament | Isaiah 59:4
   4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
Old Testament | Jeremiah 9:3-5
   3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
   4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
   5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
10. —Chapters— [0:00] Intro [1:25] Live Not By Lies [2:32] A Story from Communist Czechoslovakia [4:55] Our Old Idea of New Totalitarianism [9:13] Czeslaw Miłosz and "The Captive Mind" [12:26] The Appeal of Communism [14:50] The Weaponizing of Original Sin [18:36] Applying the Story of the Kulaks [22:43] The Emergence of Woke Capitalism [27:37] The Line Between Good and Evil [29:48] Solzhenitsyn's Rules for Responsible Conduct [31:31] Scapegoating and False Morality [37:28] The Fragility of American Elites [42:06] Vaclav Havel, The Myth of the Green Grocer [48:34] Fighting for the Right to Be Unhappy [56:37] Ideology as Substitute for Religion [1:00:56] Heroism as Anti-Ideology [1:09:52] Preparing for Persecution [1:12:33] A Message from the Church to Men [1:13:39] Courage [1:18:04] Rod Dreher, "Live Not By Lies" [1:20:07] Jordan Peterson's Daily Wire+ Deal [1:21:15] Daily Wire+ Intro [1:21:54] History of Rod Dreher's Religious Belief [1:27:08] Sexuality as the Last Temptation [1:32:45] Kierkegaard's Three Stages of Life [1:34:45] Journey Through Catholicism [1:36:36] Becoming an Orthodox Christian [1:45:00] A Respite from the Political [1:48:11] The Purpose of Prayer [1:50:23] The Jesus Prayer [1:54:36] Closing Comments

Staying Alert to the Source of “Great Signs and Wonders”*?

In recent days, we have witnessed a reversal of the 1973 Federal co-option of alleged state power.¹ Many seem to view the SCOTUS decision as a great sign that the United States is re-affirming its former values. Some consider it an almost unbelievable wonder that in this current climate of iniquity and escalating abuse of children and power, that SCOTUS would make such a “course-correction.” But are we being too naïve about agendas? — about the appearance of things? We already see how this has created another acrimonious division, inflaming those who believe they have been stripped of a long-standing, federally-guaranteed right. So, being the skeptic that I am, I cannot help but wonder if time will soon reveal that this seeming “light”² in a dark landscape is really artificial. What is the real inspiration for this reversal? What is its real purpose? I do not know, except that the prevailing iniquity and secret combinations at the highest levels are so pervasive, it puts almost every action of the powers in doubt of legitimacy or good purpose.

Will this turn out to be in the nature of a Cain-like offering?

18 And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.
19 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.³

Some have speculated that Cain's offering (fruit of the ground) was unacceptable as God required a sacrificial animal, but from Mosaic laws and temple endowment, both the first fruits of the field and the firstlings of the flock were commanded at varying times. Of course, Cain's fruit might not have been firstling or best, but the defining reason for the rejection of Cain's offering by God is probably answered in the words: “And Satan commanded [Cain], saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.”

Is this SCOTUS decision a genuine offering of repentance and return? Or should we also ask: In these last days of testing, trial, and rampant deception, what will the adversary of all Good not wrap in artificial light? How on guard must we be to discern what unfolds by the inspiration of God and what unfolds at the command of the enemy?

Time and Truth will eventually reveal motives and purposes, though, for the sake of those who sincerely seek the Good, God seems always able to bring Good out of bad if or when intentions by others are corrupted.

-----------------------------------------/
(All bold emphasis added.)
* JST New Testament | Matthew 24: 23-25
   23 For in those days, there shall also arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if possible, they shall deceive the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant.
   24 Behold, I speak these things unto you for the elect’s sake.
   25 And you also shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for all I have told you must come to pass. But the end is not yet.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn
https://aclj.org/overturn-roe-v-wade-and-save-unborn-babies
2. New Testament | 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
   14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
   15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:9
   9 ... that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 128:20
   20 ... The voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light!
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 129:8
    8 If it be the devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him.
3. Pearl of Great Price | Moses 5:18-19  (Bold emphasis added.)

Do Works Matter?

For the sake of brevity, I acknowledge at the outset, that there is no resurrection and no forgiveness for sin or error without Christ's resurrection and atonement. No amount of human work or technocracy can or ever will overcome physical or spiritual death or satisfy the demands of Justice. Resurrection and forgiveness come purely through the grace of Christ. Only through Him is the unbridgeable gap of death and alienation from God unconditionally bridged for every soul who ever lived. “Unconditionally?! ” you might interject! Yes, because without any action, work, or confession on our part, we will all be resurrected and brought back to stand in the presence of God.¹ And therein begins the rub, because to stand before God means to stand before Judgment and Justice.² Grace gets us to the pleading bar of God (through resurrection and return), whereupon grace and mercy continue (now on condition of repentance³) to get us through to some degree of glory, with “reward” now dependent on a review of our works. Consider (all bold emphasis added):

27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. (New Testament | Matthew 16:27)

3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. (New Testament | John 9:3-4)

20 ... that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. (New Testament | Acts 26:20)

7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (New Testament | Galatians 6:7)

23 ... all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. (New Testament | Revelation 2:23)

12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. ...
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (New Testament | Revelation 22:12, 14)

7 The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. (Old Testament | Amos 8:7)

10 Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works whether they be good or whether they be evil— (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 16:10)

34 Be faithful until I come, for I come quickly; and my reward is with me to recompense every man according as his work shall be. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 112:34)

However, to the confusion and deception of many, some pastors and believers have reduced physical and spiritual salvation to a single confession of faith before death. They have conflated a two-step event of 1) getting to the bar of God; and 2) being judged at that bar, into a single event of accepting Christ before death. Thus, only “those who have accepted Christ” before death (Could we call that a work?) are saved despite this promise of universal, unconditional resurrection:

21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.⁴

Does this not erroneously imply that works (confession and acceptance of Christ while in this life) are necessary in order to trigger God's grace, despite the above scripture and many others.⁵ And is this not equivalent, in fact, to denying God's grace to all those who have not performed the “work” of “verbal acceptance”?

When we accept the gestalt of scripture, can we see that grace, and only grace, gets every soul of us to the pleading bar of God (resurrection and return), and thereafter, Judgment must look to the facts of repentance, forgiveness, mercy, and works in order to serve Justice? Can we, by understanding the role of both grace and works in the comprehensive Plan of Redemption, reconcile the teachings of the Apostles Paul (Romans) and James (James 2)?

It appears then that works do matter in the gestalt of God's redemptive plan and that for the unrepentant — for those who reject God's mercy and grace — Judgment may entail a second death.⁶

----------------------------------------------------/

(All bold emphasis added.)
1. New Testament | 1 Corinthians 15:21-26
   21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
   22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
New Testament | Revelation 20:12
   12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 15:33
   33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:10
   15 And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment–seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.

Book of Mormon | Alma 5:15
   15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

Book of Mormon | Alma 11:40-44
   40 And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.
   41 Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.
   42 Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.
   43 The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.
   44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.
Book of Mormon | Alma 12:8, 12
   8 And Zeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God. And he said unto Alma: What does this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the just and the unjust, and are brought to stand before God to be judged according to their works? ...
   12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works. ...
Book of Mormon | Alma 40:21
   21 ... there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 14:15-17
   15 For behold, he [Christ] surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.
   16 Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.
   17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.
Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 26:4-5
   4 And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
   5 If they be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of damnation; being on a parallel, the one on the one hand and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy, and the justice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who was before the world began.
Question: Since every sin has been paid for through the atonement of Christ, does this permit all men to return — to stands once more in God's presence (to be judged) whether they have accepted that gift or not?
2. Old Testament | Psalms 89:14
   14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
Old Testament | Proverbs 21:3
   3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Old Testament | Isaiah 9:7
   7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Old Testament | Jeremiah 23:5
   5 ¶ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Book of Mormon | Alma 42:14-15
   14 And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.
   15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.

Doctrine and Covenants | Section 82:4
   4 Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you; and inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings, which I give unto you, ye become transgressors; and justice and judgment are the penalty which is affixed unto my law.
3. Book of Mormon | Alma 42:23-24
   23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
   24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved [from the demands of Justice].
Old Testament | Ezekiel 18:30-32
   30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
   31 ¶ Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
   32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
New Testament | Matthew 4:17
   17 ¶ From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
New Testament | Luke 13:2-3
   2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilæans were sinners above all the Galilæans, because they suffered such things?
   3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
New Testament | Acts 3:19
   19 ¶ Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
New Testament | Revelation 2:5
   5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
New Testament | Revelation 3:19
   19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
4. New Testament | 1 Corinthians 15:21-22
5. See also footnote 1 as well as

New Testament | Hebrews 2:9
   9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Book of Mormon | Alma 9:28
   28 Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that which they have been—if they have been righteous they shall reap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the damnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil.
Book of Mormon | Alma 12:8, 12, 14, 30
   8 And Zeezrom began to inquire of them diligently, that he might know more concerning the kingdom of God. And he said unto Alma: What does this mean which Amulek hath spoken concerning the resurrection of the dead, that all shall rise from the dead, both the just and the unjust, and are brought to stand before God to be judged according to their works? ...
   12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works. ...
   14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence. ...
   30 And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.
Book of Mormon | Alma 42:23-24
   23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
   24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved [from the demands of justice].
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:10-16; (recommended to read all of this chapter)
   10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.
   11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.
   12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
   13 O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.
   14 Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.
   15 And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment–seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.
   16 And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 12:24
   24 And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works. ...
Old Testament | Daniel 9:4-5
   4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
   5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
New Testament | 1 Corinthians 3:8, 13-15
   8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. ...
   13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
   14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
   15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall may [JST] be saved; yet so as by fire.
New Testament | Matthew 5:16
   16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
New Testament | John 14:12
   12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 63:48
   48 He that sendeth up treasures unto the land of Zion shall receive an inheritance in this world, and his works shall follow him, and also a reward in the world to come.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 19:3
   3 Retaining all power, even to the destroying of Satan and his works at the end of the world, and the last great day of judgment, which I shall pass upon the inhabitants thereof, judging every man according to his works and the deeds which he hath done.
6. New Testament | Revelation 2:11
   11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
New Testament | Revelation 20:6
   6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
New Testament | Revelation 21:8
   8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Book of Mormon | Alma 12:16
   16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness.
Book of Mormon | Alma 12:32
   32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.
Book of Mormon | Alma 13:30
   30 And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be bound down by the chains of hell, that ye may not suffer the second death.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 14:17-19
   17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.
   18 Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness.
   19 Therefore repent ye, repent ye, lest by knowing these things and not doing them ye shall suffer yourselves to come under condemnation, and ye are brought down unto this second death.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 63:17
   17 Wherefore, I, the Lord, have said that the fearful, and the unbelieving, and all liars, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie, and the whoremonger, and the sorcerer, shall have their part in that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.