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Many Crickets and One Elephant

Many Crickets and One Elephant   Ishmael, the son of Abraham, is a more interesting character than first meets the eye. In fact, for Gentiles, he is perhaps a more important figure, a more central figure, than even Jacob the grandson of Abraham. Consider these questions that arise from the scant details that we have of Ishmael’s life.   1-Ishmael was named by God before he was born. (OC Genesis 7:26) That is exceedingly rare in scripture and puts Ishmael in the company of men like John the Baptist and the Lord Himself. And of course the name Ishma-el suggests that he is part of the El. Even Abraham had to go through, and pass, certain earthly trials before being given a name by God. But Ishmael came pre-named. Does this suggest that he had already achieved a certain standing or relationship with God in a previous cycle of existence?   2-Both Jacob and Ishmael had twelve sons. Nowhere else in scripture do we read of a man thusly blessed. But both the son and grandson of Ab...
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The Gate

Dear Reader,  I have never written an essay, or anything else for that matter, which will become apparent should you continue reading.  Don’t bother judging my writing skills because I don’t have any, however, I do hope you will feel something. Preaching to the choir is intimidating so please have mercy. The topic of this essay, the baptism of fire and the holy ghost, has been written about by many authors over the years, but rarely, if ever, did any of them claim to have experienced it.  Fifty years ago those who did declare it from the pulpit were relegated to that special group of overzealous, Ward oddities, whose spirited testimonies were tolerated with a sideways glance, an extended trip to the drinking fountain, or became the subject of condescending chuckles and snickering around the dinner table after church. Well… the world has changed and the heavens are open again.  No more snickering and rolling eyeballs when someone says they have rec...
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