Obadiah | Daily Inspiration

We Should Clearly Distinguish Monotheism from Polytheism

1 Thessolonians 5

¹²My friends, we ask you to be thoughtful of your leaders who work hard and tell you how to live for the Lord. ¹³Show them great respect and love because of their work. Try to get along with each other. ¹⁴My friends, we beg you to warn anyone who isn’t living right. Encourage anyone who feels left out, help all who are weak, and be patient with everyone. ¹⁵Don’t be hateful to people, just because they are hateful to you. Rather, be good to each other and to everyone else.

Obadiah 1

¹⁵The day is coming
when I, the Lord,
will judge the nations.
And, Edom, you will pay in full
for what you have done.

Shamanism, Polytheism and Animism

2. Human Beings Who Achieve Mastery Rise above the Gods

It is people who make the gods important.
If a spirit [idol] becomes too troublesome, it will be shown the tree from which it was carved.
We shall continue to offer sacrifices so that the blame will lie with the deities.
African Proverbs (African Traditional Religions)

Fools misjudge me when I take a human form,
Because they do not know my supreme state as Lord of Beings.
Unconscious, they fall prey to a beguiling nature
such as belongs to ogres and demons,
For their hopes [ascribing to God human motives] are vain, and so
are their rituals and their search for wisdom.
Bhagavad-Gita 9.11-12 (Hinduism)

Whoever knows the self as “I am Brahman,” becomes all this [universe]. Even the gods can-not prevent his becoming this, for he has become their Self.

Now, if a man worships another deity, thinking, “He is one and I am another,” he does not know. He is like an animal to the gods. As many animals serve a man, so does each man serve the gods [with offerings]. Even if one animal is taken away, it causes anguish to the owner; how much more so when many are taken away! Therefore it is not pleasing to the gods that men should know the truth.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10 (Hinduism)

Even the devas are jealous of a yogi, striving as he does to surpass them by attaining Brahman. They therefore try to lead him astray, in various ways, if they find him off guard.
Srimad Bhagavatam 11.20 (Hinduism)

What is Shinto? Not in the shrines
the worldly minded frequent for gifts in vain,
but in good deeds, pure of heart,
lies real religion.
Genchi Kato (Shinto)

Look, you brothers, who bathe in the holy waters,
Look, you monks, who bathe in the stream.
Give up, give up, your unholy thoughts;
Give up lustful thoughts for another man’s
wife,
Give up coveting after another man’s wealth.
If you bathe in the waters without giving up these,
It is as if bathing in a stream that has run dry.
Basavanna, Vacana 642 (Hinduism)

Truth is victorious, never untruth.
Truth is the way; truth is the goal of life,
Reached by the sages who are free from self-will.
Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.6 (Hinduism)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

We should clearly distinguish monotheism from polytheism. Only God is the true deity; the other divine beings that founded the polytheistic religions are angels. Among those religions, some developed through good angels’ efforts to elevate human spirituality and heart—they are the higher religions. You should know that God has been cultivating people’s hearts through these good religions. (237:186, November 17, 1992)

Human history can be considered to span at least 850,000 years. Even during the most primitive times, the religious movements that sprang up received persecution. Who initiated such work? It is God. He developed religions to separate human beings from the servant. God separated us from Satan step by step, starting from the very bottom—the level of a servant of servants.

Humans are created to be masters, but at the servant of servants’ level, the servant dominates the master. In order to take our rightful position in the Kingdom of Heaven as the masters of that servant, humanity must inevitably receive persecution from the entire servant world and triumph over it. (124:69, January 23, 1983)

Among shamans, especially the men, some had formerly led a promiscuous love life. Then as shamans they leave their former life and strive on the path of morality. This led to the development of a [higher] realm of religion. From that starting-point, they could recognize that people should live a straight way of life and form faithful families. At least they recognized that it was not good to live a loose lifestyle, and sought after a proper way of love. Such efforts at laying the right path developed into the world’s higher religions. (295:172, August 28, 1998)

God Was Stricken With Grief

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Mark 5

²¹Once again Jesus got into the boat and crossed Lake Galilee. Then as he stood on the shore, a large crowd gathered around him. ²²The person in charge of the Jewish meeting place was also there. His name was Jairus, and when he saw Jesus, he went over to him. He knelt at Jesus’ feet ²³and started begging him for help. He said, “My daughter is about to die! Please come and touch her, so she will get well and live.” ²⁴Jesus went with Jairus. Many people followed along and kept crowding around.

²⁵In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. ²⁶She had gone to many doctors, and they had not done anything except cause her a lot of pain. She had paid them all the money she had. But instead of getting better, she only got worse.

²⁷The woman had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him in the crowd and barely touched his clothes. ²⁸She had said to herself, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will get well.” ²⁹As soon as she touched them, her bleeding stopped, and she knew she was well.

³⁰At that moment Jesus felt power go out from him. He turned to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹His disciples said to him, “Look at all these people crowding around you! How can you ask who touched you?” ³²But Jesus turned to see who had touched him.

³³The woman knew what had happened to her. She came shaking with fear and knelt down in front of Jesus. Then she told him the whole story.

³⁴Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace! You are healed, and you will no longer be in pain.”

³⁵While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from Jairus’ home and said, “Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?”

³⁶Jesus heard what they said, and he said to Jairus, “Don’t worry. Just have faith!”

³⁷Jesus did not let anyone go with him except Peter and the two brothers, James and John. ³⁸They went home with Jairus and saw the people crying and making a lot of noise. ³⁹Then Jesus went inside and said to them, “Why are you crying and carrying on like this? The child isn’t dead. She is just asleep.” ⁴⁰But the people laughed at him.

After Jesus had sent them all out of the house, he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples and went to where she was. ^41-42He took the twelve-year-old girl by the hand and said, “Talitha, koum!” which means, “Little girl, get up!” The girl got right up and started walking around.

Everyone was greatly surprised. ⁴³But Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Then he said, “Give her something to eat.”

Richard: God gives us hope in this reading. I see three main themes, faith, resurrection and secrecy. All can be applied to the current situation in the United States.

Obadiah 1

¹³They are my people,
    and you were cruel to them.
You went through their towns,
sneering
and stealing
    whatever was left.
¹⁴In their time of torment,
    you ambushed refugees
and handed them over
    to their attackers.
¹⁵The day is coming
when I, the Lord,
    will judge the nations.
And, Edom, you will pay in full
    for what you have done.

God’s Grief

2. God’s Painful Struggle to Save Humankind

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

It is natural that we want to protect our loved ones, even with our very life. Such is the original ideal of creation. The same is true for God, who loves His children. He became a sorrowful God who has had to invest His very life. (206:24, October 3, 1990)

I cannot count the days I spent in tears and lamentation after I came to know this world of God’s inner heart. Who could even dare to imagine that God was stricken with grief? He created the first human ancestors as His children and tried to raise them to be His eternal object partners in true love, yet they took the path of the Human Fall. Who could imagine God’s misery and humiliation, even as He walked His providence of salvation for tens of thousands of years? Anger exploded within Him over the injustice of it all. His heart sighed in lamentation. God should be the Father and King of glory, but the enemy Satan stole His throne and His position as Parent. Although God is clearly alive and carrying out His providence, people say, “God is dead,” and they mock and mistreat Him. Still, He perseveres on the path with patient endurance, waiting for the day when human beings will come to understand this truth.
Because God conducts His providence on a foundation of true love—which calls us to live for the sake of others—and on the basis of eternity, He does not just annihilate the universe and begin again after seeing His children descend into the bottomless pit of the Human Fall. With the power of His omniscience and omnipotence, He could have judged the world and Satan at once, smashing them to pieces. Though He has this power, He chose to absorb all the contempt and accusation into Himself. He voluntarily placed Himself in a prison-like environment, because He is our Father.
Ladies and gentlemen, have you spent even one day before our God, our Father, shedding tears of repentance because you empathize with Him? How can you stand before God and still close your eyes as if to block out how He bites His tongue and endures us human beings, who inherited the lineage of the Devil and became the tools of Satan? How can you be so insensitive to how God anxiously looks forward to the day of His liberation and release? (May 1, 2004)

When Jesus was on the cross, God had to turn away and allow His beloved Son to be killed. Who knew the wretchedness in God’s mind and heart at that moment? The Bible does not explain it, but wasn’t there some reason why God could not intervene to prevent His Son’s death?…
Likewise, we think that God should have stood on the side of His chosen ones. Seeing them suffer persecution wherever they went—beaten, decapitated, and burned in pitch—we might ask, “Why was God not able to prevent this?”32 Instead, you should think how grievous and distressed God was that He could not exercise His almighty power to save them. How can we still say that He is the Most High God? (64:222, November 12, 1972)

What kind of God is our Father? He has walked the most tragic path through the course of history. He has suffered tragedies more horrible than any human tragedy.
When God saw His children languishing in sorrow and suffering and despair, He did not say, “You deserve it.” Our Father worked to save His children pierced with sorrow by placing Himself in greater sorrow; He worked to save His children moaning in pain by going to a place of even greater pain. He did not hesitate even to go to His death to save His children who were on the verge of death.
Once we understand this, how should we live? If we see a pitiful old person on the street, bent over with age, we should think, “That is what my Father must look like as He seeks after me.”
When we see a laborer’s swollen hands, we should think, “My Father’s hands are even more torn up and swollen than his.” When we see a pitiful beggar, we should think, “This beggar is not a beggar; instead he is my Father,” and humbly bow our heads. God’s heart is embedded even in lives that appear insignificant and wretched. We should shed tears with the understanding that each of these people is our Father, and then we should cast aside our dignity and help them. This is the only way we will come to know God. (8:345-46, February 28, 1960)

Jesus Prayed So Sincerely That His Sweat Fell to the Ground Like Drops of Blood

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Sample letters to Congressman about opposing election fraud on January 6th, 2021.

Luke 22

⁴³Then an angel from heaven came to help him. ⁴⁴Jesus was in great pain and prayed so sincerely that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood.^[g]

⁴⁵Jesus got up from praying and went over to his disciples. They were asleep and worn out from being so sad. ⁴⁶He said to them, “Why are you asleep? Wake up and pray that you won’t be tested.”

Obadiah 1

¹⁹The people of Israel
who live in the Southern Desert
    will take the land of Edom.
Those who live in the hills
will capture Philistia,
    Ephraim, and Samaria.
And the tribe of Benjamin
    will conquer Gilead.

Idolatry and Materialism

Literally the worship of images, idolatry in the broader sense means allegiance to false values that substitute for God. in the Qur’an idols are regarded as evil spirits and Satan; those who worship them are therefore enemies to God. the bible views idols as human artifacts, not as representations of deity. hence idol worship is regarded as a form of materialism, and, conversely, any false reliance on human power or wealth is a form of idolatry. a more spiritual conception of idolatry is to identify it with egoism and human craving, since attachment to these false realities separates us from our true nature. the biblical story of the golden calf describes the worship of the idol as accompanied by orgiastic rites. in the twentieth century, the idols of nationalism, racism, and especially materialism have captivated millions, with horrible results. Father Moon explicitly calls materialism modern-day idolatry and regards it as one of Gods’ biggest “headaches.” his passages on this topic are a contemporary counterpoint to the classic texts.

Lo, Abraham said to his father Azar, “Do you take idols for gods? For I see you and your people are in manifest error.”
Qur’an 6.74

Shun the abomination of idols, and shun the word that is false—being true in faith to Allah, and never assigning partners to Him: if anyone assigns partners to God, he is as if he had fallen from heaven and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped down and thrown him to a distant land.
Qur’an 22.30-31

Our God is in the heavens;
he does whatever he pleases.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them are like them;so are all who trust in them.
Psalm 115.3-8

For many… live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
Philippians 3.18-19

“There shall be in you no strange god and you shall not worship a foreign god” [Psalm 81.10]. What is the “foreign god” within a man’s body? It is the evil impulse.
Talmud, Shabbat 105b (Judaism)

Have you seen him who makes his desire his god, and God sends him astray purposely, and seals up his hearing and his heart, and sets on his sight a covering? Who, then, will lead him after God [has condemned him]? Will you not then heed?
Qur’an 45.23

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, “Up, make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made a molten calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the lord.” And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
Exodus 32.1-6

Do You Not Know that We are to Judge Angels?

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Ruth 3

⁷After Boaz finished eating and drinking and was feeling happy, he went over and fell asleep near the pile of grain. Ruth slipped over quietly. She lifted the cover and lay down near his feet.

Obadiah 1

¹⁵The day is coming
when I, the Lord,
will judge the nations.
And, Edom, you will pay in full
for what you have done.

Richard: God continues to indicate that He is very unhappy with the massive fraud, deceit and theft of the Presidential election, and that that those responsible will pay the price.

Angels

3. Man’s Superiority to Angels

Do you not know that we are to judge angels?
1 Corinthians 6.3

Behold, your Lord said to the angels, “I will cre-
ate a vicegerent on earth.” They said, “Wilt
Thou place therein one who will make mischief
therein and shed blood? —while we do cele-
brate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy name?”
He said, “I know what you know not.”
And He taught Adam the names of all
things; then He placed them before the angels,
and said, “Tell me the nature of these, if you are
right.”
They said, “Glory to Thee! Of knowledge
we have none, save what Thou hast taught us:
in truth it is Thou who art perfect in knowledge
and wisdom.”
He said, “O Adam, tell them their natures.”
When he had told them, God said, “Did I not
tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and
earth, and I know what you reveal, and what
you conceal.”
Qur’an 2.30-33

When Moses ascended on high, the ministering
angels spoke before the Holy One, blessed be
He, “Sovereign of the Universe! What business
has one born of woman among us?” “He has
come to receive the Torah,” He answered them.
They replied, “That secret treasure, which You
have hidden for nine hundred and seventy-four
generations before the world was created, You
desire to give to flesh and blood! ‘What is man,
that Thou art mindful of him, And the son of
man, that Thou visitest him?’ ‘O l ord our God,
How excellent is Thy name in all the earth!
Who hast set Thy glory [the Torah] upon the
heavens!’” (Psalm 8.5, 2).
“Reply to them,” said the Holy One to
Moses…
Moses then spoke before Him, “Sovereign
of the Universe! The Torah which You give me,
what is written in it?” “I am the l ord your God,
which brought you out of the Land of Egypt”
(Exodus 20.2). He said to the angels, “Did you
go down to Egypt; were you enslaved to Pharaoh;
why then should the Torah be yours? Again, what
is written in it? ‘You shall have no other gods’
(Exodus 20.3); do you dwell among peoples that
engage in idol worship? Again, what is written in
it? ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy’
(Exodus 20.8); do you perform work, that you
need to rest?… Again, what is written in it? ‘You
shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal’ (Exodus 20.13-15); is there
any jealousy among you; is the evil Tempter
among you?” Straightaway the angels conceded
to the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is said, “O
l ord our God, How excellent is Thy name in all
the earth,” (Psalm 8.10) whereas “Who hast set
Thy glory upon the heavens” is not written. 29
Talmud, Shabbat 88b-89a (Judaism)

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

Angels are beings that serve God. Hence, should the sons and daughters of God appear, they should rule the angels. It is the dignity of human beings to rule the angels. (84:98, February 22, 1976)

It was not only to prevent their fall that God gave immature human beings the commandment.30God also wanted them to enjoy dominion over the natural world—including the angels—by inherit-ing His creative nature. In order to inherit this creatorship, human beings should perfect themselves through their faith in the Word as their own portion of responsibility.

God gave the commandment not to the Archangel but only to the human beings. God wished to exalt the dignity of human beings as bestowed by the Principle of Creation, which entitled them to stand as God’s children and govern even the angels. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Fall 3.2

They Are My People, and You Were Cruel to Them

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Leviticus 15

Any man with an infected penis is unclean, ³whether it is stopped up or keeps dripping. ⁴Anything that he rests on or sits on is also unclean, ^5-7and if you touch either these or him, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening.

⁸If you are spit on by the man, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening. ^9-10Any saddle or seat on which the man sits is unclean. And if you touch or carry either of these, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening. ¹¹If the man touches you without first washing his hands, you must wash your clothes and take a bath, but you still remain unclean until evening. ¹²Any clay pot that he touches must be destroyed, and any wooden bowl that he touches must be washed.

¹³Seven days after the man gets well, he will be considered clean, if he washes his clothes and takes a bath in spring water. ¹⁴On the eighth day he must bring either two doves or two pigeons to the front of my sacred tent and give them to a priest. ¹⁵The priest will offer one of the birds as a sacrifice for sin and the other as a sacrifice to please me, then I will consider the man completely clean.

Richard: This passage indicates the root of the problem we are now facing with our nation and the election.
Those who allow this fraud and crime of stealing the election have deadened their conscience through killing it, effectively, by justifying how it is ok to have sexual relationships without considering the welfare of the children that are present, substantially though the sperm and egg, but also in the spirits of those engaging in the sexual act.
The end result of this is infanticide, where you extend the effective murder of your conscience to the actual murder of the unborn child.
Within this murderous culture, the conscience is deadened. The door is opened to a culture of crime. The crime in this particular case is the attempted stealing of the election.

Obadiah

¹²Why did you celebrate
when such a dreadful disaster
    struck your relatives?
Why were you so pleased
when everyone in Judah
    was suffering?
¹³They are my people,
    and you were cruel to them.
You went through their towns,
sneering
and stealing
    whatever was left.
¹⁴In their time of torment,
    you ambushed refugees
and handed them over
    to their attackers.

¹⁵The day is coming
when I, the Lord,
will judge the nations.
And, Edom, you will pay in full
for what you have done.

Richard: Stacey got this exact same Rheama just four days ago. Obadiah is a book that is just 2 pages long. The chance of this being a coincidence is zero.
God is very unhappy with the attempt of Joe Biden and the Democrats to steal the election. That attempt will not succeed. There will be grave consequences for those who are perpetrating this fraud. Those perpetrating this fraud are showing gross disrespect to those who have cast legitimate ballots. This is a blatant attempt to disenfranchise the hundreds of thousands of people who have cast their votes for Donald J Trump, only to have fraudulent ballots appear after the fact to cancel their votes.

Angels

1. The Identity and Mission of Angels

Teachings of Rev. Sun Myung Moon

God created the angelic world prior to creating the physical universe. Then, with the help of the angels, God utilized the elements of creation to form human beings. (83:155, February 8, 1976)

Angels, like all beings, were created by God. God created them prior to any other creation. In the biblical account of the creation of heaven and earth, we find that God spoke in the plural: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Gen. 1.26) This is not because God was referring to Himself as the Holy Trinity, as many theologians have interpreted the passage. Rather, He was speaking to the angels, whom He had created before human beings.

God created angels to be His retainers, who would assist Him in creating and sustaining the universe. In the Bible we find many instances of angels working for the Will of God. Angels conveyed to Abraham important words of God’s blessing (Gen. 18.10); an angel heralded the conception of Christ (Matt. 1.20); an angel unchained Peter and led him out of prison and into the city. (Acts 12.7-10) The angel who escorts John in the Book of Revelation calls himself “a servant” (Rev. 22.9), and in Hebrews angels are referred to as “ministering spirits.” (Heb. 1.14) The Bible often portrays angels honoring and praising God. (Rev. 5.11-12, 7.11-12)

Let us investigate the relationship between human beings and angels from the perspective of the Principle of Creation. Because God created us as His children and gave us dominion over all creation (Gen. 1.28), we are meant to rule over the angels as well. It is written in the Bible that we have the authority to judge the angels. (1 Cor. 6.3) Many who communicate with the spirit world have witnessed hosts of angels escorting the saints in Paradise. These observations illustrate the fact that angels have the mission to minister to human beings. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Fall 2.2.1)

In front of God, the angels were supposed to fulfill the duties of servants and serve as a protective fence for Adam and Eve. They were supposed to create a glorious environment for them to live eternally in God’s Kingdom. Then they would have lived happily with Adam and Eve in God’s love. In short, God created the angels and archangels for the sake of Adam and Eve. God, in His parental love for Adam and Eve, created the angels for their sake. (15:238, October 17, 1965)

Good spirits who passed away after living on Earth belong to the realm of angels in terms of their mission. Why? God created angels before creating Adam. Therefore, before the perfection of [the new] Adam on earth, good people are assigned the role of angels by a certain procedure. (76:324, March 15, 1975)

Men are in the position of an archangel—not the archangel who caused the Fall but a restored arch-angel.28 The angels in the Garden of Eden were given the mission to protect and nurture Adam and Eve to fulfill the ideal of God’s family, and assist them to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. However, they failed to fulfill their mission, and instead they became gangsters, following the king of hell. (281:313, March 9, 1997)

For this reason, the angels should come down to the earth and work hard, sacrificing themselves for the citizens of the Kingdom to be established by the coming Messiah. Through shedding sweat in this way, they can be restored. The spirit world is the world of angels, and the physical world is Adam’s world. Since both worlds have fallen under the power of the Devil, angels in the spirit world and “substantial” angels in the physical world should work for their liberation. Liberation is not possible only through the activities of angels in the spirit world. We need to create a substantial world of [people fulfilling the mission of] angels. (62:247, September 25, 1972)