Joined: 10/3/2007(UTC) Posts: 1,191 Location: São Paulo, Brazil Was thanked: 3 time(s) in 2 post(s)
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TOM - Chapter 15 - Ritual Purity - kp wrote:(570) The seed of copulation defiles. "If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening." (Leviticus 15:16-18) Proving once again that being "unclean" is simply indicative of the human condition (not "sin," but necessitating purification anyway), here we see that an emission of semen defiles both the man and the woman he has lain with. It is significant that God’s very first recorded command to mankind was to "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth." (Genesis 1:28) It’s axiomatic that without the "emission of semen" and without menstruation (see Mitzvah #572), this fruitfulness would have been impossible. Yahweh, having designed us, knew that. Thus His command required us to become "defiled," even before our fall into sin.
This line of reasoning leads us to an important truth: our mortal bodies are not designed to inherit heaven. They were made for this earth--made from the same elements, from "dust." I surmise that without this physical type of construction, our God-given ability to choose between good and evil would have been meaningless. Spirits, even created spirits like angels, cannot die, and Yahweh never gave them the prerogative of choice. Their assigned role is submission, obedience, and loyalty. But choice is our primary gift. We alone are given the choice of whether to reciprocate God’s love or not. In order to choose between life and death then, we must be able to comprehend what it is to die. Paul revealed the ramifications of this to the Corinthians. His bottom line was, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption." (I Corinthians 15:50)
Our bodies in all their attributes, whether physical, emotional, or intellectual, simply cannot stand in the presence of Almighty God, "from whose face the earth and heaven fled away." (Revelation 20:11) But Yahweh created us to enjoy fellowship with Him. To make that possible, He has implemented a two-stage solution. First God took upon Himself the image of a man: Yahshua walked among us and gave His life for us some 2,000 years ago, and has promised to come again to reign among us. This explains His title, Immanuel: "God with us."
The second phase is just the reverse: it requires us to change into the image of God. How is this done? Paul goes on to explain, sort of. "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’" (I Corinthians 15:51-54) Believers will be changed from mortals into immortal beings, suddenly, permanently, and all at one time. Our old bodies will be transformed, recreated, translated, into a new form that, quickened by the indwelling of God’s Spirit, will live forever. Apparently, Yahshua walked among his Disciples for forty days after His resurrection in just such a body.
This new immortal, "spiritual," body cannot be defiled or made unclean. In this body, we will experience nothing that requires cleansing, and that includes "emissions of semen." Immortality apparently cannot beget mortality; life cannot father death. Right about now, all you guys are gritting your teeth and mumbling, "Shoot. I kinda liked ‘emissions of semen.’" Will God replace sex with something you’ll find even more rewarding? Count on it. I have some questions: If Adam and Chavah remained without sin would they still be walking the earth today? If Adam was born by a humanoid, before being removed and placed in the Garden, would he not have tasted death (returned to dust) like every other animal anyway? "You return unto the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and unto dust shall you return."(Genesis 3:19) When He speaks of death in this passage, is He referring to separation, whether non-existence or eternal, instead of the act of physically dying only then to be raised up in an immortal body, or instead of physically dying being transformed in such a way as the Rapture event describes? How long would they have lived if they never sinned, because their bodies initially did come from the earth, not being a spirit being in the first place, so I assume they would have tasted physical death eventually? Do you think they sinned before or after their first sexual copulation?
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