Herod’s Temple

The temple under construction by Herod---
It need be destroyed by Roman might;
For it was not good being built by him.
For now I understand the political climate---
A gentile made the Temple great
For the greatness of his kingdom.
And the Jews loved it, but God hated it.
How it is, that that Ruler King of Tyre
Sealeth up the Sum, and seals the temple
Yet it is unlawful, and must be toppled down
By the very villains who raised it.

License to Kill by Bob Dylan Interpretation

Man thinks 'cause he rules the earth, he can do with it as he please
And if things don't change soon, he will
Oh, man has invented his doom.
First step was touching the moon.

Man invented his doom, by touching the moon--we have the capabilities to destroy the earth with space weapons and nuclear war.

Now, there's a woman on my block.
She just sit there as the night grow still.
She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

The woman is Wisdom---"She cries out in the street, 'turn ye here at my reproof." She wants man to have his license to kill taken away---as man has the license to fight wars indiscriminately, and make lawful war, like is happening in Israel right now and Ukraine.

Now, they take him and they teach him
And they groom him for life
And they set him on a path where he's bound to get ill
Then they bury him with stars
Sell his body like they do used cars

The schools and television groom you for life--it teaches you how to have your life, and be distracted. But, it sells you through the capitalist machine... you're a product for corporations, your body a tool to produce for the engine of commerce.

Now, there's a woman on my block
She just sit there facin' the hill
She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

Now, he's hell bent for destruction
He's afraid and confused
And his brain has been mismanaged with great skill
All he believes are his eyes
And his eyes, they just tell him lies

Man is hell bent on destruction---will destroy themselves through nuclear war. He's afraid by the news--such as the war in Vietnam---and he's mismanaged with great skill, believing his eyes, that there seems to be peace. But, his eyes are telling him lies... there is no peace.

But there's a woman on my block
Sitting there in a cold chill
She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

You may be noisemaker, spirit maker, heartbreaker, backbreaker;
leave no stone unturned
May be an actor in a plot, that might be all that you got
till your error you clearly learn

The plot of life, is to get rich, get all you can out of life, do the things you want to do to make life easy and enjoy your produce. You could be a very happy person, and spirited, and tough. But you're only an actor in the plot... kind of like an extra, as the world goes by, and your error you clearly learn is that you're not that important. You feel center to the stage, but you're just an extra.

Now he worships at an altar
Of a stagnant pool
And when he sees his reflection, he's fulfilled
Oh, man is opposed to fair play
He wants it all and he wants it his way

The reflection is the television, giving us our reflection, and the News and our programs we consume, which are brainwashing us. When we see our reflection, we're fulfilled. Some have said this is like Narcissus, staring at his reflection and hearing Echo behind him; maybe Wisdom is Echo? Kind of reminds me of my story St. George and the Dragon. And instead of looking back at Wisdom, and receiving her, we're selfishly glutting ourselves on the entertainment, and our reflections, as the world moves on, and we're only a minor character in this world, thinking we're the central point, or the fulcrum of it. We all have this egotism, trying to make our way in life, get the goal of a good life.

Now, there's a woman on my block.
She just sit there as the night grow still.
She say who gonna take away his license to kill?

Dylan, Bob. License to Kill. Bob Dylan.com. Web. https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/license-kill/ 6.15.25

Echinacea

The echinacea is sprouting, some already purple;
The mulberries are half ripe, and half white.
The daisies are coming out in large numbers---
Some spring flowers are growing,
The veronica, and the wild strawberries.
Today is Father's Day, and dad makes bread
In the kitchen, as my brother's coming over.
The chicories have not sprouted;
The tomatoes are sprouting their orange florets
In the pottage we bought early this summer.
Some green fruits are hanging on the branch.
The Triune is seen late at night; soon to arise.

I write this poem last night, as strife occurs in the kitchen:

"Things fall apart.
"We both forebode.
"You do provide.
"Simple words; best
"Words. I love you."

The zucchini is little shoots, but my dad pruned it
And the tomatoes, their foliage
In the pot, decaying to the roots.
We need pruned to grow healthy and strong,
Yet one day we die, and our bodies become the feed
For the roots of grass.
But hopefully long and happy life precedes it;
For there is nothing better here
Than to eat, drink, and enjoy your labor under the sun;
To grow, to drink, to knead, to shepherd.

A Word Study on The Most Controversial Verse in the Bible

Deuteronomy:22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

23 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;

24 Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

25 But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die.

26 But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:

27 For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.

Word there for "Force" is:

[H2388] (chazaq/khaw-zak') a primitive root; to
fasten upon; hence, to seize, be strong (figuratively,
courageous, causatively strengthen, cure, help,
repair, fortify), obstinate; to bind, restrain, conquer
:--aid, amend, X calker, catch, cleave, confirm, be
constant, constrain, continue, be of good (take)
courage(-ous, -ly), encourage (self), be established,
fasten, force, fortify, make hard, harden, help, (lay)
hold (fast), lean, maintain, play the man, mend,
become (wax) mighty, prevail, be recovered, repair,
retain, seize, be (wax) sore, strengthen (self), be
stout, be (make, shew, wax) strong(-er), be sure,
take (hold), be urgent, behave self valiantly,
withstand.

28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;

29 Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.

Word there for "Lay Hold on Her" is:

[H8610] (taphas/taw-fas') a primitive root; to
manipulate, i.e. seize; chiefly to capture, wield,
specifically, to overlay; figuratively, to use
unwarrantably
:--catch, handle, (lay, take) hold (on,
over), stop, X surely, surprise, take.

Genesis 4:21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

H8610 is the same word used here for "Handle".

Exodus 22:16 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.

17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

The word "Entice" is:

[H6601] (pathah/paw-thaw') a primitive root; to
open, i.e. be (causatively, make) roomy; usually
figuratively (in a mental or moral sense) to be
(causatively, make) simple or (in a sinister way)
delude:--allure, deceive, enlarge, entice, flatter,
persuade, silly (one).

The difference between the Bride Price in Exodus and Deuteronomy, is the level of enticement. The first is the moral grey area which Me Too addresses, where a woman half consents, but doesn't resist. The second is when the woman is persuaded fully. But, in both cases the woman is to be married, by the father's wish.

But if the woman fights, and resists--even if not very well, as some women are extremely timid--and cried out, it is rape, and only the man will be put to death.

Lichen and Lilies

Riddle me, it is the month of Gemini,
Of a Day numbered by Christ's Disciples,
In the year of the Snake;
Lichen grows like little tube worms
And the Tiger Lillies are first beginning.
Rioting is seen in Los Angeles,
Troops are deployed,
Despair racks my ileum
But my heart is at peace.
Like John Climacus had said
Or John Bunyan, it is by the envy of the demons
That I am tormented so;
Or the discernment of the time.
The retriever puppy licks my hand;
The mighty man is there seen once.
I pray for Rapture or to Die a Merciful Man in my bed.
Hide, yes! hide me from the wrath to come!
Yet, next year the lichen will grow
And if I am blessed enough to see it again
On this day, I shall see it there.
For all things are cyclic...
So is war and peace...
So is sin and righteousness.
So... it is all dust which blows in the wind;
Nothing parallels such majesty of its folk tune,
For time erodes all things
And the decay of forgetfulness all things.
Shall the Lotus eat my work forever?
Shall it be forgotten?
Phallused flowers grow, like a soft pink and fiery orange
And they are furry, and I've seen them for about two weeks.
They too, shall die. And maybe like the lichen
Grow in their perennial dance.
Just like war and hardship dance with peace and ease.

No Turning Back, by Timothy Murphy

1-2. The needle on a caravan refers to a caravan of camels passing through the Needle of Jerusalem.
3-4. When you make the decision to ride without a saddle, you are free... and Christ rode upon the Colt and Donkey.
5-6. The potter's tool is his treadle, the mason's grout.
7-8. He kneels to kiss God's sandals, and all the "Stones Cry out."

He was struggling with his homosexuality, his affluence and his Catholic beliefs. He made the decision to be gay, and stuck with it, but also Christian. Maybe trying to reconcile the two, that we all sin. And he's truly struggling with it. We're all affluent, so what about that?

However... affluence isn't a sin in Romans which leads to death. Or in 1 and 2 Corinthians. Homosexuality is. No man, practicing such things, can inherit eternal life. The homosexual has to repent of their homosexuality, and abstain from it, just like the adulterer or the fornicator, or the bitter man, or the slanderer or libeler or the one trying to accomplish their work of salvation themselves (Which is unrest). There can be no salvation for one who wishes to continue in their sin.

But he's struggling with that question. "If a rich man can't be saved, but is saved, why can't a sinner like me?"

I'd simply say, the righteous man wants to cease from all sin. The unregenerate does not. And God gives the power to abstain from all sin, and the willing heart, and ceases even the temptation after a while.