(This is the continuation of last week's post.) Says Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:1-5: “I must boast; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven–whether in the body … [Read more...]
The Mystery of the Merkabah – “What Was That Paradise?”
Sometime around the beginning of the 11th century, an Iraqi Jewish academician named Hai Gaon had to field a query from a puzzled reader of the Talmud: "With respect to that which our rabbis taught, 'Four entered Paradise, Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, the "Other One" and Rabbi Akiba'--what was that … [Read more...]
Lost Horizon, Deadly Paradise – Quaternity Tales (Part 3)
"Conway went to the balcony and gazed at the dazzling plume of Karakal; the moon was riding high in a waveless ocean. ... He was only partly unhappy, but he was infinitely and rather sadly perplexed. He did not know whether he had been mad and was now sane, or had been sane for a time and was now … [Read more...]
Lost Horizon, Deadly Paradise – Quaternity Tales (Part 1)
"Four entered Paradise. One looked and died; one looked and went mad; one mutilated the young plants; one entered safely and came out safely." No, this isn't a plot summary for James Hilton's wildly popular novel Lost Horizon, turned by Frank Capra into a somewhat less popular film. It's the … [Read more...]
