And they shall all belong to God,

And they shall be prospered,

And they shall all be blessed.

~Enoch 1:8

Hi,

SNOW!!!!

Proper snow!

We had two whole days of heavy snow and the whole landscape turned white. It was stunningly beautiful. I love the snow-hush…the quiet after the snow has fallen, when all the noise is all absorbed by the blanket of it. The ponies quite enjoy the snow and play in it. Netty, the older horse….she’s a Welsh Cob that my son brought home as a rescue, kicks up her back legs and flicks the snow around, then scoots round.

It’s now all melted and we’ve got back to usual Welsh weather so everywhere is soggy and muddy, but it was beautiful while it lasted!

The nights are starting to get lighter. We are still able to take the dogs for a walk until 4.45pm. It’s a dark dusk by then, but we can still see. The ground is still so soggy though and all the dogs come back from their walks filthy with thick mud, particularly Gwen who is the bog-snorkelling retriever (should be golden retriever….usually a grim grey, sticky with mud sort of retriever). Today it has been raining heavily, solidly, all day. Anya, my husband’s dog who is only a year old and has the energy of a hyperactive toddler after eating 5 mars bars, still pestered to go for her usual 2 walks (each an hour long!) but the rest of the dogs slunk in their baskets hoping no one would say the w-a-l-k word.

I am typing this with Gwen (a relatively clean Gwen) sat balanced on my lap. It’s really funny…we have 5 dogs, as you know (2 retrievers Gwen & Carrie, a vizsla Anya, Lenny the Liability who is a very solid staffy and Dilys, my sausage dog). Dilys is by far the smallest and is very much the boss. We think that Dilys has never seen herself in the mirror and thinks she’s huge (possibly a Doberman) and the 4 other bigger dogs all think they are tiny lap dogs. My children, when they don’t think I can hear, call Dilys the ‘doberpig’ because they say she is the top half of a Doberman and the bottom half looks like a pig….

The children and I have been glued to the news this week…its been an interesting week for world politricks , with the American impeachment and the new president’s inauguration, the new Brexit rules and the Covid vaccinations. It’s a very strange world at the moment and I wonder what it will look like when it all settles down, what will go back to how it was before and what will now have changed forever. I wonder how long it is going to be before we are able to start up meetings again…its not looking like any time soon. The news I hear from Berwyn doesn’t sound brilliant. I am so aware of how incredibly difficult it must be for you to stay isolated for such a long time, not be able to have visits, not have any of the activities you usually have. I hope these letters remind you that I am thinking of you, praying for you and hoping the situation will get better for you all.

Right, I will get started with this week’s resources…

Kebra Negast

46. How they made a plan concerning ZION And while AZÂRYÂS was asleep at night the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, “Take to thee four goats, each a yearling-now they shall be for your sins, thyself, and ’ÊLMEYÂS, and ’ABÎS, and MÂKRÎ-and four pure sheep, yearlings also, and an ox whereon no yoke hath ever been laid. And thou shalt offer up the ox as a sacrifice on the east side of her (i.e., ZION), and the sheep and the goats to the right, and left thereof, and at the west of it, which is close to its exit. And your Lord DAVID shall speak to SOLOMON the King and shall say unto him, ‘One thing I ask from thee, O father, I would offer up a sacrifice to the holy city JERUSALEM, and to my Lady ZION, the holy and heavenly Tabernacle of the Law of God.’ And SOLOMON shall say unto him, ‘Do so.’ And DAVID shall say unto him, ‘Let the son of the priest offer up sacrifice on my behalf, even as he knoweth’; and he will give thee the command, and thou shalt offer up the sacrifice. And thou shalt bring forth the Tabernacle of the Law of God after thou hast offered up the sacrifice, and I will again show thee what thou shalt do in respect of it as to bringing it out; for this is from God. For ISRAEL hath provoked God to wrath, and for this reason He will make the Tabernacle of the Law of God to depart from him.”

And when AZÂRYÂS awoke from his dream he rejoiced greatly, and his heart and his mind were clear, and he remembered everything that the Angel of the Lord had shown him in the night, and how he had sealed him [with the sign of the Cross], and given him strength and heartened him. And he went to his brethren, and when they were gathered together he told them everything that the Angel of God had shown him: how the Tabernacle of the Law of God had been given to them, and how God had made blind His eye in respect of the kingdom of ISRAEL, and how its glory had been given to others, and they themselves were to take away the Tabernacle of the Law of God, and how the kingdom of SOLOMON was to be seized by them-with the exception of two “rods”, and how it was not to be left to ÎYÔRBĔ‛ÂM (REHOBOAM) his son, and how the kingdom of ISRAEL was to be divided. And [AZÂRYÂS said], “Rejoice with me. I rejoice because it hath been shown unto me thus; for the grace of their priesthood and kingdom shall depart with us, and it shall be by the Will of God. Thus said he (i.e., the Angel) unto me. And now come ye, and let us go and tell DAVID our Lord so that he may say to his father, ‘I will offer up a sacrifice.'”

And they went and told [DAVID, the son of SOLOMON] and he rejoiced, and he sent to YÔ‛AS (BENAIAH), the son of YÔDÂḤÊ, to come to him, that he might send him to his father, and he came. And DAVID sent him to his father SOLOMON, and he said unto him, “Send me away, for I will depart to my own country, together with everything that thy goodness hath given me; and may thy prayers accompany me always whithersoever I shall go. But now there is one petition which I would make unto thee, if peradventure I have found grace with thee, and turn not away thy face from me. For I thy servant am going to depart, and I wish to offer up a sacrifice of propitiation (or, salvation) for my sins in this thy holy city of JERUSALEM and of ZION, the Tabernacle of the Law of God. And peace [be] with thy majesty.”

*

Reasoning

Command

Ezekiel 43 v12
12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

Will

Proverbs 9 v 1, 9-11
1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

Desire

Exodus 15 v1-2
1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he
thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, is my
strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he, Emperor Haile
Selassie I, is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s
God, and I will exalt him.

Wish

Isaiah 26 v1-2
1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

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I thought that this was a really interesting article from the website, ‘The Rastaites’…

Rastafari Meditation On The Birth In The History Of Israel

Israel is the firstborn of God.

He was born when he came out of the land of Egypt where he suffered because of chains and spiritual loneliness.
There he was a slave.
He lost his hope dreaming of freedom, he fought every instant to defend his identity and only through his freedom, he achieved his birth.
Running away in fact, he became the protagonist of God’s plan.
After the escape, the desert was his childhood; the ‘child’ Israel was educated with the Law.
It is not by chance in fact that in the Jewish tradition Mount Sinai is called ‘my mother’s house’ because just like a mother the Law has provided for this unique child especially in the first part of his life.
Like a child in the presence of his father, Israel makes mistakes but also good things.
Israel is praised but also punished, he is encouraged and hearten, he is in good health but sometimes he gets sick.
The Lord as a good father also supports him with physical food. Through the accuracy of the Law and the example of the Patriarchs, he guides him gradually.

The Almighty then chooses David who will give birth to the kingdom of God on Earth.
This is a new birth, a father-son election where David is led towards something he does not know.
Just like young children who have to rely on their parents because they have no other way of measuring the world and life itself.
In fact, David is chosen as a very young man.
He is educated with promises just as we do with children.

From David comes Solomon who generates Menelik I and from him the lineage of the true Israel will begin.
If we look carefully at Menelik for a moment, we can see a son who is far from his father for many years.
Until the adult age, he remains with his mother, dreams, and yearns to know his father.
He is fascinated and intrigued because he is aware of the greatness of his own father.
Menelik represents the man conscious of the greatness of the Father Creator but still too far from Him, he aspires to Him and is thirsty for His greatness but cannot reach him yet.
It is no by coincidence that only when Menelik I will be finally reunited with his father Solomon then will officially begin the new Alliance with the true Israel-Ethiopia.
This will be caused by the moving of the Ark towards the South.
Just like the human being who re-connect with the Almighty begins a new life, a new era, a new election.

When Mankind is ready, God establishes a new birth, no longer through human succession but this time is God generating God.

The Creator generates Iyasos Krestos in the fullness of the divine plan, divine power concentrated in a human person. Divine will and plan are openly manifested through this birth.
Christ is born as the element of perfect balance in Creation. He is born among his own people, among humans but yet close to animals.
This happened because He reigns over close and distant men, but also on the animal kingdom.
He is the hinge between Heaven and Earth. Christ came to share His unique state.
We the human beings are a bit like Him … we all are children just as He is a son, like a big brother He shows us the way to our common Father.
Christ spiritually generates disciples-children who subsequently enlighten and awaken people by sharing their Divine filiation and recognize themselves as new men born from the Word and the Spirit.

Here is a new birth.

As every being needs a seed to be born, here is the Word as the new seed that generates the new man.
Together with the Word there is the Spirit that strengthens it and makes it perceptible, creating a new and regenerated Mankind that can now claim the right to eternal and divine inheritance.
This new generation is born from an incorruptible and timeless seed and can finally take part to the New Creation.

After two thousand years, the Son of Man returns to earth to fulfil the vital promises: he comes to establish the moral and physical Kingdom for which he has previously prepared His sons-brothers.
In the new birth of His Imperial Majesty Qadamawi Haile Selassie, we contemplate the last and definitive salvific birth that leads us to Eternity with a new role: Mankind in fact now is collaborator of God, rules with Him.
Israel, the ancient child, was once generated, then educated and now has an occupation just as all adults have. Since the Revelation of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie The First, Mankind works with God for the final edification of His Kingdom.

In the new Covenant with the new spiritual Israel, namely Ethiopia and the Rastafari Movement, the Creator sits at the same table of government.
This last birth has therefore generated the last mission for the definitive happiness and wellbeing of the human race.
With the Coronation of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie The First in 1930 the final birth occurred and we know that according to Christian tradition, every birth has to have a baptism.
In that occasion, the new people were baptized and anointed with the new name.
It is not coincidence that at the same time His Majesty Ras Tafari Makonnen took on His divine and baptismal name Qadamawi Haile Selassie, Ian’ I became “the Rastafari” taking on the human name of our Father.

Ian’I Rastafari are the living testimony of a mystical, spiritual and intellectual birth, day after day we remain devoted to celebrate life.
Ian’I are born again through Word Sound and Power to be a new life every day regenerated by the Power of the Holy Trinity.
Birth is the daily experience that we live in every moment, every day the covenant regenerates us and the Spirit marks our life moments. We are warriors, protectors of life, confident and sure of the victory of good over evil.
We are like recipients of birth because through our reflections and meditations we outline the parameters of the new Kingdom.

We are children and parents.
Living this Rastafari Way of Life we manifest and keep alive the Livity. In a sense, it is as if we keep generating the Livity every day through our own experience.
At the same time, we are nourished and we learn from the same Rastafari Livity, we are servants yet custodians of a conduct of life that has the power to redeem and save our very soul.
This Rastafari life path becomes our own existence and the regulation of our lives.
We live constantly in a state of birth, whose joy now no longer ends. We live in an eternal beginning that flows undisturbed along the lines of time.
We are children and parents at the same time.

With our very life experience Ian’I generate awareness of the blessings that this life brings and manifest the righteousness that helps to live better. Every word pronounced in spirit and overstanding is a new birth for Ian’I and for the listeners too.
When Ian’ I Rastafari speak and a new brother or sister sights the faith because of our humble but instrumental words, then we contributed to birth.
trough our work and commitment in that moment the Almighty make possible for the seed that is planted in every human being to sprout and become a wonderful flower.
Ian’I can be simple vessels, humble intermediaries always ready to recognize the birth in every moment. Ready to see the new heartical way and the new life that reign over evil and death.

We spiritually rejoice as parents who every day see their son being born.
In observing the triumph of the Kingdom of God, Ian’I hearts are filled and manifest flowing joy.
Birth is the maximum fullness of novelty, and novelty is one of the characteristics of God: to be always new, always regenerated, always present but never old.
Ian’I walks in novelty and manifests it in all respects.
Our Father in fact bears a new name, Ian’I prays and speaks a new way, Ian’I read history with a new interpretation, Ian’I relates to the world with a new awareness and have a renovated world view, Ian’I also eat in a new way, Ian’I have a new physical appearance too.
Ian’I live in the fullness of an original novelty … ancient but at the same time always new.

This novelty was revealed to a new people called to bring back Mankind attention to the original people of Creation.

Ian’I are witnesses, interpreters, narrators of the divine joy on Earth, of the constant vital birth that permeates this planet, of the perennial Christmas in which our souls and our bodies live.

Selah

Ras Julio

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I found this on a Rastafari site and remembered that a few of you have been asking for a copy of the Apocrypha. As I can’t sort that out in person at the moment, I thought you would be interested to read this. This is taken from the website ‘Earth, Culture, Roots’….

ETHIOPIAN BOOK OF ENOCH

From-The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament
R.H. Charles

1 The words of the blessing of Enoch, wherewith he blessed the elect and righteous, who will be 2 living in the day of tribulation, when all the wicked and godless are to be removed. And he took up his parable and said -Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw, but not for this generation, but for a remote one which is 3 for to come. Concerning the elect I said, and took up my parable concerning them:

The Holy Great One will come forth from His dwelling,
4 And the eternal God will tread upon the earth, (even) on Mount Sinai,
[And appear from His camp] And appear in the strength of His might from the heaven of heavens.

5 And all shall be smitten with fear
And the Watchers shall quake,
And great fear and trembling shall seize them unto the ends of the earth.

6 And the high mountains shall be shaken,
And the high hills shall be made low,
And shall melt like wax before the flame

7 And the earth shall be wholly rent in sunder,
And all that is upon the earth shall perish,
And there shall be a judgement upon all (men).

8 But with the righteous He will make peace.

And will protect the elect,
And mercy shall be upon them.

And they shall all belong to God,
And they shall be prospered,
And they shall all be blessed.

And He will help them all,
And light shall appear unto them,
And He will make peace with them’.

9 And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones
To execute judgement upon all,
And to destroy all the ungodly:

And to convict all flesh
Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed,
And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.

*

Martin Luther King

“When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

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I put this quote in because it is a quote from a very great man and it’s the 92nd anniversary of his birth on Friday 15th….and then I thought about taking it back out again. The more I read it, the more unhappy it made me. Just in our small world, the amount of times this has been so far from the reality and also its been noticeable the seriousness of those situations. I am putting this quote here then, to remind everyone…me included…that it is no good taking the quote away because it’s upsetting, that this is the responsibility of everyone and that this is achievable, but only with everyone….”black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics,” Rastafari and their Rasta miss. This letter also goes out as a blog on wordpress… ‘lockdownletter.com’ so this is read by a wider audience, of people I don’t know & I’ve never met, and that quote is for there too.

…which brings me neatly to: I started putting these letters on a blog for all of you. It is the best I can do for you as you leave Berwyn. Some of you leave back to loving families, ready to start again. For some of you, leaving is frightening, with few resources and not much support. Whoever you are, whatever you are leaving to, when one of our group leaves…you leave with my prayers and thoughts. And then the next best thing I could do for you is provide the weekly readings and prayers to keep you close to JAH Rastafari. I know that a couple of people from our group are preparing to leave and one of the things that this awful virus has taken away is being able to meet as a group, say goodbye as a group….but as always you leave with my prayers and thoughts.

And because you are all facing tough times, because we aren’t able to meet, because some of you are leaving, because we are all at risk from this dangerous virus, because we are all at risk from strain on our mental health, because of this and also because I pray JAH’s blessings for you, today’s prayer is a blessing…

Prayer

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I am finishing this all off in a hurry….this week has been so busy and I really want to get this sent so you all have something to read this week.

This week has been a muddle of work being done on the house (part of the roof taken off!….probably the worst week to have done it with all that rain), work on the useless electrics, poorly daughter, new term for my degree and all the new topic to get my head around (my poor brain cell hurts! 😊), Archie, my big grey cat, has been really poorly too…so I hope this letter doesn’t feel too rushed because my thoughts are still with you all. Hopefully, next week’s letter will make better sense!

Blessings,

Elizabeth