Sunday, February 17, 2019

The Purim Party

What is the best way to celebrate Purim?

Purim is a two day holiday that commemorates the Jews in the Persian Empire being saved from annihilation (Esther 9:20-22).

Purim occurs on the two days that the Jews in the Persian Empire celebrated their victory over their enemies (Esther 9:15-19).  It is called Purim (lots) because of the Pur (lot) that was cast by their enemy to determine when to destroy them (Esther 9:24-26).  It was made into an official holiday throughout the Persian Empire and has continued to be observed ever since (Esther 9:29-32).

Purim is not just for Jews, but for the Gentile Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) as well (Esther 9:27-28).

In the days of Esther, many Gentiles became Jews and celebrated Purim with the Jews (Esther 8:17).  In like manner, every Gentile, who has had their heart circumcise by coming into the House of Truth, also becomes a Jew (Romans 2:29).  The heritage of the Jews becomes their heritage as well (Romans 11:16-25).  They become part of the Israel that the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) always intended - even if they are not circumcised in the flesh (Galatians 6:15-16).  They become part of the commonwealth of Israel along with the Jewish Children of Truth (Ephesians 2:11-17).

So, Purim is their holiday in an even greater sense than it is the holiday of Jews with uncircumcised hearts.  The celebration of Purim and the story of Esther has many applications to the life of every Child of Truth.  It is not just a Jewish thing.

Like Esther, they should be living to please the King.  Like Esther, when they are in difficult circumstance, they should choose the path of true love

Like Esther, who had to overcome the Spirit of Anti-Jewism, they will have to overcome the Spirit of Antichrist.  Like Esther, they will see the end of Anti-Jewism and complete victory over the plans of the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil), if their confidence in the Father of Truth leads to action.

Like Esther, there is nothing accidental about their circumstances, for they were also put where they are for such a time as this.  Like Esther, they will not be able to see the hidden hand of the Father of Truth in their circumstances, until after they have won the victory.

Most Gentile believers have no idea how to celebrate Purim.  The best way to celebrate Purim is like any other holiday in the Book of Truth - apply the principles of the holiday that are found in the Book of Truth.

Purim is to be a celebration of feasting and joy - a party (Esther 9:17-18).  This Purim Party is not just people celebrating in their individual homes, but sharing food with one another, so that nobody is left out of the celebration (Esther 9:19).

The Elements of the Party

The Purim Party is a feast for everyone, rich and poor, just like the one that King Ahasuerus gave (Esther 1:5).  The feast is accompanied by the giving of gifts like King Ahasuerus gave at the feast of Esther (Esther 2:18).  This feast is not just for friends and family, but is meant for the poor and the handicapped as well (Luke 14:12-14).  The poor and the handicapped are to be sought out in the streets to come to this feast (Luke 14:21).

There is great diversity of food and drink at the Purim Party according the customs of many places after the manner of the Persians (Esther 1:8).   A triangle shaped cookie called Hamantaschen (literally the pocket of Haman) containing either filling that is harden into a candy or left soft like pie filling, is eaten to remind people that Haman was willing to pay out of his own pocket to have the Jewish people exterminated (Esther 3:8-9).  Smoked turkey, or shredded turkey cooked in flavorful sauces, is often included to remind people of King Ahasuerus, who was as clueless as a domesticated turkey (Esther 3:10-11).  The food at the feast is not just Persian food like Naan, Paneer, and Biryani, but also food from every where that the Persian empire covered including India, Ethiopia, Egypt, Turkey, and the Middle East as well as food inspired by countries that bordered Persia, such as the milk based dishes of Russia and the rice based dishes of China (Esther 8:9-10).  In particular, dried fruits found in Persia - cherries, apricots, plums (prunes) and mangoes - as well as the four nuts found in Persia - pistachios, almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts - are present because the feast happened at the end of winter in the twelfth month, Adar (Esther 9:21-22).

The Purim Party has decorations in the colors of white, green, blue, purple, silver, gold, red, and black, which the Persians used to decorate the court of the palace in Shushan (Esther 1:6).  The cups and eating utensils are diverse and gold in color like they were in the court of the palace (Esther 1:7).

People play games of chance, particularly using dice, or having a lottery, because it was the casting of lots by Haman that determined the date when the Jews were to be killed (Esther 3:7-13).  This casting of lots is reason the holiday is called Purim (lots) (Esther 9:24-26).  In particular, a dice or a lottery or both are used in distributions to the poor, so that the Father of Truth is deciding the distribution (Proverbs 16:33).

The Purim Party is a costume party, where people hide their faces with masks to commemorate how people hid their identity in the story of Esther.  Esther hid her Jewish ancestry (Esther 2:18-20).  Bigthan and Teresh hid their intentions to kill King Ahasuerus (Esther 2:21).  Mordecai hid his role in saving King Ahasuerus (Esther 2:22-23).  Haman hid his intentions to kill Mordecai (Esther 6:3-5).   King Ahasuerus hid his desire to honor Mordecai (Esther 6:6-10).

The news of the Purim Party is to spread throughout the streets, just as the news of the decree for the Jews to be saved was spread throughout the Persian Empire (Esther 8:9-14).  People should be sought out to attend the Purim Party until there are enough to fill the room and eat all the food (Luke 14:22-23).

This Purim Party includes giving gifts to the poor (Esther 9:21-22).  The givers are not to let the receivers know who gave them the gift, so that the poor will only have the Father of Truth to thank (Matthew 6:1-4).  This includes secretly putting money into a Tzedakah (literally "Righteousness"), a box for holding money to be given to the poor, similar to the treasury box that was in the Temple (Mark 12:41-44).

The Purim Party includes a narrator reading the Megillah (Scroll), the scroll containing the entire book of Esther, so people will remember the goodness of the Father of Truth in saving them from annihilation (Esther 9:23-28).

When the Megillah is read, people make noise to drown out the name of Haman, just as King Ahasuerus removed the name of Haman from the position of prime minister and from his house (Esther 8:1-2).  Just before the name of Haman is spoken, the narrator signals that the name of Haman is about to be read by doing one of the following: Striking their hands together, making a disgusted look on their face, or stomping one of their feet loudly.  As soon as the signal is given people start making noise to drown out the name of Haman while the word Haman is being read by doing one of the following:  Making noise with a noise maker such as a gragger (grogger), booing with their mouths, banging on something like hitting pots and pans with metal spoons, or stomping loudly with their feet.  When a few seconds have passed, the narrator raises their hand, all noise stops, and the story resumes.

When the Megillah is read, people cheer to exalt the name of Mordecai and Esther, just as King Ahasuerus exalted Mordecai to the position of prime minister and gave Esther the house of Haman (Esther 8:7-10).   When the name of Mordecai or Esther is spoken, the narrator signals that people are to cheer by doing one of the following: Changing their voice to one of laughter and delight while reading these names, singing these names, or clapping their hands as soon as they finish reading these names.  As soon as the signal is given people start making merry to cheer the name of Mordecai or Esther after the word Mordecai or Esther is being read by doing one of the following:  Cheering loudly with their mouths, break out in joyful singing, playing tambourines, locking arms with each other and dancing in little circles, or clapping with their hands.  When a few seconds have passed, the narrator raises their hand, all noise stops, and the story resumes.

Putting the Elements Together

Giving gifts to the poor is where everything comes together.  This is done in several ways.

Congregations work together to host the Purim Party.  Since Purim last two days, one congregation might host it at their meeting place on the first day and another congregation do the same on the second day.

Every attender of the Purim Party comes in a costume, preferably with a mask to hide their face.  Since members of different congregations may not know each other, that further adds to the hiding of their identity.

Someone is appointed as Governor of the Feast.  Each attender brings a dish for the feast of the Purim Party that is large enough to at least feed their family and another family of the same size.  The dishes of food are placed in a designated area under the care of the Governor of the Feast.

Members of these congregations bring in non-perishable food items and practical items like diapers and soap.  These items are placed in paper bags or the like.  There is no particular order to what goes in each bag, other than maybe a separation of bags that contain items for families with babies or young children from bags that do not contain these items.  All bags are more or less equal by volume.  People can also donate money by putting it in a Tzedakah (Righteous), sometimes referred to as a poor box.

Next, some of the costumed attenders take some of the bags and go to houses where poor people are known to live.  They then offer who ever answers the door a bag of goodies, and invite them to the Purim Party as their special guests.  Special effort is given to invite the elderly, widows, fatherless children, foreigners, and the handicapped.

When these special guests arrive, they are given something to wear as a costume.  A decorative paper mask is usually given at the minimum.

After this, there is often a parade of costumed attenders through the streets near the Purim Party.  In the parade, there is music, singing, dancing, and comedic performances - especially by clowns and jesters.  As the parade goes through the streets, the costumed attenders throw candy and party favors in the colors of Purim, particularly costume jewelry like necklaces, rings, and crowns, to the spectators.  They also invite the spectators to come and join the Purim Party as guests.  The spectators are invited to add to the contributions for the poor, if they are able and so desire.  They are also given at least decorative masks, if they need them.

After this, everyone at the party gathers around for the reading of the Megillah.

After the reading of the Megillah, there is a period of making merry and mingling.  At the beginning of this period, everyone is informed that if they are in need, then hold their hand out during the mingling.  Someone else who is able, then places some money in their hand to help them.  After receiving enough handouts, they close their hands and enjoy the festivities.

During this period of merry making, people play games of chance - especially with dice.  There might be booths with wheels of fortune or other like games of chance.  The prizes given during this time should generally be ridiculous and useless.  The goal is to get people laughing.

Then the feast begins with some sort of fanfare by the Governor of the Feast.  The Governor of the Feast makes a short and humorous speech about the reason for the feast.  When the speech is over, then the Governor of the Feast leads everyone in thanking the Father of Truth for the feast that they are about to eat.  Then everyone starts eating.

After everyone has eaten, then the Governor of the Feast leads everyone in thanking the Father of Truth that everyone has eaten and is satisfied.

Next the rest of the donated items and cash are distributed to the poor using some mechanism of chance to determine who gets what.  This can involve the poor throwing dice to determine who gets a particular item, names being drawn out of a hat for the same reason, the poor playing bingo, or the poor being given tickets for a lottery to determine this.

There can be equal distributions of the remaining donated items and money, so that each player ends up with about the same amount of items and money, although not the same kind of items.

Alternatively, there can be some sort of elimination, where once a person has been selected to received their distribution, then they cannot play any more.  Sometimes, the last person left after everyone else has been selected, receives all of the remaining money in the Tzedakah, as well as all remaining donated items.

After the distribution to the poor by means of chance is over, everyone pitches in to help in the clean up, and goes home.  The Purim Party is over.

Purim Traditions that are contrary to the Book of Truth

The Rabbis teach that people should get so drunk at Purim that they cannot tell the difference between Haman and Mordecai.  This is just another example of Rabbinic Distort.

Getting drunk can cause people to become naked, and not even know what happened to them while they were drunk (Genesis 9:21-24).  When people drink too much wine, they can have sex with someone, and not even know that they had sex with them (Genesis 19:32-35).

Wine makes a fool of the drinker, and strong drink causes them to lose control of their passions, leading them to do foolish and harmful things (Proverbs 20:1).  Strong drink is not fit for those who rule and those who desire to keep the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law), but it is only fit for those who are perishing (Proverbs 31:4-7).

It was drinking too much strong drink and wine that caused the Jews to go into captivity (Isaiah 5:11-13).  It was drinking too much wine and strong drink that caused the Jews to cast away the Law of Truth (Isaiah 5:22-24).

So the Children of Truth are not be drunk on wine, but rather on the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost), so that they may know the will of the Father of Truth and rejoice in Him with singing (Ephesians 5:17-19).  They are not live like those who do not know the Father of Truth, by drinking too much wine (1 Peter 4:2-4).

Those who rule over the congregation of the Children of Truth must never be controlled by drinking too much wine (1 Timothy 3:2-5).  Those who assist in taking care of the congregation of the Children of Truth must also never drink too much wine (1 Timothy 3:8-9).  The leaders of the congregation must never get drunk, so that they can demonstrate that they are teaching sound doctrine (Titus 1:7-9).  Even the older women must never get drunk, so that they can teach the younger women how to be good wives and mothers (Titus 2:3-5).

The Rabbis also teach, that in years with a leap month, that Purim should be celebrated in the thirteenth month called Veadar (Second Adar), instead of the twelfth month called Adar.

The deliverance of the Jews occurred on the twelfth month called Adar (Esther 9:1-5).  The commandment given by Mordecai specifically states that Purim is to be celebrated in this month called Adar every year without exception (Esther 9:20-21).

The grander party yet to come

The Purim Party is a picture of a grander party that is yet to come.

The Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) is going to host a party that will never be over (Psalm 16:9-11).  He was resurrected from the dead to host this party (Acts 2:28-31).

The Children of Truth will join in this never ending party (Psalm 36:7-9).  All sorrow and every bad thing that has happened to them will be forgotten at this party (Revelation 21:1-4).  There will be food and drink for everyone, and no one will ever need to hide their identity again (Revelation 22:1-4).  Only those who keep the commandments of the Father of Truth will be at this never ending party (Revelation 22:11-15).

The only way to attend this unending party is to come into the House of Truth.

Anyone can get on the guest list, if they will make a commitment to obey the Man of Truth, because they believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).  Everyone is invited to come to this party (Revelation 22:17)!

Come into the House of Truth!

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Sunday, February 10, 2019

Ketubah

What is the best way to keep things good in a marriage?

On the television show "Big Bang Theory", Sheldon creates relationship agreements for every relationship he is in.  He has a roommate agreement for his roommates, friendship agreements for his friends, and a marriage agreement for his wife.  Often he has ridiculous clauses in these agreements.

People find the entire concept of a relationship agreement funny.  However, Dr. Sheldon Cooper is not the author of relationship agreements.  Jews have had a relationship agreement for marriage for thousands of years.  It is called a Ketubah.

Although not called by that name, this idea used to be normal in America.  That is why when a man asks a woman to marry him, it said that the woman received a marriage proposal.  This used to be literal, not figurative.  A man would draw up a proposal for marriage with clauses stating what he would do for the woman and what she would do for him.  The woman could accept the proposal as written, reject it outright, or negotiate for better terms.  The wise woman would negotiate for better terms, if she was willing to marry the man.

Like a Ketubah, this was a legally binding document.  Once it was signed by both parties, the terms could only be changed by mutual agreement.  Also, like a Ketubah, some terms were mandatory by the nature of the relationship and were not negotiable.

This legally binding document was a marriage contract.  The man could not touch the woman until the deal was finalized by a ceremony in front of witnesses. This is where the expression, "No Contract, No Contact" came from.

The first time the man could kiss the woman, was when the wedding ceremony ended with these words, "You may now kiss the bride.".  The preacher meant that literally.

Except for my family, this has almost completely faded out in America.  This is due to the same subtle influence of later European immigrants with completely different values than people like the Pilgrims, who founded this country under the influence of the Book of Truth (The Bible).

Today, it is not uncommon to see a Ketubah displayed prominently in a Jewish home in America.  Sometimes the wife will tap her feet and point at it, when her husband is putting off something that he would rather avoid doing.

The earliest known Ketubah was written around 440 B.C., during the time of the Persian Empire.  The word "Ketubah" is not found in the Book of Truth. It appears to have been created as a Jewish adaptation of the Babylonian marriage contract during the Babylonian Exile.

The Babylonian marriage contract had existed since the time when Abraham (Abram) grew up in Ur of the Chaldeans.  Many of the aspects of the Babylonian marriage contract, including the bride price (mohar), were present among the descendants of Abraham until the time of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ).

The Ketubah has since then been adapted in many ways, as Jews have been dispersed in many lands and cultures, since the time of the Man of Truth.  It has many forms, and the customs about where to display it, if at all, vary from place to place.  Still, some things have remained as universal among all forms of the Ketubah.

However, the Ketubah did not originate with the Jews, or the Babylonians, but with the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD).  He laid out His mandatory terms of the Ketubah in the Book of Truth.

MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS

UNION

Husband and wife must join their bodies together in sex to produce children.  This was the very first commandment that the Father of Truth ever gave to the human race (Genesis 1:26-28).   The husband is to know his wife sexually, so that she can become pregnant (Genesis 4:1).  This obligation is so serious, that if the husband should die childless, then his brother is to marry his wife, so she can become pregnant by him (Matthew 22:24).

Sex is not optional for husband and wife, but a commandment of the Father of Truth.  The wife must not show her husband disrespect by denying him sexual pleasure, so that she does not give him a cause to deal deceitfully with her by divorcing her (Exodus 21:8). [The depth of this is better understood when you read it in Hebrew and Greek (Evil eye / disrespect).  This is not the wife doing her best to do what her husband wants, but failing to perform well enough to please her husband, but a disrespectful refusal to perform what her husband wants.]  The husband is commanded to be constantly drunk on sex with his wife (Proverbs 5:19).  Husband and wives owe sex to each other, and are thieves if they do not engage in sex with each other (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).

Husbands and wives who do not whole-heartedly engage in sex with their spouses to the best of their ability are liars and thieves.  It is not fulfilling the commandment of the Father of Truth to husbands and wives to just go through the motions of sex with each other.  The wife is supposed to experience pleasure when engaged in sex with her husband (Genesis 18:10-12).  A husband is supposed to do things to arouse his wife to desire sex (Genesis 26:7-9).  They are supposed to give each other pleasure when they are engaged in sex (Proverbs 5:18-19).

This commandment includes husband and wife only engaging in sex when it is the right time for love.  They are not to engage in sex when they are going to come into the presence of the Father of Truth for a special occasion (Exodus 19:14-16).  They are not to engage in sex until after the wife has recovered from child birth - 40 days for a boy, but 80 days for a girl  (Leviticus 12:2-5).  They are not to engage in sex from when the wife starts her monthly issuance of blood until the eighth day after it ends (Leviticus 15:19-28).

The commandment allows for husband and wife to refrain from engaging in sex under certain circumstances.  They may refrain when something like fighting a war prevents them from being together so they can engage in sex (2 Samuel 11:11).  They may refrain when their health does not allow them to engage in sex (1 Kings 1:1-4).  They may refrain in order to seek the Father of Truth with fasting and prayer - if they both agree (1 Corinthians 7:5).

This commandment is to protect husband and wife from harm.  It is to keep them from committing any of the sexual sins that the Father of Truth hates (Leviticus 20:10-23).  It is to keep them from bringing venereal diseases and other damage to their bodies (1 Corinthians 6:18).  When husband and wife whole-heartedly engage in sex with each other, then it helps them to avoid engaging in sex outside of their marriage - similar to how when someone is stuffed, they do not want to eat anything else (1 Corinthians 7:2).

SEPARATION

Husband and wife must leave their parents and cleave to each other.  The husband must leave his parents to be with his wife (Genesis 2:24).  The wife must leave her parents to be with her husband (Genesis 24:58).  Where ever the husband goes, his wife must go there as well (Genesis 31:14-18).

PLEASING

Husbands and wives must seek to please each other in every way possible - even like Esther was living to please the king, her husband.  It is so serious, that the husband cannot do anything will take him away from learning what brings joy to his wife during the first year of marriage (Deuteronomy 24:5).  The husband is to be concerned with doing things to please his wife (1 Corinthians 7:33).  The wife is also to be concerned with doing things to please her husband (1 Corinthians 7:34).

LOVE

Husbands and wives must not just look to do the bare minimum required, but they must choose the path of true love.  The husband must choose to love his wife as much as he loves his own body (Ephesians 5:28).  The husband must choose to love his wife at all times, and choose not to be bitter towards her, when she has displeased him in some manner (Colossians 3:19).  The wife must learn how to choose to love her husband at all times as well (Titus 2:4).

HUSBAND OBLIGATIONS

PROVIDE

The husband must provide material things for his wife.  The husband must provide his wife food, clothing, and shelter, as well as sex (Exodus 21:10). [The Hebrew word here, "Kesot", is plural and literally means "coverings".  It means both a covering of the body, such as clothing, and a covering from the elements, such as a house.]  In fact, the husband must provide a place for his wife to live in, before she can live with him as his wife (John 14:3).  The husband, who does not provide for his wife, is worse than an idol worshiper (1 Timothy 5:8).

LEAD

The husband must provide leadership for his wife.  The husband must not remain silent, when he learns that his wife has made a foolish promise, but must cancel her promise, because his silence is consent, so then he becomes responsible to ensure that her promise is kept (Numbers 30:13-15).  The husband must treat his wife as a daughter of the Father of Truth when he leads her (1 Corinthians 9:5).  The husband must lead his wife, because the Father of Truth has made him the head of his wife (1 Corinthians 11:3).

PROTECT

The husband must protect his wife.  The husband must be willing to give up his own protective covering to cover his wife with protection (Ruth 3:9-13). ("Spread your skirt over me" is an idiom for "protect me as my husband".)  The husband must willing to risk his life to protect his wife (1 Samuel 30:18).  The husband must be willing to give up his life to protect his wife, like the Man of Truth did for the Called Out Ones (Ephesians 5:25).

VALUE

The husband must do all of these things because he values his wife.  The husband is to always desire to see his wife (Ezekiel 24:16).  The husband is to always glory in his wife being the most important person on Earth to him (1 Corinthians 11:7).  The husband is always treat his wife with honor and handle her gently like a valuable, but fragile, vase, because she is his partner in life (1 Peter 3:7).

WIFE OBLIGATIONS

HELP

A wife must help her husband succeed in accomplishing the will of the Father of Truth.  The Father of Truth has made the wife to be an adequate helper to her husband (Genesis 2:18).  The Father of Truth has skillfully crafted the wife and given her to her husband for this purpose (Genesis 2:22). [The Hebrew word translated as "made" literally means "built" with the idea of being skillfully crafted like a fine house.]  The Father of Truth has created the wife to meet the needs of her husband (1 Corinthians 11:9).

The wife must never forget, that her husband cannot do everything that the Father of Truth wants him, to do without her help.  The wife is not to seek to help her husband disobey the Father of Truth (Genesis 3:17).  The wife is to seek to help her husband to do the will of the Father of Truth - even if that means doing something that her husband did not want done (1 Samuel 25:32-35).  The wife must seek to help her husband to save up money for their children by spending less than they make (2 Corinthians 12:14).

FOLLOW

The wife must follow the instructions of her husband, not because he is better than her in some aspect, but because it is the commandment of the Father of Truth.  The Father of Truth has placed the wife under the rule of her husband (Genesis 3:16).  The wife is to be subject to her husband in doing the will of the Father of Truth, in the same way that the Called Out Ones are to be subject to the Man of Truth in doing the will of the Father of Truth (Ephesians 5:22-24).  The wife is to submit to following the instructions of her husband to show that she is submitting to the Father of Truth (Colossians 3:18).

The wife must follow the instructions of her husband, because her response to his instructions has eternal consequences.  It matters what is on your head, so the wife is to wear the symbol of being under the authority of her husband on her head, as an example to the Angels of Truth and Angels of Lies of submission to authority (1 Corinthians 11:10).  The wife can cause those, who have not yet came into the House of Truth, to speak evil of the Word of Truth, if she is not obedient to her husband (Titus 2:5).  Her faith in the Father of Truth, which creates an extremely respectful lifestyle of obedience to her husband, who has not yet came into the House of Truth, can cause him to come into the House of Truth and escape suffering in the Chamber of Horrors forever, without her saying a word to him (1 Peter 3:1-6). [The Greek word translated as "conversation" here literally means "lifestyle".]

HONOR

The wife must honor her husband by showing him respect at all times.  The wife is to honor her husband with obedience to prevent other people from having contempt for him (Esther 1:16-20).  The wife is not to bring dishonor to her husband by praying to the Father of Truth, without the symbol of being under the authority of her husband on her head (1 Corinthians 11:10).  The wife is to reverence her husband by showing him the same respect that she shows the Father of Truth (Ephesians 5:33).

HOME

The wife must make the house that her husband provides into a home.  The wife is to take care of his house and make it into a home for her husband (Psalm 113:9).  The wife shows that her husband has married a wise woman, when she builds his house into a home (Proverbs 14:1).  The wife is to work hard at running the affairs of his house, so that her husband does not need to be concerned about them when he comes home (Proverbs 31:27).

CUSTOM OBLIGATIONS ADDENDUM

While the Father of Truth has written His immutable obligations in the Book of Truth, a Ketubah should also have an addendum of other obligations written out to help make the fulfillment of His obligations easier to do.  These are mostly the details of how to fulfill the obligations given by the Father of Truth.  These custom obligations are unique to the spouses and their circumstances.

Generally speaking, these custom obligations should follow the pattern of those set by the Father of Truth, where there is a one for one correlation of obligations.  That is to say, if one spouse wants the other spouse to agree to give them something, then they must also agree to give something that their spouse desires equally. 

These custom agreements should be made in a way that maintains a balance of obligations between husband and wife to keep the Ketubah fair to both spouses.  So, these obligations should be negotiated in pairs of equal value.

For example, if it pleases the wife to visit her sister in a far off city once a year, then they might agree to an obligation for the husband to make sure that happens.  In exchange, if it pleases the husband to go on a hunting trip with his brother every year, then they would also agree to an obligation for the wife make sure that happens.

The custom obligations should try to be made to prevent as many future disagreements as possible.  They should cover things like how to spend the holidays in a manner that is fair to both spouses.

Lastly, this custom obligations addendum is not immutable.  It should be thought of as a living document that changes when future situations arise.

Situations might arise, like the birth of a child, that require new obligations to be negotiated and added to the addendum.  Situations might arise, like the death of a sister or brother, that make some existing obligations obsolete and deleted from the addendum.  Situations might arise, like the parents of one spouse moving, that require existing obligations to be renegotiated and updated in the addendum.

ENFORCEMENT

The Ketubah, or a similar marriage contract, is not currently legally enforceable in most countries, other than Israel.  So, the spouses must voluntarily do what they agreed to do.

This is not that difficult when both spouses have come into the House of Truth.  The Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) will do what the Father of Truth wants and what they have agreed to, because they are committed to obeying the Man of Truth in all things.  The Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) will give them the power to keep the obligations written in their Ketubah.  If one of them does fail to keep one of their obligations, then they will find themselves under the conviction of the Spirit of Truth.  They will be miserable until they repent.  Enforcement comes internally from the Spirit of Truth.

If neither spouse has come into the House of Truth, then it is still possible for them to keep the obligations that they have agreed upon in their Ketubah.  However, it will be much harder since neither of them will have the Spirit of Truth living in them to help them keep their agreement.  If one spouse slacks on keeping their obligations, then the other spouse probably will also.  They may or may not feel any guilt about not keeping their agreement.  The Father of Truth may bring judgment upon them in this life for not keeping their agreement, but they may not recognize that they are reaping what they have sown.  Enforcement of their agreement may not occur until they stand in judgment before the Father of Truth.  Enforcement comes externally from the Father of Truth.

However, if only one spouse has come into the House of Truth, then it is a different matter.  That spouse must strive to do what they agreed to in the Ketubah, even if the other spouse does not.  The believing spouse is not keeping these obligations based on the actions of their spouse, but out of their love and respect for the Father of Truth.  This can be really hard to do, when the other spouse is not keeping their obligations, and feels no remorse over not keeping their agreement.  Enforcement on the part of their spouse may not occur until their spouse stands in judgment before the Father of Truth. So, enforcement comes internally from the Spirit of Truth for the believing spouse, but enforcement comes externally from the Father of Truth for the other spouse.

So, the best way to ensure that things to keep things good in a marriage is by creating a Ketubah that is fair and balanced, and both spouses coming into the House of Truth, so that they have the Spirit of Truth helping them to keep their agreement.  Both spouses need to be in a love triangle with the Man of Truth, as well as a Ketubah, to keep their marriage good.

Both spouses come into the House of Truth by submitting to the Man of Truth in all things, because they believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

Come into the House of Truth!

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