Twins - Part 2
By Walter Giddings
January 31, 2021
Greetings kindred, and fellow sheep. We are on a first name basis here. My name is walter. We need help from our Real Teacher, the Holy Spirit. This Lesson comprises Scriptures that have puzzled me for a long time.
Acts 28:11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.
This is Twins, Lesson 2. The last time we met on the subject matter of this Lesson, Twins, we discovered that the sign on the ship of Alexandria that wintered at Malta was a figurehead of the twin sons of Jupiter, known to the Romans as Castor and Pollux, and, earlier, to the Greeks as the twin sons of Zeus, Apollo and Hercules. We asked ourselves this question:
Why does the Holy Spirit call our attention to the figurehead of a ship that pictures the mythological twin sons of Zeus?
Upon the vast expanse of the ocean under clear skies at night, sailors, navigating by the stars, had opportunity to become very familiar with the “signs” of heaven:

 Et tu, Brute?” from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Just seconds before the assassination of the Roman emperor and being stabbed to death, Caesar sees one of the young Senators with knife in hand and exclaims “you also?” Imagine the last words out of your mouth is the surprising question to someone you thought was a loyal friend, but instead your executioner. To live by the sword is to die by the sword has become a common refrain for pacifism, but Jesus' admonition to Peter lobbing off the ear of the high priest's SWAT team member was not anti-sword; it was protecting Peter from being arrested himself, even though Peter was just trying to protect his Master. After Jesus was betrayed by Judas, the cops moved in to make the arrest. In hindsight, Peter should have aimed his sword at Judas, but this was a perfect moment of predestination as Jesus told him, “Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" John 18:11. The metaphor of a cup often signifies a measure of divine affliction, possibly derived from the custom of some nations putting someone to death with a cup of poison. Jesus had come to die as a sacrifice for sin and betrayal was a necessary ingredient to teach us many lessons which we'll explore today.
Et tu, Brute?” from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Just seconds before the assassination of the Roman emperor and being stabbed to death, Caesar sees one of the young Senators with knife in hand and exclaims “you also?” Imagine the last words out of your mouth is the surprising question to someone you thought was a loyal friend, but instead your executioner. To live by the sword is to die by the sword has become a common refrain for pacifism, but Jesus' admonition to Peter lobbing off the ear of the high priest's SWAT team member was not anti-sword; it was protecting Peter from being arrested himself, even though Peter was just trying to protect his Master. After Jesus was betrayed by Judas, the cops moved in to make the arrest. In hindsight, Peter should have aimed his sword at Judas, but this was a perfect moment of predestination as Jesus told him, “Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" John 18:11. The metaphor of a cup often signifies a measure of divine affliction, possibly derived from the custom of some nations putting someone to death with a cup of poison. Jesus had come to die as a sacrifice for sin and betrayal was a necessary ingredient to teach us many lessons which we'll explore today.

