The Covenant Meal.

The establishment of a sacred covenant through a shared meal is first evidenced from Assyria and entails Istar of Arbela binding the Gods together to work on behalf of the King Esarhaddon, in essence this binding shares commonality with both the Passover tradition and the Last Supper, the establishment of Divine support for a ruler and his people.

The word of Ištar of Arbela to Esarhaddon, king of Assyria:

Come, gods, my fathers and brothers, enter the covenant . . .She placed a slice . of bread on the terrace and gave them water from a cooler to drink. She filled a flagon of one seah with water from the cooler and gave it to them with the words:

"In your hearts say, 'Ištar is slight,' and you will go to your cities and districts, eat your bread and forget this covenant.

But when you drink from this water, you will remember me and keep this covenant which I have made *"

Istar of Arbela constituted the Prophetic tradition of Assyria, the sacred oracle were generally women from the region of Arbela would communicate her messages through ecstatic trance and vision, it was thus important that she could be understood as representing all Deities of the Pantheon, and thus the need to bind them in Covenant.

Fear not! Esarhaddon! I, the god Bel, am speaking to you. I watch over your inner heart as would your mother who brought you forth. Sixty great gods are standing together with me to protect you. The god Sin is at your right, the god Shamash at your left. The sixty great gods are standing around you, ranged for battle.

Do not trust human beings! Lift your eyes to me, look at me! I am Ishtar of Arbela; I have turned Ashur’s favor to you. When you were small, I chose you. Fear not! Praise me!

Where is there any enemy who overcame you while I remained quiet? Those who are now behind will soon be the leaders. I am the god Nabu, god of the stylus. Praise me!

(This oracle is) from the woman Baia of Arbela

The rhetoric of the Assyrian prophecies of course very much influenced the rhetoric of the Hebrew authors of the Bible though of course they looked to other Divine source for inspiration understood as their Highest God, whereas even though the Assyrians considered their entire Pantheon as generated by their High God Ashur they rarely considered him to speak directly to them, Ishtar of Arbela had that role of intermediary on behalf of Ashur.

"I am Ishtar of Arbela, Oh Esasrhaddon, king of Assyria. In the cities Ashur, Nineveh, Calah, Arbela, I shall grant you many days, endless years. I am the great midwife who helped at your birth, the one who gave you suck, who has established your rule under the wide heavens for many days, endless years.

From a golden chamber in the heavens I will watch...Fret not, O king! Because I have spoken to you , I will not abandon you. I shall not let you come to shame. I will help you cross the river safely...With my own hands, your foes I shall annihilate.

- Oracle given the king by the woman Ishtar-beldayani

Of course Ishtar was essentialy a Goddess of Love despite having the function of making dire prophecies regarding conflict and the making of mighty claims, and this aspect is what could be understood as binding the Pantheon together in Covenant with correspondence to the Last Supper which was referred to as a 'Love/Agape Feast', despite differing personifications certain principles remained the same.

I will reconcile Assyria with you. I will protect you by day and by dawn and consolidate your crown. Like a winged bird over its
young I will twitter over you and go in circles around you. Like a beautiful lion cub I will run about in your palace and sniff out your enemies

.I will keep you safe in your palace; I will make you overcome anxiety and trembling. Your son and grandson shall rule as kings before Ninurta.I will abolish the frontiers of all the lands and give them to you. Mankind is deceitful; I am one who says and does. I will sniff out, catch and give you the ‘noisydaughter’

So it is an odd thing how one tradition is long forgotten and no longer celebrated whilst the one that followed on is widely acclaimed, both owe their origin to the humble ecstatic muttering words of seemingly Divine origin, the establishment of Covenant with humanity, i suppose it relates to who seemingly has the best source, seeming wise after the event perhaps helpful with that.

Esarhaddon, king of the lands, fear not! That wind which blows against you – I need only say a word and I can bring it to an end. Your enemies, like a young boar in the month of Simanu, will flee even at your approach. I am the great Belet – I am the goddess Ishtar of Arbela, she who has destroyed your enemies at your mere approach.

What order have I given you which you did not rely upon? I am Ishtar of Arbela! I shall lie in wait for your enemies, I shall give them to you. I, Ishtar of Arbela, will go before you and behind you.

Fear not! You who are paralyzed (saying), “Only the crying woe can I either get up or sit down.”

(The oracle is) from the woman Ishtar-la-tashiat of Arbela.

Anyway in your hearts say, 'Ištar is slight,' go to your cities and districts, eat your bread and forget this thread.

The Assyrian Prophecies

Neo-Assyrian Prophecy

The similarity is acknowledged by Paul when he instructs the Corinthians to choose between the two types of meal, the Biblical or the pagan;
"I do not want you to be partners with demons...You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons". 1 Corinthians ch10 vv20-21

a reply to: DISRAELI

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.

It's true that the various Istars did go on to become classed as Demons;

Bound is ˁUlmaya who dwells in the desert of Kulaniya. Bound is ˁIlmaya Dew who dwells in the waste lands of Ubriya (and) Amiqta. Bound is the rebellious, dog-like Lilith who dwells on the river Pišra and calls herself Mamay. Bound are all Liliths and Istartes who dwell in the fortress of Škatin (= Bīt ˁIškatil) and Šarmat and Batunia of Bīt Ulaya. Shackled is the Lord of Bīt Zaman. Bound is Istarte Amašmiš of Šuš-Birta. Bound and shackled is Ispandarmid-Lilith, who calls herself Lady (-Ispandarmid). Bound is Anahid-Lilith of Arimin of Kaldayye. Bound (and shackled) is Nanay of Borṣip and shackled is Nanay of Bīt Guzayye which is in Gahzay. Bound is Ilaha Bruqa who sits on the bank of the Tigris. Bound is the Persian Gisur … Bound is Mohbaṭ-Sahir who sits on the hill of Mura. Bound is Mlaka of Radin, the reckless Šṭurga and bound is Istarte, the Lady of Bīt Zibna. Bound is Istarte of the new town (territory), the Istarte who sits on the bank of the Euphrates and calls herself Mulit. Bound are the sixty-six Ilahas. Bound is the phalanx of Nanay, she and her seven sisters who dwell on the river Harin (or: Hurin) in Bīt Hašim (Hašum). Bound and shackled is the Istarte of Akat, she and her three hundred and sixty tribes … Bound is Nerig of Zambur and Ilaha of Bīt Tuldana, they and their imprecations and their tribes.

Mandaic Demon List

Though Istar of Arbela did at least manage to linger on as an Angel of Love,

Upon thee by name I call, angel dwelling in Arbela that brings forth hearts and consciences, and takes away N. from N. and from the home of his father and mother and brethren and friends, and from his place and his amulet

Mandaic Love Charm

Bit of an inglorious end really to thousands of years of tradition, though of course there is the esoteric tradition of being bound in common purpose to serve the Grail that restores the land, that references the earlier tradition.

But here's a biblical Arbela for you;

Perhaps the most prominent physical landmark around the Sea of Galilee is towering Mount Arbel. Mount Arbel is located near the sea’s western shore in the vicinity of ancient Magdala, home of Mary Magdalene.

There are many caves in the cliff, some of them were used as a fort. Under the cliff, on the right side, are the ruins of the Roman city of Arbela.

Arbela of Galilee

a reply to: Kantzveldt

Jesus asked, "Can you drink of this cup that I drink from?". Then at the seder, He passed the cup. Think about it, in the third cup, He didn't drink from it and passed it.

That is extremely telling in that at that moment, He was separating Himself from His disciples. Then when He went out to pray, He said "Father, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me, but nevertheless, Thy will be done".

Here are two cups, one was passed, the second was not. Why do you suppose that is? Remember, it is called "The Bitter Cup", and only if you are willing to be like Jesus, can you ask yourself if you can drink from it. And the cup at the seder was wine, not water.

BTW, if Mount Arbela is in Galilee, then it was Canaanite, not Sumerian.

a reply to: WarminIndy

One needs to consider what the precedent for the Covenant meal was, obviously in Hebrew the Passover meal narrative and the sacrificial lamb thus the poison chalice, but even that Covenant meal involved the establishment and separation of a Holy people, and in terms of the New Covenant the establishment and separation of a group of disciples, in both cases the general direction is toward Divine assimilation, and the highest example of the Covenant meal i outlined is that of the fellowship of the Gods, eating at the highest table as it were.

The Assyrian Arbela was and still is in Northern Iraq, the Arbela near Magdala was possibly so named by the Assyrians after Istar Arbela their patroness of war, a great slaughter took place their by tradition.

Arbela Iraq

originally posted by: Kantzveldt
a reply to: WarminIndy

One needs to consider what the precedent for the Covenant meal was, obviously in Hebrew the Passover meal narrative and the sacrificial lamb thus the poison chalice, but even that Covenant meal involved the establishment and separation of a Holy people, and in terms of the New Covenant the establishment and separation of a group of disciples, in both cases the general direction is toward Divine assimilation, and the highest example of the Covenant meal i outlined is that of the fellowship of the Gods, eating at the highest table as it were.

The Assyrian Arbela was and still is in Northern Iraq, the Arbela near Magdala was possibly so named by the Assyrians after Istar Arbela their patroness of war, a great slaughter took place their by tradition.

Arbela Iraq

Yes, but can one still drink of the cup that Jesus drank from? That was an invitation from Him. Jesus said also in Revelation that He stands at the door and knocks and if any man open up unto Him, He will come and sup.

The difference in what you are proposing as the communion of the gods in Assyria was gods and gods, not God and man, that is the fundamental difference in Hebrew and Assyrian.

WE can commune with God, but only if we are willing to acknowledge God. And I think the imagery presented is part of Central Asian culture, which the Western understanding just isn't caught up with yet.

a reply to: WarminIndy

The poison chalice has to be seen as the means to achieving Divinity, even though to drink of it was death it was also the means to immortal life, the price to be paid for drinking with the Gods or presumption of Divinity, the secondary aspect of communion with the disciples was the sharing of that sacrificial Covenant and the invitation to sit at the Highest table in the company of one that had earned the right.

originally posted by: Kantzveldt
a reply to: WarminIndy

The poison chalice has to be seen as the means to achieving Divinity, even though to drink of it was death it was also the means to immortal life, the price to be paid for drinking with the Gods or presumption of Divinity, the secondary aspect of communion with the disciples was the sharing of that sacrificial Covenant and the invitation to sit at the Highest table in the company of one that had earned the right.

Who earns any right?

Where is that promised, that we earn the right to sit with God? That's the difference in Christianity and other world religions, you never, never, never can earn the right. You may, however, act upon the invitation. The invitation isn't just for a select group of people, it's for everybody.

The Bible isn't Gnostic nor is it occult (hidden from man), sure, there are some aspects of God that are hidden, but all will be revealed. This idea that one achieves immortality through earning it, that's not Biblical teaching.

Micah 6 What has God required of thee, oh man, but to do justice, love goodness and to walk humbly with God. What can you do better than just accept the invitation? You don't earn the right, you just accept. Easy.

a reply to: WarminIndy

I didn't say you had to earn the right i wrote it was by invitation from one that had...

a reply to: Kantzveldt

Let them eat till their bellies are full and there gullets are wet and nurtured with the fruits of the earth may the experience a deep sleep so much so that there souls feel energized and ready for the next day.

Amen!

originally posted by: Kantzveldt
a reply to: WarminIndy

I didn't say you had to earn the right i wrote it was by invitation from one that had...

Maybe I misunderstood.

Perhaps you are telling us how it was in Assyria, which is not the same thing as when Jesus was here, that is several thousand years later. I do not believe Jesus "earned the right" as that was His purpose for coming. He knew this from the beginning of creation.

The mystery isn't that Jesus was somehow deified through earning communion with God, but that He is God incarnate as the Son. That seems strange then that He would earn His right to commune with Himself, as the Son.

To make it easier, you are man incarnate, you are from your father, but you are not your father, but you are still incarnate man. Your parents didn't have something else when they had you, they had a human being. But you didn't earn the right to be called son, you just are. Same with Jesus, He is incarnate God because He comes from His father. He just is the son.

Perhaps I misunderstood what you are trying to say.