Flying On A Butterfly In Heaven

Photo: Princess Ieda - verse added

A while back I published a post, Did This Doctor Visit Heaven? It was the story of Dr Eben Alexander who claims to have visited Heaven.

In the post I wrote about Alexander's experience of Heaven:

... travelling with him was what he took to be his guardian angel: a young woman with high cheekbones, deep-blue eyes and golden brown hair. She was wearing orange, indigo and powder blue clothing.

"Her thoughts were things like, 'You are loved. You are cherished for ever. There’s nothing you can do wrong'."

Together they moved on to "the core, an inky darkness that was also full to brimming with light." Here there was "a beautiful warm awareness of the divine which was clearly what we would call God".

Dr Alexander has a book out, with a snappy title, The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife. In this he mentions the 'young woman with high cheek bones'. But, before I come to the point of this post, I have first to explain that the doctor experienced his trip to Heaven while in a coma and that he was riding with the aforementioned woman on a butterfly wing (yes, a butterfly wing).

I'll get to the point now. In the Daily Mail (dated 18th of October) there is a quote by Eben Alexander as follows:

"Above all, that image of the woman on the butterfly wing haunted me.

And then, four months after coming out of my coma, I received a picture in the mail.

As a result of my earlier investigations to make contact with my biological family, a relative had sent me a photograph of my sister Betsy - the sister I had never known.

The shock of recognition was total. This was the face of the woman on the butterfly wing.

The moment I realised this, something crystallised inside me. That photo was the confirmation that I needed. This was the proof beyond reproach, of the objective reality of my experience. From then on, I was back in the old, earthly world I'd left behind before my coma struck, but as a genuine new person.

I had been reborn"

So, there we go, the doctor realised that he met his sister while in Heaven.

I know many will scoff at such things, but who's to say. The truth is that no one, as yet, can prove there is a Heaven or conversely that there isn't a Heaven. Many believe they have answers but that's all they are: beliefs. For the record though, I believe we do live on after death.

Dr Eben Alexander's Books:
The Map of Heaven on Amazon USA.
The Map of Heaven: on Amazon UK

Other Heaven Posts:
We All Go To Our Own Version Of Heaven When We Die
Author's Experiences Led Her To Believe In Life After Death
Did This Doctor Visit Heaven?

Man: A Completely Different Species From Other Creatures

Adam & Eve Painting by Mabuse

I came across a Gallup Poll which showed that 73% of USA residents believe that God played a part in the creation of man.

People were asked to choose one of three options:

1. Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process.  31% chose this option
2. Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this process. 19% this option
3. God created human beings much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so. 42% this option

I was interested to see that 42% believed that God created man in his present form - and within the last 10,000 years. In a UK poll in 2006 only 22% went for a creationism option.

The poll caught my attention because I had been reading a treatise which offered a differing view more in line with option 1 above.

A Dr. Baker wrote:

"... this does not mean to imply that man descended from animal forms, i.e. from anthropoid apes, as suggested by the Darwinian theory of evolution. According to the theory presented by ancient, authoritative sources, the form that man inhabited was animal-like and 'mindless' until that Fire was applied."

By 'Fire' in the above it was meant that an energy was applied to mankind to advance him along the evolutionary path - but man was always a completely different species.

Once that 'Fire' was applied:

"... man became responsible for his actions; animals are not responsible for their actions; their cruelty, their sexual appetites etc.

This is the symbolic meaning if the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. By eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge offered to them by the serpent, Adam and Eve became self-conscious and are thus separated from the animals, who do not possess this awareness. Since they are no longer part of a Group Soul, they must pay the price for individualised consciousness; because they are now responsible for their acts, they are exiled from the Garden of Eden."

I've personally believed for quite a long time that we are responsible for our actions and must bare the consequences for how we act. Some would call this karma.

But it's for each of us to decide what beliefs we follow and to respect the beliefs of others. When you look at many religions they are not so far apart as first imagined - it's often just the interpretations that get a little skewed.

But before I close this post there is a thought that the serpent who was responsible for mankind's exile from the Garden of Eden can also lead them back to the Garden. In Hindu Yoga this would be called kundalini where the serpent is resting at the base of the spine - but maybe more on this another time.

P.S. Why do old paintings of Adam & Eve show them with tummy-buttons?

Other Random Posts:
23 Funny Children's Letters To God
The Suffering Created By Eve And Pandora
How Free Thinking Are We About Religion, God And Lap-Dancers

The Snow That Is Only In The Mind And Our Imagination

I've mentioned several times in posts about how there is no reality. There is only our realisation of how things are. I got thinking on this theme because of the Christmas cards we have received.

Many of the cards feature a White Christmas, with snow topped houses and perhaps a snowman. It's the idealised image (at least in the UK) of what Christmas is like. But this isn't the reality.

During the 20th Century there were only seven official white Christmases in England. This doesn't even mean that the ground was covered by snow. It simple means: 'a single snowflake (perhaps among a mixed shower of rain and snow) has been observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December' (source UK Met Office).

So where did this idea of a White Christmas come from?

Charles Dickens 1812-1870

It could well be from the writings of Charles Dickens and other authors from that period. In a Christmas Carol, for instance, it's as if a White Christmas happens each and every year. Over the years this idea has become enforced into our minds, by the likes of that famous Irving Berlin song and in a myriad of other ways.

Somehow we come to associate December 25th with snow covered scenery but, as with much in life, this isn't the reality (in England).

However, if we look back to when Dickens was alive (7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870) the climate was different. During the first eight years of his life there was in fact a white, traditional Christmas every year - for he lived during, what is known as, the Little Ice Age.

The period of this Little Ice Age is debatable but was probably from around 1350 to 1850. Out of interest this was preceded by the Medieval Warm Period (about 950 to 1250) when temperatures were higher. So, yes there are cycles of climate change.

I won't delve into the controversies of Climate Change at this time but I think we have to be careful as to what we accept as being reality. It's sometimes good to question old or even popular beliefs as it's easy to get kidded into accepting some strange ideas as being reality.

Random Other 67 Not Out Posts:
The Devil's Great Thunderstorm Of 1638 At Widecombe On Dartmoor
The Reality That Probably Isn't Actually There
The Time Shift Into Another Era Or Life

Dream Directions To Belief

I promise I won't go on and on about my kidney operation but this post is about a dream I had a couple of days prior to the procedure.

I awoke during the night, following the dream, and scribbled a few notes on a pad I usually have on my bedside table.

I had dreamt of a character from a British soap, Eastenders, called Billy Mitchell. It's not something that I watch though Karin does dip in and out of it occasionally.

Anyway, in the dream, a neighbour wanted to bring Billy to my house to show him how something works - not sure what this was. I got angry because I couldn't see why the neighbour couldn't take him to his own home, which is only a couple of houses down from mine.

But, no, for some reason I had to see how this procedure worked myself.

And that was the dream. Not much but it felt like I should investigate it more, no idea why, but it's best to follow instincts. Most of the dreams I scribble down just fade away into something meaningless.

I Googled the name 'Billy Mitchell' and found that the actor is called Perry Fenwick (Perry, of course, being my surname). There's not much about him on Wikipedia but it does say, " It was announced that he was to carry the Olympic torch on EastEnders, which was shown on the 23/7/2012 live." And the 23rd of July is my birthday.

So a couple of connections, of sorts there.

I then though I'd Google 'Perry Kidney.' And one of the search result surprised me as it was headed: Mike Perry Kidney Transplant.

This turned out to be a podcast from a US radio station WCQR, which is in the Religion & Spirituality category. Mike Perry (also my name) is a presenter and manager on the station and was about to have a kidney transplant donated by a listener.

I guess it may have been this that I was meant to listen to, being as I was somewhat apprehensive about my own pending operation.

On the four minute podcast the story is told of how Angie Moore was donating a kidney to WCQR's Mike Perry. It was, however, her trust in her God that impressed me. She was giving the organ because of her thankfulness for her own good health.

Angie's husband, Bobby, had already given a kidney to 'a stranger' because he felt God wanted him to do this. Both of them say words to the effect that God will look after them, and will provide for them in the future, should they ever need such a thing as a kidney themselves.

Though Angie and Bobby's version of God may be different to mine this did make me realise I had nothing to worry about with my operation. And that's the way it turned out.

I may well pay more attention to my dreams from now on as sometimes they can be meaningful.

As for belief: with belief we can conquer our personal world and, who knows, maybe the world at large.

Similar themed Posts:
Laparoscopic Nephrectomy Coincidences And Synchronicity
Lindos Halts A Whirlpool Of Negativity
Worse Things Happen At Sea

Belief Magic For Curing Warts And Attracting Quick Money

I've been pondering the subject of health recently and how it may be possible to overcome any problems that come our way. My conclusion is that all things are possible with belief, miracles really do happen.

On the lowest of levels lets think of something as simple as warts, which can be a nuisance for some people. There are lots of tales about how these can be cured, but the power behind these stories is belief.

I've collected a couple of wart cures to illustrate this.

(1) "At the age of seven I found a wart on my knee, which in a couple of months, after being knocked, picked at and otherwise damaged, resulted in my upper leg being covered in more than 100 warts.

I was with my mother on a bus one day when an old lady commented on my warts and suggested if they were rubbed with a piece of steak that was then buried in the garden the warts would disappear.

Even at that age I found it unbelievable, but my mother insisted I went through the process and the following day I awoke to find them all gone.

I sill find the result quite amazing." ~ M.E.Trew.

(2) "When my daughter Emma was a child I took her to our doctor with a blemish on her hand. The doctor said it was a wart, and he bought it off her for a shilling, much to Emma's delight, and the wart soon disappeared." ~ Angela Tomlinson

Wart charmers are legendary but it's a similar principle of belief that also makes simple magic spells work. There is usually a necessity to do something that impresses the mind, and in doing so this brings about the required result. A witches example of this follows, for when we might require some 'quick money'.

"On the day of a new moon throw brand new coins into your house from outside and let them roll wherever they will. Leave them where they fall for the rest of the month. As you throw the coins chant, "Money on the floor, money through the door."

Wart cures and magic spells may appear a load of old tosh but it's still an example of belief in action. It's a simplistic form of ritual, investiture, elaborate religious ceremony. They are all carried out to impress on us that they are important and therefore will work - via belief.

Of course we can simply believe in our God or maybe angels or Saints to help us. But whatever we do to create belief I feel we have to fully believe - and this can sometimes be difficult without a crutch of some sort to lean on.

If we can, however, cure warts then the same power behind this can cure or bring about - well, anything. It's up to us how we choose to generate our belief.

Similar Themed Posts:
The Fortress Of Light: How to prevent a psychic attack
Magic Which Brings Coincidence And Synchronicity
Belief Programming From Witchcraft To The Impossible

Lessons On Faith And Life In A Phone Call

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple, North West London

I was on the phone to Luke last night, who lives in north-west London. We got talking about religions and the like.

He told me how his father, Matthew, had Hindu leanings, though born into a Christian family. This came about because of his life long interest in yoga.

Luke and his father didn't see very much of each other in his early life and they only really got to see each other after Matthew had become terminally ill.

Matthew lived on the south coast of England and was determined to go and see his son in London so, despite his poor health, he went by coach on a day trip. He had faith that he would make the journey safely, which he did.

Towards the end of his visit he told Luke that he would like to visit the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple which is in north west London. Luke told him that they wouldn't have time as he would miss his coach. Matthew insisted they would have time, so off they went despite Luke's reservations.

The temple is quite a spectacle, the carved pieces that make its entirety were carved in India and then shipped over to London.

Luke and Matthew viewed the temple though Luke was anxious about them missing the coach. Matthew again insisted they would have time - and had absolute belief in this.

Being familiar with the London traffic conditions Luke thought they would never get the coach connection at Victoria. When they were ready to leave the temple, they had just over twenty minutes to make the journey. "Have faith," said Matthew, "We will get the coach okay."

In Luke's words the journey to Victoria was 'almost creepy'. Every traffic light was on green and they sailed on through the traffic without any hold ups.

They made it to the coach station but were still a few minutes later than the coach's departure time. Again Matthew assured Luke everything would be okay.

They went to the pick-up point and the coach was just pulling in to pick up passengers. It had been delayed by about five or ten minutes. "I told you we would make it," said Matthew, "Have faith."

This was the last time Luke saw Matthew alive and he is still amazed about the faith his father had that he would make his coach connection. He 'knew' he would make it on time.

By the end of my phone conversation with Luke I felt I had been reminded of several lessons of life.

Other Similar Posts on 67 Not Out:
Belief Programming From Witchcraft To The Impossible
Believe And You Can See Eden Even In The Rain
Healing And Visualisation Without Will Power

Believe And You Can See Eden Even In The Rain

I don't like to moan about the weather - but I will! It's been horrid here in Cornwall and England.

June 2012: wettest since records began, 100+ years ago
April 2012: wettest since records began, 100+ years ago

It should be dry and sunny instead of wet and fifty shades of grey - or am I getting confused with something else there?

But no matter, stiff upper lip and all that, and my wife and I headed off to the Eden Project - which is quite near to us - in the rain. Well if you stay indoors nothing much happens outside of the usual.

As we approached Eden I switched on the car radio and it was an oldie's segment. They were playing I Believe by Elvis.

We parked the car and headed down the path towards the entrance to Eden, and there was this huge poster - as photo at the top of the page If you believe ...

"Hallelujah!" I said jokingly, "I believe."

And, in a way, that's what the Eden Project is all about - belief.

Belief that they could turn an old, disused white clay pit into a major green attraction and learning centre.

I watched it develop right from the start and one of the design architects said it would be like watching the Pyramids being built. A bit over the top, but it has become a special place with millions of visitors every year - perhaps, in all honesty, too many visitors.

The rain had now stopped for a while so we decided not to go to the biomes, for which Eden is famed, but to meander around the grounds and outside gardens first.

I like the Cornish wild section.

You never know what you might find ...

... or see. Like this poor bedraggled little robin at a seating area.

There's a traditional home garden growing veg with a not very scary scarecrow ...

and, of course, you can't have an Eden without an Adam toiling away against the grey sky.

Inside the biomes it's full of colour.

So, yes, as Elvis would sing, "...for every drop of rain that falls a flower grows."

We had lunch at Eden and, being Eden, it's very natural and back to basics. Nothing flash, you help yourself to healthy food and drinks. Sit on solid benches by solid long tables. And when you have finished your meal you find one of the payment posts and tell the guy or girl what you've devoured - they are very trusting, but that's the theme behind Eden. Hopefully not too many people fib.

These are the Eden biomes on a sunnier day. I think I took the pic in 2010, it has developed a lot since then.

Belief is almost everything. From an idea or dream anything can develop.

Other Eden Project Posts:
In Search Of The Birth Of Spirits At Eden
The Giant Rubbish Alien Monster At Eden
Eve Shows Herself At Eden

The Ghost Of St Bernadette And Her Incorrupt Body

While going through photos for last Sunday's post, Producing Energy Between Your Hands, I came across this picture above, purported to be Saint Bernadette - after she had died. There are five images shown as her spirit gradually fades into a wall.

It's not known who the photographer was but is generally referred to as The Ghost of Bernadette Soubirous and was taken in 1890, eleven years following her death.

Bernadette Soubirous is the French farm girl from rural Lourdes who was canonised as a saint on December 13th 1933. Lourdes has since become a center of healing for believers, mostly of the Catholic faith. Her full story can be found on Wikipedia, where it is says:

"In the 150 years since Bernadette dug up the spring (at Lourdes), 67 cures have been verified by the Lourdes Medical Bureau as 'inexplicable', but only after what the Church claims are 'extremely rigorous scientific and medical examinations' that failed to find any other explanation."

I think most people have probably heard of the Lourdes story but I didn't realise that Bernadette's body had been exhumed three times with bizarre results:

On the first occasion, in September 1909, witnesses claimed that, though a crucifix in her hand had oxidised, her body was declared 'incorrupt.' In other words there was no sign of decomposition.

On the second exhumation in April 1919 the doctor, who examined the body stated: "The body is practically mummified, covered with patches of mildew and quite a notable layer of salts, which appear to be calcium salts. The skin has disappeared in some places, but it is still present on most parts of the body."

Following a third exhumation in 1925 Doctor Comte published a report in the Bulletin de I'Association medicale de Notre-Dame de Lourdes:

"What struck me during this examination, of course, was the state of perfect preservation of the skeleton, the fibrous tissues of the muscles (still supple and firm), of the ligaments, and of the skin, and above all the totally unexpected state of the liver after 46 years. One would have thought that this organ, which is basically soft and inclined to crumble, would have decomposed very rapidly or would have hardened to a chalky consistency. Yet, when it was cut it was soft and almost normal in consistency. I pointed this out to those present, remarking that this did not seem to be a natural phenomenon."

As to whether Lourdes has supernatural powers of healing is a matter of opinion. What can be said is that belief can do many wondrous things - including returning people to health. Belief is at the center of most miracles.

Where Is Heaven?

Rosa Celeste: Dante and Beatrice gaze upon the highest Heaven
"So where is Heaven?"

I've read quite a few Near Death Experiences (NDEs) and though, often very descriptive, they never say 'whereabouts' it is they actually visited. Travel descriptions and pictures are all well and good but it's also nice to have a map. Especially if you think you might one day pay a visit yourself.

Usually people say that Heaven is up above us: we go up to Heaven and down for Hell, but that must surely now be an outdated view.

I was pondering this conundrum - not that my bags are packed or anything - but it would be nice to know where certain people are now residing.

When my best friend died his wife gave me quite a few of his books, many of them I still haven't got round to reading. I did, however, open up one yesterday called, The Magic Of Angels. This is a publication from the Seekers Trust who my friend was associated with. They are a spiritual and healing group in England.

The book is written by C.A. Simpson but the fly leaf states, "Based on the teachings of Dr. Lascelles received through his medium the late Mr. C.A. Simpson." Think of that what you will.

Anyway, here is what the book says about the location of Heaven:

"Heaven, we are informed by the great teachers and masters, does indeed exist, but it exists in the here and now, not in some other place some other time.This leaves us with the conclusion that it must occupy the same place as this earth.

One of the first precepts of philosophy is that two things cannot occupy the same place at the same time. But they can. If one interpenetrates the other as the odour of roses interpenetrates the air, or as water interpenetrates a sponge, then two things can occupy the same place.

This leaves us with the problem of invisibility. If Heaven is here and now interpenetrating not only us ourselves, but everything else on earth, how is it that we are not aware of it?

Perhaps the problem is one of hyper-physics whereby one atomic system can exist within another. This would indicate that there is nothing supernatural about Heaven and that it is a manifestation of a greatly extended nature, vaster and more intricate than science at this stage is capable of measuring.

After all, frontiers of nature have been pushed back so far that many things which are regarded as normal and acceptable (e.g. radio waves for instance and the whole range of cosmic rays) would have been looked upon as both impossible and supernatural a century ago."

Regarding Heaven and it's residents the book states:

"As for the inhabitants of Heaven we might consider Dr. Lascelles' assertion that Heaven is a mirror of this world. If a mirror, then the inhabitants of Heaven would be recognisable, but so also would the buildings, roads and artifacts. Normality would have to be the keynote."

So, according to a dead doctor - who should therefore have the inside info - Heaven is running alongside the earth side by side, intermingled, so to speak. The dead are with us but denseness or vibrational levels mean we can't see them.

And what do the dead in Heaven wear? Clothes - fortunately! To quote the good doctor, "The inhabitants of Heaven wear clothes. It is noteworthy that period costume appears to be the mode more than modern gear. This again suggests that what we call Heaven is, in some mysterious way, furnished by our own consciousness ..."

And regarding the variation in NDE visions, this would be dependent on what part of Heaven was seen. Just as our earth varies from country to country and continent to continent, so does Heaven.

Did this answer my question: "Where is Heaven?" Probably not but I've always felt that there are different 'layers' surrounding the earth getting finer and finer. The level we reach after death depends on our personal level of attainment. If we are none too fine, back we come to our earth level for another lesson. This way I can believe both in Heaven and reincarnation.

But there again, it could all be something completely different and one day we'll simply wake up from our dream. The only thing I feel certain about is that we are all immortal.

Heavenly Quotes:

Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect.
Richard Bach, in Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Nothing is further than Earth from Heaven: nothing is nearer than Heaven to Earth.
Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth

If our Creator has so bountifully provided for our existence here, which is but momentary, and for our temporal wants, which will soon be forgotten, how much more must He have done for our enjoyment in the everlasting world?
Hosea Ballou

Heaven, as conventionally conceived, is a place so inane, so dull, so useless, so miserable, that nobody has ever ventured to describe a whole day in heaven, though plenty of people have described a day at the seaside.
George Bernard Shaw, A Treatise On Parents And Children

He who seldom thinks of heaven is not likely to get thither; as the only way to hit the mark is to keep the eye fixed upon it.
Bishop Horne, Aphorisms and Opinions of Dr. George Horne

The number of levels in Heaven is the number of verses in the Qur'an. Thus, when a reciter of the Qur'an enters into Heaven, it will be said to him: 'Go up one level for every verse that you can recite.' Thus, no one will be in a higher level than the one who has memorized the entire Qur'an.
Muhammad

Heaven will be no heaven to me if I do not meet my wife there.
Andrew Jackson

Name something you like. I bet it's not in heaven. Sex? Sorry, lust is a sin. Can't have it. Your career? Nope. There's no money in heaven; nobody needs to work. Besides, as far as I can tell from studying the scriptures, all you do in heaven is pretty much just sit around all day and praise the Lord. I don't know about you, but I think that after the first, oh, I don't know, 50,000,000 years of that I'd start to get a little bored.
Rick Reynolds

Further Reading:
Near Death Experience Changes Womans Life
Tortured Man Experienced Astral Projection And Travel
Captain David Perry And His Near Death Experience

Belief Programming From Witchcraft To The Impossible

"Feed white bread to a donkey, catching the crumbs on a white handkerchief. Add milk to the crumbs and give it to the patient to drink."

"Bind the eyes of a frog with the flesh of a nightingale in the skin of a hart, place them near the person you wish to keep awake."

It's just magic! The first is Cornish witchcraft to cure whooping cough and the second will prevent sleep in ... well, anyone you want to keep awake.

Okay, we may laugh at these - as we avoid walking under a ladder, throwing a pinch of salt over our left shoulder while clutching onto our rabbits foot or four leaf clover.

In a Freemasons ceremony the apprentice enters with a noose and a rope around his neck, hung over his back ...

Magic, spells, talismans, ceremonies and so on may sound a little strange, even silly, to many but there is a purpose behind them which makes them either effective or meaningful.

They are props to make us believe and behind every aspect of life are our individual beliefs. These may hold us back in life, influence how we act or, on a positive note, drive us forward. With many of us though our beliefs - built up since childhood - are limiting.

An example of man's limitation may be something such as the four minute mile. Once upon a time no one believed that it was physically possible for human beings to run the mile in less than four minutes - so, for many, many years no one did. Well, it couldn't be done, could it?

Roger Bannister dared to think he could, so he altered his belief system. He programmed himself to believe that he could achieve the impossible by rehearsing the event over and over in his mind. And in 1954 he broke his belief barrier and ran the mile in under four minutes.

This was great for Bannister but it was also even greater for what he did for others. Within one year 37 other athletes also broke the four minute mile. They had witnessed that the impossible was actually possible, so they were able to physically run faster themselves. Today the four minute mile is common place.

What a lot of magic does is to re-programme belief. Because of the effort involved it convinces us that if we do this, this and that then, whatever it is, will come about - and sure enough it does.

Everything boils down to belief. It's why a faith healer or a trip to Lourdes may well work.

Sometimes we have to dream the impossible - because it isn't really so. We are simply bogged down by centuries of being told certain things by religions, parents, traditions and so on. These 'beliefs' become ingrained and difficult to remove. We are told we will die at, say 80, that our body will decline at, say, 60. Our memories will start to fade and ... etc. etc.

I believe, however, that we are on the cusp. Gradually things will alter, a new set of beliefs will emerge and wonderful, unbelievable things will become believable and therefore commonplace.

It will all be the result of Belief Programming and the ways in which we go about strengthening and developing our own personal belief systems. It's up to us what props we use: magic, ceremonies, visualisation, meditation, observing and acting upon coincidences and synchronicities plus dozens and dozens of other alternatives.

There could be exciting times ahead.

As he thinketh in his heart, so he is - Proverbs 23:7