In this post we are going to demystify the Trinity through the man Jesus, and Jesus Christ the God.
The person of Jesus Christ, as presented through mainstream Christian doctrine, gives to us the greatest paradox of all religions. How can a being be both fully man and fully God at the same time? A God who created the universe is not limited by physical parameters, but man certainly is. How then could Jesus be both limited and not limited, both God and man? Of course this is an impossibility that mainstream Christian doctrine chooses to ignore by simply having faith that it is just true. But does such a blind faith rob the believer of a deep spiritual truth about themselves? I believe it does. This will be a longer post, but when digested in its entirety it should give you some “aha!” moments if you have trouble understanding the nature of the Trinity.
Let’s review a statement by the Apostle Paul:
“For in him dwells all the fullness of the godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).
What did Paul mean by this? The early church fathers had many arguments about it. In fact there was quite a bit of contention in the early church councils where clergy began acting like bickering children over the true nature of Jesus. But that is how doctrine is born—arguing over something that was never meant to be argued over, and certainly not formalized into a doctrine. The spiritual truth transcends all literal interpretations, and is so much more powerful.
Let’s break down the trinity. This concept must be understood to see the true nature of Jesus. We’ll begin by discussing spirit and matter. It may seem a little confusing at first, but by the end of this post is should all be cleared up!
The religiously minded person states that there is spirit, and then there is matter. The two are different, and spirit exist within the body. A materialist states there is only matter. And finally, some state there is only spirit, and all matter is an illusion. Biblically speaking, none of the above is true. Spirit and matter are one in the same. Both are eternal, and both are expressed simultaneously. One cannot be without the other.
I have stated many times on this blog that consciousness is all there is. But consciousness is a self-dynamic function, which manifest itself through spirit and matter simultaneously.
Even in the concept of duality, no “thing” can be defined unless it is relational to something else. For example, a painter realizes that the darkness defines the light, and the light defines the darkness. Without this contrast, you can have nothing to define. Duality is simply the manifestation of spirit through matter, which limits the ONE into many. Spirit can know itself through matter, because now it can have a relationship with itself through limitation, and matter can only manifest awareness by the spirit. This is what consciousness is, and in the grander picture of mankind, it is how self-awareness is eventually born in the limited human mind.
We are made in the image of God: both male and female, spirit and matter. God, the eternal father, is two that makes up ONE. And the one is really two. But the ONE cannot manifest unless it becomes limited, from the ONE to the TWO, which is the SON proceeding forth from the father in all things.
So where does the idea of the trinity come from?
The third manifestation of the trinity is the actual life of the manifestation back to the Father, through wisdom. The scriptures illustrate this concept by stating that the Holy Spirit could not come until Jesus had ascended to his Father. Jesus reveals the Father through the Spirit of truth. The Catholic Church made their biggest mistake when they define the trinity as three co-eternal “persons.” Jesus is the Father, Jesus is the Spirit of Truth, and the Father is both in un-manifested potential. You cannot limit God to being a “person,” which is limited in and of itself.
1=Eternal Father (all-encompassing MIND)
2=The Logos, or idea in manifestation – Read the 1st chapter in the Gospel of John!
3=The life, or movement of that manifestation on the higher plane, back to the Father.
1 = The Father / Infinite MIND)
2 = The manifesting Idea from MIND,
3 = The vibration, movement, and life in the idea – sustenance of creation through wisdom, when Godhood is attained.
The cycle is complete in three stages. John Ward, in Zion’s Works, volume 3. Pg. 59 has stated correctly:
“The difference between the Father and Son is this—‘The Father’ is to express God-Hidden, ‘The Son’ is God-manifest, and ‘The Holy Ghost’ is the Knowledge or Spirit of Truth, proceeding from the experience of both, as God hidden, and revealed.”
Do we have scriptural evidence for this? Yes. And it’s quite simple.
The Father (un-manifested God) sends the Son (manifested God), and the son sends the Holy Spirit (after ascension), wherein the full realization of the Godhead is made manifest in the human form. This is what Ward means when he says, the knowledge (Paul’s mystery gnosis) of truth is birthed in man understanding both god revealed and hidden. And yet the father and the son are ONE, and the Holy Spirit and Christ are ONE. Thus we have ONE in THREE.
Jesus’ symbolic birth illustrates this concept for us.
Joseph = the Father (births Jesus through idea, in manifestation, through the Holy Spirit)
The Son = birthed by Mary, who symbolically represents wisdom and the Holy Spirt.
The Spirit = comes after Christ’s ascension (within the individual), the life of higher consciousness manifested.
The above is the esoteric meaning of the parents of Jesus.
To argue over the literal nuisances of Jesus’ lineage is ridiculous, as Paul stated. I’ll show you why below.
The Timeline of the Gospels
Paul’s risen Jesus was not the same idea or concept of today’s traditional Christian doctrine, but was a forerunner of the canonical Gospel’s original meaning and intent through allegorical interpretation—proceeding, and building upon, Paul’s risen Jesus. Proceeding and building upon is the key.
No one can truly grasp Paul’s true Jesus Christ without understanding the timeline of the written New Testament. The first important point we must make is that Paul’s authentic epistles were penned before any of the four canonical Gospels. This had been established by both mainstream Christian and secular scholars, and the importance of this fact cannot be overstated when we come to understand Paul’s gospel when compared to the four gospels which were decided (out of many) to be included in the New Testament. I can make this claim not only on the basis of history, but also on the basis of Paul’s own admissions (more on this later).
Majority Consensus of Both Secular and Christian Scholars
Paul’s Epistles recorded: between 50 and 60 A.D.
Gospel of Mark: about 70 A.D.
Gospel of Matthew drawing from Mark: about 85 A.D.
Gospel of Luke drawing from Mark and Matthew: between 85 and 95 A.D.
Gospel of John: between 90 and 100 A.D.
What’s important about the above timetable? Chronologically, it opens up the possibility that Paul didn’t understand Jesus as mainstream Christianity does today. When you open the New Testament, the four Gospel’s come first. But Paul’s written epistles proceed not only the four Gospels, but also Acts, which is supposed to be a historical account of what happened in the early church. Why is this important?
The avid reader of the New Testament will realize that Paul’s Gospel doesn’t include a virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus, or his wisdom sayings and parables, such as the Sermon on the Mount (arguably Jesus’ most important teaching). Those details are in none of his epistles. If the earthly historical Jesus Christ was as important as traditional Christian doctrine claims, then why would Paul, the first writer about Jesus, leave these details out? Let’s look at the chart again. Pay attention to the time frames:
Paul’s Epistles recorded: between 50 and 60 A.D.
(No mention of a genealogy or virgin birth, miracles, or wisdom sayings / parables – which means no earthly ministry).
Gospel of Mark: about 70 A.D.
(10 years later – No mention of a genealogy or virgin birth – but introduces miracles and parables – strong evidence of further development Jesus’ position, and esoteric tradition continuing)
Gospel of Matthew drawing from Mark: about 85 A.D.
(Includes Genealogy of Joseph, virgin birth, miracles, parables – further development of the Jesus story)
Gospel of Luke drawing from Mark and Matthew: between 85 and 95 A.D.
(Includes genealogy of Mary, virgin birth, miracles, parables – but is anti-Jewish-and evidence of the Jesus story morphing to fit a larger population which is non-Jewish)
Gospel of John: between 90 and 100 A.D.
(Jesus is fully God – in full agreement with Paul’s Gospel and has the full element of the Jesus of historicity embraced by the Catholic Church, as in a divine being and a historical character in the gospel drama– the full story embraced by Eusebius and Constantine) – where it eventually became literalized!
Analyzing the timeline carefully a second time, you can see the narrative of Jesus’ life being built up through time. Paul wrote what he considered his Gospel before any of the canonical gospels were written. And in his gospel, there is no earthly ministry of Jesus, but rather vague phrases to his manhood such as he was born of a woman, etc. It would seem the true first part of the New Testament as recorded by Paul shows Jesus being a divine being with no earthly genealogy, a cryptic earthly birth, and who didn’t preach any sermons or teach any parables, nor perform any earthly miracles, while on earth. It would seem Paul didn’t know of an earthly, historical Jesus, or at the very least, we can conclude he didn’t consider it an important part of PAUL’S Gospel. Why?
Maybe we should ask another question: why would Paul write about Jesus Christ as an earthly being who had a historical background? He wouldn’t, because he had no knowledge of such a thing. How would we know that? The answer is rather simple: Paul clearly states that his knowledge of Christ came only from two sources, and neither of those sources included an earthly ministry of Jesus. These details should never be overlooked. His first source was through a personal, experiential revelation, where he experienced the heavenly Christ. His second source was his own admission: according to the scriptures, which exclusively meant the Old Testament.
Paul is very proud of these facts. In fact, Paul goes out of his way to show—quite bluntly I might add—that everything he understood about Christ came from no other man or any other teaching.
“For I neither received it by man, neither was I taught it, but by revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12).
So by Paul’s own admission, he is telling us that HIS gospel was by a direct revelation. Interesting. So what was his personal revelation really about?
Paul’s Experiential Revelation of Jesus Christ
Paul’s personal revelation of Christ is recorded in Acts 9. Acts was written between 85 and 95 A.D, some 20-30 years after his supposed transformation takes place. It is an extremely fascinating account which unlocks an important key to understanding all the Gospels, which I believe many scholars, theologians, and laypersons have so crucially missed, much to the detriment of spiritual knowledge in today’s church.
The strange details of Paul’s conversion indicate the author of Acts wants us to understand that Paul had an inner revelation rather than a literal outward experience. This is quite clear from so many angles of the text that any literal rendition of it makes it not only implausible, but quite ridiculous.
Firstly, and unlike the other apostles, Paul encounters the resurrected Christ from heaven.
“As he [Paul] journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to earth and heard a voice…” (Acts 9:3-4).
His heavenly vision is obviously a mystical experience. When we follow the details closely, we get confirmation. A careful comparison of Acts 9:3-7 and Acts 22:9 reveals that Paul saw a bright heavenly light and heard a voice. Acts 22:9 tells us that the men next to Paul heard the voice, but couldn’t understand what it related (unlike Paul). And yet, the light that Paul witnessed blinded him, but not the men. Why? If it was bright enough to blind Paul, why not the others? And the voice? They all heard it, but only Paul understood what was said (which means it was an inner experience), and only Paul was blinded by the light (which means it was an inner experience).
I’m going to make a bold claim here, but will flesh out evidence as we keep going. My claim is this: The importance of this revelatory experience now enables Paul to see Christ revealed in the Old Testament, which will be Paul’s go to when he writes about Christ all through his epistles, according to the scriptures. In other words, this revelation opened Paul’s eyes to see Christ everywhere in types and shadows. He no longer sees the law (Torah) as literal, but now sees the spiritual intent behind it. As Paul states:
“Who also made us ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter [literal interpretation], but of the spirit. For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).
Christians imbedded in religious doctrine interpret this to mean that Paul brought a new revelation of Jesus Christ in the New Testament through Old Testament prophecy. Well, he did! But, did he do it literally? I think this is silly! Paul was absolutely saying that the entire Old Testament, literally interpreted, brings death! How can we know this for sure?
Remember, Paul mentions no virgin birth, no miracles, or any kind of earthly ministry. That idea was foreign to him as the Gospels hadn’t been written yet. In the same way, there was no earthly Jesus literally walking around with Moses and the Israelites, even though Paul states Christ was with them. Why? Because Paul’s resurrected Jesus was something to be birthed IN man, as a higher governing principle, which effects the mind. Like Paul, we must learn to interpret the Old Testament through symbolism, metaphor, and allegory, as he tells us plainly in Galatians 4:24 when he states the story of Abraham and his progeny is a an allegory. Many Christians argue that Paul is simply arguing grace vs law in Galatians, which is true, but they fail to understand that Paul was saying grace is found IN the law, simply because the law is allegory explaining the inward working of man. Paul states in Romans that he delights in the law of the Lord according to the INWARD MAN.
In my opinion, there have been great scholars (entirely outside of the realm of mainstream scholarly acceptance) who have come to understand the symbolic and metaphorical nature of the scriptures (Joseph Campbell, Gaskell, and many others). Below is a taste of what they have shown us which we can apply to all scripture, but will do specifically for Paul’s conversion experience in Acts.
The voice of God, as Paul heard in his revelatory experience, symbolically represents:
“…the higher nature calling from within to the lower mind. The expression of the conscience in the personality.” – Gaskell.
The above definition will clear the air so to speak, about Paul’s conversion experience, if only Christians would listen. Even the Gospels themselves tell us that Christ knocks at the door, and he that hears is invited to come into union with him. This symbolizes Christ speaking (knocking) from the higher mind to the lower mind, where our desire natures resides, and that we (through Christ) must overcome. The light that shined about Paul from heaven symbolizes the truth and wisdom that comes from the heavenly Christ.
In retrospect, the Book of Acts clearly shows that Paul’s conversion experience is part of an inner struggle of the mind. This conversion allows him to see where he was religiously minded instead of being spiritually minded, especially when viewing Old Testament scriptures.
Consider the fact that Paul was a prior persecutor of Christians, in which he committed evil acts without conscience. This experience is what changes him, in other words, him submitting to the inner Christ, or that higher conscience which shows him how wrong he was in his understanding of the Jewish scriptures. This process is completed when he becomes an ascetic in the desert for three years after this conversion experience, to work this all out (symbolically of course).
About the Ascetic Gaskell states:
“A symbol of the voluntary abandonment of outgoing activities in preparation for a new form or course of manifestation. It is an inbreathing of the ego or Self prior to an out-breathing of renewed life.”
After Paul’s revelation, he refused to go to Peter or any other Apostle until he had worked it all out on his own, as an inner experience. And this is where Paul’s gospel comes from, based on his newfound spiritual understanding of the Old Testament, through meditation and prayer. Thus Paul’s famous line, “…according to the scriptures.”
Why was Paul really blinded by the light?
Blindness symbolically represents the lower mind cut off from the higher mind, which means it is blind to Truth and Wisdom. Blindness basically represents being religiously minded instead of spiritually minded. Paul remains blind for three days without eating or drinking. Three symbolizes a period of completion (blind for three days and three years alone in the desert), and not eating or drinking symbolizes not using knowledge gained from experience through the senses. Whereas spiritual food, such as manna, represents spiritual knowledge (truth and wisdom), physical food means sustaining the mind through the senses of experience, which we know we are not to trust. And that is what Paul had been doing through his wrongful act of persecution, and his misunderstanding of the Old Testament. After the third day Paul receives his sight again, but his spiritual transformation lets us understand that now he “spiritually” sees, indicating a new revelation of Christ within.
What is the significance? His new revelation of Christ, according to the scriptures, is now found within the Old Testament. But is his Christ of the Old Testament prophecy going to be an earthly figure, or was it always a heavenly figure? Let’s see.
Paul clearly says that the gospel he preaches is strictly from his revelation of the Christ. Remember, Paul didn’t have any access to the four Gospels, so his idea of the Christ is the Christ within, the hope of glory. Paul’s revelatory Christ is NOT the literal Christ of the synoptic Gospels because there is no virgin birth, no Sermon on the Mount, and no miracles! Paul never addresses any of these important theological components of traditional Christianity. Why? It is because it wasn’t part of the revelation of Jesus Christ which he had received! He only preached the Christ within, the hope of glory, the exact same message Jesus conveyed when he said the kingdom of God was within you (Luke 17:21).
In other words, Paul wrote his epistles based on the inner revelatory Christ, then the Gospel of Mark came along and added more metaphorical detail to this risen Christ. Mark still doesn’t know anything of a virgin birth or a genealogy of Jesus, which is why he doesn’t include it. But Mark does give us an earthly ministry of Jesus (which was always meant to be interpreted metaphorically). Then the Gospel of Matthew and Luke come along adding more and more to the Jesus story.
What Kind of Christ did Paul Understand from the Old Testament?
It becomes obvious that the scriptures Paul is referring to is strictly the Old Testament, which only sees Christ as a type and metaphor. Let’s look at one of his examples. I will insert Gaskell’s symbolic interpretations as well:
“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers [fathers – ignorant condition of the soul which produces something superior spiritually] were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea [baptism of truth], and were all baptized into Moses [the moral nature of man uplifted through the law] in the cloud [symbol of truth] and the sea [sea-as the astral desire nature, but when crossed symbolizes rising above this illusory aspect of lower emotions] and did all eat the same spiritual meat [as in mana], and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they did all drink of that spiritual rock which followed them: AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST” (1 Cor. 10:1-4).
Here, Paul uses allegory to show that Christ was with the Israelites. Of course he did. Paul sees the entire Exodus as an allegory for the processes of the inner workings of man. Just like all New Testament writers did.
Consider Hebrews 4:12:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even asunder the soul [the rock with which the spiritual ego builds the higher mind] and spirit [the energetic outpouring of the divine nature], and the joints and the marrow [marrow – the innermost nature of the soul – joints being all that connects it to the lower planes and conscious experience], AND IS A DISCERNER OF THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTS OF THE HEART.”
Jesus’ parables are meant to make us think about life differently. He had a lot of strange sayings when taken literally, but when seen spiritually, they make sense, and they affect a new way of thinking on us.
We can see that Paul’s resurrected Christ was clearly not one of doctrine, but one of the transformed spiritual mind. Paul states in Romans:
“…be ye transformed by the RENEWING of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
We can see this mystical message clearly in a juxtaposition of many of Paul’s sayings. For example, speaking of Abraham and circumcision he states:
“And he received the SIGN of circumcision, a seal of righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father [esoteric term already discussed above] of all them that might believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness may be imputed to them also…” (Romans 4:11).
So Paul states that Abraham received a sign of a covenant, so that he may spiritually become a father of nations. What does this spiritual father type figure really mean? He clarifies this in Romans 2:28-29, later in the chapter, which sums up his spiritualization of an Old Testament theme quite clearly:
“For he is not a Jew, which is one OUTWARDLY (compare to Luke 17:21 for greater revelation), NEITHER IS THAT CIRCUMCISION, WHICH IS OUTWARDLY IN THE FLESH: but he is a Jew, which is one INWARDELY (again compare to Luke 17:21), AND CIRCUMCISION IS THAT OF THE HEART, AND IN THE SPIRIT, AND NOT OF THE LETTER (literal interpretation of the Jewish law)….”
As Paul understood it, Abraham became the father of faith not because of any literal circumcision, but because of he simply believed. Of two of the major important rites of Jewish tradition, both baptism (cleansing) and circumcision (covenant) we can see that Paul compares to an INWARD experience of the mind. Unlike the Gospels, Paul’s Gospel had nothing to do with these literal signs. In fact, he even stated:
“…for Christ sent me NOT to baptize…” (1 Corinthians 1:17).
Strange, considering that at the end of Mark Jesus commands the disciples to go out to the entire world and baptize. Is this to be literally interpreted? Of course not. It has a spiritual meaning. Paul could care less about a ministry of literal baptism. This is because he understood its real meaning, as already shown how he spoke about it in the Old Testament when the Israelites were baptized in the Red Sea. As Gaskell states, baptism is:
“A symbol of purification of the soul-qualities by Truth (water), effected through the development of the moral nature.”
In fact, Paul’s gospel didn’t preach about the moral nature of man, be rather he was focused on the risen Christ within, the New and better covenant, which goes beyond the Law of Moses (moral nature of man).
The Straight Skinny on Paul’s Resurrected Christ
A Christian, who admitted to be fairly new to Christian doctrine, once asked another Christian trained in seminary, where is it written in the Old Testament that Christ would rise on the third day. The question comes from the new Christian’s discussion with an atheist who was trying to show literal inconsistencies in the New Testament. On the surface it seems like a valid point. Luke 24:46 states:
“Thus it is written that the messiah would suffer and rise again on the third day.”
The problem, from the atheist’s point of view, is that there is no direct mention in the Old Testament of this happening; there is only what we might refer to as, indirect evidence that is conveniently contrived to fit Christian doctrine. Christian apologist refute this, and the debate goes on.
I am going to show you why the debate is moot (as most theological debates are), and why both sides of the argument are paradoxically both right and wrong, and how the entire debate can be easily reconciled through symbolism, and which will lead to many “aha” moments about your understanding of the scripture as the bigger picture will fit everything into place—with Paul’s Christ that is!
The Popular Third Day Controversy
It is believed by millions of Christians around the world that Jesus was buried on a Friday before the Sabbath and raised on Sunday. But this only accounts for about two days. It is clear from the Gospels that Jesus rose before dawn on Sunday, putting him the in the grave Friday and Friday night, and Saturday and Saturday night. We are missing an entire day and night. Of course the convenience of the Easter story is that it is Pagan in origin. Jesus rose on Sunday because he is associated as a SUN-GOD. Endless debates rage on the internet trying to squeeze and extra day between Friday and Sunday. Others argue a burial on Wednesday, and they have all kinds of evidence for this. In order to prove their points many hoops have to be jumped through.
If my theory is right and Paul’s Christ has nothing to do with the Christ of the Gospels (in the version where Christian’s literalized it), then Paul would not be constricted to such a problem. His Christ, according to his understanding of the scriptures, would be based on the Old Testament. So where do we find three days in the Old Testament? The truth is that there is no direct evidence. None that at least directly link a messiah that would be raised from the dead after three days. However, there are many thematic and metaphorical attachments to the number three in the Old Testament which Paul would be thinking about and applying to his personal revelation of Jesus Christ, much as he does when he compares Jesus to the Rock being present with Moses and the Israelites. There are two that stand out. The first would be from the story of Jonah, where he was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. This is a watery grave, because he was symbolically under the sea. We already know that seas stand for the realm of the astral nature, where the lower emotions of desire are at play within the evolving soul. If Paul was thinking of this reference, he was connecting his personal revelation with Christ here in a metaphysical sense, as was done quite a bit in the ancient world at this time. We have already seen what the risen Christ mean’s to Paul: the higher mind touching the lower mind in man. The theme is the same in Jonah.
Another Old Testament reference which stands out comes from Hosea:
“After two days he will revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight” (Hosea 6:2).
This is odd wording. The scripture refers to raising up a nation of people on the third day who will live [obviously spiritually] in God’s sight. It starts out by saying after two days they people will be revived, as if in the first 2/3’s of the number of three’s symbolic meaning of completion of a period of growth is a process of revival, but this revival is completed in the last third and the consciousness is thus completely raised.
I was highly curious to see if I could find a correlation of these themes in older Egyptian mythology, particularly in the mythology of Horus. Many scholars argue that there is no connection between the Horus and Jesus myth, but they are wrong. They just don’t know how to look for it, as the link isn’t direct just like Paul’s Old Testament links to Christ are not direct.
Consider the battle between Set (the lower self) and Horus (the higher self-reborn) in ancient Egyptian mythology. This entire battle describes man’s inner spiritual struggle with his higher and lower natures. In one part of the battle, Set and Horus fight for three days. Why three days? As we have already seen, three is a number of completion representing a certain period of conscious development. Set clearly represents the lower self in this Egyptian myth story, and Horus represents the higher self, just as the Christ. Interestingly, at this point in the story with Horus and Set, Isis (Wisdom) intervenes to stop the battle, indicating the soul is still journeying. We get the same imagery in the New Testament. Even after Christ’s resurrection, the disciples have to wait until the Holy Spirit (Wisdom) comes to complete their spiritual transformation.
Now let’s look at Paul’s statement with which we started this post with:
found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8:
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein ye stand; by which ye are also saved, if you keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas and then of the twelve…”
Throughout this post I have argued that Paul didn’t know the Gospel of the Synoptic Gospels, not only because it hadn’t been written yet, but also because he only received a direct revelation inwardly, and then also from his newfound spiritual understanding of the Old Testament. Notice something peculiar here which backs this claim. Paul said Jesus was seen of the “twelve.” Now wait a minute. Did Paul not know that Judas, one of the twelve, was then dead, therefore only making eleven? Certainly, because he didn’t preach the synoptic Gospels! So why mention twelve? We cannot yet include Matthias because he wasn’t selected yet, according to Acts.
Paul is basing his tradition off the Old Testament again. There were twelve tribes of Israel, of course. The later Gospels take up this tradition, among some other traditions, like the twelve signs of the zodiac, and include them in their Jesus narrative.
The Trinity
We saw earlier in this post what the trinity really stands for. The triune nature of God is found within every human being. YOU are to awaken to YOUR Christ nature. Paul’s gospel had this hope. He states that he travails until Christ be formed within you. What’s he talking about here? He’s talking about the higher mind touching the lower mind and causing a mind-blowing experience by the transforming of the mind itself. The way we think and act.
To Paul, the fullness of the Godhead dwelling bodily in man is the basic gospel, or good news.
The real truth is that God is spirit, but God is also a man! What does this say about you? I’ll let you draw the dots and make your own conclusion! But remember, to deny that Jesus comes in the flesh is antichrist. This doesn’t mean that you’re an evil person, is just means that you have an antichrist thought. Meaning that you fail to understand, according to the scriptures, that Jesus, the Logos (the mind of God), can come into all flesh of humankind, which means you. But greater is he that is IN YOU than he (antichrist thought) that is in the world.
Those who argue over literal meanings, or genealogies, etc, as Paul said, is foolish. The real meaning of Jesus being born of a virgin transcends doctrine. Paul didn’t write about Jesus having an earthly ministry is because it was a moot point to Paul. The church is what made this important as they literalized the Gospels and created the religion of Christianity. All mankind born of the spirit is born of a virgin. The story of Jesus is not about one man, but all humankind. And that makes the Gospel so much more powerful and uplifting. Again, read the first chapter of the Gospel of John, and you can see how the second person of the trinity is not a “person” at all, but a manifestation of the ONE God through man.
At the beginning of this post I posed the question: “The person of Jesus Christ, as presented through mainstream Christian doctrine, gives to us the greatest paradox of all religion. How can a being be both fully man and fully God at the same time?”
The answer is simple. It can only be true if all mankind has the ability to manifest the fullness of the Godhead. In other words, Jesus’ case wasn’t one such special case in the history of mankind, but all men / women inherently have this potential, which is why Jesus told the Pharisees, quoting from the Psalms, that is was written ye are all gods and sons of the most high. We think wrongly about what God is.
So Jesus the man represents our life on earth, and what we must do to attain salvation. Jesus the Christ represents what we become, through salvation, which is the knowledge of truth and love (Holy Spirit) attained in the central being of man, which is the fullness of the Godhead manifested on earth.
The original Gospel writers understood this. But the Church literalized the story of the Christ and turned a universal truth about the potential of man into a religion that focuses on outward appearance instead of the inner being of man himself.
Conclusion:
The man Jesus is the potential in all of us. Jesus Christ the God, the fullness of the godhead bodily, is the complete potential in all of us. As God stated in Genesis, man has become like one of us, to know good and evil. In other words, man has become consciously self-aware, and now has the potential to use the knowledge of the true self to live forever. He was kicked out of the Garden not as a punishment, but to partake of the tree of life (live forever) through the gnosis of the complete revelation of Jesus Christ—Paul’s Gospel!
I’m typing on a kindle,so forgive my brevity. Very well written essay. The thing is this: individual mystical revelation is always attacked outright or quietly marginalized by institutional religion. Everywhere, always, in almost all formal religions since at least Rome. There is only one route for legitimacy of a vision and that is through a formal institutional process. Sad to say.
The hero or savior in a lot of the ancient myths always represents the “higher soul/self”. The hero/savior goes through trials, suffering, and helps humanity connect to the divine. This is what the soul goes through when incarnating into the physical realm. It now has to experience trials, suffering, and “death”. This is why in mythology when the savior is born it’s life is in danger, the soul is in danger of being overtaken by “matter”. You find this motif in the myths about Jesus, Dionysus, Horus, Asclepius, Hercules, etc. Our higher self/soul is what connects us to the divine just like the hero or savior.
From “The Lost Light: An Interpretation of Ancient Scriptures” by Alvin Boyd Kuhn:
“In the cycle of the twelve mystic operations of Hercules, the hero is ordered to go down into Hades (our world) and bring up the three-headed Cerberus. His journey is a symbolic tracing of the experiences undergone by the soul on earth, not in some mysterious underworld below it.
In the fables of the Hercules cycle the hero (the soul, as always) tracks the Nemean lion into a cave where its capture is effected. As it was in the body that the divine nature in man was to “capture” or embrace the animal soul to lift it up, the cave symbolism for the body is again indicated.
The mire and filth of the Augean stables cleansed by Hercules is another form of this imagery, for the solar hero turns into them the waters of two rivers. The two streams represent those of spirit and matter, generally, and only out of the interworking of the two does eventual purgation come.
Hercules, the sign of the Man, whose twelve labors are the achievement of twelve distinct stages of evolutionary development.”
Hercules goes through his twelve trials and then eventually dies and resurrects. The soul goes through the experience of matter and then resurrects or returns to it’s divine state.
From “The Pagan God: Popular Religion in the Greco-Roman Near East” By Javier Teixidor:
“Of the youth god Melqart we know that Eudoxus of Cnidos (ca. 355 B.C.) is quoted by Athenaeus (392d) as saying that the Phoenicians “sacrificed quails to Heracles, because Heracles, the son of Asteria and Zeus, went into Libya and was killed by Typhon.”…..According to Athennaeus, the episode of Heracles’ death did not end there, for Iolaus “brought a quail to him and having put it close to him, he smelt it and came to life again.” The quail sacrifice thus would commemorate the death and resurrection of Heracles. This event was probably celebrated in an annual festival at Tyre to which Josephus seems to refer in his Jewish Antiquities (8. 146)”
You find this same idea in ancient Egyptian religion. The sun god goes through the 12 hours of the night in the underworld where he dies and then resurrects at dawn.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amduat
“The underworld is divided into twelve hours of the night, each representing different allies and enemies for the Pharaoh/sun god to encounter. The Amduat names all of these gods and monsters.”
From “The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt” by Richard H. Wilkinson:
“The great sun god Re was thought to grow old each day and to ‘die’ each night(though for the same reason[because such a statement would be believed to magically preserve the reality of the god’s death], specific mention of the god’s death is not found), and then to be born or resurrected
each day at dawn.”
People who joined the mystery cults would identify themselves with the god or goddess that dies and resurrects.
From “Following Osiris: Perspectives on the Osirian Afterlife from Four Millennia”
By Mark Smith:
“But the crucial significance of Osiris for them lay in what he personally had experienced. His life, death, and resurrection were perceived to be particularly momentous in relation to their own fates, and thus they figure more prominently in the textual record than do accounts of the exploits of other divinities.”
From “Reading Dionysus: Euripides’ Bacchae and the Cultural Contestations of Greeks, Jews, Romans, and Christians” by Courtney Friesen:
“Not only does Paul employ language that reflects mystery cults in several places, his Christian community resembles them in various ways.They met in secret or exclusive groups,
employed esoteric symbols, and practiced initiations, which involved identification with the god’s suffering and rebirth.”
From “The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity” By James S. Jeffers:
“Another common element of mystery religions was a myth telling how the deity had either defeated his or her enemies or returned to life after death. As the cult member shared in the god’s triumph, he or she was redeemed from the earthly and temporal.”
From Romanising Oriental Gods: Myth, Salvation and Ethics in the Cults of Cybele, Isis
and Mithras (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World) By Jaime Alvar Ezquerra:
“Triumph over destiny and admission to eternal felicity were however only possible through divine suffering. That is why the mysteries needed divinities who had had some experience of something like the human condition, had themselves lived historically, so that they could function as models. Their adherents might suffer pain and torment, but with the god’s aid they could overcome them.”
Nightshade…
Nice comment to add to our discussion. Scholars are always saying how different the myths are from Christianity, but they are being too specific and not allowing for the fact that cultures expressed the same theme in different ways, but the symbolism in most savior gods cannot be dismissed.
Louie…
Agreed. I believe the academic world in Biblical studies throughout the 1900’s was highly biased as well, and many scholars today are still too caught up to really take a novel approach on the New and Old Testaments. I see so much regurgitated junk, with a new viewpoint offered every now and then.
However, with Richard Carrier I am finally starting to see something different. I like Carrier’s analysis, but he still holds too strongly to the materialist view to truly understand the allegorical interpretations of all scripture. When a very influential scholar like Carrier finally begins to understand more about consciousness and how the ancients wrote the scriptures to enlighten us about the different stages of consciousness, we’ll finally have something worthy in the academic world!
Josh
This is a truly great article! I’m doubly delighted with it because it specifically qualifies some claims in my own just published article here regarding Jesus being the individual person, man or woman. By clarifying Paul’s ‘no mention’ of an earthly ministry of Jesus, you’ve certainly demystified vital scriptural points: that this idea of Jesus’ earthly ministry became added or built upon, as time went on. In other words, an opportunity for power seizing over the masses arose. Formal religion, I found kept esoteric content liretalized for the emotive impact on the vulnerable. But people globally today are maturing spiritually from religious indoctrination into making conscious choices based on their intuitive wish to evolve in Christ consciousness from within.
While I do accept there was a holy-intended man in those days, many Churches have modeled ‘their’ Church on biblical Christ’s wisdom but attributing such to historical Jesus the holy man, who, I remember reading some years ago, was more a political activist for justice much like Martin Luther King or Ghandi (great souls promoting peace and unity) of their day. In this context, the biblical Jesus and the historical Jesus cannot be taken as representing one and the same person.
Biblical Names — weather people or localisation — are titles for states of mind or consciousness.
As I see it, the body is the Temple of God. A cocoon or confinement place for birthing our soul when conditions are ripe – much like a physical womb child awaiting its birth after reaching the sufficient infant maturity level. In this context, the Bible’s content would represent the instructional manual for such Self-birthing and the subsequent maintenance. I agree, Josh, that there were many great souls of antiquity from all traditions, both male and female. But these enlightened souls were certainly not leading people into a form of rote learning which would amount to mere habituation of our thought patterns. Far from it. The Bible is more a science of mind manual, instructional in development of human consciousness, in promoting independent spiritually-based thinking as opposed to following the tribal man-made dogma beat robotically. Jesus, the holy man / woman /person of antiquity most certainly was not encouraging such immature standards, such non-productive use of our creative potential for Self-realization – which would surly amount to capitulation of individual soul status, keeping us thus in the realm of the animal species league of group consciousness. No Enlightened soul would be close-minded as to advocate such a restrictive practice. But some ‘leaders’ so-called, both recent and historic, decided on deadening the wisdom of the Holy Spirit of souls, instructing instead on outer personality dependency. Such practice over the years has led to dis-empowering the individual rather than empowerment through expansion of consciousness. In other words, the literalized personality became the core tenet of Church teachings, became the outer focal point, thereby suppressing the substantive issue of Christ within. As I recollect, the Bible was eventually composed by very advanced minds based on collaborative information gathered globally: that a Unity Force or Field of Higher intelligence exists beyond, and independent of, all man-made belief systems. This reality is what people in their droves globally are now awakening to naturally — ‘for unto us a Child is born’, from within.
Uplifting Church homilies, I feel are fine and useful so long as the built-in message is that spiritual maturity is birthed through the Christ within.
But it’s worth remembering, that, Intellectual knowledge alone does not alter the state of the soul, rather direct experiencing of inner Christ Nature. In this context, mere rote learning of belief systems does not serve the creative nature of our cosmically evolving human soul, which is, ‘image (imagination) and likeness of God’ status.
Religions generally, respectfully, I feel, have succeeded in dividing the planet into competing islands of belief systems. Leading the masses away from our naturally-come-up spiritual awakening (as portrayed in “Paul”) to one of complex mesmerism’s. We even have different religions fighting each other in the name of God for ownership-rights of His kingdom and Wisdom. What absurdity, when we consider that Name of God translates ‘nature of God’ which is unconditional love! And still it goes on today globally on a grand scale all in the so-called ‘Name of Jesus’ or whomever, respectfully. But, anyone with a mustard seed of intelligence, can see that this is all about maintaining power, greed and control through indoctrination into belief systems. Then, again, many simply follow the family tradition, the group mentality or tribal societal belief-beat blindly.
Going inwardly — or as biblically phrased, becoming a ‘Jew’ practitioner — is the natural way of resurrection of consciousness and direct spiritual revelation. In fact, if only one scripture resonates with us, and we practice it daily with total commitment, such as “be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10 (meaning, regularly quietening the mind for gaining purified awareness), then, for us, the rest of the Bible, as far as Paul is concerned, becomes redundant. By going within, leading to maturation of soul awareness followed by outer action, the purpose of the Bible, instructional-wise, has been achieved. The rest shall be added intuitively unto consciousness. A consciously lived state of eternal Truth imprinted on our soul as Heart of God Consciousness.
Thanks again, Josh, for a wonderful article!
Blessings !
Raymond…
Thank you for the very informative comment. It is obvious throughout our posts and comments that we have the same viewpoint. Like you, I do believe there was a historical figure that the Gospels were based off of, but I am open to the possibility that there is more or less.
The important thing is, as you have stated many times, that a practical level of thinking, we must engage in the exploration of whoever Christ was, as to what he represents, through the dedication of our private prayer closet as Jesus instructed, which is no doubt meditation and the exploration of the self through the calming of the myriad thoughts of the mind, through whatever avenue the practitioner suits best for himself or herself. As we both know, this inner exploration is a difficult and long journey when one is still in doubt, but it becomes ever more easier as the process gets started and is prolonged, because the inner spirit reveals the effects over time. And only when one dedicates him or herself, to the true effects of mediation in its myriad of forms and practices does it have a real effect.
In truth, the religions of the planet have indeed divided the true nature of a practical means to salvation and to understanding the scriptures. Sad but true. However, as you, I have faith in mankind as a whole to began retrieving, as time flows, the practices of the ancients in the exploration of the inner self on a greater global level. To most, it is an egositic trip to consider oneself equal to divinity. But to those who persevere, we realize it is the most humbling of experiences, and that a true god, as defined by the scriptures, is not one of power, but one of the spirit as Jesus said.
Blessings, my friend.
The Trinity might as well point to Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego. Does defining it with another abstraction or arbitrarily assigning a numerological meaning to a number solve anything for the seeker? What can Direct Experience reveal?
Place a coffee cup on a table in front of you, and look at it. Thinking tells us that there is a subject (‘I’), an action (seeing) and an object (coffee cup).
Now, close your eyes, and place your hand on the table. Without thinking about it, what is your direct experience? Is it ONE experience or THREE experiences (hand, touching and table)? The three are one, until thought divides the one experience into three.
Open your eyes, and look at the coffee cup again. Is it ONE experience or THREE?
Let’s scrutinize our daily experience. The THREE states that we experience are waking, dreaming and deep sleep. In waking and dreaming, mind and a body arise, and there are experiences of happiness and unhappiness, peace and agitation, pleasure and pain, desire and fear. Is there any happiness or peace in desire, or is happiness revealed only after the fulfilment of desire? What makes it so? Is not desire a thought? Is there any unhappiness, agitation, pain, desire or fear in deep sleep? Is there any thought in deep sleep?
Apparently, it is only thought that causes unhappiness, agitation, passion, desire and fear. Why do we think so much? It seems to be a bad habit. Bad habits can be broken. Remove thought (ego) from the equation, and the THREE states become ONE state of unbroken peace and happiness.
Can one function without thinking? Can you walk without thinking about every step, thinking about the past or thinking about the future? Can you drive a car without thinking about every movement? Can you make a cup of coffee without worrying?
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
Then we have the parables (confusion) of the New Testament. The Parable of the Sower says exactly the same as Psalm 46:10. The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat is the same as the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Burn off the weeds from the physical, mental and emotional sheaths (or waking, dreaming and deep sleep… however you choose to replace the symbols), and a new spirit appears.
Holy Spirit? Happy Spirit. Joyful Spirit, Generous Spirit, Forgiving Spirit… Evil Spirit, Unclean Spirit. Why should we invent translucent Beings to confuse the meanings of words? Entertainment? Thanks, Hollywood.
Maybe Faith, Belief and Sin don’t mean what we’ve been led to believe either.
Are we Human Doings or Human Beings?
“God is an intelligible sphere, let’s say a sphere known to the mind, not to the senses, whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere. And the center […] is right where you’re sitting, and the other one is right where I’m sitting. And each of us is a manifestation of that mystery.” (Joseph Campbell, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, Episode 3)
Jack…
I get what you are saying. But there are many that still see this as an intellectual exercise, and they must be spoken to as well. This is how I came to a greater understanding, through eliminating what is not so by the intellect. Ultimately, this must be laid to rest so the spirit inside man can reign, but the intellect is still a vital tool in spiritual development. Even your own comment reveals this to be the case, if one argues point by point what you have said. It is the case of the intellect “ruling out” that which is not true and makes sense. By the way, intellectually, that last quote by Campbell is a biggie for us intellects!
Some “get it” through a more intuitive sense, and read between the lines of the intellect on an automatic deeper level. And some, as I once was, are completely new to these ideas. So I write accordingly.
To answer your question, yes, one can walk without thinking. It has even been proven that one can solve puzzles without thinking, which shows the power of the subconscious. Which brings up the questions: does one have to think at all to be consciously aware of one’s true nature? I think meditation comes into play here, as it goes beyond the thought process of the intellect when done properly and with consistency.
Joshua,
Meditation… goes beyond thought… if done properly.
Define properly. Pranayama (focus on breath)? Mantra (repetitious focus on a word, phrase, or name [of God])? Japa (repetitious chanting of a word, phrase or name, vocally or mentally, in which case it becomes mantra meditation)? Guided meditation? Guided meditation isn’t really meditation. All of the above are only methods for developing concentration, because the undisciplined mind is typically so scattered. When single-pointedness is finally developed, the point of focus must be dropped to reveal thought-free Silence.
When you can close your eyes or even just catch yourself thinking and dive straight into that Silence… It took me about 30 years to finally get it. There were quite a few detours.
Back to the Trinity, because I didn’t finish my thought…
This symbolic analysis is much like an Easter Egg Hunt.
Direct Experience. What is the basic definition of Trinity? A group of three people or things.
It’s in the grammar of almost every language. First Person (I), Second Person (you) and Third Person (he, she, it, them, other).
In the Tamil language, grammatically the three parts are called First Place, Second Place and Third Place. First Place is the subjective (I). Second Place is what is in front of you, what is directly perceived by the senses. Third Place is the other, i.e. mental thoughts.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the words are only pointers. Look at the words.
Let’s start with Holy Spirit. What is Holy? Is it the church’s definition (pertaining to God) that is most relevant? That’s part of the story, but the essence of holy is pure, uncontaminated, perfect, infinite, formless. Might I say, Virgin? All of the attributes that are used in the attempt to define God – Is it not pointless to define that which is said to be infinite, formless?
Is this Spirit a ghost that must be possessed? Ha! If God is infinite, God can’t be divided. Man is in God, as God is in Man. There’s plenty of biblical scripture to support it.
A simple definition of spirit: “those qualities regarded as forming the definitive or typical elements in the character of a person […] “One’s nature? So the name points to the pure essence of God and, by inclusion, Man.
3. Pure Consciousness, Awareness, Presence, Being. Pick a label, any label.
Father and Son. What is the relationship? The Father is the source of the Son, and the Son is the offspring of the Father, but somehow the Father and Son are One. Oh, and by the way, the Holy Spirit is somehow One with the other two. We can define Father and Son as unmanifest and manifest, mind and world, etc. But all three are One, and One is indivisible. There’s nothing to do here. It’s not a problem that must be solved.
It is a Zen koan. What is the sound of one hand clapping? How can the eye see itself without a mirror? Who am I?
A koan is a riddle that isn’t meant to be solved by the ego. When the ego exhausts itself, the ego collapses.
The Holy Spirit isn’t something that can be attained or acquired anew. It is only veiled and only has to be re-dis-covered. So what is the veil?
Jack, I’ve always noticed that Jesus’ sayings make us ponder exactly as a Zen Koan!
Thanks for your comment.
By the way, i first saw The Power of Myth over 25 years ago.
“Follow your Bliss!”
Hi Joshua and Raymond,
Joshua, this is a long and extensive article which in the beginning was very difficult to understand, for me at least, as I have been raised on very different terms and concepts. However, when I reached the end I could not but agree with you for the full 100 percent.
As you probably all know by now I see Jesus as a historical person but I do not necessarily see his life literally as portrayed in the gospels. Everything that is written about him there is a symbol for something and as different people have written a story of his life, there are differences in the stories because the different writers wanted to stress or show different points sometimes. That became already evident in the two different lists of names of the generation of the Christ.
I see the historical Jesus as someone who already had completed a cycle of becoming consciously aware and who agreed to incarnate once more in order to teach and show the human race that had lost its way again how to live our lives and to complete our own cycle. I see him as an avatar and he is or was not the only one. I believe that every time that mankind loses its way, someone or even more than one are sent to incarnate on earth in order to help mankind back to its feet again.
When Jesus is speaking about the Son of Man and who the Son of Man is, he is not telling us who he is but who we are. And he is showing us how to regain (our awareness of) our divine status. He is indeed the Son of God but so are all of us, only, we have forgotten it and have fallen asleep.
The process of his crucifixion is the process all of us have to undertake, including all the stages as told in the gospels, which I have written extensively about in my articles. His and our resurrection takes place on the cross, as also mentioned in the gospel of Philip.
And it is indeed an internal process as both Joshua and Raymond explained extensively.
Could therefore the coming of the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Jesus be the rising of the Kundalini after all the chakra’s have been opened? No descending on us but rising up in us? As such involving all of the body and not only the brain?
Jesus’s teaching of The Way (I heard of his early followers as people of the Way) was of course very dangerous for the leaders of the church that came into being once they became power hungry, because it made the people independent. So once these church leaders seemingly lost the spirit of Love and wanted power, they deemed it necessary to let this Self-empowering teaching disappear by turning Jesus into a divine Being that could not possibly be followed by us. In order to remain in power they had to develop a theology which turned Jesus into God and the people into lowly sinners who were dependent on the church and its teachings in order to be saved from hell. Regretfully this went from bad to worse, although there always remained people and churches who did teach and walk a way of Love.
Raymond, you write: “Going inwardly — or as biblically phrased, becoming a ‘Jew’ practitioner — is the natural way of resurrection of consciousness and direct spiritual revelation. In fact, if only one scripture resonates with us, and we practice it daily with total commitment, such as “be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10 (meaning, regularly quietening the mind for gaining purified awareness), then, for us, the rest of the Bible, as far as Paul is concerned, becomes redundant.”
This has been my experience as well and I wrote the same to someone lately. It all narrows down somehow.
Anny,
You and Raymond both commented on the conspiracy to conceal the Truth. Whereas religion seems to be a commodity and a consolidation of power, can the conspiracy theory really explain away the myth? Does such a conspiracy conceal anything, when currently, in the present, now, when the Bible is so accessible to any seeker who chooses to study it dilligently and discover any pearls of wisdom that it might contain; when currently, in the present, now, the internet is available and offers a nearly inexhaustible array of doctrines, religions, creeds, theories, discussions on every conceivable subject – a Tower of Babel – to all who seek; when currently, in the present, now, the Truth is readily available to all seekers who will just take a moment to realize that true and lasting happiness is found in absolutely nothing external.
How many English translations of the Bible are there? How many different religions are there? How many denominations of churches are there? How many different paths of yoga are there? Star Wars episodes? Indiana Jones movies? Harry Potter books and movies? How many different myths are there, from ancient times to present? Are all of them true? Is any one true?
The Power of Myth. The narrative of the Hero’s Journey grabs the attention and kindles the imagination. It’s a basic archetype of the human mind. A story is easier to remember than a bunch of codes and laws. A story is more interesting to share.
Rather than merely concealing the Truth, a myth will also reveal the Truth. Psychologically the myth might be easier for one to assimilate, depending on one’s temperament.
Why are there so many paths of Yoga? One might as well ask why are there so many different human temperaments.
Kundalini Yoga is a tool. Chakras are concepts. The chakras are used as points to anchor the mind, discipline the ego and develop concentration. Some people find it easier to focus on an object; an image; a mantra; etc. These are all tools. When the tool has been effective, the tool also must be discarded.
I recently read an article here that tried to tie the seven days to the chakras. I believe there are more than one such article here. Why can’t the seventh day (seventh hour, seventh…), the Sabbath, regular period of rest, simply serve as a reminder to us to periodically and regularly devote a fixed portion of time to being still (Psalm 10:46)? Replacing that with another concept (symbol) only puts one man-made brick atop another, to build that tower that might reach heaven.
*Psalm 46:10
Anny,
You state: “When Jesus is speaking about the Son of Man and who the Son of Man is, he is not telling us who he is but who we are. And he is showing us how to regain (our awareness of) our divine status. He is indeed the Son of God but so are all of us, only, we have forgotten it and have fallen asleep.”
Couldn’t have said this better myself!
Hi Jack,
Thanks for your comment and your question. My answer is: no, not any longer. Not now as indeed all these things you mention have become available now. You mention different English translations of the Bible (I only have the KJV) but English is not the only language. I have more than one Dutch translation, a German one as well as the Tora in Hebrew. The differences between the different translations are huge sometimes. We have also learned to see the importance of all the other sources you mention and indeed, the importance of being still. However, I would not like to imply that anyone is trying to build a tower of Babel again. We are all searching for new ways and undoubtedly all take wrong turns sometimes.I see that as part of the process. And let us all attend to our own mistakes and not judge others for none of us in in the possession of the Absolute Truth just yet..
Growing up in a strict Baptist household, we were always taught that the God in the new testament was “The Father”, and the various beings like the angel of the lord who spoke to abraham and various other characters was “the son”, who later became made in the flesh as Jesus Christ.
However, I’m starting to see it now that it was always the Son. The God of the Hebrews and Jesus himself(that is, if a Jesus ever existed). But you can almost see the evolution It takes through the course of the bible, starting out as a jealous but just and wise God to his people, to being more open hearted and pure love in the new testament, all the way to victorious and righteous in Revelations. As if the Son were seeking an enlightenment of its own. A God that began in spirit, was made into matter, then found its way back to spirit. To learn how to be a perfect God. And to give us a perfect example for our own enlightenments- until we realize that we were It all along.
Actually, now that I think of it, I forgot to actually finish this article because I went on to read your newest one, so perhaps I should see if I’d like to ammend this post after finishing. 😊🤔 However this is my current view of at least who the son is. Its us. A walled off and distinct, yet not separate consciousness that we all share.
Justin…
Correct. The Gnostics eventually came up with the demiurge to explain the Old Testament God, but a deeper spiritual understanding sees the demiurge as also part of man, not a separate God. Thanks for the comment.
I may be taking a few steps backwards here… but would you say that the “Son” is the “Father’s” ego?
In other words, “we” as the manifestation, are essentially the ego of the unmanifest
Hi Josh,
This post is great! It brought a mist to my eyes. 🙂 After years of searching for truth, this same understanding – that Jesus, through his life, is showing to us who WE are – was revealed to me 5-6 years ago. Needless to say, it rattled my spiritual beliefs to its core. Since then I have been on a journey of understanding who Jesus was and as a result understanding/remembering who I/we am/are. I kept it to myself as I wrapped my mind around what I was being shown, not to mention there wasn’t anyone in my circle ready to hear it. As a matter of fact, just last week was the 1st time I shared the understanding with someone other than my husband. I’m so glad you shared this. This type of understanding is what makes the difference between having the label of being a spiritual person and experiencing spiritual life.
Dayna…
That the life of Jesus is showing who we are is the key. Thanks for your comment.
Good day mr joshua
I am sorry, If I may ask of what wisdom are you teaching this–is it of God’s wisdom/holy spirit or wisdom of men???Based on your words about you, did you seek God’s face on this, heartily pray to God during the time you are greatly confused(an avenue for devil’s manipulation if care is not taken)? I have read some of your articles but not sure if they are Holy Spirit inspired.As we know it’s the guidance(john 16:13) given us by God to guide us to all truth….or probably it’s a all based only on research.The bible says we should not rely on men’s wisdom but power of God. Yes bible is highly spiritual which made some of what you said true but must be treated through the guidance of the Holy spirit. To confirm that bible is truelly spiritual Jesus said in John 16:12-13…”I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come”.By saying he had so much to say means there is truelly more about Him/God we need to know.Thats why as Christ followers it’s important we allowed Jesus to lead us himself through holy spirit.
Meanwhile, It looks you are deviating from original gospel of Christ by making it appear is all about meditation(probably you even believe second coming of Jesus is about things of mind which is not happening for real like someone said in a post somewhere?) .For those who are just growing this might be of great confusion and we should remember Jesus said in mark 9:42..“If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be drowned in the sea”.Christ should be first and our only focus because in him is all treasures of wisdom and knowledge(colossian 2:3).
Festus…
Thank you for your comment and concern. My quest began when I began to question the accuracy and validity of mainstream religious teaching. I felt that something was amiss. Much of what is preached in mainstream religion binds the individual to the opinions and doctrine of man, which in some instances can be helpful, because mainstream religion, while having many things wrong, is largely done with good intent, especially by ordinary people going to church every Sunday. But the deeper spiritual meanings of scripture are lost to us when we interpret them literally only. This is not an opinion, but a fact verified both in the Bible itself and from outside sources. My intent was and is to get to the bottom of the spiritual meaning which brings life and revelation beyond what we have been taught. I am surely not perfect, nor do I have everything correct. That I am also sure of. But it’s been a great journey where I genuinely feel that I have discovered much of what my heart and mind was yearning for when I asked for it, and then applied myself to go deeper.
The second coming of Christ, as you say, is certainly for me not a literal event. But I respect all those who wish to believe it is. And as far as deviating from the original Gospel of Christ, I believe the church began doing that a long time ago 🙂
I wish you the best in your future searches also to discover the truth of the scriptures.
Blessings!
Gospels were not written by apostles. This was a stellar read. In Luke it’s Mary Magdalene Joanna which is connected to the very first Egyptian goddess IoAnna. IaAnna was the Sumerian goddess which is daughter of sin connectrd to th moon God now think of Mount SINai. It’s all connected. That was fun research there. I don’t listen to tradition, I remove that comma. Luke 24:10 I believe. Thats another layer of interpretation. Mary also can be seen as the feminine intuitive mind. Peter is male linear mind. This can be seen in the Gospel of Mary in Nag Hammadi. Once again a great article. I enjoyed it. I always look at Paul’s letters as spiritual per 1 Corinthians 2:10-16. “Mind of Christ”
Thanks for the comment, Donald.