In Luke chapter twelve, it is recorded that Jesus said he came, not to bring peace on earth, but division; even in one’s own household, two against three and three against two. In this post we will unveil the esoteric meaning. We will also dismantle the misconceptions of its exoteric interpretation that has promulgated in religious circles from this portion of Luke, which, ironically, has led to actual division of families and humanity at large. I have actually dealt with this subject before many years ago on the blog, but this post will offer some more depth and some other corroborating scriptures as well.
Let’s look at the specific verse in detail. Jesus states:
“Suppose ye that I have come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division. For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three” (Luke 12:51-52).
Some religious leaders and commentators of the past have believed this verse means that Jesus is foretelling the split that will come from individual families over believers (Christians) and non-believers (non-Christians). While this sometimes is the natural outcome of individuals who delve into the spiritual journey, it has nothing to do with what Jesus is referring to. The danger in this kind of thinking is that when this happens, certain individuals believe they are justified in the divisive outcome because “Jesus said it,” so everything is happening as it should. It can reinforce the “me” vs “other” mentality. This is sad, because anyone embarking on the inward spiritual journey to Christ should never use Jesus’ words as a justification for any kind of division or strife between human beings. Rather, we should love others as ourselves.
So what did Jesus really mean? To answer that, we must unveil the symbols, for the truth of all scripture is veiled beneath the literal / outward interpretation.
The “one house” of Jesus’ statement is not a building. House refers to one of your vehicles (bodies) of consciousness. In this specific instance, Jesus was referring to the house which is the vehicle of thought itself. I will explain this in more in detail shortly. But first I want to direct you to another scripture by the Apostle Paul which will set the correct foundation for a proper, enriched understanding.
Hebrews 4:12 states:
“For the WORD of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the DIVIDING asunder of SOUL and SPIRIT, and of the joints and marrow, and is the discerner of THOUGHTS and INTENTS of the HEART.”
Paul speaks of the word, or LOGOS, that divides the soul and spirit of man. The Greek word used for “dividing asunder” portrays the idea of a partition. This partition illustrates the dual nature of the man’s mind. Try to think of the mind as the center, or partition between two natures. These two natures are your soul and spirit. The thoughts of man can gravitate toward desire, through the soul, or, by will, our thoughts can be carefully guarded and chosen to reflect the spirit.
In our scripture from Hebrews 4:12, it must be emphasized that the “word” is not the Bible itself, but simply the LOGOS. The Logos is the creative energy of spirit, or Christ, which manifests will (as opposed to desire), Wisdom (as opposed to error), and action (as opposed to unconscious action). These positive influences on the mind is what exposes the division, or partition, of the spirit from the soul. The soul of man, or carnal mind, is at enmity with God, until it is perfected. The coming of the man Jesus symbolizes the awakening of the soul to these positive influences, and therefore, there is for a time a great division and strife that is stirred up between soul and spirit. Paul explains this sort of war that is not against flesh and blood, but it is a war of the rulers within in our mind.
Now back to Jesus’ statement in Luke. The “house” he is referring to contains the mind, which includes the potential of the LOGOS personified through you. Notice how the author of Hebrews states that this division between soul (the lower mind containing your intellect, emotions, and senses) and spirit (or higher mind combined with the Holy Spirit) is caused by discerning of “thoughts” and “intents” of the heart. “Heart” here is another word for the greater mind, both its intellectual and spiritual or intuitional-wisdom-love nature. It is not until the spiritual ego, or “the thinker” that you are, turns its focus inwards to the still small voice that the division between soul and spirit begins its maturity towards unity in the divine marriage of soul and spirit. But at first there is always division, just as Jesus had to clean house in the temple when he had to flog away all the money changers that defiled the temple (or mind) itself.
Another scripture which brings clarity here is Jesus’ statement on the original condition of the mind, BEFORE it’s division between soul and spirit:
“But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this cause a man (mind) shall leave his father and mother (the parents of the desire mind which seeks external world knowledge) and cleave to his wife (the emotion-nature of intuition/Holy Spirit), and shall become one flesh” (Mark 10:6).
Now we must go back a few verses before Jesus talks about division in Luke chapter 12. Let’s read 12:49, which states:
“I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?”
This fire is symbolic of spirit and love and truth. It is the fire (Holy Spirit) that “divides” because its essential wisdom dispels the ignorance of the lower mind which derives its truth from external sense reality instead of the higher spiritual realities. The process of destroying ignorance can seem very divisive within ourselves as we have to let go of certain false narratives and reclaim the truth. The arrival of Jesus signifies this beginning in the mind, and at first it is divisive, because the individual thinker, the spiritual ego, or mind, begins to identify not with the soul, but with spirit, and thereby realizes the soul needs to be disciplined with the love and wisdom nature, so that it can be raised into the higher mind.
Remember, the first man (Adam after the fall) is earthy. Earth being a symbol for the soul (intellect, emotion, and physical sensation). The second Adam is a spiritual being, the potential Christ now fully manifested in the higher mind, who has united his lower nature with his spiritual nature.
What is Christ? What is Man?
When one reads the New Testament, one has to understand what he or she is reading. If he or she believes they are reading history, then he or she will only learn about Christ. If he or she understands they are reading about themselves, as the expression of the living WORD, then he or she is on the path to KNOW Christ. The Apostle Paul makes it clear: “…Christ in you, your hope of glory.” All scripture points us to the inner Christ we all have the potential to express. Within that journey is the “mystery” that Paul is instructing us to partake of.
One who wishes to understand the mystery should not ask what is Christ without first asking, what is man.
And what is man?
Man is MIND. Man is mind, and mind is man. In other words, man is “a thinker.” The Psalmist gives us this revelation when he states:
“Whatsoever a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). That which a man thinks, he is, and becomes.
The man of higher thought is of a spiritual nature, and the man who thinks lower thought is of a soul nature. But everything that a man is stems from the “thinker” and is expressed through the QUALITY of his or her thought. This quality of thought is not produced just by the intellect, but rather the combination or union of intellect with intuition (the Holy Spirit).
Paul provides further clarification:
And be ye renewed in the spirit of your MIND; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24).
Renew the mind how? Renew it from that of the lower nature (soul) to your higher nature (spiritual mind), all within the realm of thought and the QUALITY of it’s expression. The quality an accuracy of our thoughts become especially acute when the intellect is in union with the intuition of love and wisdom provided by the Holy Spirit. Then the ignorance of the external world will be revealed, and the truth of the higher realities revealed.
Some further scriptural thought on man, mind, and the true individuality, the THINKER
For what reason does Genesis state that God sent the flood on the earth? And for what reason did God spare Noah and his family? You guessed it! It had to do with wrong thought!
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).
Esoterically, this means that God allegorically baptized the earth (lower nature / soul). It is an allegory of God baptizing the lower mind, to cleanse it. This is what the ritual of baptism symbolizes: the washing of the mind in the WORD, even Christ (the perfected ideal mind), within man. The concept infers the cleansing of the flesh, flesh being the carnal mind (soul) of man which thinks such thoughts which stem from envy, lust, greed, pride, selfishness, arrogance, etc. These are all products of one culprit: the desire mind, the serpent which caused the so called “fall of man.” A better expression would be, “fall of mind!” The larger symbolism in the story of Noah is spirit cleansing the earth (soul) of evil thought.
Noah escaped the flood because he didn’t “think” like his fellow evil doers. Noah is the true individuality, the thinker, that raised his thoughts above the highest mountain top into heaven, the upper firmament the mind, which contains the waters above (Gen. 1:7), which are of truth (Christ addressed himself as this water of truth which enables one to never thirst again to the woman at the well).
Noah, the individuality, or I AM nature (the spiritual mind), then planted a vineyard (remember Christ is the vine, and we are the branches). From Noah and his family, mankind came forth upon the earth. In other words, the branches of the earth (soul) came forth. The branches are of the lower nature, but if they abide in Christ, they will produce fruit. Those do not abide in Christ, will be burned up (extinguished).
This is why Ezekiel 14:14 states that Noah was righteous enough to save himself, along with Job and Daniel who also could do so Why? If we think of them as literal people, it would make now sense. But because they are symbolic of the true individuality, the thinker, we understand we have the choice through will (the opposite of desire) to raise the soul by the spirit.
Conclusion
We started with Jesus’ statement about bringing division between the soul and spirit within the “house.” We discussed the importance of where our “thoughts” are directed, or drawn to within the house. Do they cater to the whims of desire, through the soul and external world, or earth? Or do we use will to go within and let the Holy Spirit do its work?
I want to explain this concept one more way in case any confusion still resides. I used the term “individuality” throughout the article. This can be confusing. The individuality I am speaking of is the same “I AM” aspect of being that God says will deliver Israel from Egypt (the lower mind).
The difference between the individuality and the soul is this: the soul is the “I AM me” feeling you have. Noticed how I (originally explained by Blavatsky) attached the “me” to the I AM. This “me” is your lower nature, or soul, that is attached to the individuality which consciousness has produced through it’s dual manifestation. The soul is… (insert your name and social conditioning and heredity, etc). Remember from earlier articles that when consciousness manifests, through any body or vehicle, its expression is dual. That is why we have a higher mind and a lower mind. This “me” aspect, the lower, is all the sensations, emotions, and thoughts one can have expressed through the lower mind (which encompasses expression in your physical brain and body). When the individuality, or the thinker, uses will to uplift his or her thoughts, such as compassion, joy, contentment, selflessness, etc., the individuality begins to associate itself with the higher mind, and the strong feeling of “me” that you have begins to drop away. This is why John the Baptist (the purified moral nature) stated, “I must decrease so that He can increase.” Instead of “me” vs “other” you develop an attitude of unity with others, and express that thought and emotion through acts of virtue. This doesn’t mean the “me” vanishes, but it becomes less important, and your attitude begins to shift towards a sort of unity with everything. Judgments and strong egoic opinions or dogmatic beliefs begin to become less and less important as intuition unites with your intellect and you truly begin to understand the cause and effect behind the external world with all it’s ills. It doesn’t mean you forget or ignore it, but you becomes less identified with it, personally, and more identified with the part of you that is truly immortal and is the real, greater aspect of the self. This allows you see the true problems behind the insanity of the world and can give you true solutions and insight into how to deal with problems or ills that plague our world or even your own life.
Why must we go within? Because the total mind (not just the intellect) is there, and the more inward we go, the more we can explore the true mind. Many today think the mind is created in the physical brain. This is a great problem. Consciousness only expresses a very limited portion of itself through the organ we call the physical brain and body. It does not originate there, and therefore what the physical senses interpret for us through the brain, we cannot trust. It is but a tiny fraction of mind, or man. In order to gain wisdom, we must allow access to portions of the mind that draw spiritual knowledge into the soul. Through this process the Christ is also raised in the soul.
I will discuss this more in future articles with more scripture. For now, blessings!
Most excellent explanation!
spirit = higher mind combined with the Holy Spirit
soul = the lower mind containing your intellect, emotions, and senses
Jesus brought division between the soul and spirit within the “house.”
Do they cater to the whims of desire, through the soul and external world, or earth? Or do we use will to go within and let the Holy Spirit do its work?
It doesn’t mean you forget or ignore it, but you becomes less identified with it, personally, and more identified with the part of you that is truly immortal and is the real, greater aspect of the self.
Thanks for commenting, MsRhuby.
Josh…
Many thanks for this brilliant article. I’s up there, without doubt, with your best ever articles on SOS. You have that amazing capacity for simplifying ‘tricky’ scriptures. With about six pieces of Scripture, you’ve managed to vivify much of the one-million piece biblical jigsaw. For students of esoteric scripture, this is a break-through article. This article makes so much practical sense for day-to-day living, and particularly in how the mind operates. Your article confirms, josh, that the Bible is indeed a Book on Mind Science and not a record of historical events as literal scripture attempts to portray. I love how you equated “fall of man” with “fall of mind”. The keys to the kingdom of heaven are indeed within a fully functioning mind. Thanks again, Josh, for another great article which I’m of now to re-read.
Blessings…
I appreciate your comment, Raymond. And especially one of the points you made: it’s practicality for day to day living. It brings more clarity to this scripture: pray without ceasing. We all have the ability to raise the quality of our thoughts, and to make meditation a daily, and hourly practice, not just when we are “sitting” for it. We should come to realize the importance in both types as you pointed out in a comment on the last article.
Here is another pivotal sentence from your article, Josh:
You write:
“we understand we have the choice through will (the opposite of desire) to raise the soul by the spirit”.
This concurs beautifully with Bhagavad-Gita ch 6 v 5: “Let a man raise his self by his Self: he alone, (Mind) indeed, is his own friend, he alone his own enemy”.
Thus, as you say, it’s all about how we use our mind: either carnally or spiritually. Hence the importance of meditation in making the mind spiritually functioning in Christ nature.
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” The carnal mind is selfish state of mind. Carnal mind is when an individual is purposely and intentionally minding the things of the flesh. That is, they are living to please themselves instead of living to please God. Romans 8:7
Ms. Rhuby…
Yes! But I will add the carnal mind swayed by desire, is mostly an unconscious action, as opposed to will, which is a conscious use of the mind. This is key. So much of the time that desire mind is running on autopilot, those habitual negative patterns of thought and emotion which is easily stirred up from the subconscious. It’s more the animal nature, which governs passion, instinct, desire. This must be controlled, and brought under the direction of the spiritual mind. And in the end, it must be “silenced,” which is where meditation and guarding our thoughts becomes so helpful.
But, as you mention, an individual can have the conscience which knows what it is doing is directly wrong, and chooses vice over virtue, which has more far reaching negative consequences (accumulated karma) that the Apostle Paul addresses. This addresses the aspect of scripture of the “intent” and motivations of the heart. It’s one thing to sin unknowingly, it’s another to do it willfully. The Bible has much to say about unconscious sin vs conscious sin.
Good explanation! Thank you!
That scripture from the Bhagavad-Gita in chapter 6 v 5 had a profound impact upon me, Raymond. And I love how you immediately tied it in to the will vs desire aspect.
When we contemplate this carefully, it can bring clarity to a large portion of the scriptures and our daily life. When I began my spiritual journey, I didn’t understand this concept of will vs. desire, and therefore, much of the scripture remained locked. But when we get that key we can realize the depth of many of the Biblical stories. It’s a simple concept really, but overthinking things sometimes, can often obscure simple truths. I learned this firsthand!
Putting on the full armor of God is indeed an act of protecting the mind for the battle which it goes through daily. The defensive and offensive armor is important. The shield and spear is a symbol of will, which guards us from negative thought. The helmet symbolizes that which protects the mind from desire. While the sword can symbolize either outgoing postive or negative energy, (will or desire), the “sword of the spirit” is the force of intuition which always discriminates falseness and ignorance. The sword of the spirit is truly an offensive weapon of the will. I would like to do a follow up post discussing the symbols of armor and how they are used throughout the Bible.
Josh, MsRhuby…
In the previous article, the issue of tiding 10% to the Lord, was raised. You mentioned, Josh, or was it Steve, that the 10% was equivalent to laying down the lower carnal mind thereby regaining the ‘lost’ or unconscious 90% of mind. This is another practical way of saying: ‘surrendering the 10% or, carnal mind, thereby putting on Ephesians new man, the new 100% spiritually aligned mind.
Raymond…
Yes, that was Steve. Some additional info:
In Malachi it states to bring the tithe into the “storehouse.” Following the reasoning that all ships, houses, temples, churches, arks, and even storehouse etc., is about the human mind / body temple, we can see that bringing in the tithe means to go within with our 10 percent to regain, as you say Raymond, the depths and breadth of the other 90 percent. “Prove me” states the LORD, “and see if I will pour out blessings from heaven.” That’s the other 90 percent, which is received from the spiritual mind. Heaven always refers to higher mental plane, or seat of the causal body which receives the efforts of the personality at the end of earth life. But we need to receive of these blessings here on earth in the now.
The original idea of tithing wasn’t based on physical money, but meat or food, which are symbols for knowledge and higher emotions, evolving the soul. This would be interesting to go into depth on, especially the ten percent.
The first mention of tithe with Abraham to Melchizedek also compliments this. Melchizedek is clearly a type of the Higher Self. Abraham, the father of faith, brought him the spoils of war, in other words, the spoils of the developed mind and emotion, which again we can link to the information in this post. Abraham defeated the 5 kings “five senses” of the external world by going within.
The idea of this being literal would make no sense, because there was no temple or priesthood or even nation of Israel yet. What would Melchizedek do with literal “money?” 🙂 And how is it that institutionalized religion has so confused and muddled this interpretation, essentially putting so much in bondage.
Sometimes we can be logical about things to get at the deeper meanings as well, and it doesn’t have to be super spiritual. Simple logic, which demands we go beneath the literal for the spiritual interpretation, opens many doors 🙂 Mystery of Melchizedek and all the arguments made between literalists on who or what he truly is solved!
Gaskell sums this up beautifully when expanding upon the meaning of the “tithe:”
A symbol of the sacrificial tribute of the lower qualities (thoughts and emotions) to the higher; for then “without any dispute the less is blessed of the better.”
That better, being Melchizedek, the Higher Self, which has within it the power to renew the mind.
Really enjoyed reading this ‘additional info’, Josh, great stuff, thank you.
This is very foreign to me! I think it is Science of Mind – maybe?
Are you saying the soul reaps what the spirit sows or the spirit reaps what the soul sows or something else?
Thank you for your patience.
MsRuby…
It can be a bit confusing. What I am going to share has been known to many mystics throughout the world for ages, and is in all ancient scriptures of the world. It is not known or accepted by modern science.
The soul is made up of 3 main parts (really 4), but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll stick with three. Within the three are also many varying levels and sub-levels, but, again, for the sake of simplicity, here’s the watered-down version:
Interpenetrating the physical body, you also have the emotional and mental body. The mental body is the vehicle of thought, the emotional body the vehicle of feeling and emotion, and the etheric-physical body sensation. The astral (emotional) body and mental body are made up of matter just as your physical body, but of a much finer grade not yet discovered by modern physics. They actually appear as the auras that some with physic abilities can see surrounding people.
All three bodies work together, and within the physical temple all of these manifest and form what is known as the personality, the lower self, lower ego, etc. The quality, shape, and composition of those bodies and auras depend upon the quality of your thoughts and emotions throughout life.
What’s important to know about these aspects of the lower self, is that when the physical body dies, the emotional and mental body go on for awhile, but they, too, will disintegrate and go through a death. Many ideas in the church, such as purgatory, etc., are actually based in some truth. Purgatory is an idea that originally came from this soul science. At physical death the thoughts and emotions go on, but no longer operate through the physical temple. Eventually those bodies disintegrate and break down too and wear out like the physical body. The important thing to know is that all of these vehicles of consciousness are part of the corrupt body Paul speaks of. Reincarnation doesn’t happen until all of these vehicles of consciousness dissolve and disintegrate, even after physical death. Again, this is the lower self.
The immortal part of you, sits within a body (termed in ancient wisdom the causal body) on what we might term, for the sake of simplicity, the spiritual plane. This is the seat of the true thinker, or man. It is the true home of the upper mind.
After each life, the lower self, depending on how it lived, either has a permanency that it sacrifices and gives up to be incorporated in the causal body before reincarnation, or the life lived through the lower self (especially one that has only lived through the desire nature and committed evil acts) has very little of itself to be incorporated or give up. In a sense, you might say it was a wasted life. But the lower self that becomes more selfless, and allows more of the spirit nature to flow through it, will have much to offer. One who achieves the divine marriage in this life, or the union of the lower and higher spiritual mind, breaks free and eliminates all desire from the Self, and it no longer subject to the karma that drags consciousness back to the physical plane. Please understand that when I say things like “drag” or “gravitate” etc., this is really not the case, but I am using terms to help people picture what happens. Like attracts like, so if you have lived by your desires, the state of consciousness at physical death will continue where you are at in the next life, automatically, through the law of reaping and sowing. People who think karma is not taught in the Bible are sorely mistaken, because the law of reaping what you sow is clear in Deuteronomy.
So to answer your question, yes, it works both ways. The spiritual mind reaps what the lower self sows if it is of a higher vibration (positive thoughts and emotions), but the lower self has to reap what the higher mind offers. Don’t let this confuse you. If our immortal self is already perfect, why does it need to reap anything from the physical world? Because what is reaps is greater self awareness. Adam, before the fall, was in perfect union already (Eden), but he didn’t even realize he was naked. In other words, he had little self awareness. Remember, we aren’t talking about one man so much as we are talking about consciousness itself. It wasn’t a fall of man, it was a fall of mind or consciousness. What caused the fall? Desire, what looked good to the eyes, etc.
The Higher Self is already perfect, yes, but it gains the experiences and expands it’s potential through the lower soul. It was only originally perfect as a potential. That potential becomes “actual” through physical life. Then self aware consciousness learns (after many incarnations) how to express itself with greater and greater awareness and all of it’s enormous potential becomes actual and expressed. This is the great mystery of how self aware consciousness learns to operate on ever higher planes of reality.
Keep in mind this is a very watered down explanation and there is so much more, but I would have to write pages more to fully explain it. Does this help a little?
If you are like me, then you can accept nothing until it can be proved within one’s mind logically. Trust me, I didn’t believe any of this stuff until I could do that. I scoured a multitude of ancient wisdom, history, and scriptures before I came to accept it. But in the end it will end up making more sense than anything modern science can tell you or explain. It can easily explain things like Deja vu, sleep paralysis, ghosts, psychic phenomenon, etc., and modern science doesn’t even touch it as far as logic goes. Although it took me many years to be able to put my faith in it, as I had to work it all out logically, it was well worth the journey. To understand the mystery of consciousness is the greatest mystery of all, and those that delve deep into it can be rewarded.
Wow! Thank you very much! I appreciate others’ perspectives because it reinforces my faith. I resonate much with “marriage of soul and spirit” and this part:
“One who achieves the divine marriage in this life, or the union of the lower and higher spiritual mind, breaks free and eliminates all desire from the Self, and it no longer subject to the karma that drags consciousness back to the physical plane.”
My version of something similar would be:
To the Church of Philadelphia Jesus provides a final promise to the believers in Philadelphia and to all believers: “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. Revelation 3:12
I am an overcomer!
MsRhuby (the H is important to me)
Thank you again! Peace
You’re scripture here from Revelation is right on point! The book of Job is also a treasure trove about the lower and higher self and the law of reaping and sowing. And I’ll remember the “H” next time. Take care.
I think my comment got deleted. Here it is again with your comment at the end.
Wow! Thank you very much! I appreciate others’ perspectives because it reinforces my faith. I resonate much with “marriage of soul and spirit” and this part:
“One who achieves the divine marriage in this life, or the union of the lower and higher spiritual mind, breaks free and eliminates all desire from the Self, and it no longer subject to the karma that drags consciousness back to the physical plane.”
My version of something similar would be:
To the Church of Philadelphia Jesus provides a final promise to the believers in Philadelphia and to all believers: “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. Revelation 3:12
I am an overcomer!
MsRhuby (the H is important to me)
Thank you again! Peace
“You’re scripture here from Revelation is right on point! And I’ll remember the “H” next time. Take care.”
Ah! There it is – had me very worried there for awhile.
“This is very foreign to me! I think it is Science of Mind – maybe?”
Precisely, MsRhuby. These teachings fall under what I call “Science and the Mind.” Beyond that is “Spirituality and the Heart,” which is why it speaks of two kingdoms: the kingdom of heaven (realm of the mind) and the kingdom of God (realm of the Heart). Jesus advocated for that latter, which few have the courage to enter, trying to climb up some other way, which is why our world is in the condition that it is.
Your site has been very helpful since I came across it.
It took me a lot of years and a lot of tears before the Bible literally became a life manual for me, instead of an ancient history of a tribe called Israel.
I’m from Africa where prosperity preaching is reigning supreme and spreading faster than the speed of the night.
To be very honest, I do not share my deep insights and revelations to anyone, I just maintained my focus on my own very pilgrimage, and there’s a verse in the Bible that made me not to share , Our Lord Jesus once said ,”Do not give the children’s meat to the dogs”.
So I suppose, like most people do, that God will always find a way to reveal the hidden secrets of the scriptures to his own people, and as Apostle Paul rightly said ,”All Israel will be saved”.
So i reasoned that people get what they deserve and that I should not disturb their blissful state of ignorance.
I’m really impressed that you have the courage and tenacity to lay bare some deep truths buried for more than 2000 years and you unearth it and lay it bare for all to see.
But what if these deeply buried truths gets into the hands of people that are not supposed to be in possession of it?
I’d like to interject a short comment if I may! @Maddux.
Just plant seeds, you don’t have to tend to the whole garden by yourself. Materialism is not a sign that God loves us. If greed speaks to their hearts then that is the god they worship. Hopefully they will come to realize this as we all eventually do.
Maddux…
Thanks for commenting. I do understand where you are coming from. I think Jesus’ statement to be wise as serpents also applies here, and I think where you live and what is acceptable or not in the culture should also be considered.
Jesus said he came for division because Jesus (the word of God made flesh) symbolizes truth, which separates us from our iniquity. Outwardly, those that stand for truth will find themselves separated from those who choose to listen to iniquity.
“The intellect without intuition (the heart I believe you are speaking of) is dead; but the intuition without the intellect is blind.”
I do not think it is one over the other, but there must always be a balance of both. The intellect never in itself can discover the truth. However, it can root out the false once disconnected from the personal selfish nature. Both the heart and intellect need to be operational. It has been stated, and it makes sense, that many people who have realized the truth spiritually were not able to convey it to others in any words, because even though they had a direct experience of the spiritual nature, they had not developed or trained their intellects, and so it remained only good for themselves. But the highest calling we have is selfless service to all of mankind (love).
In order to do this to the best of our abilities, it is our responsibility to nurture the heart and head. We should never neglect one over the other. Sometimes spiritual intuition can be confused for blind personal bias, and the intellect is needed to help balance this out.
And respectfully, Peter in the scriptures represents the natural man (carnal in nature), whom even Jesus stated, get thee behind me satan, for you understand not the things of God. It is Paul, after his transformation and name change that signify the heart or spiritual mind, and even then, he had to go to the desert and receive guidance, training, and teaching from the inner spirit.
Paul was most definitely an initiate in the sacred mysteries, that which Jesus tells his chosen he could explain to plainly, but not the masses, and even Paul had to correct Peter as Jesus did on numerous occasions. This does not take away anything from Peter, who definitely represents someone who eventually got on board with Jesus’ true message, but this doesn’t mean he was perfected. The New Testament was tampered with quite a bit as well by Ireaneus and Tertullian and others who complicated misunderstood all of it later. And you are right, it’s not about believing in the man, but doing the works and service he taught.