Abysmal Pursuit Of God By The Letter that Killeth

Ebionite Restoration  - Christian Renewal

Those who read the scriptures in search of Life, find Death.

Those who search for God in the scriptures, worship the Demiurge.

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death"
(Prov 14:12 NKJ)


Regardless of the number of times that carnal men are warned that God is a Spirit, and can only be sought through man's indwelling spiritual nature (Jn 4:24), the great mass of believers perpetually reject the spirit and and turn to the written word of the scriptures in pursuit of the "letter that killeth" (2 Cor 3:6).   Perhaps the most profound example of the inability of the natural carnal mind to even begin to grasp man's own higher soul and spiritual reality is provided in the words of Paul who said of the baptized, totally committed believers as Corinth: “I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way -- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge -- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” (1 Cor 1:4-7 NIV).    Yet, in the second chapter of the very same Epistle Paul warns these believers who have been given all knowledge and testimony of Christ: “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14 NKJ).    Paul then goes on and warns these believers of a natural mind who were baptized and dedicated to Christ: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ” (1 Cor 3:1 NAS).   Thus, these believers could only be taught the doctrine of Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Cor 2:2), because they were not yet spiritual men -- but rather, they were men of flesh and still very much “babes in Christ”.   Paul then explains that: “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able” (1 Cor 3:2 NAS).   What should be troubling to the modern believer is that Paul openly admits that the baptized and confirmed Christians at Corinth -- people who had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and received the gifts of the laying on of hands and speaking in tongues -- people who were not taught by preachers and priests, but the Apostle himself -- were not yet able to understand and comprehend what Paul referred to as the Mysteries of the Gospel of God.  

What the natural carnally minded believers had trouble in comprehending -- a reality that continues to plague Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Atheists, and the people of all religious faiths today -- is the reality that the religion preached by Paul was one of Spiritual Transformation.   Paul warned those he preached to about the "letter that killeth", that their religious ideas and doctrines were merely elementary.   Paul attempted to convey this higher reality to believers who were unable to comprehend the Mysteries of God, because he was a man who was not only enlightened about the Kingdom within (see Gate Of Eden), but had himself been permitted entrance into the Kingdom -- as seen in his words that every Christian who beseeches the Lord today to enlighten their understanding, is in fact asking to see and hear “…things so astounding that they are beyond a man's power to describe or put in words…” -- and after they gaze upon these mysteries, what they have witnessed will be of such a profound nature that they will “…not [be] allowed to tell them to others” (2 Cor 12:4 TLB).    Why?   Why will they not be able to convey to the believers in the Church what they have seen?   Because in not having evolved through the process of spiritual transformation, they are still of a carnal mind -- a mindset that Paul warns: The... “carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God... For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Rom 8:7-8;13 NKJ).    

When Paul warned that he could only speak to the believers at Corinth as   "...men of flesh, as to babes in Christ” (1 Cor 3:1 NAS), what he was warning was that “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Heb 5:13-14 NIV).   And because they are yet carnal -- not having undergone the process of spiritual transformation -- Paul warned that “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Cor 8:2 NKJ).   For if man could simply open the scriptures and be able to discern the Truth, Jesus would not have said of his disciples: “For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Matt 13:17 NIV).   Why did Jesus say these words?   Because the majority of Jews who attempted to read the scriptures literally, and observe the oracles of the Word in a ritualized outward manner, were the counterfeit believers whose carnal mindset had spiritually disenfranchised them from the Kingdom within.   The modern doctrinal teaching that the followers of Christ are under the law of grace, and this grace has absolved them from fulfilling the Royal Law of God because Jesus has done everything for them -- and so, Christians are free to live in any manner that they see fit so long as they believe and have faith, is simply not within the framework of what Paul wrote -- as seen in the words: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?... Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey -- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Rom 6:1-2; 6:12-16 NIV).   With regard to what we call sin, the requirement was set forth by Jesus himself when he said: “sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee” (John 5:14 KJV).   Speaking of those Christians who again turn to the things of this world after beginning to embrace the gospel of Christ, the Apostle Peter makes reference to the scriptures and states: “But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Pet 2:22 KJV).  

We must come to terms with the reality today that Jesus was not all-inclusive.   It is clearly seen in the Bible that Jesus commanded his disciples not to reveal even the elementary precepts of the Gospel of God to those people who can be likened to dogs and swine -- even when they profess with their mouths their allegiance to the Lord.   If they were true believers, then they would know the Mysteries first hand.   For this reason the Sacred Secrets that bring the believer to maturity, are simply not written where the carnal and unworthy can view them.   This is confirmed in the words of Clement, the 1st century disciple of Peter, who wrote: “We remember that our Lord and teacher, as commanding, said to us, guard the mysteries for me, and the sons of my house.  Wherefore also he explained to his disciples, privately, the mysteries of the kingdoms of the heavens.” (Clementine Homilies).

What is important is for us to realize that Jesus taught two gospels -- the good news or gospel of Jesus that was proclaimed to the masses, and the Gospel of God, which were the Mysteries of the Kingdom that was taught only to his disciples.   This is seen expressly in the words of Clement when said regarding the commandment of the Lord that the disciples must “guard the mysteries for me, and the sons of my house”.   Those who are in the house, are the disciples who have gained entrance into the Spiritual Kingdom that he declared.   While those who were said to be “outside”, or sense bound in this world, received only the good news announcing the existence of the Spiritual Kingdom that they must seek with a purified body and mind.  

From a New Covenant perspective, knowledge that is conveyed in the manner of instruction must be understood to be the manner in which we must prepare ourselves -- road markers that we will perceive as we travel -- changes in consciousness that we will observe -- and the route that we must follow in our journey into the Kingdom.   The whole concept of the coming of the Kingdom is not from the perspective that a physical kingdom will be inaugurated in this world -- but rather, that the divide between the inner Kingdom (Lk 17:21) will be bridged, and we will then exist in both realms simultaneously.   When the Bible states that we must pick up our own cross and walk in The Way, what it is conveying is the need to purify the body and expand the mind in preparation for the Kingdom to come within the consciousness that we are using in this realm.

With regard to the spiritual term “house”, Origen wrote in Contra Celsus: “I have not yet spoken of the observances of all that is written in the gospel, each one of which contains much doctrine difficult to be understood, not merely by the multitude, but even by certain of the more intelligent, including a very profound explanation of the parables, which Jesus delivered to ‘those without' while reserving the exhibition of their full meaning for those who have passed beyond the stage of exoteric teachings, and who came to him privately in the house.  And when he comes to understand it, he will admire the reason why some are said to be without, and others in the house”.    This same understanding is explained in the scriptures when it states that one should “Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words” (Prov 23:9 KJV).   In the words of Origen, the true meaning of the parables and the scriptures belongs only to “those who have passed beyond the stage of exoteric teachings, and who came to him privately in the house”. 

What, then, is exoteric teachings?   Paul calls it the “milk of the Gospel” designed for the nourishment of immature believers who he calls “babes in Christ” (1 Cor 3:1-2).   These entry-level teachings have to do with the cleansing and purification of the mind and body from the defilements of this realm because “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful” (Rev 21:27 NIV).   In our assessment of these statements, we must understand that spiritual wisdom and understanding is not derived from the memorization of manmade concepts -- but rather, it is the result of our endeavor to utilize a greater potential of our mind.

The second century Church Father Clement of Alexandria expressed this same message when he wrote that: “For the prophet saith: Who shall understand a parable of the Lord save he that is wise and knowledgeable and loveth his Lord?  For it is given to few to contain all things: For it is not as grudging that the Lord commanded in a certain Gospel: ‘My secret mystery for me and for the sons of mine house’” (Clement of Alexandria, Strom. V.10.63).  

Dogs and swine are symbols -- symbols of those who claim to be believers, and yet they attempt to alternate their lives between the gospel and the things of this world.   Regardless of what these people profess with their lips, they do not love the Lord.   Therefore, only the disciple, the one who has put the doctrines, the slavery to materialism, and the culture of this world behind him, and has entered within the house, can receive the true Gospel and Mysteries of God.

In his famed work De Principiis, Origin explains who can be a recipient of the Mysteries of the Kingdom and the Gospel of God: “Whoever has clean hands, and therefore lifts up holy hands to God… let him come to us… Whoever is pure, not only from all defilement, but from what are regarded as lesser transgressions, let him be boldly initiated into the mysteries of Jesus, which properly are made known only to the holy and the pure… To those who have been purified in heart, he whose soul has for a long time, been conscious of no evil, especially since he yielded himself to the healing of the Word, let such a one hear the doctrines which were spoken in private by Jesus to his genuine disciples”.

The dogs and swine who attempt to live an alternating lifestyle -- clinging to this world while attempting to half-heartedly embrace the gospel of Jesus, cannot “lift up holy hands to God”.   Having never become cognizant of the spiritual essence within them -- an essence that lies beyond the great divide of heaven and earth -- they remain sense bound, and cannot refrain from sin.   They therefore never become “pure… from all defilement”, even from what are “regarded as lesser transgressions”.   Because they do not possess the spiritual power and strength that cleanses them from the defilements of the carnal world, they make excuses for their unholy condition, and create dogma explaining why man cannot be perfect and sinless.   Because the believers who know only the exoteric doctrine of the Christ continue to cling to this world, and have never been purified by the healing of the Word, they continue to dwell in what we call sin.   Having never been purified, they do not possess the knowledge of those who were “…initiated into the mysteries of Jesus, which properly are made known only to the holy and the pure”.   Therefore, they never come to “hear the doctrines which were spoken in private by Jesus to his genuine disciples”.  

It makes no difference what they call themselves; i.e., Christian or Jew, minister or rabbi, priest, bishop, prophet, etc., they cannot be Jesus' “genuine disciples” until they have been “purified in heart… for a long time, been conscious of no evil, especially since he yielded himself to the healing of the Word”.   Because they remain “outside”, they do not know or understand what Jesus truly taught.   They may preach the good news, and appear to live a religious lifestyle, but they are not very much different than the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus condemned for exactly the same reason.   Thus, the doctrine of perpetual redemption, and the consecration of a carnal lifestyle as seen in our churches today, simply had no place among the genuine Christians of the first three centuries.  

In the Martyrdom of Ignatius (first Century Overseer of Antioch), Ignatius speaks of himself as a disciple of John.  In his Epistle to the Ephesians he writes that he has been “initiated into the mysteries of the Gospel with Paul, the holy, the martyred”.  In his Epistle to the Trallaus he speaks of the mysteries and writes: “Might I not write to you things more full of mystery?  But I fear to do so, lest I should inflict injury on you who are babes.  Pardon me in this respect, lest, as not being able to receive their weighty import, ye should be strangled by them”.  Ignatius also writes that though he is aware of the mysteries, he is not yet “by any means perfect, nor am I such a disciple as Paul or Peter”.

What preacher of the gospel today warns his congregation that if he was to reveal the true teachings of the New Covenant -- the Gospel of God -- he would “inflict injury on you who are babes” in Christ?   What teaching of the Lord could a present-day preacher of the gospel reveal that the congregation of believers are not “able to receive their weighty import”?   If Ignatius, either of the two Clements, or Origen was with us today, what profound mystery could they speak regarding the true teachings of Jesus that believers today would be “strangled by them”?  

What must be immediately recognized is that when we speak about the Christianity of the first three centuries, we are not talking about the same religion that exists today.   That's right!   Because of the political agenda and doctrines that were forced upon the church in the fourth century (see The Death Of The Religion Of Jesus), it is easily demonstrated that the Christianity we know today is a mere shadow of what Jesus taught, and was believed over the first three centuries of our Common Era.   Moreover, we can never even begin to move beyond the entry level milk, and partake of the solid spiritual food that enables us to embrace the Gospel of God, until we come to terms with the fact that the Christianity of the first three centuries was so profoundly different than what remains today, that what is practiced today must be recognized as a new religion that came into being in the fourth century, and was revised into still an almost totally new form at the time of the Reformation.  

We cannot today even relate to sacred teachings that would “strangle” the common believer, because we no longer possess the Gospel of God -- and have only the good news that was preached to the multitudes.   Because the Church became carnal, and of the flesh, we have only preserved the doctrine that Origen spoke of as “preached in the Churches… for the simpleminded and for the ears of the common crowd who are led on to live better lives by their belief”. 

The scriptures are the Key of Knowledge that must be turned within to open the door to the Kingdom and enter the True Temple.   In a total abandonment of the spiritual essence and purpose of the teachings of Jesus and TheWay, believers have rejected the Spirit and adopted the way of the very people that Jesus portrayed as blind guides who are making the people the children of hell.   The man known as the Apostle Paul warned the first followers of Jesus that death comes to those who embrace the "letter that killeth" (2 Cor 3:6) -- and yet, carnal believers continue to conclude that these words don't apply to them.   That the vast majority of mankind is deaf and blind to the Truth and their own Higher Soul and Spiritual Reality, is because they are focused in the wrong direction -- i.e., the things of this world -- and this can be readily seen in the words of Jesus: “For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Matt 13:15-17 NIV).

Those who know me, know that I almost never use the word Demiurge -- which is defined as "...a Gnostic subordinate deity who is the creator of the material world".   I rarely use this term because having been an Essene, Ebionite and Nazirene, I never embraced the very anti-Jewish theology of the Apostle Paul and his Gnostic disciples (see The Gnostic Paul).   But that does not mean that Paul -- who was portrayed as Simon Magus by the original disciples and followers of Jesus -- were wrong in what they stated with respect to the worship of a counterfeit God by the carnal Jewish sects of the Sadducees and Pharisees.   Because the vast majority of Christians ignore this all-important warning by Paul, they too have fallen victim to the same fate as the Sadducees and Pharisees who Jesus condemned as counterfeit believers.  

The Spiritual Torah/Law Of God

And The Living Word of Messiah/Christ

The Torah The Jews Cannot Receive,

And The House The Christians Are Barred From Entering!

The Two Are One And The Same

 

While I will demonstrate below that the most spiritual of Jewish and Christian minds have all attested to the fact that the scriptures are an allegory that both instructs  the multitude of readers through the use of parable and enigma -- i.e., in the manner of spiritual nursery rhymes which are used to convey truths to the immature mind -- while reserving the Mysteries of God and the Oracles of the Living Word for those who are worthy to receive them.   What the Apostle Paul writes with respect to the "letter that killeth" (2 Cor 3:6) in reference to those who are under the grave misconception that they can read the literal text of the scriptures and ascertain the true meaning, is explained by the 2nd century Church Father Clement of Alexandria in his Stromata when he explained: “...now that the Savior has taught the Apostles, the unwritten rendering of the written, this has been handed down also to us”.   What Clement is stating is that it was Jesus who taught his disciples the inner meaning of the scriptures by opening their minds so their understanding could pierce through the garb of the allegorical enigmas that blind the perception of carnal men -- i.e., "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45 NIV).   Clement then goes on and explains that “the mysteries are delivered mystically, that what is spoken may be in the mouth of the speaker; rather not in the voice, but in his understanding”.    And in the allegory of the scriptures, it is this Law that was shattered (Ex 32:19) that the Children of Israel could not receive because they were too carnal in their understanding -- and this is the symbol of the Spiritual Torah/Law that can only be received by those who are of a purified mind/body and live a consecrated life to The Most High.   Thus, the warning of Paul is no different than that of the Jewish mystic who states to those who attempt to find God in the literal meaning of the Torah/Law: "Thus the tales related in the Torah are simply her outer garments, and woe to the man who regards that outer garb as the Torah itself, for such a man will be deprived of portion in the next world" (see No Jew Has Read The Torah/Law).   Quoting the Zohar it is further written: "So it is with the Torah. Its narrations which relate to the things of the worlds constitute the garments which clothe the body of the Torah; and that body is composed of the Torah's precepts, gufey-torah (bodies, major principles). People without understanding see only the narrations, the garment; those somewhat more penetrating see also the body. But the truly wise, those who serve the most high King and stood on mount Sinai, pierce all the way through to the soul, to the true Torah which is the root principle of all. These same will in the future be vouchsafed to penetrate to the very soul of the soul of the Torah." 

The teachings of Spiritual Judaism as practiced among the Essenes, Ebionites and Nazirenes, was to prepare the disciple to receive the Living Law of God from within themselves.   And while the modern Church continues to embrace the 3rd century doctrines of Pagan Rome, the vast differences of what Jesus actually taught and what people today believe is summed up by A. Powell Davies: “Biblical scholars”, he writes, ”were not disturbed by what they found in the Dead Sea Scrolls because they had known all along that the origin of Christianity was not what was commonly supposed to have been” (quoted by Millar Burrows in More Light on the Dead Sea Scrolls).   And while the modern believer attempts to prove their beliefs through carnal interpretations of the scriptures, the original followers of Jesus only used the scriptures as a guide book -- i.e., the Keys of Knowledge -- to open the door to the inner Kingdom.   Thus, in the Essene Gospel of Peace it is written: 

And Jesus himself sat down in their midst and said: "I tell you truly, none can be happy, except he do the Law."

And the others answered: "We all do the laws of Moses, our lawgiver, even as they are written in the holy scriptures."

And Jesus answered: "Seek not the law in your scriptures, for the law is life, whereas the scripture is dead. I tell you truly, Moses received not his laws from God in writing, but through the living word. The law is living word of living God to living prophets for living men...  God wrote not the laws in the pages of books, but in your heart and in your spirit...  But you shut your eyes that you may not see, and you shut your ears that you may not hear. I tell you truly, that the scripture is the work of man, but life and all its hosts are the work of our God. Wherefore do you not listen to the words of God which are written in His works? And wherefore do you study the dead scriptures which are the work of the hands of men?"

"How may we read the laws of God elsewhere than in the scriptures? Where are they written? Read them to us from there where you see them, for we know nothing else but the scriptures which we have inherited from our forefathers. Tell us the laws of which you speak, that hearing them we may be healed and justified."

Jesus said: "You do not understand the words of life, because you are in death. Darkness darkens your eyes and your ears are stopped with deafness. For I tell you, it profits you not at all that you pore over dead scriptures if by your deeds you deny him who has given you the scriptures.

I tell you truly, God and his laws are not in that which you do. They are not in gluttony and in wine-bibbing, neither in riotous living, nor in lustfulness, nor in seeking after riches, nor yet in hatred of your enemies. For all these things are far from the true God and from his angels. But all these things come from the kingdom of darkness and the lord of all evils. And all these things do you carry in yourselves; and so the word and the power of God enter not into you, because all manner of evil and all manner of abominations have their dwelling in your body and your spirit. If you will that the living God's word and his power may enter you, defile not your body and your spirit; for the body is the temple of the spirit, and the spirit is the temple of God. Purify, therefore, the temple, that the Lord of the temple may dwell therein and occupy a place that is worthy of him.

"And from all temptations of your body and your spirit, coming from Satan, withdraw beneath the shadow of God's heaven.

 

In the same way that Paul called the Law of Moses a schoolmaster (Gal 3:24) that brought us into the presence of Messiah/Christ who would reveal to the Jews the Torah they could not receive, and invite the followers of Jesus into the House where they would be taught the Mysteries of God that could not be revealed to the carnal and profane, all scripture is a guide-book comprised of allegorical symbols and forms that assist the immature spiritual mind to connect with first their inner soul and spiritual natures, and ultimately the Kingdom of God which Jesus said was within us (see Gate of Eden).   

What is the truth?   In the fourth century the Christian Church underwent massive changes in doctrine and organization in order to make it compatible with the needs of the Roman Emperor Constantine (see The Death Of The Religion Of Jesus).   Prior to that time the church was wholistic and in the manner of a oracle of healing, prescribed a cure that was appropriate for the disease of the individual.   In the approximate year of 178 of our Common Era, Celsus, the Epicurean Philosopher and opponent of Christianity, published a rather embarrassing work in opposition to Christianity known as The True Word or Discourse.    It is said that this work was widely published and used by the Pagan world as an attack on the Church.   Seventy years after its publication The True Word was still so widely circulated, that the Church Father Origen was commissioned by St. Ambrosius to refute this attack by Celsus.  

In our endeavor to enlighten ourselves with regard to a much clearer picture of the original Gospel message as it was envisioned by the early Gentile church at that time prior to its secularization under the government of Pagan Rome -- and in our effort to begin the process of comprehending our present day theological limitations which was a result of the Reformation -- it would be very helpful for us to begin by examining the church prior to the time when its doctrine came under the direct control of a series of Roman Emperors in the fourth century.   From this perspective, what we have in both The True Word, and the official reply of the church in the form of Origen's work known as Origen Contra Celsum, or, Origen Against Celsus, is a rather unique glimpse into the beliefs and doctrines of the first and second century Gentile Christian Church.   Unique, in that the text not only contains the allegations of the second century Pagan world against the Church, but also the official reply of the Church to these allegations.   The document known as The True Word no longer exists, but its text is largely preserved in the eight (8) books that Origen wrote in the endeavor to refute the charges against the Church by the Pagan Philosopher Celsus.

In examination of this document, the modern Christian must initially ask: Who today would accuse the Christian Church of being a “secret system”?   No one -- because the Church today has lost its spiritual essence -- and is a mere shadow of its former self over the first three centuries of its existence.   Therefore, it is important that we recognize that such an allegation would be unheard of in our present time.   The modern Church views its mission as a sort of religious outreach to save sinners -- and yet Celsus viewed sinners as being detrimental to a religion such as Christianity.  In fact, he questioned why they were even tolerated.   Before we inquire how such a statement could even be made, let us remember that the Apostle Paul said the exact same thing when he wrote: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14 NIV).

This view -- in and of itself -- is crucial to both demonstrate and understand the major fundamental differences between a secular institutionalized church -- which was born during the Nicene (Nicene Council in the year 325) and post Nicene period (after the year 325) -- and the anti or pre-Nicene Church (prior to the year 325 AD), during the first three centuries of our Common Era.   Moreover, Origen's reply to Celsus portrays the great obstacle that inhibits both modern Jews and Christians from comprehending the true purpose of the scriptures -- which is to use them as the Key of Knowledge that the disciple turns within them in the endeavor to receive the Living Law that gives Life to the reader.   On this great spiritual truth the Church Father Origen defended Christianity against the attacks against the church by Celsus, the second century Epicurean philosopher, when he wrote that the true depth of the Gospel message is difficult for the reader to perceive, “…including a very profound explanation of the parables, which Jesus delivered to ‘those without’ while reserving the exhibition of their full meaning for those who have passed beyond the stage of exoteric teachings, and who came to him privately in the house.  And when he comes to understand it, he will admire the reason why some are said to be without, and others in the house”.

Origen responded to the allegation of Celsus by explaining that:  “For there are in the divinity of the Word some helps towards the cure of those who are sick”, meaning the sinners.   Origen then clarifies his statement and writes that these sinners are by no means invited to “…participation in mysteries, then, and to fellowship in the wisdom hidden in a mystery, which God ordained before the world to the glory of His saints”.    

To demonstrate this truth in Origen's reply to Celsus, we can see the same exact message in the assertion of Paul that there were different doctrines -- i.e., the “milk” for the carnal believer -- the lesser mysteries for the seeker -- and the deeper things of the spirit for the genuine Christian -- of which Origen wrote: “Now, in answer to such statements, we say that it is not the same thing to invite those who are sick in soul to be cured, and those who are in health to the knowledge and study of divine things. We, however, keeping both these things in view, at first invite all men to be healed, and exhort those who are sinners to come to the consideration of the doctrines which teach men not to sin, and those who are devoid of understanding to those which beget wisdom, and those who are children to rise in their thoughts to manhood, and those who are simply unfortunate to good fortune, or -- which is the more appropriate term to use -- to blessedness. And when those who have been turned towards virtue have made progress, and have shown that they have been purified by the word, and have led as far as they can a better life, then and not before do we invite them to participation in our mysteries. ‘For we speak wisdom among them that are perfect’”.

What we have demonstrated in this reply to Celsus by Origen is the framework of a True Spiritual Church.   The Word is presented at varying levels in accordance with the needs of the individual.   The sinner is invited to partake of the healing of the Word -- and if they repent, and have a change in heart and mind, they will have prepared themselves to move onward.   After purification from the transgressions and mindset of this world, and servitude to man's carnal nature, the minor mysteries can be revealed to the disciple -- which minor mysteries will then enable the disciple to begin the process of gaining entrance to the spiritual kingdom within them.   As the disciple gains spiritual strength and vitality, and develops his innate spiritual attributes -- attributes which lie dormant in the carnal believer -- the disciple is then able to take the hand of the Lord and walk in the footsteps of the Master.  

This great spiritual truth is seen in the words of Origen when he writes regarding the mysteries of God:  “…others again, which to the pure in soul and body exhibit the revelation of the Mystery, which was kept in secret since the world began, but now is made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets, and by the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”.  Origen then goes on to explain that the Christ will appear to, and teach, everyone who will be His disciple and follow in His footsteps: “…which appearing is manifested to each one of those who are perfect, and which enlightens the reason in the true knowledge of things”.   In these words Origen confirms the essence of Christian doctrine -- a spiritual doctrine -- that even today, the Messiah/Christ is the One and Only Teacher for the genuine disciple of the Light.

A very important insight into the very essence of the genuine teachings of Jesus known as TheWay, is contained in an article in the Encyclopedia Britannica under the heading, The History of Christian Mysticism, where it reads: “Although the essence of mysticism is the sense of contact with the transcendent, mysticism in the history of Christianity should not be understood merely in terms of special ecstatic experiences but as part of a religious process lived out within the context of the Christian community. From this perspective mysticism played a vital part in the early church. Early Christianity was a religion of the spirit that expressed itself in the heightening and enlargement of human consciousness”.  

These words must be a profound revelation to a body of believers who have been barred from the use of reason.   When Jesus commanded his disciples: “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren” (Matt 23:8 NKJ) -- what he was saying is that the genuine follower of the Christ is the one who opens the inner door of the mind to the Master, and develops their sense of contact with the transcendent”.  

What is being said here is that both Judaism and Christianity in their original form is a purely spiritual religion, and the natural environment of the genuine Church is mysticism -- which is defined as one's personal communion with God.   In this we can see the great dividing line between the Jewish sects of the Sadducees and Pharisees, and the Essene Mystics who worshiped the Father in a Spiritual Temple that was beyond the comprehension of the carnally minded Jew.   Paramount, then, to understanding one of the primary differences between Genuine Christianity and pseudo-Christianity, is the understanding that genuine Christianity is a spiritual religion, and it “expressed itself in the heightening and enlargement of human consciousness”.   Thus, the religious ideas expressed by Luther and Calvin -- where man rejects reason, and closes the mind in order to cling to the dogma of a manmade church -- concepts which remain to this day as the foundation of modern doctrine -- not only had no place among the first Christians, but were in fact alien to the very core teachings of Jesus.   What this means is that the church which came into being in the fourth century, was the anti-church -- i.e., a shadow church that was ruled by the god of this world.

When the Encyclopedia Britannica states with regard to the church prior to the fourth century: “…From this perspective mysticism played a vital part in the early church. Early Christianity was a religion of the spirit that expressed itself in the heightening and enlargement of human consciousness” -- it is this spiritual element that died when the church was made a secular institution by the Emperor Constantine.   Sadly, it is this same spiritual element that continues to remain dormant even in the world of Christendom to this very day.

In those many places where the Bible speaks of the Mysteries of God as seen in the words: “we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began” (1 Cor 2:7 NIV); the Apostle is quite clear that this “secret wisdom” cannot be comprehended by men who perceive life and the scriptures with a carnal mindset -- but rather, with a spiritual mindset that is established upon the mystical senses founded in the higher powers of mind.   And if we ask the question as to why carnal man is incapable of perceiving the Mysteries of God that are spoken of by the Apostle?   Because these elements of mind that are necessary to perceive the higher reality of man, are centered in parts of the ninety percent of the mind which the natural person is unable to access -- and it is these sections of the mind that are said to lie dormant within all people.   Thus, only the mystic -- or spiritual Christian -- has the ability to perceive the Mysteries of God, and know the True Messiah/Christ, and enter the Genuine Temple of the Lord, because they endeavor to expand their consciousness by going beyond the ten percent barrier of mind that limits man in his natural state.

Of the term Spiritual, Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary writes: “Of the spirit or non-material. The word spiritual refers to non-material things, including a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:44-46) and spiritual things as distinct from earthly goods (Rom. 15:27; 1 Cor. 9:11). But the most important use of the word is in reference to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gave the law (Rom. 7:14) and supplied Israel with water and food (1 Cor. 10:3-4). The Christian's every blessing is from the Spirit (Eph. 1:3), as is his understanding of truth (1 Cor. 2:13-15; Col. 1:9). His songs should be sung in the Spirit (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), and his ability to understand Scripture correctly is given by the Spirit (Rev. 11:8). He is to be so dominated by the Spirit that he can be called spiritual (1 Cor. 2:15; Gal. 6:1)”.

The words spirit and spiritual, which denote a “non-material” reality that is not of this world -- and the words mystic or mystical, which indicate the ability to see into these spiritual realms beyond the three-dimensional limitations of this world -- and the words Messiah/Christ and Anointed, which signify the illumination of the mind of the disciple by the All-Knowing Power of God -- all possess a parallel meaning that are intertwined in the New Covenant revelations that Jesus taught to his faithful disciples.   When absent, as in the case of the majority of believers today, these words are indicative of the people of the simple faith.   All three terms represent a person who “is to be so dominated by the Spirit that he can be called spiritual”.   What this means is that through the process of walking in The Way, the promise of the scriptures became a manifest reality, as the Anointing enabled the disciple to use those sections of the mind that lie dormant to the natural man whose thinking is of this world.  Moreover, without the Spirit and the higher mystical powers that are brought forth by the Anointing and illumination of the mind, a person cannot be a true and genuine Christian -- which word in and of itself denotes an Anointed follower of the Light of the Word.

If we are to begin to embrace the fullness of Christian thought, then we must rid ourselves of the limitations and doctrinal baggage that was infused upon the thinking of the believers during both the fourth century when the teachings of The Way were Paganized, and the time of the Reformation when the use of reason and higher knowledge was condemned.   Genuine Christianity is a Spiritual Religion that develops the higher centers of the mind -- which centers we call of a mystical nature, because it is the activation of these centers of the mind that bestows upon the disciple the Sacred Knowledge -- or Gnosis -- that enables the disciple to perceive all things as they truly are in the Vision of God.   In the true sense of the word, Jesus can be defined as a Master among all Mystics: He knew the thoughts of the people he came into contact with; he often foretold future events; he understood the underlying laws that control the road that all men walk -- he knew man's destiny from beginning to end -- he could see and talk to demons and evil spirits that plagued the people who lived a sinful lifestyle -- he could appear and dematerialize in the midst of people -- he was able to perceive the cause of disease, which he said was sin, and when he healed them, he possessed the power to forgive and negate these sins that plagued the people -- and he was able to communicate directly with God and the prophets who had lived in former times.   Perhaps more important, though, was the fact that it was promised by Jesus that his followers would also possess these same higher mystical powers of mind -- as can be seen where it is written: “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these” (John 14:12 NIV).  

What the very words of the Bible conveys to the reader is that all genuine Christians will be mystics -- i.e., they will perceive the reality of Creation from a higher perspective -- and in the manner that leaves grow on a healthy tree, these higher powers of mind will be a natural outgrowth of their religious life.   It is the promise of the scriptures that the genuine follower of the Messiah/Christ will not need to be taught the Truth from other men, because they will communicate directly with God.   They will not even need the scriptures, because they will find the Living Word of God revealed in the very essence of their hearts and minds (Heb 8:10-11).   They will not build institutionalized churches made with hands, because the doors to the true Church will be open to them.   Moreover, their minds will be Anointed and Illumined, and they will never answer a question with the words: “God moves in strange ways”; or the words: “You have to have faith”; because genuine Jews and Christians will inherit the promise -- and they will perceive the very underlying laws that control all events in this world, as well as the destiny of mankind.   When Jesus said to his followers: “You are the light of the world” (Matt 5:14 NIV), the great reality which was being conveyed was that their vision of Creation would pierce the very depths of darkness -- they would know all things -- and they would rule over the Prince of Darkness, because they would possess the vision and power to lead mankind out of the grips of the forces of Satan that shackles the lives of the people of this world.

It is of course easy to conclude that modern Christians do not exhibit the powers of mind that Jesus promised they would.   And when we question why the scriptures have not been fulfilled?   The answer to this question is a matter of perspective: Non-believers, and those who reject the idea that man has a spiritual nature, would of course like to say that modern Christians do not exhibit these promised abilities because Jesus was a fraud, and this is just one of many examples of his predictions that did not come true.   Since this conclusion is unacceptable to believers, they must ask the question: Did Jesus just say these words and not mean what he said?   With regard to the statement that Christians will be able to perform greater works than Jesus, the commentary Barnes' Notes writes: “Interpreters have been at a loss in what way to understand this”.

Yet, there is a third reason why these predictions of Jesus have not come to pass, and it is perhaps this third reason that is the most unsettling to the modern believer.   If Jesus was genuine, and he truly meant what he said, then the only other possible conclusion is that the modern church is no longer the True Church of Christ.   In fact, once it is recognized that the modern church has very little in common with the original church which Jesus ordained, and has adopted and embraced a series of doctrines that are in conflict with the very essence of what Jesus taught, it is then easy to understand why the present-day church is a mere shadow of what the Bible states it should be.  

The True Prophet

The Only Valid Source Of Truth

 

What many believers today fail to realize is that the answer to the dilemma is found implanted on their own lips as they gather together for prayer and worship.   Further, the answer is again found in the words of the Apostle Peter, as contained in an obscure writing of his disciple Clement, where he said that the genuine Christian must learn only from the True Prophet as to the correct meaning of the scriptures and the revelation of the Word.  “Hence, O beloved Clement", proclaims Peter, “if you would know the things pertaining to God, you have to learn them from Him alone, because He alone knows the truth. For if any one else knows anything, he has received it from Him or from His disciples”.  

These words -- i.e., that you not only can, but you MUST learn the things of God from Him alone, or from one of his genuine disciples -- are as true today as when Peter originally spoke them to Clement in the first century.   They are based upon the New Covenant teaching that Jesus came to teach the Truth, and this Truth cannot be altered or defiled by either an impostor church, or the doctrines of men.   Therefore, built into the essence of the Word is a means by which the truly faithful disciple throughout any and every age in the history of man is able to learn the Truth directly from the Lord Himself.   What this further means is that even during that timeframe when the church was plundered into the very depths of darkness and despair, the truly faithful followers of the Light were taught the truth directly from the One Source of all Truth.

The problem is that the modern Christian has become so accustomed to listening to the preaching and doctrines of other men, that they have permitted themselves to become totally alienated from the very essence of New Covenant teachings.   We have therefore been so estranged from the Word that Jesus taught, that few Christians today can even envision the core teaching of the New Testament scriptures -- i.e., that only what has been revealed to you by the Lord Himself via your own spiritual nature is a valid Truth that you are to embrace.

The Great Reality that we totally fail to understand is the fact that in the same way the true follower of Christ was not of this world, neither was his Church!   What this means is that when we ourselves become spiritual, we will be able to see the door to the Spiritual Church, open it, and enter therein.   While it is true that we will not use our physical body, Paul teaches that we possess both a natural and a spiritual body, as seen in the words: “There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (1 Cor 15:44 KJV) -- and with respect to Paul’s own experiences with regard to entering the heavenly realms the Apostle writes: “whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth” (2 Cor 12:2 KJV).   It was the witness of the first followers of Jesus that all those who faithfully followed in The Way, and learned only from the Master, were themselves permitted into the Spiritual Temple that they accessed through the inner door within their own mind.

The genuine Christian doctrine is easy to confirm.   Jesus never ordained a class of priests whose job it was to perform rituals and prayers on behalf of the people.   The religious principles that Jesus taught were purely spiritual -- i.e., his disciples were to go forth and proclaim to the people that if they changed their direction, and walked in The Way, they could enter into the Kingdom of God, and be saved from the fate of death that this world holds.   The disciples and apostles were not to teach, as our religious authorities teach today -- but rather, they were to lead the people to the One Teacher -- the True Prophet -- that is the only Genuine Source of Knowledge for the disciple of the Light.

In addition to the scriptures where Jesus commands the disciples not to be called teacher, for there is only One Teacher (Mt 23:8), this same Truth can be demonstrated using the first century witness known as the Recognitions of Clement, where St. Clement quotes the teachings of the Apostle Peter.   In chapter 59, under the heading of The True Prophet, Clement writes: “But I would not have you think, that in saying this I take away the power of judging concerning things; but I give counsel that no one walk through devious places, and rush into errors without end. And therefore I advise not only wise men, but indeed all men who have a desire of knowing what is advantageous to them, that they seek after the true Prophet; for it is He alone who knoweth all things, and who knoweth what and how every man is seeking. For He is within the mind of every one of us, but in those who have no desire of the knowledge of God and His righteousness, He is inoperative; but He works in those who seek after that which is profitable to their souls, and kindles in them the light of knowledge. Wherefore seek Him first of all; and if you do not find Him, expect not that you shall learn anything from any other. But He is soon found by those who diligently seek Him through love of the truth, and whose souls are not taken possession of by wickedness. For He is present with those who desire Him in the innocence of their spirits, who bear patiently, and draw sighs from the bottom of their hearts through love of the truth; but He deserts malevolent minds, because as a prophet He knows the thoughts of every one. And therefore let no one think that he can find Him by his own wisdom, unless, as we have said, he empty his mind of all wickedness, and conceive a pure and faithful desire to know Him. For when any one has so prepared himself, He Himself as a prophet, seeing a mind prepared for Him, of His own accord offers Himself to his knowledge”.

What does Peter say to us in these words? That the True Prophet “is within the mind of every one of us”.   This concept is Spiritual -- and is the foundation of the Living Church that the Lord inaugurated.   Jesus warned his followers not to go to a teacher or religious authority in this world -- even when that teacher or authority says that he knows the Christ.   What is very clear in these words which are parallel and in harmony with the Bible, is the followers of Jesus were not to learn from men -- who themselves do not know -- and in true Spiritual-Gnostic fashion, they were only to go to the Source of all Knowledge, the True Prophet.  

The Apostle Paul wrote that the baptized believers at Corinth did not know the Gospel of God, and could not be taught the Mysteries and true Christian teachings because they were too carnal to receive them.   This great dilemma that Paul wrote about -- and has been continually ignored by the majority of Christians throughout history -- was explained by Peter when his disciple Clement wrote his warning to believers: “…and if you do not find Him, expect not that you shall learn anything from any other”.  

From a first century Christian perspective, there is only one way that you can learn and know the truth, and that is through your own dormant spiritual nature.   “Expect not that you shall learn anything”, says Peter, if you attempt to learn from the doctrines of men -- even when these men are the leaders of your church, synagogue, mosque, or temple.   Why?   Because Jesus himself commanded: “But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren” (Matt 23:8 NKJ).   Therefore, whoever will teach you -- except by example and the manifestation of the Light in their own lives -- from the perspective of the New Covenant, is a disciple of the antichrist.

Peter embodies the very essence of the genuine teachings of The Way in the words: “But He is soon found by those who diligently seek Him through love of the truth, and whose souls are not taken possession of by wickedness. For He is present with those who desire Him in the innocence of their spirits, who bear patiently, and draw sighs from the bottom of their hearts through love of the truth”.

In this statement you will find the dividing line between the genuine Christian and the Christian of the flesh -- i.e., the genuine Christians are those who are willing to embrace the Light, and learn only from the True Prophet which they manifest in their lives by only doing what is of the Light -- whereas, the Christians of the flesh calls upon the name of the Lord, but they adhere to the teachings of men, and live in accordance with the culture of this world.   Once these words of Peter are realized in the life of the believer, only then is it comprehended that it is the desire for the Truth -- and the Truth alone -- that will turn you in the direction of The Way.   It is this desire that must rule your hearts and minds in such an all encompassing manner, that the believer rejoices in the labors of clearing the rubble of this world out of our lives, and strives to make themselves the good ground that is the only consecrated environment which the Lord will recognize as being genuine.   In this respect, the True Prophet can only be found by those who cultivate and prepare themselves -- physically, mentally and spiritually, for the coming of the Lord.  

From a New Covenant perspective as set forth in the parable of the sower and the seed, you already have the Word planted in the essence of your heart and mind.   Throughout the parables, the Word is spoken of as being male, and the disciple as female.   What this means is that one only has to apply a practical knowledge to the equation in order to understand the process that is taught in the parable of the sower and the seed.   In the same way that a woman attracts a man to her, the disciple attracts the manifestation of the Word into his life by preparing the environment of his mind and body in the endeavor to make it the good ground.   In the same way that a man is seeking an attractive woman in which to place his seed, the Word is seeking an attractive environment in this world in which to manifest the Light.  

All the confusion and conflict of religious doctrine that is present in the world today can be attributed to one dominant cause -- i.e., for the believer to prepare themselves does not mean that the True Prophet can be found by those who search for him holding firm to the doctrines of men, or the lifestyle and culture of this world -- but rather, one must prepare themselves to make their life so it will be in conformity with the Will of God.   Peter warns that those who do not become disciples of the Light, and fail to cleanse themselves from the defilements of this world, the True Prophet remains “inoperative” -- they cannot see him, hear him, or even conceive of his existence, even though he dwells in the spiritual kingdom within each and every one of us.    The True Prophet can only be revealed to those who truly desire the knowledge of God, and reject everything else.   But what is the knowledge of God?   The knowledge of God is Truth and Light, and can be possessed only by those who are prepared to move beyond this world of carnal opinion and dogma.

In chapter 62, Clement then goes on in his quotation of the Apostle's teachings: “And, therefore, since amongst these philosophers are things uncertain, we must come to the true Prophet. Him God the Father wished to be loved by all, and accordingly He has been pleased wholly to extinguish those opinions which have originated with men, and in regard to which there is nothing like certainty - that He the true Prophet might be the more sought after, and that He whom they had obscured should show to men the way of truth. For on this account also God made the world, and by Him the world is filled; whence also He is everywhere near to them who seek Him, though He be sought in the remotest ends of the earth. But if any one seek Him not purely, nor holily, nor faithfully, He is indeed within him, because He is everywhere, and is found within the minds of all men; but, as we have said before, He is dormant to the unbelieving, and is held to be absent from those by whom His existence is not believed”.

The importance of this statement to the people of the simple faith is the very essence of the New Covenant promise!   What Clement is stating is that you -- you the reader of this book -- regardless of who you are, or your present station in this life -- has the ability to find the True Prophet and know the Truth -- but, so long as we continue to cling to the doctrines of men, and the philosophy and materialism of this world, the True Prophet will remain dormant as to an unbeliever.   A believer in Christ, then, cannot be defined as someone who believes in the manner of their choosing -- in what is culturally correct -- or in the doctrines of their church -- but rather, genuine belief in Christ means that the person believes that if they incorporate the teachings of Christ in their life -- and then live them in word, thought and deed -- that they will begin the process of opening the inner door to the Kingdom and learn directly from the True Prophet.

What we must therefore recognize is the fact that, many who call upon the name of the Lord are in reality unbelievers, because they attempt to call upon the Lord while holding fast to the doctrines of Constantine, Justinian, Darwin, and a whole host of other prophets and servants of the anti-christ.   It is in reference to these false teachers and their flocks that the Lord spoke of when he said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matt 15:8 NKJ).   Why?   It is because the doors to the Kingdom are only opened with the desires of the purified heart, and not with the lips.   What you say means little -- but what you do and accomplish with your life is of paramount importance in the eyes of the Lord.

If one truly loves the Lord, then they will rid themselves of all falseness, and cling only to the Truth.   Whoever is therefore not willing to surrender to the truth, are the unrighteous people that the Apostle speaks about: “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Th 2:10-12 KJV).

What the Apostle is here stating is that only those who rid themselves of the baggage of this world, and truly walk in The Way, will perceive the reality of Life -- all others, regardless of how well-meaning they are, regardless of how they praise the Lord with their lips, will be given a “strong delusion”.   In our analysis of this great truth it is important for us to comprehend the flaw that the authors of the scriptures saw in the people of the Nations -- i.e., they called upon the name of the Lord, but they lived their lives in accordance with their culture -- and thus, they denied God in their actions and deeds.  

Now I understand that by merely raising these questions I will invoke the standard response that God would never let such a thing happen to His Church.   Yet, we must also be cognizant of the fact that if God would never let such a thing happen, then why were we not only warned in advance to beware of these pitfalls, but we were also warned in the Bible itself that the defilement of the church was imminent, as seen in the words: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. …The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Th 2:3-12 NKJ).

It is very clear that the Apostle foretells the believers to beware, because the disciples of Satan will rule over the church.   It is also very clear that those who are swayed by the doctrines of the church will receive a “strong delusion, that they should believe the lie”.   Why?   Because they embraced doctrines of lawlessness, and they did not possess a love of the truth.   And if we inquire as to what truth is?   From the Apostle's perspective, it is not something that is believed, but something that can be proven.   And if we ask what constitutes proof?   From the Apostle's perspective, it is that condition that has been brought about when we overcome this world, and we are able to sit at the feet of the Master -- in the Spiritual Church that the gates of Hell cannot defile -- and we Know God in the manner of the prodigal son who has returned home to his Father's Kingdom.   This is proof -- and anything less is the “strong delusion” that the disciples of Satan who appear to us as ministers of light has caused us to cling to through the process of faith in manmade and unprofitable doctrines of belief.

In my own search for answers many years ago, I came face to face with the great Christian dilemma: If the bible warns that I cannot trust the religious authorities of the church -- that I cannot trust my own natural (carnal) intellect and feelings -- then on what biblical basis would I put my trust in any of the many groups or sects I had encountered?   Should I do as many other Christians seemed to do, and just join the church that best suites my social and emotional needs?   These are important questions for Christians to face and confront.   Does not the scriptures warn us that: “For those who guide this people are leading them astray; and those who are guided by them are brought to confusion” (Isa 9:16 NAS).   In view of the fact that I was in a great deal of confusion, this scriptural warning must be recognized by every person today seeking Truth and Light.

The Strong Delusion!

Those who are of a natural (carnal) mind, are limited to the perception, vision and understanding of this world.   Being carnal and of what Paul refers to of a "natural mind" (1 Cor 2:14), the people are blind to their own higher spiritual reality -- as confirmed in the words of Jesus: “For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Matt 13:15-17 NIV).

These words which are totally ignored by those who attempt to read the scriptures today, were spoken in reference to the parable of the sower and the seed (see Sower And Seed) -- which parable is both the most ignored, and one of the most important elements of the Gospel message that must be embraced by all people today.   The spiritual concepts that are in fact taught in this parable are of such an exalted magnitude, that they should be seen as the very starting place for all those who desire to know anything of any genuine import.   In order to live a life of genuine substance, the life of every child should be molded in accordance with the concepts revealed in this parable -- a parable that is so important to those in pursuit of all Knowledge, both secular and religious, that Jesus warned the people: “And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?” (Mark 4:13 KJV).   And to put this great biblical truth in the more modern language of the New Living Translation: “But if you can't understand this story, how will you understand all the others I am going to tell?”

You can’t!   If you fail to understand the meaning of this parable, then you can never comprehend a single truth of any great importance.    Moreover, I confirm this well defined biblical statement with respect to all of man’s endeavors in his quest to know himself and his true role in the vision of Creation.   It makes no difference if you are a man of faith, science, or philosophy, unless you understand the meaning of this parable in relation to your own life, then you can never know anything of a genuine value and significance.   Why?   Because we are a people of very limited perception who dwell in a confusing world.   Any student of history must conclude that the most intelligent men throughout all ages have continually been wrong in their ideas pertaining to every aspect of life.   Both the world of science and religion in our own time are as little ships afloat on a sea of confusion.   The truly intelligent person must ask why?   Why has the mind of man dwelled in the darkness of this world for so long?   If the universe is indeed the work of a Supreme Being, then it is reasonable to ask where the answer to man’s great dilemma lies?

What Jesus declared to the wise and prudent was this great truth: There exist Keys of Knowledge that when possessed by a man or woman in search of the Truth, and used to open the doors within the mind that enables man to gaze beyond the limitations of this world, that man or woman has the capacity to know all the Ultimate Truths of Creation, because man is a great deal more than he appears.   What the Bible states is that because all of mankind is the offspring of the Eternal God, he is congenitally endowed with the capacity to embrace the Ultimate Truths of Creation -- i.e., as written in the Psalms: “I said, 'You are ‘gods’; you are all sons of the Most High.'” (Ps 82:6 NIV).   The problem is that instead of taking hold of these Keys of Knowledge, we listen to secular and quasi-religious carnally minded philosophers who do not possess the Keys of Knowledge, and thus they see and hear with the congenital and natural limitations of this world, instead of learning directly from our Heavenly Father.  

One of the great realities of life that we fail to recognize is that our beliefs very much support our lifestyle -- a lifestyle that makes it convenient for us to live in accordance with our present-day society.   The result is that what we see when we open our Bibles is only a fraction of the Divine Revelation of Truth which has been limited by our present-day lifestyle and manner of thinking.   In order to embrace Truth, we must become very cognizant of the fact that our perception of God, Creation, and the very purpose of life itself, is all directly related to our lifestyle and mindset with which we use to view the world and comprehend every aspect of our existence.   In recognition of this fact, it must then be understood that in everything we think, do and say, our vision of the world in which we live is filtered and limited by the beliefs we have adopted -- beliefs which we fail to realize are congenital to the thinking of this world.   Fundamentally one of our most serious of problems is seen in the fact that even if we are a fundamentalist Christian, our present system of beliefs have been imbued with a quasi-Darwinist perception of life.  

That man is blinded by what he believes and can see nothing more than the limitations that his lifestyle and manner of thinking will permit, is very much a part of human nature.   In the same way that the Atheist cannot even begin to make progress with respect to searching for the truth of religion until he is at least willing become agnostic and at least entertain the idea that God may in fact exist, the modern-day Christian cannot embrace the higher concepts of the Gospel until the believer is willing to question the doctrinal limitations that were placed upon the church when it was under the control of Pagan Rome.   Moreover, this is easily demonstrated once it is recognized that the fundamental framework of the doctrines we have inherited from past generations of Christians were very much politically based, and were brought about by virtue of the need to make the gospel accommodate the thinking of the people of the fourth century.  

If the teachings of the New Covenant were not first Paganized, they never could have been embraced by a Pagan people.   It is not that the people were converted to a different vision of life and manner of thinking -- they very much remained Pagan, and merely began to include certain symbols that related to New Covenant thought into their heathenistic life.   The result is that in every way the foundation of our doctrines reflect the cultural beliefs of the people at that time they came into being, and were adopted and ordained by the church because they permitted the people to live a guilt-free life in accordance with the prevalent lifestyle that existed during that era in man’s history.   Perhaps more than any other factor, it is this process of adopting a series of beliefs and mindset that enables believers to live in accordance with their culture while still perceiving themselves as fulfilling the requirements of God, that is the greatest example of the success of what the Apostle Paul refers to as the powers of darkness that control this world.  

It has been said that the greatest deception of all time is seen in the success of Satan in his ability to convince man that he does not exist.  If this is so, then Satan's second deception is perhaps even greater than the first -- in that, he has fooled the very elect -- i.e., the very religious authorities of the church who have been warned and taught of his existence.   In total disregard of the admonition of the scriptures themselves, the greater majority of Christians believe that the church is beyond the reach of Satan -- that God somehow drew a line that Satan cannot cross over -- and because of this force of Divine protection, Satan has not immersed himself in every aspect of their lives!  Yet, to their own detriment, the leaders of the modern church ignore the warning of the Apostle: “let no man beguile you in any wise: for (it will not be,) except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God” (2 Thes 2:3-4 ASV).

What the Apostle is herein very clearly predicting is that there would come a time when the god of the Christian Church will be a false god.   Historically speaking, it has been almost universally recognized that the period in time that the Apostle could have been referring to was in the fourth century when the church made a covenant with the Roman Emperor Constantine.   With regard to this falling away, the Adam Clark Commentary writes of this passage of Paul's Epistle: “[Except there come a falling away first] We have the original word apostasia in our word apostasy; and by this term we understand a dereliction of the essential principles of religious truth, either a total abandonment of Christianity itself, or such a corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation. But what this apostasy means is a question which has not yet, and perhaps never will be, answered to general satisfaction” (from the Adam Clarke Commentary).

Not to depreciate or make less the significance of any one of the individual statements presented in the above words, what the modern believer must recognized is the far-reaching totality of the statement: But what this apostasy means is a question which has not yet, and perhaps never will be, answered to general satisfaction”.   Ultimately, what this means to the modern believer is that each and every church authority from the fourth-century to the present, as well as every single preacher of the gospel, speaks from the position of concession -- which concession is that there is a great void in their knowledge of the truth.   Thus, one of the core presumptions upon which our present-day doctrine of faith is based, is that these words of the Apostle Paul are not true.    What the average person of faith fails to realize, is that this presumption which is widely embraced today, is truly dangerous to each and every Christian’s spiritual well-being!

In our quest to restore the pure Word of the Gospel, it is important for us to question just what these words of the Apostle mean to the modern believer?   It means that the church today is doing the best that it possibly can, under the circumstances that it has been forced to function under.   If both historians and biblical experts are unable to tell us with certainty to what degree these words of the Apostle effect our perception of the gospel today, then we cannot be sure of a single thing!   While we have faith that our beliefs are authentic, when it is recognized that our faith requires us to physically die before we can be sure of the validity of anything that we presently believe, we may be playing Russian Roulette with all the cylinders loaded -- and hoping for a misfire.

Unlike the believer who merely accepts what he is told, modern religious authorities know that the history of the church is extremely troubling.   Men of wisdom are alarmed that the religion of the common faith that still survives even today, was brought about by the power of the sword.   Again, contrary to what they tell the uninformed believer, biblical experts know that the condition of the scriptures is extremely disturbing.  Further, they also know that each and every conflicting sect and opinion that calls itself Christian, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with these almost uncountable number of conflicting opinions, bases its theological position on seemingly valid scriptural statements of fact. 

What this ultimately means is that each sect and school of doctrinal opinion has been forced to accept one biblical theory over the ideas of other schools of thought, which are also represented in the Bible as an article of faith that their choice is the correct one, regardless of the fact that there is often strong biblical reasons for the opposing opinions they reject.   The Evangelical Christians, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Quakers, and the Unitarian Universalists, all embrace conflicting beliefs -- and yet, each is able to use the Bible to affirm their doctrines.   The Jehovah’s Witness, Evangelical Christians, Quakers and Unitarian Universalists each take certain biblical passages and give them more weight and prescience than other biblical passages that conflict with their opinion.

Regardless of what they preach to their parishioners, each one of these sects arrives at their particular conclusion over the rest, because they have faith that they are doing the best they can under the circumstances they are functioning under.   If they were to be truly honest, each one of them could write a really long list of the many important fundamentals of the gospel that confuses them -- but since they have faith that there is nothing better, and all explanations that have been offered by each sect and authority are equally confusing, they have long ago recognized the fact that they are powerless to do anything about the biblical/religious dilemma that confronts them.   What is their alternative?   Give up the gospel?   Because this alternative is unacceptable, and something within them strongly conveys that there is truth in the pages of the scriptures, they have no other choice than to have faith that either what they see in the scriptures is the truth, or they will be saved by virtue that the believe in Jesus as their Savior.

One of the major causes of the present state of doctrinal chaos is the failure of modern pastors and church authorities to recognize that the key to their dilemma is found in the prediction of the Apostle that there would come a time of total abandonment of the Gospel with respect to the desolation of all genuine spiritual Christian ideas and concepts.   What this means is that the Apostle predicts that in the near future, the true religion of Jesus would cease to exist in this world.   In this respect, the words of the Apostle are quite clear in there assertion -- i.e., from the time period of the first century of our Common Era when it was written by the hand of Paul, it prophetically speaks of a time in the near future when the teachings that Jesus placed in the hands of mankind would cease to exist -- and it is the correct assertion of many Christians that this in fact took place in the establishment of an institutionalized church under the control of Pagan Rome in the fourth century.  

What the modern Christian fails to realize is that the total corruption of the doctrine of the church which the Apostle speaks of was in fact brought about by the adoption of the Christ of Constantine, which resulted in the rejection of Jesus of Nazareth.   While it is true that we use the name Jesus, and we call ourselves his followers, what we have lost sight of is that the essence of the religion of the New Covenant is spiritual, and where the physical body of Christ was crucified by the carnal Jews in the first century, the spiritual body of Christ was crucified in the fourth century (see The Death Of The Religion Of Jesus).

In further explanation with regard to this crucial prediction of the Apostle, the Adam Clark Commentary then goes on to provide us a vivid description of Constantine and the formation of his new church: “[Who opposeth and exalteth] He stands against and exalts himself above all divine authority, and above every object of adoration, and every institution, relative to divine worship, sebasma, himself being the source, whence must originate all the doctrines of religion, and all its rites and ceremonies; so that sitting in the temple of God -- having the highest place and authority in the Christian church, he acts as God -- taking upon himself God's titles and attributes, and arrogating to himself the authority that belongs to the Most High” (from the Adam Clarke Commentary).

That these events came to pass is well documented from a historical perspective -- i.e., the church was ruled by Satanic forces that dictated every aspect of Christian doctrine.   And while it is true that many faithful believers, clergy, pastors and religious authorities today have recognized the defilement of the church that took place beginning in the fourth century, what could not be revealed until now was the absolute certainty that, because we have never fully recovered from the darkness and corruption that was imposed upon the teachings of the church by the ruthless political despots of the past, essential foundational principles, as well as indispensable elements of New Covenant knowledge of what is constantly referred to in the Bible as the Mysteries of God, is presently absent from the thinking of the body of the faithful believers to this very day.

From a biblical perspective, the supernatural being referred to by Paul as Satan, who the Apostle refers to as the god of this realm, successfully gains control over the thinking of the religious people of any given generation by speaking to their imagination.   What does this mean?   He begins the process by inspiring within them a vision of a kingdom that is to come at some later time.   Where Jesus preached that the Kingdom is here -- at hand, and could be entered through a change of mind -- the forces of darkness blinds the hearts and minds of the believer to the Kingdom that is already present and has been set before them.   The result is that the Prince of Darkness continues to rule over the hearts and minds of the believers because, in their state of spiritual complacency, they continue to live in accordance with the culture of this world, and never actually take up their crosses and follow in the footsteps of Jesus.   Thus, while they believe and have faith, their faith is misdirected.   In failing to recognize the warning of Paul with respect to the total “…dereliction of the essential principles of religious truth, either a total abandonment of Christianity itself, or such a corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation…”, Satan successfully alters the believer’s perception of the scriptures, and induces them to wait -- rather than begin the journey into the Kingdom where the Son of God awaits them.

The Satanic powers of darkness that are revealed in the scriptures gains the upper hand by moving the hearts and minds of unsuspecting men and women to become attached to this world by whatever means possible.   He controls religious people by seducing them into adopting a life of spiritual complacency and impotence -- using religion to effect within the believer a false vision of their own level of spirituality as being exalted and heightened.   He often accomplishes this deception by inducing them to judge and compare themselves to non-believers, and those who have already surrendered their soul over to the Prince of Darkness.  

It was easy for Lot to perceive himself a righteous person in comparison to the inhabitants of Sodom.   It is in like manner easy for the average Christian today to view themselves as being a faithful and believing people in relation to the criminal element that is portrayed in our newspapers and media.   The flaw in this perception is seen in the fact that the Bible does not require us to be better than the unholy -- but rather, to be Christ-like -- and ultimately as perfect as our Heavenly Father (Matt 5:48).   Thus, because we judge ourselves in accordance with the standards of this world, the result is that the religious person sees himself as being in accord with the gospel message, because he can easily perceive a difference between himself and the people he views as being turned out of The Way.   From the perspective of what the Apostle calls the god of this world, this false vision of righteousness is absolutely necessary in order to implant within their minds a strong delusion that induces them to believe that they are fulfilling the Word of God.  

A great truth that the Bible continually warns the religious person about -- a truth that he must come to terms with if he is to become a disciple of the Light -- is that this supernatural being which the Apostle calls the god of this world, ordains servants to mislead the flock of believers -- and more importantly, even those servants are unaware that they have become the ministers of Satan.  More importantly, the servants of Satan are very often the people who the flock of believers regard as the most well meaning of individuals -- men and women who the believing community perceives as religious allies, and perhaps even saintly.  

Throughout the course of human history it can be demonstrated that large numbers of true believers have permitted themselves to be deceived and led into error and captivity, because they failed to heed the lesson of the biblical account of Samson and Delilah -- where the betrayer appears to be good, and yet saps their strength, and then attacks the believers in order to enslave them.   If, then, we are to break the bonds of slavery, and succeed in safeguarding ourselves from being deceived, we must become acutely aware of the important biblical warning that: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov 14:12 KJV).  

From the perspective of the Prince of Darkness, we are more easily conquered and led into a life of servitude by those who appear to us as allies and champions of the faith, than those who would oppose us.   No doubt many Christians will immediately reject this argument -- saying, God would not permit this to happen to His church.   But this claim is quickly proven counterfeit when it is demonstrated that God has indeed permitted the church to fall into error.   Can the believer trust the affirmation of the leaders of the church with respect to their claim of doctrinal purity and Divine protection?   The Bible very clearly states that the opposite is true, and it is the leaders of the church who will be in error when they make this claim.   In confirmation of what was predicted by Paul, Jesus said that the powers of darkness which seek to enslave us, and will accomplish this by fooling the very elect of the church (Mat 24:24; Mk 13:22).   The Apostle warns that Satan will appear as an Angel of light, and he will transform his ministers and servants of darkness to make them falsely appear to you as good, in order to deceive you (2 Cor 11:14).   In this respect, the Bible warns us that what seems right to the carnal mind of man, is the very thing that will bring about the ways of death (Prov 14:12).  

What Jesus warned his followers was to: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:15-16 KJV).   In understanding the far-reaching reality of these words, we must comprehend exactly what the fruits are that Jesus makes reference to which we should use to judge the validity of our religious leaders!   Fruits in the scriptures relate to works and accomplishments -- and the works of the spirit is seen in the ability of the shepherd of the flock to place within the hands of the believer the Key that opens the door to what the Bible calls the house of knowledge -- and then demonstrate how to use that knowledge to guide the believer into the Kingdom -- a Kingdom that will never come upon the earth as our present-day church authorities proclaim (Luke 17:20-21), but exists at this very time in a parallel dimension.  

From a biblical perspective, the Messiah/Christ is the one who opens the door to the Kingdom and permits us to enter therein.   Throughout the scriptures the essence of New Covenant thought is that one must pick up their own cross and follow in the Masters footsteps.   Satan is the power that draws our consciousness to the outside world.   Satan does not want us to begin the journey into the Kingdom, and can only maintain control over us so long as our mindset remains attached to this realm.   Where the Apostle warns us that Satan will raise up ministers and prophets who appear to be spiritual, but are not, what he is making reference to is clergy and religious authorities who keep us focused on prayer, ritual, and dead works that are of this world, and do not move us along the journey into the Kingdom.   When Jesus warned us that the pseudo-prophets will appear to us as sheep, and deceive us, he was confirming that Satan will attempt to use our own religious authorities to enslave us.   Satan knows that freedom, and the appearance of choice, defeats more foes than does conflict.   It is therefore important for us to understand that the Prince of Darkness knows more about us than we do.   He understands human nature -- and he knows that we will stand firm against one who appears to be an enemy, and in the manner of Sampson be readily seduced by one who appears to be a friend.    

If a stranger approached a child and put on a mean and evil demeanor, the child would instantly retreat and seek a place of safety.   Thus, the stranger who will successfully abduct and do harm to the child, lures the child away with candy -- the promise of some reward -- or even fear not to obey, which is the most effective means to control an individual.  

Once seduced, the Prince of Darkness maintains control over the people by herding those he has successfully deceived into groups, religious institutions, governments and nations.   He does this to take advantage of another of man's inherent weaknesses, which is the pack syndrome where man finds safety in numbers.   This mindset manifests itself in the concept that, if a group of people all agree, then we convince ourselves that it has to be right.  Or, if a whole group is wrong, we reason that God will somehow overlook the error, because no one else knew the truth.   In the manner of schoolchildren, we believe that God will mark our test of life on a curve -- and so long as we attain a certain grade that is within the upper and lower limits of other people, we will have past the requirements of life.  

So long as we can maintain the belief that no one really knows for sure, or that ultimate truth is beyond man’s ability to realize, then we feel secure in the belief that we will not be held accountable for our indolence with respect to seeking the knowledge of the truth for ourselves.   We take this one step further when our religious institutions ordain ministers, priests and religious authorities whose job it is to know all there is to know about God and the requirements of life.   We place other men in the position of priest and clergy, so as to make them responsible for knowing the Will of God.   We then reason that all we have to do is live in accordance with what these religious authorities say, and we will have passed the test of life.   What we therefore fail to recognize is the fact that this is the same exact flaw that Jesus condemned in the Jewish sects of the Sadducees and Pharisees.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses feel secure in the belief that God talks to the leaders of their sect who publish their pamphlets in Brooklyn.   So long as they are Jehovah’s Witnesses in good standing, they will be saved.   Evangelical Christians believe that by virtue of their accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, and they worship in a Christ-centered Church, they will be saved.   The mainline Protestant sects believe that so long as they have faith in Jesus, they too will be saved.   In each and every case the people feel secure in their association with a particular church or church doctrine of belief.

In biblical times when Jesus exhibited great compassion and understanding for the lost sheep, he did not extend this same compassion to the false religious leaders who he condemned -- religious leaders who performed rituals and dead works -- religious leaders who praised a God that they did not understand because they were impostors, and were unable to manifest the Light before the lost sheep of the Lord.   A genuine religious leader is one who leads the flock into the Kingdom, and brings them into the presence of the indwelling Word.  

While it is true that Jesus condemned the Sadducees and Pharisees as false religious leaders, from an historical perspective the sin of the Jews in no way compared to the eventual sin of the later church that called itself Christian.   If the sin of the Jews was that they killed the Christ at the time of the crucifixion, then what we fail to understand today is that the sin of the Gentile Christians was that they killed and annihilated the very presence of Christ in this world -- thus, plunging both the Jews and the Christians into the depths of spiritual darkness.  

The truth of the matter that is beyond the comprehension of the greater majority of the people who call themselves Christian today, is that when the Lord physically departed from us, and returned to the heavenly realms from which he had emerged, he did not abandon mankind -- i.e., he visited those who were worthy, and he left us a people who continued to live and dwell in the manner that he prescribed.   For three hundred years there existed a society of people who continued to live a spiritual life in the Light and The Way that Jesus taught.   During this time this group of observant Hebrew/Christians helped both Jew and Gentile-Christian alike to understand and embrace man's innate spiritual nature.   Thus, because they maintained the Lord's teachings in the purity of the Word, people from all walks of life were able to embrace the Light and open the door of the great divide that separates this world from the Kingdom of the Father.  

In the fourth century a very carnal sect of people who called themselves Christian, entered into a covenant with the secular political powers of darkness that ruled this world.   The result was that, whoever did not accept and adhere to the religion of the supreme ruler -- which at that time was the emperor -- was immediately deemed heretics, and silenced by the power of the sword.   Thus, to the Christians own demise the warning of the Apostle was ignored where he wrote: “But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now” (Gal 4:29 NKJ).   In a very short amount of time the Christians of the flesh totally annihilated and exterminated the genuine disciples of the Light -- with the result being that the Christian world was cast down into the very pit of darkness from which the Lord had come to lead them out of.  

Once the remnant of Light that the Lord had left to guide the people was extinguished and annihilated by the very power of the church's alliance with Caesar, Satan was free to not only alter the gospel message, but to place his own disciples in the position of church authorities.   Then, in the manner of more modern despots such as Adolph Hitler, the soldiers were sent forth to exterminate all who opposed the religion of the emperor.   It was during this time that man's perception of God, the nature of Jesus, and matters and concepts pertaining to spiritual things, became embodied in creeds and dogma, and was then published by a class of priests who were totally ruled by a carnal mindset.  

Genuine Spiritual Christianity ceased to exist, as the religion of the emperor became an institution of secular law.   We fail to understand these words today because we erroneously view the teachings of the New Covenant as a body of people who believe in the Son of God.   What we fail to comprehend is that true belief means that we open the “narrow gate” and enter the Kingdom, and learn directly from the indwelling Word (see Gate Of Eden).   Because Christianity was thrust into a world of ritual, dead works, the worship of the gods in the form of saints, the unrestrained hunger for political and material wealth, the religion of the New Covenant was converted from a spiritual journey that builds a bridge between this realm and the Kingdom, and a typical religion of the Nations where the people worshiped the gods, the emperor, and lived in subjection to the priests who were ordained by the Roman Government.

With the threat of death, no one was permitted to disagree with the creeds of the Church of the Roman Empire.   Moreover, the men who were enacting these creeds -- the priests and bishops who ruled the church, did not become priests and bishops because of their holiness or manifest spirituality -- but rather, by alliance with the Emperor's Church, and often by purchasing these positions with money -- positions that had in every way become secular in nature, and very much a part of the government.   In modern times we call this a political payoff.

As just one example: In the sixth century when Pope Sylverius had been removed from office by Theodora, the Emperor's wife who had previously been a prostitute and circus performer, and who disagreed with the pope on many theological positions -- one of which was the pre-existence of the soul -- Gibbon writes: “At the emperor's command, the clergy of Rome proceeded to the choice of a new bishop; and after a solemn invocation of the Holy Ghost, elected the deacon Vigilius, who had purchased the papal throne by a bribe of two hundred pounds of gold” (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire).  

Thus, it was these religious politicians who controlled and impacted Christian doctrine -- a doctrine established in the fourth century.   More importantly is the fact that what believers today fail to realize is that it is these same fourth-century doctrines that continue to remain at the very core of accepted beliefs of the modern church, right up to our present time.   And what was the objective of these beliefs?   When these religious politicians submitted their decrees with regard to the nature of God, Jesus, and the Bible, these decrees always supported the religious priorities of the government -- which objective was always mindful of the true secular purpose of religion, which was to assist the government in its rule over and control of the masses of people.   That our whole modern perception of Creation that continues to be a foundational principle of modern church doctrine, has been authored by a circus prostitute who had the pope killed, and then had her own doctrines of belief installed in the creeds of the church, should be sufficient to cause every sincere believer to re-evaluate their understanding of the Gospel.

To what degree the church had fallen under the control of blind carnal men can perhaps best be envisioned in the words of Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, when he wrote: “It is a thing equally deplorable and dangerous, that there are as many creeds as opinions among men, as many doctrines as inclinations, and as many sources of blasphemy as there are faults among us; because we make creeds arbitrarily, and explain them as arbitrarily.  The Homoousion is rejected, and received, and explained away by successive synods. The partial or total resemblance of the Father and of the Son is a subject of dispute for these unhappy times.  Every year, nay, every moon, we make new creeds to describe invisible mysteries.  We repent of what we have done, we defend those who repent, we anathematize those who we defended.  We condemn either the doctrine of others in ourselves, or our own in that of others; and, reciprocally tearing one another to pieces, we have been the cause of each other's ruin” (Quoted by E.Gibbon; The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire).

Led by religious politicians, the Christian world became immersed in a sea of manmade doctrines -- doctrines that attempted to explain spiritual concepts that was beyond their ability to comprehend.   The result was that for over a thousand years Satan ruled the church that is today known as Christian -- and when the church eventually emerged from the pit of darkness in the Middle-Ages, it had been reduced to a mere shadow of the genuine church that was annihilated by the very Pagan Christians of the fourth century.   The result was that these doctrines that formed the foundation of this very Pagan church were then adopted by the Middle-Age reformers, and have continued as foundational doctrines right up into our present time.   Thus, we can observe the success of Satan and the fulfillment of the prediction of the Apostle Paul.   From the perspective of the god of this world, his mission to overcome the Light has been successful, as he continues to perpetuate the manmade doctrines that cause the lost sheep to be ruled over by the powers of darkness.

It is true that during the time of the Reformation there was a break with the mother church that had become seated in Rome, but because the reformers themselves did not possess the spiritual foundation of the original church of the first century, and they continued to embrace many of the doctrines that had been infused upon the teachings of Jesus by the emperors and religious politicians of the past thousand years, it was beyond their ability to re-establish what the Apostle himself warns they were incapable of understanding -- and ultimately beyond even their comprehension.   Because they lacked the spiritual vision and knowledge of the original followers of Jesus, the many churches that emerged from the Reformation continued to be established upon the very carnal mindset that was instituted by the Pagan Christians of the fourth century.

No doubt the majority of Christians today will reject the idea that the modern church has been turned out of The Way.   As an article of faith they will reason that God would not permit such a thing to happen -- i.e., He would safeguard His Church from being overcome by Satan.  Yet, as demonstrated above, this article of faith is in conflict with the very words of the Apostle at 2 Thes 2:3-4, wherein the Adam Clarke Commentary explained that what Paul is predicting is “…a dereliction of the essential principles of religious truth, either a total abandonment of Christianity itself, or such a corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation…”.   If the Apostle predicts the “total abandonment of Christianity”, and a further “corruption of its doctrines as renders the whole system completely inefficient to salvation”, then our present-day assertion that God will safeguard the church is in total conflict to the warning of the Bible itself.

If this is true, then the present-day religious authorities will counter that God would then communicate with His people and correct the error of the past!   The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe this!   The Evangelical Christians believe this!  So do the very liberal mainline churches that promote the feel-good doctrines of faith and belief in an all-inclusive savior!   Yet each one of these major groups view the others as cults that have been greatly deceived in their interpretation of the Bible.

The great truth we fail to realize is that we dwell in the very presence of God, and it is our own blindness that causes us not to see Him.   God calls out to us, and we do not listen.   God continually reaches out to us, and we fail to take His Hand.    Why?   Because we have permitted ourselves to become blinded by the god of this world.   Moreover, if a more pure copy of the scriptures were placed in our hands, we could spit upon them.   Yet, all we have to do is begin to live in accordance with the scriptures we already have, and seek the Lord with a pure and consecrated heart, and we will succeed in opening our eyes and senses to perceive our true reality.

Can we call ourselves the people of God when we live and believe in accordance with the doctrines and customs of carnal men?   Why do we cling to the quasi-religious doctrines of a man who not even the Pagan priests would offer redemption?   Why do we limit our perception of Creation to the doctrines of a circus prostitute?   Who taught us what is true?   Who taught us what is error?   When more pure scriptures are placed in our hands that conflict with our traditional doctrines of belief, do we seek the Lord to enlighten our understanding?   The great truth that modern Christians fail to realize is that God has attempted to communicate with the faithful flock, but few Christians today possess sufficient freedom to break loose from the powers of darkness that rule this world.   Jesus proclaimed that his followers would be alien to the culture of this realm -- in the world and not of it -- and yet, the modern Christian is under the delusion that they can ignore the mandates of the Bible and still be of Christ, while simultaneously a part of today’s culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Jewish And Christian Authorities Agree

The Multitude of Jews and Christians worship A Counterfeit God!

 

 

 

As one who was chosen to fulfill a prescribed mission in the world, the Apostle Paul had been bestowed with a much more illuminated vision of life and Creation, and he knew that it would be a useless endeavor to convert the Gentiles to Jews in order for them to perceive the essence of the scriptures.   Paul wisely knew that the Old Testament scriptures were written in accordance with the culture and thinking of the Jews, and its universal truths were declared in order to assist Jews in first finding themselves, and then finding God.   This statement is of the greatest importance because it is impossible to find God without first finding the true person who we are from the perspective of our pre-existent soul.  

Once we begin to understand this great truth -- i.e., that we cannot even begin to find God, until we first find ourselves -- then our whole perception of religion must change.   In the first place, we must begin to open our minds to a more universal reality than that associated with the physical body in which we presently dwell, and the culture that we have become a part of, and we must begin to see life from a vision that is beyond the limitations of this world.   Then, in order to harness the forces of Creation, we must begin to understand that all of life is controlled by the Natural Laws that form it.  

What we fail to realize is that if the universe was not regulated and governed by these Natural Laws, then chaos would result.   If the planet earth did not predictably move around the sun, and instead just freely travel throughout the solar system, then it could not support life as we know it today.   Thus, this same order that we observe in the universe, extends to every aspect of Creation -- with the result being that we must begin to understand that the paradoxical nature of Creation causes opposing perspectives -- and what is perceived as good from one perception, and bad from another, is neither.   One of the more perplexing problems this creates for the mind of carnal man who attempts to see everything in black and white, is the reality that what was good for the conversion of the carnal Jews, was not necessarily good for the carnal Gentiles, and vice versa.

If this world did not have its limits, it could not exist -- and yet, it is these very limits that hinder our search for truth.   There were early Christian (Gnostic) sects that viewed all of physical Creation as being the work of an evil god -- and their perception was both right and wrong.   Where did this belief originate?   Scholars have realized that it is indigenous to man himself, and has always existed among the religions of the world.   More importantly, though, is that this indigenous belief was in fact amplified by the Apostle Paul to new heights among his Greek Gnostic followers (see The Gnostic Paul).   His many references to the evil nature of the god of this world, imbued his Gentile followers with a mindset that perceived everything in this realm as the product of evil.  

Within the holy books of the Hebrews, all of reality was represented.   But because of the great culture gap that existed between the Jews and Gentile, Paul could not use the Old Testament.   Thus, Paul had no other choice than to reject the Old Testament, and present a non-biblical reality that was more appropriate to the people he served, in order that the Gentile mind would more easily understand the essence of spiritual thought that he was attempting to convey.   Yet, what Paul was teaching to the Gentiles was never meant for the Jews -- and from a Jewish perspective, was not only damaging, but was detrimental to the spiritual development of the Hebrew people.   This, again, is the demonstration of one of those paradoxes that is difficult for the carnal mind to envision.

If we are to begin to understand the great gulf that existed, then we must begin to realize that from the Jewish perspective, Paul truly was the creator of heresy -- and as such, was correctly characterized by the historical personage of Simon Magus.   Thus, let us review the conclusion of the Encyclopedia Britannica which states pertaining to the writings attributed to Clement, the disciple of Peter: “…the common source of these documents may be as early as the 1st century, and must have consisted in a polemic against Paul, emanating from the Jewish side of Christianity.  Paul being thus identified with Simon, it was argued that Simon's visit to Rome had no other basis than Paul's presence there, and, further, that the tradition of Peter's residence in Rome rests on the assumed necessity of his resisting the arch-enemy of Judaism there as elsewhere”.

Returning once again to the writings of Clement, we can now see that Peter's explanation should make perfect sense in the confrontation that is to take place with Paul, who is portrayed as Simon Magus: “Therefore Simon, who is going to discuss in public with us tomorrow, is bold against the monarchy of God, wishing to produce many statements from these Scriptures, to the effect that there are many gods, and a certain one who is not He who made this world, but who is superior to Him; and, at the same time, he is going to offer many scriptural proofs. But we also can easily show many passages from them that He who made the world alone is God, and that there is none other besides Him”. 

In the first place we must understand that even the more enlightened Jews did not believe that an accurate portrayal of God could be perceived in the literal reading of the Old Testament.   Moses Maimonedes, one of the most respected Jewish theologians, historian, and Talmudist, writes about the nature of scripture: “Every time that you find in our books a tale the reality of which seems impossible, a story which is repugnant to both reason and common sense, then be sure that the tale contains a profound allegory veiling a deeply mysterious truth; and the greater the absurdity of the letter, the deeper the wisdom of the spirit” (see No Jew Has Read The Torah/Law).

 

What Moses Maimonedes is stating, then, is that there exist many parts of the scriptures that are literally and historically not true.   Isn't Paul stating this exact same truth when he writes to the Galatians who are attempting to embrace Jewish ways, and states: “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?”  And then Paul goes on to explain to those who want to attempt to read the written word literally, in an historical context as Christians do today: “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory” (Gal 4:21-24 KJV).  

That the carnal Jew could not see beyond the symbols of the allegory, and their eyes and hearts were hardened so they could not comprehend the true meaning of the scriptures, is readily understood where Paul states that “their minds were blinded” by God, “for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament… even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart (2 Cor 3:14-15 KJV).

When they therefore worship the god of the literal word -- with rituals, animal sacrifices, incense, in a temple made with the hands of men -- then it can truly be said that the Jews worshiped a false god.   This truth the Apostle Paul confirmed to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles then incorporated this understanding into their own sacred writings.   The problem is that from this false perception of the Hebrew scriptures was born the Christian Gnostic doctrine that the god of the Jews was a demiurge -- a lower god -- and not the same god that Jesus declared.   Again the problem was that the Christian Gnostics were neither right, or wrong, and from this limited perception was born an even greater error which gave birth to the Gentile doctrine that Christians were exempt from living in accordance with the Law of Moses and the Commandments of God as revealed in the Old Testament.

What the church of the simple faith who called themselves orthodox could not comprehend, is that the Spiritual Christians could write scriptures that had nothing to do with the Jewish heritage of the Gospel, and these scriptures were still in many instances of a higher order than the traditional Old Testament writings.   The Spiritual Christians who were labeled Gnostics -- because they claimed to possess a higher knowledge of the Word handed down directly from Paul -- had no reason to base their scriptures on the Hebrew traditions.   They therefore encoded their truths in stories of angels and powers that controlled the elemental and heavenly realms of this and all other worlds.   In their condemnation of these scriptures, it was the people of the simple faith who were in error when they ignored a very important teaching of Paul -- i.e., “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer” (2 Cor 5:16 NIV) -- and judged the validity of the writings in the same manner as the Sadducees and Pharisees, by their literal, historical content.   They therefore viewed many of the most spiritual writings of the Gnostic (Spiritual) Christians as heresy.

The (Gnostic) Christian Valentinus claimed to have learned Paul's secret traditions directly from his own teacher Theudas, who was himself a disciple of Paul.   In adapting their scriptures to the concept that Paul taught: (1) that it was the transcendental Christ of the Spirit that could save them, and not the belief in an historical man; and (2) the Jews were blind to the true meaning of both the scriptures and the higher revelation that Jesus taught -- they often began their gospels where the Spiritual Christ appeared to his disciples in order to instruct them in the knowledge of the Mysteries of God.   By doing this they were able to convey universal truths to the Gentile Christians, without dealing with the Jewish heritage that was an integral part of the Hebrew Gospels.

In view of the fact that the disciples of Paul totally ignored the historical factor in both their scriptures and their foundational doctrines of belief, the Christians of the simple faith condemned them as heretics -- but what they were in fact condemning was their own ignorance.   If it is true what the Apostle taught in Romans that man innately knows God -- and he can learn all there is to know about God by observing what has been created -- and if we examine the words of Paul when he taught that “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves” (Rom 2:14 NAS) -- we must ask the question as to how could the Gentiles who did not have the Law, keep the precepts of the Law?  Paul answers this question when he wrote: For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge in their hearts” (Rom 1:19 TLB).  

What is clear is that Paul taught a gospel where the believer was taught the means to transcend this physical realm in their quest to open their minds to the Spiritual Christ.   The problem is that the people who were carnal and of the simple faith, simply were unable to relate to the Spiritual Christ, and continued to cling to what Paul called the testimony of the historical Jesus that the Apostle called the milk of the gospel.

In what is arguably one of the best works on Christian Gnosticism by G.R.S. Mead entitled Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, this explanation is put forth: “…what the Gnostics projected onto the screen… [in the form of a ] picture of the universe was in reality a picture of their own minds. Its mythology is a symbolic portrayal, almost a deliberate one, of the forces which operate in the structuring and evolution of the human personality”.   It was for this reason that Carl Jung called the Gnostic Christians the worlds first and foremost psychologists who understood the very fabric of human consciousness.

If it is true what the Apostle wrote: For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge in their hearts” (Rom 1:19 TLB) -- then the anti-Jewish religion that Paul preached must be seen as a means to tap into this deposit of “instinctual… knowledge [that God deposited] in their hearts”.   Moreover, his doctrine of faith can only be understood as seen in the ability of the disciple to tap this inner resource and learn the Mysteries of God directly from their Source.   From the perspective of the disciples of Paul who came to be called Gnostic Christians, to compose scriptures that were based upon Jewish history, would simply be inappropriate from a Gentile perspective.

To those who possessed the eyes to see and the mind to understand, what the Gnostic or Spiritual Gentile Christians wrote about was the laws that control the workings of our mind.   Unlike the people of the simple faith, they saw the problem very clearly: We cannot use the greater part of our consciousness because of physical, mental and spiritual blockages that restrict us.   What Jesus taught his faithful disciples who came to him “in the house”, was the means to overcome these carnal restrictions by bringing our mind and being into harmony with God's Laws.   When we begin to understand ourselves as the Prodigal Sons of our Father, and we perceive that life is a great deal more than what we see here in this physical realm, it is only then that we begin to spiritually mature and develop.

When we are yet “babes in Christ”, it must be understood that our faith in the power of our Teacher and Master Jesus is of the highest importance.   We cannot learn the Sacred Truths of God and the spiritual reality of Creation from the teachers in this world, because their theories are based only upon a quasi-Darwinism -- which theories embrace the idea that man originates from this world.   Because these theories are three-dimensional, they amount to little more than incomplete carnal perceptions of higher truths not fully understood.   In fact, once our spiritual eyes begin to open, we can easily perceive the fallacy of their mode of instruction.   True knowledge cannot come to us through theory and philosophy -- but rather, through the acquisition of a greater portion of our own mental resources that cannot be accessed through the carnal powers of perception.  

What G.R.S. Mead wrote with regard to the Gnostic scriptures was that “…what the Gnostics projected onto the screen… of the universe was in reality a picture of their own minds” (Fragments of a Faith Forgotten).   The Greek Christians who had no foundation in Judaism or the Old Testament, simply did as Paul instructed throughout his epistles, and wrote about the Spirit of the Word in the manner of their own way of thinking.  

As G.R.S. Mead concludes on page 176: “The claim of the Gnostics was that a man might so perfect himself that he became a conscious worker with the Logos; all those who did so, became 'Christs,' and as such were Saviors, but not in the sense of being the Logos Himself”.  

Where the people of the simple faith looked upon the word “Christ”, as Jesus' last name, the Spiritual Christians understood that what this term meant was the Anointing of the Logos -- i.e., the Mind of God.   In the revelation of his spiritual Gospel, it was this receiving of the Anointing that Paul speaks about throughout his epistles.   When the disciple receives the Anointing -- this Anointing of the mind of the disciple in the Greek, denotes one who is Anointed, or the Christ.  

It is for this reason that I previously wrote that from a definitive perspective, the people of the simple faith are not yet Christians because they have not yet received the Anointing of the Logos.   Moreover, the Anointing is not philosophical or rhetorical -- as becoming a believer -- but is an actual illumination of higher consciousness that permits the disciple to use more of their mind that the natural man.  

A person cannot be a genuine Christian -- i.e., an Anointed one -- without possessing the knowledge of their pre-existent soul.   A person cannot possess the knowledge of the soul, without knowing the previous lives that the soul has lived.   In Pistis Sophia, one of the sacred books used by the Spiritual (Gnostic) Christians, which name in English means the Book of Faith-Wisdom, Jesus states: “But if he shall have sinned once, twice, or thrice, they shall reject that soul, sending it back again into the world according to the form of the sins that it may have committed; the form whereof I will declare unto you hereafter.   But verily, verily I say unto you, that even the righteous man that hath committed no sin at all cannot be brought into the Kingdom of Light, forasmuch the seal of the mysteries of that kingdom is not found upon him.  Once for all, I say unto you, a soul cannot be brought into the kingdom, if it be without the mysteries of the Kingdom of the Light”.

In this quotation we not only see that the Spiritual Christians understood that Jesus taught the reincarnation of the soul -- “sending [the soul] back again into the world according to the form of the sins that it may have committed” -- but what we have here is the genuine foundation of Paul's doctrine that man can do nothing on his own, and can only be saved through faith in Christ.   The problem arises when we do not understand the difference between Jesus -- the historical man -- and Christ -- the Anointing of the Logos, or Mind of God.   It is this reason also that we fail to understand the declaration in the beginning of the Epistle to the Romans where Paul writes that when the Gentiles do the things of the Law, without the Law, they become a Law unto themselves, and can be saved.   It is further this reason that we do not understand when Paul says not to seek the Jesus after the flesh, but rather the Christ of the Spirit.

In the article on Christian Mysticism, the Encyclopedia Britannica writes regarding Valentinus, who was considered orthodox in the beginning of the second century, and states: “He believed that human beings are alienated from God because of their spiritual ignorance; Christ brings them into the gnosis (esoteric revelatory knowledge) that is union with God. Valentinus held that all human beings come from God and that all will in the end return to God. Other Gnostic groups held that there were three types of people -- 'spiritual,' 'psychic,' and 'material' -- and that only the first two can be saved. The Pistis Sophia… is preoccupied with the question of who finally will be saved. Those who are saved must renounce the world completely and follow the pure ethic of love and compassion. They will then be identified with Jesus and become rays of the divine Light”.

Once properly understood, what Valentinus was in fact stating was no different than what was also clearly stated by the early church authorities, Paul, Jesus, and the present-day Canon of Scriptures itself: That there are three types of Christians -- i.e., the spiritual which are in union with God, and are saved; the psychic, or disciple in search of the Truth, which are still walking in The Way; and the material or physical, who are the people of the simple faith.

The mysteries made reference to in Pistis Sohpia that, according to the Jesus presented in this gospel states a person must the possess the sacred Knowledge of the Kingdom in order to be saved, is the knowledge of the laws that both preserve the natural barriers of this realm, as well as restrict carnal man's access into the spiritual realms and the Kingdom.   When the disciple knows the workings of these natural laws of Creation, they are then able to safely transcend the barriers between this and the other worlds, and come into the presence of the Spiritual Christ.  

Once we understand this important element in Paul's Epistles, we then begin to comprehend why Paul considered it one of the greatest of sins to promote a doctrine of belief -- as seen in the words: Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned” (Titus 3:10-11 NAS).   The essence of what Paul taught was that believers were to rid themselves of all worldly thoughts and desires in order to embrace the indwelling Logos -- thereby becoming an Anointed One, or genuine Christian.   From Paul's perspective, beliefs and doctrines pertaining to mysteries that are beyond the comprehension of the natural man, were thorns and entanglements that the god of this world used to imprison the believer.  

In this respect, what Paul taught was asceticism -- i.e., a system of Christian Buddhism that brought about the enlightenment of the believer through the Anointing and opening of the mind.   He taught the Gentile converts to reject the Law of Moses and the biblical traditions of the Jews -- reject all worldly attachments -- reject all doctrines of belief -- reject all desires of the flesh.   When the Galatians observed their native Greek culture, Paul admonished them and wrote: “Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods… Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you” (Gal 4:8-11 NIV).   What Paul taught was to observe nothing in this world in the endeavor to embrace only the Spiritual Christ who was not of this world.

While it is true that Jesus came to save the sinners -- he did not come to give them a license to continue to wallow in the mire of sin -- but to repent from the mindset and thinking of this world.   In the words of Paul: “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor” (Gal 2:17-18 KJV).   From the perspective of Paul, the genuine Christian did not sin, because sin is founded upon an attachment to this world.   Jesus came to save sinners by leading them out of lives of slavery to the Prince of Darkness who rules this world.  

From a scriptural perspective, those who are slaves to the god of this world are heathens, because they are possessed by the elemental powers of this world.   With respect to the people who are thus classified heathens, Clement of Alexandria provides us a clear picture of the path of transformation when he writes: “Faith is then, so to speak, a comprehensive knowledge of the essentials; and knowledge is the strong and sure demonstration of what is received by faith, built upon faith by the Lord's teaching, conveying [the soul] on to infallibility, science, and comprehension. And, in my view, the first saving change is that from heathenism to faith, as I said before; and the second, that from faith to knowledge. And the latter terminating in love, thereafter gives the loving to the loved, that which knows to that which is known. And, perchance, such an one has already attained the condition of 'being equal to the angels.' Accordingly, after the highest excellence in the flesh, changing always duly to the better, he urges his flight to the ancestral hall, through the holy septenniad [of heavenly abodes] to the Lord's own mansion; to be a light, steady, and continuing eternally, entirely and in every part immutable”.

This is the essence of genuine Christian thought that was taught by the Apostle Paul and imparted to the Gentile converts!   What Clement of Alexandria, Origen, St. Gregory and the Gnostic-Spiritual Christians all profess is the absolute need to follow in the footsteps of the Lord, and accomplish in one’s own life the same things that he did.   Does the Apostle say anything different when he advises Christians to: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph 5:1 NAS).   If mankind has the ability to not only imitate God, but to come in perfect unity with God, then we must come to the realization that what we believe today has very little in common with the Christianity of the first four centuries.   When Clement writes that “outward observances cease to have any value for one whose being is brought into abiding harmony with that which is eternal, he is making reference to a person who has totally opened the inner door to the Kingdom, and has moved in abiding harmony with the Light.

The solid food of the Mysteries of the kingdom are then written only for the Gnostic Christian -- or, he who has cleansed himself from the defilements of the world, and has opened the spiritual door deep within the essence of their mind and being.   What Clement states with regard to the Word, remains true to this very day.   The foundation -- or milk -- is Christ and him crucified -- upon which the Gnostic Christian builds a “superstructure on the foundation of faith in Christ Jesus” which is made reference to with the addition of “gold and silver, precious stones”.  

The Christians who remain natural and carnal, are those who build upon the foundation “stubble, and the wood, and the hay”.   When Constantine institutionalized the church, and added the doctrines of the Pagans, these are “the additions of heresies” which Clement writes about.   When Christians such as Calvin and Luther -- men with good intentions who meant well -- defined the limits of belief of post-Reformation Christianity, and then narrowed the message of the scriptures to conform to those beliefs, these limitations were again the addition of heresies.

Perhaps a very clear picture that represents Christianity over the first three centuries can be seen under the heading of Alexandria in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics - under Alexandrian Theology, where it states of Origen's teachings: “Origen believes that the Logos enlightens all men according to their capacities.  Current Christianity is the best that the average man can assimilate.  It includes mythical stories which exist both in Old Testament and New Testament; it offers rewards and punishment as inducements to virtue, and communicates truths in veiled forms and images.  But it is not a matter of indifference what symbols are presented to the 'common man'; it is the religion of Christ alone which must be accepted by all, though under different aspects.  The Gnostic learns that the objects of religious knowledge have only a supramundane history: The 'eternal' or 'spiritual' Gospel places clearly before men's minds all things concerning the Son of God, both the mysteries shown by His words, and the things of which His acts were the riddles” (In John 1:9).

 

The Gnostics Knew The Truth

 

 

 

 

With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls we know today that Jesus was an Essene -- and the Essenes were Hebrew Gnostics!   Unbeknown to the vast majority of Christians today, what the New Testament actually portrays is the war between the Essene sons of Light and the sons of darkness -- i.e., the Jews of the Spirit and the Jews of the flesh.   In our reading of the Gospel of John, our greatest stumbling block is in not understanding the deeper level of Gnosticism that is indigenous to the writing.   We are thus warned of this by Prof. John Allegro in The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origins of Christianity when he wrote: “It is a fact that the Qumran Library has profoundly affected the study of the Johannine writings and many longheld conceptions have had to be radically revised.  No longer can John be regarded as the most Hellenistic of the Evangelists; his gnosticism, and the whole framework of his thought is seen now to spring directly from a Jewish sectarianism rooted in palestinian soil, and his material recognized as founded in the earliest layers of Gospel traditions.”

Unless we possess a spiritual death wish, and we truly desire to be deceived, we have no other choice than to recognize that John’s gnosticism means that we have to take great care when we attempt to develop beliefs based upon what is literally written.  When Prof. Allegro writes about John’s “gnosticism”, what he is stating is that he recognizes that the common framework of John’s thought has been represented in the writings of the Mystical and Gnostic Essenes.   What this means to us is embodied in the words of Paul when he warned the carnal believers at Corinith: “If any one imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know” (1 Cor 8:2 RSV).  

It is well documented in the preceding that both the Gnostic Messianic believers, as well as the Gnostic Christians, did not write about historical events -- but rather, they worded what appeared to be historical writings into a mystical revelation of the inner Kingdom.   Therefore, when John writes about the Word -- or Logos -- as being “...the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9 KJV), he was speaking of that Light that exists within every one of us -- and which had evolved into an all consuming Light in the person of Jesus -- the pattern of the Divine Perfected Soul and destiny of all mankind.   And while the carnally minded believer will attempt to portray what the Gnostics believed based upon a literal perception of the scriptures, they do this to their own demise.   In the words of G.R.S. Mead regarding the nature of Gnostic scriptures: “...what the Gnostics projected onto the screen... of the universe was in reality a picture of their own minds” (Fragments of a Faith Forgotten).   If the words of Jesus are correct wherein he states that the Kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:20-21), then the “picture of their own minds” would need to be mapped in order to find the Kingdom that Jesus declared.

The whole thrust of Gnostic thought which is clearly represented in the scriptures is Knowledge of God via the only true path, which is self-knowledge.  This is readily seen in the words of Clement of Alexandria when he wrote: “...the greatest of all lessons is to know one’s self.  For if one knows himself, he will know God; and knowing God, he will be made like God... and that man becomes God, since God so wills”.   When John writes that we must be “born again”, the re-birth of the Gnostic is not philosophical in the manner of a prayer -- but rather, it is Spiritual, as seen in St Gregory’s treaties on The Soul and the Resurrection where he writes that “the Resurrection is no other thing than ‘the re-constitution of our nature in its original form’”, and states that there will come a time “...when the complete whole of our race shall have been perfected from the first man to the last”.

When God, in the words of St. Nazianzen, no longer is an “object of wonder”, but rather an “object of desire” -- and we, desiring to be purified from the defilements of this world, make ourselves fit vessels for the Lord, the Spirit reveals to us our true nature and makes “us like God; so that when we have thus become like Himself, God may, to use a bold expression, hold converse with us as Gods, being united to us, and that perhaps to the same extent as He already knows those who are known to Him”.  St. Nazianzen then writes: “the Divine Nature then is boundless and hard to understand” by those who are yet carnal and think as beings of this world.

The church and temple of the Gnostic is of the body/spirit, rather than a temple made with hands out of the things of this world.   Judge for yourselves: What is it that the historical Gnostic said?  ”Cease to seek after God as without thee, and the universe, and things similar to these; seek Him from out of thyself, and learn who is once and for all appropriates all in thee himself, and say, My God, my mind, my soul, my body... And if thou closely investigate these things thou wilt find him in thyself..." (Quoted from 2nd century gnostic sources by G.R.S. Mead; Fragments of a Faith Forgotten).   What St. Nazianzen is saying confirms what was written by the Apostle when he wrote: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor 2:9 KJV).   Because carnal man neither knows his own soul, or his spiritual nature, he simply cannot envision man’s true relationship to God -- the Son of God -- and neither is he capable of understanding Jesus, who himself said he was our brother.

When Celsus, the second century Epicurean philosopher accused the Christians of copying the doctrine of the Greeks with regard to the Son of God, Origen admitted that the concept as expressed in Plato was one and the same.   We must of course remember that Origen wrote that the resurrection is a symbol of a Divine Truth -- and the common perception and understanding in the physical resurrection is “preached in the Churches... for the simpleminded and for the ears of the common crowd who are led on to live better lives by their belief”.   If this is offensive to us today, then we should remember that the Apostle Paul fundamentally conveyed the same exact thing where it is written: “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Heb 6:1-2 NIV).

When, as St. Gregory states, a man participates in the mystery of the resurrection, what is being expressed in this mystery that cannot be comprehended by the carnal mind is that, in Gregory’s words, “the Resurrection is no other thing than ‘the re-constitution of our nature in its original form’”.   Thus, we cannot even begin to understand this symbol and mystery, until we begin to reject our quasi-Darwinist perceptions of life, and open our minds to the reality of our pre-existent soul, and perceive its “nature in its original form’”.   The prodigal son that returns to his Father is not only restored to his pre-existing heavenly nature, but by virtue of his overcoming the powers of darkness -- i.e., the citizen of the far country -- he has been transformed, and has been elevated to a state of spiritual perfection -- and as such, possesses the higher wisdom, virtues, and qualities of the Father.

The carnal mind that is born out of the three dimensional limitations of this world cannot conceive of mankind’s true divine generation, or his eventual destiny.   Being born of the flesh, and very much of this world, his perception of things divine is in every manner of the word, from the perspective of a lower life-form.   Therefore, when he is confronted by a matured and perfected soul such as Jesus, it is natural for him to worship this being that, himself being of a higher level of Creation, is as a god to him.   In this respect, carnal man is not wrong -- he being a creature who is born of this world, is simply incapable of a genuine perception of reality -- and especially his own innate spiritual nature and reality that lies dormant within the essence of his soul.

Because carnal man’s perception is three dimensional -- limited by physical senses that are born out of earthly matter -- he is incapable of comprehending the spiritual connectedness of Creation.   When Paul said to the people of Athens about God that “‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’” (Acts 17:28 NIV), what he did was open the door to one of the most monumental paradoxes that has continually plagued the Christian world.   In the first place, like Origen, Clement, and a whole host of other early Christian writers, Paul here affirms that certain philosophers among the Greeks possessed a valid perception of God.   Moreover, when carnal man uses rhetoric, and states that all things are of God, the essence of the spiritual reality that is being revealed here, and is well documented in the writings of the poets that Paul quotes, is that we literally dwell in the body-mind of God.

Error and opinion prevails today because it is a truly difficult thing for carnal man to envision the multiple realities and paradoxes of Creation.   Some believers envision what is called a personal God -- a being whom they can speak to, in the manner they speak to another person.   These people tend to ignore and reject the rather pantheistic viewpoint of God expressed in the above quotation of Paul.   Yet, what believers fail to understand is this great biblical truth: In a world where you are warned that reality is above and beyond your understanding, and the Bible itself affirms both positions, perhaps we should open our minds to the possibility that both of these paradoxical points of view many each possess their own element of truth.

Carnal man envisions God as a Being that is separate from himself, perceptible to the senses, that can be communicated with in the manner that people communicate with each other.   Yet, the vision of the poets that Paul quotes is that known as pantheism -- the idea that we not only dwell in the body-mind of God, but that all things are actually made up of part of God’s body.   This connection is documented in the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary for this verse where it is written: “This is the first half of the fifth line, word for word, of an astronomical poem of Aratus, a Greek countryman of the apostle’s and his predecessor by about three centuries. It is found also (nearly as here) in a religious hymn of Cleanthes of Troas, a contemporary of Aratus. But, as our speaker hints, the same sentiment is to be found in other Greek poets. They meant it, doubtless, in a pantheistic sense”.

We cannot understand what Paul is conveying because, with our singular carnal perception, we cannot embrace the reality of the very paradoxical and multidimensional nature of Creation.   It is beyond our comprehension how the Supreme God -- referred to in the Book of Daniel and Jewish Mysticism as the Ancient of Days -- indicating, He who is unbegotten, and has no beginning -- can both exist in a perceptible singular form, and yet we are dwelling within His very Mind and Being.   The problem is that the Bible is correct when it states that it is impossible for carnal man to contemplate God -- which is something that can only be done by highly evolved spiritual beings who have themselves become Complete.

In the same way that God is not limited by our understanding of life, as seen in the words: “and do not think to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (Matt 3:9 NKJ); what we fail to understand is that all of Creation was brought into manifestation by virtue of God thinking it -- and as such, remains a projection of God’s thoughts.   What this means is that all Life not only remains dependent upon God for continuation, but it is God’s own vital life-force that continues to move throughout every level and aspect of Creation.  

Literally, if God -- or the Source of all life who is referred to as the Ancient of Days -- ceased to provide vital life-force to what has come into existence through the manifestation of His thoughts, all of creation would simply cease to exist.   It is from this perception of reality that the scriptures can proclaim that: “‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’” (Acts 17:28 NIV).   In the same way that the electricity that we use to power our appliances is generated from a remote place, we are the person we are because we take the very energy and vital force that we stamp with our own individual impressions, and make the expression of Divine Creation unique to our own experiences.  

In the same way that when a child is conceived, it initially comes into being from one cell, which then multiplies in accordance with a series of predefined genetic laws that bring about the manifestation of the offspring of it’s parents, each and every one of us is as a cell in the body-mind of God -- a cell that has multiplied and developed all the unique complexities that make us the being that we are.   This is demonstrated in the proclamation of the scriptures where it is written: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else... God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:24,27 NIV).   God is not far from each of us, and can be found by each of us, because at our essence, we are in fact a projection of His thoughts -- and the substance of our own being is as ripples upon the vital force of God.   It is because of our continued intimate connection with our True Essence of Being, that we only have to seek out our own Source of Life to find God -- our true Creator and Parent.

But what is Gnosticism?   Under the heading of Gnosticism, the Encyclopedia Britannica states: “Among the majority of the followers of the movement, 'Gnosis' was understood not as meaning 'knowledge' or 'understanding', in our sense of the word, but 'revelation'.  These little Gnostic sects and groups all lived in the conviction that they possessed a secret and mysterious knowledge, in no way accessible to those outside, which was not to be proved or propagated, but believed in by the initiated, and anxiously guarded as a secret.  This knowledge of theirs was not based on reflection, on scientific inquiry and proof, but on revelation.  It was derived directly from the times of primitive Christianity, from the Savior himself and from his disciples and friends, with whom they claimed to be connected by a secret tradition, or else from later prophets, of whom many sects boasted.  It was laid down in wonderful mystic writings, which were in the possession of the various circles”.

When we speak, then, of Gnostic gnosis or knowledge, it is important to understand that we are not speaking of knowledge in our sense of the word -- but rather, knowledge in the sense that Paul and Jesus spoke about.   With regard to this gnosis Paul writes: “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit” (1 Cor 2:10 KJV).   Thus the words: “This knowledge of theirs was not based on reflection, on scientific inquiry and proof, but on revelation”.   Those believers known as the historical Gnostic Christians were witnesses to the exact same spiritual reality that Paul writes to us about in his epistle -- i.e., that man has the ability to learn directly from God through man's own spiritual nature; and this is confirmed in the words of Paul when he wrote: “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words” (1 Cor 2:13 NIV).   Thus, the sacred truths of Paul and the Gnostic Christians were beyond the perception of what Paul called “the wisdom of this world”.  

Of the difference between carnal knowledge and spiritual knowledge, Paul writes: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Cor 1:20 NIV).   Why?   Because, like the Sadducees and Pharisees, the wise man, scholar, and philosopher of this world fail to look beyond what is grasped through the physical senses in the creation of their theories pertaining to life and this world.   In the same way that within the scriptures there are numerous inconsistencies and symbols that point the disciple beyond the letter of what is written, all of creation is fabricated in the same mold that the Bible is written.   Thus, what the Apostle writes is that the foolishness of the philosopher of this age, is no different than the foolishness of the believer who sees only the body of the scriptures -- or what the Apostle calls, the testimony of Christ.

Regarding the claim of the Gnostic Christians reported in the Britannica that their secret doctrine: “was derived directly from the times of primitive Christianity, from the Savior himself and from his disciples and friends, with whom they claimed to be connected by a secret tradition, or else from later prophets, of whom many sects boasted”, I have already demonstrated this to be true.   In the words of Clement of Alexandria: “The Lord… allowed us to communicate to those Divine Mysteries, and of that holy light, to those who are able to receive them.   He did not certainly disclose to the many what did not belong to the many; but to the few to whom He knew that they belonged, who were capable of receiving and being molded according to them”.

What the believers of the simple faith have continually failed to realize down through the ages is that, in order to learn of God, and enter the Kingdom, one must have a total and complete change of mind and heart (“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”) -- i.e., “open and unloose the mind, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” -- and this total change of mind and heart can only be brought about in the life of the believer when there is a reversal of direction, as in the biblical phrase to “turn about”.   What the Bible states is that it is impossible for us to be taught the sacred truths that we need to know in the manner of the worldly wise man, scholar and philosopher.   It is for this reason that the wise man of the spirit has always incorporated certain rituals that the carnal believer follows -- but in reality, these rituals exist as forms, figures and patterns of what must be accomplished in spirit.   When we begin to understand these facts, we are then able to perceive the reason why Jesus condemned the Pharisees when he said: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean” (Matt 23:25-26 NIV).    It is for this very same reason that Paul said in true Gnostic fashion: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Rom 2:28-29 KJV).

All these rituals that are given to carnal believers: i.e., circumcision, baptisms, laying on of hands, communion, speaking in tongues, etc., must be realized and practiced in the spirit, rather than the flesh.   This is especially seen in the words of Paul when he wrote: “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Heb 6:1-2 NIV).

What is written here is no different than when Origen and the early Church Fathers wrote that the reading of scripture as history, and the observance of rituals in the flesh, do very little for the believer.   What is it that the Apostle is expressing when he writes: “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ”?   The elementary teachings of the Christ is what was taught to the believers at Corinith: “For in him you have been enriched in every way -- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge -- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” (1 Cor 1:5-7 NIV).   The elementary teachings are the doctrine of “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2 NIV).

The Apostle says that carnal believers must “go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Heb 6:1-2 NIV).   The believer cannot enter the Kingdom if they exist in a perpetual state of repentance from sin.   Faith in God is descriptive of a carnal believer's condition prior to their gaining entrance into the Kingdom where their faith in the unknown becomes confirmed with knowledge (gnosis) gained through direct experience and contact with the Lord.   Ritual baptisms and the laying on of hands must be understood in the spirit, rather in the flesh.  

The resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment must be understood as man's return to his true innate spiritual nature.   In the words of Clement of Alexandria in his description of the Lord's mission: “For He was clothed with all virtue; and it was His aim to lead man, the foster-child of the world, up to the objects of intellect, and to the most essential truths by knowledge, from one world to another”.

In order to envision the essence of what the Lord taught, and enter into the Kingdom, the carnal believer must begin to embrace the Gospel in its spiritual sense.   This is especially seen in the words of the Apostle when he said: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Heb 5:12-14 NAS).

It was the carnal believers who could not embrace the “elementary principles of the oracles of God” -- who continued in a state of perpetual redemption -- using the rituals of the Lord in the manner of the Sadducees and Pharisees for the endless forgiveness of sins, rather than the means of moving on to maturity.   Thus, the carnal believers who failed to “open and unloose the mind”, remained stagnant -- and their involvement in the gospel was little more than a philosophical and superficial outward change.   It was these carnal believers who perpetually remained babes in Christ -- ever sipping on the milk of the gospel, and never partaking of the solid food of the spirit.   When the spiritual Christians attempted to explain to them the deeper meaning of life, themselves, and the Word, the carnal Christians condemned the spiritual Christians, and called them heretics.

Again, as seen throughout the Bible, the necessary requirement in order to gain entrance into the Kingdom is purity -- as seen in the words: “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful” (Rev 21:27 NIV).   That we must put on what is referred to as the robe of purity is a continual theme of the scriptures, as seen where the man attempted to come to the marriage feast without the necessary garment: “how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” (Matt 22:12 RSV).   The flawed idea that was professed among the carnal Christians that they could believe, and use Jesus as a dispensation that enabled them to continue to live in accordance with the culture of this world, while only embracing a philosophical change, was further condemned in one of the most popular early Christian writing, the Shepherd of Hermas, where the pastor Hermas asks about the symbol of the virgins: “And these virgins, who are they? They are Holy Spirits, and men cannot otherwise be found in the kingdom of God unless these have put their clothing upon them: for if you receive the name only, and do not receive from them the clothing, they are of no advantage to you. For these virgins are the powers of the Son of God. If you bear His name but possess not His power, it will be in vain that you bear His name”.

This great spiritual truth -- i.e., that we must be clothed with the robe of purity -- that is conveyed throughout the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, is commented on by Origen when he wrote pertaining to who can be a recipient of the mysteries, or the secret doctrine of Christ: “Whoever has clean hands, and therefore lifts up holy hands to God… let him come to us… Whoever is pure, not only from all defilement, but from what are regarded as lesser transgressions, let him be boldly initiated into the mysteries of Jesus, which properly are made known only to the holy and the pure… To those who have been purified in heart, he whose soul has for a long time, been conscious of no evil, especially since he yielded himself to the healing of the Word, let such a one hear the doctrines which were spoken in private by Jesus to his genuine disciples”.

If we are to overcome the many doctrinal obstacles that have been placed in our path -- obstacles which obstruct our present-day entrance into the Kingdom -- then it is absolutely necessary for us to understand who the genuine disciples of Paul was?   Was it those who were the carnal believers -- a carnal and sense bound people who never went beyond the milk of the Gospel?   Or was it those who did as the Apostle commanded, and went on to maturity and perfection?   Those Christians who truly believe Jesus, and are able to comprehend the Epistles of Paul, are those who strive to fulfill the commandment of the Lord when he said: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48 RSV).  

Carnal believers, like the Sadducees and Pharisees who hold fast to the letter of the scriptures, invent great mounds of dogma and doctrine explaining away the requirement that we must be perfect.   In opposition to the words of Paul, they say that man cannot be perfect.   Thus, they fail to heed the words of the Apostle when he commanded: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2 NAS).   Carnal believers can never “prove what… is good and acceptable and perfect”, because they permit themselves to remain “conformed to this world”.  

Instead of truly believing the testimony of the Apostle, and searching out the answer to the dilemma of how to become perfect, carnal believers manufacture an uncountable number of excuses why they can't.   In so doing, they never move beyond “the elementary principles of the Christ” -- they continue to embrace the milk of the gospel -- all the while they argue one with the other over it's proper interpretation.   Like the believers at Corinith, they fail to embrace the words of the Apostle when he warned: “Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to naught” (1 Cor 2:6 KJV).

Throughout all of Christian history, the body of carnal believers have been unable to understand the Apostle's words when he wrote: “But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (1 Cor 13:10 KJV).   The dilemma is that if a Christian fails to go beyond the milk of the gospel, “that which is perfect” can never come.   The carnal believer never embraces the words: “That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:17 KJV).

In order for us to get a right perception of how we come to believe in the manner that we do today, it is important that we understand these things from an historical perspective.   Over the period of the first three centuries those who called themselves Orthodox, and knew only the milk of the gospel -- i.e., “Jesus and him crucified” -- became extremely hostile when they were told by the Spiritual (Gnostic) Christians that there was a great deal more than the elementary principles of the Christ.   Why?   In order to comprehend the problem as it continues to exist in our present time among modern-day believers -- and even in our own life -- we must understand that the problem is congenital in the world of natural man.

Once man is attached and comfortable in this life, he will invoke all his power of mind and being in the endeavor to resist change.   This reality is a continual theme in the Old Testament scriptures where the carnal Jews continually killed the prophets that were sent to them.   With the preaching of the gospel to the people of the nations, the carnal believers violently opposed the Gnostics, or spiritual Christians, when they taught the absolute need for purification from the defilements of this world.   It is only when we begin to perceive the congenital nature of the problem -- whereby the physical body-mind of the body-vessel in which our soul is presently inhabiting, will use all its carnal power and resources to remain attached to the elemental and sensual things of this world.

In the same way that Hitler and his cohorts were able to force all of the German people into his system of philosophy, and then endeavored to literally wipe out all opposing thought, it is important for us to recognize that this same method of forced mass conversion was employed by the Emperor Constantine with regard to his ordination of the carnal Christians over the Gnostic Christians.   Where during that period prior to the fourth century the two groups were very much expressions of the one Gentile Church -- i.e., one carnal and the other spiritual, with every evolutionary level also existing between the two polarities -- the balance of power was brought to an end through the use of political power that came to rule over every aspect of the church.

Regarding these two groups of Christians, Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography states: “We have no reason to think that the earliest Gnostics intended to found sects separated from the Church and called after their own names.   Their disciples were to be Christians, elevated above the rest as acquainted with deeper mysteries, and called Gnostikoi because possessed of a Gnosis superior to the simple faith of the multitude…  They also boasted to be in possession of genuine apostolical traditions, deriving their doctrines, some from St. Paul, others from St. Peter, and others again from Judas, Thomas, Philip, and Matthew.   In addition moreover, to [this] secret doctrine which they professed to have received by oral tradition, they appealed also to alleged writings of the apostles themselves or their disciples”.

The reality expressed in this article by Smith and Wace's Dictionary is very important for modern Christians to recognize in their endeavor to better understand their own beliefs in our present time.   It was not the intention of Paul, the founder of Gentile Christianity, to create two different religions -- one for the carnal believers, and another for those who had evolved beyond the milk of the gospel.   Neither was it the intention of the Christians who were elevated above the carnal believers for them to be separated from the masses.   Further, the Spiritual (Gnostic) Christians were correct when they stated that they had received their (secret) doctrines directly from St. Paul, St. Peter, and many of the other disciples of Jesus.   In fact, from the perspective of what Jesus taught, the Christians who possessed the higher knowledge were the true Christians, while those who were of the “simple faith”, were the common believers who were in training to become Christians.

The problem has always been a political one.   During the first and beginning of the second centuries, there existed authentic spiritual leaders in the church -- i.e., the direct disciples, and the disciples of the disciples of Jesus.   These men knew the truth as it was taught in its pure form.   They also set the standard and example to the others.   As a greater number of Gentiles converted, and the balance of power was upset, the spiritual essence of the church began to erode.

In the religion that Jesus revealed to man, truth and sanctification was not found in what one believes in a philosophical manner, but one’s condition of mind and being in relation to the Kingdom.   Over the first one hundred years after the crucifixion of Christ, the carnal believers had bona fid spiritual men as examples in which to pattern their lives.   As the babes in Christ developed, in the manner of our own modern educational systems, they advanced to the next level within the church.   From a spiritual perspective, the Church was functioning in accordance with the highest levels of the very concept of religion manifested in this world.   Like our own schools and present-day educational systems, early Christianity possessed what could be termed K-12  -- i.e., a spiritual kindergarten right on through to the highest levels of instruction which led the disciples to spiritual illumination.

With regard to the levels of instruction necessary for each person as they develop, Origen writes: “As respects the nature of the Word, in the same way as the quality of the food changes in the nurse into milk with reference to the nature of the child, or is arranged by the physician with a view to the good of his health in the case of a sick man or (is specially) prepared for a stronger man, because he possesses greater vigor, so does God appropriately change, in the case of each individual, the power of the Word to which belongs the natural property of nourishing the human soul. And to one is given, as the Scripture terms it, 'the sincere milk of the word;' and to another, who is weaker, as it were, 'herbs;' and to another who is full-grown, 'strong meat.' And the Word does not, I imagine, prove false to His own nature, in contributing nourishment to each one, according as he is capable of receiving Him. Nor does He mislead or prove false” (Origen Contra Celsum).

These words of Origen are basically a commentary of the teachings of Paul as expressed throughout his epistles.   Because we are spiritual beings who are aliens residing in this world, and our very God-given vital-force that gives us life is brought into our being in the manner of seven spiritual rivers flowing through our minds and bodies, the quality of the life-force is in direct relationship to the condition of our body and mind.   A person who is carnal in their thinking, only uses that spectrum of the God-given energy flow that relates to their very sensual manner of thinking.   Because the higher energies are suppressed, natural man does not possess even the capacity to perceive and understand his own true spiritual essence.

It is not until we begin to comprehend that the greatest obstacle to spiritual enlightenment is brought about by actual obstructions to the flow of the higher spectrum of vital-energy flowing into our mind and body, that we can begin to truly change our condition.   In the recognition that the initial restriction is more of a physical problem -- i.e., where the body-mind simply cannot reflect the vibratory frequency of that spectrum of vital-force necessary to perceive and comprehend the things of higher mind -- can we even begin to appreciate the true genius expressed in the Bible.   Further, it is not until we begin to understand the nature of the beast, that we are able to comprehend why the disciples of Jesus and the first Gentile Christians placed such great emphasis upon the need for cleansing of the body-mind from the defilements of this world.

A person who has walked in The Way -- has successfully cleansed himself from the limited thinking and defilements of this world -- and has drawn closer to God -- has overcome the natural obstacles of the physical body-mind and is able to use frequencies of that same vital life-force that is beyond the ability of carnal man to even envision.   Thus, this higher vibratory level of life-force flowing through his mind and body permits him to see what is not perceived by the person who is under carnal limitations. 

As the disciple is transformed into a spiritual being, and becomes the Anointed Child of God, he possesses a vision of reality that is beyond the comprehension of the natural man.   Because he is no longer of this world, he has what is called an enlightened and illumined mind.   He has achieved a level of completion -- which Paul consistently refers to as the perfection of the individual.

When Paul speaks of the natural man, he indicates those people who have never developed themselves to utilize the higher spectrum of life-force that flows through his body-mind.   Because of his state of incompletion and limited potential of mind, the whole perspective of God from the perception of carnal man is in grave error.   God does not sit back on a lofty throne -- determining the fate of each individual -- regulating the food in the form of life-force that each of us receives.   What we fail to realize is that all of life is controlled by the natural laws of Creation in conjunction with our own accomplishments and failures.   Neither Jesus or his true followers ever hid anything from the eyes of the common man!   It is the thoughts of our heart that is the bridle that steers us through the experiences of life.   If we are sense bound, and attach ourselves to the elemental things of this world, then we cannot even begin to embrace man's higher reality.  

It is not until we begin to grasp the reality that our physical body is very much as the earth itself, that we are able to embrace the necessary measures to bring about genuine change in our lives.   When the scriptures convey to us that “…we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22 NIV), it is speaking of the work that is needed to redirect our consciousness and life-force out of this world through our lower centers, and into the higher centers of our being that are dormant in natural man.

The problem is this: Once the vital-force of God-given energy that flows through us creates what can be portrayed as ravines through our body-mind, we can no more alter the direction of the manner of our perception and thought, than we could divert the direction of a great river that has carved out a deep crevice in the earth.   It is for this reason that one of the most important teachings of Jesus was that regarding little children.   The more we understand the foundation of this concept that Jesus placed such great emphasis on, the more we are able to perceive life from the vision of God, and thereby start to understand the reasons for life, death and rebirth.  

If people were permitted to continue living their life without death, they would remain spiritually stagnant.   A child's thinking can be molded because the vital life-force that flows through the child's body-mind, has not become fixed in the manner of a great river flowing through the ravines of the earth.   Once the child matures, and their pattern of thought becomes molded, the task of redirecting the manner in which the life-force flows through the body-mind becomes a difficult task -- and in many instances, impossible.  

Chinese medicine known as acupuncture is based upon this knowledge of the energy flow through the body.   Disease is caused from a blockage that they resolve by placing needles at strategic locations in the body.   If we better understood this science, we could use such healing techniques to open the mind of the individual to higher spiritual concepts.   To a great extent this is also the foundation of Chiropractic philosophy where the spine is maintained in alignment in order to insure the proper flow of vital-energy throughout the body.   In the same way, the eastern philosophy of yoga is designed to manipulate the flow of energy through the body, thereby enabling the person to open the mind.

In the beginning of natural life, the body is much more easily controlled by the mind.   As the child matures, and the flow of life-force becomes fixed, the body itself begins to control the thinking of the individual.   What most uninformed people would view as religious extremism, is merely the plight of the individual working on himself in order to change the direction of the life-force that is flowing through his body-mind.   A soul who is able to truly accomplish change in his life, and again bring about that condition where the mind rules over the physical body, has transformed himself into a soul that can overcome the obstacles of this world, and is able to pursue his destiny into the Light.

What the followers of Jesus and the early Gentile Christians recognized was the fact that change is accomplished much more easily when one possesses the knowledge of the laws that control this realm, and the manner in which these laws control the lives of natural man.   Once we begin to perceive the true horror of this world -- i.e., that mankind is literally a slave to the forces and elements of this realm, and does not possess the power to see and understand mankind's higher reality, only then are we able to embrace the true compassion that was exhibited by Jesus towards the sinners who dwelled in their world of suffering, darkness and despair.

From a biblical perspective, the restraint this world places upon natural man is likened to one who dwells in a jail -- unaware of the world that lies beyond the high walls of the prison.   We fail to perceive the great limitations that have been placed upon us, because we possess the illusion of freedom -- which is a freedom inhibited by a series of all encompassing restrictions that have been placed upon both our thinking and state of being.   This can be likened to the idea that, so long as the door to the individual jail cells are open, and the prisoner is able to roam about in a very limited fashion, they remain sedated and content under the illusion of freedom.   The desire to embrace true freedom is the result of that condition when a person is in touch with their pre-existent soul, which causes them to no longer be content to roam within the very limited environment of the prison. 

The warden of the prison -- i.e., the supernatural power the Apostle refers to as the prince of darkness -- can easily control the greater majority of the inmates of this world through an addiction to sensualism, materialism, cultural affiliation, or political power.   In the case of the more intelligent, he maintains control through conventional science, religion and philosophy -- which has the form and appearance of genuine (spiritual) knowledge.   These souls become duped into imagining they are successful, merely because they appear to know or see more than does the greater majority of inmates who are sense-bound, and totally integrated into the culture of the prison.   The result is that, so long as carnal man can be controlled through addiction, or seduced into believing he has the answers to life -- whether through the power of science, philosophy or religion -- the prince of darkness is able to continue to exert absolute control over his life.

The person that we have referred to as the mystic -- who is the genuine Jew, Christian, Muslim or any other name you choose to describe a person who possesses a more tangible inner connection with his pre-existent soul -- knows instinctively that there is a world of true freedom that exists beyond the confines of the prison of this world.   When a great soul such as Jesus appears among the inmates, and tells the people: You are not of this realm, and if you follow me, I will protect you from the power of the warden, and guide you through the very narrow and tight path that leads to life beyond the walls of this prison, the majority of the prisoners simply refuse to follow.  

When President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, many of the freed slaves refused to leave the plantations.   In like manner, the greater number of inmates of this world have never known any other life than the culture and environment of the prison in which they presently dwell.   Their friends and family are with them in their little world.   Throughout their life they have collected many material things that the warden has supplied them in order to control them through the power of physical, mental, emotional and sexual attachments.   They feel that they already have everything they need, and do not wish to leave these things behind to follow some stranger.   Moreover, their leaders who are themselves addicted to this world, have condemned the stranger -- called him a heretic -- an extremist -- and warned them that this stranger is a trouble maker whose objective is to deceive the people.  

Their prison prophets and wise men have themselves learned the power of speaking to the imagination of the inmates -- telling them that there is a supernatural savior who will come and change the prison into a land of milk and honey -- and all they have to do is wait for his arrival.   They make predictions -- and control the inmates by telling them that they are the friends of the supernatural savior.  In order to inherit the vision of milk and honey that is prophesied by these prison wise men, the inmates bestow gifts and wealth upon them, so they will be intercessors on their behalf with their friend -- the supernatural savior who will arrive at any moment.

When the Son of God physically walked among us, he did not say that if we have faith and believe that the heavenly kingdom exists, that we will go there after we die.   What he said was, if you truly believe in me, and have total faith, that you will follow in my footsteps, and I will lead you out of this prison-world and into the Kingdom.   What the Master said to us is this: “I know the way out of this world; and I must go before you to mark out a clear path for you to follow.   In order to help us, he left us a book of directions that would help us prepare for the journey.   This book -- the Bible -- has been placed in our hands in order to assist us in our endeavor to walk the path.   In order to make the journey between the prison and the outside world, we must possess a knowledge of the barriers and obstacles that the god of this world has placed in our path in order to inhibit our escape from his control.  

In order to insure both our success and the continuation of the sacred teachings for future generations to follow, the Master of The Way embed certain detailed instructions concealed within the body of the book that he left us.   He promised that these instructions will become more apparent to us as we prepare ourselves in accordance with the written text of the book, and begin to grow in wisdom gained through our experiences of walking in The Way.   He then explained that, if he was to attempt to write these more detailed instructions more clearly, that the god of this world would destroy them.   So to preserve them for those who had journeyed far enough along the path where they needed a set of more detailed instructions, the Holy Spirit placed these teachings and directions beyond the perception of natural man.

From an historical perspective, we can see the manifestation of this great truth in the editing of the scriptures by the generations of carnal Christians over the first three centuries (see The Orthodox Corruption Of The Scriptures).   Because these Christians created philosophical doctrines which altered the original teachings of the Master -- doctrines which taught that man did not have to live in accordance with the text of the book that the Master left us -- but rather, all that was required was to believe that the Master lived and escaped this world -- these carnal Christians were easily controlled and manipulated by the god of this world.   They therefore rewrote many of the concepts of the text of the book in order to make it clearer and more applicable to their manner of thinking -- which thinking was ultimately controlled by the ruler of this realm.   They then condemned the true disciples of The Way as heretics, burned the genuine copies of the book the Master left to instruct the people, killed the Master's disciples, and created laws which supported the teachings and the worship of the god of this world.

In order to strengthen their political rule of the people, they then made laws and created churches that would prohibit the use of any other sacred writing than the revised book which they ordained as genuine.  Through the use of fear and the eternal suffering of hell, they convinced the common people that it was a sin to read the writings of the heretics, or listen to anyone who disagreed with the church that was built upon the precepts and doctrines of the god of this world.  

As a recourse to the rise of the anti-church, the true disciples of the Light buried and hid the more pure copies of the scriptures in order to preserve the written word for future generations.   In the past, when copies of these more pure scriptures were found, they were destroyed.   Thus, in our own time when the anti-church is no longer in control of government, these more pure copies of the scriptures have once again been found, and this was brought about by the Hand of God in order to help the disciples of the Light find their way back to the Kingdom.

The anti-church and the heathen rulers of this world cannot succeed in their endeavor to destroy the presence of the Genuine Word of God in this realm.   One of the realities of Creation that the rulers and priests of this pseudo-church failed to understand, was that because the Natural Laws of Creation hold all things in a state of perpetual balance, man must always exist at various levels of spiritual maturity.   What this ensures is that even though the vast majority of people are ruled over by what the Apostle refers to as the god of this world, there always exist those individuals whose thinking is able to pierce beyond the barrier of carnal reality.   When these individuals begin to focus their attention on the scriptures, they are to varying degrees able to perceive the inner message of the instruction book that the Master gave to mankind -- even when the text has been corrupted.   In many instances these individuals have been able to see enough of the inner directions that is beyond the perception of carnal man, that they are able to embrace the Spiritual Gospel of God in their endeavor to journey into the Kingdom.   As they begin their walk in The Way, these individuals receive the grace and the guidance of the Lord, and with each step they take, a greater perception of spiritual knowledge is given to them -- a knowledge of the scriptures, life and Creation, that is totally beyond the vision of those whose thinking and manner of life remains under the control of the god of this world. 

When it says in the scriptures that the ark came to rest upon a mountain -- or that Moses went up on the mountain to speak with God -- or that Jesus was taken up to “…a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (Matt 4:8 NIV) -- what these things are symbolic of is the raising of consciousness within oneself above that of the natural man.   When one learns to raise their mind above the carnal, the path to life not only becomes clearer, but such a person is better able to hear the voice of the Lord calling and teaching the truths that the disciple needs to know in order to be able to climb still higher in their search for the Kingdom.

With regard to Origen's words, the quality of the spiritual food that each of us receives is in direct relationship to how far we have traveled in The Way.   In most instances, the knowledge we receive is controlled by Natural Laws that are manifest in accordance with our own needs and ability to use the life-force that God -- the True Source of our being -- provides us.   Thus, we can begin to see the all-encompassing reality of the Apostles words when he said that each man reaps what he has sown (Gal 6:7 NIV).   This can be expressed in the words: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov 23:7 KJV).

From the perspective of the people within the body of the original church over the course of the first three centuries, the very presence of a Spiritual Church manifest in this world has the power to greatly accelerate the journey of the disciple in search of the Truth.   It is not that man needs to be taught -- but rather, when experienced servants of the Lord are present, they are able to make the transformation from carnal to spiritual a much smoother road for the people of the simple faith.   This is in fact the essence of Jesus’ condemnation of the Sadducees and Pharisees with respect to them being counterfeit leaders of the flock of believers.   Instead of guiding the people of the simple faith into the Kingdom, they positioned themselves before the people as priests and religious authorities who would intercede between God and man.  

The only valid objective of genuine religious leaders is to assist the people in learning about the True God, teaching the flock to embrace the Royal Law of God, and working to fulfill the Vision of the Lord when he commanded: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Exod 19:5-6 NKJ).

In respect of this fact, I have endeavored to compose this book from the same perspective -- not to teach or proclaim the Mysteries of God to the reader -- but rather, to dispel the darkness of the god of this world, and to guide the seeker to the point where they will see the beginning of The Way more clearly.   This preparation is designed to enable the person who truly desires the Truth and the Light, to be guided by the Lord and Master who will lead them into Life.   The fact that I have spoken openly about the pre-existence and reincarnation of the soul, is merely the revelation of what Origen and others called the minor mysteries that one must understand in order to behold the process by which man is evolved into a perfected state of being.   Without an understanding that our soul has existed since the very dawn of time itself, and has travailed in this world throughout many lives in its endeavor to inherit the robe of perfection, both life and the scriptures will remain confusing, and we will squander away our opportunity of life itself.

The early church was thus organized in accordance with the Natural Laws and the Divine directive: “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” (Matt 24:45 NIV).   The wise servant is he that knows what type and level of food belongs to each believer who has been put in that servant's care.   In the same way that a baby will choke on solid food, and has no means to consume it, neither can the solid food of the spirit be given to carnal believers.   Therefore, in giving to each in accordance with their spiritual needs, the Spiritual (Gnostic) Christians were fulfilling the word of the Lord: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28 KJV). 

Therefore, we can observe these higher concepts at work in Origen’s defense on the attack by Celsus on the Christian religion, and we are able to get a glimpse of the foundation of the True Church of God manifest in this world.   This vision is important for modern Christians who must undue the corruption of the anti-church which was ordained by Constantine and the Roman Empire, and endeavor to restore the greatness of the True Church of Christ.   Because the genuine focus of Christianity should be to embrace the process of leading men toward spiritual perfection and the entrance into the Kingdom, in a Spiritual Church each believer is provided with the level of truth they need to grow and mature.  

With respect to our present-day focus, the doors of Christianity have always been open to the sinner and the multitudes as a means of redemption -- but redemption is through change, and eventual spiritual transformation.   In Origen's words: “For there are in the divinity of the Word some helps towards the cure of those who are sick”, meaning the sinners.   In the early religious movement of the first three centuries, the idea of Christianity as a means for continual redemption from sin was fostered only among the bottom echelon of the church, or those carnal Christians who were spiritually sick.

“Every one”, writes Origen, “who is a sinner, who is devoid of understanding, who is a child, and, to speak generally, whoever is unfortunate, him will the kingdom of God receive. Do you not call him a sinner, then, who is unjust, and a thief, and a housebreaker, and a prisoner, and a committer of sacrilege, and a robber of the dead? What others would a man invite if he were issuing a proclamation for an assembly of robbers? Now, in answer to such statements, we say that it is not the same thing to invite those who are sick in soul to be cured, and those who are in health to the knowledge and study of divine things. We, however, keeping both these things in view, at first invite all men to be healed, and exhort those who are sinners to come to the consideration of the doctrines which teach men not to sin, and those who are devoid of understanding to those which beget wisdom, and those who are children to rise in their thoughts to manhood, and those who are simply unfortunate to good fortune, or -- which is the more appropriate term to use -- to blessedness. And when those who have been turned towards virtue have made progress, and have shown that they have been purified by the word, and have led as far as they can a better life, then and not before do we invite them to participation in our mysteries. 'For we speak wisdom among them that are perfect’” (Origen Contra Celsum).

It is true that Jesus came to save the sinner -- but he did not come to save the sinner who did not desire to change -- refused to follow him -- or who attempted to embrace him only with his lips.   In the words of Jesus: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13 NKJ).   This great truth was further clarified by the Apostle John when he wrote: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world -- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does -- comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 Jn 2:15-16 NIV).   Often, these people who are stirred by their indwelling spiritual nature, continue their love and attachment to this world, and they are not yet ready to leave it.   These people who claim to believe may call themselves Christians -- even born again Christians -- and yet, so long as they continue to cling to the customs, material things, and mindset of this world, they can never be anything more than babes in Christ.

The Christianity of Jesus was a living religion, and its main focus was to bring about a “change of mind” in the believer.   It is the milk of the Word, or the gospel of Jesus and him crucified, that is given to the spiritually sick in order to assist them in their initial healing from a life of sin.  The milk is designed to begin the process of growth and development.   In the case of the Jews, temple sacrifice and the rituals of the Old Testament were designed as milk for a heathen people.   It was therefore a transition to sacrifice in one place, to one God, and only certain animals that represented a more perfected animal nature.  

The Essenes did not sacrifice in the temple, because they were spiritual, and they perceived the symbolism of the Old Testament scriptures from the perception of a higher mind.   We can of course reason that if God does not desire sacrifice, then the Old Testament scriptures should never have been written in this misleading manner.   Yet, when we take this position, we fail to recognize the greater need of the people.   The Old Testament scriptures were written in order to transition a heathen idol worshiping Pagan people to the worship of the One True Spiritual God.   Sacrifice and idol worship was an integral part of their thinking and mindset.   Change could only be brought about incrementally, one step at a time.

The leaders of the Sadducees and Pharisees being carnal, interpreted these spiritual symbols of the scriptures literally, and obstructed the path to the Kingdom because they continued to embrace the milk of the written word.  That Jesus was physically crucified by false religious leaders and the rulers of the Nations does not negate the fact that the Son of God permitted these events to transpire, in order to create a much more pure set of symbols that each and every disciple of the Light must embrace in their own life.   Thus, in the case of the New Covenant scriptures, what is written in the Bible is true both historically, as well as in mind and spirit.   In a Genuine Spiritual Church, the faithful servant ordained by Christ is he who seeks the wisdom of the spirit, possesses an understanding of the symbols because he has embraced them in his own life, and feeds the flock in accordance with their individual spiritual needs.   Yes, man is saved by the blood of Christ -- but this blood must be embraced physically, mentally and spiritually in order to mature to become a genuine Christian.

The Gospel message must be multidimensional, in order to transition the believer from carnal to spiritual.   What believers today, as well as the opponents of a Gnostic system of revelation failed to realize, is that the spiritual wisdom and Mysteries of God simply cannot dwell within the mind of a sinner, or one who is spiritually sick.   In the words of Origen: “And as we teach, moreover, that 'wisdom will not enter into the soul of a base man, nor dwell in a body that is involved in sin’”.   Why?   Because their very body and mind will not resonate at the higher frequencies of the life-force entering into their being.   The result is that because their body-mind cannot resonate at these frequencies that are above that of the earth, they cannot receive the complete revelation of the Word in their life.   Symbols, then, are employed in order to manifest truth uniformly on a physical, mental and spiritual level of being.  

In this respect, everything we think, do and say has an all-encompassing effect on our being.   Nothing is concealed from us -- but rather, when we are of this world, we simply cannot utilize the spiritual potential of the whole gamut of life-force that is available to us.   God and the Kingdom literally stand before our eyes, and we are blind to the reality of Creation.

With regard to sinners, Origen writes that they were NOT invited “to participation in mysteries, and to fellowship in the wisdom hidden in a mystery, which God ordained before the world to the glory of His saints, do we invite the wicked man, and the thief, and the housebreaker, and the prisoner, and the committer of sacrilege, and the plunderer of the dead”, these people cannot receive the Divine Mysteries and the Gospel of God.   We can add to this list the unfaithful believer -- or what would be called in the scriptures the adulterer -- who are those who attempt to bring the doctrines of men to the alter of the Lord.   As Origen stated, Jesus “was sent, indeed, as a physician to sinners, but as a teacher of divine mysteries to those who are already pure and who sin no more”.

Because we fail to perceive that our natural mind that is related to our physical consciousness is in fact an image of our pre-existent soul, we are simply unable to comprehend the words of Origen where explains the words of Jesus and portrays him as a “…teacher of divine mysteries to those who are already pure and who sin no more”.   The flaw in our thinking is seen in our failure to perceive that some people enter this world as evolved spiritual souls -- and not being sick, are not in need of a physician.   Because they have lived as seekers of Truth in the past, and even disciples of the Light, they do not enter this life to be healed, but to embrace the next level of instruction.

The teachings of the early church affirmed the biblical position that the Sacred Secrets of the Gospel could only be received by those who had been previously healed by the Word -- of whom Origen wrote: “…others again, which to the pure in soul and body exhibit the revelation of the Mystery, which was kept in secret since the world began, but now is made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets, and by the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ”. 

Who is the instructor and revealer of the Mysteries?   The Lord commanded his disciples and followers: But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren” (Matt 23:8 RSV).   Why?   Because when man attempts to instruct another person about the Mysteries of God in the manner of a teacher, they make themselves a false Christ.   In a Spiritual or Gnostic Church, the objective is to lead the believer to the feet of the One and True Teacher who awaits each of us in the Kingdom.   Jesus, being very much our brother, accomplished this when he manifested the Logos or Word in his life, and then taught others the means to accomplish this same thing in their own lives.   The faithful servant of the Lord is he who reveals to the disciples and believers The Way to find the True Prophet which is the indwelling Word that exists within each of us.  

If a great teacher has come to instruct mankind, and a person wanting to hear this great teacher asks for directions, then the job of those who are sent to call the people is to stand in The Way and direct those seeking to hear the teacher to go by the shortest route.   If, on the other hand, instead of giving directions to the teacher, the servant attempts to convey their own perception of the words of the teacher -- second hand -- then such a person is a false servant.   If this servant then attempts to teach his own doctrine, instead of guiding the seeker to the Master himself, then such a man is a teacher of apostasy and error.

In a truly spiritual religion, the One Teacher is always accessible and ever present to meet with and instruct the genuine disciple.   The job of the servant who is sent forth among the people to gather the flock is not to teach -- but rather, to give direction and demonstrate to the seeker The Way in which to go, in order to arrive at the place where the Teacher can be found.   This concept of a Living Revelation is the defining embodiment of what we refer to as mysticism, Gnosticism, and is the true essence of a spiritual religion.   Moreover, it is this defining factor that is continually demonstrated in the writings of all the early Christians, and is summarized by Origen when he explains that Christ will appear to, and teach, each individual who will be his disciple and follow in His footsteps: “…which appearing [of the Christ] is manifested to each one of those who are perfect, and which enlightens the reason in the true knowledge of things”.  

The Christ cannot appear to the sense bound person whose thinking is of this world.   For the help of such a person, the milk of the gospel has been given until which time they are ready to have a change in mind and heart, and be healed from the defilements of this realm.   Neither can the Christ appear to those who are unfaithful in doctrine -- i.e., those who are referred to in scripture as spiritual adulterers.   It is these people who, though they call upon the name of the Lord, attempt to come to the alter of God carrying the baggage of the doctrines of men.   The Christ can only instruct those who are of his fold.  And who are they? Those who have been healed from the defilements of the world, and look only to the Lord as their teacher.

As modern Christians it is important that we understand the doctrine of faith that Paul said was the focal point of his teachings.   It must first be remembered that in all his Epistles, Paul was writing to very carnal believers -- not Christians who had grown in maturity and perfection.   To the carnal believer, faith is the most important element of his religious experience.  

The Apostle Paul himself defines faith in the biblical sense: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1 NAS).   From a New Covenant perspective, if one's religious experience is founded upon faith alone, then such a state must be understood as indicative of a pre-Christian condition.   The word Christian when properly translated into the English language, can only be defined as a person who strives after the Anointing of God.   Again, the word Christ is not the last name of Jesus -- but rather, it is descriptive of the immersion of the mind with the active principle of Creation.   This condition which is referred to as Anointed (Christ), is synonymous with the term illumination.   In reference to this Anointed state of mind, the Apostle writes: “But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions” (Heb 10:32 KJV).  

A person whose mind has been illuminated by the Anointing of the Logos, cannot be a believer whose faith is the foundation of their religious experience.   Yes, they have faith, but once the mind is illumined, and is able to gaze beyond the barrier of this world, and they can observe God and the essence of Creation, that condition that Paul defines as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1 NAS), is no longer the moving force in the life of the disciple.   When this term is fully understood, then it can also be applied to the body of believers.   Prior to being Anointed -- i.e., a pre-Christian state -- the believer is in a state where they are seeking to become Anointed -- which means that they cannot be called the Anointed (Christian), until they have achieved that condition of illumination of mind and being.  

From this more correct perspective we can then understand that the Gentiles who the Apostle was writing to were a body of believers who were striving to become Christian.   Those who possess only what the Apostle calls the milk of the gospel, have not yet overcome their carnal nature, and cannot therefore be the Anointed (Christian).   The Apostle says of them that one of the main obstacles to their becoming a genuine Christian, is that the genuine spiritual concepts of the teachings of the New Covenant would appear to be foolishness to their natural mindset.   Why?   Because so long as their thinking is of this world, they have not yet become Christian -- i.e., Anointed and Illumined -- and whether they will in fact attain the goal of becoming a Christian will be dependent upon whether they can overcome their natural, carnal nature, and become spiritual.

The doctrine of faith which is expressed by Paul in his Epistles must be understood as being written to the wannabe Christian.   What is expressed by Paul is the assurance that if they follow in The Way, the Son of God will come to them -- that he will teach them the Truth and the Mysteries of the Father -- and that the Son of God will sanctify and Anoint them.   This is the article of faith that the true believer in the Lord expresses -- i.e., that the Son of God will fulfill the promises of the Gospel, and not leave them orphans in this world.

From a biblical perspective, faith itself is transformed as the disciple matures in Christ.   This can be compared to a woman who has faith that she can conceive and bear a child.   Prior to conception, she has faith that she can become pregnant.   After conception, and during that time when she feels life being formed with her womb, she has faith that she will give birth.   It is not until after she endures labor, and holds her infant in her arms, that she can be called a mother.   The same is true with respect to a Christian.   When one hears the Good News which is the Gospel of the simple faith, one has faith that if they believe, and embrace the Word, that the spiritual conception will take place within them.   In the same way that a woman is only an expectant mother until after the birth of the infant, neither is a person of the simple faith a Christian, until after their minds have been Anointed by the Light.

As the believer begins to take on a greater measure of Godliness, they experience a series of spiritual cleansings -- or baptisms -- that opens the inner door of the soul-mind.   From a spiritual perspective, it is the disciple who has travailed the “narrow path”, and is moving through the “straight gate”, that is in fact immerging out of the womb of Mother God, and into the Kingdom of Paradise. 

What is referred to by the Apostle Paul as the Mysteries of God, is as the sustenance that nourishes the disciple as he develops in the womb of this world.   Writing about this process of spiritual transformation, Origen explains who can be a recipient of the Mysteries of God: “Whoever has clean hands, and therefore lifts up holy hands to God… let him come to us… Whoever is pure, not only from all defilement, but from what are regarded as lesser transgressions, let him be boldly initiated into the mysteries of Jesus, which properly are made known only to the holy and the pure… To those who have been purified in heart, he whose soul has for a long time, been conscious of no evil, especially since he yielded himself to the healing of the Word, let such a one hear the doctrines which were spoken in private by Jesus to his genuine disciples”.   Thus, the true Gospel of God can only be taught to those who have become pure, “not only from all defilement, but from what are regarded as lesser transgressions”.   The Gospel of God can only be revealed to those who are “holy and pure… and have been purified in heart”.   Disciples whose “soul has for a long time been conscious of no evil”.   Only such a disciple can “hear the doctrines which were spoken in private by Jesus to his genuine disciples”.

With regard to the doctrine of faith in relation to sure spiritual knowledge, quoting Clement of Alexandria in Smith & Wace's Bible dictionary:  “Faith is the foundation; knowledge the superstructure, by knowledge faith is perfected, for to know is more than to believe.  Faith is a summary knowledge of urgent truths; knowledge a sure demonstration of what has been received through faith, being itself reared upon faith through the teachings of the Lord.  Thus the Gnostic grasps the complete truth of all revelation from the beginning of the world to the end, piercing to the depths of scripture, of which the believer tastes the surface only.  As a consequence of this intelligent sympathy with the Divine Will, the Gnostic becomes in perfect unity in himself, and as far as possible like God.  Definite outward observances cease to have any value for one whose being is brought into abiding harmony with that which is eternal; he has no wants, no passions; he rests in the contemplation of God, which is and will be his unfailing blessedness.”

When Clement portrays the Gnostic Christian as being in “…unity in himself”, and developing to where they have become “…like God” and “…brought into abiding harmony with that which is eternal”, it is at that time when the disciple becomes the True Christian by entering the final stage of spiritual development, and fulfills the biblical requirement as set forth by Jesus in the words: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48 RSV)

With respect to the Gospel, what Clement is stating in the above quotation is that faith is the foundation, or the beginning of one’s walk with the Lord.   From the perspective of the Gentile converts, faith was the essence of their religious experience.   In Romans 11:24, Paul speaks of the Gentiles as branches of a wild olive that was in the process of being “grafted into a cultivated olive tree” (NIV).   It is important that we take note that in his words, there is no suggestion that there was a flaw in the cultivated olive tree -- which he defines as Israel.   Only that God wanted to bring this spiritual cultivation to the Gentiles in order that they would be given the opportunity to turn from their Pagan and Heathen ways, and enter into the Kingdom.   In not being a part of the cultivated spiritual foundation of Israel, they had to be a people of faith -- faith that God would look kindly upon them, and graft them into the cultivated olive tree of Israel.

As one progresses in the journey along The Way, faith is superseded by Knowledge -- and if it is not, then one's faith is not only misdirected and in vain, but is spiritually sterile.   In the same way that it is an expression of faith that people invest in the stock market in the hope that they will receive a return on their investment, faith in the Lord means that you believe in him, and are willing to invest your life in him, in the hope that you will be found worthy to enter the Kingdom.   Like the stock market, you would not have invested your money if you were told that some time after death you will receive a return on you money.   There is nothing in the Gospels that suggest that you will enter into the Kingdom after you die.   Which means that, if you have not yet gained access -- or at the least opened a direct line of communication with the Lord -- then something is wrong with the manner in which you are putting your faith.

In the words of Clement which are quoted above, the Gnostic -- or the Christian who has developed that spiritual root within himself that connects his outer person to the Divine Tabernacle within his being -- is being nourished by the Word in the manner of a fetus through the umbilical cord of it’s mother.   It is these disciples who have begun to move beyond the simple faith, who are those who develop spiritually, and as a faithful infant in Christ, begin to “grasp the complete truth of all revelation from the beginning of the world to the end”.   The Gnostic, or spiritual Christian, has the ability to pierce “to the depths of scripture because he has himself pierced to the depths of his own being while walking in The Way.  

As a warning to those who read God's Word, and see only the body, Clement writes of the scriptures that “the believer tastes the surface only”.   Thus, the “genuine disciple” of the Christ understands that, in the same way he must go beyond the body of the written narrative to uncover the essence of truth, so must he go beyond his own physical and carnal nature.   Clement then says of the Gnostic, or spiritual Christian that, “as a consequence of this intelligent sympathy with the Divine Will, the Gnostic becomes in perfect unity in himself, and as far as possible like God”.   If we truly have faith in Jesus and the early church, then we must believe that Clement is speaking from his own personal experiences -- and if we follow in The Way, that we will experience these same Mysteries of God within ourselves.

In our modern day understanding of the word, the term Gnostic is used to denote a group of heretics in the early church -- and in view of this fact, we should question why Clement would refer to the most Spiritual of Christians as Gnostics?   In the true sense of the word, one cannot be a Christian -- or Anointed -- without being a Gnostic.   The name Gnostic denotes one who has become spiritual, and is able to receive the gnosis -- or knowledge of the Mysteries spoken of by Paul -- directly from God.   In order to receive the knowledge of the Kingdom, the disciple must become Anointed, and his mind must be Illumined by the Light.   The term gnosis, or Gnostic, denotes that condition where one becomes the Anointed -- which in Greek, means the Christ -- and is taught directly from the Lord.

Clement himself ties this great spiritual truth to the scriptures when he quotes various passages in the Bible and writes: “It therefore follows that it is the opinion of the wise among the Jews which the apostle inveighs against it. Wherefore he adds, 'But we preach, as it is written, what eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and hath not entered into the heart of man, what God hath prepared for them that love Him. For God hath revealed it to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things of God.' For he recognizes the spiritual man and the Gnostic as the disciple of the Holy Spirit dispensed by God, which is the mind of Christ”.

Clement then goes on to quote the Apostle directly, and explain: ‘But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to him.' Now the apostle, in contradistinction to Gnostic perfection, calls the common faith the foundation, and sometimes milk, writing on this wise: 'Brethren, I could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, to babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, not with meat: for ye were not able. Neither yet are ye now able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envy and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?' Which things are the choice of those men who are sinners. But those who abstain from these things give their thoughts to divine things, and partake of Gnostic food. 'According to the grace,' it is said, 'given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation. And another buildeth on it gold and silver, precious stones.' Such is the Gnostic superstructure on the foundation of faith in Christ Jesus. But 'the stubble, and the wood, and the hay,' are the additions of heresies. 'But the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is.' In allusion to the Gnostic edifice also in the Epistle to the Romans, he says, 'For I desire to see you, that I may impart unto you a spiritual gift, that ye may be established.' It was impossible that gifts of this sort could be written without disguise”.

It is important to recognize that Clement does not say that grace is given to the people who remain of the simple faith, because grace cannot be given to those who continue to live a sinful life.   Grace is the gift that is given to those who embrace the Word, and change their life, so as to cease to live a life of sin.

Clement then goes on to demonstrate that there is only one Church -- and it is the same Christ that is the foundation of the carnal Christians who possess only the simple faith, as well as the mature Gnostic Christians, who have received knowledge directly from God: “But it is not doubting in reference to God, but believing, that is the foundation of knowledge. But Christ is both the foundation and the superstructure, by whom are both the beginning and the ends. And the extreme points, the beginning and the end -- I mean faith and love -- are not taught. But knowledge, conveyed from communication through the grace of God as a deposit, is entrusted to those who show themselves worthy of it; and from it the worth of love beams forth from light to light. For it is said, 'To him that hath shall be given:' to faith, knowledge; and to knowledge, love; and to love, the inheritance”.

In his wisdom Clement conveys the importance of the acquisition of knowledge when he writes: “Knowledge is therefore quick in purifying, and fit for that acceptable transformation to the better. Whence also with ease it removes [the soul] to what is akin to the soul, divine and holy, and by its own light conveys man through the mystic stages of advancement; till it restores the pure in heart to the crowning place of rest; teaching to gaze on God, face to face, with knowledge and comprehension. For in this consists the perfection of the Gnostic soul, in its being with the Lord, where it is in immediate subjection to Him, after rising above all purification and service”.

True spiritual knowledge, conveyed from the Source of Light within our soul, has a profound purifying effect upon every aspect of our being.  What is generally not understood by the carnal believer who is unable to even relate to man's spiritual reality, is we do not gain knowledge by instruction -- as is taught in the manner of the pseudo-teachers in this world -- but rather, we gain spiritual knowledge by a process that enables us to use a greater part of our own minds and being which is brought about by the Anointing of the Lord.  

Regardless of how many times this fundamental concept of the essence of New Covenant teachings is presented to them, carnal believers have never been able to understand this great spiritual truth.   When someone attempts to explain to them the spiritual reality of these truths, they say: If there is a higher Christian knowledge, then tell us, or teach me!   What they fail to understand is that if Jesus and his Apostles could not do what they request, then how could anyone else do what Jesus could not, and attempt to convey a higher understanding of man's spiritual reality?   Thus, the Spiritual Christian cannot do as they request -- not so much because of some commandment to keep the mysteries of God a secret -- but rather, because natural man is unable to comprehend his own spiritual reality using only his physical-mental attributes of mind.  

True faith in Jesus means that you believe that you do not need a teacher in this world -- only a guide who can assist you in finding the Teacher.   When you embrace the gospel, you already possess the potential to know all things through the process of walking in The Way.   As your spiritual awareness expands, you will begin to understand that your mind and being is imbued with life as a result of the vital organic energy that originates with God, our true Source of Being -- and it is this life-force received from God upon which your mind and body moves, thinks, and has its being (Acts 17:28).  As you become aware of this higher reality, you will begin to comprehend that your body and mind is like an antenna -- if we do not perceive and comprehend the Mysteries of God, it is because our antenna cannot receive that spectrum of the frequency that is being transmitted.   

In the same way that a radio that can only be tuned to the standard broadcast frequencies only receives a fraction of what is being transmitted, our physical body in which we dwell only bestows upon natural man the ability to receive a very limited and narrow band-width of the spectrum of life-force that powers every aspect of Creation.   In the same way that if we desire to receive short-wave and other extra-broadcast frequencies on our radio, it is necessary to modify the tuner, the same is true of the mind of man who desires to gaze beyond the limitations of this physical realm.

No one is concealing anything from us.   Comprehending the Divine Word is not a matter of belief or philosophy -- but rather, using the proper antenna, and making ourselves able to receive and display the heavenly frequencies in our daily lives.   If we only have an A.M. Broadcast radio, the resolution to the problem is not to listen to someone else explain what is being transmitted on the higher frequencies.   The teachings of the New Covenant is the guide book for those who desire to know the Truth, and are willing to modify their receiver in order to enable it to function on the higher frequencies of Creation.   Only when we begin to understand that our failure to perceive and understand is due to the organic limitation of our physical mind and body, are we then able to comprehend why the Spiritual Christian cannot teach a man the Mysteries that are beyond the scope of the believers comprehension.   To understand, carnal man must expand his consciousness to utilize the other aspects of his being that are capable of receiving the heavenly frequencies of Creation.

In the same way that we cannot use an automobile to fly, and ultimately travel in outer space, we cannot use the parts of our mind that correspond to the physical, to explore man's spiritual reality.   In understanding this analogy, let us also remember that a vehicle intended to travel in outer space would make a very bad choice in vehicles to travel our system of roads and highways.   If a believer is to truly become a Christian -- one who is Anointed -- then they must begin to embrace a multidimensional perception and understanding of Creation and Life.

This concept should not be too difficult for modern believers to comprehend, whereas it was a great stumbling block for carnal believers in the past.   There is no question regarding the validity of the findings of modern science that we only utilize a fraction of our mental resources.   No informed person today could doubt this fact.   Yet, what our modern scientist fails to understand is that holy men and women were never dependent upon science in their quest to comprehend the meaning of Life, and the essence of spiritual religion bestows upon man the Secrets of Creation in the form of practical knowledge known only by the Gnostic Israel.  

Man has the innate power to comprehend the wonders of Creation -- and man was not given these great mental resources by his Creator without also being given the ability to use them.   All spiritual knowledge and gifts are the direct result of man's capacity to gain use of these other areas of mind -- and this can only be accomplished by man bringing himself into harmony with the Laws of man's Creator and Source of Being.

 

Why Would Paul Teach The Gentiles 

To Embrace Judaism?

 

If we can at this point grasp the difference between the entry level teachings that the Apostle Paul referred to as the milk of the gospel, and the Gospel of God that was embraced by spiritually mature Christians, we must then understand not only the differences between Gentile and Messianic Jewish Christianity, but also the reasons why it appeared on the surface that Paul preached a different doctrine than what was taught by the disciples of Jesus.   We need to know this because both traditions have been placed in our Bibles -- and it is difficult to harmonize the two, without understanding the reasons why on the surface they appeared different.   In this respect, we must not fall into the error of men such as Martin Luther who embraced Paul and rejected the gospels because he could not perceive the uniformity between the two.

In the same way that Paul spoke of the Gentile converts as a wild olive that was in the process of being “grafted into a cultivated olive tree” (Rom 11:24 NIV), a great many of the misconceptions and conflicts that arose over the first three centuries between the Messianic Jewish believers known as the Ebionites and Nazarenes, was the result of the fact that the Gentiles were not of the same heritage.  

Because the Gentiles lacked the Hebrew biblical foundation that was prevalent in the scriptures, Paul correctly understood that it would be futile if he was to attempt to convert them to the religion of the Jews.   The immediate problem that confronted Paul was that neither Jewish mysticism, nor Jewish culture was applicable in the life of the Gentile convert.   Thus, to be successful, Paul was forced to remove traditional Jewish culture, and present the essence of the Gospel in a more universal understanding -- and it was for this reason that the Hand of God used Paul, a Pharisee convert, instead of an Essene-Ebionite as the Apostle to the Gentiles.   The misconception that prevails among today's believers that Paul was the only one who understood the true doctrine of Christ is not only false, be detrimental to the spiritual development of modern-day Christians -- especially in view of the fact that our Bible contains Jewish-Christian Gospels, rather than the Gentile-Christian Gospels that were authored for the non-Jewish believers.

In the life of the disciple, time is very important.   Because every aspect of man's existence in this world is itself established firmly upon the Universal Laws of God, Paul rightly taught the Gentiles not to embrace an alien (Jewish) culture -- but rather, understand the deeper meaning of their own.   The pathway to God is not walked with rituals and words, but more truly with the desires of the heart and the faith that one has in the Lord.   Once the disciple in search of truth begins to realize that every one of us is equally the offspring of the One God and Supreme Power of Creation, and each one of us is literally swimming in God's ocean of Universal Law, what Paul wrote must be seen in a new light as it is realized that God's Truth is generic to all cultures and people.  

In the same way that life as we know it cannot exist without the air we breathe, neither can we sever our intimate connection with the Law's of God.   In his writings, Paul attempted to convey this great truth, but the full reality of what Paul wrote was beyond the comprehension of the carnal minds of the Gentile believers who claimed to be his followers, as well as the carnal minds of the (spiritually immature) Jews who condemned him.  

One of the major faults in carnal man's reasoning lies in the idea that mankind is separate and even independent of his Creator.   No greater profound truth was ever spoken than where it is written that “…we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28 KJV) within the very body-mind of God “in whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10 KJV).  Because each of us has a soul -- which soul is not only from God, but remains as a spark of the Great Light in the body-mind of the One God -- nourished and cared for by the very currents of life of the Divine Body in which we dwell -- the path to Life that Jesus cleared for us was not external to our being -- but rather, the path to Life that we must travel was cleared within our own body-mind and being.   This truth is difficult for natural man to even envision, because this world appears to him as an external reality -- rather than a projected reality that is a reflection of his inner state of being.   What he fails to understand is that there are countless other realities that are within his ability of observe and interact with in a similar manner that he does in the present life he is living in this world.   One of these realms leads to what Jesus called the Kingdom of God -- and it was here that Jesus cleared the path for all those who believed and would follow in his footsteps.

If man “lives and moves and has his being” within God, and the soul -- the spark of life -- within man remains part of God, then our initial spiritual objective is for each of us to become the person we are at the depth of our soul.   Jesus, then, representing the highest expression of Creation, is the pattern which each of us must adhere to in order to return home to our Heavenly Father.

Thus, in understanding this great universal truth, Paul attempted to convey to carnal minds that they should not seek God outside of themselves, nor permit themselves to be burdened by embracing alien rituals and customs of a foreign people -- but rather, seek the essence of the Gospel of Christ, and purify the desires of the heart with regard to the true and accurate knowledge of the spirit.   No greater truth was ever written -- and in like manner, no greater truth has ever been misunderstood by the carnal minds of men.

Regardless of where the footsteps of mankind walks in this world, the intimate connection between man and God remains.   People are not converted with words or with rhetoric they are taught to recite -- but rather, with an intimate connection with the Light of Life that dwells universally in the heart of all men.   It is because all mankind is of one fundamental body-mind at our essence of ultimate being, when we are able to manifest the One Light in our own lives, we actually connect the people we come into contact with the same One Light that exists within their own mind and being.   It is from this perspective -- that Jesus had the capacity to manifest God in the world -- that he was said to be himself God.

Only because Paul was of an elevated mindset -- a mindset that enabled him to grasp the higher universal presence of Christ in the life of all of Creation -- was he able to write the words: “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer” (2 Cor 5:16 NIV).   Again, no finer commentary on these words of Paul exist that surpasses those of biblical scholar Rudolf Bultmann when he concluded that the “…Christian faith is, and should be, comparatively uninterested in the historical Jesus and centered instead on the transcendent Christ” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1998 electronic edition).   The problem is that it is almost congenital that carnal man fears the very concept of what the word transcendent conveys.   Why? Because it places him in an inferior position to the higher powers of Creation, and it is beyond his ability control and understand.   He therefore continues to cling to carnal perceptions of realities that he is incapable of comprehending.

Even today we fail to understand this most important aspect of Paul's teachings.   One of the obstacles that confront us is seen in the fact that we do not perceive the essence of New Covent thought -- which is the pre-existence of the soul of man, and the revelation of the Inner Light and Kingdom -- universally -- within the mind of mankind.   In fact, it is this great flaw that prompts many modern translations of the Bible to render Luke 17:21 “in your midst”, rather than “within you”.   Because of their adherence to manmade doctrines, they simply cannot come to terms with an inner Kingdom that can be accessed in a similar fashion that we move about and dwell in this present world.

What Paul preached to the Gentile converts was that it was not the Jesus who walked the shores of Galilee that can save you, but rather the Christ who shares an intimate connection with you through God -- the Father of us all -- within your very own heart and mind.   When you read your scriptures, then, do not read them to learn about the past -- but rather, read them to learn about yourself in relation to the Kingdom -- for it is the genuine Christian who is cognizant of the reality that we are truly dwelling in biblical times.

This great eminent truth that Paul was conveying to his Gentile converts was that even if you lived on an island in a far-away land, and never heard either the formal Law of God given to mankind by Moses, or the name Christ, you could still walk the path of Life that Jesus cleared for our return to our Father.  “For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight”, writes Paul, “but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous” (Rom 2:13 NIV).   Paul then goes on to explain this great universal truth when he writes: “Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them” (Rom 2:13-15 NIV).  

When the people of the Nations begin to do -- “by nature things required by the law” -- the universal door to the Lord that each of us has within our own mind and being begins to open.   Thus, the disciples of Christ are not recognized by the words and rhetoric that they speak, or the church they attend, but rather the intensity and the volume of the Light that they manifest in their daily lives.   It is for this reason that Paul wrote to the believers at Corinith that they are no longer to know the historical Christ in accordance with the flesh, but more truthfully the spiritual Christ that dwells within the hearts and minds of all men (2 Cor 5:16).

Natural man has great difficulty coming to terms with the essence of the Gospel message, because he attempts to interpret these concepts of religion as a fault.   Moreover, since only the most sincere of the flock of believers are even prepared to begin to embrace the higher concepts of the Mysteries of God, they tend to view themselves as an authority, and are unable to see themselves as a mature believer who is still very much of the simple faith.   It is important, then, for us to comprehend that our blindness is not a personal fault -- i.e., it is natural for us to fail to understand the fundamental truths of the scriptures, because we view ourselves from a carnal -- three-dimensional perspective -- and do not perceive that all of Creation -- and especially mankind who was created in the image and likeness of God -- maintains a continual and intimate connection with our Creator.   In the same way that it is not a defect that an elementary school child does not comprehend calculus and trigonometry, neither is it a flaw that carnal beings who are born from human parents, are not spiritually mature enough to perceive the Mysteries of God and Creation.

In order to open our minds to the higher understanding of Life, we must realize that we are the offspring and expression of the One Universal Source, and genuine religion has little to do with belief -- but rather, is the means by which our True Reality is realized through our own personal transcendent experiences.   The scriptures tell us that there are two fundamental powers in this world -- the light and the darkness.   What this means is that, regardless of where we live, the cultural customs we adopt, our language or our beliefs pertaining to the things known and unknown, or the images of things seen or not seen, everything we think, do, and say, is just ripples and vibrational movements within the structural pattern of these two fundamental powers of Creation.   The result of this fact is twofold: Our freedom that many liberal thinking people believe they possess is nothing more than an illusion -- in that, like fish, we cannot get out of the water.   On the other side of the coin, though, is the fact that because every aspect of our being maintains an all encompassing intimate connection with the Divine Powers of Creation, regardless of what we do, any time that we desire to embrace the ultimate truth of reality, we only have to open our eyes to it -- as it is written: “God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:27-28 NIV).

This often ignored truth that Paul is stating has a profound meaning when properly understood: Because each of us is literally swimming in the sea of God's Universal Law, when the man who dwells on a far away island begins to instinctively choose the Light over the darkness, the streams of Light that enter his mind begin to widen as more Light is given from the Universal Source.   Moreover, Paul is correct when he writes that it is not the Christ “after the flesh” (2 Cor 5:16 KJV) that will save him -- but rather, of the spirit, as it is written: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him” (John 14:21 NIV).

The command of the Lord is not a spoken word of the flesh, but more truly the Universal Love of the Spirit.   Jesus promises that whoever manifests this love in their life, Jesus will love, and “show myself to him”.   In view of the fact that Jesus does not say that he will show himself to the world -- but rather, only those who love him and keep God's Commandments -- we must understand the manner in which Christ will appear to the faithful servant.  

The Lord has witnessed to the fact that “…you are in me, and I am in you” (John 14:20 NIV).   Thus, the Lord has promised: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev 3:20 NKJ).   Jesus is making reference to the spiritual door that is the gateway to the Kingdom that exists in another dimension within the minds and being of each and every one of us.  

What is important for us to understand is the manner in which this inner door is opened.   From a biblical perspective, the beginning of the process is when we embrace the natural Laws of God in our quest to immerse our live in the Truth and Light.   In the words of Paul: “Indeed, when Gentiles… do by nature things required by the law… even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts…” (Rom 2:13-15 NIV).   With the elevation of their being to a higher level, and the desire in their hearts for the higher good, they become the “good ground” in the parable of the sower and the seed (Mat 13:3-23; Mk 4:2-20; Lk 8:5-15), and the True Teacher is then able to enter into their lives and show them The Way Home.

In the text of the Revelation (Rev 3:20), the question should be asked what the reference to food is in the statement that “I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me”.   In view of the fact that this door is accessed through the mind and spirit of man, the food that Jesus speaks of is Knowledge that nourishes and strengthens the mind -- which gives birth to the Anointing of the Holy Spirit that purifies and elevates him to a higher spiritual level.  In view of the fact that Jesus does not promote cannibalism, it is to these two things -- Knowledge and Spirit -- that Jesus makes reference to when he states: “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me” (John 6:53-57 NIV).

We cannot “open the door” (Rev 3:20) that the scriptures speak about, without the Knowledge and the Spirit that only the True Teacher can give us when we eat his body and drink his blood.   Therefore, when we cling to manmade doctrines and perceptions of the Word, we place an obstacle between us and the Truth.   The result is that we inhibit the process of spiritual development, and the Lord is unable to teach and mold us.   When we fail to purify the physical vessel (body) that we inhabit -- i.e., “Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure” (1 Jn 3:3 NIV) -- we cannot drink the blood of the Lord that is absolutely necessary in order to enter into Life.

To those who make themselves genuine followers of the Christ, and permit the Light to enter their lives in word, thought, and deed, with the opening of the mind to the greater reality of the Kingdom, the disciple not only quickly learns the truth to the words that we are the “offspring of God” (Acts 17:28-29), but that we are in fact the prodigal sons (Luke 15:11-32) who have previously emerged from the Kingdom of our Father.   In light of this revelation, the disciple begins to understand that, within his own mind and being there is an innate knowledge of the road he must travel in his return home.   Suddenly, everything in his life begins to take on new meaning -- a meaning that he had previously been blind to.  

When Paul preached to the Gentiles that the Kingdom was at Hand, he did not place the burden of having them learn the Old Testament scriptures and embrace Jewish culture.   Paul correctly taught that God is universal to all mankind -- and it is the Light within the heart and mind of man that the genuine Christian must move in harmony with.   That Jesus was the forerunner” (Heb 6:20) in whose footsteps we must follow -- because he became “the first-born among many brethren” (Rom 8:29), was true -- but from a spiritual perspective, it would have been a great burden placed upon the Gentiles if Paul required them to first become Jews, in order to walk in The Way.

This great misconception with regard to what Paul taught, and why, is again the result of our failure to understand the existence of our pre-existent soul, as well as the inner Kingdom.   In order to overcome the division that both Jesus and Paul warned was the thing most detrimental to man's salvation, each of us must endeavor to discover the true being that we are.   In previous chapters I made the statement that the majority of people do not reincarnate -- this does not mean that we do not survive death -- but rather, the statement is made from the perspective that we are not genuine and real.   One of the interpretations of the great revelation that Jesus taught with regard to children -- i.e., “And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:3 NIV) -- and this word “change” is again founded upon one of those Greek words that we are unable to properly translate into the English language because of the manner in which we believe.  

The idea conveyed is to change from the perspective of reversing the direction we have been traveling.   The essence of the problem is born from the fact that when the soul manifests itself in life, it only develops to about the age of three to five years, before the child becomes culturized -- imbued with the political correctness of the society in which it dwells, and takes on the falseness of its civilization that the person become a part of in that life.  

If the pre-existent soul of man who is the Being of Light is neither male nor female -- is not race specific -- and is not a part of any given culture -- then we must conclude that the more the child embraces and adopts these parochial and provincial elements of life, the more he becomes alienated from his soul and true self.   What am I?   If I answer the question from a soul perspective, I would have to conclude that I am the sum total of all the things I have been throughout the uncountable lives I have lived -- i.e., I have lived as a Jew, Essene, Nazarene, Ebionite, Gentile Christian, Muslim, Deist, Atheist, Druid, and an uncountable number of other religious persuasions.   I have been both a man and woman.   I have been every race.   I have lived on continents and been a part of cultures that no longer exist.   If my soul is the sum of all my experiences, and perceives all of life from an elevated vision of reality, then it would be very difficult to find my true self by embracing any of the very limited cultures or perceptions of life that exist in our present-day world.   In fact, it would be impossible.

The result is that the schools and institutions of learning which we send our children to in order to educate them, actually dumb them down in relation to the true knowledge of the child's own pre-existent soul.   The religions and philosophies we embrace are so limited in scope, that they alienate us from God.   The more we perceive ourselves as a man, woman, black, white, yellow, red or brown, the more we polarize ourselves with religious and philosophical doctrines, the more we move out of harmony with our true nature.   It is for this reason that Jesus said: Unless we turn around, and become as we were when we were a child -- prior to being indoctrinated into the thinking of our false culture -- and open our minds to the instruction from our One Genuine Teacher, the more it is impossible for us to discover who we truly are, and enter the Kingdom of God.

As on who was chosen to fulfill a prescribed mission in the world, the Apostle Paul had been bestowed with a much more illuminated vision of life and Creation, and he knew that it would be a useless endeavor to convert the Gentiles to Jews in order for them to perceive the essence of the scriptures.   Paul wisely knew that the Old Testament scriptures were written in accordance with the culture and thinking of the Jews, and its universal truths were declared in order to assist Jews in first finding themselves, and then finding God.   This statement is of the greatest importance because it is impossible to find God without first finding the true person who we are from the perspective of our pre-existent soul.  

Once we begin to understand this great truth -- i.e., that we cannot even begin to find God, until we first find ourselves -- then our whole perception of religion must change.   In the first place, we must begin to open our minds to a more universal reality than that associated with the physical body in which we presently dwell, and the culture that we have become a part of, and we must begin to see life from a vision that is beyond the limitations of this world.   Then, in order to harness the forces of Creation, we must begin to understand that all of life is controlled by the natural laws that form it.  

What we fail to realize is that if the universe was not regulated and governed by these natural laws, then chaos would result.   If the planet earth did not predictably move around the sun, and instead just freely travel throughout the solar system, then it could not support life as we know it today.   Thus, this same order that we observe in the universe, extends to every aspect of Creation -- with the result being that we must begin to understand that the paradoxical nature of Creation causes opposing perspectives -- and what is perceived as good from one perception, and bad from another, is neither.   One of the more perplexing problems this creates for the mind of carnal man who attempts to see everything in black and white, is the reality that what was good for the conversion of the carnal Jews, was not necessarily good for the carnal Gentiles, and vice versa.

Why did Paul teach the Gentiles to reject the Torah and Law of Moses?   It is the position of many Biblical researchers that most of the Old Testament comes from other, more ancient writings. Even Jewish writers admit that most of the Hebrew writings were merely taken freely from Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and even Greek sources. Horace Meyer Kallen, at one time a professor at the Jewish New School of Social Research, said that the Book of Job was lifted bodily from an early and obscure Greek play. Scientist and author Immanuel Velikovsky admitted that there are "many parallels" between the Vedic Hymns and the Books of Joel and Isaiah. Hebrew scholar Zecharia Sitchin claimed that the Book of Genesis is based on the Sumerian creation myth. The story of Noah comes from the Sumerian legend of Gilgamesh. The Psalms were taken word for word from Akhenaton's Hymns to the Sun, written 600 years earlier in Egypt. The Ten Commandments were taken wholly from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. And so on through the books of the Old Testament.

If this is true, then many informed researchers have asked: How can we call the Torah and other books of the Old Testament the Word of God? The problem is that, while what these biblical researches have found is true, there is another whole dimension to the equation that they are totally unaware of -- a spiritual dimension that is simply beyond their ability to perceive. 

With respect to the literal meaning of the Torah and other scriptures the Apostle Paul wrote: "For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory. For these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all" (Gal 4:22-26 KJV).    To which I might pose the question: If the two sons of Abraham are an allegory depicting the reality of the flesh vs the reality of the spirit, then we must pose the question as to which part of the allegory is historically true? It is not! Moreover, if Paul writes that the Jerusalem of this world is the shadow City of God, and the one that is in spirit is the Genuine City of God, then which Jerusalem should we seek to journey to?

What Christians fail to realize today -- and the greater majority of Jews do not understand -- is the fact that the essence and purpose of both Judaism and the teachings of TheWay -- which in their corrupted form have come to be known as Christianity -- is not about what happened in the past, but what is happening in the life of the disciple in search of the inner Kingdom of God (Luke 17:20-21 -- see Entering the Kingdom). That the most authentic visionaries of both the Hebrew and Gentile elements of the church have long warned us that the scriptures are not a history book -- but rather, spiritual events that come to pass in the life of the disciple in search of Truth, well confirms Yeshua’s warning that those of a carnal mind are incapable of understanding the true meaning of the Bible. Thus, the early Church Father Origen writes: “It is sufficient however, to represent in the style of a historic narrative what is intended to convey a secret meaning in the garb of history, that those who have the capacity may work out for themselves all that relates to the subject.” And with regard to what would otherwise be historical symbols and events that would appear to us as the knowledge of superficial episodes of the past, Origen writes: “I believe that every man must hold these things for images, under which the hidden sense lies concealed” (Origen - Huet., Prigeniana, 167 Franck, p. 142).

Students of Hebrew Mysticism will perceive that what the third-century Christian Church Father Origen wrote was no different than what is contained in the Zohar, where it states: “The narratives of the doctrine are its cloak. The simple look only on the garment, that is upon the narrative of the doctrine; more they know not. The instructed, however, see not merely the cloak, but what the cloak covers”

These great truths are again demonstrated in the words of Moses Maimonedes, one of the most respected of Jewish theologians, historian, and Talmudist, where he writes about the nature of scripture: “Every time that you find in our books a tale the reality of which seems impossible, a story which is repugnant to both reason and common sense, then be sure that the tale contains a profound allegory veiling a deeply mysterious truth; and the greater the absurdity of the letter, the deeper the wisdom of the spirit”. These same truths are again conveyed to us in the words of the Church Historian Eusebius: “Many were led astray by reading the allegorical contents of the scriptures literally in the method of the Pharisees and Sadducees”. What these symbols truly mean is perhaps best expressed by G.R.S. Mead in his celebrated work, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, where he explained that, once properly understood, the true meaning of what is “…projected onto the screen…” of the scriptures, “…was in reality a picture of their [man’s] own minds”. In view of the fact that Yeshua himself taught that the Kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:20-21), that the scriptures were in fact a blueprint of man’s own mind begins to make a great deal of sense. 

The inner knowledge of the scriptures are as a bridge between this world and the Heavenly Kingdom: So if it is true -- i.e., that the Torah and other scriptures are an allegory -- then how are we to believe the written word of God? What should we believe? And why wouldn't God just speak clearly with us and tell us what He wants? The answer is very simple -- so simple, that it is overlooked by most of the biblical scholars and archeologists who claim that the Hebrews borrowed the folklore of the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Sumerians in the composition of the Torah and other scriptures. And what is that simple answer? The Bible was written by holy men who were able to commune with the Most High God. Because they were under the vow of the Nazirite (see Nazirite Vow) and were able to enter the Genuine Temple that exists within the inner Kingdom, they became cognizant of the Laws that inhibit natural man from being able to move beyond the natural barrier that separates this world from the inner parallel realm which Yeshua/Jesus called the Kingdom of God -- and like Noah who created a boat to transcend the old world with the new, they knew how to build a bridge from this world to the Kingdom -- and as Anointed (Messiah/Christ) Visionaries, they set about to create a series of Sacred Writings that would assist the people in finding God. But this was not an easy task! The problem was that they had to put the body of these writings in a form that the people would accept, and then observe and manifest in their daily lives. In view of the fact that the people were of a heathen mindset -- so heathen, that they created and worshiped the golden calf in the absence of Moses when he was receiving the Commandments of God. So how could these Anointed holy men and women convey the higher concepts of TheWay and the Kingdom to such a people?

The resolution of the dilemma was the creation of a series of Sacred Writings where the Visionaries of the Most High took the common beliefs and traditions of the people, and presented them in such a way, that the knowledge of the Laws and the Higher Spiritual Reality of Creation was manifest within the text of the written word -- in such a way, that the holy men who kept, practiced, and sought the inner meaning of the written word, would perceive the workings of the Laws, and understand that if they applied this knowledge in their own lives, that they too would be able to enter the Inner Kingdom of God. Moreover, there was the oral tradition -- i.e., the doctrines of Jewish Mysticism -- that conveyed to the disciple in search of Truth and the Inner Kingdom the knowledge of the Laws that obstructed their path into the Genuine Temple within the hearts and minds of mankind.

No doubt the average Jew and Christian will immediately become offended by such a concept and say: How can this be? Why didn't God simply tell the people the Truth? The answer is quite simple: Because the people were very much like the people are today -- i.e., they only wanted to hear what supported their own system of beliefs -- they would embrace truth so long as that truth was in accordance with their accepted doctrines and carnal mindset. They were therefore unable to accept and embrace the Higher Truths of Creation, and thus concession was made to those who worshipped the Golden Calf in the absence of Moses. The Torah and other scriptures were written in an outer form that they would accept -- one that appeared to be in harmony with what they already believed about life -- while within the body of the text was imbedded the knowledge of the Kingdom and TheWay. Where it was a common practice for these heathen people to sacrifice in the manner of the people of the Nations, a concession was made whereby they would sacrifice in only one place -- to the glory of the One God -- and they were only permitted to sacrifice what was called clean beasts. Notice, though, that the clean beasts were all vegetarian -- i.e., they did no harm and did not kill others! And because the Torah and other scriptures had to be written in a manner that the people who were heathen in nature would accept -- a series of concessions that were enacted for a people in transition -- the greater Truths were concealed within the inner body of the text so that all those who embraced these Sacred Writings with their whole heart and mind, would be able to receive the inner soul and spirit of the scriptures that would enlighten the disciple of the Light into TheWay.

Thus, because the Sadducees and Pharisees who slaughtered innocent animals in the temple were dead in their ritual observance of the Torah, of them Yeshua stated in the Gospel of the Nazirenes: "For they, making a god of their belly, sacrificed to their God the innocent creatures of the earth, in place of the carnal nature within themselves. And eating of their flesh and drinking of their blood to their own destruction, corrupted their bodies and shortened their days, even as the Gentiles who did not know the truth, or who knowing it, have changed it into a lie." What this means is that to be genuinely Torah Observant in the true spiritual revelation of the Word, one must first transmute the beast of their lower nature within them into a domesticated animal that serves the higher purpose of man -- and it is this lower nature that must be sacrificed upon the Alter of the Inner Temple of God. Thus, unbeknown to the people of the simple faith, what the visionary predictions of the supposed End Times and the coming of the Kingdom where the Lion lies down with the Lamb and eats straw, is in fact the reality within us when the beast of the untamed lower nature that is of this world, is transformed into the unspotted lamb that is the approved sacrifice of the Lord.

Once this is higher reality of the scriptures is understood, then we must no longer see either Jesus or the Apostle Paul as having done away with the the Torah. And in like manner, neither can we interpret being Torah Observant as those rituals which are performed by the carnally minded Jews who Yeshua condemned for their failure to turn the Key of Knowledge within themselves. This sacrificing of the lower nature upon the Alter of the inner Temple is simply put by Paul when he commanded: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature..." (Col 3:5 NIV) -- "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires" (Gal 5:24 NIV). 

What we are referring to in these biblical quotations cannot be achieved in a ritual observance of the Torah in the manner of the Sadducees and Pharisees. And it was for this reason that Paul called the Law the schoolmaster that brought the believer to Messiah/Christ. While it is true that by placing one's self under the discipline and training of the Law, the believer was able to begin the process of gaining control over their lower nature that was driven by the elemental and sensual passions of the body, it is also true that this process in and of itself presented still another problem. In most instances the inner soul and spiritual meaning of the scriptures could only be revealed to the student by a rabbi or teacher who themselves knew the oral traditions, and knew the secrets of the Law. At the time of the historical Yeshua, this knowledge was possessed by the Essene and Therapute elders. The Sadducees and Pharisees, on the other hand, were led by rabbis and teachers of greatly varying levels of awareness -- some were mere quasi-religious politicians, while others were of a lesser level of enlightenment who embraced a very Fundamental perception of the Torah and traditions. With the problem being that these men of religious authority in many instances used their positions to rule and live off the labors and wealth of the people. They not only charged for their services, and misled the people into believing that God approved of their many rituals and traditions, but the allegation against them that they devoured the wealth and houses of widows was a reality of life. 

What the New Testament does not tell us is that the movement known as TheWay was begun by a group of men and women who used the historical Yeshua as their model. These sincere disciples of the Light did not approve of the secretiveness of the Essenes and Therapute, and were thoroughly against the appalling ignorance and deception of many of the Sadducees and Pharisees. With Yeshua and James (Jacob) as their leaders, they created a movement within Judaism that was intended to do away with the ancient manner in which the Torah and other scriptures were written, and provide the people with a more factual and literal perception of what they must do to draw nearer to God. Thus, in the scriptures which they composed, there was no such thing as temple sacrifice, the eating of flesh, or the following of manmade teachings and traditions. The people were instead taught how they must live in order to begin to open the inner umbilical-connection to God, and learn directly from the True Source of all Knowledge. While it is true that the secret knowledge of the Laws which revealed the Mysteries of God remained imbedded within the body of the text, the scripture was no longer composed in accordance with the folklore commonly held with the traditions of Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek sources. 

The New Testament scriptures and the teachings of TheWay were the product of pure Hebrew thought that was embraced by their most enlightened of Jewish Visionaries, Mystics and Sages. Genuine Jewish holy men and women did not embrace the ancient concepts of a vengeful and punishing God who indiscriminately ruled over the lives of men -- choosing one for no apparent reason, while for no reason rejecting another. Genuine Jewish holy men and women did not believe in a God who gave man a set of laws -- one of which was do not kill -- and then in practice, demonstrating that he would be the first to break these laws. The God of the Genuine Jewish Holy men and women was a God who was beyond the faults and flaws which were common to carnal man.  And it was for this reason that the holy men and women of TheWay composed a new set of scriptures of pure Hebrew thought, declaring the Glory of the God whose Ways were above even the contemplation of carnal men. Thus, in the New Testament scriptures, men and women were taught how to live in order to make themselves the Living Temple of the Most High -- and they were given the Key of knowledge that enabled them to open the inner door to the Kingdom, and dwell in the Sanctuary of the Lord.

What this means is that most of those Jews who generally believe they are Torah Observant because they are ritually clean, have yet to learn the secrets of the Law, and the manner in which they must apply the Divine Knowledge that has been given to them in the scriptures in the endeavor to open the Inner Door to the Kingdom within. And in like manner, because modern Christians have been anchored to this world by the Pagan doctrines of Rome which they continue to cling to, and falsely believe that the are exempt from works based upon Paul's doctrine of faith, they too have only alienated themselves from the Kingdom of God. 

What does it mean to be truly Torah Observant? It means that one must have taken the Nazirene oath of separation (see Nazirene Oath) -- one must be totally consecrated and set aside as a servant of HaShem (see Disciple) -- one must become the "good ground" within which the seed of the Word is planted (see Sower and the Seed) -- one must seek the knowledge that only the One Teacher can reveal (see Teacher) -- and one must seek the Inner Kingdom by following in TheWay (see Kingdom). 

From the perspective of the Torah, the disciple must release themselves from the House of Bondage as portrayed in the slavery to Egypt -- they must become the one who is born of the cleansing of the water as was Moses -- they must receive the Spiritual Torah on Mt. Sinai that could not be kept by the carnal men who worshiped in the way of the Nations -- they must purge their old self by travailing through the wilderness -- and meet Joshua (Yeshua/Jesus) who will take them across the Jordan into the Promised Land. From the perspective of the New Testament, they must do all of the above as they take up their cross and follow in the footsteps of the Master of TheWay.

   

 

Allan_Cronsahw@Ebionite.com

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The below web sites are written in the name of Allan Cronshaw, which is my birth name in this present life.   The manner in which these other web sites are composed is very different than on this one -- wherein, on these other web sites there is an attempt to document and demonstrate every proof and concept of TheWay using a multitude of resources and biblical verses -- while on this web site there is no other authority than Jacob writing to you as the Brother Of Yeshua who was the leader of the Hebrew/Christian Ebionite/Nazirene movement of TheWay.   In the recently discovered Gospel of Thomas it is written: (12) The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you will depart from us. Who is to be our leader?" Jesus said to them, "Wherever you are, you are to go to James the righteous, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."   So to once again restore the teachings of TheWay which is today known as Christianity, the Lord has sent Jacob/James, the Brother of Yeshua/Jesus, back into the world in order to guide the faithful flock into the Truth, the Light, and the Kingdom within (Luke 17:20-21).   It is there that my brother Yeshua/Jesus awaits you.

The above warning with respect to the predicted corruption of Yeshua's teachings is further stated in the first century writings known today as the Clementine Recognitions where it is written: "Our Lord and Prophet, who hath sent us, declared to us that the wicked one, having disputed with Him forty days, and having prevailed nothing against Him, promised that he would send apostles from amongst his subjects, to deceive.  Wherefore, above all, remember to shun apostle or teacher or prophet who does not first accurately compare his preaching with that of James, who was called the brother of my Lord, and to whom was entrusted to administer the church of the Hebrews in Jerusalem, — and that even though he come to you with witnesses: lest the wickedness which disputed forty days with the Lord, and prevailed nothing, should afterwards, like lightning falling from heaven upon the earth, send a preacher to your injury, as now he has sent Simon upon us, preaching, under pretense of the truth, in the name of the Lord, and sowing error. Wherefore He who hath sent us, said, ‘Many shall come to me in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them.’" 

Again it is warned by Clement: "Wherefore observe the greatest caution, that you believe no teacher, unless he bring from Jerusalem the testimonial of James the Lord’s brother, or of whosoever may come after him. For no one, unless he has gone up thither, and there has been approved as a fit and faithful teacher for preaching the word of Christ, — unless, I say, he brings a testimonial thence, is by any means to be received. But let neither prophet nor apostle be looked for by you at this time, besides us. For there is one true Prophet, whose words we twelve apostles preach"

As predicted, the ministers of Satan have succeeded in altering the teachings of my brother Yeshua, and continue to lead many into the abyss of darkness.   But have no fear my brothers and sisters, for the teachings of TheWay has been restored so that you might be able to overcome the darkness, and enter the Kingdom of Light within you (Luke 17:20-21). 

 

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The Brother Of Yeshua/Jesus: 2000 years ago I lived as Jacob who many all James, and I was known as the Brother of Yeshua and the first leader of the New Covenant movement of TheWay which is today known as Christianity.  I was sent back into the world to restore the teachings of my brother Yeshua to their original spiritual essence, and to guide you in TheWay that is "narrow" so you will be able to open the "strait gate" within you and enter the Kingdom that Yeshua declared must be attained through the second birth.

The Ebionite HomePage: If you call yourself a Christian, Jew, Messianic believer, Evyonim, Nazarene or Muslim, then it is imperative that you learn of the Ebionites who are True Spiritual Israel -- They are the Poor Ones to the ways and thinking of this world -- The Ebionites were the Israelites of the Nazirene Vow They are/were the Genuine Disciples of Yeshua/Jesus who are in the world and not of it! 

The Gate Of Eden: Why were the Disciples and followers of Yeshua vegetarian? Why did they live in accordance with the precepts of the Torah/Law? Why did they live separate and apart from both Jews and Christians? The answer is very simple: The Gate of Eden is within us, and if we fail to enter therein while we are still physically alive in the body, we will have failed in our opportunity to enter into Life. And while it can be countered that we are saved by our belief in Messiah/Christ, faith, or the blood of the lamb, the truth is that if we were truly faithful disciples of TheWay, that we would experience the opening of the inner door and the Kingdom coming within us. The GateOfEden article explores all aspects of the need to pick up one's own cross and follow the narrow path that leads to the inner gate to the Edenic Kingdom of Origination.

The Nazirene HomePage: The original spiritual teachings of Yeshua/Jesus as practiced by the people of The Way who where known historically as the Essenes, Ebionites, and Nazirenes. The teachings of The Way are Spiritual -- and provide a means to open the "strait gate" into the Kingdom while still physically alive in the body/vessel.

The Light Of Yeshua -- The Messianic Nazirene Disciple of TheWay: While many teach that believers are saved by faith, the journey of the disciple of Yeshua is one of absolute dedication to The Way. The disciple who becomes a brother to Yeshua must live as he lived, and become a Nazirene who is consecrated and wholly set apart as they walk the Narrow Way, enter into the Kingdom through the Strait Gate, and learn directly from the L-rd -- the One Rabbi and Teacher of the Mysteries of G-d.

TheWay of the Nazirene Rings HomePage: This is the Ring Home page of TheWay of the Nazirene. It will provide you with a listing of all the Nazirene Rings, and a brief description of the importance of walking in The Way and entering the Kingdom of God before physical death occurs. Come visit and learn the essence of the teachings of Jesus/Yeshua that were lost by the institutionalized church.

The Long Island Mystic and Nazirene Disciple of TheWay: The Organizational HomePage of The Nazirene -- the Long Island Mystic, Evangelical Minister, and Prophet of TheWay -- who God bestowed upon him the gift of the recall of his previous life as a Disciple and Brother of Messiah/Christ -- and thus has re-entered this world at the present time in order to restore the Spiritual Essence and Teachings of his Master, Yeshua/Jesus. The Kingdom is within! And we must sojourn the narrow path of TheWay, enter the "strait gate" to the Inner Spiritual Temple, while still alive in the physical body.  Thus, modern Christians have misunderstood the words of Yeshua -- he never said that we must physically die to enter the Edenic Kingdom of Origination -- but rather, we must die to the culture, mindset and ways of this world in order to enter the Kingdom! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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