THE DIVINE MARRIAGE

THE SACRAMENT OF SEX

THE TREE OF LIFE

AND THE WALK IN THE WAY

How can it be said that marriage is the Divine Pattern?  The Key to understanding the mystical Tree of Life?  The means by which the disciple learns to walk in The Way?  And is of such a Divine Nature, that it could be called a Spiritual Sacrament?  Perhaps just as important is for us to pose the question as to what is the meaning of marriage today -- as part of our modern culture and society?   The problem is that we cannot even begin to answer this question until we begin to recognize that in many instances, what we call marriage in the secular and cultural sense of the word, has little in common with Marriage in the Spiritual and Genuine understanding of the term. 

It is said that a man can profess anything with his lips, but it is a man’s actions that speak volumes with regard to his true nature. The essence of what is being expressed in these words is that philosophy without performance is devoid of substance, and cannot be perceived as genuine and real. This is true of religion and one's relationship to God. It is true with respect to man’s relationships with other people. And it is especially true with one’s spouse. 

While marriage in a secular sense is little more than a legal contract, the secular concept of marriage has little in common with marriage from a spiritual perspective.   In fact, once properly understood, marriage and the making of the two into "…one flesh", is in fact an essential element of the Key of Knowledge which Jesus accused the Sadducees and Pharisees of throwing away. Through the Divine Pattern of Marriage the disciple in search of the Truth and the Light learns to embrace man’s multidimensional reality of being. That everything which has ever come into existence is merely the manifestation of the variation and diversity of form and being of the Two Great Powers of Creation interacting one with the other throughout every level of reality which exists -- and that when clearly perceived with the shroud and facade of form and the fabric of appearance removed, at it’s essence can be understood as the (sexual) interaction of the Divine Opposites throughout every aspect of Creation -- only then are we able to comprehend the true nature and meaning of Marriage, the Sacrament of Sex, and the movement of the Creative Force through the Spheres of the Mystical Tree of Life as the disciple begins his journey in the teachings of The Way, are we able to even begin to perceive the true dimension of a genuine Spiritual Marriage.

Some years ago a prominent Christian religions authority was asked if there would be sex in heaven -- to which he quickly responded in the negative. That a countless number of religious authorities throughout history have never been able to perceive marriage and sex in it’s pure state through the Eyes of our Creator God, is quickly apparent in those who share the sentiment of men such as Martin Luther when he wrote: "God created Adam master and lord of living creatures, but Eve spoilt all, when she persuaded him to set himself above God's will. Tis you women, with your tricks and artifices, that lead men into error" (Quoted in: The Great Thoughts; compiled by George Seldes). Thus the problem: Mankind will remain hopelessly lost in the darkness and futility of this world, until which time he is able to perceive marriage and sex with the same vision as his Creator God -- and then learns to employ this most Sacred of Sacraments within the higher vision of Marriage in the endeavor to manifest Completion and Perfection in his life.

When Jesus began to teach the people on the shores of Galilee, the name of the religion which he ordained was called The Way.   It was not called Christianity, and though it was structured under what was understood to be Jewish thought, what Jesus taught was beyond such a parochial limitations -- i.e., Jesus taught the Universal Path that the prodigal sons and daughters of God must walk in order to return to the Kingdom of Origination.   Thus, Jesus taught The Way -- and once properly understood, The Way was merely the means to initiate and bring to maturity the Divine Pattern of Marriage in the life of the disciple in search of God and Truth.   In fact, once we begin to comprehend the reality that all that exists came into being through the interaction of the Male and Female Forces of Creation, we are then able to understand the great truth that man is only able to perceive and embrace his highest potential of being, when he learns the secrets and far reaching dimensions of marriage on an ultimate spiritual level of being.

The implications of this reality are truly sobering!   While men and women grope for knowledge and the meaning of life, what they search for has escaped them, because they fail to comprehend the depth and purpose of their own gender in relation to the opposite sex.   It also means that the foundation of our basis of scientific inquiry, theories and knowledge, is all in error because it has focused on the wrong means of investigating the answers to life. 

Whenever marriage is spoken of in the scriptures -- and especially the New Testament -- one of the primary elements that is absolutely necessary is the reality of absolute fidelity.  What Jesus very clearly stressed was the fact that true integrity and purpose is founded in the thoughts of the mind: "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt 5:27-28 NIV).   In coming to terms with this reality, we must recognize that it is our thoughts and intentions that is in fact the Key which opens up all doors in life.

As the disciple begins his journey in his walk in The Way, the paramount theme in which his life must become thoroughly immersed, is the purity of intention and motivation of all of life’s interactions and relationships. In the all-important parable of the sower and the seed, it is said with respect to those who are spoken of as the seed sown of the good ground: "And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15 RSV). That it is what is in the heart of man, and the faithfulness and purity of the expressions of the heart can be further seen in the words: "You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you" (Acts 8:21-22 RSV).

With respect to the believer’s walk in The Way -- i.e., the thoughts of the heart, and the manner in which the followers of Jesus must live their lives -- perhaps Paul said it best when he wrote: "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more" (Eph 4:17-19 NIV).

What the Apostle of faith is conveying to the reader is that if we live and think in the manner of the culture of this world, that we will ultimately find ourselves "…darkened in [our] understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in [us] them". Thus, that the greater majority of people who call themselves the followers of Christ live in accordance with the culture of this world, and "…in the futility of their thinking" are unable to perceive the true essence of the Gospel and the Mysteries of God, is due to the fact that they are spiritually burdened by the impurity of the life they live.

In his Epistle to the Hebrews Paul wrote concerning the thoughts and motives of the heart: "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Heb 4:12-13 NKJ). What is it that the Apostle is conveying to us in these rather profound words that few people of the simple faith ever come to comprehend? If we could for a moment view life from the enlightened perception of a genuine disciple whose mind has been Anointed by the Light, we would understand that when Paul speaks of the Word of God being as a "two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit", what we must come to understand is that it is the very Word of God that brings about not only the division of soul and spirit, but every other element of division that exists throughout all of Creation.

Students of Hebrew Mysticism come to learn that the primary Adam was both male and female -- i.e., Adam-Eve -- and it was God that separated the two forces of Creation in order for them to interact one with the other. When the symbolism of the scriptures is understood, we can see the same separation being portrayed in the story of the Tower of Babel: "Now the whole world had one language and a common speech… But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other’" (Gen 11:1-7 NIV).

In the first chapter of Genesis we observe God creating the various realities that appear to make up the created world -- but when it is realized that these things such as heaven and earth are symbols of higher consciousness, a totally different picture begins to immerge. That the whole of the Genesis account of creation is in fact the portrayal of mind and consciousness, is especially seen in the critique of the Church Father Origen who says of those who attempt to interpret the scriptures from a literal perspective: "What man of sense will agree with the statement that the first, second and third days in which the evening is named and the morning, were without sun, moon and stars, and the first day without a heaven. What man is found such an idiot as to suppose that God planted trees in paradise in Eden, like a husbandman, and planted therein the tree of life, perceptible to the eyes and senses, which gave life to the eater thereof; and another tree which gave to the eater thereof a knowledge of good and evil? 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).

If it is true that division is portrayed in the scriptures as evil, with even the second day of Creation the only day were the phrase was not used: "…and God saw that it was good" (Gen 1:18 KJV); then we must pose the question as to why the separation and division of mind and consciousness was created. Why did God create division?   Perhaps the key to understanding is best portrayed by the Apostle Paul when he wrote: "For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now" (Rom 8:19-22 NKJ).

Thus, it is important for us to understand that the division and separation was created in order for the children of God to become complete. Where the prodigal son easily was led into bondage and corruption when he traveled into the far country, through the process of his confronting the many tribulations he encountered, the son who returned to the Kingdom of Origination was perfected and complete because of the trials he endured through the process of overcoming this world. It is then equally important for us to perceive that in the above words of Paul, we can further see that "…the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it…" -- which means that it was not mankind who willingly fell from grace in the portrayal of Adam and Eve -- but rather, that "…the creation was subjected to futility" in order to grow to mature Children of our Creator God.

Throughout the New Testament we are constantly confronted with the concept of entering the next stage of birth. In the portrayal of Armageddon we are told that "…all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs" (Matt 24:8 RSV). This important thought is again seen in the above statement of Paul: "…For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now". In opening our mind to the pattern of Creation, we must then comprehend that all birth is brought about through the interaction of opposites -- and when we can begin to apply this knowledge within us, only then can we begin to comprehend what the Bible continually refers to as the Mysteries of God.

Again we would do well to consider the wisdom of the early Church Father Origen in his rather profound statement found in his famed writing De Principiis, where he writes: "But all the narrative portion, relating either to the marriages, or to the begetting of the children, or to battles of different kinds, or to any other histories whatever, what else can they be supposed to be, save the forms and figures of hidden and sacred things? As men, however, make little effort to exercise their intellect, or imagine that they possess knowledge before they really learn, the consequence is that they never begin to have knowledge; or if there be no want of a desire, at least, nor of an instructor, and if divine knowledge be sought after, as it ought to be, in a religious and Holy Spirit, and in the hope that many points will be opened up by the revelation of God -- since to human sense they are exceedingly difficult and obscure -- then, perhaps, he who seeks in such a manner will find what it is lawful to discover".

What is the very crucial bit of information that the Church Father Origen is attempting to convey to the reader?   That all of life is manifest through the interaction of the forces of male and female, means that the deeper Mysteries of Creation can easily be portrayed to the mind of the disciple in the form of men and women who exists in various stages of "…the marriages, or to the begetting of the children, or to battles of different kinds, or to any other histories whatever, what else can they be supposed to be, save the forms and figures of hidden and sacred things". What this also means is that ultimately, each of us is actually living a life that embraces the very same biblical symbols with which all of Creation at every level is imbued and immersed in the same unified Pattern.

Again we see the all-important words of Origen when he states that "…As men, however, make little effort to exercise their intellect, or imagine that they possess knowledge before they really learn, the consequence is that they never begin to have knowledge". When we put this concept together with the higher reality of man which the Wycliffe Commentary writes with respect to Genesis 2:7: "Man's body was fashioned from the dust of the ground, while his spirit came from the very ‘breath’ of God. He is literally a creature of two worlds; both earth and heaven can claim him". More importantly, though, is for us to clarify our understanding of when the soul came into existence. Thus, the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary notes the belief of both the Jews and early Church: "The... views of Origen and other Fathers, and the... Talmudists, that all souls had been created ‘in the beginning,’ and were lodged by God in a certain place, whence each one was taken out to inhabit the respective bodies of individuals". In this respect, it can easily be demonstrated that the first followers of Christ firmly believed that the soul pre-existed the body, and that our present physical forms are mere vessels that we inhabit during our sojourn in this life.

Because Origen, the early Church Fathers, as well as the Talmudists understood that the true plight of man is to overcome his divided self, it is on this basis that Origen wrote above that few men "…imagine that they possess knowledge before they really learn".  When we begin to put this together with the portrayal in Genesis of Adam-Eve as one being that God separated -- that God confused the language of the people because if they were of "one mind", they could accomplish anything -- and that it was God who subjected all of Creation to futility -- then our who perception of Life, the scriptures, and the teachings of The Way, must be severely altered from its present course.

Thus, the Key of Knowledge that Jesus accused the Sadducees and Pharisees of throwing away, is in fact the knowledge of how to overcome man’s divided state through the Divine Pattern of Marriage. That this reality is in fact that expressed in the very first words which the Bible portrays as being spoken by man, as seen in the words: "Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (Gen 2:22-24 NIV).

When we begin to use the pattern in search of higher knowledge, we must pose a number of important questions: If our soul and spiritual natures have existed since the very beginning of time, and it is true that these higher natures exist in parallel realms where they are aware of not only every event, but the meaning and purpose of every event in life, then it is this knowledge which Origen speaks of when he writes that few men "…imagine that they possess knowledge before they really learn". Further, once it is understood that Armageddon and the "pangs of birth" are symbols of the process of overcoming our own state of inner division, then the essence of both the teachings of The Way as well as life itself begins to emerge in a totally new light than is understood in our modern-day churches and culture.

What these higher truths reveal to the mind of the disciple in search of the answers to the dilemma of life, is the reality that because man and woman are in fact imbued with the very Patterns of Creation, that the more we begin to understand and explore our relationship to the opposite sex -- and especially to our spouse in a spiritually consecrated marriage -- that the Mysteries of God and the Sacred Secrets of Creation will be revealed to the mind of the disciple in search of Truth.

If we can begin to get a sense of what is actually portrayed in the scriptures, we can then begin to realize why the wisdom of this world which is based upon scholarly pursuits is said by the Apostle Paul to be foolishness -- why our educational systems are in fact inflicting great harm on our children -- and why our sexually liberated culture that has all but destroyed the fabric of the very concept of marriage, is detrimental to the people of our society. While it is true that we have learned through a technological means to manipulate matter in ways that make us appear enlightened in comparison to the cultures of the past, what it also means is that with respect to the more important higher knowledge of the meaning and purpose of life itself, we are in many ways more ignorant than those in the past who we consider to be superstitious.

What this ultimately means is that we are a people who are hopelessly lost in the abyss of darkness that controls this world. We are looking for the answers to life in the wrong place!   Our scholarly pursuits -- our faith-based religious concepts that are philosophical and nearly devoid of works -- our hedonistic culture which embraces every sort of sensual and materialistic over indulgence -- as well as our whole three-dimensional perception of life itself -- totally alienates and severs us from our own higher reality. Moreover, our knowledge and understanding is so shallow, that it can be said that our reliance upon the politically correct tenets of our plastic culture that in every way is counterfeit and bogus, is actually depriving us of the very essence of life itself.

Perhaps one of the paramount examples of this great truth is demonstrated in the truly all-important marriage covenant -- i.e., there are marriages, there are marriages, and there are marriages. Like religion itself -- there are marriages of this world that would be considered of the flesh -- there are marriages that possess greater depth -- and still others that possess even greater depth -- there are special marriages that transcend all dimensions of this world as they engulf the totality of being -- and there exist marriages at every level between what is strictly carnal, and what exists in a state of Spiritual Oneness.

Many Fundamentalists Christians today condemn the wearing of the traditional symbol of the yin and yang -- but what is it that they are objecting to? What they fail to realize is that the yin and yang is both a symbol of the perfect marriage as well as the symbol of the Trinity, which is a doctrine they espouse. Because the masculine and feminine forces are represented in a state of total and complete harmony, and are depicted in a perfect circle, what we are in fact presented with in the symbol of the yin and yang is the three dynamic forces of Creation in the totality of their Being where the two have become totally integrated at all levels into the One, which manifests the third great force of Creation. Thus, in the symbolism of the yin and yang we can observe the very essence of all biblical thought.

Throughout ancient times the philosophers from every culture viewed the world in a dualistic manner. While this is true with respect to the powers of light and dark, spirit and matter, male and female, yes and no, active and reflective, dynamic and magnetic -- this ancient wisdom cannot be understood so long as we fail to comprehend that initially the two were originally one before they were seemingly divided, and are destined to again return to that state of completion in the totality of the union. In the symbol of the yin and yang we can observe both perfection, as well as the presence of the third force which is born from the harmony of the two.

Marriage is a spiritual sacrament that depicts the Mysteries of God at their highest level. In a marriage, the dualistic powers of Creation are harmonized and made One. All biblical and New Covenant teachings are based upon the ultimate vision of reality where the Two are brought into a perfect and abiding harmony, and all is at One. Once properly understood, we must begin to understand that the Bible is in essence, the supreme marriage manual that has been given to man as an Oracle by which he is able to gaze into the Ultimate Reality and Destiny of Creation.

With respect to the Divine Pattern: In all things there is the pattern of the dynamic-active -- the receptive/reflective-magnetic -- and the resulting third force which is manifest as the balance and expression of the two.  When the ancients spoke of the two forces that are paramount in the world -- i.e., good and evil -- and the Essenes spoke of the war between the sons of Light and the sons of darkness, they were making reference to the two forces of Creation that is manifest throughout everything that exists.  What most moderns fail to realize is the fact that what is commonly referred to as "dualism", is not dualism as all -- but rather, the basis of the doctrine of the trinity.   It can best be explained this way: If we look at electricity (especially DC), we can see an active leg and a return leg which are moved through the two wires.  In some European countries that use a ground return, this is to be understood that the ground would then be the second leg.  In the case of electricty, the two opposite polarities must be kept separate until we are ready to use the current -- which means the third force of Creation would then be represented in the appliance or electrical apparatus that we use which consumes the electricity -- i.e., an electric light, motor, etc..   This third force which is the result of the balance of the two, is what we call mind.

In the Old Testament there are a number of names which we interpret and portray in English as God.  This presents many problems -- i.e., God in the first chapter of Genesis is referred to as Elohiym, while in the second chapter God is called Yahweh.   Moreover, God is referred to by other names throughout the scriptures.   

From the perspective of the teachings of The Way, the only time that the Most High God is referred to in the Old Testament is in the Book of Daniel where it speaks of the Ancient of Days -- it is here where God is spoken of as having no beginning or ending, and existing in a totally undivided state.  More importantly, throughout the Dead Sea Scrolls and what is known today as the Nazirene Gospel, this name that portrays God in His Ultimate State is expressed as the All-Parent -- i.e., the Forces of Mother and Father God are in total Harmony -- and all is AT-ONE.  As the Power of God moves out into Creation, at it's Ultimate level we have what the Nazirene Gospel calls Mother/Father God.  Our Bibles used to explain this more thoroughly, but with the removal of all references to Mother God, this is no longer very clear.  While Jesus speaks of Father God, when it is realized that the Holy Spirit is feminine, we can once again begin to see the emergence of the original concept of Mother/Father God.   Of course, the reasonable mind will immediately ask: How can there be a Father and a Son without a Mother?

At this level of Being, the Third Force is called the Son of God -- which being the balance of the Two Great Powers of Creation, is the Mind of God that brought all things into being.  As these forces move out into the lower levels of Creation, they become more divided.  With this in mind, the objective of the Spiritual  Disciple in search of Truth, is to bring together these divided powers and natures within himself, as he endeavors to move into Harmony with the Most High God.

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The great truth that has been continually expressed by both Jewish and Christian visionaries is that the knowledge of the mysteries of God and the Divine Plan begins with the knowledge of ourselves as the Prodigal Sons of our Heavenly Father.   It is for this reason that the second-century Church Father Clement of Alexandria said that it is “…the greatest of all lessons 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”.   In his treaties on The Soul and the Resurrection, St Gregory 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”.

It has been said that the mark of an intelligent man is the ability to hold a paradoxical thought in his head simultaneously.  Let me add to this, that the mark of an enlightened man is to hold any number of paradoxical thoughts in his mind -- and have them simultaneously interact in order to bring about a state of higher consciousness.  The problem is that we not only attempt to define everything as right or wrong, good and evil, etc. and etc., in our natural organic state we tend to view everything in a very superficial manner.   Moreover, in our politically correct culture that is embraced today, we have totally undermined the very foundation of higher awareness and consciousness.

In the 22nd saying of the Gospel of Thomas Jesus says we cannot enter the Kingdom until we have overcome our state of inner division: "When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]." 

Since all things in relation to each other are male and female, then it is perhaps easiest to understand the problem from the perspective of men and women.    We cannot negate the male and female by creating a unisex society as our cultural prophets have attempted to do -- but rather, by developing both the male and female forces to their highest level of expression within a single unit, and permitting the third force -- the child of truth and balance -- to be born and seek it's highest expression.  The yin and yang is perhaps one of the finest symbols of the triune force -- i.e., the two are not negated in the form of a neutral gray, but instead exist in a state of total harmony and balance.

What our society fails to realize today is that men and women are paradoxical opposites -- i.e., they not only perceive reality in an opposite manner, their minds think and function in totally opposite spheres of the Tree of Life.  Where the mind of the male is linear and dynamic, the mind of the female is intuitive, cyclic, and magnetic.  It was for this reason that spiritually aware societies in ancient times did not teach young boys in the same manner -- much less together with girls as we do today.

One of the greatest lessons the people of our modern culture must learn is that equal does not mean the same.   Perhaps this is best expressed in the introduction of the long ignored book Brain Sex, by Anne Moir and David Jessel, where they wrote: “Men are different from women. They are equal only in their common membership of the same species, humankind. To maintain that they are the same in aptitude, skill or behaviour is to build a society based on a biological and scientific lie”.

The key to the dilemma that confronts us today is further seen in the words of the authors with respect to their opposition to the ideas we teach our children in our modern-day politically correct culture: “What you will read in this book about the differences between men and women may make both sexes angry or smug. Both reactions are wrong. If women have reason to rage, it is not because science has set at naught their hard-won struggle towards equality; their wrath should rather be directed at those who have sought to misdirect and deny them their very essence”.   The book then goes on to embrace the very real statement that “Women should contribute their specific female gifts rather than waste their energies in the pursuit of a sort of surrogate masculinity. A woman’s greater imagination can solve intractable problems - be they professional or domestic - at one apparently intuitive stroke.”

What we fail to realize is the fact that men and women not only see and perceive reality differently -- often opposite -- their minds actually access different sources of knowledge.  Yet the problem is further complicated by the fact that what we would call the Truth, is not the mere balance of the two -- but rather, is a third element in the triangle that is born from the two.   What this means is that the paradoxes of Creation are not overcome by the negation of the two -- but rather, by the birth of a higher knowledge that transcends the two.   Moreover, this pattern must then be applied to all levels of our being in our search for the Ultimate Truth which exists as the Core of both Creation and ourselves.  

A good place to read which will further explain what I am attempting to portray is at http://www.nazirene.org/unfaithful6.htm#feminine-trinity

What this means is that ultimately, all male linear thought which predominates the majority of manmade doctrine and scholarly research today, is in error.  While feminine thought remains largely undeveloped because it is foreign to the male mind, in those places where it is predominate such as the New Age movement, it is equally in error.  The problem is that very few of us are able to not only permit both polarities of mind to mature within us -- and even fewer yet are able to nurture the third force that must develop when the two are brought into harmony and balance without either being dominate over the other.

A true marriage is a spiritual sacrament that not only transmutes man’s physical nature, but is the means to bring all levels of Creation together into a singular state of being. In our endeavor to begin to look beyond the counterfeit facade of what is false and of this world, we must then recognize that words spoken by a priest or justice of the peace -- a formal contract -- or the act of entering into an agreement that is ordained by tradition, culture, or the law of man -- does not automatically invoke the Higher Power of God. Thus, the marriage of carnal man must be understood as a covenant of this world, and therefore does not have the force or ability to transmute and transcend man’s physical nature. Once properly understood, marriage can in fact be used to put all of man’s interactions with God into a proper perspective -- in that, with growth and work it is a union that possess the possibility of a true marriage being formed, and not a true marriage in the genuine sense of the word by the mere recital of words.

A man who has taken marriage vows, and yet continues to desire other women, is only married in accordance with the culture of this world. He may with his lips profess his undying love -- but this love is not pure and from the heart, and is missing the necessary essential ingredient that must be present in an authentic marriage covenant that is of the spirit, and ordained by God. Moreover, his marriage may be recognized and in accordance with the law of the land, and affirmed by the traditions of our culture -- by churches -- by the government -- and by men who themselves view things in a superficial and legalistic manner -- but like a genuine spiritual religion, the terms and conditions of a true marriage is beyond the control of both the secular and non-secular political authorities of this world. A true marriage must be ordained in Heaven -- it is a covenant that is formed by the thoughts of the heart -- and must be pure and complete.

True marriage embodies a state of spiritual Oneness on all levels of being. Carnal man, who is almost totally unaware of his soul and spiritual natures, and is limited by his three-dimensional reasoning, does not generally perceive the potential of marriage that most often exists at a level of mind that is beyond his ability to even contemplate. The result is that in not understanding it’s potential, even what we would consider to be a good marriage, is merely the beginning of the possibilities.

Few people today are able to even perceive the true potential of marriage, is because they do not understand either their own soul and spiritual natures, or their congenital relationship to their Creator God. As with every aspect of human experience, marriage is a multidimensional experience that not only merges the polarity of male and female, but also has the potential to merge the heavenly and earthly realms. This creates a problem for the majority of people, because when we permit carnal man and the governments of this world to define its measures and bounds, we denigrate the sacredness of the union, and make the sacrament of marriage superficial. Like religious creeds and doctrine, in order to begin to embrace the genuine and what is real, it is first necessary to recognize our own limitations and the reality that God is not bound by what we choose to believe, or what is politically correct or acceptable from our perception. God embraces what is genuine -- He is not limited by our decrees, edicts, and pronouncements -- and He does not ordain what is superficial.

One of the most important keys to approaching the presence of God is to understand that man must embrace what is authentic in his life. The critic will of course say: Whose to say what is authentic? What makes one person’s opinion more authentic than another's? In our modern politically correct culture, there is no such thing as authentic. The pillars of our society would say that authenticity is subjective -- i.e., what is authentic for one person is not necessarily authentic for another -- and while there is a semblance of truth to what they say with respect to each persons level of being, authentic is one of those elements of life that can only be understood when our perception is in harmony with our Creator God. Authentic, then, can perhaps best be envisioned by the fruit of one’s endeavors -- and in the same way that authentic religion transcends the physical barriers of this world, an authentic marriage transcends the separation of the male and female polarities on all levels of being. This creates a problem with respect to our modern-day politically correct culture -- in that, because an authentic marriage transcends the three-dimensional limitations of this world, the very superficial ideas, laws and customs of man mean very little in the totality of the true definition of the marriage union.

Like the True Church of the New Covenant, marriages are made in heaven. In the same way that carnal man cannot enter the True Spiritual Church of God until he first becomes spiritual, the requirements of the sacrament of marriage have been set forth in heaven -- and it is beyond the ability of mankind to alter or negate the Laws of God. Like the many churches or institutions of government that man creates, we have it within our ability to ordain any sort of decree or judgment we choose with respect to the validity of a marriage, but because we do not possess the ability to alter the Forces of Creation within which the universe and every realm of being Moves, there is no substance to our pronouncements unless they are in harmony with God’s. In this respect, regardless of what the law of man decrees, the governments of this world do not have the power to ordain a genuine marriage -- which is brought about when the two (spiritual) people truly become manifest as One Flesh.

Ultimately what this means is that while it is good to be married in the eyes of man, it is much better to be married in the eyes of both man and God. The key is found in the words of Jesus when he said: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s"( Matt 22:21 NIV). Man does not have the power to make a man and woman "one flesh". Neither does man have the power to bound God to human laws and decrees. Jesus condemned the Jewish sects of the Sadducees and Pharisees because they attempted to install and observe their own manmade traditions as truth, and place these traditions before the people as having been ordained by God. What this means is that only when man embraces traditions, culture, law and religious doctrines that are legitimate from the perception of God, can man’s traditions, culture, law and religious doctrines be ordained as genuine.

In almost every society the governments of this world claim for themselves the power to ordain a union -- license a union -- recognize a union -- but do they truly possess this power? If we seek to be genuine and authentic, we must recognize that the power of government is temporal, limited and superficial. In order to embrace what is genuine, we must question not only what we believe, but the very source and authority of what we believe. When man speaks the words: "By the power vested in me" -- what power does he speak of? Does man have the power to make the two one flesh? It is important to recognize that in numerous legal transactions the government does not even recognize the oneness of the marriage union. Moreover, in view of our modern doctrine of separation of church and state, neither does the government recognize God, or the sacredness of the union.

The foolishness of man’s power is perhaps best portrayed in the words of Jesus with regard to taking an oath when he said: "And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black" (Matt 5:36 NIV). What power does man have? He has so little power that he cannot even keep himself from the fate of death, and yet he is so foolish that he falsely envisions that he can invoke and alter the laws of the heavens?

The problem is that we cannot even begin to perceive the true dimensions of marriage, until we first realize both the potential and the Divine Pattern of men and women, and then apply this greater reality directly into the life of husband and wife. A marriage is not a legal union or contract between two people. Neither is a marriage two people living together in a family environment under the color of law or religious tradition. Marriage possess a Divine definition that can only be envisioned in the concept that it is the means to negate the differences and separation between the two, and merge them into One. A marriage between husband and wife cannot even be envisioned, until we first realize that marriage is a Consecrated and Divine Pattern of Creation brought into the lives of individual men and women that enables them to embrace their Ultimate Destiny. What this means is that a marriage is already defined on a cosmic and universal reality, and the more we are able to live in accordance with this cosmic definition, the more genuine our marriage becomes.

Marriage is a religious sacrament -- a sacrament where the Power of God is brought into a covenant relationship -- whereby the very design and pattern of all of Creation is manifest when the two great paradoxical opposites of male and female are merged in order to bring about the birth of a higher reality. By design, all of life in this realm moves within these two great polarities in order for man to be able to observe the workings of Creation within his own life.

As I have stated in previous chapters, man and woman are themselves polarized in accordance with a pattern of Higher Reality, and they interact on an intimate level that has the ability to invoke this pattern of higher spiritual reality in their lives. Contrary to modern popular thought, the polarity of the sexes was not brought into being because God needs men and women to populate the world, as in the vision of Darwin -- but rather, in order for them to participate in the very fabric and essence of life and thereby learn about themselves, the Mysteries of Creation, and the Reality of the One God. In fact, the pattern and concept of marriage is the very essence of what Jesus referred to when he spoke of the Keys of Knowledge.

In view of the fact that our governments do not even acknowledge this pattern, and few of our churches are able to perceive the true all-encompassing depth of the pattern, our culture and society only perceives the state of matrimony from a very superficial perspective. The result is that men and women who think they have achieved a state of matrimony, have in reality only just begun, and this flaw in our understanding is brought about whenever we permit secular and religious authorities to define marriage in accordance with their own traditions. The result is that when man attempts to define what is beyond his ability to envision in his natural state of being, we succeeded in alienating ourselves from the very Mysteries of God that we endeavor to understand and embrace.

In our endeavor to even begin to perceive the true depth of marriage, we must be ever mindful that men and women were made in the image of God, and therefore they possess the innate ability to reflect His Likeness. What this means is that men and women who desire a greater insight and understanding of life, should approach each other and the covenant of marriage in awe -- in that, what the Bible teaches is that a genuine marriage is representative of a state beyond physical intimacy, companionship, and our carnal perception of husband and wife, and is in fact a pattern of spiritual reality and completion that can be manifest in this divided realm of existence.

Marriage between man and woman is a gateway reality – i.e., we cannot even begin to perceive the Mysteries of God and Creation, and everything we view as knowledge and understanding is counterfeit, so long as we fail to realize the very pattern of marriage in every aspect of our being. All the conflict between men, as well as all the ignorance, and all the flaws, is all the result of internal division that can only be overcome when we focus of the absolute need for unity and substance in our lives that can only be brought about when we begin to merge the opposites both within and without our being.

The problem is that in order to begin to comprehend the essence of marriage, mankind must first begin to recognize the fact that genuine marriage is both unique and all-pervading in all the experiences that man has in this life. In this respect, the concept of procreation where man has the power to bring forth new life is secondary, and is merely a living symbol of the potential of the union on a level of mind and spirit. Where carnal man interacts in a sexual and emotional world of opposites, the spiritual man not only embraces these opposites, but through the process of invoking a higher reality, actually participates in a union that has the potential to negate these opposites -- i.e., where the two become one flesh, mind and spirit.

Carnal man, who only looks upon the forces of Creation in a superficial manner, accepts life at face value, and does not generally attempt to contemplate the symbolism within which his life is immersed -- i.e., the fact that the opposites are separated by Natural Law. Day and night -- winter and summer -- hot and cold -- positive and negative -- are all brought into being by congenital laws that divide what these forces represent. The objective, then, is not to get caught up in the manifest reality of the differences, but to understand the laws that separate these realities in the endeavor of negating their state of isolation. What causes even a married man to yearn for other women? What causes many women to feel a great void in their relationships? It is because the unions are incomplete and superficial, and the separation of the two continues even after the union has been consummated.

One of the paramount realizations the disciple in search of deeper knowledge must come to see in his perception of this world, is that the inner meaning of the Genesis account of Creation is a constant force that is manifest in, and within, every aspect of life as we know it. Further, though the mystic and seer may call this realm the world of illusion, that does not negate the fact that from the perception of carnal man, the illusion that he is immersed in is very real. What the mystic is attempting to convey to us is that what we view as physical, is not as concrete as we perceive it, and is in fact a symbol of the vibratory energy flow that it represents. In the language the Bible was written in, every animal, person, and event not only can have an historical significance, but also possesses a personal meaning on a physical, mental and spiritual level of our being.

When our scriptures were written, this concept was very difficult to convey to the mind of the average person -- but this is not the case today. When we look at our television sets -- viewing the pictures and hearing the sound -- the pictorial and audio presentation that we are viewing is not what is being transmitted from the broadcast station. In the same way that our antenna is tuned to a certain frequency, and our televisions interpret elements within this frequency to create a picture and voice that our carnal senses can decipher, so too does this world work in a very similar manner.

Fundamentally, what the mystic proclaims to us is the undeniable truth that what we perceive is not only a fragment of reality, but with respect to this fragment, there is a whole lot of (spiritual) apparatus that exists in the television screen of life that we perceive with our physical senses, that is responsible for making the visual images and sounds of life available to us. This can be demonstrated in the example that if our television stops functioning, and we call a repairman, the person who fixes our television set will know very little about the images that we see dancing across the screen -- but rather, he looks for the problem at a causal level -- i.e., levels of voltage, amplification, frequency, current and resistance within the circuitry of the set.

What we view as a picture and sound, the repairman perceives as a series of very complex electronic circuits that interact in a manner that is totally beyond the understanding most people. And yet, it is only when we begin to look beyond the complexity of these circuits that we are able to see that everything can be broken down to a series of positive and negative energy flows that are made applicable to the situation we have formed them into. What I am stating is representative of a reality that only a very few of us are able to realize -- i.e., that the reality of the dualistic forces and elements of Creation embraces every aspect of our lives from the smallest to the greatest of all thoughts and events. In fact, once properly understood we can observe that in our television sets and modern electronics, we have the same Triune force of Creation that all the major religions of the world attempt to express in their own way -- i.e., we have the male force, the female force, and the moving product of the two as seen in the complexity of circuits which relates to the offspring or child of the two.

Where the majority of people would see only the images that are painted on the screen of the television set of life, if we look beyond the superficial, what we are truly presented with is just another example of the universal knowledge of Creation that can be applied to any given circumstance of life. When we therefore listen to preachers of the elementary gospel, we are listening to those who tell us about the images that are danced upon the screen. When we listen to the mystic who has the ability to gaze into the working of the circuits, we are listening to the technician who interprets the design. The problem is that only a very few people are capable of seeing the pictures, while understanding the design of the circuits and comprehending the manner in which the two polarities are manifest in the third force, while still possessing a very clear perception of the point where the division of the three are brought into an abiding state of Oneness.

As you endeavor to understand the pattern of Creation, you will then begin to comprehend the language and symbolism of the scriptures. And what is it you will see? A very clear visual comprehension of the essence of the pattern of marriage in its all encompassing and highest forms. What will become apparent is that each layer continues to divide as we move away from the Source, and into the outer layers of Creation -- and yet, in the higher order of things, all remains At-One at the Core level of Being. Once the disciple begins to possess this clear elevated picture of the nature of the obstacles that confront him, he begins to realize that The Way to commence the journey Home, and travel to the Source of Oneness, is to merge together all the paradoxical opposites that one encounters.

The problem is that the majority of men and women are looking in the wrong direction -- i.e., spellbound and transfixed by the reflective nature of the world in which we presently dwell. In looking in the direction of the reflection, rather than the Source, they are therefore unable to perceive reality in either its immensity or fullness. When we say, then, that woman is the embodiment of the reflective polarity that was created out of man, what we are saying is that woman has the innate ability to redirect the vital energies of man, and together they are able to become a Complete Unit, able to perceive man’s Higher Reality.

Once we begin to recognize the reality of what is being presented, the ramifications are profound! If you desire to learn the Mysteries of God, then begin by seeking to perceive the deeper sense of what you see and experience in life. By design, a man and woman possess within themselves the totality of all of Creation. From the perspective of each of the sexes, the manner in which their husband or wife thinks -- perceives the world -- interacts with their children, and views the past, present and future events of life, is of a primary importance, because in the other person they have the ability to behold the opposite polarity of themselves. What this means is that sexual relations actually play a much more important role than what is envisioned by carnal man in the idea of procreation. Once we begin to look beyond the superficial, we discover that the exchange and intermingling of bodily fluids has the ability to permanently connect the two on a physical level -- thereby laying the foundation permitting the mind and spirit to interact together and even merge into One Unit -- enabling the perception and awareness of the man/woman to grow by leaps and bounds.

The problem is that only a very few souls even desire to enter into a genuine marriage relationship -- i.e., a deeply intense relationship that has the power to merge the two into One on all levels of their being. Being spellbound by the reflective nature of this realm, they are not concerned about seeking to understand the circuitry or the sources of power that makes the pictures of life dance before their eyes -- and neither are they interested in hearing about the intricacies of either life or religion at any level beyond the world of appearances that they observe with their physical senses.

Our Eternal Father God has given us everything we need to unlock the secrets of Creation. By design, our every interaction in life is a religious experience -- in that, because of the paradoxical nature of Creation where two opposing concepts can each be equally true, God can be perceived as being both separate from us, as well as an intimate part of us -- as envisioned in the concept that we dwell in the Mind of our Creator God in the manner that a fish dwells in the water -- i.e., as seen in the words: "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.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’" (Acts 17:27-28 NIV).

It is only when we begin to open our minds to this greater paradoxical reality, that we can even contemplate the idea that in the same way that a man and woman has the potential to become one flesh, that Jesus could be both God and very much a man just as we are. The defect, then, is seen in our own vision of reality – i.e., that the physical world which we view with our physical senses does not have the capacity to pierce beyond the three-dimensional barrier of this realm, and therefore we are not able to detect the connectedness of all of Creation. When rightly understood, genuine spiritual religion is synonymous with marriage, and both possess the ability to enlighten the mind of natural man by integrating the most important essential elements of reality -- elements that touch the very soul and spirit of carnal man -- and incorporate them into a series of forms that empower man to connect with his innate spiritual nature.

In the same way that the man and his wife have the ability to literally move within the energy field of the other person -- thereby overcoming the natural barriers that physically separate and divide the two -- the disciple possesses the universal knowledge that if you follow any energy flow towards its source, you will come to a point where the two polarities are no longer divided, and exist in Absolute Unity and Oneness. What this means on a personal level, is that if you are manifest in this world as either a man or woman, and begin to move within your source of being to your pre-existent soul, you will find that your soul is neither male nor female, and dwells in what we would call a spiritual realm because it exists at a heightened level of consciousness where the polarities that we associate in this world with men and women are in harmony.

The disciple who seeks to perceive reality from a causal level of Creation, learns that everything which exists in this world is manifest in a polar reality -- and is brought into perception by the third force of Creation, which is referred to as the Son of God because it is seen as the offspring of the two. It is for this reason that all the religions of the world possess a common doctrine that division is evil. Fundamentally, this is the essence of what Paul said to the people at Corinth when he wrote: "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought" (1 Cor 1:10 NIV). Going to the very essence of the problem, we must ask why the Apostle condemned doctrinal differences? The only answer is because all opinions and dogma are the result of man’s limitations born out of his attachment to this world -- an attachment that must be severed as the disciple begins to live in intimate communion with his soul.

In our quest for truth it is necessary for us to realize that the Power of Creation can only move us into a higher reality when we live in harmony with the Divine Pattern in which we are immersed. Do you desire to know Truth and possess Genuine Knowledge? Then you must endeavor to reject what is manmade, cultural, politically correct, or limited by the three-dimensional thinking of this realm. In our search for what is authentic and real, the easiest place to start is in the manner that we intimately interact with other people in our lives -- i.e., to manifest what is called the Royal Law. From this elevated vision of life, in order to even begin to experience a genuine marriage that is consecrated by God, one must begin to perceive the superficial nature of the man-ordained marriages of this world.

From a spiritual perspective, the two can only be made one, when there is a singular mind and spirit that pervades the union to the degree that there is a common physical body -- and this common physical body must support the manifestation of the higher reality of mankind that transcends the three-dimensional barrier of this world. Once understood from this heightened vision, it is then understood that because the true essence of marriage itself is founded upon Divine Ordinance, man can no more dictate and control the spiritual requirements of a genuine marriage, then he can the movement of the earth around the sun. In fact, it would be easier for man to command a tornado, hurricane, or great earthquake to subside, than for him of his own power to ordain a genuine marriage. Why? Because a true marriage is contingent upon the presence of God in the union -- in that it merges the forces and powers beyond these three dimensions of the realm in which we presently dwell.

In the same way that the true reality of man transcends the three dimensions of this world, the first requirement of a genuine marriage is that it must invoke the forces that merge and combine what lies beyond the confines and limitations of man’s physical body. From the perspective of this higher reality, there are conditions that must be present in order for a genuine marriage to exist if it is to serve its Divine Purpose -- which Purpose is to invoke and bring together the powers and realms of heaven and earth. Once understood in this manner, it can then be seen that all the words that a man speaks -- all the manmade statutes that he enacts -- all the long-held traditions that man invokes -- cannot control the forces of heaven -- cannot alter or change the Will and Vision of God -- Who only Sanctifies and Ordains that which is Consecrated, Pure and Holy.

Again I repeat the words that the true potential of Marriage is a Spiritual Sacrament that can only be embraced by Spiritual Men and Women. What this means is that, in the same way that carnal men and women have only a vague sense of God and Reality, the same can be said with respect to the sacrament of marriage.

That carnal man creates sexual unions, marries and interacts within the Divine Pattern of Creation, does not mean that his vision of marriage must be perceived as the defining standard -- but must instead be recognized as an elementary expression between the sexes which is only the beginning of what is truly possible in a true Spiritual Marriage Relationship. Moreover, in the same way that a genuine disciple must endeavor to be approved by the Light, a husband and wife must seek to live in such a manner that their union is Ordained by Higher Authority. In the same way that man does not have the power to make one hair on his head white or black, and he cannot save himself from death, neither can man command the powers of heaven by virtue of the words he speaks -- which words are only the beginning of the journey.

Once properly understood, genuine marriage and spiritual religion must be envisioned as being synonymous -- in that, the very foundation and concept of both are one and the same. Again, the key phrase here is: "once properly understood". In fact, without the covenant and sacrament of marriage, religion is counterfeit -- devoid of the spiritual essence that ordains it as being genuine. When Jesus condemned the Sadducees and Pharisees, his condemnation was based upon the fact that in their religious practice, they lacked the most important ingredient -- the ingredient that made their religion genuine -- which ingredient was marriage and union with the Higher Power.

Marriage, like walking in The Way, is a process that invokes the forces of Creation beyond the physical body and realm of man, and must be embraced one step at a time. As with all spiritual sacraments ordained by God, the first requirement of marriage is that the relationship be planted upon the good ground prescribed by the Lord as found in the parable of the sower and the seed (Mt 13:1-23; Mk 4:1-34; Lk 8:4-15). The physical body is the alter upon which man meets with God -- and from the perspective of marriage, if the bodies of the man and woman are polluted by the defilements of this world, then the heavenly powers cannot consecrate and enter into the covenant-relationship.

Marriage, in and of itself, is an establishment of religion as defined in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States -- and once properly understood, should be protected from secular interference. What we fail to understand is the fact that the very essence of Paul’s doctrine of faith is established upon the concept of marriage -- i.e., that if the believer is truly faithful and in total subjection to the Christ, that flesh and spirit can be joined into One Abiding Reality.

Once properly understood as the foundational principle of genuine religion, the sacrament of marriage is synonymous with the teachings of Jesus with regard to walking in The Way. From the perspective of the Hebrew/Christian mystic, mankind is incomplete in his natural organic state -- and is enlightened though impregnation by the Holy Spirit, whereby every element of man’s search for God is envisioned in the marriage covenant-relationship. Man is therefore not reconciled to the Lord through the rituals and dead works of priests, but through the purity and faithfulness of one’s life through union with Christ.

Like all genuine establishments of religion, the validity and reality of a marriage is contingent upon a certain mindset and process working harmoniously together -- and when the process is devoid of the necessary mindset that is acceptable to God, the union cannot be ordained, regardless of the words or rituals of man. In this respect, even if from a physical perspective the bodies are pure in the manner of the good ground in the parable of the sower and the seed, without the mindset that enables the relationship to be the fertile ground that permits the union to grow and transcend the limitations of this world, the marriage will remain superficial. What this means is that it is not enough to live a good life from the perception of man -- one must live a life where the Holy Spirit can dwell in the life of the individual, in order for the child of truth to be born.

One of the great obstacles that confront us today is seen in the fact that the majority of modern people do not even perceive the very fundamental purpose of marriage. When it is written in the scriptures that God created Eve because "...for Adam there was not found an help meet for him" (Gen 2:20 KJV), Eve was not created to fulfill Adam’s sexual desires, bear his children, or make him comfortable in this world -- the pre-existent Eve was separated from Adam to enable him to discover and learn about himself, and through self-knowledge, ultimately find God. This could be accomplished because all of Creation is formed in accordance with a Divine Pattern. This pattern is found in the universe, as well as the smallest atomic substructure.

Mankind, who the Bible states literally dwells in the Mind of God, is immersed in the Divine Pattern of Creation. Yet, only woman is drawn from man’s own image, and together they are created in the likeness of God. When this great truth is comprehended, only then is man able to see that by understanding and manifesting the true spiritual potential and dynamics of the relationship of a genuine husband and wife, is man able to become Complete by interacting with the very forces of Creation that unite himself with his Creator and Source of Being. In this respect, our modern-day Darwinist perception of life where we falsely perceive man and woman as individuals has betrayed us -- strangled our powers of reason and intellect -- and has chained our lives to the dark prison-house of this realm of sorrow and pain.

Once properly understood, one should comprehend that the Bible is a marriage manual that was given to us by God. In each of the chapters of the Genesis account, what is being presented to us is the all-pervading reality of the two polarities of Creation -- i.e., heaven and earth, light and darkness, day and night, man and woman -- the third, triune force, is found in the product of where the two interact. When the man of wisdom sees this great fact, he recognizes that the essence of the forces of Creation are not only one and the same, but perceives that he has it within his ability to overcome one of these great divisions -- that of his severed male and female natures.

This ability to pierce beyond the historical facade of the scriptures in the endeavor to understand what lies beneath the surface of the text, is clearly seen in the portrayal of Job -- which begins with the statement of God to Satan: "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8 NIV). Satan then replies to God that Job is upright because he has been protected by God -- and he replies that if God was to "stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face" (Job 1:11 NIV). God then responds back to Satan: "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger" (Job 1:12 NIV).

The scriptures then relate how Satan left the presence of God and destroyed all that Job had in the world -- i.e., killing his sons, daughters and servants; carrying off his livestock, and destroying all that he had built. When Satan again came before God, and God again spoke of the righteousness of Job, Satan said: "Skin for skin! Satan replied. A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face" (Job 2:4-5 NIV). And to this God said: "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life. So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head" (Job 2:6-7 NIV).

The Bible then relates to us that at that point, all that Job had in the world had been destroyed -- his sons and daughters, servants, livestock and land -- and Job himself was so afflicted with sores that his body was in pain from the soles of his feet to his head. And yet, the inquiring reader should have noticed that there was still one thing that remained – i.e., Job’s wife -- and in the defective perception of the Gentile believer that was and is incapable of comprehending the soul and spirit of the Hebrew sacred writings, we can observe the great flaw in the thinking of the Roman Church with regard to the spiritual meaning of the scriptures. For Job 2:9, the Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament quotes St. Chrysostom and writes: "Why, asks Chrysostom, did the devil leave him this wife? Because he thought her a good scourge, by which to plague him more acutely than by any other means". Again, in the manner of Eve, we see the blame being placed upon woman -- and yet, his limited understanding goes beyond this one instance, and in the author’s own words we see that he is ignorant of the very meaning of the biblical relationship between Job and his wife -- and ultimately, man and woman.

What is being conveyed to us by the author of Job when we see that Satan could take everything from Job but his wife? From a biblical perspective, Satan could not take Job’s wife, because the two were one and the same -- not ritually, as we believe today -- but in the deeper spiritual sense, each represented a polarity of the One mind. If this was not the case then Job could never have been spoken of as being righteous.   More importantly, this dualism of being is a dominating factor within each and every one of us, and is represented in an uncountable number of ways that we fail to perceive -- i.e., the two hemispheres of our brain -- the two polarities of our sex organs as seen in two testis or ovaries -- two lungs, kidneys, sides of the heart, arms, legs, etc. Thus, even in our own body that is polarized either male or female, we can observe the Divine Pattern manifest even in the formation of that which is physical.

Once we begin to recognize our own divided nature, we are then able to perceive that when Job’s wife said, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9 NIV), these words are parallel to the New Testament verse where it is written: "Jesus turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men" (Matt 16:23 NIV).

If the modern Christian is to begin to embrace the higher knowledge and spiritual revelation they pray for in their churches, then they must endeavor to look beyond the surface and superficial meaning of both the scriptures and their own life. What am I stating?   It is not that the scriptures are an allegory -- meaning a myth or legend -- the problem is much greater than we can even conceive of.   Because every aspect of our lives holds a deeper meaning than what is physically observed, it is as if we are an allegory -- and it is the scriptures that provide us a picture of a higher form of reality. When this truth is better understood, we will then be in a position to recognize that these words attributed to Job represent a spiritual transformation. In this respect, both biblical instances must be perceived in the light of the inner conversion of the divided natures of the self -- i.e., Job and his feminine nature, and Jesus and the sphere of mind that was represented by Peter.

The very essence of what we call Satanism is founded in the division of the two forces of Creation. Once this fact is properly understood, it then can be recognized that from a biblical perspective, the unions (marriages) of this world that do not conform to the higher spiritual vision of God, are anti-marriages that are Satanically ordained. In our society today we hear of marriages where husband and/or wife are unfaithful -- open marriages where the husband and wife are free to seek other lovers -- wife swapping -- and even porn stars who claim to be married -- and these pseudo-marriages are viewed as genuine, merely because they are ordained by the government as being valid.

The requirements of God are that we must manifest what is consecrated and pure in our lives -- i.e., "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful" Rev 21:27 NIV). This requirement of consecrated purity is further demonstrated in the words: "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie" (Rev 22:14-15 NKJ).

These words are so universal, that they can be applied to every aspect of our lives. What they convey is the reality that, only those who live in accordance with the Truth and the Light of our Heavenly Father, will receive His blessings, and be permitted to enter into the Kingdom.   All the rest of mankind dwell outside the Presence of God -- i.e., what is portrayed in the scriptures as the outer darkness, hell, and the abyss of darkness and dispair.

The presence of Satan is found any time where there exists division between man’s spiritual, soul (mental), and physical natures -- as well as his feminine and masculine polarities. Contrary to Chrysostom’s very limited perception of the meaning of the scriptures, the devil did not leave Job’s wife alive so she could be a scourge and stumbling block to plague him -- but rather, in the greater vision of the spiritual meaning of the Bible, Satan could not kill her because, from a scriptural perspective, she represents a polarity of Job that must be brought into total harmony in order for Job to be complete. The inner spiritual conversion is represented in Job’s words when he rebuffed his wife: "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? In all this, Job did not sin in what he said" (Job 2:10 NIV).

That what is being portrayed in this biblical transformation, is observed in the symbolism of the scriptures where just after these words were spoken to Job’s wife, we then see the visitation of the Spirit in the presence of the three friends of Job who sat with him without moving or speaking for a period of seven days. Are we to believe the text literally -- i.e., that Job and his three friends sat without moving for a period of seven days?

Perhaps more than any other writing, the Book of Job is the epitome of what the Church Father Origen taught regarding the nature of scripture. Because we lack an understanding of the spiritual significance of the symbols, it is near impossible for the modern believer to comprehend the great truths that are being conveyed within the body of the narrative text of the Book of Job. Thus, the indwelling spiritual truths that the casual reader would routinely skim over, are in fact the most important elements in perceiving the higher meaning where the text reads: "And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east" (Job 1:2-3 KJV).

Until we begin to understand the significance of having seven sons -- three daughters -- seven thousand sheep -- three thousand camels -- five hundred yoke of oxen and she asses -- the visitation of three friends who sat without moving or speaking for seven days -- or being a man of the east where the sun rises -- we cannot even begin to understand the true spiritual meaning of what the author is attempting to convey to the reader.

The modern believer is continually turned out of The Way because we interpret the sacred writings in accordance with our mindset and culture. When it is pointed out that scripture possesses a language all its own -- written in the language of the soul -- we reject the word of knowledge, because we fail to comprehend the reason why God would institute such a system where spiritual understanding is beyond the limits of natural human understanding. In this we fool only ourselves -- in that, what is written in the scriptures is native to our souls and spirit -- whereas, our perception of what is written is in accordance with the language of our temporal culture. It is therefore only when we begin to reject carnal, human understanding, that we begin to perceive the true meaning of the Bible.

In this vision we can perceive the very heart of Paul’s message in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans where he writes that every man who ever existed had the ability to know God by searching out the essence and meaning of what is observed when we gaze upon the patterns of Creation. In our folly, we fail to see that everything we embrace in this life is a universal symbol of sacred truths that we must open our hearts and minds to.

One of the great problems that confront the Christian today is that we have given to Caesar what belongs only to God -- and, to our own demise, permitted government to rule over religious matters. When we allowed secular authorities to interpret and involve itself in the sacrament and covenant of marriage, we defiled the very core of religion. The result is that marriage has been stripped of its spiritual essence.   Secular government has succeeded in placing a very Darwinist spin on the concept of marriage -- thereby permitting God’s establishment of religion to become defiled -- rendering the very sacredness of the union, as well as man’s vision of religion itself, to become desecrated. Proof of this is seen in the fact that our children believe they can go to a secular magistrate to get married, and the union is then synonymous with what is spiritually ordained.

No doubt many people will be offended by this assertion. Yet, in a court of law a husband can no longer speak on his wife’s behalf because, by the law of man, they are considered two individuals who are licensed to co-habitat and live together. If the law of man rejects the concept that the two are one, and in its atheistic mindset does not even acknowledge that it is by the Power of God that the two are made One, then how is it that we would even imagine that God would ordain unions that were consecrated by the power of Caesar? The problem is that Caesar will declare any union to be a valid marriage, regardless of who the people are, or the lifestyle they embrace.

Our failure to comprehend the depths of marriage is in fact synonymous with our inability to realize the true nature of religion itself.   In a truly spiritual religion there is no sacrament other than marriage -- i.e., the universal pattern that merges the opposites into One, and gives birth to a reality that is greater than the sum of its original two parts. The disciple of the Light follows in the footsteps of the Lord, and walks in The Way, by breaking down his inner walls of division, and merging his own inner dimensions of opposite polarity. Like the union of a man and woman, this union is not philosophical, and can only be accomplished through the process of merging the two into One Unit.

One of the keys to understanding the Secrets of the Kingdom is possessed when we begin to recognize the absolute need to reverse the process of division in our lives. Everything that we experience conveys to us that division is synonymous with weakness -- thus, the saying, divide and conquer.

In the same way that in order to be a genuine wife, the woman must move only within the domain and sphere of her husband -- and the husband must be totally faithful to his wife -- so too must the natural organic mind of man move only within the dominion and sphere of it’s pre-existent soul. When this is accomplished, and the person who is physically manifest in this world is in total union and harmony with his soul -- which soul is his true self -- this undivided man must then go on to accomplish this same union with his spiritual nature. In this respect, it is for this reason that the genealogy of Jesus portrays three sequences of the number fourteen, with the third triad not yet complete from the literal perspective.

Once properly understood, it is for this reason -- i.e., the marriage of the soul and the spirit -- that the Apostle Paul ordains his doctrine of faith over works. The idea that God tests the heart to judge the faithfulness of man is seen in the words of Jesus: "You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt 5:27-28 NIV). In the same way that the requirements of a genuine marriage is already cast and defined in the Universal Laws of Creation, so too is the path to God. What the Apostle states is true -- and it is the desires of the heart that God tests, and not the words that he speaks. Mankind can invent all the ritual and ceremonial formalities he wants, and the validity of the union still remains in accordance with the Divine Decree that was Ordained when God brought all things into being.

In the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans the Apostle writes that man has the ability to look at the world in which we presently dwell and know God. The great truth that Paul set forth in his very first words of this Epistle, was that the Divine Pattern that exists throughout all of Creation, and Paul’s doctrine of faith, confirmed the absolute ability of mankind to procreate in mind and spirit. The spiritual Christian understood that the same pattern and design that is at work in the outer world, is also present in the inner world -- and when the opposites within oneself interact in the manner that these opposite polarities interact in the outer world, the result is that man becomes fruitful and multiplies with respect to his soul and spiritual natures.

In the same way that the laws of Creation and the Divine Plan of God has put everything in place with regard to the fruitfulness of the union of man and woman, the Apostle is correct – i.e., everything we need is already manifest for us -- we need not invent anything -- rituals and dead works will not merge the two opposite polarities into One -- and all we need to do is become the faithful spouse of our soul.  In a traditional marriage where the wife is the center of the home, she does not go out and get a job to help with the mortgage payments and the purchase of furniture, appliances and clothes. With good reason, in a traditional marriage, she takes only what her husband provides -- rearing and caring for the offspring of the union -- manifesting the family unity and culture.

Only when we begin to understand the role of husband and wife in the traditional sense, can our own role with regard to building a dwelling place for our soul be more easily accomplished and understood. The works of the spirit that the Apostle makes reference to and ordains as an absolutely necessary ingredient to the covenant spiritual union, would be seen in the same light as the role of a wife to her husband in the maintaining of a faithful relationship and the building of a fit and proper dwelling place for her spouse.

That the first step of walking in The Way is to know thyself, is seen in the affirmation of Jesus that a divided house cannot stand. The fact that the pre-existent soul is manifest in a spiritual realm beyond the three dimensions of this world, is the primary reason that Jesus taught the absolute need for spiritual purity. In the genuine religion of Jesus, the first marriage was the union of the natural man to his pre-existent soul -- the second was the soul-man to his spiritual nature -- and the third was the Anointed Spiritual Man to the Eternal Father-God. In this respect, all steps to walking in The Way is accomplished through the sacrament of marriage -- which sacrament is the very essence of a spiritual religion.

That we have lost our way, and have been severed from our spiritual nature, is demonstrated in our affirmation of secular ordained marriages. When Jesus said of the mystical bond between husband and wife: "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matt 19:6 NKJ) -- the idea that Caesar and the governments of this world has the God-given power to ordain a sacred union that can only be affirmed and consecrated in heaven, by God -- or that man can even make the rules and set the limits of what is joined together by God -- is simply irrational from a spiritual perspective.  Moreover, how can a government or group of people who cling to a Darwinist and Atheistic perception of Creation -- thereby denying and obstructing the all-pervading Heavenly Powers of God -- even expect that God will ordain and consecrate the decrees of carnal man?

The idea that man and woman can be joined together as one flesh through the mere formality of words, spoken by a person deriving their power from a government of this world, without the ordination of the union in spiritual realms, is simply incomprehensible from a biblical perspective. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6 KJV), proclaims the Lord. Thus, the self-ordained governments of this world take upon themselves the power to license the cohabitation of the people of this world, but that secular license and ordination does not invoke the powers of the heavens.

At its essence, a genuine marriage is a mystical spiritual experience that is a profound sacrament in the worship and union with God. I am of course not speaking of the common marriage that amounts to little more than an alliance of domestic partners and secular licensed cohabitation and sex -- but rather, a spiritual marriage where the energies of the husband and wife intertwine on all levels of their being -- flowing so harmoniously together, that the two are of a single mind and spirit. In the area of religious importance, the union of man and woman is so significant, that from a biblical perspective, men of wisdom will immediately recognize that the very first words reportedly spoken by man was with respect to the importance of man and woman again becoming one flesh -- as seen in the words of Adam: "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Gen 2:23-24 KJV).

That woman is reflective, and taken from man, is seen in the Barnes’ Notes commentary for Genesis 2:23, where it states with regard to Adam’s words pertaining to Eve: "To this counterpart of myself shall be called woman; the word in the original being a feminine form of man, to which we have no exact equivalent, though the word woman (womb-man, or wife-man), proves our word man to have been originally of the common gender. Because out of a man was she taken; being taken out of a man, she is human; and being a perfect individual, she is a female man".

As with the greater majority of Hebrew words, we do not have an English equivalent that would convey the meaning of what is truly being expressed by the author of the scriptures. Contrary to our culture today where woman is viewed as independent of man, this is not the case in the Bible -- which in essence reflects God’s perspective. Strong’s Concordance in fact defines one of the root lineages of the word that we translate woman, as an adulteress -- with the comment in Strong’s that it is one of those root lines that are unexpressed in the English language. Why? Why would one of the root variants that color the word woman, convey the thought of adultery? Only when we begin to understand the Divine vision that woman is, and always will be, an integral part of man -- and the concept of separation and division is seen as a fault -- can we begin to comprehend that in their spiritual state the two are truly One and the same -- and remain as such. This ultimate spiritual reality is made reference to by Origen when he wrote: "But now also every power that is hostile, which gains the mastery over the human soul, and has intercourse with it, commits adultery with her who had a bridegroom given to her by God, namely, the Word" (Commentaries of Origen, Book 12, 4; Ante-Nicene Fathers).

Again, to revisit this all-important concept which is found in all the early Christian writings and was removed from our own Bibles, the Second Epistle of Clement, which can be found in the Ante-Nicene Library reads: "Let us expect, therefore, hour by hour, the kingdom of God in love and righteousness, since we know not the day of the appearing of God. For the Lord Himself, being asked by one when His kingdom would come, replied, ‘When two shall be one, that which is without as that which is within, and the male with the female, neither male nor female’.

In this primary vision wherein the division of the opposite polarities of Creation are overcome and merged, lies the answer to every dilemma and obstacle that confronts mankind in his quest to know God. When the two polarities are possessed by a common mind and spirit, division no longer exists -- and when the separated man and woman no longer exists, the very first words of Adam are fulfilled.

Once properly understood in its all encompassing vision of reality, in these words are the foundation of all biblical theology and the essence of the teachings of what Jesus revealed to his faithful disciples. In your prayers and supplications you say you desire to know the Mysteries of God that are declared as Sacred Secrets throughout the New Testament? Then begin by learning the genuine meaning of a true spiritual marriage. Only when man begins to recognize his own divided and fragmentary nature, and perceives the absolute need to harmonize and merge his own detached self, can he even begin to possess a genuine vision of Truth and Reality.

When we mature spiritually, and begin to look beyond a superficial perception of the scriptures, and embrace the greater vision of reality that was manifest in the wisdom of the Hebrew and Christian saints and wise-men, we begin to see the Creation account from an entirely different perspective. Like us, in relation to our pre-existent soul, Eve was not created, but rather she was drawn from the very essence of Adam. Knowledge of this fact explains the great vision upon which the doctrine of faith that was preached to the Gentiles by Paul rests -- i.e., that we do not have to perform external works, but rather make ourselves the faithful spouse for our pre-existent soul and spiritual natures to indwell.

From our very limited Darwinist perspective of the scriptures, Adam is Adam is Adam. Yet, this was not the case when our present copy of Genesis was originally authored many thousands of years ago. If we could see the scriptures in their original form, we would perceive that the word Adam -- which is a universal word meaning man, or mankind -- was composed or spelled with a different variation prior to the forming of Eve from his rib. From the multidimensional perspective of the Bible, one of the great truths that is being conveyed here is that the pre-existent Eve was separated from Adam, in order to permit her interaction from a different sphere of consciousness.

The problem is that when we open the Bible, few of us are prepared to embrace the great vision of Truth that is contained therein. Being of a carnal mind -- imbued with the very limited cultural thinking of the society in which we dwell, we possess very little in the way of experience that would equip us for the fact that we are gazing into a Divine Oracle that contains the revelation of the Spiritual Mind -- and what we are beholding is the writings of mystics who were not bound by a three-dimensional level of reasoning. What that means is the believer perceives very little of what is written -- while the critic and unbeliever -- those who open the pages of the Bible and see error and fault without seeking out the deeper revelation of the Spirit, are self-condemned by their own intellectual failure. The Bible is a Spiritual Book -- and the holy men who wrote our scriptures place far less significance on the people and events that carnal man perceives in a very straightforward manner of reading the text. What appears to us as a normal human encounter, contains great meaning that is beyond our ability to envision on a three-dimensional level.

The Bible is written to open our minds to the higher reality of mankind. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to confront our straightforward ideas of life, and provoke us to think, imagine, and entertain possibilities that are beyond our normal state of reasoning. Those who believe without question, and those who question without understanding, are equally blinded by the seals and symbols that have been intentionally incorporated into the body of the sacred texts. As the Church Father Origen warned us, the Holy Spirit inserted roadblocks in the literal word -- roadblocks that inhibit both blind acceptance and unenlightened critique -- and in recognition of this great fact, Origen taught that: "Scripture contains an unhistorical element in woven with the history, in order that the worthlessness of the latter may drive us to seek the spiritual meaning" (Origen; The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics).

The holy man who endeavored to walk in The Way learned the sacredness of all things that are created are in accordance with the Divine Pattern of our Creator God. In their elevated vision of reality they saw the existence of the One Universal Force (the Alpha {Rev 22:13}) that moves out into Creation in a threefold manner to explore Itself, and manifest all that can be. The holy man learns that all of Creation is moving towards a greater destiny -- and this destiny is perceived in the Oneness of the Omega -- i.e., "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city" (Rev 22:13-14 KJV). In the same way that the genetic pattern of man insures that a child will follow in accordance with the heritage of its parents, so too is all of Creation imbued with the form of the Universal Forces of Creation. The Ancients understood this great Truth -- we do not!

The Apostle writes that everything that is written in the scriptures is a "a shadow of the things that were to come" (Col 2:17 NIV) -- and confirms that everything in the Bible is in accordance with a Divine Pattern, as seen in the words: "They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary; for when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, See that you make everything according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain" (Heb 8:5 RSV).

When the Apostle wrote to the Church at Corinth that "I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready" (1 Cor 3:2 NIV), what he was stating is that the testimony of Jesus and the religious tenants of the New Covenant were a pattern that the disciple must embrace in order to become manifest in the Omega -- as seen in the words where the Apostle writes that Jesus is "a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life" (1 Tim 1:16 NKJ). What is also clear is that only the disciple -- those sincere believers who become the faithful spouse -- who are in total subjection to the Word, and have surrendered all in the pursuit of Truth and Light -- can receive the true revelation of the scriptures.

When the Apostle wrote that "in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28 KJV), he conveyed to us that we not only dwell within the Mind of God, but that we are thoroughly immersed within the Divine Pattern of Creation. In the same way that our children are our genetic offspring, so too is every aspect of Creation in accordance with the Genetics of the Creative Force that moves throughout everything that ever was, is, or will be. In this respect, every page of the Bible is redundant -- there is no theme other than the Alpha and Omega -- the One, the Three, and the One. This pattern is conveyed in the Alpha-Adam, in which Adam and Eve exist as one unit -- which was then brought forth as the manifestation of the two Great Polarities of Creation -- whereby the Third Force is observed as a state of Mind within which the two interact. Once this is understood, we then perceive the Omega-Destiny portrayed in the words of Adam: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Gen 2:24 KJV).

The scriptures, being multi-dynamic and multidimensional, intertwines Universal Truths within the body of the text that is used to instruct the people of the simple faith. The more they embrace and make the biblical symbols an integral part of their lives, the more they spiritually grow and mature -- until which time they become transformed into the Children of the Most High.

The critic and unbeliever, on the other hand, is simply left to his own devices -- whereby, he spends his life sifting through the fragments of truth that are detached from the greater revelation of Creation. This fact is best understood in the words of Jesus where it is written: "A woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. First let the children eat all they want, he told her, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs. Yes, Lord, she replied, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs. Then he told her, For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter. She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone" (Mark 7:25-30 NIV).

The children are those who have turned about from the ways of this world, and have embraced The Way of the Light. It is the children -- the disciples -- who eat at the Table of the Lord. Neither the carnal Jews, the Gentiles, or the people of the simple faith who do not live in accordance with the Commandments, can take their place at the Table of the Lord. They are referred to as dogs because of their unfaithful ways.

In the scriptures, knowledge is often portrayed as food -- where physical food is necessary for the sustenance of the body, knowledge is necessary for the sustenance of the mind and spirit. It is only when this relationship between knowledge and food is realized, that the words of Jesus can be understood with respect to dogs -- in that, dogs are not discerning, and it is their nature to take food from the hand of anyone who will feed them. We can easily see this fact demonstrated in our own lives. We send our children to government schools where they become imbued with a Darwinist perception of life. We send them to churches where they learn manmade doctrine and dogma. We permit them to spend an exorbitant amount of time being programmed by the cultural gods of our society on the television. From their peers they learn to idolize rock stars, moral and sexual deviates, drugs, violence and ungodly persons. Thus, regardless of whether they call themselves Christian, they are not being reared upon the precepts of the Gospel.

From a scriptural perspective, as our children become immersed in the culture of sensuality, immorality and excess, we have sacrificed them to the god of this world, and made them strangers to both themselves, as well as the Light of their spiritual nature. As they mature, even if they realize the error of what has been taught to them and turn to religion, their minds are simply not prepared to embrace the Light of the Spirit. Having been defiled by the culture and thinking of this realm, they are not prepared to enter into a spiritual marriage with either another person, their soul, or God. Because they remain attached to the culture of this world, they cannot comprehend the Mysteries of the Kingdom and the revelation of the Gospel of God, and the words of Jesus are applicable to them when he said: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces" (Matt 7:6 NIV).

When Jesus said that "…it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs" -- and the woman replied: "Yes, Lord, she replied, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs..." (Mark 7:25-30 NIV), he was saying nothing different than when the Apostle told the confirmed and baptized believers at Corinth: "I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready" (1 Cor 3:2 NIV). Why can the carnal man only receive the crumbs and milk of the Gospel? Because the "…natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor 2:14 KJV). When it is realized that these words were spoken to baptized and confirmed believers who were "in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge--even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you--so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift" (1 Cor 1:5-7 RSV), we must recognize the importance of evaluating what we believe today in our endeavor to embrace the higher truth of the Gospel.

In reading these words, the people of the simple faith should be in awe. Before creating firm doctrines of belief based upon a human perception of the scriptures, they should take to heart the words of the Apostle when he conveyed to the reader that when he was permitted to gaze beyond the natural barriers of this world, and see into the heavenly paradise, he "...heard things so astounding that they are beyond a man’s power to describe or put in words (and anyway I am not allowed to tell them to others)" (2 Cor 12:1-4 TLB). Why? Because the Bread of Life can only be given to the Children of the Kingdom.

The people of the simple faith are not prepared to understand "…things so astounding that they are beyond a man’s power to describe or put in words". Because their reasoning and thinking has not been prepared to perceive mysteries that are so astounding to the mind of natural man -- and cannot even be envisioned by the person of a carnal mindset -- the people of the simple faith are provided with a series of sacred symbols that possess the form and pattern of the Mysteries of God. Moreover, these sacred symbols are drawn from the most sacred symbols of all -- i.e., the very male and female bodies in which the soul of man presently dwells.

To the person of genuine wisdom, religion is the science of life that enlightens his reasoning to every far-reaching Truth that he can behold. Once it is recognized that we dwell in the very Mind of God, and that even the minutest element and experience in this life is a symbol of a great truth that exists in higher spiritual consciousness -- conveying to us a revelation directly from our Heavenly Father -- we begin to feed upon the True Bread of Life, and begin to see the all-consuming message in the words: "And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope 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, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’" (Acts 17:26-28 NKJ). The Bible does not state that we must die to find God! Neither does it say we must learn the Gospel message from a priest! Understanding is not bestowed upon those who learn their philosophy from worldly teachers in the schools and universities of this realm! What the Bible states is that when we begin to grope for Him, and permit ourselves to become enlightened to the deeper meaning of the very life we live, we will find Him -- for we are the Offspring of our Heavenly Father.

When it is said that "...it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs" -- in this statement there is no question with regard to the fact that Jesus was not all-inclusive, as we attempt to portray him in our feel-good accept-all churches today. What Jesus said was that in the vision of God there are standards -- standards of behavior -- standards of living -- standards of an acceptable mindset. The fact that God loves all of His Children has absolutely nothing to do with the standards that Jesus spoke of.

What is very clear is that the bread of the Kingdom belongs only to the children (of Israel), and not to those who fail to live in accordance with the Standards and Commandments of the Lord. And who are the children of Israel? Neither the sectarian Jews, nor the people of the Nations. Yet, in this instance we see that because the woman demonstrated a humble and contrite heart, and said: "Yes, Lord, she replied, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs..." (Mark 7:25-30 NIV), we see the Lord reach out a hand to her.

In many respects the modern church is very much as this woman. The present-day believer attempts to call upon the Lord to reach out to them -- and they can often feel his presence in their lives -- but because they do not live in accordance with spiritual standards and the Commandments of the Father, and are not the children of the Kingdom, they are only capable of a very casual relationship with the Son of God.

More than anything else, what is demonstrated in these words spoken by Jesus to the Greek woman not only represents at least two levels of knowledge -- one level for those who sat at the table, and a lesser level given to those people who were spoken of as dogs -- but from our perspective today, it is important that we recognize that Jesus is very much speaking about the manner in which we must acquire knowledge in our present time. Like many of the people who call themselves Christian today, the woman had called upon the name of the Lord -- but because of the manner in which she lived, she was not worthy to receive the nourishment of the spirit directly from the table where only the children of the Kingdom can sit. Jesus was not all-inclusive, as we preach today, and this fact is plainly taught when he commanded his disciples "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces" (Matt 7:6 NIV).

What is clear is that only those who are themselves spiritual -- those referred to as the children -- can receive the Sacred Knowledge of the Kingdom. The crumbs not only represent what is second hand -- in that it was not acquired directly from the One Source, and has fallen from the table -- but also it is in a very fragmentary form. It is perhaps this fact -- i.e., that each one of us possesses a fragment of truth, which is in part responsible for our spiritual demise as seen when we attempt to live our lives under the illusion -- and perhaps delusion -- that we possess The Truth. What this means is that, because mankind uses so little of his potential of mind, he clings to crumbs, and falsely believes that he possesses the whole loaf of bread.

The secret to receiving All of the Truth, is to become the faithful spouse to the Bridegroom who speaks to us from within. What the enlightened Christian proclaims is that, so long as we remain disconnected from the Source of Truth within us, and do nothing to overcome the limitations of this three-dimensional realm upon our minds, all the doctrines and solutions that we create will continue to be in error. Thus, the reality of the words of the Apostle: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’ 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 1:18-20 NIV).

What the Apostle was conveying was that the scholar or philosopher who attempts to contemplate and explain the mysteries of Creation from a three-dimensional perspective, in the manner of Darwin, has been seduced into embracing the foolishness of the wisdom of this world. The message of the cross -- which represents the transformation of the flesh into a truly spiritual being -- is the only way that one can overcome and transcend the natural barrier of this realm that removes what is described by Jesus as the great obstruction that is inherently in the eyes of natural man -- i.e., "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" (Matt 7:3 NIV).

The problem is that the people of the Nations cannot sit at the table and partake of the loaf. Why? Because, in the manner of an adulterer, they are not capable of entering into a true spiritual marriage. They cling to the wisdom of the scholars and philosophers of this world. They embrace the culture and traditions of their society. In every way, they are very much the children of this world -- and, being children of this world, their natures are divided. Like the man who lusts after other women, his marriage to his wife is superficial and lacking any spiritual validity. Being superficial, it is not a union of One Flesh -- and though it is called a marriage by those who do not know any better, it is not!  Thus, it is for this reason that Jesus said that many will call upon the name of the Lord in vain, and he will say to them: I knew them not!

Because they are incapable of entering into a genuine marriage with the Lord, the people of the nations cannot even embrace the crumbs of knowledge that fall from the Lord’s Table. Being like dogs that consume the fragmentary philosophy of this world, they embrace any opinion that is taught to them. They neither understand the Alpha -- the true spiritual origin of man -- and they have very little perception of the Omega -- the destiny of mankind. Being spiritually unclean and unprepared to take their place at the Table of the Lord, they live a lifestyle driven by sensual and carnal desire that is devoid of the element of Godliness, or self-restraint. Their god is their belly -- their desires of the flesh -- and they live their lives without restraint or standards. They therefore create their own god -- a god that condones the manner in which they live -- a god who forgives their lifestyle. God is love, they proclaim, so lets love everyone -- i.e., which equates to unrestrained sex between men and women, men and men, and women and women, and sometimes everything else they can engage. The result is that their vision of both the scriptures, and life itself, is carnal, and very limited in its perception.

It is important for us to recognize the uniformity of thought with regard to the fact that all the religions and philosophies of the world are founded upon various systems which embrace a doctrine of opposing dualism. That the ancient wisdom universally perceived these two dynamic forces of creation as being positively and negatively charged in relation to each other -- and these forces are manifest in the form of light and darkness, male and female, active and passive, heaven and earth, yes and no, right and wrong -- is an integral element of life that we cannot escape. From a fundamental religious perspective, it is also seen that man’s demise in a biblical sense, is seen in his inability to bring these two dynamic Forces of Creation together in his own life.

In scripture, these two universal forces are portrayed to the mind of the reader in the most practical application that can be established, and are continually represented as men and women -- embracing a multidimensional revelation -- with the more spiritual message being conveyed in things such as names, numbers, group relationships, political positions, and an endless array of characterizations in an attempt to open the minds of the people in search of higher truth. Men of wisdom, then, understand this fact, and they have long recognized that the textual body of the scriptures cannot be limited to the carnal and very limited perception of actual historical people.

The fundamentalist who reads the Bible in a very literal fashion will of course question why these two universal forces are portrayed in this manner? The reason is twofold: Regardless of the level of creation we are exploring, we will be continually confronted with these two dynamic forces at work that we perceive as male and female in relation to each other -- and in mankind, every element and form that these two dynamic forces can possibly take, are universally manifest in the life of men and women.

In our world, men and women present to our physical senses a materialized form that manifests a multidimensional understanding of the Divine Pattern of Creation. The fact that everything which is brought into being in this world is through the interaction of these two forces of male and female, is also true on every level, dimension and realm throughout all of Creation. The concept of procreation exists on all levels of our being -- and this Divine Power can be used either to our benefit, or destruction.

What this means to us is the greater our knowledge and understanding of the dynamic relationship between men and women -- husband and wife -- the greater our preparedness to embrace the dynamics of Creation. The problem is this very intimate knowledge must be firsthand -- i.e., it cannot be embraced philosophically, or through a casual relationship -- but only when we are able to enter into a consecrated relationship between husband and wife. It is not enough to know that men and women see the world differently -- react to the world differently -- and think about the world differently -- we must know and appreciate these differences, and be very respectful of the differences, in order to connect with that part of ourselves that perceives and responds to that polarized vision of reality.

It is only when we are able to perceive, understand, and embrace the differences between men and women -- without seeing fault, or attempting to alter or suppress those integral differences, that we can begin to develop a greater reality within and without ourselves. Perhaps the key to understanding is seen in the creation of a child where new life is born from the total harmony and merging of the male and female generative essence. The truth that is conveyed is that the two not only remain the same, but actually become fuller when they focus their energies and purpose of being on the life of the child which is born from the union of the two.

In the same way that a child is conceived and born by the union of the two, this same power of procreation is brought about in both mind and spirit. Any time that we cling to a parochial perception of life, we inhibit our own growth and alienate ourselves from our pre-existent soul -- thereby orchestrating our own demise. We fail to realize this great truth because we align ourselves with a Darwinist perception of life -- whereby we see ourselves in accordance with the body-vessel that we are presently inhabiting, rather than seeing ourselves on a much more universal level of being. If our soul is the accumulation of all our experiences of life from the dawn of time -- and dwells in a realm where it sees and knows all things that transpire in the life we are presently living -- and is not limited by the temporal polarities of this world -- i.e., is neither male nor female -- is not race specific -- is not liberal or conservative -- does not ascribe to any of the (manmade) religions -- does not align itself to the political positions of any party, movement, country, school of thought, or philosophy of this world -- and only embraces the essence of truth wherever and in whatever form it manifests -- then each of us must recognize the great anchor that we have permitted ourselves to become chained to in our present-day attachments to the cultural and political expressions of this life.

If it is true that our soul possesses all the forces of this world brought into an abiding harmony at the level of all of our past-life experiences, then in order to undergo the rebirth that Jesus said was absolutely necessary in order for us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, we must begin the process of growing and expanding our carnal self into a being that is difficult for us to envision in our present natural state of physical existence. What this means is that our whole manner of modern-day thinking -- our adoption of a centralized government that embraces a form of social-democracy -- our attempt to see things from the perspective of our own vision of right and wrong -- our educational systems that attempt to harmonize the thinking of our society -- the presence of our all-pervading media which attempts to polarize the vision and reasoning of the viewer through a very censored presentation of the facts -- is responsible for the chaos and downfall of the people.

Human diversity is important, and whenever we attempt to censor, stamp-out and suppress our differences, we hurt ourselves. This is especially true with respect to men and women -- where, in a perfect marriage the harmony of husband and wife is brought about by a number of key factors. Each not only has to understand the value and purpose of their own biological role as it expresses itself throughout every aspect of family life, but each must possess a greater vision of what the other person brings to the family relationship. Any attempt to harmonize, negate, or make less the role of the other partner, undermines the potential of the whole. It is therefore imperative for us to recognize that men and women not only perceive, think, and react to every element of life differently, the person of true wisdom will see that in many instances their minds actually function in reverse of each other. The problem is that higher reality is not found when we suppress these integral differences -- but rather, when we foster them, nurture them, and develop them into a greater expression.

The wisdom of the ancients succeeded where we have failed because they recognized that each and every aspect of life was not only sacred, but was necessary for the uplifting and enlightenment of the whole. This balance and harmony that celebrates the differences, begins with the individual, the family, and extends into the community. If we are fortunate to live in an enlightened time, then we will dwell in a society that is made up of many such spiritually illuminated communities that are working harmoniously together to bring about the glory of God.

In the same way that the Bible is a gift from God to mankind, what most Americans fail to realize is that the same can be said with respect to the formation of the United States -- which was a total departure from anything this brute world had ever known in recorded history. Moreover, in the creation of the United States, there was a separation of church and state, only because the founding principles were themselves the very essence of religion itself. Separation of church and state was written into our Constitution because, in the manner of the original teachings of The Way, our form of government was in and of itself intended to be a genuine expression of religion.

Going one step further, what we as a people fail to realize is that it was the same group of souls who lived during biblical times when the Lord Jesus physically walked the earth, that again re-entered the world in order to form a government and society that would bring New Covenant values and teachings into the darkness of this world.   Why?   Why was the creation of our Constitutional form of government necessary?   In order that mankind might be able to once again gaze upon the Truth of the Genuine New Covenant. The problem is that, like the very teachings of the Lord, the founding principles of both church and state have been undermined by the same forces of darkness that rules the hearts of carnal men.

Political leaders -- whether secular or non-secular -- always attempt to dictate and homogenize the thinking and lives of those they attempt to rule over. The wise men who inaugurated the documents and political structure upon which the United States was founded, perceived this great flaw in the thinking of carnal man, and orchestrated a form of government that would empower the people to overcome these congenital faults that was the cause of suffering and despair the world over since the very dawn of time itself. In their enlightened vision of reality they knew that it was not the upper spheres of government power that needed to be protected, but rather the lower. In reverse order they created a system of rule that empowered the individual to live and dwell in harmony with his own self and his god or God, and made the forces of government his servant.

Perhaps one of the finest examples of a Court ruling with respect to the original intent of the Constitution is found in the words: "The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the virissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as Legal Principles to be applied by the courts" (West Virginia State Board of Education vs Burnette 319 US 624, 638, [1943]). What this ultimately means is that an enlightened society must be ready to support and insure the needs and the rights of the individual, without infringing upon the needs and the rights of any other individual -- being very mindful that at any time the needs and rights of any one individual is suppressed, then the needs and the rights of the whole is also suppressed.

We cannot even begin to formalize and lay down the structure of a culture that has positioned itself to embrace this elevated mindset, without first acknowledging that such an undertaking would be a most difficult thing for mankind to accomplish. In our society we have been reared from the perspective of right and wrong -- and if we are to raise ourselves above the inherent failures of man’s past, it is our own vision of the world that must be altered.

Putting such issues as sex and compatibility aside for a moment, most successful marriages are based upon a heightened level of communication and respect between the husband and wife -- who each understand their own limits and strengths in relation to their spouse. Now if we take these factors and add to it the element of compatibility and a satisfying sex life, what we have is a model marriage by human standards. Yet, human standards are only the beginning of man’s true potential that is our destiny to realize and embrace. To go beyond this level that society would epitomize and exalt, it is necessary for the parties to comprehend and understand the reasons why each of them are different than their partner from an emotional, mental and spiritual perspective. The ability to accept and successfully work within the limitations and strengths of the differences between the two is only the beginning – i.e., in order to embrace the reality where the child of higher truth is conceived, born, nurtured and matured, we must understand the design and structure of the relationship -- and then apply this knowledge to every aspect of our life.

It is truly an example of highly manifest humanistic qualities when one man fights for the rights of another to live and be free, but unless we understand the reasons why men are different, the struggle will continue, and we will be confronted by defeat. It was good that white men and women shed their blood and gave their very lives to secure the freedom of the black man -- and yet, racial antagonism and strife continues even into our present day. Why? Why does no amount of civil rights laws, judicial resolutions, forced integration, and social mind programming in our nations schools, have so little effect on society? The answer can only be found when we search out the reason why both black and white high school kids, in a balanced and integrated school environment where neither race has the numerical upper hand, continue to associate with their own kind. Why black and white children who are close friends, drift apart in the higher grades to be with their own kind. Perhaps the true problem is that we are obstinate, and refuse to admit that regardless of our good intentions, we do not possess an answer to the dilemma!

It is not until we understand the reason we entered into this life as a male or female -- a particular race -- or the reason our circumstances of life has brought about a certain manner of thinking and mindset -- and we begin to comprehend the essential role we are playing on the stage of life -- and in like manner, we are able to grasp the necessity of the role in life that is being played by everyone else -- that we are able to rise above the limitations of this world, and embrace the vision of the gods.

A husband or wife that is a true partner in the relationship, never seeks to dominate the other. The weaknesses and limitations of their spouse are never exploited and seen as something to either take advantage of, or use as a weapon -- but rather, a place where their is a greater need and opening into the life of a loved one. When we are able to lovingly fill the gaps in the life of our spouse, to the degree where we transform the negatives into positives, we have in essence begun to open the door to our own higher reality.

So long as we continue along our present-day path, and embrace the philosophy that we are all the same, and it is only our gender and biological heritage that causes us to appear different -- without acknowledging the fact that physical differences are the result of deeper mental and spiritual causes, we can never truly usher in an enlightened culture where all people are free to be the person they truly are.

Where the majority of people who call themselves Christian place such great emphasis on the manner in which they believe the Son of God was born and died, these things pale in comparison to the great Truths that he placed into the hands of mankind. To the Golden Rule of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you", perhaps we should add that when you limit others, those same limitations will be placed upon you – and when you judge others, that same judgment will be used against you -- and, in the immortal words of Barry Goldwater: "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!". Complacency is that condition when we close our eyes, hearts and minds to evil, then our own complacency will be brought back upon us in the future.

We learn to develop the qualities of a mature spiritual soul that would be the envy of any holy man, not in a monastery, but in the family environment. We put them into practice with our husband or wife -- we teach them to our children -- and we preach them to our community in the manner in which we live our daily lives -- i.e. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt 5:16 NAS).

As we begin to build upon the Word and perfect our marriage and family, and begin to seek the knowledge of the mysteries, all that we have incorporated in our life can then be used to merge our consciousness with first our own pre-existent soul -- then our spiritual nature -- and ultimately our Source of Being, our Eternal Father-God. The secret, then, to our realization of our true spiritual reality, is to become very cognizant of the fact that in our world, these Divine Forces of Creation are manifest in the form of men and women for a higher purpose -- in order that we can mature, and intimately embrace the Forces of God in our lives.

The problem is that in our very limited vision of both life and the scriptures, we embrace a very superficial perception of what we see, and we fail to perceive the forces of Creation at work. In the same way that no part of God is evil, we must recognize the truth that neither is either of the two polarities of Creation evil, and yet there is the appearance of evil that few of us understand the cause of that we can easily observe at work in the world. The essence of New Covenant teachings -- which teachings are found throughout the Old Testament scriptures in a very symbolic form -- is that it is the division and unfaithfulness of the sexes that is evil -- and this division and separation is often portrayed as Satanic.

In his blindness, man confines himself to hell whenever he restricts his vision of himself to his present very limited physical form, and then embraces a very parochial opinion in an attempt to explain away the defective vision of what he sees. Darwin did this when he rejected man’s spiritual nature, and attempted to trace his origins to a purely physical reality. Calvin, Luther and Augustine fell into the same heresy as Darwin when they attempted to blame the sinful condition of mankind on woman -- i.e., quoting Luther: "God created Adam master and lord of living creatures, but Eve spoilt all, when she persuaded him to set himself above God’s will. Tis you women, with your tricks and artifices, that lead men into error" (Quoted in: The Great Thoughts; compiled by George Seldes). If we are to again build a ladder to man’s higher spiritual reality, then we must recognize that if Luther was this ignorant with regard to the very fundamentals of God’s dynamic forces of Creation, then everything he built upon his doctrinal foundations remain just as incomplete to this very day.

If we are to begin to embrace higher truth, then we must initiate the process by understanding more of what we see, and start to envision and appreciate the superiority of God’s Word that we behold in the design of Creation. When men such as Luther, Calvin, and Augustine blame women for the fall of man, they are merely expressing their own ignorance. When we embrace the ignorance of other men -- i.e., their opinions based upon a three-dimensional perspective -- their secular philosophies -- their manmade religious doctrines -- then we destine ourselves to the abyss of darkness.

God does not create evil -- and the disciple of the Light must understand that there is a reason for all things.   Evil, then, is very much in the eye of the beholder. In the same way that Luther blamed woman for being seduced by the serpent and causing the fall of mankind, we can observe this same very limited scope of vision when women attempt to blame all violence and negative aggression in the world on men, in the manner of the modern feminist. Likewise, it is easy for black men to blame the white race for their present station in life, and it is just as easy for white men to attribute the faults of present-day society on their perception of black, Asian, or some other variation of mankind that they are able to culturally disassociate themselves from.

Truth is uncovered and set before us to gaze upon -- and can be received when we begin to open our minds to the higher reality of what we see. When man has matured enough to begin to embrace the higher revelation of the Bible, only then will he become very conscious of the Divine Order of what is being presented. Looking beyond the superficial, he will observe that when placed in their level of importance, the very first words of man that are reported in the scriptures conveys to the reader the absolute need to overcome the separation and division of the two dynamic forces of Creation. As their spiritual eyes open, they will behold the reality in the second statement by man (Eve) which conveys the reason for all error -- all sin -- and all darkness and ignorance in the world. Men of wisdom will also relate this second set of words that are reportedly spoken by man (Eve), to the same concept that is impressed upon the mind of the reader by the fact that among the six days of the sequence of creation that is reported in the first chapter of Genesis, the second day is the only day that God did not call good.

For those who possess the spiritual eyes to see beyond the body of the text of the scriptures, they will perceive the pattern that begins on the very first day of creation where the Light came into existence -- thus, one of the primary messages is that Oneness brings Light. On the second day -- which was the only day that was not ordained as being good in the vision of God -- we see the division of heaven with some other unnamed realm that is not defined -- and we have the message conveyed that division is the cause of evil. On the third day we see the creation of the earth with the separation of the waters and the dry land. Again, for those who possess the spiritual eyes to see, we are introduced to the reality of the fruit that is brought forth from this third place that is neither in heaven or the unnamed realm, and this fruit is spoken of as "...the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself" (Gen 1:12 KJV).

Where the carnal reader skims over the body of the text without looking within the symbolic language, the disciple in search of the Wisdom of God heeds the profoundness of the statement regarding the relationship between the fruit and the seed -- or source -- and that this Source is within itself. Only when this great Truth is rightly understood, will we begin to perceive the words of Jesus when he said that the Kingdom can never come upon the earth -- but rather, it is within us (Luke 17:20-21).

These are ultra important spiritual concepts that the people of the simple faith pay little attention to because, in the manner of the teachers of the law, they skim over the words of the scriptures in search of something that confirms their doctrines of belief. Instead of perceiving the deeper wisdom, they dwell on the downstream effect of division, rather than the reason for division -- which in fact is the genesis of all that we call darkness and evil. It is important to recognize the pattern -- and the fact that the second set of words spoken of by man (Eve) demonstrates division in the form of a separation from Adam in his unexplained absence -- and in this division portrayed in the absence of Adam, the second set of words are thus spoken with the serpent.

The majority of church doctrine that exists with regard to the creation account -- i.e., the doctrine of Original Sin -- is founded upon a very carnal perception of these great universal truths that are being portrayed in the scriptures. Where the mind of natural man sees only the manifestation of physical bodies, the spiritual man perceives that the physical bodies are manifested in the form that we observe in order to satisfy the needs of the pre-existent energies they represent. What that means is that all the shapes, and patterns of behavior throughout all of nature have been imbued with a form that is fitting to the frequency of energy -- or vital life-force -- that they represent.

Where men such a Luther observed the seduction of man by woman -- i.e., "...Tis you women, with your tricks and artifices, that lead men into error" -- what he should have observed was the dynamics of the union of the two forces of Creation. The only genuine fault is seen in the fact that the unity of man and woman is from the lower centers of his body -- and this lower union must be raised up into the higher spheres of mind and spirit in order to embrace the totality of his being.

What reality that is being portrayed here is the very core difference between the carnal – i.e., the Darwinist perception that limits the mind of man to the perception of things physically observed -- and the necessary spiritual perception that must be present in order to begin to embrace the Mysteries of God. In the carnal vision we see Eve created as something new -- whereas, in the spiritual vision we perceive the movement from a higher level of consciousness to a lower, where the two dynamic forces of Creation are made to appear separate, individual, and distinct from each other -- but are not. Perhaps more important is the fact that, in the spiritual vision that transcends the perception of the manifest forms that we associate with this world, exists the understanding that the true plight of man is to enter into the Genuine Marriage -- wherein, the pre-existent forces are again brought into an abiding harmony and Oneness.

In our own vision of the scriptures we are able to better examine our own unique mindset -- and thereby ascertain and detect the foundational thoughts that give birth to either a Darwinist-carnal, or a heightened spiritual perception. In the mindset of Darwin, the physical manifestations of this world are the source of all there is -- there are no unseen parallel dimensions that are beyond the perception of man’s physical senses – neither is there a soul and spiritual nature -- and everything came about, because of the needs and movement of this physical world. Whereas, in the heightened vision of the man of spiritual insight, everything in this realm came into existence to satisfy the pre-existent needs of the spiritual dimensions of Creation that we associate with what is called the heavenly worlds.

In the symbolism of the scriptures as set before us in the portrayal of the first Adam, the pre-existent soul of man is neither male nor female -- but rather, the two working in dynamic harmony and Oneness. When an embryo is conceived, the fetus is not grown through the process of replication -- but rather, through the process of what was once a single unit becoming divided into two. From the perspective of these two universal powers of Creation, the two become four, which become eight. When we introduce the element of mind -- or balance between the two -- the three becomes the six, which becomes the twelve. Because the First Cause is also brought forth as the very Core and Source of all that is Created, there is the three, the seven, and the fourteen -- which should be familiar to Christians in the genealogy of Jesus as the manifestation of three sequences of fourteen -- which represents David (the son of man) in the Kingdom. Thus, the Spiritual Jew who is able to see beyond the body of the scriptures will perceive that Jesus is the Son of David on the basis of this sequence of numbers that are presented in the form of a genealogy.

It can be said that the man of spiritual vision is he who perceives the plight of reality as a reversal of the original process -- which is the making and reforming of the two in their many all-encompassing diverse manifestations throughout all of Creation, into their original Sacred Form of Oneness. The secret to accomplishing this is seen in the third force -- that of Mind -- which is not only the fruit of the two, but also retains the seed as demonstrated in the third day of Creation -- and has the capacity to balance within itself all that ever was, is and will be. The road to Completion -- which is represented in the number seven -- is then understood in the maturity and enlightenment of the mind of the disciple by the Light -- the First Cause of Creation. It is for this reason that the disciples and first followers of Jesus affirmed the necessity of faith, but absolutely ordained the essential requirement for Knowledge -- first hand Knowledge -- taught only through the marriage of opposites within the mind of man, and the total unity with the Father.

The modern believer does not have it easy – i.e., they have been severely burdened by the great doctrinal errors that were infused into Christianity by the Church of the Roman Empire. The problem is that once manmade traditions and error have been embraced by a church or culture, it is difficult to overcome -- because it continues to be a founding principle of thought upon which everything else is built. Because of this error, it is nearly impossible for the modern Christian to walk in The Way that Jesus ordained.  How can they when the modern believer lacks the essential foundational understanding that Jesus taught to his disciples. The result is very clear -- i.e., our inability to perceive our true obstacles in life, and walk in The Way, is demonstrated in our faulty interpretations of the very Bibles we use. When the modern Christian reads the words: "Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 18:3 KJV), our carnal translation makes it near impossible to perceive the manner in which we must travel to gain entrance into the Kingdom.

The Greek word that we translate converted, does not convey the joining to some body of believers -- but rather, a reversal and turning about in direction. The problem is that is does not really make sense to "turn about". And if we reverse our direction, where are we supposed to go? It is not until we begin to understand these terms from the perspective of our pre-existent soul -- or in accordance with the concepts of life taught in the parable of the prodigal son, that we can perceive what is being conveyed to us in the commandment to "turn about".

The process of spiritual growth is not an outward endeavor – but rather, a return to the Alpha – i.e., our original state of being. We accomplish this when we embrace a restoral of man’s oneness with first his pre-existent soul, then his spiritual nature, and ultimately his Creator. In the scriptures this process of spiritual development is rightfully portrayed as a marriage -- and it is for this reason that the carnally minded Jews are depicted as an adulterous people who, because of their separation from God through their adoption of the culture of this world, are ruled by traditions and incomplete doctrines in place of a sure knowledge of the Mysteries of Creation.

  To contact the author: Allan_Cronshaw@nazirene.org