And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. Re:10:9
And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. Re:10:10
And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Re:10:11
was given this word by the most ancient of days and came in remembrance of things that have gone before me. Things of the world, like our behavior when the Lord turned away. But I have not fanned the religious flame with rash boastings of the Lord. I have
not contributed to science with any revelations that cause harmony or disharmony among my peers. I have not ridden any political horse that I might be seen as one who has authority over others. I am only a small boy insignificant in endeavors and achievements.
Nevertheless I have this one thing of power. I have this little book sealed with the seven seals of God. Now those seals are loosed and fall completely off and I have read the book and cannot unread it! I cannot put the knowledge back. I cannot reseal the book to its previous condition. I cannot restore my mind to its former bliss. Now I am burdened with heartache that I should be the one to reveal this folly to the world. The world craves for it and searches it out but I am like a man hunted around every corner. I have the book and the world wants it. This is the book, this is the book which the angel gave to me and said eat it up. This book is both a blessing and a curse. I was never before in the spirit but I am in the spirit now and I have the book. From this book I have learned that there are two spirits of significance. One is the Spirit of Prophecy which as we know is the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The other is the Spirit of Truth which is science and the testimony of the world. This is that spirit which abides in mankind. It drives humanity always to seek the truth. This is a thirst for knowledge and a hunger for understanding. People strive for it and delve into the mysterious secrets of nature for profit and to benefit their society. Whole nations educate their children. Schools of learning are established wherever people are gathered. That which they teach is thoroughly searched out and found to be factual and truthful upstanding principles of science.
But there is this other spirit which also makes its awareness felt in humankind, Spiritualism and the Spirit of Prophecy. This is the need and the push, the drive to worship God. Earliest archaeological finds support the notion that from the very beginning, earthlings have felt the need to worship god. This need has been expressed in a myriad of ways by a multitude of cultures. Religions therefore are firmly established in the cultures of the earth. Each religion in its precepts however, claims to be the only real truth. Nevertheless, science also makes this same claim. It is obvious that they can’t all be correct.
The Spirit of Truthfulness is a spirit that drives people to seek knowledge and understanding so that they may find out the truth in all that they do. Honesty is its foundation stone and sincerity its vehicle. This is the unquenchable thirst in humanity which by its very nature raises more questions than answers. It haunts the soul by continually asking what the meaning to life itself is. How big is the universe? Is there really a God? Why are we here?
So the Spirit of Truth makes its presence known through questioning. Even so, many questions have multiple answers but the acceptability of answers depends on other factors. These other factors are usually personal ones which differ for every individual. Peoples environments vary and their needs vary with it. Therefore a perfectly acceptable insight for one person may be a bone of contention to another. One person’s meat is another person's poison!
The very same is true for religion. The Holy Bible requires at times, interpretation. This is exemplified by prophecies which are written in s uch an ambigu o us wa y that man y op po sin g viewpoints can be sustained. This has caused much division within and without the church over the centuries so that now there exists a legion of doctrines.
The end product of cultural evolution therefore becomes a confusion of beliefs. Every culture has developed its own religion. Christianity is but one of the many. Christianity however is also fragmented into hundreds of separate factions each with opposing views.
Apart from religion there are also other beliefs which co-exist in our society. New-age spiritualism; occult doctrines; beliefs in extra terrestrials; the realism of science and many more This is the modem spiritual confusion which confounds the world. Out of it a growing disillusionment is felt, especially by younger generations who see themselves as being born into a world which is polluted by all the previous generation's exploitation and abuses.
Confusion Confusion the world awaits in confusion.The Spirit of Truth is that human spirit winch directs and governs the generations through their discoveries towards knowledge and enlightenment.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. Joh:16:13
The searching for truth and learning has become this methodical science. The scientific method is trustworthy and reliable and is not given to fanciful notions that cannot be proved. But to be reliable, knowledge must be tested. It must be demonstrable and so documented that any person can replicate its outcomes. Only when its product is consistent with its prediction should it be accepted. This makes scientific truths dependable principles on which to build a civilization.
It was this Spirit of Truth which turned alchemy into chemistry and astrology into astronomy. This was achieved by the cutting away of misconception in favor of Truthfulness. This did not happen without tribulation however, for not all people of the earth have the ability to cast off misconception readily. There have been many people, who were or are deceived by their leaders. They are taught to reject new teachings. Being fed with propaganda they believe only that which their deluded gurus feed them. In each age they become a spectacle and a warning against puritanical extremism, fundamentalism and dogma. If the teacher is deluded then the disciples also will be deluded.
And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead
the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
Lu:6:39
Regardless of how fervent they believe their misconception, their belief will never make it become a truth. A delusion will always remain a delusion even if it is taught to others. A misconception will not conceive truth!
There was a time when people believed that the earth was flat and although the whole population of the world believed this as a truth, they were all wrong! Simply believing in something does not make it the truth. Truth must be searched out and proven through relentless investigation.
Therefore this Spirit of Truth which is in all earthlings; this compulsion to learn and to discover things about the world and the environment is what sets humankind apart from other animals on this planet. It is a desire and an attitude which cannot be suppressed nor halted. Even through persecution or the threat of certain death the quest goes on. If this were not so, there would be no scientific methodology in the world today. The story of civilization is littered with examples of those who have sought truth in the face of persecution even receiving death for their efforts.
All too often, religious ideology in its time has hindered scientific progress. Basic fundamentalist and purist thinking within the church argue that the word of god, being truth, was all the knowledge that was necessary for peoples redemption. Nevertheless new knowledge had the habit of turning up in the face of their beliefs searing holes in their long established doctrine, showing up the hypocrisy of their zealousness and the pitfall of dogma.
Believing that they held God's Truth, the church throughout the ages, fought against these up-surges of knowledge as determinedly as it could. From the turn of the first millennium this battle has waged supreme. It has been therefore a sad period of dominance of religious oppression over civilization. But it has also been a battle the church was destined to lose. Even though its life and death struggle took it to the very edge of human sacrifice and obscenity, the search for knowledge and understanding, and the scientific method would prevail.
The result of this religious dominance and struggle has left a legacy of shame for the church. The various Inquisitions; the witch hunts: the oppression of the poor; the accumulation of wealth and the denial of scientific investigation, have left the church suspect in the modem age. Throughout its history also, there have been breakaway groups, who became disillusioned with their mother doctrines and have therefore set up their own daughter versions of Christianity, in opposition. These days there are seemingly hundreds of Christian sects, each with their own brand of worship methodology. This only goes to show that people’s tastes differ from culture to culture. The same is true whether for religion or politics. Nevertheless, because of it, we have a prevailing impression of religious confusion stacked against an overwhelming world of scientific achievement. The offshoot of which is much disillusionment in society by the young generations of today.
Confusion Confusion the world awaits in confusion.Scientific achievement has not come without cost either. In its wake it has also left destitution and poverty in some areas of the world, but affluence and decadence in others. It has polluted every aspect of nature and raped and pillaged the landscape in every country. It has constructed more destructive weaponry than ever in the history of humankind; enough potential to completely destroy the entire planet! Science has no morals and no conscience!
This potential for destruction adds fear and contempt to the confusion and spiritual desolation of this day and age. Is it any wonder that church numbers are dropping off whilst psychiatric hospitals are filling up? The wonderful promise of science has not eventuated in a better world but instead has produced war and devastation, unemployment, poverty and general apathy in the world. Whereas the church has also failed to stand against reason and has become stagnant and powerless to fight the affliction of its people. Therefore the young generations of today hate life and feel that their lot is hopelessness forever. They choose to live a hedonistic lifestyle and use drugs and other means of escape from the harsh realities of this sad world.
DARWINWhen Darwin postulated his theory on the Evolution of the Species, the church reacted with fearful alarm. He was challenging their view of spontaneous creation as it is cited in Genesis. But Darwin’s theor y made s ense. It was understandable and had the weight of hard evidence and archaeological fossils as well as living creatures, to bear witness to it. The church in defense, on the other hand, only had its own faith that its viewpoint was correct. Their faith mingled with their fear that Satan ‘The Deceiver’ may be cleverly misleading the scientists by some sinister ploy with knowledge, fought back with all the might it could muster. They never considered however that they themselves could possibly have been misled. They frequently forgot that God created Satan ‘The Deceiver’. It is also written that God said
Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison. Rev 20:7Satan is a word which means ‘Deception’. It is the original ` Spirit of Falseness’. The fervent and zealous believer is often beguiled by their own vanity into interpreting Scripture according to their own ego. The church has an ego also, the curriculum upon which they base their whole interpretation. It forces them to be rigid and unmoving in the manifestation of their beliefs. This becomes such a narrow focus that hypocrisy is hot on their heels. They are trapped by their own devotion to god, into bigotry, too afraid of God’s wrath to acknowledge their own mistakes with regard to the discovery of new truths. They are crippled by dogma.
HYPOCRISY of the CHURCHWhat is the hypocrisy of the church? The hypocrisy of the church is that they take a literal interpretation of scripture when it suits them, but a metaphoric interpretation when a literal interpretation no longer works. As an example of this we show that Jesus referred to his people as sheep and to himself as the good shepherd. This is clearly a metaphor since people are not literally sheep and Jesus was never a shepherd. He was in fact the son of a carpenter. On the other hand the story of the creation of Adam and Eve might also be metaphor, bearing some underlying, deeper, more meaningful message than its ridiculous literal interpretation. Any person in this day and age of intelligent reason who does not think that it is ridiculous that Eve is made from one of Adam’s ribs is not being true to their own heart or intelligence. Neither do they give the Father of Humanity any credence for intelligence either. The trap caused by fundamentalist views dictates that the word of God should not be doubted, even though doubt is the seed necessary to begin the search for truth.
This whole business need not be such a mystery. Jesus answered all these questions in His testimony to the world which is recorded in the gospels of the New Testament. Jesus pointed out that the Scriptures are Spiritual in nature and must be interpreted from a Spiritual viewpoint.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Joh:4:24:Jesus had something to hide; knowledge he did not want the world to hear at that time. It is presumed that Jesus was an authority on the Old Testament. He inferred that the Holy Scriptures held a second layer of meaning that laymen did not, would not, or could not understand. It was not his practice to translate scripture in any straightforward manner for anyone, at least not in writing but speaking in parables, stories with hidden meanings, he was able to reveal spiritual insights to his followers.
Whenever he was asked to give the meaning of these parables, he would do so. To his disciples he gave a more in depth explanation. He said to them:Therefore speak I to them in parables: because
they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not,
neither do they understand. M't:13:13
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias,
which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall
not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and
shall not perceive: M't:13:14
A literal interpretation of parables will lead only to contradiction and inconsistency. But this is an intended outcome designed to cause the reader to rethink his or her interpretation and spur them on to investigate further his or her quest for truth. It is only through viewing and reviewing, reading and re-reading, searching and researching the Scriptures doe’s one begin to understand that certain Spirit in us all, to seek out the Truth of any matter.
Literal statements have only one meaning but spiritual stories can have many interpretations. They can have a different meaning for every person who reads them, each time they are read. In other words they are a source of insight. This is what makes them so special; so valuable and so comforting.
Looking into this metaphoric and spiritual layer of meaning is the only way of discovering not only what it means but more importantly what we are. If we only ever read the literal meanings of the Bible and close our minds to any other possibility, we become narrow minded bigots and hypocrites. If on the other hand we investigate every possibility of meaning, we begin a journey in the search of truth. This opens our minds and allows us to have a change of heart so that we can purge ourselves of prejudice and self righteousness.
When we examine the story of Adam and Eve in this way, a whole new conception arises. There is an interesting statement in I Corinthians.And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1Co:15:45
In this verse Paul is alluding to Christianity as the ‘Last Adam’ and by insinuation we can assume therefore that Judaism is the first Adam. Adam certainly was Jewish there is no question but was he plural? That is, not one man but many people as this suggests? The name Adam means ‘Of the Ground’ and although this meaning does not seem to tell us much at first glance, other than to reflect on his creation story, Jesus gives us a different perspective.
Jesus spoke in parables, riddles, mysteries that would seem at first a bit odd, considering the important message he carried but He did this for a reason as mentioned earlier he wanted to keep certain knowledge away from the populace.
He answered and said unto them, Because it is
given unto you to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
M't:13:11
What was this mystery and why not give it to all the public as well as the disciples? It was because this mystery was another level of understanding which could not be simply ‘given’ in ten minutes to a public already under the common misconceptions of literal interpretation of the Scriptures and fundamentalist thinking. Jesus realized that it had to be ‘taught’ as it were, gently over a period of time. It was necessary to examine Scripture closely but more importantly to ‘purge’ oneself of prejudice, vanity and misconception. This was a difficult thing to do therefore he asked his disciples to ‘follow him’, that is, to remain with him while he taught them the ‘mysteries’ of God.
Jesus told his disciples the parable of the sower. This was one of the many parables he used to describe the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’. Jesus said that the kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field. He says:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I
will utter things which have been kept secret from the
foundation of the world. M't:13:35
“Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
He answered and said unto them.” He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world: the good seed are the children of the kingdom but the tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the Devil: The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels’. Matt. 13:36-39
The same story is recorded in the gospel of Mark but the wording is slightly different. By comparing both accounts however we can obtain a clearer meaning of what Jesus actually meant by this parable. Again the account begins with Jesus telling the disciples of a dire mystery hidden in his words.
And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not
understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
The sower soweth the word.
And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
And the cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. M'r:4:11-20
From Mark’s account we see that the ‘seed’ is the ‘ Word of God’. From Matthew’s account the sower is the ‘Son of Man’. And from Mark’s account Satan (deception or misconception) takes away that which was sown in their hearts.
It is clear by this that Jesus is describing the kingdom of heaven as being like a ‘FIELD’ in which the ‘WORD of God’ is sown in the ‘HEARTS’ of the people, by the ‘Son of Man’.
THE FIELDThis ‘FIELD’ therefore represents the people of the earth and t h e ‘ SE E D ’ i s t h e ‘ Wo r d o f G o d ’ o r t ea ch i n g s o f RIGHTEOUSNESS. The ‘sower’ is the ‘Son of Man’ (Son of Mankind).
From this parable we learn that God’s Field is Mankind (Humankind) and that God’s Word is sown in the hearts of His people. But how does this help us to discover the meaning of the Adam and Eve story?
Firstly let us look at the name Adam it means ‘Of the Ground’. Of course, this word ‘ground’ refers to God’s Ground or God’s Field, which we have just discovered refers to humankind, in which God’s seed is sown.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the
earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord
God made the earth and the heavens.
And every plant of the field before it was in the earth,
and every herb of the field before it grew; for the
Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,
and was not a man to till the ground.
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered
the whole face of the ground.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life, and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:4-7
Remembering from Jesus’ parables that God’s ‘field’ or God’s ‘ground’ is humankind, and seeing that Adam (of the ground) was made from the ‘dust’ of the ground, we should ask if the ‘dust’ of the ‘ground’ is the same as the ‘dust’ of ‘mankind’. If so, this would suggest that Adam (Of the Ground) was not one person but a whole community of people selected from the larger population of Humankind.
Can this be substantiated? The answer of course comes in looking to other words which might convey special meaning. Look at the beginning of Genesis chapter five which seems to confirm exactly this point.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him.
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created” Genesis 5:1-2
It must be remembered that mankind was created on the sixth day of creation well before the creation of Adam & Eve. In this verse from chapter 5 we pay particular attention to line 2 where it says and called their name Adam. This implies that Adam is both male and female and is not one person but is rather more than one person. Remember the line from Corinthians.
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1Co:15:45
Here the apostle Paul refers to Christians as the second Adam. Christians is of course plural just as Adam is plural. The first Adam therefore is the first Jews or Hebrews who knew this God. But to create Adam there needed to be a field a population which preexisted Adam. It just so happens that such a field is set up on the sixth day of the creation story as set out below.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Ge:1:24-31
We pay particular attention to verse 27 where God creates man male and female. This is surely describing a population of mixed gender on the sixth day of creation from which Adam was made. This creation voids the need to retell the same event in chapter 2 unless of course it is necessary to ‘set up’ the ‘field’ from which Adam was created. This therefore suggests that the creation of Adam is a completely different creation from that of mankind - male and female. It is plain that Genesis records that God created man in His own Image, male and female created he them; and on the seventh day God rested. It was not until after this rest period that God saw the need to create Adam from this previously created ‘field’ or mankind.
What then is Adam Of the Ground? If Adam is not one person and certainly not the first person, what exactly is he? This is God’s MAN (plural, i.e. male and female), made from God’s ‘field’! Now that verse from Corinthians makes a lot more sense
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1Co:15:45
Paul is alluding to all Christians as being the ‘last Adam’ who, through Jesus, have been made a quickening spirit. By this he also suggests however that the ‘first Adam’ is ‘Judaism’ which was made a living soul. Adam therefore is not a single person but is in fact the first generations of Israel (Ruling with God) although they weren’t called by that name at that time. This then is the creation of a new type of community taken from the larger population of mankind. The beginning of Genesis Chapter Five seems to Confirm this;
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. Ge:5:1-2
The significant occurrence which brings about Adam’s creation is the ‘mist’ which went up and ‘watered’ the whole face of the ‘ground’. If the ‘ground’ is mankind then we must seek out what is meant by the ‘mist’ which went up to ‘water’ it (i.e. to water mankind). Prior to this, the Lord God had not caused it to ‘rain’ upon the earth. So we can take it that Adam is the first of God’s people. Before Adam there were no people of God and hence no knowledge of God nor were there churches, nor synagogues, nor preachers nor hearing the word of God, in short no ‘rain from heaven’. The mist which went up can be likened to such a rain or preaching or perhaps even a Baptism. The planting of the ‘Seed of God’, the teaching of righteousness, the spreading of His ‘Word’ is via ‘Baptism’ or watering of the ground (watering of Humankind).
WATERThroughout the world