Copyright © 1995-2006 Mel West. All rights reserved.
From Dust and
Ashes to Joy
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Having seen the Jews [Children of Israel] restored to the Holy Land after a long (2,000 year) exile, according to the criteria given them in their Holy Scriptures (the Bible), which was May 15, 1948; we have living examples of a people who know without a doubt the meaning of Liberty.
Applying their experience and teachings, to defend similarly persecuted peoples in America, I thought to write to Mr. Buckley in December 1992, who took the time to answer our complaint: that some seven million homeless Americans (and there will be more) suffer because of our leaders have forgotten the meaning of Liberty. Out of our discussion with Mr. Buckley came a series of Small Books which continued our argument that our present form of government is exceedingly unjust and must be changed. These books are: Against Leviathan, works associated with it, including Financial Institution Credit Watch and The Second Coming of the American Revolution ; then we delved into ethics and morality in On The Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church, Works and Days among the Hyperboreans, Planks towards Freedom, Quest for Human Dignity, The Mehl Commentary, Duty and Profit, Immoral Coercion, and now this work in two parts: From Dust & Ashes to Joy (Part II has been renamed for this website as The Acceptable Day of the Lord) . These build from the idea that the principles applied to set the Jews free from affliction (which still continues) will also set those Americans persecuted in our streets free.
In the debate I took a formless nature. The principal characteristic of my form was that I would assume the spirit of a gathering of the important sages in history, which we call, a Great Troop; and we would use their arguments to defend not only our poor but also others similarly treated around the world, as for example in Bosnia and Israel. We apply our Great Troop as an eternal, common body of knowledge, and these include the teachings of Jesus Christ and the prophets of Israel.
In our argument with Mr. Buckley, whose status as an informed American and leader is well known, we quoted sages and scriptures why our leaders are in default of every moral institution honored by man; that they are consuming us with their avarice and lies about our National Debt and its effects, causing homelessness and other ruptures in our lives; and pleaded for the case of a Wise Man to step forward to defend us from the indignity. We saw Mr. Buckley..
His argument carried us forward to a discussion on the epiphany of Christ's Second Coming; whether Christ is awakened to confirm the Holy Scriptures.
Our Great Troop continues to explore details Promised in that epiphany where our Great Troop maintains that coaxing a spirit to defend the Homeless will lead to a spirit of reconciliation which can solve other problems that are currently blocking the epiphany Mr. Buckley is looking forward to [see Duty and Profit and Immoral Coercion ].
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Each member of our Great Troop speaks for himself, but, as will be seen in examining all of our works, they all have a common voice.
At the foundation of the Jewish, Christian, and Moslem faiths is a simple precept: that God cannot lie, neither can his prophets lie. Nor His Christ. A binder in that foundation is that Christ carries God's Eternal Truth. If one comes with a message which contravenes the foundation delivered at Mount Sinai (applying first to the Jews), he is a false prophet or false Christ.
Fundamental to the epiphany of Christ is the idea that the Holy Scriptures assert that they can prove through Christ the direction in which they would lead mankind: that the way they have listed is the best way (they invite men to reason with them on this). One of the items in their Way of Peace is to give the Holy Land a New Name, which is Beulah, which means married to God. This follows the idea that the Holy Scriptures view the land as a Bride; and in the traditions inherited out of the scriptures the Bride always takes on a New Name, of Her Husband. The part of Beulah which carries God's name is the last syllable, ah, referring to the word YHVH which in Hebrew means I AM. So the name Beulah means Married to I AM. Interesting, huh?
Here we explain the peculiar nature of that Marriage. Associated with the Marriage Ceremony contemplated by the Holy Scriptures is another idea that the Wedding must take place underneath a Traditional Wedding Canopy, such as one the children of Israel – to whom the land was promised – will recognize. The Wedding Ceremony is called the Redemption of Israel, signifying that the children of Israel are restored to their Promised Land but the Land at the Redemption ceases to be the land of Israel but simply a term all living on the land--Arabs, Palestinians, Jews, Christians, etc. – can accept which is Beulah.
We believed from the beginning those Wedding plans were a good idea: to raise the Wedding Canopy specified, to change the name of the Land, and call everyone on it Holy unto God. This leads us to a precept of the Holy Scriptures:
that one should not harm God's anointed..
The Holy Scriptures intend to turn the Holy Land into a Sanctuary which would defend anyone seeking refuge from persecution. A very good idea, we think.
Until this is done there will not be peace in Jerusalem or the world...
Mel West
Berkeley, CA
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January 29, 1995
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Thank you for your enlightened answer of January 20, 1995 to my letter of December 31, 1995!
We are exceedingly glad that you responded to our comment how Christ is quickened. We didn't expect to slide anything by you on that accord and had actually hoped you would respond to it, knowing that I also saw that apparent trap in 1985, when writing Hidden Pavilions : for then I saw how Jesus was not altogether, as it were, before the Transfiguration, and had trouble accounting for his confusion on the orders of the Light of the Gentile who does not go into the streets and also those orders pertaining to Elijah. Then the light of the Scriptures fell upon me, showing me David's comment how the Anointed [Messiah/Christ] is quickened by the word of the LORD. Here we shall prove to you that Christ is quickened by the Word of the LORD.
Our other concerns relate to the precept of the Coming of Christ, the bridegroom from the LORD, which you didn't address in your letter. Whilst we have addressed the traditions of the Jewish Bridegroom in Part II of this work (The_Acceptable_Day_of_the_Lord), we shall touch on it here in this portion, as we explain Jesus' point of view on The Word of God, which He described in terms of the Good Shepherd, etc. The Good Shepherd is another manifestation of the bridegroom, and carries particulars on the epiphany of the Second Coming which we shall explain herein.We remain grateful to you, as always, for drawing them out.
In my search of the religions only the sons of Abraham have testimony on the de facto existence of God. They are the only people who have claimed that God actually resided within their Camp; and they called His Residence or Sanctuary the Mercy Seat of the Tabernacle. This, as you know, was a gold plate whose two ends were fashioned into the form of Two Cherubim. And the Glory of God was seen to reside in that place, between the Two Cherubim. He manifested Himself through a Cloud by day and a Fire by night. From the Cloud of Glory, first greeted by Moses atop Mt. Sinai, came oracles and the Torah, Law of Moses. The Rabbis point out that YHVH called His Law the Law of Moses; and this is accounted to Moses because Moses is as God:
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Exodus 3.13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them?
3.14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
4.10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
4.11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the LORD?
4.12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
4.13 And he said, O my Lord, send I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
4.14 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
4.15 And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.
4.16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.
7.1 And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
The first lesson we have just learned from the Law of Moses is that Moses stood in God's stead. Thus, the Law of Moses is called by the name of Moses. You need no further authority on this note.
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The second lesson we learn from the Law of Moses is that it covenanted with the children of Israel, that they would be separated unto the LORD and be His Holy nation [Ex. 19.5,6]; and then He would covenant with all the nations. Details how this will be done are explained in the Law.
The third and most important lesson we learn in the Law of Moses is that the LORD will raise up a prophet like Moses to lead Israel and, by implication, eventually the nations. Here is in part what the Law said of Him:
Deuteronomy 18.15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet form the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.
18.16 According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
18.17 And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
18.18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
18.19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
18.21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the Word which the LORD hath not spoken?
18.22 When the prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of Him.
The Law also spoke of an Angel (carrying the same authority; see Exodus 22.20-23 [the angel is a proof text for those interested, that the Torah always contemplated the concept of Eternal Life; ed. note]).
Within the Law of Moses is the book of Genesis which recorded earlier Blessings and Covenants made by the LORD to Abraham's seed and the children of Israel [see Philistia Triumph thou because of me ]. The Blessings, most peculiarly that of Israel [Genesis 49], speak of a peculiar prophet called the King Messiah which will appear out of the seed of Judah. Following the Law of Moses many prophets were delivered to Israel, and they too built upon the revelation of the LORD's Messiah who will be a prophet like unto Moses: to reign over the children of Israel and all the nations in God's stead.
The fourth thing we learn about this King Messiah is that He serves and delivers the Word of God just as Moses before Him. With regard to this we must keep in mind:
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Deuteronomy 26.18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
26.19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.
27.26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
The King Messiah comes out of Judah and, being bound by the Covenant in the Law of Moses, must honor the above (otherwise he would be a false King Messiah).
The next point we learn from the Law of Moses is the following:
Deuteronomy 8.3.. that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
This, in simple terms, is what the Word of God is, and how He is come to you. In all respects the foundation of the Messiah, the Word of God, is upon the idea that He is another lawgiver like Moses visiting in God's stead, as an Angel of the LORD. You will see this to be true, supported by the following presentation.
Here we list a series of sayings of Jesus which build upon the Torah's promise:
Matthew 5.17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
5.18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
7.21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven.
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John 5.39 Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
6.39 And this is the Father's Will which hath sent me, that of all which He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
6.40 And this is the Will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise Him up at the last day.
7.17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
7.18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory; but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
7.19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?
5.19 ..Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do..
5.20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
5.21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
10.37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
10.38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works; that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in Him.Luke 10.16 He that heareth you heareth me, he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Luke 8.21 My mother and brethren are those who fear the Word of the Lord and do it.John 5.45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
5.46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
5.47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
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Now that we have verified that Christ serves as the Word of God, in God's stead, we can proceed to the next point: that Christ compared Himself to manna from Heaven, the bread of life, building upon the precept in the Law that man does not live on bread alone but on every word of the Lord:
Matthew 4.3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4.4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Knowing this we can proceed to our sixth point:
John 6.45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
6.47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hatheverlasting life.
6.48 I am that bread of life.
6.49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
6.51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
Knowing that Jesus has now identified His Word as being sourced from the Holy Scriptures [the Law of Moses and its prophets], that the word of God is the bread of life, that he is that bread of life which is manifested by giving His flesh, (as the Lamb of God); knowing also that he was promised an inheritance which will be raised up with Him in the Last Day, then we can proceed to our seventh point: how the spirit is quickened.
Christ was quickened in the flesh to offer his flesh for the life of the world. But He came from a source, called the Word, which is eternal. So the Word took on flesh. To save lives.
How did Christ happen in the flesh (this will indicate how He comes again in the flesh)?
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John 6.63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you they are the spirit, and they are life.
This comes from the above precepts already mentioned and:
Psalm 119.50 ZAIN This is my comfort in my affliction, for thy word hath quickened me.
119.93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
Here we see both Jesus and David using the same expressions, how in the Last Day they can hope on being quickened and raised up from the dead. From the Messianic point of view the flesh is nothing, for it is the spirit which is quickened and it is quickened by the Word of God. The Word of God includes the Holy Scriptures, for they are the Testimony of the Holy Spirit of the Father which the Messiah must honor.
He shall teach you; He shall teach you by means of the Holy Scriptures, prophets, and Christ. We can explain this is as an awakening and a coming and going of Christ and His prophets: like a field of flowers unfolding His father's glory. The Beauty of that Glory, which is in Christ, is unfolded, and they who unfold it are the Holy Scriptures from Christ and the prophets; with the additional prompting of the Holy Spirit [sic. (Isa. 61.1 et al.) The Holy Spirit is upon me to..].
The Holy Spirit is upon me to do what? Christ knows by instinct what He must do, He prays to the Father for guidance, being led by the hand by the Holy Spirit, as a hen guides her chicks, and then the Holy Scriptures provide the details. I was quickened by the Scriptures; I was quickened by the Word of God, ultimately reduce down to being reminded of the Word: which in Christ's case His Holy Spirit had already delivered (for all the prophets, Christ, and the LORD are One). What this ultimately means to a child which blooms into the anointed one is that He discovers as He is quickened that He knew the Scriptures (and many other things) before He ever read them. This phenomenon is exceedingly evident in Jesus, how He was led by the Father, as His Holy Spirit was upon Him, and worked Himself through the Scriptures that prophesies pertaining to His Visitation are fulfilled. Those Holy Scriptures which Jesus isolated as pertaining to His First Coming He, after a bit of meandering on His first year of Ministry, as said before, sifted into the Mission stated in Isaiah 53, the Books of Adam and Eve and Enoch, Psalms 22 and 69 and the first three verses of Isaiah 61. And all this reduces down to the statement He made on the bread of life; which links into precepts on the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd (one like Abraham, the patriarchs, or Moses).
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There is a difference between the Lamb of God: the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep:
John 10.17 Therefore doth my father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
12.46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
12.47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to Judge the world, but to save the world.
12.48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
– and the Good Shepherd who claims [again] His Inheritance and Judges. Christ comes with His Saints and Angels to claim again His Inheritance and Judge. The foundations of His Inheritance and Judgment are His Word; and this leads us back to calling into remembrance what you have been told in the Scriptures. For:
Deuteronomy 30.1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee..
In both the First and Second Coming Christ has the same charge of calling into remembrance what you have been taught by the LORD [sic. I will teach thee in all things]; and this is particularly true in the Second Coming. For:
Malachi 3.16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
3.17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels..
3.18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
It is through calling into remembrance that you are taught the difference between good and evil, life and death.
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Since Christ is among the host of Heirs, in claiming His Inheritance He must call into remembrance the Holy Scriptures, precept by precept, line upon line until, as it is said:
Isaiah 28.5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people.
28.9 Whom shall he teach knowledge?..
29.13..the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little; and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
This is the nature of our work. We should contrast this with Paul's message:
I Corinthians 7.6 But now we are delivered from the Law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Paul called himself the Light of the Gentile [sic. Who does not raise up or cause his voice to be heard in the street?]; and then went on to declaim the law and the Jews, when the foundation of the Law is based upon calling into remembrance what the LORD has taught you. Now if everyone has followed Paul and cast aside the LORD's Testament which Paul called Old, Christ's mission in His Second Coming to teach the sons of men is made much more difficult, because they might ignore or despise the things which He calls into remembrance. Since the works of the LORD involve a confirmation of His Prophets and Christ (note the message on prophets above), calling into remembrance the oracles and precepts involves doing a new work-up as it were, starting at the beginning [Genesis] working to the end. In our case, being against the desolation of the LORD's Creation [see the back cover of Hidden Pavilions ], our calling into remembrance proceeds from Genesis 2.15, ALPHA, to Revelation 11.18 our OMEGA, and we have sifted the scriptures in between. You should be quite familiar with our verses by now: as we have quoted them much. This kind of effort is hardly appreciated these days because of Paul's new gospel which undermined our foundations in the law.
When Jesus said that Judgment of the Latter Days would be according to His Word that He had taught you, in that message was the process of calling into remembrance what the LORD had taught you. Thus, Christ is working in darkness when He has to face this:
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II Corinthians 5.17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
3.14 But their minds were blinded; for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament; which veil is done away in Christ.
3.15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.Romans 3.28..we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Jesus did not teach against the law and rather chastised the Jews for not following the law, as you have seen above. In Christ's Second Coming, to confirm His Word, He must address the Alpha and Omega of which we listed, and in this calling into remembrance, discover how Paul had turned the nations away from being prepared to recognize that voice. Perhaps you and your Bishop have some ideas how Christ's Second Coming, calling into remembrance what the LORD taught, can be accomplished to the Gentile Church; Paul's faith vs. works gospel must cause Christ a lot of work – and more than should have been necessary – I should think [be not concerned here; I accepted your position on faith]. This links into the other aspect of Paul's gospel, that Paul put his gospel above the gospel Christ taught to Saints Peter and James:
Romans 2.16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to My Gospel.
Based upon all the things we have discussed thus far, Sir, I wonder if you and your Bishop could address this: how Christ said judgment would be according to the Word Christ taught, and Paul has contradicted Him here (as Paul's general vision of the Holy Scriptures was that they are old and passed away). In your reply please weigh Paul against:
John 8.54..If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoreth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
8.55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him and keep his saying.
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The reason this expression was used by Jesus is that it is fundamental to the precepts by means of which Christ, the Light of the LORD, is manifested. For:
John 8.42..If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but He sent me.
8.43 Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word.
Those who study the scriptures (particularly the scribes) should be able to appreciate what Christ just said. But in those times, and in these times as well (because of a general ignorance of the scriptures – everyone goes after the manner of his own heart – ), the same question applies:
..Why do ye not understand my speech?
Jesus said that the Father had promised Him:
John 6. 39.. that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
6.40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Christ had been given a message to deliver to mankind: the Jews first then the Gentile, to lead them all into One Flock which would have One Shepherd. In reclaiming those things, as the Good Shepherd who must judge, He separates sheep whether they be evil or good. In this process He does away with the false shepherds which stand in the way of that Inheritance which was Promised from the beginning, which we can now call a dowry. For in the Second Coming Christ becomes a bridegroom come to reclaim his Bride and dowry. The dowry are His sheep. This links to the Good Shepherd which is explained through Israeli Marriage practices, which involve a Second Coming of the Groom to redeem His Bride. The redemption, in Christ's case, includes confirmation of the Betrothal contract and Judgment of those who despised His Word. From here then our tract will follow the Good Shepherd who redeems and judges.
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The Second Verse of Isaiah 61 contains a proviso which pertains to Christ's Second Coming (to be explained later herein and Part II). For it speaks of the Day of the Sanctification of Israel and Judgment of the nations. As pertaining to this we have:
Isaiah 42.3..He shall bring forth Judgment unto Truth.
42.4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set Judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law.
The Judgment of the nations is thoroughly defined in the Word of God {see Hidden Pavilions on this]. Is there anyone who would contravene this? Bringing Judgment unto Truth converts to a confirmation that the Holy Scriptures are True. The Holy Scriptures (which we have reviewed over and over) carry a Warning to the nations (as pertaining to the Day of Vengeance pronounced in Deuteronomy 30.7), saying in effect:
do not harm my anointed..
When, then, is the acceptable Day of the LORD? This is when He will take His Vengeance out on those who harmed His Anointed (the term first applying to harming His Holy nation, Israel, as described in Deuteronomy 30.7). That Day we have shown is when the Children of Israel are gathered back to the Holy Land and sanctified , that the nations will know that the LORD was and still is sanctified in Israel.
The Old Man of the Sea has been pressing me to define Christ's mission in as few words as possible. So we can leave it at this if he will: of bringing Judgment unto Truth and Truth is God, assuming you understand this speech. Jesus, in His First Coming, said that He had not come to judge men but to save them:
John 12.47 ..If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
12.48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him..
In His Second Coming Christ's Mission is for Judgment which begins with:
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John 12.48..the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Here, then, the bridegroom calls into remembrance the same thing Jesus delivered and brings that same word as the foundation of Judgment. An expression of this Judgement is contained in the following:
John 14.26..He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you [re: the book of Remembrance; Malachi 3.16 ed. note.].
John 5.45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
15.27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
8.28 When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
8.32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The Messiah is viewed as another Moses [I will raise up a prophet like unto thee ] who, confirming the Holy Scriptures, in the process of judgment is as the same as Moses judging you. You cannot separate Moses and the prophets who branched from him, their teaching, from Christ's teaching; so they, being One Word, judge.
As pointed out in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church , Christ laid before his disciples His Commandments with the intention that if you obey them you are saved. His commandments, it turns out, are simple expressions which are at the root of the Holy Scriptures through which He was manifested. This manifestation of Christ through the Holy Scriptures we first be described under the allegory of the Good Shepherd who has Two Comings (or visitations). In the First Coming He is afflicted of God. In His Second Coming He measures the world and passes Judgment according to the Holy Scriptures which guide Him. From this Judgment (including the Signs which accompany Him) all shall learn:
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Isaiah 41.11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
And this coincides with:
John 5.25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
5.26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.
5.27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man.
5.28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
5.29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
5.22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
Without getting into discussions on the "substance" of Christ (we covered the various arguments in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church ), let us agree, on the basis of the scriptures thus far discovered, that Christ saw Himself as the Servant of the LORD, the Father, and yet said, I am in the Father and the Father is in me; I and the Father are one and:
John 16.32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
16.33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
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This is heavy stuff: that in Christ ye might have peace, but in the world ye shall have tribulation. Sir, can you and your Bishop see how His Mind works?: It is the Spirit which quickeneth; now we proceed to the idea that if you are in Christ (His Spirit, which is One with the LORD) you shall have peace. In simple terms He told you that you have to choose between serving Mammon or Christ. Mammon involves the things of this world, which you serve; and it is hard for you to serve or live in this world and Christ at the same time. There is a way to accomplish this (of which we have discussed throughout our writings, beginning with Against Leviathan ): that you must always put the service of Good (which boils down to Psalm 12) ahead of material things and profits. Our argument always ends with the precept of judgment, whether you defended the poor or afflicted them.
Most people like to create their own weights and balances for judgment. The Wisdom of the Holy Scriptures, seeing this, created a weight and measure which all men could see. That weight was called the Afflicted Soul whom we have discovered before but must again repeat (because of the failure of the world to get the message):
Isaiah 58. 4. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
58.5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Compare:
John 10.17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
10.18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Thus:
Isaiah 58.6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
58.7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
58.8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
58.9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
58.10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day.
58.11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
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I am poured out like water. This comes from:
Psalm 7.14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
7.16..they pierced my hands and feet.
7.17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me..
7.18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.Book of Adam and Eve and Enoch 42.7 And, again, as regards the Water of life thou seekest, it will not be granted thee this day; but on the day that I shall shed My blood upon thy head in the land of Golgotha.
42.8 For My blood shall be the Water of Life unto thee, at that time, and not to thee alone, but unto all those of thy seed who shall believe in me; that it be unto them for rest forever.
24.5 ..as thou didst sue for forgiveness through that blood, so also will I make my blood forgiveness of sins, and blot out transgressions in it.
69.6 God said further unto Adam, Thus will it also happen to me, on the earth, when I shall be pierced and blood shall flow blood and water from my side and run over my body, which is the true offering; and which shall be offered on the altar as a perfect offering.
9.19 He will rise from the dead, and be exalted above things in heaven and things in the earth..Enoch 30.6 ..I cursed ignorance, but what I had blessed previously, those I did not curse. I cursed not man, nor the earth, nor other creatures, but man's evil fruit and his works.
32.2 Then I can again take thee at My Second Coming [see Hidden Pavilions pp. 155-166].
Thus, in the First Coming the Good Shepherd is smitten, according to prophesy (Isaiah 53). It is obvious that Jesus had to sift out His First Coming as one who is smitten of God:
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Isaiah 53.4..Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken , smitten of God, and afflicted.
53.6..the LORD hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
53.9..he had done no violence;, neither way any deceit in his mouth..
53.10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him!..
It is obvious that Jesus did what He was directed to do to set up the circumstances of being cut off (by the Gentile) by the LORD. Along with this the Holy Scriptures said that Christ must ride into Jerusalem on an ass and a foal of an ass; the Psalms call for a procession singing, Hosanna [Lord save], Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD, and Christ's use of the terms, Son of David and Son of Man, together completed by appearance a "blasphemy" – that He claimed to the Christ (when the priests did not accept Him as the Christ). By doing those things specified in Scripture which pertain to clear Signs given only to the Messiah, Jesus choreographed the circumstances which would lead to His being cut off from the living. His martyrdom depended upon the reaction of the priests, whether they would follow through with their tradition of killing false prophets and false Messiahs. Jesus baited them, as it were, and the rest, we must say, was left up to the LORD. For it was the LORD who bruised Him.
Yet, Jesus hoped He wouldn't be put to death, which is verified by His prayer to His Father in Heaven:
Mark 14.35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
14.36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
Just before this prayer Jesus told his disciples:
Mark 14.27 ..All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
Smite the Shepherd comes from:
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Zechariah 13.1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
13.2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
13.4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
13.5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
13.6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
13.7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of Hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
13.8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; and the third shall be left therein.
13.9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
14.1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
14.2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
14.3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
14.4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
14.5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Ussiah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
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14.6 And it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
14.7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
14.8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
14.9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one LORD, and his name one.
14.10..but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
14.12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
14.16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD to keep the feast of Tabernacles.
The Feast of Tabernacles is at the time of Rash Ha Shanah and the Day of Atonement. Because Christ quoted the verse on smiting the shepherd, and because of other Messianic scriptures applied in the gospels to Jesus from Zechariah (the thirty pieces of silver [Zech 11.12]; riding upon an ass and a foal of an ass [Zech. 9.9], the following is evident:
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where Christ shows his wounded hands; where He says, I am no prophet (following the example of Amos 7.14) – we contrast this with the fact that Jesus claimed to be and was recognized as a prophet; where the Judgment of the nations occurs, when Jerusalem is safely inhabited; when the King Messiah stands upon the Mount of Olives; and when all nations will come to worship the King in Jerusalem. None of these pertained to Christ's First Coming, as can be discerned even from His own mind. These and other matters – some listed in the Book of Disputation (see Hidden Pavilions pp. 614-620)--applied to the Second Coming.
Mark 9.11 And they asked him, saying Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?
9.12 And he answered and told them Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of Man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.
9.13 But I say unto you that Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
This group of passages is in our Synoptic Matrix lines 938-945 and 1684-1711.
Sifting the Scriptures involves a lot of work. Every Jewish Groom knows what we mean by this. Jesus went through the same processes which is expected of every Jewish Groom. The Midrash covering expectations on Elijah comes to play here; and we must inquire where Jesus got the idea that was written of Elias (Elijah) that they will do to him whatsoever was listed of him! According to the Holy Scripture this is when Elijah comes:
Malachi 4.1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble..[see also II Peter 3.10-13].
And this is what Elijah shall do:
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Malachi 4.5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
4.6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Although Jesus insisted that John the Baptist is Elijah, the Baptist did not do what is described in Mal. 4.6 above; nor did he appear at the time when all the proud are turned into stubble. This refers to all the Children of Pride. Remember who the King of the Children of Pride is? Leviathan [re: Against Leviathan ].
That John the Baptist did not do this, according to his own mind, therefore contradicting Jesus' perception of the matter, is confirmed by:
John 1.2 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he said, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered no.
1.22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
1.23 He said I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
How did Isaiah describe the Voice in the Wilderness – which we contrast to the Light of the Gentile who shall not cry, nor raise up or cause His voice to be heard in the street (Isaiah 42.2):
Isaiah 40.3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God..
40.5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Where is the list of things said by the prophets which would be done to Elijah? Where, Sir, is the list: that Elijah should suffer, etc.?
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There was an awakening in Christ, and part of that quickening depended upon His cousin's, John the Baptist's, death. For it was the Baptist's death that keyed Jesus towards the Sacrificial Lamb Scriptures.
That Jesus viewed Himself as a vessel of God (out of which everlasting waters flow) or Servant of God is verified in many statements attributed to him; and that Servant carries a nature which manifests one Truth: that the Wisdom of God is in Him. The manifestation, in Jesus's case, was an unfolding. According to the Gospels His unfolding (awakening) began about the age of twelve, when He amazed the rabbis and priests in the Temple. One of those priests was (we presume he was still alive then) John the Baptist's father, Zachariah, and he is described as a high priest. This position was inherited from the sons of Aaron, and because we know this we know that Zachariah [re: Luke 1.67] and Simeon [re: Luke 2.34], another high priest, were probably related, and it may be that one inherited the position of high priest from the other. Jesus's brother, James, we recall, was also a high priest of the Temple, which would have been through his inheritance traced to the sons of Aaron. This leads us to a clue that Joseph the Carpenter (a son of David) was probably a Widower, which would explain why he was betrothed to the Virgin Mary (who, probabilities in Jewish marriage traditions suggest, could have been his cousin). Mary, according to the Apocrypha and the Gospels, had a cousin, Elizabeth, who was married to Zachariah the high priest (a son of Aaron). This leads us to Anna, the mother of Mary, and the mother of Elizabeth, that perhaps they were daughters of Aaron. In Anna's case, she was married to Joachim, a son of David; and their first-born was the Virgin Mary whom they dedicated as a Temple Virgin because Anna was barren and had vowed she would dedicate her first born to the Temple.
The Protevangelion covers details of the Virgin Mary's dedication to the temple, that Zacharias was high priest when the Virgin Mary was to be betrothed (suggesting that he preceded Simeon the high priest), and it contains other interesting details of Jesus' family ties to the temple. Curiously Jesus was a son of David through both Joseph the Carpenter and Mary but his half-brother (James) qualified as High Priest. How James was related to Zachariah the high priest (who was killed according to the Apocrypha) remains to be discovered. For James became high priest some time after Joseph Caiaphas; and among the priests of the Sanhedrim was Joseph of Arimathaea, another son of David. From Jesus' early days to the end of His career he had family ties to the priests of the Temple; and the men whom he was amazing at his early age included no doubt his own relatives (who would take pride in his gift in knowledge of the Torah – to which we are building).
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The Good Shepherd is a Sign of God. I showed The Old Man of the Sea and his wife (The Lady of the Sea ) your letter of January 20, and explored my response to your letter with them. Earlier, in preparation of Part II of this work, I had consulted them as to the matter whether Christ could be confused; and if this is the case, then it asks whether Christ, being the Son of Truth, implies that the LORD God could be confused! For:
John 17.14 [Jesus' prayer] I have given them thy word..
17.17 Sanctify them through thy truth; Thy word is truth.
17.18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
17.19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
17.21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me
This is the entire issue of the Holy Scriptures (most of which Paul tossed behind him). Christ's message to His disciples was to differentiate things of the Spirit and things of the world. The criteria was that a man would afflict his soul and He would be instead of God. For it pleased God to bruise Him, etc. That Good Shepherd which was afflicted was a son of man [sic. Adam] who had the Holy Spirit of God in Him, or upon Him, however you prefer. That He was born of the Holy Spirit, being the Christ, does not add to the effect that the Holy Spirit was upon him (as outlined in Isaiah 61.1). However, we do know that Christ showed how He was quickened by the Word of the LORD, and that took much study, and guidance, noted earlier: learning how to discern between truth and error. He, as we saw in Isaiah 53 above, could deceive no one. Thus, being the Christ, He is the Son of Truth.
A peculiarity Christ has is that He has a First Coming and a Second Coming. Any misunderstandings discovered in the First Coming must be sorted out and straightened in the Second Coming. He cannot in His Second Coming, for instance, allow you and your Bishop to believe that the LORD would permit errors committed in His Service to stand. Thus, the matter on the Light of the Gentile in Matthew 12.16 and Elijah has been reserved in secret to be clarified.
The Old Man of the Sea refused to discuss the matter whether Jesus was at a time confused--later he complained that I should not be offending Buckley with such comments – but The Lady of the Sea , who was doing dishes at the time, said, "Why yes, He could be confused. Why not?"
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Later we continued that discussion, where I reviewed in part some of the scriptures noted above, and how foundations for sorting Truth in the prophets (ultimately leading to Jesus) begin with Isaiah 7.14-23. And if the Sign mentioned in Isaiah 7.14-23 did not occur, then we must conclude that Isaiah was wrong (because the Sign was proof that God had spoken to him); and if Isaiah was wrong--all the prophets agreed with his mind, on the eschatology or unfolding of history as it were--then the entire Old Testament would be untrue and [sic the New Testament (being based upon Isaiah's prophesy and others') therefore would be untrue].
Everything relating to the Messianic prophesy in particular hinges on Isaiah 7.14-23, which verifies what St. James said about Jesus: that He is the door to everything. How this works is as follows:
John 6.44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
6.45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God.[Isaiah 54.13-17 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children..In righteousness shalt thou be established..whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake..every tongue which shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD; ed. note]
Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
The verses of Isaiah 54 inserted in John 6.45 above you can see deal with the Judgment of the Gentile and Sanctification of Israel in the Last Days. Sir, as noted in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church et al., your Bishop should confess Paul's and his church's error towards the Children of Israel and the law and its prophets, for the many reasons we have given you, for we also saw above in Jesus' prayer that he referred to Himself being sanctified and through Him so too would his disciples be sanctified. The use of that term is the same as being Married. The sanctification of Israel becomes the key here, and we have been asking you and your bishop to support that event (which Paul declaimed).
Paul misguessed (misleading your Bishop and you as well) that Jesus' Second Coming would ignore what we reviewed above. As noted, Paul said that God would judge according to Paul's Gospel (which we have shown to be contrary to Christ's):
Romans 2.16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel..
This is no small matter, for Paul's gospel leads to a contradiction of the Promises of Redemption in the Old Testament, leaving us all to wonder how Jesus could say:
John 6.38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
That:
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John 10.7..I am the door of the sheep..
– without fulfilling the Will of the Old Testament Scriptures.
Ultimately we are led to the question, who is Immanuel ? in Isaiah 7.14 and why is He the door to everything mentioned in the Holy Scriptures?
As noted before, Immanuel must come at the time Israel is judged (scattered). Jesus is the only recorded claimant to that Sign. Now it is too late for that Sign to enter, unless, of course, Israel expects to be scattered again, invalidating the Promises of Isaiah 54 et al. I wonder if your Bishop understands this? He should be shouting it from the rooftops.
The Spirit of Prophesy, shown in the prophets, is specific about the separation of the two events in its view of history: 1) of the Judgment of Israel and its scattering; and 2) the Judgment of the nations and the redemption and sanctification of My People back to the Holy Land. There are occasions where the Spirit of Prophesy addresses both events in the same thought as if He were looking from the end of the chain. In the specific circumstances pertaining to the Light of the Gentile to judge the Gentile Jesus had shown some early confusion, and in his address on Elijah also we can see some early confusion--as we look back on the matter. But then there is the matter of Galilee of the nations seeing a great Light [Isa. 9.1]. Now Galilee means Circle. Interesting, huh?
Of this in the Oral Torah we have:
Sefer Hekhalot, 5.187-88..And at that time a man will arise from among the Children of Joseph..and he will be called Messiah of God. And many people will gather around him in Upper Galilee, and He will be their King..But most of Israel will be in their exile, for it will not become clear to them that the end has come...
And when Messiah ben Joseph and all the people with him will dwell in Jerusalem, Armilus will hear their tiding and will come and make magic and sorcery to lead many astray with them, and he will go up and wage war against Jerusalem, and will defeat Messiah ben Joseph and his people, and will kill many of them, and will capture many others, and divide their booty....Why will permission be granted to Armilus to slay Messiah ben Joseph? In order that the heart of those of Israel who have no faith should break, and so that they say: This is the man for whom we have hoped; now he came and was killed and no redemption is left for us.! And they will leave the covenant of Israel, and attach themselves to the nations, and the latter will kill them...
..When Messiah ben Joseph is killed, his body will remain cast out in the streets for forty days, but no unclean things will touch him, until Messiah ben David comes and brings him back to life, as commanded by the Lord. And this will be the beginning of the signs which he will perform, and this is the resurrection of the dead which will come to pass. And then Messiah ben David and Elijah and Israel, who come from the deserts to Jerusalem, will sin in safety and peace for many days..until Gog will hear their tiding..and the land of Gog and Magog is of the Land of Edom...and they will come to fight and they will wage war against Jerusalem, and Messiah ben David, and Elijah and all the people who are in it.
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In Jesus' address above, referring to Isaiah 54, He said:
John 6.45..Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh to me..
Here is a remarkable representation that He had already taught what had to be taught as applying to the end Promise (sanctification of Israel). When He said come to me, he echoed the judgment of the Exodus:
Exodus 32.26 ..Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
32.27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.
32.28 And the Children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
Thus, when Jesus pronounced:
John 6.45..Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me..
– it was a pronouncement of Salvation:
That pronouncement – coming specifically from Isaiah 54 – presumes all of the conditions of Isaiah 54 et al. apply. Sir, we know that Paul denied those conditions.
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That Jesus showed some confusion does not compromise the expression we noted above. If Jesus attempted to be something he really was not (or claimed that John the Baptist was something he was not), then accept this: that it is now straightened. Accepting Jesus as the Christ (of Isaiah 7.14 as Immanuel) then we must also accept the fact that at moments before and leading up to the Transfiguration Jesus had not completely absorbed the mind as expressed by the prophets (Because we have no other evidence of God we can view the prophets as that Mind). If there is a conflict between the LORD's Mind and the formative mind of Jesus we must resolve it. There is only one way to do it and this is by Christ's Word:
John 6.63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.
This follows:
Psalm 119.53 ZAIN Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.
119.74 JOD They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.
119.50 ZAIN This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
119.93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
119.97 MEM O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
119.98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
119.99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
119.100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
119.101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
119.102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
119.103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
119.104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
119.111 NUN Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
119.105 NUN Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
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119.130 AIN The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
119.160 RESH Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.
119.161 SCHIN Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.
These verses express the Messianic Hope, how He grew in the precepts of the LORD. By Jesus' comment how it is the Spirit which is quickened; the flesh profiteth nothing and the other precepts He used out of the Holy Precepts, we can actually measure the blooming of His Spirit.
The Old Man of the Sea had asked me to explain the mission of Jesus [Christ], as noted earlier, in as few words as possible; and for those who understand the Psalms just quoted above, then we can say that it is Christ's mission to confirm them. Christ's Mission involves, as shown above, calling into remembrance the scriptures, which is a fundamental of the prophets which we previously explained in our other works; and, as said, we have applied this method in Hidden Pavilions and the Buckley Series of writings.
That discussion – calling into remembrance – hinges on the ability to discuss the paradoxes or anomalies in Jesus's behavior (compared to the prophets' expectations of him). If no one will discuss the anomalies we cannot reveal Christ's Mission. So Christ's Mission must be revealed from His awakening to the point Jesus pronounced His New Testament, saying:
Matt. 26.28 This is my New Testament shed for the remission of sins..
His New Testament, having some anomalies or paradoxes in it – concerning his early teaching – became a mission of sacrifice for the remission of sin. Interesting, huh?
Christ is a manifestation of God's love for the world. It is His Spirit which is manifested, not a substance. On this note Jesus said:
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John 6.63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Earlier He said:
John 5.39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
6.38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
6.40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Here we see Jesus confirming the proposition that Christ is Quickened after the manner in which David found Himself quickened. Like the opening of a flower, or a field of flowers, as said before.
He is quickened to do the Will of the Father which sent Him down from Heaven. Search the Scriptures, He said, for the Will of God (what Christ is to do) is defined in the scriptures. Then He says:
John 7.16 ..My doctrine is not mine but His that sent me.
If He is sent from God to do the will of the Scriptures (which is the only Will of God which has been defined), we see this leads to the conclusion that whatever Jesus said or did had to coincide perfectly with Scripture. Those who are wise will examine this.
Lacking true love of Wisdom, most men like to stay within the mainstream of mediocrity (such as what Jesus saw in the priests and scribes of his own sect, the Pharisees, as well as the Sadducees of the Temple). Those people, in Jesus' day, had gotten so much into mimicking each other's perceptions they had lost sight of the thing which they were worshipping. John Stuart Mill, reflecting on how people tend to lose sight of things, aptly said [re: Immoral Coercion p. 45]:
Mill, On Liberty, 2.827..Instead of a vivid conception and a living belief, there remain only a few phrases retained by rote; or, if any part, the shell and husk only of the meaning is retained, the finer essence being lost.
Saint Maximos the Confessor [died 662] carried this precept in more austere hands:
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St. Maximos, Four Hundred Texts on Love, 6 When your intellect is concentrated on the love of God you will pay little attention to visible things and will regard even your own body as something alien.
7. Since the soul is more noble than the body and God incomparably more noble than the world created by Him, he who values the body more than the soul and the world created by God more than the Creator Himself is simply a worshipper of idols.
We quoted Tertullian's perception on this matter in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church : that worshipping ideas can be the same as idol worship. In contrast, it is the Spirit of the Word [sic. Light of God] which is to be loved and worshipped. That Spirit has been called Love and we reduced it down to the sentiment of Psalm 12, or, if you now prefer, the sentiment of Isaiah 58's Afflicted Soul.
We know St. Maximos' idea on the love of God, as stated above, is designed to maintain a Spirit of Unity in God facilitated by Christ: that one must give up everything to follow Him.
Happy must one be to give up everything to follow Him! One must focus on the LORD (His Holy Spirit) and not material things. Once focused on Him, then all things will be provided to you. Focus on His Spirit involves, of course, Genesis 2.15, where Adam was charged to dress and keep the earth. The Old Testament shows how to do it; and, of course, the Lord's Prayer speaks of the day when all men will know that way through the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven.
Let the land rest; let the creatures have a rest; provide for the poor; don't get into disputes which lead to desolating the land. Forgive your enemies, etc. All these things in the Old Testament and Christ's Gospel, lead to Salvation: for man, the creatures, and the earth. Those who hold those orders from the beginning of the Bible, Genesis 2.15, in contempt--and thus desolate men, the creatures, and the earth, fall under a specific and logical Judgment pronounced earlier:
Revelation 11.18..that those who destroy the earth will be destroyed.
Since these pronouncements were made over 2,000 years ago, it follows that rational men ought to discuss whether the Signs indicated by the prophets of the Old Testament have occurred: whether the LORD can deliver on His Word. Would you, as Paul, tempt Him?
Since the epiphany of the LORD's Word is a Sign of His Power to confirm His Prophets, it follows that reasonable men would watch for that epiphany which we listed earlier. And since the prophets broke the epiphany of the Word of God into Two Judgments:
– then this means that reasonable men would watch for and examine the Sign of the Word of God which heralds the Judgment of Israel. That Sign, as noted, is described in Isaiah 7.14-23, which is a Virgin which conceives a son named Immanuel.
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Because we have seen that Sign of the Virgin, having occurred through Jesus, moments before Israel was scattered, rational men can thus carry our discussion forward to the examination of that Sign of the Judgment of the nations which is prefaced by the Sign that Israel has been restored to the map again, after nearly 2,000 years of exile. A major Sign, we should say!
Unity with the One Spirit. That Christ and God are one, that by uniting with Christ one is united with the LORD; that this Unity is Eternal in nature; that joining with Christ therefore delivers one to eternal life is found in Jesus' allegory of the Good Shepherd:
John 10.7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
10.10..I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
10.11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
10.14 I am the good shepherd and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
10.16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
The idea that there shall be one shepherd pertains absolutely to the Second Coming and derives from:
Ezekiel 37.21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
37.22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
37.23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
37.24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
37.25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children forever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever.
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37.26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore.
37.27 My Tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
37.27 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.
Sir, there are a lot of forevermore's in this precept of the Good Shepherd of Ezekiel. The Eternal Word of God, which here is shown as the Good Shepherd (remembering that a Shepherd can be read as King) has many allegories which reflect the LORD's imagination. We have been dealing with many of those allegories in our conversation. But the Good Shepherd brings the image of the Word of God into a clear focus as to His Mission (which The Old Man of the Sea has been pressing me to define).
First we must consider:
Ezekiel 34.11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; behold, I even I will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
34.12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that He is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scatteredin the Cloudy and Dark Day.
34.13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
34.15 I will feed my flock, and I will caused them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
34.16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
34.23 I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
34.24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
34.25 I will make with them a covenant of peace..
34.28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen..
Jesus said: Search the Scriptures for they speak of me. Sir, the Scriptures on the Good Shepherd deal with the redemption of Israel to the Holy Land, that the land will be married, that the LORD will be their God and His servant David shall be a prince among them [at that time]. So the first thing to get straight in your Bishop's and your mind is the fact that at the time of the restoration of Israel (which is now) you will see the epiphany of the LORD and His Servant David. And the House of David shall be as God (as argued before – that Moses was as God; that the Messiah is, like Moses, as God). This comes from:
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Jeremiah 30.8..and strangers shall no more serve themselves of Him [Israel].
30.9 But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their King, whom I will raise up unto them.
30.11 For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee.
Search the Scriptures, we say. They will serve the LORD their God and David their King..
Again we have:
Jeremiah 33.14 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
33.15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David: and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
33.16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely.
Sir, a rational man can see in the above scripture that the Branch of Righteousness shall grow up unto David. He grows! He grows in what? He grows in the precepts of the LORD. He Grows unto what? He grows out of His place unto David; and the only way, Sir, I know how that can be done is for Him to honor the precepts of David, as for example those few we listed in Psalm 119 above.
When He grows up to David is the time when Israel is redeemed. The Branch, we have shown before, shall build the Temple of the LORD [Zech.6.12-13]. And He, David the King, shall be the LORD's Servant forever:
Ezekiel 37.25..and they shall dwell in the land..and my servant David shall be their prince forever.
37.26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them..
37.27 My Tabernacle also shall be with them..
If the Tabernacle of Moses is restored, then with it would come the Shekinah (Cloud of Glory) and thus we can say:
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Ezekiel 37.27..Yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
37.28 And the Heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary [in the Tabernacle; ed. note] shall be in the midst of them forevermore.
Remember:
Amos 9.9 For, Lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
9.10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, the evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
9.11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old.
The LORD will raise up the Tabernacle of David when He has sifted the house of Israel among all nations and punished them who said that the evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. That event is:
Daniel 12.7..and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the Holy People, all these things shall be finished.
Sir, the power of the Holy People has been scattered to all the nations. It is done!
Thus, when the scattered sheep have been redeemed to the land:
Zechariah 12.8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and He that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David;
and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
12.9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
12.10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
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Thus, the House of David shall be as God. Furthermore it shall be as the angel of the Lord before them, which comes from:
Exodus 23.20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
23.21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
23.22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
We recall, then, the seed of David who builds the Temple of the LORD:
Zechariah 6.12..Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
6.13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne..
6.15 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you...
Behold, Sir, Zechariah has placed a Sign that the LORD sent the prophet to you. Like the Virgin, which is a Sign of Judgment [of Israel], so too is the Sign called the BRANCH a man [like Zerubbabel], who builds the temple of the LORD, a Sign of Judgment [of the nations]. The seed of that man, the BRANCH, shall be as God, serving before the Sanctuary and its Mercy Seat, which are located in the Tabernacle of the LORD. Now the Tabernacle is the Wedding Chamber from which the LORD sanctified Israel and must do it again[redeem them] according to the prophets; and as it turns out the Wedding Ceremony does not differ much from that of a Jewish Wedding: where, for instance, Jewish Grooms are Wedded to their Brides under a Tabernacle and joined in the presence of the Shekinah [Wisdom; Holy Spirit] of the LORD. To understand that Wedding and how the Shekinah is seen between them we must review the following:
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The Good Shepherd Jesus introduced through John's Gospel begins as the Word of God, which is, as you quickly pointed out:
John 1.1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1.4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
1.5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
That the darkness comprehended it not is verified by many scriptures such as:
Psalm 69.20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none: and for comforters, but I found none!
119.126 AIN It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
119.139 TZADDI My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.
119.140 Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
119.141 I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.
119.144 The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding and I shall live.
69.4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
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18.21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
18.22 For all His Judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
72.12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
72.13 He shall spare the poor needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
72.14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
107.41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
107.42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.Isaiah 63.1 Who is this that cometh from Edom..?
63.3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
63.4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
63.5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold; therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury it upheld me.
The clue as to the time of the above character, who is the Light of the Gentile, is that it is the Day of Vengeance and the Time of My Redeemed has come. Our letter of December 31, 1994 brings this into focus, which applies to the Second Coming.
Jesus had disciples and could never say, of the people there was no one with me; nor could he really claim to be the Light of the Gentile [Isaiah 42] who Judges but does not go into the streets, who:
Isaiah 53.2 ..shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground [re: the BRANCH who also is given as a covenant of the people and inherits the desolate places--see Isaiah 49.8; ed. note]: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
53.3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
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Whilst Isaiah 53 speaks of an Afflicted Messiah who is put to death, it also speaks of Him in a form which Jesus was not. Jesus had disciples, many followers; and no one can say of him that he looked for comfort and found none or that there was no one with him (except at the end, which is what the Gospels address).
The problem here concerns the fact that the Good Shepherd of the Second Coming meets greater resistance than the First Coming. This is explained by the allegory that His time is dark and cloudy, gloomier than any other time, and like another Sodom. The time presumes that the world has been introduced to the LORD and all have fallen away, that:
Psalm 14.2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men; to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
14.3 They are all gone aside; they are all together become filthy: there is no one that doeth good, no, not one.
This links to:
Isaiah 41.28 For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them could answer a word.
We can again relate this back to a man recalling the Holy Scriptures for the sake of remembrance and no one is interested, for everyone follows the thoughts of his own heart. Christ's thoughts, in contrast, are of the Holy Scriptures, to confirm them. He says to those asleep at the walls: Watchman, what of the night?
Breaking the image into Two Shepherds, calling them staves, and then breaking them. Chapter 11 of Zechariah speaks of two shepherds: one called Beauty and the other called Bands, which refer back to Zechariah's [Olive Branches] mentioned in chapter 4.14. Beauty and Bands also mean, respectively, Favor and Unity. The Two shepherds are also called Staves, and a Stave also means Lawgiver. The Messiah(s) is viewed as another Lawgiver like Moses, and thus we have the processes shown above how the LORD's Servant delivers a New, everlasting Covenant when the Day of My Redeemed has come. Both Staves in Zechariah 11 are broken. See Hidden Pavilions for more comments on the Two Messiahs, who are shepherds, who are lawgivers. You should read Zechariah 11 and also 4.14, since Christ has read them also.
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Jesus was given sheep by the Father:
John 10.29 My father, which gave them [sheep] me , is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's Hand.
But:
John 10. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Jesus says those sheep which have been given to Him are given eternal life and no one can take His Father's sheep from Him.
Since in the passage of the Good Shepherd the point of the parable is the redemption of all the sheep, we can now turn to the context in which it was given, which was in the context of a Jewish Marriage. The sons of Abraham have a Marriage tradition (which is more thoroughly sketched in Part II) which begins with His Father's contract for the son's (Groom's) Bride delivered by the Groom to his Bride's father's house, when he goes to Betroth her. In the Contract are terms for a dowry, and it will be signed by two witnesses. The dowry can be many things: sheep, money, etc. But among those who lived in tabernacles the most important dowry would be cattle (sheep, goats, etc.). After the Betrothal the Groom returns to his father's house to prepare for the Wedding, which may be a year later. When the day for the Wedding arrives, the Groom then goes to the Bride's father's house to claim his Bride and his sheep (dowry) for the Wedding Ceremony. This event is called the Second Coming of the Groom. He returns with her to his father's house, he and she are Wedded under a Wedding Canopy called a Chupo, which was originally a Tent but later scaled down to four poles and a veil, modeled after the Veil of the Sanctuary. After the Wedding the Groom takes possession of the sheep identified in the dowry. Until that moment, of course, the Groom may have been attending to those sheep (at his father's house), but they do not become his possession from his father until the Wedding under the Chupo has taken place.
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Now Jesus was clear to identify that his father had given him the Children of Israel but also he would receive other sheep [sic. the nations]. This comes from:
Psalm 2.8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Sir, consider this interesting point of fact: Jesus is the only one who asked the Father for that inheritance, as we have listed above. Sir, He didn't quote scripture but talked about a shepherd being promised sheep and how He would be raised again and come to reclaim them and that his sheep will know his voice. Isn't this beautiful? Isn't it brilliant? What a heavenly picture! And too, He told them in the simplest way His Jewish audience would know (except Paul who forgot what it was like to be a Jew, which puts his knowledge of scriptures and familiarity with Christ in question). Since Christ put so much thought into the message we thought it appropriate to display what was behind it; and thus, we have been building up to it slowly, as one who tastes a new vintage for the first time.
So in the Good Shepherd's redemption, as contained in Jesus' allegory, the Second Coming involves Christ's claim of inheritance, of Israel first and then the Gentile. In the Second Coming He appears as the Light of the Gentile, gathering the flock wheresoever they had been scattered and complaining in the process of Judgment that no one was with me!
We reviewed how Ezekiel spoke of the coming of the Good Shepherd named David (after the spirit of David) who makes a New Covenant after his Father has gathered the scattered sheep of Israel from all of the nations whither they had been scattered. He will cleanse his sheep when he gathers them to His Holy Mountain. In the Wedding Ceremony, before standing under the Chupo, the Jewish Bride and Groom [then as now] take another ritual bath.
Moreover I will make an everlasting covenant with them. The time when Israel is gathered from the nations is when the New Covenant is delivered. In anticipation of the Kingdom of God, John the Baptist was doing an interesting thing: He was baptizing the people, knowing that the Kingdom represented sanctification of Israel and, as in a Wedding Ceremony, the ritual bath is in order.
I will set my sanctuary among them forevermore. The next verse in Ezekiel's vision of the Good Shepherd above speaks of the restoration of the Tabernacle and its Sanctuary and, as noted, the restoration of the Tabernacle is the Sign by which the heathen shall know that the LORD does sanctify Israel: when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.
The word, sanctify, comes from the Hebrew word, Kedushah, which means sanctification; and this term is applied in the Wedding Ceremony, under the Chupo, when a Bride and Groom are sanctified before God and all of the groom's witnesses. Thus, the heathen shall know that the LORD has fulfilled His Covenant with My People when they see My People sanctified under the Tabernacleof Moses. This is the context in which Christ presented the Good Shepherd which is The Word of God.
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The process above, of the Wedding of the nations, involves the redemption of the Bride of Israel first, which requires the Tabernacle. We can measure this by the Word of God in Revelation:
Rev. 7.3 ..Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
7.4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
Jesus was bright enough to apply Ezekiel's Good Shepherd in His allegory of His Second Coming – being a Jew and familiar with Jewish Marriage Rites. Your Bishop would have to write Jesus off as being utterly stupid in not knowing that His Second Coming involved restoration of the Tabernacle. Because by the Tabernacle the Heathen [to whom we are writing] shall know that the LORD is sanctified in Israel.
Sir, our Judgment of Paul still stands, that he was out of line testing Deuteronomy 30.7 by alleging that since Christ is come the Old Testament is now old and therefore passed away. See On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church and The Tempting which outline the many areas Paul attacked the very foundations of the Good Shepherd; to which we may as well add this list which serves as handy examples:
Hebrews 8.13 In that he saith, a New Covenant, he hath made the first Old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
Titus 1.10 ..there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers specially they of the Circumcision [meaning the Circumcised Christian Jews led by Saints Peter and James and the others of the eleven Apostles; ed. note]
1.11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
3.9..avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.II Thessalonians 2.14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
Romans 3.28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law
3.24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Paul was wrong – and completely out of line- – to claim that Jesus delivered a New Covenant for, as seen above, the Redeemer of Israel, Light of the Gentile, Deliverer of the New Covenant, comes at the time the LORD redeems the scattered flock from among all the nations. Paul was wrong to claim that Jesus delivered a New Covenant when Jesus never made mention of a New Covenant and, in fact, did as the Psalms expected of Him: to delight in and uphold the Law and to be offended by them who forget the Law. Paul offended Christ's Second Coming by presuming that he was justified in delivering the New Covenant Himself and condemning those who did not obey his peculiar gospel.
Paul had no idea what he was talking about, when he condemned the Jews and the law, and he turns out, in fact, to be an obstacle to the restoration of the Tabernacle; and this, as demonstrated above, puts him in opposition to Christ. For Christ is the Word of God and God's Word is eternal and He, as noted above, must fulfill the Holy Scriptures (not leave them suspect as Paul had done). Paul is Christ's opposite, I think.
We, of course, have been arguing to set up the Bridal Canopy of the Redemption, which we call the Tabernacle. In Hidden Pavilions we complained that this should require only a few words: build the Tabernacle and you will see the Holy Scriptures are true. But it seems that men today are too haughty to entertain our request; and thus the words, books and more books.
Whereas the parable of the Good Shepherd's redemption of his sheep is out of love for his sheep, the love of his sheep is described as one friend's love for another. It is odd that the Redemption is cast after the manner of a Marriage; yet the bonds which unite God and Man in marriage are cast as a man's love for his friend (rather than his love for his bride). This comes from the tradition that both Brides and sheep were possessions which were purchased under contract. Marriage to a Bride was arranged between two families. The love which would be manifested in such a marriage would have to grow. But in the relationship of a friend, there was a higher love, as in the love Jonathan and David had for each other. Jesus thus spoke of how His Sheep would love Him:
John 15.9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
15.10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
15.12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
15.13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
15.13 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
13.34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
13.35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Paul broke Christ's New Commandment by attacking the Jews and the Law, enticing them to violate their agreement in Deuteronomy 30. Sir, you have seen above how Jesus said that the Father loves Him because he kept the Father's commandments, which boils down to honoring the Torah and its prophets [sic. He shall make the law honorable]. In this way He said that He obeyed His Father's Voice and knows that those who know His Father's Voice [sic. Will] will know His Voice (because He and His Father are One). Thus:
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John 10.27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
10.28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
10.29 My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's Hand.
10.30 I and my Father are one.
10.31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
He said this yet prayed to the Father for guidance.
When we explore that gift mentioned in the Holy Scriptures having to do with the Latter Day Marriage, of man to the LORD, we must preface it with a commentary on that thing which preceded the Marriage. That thing, with respect to the Holy Scriptures, is called love. Here, in Part I, we discuss the Holy Scriptures' foundations of the LORD's love, and the Holy Scriptures' point of view of the Marriage which comes out of it, which we sketched in Part II. By this address we set the mood by which one can better understand what was meant in the three principal points made in our letter of December 31, 1994 which boils down to:
That Christ is the Eternal Word of God manifested in the flesh; and in that epiphany his spirit is, as it were, awakened. His Spirit is after David, or unto David, which means that how David described his awakening is how Christ is awakened. There is knowledge in Him which is drawn out, after the manner of Moses, who was drawn out of the Nile River and Egypt, or Abraham, who was drawn out of Ur.
The term used in the Psalms which refers to the awakening of the spirit is quickened. Jesus used that term in the same context, as seen earlier. What quickens Him are the Scriptures delivered by the Word of God to the prophets. Keep in mind how the prophets introduced their Testimony by acknowledging that and the Word of the LORD was upon me; or the word of the LORD came to me, etc., the examples of which we showed in On The Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church , etc.
This is how Jesus introduced Himself by reading Isaiah 61:
Isaiah 61.1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
61.2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn,
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This links to Marriage terminology:
Isaiah 61.10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
61.11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Christ is of one mind with the mind [the LORD] of the prophets which used the allegory of the Good Shepherd who is often described as a bridegroom.
In Isaiah 61, as noted before, Christ has the Mission of proclaiming the acceptable year of the LORD (see Part II) and the day of vengeance of our God. The acceptable year, of course, has to do with arrangements for the Marriage, for, as said, the land shall be married [Isaiah 62.4]; and, as seen in Ezekiel, a New Covenant shall be made with Israel and one also with the nations; and all of these shall be my sheep and I shall be their God; that this is the inheritance of the LORD, that of the things which the Father has given Christ he will lose nothing. Now when John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River, saying, prepare ye the way of the Lord, he was announcing the coming of the Groom for Betrothal, and before the Betrothal Ceremony too the Groom and Bride must cleanse themselves in the ritual bath. The standard Mikvah would not do, for such a large company, and thus we could see how John the Baptist would choose to go into the Wilderness to use the Jordan River for the Bride, Israel, and her Groom; and when He saw Jesus, his cousin, he said:
John 1.29 ..Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1.31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
1.33..the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
Those who understand and agree with this should step forward.
The last point we made in our December 31, 1994 letter had to do with how the servants will recognize the Good Shepherd [bridegroom] when he returns from the Wedding. You will recognize Him by the joy and mourning in the procession to His Wedding Chupo [Tabernacle]. Thus, we now explore what is behind the mourning.
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Behold I am but dust and ashes! There is no more profound statement in the Holy Scriptures that this, which comes from Abraham's discussion with the Angel of the LORD's presence. Before that moment the LORD had blessed Abraham and all of his seed, because he was the friend of God. In the communion formed out of that friendship, Abraham found himself greeted by the LORD and two angels, and they were concerned over what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah. So the Angel of the LORD's presence said:
Genesis 18.21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
18.22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
18.23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
18.26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
18.27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
18.28 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And He said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
18.33 And the LORD went his way...
Now the Judgment of the Gentile is after this manner; and I think you, Sir, will agree that we need not strengthen this point with other extracts of the Holy Scriptures. Malachi 4.1 is enough.
What is interesting in the above conversation is the fact that Abraham was pleading with the LORD not to destroy Sodom. In the dialectic, we find that the LORD's person is that of an extraordinarily fair mind. But the truth of the matter of Sodom was that Abraham had a nephew, Lot, with his family in Sodom, and argued on their behalf; but it was not only these for whom he pleaded but also the whole city. The LORD answered in all fairness that He suspected that apart from Lot's family there could be no righteous men found in Sodom (certainly not ten men).
What prompted Abraham to declare that he is but dust and ashes is the fact that he could directly speak unto His LORD, and though he saw a man, and entertained Him in His Tent, He knew it was the LORD. Since the Judgment of the Gentile follows the Judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, why would you or your Bishop expect to entertain anything less?
This is the mind of the LORD in the Latter Days, where men will react like Abraham, as we have shown:
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Jeremiah 23.20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until He have executed, and till He have performed the thoughts of His heart: In the Latter Days ye shall consider it perfectly.
Isaiah 52.8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
52.6 ..my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am He that doth speak: Behold it is I.
What most Christians fail to imagine in their hearts these days, at the time which is when My People have been restored to Zion, is the fact that the LORD has declared that He will reason with you in the Last Days, like as He reasoned with Abraham over Sodom.
In the relationship between Abraham and God there is a demonstration of friendship by both parties. We call this faithfulness. The first act of faithfulness is from God (as seen in the case of Sodom above, where He would have saved the whole rotten lot had his eyes (Two Angels – I shall go down and see for myself – ) seen ten righteous men. Nevertheless, His faithfulness to Abraham and his seed is repeated again:
Deuteronomy 7.9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.
7.10 And repayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them:
8.3..that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
To those who love Him according to His Word, He keeps His Covenant;
those who hate His Word, He pledges to destroy. This is another
reason why your Bishop should have some alarm in anticipation
of the Second Coming.
Now you should be able to see a true relationship of true friendship:
Abraham's enemies are the LORD's enemies and the LORD's enemies
are the Word's enemies: who hate His Word. Thus, we have
this progression from David:
Psalm 121.4 Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
121.5 The LORD is thy keeper..
And:
Psalm 98 O sing unto the LORD a new song; for He hath done marvellous things: His right hand, and His holy arm, hath gotten Him the victory.
98.2 The LORD hath made known His Salvation: His Righteousness hath He openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
98.3 He hath remembered his mercy and His truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
98.4 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
98.5 Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.
98.6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.
98.7 Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
98.8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together
98.9 before the LORD; for He cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall He judge the world, and the people with equity.
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From this we are taught:
Isaiah 55.6 Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near:
55.7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
55.8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
55.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts [This is a reading for the 9th of Av--see part II; ed. note].
The above articles of faith presume that all the nations will one day learn of the LORD, and those having learned of Him are separated at the time of judgment: the wicked on one side and the righteous on the other. Thus, the message coming out of the LORD's friendship for Abraham is that through Abraham the Word of God is introduced to the world. That Word ultimately reduces down to the message of Psalm 12, as mentioned several times before.
That a man lay down his life for his friends. Now the opposite of this kind of relationship (who hold the voice of the Lord's LORD in contempt--re: the back cover of Hidden Pavilions) is this:
Isaiah 30.12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
30.13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
30.14 And He shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel, that is broken in pieces; He shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.
If one has not this kind of relationship with a friend, then that friend is of no more worth than a broken vessel. Xenophon says something of note here:
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Xenophon, Memorabilia I.II.52 The goodwill of friends is worthless unless they could combine with it some power to help one.
As pertaining to this, the ancient sages around the world arrived at the conclusion that one must love his neighbor as one loves oneself [see Lev. 19.18; Matt. 19.19 and The Tapestry of One ]. They, seeing in each of us a soul and body, lead to the idea Xeonophon expressed;
Memorabilia I.IV.9 You do not see your soul which has mastery over your body..
– which leads to the thought that others can see [through] your soul when you yourself cannot see it. Christ reflected this sentiment when he, upon the cross, begged His Father to forgive them who afflicted Him, because they know not what they do [Luke 23.34].
Know thyself, whether your soul is inclined to good or whether it be for evil. This is a message throughout Xeonophon's works (which take pride in remembering the words of earlier sages and his teachers as was with our rabbis and others in