The following Scripture passages are offered to aid beginning fellowships. The readings and commentary for this week are more in line with what has become usual; for the following will most likely be familiar observations. The concept behind this Sabbath’s selection is the inner self of a human person being made alive.
Weekly Readings
For the Sabbath of January 19, 2013
The person conducting the Sabbath service should open services with two or three hymns, or psalms, followed by an opening prayer acknowledging that two or three (or more) are gathered together in Christ Jesus’ name, and inviting the Lord to be with them.
The Reading this Sabbath is a continuation of the Reading for January 12, 2013.
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That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. And He said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And He said to them, "What things?" And they said to Him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see." And He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged Him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So He went in to stay with them. When He was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And He vanished from their sight. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:13–35 emphasis added)
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[From the Reading for January 12th, 2013] Again, the Logos was the Helpmate of the Father, the God Israel did not know. And it is this understanding that separates the Elect from the remainder of Christendom.
With God, there is no male or female: there is the role of Head and of Helpmate, with the Father being the head of Christ as the husband is the head of his wife (1 Cor 11:3). However, Christ is the Head of the Church as the husband is the head of his wife; so the biologically male disciple whose inner self is a son of God will “marry” Christ as His Bride when glorified, thereby turning gender roles upside-down. And it is in this gender confusion that angels first appear to the women to tell them that Jesus has risen from the dead.
*
Certain time markers exist in the four Gospels’ post-Resurrection accounts: in Mark’s Gospel (original ending), the three women tell no one that Jesus has risen—no one knows! The stone has been rolled back when they arrive (unlike in Matthew’s Gospel, but like John and Luke), and an angel was sitting to the right side of the tomb, and the angel tells Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome to tell the disciples and Peter (Mark 16:7)—note the separation of Peter from the other disciples—that Jesus is going before them to Galilee. But the women, trembling and astonished, ran out of the tomb and tell no one anything.
Because these three women at the time tell no one that Jesus has risen, the disciples do not meet up with Jesus in Galilee. Nor do the three meet with the glorified Jesus Himself. Rather, nothing happens that differs from how others responded when encountering an angel: Daniel tells no one about his vision of the first year of Belshazzar, “‘Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart’” (Dan 7:28). Daniel did much the same with his vision of Belshazzar’s third year: “And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king's business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it” (Dan 8:27). Even with Daniel’s long vision of Cyrus’ third year, Daniel is told, “‘But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase’” (Dan 12:4). Only the three women see the angel with their eyes while they are awake, a significant deviation from previous encounters between angels and the prophets of Israel.
Israel after Daniel would not know of Daniel’s visions if he had not inscribed them in some form, and perhaps the same thing can be said for the three women, who say nothing to anyone (verses 9 on in Mark chapter 16 are not found in early manuscripts, and are late editions to the Gospel; for its ending with verse 8 is really unsatisfactory from a carnal perspective). To even know that these three women encountered an angel at the tomb requires that one or all three of them told someone something, either verbally or by inscription.
Because the women say nothing, this ending to Mark’s Gospel is thereby “unmarked,” a play on words that reaches behind the present era. The ending of nothing being said is of the 1st-Century, but not of the 18th day of the first month in the year 31 CE, the day when the women encounter the angel; for again, how would the author of Mark’s Gospel know that the women told no one that Jesus had risen unless the story comes from after the fact.
Mark’s Gospel has no meeting taking place between human persons and the glorified Jesus. If a person from reading Mark’s account of Jesus’ earthly ministry doesn’t believe that Jesus is the Christ, the author of Mark’s Gospel doesn’t help the person to believe by staging a post-resurrection meeting between the glorified Christ and human persons … if Moses could not look directly at the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and still live (Ex 33:20), how is it that Jesus’ disciples can look directly at the risen Christ who had the glory He had before the world existed (John 17:5) returned to Him? A problem exists in the accounts of Matthew, Luke, and John that would have their endings (none of which agree with each other) being symbolic rather than literal.
What is seen in John’s vision [the Book of Revelation] is a glorified Christ that no person can look directly upon:
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (Rev 1:12–20)
In encountering the glorified Christ, John responds even in vision as Daniel had when the angel brought him knowledge of what was written in the Book of Truth. And this is how disciples should have responded when encountering the resurrected Christ, especially post Ascension. And it is for this reason that Mark’s Gospel is unmarked: it represents what should have occurred physically. Meetings between the glorified Christ and His disciples should have been in visions. That they are not in visions becomes a subject for exploration.
In Matthew’s Gospel, the endtime disciple finds,
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." (Matt 1:10 emphasis added)
When the angel appeared to the prophet Daniel, we find:
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground. And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. (Dan 10:1–10 emphasis added)
The guards at the tomb behaved as the men with Daniel behaved: the Roman guards trembled and became like dead men (became as John was in vision), whereas the men with Daniel trembled and fled to hide themselves. However, the women at the tomb, unlike Daniel who was without strength, ran to tell the disciples what the angel told and showed them—and while running to tell the disciples all that had happened, Jesus met them and they came up to Him and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him … the women worshipped the risen Jesus, something that must not be overlooked especially considering that when Moses [the Son] spoke with the Lord in the tent of meeting, the people of Israel worshipped the Lord at the door of their own tents.
The juxtaposition established by the author of Matthew’s Gospel is that when the glorified Jesus went to heaven as Moses went to the tent of meeting, the women, analogous to the people of Israel, worshipped the Lord at the “door” of their own tents, which was the risen and returned Jesus (as in being baptized into Christ — Gal 3:27). But the women, representing Israel, was/are at a higher level on the hierarchal chain than were the people of Israel in the wilderness, a people who had stripped themselves of their ornaments [that with which they adorned themselves].
With patience, the argument can be made and supported that in Matthew’s Gospel the women—not the disciples—represent today’s Christian Church, which has yet to give figurative birth to a nation in a day …
Hear the word of [YHWH],
you who tremble at his word:
"Your brothers who hate you
and cast you out for my name's sake
have said, 'Let [YHWH] be glorified,
that we may see your joy';
but it is they who shall be put to shame.
The sound of an uproar from the city!
A sound from the temple!
The sound of [YHWH],
rendering recompense to his enemies!
Before she was in labor
she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
she delivered a son.
Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?
For as soon as Zion was in labor
she brought forth her children.
Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?"
says [YHWH];
"shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?"
says your God. (Isa 66:5–9)
The preceding passage from Isaiah is written in Hebraic thought-couplets that have the first presentation of an idea being physical or of this world and the second presentation of the same idea (thought or concept) being spiritual or of God. Understanding that the passage is written in thought-couplets will have <YHWH> being the physical equivalent to <your God> for the Zion that brings forth a nation and a people in a day … as an aside, those who are of the Sacred Names Heresy are without spiritual understanding for this heresy would have the conjoined deity represented by the Tetragrammaton YHWH (the conjoined deity that has YaH as the spokesman—the one who interacted with Israel—for the Father, WaiH) being the God of circumcised-of-heart Israel, but the Christology imbedded in the Tetragrammaton YHWH has been the subject of many previous Sabbath Readings—and will be a subject included in many more Sabbath Readings since the Sacred Names Heresy is the principle means presently employed by the Adversary to get infant sons of God to commit spiritual suicide.
At the Second Passover liberation of Israel, spiritual Zion will give birth in a day: she, representing greater Christendom, will be filled-with and empowered by the breath of God, thereby liberating all “Christians” from indwelling sin and death (see Rom 7:22–23), separating the demonic king of the South from the king of the North so that Christians remain mortal but have no indwelling death, meaning that to die physically they have to be killed from outside causes. Martyred.
Christians today are a mixed lot, with most not being born of God and therefore remaining fully sons of disobedience. When these Christians are filled with spirit (baptized in the divine breath of God [pneuma Theou]), they will still not be born of God but will be spiritually as Israel was physically when Israel followed Moses out from Egypt. And as the men of Israel numbered in the census of the second year—except for Joshua and Caleb—did not enter the Promised Land but died in the wilderness because of their unbelief, the Christians of greater Christendom, when filled with spirit, will rebel against God and will take sin back inside themselves and will perish spiritually during the Affliction, the first 1260 days of the seven endtime years of tribulation. They will then be slain physically when Christ returns at the end of the Endurance, the last 1260 days of tribulation.
At the Second Passover of Israel, the last Zion will give birth to a spiritual son, a spiritual Abel, a nation that is not like his mother who wrestled with indwelling sin and death as Jacob wrestled with the Lord. And 220 days later when the fifth seal is removed from the Scroll, this last Zion will give birth to a second son, a spiritual Cain, who will slay his brother, righteous Abel … the birth order is reversed for these two are the chiral image of physical Cain and Abel.
So far, all of this is “old news” to those who are Philadelphians. What isn’t old news, however, is that in Matthew’s Gospel, the two Marys represent all Christians in this present era, with Mary Magdalene apparently representing the Elect and “the other Mary” (Matt 28:1) representing the remainder of greater Christendom. These two women, together, represent the last Zion, the last Eve, the Woman who at the beginning of the seven endtime years gives birth to a spiritual Cain and Abel, then halfway through these endtime years, gives birth to a spiritual Seth, the third part of humankind (from Zech 13:9) from which the vast majority of firstborn sons of God come, with none of this third part today identifying itself as Christians.
Christians within greater Christendom deny legitimacy to anyone who doesn’t worship God as they do, with the worst culprits not being either disciples of the Roman Church or disciples who claim to be Latter Day Saints. Rather, the worst disciples are Sabbatarians trapped in the Sacred Names Heresy: they are as bobcats taken in a live trap. They hiss and snarl, growl and snap, threatening the one who would set them free … sobeit. If they don’t want to be set free, permit them to perish in peace. That is the least Philadelphians can do for them.
Back to where we were: John’s Gospel has the one Mary (Mary Magdalene) going to the tomb and there finding the stone already rolled away (John 20:1), unlike what Mary Magdalene and the other Mary found in Matthew’s Gospel … the difference in accounts should cause endtime disciples to ponder; for both accounts cannot be “literally” true. Only one can possibly be literally true, a reality that denies to Sola Scriptura legitimacy—
A Christian teacher or pastor can do his or her best to reconcile Matthew’s account with John’s account on a literal basis, but such reconciliation doesn’t exist, isn’t possible. Both accounts can only be true if the Mary Magdalene in John’s account is not the Mary Magdalene in Matthew’s account, meaning that in one or both of these accounts, “Mary Magdalene” is a symbol representing something or someone other than the woman named Mary Magdalene. For in Matthew’s account Mary Magdalene and the other Mary take hold of the glorified Jesus’ feet whereas in John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene is told by Jesus not to cling to Him (John 20:17).
Can the Elect cling to Jesus, or would they cling to Jesus if the glorified Jesus dwells inside the Elect … if the Elect walk in this world as Jesus walked, are the Elect clinging to Jesus? Or are the Elect walking behind Jesus, mimicking His every step? It would seem that the Elect walk behind Jesus by however many years separate them from the man Jesus who walked the roads of Judea nearly two millennia ago. And if this is the case, then Mary Magdalene can be a symbol or can function as a symbol in both Matthew’s and John’s Gospels, especially if the Mary Magdalene of Mark’s Gospel is the real person—for the Mary Magdalene of Mark’s Gospel tells no one that Jesus had risen from death. She does not meet or talk with the glorified Jesus, and she is silent about what happened. She is the unmarked woman, meaning that she is not a woman but a symbol.
In Mark’s Gospel, as in John’s Gospel, the stone is rolled from the tomb before Mary Magdalene arrives. But in Mark’s Gospel, the women encounter only one angel whereas in John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene encounters two angels (John 20:12) … note the following exchange and put this exchange into a Hebraic thought-couplet:
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). (John 20:11–16 emphasis added)
The exchange echoes what the Lord said to Elijah—
And he [Elijah] arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of [YHWH] came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He said, "I have been very jealous for [YHWH], the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away." And He said, "Go out and stand on the mount before [YHWH]." And behold, [YHWH] passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before [YHWH], but [YHWH] was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but [YHWH] was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but [YHWH] was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He said, "I have been very jealous for [YHWH], the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away." And [YHWH] said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him." (1 Kings 19:8–18 emphasis added)
A curious reader should wonder why the repetition: did not “the word of YHWH” ask Elijah the same question that YHWH asked Elijah, and did not Elijah answer “the word of YHWH” in the same words as Elijah answered YHWH?
The structure of Scripture and of the Godhead itself is based on this poetic Key of David that has the physical revealing and preceding the spiritual, with the Creator of all that has been made physically interacting with His firstborn son (Ex 4:22) as God the Father interacts through the Parakletos with His firstborn Son, Christ, Head and Body.
Returning to John’s Gospel:
· [physical ] The two angels said to Mary Magdalene,
"Woman, why are you weeping?"
· [spiritual] Jesus said to Mary Magdalene,
"Woman, why are you weeping? [physical]
Whom are you seeking?" [spiritual]
Jesus repeats the question asked by the two angels in the same way and for similar reasons as YHWH repeats the same question in the same words as “the word of YHWH” used to ask Elijah on the mountain of the Lord why he was there; thus, in this analogy, the two angels equate to “the word of YHWH” as the glorified Jesus equates to YHWH, with Mary Magdalene equating to Elijah. And this is not an analogy that was expected.
Luke’s Gospel is problematic; for the author of Luke’s Gospel, though humanly intelligent and certainly literarily astute, is without spiritual understanding … in Luke, a troupe of women, including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Joanna go to the tomb and find the stone rolled away [only in Matthew’s Gospel is the stone still covering the entrance to the tomb when the women arrive] (Luke 24:2).
The author of Luke’s Gospel admits that he uses the many narratives that had by this time been written about the things accomplished by disciples as the sources for his two-volume narrative [Luke and Acts] (see Luke 1:1–4). The author of Luke has no firsthand knowledge; yet he seeks to validate what Theophilus was taught, without endtime disciples knowing what it was that Theophilus was taught. Therefore, because the author of Luke copies passage either word-for-word and nearly word-for-word from Mark’s Gospel, all changes from Mark are deliberate and permit Luke to be deconstructed. And one of the changes is that the women do speak; they are not silent. And there are more of them than there are in Mark’s Gospel.
In John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene finds the empty tomb and the stone rolled away, and she runs to tell the disciples. Peter and the other disciple run to see the tomb, and they find it as Mary says … in Luke, only Peter goes to the tomb to see if what the women tell the disciples is so—Peter is separated from the other disciples as seen in the angel’s discourse in Mark’s Gospel. In Luke, the disciples collectively are unbelievers, but also in Luke, Mary Magdalene never sees or speaks to the glorified Jesus as she does in Matthew and John. Instead, Jesus appears to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus—and these two disciples perform the same function as the women [as Mary Magdalene] perform in Matthew and John.
But returning to how the women respond to angels, consider what the author of Luke writes:
While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise." And they remembered His words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. (Luke 24:4–11)
In encountering the angels, this troupe of women were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, but they were not as Daniel was (as if dead), nor were they as the women in the other three Gospels were (disturbed, but energetic). They were somewhere in-between in how they responded to the angels—and being in-between is not a good thing, but is a reflection of the author of Luke’s Gospel not understanding what was being revealed; not understanding that in Mark and Matthew women represent the Church.
Luke’s troupe of women does not represent the Christian Church in this era. It was the two men on their way to Emmaus who would represent the Church in this era. And this says much about the author of Luke’s Gospel perception of women and understanding of the Body of Christ.
How sad —
The Body of Christ functions as a woman, not as a man. It is certainly true that the Body of Christ does not have authority of the sort exercised by orthodox Christendom in abandoning the Passover and the Sabbaths of God; it is equally true that Christ Jesus does not yet have all authority in heaven and on earth as claimed in Matthew (Matt 28:18) and will not have this authority until the single kingdom of this world is given to Him halfway through the seven endtime years of tribulation. So at this present time, Christ Jesus is the Head of the Church, with the Church having no authority in this world, but being in the world as an abused woman/girl is. The Church’s only recourse is to separate itself from this world and from this world’s social and economic systems to the best of its abilities … full separation is not possible.
There are implications imbedded in this discourse that address the reality abused women have faced and about which they do not want to speak or recall. Their abusers can be likened to the Adversary. Whereas the loving husband or father is suggestive of Christ Jesus and God the Father, the male abuser destroys the woman’s trust of all male figures, something that Satan hopes to accomplish—and something the abused woman has to overcome before she can truly love God.
What Sadducees and Pharisees didn’t realize—and what Americans can realize when considering the financial health of the nation (America still believes it is the richest nation in the world, but in reality, it is the world’s greatest debtor nation)—was the lie that the remnant of Israel returned from Babylon as a free people to rebuild for themselves the temple of God, but in reality, the remnant that returned to Jerusalem were the serfs [subjects] of the king of Persia, and they returned to build a temple for Cyrus to worship the “‘God of heaven,’” the “‘God who is in Jerusalem’” (Ezra 1:2, 3). They were not returning under the Moab Covenant (see Deut 30:1–2), but were returning by command of the king of Persia to do a work for this king who was the shadow and type of the reality represented by the silver arms and chest of the humanoid image Nebuchadnezzar saw in vision—by the longer of the two horns of the ram that Daniel saw in vision in the third year of Belshazzar (Dan 8:3).
So there can be no misunderstanding, in the latter days, the setting for Nebuchadnezzar’s vision (Dan 2:28), the silver arms and chest—because of the color silver—represents false Christendom … when God is light, that which reflects light and appears as light imitates God but is not of God. If it were of God, as a son of God is of God, the entity would be “‘sons of light’” (John 12:36), and would not appear as reflected light but as light itself. And light cannot be seen until it is reflected off some object, from atmospheric dust particles to distant mountain ranges to the earth itself when seen from the moon. Thus, polished silver perhaps better than any other metal reflects light and mirrors God without being God. Polished iron also does this, but not as effectively as silver. And gray miry clay, representing humanity, has no shine, no particular reflection of light, but absorbs almost all of the light that falls on it. Hence, eighteen-percent-gray clay disappears into its surroundings at a distance of sixty yards or so.
Gold reflects yellow spectrum light and almost all of this spectrum, but gold is not light. A head of gold is not God, nor does this head (because of its color) look like God. And common bronze [90% copper; 10% tin] looks like common gold [18 carat gold: 75% gold; 25% copper]. Thus the belly and thighs of the humanoid image Nebuchadnezzar saw in vision can be likened to its head through similar colors, with color representing mindset (what is reflected from a human person). And the bronze belly and thighs of the humanoid image Nebuchadnezzar saw in vision rule this world (Dan 2:39) through the appetites of the flesh (food and sex) … all of humankind from birth has been consigned to disobedience and hence are serfs of the Adversary, ruled by the appetites of the belly and loins. All are born under the color of the physical sun; hence, almost without exception, all worship the sun. For it is the warmth of the sun (its yellow spectrum light) that sustains physical life.
But it is the bright (almost light) that is reflected off silver that forms the two horns of visible Christendom, with the longer of these two horns representing the demonic king[s] of Persia that precede in authority the yellow colored, federated king of Greece … have not Christian bishops sought to rule the appetites of the flesh through the quasi scriptural Seven Deadly Sins, and did not these bishops have success for century after century? Has it not been since higher criticism took root first in Europe and finally in America that the appetites of the flesh burst forth, leaving scantily clad women selling everything from chainsaws and automobiles to magazines and calendars? Does not advertising for fine wine and fast food support commercial television? And where would Capitalism be if there were no avarice?
The Roman Church was the principle beneficiary of the ascendancy of the silvery king[s] of Persia, with the Roman Church, sometimes tacitly, sometimes actively, resisting the appetites of the flesh through the mnemonic acronym SALIGIA, the first letters of the Seven Deadly Sins: superbia [wrath], avaritia [greed], luxuria [sloth], invidia [pride], gula [lust], ira [envy], acedia [gluttony]. But something happened in the past century: society today is propped up by greed, pride, lust, envy, gluttony. Wrath is still frowned upon as is sloth, but much of President Obama’s reelection support came from the portion of American society that itself requires support, this portion spending its days in activities that might be considered slothful … the poor will always exist, even in the most progressive cultures, but half of a nation cannot long sustain the other half, especially when the non-contributing half seems to do nothing productive.
The Lord entered His creation as His unique Son, the man Jesus the Nazarene. Then the Father, the previously concealed deity within the Tetragrammaton YHWH that Israel never knew, spoke directly to the Son, whom Moses [his name meaning, the Son] had foreshadowed. So—and here is understanding—the Father, the God of dead ones not living ones (see Matt 22:32), has never communicated directly with human persons, but first spoke to Yah, the God of living ones, who in turn spoke to Adam, Noah, Abram either in person or in vision; or the Father spoke to the man Jesus the Nazarene, the unique Son of Yah, who in turn conveyed the Father’s words to His disciples. And this is still the case: the Father speaks to the indwelling Christ that Jesus’ disciples receive when born of spirit, the breath of God [pneuma Theou] in the breath of Christ [pneuma Christou], and this spirit/breath then through the Comforter (what John’s Jesus calls the Parakletos) causes the disciple to know a matter through revelation via realization — the disciple just realizes that a thing is so, with this realization originating in the disciple receiving the mostly still un-accessible mind of Jesus at spiritual birth. The Parakletos makes accessible what would not yet be accessible to the disciple due to the disciple’s lack of spiritual maturity; for the Father regularly communicates with the indwelling Son so having the mind of Jesus is not a static state, but might well be likened to having the nature and personality and knowledge of Christ, with Christ changing not (Heb 13:9) but ever learning.
Until a person is born of God as a firstborn son (this is the reality of receiving the spirit/breath of God, giving to the person a second breath of life), the Father has no communication with a disciple of Christ Jesus. All communication with unborn disciples comes via angels or through the man Jesus leaving His words inscribed in the writings of Moses, or through directly hearing the words of Jesus—and this is where the Gospels become problematic. If Mark’s Gospel accurately conveys the words of Jesus, then Luke’s Gospel does not! Compare:
And immediately, while He was still speaking [to His sleepy disciples], Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize Him and lead Him away under guard." And when he came, he went up to Him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed Him. And they laid hands on Him and seized Him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled." And they all left Him and fled. And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against Him, saying, "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.'" Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?" But He remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked Him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need? You have heard His blasphemy. What is your decision?" And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, "Prophesy!" And the guards received him with blows. And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, "You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus." But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you mean." And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them." But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, "Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean." But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know this man of whom you speak." And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and wept. (Mark 14:43–72 emphasis and highlighting added)
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While He was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss Him, but Jesus said to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?" And when those who were around Him saw what would follow, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, "This man also was with him." But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him." And a little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not." And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, "Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean." But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?" And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him. When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, "If you are the Christ, tell us." But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God." So they all said, "Are you the Son of God, then?" And He said to them, "You say that I am." Then they said, "What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips." (Luke 22:47–71 emphasis and highlighting added)
A small thing: in Mark’s account, Jesus is questioned by the assembly before Peter denies being a disciple; Jesus is questioned by the assembly while it is still dark (i.e., before the cock crowed). But in Luke’s account, Peter denies being a disciple before Jesus is questioned by the assembly … it would have been illegal for the assembly to question Jesus in the dark, but everything about what the assembly was doing was illegal.
Matthew’s account needs to be considered:
While He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; seize Him." And he came up to Jesus at once and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" And he kissed Him. Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you came to do." Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?" At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left him and fled. Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward and said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.'" And the high priest stood up and said, "Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?" But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?" They answered, "He deserves death." Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, "Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?" Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean." And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man." After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you." Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. (Matt 26:47–75 emphasis and highlighting added)
Matthew agrees with Mark—the assembly questioned Jesus before Peter denied Jesus, with Peter’s third denial occurring before the cock crowed … my experience has been that roosters first crow in the morning when the false sunrise occurs a couple of hours before the actual sunrise. It is as if the arrival of the darkness portion of the night just before the sun begins to rise awakens roosters and they begin crowing. It will still be very dark outside, but the “feel” of the night has changed—it is time to leave the house to get to where it is that you intend to hunt—and roosters begin crowing while still on their roosts. For many years, I have listened to my roosters crow, the sound of their crowing carrying up the valley in the stillness of the predawn darkness, as I hiked up the planked logging road behind the house to arrive on the ridge top by sunrise. The roosters will crow for a while, then stop, only to resume with the pinkness of dawn.
Maybe, Luke will have better luck with John’s account:
When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which He and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with His disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to Him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." Judas, who betrayed Him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. So He asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that He had spoken: "Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one." Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. First they led Him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. The servant girl at the door said to Peter, "You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said." When He had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered him, "If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?" Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, "You also are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed. Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. (John 18:1–28 emphasis and highlighting added)
John’s account offers more detail than do the Synoptic Gospels and better accounts for why Jesus was questioned by the assembly while it was still dark, but John’s Gospel supports Mark’s Gospel and Matthew’s Gospel: Jesus was questioned before the cock crowed, before Peter denied Jesus a third time. And by the testimony of two or three a thing is established; so Luke’s Gospel is simply wrong about when Jesus was questioned.
But Luke’s Gospel copies Mark’s Gospel word-for-word in passages, which isn’t an accident or coincidental. Luke used Mark as a source text, but changed and added to what Mark wrote for reasons that are linked to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus receiving “right understanding” of the Scriptures before the Apostles received such understanding and receiving this right understanding before receiving the spirit of God.
Note: in John’s Gospel, there is a second disciple present when Jesus is being questioned, a disciple other than Peter and a disciple not challenged by the staff of the high priest but known to the staff; the disciple that gets Peter into the high priest’s courtyard … how does any of the writers of the four Gospel know what they know? The author of Luke’s Gospel tells us how he knows what he writes:
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1–4)
The author of Luke writes to validate the things that Theophilus had been taught. He doesn’t write to disclose new knowledge. He doesn’t write as an eyewitness or as a minister. So his sources of information are all second or third hand and therefore his words are inherently unreliable—and he writes against the authority of the Apostles. At best, he writes as a modern reporter for the New York Times would write a piece about gun use and the Second Amendment in America: he is a biased writer who set his hand to justify what Theophilus (or every Greek Lover of God) had been taught. And in having Jesus questioned by the assembly when it was lawful for Jesus to be interrogated, this writer gives implied validity to Jesus’ trial and condemnation—
Why? What would making Jesus’ condemnation a lawful act be important?
If Jesus’ condemnation occurred at night, the assembly would be a kangaroo court … why is it important to the author of Luke’s Gospel that Jesus’ condemnation be legitimate? By this author consciously moving Jesus’ interrogation into the daylight, he gives legitimacy to Jesus’ crucifixion. Then in Acts, this author morphs Jesus into Paul thereby producing a proto-Gnostic text.
For a disciple who was initially a Jew (an outwardly circumcised Israelite), everything done by “official Judaism” the night Jesus was taken was illegal; i.e., should not have been done according to the Law. But for a Greek convert, Judaism itself was immoral (the convert would have previously converted to Judaism if this were not the position held by the Greek). However, in moving beyond a person simply being culturally Greek prior to conversion, it is important for a Gnostic or a proto-Gnostic to know that right understanding of Scripture doesn’t come from the Apostles but comes directly from Jesus Himself.
Leaving unaddressed in this Reading that all of the Gospels mostly agree upon what Jesus said when confronted by those who took Him captive, let us move behind the two male disciples receiving right understanding …
Once a person has been born of God, communication from the Father comes to the indwelling Jesus who then causes the inner self of the person to know a matter that emerges as conscious thought through realization; i.e., through the disciple coming to know the matter.
When women symbolically represent the fleshly body of every person and the men are the head of these bodies through representing the inner self of the person, then for the two angels (in Luke’s Gospel) to appear to the troupe of women who had come from Galilee with Jesus, and for a single angel to appear to the three women [Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James, and Salome] in Mark’s Gospel and for a single angel to appear to the two women [Mary Magdalene and the other Mary] in Matthew’s Gospel places these women in the position of natural Israel, with whom angels delivered messages via visions … because the women see the angel[s] even though they are frightened, they are, in a spiritual hierarchy, above the guards that became like dead men (Matt 28:4).
In John’s Gospel, before dawn Mary Magdalene finds the stone rolled away and the tomb empty, runs and tells Simon Peter and the others, and Peter and John race to see for themselves. Apparently Mary runs with them and remains outside the tomb when they return to their homes (or the homes where they were staying since they were from the Galilee), and there outside the tomb, still early in the morning, two angels appear to Mary (John 20:12) before Jesus manifests Himself and tells her not to touch Him for He has not yet ascended to the Father.
If these women symbolically represent the fleshly body of a person (for the sake of this discussion, Christ), in Mark’s Gospel the three women out of fear never tell anyone that Jesus has risen, which would make these women analogous to natural Israel that never tells anyone the Jesus rose from the dead even though they know that He did.
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus doesn’t appear to the troupe of woman who have come from Galilee: only the two angels appear to the women, who reported what the angels told them but their words were not believed. What they reported to the disciples seemed to the disciples to be an idle tale (Luke 24:10–11). However, Peter went to check out what the women reported and found what they said was so … no angel appeared to Peter, and Jesus had not yet appeared to the disciples.
In Matthew’s Gospel, one angel speaks to the two women who come to the tomb and tells them to tell the others that Jesus has risen. But Jesus Himself them meets with the women, who took hold of His feet (Matt 28:9), in a very different scenario from that presented in John’s Gospel … in Volumes Four and Five of A Philadelphia Apologetic, the argument is advanced that the Jesus of Mark’s Gospel represents the man Jesus that lived physically, while the Jesus of Matthew’s Gospel represents the indwelling glorified Jesus that permits disciples to receive the breath of the Father that would otherwise consume them. In Volume Five, a case is begun for Luke’s Gospel being a proto-Gnostic text; for Luke’s Gospel presents a different and a contrary Jesus from the one found in the other three Gospels.
But in both Matthew’s and John’s Gospel, Jesus appears to “Mary Magdalene” before He appears to His disciples, which suggests that the glorified Jesus appears to His Body [the Church] before He engages with male disciples, with the male disciples in Matthew’s Gospel going to a mountain in Galilee to meet with the glorified Christ. And because this glorified Jesus tells the Eleven that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him, this meeting on a mountain in Galilee can be dated to after the kingdom of this earth is taken from the Adversary and his angels and given to the Son of Man, Head and Body, meaning that this meeting doesn’t occur until halfway through the seven endtime years of tribulation.
If the two Mary’s in Matthew’s Gospel and Mary Magdalene in John’s Gospel can be read as the Body of Christ—with Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female” (Gal 3:28)—then the ending of Matthew’s Gospel makes more sense than otherwise, and the ending of John’s Gospel reveals more information than was previously understood.
Pause a moment and consider: Americans in particular and the entire industrialized world in general believe that somehow we are smarter and better able to comprehend subtle nuances than were earlier generations that had the luxury of time to think about what a passage might mean. If anything, we understand less subtleties because we know more, or think we do. We don’t entertain ourselves in our minds. Rather, we rely upon others to entertain us. We don’t make music ourselves, even with a jaw-harp. We listen to the best music that can be made by others on increasing smaller and more sophisticated electronic devices. We seldom spend time telling stories. We listen to the stories of others, now often told via video. Our friends don’t sit beside us and tell us what they think; what they have done; how they understand life. Instead, we log onto Facebook, post a message to a wall, then run away before any real dialogue is entered-into. So we are actually less able than ever before to grasp the symbolism represented in angels first appearing to the women post Resurrection. Feminism has stolen much of the distinction between male and female in its unwitting attempt to make the outer body the equal of the inner self, and humankind the equal of God. But difference exists. Victoria’s Secret wouldn’t be in business if difference didn’t exist.
Difference exists between the natural nation of Israel, the nation circumcised in the flesh, the nation that Paul compares to Ishmael who was born through a man having his way with a fertile woman, and the circumcised-of-heart nation of Israel, born of promise as Isaac was born of promise … the first Israel was of the first Adam, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the lineage of this firstborn son of God (Ex 4:22) being repeatedly narrowed until only Joshua [representing Jacob] and Caleb [representing Esau] of the nation that left Egypt and was numbered in the census of the second year entered into the promised land of Canaan. But the second Israel, the nation that is to be circumcised of heart, is not in this era a nation of human persons who are male or female, the biology of fleshly bodies. Rather, spiritual Israel is the assembly of inner selves that were dead through being consigned to unbelief (disobedience) because of Adam’s unbelief. And the inner selves of human persons are to the Father and the Son as the fleshly body of the person is to its inner self. Therefore, the inner self that is the head of the fleshly body as a husband is the head of his wife, is itself as the woman is to the man when it comes to God. The inner self of a human person becomes the receptacle in which Christ Jesus dwells as the head of the disciple in a manner made visible through the consummation of a marriage. Thus, an angel or two angels appearing to women post-Resurrection is analogous to a fleshly body with a still dead inner self (the relationship natural Israel had with YHWH); whereas for Jesus to appear to “Mary” post-Resurrection and to appear before appearing to His first disciples is analogous to the inner self of a human person being made alive through the indwelling of Christ prior to when all of the Christendom is filled-with and empowered by the breath of God at the Second Passover liberation of Israel.
This subject will be continued, but not before other subjects are addressed.
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The person conducting the Sabbath service should close services with two hymns, or psalms, followed by a prayer asking God’s dismissal.
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"Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."