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Metaphysical Interpretation Of The Book of Numbers
From: The Spiritual Venturer, Denver Co.
Numbers part 1
The same story as the book of revelations.
The mind must be renewed, if we are to lift up ourselves from the control of the ANIMAL mind, as evident, from looking at the state of our world today and yesterday.
The story that religion has missed.To wake up Lazarus, to be LIFTED up, to the higher conscious state.
We now begin the interpretation of the Book of Numbers, the forth book of Moses, using allegory, symbols and metaphor to uncover underlying meanings.
The first five books of Moses were written around the ninth and tenth centuries B.C. The events occurred several centuries earlier.
The fourth book of Moses, the Book of Numbers, Minyana in Aramaic, refers to the numbering of the people. It deals chiefly with the wanderings of the Israelites in the second year of their journey, up to the time that they came within view of the Promised Land. (the higher conscious state).
Chapter 1. The Numbering of the Tribes of Israel.
This book begins with the Lord telling Moses to take a poll of every man, twenty and over, that is able to go to war. He tells Moses that each tribe is to have a leader, "every one head of the house of his fathers," which he named.
To number something means to take stock of it, to analyze it and know what it is about.
The members of the Tribes were the Children or descendants of the twelve children of Jacob. As we have found before, children in the Bible, are a symbol for ideas. Since we know that our consciousness is in the wilderness, we know that we are at a consciousness level of confusion. When n this place, one of the things we should do, is take stock of our ideas.
The war that we are preparing for is against our own lower nature, as are all spiritual battles, In this story, we are given a ‘blue-print' for how to progress. We must begin by understanding our ideas and beliefs, (counting them).
There are twelve tribes, because the number twelve represents man. The twelve signs of the zodiac include a total of 360°: that is, everything.
Jacob had twelve children through four different women. Leah had Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. Rachel had Joseph and Benjamin.
Bihah had Dan and Nephtali. And Zilpah had Gad and Asher. Later, the tribe of Levi (a child of Leah) became the tribe of the priests and was replaced by the split of the tribe of Joseph, (a child of Rachel) into two - see below. Four hundred years later, in the wilderness, the descendants of the children became the twelve tribes.
The five tribes from Leah, (ignoring Levi for the moment) which translates as weary and which symbolizes the human soul, asleep, are the following:
Reuben means behold a son; it symbolizes faith in reason, and is associated with Aquarius. Its leader is Elizur, which means God is a rock or refuge.
Simeon means hearing and obedient. It symbolizes one who listens and obeys and is associated with Gemini. Its leader is Shelumiel, which means God is wholeness.
Judah means praise Jehovah. It symbolizes the mental acceptance of the need to connect with God; and is associated with Leo, the lion. Its leader is Nahshon, which means oracle or prophet. (In our present times, this is the tribe which has retained it identity. It is known as the Jews.)
Issachar means who brings reward, or compensation and symbolizes the willingness to work, zeal. It is associated with Taurus. Its Leader, Nethaneel, means God gives.
Zebulun means habitation and dwelling. It symbolizes order. It is associated with Pisces. Its leader, Eliab, means God is father or strength.
The three tribes from Rachel, which means ewe or lamb and symbolizes the feminine or receptive soul are the following:
*Ephraim means very fruitful; productive and symbolizes the will. It is associated with Sagittarius. Its leader is Elishama, which means God understands.
*Manasseh means who makes to forget and represents denial and forgetfulness. It is associated with Scorpio. But, its leader Gamaliel, means God rewards.
Benjamin means son of good fortune and symbolizes an active faith. It is associated with Cancer. Its leader is named Abidan, which means Father of judgement (righteous).
The children of Bilhah, which means timid and tenderness, are the following:
Dan means rule of righteous judgement and symbolizes the earliest expression of judgement. It is associated with Dan scorpio. Its leader, Ahiezer means Helpful brother.
Naphtali means my wrestling with Jah or Jehovah. It symbolizes the struggle between the mortal and the divine. It is associated with Capricorn. Its leader, Ahira, means Brother, nourisher, or shepherd.
Finally, the children of Zilpah, which means extracting an essence; or trickling; symbolizing the slow unfolding of the soul of man, are the following:
Gad means abundance and good fortune. It symbolizes power and the material rewards which accompany it. It is associated with Aries. Its leader, Eliasaph, means God gathers and increases.
Asher means prosperous, blessedness. It is symbolic of the rewards of uprightness. It is associated with Libra. Its leader, Pagiel, means Peace or visitation of God.
* The Twelve tribes originally included the tribe of Levi. But the Lord designated the tribe of Levi as the priests and indicated that they were not to be counted, they also were not allocated any geographic area. So the Bible listed the two sons of Joseph, (Ephraim and Manasseh) as two separate tribes, where originally they were one, (Joseph). The result was that there were twelve tribes again. (Regardless of the history, the symbols must be maintained.)
If we held these ideas (the meaning of the names of the leaders) in our mind and truly believed in them, we would indeed have an army with which to fight the negativity, fears, selfish passions and emotions of our lower nature.
Next, the tribes were counted:
Tribe Poll
Reduced number
Members of the zodiac
Reuben 46,500 6
Simeon 59,300 8
Judah 74,600 8
Issachar 54,400 4
Zebulun 57,400 7
Ephraim 40,500 9
Manasseh 32,200 7
Benjamin 35,400 12
Dan 62,700 6
Asher 41,500 10
Gad 45,650 2
Naphtali 53,400 3
For a total of 82 which equals TEN, the full manifested power of GOD.
Pythagoras said "All the world is made by number." Numbers are very powerful symbols and we have talked about them on many occasions since we started with Genesis. Here, each tribe is counted. I have simplified each number by combining the digits and reducing each to a single number. (This has its origination in the teachings of Pythagoras.)
Simply add each digit in the original number, ignoring the zero's. If the result is more than a single digit, repeat.
Example: 46,500=4+6+5=15
1+5=6
There were no Hebrew or Aramaic numerals, so that numbers were represented in the original writings of the Bible by letters. This leads to an interpretation of numbers as cross references back to ideas as well as names.
Notice that all possible integers 1 through 9 are represented at least once in the poll of the tribes, but they are not all represented in reduced numbers. The Bible uses specific numbers for specific meanings. Included in the symbolism of the numbers are many basic concepts related to the creation of our world and our relationship to divinity. But before we begin to interpret them. Let's look at the meaning of the numbers: as used throughout the Bible
1. One represents Unity, God the First Cause, the Source of all Creation. It is the Alpha and Omega, for all begins with one and eventually is completed again in one or Unity. It is the symbol of the snake with its tail in its mouth.
2. Two represents the descent of spirit into matter. It is the number of manifestation. It is the spirit over the waters which created the world of matter; the world of duality; the male and the female; the two columns of Masonry.
Metaphysical Bible Dictionary: Unity
New Age bible Interpretation: Old Testament Vol. I. by Corine Heline
The Science of the Soul: by R. Swinburne. Clymer Who Wrote the Bible: by Richard Elliott Friedman
Numbers
Part 2
Chapter 1-3 (cont.)
We continue the interpretation of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Old Testament, using allegory, symbols and metaphor to help to understand its inner meaning.
We started to give a brief summary of the meanings of the numbers used here and throughout the Bible. We will start at the beginning:
1. One represents Unity, God the First Cause, the Source of all Creation. It is the Alpha and Omega, for all begins with one and eventually is completed again in one or Unity. It is the symbol of the snake with its tail in its mouth.
2. Two represents the descent of spirit into matter. It is the number of manifestation. It is the spirit over the waters which created the world of matter; the world of duality; the male and the female; the two columns of Masonry.
3. Three represents the Holy Trinity, it is the birth of the Christ Child within, which is the product of the marriage of the uplifted male (intellect or spirit) and the uplifted male (intellect or spirit) and the uplifted female (heart or water); the proper balance of body, mind and soul. It may also represent the process by which all are spiritualized; as in the three degrees, the three days in the grave.
4. Pythagoras called the number four the "Sacred Quaternary." It is the number of the four elements; that from which all the manifested universe was made. It can be symbolized by the cross, which is also a symbol for man. It may also represent completion or total; the four directions; the four corners of the earth; the four-square man. The four quadrants of the zodiac.
5. Five is the number of the ego rising up our of the material or manifest world. It represents the first baptism or awakening of the mind to spiritual things. It is the resurrection from the tomb of matter. It may also represent an expression of grace, as in the five loaves fed to the people by the Nazarene.
6. The number six is the beginning of communication between man and God, it denotes the progress of man Godward. It is the number of the builder, another number of completion, this on the material level as in the six days of creation.
7. Seven is the number of perfection on the material plane. It has the power to lift to a higher and more perfect order. It is a completed cycle, it denotes self mastery and control. It is the most common number in the Bible. It's the seven seals or chakras on the spine.
8. Eight is the number of the elevated feminine, the double feminine. It represents the resurrection of the heart; the exaltation of the emotions and passions. It may also indicate a new, spiritual beginning.
9. Nine is the lower mind in Greek
The following numbers are not reduced to a single digit. They have special meanings as used in the Bible.
10. The number ten represents the Law as in the Ten Commandments. It has to do with the number one connected to the zero. It has to do with god, the ideal in manifestation or Divine Law, Which has to do with the relationship of God in the material world.
12. The number twelve has to do with the divine purpose of God; the twelve tribes, the twelve disciples, the twelve angels, twelve gates and twelve foundations of the Holy City in Revelation. It also represents spiritual perfection.
12 cranial nerves of the brain.
30. The number thirty is used to indicate sorrow; a time of mourning.
40. The number forty represents trials and test ans their completion and is used many times in the Bible. It indicates an experience of spiritual growth, which though difficult, has been completed successfully.
50. The Number fifty is a symbol for celebration, Pentecost. It is found where there is to be a jubilee or some other celebration of success. It is seven times seven plus one or perfection times perfection plus God.
70. The number seventy represents judgment. It is used as a symbol for our higher conscience, that part of us which tells us if we have been acting in harmony with that which we know to be right, or Divine Law. It is seven times ten or perfection times law.
The Encampment of the Tribes, signs of the zodiac.
Each tribe was to pitch their tent around the tabernacle of testimony. They were to assemble to the standard of each tribe. Judah was to assemble first on the East side (the enlightened mind), in the direction of the rising sun.
The tribe of Reuben was to assemble on the South side (the physical). On the West (the intellect) side was the tribe of Ephraim.
Dan was to assemble on the North side (the subconscious). And in the center (the divine mind), the midst of the camp, was the tabernacle and the attending Levites.
The tribes are organized first by their leaders and then four of them are placed in the four directions, which represent the four elements of which man is made, (fire, water, air and earth.) All of which means to "Know thyself."
Numbering the Levites.
Now the lord tells Moses that He has taken the Levites for his own instead of the firstborn of all the Israelites, and that Moses should count every male Levite from a month old and upward. The total was 22,000. Note; you have 22 bones that make up your skull. The book of revelations is 22 chapters, and the tarot deck has 22 major arcana.
The name Levi, in Aramaic, means uniting, loving. So the children or tribe of Levites represent the thoughts that come from the consciousness of love. Obviously these are the thoughts that will be associated with and ultimately will serve God.
After numbering all the other tribes as warriors, the Lord went on to say that those that encamp at the door to the tabernacle toward the east, are to be Moses and Aaron and that if a stranger attempts to come high to his place, he shall be put to death. east is the right hemisphere of the brain.
With the other tribes in the four directions surrounding the tabernacle, it is only the Levites leaders, Moses and Aaron who can be at the door and eventually enter the Holy of Holies. This is because only Love can know God, or Love. Anything other that Love would not survive the experience of coming face to face with God.
Numbers
Part 3
Chapter 4-6
We continue the interpretation of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Old Testament, using allegory, symbols and Metaphor to find additional meaning.
Chapter 4. The Caretakers of the Tabernacle.
The Lord told Moses to take the sons of Kohath ( the second son of Levi) from the ages of thirty to fifty and count them. that's EIGHT. They were to be servants of the tabernacle.
It was to be the job of Aaron and his sons to set up and take down the tabernacle as the people journeyed from place to place. This meant that they would be handling the holy things of the tabernacle. The sons of Kohath were to carry the materials between campsites. They were admonished not to touch the holy things. They were numbered at 2,750. 14=5
Kohath means assembly or convocation in ancient Hebrew (Aramaic). It indicates the attracting, unifying aspect of love. Levi represents love and so his children represent different aspects of love. Allegorically, we are being told that it is a unifying love which enables us to build and rebuild the temple.
And it is this love which will be the protection of the holy things. They are not to touch the holy things, because in truth these things are no of the material world and so cannot be experienced by the physical senses.
Then the Lord told Moses that the sons of Gershon (the eldest son of Levi) were to carry the curtains, coverings and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle. Again, a sum was to be taken of those between thirty and fifty. They were to be under the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. The sons of Gershon numbered 2,630.
Gershon in Aramaic means thrusting out or expulsion. It is the feeling of isolation which follows the student as he first turns to the spiritual, full of zeal. He has not yet found harmony. This is the first son or first level of consciousness of Aaron or love, and it is the result of the awakening of the heart chakra, to spiritual things.
The number 2,630 when reduced yields 11.
We do not reduce 11, 22 or 33 as they are considered master numbers. The number eleven indicates an emotional level which, though powerful, is somewhat unstable. This is consistent and gives some additional insight into the level of consciousness being indicated. This level of consciousness is involved with the curtains, the coverings and the door. It is the level which is beginning to uncover the realities of the spiritual world which heretofore have been veiled.
Next, the Lord told Moses that the sons of Merari were to be in charge of the boards, the bars, the pillars, sockets, pins and cords of the Tabernacle. And Moses was to number each man between thirty and fifty years old. They came to 3,200.
The name Merari translates from the Aramaic as bitter, unhappy or rebellious. This level of love is that which comes from ignorance and selfishness. This is the common love consciousness of the natural man. Because it is still in the material, it is bitter, unhappy and sometimes rebellious.
The number 3,200 reduces again to 5. Five is also the number of the first baptism or awakening. So it is from this first level of love consciousness that our baptism must come. For true love, even on this level, will eventually lift us up to a spiritual awakening. This level of consciousness is responsible for the main physical supports of the tabernacle. And so it is with our inner temple, it must be founded on the material level. It is the house build upon a rock. it is the overcoming of the 5 senses.
Chapter 5. More Rules.
The Lord told Moses that when a man or woman commits a sin then they shall confess their sin and make an atonement to the person wronged, if possible, in not, then to the priest of the temple.
This is pretty explicit and echoes Christ's words "as ye sow, so shall ye reap."
If a man jealously accuses his wife of adultery, she shall be tested by the priest in the following manner: the priest shall take holy water and add to it dust from the floor. Then he shall question the woman before the Lord, and she shall be made to drink the water. If she is innocent, the water will hot harm her and she shall be absolved and shall bear a male child. But if guilty, it will cause her belly to swell and her thigh to rot and she shall be a curse among her people.
Hidden in this explanation of the law is the idea that we will all drink the waters of sorrow for our misdeeds. But, if we succeed in goodness and purity we will attain the second birth, indicated here by the birth of the male child. The priest is our conscious or spiritual wisdom and it will always be with us to judge our actions.
Chapter 6. The /law of a Nazarite.
This chapter lays down the rules for those who become Nazarites, a group of religious people who withdrew from general society to serve God. Before a man or woman takes the vow of a Nazarite, he must avoid strong drink as well as grapes themselves. They were also not to cut their hair and were to stay away from dead bodies.
Nazarite means separated, or consecrated by vow. A Nazarite signifies those of us who have started on the Path to spiritual attainment. As such, we are set apart by our decision. We are dedicated to a life of truth, free from worldliness, and error. The admonition to avoid dead bodies indicates that we are to abandon the race belief in materiality and death.
There are few references to the Nazarites in history. They were similar to the Essenes of a later time, to whom they were related philosophically. Both groups were mysterious and worked primarily on an esoteric level.
They did their work privately and apart from the world. This is almost always the case with spiritual work, for the masses do not approve of what they do not understand.
This is a description of the ceremony which establishes a person's separation from the masses and his cow to become a Nazarite. The petitioner, after he goes through a period of preparation and abstinence from wine which represents worldly appetites; and refrains from cutting his hair, which represents dissipating his creative energies, he goes to the door of the tabernacle and makes offerings. These acts indicate both the period of preparation which is required and the letting go of material things represented by the offerings.
Finally, "the Nazarite shall shave his head as a sign of his separation at the door of the tabernacle and put it in the fire." Once he approaches the spiritual consciousness at the "door of the temple," he uses his creative forces (hair) for positive, loving and spiritual purposes and gladly uses it to fuel the fires of his spiritual development.
Then follows the Lord's benediction which He spoke to Moses to give to Aaron for use as a blessing for the children of Israel.
"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon
thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up his countenance upon
thee, and give thee peace.
Numbers
Part 4
Chapter 7-8
We continue the interpretation of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Old Testament, using allegory, symbols and metaphor to discover veiled meanings.
Moses finally completed the building of the Tabernacle. The time came to dedicate it for the use of the people. Twelve princes from the twelve tribes of Israel brought offerings to commemorate the occasion. They presented their offerings before the altar.
They brought six covered wagons and twelve oxen before the tabernacle (18=9). These gifts were given to the Levites, according to instructions from the Lord. Two wagons and four oxen were given to the sons of Gershon. (6)
Four wagons and eight oxen (12) were given to the sons of Merari. But, nothing was given to the sons of Kohath, because their service to the sanctuary was to bear it upon their shoulders. tl 18=9 mans lower mind.
Gershon, translated from the Aramaic, means thrusting out or exile. He was the oldest son of Levi, the head of the tribe of Levi or the Levites (those designated as priests by the Lord). His name tells us that this is the consciousness of separation, when we first start on the spiritual path and we are full of zeal and may at first find ourselves isolated. Still a sojourner in a strange land, we are finding our way and have not yet found inner harmony.
Merari, in Aramaic, means bitter and unhappy. Another son of Levi, Merari, represents the love nature when it is undeveloped and controlled by selfishness and ignorance. It is the result of love without wisdom.
Kohath, translated is assembly, convocation or one who obeys a call. Kohath was the second son of Levi. He represents the unifying, attracting power of love.
Gershon and Merari are of the Outer Court. Kohath was the Inner court.
The wagons and oxen were given to those without, for their responsibility was to transport the tabernacle.
This is the "Outer" work, or preparation, having to do with the passions and emotions, represented by the oxen.
But Kohath, of the Inner court, was to bear the sanctuary itself, a sacred burden which must be carried within and alone.
This is the spiritual, inner work which must take place within and is often referred to as the "building of the temple," the temple of the soul.
Then the Lord told Moses that each of the princes of the twelve tribes of Israel should offer an offering, each on a separate day, for the dedicating of the altar.
The two offerings of each of the twelve princes were exactly the same. The first, a sin offering, consisted of one silver charger, weighing 130 shekels; one silver bowl of seventy shekels, containing flour mixed with oil; one golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense; one young bullock, one ram, one lamb, and one kid.
tl number 12
The second, a peace offering, consisted of two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five lambs. =8
These offerings of the altar, represent the sacrifices which must be made by the Seeker, in order to build the altar within.
The animals, i.e., the oxen, rams and goats, for the burnt offering relate to the sacrifices of or the denial of the lustful nature and negative emotions. This is the sacrifice of the heart.
The offerings of flour mixed with oil relate to the sacrifices and the cleansing of the intellect or consciousness. This is the sacrifice of the mind.
The incense in the golden spoons represents the sweet fragrance of the soul. This is the offering of the soul. Body, mind and soul: these are the offerings which all neophytes on the Path must make in order to seek and find the Truth.
The silver chargers and golden spoons represent the balancing of the masculine and feminine, the mind and heart, the same meaning as the holy grail and the sacred spear. This balance or harmony is also required for success on the Path.
The Bible story identifies each prince and then repeats the listing of his offerings in detail, (as if we had never heard them before), twelve times.
The first day, the offering prince was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab of the tribe if Judah. Nahshon means prophet or seer in Aramaic. Amminadab means people of willing generosity.
The second day, it was Nathaneel, the son of Zuar, of the tribe of Issachar. Nathaneel means given of God or instructed of God. Zuar means reduced or littleness.
The third day, the prince was Eliab the son of Helon of the tribe of Zebulun. Eliab means God is Father. Helon means strong, and firm.
On the fourth day, it was Elizur the sone of Shedeur, of the tribe of Reuben. Elizur means God is a refuge. Shedeur means sender of light.
The fifth day was Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, from the tribe of Simeon. Shelumiel means the peace of God or friend of God. Zurishaddai means the Almighty is a rock.
The sixth day it was Eliasaph, son of Reuel, the prince of Gad. Eliasaph means God increases. Reuel means led of God or companion of God.
The seventh day the offering was made by Elishama, the son of Ammihud, the prince of the tribe of Ephraim. Elishama means whom God hears. Ammihud means people of excellence.
On the eighth day it was made by Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, of the tribe of Manasseh. Gamaliel means led of God. Pedahzur means the rock of redemption.
The ninth day it was Abidan, son of Gideoni and prince of the tribe of Benjamin. Abidan means a judge. Gideoni means destroyer of evil.
The tenth day it was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, the prince of Dan. Ahiezer means helpful. Amminishaddai means people of the Almighty.
On the eleventh day it was offered by Pagiel the son of Ocran and prince of Asher. Pagiel means peace of God. Ocran means confused
Finally, on the twelfth day, the offering was made by Ahira, the son of Enan and the prince of the tribe of Naphtali. Ahira means brother shepherd. Enan means having eyes.
Each of the twelve represents an aspect of development that, interpreted on an internal level, is part of the process which leads us from the building of the temple within, to the altar itself. Each one, or each aspect has its sacrifice or offering to make.
When all had made their offering, the altar was anointed and Moses went into the tabernacle to speak with the Lord: "...then he (Moses) heard the voice of one speaking unto him from of the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him."
This is the point of all this preparation and sacrifice. Once accomplished, we may then go "into the tabernacle to speak with the Lord." In reality, this is the one and only place where we can speak with the Lord.
Numbers
Part 5
Chapter 9-12
We are interpreting the Book of Numbers, the forth book of the Old Testament, using allegory, symbols and metaphor to try to understand it deeper meaning.
Chapter 9. The Cloud by Day and the Fire by Night.
The Lord told Moses that the children of Israel were to keep the Passover. Even if they were defiled by coming into contact with a dead body or journeying in a far place. If a stranger staying with them, kept the Passover, he was to be treated equally with the Israelites.
As you may recall, the Passover symbolized our mentally leaving the material world behind and beginning a search for spiritual realities. To keep the Passover then, means to stick to that decision, to continue in our search for Truth. The stranger represents new ideas that come into our heads. If they are consistent with our new goals, if they "keep the Passover" then we should welcome them. The implication is that if they do not, we should ask them to leave.
Now the tabernacle, or tent of the testimony (the brain), was covered by cloud (the higher consciousness) by day and by fire by night (the pineal gland on fire).
When the cloud lifted, the people traveled, when it descended, they stopped and pitched their tents. No matter how long it rested, nor how long it was taken up, they traveled only when it was lifted up and waited and rested when it tarried. They journeyed and they rested at the commandment of the Lord.
The cloud represents the feminine side of us. The fire represents the masculine. To be led in the direction of spiritual growth, we must follow a balance of the feminine or heart and the masculine or intellect. The two must work together. We must give each its due time. So we wait sometimes for the heart to grow and be ready for a further step and sometimes for the intellect. We must be patient with each, no matter how long it takes.
Chapter 10. The Silver Trumpets.
They were told to construct two silver trumpets, each of a single piece of metal. The trumpet is the voice of the higher consciousness calling, the metal is physical.
They had several purposes. They were to call the people to assembly and to announce the beginning of a journey. When both were blown, all the people were to assemble. When only one was blown, the princes only were to gather. The trumpets were to be blown by the sons of Aaron. In time of tribulation, they were to blow an alarm with the trumpets and they would by remembered and aided by God. Finally, in all celebrations and solemn rituals, they were to blow the trumpets as a memorial before God.
The two trumpets represent the same two forces as the cloud and the fire. The neophyte must direct the spiritual forces he is developing in order to progress.
This direction is symbolized by the blowing of the trumpets. It is these forces which are used to accomplish the continuing work or building of the temple within.
In the second month of the second year after their release from egypt, the Israelites were led out of the wilderness of Sinai and into Paran. 4, means the four cardinal points of the zodiac.
Moses' brother-in-law, Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, determined not to accompany them into the wilderness (meditation) of Peran. Moses asks him to go with them for Hobab knew how to make camp in the wilderness. Moses also said to him, "Thou shalt be to us instead of eyes.
The number two symbolizes the descent of spirit into matter. It refers again to the idea of male and female, the duality of the material world. Sinai in Aramaic means precipitous. It represents a state of consciousness wherein we are searching for God and He is there to be found. Paran means a region of searching. It represents an even more earnest searching after Truth.
Hobab translated from the Aramaic means beloved or cherished. He represents understanding and discrimination. Both of these are required and cherished by the awakening mind seeking after things spiritual.
Chapter 11. The Lord Sent Quail for Meat.
The people began to complain that they missed the fish which they had eaten in Egypt (the lower material mind).
Moses went to God and asked of Him, "Have I conceived all this people? Have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, ‘Carry him in thy bosom...?' I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me."
Moses asked the Lord, "Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people?"
And the Lord told Moses to bring seventy of the elders of Israel into the tabernacle to meet with Him. "And I will come down and talk with thee there and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone." And He did so, and the elders began to prophesy.
The intellect is not able to carry on all the spiritual development which is required. It alone is not enough.
There must be support and parallel development of the heart as well. Seven is the number of spiritual perfection (the seven chkaras, enlivened by the kundalini) on this, the material plane.
Multiplying a number by ten is often done in the Bible in order to emphasize the point. So seventy elders indicate the development of a spiritual perfection which helps the neophyte to accomplish his goals. He is not alone.
This prophesying was reported to Moses and he was advised by one of his men to forbid them. He answered, "Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!"
The Lord was displeased by the complaining. And he caused a very great wind from the sea to bring a large quantity of quail to the camp site.
And the people gathered the quail for meat all day and all that night. But while they were eating it, the Lord caused a "very great plague" to descend upon them, and "there thy buried the people that lusted."
The lusting after the things of the flesh is a common theme in the Bible because it is a common problem for all neophytes on the Path.
We find again that the way of the flesh is the way of death. We know that Moses, a neophyte, was successful in overcoming his lusts, for the people or ideas that were related to lust were buried.
The people journeyed from Kibroth-hattavah to Hazeroth. Kibroth-hattavah means graves of lust. Hazeroth means encampment or enclosure. Our higher thoughts quail assemble or come together as we leave our lust of the lower mind behind.
Chapter 12. The Complaint of Miriam and Aaron.
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because he had married an Ethiopian or Cashite woman. They also complained that they also had had communication with the Lord. The lord heard their complaints and called unto Moses, Aaron and Miriam to come to the tabernacle. And they did.
"And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle (the brain)."
He told Aaron and Miriam that he would speak to prophets in a vision or a dream but unto Moses mouth to mouth; not in "dark speeches." (straightforwardly)
When He left, Mirian had become leprous. Aaron repented and begged Moses to heal her. Moses asked the Lord for her healing. And He responded that she was to be exiled from camp for seven days and then return, healed. This is the kundalini rising through the seven seals.
Aaron here represents the emotional nature. Miriam represents the imagination.
Moses, the neophyte, is married to an Ethiopian woman. Ethiopian means burned faces or country of the burning. His wife was also called a Cushite which means burned or blackened. She indicates the material, sensual consciousness; given over to ignorance and darkness. As his wife, she represents the lower feminine or expression of emotions; his base passions, undisciplined and undeveloped. His emotions and imagination will be distorted and out of harmony.
Mouth to mouth here means face to face or plainly. Aaron, the emotional nature, was spared a punishment because he immediately repented.
He asked for Miriam's healing. But Miriam, the imagination or creative power of mind, required a seven day period to return to constructive purposes.
Seven represents perfection on the material plane, the kundalini.
So what is required is whatever time it takes to bring the creative function back to the spiritually correct path.
Until Miriam was returned and whole, the people journeyed not. Without the imagination, we make no progress on the Path. It is one of our most important faculties.
After she returned and was healed, the people moved from Hazeroth into the wilderness of Paran.
The consciousness of the neophyte, Moses returned again to the wilderness of Paran; the place of earnestly searching for the Truth. After overcoming some difficulties, our neophyte is back on the Path. The path of truth, which is WITHIN, the voice of the inner oracle which leads to the overcoming of the lower animal consciousness.
"man know thyself"
Numbers
Part 6
Chapter 13-14
Chapter 13. Moses Sent Twelve Spies to Canaan.
The 12 cranial nerves of the brain
The Lord told Moses to send the ruler of each of the twelve tribes, that they may search the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, which was their goal. So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran to Canaan.
The names of these leaders are the consciousness levels to which the people (or person) had attained. When we understand them, we will begin to understand the meaning of this story. As we have indicated in earlier issues, geographic references in the Bible symbolize states of consciousness.
The Promised Land is a symbol for cosmic consciousness or Illumination. But let us first tell the story.
"Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan." He told them to go up into the mountain, and see the land and the people who dwelled there; and get information about their numbers, the quality of the land, and their cities.
And they went and searched the land, from the wilderness of Zen unto Rehob. They came to the brook of Eshcol and cut down a branch with on cluster of grapes, and carried it between two of them on a staff. The staff is the spine
Zin means thorn, lowland and covering. It indicates a consciousness which is as yet at too low a level to achieve the ultimate spiritual goal of the Promised land.
Rehob means spacious, great understanding. It is the level of consciousness which is open and receptive. But this openness may lead to controversial ideas and not to spiritual Truth. The brook of Eshcol which meas a cluster or bunch of grapes represents the life forces and is an indication of fruitfulness in consciousness.
And after forty days (overcoming the physical) of searching, they returned to Moses. They reported to him that the land "floweth with milk and honey." The pineal gland and the pituitary gland.
They also told them that the children of Anak lived there; the Amalekites live in the south (the physical), the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the mountains (the higher realms of consciousness) and the Canaanites live by the sea, near Jordan. (the sea is the thoughts on the outer real of the consciousness, these are negative thoughts).
Anak means giant. It represents the idea that the material intellect is the seat of power. The word for Amalekites, the descendants of Amalek translates as warlike and valley dweller. It indicates a low level consciousness, such as lust and base desires. These animal passions are warlike and destructive. The word Hittites means terror and sundered. They represent opposition and resistance.
Jebsites translates as contemptuous and subjected. Jebus was the original name of Jerusalem. It is the inner consciousness when it is still ruled by the carnal passions. These must be thrown out in order to build the temple of Jerusalem, of the Temple of the Soul and thus change the name of the "city" to Jerusalem.
Amorites translates as dwellers of the summits or highlanders. Descended from Noah, this level of consciousness is operated by the generative function instead of the spiritual. It must be overcome by purification of the body, mind and soul.
When they returned, Caleb and Joshua recommended that the Israelites go, overcome the enemies and possess the land, but the other returning spies said that the people were too powerful and the land inferior.
They gave what the Bible calls "an evil report of the land." They said that the people were giants and by comparison, they (the leaders) felt like grasshoppers. This is the mind ruled by the lower ego mind, and all of the thoughts that arise out of this mind set.
Chapter 14. The Israelites Rebelled.
The frightened Israelites became angry with Moses and threatened to stone him. The stone is the pineal gland, stoning also means to literally get stoned, get some insight.
They wailed that they would be better off to return to Egypt than to die in battle in this foreign land.
Moses and Aaron pleaded with them to trust in the Lord, but they would no listen. Only an intercession by the Lord, appearing in all His glory "in the tabernacle before all the children of Israel," saved them from being stoned.
Now these are the meanings of the names of the leaders of each tribe and their fathers; which indicate levels of thinking or consciousness.
Shammua means rumor in Aramaic. His father Zaccur means penetrating and mindful. So this level of knowledge is based on hearsay and common knowledge. It produces thoughtfulness and consideration but, based on rumor lacks the power of truth.
Shaphat means judgement, discernment. His father Hori means cave dweller and black. Though he has attained a level of judgement it is still underdeveloped and has not yet reached the Light.
Shaphat means judgement, discernment. His father Hori means cave dweller and black. Though he has attained a level of judgement it is still underdeveloped and has not yet reached the Light.
Caleb means bold and fearless. His father Jephummeh means before his face and which holds attention. This consciousness is steadfast, loyal and uncompromising. He was not discouraged by the Canaanites in the land.
Igal means God will redeem or avenge. His father Joseph means Jehovah shall increase. Although this level of consciousness acknowledged God as the redeemer, he also believed in the wrath and vengeance of God. This belief gives power to fear and he did not believe in the success of a battle against the Canaanites.
Joshua (Oshea) means Jehovah is savior. It is actually the Hebrew name for Jesus, which is its Greek form. It is derived from the word Jehovah, meaning "I am that I am." His father Nun means becoming extended and prolific. This is the consciousness that spreads the word of salvation. He also brought positive reports from the spy mission, and was rewarded by the Lord.
Palti means Jehovah delivers. His father Raphy means repaired or made whole. This level of consciousness believes in deliverance through faith. But it must not be strong enough yet, or it would not have recoiled from the battle to take Canaan.
Gaddiel means God is my fortune or organized of God. This is an understanding that all supply, goodand order come from God. But, it is not yet spiritually elevated enough to reach fearlessly for the Promised Land.
Gaddi means fortunate or belonging to furtune. His father, Susi means leaping or bounding. It is the consciousness that enables one to understand the benefits of the Promised Land but not sufficiently spiritual enough to understand the errors to be overcome in order to cross over to it.
Ammiel means people of God. His father, Gemalli means camel owner or camel rider. This is the level of consciousness which, though in control of the physical passions, represented by the camel, and being of the people of God, still it is not yet developed enough to risk the crossing of the threshold.
Sethur means hidden or veiled. His father, Michael means who is like unto God? This is the consciousness which, though it contains a degree of Truth, it still remains hidden or veiled and cannot be acted upon to achieve the final goal.
Nahbi means covered, hidden or concealed. His father, Vophsi means my increase or added unto me. Again this consciousness understands where its benefits come from, but not clearly, the real Truth remains hidden.
Geurl means glory of God. Machi, his father, means afflicting or decreasing. Though this consciousness is awakening to a perception of the power of God, it is not yet to the stage where it is unafraid when confronted with "enemies".
All of these thoughts and levels of consciousness must be experienced and overcome if we are to enter into the promised land.
But, as yet, none of them had been elevated to the point where they could accomplish this except Caleb and Joshua.
They ere willing and ready to face what ever trials were presented, knowing that with the help of God, and persistence they could not fail.
As a result, Caleb and Jushua were allowed by the Lord to enter into the Promised Land at once.
He determined to destroy the others. But, Moses interceded and asked the Lord what would the Egyptians think? The lower ego mind set.
He pleaded to the Lord to have mercy and to remember that He was "longsuffering, and of great mercy." The Lord relented but condemned the others to wander in the wilderness for forty years (the physical). They were never to step foot in the Promised Land. But, He promised that their children would achieve this goal.
We look into the unconscious, see the demons and dragons waiting for us there, and we hesitate or hold back.
We are not yet prepared. Until we are ready, we must go through another period of preparation; indicated by the forty years. (living off of the physical)
And these ideas must change, or develop further, for they are not yet elevated sufficiently to enter the Promised Land. It will be their children, the next higher stage of consciousness which will enter, after the preparation is completed.
Numbers
Part 7
Chapter 15-16
We are interpreting the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Old Testament, using allegory, symbols and metaphor to try to understand its deeper meaning.
Chapter 15. Offerings Required of Israel.
The Lord told Moses that when the Israelites arrived in "the land of your habitations, which I gave unto you," they must make offerings.
He gave detail as to the kind of offerings and their preparation. Then He said that there shall be one ordinance or law for both the Israelites and for the stranger that was among them.
This is another reference to the idea of the sacrifice required for advancement on the Spiritual Path. The "land of your habitations" usually referred to as "the land of milk and honey," symbolizes paradise or Spiritual Illumination.
We are being told that we must sacrifice or make offerings of our materiality in order to be able to attain this level of consciousness. The Israelites represent the spiritually advanced thoughts or level of consciousness.
The strangers in their midst are new ideas and new levels of consciousness. Both the higher level and the new thoughts must make this sacrifice.
The Lord then differentiated between the sinner who sins in ignorance and the one who sins "presumptuously." He indicated that the sinner out of ignorance would be forgiven, after he brought an offering to the priest.
But the presumptive sinner would be "cut off from among his people," and his iniquity shall be upon him. This law also is for all people, whether they are Israelites or strangers.
There is one level of responsibility for the wise and another for the ignorant.
The person who understands evil and chooses to do it anyway, is judged more harshly. And again, it applies to all ideas nut just the higher spiritual one.
Fringes of Remembrance.
The lord then told Moses that the people should put fringes on the borders of their garments with a ribbon of blue to help them to remember the Lord's commandments and follow them.
The fringes placed on their garments were to remind the Israelites of the Divine Law and the Commandments of the Lord. It was then, as it is now, very easy to forget our true relationship with God and the Divine Law as we go through our daily lives engaged in material pursuits. It might be well if we were to adopt some kind of symbol or decoration to act as a reminder to us of our true purpose and Spiritual Path.
Chapter 16. The Rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.
Three of the descendants of Levi, who were therefore priests: Korah, Dathan and Abiram, began to speak against Moses. They felt that moses had elevated himself to be Prince of all the Israelites; in spite of the fact that he had not yet led them to the land of milk and honey, and that God had indicated that each of them was a chosen child of god. Therefore, who was Moses to place himself above the others.
The three represent the physical, the intellectual and the emotional.
Korah is an Aramaic word meaning bald, cold and without horns. It denotes the coldness of materialistic ideas. Being without horns is another way of saying that he had no spiritual force within him.
Dathan means cistern or spring. I denotes a leading thought which is bound with the letter of the law. This blinds the thought to the spiritual truths behind the outer ceremonies. Abiram means father of elevation, high or proud and represents the arrogance of pride. The three thoughts, combined together, led to rebellion.
Two hundred and fifty =7, other princes of the assembly supported and joined Korah, Dathan and Abiram in this rebellion. Moses told them that his selection as leader was not his doing, but the Lord's. He instructed them to come to the Temple with their censors lit with incense (the spine in meditation), and the Lord would Himself indicate who the chosen leader was.
Our material consciousness, symbolized by these material thoughts or levels of consciousness, will continually try to maintain control of our being. Even though we have reached the level of spiritual development indicated by the exodus from Egypt, (materiality) under the leadership of Moses, (our enlightened consciousness), we must continue our vigilance and maintain control by the higher, developing spiritual consciousness.
The rebels did not relent. They brought their censors to the temple, and their followers came with them to see what would happen. The glory of the Lord appeared to the entire congregation, and He spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment."
No matter how insistent the material consciousness, once the Soul has begun to be enveloped with the Glory of the Lord, the Christ Consciousness, or Illumination, it will quickly transmute or consume the egotistical thoughts.
The people fell on their faces and prayed to the Lord that he would not punish them for the sins of their leaders. So the Lord told Moses to tell them to separate themselves from Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Many of the people heeded this advise.
This means to separate ones mind from the three lower natures, also symbolized by the first three chakras.
Part of the spiritualizing process is the separation of the "wheat from the chaff." It represents the process that each of us must go through in our own inner thought life, that of testing our beliefs and ideas and accepting only those which are worthy of our spiritual goals.
"And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord."
And it came to pass just as he had indicated. The earth swallowed them up. And then there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed those who had come with them to the temple offering incense. And afterward, their brass censors (the spine), which remained after the fire, were gathered up and made into plates which were used to cover the altar in remembrance of the day's events, and to be a sign to the people that no stranger was to offer incense except he be of the seed of Aaron.
The earth's swallowing them up is a way of saying that they were returned to the element from which they came, dust to dust. These negative thoughts must be transmuted or reborn as positive, loving and helpful thoughts before they can be of benefit to our spiritual growth. As dust again they can be reformed to fulfill this purpose.
The use of their censors to decorate the altar is another indication that these negative ideas may be reformed, here by fire, and used in a positive way. This is the kundalini.
But, on the very next day, all of Israel rose up against Moses for the deaths of so many people. The Lord told Moses to move away from them so that he might consume them.
They fell upon their faces. Then, Moses told Aaron to take a censor with lighted incense among the people to make an atonement for them. Aaron did so and found that many of the people were already dead from plague. But his efforts succeeded in saving many and he stopped the plague.
The entire people, or all of the thoughts, may now be reviewed from the standpoint of the new understanding of the spiritual consciousness.
Those ideas which are not of benefit to the emerging spiritual being, are eliminated or transformed. But there are many which are positive and will live on to support the new spiritual consciousness which is developing.
The lighted incense represents the light of the spiritual understanding. It alone is capable of both making the judgement required and saving the beneficial thoughts.
Numbers
Part 8
Chapters 17-20
Chapter 17. The Budding of Aaron's Rod, the throat Chakra, the fifth seal.
In order to prove to the people which of them the Lord had chosen to be the Priest of the people, the Lord told Moses to have each man's name on it. The rods (spines), were then taken into the tabernacle and left overnight.
The Lord indicated that He would make the rod of the chosen one to bloom. The next morning, Moses went into the tabernacle and found that the rod of Aaron was budded, brought forth buds, bloomed blossoms and yielded almonds. This is the fifth throat chakra opening.
The rods represent the spine in meditation and creative forces of man.
Names in the Bible refer to natures. The nature in this case refers to the level of enlightenment or purity of the desire nature connected with each of the levels of consciousness represented by the different princes of the Israelites.
Only the highest level, represented by Aaron, can truly serve the Lord. And the results of its action will bring forth fruit; represented here by the almonds. The almond tree symbolizes the spiritual powers which come from the inner unfoldment of the spiritual self, represented by the opening of the flower petals.
Chapter 18. The Priests Receive Ten Percent.
The Lord told Moses that the priests were to receive the tithes of the children of Israel. Their portion was to be the animals, grains and goods which were brought to the Temple ass offerings. This one tenth was in return for their service to the Temple and was to be for all the generations.
Herein is an important spiritual principle. The priests, who represent our spiritual life, require support and nurturing. We must be willing to give time and attention to them if we are to develop spiritually. It is not necessary to give all of our time and material goods; but here we are told that 10% is required.
This is ten percent of your time in meditatiom, thuis yields up the material world with all of it's animal passions, the ass offering, grains etc..
Chapter 19. The Separation of the Unclean.
The Lord instructed Moses and Aaron that all who touch dead bodies or the bones of the dead are to be considered unclean for seven days. Included are vessels of food which are not covered.
Those who are unclean must wash themselves and their clothing and wait seven days before they are allowed to interact with the others.
There is an obvious practical teaching here.
Symbolically, dead bodies refer to old ideas and beliefs. To touch the old ideas would be to regress to an earlier, less spiritual idea or belief. Until we have cleared our mind of the old incorrect idea, we are ‘unclean.' The seven days reaffirms a spiritual interpretation, for it is the number of spiritual completion.
this is the seven chakras cleansed by the kundalini.
Chapter 20. The Death of Miriam.
The children of Israel moved into the desert of Zin in Kadesh. While they were there, Miriam died and was buried.
Miriam, which means protest, rebellion and contradiction in Hebrew, was Moses' and Aaron's sister and symbolized the heart and emotions. Her death indicates that the ideas or rebellious thoughts which she represents have died or ceased. This death allows for the birth of a more advanced level of the feminine quality of love.
Water from the Rock.
There was no water for the people. Again the people complained. "Why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness (the mind in meditation)?
Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle and prayed to the Lord. The lord told Moses to take his rod (spine), speak to the rock, and it would bring forth water (electromagnetism).
So Moses smote the rock with his rad, and an abundant amount of water came out of the rock. The Lord told Moses that this congregation would not be taken into the promised land, because they did not believe. The water was called the water of Meribah.
It is our carnal self that complains of the lack of water and loses faith whenever things don't seem to be going right.
It is a temptation that we must overcome. Rocks in the Bible symbolize spiritual truths, which is actually the pineal gland. To smote the truth with his rod (spine) is to bring forth the spiritual water which alone satisfies spiritual thirst by the uplifting of the creative fire within man's body. Meribah means contention and strife. It is a state of consciousness to be avoided.
Edom Refuses Them Passage
Moses sent messengers to the King of Edom to request safe passage through the land of Edom.
He promised that they would take nothing, "neither turn to the right hand nor to the left." But it was no use, the King would not give passage. So the Israelites turned away.
This is the ego mind that refuses to allow the growth of the new consciousness.
Edom means red or ruddy. It refers to the outer or carnal man.
The Edomites were the descendants of Esau. These carnal thoughts or ideas kept the Israelites from passing through their territory.
The path to spiritual enlightenment is straight and narrow. We must not let our ideas stray either to the right or to the left. It is proper that we turn away from these carnal thoughts, for they will not help us to reach ‘the promised land (the higher conscious state).'
The Death of Aaron
The congregation journeyed from Kadesh to Hor near the coast of Edom (the outer realms of consciousness).
There, the Lord told Moses that Aaron would not enter into the ‘promised land' because the people had rebelled against Him at the water of Meribah.
Moses took Aaron and his son Eleazar, up the mountain of Hor. His priestly garments were removed and placed on his son Eleazar. Aaron died there, on the top of the mountain. Moses and Eleazar went back down. The people mourned for thirty days.
Thirty is three, moses cannot enter the promised land, because he represents our intellect. Aaron died, because the death is spiritual, and is the death of the lower level of consciousness, the fifth seal has died to it's lower aspect, but it has allowed for the higher consciousness to take hold of that center.
Kadesh means pure, holy and sacred. This is the pure, sinless, perfect state which exists within each of us. Hor means to be high or a mountain.
It indicates an elevated spiritual state. Eleazar means God is helper and help of God. From the holy and sacred consciousness we are able to attain the heightened spiritual consciousness and our highest self dies and is replaced with an even more elevated spiritual consciousness. This cycle will be repeated many times as we progress step by step toward Illumination.
Numbers
Part 9
Chapter 21
Israel vowed to the Lord that they would utterly destroy the cities of the Canaanites (the lower ego consciousness), the animal mind, if He would deliver the people of Canaan into their hands. And the Lord did so. And the place was named Hormah.
The word Hormah, in Aramaic means devoted, destroyed or devoted to destruction. It symbolizes the destruction of erroneous beliefs and thoughts (people). Canaan means materiality, low and inferior, these are the thoughts which must be let go of if we are to progress spiritually.
Next the Israelites journeyed from mount Hor across the land of Edom. The people rose up against Moses again because of the long journey. Again they complained about a lack of bread and water.
Hor means to think, use the intellect, a height or mountain.
This is symbolic of spirituality or an exalted level of thought. Whereas Edom means reddish or ruddy.
It symbolizes the carnal man. Spiritual growth is not a steady upward path. Often times we vacillate between the two extremes of elevated thinking and then carnal or material thoughts. When we have slipped back into the carnal we are no longer in contact with our spiritual selves and so we yearn for bread and water - or spiritual truths. Like lots wife looking back and turning into a pillar of salt.
This time the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, which bit them and many died.
The people repented and asked Moses for help. Moses prayed for the people. The Lord told Moses to make a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole; and those who were bitten and looked upon it, lived.
The serpent relates to desire, sensuousness, and most importantly the generative or creative powers as well as divinity, the one true god.
It is appropriate there fore to call them ‘fiery' serpents, as the kundalini energy burns out the dross of the lower mind, so that we will not mistake their meaning. These forces, when raised up, lift up the whole man to a higher, spiritual level.
When the people were bitten by the serpents, it means that they were caught up in the sense consciousness and emotions.
To look up to the raised serpent means that they have lifted these forces up, transmuted this life force to a spiritual level. Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up."
In the east this is called the kundalini enlightenment.
The son of man, means the mind that needs to be renewed.
The Israelites Move on.
From here, the Israelites moved on to Oboth and then to Ije-abarim, toward the sunrising. From there they went on to the valley of Zared, then beyond Arnon; then on to Beer, (Bera) where they dug a well, then to Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth and Pisgah which looks toward Jeshimon (Ashimon).
Oboth translated from the Aramaic means waterskins or leather bottles but it also may mean ventriloquists or diving spirits. The waterskins symbolize the body, and here indicate the understanding that the water to cleanse the consciousness comes from within - within the body.
However, there is a sense that this may be deceptive rather than truly spiritual.
Ije-abarim, means heaps of Abarim. Abarim means passages or crossings and it is also the name of a range of Mountains in Moab. It is from these mountains that Moses was shown the land of Canaan, (the consciousness without god)
He could see the promised land but he could not enter it. It is from this level of consciousness (elevated mountains) that we are able to see the possibility of spiritual consciousness.
The valley of Zared, means the power to spread exuberant growth. This then is a time of growth which we may assume is spiritual growth. It is the beginning of spiritual understanding.
Arnon; means swift, roaring, rushing stream. When dominated by the carnal mind it symbolizes the tumultuousness of the level of consciousness.
When guided by Israel (the higher consciousness), or the enlightened mind, it represents the tumultuous joy of coming to increased spiritual understanding of spiritual truths, here represented by the water or stream, which is really the electrical current up the spine, and into the brain.
Beer, or Bera means a well or a dug well. Here it is indication a well of water.
This relates to Spiritual Truth which when drunk deeply, will help the developing Soul to progress.
Mattanah means gift or present. It is the understanding of the gift of blessings from God - the great potential which he has given us.
Nahaliel, means God leads on or God flows forth. This reflects the hope which comes from the inner realization that we are being guided by divine providence.
Bamoth means high places or sepulchral mound. In this case Bamoth is a city of the Moabites which indicates that it is related to the exaltation of carnality. It is the worship of the carnal mind.
Pisgah means cut up or divided. This is the mountain from which Moses saw the Promised Land. It is an elevated level of consciousness which allows us to see our spiritual goal but we are cut off from it.
Jeshimon or Ashimon means transgression. Here it signifies confidence in material conditions.
We are told that the cleansing of the temple must be done within ourselves.
We become aware of the possibility of spiritual consciousness, and this begins our spiritual growth. But, in the beginning, the path is tumultuous as we still have doubts as well as ties to our past carnal and materialistic habits.
All ten of these places represent levels of consciousness which we as spiritual travelers must experience, overcome and pass through as we begin the Path to higher levels of spiritual attainment.
Numbers
Part 10
Chapter 21(cont.)-22
The Israelites sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, asking him to allow the Israelites to safely pass through their land, and just as in Edom, they promised that they would not turn into the fields or vineyards. Not drink of the wells, but stay on the road until they had past the borders.
As with the King of Edom, Sihon refused them passage. Not only did he refuse, but he gathered up all his people and attacked the children of Israel at Jahaz.
"Israel smote him with the edge of the sword" and took his land from Arnon to Jabbok.
Sihon, in Aramaic, means extreme boldness, eradication. Amorites means mountaineers and highlanders, but throughout the Bible, it is used to represent ideas or levels of consciousness coming from or controlled by the generative function.
It symbolizes the uncontrollable passion of sexual desire, which, unbridled, will overpower the spiritual consciousness.
These thoughts do not easily make way for the newly awakened spiritual consciousness. Even though the Spiritual consciousness extends a promise not to harm them, the carnal thoughts and desires, sensing their own demise, fight for their very existence.
They attack the Spiritual in an effort to maintain their control of the consciousness.
But to no avail, the Israelites, or Spiritual thoughts succeed in overcoming them and removing them from the consciousness.
And the Israelites moved into their cities and especially the city of Heshbon which was the city of Sihon the king.
"Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites" and drove the Amorites out of the land. They went to the neighboring King Og of Bashan for help.
He came out against the children of Israel and they smote him also "and all of his people until there were none left alive," and possessed his land also.
Heshbon means intelligence, reason.
This indicates that the overpowering carnal desires were ruling over the intellect. Ths is the carnal, material mind. Og means giant (the ego).
It indicates the apparent power of this consciousness. Once these thoughts have been overcome, the Israelites, or spiritual thoughts take their place in the mind, or in Heshbon. They destroyed Og (the lower ego mind set), and all his people or ideas.
Chapter 22. The Book of Balaam. Balak Seeks Help from Balaam.
Balak, the king of the Moabites was fearful of the Israelites, for his country bordered on that of the Amorites, He sent messengers to his neighbor Balaam, a priest of Baal, from Pethor, to seek his help, "for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou curest is cursed."
The emissaries (thoughts) arrived bearing appropriate payment to reward Balaam for his divinations. Balaam bid them stay the night while he consulted with God. God told him not to go with them, for "the Israelites are blessed."
Balak means spoiler, destroyer. Moabites mean of the seed of Moab.
They represent the consciousness of the body and materiality. Here, they signify the carnal mind, and are often associated with negligence. These ideas when ruled by the spoiler and destroyer must be replaced before we may progress spiritually.
Balaam is said to be a heathen sorcerer, as well as a true prophet, though no an Israelite, just as were Melchizedek, Job and Jethro. He was a famed priest-magician; a Wise Man from the East.
Balaam means lord and a gift of prophecy and has to do with the sun.
This level of consciousness is at a spiritual level, for the son symbolizes divine attributes, and ultimately Illumination.
This level of consciousness seeks guidance from the awakened conscience, the Lord. He is told that he should not yield to the consciousness of Balak, the carnal self; for that which it seeks to destroy is the newly developing spiritual consciousness.
When the messengers returned to Balak, he sent more princes of Moab to Balaam to ask for help. When they arrived, Balaam again asked them to wait for his answer until morning for he said he would do no more or less than what God told him to do. Again he asked God for direction. This time, God told him to "go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do."
At first, Balaam resisted temptation to yield. But this time, the carnal self offered even greater rewards and he was tempted.
He returned to his conscience again, apparently hoping for a different decision. This time the answer was that he could go with them but only if he fallowed the instructions of the conscience.
This apparent contradiction is difficult to explain if we interpret this as God, the external, omniscient God. But, realizing that this is the spiritual consciousness within him, we know that it is capable of temptation and doubt until its final Illumination." - "When ye stand, hake heed lest ye fall."
So, Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his ass and went with them (one show comes out of meditation). "
And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now, Balaam's ass turned aside three times from confrontation with the angel which Balaam could not see. Each time Balaam smote the ass for turning aside.
This is a description of the conflict that arises within us at one or more times as we journey on the spiritual path. His conscience is again resisting the choice that he has made. The Hebrew commentators suggest that it is because God knows that he has changed his mind and does not intend to follow the guidance of the Lord.
After the third time, the Lord made the ass to speak. The ass asked why his master had smote him and why he did not have faith in him.
At his point, the Lord opened Balaam's eyes so that he too could See the angle. Balaam repented and offered to go back in order to please the Lord. The Lord told him to go ahead, but repeated that he speak the words that He would give him.
The angel represents Balaam's conscience. Three times it barred his way. This is the physical, the intellectual and the emotional, the pale horse, the red horse and the black horse.
Three times he insisted on continuing his journey in the wrong direction. Finally, after the third time, he is at last able to see the angel and repents of his mistake. This is the threefold test of body, mind and soul which must be passed by every neophyte on his journey to Spiritual Initiation.
This is the overcoming of the three lower parts, coming into one spiritual accord.
Numbers
Part 11
Chapter 22. (cont.) & 23
Chapter 22.(cont.) The Book of Balaam. Balak Seeks Help from Balaam.
Balaam, according to some, a priest after the order of Melchizedek, according to others "Balaam the wicked," had been summoned by Balak, the king of the Moabites, to help him in his resistance to the Israelites.
On his was, he was instructed by an angel of the Lord (here indicating his conscience) to go to the king, but to speak only as he, (the andel) directed.
There is apparently a great contradiction in the story of Balaam as told in the bible. He was one of the few persons in the Bible to speak directly to God and to whom God spoke directly. Yet, later, in chapter 31, he was killed by the Israelites along with the kings of Midian.
In the Book of Revelation 2:14, he is condemned for having taught Balak to "cast a stumbling block before the children if Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication," We will refer to more of this later.
Balak greeted Balaam, who immediately told him that he would say only that which "God putteth in my mouth." And they journeyed together to Kireath-huzoth.
There, Balak offered oxen and sheep. The next day, Balak took Balaam to the high places of Baal.
Again, Balak means spoiler or destroyer.
Ballam means lord or gift of prophecy. Kiriath-huzoth means City of divisions.
When a negative level of consciousness, Balak, travels together with a gift of prophecy which is trying to follow the directions of his consciousness or Balaam, it indicates a struggle between two differing levels of consciousness. This is emphasized by their journey ending at a city or place of divisions.
The high places of Baal, which means lord or master was also the generic nave for God in many eastern parts of the world at that time.
It was used to refer to God worshiped through the material or world of forms rather than the spiritual or formless. It is a limited concept of God. This is the highest concept of God that the Balak level of consciousness can conceive.
Chapter 23. The Book of Balaam. The Parables of Balaam
Balaam told Balak to build seven altars and bring seven oxen and seven rams. And Balak offered the seven oxen and seven rams on the seven altars. He instructed Balak to stand by the burning offerings while he (Balaam) went to a high place to speak to the Lord.
The number seven indicates a completed spiritual cycle, the energy if the spine and solar plexus having opened up the right hemisphere of the brain.
The oxen and the ram represent the transition from the age of Taurus (the ox) to the age of Aries, (the ram). Spiritually, they represent the sacrifice of the lusts or carnal passions which these beasts also symbolize.
Naturally, Balaam must seek a high place to speak to the Lord, for the Lord can only be reached from a high spiritual consciousness. Notice that Balak, the lower level of consciousness does not even attempt to contact the Lord.
God met with him and told Balaam what to say to Balak. Balaam returned to Balak and all the princes of Moab. He told them how he had been brought from Aram by Balak to
"Curse Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?"
Though Balak, the lower level of consciousness wants to curse the Israelites, who represent the developing, higher spiritual level of consciousness. Balaam, who is in contact with the Lord, his indwelling spirit, blesses the Israelites instead.
Balak was surprised and questioned Balaam, "What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold thou hast blessed them altogether." Balaam replied that he must speak the words which the Lord put in his mouth.
Balak then took Balaam through the field of Zophim to the top of Pisgah. Again they built seven altars and offered a bullock and a ram on each. While Balak waited by burning offering, Balaam went to speak with the Lord. Again, the Lord told balaam what to say:
"God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall be not make it good?
Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed: and I cannot reverse it.
God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn."
The unicorn represents the ONE ness of consciousness, that must be reached, this is the magic of the UNi corn.
The field of Zophim, which means watchers, symbolizes a more attentive, vigilant attitude. The watcher of one's self in meditation.
The top of Pisgah which means divided and peak or point indicates a higher level of consciousness but it is still divided between supporting the new spiritual unfoldment (the Israelites) or cursing it.
Again, the Balaam consciousness hears and accepts the counsel of the Lord. He again resists the temptation for the material things which the Balak consciousness has offered him.
And again Balak, complained, if you won't curse them at least don't bless them. To which Balaam responded, "Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do?"
Balak tried again. He brought him to the top of Peor, which overlooked the desert, that it might please God to have Balaam curse the Israelites from there.
Again they constructed seven altars and made seven burnt sacrifices of one oxen and one ram each. This time, Balaam set his face toward the wilderness.
He lifted up his eyes and the spirit of God came upon him. And he said,
"the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open."
Again, Balaam issued a blessing upon Israel concluding with "Blessed is he that blesseth thee (Israel), and cursed is he that curseth thee."
Peor means yawning chasm or insatiable longings.
The desert is the mind or world of intellectual thought, separate from the heart and love.
Balak, the lower consciousness did not give up easily. His temptation now had to do with insatiable appetites. But, as before, Balaam resisted the temptation and followed the guidance of the Lord.
seven altars and made seven burnt sacrifices of one oxen and one ram each. This time, Balaam set his face toward the wilderness.
This is the giving up of the duality of mind, ONE oxen and ONE ram, represent both hemispgheres of the brain, the material and spirtual parts of consciouness, bringing these burnt dead animal passins to the altar of the higher atate of consciousness.
Now Balak was really angry. He told Balaam that he had called upon him to curse his enemies and Balaam had blessed them three times.
He said that he had planned to honor Balaam for his help, but now he should flee to his own country.
Balaam answered that he told Balak that he could say nothing which the lord did not tell him to say, no matter if Balak had offered him a house full of gold or silver. But before he left he needed to tell the people what would happen in the "latter days."
"Balaam hath said, and the man whose eyes are open, which heard the words of God and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth."
Jewish scholars feel that his reference was probably to King David who later defeated Moab. Christians see a reference to the Messiah or Christ.
Moab means seed of the father and represents the body and external conditions.
Sheth or Seth means settled. Here, they have to do with the relinquishment of the material conditions which are struck in the past of the lower consciousness and unable to change to accompany the newly emerging spiritual consciousness.
Balaam went on to prophesy that Edom and Seir would be taken by their enemies, that Amalet would perish for ever, that the Kenites would be carried away, and Ashur and Eber would perish for ever. Then he returned to his own land.
These lands and peoples translated from the Aramaic mean carnal and physical, emotional sense consciousness, warlike, material possessions, blackness and the region beyond, respectively. All of these levels of consciousness must be overcome if we are to progress spiritually.
shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth."
The star is a representation of the higher consciousness, coming to do battle with the lower ego mind. To destroy all the children of Sheth, all of the lower quality mind thoughts.
The Sceptre is the spine enlivened by the kindalini energy.
Numbers
Part 12
Chapter 25
Chapter 25. Idolatry in Shittim.
Israel lived in Shittim, remember the ARK is made of SHITTIM wood, and the people began to commit whoredom with the local Women, here referred to as the Daughters of Moab.
The Moabites invited them to join in their religious sacrifices and the Israelites ate with them and bowed down to their gods. "And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Isreal."
Shittim in Aramaic means acacia or thorny. Moab means seed of the father. Baal-peor means lord of the chasm.
It represents sensuality, the desire mind. The neophyte is again distracted from the path to the promised land by the seduction of the sensual lower animal passions.
And once more, it yields to the lower and carnal appetites.
The Lord, which here is the conscience of the Soul, is angered with the people, or thoughts who have yielded to this temptation.
The Lord told Moses to take all the heads of the people and hang them against the sun.
So Moses told the judges to slay every man who was joined unto Ball-peor.
Once again, the conscience must eliminate the negative thoughts. Each thought must be rooted out at its source, or it will simply rear its head at another time, to cause trouble again. Implied here are the heads of the "people" (ideas) which are in error.
One of the Israelites, Zimri the son of Salu, brought a Midianite woman (the lower mind), Cozbi, into his tent. tent means meditation.
Then Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, took a javelin and thrust it through both of them and slayed them. "So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
Zimri means music and dancing. Salu means lifted up; exalted. The ideas born of exalted consciousness are still in danger of being seduced by passion. Cozbi means devious and deceptive. This passion promises joy and satisfaction, but the rewards are very short lived.
Phinehas which means oracle or mouth of prophecy, put an end to these thoughts by running them through with a spear. The spear represents spiritual truth.
Yet the very next verse says that twenty four thousand died in the plague.
Twenty four represents all the thoughts that have risen to the higher consciousness, the 12 cranial nerves, enlivened with the full powers of the zodiac 12, 12+12=24
it reduces to SIX as well, the lower mind state apart from the higher.
Even though we are saved to continue on our spiritual journey, there is still a high price to pay every time we wander from the path. This 24,000 is to impress us of this cost. It reduces to the number which suggests love in its lower forms.
The Lord said that since Phinehas had been zealous "for my sake" that He would give Phinehas His covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood for him and his descendants.
The Lord or Soul always has a covenant with the part of our consciousness which is virtuous and zealous for spiritual truth. It is only this consciousness which can be the priests, or those worthy to make contact with the Soul.
Numbers
Part 13
Chapter 26
Chapter 26. The Second Census
After the plague, the Lord told Moses to count the children of Israel again. The count of the children of Rueben which included Hanock, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi was 43,730.
Hanock means founded or initiated in Aramaic. Pallu means separated or distinguished. Hezron means inclosed or shut-in. And Carmi means generous and fruitful. The number 43,730 reduces down to the number 8.
Rueben, which translates as behold a son, or vision of the son, means understanding or the bringing forth of vision.
.Now the children of Reuben are the ideas which are a result of this new vision. They are initiated or founded on wisdom gained by this vision, and are contained or enclosed in it. This wisdom is generous and fruitful and the number eight emphasizes this whole idea as it symbolizes wisdom.
The sons of Simeon; Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul, numbered 22,200.
Simeon is translated as hearing and obedient. Nemuel means God is spreading. Jamin means right place, productiveness and happiness. Jachin means whom God makes firm. Zerah means beginning of light and breaking forth of the sun. Lastly, Shaul means asked for and desired, it has to do with the Will. The number 22,200 reduces to 6 and symbolizes creation and sex.
These ideas or descendants of Simeon, which are the result of hearing the word and obeying Divine Law; result in being in the right place, being productive, happy, stable, and, through the power of the Will bringing forth the Light of Illumination. Here, the number six represents the creative aspect of the consciousness when it is in this enlightened place.
The children of Gad, which included Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod and Areli, numbered 40,500. =9
Gad means fortunate and has to do with power. Gad was the horseman, the enforcer. The ideas which emanate from this aspect of Consciousness are Zephon, which means watchman; Haggi, which means joyous; Shumi, which means tranquility; Ozni, which means giving ear or worshiping God; Arod, which means a wild ass; and Areli, which means heroic.
The number 40,500 reduces to 9 and symbolizes the serpentine force expressed through the highest powers of the mind. NINE always represents the physical, but this NINE is overcome.
Taken together, these ideas are those of the force or power of the consciousness which has overcome complacency, in order that it may find tranquility.
It has considered the promptings of the mind and heart; it has learned to respect and take direction from God; it has the attributes of the wild ass, but obviously has them under control and is thus heroic. The animal mind controlled.
Finally, this level of consciousness is identified with the number nine which represents the spiritualized use of the power represented by Gad.
The sons of Judah, Shelah, Pharez, Zerah; and the grandsons of Judah, Hezron, and Hamul were 76,500.
Judah translates as praise Jehovah. The ideas which generate from this level of consciousness are Shelah, which means peace; Pharez, which means victory; Zerah which means beginning of light and breaking forth of the sun; Hezron, which means enclosed; and Hamul which means compassion. The number 76,500 reduces to 9.
Again we see the physical
Together, we may conclude that being in a consciousness of praising God and being grateful for our blessings results in peace, victory, the opening of Illumination, the protection of the enclosure and compassion and forgiveness. And again, the number nine represents the spiritualized use of the thought of praise represented by Judah.
The children of Issachar, who were Tola, Pua, Jashub and Shimron, totaled 64,300.
Issachar is translated as he will bring reward or compensation. Tola means a worm. Pua means blast or utterance. Jashub means turning back and Shimron means extreme vigilance. The number 64,300 reduces to 4.
The level of consciousness being described here is that which will be rewarded by raising onself from the dust of the ordinary, the worm (the kundalini energy); uttering truth aloud; turning back to truth each time we are led astray; and always being extremely vigilant.
The number four symbolizes the four point of the compass and the four forces of nature. It has to do with overcoming the cross of matter.
The children of Zebulun, who were Sered, Elon and Jahleel were 60,500.
Zebulun is translated as habitation or dwelling. Sered means fear and trembling. Elon means a strong man. And Jahleel means waiting on God or hope of God. The number 60,500 reduces to 2.
This is the consciousness of order and stability. It may be fearful in this insecure world, but order eventually results in strength and brings one closer to God. The number two symbolizes the world of duality and the challenge of balancing the opposites.
The Bible states that none of the original Israelites remained to be counted in this second census. The original Israelites, who represent the original thinking, have been regenerated to prepare for the journey to the Promised Land.
Numbers
Part 14.
Chapter 26. (Cont'd)
Chapter 26. The Second Census (continued)
We discussed the symbolism of the count of the first six tribes of Israel.
We now continue with tht second six tribes.
This count represent an assessment of the ideas in the consciousness. After the sojourn in the wilderness, all the ideas (the children of Israel) who had fled Egypt (the lower ego mind), were passed away (except Moses) or replaced with more enlightened ideas. It is this second generation of ideas which well be found worthy to cross over to the promised land (the higher conscious state).
This echoes the idea repeated many times in the Old Testament, that the second born shall inherit the kingdom. Our first level of consciousness is material. It is not until we come into a second, more spiritual consciousness that we begin to seek for spiritual truths. And only then do we have the capability to find the kingdom of Heaven.
The count of the children of Manasseh (a son of Joseph) which included Machir, Gilead, Jeezer, Helek, Asriel, Schechem, Shemida, Hepher, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tizah was 52,700.
Manasseh in Aramaic means understanding. Machir means enslaved. Gilead means discerning. Jeezer means imagination. Helek means a portion. Asriel means joining of God. Shechem means burdened. Shemida means righteous perception. Hepher means a search. The last five are Zilophehad's daughters and Hepher's grand-daughters. Zelophehad means first-born. He died earlier of unstated causes. The daughters names mean sweetness and mildness, balance, hopping bird, counsel or queen and delight, respectively. The number 52,700 reduces to the number five. The five senses.
These descendants of Manasseh are the fruits of the understanding of the consciousness. At this level of consciousness the understanding is still caught up in or enslaved with problems of discernment or judgment.
Through the use of the imagination, the consciousness expands to realize that it deserves a portion or share in its divine inheritance. But until more fully developed, it is still burdened by the material. Yet, with righteous perception, the ability to see truth, one is able to search out the correct path.
Zelophehad, the first-born consciousness, is dead or no longer in evidence since we have now raised our consciousness above the material level of the first-born consciousness.
This consciousness has been replaced by the feminine or spiritual aspects of sweetness and mildness; equilibrium; unsteady but forward progress, here signified by the hopping bird; royalty (the queen) and delight.
The number five symbolizes the five senses that must be overcome.
It indicates the emancipation of man from the material. It represents the ego as it begins to emerge from its tomb of matter.
The count of the children of Ephraim ( the second son of Joseph) included Shuthelah, Becher, Tahan and Eran totaled 32,500.
Ephraim means fruitfulness in Aramaic. His oldest son, Shuthelah means tumult. Becher, Ephraim's second born means first-born. Tahan means prayer or supplication. Eran, the son of Shuthelah means vigilant. The total of this tribe reduces to one. Unity consciousness.
Ephraim symbolizes the Will. It is through the efforts of the Will that the fruits of a more spiritual consciousness are realized.
In the beginning, the efforts of the Will may prove tumultuous or confusing, but this is the first-born consciousness and will be replaced by the second. The second son, Becher is indicated as the first-born, to tell us that this second level of consciousness is the one which can aspire to inherit the Kingdom of God. The son of the confusing consciousness, Eran, is watchful and vigilant. Finally, the consciousness becomes prayerful and gracious.
Ephraim or the Will, when combined with Manasseh which symbolizes understanding, will gradually achieve spiritual enlightenment. The number one symbolizes the Will and individuality. It reinforces the concepts given by the names.
The sons of Benjamin included Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shupham, Hupham, ard and Naaman and number 45,600.
Benjamin symbolizes faith. Bela means destruction. Ashbel means reproof of God. Ahiram means lofty. Shupham means serpent. Hupham means coast man. Ard means to flee. And Naaman means pleasant and good. The number 45,600 reduces to six.
The growth of faith begins in the materiality which is destructive of the spiritual self. We are admonished by God or our conscience to turn away from materiality.
We begin to follow lofty ideals. And as a dweller of the coast (coast means outer realms of consciousness, or lower mind thinking), we fish in the seas for ideas which will support our goal.
And yet, there is still a part of our consciousness which is fearful and wants to flee from the unknown. If we persist, we finally come to the pleasant and good level of consciousness, which Jesus called the ‘peace which passeth all understanding.'
The number six symbolizes a work. The earth was made in six days. In this instance it is the Great Work of the spiritualization of the human consciousness. This is the overcomg of the flesh or the lower mind.
The child of Dan (scorpio, the lower mind energies) was Shuham, and his family numbered 64,400.
Dan means judgment. Shuham means bowing down and humility. The number 64,400 reduces to five.
Judgement, a necessary attribute of each of us must be bowed down. We must become humble and reluctant to judge others if we are to progress spiritually. We have already discussed the number five above. One must overcome the sting of the scorpion (the physical), in order to rise to the higher state, above the five senses.
The sons of Asher were Jimna, Jesui, Beriah, Heber, Malchiel, Sarah and their total was 53,400.
Asher means straightforward. Jimma means prosperity. Jesui means level or balanced. Beriah means misfortune. Eber means going beyond. Malchiel means God's dominion. And Sarah means princess.
This level of consciousness is straightforward and gradually results in prosperity, balance and though it must continue to guard against misfortune, it is growing beyond the limits of materiality, entering God's domain and gradually developing the Princess, the Soul. The number three symbolizes the balance of the Trinity of body, mind and Soul.
And finally, the sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem and they numbered 45,400.
Naphtali means my wrestling. Jahzeel means whom God allots. Guni means colored. Jezer means imagination. And Shillem means restoration or peace. The number 45,400 reduces to four.
The wrestling of the consciousness is an ongoing part of the developing spiritual consciousness.
We come to understand that we will be allotted that which we require as we progress. Our thoughts may yet be colored by materiality, but by use of meditation, we are able to restore our consciousness to a level of peace.
The number four was called the "Sacred Quaternary" and "the universal number of perfection" by Pythagoras. It encompasses the four directions, the four elements, and the four sided Man: body, mind, spirit and soul. It is often represented by the cross.
The total of all the children of Israel was 601,730. And the Lord told Moses that the land should be divided by lot to the names of the tribes of their fathers, according to their members.
The number 601,730 reduces to eight. Eight symbolizes the Female and represents the Perfect Cube with its eight points. It is god's number
It is indicative of the forces of the soul and used here, it tells us that the consciousness has risen to the point of being in touch with this feminine power of the Soul and is therefore ready to pass over to the Promised Land.
This "Promised Land" is symbolic for the Kingdom of God which is attainable only by Soul Illumination. It is to be divided among the tribes according to their numbers.
Since we understand the meaning of their we can begin to understand that this "Promised Land" will be attained only to the extent of the individuals Illumination.
Each of the tribes represent the 12 signs of the zodiac and the 12 cranial nerves of the brain, as the 24 ancients in the temple. The brain on full illumination.
The numbers reveal the secret of the initiation, and the problem of why the earth tribes operate from their lower animal mind, instead of their higher mind.
It's all related to those lights above, the energies coming from those 12 signs or the stars above.
One must empower himself with those lights above, instead of those energies running the mind amok.
This is what this entire story is all about.
Numbers
Part 15.
Chapter 26 (Cont'd)- Chapter 28
Chapter 26. The Second Census (continued)
We have now completed the count of the tribes of Israel.
These children of Israel that are being counted represent the ideas of the consciousness.
Last time I indicated that all the ideas (the children of Israel) who had fled Egypt (the mind under the control of the ego). were passed away (except Moses, the intellect) but at the end of Chapter 26 we are told that Caleb, the son of Jephunneh and Joshua, the son of Nun also remained from the original group.
Jephunneh, translated from the original Aramaic, means appearing or which will be before his face.
Metaphysically it means thought of the true, higher consciousness. Caleb, a descendant of this thought, means bold and fearless. You may remember him from the earlier story when he and others were sent to spy on giants and he was one of the two who was not discouraged by them. Metaphysically, this is the fearlessness which each of us must develop if we are to succeed in our spiritual quest.
Nun means prolific and prosperity. It signifies the increase of spiritual Truth. Joshua means God is deliver, savior and whom Jehovah makes triumphant.
It is the same as the name Jesus in Hebrew. Clearly it denotes a highly evolved spiritual level of consciousness. Joshua was the other spy who was not discouraged by the giants and urged the Israelites to push forward. But frightened by the reports, they did not.
After the census was completed, the Lord told Moses to divide the land according to the number of names. "To many shall be the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance." and this was to be done according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.
Chapter 27. The Daughters Inherit and Joshua Succeeds Moses
Zelophehad, who died without leaving a son, had five daughters (the five senses): Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.
They came before Moses, Ileazar the priest and all the congregation. They argued that since they had no brother to inherit, they should be allowed to inherit their father's portion.
Moses took their case to the Lord. And the Lord told Moses that the Daughters spoke right and instructed Moses to tell the people that, "If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter."
To repeat from last month's issue, the daughters names mean sweetness and mildness, balance, hopping bird, counsel or queen and delight, respectively.
This consciousness is that of the feminine or spiritual attributes of sweetness and mildness; equilibrium; unsteady but forward progress, here signified by the hopping bird; royalty (the queen) and delight. It is appropriate that this consciousness, the feminine or heart side of us, can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven or the Promised Land.
Joshua Succeeded Moses
The Lord told Moses to go up into the mount Abarim from where he could see The Promised Land. And when he had seen it, he was to be gathered up to his people.
Abarim means to cross over or regions beyond. It is from Abarim that the word Hebrew was derived. They had "crossed over" the Euphrates River.
It represents the level of consciousness while, though situated in Moab, (the physical, carnal consciousness), is elevated enough that it can see the Promised Land; the possibility of Spiritual Illumination.
Then Moses asked the Lord to replaced him as leader of the people that they "be not as sheep which have no shepherd." And the Lord told Moses to take Joshua "a man in whom is the spirit," and lay his hand upon him as the man to succeed him.
Joshua is a derivation of the "I am that I am" of the Tetragrammaton, just as Jesus is identified later. It represents a higher level of consciousness.
The significance of this is that the consciousness which knows that it is part of the Divine, the great I AM, is that which can take us to ur goal of Illumination.
Joshua was the son of Ehraim which typifies the Will. It is the elevated or spiritualized Will which must take command of the other faculties, ideas and emotions if we are to succeed.
Notice that we are told by the lord that Joshua is a man "in whom is the spirit." This is the same spirit which in the New Testament is called the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit. This is the consciousness of the Divine that comes from within. It is guidance from within (above, because from a high spiritual level of consciousness).
Chapter 28. The Daily Burnt Offering.
The Lord tells Moses to command the children of Israel to make offerings and sacrifices unto Him daily. These offerings and sacrifices include lambs, bullocks, rams, goats, flour, oil, and strong wine. They are to be made by fire.
Offerings represent transmutations. The animals relate to the animal passions and desires which must be transmuted; burned up; changed into elevated, spiritual emotions of the heart.
Sacrifice, which we think of as the giving up of something, actually means to make sacred. Again, it is the idea of taking the carnal emotions and changing them into the spiritual attributes which we desire. As always, it is the fire of Love which does the work, the work is MEDITATION. The fire is the KUNDALINI.
Numbers
Part 16
Chapter 29-30
Chapter 29. A convocation on the First Day of the Seventh Month
The Lord tells Moses that the Israelites are to hold an holy convocation on the first day of the seventh month. This is the first root chakra.
The are to blow their trumpets and do no work. They are also to make burnt offerings of specific animals.
Called The Feast of the Trumpets, the holy convocation is a bringing together of all aspects of our being; body, mind and soul.
Of course this would be possible at the seventh month because seven is the number of completion on the physical plane. And so, at this time of completion, we celebrate by blowing trumpets. The trumpets symbolize rejoicing and thanksgiving.
To do no work means that this activity is of the mind and soul, not of the physical. It is a time of entering into the stillness of meditation. Again, the animals represent our carnal and negative passions which must be sacrificed if we are to reach this level of spiritual development. And naturally, this sacrifice must be made through fire, which represents love.
On the tenth day of the seventh month, ( a beast with seven heads and ten horns), they are to hold another holy convocation, another day of no work, accompanied by offerings and this time, "ye shall afflict your souls." More meditation is needed.
This day of the affliction of souls is what the Jews celebrate as the Day of At-one-ment.
It is a reiteration of the same admonition which was mentioned in Leviticus 16:29. The number ten represents the second level of unity.
If you add its digits, one and zero, the number reduces to one.
One symbolizes the Creator; the oneness of the ALL in ALL.
The numbers from two to nine represent our sojourn here; the divine incarnation into the physical and our journey back to the Divine. The number ten represents the at-one-ment of the created as it again connects with the Creator. "I and my Father are One."
Lastly, a third holy convocation, is to be held on the fifteenth day of this seventh month.
It is to be another day of rest, and commences a seven day long feast, again accompanied by burnt offerings. On the eighth day there is a day of solemn assembly, no work is to be done.
This is called The Feast of the Tabernacles. The tabernacle represents the temporal body of man. While in the wilderness (still trying to find our way in meditation) ,we worship God in a temporary state of mind, or Tabernacle, Later, we will build the Temple of Solomon which is the permanent, spiritual body. This Tabernacle represents the place in the consciousness where we begin our inner journey Godward.
All achieved by meditation and opening the seven seals on the backside, and giving your burnt animal passions to god or the higher consciousness.
The number fifteen reduces to six.
Six is the number of home, in six days the Lord created the world and all that it contains. It also represents the totality of and completion of the physical plane.
This is an appropriate place for us to celebrate. We have completed the physical part of our journey and now begin the spiritual part. And the place to start is at home, within us.
There are seven days of celebration, seven days of burnt offerings, and an eighth day of rest and solemn assembly. Seven is the number of the completed journey (the kundalini).
So after the physical, material part of our journey, we begin the spiritual journey. Each step of the way we must make sacrifices and give up something. Clearly, this is the way to progress.
When this process is completed signified by the eighth day, we may rest, and commemorate the occasion in solemnity; for this is the most important business in which we can engage.
Eight is god consciousness
Chapter 30. Laws About Vows.
The Lord told Moses that if a man swear a vow unto the Lord or an oath on his soul, he shall not break his word.
He went on to say that is a woman vow a vow unto the Lord or swear an oath on her soul, it shall stand the same, unless she (the mind) is young and still living in her father's house or if she is married.
In either case, her vow may be disallowed by either her hather or her husband. If so disallowed and then broken, she will be forgiven by the lord because of the disallowance. If she is widowed, divorced or a single adult, then her vows have the same validity as a man's.
She is the MIND
Oaths and vows taken before God or sworn on one's soul are significant. For they impress upon our souls, which have eternal memory.
We must take them seriously. However, if we make such an oath under emotional conditions, here represented by the women, the Mind (man) may disavow such oaths.
If the mind is not in control, or does not disavow them, then they stand.
Numbers
Part 17.
Chapter 31-32
Chapter 31. The Killing of the Midiantes
The Lord told Moses to tell the children of Israel that they should avenge themselves against the Midianites. One thousand soldiers were to be gathered from each of the twelve tribes. And they went to war along with Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, with “the holy instruments and the trumpets.
The Midianites in its original Aramaic, means strife and contention.
For the searcher of enlightenment, they must be defeated and eliminated. Each of the twelve tribes were called to do battle for they represent all twelve aspects of an individual. And all aspects of an individual must join in this struggle if we are to be successful.
Phinehas means spiritual revelation and Eleazar means help of God. Both of these men are associated with the Temple, or spiritual part of us. These are the spiritual forces which aid the student or seeker to succeed in his battle with the Midianites.
And they slew all the males and all the kings of Midian. There were five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. They also slew Balaam, the son of Beor.
Men or the masculine refers to the intellect or mind. A king would be a ruling or controlling idea. Bing of Midian, these represent the ideas of contentiousness and strife. Killing is the Bible’s way of saying that they were eliminated or overcome.
Evi, translated from the Aramaic, means desire, when desire is a Midianite king, it represents desires which are contentious and unjust. Rekem means artistic coloring or decorating.
But this cultivation of beauty would be carnal and related to the sensual desires rather than the higher spiritual because of its association with Midian.
Zur means rock, precipitous and besieged. In this context it represents an aggressive, warring thought.
Hur means white and pure and also black hole and filthy prison.
As a king of Midianite, it refers to limitation and darkness resulting from strife and contention.
Reba means one quarter, encouch or bestiality. This thought is only a small part (1/4) of the Truth, so that it becomes contentious, unbalanced and bestial.
The last to be mentioned is Balaam whom we have discussed before. Balaam means lord of the people or destruction of the people; a foreigner. Here, he represents the idea that strife and contentious ideas will be our destruction. They are foreign to the spiritual being.
They took all the women and children captive, and later killed all the make children, women and girls who were not virgins.
For those who interpret this as history and fact, this is a difficult passage. But from an allegorical interpretation, it is much more acceptable. Women represent the emotions.
Children are simply the offspring or consequences of the ideas from which they come.
These are the contentious thoughts represented by the Midiantites. Those women and girls who are not virgins, are the emotions which are sensual and carnal in nature. They must be rooted out and eliminated. Those who are virgins, represent the pure emotions.
Those who did the killing were required to remain outside the camp for seven days and go through a purification process for themselves, their captives, their clothing and weapons before rejoining the Israelites. That which could abide fire was purified with fire, and all else was purified with water, the second stage of meditation.
In the Bible, seven days always represents a completed spiritual process of the kundalini energy up the spine.
And the process of eliminating or overcoming all of these thoughts is surely that.
The purification of fire and water is a recurring theme in the Old and New Testament. Water is of the Mind or Mental consciousness and Fire is the kundalini rising, of the Heart or Spiritual consciousness. Both are necessary for the completion of this process.
The captives, herds, gold silver and jewelry were divided between those who had battled the Midianites, the remaining Israelites and the Priests. Then the captains brought the gold and jewels to Moses and Eleazar the priest as an atonement for their souls.
The rewards of the battle won are awarded to those who participated. It is a way of saying that our rewards for eliminating these negative thoughts affect us on many different levels. We are improved physically, mentally emotionally and spiritually. By bringing these rewards to the priests, we are using these gifts in the service of the Temple, or in other words, the service of the Spiritual.
Chapter 32. Reuben and Gad to Stay in Gilead Instead of the Promised Land.
Now the tribes of Reuben and Gad had much cattle (animal thoughts, carnal mind), and they saw that the land of Gilead was a good place for cattle. So they went to Moses and asked if they could stay in Gilead instead of crossing over the river Jordan to the Promised Land.
Reuben is translated as behold a son. Metaphysically it means faith and understanding, but it is rooted in the physical. It is a faith in the world. Gad means good fortune. Known as a horseman, he represents physical power. Gilead means enduring rock. It is the place in consciousness that understands what is true.
It is a foundation for the higher spiritual consciousness to come. It is the limit for the physical and so it is a good place for cattle (animal carnal thoughts). They will go no further. The remainder of the Work is of the Heart, Mind and Soul.
Numbers
Part 18
Chapter 32
In response to Reuben and Gad, who wished to stay in Gilead rather than cross the river to Canaan with the rest of the Israelites, Moses replied that the remaining Israelites might be afraid to attack the Canaanites without the strength of their two tribes’ warriors. He said that they were needed in the coming battle.
Reuben and Gad represent the physical and emotional natures, which, though it can recognized the higher spiritual goal is not able to be a part of it.
Moses, who represents the higher intellect knows that the body is necessary as the foundation of the spiritual journey and must not be left behind.
So the leaders of the two tribes offered to go with the other tribes to fight for the Promised Land, after they had first secured their homes and sheepfolds for their families and herds there, in the land of Gilead. They were to return only after the land of Canaan was secured. To this Moses agreed.
Reuben and Gad, the intellect and the emotions, in Hebrew, our physical consciousness, builds its security on the plains of Gilead, which means enduring rock and great endurance.
It reminds us of the admonition of Jesus to build our (spiritual) house on a foundation of stone. Stones and rocks symbolize Truth.
Then the children of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, Atroth, Shophan, Jaazer and Jogbehah.
And the children of Reuben build Heshbon, Elealeh, Kirjathaim, Nebo, Baalmeon and Shibmah.
These cities were built so that they could safely leave their families and herds behind while they went to make war on Canaan.
The children of Gad, or the ideas resulting from good fortune, built the City of Dibon, which means wasting away.
Cities represent an aggregation of thoughts. In this case, it is a dissolution of the material in order to make way for the new spiritual consciousness.
Nest, they built Ataroth, which means crowns and here relates to victory over the animal or carnal aspect of our consciousness. Then came Aroer which means desolation and is a state of desperation which will be overcome as we grow in spirituality.
The next city they built was Atroth which has the same meaning as Ataroth above.
It serves to emphasize the idea of victory over our carnality. Then, they built Shophan or Shepham which means cold or naked. Here it indicates the status of the physical body before it has been raised to the spiritual.
Jaezer or Jaazer was the next city that the children of Gad built.
It translates as whom God helps and relates to the help available as we seek and find spiritual Truth. The last city attributed to Gad’s progeny is Jogbehah, which means who will be elevated.
This is in reference to an inner consciousness which is gradually being elevated to spiritual understanding.
Reuben’s children, who represent faith and understanding, also built several cities. The first of these is Heshbon which means the power of thinking.
It has to do with the reasoning mind which eventually rises above the carnality of the purely physical. The next is Elealeh which means where God arises. It symbolizes the lifting up of the mental consciousness.
Kirjathaim is the next city listed. It means a double meeting. In this next city built by the children of Reuben was Baalmeon which means lord of dwellings or understanding.
It is an understanding of the physical which must be elevated to the spiritual. The last city built by the children of Reuben was Shibmah which means balm, sweet and pleasant. It symbolizes the healing which is a part of the spiritualization of the physical body.
The wives represent the feminine side of us, our emotions or heart.
The children represent our ideas and the herds represent our carnal, physical passions and forces. Leaving their wives, children and herds in these cities means that the aspects of consciousness and thought which they represent are safely on these levels before we are really able to take the next step. That is, to cross the river Jordan and take possession of the Promised Land.
This building of cities is all about the preparation that we must undergo before we will be able to make that crossing of the River Jordan to the Promised Land, The Kingdom of Heaven or Illumination.
Numbers
Part 19
Chapter 33
Chapter 33. A Summary of the Journey from Egypt to Canaan
The Bible narrative tells us that these are the journeys of the children of Israel. They left the land of Egypt under Moses and Aaron, and they pitched their tents in Succoth.
This review of the places through with the children of Israel traveled on their way to the Promised Land may be the way the authors emphasized the importance of those places and their true meaning. This journey is a metaphor for the Spiritual Journey that each of us must follow if we are to arrive at the Promised Land, or Soul Consciousness.
Egypt represents the material, unenlightened life.
It can refer to the life we all live before we start on the Spiritual Path or it may be that level of consciousness we fall back to when we flounder. The name itself derives from the Greek for Coptic land. And the Greek comes from the Hebrew, Mizaim. Mizaim in Hebrew means shut in, restraint, misery, tribulation and distress.
Metaphorically, it represents the darkness of ignorance; the flesh consciousness; the material consciousness. It would appear that it is a very good place to leave.
However, do not be misled. Egypt is a great kingdom, it is from Egypt that the Messiah is called. It is to Egypt that we must go in times of famine to get “the grain” to sustain us.
In our inner world, it represents our subconscious or unconscious mind.
It is the home of our emotions, hidden desires and passions; sexual and otherwise.
This is one of the great keys to spiritual understanding.
Though Egypt represents much which we consider to be detrimental to our Spiritual goals, it is within Egypt that we will find the kernel or seed of the Spiritual development we seek. For this is where the Soul is to be found.
From there they went to Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. From Etham they went to Pihahiroth and, Migdol, they passed through the sea into the wilderness and then to Marah. From Marah they came to Elim, the Red Sea and the wilderness of Sin, to Dophkah. They went from Dophkah to Alush, Rephidim, Sinai and Kibroth-hattaavah.
Their first stop was at Etham, which is Hebrew for Egypt and means the same thing: materiality and the unconscious. The repeated theme is, in my opinion, a means of emphasizing that this is where the spiritual journey must begin.
The next stopping place was Pihahiroth which means breaking away from. Those of us who have started on the Spiritual Path know that his can be one of the most difficult passages. It is the point at which we leave behind our old beliefs and life styles. And frequently this causes fear and doubt with those we love, who do not share our ideals or understand our new goals. We have set ourselves apart.
From Pihahiroth, they came to Migdal which means strength. This is the strength it takes to start off on this journey. The strength to resist the social pressure to return to normalcy and give up this “foolishness.”
Their next stop was at Marah, which means grief. This is the grief that accompanies us as we leave behind some “friends” and loved ones, who will not accept us as we change. We find ourselves more and more isolated, for there are few who understand our new quest.
This is followed by Elim which means palm trees. Palm trees represent victory. This is the victory over all the discouragement and doubt that we have been feeling. When we have passed through these places and left them behind us, we will experience this sense of victory.
Our next stop is Dophkah. It means to drive hard. We must press on from this initial victory, for there is much to do and a long distance to go to reach our ultimate goal.
From Dophkah, we travel to Alush, which is a wild place and undisciplined.
This is the condition of our unconscious mind, and it is here where the majority of the work will take place.
Through the Will, we must take our lusts, passions and negative emotions and bring them under the control of the higher level of consciousness which we are developing. This higher level will then change or transmute the negative emotions into positive one.
The next stop on our journey is Rephidim, which means precipitous. A mountain is an indication of spiritual achievement. Truly when we have succeeded in transmuting these negative emotions, we will have reached a high point in our journey. But it is precipitous, to remind us that we have not yet accomplished our goal. We must be careful that we do not slip and fall back into our old ways.
Then we come to Kibroth-hattaavah which translates as graves of lust. It is an indication that we have eliminated the lusts and desires of the carnal self or at least overcome them and put them to rest.
Next they camped at Hazeroth, then Rithmah, Rimmon-parez, Libnah, Rissah, Kehelathah, Shapher, Haradah.
Makheloth, Tahath, Tarah, Mithcah, Hashmonah and Moseroth. They went on to Benepjaakan, Horhagidgad, Jotbathah, Wbronah, Eziongeber, Kadesh and Hor.
It was Hor where Aaron, the priest died in the fortieth year after they had left Egypt.
As we continue in our journey, we come to Hazeroth, which means an encampment. It represents a grouping of thoughts and indicates that our scattered thoughts are becoming organized. We are coming into a sense of harmony.
Their next stop was Rithmah, which means bound, made fast or secure. This is a place in our consciousness where we are becoming secure in our new beliefs.
Rimmon-parez follows. It means breaking up of substance or material. This refers to the disintegration of our material desires as we progress toward spirituality.
Our next stop is Libnah which means clean and pure. This is the condition of the thoughts which are replacing the material thoughts above.
From Libnah, they traveled to Rissah which means disintegration and distillation. Reminiscent of one of the Alchemical processes, this also has to do with the ongoing process of the changes taking place in our consciousness.
After each operation of disintegration and distillation there is a need for reintegration of that which we wish to retain. This is indicated by their next stop which is Kehelathah. It means convocation or assembly. The gathering of the fruits of our labors.
They journeyed on to Shapher which means bright and shining. This is the description of these fruits, these positive attributes.
Haradah, their next encampment, means excitement and intense feeling. This word has come to refer to negative feelings such as fear. But originally it could mean any kind of strong emotion, especially love; not the lustful kind, but the universal and unconditional love of all humankind, a vital requirement.
Our next stop is Makheloth which as Kehelathah, above means convocation and assembly. It indicates that this bringing together and consolidating our progress is frequently needed.
Tahath, which means humility is our next step in the journey. As we become more understanding of the spiritual truth of our existence, we gain humility.
Tarah, our next stop, means delay. Perhaps this is alluding to the time that this whole process requires. We must guard against impatience.
The next encampment is Mithcah, followed by Hasmonah. Mithcah means sweetness and pleasantness. Hashmonah means opulence and wealth. These are an indication of what we can expect along the way.
Moseroth which means bonds and corrections is our next stop. This indicates that we are still making corrections and loosening our bonds from the material consciousness.
The next point on our journey is Benejaakan. Bene means the son of. Jaakan means keen, acute or intelligent. Our mental powers are growing along with our spiritual powers.
We then come to Horhagidgad, meaning cave or hewn cavern. The reference here is to the unconscious. It is there that much of the work will be accomplished.
They traveled on to Jotbathah which means goodness and healthfulness. Again we can see that we are making progress and reaping the rewards for our labors.
Ebronah which means passage refers to the changes that are taking place within us.
The next stay was at Ezion-beger which translates as the backbone of a giant. This has to do with the strength that is required to complete this journey.
Continuing on, they arrived at Kadesh which means clean and pure. It is the condition of the thoughts which we are trying to embody.
From Kadesh they arrived at Hor. Hor means to be high or exalted state. This is the goal of our journey and we are told that we are getting there.
But, we are not there yet.
Numbers
Part 20
Chapter 33 (cont.)
Chapter 33. A summary of the Journey from Egypt to Canaan (Cont.)
The author is continuing to retrace the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness of meditation, listing each stop along the way.
As you will see, when we understand the meanings of these place names, we gain some insight into the Spiritual Journey we must each take.
The Israelites next encampment was at Zalmonah, then to Punon, Oboth, Ijeabarim, Dibon-gad, Almon-diblathaim, the mountains of Abarim, and the plains of Moab.
Zalmonah means giving shade or sheltered. It indicates the protection available to us as we approach the exalted state of consciousness we seek.
Punon means darkness, perplexity. It relates to the doubt which must yet be purged from our inner feelings by the light of the Spiritual Consciousness being developed.
Oboth means waterskins, or leather bottles. This is the realization that it is through the mind (symbolized by water) that we may cleanse the inner consciousness (symbolized by the leather bag or bottle).
Ije-abarim means regions beyond. It represents the part of us, that though in Moab (the carnal consciousness), looks beyond to the Promised Land.
Dibon-gad means wasting away, consumed. It represents the process of cleaning the inner consciousness of all negativity; consuming it through transmutation.
Almon-diblathaim translates as hiding of two fig cakes or hiding of troubles. It symbolizes the increase of the vital substance as the spiritual consciousness grows.
The mountains of Abarim just as Ije-Abarim above, means regions beyond. And the plains of Moab, which means seed of the father or flowing from the father, here represent the developed physical and material which is prepared to cross over into the Promised Land.
Finally, the Lord tells Moses to tell the children of Israel that when they cross over the Jordan to the Promised Land, they are to drive out all the inhabitants, destroy all their images and posses the land and dwell there. And that they are to divide the land between them according to their numbers.
If they do not drive out the inhabitants as instructed, they would become thorns in the sides of the Israelites and the Lord “shall do unto you as I thought to do unto them.”
To drive out all the inhabitants from the Promised Land is reference to the need to clear our inner consciousness from all that is carnal, lustful, materialistic, selfish, critical, hateful and so forth, to make room for the new Spiritual consciousness to make its home.
To destroy all their images means that we must destroy our old negative beliefs which accompany this lower level of consciousness also. For we will never be free of their power until we have done so.
If we do not root out all of these negative beliefs, feelings and thoughts, we will not be able to proceed to the Promised Land.
Numbers
Part 21
Chapter 34
Chapter 34. A description of the Land to be Inherited
The Lord spoke to Moses and told him to tell the children of Israel what land was to fall to them as an inheritance. He described the borders as follows:
South (the physical) - Zin along to Edom and to the coast of the salt sea. It continued on to Kadesh-barnea, Hazar-addar and to Axmon.
West (the intellectual) - The great sea.
North (the subconscious and emotions) - Mount Hor to Hamath to Zedad; then to Ziphron and Hazarenan to Sepham.
East (the enlightened mind) - From Sepham to Riblah to the side of the seas of Chinnereth and the Jordan to the salt sea.
This is the land which was to be inherited by lot among the none and one half tribes.
For the tribes of Rueben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan (the spinal canal).
The South (the physical) is bordered by Zin, which means piercing or truth in the original Aromaic of the Bible.
Akrabbim means a steep pass. This refers to a mountain pass, which symbolizes a spiritually elevated consciousness.
Kadeshbarnea means sacred or divine presence. It symbolizes the presence of God. Hazar-addar means court of the threshing. This is the place where we have sorted out the ‘wheat from the chaff.’ Azmon means strength. This is the strength of the spiritually enlightened. The great sea symbolizes the emotions . They must be elevated as part of the spiritualization of the whole being.
Mt. Hor indicates a mountain. Mountains, as we said above, symbolize a heightened level of spiritual consciousness. Hamath can be translated as an enclosed fortress or fortification. This relates to the security of the spiritually elevated condition.
Zedad means turning aside. It represents our turning away form the material consciousness and turning to divine inspiration. Ziphon means perfume or a flower garden. It refers to the physical beauty with which we are surrounded when we reached this Promised Land. Hazar-enan means village of fountains and indicates a cleansing or renewal.
Shepham means naked. This is our inner condition when we are prepared for the ultimate spiritual attainment or Illumination. Riblah means abundance. This abundance is what we experience when we become spiritually conscious.
The Sea of Chinnereth is a reference to our emotions, our inner self. Chinnereth means harp or vitality. This is indicative of healthy emotions and inner life, or unconscious. The Jordan, which is a river, indicates the flow of feelings or thoughts. Jordan itself means flowing or flowing of judgment.
So this indicates a stream of thought having to do with judgment. The jordan also represents the fluid of the spinal canal, as the kundalini energy rises up through the Jordan River, the River of Life.
Finally, the salt sea is again a body of water symbolizing the inner feelings and heart. Salt here symbolizes truth.
This means that the emotions are lifted up to truth.
The term inheritance is repeated several times in these passages. It refers to the karmic law of justice. We will reap what we have sown. And so we know that these different aspects of our consciousness, represented by the twelve tribes, had earned the rewards which they received through righteous living.
Finally, their forty-year sojourn was coming to an end. The overcoming of the five senses in meditation, rising above the physical body and all of it's imperfections, symbolized by the number forty, the number of weeks of the human fetus in gestation.
At last, they were ready to cross the river Jordan and enter into the Promised Land.
But, their trials and difficulties were not over. They still had to fight the Canaanites in order to take possession of the Promised Land.
The Canaanites are the power of the lower animal ego mind.
This is the work of purification and transmutation which had to be completed.
The lower thoughts and emotions had to be removed from the land (the consciousness) to make way for the emerging spiritual presence which would rightfully take place.
Each of the twelve tribes represents an aspect of our consciousness as related to the 12 signs of the zodiac.
When elevated, they contribute to the overall development of our spiritual ideal, the Illumined soul, the Avatar, the Master, the Initiate, the Magus, the Cosmic conscious or those baptized by Fire, the fire of the kundalini energy that has it's beginning in the solar plexus (sun center) in each individual.
This forty year journey is one we are all hoping to complete. It is the spiritual journey we who are spiritual Venturers are engaged in. This story tells us of the stumbling blocks to avoid, as well as the rewards for success.
Numbers
Part 22
The Allocation of the Promised Land
Moses told the people that they were to divide the land by lot, between the nine and one half remaining tribes.
(Remember, two and one half of the tribes chose to remain on the other side of the Jordan - “eastward toward the sunrising.”) this is the higher thoughts.
He assigned the job of dividing the land to Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. And, to help them, he named one person from each f the remaining tribes, as he was instructed by the Lord.
Eleazar translated from the Aramaic, means help of God. Joshua means Jah is savior. (Jah is another word which means God.) It is with the help of God that we are to be “saved{ or have a place in the Promised Land. Remember we have earned this inheritance from our forty-year sojourn through the wilderness.
The names of the selected are:
Caleb, son of Jephunneh;
Shemuel, son of Ammihud;
Elidad, son of Chislon;
Bukki, son of Jogli;
Hanniel, son of Ephod;
Kemuel, son of Shiphtan;
Elizaphan, son of Parnach;
Paltiel, son of Azzan;
Shihud, son of Shelomi;
Pedahel, son of Ammihud.
In these references, the child is the offspring or result of the parent.
Caleb means bold and fearless.
Jephunneh means he will behold.
By paying attention to God, listening and accepting His Word, we are bold and fearless
Shemuel means instructed by God.
Ammihud means people of excellence.
Because we have become people of excellence, we are instructed by God.
Elidad means God is Love.
Chislon means strength and hope.
When we are strong in our faith, we learn that God is Love.
Bukki means mouth of Jah (God).
Jogli means passing over.
By passing over or completing the great work of Soul Consciousness, we receive instruction directly from the mouth of God.
Hanniel means favor of God or grace of God.
Ephod means clothe, as a priest.
When we assume the spiritual mantle, we are favored by God or receive the grace of God.
Kemuel means God’s righteousness.
Shiphtan means righteous judgment.
When we learn to judge righteously we will come to know God’s righteousness.
Elizaphan means protected by God.
Parnach means agile or nimble.
By staying flexible and being willing and able to grow we come under the protection of God.
Paltiel means freedom of God.
Azzan means very strong.
When we are very strong in our spirituality, we enjoy true, divine freedom.
Ahihud means brother of honor.
Shelomi means Jah (God) is peace.
As we come to know the peace of God, we also learn to live with honor.
Pedahel means whom God delivers.
Ammihud means people of excellence.
It is the people or ideas of excellence which God delivers or which become part of the spiritualized being.
And so, these are the beliefs, attributes and wisdom which enable us to inherit The Promised Land.
Numbers
Part 23
Chapter 35
Chapter 35. Cities for the Levites
The Lord told Moses to command the children of Israel to give to the Levites (the priest) cities to dwell in, and the suburbs for the cattle.
Just as people represent ideas in the Bible, cities represent aggregations of thoughts. Since we don’t know the names of these cities, we can look at the purpose to determine the nature of these thought groups.
The Levites were the priests who received no division of the Promised Land. This is because the spiritual thoughts are not rooted in the material, physical world; but in the unseen, non-physical realms of consciousness. They are at the center already, as a seed.
We are being told to put aside a part of our consciousness, our time, our attention, for spiritual matters - devote a part of our lives to spiritual goals and aspirations.
Among the forty-eight cities (12) there were to be six cities of refuge of man slayers; three on each side of the Jordan River. Murderers were to be put to death. These cities of refuge were for Israelites as well as strangers.
The six cities of refuge designate six centers in the body which are developed gradually through the process of spiritualization - three on either side of the Jordan to indicate the separation of the Work into the three Lesser and three Greater stages of the work of transmutation. All are to be transmuted, the Israelites as well as the strangers (new or unregenerate thoughts.)
He went on to say that a murderer should be put to death only if there are at least two witnesses. One witness is not sufficient.
Finally, he instructs them not to defile the land with blood, for the Lord will inhabit the land with the Israelites. “I the Lord will inhabit the land with the Israelites.
“I, the Lord, dwell among the children of Israel.”
To defile the land with blood is to destroy life. “The blood thereof is the life thereof.” We would not be worthy of the indwelling of the Lord or Christos if we are destroyers of life. But, in the sense used here, it is referring to the life of the Spirit. And so, it is the spiritual life which we mush cherish and honor.
Chapter 36. The Marriage of Heiresses.
The leaders from the family of Joseph came to Moses to question God’s plan with regard to the inheritance of daughters who inherited. They were concerned that if young women who had inherited wealth were to marry outside of their tribe, that the inheritance would fall into a different tribe. Eventually, a tribe could loose dome of its territory or wealth.
The Lord responded by saying “The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.” He decided that women (the higher minds) who inherit must marry within their own tribe in order to protect the tribe from loss.
They must marry up to thoughts that are of kindred and kind.
The inheritance of each tribe was thereby secured.
This is a reminder that the feminine aspect of our heart and Soul is as important as the masculine aspect of our mind and Will.
Both must be developed. But the Heart of a person and the Mind of a person must be a part of the inheritance of the Promised Land or Kingdom of Heaven.
To be married into the same tribe is a way of indicating that the two aspects must work together, in harmony, to accomplish the Work. It is what the Alchemists referred to as the Chemical Marriage.
This concludes the Book of Numbers. We will begin interpreting the Book of Deuteronomy in order to complete the Pentateuch.
Sources:
Metaphysical Bible Dictionary Unity School of Christianity New Age Bible Interpretation: Old Testament Vol.I by Corine Heline
Old Testament Light by George M. Lamsa The Science of the Soul by R. Swinburne Clymer
The Two Towers Fall - Awakening to the Fourth Dimension
Some Qabalistic reflections on the September 11 Tragedy
Copyright © Nick Sandberg 2002
This page has been visited 13776 times since March 2002.
"I scarcely move Yet swiftly seem to run; My son, thou seest, Here Space and Time are one." - Wagner's "Parcifal"
Author's Note: This piece is a personal Qabalistic reflection on some of the symbols arising from the tragic events of the date September 11th 2001. Images from that day will now have likely passed into the minds of several billion people worldwide, and I hope the subject can be viewed as a valid topic for discussion. In this piece I hope utilize two central esoteric works on higher dimensional experience - the Tarot and the biblical book of Revelation - to show that behind the terrible human tragedy of the day remains a very positive and powerful symbol for human and planetary development - Nick Sandberg, March 2002.
The Tarot keys used in this piece are those drawn by Jesse Burns Parke to the instruction of Dr Paul Foster Case. A little Hebrew and Greek script has also been used. The necessary fonts (BST Hebrew and BST Greek) may be downloaded from http://bible.crosswalk.com/InterlinearBible/ if required.
The Symbols
At around nine in the morning local time, in the heart of downtown Manhattan, the twin towers of the World Trade Organization building were struck by two hijacked airplanes, bringing both to the ground and resulting in the tragic loss of many thousand lives. The planes that struck the towers were American Airlines flights AA11 and AA77. Both hit from the north.
North is the subconscious mind and the emotional mind in Metaphysical understanding. Ezekiel digged a hole in a wall NORTH of the city, and he saw creepy things, flying things and abominations. That's the mind that destroyed the towers from the NORTH.
The scale and shock of the incident ensured that it was a lead news item for many weeks. The image of the twin towers falling will by now have been deeply ingrained into the minds of likely several billion people worldwide.
The Cards
The 78 cards, or "keys," of the Tarot pack have for centuries been renowned for their power to read fortunes and tell the future. Less widely known, however, is the role played by the cards in the Western esoteric school of wisdom known as Qabalah.
To the Qabalists, the 22 trumps of the Tarot major arcana are powerful and evocative symbols - symbols that are believed to have existed for aeons in our unconscious mind.
By focusing and meditating on the cards, it is believed, these powerful images gradually awaken their counterparts buried deep in the unconscious, helping the individual clear away obstructed and repressed elements of the psyche, and allowing them to awaken to a deeper reality. Qabalists, from some schools, make use of this principle and thus utilize Tarot to guide and stabilize the individual on the spiritual path - a journey from our ordinary state of awareness to a higher, more unified, state of
consciousness.
Tarot Tableau
Qabalists usually envision the cards laid out as in the diagram on the right - three rows with seven cards in each, with the 0 card, The Fool, on top. Each row of seven cards depicts the seven stages in the development of consciousness at a different level.
Thus the first row, Keys 1 to 7, represents seven principles by which consciousness develops; the second row, Keys 8 to 14, seven powers or agencies through which these seven principles operate or manifest; and the third and last row, Keys 15 to 21, seven effects or actual experiences which the awakening individual or group undergoes as they continue on their own path of development.
The symbol of the tower struck by lightning, and the symbol of the two towers are found in Keys 16 and 18 respectively, and thus represent elements of the awakening process as they are actually experienced by the developing individual. I will now describe this spiritual awakening process as it is related by Tarot, drawing particular attention to symbols relating to the September 11th tragedy.
Key 16 - The Tower
Key 16 - The Tower
The first key on the bottom row is Key 15 - The Devil. This key symbolizes our ordinary waking consciousness with its inherent quality of "inimicality," of us being surrounded by "others" - people and structures that may or may not bear us good will, and of life being a struggle or a burden.
Key 16, The Tower, the next key in the series,
represents "Awakening." This "awakening" takes the form of a sudden impact of divine energy rising from the deep unconscious, thrusting the individual briefly into a higher state of consciousness.
The belief in our intrinsic "separation" from that which surrounds us is suddenly shattered by this lightning bolt from the divine. Qabalists believe this awakening occurs only once the individual is ready to experience it.
The image of the tower represents the false perception of the world, and the falling figures are the conscious and subconscious mind. The tower is struck by a bolt of lightning, associated with Mars, originating in a solar disk, associated with superconsciousness - the divine.
A famous reference to this awakening is found in the biblical Book of Job. Job 37:22 (numbers that indicate the passage's significance to Qabalists) commences: "Fair weather cometh from the North." This is a play on words by the translator, for the direction north is Qabalistically associated with Mars and with chaotic, stormy energy. It is the the negative thoughts that arise out of the collective unconscious.
The weather is described as fair because this divine strike of Mars energy has a liberating effect. That the passage refers to the Mars energy is revealed by its numerology. In the original Hebrew the passage reads htay bhz nwpcm - tzarphown zawb athah - letters which reveal, by gematria, the number 696 - also that of the phrase mymvh va - esh ha-shamaim, meaning "Fire from Heaven" - an alternative name for Key 16.
That our belief in our personal separation is illusory is shown symbolically also by the falling crown. It is surmounted by four letter M's - which in Hebrew numerology, gematria, add up to the number 160 - the number also of Cain, nyq, and thus "error."
The numbers of the aircraft that struck the World Trade Center in this horrific tragedy were AA11 and AA77.
Both of these numbers would suggest to Western Qabalists the concept of superconsciousness, or the influence of the divine. The letter "A" is the first letter of the alphabet, and its Hebrew counterpart, a - aleph symbolizes superconsciousness. The numbers 1 and 7 are the first and last in the base seven number system found throughout Qabalah and other esoteric doctrines.
In addition, aircraft are constructed of steel, a metal sacred to Mars. At a deeper level of our being, it is believed, we are already well aware of these principles.
This bolt of divine Mars energy, striking from the North, obliterates the personal ego for only a brief period, however.
Once this awakening is over, the individual returns to normal consciousness and continues his or her personal transformation at a more gradual pace, progressively clearing whatever it is that is blocking their development.
The transformational process continues and eventually the individual will return to the awakened state and find it the norm. The following stages relate how this unfolds.
Key 18 - The Moon
Key 18 - The Moon
Key 17 - The Star, depicts the process by which the awakened individual gathers useful insights unto his or herself through concentration and meditation. At the same time the body progressively integrates the experience of awakening as it continues to unfold and this process is depicted in Key 18 - The Moon.
This key shows the progress of the evolution of consciousness, which takes place in and through the evolution of living organisms. In many ways, in this school of thought, the evolution of life, from the tiniest micro-organism to the most complex creature, occurs only such that consciousness itself may evolve.
From the early life forms capable only of housing and defending the most basic level of consciousness, natural evolution progressively develops a series of increasingly complex organisms, passing between the extremes of nature and environmental adaptation, until the human being, and thus human consciousness, is born.
The path onward represents Man's ongoing journey toward higher states of awareness and it leads between two towers, themselves the edges of a containing wall that passes behind the pool from whence life was born. This enclosure, like the shell of the crayfish within, again symbolizes our normal state of consciousness and the erroneous belief in personal will.
As the awakened individual continues along the path, he or she must eventually pass beyond the towers, and thus say goodbye to the typical set of beliefs we have about our world and the nature of our existence. The two towers may thus be seen as a gateway leading out of our ordinary world and into the next sheaf of consciousness above - the astral - the world of dreams - sometimes known as the Fourth Dimension. This is the world from which Qabalists believe our world descends.
The ideas represented here by the two towers are also found in other Tarot Keys, notably Key 2 - The High Priestess, and Key 11 - Justice, where they take the form of two pillars. At this, more archetypal, level of manifestation, the two represent the opposing polarities characteristic of our limited state of awareness - of things being either positive or negative. The destruction of the two towers therefore symbolizes, at an unconscious level, the passage into the deeper worlds of our being. To Qabalists, the effect of filling the conscious minds of a generation with this image will be to have opened the door to a higher level of consciousness - the Fourth Dimension.
Key 20 - Judgment
Key 20 - Judgment
The symbols of Key 19 - The Sun - the smiling solar disk and the two small dancing children - depict another stage in the awakening process.
Close to achieving the final state, often called enlightenment or, by Qabalists, cosmic consciousness, the developing individual finds that his or her conscious and subconscious mind have regained the childlike sense of innocence and wonder that they once had. At this stage the awakening to the Fourth Dimension actually takes place, an event depicted in Key 20 - Judgment.
The term "judgment" here refers to the end of a process of deliberation - an end to the developing of a series of ideas. The concept of "judgment," therefore, means an end to interpretation, an end to the assimilation of ideas, it means the experience of true "understanding" - of true knowledge of our world and our role within it. It means awakening to the Fourth Dimension - the astral realm.
Numerous different cultures, ancient and modern, reflect, through myth, symbolism, and ritual, their belief in a higher realm than our own, a realm with dictates the events that occur here on Earth. The "day of the dead" ceremonies common to Southeast Asia and Latin America, relate to the astral, as do the "land of the ancestors" beliefs, common to many African tribal religions. Virtually every human culture known to have existed has believed in the astral, and likely for one simply reason - it is the world many believe we journey to in our dreams.
Modern psychology regards dreaming as a nigh time pseudo-sensory experience where unresolved situations from our past, often revealed in symbolic form, are played out before our mind's eye. The overall aim of dreaming appears to be to try and integrate painful and emotionally charged memories, thus lowering daily stress levels.
Ancient schools of belief, such as Qabalah, however, go much further than this. To them, the world we venture into in our dreams is, in many ways, actually a higher reality than that we inhabit in our waking state. The repressed situations the psychologist uncovers in the analysis of dreams are, to many Qabalists, actually the reason the day-to-day world we inhabit exists. The imbalanced patterns we hold at an astral level are, it is believed, what actually cause us to incarnate on Earth such that we might resolve them through our interactions with others.
The scene depicted in Key 20 is that of the Archangel Gabriel awakening the conscious and subconscious mind of the individual via a trumpet blast of seven tones. The child, symbolizing the regenerated consciousness of enlightenment, is thus born. The three figures rise from rectangular coffins representing the prison of the 3 dimensional world, and they are coloured grey to indicate that the opposing poles of normal sensory experience have now been blended into the fuller awareness of the astral.
The angel's body placed within the ring of clouds forms an esoteric symbol for the astral - the figure 8 of infinity placed within a circle. The Hebrew letter Shin, v, meaning literally "fang" or "tooth," and symbolizing "divine fire" - the higher dimensional counterpart of the Mars force of Key 16, furthers the symbolism. Teeth break down form, reducing it to its essence, and the divine fire of Shin is that which finally and totally liberates the individual from the restraints of 3 dimensional existence.
This divine fire of liberation, who's action is the true meaning for Christian myths relating to a "Last Judgment," relates to the September 11th tragedy via the symbol for the US dollar. Popular culture has for decades connected the two towers of the World Trade Center with the two pillars that stand in front of the letter "S." Esoterically, the glyph may be thought of as both a Saturnine symbol and, related, a symbol of the divine fire of Shin restrained.
The planet Saturn has forever been connected with the concepts of control or restraint. The dollar sign thus makes an excellent Saturn symbol, for the currency it represents is the principle means by which the world markets are governed, thus effectively dictating the life conditions of many millions worldwide. The symbol also resembles the planet in that a letter "S" appears restrained behind two columns, just as the planet itself is encircled by its famous rings.
Relating to this, the dollar sign is also a symbol of Shin restrained. The Hebrew letter translates in the West as a letter "S," and thus the two columns restrain the divine fire of creation in the bi-polar, 3 dimensional world. The divine fire is the fiery essence of matter held prisoner in the unawakened mind. When the two towers fall it is released.
In practical terms, to find oneself awakened at this level has several obvious effects. The notion of personal will disappears and the individual realizes that, in truth, they have "no will but to do the will of He that sent me." In addition, they will gain conscious control of the dreamstate, meaning that sleep will, from now on, be simply a time for work to continue at another level, in another body.
The final card in the series, Key 21 - The World, relates the final state of cosmic consciousness - enlightenment. Once the realm of the astral is conquered the individual is truly reborn and spends the rest of their days undertaking that which is their destiny.
Revelation
The biblical book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, is, essentially an account of the full awakening to fourth dimensional, or astral, experience, though this, its true meaning, is only currently understood by relatively few people - those from various schools of western Qabalist thought.
The word translated "Revelation," in the original Greek, was "Epopteia" (later "Apocalypsis"), terms that mean "unveiling." The Revelation is thus the "reveal-ation" or "revealing" of just how man's individual and group destiny will unfold.
The book serves two principle purposes. Firstly, by simply reading and re-reading the 22 chapters of the book, without attempting any deeper interpretation, one will become familiar with the various symbols relating the experience of the Revelation.
These symbols, like those of Tarot, many of which are the same, pre-exist in our subconscious and will, on us simply re-familiarizing ourselves with them, become active and begin to allow the experience to physically unfold. Secondly, penetrating the surface layer of the symbology reveals a deeper set of metaphysical relationships, one that explores many aspects of the awakening process. Of the two, the first purpose is by far the most important.
"And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou should givest reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Revelation 11:3,7 & 19 (KJV).
It is beyond the scope and purpose of this piece to explore in great depth the symbolic elements of the Revelation (in many ways it would also diminish the value of the text) but I will give basic details such that the meaning and role of the "two witnesses" may be understood.
It is important to remember that the book has been written from the perspective of actual fourth-dimensional experience, and thus that a number or symbol may simultaneously represent many concepts that appear quite detached from one another in our ordinary waking awareness.
The Revelation is usually split into three sections. Chapters 1-3 introduce the seven chakras, the "seven cities which are in Asia," examining their nature and their positive and negative qualities. With the commencement of chapter 4, so the Revelation itself begins to unfold. The initiate, seated in deep meditation, understands that he or she is now properly prepared to experience what will come to pass.
The four living creatures, symbols of the four cardinal signs of the zodiac, are correctly aligned 1, and the 24 elders and seven spirits of God are likewise present.
Chapters 5-11 now explore the actual experience of awakening, as two subtle energy channels that wind around the spine - known in Sanskrit as the Ida and the Pingala - sequentially energize the seven chakras and thus prime the central channel - the Sushumna - which then itself explodes into life, awakening the initiate to fourth-dimensional reality.
Chapters 12-22 explore the same process from a different perspective - that of the created universe slowly re-assembling itself into the true creation of God via the transformational and redemptive power of regenerated, fourth-dimensional consciousness.
The two towers are here subconscious symbols of the Ida and the Pingala (the sun and the moon) (the mind and the emotions) (Jachin and Boaz), the "two witnesses."
They are symbols of the preparatory mechanism which will ultimately facilitate the full awakening. Revelation 11, as quoted above, reveals of them:
-that they will be active for half of one cycle of time, 1260 days representing 3.5 "original years" of 360 days. 3.5 is half of 7, the number used throughout Qabalist texts to indicate a full cycle. The mid point of the seven energy centers of the body. The moving of the consciousness from the first three chakras to the four above the diaphragm, the machine plant of the body (Egypt).
that their true meaning will be hidden and appear mundane, cloaked "in sackcloth."
that they will be destroyed by the beast, the physical manifestation of the Greek "lower mind," or bestial nature of Man, written originally hf rhn - hê phrên - a phrase with the gematria 666. and that their destruction will eventually herald the time of the "judgment of the dead" - the end of limited, three-dimensional awareness and the move to the fourth dimension, explored in similar symbols in Key 20 above.
Thus, again, one may see that the symbols arising from the tragic events of September 11th 2001 have a powerful, and very positive, meaning within the context of the Revelation.
The collapse of the two towers, at a subconscious level, symbolizes the destruction of the two witnesses, or prophets of God, (the mind and the emotions) of us all, whose existence both foretells and prepares the way for higher dimensional experience.
These are shattered for a time, their death will only remain for a time, then they will resurrect with the ferociousness of a LION.
Conclusion
The underlying idea that I hope to have conveyed in this piece is that the human tragedy that occurred on September 11th 2001 may have a very powerful flipside in terms of the development of human consciousness on both a personal and planetary level.
The image of the two towers collapsing will have passed into the minds of likely several billion people worldwide, and the immense emotional weight of these images will have ensured that they are ingrained deep within our minds.
The effect of this will be rather as though a generation of the earth's inhabitants had spent a large period of their lives meditating upon several of the keys of the last row of the Tarot major arcana. From deep within the unconscious of our generation, the symbols of liberation will begin to be made active.
In practical terms, this will mean an increase in "awakenings" from now on.
Changes in dream behaviour might also be expected, with people experiencing more dreams intended to integrate deep and dark aspects of the human psyche.
Though the war of attrition that has followed the tragic events of that day may continue for awhile, from deep within the collective unconscious of a whole generation, the divine fire of human liberation has been lit.
Notes
(1) - Note that the astrological configuration suggested by the text, that of the heavenly bodies studied by the ancients moving into the four fixed signs of the zodiac - Aquarius, Scorpio, Leo, and Taurus - occurs only once roughly every 26,000 years.
And that this recently did take place - on August 18th 1999 (See Key to the Gnosis below).
Bibliography
Case, Paul Foster, Dr. (1995). The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages, Builders of the Adytum Ltd.
Pryse, James Morgan. (1910). The Apocalypse Unsealed, Health Research.
Sandberg, Nick (2001). Key to the Gnosis: The Revelation in Seven Chapters, online commencing at
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