DICTIONARY OF BIBLICAL SYMBOLISM

FOREWORD, INTRODUCTION and METHOD of APPLICATION

Compiled and edited by Stanislaw Kapuscinski

(Original)

22 And they (my thoughts) shall look unto the earth (physical consciousness); and behold trouble and darkness (inability to realize the presence of God), dimness (lack of direction, indecision) of anguish; and they (my thoughts) shall be driven to darkness.

Chapter 9

1. Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her34 vexation, when at the first he35 lightly afflicted the land (the original state of consciousness) of Zebulun (dwelling) and the land of Naphtali (my wrestling), and afterward did more grievously afflict her36 by the way of the sea (mental awareness), beyond Jordan (flowing down) 37, in Galilee (the circle) of the nations (many thoughts).

2. The people (my thoughts) that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death38 (physical consciousness), upon them hath the light shined.

3. Thou39 hast multiplied the nation (mental consciousness), and not increased the joy: they (the mental attributes) joy40 before thee according to the joy in harvest (results), and as men (thoughts governing physical consciousness) rejoice when they divide the spoil (that which justifies their existence).

4. For thou hast broken the yoke (attachment) of his41 burden, and the staff (support, that which one leans upon) of his shoulder, the rod (sceptre, the rod of power) of his oppressor42, as in the day of Midian (contention; strife).

5. For every battle (a struggle within one's consciousness) of the warrior is with confused noise (an abundance of thoughts), and garments rolled in blood (the influence of the ever-present spirit); but this shall be with burning (great cleansing) and fuel of fire (another metaphor for burning).43

6. For unto us44 a child (new consciousness) is born, unto us a son45 is given: and the government (princely power) shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

7. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David (Divine Love), and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts (Higher Consciousness control of the stream of thoughts) will perform this.

8. The Lord (the I AM, the Christ consciousness) sent a word into Jacob (awareness of one's spiritual nature), and it hath lighted upon Israel (conscious commitment to the search for Higher Awareness).

FOOTNOTES

34. "Her" being feminine refers to the soul or psyche. Regardless of the level of our conscious understanding, the soul is that which refers to the subconscious.
35. Nowadays, we would spell he with a capital H. It refers to the I AM, or the Christ consciousness within us, which, though we are not aware of It, is ever trying to raise us to Its level
36. This is soul again. In the Bible the soul incorporates the mental and emotional traits, as against the "man" or "body" which is our physical awareness.
37. Jordan, being a river, signifies a purposeful change in consciousness. Crossing Jordan means making a new commitment.
38. "Shadow of death" obviously refers to the physical consciousness, since in Spirit, there is no death. The shadow, therefore, implies an illusion.

39. Isaiah addresses his own Higher Consciousness.
40. The New King James Version offers "rejoice"
41. Here, "his" is a reference to Isaiah's lower states of consciousness.
42. The "oppressor" of our body is our mind and belief in limitations. Mind is said to be a magnificent instrument but a terrible master ­ hence "oppressor".
43. In biblical language, repeating a phrase, or a very similar idea, always serves to reinforce the notion or the statement.

44.The use of plural "us" is of vital importance. It implies that we do not rise through various states of consciousness, dropping or destroying the lower nature. The plural form asserts that all the lower states must be raised, or redeemed in order to achieve enlightenment.
45. The same literary form as above. Here the "child" and the "son" both refer to the birth of a Higher Consciousness, i.e. to the Divine Child, the Prince of Peace

(Application) NB. Everyone must arrive at their own.

(22). I took stock of the results of my labors, of the world I have created; and all I could see were ever mounting problems, no hope for the future, lack of a sense of direction, the anguish of indecision; my thoughts turned to despair.

Chapter 9

(1). Yet my consternation was not as great as when I had first sensed the whisper of the Silent Voice gently touching my budding awareness in which I was then struggling so greatly. Later, this same Divine Whisper made turbulent the ocean of my mind ­ though it was still before my commitment to the dictates of my new perception. It was in the days when I walked the treadmill of my established mind-set.

(2). And even then I, who lived in such ignorance, had the first glimpse of the Divine Knowledge: and though my mind was still filled with the illusion of physical reality, it was then that I felt the first seeds of higher understanding.

(3). But although this awareness of my Higher Self has greatly increased my mental attributes, It does little to remove my discontent. My new intellect seems to rejoice as if lost in the vainglory of its new perceptions, even as my body rejoiced when sating its physical senses.

(4). Yet this Power Within has broken my attachment to the things of my body (and all that it leaned on), as well as the domination of my intellect, which controlled my life even in the long days of my search and contention.

(5). For in all my struggles I have been confused with diver-gent ideas, even as my consciousness sensed the Divine Presence; but now, I sense the moment of a great cleansing, a great freeing of the spirit within me.

(6). For I feel the onset of a New Consciousness within me, a new awareness of the Divine Presence: and to It I submit control over the totality of being: for I know that Its nature is filled with a great wonder, that It will counsel me in all my endeavors, that there are no limits to Its awesome power, that It shall be the Source of my creation, while ever maintaining Divine Peace of my being.

(7). And the serenity of Its presence shall grow in my heart forever, even as Its power emanates from the Divine Love of Its nature; and to Its judgment I submit my being. Such is the ardor of the Higher Consciousness.

(8). When the Spirit first touched me, I became aware of Its presence. But it was only when I committed my whole being to the pursuit of God, that the Christ Consciousness descended upon my awareness.

A most beautiful passage. It is interesting to compare the way that Moses and Isaiah ventured into the reality of their Promised Land. There is, of course, only one Promised Land ­ but an infinite number of ways to experience Its Infinity.
The Promised Land, being a State of Consciousness, can only be realized at an individual level. It is said to be a reality wherein the micro and the macrocosm coexist in perfect harmony.

Apparently, no two people can share this Reality, yet all can experience It simultaneously. To Moses, It seems to encompass infinity, a state beyond the matrix time and space, immortality. Isaiah, on the other hand, is in awe of its Wonder, Its inherent beauty, and particularly Its Love and Serenity.

For me, it is a.... Oh, sorry!

What matters is: what is your Promised Land?

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