TWO SACRED TEXTS

download (3)

The Holy Bible teaches us that the Son is synonymous with the Word.  Abraham, referred to as Father, had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac.  Ishmael was father to the nation of Islam, and Isaac father to the nation of Israel. The Holy Bible and the Holy Quran—  the Word of God.

The Bible teaches that Ishmael was the son of the bondwoman and Isaac was the son of the freewoman, which are referred to as the two covenants, revealing the two states of the soul— bondage and free.

Two thousand years ago, the world made its transition from the “era of Abraham” to the “era of Isaac,” at which time the people found themselves at a crossroads, taxed to make a choice between the physical path they were on, or the spiritual path that Moses had encouraged their ancestors to take 1500 years earlier.  As their ancestors before them, they chose the physical path, rejecting the spiritual teachings that would put them back on the spiritual path.  Jesus taught on a spiritual kingdom that was to be restored from within.  But the Jews wanted the physical kingdom of Israel to be restored from without.  As their ancestors before them, they chose the bondage of the carnal law, rejecting the spiritual truth, which if obeyed, would have brought them freedom within and without.  In the year 2000, we entered the third and final “era of Jacob,” where we stand at the final crossroads, taxed to make a choice— continue to view the content of our Sacred Texts through the lens of the carnal mind, and remain in bondage.  Or begin to view them with a spiritual mind, following the  instruction through which we are made free.

The Torah of the Tanakh shows us two paths: The book of Genesis gives us an overview of the spiritual path, the book of Exodus detailing the children of Israel’s journey through the wilderness and up the mount, symbolizing man’s spiritual journey and ascension.  But the children of Israel never ascended the mount, leaving the spiritual path in favor of the physical path, choosing the bondage of the carnal law, which was to end at the passing of Moses, which brings us to the end of Deuteronomy, and to the end of the Torah.

The Nevi’im of the Tanakh shows us two paths: It begins with the book of Joshua. With the Passover at Jordan, where the children pass over into the promised land, eating no more of the manna, but of the old corn, symbolizing their transition from carnal law to spiritual truth. Their labor was to battle against the seven inhabitants of the promised land, symbolizing the spiritual battle by which we take possession of a spiritual promised land. But they soon reverted to the physical path by making marriages with the inhabitants of the land, which God had commanded them not to do, reverting to the bondage of the carnal law.  By driving out the spiritual enemies symbolized by the seven nations, we are made free of our spiritual bondage. The book of Judges sets forth the spiritual judgment that would have brought them spiritual freedom.  But they would not hearken to their judges, rejecting the voice of God, which spoke through His anointed one, Samuel.  They chose instead to have a physical king rule over them, becoming like the very nations they were to remain separate from. The Old Testament’s “Kings” and “Chronicles” names these kings and chronicles their acts.  It was King David, anointed by Samuel, that came to turn the heart of the children back to God, putting them back on the spiritual path that their patriarchal fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, followed.  But the power and influence of these righteous kings was soon usurped by kings that “walked not in the footsteps of David.”  A king symbolizes a spirit, revealing the righteous and unrighteous spirits working through the mind and heart of man.  Yet God’s hand was outstretched still, sending His Prophets, who prophesied of the destruction that would come if they continued in their spiritual disobedience.  But they would not hearken to their Prophets, stoning them by their refusal to change, refusing to take the spiritual path by keeping the spiritual law or word of God.

The Holy Qur’an shows us two paths: It establishes quite clearly the error of the children of Israel.  Yet the Qur’an takes its followers down the same physical path, the laws of the Qur’an no different than the laws of the Old Testament.  Muhammad, 570-632, founder of Islam, was said to have experienced a vision of the archangel Gabriel in a cave outside Mecca, whose Arabic meaning reveals its symbolism.  Muhammed pondered questions raised in his mind as he listened to Jews and Christians expound on their religious beliefs in the marketplace.  Proclaimed a prophet by the archangel Gabriel, he continued to receive revelations.  If of a spiritual nature, they would have stood in opposition to the beliefs held by Jews, and by Christians, whose religious beliefs in 610 were far removed from the spiritual doctrine of Jesus, which was buried by 460.  Any spiritual teachings given to Muhammad gave way to physical laws due to the civil unrest that comes with spiritual disobedience; due to what the Qur’an calls “hearts infected with disbelief.”  The Muslim religion, like every religion before it, would follow the physical path.

The children of Israel chose Saul over Samuel, who spoke for God. The Jews chose the carnal law over the spiritual truth that Jesus, who spoke for God, brought them. Christianity was founded upon the carnal-minded doctrine of Paul, which teaches that salvation comes by believing in Jesus, which is contrary to the spiritual teachings of Jesus, which teaches salvation by believing (obeying) the spiritual works that Jesus spoke of and demonstrated. Paul taught that salvation is obtained by accepting the Son.  Believe in Jesus and you’re saved, the doctrine being taught to Christians at the time of Muhammed, whose revelation served as a backlash against the belief that God has a partner with whom He shares His divine attributes.  Jews, Muslims, and Christians, all lack a spiritual understanding of the Son, without which there can be no creation, and therefore, no salvation.

Written by Sandra L. Butler © 2000

THE TWO COVENANTS

“ For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by the bondmaid, the other by the freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants: the one from mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar.”   Galatians 4:22-24.  Abraham had two sons.  Ishmael and Isaac. The scripture is allegorical; symbolic, the language in which the Holy Bible is written, providing us with spiritual or mystical knowledge, so that we may understand the two states of the soul symbolized by these two sons.

The mother of Ishmael was Hagar, an Egyptian. Egypt, where the children of Israel spent 390 years in bondage, symbolizing the spiritual bondage we entered early in life.  Just past the age of four according to the biblical text.   Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, was an Egyptian.  Ishmael was born of the bondwoman, symbolizes bondage.  “For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem, which now is, and is in bondage with her children.”  Galatians 4:25.  It was at mount Sinai that the children of Israel, chosen to represent us the people, went into bondage by worshipping of the gold calf, symbolizing the false image or belief that brings us into spiritual bondage, which only truth can overturn, freeing us from our bondage.  Jesus, the truth personified, demonstrated this for us when he entered the temple, symbolizing the heart, overturning the tables, symbolizing “the fleshy tables of the heart,” where we have set up these false images or beliefs, which are to be brought down through a spiritual judgment, through which truth reigns supreme within our heart.  “And Jesus said unto them… ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”   Matthew 19:28

The twelve tribes of Israel are the sons of Jacob (Genesis 49:28), which are neither lost or extinct, but existing within.  “And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.”   Genesis 49:1.  The Holy Quran refers to it as “ The Day of Gathering Together.”   The “last days” is more accurately called the end of days.”  There are seven days, and we are in the end of the seven days— in the seventh day; in the beginning of the seventh-thousandth year since the fall in garden, symbolizing the spiritual decline of mankind.  A day is as thousand years (2 Peter 3:8).  In the year 2000, we entered God’s one-time spiritual Sabbath Day, which we are to keep holy through the purification of our heart.  Jacob, through his last words to his sons, reveals what we will encounter as we go through this spiritual judgment, purification, salvation, or healing process.  Our false beliefs, the result of the evil seeds that have been sown in our heart, form our word, which the prophet Jeremiah (23:36) tells us is will be our burden, which is bondage.  In this soul-state, we fall under the first covenant, Ishmael, son of the bondwoman, the two sons or two covenants symbolizing the two states of the soul—  bondage and free. “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by the bondmaid, the other by the freewoman.” But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.”

As God’s word was made flesh (John 1:14), so too has man’s word been made flesh; an invisible or spiritual flesh that has been formed inside of our physical flesh, keeping us in spiritual bondage, which Ishmael, the son of Hagar the bondwoman, symbolizes.   Hagar was an Egyptian.  The word Ishmael means God will hear.   When the children of Israel cried out because of the bondage of Egypt, God heard them.  When we cry out because of the burden or bondage caused by our many false images or beliefs, the first covenant is fulfilled within us.  Sarah was a Chaldean.  She left a land that worshipped images and went to Shechem, meaning to incline (the shoulder to a burden).  When we are inclined to carry our burden, which Jesus demonstrated for us by carrying the cross, we have entered the second covenant.  Through our sincere desire to heal spiritually; on a mental and emotional or soul-level, we discover our word of error, which has kept us in spiritual bondage for all these years.  And with the discovery of our false beliefs, comes the discovery of the unholy spirits associated with them, revealed to us through the sons of Jacob.  It is through our judgment of these false beliefs and unholy spirits, which is the process of overcoming them, that we receive the promise, Isaac, the son of Sarah the freewoman, symbolizing the truth that makes us free, placing us under the second covenant.  Jerusalem, symbolizing the Heart, has been made free of all false beliefs.  “ But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”  Galatians 4:26 

Written by Sandra L. Butler © 2019

SARAH THE FREEWOMAN

Sarah_freewoman

The importance of Sarah today is in what she symbolizes.  The transition of power that took place two thousand years ago was the type-and-shadow of the transition that is to take place today, illustrated by the beheading of John the Baptist, the beheading symbolizing the decrease of power and authority associated with mind-body disciplines, and the increase of power and authority associated with a heart-discipline.  It is important that we move with this transition by desiring to be spiritually free.

Sarah symbolizes the Heart.  Spiritual freedom can only come through the Heart.  We cannot think, practice, or pray our way to it.  As John prepared the way for the coming of Jesus, quieting the mind prepares the way for the coming of the spiritual Jesus— the word that forms a spiritual creation, the instructions for which are encoded in the symbolism of the creation story.  

The East is associated with the Spirit, and the Mind.  The West is associated with the Word, and the Heart.  If the Spirit (of Elijah/John) were enough, why send the Word (Jesus)?  The Spirit of God is Love, which alone, cannot transform us.  It cannot form us into a new creation.  That will require the word of God, truth, which when sowed in the heart, makes us spiritually free.  “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

There is a lot of talk these days of love and consciousness.  Consciousness is the state of being conscious: mentally perceptive or alert.   But attempting to reach deeper levels of consciousness through the power of the mind is futile, because the deeper levels are of the sub-conscious, of the heart, which can only be reached through the power of the heart.  That power is called christ, through which we reach what is being called, “Christ consciousness,”  and what the Bible calls, perfect love.”  If these deeper works were being done by those of us who claim to be God’s people, or claim to be spiritual, the world would not be heading away from what Sarah symbolizes, which is  freedom.  And into what Hagar symbolizes, which is bondage.  This is happening because the power of the mind (mental energy) does not  have the power to retrieve us out of spiritual bondage.  

Abraham had sons by Hagar, Sarah, and Keturah.  Hagar and Keturah were concubines, bondwomen, symbolizing bondage.  Some scholars suggest that Hagar and Keturah were one and the same, and symbolically, this is true.  Hagar represents those of religion, who claim to have the gifts mentioned in scripture.  Keturah represents those who claim to have spiritual gifts, such as psychics, mediums, and empaths, having the ability to predict the future, tap into the spiritual realm, or into the emotional realm of someone else.  None of which can release us from our spiritual bondage.  

“And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.  But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son…”  Genesis 25:5,6

It was Sarah’s son that received all that the Father had.  Sarah symbolizes the Heart, the son symbolizing truth, which makes us free of  our spiritual bondage.   It is through the power of the heart that we claim all of the Father’s inheritance.  Love and truth.   It is within the heart that we do the spiritual works that are synonymous with the word of God— the spiritual Jesus.  David and Jesus spoke of the unholy condition of man’s heart, and its need for purification.  While many talk about the positive emotion of the Heart.  Few talk about the negative emotion of the Heart; the anger that lies buried deep in our heart, keeping us in spiritual bondage.  We want to talk about the good, which feels good.  But not about the evil, which is uncomfortable.  We do not want to see it or admit to it, resisting the holy spirit that brings it to the surface, into the light of truth, so that we may be made free of it.   In fearing to confront the evil within, we are rejecting the Word of God, which says, “resist not evil,” giving power to the evil without!  Hagar and Sarah.  Bondage and Free.  These are the Two Covenants.  

Written by Sandra L. Butler © 2014

UNITED STATES FLAG SYMBOLISM

flag_eagle_header-smThe eagle symbolizes the presence of God.
Red symbolizes the Spirit of God— Love.
White symbolizes the Word of God—Truth.
Love and Truth is the presence of God.

Blue symbolizes the peeling off process that makes us free, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. The seven red stripes represent this spiritual process or metamorphosis. The number seven refers to the spiritual.  In Hebrew, the word seven means to seven oneself, seven times (7×7), which equals 49, the number of days between Passover and the day of Pentecost or Shabuoth. The new life we obtain through our one-time spiritual Passover and one-time spiritual day of Pentecost, is 1 added to 49, bringing us to a spiritual measure of 50— to our spiritual Jubilee.

“Jubilee, among the ancient Jews, extraordinary Sabbatical year (following every seventh ordinary Sabbatical year) celebrated every 50th year. In the year of Jubilee, the land was completely left to rest. All debts were remitted; land that had been alienated was restored to it original owners; and all Jews, who, through poverty, had obliged to hire themselves out as servants, were released from bondage.”  (“Jubilee.” Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. 1986 ed.)

The fifty stars symbolize the freedom that is associated with the spiritual process that brings us out of spiritual and physical bondage. The process through which we are made free is encoded in Genesis 49.

Written by Sandra L. Butler (Copyright © 2005)

9/11 DECODED

Twin TowersThe following is a revelation I received over three days following the event. The two towers symbolize the two witnesses in the book of Revelation: “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city.”  The great city, in the literal sense, is New York City.  In the early morning of September 12th 2001, I heard upon waking: “This is the opening of the sixth seal.” 

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal… there was a great earthquake.”  Revelation 6:12.  It was a great metaphorical earthquake that took place on September 11th, 2001.  It’s purpose?  To bring down the wall of false peace that is governing the mind of man.  The first in a series of catastrophic events.  At 8:46 am, a commercial jet was hijacked and flown into one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Eighteen minutes later, another commercial jet was hijacked and flown into the second tower. Soon after that, another hijacked jet would be flown into the Pentagon, and at 10 am, a fourth hijacked jet crashed before hitting its target, the Capital, the Heart of our great nation. Thank God this was not accomplished.  In this is our hope!  The North Tower symbolizes the Spirit of God.  The South Tower symbolizes the Word of God.  The Pentagon symbolizes Protection. The Capital symbolizes the Heart.

The external enemy that brought down the two towers was a radical lunatic fringe, those of the Arab nation, descendants of Ishmael, son of the bondmaid, symbolizing bondage. “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by the bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.” Galatians 4:22.  But what continues to give power to these external enemies are the internal enemies of the mind. Two spiritual enemies, represented in two physical enemies: Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein.  It was a foreign physical nation that terrorized our nation on September 11th, the manifestation of a negative and destructive spiritual nation ruling the mind of man; a terror hidden deep within, keeping us in the bondage; keeping us from being completely free.  “For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.” Galatians 4:25.  Jerusalem is referred to as the Mother, exemplifying protection.  But it is important to note that Abraham had two sons by two mothers: Sarah the freewoman and Hagar the bondwoman.  The physical Jerusalem is far from freedom and peace.  She is in bondage, revealing the spiritual bondage of that spiritual Jerusalem called the heart.  This internal bondage is revealed through Rachel’s bondmaid, Bilhah, which means terror, the external terrorism generated by the terror or fear existing deep within; so deep within the psyche that most of us are still unaware of its existence.  Hagar is mount Sinai, where the children of Israel erected the gold calf, symbolizing the false images or beliefs that cause man to remain in spiritual bondage. These false beliefs are sin, the wages of sin, death, September 11th resulting in 2,997 deaths.

The two towers symbolize the Spirit and Word of God.  But man has chosen to follow his own spirit and word, giving power to their negative and destructive energies, manifesting in the physical through destructive events, wars, and catastrophic events that are increasing in size, intensity, and frequency.  These destructive events are not God’s doing.  They are man’s doing, as spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, “man’s word shall be his burden,” man’s word being the sum of his false beliefs.  It is time to take responsibility for what we are bringing upon ourselves through the power of our own word; through the negative and destructive power of our many false religious and personal beliefs.  Ishmael and Isaac, two brothers, existing without in the nation of Israel, as well as within.  The ongoing physical battle between the Israelis (descendants of Isaac) and the Palestinians (descendants of Ishmael) is a manifestation of the ongoing spiritual battle taking place within us, as was spoken by James, the brother of Jesus: “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come thy not hence, even of the lusts that war in your members?”  James 4:1. Our members are our own mind and heart.  If we don’t get on with battling the enemy within, there will be more and more laws added without, until we are left with no freedom at all.  The real enemy lies hidden within, and as long as it remains hidden, the battle against evil can never be won, its negative and destructive energy continuing to bring death, destruction, sorrow, pain, and suffering.

The nation of Israel continues to fight for peace.  But there will be no peace in Jerusalem until there is peace in the Heart of man; a peace that comes through the purification of the Heart. “To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace, saith the Lord…” Ezekiel 13:16.  September 11th, 2001 was only the first in a series of calamities that will bring down the wall of false peace that keeps mankind from entering into his own heart. “So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall…” Ezekiel 13:14.  The word Jerusalem means founded peaceful.  Will mankind continue to choose the bondage of false peace over the freedom of authentic peace?  What remains of the wall in Jerusalem is called the Wailing Wall, and on 911, a desperate cry for help rang out!  Ishmael, son of the bondwoman, means God will hear.  This is the first covenant, which begins to be fulfilled within when we cry out from our heart in our personal time of trouble to be delivered from our spiritual bondage, the source of our many physical bondages or addictions.  This cry is the beginning of our journey from bondage to freedom; the beginning of our spiritual birth.  “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered… ”  Daniel 12:1

Written by Sandra L. Butler © 2001