Perception of two anointed ones
Arguably, God’s purpose for His Word is to communicate His plan to ultimately cause a sabbath’s day rest to occur in the life of Israel, and the primary images that depict the beginning of His plan are the anointing of the Levitical priesthood and the house of David within the tribe of Judah. God first anoints the Levitical priesthood in the wilderness, when He sets apart the tribe of Levi as His portion. God later anoints David, and He selects the city of Jerusalem within Judah to place His name. Critically, God makes profound promises to both the Levitical priesthood and to David and his lineage (e.g., Jer 33:17-18). So, what happened to God’s covenants that He had made with His anointed, and His promises that He said would “never” lack?
Arguably, the early church recognized the significance of the images depicting God’s eternal promises to His anointed, so religion “applied” the image by the anointing of the papacy, the priesthood, and objects such as relics. Presumably, if God can create holiness by His anointing, then religion can claim the same authority by establishing a sacrament that anoints people and things to make them holy. The Reformers did realize that this sacramental practice was inconsistent with the NT images, so the tradition of anointing remains primarily in Catholicism. Yet, just because the Reformers recognized that the church was misapplying the image of God’s anointing, that recognition did not bring any meaningful understanding to the image of being anointed by God. Again, certain dispensational belief systems attempted to reconcile the matter by claiming that a future fulfillment of God’s promises remains for Israel, but how could an image that is depicted as “never” lacking be perceived as a promise that can “take a break” for an extended period?
So, how did an ancient disciple perceive the promises made to the two anointed tribes of Levi and Judah? Arguably, he would have considered the significance of the “pattern” of the temple that God revealed to Moses, where two cherubim are depicted as positioned above the mercy seat upon which the Lord sits, and how the ten tables of showbread are positioned beyond the curtain or veil that separates them from the “holy of holies.” Arguably, God’s depiction of the temple pattern inspires no meaningful contemplation for today’s modern reader, yet an ancient disciple would have deeply considered the image as depicting a simple yet very deep understanding of the spiritual condition of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Arguably, after considering the image of two cherubim above the mercy seat in the holy of holies, with the image of Joshua and Zerubbabel before the Lord in the book of Haggai, and the image of the “two anointed ones” in the books of Zechariah and Revelation, an ancient disciple would have perceived those images as depicting God’s plan to establish His fourth kingdom of saints through the two anointed tribes of Levi and Judah. Notably, there are numerous inferences depicting the unique character and destiny of the tribes of Levi and Judah, where each tribe is depicted as having their own particular “office” in fulfilling God’s plan, and where those two offices are depicted as working together to build the temple of God (Zech 6:13). Again, religion with its literal perspective effectively relegates the significance of these key images to absolute nothingness; because, how can the odd historical facts of two ancient tribes provide any meaningful insight into its message of salvation? So what? Why should anyone care about the pattern of the temple, or any aspect of the tribal images, if the only image that matters is the simple message of salvation through Jesus?
Significance of being anointed
If you do not consider that the “anointing” of the tribes of Levi and Judah is significant towards your understanding of God’s intended message, then will you ever contemplate the images? However, when you perceive that the images are depicting how certain sons of adam’ from within the nation of Israel are being anointed as sons of God, then the images will inspire immense amounts of meditation, such that you will begin to perceive the existence of the latent language of symbolism. Because, just as 1+1=2 provides an elementary understanding of math, and all subsequent understanding must build upon that foundation; arguably all biblical understanding starts with the elementary understanding of the condition of your soul, and all spiritual understanding must be built upon that foundation.
Arguably, scripture depicts how every element of your soul is originally born of adam, and how every element will either be atoned for by God, or perish. As Isaiah depicts, “For the Lord has redeemed Jacob; and in Israel He will display His beauty” (Is 44:23). Therefore, as Paul and Daniel infer by their images, the image of “Jacob” (i.e. Daniel’s first kingdom) depicts the certain elements of your soul which are “in” adam’ and which God has destined for His redemption, and the image of “Israel” (i.e. Daniel’s fourth kingdom) depicts the redeemed elements which are given a new life “in” Christ thereby exhibiting God’s beauty through their life. Critically, this transformation of the sons of Israel from one kingdom to the other is not a matter of professing a statement of faith, but rather the two-step process of being “born of water and the spirit.” As such, the restoration of Israel occurs progressively over an extended period of time, rather than simply being dunked in a river all at once.
In order to truly understand the significance of being anointed, there are several important aspects that must be considered regarding the nature of a son of God. Because, while being anointed is the first step towards the ultimate goal of obtaining the resurrection to eternal life, becoming a son of God entails a transformation that results in the potential for both positive and negative impact on the kingdom. Yes, knowledge is power, however, the natural tendency for a son of God is apparently to employ his newfound power to pursue the bad things instead of the good things in life.
The first significant aspect of being anointed is the ability to stand before the Lord, an image that should cause the reader to question how anyone can stand before a holy God. The most powerful depiction of a “common” creature standing before the Lord is the image of Isaiah being “ruined” or “undone” (Isa 6). Of course, the scene starts with an image of the Lord sitting on His throne in the temple, with voices calling out “holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah’s iniquity is then taken away, his sin is atoned for by God, and he becomes a prophetic voice of the Lord. Notably, this scene replicates the day of atonement when the office of the Levitical priesthood was first “anointed” in the wilderness (Lev 16). Profoundly, after the devastation of the land and the desolation of Israel from the land, the Isaiah 6 prophecy ends with the image of a burnt and fallen tree whose remaining stump is depicted as being a holy seed or offspring (Isa 6:11-13). Arguably, Isaiah 6 depicts how a portion of Israel becomes part of the holy “seed” (singular), and the pertinent image to perceive is how fire is being employed to bring about Isaiah’s cleansing. Notably, the image of fire is often employed to depict the process of purification, and not to depict a place of eternal torment.
Perception of knowledge
In addition to the ability to stand before the holy Lord, another important aspect of being anointed is the gift of knowledge. Notably, John depicts the image of an anointed one having all knowledge, and the importance of knowing the truth (e.g., 1 John 2:20-21). And, as will be discussed, a profound image of an anointed one being given all knowledge is Solomon, who is depicted as being given a wisdom to rule justly over the nation; yet, how does a wisdom of beast, birds, and fish help him rule?
Of course, religion often minimizes the importance of having a deep understanding of God’s Word, and instead focuses your attention on the importance of having a relationship with God. As such, Christians argue that the only necessary knowledge are the “essentials” of the faith, and that all other knowledge is not important because it is vague or difficult to understand, or because it just leads to needless debate. Critically, perhaps the most difficult images to understand are the many odd statutes that God depicts in His Word.
Yet, God repeatedly and emphatically proclaims that whoever keeps all of the commandments shall live, and Paul states that righteousness is based on the law of Moses (e.g., Lev 18:5; Neh 9:29; Ezek 18:9; 20:11; Luke 10:28; Rom 10:5; Gal 3:12). Notably, not only does God command us to love Him with our whole heart, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, but Jesus also states that those two great commandments depend on the entire law and the prophets (Matt 22:37-40). So, religion tells you that only the “moral” laws still remain, but Jesus claims that the commandment to love is based on the “entire” law, and not just the parts of our choosing. Whom do you believe?
Of course, religion claims that one of the primary purposes for God’s Word, if not the only purpose for scripture, is to provide instructions for how to become a “better” person in this life. So, should you study the law and the prophets such that you become a more righteous person? Notably, there are over six hundred commandments specified in scripture; yet, how many can you name? Arguably, a very small percentage of people, even few Christians, can describe all Ten Commandments, and no one can meaningful make sense of the odd Mosaic laws. Yet, if you cannot even name the laws nor make sense of them, then how can you know whether or not you are obeying them? And, if scripture is the absolute truth for exhibiting a righteous behavior in this life, then why is our civil law not based solely on the Mosaic law? Similarly, if the knowledge necessary for a “proper” lifestyle is based on scripture, then should not every Christian parent be sitting down with their children each night to review the Mosaic law? Because, as Jesus said, if you do not believe Moses’ writings, then how can you believe His words (John 5:47; consider Luke 16:31)?
Paul states that the stories of Israel were provided “so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved” (1 Cor 10:6-11). Yet, in order to appreciate what Paul is claiming, arguably you must understand the other images that he is depicting. So, do you understand why Paul employs the OT image depicting that “the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play”? Or what it means to be destroyed by serpents, or by the destroyer? If not, then how could the images from the story of Israel ever possibly cause you to not crave evil things? And, if the stories do not provide meaningful knowledge when perceived literally, then how can Paul logically make the claim that they are being provided to help us to avoid craving evil things?
Obviously, my argument is that the images depicting God’s law are not intended to be perceived literally, rather symbolically as Paul states emphatically (1 Cor 9:9). Because, while it does not make sense that God would effectively “hide” the truths of this world, it does make sense for God to employ symbolism as a means to provide the knowledge of the unobservable world (e.g., 1 Cor 9:11)? Is it truly too difficult to imagine that you will ultimately perceive the odd Mosaic laws as depicting profound symbolic images of internal spiritual truths?
My premise is that, since we do not have a true understanding of our internal nature, we are currently unable to fulfill God’s commandments to love Him with our whole heart, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Critically, God’s primary complaint with Israel is not just that they lack knowledge, but also that they oppress others such that they allow injustices to continue in the land (e.g., Eccles 5:8; Jer 22:17; Ezek 22:29; Amos 4:1; Zech 7:10; Mal 3:5). Arguably, the story of Israel depicts God’s plan to establish His “name” in the nation by anointing certain sons of adam’ who become sons of God, such that “those who were not My people; you are My people” (Hos 2:23; 1 Pet 2:10). Notably, prior to employing that verse, Peter depicts the image of living stones that are being built into a spiritual house as a holy priesthood who offer up spiritual sacrifices, and as those who are obedient to the truth (1 Pet 2:5, 8). As such, God’s gift of knowledge enables those who previously could only eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, a depiction of “earthly” wisdom, to also eat from the tree of life, a wisdom of His Word (e.g., John 6:63, 68; 8:47, 51). Therefore, being anointed sons, they are given ears that hear, such that they can perceive the symbolism of the Mosaic law as being the “rules” that solely apply within the spiritual realm.
Arguably, if you perceive that these images are literal rules of a past time, then the images are either meaningless or confusing. Alternatively, while I do not understand the meaning of the Mosaic laws, it is logical to perceive that the sons of God are intended to employ this knowledge to establish justice between our internal spiritual elements, such that any oppression or injustices are resolved within each of us. And, according to the timeline being depicted within the story of Israel, the effectual knowledge of God’s Word is depicted as occurring when God anoints the office of shepherd from within the tribe of Judah. Importantly, an “ignorance” of the law is depicted as being no longer a possible excuse, such that “forgive them Father, for they know not what they do” does not apply to the sons of God, rather only to those who have not yet been anointed. Arguably, God’s truth must first be understood before the knowledge of the truth can set anything free.
Consider how, after repeatedly lambasting the leaders of Israel for their poor stewardship, God adamantly proclaims that He will shepherd His people, which He accomplishes by anointing the house of David to the office of “shepherd” in Israel, so that justice can be established, and righteousness manifested in the land. Yet, while the transformation of the nation of Israel is to begin within the tribe of Judah and the city of Jerusalem, how does God depict Judah’s response to the gift of knowledge? Profoundly, based on how Solomon is depicted as responding to God’s gift of wisdom, we learn that knowing the truth of God’s Word is only half the battle against sin. The other half of the battle will be discussed later, however the pertinent point is to appreciate the significance of the gift of knowledge that God has given to the “anointed” office of shepherd within the nation of Israel.
Perception of the Holy “One” of Israel
So, I have discussed how the image of being anointed depicts having the holiness to stand in some manner before the Lord, and of having the knowledge of the truth of God’s Word. Yet, the most profound aspect of being anointed a son is the image of having “oneness” with God. Arguably, this image of oneness is simple yet extremely deep, so my goal is not to convince you of a particular understanding, mostly because I know that my understanding is incomplete. However, there are NT images that depict the sense of the church body as being made “one,” so this image of oneness should sound familiar to Christians. Therefore, while this topic is well beyond my understanding, consider briefly some images that depict becoming “gods” and being a partaker of God’s “one” divine nature.
Consider Paul’s discussion of the promises spoken to Abraham and his seed, where Paul emphasizes that the image of seed is being depicted in a “singular” sense, “and to your seed, that is, Christ” (Gal 3:16). Notably, the image of God as being “one” is depicted in both testaments, while the NT depicts the image of becoming “one” with Christ (e.g., Deut 6:4; Mark 12:29; John 17:11; Gal 3:27-28; Eph 2:15). Arguably, there are numerous images that depict this “oneness” with God, such as the images of being “in” Christ, and of being a “holy one” in the assembly of God, and of being a “holy one” in the fourth kingdom, and of being gods or the sons of God. Arguably, the image of the Holy “One” of Israel is not intended simply as the depiction of God, rather a depiction of the “one” divine nature that exists within all of the sons of God. Because, since there is only one God, then any element of your soul partaking of His divine nature can have nothing less than that one holy nature.
As argued, the depiction of being made in God’s image reveals the truth of a person having both elements of soul and spirit. Yet, arguably, a profound distinction between adam’ and God is how Genesis depicts that the spirit is taken from adam’, such that he is no longer “one” in the same sense as God (Gen 2:22; 3:16; Deut 6:4). As such, the arguments for a trinitarian nature of God are foolish from my perspective; because, God is simply depicted as a spirit, and His soul and spirit has always existed as one entity, just as depicted by the original creation of Adam. And, as argued, Jesus is simply depicted as being the physical manifestation of that one nature of the spiritual God, and not another nature of God distinct by Himself. The pertinent point to perceive is that God’s ultimate goal for you is that every part of your soul and your spirit will become “one” with Him as He originally intended, such that you also conceive holy offspring who will manifest His perfect beauty (“as I live”) in your life.
God conveys the image of oneness also by depicting His joining of the two houses into “one stick” in His hand (Ezek 37:15-28). Arguably, a primary image of both testaments is divided Israel becoming “one” holy nation; and, at the risk of oversimplifying the image, the journey towards this oneness only begins with the mind of Christ providing the understanding of His Word (1 Cor 2:16). Because, the “church of God” is to become both of one mind and one heart; yet, at this point in the story of Israel, only parts of Levi and Judah have one mind, and they certainly do not have one heart. God depicts how the sons of God still join with foreign adulterous spirits, or with the daughters of adam’, so they obviously are not of the same divine heart (Gen 6:4; 1 Kings 11). Consequently, as we also learn from Solomon, the transformation of certain parts of your soul from the sons of adam’ to the sons of God resolves only half of the problem. Certainly, they are washed clean and born of water, but they have not yet been born of the spirit (e.g., John 3:5). Ultimately, the Holy Spirit must be made available to the sons of God such that their godly offspring can manifest the fruit of the Spirit in the life of Israel. Knowledge is power, but wisdom is needed.
Perception of adultery
Of all the symbolic depictions, the most critical to perceive are the many depictions of adultery. Again and again in the OT, God expresses His displeasure with the sons of Israel because they join with foreign women that lead them to worship idols. Notably, it starts with them joining to the daughters of Moab while in the wilderness, and it ends with them joining to the daughters of the land during the building of the second temple (Num 25; Ezra 9; 10; Neh 13:23-31). And, by the end of the OT, God’s primary concern is Israel’s adultery with foreign women. So, is God truly conveying that He was concerned with Israel literally being sexually attracted to foreign women?
Certainly, modern society perceives adultery as the breaking of the monogamous vows in a marriage, yet oddly the bible rarely promotes the idea of an “exclusive” relationship, and notably God never condemns polygamy. And, while Paul does later recommend one wife for a specific circumstance, there is never a strict law pronounced against polygamy. So, is your modern perception of adultery preventing you from perceiving God’s intended symbolism being depicted by the image of adultery?
Consider how, before God saw that the wickedness of man was great enough to cause the flood, the sons of God are depicted as “taking for themselves” the daughters of adam’, whomever they chose, and together they bore a heart where “every” imagination was “only” evil “all” of the time (Gen 6:1-5). And, consider how Solomon, also depicted as a son of God, took for himself a thousand foreign wives, princesses, and concubines who turned his heart away from the Lord, “the” God of Israel. Arguably, the depiction of “trying everything under the sun” in Ecclesiastes is the same image as Solomon taking a thousand foreign wives. Importantly, God’s displeasure with Solomon is not that he had taken a thousand women for himself, rather that he “clung” in his love to foreign women, such that he went after “other gods” and did not keep the covenant and statutes that the Lord had commanded (1 Kings 11:11). Arguably, none of these images depict “adultery” as being sexual immorality.
Of course, religion often argues that these images depict how a Christian should not marry an unbeliever because they would be “unequally yoked,” but is Paul intending to literally depict unbelievers as being lawless, darkness, or evil (2 Cor 6:14-15)? What truth is Paul depicting by employing the OT image of “My people” coming out of “her,” such that you “do not touch what is unclean” (Is 52:11; Jer 51:45; 2 Cor 6:17; Rev 18:4-5)? Is Paul giving odd advice to “holy ones” about how they should perceive unbelievers, or is he depicting how to overcome the “unclean” affections that are preventing the righteousness of God’s divine nature from dwelling in them (2 Cor 6:12-18)?
Peter, Paul, and James often depict the image of adultery, yet none of their images depict the modern perception of adultery. And, while Jesus lambasts the evil and adulterous generation, He lambasts specifically “this generation” for being adulterous (Matt 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38; Rom 7:3; 1 Cor 6:16; 2 Pet 2:14; Jas 4:4). Is your perception of adultery consistent with their’s?
Arguably, the images of sons joining with adulterous or foreign women are not intended to be perceived as sex-addicted men going after women of other cultures, rather as a depiction of a simple yet deep spiritual truth (e.g., Prov 23:26-28; 30:20; Jer 23:10; Ezek 6:9). The image of sons joining with daughters to conceive seed or offspring is intended as a symbolic depiction of the soul joining with the spirit to conceive fruit of the womb. Simply stated, every word and deed that you manifest in this life is the outcome of a thought from your soul joining with a desire from your spirit, either consciously or subconsciously. Arguably, every thought and desire in this life is considered to be “common” or “profane” in God’s eyes, regardless of whether they are “clean” or “unclean.” Because, in order for your life to produce any righteousness, you must first be anointed with the pure knowledge of what is required to perform a righteous act, and then you must receive the holy desire to do a righteous act. So, assuming the sons of God have received pure knowledge, when are they depicted as having the opportunity to seek and receive a holy desire, and how is that opportunity depicted?
Profoundly, God does state that no man should separate what “He” has joined together, but He does not state what should happen to the things that man has desired to join together. Certainly, God does not desire to join your soul to any foreign spirits, but would you desire those spirits? Arguably, the image of a man “leaving” his father and mother is intended to depict the son cleaving to a “holy” spirit, and thereby separating him from his parents’ “common” nature (Gen 2:24; Eph 5:31-32). Importantly, as Jesus depicts through His mission statement, He brings the sword to separate a man from his father, and a daughter from her mother (Matt 10:34-35). That image only makes sense when you perceive how God’s plan of salvation from adultery is depicted by His holy sons each joining with His Holy Spirit, and by the great mystery that Paul depicts as the marriage of “Christ and the church” (Eph 5:31-32). Being joined together as “one flesh” is a simple yet very deep image.
So, if your current thoughts are not pure because you do not yet understand “all” things, then can there be any hope of producing righteousness in this life? Can anyone in this life whose thoughts are evil (not pure) and desires are adulterous (not holy) ever produce a moment of righteousness? Of course, religion claims that you can have “pure” thoughts, and that you can be filled with holy desires from the Holy Spirit, such that you can perform righteous works in this life. The claim is based on a literal perspective, where the NT images are perceived as occurring in the past, such that the perceptions of God’s truth should be applicable today as they were in that day. Yet, the images arguably are depicting the “fulfillment” of the promises made in part one of God’s Word. So, while the modern reader perceives the need (yolk) to have pure thoughts and exhibit a righteous behavior, the image of Pentecost is actually depicting the giving of the Holy Spirit as an affirmation and fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation for the “entire” nation of Israel.
Arguably, the images of the sons of God before the flood and of Solomon with his wisdom both depict the aspect of having the pure knowledge of the truth of God’s Word. And, both images depict them as committing adultery by joining themselves with “foreign” spirits that cause them to “cling” to other gods and worship false idols. Critically, neither could use ignorance of the law as an excuse for joining with adulterous spirits. God gives His wisdom in response to them calling out to Him, and in both scenarios “His” sons respond by pursuing “other” gods.
Next: Part 7