THE MYSTICAL BIBLE

'THE MESSAGE' Of MYSTICISM

Part III

 DICTIONARY OF MYSTICAL TERMINOLOGY

CHRONOLOGY OF GNOSTIC SCRIPTURES

APPENDIX: THE MESSAGE COMPARED TO THE KJV

BIBLIOGRAPHY

VI. DICTIONARY

A.  Definition of Mysticism

MYSTIC

1.    Of occult or mysterious character, power, or significance ...
2.    Of or pertaining to mystics or mysticism
3.    A person initiated into mysteries
4.    A person who attains, or believes in the possibility of attaining insight into mysteries transcending ordinary human knowledge, as by immediate intuition in a state of spiritual ecstasy (Random House College Dictionary)

MYSTICISM

1.    The beliefs, ideas, or mode of thought of mystics
2.    The doctrine of an immediate spiritual intuition of truths believed to transcend ordinary understanding, or of a direct, intimate union of the soul with God through contemplation and love (Random House College Dictionary)

B. Mystical Interpretation of Scripture

ALLEGORY

1....- figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another (Random House College Dictionary)

"allegory: parable, fable, moral, myth, story, tale' (McCutcheon, Roget's Super Thesaurus)

C. Mystical Terms, Key Words Found in "The Message" (See Appendix I)

"When confronted with legitimate concerns about her beliefs, L'Engle charges that those who criticize her books have 'obviously never read them'. Instead, continues her rebuttal, they are fundamentalists looking for 'key words' and attacking her out of fear." (Smith, p.xi)

AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

"The mystical belief 'of the secret societies were, and indeed are, based on the Hermetic maxim 'As above - so below' which teaches that the natural world is a material reflection of the spiritual. It forms the esoteric basis for the Ancient Egyptian Mysteries, Gnosticism, Esoteric Christianity, the Cabbala, the Hermetic tradition, alchemy and societies such as the Templars, Freemasons and Rosicrucians. (Howard, Occult Conspiracy, p.170-1)

"The whole universe is the great world, the macrocosm; its parts are small universes in themselves, microcosms. Such a microcosm is man, who is in himself an image of the universe and a perfect being. But the great universe is likewise a man, and as it is 'god', God has a human form." (Fox, p.213, quoting Otto Rank, "Art and Artist", p.114-15)

BREAKTHROUGH

"New Age Dominican priest Matthew Fox calls Eckhart his favorite mystic and claims to actually communicate with this dead monk. Fox wrote a book called 'Meditations with Meister Eckhart: A Centering Book' for all those daring to make the mystical, spiritual journey ... Fox quotes Eckhart as saying there is a four-fold path to God, the last being something 'deep' called 'breakthrough', where one begins to hear voices." (Smith, p.156)

CENTER/CENTER DOWN

"Psychologist Richard Foster teaches that contemplative prayer requires 'centering down', a New Age term that means to quiet the mind and body to complete silence and stillness. It is defined as re-creating silence...'recollecting of ourselves until we are a unified whole' ... In reality, it is a practice of shutting down one's mind to rational thought and opening it up to demonic influences and emotional responses." (Smith, p.114)

CONTEMPLATION

"When contemplation appears ... the Subject ceases to perceive himself in ... his general consciousness. He is raised above himself .... In this state ... the mystic is conscious of being in immediate relation with God Himself; of participating in Divinity." (Underhill, p.330)

"The methods of contemplative prayer are similar in all traditions. Sit quietly, preferably comfortably .... breathe slowly, rhythmically, deeply. Fit the words of your mantra to this rhythm. And don't be afraid of the word, 'mantra'." (Smith, p.109, quoting Madeleine L'Engle, 'And It Was Good", p.135-36)

"There are too many stories of mystics being able to move hundreds of miles through the power of contemplation for us to be able to toss them aside." (Smith, p.17, quoting Madeleine L'Engle, 'Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, p.86)

DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL

"The most intense period of that great swing-back into darkness which usually divides the 'first mystic life', or Illuminative Way, from the 'second mystic life', or Unitive Way, is generally a period of utter blankness and stagnation, so far as mystical activity is concerned. The 'Dark Night of the Soul', once firmly established, is seldom lit by visions or made homely by voices ... The once-possessed power of .. contemplation now seems wholly lost." (Underhill, p.381)

Note: Underhill has an entire chapter on "The Dark Night of The Soul", p.380-412.

DEEP CONSCIOUSNESS/WORSHIP

Note: See BREAKTHROUGH above

GREAT WORK

"De Coppens says that the divinity of man through spiritual initiation is the 'Great Work' that is the central objective of the 'Ageless Wisdom'." (Marrs, Dark Secrets, p.124, quoting Peter Roche de Coppens' forward to F. Aster Barnswell, "The Meaning of Christ for Our Age," p.xix-xxxi.)

"Aleister Crowley ... taught that the Great Work, the 'transformation of humanity', would be accomplished in the last decade of the 20th century." (Marrs, Circle of Intrigue, p.230)

INSIDE OUT

"Probably (Larry) Crabb's best known and most popular book is 'Inside Out', published by NavPress ... The very title 'Inside Out' suggests the Freudian notion of the unconscious." (Meisel, p.1)

Also see PANTHEISM below

INTERDEPENDENCE

See DECLARATION OF UNITY OF THE WORLD, Section IV.

KNOW THYSELF

"...the Arabian alchemist Abipipi:...'O man, know thyself! In thee is bid the treasure of treasures'." (Kingsland, p.86, quoting Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled, Vol.2, p.617)

"A human being partakes of all emanations or planes of reality at once without knowing it until he or she achieves cosmic consciousness ... This is the esoteric meaning of know thyself, which post-Freudian people are apt to understand as merely making the unconscious conscious, as psychological awareness ... But the ultimate meaning of 'know thyself' seems to be 'know thy Self'" (Moffatt, p.344)

See TRUE/REAL SELF below

PRESENCE Of GOD

"Practicing the 'Presence of God' is actually a form of Zen Meditation." (Smith, p.120)

SACRED SITES/PLACES

"Joseph Campbell described the human sacrifices of the Aztecs and then called Mexico City, where these incredible horrors occurred, a 'sacred site'." (Smith, p.139, quoting Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers, "The Power of Myth")

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

"Out of the traditions of Quakerism, Richard Foster and William L. Vaswig, co-directors of Renovare, are selling books and holding conferences for the spiritually anemic', offering spiritual disciplines well-known to the pagan world to induce deeper spirituality." (Smith, p.119)

TRUE/REAL SELF

"In the creation tradition, all people are mystics. Mysticism is not elitist; it touches the true self in each one of us." (Fox, p.58)

"The mystic in us ... is unleashing and creating ... the true self. Co-creation happens here, for the birth of the mystic is a birth with God of what is divine and truly oneself. It is the outward birth of the image of God from within. Each self is a unique mirror of divinity..." (Fox, p.64)

"A co-creator is one who births the mystic self or allows it to be born. In allowing the 'true self" or mystic to be born one is already involved in a deep process of birthing the Cosmic Christ.," (Fox, p.201)

See also DIVINITY OF MAN below.

D. Doctrines of Mysticism found in "The Message"

ANDROGYNY

"Primordial man. The early mystics in erred from Genesis 1:26 - 'Let us make man in our image' - that the physical Adam was created on the pattern of a spiritual Adam that existed in the celestial world ... This became part of the later mystical view of the cosmos in which everything on earth had its counterpart in the realm of the Godhead." (Rabinowicz, "Adam Kadmon", p.8)

See AS ABOVE, SO BELOW above

"Adam Kadmon, or primordial man - ... This being is sexless or bisexual..." (Hastings,"Kabbala", p.626)

"The entire world process is necessary to shape the Perfect Man so that the original state of androgyny (male and maiden at the same time) will be restored." (Eliade, "Gnosticism", p.568)

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Man: 16.C

DIRECT REVELATION

"... all the Gnostic sects ... claimed to possess a secret doctrine, coming to them directly from Jesus Christ, different from that of the Gospels and Epistles and superior to those communications, which in their eyes, were merely exoteric." (Pike, p.542)

"...the Camisards ... like the Cathars ... stressed the supremacy of gnosis, or direct knowledge, over faith ..." (Baigent, p.431)

"Led by the rise in the popularity of the monastic lifestyle, contemplative prayer has found its way into the Christian community, providing instructions an 'how to hear God's voice' - for those who are seeking 'deeper truths'. Proponents have even managed to come up with a biblical foundation for the quest: Adam and Eve talked with God in the Garden; Cain, Abel, Noah, Abraham, and the prophets all heard from God; and Paul was taught by the Lord Himself. Therefore, since Christ has been resurrected and has not stopped 'speaking, teaching, and acting', then surely He communicates with His people today in an 'audible voice'." (Smith, p.111)

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Doctrine: 23.A; New Religion: 21.C; New Jerusalem: 24.F

DIVINE OR1GIN Of MAN

"Mysticism demands a return to our origins... Meister Eckhart ... invites us to 'return to God and the core, the soil, the ground, the stream and the source of the Godhead'." (Fox, p.55)

DIVINITY OF MAN

"Robert Browning in his poem, 'Paracelsus'...'There is an inmost centre in us all, Where truth abides in fulness...' Now that 'inmost centre' is, in the teaching of the Ancient Gnosis, the real SELF; the eternal, immortal, divine self which is one with the universal SELF, commonly called God. Thus the root teaching of this Ancient Wisdom at all times has been the divine nature of Man; and what was taught in the inner schools of the Mysteries... was the method of achieving this supreme knowledge in a practical manner; that is to say the attainment of god-like character and powers. Every man is potentially a god, however feeble may be his powers at the present time. At root he is God." (Kingsland, p.20) Note.

See also TRUE/REAL SELF above.

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Religion: 21:D

PANENTHEISM

"Healthy mysticism is panentheistic. This means that it is not theistic, which envisions divinity 'out there' or even 'in here' in a dualistic manner that separates creation from divinity. Panentheism means 'all things in God and God in all things'. This is the way mystics envision the relationship of world, self, and God ... Panentheism melts the dualism of inside and outside..." (Fox, p.57) Note: Also see INSIDE OUT above.

POSITIVE THINKING

"' ..anything the human mind can believe, the human mind can achieve.'...This seductive idea lies behind the Human Potential movement, which is another name for the New Age movement." (Hunt, p.19, quoting Napolean Hill, "Grow Rich with Peace of Mind," p.176)

SACRED SEX

"According to Foster ... Juliana of Norwich showed him the depths of Divine Love ... of' a somewhat sensual and 'intimate' relationship with God." (Smith, p.129)

"And also our good Lord revealed that it is very greatly pleasing to him that a simple soul should come naked, openly and familiarly. And loving I pray to thee O God, give me yourself for you are enough for me." "Therefore we may ask from our Lover to have all of him that we may desire. For it is our nature to long for him, and it is his nature to long for us. In this life we can never stop loving him." (Foster, Devotional Classics, p.71, quoting Juliana of Norwich, "Revelations of Divine Love")

"Her writings have been called the most perfect fruit of later medieval mysticism." (Foster, Devotional Classics, p.68)

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Man: 16.B

SELF-SACRIFICE

"...the Christian mystic has to be prepared to follow his faith to the point where he can look at the possible imminent end of Homo sapiens as an event of joy." (Kirby, p-17)

"Christians ... know that a man must die to himself before he can ... be born again in spirit ... It may well be that mankind as a whole must be crucified, even unto death, before coming into its inheritance ... Christians can say with Teilhard de Chardin, that death itself is beneficent, the only way to grow beyond forms which have served their limited purpose .... but with the serious and the worried, they look upon the possible extermination of the human race secure in the knowledge that it could be but a prelude to the resurrection of the species." (Kirby, p.201-02)

"The intent is for men to die ... at the demand of his own soul. When man has reached a higher stage in evolution, with deliberation and definite choice of time, he will consciously withdraw from his physical body." (Bailey, "Death the Great Adventure," p.59)

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Life: 20.G

UNIVERSAL SALVATION

Note: See beliefs of Madeleine L'Engle in Section V

 

VI. CHRONOLOGY

1945 - Nag Hammadi Gnostic scriptures discovered

1946 - Dead Sea Scrolls discovered

1947 - Eugene Nida wrote "Bible Translating."  See IV.A.3.a.3.

1974 - Lindesfarne began publishing

1978 - Richard Foster writes "Celebration of Discipline"

1984 - Declaration of Unity of the World written; includes mysticism in its inter-religious consensus. See IV.B.1.

1992-1993 - Richard Foster conference scheduled for Navigators

Note: it is unclear whether or not this actually took place. It is possible that it was cancelled by Richard Foster due to his busy schedule.

1993 - "The Message: The New Testament in Contemporary Language" written

1995 - Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's special edition of "The Message" New Testament

1998 - Navigator Summer Camp relates mysticism of King Arthur's Camelot to kingdom of God
 
 

APPENDIX I.
 

"THE MESSAGE" COMPARED TO THE KING JAMES VERSION

Note: Please keep Dr. Letis' remark in mind when reading the following verses - see section IV.A.4., as well as the dictionary terms in section VI. THE TEMINOLOGY USED IS THE POINT Of THIS STUDY! There are other doctrinal errors in the following verses, which have not been addressed in this study. Mystical terminology is highlighted in larger print.

A. Mystical/occult terms and key words used in "The Message"

AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

Matthew 6:10

KJV - Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Message - Set the world right; do what's best - AS ABOVE, S0 BELOW

BREAKTHROUGH

Acts 11:18

KJV - Then Hath god also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Message - God has BROKEN THROUGH to the other nations, opened them up to Life!

CENTER/CENTER DOWN

II Corinthians 5:14

KJV - For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead

Message - Christ's love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this FOCUSED CENTER: One man died for everyone.

II.Peter 1:19

KJV - We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts

Message - We couldn't be more sure of what we saw and heard - God's glory, God's voice. The prophetic Word was confirmed to us. You'll do well to keep FOCUSING on it. Its the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the MORNING STAR in your hearts.

CONTEMPLATION

I.Titus 2:1-2

KJV - I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Message - The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so that we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble CONTEMPLATION,

DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL

Luke 22:53

KJV - When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no handsagainst me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

Message - Day after day I've been with you in the Temple and you've not so much as lifted a hand against me. But do it your way - it's a DARK NIGHT, a dark hour.

"DEEP" CONSCIOUSNESS/WORSHIP

I.Peter 1:17

KJV - pass the time of your sojourning here in fear

Message - Your life is a journey you must travel with a DEEP CONSCIOUSNESS of God.

Revelation 4:2

KJV - And immediately I was in the spirit: ...

Message - I was caught up at once in DEEP WORSHIP.

GREAT WORK

Philippians 1:6

KJV - Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Message - There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this GREAT WORK in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

INSIDE OUT

Matthew 17:2

KJV - And was transfigured before them: ...

Message - His appearance changed from the INSIDE OUT, right before their eyes

Mark 1:8

KJV - I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

Message - His baptism - a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit - will change you from the INSIDE OUT.

Luke 3:16

KJV - ...he shall baptize you with the Holy ghost, and with fire.

Message - The main character in this drama ... will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the INSIDE OUT.

Romans 12:2

KJV - ...but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind ....

Message - ...fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the INSIDE OUT.

INTERDEPENDENCE

Romans 1:14

KJV - I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.

Message - Everyone I meet - it matters little whether they're mannered or rude, smart or simple - deepens my sense of INTERDEPENDENCE and obligation.

KNOW THYSELF

I John 2:27

KJV - But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie ...

Message - Christ's anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF and him, uncontaminated by a single lie.

PRESENCE OF GOD

Acts 22:17

KJV - And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; Message- After I was back in Jerusalem and praying one day in the Temple, lost in THE PRESENCE OF GOD,

Revelation. 20:11

KJV - And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them

Message - I saw a Great White Throne and the One Enthroned. Nothing could stand before or against the PRESENCE, nothing in Heaven, nothing on earth.

SACRED SITES/PLACES

Luke 7:16

KJV - And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God ...

Message - They all realized they were in a PLACE Of HOLY MYSTERY, that God was at work among them.

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Earth: 6.D

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

Acts 2:46

KJV - And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple ...

Message - They followed a daily DISCIPLINE of worship in the Temple..,

I.Timothy 4:8

KJV - For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things ...

Message - Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a DISCIPLINED LIFE in God is far more so ...

TRUE/REAL SELF

Matthew 5:44-45

KJV - But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven ...

Message - When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your TRUE SELVES, your God-created selves

Luke 12:2

KJV - There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.

Message - You can't keep your TRUE SELF hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed.

John 1:12

KJV - But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Message - But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their TRUE SELVES, their child-of-God selves.

B. Mystical/occult doctrines found in "The Message"

Note: There are many more occult doctrines in THE Message, but these have been limited to correspond to the doctrines found in the dictionary section - VI.

ANDROGYNY

Matthew19:6

KJV - Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder

Message - Because God created this ORGANIC UNION OF THE TWO SEXES, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.

Mark 10:6

KJV But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. Message In the original creation, God made MALE AND FEMALE TO BE TOGETHER.

I Timothy 2:15

KJV - Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing ...

Message - On the other hand, her childbearing brought about salvation, REVERSING EVE.

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Man: 16.C

BIBLE - NON-LITERAL INTERPRETATION

Matthew 22:46

KJV - And no man was able to answer him a word.

Message - That stumped them, LITERALISTS that they were.

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Scripture: 22.D.

DIRECT REVELATION

I Corinthians 2:13

KJV - Which things we also speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Message - We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us PERSON-TO-PERSON through Jesus, and WE'RE PASSING IT ON TO YOU IN THE SAME FIRSTHAND WAY.

Galatians 1 :12

KJV - For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Message - I got it straight from God, received the Message DIRECTLY from Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:2

KJV - Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son ...

Message - Recently he spoke to us DIRECTLY through his Son.

DIVINE ORIGIN/DIVINITY OF MAN

Hebrews 2:11

KJV - For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.

Message - Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a COMMON ORIGIN, Jesus doesn't hesitate to treat them as family ...

I John 2:22

KJV - Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ

Message - So who is lying here? It's the person who denies that Jesus is the DIVINE Christ. (Note: compare I.Jn.3:2)

PANENTHEISM/UNITY

Ephesians 4:6

KJV - One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in YOU ALL

Message - One God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and IS PRESENT IN ALL

Ephesians 4:15

KJV - But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ

Message - God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love - like CHRIST IN EVERYTHING.

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Religion: 21.F

POSITIVE THINKING

Matthew 9:29

KJV - Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

Message - He touched their eyes and said, "BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE."

SACRED SEX

Mark 12:25

KJV - For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

Message - After the dead are raised up, we're past the marriage business. As it is with angels now, ALL OUR ECSTASIES AND INTIMACIES THEN WILL BE WITH GOD.

Mark 12:30

KJV - And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; ...

Message - The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord your God with all your PASSION and prayer and intelligence and energy ....

Romans 8:23

KJV - And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves ...

Message - The Spirit of God is AROUSING US within.

I.Corinthians 6:16-18

KJV - What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication.

Message - There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact. As written in Scripture, "The two become one". SINCE WE WANT TO BECOME SPIRITUALLY ONE WITH THE MASTER, WE MUST NOT PURSUE the kind of sex that that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever - THE KIND OF SEX THAT CAN NEVER "BECOME ONE".

Philippians 3:8

KJV - Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ...

Message - I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could EMBRACE CHRIST AND BE EMBRACED BY HIM.

Philippians 3:10

KJV - That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death

Message - I gave up all that inferior stuff so that I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and GO ALL THE WAY WITH HIM to death itself.

I l.Peter 1:3

KJV - According to his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

Message - Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know personally and INTIMATELY, the One who invited us to God.

SELF-SACRIFICE

Luke 9:24

KJV - For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Message - Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your TRUE SELF.

UNIVERSAL SALVATION - Note. This is "the Message"

John 17.2

KJV - As thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him.

Message - You put him in charge of everything human So he might give real and eternal life to ALL in his charge.

Acts 10:35-36

KJV - But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousenss, is accepted with him.

Message - The Message he sent to the children of Israel - that through Jesus Christ everything is being put together again - well, he's doing it everywhere,among EVERYONE.

Acts 15:17

KJV - That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

Message - ALL the pagan people included in what I'm doing.

I.Corinthians 15:22

KJV - For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Message - Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ.

II.Corinthians 5.15

KJV - And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Message - He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

Col .1:26-28

KJV - Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: ... which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Message - The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you ... That is the substance of our Message.

Colossians 3:11

KJV - Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free. but Christ is all, and in all.

Message - From now on everyone is defined by Christ, EVERYONE IS INCLUDED IN CHRIST.

C. Mystical/occult/Masonic practices found in 'The Message'

NOTE: Many of the Masonic rites if initiation are derived from The Legend of Hiram Abiff

APRON

Luke 12:37

KJV - he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat ....

Message - He'll put on an APRON, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal,

CLIMB OUT OF COFFIN

Ephesians 5:14

KJV - Awake thou that steepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Message - Wake up from your sleep, CLIMB OUT OF YOUR COFFINS; Christ will show you the light.

ONE-EYED

Matthew 5:29

KJV - And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee ...

Message - You have to choose to live ONE-EYED or else be dumped on a moral trash pile.

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Messiah: 11.L

RIGHT HAND PULLED ME UP

Revelation 1:17

KJV - and he laid his right hand upon me, saying onto me ...

Message - His RIGHT HAND PULLED ME UPRIGHT, his voice reassured me:

STONE MASONS THREW OUT

Matthew 21:42

KJV - The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner ...

Message - The stone THE MASONS threw out is now the cornerstone

THIRD DEGREE

Mark 10:34

KJV - And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Message - Then they will hand him over to the Romans, who will mock and spit on him, GIVE HIM THE THIRD DEGREE, and kill him.

Luke 18:33

KJV - And shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

Message - Then after giving him the THIRD DEGREE, they will kill him.

D. Other occultic concepts

HAUNTING

Acts 1:20

KJV - For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation become desolate, and let no man dwell therein ...

Message - It's exactly what we find written in the Psalms: "Let his farm become HAUNTED. So no one can ever live there".

NEW WORLD ORDER

Ephesians 3:5

KJV - Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit

Message - Only in our time has it been made clear by God's Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this NEW ORDER.

Revelation 21:4

KJV - ...for the former things are passed away.

Message - ...all the first ORDER of things gone.

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Age: 15.A

PUT HEX ON

Gal.3.1

KJV - O foolish Galatians, who bath bewitched you ...

Message - You crazy Galatians! Did someone PUT A HEX on you?

See: Heeding Bible Prophecy: New Language: 17.B

 

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