 
The Meaning of Genesis

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Anonymous
The Meaning of Genesis

Anonymous

The Meaning of Genesis

Copyright © 2013, 2019 A Truth Publishing

https://www.meaningofgenesis.com

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The Meaning of Genesis

First Edition

ISBN 978-0463916025

This Ebook is free and licensed for the use of the person who downloaded it. This Ebook may not be re-sold. If you would like to share this book with another person, please download an additional copy for each recipient. Furthermore, the copyright prohibits the copying of this text without attribution to the book title.

# Table of Contents

Introduction

Genesis 1:1 \- In the beginning God created ...

Genesis 1:2 \- Now the earth was formless and empty ...

Genesis 1:3-4 \- "Let there be light" and there was light ...

Genesis 1:5 \- God called the light day and the darkness ...

Genesis 1:6-8 \- "Let there be an expanse between the waters ...

Genesis 1:9-10 \- "Let the water under the sky ...

Genesis 1:11-13 \- "Let the land produce vegetation ...

Genesis 1:14-19 \- "Let there be lights in the expanse ...

Genesis 1:20-23 \- "Let the water teem with living creatures ...

Genesis 1:24-25 \- "Let the land produce living creatures ...

Genesis 1:26-27 \- "Let Us make man in Our image ...

Genesis 1:28 \- "Be fruitful and multiply ...

Genesis 1:29 \- "I give you every seed-bearing plant ...

Genesis 1:30 \- And to all the beasts of the earth ...

Genesis 1:31 \- God saw all that He made ...

Genesis 2:1-3 \- Thus the heavens and the earth were completed ...

Genesis 2:4-6 \- This is the account of the heavens ...

Genesis 2:7 \- The LORD God formed the man ...

Genesis 2:8 \- Now the LORD God had planted a garden ...

Genesis 2:9 \- And the LORD God made all kinds of trees ...

Genesis 2:10-14 \- A river watering the garden flowed ...

Genesis 2:15 \- The LORD God took the man ...

Genesis 2:16-17 \- And the LORD God commanded, "You are free ...

Genesis 2:18 \- "It is not good for the man to be alone ...

Genesis 2:19 \- Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground ...

Genesis 2:20-22 \- So the man gave names to all the beasts ...

Genesis 2:23-25 \- The man said, "This is now bone of my bones ...

Genesis 3:1-5 \- Now the serpent was more crafty than ...

Genesis 3:6 \- When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good ...

Genesis 3:7 \- Then the eyes of both of them were opened ...

Genesis 3:8 \- Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD ...

Genesis 3:9-11 \- But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" ...

Genesis 3:12 \- The man said, "The woman you put here with me ...

Genesis 3:13 \- Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this ...

Genesis 3:14 \- So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have ...

Genesis 3:15 \- And I will put enmity between you and the woman ...

Genesis 3:16 \- "I will greatly increase your pains ...

Genesis 3:17-19 \- To Adam He said, "Because you listened to your wife ...

Genesis 3:20 \- Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become ...

Genesis 3:21 \- The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam ...

Genesis 3:22 \- And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like ...

Genesis 3:23 \- So the LORD God banished him from the Garden ...

Genesis 3:24 \- After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side ...

Genesis 4:1 \- Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant ...

Genesis 4:2-7 \- Later she gave birth to his brother Abel ...

Genesis 4:8-12 \- Now Cain said to his brother Abel ...

Genesis 4:13-15 \- Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment ...

Genesis 4:16-26 \- Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant ...

Genesis 6:1-4 \- The Nephilim were on the earth in those days ...

Genesis 6:5-7 \- "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created ..."

Genesis 6:13-21 \- "I am going to put an end to all people ..."

Genesis 7:1-4 \- "Go into the ark, you and your whole family ..."

Genesis 8:16-17 \- "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and sons ..."

Genesis 8:21-22 \- "Never again will I curse the ground because of man ... "

Genesis 9:1-7 \- "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth ..."

Genesis 9:9-18 \- "I now establish my covenant with you and with your ..."

Genesis 11:1-7 \- "If as one people speaking the same language ...."

Genesis 12:1-3 \- "Leave your country, your people and your father's ..."

Genesis 12:6-7 \- "To your offspring I will give this land. ..."

Genesis 13:14-17 \- "All the land that you see I will give ..."

Genesis 14:18-20 \- "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator ..."

Genesis 15:1 \- "Do not be afraid, Abrahm, I am your shield ..."

Genesis 15:4-5 \- "This man will not be your heir ..."

Genesis 15:7 \- "I am the LORD who brought out out of Ur ..."

Genesis 15:8-9 \- "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three ..."

Genesis 15:13-16 \- "Know for certain your descendants will be ..."

Genesis 15:18-21 \- "To your descendants I give this land ..."

Genesis 17:1-6 \- "I am God Almighty; walk before Me ..."

Genesis 17:7-8 \- "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting ..."

Genesis 17:9 \- "As for you, you must keep My covenant ..."

Genesis 17:10-14 \- "Any uncircumcised male, who has not been ..."

Genesis 17:15-16 \- "As for Sarai you wife, you are no longer ..."

Genesis 17:19-21 \- "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, ..."

Genesis 18:1-19 \- The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees ...

Genesis 18:20-21 \- "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah ..."

Genesis 18:23-33 \- "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it ..."

Genesis 20:1-7 \- "Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet ..."

Genesis 21:12-13 \- "Do not be so distressed about the boy ..."

Genesis 22:1-2 \- "Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering ..."

Genesis 22:15-18 \- "I swear by myself, declares the LORD ... "

Genesis 26:2-5 \- "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land ..."

Genesis 26:24 \- "I am the God of your father Abraham ..."

Genesis 28:11-18 \- "I am with you and will watch over you ..."

Genesis 32:-25-30 \- So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled" ..."

Genesis 35:1 \- "Go up to Bethel and settle there and build an altar ..."

Genesis 35:10-12 \- "Your name is Jacob but you will no longer be ..."

Genesis 46:3-4 \- "I will go down to Egypt with you ..."

Genesis 48:3-4 \- "I will make you a community of peoples ..."

#  Introduction

The Book of Genesis has been the subject of debate, mystery, and curiosity throughout Western and Middle Eastern civilization for thousands of years. The texts of Genesis have been the focus of many scholars, scientists, and philosophers as they have tried to grapple and understand its meaning in practical terms.

The first three chapters of Genesis have provided the foundation for fierce debate between religious leaders and scientists for centuries, as arguments regarding evolution and creationism have played out in courtrooms, classrooms and legislative houses throughout Western society. Many of these debates eventually became centered around the interpretations of Genesis. Were the verses to be taken literally? Did God really create the universe in 6 days, and did this really occur only 5,000 years ago?

The issue of whether many of the texts of Genesis should be taken literally has led to a large size debate not only between scientists and creationists in modern times. Another debate between two factions of creationists has broken out. This debate is between those who say the texts should be taken completely literally and those who say many of the texts are allegorical and a broader interpretation should be accepted.

These debates have resulted in public confusion regarding the meaning of Genesis from a practical and useful standpoint. They have served to remove the common reader from the practical teachings available in this Scripture.

The _Meaning of Genesis_ serves to provide clarity for the reader, enabling a practical basis to learn the deeper teachings available within these texts.

These deeper teachings have largely been lost among popular translations and interpretations of Genesis. This is partly due to the persistent lack of clarity from organized institutions over the centuries regarding the origin and contents of these texts. The texts have thus incrementally been distanced from their original teachings.

There are a number of general misunderstandings about the Book of Genesis found in most Bibles. Despite the formatting to give it a historical appearance, scholars have confirmed that Genesis is actually not a single book. Rather, the Book of Genesis consists of a collection of different oral teachings recorded at different times by different scribes.

Much of the text was recorded from multiple oral teachings from multiple lineages that passed down those teachings from one generation to the next for many centuries.

During this passage of the oral information over the centuries, according to the time, circumstance and society, naturally much of the information eventually recorded as the book of Genesis assumed an allegorical quality. This allegorical quality conferred moral and devotional lessons upon the audience as it was passed on from generation to generation.

At the same time, these oral teachings also developed some of the societal issues prevalent during those times. Of prime importance was the feudal tribal nature of nomadic Judean tribes, who suffered from forced displacement along with voluntary movement. These tribes valued the ability to control certain territorial lands, as this was vital to their survival. As a result, some of the oral teachings also included messages authorizing their tribal authority over certain lands, by their ancestors and religious leaders.

Illustrating this, much of the Torah scrolls were recorded during and following a period when Judeans and Judean scribes in particular, were forced into exile in Babylon between 586 and 538 BCE. These events along with other struggles for control over lands with Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans, led to texts that emphasize God giving certain lands of the Middle East to the Israelites.

As this accumulative process of recording continued, scribes authorized by tribal lords conveyed the texts to establish political authority and dominance for their particular tribe and leaders.

Over the next few centuries, those scrolls were copied, combined, translated and interpreted into numerous versions. Eventually, they were combined into one book, which became one of the five books of the Torah. Eventually, other books were combined into a single "Hebrew Bible" now called the Tanakh.

It must be remembered that many of those scribes performed their work under the supervision and employment of the leaders of that particular era. Some of these leaders – such as Solomon and David – were wise and devoted servants of God. Others were not so wise and sought to utilize the texts to their political advantage. This eventually became the powerful institution that Jesus criticized during his lifetime. And the same institution that condemned Jesus' teachings and had him arrested and tried.

Following the persecution of Jesus and the century-long Jewish-Roman Wars, the Roman government dominated Judea with an iron fist. For political purposes, during the Fourth Century CE, the Roman government contracted to have selected books from the Judean scriptures combined with selected Christian texts into what would become the first Bible. The Book of Genesis was arranged into the first book, inferring the Bible was a historical text, with its allegorical nature assumed to be literal.

The tendency of rulers to dictate the predisposition of Scripture continued into the third and fourth centuries with the Roman Empire. Particularly during Constantine's rule and Roman emperors who followed him.

Roman Emperor Constantine saw that Christianity was growing rapidly in Europe and the Middle East. He thus smartly saw that he had better gain control of the religion before it endangered Rome's control over its current Empire.

So in 325 AD Constantine appointed a number of religious leaders with strong followings throughout the then-Christian world, and organized a committee called the Council of Nicea. The purpose was to orchestrate a single doctrine to manage the Christian world under the Roman Empire.

Constantine knew that organizing such a diverse group of Christian sects was going to be difficult. In order to do this right, he had to create the appearance of legitimacy. He had to create an organizational structure that would allow the Romans to orchestrate their control over the region. This gave birth to the Roman Catholic Church, which came to dominate the Christian world and the doctrines of Christianity for over a thousand years.

The control exerted over the Christian world by the Roman government was by no means accomplished through the teachings of Jesus – as one might imagine. Rather, the Roman Catholic Church instituted and maintained their authority by force. Anyone who was found teaching any other doctrine other than the Nicene Creed was quickly eliminated – by murder or imprisonment. Over the centuries the Roman Catholic Church came to not only dominate religious thought in Europe and the Middle East: It was able to control the decision-making of many governments that formed following the fall of the official Roman Empire.

As for the texts of the Bible, after the First Council of Nicea (the Council was assembled every few years for centuries) in 325 AD, Constantine ordered and organized the assembly of the "Canon" – a selection of the hundreds of books accepted as Scripture among the various churches and assemblies throughout the then-Christian world. The Canon was to compile the theoretically-most credible books of Scripture and combine them into one text – which eventually became known as the Holy Bible (derived from the Greek _ta biblia_ , meaning 'little papyrus books').

The resulting Latin Bible was a concerted effort of Constantine to organize Judaism and Christianity. This meant that the process of selection was driven not by a goal to select those Scriptures most important for passing on God's message: The objective was to produce a single book substantiating the premise that Judean Christianity was the only valid religion.

This was an issue of control and authority. If the Romans were in charge of the only valid religion, they could by virtue of controlling the Church institution, control the people.

This goal was neither a new one for any emperor or government, nor was it foreign to many of the new bishops that were brought together to form the Council of Nicea. This is, in fact, part of the heritage of the Judean texts passed down and now identified as the Old Testament. As experienced historically among most feudal regions, rulers often gained power through their alliances with religious teachers – and many were attributed as prominent religious leaders themselves. In reality, however, most of the devoted teachers were focused not upon political authority, but upon the authority of the Supreme Being. This is why some prophets such as Jeremiah were rejected by the sectarian institutions of their day.

But it is this very tendency of historical alliance between political leaders and religious teachers that has produced misinterpretations and mistranslations of scriptural texts over the centuries.

Some of these alliances may have been grounded in devotion, but many were mixed with political ambition. For example, those early bishops appointed by Constantine to the council of Nicea may have had mixed agendas, but they came together as a unit under an umbrella of purpose to provide organizational and political control over Christianity. This resulted in the Nicene Creed, which came to dominate Christian belief during that time (by force) and eventually came to become the accepted doctrine of practically every Christian sect that has sprung up since.

In other words, for over 1,500 years, any person or sect that wanted to be accepted as a Christian had to at least accept the key terms of the Nicene Creed in order to be credible. This is how successful the Roman Empire was in snuffing out alternate doctrines.

And needless to say, the process of the Nicene Council also cemented these early bishops' power and authority over their jurisdiction of the Roman Empire. They were now authorized by the Roman power to exert their dominance within their particular region. Their religious authority also became political authority.

Following the creation of the Nicene Creed doctrine, this political authority was used to support and maintain the new order of Christianity. This was accomplished by eliminating competing doctrines, and those scriptural texts that supported alternative doctrines.

Under the order of Constantine, the newly formed Church selected certain manuscripts that were circulating, and translated them into Latin, thereby assembling the first Canon – the first Bible. This new Bible – commissioned by Constantine upon the newly bishoped Eusebius – was transcribed and translated by professional scribes hired to maintain the Nicene Creed. This is evidenced by Constantine's letter to Eusebius. Here is an excerpt:

_"I have thought it expedient to instruct your Prudence to order fifty copies of the sacred Scriptures, the provision and use of which you know to be most needful for the instruction of the Church, to be written on prepared parchment in a legible manner, and in a convenient, portable form, by professional transcribers thoroughly practiced in their art. The catholicus of the diocese has also received instructions by letter from our Clemency to be careful to furnish all things necessary for the preparation of such copies; and it will be for you to take special care that they be completed with as little delay as possible. You have authority also, in virtue of this letter, to use two of the public carriages for their conveyance, by which arrangement the copies when fairly written will most easily be forwarded for my personal inspection; and one of the deacons of your church may be intrusted with this service, who, on his arrival here, shall experience my liberality." (NPNF2-01, Esebius, Church History, Life of Constantine, Orationin Praise of Constantine)_

Key elements of this letter include "professional transcribers," "my personal inspection," and the orchestration of Constantine's involvement in the assembly of the Bible. In other words, the texts were assembled by professional transcribers paid for their efforts.

Such a professional endeavor, ordered by a political emperor, is diametrically opposed to services of devotion.

Also, we find this "professional" Bible was subject to Constantine's inspection and ultimate approval. Here is a politician – an emperor known also to have persecuted and slaughtered millions to establish his power – approving Scripture?

Eusebius had previously assembled a list of manuscripts that were popular and most acceptable to the early Church leadership at that time, and he used most of this list to assemble the Bible canon. In other words, the books were chosen based upon their acceptability by the organized institution of what would later be called the Roman Catholic Church.

We also find evidence that Eusebius sought to promote his own personal interpretations upon the books of the Bible – and Eusebius had many distinctive opinions, some of which were part of the mainstream Church thinking and some of which were not. The 5th-Century Christian historian, Socrates Scholasticus, documented that Eusebius' writings had "rhetorical finish" and were written for the "praises of the Emperor" and not the "accurate statement of facts."

In other words, the first assembly and transcribing of the official Bible was less than a devotional activity exercised with the seriousness of unbiased scholarship we would expect from such a work. It involved significant political ambition by both Eusebius and Constantine. We can add to this that there was continual wrangling and political intrigue amongst the various bishops that attended the Nicea synods, which determined – through a political process – the doctrine of the early Church that became known as the Nicene Creed, now accepted as fundamental to most Christian institutions.

To summarize, Eusebius' work to assemble the first Bible was assigned by the Roman Emperor Constantine, and Constantine's efforts were driven by a desire to organize and control the religion of Christianity. By Constantine's order, Eusebius hired professional translators and transcribers, who oversaw the translation (and thus interpretation) of the Scriptures from Greek, Arabic and Hebrew languages, into Latin. This Latin translation provided the foundation for the future interpretation of the Bible, which eventually was translated into English.

After the early Bible's manuscripts were selected, translated into Latin and assembled into the Bible, the Roman Empire and its surrogate Church systematically burned and destroyed any library that included books outside of those selected for the Bible or otherwise were "approved" by Church fathers. Some were quarantined within the Church's library in Rome; others were burnt, never to be found.

The Church also systematically squelched any alternative interpretations of Genesis and the creation, such as those that were taught amongst the Gnostics for centuries. The Gnostics were practically driven out of existence. Their villages were burnt, their teachers were murdered, and their libraries of manuscripts were destroyed. This activity – of forcibly removing 'heretics' for their alternative interpretations of Scripture – continued for over a thousand years among the Church and its proxies.

Add to this "purification" that for centuries, the Latin Bible was the only Bible allowed to be read, and only the priests and Church officials had access to the Latin Bible. The rest of the people among the regions controlled by the Roman Catholic Church and its surrogates did not have access to Scripture. They could only hear its Latin from the priests, who also controlled its interpretation. This was the status quo for many centuries until parts of the Bible was (illegally according to the Church) translated into English and other languages. The first complete English Bible – translated from the Latin Bible – came into being during the 14th Century – more than a thousand years after Eusebius' Latin Bible.

And even then, John Wycliffe, the English Bible's translator, was declared a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church. By the command of the Church and its Pope Martin V, his Biblical texts were ordered to be burnt, and his then-dead body exhumed, burnt, and his ashes thrown into a river.

This 'scorched earth' policy of virtually eliminating any and all interpretations of Genesis and other parts of the Scriptures outside of those approved by the Church and Roman Empire created a single dominant interpretation of the Biblical Scriptures – a type of brainwashing – throughout all the new sects of the Christian church.

Prior even to the Church's power grab on Biblical interpretation, we find sectarian Rabbinical transcription, translation, and interpretation of the five books of the Torah – which Genesis, "Bereshit" was the first – driven by an eerily similar pact between government and religious institutions. Like the Roman government's domination over Christianity, Judean emperors in the centuries leading to Jesus' birth commandeered the theretofore orally communicated תורה שבכתב (Torah Shebe'al Peh – "Torah that is spoken"), and oversaw its transcription into a written work, to be called Torah Shebichtav (תורה שבעל פה (Torah Shebichtav – "Torah that is written").

In other words, the Torah – a word meaning "to teach" – was originally passed down orally from one generation to the next by devoted teachers (Prophets), including Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Joshua, Eli, Samuel, David, Solomon, Job, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and others in between. Each teacher would pass on the oral teachings of the Torah to their students, and those students who were empowered passed it on to their students. This oral tradition also meant that the sometimes allegorical lessons of the Torah also accompanied the interpretation of the priest – who pledged their devotion to the Supreme Being.

We can see this tradition clearly as we examine the relationship between Joshua and Moses, and Samuel and Eli within the texts of the Bible.

This esteemed tradition also became subject to territorialism as the Torah was transcribed from Torah Shebe'al Peh to Torah Shebichtav and interpreted over the centuries. While it is said that the Torah was first written by Moses, this is not completely supported by the empirical record. Rather, what Moses appears to have written down were the Ten Commandments, onto stone tablets that were apparently placed beside the Ark of the Covenant.

Other critical lessons now contained in the Scriptures were orally given by Moses, which were eventually passed on by one of Moses' empowered students, Joshua. This has become more widely accepted as the texts themselves illustrate that the authors of Genesis followed Moses (such as Genesis 12:6 – "and the Canaanite was then in the land" – an event following Moses' time).

The consensus of scholars has been that the Torah was combined from at least four main sources and before being redacted into a single version. The sources have been described as Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and the Priestly writer.

This Documentary hypothesis states the Yahwist source comes from Southern Judah, the Elohist source from Northern Israel, the Deuteronomist from Jerusalem and the Priestly source from Babylon. This Documentary hypothesis holds that the texts had individual lineages, each accompanied by manuscripts pieced together into the Torah.

Others believe there were many other sources. Recent scholars contend that Genesis alone is the compilation of no less than nineteen different manuscripts – many disconnected with each other.

This understanding gradually came about as the Torah texts themselves were analyzed, and three commanding theories of its composition rose to the forefront by scholars:

\- _The Documentary:_ The Torah was a compilation of separate and complete written manuscripts.

\- _The Supplementary_ : An original work that was later supplemented with various additions and deletions.

\- _The Fragmentary:_ The Torah is a compilation of fragments of different books.

These theories have been offered as the only rational explanations for the various duplications, schisms and irregularities present among the texts of the Torah in terms of timeline, context, history, and language. Some more recent scholars have contended that the evidence presents that the Torah is a combination of all three – it contains some complete manuscripts; was supplemented with additions and deletions; and also contains various fragments of other manuscripts.

The essence here is that practically every Biblical scholar accepts that the books of the Torah – including Genesis – is a compilation of a variety of manuscripts and fragments that were transcribed and eventually presented as a single document, together with additions and deletions as the document was further transcribed over the centuries.

The question then becomes: Who organized and oversaw such a process of compilation?

The 7th Century appears to be the period many scholars believe the Torah began its sectarian journey into what is now Judaism. We find that this century was strife with warfare between feuding empires of Rome, Assyria, Judah, Egypt, and surrounding regions. Struggles for land and territory were rampant, and a quest to commandeer Scripture was not only a political necessity – it was an issue of survival.

Many point to the reign of Josiah, the King of Judah between 641 and 609 BCE. Josiah is understood to be born in Jerusalem and considered to be part of the House of David. He was King Amon's son. Amon's father, Manasseh is known for turning away from the worship of the Supreme Being, creating the temple of idols.

Josiah was devoted to Yahweh, however. He ordered the temple of Solomon to be rebuilt using taxes. During the construction, it is said that the builders discovered a buried scroll describing Moses' "book of the law," accepted by most scholars to have been put together by institutional priests intent on centralizing power under King Josiah. Thus we find a critical piece of the transcriptions having political ambition: Claiming the right of heritage for certain lands to the house of Abraham, Moses, David, and then Josiah.

This provided a necessary foundation for the political backdrop of those times. Josiah's rule was gripped with struggles over territory and population by the likes of the Egyptians, Babylonians and the Syrians – who were ultimately responsible for Josiah's death.

In the centuries that followed, these territorial struggles continued, and the formation of the Torah gained additional substance with the writings of Ezra in the Fifth Century BCE. After the rebuilding of Jerusalem under the Persian ruler Artaxerxes, Ezra led a formation of a separated assembly of Israelites committed to following Moses' law.

The successive assemblies following Ezra took a drastic sectarian turn over the next centuries, as priestly struggles merged with struggles for territorial rights, and the assemblies became increasingly political.

The Torah was thus altered over the next five centuries, as the Israelite high priests formed rigid sectarian order over their assemblies. The rule of law became tantamount and the five books of the Torah were interpreted as a set of laws combined with a genealogy of the Israelite people.

The necessity of a succession of rulers through this period produced political alliances between certain priests and the various kings of Judah. This drove the recognition of the Israelite assembly as a separate race of people and allowed the high priests to become ex-facto governors.

This politically driven succession of high priests became increasingly perverted over the centuries, as evidenced by the teachings of Jesus. We find that by the time of Jesus, the institutional temples and its priesthood had all but forgotten the elements of devotion that had been taught by Moses, Abraham, and David, and passed down orally over the centuries from teacher to student.

This was characterized by Jesus, who condemned the nature and hierarchy of the institutional priesthood.

These devotional principles had become overtaken by the politics of necessity, focused upon the "promised land" and the "chosen people" of Judah and Israel. Jesus' teachings identified the two primary orders among the institutional temples – the Sadducees and the Pharisees – as focused upon retaining their politically oriented positions of "teachers of the law" rather than the passing down of the original teachings of devotional Judaism.

Jesus vehemently criticized these two groups as misleading the people and abandoning the original precepts of the teachings of the Torah – which he emphasized were grounded upon the "first and foremost commandment" to love God.

This devotional teaching, we find from biblical texts, had been passed through a devotional lineage that included John the Baptist and Zachariah, John's teacher and traced back through the centuries. Many historians have shown that the Essenes – a priestly order that rejected the political ambitions of the mainstream priestly order – were a vehicle for this lineage of pure teachers. This pure heritage of teachings passed down through the centuries ran parallel to the political intrigue that accompanied the official texts of the Torah.

In other words, the oral tradition of the Torah continued through the centuries from devoted teacher to humble student despite the incongruence of the official scriptural canons of politically driven sectarian institutions.

We find from these histories a repeating lesson: That the pure teachings of the Supreme Being handed down from teacher to student can at any point in time become perverted as they become recorded; and those recordings can become further tainted under the control of those who wish to utilize them for purposes of power and political position. History has taught us that as particular empires seeking political power begin to handle devotional recordings, the recordings are subject to alteration, producing documents tainted with greed and politics.

What about the alternative and source documents? Unfortunately, the same machinery that tainted those Scriptures also worked to eliminate their sources – effectively erasing evidence of perversion. As a result, we find that out of the thousands of scriptural manuscripts passed down for centuries by early Israelite and Christian teachers, only the politically-selected books of the Bible and a limited collection of mostly tattered manuscripts found buried in the desert or within the recesses of the Church's secret library remain.

However, those books found in the desert – now called the Dead Sea Scrolls – provide clear evidence that the Church indeed systematically eliminated many manuscripts as well as alternative interpretations. We also find clear evidence that some of the texts that made it into the Latin Bible were in fact manipulated with respect to their translation and inclusion. Yes, inclusion: This means that some text was removed and some text was added.

This is ironic since the last verse of the Book of Revelation warns not to remove or add to the text. Of course, the placing of the Book of Revelation was smartly arranged as the last book of the Bible by Eusebius and his cohorts, even though it was not the last manuscript written. In other words, the position of the Book of Revelation as last gives the reader the impression that nothing can thenceforth be added or taken away from the entire Bible – even though the writer was speaking solely of that particular manuscript.

The bottom line is that the Books of the Canon – the arrangement of the Books of the Bible, and the interpretation of the many passages driven by the Nicene Creed, were orchestrated as part of an overall objective to put forth the impression that Christianity (and thus early Judaism) was the original and only valid religious institution.

Yes, unfortunately, the Bible and the Torah are politically perverted documents. This doesn't mean they do not still contain the Truth, however.

Over the centuries, a few other combinations of Old Testament Biblical texts have surfaced in addition to the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the Greek Septuagint and the Arabic Peshitta. The Septuagint arose through the translation of the Rabbinical texts originally put together by Origen (who was later rejected as heretical by the Church), but its current form has been altered through the centuries. The Peshitta, which also contained some manuscripts alternative to the Bible, to some degree escaped destruction by the Romans – although it is not clear to what degree or at what stage.

What we see from the evidence is scriptural mistranslations and misinterpretations orchestrated by politically oriented sectarian institutions before and after Jesus' appearance, and then later by the Roman emperor-sponsored Roman Catholic Church to be continued by later sectarian surrogates with repeated efforts to utilize Scripture to create false authority. This combination of efforts has produced a gross misunderstanding of the meaning of many of the texts of today's Bible, including Genesis.

This struggle for false authority continues today, as the various religious institutions and sects vie for followers and political position among today's cultures. Most have established a few unique interpretations of the Old and/or New Testaments on various matters over recent centuries, yet most of the Christian sects still abide generally by the politically sponsored Nicene Creed doctrine originally put forth and forcefully supported by the early Roman Catholic Church.

It should be stated that these politically-oriented activities that have formed Genesis' current interpretation and translations in no way remove the real power and authority of the teachings of Genesis; nor those of Lord Jesus Christ and the rest of the Saints of the Bible. Rather, these efforts to use Scripture to create false authority has simply shrouded their real meaning from the casual reader subjected to the brainwashing of these sectarian institutions.

But the fact that the texts survived all those political efforts in some state, and have maintained spiritual validity, is a testament of the Supreme Being's ability to ultimately control Scripture and even shroud its true meaning from some.

Meanwhile, an undercurrent of confidential knowledge has continued to be quietly passed from serious teacher to serious student for thousands of years, insulated from these political quests for power by governments and religious institutions – through their surrogate professional sectarian clergies. We say "confidential" not because this information is secret. It is confidential because it is understood only by persons who are serious about learning the real lessons of spiritual life. Only the serious student guided by a teacher in succession empowered by the Supreme Being will be able to grasp and understand the true meaning of any real Scripture. In other words, true Scripture is understood only by those intent on sincerely learning about God and our real purpose for existence.

This is not a new concept. We can see the importance of the spiritual mentor and guide in the lives of all the great teachers spoken of within the Old and New Testaments. While some of the entire lineages have been lost in translation and by the exclusion of some of the texts, the Biblical texts illustrate the teacher-student relationship between Melchizedek and Abraham; Abraham and Lot; Moses and Joshua; Eli and Samuel; Samuel and Saul; Saul and David; David and Solomon and many others. It is also illustrated by Jesus' relationship with his teacher John the Baptist, as well as Jesus' relationship with his own disciples, whom Jesus instructed to also go out and teach what he taught them to others.

The first four books of Genesis can be properly understood within the confines of the teachings of these ancient teachers. It was this lineage of teachers that Jesus belonged to, as a devoted student of John the Baptist, who was a devoted student of Zachariah, a devoted student of a teacher within the lineage that included David, Samuel, Solomon, Eli, Moses, Abraham, and Melchizedek.

The information provided in these commentaries embraces the lineage of teachers that provided the facility to pass down this deep knowledge of our creation and resulting fall into the physical world. I give thanks to and honor this lineage with the Meaning of Genesis as passed down through generations of teachers and students for thousands of years.

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This verse describes the essential Source of the physical dimension. The Supreme Being is the Ultimate Source.

As for the word _"heavens,"_ this is derived from the Hebrew word שָׁמַיִם (shamayim). According to Gesenius' Hebrew Lexicon, this word refers to the sky or visible heavens, including the stars and galaxies. In other words, Genesis is a discussion of the creation and purpose of the physical dimension - which includes numerous galaxies, universes and planets.

This verse also solves the riddle of what scientists refer to as the _singularity problem._

### What is the big bang theory and the singularity problem?

The _singularity problem,_ quite simply, is the notion that scientists cannot figure out what existed prior to the theoretical initial blast of creation now termed the _big bang._

The _big bang theory_ has been supposedly validated by one primary observation: That the collection of various galaxies and their components appear to be expanding outward into space. This is called the "inflationary principle," which arose from the "Hubble Constant," named after the famed astronomer.

The hypothesis is that if the galaxies and their components are all expanding, they must have originally arose from a single point or event.

Even the physicists and cosmologists who have assumably accepted the big bang and inflationary theories still argue about them. A February 2017 article in the Scientific American journal highlighted this argument. Written by three physicists, one who had been one of the original architects of the inflation theory, the article argues that these theories are still debatable. Data streamed back from a satellite named Planck seems to contradict at least some elements of the inflation theory:

_"If anything, the Planck data disfavored the simplex inflation models and exacerbated long-standing foundational problems with the theory, providing new reasons to consider competing ideas about the origin and evolution of the universe."_

In other words, despite their prestigious titles and theories, these physicists that portend they have figured out how the universe was created simply do not know. They are guessing.

Yet for the virtue of science, let's elaborate on the big bang theory: Assuming such a single big bang did occur, what made it occur?

In any explosion - or any event for that matter \- the laws of the physical universe tell us that there must exist the elements to produce that event. In other words, every event - and every thing in the physical universe - has a source. This we have learned from scientific observation and many decades of research.

Science, as promulgated by scientists now and in the past, must abide by certain laws of logic. This means that no matter how abstract, a scientific theory must abide by fundamental and observable realities.

Therefore, for the supposed big bang theory to be a scientific theory, it must abide by the universal rule of the physical world: That every event must have an elementary source.

For this reason, scientists have been meticulously listing the atomic elements that must have existed prior to the big bang in order for the explosion to have taken place.

But then they arrive at a dilemma - the singularity problem: Where did these elements come from? And where did the atomic energy come from that caused such a great explosion?

### What about the theory of everything?

This continues to baffle scientists, providing the grist for so many imaginative theories about what existed prior to the big bang. Theories have ranged from string theories to various wave and energy theories, to the famous _"theory of everything."_

However, at the end of all of these theories, scientists find the same dilemma: What caused these? What elements, power or energy produced them?

Furthermore, as we look at the eventual assembly of the various beautifully organized structures of the physical universe, be they galaxies, solar systems, planets, oceans, mountains, plants, fish, animals and humans - and their continued evolution driven by a magnificent spiral-shape molecule that looks strikingly like a galaxy, called DNA - we must arrive at the conclusion that whatever was before such a creation event must also have had the potential to produce all of this arranged complexity.

In addition, we must also scientifically accept that all of the personalities among the organisms we see around us \- every human and every animal and any other living organism - must also have arisen from something. What was the source of all of these personalities? What is the source of life? What is the source of love? What is the source of individuality? What is the source of desire? What is the source of the fear of death?

Certainly, if we were all simply physical machines, there would be no fear of death. We would all look forward to merging back into matter, as opposed to struggling for survival.

All of these elements, which all came into being, add to the singularity problem. Where did the capability for matter to produce all of this come from? The big bang theorists simply have no logical explanation.

### What is the Original Cause?

This first verse in Genesis provides the answer. God - the Original Being from a dimension of another substance - the spiritual dimension - brought the energy and the elements together to produce the physical universe.

This is the only valid scientific conclusion that can be made. Why? Because first of all, the only valid source of the 'singularity' must be from another dimension. Since "something" cannot come from "nothing," and a beginning indicates a period of "nothing," the only valid source of the "something" must be a transmutation from another dimension.

Secondly, in order for the physical universe to have the capabilities it has: such as spiraling galaxies, gravity, DNA, atoms, molecules and so on, there must be an organizing source. Something must have provided an organizing principle.

An organizing principle requires what? Purpose: A purpose for the organization. Something that is organized infers there is a purpose for the organization. This requires an _organizer with purpose._

Thirdly, life must originate from a living substance. Matter cannot become life. We can see this clearly. A living organism desires survival. A dead piece of matter does not. This means there is a difference between the two. So how did life come into being? Since living organisms struggle against the laws of the physical universe - notably that every organism dies - then the life element within living organisms must not be physical. If they were, then there would be no struggle with death. Every organism would happily accept death as a merging back to matter if life came from matter.

The struggle against death, and the very nature of the evolution of species indicates quite the opposite. Organisms struggle to stay alive - and evolve in order to stay alive - because the element of life is not a physical element.

The Source of life also has another important difference: Regarding the element of time. The physical dimension and all the physical elements are affected by time, but not the Source of life. The Source of life, the Supreme Being, is not governed by time. There is no beginning nor an end to the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being created time, so He is not subjected to it. Since the Supreme Being created the element of time, He is in control of it.

This answers the question that some raise: Who created God? Because having a beginning requires a function of the element of time, and because God created time, there is no beginning to God.

And the spiritual dimension - the dimension of the Supreme Being - is also not subject to the element of time. This is an eternal dimension, and those children of God who reside there are also eternal.

The element of time was created by the Supreme Being specifically to monitor and maintain the physical dimension.

The reality is that the Eternal Supreme Being produced the physical dimension - along with time and its innumerable universes - and impregnated it with life.

This is the only scientific conclusion that maintains the laws of nature.

And He isn't only the Creator of this particular universe. He is the Creator of countless universes. This is evidenced by the word שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) being plural.

### What is the plurality of creation?

Speaking of plural, the original Hebrew utilizes the word, אֱלֹהִים ('elohiym), which is translated to "God" in Genesis 1:1 and some of the verses following. Yet, strictly speaking, this word 'elohiym - or Elohim - is in the plural sense.

Some have opined that this means the ancient Hebrew was referencing multiple "gods." This would not be correct. Rather, the word is described as "plural intensive" which has a singular meaning referencing the God of gods, or the Great God, or the God of all. It also can reference the fact that the Supreme Being can have multiple sides and forms He may present Himself to us.

Consider, for example, that a man can be a father to his children, a loving spouse to his wife, and a tough boss to those he supervises at work. If even a simple man can have several sides depending upon the relationship, consider such an ability in the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being has such abilities to the superior degree. In other words, He can have one type of relationship with one person and another type of relationship with another person.

Such is the basis for personal relationships. Consider that along with the heavens and the earth, the Supreme Being also created living beings, and inherent in each of these living beings is the ability to have personal relationships. Every living being on this planet enjoys personal relationships, with family members, friends and so on.

If the Supreme Being can create living beings with inherent personal relationships, then we know that the Supreme Being can also have inherent within Himself, the ability to enjoy personal relationships as well.

The Creator must have within Himself what is created. Therefore, we can understand that the Supreme Being is not only a person (because He created persons), but the Supreme Being can also enjoy individual personal relationships with those persons He created.

#  Genesis 1:2

# Now the earth was formless and empty ...

_Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:2)_

### Is this only about the earth?

The use of _"earth"_ here is allegorical. It symbolizes the universe following creation. The Hebrew word being translated to _earth_ is אֶרֶץ (erets). This can mean 'earth' or 'land' or 'territory.' It can also indicate an area or space. In the context of God's creation of the universe, we must widen our vision beyond just this one planet.

This understanding that the text refers to the physical universe is also appropriate since the text also says it was formless. Since it was formless, the object discussed must be the universe in general, rather than the earth, since the earth by default has form.

This verse explains that once the physical universe was created, it was vacant ( _"empty"_ or _"void"_ from בהו (bohuw)) and without form ( _"formless"_ from תהו (tohuw)). From Genesis 1:1 we know that God had already created the foundation of the universe, so from this verse we can know that the Supreme Being had produced and brought together the atomic elements that would make up the universe, but they had yet to come into their molecular structures and eventual forms.

These include the elements, as well as the galaxies, solar systems and planets. They are all essentially made of molecules. In order for molecules to have structure, atoms must come together in particular formations, and the molecules must also come together into molecular formations such as lattices. This requires, according to physics, electromagnetic forces termed the strong forces and weak forces. The planets, solar systems, and galaxies are also structured with similar forces. These include gravity and angular acceleration.

Since the universe had composition but no form, we know that God had yet to provide these forces that supply structure and form to atomic matter.

### Was the universe fluid?

We also know from this verse that prior to the structure and form, the universe was fluid. There are two mentions of fluidity here, first _"the surface of the deep,_ " and second, _"the waters."_ So we know from these that prior to the formation of solid structures, the universe was fluid.

This only makes sense, because when atoms are further apart from each other, they have less structure, but they may retain fluidity if they are within the same container. Once outside forces are applied, this fluidity can change into structure. This infers that God had already supplied some forces - of fluidity among the atoms - but not the forces that provide solid structure.

It says that the _"the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."_ What does this mean? It is quite clear that God was present, not in His Original Form, but in an expanded form. How do we know that? If God was present in His Original Form, then it would say "God was hovering over the waters." But it didn't. It clearly says, רוּחַ (ruwach), which means 'spirit' or 'breath.' Therefore, one could also accurately translate the phrase to the _"breath of God."_

### What is the breath of God?

And what is the "breath" of someone? A person's breath emanates from the person. A person's breath is considered an outlying product of their person: an expansion of the person.

Notice that the word God here is translated from אֱלֹהִים (Elohiym). This is the Supreme Being's Holy Name. God's Holy Names are also an emanation of God.

Because the physical world is being managed by an emanation of God, we can know from this that God's Original Form must reside elsewhere - and not hovering over the waters of creation. Where is this place that God resides in His Personal Form? This can only be the spiritual world.

So rather than envisioning some sort of a ghost hovering over the water, we are talking about a practical matter, of God being present during creation through an expansion of Himself through His facilities.

This might be comparable to a chief executive of a multi-national corporation who decides to build a plant in a foreign country. Once he authorizes the building of the facility, he does not need to personally go out to the country and start stacking bricks. He can have others doing that. But through his directives and his oversight, the chief executive's orders are followed through, using various sub-contracting companies and builders. It is still his plant, and we can say he built it, because he authorized it, directed it and oversaw its building. But he didn't have to do everything himself.

In the same way, the Supreme Being does not have to be present in His Personal Form to build the physical universe. He authorizes it, and all of the resources originate from Him. But He can still be attending to His personal matters while the universe is put together. This is because He is God, the Source of not only existence but every living thing. Therefore, God must also be alive. He must also be a Person since nothing comes from nothing.

We can see this in effect today, as the physical universe appears to operate as though it is on automatic. It has a machine-like quality, with gears, power, and motion. The original machine of the physical universe was designed and programmed by God. Then God's facilities were put in place and it began to run like a big machine.

#  Genesis 1:3-4

# And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light...

_And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:3-4)_

We can see here that the Supreme Being is making an intention, followed by an execution: _"Let there be light"_ is directly followed by _and there was light._

### Who is God speaking to here?

The use of the word _"said"_ prior to His statement is allegorical. The word _"said"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word אמר ('amar), which means, according to the lexicon, "to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend."

Since there is no audience mentioned other than the reader, we can know that this word אמר ('amar) is speaking more of intention and command rather than making an announcement. In other words, God is not making a big speech to anyone here.

Rather, God is communicating intention. This is followed by the manifestation of His intentions. This verse is communicating God's intention to design and create the physical universe.

This is the Supreme Being, from the spiritual dimension - a dimension where time does not exist. The Supreme Being created time in order to set in motion the physical universe. Notice that God simply had to command light. This indicates that light - which is energy - originates from God. But physical light - energy of the material plane - is infused with time.

The source of this energy emanates from God. This is confirmed by numerous scriptural passages. Therefore, when God created the physical universe, He endowed it with His light.

_'God saw that the light was good'_ indicates His approval. He is willing the creation of the physical universe - then He is approving it. This means He designed the creation.

### Why is the light separated from darkness?

What does it mean by God _separating_ the darkness from the light? This can only mean that He put in place the aspect of periodicity, which means the element of time. Separating light from the darkness requires that one segment or period has light while another segment or period has darkness. This means to alternate light with darkness, in effect putting in place the effect of time and rotation.

If we look around us, everything is rotating. We see spiraling galaxies, rotating solar systems and planets that revolve. We also find revolution among atoms and molecules, as electrons revolve around nuclei. These are all aspects of periodicity, and we measure time by these rotations. We also see that our very lives are modeled around periodicity and time. We have day and night, winter and summer, hot and cold and so on. The universe is in balance, based on periodicity - and time.

This periodicity is also expressed by the yin and yang philosophy. The concept is that the universe is completely balanced between the yin and the yang. This balance, of course, requires periodicity and the aspect of time.

Because God emanates light, He could endow the physical universe with light. And because He is complete, He contains both the yin and the yang. This is because God is the Cause of existence.

The laws of the physical universe indicate that everything has a cause and a source. As we investigate the universe we find that every event has a cause. This is the basis of science: To determine the cause of things. And the only reason there are scientists is that the study of finding a cause for so many things has become worthwhile.

Consider, on the other hand, a chaotic universe where things simply happened without cause. Would such a universe prompt us to employ scientists to find the causes of events? Certainly not. We would consistently find that they were wrong about each of their studies, and conclude that it is a waste of time to employ them to study anything. A chaotic world without cause and effect would simply be a waste of time to study.

A chaotic world where things simply happen without cause would also lead to an existence without any consistency.

Yet today, many supposed scientists are proposing that humans and life itself had no original cause. They propose life and the universe were accidental.

If these are accidental, there is no purpose for existence. We are simply the result of a freak accident of nature. Yet this proposal contradicts the very nature of scientific discovery: Finding the cause.

What these supposed scientists are simply admitting is that they do not know what caused the creation of the universe.

### What is cause and effect?

If we look around us, we see organization. We see cause and effect. Again, this is why we value science. Because science can observe an event for awhile, and at some point see there was a previous event that is connected in a causal manner. Connecting causal events in this way allows us to understand the causes of things. This allows us to learn.

In other words, true science helps us understand consistency among causes and effects. Science allows us to see that a particular event is consistently caused by something else. Furthermore, if an event is somehow altered, science can help find that other effect that interceded and altered the event. These understandings have provided us with a fundamental axiom of the scientific method: _Every effect has an antecedent cause._

Therefore, using science's own fundamental axiom, we have proved that the physical world cannot be accidental. Since every effect is preceded by a cause, this means there is causation. Since there is causation on a consistent basis, the universe is cannot be accidental. It cannot be random.

Actually, the only arena that modern scientists propose pure chaos theory is when they speculate about creation. They propose the world was an accident simply because they do not want to accept a possible cause. They refuse to accept that - even though every _other_ event we observe in the physical universe consistently has a cause - the creation somehow is an exception. This is simply an illogical assumption. It is also unscientific.

### Can the senses perceive the Source?

The problem with modern cosmology (the "science" of creation) today is that this community - like any other community dictated by peer-pressure - has a problem with accepting information from a higher source. Cosmologists want to believe that since they haven't observed a Living Cause of the universe with the senses then He must not exist. This dependency upon the senses is called empiricism. This is the third axiom of the scientific method: It states that every conclusion must be based upon observation.

As we look back even over the past few hundred years of science we can see this axiom is deeply flawed. For example, only a few hundred years ago, scientists could not observe microorganisms. They had no idea - until Anton van Leeuwenhoek looked through a microscope and saw what he called _"animalcules."_ These were, of course, microorganisms. Prior to this, there were a few theories of microorganisms, but most of these were heavily criticized by scientists _because they hadn't seen them with their own eyes._

This type of error has continued in cosmology today. As we are able to peer at smaller elements of nature - or the universe at greater distances - we continue to make the same mistakes due to the innate faults of our senses and their extensions: _Our senses simply do not have the ability to observe everything._ We continue to guess about the things we cannot observe right now, and then once we develop the ability to observe them, we discover our error.

Therefore, since our senses and their extensions are flawed, then a scientific axiom that says something cannot be true unless it is observed by our senses or their extensions - is also flawed.

This reality is in fact already admitted among quantum physics and cosmology - which have utilized extensional thinking - speculation - to arrive at principles related to the nature of the universe and its creation. Through these theories, they are already admitting the flawed nature of the third axiom that something must be observed with the senses in order to be true.

Another example of this flawed axiom is the calculation of what is now referred to as "dark matter." Current physics calculations suggest that up to 96 percent of the universe is made of dark matter. The punchline: Scientists don't know what this "dark matter" is made of because it is unobservable.

So if cosmologists don't know what 96 percent of the universe is made of because they cannot perceive it, how could they suggest a speculative hypothesis that there was no Living Creator?

We must accept that our senses and their extensions - be they microscopes, telescopes or space probes - are limited. The senses and their extensions cannot see the entire picture. Thus it is unscientific to completely rely on them. At some point, we must accept a higher Source of information.

### What do higher sources tell us?

We can arrive at such a case logically: Since everything we observe has an antecedent cause, then it is logical that the universe - filled with unseen "dark" matter, observable matter, light, energy, and life - must also have a Cause.

Furthermore, it would be logical to assume that such a Cause must have the potential for what is existing. In other words, that Cause must contain light and energy: And because life exists, that Cause must contain life.

What does this indicate? A Living Cause. If something contains life, it means that it is alive. This logically can only mean that the Cause of the physical universe must be alive. We are describing, of course, the Supreme Being: God.

Since a Supreme Being must, on a scientific basis, exist, it is, therefore, necessary to accept Him as a higher source of information - beyond the jurisdiction of the physical senses.

Yes, it is true that most cosmologists have not observed God directly. However, cosmologists also have not observed dark matter: Even though most physicists accept that the universe is made up of mostly dark matter - to the tune of 96 percent.

If they don't know what 96 percent of the universe is made of, why should we accept their ever-changing speculations that the universe was created by strings or the so-called theory of everything? Just because they can put a bunch of mathematical variables on either side of an equal sign? Which of their mathematical variables contains life?

#  Genesis 1:5

# God called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night." ...

_God called the light "day," and the darkness He called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. (Genesis 1:5)_

### Where did time come from?

The intent of this verse is not that the Supreme Being was going around naming things. Rather, this verse is communicating that via the differentiation between darkness from light, the Supreme Being created time.

The separation of light and darkness creates periodicity. Periodicity produces rotation, and it is the rotation of periodicity that produces the element of time. Without periodicity, there is no pacing. No alternation. Once God set into motion the element of time by separating light from darkness, He could now establish the pacing of time.

This might be compared to building a clock. When a clock-maker builds a clock, he produces gears that are a particular size. He fits these gears together in such a way that they counterbalance each other. This counterbalanced gearing produces tension, and the tension, together with the size of the gears, makes the gears turn at a certain period. This period is the pacing of the clock.

Now once the clock is built, the clockmaker can then wind up the clock and set the clock. This is being described in this verse.

God put time into motion early in the creation because He set up the physical universe to be governed by time. There is a beginning and an end to everything in the physical universe. Everything has time attached to it. This is because the physical universe - and all of the elements here - are changing with time. Every event and structure is transitory, and therefore, temporary.

### What is the purpose of time?

Time is set up to allow for learning. Time allows lessons to be learned. Because of the transitory, changing nature of the physical world - driven by time - we are allowed to learn one lesson after another. We might compare this to setting up a school with the first grade followed by the second grade, followed by the third grade and so on. The setting up of the grades is established so that the child can graduate from learning one set of lessons to being ready to learn the next. Time is set up so that following the learning of one lesson comes the next lesson to learn. This allows us to _evolve._

In other words, God created the physical universe as a school or rehabilitation center.

Time is part of the physical universe, but it is not an element of the spiritual world. This is illustrated here, as God created time. God is not subject to time, as He created time.

Our minds have a problem with the concept that there is a place where there is no time. That is because our minds are physical. Our minds are recording devices, and they only record what they have been exposed to by the senses. Thus our minds only have the experience of an environment governed by time.

Those scientists that analyze the singularity problem, and others who are also probing the source of everything, often ask this question:

### Who or what created God?

This question assumes the element of time. It assumes that God had a beginning. The question is born from a mind that has only experienced an environment governed by time. A mind that has only experienced that things have a beginning and an end.

There is no time in the spiritual world. God does not have a beginning. God is eternal, and His spiritual world is eternal. Neither God nor His spiritual world is governed by time.

This is evidenced by these verses that God set time in motion. He first separated light from darkness (Gen. 1:4) and thus created periodicity. Then He established the first day by putting that periodicity into motion.

The spiritual realm, in contrast, is a place of perpetual light. The spiritual world is eternally illuminated by God's light. There is also no time in the spiritual world. God is not governed by time. He created time to establish a basis for our rehabilitation.

Let's use an example. Let's say that a substance abuse rehabilitation center has a twelve-step program for its patients. Every patient must undertake actions to achieve each step, and after finishing the twelfth step they get to leave the rehabilitation center.

Where did the twelve steps come from? They were developed by the doctors who set up the rehabilitation center. The twelve steps do not exist outside the rehabilitation center: They are specifically designed to progress the rehabilitation center patients toward their being able to re-enter normal society.

This is a similar situation with time. God established time in order to set up the progression for our evolution process - our process of rehabilitation.

#  Genesis 1:6-8

# And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters ...

_And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day. (Genesis 1:6-8)_

### Is this speaking of the gas element?

The Supreme Being is creating the physical element of gas (air or sky) in this text. The first element created, discussed in the previous verses, was water. God created the physical element of water first, and then separated water to form the element (or state) of gas.

Scientific observation confirms that there are a number of elements (also called "states" in science). These include solids, liquids, gases, heat (thermal radiation) and light (electromagnetic radiation). These are the basic physical elements that can be seen with the physical eyes, all governed by time. There are also a couple of more subtle elements, but these basic five make up the gross structures of matter we see around us.

The primary difference between the liquid state and the gas state is the fact that in the liquid state, the attraction between molecules is greater and their distance apart is less. In the gas state, molecules move around more freely, with less density and further distance apart. Sometimes, such as in h3O and other molecule combinations, they can be a liquid at one temperature, and a gas at another temperature. The difference that creates the separation is a combination of heat and electromagnetic forces.

Most interpretations and translations of Genesis have concluded that this scripture is discussing only the planet earth, and the waters and sky of this planet. This is a very limited view and interpretation, that obviously does not take into context the rest of the universe.

This is not a major problem, however, because many complex things are laid out in simple language in ways people can understand. Consider for example, how an adult might explain their job to their child. They would likely break their job down into the simplest terms - terms that the child could relate to. They would not get into all the details about their job. They would just give the child a simplistic overview.

This has also occurred in Genesis. There are two combined effects: One, that Genesis gives an overview of creation in terms that the human mind of a certain era - not educated in the complexities of modern science - could relate to.

Second, as the text has been passed down - first orally through many generations and then inscribe text - and subsequently translated into progressive languages over thousands of years, it has become further simplified. Because the ability to understand some of the complexities of science was not there in ancient times, some of the language has been simplified to fit with the limit of those understandings. This effort gives much of the language of Genesis its allegory nature.

In the example given above, if a father who was a doctor told the child that for his job he walks around and makes people feel better, is he telling a lie? No. He certainly may make people feel better, but his job as a doctor in a hospital is much more complex. In fact, he may not even "walk around" the hospital either. He might just walk from his treatment room to the reception area several times a day. So his description is not only a simplification of his job but also contains some allegory.

Genesis explains that God formed the element (or state) of air or gas ( _"sky"_ ) from the element of liquid ( _"water"_ ). It explains that the first element or state created was liquid, and liquid was _"separated"_ to form the element of gas, which provided the expanse allowing for the various atmospheres of the planets - as most of the planets contain their own unique atmosphere filled with a type of gas. Sometimes the gas is primarily oxygen as on the planet earth, and sometimes the gas is made primarily of carbon dioxide as on the planet Mars. Other planets have other atmospheres. The element (or state) of gas is also interspersed throughout nature.

### What separated the water?

Also consider the phrase, _"God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it."_ What does it mean by the water being above and below the sky? We can know from this that He separated gas from liquid. But what about the liquid that remained above?

This can only mean that there is a layer of fluid in the universe that lies above and beyond the various gases and liquids of the universe. This ties to the notion that the waters of creation also surround the physical universe in a fashion, and in those waters remains the _"the Spirit of God"_ , _"hovering over the waters."_ (Gen. 1:2)

Have we ever seen these waters? Well, how big are our telescopes? Are they big enough to even reach the upper realms of the universe?

Actually, our telescopes - even the most fantastic mountain-top arrays and space-telescopes - are still very tiny. In fact, we have only recently realized, through these multi-billion dollar telescopes, that there are not hundreds, but billions of other galaxies in the universe, and our galaxy - the milky way - which contains thousands upon thousands of solar systems each containing a sun with planets circling around them, is but one galaxy. So we are finding that the physical universe is simply gigantic and beyond anything that humankind has ever even imagined.

It is as if we are ants at the bottom of California's Death Valley trying to figure out what is at the top of Mount Everest. Just as the ants have little or no facility to see to the top of Mount Everest, we have no way to see to the reaches of the physical universe.

Furthermore, our minds cannot even comprehend the size and scope of the physical universe. It is so large, that our senses - even with our gigantic telescopes - just cannot gain a "scope" of it.

### Can science determine the source of creation?

For most scientists and astrophysicists, having a large telescope or microscope means that we are advanced enough and observant enough to make big speculative theories about the structure, size, and nature of the universe. This is simply ignorance combined with pride. Even with these expensive and supposedly advanced tools, the complexities of the universe still evade us. The universe keeps getting smaller and larger as we gain more instrumentation.

Rather than being so ignorantly proud, we should take the position of humility. We should realize that the complete physical universe is simply out of our range of perception. We should realize that perhaps we can learn something from a higher power.

There are two types of learning processes: One is called the ascending process. In this process, we utilize our powers of observation to learn things, and then we make hypotheses about what we cannot observe. As we can see from the hypotheses over the past 500 years of science, this process is plagued with errors. Leading scientists of the past have been so many theories about so many things that have been proven wrong. They have been proven wrong as technology has allowed for better microscopes, telescopes and other types of "scopes."

The progressive inventions of instruments have illustrated not that the scientific method requiring observation is dependable, but rather that it is grossly unreliable. It is wrought with error, because our senses (and their instruments) are by nature, limited. This is why scientists have to keep coming up with new theories: Their older theories were proven wrong.

The other process of learning is the descending process. In this process, we learn from information descending from a higher intelligence. In this process, we do not rely upon our senses for the complete scope of things. Rather, we utilize our intelligence to try to understand the information that is handed down to us. This comes through scripture and through God's representatives.

This does not mean that we cannot apply science. Surely science has its place, and we can use our science to advance our means of communicating and understanding each other. But if we are truly scientific, we will clearly understand the limitations of the senses and their extensions (our telescopes and microscopes), and focus our research on truly understanding who we are, where we come from, what our purpose in life is, and who God is.

### Does creation have a design?

We can see organization and design when we see the scientific equations of physicists, including Newton's laws and Einstein's theories. These equations - representing two seemingly disconnected calculations bridged by an equal sign - provide proof that there is symmetry and orchestration within the physical world. And scientists still accept most of these equations because they have been applied over and over to different events occurring at different times. The fact that the events occurring within the universe fit formulas and equations illustrates design. And design indicates intelligence.

Logically, such design could not be the result of accidental randomness. This is why both Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, with their great knowledge of science, accepted the existence of a Supreme Being who ultimately designed the physical universe. They saw His design within their equations and formulas.

_"What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of "humility." This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism."_ (Albert Einstein)

_"I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts. The rest are details."_ (The Expanded Quotable Einstein, Princeton University Press, 2000 p.202)

_"And from true lordship it follows that the true God is living, intelligent, and powerful; from the other perfections, that He is supreme, or supremely perfect. He is eternal and infinite, omnipotent and omniscient; that is, He endures from eternity to eternity, and He is present from infinity to infinity; He rules all things, and He knows all things that happen or can happen."_ (Sir Isaac Newton, _The Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy_ (1687), 3rd edition (1726), trans. I. B. Cohen and Anne Whitman (1999), General Scholium, 941.)

These two scientists, from whom much of modern science has been built upon, saw the Supreme Being within nature and its natural laws. They saw design that could not be accidental. They saw a designer within the programming inherent within the physical world.

Those scientists who reject God have no scientific basis for it. They are simply wanting to find a reason to reject God. Their scientific journals dismiss the concept of a Creator not because it is not scientific, but because they each chose to reject God on a personal basis.

It is certainly scientific to accept an ultimate designer for the physical world. To accept a hypothesis that all this design magically appeared from nothing and with no ultimate cause is completely unscientific. It is unscientific to suppose that energy, light and the symmetry inherent in water and the other elements all arose from nothing.

Science is based on observation and hypothesis. Most of today's science is thus speculative. No, we cannot readily see God with these physical senses, unless He appears before them. But a lack of observation has never prevented modern scientists from speculating and hypothesizing about so many other things that have never been seen - nor could ever be seen. Much of quantum physics is not observable, for example.

In quantum physics, scientists make hypotheses and formulations based not upon seeing quarks or antimatter, but upon trying to provide an explanation for something they cannot otherwise explain. They see outward physical events and create explanations based on the notion that there is no ultimate intelligence behind them. It is not as if they see any quarks or antimatter.

### What is the God particle?

The irony of quantum physics is that these same scientists who reject God's existence have contrived a speculative element they call the "God Particle." This particle, also called Higgs boson, is supposedly the molecule persistent everywhere that provides the key to understanding the universe.

So these scientists will accept an unseen theoretical "God particle" but reject the existence of God? This is lunacy.

The very fact that we see so much organization and design within the physical universe illustrate intelligence. To refuse this notion yet accept intelligence among sub-atomic elements is unscientific.

It is not as if cosmologists are seeing all those things they have hypothesized - such as the "strings" of the "string theory" and the "things" of the "theory of everything." These are all imaginative speculative hypotheses that attempt to explain how the universe arose from nothing.

Scripture provides another type of science: The science of reliance upon a higher authority. This is the science of humility. This is also the science of understanding God's existence through personal relationships.

### Does love reveal God?

Thousands of years of scientific observation tells us that each of us needs love. Each of us needs relationships. Each of us needs to depend upon someone. Each of us needs the fulfillment of loving and caring for someone. Even these modern scientists who deny God's existence go home to their families and/or pets and seek loving relationships. This is the Truth of our existence. Within these physical bodies are personalities who seek to love and be loved.

And since none of us are ultimately satisfied by the love we exchange with our families, pets, audiences and others \- evidenced by suicides and depression among even those who are famous or have large families - we each need a loving relationship with someone else - a Supreme Being.

And since we are all searching for that "soulmate," that ultimate person who we can depend upon, someone who will always be there for us, and someone who will love us no matter what - things no human could satisfy - we each are looking for a spiritual relationship with the ultimate person - the Supreme Being.

These are all ultimate truths that cannot be denied scientifically. They have been established by thousands of years of human experience. We know them to be true because we see them within our selves and among others. These are scientific truths that we do not need a Harvard professor to tell us about. These are truths we can see plainly within our lives.

Each of us is looking for that ultimate loving relationship because each of us was created by the Supreme Being for the purpose of exchanging a loving relationship with Him. We were created as one of God's servitors. This is why we feel better when we help others than when we hurt others. We are ultimately caregivers. This is our natural position, but because love also requires freedom, we were granted the freedom to love God or not.

The purpose of the physical universe is to house those of us who chose not to love God. This is that place where some of us could virtually be away from Him. This is the reason we cannot see God with the eyes of these temporary physical bodies. And this is the reason scientists create speculative theories that allow us to ignore the Supreme Being.

The greatest scientist is one who spends his or her life focused upon these core questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Who is God? These are the truly scientific questions in life. The other issues are simply, as Einstein put it, _"details."_

#  Genesis 1:9-10

# "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place ..."

_And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:9-10)_

### Is this about the elements?

Here we see that the Supreme Being created yet another element or state, that of solids. "Land" here is allegorically used so that those without a scientific understanding could relate to it.

If these scriptures, written thousands of years ago, were to utilize language that scientists use today, no one would have understood them. This doesn't mean that there is no accuracy here, however.

Remember the analogy discussed in the previous commentary, of how a parent might explain their job to their child. The parent would put the language in such a way that the child could relate to. The parent might also use some allegory, using a simplistic representation to illustrate how they do their job. If they got into the technical areas of their job, the child could not understand them. The parent would not lie to the child about their job. They would simply describe it in words the child could relate to.

In the same way, Genesis simplifies the creation within a language that people who had no telescopes, no microscopes, and little understanding of the universe could understand.

The accuracy in Genesis is that God produced each of the core states of matter and the atomic elements that make up those states. He first created the fluid state and those atomic elements that makeup fluids. Then He created the gas state, expanding upon (or "separating") the fluid state. Now He is creating the state of solids and those elements - also referred to in other ancient texts as the element of "earth."

Do we really need to know all the technical information about how the Supreme Being created each state of matter and each element? Do we need to know which chemical reactions He stimulated first, and how each was set up? And what good would it do us if we knew this information? Would it allow us to know God better? Would it make us happier?

In addition to using language that a common person thousands of years ago could understand, Genesis also utilizes the word _"day"_ to account for time. Sectarian interpretations of Genesis have tried to put forth a literal doctrine, proposing that all of the matters of creation, from the beginning to the end took seven earth days consisting of 24 hours. Does this make sense?

Any scientist will tell us that the word "day" is relative to the observer. To a person on the planet Venus, a day would last about 243 earth days. Depending upon the planet's position to the sun, and its rotation on axis, the length of the day is different for every planet. Now let's consider what a "day" might be in other solar systems, where planets are on significantly different orbits, with different types of suns. Then let's consider what a "day" might be to a person who wasn't a citizen of a particular planet or even solar system, but someone who's realm was greater and larger than that even of a galaxy.

Or further, let's consider the Supreme Being, Who is not subject to time. Time does not control God. Therefore, the "day" discussed here is not only relative, but it is also entirely meaningless in terms of gauging using our earth clocks.

In other words, a "day" here would translate to millions of earth-years.

### Is the universe proportional?

The above point takes the air out of many modern scientists' argument that creation according to Genesis could not have happened. When we remove the interpretation that the technical details are to be taken literally, and we take into account that the language was simplified to communicate to people of a more simple era in human history, we can begin to realize that yes, God could certainly have created the physical universe as described in Genesis.

We must remember that we too are children in the scope of the Intelligence that produced the mechanics of the physical universe. And if Genesis got even a little closer to the technical details, creation would still be over our heads - due to the limitations of our minds.

This ability to arrange the elements is the essence of proof of the existence of an intelligent Supreme Being. Arrangement means there is an ultimate cause, and there are intelligence and purpose behind the arrangement.

We can see the Supreme Being's arrangement from the largest to the smallest things. We see arrangement within the galaxies and solar systems; and see similar arrangement within the atoms and molecules. And we see that everything in between is also intricately and beautifully arranged.

Consider the various arrays we see around us: Of swarms of fish symmetrically flitting through water. Of flocks of birds flying in symmetrical formation through the air. Of patterned stacks of cells making up skin or any other body part. Of root systems and tree branching that expand with a Fibonacci arrangement.

Centuries ago, scientists found that nature was filled with the Fibonacci rectangle and triangles - also called the 'golden rectangle' and 'golden triangle.' As they measured the height versus width of trees, people, animals and so on, they continually saw this proportion, eventually named the golden ratio (1.6180339....) duplicated throughout nature. They saw it among hands, feet, arms, faces, branches, fruit and practically everywhere else within nature.

### Is creation accidental?

This type of arrangement among nature is not accidental. It is not as if an accidental explosion could produce perfect symmetry among nature, along with evolution and learning systems randomly. It is virtually impossible - as most of the brilliant minds have come to understand - that this level of arrangement could be accidental.

While these facts are certainly scientific, this opposes the assumption of many modern scientists that the universe is the result of a random, accidental explosion.

Let's use an example. Let's say an alien who knows nothing about humans walks into a house and sees in the living room a sofa, chairs, coffee table, lamps and TV; all arranged in such a way that all the chairs face the TV, and the lamps are behind the chairs. They also see that the coffee table is between the sofa and the TV.

What would the alien suppose about this living room? Yes, they would conclude that the persons living in that house had a special inclination to look at the television for some reason. And they'd be right.

But what would be their most basic assumption? That there were living beings who arranged the house in a particular way. They would assume that the house was maintained by living beings.

Why? Because they saw arrangement within the house. They saw that the chairs and sofa and television were placed in a particular way. In other words, they not only saw organization: They saw a purpose to that organization.

This is precisely the scenario of the physical universe. We see tremendous organization within this universe. And yes, that organization would certainly indicate an organizing force.

But we also see arrangement with purpose. We see that the organization of the physical world indicates purpose.

Scientifically, every cause must include the potential for its effect. Since there are arrangement and organization within nature, there must be an Organizer. There must be an Arranger. This is the Supreme Being.

#  Genesis 1:11-13

# Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation ...

_Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the third day. (Genesis 1:11-13)_

We can see here that God created vegetative life before He created the fish, birds and other more evolved creatures. Does this mean that the evolutionary process was supported by God?

### What were the first life forms?

Modern scientists theorize that the first forms of life were single-celled amoebas, such as plankton from water. While that makes logical sense, there are two issues to consider. The first is that if a teacher would have told a person thousands of years ago that the single-celled creatures were first, no one would understand what they were referring to. The information would have not made any sense. The second is that the beginning of plant life - zooplankton - is a single-celled creature.

We must remember that ancient scriptures such as this were passed down through the generations for many centuries in the oral tradition. This means that a teacher would communicate this information to their students. At some point, the information was put into written form, 3,000 to 5,000 years ago.

As the information was being passed down from teacher to student, allegory and symbolism were used in order to communicate the central message: That God created the physical universe and all the living organisms within it.

We also can understand from the text that simple organisms in the form of vegetation - zooplankton, spores and so on \- were created before the more complex species such as fish, birds, mammals, and humans. This indicates that God certainly supported the mechanics of evolution.

We can also see this from the phrase, _"...according to their various kinds"_ : This indicates that God programmed into the physical universe the element of diversity.

As our scientists have determined, every living organism is equipped with a genetic structure that can produce changes in the organism over time to increase that organism's ability to survive.

### But where did DNA come from?

Did DNA accidentally appear through an accidental arrangement of molecules?

The renowned geneticist and co-discoverer of DNA, Dr. Francis Crick, agreed that this is highly unlikely. He said:

_"An accidental formation of DNA from a batch of chemicals might be compared to dropping 1000 typewriters and 1000 illiterate monkeys out of an airplane and expecting the books of the Library of Congress to be typed up and ready for printing when they all hit the ground."_

Furthermore, another peer-reviewed geneticist calculated the change of even one accidental genetic mutation of DNA. His calculations established that the odds of only one accidental favorable mutation occurring was on the order of 10 to the power of 3,000. That means:

One chance in  
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

That is just one accidental mutation. Now to get from a microbe to a human will take billions of successive mutations. And each of these billion would have the same chance of occurring. That means we'd have to multiply 10 to the power of 3,000 times a billion to get the chance of microbes developing accidentally into humans.

In other words, by scientific calculation, we have determined that it is next to impossible that chemicals accidentally developed DNA, and life accidentally mutated from one species to the next, from microbes to humans.

DNA and the evolution of species - which is being inferred in Genesis by this narration that plants and zooplankton preceded more complex species, was the result of the intelligent programming of God.

Isn't that what DNA is: a programming code? We use a similar system of on-off states - called the binary code - for computer programming. This is an almost identical format that DNA uses, with four amino acids assembled in different order. This order indicates particular intelligent assembly: programming, in other words. This simply means that God uses a quaternary (4) programming code format instead of a binary (2) code format as we use in computers.

Just as a programmer originally set up the binary system of on-off states for the computer's programming, God set up the quaternary programming for the DNA sequence, which allowed for more complex programming instructions.

### What about evolution?

The evolutionary process, of course, took millions of years to occur, and this is confirmed by carbon dating systems. But what is a million years to God? Is it a week? A year? Perhaps a day? In other words, as discussed previously, time is relative to the person and condition. In the case of God, God is beyond time and space. He is not governed by time. So the use of the "day" here is simply allegorical and indicates a much longer period in human-relative time.

We must distinguish this God-programmed evolution from the theories of modern-day Darwinists who have speculated that life originally arose accidentally from chemicals, and continued to evolve accidentally from the microbes to humans. Besides the issue of chance (assuming all these mathematically-impossible accidents did happen), does their theory have scientific validity?

First, we must ask what is the driving force behind genetic mutation according to these scientists? It is the innate desire for survival (also called _survival of the fittest_ ). So the question becomes, how did a bunch of dead chemicals develop an innate desire for survival? Where did that come from? Certainly, chemicals have no such principle.

There is absolutely no logic to this notion because dead chemicals combined together must first be able to _distinguish_ between life and death before they could have a desire for survival. They must be afraid to die, in other words. This fear of death is the only motivation for the species to want to develop better organs or appendages in order to fight off death.

But how could a batch of chemicals discern between life and death, and the desire to survive? For a batch of chemicals, remaining dead would be the more logical inertia, since dead chemicals do not have to fight to survive. Therefore, there is no scientific validity that chemicals could develop the desire to survive - the fundamental requirement for genetic mutation.

### Where did life come from?

So where did this spark of life, which has an innate desire to survive come from? There is only one logical conclusion: It must have come from a living source. Something already alive must have impregnated matter with this living spark, which maintains an innate desire to survive. This living Source, of course, is God.

Every living organism contains a tiny spark of life. These are transcendental living individuals who have been impregnated into each organism. And the reason every organism struggles to stay alive is that this transcendental living individual originates from a place where there is no death: This is the spiritual dimension.

This is also why we all go through life in denial that we are going to die. Most of us live life as though we will never die. Yet scientifically we can establish that every physical organism dies. So why do we emotionally deny this fact? Because we are eternal by nature. By nature, we are transcendental to the physical universe.

Why is the spiritual individual here in this temporary physical world then? Why are we here?

Each of us has been impregnated into the physical universe because the physical universe is a place of learning. It is a rehabilitation center for those spiritual individuals who could not maintain the consciousness of the spiritual dimension.

And what is that consciousness? It is the consciousness of love. Those of us living in the physical universe are here because we became self-centered. We became envious. We no longer wanted to be citizens of the spiritual world: We didn't want to serve God: We became envious of God.

#  Genesis 1:14-19

# And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate ...

_And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the fourth day. (Genesis 1:14-19)_

### What is electromagnetism?

Here we find the Supreme Being has produced an intertwining of light, time and the electromagnetic elements that allow planets to rotate around the sun; and solar systems that rotate around each galaxy center.

Remember again that this is a simplified version of creation that allows the human mind and sensual experience to relate with the concept that everything around us has been created by a Supreme Being.

For those who consider themselves scientists who might scoff at such a simplistic version of creation, we ask what would be the result if the explanation of creation discussed black holes and galaxies and the so many other elements of nature that humankind had never heard of? Would this create any more understanding of the central lesson - that everything was created by a Supreme Being?

Even today, though physicists now theorize that the center of each galaxy is a black hole, no one has ever seen a black hole and there is no absolute proof they exist. How do they know the center of the galaxy is a black hole, then? The answer is that the black hole is the only thing they have been able to imagine that will fit the holes in their observations and equations.

But what if the scripture discussed scientific elements never seen before? What if Genesis discussed the many, many elements that scientists have _yet to_ discover? These elements, would, of course, be too small for the eye and modern microscopes to see, and/or too far away for our telescopes or radioscopes to pick up. Would scientists then assume those elements existed, and suddenly trust that God must have created the universe since they have never heard of those elements?

No. How do we know this? Because the scriptures _already_ describe elements beyond our senses, and this doesn't seem to make much difference: the scriptures describe the existence of a Supreme Being Who has the ability to create the entire physical universe, and a transcendental universe of another dimension, outside the physical dimension. And this doesn't seem to make much difference to many modern scientists. They still want to deny the existence of God.

### Why can't our instruments find God?

This is despite the fact that modern scientists keep looking deeper and deeper, smaller and smaller, and further and further away for the precise element that _is_ God. Scientists are looking for that element that provides the key to the structure and creation of the universe. They keep looking for that particle that holds matter together on the most fundamental level. They are, in fact, looking for God.

It is so obvious that modern physicists are looking for God that in 1993, Leon Lederman, Ph.D. coined the hypothetical particle determined in particle accelerator studies the _"God Particle."_ This particle, also called the Higgs Boson particle, has never been seen or otherwise observed directly. It is only something that would fit their calculations. It has remained, according to these scientists, "elusive."

Okay, so let's get this straight. First, modern science has rejected the concept that a Supreme Being exists, even though the existence of a Supreme Being is the only element that can perfectly provide a clear and logical Source for all the material elements, as well as the source for all the living elements (personality, the desire to survive, intelligence, etc.).

Instead and in lieu of this most obvious choice, theoretical physicists insist on an _imaginary and elusive particle_ they call the _"God particle"_ that supposedly fits their equations. So this _elusive_ particle must be the key element that is the source of everything?

Does this make any sense? Is it also the source of life? How can it be the source of life if it is not in itself alive?

Furthermore, this elusive _"God particle"_ is being portrayed by science as having no intelligence and no purpose for existence. It is like all their other theories including quarks, strings, and theories of everything: Objects of their imaginations. They are lifeless creations of their minds. They are no more real than a bedtime story made up to put a child to sleep.

And these theoretical physicists like to accuse scripture of being without proof? What kind of proof do they have that their theories of accidental, random creation are true?

Even though the existence of a Supreme Being would fulfill all their mathematical equations and calculations (evidenced by naming the Higgs Boson particle the _"God Particle"_ ), these theoretical scientists prefer their imaginary theories. Why? Because these theories give these individual scientists the means to continue to ignore God's existence.

If they can ignore God's existence, they don't have to worship anyone other than themselves. They don't have to glorify anyone other than themselves and their colleagues. They can seek their own glory and their own fame as they achieve the acclaim and admiration of others for coming up with the most profound 'theory of everything.'

Why? Because this is our disease. This is why we are here in this physical universe in the first place: Because we wanted to get away from God. We want to ignore God. Why? Because we would rather be God than serve God.

### If God exists, why can't we see Him?

The first part of the answer is that God is not like a mountain or a rock. He is not an inanimate object: God is alive. He is a Person. God is the Supreme Person. He is a living being, with intelligence, emotions, feelings, individuality, and purpose, Who comes from a dimension transcendental to this physical dimension.

The second part of the answer is that just because God isn't seen with the physical eyes doesn't mean He doesn't exist. It is like two children playing in a park down the street from their houses, and one asking the other: "If your parents exist, why can't I see them?"

Obviously, we cannot see God because our senses, on their own, do not have the ability to see God. They are equipped to see only a small range of physical structures, made of molecules that light reflects off and through with particular colors. Scientists also accept this, as they propose that quarks exist even though we cannot see a quark.

So our real question should be: Why are our eyes not equipped to see God?

Put in a better way: Why is God not allowing us to see Him?

Our physical bodies were designed to be in ignorance about God's existence. This is part of God's design. There is a purpose for this.

Each of us is temporarily occupying a gross physical body designed for certain tasks: navigating a physical world replete with a host of lessons and learning experiences. We can each look at our lives and realize that we are each going through a unique set of learning experiences through the years. And through each of the learning experiences, we are met up with a set of choices about what direction we want to go from here.

During this learning environment, God is unseen. This is because, first of all, each of us rejected God at one point or another in our existence. Thus, we have landed in these temporary physical bodies that cannot see Him. So we got our wish. Like an angry teenager who runs away from home, we are each now seemingly independent of God. We can now pretend that each of us is the center of the universe - even though it is obvious we are not.

### Is there another world?

There is a dimension that is transcendental to this one. It is the world of love and loving service. In that world, everyone loves and serves the Supreme Being and the Supreme Being's associates. But a few of us decided we were too good for that. We decided we wanted to be served. We wanted to be the center. We wanted to be the subject of worship and admiration. In other words, we got greedy. We got selfish. And it is this self-centeredness that plays out amongst our earthly society – as we can see all around us in the greed, violence, and struggles for power taking place throughout this world.

Now we are here, seemingly independent of God. We can each now choose whether we want to accept that someone greater than me exists. Can there be a God? Someone greater than me? We must choose. And go through our various lessons. This is also why we are here: To rehabilitate. If we choose to learn and evolve, and come to accept that God exists, then we can evolve and grow closer to Him, and maybe return to the spiritual world.

And this is precisely why God is invisible to our eyes at the moment. If His existence was obvious, we would not have the choice to accept Him or not.

Let's compare this to a situation we see in typical relationships. While this analogy isn't complete, it will serve the purpose. Let's say a wife begins realizing that her husband no longer treasures their relationship. He is taking their relationship for granted and begins flirting with other women and carrying on as though he doesn't care for her. So she says enough is enough and tells him they need to separate for a while to see if he really wants to be married to her.

So they separate. How do they separate? Do they just move into adjacent rooms? No. One of them moves out of the house so that they do not see each other for a while. For a period of time, they have no contact. Why?

The period of no contact allows the man the ability to independently choose whether he wants to be with his wife. Not having her around gives him the freedom to choose. If every time he turned around she was there, this would hardly give the man the ability to make a clear choice.

This is sort of what the Supreme Being has done. Each of us is intimately connected to God. Once we rejected Him, He sent us off to be on our own, gave us a virtual world and temporary physical bodies to dwell within temporarily; in order to give us the choice of whether we wanted to be with Him or not. That is the purpose of the physical world.

#  Genesis 1:20-23

# "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth ..."

_And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning - the fifth day. (Genesis 1:20-23)_

### Is this the evolution of the species?

We see here that God instigated the programming for the evolution of species. His instruction was _"Be fruitful."_

_"Let the water teem with living creatures,"_ indicates that God impregnated the waters with living organisms. This comes after the land was impregnated with seeds to grow trees.

These waterborne living organisms include the single-celled amoebae that scientists postulate were the first creatures.

_'So God created the great creatures of the sea...'_ The Hebrew phrase הַגְּדֹלִים וְאֵת כָּל־ (where אלהים (Elohiym) refers to the Supreme Being or the God of gods), translated here to _'So God ...'_ implies that there was a continuation of the process. This, combined with His instruction to _"be fruitful"_ illustrates that the Supreme Being programmed an evolving process of an expansion of organisms.

This is no different than the process of evolution. Evolution is that process where organism populations expand and become fruitful.

It is useless to deny the process of evolution. Why? Because we can observe creatures evolving all around us. Evolution was programmed into our DNA. In other words, living organisms were created to evolve.

We can compare this process to a complex computer program. A computer programmer will create a program that takes in data, and with that data, produce changes in the display and functions of the program. Let's say the program was a game: The program has codes that allow the input of information from the operator, and those inputs result in different outputs by the program.

Let's take the program called "Sims," for example. This program allows a user to create entire cities. How can it do that? The original programmer of the game Sims wrote instructional code that allows the operator to input preferences into the program. Once the preferences are entered, the program spits out a graphic display that reflects the inputs of the operator to the extent of the computer's capabilities.

### Is DNA a form of programming?

In much the same way, the Supreme Being programmed evolution into DNA. Some of His instructional codings are mentioned here: "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky;" and _"be fruitful."_ These are body instructional programming code.

There are two input methods for God's DNA programming. The DNA program allows the living being occupying the organism to feed in its preferences during the lifespan of the organism. These are the desires of the living being within. In the tiniest creatures, the capabilities of the organism (mind and body) is very basic, so it will only allow for basic inputs related to survival and the desire for more complexity - allowing a greater chance for survival and better sense consumption.

The more complex organisms allow for more complex inputs and outputs. The living being within higher animal forms and human forms can input the most complex instructions. This might be compared to a very complex program together with an advanced computer system.

While His statement was originally translated by those who were not aware of DNA, we can know that God was referencing DNA with His statement. The word _"seed"_ here is translated from the Hebrew word זרע (zera`), which can mean 'seed, sowing, offspring' or 'semen virile' according to the lexicon. At the heart of these are DNA.

A single seed contains millions of DNA sequences that precisely determine the shape, size, type of leaf and type of fruit of a tree that grows from it. And this tree will produce thousands of seeds that each have the same DNA codes to create duplicates.

Seeds are the basis for life within the physical world because they bring together and pass on DNA. DNA is a complex type of protein that essentially passes on to the next generation the body type of a living organism's ancestors, together with an adaptive learning system. This adaptive learning system allows generations to change and evolve in intelligence.

DNA is a programming language. The machine language that underlies all computer languages is the binary code: A series of 1s and 0s, arranged in sequences of bits and longer bytes. These sequences create instructions that essentially drive the hardware of the computer. Software programming instructs over top of this machine language.

Instead of a binary system, God created a more complex quaternary (4) programming code within DNA. His DNA programming language utilizes a sugar/phosphate backbone, with each sugar/phosphate on the chain attached to one of four amino bases: Adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) or thymine (T). The possible combinations of these four create the famous "base pair" combinations.

The computer binary system contains bits composed of either a 1 or a 0. A byte (like a word) is a sequence of eight bits (such as 10011010). God's DNA programming code contains base pairings of either A, C, G or T (equivalent to bits), from which any three forms a codon - such as AGC, ATC, TAG, and so on. This codon can be compared to a byte. It is shorter than an eight number byte, but because there are four possible bits - as opposed to the two of computer language (1 or 0) - the precision of the language is far more advanced.

In other words, the four-bit, three-combination byte language of DNA creates an extensive array of possible bytes, but these are further assembled into larger DNA sequences. A typical chromosome, for example, can contain over 220 million codons!

### Is this world coded?

We know that the modern era binary system was invented around the turn of the 18th Century by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). Its predecessor was developed in the Third Century BCE. by Pingala from India. This binary system was later developed utilized as machine code in the first computers.

Soon thereafter, others developed software languages such as Fortran, Cobol, C+, BASIC and others that wrote over top of machine language. In other words, computer programming languages were developed by people - conscious living beings with purpose and intention.

And just as computer programming languages come from conscious persons, the DNA programming language was also developed by a conscious living being: The Supreme Being.

As we expand this application to "semen virile" we find this same programming language process within the semen of all animals and humans, with the ability of a combination of sperm and egg producing duplicate embryos.

Almost duplicates, that is. The Supreme Being also programmed an ingenious facility into the language of DNA and the processes of protein creation. He created a feedback-mutation system that allows organisms to adapt to environmental influences. This produces a learning process, whereby organisms gradually improve through this learning process by utilizing slight modifications to their DNA.

### What is the coding of evolution?

DNA is a form of coding or programming. And the programming of DNA creates the process of evolution. This programming ultimately allows the spirit-person an opportunity to embody those species that match the consciousness of the spirit.

While Darwin and modern evolutionists like to assume that this process of evolution is taking place accidentally, there is no logical or scientific basis for this assumption. As we've taken a peak 'under the hood' into the DNA system, we see an elaborate programming language, capable of determining our body structure and future disease variation. The chance that this complex language is accidental is remote, as explained by Dr. Francis Crick, one of the discoverers of DNA:

Our internal input system is combined with external environmental inputs: The surrounding environment. The senses bring in these environmental inputs, and they are combined with the desires of the living being within to produce changes in the DNA programming. These two combined form what is called epigenetics - which results in changes to the DNA, and gradual changes to the body of coming generations.

Just as the computer program is designed for inputs from the computer operator, the living organism is programmed for inputs from the living being operating the organism. Likewise, the external environment of the organism would be comparable to the hardware (monitor, keyboards, camera and so on) and the computer's machine language. This allows for information to be input into the program by the operator, and the images that appear on the monitor screen of the computer.

Both the computer program and the DNA program of living organisms require two types of living beings. The first is the programmer: That is God, as explained in this verse of Genesis. _'So God created...'_ indicates that God assembled the programming instructions that allowed for organisms to grow and evolve, according to the inputs of the living beings that occupy the bodies of these organisms.

### What is the core element of life?

This is the only logical scientific conclusion that fits both observation and logic - not to mention scripture. Darwinist evolutionists today have proposed that life was accidentally created from a combination of proteins, and evolved from there. But they offer no scientific evidence that chemicals can transition from being dead and purposeless to becoming alive and complete with the desire to survive.

Why would dead chemicals suddenly desire to survive? It would be easier to remain dead chemicals, where there would be no challenge to survival.

The scientific conclusion is that every living organism is operated by a non-physical living being who is separate from the biochemistry of the organism. How do we know this? There are a number of clear indications of this. The first and most obvious is that upon the death of a living organism, the entire physical body is still evident, yet there is no life in that organism. Every biochemical is still there right after death. Every cell is still there. Every organ is there. Every enzyme is there. All the blood and body fluids are still there.

Until decomposition takes place, the organism is precisely as it was when the organism was alive. This is supported by a variety of experiments over the centuries. Nothing physical is missing from a dead body.

Yet after death, the organism is lifeless. After death, there is no function. There is no will. There is no desire. There is no quest to survive. What is missing is the individual life force that drove the life of the body. Whether the creature is advanced or simple, we see the same thing: Upon death, the subtle life force is gone.

Because we cannot see, measure or find any matter missing, this indicates clearly that the life force of the body is not physical. It is of another dimension: One that the physical eyes and their extensions (our various instruments) cannot penetrate. This has been confirmed with hundreds of thousands of cases of clinical death - where a person dies during hospital care, and separates from their body, and even views the body from above.

How could someone whose body was clinically dead (and eyes closed) see their own body from the ceiling? The only explanation is that we are talking about a spiritual being.

The living being is a spiritual individual that originates from the spiritual dimension. Each individual living being has a will, desires, objectives and purpose for living. This individual is non-material, yet when it is occupying a physical body, it seeks to utilize that physical body for its purposes.

We can compare this with a car. Just consider: A person cannot walk out onto the highway. If we did, we'd get smashed by speeding cars and trucks. But if we got into a car, and began driving the car; with the car, we can merge onto the freeway and drive there. Thus, it is only via the facility of the car that we can gain entrance onto the highway.

In the same way, the spiritual living individual utilizes the physical body to function within the physical world. As we 'drive' these bodies, their programming allows us to slowly and subtly manipulate the organism for longer survival and better sense enjoyment.

Why? What is the purpose? Beyond sheer sense enjoyment, the purpose of these physical organisms and their ability to slowly evolve is that they evolve as the spiritual living individual within begins to evolve. To evolve means to learn. Learning produces evolution, and evolution reflects learning.

### How does the soul evolve?

There are thus two types of evolution taking place simultaneously.

The first type of evolution is the external evolution of the organism vessels. In each era of evolution, as the living beings slowly advanced in their learning, the DNA of each organism, through many generations, evolved. How did they evolve? Their evolution reflected the specific consciousness of those living beings occupying those bodies.

For example, as an amoeba desired to reach out and grab its meals, its DNA reflected that desire and appendages slowly developed through many generations. And as those living beings successively occupied those evolving organisms, their desires - in combination with their learning as God programmed in - allowed for successive bodies to advance on the evolutionary scale.

And over the millions of years of this process, advanced organisms evolved as those living beings advanced to the next levels in their learning process

This could be compared with school. Let's say that a child goes into kindergarten. The kindergarten classroom is set up to reflect that level of consciousness. The classroom will have lots of toys and games, and coloring books and crayons. This allows the child to learn real basic things. If they succeed in learning at that level, they go on to the first grade. Here the classroom also has toys and coloring books, but it also offers a more complex regimen of learning. The learning is more focused.

Then the classrooms of the second, third and fourth grade and so on continue to reflect the focused learning of the child. With each successive grade, the lessons change, the teachers change, and the classrooms look different, reflecting the stage of learning the child is on. This is exactly what each successive organism offers to each living being within.

Now should the child not learn the lessons of a particular grade, they are kept back until they learn those lessons. This also takes place in the physical world. If the person does not learn the lessons of a particular level, they will stay at that level until they learn those lessons.

This illustrates the mechanism for which the second type of evolution - the evolution of the inner spiritual individual - is achieved. In the most simple stages (the lower creatures) the individual is learning about how to deal with others. At the most basic levels, we are learning about caring for our offspring and our "brother" organisms. In colony-type organisms, each individual learns to cooperate with others and not be greedy. As these initial lessons are learned, we advance from one creature to the next.

As one organism dies, the living being then is born within the body of another organism. If the living being has learned the lessons of the previous organism, we will graduate up to the body of an organism that allows for a greater level of learning. For example, over many lifetimes, a living being might graduate from being a bee in a bee colony (where we learn cooperation and caring for a queen and hive) to being born in the body of a fox, where we can have our own family, and learn more complex lessons of love, kindness, and survival.

### What is the purpose of the soul's evolution?

This evolution process allows each living being a unique path to gradually learn how to love. Should we progress with each body, the living being may graduate up to the level of the human body. Here, the person learns even greater lessons of love - and more importantly, the ability to access the principles related to re-establishing our lost relationship of loving service with the Supreme Being.

Should we achieve this human form and use it to re-establish our relationship with God, we can 'graduate' out of the 'school' of the physical world and return home to the spiritual dimension.

And what is the physical world supposed to teach us? The physical world is a rehabilitation center for those who became self-centered, and envious of God. The spiritual world is a place of love and loving relationships between God's children (us) and God and His Associates. But in order to have true love, we must have freedom. Therefore, we have the choice to love God or not. For those of us who chose not to love God, God created the physical universe as a place of learning, for us to rehabilitate.

Why should we rehabilitate? Because our loving service relationship with God is our natural position. We were created as God's loving servants. This is our identity. Thus we will only be fulfilled in that position.

Ultimately, the evolutionary process programmed by the Supreme Being is set up to bring us back home to God out of our own free will. God wants us back. He loves us, and He wants us to be happy.

#  Genesis 1:24-25

# "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds ..."

_And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:24-25)_

Here we see the continuing process of evolution under the Supreme Being's guidance. This is derived from His initial programming instruction mentioned in Genesis 1:21: _"Be fruitful."_

### Is this instruction a form of programming?

_"Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds"_ indicates instructional programming. Is the land producing living creatures by itself? The word _"Let the land"_ is derived from the Hebrew words אֶרֶץ ('erets) and יָצָא (yatsa'). אֶרֶץ means not just land, but also the solid structures of matter. יָצָא means to 'bring forth' or to continue to be brought out of. So we have the solid structural elements and land intermingling to offer the next level of evolutionary programming for living organisms.

What does _"according to its kind"_ mean? The word "kind" here is translated from the Hebrew word מין (miyn), which means a type, a kind of a species. The verse is discussing the differentiation of living organisms into species.

In evolutionary terms, hieroglyphs have indicated that fish species preceded the mammals. This is precisely what is being indicated in Genesis, as the aquatic species came first, prior to the mammals. As to the birds of the air coming after the fish, this is consistent with the existence of flying fish who increasingly took to the air.

This evolution process is based upon DNA allowing successive change. Even a cursory understanding of computer programming tells us that DNA is a program. Today's computer programming uses the binary code: A series of 1s and 0s, arranged in sequences of bits and bytes. These sequences create instructional codes also referred to as computer machine language.

Instead of a binary system, God's DNA programming code uses a quaternary (4) programming code. His system utilizes a sugar/phosphate backbone, with each sugar/phosphate on the chain attached to one of four amino bases: Either adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) or thymine (T). This creates what is called a "base pair" combination.

A modern computer binary system contains bits composed of either a 1 or a 0, and a byte with a sequence of eight bits (such as 10011010). A "word" in this system contains a series of bytes. God's DNA programming code contains base pairings of either A, C, G or T (equivalent to bits), with a normal "byte" size of three - called a codon. For example, a codon could be AGC, ATC, TAG, and so on.

This four-bit, three-byte DNA system creates an extensive array of possible bytes, and these are assembled into gigantic "word" sequences. For example, a typical chromosome will contain over 220 million codons!

Just as a complex computer program is programmed by a conscious person with a purpose and objective for the program, the programming evident within DNA also illustrates the purpose and objectives of a conscious person with purpose and objective. Since DNA is an extremely complex and highly organized programming platform with extreme functionality that puts any modern computer program to shame, we know that this coding also had to originate from a place of purpose and objective.

### What does "according to its kind" mean?

The root Hebrew word here is מִין (miyn). This means a type, kind or species. In other words, we are talking about the Supreme Being creating the programming code that organizes living organisms into defined species.

Let's think about this. Consider the proposal of Darwinists who speculate that dead chemicals somehow came together accidentally to form life. Such a notion has never been proven to occur, even in laboratories where the process is forced (no accident). The chance of complexly sequenced amino acids coming together to form millions of logical base pairs, even according to DNA researchers like Sir Francis Crick, is nearly impossible. Furthermore, once the base pair language of DNA came together, it somehow would have to randomly create organized and unique species, rather than just a mish-mash of evolved species with no organization.

The fact that the species are segregated, organized and distinct requires a governing factor. It means that the process of evolution could not have occurred randomly or by accident. Besides the fact that the complex programming of DNA required a programmer with a purpose, the organization of the different species also requires a governing factor, again with a purpose.

Purpose can only come from an entity with intention. Intention requires a living being. Therefore, the incredible programming language of DNA, together with the organizational evolution of species, must have come from a living being - the Supreme Being.

### Why did God see that it was good?

Finally, this verse says, _"And God saw that it was good."_ This indicates oversight. It indicates that not only did God initiate the programming of evolution, but He has been watching over it. He has kept an eye on things to make sure that His intentions are being carried out.

This also indicates that the Supreme Being doesn't have to do everything Himself. He can design things, and others can carry out the process under His design. If He did everything Himself, He wouldn't need to see _"that it was good."_ Seeing _"that it was good"_ combined with His instructions of _"Let the land..."_ and _"Be fruitful"_ mean that God has designed the programming and has overseen the process that resulted in an organized evolution of species.

#  Genesis 1:26-27

# Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness ..."

_Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)_

Here we can see that God is not alone in His creative process. Note that _"Let us" and "our image..."_ refers to the creative process with a plural sense. What does this mean?

### Why is this in the plural - "Us" and "Our"

This is evidenced by the Hebrew text, which uses אלהים ('elohiym) to describe God in the plural sense. Does this mean the text is referring to multiple gods? Were the Hebrews worshipers of the multiple 'gods' as were the Greeks?

No. The word אלהים ('elohiym) or Elohim, refers distinctly to the Supreme Being. There can only be one Supreme Being. The plural simply indicates that the Supreme Being has the capability to expand Himself and that He is the God of gods - the Supreme Being.

The Hebrew עשה (`asah), which means to 'make' or 'fashion', translates to 'let Us make' with the plural use of God. This indicates that God and His associates are involved in this process. Both God's expansions and separated expansions will participate in creation projects. Therefore, the appropriate use is plural.

The Supreme Being has three forms of expansion. The first is His Personal Expansions. The Supreme Being can expand Himself personally in countless ways - which can include various forms and appearances. Each of these Expansions is still Himself, as He has His complete substance and power within each Expansion.

The Supreme Being can also produce direct expansions that are from Him, but with differentiated personality. These separated expansions enjoy personal relationships with the Supreme Being. These direct expansions also enjoy many of the powers of the Supreme Being.

This was confirmed by Jesus in one of the Gospels found in the desert of Egypt:

_The perfect Savior replied, "Please understand that He was eternally manifest prior to the universe – the Unborn Creator, complete within Himself. When He, Effulgent and Spiritual, chose to expand His appearance, immediately the Effulgent Source manifested as the immortal spiritual being. This immortal spiritual being, subject to the deficiency of illusion, may attain salvation and wake from forgetfulness through the messenger – who will be with you until the end of the hardship of thieves. His consort is the Great Sophia initially had the purpose of relationship with the unborn Creator. This is manifested by the spiritual being - initially manifested with divine authority from the Creator – who is called 'Supreme Being.'(The Wisdom of Jesus, Texts 31-32)_

The Supreme Being also produces separated indirect expansions with free will. Each of us - our spiritual selves, not our physical bodies - fall into this category. These expansions each have the ability to enjoy a personal loving relationship with the Supreme Being, but we also are given the freedom to reject that relationship. We also do not have the powers the Supreme Being and His personal expansions have.

### How does God expand Himself?

It also should be noted that we - His separated indirect expansions - are expansions of His direct separated expansions. In other words, we are expansions of those whom God enjoys eternal personal relationships with. We are expansions of His separated expansions.

Each of God's direct separate expansions enjoys a unique type of relationship with the Supreme Being. For each, their loving relationship has a particular flavor, and their type of relationship is different. And thus we - the spiritual person within the physical body - each also have a unique relationship with the Supreme Being, according to our line of expansion.

We might compare this to how each of us has a slightly different relationship with different people. If we have a male body on, we have a mother-son relationship with our mother and a father-son relationship with our father. Then we might have a best-friend relationship with someone. Then we might have a conjugal relationship with a woman. Then we might have a relationship with our pet, and then another with our work-mates and yet another with those we play basketball with. Each of these relationships is unique, and though some relationships may fall into a similar grouping (like multiple work-mates or basketball players), each relationship with each person is slightly different.

In our pure state, we are spiritual beings with spiritual form, personality, and character. However, those of us who have chosen not to embrace our relationship with God have been put into a physical body in the physical world to give us a chance to exercise our freedom away from God.

The reason nature and society are set up so that we can have these various relationships is that the physical world is a reflection (albeit perverted) of the spiritual world.

In other words, the Supreme Being also enjoys this kind of variety of relationships with innumerable living beings - His direct and indirect expansions - within the various 'houses' or planets of the spiritual realm.

### What is a perverted reflection?

This world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual realm because while the physical world maintains a myriad of relationships just as the spiritual realm does, the relationships of the physical world are all based on self-centeredness, while the relationships of the spiritual realm are all based upon love.

In the physical realm, we are all focused on what we get out of a relationship. If we are cared for, we will care back. But if we are not cared for, then we will not maintain such a relationship. In the spiritual realm, love is unconditional. Care is unconditional.

It is like comparing two different dinner tables. At one, as the food is passed around, everyone seeks only to make sure they get enough on their plate, sometimes at the cost of others not getting any.

At the other dinner table, as they pass around the food, everyone is making sure that everyone else got their food before taking theirs.

In the same way, the citizens of the spiritual world are only interested in pleasing their beloved, the Supreme Being - within their particular relationship with Him - along with assisting (and caring for) the other citizens - who are also engaged in their own relationship with Him. It is one big happy family, with the Supreme Being at the center.

In contrast, in the physical world we are primarily interested in our own well-being, or the well-being of our extensions - our family, our country, our race. Either we are out-and-out self-centered in our activities (most of the time) or we are looking out for our family, nation or particular religious sect. This is can be at the cost of others being harmed.

The bottom line is that the reason the physical bodies of humans were created _"in our image"_ in a plural sense is because, as mentioned above, this creation involved the Supreme Being and His expansions, and what was created is a perverted reflection of the spiritual realm and the relationships of the spiritual realm.

But there are two points of clarity to be made here. What is being discussed here is the organism, "man," not each of us. Beneath these bodies, we are each spiritual beings, created by God as expansions of His expansions. The human organism is a temporary physical body. It is made of atoms and molecules combined to make flesh and bones, which eventually decompose to earth after we leave them.

We are temporarily occupying these physical bodies, just as a person sits down in a car and drives a car around.

### How are we made in God's 'image and likeness'

Yet the Supreme Being states that these physical bodies were created in His _image and likeness_. Thus we can know that the personal image and likeness of the Supreme Being resembles that of a man - standing with two arms and two legs. This gives us a window into the spiritual realm and the Supreme Being.

This might be compared to seeing a person's shadow as they approach from around a corner. We might not yet see their body, but we can tell from their shadow that they might be, say, overweight or short or something. While the shadow is not the person, the shadow creates an _"image"_ or _"likeness"_ that reflects the person approaching from around the corner.

This verse also tells us that the Supreme Being's creative process is not performed alone. Just as a person will often work collectively with others, or will hire others to do a job, the Supreme Being also delegates certain creative processes to others - which can include both His direct and indirect expansions.

We must remember that this physical world - and the physical forms we occupy - are all temporary. These bodies are temporary vehicles. They are also changing around us. For example, our baby body was not the same body we have on now. That body was tiny, and our current body is much larger. And every atom and molecule has changed. So we have changed bodies even during this lifetime.

Our physical body is constantly changing. It is like looking at a waterfall: The water is always changing. Scientists have determined that every atom and molecule is recycled within five years, meaning we have a different body every five years.

We are driving this physical body just as a person drives a car.

So why do we occupy these physical bodies? We, the spiritual living beings who decided we wanted to be away from God did so because we became envious. We desired to enjoy like God. Instead of loving and serving God, we wanted to be like God. So God set up a virtual universe that not only allows us to feel independent of Him but allows us to attempt to enjoy like He does.

This is confirmed by the root Hebrew word רדה (radah) in this verse, which means to dominate or rule over ("and let them rule over"). The human body was designated to be able to rule over the other creatures of the planet, including, as stated here, the fish, birds, mammals and so on. In other words, the human form was designed to emulate God's dominance.

God's design, however, does not give complete dominance. Nor does it give complete independence. Surely God could have given us a facility where each of us could have a more perfect ability to control others around us. But this would defeat the main purpose of the physical world.

The fact is, we are not God. We are not in control. We are not independent of God. In fact, we need God. We need our Best Friend and Companion in order to be complete. This is why we are all constantly looking for that perfect friend or lover. We'll never be happy away from God, trying to pretend to be like God. And God knows this.

### What is the purpose of this creation?

The physical world, while it may give some illusion of some independence and some dominance, is primarily a place of education. Here we are slowly and gradually educated. Here we are taught that we all need love. Here we are taught that when we hurt others, we are hurting our closest family members. Here we are taught that we need a protector — and we can't do it alone.

So why did the Supreme Being and His associates create the physical world? Remember that His indirect separated expansions - expansions of His expansions - were created with the freedom of choice: We can choose to love the Supreme Being or not.

Quite simply, the physical world and these temporary physical bodies were created to house those of us who chose NOT to love and care for the Supreme Being. Each of us individually rebelled against the Supreme Being, and this caused each of us to fall to the physical world, away from the spiritual realm.

And this is why the physical world is full of lessons, and physical suffering.

In fact, many will ask: _If God is good, why is there so much suffering in the world?_

Or they will ask: _If God exists, why is there so much suffering?_

Or they might ask: _If God loves me, why is there so much suffering?_

Or another version: _If there is a God, why did my ______ (insert wife, parents, friend, pet) have to die and leave me?_

In other words, we question God's existence or love for us because of the suffering of the physical world.

But we have to remember two things:

1) that these physical bodies are not us. They are like cars, that might get fender-benders or might break down. Our eternal spiritual selves are not touched by the suffering of the physical body (other than the lessons we might learn).

2) that the Supreme Being set this world up as a rehabilitation center in hopes that we might someday decide to return to Him and His world. He ultimately wants us to be happy, and we'll never be happy away from Him and His world. So He created this world as a learning center.

After all, we know scientifically speaking that life cannot originate from DNA. The living being is spiritual in essence. Thus the living beings were, in fact, impregnated into the physical dimension, and have individually been evolving through the different species of physical bodies.

We might compare the consequential sufferings of the physical world to how a child might be properly disciplined by caring parents. Parents do not want to, nor like disciplining their child. But they do it out of love. They do it because they ultimately want the best for the child.

If the Supreme Being had set up the physical world to be this perfect place where there is no pain or suffering, we'd never want to go home to the spiritual realm.

But He also set it up so that we only come home if we decide we really want to. We must make a commitment to go home. We can stay as long as we want, cycling through body after body. If we want to stay away from Him, He allows that. But at the same time, He also encourages us to decide (on our own) to come home. It is rather perfect, actually.

Just consider, for example, a person whose consciousness was so dark that he only thought of himself, and considered others as objects of his enjoyment. So he hurts others, abuses others, even kills others without concern. What is needed to rehabilitate such an individual?

First, they need to recognize that there are others outside of himself and that he isn't the only person who exists. He also needs to realize what it feels like to be hurt because he has no concern for the hurt of others. He also needs a little dose of humility to realize that he's not so great after all. This person is a candidate for being attacked in a moment of weakness at some point - if not in this lifetime, perhaps in a future lifetime.

### What are we here to learn?

In the same way, our education process requires us to have a strong foundation for understanding the nature of love, compassion, care and nurturing. Why? Because this is part of our rehabilitation process for returning to the spiritual dimension. As we graduate up the 'grades' and evolve spiritually once within the human form, we begin to learn 'post-graduate' lessons, such as how to care for and nurture others who are less fortunate, or from lower species. In the higher human species, we begin to learn the finer lessons of love, such as how to serve others, and how to remain humble even when others admire us or need us.

The spiritual world is replete with these aspects to the absolute degree. God's world is full of love and relationships. It is a blissful world where everyone loves each other and cherishes God and His associates. It is the place where we yearn for (and people like John Lennon sang about), but could never have in the physical world - because the physical world is full of 'works in progress.'

Here everyone is looking desperately for fulfillment. Fulfillment, however, is only available when we return to our eternal relationship with God as one of His loving servitors.

And the emptiness we all feel here in the physical world can be immediately resolved by our deciding to return to Him. He wants us back in His loving arms because He knows that only this will make us happy. Only loving Him and caring for Him, and returning to our unique relationship with Him will give us the happiness and fulfillment we seek.

#  Genesis 1:28

# "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. ..."

_God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:28)_

### Why did He instruct them to be fruitful?

This describes God's release of some spiritual living beings into the physical world. The spiritual individual is from another plane of existence - the spiritual world. In the spiritual world, God dwells, surrounded by innumerable living beings who relate with him in a variety of ways. These spiritual individuals are God's loving servants, each exchanging a relationship with Him in one mood or another.

Why? In other to have real love, the spiritual individual is given the freedom to love God or not. For those who have chosen not to love God, God designed a place that gives those spiritual individuals who have rejected their relationships with Him a place where we can seemingly be away from Him. This is the physical world.

We might compare this verse to a situation where a person is taking a fish out of the ocean and putting it in an aquarium. A person might set up an aquarium with some plant life, various facades of rocks and coral structures to swim through, and maybe some crabs or other creatures. Then an oxygenation system so that the fish will get enough oxygen. The whole aquarium is set up in such a way that the fish will be able to survive outside of its natural home - the ocean.

Now once the aquarium is set up, the person brings the fish to the aquarium and puts the fish in the aquarium. As he does this, he might, if he talked to fish, say something like what God said to humanity in the verse above. He might say: "This is your aquarium and you can multiply and rule over it. You can manage the crabs and the other species, and take care of things as you want to."

In other words, the aquarium owner is giving the fish some autonomy in terms of its new digs. It is giving the fish the freedom to have its own little kingdom.

### Do we have the freedom not to obey?

This is a similar situation for us. God has given each of us the ability to dominate over others, and pretty much rule over the place. Why?

One of the aspects of our rejecting God in the spiritual plane, as we'll see as the analogy of Adam is unfolded, is that we desired to enjoy as God enjoys. We wanted to be the center of attention and have others serve us. We saw God enjoying in this way, and we became envious, in other words.

So as part of the physical world that God set up for us, He allows us to operate these temporary physical bodies designed with the ability to outsmart and dominate others. In this way, we can pretend we're in God's position of being the enjoyer and being served by others.

Consider how this has played out. Each of us so many opportunities to rule over others, whether it be animals, inferiors at work, children or those we lead in some group. These little 'king-ships' each come with consequences, however.

For example, practically every person has the opportunity to have children, or at least some sort of pet or even both. The children and the pet are subservient to the commands of the parent and/or pet owner, and the parent and/or pet-owner enjoys being the master of another living being. However, at the same time, the parent and/or pet owner has to take care of the child or pet. The parent and/or pet owner has to feed and clean the child or pet, and take the child and/or pet out to the park and so on. In this way, the child and/or pet and the parent and/or pet owner develop a relationship, which may become, to some degree, a loving relationship.

### Who is serving who in these relationships?

Now, these relationships are no accident. It is no accident that we have these freedoms here to create these types of relationships, and then we undergo a series of lessons regarding caring, making sacrifices and ruling over another. These are all intended to teach us the meaning of loving relationships.

In fact, even though the physical world was designed to give us certain freedoms, it was also designed specifically as a rehabilitation center. The physical world teaches us about relationships. It teaches us, gradually, how to love again.

The intention is to prepare us for our return home to the spiritual dimension. We cannot dwell or stay in the spiritual dimension when we are envious of God and self-centered. We just do not have the right consciousness for the spiritual dimension in that state. So God set up a place that teaches us about loving service and relationships, in an attempt to bring our consciousness back to a state where we can resume our loving relationship with Him.

Every step of our physical lives within these temporary bodies, we are constantly given choices. With each choice is a consequence. Should we decide to help another, or care for another, there will be a good consequence. Should we decide to take advantage of another, or abuse or hurt another, there will be a negative consequence - one that shows us directly how it feels to be treated in that way. This is all due to the incredible programming of this physical world by the Supreme Person, God.

The question is which way we will go? Will we use our God-given freedoms in the physical world to hurt others and try to dominate others, or will we care for others and try to help others? This is our choice. One choice brings us closer to returning home and the other takes us further away.

For those who have, as they have evolved, chosen to care for others and try to help others, they are directly given a chance to return home by having contact with one of God's loving servants - who God periodically sends to the physical world in an effort to bring those who are ready back home.

The books of the Bible, in fact, provide a history of some of these loving servants, including Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Joshua, Job, Jonah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Jesus' disciples and others - all of whom God sent specifically to bring those who were ready to 'graduate' from the physical world back to our in the spiritual world.

### What is the path home?

These representatives of God have all taught that the path back home is to re-establish our loving relationship with God. This is why Moses instructed:

_"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:5)_

And why Jesus instructed when asked, _"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" (Mark 12:29)_

_"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)_

and why Moses also instructed:

_"...obey the commands I am giving you today--to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul..." (Deut. 11:13)_

#  Genesis 1:29

# "I give you every seed-bearing plant ... They will be yours for food."

_Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food." (Genesis 1:29)_

### What is the prescribed human diet?

This verse clearly identifies the food that God designed for humans. It is clear that humans were intended by their Creator to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and roots, and not animals.

One might argue that the previous verse also gave humanity permission to eat any kind of fish or animal: " _Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."_ (Genesis 1:28) However, this does not say that the fish, birds and animals will be our food as this verse clearly says. It says that humans may _"rule over"_ them. The correct interpretation of this statement is not that we would kill these creatures, but that we would care for them.

To _"rule over"_ does not mean that we maliciously rule over them, and take advantage of them. A king or a government, for example, may rule over the people. But their purpose is not to hurt the people but to care for and help protect the people.

This is the same with regard to fish, birds, and animals. God asked that we care for the animals. That we help protect them. Not kill them for our food.

We find later in Genesis that God did permit the offering and eating of animals later on. But this was not necessarily His preference. Because there was little fruit, grain and vegetable foods available in the dry Middle East, they needed to kill animals for food. He thus permitted them to eat limited kinds of animals. But these were to be eaten only after they completely drained the animal's blood and offered it to Him.

God's preference, however, is that we eat fruit, vegetable, grain, and baked foods, after first offering them to Him. For example, we find God's statement from Isaiah:

_"The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats." (Isaiah 1:11)_

### Is bloodshed required for survival?

Plant-based foods not only provide all the vitamins, minerals, proteins and fats that our bodies need: They also prevent disease. Research has found that plant-based foods contain hundreds and even thousands of phytonutrients that prevent cancer and many other diseases. The reason plant-based foods do this is quite simple: God intended humans to eat plant-based foods, as indicated by this verse in Genesis.

Since these foods can be eaten without shedding the blood of innocent animals, the vegetarian diet was the preferred diet for many of the Prophets. This includes Daniel, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Isaiah, as well as Jesus and his followers - with the exception of fish.

It is clear from Biblical statements that following the exodus, when Moses and his followers were traveling through the desert with little to eat, that animals were okay to consume if the blood was thoroughly drained. But it is clear that before and after the exodus, the prescribed food for humans remained plant-based.

Yet as always, God still gave us the choice to follow His wishes or not.

#  Genesis 1:30

# "... everything that has the breath of life in it ..."

_"And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground \- everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so. (Genesis 1:30)_

This verse illustrates two important conditions for life for living creatures of this planet:  
1) that within every living creature dwells _"the breath of life."_  
2) that plant-based foods provide the best form of nutrition for most species of animals and birds.

### What is the "breath of life?"

Here the phrase _"breath of life"_ has been translated from the Hebrew word נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh). The Hebrew lexicon defines this word to mean: "soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion; a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man." This is describing the living substance within each creature - including animals, birds, and so on.

_"Breath of life"_ means that there is a qualitatively equal living personality within each organism. We can see this quite simply by looking at a pet or any other animal. What do we see when we look into the eyes of a living creature? We see them looking back at us. We see life. We see a living individual, with a will of its own. We see within each creature a distinct personality. This personality, the organism's _"breath of life,"_ is the spiritual individual.

The spiritual individual living within each physical body lies within another plane of existence. This is why when a person dies, every physical element - every atom, molecule, nerve, cell, organ, and tissue system - remains in the dead body. Something else has left the body at death, but we cannot see it. We only know that it existed in the physical body because when it was there, the body had movement, metabolism and sought to achieve particular needs. For animals and humans, this need revolves around survival, but an even more basic need of the living being within is love.

We might compare this to a car and its driver. The car just sits there until a driver steps in, sits down and drives the car away. The car only moves when it is driven by someone. The physical body is no different. Within each physical body is a driver - a distinct spiritual individual.

### Why is love important?

Love is the motive of the soul. The predominating motive of the spiritual individual is love. Each of us needs love. Every one of us searches for true love in the form of mates, friends, and groups, throughout our lives. Animals also seek love but through their own cultures. They seek love in families, mating and pets.

As for pets, their search for love includes humans. We can see this clearly in a pet. Even when the pet is full of food, the pet will still hanker to be petted and played with. They need love just as we do.

This is further evidence that the living individual within the physical body is the same, regardless of the type of body we might be wearing. This is why we can grant equality to all people of a population, regardless of whether their bodies have dark skin, brown skin or light skin. Each of us is equal within. This equality is also the same with animals. Within each animal is the same type of living individual as within the bodies of humans.

The difference is that the spiritual individual within the human body is more evolved spiritually than the spiritual individual within the animal body. The spiritual individual within the human body has risen to a point of higher consciousness. The spiritual individual ( _"breath of life"_ ) within the human body has an opportunity to regain our original spiritual consciousness, and remember our relationship with God.

### Can we raise our consciousness?

Those in lower forms of life have not evolved to that point. This does not mean that they won't, however. The physical world is meant to gradually raise our consciousness by running us through various lessons.

Just as each level in school prepares us for the next level or grade, each lesson within the physical world is designed to take us to the next level should we learn the lesson presented.

In fact, most of the lessons of the physical world are related to learning about relationships. Learning to treat others fairly and learning to care for others. Those who learn these lessons more quickly rise faster in their spiritual evolution.

As does the previous verse, this verse confirms God's design that plant-based foods provides the ultimate nutrition for humans. This is why plant-based foods are anti-carcinogenic and supply an array of complete nutrition – even protein.

Why then do so many creatures, including humans, eat meat? Because God also created free will, and if one desires to eat meat, one can kill an animal (or hire someone else to) and eat meat. This doesn't mean meat is what God prefers we eat. Certainly, if there is no plant-based food available, we would need to eat meat to keep the body alive. But it is clear from this statement that God prefers we not eat meat.

While the ultimate diet God arranged was from plant-based foods, He will still accept the worship of those who eat meat. This is why He allowed meat-offerings in His temple, along with grain, fruit and other offerings.

Meat offerings had strict guidelines, however. The meat had to be drained of blood and could be only from certain types of animals, and had to be prepared specially. Allowing them to make offerings with what they ate allowed them to re-develop their relationship with Him. (This is the purpose of offering our food to the Supreme Being prior to eating it: To help us re-develop our relationship with God).

The ultimate goal is for us to come to a point where we want to return to our loving relationship with God in the spiritual plane. This physical world is like a rehabilitation center. It is set up to teach us, so that one day we can resume our original identity as one of God's loving servants.

#  Genesis 1:31

# God saw all that He had made, and it was very good...

_God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)_

According to this, the physical world was created in six days.

### Is that six human days?

The Hebrew word יום (yowm) being translated to _"days"_ within Genesis can mean "day" or "time" or "year." It can also mean a "general time period" according to the lexicon.

A day to a human is basically one rotation of the sun around the planet. What is a day to God? As Albert Einstein described in his famous Theory of Relativity, time is relative to the observer of that time, and the observer's position is relative to whichever moving object the observer is positioned on.

However, God is above and beyond time and physical space, and He controls these elements. God's universe is the spiritual dimension, where time does not exist. Time is a specification of the physical world, because the physical world is a temporary manifestation: The physical world has a beginning and an end, while God does not have a beginning or an end.

God is ageless. This is why depictions of God as an old man with a long flowing beard - as da Vinci pictured Him - are incorrect. God is the most beautiful, ever-youthful being. He never gets old, and He never dies.

### Is God limited by time?

God is never subject to or limited by time or space.

Scientific evidence has shown that the creative process of the physical universe took millions if not billions of human years.

This indicates that a _"day"_ with respect to God's creative efforts is a relative expression. A _"day"_ in this respect could be 100 million years. It could be 250 million years or a billion years long.

It doesn't really matter. The meaning of Genesis is that the creative process of assembling the physical universe was a gradual, stepped process governed by God. God didn't just say "poof" and the whole thing was done. As Genesis clearly states, He created the elements first, which included the elements of earth, water, gas, heat, space and time. Then He created light. Then He created living organisms, from the simplest first. Living organisms were programmed in such a way that as they "multiplied," they evolved. This was built into their genetic code, just as a software program is coded into a computer.

We know from archaeological research that this process of evolution did not take place in six human days. It took place over millions of years. The other elements of the physical universe are a lot older. We know this too. Are we to disregard science?

The only conclusion is that the _"day"_ being discussed here is allegorical. Consider who the audience is. Consider just how little humans know about the physical universe even now. Now consider how little humans knew about the universe thousands of years ago, as the knowledge of Genesis was handed down from teacher to student over many generations. This was handed down first through oral tradition before it was finally put into written form.

### Is Genesis allegorical or literal?

The information in Genesis is allegorical and it has always been understood as allegorical by those humbly passing it down. What does allegorical mean? Allegorical means that the information given in the text contains symbolic elements that provide a broader understanding.

Let's say, for example, that a mother has to answer her child who is asking why daddy has to leave every morning. Will she tell the child that Daddy is a stock analyst who studies the stock market and the financials of different companies and writes reports for the investment bank he works for? The child will be lost at the word "stock."

The mother will most definitely simplify the situation, and tell the child that daddy is going to a big building so he can bring home some money for their family to buy food. Or something like that. The mother will use a big dose of allegory as she tries to describe where daddy is going in a way the child will understand.

Genesis is the same way. Its language was aimed at an audience that was very simple and lived basic lives that revolved around survival and the basic necessities. These folks had little understanding of solar systems, galaxies, black holes, red stars and so on. They had no idea what a bacteria was. They did not know what a cell was.

So the intended audience of Genesis could be categorized as less technically educated than modern humans, but they were wiser in many other ways. Their ability to understand the allegorical nature of Genesis was obviously stronger, however.

In other words, they didn't argue about whether God really created the physical universe in six human days or not. Do we see Moses debating with his students about this? No.

The central meaning of Genesis is that the physical universe was not an accidental event. It was a programmed event. It was planned. It was designed. The complexity of DNA alone should tell us that. Scientists have been calculating the chances that the complexity of DNA alone could have taken place by chance. The number is gigantic. It is about one chance out of 3 with about three thousand zeros behind the three. The chance is so small that it is practically no chance at all.

### Is the universe chaotic?

Furthermore, we can see around us that this universe is not chaotic. A chaotic, random universe would not display connected events. One event would not cause another event. Yet we see in this universe that every event is connected to another event. This scientific observation is often termed "cause and effect." For every effect, there is a cause. This means that the universe is not chaotic or random. It means that nothing in the universe takes place randomly, because every event that has taken place is connected to its cause.

If all events are connected to causes, this not only means there is no chaos and no randomness. It also means that there is a design to the physical universe. It means that there was an original cause, and that original cause began the process with a design and purpose. That Original Cause is God.

And since the physical universe is complete with living beings - individual personalities - we know that the Original Cause also must contain an original personality. In other words, God is a Person. He is not a vague force. He is not a particle. He is a Person with a will and objectives.

The physical universe displays functionality and design. This functionality serves to teach us. Throughout our lives, we are presented with consequences to our decisions and actions. Every act has a consequence. Why? To teach us.

Such a universe designed to teach through consequences could only come from a Person with the intention to teach.

And what is the subject that the world's consequences serve to teach us? It teaches us about how we treat others: It teaches us about love. Why? Because God created the physical world as a place of rehabilitation. A place where we could re-develop something we lost:

Our relationship of love and loving service with Him.

#  Genesis 2:1-3

# Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array....

_Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. (Genesis 02:1-3)_

### What are 'the heavens'?

Here the word _'heavens'_ is being translated from the Hebrew word שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), which means 'visible heavens, the abode of the stars, universe, atmosphere, visible sky.' This reference is not the spiritual dimension.

The spiritual dimension has no beginning. It is eternal, as is God. Both the spiritual dimension and God are above the element of time and the jurisdiction of time. Time was created by God as explained in Gen. 1:5. God created periodicity, which is the pacing of time.

This also means that God was neither born nor created. Many have asked: Assuming God created the universe, who created God? No one created God because God has always existed and will always exist.

This may seem inconceivable to the human mind, but that is because our mind's notion of time has been derived from observation of the physical world. Our minds have no ability to enter the spiritual dimension because they are physical, and they collect physical observations.

Time is, in fact, an alien element to those who dwell with God within the spiritual dimension.

However, the souls who have rejected their relationship with God become trapped within temporary physical bodies, and this shackles the person to the element of physical time.

The purpose of time within the physical dimension is not unlike the pacing of grades for children. A child will advance from one school grade to the next as they pass the tests needed to graduate to the next grade. In the same way, God established time as a system for us to be rehabilitated gradually, to a point to where we can choose to return home to our relationship with God.

### What is the purpose of time?

Within each lifetime we have time-paced sections that include childhood, adolescence, young adult, adult and elderly years. Each period teaches specific types of lessons. Then each of us lives multiple lifetimes, each within different bodies where again we learn distinct lessons - enabling us to evolve.

As we graduate up the levels of these lessons, we come to a point where we can consciously decide whether we want to return to God or not. This occurs within the human form of life. Should we choose to return to our home with God - the spiritual dimension - then God will personally take us through the advanced course, and help us to become purified enough to return to Him.

In order to create this system of learning, God created the constant advancing of time, measured by periodic movement and the motion of atomic particles.

God's process of creation also utilized time, to pace with our evolution. God programmed DNA to reflect the individual's consciousness so that our particular physical body at a particular time would reflect our personal evolution - our level of rehabilitation.

If we compare this to the grading system in school, each progressive grade has different activities. Kids in the seventh grade, for example, can now pick course electives, because they have advanced through the first six grades where they had no choice in the subjects. So these seventh graders utilize a school that is set up differently - with more choice.

In the same way, as we advance through the lessons of the physical world we do so in successive lifetimes and different bodies. In the human form, we have a higher consciousness and more choices. Now we can choose how we make our living - or survive. We can also choose whether we want to be nice to people or be mean to people. These choices are permitted because we rose through the lessons that the lower forms of life taught us: Such as the value of survival, the fact that others exist with different experiences, and others experience things separately from us.

This process of growth - our rehabilitation - is symbolically represented in the six days of creation. God created the elements first, and put into motion with the element of time. Then He designed and stimulated the process of evolution by creating the bacteria and aquatic plant life with specialized DNA, which evolved into the more complex creatures by design. With each passing _"day"_ the creatures became more complex.

Why? Because those living beings within those bodies were going through their rehabilitation process, and with each progressive body they learned more progressive lessons. As we rose in our evolutionary process, we eventually have the chance to gain the human form of life. This occurs on the sixth day, because it is the height of the evolutionary process - the point where we are given greater consciousness, and the choice of whether we want to return to God.

### What is the meaning of the seventh day?

Those who decide they want to return to God enter the symbolic seventh day, where they begin learning how to devote themselves to God. This is the holy period. It is also a day of _"rest"_ because during this stage of our lives we can stop focusing our consciousness upon survival issues - which relate to the desires to eat, have sex, and defend ourselves. In this advanced stage, we can refocus our consciousness towards serving God.

This is why, for example, Jesus did not stop his work serving God on the seventh day.

Should we arrive at this point in our existence, we can re-establish our loving relationship with God, and after the end of this lifetime, return to God in His spiritual dimension.

Those who do not use this human form of life to advance spiritually are sent back to the lower forms of life. This is because they have not learned those lessons they were supposed to learn.

For example, if an individual in a human form has not learned to treat others with kindness and fairness, and they hurt others, they will suffer the same consequences of their treatment of others, either within another human form (if they made any advancement) or within the form of an animal. Depending upon their consciousness, they may fall within the species to the point where their rehabilitation process can be renewed. This is what is described in the scriptures as "hell." Lower forms of life live within a hellish world of constant fear and violence.

### Are these literal days?

The six days of creation and the seventh day being a day of rest are both allegorical. As we've discussed, we know scientifically that God did not produce the universe and all the creatures in six 24-hour days. But we do know that the process of creation took place in a gradual, stepped process. This gradual pacing illustrates God's process as He designed and programmed an epic physical universe replete with the pacing of time to allow for an evolutionary rehabilitation process. _"In all their vast array,"_ the physical universe is massive and complex. We cannot even begin to fathom it with our minds, let alone fathom the spiritual dimension.

What we can fathom, and why this creative process is boiled down to six days - with the seventh day being a day that is to be spent focused upon our relationship with God - is that we really don't need to know all the minute details about this atomic element or that atomic element, or this DNA gene or that DNA gene. We only have a limited amount of time within this human form, and we need to use it wisely to re-develop our relationship with God. This was realized late in the lives of two of the greatest modern scientists, Leonardo da Vinci, and Albert Einstein.

In his elderly years, Albert Einstein said:

_"I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts. The rest are details."_

And Leonardo da Vinci:

_"It is true that impatience, the mother of stupidity, praises brevity, as if such persons had not lived long enough to serve them to acquire a complete knowledge of one single subject, such as the human body; and then they want to comprehend the mind of God in which the universe is included, weighing it minutely and mincing it into infinite parts, as if they had to dissect it!"_

In other words, knowing God is the only true knowledge worth anything. And to know God is not like knowing an inanimate object. God is a Person. Therefore, just as we cannot really know another person unless we have a relationship with them and they allow us to know them, we also cannot know God without having a relationship with Him and Him allowing us to come to know Him.

In other words, knowing God is the only true knowledge worth anything. But knowing God is not like knowing an inanimate object. God is a Person. Therefore, we cannot really know another person unless they allow us to know them. And in God's case, we are introduced by someone who already enjoys a relationship with Him. This is why Moses, Jesus and all of God's representatives introduced their students to God and taught this most important instruction:

_"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5)_

_"Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, His decrees, His laws and His commands always." (Deuteronomy 11:1)_

_"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today – to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 11:13)_

_"If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow – to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to hold fast to Him – " (Deuteronomy 11:22)_

_"...because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today – to love the LORD your God and to walk always in His ways – " (Deuteronomy 19:19)_

_"For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws" (Deuteronomy 30:16)_

_"...and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the LORD is your life...." (Deuteronomy 30:20)_

_"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul." (Joshua 22:5)_

_"So be very careful to love the LORD your God." (Joshua 23:11)_

_"Love the LORD, all His saints!" (Psalms 31:23)_

_"Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked." (Psalms 97:10)_

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38)_

#  Genesis 2:4-6

# This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created....

_This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens--and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-- (Genesis 2:4-6)_

This part of Genesis takes us to another entire discussion. Genesis 1:1 through 2:3 took us all the way through the process of the creation of the physical world and its evolution of species, speaking in allegorical terms. It discussed God's creation of the elements of space, time, fluids, gasses, light, heat, electromagnetic radiation and the element of earth or solids. Then it surveyed God's creation of the most simplest forms of life first, who multiplied and evolved into more complex creatures, and finally humans.

### Why is Genesis 2 so different from Genesis 1?

Hebrew scholars have calculated that this discussion comes from a different writer than Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:3. The accepted description of the first writer (1:1-2:3) is called "E" - which stands for _Elohim_ \- and the fact that all of these verses refer to God as Elohim אֱלֹהִים ('elohiym).

But in the verses of Genesis 2:4 through at least until Genesis 4, God is referred to as Elohim and Yahweh יְהֹוָה (Yĕhovah). This is being translated as "LORD God" instead of just "God." And in Genesis 4, the referral is just to Yahweh, converting to just LORD. And throughout the Old Testament, we find many stories differently described and often mismatched, linked with one or another of these names. The verses that mention Yahweh are thus referred to as written by "J" (for Jehovah, a transliteration).

Is this really the case? Are we talking different writers of the Bible?

The reality is that these teachings were initially passed on among ancient teachers through the oral tradition, from teacher to student who then became a teacher and passed it on. At some point, some of these oral teachings were put into writing. And because there were different lineages in place - there are slightly different orations, which teach the same ultimate Truths, but with some trivial differences. This is especially true when allegory or symbolism was used - which ancient teachers used a lot.

And those scribes who put these oral teachings into writing did so at different times and places. But then the different recorded orations were combined by sectarian scribes trying to create a single institution - for political purposes.

And thus within the Old Testament, we have a mixture of oral teachings, pieced together with political purpose by sectarian institutions over the centuries.

### Should Genesis 2 be taken literally?

These verses, from Genesis 2:4 through Genesis 3:24, tell a specific instructional parable, completely distinguished from Genesis 1:1-2:3.

The key Hebrew word to understand here is תּוֹלְדוֹת, which can mean 'descendants, results, proceedings, generations, genealogies,' and more specifically, 'the account of men and their descendants,' according to the lexicon.

This is followed by a translation to _"the heavens_ [שָׁמַיִם] _and the earth_ [אֶרֶץ] _."_ How does this tie into the previous - relating to humanity?

The word שָׁמַיִם can mean the physical 'heavens' which include the stars, but it can also refer to the spiritual world. The Hebrew word אֶרֶץ can mean earth specifically, or land or territory or even people of the land.

Understanding that Genesis already discussed God's creation of the physical world and all the species including humanity, the correct interpretation of this phrase would be that it is a preamble for a discussion that describes the account of how we descended from the spiritual world to become enmeshed within the physical world. This might better be translated:

_This is the account of how we fell from the spiritual sky into the physical world._

The next sentence begins to describe an event that takes place prior to there being any plants, rain and no man to work the ground. Yet we know from Genesis 1:20-30 that God had created all the fish, the plants, the animals on the earth and also created man and woman (Gen. 1:27). He also told them to _"be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it."_ (Gen. 1:28) So we know that this does not fit within a chronological description of the creation of the physical universe.

We also know that Genesis already described how God had created all the living plants, and from Genesis 1:29 we know that God gave man the plants to eat: _"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food."_

Yet in this new verse, it speaks to a time prior to rainfall, plants, and man: _"there was no man to work the ground."_

### What does "no man to work the ground" mean?

The Hebrew word being translated to "work" is עָבַד. This word can mean to 'labor or work,' but it can also mean 'service.' For example, if the word is written with God's name behind it, the phrase will mean 'service to God.' Together with the Hebrew word אֲדָמָה it means another type of service. Yes, אֲדָמָה can mean 'ground,' but it can also mean earth, land, country, or territory. In other words, it can also refer to the physical world as opposed to the spiritual realm.

So what are we talking about here? The translation and interpretation of the text into English is obviously lacking in application and context. Rather, the correct interpretation is that this statement serves to point out the period before we became servants of the physical world - often described as 'mammon' as well as "the devil."

As Jesus and so many of the prophets taught, we basically have two choices. We can serve God with love and devotion or we can work to serve ourselves - trying to enjoy and make ourselves happy. We always have this choice. But the consciousness of serving ourselves is transformed into the service of the passing elements of the physical world and its illusory nature, as we seek our own happiness away from God. This has also been described as "serving mammon."

Now should the reader insist on the translations to "work the ground," "earth" and so on, then we could just as well conclude that these references are wholly symbolic, and symbolize the same interpretation of describing a time _before the fall._ The Hebrew text is broad enough to allow for this symbolic translation, as Genesis is rich in allegory and symbolism. The purpose is to portray complex spiritual issues in an understandable way.

Let's use an example. Let's say that a young child asks his parents how a house is built. The parents will not get into a technical discussion of how permits are given and architects draw plans using CAD. They will not be discussing the technical aspects of installing insulation or wiring. Rather, they'll use allegory and likely some symbolism to explain the process to a young child.

They might tell the child that first, a big man goes into the forest and chops down some really big trees. Then he cuts some of the trees into pieces. Another man rolls out a big carpet made of stones on the ground and the big man stands tree trunks on each side and then fits all the tree pieces together to build the house.

This is a very simplified explanation of building a house, using symbolism and allegory. The big man in the woods symbolizes timber companies that take their equipment into the forest and cut trees down, and the carpet made of stones symbolizes the concrete foundation of the house. And so on. If the parent went into a big discussion about timber companies and concrete pads, the child would likely fall asleep - not having learned a thing.

Now assuming the parents were talking about a house made primarily of wood, the allegorical story would be quite informative. The young child would learn that houses are made primarily from trees and rock - concrete.

In the same way, the description of how we rejected God and fell into the physical world and took on these temporary physical bodies is quite technical and complex. Also, note this knowledge was orally passed down over generations of teachers to their students prior to being written. This means the verses were accompanied by an oral purport of their meaning.

The bottom line is that this Genesis description simplifies an event (our fall from the spiritual world) down to the basics - as will be described in the next verses.

Any other interpretation of this is wrought with ignorance. To assume a literal translation of these verses is to not only be grossly inaccurate regarding the events that have occurred within nature: It also misses the large and important lessons they purvey.

### What about archeological evidence?

Over the past century, humans have found significant archaeological evidence. These include skulls and other evidence of human civilizations that existed hundreds of thousands of years ago on this planet.

Archeological evidence has also found that early hominids existed on the earth millions of years ago. Since then, we find evidence that the human race has been evolving in physical, intellectual and mental capacity. Human brains have become larger. Tools have become more sophisticated. And human society has become more organized.

In other words, scientific evidence contradicts the version of humanity's arrival on the earth indicated by a literal interpretation of the second chapter of Genesis. The evidence certainly denies the notion of human arrival a mere 5,000 years ago, let alone the arrival of two humans initially.

The clear evidence indicates an evolutionary process took place for millions of years on the earth. It indicates an earth that is several million years old as well.

To abide by a strictly literal translation of Genesis is to ignorantly deny this physical evidence, and miss the real message of Genesis.

We must, therefore, be wise. We cannot ignore the scientific evidence that refutes a literal translation of Genesis. What we can do - which is the purpose of our having this scientific evidence - is reach for the deeper meaning within the text. And it is there.

Many scientists have assumed that because the physical evidence refutes the literal translation, Genesis must be false. This is also an assumption made in ignorance because it leaves behind the significant evidence showing that there is another dimension - the origin of the living spirit-person - that we cannot see with these physical eyes. This is why we cannot find any physical element missing in a physical body at the time of death. We do not see the spirit-person leaving the body because these eyes are physical, not spiritual.

The bottom line is that both courses - a literal interpretation of Genesis or rejecting it altogether due to the lack of archaeological evidence - is short-sighted. We must see the deeper wisdom hidden within these texts.

#  Genesis 2:7

# The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into ...

_The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)_

### What is the 'breath of life'?

While this verse indicates the difference between the physical body and the living being within (the "breath of life") the verse is not discussing the creation of the species of man/humanity.

The use of these terms serves two purposes: To illustrate the difference between the physical body and the spirit-person within; and utilize this fact allegorically to describe the appearance of the living being – the spirit-person – within the spiritual realm.

Remember that the first chapter of Genesis already discussed the creation of the physical universe and all the species, including man, within the six "day" period.

This description is not a redundancy. It is another discussion: It is the discussion of how each of us, the living beings or living souls, are parts and parcels of God. Each of us spirit-persons is God's children.

The Hebrew verse here is:  
וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־ הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־ הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃.

While this verse has been construed to say that God created man from the dust of the earth and breathed life into the man, this translation is incorrect.

The key to the verse's meaning is in the first Hebrew words and the last Hebrew words:

The first words are הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃. These indicate that the Supreme Being formed or fashioned something.

The last words in the verse are חַיָּֽה׃ לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ. These indicate "living soul" (King James translation) or "living being" (this New International Version translation). These are also consistent with the lexicon.

We must remember that this discussion is steeped in allegory and symbolism. Consider, for example, a verse later in this discussion (Genesis 2:21-22), where God made woman from the ribs of the man. Is this not a clear sign of allegory and symbolism?

Going back to this verse (Genesis 2:7), נָפַח (naphach) אַף (aph) is being translated to "breathed into his nostrils" and נְשָׁמָה (nĕshamah) חַי (chay) is being translated to "breath of life." Is this really what this means?

While there is little argument for the translation of "breathed into him," the "breath of life," נְשָׁמָה (nĕshamah) can be translated to 'breath,' but also to 'spirit' or even 'God's spirit.' We are talking about, in other words, the living spirit coming from God's spirit.

So God breathed the living spirit into Adam's nose?

Again, this is steeped in allegory, as well as symbolism.

'Breath of life' here illustrates that our essence is spirit: a reflection of God's spirit. In other words, we are each a part and parcel of God. We are not God, but God created us from Himself, as separated living individuals. We thus are made of God's essence.

'Breathed into his nostrils' is simply a symbolic way to communicate how we were created by God with God's spirit.

Just consider what happens when a person is given CPR after drowning. Should we breathe into their lungs, the air from our lungs becomes utilized by their body in order to give them oxygen? Our breath is thus infused into their body. This is an allegorical way of describing the fact that each of us is infused with God's spirit. We are 'cut from the same cloth' so to speak.

### Is God creating humans or souls here?

The beginning and the ending of this verse clearly indicate that it is describing God's creation of the living being or soul - the spirit-person.

Now is this living being the same as the physical body? The translation of this verse seems to indicate this. However, we know this is not true.

How do we know this is not true?

The living being (or soul) is of a spiritual substance, while the physical body is a temporary physical substance. The physical body is a temporary vehicle for the living being, or soul. This can be proven scientifically. Consider just a few reasons we can clearly establish this:

1) When the physical body dies, the life leaves, yet all the physical elements (all the body parts, organs, cells, molecules, blood, lymph and so on) are all still there in the dead body. Nothing physical is missing.

2) Clinical death research has established that the living being can leave the body, rise up above it, and observe the events surrounding their former body even though the body lies there unconscious.

3) Clinical death research has also established that the living being can leave the room where the body lies and observe events occurring outside the hospital, such as what a relative might be doing, even at a distant location.

4) Many have experienced leaving their body (called out-of-body experiences) and observing remote things without a clinical death (when someone legally dies in the hospital).

5) When there is no living being present in the body after death, the body begins to decompose.

6) We tend to deny the aging of our bodies. No one feels we are old, even though we might have an old body on.

7) Most cells are replaced within a few years, and all of the molecules making up the body are recycled within five years. This means that we are functionally wearing a different body every five years. It might be compared to a waterfall, where the water in the waterfall is always changing.

These points and many others confirm that we are separate from our physical bodies. We might lose an arm, a leg or even have a heart replaced, but we are the same person inside.

Noting these facts, we can now understand this verse a little differently. Yes, this verse is describing how God created living beings. But did He create them out of the "dust of the ground," as many have translated and interpreted?

### Is Adam literally the first man on earth?

The Hebrew word אֲדָמָה (adamah) which is being translated to "ground" is related to the word אָדָם (adam). אָדָם (adam) can be translated to 'man, human being, mankind' as well as Adam, symbolically the first man. And אֲדָמָה (adamah) can refer to the earth or ground, or it can refer to a particular 'land, territory or country.'

In other words, אָדָם (adam) can refer to the individual, and אֲדָמָה (adamah) can refer to the world where that individual comes from.

Let's break down the symbolism of the verse in its entirety:

'Adam' here symbolizes the independent living beings created by God to exchange love with Him. Each of us is a living being, and each of us was created by God to exchange a particular type of relationship with Him. However, God also gave each of us the freedom to love Him or not. More on this later.

### What does 'dust and ground' refer to?

'Dust' and 'ground' אֲדָמָה (adamah) thus symbolize the spiritual essence and spiritual territory that we each are made of and come from. We are each spiritual beings, and we are made of spiritual 'dust' from the spiritual dimension.

We must understand that these are spiritual concepts being communicated to those who have forgotten our spiritual identity, and only have material concepts to compare to. Thus, allegory and symbolism are required.

Let's consider an example. Let's say that we fly on a plane to a tropical island where the natives have never seen an airplane – and they didn't see our airplane land. They come to us and ask us: How did we arrive on their island? Because they have never seen an airplane we cannot explain it to them. So instead, we say that we flew on a giant bird and arrived on the other side of the island. We might say this because we know they have seen many birds so they can relate to the concept of a big bird.

Note that some might say that it is misleading for the visitors to say they flew on a giant bird because there are certainly many differences between a bird and an airplane. However, under the circumstances, this was the only way to communicate with any clarity that the visitors flew in because this was all the natives could relate to.

In the same way, this description of how God created us living beings must compare the process to something the audience could relate to. It may seem inaccurate to those who have scientific minds today. But this would relate perfectly to those who heard this symbolic story of Adam and Eve through the oral tradition thousands of years ago.

### Can this verse be translated differently?

As we will see in the coming verses, this allegorical story of Adam and Eve also serves to try to describe a place of another dimension – the spiritual world – for those whose physical minds could not conceive of such a place. It is specifically for this reason that this verse and story has been questionably translated and as a result, misinterpreted.

Those who do not realize their true identity as spiritual and their origin as coming from the spiritual dimension has no right to be attempting to translate or interpret this text. They are simply wandering in the dark, trying to guess what these ancient spiritual teachers were describing.

The bottom line is that this verse describes that each of us was created by God in the spiritual realm from Himself. He 'breathed' His life into us to make us independent living beings that indeed reflect Himself. We each carry God's essence, yet not God's completeness. We are humbly made of God, but we are not God. We are God's independent associates, created by Him to exchange a relationship of loving service with Him – should we choose to, because real love also requires freedom.

We can thus, therefore, offer a more appropriate translation of this verse:

_The LORD God formed the living being from the essence of the spiritual realm; and into him was infused God's spiritual qualities, which produced the living being._

#  Genesis 2:8

# Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east in Eden ...

_Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. (Genesis 2:8)_

This verse has been incorrectly translated by those who misunderstand the subject being discussed. And as a result, many have been searching the planet for this place referred to as _"Eden."_

### What is the 'Garden in the east' that God 'planted'?

The word _"planted"_ here is taken from the Hebrew נָטַע (nata), which can mean 'to plant,' but also to 'fasten, fix, establish.'

_"A garden"_ is translated from the Hebrew גַּן (gan) which can mean 'garden,' 'enclosure,' or 'enclosed garden.'

_"In the east"_ is being derived from מִן (min) and קֶדֶם (qedem). מִן means 'from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than' according to the lexicon. And קֶדֶם can be translated to 'east,' but also to 'antiquity, front, that which is before,' or 'aforetime.'

So while those who are fixed upon the assumption that this discussion relates to a physical man and woman ("Adam and Eve") and a place on this planet, there is an entirely different and more appropriate translation to be derived from this Hebrew phrase:

_"Established"_ is a more appropriate translation of נָטַע. While _"garden"_ is acceptable for גַּן, _"enclosure"_ should not be ignored.

מִן and קֶדֶם are more accurately describing, instead of a direction like the _"east,"_ to a time before antiquity: A period before we existed within these physical bodies.

What is being allegorically described is God establishing a place for us – spiritual beings – in the spiritual world after He had created each of us. The _"garden"_ is an enclosed space or section within the spiritual realm. This is the place where our spiritual selves dwelled prior to our fall to the physical world. This fact is confirmed by the words מִן and קֶדֶם, which refer to a time and place prior to our physical existence.

In other words, Eden is a section of the spiritual world.

### Who is Adam?

While the Hebrew word אָדָם (adam) is being translated to _"man,"_ this reference, as clarified in the previous verse, describes the living being – the spirit-person. This entity has also been called the soul - although many mislabel the soul as some sort of organ - as in, "my soul."

But really, each of us is the soul.

Beneath each temporary physical body dwells a unique and individual living being. This is the personality within the physical body, who lives before and after the death of the body.

This is confirmed scientifically. Our physical body is always recycling molecules and atoms. When we look at a picture of our physical body when it was a baby, we are looking at a different body than the one we have on now. Science has established that all the molecules and atoms are different, and most of the cells in the baby body have died and been replaced by new cells. We are thus effectively changing bodies constantly. Like a waterfall that flows with different water every minute.

So when we look at that baby body, and then in the mirror at our physical body now, neither one is our real identity. We are the driver of the physical body. Just as a person sits down in a car and drives a car away, we are seated within this body and are now driving the body.

The question now becomes, why are we in these temporary bodies, and where did we come from?

These questions are answered, allegorically, in this discussion of "Adam and Eve." First, in this verse, it describes a beautiful section in the spiritual realm where, after He formed us from Himself, He placed us. This doesn't necessarily mean we all were put in the same section either, as the spiritual realm has many domains: _"In my Father's house are many rooms."_ (John 14:2)

### What is this verse saying?

Given these elements, a more appropriate translation of this verse (Genesis 2:8) is humbly offered:

_Prior to our fall to the physical world, the LORD God established a section of the spiritual realm where He put the living being He had formed._

This verse and the rest of this discussion in Genesis is not a complete description of the spiritual world. Just as Jesus had in his statement about _"many rooms,"_ this verse uses allegory and symbolism.

This description is meant for a particular audience. This is an introduction to the concept that there is another world – the spiritual realm – beyond this one, where God dwells and where we dwelled prior to our existence within these physical bodies.

We might compare the use of allegory and symbolism here to how an adult might describe a complex task – like their occupation – to a young child. They would drastically simplify things so the child would get the main thrust, but many details are left out and/or massively simplified.

In the same way, the main thrust of the spiritual environment is described here: We were each formed by God and placed in a particular section within the spiritual world. Thus it is clear that we owe our existence to God. He is in every respect our Creator, but also our Best Friend and Soul Mate.

Just consider if you were God, and you could create anything. What would you create? You would likely create someone to share your life with, right? A playmate and companion, right? Now if you wanted to have a real relationship with that person you wouldn't create a robot that would mindlessly do anything you wanted. You would create a person with some freedom. You would give that person the freedom to like you or not, right? You would have to if you wanted to exchange a real relationship with them.

In other words, we were made to be with God, but we are also given the freedom to choose between having a relationship with Him or not. This is because God created us to exchange a loving relationship with Him. And love requires freedom. We cannot be forced to love someone. We have to be given complete freedom in order to truly love someone.

### What about love?

Love is the basis for our existence. Why should this be surprising? Each of us is constantly searching for real love. From the moment we are born into these bodies, we seek someone to love who will truly love us. We seek love by trying to gain people's attention. We seek love by trying to find a mate. We seek love as we strive for power and authority. In all these efforts, our focus is love. Even the most powerful, wealthy and famous people are seeking love, despite all the attention people give them, and all their power and wealth.

This means that not only is love what we need the most: We cannot find true love within the physical world.

This is because our true love is God. God is that perfect person we are seeking. God is that perfect soul mate we are looking for. God is that best friend who will never abandon us. God is that person who will always protect us. In other words, it is God we seek as we search for true love.

Love is part of our essence because we were made for love. We were formed by God to exchange a loving relationship with Him. We might compare this to how we might make anything with a purpose. Say we manufacture a refrigerator. The refrigerator is made specifically to keep our food cold. That is its purpose. It is designed for that purpose. So it does this pretty well. The fridge won't drive us around like our cars will, but it will keep our food good and cold.

In the same way, love is so important to us because God made us for the purpose of love. This is why relationships are so important to us. Everyone needs relationships because we were made for loving relationships.

We were created by God to share a loving relationship with Him and His associates within the spiritual realm, and this is what is being described in this discussion in Genesis.

#  Genesis 2:9

# And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground ...

_And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)_

### Where can we find some of these trees?

This verse is rich in symbolism and allegory. As for those who attempt to derive a literal translation from these words, what is a _"tree of life"?_ And what is a _"tree of the knowledge of good and evil"?_ Have we ever seen such trees? If we are to believe that there was a physical 'garden' planted somewhere on earth with these two trees in it, why aren't there any of these trees left? How come the only types of trees we see on this planet are trees with leaves, bark, and fruits?

We have never seen such trees because these are not physical trees. They are symbolic: Just as this entire description of the _"garden"_ is symbolic and allegorical.

This does not mean that the place and the event being described did not exist or happen. It simply means that the event and place are being described in such a way the listener or reader could relate to.

Symbolism and allegory are used to describe complex and technical events all the time. Just consider how a parent might answer this question from their young child: "Mommy, how are kids made?" Mom will likely use a significant amount of symbolism and allegory to describe the process of procreation between a man and a woman. She might say something like: "A man gives a woman a package of seeds and she plants them in a garden and after nine months, a baby sprouts up."

Now, this description of procreation between a man and woman is not literally or technically accurate, but it is functionally accurate. The package of seeds, the garden, and the sprouting are all symbols that represent something that really happens. But they cannot be taken literally. She doesn't want the child out digging up the garden looking for a younger brother or something.

In the same way, Genesis uses symbolism to describe the event of the fall of the spirit-person from the spiritual world.

We know that this is certainly not a description of the creation of the physical world because that was already described, including the creation of plants and trees, in the first chapter of Genesis. And God had already given humankind the fruits from the trees and the plants to eat in Genesis 1:29. This would conflict with that version if it were to be considered as part of the creative process.

### What do the trees symbolize?

Remember from the previous verse that the _"garden"_ symbolizes the spiritual world. As such, the _"trees"_ symbolize the activities of the spiritual world. Within the spiritual world, there are so many activities taking place. These activities relate to the loving exchanges that take place between God and His associates, whom He created. God has innumerable associates, and each of us shares a distinct and unique personal relationship with God. As such, God is involved in so many different events with multiple individuals, all simultaneously. This is the nature of God: He is able to expand Himself without limit, and share a unique relationship with each of us.

So these trees that are _"pleasing to the eye and good for food"_ represent the various activities that take place in the spiritual world, that come from the variety of loving relationships between God and His children. These activities are _"pleasing"_ because they are fulfilling to His children and to God. They are _"good for food"_ because they provide the sustenance of those within the spiritual world: Love and loving service.

Love pervades the spiritual world. Everyone there is infected with a rampant love for God. Their focus is to please God and make God – their Beloved – happy. All of this love is centered around each spirit-person's intimate relationship with God and their loving service to God. The entire atmosphere of the spiritual world is love, and everyone feeds off of this love. This love can thus be adequately symbolized by the word _"food."_

_"In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."_ What does this mean?

The _"tree of life"_ symbolizes love for God. This is what gives life to each of the living beings within the spiritual world, because each of us was created to love, and loving God is the lifespring of the living being.

Just consider, every living being here in the physical world is constantly looking for love. We look for love in our parents, our friends, our workmates, our fans, our teachers and whatever other opportunities we find. The search for love in the physical world translates typically to gaining the attention or admiration of others. We seek the attention and the admiration of others constantly because we need love.

We also spend a significant amount of our life looking for our soul mate. We attempt to find that single person who fulfills our need for exchanging an intimate relationship of love. The problem is, we can never seem to find that perfect person here in this world. No matter how hard we try, we always end up compromising with someone. It is for this reason that so many marriages are unhappy, and so many people break up and/or divorce. It is because these relationships are not fulfilling. We are in fact looking for our lost relationship with God in others.

Now when a person cannot find any love among their family, friends, spouse or others, we become depressed. We become empty and forlorn. In other words, we are empty without love.

### What is the tree of life?

Notice that the _"tree of life"_ (love for God) is planted in the _"middle"_ of the _"garden."_ Why is it in the middle? Because it is the most important "tree." It is the most important aspect of the spiritual world. It is the most important activity of the spiritual world. It is the essence of life, and this is why it is called the _"tree of life."_

But next to the _"tree of life"_ is another _"tree."_ This is the _"tree of the knowledge of good and evil."_ What does this symbolize and why is it next to the _"tree of life"?_

"Good" here is taken from the Hebrew word טוֹב (towb), which does not mean _"good"_ in the sense of righteousness, as placing it next to the word _"evil"_ suggests. Rather, טוֹב means something that is 'pleasant, agreeable, rich, happy, prosperous' and 'valuable in estimation' according to the Hebrew lexicon.

Furthermore, _"evil"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word רַע (ra'), which can mean 'evil' or 'wicked,' but the more practical translation, according to the lexicon, is 'bad, disagreeable, malignant, unpleasant, giving pain, displeasing, sad, unhappy' and so on.

In other words, the _"knowledge of good and evil"_ is a poor translation of the Hebrew, put forth by those without a clear understanding of the event and situation Genesis is describing. The more precise translation would be something akin to the "knowledge of pleasure and displeasure," or better, the _"knowledge of pleasure and pain."_

What we are talking about is self-centeredness. If someone has the knowledge of pleasure and pain, or the knowledge of pleasure and displeasure, they have become focused upon themselves. Just consider a person who is not focused upon themselves. They are not aware of their own pleasure or pain because they are focused elsewhere. They won't be able to understand what is truly pleasing or enjoyable. And they do not understand or _"know"_ the opposite of pleasure, pain.

Consider, for example, a person who is working for the pleasure of someone else, and focused only upon that other person's pleasure. And say, during the execution of their work, they are met with some potentially pleasurable experiences. Do they feel that pleasure? Not so much, because their focus is on the other person's pleasure.

Now, what if the same person working for the pleasure of someone else is met with some painful experiences during their effort? Do those experiences feel painful? Again, not so much, because they are working for someone else's pleasure. Their focus has been drawn away from themselves.

Rather, if that person's efforts indeed please the person they are working for, then their pleasure will become connected to the pleasure of the person they are serving. They will be pleased if they please the person they are working for.

So why is self-centeredness being represented by one of the 'trees' in the 'middle of the garden'? It is because God is ultimately the Enjoyer in the spiritual world. He enjoys the love and the loving service of His children. Because He understands _("knows")_ pleasure and pain, He is the ultimate Enjoyer.

The citizens of the spiritual dimension enjoy God's enjoyment. When God is pleased, they experience pleasure. So their pleasure is connected with His pleasure.

This might be compared to a finger. By design, the finger can only be healthy if the stomach receives food. If the stomach has no food, the finger withers. But if the finger helps bring food to the stomach, the finger becomes healthy. In the same way, by design, our real pleasure is connected to pleasing God.

But we know from this verse that God offers us the choice to also know pleasure and pain. We have the choice to try to become enjoyers. Though it is not our natural position, we still have the choice to seek to enjoy independently of God.

This sort of "knowing" enjoyment is about wanting what God has. By wanting to experience enjoyment independently, we are effectively wanting to take God's position. This is called envy, and it is at the root of why we are away from God. This was symbolically confirmed by the serpent later on in Genesis:

_"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5)_

Again, the words _"good and evil"_ are weak translations of the Hebrew words described above. They are better translated to something like _"pleasure and pain,"_.

These are practical realities of this world, and those issues we are constantly being tested and challenged with as we dwell within this physical world.

These are ultimately relating to our desire for independent enjoyment – which relates directly to self-centeredness. It also relates directly to envy of God, which is indicated with the symbolic serpent's phrase: _"and you will be like God."_

The bottom line is that we were created as God's lovers and loving servants, and God is our Beloved. Envy of God's position becomes expressed in this world as taking on physical bodies that experience pain and pleasure.

### What is God's position?

This makes God effectively the Enjoyer. He enjoys our loving service, and we (in our natural position) enjoy pleasing Him and exchanging a relationship with Him.

However, we can also desire to be the enjoyer, and be the beloved. We can strive to enjoy for ourselves and try to attract others to love and worship us. This is our choice: To love God or be envious of God. Being envious of God is equivalent to striving for His position as the enjoyer.

But having the _"tree"_ in the garden and eating of its _"fruit"_ are two different things altogether.

For example, let's say we work at a company that has a person in the human resources department assigned to receive complaints from employees. It is one thing to have the assigned employee at the company for complaints, and another for an employee to actually go in and complain about their boss.

They are two different manifestations. The assigned complaint person is a product of the company offering that choice to its employees. While an employee who takes that opportunity and complains about their boss rather than trying to resolve that complaint directly with their boss is often times a disgruntled employee who would probably be happier if they left the company, the existence of that complaint department represents the employee's freedom of choice to complain and even leave the company if they wish.

### Are we God's subjects?

By nature we are inferior, and God is superior. God is the Knower and we subjugate our knowing and enjoying to God's knowledge and enjoyment. God is the Enjoyer, and we were created to help God enjoy. This is our natural position, and ultimately, this is what fulfills us.

However, if we become envious of God, we want to be the enjoyer independently. We want to experience pleasure for ourselves. This is by nature God's position, but because we were created by God, we have a piece of God, and we thus have the potential (and freedom) to become jealous or envious of God's superiority: Because God wants us to love Him out of choice; He gave each of us this freedom to become envious.

We see this element throughout this physical world. We see that most of us are struggling to enjoy, often at the expense of others. Yet none of us are satisfied with this enjoyment. No matter how much wealth, power and fans we may have, we are not satisfied.

That is why so many wealthy movie stars succumb to drugs, alcohol, and suicide. They are not satisfied with their wealth and fame. This is because our natural position is not being the enjoyer. This is not fulfilling. We derive more satisfaction from serving. And we derive the ultimate pleasure by loving and pleasing God because this is our natural position within the spiritual realm.

#  Genesis 2:10-14

# A river watering the garden flowed from Eden ...

_A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:10-14)_

### Are these the same rivers we find on earth?

Sectarian Bible interpreters have assumed that because these verses name some rivers that are known as existing on earth. To them, this means Eden is a physical place on the planet earth.

But the key to this description is the beginning: _"A river watering the garden flowed from Eden."_ In other words, the river within Eden was the source of these rivers: _"from there it was separated into four headwaters."_

A headwater is the beginning of a particular river. This is considered the source of the river. Since the river flowing from Eden is the source of the headwaters of these four great rivers, we are not talking about a physical location on the planet, because there is not a single physical location on the planet where these mighty rivers (most of which still flow mightily) can be found originating from.

Since there is no physical location where these four rivers diverge from existing on this planet, we can know that this discussion is not describing Eden as a physical location on the planet. Rather, this is a discussion of the transcendental realm. The water _("river")_ of the transcendental realm is the source of these mighty rivers from a deeper context.

The context is the spiritual meaning given to these four mighty rivers and their representation of the transcendental world. Why would the source of these rivers be represented as the transcendental world?

While water is a physical element, the nature of water represents part of the nature of the transcendental world.

### What does the water symbolize?

Water is a humble element. Water softly seeps between rocks and soils and moves downward. Water is soft to the touch and can be penetrated easily. Water supplies life to all living organisms, and is pervasive within the body. Water is also strong and durable, and its motion can gradually wear away even the hardest of elements, such as rock.

By nature, the spirit-persons within the transcendental world are like water, in that they are soft and humble. They are giving and permissive. They also seek the lowest point because they are humble.

Water is also purifying. It is cleansing both inside the body and outside. It carries away dirt, debris and microorganisms. As such, water has been utilized in religious ceremony for many centuries, for its purifying nature.

The spiritual world is pure. It is a place where there is no greed, no suffering, no envy and no hatred. It is full of love and kindness. In this way, the spiritual dimension is also purifying to those of us living within this hate-filled, envy-filled, hellish physical world. Water thus symbolizes the purifying nature of the spiritual world.

This purifying giver of life (water) and the rivers that form from water has long represented the transcendental world for these reasons and more. The mighty rivers of water that have flowed through the Middle East and Asia have thus been considered sacred, and many peoples and cultures have considered their waters sacred because the nature of these waters has their ultimate source from the Supreme Giver of Life, God.

We can also see water's practical side, as we find that water was the central element during the creation of the physical universe ( _the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters_. (Genesis 1:2)). Where did these waters come from? They came from God, and God's transcendental world.

Thus, this description of Eden's river as the source of the headwaters of these mighty rivers is allegorical, symbolic and practical at the same time. We can also see that there is a pragmatic message behind this description. The meaning is that from this place _"Eden"_ – the spiritual world – comes purity, humility, love, and life itself.

### Where is Eden?

Eden is the spiritual realm. This is where each of us is from. We are not these temporary physical bodies – which get diseased, get old, and eventually, die and decompose. Each of us is a living spirit-person. We are eternal. We do not die when the body dies. We lived before this body was born, and we will live after it is dead.

This is a scientific reality. The body is constantly being recycled with new atoms, molecules, and cells. The body is not a permanent structure no more than is a waterfall whose waters are constantly changing. When we look at a picture of our body when it was a baby, we are looking at a different body than the one we have one now. All the atoms are different and all the molecules are different, and the cells are new. So what is the permanent person that I describe as "me"?

This is the spiritual living being. And where does that spiritual living being come from then? Each of us comes from Eden – the spiritual world – a place that is transcendental to the physical world. This is the reason for this description of Eden as the source for these mighty rivers. What is trying to be conveyed here is that we and everything around us have originated from the headwaters of the spiritual realm – the Supreme Being.

#  Genesis 2:15

# The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden to work it and take care of it.

Many Biblical interpreters and translators have breezed right over this verse without understanding what is being described. The incorrect assumption is that what is being described is a place on earth, and this has blurred and veiled the real meaning of Genesis as a whole, including this verse.

### Where is this 'Garden'?

Let's clarify the location being described here. The word _"garden"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word גַּן (gan), which also refers to an enclosed garden or section.

The ancient use of the word _'gan'_ would typically include being enclosed within a barrier that prevented robbers or animals from coming and stealing food from the garden. Many archaeological digs have confirmed the use of enclosed gardens during ancient times. The application here is that the garden was protected. It was a safe place, in other words: An enclosed section.

The word _"Eden"_ is translated from the Hebrew עֵדֶן (`eden), which is described in the lexicon as being 'the first habitat of man; site unknown.' The root of this word means 'luxury, dainty, delight, finery' and 'pleasure' according to the lexicon.

So how does this root meaning of Eden connect with the application of a protected or enclosed garden or section where _"man"_ was placed? Many have concluded that what is being described is a "pleasant country in Asia" where this garden supposedly was and the first humans were supposedly placed.

This is not only pure speculation: It is simply incorrect.

The key to the true location being described here is the Hebrew word עָבַד (`abad), which is being translated into the English phrase "to work it." Others have translated this word to "cultivate" as they imagine Adam being sent to the garden of Eden to become – what else – a gardener!

However, the correct translation within this context for the Hebrew word עָבַד (`abad) is, as taken from the Hebrew lexicon, to serve, and more specifically, to lovingly serve God.

For example, this word was used by Joshua when he made this statement (the bolded phrase is derived from the Hebrew word עָבַד (`abad)):

_"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul." (Joshua 22:5)_

This correct translation of עָבַד (`abad) provides us with a true context of this place being described as the Garden of Eden. Eden is derived from the root word 'pleasure' and 'delight' because what is being described is the spiritual world.

This is the place where each of us comes from. This is the place where we lovingly serve our Best Friend and Companion, the Supreme Being. And we derive complete fulfillment and true pleasure from this loving service to God.

### Was Adam a gardener?

This _'section'_ or _'garden'_ is a part or location within God's spiritual world. As Jesus described in John 14:2, _"In my Father's house are many rooms."_ So what is being described here in Genesis is one of those rooms – or sections – of the spiritual world.

Finally, we find at the end of this verse, the Hebrew word שָׁמַר (shamar) which is being translated to the English phrase _"take care of it."_ The assumption with this translation is that God plunked down Adam into a garden to take care of it. So God created Adam to be His gardener?

Let's consider this carefully. Why would God, the Supreme Being, Who has so much power that He created the entire universe – containing billions and billions of galaxies including our own – need Adam to take care of a little garden somewhere in Asia? Are we saying that God cannot take care of His own gardens when He can maintain an entire universe?

This is a preposterous allusion: That God somehow needed Adam to take care of His garden.

The reality is that the Hebrew word שָׁמַר (shamar) means, according to the lexicon, to 'observe, take heed, beware, protect, celebrate, keep' and 'treasure up (in memory)'. Thus, the sum and substance of this word is, 'to care for.'

_This verse is not referring to caring for a garden – it is referring to loving and caring for God._

Yes, it is allegory, used throughout the Scriptures to reserve meaning for those who are serious about God.

It is one thing to lovingly serve God, but it is yet another to care for the Supreme Being. Caring for someone introduces another principle: A loving relationship.

When a person cares for another, they do not simply like the person: They look out for the person they love. They care for them. If someone threatens the one we love, we intercede. We protect them. This is part and parcel of love. It means there is a relationship.

While the Supreme Person does not need protection, He allows His loving servants to serve Him and care for Him in the spiritual world. It is an exchange of a loving relationship.

### Where is God located?

In the spiritual world, God is present personally. It is not as though God is some sort of vague force or booming voice. God has spiritual form and personality (and He is not an old man with a long gray beard as imagined by many). The Supreme Being has feelings, emotions, likes, and dislikes. While God is a person He is still the Supreme Person. He is the best at everything and the creator of all. Yet He still relates personally with each and every one of us.

God created each of us to exchange a unique relationship with Him. He is thus our Soul Mate. He is the Person we each look for throughout our lives as we look for mates, friends and family members. We are always looking for that perfect friend, mate or family member, but never finding it here in the physical world. This is because our perfect Beloved is God, and our personal relationship with Him lies within the spiritual dimension.

This means that the spiritual world is filled with activity and variety. It is a place of complete happiness and pleasure. It is that place that John Lennon was imagining. The reason why John and the rest of us all look for this place is because it exists. This is where each of us is from. This is our original home: _Eden._

Here in this physical world, our physical bodies are not ourselves. They are temporary vehicles we drive around for a while, and then they die and decompose. Within these bodies resides our true selves: Our spiritual selves. Our spiritual selves were born in Eden.

The phrase _"the man"_ in this verse is being translated from the Hebrew אָדָם ('adam). While the word can be translated to the allegorical first man, _"Adam,"_ this Hebrew word אָדָם can also be translated to mean, according to the lexicon, 'human being' and 'mankind.' What is being described allegorically is the spirit-person: the living being.

It is important to understand the context of the event being described. The first chapter of Genesis already described the creation of the physical world, where the water, earth, sky and so on were created, and the plants, the fish, the beasts, and humankind were all created and populated the earth _("be fruitful and multiply")._ Are we saying that this description was not enough? That now Genesis has to describe the creation of man within the physical world a second time, but this time changing it to occur within a garden in Asia, and the first man as a gardener? No. Genesis does not have to re-state God's creation of the physical world. And there is absolutely no foundation for the _'garden of Eden'_ being in Asia.

What is being described here, in allegorical terms, is the creation and placement of each of us as spirit-persons within a location in the spiritual world. The 'garden' or _'section'_ of Eden is a protected section of God's spiritual world: It is our original home.

This is confirmed by later verses in Genesis that describe God walking through Eden. Jesus described God _as "Our Father in heaven"_ because the spiritual realm is characterized by God's personal presence.

Each of us was created by God and placed into a designated section of God's spiritual dimension where we could each exercise our unique loving relationship with the Supreme Being. Caring for God within our natural relationship with God is what gives us true happiness. This is why this location is being described as Eden, meaning _a place of 'pleasure' and 'delight.'_

We can see that we are each by nature loving servants when we experience pleasure from engaging in the loving service of our spouse and family members as we care for them. We can see that this caring drives people to do so many things on behalf of their families. This is our real nature: We are caring, loving servants. The problem occurs, however, when the bodies of our family members die or otherwise leave us. We become heartbroken. This is because we were created to care for God and His children within the spiritual world – Eden. This is why Moses and Jesus both taught that love for God was the most important commandment:

_"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5, Mark 12:30)_

#  Genesis 2:16-17

# And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree ..."

_And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)_

This is an allegorical description of something that happened to each of us. _"Man"_ here is being translated from the Hebrew word אָדָם ('adam), which can mean a particular 'man,' or 'mankind,' according to the lexicon. Furthermore, it can indicate a 'being' or 'beings' in general. In this case, as we've shown with earlier verses, this event is describing something that happened to each of us, as spiritual beings, in a section (or "garden") of Eden - the spiritual world.

### Why shouldn't they eat from that tree?

As we described earlier, the 'trees' of the 'garden' represent the relationships and activities of the spiritual kingdom:

_And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:8)_

These are not physical trees. They are symbolic. Have we ever seen a _tree of life_ or a _tree of knowledge_ growing anywhere?

Within the spiritual world there are so many activities. These all revolve around the various relationships that exist between the Supreme Being and each spiritual living being. In other words, each of us has a unique relationship with the Supreme Being, and there are different types of relationships. Each type of relationship comes with particular activities, as we render loving service to the Supreme Person - and exchange our particular flavor of relationship with Him.

These relationships with God are symbolically _'trees'_ \- because they give _'fruit'_ that is _"good for food" -_ because these loving relationships are effectively our spiritual 'food.'

The verse then describes two important _'trees.'_ Why are they in the _"middle of the garden?"_ This is not the geographical _"middle"_ being discussed. This indicates the center: these are the most important _'trees:'_ These are the central _'trees.'_

The _'tree of life'_ is love for God. It is central to the various relationships that exist within the spiritual realm because all of these relationships are based on feelings of love for God.

And the _'tree of knowledge of good and evil'_ represents the ability to reject the Supreme Being and try to become God-like – essentially becoming envious of God. This is why God says eating the _'fruit'_ of this _'tree'_ would cause them to _"surely die."_ This is because rejecting our loving relationship with God causes us spiritual death: The death of our loving relationship with Him.

### Does Love requires freedom?

Yes. The ability to choose is critical in the spiritual realm because in order for real love to exist there must be freedom of choice. God created this _tree_ of choice because without the choice to not love God, we could not truly love Him. It would be slavery if God created us without the choice to love Him. We would effectively be robots.

We have to remember that God put the _'tree'_ of _'knowledge of good and evil'_ there. Why would God put a _'tree'_ with attractive _'fruit'_ in the middle of the _'garden'_ and then ask Adam not to eat its _'fruit'_? God didn't have to put this _'tree'_ there, let alone in the _'middle'_ of the _'garden.'_ If He really wanted to make sure Adam didn't eat of its fruit, He would not have put it there in the first place. This only confirms that putting the _'tree'_ there and then asking _'Adam'_ not to _'eat'_ the _'fruit'_ of the _'tree'_ symbolically means that God has given us the freedom to love and serve Him, or not.

God created each of us in order to freely exchange a loving relationship with Him. This is why we are all so crazy about love. Just listen to any song or watch any movie. They are all mostly about seeking love or exchanging love. Everyone needs love because we were created to love. Love is in our nature.

But we are never happy with the so-called love we find here in the physical world. It never seems to be enough. Why? Because God created us to love Him. And until we are loving the Supreme Person, God, we are never satisfied.

### What is 'the knowledge of good and evil'?

So what does the _"knowledge of good and evil"_ have to do with the freedom to love God or not? _"Good"_ here is taken from the Hebrew word טוֹב (towb) which does not mean "good" in the sense of righteousness, as it insinuates when placed next to the word _"evil."_ טוֹב means something that is 'pleasant, agreeable, rich, happy, prosperous' and 'valuable in estimation' according to the lexicon.

Furthermore, _"evil"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word רַע (ra'), which can mean 'evil' or 'wicked,' but these are fairly low in the grammatical hierarchy of the word. The more practical translation, according to the lexicon is 'bad, disagreeable, malignant, unpleasant, giving pain, displeasing, sad, unhappy' and so on.

In other words, the _"knowledge of good and evil"_ is a poor translation of the Hebrew, put forth by those with a poor understanding of the event Genesis is describing. The more precise translation would be something akin to the _"knowledge of pleasure and displeasure,"_ or the _"knowledge of pleasure and pain."_

### What about enjoyment?

What we are talking about is enjoyment. If someone has the knowledge of pleasure and pain, or the knowledge of pleasure and displeasure, then they become aware of enjoyment. They become able to enjoy. Just consider if a person does not know what is painful or displeasing. They won't be able to understand what is pleasing or enjoyable. They cannot enjoy unless they understand ("know") the opposite of enjoyment.

So why is knowing enjoyment a big deal in the _'garden'_? It is because God is ultimately the Enjoyer in the spiritual world. He enjoys the love and the loving service of His children. Because He understands ("knows") pleasure and pain, He is the ultimate Enjoyer. In the spiritual dimension, we enjoy God's enjoyment. When God is pleased, we experience pleasure. So our pleasure is connected to His pleasure. This exists within the loving relationships of the spiritual realm.

But we know from Genesis that God also offered us the choice to also know pleasure and pain. We have the choice to try to become independent enjoyers. Though it is not our natural position, we still have the choice to seek enjoyment independently of God.

This sort of _"knowing"_ enjoyment is all about wanting what God has. By wanting to experience enjoyment independently, we are effectively wanting to be in the position of God. This is confirmed by the serpent later in Genesis:

_"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5)_

Again, the _"good and evil"_ here is taken from the Hebrew words described above, which are better translated to _"pleasure and pain,"_ ultimately meaning enjoyment.

And the operator in the serpent's statement is: _"you will be like God."_

The bottom line is that we were created as God's lover and loving servant, and God is our Beloved. This makes God effectively the Enjoyer. He enjoys our loving service, and we (in our natural position) enjoy pleasing Him and exchanging a relationship with Him.

However, we can also desire to be the enjoyer, and be the beloved. We can strive to enjoy for ourselves and try to attract others to love and worship us. This is our choice: To love God or be envious of God. Being envious of God is the same as striving to take His position as the enjoyer.

Essentially this is none other than self-centeredness. And self-centeredness is the _"fruit"_ of the _"tree"_ that God instructed us - symbolically, Adam - not to eat.

### What about envy and self-centeredness?

By _"eating of"_ this _"fruit"_ of self-centeredness we become envious of God, and effectively lose our loving relationship with Him.

By becoming self-centered, and envious of God, we "die" in the spiritual sense. As we read on in Genesis we find this confirmed: Adam does not die in the physical sense from eating the fruit. Does this mean that God was lying to Adam? No. The type of death God is describing is the worst type of death: It is losing our natural position within the spiritual realm. This is confirmed:

_So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden._ (Genesis 3:23)

The event being described in Genesis is our falling from the spiritual world. Because the spiritual realm is populated with love and loving relationships, envy and self-centeredness have no place there.

Each of us comes from the spiritual realm, but we do not have to stay there if we don't want to. Each of us has the choice to love God or decide to love ourselves first and foremost.

Those of us who have chosen not to love God by default become self-centered and envious of God. We have eaten the _fruit_ God asked us not to eat, and thus now find ourselves banished to this hellish physical world, away from Our Best Friend God and our natural loving relationship with Him.

This is why this physical world is so full of sadness, wars, violence, greed, and envy as everyone struggles to enjoy at the expense of others: We have fallen from the spiritual realm and have forgotten our loving relationship with God and our natural position as His loving servant.

#  Genesis 2:18

# The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper ..."

_The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." (Genesis 2:18)_

### Alone in the garden?

The word _"alone"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word בַּד. This can mean _"alone"_ in some sense but its appropriate meaning, drawn from the lexicon, is _'by itself.'_ This indicates a single as opposed to a group. The use of the word _"alone"_ here indicates loneliness, and this is not the case.

The assumption the translators have made is that what is being described is a place on earth (Garden of Eden) and Adam has been created and just left alone there. This is not accurate.

What is actually being discussed is God's creation of spirit-persons within the spiritual world. This is being taught within allegorical and symbolic prose. _"Eden"_ is the spiritual realm. It is not a physical place somewhere on the earth. The word _"man"_ here is being translated from אָדָם (adam) which can mean 'man' or 'mankind,' but also 'human beings.'

The first chapter of Genesis already described the creation of the physical world and all the plants and creatures, including man. What is being allegorically described now is God's creation of the individual spirit-persons, and (in the next verses) why some have fallen to the physical world.

God did not create us and just leave us alone. Are the translators trying to insinuate that God abandoned Adam? Rather, God created spirit-persons to exchange loving relationships with Him. Each living being has a unique and functional relationship with the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being enjoys each of those loving relationships. No one is alone.

### Why is love so important?

We were all created for the purpose of love. This is why we are each love-crazy. We are constantly searching for love and someone to lovingly serve. Unfortunately, we are willing to put that tendency upon practically anyone. This is why people do so many stupid things to impress others. We want to be accepted by others. We want to be liked by others. We want to please others so they will (hopefully) love us.

Unfortunately, we remain empty and unfulfilled as long as we strive to impress others and please others. This is illustrated by the so many movie and television stars who impress millions of fans with every performance, yet remain unfulfilled, to the point of drug abuse, alcoholism and even suicide. Why are they unhappy if happiness lies in impressing and pleasing others?

Because we were created by God to please Him. This is our natural position. Serving and pleasing God within a loving relationship with Him is completely fulfilling to each of us. He is the Perfect Person, someone we can completely trust and rely upon. And this is why each of us constantly looks for a soul mate and perfect person. We are actually needing to resume our loving relationship with God.

Just how could God have created a single spirit-person and then abandoned him? Could that even be possible? Could any one of us live for any stretch with no one?

No. God is there with each and every living being. He does not abandon anyone. None of us are alone, even if our physical bodies are sitting alone in a vacant room. God is always spiritually present for each of us, and He always has been. How is this? It might be compared with broadcasting. Today we can broadcast a voice, movie or television program across thousands of miles. In the same way, God is always by our side, as He uses the ultimate spiritually-based broadcasting network.

### Is heaven a community?

What is actually being discussed in this verse is that while each of us relates with God individually, and He enjoys this exchange, God also enjoys relating with multiple spirit-persons, who cooperate together to please Him. This creates what we refer to as _"community."_

In other words, this verse is communicating the creation of spiritual community: A spiritual family. We can see all around us that there are innumerable individual spirit-persons. Within each physical body is a unique spirit-person who has fallen from the spiritual dimension into the physical world. Yet we tend to huddle up in groups, because we are by nature, part of the same spiritual community.

It's funny how people have imagined the spiritual world. In previous centuries, many imagined it as this place up on the clouds, where people sit alone on cloud tips playing harps, and God kind of zips around with a long flowing beard and white hair. In recent times, popular movies have depicted the spiritual world as this darkened, foggy and barren place where people limp around in their old bodies. Worse are speculations of the spiritual realm as being the earth after the great apocalypse, with the "chosen" sitting around all day on lawn chairs sipping lemonade.

These are all speculative renditions of the spiritual realm coming from the physical mind – a physical recording device that has only experienced the physical world.

The real spiritual realm is a beautiful place; full of life, community, events and so many relationships. It is not unlike the physical world in its variegation. But the physical world is a temporary and perverted reflection of the spiritual world. The spiritual realm is full of real loving relationships, community, and events that are full of joy and bliss. The physical realm also has relationships, community, and events, but the relationships are based upon self-centeredness – and the events of this world are usually driven by self-centered purpose, often leading to the exploitation of others.

The physical world is temporary and fleeting. The spiritual realm is eternal and permanent. All of the forms of the physical world are in transition. They are fleeting. A physical body might look youthful and beautiful for a few years, but eventually, it becomes old, wrinkled, and dies. Then it decomposes. Similarly, everything in the physical world degrades and erodes eventually. Nothing here is permanent.

The spiritual realm is complete with permanent beauty and bliss. And the Supreme Being is not an old man. He is ever-youthful and beautiful.

### What is a perverted reflection?

The physical world is like seeing a tree across a lake by looking at its reflection on the lake's surface. The tree in the reflection is not the tree, but it looks like it from the reflection. In the same way, the physical world reflects the real community of the spiritual world, but it is not that community.

In other words, the physical world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual realm. The spiritual world is full of love and care, and this love is centered around everyone's loving relationship with the Supreme Being. Each person is focused upon how to please the Supreme Being, and this gives each of us fulfillment. And because God has loving relationships with each person, real love also exists between every person in the family of the spiritual realm. Therefore, every person is constantly loving and caring for each other, as they humbly love and care for the lovers of the Supreme Being.

There are many types of loving relationships between the living beings and the Supreme Person. This is symbolized in Genesis with the description of the various trees, each of which is described as "good for food." Each type of relationship with God is fulfilling, and happiness is derived from the service related to that loving relationship.

At the same time, the loving cooperation within the family of the spiritual world renders a type of bliss that people here can only dream of. We've heard so many people dream of a place where there are no wars, no violence, no hatred, no bigotry and so on. But we never seem to find that place in the physical world. Many have even tried to develop special societies or communes in hopes of creating this sort of community among humankind. But these have always failed to bring about their intended purpose.

Why? Because the physical world is that place where those of us go who decided we did not want to participate in the community of loving God. Those of us who began to care more about ourselves than God and God's community fell from this community – and took on physical bodies.

Here, within these physical bodies in this temporary physical dimension, each of us can act out our self-centered desires. Here we can carve out a position for ourselves (temporarily of course) in order to try to enjoy others respecting us and serving us. Instead of loving and serving God and others, we decided we want to be loved and served. In other words, we want what God has. We became envious – as Genesis describes as eating the "forbidden fruit" – and now we have been given the freedom to act out that envy.

The event of our fall from the spiritual realm (each of us, individually) is being described allegorically in these verses of Genesis. Yes, Genesis is rich in symbolism and allegory. The idea of having a _"helper"_ in this verse is not that God left us alone and felt we needed playmates so we wouldn't be lonely. Nor is it suggesting that women are inferior to men, created only to be men's helpers.

Rather, this verse is symbolically describing the reality that God did not just create one living being to exchange a loving relationship with. Rather, He created a community of loving, living beings, who lovingly cooperate with each other – and _help_ each other – in activities that please our common Best Friend, the Supreme Being.

#  Genesis 2:19

# Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts ...

_Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. (Genesis 2:19-20)_

### Was Adam really naming all the species?

This verse has been questionably translated into English by those who did not understand the topic being discussed. Is Genesis really describing a time when Adam named all the species? Was Adam a biologist then? Did he really name the hundreds of thousands of species? And what does this have to do with the previous verse?

The word _"beasts"_ here is a dubious translation. This is taken from the Hebrew word חַי (chay), which means, according to the lexicon, 'living, alive' when used as an adjective and when used as a noun in the masculine, 'relatives' or 'life.' When used as a feminine noun, it can mean 'living thing' and 'life,' or 'community.'

Furthermore, by the translation, one would assume that the creatures being discussed are those upon the planet earth. However, the description of their creation came in the first chapter of Genesis:

_And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so._ (Gen. 1:24)

In the above Genesis 1:24 verse, the word _"creatures"_ comes from the Hebrew word נפש (nephesh). In Genesis 2:19, the word _"creatures"_ comes from the word חי (chay), which actually means, 'soul, self, life, person, living being' according to the lexicon. In 1.24, the word _"living"_ before the word _"creatures"_ is being translated from this word חי (chay).

This distinction is made because 1.24 is clearly discussing the creation of the physical organisms – which _contain_ the self or soul (חי (chay)), whereas 2.19 is discussing those living beings (חי (chay)) themselves. The living being – each of us – is a spiritual entity. We are not these physical bodies. Rather, we are the spirit-person dwelling within these physical bodies. We are operating them or driving them.

### What do the other words in this verse mean?

Genesis also clearly makes this distinction between the physical organisms, translated to the phrase _"Let the land produce..."_ This comes from the Hebrew word ארץ ('erets) – pertaining to the 'earth,' 'soil' or 'ground' according to the lexicon. This is allegorically describing that the physical organism is a product of the physical universe.

But the word used in Genesis 2:19 for "ground" is אֲדָמָה ('adamah) which may refer to 'ground' or 'land', but with something that is 'yielding sustenance.' It is a substance that yields or constructs, according to the lexicon. This contrasts with אֶרֶץ ('erets) of 1:24, which refers to 'earth' - _the physical world._

Furthermore, _"field"_ in Genesis 2:19 is being translated from the Hebrew word שָׂדֶה (sadeh) which can indicate 'field' or 'land' but not just any field or land: Rather, this word comes from the root 'to spread out' which indicates a cultivated or prepared field or land – an especially fertile, productive or creative land. This indicates 2.19 is discussing the _spiritual world_ – from whence everything is produced.

Remember also that 2:19-20 follows the verse discussing the community (family) of the spiritual world (see discussion with Genesis 2:18). We've already shown that this section beginning with Genesis 2:4 is not a rehashing of the creation of the physical world – as described in the first chapter of Genesis. Rather, it is the allegorical description of the appearance of the spiritual living beings and how some fell down to the physical world.

Again, this is confirmed by נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh), which is being incorrectly translated to _"creature."_ נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh), remember, means 'soul, self, life, person, living being.'

### Why do we misunderstand our identity?

The reason why translators have misconstrued this verse is due to a lack of understanding of our true identity. Our physical body is temporary and transitory. This is a scientific fact. The body's cells, molecules, and atoms are constantly being recycled. Scientists have estimated that within five years, every atom and molecule of the body has been replaced. This means that within five years, we are wearing a new body.

Furthermore, every body dies and once the living soul leaves, the body decomposes. The fact that the living being – call it the soul or the self – leaves the body at death has been confirmed scientifically in hundreds of thousands of clinical death cases – where a person floats up above their body after the body has been pronounced dead in the hospital, and later gets revived, and the person recalls the event.

Many cases have confirmed the person indeed floated above their body because the person accurately recalls seeing things happening around them – or elsewhere in the hospital – while their body was lying dead on the operating table or hospital bed.

What leaves the body is the self – the spiritual living being. Each of us is spiritual living beings. We are not these temporary physical bodies.

However, when we are within a physical body, we have the illusion that this physical body is our identity. This is God's design, to give us the illusion that we are away from God, and able to act out our desires (mixed with a heavy dose of education).

This misidentification with the body is the disease of the spiritual living beings trapped within the physical world. But one must have a clear understanding of our true identity as spiritual living beings in order to properly translate Genesis from its Hebrew into English or any other language.

In other words, this verse is not describing Adam naming all the species as supposed by the translators. Rather, this verse is describing something entirely different.

### What is the importance of the name?

The Hebrew word that is being translated to _"name them"_ and later "called" is קָרָא (qara'). This means 'to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.' More specifically, according to the lexicon, _'to call with the name of God.'_

Furthermore, the word שֵׁם (shem) which is being translated to _"that was its name"_ has a more specific meaning in this context, as it relates to 'reputation, fame, glory'. According to the lexicon, שֵׁם (shem) can specifically mean _'the Name as the designation of God.'_

Is Genesis not talking about God? Why would Genesis be discussing Adam naming the hundreds of thousands of species? Is this a biology textbook or a book written to glorify God?

The answer is the latter. The Book of Genesis is not a biology textbook. There is no need for Adam to name hundreds of thousands of species that roam the earth. Plus this has nothing to do with the subject matter anyway.

Rather, what is being described is God's creation of the spiritual community of living beings (namely, us), and the fact that the spiritual living beings of the spiritual family glorify God's Holy Names. This is a common activity of the spiritual realm because the central component of Eden – the spiritual world – is the common love of its inhabitants upon the Supreme Person.

### Why was praising God's Names so important?

Glorifying God's Holy Names is a spiritual activity that has been promoted throughout the books of the Bible, by so many of God's representatives. Just consider these verses:

_At that time men [of the earth] began to call on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 4:26)_

_From there he [Abraham] went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)_

_...and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 13:4)_

_Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the Name of the LORD, the Eternal God. (Genesis 21:33)_

_Isaac built an altar there and called on the Name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. (Genesis 26:25)_

_"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name." (Exodus 20:7)_

_"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name." (Deuteronomy 5:11)_

_"...he may minister in the Name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD." (Deuteronomy 18:7)_

_"If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of Him." (Deuteronomy 18:22)_

_"The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the Name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault." (Deuteronomy 21:5)_

_"Then all the peoples on earth will see that You are called by the Name of the LORD, and they will revere You." (Deuteronomy 28:10)_

_"I will proclaim the Name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!" (Deuteronomy 32:3)_

_David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the Name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45)_

_Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the Name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'" Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town. (1 Samuel 20:42)_

_He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the Name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. (2 Samuel 6:2)_

_After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD Almighty. (2 Samuel 6:18)_

_The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD. (1 Kings 3:2)_

_"You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under His feet." (1 Kings 5:3)_

_"I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when He said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for My Name.'" (1 Kings 5:5)_

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (1 Kings 8:17)_

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (1 Kings 8:20)_

_When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the Name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. (1 Kings 10:1)_

_Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire – He is God." Then all the people said, "What you say is good." (1 Kings 18:24)_

_With the stones he built an altar in the Name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. (1 Kings 18:32)_

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD?" (1 Kings 22:16)_

_He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the Name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. (2 Kings 2:24)_

_But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the Name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy." (2 Kings 5:11)_

_"Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked." (Jeremiah 20:13)_

_After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD. (1 Chronicles 16:2)_

_So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the Name of the LORD. (1 Chronicles 21:19)_

_David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God." (1 Chronicles 22:7)_

_"Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD." (1 Chronicles 22:19)_

_Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself. (2 Chronicles 2:1)  
"Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on Sabbaths and New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel." (2 Chronicles 2:4)_

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (2 Chronicles 6:7)_

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (2 Chronicles 6:10)_

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD?" (2 Chronicles 18:15)_

_The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel. (2 Chronicles 33:18)_

_"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21)_

_"I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the Name of the LORD Most High." (Psalm 7:17)_

_"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God." (Psalm 20:7)_

_"The nations will revere the Name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere Your glory." (Psalm 102:15)_

_"So the Name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem." (Psalm 102:21)_

_"Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the Name of the LORD." (Psalm 113:1)_

_"Let the Name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore." (Psalm 113:2)_

_"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised." (Psalm 113:3)_

_"Then I called on the Name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!" (Psalm 116:4)_

_"I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the LORD." (Psalm 116:13)_

_"I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the Name of the LORD." (Psalm 116:17)_

_"That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the Name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel." (Psalm 122:4)_

_"Our help is in the Name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 124:8)_

_"May those who pass by not say, "The blessing of the LORD be upon you; we bless you in the Name of the LORD."" (Psalm 129:8)_

_"Praise the LORD. Praise the Name of the LORD; praise Him, you servants of the LORD" (Psalm 135:1)_

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created." (Psalm 148:5)_

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for His Name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens." (Psalm 148:13)_

_"The Name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)_

_"At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers – the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty." (Isaiah 18:7)_

_"Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea." (Isaiah 24:15)_

_"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the LORD and rely on his God." (Isaiah 50:10)_

_"And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve Him, to love the Name of the LORD, and to worship Him..." (Isaiah 56:6)_

_"From the west, men will revere the Name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere His glory." (Isaiah 59:19)_

_"At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the Name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts." (Jeremiah 3:17)_

_Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the Name of the LORD our God." (Jeremiah 26:16)_

_Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the Name of the LORD (Jeremiah 26:20)_

_"You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the Name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed." (Joel 2:26)_

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved" (Joel 2:32)_

_"...we will walk in the Name of the LORD our God for ever and ever." (Micah 4:5)_

_"He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the Name of the LORD his God." (Micah 5:4)_

_"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the Name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder." (Zephaniah 3:9)  
"But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the Name of the LORD." (Zephaniah 3:12)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Matthew 21:9)_

_"'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Matthew 23:39)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!" (Mark 11:9)_

_"'Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.'" (Luke 13:35)_

_"Blessed is the king who comes in the Name of the Lord!" (Luke 19:38)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!" (John 12:13)_

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 2:21)_

_So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the Name of the Lord. (Acts 9:28)_

_"Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."" (2 Timothy 2:19)_

_"Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the Name of the Lord." (James 5:10)_

_"Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)_

These verses confirm that the praising and glorifying of God's Holy Names is the highest devotional activity – an activity that can, if performed with humility and respect, elevate us back to the spiritual dimension and our spiritual family, where love for God runs rampant.

### Why do the devoted praise God?

So instead of this verse discussing Adam becoming a biologist who names all the species, this verse actually describes a central activity of the spiritual community: Praising and glorifying God.

One might ask: How did the translators of Genesis 2:19 from Hebrew to Latin, English and other languages miss this reference to God's Holy Names? The answer is that professional translators from the various sectarian institutions have not been interested in praising God's Holy Names. This is evidenced by the fact that so many professional sectarian teachers virtually ignore all the other Biblical references to praising God's Holy Names as evidenced above. They not only have ignored this important aspect of devotional activity among their teachings, but they have virtually ignored God's Holy Names in their congregational rituals.

The above evidence suggests a more appropriate translation of Genesis 2:19-20:

_Within the spiritual dimension God created a community of living beings, some of whom roamed the fields and some who flew as angels. God gathered them together with Adam, and they all called upon and glorified God's Holy Names._

#  Genesis 2:20-22

# So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts ...

_So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:20-22)_

### Did woman literally come from Adam's rib?

This verse, along with Genesis 2:19, have been widely misunderstood. Despite this, their allegorical, symbolic meaning can still be derived from the English assuming the context of the discussion is understood.

In other words, this is not a description of the creation of the first woman from the rib of the first man, as has often been portrayed by paid sectarian interpreters.

As mentioned previously, there are two contextual issues to remember about this section of Genesis. The first is that what is being discussed is the spiritual dimension, the creation of the spiritual living beings, and (later) how each of us fell from the spiritual dimension into the physical world.

The second issue to remember is that the spiritual world cannot be seen by the physical eyes. Nor can it be perceived by the physical mind - a memory bank of sensory events of the physical world. This makes the spiritual dimension a bit difficult to describe. Therefore, Genesis is full of symbolism and allegory. Jesus also used symbolism when describing the spiritual world:

_"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2)_

We can see here that Jesus is comparing the spiritual dimension - the dimension where the Supreme Being is the center of love and activity - to a house that has many rooms. Both the use of _"house"_ and _"rooms"_ are allegorical and symbolic. Jesus is obviously describing that the spiritual dimension has many different sections or territories, much like our universe has many planets or our planet has many countries and environments.

Now, through allegory and symbolism, Genesis is discussing the concept of _community_ within the spiritual dimension. God created living beings to enjoy a loving relationship with Him. He did not just produce one living being. He produced a community of living beings, who were all connected and related to each other. This describes us: God's children of related living beings.

These verses describe just _how_ we are all connected to each other.

### Are we not all family?

The Hebrew word translated to _"Adam"_ or _"the man"_ here is אָדָם ('adam), which can mean, according to the Hebrew lexicon, 'man, human being, man, mankind' As the context of this discussion is the spiritual realm being described allegorically, אָדָם is describing the spiritual living being - the occupants of the spiritual realm outside of God and His expansions.

The word _"helper"_ is derived from the Hebrew word עֵזֶר ('ezer), meaning, according to the lexicon, 'help, succour'. "Succour" means to give assistance to. The better translation in this context would thus be to _lovingly serve._

Remember from Genesis 2:15 we found that Adam - representing the living beings - was not put in Eden to become Eden's gardener. His purpose was to serve and care for God. This is the purpose of all living beings. Each of us was created to care for God. Each of us was created to be God's loving servant and exchange a unique relationship with Him. This is confirmed throughout the books of the Bible, inclusive of Moses' teachings. Consider one of Moses' clear statements to his students:

_"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear [revere] the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 10:12)_

Now the creation of a _"helper"_ to the symbolic Adam is being described. Let's delve further into this description and its meaning.

First God causes the symbolic Adam to fall into a deep sleep. _"Deep sleep"_ is being translated from תַּרְדֵּמָה (tardemah) which means either 'sleep' or 'trance' according to the lexicon. What was this "sleep" or "trance"?

Then it states, _"while he was sleeping."_ This is taken from יָשַׁן (yashen) which means to be 'asleep' and 'to remain a long time' according to the lexicon.

What is sleep anyway? Sleep is a state of illusion or trance, as one focuses upon dreaming instead of the waking world. Now we could figure that Adam fell into a conventional sleep as we know it. But does God operate on people when they sleep? Don't be ridiculous.

Rather, God – who can influence our consciousness – simply encourages a particular consciousness among the living beings of the spiritual dimension: A consciousness of mutual love.

### What does Adam's rib symbolize?

This encouraging of consciousness is very practical. Consider what happens at a concert. Here, the band is able to create a mood or consciousness among the audience by playing a certain type of music or speaking to the audience in a certain way. Skilled speakers and politicians can also do this, as they select words and speaking mannerisms that influence their audience's consciousness one way or another.

So while the spiritual living beings created by God – symbolized by Adam – are in this loving state of consciousness influenced by God, God takes a part of symbolic Adam to create the symbolic Eve. What is this part?

The word _"rib"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word צֵלָע (tsela), which can mean 'side,' 'rib' or 'beam' according to the lexicon. The 'beam' usage is taken from shipbuilding, where a ship is made of beams that make up the central structure of the ship. The beams of a ship, in order words, give the ship its stability. Its beams give the ship its strength and foundation. "Side" and "rib" also convey this concept, as these are critical structural components of the body or any structure. What is being conveyed is a _core element of composition:_ A critical _part._

What is being described here is that a core element is being taken from one living being to create another. Are we really saying that some of us (notably those in female bodies) were originally created from ribs? Certainly not. This has no scientific or biological basis whatsoever.

In fact, what is being described has nothing to do with the physical bodies of men and women. These physical bodies are all temporary. They provide a vehicle for the spiritual living being for a few years, and after the living being leaves, the body begins to decompose. In other words, the spiritual living being has nothing to do with the sex of the physical body.

In the spiritual world, each of us has a spiritual form based on our unique relationship with God. In the spiritual dimension, God is the dominator and we are all dominated living beings. There is no room for male chauvinism in the spiritual world because the Supreme Being is always Supreme. But God's rule is benevolent. He is ever-loving and forgiving.

What Genesis is describing is the creation of _community_ among the living beings of the spiritual world. Adam symbolizes each of us, but Eve symbolizes how we are all connected. We were each created directly by God to exchange a unique loving relationship with Him. But each of us also has a part of each other within us - making us each relatives - and each other's helpers. This is what the rib symbolizes: that we are all connected, part of the same spiritual family.

### Why is our spiritual family so important?

This _part_ we share is a piece of the main element of our composition: _Our tendency to love and serve._ We each were created with the natural tendency to lovingly care for and serve God. But this same element also relates to our spiritual relatives: we were also designed to lovingly care for each other in relation to our care for God.

This is why Jesus quoted Moses' teaching:

_"And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matt. 22:39)_

after his most important teaching:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)_

_"Like it"_ is derived from the Greek ὅμοιος (homoios), which means to be 'similar' or to 'resemble' something else. In other words, loving our spiritual relatives is inseparable from our love for God. If we care for and love God, we'll automatically care for and love our spiritual relatives, God's children.

This is because we are related to each other in the most intimate fashion.

We see a glimpse of this in the physical world, as we often feel an intimate bond with our physical brothers and sisters. Because we have a common bond of caring for our mother and father, we often feel intimate with our brothers and sisters. However, these relationships of the physical body are temporary. Once our various relatives' bodies die, and then our body dies, those physical relationships cease. We may still share a relationship with those spiritual persons, but after the death of our bodies, they are no more related to us than any other living being is.

In the spiritual world, we are feeling related with every living being - our true relatives. When we are loving God with all our heart and soul, we are loving others intimately as relatives that share a common Beloved - the Supreme Being.

This is why even the most wealthy person in the physical world is still empty even with all their wealth, yet they will gain a glimpse of real joy by serving others with their wealth.

This is the hidden meaning within this symbolic, allegorical discussion of Adam, Eve and the so-called rib: We each share a part of each other - that part is our tendency to love and serve. This is the key to the kingdom of God: Loving service.

But truly loving and serving others is incomplete without understanding who we are. We are not physical bodies. We are the spiritual living beings within these temporary physical bodies. Therefore, our love and loving service must be connected to and reflect our spiritual loving relationship and loving service to the Supreme Person, God.

#  Genesis 2:23-25

# The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; ..."

_The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. (Genesis 2:23-25)_

### Is Adam really naming 'woman'?

These verses have been dubiously interpreted to indicate the physical bodies of man and woman and Eden being a physical location somewhere on the planet earth, where the first two humans were put to work in 'the garden' and one was created from the other's rib. Are we really to believe that the first two humans were naked gardeners somewhere in Asia, with one being born of the other's rib?

No. As we've shown from the previous verses, this is an allegorical explanation of our creation in the spiritual world (Eden), and (later) our eventual fall into the physical world. These verses are rich in symbolism and allegory. Why? Because the creation of spiritual living beings and our fall to the physical world are extremely complex and technical events. Because our minds and brains have been programmed by the physical world and its sensual events, we have little means to comprehend the technology involved within God's creation.

Let's use an example. Let's say we were trying to explain to someone living two thousand years ago - or even to a child today - how television images are broadcast from a single location into millions of households using today's technology. How would we do this? Would we give them the schematic drawings of satellites, radio transmitters, satellite dishes and television circuitry to explain how the technology works? Certainly not, because this information would be over their heads. They would not understand anything.

What we would have to do is somehow relate and compare the technology to something they had already experienced. If we were explaining this to a ten-year-old child, for example, we might compare the technology to multiple people watching the same kite flying in the sky. Or we might compare it to the soldier game the child likes to play. If talking to someone living thousands of years ago, we might try to compare television and radio to one king sending out the same message using a thousand messengers on horseback going to different places.

Whatever allegorical symbolism we would use, it would be meant to try to get across the central purpose of the information exchange: What is the intended message?

### 'Bone of my bones'?

We can see the meaning of Genesis as we explore the symbolism coming from the Hebrew. Consider, _"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh."_ The Hebrew being translated to _"bones"_ is עֶצֶם ('etsem). עֶצֶם ('etsem) can be translated to _"bone"_ but also to _"essence"_ or _"substance"_ according to the lexicon. In other words, the symbolic Adam is saying that he and the symbolic woman share the same essence or substance.

As for _"flesh,"_ this is taken from Hebrew בָּשָׂר (basar), which can mean the flesh of the body, or used in a more expansive manner, such as _"all living things"_ or _"mankind,"_ according to the lexicon. In other words, instead of _"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,"_ the message being communicated is:

_"We are of the same essence - all living beings share the same essence"_

And who was the symbolic Adam actually _saying_ this to? Since he is discussing "woman" (symbolizing the community of the spiritual realm) in the third person, this would leave God. Thus, this symbolic discussion takes place between the symbolic Adam and the Supreme Being.

As for, _"she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man,"_ this phrase utilizes the same context and language discussed in Genesis 2:20, which mistakenly translated צֵלָע (tsela') to _"rib"_ instead of _"part."_ The Hebrew being translated to _"taken out of"_ is לָקַח (laqach). This can certainly be translated to _"taken out of,_ " but it can also be translated to _"get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry"_ and so on. It can also be translated to _"take in the hand"_ or _"take and carry along."_

The concept being communicated here is a shared essence among our spiritual community. The living beings within the community of the spiritual world are connected together. We are all made of the same essence. We carry with us a part of each other.

### What is our common part?

It is the part connected to caring and loving, which is connected to the caring and loving of the Supreme Being. Remember in the previous verse that it was God who created both the symbolic Adam and Eve, and they shared this common characteristic or part. It was not as though Adam owned this part (or _"rib"_ ) and gave it to Eve. The part comes from God. This is our nature: to love and care for God. We all share this nature, and like it, we also share a common love and care for each other - in our pure state.

This renders the meaning of the next verse: _"For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."_

_"For this reason"_ is connected to the symbolic Adam and the symbolic Eve sharing this characteristic (or _"part"_ ): They are sharing this need to love and care for God and each other. And it is _"for this reason"_ that we find the attachments of family and marriage in the physical world.

Yes, the reason why there is this _community_ called family in the physical world - common amongst all humans, and even animals, insects, fish and plants - is because we each share this common need for our larger spiritual community of God and His children. This is why we find a glimpse of joy in caring for our spouse, our children and our parents. We all need to care for others outside of ourselves.

### Is emptiness related to materialism?

This is also why those of us who seek joy by selfishly consuming and striving for the respect and admiration of others are perpetually empty. We can see this clearly among famous movie stars and media personalities, who have as much money and admiration as they could possibly desire. But do these things bring them happiness? No. This is why so many stars succumb to drugs and alcohol: Despite their abundance, they are empty.

But we can also see that those stars that pursue their family life in private will find some real joy in that family life. This is because they are participating in a reflection of our spiritual community. They are caring for others outside of themselves, and this care gives them a glimpse of joy.

This joy, however, is also filled with pain because they are connecting their love and care with the physical bodies of their family, which will eventually become sick and die. In other words, all our family and loved ones will eventually leave us: if not by divorce or physical separation, then by the death of the physical body.

Our spiritual community, however, is perpetual. Our relationship with the Supreme Being is always there, and by reconnecting with that relationship, we also re-connect with our nature of loving and caring for God and the rest of our spiritual community - His children in their spiritual forms. This is our real family. And this family can never be separated from us or taken away.

And as far as Adam naming the symbolic _"woman,"_ this is a dubious translation. The Hebrew used here is קָרָא (qara') which means to "to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim" according to the lexicon, and most specifically, in this context, "to call unto" or _"call (with name of God)"_. This, as we showed when this term was also used in Genesis 2:20, Adam is not naming things. He was not a biologist who was going around naming things.

Rather, what is being communicated is that the two of them (symbolically representing our spiritual community) shared a common nature not only to love and care for each other but to share a relationship with and worship God - being symbolized by their _"calling out to God"_. In other words, what is being communicated here is not _"she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man"_ but rather:

_"we share this common essence as we call upon and worship God."_

This understanding brings us to the last part of this verse: _"The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."_ What is being communicated here?

Remember that the previous verses are discussing how we all share this nature of spiritual community, of loving and caring for God and each other. This is our pure state. This is our state within the spiritual dimension. This contrasts with the physical world, where each of us is covered up by our false identification of thinking we are these temporary physical bodies.

### What does being 'naked' mean here?

_"Naked"_ is being taken from the Hebrew word עָרוֹם ('arowm), which can also be translated to _"bare"_ according to the lexicon. In other words, Genesis is not discussing clothing here.

Consider the phrase, "to bare my soul." This is used to indicate we are revealing our inner nature to someone. This is the application of _"naked"_ or _"bare"_ in Genesis. The symbolic Adam and Eve (the community of the spiritual realm) were, at this point in their existence, pure spiritual living beings, who were embracing God and their spiritual community. They were in a state of being _"bare"_ or better, _"pure."_

The common _"part"_ shared by Adam and Eve reveals our _pure_ (or _"bare"_ ) identity of being God's loving servants. And it is in this state that we feel no _shame,_ and no _guilt._

Shame and guilt in this context are synonyms. What is _guilt_ anyway? When we do something selfish we usually feel _guilty_ or _shameful_. Why? Because our real nature is to love and care for the Supreme Being and His children without any self-centeredness - without expecting anything in return. This is our pure nature, and when we abandon it in favor of self-centeredness, we feel _guilty_ because we know being selfish is not our true nature. Thus we can also say that since our essence is given to us by the Supreme Being, _guilt_ is also a message from the Supreme Being trying to remind us of our true nature. Thus, _guilt_ is actually God calling us back home to Him.

#  Genesis 3:1-5

# Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals ...

_Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1-5)_

### Can this be taken literally?

Understanding the meaning of this exchange is critical to realizing the message of this allegorical story from Genesis.

These verses are not, as some sectarian teachers from various institutions have proposed, to be taken literally. There is no physical place called Eden somewhere on earth, where God planted trees of life and trees of knowledge, and God put a man, then removed a rib from the man and used it to make a woman, and then put a snake there to tempt the woman into eating the fruit that God didn't want them to eat. That would be a ridiculous story if taken as literal.

What are trees of life and trees of knowledge? Is man now missing a rib? If God didn't want them to eat from that tree why did He put the tree there in the first place? And why would God put a serpent there who supposedly accuses Him of deceiving Adam regarding the results of eating the fruit?

These are only a few of the problems presented by the assumption that these verses are to be taken literally. A literal interpretation produces a variety of dubious translations here and in other sections of this text.

Rather, these verses are discussing - in allegorical terms rich with symbolism - how some of the citizens of the spiritual world fell to the physical world.

### What us the symbolism of Genesis 2 and 3?

Here is a listing of some of the symbolism used up to this point in the allegorical story of Adam and Eve in Eden - as referenced from earlier verses:

_Eden_ represents the spiritual world. This is the part of God's creation where He is personally present. This is the location where the Supreme Being created and placed the spiritual living beings and enjoys exchanging unique relationships with each of them (each of us).

_Adam_ represents the spiritual living beings created by God in the spiritual world (each of us). Living beings were created to care for God. Each of us thus has an inherent unique relationship with God. And since living beings are created by God, each of us has some of God's essence. We each are made of a part of God, but we are not God.

_Eve_ represents the spiritual community within the spiritual dimension. There are countless living beings in the spiritual world, and they all cooperate with each other and help each other, primarily in conjunction with their loving relationship with God.

The _"rib"_ (a dubious translation - should be _part_ or _essence_ ) represents the fact that all the spiritual living being share the same essence, given by God. That essence is our natural position of caring for God as His servant and caring for God's children and associates. This is our natural state: Our pure state. This is why we are always searching for someone to love and serve during our physical lifetimes: We are searching to regain our natural state, and the one we are searching for (our "soul mate") is actually the Supreme Being.

The _tree of life_ is one of the two symbolic _trees_ in the _"middle"_ of Eden. The _tree of life_ represents love for God. This is symbolized by a tree because a tree gives fruit that can be nourishing and sustaining. This symbolic tree of love for God gives each citizen of the spiritual world their sustenance: Complete fulfillment. Loving and caring for God within our unique relationship with Him is the lifeblood of every spiritual living being within the spiritual world. This is why it is in the symbolic _"middle"_ of Eden.

The _tree of knowledge_ has been dubiously translated to "good and evil." As discussed with Genesis 2:9, the Hebrew words טוֹב (towb) and רַע (ra') are more appropriately translated to self-centered _pleasure and pain._ This _'tree'_ is also in the _"middle"_ of Eden, symbolizing its importance, and necessity along with the _tree of life._

This _'tree of knowledge of self-centered pleasure and pain'_ represents, as confirmed by the _serpent_ here, freedom. Without the freedom to love God or not, there could be no real love. We would be virtual slaves if we didn't have the freedom to love and care for God - or not.

As an example, consider a teenage boy who must decide whether he wants to go to college. His parents want him to go to college, but the boy knows he can also choose not to go to college. The fact that the boy can choose not to go makes going to college ultimately the boy's decision. It is the same with our relationship with God. God made available the choice to not love and care for Him. This makes loving Him our decision.

Should we choose not to love God: We must live to please ourselves instead of living to please God. If we live to please God, we stay sheltered within our relationship with God. And we remain at home in the spiritual world (Eden), a place of ultimate happiness and satisfaction.

In other words, choosing not to love God creates a huge hole in our lives. The place that was once filled by our love for God is now a hole - and we must now seek to fill it by trying to satisfy ourselves.

That need to satisfy ourselves produces an envy of God. Why? Because God is self-satisfied. He is completely fulfilled within Himself. He does not need anything or anyone else to become satisfied.

We, on the other hand, are not self-satisfied. Our satisfaction is connected to God's satisfaction. We must please God to be satisfied. This might be compared to a finger. A finger cannot be nourished by eating food directly. The finger has to feed the food to the mouth to get the food to the stomach in order to become nourished. In the same way, we must care for God in order to be fulfilled.

### What is 'good and evil'?

_"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."_

Again the Hebrew translated to _"good and evil"_ (טוֹב (towb) and רַע (ra')) is more appropriately translated to _'pleasure and pain.'_ When we are acting within our natural position of loving and pleasing God, our pleasure is derived from our relationship with the Supreme Being. Should we seek our own pleasure, and elect to act outside of our relationship with God, we then must deal with the consequences of our activities directly. In that case, we must experience pain and pleasure directly as a result of our attempt to be independent of God. Therefore, the most accurate translation would be _self-centered pleasure and pain._

The critical feature of the serpent's statement is _"you will be like God."_ Why is this important, and who the heck is this serpent fellow anyway?

The desire to be God (envy) becomes the immediate disease for someone who wishes to become independent of God. This desire for independence means we need to get what God has: happiness. Yes, God experiences both pleasure and pain, but His pain is connected to love, so it is also pleasurable to Him - and He remains fulfilled because both are all part of His pastimes.

But when we desire to experience self-centered pleasure, we also experience self-centered pain - and neither of these is fulfilling. Our self-centered pleasure is empty, and our self-centered pain is also empty. Our envy results in emptiness.

Let's use an example. Let's say that two people have been close friends since childhood. They've shared everything for several decades, and they are very close. Then they find themselves running for the same office in their high school. One gets elected, and the other becomes envious that their friend won the election and they didn't. For their entire relationship up til then, when one succeeded, the other supported that success and was happy when their friend succeeded. But now, after to their competition for election, one has become envious of the other. This changes everything. Their entire relationship changes because of this envy. They can no longer share or support each other, because one of them is envious of the other. And what is left of their relationship? Pain. Emptiness.

In the same way, becoming envious of God changes everything. In the spiritual world, we were intimate with the Supreme Being. He was our entire life. We shared everything with Him. We did everything to please Him and He reciprocated in that relationship. It was pure bliss.

Then we become envious and everything changed. We wanted to enjoy like He enjoys. And that changed everything. We became self-centered instead of God-centered.

What came first, the envy or the desire for independence of God? The two are so intertwined that it is useless to separate them. Wanting independence from the Supreme Being and becoming envious of the Supreme Being are two branches of the same tree.

### What does, 'you will surely not die' mean?

So what did God mean by telling the symbolic Adam and Eve _"you will die"?_ And why did the serpent say that was untrue? Was God lying to the symbolic Adam and Eve?

Absolutely not. God is not a liar. It is a matter of reference. The death that God communicated is _spiritual death_. This death is the loss of our loving relationship with God. The serpent, on the other hand, did not value our relationship with God in the same way.

That brings us to the notion of the _serpent_. Just what does the _serpent_ represent and why would God put such a symbolic creature in the spiritual world to basically tempt the spiritual community?

Remember that Eve represents the spiritual community of the spiritual world. The members of the spiritual community must all have the choice to love God or not. If they didn't have the choice, there would be no real love. This doesn't mean they have to act on that choice. But they have to know they have the choice.

In order to have freedom of choice, two possible options or avenues must be set up. For example, the boy who is deciding whether he wants to go to college or not must know there is an alternative to going to college. He must realize that he could travel the world and work odd jobs all his life instead of going to college, for example.

### Who is the serpent?

In the same way, God had to give us an alternative to loving and serving Him. So He gave us the potential to become self-centered and envious - the opposite of loving and giving.

So the _serpent_ represents our desire for independence, and our potential to become self-centered and envious of God. These are the more _"crafty"_ elements of each of us, as they allow for optional behavior - behavior outside our natural or pure state. Snakes are also known to bite, and poisonous ones will inject a lethal venom. In the same way, self-centeredness and enviousness will also bite us - they are poisonous to our spiritual life.

The 'bite' is that they give us the ability to turn from our loving relationship with God. Why are these forces - self-centeredness and enviousness - strong enough to make us turn from God?

Their strength makes the choice fair. If the Supreme Being did not give us a fair choice, then we could not make a real decision - and our choice to love Him would not be as relishing to Him.

In the same way, if the boy decided to go to college and gave up the notion of traveling the world working odd jobs, this would give his parents great satisfaction that their son made a wise decision.

This analogy about the boy and college has its weaknesses, however. In the case of our freedom, this is given to us by God, and the child's inherent freedom to go to college or not is part of our culture. Also, when we are choosing God we are choosing to love Him over our self-centeredness. It's a lot more personal than deciding to go to college.

Yes, love is what drives the pleasure of the spiritual dimension. We all seek love and someone to love. Just about every movie, every popular song, and every effort we make during our physical lives are all about love. We all want to exchange love. We want someone to love who will truly love us back. And we want to care for and serve the one we love. We are each driven by love from every angle.

This is because we were created by the Ultimate Loving Person. God feeds off of love. He is all about love. He doesn't need our love, but He enjoys our love. The Supreme Being is completely self-fulfilled, but His pastime is the exchange of love with the living beings - us. And we also enjoy giving our love to God. This completely fulfills us. It is our true nature, and the joy and bliss of the spiritual world.

This is why all of God's representatives ask us to return to our loving relationship with God. This is why Moses said:

_"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:5)_

_"Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, His decrees, His laws, and His commands always." (Deut 11:1)_

_"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today - to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut 11:13)_

_"If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow - to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to hold fast to Him - " (Deut. 11:22)_

_"because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today - to love the LORD your God and to walk always in His ways - " (Deut. 19:19)_

_"For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws" (Deut. 30:16)_

_"and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life...." (Deut. 30:20)_

And this is why Moses' student Joshua taught:

_"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul." (Joshua 22:5)_

_"So be very careful to love the LORD your God." (Joshua 23:11)_

And David:

_"Love the LORD, all His saints!" (Psalms 31:23)  
"Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked." (Psalms 97:10)_

and why Jesus said:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)_

#  Genesis 3:6

# When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing ...

_When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6)_

This verse from Genesis has been dubiously translated by those who have failed to understand its meaning and the meaning of the surrounding verses.

### Why did Eve think the fruit was good?

If the _"fruit of the tree"_ was _"desirable for gaining wisdom"_ why did God advise them not to eat this fruit? Was God trying to keep them in ignorance? Why did God say, _"you will die"_ if they even touched the fruit if it would allow them to gain wisdom? This would make God out to be deceptive, if not dishonest.

This questionable translation is grounded in the interpretation that this story in Genesis is to be taken literally.

Rather, this is an allegorical story that uses symbolism to describe our fall from the spiritual world to the physical world. _'Eden'_ symbolically represents the spiritual world, while _'Adam'_ represents each of us, and _'Eve'_ represents the community of the spiritual world (here that part of the community that fell with us). The _'part'_ (dubiously translated to 'rib') taken from Adam is our nature to care for God.

The _'tree of life'_ represents love for God and the _'tree of knowledge of self-centered pleasure and pain'_ (questionably translated to the _"tree of knowledge of good and evil"_ ) represents the choice we all have to not love God - making love for God our choice. The _'fruit'_ of this tree symbolizes our potential to become self-centered and envious of God, while the _'serpent'_ represents our desire to become independent of God and disobey God.

### How would they die?

This symbolic interpretation of the text allows all the pieces to fall together, and it clarifies the translation of this verse. God told them not to eat this symbolic fruit because they _would_ die: They would die spiritually. This means they would lose their love for God, and their intimate loving service relationship with God. This is the worst kind of death because it means the loss of our loving relationship with our Best Friend.

This loving relationship with God is the source of our happiness and fulfillment. Without it, we are like fish out of water. Just consider a fish out of water: It flaps around, gasping for its natural environment. This is no different than we are acting here in this physical world without our relationship with the Supreme Person. We run around from one desire to another, looking for happiness and fulfillment – yet never finding it. We go from one goal to another, always seeking a new one once the current one is reached. Why? Because these goals are not satisfying. We also go from relationship to relationship – between friends, family, marriage and so on – looking for that perfect person who will fulfill us, but never finding that person.

Why? Because that person we are seeking – that relationship we are seeking – is the Supreme Being. We are seeking to return to our loving relationship with Him.

This relationship was cut off as soon as the symbolic Eve and the symbolic Adam – each of us as individuals and our community of associates – decided that it wasn't enough to please God and do what the Supreme Being considered best for us. We wanted more, and we wanted it all.

But we can't have it all. This is because we are not God. We are God's loving servants by nature: Our role is to care for the Supreme Being. Our role is to play with the Supreme Person. Our role is to please the Supreme Being. When we function within these roles, we are fulfilled because this is our inherent nature - why we (the spiritual beings) were created.

But since love requires freedom, we must be given the choice to love and please God or to chase around the idea that we can go it alone – and achieve happiness for ourselves without the Supreme Person.

### What does the fruit symbolize?

This is confirmed in this verse. The Hebrew verse does not indicate that the fruit was _"desirable for gaining wisdom."_ The Hebrew חמד (chamad) definitely means desirable, but this is followed by שכל (sakal), which is its adjective. שכל means 'to be prudent, be circumspect' or 'to look at or upon, have insight.' Yes, the symbolic fruit was desirable, and the symbolic Eve certainly desired it. But the desire came as she gazed upon the fruit, and contemplated what she would gain if she (symbolically) ate it. The correct translation of this phrase, instead of 'desirable for gaining wisdom' would then be (re-translating the whole sentence):

_When Eve saw that the fruit of the tree looked good to eat, and was attractive and desirable, she contemplated upon it, and then picked some and ate it._

_Contemplation_ is the key word here. Not only was the symbolic fruit attractive, but it became the subject of contemplation. While something can look attractive and desirable, it is contemplation that breeds our lust for it. We must first contemplate that for which we have become attracted to in order for our desire to become resolute.

This verse is wise not only in its description of our fall from the spiritual world: It also can be applied to our ongoing existence. The physical world – designed by the Supreme Being - constantly presents us with choices. We are typically presented with a choice to do something that we know deep within is right, and the choice to do something we know deep within is either wrong or not so right.

Yet when we contemplate the attractiveness of the wrong choice – in other words, how it will benefit us in some way – that contemplation seals our desire. That contemplation provides the impetus to execute that choice we know deep within is not the right choice.

And once we follow the path given by that choice, we spiral downward into the abyss of the results of that activity and its related activities.

So what did the symbolic Eve contemplate, and what does it mean? In this case, her contemplation was upon what she (each of us) could achieve for ourselves if we disregarded God's desires and decided that our desires are more important. This, of course, is a self-centered contemplation.

Sometimes, for example, we might find ourselves in a daydream in the middle of the day. Here we are, in the middle of something, and we suddenly coast off to a place of contemplation. What are we contemplating during a daydream? For most of us, we are contemplating something for ourselves – something we achieve or accomplish. It may be sex, money, power or prestige. In other words, we are selfishly pondering our future.

This is the kind of contemplation that captivated the symbolic Eve before she ate of the symbolic fruit. She got lost in self-centered contemplation about what she might attain if she ate the fruit. This is what we all did before we decided that we would rather please ourselves than please the Supreme Being. This is what we all did before we decided that "I" am the most important thing in my life.

And this is our ongoing disease, and the cause of all the suffering that takes place within the physical world. The human form part of the physical world on this planet is populated by billions of living beings, each of whom believes that they are the most important person: Each of us believes that we are to be pleased first. Therefore, we each seek our own pleasure, typically at the expense of others.

This understanding from this verse and event is confirmed by this statement from the Gospel of Philip:

_"There are two trees in the spiritual realm – one produces beasts and the other produces devotion. Adam consumed from the tree that produces beasts. He became animalistic and gave birth to beasts." (Gospel of Philip 91)_

### Why are we here?

The physical world is the world of beasts. It is designed for those who wanted to escape from their relationship with God. So God designed this world for us self-centered souls who have abandoned our real nature of loving and caring for God and all His other children – instead caring about ourselves first. This is why the physical world maintains a strict system of cause and effect. Every self-centered activity we decide to do has a consequence. This is designed to rehabilitate us, to help us understand that self-centeredness is not our real nature. While we seek our happiness and fulfillment in self-centeredness, we remain unhappy and empty. This physical world is therefore like a classroom.

If we take this clear view of this verse in Genesis, we can begin to see our own past. We can see that each of us feels, deep inside, that we are missing something, and that we have lost something. This something is our intimate relationship with the Supreme Person. We lost this because we contemplated selfish happiness without Him. And once we contemplated that, the Supreme Being – the most gracious and wonderful Person – gave us that freedom. Even though it saddened Him – and continues to sadden Him – He granted us our wish to be away from Him.

So how do we return home to Him? We can simply turn to Him. We can feel sorry for our self-centeredness. We can ask Him to help us return to our loving relationship with Him. We can begin to contemplate Him and His nature, rather than our next desire. We can say His Holy Names to help us contemplate Him. Should we do this, He will hear us, and He will begin to work His magic to bring us home to Him.

This is because while we left Him, He never left us. He has always been with us, hidden from view by our identification with these physical bodies. Our Best Friend has always been waiting for us to turn to Him and return home to Him because He loves each of us.

#  Genesis 3:7

# Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized they were naked ...

_Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:7)_

The meaning of this verse has been shrouded by the literal misinterpretation of this section of Genesis. The literal interpretation thoroughly misses the entire meaning of this allegorical story of the symbolic Adam and Eve. The symbolism used in this part of Genesis has been described.

Now we see new symbolism being introduced, following them eating the 'forbidden fruit.'

### Why did Adam and Eve have a choice?

Notice that these verses are discussing Adam and Eve making a choice. They had eaten the fruit that God told them not to eat. This was the choice they made.

The _tree_ that God warned the symbolic Adam and Eve about eating from represents the choice we each have had - and constantly have in life: That is, to be self-centered or God-centered. We were all created to love and care for God. But real love requires freedom of choice. So God gave each of us the choice to love Him or not. This is the reason for the existence of this second tree, which was put in the _"middle"_ of _Eden_ (remember, Eden represents the spiritual dimension here).

So their eating of this _fruit_ symbolizes our having chosen self-centeredness over caring for God. We decided that we want to please ourselves rather than please God. Once we made this decision, the world of self-centeredness - the attempt to enjoy ourselves as God enjoys Himself - was opened up to us.

This is represented by the statement, _"Then the eyes of both of them were opened."_

It is not as if God was trying to keep Adam and Eve in ignorance by asking them not to eat the fruit, as insinuated by the serpent (who symbolizes our envy of God). Rather, God was simply asking them to remain within their natural relationship with Him. Within our natural position of loving God, we are immersed in thoughts about our Best Friend and Protector. Within this relationship, we are always thinking of His pleasure and His happiness. And this gives us real happiness.

We get a small glimpse of how loving another gives us happiness when we love and care for our body's spouse and/or family. We can compare this with selfishly consuming or looking out for ourselves in general. These activities do not bring any happiness, as we can see by observing the many wealthy and famous people who commit suicide or succumb to drug and alcohol abuse even with all their wealth and fame.

At some point in time, when each of us was in the spiritual dimension, we decided we'd rather seek our own happiness rather than love God.

Once we turned selfish, we no longer had the consciousness that allows us to remain a citizen of the spiritual world. This is because the spiritual dimension is full of love and caring for God and each other. There is no self-centeredness in the spiritual dimension.

### What does nakedness symbolize?

Did Adam and Eve really run around naked?

Rather, this is a symbolic point to describe the state of their souls in the spiritual realm prior to their fall. Nakedness relates to the state of pureness. Our pure state is free from materialism and greed. And this pure state is symbolized by _nakedness_ in the story of Adam and Eve.

The symbolic Adam and Eve were naked - pure - before they ate the fruit. But once they ate of the fruit - became self-centered - they were not longer comfortable with their pure state. In the same way, once each of us became self-conscious, we were no longer comfortable in our natural state within the spiritual dimension.

Consider the change of consciousness that would suddenly make someone _"realize they were naked."_ Consider a young child who ran around naked for two or three years who suddenly becomes aware they are naked. As the child becomes _self-conscious,_ the child becomes aware of how they appear to others. That self-consciousness of suddenly feeling naked is being used here to illustrate how we went from the innocence of our pure state of loving and caring for God, to becoming self-conscious due to our desire for self-enjoyment.

### What is the meaning of Adam and Eve's fig coverings?

So Adam and Eve _"made coverings for themselves."_ Putting on fig leaves to cover nakedness symbolizes the beginning of our requiring a physical body to cover our true consciousness. Here in the physical world, we are all wearing a type of 'clothing': The physical body that covers the spiritual person within.

In other words, we suddenly needed a physical body in order to feel _comfortable_ seeking our own happiness. We could compare this to a person going to a war zone without a gun and other military gear. A person might feel comfortable without a gun and military gear in their own peaceful home, but as soon as they decided they were going to war, they could only be comfortable when they donned a gun, a helmet, and other military gear.

In the same way guns and helmets are needed for war, these physical bodies are perfectly designed for our search for self-centered happiness. Every sense organ, every appendage, and every faculty of our body is designed to support our goal of self-centered enjoyment. We are wearing our bodies much as a person might wear a suit of armor.

This is supported by one of the possible translations of the Hebrew word חֲגוֹר used in this verse: _"armor."_ This is appropriate because the body that covers the spiritual being within is like a suit of armor.

This is also known scientifically. Millions of people have now undergone clinical death and have reported floating above their physical body - looking down upon it. At the time of death, the spiritual person leaves the physical body. In other words, our physical body is a covering we wear for a few years before it dies.

The physical body is an incredible vehicle we drive. It is equipped for our seeking pleasure, and it is also equipped for experiencing pain. It is, in fact, designed as a vehicle for learning, and it is for this reason that the physical body undergoes so many trials and tribulations.

Just think of all the pain and suffering in the world. People often ask why, if God were so loving, is there so much pain and suffering in the world. That pain and suffering, in fact, does not happen to us - the pure spiritual being. While we experience it, we only experience pain virtually. That pain happens to this vehicle we call the physical body. This is because the physical body - while designed for our seeking enjoyment - was also designed to help us rehabilitate: To help us hopefully one day return home.

Like any vehicle, the physical body is made of several layers. The elements each provide a layer, which includes liquids (blood, lymph, etc.), solids (tissues, bones) and gases (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide). The electricity that runs through our nervous system is also a type of layer or covering (like the electronics of a vehicle). And the mind is yet another layer of the physical body covering the spiritual person.

But underneath these more dense layers is an even more subtle layer covering the spiritual person. This is the layer of false identity. This is the element that makes us identify with our physical body - a layer of misidentification.

We need this first subtle covering in order to believe that we are these physical bodies. We can know that this is a false identity because we each leave our physical body and its identity at the time of death. The physical body changes throughout our lives, and then gets old and dies. Then we leave it. So our identification with our physical body is false.

### Aren't we each wearing temporary clothing covering our pureness?

God created the physical world with the illusion that we are these physical bodies. It is like a video game. A person can become temporarily immersed in a video game. While playing the game, the person identifies with the icon-persona he assumes in the game. If it is a war game, the person identifies with being a particular soldier in the game - that is, until the soldier is blown up and the game is over. Then the person can turn off the computer and detach from that video game and soldier persona.

God programs the physical world with the illusion to allow us to forget Him.

The initial false self-identification - allowing us to forget God and our true selves by assuming a new identity - is what is being symbolized with Adam and Eve putting on leaves. They are in the process of transitioning from the consciousness of the spiritual realm (love for God) to the consciousness of the physical world (self-centeredness). The transition begins as our pure state becomes covered by our self-consciousness.

This is a very subtle technology - well beyond the ability of our minds to comprehend. For this reason, the spiritual teachers who initially passed down the symbolic story of Genesis to their students used this deep symbolism: because the technology is very difficult for the physical mind to comprehend. Understanding our nature as spiritual beings are already difficult for the physical mind. The physical mind only collects data from the physical senses, and the physical senses cannot perceive the spiritual dimension.

Thus this allegorical story of Adam and Eve, deep in symbolism, portrays the process of our falling from the spiritual dimension. We fell from our pure state of being the Supreme Being's devoted loving servants and playmates to a consciousness of seeking of our own self-centered happiness. That is what landed us in this physical dimension, and the reason why the physical dimension is full of so many self-centered people - each of us struggling for our own fulfillment, yet never finding it. This is because we can only be fulfilled when we are in our pure state of loving and caring for our Best Friend, the Supreme Being.

#  Genesis 3:8

# Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as He was walking ...

_Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)_

This verse confirms that the Eden being discussed in Genesis is not a physical place on planet Earth: Eden symbolizes the spiritual world.

### Is God a personal God?

This verse also indicates that the Supreme Being is not some kind of vague force or amalgamation: Rather, God is a Person. He is an individual being, complete with a personality, desires, wishes, intentions and relationships. This is why each of us also has an individual personality, desires, wishes, intentions and relationships.

Why would God create something that He Himself doesn't have? If we can have personal relationships, certainly God can too. If we can have our own individuality, so can God. In fact, the reason why each of us has these unique personalities and relationships is because God has them.

This was communicated clearly by God:

_"Let Us make man in Our image... (Genesis 1:26-27)_

The spiritual world is that location where the Supreme Being is present personally. The Supreme Being walks the spiritual world surrounded by His associates and His loving servants who care for Him and play with Him.

The Supreme Being enjoys the various relationships of the spiritual world. Here He enjoys so many pastimes involving His loving relationships with His associates and loving servants. In fact, within the depths of the spiritual world, God's associates and loving servants do not realize that God is the Supreme Being: They simply love Him as their dear-most friend, companion, beloved and so on - whatever their unique relationship with Him may be.

Many have stated that "God is love" but what does this actually mean?

The fact is, God loves. God loves to love and loves being loved. God is absorbed in love because love is wrapped around caring for those He loves - each of us.

### Didn't God have a relationship with Adam and Eve?

So in this verse of Genesis, God is walking through the symbolic garden. Why? This verse assumes that God would normally meet up with the symbolic Adam and Eve as He was walking through the garden. How do we know this?

_they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden_

This indicates that normally God would meet up with them. What would they do once they met up? Naturally, they would exchange some type of relationship. This confirms that the living beings and the Supreme Being exchange loving relationships within the spiritual world.

Remember that this event discussed in Genesis is an allegorical tale rich in symbolism - discussed with earlier verses. Adam symbolizes each individual person created by God, Eve symbolizes the community of the spiritual world, the serpent symbolizes our potential to desire to be like God, the fruit represents self-centeredness, the tree of life represents love for God, and the tree of knowledge of pleasure and pain (correct translation - not 'good and evil') represents our freedom to not love God - after all, love requires freedom.

Then there are the other trees of the symbolic garden of Eden:

_And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. (Genesis 2:9)_

As discussed earlier, these various other trees represent the various relationships that occur within the spiritual dimension.

Now we find that the symbolic Adam and Eve are hiding from God by hiding in these trees. What does this mean? Could someone really hide from someone like God behind some trees?

What is being communicated here is that once the symbolic Adam and Eve became self-centered - they ate the 'forbidden fruit - they then felt self-conscious about their nakedness. This represents them being uncomfortable with their pure state of being God's loving servants. Once they became self-centered, they had to cover themselves up - by assuming false identities.

### Why did they hide from God?

Think about this. Once they became self-centered, they were no longer comfortable with their pure state of being loving servants. Then they hid from God.

This is what we are all doing as we seek the false enjoyment of the physical world within these temporary physical bodies and false identities: We are each hiding from God.

It is not as though God cannot see us, however. God is the Supreme Being, and He knows each of us intimately. We cannot really hide from Him.

But we can hide from Him virtually by trying to ignore Him.

This is what we do in the physical world. We wrap ourselves up in our temporary physical identities and the relationships related to them - first as babies, then as children, then as teenagers, then as college kids, then as a young married family, then as middle-aged professional parents, then as elderly grandparents. In each stage, we identify with the physical body and those relationships around us in such a way that allows us to ignore God. This is God's design, and this is equivalent to hiding behind some of the other trees - hiding behind other types of relationships, in other words.

### Isn't this story is about each of us?

The symbolism involved in Adam and Eve hiding from God describes both our past and our current state, along with our future choices. The depth of this symbolic story is well beyond the ability of our minds to completely grasp. It is a spiritual lesson - a lesson that we can continue to learn from as it awakens from within our hearts.

The lesson of Eden discusses our past because it shows us how each of us fell from the spiritual world and our loving relationship with the Supreme Being. It shows how we had the choice between loving and caring for Him or becoming self-centered. And once we became self-centered, we began our journey out - we fell, in other words - from the spiritual world into this physical dimension.

And at the same time, every day, each of us makes the choice made by the symbolic Adam and Eve. Over and over, we choose between our self-centered desires and what we know is right - what God communicates to us deep from within: The Supreme Being wants us back. He wants us to return to His loving arms. But we have to choose to return to Him. That choice, by His design, is put in front of us each and every day and at every moment.

#  Genesis 3:9-11

# But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"...

_But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" He [Adam] answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." And He [God] said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" (Genesis 3:9-11)_

This exchange between the Supreme Being and Adam is rich in symbolism and allegory, and is pertinent to our past and present spiritual condition.

### How do we know this is allegorical?

We know this is a symbolic event because the Supreme Being, knowing everything, would not need to ask Adam where he was. The reason for this question is to clarify to the audience the symbolism involved in not being in God's presence, and the symbolic concept of nakedness.

As we've clarified in earlier verses, this is an allegorical story, but it is a true event. We might compare this with how parents would tell a child how a baby is conceived. They wouldn't get into all the technical details. They would compare it to something the child has seen and could connect with.

In the same way, this allegorical story of Genesis describes symbolically how each of us fell from the spiritual world to the physical world.

Remember, Adam symbolizes each of us. Eve symbolizes the community of the spiritual world. The serpent symbolizes our potential to desire to be like God. The fruit represents self-centeredness. The tree of life represents love for God. The tree of knowledge of pleasure and pain (correct translation - not 'good and evil') represents our freedom to not love God - after all, love requires freedom.

### Why did Adam feel naked?

At this stage in the story, after the symbolic Adam (each of us) has eaten the fruit that God asked us not to eat, Adam felt naked. Adam was also not in God's presence - which caused God to ask Adam where he was.

The texts of the Old Testament use the concept of being out of the presence of God multiple times. To be out of God's presence does not mean that God cannot see us, or that God is away from us. It means that our consciousness is away from God. It means that we are no longer linked up with God. We no longer care about Him. We no longer want to be with Him.

This is the product of self-centeredness. The pure citizens of the spiritual realm are not self-centered. They are God-centered. Their lives revolve around pleasing the Supreme Being and loving Him within their natural relationships with Him. But because love requires freedom, each of us has the choice to be focused on pleasing God or focused upon pleasing ourselves.

Those of us who have left the spiritual realm and living in temporary physical bodies in the physical world are here because we decided to become self-centered rather than God-centered. When we made that choice, we left the presence of God in that we became focused on ourselves rather than Him. This is the symbolic meaning of God calling out, _"Where are you?"_

Notice that being out of God's presence in this story coincides with Adam's realization that he is naked. As described with an earlier verse, nakedness represents purity in Genesis. To realize one is naked represents a change in consciousness - from one of being pure to one of not being pure.

We can understand the use of this sort of symbolism because young toddlers will often walk around naked without being self-conscious for some time, and then suddenly realize they are naked at some point. The baby realizes its nakedness and suddenly becomes ashamed by it. Prior to this, the baby's consciousness was seemingly purer - as the baby was not so self-conscious. While this event does not fully describe what is taking place for Adam, it provides something we can relate to. Most of us can relate to a baby suddenly becoming self-conscious and realizing their nakedness.

In this case, Adam's realization he is naked represents our change of consciousness from being pure (lovingly God-centered) to becoming self-centered. It represents the dynamic involved in our fall from the spiritual realm.

### Were we ever pure?

This story of Adam and Eve indicates that they were pure before they ate the forbidden fruit. Once they did, they felt naked and put on clothes, which symbolizes their not being pure any longer. Isn't this about us?

At some point, we were each pure in the spiritual realm. Our consciousness was focused upon pleasing and loving the Supreme Being, and we enjoyed a unique relationship with God. This is represented in this story by the fact that God was walking through Eden looking for Adam. God wants to exchange this loving relationship with us, but we have fallen into a state of self-centeredness - becoming envious of God.

Once we fell into the desire to enjoy as God enjoys, we became self-centered and envious of God. This took away our purity. This made us feel ashamed, and we began to hide from our pure selves with a new consciousness - one full of desire and envy. This is symbolized by Adam hiding from God.

The reason why God asks, _"who told you that you were naked?"_ is because He knows that self-centered behavior is connected to the desire for self-enjoyment. It is not as though He doesn't know what happened. The story is connecting the dots for the audience.

Self-enjoyment is not our nature. It is God's nature. The reason why even the richest, most famous people - who get whatever sensual thing they want including sex - are empty and unsatisfied is because enjoyment is not our true nature. We were created by God to give Him enjoyment. We are God's loving servitors, and God is the Enjoyer.

This is also why even the wealthiest persons, after years of being wealthy and trying everything - end up feeling the most enjoyment in caring for their family, society, and often caring for others who are less fortunate. They are feeling more joy in caring for others than in serving themselves. Even with all that fame and wealth.

This is the clear proof that our natural position is are not being the enjoyer. We are caregivers by nature. And while serving others and caring for others gives us joy, our most extreme joy comes from caring for and serving the Supreme Being.

### Why didn't God want them to eat from that tree?

And yes, while God _'commanded'_ the symbolic Adam not to eat from the tree of self-centeredness, God did put that symbolic tree there, in the _'middle'_ (Gen. 3:3) of the Garden no less. And God did certainly put the tree there, and even permitted Adam to eat its symbolic fruit.

So why did God put the symbolic tree in the middle of Eden and allow Adam to get to its fruit if He didn't want Adam to eat that fruit? Did God lose control over the situation?

God never loses control. This is why He is God. God is the Supreme Being, and He created all things and controls all things.

However, God also wants to exchange love with those He created. In order to exchange real love, there must be freedom. If we were forced to love God that would not be love. That would be slavery.

God granted each of us the freedom to love Him or not. He asked us not to become self-centered, as that would certainly mean the end of our loving relationship with Him, but certainly, He allowed us to become self-centered if we desired so.

#  Genesis 3:12

# The man said, "The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit ..."

_The man said, "The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." (Genesis 3:12)_

### Why did Adam blame Eve?

Here the symbolic Adam ( _"man"_ ) is denying responsibility for his forsaking God's request not to eat the fruit. What does this mean?

This is an allegorical story, but it is not an untrue story. Nor is it a simple story. Within this story lies the depth of our origin in the spiritual realm, the central components of our relationship with God, and the reason why we are now here in this physical world, away from God.

It also symbolically illustrates how we fell from the spiritual realm, and why we continue to not be able to see or connect with God.

Adam (here the _"man"_ ), represents each of us. Eve (here the _"woman"_ ) represents the community of the spiritual realm. The tree of the forbidden fruit represents our innate freedom not to love God if we choose, and the fruit represents self-centeredness. The serpent represents the desire to be like God - envy.

So in the story, God comes walking through the garden and finds Adam hiding and feeling ashamed for his nakedness (nakedness symbolizes purity). God immediately knows Adam has disobeyed his request not to embrace self-centeredness.

Now the symbolic Adam denies responsibility. He blames Eve. In other words, instead of admitting our error, we want to blame everyone else.

Even the proposal of the "original sin" theory as portrayed by sectarian institutions tries to pin the fault of all of our sinning on Adam and Eve. In other words, we want to, at all costs, deny any responsibility for our self-centeredness and sinful ways.

Isn't this what we are all doing right now? No one wants to believe that we have done anything wrong. We all want to blame someone else. How come we feel empty inside? Why is there so much suffering all around us? It's always someone else's fault. It's never our fault. We are so pure, and everyone else is so bad.

Or when we do something we know is sinful, we want to blame the devil. _"The devil made me do it"_ is the oft-used statement. We aren't the evil ones - someone else is.

This _"it's someone else's fault"_ potential goes hand-in-hand with self-centeredness and envy of God. When a person switches from being one of God's loving servants to a self-centered person, self-righteousness goes along with it. A self-centered person is self-righteous. We can do no wrong. Everyone else is wrong, but we are not.

### What is at the root of this?

This is rooted in our envy of God. Being "right" all the time is God's role. Wanting to be "right" all the time is the same as wanting to take God's position.

Even for most of those who partake in religious activities, we still consider ourselves the center, and everyone else revolves around us. For those of us who pray, most of us are simply ordering stuff from God. We ask him for money, to get healed, or for one of our family members. It is like He is our waiter or servant, and we just ask Him whatever we want. In this way, our self-centeredness and enviousness of God does not change. Everything still revolves around us.

This enviousness of God is the first "sin." When we became envious of God, we became self-centered. This is symbolized by Adam's eating the forbidden fruit. Now the symbolic Adam blames the symbolic Eve to illustrate how we simply can not admit our error. We had to blame someone else.

And we still blame others for our issues. Even though we are here in the physical world by our own choice, and we are in our particular current situation by our past activities - we still seek to blame someone else.

Each of us is our own problem. Our decisions and actions got us where we are today. God set up the physical realm as a place of consequence, in order to teach us. Our current situation in the physical world is like a mirror. It simply reflects us. There is no one else to blame but ourselves.

And only we can decide to change. In order to return home to our natural position as one of God's loving servants in the spiritual realm, we have to take the first step. We have to decide that we want to change. Only then can we begin our journey back home.

#  Genesis 3:13

# Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" ...

_Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (Genesis 3:13)_

### Why did Eve deny responsibility too?

After Adam - symbolizing each of us - denied responsibility for his decision to disobey God and eat the fruit (becoming self-centered and envious of God), the symbolic Eve now also denies responsibility and wants to blame her role on the serpent.

Eve ( _"the woman"_ ) in this story symbolizes the part of the immediate community of the spiritual realm that supported our decision to become self-centered, and envious of God. This doesn't mean that the whole spiritual community fell from the spiritual realm.

We can simply look around us and see that countless individuals made the same decision to reject God and become self-centered. Thus we know that we are not alone in this decision. Why is this?

### Isn't this about freedom of choice?

The reality is that love requires freedom. In order to exchange real love with those He created, God had to give us the freedom not to love Him. This is represented in the story of Eden by the _"tree of knowledge of self-centered pleasure and pain"_ (as discussed with Genesis 2:9, the Hebrew words טוֹב (towb) and רַע (ra') are more appropriately translated to 'pleasure and pain' rather than 'good and evil').

God, as the Supreme Controller, can put whatever choices in front of us that He wishes. If He wanted us to be His robots or slaves, He would not have given us the choice to love Him or not. But the fact that so many of us have chosen to ignore Him here in this physical world is a testament that God indeed wanted to give us the freedom to love Him or not.

This doesn't mean that He doesn't want us to love Him. He does want our love, but He wants us to give it freely. This is why in this allegorical story in Genesis, He asked them not to eat of the fruit, but still made the fruit available to them.

The fact that God created us to exchange a loving relationship with Him also shows in the fact that He was disappointed at the decision. He doesn't need our love. He has plenty of other children that love Him out of volition. However, He knows that we will only be happy when we are exchanging love with Him. So He is disappointed in our decision to reject our relationship with Him.

### What is this symbolic parable telling us?

This story is basically a parable. A parable is an allegorical or symbolic story meant to communicate some basic truths.

Here God is disappointed that Eve has chosen to eat, and influenced Adam to eat the fruit. But instead of taking any responsibility, Eve is now denying responsibility.

In other words, those among us in the spiritual community who supported and even partnered in our decision to reject love for God and became self-centered, also denied responsibility. There is a hidden meaning here, but part of it is simple: We all want to deny responsibility for our decision. We want to blame someone else. This is part of the disease of self-centeredness: Self-righteousness.

Remember that the purpose of this story is to put in symbolic terms what actually happened to each of us. The symbolism must be carefully considered in order to understand this parable. This makes the parable unavailable to some and available to others. Why is that?

Some of us simply do not want to know. We want to live within our pretend identities within the temporary physical world and our temporary physical bodies. We want to play out our physical lives as if we are these bodies and the identities that go along with them.

To understand that we are spiritual in nature, and we originated in the spiritual world and fell to the physical world would quite simply destroy our fantasy. So most of us refuse to understand this allegorical story of Eden.

Most of the sectarian institutions refuse to accept the meaning of this story. From popes, priests and reverends, to deacons, cardinals and others, the individuals making up these organizations want to pretend that the Garden of Eden was a place on the planet earth, and Adam and Eve were the first two humans to occupy the earth. This is a convenient way to avoid the Truth.

Even though many of these sectarians accept the eating of the _fruit_ as symbolic to the "original sin," many do not want to understand that each of us did this. Many want to blame the "original sin" on Adam and Eve so we can all deny responsibility. Many simply want to fit the story into their current physical positions within the church, ignoring the real meaning of the story.

### What are some of the lessons?

This is the incredible depth and beauty of this story, so rich in wisdom. The depth of the story allows some of us to deny its true meaning so we can continue with our fantasies here in the physical world.

Deep within this verse is yet another lesson, one that gets to the heart of our fall from the spiritual world.

Eve blames the serpent, saying, _"The serpent deceived me, and I ate."_ What does this mean?

The Hebrew word being translated to _"deceived"_ is נָשָׁא. This is an ancient word with deep primitive meaning. On the periphery, it can mean to become a creditor, charging interest. In its more deeper meaning, it means to cheat or trick someone.

Remember that the serpent in this story of Eden symbolizes our enviousness of God - our desire to be the enjoyer and the center of attention (as He is in the spiritual realm). This is confirmed by this verse, spoken by the serpent:

_"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5)_

In other words, the serpent is tempting Eve to eat the fruit, saying, _"you will be like God."_ Thus the symbolism is quite clear.

### Why does Eve say the serpent deceived her?

Remember that the serpent in this story symbolizes envy - wanting to enjoy like God. This is why the serpent pitched Eve on eating the fruit.

Because we were created by God, we each contain a small part or essence of Him. While we were created to care for Him and love Him, we each also have the ability to desire to be Him. This is part of the freedom He granted us, but it also contains a trap. This is the why the serpent is being described as having deceived Eve.

The deception is that while we have the ability to desire to be God, we can never be God. No matter how hard we try, we can never take God's position of Supreme Controller and Creator - despite the many philosophies that maintain that we are God. God will always be our superior - our Master - and we will always be His inferior. No matter how hard we try, we are never in complete control of others and our environment.

But once we succumb to the desire to be like God, we fall into the deception. We begin to strive to be someone we are not. We begin to lust after pleasure - and experience pain as a consequence.

Our natural position is to care for God and give God pleasure. When we are in our natural position, our pleasure is connected with His pleasure. We don't have our own pleasure, and thus, we don't have our own pain. Any pain that might be connected to giving God pleasure is also pleasurable to the living being. Thus we really do not experience real pain in our natural position.

But when we try to achieve pleasure for ourselves, real pain comes along with it. This is because God must be fair to us: He must give us a real experience if we want to be out on our own. Even though we will never really be on our own, He must give us a virtual experience of pretending to be Him in order to exercise our freedom not to love Him.

How does God achieve this? By creating the physical world. The physical world is a temporary, changing environment that allows the eternal spiritual living beings who rejected God (us) to take on temporary physical bodies in order to play out our self-centered fantasies. Because we can never really be independent from God, God had to create the illusion of independence.

### What is this physical world?

We could compare the physical world to a computer game. A person sits down at the computer and gets involved in the game. He takes on a particular icon, and gets immersed in the game's environment. People get addicted to computer games because we can lose ourselves in them. While we are playing the game we can forget our responsibilities for awhile and pretend to be someone else. This is going on the physical world too, as we (from the spiritual world) have taken on these virtual, temporary physical bodies.

So we take on temporary physical bodies and live out a few decades - and lifetimes - selfishly focused on our desires. We are each pretending to be God - the Enjoyer - and therefore are searching frantically for self-fulfillment.

Yet none of us - even the most wealthy, famous and powerful - are fulfilled in this role. We continue to be empty here, always searching for that special someone to fill our "hole." That 'special someone' is actually God - Whom we forsook. This is the real pain that we must endure. The physical pains of the body are merely virtual reflections of this real pain of loneliness and emptiness we feel without our Best Friend, God.

God created the physical world to also teach us. He didn't just set us free in this virtual world to become lord over everyone. That would be cruel, because that would never allow us to return to our real identities. We'd be lost here forever in this state of emptiness.

So God designed this physical world with consequences. As we go forth to achieve our goals, we are also taught various lessons - via the consequences of our actions. Most lessons are centered around our innate ability to care for others. Most of these lessons teach us - some gradually - that being lord is not our natural position. Our natural position is to care for God and care for others. We need to love, in other words. This is why Jesus and Moses' teachings - which give us the pathway back home - were centered around loving God:

_" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38 and Deut. 6:5)_

#  Genesis 3:14

# So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this ..."

_So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life." (Genesis 3:14)_

### Did God literally say this to a serpent?

For those who take this allegorical story in Genesis as literal, this verse makes little sense. If we believe this took place literally, before God cursed him, the serpent must have been walking around. But if he was walking around, he wasn't a serpent, because serpents (snakes) don't walk around.

Serpents also don't talk. But this serpent apparently did. He wasn't much of a serpent was he?

And if this story is literal, where did the talking, walking serpent come from? Did he sneak into the Garden without God knowing it?

The bottom line is that making this symbolic teaching story of Genesis out to be a literal story of creation is so full of holes that every verse can be challenged as to its scientific accuracy and authenticity. This of course reflects poorly upon the scriptures in general, as they lose credibility due to those without spiritual vision attempting to interpret it.

The reality is that this story in Genesis accurately describes our fall from the spiritual realm using allegory and deep symbolism. It is only when we understand its symbolism that we can decode the story and understand its meaning.

This explains that the talking serpent symbolizes our potential to become envious of God. This is why the symbolic serpent was said to state, as he was trying to convince them to eat the fruit:

_"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5)_

This strategy of connecting an idea, thought or event to a symbolic entity is a common form of story-telling, one that we still use today. This is how most children are taught things by their parents (such as the "birds and the bees"). Parents will connect a process or situation with a "fun" creature so the child can slowly digest and understand over time what is trying to be communicated, without all the technical details - which they would likely not understand.

We also find that many spiritual teachers have used symbolic allegory to communicate complex spiritual concepts. Jesus, for example, was famous for teaching using parables, and even said once to his disciples that:

_He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'" (Luke 8:10)_

Jesus was quoting Isaiah 6:9 in this statement, as Isaiah also communicated that so many people may pretend to listen, but do not really hear what is being taught. Parables tend to filter out those who are not serious.

### What does God's statement mean?

So what is the meaning of God's statement in Gen. 3:14, to the symbolic walking, talking serpent?

This statement by God is the crux of the event. By becoming envious of God, we no longer can retain our loving relationship with God. The pureness of that relationship (symbolized by Adam and Eve's nakedness before eating the symbolic fruit) becomes tainted, and there can no longer be an exchange of love between us and God.

This is common among any relationship. We can't be envious of someone and have a loving relationship with them at the same time. The two emotions are simply not compatible.

Therefore, envy is not compatible with being in the spiritual realm.

The spiritual realm is full of love, humility, kindness, giving, play, laughter, games and so many other events. None of these events are compatible with envy, however. A person who is envious of God - the Supreme Being and the center of attention in the spiritual realm - simply cannot continue to reside in the spiritual world.

God's cursing of the serpent to _"crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life"_ symbolizes the fact that once a person becomes envious of God, and selfishly motivated, we must leave the spiritual world, and this requires us to take on a physical body within the physical world. Thus, _"crawl on your belly"_ symbolizes taking on a physical body, and eating _"dust all the days of your life"_ symbolizes becoming a citizen of the hellish physical world.

_"Dust"_ here is translated from the Hebrew עפר (`aphar), which means, according to the lexicon, "dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish." The meaning is clear. Not only are we talking about the physical world here, but it is being described as desolate, burnt and trashy.

This physical world is precisely that. While there is joy, love and play among the loving relationships of the spiritual realm, the physical world is full of war, hatred, violence, crime and greed. Here we are all competing with each other. This physical world is the dark side of existence. While so many worry about going to hell, few realize that this is hell. This is the place where those of us who became self-centered and envious of God were sent to play out our desires to rule over others and attempt to enjoy ourselves.

This hasn't worked out very well. On a worldwide basis we find starvation, disease, drought, and people born into slavery and suffering. Why is this? Why has God permitted so much suffering? Is God a mean God?

What God simply did is programmed the physical world with consequences. This feature makes it so each person must experience - in this life or the next - the results of our activities. Activities that helped the physical bodies or minds of others result in good things happening to our physical bodies or minds, while activities that hurt the physical bodies or minds of others result in a similar suffering to our physical bodies or minds.

It is like looking at a mirror. If we raise our hand as we look in the mirror, the reflection shows a hand raised. This allows us to see what we just did. God programmed the physical world in the same way - our activities are reflected back at us in the form of experiencing what we put others through in the past.

Thus, we can see that _our_ actions are the cause of the suffering in the physical world. We have caused our own suffering by our previous actions. Each person who now suffers, caused others to suffer previously.

This is meant to teach us. God designed this world with consequences to teach us, just as parents teach children through consequence learning. This form of discipline, by the way, has been found by child researchers to be the most effective way to learn. Why? Because we learn by understanding the consequences of our actions. We learn through experience.

### Are we going to suffer forever?

Luckily, no matter how much our physical body might suffer, we are not the physical body. We are spiritual beings temporarily occupying physical bodies - just as a person occupies and drives a car. Therefore, if our body is starving, we are not starving. Our suffering is related to the extent that we identify ourselves as these physical bodies. Once we leave the physical body at the time of death, our connection with it - outside of its lessons and consequences - vanishes.

This physical world is like a virtual classroom. It is meant to gradually teach us that love, kindness, and caring for others is our true nature - and what truly makes us happy. We are not enjoyers by nature. We became envious of God because He is the Enjoyer.

He created us to care for Him and exchange a relationship of love with Him. Thus our natural position is His loving servant, and this is the only thing that will truly fulfill us.

But we must have the choice in order to truly love, so God gave us each a little part of His essence, which contains the desire to enjoy like God. This gives us each the choice to love God or not. For those of us who allowed the "serpent" of envy to gain a foothold in our consciousness, we now need rehabilitation. And that's what the consequence learning system of the physical world gives us.

That is, _if_ we want to return to the spiritual realm. Some of us want to continue ignoring God and ignoring our true nature as spiritual. For those of us, we find all kinds of reasons to convince ourselves that God does not exist. We make all kinds of "scientific" postulations that assume that the universe was created through a big explosion, and everything - including living organisms with the innate ability to love or be envious - was all a big accident. Like a prisoner who believes that jail-time and a life of crime is better than being a law-abiding citizen, God has given each of us the choice to love Him and return to Him, or ignore Him in this prison-like physical world.

Ultimately, by His design, we make the choice. This is because love requires choice – and this prison is the result of our past choices.

#  Genesis 3:15

# And I will put enmity between you and the woman ..."

_"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15)_

### Did God literally put enmity between Adam and Eve?

What is being described here in this verse - spoken by the Supreme Being to the serpent? Those who take this allegorical story literally would say that God is cursing a particular type of species to be an adversary of humans.

Are serpents - snakes - really the adversary of humans? Most snakes, in fact, shy away from humans, just as do most other reptiles, mammals, birds, insects and fish. What is so different about snakes? There is actually little difference between the relationship between snakes and humans and most other creatures. Many different creatures can bite and even poison a human in one way or another. In fact, most creatures have a significant defense mechanism that is hurtful or even deadly to some other creature, if not humans.

Sorry, but snakes were not produced by this curse spoken by God in this allegorical parable. Rather, what is accurately being described, using symbolism, is the eventual course that we who rejected God and became envious of Him were destined to take - a course that is unfolding before us in the physical realm.

The reality - as shown previously - is that the serpent represents our envy of the Supreme Being. This type of symbolism - of comparing a characteristic or trait to a particular type of animal is quite common among ancient teachings, as we've discussed. It is also common today, especially when a knowledgeable person tries to explain something complex to someone who is not as knowledgeable about the subject matter. For example, a person might say, "that job was a bear." Or one might say, "he was a tiger" or perhaps "a tortoise."

So how did we become envious of the Supreme Being? We are each created as parts and parcels of the Supreme Person and thus we maintain a small portion of His essence - and the capability to want to be like Him.

While He created us to serve Him and exchange a loving relationship with Him, He also gave us the freedom to love Him or not.

If we choose not to express our natural position of loving and caring for God, this leaves a void within us. This void - or emptiness - causes us to become envious of God.

We can compare this to becoming envious here in the physical world. When a person sees another becoming successful and becomes envious of that success, what does that indicate? It indicates the person is empty inside. He is envious of the person's success because he is not fulfilled within himself.

### Isn't this just part of our healing?

Each of us has fallen to the physical world and taken on a temporary physical body because we turned our back on our relationship with God - and the emptiness caused by this choice resulted in us becoming envious of Him. This requires healing.

Essentially, we decided that instead of loving and serving God, we wanted what He has: We wanted to be like Him. This is expressed within Genesis by the clear statement of the serpent:

_"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."_ (Gen. 3:5)

With this understanding of the symbolic serpent \- like the serpent symbolizes our envy of God - this curse by the Supreme Being becomes clear. By God cursing the serpent, He is saying that our envy of Him will cause us great strife and conflict. And truly, it has.

Just look around. What do we see? We see that everyone within the physical world is involved in some kind of conflict or another, created by our enviousness of what others have. We want what appears to belong to another, so we struggle to obtain what someone else has accomplished or gained.

Most of the world struggles in one form or another, if not to gain what others have, then simply to keep the body alive.

In other words, our struggles to gain what others have cursed us to the very need for physical survival. For this reason, most of the world lives in abject poverty and must toil daily for our food and shelter. For the more affluent, the struggle might be physically easier, but this is typically replaced with psychological strife as we struggle with each other for positions, titles, paychecks, political power and other resources. Within the more affluent societies, the struggle for survival is replaced by economic conflict and financial battles that must be fought and won for survival.

The more affluent societies must also engage in brutal mechanical warfare to protect their affluence. This comes in the form of sending young men and women to battlefields to engage enemies that threaten that country in one form or another.

In fact, our very existence in the physical world necessitates conflict. From the time we are born into these bodies we fight disease, we fight for authority, we fight for position, we fight with peers, we fight for our rights, we fight against humiliation and discrimination, we fight for political position, we fight for food, we fight for shelter, we fight for jobs, we fight old age, and then we fight death. Our entire life if filled with conflict. Why?

### What does this curse by God mean?

This curse by the Supreme Being explains it. We became envious of Him. We wanted to _"be like God,"_ as the symbolic serpent said. We wanted authority. We wanted to be the enjoyer. We wanted to become the center of attention. These are all things He has and we do not have, because we were created to care for Him and love Him. But since we got envious and wanted those things that only He has, our future course is now littered with conflict as we struggle to obtain what is not ours.

Yes, the Supreme Being is explaining that this enviousness of Him will result in constant conflict, where there was previously none (when we loved and cared for God). _"I will put enmity between you and the woman"_ symbolizes the various conflicts we now endure due to our envy of God. And _"...he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel"_ signifies the conflicts necessitated by the struggles required to survive within the physical world - which include struggling for territory and authority.

This is the reality of our existence - for those of us in the physical world. We are all struggling for what essentially belongs to God. We see so many battles being fought for territory around the world. We see the peoples of Israel and Palestine fighting each other to claim property that actually belongs to God. Each side says that the land belongs to them, and both sides say that owning the land is their God-given right.

Yet neither side owns the land. None of us own anything. We come into the physical world with nothing and leave with nothing. We thus own nothing. Only God owns the land and all the resources of the physical world. Thus fighting over it is senseless.

These two conflicts along with so many others, are the result of this curse - or better, _prediction_ \- given by the Supreme Being: Due to our envy of Him, we will suffer continual conflict within the physical world as we struggle to achieve some portion of His position and authority.

Why must we struggle within the physical world? Because envy has no place in the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is full of love, joy, happiness and loving relationships. In the spiritual realm, God is the center of attention and the One who is loved by all. And He exchanges that love with each spiritual being and each spiritual person loves each other as well. There is no room for conflict because there is only love and no envy. No one is struggling for His position.

This is the world that we all dream of when we look for peace within the world. When John Lennon sang his song, "Imagine," he was envisioning the spiritual world.

But these visions are usually empty because we still want to ignore God - the One Person who is the Source of the love of the spiritual world. We want to have the spiritual world but we don't want to change. We still want to remain self-centered and envious, but we want to live in a place where no one else is self-centered and envious but us.

God created the physical world to house those of us who became self-centered and envious. The physical world allows us to play out our enviousness of Him by struggling for some part of His position. Here we can work hard and struggle in order to be served by others and respected by others.

### Doesn't this allow us to learn?

And what do we learn? We learn that being served by others and being the center of attention does not make us happy. This is evidenced by so many wealthy and famous people who are unhappy despite their success, as they wallow in drug abuse, alcoholism, and depression.

Thus, while the physical world offers us the ability to pretend to be like Him (owning things and trying to be the center of attention) in some respect or another, it is also a rehabilitation center.

The spiritual world is God-centered. The only person who is self-centered in the spiritual realm is God: because He is God. Being self-centered is not the natural position for the rest of us. We are by nature caregivers: We are servants by nature.

This is why even the most powerful and wealthy people are not satisfied with their positions of authority, and eventually find more satisfaction by using their positions to help others. We find more fulfillment being caregivers. This is because by nature we are caregivers and servants.

But our tendency to care and serve is only completely fulfilled when we are caring for and serving the Supreme Person. We do find some fulfillment by serving each other, but this is shallow unless it is connected to a loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

This is what God is trying to communicate to us through this allegorical story of Adam and Eve and the serpent - which functionally describes the path each of us now living in the physical world took. We will only be happy when we return to our natural position: Our loving relationship with Him. When we love God, we naturally want to please Him, care for Him and serve Him. This brings us complete fulfillment.

Loving God means we have to change our consciousness from being self-centered to being God-centered. This is the purpose for the various processes of religious activity: Praying to God, offering to God, praising God and His Holy Names, and studying His scriptures. These activities bring us closer to God, allowing the Supreme Being to slowly and gradually become the center of our lives again. Once this process changes us and purifies our enviousness, we can return to Him and leave this world of conflict behind, as we embrace the core instruction of scripture:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38 and Deuteronomy 6:5)_

#  Genesis 3:16

# To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; ..."

_To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." (Genesis 3:16)_

### Is God really cursing all women here?

Once again, a literal interpretation of these verses in Genesis would lend to a faulty and unscientific process of creation. This verse is not explaining the creation of woman's features and relationship with man. If it were, it is a very weak one, because most women of modern countries are certainly not ruled by their husbands, and many do not even have husbands.

And today's modern childbirth in hospitals is typically accompanied by pain medication, dramatically reducing if not eliminating most of the pain experienced by women during childbirth.

Does this mean that God's curse is actually pretty weak? That our modern inventions and society can overturn God's curses? Certainly not - and these are only some of the dangers of a literal interpretation of these verses in Genesis.

What we can see from these verses is that during that period of time when this story was handed down by ancient teachers, the prevailing society held that the man of the family ruled over the woman and childbirth was typically very painful. So the teachers of that day utilized those norms as part of the symbolism of this story. As mentioned previously, this would be compared to parents explaining something complex to a child using toys or animals as symbolism (the "birds and the bees" for example).

### Why is symbolism being used?

The use of symbolism in ancient teachings also has another purpose: It ferrets out those who are not serious about learning the lessons being taught. To those, the symbolic story remains mysterious, because they are not so interested to know the truth. This was clearly communicated by a number of ancient teachers, including David, Isaiah and Jesus.

For example, Jesus indeed used one of Isaiah's statements when asked by a disciple why he spoke in parables:

_"This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand." (Matt. 13:13)_

This is certainly the case among so many of the sectarian institutions and their teachers that have tried to interpret Genesis literally. Their intent is so focused upon gaining and retaining followers to support their leadership positions that they have not only failed to understand the meaning of Genesis: They have misled others as well.

Rather, this verse is not describing a literal event. This verse is part of an allegorical teaching story (a parable) that is accurately describing, rich with symbolism, our fall from the spiritual world to the physical world, and our eventual fate within the physical world.

Let's review this. So far in the story, God asked Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the "tree of knowledge". The serpent then came along and said the following about the fruit:

_"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen. 3:5)_

We've discussed the symbolism involved in Genesis. As described, the _tree of knowledge_ represents our freedom to love God or not. God gave us this facility because love requires freedom. No one can force a person to love them.

### Aren't we all caregivers?

God created us to love Him and care for Him. This is the purpose of our existence. But because love and caring must be given voluntarily, God also gave us the freedom to choose to love Him or not.

So should we elect not to love God, we have created a gigantic void within us. When we are no longer loving the Person we are intimately connected to, we are lost. We are alone. We have no shelter and no protection.

What then would drive us not to love our Dearmost Friend, God? Envy. The desire to be God. Because we were created from God we have this tendency. This is why the symbolic serpent said: _"your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God."_

In other words, the desire to be God is what drives those of us who dwell within the physical world to avoid God while we try to enjoy ourselves.

Envy always ruins love. A person who becomes envious of someone else cannot love that person. Why? Because their focus is upon themselves and what they want rather than upon the other person and what makes the other person happy. Love is wanting to make someone else happy while disregarding our own happiness.

This is precisely why those who preach that we must love ourselves before we can love others are wrong. "Loving ourselves" is simply being self-centered. Loving others is unselfish. The two are diametrically opposed.

The symbolism of this story in Genesis becomes clear with this understanding: The serpent represents our enviousness of God, and eating the fruit represents our becoming consumed by self-centeredness and envy of God.

This state of enviousness and self-centeredness has no place in the spiritual dimension. Why? Because the spiritual dimension - our original home - is populated by those who love God and love each other. The spiritual dimension has no envy and self-centeredness. Thus there is no greed, no dishonesty and no hatred in the spiritual dimension.

Isn't this the place we always imagine for ourselves? So many people have talked about, and even worked to try to make the physical world "a better place." But it never seems to get any better. Why? Because this physical dimension is the world where all of those who chose envy and self-centeredness over love of God have been sent.

This is clearly being explained in this allegorical story in Genesis. After becoming envious, God is explaining - again in symbolic terms - the fate of one who becomes envious of God.

Once we become envious and self-centered, we must leave the spiritual world and enter the physical world. In order to live in this temporary dimension, we must take on these temporary physical bodies. These temporary physical bodies have a number of characteristics:

\- These bodies are built for physical pain. Pain is part of birth, and continues intermittently throughout the body's duration through disease and injury. Even with the advent of pain medication, our bodies are a source of pain.

\- Our physical bodies age and die. This illustrates that this is not our home. We are from another dimension, where we have a permanent existence. It is like being sent to prison: Knowing that we have a ten-year prison sentence indicates that we have an existence outside of prison.

\- While in our physical bodies, we begin to identify with them. We falsely think these bodies are us. This enables multiple things at once: It enables us to escape God. For awhile, we get to pretend that we are the center of the universe, and God does not exist. It also enables us to try to carry out our desires: We get to play out our fantasies such as having others serve us, or having others pleasure us. These come from our initial envy of God: We want to enjoy like God.

\- But because we are not God, this physical world is also programmed to gradually teach us this reality. God programmed consequences into the physical world: Every action here done selfishly has a consequence. If we hurt another person, we get hurt in the future. These consequences teach us how it feels to hurt others or otherwise take advantage of others.

\- This is precisely why there is so much suffering in the physical world. The suffering in the physical world is caused by _our_ actions - each of us, individually. Anyone who is suffering today is suffering because of something we did previously - whether previously in this physical body or when we occupied a previous physical body. This is precisely why Jesus' disciples, knowing this teaching, asked this question about a man who was born blind:

_His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2)_

They asked this question because Jesus had previously taught them the law of consequences, and the fact that our past activities create our current situation.

This consequence training has two sides. Helping others improves our future situation. When we do things that have a positive effect upon others, we will experience similar positive effects in the future.

### What are the benefits of consequence learning?

Child psychologists have determined through testing that consequence learning is the best way to raise a child. Why? Because we learn by experiencing the consequences of our actions.

God is the ultimate parent, who ultimately wants us to return to our natural state in the spiritual world. Why? Because He knows only this will bring us happiness.

Why would God care about us? Why not just throw us into the pit of the physical world and let us selfishly suffer here forever?

This is called mercy. God has mercy upon us because He loves each of us dearly. So He keeps trying to teach us and give us second chances.

He knows we will never be happy in our current state, no matter how successful we become. This is illustrated by the many wealthy and powerful people in our world today who are not happy. This is why even those with millions of adoring fans and all the money and power they could ever use can't get enough or succumb to alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and even suicide.

These indicate that our natural position is not being in God's position. We'll never be happy in a powerful position. We'll never be happy if we have all the enjoyments at our disposal: All the sex we want; all the food we want; all the attention we want. This will never make us happy, and God knows this.

You see, God cares about us and wants us to be happy. This is why He set up the physical world with pain and consequences, and this is why He sends us His representatives such as Moses, David, Jesus, and others: To hopefully teach us and encourage us to return to Him. To allow us the opportunity to re-develop our lost loving relationship with Him.

By nature, we are each loving caregivers. This is why even the most powerful, wealthy people often turn to work for the welfare of others. They realize that all that money and power doesn't give them happiness.

This is because we cannot by nature, truly enjoy by being the master. Our real enjoyment is caring for others.

### Who is the real enjoyer?

No matter how hard we try to enjoy our life in this world, we remain empty. Even the most wealthy, powerful people will commit suicide or become addicted to drugs and alcohol. Why? Because all that supposed enjoyment doesn't fulfill us. It doesn't bring us happiness.

This is because God is the only real enjoyer.

By nature, God is the Enjoyer, and this is His natural position. We are His eternal servitors, and we are the caregivers of His other children. This is our natural position, and what brings us happiness.

We see mirror images of this type of relationship throughout the physical world. We see bees surrounding and caring for the Queen. We see soldiers serving kings, presidents, and generals. We see doctors and nurses caring for patients. These are all reflections of the situations that preside permanently in the spiritual world, but with God at the center, and mutual care-giving amongst all.

The variegated-ness of the physical world, is, in fact, a reflection of the spiritual world - albeit a perverted reflection. The spiritual world is not devoid of relationships and community as many have conjectured. In fact, all the temporary relationships and organizations of the physical world simply indicate a permanent state of relationships and organizations originating elsewhere - the eternal spiritual world - the world where God is in charge and we are His servitors.

God is also the ultimate beloved. We must remember that this story in Genesis is allegorical. God is the perfect person - so wise, and so caring. He exchanges a unique loving relationship with each of us, and our relationships with others are based upon our unique relationship with God. The reflection of this in the physical world is how many of our relationships here are based upon our job or position in a family. The difference is that our spiritual relationship with God and His other children gives us each complete fulfillment. The spiritual world is our home. It is the only place we can sustain fulfilling relationships without those we care for dying or breaking up with us.

Now God, who truly wants us to be happy, simply wants us return to Him and resume our natural relationship as His lovers and servitors. But we must make the choice. He never forces us. He may nudge us, and try to teach us through the consequences of this physical world and the teachings of His representatives. But never will He force Himself upon us. Love requires freedom, and God simply wants our love.

This is why Moses' and Jesus' most important instruction was:

_"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'" (Mark 12:30 and Deut. 6:5)_

#  Genesis 3:17-19

# "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree ..."

_To Adam He said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:17-19)_

### Did God literally curse the ground?

Certainly this is not to be taken literally. If so, that would mean that God is cursing part of His own creation. Would God really create something and then turn around and curse it because of something someone else did?

Such a situation would indicate that the Supreme Being lost control. Does God really lose control over His creation?

No. Rather, He created living beings and then endowed them with free will. The Supreme Being also created a consequential world for these living beings to live temporarily. This was to enable the living beings to make their own decisions, but also to suffer the consequences - good and bad - of their free will decisions.

The purpose of this is to create an environment of learning.

### Does envy have consequences?

In this case, the decision of Adam and Eve was to try to enjoy as the Supreme Being enjoys. This was represented by Adam and Eve by their eating the symbolic fruit following the statement by the serpent:

_"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5)_

Since Adam and Eve ate the fruit after the serpent said this, we can know that eating the fruit represents our deciding we wanted to be like God.   
This is what attracted Eve - and then Adam - to eating the fruit. To "be like God" is the expression of envy. They were not satisfied with being who they were - they wanted to be like the Supreme Being. So they took the next step.

Such a decision comes from a consciousness of envy. And envy has consequences.

Genesis 3:17-19 is thus describing, in allegorical terms, the consequences for those of us who became envious of Him and wanted to enjoy as He enjoys.

And what form did these consequences take? It resulted in our taking on these temporary physical bodies and temporary identities within the physical dimension.

This is the meaning of the verse, _"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."_

The Hebrew word אדמה ('adamah) means "ground" or "land", but more specifically, "earth substance, ground as earth's visible surface," and "land, territory, country." This is referring, allegorically, to the physical world: The material world, as opposed to the spiritual dimension.

### Why does the soul have to leave heaven?

The consequences of envy do not occur in the spiritual realm, because the spiritual realm is a place of love. There is no envy in the spiritual realm. But when the soul does become envious, they must leave the spiritual realm and go to the physical world in order to play out that envious consciousness, along with the consequences. This is why we have a temporary physical body in a temporary physical world.

The physical body is like a vehicle that we, the soul or spiritual being, gets into and drives for a while. This might be compared to how a driver steps into a car and drives it for a while, and then steps out.

Once in this physical body, we become enmeshed in our temporary identity, and all the trappings of the physical world. We might compare this to how a person might become engrossed in a computer video game.

This is the meaning of _"for dust you are and to dust you will return,"_ Once within the physical world, we begin to identify with this physical body. Then the physical body eventually dies and decomposes, returning to עפר `aphar, or _"dust."_ If we become ensnared by the physical world, we will return, taking on another body according to our consciousness and deeds of this lifetime. This is the meaning of _"and to dust you will return."_

Here in the physical dimension, we are functionally separated from God. As we assume these virtual, false identities related to the physical body, we can forget God, and seek our own enjoyment as though we were the center of the universe.

In this way, we utilize these physical bodies to seek out our desires. We use them to try to enjoy consumption, sex, wealth, admiration, attention and hopefully, complete fulfillment. Here we want everyone to love us. Here we seek sexual enjoyment. Here we seek to be the head of a big family. Here we seek to be famous and admired by all. Here we seek power and authority. What are we seeking with all of these ambitions? We are seeking to enjoy as God enjoys: We want to be the supreme being.

### Are we God?

We were created to be God's eternal servitors. God created us to exchange a loving, caring relationship with us. We were made to care for Him and love Him. Yet love requires freedom, and we must have the freedom to truly love, so God gave us the freedom to love Him or not. And since He made us from Himself, we also have the capacity to become envious of Him.

For those of us who became envious, we had to have a place to exercise our envy. This is the physical world.

Yet God still loves us, and wants us to be happy. We will never be happy separated from Him, because our natural position is His servitor. Therefore, He also programmed the physical world to rehabilitate us.

This is why the physical world has, along with facilities for us to act out our desires, so many challenges. Here we have to work hard for our food and shelter. Here we have so many challenges, including disease, pain and old age. Here we struggle with environmental challenges of heat and cold. Here we struggle with the challenges of insects and wild animals. Here we struggle with each other for territory and governance. Here many of us struggle with starvation and thirst. This might be a world where we can seek out our plans to enjoy, but this comes with significant hardship. Why? To teach us that this is not our real home.

So is God cruel? God, in fact, is the most gracious and kind being. He is the most loving and caring person. This is why He gives us the freedom to love Him or not. While the verse says _"I commanded you,"_ we know it wasn't much of a command, because Adam and Eve ate the fruit anyway. So either God's commands have little power, or the command was actually a request.

The tellers of this ancient allegorical parable were trying to describe using symbolism, why we are here in this physical world. The fact is, God is the most gracious loving being, and while He certainly hopes that we would not become envious of Him, He graciously gave us that choice.

_"If you love someone, set them free"_ was written by the musician, Sting, many years ago. It is appropriate here because God, who loves us, set us free. We can freely choose to love God or not.

Not only that but if we choose not to love Him - symbolized here by Adam and Eve eating the fruit - then He gives us a space where we don't even have to see Him. Here in this physical world, we can completely forget God. We can ignore Him and pretend that He doesn't exist. Now that is love.

### Why does Adam listen to his wife?

What is the meaning of Adam listening to his wife? Remember that in this parable, each of us is individually symbolized by Adam, and the community of the spiritual world who partnered with Adam's decision - becoming envious of God - is represented by Eve. Thus, the meaning of Adam listening to his wife might be compared to peer-pressure. The fact is, part of the decision we made to become envious of God and separated from Him was based upon the encouragement of others who also felt envious. Each of us made the decision for ourselves - and are responsible for our decision - but we were also encouraged.

We can see this sentiment reflected throughout our physical existence, as people - and all creatures - tend to go along with our peers. Most people, in fact, wait until others are doing something before we feel comfortable doing it. Some call this "herd mentality." Why do we have such a "herd mentality?"

It is because by nature we are connected. We were all created by the Supreme Being, and as such, we are all one big family. While we do not like to think of each other as part of the same family, we are, and this is why we are always so interested in what everyone else is doing.

This is also part of why we strive so hard for the acceptance of others. While we might be seeking love and attention of others as part of our attempt to play God, we also _need_ the love of others. It is intrinsic. We need love, because we come from a place - the spiritual world - where we are always being loved by the Supreme Being, and all of God's servitors - our brothers and sisters.

This love that pervades the spiritual world is hard to shake. It is part of us. Beneath our false identity that this body has created due to our envy, each of us needs love, and the care of our Best Friend, God.

And those of us who are trying to avoid God here, we instead seek to obtain this love and care from our families, our so-called friends, our spouses, our clubs, our churches, and/or other institutions that provide the illusion of love.

And these are illusions. We gain no real love from these people or groups: They are simply after their own satisfaction. What passes for love within most families and others is mostly sentiment. Love - caring for someone more than we care about ourselves - is different than sentiment.

There might be a glimpse of a little love mixed with a lot of sentiment in families. But for most people, sentiment is mostly all there is.

By God programming the physical world with _"thorns and thistles,"_ we are being told that this place isn't our real home. Just imagine if God made this a great place with no suffering. Why would we want to leave? Why would we question our (false) identity? Why would we want to go home?

But why would God ordain such a fate of suffering? Again, is God cruel? This question is often asked in another form, as people who see suffering around the world ask the question:

### If God exists, why do people suffer?

The answer to this lies first in the fact that it is not _us_ who are suffering. It is our temporary physical bodies. It is like driving a car with a bad engine that breaks down. The driver does not become sick if the car breaks down. The driver simply steps out of the car untouched.

In the same way, the spiritual being is separate from the physical body. We only suffer to the extent that we identify with the physical body. Outside of that, there is no actual suffering. It is only learning.

It is like playing a video game. Our game icon might be blown up or punched or shot many times. Are we shot when our game character is shot? No. We turn off the computer and walk away unharmed.

Now let's imagine that we are playing a computer video game, and the game is set up with a system of tests and challenges, with score-keeping. As we play the game, we are being taken through various lessons. Every time we do something that hurts another person in the game, our computer icon suffers in the same way and loses points. And when we do something that helps another, our computer icon gains points and experiences good things. What does this teach us?

This is what is going on the physical world. Our physical bodies suffer as consequences to our previous actions. Therefore, all the "suffering" of the physical world is caused by each of us, individually. We each cause our physical body's suffering by our past choices, either in this lifetime or a previous lifetime. This produces lessons - each teaching us.

God is not only the most lovable, giving and caring Person. He is not only our Best Friend and constant Companion (even when we are here, He is still with us, hidden from our physical view). God is also the most intelligent person. Just consider the intelligence to create this virtual world, the physical world, where we have the facility to seek out our own enjoyment while being able to ignore Him, yet with the facility to learn so many lessons. Such an intelligent and resourceful God!

And what do the lessons of the physical world ultimately teach us? How to love again. The consequence learning of this world is set up to first give us choices as to which path we want to take. Should we make the right choices, the world teaches us how to care for each other and love one another. This ultimately prepares us, if we so desire, to re-develop our love for God and return to the spiritual world.

### Isn't this God's purpose?

This is ultimately God's purpose, because God wants us back. He is saddened that we are seeking our happiness outside of our relationship with Him. He is saddened that we are seeking our love "in all the wrong places."

Why is He saddened? Because He knows that we'll only be happy when we are back in His loving arms, in our natural position of exchanging an intimate relationship with Him. He knows our natural position as His loving servitor is the only thing that will make us happy. And He wants us to be happy because He loves us unconditionally.

This is why Jesus and Moses, and all the great saintly persons teach the same message:

_"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'" (Mark 12:30 and Deut. 6:5)_

# Genesis 3:20

# Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother ...

_Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. (Genesis 3:20)_

### Did Adam literally name his wife?

This reverent verse has been misinterpreted by sectarian institutions and their scribes over the centuries.

The misinterpretation stems from dubious translations combined with the absence of the application of common sense. Are we to accept that even though Adam and Eve were married, that Eve had no name, and Adam had to name her? Are we to accept that this supposed first human woman, who had disobeyed and upset God, is now the _"mother of all the living"_? As mentioned before, why would Adam need to go around naming things?

Certainly, all of these assertions are false, the worst of which is the idea of a literal Eve, who disobeyed God, is now _"the mother of all the living."_

The reality is that this story in Genesis is an allegorical parable. It is not a description of the first humans on earth. There are a number of obvious signs of this. For example, have we ever seen a _"tree of knowledge of good and evil"_ or a _"tree of life"_ on earth? Have we ever seen a talking serpent?

No, because this story is an allegorical discussion. It is an ancient parable handed down through the ages by ancient spiritual teachers who were describing, heavy with symbolism, our fall from the spiritual dimension to the physical world. We have described much of the meaning of this symbolism in this commentary.

### What does the symbolism mean?

Utilizing the original Hebrew:

The first part of the verse, אדם ('adam), is translated to _"Adam,"_ but as described previously, Adam represents each of us individually. אדם ('adam) is also used to address mankind.

The Hebrew word, קרא (qara') is being translated to _"called,"_ but it's original meaning relates to the _calling out or reciting of God's name._ This is confirmed in the lexicon:

to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim  
a) (Qal)  
1) to call, cry, utter a loud sound  
2) to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God)

Calling out or reciting God's Holy Name is an ancient practice, as we'll discuss more below.

The Hebrew, אשה ('ishshah) is being translated to _"his wife's",_ but the actual meaning of the word relates to the feminine. It is indicating a feminine aspect, rather than specifically one person of Adam's wife.

The Hebrew word שם (shem) is being translated to _"name"_ here, but its actual meaning, is much deeper, confirmed by the lexicon. While "name" is one possible translation, the word more relates to "reputation, fame, glory", and more importantly, "the Name (as designation of God)" according to the lexicon. Thus we find that translating this word to "name" is a very shallow interpretation of the word. Rather, the word, together with the rest of the phrase, is an invocation to glorify God's Holy Name.

Furthermore, this invocation is being made, as mentioned above, with regard to God's feminine aspect - His feminine expansion, which is, indeed, _"the mother of all the living."_ This is being communicated with the Name, חוה (Chavvah), which means, literally, _"life"_ or _"living."_

The next word, אם ('em) is a reference to the word _"mother"_ because God's expansive powers are the mother of all living beings. God maintains both masculine and feminine characteristics. His masculine aspect is His Original Self. His feminine aspects include His creative and expansive powers, which in turn produce His separated parts and parcels, the living beings - each of us, in other words.

The Hebrew word חי (chay) has been correctly translated to "the living" here.

The Hebrew word כל (kol) indicates _"all"_ as in _"every"_ living being. We certainly cannot accept that someone who was supposedly created from Adam's rib is now the _"the mother of all the living."_ This is a contradiction, because if Eve is _"the mother of all the living"_ then why did God have to create her and how come Adam (who was also living) was created before her?

As we can see, this verse has been entirely misconstrued by those who did not understand what was being communicated, and as a result, have portrayed a narrow perspective of God.

Rather, this ancient and reverent verse is glorifying God and His Holy Name. It is glorifying the female aspect of God - namely, God's expansive and creative element - the source of the creation of all living beings - each of us, in other words.

### Why is praising God so important?

The glorification of God's Holy Names has been a tenet of the ancient Hebrews for thousands of years. We can see a glimpse of this in the following Biblical verses:

_At that time men [of the earth] began to call on the Name of the LORD._ (Genesis 4:26)

_From there he [Abraham] went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the Name of the LORD._ (Genesis 12:8)

_...and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the Name of the LORD._ (Genesis 13:4)

_Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the Name of the LORD, the Eternal God._ (Genesis 21:33)

_Isaac built an altar there and called on the Name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well._ (Genesis 26:25)

_"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his Name."_ (Exodus 20:7)

_"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his Name."_ (Deuteronomy 5:11)

_"...he may minister in the Name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD."_ (Deuteronomy 18:7)

_"If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."_ (Deuteronomy 18:22)

_"The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the Name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault."_ (Deuteronomy 21:5)

_"Then all the peoples on earth will see that You are called by the Name of the LORD, and they will revere You."_ (Deuteronomy 28:10)

_"I will proclaim the Name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!"_ (Deuteronomy 32:3)

_David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the Name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."_ (1 Samuel 17:45)

_Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the Name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'" Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town._ (1 Samuel 20:42)

_He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the Name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark._ (2 Samuel 6:2)

_After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD Almighty._ (2 Samuel 6:18)

_The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD._ (1 Kings 3:2)

_"You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet."_ (1 Kings 5:3)

_"I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when He said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.'"_ (1 Kings 5:5)

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_ (1 Kings 8:17)

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_ (1 Kings 8:20)

_When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the Name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions._ (1 Kings 10:1)

_Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire — He is God." Then all the people said, "What you say is good."_ (1 Kings 18:24)

_With the stones he built an altar in the Name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed._ (1 Kings 18:32)

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD ?"_ (1 Kings 22:16)

_He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the Name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths._ (2 Kings 2:24)

_But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the Name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy."_ (2 Kings 5:11)

_"Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked."_ (Jeremiah 20:13)

_After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD._ (1 Chronicles 16:2)

_So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the Name of the LORD._ (1 Chronicles 21:19)

_David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God."_ (1 Chronicles 22:7)

_"Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."_ (1 Chronicles 22:19)

_Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself._ (2 Chronicles 2:1)

_"Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on Sabbaths and New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel."_ (2 Chronicles 2:4)

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_ (2 Chronicles 6:7)

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_ (2 Chronicles 6:10)

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD ?"_ (2 Chronicles 18:15)

_The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel._ (2 Chronicles 33:18)

_"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised."_ (Job 1:21)

_"I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the Name of the LORD Most High."_ (Psalm 7:17)

_"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God."_ (Psalm 20:7)

_"The nations will revere the Name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory."_ (Psalm 102:15)

_"So the Name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem."_ (Psalm 102:21)

_"Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the Name of the LORD."_ (Psalm 113:1)

_"Let the Name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore."_ (Psalm 113:2)

_"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised."_ (Psalm 113:3)

_"Then I called on the Name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!"_ (Psalm 116:4)

_"I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the LORD."_ (Psalm 116:13)

_"I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the Name of the LORD."_ (Psalm 116:17)

_"That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the Name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel."_ (Psalm 122:4)

_"Our help is in the Name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."_ (Psalm 124:8)

_"May those who pass by not say, "The blessing of the LORD be upon you; we bless you in the Name of the LORD."_ (Psalm 129:8)

_"Praise the LORD. Praise the Name of the LORD; praise Him, you servants of the LORD"_ (Psalm 135:1)

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created."_ (Psalm 148:5)

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for His Name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens."_ (Psalm 148:13)

_"The Name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."_ (Proverbs 18:10)

_"At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers — the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty."_ (Isaiah 18:7)

_"Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea."_ (Isaiah 24:15)

_"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the LORD and rely on his God."_ (Isaiah 50:10)

_"And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve Him, to love the Name of the LORD, and to worship Him..."_ (Isaiah 56:6)

_"From the west, men will revere the Name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory."_ (Isaiah 59:19)

_"At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the Name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts."_ (Jeremiah 3:17)

_Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the Name of the LORD our God."_ (Jeremiah 26:16)

_Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the Name of the LORD_ (Jeremiah 26:20)

_"You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the Name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed."_ (Joel 2:26)

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved"_ (Joel 2:32)

_"...we will walk in the Name of the LORD our God for ever and ever."_ (Micah 4:5)

_"He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the Name of the LORD his God."_ (Micah 5:4)

_"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the Name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder."_ (Zephaniah 3:9)

_"But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the Name of the LORD."_ (Zephaniah 3:12)

_"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"_ (Matthew 21:9)

_"'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' "_ (Matthew 23:39)

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!"_ (Mark 11:9)

_"'Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.' "_ (Luke 13:35)

_"Blessed is the king who comes in the Name of the Lord!"_ (Luke 19:38)

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!"_ (John 12:13)

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved."_ (Acts 2:21)

_So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the Name of the Lord._ (Acts 9:28)

_"Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." "_ (2 Timothy 2:19)

_"Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the Name of the Lord."_ (James 5:10)

_"Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved."_ (Romans 10:13)

### Why don't the sects praise God's Names?

We can see from the above verses and others that glorifying the Holy Names of God is a universal tenet of the Prophets and Jesus. Yet the subsequent teachings of the sectarian Christian organizations which began with the Roman Catholic Church have virtually ignored the reciting and praising of God's Holy Names.

Why? The only logical answer is that these organizations do not seek to glorify God. They were not established for the purpose of glorifying God. They seek to gain followers, and therewith, power and authority. That is the purpose of their existence. And those who have controlled these organizations have sought to exercise such power and authority over others.

And what is the result of this perceived authority? Materialism. Lucrative salaries to the various professional preachers and church leaders. Posh offices and headquarters, extravagant living quarters, limousines, popemobiles, and lots of respect. In some cases, we can add the abuse of innocent children.

The desire of these organizational leaders has been power. They do not desire to glorify God, as the teachers of the Bible, including Abraham, David, Samuel, Moses, Joshua, Job, Noah, Solomon, John the Baptist, Jesus, and his disciples sought to do. They simply want us to join their churches, pay our alms, believe that we are saved, and go home so they can enjoy the prosperity of our joining their "religion."

This strategy was cemented by the Roman government, as they developed the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church, and together with that, the translations of the Biblical texts that fit their teachings. The other sects followed with little change in structure and overall hierarchy, with teachers who are elected as though representing God was a democratic process.

But they could not completely erase God and the teachings of His messengers from the Biblical texts. God would not permit that. Thus some of the Hebrew is simply too obvious to translate otherwise (such as the verses quoted above).

With this in mind, we put forth a more appropriate translation of this verse of Genesis 3:20:

_Glory to God's Holy Name in the feminine aspect, because God's creative energy is the Mother of the living._

Or, if one wanted to maintain the parable storyline, then this translation could also be applied:

_Adam glorified God's Holy Name in the feminine aspect, because God's creative energy is the Mother of the living._

#  Genesis 3:21

# The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife ...

_The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)_

This verse has been the subject to many misunderstandings and misguided depictions of Adam and Eve. These have been the result of a lack of understanding of what is being communicated within the symbolism of this important parable.

Let's first clarify the key elements of the Hebrew translation. Then we can review the symbolism involved:

### What are 'garments of skin'?

The word עשה (`asah) is translated to _"made"_ here, but the word means to produce, do, work, act with effect or effect. So _"made"_ is appropriate but in the context of activity, which includes designing and producing.

_"Garments"_ is being translated from כתנת (kĕthoneth), which is specifically used in Hebrew to describe a tunic or undergarment - worn underneath the clothes - as confirmed by Gesenius' Hebrew Lexicon.

_"Of skin"_ is translated from עור (`owr), but specifically means human skin, the skin of the gums, and more appropriately, the physical body, according to the Hebrew Lexicon. While it can also mean the skin of animals, _this usage is more obscure._

_"For Adam and his wife"_ is translated from אדם ('Adam) and אשה ('ishshah). The word אשה ('ishshah) can refer to 'woman,' 'wife,' 'female,' 'each' or 'every' according to the lexicon.

_"Clothed them"_ comes from the Hebrew word לבש (labash), which refers to becoming clothed, covered or enveloped.

While this seems like a very straight-forward translation, there is a deeper meaning here, and this deeper meaning is revealed by the use of the word כתנת (kĕthoneth), which describes undergarments as mentioned. In other words, a covering over nakedness - which symbolizes purity.

Why would Adam and Eve, who were previously naked according to the parable, suddenly become covered up?

The use of this word indicates that the _covering_ is being used symbolically. And the symbolism is cemented by the use of the Hebrew word, עור (`owr), which means either _the human skin_ or _the human body_ as mentioned above.

The interpretation of animal skins here is not only odd, but it is not practical. Why? Because the word before it says that God actively _"made"_ the skin that covered them. If the verse were referring to animal skins, then it would have indicated that God hunted down a couple of animals and skinned them.

### What does 'skin' refer to here?

This verse clearly indicates that the _skin_ was produced by God. This clearly indicates not some kind of garment, but the _human body itself._

Consider that the human body is like a covering over the pure spirit. The human body was designed and produced by God. The human body was designed to envelop, clothe, or cover the spiritual living being, just as a suit of armor is designed to envelop, clothe or cover the body, and just as an automobile is designed to envelop, clothe or cover a driver.

This is also consistent with the other symbolism used in this parable, as discussed with Genesis 3:1-5. Eden is not a physical place on planet earth, and Adam and Eve were not the first people born on the planet 5,000 years ago. This notion has been disproven by numerous human remains dating back hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Rather, this part of Genesis is an allegorical story that describes how we fell from the spiritual world to the physical world and took on these temporary physical bodies.

One can scientifically arrive at the understanding that we are not the physical body. (Here is a breakdown of the science). We are each spiritual beings, temporarily occupying a physical body, much as a driver temporarily drives an automobile. Once the driver is behind the wheel, the driver steers the car. Sometimes the driver even begins to identify with the car.

In the same way, once within the physical body, by God's design, we begin to identify ourselves with the body. We then begin to seek out our happiness as though we were these physical bodies.

### Why are so many of us unhappy here?

We are seeking happiness outside of our natural habitat. Consider, for example, this analogy:

Let's say a fish were found flopping on a boat dock, having inadvertently jumped onto the dock from the water. Several people surround the fish. One says, "he's gasping. Maybe he's got a disease of the gills." Another says, "he's flopping around. Maybe he has a problem with his fins." Another says, "he's flopping around like he wants food. Maybe he is hungry." And another says, "he's flapping his tail. Maybe he is anxious and needs a comfortable place to rest."

Are any of them right? The fish may indeed have some of these issues, but the central problem is that the fish is out of its normal habitat, the water. When a fish is out of the water, it gasps, flops and flaps around in desperation because it is outside of its natural element - water.

In the same way, we are each spirit-persons who have become enveloped within a physical body. After some time in it, we begin to identify with this temporary vehicle – we think that our body is "me." Once we misidentify ourselves, we begin to seek our happiness within that identity. This leads to depression, anxiety and other issues, simply because we are misidentifying ourselves, and are outside of our natural element – the spiritual realm.

That begs the question of why God sent us here to the physical world, and _"clothed"_ us within these physical bodies.

Genesis is clear through its symbolism, that we are here because we became envious of God. The symbolic snake clarifies this in Genesis 3:5:

_"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."_

While this has been dubiously translated, the meaning is clear: The snake is clarifying that by eating the fruit, they _"will be like God."_

Then, of course, they eat the fruit after the snake says this. What does this tell us? It tells us that Adam and Eve (symbolizing each of us as individuals and as a community) became envious of God. We wanted to _"be like God."_

And isn't this what we are each trying to do within these physical bodies? Just look around. Each of us is trying to find our little "niche" where we are special. We want to be appreciated. We want to be loved by others. We want to be wealthy, powerful, famous. We want to be the center of attention in some way or another. In other words, we each want to carve out our own scenario where we can be in God's position: We want to be the center of the universe.

We want to stake out our own little "kingdom" where we are king. For some of us, it is our family. For others, it is our occupation and career. For others, it is our community club or our sports team. For others, it is our physical enjoyment of something - perhaps our next meal or our next sexual encounter. For many, it is a combination of these and maybe others.

All of these efforts are the same: They are self-centered. They are aimed at making ME happy. This is the expression of our envy of God.

Why? Because God is the center of universe, including the spiritual realm. He is loved by everyone there. He is the Enjoyer of everything. He is served. He is given pleasure. This is because He has the position of God. And we don't.

What is our natural position then? We are God's servitors. God created us - the spiritual beings - to exchange a loving relationship with, and lovingly care for Him, according to our unique relationship with Him.

### Doesn't love require freedom?

But because love requires freedom, God also gave us the freedom to love Him or not. We have the freedom to care for Him or not. And since we have a little piece of God within us, we have the potential to become envious of Him.

So those of us who have chosen not to love Him and care for Him - symbolized by our disregarding His instructions and eating the fruit - He sent us away to the physical world and gave us temporary physical bodies to express our desires to be separate from Him and try to enjoy like Him.

But it's not working out so well. None of us are happy here, even those who have achieved their wildest dreams and become wealthy, famous and powerful. We are all still empty here, as we seek fulfillment where there is none. Regardless of what we have - whether it be a tight-knit family, a nice car, big house, great job, lots of so-called friends, great career and all the trappings - we are still empty here. Why?

Because this is not our natural position. Our natural position is spiritual, and our home is the spiritual realm. And our role is loving and caring for the Supreme Being within our unique relationship with Him.

This is why Moses, Jesus and all of God's representatives have taught us the same clear message:

_"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:5, Matt. 22:37, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27)_

This is why these texts discuss God and His activities in an intimate fashion. The two first words of the verse, LORD, and God, are being translated from two Holy Names of God, יהוה (Yĕhovah) and אלהים (Elohiym). Contrary to the speculative teaching that God has no Name, this phrase indicates that God not only has a Name, but has multiple Holy Names - including the Holy Name of Yehovah (or Jehovah) and Elohim. Both of these terms are based upon relating to God with a manner of love and devotion.

#  Genesis 3:22

# And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of Us ...

_And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (Genesis 3:22)_

Following is a review some of the key Hebrew phrases of the verse, together with the symbolism being used:

### What does 'One of Us' mean?

_"The man"_ is translated from אדם ('adam), which is used to indicate man, mankind or human being. It is being used here to symbolize each of us.

_"Has become like one of Us, knowing"_ comes from היה אחד ידע (hayah 'echad yada`). This indicates not that we have become _like_ God, but rather, it indicates a change of consciousness from one of God's loving servants to one of wanting to enjoy as God enjoys. In other words, we are now seeking our own satisfaction rather than seeking to please God. This is akin to becoming envious of God's position.

Notice the plural in _"Us."_ This confirms God's ability to expand Himself. This is how He simultaneously relates with each of us individually.

We were created by God to love and serve God. Thus, our normal position in the spiritual realm is God's servitor. By nature, our joy is giving God enjoyment. Yet because love requires freedom, we also have been given the freedom to seek God's position of being the enjoyer. Should we become envious of His enjoyment, we seek to be _"like"_ God.

This phrase also indicates that the position of being self-focused is God's position. Therefore, the meaning of the phrase is not that we _became_ _"like"_ God - but that we now _seek God's position_. We _seek to be like God._

### What does 'Good and evil' mean?

_"Good and evil"_ are being translated from טוב (towb) and רע (ra`). The more accurate translation of these two are _"self-centered pleasure and pain."_ Those in the spiritual realm whose lives are focused upon pleasing the Supreme Being do not experience self-centered pleasure and its natural consequence, pain.

Citizens of the upper spiritual realm are only focused upon God's pleasure, and thus they only experience spiritual pleasure - the pleasure connected to love. And even what could be supposed as pain for the inhabitants of the spiritual realm - mainly the pain of separation from God - is also spiritually pleasurable to those inhabitants.

The next part of the verse is substantively translated, but it is important to understand the meaning. God is saying that because we now seek His position, we will know self-centered pleasure and pain on our own. We will thus have to experience the results of a self-centered existence - fleeting flashes of pleasure combined with pain.

### What does becoming covered mean?

Remember that this verse is following the previous verse where God _"clothes"_ the symbolic Adam (us) and the symbolic Eve (the spiritual community who fell with us) within the _"skin"_ of physical bodies.

What this means is that our change in consciousness from one of loving God to one of becoming self-centered results in our becoming covered within a temporary physical body. Why is this?

Once we became envious, there was no place for us in the spiritual realm. We fell away from the spiritual realm due to our self-centered desires. These desires became manifest by our taking on a particular type of temporary physical body. Our physical bodies are designed, in other words, to execute our desire for self-centered enjoyment and independence from God. Our bodies were designed for us to play out our desires to be in God's position.

And this is surprising? Just look around. Everyone around us is wanting to achieve self-centered desires. Each of us wants to be given attention, and ultimately be served by others.

We can see this even amongst babies. We come into the world crying for comfort. We want to be free of pain. Then we want to be fed. When we don't get fed, we cry. What is being fed? Being fed is being served by someone. Do babies come into the world wanting to give anything back to mama who carried them for nine months? No. We want more. We want food. Then we want attention. Then we want toys. As we grow older, we want the other kids to respect us. We want our peers to like us, and give us respect. We also want bigger toys. And later, we want to enjoy sex.

As we grow older, our self-centeredness expands. We want to make lots of money. We want a beautiful husband or wife. We want a big job, a big house and we want to drive a big car.

When these do not satisfy us, we want a family. We want kids. We want to "create" little people who will look up to us and love us. Then we want to teach our little "creations" our great wisdom, so they can do want we want them to do.

Then, later on, we want to retire. We want to sit back and enjoy life. We want to take a cruise. We want our grandchildren to come around to love us and serve us.

This is how most of us see becoming happy here in this world. And what is all this? This is the desire to be like God. We want to be loved, be served, own stuff, create people and be the king of our own little kingdom. This is God's position. And this is what we want.

None of the people living in the physical world want to serve. No one wants to be a servant. We all want to be masters. We all want to rule over others. This is our disease, and this is why we are here in this physical world, away from God.

The last part of the verse confirms this. It indicates that once we choose self-centeredness over our natural position of God's loving servant, we are escorted out of the spiritual world, and we will no longer taste the exchange of our loving relationship with God. This is symbolized in this parable by the statement, _"He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."_

### What does the 'tree of life' symbolize?

The _"tree of life"_ was described earlier in Genesis as being in the _"middle"_ of the _"Garden."_ The _"tree of life"_ symbolizes our loving relationship with the Supreme Being, and its _"fruit"_ is love for God - what ultimately fulfills us. This is why this symbolic tree is described as being in the _"middle"_ of the _"Garden"_ \- which symbolizes the spiritual realm.

But once we became envious of God - symbolized by eating of the other _"fruit"_ \- we then had to give up our loving relationship with God.

This is typical amongst relationships. Let's say that we had a childhood friend for many years, and suddenly found ourselves competing with that friend to be captain of a sports team. Then let's say that we became captain, and our friend didn't. They then become jealous that we became captain and they didn't. Could we continue our childhood friendship as it was? No. That jealousy would interfere with our friendship. Our friendship as it was would be dissolved by the jealousy.

It is the same with God and each of us - the living beings He created. Once we become envious of God's position, we thereby give up our position of one of God's loving servants and playmates within the spiritual realm.

The fact that this parable is differentiating between the physical world and the spiritual world is confirmed by the use of חיה עולם (chayah `owlam). This indicates _living forever._

This is critical because in the physical world, these bodies are temporary. They are born, get old and then die. They are temporary vehicles from which we attempt to play God's role - focusing on our own pleasure and trying to have others love us and worship us.

Our spiritual selves, however, are eternal. In the spiritual realm we never get old. We never die. In the spiritual world we _are_ our bodies. In the physical world, we are not our bodies. We operate them, just as a driver operates a car.

It is within the spiritual realm that we are truly happy. We are happy because we are exchanging love with God and love with all of God's other children. We can see that this is our natural position as we look around and see that everyone including us is seeking love and to be loved. Yet we are never satisfied with the type of love we find in the physical world, because all the other citizens of the physical world are also trying to be in God's position. So we struggle and compete with each other for position and attention. We struggle for God's position, in other words.

And what little love exists within this world is predicated upon our temporary physical bodies. We typically love only those who have bodies within our body's family, or those who marry our bodies, or those who somehow prove their devotion to us. Otherwise, we don't love others, and others don't love us. This is not really love; because it is conditional.

### Is real love is conditional?

When someone really loves another, it doesn't matter what body they have on or what family their body comes from. It doesn't matter if the person hates them. Real love is unconditional.

This is the kind of love we are desperate for. This is the type of love that comes from the Supreme Being, and those within the spiritual world who love God unconditionally - they also love others unconditionally. It is like an infection: Those in the spiritual realm are all infected with spiritual love.

But once we decide that we want more for ourselves - we want what God has - it all dissolves. In an instant, we find ourselves fallen from the spiritual realm, and sucked inside of a physical body's sperm to be fertilized. Then the body develops around us, and we begin to identify with a temporary physical body, as we seek to use it for achieving our self-centered goals.

We abandoned our love for God and became jealous of Him - so we were pushed out of the spiritual realm. This is what this verse explains.

# Genesis 3:23

# So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden ...

_So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. (Genesis 3:23)_

### Is the Garden of Eden on earth?

This verse has been misconstrued Sectarian professional clerics have interpreted this section of Genesis to be describing a location on the planet earth - the _"Garden of Eden"_ \- and _Adam and Eve_ as being the first humans on the planet.

This misunderstanding has created many imaginative and speculative journeys to find the location of the _Garden of Eden_ somewhere in the Middle East. Others have suggested that its location is in Asia. Millions of dollars of tithings have been wasted on these hunts, to no avail. They have also performed archaeological digs in hopes of finding the bones of Adam and Eve, again to no avail.

The reason no one has found the _Garden of Eden_ on the planet is that the _Garden of Eden_ was never on the planet. And the reason they find no evidence of Adam and Eve is because they didn't exist as portrayed.

In fact, this section of Genesis is not describing God's creation of the physical universe. The creation of the physical universe together with the human species is clearly and adequately described in the first chapter of Genesis, which began with:

_In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)_

and ended with:

_Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. (Genesis 2:1)_

Between these verses the creation of humanity and all the other species of life is described:

_God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:25-27)_

So why would Genesis describe two different scenarios for the creation of humanity? Because there aren't two different scenarios. God's creation of the physical universe is made clear in the first chapter of Genesis.

### Does this mean the Garden of Eden doesn't exist?

However, this doesn't mean there is no _Garden of Eden_.

The reality is, this depiction of the _Garden of Eden_ and Adam and Eve, together with the talking, walking serpent and the tree of life and the tree of knowledge, is an allegorical parable describing how each of us fell from the spiritual realm down to the physical world.

This is confirmed by the wording of the first part of Genesis 3:22:

_So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden...._

The word _"banished"_ is being translated from the Hebrew שלח (shalach), which means to be 'to send away' or 'to let go' according to the lexicon. It can also be described as 'to let loose,' 'to cast out,' 'to dismiss,' or 'to be divorced.'

So is _"banished"_ the right word to use? _"Banished"_ sounds like losing a country club membership or something. It doesn't communicate the event accurately: God is casting Adam (us) out of the spiritual realm. God kicked us out, in other words.

So where is God casting us out of? The Hebrew being translated to _Garden of Eden_ as עדן גן (gan 'Eden). גן refers to an enclosure, a space protected by adequate barriers; and Eden refers to a location of pleasure.

Notice that the depiction of the _Garden of Eden_ does not describe any kind of walls or fortress around this enclosed _Garden_. If _Eden_ were on the earth, these walls would have to be pretty big to be enclosed. And in order to be cast out, there must be something to be cast out of.

These problems illustrate that the _Garden of Eden_ was never on the earth. Rather, _Garden of Eden_ is a section of the spiritual realm. And the word _Eden_ is associated with 'pleasure' because the spiritual world is pleasurable. In the spiritual realm we experience the ultimate pleasure.

### What is the 'tree of life' in Eden?

This is being symbolized in the story by the _"Tree of Life,"_ located in the _"middle"_ of the _Garden._ The _"Tree of Life"_ represents love for God. This is the core of the spiritual realm. It is love for God that gives us complete fulfillment and the ultimate pleasure.

Just consider how we all search for true love with so much intensity. Even if we have wealth, prestige and fame, we still pine for true love. Most of us focus our love upon our family members, friends and spouses. But still this is not enough. Most people keep on searching for love, whether it is a new lover, friend or respect (as we want others to love and appreciate us). We perpetually seek that perfect person who will love us unconditionally: that special someone we can give our heart to and care for.

In other words, we are engineered for love. We are all about love. Our most popular songs are about love. Our most popular movies are love stories.

But we are typically frustrated with the love found within the physical realm. It just doesn't do it for us. This is why there are so many divorces and breakups. This is why kids leave home. This is why people get depressed. This is why people feel lonely, even when surrounded by people.

The love in the physical world doesn't work for us. Why? Because the inhabitants of this physical world are just like us - they were also cast out of the spiritual world.

Yes, we've all been thrown out of the spiritual world. Why? Because we became envious of God. We wanted to be like God. We wanted what the Supreme Being has. The Supreme Being has power, fame, glory, beauty, all the attention, and many other attributes. We wanted all that. We got jealous.

We were each created to love and care for God in our own unique way. But with this, He also gave us the freedom to love Him or not - because love requires freedom. This explains the two symbolic trees of the _"Garden."_ We can either eat from the _"Tree of Life"_ \- love of God \- or we can eat from the "tree of self-centered pleasure and pain". In other words, we can either love God and act in such a way to give God pleasure, or we can become self-centered and seek our own pleasure - and experience its consequence, pain.

### How were we thrown out of the spiritual realm?

Were we just cast off into space? No. We were pushed into these physical bodies. We, the spiritual living beings, were each forced to take on a particular temporary physical body within this virtual physical domain, the physical universe.

We could compare this to how a person might get forced into an automobile. Let's say a big person stuffs us into the driver's seat of a car. Because there isn't much else to do in the driver's seat of a car, we start the car and begin driving it. Because cars were built for streets and highways, we find ourselves within an environment of streets and highways. That is akin to finding ourselves stuffed within a physical body born within the physical environment.

Now let's say the car was specially designed by a very smart engineer to be so functional that once we began driving it, we began to identify with it. We forget who we were before we got stuffed into the car, and because the car is so functional, after some time we lose the ability to walk on our own. We become completely dependent upon the car, and forget who we were before we got in the car.

This is our situation with these physical bodies. The verse just before this one says:

_The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21)_

What are the _"garments of skin"_? They symbolize our physical bodies. God designed these physical bodies for us to occupy. Then he cast us out of the spiritual realm and into these physical bodies.

This leads us to the real meaning of the rest of this verse, _'to work the ground from which he had been taken.'_

The Hebrew word עבד (`abad) means to 'cultivate' or 'work,' but it also means 'to serve', or more complete, 'to serve as subjects'.

The Hebrew word אדמה ('adamah) can refer to 'ground,' but also 'land, territory, country,' or the 'whole inhabited earth.' In other words, the physical world.

The Hebrew word אשר ('asher) is a conjunction or pronoun participle that serves to connect, either with 'which,' 'who,' 'that which,' 'that,' 'when,' 'since,' 'as,' or the conditional use of 'if.' Here it is translated as _"from which,"_ but this is speculatively assuming that Adam came from what is being described here as _"the ground."_ This would be a contradiction, because God is throwing Adam out. How could Adam be made of the stuff that he is being thrown out into?

The key to the meaning of this last section of the verse comes from the meaning of the Hebrew לקח (laqach) which is assumed to mean _"taken from."_ This, however, is an incorrect usage of the word, as לקח means to be 'taken' in the sense of being 'taken by,' 'taken away,' or to be 'carried off by' something. It has been used to describe how a man might take or snatch away a wife. It is also used to describe being _taken away_ or _captured_ by something.

Thus, the translation of this verse would not be, _'to work the ground from which he had been taken.'_ Rather, it should be something like:

_'to toil with the physical body and be captured by the physical world.'_

Yes, we are indeed each captured by the physical world. We are trapped within these physical bodies, and forced to work hard to keep it alive and safe. We have to work to feed the body, keep it warm or cool, and keep it healthy. This means we have to defend our body from danger caused by the physical environment or others - be they other humans, animals, insects or microorganisms. It is not easy to keep the body alive and safe. We have to toil at it.

### How did we get captured by the physical world?

We have become enamored with the world. We identify with our physical body, and our physical family, house, car, job, community, country and so on. We strive to gain the acceptance of others, and we strive to achieve fleeting sensations of pleasure, amid a constant battle against discomfort, sickness, aging, stress, pain and death.

Even though everything dissolves at the time of death, we are still captured by this world. Even though we will lose our house, money, house, fame, family, friends, position, country and physical identity at the time of death, we are still captivated by them. Even though everyone around us is dying, we live as though we will never die. How did we become captured?

This physical world captured us because it facilitates our learning and growing. In order to learn and grow, we must be captured here, and we must forget our eternal nature. If we always knew this world was temporary, then we wouldn't learn as much here.

It is similar to how medical research will be designed to be "double-blinded." Being double-blinded means that neither the researchers nor the subjects know which subject was given the treatment or a placebo - a sugar pill or fake treatment. That blindedness allows the study to really test whether the treatment works. Otherwise, if they knew they were taking the medicine, many would convince themselves that they feel better - which is called psychosomatic.

Being trapped here in this world means forgetting who we are and where we have come from. This allows us to think we are the bodies, and as a result become tested as to the various challenges that the physical world presents to us.

And those who reach for scripture are trying to find a way out of this world - to grow beyond it.

The very purpose of this verse (and scripture in general) is to teach us that this world is not our home. God teaches within scripture that the physical world is a temporary place, and our true identity and natural position is as one of His loving servitors in the spiritual realm.

Scripture is trying to teach us that this is where we will find real happiness - not within this temporary physical place surrounded by greed, envy and self-centeredness.

It is sad, this misinterpretation of this beautiful and magical text of Genesis into English. This wonderful text that describes, with prose and elegant symbolism, how we each rejected being one of God's loving servitors by becoming envious of Him, and subsequently fell from the spiritual realm into the physical world and these temporary physical bodies.

The saddest element is that these misinterpretations hide the true message being communicated through the text: That the Supreme Being wants us to come home to Him. He wants us back. He doesn't want us to selfishly suffer any longer within this world of greed and envy. He wants us to return to His loving arms. This is why Jesus, Moses and other messengers from God gave this clear instruction:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)_

#  Genesis 3:24

# After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden ...

_After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24)_

It is obvious from this English version that the translators did not understand the message and meaning of this verse of Genesis. This is a critical verse to the mechanisms and understanding of our fall from the spiritual realm to this physical world.

### What are the key Hebrew translations?

Let's break down the Hebrew and get to the bottom of this verse's meaning:

גרש (garash) is being translated to _"he drove..out"_. It can also mean being 'cast out,' 'put away,' 'divorced' or 'thrust out' according to the lexicon.

אדם ('adam) is being appropriately translated to 'the man,' although here, אדם symbolizes each of us.

גן (gan) and עדן (`Eden) are being correctly translated to "Garden of Eden," but קדם (qedem) is being translated to _"On the east side"_ here. _"On the east side"_ would be inappropriate in the context of what is being described.

The symbolic Adam (us) has been cast out of the spiritual world. Now the text is describing that God placed a barricade or barrier between the physical world (where we (Adam) were thrown out to) and the spiritual realm. There is no reason to utilize _"east side"_ in this context. The Hebrew word קדם can also mean to 'the front' or 'in front' in addition to 'to the east.'

_"In front of"_ would thus be the better translation, as God has placed a barrier _"in front of"_ the spiritual realm - or better, _"in between"_ the spiritual realm and the physical realm.

### What is the barricade between?

Let's use an example. Let's say that there is a protest, and the police want to keep the protesters outside of a particular building. The police will typically form a barricade _in front of_ the building in order to keep the protesters out. While the barricade is in front of the building, the position of the barricade lies _in between_ the protesters and the building. In other words, if the protesters were in the lobby of the building, there would be no use putting a barricade in the front of the building outside.

And this is precisely what the next part of the verse refers to: _a barricade._

The Hebrew שכן (shakan) is being translated to _"placed,"_ but 'stationed,' 'set,' and 'established' are also words that satisfy the meaning of this Hebrew word.

### What is a cherubim?

The Hebrew word כרוב (kĕruwb) here is being translated to _"the cherubim."_ What the heck is a cherubim? According to the Hebrew, it is considered 'an angelic being,' a 'guardian of Eden,' a 'flank for God's throne,' or the 'chariot of Jehovah.' In this application, the meaning relates to a barrier protecting Eden ( _"guardian of Eden"_ ), but it is clear there is another dimension to the word, in that _"an angelic being"_ refers to a living being rather than an inanimate object.

This is consistent with the fact that the Supreme Being typically utilizes living beings to support His activities in the spiritual realm. Everything is living in the spiritual realm. There are no inanimate objects in the spiritual realm.

להט (lahat) is being translated to _"and the flaming,"_ but the lexicon is clear that this sort of flame is not an ordinary flame. It is a special type of flame that comes from an _"angelic sword"_ according to the ancient Hebrew.

### What is the flaming sword?

_"Sword"_ here is being translated from חרב (chereb), which can mean sword, but it can also refer to a 'sharp edge.' This latter application is most appropriate. Remember that the verse is talking about a barricade being placed between the spiritual realm (the "Garden of Eden") and the physical world - where Adam (we) was driven out. How would a flaming sword adequately block the entrance to the spiritual realm?

The better translation is that barricade was _"impenetrable."_

The next two Hebrew words indicate the inability to penetrate the barrier. הפך (haphak) and שמר (shamar) are being translated to _"flashing back and forth to guard..."_

Yet הפך can also mean to 'transform,' 'turn about,' 'to change,' 'to turn over,' or 'to overthrow.' The notion of a fiery sword flashing back and forth and turning is speculative. The translators are trying to insert the words into their vision that Eden was a physical place on the planet. Therefore, they imagined some kind of mechanical thing with swords flashing back and forth like some sort of big chopping system.

The better application of הפך, however, relates to completeness or totality, as it relates to the next word. After הפך follows שמר, which is being translated to _"to guard,"_ but can also mean 'to keep,' 'to preserve,' 'to watch' or 'to beware.' This indicates the barrier is simply being described as _completely guarding_ or _completely protecting_ the _"Garden"_ (spiritual realm) from intrusion.

### What does this fiery barricade do?

The combination of the Hebrew of this verse so far would more appropriately be translated within its context to something like:

_After He cast Adam [us] out, God positioned an impenetrable fiery living barrier between the spiritual realm and the physical world to completely protect...._

There are two elements here that must be remembered. One is that the _"flaming sharp edge"_ is being characterized as a living _"guardian of Eden,"_ an _"angelic being."_

The element of a _living_ guardian of the spiritual realm relates to the fact that any entry to the spiritual realm must accompany personal permission. Our entry must be invited. We must be escorted in.

We could compare this to how a large venue such as a concert or professional sports event will be staffed with people - doormen, guards or gatekeepers - who will personally screen people before they get into the event's venue. They will check the ticket or invitation and check people's purses or backpacks. If a person does not have a ticket or invitation, or they are inappropriate for the venue - say it is a black-tie event and the person is wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt - then the staff will deny entry to the person.

Often these gatekeepers have some weapon or defense measure in the case of an unruly person. In some venues, like nightclubs, where the doormen are called "bouncers," they are often large and strong people so they can handle people who get unruly or try to get in without their permission. The bottom line is that these gatekeepers are people because entering the venue requires a personal preview of each person. It is not automated because there are too many variables. The door-person has to make a personal judgment call for each person.

The other thing to remember is that the verses before this, particularly Genesis 3:21, describes that Adam (we) became covered by these physical bodies.

Thus we need to understand that re-entry into the spiritual realm requires that one is specifically prepared for entry, has personal permission, an invitation, and an escort.

And this very point is why sectarian translators have such a hard time translating this and the other verses of Genesis from Hebrew to English. Their ability to see into the spiritual realm and the personal elements involved is covered by their desires to gain recognition from their peers and followers; and to maintain their professional positions within their respective organized religious institutions.

In other words, the translators of these verses of Genesis have typically consisted of professional clergy or scholars who are beholden to their respective organizations and their professional positions. They were not empowered through the lineage of those ancient teachers who originally spoke this beautiful parable, deep in wisdom and spiritual power. They were not thus empowered by loving service to God. So they had no entrance into the deep subject matter being discussed here.

These restrictions are actually part of the barrier that guards our re-entry to the spiritual realm. The makeup of our physical eyes and our physical minds, together with the illusion that this world is our permanent home protects the spiritual realm and the Supreme Being from being perceived by us. There are many layers to the illusions of this word which clog our minds with what our senses have picked up, together with our proud assumption that our physical senses and physical minds can perceive spiritual matters; and the spiritual realm in general.

These are only parts of the totality of the barrier. Yet these are bound together by our false identification of ourselves as our temporary physical bodies, and this false identification is bound together by our envy of God and our desire for God's position (being the center of attention, being powerful, being served by others, etc.). Thus, the self-centeredness that got us tossed out of the spiritual realm in the first place is also the central element that prevents us from being invited back to the spiritual realm. And the material desires that result from our self-centeredness are part of the fiery barrier preventing our entry to the spiritual realm.

We can see these points is in the next part of this verse.

### What does the tree of life signify?

דרך (derek) is being translated to _"the way"_ here, and עץ (`ets) is being translated to _"to the tree,"_ and חי (chay) to _"of life."_

However, דרך can also be translated to 'path,' 'road,' 'journey,' 'direction,' and 'of life.' In other words, what is being described it is not necessarily a physical road, path or way, but rather, a path, course or direction in life.

To understand this verse, we must understand the symbolic meaning of the _"tree of life"_ in this parable. It is symbolizing love for God, which is why God placed this _"tree"_ in the _"middle"_ of the Garden (Gen. 2:9). Let's explain this symbolism a little further.

In ancient times, a tree was seen as symbolizing a course or direction in life, because it rooted itself deeply, branched out, and gave fruit. This represents having a foundation (establishing roots), expression (branching out) and rendering the results (giving fruits). This is why even in modern English, this symbolism still exists, as we often talk about "putting down roots" or "branching out" or "giving fruit." The reason we use these phrases is because our ancestors - thousands of years ago - considered the tree symbolic to our particular direction in life.

Thus the _"tree"_ symbolizes the different choices in life people can take. Each choice has its specific form of foundation (roots), expression (branching out) and its particular results (fruits). The fact that this particular tree is a tree of _"life"_ brings us another dimension of the wisdom of Genesis and this parable about our fall from the spiritual realm.

Genesis also described different types of trees within Eden:

_And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)_

In this context, the _"all kinds of trees"_ is describing the variety of life within the spiritual realm.

The spiritual realm is full of so many different lifestyles, just as the physical world contains so many different lifestyle choices. However, the difference between the spiritual world and the physical world is that here our lifestyle choices revolve around our self-centered search for happiness, while the lifestyles of those in the spiritual realm revolve around what makes the Supreme Person happy.

In other words, Eden's _"all kinds of trees"_ represents the various types of loving relationships that exist between God and His children.

Understanding the two _"trees"_ in the _"middle"_ of Eden is critical. The _"tree of life"_ represents love for God; and the _"tree of knowledge of good and evil"_ (better translated to _"self-centered pleasure and pain"_ ) represents our freedom to love God or not.

Love for God and loving service to God are being symbolized by _"life"_ in this parable because love for God and loving service to God is our real life. It completes our existence. Each of us was created by God to be His servitor, and to exchange a loving relationship with Him. This is what will ultimately fulfill us - because we were made for this reason.

This is why we are all so desperate for love. This is why each of us constantly looks for love within the physical world, whether it be in our "soulmate" or friends, family or even fame and glory. Our books, movies, television shows, and culture revolves around love stories. This is because we are all chasing true love. We were each created to love and care for the Supreme Person, God.

### Why did God build a barrier?

Why would God put a barrier between us and the spiritual realm? Let's consider again the barrier discussed in this verse. Now why would God put a barrier between us and the spiritual realm? It is because Adam (we) disobeyed God? Is God upset because Adam (we) ate the fruit that God said not to eat?

Don't be ridiculous. God is not a petty person. God is the Perfect Person. Every trait that we admire (or want to admire) in someone else - God has in the fullest extent possible. God is magnanimous, understanding, merciful, loving, giving and gracious. He does have emotions and was certainly upset that Adam (we) decided to rebel against Him. But this emotion is pure love. He deeply cares for us, and wants the best for us. He doesn't need us, and He doesn't need us to love Him. But He knows we will be happy when we are loving Him.

So why were we cast out of the spiritual realm then? We wanted out. We wanted to get away from the Supreme Person. We wanted to be on our own. God tossed us out because we wanted to get away from our loving relationship with Him. Why?

Because we became envious of God. We became jealous. We wanted what He has. We wanted the attention, fame, admiration, pleasure and power that God has. We got jealous of Him. This is symbolized by the serpent's statement:

_"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5)_

As we know from practical life, a person who becomes jealous of another cannot continue having a loving relationship with that person. It is impossible to love someone and be jealous of them at the same time. Jealousy takes over the relationship, as we no longer want to please the other person. We want what they have.

So we wanted to get away from God. We needed to have our own space so we could try to exercise our desires for pleasure, power, and independence. This is why God designed and created the physical dimension. This world is part playground and part rehabilitation center.

And this is also why God created a virtually impenetrable barrier between the spiritual world and the physical world. We cannot get back to the spiritual world - our home - until we are ready. And then we have to be invited back in by the Supreme Being, and escorted by Him and/or His loving associates.

But this must come when He knows we really want to return to His loving arms. This requires us to be serious. We cannot return whimsically.

We can compare this with any relationship. If we broke up with a former girl- or boyfriend, or spouse, and ran off, and then called them up out of the blue asking to come back to them, would they let us back in their arms right away? Not likely. They would likely want to start slowly. They would want us to reacquaint ourselves first and take it one step at a time. Because there is a trust issue here. How do they know we won't run off again? They want to be sure we are serious this time.

It is no different with the Supreme Person. He wants to make sure that we are serious before we can return to Him. He doesn't want us to whimsically be running back and forth between the physical and spiritual worlds - back and forth between our self-centeredness and a relationship with Him.

Is this any different than any loving relationship? Any loving relationship requires commitment. It requires dedication. Our loving relationship with the Supreme Being is no different - and even requires more dedication because this is a very deep relationship.

This is why this verse discusses the _"way"_ back to the _"tree of life"_ as a _path_ or _journey_. Here is a more appropriate translation of the verse:

_After He cast Adam [us] out, God positioned an impenetrable fiery living barrier between the spiritual realm and the physical world to completely protect and guard the path back to the tree of life._

There is a lot of work to do for us to prepare for returning to the spiritual realm. It is not easy, as it requires a complete change of heart. It requires us to refocus ourselves upon our loving relationship with Him and focus our lives upon pleasing Him. Our preparation thus consists of thinking of Him, praying to Him, offering gifts to Him and singing/repeating His Holy Names.

As we begin this journey, we can know that He will be there to guide us. For every step we take, He takes a thousand. As we seriously continue our journey He speeds it up.

He wants us to come home to Him. He wants us back in His loving arms. But only we can start that journey. Only we can decide to change course and begin our journey to return home to Him.

#  Genesis 4:1

# Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain ...

_Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." (Genesis 4:1)_

### Is Cain really the third human?

Sectarian translators and interpreters of Genesis would have us believe that this chapter is describing how a historical Adam, the first human on the planet, together with Eve, gave birth to the third human. This interpretation, however, has several problems.

The first problem is that if Cain is the third human, then how are other humans procreated? In Genesis 4:17 it states that _Cain lay with his wife_ , but from the text Adam and Eve only give birth to Cain, Abel and Seth.

Where did Cain's wife come from? Did Adam and Eve give birth to a daughter? If so, why doesn't it say that Cain laid down with his sister? This would also mean that humanity is a product of incest, right?

And why would Cain need to have a mark put on him by God, _'so that no one who found him would kill him'_? (Gen. 4:15) Where did the others who might 'find him' and threaten Cain's life come from?

We also have Cain speaking with sarcastic disrespect to God, saying:

_"I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen. 4:9)_

These points and many others indicate these verses are not historical events of the first humans on the planet earth.

### Is this a historical chronology?

The reality: This is an allegorical tale, meant to communicate a number of lessons.

The confirmation that this text is allegorical in context is the following verse:

_Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" (Gen. 4:9)_

We know this event is allegorical because God knows everything. God doesn't have to ask Cain where Abel or anyone else is, just as God didn't have to wonder where Adam was when he and Eve were symbolically hiding in Eden. ( _"Where are you?"_ (Gen. 3:9)).

The fact is, the speculative interpretations of these verses have no credibility. For example, scholars have established that if this interpretation of these texts is true, humans could only have lived on the planet for about 5,000 years. This creates a real credibility gap because archaeological evidence has traced humans on the planet back hundreds of thousands of years, and the ancestors of humans back millions of years.

And while the precise time measurement of their history - requiring carbon dating - may have some minor calculation error (most agree 5-25% margin of error), there is no doubt that the time span of humanity is far longer than this false historical lineage portends.

Sectarian teachers are thus faced with two choices: Maintain their stance that archaeological evidence is all in error and this is an accurate genealogy of humanity, or consider another interpretation of these texts that can embrace the observation of science.

This is a big reach for the fundamentalists because if they embrace science, they will need to be open to the possibility of evolution - something they have been opposed to. The idea that humanity developed progressively over time through the species is diametrically opposed to the concepts these texts supposedly communicate.

We say supposedly because the interpretation and translation of these texts have been performed by those scribes and clergy that have already been indoctrinated into the supposition that Cain was the third human and this is how humankind developed. Thus the translation and interpretation of these texts are in fact a self-fulfilling prophecy.

### Does archeology indicate Cain?

If Cain was the third human then it would be quite easy for science to confirm this. Archeologists would have found no human bones that were older than about 5,000 years ago. Then when they would have found them, these 'early human' remains would be generally the same location.

But that's not what has occurred. Bone and skull fragments have been found far away from the location that is thought to be where Adam and Eve and Cain lived.

Human remains that are hundreds of thousands of years old have been found in Java, South Africa, France, Asia, Northern Europe and other locations.

Nonetheless, these texts in Genesis: 1) have historical significance outside the scope of our sense of chronological earthly history; and 2) focus on specific events in order to impart particular lessons.

For example, if they were historical persons, there would be numerous other events that took place in the lives of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. Yet we find only a few isolated events. What kind of history of humanity would be so brief about the lives of the supposed first and second humans?

The fact is, this is not a history of humankind. The historical significance is being _created_ by the translators and interpreters. The fact is, most of the "chapters" (actually sections, because some run together) of Genesis were separate scrolls, as each of the genealogies described is divided by what is called by Hebrew scholars a _colophon_.

A colophon is a separating element, signifying that the next text came from another scroll or manuscript. Most Hebrew scholars believe that there were at least 7 different scrolls that were patched together to form the book of Genesis.

This is also why we tend to see, should we read through all the chapters of Genesis, a jumping back and forth between people and events in terms of chronology.

### Where did Genesis come from?

These ancient scrolls were taken from ancient oral teachings that were passed down for centuries, long before they were recorded into writing.

While some teach that Moses wrote Genesis, scholars now admit that different people wrote the original Hebrew scrolls, some of which were translated into Greek before being bound together as though they were one book called Genesis.

Then we must ask, what sort of genealogy is being described here? Were the original scrolls aimed at creating an accurate chronological history of the world? No. This is not a historical text. They were assembled together from multiple teaching traditions that had been passing on certain moral and devotional lessons for generations. It was only later that sectarian institutions attempted to organize and piece together the transcribed scrolls into what would appear to be a chronological history of the world.

This is why these texts do not cover in the least, the long histories of other cultures, such as those of South America, India, China, Egypt and elsewhere. And this is why these texts miss huge swaths of human history.

Rather, the various scrolls that documented the oral teachings of the ancient teachers were recording significant events that took place concerning specific persons: Persons who were sometimes allegorical representations as Adam and Eve, and sometimes historical persons.

This was the ancient method of teaching. A teacher may describe a particular event to convey a spiritual lesson to be derived from that event. Sometimes the events were symbolic. Sometimes they were historical. Jesus used both symbolic events (parables) along with historical events describing David, Samuel, and others as he taught his disciples, for example.

### What does the symbolism really mean?

As these various lessons were collected by ancient scholars, some rascals sought to organize them to achieve a purpose they were not originally intended to achieve. Thus we end up with a mix of patched-together teachings of particular events, together with a speculative attempt to tie them together by sectarian scribes that sought to provide credibility for their respective organizations. This occurred among the different sectarian institutions at different times, effectively building upon each other.

Thus, while one can find historical relationships with God through the ages, the intent of the original scrolls was not to create a history of mankind. The intent was to teach us - through some key events - some historical and some symbolic - lessons on who we are and what our purpose in life should be.

In other words, the original lessons are still contained in these verses. God has made sure those lessons have been preserved, and that is what makes this scripture. Perceiving those lessons within the murkiness of the translations and interpretations may be difficult, but there is an ultimate purpose for this: It provides a veil or barrier for those who are not serious about returning home to God.

Remember that in the previous chapter, the symbolic Adam was tossed out of Eden, and a barrier was put between him and Eden so any return to Eden was physically impossible. This took place after Adam ate the symbolic fruit that God asked him not to eat. This barrier to returning to the spiritual realm has innumerable manifestations, including misinterpretations of scripture.

Now we find, after Adam's symbolic fall, that both Adam and Eve (actually _"man and his living wife"_ from the Hebrew) are still cognizant of God, as God has been given credit for the birth of Cain.

However, within the text is a clear communication: The Hebrew word being translated to _"Cain"_ literally means 'possession.' This is combined with the symbolic Eve's statement, _"....I have brought forth a man..."_ of which _"I have brought forth"_ is derived from the Hebrew word קנה (qanah), which literally means, 'to get, acquire, create, buy, possess,' according to the lexicon.

These two words in the verse confirm a deeper meaning than simply the first two humans giving birth to a third human. The verse indicates the beginning of the concept of _possession:_ That we, after our fall from the spiritual realm, began to perceive our offspring and other elements of the physical world as our _possessions._

This element of _possession_ is the first phase in the progression of our continued downfall into the depths of the physical world.

Thus we find this event is symbolic, and the central players are also symbolic:

_Adam_ symbolizes each of us individually.

_Eve_ symbolizes us as a spiritual family.

_Cain_ symbolizes our error of conceived possession within the physical world.

As is explained in chapter three of Genesis, we were cast out of the spiritual realm due to our envy of God (we wanted to be _"like God"_ (Genesis 3:5). As we were thrown into the physical world, we were given _"garments of skin"_ (Gen. 3:21) or these physical bodies. Then God placed a barrier between the physical world and the spiritual realm so we couldn't return whimsically.

Now we see the first event of our lives within the physical realm, as we begin to identify with these physical bodies and feel that we _"possess"_ our children and other material possessions. While we can see that Eve still gives credit to God for Cain, this concept of _"possession"_ is what gradually leads to further acts of selfishness, as we'll see later in this chapter.

One of the central reasons the sectarian translators and interpreters of these ancient teachings did not understand this concept is because they, too, were entrapped by the illusion of possession, thinking that they and their sectarian organizations have some right of possession. So they attempted to rearrange the ancient scrolls in such a way as to suggest chronological history, in order to suggest their sectarian religious organization offers the only means to being saved - as well as being the only rightful owners of the supposed "promised land."

This problem is specifically why there is so much violence in the Middle East. Each side is claiming their sectarian institution has the right of possession of the lands they occupy or don't occupy around the Middle East.

The fact is, the Supreme Being owns everything. He owns all the land, all the mountains, deserts, oceans, forests, and every other material element. He owns all of the Middle East: Every speck of sand, every sand dune, and every oasis.

We can know simply that we own nothing on this planet because ownership requires control. Each of our physical bodies will die and decompose, and we will leave them behind. With them, we will also leave behind whatever we thought we possessed. Because we will leave those possessions behind, we have no control over them. Thus we have no ownership.

Only God has ownership because He has complete control over all the elements.

Therefore, it is ridiculous to fight over God's property.

This element, _possession,_ provides a foundation for all the greed, violence and hatred that exists around the planet. We are thinking that we can own the stuff of this world, and what we don't possess, we want to, because we want to own it. This is rooted, again, in our envy of the Supreme Being. He is the rightful owner of everything, yet we want to own what He owns.

Understanding these two lessons: that we are not these physical bodies, and everything is owned and controlled by God, provides our first step in returning to our natural position in the spiritual realm as the Supreme Being's loving servitors.

#  Genesis 4:2-7

# Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks ...

_Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:2-7)_

### Isn't this about relationships?

As discussed with the last verse, we can know by key parts of these verses that this is not a historical event, rather this is an allegorical parable meant to convey certain lessons.

One of the many reasons we know this is because the Supreme Being would not need to ask Cain why he was upset. God knows our hearts immediately. He does not need to ask us anything. And God is not a politician - He doesn't need to fain His interest in us.

Another indicator is that the Supreme Being does not favor the offering of one over another's. The Supreme Being is fair to each of us.

Rather, any perceived favor from the Supreme Being is merely part of an exchange of a relationship: The more care we put into that relationship the more the Supreme Being will respond.

This is true of any relationship. Either party can worsen or better a relationship by what that person puts into it. God, however, always loves us unconditionally. So there is no question of His love: Rather, it is us who become selfish and self-absorbed, and thus miss out on a relationship with the Supreme Being.

### What is the importance of offering to God?

As indicated in this verse and throughout the scriptures, making offerings to the Supreme Being is a critical facility for reaching out to God and re-establishing our loving relationship with Him. This has been recognized and taught not only by God, but all of God's representatives, including Jesus (as his "giving thanks" were actually private offerings to God). This was an ancient tradition:

_"Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the LORD your God has given you." (Deut. 16:10)_

_All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD freewill offerings.... (Exodus 35:29)_

A _"freewill offering"_ \- also called a _"fellowship offering"_ \- indicates that the offering is made with love and devotion. It is not that God is forcing us to make an offering. Rather, it is an offering that represents our desire to re-establish our relationship with Him.

And it is not the offering that God wants. He doesn't need the stuff. God already owns everything.

This might be compared to a young child picking up one of his toys and offering it to his parents. The parents don't want the toy. They bought the toy in the first place, and they already own the toy. But they appreciate the love and the care extended by the child as the child offers the toy. "It's the thought that counts," is often said when a gift is given that is not important to the receiver: They recognize the care the gift represents.

This means that while Cain might have been thinking that his offering just wasn't good enough and was therefore neglected, we can know by God's statement that it was not the gift. It was Cain's approach to the matter. He was thinking that his offering needed to be recognized.

This, in fact, is the meaning of the Hebrew word, שעה (sha`ah). This word is being translated to the phrase _"look with favor."_ However, it's real meaning relates to _recognition_ or _regard_.

Cain was upset because God seemed to give Abel more _recognition_ for his offering than He gave Cain for his offering. This is indicated by the Hebrew words קין (Qayin) and מנחה (minchah) which connect Cain to his offering. We know from the verse that God recognized and regarded Cain, otherwise, He would not have spoken with him.

But it was Cain's attitude that is at issue. Cain didn't think his offering was recognized as much as God recognized Abel's offering.

And therein lies one of the numerous lessons imparted by this parable. Our focus upon ourselves and what we get out of our relationship with God is not condoned. This also goes for comparing our situations with others.

### What is the core message?

This reveals one of the core issues the ancient teachers are trying to convey with this parable: That one of the biggest hurdles we face is our self-centeredness and our enviousness of others. Not only did the symbolic Adam become envious of God ( _"you will be like God,"_ the serpent advised them in Gen. 3:5): After we fell from the spiritual world to the physical world and took on these physical bodies, that envy is now expressed towards others, as we become envious of what our neighbor has.

This envy of others is rooted in self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is diametrically opposed to love. Love means to give of oneself completely to another, while self-centeredness is to consider oneself more important than others.

And this is why the modern teaching by so many 'self-help gurus' that we need to "love ourselves before we can love others" is wrong. The reality is - as spoken by Moses and Jesus in the _"first and foremost"_ commandment - that we have to love God before we can truly love others.

So we find that Cain is so focused upon himself and how much recognition he is receiving for his offering, that he has become jealous and angry. To this, God says to him:

_"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."_

This is yet another lesson conveyed in this deep parable. God is communicating that "sin" - self-centeredness - is something that will grab us and entangle us, eventually bringing us down into the depths of anger and violence. This is what God is trying to warn Cain of. That his self-centeredness ("sin") will result in a downward spiral.

_"What is right"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word, יטב (yatab). This is a poor choice of translation. The Hebrew word means "to be good, be pleasing, be well, be glad" according to the lexicon. Thus in this context, _"to be pleasing"_ is a better translation.

What the verse is conveying is that if we do _what is pleasing to God,_ then this will protect us from self-centeredness. But if we do what is not pleasing to God, we are not protected. In that case, self-centeredness will grip us ( _"desires to have you"_ ) and we will spiral down into the depths of hell - as we contend with our own hatred, violence and the consequences of our activities.

Thus we can draw multiple lessons from these verses. Here are a few:

\- Making offerings to God provide a means for our re-establishing our relationship with Him;  
\- God recognizes all our offerings to Him, not by what we give, but by the love we give them with;  
\- We should not compare what we have been given with what others have been given. We all have our own lessons to learn;  
\- By focusing our activities upon pleasing God, we are protected from the ravishes of self-centeredness, which wraps us up and wrecks us.

The essence here is the critical instruction of Moses and Jesus:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment."_ (Matt. 22:37-38)

Only this will truly fulfill us.

#  Genesis 4:8-12

# Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." ...

_Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?" The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." (Genesis 4:8-12)_

As this symbolic parable of Cain and Abel unfolds, we can see the deep messages being communicated from within it.

### How do we know this is symbolism?

We know this is symbolic because along with the scientific problems, God does not need to ask Cain what happened to Abel. _"The LORD"_ means Supreme Being, controller of everything. This means He knows everything. He doesn't have to ask Cain or anyone else where someone is.

And no one would be addressing the Supreme Being with such disrespect and sarcasm, as Cain says, _"Am I my brother's keeper?"_

But there is a symbolic meaning to Cain's disrespect and sarcasm.

Using symbolism to describe some of the complexities of spiritual reality is used throughout the teachings of the Bible, including Jesus, who used symbolic parables like the parable of the wedding banquet, the vineyard, and many others. While these are symbolic, they are still true. They are describing factual realities using symbolic characters.

While the conversation itself is symbolic, the exchange that takes place between God and Cain does actually occur \- translated into events - between the Supreme Being and each of us who have fallen to the depths of the physical world.

In other words, the story of Cain and Abel is communicating what has taken place for each of us as we progressively fell from the spiritual realm.

### What about our fall into this world?

The first phase of our fall came after we decided we wanted to be _"like God"_ (Gen. 3:4) and we ate _"the forbidden fruit"_ of self-centeredness and envy. We then were _"cast out"_ (Gen. 3:23) of Eden (the spiritual realm), and we took on _"garments of skin"_ (Gen. 3:21) - which are these temporary physical bodies.

Just after our fall to the physical world, we were still in a higher state of consciousness (relative to our current state). In this state, we still related to and recognized the Supreme Being, illustrated by Cain and Abel's making offerings to God.

But our envy and self-centeredness began to take further hold of us, as we became envious of each other. This is symbolized by Cain becoming envious of Abel (Gen. 4:5). His envy led to anger and violence, and Cain kills his brother.

Abel's death symbolizes how self-centeredness took hold within each of us to the extent that we were willing to kill others to achieve our goals. God explained the process earlier, as he told Cain, _"But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."_ Obviously, Cain, like each of us, does not master it.

This illustrates how each of us has continued to fall into the depths of mutual envy, lust, greed and violence as our self-centeredness ( _"sin"_ ) has continued to grip our consciousness ( _"have you"_ ).

This envy and greed also color our declining relationship with the Supreme Being during this progressive fall, as we began to look to God with disdain - symbolized by Cain's disrespectful and sarcastic response to God's question.

As a result of this progression of self-centeredness, hostility, and violence, God then tells Cain that he will lose the ability to grow crops and that he _"will be a restless wanderer on the earth."_ What does this mean?

This consequence Cain must deal with symbolizes the law of consequences existing within the physical world. We must each suffer the consequences of our actions, whether good or bad.

It also illustrates how we continued our fall into the physical realm through the different species. Being _"a restless wanderer on the earth"_ symbolizes our wanderings from one physical body to the next, and even one species to the next - as we have descended into the depths of hell in a progression of one physical body after another.

### What is consequence learning?

The design of the Supreme Being is that whatever self-centered action taken in the physical world has a reaction that is perfectly reflected back to us, either in this life or a future physical lifetime. This includes things that we do that might help others - which affect us positively in the future. The balance between the two, combined with the state of our consciousness (desires), determines our future fate.

This provides for what we might call _consequence learning._

The Supreme Being's design utilizes the best way to learn. Child psychology research has even illustrated that 'consequence learning' is the best way for a child to be trained. This is because we learn best by experiencing the consequences of our actions.

The Supreme Being's consequential learning system programmed into the physical world has certain definitions. It only impacts us to the degree of our awareness and the awareness of those we affect. Thus humans will receive clear consequences because we humans have the awareness of how our actions can help or hurt others. Animals, fish, insects, plants, and microorganisms are generally in survival mode. They do not suffer consequences because they are not aware of how their actions affect others.

If we hurt another without realization then there is less consequence. But to the degree we know our actions will hurt another, there will be a corresponding reaction. This is also reflected in our justice system, which punishes crimes of premeditation (such as "murder") more than accidental crimes ("manslaughter").

Some have called this _"as you sow, so shall you reap."_

Others have called this consequence system the _"law of karma."_

Still others have referred to it as _"going to hell."_

### What about 'going to hell'?

In fact, every scriptural reference to _"going to hell"_ includes the concept of consequence. It is not as if a person _"goes to hell"_ by accident. We _"go to hell"_ because of our activities. _"Going to hell"_ is 'consequence learning.'

But where is _hell_? Many imagine _hell_ as an underground fiery cave with people chained to walls while a horned red devil beats them.

Sorry, but we are in _hell_ right now. _Hell_ is a place of suffering, with each of our bodies suffering precisely to the extent of the consequences of our prior actions.

The creatures around us - the animals, fish, insects and even microorganisms - are all living in hell. These bodies present relative degrees of hell to the person inhabiting that body.

Humans also experience hell. This is why one person can be living in Somalia, undergoing torture and rape at the hands of evil mercenaries (devils) while another person is living in Hawaii in a luxurious house on the beach. It is also why some children are born into wealth and inheritance while others are born into abject poverty.

This is precisely why many people think that God is not fair. They put forth an important question:

_"If God exists, why does He allow so much suffering?"_

The reason most of the organized sectarian institutions today cannot answer this is that their professional teachers do not know the answer. This, of course, leads to intelligent people straying from their faith in God.

There is a clear answer to this question, however. It comes in the form of understanding our identity.

### Are we matter or spirit?

First, we are not these physical bodies. Our bodies are temporary vehicles, which we operate for a few decades. They are like automobiles that we get in and drive for a while and then get out. This means those things that happen to our physical body do not actually happen to each of us. It is like a car getting in a fender-bender. The car may be totaled, but we can get out and walk away. (Not the best analogy because people also get hurt in car accidents.)

Better yet, we might compare this world and these bodies to playing a video game. We can sit down at the computer, select an icon, and start playing a video game. Our icon can get shot at, run over or beat up by the virtual reality programming. Our icon might even be killed. No matter what happens to our icon, we can still turn off the computer and walk away, no matter what happened inside the video game.

Just as a person might start identifying with their video game icon, we also begin to identify ourselves with these temporary physical bodies. As we do this, we get immersed in the programming inherent in the physical world, just as a person gets immersed in a video game.

As we get immersed in the physical world, we forget our real identities as spiritual, where we came from, and the fact that our natural position is with the Supreme Being in the spiritual realm. This is, of course, by design, because we wanted to get away from the Supreme Being - which is why Adam, symbolizing each of us, ate the "forbidden fruit" in the first place.

This is also why we spend so much of our lives looking for that perfect mate who will love us, care for us and fulfill us. This is also why we all share this feeling that we belong in a world that is peaceful, where everyone loves each other. Innately it is the Supreme Being we are looking for, and it is the spiritual realm we are trying to return to.

In other words, we do not physically suffer - only our virtual, temporary physical bodies suffer. They suffer by design. Our bodies suffer - each uniquely, depending upon our past actions - during birth, when teething, when hungry, when sick, when hurt, when cold, and when hot. They also suffer from diseases, aging, and eventually death.

But this suffering is happening to the physical body, _not us. We are_ _each spiritual persons 'driving' a temporary physical body._

### What does this world teach us?

Second, this system of 'consequence learning' is designed to teach us, in order to raise our consciousness. Should we ignore the opportunity to raise our consciousness, we are plunged into species of ignorance - precisely to the extent we want to ignore reality.

But if we embrace the lessons physical life teaches us, and we seek the wisdom from them, then our consciousness becomes raised, as we learn more and more about who we are and what our purpose for existence is.

And finally, most importantly, the Supreme Being has set up an escape hatch for us. We might compare this to the old cartoon, "Tooter the Turtle" - about the turtle who asks the wizard to get sent into different situations. Then, when the turtle gets into a tough situation, he shouts "Mr. Wizard, Mr. Wizard, help me!" and the wizard then pulls the turtle out of the situation and back home.

The Supreme Being has a similar escape hatch set up for each of us. At any time, at any place, regardless of our situation, we can call the Supreme Being and He will pull us out of this 'consequence system' and bring us back home to Him. This is His promise - His covenant - with each of us.

Plus He is always calling us back home through His representatives and through scripture.

We are like children who have run away from home. But in this case, our parent happens to control everything. So He designed a place - this physical world - where we could feel that we are really away from home. This place He designed gives us independence and the facilities to act out our desires.

He also programmed the physical world with facilities that teach us. We might compare this to a Dad who builds a tree-house for his son, so his son could get away from the house and pretend he has his own house. But like the good Dad who built the tree-house, the Supreme Being is always there for us, lovingly waiting for us when we want to return to Him.

But we must remember that we also have to be ready to return to Him. Most of us are not ready, because we are immersed in the depths of self-centered consciousness. This requires a purification process.

For anyone who sincerely asks the Supreme Being to return home to Him, He begins to guide us and prepare us for our return home. This is a personal training process unlike the consequential learning system, because it is custom-designed for each of us, to help us re-establish our lost loving relationship with Him.

And this is the purpose for all the spiritual teachers that God has sent through the ages. They have been sent specifically to help train those who have requested from God to help them return home to Him.

This is also why the _"first and greatest commandment"_ as taught by Jesus and Moses, focuses on returning to our loving relationship with God:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)_

#  Genesis 4:13-15

# "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me ..."

_Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. (Genesis 4:13-15)_

This set of verses has been mistranslated by those who failed to see the meaning of this ancient parable.

### Is this an historical event?

While it has been misconstrued that this is a historical event concerning the third person on the planet who murders his brother, the fourth person, there is no logic or scientific reasoning to accept this interpretation. If Cain was the third person on the planet, then why would he and God be concerned about someone else finding him and killing him, enough to put a special mark on him? Wasn't there only Adam and Eve on the planet outside of Cain, and later perhaps some other siblings of Cain? Wouldn't they recognize their brother if so?

These are all ridiculous and practically impossible scenarios. They are also scientifically unsound because archaeological evidence has determined that humans have been populating the earth for hundreds of thousands of years and their relative ancestors, for millions of years. So unless we are to believe that all the bones found that indicate ancient ancestors were all fabricated by hundreds of different researchers, or that carbon dating systems are radically incorrect, these verses regarding Cain simply did not happen as sectarian interpreters would have us believe.

This doesn't mean the events did not happen, however.

### Or a metaphor?

The reality is that these events are describing what happened historically to each of us, but using symbolism. The book of Genesis is not one book written by one person. Genesis is a combination of ancient scrolls that were recordings of oral teachings that had been passed down for thousands of years. It was the sectarian organizations that hired professional translators and interpreters who combined these scrolls into a book of Genesis in an attempt to maintain a doctrine indicating that some sectarian members were the "chosen" people, and later, that such sects were the only bonafide religions.

We must remember that in ancient times, religion was utilized by many kings and emperors to maintain and control their empires. While some ancient kings were devoted to God and fair to their people, others simply manipulated religion to maintain their power and control over the people.

Some of the most shrewd were the Roman emperors, most of whom maintained little or no devotion to God. This includes Constantine, who ordered the organization of the Roman Catholic church by gathering together accepted teachers throughout Europe and the Middle East, and threatened them with conviction unless they cooperated with him to organize into one religion, which was then utilized by the Roman empire for over a thousand years to control Europe and much of the Middle East.

During this time, the Bible was created by bringing together many scrolls from different sources and translated to Latin by professional scribes intent on establishing the domination of Christianity over any other world religion.

This brought forth a particular interpretation of the various scrolls, which then took hold in the form of an established doctrine, named the "Nicene Creed." This, along with the forced acceptance of this doctrine - as any other interpretation would be met with immediate capital punishment - resulted in the global acceptance of one single interpretation of these texts throughout the region. Eventually, as European missionary fanatics supported by vast armies forcibly converted millions around the world, the Nicene doctrine spread around the world.

After thousands of years of the dominance (and later, peer-pressure) of this single interpretation, one might more fairly characterize the acceptance of this doctrine as brainwashing.

### What does the symbolism mean?

Rather, the event being portrayed in these verses, heavy in symbolism, describes our continued fall away from our relationship with God. Let's closely review the Hebrew in the text:

First, Cain is supposedly saying that his _"punishment is more than I can bear."_ This implies the curse meted out by God in the previous verse, damning Cain to no longer being able to produce crops, and becoming a _"restless wanderer"_ (Gen. 4:12)

In this verse (Gen. 4:13), עון (`avon) is being translated to _"punishment,"_ but the Hebrew word actually means "perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity" according to lexicon. It also clarifies that the word describes: "guilt of iniquity, guilt (as great), guilt (of condition)."

This means that while the translators are presuming that Cain is complaining that the punishment meted out by God was too severe, Cain is actually stating that the _guilt of his depraved action_ (having murdered Abel) is too great for him to bear.

Next, Cain is describing how God will be _"driving"_ him _"from the land and I will be hidden from your presence."_ This seems to indicate that Cain is being physically removed from a certain part of the countryside, where he will no longer be in God's presence. This assumes that there is some piece of land somewhere where Cain was living where God was personally present, and after Cain was kicked out of this place, he was no longer in God's presence.

This translation makes no sense, as it contradicts the many Biblical teachings and events that consistently maintain that God is always present and can always see us. So how could Cain become hidden from God's presence?

The Hebrew reveals a completely different meaning to the text:

The Hebrew סתר (cathar), now translated to _"I will be hidden"_ , also means _"to hide oneself"_ according to the lexicon.

The Hebrew פנים (paniym) can mean _"presence,"_ but more prominently means _"face."_ Cain is saying, according to the text, that he will be _hidden from God's face._

Here _"face"_ is being used symbolically, as it has historically. In the same way, _"to lose face"_ doesn't mean we literally lose our face. Nor does it mean that suddenly no one can see our face. _"To lose face"_ means we lose credibility. In other words, _"face"_ is used _symbolically._

In the same way - and we also find this usage common among older writings - to be hidden from another's face indicates losing a personal relationship with that person. In other words, Cain had lost his personal relationship with God. What happens then?

The Hebrew נוע (nuwa`) is being translated to _"restless."_ It also means "to quiver, totter, wander, move, waver and tremble" according to the lexicon. It also means to _"be unstable."_

The Hebrew word נוד (nuwd) is being translated to _"wanderer."_ This is an effective translation, just as נוע is effectively translated to _"restless."_ But the usage is not literal. In the same way, while we might call a person who is aimlessly walking the streets as _"wandering,"_ we might also tell a child who is sitting in a classroom seat daydreaming that they are _"wandering."_

In other words, _"wandering"_ doesn't always mean to physically walk around aimlessly. In most uses - as is the case here - it refers to someone who is going from one thing to another without purpose or mission.

### What is our situation now?

This describes our current status in the physical world. We can see this all around us, as we see so many of us wandering from one desire to the next, thinking that _the next thing_ will fulfill us. We go from eating to money to sex to becoming a star or business success to status to a big car to a big house to a family and a white picket fence, and still, we have no fulfillment. We keep trying one scheme after another. When we accomplish one thing, we still find ourselves empty. So we move onto another scheme. Whether we accomplish it or not, we ultimately find no happiness there.

Why? Why are even the most successful and wealthy people still not satisfied with their wealth and fame? Why are even the grandmothers and grandfathers of the biggest families not satisfied with their big family?

Because we are not physical. We are spiritual in nature. We might compare this to if we were driving our car, and suddenly felt hungry, and decide that if we fill up the gas tank of our car, our hunger would be gone. But it doesn't work. Filling up our gas tank with gas fills the gas tank but doesn't fill up our stomach. In the same way, getting all these physical goodies does not fulfill our spiritual emptiness. We are wandering around this physical world trying to fulfill our spiritual emptiness with physical things.

So how did we get here and why are we wandering around restlessly? These verses explain what happened. Cain was making offerings to God - had a personal relationship - but became self-centered, and envious of Abel. He then killed Abel in his envy, leaving him to a life of _"restless wandering."_

### Aren't we wandering after being driven out?

The next verses tell us:

The Hebrew word גרש (garash) is translated to _"driven out,"_ but can also mean to be _"expelled"_ or _"cast out"_ according to the lexicon.

The Hebrew אדמה ('adamah) is translated to _"of the ground"_ also means _"territory,"_ "land" or "country."

פנים (paniym) is again translated to _"presence"_ but directly translates to _"from the face."_

And the Hebrew סתר (cathar) is translated to _"hidden."_ And thus, again, Cain is _"hidden from God's face,"_ which symbolically means to lose one's relationship with God.

So this verse is not talking about Cain being tossed out of a plot of land somewhere on the planet. It is talking about Cain losing his relationship with God, and being tossed out of the spiritual realm into the physical world. The symbolism of not being able to produce crops and losing contact with that land means losing the benefits of being in the spiritual realm exchanging a loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

When one has a loving relationship with God, they are naturally productive. There are many fruits that come from this relationship because when a person loves God, they want to do what is pleasing to the One they love. This means doing God's will or serving God. This naturally produces lots of great results, which can be compared symbolically to producing crops from land.

The land symbolizes the basis of our relationship, and what we do to please God. Once we become selfishly motivated, and envious of others, we lose that loving relationship with God. We are _"cast out"_ of the service we rendered for Him, and we are forced to _"restlessly wander,"_ looking for our own satisfaction.

### What is the mark of Cain?

So what does the last verse mean, regarding Cain's mark, and God taking vengeance upon anyone harming Cain?

The Hebrew word נקם (naqam) _"vengence"_ is adequate, but in this context, it implies protection, just as a stronger person might say to their friend, "if they touch you, I'll take care of them."

And the Hebrew word אות ('owth), now translated to a _"mark,"_ also can translate to _"_ sign" or "signal," which can include "a distinguishing mark" a "banner" "omen" or _"warning."_ It can also mean "token."

The Hebrew מָצָא (matsa') can mean _"to find"_ but also can mean "to meet" or _"encounter."_

Symbolically, this is presenting that God is telling Cain - symbolizing each of us who have become _"restless wanderers"_ \- that He will still protect us where ever we go. The _"mark"_ is not a physical mark on Cain. The _"mark"_ is better described as a _"warning," "sign" or "signal"_ \- a constant _reminder_ \- that God will ultimately protect Cain (us) where ever he (each of us) decides to wander.

These verses conclude with Cain (us) leaving his (our) relationship with God, and then settling within the physical world, away from our relationship with God:

The Hebrew phrase translated to _"out from the presence"_ but literally meaning _"away from his face"_ or away from his relationship with God.

The Hebrew word ישב (yashab) meaning _"and settled."_

The Hebrew word ארץ ('erets) is translated to _"in the land,"_ but can mean _"territory"_ or "country." It is describing the physical world, "away" from God.

The Hebrew word נוד (Nowd) is translated to _"of Nod"_ as though _"Nod"_ was a physical country or location on the earth. Actually, the word literally means _"wandering,"_ indicating that Cain (us) effected his wandering.

The Hebrew word קדמה (qidmah) is translated to _"east,"_ but can also be translated to "in front of" "over against," "front" according to the lexicon.

This is followed by עדן (`Eden) or _"Eden."_

How does Cain's wandering relate to Eden? The symbolic _"Adam and Eve"_ were _"cast out"_ of Eden in Chapter three of Genesis. As described with Genesis 3:24, this phrase (קדמה עדן) relates to being cast out of the spiritual realm.

This story of Cain illustrates how we became envious and as a result, moved away from our loving relationship with the Supreme Being and become engrossed in the physical world. As we became increasingly engrossed in our physical identities, being full of self-centeredness and envy, and seeking satisfaction within the physical world, we have completely lost touch with our spiritual nature, and our loving relationship with God.

This is why the teachings of Moses, Jesus and every other ancient Biblical teacher maintained a consistent instruction in order to reclaim that relationship:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-40/Deut 6:5)_

#  Genesis 4:16-26

# Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant ...

_So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech. Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain's sister was Naamah. Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times." Adam lay with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, "God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to call on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 4:16-26)_

Here we see some seriously improbable events if we are assuming that Cain is the third human and they populated the earth some 5,000 years ago, as sectarian institutions and their scribes have translated and interpreted from these texts.

### Who was Cain's wife?

Cain's wife presents a huge hole in the theory that Adam and Eve were the first humans on the earth, and Cain was the third. If Cain was only the third human then how could there be a woman in the "land of Nod" whom Cain met and "lay" with?

If we believe that Adam and Eve were the first humans and Cain was the third human, then there would not be another woman available for Cain in the "land of Nod" to lay with and have a baby with. This presents a problem for those who attempted to manipulate the texts of Genesis to somehow become a history of the human race.

### What is the "land of Nod?"

What is this land that was away from Eden, where Cain could grow crops, versus the _"land of Nod"_ that he suddenly could not grow crops in? Noting this is thousands of years ago* then there were plenty of regions around the world that had arable land that could easily be cultivated.

(*Biblical scholars estimate the timetable of the family histories to be about 5,000 years ago - making it around the time of the Egyptians.)

Oh, but we are to imagine this single third human is walking alone on the planet, just wandering around?

The reality is that it is scientifically impossible that Adam and Eve were the first humans on earth only 5,000 years ago, and Cain was the third human. All the archeological findings of human bones over 100,000 years ago, and cave paintings, tools and other artifacts discovered and dated by scientists illustrate that Adam and Eve being the first humans 5,000 years ago is not true. It is a misinterpretation of these texts, which were never intended to form a history of humanity on the earth.

### Did Cain really build a city as the third human?

In addition to this central problem, there are other issues with this conclusion, from the text itself:

\- Why would Cain build a city if he were the third human? Who was to live in the city, since there were only three, then four humans, with Enoch? A city assumes a large population.

\- How was Adah _"the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock"_? Everyone who has lived in a tent or raised livestock has Adah for an ancestor?

\- Same with Jubal. How was he _"the father of all who play the harp and flute"_? Are all our orchestra members who play these two instruments offspring of Jubal?

\- The problem with Zilah is that if sectarian scribes are presuming that this event occurred 5,000 years ago, then making tools made of bronze and iron would traverse two eras. The iron age began between 1300 and 600 BC, while the bronze age occurred as early as 3200 BC. These dates correspond to the earliest findings of tools made of these particular metals. If we take this text at face value, then Zilah would have to have lived for nearly 2,000 years in order to make tools from both metals.

\- The contradiction with archeological evidence makes this entire genealogy and its interpretation that this is a historical genealogy of humanity, suspect. Archeological evidence finds humanoids living on the early more than a million years ago, and their ancestors over 2 million years ago. While carbon dating does not offer pinpoint accuracy due to periodic changes in the earth's atmosphere, it can certainly determine that humans lived many hundreds of thousands of years before sectarian scribes assume these texts indicate.

### Is Genesis is a history of humanity?

Rather than being a compilation as assumed by its present state, Genesis is a conglomeration of separate scrolls that have been patched together to promote an assumption that the Judean people were the primary and "chosen" race, and all other races around the world were "heathens." This attempt to use scripture as a tool for control was advanced by sectarian institutions - the same ones railed on by Jesus - and later by the Romans, who selected and patched together certain Scripture scrolls in an attempt to control Europe and the Middle East by virtue of controlling religion.

Once the Roman-employed scribes patched together what we know today as the Bible from hundreds of sometimes disconnected scrolls - of the thousands of scrolls that were used by different teachers during those times and earlier - they outlawed the possession or reading of any other scroll outside of these in their Latin Bibles (which only the priests or Roman Catholic authorities could possess). As the Romans systematically burnt libraries of scrolls and murdered those harboring ancient texts, they successfully erased the bulk of the scriptural texts that provide the context and the background for the remaining texts that were patched together to form the old and new testaments of the Bible.

In reality, Genesis and much of the other scriptures of the Old Testament simply follow a lineage of teachers. These were the Prophets and their relative families and heritage, which connects the teachings of Noah and Abraham to Moses, David, Solomon and eventually Jesus. This is with the exception of the first three chapters, which detail two distinct parables regarding the fall of the soul from the spiritual realm to the physical world.

### Was the Bible manipulated?

The Bible has been pieced together in such a way as to imply that it is a historical record. However, as many historians have found over the years, a meaningful read through the material indicates that these scrolls were not intended to be a history of humanity. The seeming chronological nature of the periods is deceiving, as it often places events and scrolls that were earlier, later, and vice versa.

Other evidence of tampering between the original scrolls and the texts of the Bible - first translated into Latin by Roman scribes - have been found as a few of the original scrolls have been discovered over the centuries.

The recent discoveries of the Dead Sea scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts have confirmed that many scrolls accepted as scripture by ancient Judeans were systematically eliminated by the Romans, and at least some of those that were patched together into the Bible were tampered with.

On top of that, we find there is a historical record that shows tablets being changed as they were passed on centuries before Christ. For example, historians have found several tablets telling of Noah's flood. The problem is that there were significant differences between them. For example, some of the tablets described the boat as being circular, while others described it as square, like a tall building.

The bottom line is that this genealogy, as many others provided in the books of the Bible, does point to some historical record, but the context of that record is still at large.

### Who is the 'Father of all'?

It is only logical that someone who is _"a father of all who..."_ is not referring to a human, but rather, a superior individual. This text is reminiscent of the Greek and Roman and Egyptian mythologies of the gods, as well as Asian Sanscrit records describing various demigods. These records all describe a superior race who were "fathers" of particular traits among human culture, including war, music, and others.

Apollo, for example, is described as overseeing music among other traits, while Hermes is described as being the protector of the shepherds and the creator of the lyre (a type of harp).

There are other parts of the Bible that point to the existence of a superior race of some kind. For example, later in Genesis, we find:

_'The Nephilim were on the earth in those days - and also afterward - when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.' (Gen. 6:4)_

This obviously indicates that an advanced people lived on the earth thousands of years ago. The use of _"heroes of old," "men of renown"_ and _"sons of God"_ indicate three essential characteristics: 1) They maintained high levels of integrity and heroism. 2) They were highly respected. 3) They were dedicated to God.

This last point is confirmed by the title _"sons of God."_ The word _"sons"_ is again translated from the word בן (ben), which can mean "son" but also, according to Gesenius' lexicon, "a member of a guild, order, class."

In other words, the more appropriate translation of the word בן (ben) in this case is not "sons of God" but rather, would be something akin to "devoted followers of God" or "loving servants of God."

We must understand that Scripture is devotional. The Scriptures document the lives of those who have been devoted to loving and serving God. They can therefore only be understood through the eyes of devotion.

While this commentary does not pose to speculate upon these verses, we can state with certainty that these verses provide some kind of historical context, but certainly not a genealogical historical record of the first humans that sectarian institutions interpret them to be.

The most likely intention of these and the other supposed genealogy verses that follow in Genesis is that this is a record of one of the early lineages of Prophets. The Hebrew words הֵם (hem) (translated to "children") and בֵּן (ben) (translated to "son") also have devotional contexts. In the devotional contexts, these relate to being students or followers.

Indeed, the use of the Hebrew word יָלַד (yalad) - translated to "begat" or "fathered" can also have a devotional context. That is, being one's spiritual teacher and bringing the student to the point to where they are born again. Such a tradition of calling one's spiritual teacher "father" has continued even through the sectarian institutions today, where priests are called "father."

### What is being born again mean?

Jesus also described this process of being "born again:"

_Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."  
"How can someone be born when they are old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!"  
Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'" (John 3:3-3:7)_

These sectarian translations of Genesis and the other early Hebrew books are certainly suspect. Especially given the power struggles and the violence that came with these translations as these sectarian institutions forced indoctrination upon populations of people. If we assume a devotional context to these ancient texts, this would mean the "genealogy" listing is actually a listing of the early Prophets, as spiritual teachers and their early students - who may (or may not in many cases) have also been family members.

The essential issue is that the patchwork of texts assembled into the "Bible" have been tampered with and mistranslated by those with no authority to organize or interpret scripture.

### What are the spiritual lessons?

Even so, the remaining texts of the Bible provide a wealth of spiritual lessons ultimately communicated by the Supreme Being. This was the intention of the ancient teachers that orally passed on these teachings before they even were recorded onto scrolls. Those lessons provide the essence of these texts, often hidden within the subterfuge of misinterpretation and translation error.

A perfect example of misinterpretation is the teaching by some sectarian institutions and their teachers that God either has no name or His name is somehow unspeakable. Genesis 4:26, along with so many others in the Scriptures, contradicts this notion:

_At that time men began to call on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 4:26)_

The words _"call on"_ come from the Hebrew קרא (qara'), which means to "to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim" according to the lexicon. More specifically, it means:

1) to call, cry, utter a loud sound  
2) to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God)  
3) to proclaim

This indicates that we are not just talking about "calling" like someone would make a phone call or yell for someone. It means to devotionally proclaim God's Holy Name, in prayer, song, and recitation.

This has been the essence of spiritual practice for thousands of years, and has been accepted by all true faiths as a manner of reaching out to God. In other words, this is a method that the Supreme Being has authorized as a facility to reach out and connect with Him.

This text has been largely ignored by ecclesiastical institutions. What does it mean?

The fact is, praising and reciting God's Holy Names has been accepted by the Prophets throughout the Scriptures. Here are a few verses that confirm this:  
_Genesis 12:8:_

_From there he [Abraham] went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the Name of the LORD._

_Genesis 13:4:_

_...and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the Name of the LORD._

_Genesis 21:33:_

_Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the Name of the LORD, the Eternal God._

_Genesis 24:48:_

_"...I bowed down and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me..."_

_Genesis 26:25:_

_Isaac built an altar there and called on the Name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well._

_Exodus 9:16 [God speaking to Moses]_

_"But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you My power and that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth."_

_Exodus 20:7:_

_"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his Name."_

_Exodus 20:24:_

_"Make an altar of earth for Me... Wherever I cause My Name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you."_

_Deuteronomy 18:7:_

_"...he may minister in the Name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD."_

_Deuteronomy 28:10:_

_"Then all the peoples on earth will see that You are called by the Name of the LORD, and they will revere You."_

_Deuteronomy 32:3:_

_"I will proclaim the Name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!"_

_2 Samuel 6:18:_

_After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD Almighty._

_1 Kings 3:2:_

_The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD._

_1 Kings 5:5:_

_"I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when He said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.'"_

_1 Kings 8:17:_

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_

_1 Kings 8:18:_

_But the LORD said to my father David, 'You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for My Name.'_

_1 Kings 8:20:_

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_

_1 Kings 10:1:_

_When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the Name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions._

_1 Kings 18:24:_

_"I will call on the Name of the LORD."_

_1 Kings 18:32:_

_With the stones he built an altar in the Name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed._

_1 Kings 22:16:_

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD ?"_

_2 Kings 2:24:_

_He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the Name of the LORD._

_2 Kings 5:11:_

_But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the Name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy."_

_Jeremiah 20:13:_

_"Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked."_

_1 Chronicles 16:2:_

_After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD._

_1 Chronicles 21:19:_

_So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the Name of the LORD._

_1 Chronicles 22:7:_

_David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God."_

_1 Chronicles 22:19:_

_"Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."_

_1 Chronicles 29:10:_

_David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly..._

_2 Chronicles 2:1:_

_Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself._

_2 Chronicles 2:4:_

_"Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on Sabbaths and New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel."_

_2 Chronicles 6:7_

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_

_2 Chronicles 6:10:_

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_

_2 Chronicles 18:15:_

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD ?"_

_2 Chronicles 20:19:_

_Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice._

_2 Chronicles 30:22:_

_For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised the LORD_

_2 Chronicles 33:18:_

_The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel._

_Job 1:21:_

_"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised."_

_Nehemiah 8:6:_

_Ezra praised the LORD, the great God_

_Nehemiah 9:5:_

_"Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting." "Blessed be Your glorious Name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise._

_Daniel 2:19:_

_Then Daniel praised the God of heaven_

_Psalm 5:11:_

_"But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your Name may rejoice in You."_

_Psalm 7:17:_

_"I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the Name of the LORD Most High."_

_Psalm 8:1 and 8:9:_

_"LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your Name in all the earth!"_

_Psalm 9:2:_

_"I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing the praises of Your Name, O Most High."_

_Psalm 9:10:_

_"Those who know Your Name trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You."_

_Psalm 18:49:_

_"Therefore I will praise You, LORD, among the nations; I will sing the praises of Your Name."_

_Psalm 20:1:_

_"May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the Name of the God of Jacob protect you."_

_Psalm 20:7:_

_"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God."_

_Psalm 22:2:_

_"I will declare Your Name to my people; in the assembly I will praise You."_

_Psalm 23:3:_

_"The LORD is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His Name's sake."_

_Psalm 29:2:_

_"Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His Name; worship the LORD in the splendor of His Holiness."_

_Psalm 30:4:_

_"Sing the praises of the LORD, you His faithful people; praise His Holy Name."_

_Psalm 31:3:_

_"Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your Name lead and guide me."_

_Psalm 33:21:_

_"In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His Holy Name."_

_Psalm 34:3:_

_"Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt His Name together."_

_Psalm 44:8:_

_"In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise Your Name forever."_

_Psalm 48:10:_

_"Like Your Name, O God, Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is filled with righteousness."_

_Psalm 54:1:_

_"Save me, O God, by Your Name"_

_Psalm 54:6_

_"I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You; I will praise Your Name, LORD, for it is good."_

_Psalm 61:8:_

_"Then I will ever sing in praise of Your Name and fulfill my vows day after day."_

_Psalm 63:4:_

_"I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your Name I will lift up my hands.."_

_Psalm 66:2:_

_"Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious."_

_Psalm 66:4:_

_"All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You, they sing the praises of Your Name."_

_Psalm 68:4:_

_"Sing to God, sing in praise of His Name, extol Him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before Him — His name is the LORD."_

_Psalm 69:30:_

_"I will praise God's Name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving."_

_Psalm 72:19:_

_"Praise be to His glorious Name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen."_

_Psalm 76:1:_

_"God is renowned in Judah; in Israel His name is great."_

_Psalm 79:9:_

_"Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of Your Name; deliver us and forgive our sins for Your Name's sake."_

_Psalm 86:12:_

_"I will praise You, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your Name forever."_

_Psalm 89:16_

_"They rejoice in Your Name all day long; they celebrate Your righteousness."_

_Psalm 91:14-16:_

_"Because he loves Me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My Name.He will call on Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation."_

_Psalm 92:1:_

_" It is good to praise the LORD and make music to Your Name, O Most High"_

_Psalm 96:2:_

_"Sing to the LORD, praise His Name; proclaim His salvation day after day."_

_Psalm 96:8:_

_"Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His Name; bring an offering and come into His courts."_

_Psalm 97:12:_

_"Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise His Holy Name."_

_Psalm 99:3_

_"Let them praise Your great and awesome Name — He is holy."_

_Psalm 99:6:_

_"Moses and Aaron were among His priests, Samuel was among those who called on His name; they called on the LORD and He answered them."_

_Psalm 100:4:_

_"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His Name."_

_Psalm 102:15:_

_"The nations will revere the Name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere Your glory."_

_Psalm 102:21:_

_"So the Name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem."_

_Psalm 103:1:_

_"Of David. Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His Holy Name."_

_Psalm 105:1:_

_"Give praise to the LORD, proclaim His Name; make known among the nations what He has done."_

_Psalm 105:3:_

_"Glory in His Holy Name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice."_

_Psalm 106:47:_

_"Save us, LORD our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your Holy Name and glory in Your praise."_

_Psalm 111:9:_

_"Holy and awesome is His Name."_

_Psalm 113:1:_

_"Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the Name of the LORD."_

_Psalm 113:2:_

_"Let the Name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore."_

_Psalm 113:3:_

_"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised."_

_Psalm 115:1:_

_"Not to us, LORD, not to us but to Your Name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness."_

_Psalm 116:4:_

_"Then I called on the Name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!""_

_Psalm 116:13:_

_"I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the LORD."_

_Psalm 116:17:_

_"I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the Name of the LORD."_

_Psalm 119:132:_

_"Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love Your Name."_

_Psalm 122:4:_

_"That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the Name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel."_

_Psalm 124:8:_

_"Our help is in the Name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."_

_Psalm 129:8:_

_"May those who pass by not say, "The blessing of the LORD be upon you; we bless you in the Name of the LORD."_

_Psalm 135:1:_

_"Praise the LORD. Praise the Name of the LORD; praise Him, you servants of the LORD"_

_Psalm 135:3:_

_"Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing praise to His name, for that is pleasant."_

_Psalm 135:13:_

_"Your Name, LORD, endures forever, your renown, LORD, through all generations."_

_Psalm 138:2:_

_"I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise Your Name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness"_

_Psalm 140:13:_

_"Surely the righteous will praise Your Name, and the upright will live in Your presence."_

_Psalm 142:7:_

_"Set me free from my prison, that I may praise Your Name."_

_Psalm 145:1:_

_" I will exalt You, my God the King; I will praise Your Name for ever and ever."_

_Psalm 145:2:_

_"Every day I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and ever."_

_Psalm 145:21:_

_"My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise His Holy Name for ever and ever."_

_Psalm 148:5:_

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created."_

_Psalm 148:13:_

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for His Name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens."_

_Psalm 149:3:_

_"Let them praise His Name with dancing and make music to Him with timbrel and harp."_

_Proverbs 18:10:_

_"The Name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."_

_Isaiah 18:7:_

_"At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers — the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty."_

_Isaiah 24:15:_

_"Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea."_

_Isaiah 50:10:_

_"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the LORD and rely on his God."_

_Isaiah 55:6:_

_"Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near."_

Isaiah 56:6:

_"And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve Him, to love the Name of the LORD, and to worship Him..."_

Isaiah 57:15:

_"For this is what the high and exalted One says — He who lives forever, whose Name is holy..."_

_Isaiah 59:19:_

_"From the west, men will revere the Name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere His glory."_

_Jeremiah 3:17:_

_"At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the Name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts."_

_Jeremiah 20:13_

_Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked._

_Jeremiah 26:16:_

_Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the Name of the LORD our God."_

_Jeremiah 26:20:_

_Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the Name of the LORD_

_Daniel 2:20:_

_"Praise be to the Name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His."_

_Joel 2:26:_

_"You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the Name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed."_

_Joel 2:32:_

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved"_

_Micah 4:5:_

_"...we will walk in the Name of the LORD our God for ever and ever."_

_Micah 5:4:_

_"He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the Name of the LORD his God."_

_Malachi 1:11:_

_[LORD God says] "My Name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to Me, because My Name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty._

_Malachi. 4:2:_

_[LORD God says] "But for you who revere My Name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall."_

_Zechariah 10:12:_

_"I will strengthen them in the LORD and in His Name they will live securely," declares the LORD._

_Zechariah 13:9:_

_[LORD God says] "They will call on My Name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'"_

_Zephaniah 3:9:_

_"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the Name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder."_

_Zephaniah 3:12:_

_"But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the Name of the LORD."_

_Luke 11:2 and Matthew 6:9:_

_"Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name."_

_Matthew 21:9, Matthew 23:39, Mark 11:9, Luke 13:35, Luke 19:38, and John 12:13:_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!"_

_Matthew 5:14-16:_

_"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."_

_John 17:11:_

_"Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your Name, the Name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one."_

_Matthew 9:8:_

_When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God..._

_Matthew 15:31:_

_The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel._

_Mark 2:12:_

_He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God_

_Luke 2:28:_

_Simeon took him in his arms and praised God._

_Luke 7:16:_

_They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people."_

_Luke 13:13:_

_Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God._

_Luke 18:43:_

_Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God._

_Luke 23:47:_

_The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God..._

_Matthew 11:25 and Luke 10:21:_

_"I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth"_

_John 17:26 (Jesus praying to God):_

_"And I have declared unto them Your Name, and will declare it"_

_Luke 24:53:_

_And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God._

_James 3:9:_

_"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father..."_

_James 5:10:_

_"Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the Name of the Lord."_

_1 Peter 1:3:_

_"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!"_

_Acts 2:21:_

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved."_

_Acts 3:8:_

_Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God._

_Acts 9:28:_

_So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the Name of the Lord._

_Acts 10:46:_

_For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God._

_Acts 16:25:_

_About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them._

_2 Timothy 2:19:_

_"Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."_

_Romans 10:13:_

_"Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved."_

_2 Corinthians 11:31:_

_"The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Who is to be praised forever..."_

_Ephesians 5:19:_

_Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord._

_Colossians 3:16:_

_Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God._

_Hebrews 13:15:_

_"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His Name."_

_Revelations 19:5:_

_Then a voice came from the throne, saying: "Praise our God, all you His servants, you who revere Him, both great and small!"_

Rather than getting wound up with trying to prove historical details among the texts of the Bible, our intent should be to draw out the critical lessons being taught there. And it is clear that one of the most important lessons is that spiritual advancement is achieved through the humble and respectful singing and reciting of God's Holy Names.

See a list of God's Holy Names accepted by various scriptures here.

#  Genesis 6:1-4

# The Nephilim were on the earth in those days ...

_When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-4)_

### What are these verses referring to?

This statement by God and its surrounding text has been the subject of many misinterpretations and speculative fantasy over the centuries. Many have concluded that the events are simply mysterious.

The questions many have asked about these verses:

Who were the _"sons of God"_?  
Who were the _"daughters of men"_?  
Who were the _"Nephilim"_?

Let's take each question separately:

### Who were the "sons of God"?

This should be considered a slight mistranslation. The word _"sons"_ is taken from the Hebrew word בן (ben). According to the lexicon, this word can refer to a "son," a "grandson" or a "member of a group." In other words, there are two general contexts for the word. One relates to a physical family - the physical son of a mother or father. The other relates to being a follower or a member of something or someone. This is confirmed in the Gesenius lexicon with the definition: "a member of a guild, order, class."

The lexicon goes on to characterize בן (ben)'s use together with _"of God"_ as "for angels."

The meaning here is clear. The combination of בן (ben) and אלהים ('Elohiym) indicate that _"sons of God"_ refers to those who belong to God, because they are devoted to the Supreme Being. Elohiym refers to God, the Supreme Being, and those people who are devoted and dedicated to God are His servants or followers. The better translation would thus be _"servants of God"_ or _"followers of God"_ rather than _"sons of God."_ This is clear because the context of the reference is not the physical family. The context is dedication and devotion.

This corrected translation to _"follower of God"_ or _"servant of God"_ also applies to the use of _"son of God"_ and _"sons of God_ " in the New Testament, as the Greek word υἱός (huios) can also either be translated to a physical "son" or "follower" or "servant" according to the Greek lexicon ("used to describe one who depends on another or is his follower").

This phrase also applies to Jesus and explains the reason Jesus was sometimes described as _"son of David"_ even though he obviously was not David's son. When υἱός ("son") is translated correctly, _"follower of David"_ is not only more functional but accurate, as Jesus often quoted from David's writings.

And of course, texts translating Jesus being described as the _"son of God"_ are more accurately translated to _"servant of God"_ or _"follower of God"_ using the original Greek texts. Jesus himself confirmed this as he said:

_"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons [followers, devotees or servants] of God." (Matt. 5:9)_

And later, by Paul:

_"because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons [followers, devotees or servants] of God." (Romans 8:14)_

### Who are the "daughters of men"?

This should also be considered a mistranslation. The word _"daughters"_ is translated from the Hebrew root word בת (bath), which can certainly refer to a female born of a particular physical family. However, it can also mean someone or something that belongs to, is the subject of or takes shelter of, something or someone else.

For example, David stated:

_Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments. (Psalm 48:11)_

Here _"villages"_ is translated from בת (bath).

In Ecclesiastes, it states:

_when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint; (Ecclesiastes 12:4)_

_"all their songs"_ utilizes the word בת (bath)

In the Song of Solomon:

_Lover. Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens. (Song of Solomon 2:2)_

Here _"darling among the maidens"_ maintains the word בת (bath).

In Lamentations:

_Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed. (Lamen. 3:48)_

_"my people"_ utilizes the word בת (bath).

Job stated:

_I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls. (Job 30:29)_

The phrase _"a companion of owls"_ utilizes the word בת (bath).

Just as בן (ben) has an expanded use beyond the physical family, בת (bath) also can be used figuratively. The lexicon confirms this as it includes its use "as personification" and "description of character" with other possible uses for the Hebrew word בת (bath).

The Hebrew word בת (bath) is also used in the phrase _"daughters of Jerusalem,"_ used multiple times in the texts of the Old Testament. Does a city have daughters in the physical sense? Does a city give birth to female offspring? This use of _"daughters"_ is obviously figurative, as it describes those who are connected to or belonging to Jerusalem. This is derived from the ancient custom whereupon daughters were sheltered and protected by their families, and then later by their husbands.

This figure of speech is also seen in English, as we metaphorically describe someone who is associated with or belonging to something as being the _"daughter"_ of that thing. In fact, the word _"daughter"_ itself has two possible definitions outside the general female offspring use. According to the Webster-Merriam dictionary:

_2: something considered as a daughter (the United States is a daughter of Great Britain)  
3: an atomic species that is the product of the radioactive decay of a given element_

Translating and interpreting this use regards physical offspring of men would thus be inaccurate. The correct interpretation is that the phrase relates to those who were possessed by or taking shelter of the activities of mortals and the mortal world. This is further understood when we answer the next question.

What was the difference between the "sons of God" and "daughters of men"?

The text indicates that there is a clear difference between the _"sons of God"_ (remember, better translated to _"followers of God"_ or _"servants of God"_ ) and _"daughters of men."_

Both relate to those who take shelter of or follow - but one is following God and the other is following _"men."_

### Who were the "Nephilim"?

_The Nephilim were on the earth in those days--and also afterward--when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown._

The phrases, _"heroes of old"_ and _"men of renown"_ are based upon two key Hebrew words: עולם (`owlam) and שם (shem). Let's examine these two words:

\- עולם (`owlam) is being translated to _"heroes of old"_. Actually, the word refers to something or someone of "long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world" according to the lexicon. It also means for "ever, always, continuous existence, perpetual, everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity" according to the lexicon.

\- שם (shem) is being translated to _"of renown"_ but it means, according to the lexicon, "name, reputation, fame, glory." It can also mean "the Name (as designation of God)" or "memorial, monument" according to the lexicon.

The verse also describes the _"Nephilim"_ as גבור (gibbowr) which means "strong" and "mighty" according to the lexicon. This is not indicated in the NIV translation, but in some texts, this word has been translated to the _"Nephilim"_ being a race of giants. This has spawned numerous speculations describing the _"Nephilims"_ as a race of aliens, etc.

But we know that to be _"strong"_ or _"mighty"_ doesn't necessarily mean being large. A person can also have other types of strength, such as mental strength or discipline.

As we break the language of the verse down within its context, we find a key in the word שם (shem). The problem with this translation is that the translators themselves were seeing from a perspective of the physical world, rather than the spiritual perspective of the text. Since the translators are trapped within the _"mortal"_ identification of being the physical body, they naturally interpreted and translated the _"Nephilim"_ as some sort of physical giants, heroes and so on.

What they failed to see is that the description using שם (shem) indicates, together with the context of the story, that what is being discussed were _devoted wise men, dedicated to the Supreme Being_ , and had the strength to resist the temptations and attractions of the physical world.

These were those who had taken on physical bodies, yet were also devoted to the Supreme Being. And their being "ancient" or "perpetual" characterization describes the eternal nature of being devoted to the Supreme Being.

This is clarified by שם (shem), as within context, it is describing someone who takes shelter in the glorification of the Supreme Being (as "Shem" indicates glorifying or memorializing God's Holy Names). Such a person, as the text describes, becomes strong and wise, and their connection with God is eternal.

### What does 'Man is mortal' mean?

This relates to how the Supreme Being refers to _"man"_ in the verse above, stating, _"for he is mortal."_ He also states that _"My Spirit will not contend with man forever."_ Here the word _"will not contend with"_ indicates separation from, or relief from.

The linchpin is the use of the word _"mortal."_ What does the word _"mortal"_ mean? The Hebrew word being translated to _"mortal"_ is בשר (basar). This word can also mean - as is used in other texts \- _"flesh."_ According to the lexicon, the word refers to "flesh of the body" or "the body itself." It can also refer to "mankind," but only because mankind is "of the flesh."

As indicated prior, the phrase, _"sons of God" ("followers of God"_ or _"servants of God")_ indicates those who are devoted and dedicated to God, as well as those in the category of angels. As we discern that the _"sons of God"_ were the antithesis to _"men"_ and that _"men"_ were _"of the flesh"_ we can understand that _"men"_ refer to those who have taken on physical bodies.

Furthermore, being a _"daughter of men"_ refers to a person who has taken shelter of the flesh. They are possessed by the physical world and attracted to the world of matter.

This is contrasted with the angels, and those who are devoted to the Supreme Being because these persons are not attracted to the physical world and the world of the flesh - the material world. Rather, they are loving servants of the Supreme Being.

And as teachers throughout the scriptures clearly explain that the Supreme Being dwells personally in the spiritual realm - we must accept that the _"sons of God"_ \- _God's loving servants or devotees_ \- are inhabitants of the spiritual realm, who may occasionally visit the physical world as part of their service to God.

### God won't contend with man forever?

These verses contain a statement claiming that God says:

_"My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."_

First we must ask why God feels that man contends with Him at all. He is, after all, God. And He did create the human body. But there is also a key misunderstanding by those who misinterpret this statement.

The fact is, we are not these physical bodies. Our physical bodies are vehicles we occupy temporarily. This is clear from God's statement, and clear because we know by observation that every physical body dies after a few decades. No body lives beyond about 120 years - as specified here by the Supreme Being's statement.

We are spiritual beings who are temporarily encased within these physical bodies. Each of us occupying a physical body was once an angel. Be we are fallen angels. We have fallen into the physical world by taking on a physical body because we decided at some point that we did not want to be devoted to the Supreme Being any longer. We wanted to explore our own facilities for enjoyment. Instead of living to please God we decided we wanted to live to please ourselves.

This is why the Supreme Being, in this statement, says: _"My Spirit will not contend with man forever."_ Because we wanted our freedom from Him, the Supreme Being gave us a virtual world equipped with physical bodies where we could get lost in a virtual identity and pretend that He doesn't exist for a while.

Here in the physical world, we can pretend that we are these physical bodies and we own the things around us. This is despite the fact that we cannot control the things around us and we will leave them all behind at the time of death. Yet we still pretend that these things are ours.

This is illusion. The Supreme Being set up the physical world as a place of illusion so we could get away from Him and act out our self-centered desires. And he set up this world of illusion as a temporary place. We stay for a while in a body, and then we leave.

### Why did we get stuck in this world?

Becoming fallen takes place as the spiritual being - each of us - is exposed to the concept of having the freedom to reject Him or not. Along with this comes the influence of those who have already rejected Him. This was symbolized in another manuscript from Genesis in the story of the serpent and Adam and Eve - as the serpent influenced Eve, and Eve influenced Adam.

In other words, the Supreme Being wants us to love Him out of free will. Therefore, He presents before us plenty of temptations, influences, and facilities that give us alternatives to loving and pleasing Him. He gives us plenty of escape passages.

In the verses above, the description of the _"sons of God"_ first being attracted by and then marrying the _"daughters of men"_ indicates that some who were previously devoted to the Supreme Being - loving and serving Him - became influenced by (symbolized by attraction) and then became connected to or immersed in (symbolized by marriage) the self-centered illusions of the physical world.

Whether they were directly influenced by having contact with those already within physical bodies or simply attracted by the desire to enjoy separately from God is not relevant. This is because God offers us so many facilities to leave His service, depending upon the situation.

The bottom line is that we were attracted, influenced, and succumbed to the self-centered illusions of the physical world that allow us to feel independent of God.

So this allegorical yet historical story of how we each fell into the physical world reveals our past with accuracy, yet with symbolism. The phrase _"having children by them"_ symbolizes our further bonding and immersion into the physical world.

This indicates that not only did we symbolically _"marry"_ our existence within the physical world, but we became entrapped within it. The symbolism is that by having children, we become ensnared into the family of the physical world. We strive for the adoration of others. We strive to be wealthy and we strive for the pleasures of this world.

These things - adoration, wealth, sensual pleasures - symbolically become our "family" as we engage in the attractions of the physical world.

### What is the oral tradition?

Many hands and voices have bastardized the prose of these ancient teachings, passed down orally from teacher to student for thousands of years, and at some point put in writing. Power-hungry emperors and institutional priests have attempted to interpret and translate these teachings into a supposed history of the world.

They have tried to piece together unrelated teachings that use symbolism and parable to explain who we are and how we got here. It is certainly ironic that these teachings that explain our spiritual history have been misused in an attempt to create a misguided and supposed history of the world.

While certainly there is evidence of the existence of many of the saints - the "prophets" - and kings of the Old Testament, and there is a lineage of teachers and their students being described historically within the texts of the Old Testament, some of these texts in the early books of Genesis are discussing another type of history: How we fell to the physical world from the spiritual realm.

So we must not be surprised with the misinterpretation and mistranslation of these ancient teachings by those employed by institutions focused on stabilizing their political power and authority rather than the spiritual growth of those who would read these texts later.

This is the nature of self-centeredness within the physical world. This place we call planet earth, together with these physical bodies we temporarily occupy is quite simply, hell. This is a place of greed, lust, hatred, anger, and violence. We can easily discern this simply by turning on the news.

We might compare this world to jail. We are each here because we broke the law of the spiritual realm: love. We decided that we didn't want to love God. We didn't want to love others anymore. We wanted others to love us. We wanted to be God. We wanted what God has: power and authority.

### Why do we suffer?

Many people ask this question: _If God is good, why is there so much suffering?_

The question that should be asked is: _If we are so good, why is there so much suffering?_

The suffering of this world is our responsibility. We made the decision to come here to get away from God. We made the decision that we are more important than others. We made the decisions that hurt others in order to achieve our self-centered goals.

Suffering is a consequence of self-centeredness.

Self-centeredness required the creation of the physical world by the Supreme Being. Self-centeredness also required the programming of the physical world with consequences. And with mortality. In other words, we cannot live in the physical world forever. Why not? Because we are not physical. We are spiritual.

Consider if the Supreme Being created the physical world and these temporary bodies so they would live forever. What would that accomplish? It would entrap us here in hell forever. Would that be good?

The Supreme Being doesn't want to lose us forever. He loves us. He wants us back. He knows we will only be happy if we are back in our natural position in the spiritual realm.

But because love requires freedom, we have to decide to return on our own. This is why the Supreme Being programmed the world with consequences: So we could experience the results of our actions. This creates learning experiences, allowing those of us who decide we want to return to Him or just to get out, in general, a means for elevating our consciousness.

And should we choose not to get out, and not try to elevate our consciousness, we are able to remain within the physical realm until we decide we want to come back home. This is why there are so many other types of species within the physical world - including animals, fish, plants and so on. These are physical bodies that allow us to completely forget the Supreme Being.

The human form of life is a special form because it provides a bridge to elevate our consciousness if we decide to. In the human form, we can remember God.

Without elevating our consciousness, we would have no facility to return to Him. Elevating our consciousness means becoming prepared to return to Him.

It means returning to our lost loving relationship with the Supreme Being. This means that each of us has the ability to return to our natural position of being _"sons"_ (servants, devotees or followers) of God.

#  Genesis 6:5-7

# "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth ..."

_The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the LORD said, "I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground — for I regret that I have made them." (Genesis 6:5-7)_

### Did God really regret making humans?

These verses indicate a God who is bitter and angry. They indicate that the Supreme Being regretted creating humanity. And that as a result, He decided to wipe everything out in a fit of anger.

To see the context of the statements in these verses we must examine the Hebrew texts.

One might ask who the Supreme Being was speaking this to? There is no indication that God is speaking to anyone. Therefore, we must understand that the Supreme Being is being paraphrased here, just as He has been in other verses from Genesis.

These texts were recorded many centuries after being passed down orally from teacher to student for thousands of years. From this, we can understand that they are third-hand narrations that have gone through many generations of oral teachings.

We can also see in these verses that there is no definite conversation between two individuals. There is no witness to this statement. It is paraphrasing. The writer of these verses was paraphrasing the Supreme Being.

In other words, it is not as if God is constantly talking to Himself, as if there is no one who will listen to Him. Rather, it is obvious that someone is listening to Him as this event is being described.

Some sectarian teachers might argue that God is speaking to Noah here, as God seems to be indicating the rationale for causing the great flood of Noah's time.

This, however, contradicts the events. Following these verses, Noah is introduced in Genesis 6:8-12 for the first time. Following that, Genesis 6:13 begins with: _So God said to Noah,...._ This is when the story indicates that God spoke to Noah.

We can therefore understand that Genesis 6:7 was not spoken to Noah. Rather, this statement was spoken by teachers who were explaining what they thought were some of the motives and emotions of the Supreme Being. They were paraphrasing God.

### What is paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is a typical narrative tool. Let's say we were passing along a story about a forest ranger who saw a fire break out in the forest. The story might be narrated with something like: "When the forest ranger saw the fire, he saw that he needed to call the station immediately." This doesn't mean that the forest ranger said out loud to himself: "I have to call the station."

Yet at the same time, it is is also possible that the narrator made the assumption that this is why the ranger called the station. It is possible that he could have been calling the station for another reason.

Now if this story of the ranger had been told numerous times, from one generation to the next, the story may take on new assumptions. Perhaps someone adds that the ranger told the station personnel to bring more men to fight the fire with him. It wouldn't matter that the ranger called to warn the station so it would get evacuated. The story will have taken on a new meaning by then.

In the same way, the assumption that the great flood was caused by God becoming angry at the wickedness of humanity does not have a witness. It is a paraphrasing of God's theoretical purpose for the great flood.

### Was there really a flood that covered the earth?

Scientists have been trying to confirm through archeology whether there indeed was a flood that covered the entire earth around the timeline stated in Genesis.

So far, core drilling samples do show there was a world-wide flood some five million years ago. This was long before there is any sign of humans, though it is certainly possible.

Yet there has also been an indication of a large flood in the region and timeline where the texts of Genesis arose. However, this flood timeline doesn't indicate a worldwide flood that wiped out all of humanity.

What archeologists have confirmed is that the region of the Mediterranean Sea swept into the Black sea and flooded out the region, which concurs with the timeline of the Book of Genesis.

Whether there was a world-wide flood during this time or a more regional flood, the event describes a deluge and the relationship between God and Noah:

_But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:8)_

### Did God really get this angry?

As to why the Supreme Being has been displayed with such ferocity in the texts of the Old Testament, the issue is power. Those early Israelite scribes who transcribed those original oral teachings into the texts labeled the Torah, followed by those early Church scribes, worked under the orders of those who wished to utilize the scriptures to gain followers and control people. They manipulated the words of the Supreme Being to create the impression that the Supreme Being is an angry God who gets pissed off easily and likes to "wipe out" people.

This allowed them to virtually threaten the populace: 'If you don't follow our institution, you will invoke God's wrath.'

This could not be further from the Truth about the Supreme Being, and we can see this even from within this paraphrasing of the Supreme Being.

The phrase _"for I regret"_ is being translated from Hebrew word נחם (nacham). The translation word choice used here indicates that God was sorry he made man, but this is simply not true.

According to the lexicon, נחם (nacham) means, "to be sorry, be moved to pity, have compassion" and (Hithpael), "to be sorry, have compassion."

Now how does "compassion" relate to regret? When a person feels compassion, they also typically show sorrow - as they are sorry for another person being in that particular state.

This illustrates that the Supreme Being was not sorry that he made man - as though God is a spoiled brat who puts together a toy airplane, and if the toy doesn't satisfy him, he throws the toy to the ground and says, "I'm sorry I ever made that airplane!"

Yet this is how the translators are making out God to be. Is God a spoiled brat, that gets pissed off if we don't do what He says?

No. We must understand the situation. The Supreme Being is feeling compassion for those who have become empty and unsatisfied - and increasingly self-centered - due to their having left their natural position and loving relationship with Him. This emptiness was displayed by the increasingly perverse and violent activities of human society:

_The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. (Genesis 6:5)_

Here the hearts of those on the earth at that time are seen as becoming progressively self-centered (evil), resulting in increasing perversity.

Due to His love for us, this caused the Supreme Being pain: _His heart was deeply troubled._ (Gen. 6:6)

In other words, God loves us and wants us to be happy. He doesn't need us. He doesn't get upset for Himself that we are rejecting Him. He wants us to be happy, and He knows that our only facility for true happiness is when we are embracing our natural position.

And what is that natural position? We were created by the Supreme Being to be His loving caregivers. He created us to exchange a loving relationship with Him. But since love requires freedom, He also gave us the freedom to love Him or not.

And some of us have taken advantage of this freedom and decided that we did not want to love Him and care for Him. We decided we wanted to love ourselves and care for ourselves and seek out our own happiness.

### Does loving ourselves bring us happiness?

We can see it even in the common expression, 'tis better to give than to receive.' There is no fulfillment in receiving because we are caregivers by nature. We are happier giving than receiving.

This is also evidenced by those who have everything we might desire: Wealth, fame, political position, sensual pleasure and so on. We can see that those with practically everything - such as rock stars or movie stars - become miserable and even lonely with all their fame and wealth that many drown themselves in drugs and alcohol or even commit suicide. This is indicated in another verse:

_God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. (Genesis 6:12)_

Those who focus upon giving to others, or their families, on the other hand, find a little solace there. But they are not satisfied by those very things that we chase around - fame, wealth, pleasure and so on. This is seen even among the most wealthy people who have tried to become happy by gaining so much wealth - but find later in life that they gain more fulfillment by giving away that money.

### Why are we here?

Once we took advantage of our freedom and rejected the Supreme Being we were given a virtual place - the physical world - and these temporary physical bodies to act out our self-centered desires. Because we wanted to be away from Him, God created the physical universe surrounded by water as an environment where we could not have to see Him. He created a place where we could avoid God.

We could compare this to an automobile and the freeway. When we sit down in a car we occupy the car. We do not become the car, we drive the car. But in order to use the car we must take the car to a freeway. Freeways are set up for speeding cars. Therefore, no one is allowed to walk on the freeway, because they will get hit by a car. The freeway was not designed for walking. It was designed for driving cars.

In the same way, we are given virtual temporary identities in the form of physical bodies. These physical bodies were designed for the physical world. The physical world was designed to allow us to escape from the spiritual plane. This is why the physical senses and mind cannot perceive the spiritual realm. After all, since we rejected God, God had to create a zone where we could seemingly get away from Him. While we can never really get away from God, He had to create the illusion that we were away from Him. This is the physical world.

But the Supreme Being also set up the physical world as a place of learning. He knows we won't be happy away from our natural position, so He set up the world to give us the illusion that He isn't there, but at the same time, set it up with many facilities for learning. In other words, this place is also a rehabilitation center.

Within the physical world, the Supreme Being set up an entire hierarchical system of species and rules of engagement \- specifically, consequences. Consequence learning is the facility the Supreme Being set up to help us evolve, and gradually realize that we need to return to our natural position. Even then, it is still always our decision. He just helps us see the situation as it is, in order to make an educated decision.

And for those who want to avoid the decision - to the degree they want to avoid Him and the decision to return, He allows these persons to inhabit bodies that are to different degrees, ignorant. These are animals, fish, plants and so on. Those living beings within these physical bodies are also undergoing so many lessons, but they do not have the opportunity to make a choice. They must evolve to the point of taking on a human form before they have that opportunity.

But those of us who evolve to the point of occupying a human form is capable of realizing the Truth and making that decision. In the human form, we can decide to return to our natural position in the spiritual realm. If we want to.

### What does God want from us?

God wants us to come home to Him. The Supreme Being wants us to come home because He knows we will be happier in the spiritual realm, in our natural position. We are each drowning in this physical world of illusion, chasing our self-centered desires which bring us no fulfillment. No happiness.

This is why the Supreme Being is feeling compassion. We know from the Hebrew that He is expressing His compassion for those who are lonely and empty here. This compassion is reiterated in Genesis 6:6, _"His heart was deeply troubled._ (Gen. 6:6)

This seems to restate what He is being paraphrased as saying in 6:7. Here again, the Hebrew word נחם (nacham) is being translated to _"grieved"_ but its meaning is actually related to compassion. This compassion the Supreme Being has is confirmed with the Hebrew word עצב (`atsab), which is being translated to _"filled with pain."_ And _"heart"_ is being translated from לב (leb), which refers to one's innermost being, will, inclination or understanding according to the lexicon. In other words, it is not talking about a physical heart. It is referring to a Supreme Being who is complete with emotions of love and compassion.

### Is there a difference between grief and regret?

This goes to practicality. Would the Supreme Being really be _"grieved"_ and _"filled with pain"_ in regret for something He created? What kind of Supreme Being is this, who makes something and then regrets making it? This incorrectly paints God as not only a spoiled brat but also as someone who doesn't create very well - that He would then regret what He created.

We see the word עשה (`asah) elsewhere used in this latter form just a few verses later. In Genesis 6:22, it says:

_Noah did everything just as God commanded him. (Gen. 6:22)_

Here what Noah _"did"_ was service to the Supreme Being. He _"did"_ (עשה (`asah)) just what God asked him to do. Noah could have easily not done what God asked. He could have said no. What Noah _"did"_ was an offering or service to the Supreme Being. It was part of an exchange: Part of a relationship.

And what is this physical world? Is this not the place the Supreme Being made for us because we wanted to get away from Him? Isn't the illusion of the physical world that we cannot see God the result of our desires? Certainly, the Supreme Being did not desire that we turn our backs on Him and chase our self-centered desires around. But because we wanted this, the Supreme Being created the physical world as a gift to us. An offering of love.

So yes, the Supreme Being surely was saddened by our decision to be away from Him. It pained Him, not because He needs us. He has unlimited creative powers, and He has plenty of others who lovingly care for Him and exchange living relationships with Him. But He has a transcendental sadness for our current condition. He has compassion for us. He has mercy for us.

The Supreme Being could easily just let us go and drown forever within the physical world, forever forgetting Him and eternally empty. But He doesn't. This is why He created the physical world also as a place of learning: A place of consequence.

So what is this about the Supreme Being saying He will _"wipe mankind from the face of the earth"_ then? How can this be connected to His feelings of compassion for us?

Again we must see the real situation. First of all, the _"animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air"_ were not, according to the text, doing anything wrong that would make God want to wipe them out. Secondly, He did not wipe them out. And He did not wipe out _"mankind"_ \- humanity. Humans still dwell on earth and so do animals, birds and so on. So God did not wipe them out.

What God did was create a fresh start for humanity. He oversaw a flood that killed many physical bodies, but then made sure that some of the humans and the other species all repopulated the earth. What was the purpose of this?

Indeed, the Supreme Being has an ultimate purpose. We must remember that the persons who resided within each of those physical bodies who drowned in the Great Flood did not die. Their physical bodies died. And along with those bodies, many of their cultural habits that had developed over thousands of years also died.

Those persons who were occupying those physical bodies then each came to occupy another body after the flood and went on with their chase for happiness in the physical world along with their rehabilitation. But what changed is that the new human society - first guided by the devoted loving servant of God, Noah, \- provided a better cultural foundation for those persons who were ready to make a decision to return home to the spiritual realm.

The human lifetime is a critical point in our evolution, and if we choose to produce a society that lives like animals - focused only upon eating, sleeping, mating and defending \- then we will forfeit our current opportunity to return home to the spiritual realm. Because of our animal consciousness, we will descend into the animal species and begin a descent through the lower species. The physical world in itself is hell, but life in the lower species is a worse hell than the human form of life.

Should we make this choice, we will not necessarily lose our chance to return to the spiritual realm forever, but for a very long time. As we descend into the lower species, we will lose any remembrance of the Supreme Being. We will become focused upon eating, sleeping, mating and defending, and that's it. Once we reach the bottom of our evolution cycle, we begin to evolve back up through the species, until we gain another opportunity to live in a human form.

And for those who do make some spiritual progress during their human form - but have not perfected their learning - they will take on another human form, and have another chance. This depends upon our consciousness at the time of death - which directly relates to how we conduct ourselves during this lifetime.

With these points in mind, let's revisit the Supreme Being's paraphrased statement. Instead of Him being some kind of spoiled brat who is angry and bummed He made man in the first place, what was actually being communicated by the ancient teachers is a Supreme Being who was saddened about the current state of consciousness - the emptiness, loneliness and violent behavior - among most humans in the physical realm. Feeling compassionate, God decided to give humanity a fresh start. By wiping out the society as it was, He offered the potential to create a new human culture led first by His loving servant Noah, giving those who would occupy a human form a better shot at returning home to their natural position.

So those persons who were progressing spiritually and whose physical bodies were _"wiped off the face of the earth"_ came back to re-inhabit human forms within a society that provided a better foundation for returning to the spiritual realm.

### Did the earth get out of God's control?

The earth hasn't gotten out of God's control. The reality is that the Supreme Being simply has provided us a place where we can act freely. He has set the world up with automatic response mechanisms which allow us to quickly learn the consequences of our actions, good or bad.

The Supreme Being has offered us this place because He wants us to have the ultimate freedom to love Him or not.

What should be the correct translation of this paraphrased statement of the Supreme Being then? Utilizing the Hebrew as discussed here, a more appropriate translation of the text into modern English would render something like:

_"I will cleanse the earth of human society, as well as the animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air - for I am feeling saddened and compassionate \- and will offer them a new opportunity." (Genesis 6:7)_

This _"new opportunity"_ is indicated with the last phrase, וְעַד־עֹוף הַשָּׁמָיִם, which includes the root Hebrew word עשה (`asah), as "to make an offering." This word also indicates "to appoint, ordain, institute" according to the lexicon. To "institute" something is to set up a new opportunity. This is precisely what the "cleansing" (a better translation than to "wipe") achieved. A new start for those who were ready to inhabit another human form of life.

The goal is to return to our natural position and our loving relationship with the Supreme Being. This is why both Moses and Jesus taught as the most important instruction:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" (Matt. 22:37-38 and Deut. 6:4)_

#  Genesis 6:13-21

# "I am going to put an end to all people ..."

_"I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18 inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them." (Genesis 6:13-21)_

### Who is Noah?

Here the Supreme Being is communicating with Noah, who was a devoted loving servant of God. Genesis confirms this:

_But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. (Genesis 6:8-9)_

To find _"favor in the eyes of the Lord"_ means to be pleasing to God. He _"walked with God."_ This means that Noah was loving God and using his life to please God. He was focused upon the Supreme Being as his Best Friend and Companion. God was Noah's true 'soul mate.'

### Why do we all look for a soul mate?

Each of us is endlessly looking for that special 'soul mate'. During our younger years, we look high and low, looking for that special person who we can love and care for. We are looking for a companion. Someone to share our life with. We are looking for someone to share intimacy with. Someone who will understand us and love us for who we are not how we look or what kind of job we have or how wealthy or poor we might be.

Many of us get to a point where we think we have found that special 'soul mate' and we 'fall in love' with them and maybe even get married. And certainly, that person may well be a great life partner and husband or wife. But eventually, we realize that they are not the perfect person we imagined them to be. Most of us will soon see that they have many faults, and as time goes on, we realize that they simply do not satisfy our need for our 'soul mate' - that perfect person who always understands us, and is our friend regardless, and who will always be there for us.

And even if we are convinced that our spouse or girlfriend or boyfriend is our 'soul mate' we will find out eventually - one way or another - that they will leave us. Maybe we will get in a fight and break up. And if by chance we never break up - we will ultimately leave each other at the time of death.

In other words, our only real soul mate is the Supreme Being. He will always be there for us. He will never leave us. He will always understand us. He will always take care of us.

All we have to do is reach out to Him and re-connect with Him. This is what Noah did. Noah _"walked with God"_ because God was his soul mate. God was the most important person in Noah's life. Noah loved God.

### Does God reciprocate that love?

This is the meaning for God's statement: _"But I will establish my covenant with you."_ The Hebrew word translated to "covenant" is ברית (bĕriyth). This means an "alliance of friendship" according to the lexicon. In other words, a loving relationship. God is confirming His loving relationship with Noah.

All the bona fide spiritual teachers have taught this core teaching - to love God as the center of our lives. Both Moses and Jesus taught this as their central instruction:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'" (Luke 10:27 and Deut. 6:4)_

They wanted us to make God our soul mate. They wanted us to 'fall in love' with the Supreme Being. They weren't teaching us to make our dogs our best friends. They weren't teaching us to make our family members our refuge. They were teaching us to make God our best friend and refuge.

### Why did God want to wipe out humans?

As for the Supreme Being wiping out human society - and most of the animal society - the reason for His doing so was related to the degradation of that society at the time.

To summarize, God does not get any pleasure by wiping out people. God is not an angry God as portrayed by the ecclesiastical transcribers and translators over the centuries who sought to use scripture to control the population and increase their followers by scaring people. The Supreme Being is a loving God who has created the physical universe as a place where those of us who want to be away from Him can go and pretend to be someone we are not for awhile while we ignore His existence and chase our self-centered desires around for a while.

In other words, these physical bodies are not us. We are spiritual persons who are temporarily occupying physical bodies. The body is like a car we get in and drive for a while. When the car breaks down, we buy another car and drive it.

In the same way, the physical body is a temporary vehicle which will die within a few decades. So wiping out a society of physical bodies is not the same as killing the person. The person driving the body - the spiritual person - continues to live. That spiritual person, if they are not ready to return to the spiritual realm, will continue existing in the physical world by being born into another physical body.

The Supreme Being was wiping out human society at that moment in time because human society had become increasingly violent and decadent. Because the human life is a bridge back to the spiritual realm - unlike the bodies of animals, plants, fish and so on - it is critical that our society is conducive for making spiritual progress.

Therefore, periodically, as human society degrades to the point where there is little opportunity for people to make progress spiritually, the Supreme Being's mechanisms may partially or fully wipe out - or cleanse - the earth of prominent human societies in order to give those persons who currently or will inhabit the human form in the future a better foundation to progress spiritually.

The human form is a bridge back to the spiritual realm. The human form offers those who occupy a human body the intelligence to search for the answers to the problems of existence and determine in that search, the existence of God. When a person makes a realization that God exists, their path back to the spiritual realm can begin.

The fact that the Supreme Being wanted to cleanse the earth to provide for a better human society - to be initially led by Noah, His loving servant - clarifies that the Supreme Being is not an angry God who seeks vengeance. He is a loving God, who wants us to return home to Him. He obviously did not "put an end to all people" as Noah and his companions survived. So this is a mistranslation and misconstruence of God's statement to Noah.

### Doesn't God offer second chances?

The reality that many people lost their physical bodies during the Great Flood is of little consequence because those persons who were eligible to take on a human form would again be born into human form. In that state, in this new society, they could resume their progress towards the spiritual realm without a decadent society's barriers to spiritual progress. This equates to giving them a second chance to grow spiritually.

We must wonder whether this is our current society is approaching this condition. The current condition of our climate and environment given the destruction of our atmosphere and oceans is bringing our world to the brink of natural disaster.

This is ultimately our choice as individuals, but there are also cyclical renewal periods as well. Just as the solar systems and galaxies are all running with periodicity, there will also be renewal cycles that will end lives followed by a period of renewal.

The Supreme Being operates a gigantic mechanism \- the physical dimension - using a multitude of tools and beings who assist Him. All of these have periodicity because the physical universe operates with time. There are so many interwoven cycles, including those of human society.

Ultimately, however, each of us chooses our own personal destiny by the life we choose to live. The focus of our personal life will direct us towards our next destination. Our consciousness determines where we go. We don't have to go in the direction most others in our society are going. Today, for example, most of human society is in a mad race for the attractions of the physical world: Wealth, fame, sexual pleasure, over-eating, and so on. These attractions only lead us towards continued existence within the physical world - the world of pain, disease, old age, and death.

But if one uses the human form of life to develop our natural love for the Supreme Being, our consciousness will direct us back home to the spiritual realm, where we can live eternally. The spiritual realm has no death, disease or old age. The spiritual realm is not governed by time. The spiritual realm is governed by love, and by the Supreme Being, a kind, fun and loving person that everyone in the spiritual realm is attached to.

It is our choice: Each of us decides our own personal fate by where we put our day-to-day, moment-to-moment focus upon: Ourselves - and the attractions of this temporary physical world - or the Supreme Being and His loving nature. We can each decide for ourselves whether we want to continue walking alone, or decide to _walk with God._

#  Genesis 7:1-4

# "Go into the ark, you and your whole family ..."

_"Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made." (Genesis 7:1-4)_

### Why did God choose Noah and his family?

Here the Supreme Being is giving Noah instructions to counteract the great flood to come. This text clearly indicates that Noah had a personal relationship with the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being was giving Noah instructions, and Noah was following those instructions. This indicates not only dedication, but trust. Noah trusted in the Supreme Being. He loved and served God. This confirms that the Supreme Being is a person - a person we can have a personal relationship with.

Noah's devotion was not only indicated by God's saying that _"I have found you righteous,"_ but was also confirmed by the verse following:

_And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. (Genesis 7:5)_

Noah could have rejected God's instructions. He could have doubted Him. But he didn't because he was devoted to the Supreme Being. This devotion is why the Supreme Being entrusted Noah to carry forth the next generation.

The flood indicates the complete authority of the Supreme Being. Through nature, the Supreme Being has the ability to create and rearrange and restructure civilization as needed. We can see from the text that all creatures were not being wiped out. Rather, a certain segment of society and certain animals were being eliminated. This is opposed to aquatic creatures, birds and other creatures that can survive in the air or water.

In the end, a degraded part of human society was being cleansed and repopulated.

Genesis 7:21 confirms the event:

_Every living thing that moved on the earth perished--birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind._

### Did God really wipe out all humans except Noah?

The translators and interpreters of these texts indicate that God is vengeful, gets angry at people and lashes out at humanity. Let's discuss this in a moment.

But first we must ask whether the flood is a historical event. Did the flood really happen? The historical evidence of the flood is discussed with the previous verse. This indicates that while a flood did occur a few thousand years ago, it was not a flood that covered the entire earth. It was a regional flood, that covered a region of the Middle East.

Sure to those residents, it would have been considered the whole earth. But that's because the local people were not sailing ships around the world checking to see if everything was flooded. They just assumed that everything was flooded, since all the land around them was covered.

Does God really get mad at humanity and wipe out everyone when things get out of control? If we are speaking of God then how could things get out of His control. God is in full control all the time. How could anything take place out of His control?

Is this the same God that Moses, Jesus and others have encouraged us to love, serve and trust? How can they trust Him if things are out of His control? Or if He gets angry and is vengeful? How can we trust and love someone who is vengeful and lashes out towards all of humanity?

The fact is, the Supreme Being is not a vengeful or angry God as portrayed by the translators and scribes of these texts. And nothing takes place out of His control. He maintains control always.

Rather, the translators and scribes - most employed by emperors or ecclesiastical sectarian institutions - who have recorded, translated and characterized oral traditions of the ancient teachers - have mistranslated and mischaracterized those teachings, including this particular event.

They have portrayed the Supreme Being as a vengeful God in order to strike fear in the population, in order to gain followers and control people. This is what happens when scripture is handled and utilized by those focused upon their power and authority rather than truth.

### Are we really supposed to fear God?

This mischaracterization of these scriptural texts is confirmed by the choice of words for the Hebrew word ירא (yare'). This choice is wrongly made throughout the Old Testament. In most of these sectarian versions, ירא (yare') is typically translated to "fear." But in this context, the word actually refers to becoming awed or having reverence. It means honoring and respecting someone \- because they are awesome.

Being in awe, and honoring and respecting the Supreme Being is not the same thing as fearing God. A person can certainly love someone they are in awe with or revere. But it is difficult to love someone while being afraid of them.

The reality is that the Supreme Being cleansed the planet of civilization due to the degradation of society. This degradation was making it difficult for those who were sincerely seeking to revive their relationship with God and return home to the spiritual world due to the influences of society.

### What is the purpose of the flood?

The Supreme Being sets up this planet with a variety of choices and consequences for those choices. It is a place of learning, where every action has a consequence. This creates the ultimate learning experience, as we get to learn "real-time" how it feels to hurt or help others. These "real-time" lessons are ultimately consequences, enabling us to learn.

You see, we are temporary visitors in this world. We are temporarily occupying a physical body in order to learn these lessons. But rather than the Supreme Being necessarily teaching us directly, He set up a system whereby we automatically learn by doing.

These physical bodies we each wear are temporary vehicles. And this physical world is a rehabilitation center. The physical world was created to house those persons who decided they did not want to live in the spiritual world, exchanging a loving relationship with the Supreme Being. Instead, we became envious of the Supreme Being, wanting to enjoy as He enjoys.

So He built us a place where we could virtually get away from Him. He gave us these physical bodies to act out our desires.

These bodies, however, are all temporary. They are virtual. They could be compared to a person's computer identity \- a gravatar or internet handle. When a person signs on to their email account or a website they assume a virtual identity. When they play a computer game, they may assume an icon with this identity. This identity and icon are separate from the person operating the computer. This virtual identity can be changed or even erased from the computer without affecting the computer operator.

In the same way, we wear these physical bodies temporarily. When they die, we do not die. We simply move on according to our consciousness. This means that no one died in the Great Flood. Those persons occupying those temporary bodies simply migrated to new physical bodies.

The Supreme Being created the physical world as a rehabilitation center, to teach us about love. Because we became self-centered, we now need to be taught about love. This is why there are consequences in the physical world. If we hurt someone, we will be hurt. If we help someone, we will be helped. These are set up to help teach us the effects of our actions, to give us an awareness of others, and encourage us to consider and care about others.

### Why is loving God and loving others so important?

Loving others and loving the Supreme Being is our natural position. We are not self-centered entities by nature. We are caregivers by nature.

The Supreme Being is trying to show us our real nature so that we can return to our home in the spiritual world and our natural positions.

This means that through the faculties of nature, God has arranged the physical world to help us. He is like the teacher rearranging the classroom and we are the students in the classroom. He may call a recess so that everyone must leave the room. This gives Him the opportunity to rearrange and reorganize the classroom so that when we return to a better opportunity to learn.

This is precisely what the Supreme Being is doing with the flood. Human society - at least in that region - became degraded to the point where there were significant consequences to previous activities. This resulted in a cleansing in this region.

As we see here, God's relationship with Noah was different. Noah was dedicated to God, so God took care of Noah. He protected Noah and those animals around Noah. He helped Noah preserve his lifestyle despite the inundation.

This illustrates that a loving relationship was involved between Noah and the Supreme Being.

We each need such a relationship. This is the teaching of this part of Genesis. That each of us needs to take refuge in the Supreme Being. When we do that, God will look out for us.

This is part of our innate, natural relationship with the Supreme Being. We are caregivers of God - but He is also our Supreme caregiver.

#  Genesis 8:16-17

# "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons ..."

_"Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you - the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground - so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it." (Genesis 8:16-17)_

### What is God instructing Noah and the animals to do?

Here the Supreme Being instructs to Noah after the flood waters abated and Noah could return to the land:

_By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry. (Gen. 8:13-14)_

This text naturally brings up the element of age. Did humans really live to be hundreds of years old, just 4,000 years ago as ecclesiastical Christians and Hebrews contend?

But what about this verse in Genesis 6:3:

_"My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."_

Does this mean that the first generations of humans, from Adam down to Noah, all lived these extended lives, and then afterward humans only lived 120 years max?

According to later texts of Genesis. After Noah, Shelah lived 403 years, Eber lived 430 years, Peleg lived 209 years, Reu lived 207 years, Serug lived 200 years and Amram lived 137 years.

These questions relate to the accuracy of Genesis in terms of being a historical record. If men were living nearly a thousand years prior to 4,000 years ago, we would find a completely different set of ancient bones at archaeological sites around the world. We would find human remains of people that, when carbon dated, would determine they lived lifespans of between 500 and 1,000 years. After all, Methuselah lived for 969 years according to Genesis 5:27, and Mahalalel lived for 895 years according to Genesis 5:17. And Seth lived 807 years, Adam lived 930 years according to Genesis. Adam and Enosh also apparently had children after they had lived 800 years according to Genesis.

### Is the earth really 5,000 years old?

This does not even touch upon the real conflict with science here: The texts of the Bible indicate that humanity (and the entire planet) is merely 5,000 years old, while archaeologists have dated humanity and humanoids over two million years ago using carbon dating, and the planet to over a billion years old.

And this consideration does not include the feasibility of a normal human being and his family (Noah) being able to build by hand a boat large enough, and round up every wild animal and creature around the world and put them into such a boat that can survive such a deluge

These implausibilities and conflicts with time and science have been produced by progressive mistranslation and misinterpretation of scripture by various groups of ecclesiastical scribes over the centuries. Rather than providing focus on preserving their scriptural teachings, these scribes were ordered to produce a sort of proprietary history of the world by piecing together a myriad of sometimes unrelated manuscripts. These were attempts to produce a history of the world that established certain tribes race as the "chosen people of God" with ownership rights to their "promised land."

The fact is, the texts of Genesis and the rest of the Five Books of the Torah are consolidations of a huge collection of manuscripts that were largely unrelated to each other. These manuscripts reflected oral teachings of many great spiritual masters over the centuries, passed down from devoted teacher to devoted student for centuries prior to being recorded in written form. Evidence allows historians to now estimate that over a thousand different manuscripts were accepted by different sectarian groups as scripture and among the different libraries and temples throughout Judea, Greece, Rome, Egypt, and other Middle East regions.

Most of these manuscripts were eliminated from inclusion into the Five Books of the Torah and the first Bibles of the early Church. Why? Because they did not fit the agendas of those who governed the process: Emperors who sought to utilize a consolidation of scripture to shore up their power and authority over the people and their ownership rights to certain lands.

This brought on the unfortunate circumstance of many of these early scriptural manuscripts being destroyed by burning.

This also means that if one tries to use the Bible to recount the years, many texts (and years) will be missing.

### Why did the Romans destroy much of the scriptures?

There were many other ancient scrolls besides the ones that ended up in the Bible. Where did they all go? After the books of the Bible were chosen and pieced together, the Romans and their Roman Catholic henchmen burnt most of the existing libraries of other scriptural texts, destroying any evidence of their existence. A few such manuscripts have surfaced, such as those found in the Judean deserts - dubbed the Dead Sea Scrolls. As historians piece together the historical record, it has become obvious that other emperors over the years have also attempted to destroy the existence of scriptures during consolidations in order to secure a version of history that supported their authority.

In other words, the Bible is not a "book," and the "books" of the Bible are not each a whole "book." They are consolidated compilations of selected manuscripts to provide a particular scenario. This piecing together of the Torah and later the Bible was governed by those who sought to control the population by creating a single interpretation of history. This effectively organized the respective populations into one institution that could be managed and governed by a particular ruler or emperor.

In the business world, we call this consolidation. When there are various businesses or splinter groups in a marketplace, a larger enterprise can eliminate competition and consolidate the market by eliminating the competition. This can be done by buying out competing companies or eliminating them through other strategies.

Consolidation among religious institutions is done to consolidate power and authority. One might say that consolidation helps make sure that everyone is hearing the same interpretation, but this again is driven by the desire for control. Because spiritual life is a personal journey, and each person must ultimately choose who and what they want to follow, consolidation among religious institutions provides the function of removing the freedom to choose. Religious consolidation only seeks to impersonalize the process (and God) while creating an all-power institution that governs and dictates peoples' choices.

The bottom line is that the consolidations of religious institutions that have occurred through the centuries have not taken place to benefit the personal experience of a person regaining their relationship with the Supreme Being. They were instituted to benefit those kings and emperors who have sought to exert control over the population.

### What about modern compilations?

These collections of scriptures - accumulated into the Holy Bible. The Bible is a consolidation. They were consolidated to achieve many purposes. But what they are not is a chronology of the history of the world.

EWe know this for a fact as we can see so many divergent histories among Asia, Northern Europe, the Islands of the Pacific and other regions of the world were not included in these supposed histories.

Furthermore, these supposed histories do not even trace through all of the events that took place among the Israelites over these few thousand years.

In other words, the Bible is not even a complete history of Israel. Rather, it is a loose consolidation of a collection of events.

We might compare this to an English teacher who asked all her students to each write a paper about something that occurred in their lives at some point. When the teacher collects all the papers, she sorts together the papers into what appears to be chronological order - starting with the events that occurred in younger years among her students and ending with events that occurred in their older years. The teacher also eliminates some of the papers that seem to conflict. The teacher then binds together the papers into a book, and then claims the book is a history of the students in her school.

Would this be a correct interpretation of those papers? No, because the papers were each discussing individual events that seemed important to them. The collection of papers does not provide enough data to be a historical record, as the focus is on particular events that were important to each student.

In the same way, the thousands of scriptural texts that were among the libraries of Judea, Greece, Rome and the rest of the Middle East were largely unrelated to each other, as they were the recordings of lessons taught by spiritual teachers who described a particular event in order to teach a spiritual lesson.

Some of the events pieced together from different manuscripts were parables deep in symbolism. Others were loosely described events that had been passed down for many centuries with the mixing of some detail with dialogue. Some of these illustrate symbolic meanings together with events illustrating devotion and commitment. In some cases, the actual event was expanded or contracted to emphasize or illustrate the takeaway points.

The scribes working under consolidation-oriented emperors were commanded to piece together dates and events into what appears to be a chronological historical record. And those texts that did not support such a theoretical historical record were discarded.

It worked. These consolidated scriptures, together with ecclesiastical and government-controlled clergy, brought the various unmanaged groups under one institution. (With the exception of some devoted individuals guided by individual teachers, such as we find among the Essenes and Jesus himself, who rejected such consolidated institutions.)

This is also why the dates and chronologies in the Bible are all over the place. If this was a true historical record, each event would start with something like: "In 3500 B.C. there was a great flood."

### Is this a collection of family history?

The Old Testament contains a collection of loose family histories pieced together into a possible chronology to provide an illusion of historical context. And the reason the world has been aged at 5,000 years old by these institutional teachers is that this is what the ages and family lineages among the fathers and sons of the Bible add up to.

Yet we know humans are not 5,000 years old. We know this from archaeological digs and carbon dating systems. Humans and their humanoid ancestors are well over 2 million years old according to carbon-dated remains.

So what about the Great Flood of Noah? There is certainly some archaeological evidence that at one time - millions of years ago - the entire earth or most of it was covered with water. This does not mean this is the time of the flood, but there is some scientific basis for a flooded planet.

But what about the ages of Noah and others, and these extraordinary events? Could a human and his family single-handedly build such a large boat and personally go out and gather up couples of every wild creature around the whole planet?

There is another text to consider carefully amidst this notion of Noah's extraordinary abilities:

_The Nephilim were on the earth in those days--and also afterward--when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)_

We discussed this verse previously with re-translation/interpretation, but this does indicate at the minimum that there were differences between the Nephilim and humans. This and other verses also indicate that Noah was a Nephilim, and the Nephilim more decidedly more devoted to the Supreme Being than humans who were becoming increasingly degraded.

### Who were the Nephilim?

The question this brings up is whether the Nephilim were indeed more advanced and powerful than humans of today. We also understand from these texts that their power was accompanied by great devotion the Supreme Being.

Persons having greater power than we display are also discussed elsewhere in the scriptures. Some are spoken simply as angels, which others are decidedly physical in appearance.

The bottom line is that the Bible simply does not adequately provide enough detail about Noah and the Nephilim, and when this event occurred in time. This is quite simply because it was not intended to be communicated as part of a historical record. It was intended to provide a teaching moment.

### Did God allow scripture to be manipulated?

The question that some people of faith like to ask and answer: Does the Supreme Being allow scripture to be tainted like this? And if so, why?

Certainly, this illustrates that we are given the choice of either honoring and preserving scriptural texts or damaging them with misinterpretation and mistranslation. Scripture is pure as it is handed down from God and through His devoted representatives. But once out of their hands, 'pearls before swine' is often the situation.

This does not mean that the Supreme Being doesn't manage scripture at the end of the day. He is still the Supreme Being and the Controller of all. This means that ultimately He can control His message.

But He also grants us the freedom to abuse those vehicles (be they written works or otherwise) for that message, and corrupt them with greed. These corruptions, however, are still ultimately controlled by the Supreme Being. In the end, they produce results that allow us to make choices regarding our faith. They create situations for each of us that require us to look within and decide which way we want to turn - towards God or away from Him.

This is a constant in the physical world. We are constantly being offered choices. The choices we make lead us to new choices, and the succession of our choices creates a path for us. When we choose to trust in God, regardless of the squabbling of power-hungry institutions, we are led to new avenues and new choices that draw us closer and closer to God personally.

The present state of the Holy Bible is that it constantly presents choices to us. We might compare this to a test.

Let's say that a driving instructor is giving a student driver a driving test. During the first part of the test, the instructor will be testing the basics, to see if the student driver is ready to move on to the driving part of the test. So the instructor might ask the driver to prepare to drive. The instructor follows the student to the car, and the student gets into the passenger seat. Will the instructor feel confident about the student driver after this? No, because the student didn't even get into the right seat. Then say the instructor tells the student to get into the driver's seat. The first thing he notices is that the driver decides to start the car before fastening his seat belts. Or perhaps the driver starts up the car and immediately drives too fast or takes off on the wrong side of the road.

With any of these actions, the instructor is likely to cancel the driving test and tell the student to study the driving manual again before taking another driving test. This is because the student did not make the right choices. The student may know where the driver's seat is and may know to buckle up, but the choices the student made indicates there are some basic problems that need to be fixed, including having a little respect for the rules of the road.

Reading scripture engages a similar process of testing before the scriptures are opened up to that person. The first test is humility - not feeling we know it all - as we read about things we've never heard of or don't make sense at first. The next test is what we do about this humility. Do we just start speculating on their meaning? Do we try to make up our own interpretation? Do we make up our own new religion, as so many have among ecclesiastical Christianity over the centuries?

The next test is whether we ask for guidance. When we get confused, we have the choice to begin speculating or turn to God for guidance. If we choose the latter, the Supreme Being will indeed guide us. This guidance comes in the form of the Supreme Being from within, and in the form of the living spiritual teacher, God's representative. Without these two forms of guidance, scripture is not understood. The student will either be left with speculative interpretation or a lack of understanding.

When the student humbly requests and accepts this guidance offered by the Supreme Being, they begin the devotional path. As they travel that path, they will be able to see and understand the true meaning of scripture, assuming the guidance received is coming from the Supreme Being. Receiving guidance from a teacher who is not linked with the Supreme Being will not create a clear understanding of scripture. Such teachings will conflict with scripture and will be confusing. Such a teacher draws upon speculative mental interpretations rather than upon the Supreme Being.

A teacher who is not making up their own speculative interpretations is known when they pass down teachings given to them by another teacher linked with the Supreme Being. They are not speculating, and their teacher is not speculating. This is the humble path. This succession of humility produces a lineage of teachers, each passing down the same information about the Supreme Being, ultimately given by the Supreme Being.

### Does God need scripture to prove His existence?

Ultimately, the Supreme Being does not need scripture or any other tool to prove His existence. He could appear before any of us at any time. He has complete authority over the physical world.

But the Supreme Being does not appear before our physical eyes for a reason. The reason is that we wanted to run away from Him. We rejected our relationship with Him as one of His loving caregivers. We decided we didn't want to love and serve the Supreme Being. We decided we wanted others to love us and others to serve us. We wanted the Supreme Being's position.

So He sent us away from the spiritual realm - our original home - to this physical world. Here we can pretend He doesn't exist. Here we can pretend that the world revolves around us. Here we can pretend that we are the most important person in existence, and everyone should be loving and serving us. This illusion has been created by the Supreme Being through the elements of the physical world, and our occupancy of these temporary physical bodies.

The arrangement of the physical world gives us the ability to exercise our quest for freedom from Him. The Supreme Being gives us the freedom to love Him or not, and for those who want authority are given an illusion of authority within the physical world.

This authority is not real, however. It is like having play authority. We really have no real control over the physical universe. Our bodies are subject to disease, old age, and death. We lose whatever authority we think we have. Even the greatest emperors laid on their deathbeds helpless in the end.

Consider this analogy: Let's say that some parents have two small children who no longer want to play with their parents. They want to play on their own. They want to be independent. Say they are five years old, however, and they could not possibly be trusted to play on their own. What do the parents do? They set up a sandbox in the back yard where the children can play. They put the kids in the sandbox and they go in the house so that the kids cannot see them from the sandbox. Then they watch the kids to make sure the kids don't choke on sand or otherwise get hurt.

While the kids might think for a few minutes that they are playing "on their own," they are not. They are always under the supervision of their parents. And while the parents will let the kids play whatever game they want to play in the sandbox, ultimately they set the limits of the play, and when playtime is over, they pull the kids out of the sandbox.

This is analogous to where we are. We wanted independence from God. So He gave us an illusion of independence. We can never be truly independent of God, however. Because we are connected to Him by an eternal relationship of love.

So while we may mess up the teachings of His ancient representatives who taught their students spiritual lessons utilizing a blend of parable and history of previous devoted persons, the Supreme Being always provides to us an ultimate pathway back to Him for those who are ready to return to His loving arms.

The Supreme Being thus allows some scriptures to be tainted and mistranslated and misinterpreted to provide the continued illusion for those who want to utilize anything - even God's words - for their own self-centered purposes. These scriptures give those looking to achieve the illusion of authority and power over others by becoming a priest or minister without having to commit their lives to the Supreme Being. Those mistranslations of scripture allow those who want the acclaim of others to offer speculative interpretations based upon their own mental concoctions.

Those mistranslations of scripture also allow institutions to reign over their followers or subjects by bending history and the teachings of the prophets to fit their purposes of retaining that power and authority.

But through it all, for those who truly want to return home to the Supreme Being, there is an avenue to do so. Within even these mistranslated and misinterpreted scriptures lies the very hidden jewels that may be accessed by those who sincerely want to know more about the Supreme Being.

Those gems lie not within the mapping out of supposed chronologies or created histories. Rather, they lie within the various devotional relationships the scriptures reveal between God and some of His loving servants. It is these tender relationships that are retained through the tainting and mistranslations of scriptures. These relationships, such as the one existing between Noah and the Supreme Being here, tell of a loving God who watches over and protects Noah and His family. These texts tell of a devoted servant of God who will follow every instruction of his Beloved God. Why was Noah so devoted to God? Why did he trust God? Because he loved God.

This is illustrated by the Hebrew word עשה (`asah), translated to _"did"_ in the verse:

_And Noah did all that the LORD commanded him. (Gen. 7:5)_

While _"did"_ is not incorrect, the word עשה (`asah) indicates not just doing something, but doing something as a gift or offering. It is a _devotional activity._

These scriptures are full of discussions of such devotional activities. The relationship between Abraham and God, Moses and God, Job and God, David and God, Solomon and God, Eli and God, Samuel and God and so many others all tell not of relationships of anger and vengeance. But rather, relationships of devotion, commitment, and dedication. They tell of loving relationships between God and His loving caregivers.

### What is the covenant?

This devotional state has been described in some texts as a _"covenant."_ What is this _"covenant"_ between God and His loving devotees? Many would say it is a matter of some tribal people being the _"chosen people."_ This view, however, is tainted by greed and the desire for ownership. It is the desire to be special. This is self-centeredness.

The real _"covenant"_ being spoken of in the texts of the Bible and Torah between God and His beloved devoted servants is a relationship of love. The _"covenant"_ is love. It is caring. Both parties care about each other. Both parties are committed to each other. This is love, and this is the _stuff_ of the spiritual realm.

The rest of the details swirling around these various relationships and events describing these relationships between God and His devotees are simply that: Details. Does it matter whether Noah built the ark with his bare hands or whether he had legions of helpers? Does it matter whether the ark was a wooden watercraft or a type of spaceship? Does it matter whether Noah was a typical man who happened to live almost a thousand years or whether he was a superhuman? It matters not.

What matters is that Noah did whatever God asked of him because Noah was dedicated to God. And what matters is that God wanted to take care of Noah and wanted Noah to lead the new society. Why? Because God wanted Noah to be an example for others. He wanted others to see how loving God is done. He wanted to show us how fulfilling it can be to be one of the Supreme Being's devoted servants. He wanted to show us how He supports and lifts up those who follow Him.

The story of Noah and the flood provides more than a glimpse into the fabulous loving relationships between God and His caregivers. It also provides symbolism that we can apply to our personal lives. In addition to its event just consider its symbolism:

The floodwaters symbolize the waters of the material world that can drown us with their depth and ferocity of waves, currents, and undertow. This material physical world can swallow us up with treacherous waves and currents that sweep us around and eventually take us down with their undertow. We get pulled into the illusory promises of the physical world in the same way, and it pulls us down just as an undertow does.

Noah's ark symbolizes the vessel provided by following the instructions of God's representatives and scripture, which provides protection against the floodwaters of the physical world.

When the waters abate, the vessel arrives at its destination - dry land - which symbolizes our return to the spiritual world. The dry land symbolizes a place protected from the flood of desires and self-centeredness that currently are drowning our consciousness. This is the place of love and devotional activity to our Best Friend.

And Noah and his family's being _"fruitful and increase in number"_ symbolizes the effects of love for the Supreme Being. Love for God becomes fruitful for us as we have eternal life through it.

This is the nature of scripture. It is deep, meaningful and practical all at the same time. And its overall instruction is consistent with the specific instructions of all the great representatives of God:

_" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38 and Deut. 6:5)_

#  Genesis 8:21-22

# "Never again will I curse the ground because of man ... "

_Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Genesis 8:20-22)_

### Did God really say this?

This verse has been significantly misinterpreted and mistranslated by those not aware of the nature of the situation and not cognizant of the Personality of the Supreme Being. Thus they have misconstrued not only God's purpose but this very event.

This quote from God comes after Noah's offering \- but God is supposed to have said it "in His heart":

_The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in His heart: (Gen. 8:21)_

So we find out that God did not speak these words out loud to Noah. He said them _"in His heart"_?

How do we know that God said this if He said it _"in His heart"_? Did the writer know what was in God's _"heart"_? Could they read God's mind, in other words? And who did this - who read God's mind or _"heart"_?

And how do we know that God thought the aroma was pleasing? What is this aroma? The aroma of burnt bird bodies? Is that supposed to be a pleasing aroma?

The reality is that they are assuming the aroma was pleasing. Why would God be pleased by burnt birds?

In fact, this text clearly indicates that no one heard God say this. The statement is paraphrasing God's thoughts.

This also means that the author is not quoting the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being did not say this. No one heard Him say this.

Rather, the author is paraphrasing what he thinks God might have thought in response to Noah's offering to Him.

The paraphrasing of what was in God's _"heart"_ is an example of the allegory used by the ancient teachers as they discussed the relationships between God and His loving servants. They utilized parables and expanded events in order to teach us lessons about devotion to the Supreme Being.

### Did God really "curse" the ground?

This also brings to question whether the Supreme Being actually cursed the ground, as stated in this verse.

The word _"curse"_ comes from the Hebrew root קלל (qalal), which can mean _"curse"_ but also "to be slight, be abated (water)." It can also mean "to be swift," "trifling," "be insignificant" or "lightly esteemed."

Did He _"curse"_ something He made? This would be preposterous. The meaning of the word קלל (qalal) indicates a larger meaning than this.

And how about _"never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done."_ First this is inaccurate because God did not destroy all living creatures. Many creatures walked off of Noah's boat according to previous texts. In fact, by Noah's building the ark - which he did as instructed by God - he saved the living creatures. They repopulated the region and continued their existence.

And is it right that God would _"never again"_ destroy _"all"_ creatures? This in fact is not true, because _"all"_ the creatures die at some point. _Every_ creature dies. No _"creatures,"_ including humans, live for more than about 110 years, and most creatures die within a few years. So _every_ living creature dies.

And is God not responsible for the design of the physical universe, within which _all_ creatures die within a few decades at least?

So this statement is also not true. God not only did not say this as indicated by the text itself, but He did not think it. Because it is untrue.

### Is the Book of Genesis a single book?

The book of Genesis was not originally a single book. It is a consolidated collection of manuscripts from different authors - originating from ancient spiritual teachers who orally handed down knowledge to their students. When those students became teachers they passed on the teachings to their students. It was only in the centuries prior to Jesus' appearance that these oral teachings were recorded into writing, and later consolidated into a single book of Genesis within the Torah by ecclesiastic scribes. These are some of the same scribes that Jesus heavily criticized.

The motivation for the early written recordings was to preserve these teachings. However, over the centuries, as dictated by power-hungry rulers and their surrogate institutions - like the ones John the Baptist and Jesus Christ railed against - those texts were corrupted. Kings prior to the Roman occupation, along with Roman emperors after occupation understood the power of these texts over the people. So the manipulation of these texts, through interpretation, combination, and translation became a requisite for gaining and solidifying political control over the population.

Those emperors and the high priests who gained authority over the population utilized scripture to exercise their power. So as their surrogates consolidated and transcribed the various texts, they eliminated parts and patched other parts together in order to produce a text that supported their positions of authority.

This process of consolidation continued over the centuries under the reign of different emperors. After Herod's rule over Judea came a succession of brutal Roman emperors, such as Nero and Constantine, who violently ruled over the Jews and Christians. It was in Constantine's era we find another consolidation of selected manuscripts - again accompanied by the destruction of many others. This effort resulted in the Latin Bible of the early Roman church, which provided the foundation for the interpretation of Christianity and to a large degree Judaism through modern times.

Just as the Torah did, this new "book," called the Holy Bible, is a consolidated rearrangement of various manuscripts - inclusive of most of the Torah. Yet the Holy Bible translations do not support the same interpretations of God as put forth in the Torah. The Bible - put together by those not devoted to the teachings of the prophets, but rather were paid professionals obligated to those institutions that paid for their services - is arranged to present a completely different interpretation of God.

### Is God really angry and vengeful?

Despite the teachings and writings of His devoted prophets such as Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Samuel and others, some of the Torah transcriptions created a view of the Supreme Being as a mean, angry God who became vengeful. They depict God as becoming angry if His commandments were not followed. They depict God as becoming jealous when idols were being worshipped. They depict God as being hostile to humanity - such as the quote in Genesis 8:21-22 above contends.

Not only does this conflict with the teachings of so many of God's Prophets who taught that God was loving, caring and forgiving. This also conflicts with the teachings of Jesus, who taught of a merciful and loving God.

The Roman Bible tried to subterfuge the teachings of the Prophets in the Old Testament by painting their teachings as supposedly only having the purpose of predicting Jesus' later appearance. The Roman Bible was thus transcribed and rearranged to indicate that Jesus is the Supreme Being.

This conflicts directly to Jesus' own statements, such as:

_"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." (John 4:34)_

Why the difference? And why did Jesus, David, Moses, Samuel and other ancient teachers promote a loving, merciful God while many of the texts of the Old Testament promote God as an angry, vengeful God who _"curses the ground"_ and _"destroys all living creatures"?_

This is where we can see the mistranslation and misinterpretation produced by those transcribers who were not devoted themselves. As paid transcribers, their allegiance is to those who pay them - not to the Supreme Being. Thus they did not understand the words they were transcribing and translating.

### Did God really make all these mistakes?

The statement above being referred to as stated by God is merely paraphrasing. Who is God speaking to here? Is he telling Noah all this? Is God bleeding his heart out to Noah or something? Don't be ridiculous.

This paraphrasing creates not only the impression that the Supreme Being got angry and wiped out the earth because He didn't like _"the inclination"_ of man. It also creates the impression that God makes mistakes. It indicates here that God felt that He made a mistake when He created man in the first place. Then it indicates that God made a mistake when He sent the flood and destroyed _"all living creatures."_

Yet we know He did not destroy _"all living creatures"_ because Noah loaded in pairs of all the species into his giant yacht. So that part of the statement is not true.

In fact, the interpretation and translation of this text are also suspicious for other reasons. Consider this statement, after Noah's boat landed on dry land:

_All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds--everything that moves on the earth--came out of the ark, one kind after another. (Genesis 8:9)_

Just consider a few problems here. Were _"all the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds"_ really rounded up and put into a boat the size of the ark? First it must be assumed that not _"all the animals and all the creatures..."_ but rather, two of each species came out of the ark.

But this also means the boat must have been gigantic - larger even than one of our huge luxury cruise ships - in order to hold _"all"_ of the species. Furthermore, it would simply be a gargantuan task by Noah to scour all the various lands around the earth and collect all these species. How did Noah do that? Did he have a helicopter? An airplane? How did he get around the entire planet and collect the species?

And how could Noah have collected all the species from all over the world anyway? How about monkeys from Madagascar or Indonesia? How about kangaroos from Australia? How could Noah have traveled all around the world, since he only launched his boat before it started to rain?

Earlier in Genesis, it discusses how fish inhabited the oceans as well. This indicates there were also large oceans that Noah had to have gotten across in order to collect all those species from around the world. And these were wild animals - some very large. How did he move those animals to where he was building the ark?

Or did the species come to him? If so, did some of them swim the Atlantic from the Americas and all the little islands in the various oceans that contain different species? And if they could swim across the oceans, why would they need to be put into a boat to survive the flood?

And if they did somehow get to Noah's Ark, then how did they get back to their continents after the boat landed back in the Middle East?

And isn't it a coincidence that Noah's boat was launched from the Middle East and also landed back in the Middle East too?

Perhaps the "flood" was simply a regional flood. And the animals were those that lived around where Noah lived at the time.

As a result of these and other questions, scholars that have researched this event have considered more practical possibilities. One is the notion that the text is describing a historical flood event that took place around the Black Sea region. And the story of Noah is describing an event where a person built a boat big enough to house species found in that region of Judea.

In other words, the hypothesis that this event describes a regional event in ancient times, later expanded into a planetary flood by ecclesiastical scribes wanting to expand the influence of their sect.

The reality of a regional flood is supported by archeological findings. There is little archeological evidence showing a worldwide flood within the last 5,000 years.

### Did the flood occur?

This isn't to say that the flood did not occur, nor that Noah did not exist. It is simply that there is quite a bit of evidence showing that the text has been manipulated and the event expanded outside of its original context.

There is archaeological evidence of deluges that have occurred thousands of years ago. And there is also evidence that the creatures of different regions were nearly wiped out - not only once, but periodically.

In reality, the archaeological evidence presents that the earth has suffered repeated periodic deluges, from floods to asteroids to cataclysmic volcanic eruptions. Each of these has led to a repopulating of life as has been found among the fossil evidence.

And as for Noah's powers, and ability to build the ark and gather up so many creatures, the correct interpretation of these texts is that the event has been subjected to some combination of mischaracterization and mistranslation as it was passed on and then transcribed. Some details are missed while others are pieced together through interpretative speculation.

The reason is that Genesis is not a complete recording of the events portrayed during these ancient times. While this does not necessarily negate that this event happened, it shows what can happen when scripture is mishandled by those who want to use it and abuse it for their own purposes of establishing power and authority for themselves and their institutions.

Let's use an example. Let's say that a teenager sneaks out in the middle of the night to hang out with his friends. He then gets into trouble - say he and his friends break the window of a store and get taken down to the police department. When the police and parents ask the boy what happened, he embellishes. He mischaracterizes some of the facts and embellishes on other lesser-known details, in order to give the impression that the window being broken was all a mistake. He wants to put a "spin" on the story in order to portray himself in the best light.

In the same way, Genesis utilizes some facts but then embellishes on areas that have little or no basis in reality. This leaves many parts of the texts in a nebulous region of part history, part myth.

### Which parts are history and which are myth?

It is not that difficult to tell the difference.

The details reveal the difference. Areas that leave many gaping holes or impractical events become evident.

The editing and consolidation of the original manuscript sources are compounded by interpretive statements like the one above that depict God as an angry vengeful God who makes mistakes. They depict God as someone who made a mistake creating humanity and who regretted the flood.

A person who regrets their actions is fallible. The Supreme Being is not fallible. The Supreme Being does not make mistakes or regret His actions.

### Aren't there great floods from other ancient texts?

It is interesting that other ancient texts or scriptures - some much older than the books of the Torah - also describe a great flood.

For example, there are multiple references in ancient Greek texts that indicate significant floods. During the rule of Ogyges, a king in Africa, there was a great deluge that occurred, according to Plato, about 10,000 years before his time. Some have interpreted this to be the period where the Atlantis island and Athens were flooded.

Then there is the description of a great flood from the Vedic scriptures of India. This is the story of Manu. Here there are some consistent themes, such as regarding the repopulating of the earth after the great flood of Manu. But there is no depiction of the Supreme Being as being angry, vengeful and regretting past errors.

Like the Greek texts, the texts of the Vedas also tell of a higher race of people who had greater power and authority than humans. This is reminiscent of the Nephilim described in Genesis - as being larger than humans and more devoted to God.

In the Vedic texts, these are described as demigods, and their descriptions of the various demigods match closely to the descriptions of the Roman and Greek gods, as well as many of the Egyptian gods and the gods of other traditions. And despite the mischaracterizations by many, the ancient Vedas also describe a single Supreme Being, and a lineage of devoted persons who also made offerings to Him and taught love for God, just as the Old Testament and the Torah describes with the lineage of prophets.

Nearly all of the scriptures of the world have descended from ancient teachers who were originally passing on Truths about the nature of humanity and the nature of the Supreme Being. But unfortunately, many of their teachings were subjected to varying degrees of mistranslation and misinterpretation as they were recorded. These were sometimes done by those who also formed the various political or sectarian institutions set up to dominate populations of people.

This does not mean these texts have lost their potency. Nearly all the scriptures and ancient texts we find today, even though they may have been manipulated, mistranslated and misinterpreted, will still contain the essence of the teachings and the ancient teachers they portray. This essence cannot be lost as details are manipulated; or abandoned as related texts were destroyed.

### And what is this essence?

It is the loving relationships that exist between the Supreme Being and His devoted servants. These eternal relationships of love are never lost. Because the Supreme Being will not let those relationships become lost, even if the texts have become mangled and misrepresented.

Consider the relationship between Noah and the Supreme Being. After the flood, the first thing Noah did was build an altar to worship his Beloved Supreme Being:

_Then Noah built an altar to the LORD (Genesis 8:20)_

Then he made offerings to God:

_he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. (Gen. 8:20)_

What is an offering? An offering is an act of loving devotion. Any time we make an offering to someone we are giving a gift to that person. We are extending our love and devotion to that person. This is what Noah was doing, because he loved the Supreme Being.

What is clear from the text illustrates elements of His relationship with His loving servants like Noah.

By the text we can understand that God was pleased with Noah. He accepted Noah's humble offering and felt compassion for Noah and his fellow creatures. The Supreme Being felt love and compassion for every living being on the earth. This is God's nature. He is a loving God who cares about His creation.

It is we who have turned from God, and this is why we are here, away from Him. It is not God that makes mistakes. God simply made us with the gift of freedom. That means each of us has the freedom to make mistakes.

The word _"evil"_ is being translated from the Hebrew root רע (ra`) which can mean _"evil"_ but also "malignant," "sad," "hurtful," and "displeasing."

Those of us who have turned our backs on the Supreme Being have become displeasing to God because He knows we will only be happy when we are loving Him and His children. We became self-centered and envious, and because of this, He sent us to this physical world where we took on these physical bodies in order to exercise our desires.

The Supreme Being wants us to return to Him. This is why the physical world is full of challenges and consequences. Because this is a place of learning. We are being taught lessons about love and about caring for others.

### What is the meaning behind the story of Noah?

The story of Noah and the flood as passed on through the Old Testament contains numerous allegories, allowing us to relate to the event and learn from it. This type of storytelling is useful for those who want to simplify a complicated situation so it can be digested by someone who cannot grasp the entire situation. The story is being simplified for those who would not be able to understand the technology involved in the actual event.

On top of this, this simplified version was mistranslated and mistranscribed as professional ecclesiastical scribes over the centuries have made efforts to try to fit the story into their speculative concept of what happened.

And as for God's paraphrased " _what was in His heart,"_ the ancient tale of Noah and the Supreme Being is telling a larger story about the Supreme Being's relationship with Noah, and Noah's relationship with God.

After Noah's offering, the Supreme Being and Noah shared an intimate exchange of love. This exchange is being expanded upon by presenting that the Supreme Being pledged to Noah that even though the inhabitants of the planet were self-centered at heart, He would always be there for them when they wanted to return to Him.

The Supreme Being was not promising to never destroy the creatures of the earth. He was assuring us that we are eternal and we never die. Our physical bodies are designed to get diseased and die. But this is not us. We are not these physical bodies. We are eternal persons.

The Supreme Being is always there for us, and He is eternally waiting for us to return to Him in the spiritual realm. While He can present us with various lessons in hopes that we learn to love, He never forces us to love Him. That is our choice. We can always make a choice to return to Him, and He will never give up on us.

This is what was trying to be communicated by the ancient teachers within the story of Noah. In this light, a more appropriate translation of this paraphrased thought by God, given the Hebrew usage, would be something to the effect of:

_"I will never give up on humanity despite the inclination of their hearts to be self-centered. I will also never give up on any living creature. As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, I will remain, waiting patiently, eternally." (Genesis 8:21-22)_

#  Genesis 9:1-7

# "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth ..."

_Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it." (Genesis 9:1-7)_

### What does God want us to eat?

This text clarifies the recommended diet determined by the Supreme Being as best for humans. It also describes the physical world as a place of consequence.

The Supreme Being's statement begins by saying that all the creatures will respect and even fear humans. This is a true fact, and we see this throughout the animal kingdom and all of the species below the human species. We truly are the most respected species.

However, there is room to translate the Hebrew words מורא (mowra') and חת (chath) to _awe and respect_ rather than _fear and dread_ according to the lexicon.

Does this mean that humans should hurt and maim animals and other species? Does it mean we should torture animals, imprison them in cages, conduct medical research on them and kill them needlessly?

Yet many teachers from the various religious sects that accept Genesis as scripture will teach that animals do not have souls, and thus do not feel pain. They contend that these creatures are not alive as humans are alive.

This teaching has no basis, either in practicality nor logic. It is proven both scientifically and through simple observation that animals and other species all feel pain when they are hurt or killed. Anyone with eyes and ears can hear the screams of animals being slaughtered. Are they not screaming in pain? Do they not run away from the potential of being hurt? And scientific research shows that their bodies transmit pain signals to their brains just as human bodies do.

### Do animals have souls?

This text in Genesis also tells us that creatures also have souls. The soul is the person - the entity and personality, who sees through the eyes and feels through the body.

The Supreme Being confirms this in His statement above:

_"But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man."_

This states clearly that both humans and animals have _"lifeblood."_ The word _"lifeblood"_ is being translated from two Hebrew words: דם (dam) and נפש (nephesh). The word דם (dam) translates to _"blood,"_ and according to the lexicon, נפש (nephesh) translates to _"soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion;" "that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul;" "living being;" "living being (with life in the blood);"_ and _"the man himself, self, person or individual."_

We can clearly see that this word נפש (nephesh) is being applied to both animals and humans in this text:

_"But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it."_

This word is also applied equally to man:

_"And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting."_

In other words, both humans and animals have _"lifeblood"_ according to the Supreme Being. And because the _"life"_ portion of _"lifeblood"_ comes from the Hebrew word נפש (nephesh), this means that both animals and humans contain the same essence: a person.

This person is a spiritual being. Each of us is a spiritual being underneath the temporary physical bodies we wear. The spiritual being maintains an existence outside the physical realm - therefore it can occupy a variety of different types of physical bodies.

Who do we think is looking back at us through the eyes of a dog, cat, cow, elephant or another animal? Who is looking back at us? Are they just machines made of flesh? If so, why do they scream when they are harmed?

Why, then, do some people love their pets? Are they loving machines? Who are these pet owners exchanging a relationship with when they pet their cat or play frisbee catch with their dog? Within the bodies of these pets are living beings, and most people with long-time pets consider their pets as family members precisely because their pets are living beings.

So why won't meat-eaters kill and eat their dogs and cats, yet have no problems killing and eating cows? Why don't people eat their pets? Because they accept their pet as a living being and do not want to inflict pain upon them.

But is there any real difference between a dog or cat and a cow or chicken? In fact, in some countries such as the Philippines, some people eat dogs but not cows.

### Is the human body designed to eat meat?

It is clear that the Supreme Being prefers that we eat plant-based foods. _"Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything"_ confirms other statements that the Supreme Being prefers humans eat a plant-based diet:

_"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food." (Genesis 1:29)_

So why is God now allowing humans to eat meat, after He designed our bodies for eating plant-based foods?

Designed? Yes. Not only did the Supreme Being recommend that humans eat plant-based foods. The human body is _designed_ for eating seeds, nuts, grains, fruits, vegetables and so on. Just look at our hands. Do our hands have claws that can rip into flesh like a tiger's claw can? No. We have stubby fingers that can crack nuts, pull up roots and pick and peel fruit.

Do we have razor-like meat-eating teeth like tigers or sharks have? No. Our teeth are mostly good for cracking and grinding food.

In order to eat meat, we have to use tools, we have to create knives or guns to kill animals with and forks and knives to cut and saw the meat with in order to eat it.

The bodies of true meat-eaters do not need tools to eat their foods: They can tear flesh with their nails and teeth and eat it immediately. Many can also eat an entire animal at one sitting due to their expandable digestive tracts - leaving none of the meat behind to rot. (Humans have to figure out a way to store the meat.)

Meat-eating animals can also run fast in order to catch their prey. Humans are very slow compared to most animals. Without spears, guns or other tools, we can hardly catch any prey.

Our digestive tracts were also not designed for meat. Meat-eaters have short, fat, expandable intestines that can quickly digest large chunks of meat before it begins to decompose. We have long, thin digestive tracts intended to slowly break down grains, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables.

Furthermore, recent research has established that a plant-based diet is healthier for humans, and red meat-diets increase the risk of numerous cancers, including colon cancer among humans. This is because the human colon is not designed to digest meat.

Since the Supreme Being ultimately designed and created our physical bodies, we can know He does not prefer that we eat meat. This is confirmed by Genesis 1:29 as quoted above.

But we can also know from this statement in Genesis 9 that at some point the Supreme Being gave an allowance for eating meat to humans. But with an important requirement: That all the blood is drained from the animal before it is eaten:  
_"But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it."_

Why is this? As mentioned above, because the blood represents the living essence of the animals, the Supreme Being instructs that the blood be drained. The blood of an animal contains various biochemicals, which can alter the human body and nervous system. These biochemicals include hormones and neurotransmitters that will alter our brain and nerves. Because an animal becomes fearful and struggles for survival when being slaughtered, their blood will contain high levels of those hormones and neurotransmitters. When humans eat those, there is a greater propensity for violence and anger. For this reason, the Supreme Being did not want His followers to eat the blood of animals.

The Supreme Being is setting down a critical requirement for those who want to eat meat. It is not easy to drain the blood from an animal before eating it. Yet this is precisely what was instructed by God for those who needed to eat meat to survive.

So do the various organized religious institutions who accept Genesis as scripture follow this edict as instructed by the Supreme Being? No. Most simply eat bloody meat without restriction. Some follow rules with regard to eating certain types of animals (as discussed elsewhere in the scriptures), and some may abstain from eating meat for one day a week or during the daytime for a period. But practically none of these institutions maintains the Supreme Being's instructions to Noah.

Yet there are clear indications that a number of devoted saints had primarily plant-based diets. These include Daniel, John the Baptist, Jesus and others. They understood the Supreme Being preferred they not eat meat. And they lived to please the Supreme Being.

### What does diet have to do with consequences?

So why again would the Supreme Being create this allowance for Noah and his sons? The answer to this is that following the flood, some environments were not conducive to eating vegetables. Regions covered with snow for much of the year, or desert regions where there are few plants and too little water to grow crops make it difficult to maintain a plant-based diet.

This is especially true for much of the Middle East - a land of many desert regions and too few trees, and a scarcity of water for growing crops.

So the Supreme Being makes allowances according to the time and place. Does this mean that we should not try to eat primarily plant-based foods today? In our modern societies, there is plenty of healthy plant-based foods to eat. Most of us do not need to kill animals to survive. But if we were starving in the desert or the tundra, certainly there is an allowance for these situations.

The Supreme Being confirms in this text that there are consequences to our actions, and should we needlessly hurt and murder animals for food when we have plenty of other food, we will be held responsible:

_"And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man."_

The term _"an accounting"_ comes from the Hebrew root word דרש (darash), which means a requirement - or better, consequence - that arises from a particular activity.

The Supreme Being is describing that He created this physical world with consequences - and not just regarding our actions that affect other humans. There are consequences for hurting other humans and for hurting animals unnecessarily.

We can see how the law of consequence with regard to humans is stated clearly:

_"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed."_

This indicates that the consequence of killing another human body is to have one's physical body killed. This is necessary to provide a reckoning - or consequence.

This doesn't mean that humans should necessarily step in and do this. God's laws of consequence are always fair. Yes, it is important to remove the freedom of a person who is convicted of murder so the person cannot murder someone else.

Humans are fallible, so it is very possible that a person is convicted of murder by mistake. Because we are prone to mistakes, we must be careful about taking the law into our hands and murdering a convicted murderer.

### What is our composition?

We are spiritual living beings, only temporarily driving these physical bodies - much as a person drives a car. They are our temporary vehicles. They are not us. We are not killed when our body dies. We continue to live long after the body dies.

As we move on to another lifetime, we take with us the results of our previous activities. We must at some point suffer the consequences of any action that hurt another person or animal. These depend upon the degree of our awareness. The physical world was automatically programmed with consequences, much as a computer video game is programmed to keep scores and penalize players for certain operations.

This means that if the body of a murderer is not killed as a consequence of killing someone else, then they must suffer being killed in another lifetime. We each carry our uncleared consequences with us - and they help determine what kind of body and environment we end up with in the next lifetime - assuming we return to the physical world (the equivalent to "going to hell" as the physical world is in fact, hell).

This is why some people are born in environments of brutal suffering. They inflicted suffering onto others in their previous lives.

Note that the transmigration of the self was taught by early Church leaders such as Origen and even Jesus.

Those who do not accept this cannot logically explain why some children are born into environments of starvation, or are born with physical defects. Is the Supreme Being cruel and unfair? Why are some people born in peaceful, rich societies and others born into warring societies and starvation?

This statement by the Supreme Being confirms it: This world has built-in _"accounting"_ that requires every action to produce a consequence. This is part of His programming of the physical world. Whatever we do that affects others has the consequence of us having to experience what we caused others to experience.

This consequential programming allows us to evolve and learn. It forces us to realize what it feels like to experience what our actions forced others to experience. This is because the Supreme Being wants to teach us to once again care for each other, and love each other.

This is ultimately designed to raise our consciousness so that we are ready to return to the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is our home - it is a place of loving relationships and loving service. And the Supreme Being is the center of these loving relationships.

This means in order to return to the spiritual realm we must re-kindle our caregiving relationship with the Supreme Being and His children. This means we must raise our consciousness.

### Is our consciousness tied to our diets?

What we choose to eat affects our consciousness from both a subtle level and a physical level. A diet that is all or mostly plant-based foods is better for our consciousness because we are producing less harm.

As we produce less harm we are able to evolve spiritually. This allows us to gradually begin to care for all other living beings - not just humans. If we are caring for animals we will not eat them unnecessarily. Even if we pay for someone else to slaughter a cow for us, we are involved in that slaughtering. Unless we have no other food to eat, we are unnecessarily inflicting pain upon innocent animals.

And as described above, our consciousness is also influenced by the many biochemical components of meat that produce a greater tendency for anger and violence.

In the end, it is about love. Love for others, and love for the Supreme Being. This is our nature: to love. Raising our consciousness means learning to love others, and learning ultimately to love and serve the Supreme Being. This is why we all search for true love throughout our lives. We are looking for our lost loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

And this is why Jesus and Moses both taught:

_" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38 and Deut. 6:5)_

#  Genesis 9:9-18

# "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants ..."

_Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you--the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you--every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth. This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth." (Genesis 9:8-17)_

### Is God forgetful?

This statement attributed to God speaking to Noah seems to indicate that God created the rainbow in order to remember His covenant with Noah. Could this be true? Does the Supreme Being - who owns and controls everything, knows everything and governs everything - need a reminder of a promise ( _"covenant_ ") that He made? Is the Supreme Being forgetful? Does He need a rainbow to remind Him of a promise?

Perhaps, as many sectarian institutions imagine, God is an old man with gray hair, that God can be senile in His old age? That He could be prone to forgetfulness?

No. The Supreme Being is never forgetful. This shortcoming is a quality of humans and others but not God. The only way God could be forgetful is if He wants to forget something. But even then, He is never controlled by forgetfulness. He can recall any and every event that has ever occurred within every dimension and universe.

Furthermore, is the Supreme Being racist? This is the implications of such a "covenant" with a particular family or heritage of people. Why would God prefer one race over another? This is simply a product of a particular tribe wanting to exert authority.

### Did the flood happen?

As discussed previously, this story of Noah was passed down orally for thousands of years before being written down. As this naturally occurs, the accuracy of the story developed features that turned the story into a fable. Yes, it contains various lessons. But it is still a fable.

The reality is that there was no worldwide inundation that covered the entire earth around the time of Noah. This would be obvious from an archeological standpoint. If this were true, there would have been a mass extinction of humanity all at the same time, about 4,000 years ago. That simply did not happen according to archeological science. This includes the ability of geologists to measure earth cores and strata that illustrate the various events and atmospheric catastrophes of the past.

However, archeology has determined that there was a large regional event in the Middle East that occurred between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago according to geological records and ancient shoreline deposits. The archeology appears to show that the Black Sea region was inundated with a wall of water. Prior to this, according to the records, the region now known as the Black Sea had a freshwater lake. Once flooded by the Mediterranean sea, the inland sea became a large saltwater lake according to geological records.

Indeed, such a flood would have covered their entire world back then - as global communications and travel were not so abundant. But the entire planet was not flooded out.

Such extensions of the fable-like quality of many of Genesis events are obvious. For example, Genesis 9:29 says that Noah lived to 950 years, and many others lived three or four hundred years. Genesis also states that _The Nephilim were on the earth in those days. (Genesis 6:4)_

These and other events open up many areas of speculative discovery, yes. But they also point to a number of mythological portions of the Book of Genesis. Some of these, such as the story of Adam and Eve, contain specific lessons, as handed down through the generations of teachers. Let's look at this aspect closely as we examine the above verses.

### Was the covenant about the 'chosen people' of Israel?

Such a _"covenant"_ wasn't about the Israelites being the "chosen people" as many have interpreted these verses to mean. The Supreme Being was not granting to Noah's _descendants_ \- supposedly the Israelites - some special right of ownership of lands, as has been taught over the centuries in order to utilize scripture for the purpose of power and authority.

The words being translated to "your descendants after you" are זֶרַע (zera`) and אַחַר ('achar). The first word זֶרַע can relate to one's seed, but also to a person with the same moral quality according to Strong's lexicon. It can mean, "a practitioner of righteousness."

This indicates a completely different context. God wasn't speaking of the descendants of Noah - as though any one of his family members was automatically part of the covenant regardless of what they did or how they felt about God. God was speaking of those who had Noah's moral compass - meaning his devotion to God.

This is confirmed by the next word, אַחַר. This indicates _those who follow_ according to the lexicon. This indicates those who follow in the footsteps of Noah. This relates again to those who assume the same devotional relationship with the Supreme Being as Noah has.

There is actually no justification for claiming that the so-called "chosen people" are specifically those whose temporary physical bodies are of Judean ancestry.

Besides, if we assume that every human other than Noah and his family died in the flood, Noah would effectively be the father of all races and societies of the world. Whether Europeans, Africans, Hawaiians, Chinese, Japanese, Americans or Middle Easterners, we would all be descendants of Noah, and thus have this potential _covenant_ with God.

And not only is God making this _covenant_ with all of humanity. God is also making the covenant with all living creatures:

_"I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you--the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you--every living creature on earth."_

The covenant, therefore, has nothing to do with any race, nationality or religious preference, as it covers _"every living creature on earth."_

### What is this covenant then?

So what is this _"covenant"_ that the Supreme Being is communicating to Noah here? Is it about never causing a flood and the mass-destruction of populations again?

This is contradicted by history and observation. Every single living creature - whether human, bird, animal or every other form of life on the earth - has already suffered mass destruction. Every living creature on the earth dies within a few years. Whether it be 100 years as the longest humans live, or 10 years as many animals live, or months, weeks or days as the smaller creatures live, every living creature on the earth dies, and every living creature that has ever lived since Noah's time has also died. Is this not equivalent to a mass destruction?

And even within that, we have witnessed many events over the centuries that have killed huge populations of people and animals - from volcanoes to tsunamis and many other disasters. Is this not the breaking of such a _covenant_ \- if this was indeed the _covenant_?

The reality is that God's _covenant_ has nothing to do with a promise to not cause destruction again.

_"My covenant"_ comes from the Hebrew word ברית (bĕriyth), which means, according to the lexicon:

covenant, alliance, pledge  
a) between men  
1) treaty, alliance, league (man to man)  
2) constitution, ordinance (monarch to subjects)  
3) agreement, pledge (man to man)  
4) alliance (of friendship)  
5) alliance (of marriage)  
b) between God and man  
1) alliance (of friendship)  
2) covenant (divine ordinance with signs or pledges)

Consider this carefully. What is this describing? A relationship. Consider a marriage between a man and wife - also a ברית (bĕriyth). Why would a man and wife marry? Is it a wedding of convenience? For many, it might be. But this does not embrace the meaning of the word ברית (bĕriyth). The kind of "alliance" being described is based upon a relationship of trust, friendship, and love.

And while ecclesiastical religious institutions like to paint the relationship between God and man is one of convenience, the scriptures describe a completely different type of relationship.

### Isn't a covenant part of a relationship?

Consider the first thing that Noah did after he landed the ark on dry land:

_Then Noah built an altar to the LORD (Genesis 8:20)_

He followed this by making offerings to the Supreme Being:

_he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. (Gen. 8:20)_

Why would Noah do this? Because it was a ceremonial rite of passage? Did it come from a rule saying one must build an altar to God whenever they land a boat after a big flood?

While this certainly would not be a bad rite; it was not what was going on. What is being described (and virtually ignored by ecclesiastical teachers) is a _devotional relationship between Noah and the Supreme Being._

Noah was devoted to the Supreme Being. He loved the Supreme Being and wanted to worship Him. How did He worship Him? He built an altar to Him, and then made offerings to Him.

### What is an offering?

Is it a ceremonial rite to cleanse the sins?

Certainly offering to God can cleanse one's consciousness, but this is not the purpose of offering to God. The purpose is an exchange of a relationship. To express one's love and devotion to another. This is why a person offers a gift to another person: To express their love and care for that person. (And we can also make offerings to God - by offering Him fruits, flowers, a little water, our foods, our possessions.)

And it was just after Noah's building of the altar and his offering to God that the Supreme Being began to speak to Noah regarding a _covenant._

The _"covenant"_ then, is based upon a relationship. It is a bond of love. The Supreme Being was pleased with Noah and pleased with his devotion and love towards Him. In such a relationship of love between a devoted servant of God and God, the Supreme Being will grant special benedictions upon those the devoted servant of God cares about. In this case, Noah cared about his family and those animals he saved from the flood.

So the Supreme Being is communicating that He will watch over and care for not only Noah and Noah's family but all the living beings within the bodies of these creatures.

### What is the sign of the covenant?

The Supreme Being is also communicating that He will watch over all their ancestors. He says, _"This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come."_

This again deserves careful understanding, because it is not as if every single creature since Noah's time has not met with death. Every creature has died. Did God fail in such a _covenant_ then?

What is being communicated is that the Supreme Being is pledging that He will always protect His children, especially those related to His devoted servants. The floodwaters are being used here symbolically. Certainly, people and many living creatures will drown in some waters - even periodic floods from time to time. Every year thousands of people die in floods around the world.

But the Supreme Being is utilizing the concept of the floodwaters to symbolize the protection He offers from the onslaught of the physical world. The physical world is full of floodwaters that can capture us, carry us away and drown us spiritually. The Supreme Being offers His protection from these floodwaters in the form of His teachings delivered by His devoted loving servants who show us how to rekindle our relationship with Him and how we can return to Him.

Being saved from the floodwaters of life has nothing to do with physically drowning. The fact is that we are each drowning spiritually in this physical world. We have forgotten our Best Friend, the Supreme Person. We have forgotten the tender loving relationship that we shared in the spiritual realm.

We have forgotten this because we became self-centered. We ate the fruit of self-centeredness and became envious of the Supreme Being. So He sent us to the physical world where we could exercise our self-centeredness within physical bodies that are not us.

Yes, these physical bodies we are so focused upon and so protective of are simply temporary vehicles we drive for a while. They will die within a few decades - or even tomorrow \- and we will have to leave them.

The Supreme Being's protection has nothing to do with saving these temporary physical bodies that were designed to die and then decompose back to dirt. His protection relates to allowing us the ability to return to Him. The ability to be forgiven and return to our relationship with Him. Even though we abandoned Him and have virtually ignored Him while we have chased our dreams, He is still here, waiting patiently for us to turn to Him.

This is His promise: This is His _covenant_. And it is based upon those devoted loving servants who have pleaded with Him on our behalf, to allow us to return to Him. This is a true alliance - a bond of love above any other bond of love that could possibly exist: The love and devotion existing between the devoted loving servant of God and the Supreme Being. And the rainbow is being used here to remind _us_ of this bond and _covenant_. God does not need a reminder \- _we do._

And it is this _covenant_ that has brought to us the teachings of Abraham, Moses, David, Samuel, Job, Joshua, John and many others among other monotheistic teachings around the world. And it is this _covenant_ that brought us the teachings of Jesus, who taught the same primary teaching as Moses:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38)_

#  Genesis 11:1-7

# Now the whole world had one language and a common speech...

_Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." (Genesis 11:1-7)_

### What is the tower of Babel?

The verses above come from the story of the tower of Babel.

And here is the text after the statement attributed to the Supreme Being above:

_So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel--because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. (Genesis 11:8-9)_

If we follow the text from Noah, and the lineage presented by Genesis, then the _"men"_ being described would actually be Noah's family and Noah's direct descendants. And as Genesis 10 describes, these various descendants moved into various places - though ecclesiastical interpretations explain these to be regions within Judea, and moving _"eastward"_ is interpreted as moving east of Judea.

Furthermore, ecclesiastical interpretations - taken from the literal application of Genesis - state that this event of Babel occurred merely four thousand years ago.

### Is this confirmed by the archeology?

Actually, this Biblical version conflicts greatly with archaeological digs - both in the region of the Tower of Babel and throughout the world. Archeology has firmly established humankind living in various cultures around the world and speaking different languages.

As evidenced by wall paintings and other records \- people were speaking different languages in different parts of the world tens of thousands of years ago and even hundreds of thousands of years ago.

That archaeological evidence paints a picture of a humanity that arose out of Africa and spread through the world through nomad-ship.

This leaves the reader of this part of scripture with the choice of believing the scientific studies of archaeologists who confirm their findings of bones, tools and other evidence using carbon dating; or the words handed down from religious organizations that at times became political and wielded their power using brutality.

The question is often posed as: Do we trust in scripture handed down through antiquity or modern science? Given this choice, many choose science simply because it provides a more logical timeline.

Yet must Truth contradict science? This would be a contradiction in the very use of the term "Truth."

In fact, many modern scientists will say that to believe in a Supreme Being means to "suspend reality" because a person will have to dismiss science and accept the historical timeline presented in the Old Testament - more specifically Genesis.

Yet this assumes that Genesis is a historical timeline, and was meant to be a historical timeline.

The reality is that the original manuscripts assembled into Genesis did not lay out a true historical timeline. They were only pieced together to _appear_ as a historical timeline by those who sought to control the populations of Judea, as well as exert a premise that the Israelites are the chosen people and have the authority to control the lands of ancient Judea.

### Is Genesis historical?

In reality, Genesis is not a single book written by Moses as some have alluded to. Genesis is a collection of separate manuscripts - some historians say 16 - that were pieced together to appear as though it were a single book. And as the different manuscripts were pieced together, they were threaded with interpretative transcription that renders the appearance of a single historical timeline. Why?

The struggle for possession of lands has been the foremost driver for many of the rulers of ancient Judea, who were perpetually battling for ownership rights. And some of these later emperors also controlled the assembly of the early Torah.

Not only did a single historical timeline implying special status for the Israelites provide the rationale for controlling certain lands, but it served to motivate warriors who needed to believe in the cause of their warfare.

And this struggle to control land is continuing to this day, as Arabs and Jews squabble over the ownership of certain lands of the middle east. Each side says that they are the rightful owners of these lands, because of some special recognition by the Supreme Being.

Yet neither side is right. The fact is, humans own nothing. The human body is a temporary vehicle that will only last a few decades. Each of us will leave our physical bodies behind to decompose.

How then, could any human - or human race or culture - possibly claim ownership of lands that we must leave behind at the time of death?

The irony of this attempt to control the timeline is this very text, where the Supreme Being is clearly issuing the directive that He is ultimately in charge, with full ownership. And humanity's attempts to own and control the assets of this planet are futile.

### Can humans really own anything?

In reality, we own nothing in the physical world. Everything is on loan to us. We possess nothing. There is only one owner: The Supreme Being.

Since the Supreme Being owns everything, and we own nothing; there is no use struggling to own and control land.

While such a conclusion might produce peaceful societies, it does not help further the power-hungry appetites of those rulers who have desired to control lands and peoples.

The bottom line is that while the Old Testament provides spiritual insight into the lives of those who dedicated their lives to the Supreme Being and their relationships with the Supreme Being, it's later transcriptions were manipulated by those in power for the purpose of political control.

We only have to see through those manipulations to understand the lessons being taught in the text. We have to accept that some of the events being discussed in the Old Testament are historical while some are allegory, and others are historical events blended with allegory to illustrate the lessons they teach.

Ultimately, each event in the Old Testament - whether historically accurate, allegory, or a combination of the two - have been passed down orally for thousands of years by those who dedicated their lives to teaching their students spiritual lessons and events that provide spiritual insight.

And this is precisely what this story of Babel communicates. The key to this event - the spiritual lesson - is derived from the statement by the Babelites:

_Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."_

We must understand that this is an allegorical statement. It was not as if thousands of people - maybe even millions - actually chanted this statement in unison. When a story says _"Then they said"_ , the discussion has turned allegorical. The story is paraphrasing a common consciousness within the people, and communicating that consciousness within a paraphrased statement.

This means that we must understand the consciousness from which such a statement arose.

### What is the consciousness of Babel?

It is the consciousness of greed, power and self-centeredness. The statement symbolically illustrates a consciousness of wanting to own and control the resources of the physical world, and accomplish a 'heaven on earth' without the Supreme Being. (And ironically the same reasons this very text was manipulated.)

This meaning is illustrated in the Hebrew. The Hebrew root word שמים (shamayim) is being translated to _"reaches to the heavens"_ and עשה (`asah) and שם (shem) are being translated to _"we may make a name for ourselves."_

These Hebrew words, however, explain a consciousness of personal greed, and trying to control resources while not being interested in maintaining a relationship with the Supreme Being. They communicate an interest to dominate the landscape and dominate others.

But was this necessarily the mood of all the workers who built the city? Not necessarily. But it was the mood of those who ruled that society. The ruling class imagined themselves mighty enough to control the world's population and create a heaven on earth.

This was the purpose for them not wanting to be _"scattered over the face of the whole earth."_ This is for the benefit of the rulers of Babel, not the people. Speaking the same language and not being _"scattered"_ benefits those who rule over the people: Their power is consolidated.

This quest for power is common among man through the ages. Even to this day we find rulers of various governments exerting their own desires for control by dominating their populace and/or corporate interests trying to expand their profits through market dominance. These attempts by humans continue this same consciousness as described in this text: Trying to own and control the resources of the physical world and trying to establish a 'heaven on earth' without the Supreme Being.

These quests, as we can see from this text, are not pleasing to the Supreme Being.

Why? Because this is not our nature, and this will not make us happy. We are not owners or controllers by nature. We are all subjects of the Supreme Being. We are caregivers by nature. This is why giving makes us happier than taking. And if we were owners or controllers by nature, we would be able to retain our property eternally. If we were owners by nature, all those people who own large properties or control populations would be happy - but they are not. They are not satisfied, even with all their power.

It is like the childhood game, 'king of the hill.' In this game, someone gets up on the hill and fights others off by pushing them off the hill. But inevitably, each kid gets pushed off and another takes their place. This means that none of the kids are truly the "king" of that hill. And those who are "king" for a moment are not happy - they are too busy keeping others off the hill.

### Can we stay here forever?

It is futile to say we own something that we have to struggle to possess and keep, only to leave it behind at the time of death, if not earlier.

Our nature is spiritual, not physical. We belong in the spiritual realm, and the Supreme Being is our Lord and we are His loving subjects. Our happiness is thus related to loving Him and pleasing Him. Here we are exercising our desire to be away from Him and try to imitate Him. But just as a kid plays 'king of the hill' for awhile before having to come in for dinner and homework, we each will have to leave behind our games and learn who we really are - eternal loving servants of the Supreme Being.

The text above, and the Supreme Being's paraphrased, symbolic statement (yes, this is a paraphrased, allegorical statement - evidenced by _"nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them"_ ) illustrates that the Supreme Being has set up the physical world for us to eventually learn that it is futile to try to pretend to be Him. We are not God, and we cannot rule the world. We cannot control others. We cannot control property, or the weather, or even our physical bodies. We are subjects and caregivers, and the earlier we realize this the better our opportunity will be for true happiness.

This is illustrated by the Supreme Being _scattering_ the people even though the rulers didn't want the people scattered. The Supreme Being didn't allow their power to be consolidated. In other words, the Supreme Being does not easily accommodate the greedy desires of His children. He gives us the freedom to seek these, and does allow some desires to be accomplished, but there are always costs for achieving those. There are always challenges, and sacrifices to be made to achieve our desires. We have to, one way or another, in this or a previous lifetime, earn those accomplishments, at a cost.

This proves that we are God's subjects, and not owners by nature. We must earn our accomplishments because the physical world is a place of learning. It is not a place where we get to enjoy all this stuff, and own all this stuff. We are here temporarily, and we are hear to learn. And every seeming pleasure of the physical world is balanced by pain.

The principle of humankind having various languages and cultures was programmed by the Supreme Being into the physical world because this is a place of learning: A place of challenges. A place of consequences. All of these features were programmed into the physical world to teach each us lessons that help us evolve and grow, so that we can evolve towards one day realizing our true nature.

That true nature was emphasized by all the great spiritual teachers, and crystallized into a clear command by Moses and Jesus:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'" (Deut. 6:5 and Luke 10:27)_

#  Genesis 12:1-3

# "Leave your country, your people and your father's household ..."

_The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:1-3)_

### Is God saying this to Abraham?

This statement is attributed to God, speaking to Abram - who later became known as Abraham. Abraham is typically referred to as the father of the nation of Israel, even though when he traveled "through the land," they found Canaanites already lived there.

These verses bring up several questions, the first of which is: What is the country that God asked Abram to leave? Why is he being asked to leave his family and people?

Secondly, how is a single person - who has left his family and people - made into a _"great nation?"_ Is not a _"great nation"_ made up of a large population of people? Why then would the Supreme Being say that Abram himself would become a _"great nation?"_

It may be assumed that God was saying that Abraham's descendants would become a great nation, but the verse does not say this.

Furthermore, why would God make Abram's or Abraham's name great? Why would God want to make a single person's name great? And how does a person become a blessing ( _"you will be a blessing"_ )?

The reason these questions arise is because these verses - particularly the second verse - have been mistranslated.

### What does this statement mean?

Let's decipher the second verse's true meaning. Here are the key Hebrew words of the second verse in order, together with their meaning in context, according to the lexicon:

עשה `asah - refers to something being done, produced, made or work  
גדול gadowl \- refers to greatness in magnitude, typically attributed to God  
גוי gowy - refers to a nation or people, or other large population  
ברך barak - refers to blessing, kneeling (as in prayer or praise) or to be blessed  
גדל gadal - refers to growing, becoming great or powerful, with praise  
שם shem - refers to name, reputation or glory, but also the Holy Name of God  
גדל gadal - as above  
ברכה Bĕrakah \- blessing, often specific towards the praise of God

The meaning of this verse has been misconstrued by those with a view limited by political objectives and an orientation towards the physical realm. This prevented them from seeing the deep relationship of love existing between God and Abraham within this prose.

The only way this verse can be construed as a person becoming a nation is through a misguided attempt to create a meaning to fit an agenda.

Furthermore, there is no indication in the verses leading to this one that would prompt God to offer Abraham such a benediction of becoming a nation. The verses leading up to this verse review the ancestry of Abraham with no hint of any reason for such a special benediction. And even if they did, Abraham is being asked to leave his family and people.

Rather, this verse details that the Supreme Being is acknowledging Abraham's great commitment to the Supreme Being. He is detailing Abraham's devotion, specifically towards glorifying God and His Holy Name. As a result, He is blessing Abraham and his descendants.

The more appropriate translation of this second verse would then be something like:

_"I will make your people great because you have glorified and praised the greatness of the Holy Name of God and offered me your devoted blessings."_

This would make the entire three verses together:

_"Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make your people great because you have glorified and praised the greatness of the Holy Name of God and offered me your devoted blessings. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."_

### Is this devotional prose?

Notice the circular nature of the prose within these verses. It is circular because the Supreme Being is illustrating that He returns the love of His devotees. When a person is devoted to the Supreme Being, the Supreme Being returns that love and devotion by giving that person special care and attention.

This care and attention is circular because both are caring and attentive towards each other. This is called love, and this is what exists between God and those who are devoted to God.

This is an ancient relationship of love that has been passed down through spiritual teachers - Prophets - for thousands of years.

This illustrates not only that we can love God, but that God returns that love.

The Supreme Being wants us to return to our loving relationship with Him. He knows this will make us happy, and He wants us to be happy, because He loves us and cares for us.

This is confirmed by the next verse, which is translated a little more fairly, illustrating that the Supreme Being will continue to protect Abraham, and because of Abraham, the earth is blessed.

Again, this extent of protection would not make sense out of the blue. God would not simply pick someone just because he was born in a particular family. This would mean that God is unfair, and essentially racist. Why would He have chosen Abraham for such a special privilege?

There was something special about Abraham. What was it? It was Abraham's devotion to God. This is what this second verse is suggesting. It is also suggested in the first verse, with God directing Abraham to leave his _"people"_ and _"father's household"_ and travel to another land on God's command.

This illustrates unflinching Abraham's commitment to God - that he would leave his family in the service of God.

### Does power manipulate religion?

We can look around us today and see how power can manipulate religion. We have seen how the largest institutional religions and their leaders have utilized their power and authority to harm and manipulate others.

Around 600 B.C., certain Judean emperors sought power and authority over people and the lands. So they took control over the Prophetic heritage of Abraham and employed scribes to create texts that presented the teachings in such a way to boost their right to rule over and control certain lands of Judea.

They also manipulated the dialogue to appear that they were rulers over the entire earth instead of regional, tribal rulers.

This is what became the Torah, which was eventually melded into the Roman Catholic Bible.

This is not a new strategy. Rulers have been using and manipulating scripture for thousands of years to accommodate and justify their power and authority. Indeed, this was the strategy of the Roman government as they created the Roman Catholic Church and put together the Bible, while burning most other circulating scriptures.

Unfortunately, in doing this, they virtually hid the greatest treasure of all: A glimpse into the tender loving relationship that exists between the Supreme Being and His loving servants, the Prophets, including Melchizedek, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Eli, Samuel, David, Solomon, John the Baptist and Jesus.

We must understand that this is permitted by the Supreme Being, because He gives us the freedom to come to Him or abandon Him. In order to provide the ultimate in freedom, the Supreme Being permits the Truth to be hidden in plain sight, allowing those who seek the Truth to find it, while those who do not seek it to miss it.

### Why did Abraham build Altars to God?

Abraham's devotion continues to be missed in later verses. For example, we find in Genesis 12:7 that Abraham built an altar to God. While it mentions little else about Abraham, it mentions this, though it has been downplayed. Why is this so important? Because this is what a devoted person does for someone they are devoted to.

Consider what many people do with respect to their families. They create an area - often on the mantle-piece above the fireplace - where they hang all their favorite pictures of their family members.

What is this? This is an altar. The family has created an altar to their family members.

Then as they sit around the living room they look at the pictures and they talk about what their family members are doing. They talk about how great their son is doing in his new job, or about how cute their grandchildren are. This is praising and glorifying their family members. They stare at their pictures and praise them. This is worship - family worship.

This is precisely what Abraham was doing, but his altar was to God and he was worshipping God. He created an altar to the Supreme Being because he loved the Supreme Being, and he was devoted to the Supreme Being.

And what did he do in this altar? Did he simply sit there and stare at the altar? No. He praised the Supreme Being. He glorified God. He sang and recited God's Holy Names. This is what שם (shem) means - the Holy Name of God. And when this is combined with גדל (gadal) and ברכה (Bĕrakah), it refers to glorifying and praising God and His Holy Names. This form of worship has been downplayed throughout the institutions that profess these scriptures. Yet it is there in the Old Testament. Consider these verses that illustrate the importance of God's Holy Names:

_Genesis 12:8:  
From there he [Abraham] went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the Name of the LORD._

_Genesis 13:4:  
...and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the Name of the LORD._

_Genesis 21:33:  
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the Name of the LORD, the Eternal God._

_Genesis 26:25:  
Isaac built an altar there and called on the Name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well._

_Exodus 20:7:  
"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his Name."_

_Deuteronomy 5:11:  
"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his Name."_

_Deuteronomy 18:7:  
"...he may minister in the Name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD."_

_Deuteronomy 18:22:  
"If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."_

_Deuteronomy 21:5:  
"The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the Name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault."_

_Deuteronomy 28:10:  
"Then all the peoples on earth will see that You are called by the Name of the LORD, and they will revere You."_

_Deuteronomy 32:3:  
"I will proclaim the Name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!"_

_Samuel 17:45:  
David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the Name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."_

_1 Samuel 20:42:  
Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the Name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'" Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town._

_2 Samuel 6:2:  
He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the Name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark._

_2 Samuel 6:18:  
After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD Almighty._

_1 Kings 3:2:  
The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD._

_1 Kings 5:3:  
"You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet."_

_1 Kings 5:5:  
"I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when He said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.'"_

_1 Kings 8:17:  
"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_

_1 Kings 8:20:  
"The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_

_1 Kings 10:1:  
When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the Name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions._

_1 Kings 18:24:  
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire — He is God." Then all the people said, "What you say is good."_

_1 Kings 18:32:  
With the stones he built an altar in the Name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed._

_1 Kings 22:16:  
The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD ?"_

_2 Kings 2:24:  
He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the Name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths._

_2 Kings 5:11:  
But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the Name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy."_

_Jeremiah 20:13:  
"Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked."_

_1 Chronicles 16:2:  
After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD._

_1 Chronicles 21:19:  
So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the Name of the LORD._

_1 Chronicles 22:7:  
David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God."  
1 Chronicles 22:19:_

_"Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."_

_2 Chronicles 2:1:  
Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself._

_2 Chronicles 2:4:  
"Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on Sabbaths and New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel."_

_2 Chronicles 6:7  
"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_

_2 Chronicles 6:10:  
"The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel."_

_2 Chronicles 18:15:  
The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD ?"_

_2 Chronicles 33:18:  
The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel._

_Job 1:21:  
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised."_

_Psalm 7:17:  
"I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the Name of the LORD Most High."_

_Psalm 20:7:  
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God."_

_Psalm 102:15:  
"The nations will revere the Name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory."_

_Psalm 102:21:  
"So the Name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem."_

_Psalm 113:1:  
"Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the Name of the LORD."_

_Psalm 113:2:  
"Let the Name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore."_

_Psalm 113:3:  
"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised."_

_Psalm 116:4:  
"Then I called on the Name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!"_

_Psalm 116:13:  
"I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the LORD."_

_Psalm 116:17:  
"I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the Name of the LORD."_

_Psalm 122:4:  
"That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the Name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel."_

_Psalm 124:8:  
"Our help is in the Name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."_

_Psalm 129:8:  
"May those who pass by not say, "The blessing of the LORD be upon you; we bless you in the Name of the LORD.""_

_Psalm 135:1:  
"Praise the LORD. Praise the Name of the LORD; praise Him, you servants of the LORD"_

_Psalm 148:5:  
"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created."_

_Psalm 148:13:  
"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for His Name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens."_

_Proverbs 18:10:  
"The Name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."_

_Isaiah 18:7:  
"At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers — the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty."_

_Isaiah 24:15:  
"Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea."_

_Isaiah 50:10:  
"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the LORD and rely on his God."_

_Isaiah 56:6:  
"And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve Him, to love the Name of the LORD, and to worship Him..."_

_Isaiah 59:19:  
"From the west, men will revere the Name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory."_

_Jeremiah 3:17:  
"At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the Name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts."_

_Jeremiah 26:16:  
Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the Name of the LORD our God."_

_Jeremiah 26:20:  
Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the Name of the LORD_

_Joel 2:26:  
"You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the Name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed."_

_Joel 2:32:  
"And everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved"_

_Micah 4:5:  
"...we will walk in the Name of the LORD our God for ever and ever."_

_Micah 5:4:  
"He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the Name of the LORD his God."_

_Zephaniah 3:9:  
"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the Name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder."_

_Zephaniah 3:12:  
"But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the Name of the LORD."_

_Matthew 21:9:  
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"_

_Matthew 23:39:  
"'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' "_

_Mark 11:9:  
"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!"_

_Luke 13:35:  
"'Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.' "_

_Luke 19:38:  
"Blessed is the king who comes in the Name of the Lord!"_

_John 12:13:  
"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!"_

_Acts 2:21:  
"And everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved."_

_Acts 9:28:  
So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the Name of the Lord._

_2 Timothy 2:19:  
"Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." "_

_James 5:10:  
"Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the Name of the Lord."_

_Romans 10:13:  
"Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved."_

### What is the underlying meaning?

Some institutional scribes, working under rulers that wanted to control certain lands and peoples developed temple organizations and professional priests that missed this crucial element of God's statement. Why?

Because their primary interest was not in praising God, or glorifying God's Holy Names. Their primary interest was their political positions, their titles, and their nation's control of Judean lands. It was about proving to others that they had legitimacy, both personally and as a society.

This has nothing to do with one's personal relationship with the Supreme Being. Abraham was not devoted to creating a nation. He was devoted to the Supreme Being. He loved and cared for the Supreme Being. He could have cared less about having possession of some hot, barren landscape.

Let's face it: Very few people here on this planet really care about God. Most of us could care less about whether God is pleased. The interest of most of us is the survival of our physical body, in addition to wealth, recognition, sensual pleasure and so on. These goals are self-centered goals. They are focused upon ourselves.

Most of us could care less about the Supreme Being. The only time we care about the Supreme Being is when we want something from Him. When we want to heal our body or we want out of a jam. Then we pray to God - asking Him to give us what we want.

This is not a relationship of love. It's usury. We want God to serve us. We want God to be our order-supplier.

This has nothing to do with Abraham's relationship with God. Abraham loved the Supreme Being and wanted to serve Him and please Him.

That is the nature of love. Love means when we care about the other person more than we care about ourselves. And love for God means that we love God more than we care about ourselves. This is why Moses and Jesus both taught the most important commandment was:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'" (Luke 10:27 and Deut. 6:5)_

#  Genesis 12:6-7

# "To your offspring I will give this land ..."

_Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. (Genesis 6-7)_

### Did God really give Abraham this land?

The verse contains two key Hebrew words:

זרע (zera`) and ארץ ('erets), which are being translated to _"descendants"_ and _"land"._

Before we clarify the meaning of these words and verse we must first look at the context of the statement.

The context of this statement is that God appeared to Abraham, and Abraham, in turn, built an altar to God. The word _"so"_ illustrates the connection between God's statement and Abraham's building an altar to God. Did Abraham build an altar to God because God gave some land to Abraham's descendants? No.

An altar is a place of worship. An altar is a location where the Supreme Being is worshiped and offerings are made to Him.

Thus it is clear that the communication between the Supreme Being and Abraham concerns devotion, because building an altar to God is a devotional activity.

What does giving land to Abraham's descendants have to do with Abraham building an altar to God? Nothing.

God's supposedly giving Abraham's descendants a bunch of barren land has nothing to do with devotion.

Some might say that this was God's way of rewarding Abraham for his devotion. In fact, this _"land"_ that God supposedly gave to Abraham was consumed by famine, so much so that Abraham had to flee the land and escape to Egypt:

_Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. (Genesis 12:10)_

### Why would God give a land of famine and bloodshed?

Why would God give His devoted servant a bunch of land that was ravished by famine? What kind of gift is this? It would be like giving someone a house that was burnt down. 'Yea, thanks a lot,' the receiver might say.

Furthermore, we know that over the centuries, the Israelites have perpetually had to fight off many others for control over those drought-stricken lands. And many of those battles they lost, thereby losing control over the land. We see this today, as most of the lands being referred to are parts of a myriad of countries in the Middle East.

What kind of gift from God is this land if Abraham's descendants couldn't even maintain control over it? Would God give such a gift and then make us struggle to try to control it? No.

Again, this statement by God has been mistranslated.

### What land was God giving?

The second major mistranslation is the word ארץ ('erets), translated here to _"land."_ In fact, the most used translation of this word in Genesis is to either "earth" or "ground" and "soil." Mostly it is used to describe the earth as a whole. This would mean that if this verse were being translated as God giving Abraham's descendants something, God would be giving him the entire earth. Does this make sense?

If this verse did suggest that God was giving this land to Abraham, such a gift would contain some type of description of what was being given. Was "this land" the amount of land as far as the eye could see? Or was "this land" the whole of Judea? Perhaps "this land" meant the entire Middle East. Or perhaps the entire earth.

The reality is that "this land" is not being defined. Therefore such an assumption (and translation) that God was giving land away is nonsensical.

As any real estate developer would know, if God was giving land away He would have to define what land is being given. There would have to be some sort of specification regarding the land that was being given in order for it to be truly given.

The only hint we have about even the locality of "this land" is given in the verse prior:

_He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. (Genesis 12:5)_

Now if the assumption is that God gave Abraham the entire land of Canaan - which at the time was an expanse that covered much of the Middle East, including what is today Palestine, Israel, Syria, Turkey and parts of Northern Africa - then this poses an even larger problem.

The reality is that Canaan was an area controlled over the centuries by different nation-groups and tribes. The Egyptians controlled much of Canaan for centuries. Then the Assyrians conquered much of the lands, along with the Hittites and many others. If the Supreme Being awarded Abraham the land of Canaan there is absolutely no evidence that Abraham or his descendants had control over the region whatsoever.

This could be compared to a father living in New York City "giving" his son all of Europe. While they could write down on a piece of paper that the father gave the son all of Europe, there is absolutely no evidence that Europe was actually given away. In order to prove that the father gave the son all of Europe, the son should at least be able to show that he has authority over governments and their armies.

In contrast to the notion that Abraham was given the land of Canaan, we find numerous battles in the region - and a number of different rulers at different times. If Abraham was given the land then he or his descendants would have become absolute rulers, yes? Well, that's not what happened.

In a further comparison, this might be like a person being given a house, only to find that the house was subject to numerous lawsuits whereby many different people claimed they owned the house, and at different times, different people were eventually awarded the ownership of the house. If there is no true ownership how could the house be given?

This leaves us with the preposterous assumption that the Supreme Being gave some land away, but with the stipulation that the person still had to go out and battle with different tribes and nations in order to claim authority over the land. That would make God's gift no real gift at all.

This is a preposterous idea anyway - that God would be giving a single human being and his descendants either the entire earth, or an entire region of land.

If the Supreme Being were giving Abraham a particular land then why wasn't Abraham or his descendants able to control that land? And why didn't He at least describe it better? He should have laid out its boundaries at least. This is what is done when someone buys or sells land. The land's boundaries are described so there is some definition to what is being exchanged.

Humans really cannot be given, nor can they own land permanently. Land may be used to keep the body alive, but that land will remain when the human body dies. Therefore, it cannot be functionally owned by a human body. It cannot be possessed by a temporary human body, because possession requires permanency and control. The human body can provide neither quality.

Our physical bodies are not permanent. They are temporary. Our bodies are temporary vehicles that house our spiritual selves for a few decades, and then they die and decompose.

A temporary physical body owning land would be like saying that by driving a car onto a highway, the car owns the highway. A car cannot own a highway. A car can be on a highway while it drives through it, but the car cannot possess the highway.

The physical body is like a car. It is a temporary vehicle, one constantly undergoing change. The body changes from a baby body to a teenage body to an adult body to an elderly body in just a few decades. Every atom and molecule in the body is constantly recycling. This means our bodies are constantly changing. This changing body cannot possess land.

And since land cannot be possessed by the physical body, land cannot be possessed by one's ancestors or offspring. We may pretend that we or our family owns land as we pass a piece of paper to the bodies of our descendants, but they will not own the land either, because like us, their bodies will also have to leave that land behind when the body dies.

Since none of us are permanent in these bodies, we cannot own anything in the physical world.

### What is land ownership?

Land cannot be permanently owned by any human or group of humans. Land can be taken away from any person or people quite easily. This is why there were so many wars in the Middle East over the centuries, some continuing to this day: Some group was constantly taking land away from another group by force.

Since land can be taken away so easily by force, we know that it thus cannot be owned. This is the proof that shows that not only do the Israelites not own the lands of Judea, but neither do the Arabs nor any other race or society. Human bodies simply cannot own land, and any attempt to say that 'my people' or 'those people' or 'I' or 'my family' owns some particular piece of land is quite simply, a lie. Only God can own land. He is the only owner, as He is the only controller.

What does this mean about God's supposedly giving some land to Abraham's descendants? It means He didn't. God did not give any land away. God still owns all the land.

_(Personal note: The commentator takes no sides in current Middle East political issues. The physical bodies of people in this region are, like all physical bodies, temporary, and all will decompose the same once the soul leaves the body at the time of death.)_

### Does this fit an agenda?

Notice how convenient it is that the very institutions who translated this verse to mean God was giving all this land to Abraham's descendants happened to Abraham's descendants or the related institutions?

This would be like one of a man's children translating his father's will, and the translated will happens to say that he inherited all the money. Should we trust the person who translates the will to their benefit without question?

Those institutional scribes who transcribed the various manuscripts into the Five Books of the Torah were employed by emperors who needed to establish their sovereign rule over the lands they were then occupying. Yes, they may have also wanted to glorify God. But having authority over certain lands was at least a part survival tactic to retain power and authority.

This is one reason why Jesus criticized this institution centuries later.

The reality is that God is not in the business of giving certain people land. Nor did He dictate ownership or authority over certain people or nations.

### Is there a better translation?

The word זרע (zera`), translated to _"descendants,"_ can also mean "a sowing," "seed," "semen virile," "offspring" - etc., and when used figuratively, _"of moral quality - a practitioner of righteousness,"_ according to the lexicon.

For its proper translation here we not only consider the context, but must consider whether it is being used figuratively or literally. Again, when used literally, it relates to sowing seed or planting seed and the subsequent offspring that can generate. But when used figuratively, it relates to _"of moral quality - a practitioner of righteousness,"_ according to the lexicon.

But we know the context of this verse - which relates directly to Abraham's devotion towards the Supreme Being, has nothing to do with his mating and having children. We must, therefore, utilize the figurative translation for the word זרע (zera`).

This context is further illustrated by the verse following this - concerning Abraham building an altar to God in Bethel:

_From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)_

Here we see that Abraham not only built an altar in the place that God appeared to him. He also built another altar to God in Bethel. This illustrates Abraham's mission: To promote the worship of God. It has nothing to do with ownership of lands or Abraham's descendants.

Furthermore, it states in Gen. 12:8 that Abraham _"called on the name of the Lord."_ What does this mean?

Calling on the Name of God is an ancient practice that has been lost in modern times among many sectarian institutions, primarily because they have been so focused upon using the scriptures to cement their institutions' political positions to attract followers. They have virtually ignored this ancient practice of loving devotion to the Supreme Being - expressed by praising and glorifying God's Holy Names.

_"Calling on the name of the Lord"_ means to repeat God's Holy Names. This was done with song or prayerful incantation. Repeating God's Holy Names is to focus the mind, senses and heart on the qualities of the Supreme Being. This focuses our attention on Him and gradually increases our love towards Him.

We also know that Jesus held this practice. This is evidenced by how Jesus' followers praised and identified Jesus:

_"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Matt. 21:9, Matt. 23:39, Mark 11:9, Luke 13:35, Luke 19:38, John 12:13)_

The Supreme Being has so many Holy Names. Why would the Supreme Being - the Supreme Person - not have a name? How could one address a person with no name? "Oh, hey so-and-so ... " Is this how we are supposed to address God when we pray? That is preposterous. Every bonafide prayer documented in scripture, made from Noah to Jesus' disciples, addressed the Supreme Being by Name. These included Lord, God, Father, Supreme Being and others from their original languages, which have included Jehovah (here יהוה or Yĕhovah), Yahweh, Eloah, Eli, Abba and many other names, each describing God's qualities of superiority, power, love, beauty, mercy and so on. Jesus himself referred to God as Yahweh, Eli, and Abba.

Rather, what God's statement is actually saying, as indicated by the real meaning of the two keywords in the statement and the context, is a loving instruction. God was instructing Abraham to give, or spread his devotion throughout the earth or at least that region of the earth. This is why the next verse documents his building an altar in the new land.

As such, God's statement in Genesis 12:7 would be translated to something to the effect of:

_"Spread your righteousness and devotion throughout the land."_

This is a common instruction by the Supreme Being to those who worship Him and love Him. He instructs those who worship Him to pass on that devotion to others because the Supreme Being wants all of us to come home to Him. The Supreme Being loves each of us and wants us to return to Him, so He requests from those who worship Him that they pass on their devotion to others.

Notice that the Hebrew word נתן (nathan) is being translated to _"spread"_ rather than _"give."_ Yes, the lexicon supports this, as to _"give"_ in this context of devotion is better said to _"spread"_ this devotion. At the end of the day, _"spreading"_ is giving, because it is passing it on to others.

The Supreme Being doesn't appear on the earth to grant land to people. He is not running a land grant office or sweepstakes for land giveaways. He appears to His beloved devotees to encourage them and instruct them.

This is because the Supreme Being is God and we are His servants. Many people, even many of those who claim to be religious, confuse this. Many of us consider God as our servant. As though our position is to ask Him for stuff, and His job is to give us stuff and do stuff for us. It is as though He is our servant.

Sorry, but we were created to be His loving servants - assuming we choose to. We are His caregivers by nature. Our happiness is found not by trying to enjoy life and have Him get things set up for us to enjoy. Our happiness is found by making Him happy. By pleasing Him. When we are pleasing the Supreme Being, we are satisfied. We are fulfilled.

We can experience this joy in small ways when we give of ourselves or serve others. When we take care of others we feel better than when we order others around. Serving is our natural position. This is part of our identity, beneath these temporary physical bodies and our self-centered desires.

And this was how Abraham saw himself - as God's servant. He worshiped and cherished the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being recognized this and showed Himself to Abraham. This was a benediction to Abraham. His natural inclination was to serve God and please God because He loved God. So God appeared to Abraham and instructed Abraham. He wanted Abraham to pass on his devotion to others because God wants us to come home to Him.

And this is precisely what Abraham did with his life, and why to this day we see Abraham as an example of pure devotion to the Supreme Being. One who loved God, and whose purpose was to please His Beloved, and pass on God's glories to others in order to help us return home to our Best Friend and Master, the Supreme Being.

#  Genesis 13:14-17

# "All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring ..."

_"Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you." (Genesis 13:14-17)_

### How much land did God supposedly give Abraham?

The text says, _"... look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see..."_ How much land is that?

Assuming the land that Abraham was looking at was flat, the curvature of the earth would only permit him to see about 3.1 miles in any direction. That would make the maximum land that Abraham was supposedly given by God a mere 3.1 square miles.

Now if Abraham was standing on a hill or mountain, that tract would be a bit larger. But if he were standing in a valley, it would be constrained by the amount of land contoured by the surrounding hills, and possibly even smaller.

The bottom line is that the text doesn't define the amount of land God supposedly is giving Abraham. And it was likely much smaller than has been interpreted by those who have quoted the text as though it means that a certain people - the family of Abraham - own a bunch of land.

It is quite nonsensical that God would give a small tract of land to Abraham and leave the boundaries undefined, leaving Abraham and his family to squabble and fight over its boundaries.

### Did God really give Abraham land?

The events being portrayed originate from stories that were told and retold orally over many generations through the centuries, among different teaching lineages. Until they were combined and recorded during the Sixth Century BCE. By then the events were portrayed from person to person and adapted to the society, time and circumstances.

This means that these events cannot be accepted as specific, accurate historical records. While presenting the basic elements of the events, they also took on mythical, allegorical aspects as they were retold through the generations.

This should also be understood with respect to the discussions of land ownership. During the centuries these events were retold orally, there were many feudal tribes fighting over the control of territorial lands in the Middle East. Therefore, being given the authority over some of these territories was critically important to the tribal leaders and their soldiers and citizens.

For this reason, some of the discussions of land became the subject of allegorical fable. Especially with respect to God granting Abraham and his descendants' control over certain lands.

This does not accurately portray the history. But it does accurately portray a more allegorical lesson: That God does ultimately control all land. And if anyone gains control over lands, that control was essentially authorized by the Supreme Being \- since He controls all land.

So it isn't that God gave specific land to Abraham as though God is a land-grant office. The message is that God owns all land and for those who gained control over certain territories - they accepted that ultimately it was God that allowed that to happen.

The specifics of granting that authority are left to allegory.

The Supreme Being perpetually owns all land. No one else truly owns and land, and any temporary control over any territory is ultimately provided by God.

The question this bears: Does God grant land to people as though He were some sort of land-grant office? And if God - the Supreme Being - did indeed grant this unspecified land (as far as the eye can see?) to Abraham's descendants, then why have much of these lands since been taken away from the Israelites over the centuries?

Or does God lack control over the lands He supposedly gave to Abraham's descendants? Or does God go back on His word and then take the land back? Does God give land and then take it back and then give it again and take it back again?

What kind of gift is that? Note also that most of this land was and has been barren and drought-stricken. Why would God give Abraham and his descendants such crappy land? Why didn't he give him some lush island paradise?

All of these questions and more illustrate the ridiculousness of such a claim that God gave land to Abraham's descendants _"forever."_ The reality is that a human simply cannot _own_ land anyway. The human body is a temporary vehicle. It lasts for a few decades and then it dies (when the spirit - the person - leaves) and decomposes. How can a human body own land _"forever"_ if that human body only lasts a few decades?

### What about Abraham's family?

Some might say that the land can be owned by a family of humans as it is passed on from one generation to another. But this is also false ownership, because not only is the human body temporary, but the supposed "seed" - or genetic traits - that connect one generation to another depletes with each generation to the point where over thousands of years there is so much mixing of the genes that descendants of Abraham are now spread throughout the world - and living in many different places.

Some of those with traces of Abraham's genes are likely to be Arabs today - some of whom oppose Israelite claims to certain lands by virtue of these texts. (Note: there are no sides or political positions being taken here with regard to disputes between Israelis and Arabic peoples). Once again, the events have been allegorically adapted to the time and circumstance over centuries of being retold.

### Is that really land ownership?

Humans cannot own any land, because we are only here temporarily. God does not give out land to people. The Supreme Being owns everything. We own nothing. We are each the subjects of the Supreme Being. As such, we have no real rights of ownership that we can pass on to our next generation. We might claim such rights - or purchase the rights to utilize a parcel of land for a while. But this is not ownership. This is like a lease: The right to use and caretake a piece of property.

The fact that God did not give land to Abraham's descendants in this verse is confirmed as we see its context with the verses around it:

_Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "[God's statement-mistranslated]" So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD. (Genesis 13:13-17)_

### What do the key words mean?

The crux of the mistranslation lies in the Hebrew words נתן (nathan), זרע (zera`) and ארץ ('erets). These words are being translated to _"give", "descendants"_ and _"land", respectively._

To understand the context of God's statement, we must notice what Abraham did when he got to the subject region. He built an altar to God. What is an altar? It is a place of worship. It is a place where the Supreme Being is honored, offered gifts, prayed to, praised and celebrated.

So why, if Abraham was _"given land"_ by God, does the text not document that Abraham went to the land, staked out its boundaries and marked his territory out? Is this not what people do when they purchase or are given land? Do they not stake it out and announce or document to others that their land now belongs to them?

Abraham didn't. He did not announce to others or otherwise document his ownership of the land. He built an altar on it. He actually gave up any concept of ownership as he used the land to worship God.

Using land to build an altar to God is actually the opposite of receiving land. Building an altar is the act of offering that land to God. It is offering up any thought of possession to that land to the Supreme Being. The very act of building an altar on the land is saying that Abraham did not accept any ownership of the land. He was using the land to worship God and offer others a place to worship God.

And this reveals the true meaning of God's statement. He did not appear to Abraham to give his descendants land. He appeared to Abraham to instruct Abraham to go out into that region and preach to others about God. He is instructing Abraham to teach others about the dedication and love that Abraham had for the Supreme Being. And God was talking about Abraham creating _followers_ (incorrectly translated to _"descendants"_ ) who would continue to pass on those truths.

The true translation of God's statement to Abraham would thus be more appropriately something to the effect of:

_"Look around you north, south, east and west. Go throughout this land you see and give eternal life to your followers. You will have many followers in future generations - uncountable, like grains of sand. Go and walk through this land, giving others what I have given you."_

### What does God give us?

God gives us eternal life. Giving _eternal life_ means teaching them love for God. It means passing on to others the love that Abraham had for the Supreme Being (a gift from God) and thus saving them.

This last phrase, _"giving to others what I have given you"_ replaces the mistranslated phrase, _"for I will give it to you."_ This entire phrase comes from one Hebrew word: נתן (nathan).

How could one word - which means to "give" or "bestow upon" and so on from the lexicon - be translated into such a long phrase?

There is, in fact, no basis for the word נתן (nathan) to be translated to _"for I will give it to you."_ There is, however a solid basis for the word being translated to _"giving others what I have given you."_

Consider an analogy. Let's say that a charitable group was to go to a poor village in a third-world country, and deliver to the village leader a truckload of food. The charity group representative would likely say to the village leader something to the effect of, "go throughout your village and give this food to everyone." But because both parties understand that the food is for the villagers and is to be given out, all the charity representative would have to say was "go throughout the village giving this out" or even "give this throughout the village." All parties would assume that what was being given was the food.

This fact might also be confirmed, say if this were a written story, should the next part of the story say that the village leader was giving out the food to everyone. Then the context of the "giving" would certainly be the food.

In the same way, by the context of the verses around this statement, we know that the Supreme Being did not appear before Abraham to give land to Abraham's descendants. By the fact that Abraham followed up by immediately building an altar of worship in the land confirms that the Supreme Being's request was related to Abraham's spreading the worship and love for God throughout the land.

### What about Abraham's descendants?

As for _"descendants,"_ this use of the word זרע (zera`) is allegorical. It is an ancient tradition that followers considered their teacher their "father." This custom has continued even through today, as Catholic priests are typically addressed as "father." This use of a teacher being referred to as a _father_ and followers being referred to as the teachers' _children_ or _sons_ is repeated throughout the texts of both the Old and the New Testaments. Thus we can document that זרע (zera`) is being utilized to describe _followers of Abraham_ rather than descendants of Abraham's physical body.

We can also take this symbolism further, should one insist utilizing זרע (zera`) to mean _"seed."_ When a man passes on his "seed" to a woman, a baby is conceived. But _"seeds"_ of wisdom or knowledge can also be passed on in an allegorical context - e.g., a seed of knowledge or a kernel of wisdom. So whether we consider זרע (zera`) to be _"followers"_ or _"seeds of knowledge,"_ we can understand that God was not interested in Abraham's physical family, or about land ownership.

God wanted Abraham to pass on the teachings of love for God to others, so that others - and their successive generations - could understand that we, like Abraham, can learn to love the Supreme Being and have an intimate relationship with God - thereby giving us eternal life.

This is the also sum and substance of the teachings of all scripture, as confirmed directly by Jesus, Moses and all the other teachers throughout the Biblical scriptures.

#  Genesis 14:18-20

# "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth ..."

_Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:18-20)_

### Who was Melchizedek?

We find a clear statement in this verse about the Priest Melchizedek.

We also find that Melchizedek is described as being _"priest of God Most High."_ This indicates that Melchizedek was considered a representative of God. A Prophet.

Melchizedek also _"blessed"_ Abraham, and Abraham responded by giving the priest a tenth of his possessions.

This indicates that Melchizedek was Abraham's spiritual teacher.

To receive a blessing from a priest, and then to turn and commit what is now termed a tithing - and a significant one at that - indicates clearly that Abraham received instruction from Melchizedek.

We also find elsewhere clear evidence of Melchizedek's standing as a spiritual teacher, and a founding teaching in a spiritual lineage followed throughout the Bible:

_The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Psalms 110:4)_

_And he says in another place, "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 5:10)_

_We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:20)_

So we find that according to Hebrews, Jesus was also a teacher within this lineage, as was John the Baptist, Solomon, David, Samuel, Eli, Caleb, Joshua, Moses, Joseph, Jacob, Isaac and Abraham.

### Is this a family lineage?

Within this lineage, we find clear evidence that this is not about ancestry. Melchizedek was clearly not related to Abraham. Samuel was not related to Eli. David was not related to Samuel. Caleb was not related to Joshua and Joshua was not related to Moses. And Jesus was not the son of John the Baptist, just as Peter was not the son of Jesus. Yet Peter continued the teachings of Jesus just as Jesus continued the teachings of Abraham, David and John.

And yes, some of these teachers may have been related to their students. Isaac and Jacob were possibly within the ancestry of Abraham, for example. But this is only if we accept that all instances of the Hebrew word, בֵּן (ben) have to mean "son." Contrary to this, the Hebrew word can also mean, "a member of a guild, order, class" - basically a follower or student.

Indeed, some translations of the Hebrews do indicate that this Hebrew word also describes students or followers.

### What is the "blessing" Melchizedek gave?

The Hebrew word being translated into the word "blessed" here is בָּרַךְ (barak). This can mean "to bless," but also, according to Gesenius's lexicon, "Once used of the consecration of a sacrifice."

Jesus illustrated the process begun between Melchizedek and Abraham. Just as Melchizedek blessed Abraham, Abraham blessed Isaac (Genesis 25:11), Isaac blessed Jacob (Genesis 28:1), Jacob blessed Pharaoh (Genesis 47:10), Jacob blessed Joseph (Genesis 48:15) and his 11 other students (which each became lineages or "tribes") (Genesis 49:28), Moses blessed his followers, many who became priests, such as Joshua (Exodus 39:43), Joshua blessed Caleb (Joseph 14:13), Eli blessed Elkanah (1 Samuel 2:20), Samuel was later instructed by Eli, and Saul, who was Samuel's student, blessed David (1 Samuel 26:25). We find these types of blessings continued, sometimes referred to as "anointing."

And in the New Testament, we find that the blessings came in the form of baptism. We find that Jesus was baptised (blessed) by John, and Peter and his fellow disciples were baptized (blessed) by Jesus.

Thus we find that the _"blessing"_ referred to between teacher and student throughout the Bible point to the acceptance of the student by the teacher, and the acceptance of the teacher by the student.

This is confirmed by the fact that Abraham gave Melchizedek a considerable tithing.

This is also confirmed by the various sacrifices and offerings that others who were _"blessed"_ gave their teachers.

Such a _"blessing"_ \- the acceptance between teacher and student, is illustrated in the Book of Matthew:

_Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 16:16-17 NIV)_

_[From the Lost Gospels of Jesus:_

_And Simon Peter replied, saying, "You are the Anointed of God [Messiah, Christ], Representative of the living God. And Jesus responded, saying "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah: Because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you – but my LORD from the spiritual realm. (Matthew 16:16-17)]_

#  Genesis 15:1

# "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield ..."

_After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward."_ (Gen. 15:1)

### Did Abraham have a vision of God?

This is a very important statement by God. Here the Supreme Being spoke to Abraham in a vision.

Note that _"After this"_ refers to the events of Genesis 14, where the Abraham had to battle the four kings and their armies to protect his followers, including Lot.

The Supreme Being is reassuring Abraham. He is informing Abraham that Abraham does not have to be afraid. He can rely upon the Supreme Being and the Supreme Being will protect Abraham.

This is a central element of the relationship between Abraham and the Supreme Being. God is not a thunderous voice in the sky. He is not a vague force.

### Doesn't this mean that the Supreme Being is a person?

God may be far, far above us in stature and power, but He is still a person. Only a person can be trusted and relied upon. Only a person can offer another person hope and reassurance.

The Supreme Being is a person that we can rely upon, trust, and love. This is expressed in the scriptures as Abraham enjoyed a loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

We see the exchange between God and Abraham as Abraham builds altars to God and prays to Him, and _"called on the Name of the LORD."_ (Gen. 13:4)

And we see how God exchanges this relationship of love by comforting Abraham in times of fear and uncertainty.

### What is a shield?

The word _"shield"_ here is derived from the Hebrew word מגן (magen). This describes an ancient device held in the hand, also called a buckler. It was used in warfare to repel spears and swords.

God is clarifying that all Abraham needs to do is depend on the Supreme Being, and God will protect him: _"Do not be afraid."_ We can each use God as a shield against the avalanches of the physical world.

### What does He mean by "reward"?

The word _"reward"_ comes from the Hebrew word שכר (sakar) which relates to being paid or receiving something in exchange.

The Supreme Being is informing Abraham that he does not need to worry about conquering lands or winning. God is saying that the only reward Abraham has to seek is God Himself. God is Abraham's reward for Abraham's services: _"I am ... your very great reward."_

This clarifies the crux of this loving relationship between God and Abraham. God has asked Abraham to go out and pass on to others throughout the land the worship of the Supreme Being. This is why Abraham has built altars in various places. As a result, Abraham has had to, in some cases, fight to protect his followers. This was explained as Abraham had to fight off the four kings in order to get back his follower, Lot.

(The word used to describe Lot was בן (ben) - according to the lexicon, this can mean _son_ or it can mean _follower_ or _member of an order_. The reason why this word was translated to nephew was because other verses explain that Abraham did not have any children at the time. If he did not have children, the more appropriate translation would be _follower_.)

### Does God comfort Abraham?

After facing up with these four kings and their armies, Abraham was left somewhat fearful. But the Supreme Being comforts Abraham, explaining that all Abraham needs is his relationship with the Supreme Being.

This is the sum and substance of the lessons of scripture. As we examine all the lives of those loving servants (often referred to as prophets) of God discussed throughout the Old and New Testaments, we find this recurring theme: To become dependent upon God, and to become pleasing to the Supreme Being. In order to do this, we must give Him our heart. We must rely upon Him. We must try to please Him with our lives. And our reward for our efforts to please Him is Himself: A loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

This is the goal of life and the clear teaching of all scripture. Despite the various mistranslations and misinterpretations of the Biblical scriptures over the centuries, this clear meaning still shines through for those who seek their true meaning.

#  Genesis 15:4-5

# "This man will not be your heir, but a son ..."

_"This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir. Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be." (Genesis 15:4-5)_

### Does this fulfill a narrative?

As discovered among previous statements between God and Abraham, this translation and resulting interpretation fulfill a specific interpretive narrative.

The intent is to put forth a concept that Abraham was the father of a huge country and race of people and that God gave Abraham and his descendants the lands of Judea. This allowed later rulers the ability to claim rightful ownership of those lands. After all, if God grants someone ownership how could it possibly be otherwise?

Yet we have clearly proven that this could not be the case, despite this claim. There is clear evidence that Abraham's descendants never retained true ownership of those lands. Such evidence is portrayed among archeological evidence that over the centuries after the time of Abraham, Judea was occupied by the Romans, the Persians, the Hellenists, the Byzantines, the Macedonians, the Ptolemaics, the Seleucids, and even Pompey conquered Jerusalem for a time.

Now if the land of Judea truly was given to Abraham's heirs by God, then why was it continually taken away from them over the centuries?

We would either have to accept that the Supreme Being takes away what He previous gives, or that God deceived Abraham. Either we have to believe that the Supreme Being would deceive Abraham into thinking that these lands were his, or that He lost control over the land or something. Either conclusion is unacceptable.

Are we to believe in a God who deceives people? Someone who lies to His servant - promising Him things that in the end He doesn't deliver? Or are we to believe in a God who has lost control over the lands He supposedly gave to Abraham?

The fact is, God never gave Abraham any land. God is not a land-grant department. He does not give away land. God always owns everything. We are never owners. We are His subjects (currently rebellious). God never grants any society ownership over any land.

### Can humans truly own any land?

The reality is that the human body is temporary. The body only lasts a few decades. Then it dies and decomposes. And even during that lifetime of the body, the body is undergoing continual renewal - the cells and atoms are constantly being recycled and exchanged for new ones. This means that the body is not just temporary - it is also fluid - plastic - continually changing.

Thus the human body has no ability to own anything. Everything physical passes through and around the human body like grains of sand through our fingers. The body dies within a few decades and decomposes.

Without permanency, there is no capability for true ownership.

And even if we still think that God gave Abraham's descendants land, we know this is not true because Abraham's genes are now spread among millions if not billions of people among many countries by now - including even those of many Arab families. No one can claim the exclusive genetic ancestry of Abraham today, thousands of years later. (Note: the author takes no sides in the Arab-Israeli conflicts over rights to lands).

The bottom line is that this text has been misinterpreted by those emperors and their subservient scribes who sought to utilize scripture to claim control over those lands in the centuries after Abraham.

### So what did God really say here?

Let's translate this correctly:

Here is the text translated into English before this statement:

_But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." (Genesis 15:2-3)_

Is Abraham really complaining about not being given children, and complaining that he will have to give his estate to a servant? Is Abraham so selfish that he is worried about who he can give his stuff to?

Just consider what Abraham said to the kings of Sodom after he got Lot back, and they offered him riches:

_But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.' I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me--to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share."_ (Genesis 14:22-24)

Does this sound like a man who was concerned about were all his supposed wealth was going after his body died? Does it sound like someone who valued his possessions? He is talking about sharing everything he gets with the men around him. How could he then suddenly get all worked up about where those possessions would end up after his body died?

And Abraham does not say "estate" as has been translated. The word בית (bayith) relates not to a physical estate of wealth in this context. It relates to a _message_ being passed on - a _message_ which can be taken shelter of. In fact, the word בית (bayith) itself relates to an abode or shelter, as well as a place, body or even, an _"abode of light and darkness"_ according to the lexicon.

Abraham was not concerned about how many heir relatives he would have, nor who would inherit his house and belongings.

Abraham was not concerned about his supposed possessions at all. The use of the word בן (ben) here has nothing to do with sons or heirs or passing on wealth. The conversation is speaking of who Abraham will be passing on the truth to, and who will inherit Abraham's position of God's representative.

The crux of this exchange between God and Abraham comes down to one word and one activity. The one word is the word בן (ben). This word, in the surrounding texts alone, is being translated into three different words: _Son, heir_ and _slave_.

Yet the word בן (ben), in this context, refers specifically to a _disciple_ or _student_.

The concern is not Abraham's supposed wealth. Since when is the Holy Scripture about land and passing on a person's wealth? The Scriptures are about passing on the Truth - the teachings of the Supreme Being. God does not appear before people in the physical world to give them land or talk about who their heirs will be to their fortunes. The Supreme Being appears to His beloved servants to instruct them on continuing to pass on His message - their teachings - so that others will be given the Truth. The question is, who will carry on His message, which provides shelter to those who become attached to it?

Furthermore, God was not speaking of some son that would come from Abraham's body. The word מעה (me`ah), which is being translated to _"from your own body"_ actual means, according to the lexicon, _"internal organs, inward parts, bowels, intestines, belly"_ when used literally, but also _"place of emotions or distress or love"_ when used figuratively.

We use this same figurative expression when we speak of the heart today. We will say something to the effect of, _"he is a man of my own heart"_ or _"he comes from a place in my heart."_ Does this mean the person literally comes from our heart? No. It means that they are of the same mind or philosophy. They care about the same things we do. They are passionate about the same things we are passionate about.

This is what the Supreme Being is talking about. Abraham is concerned that this particular servant will become the next teacher after Abraham. But the Supreme Being comforts Abraham, indicating that the next teacher will be someone who has the same passion and love for the Supreme Being that Abraham has.

This was Abraham's concern, and the Supreme Being appeared before Abraham to answer that concern. We must understand that God is not petty. His concern is that He wants us to be happy. The only way we will be happy is if we return to our loving relationship with Him.

With this in mind, let us translate these verses correctly, beginning with Abraham's request from the Supreme Being:

_But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, who will take shelter in and pass on Your message to others, as I have no students outside of my servant Eliezer of Damascus?"_

_And Abram said, "You have given me no disciples; so this servant in my household will be my successor (to pass on these teachings to others)."_

_Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your successor (to pass on your teachings), but someone of your own heart will be your successor."_

_He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall the number of your followers be."_

It is now quite clear that Abraham's concern was not in having children and where his possessions would end up. Why would Abraham, who built altars to God and _"called on the name of the LORD"_ be so materialistic? He wasn't. He might have had many possessions, but he was always willing to share those with others. He was not concerned about how many children he would have and who would inherit his estate.

He was concerned about who would carry on his mission of teaching the Truth, however. Abraham cared about others, and he wanted the message of the Supreme Being to be passed on far and wide, to many. Abraham was an elevated person. He walked with God. He exchanged a loving relationship with God. His concern was God's concern because he wanted to please God.

### Do these texts teach racism?

The Books of the Old Testament and the teachings of the ancient masters they portray were not about promoting a particular race of people as the "chosen people." Such an interpretation would wrongly mean that these ancient teachers, and God Himself, are racists.

This is simply not true. The Supreme Being loves us all equally. He renders no favorites, especially regarding the temporary physical body.

When a person becomes devoted to Him, He exchanges that love. He will naturally give special attention and focus to a person that becomes devoted to Him because of the special focus that person has on the Supreme Being.

This is called a relationship: God and His loving servant are exchanging a relationship of love. This does not mean God doesn't give equal opportunity to others. He wants all of us to come home to Him. He loves all of us equally.

We are the ones who are trying to hide from Him. We are the ones who are running away from Him. We are the ones who are trying to ignore Him as we chase our self-centered desires.

#  Genesis 15:7

# "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans ..."

_"I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."_ (Genesis 15:7)

### Is this translated correctly?

As we have shown with previous verses, this text is a mistranslation and misrepresentation of the communication between God and His loving servant Abraham.

The Supreme Being does not give land away. If He was giving land to Abraham, why couldn't Abraham and his descendants control the land? Why over the many centuries since - including now - are so many people struggling for possession of the lands of Judea if God gave those lands to Abraham's descendants? Does God give land away and then snatch it back? Or was God simply being deceptive? No.

These are manipulations of the original manuscripts. These manipulations also suppose these lands were taken away from Abraham's descendants when they were enslaved by the Egyptians but then given back to them centuries later when Moses was guided to the "promised land."

But what kind of "promised land" is a bunch of desert, where crops are difficult to grow, herding is challenging and water is scarce? If God was giving them "promised lands," why wouldn't He have given them some good lands? How about the lands that are now Thailand, which is lush with forests that produce many fruits and vegetables with plenty of water to drink and swim in? Why would God give Abraham's descendants such harsh and barren lands?

Furthermore, if God gave Abraham these supposed promised lands, why would Abraham's descendants still have to fight over the lands again and again? If God gave it to them why would they still have to fight for it?

That makes absolutely no sense. If we accept that God has control, then there is no question that if God gave something to someone, they would have absolute control over what was given to them. If there is no control over what was given, that would mean that God did not give it - since God has complete control.

Otherwise, it would be a joke to say that God gave him these lands - if they could not control them.

### Can the human body own land?

And how could Abraham or his descendants even enjoy such a promised land, when they (and we) occupy physical bodies bound to death, disease, and suffering? These bodies are born to suffer. Whatever land our bodies dwell within, the human body cannot own anything material - because the body is temporary, and ownership is a permanent faculty.

Even in nice locations, these bodies suffer from birth through the elderly years, and then they die. The body suffers from so many maladies. These include old age, pain, and many medical conditions.

### What is the 'promised land?'?

What kind of promised land can bring us true happiness when we have to toil away at any land to eek out the body's survival, only to have the body die within a few decades? What kind of inheritance is that? Or did God just make a bunch of mistakes and create a dysfunctional planet? Did God mess up and give away some of the worst lands in the world to His servant Abraham?

God was not giving away land, and He certainly didn't give away the deserts of Judea to Abraham's descendants. As will be shown in later verses, the true "promised land" that God promised to Moses is the spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is the only real promised land. This temporary planet and these temporary bodies are doomed to suffer and die. There is no 'promised land' in the material world.

### What did God say?

What, then, was God saying to Abraham in the verse above? The transcribers and translators of these verses - drawn originally from a manuscript about Abraham - simply did not understand what God was saying to Abraham because the discussions between God an Abraham were on a spiritual level.

Because the transcribers and translators (and their employers, power-hungry emperors) were more interested in owning land and grabbing resources from their neighbors, they were looking through self-centered lenses of the physical world. They could not see the wonderful spiritual relationship that existed between God and Abraham.

First, God is reminding Abraham that He has been guiding Him:

_"I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans"_

The key word in this verse is יצא (yatsa'), which means "to go forth" but also "to lead out" and "to deliver." Its appropriate translation here is thus to be guided out:

_"I am the LORD, who guided you out of Ur of the Chaldeans"_

The Supreme Being guided Abraham out not only of a particular land, but out of a situation that He saw was not favorable for Abraham. He protected Abraham from the society of the Chaldeans, which were a warring people who came to control much of Babylonia at times. It is obvious from this and other verses that the Chaldean society was not conducive to Abraham's spiritual life and his spreading of the teachings of love for God.

The Supreme Being wanted Abraham to set out and preach to others who were ready and more receptive to return to their relationship with the Supreme Being. This type of travel is often described as a _mission_ \- and those who travel, being led by the Supreme Being to teach on His behalf, are referred to as _missionaries_ (not to be confused with ecclesiastical missions). Abraham was thus a missionary.

This mission of Abraham continues to be described in the verses ahead, as they have in the verses past.

This is first illustrated in the next part of the verse with the word נתן (nathan). This word has been translated to "give" yet it also means, according to the lexicon, to "be assigned," "be issued," "designated" or _"entrusted."_ In other words, it is not simply a giveaway: Abraham is being entrusted with something.

The next Hebrew word is ארץ ('erets). This may be translated to _"land"_ but not necessarily specific land as though it was a commodity. It can be translated to "lands" or "region" and also to "earth."

What God is communicating to Abraham is a responsibility to travel through the land and preach on His behalf \- a service for Abraham that will please Him. A responsibility to travel the land and spread the message of love for God.

Consider the next word: ירש (yarash). While this word has been translated to "possess," it also means to "disinherit," "impoverish" "be dispossessed" "come into poverty" and "to destroy."

For example, in Genesis 45:11, another statement by God uses the word ירש (yarash), which here is being translated to _"will become destitute."_

So does the word mean to possess something or become impoverished - quite the opposite?

The problem, again, is that the focus of the translators was physical possession. God does not descend to the earth to grant or take away physical possessions from people. Why? Because temporary human bodies cannot possess anything. Everything we think we possess we lose, either when our bodies die or they otherwise get taken from us. Since everything gets taken away, we can never possess them in the first place, because possession requires control.

In both verses, the Supreme Being is talking about spiritual realization. The benediction of spiritual realization - which renders becoming rich spiritually, whilst maintaining a humble consciousness. So it can mean becoming rich and poor (humble) at the same time.

### Why does God appear?

The Supreme Being appears in the physical world for one purpose only: To grant spiritual realization. He doesn't give away land or take possessions from people.

The physical world is designed in such a way that it automatically lends and takes things away from us, depending upon our past activities. These are called consequences - they are symbolic to enable learning.

Thus we can now properly translate the full verse above:

_"I am the LORD, who guided you out of Ur of the Chaldeans and am entrusting you with My mission of giving [spiritual] realization throughout the land."_

#  Genesis 15:8-9

# "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old ..."

_Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." (Genesis 15:8-9)_

### Why does God ask for this offering?

Here the Supreme Being is requesting that Abraham make a particular offering to him.

Why would the Supreme Being request that Abraham make such animal offerings?

A relationship with the Supreme Being - just as in all relationships - requires an extension of oneself. This includes extending communications and the extension of offerings.

Just consider when a man comes to the door of a woman he intends to take on a date. What does a man bring? Flowers or some candy. Why? Because he wants to extend his care for the woman. The woman doesn't need any flowers. But the man brings them to show her that he cares for her and wants to establish a relationship with her.

The same goes for reviving our lost relationship with the Supreme Being. God doesn't need anything from us. He didn't need any animals from Abraham. He is already in control. He owns everything.

### Why animals?

Abraham lived in the desert regions of Judea. This region did not provide plentiful fruits, roots, and nuts growing from trees for Abraham and his followers to eat. Therefore, Abraham and his followers needed to eat meat in order to keep their bodies alive.

But because Abraham and his followers required these animals for survival, they treasured the animals (e.g., _'Abram had become very wealthy in livestock...'_ (Gen. 13:2)). They kept flocks of animals to ensure their future survival in this barren region.

And it is this reason that the Supreme Being requested Abraham make an offering of these animals to Him. It wasn't that God treasured the animals - or even needed them. But by offering what was treasured by Abraham, Abraham would have the opportunity to increase his devotion and commitment to the Supreme Being.

It is for this very reason that a woman wants a man to buy her an expensive ring for their engagement. She wants him to show his devotion to her by making a big sacrifice for her - by spending his hard earned money - money he'd probably prefer spending on his car or something else.

It is not as if God goes around asking people to kill some animals for Him. In fact, as we find out later, there are specific rules for offering animals to the Supreme Being. And it was not just any animal, but specifically, those animals that were recommended for eating - in order to survive.

Today most of us do not need to herd and slaughter animals to survive. Most of us have plenty of other food options, many of which do not require the slaughter of animals at all. Are we to go ahead and slaughter animals even if we do not need to eat them to survive?

### Doesn't God prefer humans don't eat meat?

We find clear evidence that the Supreme Being preferred that humans do not eat meat:

_"I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food." (Genesis 1:30)_

But we find that after the regional flood of Noah, which left this region increasingly barren, the Supreme Being allowed His worshipers in this region to eat meat if they had to - and under certain conditions:

_"Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it." (Genesis 9:3-4)_

We should note that during this same time in history, vegetarian lifestyles were flourishing throughout Asia, India and Indonesia. The historical record is clear that among these areas where ancient monotheism flourished 5,000 years ago, plant-based foods and dairy were the primary diet of those regions, with the exception of marine and fish diets along the coastlines.

And we find from these verses that the Supreme Being allowed these followers to eat meat when they needed to, but the process of slaughter was highly regulated. Why?

Because the Supreme Being prefers that we only slaughter animals and eat meat if absolutely necessary for the survival of the body.

As such, the Supreme Being readily accepts - with few restrictions - any offering that does not require the killing of an animal. This includes fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and so many other foods and other items, such as water, flowers, incense and treasured stones. God also sanctioned these to be offered to Him in many Biblical verses. And amongst other monotheistic cultures, we also find offerings made to God with these items.

### What is the purpose of making offerings to God?

Offering to the Supreme Being some treasure, or food prior to our eating it allows us to gradually re-develop our personal relationship with the Supreme Being. We begin to put our relationship with Him in front of our desire for that food or treasure.

From these and many other verses, we know that Cain, Able, and Noah before Abraham also made offerings to God. And Job, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah and other Prophets also made offerings. We must, therefore, conclude that the Supreme Being and His representatives all sanction and advise making personal offerings to the Supreme Being.

This is despite the reality that many sectarian teachers and their institutions have practically ignored this honored activity of making offerings to God.

Yet this activity was also sanctioned by Jesus:

_"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." (Matthew 5:23-24 NASB)_

_And Jesus *said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." (Matthew 8:4 NASB)_

_"You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? (Matthew 23:19 NASB)_

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) version was used for the above verses in Matthew, because the translators appropriately translated the Greek word δῶρον (dōron) to "offering" instead of "gift" as most other versions have done. The Greek word δῶρον (dōron) can certainly mean a "gift," but also an "offering" - or "the offering of a gift or of gifts" according to Strong's lexicon. In this context, Jesus is clearly referring to making offerings to the Supreme Being.

This can be done at the Altar, or as Jesus did when he "gave thanks" (a mistranslation), offerings can be made to the Supreme Being any place by utilizing a prayer directed to God.

### What are freewill offerings?

Offerings of devotion to God were also called _"freewill offerings:"_

_"I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your Name, O LORD, for it is good." (Psalm 54:6)_

As Jesus illustrated when he "gave thanks" (a mistranslation for making an offering), offerings can be made to the Supreme Being any place by praying directly to God from within the heart.

As Jesus illustrated, offerings to God do not have to be formal. We can pick a flower and simply close our eyes and make a silent offering to God at any time and any place. We can silently - as did Jesus many times when he _"blessed"_ food - make an offering of our food to the Supreme Being (prior to eating it) privately even when in a public place. In the privacy of our homes, we can also make offerings to God accompanied by prayer and singing His Holy Names, as did David as stated above, and Abraham:

_"...where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD." (Genesis 13:4)_

We find many other verses among the scriptures that the prophets made offerings to God as they praised and glorified God and His Holy Names in prayer, chant and song. When this is accompanied by a devotional offering, the person extends their heart, their words, and a small, symbolic gift to the Supreme Being. Over time, this activity gradually re-develops our lost personal relationship with the Supreme Being.

#  Genesis 15:13-16

# "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers ..."

_As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." (Genesis 15:12-16)_

### Did God make Abraham's descendants slaves?

There is archeological evidence that the Hebrews were subjected to being menial laborers by the Eqyptians. As to whether they became outright slaves is subject to interpretation. The question this verse brings up is why would God subject Abraham's descendants to becoming slaves? This after promising his descendants so many riches - that they would control cities and so many lands?

Archeological digs in parts of Egypt, near the great pyramids and elsewhere, have indicated Hebrew settlements. These indicate that the Hebrews were part of the laboring class that helped build the pyramids and other Egyptian cities. Does this mean they were literally slaves?

It could mean that, because that work appears to have been pretty difficult, and the Hebrews were definitely migrants in that region, after they had to escape famines and droughts. But it could also be that they were migrants that chose to stay in Egypt because there was plenty of food to eat. So they could survive during harsh times in their homeland.

But suggesting that the Supreme Being personally cursed a nation of people to slavery would indicate cruelty that is difficult to embrace.

The narrative doesn't make much sense, does it? That God would be this cruel? This might be like saying that God subjected the people from Africa to several hundred years of slavery in America. Such a notion is preposterous. Or it might be like saying that God subjected the Jewish people in Northern Europe to Germany's concentration camps.

Yes, this verse does indicate that it was not God that subjected them to slavery, it was the Egyptian rulers, which God says, "I will punish."

This is similar to saying that the people of Africa were enslaved by people and governments of America and elsewhere who enslaved them. Yes, God is not responsible. Those who gained positions of authority were responsible.

Certainly in the same way, we know that Hitler and those German officers who supported him and his decisions were responsible for Jewish people being imprisoned and slaughtered.

What does this mean? It means that God did not personally subject these people to their conditions, just as He is not subjecting people who are suffering in critical situations today.

The issue is that the physical world is a world of freedom of choice, along with consequences. Those who use their freedom of choice to subject others to suffering will themselves suffer in a future lifetime, in ways that allow them to understand the kind of suffering they subjected upon others.

This is called learning. The physical world is a place of learning, and each of us can utilize our freedom of choice to learn to love others and help others, or use that freedom to hurt others. It is really up to each of us.

But those who subject others to suffering will suffer consequences, as is indicated in this verse. But it is not that the Supreme Being is personally attacking people or punishing people. This physical world is designed - or programmed - with the facilities that automatically enforce us to receive the kind of suffering that we inflict upon others.

This reception, however, requires multiple lifetimes. Each of us lives in a physical body for a temporary period of time. At the end of that lifetime, our spirit-persons return to learning centers in the spirit world (not the same as heaven). There we prepare to return to the physical world to undergo another lifetime of learning in another physical body.

The next physical body and lifetime are designed to teach us what we need to learn. That lifetime may be a life of privilege or a life of hardship, depending upon the condition of our consciousness, and the consequences of our prior choices.

Through many lifetimes we may become elevated and have the potential to return home to the spiritual realm.

### Why do we attribute suffering to God?

Therefore, it is not wrong to attribute the design and resulting events in the world to the Supreme Being. But we must know that the Supreme Being does not take sides. He is on everyone's side. He wants all of us - each of us - to succeed. Sometimes the soul will take on a body that is abhorrent and sometimes the soul will take on a body that is favorable to learning and growing spiritually.

But each of those lives offers the soul learning experiences. And the Supreme Being still loves each of us unconditionally. He is not personally against any of us.

Yet certainly, we can attribute to the wisdom of the Supreme Being the ability of the physical world to inflict consequences upon us for decisions we make that end up harming others. But it is the system, not a personal vendetta by God.

This is the misinterpretation of these texts, where it makes it though the Supreme Being is favoring the Hebrews somehow. Even if it is obvious from these texts and others that the Hebrew people have also suffered quite a bit within the physical world.

### What about the covenant?

This verse has been taken out of the context and lessons that were originally intended from this. Why would the Supreme Being be involved in warning Abraham about something that is supposed to take place four centuries later? Why would that be important to Abraham that God would appear to him to make such a promise?

And why, if the Supreme Being was making a covenant to give the land of Judea to Abraham's descendants, would He have allowed Abraham's descendants to become slaves for four hundred years? And what great possessions would they be coming away with?

There are so many holes in this interpretation and translation of these verses.

### Is Genesis a single book?

Genesis is not one book, but rather a rewritten mixture of many ancient manuscripts - as many as nineteen - that have been patched together by scribes centuries after their initial recordings. Prior to that, the teachings were passed down orally though a number of lineages of teachers and their students. This oral tradition did not come from a single lineage either. There were several different oral versions that were woven together by scribes to make it appear as though it were a historical chronology.

Genesis was only compiled into a single document by scribes that worked for Judean tribal rulers around 600 B.C. This was during a time when these tribal rulers were seeking to substantiate and consolidate their authority by claiming they were the inheritance of a great promise by God to give them - these tribal chiefs - domination over certain lands and peoples.

### So what did God say then?

Let's look at the Hebrew more closely to decipher what is being described:

The first dubious translation is the Hebrew root word זרע (zera`), translated to _"descendants."_ This word actually relates to not only offspring and seed, but to sowing and "of moral quality - a practitioner of righteousness" when used in its figurative context, according to the lexicon.

The Supreme Being was not fixated upon Abraham's family descendants as proposed by the scribes. Rather, the spiritual communication from God to Abraham concerned Abraham's followers, and the teachings that were the cornerstone to Abraham's service to the Supreme Being. This is also confirmed by the figurative definition of זרע (zera`), as the Supreme Being often spoke figuratively.

Why would the Supreme Being speak figuratively as He communicates - especially within a dream? Because human language is a language used to describe physical realities, while the Supreme Being illuminates us on spiritual issues - issues that transcend the scope of the physical realm.

Since the communication regards spiritual topics and not mundane issues such as preserving one's physical family, we must accept that God is not discussing the descendants of Abraham's temporary physical body. Rather, the discussion revolved around Abraham's followers, who were supposed to continue to pass on the teachings that Abraham was imparting to his followers.

This is also confirmed by the use of זרע (zera`) as "sowing" because Abraham is sowing seeds of knowledge within his followers.

Here are the terms that follow this:

גר (ger) relates to being strangers  
ארץ ('erets) relates to land, earth or world  
הם (hem) refers to belonging - citizenship  
עבד (`abad) relates to being enslaved  
ענה (`anah) refers to being oppressed

### What is the enslavement?

While these terms have been translated as if Abraham's descendants will be enslaved in a foreign land, the text is actually referring to another kind of enslavement and oppression.

The Supreme Being is referring to Abraham's followers - because they followed him - first being rejected by many and then becoming oppressed laborers, by a particular (foreign) culture and the trappings of materialism within that culture.

This concept of enslavement and oppression has been misunderstood and misinterpreted throughout these ancient texts. When we become focused upon the pleasures and trappings of the physical world we become enslaved by them. With this enslavement comes oppression, as we become trapped by the attractions of materialistic facilities and appeasements.

This is despite the fact that our spiritual selves are foreign (strangers) to the physical world. The physical world is not our home. We are spiritual in essence and our bodies are temporary. To add to this, those who followed Abraham are even moreso strangers to the material world, because Abraham's teachings focused upon loving and serving the Supreme Being - an act contrary to a materialistic, hedonistic lifestyle.

One might say, for example, that many sectarian institutions today (and most of us otherwise) have become enslaved and oppressed by the western culture, with its various hedonistic technological trappings. Without personal spiritual engagment, this enslavement leads to a loss of consciousness of the very teachings of the scriptures - namely our spiritual identity and our innate spiritual inheritance to love and serve the Supreme Being.

The Supreme Being was warning Abraham that his followers will stray and become enslaved and oppressed into the future by a society and culture that focuses one away from the Supreme Being.

Yes, this could include becoming part of ancient Egyptian society. And yes, there is evidence that many Hebrews chose to become part of the Egyptian society, and were not necessarily forced into slavery. Yet we also know that some became indentured, due to their lower societal stature (being immigrants in Egypt). But they also came to be enamored by the wealth of the Egyptians - much like many people from economically poor cultures today have become enamored by the Western culture.

### Four hundred years?

The translation indicates four hundred years. But is this a precise measurement? The Hebrew root words used in this are ארבע ('arba`), מאה (me'ah) and שנה (shaneh).

In fact, the Hebrew word שנה (shaneh) does not necessarily indicate years. It is a division of time. And the word מאה (me'ah) indicates a simple number or part of a larger number - it does not necessarily mean one hundred. If anything, it indicates a fraction - 1/100th.

ארבע ('arba`), however, does indicate _"four,"_ but also can mean "multiple." So rather than precisely four hundred years, the text indicates multiple generations of followers: מאה (me'ah) and שנה (shaneh) indicate a specific and non-specific period of time - which would normally refer to several generations into the future, because generations are variable to the number of years each generation lives.

In the next phrase, the Supreme Being is not talking about punishing those who enslave Abraham's followers. The word דין (diyn) is being used here, which refers not to punishing, but rather to someone who is in charge, judgment or governing. The Supreme Being is indicating that even though Abraham's followers will be enslaved and oppressed in the _"foreign"_ culture - God is ultimately in charge, and thus will be there for them when they seek to return to Him.

The word _"nation"_ is used - taken from the Hebrew root גוי (gowy). Yet this word does not refer to a specific _"nation"_ as we like to refer to today. It refers to a populace, a society or a culture of people.

This society or culture being discussed is the culture of people who reject the Supreme Being - a materialistic society. Those who live within that culture - being atheists - will still have to live under the governance of the Supreme Being. It is not as if they will not also be judged and contend with the rules of the physical world. They are still under God's ultimate control even though they deny Him.

The phrase _"great possessions"_ is also inaccurate. The word רכוש (rĕkuwsh) is being translated to _"possessions"_ while גדול (gadowl) is being translated to _"many"_ or _"great."_ Is the Supreme Being really interested in predicting how many material possessions the followers of Abraham leave their enslavement with? No.

In fact, the word רכוש (rĕkuwsh) refers also to something acquired, as in wealth or other substance. The Supreme Being is not talking about Abraham's followers leaving their captors with a whole bunch of gold and silver and livestock or something. That is a ridiculous notion - this would make Abraham's followers out to be materialistic looters.

### Can we rise above materialism?

What the Supreme Being is communicating to Abraham is that those of his followers who rise above their enslavement and oppression by following the guidance of the Supreme Being will come away with spiritual wealth - their loving relationship with the Supreme Being. This wealth is the greatest of riches, and this is the wealth that the Supreme Being and His followers value and perpetually discuss through scriptures.

In the last part of this verse, the Supreme Being then discusses Abraham's future. Is the Supreme Being really interested in talking about how Abraham will be buried at a ripe old age? What kind of Supreme Being is this? This sounds like we're talking about a genie or something - granting Abraham a ripe old age as part of his three wishes.

The keywords in the beginning of this phrase that are dubiously translated are אב ('ab), שלום (shalowm), קבר (qabar). אב ('ab) does not refer to Abraham's fathers. Why would the Supreme Being be talking about Abraham going to his fathers?

Remember that the physical body dies within a few decades, and in ancient times, a little later. But they still die, and then they decompose. The spiritual person lives on, separated from the physical body. In other words, we are not these physical bodies. They are like vehicles we drive for a while. Thus, the fathers of our body are not our fathers.

The Supreme Being is not interested in dead bodies. This is a spiritual invocation. The word אב ('ab) refers to, as stated clearly in the lexicon, _"of God as Father of His people."_ The Supreme Being is telling Abraham that Abraham will follow his own spiritual teachers and return to God and the spiritual realm after the death of his physical body.

### What is the real covenant?

This is confirmed by the use of שלום (shalowm), meaning "completeness, soundness, welfare, peace" as well as _"friendship - with God especially in covenant relationship"_ according to the lexicon. This word indicates that Abraham will be returning to his fulfilling relationship with the Supreme Being.

This is God's real covenant with those who choose to use their lives to come to know Him and learn to love Him.

But doesn't קבר (qabar) refer to the burial of the physical body? How does the burial of the physical body relate to Abraham returning to his relationship with God in the spiritual realm? Because this will happen after Abraham's body is buried.

Now the words טוב (towb) and שיבה (seybah) are used, with שיבה (seybah) being repeated. The translators suppose this refers to Abraham being buried at a ripe old age. This is incorrect however. The Supreme Being is not interested in telling Abraham how long he will live in his physical body.

The Supreme Being is telling Abraham that he will live eternally after his body is buried and he returns to the spiritual realm. This is a special benediction, that is consistent with other communications by the Supreme Being - that should we chose to return to our original loving relationship with the Supreme Being in the spiritual realm, we will live there eternally, and will never return.

Again, this is God's promise to Abraham \- _His covenant._ And the so-called "promised land" is the spiritual realm.

### What about those who stray?

As for those followers of Abraham who become enslaved and oppressed by the culture of materialism - in other words, they do not strictly follow Abraham's teachings - God says they will also return to Him. But later, after multiple additional lifetimes.

This is communicated with the word דור (dowr), which is incorrectly being translated to _"generation."_ While the word can mean generation, it also can mean "period, habitation, dwelling, age" according to the lexicon. The correct translation would thus be "lifetimes."

These physical bodies are temporary. Each of us is a spiritual person, who lives before and after the body. Those of us who are enslaved by the self-centered trappings of the physical world are destined to return to another physical body after the death of this body. Each successive body reflects our level of consciousness. This is why some may occupy animal, plant and insect bodies, while others occupy human ones.

A soul who takes on a human form is evolving spiritually. The human form provides the opportunity to perfect our consciousness - to return to the spiritual realm and leave the physical world. Those of us who accept the teachings of Abraham, David, Moses, Jesus and other messengers of God will continue to evolve until our consciousness is pure enough to return to the spiritual world.

In other words, those followers of Abraham who fall down - becoming enslaved by the trappings of the physical world - will also have a chance to return to the Supreme Being and the spiritual realm. But that progression will require additional lifetimes - which the Supreme Being is communicating here to Abraham.

The word _"here"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word הנה (hennah), which refers to the place being discussed. The Supreme Being was discussing Abraham returning home to Him in the spiritual realm, so _"here"_ in this case, refers to the spiritual realm.

The reason for the delay in their returning home to the spiritual realm? The word עון (`avon) is being used to indicate _"iniquity"_ but this word means "perversity, depravity, guilt or punishment of iniquity" and "consequence of or punishment for iniquity" according to the lexicon.

### What is consequence learning?

Yes, this physical world is a place of consequences. The rules established by the Supreme Being is that each of us must be held to the consequences of our activities. Should we steal, something will be stolen from us. Should we hurt someone's body, our body will have to be hurt - if not in this lifetime, in the next. This is not to punish us: This is to teach us (understanding that we are not these bodies). It is to enable us to understand how it feels when we subject others to our self-centered desires.

Sectarian institutions have misinterpreted this as being facilitated by human enforcers. The "eye for an eye" reference is not that some law officer will enforce this. This is describing the consequence system of the physical world, which rewards a person precisely what they do to others with an equivalency - if not in this lifetime, in the next.

This law of consequence is also called consequence learning. It is known to child psychologists as the preferred way to raise children - not punishing them, but teaching them the consequences of their actions in order to teach them.

The Supreme Being does the same thing, but to a perfect degree within multiple lifetimes. We all have to pay the consequences of our self-centered activities (activities of service to God are exempt from consequence).

In other words, a person who enslaves a person in one life may well become enslaved in their next life, to the very same degree. This allows that person to come to understand _what it feels like._

Of course, there are exceptions, especially for those who come to learn without the precise consequence. Such a person is often described as having a change of heart - also referred to as repentance.

### What about the Amorites?

The translation of this text indicates that this is all related to the _"Amorites"_ \- a nation that the Israelites battled for centuries over land disputes. But does this text really refer to a particular nation? Those Judean emperors and their scribes wanted to make it so, but this is not the reality.

The word אמרי ('Emoriy) literally means _"a sayer"_ \- derived from the root word אָמַר ('amar), which means "to say, speak, utter" - "to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend."

The text is not taking about Abraham's followers being enslaved by the Amorites. Rather, it is talking about the consequences of their wayward intentions and teachings - which within multiple generations had lost the message Abraham had given them. The consequences of their misguided teachings would take multiple lifetimes before they would be able to return to the spiritual realm, according to this revelation by the Supreme Being to Abraham in a dream.

And God is not talking about precise lifetimes here. The word רביעי (rĕbiy`iy) can mean fourth, but it can also mean "four square" or "fourth part." We must understand this use within the context of how we often will say "a couple." A person might say "it happened a couple of times." Does this mean precisely two? Typically not. It means multiple times, possibly two, but also possibly three or even four sometimes.

This variable allows for change - and choice. We each have the freedom to choose to change. When we make such choices, consequences can also change. This is the nature of God's love for us.

In the same way, to say "four square" or the "fourth part" would refer to a lengthy period, beyond "a couple." It means _"multiple."_ In other words, those followers of Abraham who strayed - becoming enslaved by the trappings of the physical world - and misleading others with their words - would also have a chance to return to the spiritual world after multiple lifetimes.

The number of lifetimes it might take depends upon each of us. No one is devoid of choice. Each of us has the choice to return to God and the spiritual world or not. Thus, the Supreme Being cannot specifically state precisely how many lifetimes it will take for the wayward followers of Abraham to get back on track.

At the same time, the Supreme Being is confident that we will all get back on track. Sooner or later, each of us will realize that we need Him to be fulfilled. We need our relationship with the Supreme Being to be complete. This is why each of us spends our lives looking for love - we are each looking for our lost relationship with the Supreme Being.

Yet each of us must learn this for ourselves. The Supreme Being set up the physical world so we would eventually learn this. But on our own time. When we are ready.

This is because love requires freedom. We must have the freedom to choose. Yet the Supreme Being is confident that each of us will eventually choose to return to Him, because this is the only thing that will make us happy.

And God wants us to be happy.

God's statement, then, would more appropriately be translated to something like:

_"Know for certain that your followers will become strangers to the material world, but will be enslaved and oppressed by the world through multiple generations. Yet I am still in control and they will eventually become freed and rich in wisdom. You, however, will return to Me in the spiritual realm once your body is buried, to follow your teachers and live eternally. Your followers will also return to Me, many after multiple lifetimes, for the consequences of wayward acts and misleading others must first be met." (Genesis 15:13-16)_

#  Genesis 15:18-21

# "To your descendants I give this land ..."

_On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates--the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." (Genesis 15:18-21)_

### Is this allegorical?

These ancient events were told and retold orally over many generations through the centuries before they were recorded in about the Sixth Century BCE. This means that while the stories might have been told accurately in the beginning, they were also adapted to the time and circumstance as they were retold over the centuries.

As such, they cannot be accepted as an accurate historical record.

Most notably, many of these events took on an allegorical element as they were told to present to the next generation the underlying devotional mission.

With respect to land, we must understand that during many of these centuries, the feudal tribal system put a great emphasis on controlling territory. Therefore, it was important to these tribal leaders to have been given authority over the lands.

As such, the events regarding Abraham's history included statements about God granting land to Abraham. This fabled part of the story was to portray that the control over the land was authorized by the Supreme Being - which is an over-reach from a practical basis.

But it does accurately portray the notion that God does control all land. And if anyone gains control over lands, that control was essentially authorized by the Supreme Being - since He controls all land.

This, then, portrays the allegorical nature of these texts. It isn't that God gave specific land to Abraham as though God is a land-grant office. The message is that God owns all land and He sometimes grants temporary control to others.

But we must realize that this literal translation was embellished. After all, is God in the land division business? Does He go around apportioning out all the land to various families and their descendants?

Furthermore, we know today that Abraham's descendants (assuming they are part of the population of Israel today) do not today own or control all of these lands. Some are governed over by Egyptians. Some are governed over by Iran, Syria and Iraq. If God gave all this land to Abraham's descendants, then why do they not control these lands today? Does God give out land and then take it back?

The Supreme Being perpetually owns all land. No one else truly owns and land, and God would never give up His perpetual ownership, especially to a single family or race of humans. After all, every human body dies.

### Why is this so convenient?

It is convenient that it was those who claimed to be Abraham's descendants - through the guise of those emperors and scribes in the centuries following Abraham - that would produce such a message. The interpretation and translation - made repeatedly - claims that God gave the lands occupied by other groups to a particular family was made by those who claimed to be from that family, even though the claim was made more than a thousand years later.

And how could they know they were Abraham's descendants? Did they have genetic testing done to find out whether they were direct descendants of Abraham? Did they do the "family tree" testing that is now offered by laboratories who do genetic testing?

Note that this interpretation followed more than 400 years of enslavement, plus more than two thousand years after that. How did they know which of the population were direct descendants of Abraham?

It would be like someone today trying to claim they were a descendant of Jesus. How could someone truly trace a family tree that far back?

Indeed, you have a supposed genealogy that is recorded in the Book of Genesis and Exodus. But the problem here is that it was recorded more than a thousand years later, in the Sixth Century BCE. Even if you take the genealogy of Jesus that is recorded i the New Testament you find two different genealogies with many holes between each (for example, Jesus is supposedly a descendant of David, but David was apparently not part of that genealogy. He was from another family, even though David received lessons from Saul.)

Nonetheless, we are speaking of a race of people, not a single person.

Even if we were to accept, for example, that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, then we have a problem. The problem is that Judea was controlled by the Romans during Jesus' lifetime. So how could Jesus be one of the owners of this land if it was supposedly given to Abraham's descendants?

The Romans occupied Judea for centuries. If a country could take that ownership away, then Abraham's supposed descendants never did own the land. Ownership means control. And if the Judeans could not control those lands they were supposedly given, then they never owned them in the first place.

Certainly, it is heresy as to which of those people who claimed that occupation were actually descendants. What about those who were descendants of the people surrounding Abraham but not Abraham's? Are they to be included in the ownership of all these lands?

What this sets up is quite simply racism. If a person is lucky enough to be born within a society of a particular race of people, they become the rightful owner of all that land?

The Supreme Being does not give any family ownership of lands.

### Aren't we only traveling through?

We are each a passenger on the planet earth. No one but the Supreme Being owns anything. It is like being on an airplane and claiming ownership of the airplane seat we were given. Yes, we can be in that seat for the flight. But then after the flight is over we must give up the seat.

It is the same with these physical bodies. We leave our bodies behind at the time of death, along with everything surrounding them.

The correct translation of this verse relates to an instruction by the Supreme Being telling Abraham that his followers will spread his teachings throughout these lands.

The word _"given"_ comes from the Hebrew root נתן (nathan). This indicates employment, assignment, appointment or devotion. In can indicate something given, but that something is relating to some duty or ascription. The duty or devotional ascription is teaching love for God and living a life of loving God. This is what Abraham was teaching.

### What is the true covenant?

The Supreme Being was assigning a task to Abraham concerning his followers. Note that this relates to a covenant between God and Abraham:

_On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram ... (Gen. 15:18)_

What is a covenant? Is a covenant giving land in exchange for worship? Certainly not. The word _"covenant"_ is being translated from the Hebrew ברית (bĕriyth), which means, according to the Gesenius lexicon:

_between God and man  
1) alliance (of friendship)  
2) covenant (divine ordinance with signs or pledges)_

What we are talking about is a personal pact between God and Abraham. Is this a land exchange? Did Abraham worship God so that God would give his ancestors a bunch of lands? No, that would essentially be a business relationship.

The true covenant relates to a relationship of love. Abraham has pledged his love to the Supreme Being, as noted in the previous verses with his worship of God and _"calling on the Name of the Lord"_ and making offerings to God and so forth. These are acts of love.

It is not as if God is rewarding Abraham for his devotion with a bunch of lands - which, if it were so, could not be rewarded for 400 years later, and then taken away again. What kind of reward would this be anyway?

Abraham does not want a reward. Abraham wants to serve God. He wants to please God. This is love, not business. Abraham was concerned about who would continue to pass on his teachings after he was gone. To that, God said that Abraham's followers would stretch far and wide, into those various populations and throughout those lands.

How far would his followers be spread out? Everywhere. They would pass on the message of love of God throughout the Middle East region, and eventually throughout the world. That is the covenant. That is the relationship, and that is what Abraham's followers would be spreading throughout the land - far and wide.

We can see how this has taken place factually. If we look now at those lands discussed above, we definitely know that Abraham's descendants have not been given those lands, as they are now controlled by various governments. But we can definitely know that Abraham's followers - including David, Samuel, Moses, Jesus and so on - spread Abraham's devotion into those lands, and now there are so many followers of Abraham in these regions.

Thus we would more appropriately translate this verse to:

_"Your followers will be spread throughout the land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates \- the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." (Genesis 15:18-21)_

#  Genesis 17:1-6

# "I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless ..."

_When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between Me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you." (Genesis 17:1-6)_

### Was Abraham the 'father of many nations'?

The Supreme Being is speaking here to Abraham. Note that the Hebrew word translated to "Abram" (אברם) means _"exalted father"_ while אברהם or Abraham means _"father of many"_ according to the Gesenius lexicon.

Yet the ecclesiastical translation and interpretation of this text as Abraham being the physical father - as in progeny - of so many must be questioned. How could Abraham's progeny be _"father of many"_ at this point?

How could Abraham be _"father of many nations"_? We know that Abraham's wife, Sarai could not conceive children, so she allowed Abraham to conceive Ishmael with Hagar. But how did Abraham, now at the age of 99 years, suddenly become the _"father of many nations"_ after giving birth to one son?

In reality, this statement by the Supreme Being has been significantly mistranslated and misinterpreted by sectarian teachers and writers.

For example, throughout the Old and New Testaments, many references to "father" and "son" have been mistranslated and misinterpreted.

This is evidenced by the fact that the Hebrew word for "father," אב ('ab), can refer not only to a father of an individual, but also a ruler, a chief, a teacher or a spiritual leader. Furthermore, the Hebrew word בן (ben) - typically translated to "son" in the Old Testament - can refer not only to a son of the physical body, but also a subject, a servant, a student or a follower.

The translation and interpretation of this text reflect on the time, circumstance and society that passed on these teachings. Some of these were nomadic tribal leaders who required authority over certain lands and peoples. This need for authority also related to the institutional scribes of some Sixth Century BCE. These scribes - whom historians attribute the first written manuscripts that became the Torah.

These texts cemented the basis for their position as owners of the lands of Judah: To help provide a stalwart against those adversaries such as the Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Assyrians, who were fighting the Judeans for their territories.

So they positioned Abraham as the "father" of their "nation" (tribe) to unite the people under a particular heritage.

### Did this strategy work?

Bringing people together under one theoretical ancestor is one thing. But bringing God into the equation is quite another. Being God's privileged and 'chosen' people is quite an honor. right? It is quite the opportunity to invoke unity and pride among a society.

This false sense of authority regarding Abraham helped enlarge and strengthen the Judean peoples, even though most were not even related to Abraham. As such, this misinterpretation of the relationship between Abraham and God was expanded through the texts over the centuries, replacing a real understanding of Abraham and God's relationship.

The text itself reveals this falsehood. Abraham could not have possibly fathered all the people of _"many nations"_ as God is supposedly stating here. Note that the translation states, _"for I have made you a father of many nations."_ This means it has already occurred.

The Hebrew word המון (hamown) is being used in this text. This word can mean "many" or "multiple." Now how could Abraham have already become a father to multiple or many nations?

Note first that the future tense is used, but then the past tense is also used. This is because the original statement is emphatically referring to a present state. This is evidenced simply by the fact that the Supreme Being changed Abraham's name at the time of His statement. The name change indicates a change of position.

So if we use the interpretation of fatherhood as progeny, this translation makes no sense. This translation requires that Abraham would have fathered children who would have given birth to thousands upon thousands of descendants just to form just one nation - not to mention the many thousands - likely millions needed to form "many nations."

All this from one son born a few decades earlier?

This simply makes no practical sense. Some sectarian teachers claim the answer lies in the fact that this is a prediction of the future. If this is true, then we would have to deny God's changing Abraham's name at that time, to _"father of many nations."_

At what point could we contend that Abraham is the _"father of many nations"_? Now? Let's see, how about the nations of Jordan, Turkey, Saudia Arabia, Iraq and Iran - all _"nations"_ in the very region Abraham was traveling? Is Abraham the _"father"_ of all these nations? Is he the direct ancestor of all of these people of these various nations?

This makes little logical sense from a family tree perspective. Each of the millions of Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians and other nations of people who lived at the time of Abraham would also have created their own ancestries, producing a great mix of people with various ancestries amongst this region.

### Wasn't Abraham a spiritual leader?

Because Abraham was at the time, and still is, esteemed by many people throughout the world for his teachings and devotion to God. He can thus be considered a spiritual leader. This could also be construed as somewhat of a father in that sense. But it is not the same kind of _"father"_ being promulgated by sectarian translators and interpreters - who are referring to progeny.

Up until this talk with God, Abraham has been involved with spreading the message of love for God. He has been teaching others about God. He has built altars in different places and has _"called on the Name of the Lord."_ (Genesis 13:4) This means that Abraham was involved in spreading the worship of God. He has been teaching others about God.

Abraham has thus become the spiritual teacher to many people. He and those he had been teaching had been and would be traveling to other regions and spread those teachings far and wide. This has made Abraham a _spiritual leader_ among many people among multiple regions.

Even today we find the remnants of such an attribute of _"father"_ as a spiritual teacher, as we find priests and other clergy often addressed as "father." This is a direct carryover from the days of Abraham through Jesus, whose students referred to their teacher with this sort of reverent title.

Yet they weren't children of their teacher's physical body. They were their children with respect to being their teacher's followers.

And those who addressed Peter - Jesus' disciple \- as their "father" - or the "father" of the church - were not referring to Peter being their parent or their direct ancestor. They were speaking of Peter as their spiritual leader - their teacher.

### What does fruitful mean?

So what about the rest of the statement by God, such as: _"I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you."_ Doesn't this relate to having many children and giving birth to progeny that will eventually become kings? Certainly, fruitful is the term used for creating progeny in other verses.

It certainly could be twisted to seem that way. But it is still not accurate that the Supreme Being would be bestowing upon a single man that he is suddenly the father of many nations.

What the Supreme Being is speaking of is how Abraham's teachings will be spread throughout the land. They will be spread amongst many societies, and many different people, producing many followers and many successive spiritual teachers (incorrectly translated to _"kings"_ ) will worship the Supreme Being as a result of Abraham's spreading the message of loving service to the Supreme Being throughout the region. In other words, Abraham's service to God in teaching others has been _"fruitful."_

### Why did God change Abram's name to Abraham?

The reason for the name change from Abram to Abraham relates to Abraham expanding his mission. This means becoming a spiritual leader to many as opposed to a select few. In this context, the word Abram means "elevated teacher," and Abraham means, "teacher to many." It is a subtle difference, yet it is significant because the Supreme Being is basically indicating that Abraham has become the spiritual leader to many people.

It was not about family. That would basically make God a racist.

The Supreme Being is not a racist. He doesn't care about what family we were born into or who our body's relatives are. Every one of us has an equal chance to change their consciousness and decide we want to return to our relationship with the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being loves each of us equally.

We are the ones who are choosing to remain away from Him.

But when a person dedicates their life to the Supreme Being, they become favored by Him, simply because the Supreme Being enjoys the exchange of love. It is not as if we become better than anyone else should we return to our loving service relationship with God.

Rather, that relationship of love will endear us to Him. Those who love Him work to please Him, and He reciprocates that love.

Furthermore, we are not these physical bodies. We are each spiritual persons temporarily occupying a physical body. Our original home is the spiritual world - outside the scope of this physical dimension.

Those who return to their loving relationship with God will often embark on trying to help others return to their relationship with God. They want to please God, and God is pleased when we help remind others of their relationship with God.

This is the real _"covenant"_ between Abraham and God. A covenant is a pact or commitment. It is a trust between two people. In this case, it is a pact of love. It is a commitment of love. Abraham was concerned that his service to the Supreme Being would not be fruitful. So God comforted Abraham that his efforts have and would produce many followers, and many would turn to the Supreme Being as a result of his efforts. In other words, God was supporting Abraham's efforts.

The _covenant_ is about love and loving service. When a person loves God they serve Him. Love without service is not real love. And God reciprocates that love by supporting His loving servant. This is His pact and His promise, not only to Abraham, but to each of us. If we love the Supreme Being, He will be there for us. He will support us. He will provide refuge for us.

We can thus offer a more appropriate translation of God's statement to Abraham:

_"I am God Almighty; live for Me and be purified. I will confirm my covenant between Myself and you and will greatly increase your following. As for Me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the spiritual leader of many followers. No longer will you be called Abram (elevated teacher); you will be called Abraham (teacher to many) because I have made you the spiritual leader of many followers. I will make your teachings fruitful; I will make multitudes of followers from you, and many spiritual leaders will follow you." (Genesis 17:1-5)_

#  Genesis 17:7-8

# I will establish my covenant as an everlasting ..."

_"I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." (Genesis 17:7-8)_

### What does this covenant mean?

If we were to take this statement by God literally as translated, it would provide many problems. It would essentially mean the following:

\- It would mean that God made a special pact only with Abraham and Abraham's children and Abraham's children's children.

\- It would mean that if someone was not a direct descendant of Abraham (i.e., either a descendant of Ishmael or Isaac) then they would be left out of such a covenant.

\- It would mean that the covenant automatically bears upon every descendant of Abraham - whether they want to be part of the covenant or not.

\- It would mean that God gave the land of Canaan to Abraham and Abraham's descendants even though they never gained control over that land (as it is fought over and possessed by various invaders over the centuries).

\- This would mean that God never really gave that land to Abraham's descendants since they never can control it.

\- It would mean that God is saying that he is the God of Abraham's descendants - as if those descendants have no choice. Isn't God the God of everyone?

\- It would mean that God excludes those who weren't fortunate enough to be born in Abraham's family. And this would also mean that if someone was born into Abraham's family, they would automatically be part of the covenant and have no choice about the matter.

The net of this literal translation and meaning basically portrays that according to the Israelites, God is not the Supreme Being. They are stating that God does not act with fairness to everyone. They are stating that God plays favorites with one family over another - and one tribe or race over another. This would essentially make God a racist.

### Did Jesus' teachings support this interpretation?

Those who have brought forward this interpretation are part of the very same institution that Jesus - who was also a rabbi - rebelled against. This rebellion by Jesus included their misinterpretation of scripture. Notice that even though Jesus was also a rabbi, he did not proclaim ownership of any particular lands. At the time, the Romans controlled the lands that were supposedly given to Abraham and his descendants anyway.

Notice that Jesus' teachings did not focus on land ownership or territorial ownership at all. Rather, Jesus' teachings focused upon the spiritual world and our identities as spiritual. His focus upon returning to the spiritual world after the death of the physical body was illustrated by the conversation that took place between Jesus and the man hanging next to him as they were dying on the cross:

_Then he [the criminal on the cross next to him] said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:42-43)_

Because we can accept that Jesus understood the real intent and meaning of the scriptures, this and other statements of his illustrate that the _"covenant"_ between God and Abraham is not related to inheriting land in the physical world, and the _"promised land"_ is not some piece of land in the desert.

### What is the real covenant?

The word _"covenant"_ in the verses above is being translated from the Hebrew word ברית (bĕriyth). This word means _a treaty, an alliance, a constitution, an agreement or a pledge_ \- especially one of friendship - according to the lexicon. Now what kind of agreement, pledge, or alliance are we talking about here?

We should also note that God made covenants with many different people besides Abraham in the Old Testament:

God made a covenant with Noah (Genesis 6:18).  
God made a covenant with Noah's sons (Genesis 9:9)  
God (through Laban) made a covenant with Jacob (Genesis 31:46)  
God made a covenant with Moses (Exodus 16:34)  
The Ark of the covenant was carried by Moses' followers, priests, and Joshua's followers and priests (Exodus, Lev, Joshua)  
David and Jonathan made a covenant with God (1 Samuel 23:18)  
Jehoiada made a covenant with God (1 Kings 11:17)  
Asa and the people of Judah and Benjamin made a covenant with God (2 Chron. 15:12)  
Hezekiah made a covenant with God (2 Chron.29:10)  
Josiah made a covenant with God (2 Chron 34:31)  
Shekaniah made a covenant with God (Ezr 10:3)  
Nehemiah made a covenant with God (Neh 1:5)  
God made a covenant with Isaiah (Isaiah 42:6)

As we'll discuss below, all these covenants with God are bound with a similar set of traits.

### Wasn't this between Abraham and God?

Many have assumed this covenant is between God and the entire Hebrew nation. The concept of covenant is hazily projected onto the entire Hebrew nation despite the fact that there were a host of different covenants discussed in the Bible - as addressed above.

We must look carefully at Abraham's activities because from these we can see the kind of _"covenant"_ between Abraham and God.

As Abraham traveled, he built altars (temples) to worship God in various places, and worshiped God in these places:

_From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)_

_So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD. (Genesis 13:18)_

_When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. (Genesis 22:9)_

Are these activities of someone who is marking his territories? Did Abraham stake out his territory and claim that now the land was in his possession? No.

Rather, Abraham was traveling about and erecting altars - temples - on behalf of the Supreme Being.

What is this activity? This is the activity of devotion. The activity of a missionary. Abraham was traveling to different places to pass on to others the need to devote oneself to God.

And just what is the motivation of such acts of devotion? Love. Abraham loved the Supreme Being. He loved God. And he was passing on that love to others.

### What is the covenant of love?

Love is the purpose of worship. It is the purpose of erecting an altar.

Just consider what people do today as they put up all the photos of their family members on their mantles in their homes. Or a soldier who pins up a picture of his wife and kids when he is at war thousands of miles from home. Are they not erecting altars? And why are they doing this?

They are erecting altars because they are expressing their affection for the person or persons - a familial version of love.

And this is precisely the purpose of an altar or temple for worshiping God. It is to perform an act of love - because worship is theoretically an act of love.

This may run contrary to most people's concept of worship of God. This is because many of us do not really worship God. Many of us are attempting a business transaction with God. We assume activities that look like worship in order to receive something in return - be it salvation, wealth, protection or the protection of a relative, or some other request. We make the motions of worship in order to receive something in return. This is not worship. This is business.

Real worship is based upon affection and love. It is based upon being attracted to the person being worshiped and wanting to show affection towards that person.

Just consider a teenage girl who worships a rock star. She puts all the rock star's pictures on her wall and listens to and lip syncs all the rock star's music and copies the rock star's fashion styles. Is she doing this because she expects that the rock star will give her something in return? No, she is simply attracted to the rock star. She is showing her affection towards the rock star.

While this is not real love, it does illustrate the act of worship (but don't tell the teenage girl she isn't in love with the rock star).

Real worship of God is an act of spiritual love. Spiritual love is not like the affection for family members or rock stars. It is a love that goes beyond the physical body. It comes from the spiritual person.

Each of us is a spiritual person. We are not these physical bodies. These bodies are temporary vehicles we wear \- which die. This is what Jesus was communicating to the criminal whose body died next to his. They were both going to the spiritual realm after the death of their bodies. Jesus was returning because of his loving relationship with the Supreme Being, and the criminal was returning because he reached out to God and Jesus during his persecution and was purified in his last moments.

The real _"covenant"_ between Abraham and the Supreme Being is about love. A loving relationship naturally maintains a covenant of love. Abraham's activities of worship and his missionary works were an expression of his love. And the Supreme Being was returning that love in the form of supporting Abraham's mission and being there for him. This is why the Supreme Being appeared before Abraham so much. This is what happens in a loving relationship.

This form of the covenant was confirmed by Solomon, as he prayed:

_"LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep Your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way." (1 Kings 8:23)_

Other commitments (covenants) illustrate this same objective:

_They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. (2 Chron 15:12)_

_"LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments (Neh. 1:5)_

_I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: "Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments (Daniel 9:4)_

### What is everlasting?

This is confirmed by the use of the word _"everlasting"_ (i.e., eternal) before the word _"covenant."_ Is giving land to Abraham's descendants _"everlasting"_? Certainly not. We can see this even today, as so much of the lands supposedly being given to Abraham's descendants are now controlled by various governments unrelated to Abraham's descendants. Obviously, their possession of those lands was not eternal - the pure meaning of עולם (`owlam) \- _"eternal."_

In fact, the word _"everlasting"_ or _"eternal"_ relates not to the temporary physical dimension at all. The word relates to the eternal spiritual world. This is the _"everlasting"_ world. This is the world we are each from. Our physical bodies will all die, but the spiritual realm is _eternal._

And the relationships of the spiritual realm are also _eternal._ This is God's statement to Abraham \- that their loving relationship is _eternal._

The fact is, God was not promising to give Abraham and his descendants any land. He was promising that Abraham's missionary activities would be productive throughout those lands, as this was Abraham's concern.

And God was speaking of Abraham's followers; not descendants of his physical body.

This is why God said _"to be your God and the God of your descendants [followers] after you..."_ He wasn't talking about land. He was talking about spreading His message throughout the land. It was about love. And about following in Abraham's footsteps as one of Abraham's followers.

In fact, the phrases _"you and your descendants"_ in these verses are taken from the Hebrew word זרע (zera`). While this word can certainly relate to offspring, it also means to sow, specifically the _"sowing... of moral quality \- a practitioner of righteousness"_ according to Gesenius's lexicon. In other words, the word can relate specifically to the results of passing on knowledge to others. This means the word can also mean _"followers."_

God does not grant special favors upon people based on the family they were born from. God is not a racist. Each of us has an equal opportunity to return to the spiritual realm. This is God's covenant with anyone who worships Him and learns to love Him.

And this is the basis for the covenant between God and Abraham: Abraham worshiped the Supreme Being with love, and conducted missionary work to pass on love of God to others. And the Supreme Being supported Abraham's work on His behalf.

This produced effectiveness for Abraham's work. In other words, Abraham was able to effectively change people's hearts and turn them from lovers of mammon to lovers of the Supreme Being. And this change of heart - through God's support - delivers a person back to the spiritual world.

### Why was this so important to Abraham?

Again, love. Abraham loved not only the Supreme Being but also loved God's children. He wanted to help bring God's children home. This was his mission, and the Supreme Being supported that mission because this is God's cause: To bring us home to Him. God wants us back in His loving arms because He loves us and wants us to be happy.

And loving God and loving God's children is our true source of happiness.

We are currently away from God because we wanted to exercise our freedom to be away from Him. So He let us go and created this physical world for us to pretend to be away from Him. After all, love requires freedom.

But God still knows that we are only truly happy when we are loving and serving Him. This is because we are indelibly connected to Him. This is our nature.

Thus we can offer a more appropriate translation of the Hebrew text of these two Genesis verses:

_"I will establish my covenant as an eternal covenant between Me and you and your followers after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your followers after you. Your missionary work will spread throughout the land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, and you will have many followers there; and they will make Me their God." (Genesis 17:7-8)_

#  Genesis 17:9

# "As for you, you must keep My covenant ..."

_"As for you, you must keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come." (Genesis 17:9)_

### What is the covenant between God and Abraham?

What does the Supreme Being mean by _"covenant"_ in this statement to Abraham? He is instructing that Abraham must keep it, and supposedly, all of his descendants.

As previously discussed, the word ברית (bĕriyth) being translated to _"covenant"_ means, according to the lexicon, an alliance, pledge, agreement or ordinance. In fact, in this verse and the following verses, the word is being utilized in two different contexts.

The first context is the general _"covenant"_ between God and Abraham: Based on the loving relationship that existed between them, and the loving service that Abraham conducted on God's behalf.

Just consider how a covenant works among humans. A person will commit to another in some way, and the other will commit in some way in return. This creates a bond between the two parties. Typically, a covenant will also require some effort on the part of one or both of the parties. This is the nature of a covenant: There are two elements - a relationship and a particular commitment.

In the case of Abraham and the Supreme Being, their relationship was one of love and devotion. Abraham was devoted to the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being was loving, caring and supporting Abraham. Abraham was conducting service on the Supreme Being's behalf. This is illustrated in previous verses with Abraham's missionary work on behalf of God: Erecting altars (temples), worshiping God and passing on love of God to others.

_From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)_

The second use of the word _"covenant"_ will be laid out in the following verses, as the Supreme Being gives specific instructions, such as the need for circumcision. These instructions are connected to the central covenant between God and Abraham. But they are not the covenant in themselves, as we will show with the next verses.

### Why Abraham's descendants?

Why do Abraham's descendants have to abide by the covenant between Abraham and God? Just by being born in Abraham's family means you have to abide by a covenant made by one of your ancestors?

Such a question assumes that the Hebrew word זרע (zera`) is being correctly translated to _"descendants"_ \- which it is not.

The Hebrew word זרע (zera`), incorrectly translated to _"descendants"_ here, has a literal meaning according to the lexicon, of "seed" or "sowing," as well as "offspring." In this respect, it can related to descendants, but also to posterity. It can also related to the sowing of "moral quality" and when used figuratively, "a practitioner of righteousness." according to the Gesenius lexicon.

Thus "sowing" can refer not only to family offspring, but also to the sowing of knowledge. Those who inherit this "sowing" would thus not be "descendants," but rather, _"followers."_

This meaning is also illustrated in Jesus' parable of the sowing of the farmer's seeds (Luke 8:5-8), which also regarded teaching and followers:

_"Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." (Luke 8:8)_

And this fits precisely within the context of this discussion. At this point Abraham had only one descendant, as Sarai was barren. With Hagar, Abraham bore Ishmael, who was, according to God's angel in Genesis 16:12, _"a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."_

Later, Sarai gave birth to Isaac. Does this mean that only those in Isaac's family have access to the covenant and have to abide by that covenant?

No. Again, God is speaking of Abraham's followers, who would naturally abide by Abraham's covenant with God since they are following Abraham's teachings. That covenant, to love and serve the Supreme Being, would follow to Abraham's followers since that is what Abraham was teaching. That was his mission.

### Wasn't Abraham a missionary?

Abraham had by that time already developed many followers as he had been conducting missionary journeys to different lands, which continued after this conversation with God.

Abraham traveled from Ur of the Chaldees, which was Abraham's birthplace, to Haran, then to Damascus. Then he traveled to Shechem, and then to Bethel. From there he traveled through the land of Canaan to Egypt. Then he traveled back to Bethel, and from there to Hebron in the Jordan Valley. Then he traveled to Hobah, and from there to Salem. Then he traveled to Hebron again and from thereto Gerar in the land of the Philistines. From there he traveled to Beersheba, where he stayed for some time. This is where Isaac was born. Abraham eventually traveled back to Beersheba, then later to Moriah and finally back to Beersheba and then to Hebron, where he and Sarah both left their physical bodies.

Why did Abraham travel so much? In most of these travels, Abraham erected Altars to God and spread the teachings of love of God. As we have translated from earlier verses, the Supreme Being blessed Abraham's missions and empowered Abraham's missionary journeys throughout the lands of the Middle East to spread this philosophy of loving worship of the Supreme Being.

This is also consistent with the missions of those who followed Abraham, including Moses, Joshua, Eli, Samuel, David, Solomon, Job, Ezekiel and Jesus. They were all passing on the need for redeveloping our forgotten loving relationship with God. They were all exercising this _"covenant"_ between God and Abraham to spread the philosophy of love for God.

As such, we can now offer a more appropriate translation of this verse:

_"As for you, you should keep My covenant, you and your followers after you for the generations to come." (Genesis 17:9)_

#  Genesis 17:10-14

# "Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised ..."

_"This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner--those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant." (Genesis 17:10-14)_

### So circumcision is a covenant?

While there is certainly a scriptural and devotional basis for understanding this instruction, the translation of these verses has taken God's instruction to some understandings not originally intended. The translation confuses the time and circumstances of the instruction, taking the instruction out of its context.

First, the translation confuses two different contexts of the Hebrew word ברית (bĕriyth), here being translated to _"covenant"_ in every circumstance.

We can see a hint of this mistranslation as we look at the redundancy of the word within these verses. Does God really repeat the same word _"covenant"_ so many times, even within a single sentence?

As discussed previously, the Hebrew word ברית (bĕriyth), being translated to _"covenant"_ can have multiple contexts. It can mean "treaty," "agreement," "alliance" and of course "covenant." But it can also mean "ordinance" or "constitution" according to the lexicon.

In these verses, both contexts are being used, making the use of the translation to _"covenant"_ in both instances incorrect.

When it pertains to the relationship "alliance," "treaty" between God and Abraham - their relationship of loving service - _"covenant"_ could be appropriate, but a better translation would be _"relationship."_

And in the second context, a better translation would be to _"instruction."_ We can see how this is appropriate as we look at the end of the first sentence:

_"the covenant you are to keep"_

This phrase in the discussion is obviously about an _instruction_. The Hebrew word שמר (shamar) in this verse is translated to _"keep"_ but it also means to "observe" or "give heed" according to the lexicon. These are words describing _following an instruction._

These and other mistranslations are rooted in zealous ecclesiastical scribes of the Fifth and Sixth Century BCE and those ecclesiastical teachers after them who wanted to exercise their authority by overseeing rules and mandates that cemented their positions. This was the issue that Jesus protested as he criticized these ecclesiastical leaders.

As to the instruction itself, there may have been a very good reason for circumcision - especially amongst those nomadic populations of the Middle East - where bathing water was at a premium. But there is also a larger, broader meaning of the Hebrew term, which we will discuss below.

### What are the pros and cons of circumcision?

The foreskin does have a purpose in protecting the urethra. This serves the purpose of helping to prevent the spread of infections into the male physical body. This is the primary reason the male human body was designed with a foreskin.

However, in locations where daily hygiene and bathing are not practiced, the foreskin can harbor infectious microorganisms, as we discuss below.

This is confirmed by recent research - some sponsored by the World Health Organization - finding that circumcised men have 60% less chance of passing on HIV to others, and women have a 50% decreased risk when their partners are circumcised. However, this benefit is only seen among poorer countries and not among countries with high-income status (and clean running water).

Furthermore, there is a significantly reduced risk of HPV cancer, vaginal cancer and other vaginal diseases in women when their partner is circumcised. Again, this is from global data, predominantly among poorer countries.

This points to the reality that the issue is rather about hygiene. In those countries where men keep their foreskins clean on a daily basis, there is little evidence of non-circumcision increasing the risk of these sexually-transmitted diseases.

Circumcision also has its issues. One large global study showed that babies that are circumcised a few days after birth have a significantly higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome. This may be related to the trauma involved in the operation, according to the researchers.

The risk of penile infection and sexually transmitted diseases among nomadic peoples of the Middle East could have been a problem due to the lack of readily available clean water to wash with. This means theoretically, these infections could spread to women, infecting child-bearing-age women with diseases that could certainly affect future generations.

In other words, assuming this translation and instruction by the Supreme Being, it would have been meant to help protect the population of these nomadic followers of Abraham, who traveled through lands where bathing water and the opportunities for personal hygiene were scarce.

### Is circumcision a spiritual rite of passage?

Noting the above, then it was not meant to be a spiritual rite of passage. It was a practical matter of health. Such an interpretation would be confirmed by the inclusion that even household servants and foreigners - who were obviously not Israelites - were also to be circumcised according to this translation.

This would illustrate that it was not a spiritual rite of passage it has been overblown to be: It was a practical matter of preventing disease among Abraham's tribe during their missionary journeys.

That is, assuming such a translation and interpretation of circumcision being about cutting the penile foreskin.

IF this is true, why was such a big deal been made about this cleansing ritual, then?

This is typical among ecclesiastical religious leaders who wish to utilize rituals to boost their power and authority amongst the people.

Indeed, for centuries, the practice of circumcision has become increasingly ritualized and rigid, to the point where an uncircumcised person would not be accepted into a temple. This is by its very definition, fanaticism.

Yet this instruction could still be appropriate today for people living in regions where clean water is not readily available to wash every day. But could providing clean water and educating those populations be a more humane solution?

For those who have ready access to clean water, the answer is simply for men to simply wash the foreskin on a daily basis.

This would also be applicable to women, who should also keep their vaginal regions washed on a daily basis to help prevent the growth of disease-causing bacteria.

### Is there a deeper meaning behind circumcision?

First, we should notice that in no Old Testament verse is there a mention of the male penis. There is no mention of this term nor is the word genitals used in conjunction with the term circumcision. That is rather curious since we are speaking of a part of the male genitalia.

Should we accept that this is discussing the mutilation of male genitalia, such an instruction has often been fanatically applied beyond its practical usefulness by those who stress ritualistic endeavors in the name of religion.

The reality is that the Hebrew word being translated to circumcision is מוּל (muwl) has other meanings, especially in this context of devotion to God. This word means, literally, to "cut off" but also "to purge" according to the lexicon. It also means, when used more broadly, according to Gesenius' lexicon, to "put away all wickedness and consecrate oneself to Jehovah."

Such an understanding of the deeper meaning of God's statement also points to the use of the word _covenant_ , which again, relates in this context to a devotional commitment to God.

If we consider the act of cutting off of the foreskin as a practical health matter (in some regions where water was scarce), then we might question the interpretation that a mutilation ritual is an act of devotion. It may be an act related to physical survival, yes.

But there is a good case to be made that the original Hebrew was not indicating an act of physical mutilation at all. Such a case is indicated by some of the many other verses that use this Hebrew word מוּל (muwl) in the Old Testament:

_The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. (Deut. 30:6)_

_Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. (Deut. 10:16)_

_All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them down. (Psalm 118:10)_

_They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them down. (Psalm 118:11)_

_They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them down.  
(Psalm 118:12)_

_Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it. (Jeremiah 4:4)_

_"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— (Jeremiah 9:25)_

These statements indicate that the use of the term that literally means "to cut off" may be pointing to a deeper spiritual journey to be taken by the aspiring lover of God.

They indicate that God is speaking of purification. Cutting oneself off of the proclivities of materialism and society and undergoing a purification of the heart.

This very practice was illustrated by Jesus when he went into the desert for 40 days and fasted. The point was to cut himself off from society in order to focus his heart and mind on the Supreme Being.

This is the "circumcision of the heart" - or the "cutting off" of one's focus upon materialism, which aligns more closely to the context of an important instruction from God.

Indeed, the Hebrew word that has been assumed to mean "foreskin" - עָרְלָה (`orlah) - relates to the skin of fruits, but also, metaphorically, to "the foreskin of the heart" - or more tangible, "the covering over the heart."

As such, removing or "cutting off" of the covering over the heart is a specific devotional issue relating directly to developing one's relationship with the Supreme Being.

This can also be exercised on a practical matter, by removing oneself from material influences and carefully pondering our relationship with the Supreme Being.

Such a "cutting off" may be expressed as getting away from one's societal influences for a few days. It can also be expressed by periods of silence. It can also be expressed as withdrawing from certain foods and certain activities that may take one's mind off of the Supreme Being.

Consider in this light, another statement made by the Supreme Being according to Joshua:

_At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." (Joshua 5:2)_

How could someone be circumcised a second time? Once the skin is gone, it is gone.

However, assuming the instruction is a practice of purification, to withdraw from society, then this would be appropriate. A period of withdrawal, whereupon the person may fast and worship God outside of the community, is an act of devotion and could certainly be carried out more than once.

Notice also the use of "flint" here. A "flint" was used to make fire. This would mean God is speaking of them withdrawing and going somewhere away from the community where they would make a fire. The Hebrew word עָשָׂה (`asah) - translated to "knife" here, can also be translated to "tool." In other words, a "flint tool."

This would be consistent with the ancient practice of having ceremonial fires used to offer food to God.

### Is human mutilation an act of devotion?

Except for the medical purpose for those who live in regions without clean running water, the reason for ritualistic removal of the foreskin is better defined as mutilation.

Genital mutilation has been expanded to both men and woman in some sectarian institutions.

Over the centuries, sectarian institutions created a new rationale for mutilation rituals - that of reducing the pleasure of a woman. This of course further increased the authority of ecclesiastical institutions and their teachers - who saw themselves as the guardians of pleasure.

With this logic came another ritual that has been exercised amongst some religious sects - now spread throughout the world - that of female genital mutilation. This gruesome practice - also done in the name of religion but with a purpose of reducing the possibility of the female orgasm - is another ritual that has supported certain ecclesiastical religious leaders' positions of authority over the population.

Trying to remove or mutilate a part of the human body in order to reduce its ability for physical pleasure removes the very freedom that the Supreme Being granted to us as we came to occupy a body in the physical world. Each of us is here in this physical world because we wanted to exercise our desires to be independent of the Supreme Being.

The question remains: Why would God have created the human body with a foreskin in the first place if He wanted it removed?

We were given these physical bodies within this virtual physical dimension in order to exercise our God-given freedom. We are not these physical bodies. They are vehicles we were given in order to carry out our desires. Each body part is a physical manifestation of these desires to enjoy away from the Supreme Being.

By removing or mutilating body parts for this reason, these fanatical zealots are taking away another person's God-given right to exercise their freedom, and freedom is a fundamental element of love. We cannot love God without the freedom not to.

Consider the various body parts connected with pleasure:

\- The tongue is built with the sense of taste so we can enjoy sweets and sour tastes.

\- The ears are built with the sense of hearing so we can enjoy music and other sounds.

\- The nose is built with olfactory senses so we can enjoy smelling.

\- The eyes are built with rods and cones to sense beauty.

\- The skin is built with the sense of touch to facilitate smoothness.

\- The sexual organs are built with orgasmic senses to facilitate sexual pleasure.

Each of these body parts can provide a sense of temporary physical pleasure for the pleasure-seeking person within the body. They can also provide for more practical, meaningful purposes. Are we to remove the eyes so we cannot see beauty, or remove the ears so we cannot hear music - or perhaps hear an important teaching?

There is also a practical purpose for the sexual organism: Without it, humans would not be motivated to reproduce - as the sexual act in itself is quite grotesque when the sensation of physical pleasure is removed from the equation. (Think about the last time you witnessed two dogs doing it.)

To remove body parts in order to attempt to decrease the pleasure potential of the body is false renunciation. There is no value to it because by removing them, we take away the ability to reject physical pleasures for the sake of pleasing the Supreme Being. Since our choice has been taken away, there is no contrary behavior - removing our choice and ability to conquer the senses.

### Is there a reason for physical pleasure?

Many fanatical sectarians assume that all physical pleasures are sinful. This is despite that fact that even the simple act of eating - necessary for survival - is by design pleasurable, as the taste buds transmit pleasure signals to the brain.

The pleasures of the physical world act in three ways. First, they provide our ability to exercise our desires to seek self-centered pleasure outside the confines of our original relationship with the Supreme Being.

Second, pleasure provides for a means of education, along with pain. Pleasure and pain teach us about consequences, and about caring about the pleasure and pains of others.

Third, for those who seek to rise above pleasure and pain and return to the Supreme Being, attraction to sense pleasures offers the ability to test our determination to return to our relationship with God.

It is not as if God is testing us so He can gauge our level of determination. He already knows our level of seriousness and determination. The tests brought by the senses of pleasure provide a means for us to measure how serious we are.

In other words, a person who succumbs to every physical pleasure - going from one type of pleasure to another - is obviously not very interested in spiritual life. Their interest is their own pleasure.

In fact, these very same physical senses can be used in the service of the Supreme Being. The eyes can gaze upon God's altar. The ears can hear His praises. The hands can make offerings to God. The voice can praise God. And the sexual organs can be used to have children we can teach about God. Thus all of our senses can be used to please God.

But as a person's determination to please the Supreme Being develops, that person will - by the mercy of the Supreme Being - increasingly be tested with self-centered physical pleasures as they attempt to execute their devotional practices.

And to the degree a person succumbs measures our level of seriousness - just how serious we are about returning to our relationship with God.

The bottom line is that spiritual life is about commitment, but also about love. It is about committing oneself to learn to love the Supreme Being and do God's will. This is the real covenant between Abraham and God.

### Did Abraham exercise the covenant?

Abraham illustrated those activities that please the Supreme Being as his exercise of the true covenant. They included setting up an altar to Him and making offerings to Him. They included praising God's Holy Names:

_There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the Name of the LORD. (Gen. 12:8)_

_where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the Name of the LORD. (Gen. 13:4)_

_Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the Name of the LORD, the Eternal God. (Gen. 21:33)_

What does it mean to erect an altar and call upon God's Holy Name? It means to worship and praise God. An altar was meant to provide offerings. Thus we find Abraham was focused on going to different places to erect temples (altars) for him and others to worship God.

It was not as if Abraham would tear down the altar when he left. These temples provided a means to the people of that region to first hear about God - and then come to worship Him.

This means that Abraham and his followers were focused on spreading the worship of God. Abraham was a missionary, in the same way that Moses was, Jesus was, Job was, Noah was, David was, John the Baptist was, and Jesus' disciples were.

And what teachings did they spread? They taught us to pray to God, offer to God, give homage to God, read and hear God's words. And sing and praise God and His Holy Names.

These are all practical ways we can apply ourselves to grow in our relationship with the Supreme Being. To the extent we are determined to do these - and oppose our desires to please ourselves and our extensions - the closer we will get to Him and the closer He will be to us.

### Do his descendants inherit the covenant by birth?

In addition to the changes in the translation to _"covenant"_ in God's statement, we can offer that _"descendants"_ in this context is better translated to _"followers"_ as documented with previous verses regarding the Hebrew word זרע (zera`). This is in addition to the translation of יליד (yaliyd) to the word _"born."_

This word can be used specifically to a physical birth, or those who became followers of Abraham - and thus were considered to have a spiritual rebirth. This figurative use is documented elsewhere in the scriptures:

_Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." (John 3:3)_

If this is considered, the "eight days" could also be considered that the purification practice be made within eight days of a person's spiritual rebirth. But in reality, the word translated to "days" is the Hebrew word, יוֹם (yowm), which can also be translated to "years" or "time" - periods of time. So it doesn't necessarily say 8 days after birth - that is one interpretation. It could be eight years or eight weeks or eight months for that matter.

As for _"household"_ , the Hebrew word בית (bayith) can mean "house" in the context of a physical family, or it can mean _"temple"_ according to the lexicon. Since God's instruction about "cutting off" obviously was not limited to the people in Abraham's household - and since he really didn't have much of a house as he was nomadic - and besides, Sarai was barren to that point - the correct translation of בית (bayith) would be something akin to Abraham's following - his group of followers.

The fact that God's "cutting off" (or removing the covering over the heart) instruction is a sign of their covenant takes us to the practical level - that loving service to the Supreme Being means following His instructions. This is the meaning of devotion: Acting in a way that is pleasing to God. Using our senses in a manner pleasing to the Supreme Being.

As for the translation to _"My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant,"_ this translation is also confused. Obviously, a change in the flesh is not everlasting, because the physical body dies after a few decades, and then decomposes, along with its foreskin or lack thereof. But the service to the Supreme Being - wanting to please Him - is everlasting. This does not die when the body dies.

As for the translation regarding _circumcision_ , we will leave this to the reader to decide (just as the text does). There is a good case to make that God wasn't speaking of cutting off the foreskin from the penis at all. That he was referring to an act of purification from within, perhaps expressed "in the flesh" by separating oneself from the community for a few days to undergo introspection and purification.

This would contrast with this being a ritual at all - rather simply an action taken from within the heart to dedicate oneself to the Supreme Being from within.

This would be consistent with the term quoted above, _"circumcise your hearts."_

Such an interpretation would leave behind the element of rituals completely. The fact that this part of Genesis and Exodus puts so much emphasis on rituals is not necessarily due to the original Hebrew - much of which could be interpreted as metaphorical. The element at heart could be the push of ecclesiastic scribes - which Jesus himself criticized - converting so many instructions of the heart into fanatical rituals in order to control the people.

As to the other textual references, we have seen many cases where words are filled in around a central interpretation. Hebrew is a very old and figurative language, one that can teach through analogy and metaphor, as well as practical elements.

The takeaway is that the Supreme Being wanted those who portend to follow Him to remove (or "cut off") the covering over our hearts and reach out to Him with love.

#  Genesis 17:15-16

# "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai ..."

_"As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her." (Genesis 17:15-16)_

### Why the big deal about Sarah's name?

The English text assumes the Supreme Being is micromanaging Abraham's relationship with Sarah. As if God is interceding to have her name changed, and then God is claiming that she will be the mother of nations. Could this be right?

What about Eve then? Isn't Eve supposedly the first woman on the planet according to sectarian interpretation? If so, why isn't Eve the mother of nations?

Or Seth's wife. Why isn't Seth's wife the 'mother of nations?' Or at least Noah's wife. After the flood, if we believe that Noah and Noah's wife and family were the only people alive on the whole planet, then we must believe that Noah's wife is the mother of nations. Noah's wife is, supposedly, the ancestor of Abraham, right?

The reality is that other than Eve, none of these women are even mentioned by name in the text, even though they were mothers that preceded Sarah.

Thus it would make no logical sense that suddenly Sarah is granted the title of mother of nations if there were mothers before Sarah in line with Abraham and Sarah - which would make Abraham and Sarah related, which would be weird too.

The reality is that the Supreme Being is not micromanaging the relationship between Abraham and Sarah. This is being paraphrased onto God.

### Isn't the context devotion?

Let's consider first the context of this verse. What kind of relationship is existing between Abraham and God, and God and Sarah?

It is a loving relationship. A relationship of friendship and support. The Supreme Being is supporting Abraham's and Sarah's service to Him. They have committed themselves to a life in God's service.

This is illustrated as we've pointed out with the previous verses, by Abraham building temples (altars) to God where ever he traveled and worshiping God by calling His Names - praising and glorifying God.

Thus while sectarian scribes have attempted to mask this relationship as one focused upon Abraham and his wife giving birth to a family that would become kings and rule over Judea, the actual conversation by God here is discussing Sarah's own dedication to God, and her appropriate service.

The sectarian interpreters didn't want to admit that the Supreme Being was discussing Sarah's devotion, and ability to teach others. The sectarian institution who put these books of the Torah together didn't accept that women should be able to teach others. So they made these verses seem like they were all about Sarah becoming a mother at the ripe age of 90.

Yes, this translation of God's statement as focused upon Sarah becoming _"the mother of nations"_ is mistranslated. The entire phrase, _"she will be the mother of nations"_ is being derived from one Hebrew root word: גוי (gowy) which can mean "nation" or "people," but also "a swarm" according to the lexicon. But it has nothing to do with motherhood. It is, rather, related to a large following, with a common purpose or under common leadership.

Furthermore, the phrase _"I will give you a son by her"_ comes from three words: נתן (nathan), בן (ben), and ברך (barak). נתן (nathan) means service or giving as we've discussed with previous verses. בן (ben) means either son, but also follower, depending upon the context - also as we've discussed. And ברך (barak) means to bless, to kneel or to adore.

Furthermore, מלך (melek) can mean king or leader. It can be applied to a spiritual leader as well as a king over a country.

Understanding the context of the discussion and relationship between God and Abraham and Sarah is critical to understanding these words. Without understanding this context, it is easy to misinterpret what is going on.

The Supreme Being doesn't waste His time micromanaging the details of a husband and wife. God is focused upon our relationship with Him, and our ability to help others.

The issue isn't God' changing Sarah's name. The issue was to acknowledge her level of devotion, as _"Sarah"_ \- שרה (Sarah) means _"noblewoman,"_ whereas Sarai - שרי (Saray) means _"princess."_

### Wasn't Sarah a Noblewoman?

This title of _"noblewoman"_ has nothing to do with motherhood. It relates specifically to being a spiritual leader, just as _"nobleman"_ would relate to being a spiritual leader, because being _"noble"_ is a trait connected within a spiritual or philosophical context. And from this context, we can understand that _"princess"_ can relate to a person who follows - rather than a leader. And indeed, Sarah followed Abraham just as many others - such as Lot - followed Abraham.

God is clearly communicating that Sarah's devotion has made her fit to become a spiritual leader in her own right. This is derived from the Hebrew word ברך (barak) repeatedly, as Sarah's position as God's loving servant is the central topic of this discussion.

While a translation stemming from the interpretation that God was blessing Sarah with a son and as the "mother of nations" may be a possible translation of the Hebrew, we must understand that ancient Hebrew can be variably translated - especially when it comes to many of God's statements. This is because God's statements in Hebrew are largely figurative prose. This makes them a potential candidate for mistranslation and misinterpretation.

Even common statements can be easily misinterpreted. Let's use an example. Let's say that a company executive enters the warehouse of his company and goes up to a young warehouse worker and says, "Son, you are doing a great job, and if you keep working hard like this, you'll be in charge of this whole place!"

Now should the worker take the statement literally, the worker might work extra hard the rest of the day and the next day, and then report back to the executive and say, "I kept working hard and now I am ready to be promoted to the position of the president of the company. And I didn't realize you were my father but am glad to hear that."

This would certainly be a mistranslation of the exec's words, as he didn't mean them literally. He was praising the younger worker and telling him how much he appreciated the hard work and how that hard work will be rewarded one day. "Whole place" was used generally, and could have meant the whole warehouse or the whole company. And "keep working hard" was meant for a much longer time period, such as years or even decades. And the exec wasn't saying he was the worker's father.

To understand the exec's words clearly, we have to know the exec's position with the company and his role with respect to the worker. He wasn't the direct supervisor of the worker. He wasn't making promises to the warehouse worker. He was encouraging him to work hard. He was rooting him on.

The bottom line is that to understand the words of God, we must understand the context of the situation. We must know who God is, who we are (and in this case who Abraham and Sarah are), and understand what God's interests are.

God is interested in spiritual leadership, and being a true spiritual leader requires a spiritual relationship with Him. It is unrelated to the physical body. A person can be in a male or a female body and still become a spiritual leader to many if they have developed their relationship with God. It is the level of devotion of the person, rather than the sex of the person. This is being confirmed here by the Supreme Being. God does not participate in sexual discrimination, in other words.

### Is God a racist?

Surely we can accept that the focus of the relationship between Abraham and God was not Abraham's physical family or his descendants. This would make the Supreme Being a racist. It would mean that God gives more rights and abilities to those who are born in certain families. It is saying that God gives greater access to those who are born into certain families, or tribes. Such a notion would make God a racist - which He isn't.

So many heinous interpretations have interpreted scripture in racist terms, trying to support a particular race of people. Adolf Hitler was one of these - thinking that the German people were some sort of special Aryan race superior to others - supposedly deriving this from ancient Asian scriptures. Meanwhile, so many other leaders have done the same thing among their populaces, trying to drum up some sort of false pride in one's own tribe, family or race being superior to another tribe, family or race.

The Supreme Being is not a racist. He does not give special favor to any particular race, creed or family. We each create our own future by the decisions and choices we make in our life.

In fact, those who make similar choices in life will often refer to each other as "brothers" and "sisters," while those who respect a person as their spiritual mentor or priest might refer to that person as their "father." At the same time, a person who is older and wiser will often refer to a person they are mentoring as "son," or even affectionately as "princess." Just imagine if we were to consider all these instances as people who were physically related. Knowing the context, we would be wrong.

The sectarian scribes of the 6th and 7th Century BCE were trying to provide support for their tribes being the God-approved owners of Judea, as the Israelites struggled with other tribes for territory among the lands of the Judean desert.

Is it a mystery that this text - edited by the Israelites - just so happens to justify a scenario where their own tribe - a particular race of people - were superior to others in the eyes of God?

This is an insult to the very relationship of love and devotion that Abraham and Sarah had with the Supreme Being. Such an interpretation is offensive and racist.

### What is our real composition?

We are spirit, not the body. We are each spiritual beings occupying a temporary physical body. This body is not us. It is a temporary vehicle. Any of us has an equal opportunity to return to our relationship with God and return to the spiritual realm.

God treats us all as equals, and any one of us can reach out to Him from within and He will offer us guidance.

The spiritual realm is the promised land: And those who decide to devote their lives to the Supreme Being - regardless of the body they might be wearing or what family their body is born in - become the "chosen people." And they are also brothers and sisters, just as Jesus stated:

_"Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." (Mark 3:35)_

And those who mentor others are considered spiritual fathers; and those who follow those spiritual teachers are spiritual sons - students and disciples. So yes, those prophets who represented God and devoted their lives to God were certainly all from the same "family." But this type of family has nothing to do with the physical bodies they occupied.

There is, for example, archaeological evidence that Moses may have in fact been an Egyptian rather than a person born within Abraham's lineage. Does this make Moses any less of the spiritual father of so many? No. His position as spiritual leader had nothing to do with the heritage of his physical body. It was his relationship with the Supreme Being.

There is little spiritual importance regarding who is born into which family. The Supreme Being was not focused upon Abraham's physical family. To do so would be racist, and unfair to many others outside of Abraham's family who may have been dedicating their lives to God. Rather, the Supreme Being's focus is His loving servants continuing their mission to pass on to others their devotion to Him.

This is because God wants each of us to return to Him. He doesn't care about this country or that country, or this physical family or that physical family. These are all temporary assignments of a temporary physical world. The Supreme Being wants us - the spiritual persons who reside within these physical bodies \- to return to Him and the spiritual realm. He wants us to be happy. So He encouraged Abraham and Sarah's continued missionary work in order to pass on their devotion to Him, because loving God is what will ultimately make each of us happy.

So rather than this being a petty conversation about changing peoples' names and giving a son to Sarah and Abraham, this statement by God can be understood quite differently. Here is a more appropriate translation of God's statement:

_"As for Sarai your wife, she is no longer a student, but a noblewoman - Sarah. She is devoted to me and I have blessed her and she will, as you do, have followers. Many people will follow her and many spiritual leaders shall come after her."_

The phrase that is often used in this context is to follow in one's footsteps. When a person becomes a leader, others will follow in their footsteps. This is, in fact, the position that Sarah has accomplished. Sarah has pleased the Supreme Being and the Supreme Being wants Abraham to share his missionary work with Sarah.

While the translations of this and following verses seemingly detail Isaac as the physical son of Abraham, Isaac, in reality, actually becomes Abraham's leading student. While they may or may not have also been Abraham's physical sons, this is not the focus of these verses.

### Did Abraham laugh at God?

As for the verse directly following this one above, Abraham supposedly falls facedown and laughs:

_'Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, 'Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" (Gen. 17:17)._

But this translation and interpretation of the text is not only inaccurate, but it is also blasphemous. Abraham would never laugh at the Supreme Being or doubt His ability to make whatever He wants happen. And why would Abraham fall facedown and laugh at the same time? This is a ridiculous interpretation. That would not only make Abraham offensive to God - it would make Abraham duplicitous, as if he would feign worshiping God while actually laughing at God's ability to change something as minor as infertility.

The word _"laughed"_ is being taken from צחק (tsachaq), which can mean "to laugh, to mock, to jest, play, make sport, toy with, make a toy of."

Abraham was not laughing at or mocking the Supreme Being while he fell facedown. He was worshiping God when he fell facedown: And he was mocking himself.

Abraham was laughing at himself. He was mocking his own self as He worshiped God. He was humbly putting down his and his wife's abilities. He was jesting that He and his wife were old and unable to adequately lead others as suggested by God.

We are talking here about leadership - about being a spiritual leader of thousands of people.

Abraham was a humble loving servant of God. He felt he had no gifts, no abilities and no wisdom. Everything was given to him by the Supreme Being and he in no way doubted the Supreme Being's ability to give him and Sarah many followers. But he did doubt his own abilities. This is what צחק (tsachaq) communicates. It is self-deprecation.

It is quite easy to twist a devotional relationship into a business relationship, if someone does not have the ability to see into the devotional relationships that exist between God and His loving servants. Even if a person insists that God was promising Sarah children, we must accept that the focus of the relationship between God and Abraham and God and Sarah had nothing to do with children. These were relationships of love and loving service - and teaching to others.

This is confirmed by the fact that Moses, Jesus and all the prophets including Abraham and Sarah had one central focus in their teachings:

_" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt. 22:37-38, Deut. 6:5)_

#  Genesis 17:19-21

# "Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son ..."

_"Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year." (Genesis 17:19-21)_

### Does God favor one family or race over another?

This statement by God seems pretty cut and dried for those ecclesiastical translators and interpreters who wish to put forth the interpretation of scripture that God gives special favor to a particular family or race of people, and those who are born within that family and race throughout history are somehow better than others - often termed the _"chosen people."_

Such a philosophy would make the Supreme Being a racist.

God is not a racist. The Supreme Being gives each and every one of us the same freedom to choose to return to our original spiritual relationship with Him or not. No one has more opportunity than another to approach Him and regain their loving relationship with Him.

Rather, we make our own choices. Those who choose to dedicate their lives to loving and serving God naturally receive the Supreme Being's attention. This is called a relationship.

The notion that someone born into the family or race of Abraham has special favor with God does not come from God. It comes from those who wished to advance their particular race as having special property rights and other rights over others. It comes from a place of greed, not from a place of love.

These texts, derived from the Torah, were originally passed down orally from teacher to student for thousands of years. Around the 6th Century BCE, they were transcribed into written form. This was done by scribes who were part of an empire threatened on many sides by invading armies. Establishing their people as being chosen over others produced a type of pride that translated into fierce warriors.

This doesn't mean that Abraham did not have a special relationship with the Supreme Being. And this also doesn't mean that due to Abraham's devotion to the Supreme Being, Abraham's family was also dear to God. This is all part of a relationship and seen amongst all relationships.

But as we find clearly in so many other parts of the scriptures, the ability of the Israelites to gain favor was not their heredity - it was each individual's worship of God. It was the devotion of those individuals who were indeed devoted.

To see this, all we have to do is look at the many verses where God voiced his disappointment with some of the Israelites. Consider for example, this statement:

_This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' I appointed watchmen over you and said, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But you said, 'We will not listen.'" (Jeremiah 6:16-17)_

We find in these verses and many others that many Israelites chose not to devote themselves to God. We find this during the lives of Job, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Jesus and other times when some of the Judean tribes had fallen away from God and the Supreme Being, was not happy about that.

The reason the Supreme Being was not happy relates to a person who has access to the teachings of one or more of God's devoted loving servants and they do not take advantage of that access. They do not take advantage of that knowledge and learn more about God so they can come closer to God. Such a missed opportunity saddens the Supreme Being.

### What does this statement really mean?

Thus we find that the translation and interpretation of much of the text above to be critically incorrect. Let's break down the Hebrew making up most of this text:

אבל ('abal) means 'truly, verily, surely' but also can mean 'however, but, nay.'

שרה (Sarah) refers to Sarah, Abraham's wife.

אשה ('ishshah) means either 'wife, woman, female;' or 'each' and 'every'

ילד (yalad) means 'to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail.' It can also relate to the 'day or birth' or 'birthday' according to the lexicon.

בן (ben) means a 'son, grandson, child, or a member of a group.' It can also refer to a 'people', or 'a member of a guild, order, class' - a follower.

קרא (qara') means "to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim;" and specifically in the context of most of its scriptural use, "to call unto, cry (for help), call (with the name of God)"

שם (shem) means 'name, reputation, fame, glory;' and most specifically, 'the Name (as a designation of God)'

יצחק (Yitschaq) is typically referred to Isaac, but the word means 'he laughs' or 'he sports' according to the lexicon.

קום (quwm) means 'to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up;' but also 'to maintain oneself, be established, be confirmed, be fulfilled, ratified, erected, raise.'

ברית (bĕriyth) means 'covenant, alliance, pledge.'

עולם (`owlam) means "long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world, continuous existence."

ברית (bĕriyth) means 'covenant, alliance, pledge.'

זרע (zera`) means 'seed, sowing, offspring, descendants, posterity, children;' but also 'of moral quality, a practitioner of righteousness' when used figuratively.

אחר ('achar) means 'after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time)' as well as 'after that' and 'besides.'

ישמעאל (Yishma`e'l) is assumed as the name of Ishmael, meaning "God will hear" - the son of Abraham and Hagar. The problem is that Yishma`e'l also is used to reference other people in the scriptures, including the murderer of Gedaliah, a descendant of Saul, the father of Zebadiah, the son of Johanan, and a priest of the family of Pashur in the time of Ezra.

שמע (shama`) means 'to hear, listen to, obey;' but also 'to perceive' or 'understand' and 'give heed' and 'grant request.'

הנה (hinneh) means 'to behold, lo, see,' when pointing out persons, things and places.

ברך (barak) means 'to bless, kneel, to praise, salute.' It also refers to 'breaking, breaking down.'

פרה (parah) means 'to bear fruit, be fruitful, branch off'

רבה (rabah) means 'to become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous;' or 'to make much to do, do much in respect of, to increase greatly or exceedingly.'

מאד (m`od) means 'muchness, force, abundance, exceedingly.'

ילד (yalad) means 'to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail.'

שנים (shĕnayim) means 'two, double, twice, couple.'

עשר (`asar) means 'ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers), used only in combination to make the numbers 11-19.' It was originally used in conjunction with the ten fingers \- tens, decades. (And two such decades of people is considered a generation - about twenty years.)

נשיא (nasiy') means 'one lifted up, chief, prince, captain, leader.'

נתן (nathan) means 'to give, put, set, be given, be bestowed, be provided, be entrusted to, granted.'

גדול (gadowl) means 'great, large (in magnitude and extent)' in the intensity of number. It is also often a reference to God Himself - 'of God.'

גוי (gowy) means 'nation, people' in general, or even 'a swarm' of locusts, bugs, animals.

The rest of the verse contains similar words.

Here we offer a more appropriate translation of the Hebrew:

_"Surely your wife Sarah will bring forth a follower named Isaac. He will maintain my loving relationship eternally and have many followers after him. Ishmael will also understand the Truth and will worship me and be blessed and will have many generations of followers who will be leaders of many people. However, my loving pledge will be maintained by Isaac, whom Sarah will bring forth by this season next year." (Genesis 17:19-21)_

One may question from this translation whether or not Sarah even gave birth to Isaac. This is debatable. The text clearly identifies Isaac as a follower, which Sarah 'brings forth.' This may be bringing forth in the form of changing his heart - which is a form of spiritual rebirth. Or it may relate to her being Isaac's mother. Either position, even both, is possible, but the emphasis of the communication lies upon the devotional aspects, being that Isaac will be a devoted follower and servant of God.

### Isn't this about a loving relationship?

Many have speculated that the _"covenant"_ is related to God's granting special favor to the Israelites - descendants of Abraham. This is simply not true. If this covenant was all about only the Judean people, why did God say:

_"This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come" (Genesis 9:12)_

_"I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind." (Genesis 9:15)_

_"This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth." (Genesis 9:17)_

With these clear verses, how could teachers of any sect claim that God's _"covenant"_ concerns the Israelites or Jews or any other particular race, creed or nationality when God specifically says that His _covenant_ has been established with _"every living creature," "all living creatures of every kind,"_ and _"all life on the earth"?_

We see here that God's _covenant_ \- as confirmed with these and other statements - is with all living beings. And what is that _"covenant"_? It is love. It is the promise that God loves each and every one of us, and each and every one of us can return to our loving relationship with Him.

That _covenant_ is a pledge that He makes throughout the Old Testament because the Supreme Being is reaching out to us. He wants us to return to Him. He wants us to remember our lost loving relationship with Him and return to the spiritual realm and our loving relationship with Him.

And those who facilitate this promise _"maintain My covenant"_ by helping God reach out to us become intimately involved in that _covenant_ \- that promise. Those who serve the Supreme Being by passing on His message of love and mercy become part of that _covenant_.

This is the position that God is portraying about Isaac. The thrust of this discussion is not that Isaac will have a great family who will become a big nation. In fact, God is contrasting Isaac's life of service to that of Ishmael, who God states will also have many followers, some who will be rulers of people. But Isaac's teachings - according to this statement by God \- will carry on the message of pure love and loving service.

This is the message that - despite the repeated focus on love for the Supreme Being among so many Biblical verses - has been practically forgotten by those ecclesiastical translators who have completely ignored God's true _covenant_ with us.

Now as to whether or not those future leaders are specifically family members of Abraham is not the thrust of this statement by God. God's interest was not in the family legacy of Abraham. His interest was in the passing on of His message - His desire that we regain our loving relationship with Him.

Certainly, Isaac and Ishmael may have had sons and daughters. But they also had followers who were not sons or daughters of their physical body.

And many of those followers carried on the teachings of Abraham. Are we to say that those followers of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Ismael who were disciples of one of them were not their sons or daughters?

This ancient tradition of referring to one's spiritual teacher as "father" continues today in not only the Roman Catholic tradition, but many other spiritual traditions of the world. A person who mentors a student in the ways of spiritual life becomes that person's spiritual father.

This relationship is more important than the relationship of physical father, because physical fatherhood is a temporary relationship. It is a relationship of the temporary physical body. After the death of these physical bodies, that physical relationship dissolves.

A spiritual father - the spiritual teacher - is a permanent relationship. This is because one's spiritual teacher - assuming the teacher is a bonafide representative of God - is one's link to the Supreme Being. This creates a relationship - a spiritual relationship - that never dies. It continues into the spiritual realm.

The Torah and Old Testament is not a family ancestry of the human race. This is an account of the devotional relationships that existed between the Supreme Being and many of His loving servants who dedicated their lives to loving and pleasing the Supreme Being.

And within those lives we find a common thread: Every one of these loving servants - often referred to as "prophets" - dedicated their lives to passing on the Supreme Being's message, as clearly communicated by Moses and his disciple, Joshua:

_"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:5)_

_"Love the LORD your God and keep His requirements, His decrees, His laws and His commands always." (Deut. 11:1)_

_"So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today--to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 11:13)_

_"If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow--to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to hold fast to Him" (Deut. 11:22)_

_"...because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today--to love the LORD your God and to walk always in His ways--" (Deut. 19:9)_

_"For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws..." (Deut. 30:16)_

_"...and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the LORD is your life..." (Deut. 30:20)_

_"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul." (Joshua 22:5)_

_"So be very careful to love the LORD your God." (Joshua 23:11)_

_"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. This is the first and foremost commandment" (Matthew 22:37-38_

#  Genesis 18:1-19

# The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees ...

_The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say." So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread." Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said. Then one of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?" Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son." Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh." When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." (Genesis 18:1-19)_

### Did God really appear as three men?

This text leaves a number of questions about this event, which are important for us to understand the context and the situation.

First, we must ask, just who has recorded this meeting and discussion?

And who is God asking whether he should hide something from Abraham?

And did God become three men?

Yes, Abraham bows before them. But is he recognizing them as God?

Then Abraham and his wife and servant begin to prepare _"the three men"_ a grand meal - an offering. After which they engage in some conversation regarding Sarah and her coming son.

At one point in this exchange, Sarah laughs to herself and then denies it and then she is asked if there is anything God can't do. Is God saying this or are the three men saying this?

Is this really what takes place between God and His loving servants when He appears to them? Do they really laugh about Him and then deny they laughed?

And does God really have to make up His mind about whether He wants to disclose something to Abraham or not?

So why would God appear in the form of three men and then argue with His servants, and then ask Himself whether he should tell Abraham something? Is all this really God speaking?

We know that the men were not God because of this verse:

_The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD. (Genesis 18:20)_

Because the LORD remained after the men left, we know that the men were not God.

### Is 'Lord' the same as 'LORD'?

Would God ever be described as _"three men?"_ The assumption is that the Supreme Being appeared as three men to Abraham. This brings up the question of how Abraham knew they were God if He were _three men_? And why does the scripture describe them as _"men"_ if they were God?

Such an interpretation would immediately conflict with the underlying meaning of monotheism. Practically every other verse in the Bible points to the Supreme Being as an individual. Yes, there are references to angels and messengers. But God is always referred to in the singular.

So why would Abraham be so submissive to the three men?

As Abraham sees them, he bows and greets them with the Hebrew word אדון ('adown), which is typically used as a reference to men - either "a master, a husband, prophet, governor, prince" or "king," according to the lexicon. There are few uses of this word in reference to God in the scriptures. Most of its use is specific to people - not the Supreme Being.

In Genesis 17:1, as well as throughout Genesis and beyond, the Supreme Being is referred to as יהוה (Yĕhovah), and this is translated to "LORD God." Elsewhere, אלהים ('elohiym) - Elohim - is used to describe the Supreme Being. Both of these Names of God have been sanctioned throughout the scriptures as God's Holy Names.

But Abraham referred to the three men not as יהוה (Yĕhovah) or אלהים ('elohiym), but rather as אדון ('adown).

It is in a different context that we find a reference to God - in Genesis 18:1 and then 18:13. These use the Hebrew word יהוה (Yĕhovah) - translated to LORD. The second reference was after Sarah laughed about having a son. And the LORD \- יהוה (Yĕhovah) - then speaks to her.

But notice that here the LORD is referred to in the third person, not as one of the three men. This is compared to the verses prior, regarding the three men - for example:

_Then one of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."_

This difference between Lord and LORD is critical.

Let's use a clear example: In the 24th Chapter of Genesis, there is an exchange between Abraham and one of his servants - which is described as a _'household servant'_ but must be understood by the exchange to be one of Abraham's students. At any rate, the student/servant makes the following prayer to God after he begins to carry out Abraham's instructions:

_Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham." (Genesis 24:12)_

Here the first word _"LORD"_ is being translated from the Hebrew יהוה (Yĕhovah), and the word "God" is being translated from the word אלהים ('elohiym).

But in both instances _"master"_ \- as in _"my master Abraham"_ \- is being translated from the word אדון ('adown).

This makes a clear distinction between the use of the word אדון ('adown) from how the Supreme Being is typically addressed in the Books of the Old Testament.

We can therefore understand that the three men were greeted as _masters_ rather than God.

We must also question why _three men_ would be treated with such reverence by Abraham, as Abraham and Sarah prepared offerings to them and washed their feet.

From the event and language, we can surmise that because Abraham addresses the _"three men"_ together with Abraham addressing them as אדון ('adown), that Abraham was likely greeting his spiritual teacher and two associates of his teacher at this time.

The fact that two of the men were associates and possibly disciples of Abraham's spiritual teacher is confirmed by the fact that these two _"men"_ are identified as _"messengers"_ \- from the Hebrew word מלאך (mal'ak), which can mean 'angel' or 'messenger' according to the lexicon. And since they are clearly being described as walking - both towards and away from Abraham - we can understand they weren't angels in the sense of not having physical bodies. There were messengers of God - associates and/or disciples of Abraham's teacher.

It is also confirmed that God was not the three men because the three men got up and left in Genesis 18:16. Then after the LORD God had spoken with Abraham, He left too, but later:

_When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. (Genesis 18:33)_

We can also understand from these verses that Abraham showed great respect for the _"three men."_ This indicated they held an esteemed position to both Abraham and Sarah. We also know from her reaction (laughing) that Sarah did not accept them as God. But given Abraham's acts of offering and devotion, as he _'bowed low to the ground'_ (Gen. 18:2) indicates they were significantly respected by Abraham.

### Should Abraham respect God's messengers?

Abraham gave respects to all three men. This is actually an ancient tradition, one that is also described throughout the scriptures. In ancient times, the spiritual teacher or Prophet was considered God's representative and was respected as such. We can see this as other spiritual teachers throughout the scriptures were respected and worshiped by their students, including John the Baptist by his students and Jesus by his students.

The concept can be understood easily if we consider how an ambassador of a country is treated with great respect. This is because the foreign government understands that how they treat that ambassador will be interpreted by the ambassador's government as how they would treat the country and its leader. For this reason, ambassadors are typically given autonomy and unmatched privilege in a foreign country. And when they meet with officials of the foreign country, they are treated with great respect, mirroring their respect for their government.

This is because the ambassador is the authorized representative of their country's government and president.

In the same way, an authorized messenger of God \- a loving servant of the Supreme Being - is to be respected as God's representative.

The bottom line is that these verses in Genesis 18 are describing Abraham paying his respects to someone he respects greatly and accepts as God's representative - along with two of that person's associates. It is after they were given offerings that we find that Abraham heard from God directly.

This is confirmed by the fact that further into the statement, God as (יהוה (Yĕhovah)), is being referred to in the second person, with, _"so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him."_

Why would God not be referred to directly if he were the three men? The Supreme Being would use the word "we" or "I" or "Me", and this is confirmed throughout the Old Testament in other direct statements of God. In this statement, God is being referred to in the second person.

Furthermore, Abraham is being referred to in the third person. This indicates that this is not one of the three men speaking directly to Abraham. If so, the verses would say, "For I have chosen you," instead of "For I have chosen him."

This confirms this communication is not coming directly from the three men to Abraham. Rather, Abraham was visited by God's messengers. At the end of the meeting, God began to communicate.

### Are the other words right?

As we've pointed out in other verses, the words "children" and "son" are translated from the word בן (ben), which, in this context would more appropriately refer to _followers_ , not physical children.

And _"household"_ coming from בית (bayith) can mean "house" or "dwelling" but it can also mean _"temple"_ according to the lexicon.

We must understand that the context of the statement regards Abraham's devotion and dedication to the Supreme Being, and this dedication will be continued by those who followed Abraham. In fact, we know that Abraham only had two children and a small handful of household servants. How could they have become a nation?

In fact, the reference to _"great and powerful nation"_ is also out of context here. What is being discussed is not _"power"_ as in political power. The word גוי (gowy), being translated to _"nation"_ refers to a _large population_ of any sort, including locusts, according to the lexicon. In this context, it can only mean _a large population of followers._

And the word _"powerful"_ is being translated from עצום (`atsuwm) which refers not to political or geological strength, but to numbers. Being _great in numbers,_ according to the lexicon.

So what is being described is Abraham becoming a spiritual teacher who will have many followers and whose teachings will be carried far and wide by his students, and this will create a great religious community within the region. And this is precisely what happened.

Here we can thus offer a more appropriate translation of the three key verses:

_"The Lord says 'What is being done is hidden from Abraham. Abraham will surely become a spiritual leader with many followers, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his followers and temples after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what He has promised.'" (Genesis 18:17-19)_

This last point about _"what He has promised"_ has been interpreted by institutional temple teachers to mean something about the Israelites being the "chosen people," combined with the Israelites having some sort of God-given land out in the desert that is supposedly theirs.

### Is God a land grant official?

Sorry but God is not in the land granting business. He owns all the land and does not give it away to some and keep it from others. Humans can not truly own any land, because our presence here is temporary.

God is also not a racist. He does not give one race of people more opportunity than others. Everyone has the same opportunity to decide if we want to re-establish our loving relationship with God. It does not matter what family we are born in or what country we are born within.

Those who do decide they want to dedicate their lives to God naturally become "chosen" because this is what a relationship is all about. Anyone can choose to dedicate their lives to God. _Choosing_ to dedicate one's life to God results in that person being _chosen_ because God reciprocates our love.

He doesn't force Himself upon us. After all, He is God. He could force Himself upon us at any point. But He doesn't. He lets us make the choice to love Him or not. Love requires the freedom to choose to love or not.

What God has promised Abraham is what He promises to each of us: That if we choose to dedicate our lives to the Supreme Being, we can return to our home in the spiritual realm to be with Him. This is the real _"promised land."_

#  Genesis 18:20-21

# "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great ..."

_"The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will know." (Genesis 18:20-21)_

### Doesn't this limiting God?

This quoting of God's statement has been somewhat mistranslated and substantially misinterpreted. It limits God's unlimited capacity and superiority.

This Genesis verse is a paraphrased and metaphorical statement. The Supreme Being does not need to _"go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me."_ The Supreme Being already knows what is in each of our hearts before even we do. He knows what we desire, and what we do. He does not need anyone to _"reach"_ Him with information.

This statement conjures up an image of a God who sits up in the sky on a throne and can only know what is going on if there is an _"outcry"_ and someone informs Him of a problem. This is ludicrous.

However, if we can understand the statement from its metaphoric content, we can begin to see what is going on. Let's look first at some of the key Hebrew words of the verse:

### What do these verses really mean?

זעק (za`aq) is being translated to _"outcry."_ Yet Gesenius's Lexicon describes the meaning of the word as "the expression of sorrow, or the cry for aid." A "cry of distress" is also described by lexicon usage. This gives us a substantially different view of the situation. Someone or multiple people have called upon the Supreme Being personally, requesting His help.

It is not as though the Supreme Being doesn't already know there is a problem. He knows everything. And when any of us approach Him personally through prayer and ask for His assistance in something, we assume from within He knows what is going on. And we pray that out of His mercy and His love, He will come to our aid. This is because He knows everything. And He understands everything.

This, however, does not apply to winning football games or track races. When a person feels bereft and overwhelmed, and they reach out to God for help - seeking His shelter - that is what God responds to.

This is because this is the essence of a key part of our relationship. The Supreme Being is our Best Friend, our Companion, our Savior, and our Shelter. He is there for us, and when we need to take shelter of Him, and we want His shelter, He will be there for us.

But this does not mean that God is our servant. That He comes to our beck and call.

Indeed, another key part of our relationship - one that most of us ignore - are that we are ultimately His caregivers. We are His servants. His subjects. He is our Master. This means that we are in our rightful position when we are doing His will. When we are working to please Him.

The thrust of this statement is that the Supreme Being is clarifying that He responds to those who have sought out His assistance. This verse portrays people within these communities being threatened, and are turning to Him for shelter.

Besides, we know that the Supreme Being does not have to _"come down"_ to understand the situation, and He clearly already states that He knows their _"sin"_ is _"so grievous"_ (כבד (kabad) - also meaning grave or dire) before He is apparently going to _"go down"_ to see what is happening. He already knows how bad it is.

ירד (yarad) is being translated to both _"I will go"_ and _"down."_ The word can also mean "descend, decline," or "sink down" as well as to come down in the form of "revelation."

The word _"see"_ is being translated from ראה (ra'ah), which can also mean to "consider," "discern," "given attention to" and so on.

עשה (`asah) is being translated to _"if they have done"_ but the word means to do something, to "work," "make," "accomplish" and so on.

צעקה (tsa`aqah) is being translated to _"according to its outcry"_ but this word indicates "cry of distress (especially as heard by God)" according to the lexicon.

ידע (yada`) is being translated to _"if not I will know"_ but the word means "to perceive" or "learn to know" but also to "recognize, admit, acknowledge" and "to be acquainted with."

We must translate these words within the context of the speaker. Let's say that a corporate boss says to his employees after they have requested a new holiday: _"we will see about that."_ Is the boss really saying that he will "see" something about the holiday - as in he has to go and see for himself a holiday?

No, this is an expression used by someone when they are going to make a decision about something. They are going to make a future decision - and they may have even already made it. But the expression is put forth in a way that let's the audience know that he will inform them of his decision in due course.

In the same way, these words are putting forth, metaphorically, that God will be informing them of His decision on Sodom and Gomorrah.

We can thus offer a more appropriate translation of this verse:

_"The cries of distress regarding Sodom and Gomorrah have been so great and their offenses so grievous that I will be considering the matter and deciding their fate, and will inform you." (Genesis 18:20-21)_

### What about Sodom and Gomorrah?

One of the issues that many have investigated is whether Sodom and Gomorrah existed. The archeological evidence indicates that there was a larger collection of towns in the region and saying these two typically represented the group of communities. Great expense has been made to dig up various sites in search of these cities. And indeed, some scientists have pointed out remains that appear the towns did exist among others nearby and were the subject of a natural disaster.

The more important task is to understand the meaning of this verse. Why would the Supreme Being bother to destroy these cities? Just consider the so many other cities around the world that exist today and that have existed in the past - places that have also maintained incredible levels of violence, crime, rape, lewd activities, hatred, terrorism and so on. Has God taken out all of these cities?

In other words, does God go around taking out cities as soon as He finds out they are filled with crime and degradation?

This certainly is not consistent with history. We find many ancient cities that have been places of degradation that are still standing. Rome is certainly a good example.

With regard to the thesis that Sodom and Gomorrah were places of homosexuality, this interpretation was first put forth by the Greek philosopher Philo in the First Century CE. There is otherwise no basis for it. The Prophets and Jesus that preceded Philo, in all their discussions of the two cities, never indicated that Sodom and Gomorrah were places of homosexuality, despite the modern interpretation.

For those who have interpreted the event that took place with Lot and Abraham in Sodom as homosexual in nature, we will show with the next verses (Genesis 18:20-21), the basis for this misinterpretation. In general, the misinterpretation is based upon the Hebrew word (yada') - "knowing" - which many have said supposedly refers to the men of Sodom wanting to have sex with the two angels. Rather, this Hebrew word relates to receiving instruction as well as perceiving or knowledge.

And the translation to "men" - coming from iysh' can also refer to all the primary inhabitants or citizens of the city. Even today, we will often say, "men" when we actually mean "people" - men and women.

Prior to the modern interpretation to Sodom and Gomorrah being about homosexuality, the common interpretation of the story of Lot in Sodom was that the people of the city did not offer the angels respect and hospitality. They demanded that the angels appear before them so they could inquire from them directly. This was seen as an offense before the angels.

We will see other reasons for this with the next verses, including the ridiculous notion that Lot would have offered his daughters to have sex with all the men of the city. What kind of father would to that? This is a ridiculous interpretation of that event.

Besides, an entire town of men cannot have sex with just two people. It is a sick mistranslation of this text, as we will illustrate specifically.

### Is there a deeper meaning to Sodom and Gomorrah?

What this verse and this entire discussion of Sodom and Gomorrah are actually describing is God's willingness to mercifully respond to those who plead to Him for assistance. God is indicating His readiness to come to the aid of those who take refuge in Him.

This is confirmed by the use of not one, but two Hebrew words indicating cries of distress were made to God: זעק (za`aq) and צעקה (tsa`aqah) as described above.

This is even if the person may not have a history of recent devotion. As soon as a person takes shelter of the Supreme Being - even if it does not last - God will come to our rescue. This is what a true friend does. They don't even care that we've been ignoring them. This is God - the Supreme Loving Friend who cares for us unconditionally.

At the same time, we should not expect that the result will be what we desire. It might be something other than what we ask for, for example. He may be wanting us to learn something specific and therefore lets something happen that we ask not to happen.

This doesn't mean that He isn't there for us.

Let's use an example: Let's say that the mother of a teenager is dying, and the teenager asks God "please don't let her die." Does God answer by keeping her mother's body alive forever? Don't be ridiculous.

The body of her mother will indeed die. But the person inside that body - the eternal spiritual being - will not die. The individual inhabiting that body will leave and the body will die. The person inside will simply move on. Thus, via the facility already existing the prayer is automatically being answered even though the teenager doesn't see it. His mother will continue to live, though her body will die.

This is the design of the physical world, and it is designed with our best interests in mind.

Through our own choosing, we are currently away from God in this world. Because of that, we are lost, empty and lonely. The only way we can cure our loneliness is to re-establish our lost loving relationship with God, and eventually, when this body is finished, return to our relationship with Him in the spiritual realm.

What if God allowed us to live forever in this world of illusion? Would that be nice? No. This would leave us stuck in this hellish dimension for eternity. It might be compared to putting a cat or dog into a small box to transport them to the vet. Would we leave our pet in the box or even at the vet in a cage forever? No, we would bring them home after their treatment so they could resume their lives.

Indeed, we are here in this world because we need treatment. We have a disease, and the disease is self-centeredness. This world is set up to help teach us about lowe, and how to care for others besides ourselves.

The Supreme Being always has our best interests at heart. He wants us to return to Him. He wants us to recover from our disease and come home because He knows that we will only be happy when we have resumed our natural position within our loving, caregiving relationship with Him.

Now we must make the decision that we want to be healed, and return to our relationship with Him.

#  Genesis 18:23-33

# "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."

_Then Abraham approached Him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?" "If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it." Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?" He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it." Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?" He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He left, and Abraham returned home. (Genesis 18:26:32)_

### Does God negotiate on destruction?

Does this mean that God is open to negotiation regarding His decisions and activities? That He will decide to do something and one of His servants can talk Him out of it? He is, after all, the Supreme Being. And His decisions are always beyond the reasoning of the human mind.

Yet we do find in this symbolic conversation, that the Supreme Being does share a relationship with His servants, and He may, at His discretion, honor the wishes of one of His servants.

This is what this conversation illustrates: The Supreme Being cares about everyone but shows special favor to those who love Him. This is consistent with loving relationships.

Following God promising not to destroy Sodom if He finds fifty righteous people, Abraham continues questioning how many righteous people will be needed to avert the destruction, going from 45 to 40 to 30 to 20 to 10. Each time, God responds saying He will not destroy Sodom if He finds that many.

Is Abraham really negotiating with God on the destruction of Sodom?

Certainly not. God does not negotiate with people. God is the Supreme Being. He certainly exchanges conversations and relationships with each of His children, but He is always in charge and is never subject to error.

God also never has a faulty motive or intention. His actions are always righteous and perfect. And Abraham, a devoted loving servant of God, would never question God's righteousness as is translated and interpreted here.

We must remember that this is neither a first hand nor a second-hand depiction of this conversation. Abraham is not relaying this information about this conversation. So who is relaying it then?

### Could this conversation be literally true?

We can also be certain that this paraphrased conversation between Abraham and God is symbolic because we know the Supreme Being would have already known how many righteous people there were in Sodom. He didn't need to _"find"_ them - _"If I find fifty righteous people..."_

Rather, this is a symbolic discussion that originates from ancient teachers who are detailing the fact that the Supreme Being is always protecting those who worship Him and serve Him.

Yet we must also understand that every physical body is temporary, and is subject to pain and death. It is not as if those who worship Him will still not be subject to experiencing the death of their physical body, nor the pains that go along with it.

In other words, the bodies of even the 10, 20, 30, 40, 45 or 50 righteous people of Sodom - if they were there - would still be subject to pain, old age, disease and death even if God did not destroy the city.

Even Abraham's physical body eventually died. And practically every ancient city was destroyed at some point.

Does this mean that God killed Abraham and destroyed every city? And since we all will get sick and die at some point does this mean that God is making us sick and killing us off?

Don't be ridiculous.

Yes, many do question God's fairness, and even His existence given the fact that there is so much sickness and death in the physical world. They ask: _If God exists, why is there so much suffering in the world?_ Why does every body become sick? Why does every body die at some point? Is this God's fault?

### Why is there suffering in this world?

The fact is, the physical world is a temporary and virtual dimension that was ultimately created by God to encourage us to rehabilitate ourselves from self-centeredness.

The reality is, we are not these physical bodies. They are temporary vehicles, and each of us - the spirit-person inside - is driving our physical body much as a person drives a car.

And when this vehicle of the physical body dies, we simply leave the body just as a person steps out of a car. This has been confirmed not only throughout the scriptures but also by science - with hundreds of thousands of clinical death cases. It is also evidenced by the fact that the body is always changing and aging, while we remain the same person.

This means that all the pains and suffering of the physical world are happening to these temporary vehicles - not to the driver of the physical body. We might compare this to driving in a demolition derby.

In the demolition derby, all the cars get smashed up. Yet at the end of the derby, all of the drivers get out of their beat-up cars and go home to their families.

In the same way, the suffering and death of this world occurs for the physical body, not the person inside. Each body suffers, but the soul inside is separate from this suffering. It is only when we identify ourselves with these bodies that we suffer with them. When we leave the body, we hopefully take away the lessons we learn from them, but not the pain, disease or suffering.

### What about learning and consequence?

The Supreme Being created the physical world to be a place of learning. He created a system of consequences that produces situations perfectly reflecting our prior activities and decisions. If we hurt the body of another person, our body will be hurt in the same way - or a reflective way in the future. This allows us to gradually realize empathy - which is the first step in being able to experience love.

Parenting works the same way. Today's child psychologists now recommend that the best way to discipline a child is through consequences. If a child does something wrong they don't get a punitive punishment. Their punishment reflects the responsibility of what they did wrong. If they throw food, they must clean it up, and so on.

While experiencing pain and suffering within these physical bodies may feel punitive, it is because we bring these upon ourselves. A body who is suffering in some way is reflecting a previous activity of that person that made someone else suffer in some way.

A person who is loving and caring for others, on the other hand, will naturally rise in their body types, and experience a future that reflects those actions. This person will also be led towards re-establishing their relationship with the Supreme Being and likely give up the physical world in the future as well.

But those of us who are chasing our self-centered dreams around, often at the expense of others' suffering, we must experience the consequences of those actions in the future. This is the design of the rehabilitative physical world.

Just as a drug rehabilitation center or a prison is meant to rehabilitate addicts or criminals, the Supreme Being set up this world to rehabilitate us. Our original identity is that of a loving, caring person - a loving servant of the Supreme Being. This is what will ultimately bring us happiness because this is who we are.

God wants us to become rehabilitated and return to Him in the spiritual realm after the death of our physical body. This is the ultimate purpose of the learning experiences gained through the temporary physical sufferings of this world.

### Was Sodom and Gomorrah about homosexuality?

Sectarian religious teachings regarding Sodom and Gomorrah have become fanatically focused upon the aspect of homosexuality, to the point of using the word "sodomy" to depict homosexual or related activities.

This, however, is not what was going on here. This is evidenced by the teachings of many of God's representatives such as Jesus, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others, who have specifically referred to Sodom and Gomorrah without referring to homosexuality.

It is only a modern interpretation, that began by a Greek philosopher in the First Century CE.

Here is the key text that has been mistranslated and misinterpreted in this regard, from the English Standard Version:

_The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square." But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them." Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof." But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." (Genesis 19:1-13 )_

The key sentence that this misinterpretation lies upon is the statement when the people called Lot and said:

_"Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."_

Other translations, like the King James Version and others, are similar. But there are a number of translations that say, _"that we may have sex with them."_

Yet the Hebrew word (yada') that supposedly refers to the men of Sodom wanting to "know" them or "have sex" with the two angels is being mistranslated and misinterpreted. The word relates to receiving instruction as well as perceiving or knowledge. This has been incorrectly interpreted as some sort of "Biblical knowing" - referring to carnal knowledge.

But there is no other indication that this interpretation is true.

Indeed, the logic of this is extremely weak, given the fact that the two angels were perceived as being extraordinary. Why would men want to have sex with angels? Angels are obviously from a higher realm. They do not appear as other people. And certainly, they do not appear in such a way to attract homosexuality.

Furthermore, the word "men" - being translated from the Hebrew iysh', can also refer to all the primary inhabitants or citizens of the city. This is a manner of speech in ancient times - referring to citizens as the 'men of the city.' We have others like this, such as "all men are created equal." This doesn't mean only men are equal.

Prior to the Greek Philo interpreting this as homosexuality in the First Century CE, the common interpretation of the story of Lot in Sodom was that the people of the city did not offer the angels respect and hospitality. Rather, they demanded that the angels appear before them so they could inquire from them directly. This was seen as an offense before the angels.

Think about it. If two angels appeared in your town, would you not offer them respect? Or would you demand to have a personal inquiry with them? The latter is a sign of disrespect.

And why would all the men of the city want to have sex with just two angels?

If it was sex that the men demanded, it would have been ridiculous that Lot would have offered all the men of the city to have sex with his two daughters. What kind of father would to that? Was he willing to have an entire town of men come and have sex with his two daughters? It is a sick mistranslation of this text.

Lot was not offering his daughters to have sex with an entire city of men. That would basically make Lot's daughters prostitutes and Lot himself a pimp. Besides this, such an offer would also contradict the notion that the men were homosexual.

The angels were extraordinary - so the people of the town were curious and demanded to know them. Then Lot offered to have his daughters speak to the people of the city rather than the angels, so the angels could continue their dialogue with Lot on a personal basis.

The translation and interpretation of the men of Sodom wanting to have sex with the two angels is the subject of a society of fanatics who have themselves become mired in a myriad of sexual conflicts. The Church itself has been drowning in a conspiracy of homosexuality. It has become widespread knowledge that many officials of the Church have been attacking and molesting young children over the centuries. Are this organization's teachers to be trusted for their interpretation of a scriptural event being about homosexuality?

But we can believe the instructional statements of some of the Prophets and Jesus with regards to Sodom and Gemorrah. Truly the people of these cities had become offensive to God and His representatives, as indicated by these teachers. That society had become focused on materialism and self-centeredness. They were not supporting the worship of the Supreme Being. These are the issues referred to as being offensive (often misinterpreted as "sin"). To be disrespectful to God's representatives is offensive. This is the result of seeing oneself as the most important person and forgetting God's position as Superior. Such a consciousness is offensive to God.

This also relates to our constant chase for materialism, fame, money, and the pleasures of the body as our keys to happiness. This is a wrongful assumption because none of this will provide true happiness to the spirit.

It doesn't mean that we can't have any physical pleasures. The physical body will send the mind pleasure stimuli even when we eat or laugh. So physical pleasures in themselves are not sinful. It is our consciousness of feeling that we invincible and there is no God and the pleasures of the body are the only/ultimate forms of happiness. Such a consciousness makes us offensive towards the Supreme Being - who is a loving, kind and generous Person.

The physical body and the things of the physical world are all temporary. They develop, then decompose. Thus we cannot take refuge in them. We cannot find happiness in them. Because our composition is spirit - not matter - the temporary things of this world cannot bring us happiness.

This point about our composition is critical. Whether a person identifies themselves as a man, a woman, a homosexual or a heterosexual - these are all labels of the physical world. They have nothing to do with who we really are.

With such a vision we can become truly tolerant and merciful towards others. We can understand that a person who was born into a male body and identifies themselves as a man is just as mistaken as a person who is born into a female body and identifies themselves as a man. Both are misidentifying themselves as a physical body - which is a case of mistaken identity.

### What is the real meaning of Sodom?

So what is really going on here between Abraham, God and Sodom? The event of Sodom is symbolic, and the discussion here between Abraham and God is also symbolic. The ancient teachers were illustrating that ignoring God and leading a self-centered life leads only to our own destruction.

Yet God will always look after those who become dedicated to Him.

After all, doesn't practically every city get destroyed at some point or another? Even the powerful Roman empire was destroyed after many centuries. In other words, God doesn't go around picking and destroying cities. Their eventual destruction - just as the death of our physical body - is already ordained.

Those communities that become degraded become the cause of their own destruction - individually and as a community. Their activities will certainly have consequences, each individually and as a group. In other words, the actions of communities - whether it is a nation or a city - also have consequences.

We can easily see this. In World War II, we saw the countries of Germany, Italy and Japan get brutally attacked and overthrown by the Allies. Why did the Allies do this? Because these countries became aggressors. They attacked other countries and inflected death upon the peoples of those other countries. So the Allies' attacks were the consequences of those countries' actions.

There are innumerable examples of this throughout history.

Therefore, whatever happened to Sodom occurred ultimately due to the decisions that community made, and those individuals made. They served up their own consequences individually and as a community.

In other words, God does not have to intercede into the consequences of a particular person, family or community. These take place automatically through the consequence programming He designed. Because God is always in charge and He created the system, we can certainly say that God destroyed a city or even a country. But God does not have to personally interact with such destruction. These are simply consequences being played out in a just system.

However, should a person turn towards God personally - and begin to worship and serve Him with devotion - that is another story. The Supreme Being gets personally involved in the lives of those who are devoted to the Supreme Being. Those who worship God are watched after personally. They are guided back to Him personally, typically by God along with one of His representatives.

This is the lost meaning of this symbolic conversation. While ecclesiastical translators and scribes over the centuries have increasingly focused upon the concept of God destroying Sodom, the fact is, this conversation originally intended to focus on the fact that God will personally watch over those who are devoted to Him, even at the expense of halting the consequences of those around the devoted person in order to guide that person back home to Him.

The current picture of this event in scripture, however, could be compared to a stereogram - it is a spiritual lesson hidden within the symbolic story. In other words, God always controls His scriptures, regardless of how badly they have become translated or interpreted. He embeds His lessons within them even if they have become insulted.

So let's say there were ten people in the city of Sodom who were devoted to God. Say it is ten people out of a population of 100,000. The lesson of this conversation would mean that the consequences of 99,990 people would be altered by being in the midst of those ten devoted people, because God would be protecting and guiding those ten who were devoted to Him.

But this can also play out with the ten being guided out of the city before its destruction. Or they may otherwise survive its destruction. Or they (their temporary physical bodies) may even become destroyed in the destruction of the city.

But even if those ten devoted persons become destroyed in the city's destruction, they themselves - their spirit-persons - will continue to be protected, and guided by God back to His realm in the spiritual world, where there is no suffering, pain, disease, old age and death.

This is the ultimate lesson of this symbolic conversation between Abraham and God - hidden within its symbolism. It is about how the Supreme Being is focused upon those who worship Him. It is about how focused He is upon those who seek a loving relationship with Him.

It has been said that for every step we make towards the Supreme Being, He takes a thousand steps towards us. We can simply start by desiring - and asking - to get closer to Him. Such a request will be heard if it is sincere. That simple request will begin a journey for us that will lead us back to His Loving Arms. It will lead us back to our home in the spiritual realm. It will lead us to His protection, not only here while we wear these physical bodies, but after the death of this physical body. If we dedicate ourselves to Him, He will be watching out for us. He will personally protect us, and guide us home.

The ultimate hidden message of the Bible is really not so hidden if a person is sincere. It is a message of re-establishing our loving relationship with the Supreme Being. Very clear statements are made to this end, including the most important instruction of Jesus, Moses and every representative of God:

_"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'" (Matthew 22:37-38, Luke 10:27 and Deuteronomy 6:5)_

#  Genesis 20:1-7

# "Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet ..."

_Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman." Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands." Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die." (Genesis 20:1-7)_

### Did God really not know?

These verses represent that the Supreme Being at first did not realize that Abimelek had been told that Sarah was Abraham's sister. It also assumes that God had to find out from Abimelek that he had made an innocent mistake.

Such a notion illustrates the weakness in the portrayal of the Supreme Being in these and other verses of the Old Testament. It also illustrates that these stories are part truth and part allegories. They are fabled mythological tales that were handed down for centuries before finally being recorded. Once they were recorded, their allegorical nature became obvious.

The situation could be compared to the so-called story-tellers circle. This is when a story is whispered from one person to another successively around a circle. The last person in the circle tells the story, revealing how the story had changed from the original story told.

This doesn't mean that Abimelek didn't exist. It also doesn't mean that Abimelek didn't have a dream, and didn't try to marry Sarah when he thought she was only Abraham's sister. But it doesn't accurately portray the exchange between Abimelek and the Supreme Being, because God is omniscient. He understands everything that is going on simultaneously.

As such, the first dream revealed to Abimelek that Sarah was married. Then he prayed to God for forgiveness and mercy, knowing that he made a mistake. That is what an honorable person does when they find out they made a mistake.

### Why didn't Abraham tell him Sarah was his wife?

Here the king of Gerar, Abimelek, took Sarah, not realizing she was Abraham's wife. He had not "touched" (slept with) her yet, and then God's spoke to him in his dream.

Genesis 20:2 confirms that Abraham himself said Sarah was his sister.

Why is this? Why did Abraham hide the fact that Sarah was his wife? In Gen. 20:11 we find that Abraham answers this question as he tells Abimelek why he told Sarah to say she was his sister:

_"I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, 'This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother."' (Genesis 20:12-13)_

And to this Abimelek acknowledged that Sarah was Abraham's wife, returned her to him and even offered Abraham to live on and use his land as he wished.

### Did Abraham marry his half-sister?

According to this translation, Abraham married his half-sister - the daughter of his father. So this marriage was considered okay, apparently. Otherwise, the king would not have acknowledged and returned Sarah, as well as given Abraham some of his land and resources.

But isn't incest condemned?

We find in Deuteronomy, the following instruction, submitted by Moses to be from the Supreme Being:

_"Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother." (Deuteronomy 27:22)_

Why then, is Abraham married to the daughter of his father? This wasn't the only time that incest is apparent from literal translations of the Old Testament.

For example, Lot's two daughters supposedly slept with him when he was drunk and each became pregnant. They gave birth to Moab and Ben-Ammi respectively (Genesis 19).

Then we find in Exodus 6 that Amram, who was Moses' father, married Jochebed, who was the sister of his mother. And Ammon, who was David's son, also married his half-sister (2 Samuel 13).

What is occurring here? Are the Israelites this incestuous?

And why, if Sarah was Abraham's sister, why did Abraham earlier have to ask her to tell the Pharaoh that she was his sister (as if she wasn't). And why did the Pharaoh later find out she wasn't Abraham's sister after all. The Pharaoh said to Abraham:

_"Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" (Genesis 12:19)_

Certainly if Sarah was Abraham's sister after all, the Pharaoh would not have said this. He would have simply gone on with Sarah, knowing Abraham was her brother, as the marriage would have been a sham.

Because men could take multiple wives, being the son or daughter of the man was considered being brother and sister. Having a different mother did not matter much.

The Scripture also states very clearly that Tarah was Abraham's father, along with his brothers, but does not mention Sarah:

_Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. (Gen. 11:27)_

Sarah (Sarai) is then discussed as marrying Abraham in the following verses, and again there is no mention of Sarah being Terah's daughter.

This issue of Abraham marrying his sister has been the subject of debate and doubt for centuries among ecclesiastical religious scholars, along with the event of the previous chapter (Genesis 19) indicating that Lot had children with his daughters, and two sons were born of them.

The first point to consider is what is stated above about many of these events becoming allegorical after centuries of being passed on orally. Often they were passed on for the purpose of the moral-devotional lesson, rather than as an absolute historical record.

As far as this verse in Genesis 20, the more appropriate translation relates to understanding that the Hebrew word אב ('ab) can not only mean a father by birth, but also can refer to a "head or founder of a household, group, family, or clanhead" - "originator or patron of a class, profession, or art" - or a "ruler or chief" according to the lexicon and other verses of the Old Testament.

In this context, אב ('ab) would then be more appropriately understood to be Abraham's spiritual Teacher - also considered traditionally as _"father."_ Marrying another student of one's spiritual Teacher is an accepted custom amongst most religious orders, and it is acceptable to the Supreme Being.

This would explain why their relationship was acceptable to king Abimelek as well, and why he immediately released Sarah. If Abraham had married the sister of his physical body - born from the same father - it would not have been considered a legal marriage.

Abraham could legitimately refer to Sarah as a "sister" because fellow students of a spiritual Teacher will refer to each other as "brothers" and "sisters" quite frequently. So Abraham, wanting to protect Sarah and his own followers, proclaimed Sarah as his sister.

This would also explain Lot having sex with the two young women, who would essentially have been two of his followers. As the tradition called for, male students were called בֵּן (ben) and female students were called בַּת (bath).

Yes, this could cause some confusion, as fellow followers could refer to each other as brothers or brother and sister, which could be confused with being a blood brother or sister.

This misunderstanding - confusing references to one's teacher with the father of the body - occurs throughout the Old Testament. Not everywhere, but often. It is quite simply a translation issue, but also an issue born of stories taking on an allegorical nature as they were portrayed over centuries of oral transmission.

### Was anyone owning land?

One of the indicators of the allegorical nature of some of these stories is the importance that was placed on the so-called ownership of land. This was a very territorial time when feudal tribes were struggling over the control of certain territories. For this reason, territorial control became a big issue as these events were portrayed.

Yet this very principle is unbelievably the cause for the various struggles for lands of the Middle East, as some feel that God granted them ownership to certain lands.

God is not a land-grant office. This is confirmed by the fact that Abimelek granted to Abraham that he could live where ever he wanted to on Abimelek's land. If God had given Abraham all that land as mistranslated in Genesis 15, then Abimelek would not have needed to grant Abraham the ability to stay on his land. Abraham would already have all that land.

This confirms that God isn't in the business of giving away land.

God simply wants us to return to our original loving relationship with Him. This is why He sends prophets like Abraham and Moses to teach us love and devotion for the Supreme Being.

We must understand that the original texts that have been ecclesiastically translated into the Old Testament are _spiritual_ texts. They describe devotional relationships. But over the centuries, many of these devotional relationships have been misconstrued to be strictly family relationships - as though the Old Testament is some sort of "Dynasty" story.

Rather, what is being described - confirmed by these statements by God to Abimelek, is how God protects His confidential loving devotees. God is protecting all three of them: Abimelek, Sarah and Abraham.

### Was Abimelek devoted to God?

And we know from these verses that Abimelek was devoted to the Supreme Being. How do we know this?

Because not only did Abimelek communicate directly with God through his prayers and he heard from God through his dreams, but God sought to protect Abimelek by not allowing him to touch (have sex with) Sarah.

God said: _"Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her."_

### Does God protect those who are devoted to Him?

Being devoted to the Supreme Being comes with an important side effect: The Supreme Being looks out for those who are devoted to Him. He protects them and watches over them.

Certainly, God watches over all of us and cares for each of us. But when someone is devoted to God there is a relationship. The Supreme Being reciprocates loving relationships. God enjoys exchanging loving relationships.

Those who ignore God while seeking self-centered enjoyment through the physical world are also loved and cared for by God, but there is no relationship to reciprocate. There is no devotion from the person so that does not result in this special care God extends to those who are devoted to Him.

So we know from this text that not only was the Supreme Being looking out after Abimelek: God was also protecting Sarah and Abraham. God did not want Sarah to be touched by Abimelek and he did not want Abraham to be submitted to any insult of seeing his wife betrayed.

This is also reflected in the last part of God's statement above. God is not necessarily threatening Abimelek with the physical death of his body. As Jesus described when he talked about the _"dead burying the dead,"_ the issue is spiritual death. Offending God's representative and loving servant produce spiritual death. Spiritual death is losing one's relationship with God.

The entire Scriptures describe the loving relationships that exist between God and His loving servants - along with their teachings that we should love and devote ourselves to God. This is the sum and substance of the Old Testament, as Moses put forth the greatest of the commandments:

_"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deut. 6:5)_

#  Genesis 21:12-13

# "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman ..."

_But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the slave into a nation also, because he is your offspring." (Genesis 21:12-13)_

### Is God condoning slavery?

No, God does not condone slavery. This is not a historical story intended to be taken literally. As stated before, much of Genesis is a collection of allegorical lessons that had been passed down from generation to generation orally in different lineages. While they do include a historical figure - Abraham - they also portray mythological aspects in order to teach moral and devotional lessons.

With regard to slavery, the Hebrew word, אָמָה ('amah) relates to a handmaid, or female servant. In modern times, we would probably use the word "assistant" to describe such a person.

The difference between a slave and a servant is significant. A slave has no freedom. They are imprisoned by their master and have no ability to leave the household. Historically, slaves were also often bought and sold as though they were merchandise.

A servant or assistant is someone who has the power of choice - to serve or not to serve. Such a person is often paid for their service. If they are serving in a devotional way, they may not seek any compensation.

Evidence that Hagar was not a slave is found in Genesis 16, where it states that because Sarah had mistreated Hagar, Hagar left Sarah and Abraham. A mistreated servant has the right to flee from whom they serve, whereas a slave does not.

### Does Genesis 16 jive with Genesis 21?

The statement purported to God above comes after the following verses:

_The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac." (Genesis 21:10-11)_

There are a couple of inconsistencies here, besides the fact that if Sarah loved her husband, Abraham, she would likely not be so rude and self-righteous about her son's "inheritance." Is this really how Sarah spoke with her beloved husband? Was she that concerned about money - or inheritance otherwise?

Furthermore, from Genesis 16 we find that Hagar was actually Sarah's assistant (servant) (Genesis 16:3). Then Sarah "gave Hagar" to Abraham "to be his wife" (Genesis 16:3).

This means that Hagar wasn't a slave or servant at all. She was Abraham's wife. Why then would the Supreme Being describe Hagar as Abraham's slave?

Again, this is a mischaracterization, resulting from a combination of mistranslation and allegorical inaccuracy presented as the story had been passed down from generation to generation.

Indeed, we also find that God is referred to differently in Genesis 16 compared to Genesis 21. In Genesis 21, God is referred to as אֱלֹהִים ('elohiym), and in Genesis 16, God is referred to as יְהֹוָה (Yĕhovah). This difference is significant, and indicates, as many Biblical scholars have proposed, that Genesis 16 originates from a different lineage and oral tradition than Genesis 21.

This also explains some of the inconsistencies related to Hagar being a servant or Abraham's wife, as well as some of the relationship issues between Abraham and Sarah.

It also resolves the issue of Abraham having sex with his servant. If Hagar was Abraham's wife given by Sarah - as detailed in Genesis 16 - it means the son is legitimate and Abraham was not committing adultery.

### Making the boy "into a nation"?

Is God saying that He is going to make the son of Hagar and Abraham into a nation?

Does this mean there will be an entire nation composed of just the descendants of Ishmael? Let's see how the math works out for this. Let's say that each generation produces 10 offspring every 30 years. That would mean in 60 years there would be a hundred offspring, in 90 years there would be a thousand, in 120 years there would be ten thousand, in 150 years there would be one hundred thousand and in 170 years there would be a nation of one million people, all descendants of Ishmael.

But what would be necessary to accomplish this? _Incest._ Each generation would have to marry and have children between brother and sister or at least cousins over time. But since the first few generations would require brother and sister, this would make the entire nation a nation of incest. Is this the _"nation"_ that God is promising Abraham? A nation of incest?

### Doesn't this contradict God's love?

This very concept of nation-building by the Supreme Being runs against every element of the teachings of the various prophets as well as Jesus and his disciples. This type of program - designing a superior race by building a nation from within Abraham's family - is nothing less than racism. It is an assumption that God designed a superior race - as descendants of Abraham. And this superior race somehow has greater rights or inheritance of some kind of "promised land" - over people of other races or nations.

This very notion lies at the foundation of some of the wars that have been fought in the Middle East. Many disputes between Arabs and Israelites are rooted in a belief that some lands have been granted by God to a certain race of people. This is grounded within a concept that some race of people \- supposedly Abraham's descendants - are somehow more deserving than others to have certain lands of the Middle East. And this right is somehow sanctioned by God through these texts.

God is not a racist, just as He does not approve of slavery. God does not give any race or family more privileges or rights than others. He does not "choose" one race or family over another - to become His "chosen people."

Every person - regardless of the physical body we wear - has the same opportunity to develop our relationship with the Supreme Being. And any of us - if we take advantage of that opportunity through prayer and service - can establish a devotional relationship with God. And it is this devotional relationship that in fact makes a person _"chosen."_ Such a person becomes _"chosen"_ because they chose to give their life to God.

God simply reciprocates such devotion. He watches over such a devoted person, and helps guide that person back to Him. This is not because they are of any race or family, but because they made the decision to re-develop their loving relationship with God.

### What is God saying then?

So if God is not a racist what is He saying above to Abraham?

The last two Hebrew words of Genesis 21:12 are זרע (zera`) and קרא (qara'). To translate זרע (zera`) to _"descendants"_ as the translators did would indeed be odd, because the word קרא (qara') means "to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim" and to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God)".

This combination of words in a phrase - זרע (zera`) and קרא (qara') - indicate something completely different than the translators indicate.

The word זרע (zera`) can mean "seed, sowing, a time of planting" according to Gesenius' lexicon. But when used figuratively, it can also refer to "of moral quality" and "a practitioner of righteousness." This indicates a deeper meaning within this combination of words.

### Weren't they followers?

We must consider the context of the Scriptures. This is the word of God. It is a narration supporting the process of coming to love and serve the Supreme Being. It is the process of devotion to God. What takes place with regard to devotion to God? It is taught to others. Teachers - referred to as Prophets - teach devotion to their followers, and those followers then teach the process of devotion to God to their followers.

Yes, the reference is not to descendants of the physical body. The reference is to those who follow the teachings of Abraham and carry on those teachings by teaching them to others. This creates a nation of _followers_ , not a nation of descendants of a certain physical body.

In order to achieve this, devotion to God becomes _disseminated,_ or _propagated_ to others. Consider carefully the root of the word "disseminated." The root of this word is _seminate_ \- which comes from the word "semen." In fact the word "seminate" means, according to the dictionary, "to sow, to spread; to propagate."

Is this not also the precise meaning of the word זרע (zera`)? To sow or propagate?

So what is being propagated here? What would God's devoted servants such as Abraham be interested in propagating?

### Can we call upon God?

The second word is קרא (qara') and this means, as mentioned above, "to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God)."

What is being discussed here by the Supreme Being to Abraham is not the building of an incestual nation of "chosen" _"descendants."_ God is talking about devotion to God - and those who are called to that devotion, leading them to the _calling of God's Holy Names_ \- which is disseminated or propagated to others - who then effectively become a legion of followers.

This concept of calling on God's Holy Names in the worship of God has been clearly established in the Scriptures with regard to Abraham. Just consider these clear verses about Abraham and Isaac:

_From there he [Abraham] went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)_

_From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 13:3-4)_

_Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the Name of the LORD, the Eternal God. (Genesis 21:33)_

_Isaac built an altar there and called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 26:25)_

We can see from these verses that _"calling on the Name of the LORD"_ was an important practice - important enough to state it as the central practice of a particular settlement established by Abraham and Isaac.

Why would _"calling on the Name of the LORD"_ be so important that this was their central activity once they established their new settlement?

Because _"calling on the Name of the LORD"_ is the greatest act of devotion. It is the pinnacle of worship of God - to call upon God's Holy Names is to reach out to God personally. It is to establish a devotional connection with God.

Just consider how important a person's name is. What if we have a best friend and we forget their name? That would be a disaster to the relationship. The supposed best friend would be insulted, because we value our names - even though the names of this world are temporary.

God's Holy Names have spiritual value. His Holy Names are purifying, and by repeating and praising them in prayer, chants or song with love and devotion we establish a connection with the Supreme Being.

This ancient practice of calling on God's Holy Names, in fact, has been lost among the various ecclesiastical religious institutions of today. This is the result of their teachers not being God's representatives - but rather, elected by these institutions, making them political representatives of those who elected them.

Yet it is this very practice - establishing a devotional connection with the Supreme Being through chanting and glorifying His Holy Names - that is being discussed among these verses. It is this practice of _"calling on the Name of the LORD"_ that the Supreme Being wanted Abraham and his students - of which Isaac and Ishmael were central - to disseminate throughout the region.

And they did, and this produced millions of followers of Abraham over the coming centuries.

Yes, we could consider millions of followers to be as big as a _"nation."_ But the concept of _"nation"_ implies a group bound by a particular government and territory of land.

### Wasn't Abraham a traveling preacher?

Abraham was not a nation-builder. He was a traveling nomad, who went from place to place setting up temples ( _"altars"_ and _"tents"_ ) where God's Holy Names were _"called"_ \- glorified, chanted and worshiped.

How do we know this? Just consider those "prophets" who followed Abraham; practicing and propagating the _"calling of the Name of the LORD"_ throughout the Scriptures:

_"I will proclaim the Name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!" (Deut 32:3)_

_He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the Name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. (2 Samuel 6:2)_

_The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD. (1 Kings 3:2)_

_"I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when he said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for My Name.'" (1 Kings 5:5)_

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (1 Kings 8:17)_

_Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire - He is God." Then all the people said, "What you say is good." (1 Kings 18:24)_

_With the stones he built an altar in the Name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. (1 Kings 18:32)_

_But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the Name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. (2 Kings 5:11)_

_So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the Name of the LORD. (1 Chron 21:18)_

_David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God." (1 Chron. 22:7)_

_Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD." (1 Chron 22:19)_

_Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals of the LORD our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel. (2 Chron 2:4)_

_"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21)_

_I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the Name of the LORD Most High. (Psalm 7:17)_

_Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)_

_The nations will revere the Name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. (Psalm 102:15)_

_So the Name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem (Psalm 102:21)_

_Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, you His servants; praise the Name of the LORD. (Psalm 113:1)_

_Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. (Psalm 113:2)_

_From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised. (Psalm 113:3)_

_Then I called on the name of the LORD: "LORD, save me!" (Psalm 116:4)_

_I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the LORD. (Psalm 116:13)_

_I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the Name of the LORD. (Psalm 116:17)_

_Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. (Psalm 118:26)_

_That is where the tribes go up - the tribes of the LORD - to praise the Name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel. (Psalm 122:4)_

_Our help is in the Name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:8)_

_Praise the LORD. Praise the name of the LORD; praise Him, you servants of the LORD (Psalm 135:1)_

_Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for at His command they were created (Psalm 148:5)_

_Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for His Name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens. (Psalm 148:13)_

_The Name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)_

_Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea. (Isaiah 24:15)_

_Who among you reveres the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the LORD and rely on their God. (Isaiah 50:10)_

_And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the Name of the LORD, and to be His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant (Isaiah 56:6)_

_From the west, people will revere the Name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere His glory. (Isaiah 59:19)_

_At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the Name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. (Jeremiah 3:17)_

_You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the Name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. (Joel 2:26)_

_And everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:32)_

_All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the Name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. (Micah 4:5)_

_He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the Name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. (Micah 5:4)_

_"Then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the Name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder." (Zephaniah 3:9)_

_But I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the Name of the LORD. (Zephaniah 3:12)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!"_ _(Matt. 21:9, Matt. 23:39, Matt. 23:39, Mark 11:9, Luke 13:35, Luke 19:38, John 12:13)_

### Didn't the Prophets teach love of God?

We can see from all these verses that practically every prophet of the Old Testament "seminated" or propagated the practice of _"calling on the Name of the LORD."_ And we find that despite the intense mistranslation of the New Testament by ecclesiastical scribes, Jesus is defined throughout as having _"come" "in the Name of the LORD."_

What does this mean? We can see it from the previous prophets' teachings, especially from David's - and Jesus quoted David often. To _"come" "in the Name of the LORD"_ quite simply means the propagation of honoring God's Holy Name in ones devotional practice - glorifying and praising God's Holy Names. This, we find, is the very foundation of Jesus' teachings - even though it was virtually ignored by the scribes and translators of those texts.

We can see that Jesus' teachings sought to establish the practice of praising of God's Holy Names amongst his students:

_"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:16)_

_To "glorify your Father in heaven" undoubtedly means, as David taught: "Praise the LORD. Praise the Name of the LORD; praise Him, you servants of the LORD" (Psalm 135:1)_

We can see from the above verses that praising - repeating, chanting, singing - God's Holy Names is the highest form of worship of God. And clearly, we can see that God's Holy Names have the power to save each of us. Consider this additional statement by David:

_Save me, O God, by Your Name (Psalm 54:1)_

We can now understand this Genesis verse spoken by the Supreme Being to Abraham was not about what was translated by ecclesiastical Jewish scribes seeking to establish the position of their nation or race.

Here is a more appropriate translation of God's paraphrased statement in Genesis 21:12-13, utilizing understandings about Hagar's relationship with Abraham from Genesis 16:

_"Do not be so distressed about the boy and your wife. Sarah speaks the truth, because it is through Isaac that the teachings of calling on My Name will be propagated. But I will also make the son of your other wife a great teacher with many followers due to your mentoring." (Genesis 21:12-13)_

#  Genesis 22:1-2

# "Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you."

_Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you." (Genesis 22:1-2)_

### Is this allegory or literal?

Like so many of the other stories that are told within the Book of Genesis, we find it difficult to believe that the Supreme Being would test Abraham by instructing him to murder his son as a sacrifice.

We must ask: Who would request such a cruel thing? Just consider whether a mother or father would test their child's allegiance to them by telling their child to kill the child's pet for them. Would this truly be an act of allegiance if the child were to go ahead and begin to kill the pet?

Such a request by God would surely equate to a form of cruelty - to test His servant by instructing him to kill his own beloved son.

We can only reflect upon the many other stories told in the Book of Genesis, and how these stories came to be told to discern their intent.

This and other fantastic stories were passed on orally over the centuries from one generation to the next. They would be likened to some of the stories that have been continuously passed down orally from one generation to the next by North American Indians and Pacific Islanders and even the Greeks. All of these and other cultures passed down legendary tales of heroism and allegory regarding figures from higher realms.

And just as those allegorical stories tell of fantastic things that may only partially reflect on historical figures and actual events, we find similarities in this and other stories of Genesis. They are allegorically developed stories that discuss historical figures in expansive ways.

We can understand this because there is no plausible witness to these events. Who was there to witness God reveal Himself to Abraham and speak these things to him? Who would have witnessed this and portrayed it to the next generation? And who was there to see Abraham almost slaughter his son?

If God or Abraham had portrayed this story, it would have been portrayed in the first person from that particular perspective. Other than those two, the only people who could have even witnessed Abraham bringing his son up to the place God had theoretically instructed Abraham to slaughter his son at could have been his servants. But his servants were instructed by Abraham to wait while he left them and went to the site. This means that they also did not witness this event:

_He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." (Genesis 22:5)_

This means there were no witnesses to the event, or witnesses to God instructing Abraham to murder his son.

So who could have accurately portrayed such an event if this were a historical event?

The reality is that this is an allegorical story meant to teach a lesson about devotion to the Supreme Being. It was taught by masters to their students to illustrate that a person should focus their attention on pleasing God. It is not a story meant to teach that the Supreme Being goes around telling people to murder their children in order to test them. And it surely is not meant to instruct others to commit murder on behalf of the Supreme Being.

### What is the allegorical lesson?

This notion that God wanted Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac is symbolic in that it illustrates a very important lesson about the physical world and the real self - the spirit-person beneath this physical body.

What plays out in the story is that just as Abraham begins to sacrifice his son, God and His angel stop him:

_But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him." (Genesis 22:11-12)_

What is being taught here is the extreme devotion that the loving servants of God have towards the Supreme Being. A person who commits themself to the Supreme Being must be prepared serve God. This means making sacrifices within their personal life sometimes - but this doesn't mean murdering someone - because God also instructs us to love each other.

The teaching of this verse is that the physical son of a father is typically the most important thing in that father's life. We can see this all around us, as fathers become attached to their sons - their sons become everything to the father \- the center of the father's life.

Yet we must also understand that these physical bodies are not us. They are temporary vehicles each of us wears. Thus the physical son of our physical body does not belong to us. The son is also a spirit-person within that body - who belongs to God just as we do.

While this does not diminish the love or commitment a father should have for his son, the father must understand that the son is not his possession. At one point the son will leave the father, and one day the father's body will die and leave the son. Therefore, becoming attached and possessive of a physical son only leads to sorrow and suffering. This is one of the lessons in this story.

This might be intellectually understood, but it cannot cancel the attachment a father has to his son or vice versa. In fact that only way a person can understand the real relationship between father and son is to have a loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

Such a person can then see that they belong to God and the son also belongs to God. The father might be the caretaker of the son for awhile but does not possess the son. Only in this state can a person truly care for and love the family members of their body: They must become unattached to them, and understand who their real family is - God and all of God's children.

This story of Abraham and his son Isaac illustrates the importance of trusting God. It means that we know for certain that God always has our best interests in mind, even if we cannot see it at the moment.

### What about testing us?

_Some time later God tested Abraham. (Genesis 22:1)_

This story is analogous to the testing that takes place for each of us. Every day we are being asked to trust in the temporary things of this physical world. Jesus called this _temptation._ To trust in the things of this temporary world is to become tempted by them. This is the same as being tested.

In reality, it is the mechanisms of the physical world that constantly test us. They test our integrity, our character, our willingness to be honest and our faith in the Supreme Being - these are all being tested throughout our lives through the mechanisms of the physical world.

Yet many have taught that some kind of a devil is at large who is doing the tempting (same as testing). As if this Satan guy has gotten out of God's control somehow.

God never loses control. He is always in control of everything. Therefore, there is no tempting going on here in the respect that such tempting is not within God's purvey or control.

What is going on is that God has set up the physical world in such a way that it constantly tests us. God is running this show. It is not as if someone is running loose that God cannot control.

This doesn't mean that there are not personalities who have been delegated with some of the responsibilities of managing the physical world. The fact is, God utilizes numerous personalities - who are His servants - to help manage some of the operations of the physical world.

Therefore the concept of a personalized "Satan" who tests us is not totally inaccurate, but we must understand the symbolic nature of this entity, and realize that nothing occurs outside of God's ultimate control.

The reality is that in the end it is the Supreme Being who designed and oversees the physical world, and every test is ultimately His doing.

That is what this story about Abraham, God and Isaac is all about: It is a testament to Abraham's commitment to the Supreme Being.

Throughout Abraham's life the Supreme Being tested him in various ways and he passed so many tests. But in the end, one of Abraham's remaining attachment was his son Isaac. So Abraham's attachment to Isaac was tested by God in this allegorical story.

Each of us will be tested in various ways, but the tests are not for God to understand us. He can see our heart.

Rather, the tests of the physical world are meant to show _us_ where we are.

#  Genesis 22:15-18

# "I swear by myself, declares the LORD ... "

_The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." (Genesis 22:15-18)_

### Does God test us like this?

Such a statement by the Supreme Being - supposedly conferred to Abraham by an angel of God - misconstrues the relationship between God and His loving servants. It communicates that a person should be ready to slaughter those around him - even their family members - should God request it.

It also suggests that the Supreme Being does not already know our hearts. That the Supreme Being needed to test Abraham's devotion by commanding him to kill his son. This would mean that the Supreme Being didn't already know whether Abraham would follow God's instruction. He had to test him in order to know it.

This would also mean that the Supreme Being is not omniscient. That He cannot see into our hearts.

Such a notion not only misrepresents the Supreme Being. It also misrepresents the very nature of loving service to God. Loving service to God means to love and care for God's children. It means to take care of others as we would take care of ourselves. The Supreme Being would never ask one of His loving servants to slaughter their own children as part of a test.

A literal interpretation of this event also confers the notion that human sacrifice was an acceptable ritual to Abraham and his associates. As if people would regularly sacrifice those who were dear to them by murdering them and burning them in a sacrificial fire. Such a gruesome ritual would never be promulgated by the Supreme Being.

Such an interpretation portrays the Supreme Being as some sort of maniacal overlord who cruelly requests servants to kill their own family members, then pulls them away at the last minute and rewards them with a big family and control over cities because they were ready to kill on His behalf.

### What about practical sacrifice?

As discussed with the previous verse, this entire parable has stretched what originally was an allegorical teaching handed down orally from generation to generation. That original portrayal told of Abraham making a practical sacrifice that related to his son. But not about almost killing his son.

There are many sacrifices that people make in their daily lives. A typical sacrifice for a parent would be going to work each day and having to leave a child with a daycare or babysitter. This would be considered a sacrifice because the parent would rather stay with the child, but they have to go to work in order to put food on the table. This is certainly a sacrifice.

In the case of a person devoted to God, a common sacrifice of a missionary is to leave one's family to go out to preach.

This is the type of sacrifice indicated by the origins of this story - of Abraham going off to preach to others and build altars while leaving his son behind. Such a sacrifice to God - Abraham's putting God before his family - was a difficult one, and it shows Abraham's devotion to God.

But this was apparently not legendary enough for some who were passing on this story. As we often see among those who have utilized devotional teachings to secure their own positions of power, the story morphed into a cruel and gruesome tale of an event that nearly resulted in human sacrifice.

This illustrates something important about those institutional scribes - whom Jesus also criticized - who had manipulated these teachings: They maintained positions of power by portraying a maniacal and vengeful Supreme Being.

The Supreme Being is not maniacal and vengeful. He is kind and merciful. It is humans who can get maniacal and vengeful. Those who try to paint God as maniacal and vengeful are simply not seeing the Supreme Being.

Anyway, why would God even need to test Abraham? God already knew Abraham's heart. He didn't need to cruelly test him by commanding him to murder his son. Besides that, would God really need to swear by Himself to emphasize the importance of His statement?

### Did God reward Abraham for almost slaughtering his son?

We can clearly see that this story was twisted by the repeated theoretical promise to Abraham regarding descendants and land. First, we know this statement is not true because God had already supposedly awarded Abraham many descendants and control over lands and cities. So why would God reward Abraham with these same things again?

This inconsistency not only illustrates the fallacy of this portrayal. It also illustrates the erroneous suggestion that God was awarding Abraham with a large dynasty of future descendants and a bunch of land and control over cities.

This notion of God giving Abraham many descendants and control over lands is repeated throughout Genesis. Yet this verse makes it seem that God only rewarded Abraham with these because Abraham was prepared to murder his son in a theoretical sacrifice to God.

For example, we find this verse:

_The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. (Genesis 12:7)_

_"Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever." (Genesis 13:14)_

He also already supposedly offered many offspring:

_He took him outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." (Genesis 15:5)_

These are only a few of the contradictions among these verses, some of which we discussed with the previous verse.

### Why so many promises to offspring?

The translation indicates that because God was so grateful for Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to God at the altar, God was going to reward Abraham with many descendants in the future. Really?

While this benediction might sound nice to those who might be Abraham's descendants, how would this benefit Abraham? Was Abraham that interested in his descendants becoming numerous?

This very concept, in fact, contradicts the lesson of the story being told here - that Abraham was willing to forego having descendants by killing his son at the altar in order to please God.

If Abraham's commitment to God was so great that he was willing to sacrifice his son, why would God promise him with having many powerful descendants - descendants of his son? Such a notion contradicts the very premise of this parable - which was to illustrate Abraham's devotion to God.

While this might seem to be a curious contradiction to some, the contradiction illustrates how the story has become distorted.

Why would Abraham care about having powerful descendants thousands of years later, after Abraham's physical body has long been buried, decomposed and turned to dust?

Just consider the concerns of most fathers: They are concerned for their direct children, and maybe when their kids have children, their grandchildren. But are parents focused upon future generations of children thousands of years later becoming some sort of a dynasty that rules the world? Typically not. Especially in the case of someone who is devoted to God.

Yet there is an obviously repetitive portrayal of God throughout Genesis, awarding Abraham with innumerable descendants and control over lands and cities sometime in the distant future. Why? And who are the beneficiaries of this portrayal?

Most certainly, the beneficiaries are Abraham's descendants, which conveniently included the scribes who recorded this event and others after being passed down orally for centuries.

This convenience encompasses what some Biblical scholars have termed, "Deuteronomistic History." That is, later authors, seeming around the 6th Century BCE, who wanted to promote the narrative that the Israelites were the rightful heirs of the lands throughout Canaan, Judah and Benjamin.

### Did this prediction work out?

Actually, Abraham did not care about having a dynasty of descendants that would rule the world.

And history has played out quite the opposite over the centuries - that the descendants of Abraham were repeatedly persecuted and conquered by other tribes and nations over the centuries. We saw this with the Egyptians, who enslaved the Judeans. The Caananites also ruled over the Judeans. The Philistines also ruled over them. Then there were the Assyrians. And the Ammorites. The Babylonians conquered Judah. Then the Persions also ruled over the Israelites. Then there was Alexander and then Ptolemy. Later the Romans conquered Judea and ruled over the people for several centuries.

So it is not as if Abraham's descendants controlled all these cities and lands. But they certainly wanted to.

When the Assyrians conquered the Israelites during the 8th Century BCE, many fleed to Judah, and brought their lineage of teachings about Yahweh. The Judeans at the time then merged their lineage of teachings and assume the inheritance of the Israelites. This philosophical and practical merger between the northern Israelites and the southern Judeans was consummated with the recording of oral traditions of both into what would later be called the Torah, under the governance of Josiah.

The Torah effectively bound together the northern Israelites with the southern Judeans as they brought together their oral traditions and assigned mutual ancestors to illustrate their identity as chosen by God.

But even with this, we continue to see long periods of control by foreigners mixed with a few years of self-government here and there. While they blamed these periods on certain kings that were not devoted enough, the contradiction remains. If God had duly selected the Israelites and Judeans as the chosen people over all others, with ownership of so many cities and lands, then there is a problem, because this is not what happened.

If one would accept that these foreign invasions were caused by a few of the kings offending God (such as Ahab), rather than God's benediction not working. This would mean that God would have offered these benedictions to Abraham with a contingency. This would sound like:

"I will give you many descendants and control over all the lands and the cities as long as the kings of the future do not offend me."

Is that what God said according to these Old Testament or Torah verses? No.

Rather, we find a repeated benediction given to Abraham of lands and cities, and descendants, _without contingency_.

Thus we cannot accept that these verses are accurately reflecting historical events. They reflect a legend conveniently created to promote the merging of two cultures under a common ancestor.

### What about Abraham's descendants today?

Today there is a nation of Israel that was bound together under some of the same principles: Of being from a common ancestor and having rights to certain lands that were assumed to be bestowed by God.

Indeed, the land currently occupied is not all of those lands and cities that Abraham was supposedly awarded. Furthermore, there is no way to tell for sure whether the citizens of Israel are indeed the true descendants of Abraham. There is simply no way to tell for sure. Yes, they may have similar ancestry. But strictly being in line with Isaac or Lot?

By sheer statistics, from only two sons, Abraham's descendants could theoretically be spread all over the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Australia and other locations around the world. There is not one nation of Abraham's descendants \- just as there isn't one nation of any ancient family.

The reality is, there is no Jewish race. Being Jewish is about accepting a particular devotional philosophy. It is not about being a physical descendant of Abraham. This is not a new theory. This was stated by Paul:

_Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7)_

### Is this about the consolidation of power?

The obvious interpretation of these verses is related to seeking and maintaining power.

This is what the scribes of the 6th Century BCE were trying to establish - that their nation-tribe was the strongest, most powerful tribe in all the land. They wanted the people to rally around their tribe and fight with vigor against the other tribes. It was a rallying cry.

Conveniently, they oversaw the initial recording of these texts, taken from a variety of oral teachings that had been passed down within different lineages of teachings. These teachings were consolidated into the Torah in order to consolidate power.

With this consolidation, they conveniently manipulated the communications between God and Abraham to be all about God awarding Abraham's descendants - them - the title of being the most powerful nation-tribe.

Those scribes who first recorded these oral teachings under their tribal ruler - indeed consolidated power. And their texts supported their race as the greatest race, sanctioned by God.

It is quite obvious when one considers that this notion of the descendants becoming great was repeated no less than 28 different times in the Book of Genesis alone. It was also repeated throughout Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers - and well over a hundred times in Leviticus alone.

Why would God have to make this point over and over again - that the descendants of Abraham were going to be the greatest people on earth?

It makes no sense. The primary teachings of the Prophets relate to humility and reverence to God. Not becoming some powerful nation of chosen people who are better than everyone else.

### But isn't this what God is telling Abraham?

The reality is that the teachings being passed down by Abraham, Isaac, Lot, Moses, Joshua, David and so many others including Jesus teach the opposite of such a tribalist 'chosen people' agenda. They teach that we are spiritual beings - not these temporary physical bodies. They teach that we are more than just physical bodies that will decompose at the time of death. They teach that we continue to live after the body dies.

They teach that we are eternal, and we are all God's children - His spiritual children.

We can see some of this as we look closely at the Hebrew of these verses:

The key word translated to _"descendants"_ is the Hebrew word זרע (zera`). This word means, according to Gesenius' lexicon, "sowing," "seedtime, "the time of sowing," or "a planting."

While such a seed that is planted can imply the seed of semen or progeny, there are many other types of seeds. There are _seeds that plant trees and gardens, seed money,_ and _seeds that plant knowledge._

In fact, _sowing seeds of knowledge_ is a common metaphor that has been used for thousands of years in many languages - including the oldest known language, Sanscrit. And Jesus utilized this metaphor frequently - including the parable of the farmer and his seeds. (This parable, in fact, was specifically comparing planting seeds to giving knowledge - teaching about God. Those who embraced the teachings were compared seeds that sprouted into plants which then produced their own seeds.)

The ancient metaphor of comparing the passing on of spiritual knowledge to sowing seeds has also been repeated in multiple languages around the world, giving rise to the typical expressions: _Sowing the seeds of knowledge_ \- or _disseminating knowledge_. In fact, even the word _"disseminating"_ contains the root word "semen."

This is confirmed by the other scriptural uses of the word זרע (zera`) meaning "of moral quality 1) a practitioner of righteousness."

What is the connection between _"seed"_ and _"a practitioner of righteousness?"_ It is the fact that a person who is practicing righteousness as Abraham was doing is _sowing seeds of knowledge_ \- showing by example and teaching others to grow spiritually.

And this is the missing link that has been subterfuged by those intent on making the relationship between God and Abraham all about Abraham having a big, strong nation of descendants.

In reality, the relationship between God and Abraham was about love. And devotion. Abraham loved God. He was devoted to God and wanted to please God. He therefore wanted to teach others about God and wanted those he taught to teach still others to love God.

In other words, Abraham wanted his teachings to be disseminated far and wide because he wanted God's glory to be passed on to others. He wanted his teachings to reach others, in other words.

And this is precisely the benediction that God was granting to Abraham.

In the last sentence, for example, God is supposed to have said: _"through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me."_

Now how is it that all nations on earth become blessed because of Abraham's offspring? What will make them blessed? Is it like magic wand or something?

This sentence can only make sense when זרע (zera`) is interpreted correctly. It is not Abraham's offspring that will make people of the earth blessed - it is Abraham's teachings: his _sowing the seeds of knowledge_ amongst his followers. Abraham's philosophy of love for God and devotion to God is what will _"bless"_ everyone of the earth.

This means everyone, not just those who are Abraham's supposed descendants.

The word _"bless"_ comes from the Hebrew word ברך (barak), which means "to kneel," "to cause to kneel" "to praise" and "to salute." It is thus a devotional word relating to the worship of God.

Abraham's teachings were originally intended to teach others to praise and worship God. And when a person is praising and worshiping God - that person is to be considered _"blessed."_

This is why Abraham was always _"calling upon the Name of the LORD."_ And why he traveled from place to place to erect altars. He was praising God:

_From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)_

_From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 13:3-4)_

_Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the Name of the LORD, the Eternal God. (Genesis 21:33)_

Consider these verses carefully. What is the role of a person who travels from place to place erecting altars and worshiping God?

A missionary. Abraham (Abram) was a missionary.

This means that Abraham was a preacher. He was God's representative, traveling from place to place reaching out to people, teaching others to come to love and serve God.

This means that Abraham had to make sacrifices - including leaving his young son to go out and preach to others.

And what did Abraham's sincere followers do over the centuries? They passed on Abraham's teachings. They also became preachers, as did their followers and their follower's followers. They all passed on Abraham's teachings, forming a great multitude of followers - a _nation_ of followers, spread out throughout the world.

This is what was originally being discussed in this event. God tells Abraham that because of Abraham's devotion and his willingness to leave his son and preach on God's behalf, from Abraham's teachings will come a great number of followers throughout the world.

Think about it. It is a practical reality that an exalted person's devotion to God would result in a great number of followers for many generations. Historically we have seen this also occur amongst so many great devoted persons. Practically every prophet was such. This is why they are so respected by followers many centuries later: Because of their absolute devotion to God: Their love of God. Their willingness to sacrifice everything (but not in the literal sense by killing people) to please God.

#  Genesis 26:2-5

# "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live..."

_The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions." (Genesis 26:2-5)_

### An "oath I swore to your father"?

This purported statement by God to Isaac is stating that God swore an oath to Abraham about giving him "all these lands." This contradicts the speculative philosophy made by many clerics that the reason Abraham's descendants did not receive (own and control) all those "lands" is that they didn't follow His commandments well enough. That they had done things that made God upset and He then didn't award them the land that He promised Abraham.

This is contradictory because if God had already swore an oath to Abraham that his descendants would be given those "lands," there would be no going back on that "oath." Unless they are saying that God reneges on the oaths that He swears by.

So that brings us to the next question, which is why, if God gave Abraham's descendants all those lands, why were they not able to own and control those lands for most of their history?

### Doesn't ownership require control?

The land that God had supposedly promised Abraham was stated as thus:

_On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." (Genesis 15:18-21)_

The problem here is that the descendants of Abraham never conquered these lands, nor did they control them. Their control stayed in the hands of some of these tribes mentioned, and later the lands fell into the control of conquerers.

Today much of this land is in fact controlled by the governments of Syria, Turkey and Egypt. So why should we accept that the Supreme Being gave them these lands if they never owned or controlled all these lands?

This notion that those born in Isaac's family were given all those lands would require also that they maintained control over those lands. But we know that Isaac's clan did not, over the centuries, maintain control over the lands supposedly given to them by God. They and their lands were conquered numerous times, and Jerusalem itself was overthrown at least six times in less than eight centuries.

In modern times, a government called Israel has come to govern much of Judea. But this is not the expanse that God supposedly granted to Abraham. Furthermore, Israel is populated by those who follow Christianity, those who follow Mohammed and those who follow other faiths. As far as being followers of Judaism, About 20 percent are Muslim and about 20 percent of Israel's population is atheist according to a 2009 Guttman Center survey.

So this notion of God giving Isaac's descendants _"all these lands"_ is simply erroneous. If God gave those descendants the lands, they would have controlled them over the centuries. And if they controlled them over the years, there would not have been so many wars fought over the control of those lands, and so many conquerors would not have controlled them over the centuries (i.e, Romans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Napolean and so on).

But since the supposed descendants of Isaac and Abraham were not able to control _"all these lands"_ we know they were never given those lands by God.

We also know this because of the tremendous amount of violence and killing that has occurred in the name of holding onto certain lands. This constant fighting clearly indicates a lack of control.

When people have to fight others over land, that is a clear sign of a lack of control of that land.

### Why would God give Abraham famine-stricken land?

We have to also question why God would choose to give Abraham such drought-ridden and famine-stricken land? Prior to this verse, we learn that this land - part of the lands supposedly given by God - was devastated with famine:

_Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham's time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. (Genesis 26:1)_

This also indicates that this was not the first famine there. There was also famine there during Abraham's lifetime. Abraham escaped to Egypt because the famine was so bad - just as Isaac wanted to do according to the above verse.

This means that this land was - and still is - for the most part, a desert. It is famine-stricken, with little water and sustenance.

So we must ask, why would God give Abraham such horrible land? Why didn't God steer Abraham to some better land? How about the lush lands of India or Bali? Why would God give Abraham some of the worst land in the entire earth? Especially if God felt so close to Abraham?

Should we accept that Abraham's descendants would be given those lands, leading them to centuries of devasting warfare and being conquered by many invaders? In addition to the land itself being famine-stricken? If so, we might better conclude that this land was more of a curse than a benediction.

It would be like someone being given a crown of thorns.

### Is there an alternative interpretation?

There is evidence of another original meaning to the oral teachings that were eventually transcribed and interpreted. Let's look a little deeper at the translation.

The key phrase is, _"I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands"_

The word translated to _"lands"_ here is ארץ ('erets). This can certainly mean _"land"_ but it also means "territory," "region," "countries" and so on - on a combined basis, this can be generalized as _"this place."_

The word _"all"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word כל (kol), which can mean _"all"_ but also "the whole of" or "totality," "any" "each" and "every."

The word _"descendants"_ is being translated from זרע (zera`). It is quite simply a stretch to translate this word to _"descendants,"_ because the word means "a sowing," "seed" "sowing time" even "of moral quality." It can also mean "seed" or "semen," which has been incorrectly extended to mean descendants.

But the reality is, the books of the Old Testament were not as fixated upon Abraham's descendants as the institutional scribes would have us believe. These scriptures are about Abraham's followers. Those who followed his teachings of devotion to God. They detail the lives of those who are devoted to the Supreme Being. They are focused upon those people who devoted their lives to God and to their teacher before them.

Yes, what sectarian teachers have lost in the ancient scriptures is that there is a lineage of devoted _teachers_ \- a teacher has a student and that student becomes a teacher and takes on students and some of those students become teachers and pass on the teachings to new generations. This creates a lineage of devoted teachers who have passed on God's message.

And in many many verses in the scriptures, the word "father" אב ('ab) is actually describing a spiritual father - a teacher. And the word "child" or "children" - בן (ben) is actually referring to students of that teacher.

And it is for this reason that the texts of the scriptures look like a family genealogy - but in reality trace back the lineage of devoted teachers and their students.

This doesn't mean that some of the students were not also children of the teacher. This occurred frequently, but not always. For example, Samuel was not Eli's son, yet he mentored under him, just as Isaac mentored under Abraham.

But the institutional scribes tried to white-wash the ancient transcriptions to create this false descendant race.

After all, to give preferential treatment to one particular family - a race of people - would make God a racist.

And God is not a racist.

God offers everyone the opportunity to learn about Him. Anyone can learn to love and serve God. They don't need to be born in a particular family or be of a particular skin color.

Yet this lies in contrast to those institutional teachers who to this day feel that a particular race or family is superior to other races and families, that God has "chosen" them over others because of the family they were born into.

### Didn't Moses write the Torah?

Genesis is the first book of the Torah. Torah priests teach that Moses wrote the Torah. While there is a smidgen of truth in that statement, most scholars disagree. Moses taught things orally, some of which eventually made it into the Torah.

Rather, the teachings of the Torah were passed down orally for centuries in pieces, and at different times different segments were put into writing. These early scrolls from different regions and tribes were collected by the scribes during the reign of King Josiah. During his reign, the Assyrians conquered Israel and many Israelites migrated south to Judea, into Josiah's territory.

So Josiah had his scribes combine the teachings from these northern tribes along with the Judean teachings. They mixed and matched them, and merged them into what is now known as the Torah.

As a result, according to scholars, Genesis is a combination of at least 19 different scrolls that were pieced together to make up what we today call the Book of Genesis. This doesn't count what was obviously added to the texts at that time.

We can see these are converged and merged teachings and stories because of the many contradictions and differences among the verses of these texts. They are not homogeneous.

There is a reason. During that same time, the Israelites were embattled from many sides and their territory was challenged by a number of tribes.

Therefore, as they assembled and transcribed the texts, they manipulated them to indicate they were God's chosen race and God had given them the lands they currently occupied. This had both a political purpose and a survival purpose. Convincing the population of their special nature and their so-called God-given ownership of the land meant producing a hardy army that would defend them from enemies.

This is not new in world history. We have seen regional religious patriotism among different nations throughout human history. Utilizing a particular religious doctrine to indicate a special position in the world has also been done in India with Hinduism, in China with Buddhism, in Rome and Europe with Christianity and among Arab countries with Mohammedism.

The notion that a certain race or family of people are special, and better than everyone else is erroneously embraced by many sectarian organizations. It is a common ideology among practically every sectarian faith: The followers and teachers of each sectarian faith consider their sect is the true faith, and everyone else is wrong. Only they are going to heaven. Everyone else is going to hell.

The reality is that God did not give anyone - including Isaac's descendants - land. The verse indicates the original intent was to tell Isaac to stay in that place and teach to others, and his followers for many generations - students of his students - will become many.

Like his teacher Abraham, Isaac was devoted to God. He learned at the feet of his teacher Abraham about God, and he put those teachings into practice. Now God is telling Isaac to himself go out and teach to others, and God is promising Isaac that his efforts will be successful - that he will have many followers.

Remember the word זרע (zera`). In this context, this refers to _followers_. Those who would follow Isaac's teachings. זרע (zera`) is a metaphorical statement referring to the giving of knowledge to others - _sowing_. We see this metaphorical use throughout the scriptures, and even Jesus utilized this concept in the _farmer and the seeds_ parable. When a person _sows the seeds of knowledge_ , they are passing on their teachings to others. This is like _sowing seeds_ because plants and seeds grow from an original seed.

And Isaac's teachings - coming from Abraham - were being _"sowed"_ throughout the region, and he gained many followers who also led to multitudes of followers over the generations.

What Isaac and Abraham taught their followers was loving service to God. Love of God saves us. It delivers us from the bondage of self-centered existence. It relieves us of loneliness, emptiness and lack of purpose. Serving God in love is salvation.

As such, this would indicate a statement more along the lines of:

_"Do not go down to Egypt; live in the place where I tell you to live. Stay in this place for a while, and I will be with you and will support you. For to you and your followers will live throughout the region and will confirm the promise I made to your teacher Abraham. I will make your followers as numerous as the stars in the sky and they will be spread throughout the region, and through your teachings all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham worshiped Me and served Me in every way, keeping My commands, My decrees and My instructions."_ (Genesis 26:2-5)

#  Genesis 26:24

# "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you ..."

_That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." (Genesis 26:24)_

### Is Isaac on a quest for posthumous power?

We can document clearly that God is not promising Isaac that He "will increase the number of your descendants."

What good will this do Isaac? Let's put this in practical terms. Does it really matter to anyone how many descendants they will have generations into the future? And if it did matter, why? Would that be because Abraham and Isaac want to be known as big patriarchs of a large family - even though it won't occur until after their bodies are long dead?

This would only matter to a person who was grossly egotistic and wanted to be a big patriarch for generations to come, long after their body was buried and decomposed. What kind of person would care about that? Only a conceited, self-centered person would care about something like that.

This would be saying that Abraham and Isaac were conceited, self-centered people who worshiped God so that they could become patriarchs of the future - even though they would be long dead by then?

This is a ridiculous supposition - and it illustrates just how manipulated these texts have become after centuries of institutional sectarianism and struggles for power.

We can see just how incorrect this translation is by simply looking at the next verse following this one:

_Isaac built an altar there and called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 26:25)_

This verse, as it directly follows God's statement, indicates Isaac's complete dedication and devotion to the Supreme Being.

This then would beg the question:

Did Isaac praise and worship God because God granted him many wealthy descendants in the distant future?

### Was Isaac making a deal with God?

It would be ludicrous to suggest that Isaac was worshiping God in order to attain power and authority, lands and a large "nation" of descendants. Genesis 26:25 illustrates Isaac's love and devotion for the Supreme Being. Love and devotion do not calculate a reward. Love and devotion come without conditions.

For example, if we were loving and caring for our child, would we only love and care for them if they promised to become a doctor when they grew up? Certainly not. Our love and care for them would not have any conditions. And if it did, we would be pretty twisted parents.

In the same way, we know from Genesis 26:25 that Isaac did not care about how many descendants he would have in the future - long after his body would be dead and decomposed.

### Is there a deeper meaning?

The key phrase mistranslated is: "I... will increase the number of your descendants."

And the key mistranslated word is זרע (zera`) - mistranslated to "descendants." זרע (zera`) means "a sowing," "seed" "sowing time" even "of moral quality" according to the lexicon. It can also mean "seed" or "semen," and this is where the translation goes wrong.

We must understand the context of the scriptures here. Yes, the scriptures do use many metaphorical uses of language. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, there are many words used to compare things. For example, we find in many verses, the words "light" and "darkness" being used to describe spiritual matters relating to spiritual enlightenment or the lack thereof. These are only a few examples of the many metaphors used in the Holy Bible.

Using "light" as an example, if a modern-day person said "the light guided my path" we might think they used a flashlight to walk down a dark path at night. That would be a literal translation.

But let's say that a disciple of Moses said this: "the light guided my path." We would most likely take that to mean that God's provided guidance for that person's life. Right? This is because these words "light" and "path" are being used metaphorically.

This is precisely how the word זרע (zera`) is being used throughout Genesis and much of the Old Testament. God is not talking about a "seed" as in descendants. The word זרע (zera`) is being utilized metaphorically to describe those who will be receiving the word of God stemming from Abraham's teachings, and essentially becoming followers of this teaching of devotion to God.

### The metaphor of sowing

When the teachings of God are passed on from one person to another, this is often referred to as "sowing." This is because God's teachings are being "planted" - or "sowed" - into that person's heart.

This is a metaphorical term. Just as a plant will produce seeds that will provide new crops, when Truth is planted in a person's heart, that person will eventually spread that Truth to others. This would be metaphorically sowing a new crop.

Jesus used this same metaphorical use multiple times in his teaching, where he used planting seeds (sowing) metaphorically:

_"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches." (Matthew 13:31-32)_

We also see how this metaphorical terminology has influenced modern English, as we will use the word "dissemination" to describe the passing along of information from one person to another. Here the root of the word dissemination is semen. This is also one of the direct meanings of the Hebrew word זרע (zera`) \- "semen" or "seed."

This paraphrasing from God does not refer to the family members of Isaac and Abraham. It is referring to their future followers. Those who would follow Isaac's and Abraham's teachings. זרע (zera`) is describing the effects of Isaac's and Abraham's devotional service to God - devotion that had been planted into their hearts.

And what was that devotional service? They were both missionaries. They traveled from place to place, and they built temples (Isaac built an altar there as noted in Genesis 26:25 above). They also held devotional services to God and praised God ( _'called on the Name of the LORD'_ ). This means that during those devotional services they sang and praised God's Holy Names.

And it is obvious from this that they were also teaching to others about God. They were gaining followers who were learning about God from them. And these followers would then pass the knowledge onto the next generation of followers - and the next.

### How many followers did they eventually have?

What resulted was millions and even eventually billions of people who have become followers of the teachings of Abraham and Isaac. As God predicted, they became "many."

And therein lies the answer to why this benediction from God - that Isaac and Abraham have many followers in the coming generations - was so attractive to Abraham and Isaac.

Because they were devoted to serving God. Their service was to teach to others. This is pleasing to Abraham and Isaac because it was pleasing to God.

### What is the purpose of this sowing?

God wants us back. He wants us to give up our self-centered, empty, lonely lives and return to our natural positions as His loving family members. This is why we were created by Him, and what will make us happy. God loves us and wants us to be happy.

And because this is pleasing to God, Abraham and Isaac both wanted to serve God by helping pass on the teachings of loving service to God - worshiping God and singing/praising God's Holy Names - to others.

This is because worshiping God, and singing and praising God's Holy Names have the ability to change our hearts from being self-centered to being God-centered.

Yet this very philosophy - of worshiping God and singing/praising God's Holy Names - has been lost among many modern sectarian institutions. Despite the clarity from the scriptures, this teaching has often been all but ignored.

Nonetheless, the evidence for this teaching is very clear. Just consider these passages from the Holy Bible:

_From there he [Abraham] went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)_

_...and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 13:4)_

_Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the Name of the LORD, the Eternal God. (Genesis 21:33)_

_Isaac built an altar there and called on the Name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. (Genesis 26:25)_

_"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his Name." (Exodus 20:7)_

_"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his Name." (Deuteronomy 5:11)_

_"...he may minister in the Name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD." (Deuteronomy 18:7)_

_"If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18:22)_

_"The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the Name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault." (Deuteronomy 21:5)_

_"Then all the peoples on earth will see that You are called by the Name of the LORD, and they will revere You." (Deuteronomy 28:10)_

_"I will proclaim the Name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!" (Deuteronomy 32:3)_

_David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the Name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45)_

_Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the Name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'" Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town. (1 Samuel 20:42)_

_He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the Name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. (2 Samuel 6:2)_

_After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD Almighty. (2 Samuel 6:18)_

_The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD. (1 Kings 3:2)_

_"You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put His enemies under His feet." (1 Kings 5:3)_

_"I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when He said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for My Name.'" (1 Kings 5:5)_

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (1 Kings 8:17)_

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (1 Kings 8:20)_

_When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the Name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. (1 Kings 10:1)_

_Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire – He is God." Then all the people said, "What you say is good." (1 Kings 18:24)_

_With the stones he built an altar in the Name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. (1 Kings 18:32)_

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD ?" (1 Kings 22:16)_

_He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the Name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. (2 Kings 2:24)_

_But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the Name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy." (2 Kings 5:11)_

_After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD. (1 Chronicles 16:2)_

_So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the Name of the LORD. (1 Chronicles 21:19)_

_David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God." (1 Chronicles 22:7)_

_"Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD." (1 Chronicles 22:19)_

_Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself. (2 Chronicles 2:1)_

_"Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on Sabbaths and New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel." (2 Chronicles 2:4)_

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (2 Chronicles 6:7)_

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (2 Chronicles 6:10)_

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD ?" (2 Chronicles 18:15)_

_The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel. (2 Chronicles 33:18)_

_"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21)_

_"I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the Name of the LORD Most High." (Psalm 7:17)_

_"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God." (Psalm 20:7)_

_"The nations will revere the Name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere Your glory." (Psalm 102:15)_

_"So the Name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem." (Psalm 102:21)_

_"Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the Name of the LORD." (Psalm 113:1)_

_"Let the Name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore." (Psalm 113:2)_

_"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised." (Psalm 113:3)_

_"Then I called on the Name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!" (Psalm 116:4)_

_"I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the LORD." (Psalm 116:13)_

_"I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the Name of the LORD." (Psalm 116:17)_

_"That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the Name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel." (Psalm 122:4)_

_"Our help is in the Name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 124:8)_

_"The blessing of the LORD be upon you; we bless you in the Name of the LORD."" (Psalm 129:8)_

_"Praise the LORD. Praise the Name of the LORD; praise Him, you servants of the LORD" (Psalm 135:1)_

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created." (Psalm 148:5)_

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for His Name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens." (Psalm 148:13)_

_"The Name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)_

_"At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers – the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty." (Isaiah 18:7)_

_"Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea." (Isaiah 24:15)_

_"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the LORD and rely on his God." (Isaiah 50:10)_

_"And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve Him, to love the Name of the LORD, and to worship Him..." (Isaiah 56:6)_

_"From the west, men will revere the Name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory." (Isaiah 59:19)_

_"At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the Name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts." (Jeremiah 3:17)_

_"Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked." (Jeremiah 20:13)_

_Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the Name of the LORD our God." (Jeremiah 26:16)_

_Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the Name of the LORD (Jeremiah 26:20)_

_"You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the Name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed." (Joel 2:26)_

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved" (Joel 2:32)_

_"...we will walk in the Name of the LORD our God for ever and ever." (Micah 4:5)_

_"He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the Name of the LORD his God." (Micah 5:4)_

_"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the Name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder." (Zephaniah 3:9)_

_"But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the Name of the LORD." (Zephaniah 3:12)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Matthew 21:9)_

_"'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' " (Matthew 23:39)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!" (Mark 11:9)_

_"'Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.' " (Luke 13:35)_

_"Blessed is the king who comes in the Name of the Lord!" (Luke 19:38)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!" (John 12:13)_

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 2:21)_

_So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the Name of the Lord. (Acts 9:28)_

_"Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." " (2 Timothy 2:19)_

_"Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the Name of the Lord." (James 5:10)_

_"Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)_

### The power of praising God

We can see from these many verses the absolute power God's Holy Names have. We see here an emphasis being put upon "calling on" "praising" and so on with regard to God's Holy Names. What does this mean in practical terms? It means reciting God's Names in prayer, chant, song or congregational worship.

We can see a shadow of this type of devotional service in modern Christianity, as Roman Catholics will say the "rosary" - a reciting of Mother Mary name on beads. This is actually a carryover of the ancient teachers who recited God's Names using prayer beads.

This ancient custom of repeated reciting of God's Names was supplemented with congregational singing of God's Names in the Temple during ancient times. God's Name was recited as Elohim, Yahweh and Jehovah as documented in the scriptures. They would also sing hymns of praise to God - as documented in David's Psalms.

The singing/reciting of God's Holy Names has the effect of purifying the heart because it brings us in contact with the Supreme Being. Here in the physical world, we are not our names, and our names are transitory. But in the spiritual world, there is no such duality. The Supreme Being is connected to His Holy Names, and by repeating them, we become connected to God, and our relationship with Him becomes gradually revealed.

With the context and the meaning of זרע (zera`), we can provide a more appropriate translation of this verse:

_"I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your followers for the sake of my servant Abraham." (Genesis 26:24)_

Such a scenario would be very pleasing to Isaac as well as Abraham. This is because these devoted personalities wanted others to become happy. They wanted others to be fulfilled, and have a close loving relationship with the Supreme Being.

#  Genesis 28:11-18

# "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go ..."

_When he [Jacob] reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. (Genesis 28:11-18)_

### Why was Jacob traveling?

According to Genesis 28:1, Isaac tells Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman. This is quite odd because they were living in a Canaanite area, surrounded by Canaanites, according to archeologists.

According to Genesis 28, Jacob was sent away by Isaac to Paddan Aram in order to find a suitable wife there. Paddan Aram was apparently located in the upper Mesopotamia, theoretically outside the region considered Canaan.

Curiously, at the time, most of Judea and many parts of the Middle East were part of Canaan. And archeological evidence has determined that these early Israelites were actually Canaanites. The descendants of Abraham were, for all tense and purpose, Canaanites. Historically, that's the society where they resided.

Indeed, if we accept the Biblical version, Canaan was given to Abraham by God:

_The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." (Genesis 17:8)_

But history also illustrates many battles over territory between tribes in the land of Canaan. Certain tribal rulers wanted to reign control over the region. This we find apparent in the Book of Joshua, as Israelites were battling with various regional tribes in the lands of Canaan and Judah.

Biblical scholars have teased apart these texts to find a recurring theme here, comprised of at least four different writer/editor sources that melded the writings and oral traditions of at least 19 different writers. For this reason, we find repeated themes that run parallel with sometimes-conflicting verses interwoven into fables that contain devotional lessons.

Today, most Biblical scholars agree that the Book of Genesis and the other four books of the Torah is an edited compilation of over a dozen different writings that were put together in such a way as to assume a historical document. And for this reason, we find contradictions between verses and a repeated narrative that the family and descendants of Jacob were given the region by God - specifically, the lands of Benjamin, Judah and Canaan (which are also portrayed as people in Abraham's family in the Bible).

### Was Isaac a racist?

There is no obvious basis for the assumption that Isaac would not allow Jacob to marry a Canaanite woman. Would Isaac really be this racist that he could not accept a person from another race into his family? This reveals a prejudice towards Canaanites during a time when Canaanites were at odds with many early Israelites.

Isaac was devoted to God. As such, he was not a racist. According to Genesis 9, Noah became upset with his son Canaan because Canaan saw Noah naked when Noah had been drinking and fell naked into his tent. So according to the text, Noah cursed Canaan:

_"Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers." (Genesis 9:25)_

It simply doesn't make sense that in only a few generations, the animosity towards anyone born into Canaan's family would be so prejudiced upon. At least in a devotional perspective. Just because Canaan accidentally saw his father naked?

If we were to accept that Noah and his three sons were the only people left on the earth (or even in the region), then the only way the population would have become expanded would have required inter-family relations. At least cousins would mate with cousins, if not brothers and sisters.

In other words, Canaan's descendants would have had to mix with the other two brothers' descendants in order to expand the population. Yes, it is possible to have kept them separated - but that would have required that Canaan's offspring would have had to bear children together.

The other side of the equation is much more likely and scientific - that the flood was regional, and there were many people that lived outside of this region who repopulated this region known historically as Canaan. And the story of Noah passed down over the generations was an amalgamation of some other flood stories (yes, there have been many flood stories that predate the story of Noah - including a pre-Noah flood story from early Mesopotamia). And Noah and his three sons were mythological characters in a symbolic, parable with devotional lessons.

Furthermore, when we consider this together with the assumption that Abraham, Jacob and Isaac were all theoretically promised by the Supreme Being to inherit all the Canaanite lands, we arrive at a logical point that the editors of this document also had a specific agenda supporting a political benefit at the time of its recording - sometime during the 6th Century BCE.

This means that these two elements would be considered historical propaganda of sorts: A rally cry to separate from the Canaanites and acquire Canaan territories.

Just consider what the narrative suggests otherwise: That Canaanites were awful people because centuries before, their great, great, great ancestor had seen his father naked one time. And because they were lucky enough to be born into Abraham's family, they were the chosen people.

Such an assumption would suggest a narrative of racism. If a person thinks that they have more rights or privileges than another just because of the family they are born into - that is racism.

This is actually a common narrative for some politicians even today. In order to consolidate power, some political groups have demonized certain races or immigrants in order to gain popularity among the people. Sometimes fear is used - trying to paint the "other" group as harmful or dirty or otherwise beneath them. This is racist.

### Doesn't racism conflict with devotion?

Racism is by its very nature, is contradicted by the loving worship of the Supreme Being and the existence of a spiritual realm or heaven. These would necessitate that the soul - the spirit-person - is not the physical body.

The assumption of spiritual life means a Supreme Being and a spiritual realm beyond the temporary confines of this temporary physical body. The physical body is a temporary shell of the eternal spirit-person, who is by nature a resident of the spiritual realm.

Because these physical bodies are temporary vehicles, we cannot be judged by these bodies. We cannot be divided by them. Our physical body does not indicate whether we are chosen by God or not.

For this same reason, if a person is injured and their legs have to be amputated, they are not considered any less of a person. They are the same person - but their physical body has changed. No one says a handicapped person is any less of a person - because innately we all know we are not these changing physical bodies.

Each of us is the spirit-person within this body. Our body is temporary. It is born, ages, and then dies. We continue to be the same person regardless of the age of the body. This is why we each feel weird as our body begins to age. We deny our age because we feel ageless. The spirit-person within the body is eternal.

Above all, the Supreme Being does not care what physical body we wear - what family we are born into. As such, racism cannot be something supported by the Supreme Being.

### What does Jacob's dream mean?

It is interesting that we find no narrator of this event. We don't find the first-person narrative that we would typically find for a dream. If Jacob did not narrate this dream, then who is the author and how did they know that Jacob had that dream? Is this a fable? Or the narrative of an angel?

Let's take a closer look at the Hebrew.

In the first part of the dream, Jacob sees a stairway to heaven. The Hebrew is סֻלָּם (cullam) - commonly referred to as a ladder. And שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) is used to denote the sky, the heavens, or the abode of God.

Then we find that angels are ascending and descending the stairway. "Angels" comes from the word מַלְאָךְ (mal'ak), which refers to the messengers of God. So Jacob is seeing the messengers of God going up and coming down the stairway.

Then Jacob sees God above (or beside - עַל (`al)) the ladder, and God supposedly says that He is giving all the land "on which you are lying" to Jacob and Jacob's descendants.

The question now becomes whether God would go through all this trouble to inform Jacob that he and his descendants will be "given" all that land. Hasn't God already given all this land to Abraham and Isaac? Well, if one considers that Canaan and surroundings were given to them, and Jacob left that area and went to Harran - then now God is giving Harran to Jacob?

Is it really land that is being given?

The word "land" is being translated from the Hebrew word, אֶרֶץ ('erets). The most primary meaning of the word is actually, "whole earth (as opposed to a part)" according to the lexicon. It can also mean "the earth's inhabitants." Only its secondary meaning relates to regional territories of land, but this also includes a small piece of ground or a bit of soil.

The Hebrew can also refer to a nation of people \- "people of the land."

So to infer that God is giving Jacob (and Abraham and Isaac) and their descendants a particular region of land is a bit of a stretch. It is also nonsensical that God would be focused upon giving land away, as though He is a land-grant office.

What is more logical - given the Hebrew - is that God is giving Jacob a population of people - a nation - that will follow his teachings and the teachings of his followers.

The key word in this regard is the word _"descendants."_ Why would God automatically give away land to Jacob's descendants - which we also find never really controlled that land anyway?

_"Descendants"_ is taken from the Hebrew word זרע (zera`). זרע (zera`) means "a sowing," "seed," "sowing time," as well as "of moral quality" according to the lexicon. It can also mean "seed" or "semen."

But as we've described before, _"descendants"_ is a poor translation of the Hebrew, because the statement by God is metaphorical. God is not promising something to people who had not even been born yet. Rather, the Hebrew word זרע (zera`) illustrates the spreading of the philosophy of love for God - devotion to God.

We must remember that the Bible is scripture. It is not a political thesis that supports a particular race of people or political agenda. It is a collection of stories characterizing the lives of some of God's most devoted people and those around them. And it characterizes the relationships that existed between these devoted people and God.

This points to another reality: God does not care about how many descendants Jacob and Isaac will have. Nor does He give away land to people who hadn't even been born into human form yet.

But God does want Jacob to teach on His behalf. He does want Jacob to teach the philosophy of love for God - the same philosophy Abraham taught - far and wide.

So what will this naturally result in? Having many followers - a nation of followers. God is bestowing upon Jacob that he will have many followers (a nation of followers) in the generations to come.

What does this have to do with the word זרע (zera`)?

Just consider the English word - disseminate. This word has as its root, the word "semen." To disseminate means to pass on knowledge to others. It means to "plant a seed" of knowledge with others.

Thus, זרע (zera`) has nothing to do with descendants of the physical body. This is about passing on the teachings that Abraham taught to Isaac and Isaac taught to Jacob. Now God wants those same teachings passed on far and wide by Jacob. God wants Jacob to plant the seed of knowledge of loving God and serving God to others.

In other words, God is empowering Jacob to be His representative - just as He empowered Abraham and Isaac before him.

This is the symbolic importance of Jacob seeing God's messengers ascending and descending the stairway to heaven.

And yes, Jacob indeed passed on God's word to many, and as a result, there are many generations of devoted persons who followed those teachings by becoming students of Jacob and students of Jacob's students. This is the way spiritual knowledge is passed down. From teacher to student.

And we must remember that God gives no value in a piece of desert such as Judea. God is not promising to give any land to Jacob or his descendants. God is not a land-grant office. He owns all land and continues to own it. And with regard to Jacob returning to any land - this is not some kind of "promised land" made of desert - where there is little water and few crops can grow. Did God really give His "chosen people" a bunch of dry famine-ridden desert?

No. The so-called "promised land" is the spiritual realm. Here we live in the physical world that our physical bodies dwell in now. The spiritual realm - our home - is that place where we can return to His personal presence. This is the real "promised land."

With this information we can offer here a more appropriate translation of the key verses:

_"I am the LORD, the God of your teacher Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will bless you and your followers in this region. Your followers will be many - like the dust of the earth, and your teachings will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your followers. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back home to the spiritual realm. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:13-15)_

# Genesis 31:11-13

# "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to Me...."

_The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.' " (Genesis 31:13)_

### Did God or His angel speak to Jacob?

This dream is quite confusing because as Jacob explains his dream to Rachel and Leah, he says an angel of God appeared to him and spoke within the dream.

So why did the dream end up with a statement seemingly spoken by God? There is no transition from the angel speaking to God speaking. The statement is begun by the angel and then suddenly it appears to be that God is speaking - as it appears to reference the vow that Jacob made to God in the first person.

This brings up a question of whether this text is portraying the event accurately. Why the inconsistency if this is an accurate portrayal?

Certainly there is the possibility that the angel is conveying God's statement. If that were so, the text does not clarify that.

This is not the first such inconsistency found in Genesis with regard to references to God and His angels. For example, there was the confusion of the three men who appeared outside of Abraham's tent. Although there were three men, the text seems to portray a single person - God - communicating with Abraham.

Another example was the two angels that appeared before Lot in the town of Sodom. Here again we find a confusing discussion of the angels, leading to the common yet false interpretation that the city men were demanding to see the angels in order to have homosexual sex with them.

Then we find the general differing references to God, including LORD (יְהֹוָה Yĕhovah) sometimes, and God (אֱלֹהִים 'elohiym) in other cases.

These and many other inconsistencies display a sometimes-awkward combining of oral and written history from a variety of sources. This recording of the Torah occurred during a time of strife in the Middle East. Many historians note that the scribes who recorded Genesis were exiled to Babylon just prior to recording the Torah into writing for the first time.

### What about the devotion portrayed in This text?

Yet we can see clearly from these verses that Jacob enjoyed a devotional relationship with God.

_"I am the God of Bethel"_ is reminding Jacob of his devotion to God. The Hebrew word translated to _"Bethel"_ is בית–אל (Beyth-'El). While it has been interpreted as a location in Judea, this literally means "house of God."

A _"house of God"_ in ancient times was a shrine or altar to God. It was a place where God is worshiped by those who were devoted to Him.

Because _"Bethel"_ relates to the worship of God, and more specifically to a shrine of God, we know that God is simply reminding Jacob of his devotional relationship with God.

This statement is reminding Jacob of his devotion, which was cemented after Jacob awoke from a previous dream where God spoke to him:

_When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." He was afraid [revered] and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. (Genesis 18:16-19)_

So we see that while _Bethel_ is being referred to by the translators as though it is the name of a city having undergone a name change, it is actually describing the devotional altar that Jacob erected for the Supreme Being - which reflects directly upon the devotional relationship between Jacob and God.

### What is the vow that Jacob made to God?

In Genesis 28, we find that Jacob made a vow to God. What was that vow?

_Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." (Genesis 28:20-23)_

This "vow" from Jacob sets up an interesting challenge. Jacob is saying that "if" God takes care of him and helps him return home, then he will honor Him as God and give Him a tenth of whatever he earns.

This portrayal illustrates another contradiction, obviously created at some point through the oral transmission of this event or during its later transcription. If Jacob is devoted to the Supreme Being, he wouldn't need to set up some kind of condition. Demanding that he will only devote himself to God if God takes care of him and returns him home contradicts the very concept of devotion.

What about the tenth? Does God really need a tenth of all we earn?

The tenth of what he earns is considered in modern times as a tithing. This is not the origin of this custom, however. We find that Abraham gave a tenth of his belongings to Melchizedek:

_Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14:18-20)_

This illustrates that Melchizedek was considered God's representative by Abraham and others. Giving the tithing to Melchizedek illustrates that Abraham considered Melchizedek his spiritual teacher.

We see from Genesis 18:16-19 that Jacob so revered God that when he awoke from his dream wherein God spoke with him, he revered the location and the stone he rested his head on - and he worshiped them. Why? Because God appeared to him there.

Just consider this is everyday life. Let's say that a wife's husband goes off to war. When he is gone, the wife will treasure simple things that remind her of her husband. Perhaps she might treasure her husband's baseball glove sitting in the closet. Or a bracelet he gave her. These things become more important to the wife when the husband is gone. This is called love in separation.

When a loving servant of God comes into contact with God there is joy. But following that contact, the loving servant wants to remember the Supreme Being - because they are in love with God.

This is the purpose of an altar to the Supreme Being. These are shrines set up by one or multiple loving servants to God. What Jacob is doing with the vow is stating his dependence upon the Supreme Being and the fact that he will commit his life to serving God.

The idea of _"I will give You a tenth"_ has been orchestrated among ecclesiastical teachings into a ritual custom that obligates followers to give a tenth of his income as a tithing. Giving a tenth is not necessarily be wrong, but the point is being missed.

The point is that Jacob is committing that whatever he receives, he will offer it back to God - a portion of everything. This is a devotional statement. The focus here is the offering - _"I will give."_ The Hebrew word translated here to _"vow"_ is נֶדֶר (neder). This means "votive offering" according to the lexicon.

### Why are offerings to God important?

Offering to God is critical in establishing a relationship with Him. This is critical because in order to establish a relationship with someone, we must make an offering to them. We must reach out to them, expressing our care for them - or at least our desire to know them better.

This happens in any relationship. A man will bring a flower to a woman, for example. This is an expression of his desire to have a relationship with the woman - or to express his affection for her.

Remember this statement by David:

_"I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You; I will praise your Name, LORD, for it is good." (Psalms 54:6)_

David writes here that an offering to God is accompanied by praising God's Holy Name. This is the ceremonial worship of God.

Just consider what a man does when he brings the woman a flower - he invokes the woman's name and praises her. This is a result of the man's infatuation with the woman. He wants to please the woman. He wants to have a relationship with the woman.

It is no different with the Supreme Being. If we want to have a relationship with God we must offer Him something and praise His Holy Names. This is the ancient method used by the entire lineage being narrated in the Old Testament. God is a Person, and if we want to re-establish our loving relationship with Him we must reach out to Him.

An altar is not only set up for the loving servant. A loving servant will set up an altar so others can worship God. This is referred to as missionary work.

This means that Jacob was a missionary. We can see this in the fact that he built an altar to God while traveling \- and we can see that the Supreme Being is directing Jacob's travels in the statement above:

_"Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.'"_

God is directing Jacob because Jacob has committed his life to God ( _"the LORD will be my God"_ ).

This is what a loving servant of God does: They follow the Supreme Being, and do what is pleasing to Him. This is loving devotion. And this is the sum and substance of the teachings of all the loving servants of God, despite any contradicting details:

_"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5)_

#  Genesis 32:25-30

# So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak...

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." (Genesis 32:24-30)

### Did Jacob wrestle with God?

Many sectarian institutional teachers have interpreted that Jacob was wrestling with God. But was He?

The text clearly states that a _"man"_ wrestled with Jacob. The word _"man"_ is translated from the Hebrew word, אִישׁ ('iysh). This means, according to the lexicon in the order of usage, "a man, a husband, a human being, person - in contrast to God." It can also mean, "servant, mankind, champion and great man."

It is clear from the Hebrew that a man wrestled with Jacob. The word _"man"_ is mentioned 6 times in six verses. Why would the scriptures say _"man"_ if Jacob wrestled with God?

Or was God pretending to be a man?

Consider this statement carefully:

_"When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man."_

Would the Supreme Being not be able to overpower Jacob? Such a notion contradicts the omniscience of God. The Supreme Being can overpower anyone and anything. God is the Creator and Destroyer of all things, and He is more powerful than any force \- what to speak of a man.

Or was God only pretending to be a man? Was He basically toying with Jacob?

Not that God does sometimes play with His servants. But does the text say that? Actually, no. It would be quite easy for the text to clearly state that God was wrestling with Jacob.

Actually, the text says quite the opposite. It says,

_Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."_

Would the Supreme Being have to ask Jacob to let him go because it was daybreak? Why would the Supreme Being need to do that? Would God have to ask someone to let Him go?

What the text says is that this _man_ did have some special ability to affect Jacob's hip. But how did he affect Jacob? Let's consider this carefully.

We also know that the person wrestling with Jacob - _"the man"_ \- asked Jacob: _"What is your name?"_

Does God need to ask anyone's name? In Genesis 31 we find that God spoke with Jacob personally and addressed him as such. Or is God forgetful? Certainly not.

This is all besides the fact that the scriptures are clearly describing the person wrestling with Jacob as a _"man"_. God never becomes a _"man."_ God is always God. He is always the Supreme Being. He is never forgetful. Nor weak.

### Why did Jacob ask for a blessing?

Why then would Jacob ask him for his blessing, and why does the man change Jacob's name? And why did _"the man"_ say, _"you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome"_? And why did Jacob call the location of their wrestling match, _"Peniel"_ and say _"It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared"_?

We find a clear indication of who wrestled with Jacob:

_Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, "This is the camp of God!" So he named that place Mahanaim. (Genesis 32:1-2)_

So here we find that it was God's _angels_ met with Jacob. And because of that, Jacob called that place, _"the camp of God."_ This is a clear indication of what also took place at Peniel. Just because the _"man"_ said that he struggled with God doesn't mean that Jacob was literally wrestling with God.

Here the word _"angels_ " comes from the Hebrew word, מַלְאָךְ (mal'ak), which literally means, _"messenger, representative"_ according to the lexicon.

Indeed, the _"man"_ also said that Jacob struggled with "humans" in the same statement. Does this mean that Jacob literally held a wrestling match with all of humanity as well? No.

Jacob didn't literally wrestle with all of humankind - just as he didn't literally wrestle with God.

But why does the text say, _But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."_

As we see throughout the scriptures, God isn't the only person who can bless others. We find, for example, among others, Isaac blessed Jacob (Genesis 28:1), Melchizedek blessed Abraham (Heb. 7:1), Jacob blessed Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7), and Joshua blessed Caleb (Joshua 14:13).

The pattern here is that the Prophets can bless others. The Prophets were God's messengers.

Angels are also God's messengers, and they can also bless others.

When we put this together with the introduction to Genesis 32 - that the angels of God met him - we can make sense of this event and the text.

### How can God communicate without appearing?

This test illustrates one of the central means for God's communications within the physical realm: God can communicate to us via His messengers.

Throughout the scriptures, we find descriptions of clear communications attributed to God, yet there no clear statement that God appeared personally. We saw this with Abraham seeing the _"three men"_ from the desert, and also from an angel appearing to Jacob yet saying _"I am the God of Bethel."_ (Gen. 31:13)

Elsewhere we find communications from God coming through dreams with no appearance by God, and references to his angels. What is going on with these?

Quite simply, God utilizes His personal servants as His messengers. God's loving servants can be empowered to speak on His behalf. And those who hear those messengers clearly, understand God is speaking to them.

As His messengers, these loving servants of God have the ability to teach others and to reveal the person of the Supreme Being to their students. The _"man"_ was clearly God's messenger, as he instructed Jacob. And Jacob understood that instruction to be coming from God.

### Is the wrestling match allegorical?

The _"man"_ Jacob wrestled with was God's messenger. And the _"wrestling match"_ is an allegorical explanation for what occurred between God's messenger and Jacob - which could well be called a wrestling match simply because Jacob was wrestling with - struggling with - the concept of surrendering himself to the will of the Supreme Being.

And this struggle can occur within any of us - should we become connected with the Supreme Being through His messenger. We struggle with the idea of giving up our own desires and surrendering our will to the Supreme Being's will. This is the meaning of _"you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome."_ While this is an extremely advanced stage of consciousness - to even begin to wrestle with this - Jacob's allegorical wrestle indicates that indeed he surrendered himself to God's will. This is confirmed by the word _"overcome."_

Note that the word _"overcome"_ \- here comes from the Hebrew word יכל (yakol), which can mean being victorious, but in this context it refers to having strength. This is not related to physical strength - as a relationship with God does not involve physical strength. It involves spiritual strength.

What is spiritual strength? Spiritual strength is the ability to counteract our self-centered forces that breed greed, envy and those things that follow. Spiritual strength is not simply counteractive - it is proactive, because it comes from love. It comes from wanting to please the Supreme Being and His messengers.

God's messengers are pleased when God is pleased. Should a person meet such a messenger of God, and should God's messenger introduce the student to God, the student will be blessed with the ability to regain their own unique relationship with God.

This is what is occurring in this text. Jacob met God's messenger and allegorically wrestled with God's messenger concerning his surrender to God.

Once Jacob surrendered, he asked for and was _"blessed"_ by God's messenger, who then instructed Jacob.

Jacob's meeting with God did not occur within a wrestling match. This is not an event to be taken literally.

Whether they say He was playing with Jacob or not, the description of _"the man"_ is certainly not the description of the Supreme Being.

And yes, God does have fun with His loving children. And He might wrestle with one of His servants. But He is always God. He never becomes a _man._

But God's messengers can become men - or women. The Biblical scriptures reveal that as God's messengers introduce God to others, those others who become empowered will have the opportunity to introduce still others to the Supreme Being.

This forms a distinct lineage of teachers and their students throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. And this precisely what we see among the various teachers - referred to as Prophets - of the Old Testament.

Why is this important? The Supreme Being could appear to any of us at any time by Himself. He doesn't need help.

But He utilizes those who want to serve Him to introduce others because He enjoys the process of relationships. He enjoys being introduced and He enjoys being sought after. This is because He is God - and God enjoys love.

That is why God created us. He wants us to love Him. He wants us to choose to love Him. His position is God and our natural position is His loving servant. That is why He created us. To exchange loving relationships with Him.

### What is the meaning of the hip in this story?

The story makes it sound that because _"the man"_ could not otherwise defeat Jacob he had to dislocate his hip. Does God have to use a sneaky facility to defeat others?

No. The Hebrew words translated to _"hip socket"_ are כף (kaph) and ירך (yarek). The central meaning of the word כף (kaph) is not thigh or thigh joint. It can mean "palm" or "hollow or flat of the hand" or "sole of the foot" or more importantly, "power" according to the lexicon.

And the word ירך (yarek) typically describes the side or flank of something as well as the loins - the seat of procreative power. This might be the thigh in the case of a man's body - but in this case, the text is not referring to a man's loins or hip socket.

The text is referring to a weakness being exploited by a certain power. The two words כף (kaph) and ירך (yarek) relate to _"the man"_ \- God's messenger - finding Jacob's weakness - his critical weak spot that each of us has. A particularly tender area.

Just consider a person's weak spot and how that can be compared to a part of the body. When we hit our "funny bone" for example, we will say that the "funny bone" is a particularly tender spot of the body.

The other indication that כף (kaph) and ירך (yarek) do not describe the hip socket is because _"the man"_ only had to _"touch"_ the spot. In what circumstance does _"touching"_ produce results?

Each of us has a tender spot that can be _"touched"_ by someone. Being _"touched"_ at our tender spot is something communicated today with the phrase, "he pushed my buttons." Such a phrase indicates that the person found a special weakness and exploited that weakness.

Such an occasion may also lead to the situation where someone "touched their heart."

The reality is that after struggling - allegorically wrestling - with God's messenger, God's messenger 'pressed his buttons' and touched Jacob's heart. And through this process, God's messenger revealed the Supreme Being to Jacob, producing a change in heart.

This is what God's messenger can do. He can touch a person's heart by revealing the loving nature of the Supreme Being. This will produce a change of heart in the person - causing them to change their direction in life - from a self-serving nature to their innate God-loving nature.

Religious institutions do sometimes discuss this idea of "love for God" - which is taught throughout the scriptures as the goal of religion. But in order to love God we must know Him. He must be revealed to us. This is the process that God delegates to those who want to serve Him and please Him - to introduce others to Him. At that point of introduction the Supreme Being will reveal Himself.

Therefore it is important we do not blindly accept teachers simply by the fact that they paid tuition and graduated from a seminary college. This has nothing to do with representing the Supreme Being. Only a person who has been personally introduced to God can personally introduce others to the person of God.

One of the odd things about this story about Jacob is the last verse in Genesis 32:

_Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob's hip was touched near the tendon. (Genesis 32:32)_

This is quite odd, because the narration is supposing that it was recorded contemporaneously, yet this last verse starts with _"Therefore to this day the Israelites..."_

This phrase indicates that Genesis 32 was not written contemporaneously. At the time of this story, there were no such people called the "Israelites," since Jacob had just been renamed. What is clear is that this event is being recorded as retold centuries later from an oral tradition. Who recorded it and is the story accurate?

### Was Jacob renamed as Israel?

Yes, sometimes the messenger of God may change the name of the student. But is this what is going on with this text?

The word "Israel" - taken from ישראל (Yisra'el) - means "God prevails!" This is a praise of God. It is not the name of a person. And שם (shem) - translated to name - relates to not just any name, but specifically to "the Name (as designation of God)". שם (shem) means to glorify or memorialize this Name - the Holy Name of God.

In fact, this verse is not re-naming Jacob: He was instructing Jacob to glorify God in a certain way. In this case, to glorify God with ישראל (Yisra'el) - or "God prevails!" This is a clear glorification of God, which can be incanted or sung or simply spoken to one another - a way to praise God.

This verse is not about re-naming Jacob. In this verse, God's messenger is calling upon Jacob to glorify God's Holy Names.

According to God's messengers, this is how a person becomes linked up with God.

#  Genesis 35:1

# "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God ..."

_Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."(Genesis 35:1)_

### Why is God sending Jacob to Bethel?

Bethel is the place where Jacob fell asleep and God appeared to him in a dream. Then he put up a pillar to God and poured oil on it.

Now God is sending Jacob back to Bethel, where he was supposed to build an altar to God.

God came to Jacob's side during that struggle - a stressful time, as he was in fear of Esau and afraid of not only losing his life, but also his wife and children to Esau. This is why Jacob had told his family members and followers to leave him alone - so they would not get hurt.

Now we can see that God not only protected Jacob, but that Jacob's struggle resulted in God's appearance, and Jacob's committing himself to the Supreme Being. The result of Jacob's commitment is being detailed in this verse. The Supreme Being is telling Jacob how Jacob can serve Him and thereby please Him.

This is called a relationship. When a person commits themselves to someone, and then that person asks the person to do something for them - some service - this indicates a type of relationship.

### What type of relationship is that?

It is a relationship of devotion.

Just imagine if we were to walk up to a stranger and tell them - "go build me a house." What would they say? They would say "who are you and why are asking me to do this for you? I don't even know you!"

But if we had a relationship with the person - say they were our son - a house-builder - then it would make sense. The son would say, "sure, I will do that for you." This is because there is a relationship existing between the father and the son - a relationship where the son is devoted to the father.

This is the case of God asking Jacob to build Him an altar - a temple. God is giving Jacob instructions because Jacob has committed himself to God. He had become devoted to God. This is what the "wrestling match" was all about. Jacob was struggling with giving his life to God. Then he ended up giving his life to God and God appeared to Jacob. Thus a relationship was established between Jacob and God.

Such a sublime devotional relationship with God is the primary purpose of the scriptures. The Old Testament is not about the promised land or a chosen race. It is about certain people who had established personal relationships with the Supreme Being.

And what are these personal relationships about? They are about devotion - love.

Love is connected to devotion. When a person loves another, they want to please that person. This is what devotion is based upon.

Here in this world, we will often say that a man is a devoted husband or devoted family man. What is causing that devotion? A form of love for their family or wife. They have become devoted because of this type of familial love.

These family relationships only give us a glimpse of the devotional relationships that exist between the Supreme Being and His loving servants like Jacob. Beneath the surface of ecclesiastical translations that sound like family narratives reveal deep relationships of love and devotion between the Supreme Being and certain individuals.

Over and over we see these same types of devotional relationships in the Old Testament. We saw it between God and Abraham. Between God and Noah. Between God and Isaac. We will see it between God and Moses, and now we see this relationship between Jacob and God.

### Why is building an altar so important?

Building an altar for God - as requested of Jacob - is the highest honor a person can receive. And someone who puts forth service as requested by the Supreme Being or one of His representatives is most certainly serving God. This is the purest activity a person can have.

What can we learn from this? We learn first that God is a person. God is someone we can commit ourselves to, and serve. Someone we can rely upon. God will also protect us. He will take care of us and will be there for us.

Furthermore, we can learn that we can place our love and devotion upon God. We can devote our lives to pleasing Him. Instead of chasing the illusory concepts of enjoyment around within the physical world - which never result in happiness - we can put that effort into re-establishing our innate loving and devotional relationship with the Supreme Being.

#  Genesis 35:10-12

# "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel."

God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." (Genesis 35:10-12)

### Why is Jacob being renamed a second time?

This is not the first time that Jacob was renamed to Israel according to the Book of Genesis:

_Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." (Genesis 32:28)_

With this verse, we find that Jacob is being renamed to be Israel a second time. Whether we accept that the "man" was God Himself (as assumed by many) or God's messenger ("angel") as indicated by the text, it is clear that God is essentially naming Jacob to Israel for the second time.

Certainly, this is an especially important event \- God renaming Jacob to be Israel. Why then would such an event be told differently within two different contexts and occasions?

The answer also relates to other events in Genesis that are duplicated or conflicting. Biblical scholars have been investigating this over the past century. There are several working hypotheses, but most concur that there were several different writers of the Book of Genesis - up to 19 different writers.

In this fashion, stories and events have overlapped or were otherwise conflicting. We've discussed a number of these in the _Meaning of Genesis_.

The underlying reality is that the early stories of the Bible were orally passed down from generation to generation among multiple lineages. Some of these lineages included the different genealogies of Jacob's sons - which have been called the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

There was a convergence between some of these lineages as the Northern Israelites were exiled out of the North by the Assyrians around the 6th Century CE. This produced a blending between Northern Israelites and Judeans.

This also apparently came after the Judeans were exiled from Judah by the Babylonians in the 6th Century CE. The exile lasted for between 50 and 60 years. Then once Cyrus the Great \- the Persian king - conquered Babylon, the Judeans were allowed to return to their homelands.

It was prior, during and just after this exile that many of the scrolls that were combined into the Book of Genesis were written. Because they were recorded by different priests and scribes from multiple oral traditions, the combination of these texts gave way to some duplications and other inconsistencies.

### Were Jacob's descendants given those lands?

_"The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you."_

This verse states that God granted Jacob and his descendants _"this land."_ What is _"this land?"_ Is it the land surrounding Bethel? Is it the land that Jacob was standing on at the time - the land underneath the altar? Or is it all land throughout the world?

These questions might sound a bit trite, but they illustrate a text that does not define the land that God was theoretically giving to Jacob. This is an inconsistency because as we all know from land title law throughout the world, the passing of land titles typically requires clearly defined boundaries.

Land titles without clearly defined boundaries generally leads to conflicts, as neighboring landowners can squabble over differently perceived boundaries.

Indeed, the assumption that God would give Jacob and his descendants land without clear boundaries sets up the potential for future political conflicts with neighboring landowners, countries and other jurisdictions.

And that is precisely what has happened - as arguments regarding land rights have erupted within the Middle East.

So we must again question the recording, interpretation and even possibly the translation of these verses. There is a clear connection between these verses and the geopolitical conflicts that have arisen in modern times.

Inserting political objectives into scripture interpretation is not new. It has taken place at different times among various societies in human history. We have seen this on the ancient writings of the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Aztecs, the Incas, the Hindus and other ancient civilizations that have incorporated their particular geopolitical power structure into their ancient writings. We often find in these the awarding of certain lands and treasures to a particular society or institution through diety. This occurrence within the Bible is not a novel instance.

### Could the lands be inherited without requisite?

This doesn't mean no words were communicated by God here - to one of His beloved loving servants as indicated here.

We must consider this reasonably. According to the translation God is giving certain lands to Jacob - lands he previously gave to Abraham and Isaac.

We might ask: If God gave those lands to Abraham and Isaac already, why is He now giving these to Jacob? Such an act would mean that Jacob - who was Abraham and Isaac's descendant - would not automatically be given that land.

If it already belonged to Jacob, then God would have said something like, "You already own this land because you are a descendant of Abraham."

But God did not say this according to this text. God's statement - assuming we believe it is about land - in itself means that a descendant doesn't automatically receive the "God-given land" from his ancestors.

We also know this because throughout the early Bible, land ownership is not assumed in itself by the descendants of Jacob. There are some requisites. Here is another statement, given by Moses to his followers:

_Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. (Deuteronomy 8:1)_

If we assume this is about land, this is stating that the descendants of Jacob will have to follow the commandments spoken by Moses in order to receive and possess that land inheritance.

This means, if we assume this is about land, it is not actually assumed by ancestry alone.

Furthermore, we also know by this text that Abraham and Isaac no longer own that land. After they died, it was no longer theirs. Otherwise, why would God give it to Jacob? He would have to be taking it away from Abraham and Isaac in order to give it to Jacob.

This brings up the question of how Abraham and Isaac could even own the land after their physical bodies died and decomposed. How could they still own it?

This concept continues through the generations, as the assumption has been that Jacob's descendants continue to own those lands given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the Supreme Being.

Yet we find the opposite is true. Over the centuries we find the lands of Judea supposedly given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were in fact conquered by many armies, and even the city of Jerusalem - which was built well after in the Fourth century BC - has been overthrown at least 23 times over the centuries according to historians. It was also completely destroyed twice by invading armies, and today is under the control of the United Nations and divided into four quarters - the Christian quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Armenian quarter and the Jewish quarter. It is hardly "owned" by the descendants of any single family or race of people as promoted by some sectarian institutions.

Furthermore, today many Palestinians argue they are in fact the descendants of Abraham just as many Jews argue they are. The reality is that over the past three to four thousand years the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are now spread all over the middle east - and the world. And none of them have inherited "the lands."

The bottom line is that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants were not given those lands. If they were given those lands by God, they would have been able to control those lands over the centuries. Since they have not been able to control those lands, they could not have owned them.

Ownership means control. A person must control something in order to own it.

We humans like to say we own things, but this is an illusion. Humans cannot control anything on this planet because our physical bodies are temporary and are under the control of the elements of nature. Any supposed ownership - should a person be given a title or something - is not true ownership because there is no control. That land could fall into a sinkhole or be ripped apart by an earthquake or smothered by fire or flood. A piece of land centuries ago may be at the bottom of an ocean today. Or if it is a physical object, that physical object can be lost, stolen or otherwise decomposed by the elements of nature.

Only God can own any land. Only God can own anything because only God can control His creation. God's creation is owned and controlled only by Him.

And God did not give away land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or their descendants.

### What does this text mean then?

Let's break it down:

The key words that are mistranslated are _"land" "gave"_ and _"descendants."_

_"Land"_ is being translated from ארץ ('erets). This can mean a piece of ground but _"land"_ is not its primary meaning. It primary meaning relates to either the "whole earth (as opposed to a part)" or "earth (as opposed to heaven)" according to Gesenius' Lexicon. It can also mean region or country, but again, these are not the word's primary meaning.

The concept of _"earth (as opposed to heaven)"_ relates to the fact that those who reside here on earth are now separated from God - as opposed to heaven, where its inhabitants relate personally with God.

_"Descendants"_ is being translated from the Hebrew זרע (zera`). זרע (zera`) means "a sowing," "seed" "sowing time" even "of moral quality" according to the lexicon. It can also mean "seed" or "semen."

_"Descendants"_ is a poor translation of זרע (zera`) because of the context of the statement. Rather, זרע (zera`) refers to those within whom a sowing of knowledge has taken place.

The word _"give"_ comes from נתן (nathan), which can mean "give" but also means to "ascribe, employ, devote, consecrate, dedicate" as well. The usage here relates to devotion in the context of God and His servants - not land titleship.

We must also consider the context of God's statement. Consider one of the verses directly following God's appearance to Jacob:

_Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. (Genesis 35:14)_

Consider the state of mind and heart of a person who erects a pillar - an altar - at the location where God appeared. And then makes an offering to God there and pours oil on the altar to honor God. What is this? It is devotion. Jacob is showing his devotion to the Supreme Being.

Why would he do this? Because he was stoked that he got some land from God?

Don't be ridiculous. Jacob was devoted to God. He was loving God. He had a devotional relationship with God, evidenced by the fact that God appeared to him and spoke to him.

So why would God appear to someone as devoted as Jacob? To give his ancestors some land? That is a ridiculous assumption.

The reality is, God is instructing Jacob to pass on the teachings of love for God to others. He is telling Jacob to pass on his devotion to God throughout the world.

The word זרע (zera`) was used metaphorically - meaning to sow or plant the teachings of love for God and devotion to God in others.

This concept of sowing the seeds of knowledge with others is a popular metaphorical concept and it originates with God's discussions with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Why? Because they were each instructed by God to go out and teach to others - sow the seeds of knowledge and love for God in the hearts of others.

Which they did, evidenced by the growing faith in God among others in the region. Jesus understood this, as he used this metaphor in his parable of the farmer and the seeds.

In other words, זרע (zera`) has nothing to do with family descendants. It relates to those who are being taught to - those who follow in their footsteps. As a noun, it relates to those who become followers of those teachings.

And ארץ ('erets) - relating to "earth (as opposed to heaven)" - indicates that God was instructing Jacob to pass on those teachings of love for God throughout the earth.

In other words, he was instructing Jacob to become a missionary. A teacher. He was telling him to pass on the teaching of devotion throughout the world.

This is, in fact, the prime objective of the Old Testament. Before their corruption, the texts and teachings that comprise the Old Testament told of ancient teachers (often referred to as Prophets) - who loved God and taught love for God to others. This was their significance - it is not about a certain race of people given a bunch of land in the desert as many ecclesiastical institutions suggest.

Thus the Books of the Old Testament are not a chronology of a particular family. They tell of a history of Teachers who devoted their lives to the Supreme Being and passed on that devotion to others.

### Did God rename Jacob as Israel?

The word _"Israel"_ \- taken from ישראל (Yisra'el) - means _"God prevails!"_ The words relate to devotion.

And the word קרא (qara') means to glorify; and שם (shem) relates in this context to not just any name, but to "the Name (as designation of God)" - to glorify or memorialize this Name.

God was not re-naming Jacob at all: He was instructing him to glorify God in a certain way. In this case, to call out ישראל (Yisra'el) - or _"God prevails!"_ This is a glorification of God. It is a chant - an ascription. It is not a name of a person.

Certainly a person who does glorify God could be called "a glorifier of God." And sometimes people in ancient times were named after their devotional slant. So Jacob could well be called the person who called upon (קרא (qara')) God's name (שם (shem) as "God prevails!" But this is not what God is saying in this text.

God could care less what people are named. God doesn't go around naming people. God is calling upon Jacob to glorify God's Holy Names. Why?

Because this is how a person rekindles their relationship with God. Through glorifying His Holy Names. Just consider some of the other verses that confirm this:

_At that time men [of the earth] began to call on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 4:26)_

_From there he [Abraham] went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 12:8)_

_...and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the Name of the LORD. (Genesis 13:4)_

_Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the Name of the LORD, the Eternal God. (Genesis 21:33)_

_Isaac built an altar there and called on the Name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. (Genesis 26:25)_

_"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name." (Exodus 20:7)_

_"You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His Name." (Deuteronomy 5:11)_

_"...he may minister in the Name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD." (Deuteronomy 18:7)_

_"If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of Him." (Deuteronomy 18:22)_

_"The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the Name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault." (Deuteronomy 21:5)_

_"Then all the peoples on earth will see that You are called by the Name of the LORD, and they will revere You." (Deuteronomy 28:10)_

_"I will proclaim the Name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!" (Deuteronomy 32:3)_

_David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the Name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45)_

_Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the Name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.'" Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town. (1 Samuel 20:42)_

_He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the Name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. (2 Samuel 6:2)_

_After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD Almighty. (2 Samuel 6:18)_

_The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD. (1 Kings 3:2)_

_"You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under His feet." (1 Kings 5:3)_

_"I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when He said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for My Name.'" (1 Kings 5:5)_

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (1 Kings 8:17)_

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (1 Kings 8:20)_

_When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the Name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. (1 Kings 10:1)_

_Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the Name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire – He is God." Then all the people said, "What you say is good." (1 Kings 18:24)_

_With the stones he built an altar in the Name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. (1 Kings 18:32)_

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD?" (1 Kings 22:16)_

_He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the Name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. (2 Kings 2:24)_

_But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the Name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy." (2 Kings 5:11)_

_"Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked." (Jeremiah 20:13)_

_After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the LORD. (1 Chronicles 16:2)_

_So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the Name of the LORD. (1 Chronicles 21:19)_

_David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God." (1 Chronicles 22:7)_

_"Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD." (1 Chronicles 22:19)_

_Solomon gave orders to build a temple for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself. (2 Chronicles 2:1)_

_"Now I am about to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God and to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for setting out the consecrated bread regularly, and for making burnt offerings every morning and evening and on Sabbaths and New Moons and at the appointed feasts of the LORD our God. This is a lasting ordinance for Israel." (2 Chronicles 2:4)_

_"My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (2 Chronicles 6:7)_

_"The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel." (2 Chronicles 6:10)_

_The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of the LORD?" (2 Chronicles 18:15)_

_The other events of Manasseh's reign, including his prayer to his God and the words the seers spoke to him in the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, are written in the annals of the kings of Israel. (2 Chronicles 33:18)_

_"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21)_

_"I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the Name of the LORD Most High." (Psalm 7:17)_

_"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God." (Psalm 20:7)_

_"The nations will revere the Name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere Your glory." (Psalm 102:15)_

_"So the Name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem." (Psalm 102:21)_

_"Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the Name of the LORD." (Psalm 113:1)_

_"Let the Name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore." (Psalm 113:2)_

_"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the LORD is to be praised." (Psalm 113:3)_

_"Then I called on the Name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!" (Psalm 116:4)_

_"I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the LORD." (Psalm 116:13)_

_"I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on the Name of the LORD." (Psalm 116:17)_

_"That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the Name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel." (Psalm 122:4)_

_"Our help is in the Name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 124:8)_

_"May those who pass by not say, "The blessing of the LORD be upon you; we bless you in the Name of the LORD."" (Psalm 129:8)_

_"Praise the LORD. Praise the Name of the LORD; praise Him, you servants of the LORD" (Psalm 135:1)_

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created." (Psalm 148:5)_

_"Let them praise the Name of the LORD, for His Name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens." (Psalm 148:13)_

_"The Name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)_

_"At that time gifts will be brought to the LORD Almighty from a people tall and smooth-skinned, from a people feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers – the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, the place of the Name of the LORD Almighty." (Isaiah 18:7)_

_"Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; exalt the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea." (Isaiah 24:15)_

_"Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the LORD and rely on his God." (Isaiah 50:10)_

_"And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve Him, to love the Name of the LORD, and to worship Him..." (Isaiah 56:6)_

_"From the west, men will revere the Name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere His glory." (Isaiah 59:19)_

_"At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the Name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts." (Jeremiah 3:17)_

_Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the Name of the LORD our God." (Jeremiah 26:16)_

_Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the Name of the LORD (Jeremiah 26:20)_

_"You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the Name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed." (Joel 2:26)_

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved" (Joel 2:32)_

_"...we will walk in the Name of the LORD our God for ever and ever." (Micah 4:5)_

_"He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the Name of the LORD his God." (Micah 5:4)_

_"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the Name of the LORD and serve him shoulder to shoulder." (Zephaniah 3:9)_

_"But I will leave within you the meek and humble, who trust in the Name of the LORD." (Zephaniah 3:12)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Matthew 21:9)_

_"'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" (Matthew 23:39)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!" (Mark 11:9)_

_"'Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.'" (Luke 13:35)_

_"Blessed is the king who comes in the Name of the Lord!" (Luke 19:38)_

_"Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!" (John 12:13)_

_"And everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 2:21)_

_So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the Name of the Lord. (Acts 9:28)_

_"Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who confesses the Name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."" (2 Timothy 2:19)_

_"Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the Name of the Lord." (James 5:10)_

_"Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)_

_We can see from these verses how critically important the glorification of God and His Holy Names - glorifying God - is to ones spiritual life. Glorifying God reconnects us to the Supreme Being. It cleanses our heart and it re-kindles our innate love of the Supreme Being. This is why God is instructing Jacob not only to glorify God, but to pass this process of devotional glorification of God on to others._

_And we too can take this instruction, and glorify God in order to reconnect with Him and renew our innate loving relationship with Him._

_With these points in mind we must offer a more appropriate translation of what was really spoken by the Supreme Being to Jacob:_

_"Your name is Jacob but you will call out and glorify "Israel" - "God prevails!" For I am God Almighty; and you will pass on the teachings of devotion to others. Many followers and teachers will come from your teachings, and kings will be among your followers. The instructions I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and your devotion will be passed on throughout the earth after you." (Genesis 35:10-12)_

#  Genesis 46:3-4

# I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again...."

_And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," he replied. "I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes." (Genesis 46:3-4)_

### __ Why was Jacob going to Egypt?

Jacob has been invited to Egypt by his beloved follower Joseph after a famine has gripped the land. Joseph wants Jacob and his family nearby so that he can help protect them and take care of them.

Joseph was sold as a slave to some travelers after his brothers tossed him into a cistern without his clothes. Joseph eventually landed in Egypt where he faced challenges. For one, he was imprisoned. But due to his wisdom and commitment to the Supreme Being, eventually became the Pharaoh's right-hand person - overseeing the grains that Egypt had stored away right before the famine.

Joseph had correctly interpreted the Pharaoh's dream, which predicted seven years of bountiful harvests followed by seven years of famine in the Middle Eastern lands. As to Joseph's ability to interpret dreams, he ascribed this skill to God:

_Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." (Genesis 41:15-16)_

Earlier Joseph also said the following to two of Pharaoh's officials when they told them they had troubling dreams:

_"Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams." (Genesis 40:8)_

Joseph did communicate a correct interpretation of all three dreams - of the two Pharaoh officials and Pharaoh.

This means that Joseph was acting as God's representative. He knew this skill only belonged to God, and God was using him to communicate these things.

This is what a representative of God does. He speaks on behalf of God. He speaks what God wants others to understand.

And because both Joseph and his father Jacob had committed their lives to the Supreme Being, God was taking care of them. (Notice that God calls him "Jacob" and not "Israel")

### Is this statement referring to Jacob's father?

The statement ascribed to God says that He is the God of Jacob's _"father."_ Why is this important?

Being the God of a person's father simply has no distinction. Why would God even waste His time saying something like this? A son often rejects his father's faith - belief in God is just not a hereditary thing.

God is not speaking of the father of Jacob's physical body. The Hebrew word אב ('ab) can mean _father_ in the sense of family, but it also refers to _spiritual leader_ (e.g., "originator or patron of a class, profession, or art," "head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan" according to the lexicon).

As we discussed earlier, Jacob had accepted a spiritual teacher as he was wrestling or struggling with the notion of committing himself to the Supreme Being.

Being the God of one's spiritual teacher is a matter of distinction because this is the process of how spiritual knowledge is handed down - from teacher to student. Sometimes the student may be the son or daughter of the teacher - but this is not a requirement at all, evidenced throughout the Old Testament.

We see, for example, that Joshua was Moses' follower, Samuel was Eli's follower, and Abraham was Melchizedek's follower. Each of these instances and many others - the Prophets were not necessarily the sons of their teacher.

### What kind of "great nation" is God referring to?

The fact that Jacob was being sent to Egypt by God is important because God wanted Jacob to spread the knowledge Jacob had received to others. This is the importance of God's next statement:

_"Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there."_

Now we know from later verses that the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, and this precipitated God's guiding Moses out of Egypt with his followers.

So what kind of _"nation"_ can come from one person with 12 sons in a little under a century?

Not much. Even if you figure that each son gave birth to 12 children, you would still only be looking at 144 people. And if these 144 people gave birth to 12, then we're talking 1,728. And even if you stretched it to another generation and assumed that all 1728 people had 12 children, then we'd be talking a little over 20,000 people.

But what would this require? It would require incest. It would mean that Jacob's sons could only sleep with their family members, and then their children would also have to sleep together, or with their cousins.

Is this what the _"nation of Israel"_ is? - An incestual tribe?

Certainly not. And in order to prevent incest what would have to happen? Jacob's family members would have to sleep with Egyptians. They would have to integrate, in other words.

Where does this leave the notion of a _"nation"_ of Jacob or Israel?

The reality is, this statement ascribed to God is not referring to a family tribe ("nation") here. It is referring to _followers_ of Jacob. Those who worship God in the spirit of Jacob. He wants Jacob to teach people about the Supreme Being. He wants him to convert people from being followers of the various gods of Egypt to the being followers of the Supreme Being. This will create not a _"nation"_ of incest, but a _"nation"_ of followers.

And this is precisely what took place. This is confirmed by this verse:

_Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number. (Gen. 47:27)_

Yet this is to have occurred within the time span of seventeen years, as we find in the next verse:

_Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. (Gen. 47:28)_

__ The only way that the Israelites could have _"increased greatly in number_ " within such a short period of time was if Jacob and his followers were effective at converting others outside their clan to the worship of God - thereby becoming Israelites because they followed the teachings of Jacob. And being _"fruitful"_ (Hebrew פרה (parah) - "to branch off") refers not to having children - it is referring to convincing others to worship the Supreme Being.

In other words, being an Israelite - a person who worships God as a follower of Jacob and Abraham - doesn't require being born into a particular family as supposed by those with a racist slant towards scripture. Any person - born of any family - may become a follower of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Jesus, etc. - and thereby become part of the spiritual family of Israel.

This notion that the _"nation"_ of Jacob (Israel) within Egypt were all the product of incest is not only abominable: It is racist. It is saying that God gives favor to a particular race of people, who became the "chosen people."

God is not a racist. God knows the physical body is only a temporary vehicle (because He designed them). God thus accepts anyone who sincerely reaches out to Him. A person who is of a particular family or race does not receive special attention because of the family he was born into.

### Does God need to go with Jacob?

What about this last part of God's statement to Jacob? _"I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes."_

The text is not saying that God physically traveled to Egypt with Jacob. The Supreme Being is not limited by space and time. He can be anywhere He wants to be at any time.

This statement saying that God says, _"I will go down to Egypt with you"_ , is referring to God guiding Jacob. This is the same as saying that Jacob would become God's representative.

### What does "back again" mean?

What about _"I will surely bring you back again."_? What does this mean?

Here the word _"back again"_ is being translated from the Hebrew word יסף (yacaph). This is not referring to God bringing Jacob back to the land of Canaan. Jacob dies (leaves his body) while he is in Egypt.

The word יסף (yacaph) means "to add" "increase" "to join" "join oneself" and "do again" according to the lexicon. This is describing that God will be guiding Jacob back to his original relationship with Him.

This statement is referring to Jacob reuniting with the Supreme Being: Returning to the spiritual realm and returning to his innate relationship with God.

This is confirmed by the fact that the statement says that _"and"_ (better, _"after"_ ) Joseph will be closing Jacob's eyes. This indicates that God is discussing Jacob's death and the fact that Jacob will be in good hands - his body will die in Egypt with Joseph - who had become one of God's loving servants - in attendance.

This is the nature of God's relationship with His loving servants. He takes care of them. He guides them. And He asks that they share the relationship they have with Him with others.

This is the Supreme Being: The perfect Friend, Protector and Companion. While we in modern life strive to have loving relationships with our family members, dogs or cats or even strangers - all of which ill at some point leave us or die on us if we don't die first - God is there for us all the time. He is waiting for us to reach out to Him. We can love Him now and that relationship will continue after the death of this physical body.

This is what this statement is communicating. We can, therefore, offer a more appropriate translation of the statement:

_"Jacob! Jacob! I am God, the God of your Teacher. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt, for I will give you many followers there. I will be there with you, and I will surely bring you back to Me after Joseph's hand will close your eyes." (Genesis 46:3-4)_

#  Genesis 48:3-4

# "'I will make you a community of peoples ..."

_Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, 'I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.'" (Genesis 48:3-4)_

### Why is Jacob telling this to Joseph?

Jacob has become ill, and Joseph came to his bedside:

_Some time later Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you," Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed. (Genesis 48:1-2)_

Whether we accept that Joseph is also Jacob's physical son, Joseph is visiting Jacob as a student. This is why Jacob begins to detail an appearance of the Supreme Being.

As discussed with earlier texts, this text is odd when translated and interpreted to be a father-son relationship combined with some sort of land inheritance.

As for land inheritance, we know that this actually never came to pass. The scribes that put forth this thesis that God was granting Abraham and Jacob and their direct descendants a bunch of dry, barren famine-ridden desert is contradicted by history.

Joseph's descendants did not inherit any lands in Canaan. This land was successively conquered over the centuries by the Persians, the Greeks (Alexander the Great), the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Romans, the French and other Europeans over the centuries. These armies made sure that no one had any land inheritance, because these conquerors successively governed and controlled the land with an iron fist. Some of them - such as the Babylonians - actually exiled the Israelites from these lands.

If one wants to romanticize that some quasi-descendants of Abraham came to control modern Israel, well, that is certainly a reach. The country of Israel is a democracy and the population is composed of various peoples from around the world, including about a quarter Arab. Israel is not a monarchy controlled by a descendant of Abraham. It is a democracy and therefore governed by virtue of democratic elections and representatives.

Yes, a majority of the Israeli population follow the Jewish faith. But that doesn't mean they are descendants of Abraham. The Israeli population is composed of people from around the world.

If the land was not governed and controlled by Jacob's descendants, then they were never actually given that land. If they were given the land, then this land would be privately owned or divided up by the actual family members of this family.

But that is not what happened. They never owned or controlled that mostly-barren desert land, and still do not to this day.

Even Jerusalem was not retained by Abraham's descendants. Jerusalem was captured by outsider conquerors 44 times, and besieged 23 times. And today the city is divided into four quarters. These are:

-The Jewish quarter

-The Muslim quarter

-The Amenian quarter

-The Christian quarter

Therefore, not even Jerusalem has been owned and controlled by Abraham's and Jacob's descendants. Therefore, they were never given this land by God. See below to find out what Abraham and Jacob - and Joseph - were being given. Let's understand the topic of the discussion first:

### What is the meaning of 'fruitful' here?

The word _"fruitful"_ here comes from the Hebrew word פרה (parah). This means not only "to bear fruit" but also to "branch off."

Certainly this word is being used metaphorically, as human beings do not have branches nor do fruit grow off of us.

However, to assume that the term _"bearing fruit"_ means having children is making an assumption well beyond the common use of the phrase, both in normal speech and in speech pertaining to spiritual topics.

A person _"bears fruit"_ when they are productive. This may include, but does not require having children in order to be productive. And the context of this discussion - especially relating to discussions between God and His loving servants - being productive means passing on His teachings (the "Truth") to others. It means changing peoples hearts.

This is confirmed by Jesus as he discussed being _"fruitful"_ with his disciples:

_"This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8)_

and

_"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you." (John 15:16)_

Jesus is clearly identifying that bearing fruit has nothing to do with having a big family, as most of his students here were in fact single and celibate. Jesus is talking about spreading his teachings to others. He confirms this later in this same discussion:

_"And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning." (John 15:27)_

To _"testify"_ is clearly referring to passing on what Jesus taught them to others. Jesus is indicating that they should be clear on his teachings since they have been following him from the beginning of his missionary work.

Why would Jesus have a different meaning for the same word as used by God? Jesus was God's representative - so we can certainly derive its meaning from Jesus' teachings.

Certainly they were both using _"bearing fruit"_ metaphorically. But we must understand that when a tree gives fruit it is not the same as procreation. A fruit is not a little tree. A fruit is something the tree produces - and used for food. The seeds within the fruit can be planted to yield another tree. But the fruit is not another tree.

This is confirmed by the fact that פרה (parah) also refers to _"branching off."_ When a person _"branches off"_ it means that they are passing something on to others outside of himself. They are reaching out to others.

And this is exactly what occurred among the Israelites. We find many instances in the Old Testament where the term is applied not to some incestual family - but to a group of people who fervently followed the teachings of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and other Prophets - all representatives of God who bore _"fruit"_ by passing those teachings on to others.

Why are these Prophets so popular and respected even to this day? Because they went out ( _"branched out"_ ) and bore fruit by passing on God's teachings to others. This is why they are so famous - not because they each had a bunch of kids.

This is confirmed in these verses:

_The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt. Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them. (Exodus 1:5-7)_

Here we see the contrast between the number of family members and the number of Israelites. The number of Israelites were able to expand quickly (contrasting only 70 family members) because the definition of an Israelite is not what family they were born from - but whether they followed the teachings of Jacob (Israel). If they followed his teachings - loving and worshiping the Supreme Being - they were considered a follower of Israel - an Israelite.

In other words, they _'increased in numbers'_ because more and more people began to follow the teachings of Abraham and Jacob. They were not necessarily all from the same family.

### Were all the Prophets related?

To assume that all the Prophets were in the same family is also erroneous. Was Joshua the son of Moses? No. Was Samuel the son of Eli? Was David the son of Samuel or Saul? No. The lineage being discussed is a lineage of teachings - not an incestual family.

_"I will make you a community of peoples"_ refers to the coming broad acceptance of Jacob's teachings by many followers, which would form a large swath of people from different areas, all who worshiped God by following Jacob's teachings and the teachings of his students.

And as far as giving away land - we've discussed this previously at length. The Supreme Being does not give land to temporary physical bodies or groups of temporary physical bodies.

If God gave Jacob's descendants land, why could they not be able to control it over the centuries? Because God didn't give them land. God is not a land-grant office. God maintains ownership and control of all lands. Humans cannot truly own land because our bodies are not permanent. These physical bodies are incapable of retaining control over anything in the physical world. Our bodies live for a few years and then die, and then become part of the land as they decompose.

### So what was God giving to Jacob then?

The word ארץ ('erets) is being translated to _"land"_ here. But the word has many other possible translations, including _"whole earth,"_ _"earth (as opposed to heaven),"_ _"country,"_ _"territory,"_ _"district," "region," "tribal territory," "ground," "soil," "land of the living"_ and many others.

It is only practical that God would be discussing a particular region on the earth as one might discuss a territory of a sales person: "This is your territory." It doesn't mean the person owns that region. It simply means that specific to their duty - here passing on the teachings of God - God can assign a territory.

We can also know within the context of this statement by God regarding being fruitful that Jacob will have many followers, we can know that God is discussing that Jacob's teachings will reach far and wide. Jacob will followers all over the world, or in the immediate term, throughout the region. But we also know his teachings will be spread through the generations throughout the world.

This is because Jacob was _"fruitful":_ he was a missionary, and so were his students.

This is confirmed when the Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was:

_"The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers." (Genesis 47:9)_

A 'pilgrimage' refers to being a missionary. Here the Hebrew word מגור (maguwr) - which can refer to a lifetime, also refers to temporary quarters, and thus traveling, and in the case of Jacob, Isaac and Abraham - traveling and preaching. They were missionaries.

Consider this statement:

_So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. (Genesis 46:1)_

and

_Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. (Genesis 35:5-7)_

Yes, Jacob was a missionary. He was guided by the Supreme Being to move to new places and pass on the word of God to others. He built temples in different places. He had many followers.

What about the land then? Either we accept that the Supreme Being promised to Jacob something He couldn't deliver, or the transcription/translation is incorrect.

Many believe the former. They just think that somehow God lost control over those lands. Many think the so-called "devil" is battling God and won over the land - taken it from God's people or something.

This is not true. The Supreme Being is always in control. He never loses control over anything. If He really gave Jacob land then Jacob would not have had to even go to Egypt in the first place. If God gave Jacob and his descendants land _"as an everlasting possession"_ then that land would have never been divided and conquered by others over the centuries.

What is being discussed is the fact that God is granting Jacob and those who follow him - עולם אחזה \- a spiritual inheritance \- a place for them in the spiritual realm.

Many have in fact interpreted promises of _"land"_ by God as being some kind of _"promised land"_ But as we see played out in the Bible, there was no 'promised land' on the earth.

Anyway, giving such a barren and famine-ridden land would be more of a curse than a gift. What kind of gift is a war-torn piece of barren land in the desert? Is this really a _"promised land?"_

This assumption is ridiculous, and it is obvious that such an interpretation is intended to claim rights to certain lands.

The correct interpretation is that the Supreme Being is promising those who use their physical lifetimes to worship Him and serve Him that they will be able to return to the spiritual realm after their physical lifetimes are over. He is promising them a return to the spiritual realm.

This is confirmed by the use of the words עולם (`owlam) and אחזה ('achuzzah) at the end of God's statement. אחזה ('achuzzah) refers to an inheritance of a place or abode, while עולם (`owlam) refers to "everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity."

And since we know there was no eternal giving of any land to Jacob - as his body died shortly after detailing this to Joseph - this is obviously referring to the spiritual realm - the eternal world where there is no death.

This inheritance of the spiritual realm refers not only to Jacob, but Jacob's followers in the future. This is confirmed by the word אחר ('achar) which relates to _"after"_ or _"behind"_ \- referring to following.

This is proceeded by the word זרע (zera`). As we've discussed previously, this word refers to sowing - or seed. This is related to the passing on of the teachings - the origin of the word desemination - to pass on. This relates to those who have received the teachings - which relate to love for God and an eternal inheritance in the spiritual world.

As such, we can now offer a more appropriate translation of this verse:

_"I am going to make you fruitful and increase your followers throughout the land. You will have a community of followers all over the world, and you and your followers will inherit the eternal abode." (Genesis 48:4)_

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