PARABLE

DON’T FALL AMONG THIEVES

Jacob Israel9 Comments

DON’T FALL AMONG THIEVES

In study, the other night, I was reading Luke’s Gospel and remembered a certain verse that was quickened (saw clearly the meaning of) to me some years ago. It dealt with the story of the Man who fell among thieves. Jesus used this story to picture who “our Neighbor” was.

Years ago, when I read this story I thought it was pretty cut and dry. Some guy comes up to Jesus and says, “Hey, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life.” Jesus says, “What do you think? What does the Law say?” The guy responds, “Love God, and Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Simple right? Well, no… Because, then the guy goes onto justify himself by asking, “And just whoooooo, is my neighbor?”

Now, Jesus could have said, “Are you kidding me lawyer Man? Look around you, everyone you see is your neighbor.” However, he didn’t. In typical Jesus form, he started in with his parables… I always thought Jesus would have made an excellent elementary school teacher, as he taught things so simply using these wonderful word pictures, and stories, to make his point. A child could understand, but not us smarty pants religious adults. I, too, find myself saying, after looking at a particular verse… “Master, what dost thou meanest?” Believe it or not, that is EXACTLY how I ask… Because I like to get my old English freak on when dealing the things of the God. You can thank Mr. King James for that.

Okay, enough of the silly talk… back to the point of this essay/parable. Which is easy to understand, if you understand that it’s a parable, not so simple, if you think it be literal.

In many cases, the problem is, over the years, mankind has begun to think these stories to be literally true. In fact, a majority of scripture is looked at this way, even though Jesus taught the kingdom if a mystery, and mysteries need to be uncovered. Come on Nancy Drew Keep up!

In fact, in many parables Jesus gives, describing the kingdom, it is HIDDEN. “Treasure hidden in a field” “Seed hidden in the ground” “Leaven hidden in meal”

What I am getting at here is not everything is so cut and dry. Not everything is understood by a literal reading of it.

I often use the story of the boy who cried wolf as an example of what these parables are like. If the story is taken literally then the meaning and message is lost. It become a tragic tale of some kid eaten by a wolf… But when it is understood allegorically, the reader knows that exaggerating and lying can get you in BIG trouble… The same is true for every parable Jesus spoke.

He said to his disciples (those being taught by the WORD/truth) – “Unto YOU it is given to KNOW the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Unto them that are without… ALL THINGS ARE DONE IN PARABLE.” <-

Mind you scripture does not say, Jesus spoke SOME THINGS in parable … Scripture states to the masses Jesus ONLY spoke in parable. (NOT LITERALLY, a story that must be spiritually discerned, a story that uses symbols to get across a point, a story that can only be understood by revelation. Which is the revealed meaning of the hidden truth inside the parable.) And Jesus ONLY spoke to the masses in parable.

Matthew 13:34
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them

Why did he do this?

Matthew 13:13
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

He spoke in Parable – WHICH IS WHY WE CANNOT TAKE EVERYTHING LITERALLY PEOPLE! The Letter (which means literal understanding) KILLS (makes you ignorant). You see Jesus spoke in Parable so that people would not rely on their understanding, the meaning would have to come like lightning from heaven (insight/revelation within). For years you may not understand something, and then in an instant the truth and meaning floods your thoughts. This is expressed perfectly in the nest passage where we see, Jesus having to expound these things he spoke (parables) to his disciples.

Mark 4:34
But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples

Notice the words, when they were ALONE. Now follow me, if Christ is IN you, this is the hope of Glory. That means that WITHIN YOU the spirit of Wisdom and Power (which is Christ) will expound the meaning of these things to you. And then after going up that ladder to heaven, you can then come down again and express what you have learned to those around you, and those with ears to hear will hear. And usually those that hear (understand) are those that are in his BOSOM (AN ALLEGORY for instruction/nursing/teaching).

Mark 4:11
And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables

Basically, Jesus is saying, those that know the Truth will see (understand the HEART of these allegorical tales and be set free. But those who do not know the TRUTH (Christ REVEALS) will see only the literal story. And in HEARING they will not hear, and in SEEING they will not see.

The problem arises when the story becomes the important part, as opposed to the heart of the story which is WHAT THE PARABLE IS ABOUT. We need to LOOK TO THE HEART of things as God looks to the HEART of us all. If looked to the outward man (how we act, what we do) and not to the inward man (who we truly are) God would see a hot mess in his creation, but God looks to the heart, he looks to the TRUTH within the PARABLE that is US.

Okay, that being said and done… Let’s dig into this parable of the good Samaritan. Because there is something more for us to learn from it, when the eyes of our understanding can SEE IT.

Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?

What a weird question, don’t you think? Shouldn’t it be obvious? Well, no! First, consider who is asking the question.

Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and TEMPTED him

This was NOT a sincere question from a sincere man. He was TEMPTING HIM. Which means, he was trying to discredit and open the door for Jesus to sin (THINK AND ACT FOOLISHLY). As we know, “when we are tempted we are drawn away by our own lusts.” This insincere man was also trying to justify himself, which simply means, he wanted to prove he was right and Jesus was wrong.

The LAWYERS of the day, weren’t known for their sincerity in the faith. In fact quite the opposite. They were known as people who used the scriptures as a bat and not a shepherd’s staff. Know some people like that? People who always have to be right and will throw one scripture out after another to prove that our God is not a God of Love.

Luke 7:30 But the Pharisees and lawyers REJECTED the counsel of God.

You see the Lawyers of that day, and the people who use the scriptures as a way to justify themselves and beat down everyone else, especially those that are unique and different, REJECT THE COUNSEL OF GOD. Which is to LOVE OTHERS AS YOURSELF, DO GOOD UNTO OTHERS, DO TO OTHERS AS YOU WANT DONE TO YOURSELF.

The Lawyers are a parabolic picture of those, who study the LETTER of the LAW and condemn those on every single point yet they themselves refuse the TRUTH OF GOD. Could the same be said for many calling themselves men and women of God today? I sadly would have to say yes.

The Lawyers are a picture of the Religious Elite who consider themselves beyond reproach because of their scrutinizing study of the mosaic Law. We have lots of them today, with their “the bible says this”, and “the bible LITERALLY says that”, and yet they don’t have the first inkling of what God is speaking through these scriptures.

John 5:39
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me

Many today don’t understand the Spirit of the scriptures which should come alive with revelation when read. Instead, they rely on the dead letter (literal) of the scriptures, which they use to condemn and justify themselves as authorities on the things of God. Much like our lawyer in the Samaritan story.

As an author, I am sad when I see this. Let’s put aside the majority of evidence in scripture that gives each of us the keys to understanding the scriptures. Let’s put aside the fact that the scriptures states clearly “God opens his mouth in parable, in dark sayings” “That it is the glory of God to CONCEAL a thing”, And Christ (The power and wisdom of God) COMES (is revealed) in the Glory of God (The hidden parable of scripture and our waking life).

In my novel, “The Calling”, I tell a thrilling story about a boy who was purposed to change the world from birth, as we are all purposed from birth. His life becomes incredibly difficult. Now, THE CALLING is a great book, but this FICTION is not meant to be taken LITERALLY… IT IS AN ALLEGORY! On one level we see a Child who suffers abuse and hardship and we follow him on a fantastic journey that brings the world hope. But on another level, a deeper level, everything is speaking of something spiritual. And only a few will see the deeper meaning of what is written, because like the scriptures I prayed to write a novel that would also need to be spiritually discerned. Hey that is what book clubs are all about, finding out what the author is REALLY TRYING TO SAY! And the scriptures are no different.

However, regardless of how clever the story telling in the The Calling is, regardless of how believable it seems to be, it is simply an allegory that I hope further a persons spiritual journey. The Calling is not a true story, sure most of it is based on aspects of my life but it is NOT A TRUE STORY that is meant to be taken literally. It is an ALLEGORY.

But consider this, what if thousands of years go by, and someone finds this book and starts teaching that all of it literally happened (which it didn’t). Then everyone will focus on the fantastic elements of the books as literal and miss the fantastic TRUTH that is ONLY UNDERSTOOD by moving past what seemed to literally happen to what REALLY MATTERS!

I don’t know about you but I want LIFE not DEATH. I want REVELATION not Regurgitation.

Back to the LAWYER… I want to point out that studying the scriptures as well as other holy books is great, but no amount of study MAKES YOU GOD’S CHILD. We are justified by our Faith, like Abraham was, not by how many scriptures we can quote.

The Lawyers of Jesus day were known for being cruel and judgmental, so Jesus knew the intent of this Lawyers heart.

The man asking Jesus, “what shall I do to inherit eternal life” … was TEMPTING HIM. He didn’t want to know the truth. He simply was testing Christ’s knowledge… He was putting Jesus on the spot. How many put us on the spot for our beliefs? They don’t really want to know what we believe to be true they want to find a crack in our beliefs to wiggle in and exploit. They want to prove us wrong, so they can prove to themselves and others they are right.

And yes, this is what has become of religion today, a bunch of people running around looking for who is with them, and condemning anyone who sees things differently. Well, I for one don’t mind being condemned if what God is revealing to me is foreign to what the local church, mosque, or kingdom hall is teaching. What about you? Do you want more than Religion? Do you want the know the Truth of God no matter what the cost? Then to do this, you need to SEEK AND FIND, and when you SEEK AND FIND as the Gospel of Thomas states, you will be disturbed. Because everything you thought you knew was never true. And like Paul, when the revelation of Christ came you too, will become BLIND (meaning you will realize you know nothing about God) and you will need to be led by a child and restored by those who God sends your way, or restored by allowing what God is revealing to you to reside in your thoughts. And when that happens you will get rid of everything that you once held dear, you will empty that ship because you know you only need Christ.

Matthew 13:44
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field

So when the lawyer tempted Jesus, in typical Messiah fashion, Jesus flipped the switch quick on him.

“He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?”

Christ was appealing to the man’s vanity. He knew the Lawyer believed he had the answers, he knew the Lawyer couldn’t WAIT to tell Jesus how everyone needs to WORK THEIR WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE…. WORKS, phewy!

And when the Lawyer answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”

Jesus said, “You answered right. Do this and LIVE”. Notice Jesus didn’t say, “do this and have eternal life” – There is a good reason. Because ETERNAL LIFE is NOT what most think it to be.

Many believe Eternal Life is playing shuffle board in Heaven with the saints and Patriarchs and eating all the ice cream and fried oreo cookies they want without ever putting on a pound. (That does sound good, I have to admit) However, THAT IS NOT ETERNAL LIFE!

The Lawyer wanted to know what to do, TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. Jesus said, you answered right DO THAT AND LIVE.

ETERNAL LIFE = TO LIVE

And the ONLY WAY to truly LIVE is to know God and the TRUTH! We are LITERALLY told what Eternal life is, in John.

John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

ETERNAL LIFE is to KNOW GOD and CHRIST. There it is, in Black and White. And To know this, you MUST LOVE GOD and LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR as yourself. That alone is a revelation… For if you want to KNOW GOD and CHRIST you need only LOVE GOD and your NEIGHBOR. That is a HUGE TRUTH if you can see it… hope you can. If not, no worries, I’ll have some seven page paper on what that means soon I’m sure. 🙂

Jesus is the RESURRECTION and the LIFE, if you BELIEVE on CHRIST (God’s wisdom and power) even though you were DEAD (Ignorant/carnal) you shall LIVE (Be enlightened)

John 11:25
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in (For/Unto) me, though he were dead, yet shall he live

And if I have said it once, it isn’t enough. It isn’t about believing in a literal man from thousands of years ago, it is believing as HE believes. It is believing IN (which means literally UNTO or FOR) him. You need to come to stature of the perfect man, and full understanding as Jesus had. You need to come to the unity of the faith.

Ephesians 4:13
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ

But listening to the LAWYERS of Jesus’ day or today, won’t bring you there. Religious pride and arrogance and bias won’t help you LIVE. In fact, quite the opposite. If someone has the “it’s my way or the highway” mentality, you will never be free. You will be BOUND BY THEIR CHAINS. You will be YOLKED by their ignorance and abuse.

2 Corinthians 6:14
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

You know very well that if your beliefs don’t line up with an “unbelievers” particular beliefs they will condemn you for it. Not exactly what everyone should get when looking for peace in their life, huh?

You see, this LAWYER didn’t really want to know Eternal Life (God and Christ) he wanted to discredit Jesus. That was his motive.

Jesus then goes on to tell a story, about who is your NEIGHBOR. This ain’t no Mr. Rogers were talking about… this is JESUS people, so Listen up!

Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

You got to love how Jesus always starts his parable off with “a certain man” –

The reason, is that CERTAIN MAN is EVERY MAN/WOMAN – it is no one in particular and everyone in particular.

Now, upon a simple reading of this you would think this story is about some poor guy who got robbed and only one person helped him. But like I stated earlier, not everything is as it literally seems.

This parable has more to do with FAITH and BELIEF than it has to do with literally being robbed. So, let’s tear these scriptures apart and SEE (understand) what is REALLY going on.

Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves.

We can learn something from the description of where this “certain man” left, Jerusalem, which in HEBREW means “Teaching of PEACE”.

So this “certain man” left the “TEACHING OF PEACE “(Jerusalem) to go to Jericho, which means “It’s MOON” – Symbolic of the FALSE LIGHT. The MOON is symbolic of MAN’S SOUL as it simply REFLECTS the SON/SUN. The MOON is not the SOURCE of LIGHT (Truth) it is a very dim reflection of it.

The SUN is to the SON as the Moon is to MANS WAYS/TEACHING.

This is interesting to note because this CERTAIN MAN left JERUSALEM to go to JERICHO… This certain man LEFT THE TEACHING OF PEACE for the FALSE LIGHT. And this is what so many people are ignorantly doing. God wakes them up inside, they want to know God, and unfortunately they leave what is being taught within and go to “religion”. AND THEY GET ROBBED AND BEATEN AND ABUSED FOR IT!

Been there, done that myself.

This is allegorical of MANKIND leaving the TRUTH of God for the IMITATION/Religion – BADDDDD RELIGION…. And yes, most of us do this very same thing. I did it, you probably did it, or you are doing it now.

Oh, I know what you’re saying, “That’s a stretch, Jacob.. Jerusalem and Jericho are literal places, the meaning of their names isn’t significant at all… YOUR CRAZZZZZZY!… CRAZY LIKE CHRIST I SAY!

I would have used Fox, but you know, them foxes (religious/political leaders-look it up) always spoiling the vine and such… Anyway, regardless of what your thinking about the names of those places and their meanings follow this paper and see if the meanings of these names be what they be.

Lets look at the next line…

Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves.

This CERTAIN MAN left Jerusalem for Jericho and fell among THIEVES. Oh, sure you could say that he was just robbed literally… BUT, THAT DOESN’T HELP YOU SPIRITUALLY DOES IT?

Our literal possessions don’t matter to God or Christ.

Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt…

Jesus is TEACHING about how to inherit ETERNAL LIFE not about how to avoid getting robbed or some self-defense technique… I think Peter had some kind of Karate class going on with Paul for a while, but they never agreed on whether the pork dumplings and stir fry was acceptable for end of the year Karate Mixer… <-insert laugh here for bad apostolic joke.

As I said earlier, this is a story of “MANKIND” leaving THE TEACHING OF PEACE (Jerusalem) for MAN’S TEACHINGS (The Moon/Jericho).

Now we know, there is only ONE WAY to find the FATHER and that is THROUGH THE SON. This is what Jesus is telling the lawyer. He is actually showing the lawyer that the LAWYER was a THIEF to begin with.

Of course the Lawyers and Pharisees of the world could never see this because they are too busy keeping people from the Kingdom. That was their thing, all about straining for gnats and swallowing camels… Hazing was NUTS back in the day! 🙂

So, let’s say I’m right… That this story is about Mankind leaving the TRUTH for MAN’S TEACHINGS and getting robbed spiritually… If this be so, who then are the THIEVES?

Well, Jesus tells us…

John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

Look at that, Jesus says THOSE THAT TRY and ENTER THE KINGDOM ANY OTHER WAY than HIM… Is a THIEF AND A ROBBER.

Isn’t that something? This paper is about MANKIND leaving GOD’S TRUTH for MAN’S LIES and they FALL AMONG THIEVES… and Jesus says, the thieves are liars who promise entrance into the Kingdom another way, without CHRIST, without the TRUTH.

Now, let me just point out. Just because you “Literally” say “Jesus is your Lord and Savior” and go to church every Sunday and read your bible and pray… that DOES NOT MEAN you worship GOD. Don’t get angry, these aren’t my words… Take it up with the Lord!

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

That means a literal belief in a literal Man is not having the TRUTH. The hope of Glory if CHRIST IN YOU. Salvation is believing on his name (nature) … Salvation is UNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH about God.

There are hundreds of denominations in Christianity that claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who are as lost as those who worship the bark off a tree. This is why we MUST ask God, “Teach me the Truth, no matter what the cost” and daily seek His Face (NOT LITERALLY HIS FACE… COME ON PEOPLE :). To seek God’s face, is to RECOGNIZE the TRUTH.

And when we SEEK GOD, we MUST get rid of EVERY THING else we have held unto and believed to be true, that was not TRUE. We must let go of everything man has taught us, for what the Holy Spirit WITHIN US teaches us. Time to lets those Idols go; but not American Idol’s come on, it’s the only show the whole family agrees on. And now that Paula and Simon are gone, perhaps it’s time for us to move on.

SO, to be saved we HAVE TO LET GO OF ANY THING THAT IS NOT TRUE. We must be purged of the OLD MAN, the OLD THINKING, WE MUST PUT ON THE MIND OF CHRIST, and get rid of everything else.

We saw how Paul had those on his Prison Ship get rid of everything in the boat that was WEIGHING them down so the STORM would not overtake them. A perfect picture of how we have to get rid of all the lies we have believed over the years and allow Christ the TRUTH to set us free.

But back to our story here.

Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves.

You see, when we first enter religion… many of us, fall among THIEVES. We enter in thinking we will get closer to God but these so-called Teachers end up stealing from us. They rob us of so much, our spirit, our finances, our friends, our fun, our routines, like the FROGS that plagued Egypt (if you have eyes to see this) these CROAKING RELIGIOUS LEADERS get into everything, our food, our bedroom, every aspect of our lives these Religious Leaders try to control. This is what Jesus’ parable is about, Bad Religion.

Let’s go to rest of this verse.

…which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead

RAIMENT is a key word here people… Once again, we are not talking about some real life thugs robbing a guy and stealing his clothes. No, we are talking about a covering, “spiritual Raiment” – and all we need to do is go to scripture to find out what it really is.

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment;

RAIMENT is another word for clothes. Clothes we put on and take off. God clothes us with TRUTH and HUMILITY.

1 Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

You see, here is another allegory for us to uncover. Many people, wanting to have a relationship with God, ignorantly leave Godly beliefs like humility, acceptance, forgiveness, for the love for Religious pride, condemnation, judgment, and more.

So, this “Certain Man” went to Religion to find God and ended up being robbed and stripped of every good thought he had when he was in JERUSALEM (the teaching of peace)

These Thieves are bad, bad, bad, RELIGIOUS leaders, who lure you in and take, take, take from you. And they leave you HALF DEAD (Carnal and ignorant) – As the LAWYER in this story, most certainly did on a regular basis.

Whenever you leave the TRUTH OF GOD for the WAYS OF MAN, you will always find some Thief waiting to rob you.

This puts a whole new spin, however on the crucifixion. As Christ was right there IN BETWEEN TWO THIEVES…

You see, even the THIEVES can repent and find their dwelling in paradise in Christ.

Moving on:

“And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.”

By now, you should understand why the Priest and Levite passed the robbed, naked, beaten, half dead man on the other side. They weren’t going to help this “certain man” at all. For they were THIEVES themselves. If however, the man had something to OFFER THEM, they would… But at this point, he had nothing.

Bad Religious Leaders cannot help those abused by other Bad Religious Leaders. The Priest and Levite, claimed the things of God, claimed to know God, but ignored the hurt member of their faith. They can’t see the pain bad religion causes, they can’t see the damage they are doing to their blind flock. Because they are blind themselves.

Jesus said, when I was naked you DID NOT clothe me. This is a picture of the BODY OF CHRIST, being robbed of the TRUTH of God they should be CLOTHED IN!

WISDOM is what the half dead need. And this parable speaks it clearly.

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”

This is the NEIGHBOR who we must LOVE AS OURSELVES. Those being abused and robbed of the TRUTH in BAD RELIGION. And that pretty much sums up everyone, from every faith, and those without faith, bad religion has robbed the world blind!

We, are to be like the SAMARITAN which comes from the Hebrew ROOT word “GUARDIANSHIP” – We appear to the Lawyers and Pharisees of the world as “Heretics” who don’t know the God of the Hebrews, but a TREE IF KNOWN BY ITS FRUIT… And this SAMARITAN fruit was SWEET.

We are to be the GUARDIANS of the day. We are to be the bringer of LIGHT, if CHRIST be in us. There are many hurting today, many that Religion has robbed and abused, WE MUST PICK UP THE PIECES FOR THEM WITH LOVE.

The word COMPASSION, means to SUFFER WITH. We MUST ANSWER their SUFFERING and BIND UP THEIR WOUNDS.

How do we do it? You ask.

WITH OIL AND WINE! – Yes, this is another allegory. Of course, Neosporin would help a healing wound better than oil and wine, so we must see what is truly being USED TO HEAL here.

OIL is a symbol. It is used on the sick and used to anoint Kings. First consider how oil is made, it is the ESSENCE of the OLIVE, and our symbolic “OIL” that WE must pour out is the ESSENCE of CHRIST, which is TRUTH/WISDOM.

OIL is a symbol for WISDOM.

Psalm 104:15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.

OIL makes a face SHINE …Want to see what else causes a man’s face to shine?


Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine,

WISDOM makes a face to SHINE.

This puts a whole new spin on why Moses’ face was shining after coming down from the mountain of God. And why Jesus’ face was shining on the Mount of Transfiguration. WISDOM IS THE KEY, A TREE OF LIFE, OF ALL THERE IS TO GET, GET WISDOM! 🙂

OIL = WISDOM

WINE = SPIRIT OF TRUTH

This is what we use to heal the wounds of those who have fallen among THIEVES (those who try to enter the Kingdom any other way than Christ)

When BAD RELIGION steals, we BIND UP.

When they are left NAKED, we CLOTHE THEM with the WISDOM OF THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH!

This is what it means, to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. Now go and do likewise, as the J-man says!

1 Corinthians 1:27
“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;”
Peace to you and yours,

JACOB

http://www.JacobIsrael.org
For more info about my novel “The Calling.”

LET PATIENCE HAVE HER PERFECT WORK

Jacob Israel9 Comments

Quick note for you all. If you enjoy these essays and want to keep up to date. Subscribe to the left of the screen, it’s free, and you won’t have to go looking for the site everytime a new essay or news is posted. Enjoy and thanks everyone, Jacob

LET PATIENCE HAVE HER PERFECT WORK

James 1:2-4
2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Yeah right, easier said than done right? Well the truth, as they say, hurts but it also heals. So settle into this essay with an open mind and remember there is no such thing as coincidence, and everything has purpose.

This is a topic I have briefly touched on before in the past. But today, I am going to really dive into this and point out some things that jumped out at me (revelation you see:)) Hopefully what I write will help you to see that there is much bigger picture that we are working with here. Hopefully you will see by the end of this essay that there is a reason for everything you go through. Hopefully you will understand that nothing good comes easy, as they say, but everything good comes to those that faithfully wait for their promise. Hopefully you will understand everything has purpose, the good and the bad, and in the end everything will be brought to the knowledge of the truth and peace.

Now I wasn’t planning on writing an essay this morning, when I woke up at 5am and sat down at this computer. In fact, I was simply going to revise an older essay but I began to write and below is what came out of it. As always I just go with the flow when I write and I rarely go back and edit so forgive me for any mistakes you may find. I look forward to your comments and I hope you enjoy it.

So let’s begin shall we.

If you’ve been to this site before you know I write much about the allegory of scripture. I write about the same thing the apostles and prophets of old wrote and spoke about. Paul said the “Letter” kills, which basically means if you take everything that is written literally, it will keep you in the darkness of death (ignorance/carnal mind). In a story, it’s never about whether or not there was a real Little Red Riding Hood or a Wolf, it is what we learn from the story that is important. Which is why Jesus spoke to the masses only in parable.

Matthew 13:34
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them

Remember the things of the Kingdom (reign/rule) of God is a mystery. And a mystery is something that must be revealed, understood, and found out. God has always spoke to us in allegory.

Psalm 78:2
I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old

We should always seek God to reveal the deeper meaning of the stories we read in the scriptures. Because when you do, you will find the stories you are reading about have more to do with you and your life than they do about literal people from thousands of years ago. It’s all about finding out the mystery, which is not of private interpretation, but insight given by God, who wants us to come to the understanding of these things and in fact He will be succesful. As ALL WILL COME TO THE UNITY OF THE FAITH, AND KNOWLEDGE AND STATURE OF THE PERFECT MAN.

Proverbs 1
5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings

The only way to increase in learning is to seek God, and allow God to reveal the interpretation of the proverb, parable, and dark saying (which are basically words that can’t been perceived naturally).

I want to point out that the word “God” I am using is the same spirit of love and truth that is within each and everyone of us, it is the beginning and end of all things and then some. God is everything seen and unseen, God is all in all. And who you are is God’s child. Or should I say, who you think you are is a creation of something that your conscious mind cannot fathom, God, or who we all really are the offspring of. Jesus’ prayer was that mankind would become ONE with God, which he called the “Father”. “That they may be one, as we are one.” Now, if you are ONE with something there is no seperation between who you are and who God is. For you are IN THE FATHER AND THE FATHER IS IN YOU. However, for the sake of this paper, I will use the word God to make my point. It is my hope that one day we too will be able to say we are one as Jesus did.

The scriptures state that it is impossible to know the mind of God. Much like it is impossible for the conscious mind to know what the subsconscious mind is up to. And that my friends is what the mystery is all about, finding our way home, finding our way to the truth of who and what we are, which is salvation indeed.

What few people are able to grasp is that their own lives are in fact a road map toward their own salvation. – Salvation mind you, is not freeing you from some future suffering in the afterlife, but freeing you from your ignorance and suffering in the here and now. For those that say, oh everyone is saved already, in my opinion they are terribly wrong. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been taught to WORK OUT OUR SALVATION.

Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation

You have to understand the future is not something we need salvation from. The FUTURE does not yet exist does it. We need salvation in the HERE AND NOW! Salvation is all about the NOW. It is about being freed from your fears, worries, hang ups, addictions, anger, sadness, etc… and I’m sorry to say but for those that say, “we already overcame because of what one man did two thousand years ago”, I say, I believe strongly you are wrong. For those who say we are perfect as we are, the murderer and the saint, I say you are wrong. There is only one way to salvation and that is coming to the fullness, the knowledge and wisdom of who you are in Christ. And when you understand this, and the DAYSTAR has risen in your heart, then you are no longer ruled by your carnal fears and hang ups but you are set free. It is a dangerous teaching to tell people that you can be anything you want to be, even if that hurts others, and you can still enter the kingdom. I believe one day ALL WILL ENTER IN, BUT, and that is a very big BUT, it will only happen when they have been set free from their carnal old man, and have reaped what they have sown. This is why we are told to love others, to do unto others as we want done to ourselves. So don’t be fooled thinking you are already perfected, if you were, you would FEEL IT, you would KNOW IT! And it isn’t as simple as just turning on a switch, this is a process. This is why we MUST have patience and faith, because I am confident that God will bring us all to the knowledge of the truth, but EACH MAN IN HIS ORDER.

Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ

So how does God do this? How do we find the path?

Well, the answers are all around us, from the car we drive, to how messy or clean our home is, to our relationship, enemies, friends, and illnesses. Now this is hard for many to grasp. But the answers are all around us, in world events, natural disasters, to the television programs and movies we watch. God has inspired it all, to bring us all to a place of understanding and ultimately peace.

I know many of you will say, NO THERE IS TOO MUCH PAIN IN THIS WORLD, how can God possibly be using this to bring us to a place of peace and rest. Well consider how God chose to perfect us according to scripture.

Isaiah 48:10
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction

In fact if we think of many precious things in the world, there is a great torment (testing/and trying) of these things. To produce the perfect pearl the oyster suffers its whole life and has to die for that pearl to be harvested. To create WINE (which is such a wonderful allegory) choice grapes ar ripped from the vine, that they are trampled under foot, pressed, scraped, left to stew in their torment, all the flesh is taken away, left to sit some more until that SPIRIT is ready to drink. All precious metals are held under the hottest part of the flame until all the impurities bubble to the surface. In fact in the refining of silver, the way the smith knows the silver is pure is when he or she sees their reflection(image) in the silver. The same is true for us. Let’s face it the easy road is never the road we benefit the most from. It is climbing the mountain and enduring the storms and escaping death and finally ending your journey on the mountain’s peak that you feel that sense of awe and accomplishment. If it was easy, no one would bother. Where’s the fun in that? Also consider the things you remember the most in life, things you are MOST PROUD of, they are usually the things you have overcome. In fact that is what our “testimony” is all about. All we have been through and where we stand today, what we have learned from our journey, and why others should be encouraged in their time of trouble.

I understand life can be so hard. I am not immune to the cares of this world (thorns) and the death (pain, ignorance, and suffering) it causes. I have been abandoned, attacked, hurt emotionally/physically, I have lost everything, I have suffered great depression and still do at times, I have been deathly ill for years thanks to my Crohns disease, but because of it all I am here today writing this article to encourage you that no matter what you are going through, IT IS ALL FOR YOUR BENEFIT! Now I understand it may not seem that way but trust me when I say it is.

1 Peter
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

There is a teaching out there, that Jesus took all of our suffering and we need not suffer anymore. Let me tell you that is the farthest thing from the truth. As hard as this is going to be for many of you to hear, there is no difference between you and Jesus. When he was crucified we were crucified.

Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ

Just who do you think the TWO THIEVES that were crucified with Christ were. They were the two natures in man. The one that is TAKEN (embraces the truth) and the other that is LEFT (cast off/divorced). – By the way, those are the actual definitions of those words, look them up.

Matthew 24:40
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left

Remember CHRIST in you is the HOPE OF GLORY. Christ IN IN IN you. Your life is HID in Christ.

Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter

Yes, and we ALL HAVE this TREASURE, PROMISE, LIFE, LOVE, POWER, AND WISDOM within us.

2 Corinthians 4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us

Notice the last part of that verse. This truth has been HIDDEN from our understanding, so that when it is revealed we would know it was of GOD and not ourselves. THIS IS WHY OUR THIEVES need to be crucified. Because yes, once again, a THIEF is an allegory.

John 10:1
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber

The THIEVES are those natures in man who believe we can enter the Kingdom of God by any other way, than the straight and narrow door of BECOMING CHRIST.

Matthew 10:38
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me

Let me first point out what the word “WORTHY” means in the Greek. Because it will open your eyes to a much deeper meaning. It doesn’t mean, “If you don’t do this you’re not good enough for me to love you.” God forbid, it actually means, if you don’t do exactly what Jesus did (laying down his old man) you cannot be as he is. DON’T BELIEVE ME… well look at what the word “WORTHY” means.

WORTHY – aàciov – having the weight of another thing of like value, worth as much

It means if you don’t embrace your suffering in this world, you will not have the same WORTH as Christ. The good news is, in the end of days (the last days of your ignorance, not the last days of this literal world) all will come to this understanding. And it is our suffering and trials that bring us there. This is why, we are told to rejoice in our sufferings because they are doing a great work within us.

1 Peter
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ

And yes that word APPEARING DOESN’T mean Jesus is going to come again soon and stand before you in a separate body. Wake up people YOU ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST. That word appearing, once again when properly translated makes it clear. That the trial of your faith is precious so Christ can and will be manifested IN YOU and Made known to the world THROUGH YOU.

APPEARING: a)poka/luyiv – a disclosure of truth, instruction, concerning things before unknown,
used of events by which things or STATES OF PERSONS hitherto withdrawn from view ARE MADE VISIBLE to all.

There it is in black and white. Do you believe it?

I know, I know this is a hard saying, as they say. But would you rather think that all you are going through is totally pointless, that you have a dark cloud over your head, and your unlucky… OR, would you rather believe that ALL THINGS ARE WORKING TOGETHER FOR YOUR GOOD. That even the most difficult of experience, and most devastating of events are here simply to push us to the revelation of who we truly are in Christ.

Romans 8:18
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Notice, it DOES NOT say the glory is revealed OUTSIDE OF US. But within us! We are where it all takes place, the beginning and the end, the last and the first, it is all part of our journey. As HE was SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD. We need to take our eyes off of the Jesus man from two thousand years ago, and go to GOD AS HIS CHILD. For we are HIS CHILD. Even Jesus instructed that there will come a time in your walk WHEN YOU WILL NO LONGER GO TO HIM but you will KNOW GOD LOVES YOU!

John 16
23And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

When you come to this understanding. You will no longer pray to Jesus, or pray in “jesus’ literal name” because you will be ASKING IN HIS NATURE, which is what the word “name” literally means. You will be asking as CHRIST. So you won’t need to ask Jesus, you’ll be asking as Jesus (in other words). Look at this next line.

John 16
24Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.

The scripture says, YOU HAVE NOT ASKED “IN” my name. This doesn’t mean you pray, and then say, “I ask this in Jesus name…. To be IN something, it to be ONE with that something. When you ASK you MUST ASK knowing that YOU AND CHRIST ARE ONE!

John 17:22
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one

Read that again.

John 17:22
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one

Now what glory did God give Jesus. It was the revelation that he was the only begotten son of God, and savior of the world. THIS IS THE SAME GLORY WE ARE GIVEN. And how are we given this Glory. Did Jesus wave his hand and magically impart this to us…. NO! What is the GLORY OF GOD AGAIN?

Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

Christ comes (is revealed) in the Glory of God (the Hidden truth with us). When Jesus is saying the Glory God gave give, he is saying God made known the TRUTH to him, and this he relayed to his disciples, and the glory given to them they gave to those God gave them, and the Glory given to me and you, we give to those God gives us… why? SO THAT WE MAY BE ONE! So we may all come to the understanding, that no one is better than another, no man or woman regardless of if there name is Jesus or Mohammed or Siddhārtha is greater than Bob, Sally, Antoine, Jacob, or Sue. FOR WE ARE ALL ONE and there is no DIVISION in ONE. There is no one greater than another IN ONE. For they are ALL THE SAME. Different members, different gifts, different purposes, but all ONE. As the hand is not greater than the foot, Jesus is not greater than you. The CHRIST in US, the CHRIST IN JESUS (which he was speaking out of and from) IS however greater than our carnal nature. Our HIGHER SELF is greater than our lower ignorance self.

When you understand this, then you begin to see other scriptures in a different light.

John 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father

What do you think Jesus meant when he said, the THINGS I DO YOU SHALL DO… the reason is, you and Christ are the same. So what Christ does you do, and what you do Christ does. Because when you have LIFTED UP THE SON OF MAN then you shall know THE “I AM”, and that you too can do NOTHING OF YOURSELF, BUT EVERYTHING THAT FATHER HAS TAUGHT YOU. Taught you by what you have gone through, experienced, through the allegory of your physical life.

Still having problems with this? Well look at this next verse.

2 Corinthians 1:5
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ

Christ sufferings ABOUND IN US… Not outside of us, not many years ago, but NOW! But the best part is so our CONSOLATION also abounds BY CHRIST. In other words, we may SUFFER to attain the POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD, we may Suffer for Christ. But it is so our COMFORT ABOUND BY CHRIST. There is a point and purpose for it all. Every broken bone and every broken heart, it is working a FAR GREATER THING in us. And when we trust in God, regardless of our circumstance, and understand that it is for our good. When we learn to love even those that hate us, help even those that hurt us, and lift up those that tear us down, we will not only be growing in grace and allow Christ to rule our hearts, but we will be saving those we help, lift, and love from their own ignorance.

Consider for a moment, if we are ALL INFINITE beings, then does it really matter what is happening for the moment. If we are all Infinite beings, than no one who has died, has truly died, no one who has suffered will not one day be comforted, and no one’s life will be lived in vain. The world right now is a scary place, but consider that everything is a natural allegory of what is universally going on in the hearts of those around the world. Dictators are being overthrown, great earthquakes, terrible storms, wars, and rumors of wars, everything that is happening outside of us is also happening within us. Our carnal nature is being overthrown by Christ, our foundational error is being broken up, and there is indeed a war within us, one that will end with our peace.

And just remember you are NOT ALONE in your suffering. Your suffering is there to get you to LET GO and LET GOD RULE! Your suffering is working out a great salvation in you. This is why you have people coming against you, so you can learn to return their attacks with Love because you will then be able to see that it isn’t happening to you (as my friend Dave Fields always says) it is happening FOR YOU! And no one is immune to it, and everyone will go through the fire. But BLESSED ARE THOSE that have taken part of the First resurrection because the FIRE DOESN’T hurt as much. Because you understand what you are going through is for the greater good for yourself and the world.

2 Corinthians 1:6
And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the SAME SUFFERINGS WE ALSO SUFFER: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation

The last thing I want you to take away from this, is the GREAT AND EXCEEDING PROMISE we were given in 2nd Peter. It shows us an order of things. How one thing we experience, leads to another thing, and that things leads to another and so on and so on.

2 Peter
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ

Once we reach a point in our walk when we begin to understand that God is in control of every single thing in our lives, we will change, and we will do this by the above list and notice how brotherly kindness and charity is close to last on this list. It is because we must understand diligence, faith, virtue, patience, temperence and godliness and partake of the divine nature, and see that what we do to one we do to ourselves for we are one. And WHEN these things abound in us, AND THEY WILL, we will be fruitful and come to the same knowledge and stature of Jesus Christ, for we shall see him as he is and we shall be LIKE HIM, we shall know as we are known, which means, we shall know ourself in Christ, as Christ, and we shall never again care about the testing of our faith, the second death will not hurt us, it will be a fruitful walk in the park.

So hang in there, let patience have its perfect work, and know that whatever you are going through is for you. So ask God what am I to learn from this. Ask God who am I. Ask God teach me the truth and then trust that God delivers. Because God does!

I hope this essay helped a bit. Peace to you and yours,
Jacob
http://www.JacobIsrael.org