See: Apostasy:
Saint Irenaeus, Against Heresies
and see:
St. Irenaeus Against Heresies and the warning against the Antichrist - click on picture
The Ancient and Modern Gnosticism that St.Irenaeus warned against and absolutely and utterly condemned, as did all of the early church and the Church Fathers and early councils.
It was/is a well known amongst Pagans (ancient and Modern) that the number 666 was used to represent the triple goddess, where each 6 was used to represent a separate stage in the female life cycle (Mother, Maiden, Crone )and a phase of the moon (Full, New, Waning), and where each of the three phases were said to rule one of the realms of the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. (above, center, below)
The three phases were used to depict what the pagans believed were the 3 stages of Man's evolution on earth: Body, Soul and Spirit and the goddess was used to depict man.
Many Pagans (and occultists in general) believe that every human being originated from the monad (source) through a process they refer to as involution whereby the Monad disintegrated into pieces and descended into matter: Put in simpler terms, involution is the process whereby the parts of the source disintegrated and fell into material vehicles (Man) i.e.their god is resident in all human beings i.e he is the universal spirit of creation.
However, the humans are ignorant of the fact that he is resident in them. The process that man has to undergo in order to become conscious of the spark of the god (2 Cor 4:4) that is resident in his/her body is what occultists refer to as evolution i.e the change of the consciousness of man from body (ignorance) to soul (awakening, yearning) and soul to spirit (fully awakened and conscious of spirit):
Evolution is thus the movement 'forward' by which the created universe evolves from its initial state of inconscience (i.e. as matter), evolves animated life forms and mental beings (i.e. humans), and continues to evolve spiritual properties, and in that process rediscovers its source ('god' consciousness).
-The world-spirit in exile must go through the Inferno of matter and the Purgatory of morals to arrive at the spiritual Paradise.”G. Quispel
During this transition, man must pass through the three phases of the goddess: The three phases of the goddess are therefore arch-types of the phases that humanity must pass through in order to reunite with the source:
The body conscious man (body, physical, rejection of anything supernatural) must become conscious of the latent spark of sin in his body (soul consciousness: adherents of religion and man imposed morals are people who realize that there are deeper mysteries to nature and morality than what their natural senses tell them about them) in order to awaken and be in union with the source (spirit).
Hinduism's depiction of the triple goddess
In Samkhya, a school of Hindu philosophy, Purusha (the source) is pure consciousness. It is thought to be people's true identity, to be contrasted with Prakrti, or the material world.
Varna refers to the Hindu belief that human beings were created from different parts of the body of the divinity Purusha. That is why in Sanskrit grammar, Purush is indicated as person i.e. First Person.: I.e The person humanity disintegrated from.
On the other hand, Prakriti Purusha's consort refers to the varying levels of the manifestation/modes of operation of Purusha on earth. It is composed of the three gunas which are tendencies or modes of operation, known as sattva (preservation), rajas (creation), and tamas (destruction) (The three phases of the goddess)
People who are of a satvic nature and whose activities are mainly based on satva will tend to seek answers regarding the origin and truth of material life. Rajas is associated with concepts of energy, activity, ambition, and passion; so that, depending on how it is used, it can either have a supportive or hindering effect on the evolution of the soul.
Tamas is commonly associated with inertia, darkness, insensitivity (destruction) Souls who are more tamasic are usually materialistic and self seeking and least likely to seek the source of Creation. Prakriti is closely associated with the concept of Maya within Vedic scripture.
According to the ancient vedic science of Ayurveda, the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas) as they pertain to the human physiology are called doshas: kapha, pitta, vata. The balance or imbalance of these doshas defines the prakriti or nature of one's body.
The three gunas represent the three phases of the goddess who is represented as Prakiti while Purusha represents the source (god)
The Pope
...-Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions." -Source:Lucius Ferraris, “Papa,” art. 2, in his Prompta Bibliotheca Canonica, Juridica, Moralis, Theologica, Ascetica, Polemica, Rubristica, Historica. (“Handy Library”), Vol. 5, published in Petit-Montrouge (Paris) by J. P. Migne, 1858 edition, column 1823, Latin.
It is therefore no coincidence that many Catholic Popes wore a Papal Tiara (also known as the Triple Tiara) to show their dominion over the 'heavens', earth and the lower regions i.e they had attained mastery of the three phases of the moon (the three sixes) and had thus attained 'perfection'.
Biblical explanation
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Gen 3:5
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.1 John 3:8
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.2 Cor 4:4
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.John 8:34
Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Rom 8:21
Whether we are willing to accept it or not, satan is the source and power behind our sinful nature and the supreme ruler of the world order of sin (As a result of man's fall into sin).
As is clearly evident in Rom 8:21 (which I quoted above), the creation (Paul was referring to other living beings apart from man) is in bondage (to satan) and that is why they (including man) all have a corruptible (perishable) nature.i.e when Adam and Eve fell into bondage, the whole creation was also subjected to bondage with them and hence a new world order of bondage to sin and satan came into being: One that was subservient to satan
Satan's promise to Eve that she (and her seed) would be elevated to 'godhood' if she disobeyed God and chose to eat (ingest i.e involution) of the forbidden tree (the tree represents a satanic/sinful consciousness) was not totally achieved when she ate the fruit (Characteristics) of the forbidden tree.
Her seed would have to pass through 3 phases to fully realize it: Body Soul and Spirit and it is when her seed realizes the mystery that satan is the one source of all creation and totally surrenders to his power that satan's promise of 'godhood' would be attained.
When this realization takes place, the source would be awakened from its dormant state (in everyone that has not repented and accepted the righteous image of Jesus in their hearts) and would control the minds of everyone in its world order.
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God 2 Thess 2:4 (NIV)
Since the fall of Adam and Eve from God's grace, sin has been in operation on earth but it has been restrained in varying degrees by God's Spirit (in Christians) and by the ignorance of the full potential of the image of sin (in the world: i.e body and soul consciousness)
For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.2Thess 2:7 (NIV)
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.Prov 14:12
666 is therefore the journey to realize and become one with the image of sin that lives in man's heart (the journey to perfectly understand the 3 phases of the goddess, the Quran refers to the phases as Nafs) and that is why occultists believe that nothing is permanent and that humanity is in a constant state of flux. (The same way all of the moon's phases are never constant)
It is a journey that occultists believe that humanity must embark on individually and collectively (through social engineering) in order to become perfected and it is one that will result in the damnation of humanity because sin destroys (which is why God seeks to restrain man from realizing sin: Gen 2:17 , Gen 11:6 , Gen 6:3 )
Man was created on the 6th day so 6 is the number of man. The three phases (sixes) represent the 3 stages in man's evolution to become what satan promised Eve and it is when man attains the final stage (Gains full knowledge of the three sixes) that his destruction would be sealed by God and that is the reason why God clearly forbids man from receiving the number (the Beast personifies everything that 666 represents and that is why he carries/chanels the woman i.e he transmits everything the triple goddess represents)
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:Rev 14:9-10
Note
Receiving the number in the forehead and right hand means that our Mind (forehead) and thoughts (actions) are attuned with the source i.e we think and act from satanic will, not from individual will.
THE KABBALAH Refuted! | Hebrew roots Initiation
THE KABBALAH Refuted!
"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord." -Deut. 18:10-12
We see over and over in the Old Testament that the Hebrew people fell from obeying the Law and embraced witchcraft and sorcery, Baal worship and all manner of idolatry. Throughout the Old Testament we encounter their obedience, disobedience, repentance and constant struggle to remain faithful to God and His Law. Their tenacity and desire to obey the Law cannot be disputed. The question will be addressed whether the Jew's disobedient practices were, and are still, taught in the oral traditions which evolved into the Talmud and Kabbalah and which are referenced by various Hebrew Roots leaders.
Jewish Mysticism
The Kabbalah itself consists of a large body of speculation on the nature of divinity, the creation, the origin and fate of the soul and also the role of human beings. It generally is subdivided into four sections: meditative, devotional, mystical and magical. It is for this reason that Kabbalah is regarded as an esoteric offshoot of Judaism.
The gnosis of the Kabbalah is well recognized by Jewish scholars. From an article cited in the Jewish Encyclopedia, we see the intimate relationship between Gnosticism and the Cabala:
"...The Jewish Encyclopedia quotes the opinion that 'the central doctrine of Gnosticism -a movement closely connected with Jewish mysticism-was nothing else than the attempt to liberate the soul and unite it with God;' but as this was apparently to be effected 'through the employment of mysteries, incantations, names of angels,' etc… it will be seen how widely even this phase of Gnosticism differs from Christianity and identifies itself with the magical Cabala of the Jews. Indeed, the man generally recognized as the founder of Gnosticism, a Jew commonly known as Simon Magus, was not only a Cabalist mystic, but avowedly a magician… instituted a priesthood of the Mysteries and practiced occult arts and exorcisms…" 1.
M. Matter states in Histoire du Gnosticisme, that Jewish scholars fully understand that the secret oral traditions of the Cabala were previous to any Christian Gnosticism.
"The Cabala is anterior to the Gnosis, an opinion which Christian writers little understand, but which the erudites of Judaism profess with a legitimate assurance."2.
In Some Notes on Various Gnostic Sects and their Possible Influence in Freemasonry, D.F. Ranking remarks that the secret oral tradition of the Cabalists confirms them as being Gnostics.
"This claim to the possession of a secret oral tradition, whether known under the name of [similar to yvwois only in Greek]…or of Cabala, confirms the conception of the Gnostics as Cabalists and shows how far they had departed from Christian teaching. For if only in this idea of 'one doctrine for the ignorant and another for the initiated,' that Gnostics had restored the very system which Christianity had come to destroy."3.
Author Nesta Webster concurs with M. Matter and other historians that Gnosticism involved an attempt to Cabalize Christianity.
"... M. Matter is therefore right in saying that Gnosticism was not a defection from Christianity, but a combination of systems into which a few Christian elements were introduced. The result of Gnosticism was thus not to Christianize the Cabala, but to cabalize Christianity by mingling its pure and simple teaching with theosophy and even magic." 4.
Jacob Prasch of Moriel, however, does not recognize Jewish mysticism as Gnosticism:
"People began reinterpreting the Bible, not using the Jewish method of midrash, but using Greek methods. Typology and allegory. Midrash uses typology and allegory-symbols-in order to illustrate and illumine doctrine…"
"The symbolism illustrates the doctrine, which is itself stated plainly elsewhere in Scripture…In the Gnostic world of Greek thinking, the opposite happens. Gnostics claim to have received a subjective, mystical insight-called a gnosis-into the symbols. They then reinterpret the plain meaning of the text in light of the gnosis. For Gnostics, symbolism is the basis for their doctrine, contrary to the ancient Jewish methods…" 5.
In The Sacred Books of the Jews, Harry Gersh certifies the early origins of Jewish mysticism:
"Jewish mysticism began in Biblical days, long before the term Kabbalah was invented. By the first century it had become a proper subject for scholarly study. Philo Judaeus speculated on the Platonic idea of emanations as intermediaries between God and the physical world. The Roman philosopher Plotinus (205-270) traveled in the East and returned to combine Indian, Persian, Greek, and Jewish mystic theories into a systematic structure of these emanations." 6.
"…H. Loewe, in an article on the Kabbala in Hastings' Encyclopœdia of Religion and Ethics, says: 'This secret mysticism was no late growth. …we can be fairly certain that its roots stretch back very far and that the mediæval and Geonic Kabbala was the culmination and not the inception of Jewish esoteric mysticism. …'" 7.
The Kabbalah derives from ancient wisdom, such as Jacob Prasch mentioned previously.
"As the Kabbalah evolved, it came to share certain ideas with other ancient mystical systems, including those of the Gnostics and Pythagoreans. The Kabbalah did not restrict itself solely to instruction on the apprehension of God but included teachings on cosmology, angelology, and magic." 8
Despite God's many warnings, the Jews incorporated paganism into their traditions.
"… In spite of the imprecations against sorcery contained in the law of Moses, the Jews, disregarding these warnings, caught the contagion and mingled the sacred tradition they had inherited with magical ideas partly borrowed from other races and partly of their own devising. At the same time the speculative side of the Jewish Cabala borrowed from the philosophy of the Persian Magi, of the Neo-Platonists, and of the Neo-Pythagorean. There is, then, some justification for the anti-cabalists contention that what we know today as the Cabala is not of purely Jewish origin." 9.
Harry Gersh shows the migration of the Middle Eastern Kabbalists throughout Europe:
"From Babylonia and Palestine, Jewish mysticism moved into the Jewish communities of Europe and blossomed there. Every community produced its own mystic literature, mystic belief, and mystic practices. There were distinctive Spanish, French, Italian, and German Kabbalahs. Some were mainly 'practical', dealing in magic; others were mainly 'speculative', emphasizing philosophical explanations; many combined practical and speculative Kabbalah in equal parts." 10.
History of Kabbalah
Colin Low's Kabbalah FAQ indicates that the origins of Kabbalah date from remote antiquity.
"…Kabbalah is a mystical and magical tradition which originated nearly two thousand years ago and has been practiced continuously during that time. It has been practiced by Jew and non- Jew alike for about five hundred years. On the Jewish side it has been an integral and influential part of Judaism. On the Hermetic side it has created a rich mystical and magical tradition with its own validity, a tradition which has survived despite the prejudice generated through existing within a strongly Christian culture." 11.
Michael Sidlofsky of Toronto, writing on "Kabbalah and Jewish Renewal" states that Kabbalah...
"…is the most commonly-used term for the Jewish mystical tradition, especially the kind which originated in twelfth-century France and spread through Europe, the Middle East and eventually world-wide, to this day. The two main varieties of pre-kabbalistic Jewish mysticism are called Maaseh Merkavah and Maaseh Bereshit (more on these below), and the particular variety emerging in eighteenth-century Eastern Europe and continuing among Ashkenazic Jews until today is called Hasidism." 12.
Most scholars concur that these secret oral traditions were first committed to writing around the thirteenth century. Dr. Christian Ginsburg states in "The Kabbalah":
"…The first date at which the Zohar is definitely known to have appeared is the end of the thirteenth century when it was committed to writing by a Spanish Jew, Moses de Leon…." 13.
Renaissance scholar Pico della Mirandola - a Gnostic, Hermeticist and Cabalist - was described by Vicomte Léon de Poncins’ in Judaism and the Vatican as a hebraiser of Christians:
"Pico de Mirandola, who died in Florence, Italy in 1494, was a hebraiser who devoted himself to studying the Cabbala under the direction of Jewish masters such as Jehuda Abravanel:
"It was in the princely house of Pico de Mirandola that the Jewish scholars used to meet….The discovery of the Jewish Cabbala, which he imparted to various enlightened Christians contributed far more than the return to Greek sources to the extraordinary spiritual blossoming which is known as the Renaissance. About half a century later, the rehabilitation of the Talmud was to lead to the Reformation….Pico de Mirandola had understood that the indispensable purification of Christian dogma could only be effected after a profound study of the authentic Jewish Cabbala." 14.
James Webb, author of The Occult Underground, wrote that Pico della Mirandola, a student of Marsillo Ficino, founder of the neo-Platonic Academy of Florence, "...conceived of Hermes and Plato as aids to persuading those to religion who would not accept Scripture alone."
"This reasoning appears eventually to have been endorsed by the Church in the case of Pico, who joined to his Hermetism a 'Christian Cabala,' and concocted a universal system in which Cabalistic ideas played a considerable part. Although condemned by a tribunal, Pico's synthesis was rehabilitated in 1493 by Alexander VI, whose recognition of the Cabalist as a loyal son of the Church seemed to give some authority to Pico's position. It should be remembered in this context that Sixtus IV (Pope, 1471-84) had himself translated seventy Cabalistic books into Latin, and that the concept of the 'Christian Cabala' was not peculiar to Italian thought. Reuchlin, the foremost Orientalist of the time, and the author of the first Hebrew grammar, came nearest to success in the attempt to transform the Cabala into Christian philosophy - although his pupil Widmanstadt considered the Jewish tradition as 'a Trojan horse introduced into the Church'. But the Hermeticists and Cabalists of the Renaissance were always maintaining their orthodoxy." 15.
Drach's "De l'Harmonie entre l'Eglise et la Synagogue II," confirms that Pico della Mirandola received instruction in the Kabbala. Pico de Mirandola imagined that it held the doctrines of Christianity and therefore encouraged Pope Sixtus IV to order Latin translations for divinity students. 16.
A reference from the Jewish Encyclopœdia's articles on Cabala and Reuchlin, shows the history of the influx of Cabalism into Catholicism and Christianity.
"At the same time the Cabala was introduced into Germany by Reuchlin, who had learnt Hebrew from the Rabbi Jacob b. Jechiel Loans, court physician to Frederick III, and in 1494 published a Cabalistic treatise De Verbo Mirifico, showing that all wisdom and true philosophy are derived from the Hebrews. Considerable alarm appears, however, to have been created by the spread of Rabbinical literature, and in 1509 a Jew converted to Christianity, named Pfefferkorn, persuaded the Emperor Maximilian I to burn all Jewish books except the Old Testament. Reuchlin, consulted on this matter, advised only the destruction of the Toledot Yeshu and of the Sepher Nizzachon by the Rabbi Lipmann, because these works 'were full of blasphemies against Christ and against the Christian religion,' but urged the preservation of the rest. In this defence of Jewish literature he was supported by the Duke of Bavaria, who appointed him professor at Ingoldstadt, but was strongly condemned by the Dominicans of Cologne. In reply to their attacks Reuchlin launched his defence De Arte Cabalistica, glorifying the Cabala, of which the "central doctrine for him was the Messianology around which all its other doctrines grouped themselves.1." 17.
"His whole philosophical system, as he himself admitted, was in fact entirely Cabalistic, and his views were shared by his contemporary Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim. As a result of these teachings a craze for Cabalism spread amongst Christian prelates, statesmen, and warriors, and a number of Christian thinkers took up the doctrines of the Cabala and 'essayed to work them over in their own way.' Athanasius Kircher and Knorr, Baron von Rosenroth, author of the Kabbala Denudata, in the course of the seventeenth century 'endeavoured to spread the Cabala among the Christians by translating Cabalistic works which they regarded as most ancient wisdom.' 'Most of them,' the Jewish Encyclopœdia goes on to observe derisively, 'held the absurd idea that the Cabala contained proofs of the truth of Christianity…. Much that appears Christian [in the Cabala ] is, in fact, nothing but the logical development of certain ancient esoteric doctrines.2'" 18.
S.L. McGregor Mathers', Introduction to the Kabbalah Unveiled is actually Mathers' English translation of Baron von Rosenroth's Kabbala Denudata, mentioned above. This book was used to propagate the absurdity, as stated in the Jewish Encyclopœdia, of a Christian Cabala. Note the assertion that the Qabalah is the basis of Judaism.
"…At the present time a powerful wave of occult thought is spreading through society; thinking men are beginning to awake to the fact that "there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in their philosophy;" and, last but not least, it is now felt that the Bible, which has been probably more misconstrued than any other book ever written, contains numberless obscure and mysterious passages which are utterly unintelligible without some key wherewith to unlock their meaning. THAT KEY IS GIVEN IN THE QABALAH. Therefore this work should be of interest to every biblical and theological student."
"Let every Christian ask himself this question: "How can I think to understand the Old Testament if I be ignorant of the construction put upon it by that nation whose sacred book it formed; and if I know not the meaning of the Old Testament, how can I expect to understand the New?"
"Were the real and sublime philosophy of the Bible better known, there would be fewer fanatics and sectarians. And who can calculate the vastness of the harm done to impressionable and excitable persons by the bigoted enthusiasts who ever and anon come forward as teachers of the people? How many suicides are the result of religious mania and depression! What farragos of sacrilegious nonsense have not been promulgated as the true meanings of the hooks of the Prophets and the Apocalypse! Given a translation of the sacred Hebrew Book, in many instances incorrect, as the foundation, an inflamed and an ill-balanced mind as the worker thereon, what sort of edifice can be expected as the result?"
"I say fearlessly to the fanatics and bigots of the present day: You have cast down the Sublime and Infinite One from His throne, and in His stead have placed the demon of unbalanced force; you have substituted a deity of disorder and of jealousy for a God of order and of love; you have perverted the teachings of the crucified One. Therefore at this present time an English translation of the Qabalah is almost a necessity, for the Zohar has never before been translated into the language of this country, nor, as far as I am aware, into any modern European vernacular." 19.
Perusing further we see the presentation of a Trinity, alongside other "Christian" statements but it is clearly not Christian in content. The way to heaven is described through the use of Gematria.
"Thus the Qabalah is called ChKMh NSThRH, Chokhmah Nesthorah, 'the secret wisdom;' and if we take the initials of these two words Ch and N, we form by the second kind of Notariqon the word ChN, Chen, 'grace.' Similarly, from the initials and finals of the words MI IOLH LNV HShMIMH, Mi Iaulah Leno Ha-Shamayimah, 'Who shall go up for us to heaven?' (Deut. xxx. 12), are formed MILH, Milah 'circumcision,' and IHVH, the Tetragrammaton, implying that God hath ordained circumcision as the way to heaven." 20.
Gematria is based on the relative numerical values of words. Words of similar numerical values are considered to be explanatory of each other. In other words, it is lettered numerology which explains that circumcision is the way to heaven.
However, Galatians 5:2-6 states: "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love."
Influence of Kabbalah
Mysticism is met with varied reactions within the Jewish community.
"…Like most subjects of Jewish belief, the area of mysticism is wide open to personal interpretation. Some traditional Jews take mysticism very seriously. Mysticism is an integral part of Chasidic Judaism, for example, and passages from kabbalistic sources are routinely included in traditional prayerbooks." 21.
"Other traditional Jews take mysticism with a grain of salt. One prominent Orthodox Jew, when introducing a speaker on the subject of Jewish mysticism, said basically 'it's nonsense, but it's Jewish nonsense, and the study of anything Jewish, even nonsense, is worthwhile.'" 22.
Jewish historian Graetz claimed that the Cabala is at variance with Orthodox Judaism. Other anti-Cabalists such as Theodore Reinach declare that the Cabala is:
"…a subtle poison which enters into the veins of Judaism and wholly infests it.; Salomon Reinach calls it 'one of the worst aberrations of the human mind.'" 23.
Michael Sidlofsky in "Kabbalah-A Brief History" shows that the Kabbalah has fluctuated in its popularity among Jews.
"The history of Jewish mysticism has taken some dramatic turns, from elite, secretive club to mass movement to object of scorn and back and forth. Right now the Kabbalah seems to be enjoying unprecedented popularity. Will it become, either in its Orthodox or Jewish Renewal forms, the Judaism of the future? It is premature to say so, but one thing seems clear: given the trend towards easier and faster mass communication and the increasing hunger for genuine spirituality, Jewish mysticism as a widespread phenomenon is here to stay this time." 24.
Kabbalah is also making a huge influx into North America. Michael Sidlofsky maintains the interest in mysticism has risen dramatically.
"…A more traditional American Orthodox rabbi, Aryeh Kaplan, spent the seventies and early eighties reconstructing the forgotten Jewish meditative tradition by researching long-neglected Kabbalistic texts, many only extant in manuscript. He boldly disregarded the centuries-old rabbinic ban on the dissemination of kabbalistic practices among those under forty and unschooled in Bible and Talmud--a result of the Shabbetai Tzvi tragedy--by teaching Jewish meditation classes and publishing practical manuals and source readers on the subject. Thanks largely to Kaplan's efforts, many Orthodox rabbis and lay people have taught and written about Kabbalah, recognizing its appeal to non-practicing Jews searching for spiritual guidance." 25.
Israeli journalist, Hannah Newman, wrote "Masters of the Blinding Light" to warn fellow Jews of the infiltration of New Age mysticism, via Kabbalah, into Judaism. The door-to-door sale of the Zohar throughout Israel may result in the replacement of the Torah with Kabbalah.
"In a similar development on the mystical side of Judaism, New Age spokesmen applaud orthodox Jewish teachers for recently releasing Kabbalah from the restricted access imposed on it by past generations of Jewish sages, making its teachings available to all, and even encouraging free exploration without rabbinic supervision. In Israel the Zohar (a major Kabbalistic work) is even being sold door-to-door. [This is strictly forbidden under the 'old order' of Judaism, but New Agers are not concerned with proper understanding of the teaching, since Kabbalah is simply one path to their goal of getting as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, into 'contact with the spirit realm']. These teachers are being hailed as 'co-conspirators' who are furthering the NA Plan. [not stated whether deliberately or unknowingly, but the results will be the same.] From the NA standpoint, however, the value of Jewish Kabbalah lies only in its teachings which overlap "the other ancient occult doctrines", specifically: reincarnation; traffic with angels, demons and departed human spirits; 'monism' (light and darkness, good and evil, are all sides of G-d); attributing 'secret messages' or 'hidden meanings' to words or statements which mean something else at face value; self-induced trances, resulting in visions or 'astral' (out-of-body) travels; and harnessing of superhuman powers by pronouncing sacred names. [It is noteworthy that none of these can be supported by a clear (pashat or darash) Torah passage, while some are expressly forbidden; yet they are arguably the best-known elements of Kabbalah today. The fact that they are accepted by so many Torah Jews in spite of their dubious relevance to Torah, only supports the claims of the NA missionaries.] The NA goal is to promote a Kabbalah in the Jewish community which goes through successive 'transformations' until it is finally severed from all links with the Torah, thus 'recovering' its 'purity'." 26.
As Jesus said to the Pharisees: "Your traditions have made the Word of God of none effect"
H. Loewe's article on "The Kabbalah" in Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics declares its impact on modern Judaism:
"[Kabbalism] has contributed to the formation of modern Judaism, for, without the influence of the Kabbala, Judaism today might have been one-sided, lacking in warmth and imagination. Indeed, so deeply has it penetrated into the body of the faith that many ideas and prayers are now immovably rooted in the general body of orthodox doctrine and practice. This element has not only become incorporated, but it has fixed its hold on the affections of the Jews and cannot be eradicated." 27.
What is Kabbalah?
"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." Deut. 29:29
According to "The Kabbalah Unveiled" website, the Kabbalah is esoteric doctrine.
"The Qabalah may be defined as being the esoteric Jewish doctrine. It is called in Hebrew QBLH, Qabalah, which is derived from the root QBL, Qibel, meaning 'to receive'. This appellation refers to the custom of handing down the esoteric tradition by oral transmission, and is nearly allied to 'tradition'." 28.
Another website, "Kabbalah: The Misunderstood Doctrine," discloses that the Talmud alludes to a secret wisdom for an elect group of students.
"The Talmud contains vague hints of a mystical school of thought that was taught only to the most advanced students and was not committed to writing…" 29.
It was Pico della Mirandola's thesis that the secret oral tradition of the Rabbinic sages were no less divinely inspired than the Law given to Moses. Mirandola states that because they were not written they were passed through a 'regular succession of revelations.'
"In exactly the same way, when the true interpretation of the Law according to the command of God, divinely handed down to Moses, was revealed, it was called the Kabbalah, a word which is the same among the Hebrews as `reception' among ourselves; for this reason, of course, that one man from another, by a sort of hereditary right, received that doctrine not through written records but through a regular succession of revelations....In these books principally resides,… the spring of understanding, that is, the ineffable theology of the supersubstantial deity; the fountain of wisdom, that is, the exact metaphysic of the intellectual and angelic forms; and the stream of knowledge, that is, the most steadfast philosophy of natural things." 30.
Gerry Rose, author of The Venetian Takeover of England and Its Creation of Freemasonry presents the fallacy that this Ancient Wisdom was passed down from Moses to the elite disciples and that only the initiated could understand Kabbalah.
"According to tradition '...the Kabbalah was the fount of ancient wisdom that Moses passed down to elite disciples, an esoteric doctrine that only an elect can interpret.'" 31.
"The Authenticity of Kabbalah" ascribes to the Kabbalah the secrets of life which are supposedly hidden in the Torah.
"'The Kabbalah' uncovers many of the infinite layers of the secrets of life, of Creation, of the soul, of the heavenly spheres. It penetrates beyond the garments and the body of the Torah. It is the very core and soul of Torah, the ultimate revelation of Divinity - exposing the inner meaning, effects and purpose of Torah and mitzvot. The illumination emanating from the Kabbalah ignites the soul of man, setting it on fire in the awareness of a deeper and higher reality. Its study and insights are themselves mystical experiences. The Kabbalah is all this - but always and exclusively within the context of Torah." 32.
Moses warned Israel in Deuteronomy 4:2:
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."
Oral Traditions
The term "Qabalah," in Hebrew signifies "reception", or "a doctrine orally received" in which the "speculative, philosophical and theosophical doctrines of Israel are to be found." These doctrines were originally contained in two books, the Sepher Yetzirah and the Zohar". 33.
The first Book, the Sepher Yetzirah is believed to be contemplations of Abraham. This contradicts the view that the oral traditions were taught by God to angels and then transmitted to Adam.
"…The Sepher Yetzirah, or Book of Creation, is [believed to be]… 'a monologue on the part of Abraham in which, by the contemplation of all that is around him, he ultimately arrives at the conclusion of the unity of God'…" 34.
The second and main work of the Kabbalah is called the "Zohar." From Adolphe Franck and other sources, including Zohar treatises, we see slightly different renditions as to how the Zohar was conceived.
"… The immense compilation known as the Sepher-Ha-Zohar, or Book of Light, is… of greater importance to the study of Cabalistic philosophy. According to the Zohar itself, the 'Mysteries of Wisdom' where imparted to Adam by God whilst he was still in the Garden of Eden, in the book delivered by the angel Razael. From Adam the book passed to Seth ...Enoch ...Noah... Abraham, and later to Moses, one of its principal exponents.4. Other Jewish writers declare… that Moses received it…first time on Mount Sinai…to the Seventy Elders… to David and Solomon… Ezra… Nehemiah and finally to the Rabbis of the early Christian era.5" 35.
The Jewish authority on mysticism, Adolphe Franck, and author Drach, relate from Talmud treatises the strange manner in which the secret oral teachings of the Zohar were developed and put into writing.
"…the Zohar had remained a purely oral tradition… written down by the disciples of Simon ben Jochai. The Talmud relates that for twelve years the Rabbi Simon and his son Eliezer concealed themselves in a cavern, where sitting in the sand up to their necks, they meditated on the sacred law and were frequently visited by the prophet Elias.6. In this way, Jewish legend adds, the great book of the Zohar was composed and committed to writing by the Rabbi's son Eliezer and his secretary the Rabbi Abba.7" 36.
According to the Introduction to The Kabbalah Unveiled by McGregor Mathers, who co-founded the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, in 1888 this secret oral tradition of the sages was believed to have been taught by God to angels, who then taught it to fallen humans. Abraham is viewed as a mystic who taught the Egyptians some of their occult doctrine.
"The Qabalah was first taught by God himself to a select company of angels, who formed a theosophic school in Paradise. After the Fall the angels most graciously communicated this heavenly doctrine to the disobedient children of earth, to furnish the protoplasts with the means of returning to their pristine nobility and felicity."
"From Adam it passed over to Noah, and then to Abraham, the friend of God, who emigrated with it to Egypt, where the patriarch allowed a portion of this mysterious doctrine to ooze out. It was in this way that the Egyptians obtained some knowledge of it, and the other Eastern nations could introduce it into their philosophical systems. Moses, who was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, was first initiated into the Qabalah in the land of his birth, but became most proficient in it during his wanderings in the wilderness, when he not only devoted to it the leisure hours of the whole forty years, but received lessons in it from one of the angels. By the aid of this mysterious science the law-giver was enabled to solve the difficulties which arose during his management of the Israelites, in spite of the pilgrimages, wars, and frequent miseries of the nation. He covertly laid down the principles of this secret doctrine in the first four books of the Pentateuch, but withheld them from Deuteronomy. Moses also initiated the seventy elders into the secrets of this doctrine, and they again transmitted them from hand to hand." 37.
Speculative and Practical Kabbalah
Until his death in 1982, Gershom Scholem was a renowned professor of Jewish mysticism at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and was considered the pioneer of the modern study of Jewish mysticism. His many writings explain these concepts in the Talmud, Zohar and the Kabbalah.
In "Zohar, the Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah", Scholem describes the importance and authority of the Zohar to Judaism.
"The book of Zohar, the most important literary work of the Kabbalah, lies before us in some measure inaccessible and silent, as befits a work of secret wisdom…To have determined the formation and development over a long period of time of the religious convictions of the widest circles in Judaism, and particularly of those most sensitive to religion, and, what is more, to have succeeded in establishing itself for three centuries, from about 1500 to 1800, as a source of doctrine and revelation equal in authority to the Bible and Talmud, and of the same canonical rank---this is a prerogative that can be claimed by no other work of Jewish literature." 38.
Gershom Scholem explained the contents of the Zohar, and its various components, including "the Midrash ha-Neelam (The Secret Midrash) and Sitre Torah (Secrets of the Torah), which is a large number of Pentateuch portions…" 39. According to Scholem, the latter is a deeply mystical treatment of the Torah:
"The Secret Midrash…avoids genuinely mystical and theosophical trains of thought…The Secrets of the Torah, on the other hand, which in the main was composed without the use of Midrash form or the addition of names, represents the transition from philosphical-eschatological allegory to genuinely mystical exegesis. The Idra Rabba (The Great Assembly) describes, … the mystical 'figure' of the Deity in the symbol of the Primal Man…" 40.
Scholem expounds the belief that the Zohar, composed of contradictions and folk-tales, is the anonymous work of centuries, "like the Bible" --
".. the Zohar has been regarded…as a work without unity…in which the most varied and often contradictory forces of the kabbalistic movement found expression…Moses de Leon was…regarded as the redactor of ancient writings and fragments…The theory that 'primitive' sources and documents have been preserved in the Zohar..in revised form is today widespread. Thus the Zohar…would really be, even in its external beginnings, a deposit of the creative folk-spirit and, like the Bible and Talmud, the anonymous work of centuries…" 41.
We assert that the Bible, unlike the secret oral traditions and teachings, is neither an anonymous work nor is it comprised of contradictions, myths, or fairytales.
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; That the man of God may be throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. 3:16
"Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever." Psalm 119:160
"Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Prov. 30:5-6
Gershom Scholem states that the "Secret Midrash" writings of the Zohar were in all probability the earliest part of the work. His profile of the Jewish mystic who authored the Kabbalah begins with his education in the Talmud:
"Behind the whole stands the living personality of a mystic who, starting with philosphical and talmudic education of his time, lets himself be ever more deeply drawn to the mystical and gnostic ideas of the Kabbalah, and finally gives up his philisophical interests altogether, developing instead a truly astonishing genius for mystical homiletics…such is the author of these most important parts of the Zohar--no redactor or collector but a homiletic genius. It was Kabbalah, as it had developed before his time, and having become his spiritual home, which he, with unexpected and impressive power, constructed from out of the text of Scripture and the ancient haggadic motifs of the Midrash…" 42.
Out of the Abundance of the Heart
"Ancient haggadic motifs of the Midrash" constructed out of the text of Scripture also comprise an esoteric volume titled, Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis by Robert Graves and Robert Patai. Robert Graves also wrote The White Goddess and I, Claudius. The White Goddess is frequently studied by those involved in the occult and witchcraft. Robert Patai also wrote many books and was Director of Research of the Theodor Herzl Institute in New York and also Director of the Palestine Institute of Folklore and Ethnology. Hebrew Myths states that he was a Biblical scholar.
In a private correspondence, this writer received the following description of the book's thesis that Genesis was a collection of haggadic myths:
"…The premise of the book seems to be that the Bible is a book of myths, very much like the Greek myths. And the authors attempt to show how Hebrew myths and Greek myths are related. In the course of writing about the book of Genesis they quote extensively from writings such as the Talmud, The Gospel of Saint Thomas, Midrash, apocryphal books, pagan myths, the Kabbala and various kabbalistic works, The Book of the Dead, Cave of Treasures, Sepher, Enuma Elish, Sephir Hadar Zeqenim (midrashic explanations to the Bible), Imre Noam, the Koran, Mishna, Massekhet Soferim, Megilla, Mekhilta, Midrash Alphabetot attributed to Rabbi Akiba (second century A.D.) but actually compiled much later, lots of sephers including "Sepher Raziel, a kabbalistic work on the secrets of Heaven, creation, angels, amulets, etc", Sode Raza "a Kabbalistic work by Eleazar ben Judah of Worms,, Targum this and that, the Zohar which the authors say is the 'Bible of the Kabbalists, written by the Spanish Kabbalist Moses de Leon, in Aramaic, during the thirteenth century. It is a commentary on the Bible, pseudepigraphically attributed to Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai, the famous Mishna-teacher. First printed at Mantua, 1558-60, in three volumes.' and other Zohars…." 43.
The authors of Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis also suggest that there are missing sacred documents which contain a more accurate record of creation than Genesis:
"The book's authors write that 'All pre-Biblical sacred documents in Hebrew have been either lost or purposely suppressed...Post-Biblical sacred documents are abundant. In the thousand years after the Bible was first canonised, the Jews of Europe, Asia and Africa wrote prolifically. Theirs were either attempts to clarify the Mosaic Law; or historical, moralistic, anecdotal and homiletic comments on Biblical passages.... although the canonical books were regarded as written by divine inspiration and the least taint of polytheism had therefore to be exorcised from them, the apocryphal books were treated more leniently. Many suppressed myths were also allowed to re-emerge in the unquestionably orthodox context of the post-Biblical midrashim.... Lilith, Eve's predecessor, has been wholly exorcised from Scripture, though she is remembered by Isaiah as inhabiting desolate ruins [but not in the King James Version, only in some modern versions]. She seems, from midrashic accounts of her sexual promiscuity, to have been a fertility goddess..."
"So, it seems that these two authors have used these Kabbalistic writings to make their case that the Bible is a book of myths and in quoting from these writings they reveal to the reader just how low-down and wicked the writers of the Kabbala and the Midrashim, etc. were. And so I wonder how anyone who has read this awful stuff would want to urge others to read it and give it respectablitiy." 44.
In "An Explanation of Midrash", Jacob Prasch states: "A classical work of Midrash in Judaism is the Midrash Rabba on Genesis (Berashith). Another is Lamentations Rabba". Prasch also upholds the Talmud as authoritative for understanding the Bible, i.e. "The Talmud tells us there are multiple interpretations" and "It takes the wisdom of the ancients to really understand these things...not the wisdom of the 16th century, but the wisdom of the first century." 45.
In another article, Mr. Prasch states that the Midrash of the Jewish sages at the time of the second temple period is wisdom Christians can turn to with full confidence since these sages never deny the authenticity of the Biblical accounts.
"We have, along this line, advocated that Christians familiarize themselves with the works of those who have understood this from Alfred Edersheim to Arnold Fruchtenbaum. We have also tried to re-acquaint the church with the lost art of Jewish hermeneutics in terms of New Testament uses of Midrash, and the illustrative Hebraic models of typology and allegory … What is perhaps most absurd is the fact that contrary to both New Testament Christianity and Orthodox Judaism… In the Judaic midrashim we similarly never see a denial of the historical authenticity of biblical accounts.
"…any early examples of Judaic Midrash... It is these early examples of rabbinic midrashic writings that are closest in time frame to the authorship date of the New Testament. Having looked at New Testament narrative from a Midrashic perspective for years and read every major Christian scholar who addressed the subject …" 46.
Are we to understand that Mr. Prasch is referring to the same Genesis Midrash and Talmud referenced by Graves and Patai's Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis? Our correspondent continues to be amazed that the teachers of the Hebrew Roots of Christianity would promote such works:
"What I find interesting is that the excerpts from these sources are so wicked. The 'fleshing out of the Bible' that is done by these writings not only have many variations but have the persons written about in the Bible doing very evil things that we have never read about in the Bible. And God is written about as saying and doing all sorts of things that are out of character and never written about in the Bible. Very evil motives and actions are attributed to God in these writings. I am not surprised that the authors of this book who obviously do not believe the Bible is truthful would make their case using such writings, but I am perplexed that many of the Hebrew Roots people who claim to be Christians would also be using these wicked writings. 47.
Peter Michas informs us further that Jesus quoted the Midrashim and the Talmud, apparently with approval:
"… The New Testament is in the pattern of the Jewish traditional work of Torah, Mishnah, Haggadah, Halakah, Talmud and Midrash, but inspired by God Himself for the common people. These Hebraic works as well as the Inspired Scriptures were quoted from by Jesus and all the writers of the New Testament. But even now, to have full comprehension, we must read the scriptures in the proper Hebraic context…Most all of the Judaic writings have been preserved for us and now translated into proper English directly from the Hebrew…" 48.
Avi ben Moredechai also references the Oral law, separate and distinct from the written Bible, as having been taught by Paul and Jesus:
"Rabbi (Haham) Sha’ul was a scholarly teacher of Torah, both of the Oral and Written codes. Not only did he order his life by it, but he also taught it to others, born Jews and born Gentiles alike. Since Sha’ul followed Messiah Y’shua, who also taught the Oral and Written Torah, I submit (at this time in my life) that we should be following in the footsteps of Judaism’s great teachers of G-d’s Law… I also recognize that our Rabbi Y’shua also had His Gemara (discussion and teaching) on the rabbinic Mishnah and the written code of Sinai. Thus, we are His talmidim or students of His Oral Traditions which is the proper definition of the term 'Gospel.' We are to follow His Mishnah and Gemara, i.e., His Talmud…ancient scholars and sages were far more knowledgeable on the Oral Traditions than we could ever hope to be." 49.
From Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis, Genesis Rabba and folios from the Talmud and Midrash are cited excerpts regarding Adam's bestiality, the myth of Lilith and other unscriptural teachings. (cf. Part IV)
Chapter 10
"(b) Some say that God created man a woman in His own image on the Sixth Day, giving them charge over the world, [as in the Bible] but that Eve did not yet exist. Now, God had set Adam to name every beast, bird and other living thing. When they passed before him in pairs, male and female, Adam-- being already like a twenty-year-old man-- felt jealous of their loves, and though he tried coupling with each female in turn, found no satisfaction in the act. He therefore cried: 'Every creature but I has a proper mate', and prayed God would remedy this injustice. from Gen. Rab. 17-4; B. Yebamot 63a"
"(c) God then formed Lilith, the first woman, just as He had formed Adam, except that He used filth and sediment instead of pure dust. From Adam's union with this demoness, and with another like her named Naamah, Tubal Cain's sister, sprang Asmodeus and innumerable demons that still plague mankind. Many generations late, Lilith and Naamah came to Solomon's judgment seat, disguised as harlots of Jerusalem. from Yalqut Reubeni ad. Gen. II 21: IV. 8
"Then Lilith deserts Adam because she didn't want to lie beneath him during sex because she was his equal. Adam complained to God who sent angels after her. They found her beside the Red Sea where she had been bearing demons (more than 100 a day) The angels told her to return to Adam or they would drown her. She argues with them and tells them that God has ordered her to strangle babies . She also seduces dreaming men. Then God makes Adam another mate but Adam is disgusted by the sight of her creation. God knew that he had failed once more, and took First Eve away. (God failed?) God tried a third time, and made her out of Adam's rib, braided her hair and adorned her with 24 pieces of jewellery before waking Adam up. Adam approved. Gen Rab 161"
"Some say God created Eve from a tail ending in a sting which had been part of Adam's body . God cut this off, and the stump-- now a useless coccyx-- is still carried by men. Gen Rab 134 B. Erubin 18a "
"Others say that God's original thought had been to create two human beings, male and female; but instead He designed a single one with a male face looking forward, and a female face looking back. B. Erubin 18a"
"Still others hold that Adam was originally created as an androgyne of male and female bodies joined back to back. This made walking difficult and conversation awkward, so God divided the androgyne, and gave each half a new rear. These separate beings He placed in Eden, forbidding them to couple. Gen Rab 55 Lev Rab 14.1 and other sources" 50.
Are teachers of the Hebrew Roots of Christianity really saying that these writings do not contradict the Word of God?
Well does Matthew 7:15-20 warn: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
Kabbalah Initiation
All Scripture Quotes From the King James Bible
Footnotes
1. Jewish Encyclopœdia, article on Cabala; as Cited in Nesta H. Webster, op.cit., p.29.
2. Matter, Histoire du Gnosticisme,I.44, (1844)a s Cited: Webster, Ibid. p.28.
3. D. F. Ranking; Some Notes on Various Gnostic Sects and their Possible Influence in Freemasonry,republished from Ars Quatuor Coronatorum (Vol. XXIV, p. 202, 1911) in pamphlet form, p.7.; as Cited Webster, Ibid. Pg. 32
4. Nesta H. Webster; op. cit. p. 29.
5. Jacob Prasch, Explaining the Midrash; www.cw.co.za/moriel/midrash.html
6. Harry Gersh "The Sacred Books of the Jews," http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
7. Webster, op.cit., p.10
8. Ancient Wisdom and Secret Sects ; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
9. Webster; op.cit., p.11
10. Harry Gersh, The Sacred Books of the Jews
11. Kabbalah Faq, Colin Low, 1996; www.digital-brilliance.com/kab/faq.htm
12. Michael Sidlofsky, Kabbalah-A Brief History; www.shamash.org/kavannah/kabbalah.html
13. Dr. Christian Ginsburg, The Kabbalah,pp.172,173; as Cited in Webster, Ibid., p. 9.
14. Joshua Jehuda, L’antisemitisme, Miroir du Monde ["Anti-Semitism, Mirror of the World"-p. 164]
15. James Webb, The Occult Underground, Open Court Press, 1976, p. 221.
16. Drach (De l'Harmonie entre l'Eglise et la Synagogue,II.p.30) says that Picco della Mirando paid a Jew 7000 ducats for the Cabalistic MSS. from which he drew his thesis.; Webster,op.cit.,p.85]
17. (1)-Jewish Encyclopœdia, articles on Cabala and Reuchlin;Webster,op.cit.p.86
18. (2)-Jewish Encyclopœdia.,article on Cabala; Webster,op.cit.p.86
19. Introduction To Kabbalah Unveiled By S.L. McGregor Mathers; www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html ]
20. Introduction To Kabbalah Unveiled By S.L. McGregor Mathers; www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html ]
21. Kabbalah: The Misunderstood Doctrine; http://baptist1.com/judaism/kabbalah.htm
22. Ibid.
23. Vulliaud,p. 20, quoting Theodore Reinach, Historie des Israelites,p.221 and Salomon Reinach, Orpheus, p. 299. As Cited in Webster, p.9]
24. Michael Sidlofsky, Kabbalah-A Brief History; www.shamash.org/kavannah/kabbalah.html
25. Michael Sidlofsky, Kabbalah-A Brief History; www.shamash.org/kavannah/kabbalah.html
26. Hannah Newman; "Masters of the Blinding Light," http://www.ovrlnd.com/Cults/exposeofthenewage.html
27. Hastings' Encyclopœdia of Religion and Ethics; article on the Kabbala by H. Loewe; Webster,op.cit.,p.374
28. The Kabbalah Unveiled; www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
29. Kabbalah: The Misunderstood Doctrine; http://baptist1.com/judaism/kabbalah.htm
30. Pico della Mirandola ; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
31. Gerry Rose ,"The Venetian Takeover of England and Its Creation of Freemasonry" http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
32. "The Authenticity of Kabbalah"; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
33. Nesta H. Webster; p.7, Secret Societies and Subversive Movements, Omni Publications, Eighth edition, 1964.
34. Ibid, p.7.
35. (4). Zohar, section Bereschith, folio 55 and section Lekh-Lekha, folio 76 (de Pauly's trans., Vol. I pp.431, 446; 5. Adolphe Franck, La Kabbale, p. 39; J.P. Stehelin, The Traditions of the Jews, I. 145 (1748); as Cited in Webster, Ibid., p. 8.
36. (6). Adolphe Franck, op.cit.,p.68, quoting Talmud treatise Sabbath folio 34; Dr. Christian Ginsburg, The Kabbalah, p. 85; Drach, De l' Harmonie entre l'Eglise et la Synagogue, I. 457; 7. Adolphe Franck, op.cit., p. 69; as Cited in Webster, Ibid., p. 8.
37. McGregor Mathers, Introduction to The Kabbalah Unveiled www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
38. Gershom Scholem, Zohar, the Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah, p. vii
39. Ibid., p. xi
40. Ibid., p. xii
41. Ibid., p. xiii
42. Ibid., p. xv-xvi
43. Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis by Robert Graves and Raphael Patai. 1964 Doubleday and Co., Inc. It is copyrighted 1963; private email correspondence, Feb2, 199 re:Hebrew Myths
44. Ibid.
45. Jacob Prasch, Explaining the Midrash; www.cw.co.za/moriel/midrash.html
46. Jacob Prasch; Satans Seduction of the Hebrew Root Movement
47. Private email correspondence, Feb 2, 199 re:Hebrew Myths
48. Peter Michas, http://www.ez/com/~peterm/HB.GK.RF.HTML
49. Avi ben Mordechai, Halacha, www.millenium7000.com/halacha.htm
50. Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis, Robert Graves and Raphael Patai.; Ch10,p. 65; Doubleday and Co., Inc. 1964 It is copyrighted 1963.
Hebrew Roots Intiation
KABBALAH INITIATION
Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it:
but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing. Deut. 7:26
The fact that a prominent Sephardic Jew like Avi ben Mordechai teaches the mysticism of the Kabbalah along with preaching the gospel should impress us that the the Kabbalah and kabbalizing of Christianity is not past history -- but a present day reality. Were it not for the propagation of this esoteric doctrine through the various media - although it is still regarded as "secret" - this writer would not have accessed so much information so easily. Make no mistake, the information that is promulgated is not all that Kabbalah contains, nor are lay people receiving all the information or plans for them that reside within the inner circle of adepts. The Kabbalah is being disseminated for a purpose.
Benjamin Creme wrote in The Reappearance of the Christ & The Masters of Wisdom:
"Through the Masonic initiation and certain esoteric groups will come the process of initiation. In this coming age millions of people will take the first and second initiation through these transformed and purified institutions." 1.
Initiation: Human and Solar, by Alice Bailey, reveals the plan for universal initiation within the established churches:
"Before many centuries pass, the old mysteries will be restored, and an inner body will exist in the church - the church period of which the nucleus is already forming - wherein the first initiation will become exoteric, in this sense only, that the taking of the first initiation will, before very long, be the most sacred ceremony of the Church performed exoterically as one of the mysteries given at stated periods, attended by those concerned." 2.
Early Initiation
Many references and teachings in the Talmud are also found in the Kabbalah. Some claim that one really has nothing to do with the other or that there is no problem with either. Moreover, it is maintained that since Kabbalah was considered a "secret oral wisdom" (and still is) that pre-initiates must attain a certain age before studying it.
At one time there was a great controversy over the study of the Kabbalah, although it was taught regularly with certain restrictions. There had been, "…the centuries-old rabbinic ban on the dissemination of kabbalistic practices among those under forty and unschooled in Bible and Talmud-…" 3.
Other Jewish writers confirm these statements.
"…Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, were traditionally not even taught to people until the age of 40, when they had completed their education in Torah and Talmud." 4.
Colin Low states that many of the adepts started at an early age:
"…Kabbalist R. Isaac Luria (1534-1572), began the study of Kabbalah at the age of seventeen and died at the age of thirty-eight! His equally famous contemporary R. Moses Cordovero (1522-1570) began at the age of twenty…" 5.
Mr. Low explains that the age restriction was not widespread, but required by the Ashkenazic Jews. Sephardic Jews, however, did not hold to this view.
"….This prohibition has come from Ashkenazic (East European) Jews and has never applied to Sepharidic (Middle Eastern) Jews. The historical basis for the 'rule' comes from opponents of Kabbalah within Judaism who (successfully) attempted to restrict its study. At the root of this was the heresy of false messiah Shabbatai Tzevi (17th. C) which resulted in large numbers of Jews leaving the orthodox fold…" 6.
In a 1996 article, Colin Low cited the Rabbi Ariel Bar-Zadok, an Orthodox Sephardic Jew (like Avi ben Mordechai) who declared his support of the lower age:
" …I am not sympathetic to anything that is not pure, authoritative Kabbalah. Remember, Kabbalah means 'to receive'. I am an Orthodox Sephardic Rabbi, ordained in Jerusalem. I teach only from the true texts,… By the way, according to the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabi Ovadiah Yosef (Yehaveh Da'at 4,47) quoting Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, one only has to be 20 years old to study Kabbala, and not 40. THIS IS THE HALAKHA!!" 7.
The term halakha, previously discussed in Part 2 of this series, refers to the "Way or Path".
"Halacha means 'Way' or 'Path.' Halacha is the application of the Law (Torah) to everyday living. The traditional viewpoint is that Halacha should be decided by those who are most knowledgeable in all aspects of Jewish law. Since the Halacha of each generation is decided by its greatest Torah scholars, and the Torah doesn't change, there is usually little change in the Halacha from one generation to the next. " 8.
From Talmud to Kabbalah
The connection between the Talmudic teachings and the Kabbalah is confirmed in the "Hypertext Halacha" of Project Genesis, which is disseminated by Orthodox Jews, and also linked to such Hebrew Roots sites as Larry Rowland's Messengers of Truth. 9. For example, in the meticulous instructions regarding women's hair we read from the Mishnah:
"Siman75. One should be careful about [a woman's] uncovered hair and a woman's [singing] voice when reading the Shema, and also not to read it in the presence of nakedness." 10.
Many paragraphs later in this same Siman in the Mishnah of the Talmud is a reference from the Zohar giving more detailed instructions.
MB 14: Pokes out etc. - He means to say that apart from a hat on her head she has a hairband which is a piece of material that binds the hair together tightly so that it does not come out; and it this small amount of hair that is impossible to contain and pokes out of the hairband on which the Rashboh is lenient (Chasam Sofer Siman 36 see there).
The Zohar [a mystical commentary on the Torah of Mishnaic origin, compiled by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai] on Sidra Noso is extremely strict that not one hair of a woman should be visible as 'it brings poverty on her household, renders her children of no account in their generation and causes an evil spirit to abide on her house. And all the more so [does this apply] if she goes like this in public. Therefore we require that a woman should not permit even the beams of her house to see one hair of her head. And if she conducts herself thus, then it is written [in Psalms] 'your children [shall be] like olive plants' - just as the olive [does not shed its leaves either in winter or summer but always retains its superiority over other trees, so] her children will excel over all other children; her husband will, moreover, receive blessings from above and from below, will be blessed with riches, with children and children's children'. This is a brief version of the words of the Zohar. And the Magen Avrohom writes that one should conduct oneself according to the Zohar. And in Tractate Yoma they mention a particular woman who merited by her extreme modesty, in that the beams of her house did not see [any of her hair], that [seven] High Priests descended from her. " 11.
In Jewish Mystical Traditions, Zos Imos explains the student's transition from Talmudic "haggadah" to very potent mystical experiences, which spread like a revival "fire" throughout the Diaspora and led to development of the Kabbalah:
"…The study of these mysterious visions and symbols, according to the Talmudic *haggadah* or commentary on the 'tellings' or narratives of the Tanak (sacred scriptures), tells of the descent of this same 'fire' on the expositor of the prophetic scrolls when in a holy state of contemplation. In contrast, such meditation could lead to an 'ascent' (in imitation of Elijah) which could lead astray the unprepared, but could, as in the case of R. Akiva, lead to ascent and descent in 'perfect peace' (Scholem, 1991)."
"This journey of the sage through the higher realms (often seven levels) was guided by prayer, fasting and the recitation of sacred psalms. It also required the knowledge of the various 'names of the angels' so that a 'seal' or incantation could be said to facilitate the journey (Wald, 1988). The apex of this ascent is a vision of the Throne of Glory and thereby *kedushah* or 'sanctification' by the Divine Presence. Yet, this Presence remains something apart, a reality so Holy that the vision of its presence was the highest sanctification, so that man and G-D remain distinct, and the vision of the *sar ha-panim* 'prince of the divine face' was supreme blessing. This was symbolized as the *kavod* or Glory of G-D. This early development was then carried throughout the Diaspora to Jewish communities far and wide. By the 10th century, the *Sefer Yezirah (1987)* had been composed, that mystic guide to all Jewish contemplatives for over the last thousand years. In this book we find mention of the Ten Sefirot, the 'Book of Creation' where the paths of wisdom and the '22 elemental letters' give the sage access to divine knowledge. This work, along with the Merkabah tradition set the stage for the emergence of a full-blown meditative tradition known as Kabbalah (Bischoff, 1985; Verman, 1992)…" 12.
I John 4:12 states that "No man hath seen God at any time…" Whom then did the initiates visit in their ascent to the Throne of Glory. The "prince of the divine face" may have been the prince of the power of the air or Lucifer himself.
The term the Talmudic *haggadah* stated above is noteworthy. According to Hyam Maccoby:
"The Haggada (found mainly in the Midrash) is the poetical side of Pharisaism, and comprises folktales, parables, quaint fancies and metaphysical speculations." 13.
Peter Michas claims the New Testament is similar to the traditional Halakah and Haggada writings mentioned above:
"…The New Testament is in the pattern of the Jewish traditional work of Torah, Mishnah, Haggadah, Halakah, Talmud and Midrash, but inspired by God Himself for the common people." 14.
The Merkabah, also mentioned above, is a reference to the Mystics who were the precursors of the medieval Qabalists, and who worked with planetary powers, i.e. astrology. 15. On The Kabbalah And Its Symbolism, by Gershom Scholem, explains a portion of the ritual of the Kabbalists and the Merkabah mystics thus:
"… In line with the general principles here set forth, the Kaballists strove from the very first to anchor the ritual of Rabbinical Judaism in myth by means of a mystical practice. The first attempts applied primarily to the liturgy and everything connected with it. The ecstatic rites, by which the early Jewish merkabah mystics of Talmudic times effected the ascent of the soul to God, were replaced, through the medium of kavvanah, by the ritual of prayer, which soon revealed dangers and abysses unsuspected by the naive worshiper." 16.
Scripture tell us that none have seen God, or ascended to Heaven, except Jesus Christ: "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." John 3:13
1 Timothy 6:16 refers the seeker of God to Jesus Christ: "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen."
In spite of the extreme spiritual danger that is lying in wait for students of Midrash, the Talmud, the Haggadah, etc., students of Peter Michas and other Hebraic Roots leaders are urged to study these very books. Surely the Hebraic Roots leadership knows that these studies are stepping stones into mysticism and practical occultism.
Kabbalist Colin Low asserts that by the 12th century, the doctrine of the "sephiroth", or the esoteric view of the way which God manifests, was established and that this secret doctrine is almost identical to that which is taught today.
"By the early middle ages further, more theosophical developments had taken place, chiefly a description of 'processes' within God, and a highly esoteric view of creation as a process in which God manifests in a series of emanations. This doctrine of the 'sephiroth' can be found in a rudimentary form in the Yetzirah, but by the time of the publication of the book Bahir (12th century) it had reached a form not too different from the form it takes today." 17.
The secret doctrines of the Qabalah obviously violates God's commandment:
"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord…" Deut. 18:10-12a
Adam Kadmon
Avi ben Mordechai, who is promoted by James Trimm of SANJ and other Hebrew Roots leaders, goes so far as to teach to the Kabbalist "sefirot" as a means of Grace:
"… But, there is something more in the use of the word Grace in that it ties in powerfully with a teaching in Judaism called Torat HaSod which is describing an emanated attribute of G-d called Tiferet which is part of something else called the lower Seven Sefirot of Adam Kadmon." 18.
The Tiferet and the Seven Sefirot of Adam Kadmon mentioned by Avi ben Mordechai are, of course, in reference to Talmudic and Kabbalistic teachings. In order to understand and support those teachings, one would have to be involved in the teachings of Jewish Mysticism - the Kabbalah and the occult.
Gershom Scholem connects the Sefirot with the Merkabah, which was the hidden and transcendent "world of the archetypes" -- archetype meaning "the original pattern or model of which all things are representations or copies":
"…and when these ten sefiroth were made manifest, something corresponding to that supreme form became visible in every other creature, as is it is written: [Job 8:9]: 'Our days upon earth are a shadow' -- meaning: our days are a mere shadow of the transcendence of the 'primordial days'-- and all created being, earthly man and all of the creatures in this world, exist according to the archetype [dugma] of the ten sefiroth."
"In the language of the Kaballists this world of the archetypes is often called the merkabah, the chariot of God, …every detail in the ritual of the Torah is connected with a particular part of the merkabah. These 'parts,' to be sure, form a mysterious organism. 'Every commandment has a high principle and a secret foundation, which can be derived from no commandment other than this particular one, which alone contains these mysteries; but just as God is one, so all the commandments together form one power -- that of infinite divine life.
"The Torah as the totality of these commandments is rooted in this divine world, the pleroma of the sefiroth…" 19.
In his Introduction to Kabbalah Unveiled, McGregor Mathers states that the unity of the ten sefirot represent the Adam Kadmon.
"In their totality and unity the ten Sephiroth represent the archetypal man, ADM QDMVN, Adam Qadmon, the Protogonos. In looking to the Sephiroth constituting the first triad, it is evident that they represent the intellect; and hence this triad is called the intellectual world, OVLM MVShKL, Olahm Mevshekal. The second triad corresponds to the moral world, OVLM MVRGSh, Olahm Morgash. The third represents power and stability, and is therefore called the material world, OVLM HMVTBO, Olahm Ha-Mevetbau. These three aspects are called the faces, ANPIN, Anpin. Thus is the tree of life, OTz ChIIM, Otz Chiim, formed; the first triad being placed above, the second and third below, in such a manner that the three masculine Sephiroth are on the right, three feminine on the left, whilst the four uniting Sephiroth occupy the center. This is the qabalistical Tree of Life, on which all things depend. There is considerable analogy between this and the tree Yggdrasil of the Scandinavians." 20.
The Adam Kadmon referred to by Avi ben Mordechai is the kabbalistic teaching of the "Primordial Man". The ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HASIDISM defines Primordial Man as physical Adam made in the image of the spiritual Adam, a concept which expresses the occult principle "as above, so below."
"Primordial Man. The early mystics inferred from Genesis 1:26 - 'Let us make man in our image' - that the physical Adam was created on the pattern of a spiritual Adam that existed in the celestial world. (cf. also Ezekiel 1:26 - 'the likeness as the appearance of a man') This became part of the later mystical view of the cosmos in which everything on earth had its counterpart of the realm of the Godhead." 21.
On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, by Gershom Scholem, identifies the god of the sefiroth as Adam Kadmon, the First Man. Referring to the sefiroth, he explains the involved symbolism which leads to the delusion that God is man and man is incipient God.
"But nowhere, I believe, is the mythical content more evident than in the symbolism which identifies this God of the sefiroth with man in his purest form, Adam Kadmon, Primordial Man. Here the God who can be apprehended by man is himself the First Man. The great name of God in His creative unfolding is Adam, as the Kabbalists declared on the strength of a gematria, or numerical equation (isopsephism),… The Bahir had spoken of the 'seven holy forms of God,' each corresponding to a part of the human body. From here it was only a short step to Adam Kadmon, a conception from which the anthropomorphic and mythical view of God never ceased to draw new justification... The esoteric thinking of the Zohar …is wholly concerned with the primordial world of man, as creature and as the increate Adam Kadmon. For this secret world of the Godhead manifested in the symbol of man is both at once; it is the world of the 'inner' man, but also the realm which opens up only to the contemplation of the believer and which the Zohar terms the 'secret of faith,' raza de-mehemanutha." 22.
Adam Kadmon is also referred to as lights emanating from the ears, mouth and nose of the Primordial Man, or God.
"In the pleroma arise the archetypes of all being, the forms, determined by the structure of the sefiroth, of Adam Kadmon, of the creator God who takes a hand in Creation…. From the ears, the mouth, and the nose of the Primordial Man burst forth lights which produce deeply hidden configurations, states of being and inner worlds beyond the penetration of the human mind, even in meditation. But the central plan of Creation originates in the lights which shine in strange refraction from the eyes of Adam Kadmon. For the vessels which, themselves consisting of lower mixtures of light, were designed to receive this mighty light of the sefiroth from his eyes and so to serve as vessels and instruments of Creation…." 23.
The Adam Kadmon is also described as having "five faces".
"…In five figures, or configurations, which Luria calls partsufim, 'faces' of God or of Adam Kadmon, Primordial man is reconstructed in the world of tikkun. These five faces are 'arikh, 'Long-suffering'; the Father; the Mother; the ze' ir' anpin, 'Impatient'; and his feminine complement, the Shekhinah..." 24
Androgynous Deity?
Kabbalists teach that God is masculine and feminine, and that when speaking of 'man' they are always referring to two faces. Adam Kadmon is androgynous, according to the Kabbalah interpretation of verses in Genesis -- "male and female created he them" -- as cited in Blavatsky's Theosophical Glossary and in The Secret Doctrine:
"Adam, as the supposed great 'Progenitor of the human race' is, as Adam-Kadmon, made in the image of God - a priapic image, therefore. The Hebrew words Zãkhãr and Nëqebãh are, literally translated, linga (phallus) and yoni, notwithstanding their transliteration in the Bible as 'male and female.' As said there: 'God creates 'Man in his own image'...in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them,' *the androgyne Adam-Kadmon. Now this Kabbalistic name is not that of a living man, nor even of a human or divine Being, but of the two sexes or organs of procreation, called in Hebrew Zãkhãr and nëqebãh; these two being, therefore, the image under which the 'Lord God' appeared usually to his chosen people. That this is so, is now undeniably proven by almost all the symbologists and Hebrew scholars as well as by the Kabala. Therefore Adam is in one sense Jehovah." (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. II, p. 467) 25.
In his book, The Rod of an Almond Tree in God's Master Plan, Peter Michas states that Adam as he was first created contained a balance of male and female.
"Adam was created as a whole being, complete in form, containing a balance of male-female and a balance of logic-emotion." 26.
Mr. Michas then mentions two Adams, "Then God separated from Adam another Adam as a helpmate (Genesis 2:2-22; Genesis 5:2)." 27.
This is reminiscent of the concept of the Hasidic Adam in the phsyical realm whose spiritual counterpart Adam-Kadmon inhabited the celestial realm. "As above, so below" is the esoteric philosophy which implies a correspondence between the forces of nature and the movement of the stars in the celestial realm. The ancient mystery religions viewed the cosmos as being bound together in perfect duality with the earth. It may be that Peter learned the concept of occult correspondence through the Hasidic Chabbad Lubavich, where he studied the Hebrew Roots of Christianity, as stated in the Preface of his book:
"I ended up going into a place call Chabbad House which was run by the Lubavich, the ultra-orthodox rabbis. This was the beginning of my education in the Hebraic roots of the Bible. As my knowledge of the Hebraic context of Scripture grew, my God was being revealed to me in ways that cannot even be explained. I realize that if God had not preserved the Jewish people and their books (including the Bible), most spiritual truth and surely all of the culture of Scripture would have been lost to tradtions of men." 28.
Returning to Peter's account of Creation, the reason for the Fall is explained as a lack of male/female unity:
"Adam named her Eve and they were designed to work together as one complete being... Because Adam and Eve failed to act as a unit, they became vulnerable and succumbed to darkness and disobedience to God." 29.
Every student of Scripture knows that in the Genesis account, God did not fault Adam and Eve for failing to "act as a unit" but precisely for their unity in rebellion against Him. However, Jacob Boehme, whose contribution to theosophy is universally recognized, repopularized the theory that the androgynous primal Adam experienced an internal rebellion, the feminine against the masculine...
"The Judeo-Christian myth and theology of the androgyny of the primal man were successfully reinterpreted and revalorized by Jakob Boehme (1575-1624). For this great mystic and theosophist, Adam's sleep represents the first fall: Adam separated himself from the divine world and 'imagined himself' immersed in nature, by which act he lowered himself and became earthly. The appearance of the sexes is a direct consequence of this first fall...Another fundamental idea of Boehme, Gichtel, and other theosophists was that Sophia, the divine virgin, was originally part of the primal man. When he attempted to dominate her, the virgin separated herself from him." 30.
All of history is viewed by the esoteric schools as the return of mankind to the condition of Adam-Kadmon -- the perfect androgynous state. As the archetype of Adam-Kadmon, so is the concept of male and female being one soul -- it is taught that each soul and spirit start as a united male/female, which splits, and when a couple unites in marriage, it is the reuniting of that male/female soul.
From The Hebrew Zohar, we see the Kabbalah concept of androgyny:
"Each soul and spirit prior to its entering into this world, consists of a male and female united into one being. When it descends on this earth the two parts separate and animate two different bodies. At the time of marriage, the Holy One, blessed be He, who knows all souls and spirits, unites them again as they were before, and they again constitute one body and one soul, forming as it were the right and left of one individual." 31.
Gershom Scholem stated in Zohar the Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah:
"It behooves a man to be 'male and female', always, so that his faith may remain stable, and in order that the Presence may never leave him." 32.
The Kabbalah Unveiled explains the androgyne teaching by referring to the unification of the masculine and feminine side of God.
"And when They are conjoined together, They appear to be only one body.
"Hence we learn that the Masculine, taken alone appeareth to be only half the body, so that all the mercies are half; and thus also is it with the Feminine. 'But when They are joined together, the (two together) appear to form only one whole body. And it is so.' So also here. When the Male is joined with the Female, They both constitute one complete body, and all the Universe is in a state of happiness, because all things receive blessing from Their perfect body. And this is an Arcanum." 33.
McGregor Mathers' Introduction to Kabbalah Unveiled states: "41. Now, we find that before the Deity conformed Himself thus, i.e., as male and female that the worlds of the universe could not subsist…" 34.
Mathers explains that the Sephiroth contain the development and attributes of God, with some being male while other are female. The Holy Spirit is referred to as Ruach or the Spirit meaning "feminine" or Mother." Kabbalists believe that it was the union of the Father (masculine) and Mother (feminine) union of God that "begat the Son".
"Among these Sephiroth, jointly and severally, we find the development of the persons and attributes of God. Of these some are male and some are female. Now, for some reason or other best known to themselves, the translators of the Bible have carefully crowded out of existence and smothered up every reference to the fact that the Deity is both masculine and feminine. They have translated a feminine plural by a masculine singular in the case of the word Elohim. They have, however, left an inadvertent admission of their knowledge that it was plural in Gen. iv. 26; 'And Elohim said: Let Us make man.' Again (v. 27), how could Adam be made in the image of the Elohim, male and female, unless the Elohim were male and female also? The word Elohim is a plural formed from the feminine singular ALH, Eloh, by adding IM to the word. But inasmuch as IM is usually the termination of the masculine plural, and is here added to a feminine noun, it gives the word Elohim the sense of a female potency united to a masculine idea, and thereby capable of producing an offspring. Now, we hear much of the Father and Son, but we hear nothing of the Mother in the ordinary religions of the day. But in the Qabalah we find that the Ancient of Days conforms Himself simultaneously into the Father and the Mother, and thus begets the Son. Now, this Mother is Elohim. Again, we are usually told that the Holy Spirit is masculine. But the word RVCh, Ruach, Spirit, is feminine, as appears from the following passage of the Sepher Yetzirah: 'AChTh RVCh ALHIM ChIIM, Achath (feminine, not Achad, masculine) Ruach Elohim Chiim: One is She the Spirit of the Elohim of Life.'" 35.
The Sefirot
We turn again to McGregor Mathers for an introduction to the very important Sefirot of the Kabbalah and "Tree of Life".
"39. I must now explain the real meaning of the terms Sephira and Sephiroth. The first is singular, the second is plural. The best rendering of the word is "numerical emanation." There are ten sephiroth, which are the most abstract forms of the ten numbers of the decimal scale, i.e., the abstract forms of the ten numbers 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Therefore, as in the higher mathematics we reason of numbers in their abstract senses, so in the Qabalah we reason of the Deity by the abstract forms of the numbers; in other words, by the SPIRVTh, Sephiroth. It was from this ancient Oriental theory that Pythagoras derived his numerical symbolic ideas." 36.
A brief review of the Sefirots and Tiferot is found on the web site "The Ten Sefirot of the Kabbalah. 37. The ten sefirot or emanations are interrelated, generally one sefirot linking to the next. There is of course, much more to the Talmudic and Kaballastic teachings of the Ten Sefirot. Part of the concept of the sefiroth and the ascent through the gates or ladders of wisdom refers to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life that matches the Sufi mystic teachings. Due to space limitations the following list does not encompass all the sefirot and relationships, but presents comparisons between certain of the Kabbalistic sefirot and the Kundalini chakras on the Tree of Life.
The parallels with Kundalini are found in A Kabbalistic View of the Chakras, by Rebekah Kenton, who explains the chakras in terms of Jacob's ladder:
"…The chakras are connections between the physical and psychological bodies… their reflections can also be perceived as whirling discs in front of the body…The reference for the parallels comes from 'Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati' and all quotations are from this book…" 38.
"…from the Kabbalistic point of view it is more interesting to concentrate on the psychological aspect and evolving consciousness, and as such the chakras should be seen on the Jacob's Ladder on the psychological or Yeziratic Tree of Life." 39.
Very briefly, and without showing all the Sefirot, nor all the deep, secret meanings of these emanations of the Kabbalists' god, we may arrive at some understanding of Avi ben Mordechai's use of these terms.
"Tiferet represents the ideal balance of Justice and Mercy needed for proper running of the universe. This Sefirah unites all the upper nine powers…."
"Tif'eret is the offspring of Hokhmah and Binah.;
"It is often symbolized as a bridegroom or prince who strives to be united with the Shekhinah. Their union produces the human soul." 40.
The analogy to the stated Tiferet refers to the unification of Hokmah and Binah which means, "… their union produces the human soul" according to A Kabbalistic View of the Chakras by Rebekah Kenton. 41.
"Manipura Chakra (Navel or Solar Plexus); Tiferet. In the same way that the sun continually radiates energy to the Planets…Manipura or Tiferet is the Self, the midpoint of the psyche…"
"'When the consciousness evolves to Manipura, one acquires a spiritual perspective.' This refers to the position of Tiferet as the Kingdom of Heaven. In Mooladhara and Swadhisthana the consciousness is still preoccupied with personal matters and resolving old karmas, but in Manipura one starts to realize the possibilities in becoming truly human…" 42.
From the Ten Sefirot the initiate attains to God's wisdom:
"Hokhmah: Wisdom
"Hokhmah represents the contemplative, synthetic aspects of God's thought.
"It is the primordial point of creation from which all knowable reality originates."
"There are 32 ways of Wisdom." 43.
The Binah of the sefirot is said to unite with Hokhmah and give birth to the seven lower Sefirot, mentioned also by Avi ben Mordechai.
"Binah: "Understanding, Discernment "
"Binah refers to the analytic, distinguishing aspects of God's thought."
"It is the uppermost feminine element in the Godhead, and is symbolized as the mother of the Shekhinah. Many of the symbols associated with Binah are therefore identical to those of the Shekhinah."
"Having received the seed from Hokhmah, Binah conceived and gave birth to the seven lower Sefirot. "; "There are fifty "Gates of Understanding."
"…Supernal Mother, Supernal Shekhinah…Palace…Womb…Repentance ("Return," Teshuvah)…A river branching out into seven streams…Supernal Jubilee…The Hebrew Alphabet…" 44.
According to Rebekah Kenton. Binah-Hokhmah refers to the opening of the Third Eye.
"Ajna Chakra (The Third Eye); Binah-Hokhmah Ajna is the chakra of higher intellect. 'Ajna is the witnessing centre where one becomes the detached observer of all events, including those within the body and mind. Here the level of awareness is developed whereby one begins to 'see' the hidden essence underlying all visible appearances. When Ajna is awakened, the meaning and significance of symbols flashes into one's conscious perception and intuitive knowledge arises effortlessly."
"Up until Ajna chakra awakens, we are under delusions. It is only after awakening of Ajna chakra that the laws of cause and effect can be known. Thereafter your whole philosophical attitude and approach to life changes... As said, it is very important to develop the qualities of Binah and Hokhmah already at the very beginning of one's spiritual journey. "Only those who have reason and understanding are able to cope." 45.
"Paradoxically, the awakening of the chakras should start as high as Ajna or the Third Eye. One needs a degree of Wisdom and Understanding, a certain philosophical outlook and detachment, to be able to cope with the psychic phenomena that follow the awakening of the lower chakras.
"It would seem that the awakening of the Ajna chakra follows the sequence of the Lightning Flash, activating first the Binah and then the Hokhmah aspect of this level. It is said that from Ajna there is only a short way to Sahasrara or enlightenment; from Hokhmah we would see how to get there." 45.
in Masonic and Occult Symbols, Dr. Cathy Burns explains how the proper alignment and awakening of the chakras leads to spiritual enlightenment - the opening of the third eye - or advanced psychical powers:
"In the Hindu/yoga world of 'reality', they believe, as do much of the occult and New Age meditators, that the body contains seven basic energy centers, known as chakras. When these centers are properly aligned by practicing yoga and meditation, there will then occur a 'merging' of the spinal chakra (the serpent of Kundalini) together with Shiva, located in the frontal chakra (psychic third eye) and this 'spiritual union' is believed to increase extrasensory and psychic powers.75." 46.
The Lightening Flash which accompanies the opening of the Third Eye has occult meaning referring to Lucifer, and is also found in Scripture...
"And [Jesus] said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightening fall from heaven." Luke 10:18
The Yesod sefirot is the equivalent of the male phallus or organ of reproduction:
"Yesod is the channel through which Tiferet strives to unite with the Shekhinah and pass on the creative and benevolent divine forces."
"This Sefirahis symbolized as the male phallus, sanctified through the covenant of circumcision. " 48.
The explanation of the Kundalini parallels what has been presented above for the sefirot Yesod.
"Mooladhara Chakra (Base); Yesod "…Mooladhara is at the root of the chakra system and its influences are at the root of our whole existence. In tantra, Mooladhara is the seat of kundalini, the basis from which the possibility of higher realization arises…"
"All the passions are stored in Mooladhara, all the guilt, every complex and every agony has its root in Mooladhara chakra. It is so important for everybody to awaken this chakra and get out of it. Our lower karmas are embedded there, as in lower incarnations, one's whole being is founded on the sexual personality…" 49.
The Shekhinah, also in the Talmud, is often referred to as the feminine side to God and speaks of the longing of the male and female elements of the Godhead to be united.
"The Shekhinah is a Talmudic concept representing God's dwelling and immanence in the created world. It was equated with the "Keneset Yisrael," the personified spirit of the People of Israel."
"According to a Rabbinic tradition, the Shekhinah shares in the exiles of the Jewish people.
"Therefore, the redemption of the people of Israel is inextricably linked to the remedying of an alienation within God him/herself, introducing a bold new element into traditional Jewish Messianic eschatology."
"It is through the Shekhinah that humans can experience the Divine."
"The passivity of the Shekhinah is often emphasized (equated with its femininity), as the recipient of forces from the higher Sefirot."
"The Shekhinah is often portrayed as a bride or princess whose male lover is the composite of the nine upper sefirot, represented by the prince/bridegroom Tiferet.
The erotic and romantic phrases of the Song of Songs and Prophetic imagery is evoked to represent the longing of the male and female elements of the Godhead." 50.
Isaac Meyer states in The Qabbalah, regarding the male and female elements of the sefirot, that King Solomon's idolatry involved the worship of such deities:
"Early Hebrew prophecy and Bacchism are similar in some aspects. The Qabbalists called the Holy Spirit, the mother, and the Church of Israel, the daughter. Solomon engraved on the walls of his Temple, likenesses of the male and female principles, to adumbrate this mystery; such it is said, were the figures of the cherubim. This was, however, not in obedience to the words of the Torah. They were symbolical of the Upper, the spiritual, the former or maker, positive or male, and the Lower, the passive, the negative or female, formed or made by the first." 51.
Also on the Tree of Life is found, "The Anahata Chakra (Heart); Gevurah-Hesed" which involves the "ability to determine one's own destiny, and escape a preordained fate" 52. and each upward move on this ladder evokes a Lightning Flash on the Tree of Life.
Psalm 37:23 states otherwise: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way."
The Vishuddhi is paralleled to the knowledge aspect in Kabbalah.
"The more abstract aspect of Vishuddhi is the faculty of higher discrimination… any communication received telepathically can be tested here for its correctness and accuracy…allows us to differentiate between realization coming into our consciousness from the higher levels of knowledge, and the mere babblings of our unconscious mind and wishful thinking…When Vishuddhi is awakened the divine fluid is retained and utilized, becoming the nectar of immortality. The secret of youth and regeneration of the body lies in the awakening of Vishuddhi chakra. At this state of awareness the poisonous aspects and experiences of life are absorbed and transformed into a state of bliss." 53.
Of interest regarding the ascent of the ladder of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life is Rebekah Kenton's statement:
"…In Kabbalah, an individual whose all chakras have fully and permanently awakened would be called the Messiah." 54.
Daniel 8:23-25 prophesies that such an individual will become the world dictator in the last days:
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up aginst the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
OF SAGES & SCHOLARS
Footnotes
1. Benjamin Creme, The Reappearance of the Christ & The Masters of Wisdom, Tara Center, 1980, p. 84.
2. Alice Bailey, Initiation: Human & Solar, Lucis Pub., 1922, p. 9.
3. Kabbalah, A Brief History, Michael Sidlofsky; www.shamash.org/kavannah/kabbalah.html
4. Kabbalah: The Misunderstood Doctrine; http://baptist1.com/judaism/kabbalah.htm
5. Colin Low; Kabbalah Faq; February 1996; www.digital-brilliance.com/Kab/index.htm
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Torah and Halachic Authority (3/12) - What is "Halacha?" How is it determined?; http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/text/faq/usenet-faqs/html/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/faq-doc-45.html
9. Hypertext Halacha; http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha/
10. Ibid., Siman 75, http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha/s75.htm
11. Ibid.
12. Zos Imos, Jewish Mystical Traditions;1995; http://140.190.128.190/merton/zos/jewish.html
13. Hyam Maccoby, op. cit., p.281.
14. Peter Michas, http://www.ez/com/~peterm/HB.GK.RF.HTML
15. Dance of the Seven Veils-Jewish Astrology; http://ggms.com/asherah/veils.htm
16. Gershom Scholem, "On The Kabbalah And Its Symbolism," Schocken Books, 1965, p.133.
17. Colin Low, "cabalah.cln"; Kabbalah, http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
18. Avi ben Mordechai, email to Mr. Ed Tarkowski, dated May 8, 1998:
19. Gershom Scholem,On The Kabbalah And Its Symbolism; op.cit., p.123-124.
20. McGregor Mathers, "Introduction to Kabbalah Unveiled", www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
21. Encyclopedia of Hasidism, editor, Rabinowicz, Tzbvi M., p. 8.
22. Gershom Scholem, "On The Kabbalah And Its Symbolism," p.104, Schocken Books, 1965/1996
23. Ibid., p.112.
24. Ibid., p.114.
25. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine, Vol. II, p. 467
26. Peter Michas, p. 48, The Rod of an Almond Tree in God's Master Plan, WinePress Pub., 1997.
27. Ibid., p. 48.
28. Ibid., p. 19.
29. Ibid., pp. 48-9.
30. Mircea Eliade, Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. I, NY: Simon & Schuster MacMillan, 1995, p. 279.
31. The Hebrew Zohar; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
32. Gershom Scholem, Zohar, the Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah, Schocken Books, 1995, p. 10.
33. The Kabbalah Unveiled; www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
34. S. L. McGregor Mathers;, "Introduction to Kabbalah Unveiled", www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
35. Ibid.
36. Ibid.
37. The Ten Sefirot; www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Sefirot.html
38. A Kabbalistic View of the Chakras by Rebekah Kenton; http://www.kabbalahsociety.org/chakras.htm
39. Ibid.
40. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Tiferet.html
41. Rebekah Kenton; op.cit.
42. Ibid.
43. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Hokhmah.html
44. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Binah.html
45. Rebekah Kenton; op.cit.
46. Ibid.
47. Dr. Cathy Burns, Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, Sharing, 1998, p. 128.
48. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Yesod.html
49. Rebekah Kenton; op.cit; http://www.kabbalahsociety.org/chakras.htm
50. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Shekhinah.html
51. Isaac Myer, The Qabbalah ; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
52. Rebekah Kenton; op.cit; http://www.kabbalahsociety.org/chakras.htm
53. Ibid.
54. Ibid.
Gnosticism
Jean Marie Ragon (1781 – 1862), considered by his
contemporaries as the most educated Freemason of the sixth century
defined Cabbala:
The Ankh Cross or Gnostic Ankh according to Symbol Dictionary
online:
The early Church and all of
the Church Fathers absolutely totally opposed all the ancient
Apocalypses of the Virgin Mary (exactly the same as the Marian
apparitions since La Salette onward - same work of the Devil rehashed)
and the "Assumption of the Virgin Mary (exact same lying heresy as the
modern heresy by the same name: The Assumption of the Virgin Mary)" and
"Thunder, Perfect Mind (the exact base for the Immaculate Conception)."
These ancient heresies are the ones that have been attempted to be
brought in again as the Immaculate Conception of Mary and the Assumption
of Mary - they are still nothing but lies of the Devil and
Serpent-Satan worship/Mother goddess worship, all of which the Jews were
guilty of and condemned always by the Prophets of the Old Testament and
Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and the Apostles and the Church Fathers
and continued to be guilty of since then until now. These are the exact
base for the Antichrist to arise from and the whole base of Gnosticism
and evolution of religion and all other evolution and the whole base for
the Great Apostasy and every heresy and apostasy including the absolute
total heresy and apostasy and the evil Satan worshiping false council
which called itself Vatican II.
Spiritual Wickednesses in
High Places
click on picture
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I
ANTE-NICENE FATHERS
VOLUME I
St. Irenaeus.
Book III.
Chapter III.-A Refutation of the Heretics
4. But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried [on earth] a very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time, a man who was of much greater weight, and a more stedfast witness of truth, than Valentinus, and Marcion, and the rest of the heretics. He it was who, coming to Rome in the time of Anicetus caused many to turn away from the aforesaid heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received this one and sole truth from the apostles,-that, namely, which is handed down by the Church. There are also those who heard from him that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, "Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within." And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, "Dost thou know me? ""I do know thee, the first-born of Satan." Such was the horror which the apostles and their disciples had against holding even verbal communication with any corrupters of the truth; as Paul also says, "A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." There is also a very powerful Epistle of Polycarp written to the Philippians, from which those who choose to do so, and are anxious about their salvation, can learn the character of his faith, and the preaching of the truth. Then, again, the Church inEphesus , founded by Paul, and
having John remaining among them permanently until the times of Trajan,
is a true witness of the tradition of the apostles.
and see:
St. Irenaeus Against Heresies and the warning against the Antichrist - click on picture
The Ancient and Modern Gnosticism that St.Irenaeus warned against and absolutely and utterly condemned, as did all of the early church and the Church Fathers and early councils.
666 and the triple Goddess
The Hexagram consists of 6 sides, 6 points and 6 smaller triangles, thus 666. Before Revelations in the Bible was written, 666 stood for the Triple Goddesses as 6 was a sacred number, and still is today in Hinduism and Buddhism.So the story of the Beast 666 in Book of Revelations was a attack on Goddess worship as 666 was also used to represent the Triple Babylonian Goddess Ishtar whom Revelations called, "The Great Whore Of Babylon" ....WOMANTHOUARTGOD
It was/is a well known amongst Pagans (ancient and Modern) that the number 666 was used to represent the triple goddess, where each 6 was used to represent a separate stage in the female life cycle (Mother, Maiden, Crone )and a phase of the moon (Full, New, Waning), and where each of the three phases were said to rule one of the realms of the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. (above, center, below)
The three phases were used to depict what the pagans believed were the 3 stages of Man's evolution on earth: Body, Soul and Spirit and the goddess was used to depict man.
Many Pagans (and occultists in general) believe that every human being originated from the monad (source) through a process they refer to as involution whereby the Monad disintegrated into pieces and descended into matter: Put in simpler terms, involution is the process whereby the parts of the source disintegrated and fell into material vehicles (Man) i.e.their god is resident in all human beings i.e he is the universal spirit of creation.
However, the humans are ignorant of the fact that he is resident in them. The process that man has to undergo in order to become conscious of the spark of the god (2 Cor 4:4) that is resident in his/her body is what occultists refer to as evolution i.e the change of the consciousness of man from body (ignorance) to soul (awakening, yearning) and soul to spirit (fully awakened and conscious of spirit):
Evolution is thus the movement 'forward' by which the created universe evolves from its initial state of inconscience (i.e. as matter), evolves animated life forms and mental beings (i.e. humans), and continues to evolve spiritual properties, and in that process rediscovers its source ('god' consciousness).
-The world-spirit in exile must go through the Inferno of matter and the Purgatory of morals to arrive at the spiritual Paradise.”G. Quispel
During this transition, man must pass through the three phases of the goddess: The three phases of the goddess are therefore arch-types of the phases that humanity must pass through in order to reunite with the source:
The body conscious man (body, physical, rejection of anything supernatural) must become conscious of the latent spark of sin in his body (soul consciousness: adherents of religion and man imposed morals are people who realize that there are deeper mysteries to nature and morality than what their natural senses tell them about them) in order to awaken and be in union with the source (spirit).
Hinduism's depiction of the triple goddess
In Samkhya, a school of Hindu philosophy, Purusha (the source) is pure consciousness. It is thought to be people's true identity, to be contrasted with Prakrti, or the material world.
Varna refers to the Hindu belief that human beings were created from different parts of the body of the divinity Purusha. That is why in Sanskrit grammar, Purush is indicated as person i.e. First Person.: I.e The person humanity disintegrated from.
On the other hand, Prakriti Purusha's consort refers to the varying levels of the manifestation/modes of operation of Purusha on earth. It is composed of the three gunas which are tendencies or modes of operation, known as sattva (preservation), rajas (creation), and tamas (destruction) (The three phases of the goddess)
People who are of a satvic nature and whose activities are mainly based on satva will tend to seek answers regarding the origin and truth of material life. Rajas is associated with concepts of energy, activity, ambition, and passion; so that, depending on how it is used, it can either have a supportive or hindering effect on the evolution of the soul.
Tamas is commonly associated with inertia, darkness, insensitivity (destruction) Souls who are more tamasic are usually materialistic and self seeking and least likely to seek the source of Creation. Prakriti is closely associated with the concept of Maya within Vedic scripture.
According to the ancient vedic science of Ayurveda, the three gunas (sattva, rajas and tamas) as they pertain to the human physiology are called doshas: kapha, pitta, vata. The balance or imbalance of these doshas defines the prakriti or nature of one's body.
The three gunas represent the three phases of the goddess who is represented as Prakiti while Purusha represents the source (god)
The Pope
...-Hence the Pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions." -Source:Lucius Ferraris, “Papa,” art. 2, in his Prompta Bibliotheca Canonica, Juridica, Moralis, Theologica, Ascetica, Polemica, Rubristica, Historica. (“Handy Library”), Vol. 5, published in Petit-Montrouge (Paris) by J. P. Migne, 1858 edition, column 1823, Latin.
It is therefore no coincidence that many Catholic Popes wore a Papal Tiara (also known as the Triple Tiara) to show their dominion over the 'heavens', earth and the lower regions i.e they had attained mastery of the three phases of the moon (the three sixes) and had thus attained 'perfection'.
Biblical explanation
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Gen 3:5
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.1 John 3:8
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.2 Cor 4:4
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.John 8:34
Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Rom 8:21
Whether we are willing to accept it or not, satan is the source and power behind our sinful nature and the supreme ruler of the world order of sin (As a result of man's fall into sin).
As is clearly evident in Rom 8:21 (which I quoted above), the creation (Paul was referring to other living beings apart from man) is in bondage (to satan) and that is why they (including man) all have a corruptible (perishable) nature.i.e when Adam and Eve fell into bondage, the whole creation was also subjected to bondage with them and hence a new world order of bondage to sin and satan came into being: One that was subservient to satan
Satan's promise to Eve that she (and her seed) would be elevated to 'godhood' if she disobeyed God and chose to eat (ingest i.e involution) of the forbidden tree (the tree represents a satanic/sinful consciousness) was not totally achieved when she ate the fruit (Characteristics) of the forbidden tree.
Her seed would have to pass through 3 phases to fully realize it: Body Soul and Spirit and it is when her seed realizes the mystery that satan is the one source of all creation and totally surrenders to his power that satan's promise of 'godhood' would be attained.
When this realization takes place, the source would be awakened from its dormant state (in everyone that has not repented and accepted the righteous image of Jesus in their hearts) and would control the minds of everyone in its world order.
He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God 2 Thess 2:4 (NIV)
Since the fall of Adam and Eve from God's grace, sin has been in operation on earth but it has been restrained in varying degrees by God's Spirit (in Christians) and by the ignorance of the full potential of the image of sin (in the world: i.e body and soul consciousness)
For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.2Thess 2:7 (NIV)
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.Prov 14:12
666 is therefore the journey to realize and become one with the image of sin that lives in man's heart (the journey to perfectly understand the 3 phases of the goddess, the Quran refers to the phases as Nafs) and that is why occultists believe that nothing is permanent and that humanity is in a constant state of flux. (The same way all of the moon's phases are never constant)
It is a journey that occultists believe that humanity must embark on individually and collectively (through social engineering) in order to become perfected and it is one that will result in the damnation of humanity because sin destroys (which is why God seeks to restrain man from realizing sin: Gen 2:17 , Gen 11:6 , Gen 6:3 )
Man was created on the 6th day so 6 is the number of man. The three phases (sixes) represent the 3 stages in man's evolution to become what satan promised Eve and it is when man attains the final stage (Gains full knowledge of the three sixes) that his destruction would be sealed by God and that is the reason why God clearly forbids man from receiving the number (the Beast personifies everything that 666 represents and that is why he carries/chanels the woman i.e he transmits everything the triple goddess represents)
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:Rev 14:9-10
Note
Receiving the number in the forehead and right hand means that our Mind (forehead) and thoughts (actions) are attuned with the source i.e we think and act from satanic will, not from individual will.
THE KABBALAH Refuted! | Hebrew roots Initiation
THE KABBALAH Refuted!
"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord." -Deut. 18:10-12
We see over and over in the Old Testament that the Hebrew people fell from obeying the Law and embraced witchcraft and sorcery, Baal worship and all manner of idolatry. Throughout the Old Testament we encounter their obedience, disobedience, repentance and constant struggle to remain faithful to God and His Law. Their tenacity and desire to obey the Law cannot be disputed. The question will be addressed whether the Jew's disobedient practices were, and are still, taught in the oral traditions which evolved into the Talmud and Kabbalah and which are referenced by various Hebrew Roots leaders.
Jewish Mysticism
The Kabbalah itself consists of a large body of speculation on the nature of divinity, the creation, the origin and fate of the soul and also the role of human beings. It generally is subdivided into four sections: meditative, devotional, mystical and magical. It is for this reason that Kabbalah is regarded as an esoteric offshoot of Judaism.
The gnosis of the Kabbalah is well recognized by Jewish scholars. From an article cited in the Jewish Encyclopedia, we see the intimate relationship between Gnosticism and the Cabala:
"...The Jewish Encyclopedia quotes the opinion that 'the central doctrine of Gnosticism -a movement closely connected with Jewish mysticism-was nothing else than the attempt to liberate the soul and unite it with God;' but as this was apparently to be effected 'through the employment of mysteries, incantations, names of angels,' etc… it will be seen how widely even this phase of Gnosticism differs from Christianity and identifies itself with the magical Cabala of the Jews. Indeed, the man generally recognized as the founder of Gnosticism, a Jew commonly known as Simon Magus, was not only a Cabalist mystic, but avowedly a magician… instituted a priesthood of the Mysteries and practiced occult arts and exorcisms…" 1.
M. Matter states in Histoire du Gnosticisme, that Jewish scholars fully understand that the secret oral traditions of the Cabala were previous to any Christian Gnosticism.
"The Cabala is anterior to the Gnosis, an opinion which Christian writers little understand, but which the erudites of Judaism profess with a legitimate assurance."2.
In Some Notes on Various Gnostic Sects and their Possible Influence in Freemasonry, D.F. Ranking remarks that the secret oral tradition of the Cabalists confirms them as being Gnostics.
"This claim to the possession of a secret oral tradition, whether known under the name of [similar to yvwois only in Greek]…or of Cabala, confirms the conception of the Gnostics as Cabalists and shows how far they had departed from Christian teaching. For if only in this idea of 'one doctrine for the ignorant and another for the initiated,' that Gnostics had restored the very system which Christianity had come to destroy."3.
Author Nesta Webster concurs with M. Matter and other historians that Gnosticism involved an attempt to Cabalize Christianity.
"... M. Matter is therefore right in saying that Gnosticism was not a defection from Christianity, but a combination of systems into which a few Christian elements were introduced. The result of Gnosticism was thus not to Christianize the Cabala, but to cabalize Christianity by mingling its pure and simple teaching with theosophy and even magic." 4.
Jacob Prasch of Moriel, however, does not recognize Jewish mysticism as Gnosticism:
"People began reinterpreting the Bible, not using the Jewish method of midrash, but using Greek methods. Typology and allegory. Midrash uses typology and allegory-symbols-in order to illustrate and illumine doctrine…"
"The symbolism illustrates the doctrine, which is itself stated plainly elsewhere in Scripture…In the Gnostic world of Greek thinking, the opposite happens. Gnostics claim to have received a subjective, mystical insight-called a gnosis-into the symbols. They then reinterpret the plain meaning of the text in light of the gnosis. For Gnostics, symbolism is the basis for their doctrine, contrary to the ancient Jewish methods…" 5.
In The Sacred Books of the Jews, Harry Gersh certifies the early origins of Jewish mysticism:
"Jewish mysticism began in Biblical days, long before the term Kabbalah was invented. By the first century it had become a proper subject for scholarly study. Philo Judaeus speculated on the Platonic idea of emanations as intermediaries between God and the physical world. The Roman philosopher Plotinus (205-270) traveled in the East and returned to combine Indian, Persian, Greek, and Jewish mystic theories into a systematic structure of these emanations." 6.
"…H. Loewe, in an article on the Kabbala in Hastings' Encyclopœdia of Religion and Ethics, says: 'This secret mysticism was no late growth. …we can be fairly certain that its roots stretch back very far and that the mediæval and Geonic Kabbala was the culmination and not the inception of Jewish esoteric mysticism. …'" 7.
The Kabbalah derives from ancient wisdom, such as Jacob Prasch mentioned previously.
"As the Kabbalah evolved, it came to share certain ideas with other ancient mystical systems, including those of the Gnostics and Pythagoreans. The Kabbalah did not restrict itself solely to instruction on the apprehension of God but included teachings on cosmology, angelology, and magic." 8
Despite God's many warnings, the Jews incorporated paganism into their traditions.
"… In spite of the imprecations against sorcery contained in the law of Moses, the Jews, disregarding these warnings, caught the contagion and mingled the sacred tradition they had inherited with magical ideas partly borrowed from other races and partly of their own devising. At the same time the speculative side of the Jewish Cabala borrowed from the philosophy of the Persian Magi, of the Neo-Platonists, and of the Neo-Pythagorean. There is, then, some justification for the anti-cabalists contention that what we know today as the Cabala is not of purely Jewish origin." 9.
Harry Gersh shows the migration of the Middle Eastern Kabbalists throughout Europe:
"From Babylonia and Palestine, Jewish mysticism moved into the Jewish communities of Europe and blossomed there. Every community produced its own mystic literature, mystic belief, and mystic practices. There were distinctive Spanish, French, Italian, and German Kabbalahs. Some were mainly 'practical', dealing in magic; others were mainly 'speculative', emphasizing philosophical explanations; many combined practical and speculative Kabbalah in equal parts." 10.
History of Kabbalah
Colin Low's Kabbalah FAQ indicates that the origins of Kabbalah date from remote antiquity.
"…Kabbalah is a mystical and magical tradition which originated nearly two thousand years ago and has been practiced continuously during that time. It has been practiced by Jew and non- Jew alike for about five hundred years. On the Jewish side it has been an integral and influential part of Judaism. On the Hermetic side it has created a rich mystical and magical tradition with its own validity, a tradition which has survived despite the prejudice generated through existing within a strongly Christian culture." 11.
Michael Sidlofsky of Toronto, writing on "Kabbalah and Jewish Renewal" states that Kabbalah...
"…is the most commonly-used term for the Jewish mystical tradition, especially the kind which originated in twelfth-century France and spread through Europe, the Middle East and eventually world-wide, to this day. The two main varieties of pre-kabbalistic Jewish mysticism are called Maaseh Merkavah and Maaseh Bereshit (more on these below), and the particular variety emerging in eighteenth-century Eastern Europe and continuing among Ashkenazic Jews until today is called Hasidism." 12.
Most scholars concur that these secret oral traditions were first committed to writing around the thirteenth century. Dr. Christian Ginsburg states in "The Kabbalah":
"…The first date at which the Zohar is definitely known to have appeared is the end of the thirteenth century when it was committed to writing by a Spanish Jew, Moses de Leon…." 13.
Renaissance scholar Pico della Mirandola - a Gnostic, Hermeticist and Cabalist - was described by Vicomte Léon de Poncins’ in Judaism and the Vatican as a hebraiser of Christians:
"Pico de Mirandola, who died in Florence, Italy in 1494, was a hebraiser who devoted himself to studying the Cabbala under the direction of Jewish masters such as Jehuda Abravanel:
"It was in the princely house of Pico de Mirandola that the Jewish scholars used to meet….The discovery of the Jewish Cabbala, which he imparted to various enlightened Christians contributed far more than the return to Greek sources to the extraordinary spiritual blossoming which is known as the Renaissance. About half a century later, the rehabilitation of the Talmud was to lead to the Reformation….Pico de Mirandola had understood that the indispensable purification of Christian dogma could only be effected after a profound study of the authentic Jewish Cabbala." 14.
James Webb, author of The Occult Underground, wrote that Pico della Mirandola, a student of Marsillo Ficino, founder of the neo-Platonic Academy of Florence, "...conceived of Hermes and Plato as aids to persuading those to religion who would not accept Scripture alone."
"This reasoning appears eventually to have been endorsed by the Church in the case of Pico, who joined to his Hermetism a 'Christian Cabala,' and concocted a universal system in which Cabalistic ideas played a considerable part. Although condemned by a tribunal, Pico's synthesis was rehabilitated in 1493 by Alexander VI, whose recognition of the Cabalist as a loyal son of the Church seemed to give some authority to Pico's position. It should be remembered in this context that Sixtus IV (Pope, 1471-84) had himself translated seventy Cabalistic books into Latin, and that the concept of the 'Christian Cabala' was not peculiar to Italian thought. Reuchlin, the foremost Orientalist of the time, and the author of the first Hebrew grammar, came nearest to success in the attempt to transform the Cabala into Christian philosophy - although his pupil Widmanstadt considered the Jewish tradition as 'a Trojan horse introduced into the Church'. But the Hermeticists and Cabalists of the Renaissance were always maintaining their orthodoxy." 15.
Drach's "De l'Harmonie entre l'Eglise et la Synagogue II," confirms that Pico della Mirandola received instruction in the Kabbala. Pico de Mirandola imagined that it held the doctrines of Christianity and therefore encouraged Pope Sixtus IV to order Latin translations for divinity students. 16.
A reference from the Jewish Encyclopœdia's articles on Cabala and Reuchlin, shows the history of the influx of Cabalism into Catholicism and Christianity.
"At the same time the Cabala was introduced into Germany by Reuchlin, who had learnt Hebrew from the Rabbi Jacob b. Jechiel Loans, court physician to Frederick III, and in 1494 published a Cabalistic treatise De Verbo Mirifico, showing that all wisdom and true philosophy are derived from the Hebrews. Considerable alarm appears, however, to have been created by the spread of Rabbinical literature, and in 1509 a Jew converted to Christianity, named Pfefferkorn, persuaded the Emperor Maximilian I to burn all Jewish books except the Old Testament. Reuchlin, consulted on this matter, advised only the destruction of the Toledot Yeshu and of the Sepher Nizzachon by the Rabbi Lipmann, because these works 'were full of blasphemies against Christ and against the Christian religion,' but urged the preservation of the rest. In this defence of Jewish literature he was supported by the Duke of Bavaria, who appointed him professor at Ingoldstadt, but was strongly condemned by the Dominicans of Cologne. In reply to their attacks Reuchlin launched his defence De Arte Cabalistica, glorifying the Cabala, of which the "central doctrine for him was the Messianology around which all its other doctrines grouped themselves.1." 17.
"His whole philosophical system, as he himself admitted, was in fact entirely Cabalistic, and his views were shared by his contemporary Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim. As a result of these teachings a craze for Cabalism spread amongst Christian prelates, statesmen, and warriors, and a number of Christian thinkers took up the doctrines of the Cabala and 'essayed to work them over in their own way.' Athanasius Kircher and Knorr, Baron von Rosenroth, author of the Kabbala Denudata, in the course of the seventeenth century 'endeavoured to spread the Cabala among the Christians by translating Cabalistic works which they regarded as most ancient wisdom.' 'Most of them,' the Jewish Encyclopœdia goes on to observe derisively, 'held the absurd idea that the Cabala contained proofs of the truth of Christianity…. Much that appears Christian [in the Cabala ] is, in fact, nothing but the logical development of certain ancient esoteric doctrines.2'" 18.
S.L. McGregor Mathers', Introduction to the Kabbalah Unveiled is actually Mathers' English translation of Baron von Rosenroth's Kabbala Denudata, mentioned above. This book was used to propagate the absurdity, as stated in the Jewish Encyclopœdia, of a Christian Cabala. Note the assertion that the Qabalah is the basis of Judaism.
"…At the present time a powerful wave of occult thought is spreading through society; thinking men are beginning to awake to the fact that "there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in their philosophy;" and, last but not least, it is now felt that the Bible, which has been probably more misconstrued than any other book ever written, contains numberless obscure and mysterious passages which are utterly unintelligible without some key wherewith to unlock their meaning. THAT KEY IS GIVEN IN THE QABALAH. Therefore this work should be of interest to every biblical and theological student."
"Let every Christian ask himself this question: "How can I think to understand the Old Testament if I be ignorant of the construction put upon it by that nation whose sacred book it formed; and if I know not the meaning of the Old Testament, how can I expect to understand the New?"
"Were the real and sublime philosophy of the Bible better known, there would be fewer fanatics and sectarians. And who can calculate the vastness of the harm done to impressionable and excitable persons by the bigoted enthusiasts who ever and anon come forward as teachers of the people? How many suicides are the result of religious mania and depression! What farragos of sacrilegious nonsense have not been promulgated as the true meanings of the hooks of the Prophets and the Apocalypse! Given a translation of the sacred Hebrew Book, in many instances incorrect, as the foundation, an inflamed and an ill-balanced mind as the worker thereon, what sort of edifice can be expected as the result?"
"I say fearlessly to the fanatics and bigots of the present day: You have cast down the Sublime and Infinite One from His throne, and in His stead have placed the demon of unbalanced force; you have substituted a deity of disorder and of jealousy for a God of order and of love; you have perverted the teachings of the crucified One. Therefore at this present time an English translation of the Qabalah is almost a necessity, for the Zohar has never before been translated into the language of this country, nor, as far as I am aware, into any modern European vernacular." 19.
Perusing further we see the presentation of a Trinity, alongside other "Christian" statements but it is clearly not Christian in content. The way to heaven is described through the use of Gematria.
"Thus the Qabalah is called ChKMh NSThRH, Chokhmah Nesthorah, 'the secret wisdom;' and if we take the initials of these two words Ch and N, we form by the second kind of Notariqon the word ChN, Chen, 'grace.' Similarly, from the initials and finals of the words MI IOLH LNV HShMIMH, Mi Iaulah Leno Ha-Shamayimah, 'Who shall go up for us to heaven?' (Deut. xxx. 12), are formed MILH, Milah 'circumcision,' and IHVH, the Tetragrammaton, implying that God hath ordained circumcision as the way to heaven." 20.
Gematria is based on the relative numerical values of words. Words of similar numerical values are considered to be explanatory of each other. In other words, it is lettered numerology which explains that circumcision is the way to heaven.
However, Galatians 5:2-6 states: "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love."
Influence of Kabbalah
Mysticism is met with varied reactions within the Jewish community.
"…Like most subjects of Jewish belief, the area of mysticism is wide open to personal interpretation. Some traditional Jews take mysticism very seriously. Mysticism is an integral part of Chasidic Judaism, for example, and passages from kabbalistic sources are routinely included in traditional prayerbooks." 21.
"Other traditional Jews take mysticism with a grain of salt. One prominent Orthodox Jew, when introducing a speaker on the subject of Jewish mysticism, said basically 'it's nonsense, but it's Jewish nonsense, and the study of anything Jewish, even nonsense, is worthwhile.'" 22.
Jewish historian Graetz claimed that the Cabala is at variance with Orthodox Judaism. Other anti-Cabalists such as Theodore Reinach declare that the Cabala is:
"…a subtle poison which enters into the veins of Judaism and wholly infests it.; Salomon Reinach calls it 'one of the worst aberrations of the human mind.'" 23.
Michael Sidlofsky in "Kabbalah-A Brief History" shows that the Kabbalah has fluctuated in its popularity among Jews.
"The history of Jewish mysticism has taken some dramatic turns, from elite, secretive club to mass movement to object of scorn and back and forth. Right now the Kabbalah seems to be enjoying unprecedented popularity. Will it become, either in its Orthodox or Jewish Renewal forms, the Judaism of the future? It is premature to say so, but one thing seems clear: given the trend towards easier and faster mass communication and the increasing hunger for genuine spirituality, Jewish mysticism as a widespread phenomenon is here to stay this time." 24.
Kabbalah is also making a huge influx into North America. Michael Sidlofsky maintains the interest in mysticism has risen dramatically.
"…A more traditional American Orthodox rabbi, Aryeh Kaplan, spent the seventies and early eighties reconstructing the forgotten Jewish meditative tradition by researching long-neglected Kabbalistic texts, many only extant in manuscript. He boldly disregarded the centuries-old rabbinic ban on the dissemination of kabbalistic practices among those under forty and unschooled in Bible and Talmud--a result of the Shabbetai Tzvi tragedy--by teaching Jewish meditation classes and publishing practical manuals and source readers on the subject. Thanks largely to Kaplan's efforts, many Orthodox rabbis and lay people have taught and written about Kabbalah, recognizing its appeal to non-practicing Jews searching for spiritual guidance." 25.
Israeli journalist, Hannah Newman, wrote "Masters of the Blinding Light" to warn fellow Jews of the infiltration of New Age mysticism, via Kabbalah, into Judaism. The door-to-door sale of the Zohar throughout Israel may result in the replacement of the Torah with Kabbalah.
"In a similar development on the mystical side of Judaism, New Age spokesmen applaud orthodox Jewish teachers for recently releasing Kabbalah from the restricted access imposed on it by past generations of Jewish sages, making its teachings available to all, and even encouraging free exploration without rabbinic supervision. In Israel the Zohar (a major Kabbalistic work) is even being sold door-to-door. [This is strictly forbidden under the 'old order' of Judaism, but New Agers are not concerned with proper understanding of the teaching, since Kabbalah is simply one path to their goal of getting as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, into 'contact with the spirit realm']. These teachers are being hailed as 'co-conspirators' who are furthering the NA Plan. [not stated whether deliberately or unknowingly, but the results will be the same.] From the NA standpoint, however, the value of Jewish Kabbalah lies only in its teachings which overlap "the other ancient occult doctrines", specifically: reincarnation; traffic with angels, demons and departed human spirits; 'monism' (light and darkness, good and evil, are all sides of G-d); attributing 'secret messages' or 'hidden meanings' to words or statements which mean something else at face value; self-induced trances, resulting in visions or 'astral' (out-of-body) travels; and harnessing of superhuman powers by pronouncing sacred names. [It is noteworthy that none of these can be supported by a clear (pashat or darash) Torah passage, while some are expressly forbidden; yet they are arguably the best-known elements of Kabbalah today. The fact that they are accepted by so many Torah Jews in spite of their dubious relevance to Torah, only supports the claims of the NA missionaries.] The NA goal is to promote a Kabbalah in the Jewish community which goes through successive 'transformations' until it is finally severed from all links with the Torah, thus 'recovering' its 'purity'." 26.
As Jesus said to the Pharisees: "Your traditions have made the Word of God of none effect"
H. Loewe's article on "The Kabbalah" in Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics declares its impact on modern Judaism:
"[Kabbalism] has contributed to the formation of modern Judaism, for, without the influence of the Kabbala, Judaism today might have been one-sided, lacking in warmth and imagination. Indeed, so deeply has it penetrated into the body of the faith that many ideas and prayers are now immovably rooted in the general body of orthodox doctrine and practice. This element has not only become incorporated, but it has fixed its hold on the affections of the Jews and cannot be eradicated." 27.
What is Kabbalah?
"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." Deut. 29:29
According to "The Kabbalah Unveiled" website, the Kabbalah is esoteric doctrine.
"The Qabalah may be defined as being the esoteric Jewish doctrine. It is called in Hebrew QBLH, Qabalah, which is derived from the root QBL, Qibel, meaning 'to receive'. This appellation refers to the custom of handing down the esoteric tradition by oral transmission, and is nearly allied to 'tradition'." 28.
Another website, "Kabbalah: The Misunderstood Doctrine," discloses that the Talmud alludes to a secret wisdom for an elect group of students.
"The Talmud contains vague hints of a mystical school of thought that was taught only to the most advanced students and was not committed to writing…" 29.
It was Pico della Mirandola's thesis that the secret oral tradition of the Rabbinic sages were no less divinely inspired than the Law given to Moses. Mirandola states that because they were not written they were passed through a 'regular succession of revelations.'
"In exactly the same way, when the true interpretation of the Law according to the command of God, divinely handed down to Moses, was revealed, it was called the Kabbalah, a word which is the same among the Hebrews as `reception' among ourselves; for this reason, of course, that one man from another, by a sort of hereditary right, received that doctrine not through written records but through a regular succession of revelations....In these books principally resides,… the spring of understanding, that is, the ineffable theology of the supersubstantial deity; the fountain of wisdom, that is, the exact metaphysic of the intellectual and angelic forms; and the stream of knowledge, that is, the most steadfast philosophy of natural things." 30.
Gerry Rose, author of The Venetian Takeover of England and Its Creation of Freemasonry presents the fallacy that this Ancient Wisdom was passed down from Moses to the elite disciples and that only the initiated could understand Kabbalah.
"According to tradition '...the Kabbalah was the fount of ancient wisdom that Moses passed down to elite disciples, an esoteric doctrine that only an elect can interpret.'" 31.
"The Authenticity of Kabbalah" ascribes to the Kabbalah the secrets of life which are supposedly hidden in the Torah.
"'The Kabbalah' uncovers many of the infinite layers of the secrets of life, of Creation, of the soul, of the heavenly spheres. It penetrates beyond the garments and the body of the Torah. It is the very core and soul of Torah, the ultimate revelation of Divinity - exposing the inner meaning, effects and purpose of Torah and mitzvot. The illumination emanating from the Kabbalah ignites the soul of man, setting it on fire in the awareness of a deeper and higher reality. Its study and insights are themselves mystical experiences. The Kabbalah is all this - but always and exclusively within the context of Torah." 32.
Moses warned Israel in Deuteronomy 4:2:
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."
Oral Traditions
The term "Qabalah," in Hebrew signifies "reception", or "a doctrine orally received" in which the "speculative, philosophical and theosophical doctrines of Israel are to be found." These doctrines were originally contained in two books, the Sepher Yetzirah and the Zohar". 33.
The first Book, the Sepher Yetzirah is believed to be contemplations of Abraham. This contradicts the view that the oral traditions were taught by God to angels and then transmitted to Adam.
"…The Sepher Yetzirah, or Book of Creation, is [believed to be]… 'a monologue on the part of Abraham in which, by the contemplation of all that is around him, he ultimately arrives at the conclusion of the unity of God'…" 34.
The second and main work of the Kabbalah is called the "Zohar." From Adolphe Franck and other sources, including Zohar treatises, we see slightly different renditions as to how the Zohar was conceived.
"… The immense compilation known as the Sepher-Ha-Zohar, or Book of Light, is… of greater importance to the study of Cabalistic philosophy. According to the Zohar itself, the 'Mysteries of Wisdom' where imparted to Adam by God whilst he was still in the Garden of Eden, in the book delivered by the angel Razael. From Adam the book passed to Seth ...Enoch ...Noah... Abraham, and later to Moses, one of its principal exponents.4. Other Jewish writers declare… that Moses received it…first time on Mount Sinai…to the Seventy Elders… to David and Solomon… Ezra… Nehemiah and finally to the Rabbis of the early Christian era.5" 35.
The Jewish authority on mysticism, Adolphe Franck, and author Drach, relate from Talmud treatises the strange manner in which the secret oral teachings of the Zohar were developed and put into writing.
"…the Zohar had remained a purely oral tradition… written down by the disciples of Simon ben Jochai. The Talmud relates that for twelve years the Rabbi Simon and his son Eliezer concealed themselves in a cavern, where sitting in the sand up to their necks, they meditated on the sacred law and were frequently visited by the prophet Elias.6. In this way, Jewish legend adds, the great book of the Zohar was composed and committed to writing by the Rabbi's son Eliezer and his secretary the Rabbi Abba.7" 36.
According to the Introduction to The Kabbalah Unveiled by McGregor Mathers, who co-founded the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, in 1888 this secret oral tradition of the sages was believed to have been taught by God to angels, who then taught it to fallen humans. Abraham is viewed as a mystic who taught the Egyptians some of their occult doctrine.
"The Qabalah was first taught by God himself to a select company of angels, who formed a theosophic school in Paradise. After the Fall the angels most graciously communicated this heavenly doctrine to the disobedient children of earth, to furnish the protoplasts with the means of returning to their pristine nobility and felicity."
"From Adam it passed over to Noah, and then to Abraham, the friend of God, who emigrated with it to Egypt, where the patriarch allowed a portion of this mysterious doctrine to ooze out. It was in this way that the Egyptians obtained some knowledge of it, and the other Eastern nations could introduce it into their philosophical systems. Moses, who was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt, was first initiated into the Qabalah in the land of his birth, but became most proficient in it during his wanderings in the wilderness, when he not only devoted to it the leisure hours of the whole forty years, but received lessons in it from one of the angels. By the aid of this mysterious science the law-giver was enabled to solve the difficulties which arose during his management of the Israelites, in spite of the pilgrimages, wars, and frequent miseries of the nation. He covertly laid down the principles of this secret doctrine in the first four books of the Pentateuch, but withheld them from Deuteronomy. Moses also initiated the seventy elders into the secrets of this doctrine, and they again transmitted them from hand to hand." 37.
Speculative and Practical Kabbalah
Until his death in 1982, Gershom Scholem was a renowned professor of Jewish mysticism at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and was considered the pioneer of the modern study of Jewish mysticism. His many writings explain these concepts in the Talmud, Zohar and the Kabbalah.
In "Zohar, the Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah", Scholem describes the importance and authority of the Zohar to Judaism.
"The book of Zohar, the most important literary work of the Kabbalah, lies before us in some measure inaccessible and silent, as befits a work of secret wisdom…To have determined the formation and development over a long period of time of the religious convictions of the widest circles in Judaism, and particularly of those most sensitive to religion, and, what is more, to have succeeded in establishing itself for three centuries, from about 1500 to 1800, as a source of doctrine and revelation equal in authority to the Bible and Talmud, and of the same canonical rank---this is a prerogative that can be claimed by no other work of Jewish literature." 38.
Gershom Scholem explained the contents of the Zohar, and its various components, including "the Midrash ha-Neelam (The Secret Midrash) and Sitre Torah (Secrets of the Torah), which is a large number of Pentateuch portions…" 39. According to Scholem, the latter is a deeply mystical treatment of the Torah:
"The Secret Midrash…avoids genuinely mystical and theosophical trains of thought…The Secrets of the Torah, on the other hand, which in the main was composed without the use of Midrash form or the addition of names, represents the transition from philosphical-eschatological allegory to genuinely mystical exegesis. The Idra Rabba (The Great Assembly) describes, … the mystical 'figure' of the Deity in the symbol of the Primal Man…" 40.
Scholem expounds the belief that the Zohar, composed of contradictions and folk-tales, is the anonymous work of centuries, "like the Bible" --
".. the Zohar has been regarded…as a work without unity…in which the most varied and often contradictory forces of the kabbalistic movement found expression…Moses de Leon was…regarded as the redactor of ancient writings and fragments…The theory that 'primitive' sources and documents have been preserved in the Zohar..in revised form is today widespread. Thus the Zohar…would really be, even in its external beginnings, a deposit of the creative folk-spirit and, like the Bible and Talmud, the anonymous work of centuries…" 41.
We assert that the Bible, unlike the secret oral traditions and teachings, is neither an anonymous work nor is it comprised of contradictions, myths, or fairytales.
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; That the man of God may be throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. 3:16
"Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever." Psalm 119:160
"Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Prov. 30:5-6
Gershom Scholem states that the "Secret Midrash" writings of the Zohar were in all probability the earliest part of the work. His profile of the Jewish mystic who authored the Kabbalah begins with his education in the Talmud:
"Behind the whole stands the living personality of a mystic who, starting with philosphical and talmudic education of his time, lets himself be ever more deeply drawn to the mystical and gnostic ideas of the Kabbalah, and finally gives up his philisophical interests altogether, developing instead a truly astonishing genius for mystical homiletics…such is the author of these most important parts of the Zohar--no redactor or collector but a homiletic genius. It was Kabbalah, as it had developed before his time, and having become his spiritual home, which he, with unexpected and impressive power, constructed from out of the text of Scripture and the ancient haggadic motifs of the Midrash…" 42.
Out of the Abundance of the Heart
"Ancient haggadic motifs of the Midrash" constructed out of the text of Scripture also comprise an esoteric volume titled, Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis by Robert Graves and Robert Patai. Robert Graves also wrote The White Goddess and I, Claudius. The White Goddess is frequently studied by those involved in the occult and witchcraft. Robert Patai also wrote many books and was Director of Research of the Theodor Herzl Institute in New York and also Director of the Palestine Institute of Folklore and Ethnology. Hebrew Myths states that he was a Biblical scholar.
In a private correspondence, this writer received the following description of the book's thesis that Genesis was a collection of haggadic myths:
"…The premise of the book seems to be that the Bible is a book of myths, very much like the Greek myths. And the authors attempt to show how Hebrew myths and Greek myths are related. In the course of writing about the book of Genesis they quote extensively from writings such as the Talmud, The Gospel of Saint Thomas, Midrash, apocryphal books, pagan myths, the Kabbala and various kabbalistic works, The Book of the Dead, Cave of Treasures, Sepher, Enuma Elish, Sephir Hadar Zeqenim (midrashic explanations to the Bible), Imre Noam, the Koran, Mishna, Massekhet Soferim, Megilla, Mekhilta, Midrash Alphabetot attributed to Rabbi Akiba (second century A.D.) but actually compiled much later, lots of sephers including "Sepher Raziel, a kabbalistic work on the secrets of Heaven, creation, angels, amulets, etc", Sode Raza "a Kabbalistic work by Eleazar ben Judah of Worms,, Targum this and that, the Zohar which the authors say is the 'Bible of the Kabbalists, written by the Spanish Kabbalist Moses de Leon, in Aramaic, during the thirteenth century. It is a commentary on the Bible, pseudepigraphically attributed to Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai, the famous Mishna-teacher. First printed at Mantua, 1558-60, in three volumes.' and other Zohars…." 43.
The authors of Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis also suggest that there are missing sacred documents which contain a more accurate record of creation than Genesis:
"The book's authors write that 'All pre-Biblical sacred documents in Hebrew have been either lost or purposely suppressed...Post-Biblical sacred documents are abundant. In the thousand years after the Bible was first canonised, the Jews of Europe, Asia and Africa wrote prolifically. Theirs were either attempts to clarify the Mosaic Law; or historical, moralistic, anecdotal and homiletic comments on Biblical passages.... although the canonical books were regarded as written by divine inspiration and the least taint of polytheism had therefore to be exorcised from them, the apocryphal books were treated more leniently. Many suppressed myths were also allowed to re-emerge in the unquestionably orthodox context of the post-Biblical midrashim.... Lilith, Eve's predecessor, has been wholly exorcised from Scripture, though she is remembered by Isaiah as inhabiting desolate ruins [but not in the King James Version, only in some modern versions]. She seems, from midrashic accounts of her sexual promiscuity, to have been a fertility goddess..."
"So, it seems that these two authors have used these Kabbalistic writings to make their case that the Bible is a book of myths and in quoting from these writings they reveal to the reader just how low-down and wicked the writers of the Kabbala and the Midrashim, etc. were. And so I wonder how anyone who has read this awful stuff would want to urge others to read it and give it respectablitiy." 44.
In "An Explanation of Midrash", Jacob Prasch states: "A classical work of Midrash in Judaism is the Midrash Rabba on Genesis (Berashith). Another is Lamentations Rabba". Prasch also upholds the Talmud as authoritative for understanding the Bible, i.e. "The Talmud tells us there are multiple interpretations" and "It takes the wisdom of the ancients to really understand these things...not the wisdom of the 16th century, but the wisdom of the first century." 45.
In another article, Mr. Prasch states that the Midrash of the Jewish sages at the time of the second temple period is wisdom Christians can turn to with full confidence since these sages never deny the authenticity of the Biblical accounts.
"We have, along this line, advocated that Christians familiarize themselves with the works of those who have understood this from Alfred Edersheim to Arnold Fruchtenbaum. We have also tried to re-acquaint the church with the lost art of Jewish hermeneutics in terms of New Testament uses of Midrash, and the illustrative Hebraic models of typology and allegory … What is perhaps most absurd is the fact that contrary to both New Testament Christianity and Orthodox Judaism… In the Judaic midrashim we similarly never see a denial of the historical authenticity of biblical accounts.
"…any early examples of Judaic Midrash... It is these early examples of rabbinic midrashic writings that are closest in time frame to the authorship date of the New Testament. Having looked at New Testament narrative from a Midrashic perspective for years and read every major Christian scholar who addressed the subject …" 46.
Are we to understand that Mr. Prasch is referring to the same Genesis Midrash and Talmud referenced by Graves and Patai's Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis? Our correspondent continues to be amazed that the teachers of the Hebrew Roots of Christianity would promote such works:
"What I find interesting is that the excerpts from these sources are so wicked. The 'fleshing out of the Bible' that is done by these writings not only have many variations but have the persons written about in the Bible doing very evil things that we have never read about in the Bible. And God is written about as saying and doing all sorts of things that are out of character and never written about in the Bible. Very evil motives and actions are attributed to God in these writings. I am not surprised that the authors of this book who obviously do not believe the Bible is truthful would make their case using such writings, but I am perplexed that many of the Hebrew Roots people who claim to be Christians would also be using these wicked writings. 47.
Peter Michas informs us further that Jesus quoted the Midrashim and the Talmud, apparently with approval:
"… The New Testament is in the pattern of the Jewish traditional work of Torah, Mishnah, Haggadah, Halakah, Talmud and Midrash, but inspired by God Himself for the common people. These Hebraic works as well as the Inspired Scriptures were quoted from by Jesus and all the writers of the New Testament. But even now, to have full comprehension, we must read the scriptures in the proper Hebraic context…Most all of the Judaic writings have been preserved for us and now translated into proper English directly from the Hebrew…" 48.
Avi ben Moredechai also references the Oral law, separate and distinct from the written Bible, as having been taught by Paul and Jesus:
"Rabbi (Haham) Sha’ul was a scholarly teacher of Torah, both of the Oral and Written codes. Not only did he order his life by it, but he also taught it to others, born Jews and born Gentiles alike. Since Sha’ul followed Messiah Y’shua, who also taught the Oral and Written Torah, I submit (at this time in my life) that we should be following in the footsteps of Judaism’s great teachers of G-d’s Law… I also recognize that our Rabbi Y’shua also had His Gemara (discussion and teaching) on the rabbinic Mishnah and the written code of Sinai. Thus, we are His talmidim or students of His Oral Traditions which is the proper definition of the term 'Gospel.' We are to follow His Mishnah and Gemara, i.e., His Talmud…ancient scholars and sages were far more knowledgeable on the Oral Traditions than we could ever hope to be." 49.
From Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis, Genesis Rabba and folios from the Talmud and Midrash are cited excerpts regarding Adam's bestiality, the myth of Lilith and other unscriptural teachings. (cf. Part IV)
Chapter 10
"(b) Some say that God created man a woman in His own image on the Sixth Day, giving them charge over the world, [as in the Bible] but that Eve did not yet exist. Now, God had set Adam to name every beast, bird and other living thing. When they passed before him in pairs, male and female, Adam-- being already like a twenty-year-old man-- felt jealous of their loves, and though he tried coupling with each female in turn, found no satisfaction in the act. He therefore cried: 'Every creature but I has a proper mate', and prayed God would remedy this injustice. from Gen. Rab. 17-4; B. Yebamot 63a"
"(c) God then formed Lilith, the first woman, just as He had formed Adam, except that He used filth and sediment instead of pure dust. From Adam's union with this demoness, and with another like her named Naamah, Tubal Cain's sister, sprang Asmodeus and innumerable demons that still plague mankind. Many generations late, Lilith and Naamah came to Solomon's judgment seat, disguised as harlots of Jerusalem. from Yalqut Reubeni ad. Gen. II 21: IV. 8
"Then Lilith deserts Adam because she didn't want to lie beneath him during sex because she was his equal. Adam complained to God who sent angels after her. They found her beside the Red Sea where she had been bearing demons (more than 100 a day) The angels told her to return to Adam or they would drown her. She argues with them and tells them that God has ordered her to strangle babies . She also seduces dreaming men. Then God makes Adam another mate but Adam is disgusted by the sight of her creation. God knew that he had failed once more, and took First Eve away. (God failed?) God tried a third time, and made her out of Adam's rib, braided her hair and adorned her with 24 pieces of jewellery before waking Adam up. Adam approved. Gen Rab 161"
"Some say God created Eve from a tail ending in a sting which had been part of Adam's body . God cut this off, and the stump-- now a useless coccyx-- is still carried by men. Gen Rab 134 B. Erubin 18a "
"Others say that God's original thought had been to create two human beings, male and female; but instead He designed a single one with a male face looking forward, and a female face looking back. B. Erubin 18a"
"Still others hold that Adam was originally created as an androgyne of male and female bodies joined back to back. This made walking difficult and conversation awkward, so God divided the androgyne, and gave each half a new rear. These separate beings He placed in Eden, forbidding them to couple. Gen Rab 55 Lev Rab 14.1 and other sources" 50.
Are teachers of the Hebrew Roots of Christianity really saying that these writings do not contradict the Word of God?
Well does Matthew 7:15-20 warn: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
Kabbalah Initiation
All Scripture Quotes From the King James Bible
Footnotes
1. Jewish Encyclopœdia, article on Cabala; as Cited in Nesta H. Webster, op.cit., p.29.
2. Matter, Histoire du Gnosticisme,I.44, (1844)a s Cited: Webster, Ibid. p.28.
3. D. F. Ranking; Some Notes on Various Gnostic Sects and their Possible Influence in Freemasonry,republished from Ars Quatuor Coronatorum (Vol. XXIV, p. 202, 1911) in pamphlet form, p.7.; as Cited Webster, Ibid. Pg. 32
4. Nesta H. Webster; op. cit. p. 29.
5. Jacob Prasch, Explaining the Midrash; www.cw.co.za/moriel/midrash.html
6. Harry Gersh "The Sacred Books of the Jews," http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
7. Webster, op.cit., p.10
8. Ancient Wisdom and Secret Sects ; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
9. Webster; op.cit., p.11
10. Harry Gersh, The Sacred Books of the Jews
11. Kabbalah Faq, Colin Low, 1996; www.digital-brilliance.com/kab/faq.htm
12. Michael Sidlofsky, Kabbalah-A Brief History; www.shamash.org/kavannah/kabbalah.html
13. Dr. Christian Ginsburg, The Kabbalah,pp.172,173; as Cited in Webster, Ibid., p. 9.
14. Joshua Jehuda, L’antisemitisme, Miroir du Monde ["Anti-Semitism, Mirror of the World"-p. 164]
15. James Webb, The Occult Underground, Open Court Press, 1976, p. 221.
16. Drach (De l'Harmonie entre l'Eglise et la Synagogue,II.p.30) says that Picco della Mirando paid a Jew 7000 ducats for the Cabalistic MSS. from which he drew his thesis.; Webster,op.cit.,p.85]
17. (1)-Jewish Encyclopœdia, articles on Cabala and Reuchlin;Webster,op.cit.p.86
18. (2)-Jewish Encyclopœdia.,article on Cabala; Webster,op.cit.p.86
19. Introduction To Kabbalah Unveiled By S.L. McGregor Mathers; www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html ]
20. Introduction To Kabbalah Unveiled By S.L. McGregor Mathers; www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html ]
21. Kabbalah: The Misunderstood Doctrine; http://baptist1.com/judaism/kabbalah.htm
22. Ibid.
23. Vulliaud,p. 20, quoting Theodore Reinach, Historie des Israelites,p.221 and Salomon Reinach, Orpheus, p. 299. As Cited in Webster, p.9]
24. Michael Sidlofsky, Kabbalah-A Brief History; www.shamash.org/kavannah/kabbalah.html
25. Michael Sidlofsky, Kabbalah-A Brief History; www.shamash.org/kavannah/kabbalah.html
26. Hannah Newman; "Masters of the Blinding Light," http://www.ovrlnd.com/Cults/exposeofthenewage.html
27. Hastings' Encyclopœdia of Religion and Ethics; article on the Kabbala by H. Loewe; Webster,op.cit.,p.374
28. The Kabbalah Unveiled; www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
29. Kabbalah: The Misunderstood Doctrine; http://baptist1.com/judaism/kabbalah.htm
30. Pico della Mirandola ; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
31. Gerry Rose ,"The Venetian Takeover of England and Its Creation of Freemasonry" http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
32. "The Authenticity of Kabbalah"; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
33. Nesta H. Webster; p.7, Secret Societies and Subversive Movements, Omni Publications, Eighth edition, 1964.
34. Ibid, p.7.
35. (4). Zohar, section Bereschith, folio 55 and section Lekh-Lekha, folio 76 (de Pauly's trans., Vol. I pp.431, 446; 5. Adolphe Franck, La Kabbale, p. 39; J.P. Stehelin, The Traditions of the Jews, I. 145 (1748); as Cited in Webster, Ibid., p. 8.
36. (6). Adolphe Franck, op.cit.,p.68, quoting Talmud treatise Sabbath folio 34; Dr. Christian Ginsburg, The Kabbalah, p. 85; Drach, De l' Harmonie entre l'Eglise et la Synagogue, I. 457; 7. Adolphe Franck, op.cit., p. 69; as Cited in Webster, Ibid., p. 8.
37. McGregor Mathers, Introduction to The Kabbalah Unveiled www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
38. Gershom Scholem, Zohar, the Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah, p. vii
39. Ibid., p. xi
40. Ibid., p. xii
41. Ibid., p. xiii
42. Ibid., p. xv-xvi
43. Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis by Robert Graves and Raphael Patai. 1964 Doubleday and Co., Inc. It is copyrighted 1963; private email correspondence, Feb2, 199 re:Hebrew Myths
44. Ibid.
45. Jacob Prasch, Explaining the Midrash; www.cw.co.za/moriel/midrash.html
46. Jacob Prasch; Satans Seduction of the Hebrew Root Movement
47. Private email correspondence, Feb 2, 199 re:Hebrew Myths
48. Peter Michas, http://www.ez/com/~peterm/HB.GK.RF.HTML
49. Avi ben Mordechai, Halacha, www.millenium7000.com/halacha.htm
50. Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis, Robert Graves and Raphael Patai.; Ch10,p. 65; Doubleday and Co., Inc. 1964 It is copyrighted 1963.
Hebrew Roots Intiation
KABBALAH INITIATION
Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it:
but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing. Deut. 7:26
The fact that a prominent Sephardic Jew like Avi ben Mordechai teaches the mysticism of the Kabbalah along with preaching the gospel should impress us that the the Kabbalah and kabbalizing of Christianity is not past history -- but a present day reality. Were it not for the propagation of this esoteric doctrine through the various media - although it is still regarded as "secret" - this writer would not have accessed so much information so easily. Make no mistake, the information that is promulgated is not all that Kabbalah contains, nor are lay people receiving all the information or plans for them that reside within the inner circle of adepts. The Kabbalah is being disseminated for a purpose.
Benjamin Creme wrote in The Reappearance of the Christ & The Masters of Wisdom:
"Through the Masonic initiation and certain esoteric groups will come the process of initiation. In this coming age millions of people will take the first and second initiation through these transformed and purified institutions." 1.
Initiation: Human and Solar, by Alice Bailey, reveals the plan for universal initiation within the established churches:
"Before many centuries pass, the old mysteries will be restored, and an inner body will exist in the church - the church period of which the nucleus is already forming - wherein the first initiation will become exoteric, in this sense only, that the taking of the first initiation will, before very long, be the most sacred ceremony of the Church performed exoterically as one of the mysteries given at stated periods, attended by those concerned." 2.
Early Initiation
Many references and teachings in the Talmud are also found in the Kabbalah. Some claim that one really has nothing to do with the other or that there is no problem with either. Moreover, it is maintained that since Kabbalah was considered a "secret oral wisdom" (and still is) that pre-initiates must attain a certain age before studying it.
At one time there was a great controversy over the study of the Kabbalah, although it was taught regularly with certain restrictions. There had been, "…the centuries-old rabbinic ban on the dissemination of kabbalistic practices among those under forty and unschooled in Bible and Talmud-…" 3.
Other Jewish writers confirm these statements.
"…Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, were traditionally not even taught to people until the age of 40, when they had completed their education in Torah and Talmud." 4.
Colin Low states that many of the adepts started at an early age:
"…Kabbalist R. Isaac Luria (1534-1572), began the study of Kabbalah at the age of seventeen and died at the age of thirty-eight! His equally famous contemporary R. Moses Cordovero (1522-1570) began at the age of twenty…" 5.
Mr. Low explains that the age restriction was not widespread, but required by the Ashkenazic Jews. Sephardic Jews, however, did not hold to this view.
"….This prohibition has come from Ashkenazic (East European) Jews and has never applied to Sepharidic (Middle Eastern) Jews. The historical basis for the 'rule' comes from opponents of Kabbalah within Judaism who (successfully) attempted to restrict its study. At the root of this was the heresy of false messiah Shabbatai Tzevi (17th. C) which resulted in large numbers of Jews leaving the orthodox fold…" 6.
In a 1996 article, Colin Low cited the Rabbi Ariel Bar-Zadok, an Orthodox Sephardic Jew (like Avi ben Mordechai) who declared his support of the lower age:
" …I am not sympathetic to anything that is not pure, authoritative Kabbalah. Remember, Kabbalah means 'to receive'. I am an Orthodox Sephardic Rabbi, ordained in Jerusalem. I teach only from the true texts,… By the way, according to the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabi Ovadiah Yosef (Yehaveh Da'at 4,47) quoting Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, one only has to be 20 years old to study Kabbala, and not 40. THIS IS THE HALAKHA!!" 7.
The term halakha, previously discussed in Part 2 of this series, refers to the "Way or Path".
"Halacha means 'Way' or 'Path.' Halacha is the application of the Law (Torah) to everyday living. The traditional viewpoint is that Halacha should be decided by those who are most knowledgeable in all aspects of Jewish law. Since the Halacha of each generation is decided by its greatest Torah scholars, and the Torah doesn't change, there is usually little change in the Halacha from one generation to the next. " 8.
From Talmud to Kabbalah
The connection between the Talmudic teachings and the Kabbalah is confirmed in the "Hypertext Halacha" of Project Genesis, which is disseminated by Orthodox Jews, and also linked to such Hebrew Roots sites as Larry Rowland's Messengers of Truth. 9. For example, in the meticulous instructions regarding women's hair we read from the Mishnah:
"Siman75. One should be careful about [a woman's] uncovered hair and a woman's [singing] voice when reading the Shema, and also not to read it in the presence of nakedness." 10.
Many paragraphs later in this same Siman in the Mishnah of the Talmud is a reference from the Zohar giving more detailed instructions.
MB 14: Pokes out etc. - He means to say that apart from a hat on her head she has a hairband which is a piece of material that binds the hair together tightly so that it does not come out; and it this small amount of hair that is impossible to contain and pokes out of the hairband on which the Rashboh is lenient (Chasam Sofer Siman 36 see there).
The Zohar [a mystical commentary on the Torah of Mishnaic origin, compiled by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai] on Sidra Noso is extremely strict that not one hair of a woman should be visible as 'it brings poverty on her household, renders her children of no account in their generation and causes an evil spirit to abide on her house. And all the more so [does this apply] if she goes like this in public. Therefore we require that a woman should not permit even the beams of her house to see one hair of her head. And if she conducts herself thus, then it is written [in Psalms] 'your children [shall be] like olive plants' - just as the olive [does not shed its leaves either in winter or summer but always retains its superiority over other trees, so] her children will excel over all other children; her husband will, moreover, receive blessings from above and from below, will be blessed with riches, with children and children's children'. This is a brief version of the words of the Zohar. And the Magen Avrohom writes that one should conduct oneself according to the Zohar. And in Tractate Yoma they mention a particular woman who merited by her extreme modesty, in that the beams of her house did not see [any of her hair], that [seven] High Priests descended from her. " 11.
In Jewish Mystical Traditions, Zos Imos explains the student's transition from Talmudic "haggadah" to very potent mystical experiences, which spread like a revival "fire" throughout the Diaspora and led to development of the Kabbalah:
"…The study of these mysterious visions and symbols, according to the Talmudic *haggadah* or commentary on the 'tellings' or narratives of the Tanak (sacred scriptures), tells of the descent of this same 'fire' on the expositor of the prophetic scrolls when in a holy state of contemplation. In contrast, such meditation could lead to an 'ascent' (in imitation of Elijah) which could lead astray the unprepared, but could, as in the case of R. Akiva, lead to ascent and descent in 'perfect peace' (Scholem, 1991)."
"This journey of the sage through the higher realms (often seven levels) was guided by prayer, fasting and the recitation of sacred psalms. It also required the knowledge of the various 'names of the angels' so that a 'seal' or incantation could be said to facilitate the journey (Wald, 1988). The apex of this ascent is a vision of the Throne of Glory and thereby *kedushah* or 'sanctification' by the Divine Presence. Yet, this Presence remains something apart, a reality so Holy that the vision of its presence was the highest sanctification, so that man and G-D remain distinct, and the vision of the *sar ha-panim* 'prince of the divine face' was supreme blessing. This was symbolized as the *kavod* or Glory of G-D. This early development was then carried throughout the Diaspora to Jewish communities far and wide. By the 10th century, the *Sefer Yezirah (1987)* had been composed, that mystic guide to all Jewish contemplatives for over the last thousand years. In this book we find mention of the Ten Sefirot, the 'Book of Creation' where the paths of wisdom and the '22 elemental letters' give the sage access to divine knowledge. This work, along with the Merkabah tradition set the stage for the emergence of a full-blown meditative tradition known as Kabbalah (Bischoff, 1985; Verman, 1992)…" 12.
I John 4:12 states that "No man hath seen God at any time…" Whom then did the initiates visit in their ascent to the Throne of Glory. The "prince of the divine face" may have been the prince of the power of the air or Lucifer himself.
The term the Talmudic *haggadah* stated above is noteworthy. According to Hyam Maccoby:
"The Haggada (found mainly in the Midrash) is the poetical side of Pharisaism, and comprises folktales, parables, quaint fancies and metaphysical speculations." 13.
Peter Michas claims the New Testament is similar to the traditional Halakah and Haggada writings mentioned above:
"…The New Testament is in the pattern of the Jewish traditional work of Torah, Mishnah, Haggadah, Halakah, Talmud and Midrash, but inspired by God Himself for the common people." 14.
The Merkabah, also mentioned above, is a reference to the Mystics who were the precursors of the medieval Qabalists, and who worked with planetary powers, i.e. astrology. 15. On The Kabbalah And Its Symbolism, by Gershom Scholem, explains a portion of the ritual of the Kabbalists and the Merkabah mystics thus:
"… In line with the general principles here set forth, the Kaballists strove from the very first to anchor the ritual of Rabbinical Judaism in myth by means of a mystical practice. The first attempts applied primarily to the liturgy and everything connected with it. The ecstatic rites, by which the early Jewish merkabah mystics of Talmudic times effected the ascent of the soul to God, were replaced, through the medium of kavvanah, by the ritual of prayer, which soon revealed dangers and abysses unsuspected by the naive worshiper." 16.
Scripture tell us that none have seen God, or ascended to Heaven, except Jesus Christ: "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." John 3:13
1 Timothy 6:16 refers the seeker of God to Jesus Christ: "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen."
In spite of the extreme spiritual danger that is lying in wait for students of Midrash, the Talmud, the Haggadah, etc., students of Peter Michas and other Hebraic Roots leaders are urged to study these very books. Surely the Hebraic Roots leadership knows that these studies are stepping stones into mysticism and practical occultism.
Kabbalist Colin Low asserts that by the 12th century, the doctrine of the "sephiroth", or the esoteric view of the way which God manifests, was established and that this secret doctrine is almost identical to that which is taught today.
"By the early middle ages further, more theosophical developments had taken place, chiefly a description of 'processes' within God, and a highly esoteric view of creation as a process in which God manifests in a series of emanations. This doctrine of the 'sephiroth' can be found in a rudimentary form in the Yetzirah, but by the time of the publication of the book Bahir (12th century) it had reached a form not too different from the form it takes today." 17.
The secret doctrines of the Qabalah obviously violates God's commandment:
"There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord…" Deut. 18:10-12a
Adam Kadmon
Avi ben Mordechai, who is promoted by James Trimm of SANJ and other Hebrew Roots leaders, goes so far as to teach to the Kabbalist "sefirot" as a means of Grace:
"… But, there is something more in the use of the word Grace in that it ties in powerfully with a teaching in Judaism called Torat HaSod which is describing an emanated attribute of G-d called Tiferet which is part of something else called the lower Seven Sefirot of Adam Kadmon." 18.
The Tiferet and the Seven Sefirot of Adam Kadmon mentioned by Avi ben Mordechai are, of course, in reference to Talmudic and Kabbalistic teachings. In order to understand and support those teachings, one would have to be involved in the teachings of Jewish Mysticism - the Kabbalah and the occult.
Gershom Scholem connects the Sefirot with the Merkabah, which was the hidden and transcendent "world of the archetypes" -- archetype meaning "the original pattern or model of which all things are representations or copies":
"…and when these ten sefiroth were made manifest, something corresponding to that supreme form became visible in every other creature, as is it is written: [Job 8:9]: 'Our days upon earth are a shadow' -- meaning: our days are a mere shadow of the transcendence of the 'primordial days'-- and all created being, earthly man and all of the creatures in this world, exist according to the archetype [dugma] of the ten sefiroth."
"In the language of the Kaballists this world of the archetypes is often called the merkabah, the chariot of God, …every detail in the ritual of the Torah is connected with a particular part of the merkabah. These 'parts,' to be sure, form a mysterious organism. 'Every commandment has a high principle and a secret foundation, which can be derived from no commandment other than this particular one, which alone contains these mysteries; but just as God is one, so all the commandments together form one power -- that of infinite divine life.
"The Torah as the totality of these commandments is rooted in this divine world, the pleroma of the sefiroth…" 19.
In his Introduction to Kabbalah Unveiled, McGregor Mathers states that the unity of the ten sefirot represent the Adam Kadmon.
"In their totality and unity the ten Sephiroth represent the archetypal man, ADM QDMVN, Adam Qadmon, the Protogonos. In looking to the Sephiroth constituting the first triad, it is evident that they represent the intellect; and hence this triad is called the intellectual world, OVLM MVShKL, Olahm Mevshekal. The second triad corresponds to the moral world, OVLM MVRGSh, Olahm Morgash. The third represents power and stability, and is therefore called the material world, OVLM HMVTBO, Olahm Ha-Mevetbau. These three aspects are called the faces, ANPIN, Anpin. Thus is the tree of life, OTz ChIIM, Otz Chiim, formed; the first triad being placed above, the second and third below, in such a manner that the three masculine Sephiroth are on the right, three feminine on the left, whilst the four uniting Sephiroth occupy the center. This is the qabalistical Tree of Life, on which all things depend. There is considerable analogy between this and the tree Yggdrasil of the Scandinavians." 20.
The Adam Kadmon referred to by Avi ben Mordechai is the kabbalistic teaching of the "Primordial Man". The ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HASIDISM defines Primordial Man as physical Adam made in the image of the spiritual Adam, a concept which expresses the occult principle "as above, so below."
"Primordial Man. The early mystics inferred from Genesis 1:26 - 'Let us make man in our image' - that the physical Adam was created on the pattern of a spiritual Adam that existed in the celestial world. (cf. also Ezekiel 1:26 - 'the likeness as the appearance of a man') This became part of the later mystical view of the cosmos in which everything on earth had its counterpart of the realm of the Godhead." 21.
On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, by Gershom Scholem, identifies the god of the sefiroth as Adam Kadmon, the First Man. Referring to the sefiroth, he explains the involved symbolism which leads to the delusion that God is man and man is incipient God.
"But nowhere, I believe, is the mythical content more evident than in the symbolism which identifies this God of the sefiroth with man in his purest form, Adam Kadmon, Primordial Man. Here the God who can be apprehended by man is himself the First Man. The great name of God in His creative unfolding is Adam, as the Kabbalists declared on the strength of a gematria, or numerical equation (isopsephism),… The Bahir had spoken of the 'seven holy forms of God,' each corresponding to a part of the human body. From here it was only a short step to Adam Kadmon, a conception from which the anthropomorphic and mythical view of God never ceased to draw new justification... The esoteric thinking of the Zohar …is wholly concerned with the primordial world of man, as creature and as the increate Adam Kadmon. For this secret world of the Godhead manifested in the symbol of man is both at once; it is the world of the 'inner' man, but also the realm which opens up only to the contemplation of the believer and which the Zohar terms the 'secret of faith,' raza de-mehemanutha." 22.
Adam Kadmon is also referred to as lights emanating from the ears, mouth and nose of the Primordial Man, or God.
"In the pleroma arise the archetypes of all being, the forms, determined by the structure of the sefiroth, of Adam Kadmon, of the creator God who takes a hand in Creation…. From the ears, the mouth, and the nose of the Primordial Man burst forth lights which produce deeply hidden configurations, states of being and inner worlds beyond the penetration of the human mind, even in meditation. But the central plan of Creation originates in the lights which shine in strange refraction from the eyes of Adam Kadmon. For the vessels which, themselves consisting of lower mixtures of light, were designed to receive this mighty light of the sefiroth from his eyes and so to serve as vessels and instruments of Creation…." 23.
The Adam Kadmon is also described as having "five faces".
"…In five figures, or configurations, which Luria calls partsufim, 'faces' of God or of Adam Kadmon, Primordial man is reconstructed in the world of tikkun. These five faces are 'arikh, 'Long-suffering'; the Father; the Mother; the ze' ir' anpin, 'Impatient'; and his feminine complement, the Shekhinah..." 24
Androgynous Deity?
Kabbalists teach that God is masculine and feminine, and that when speaking of 'man' they are always referring to two faces. Adam Kadmon is androgynous, according to the Kabbalah interpretation of verses in Genesis -- "male and female created he them" -- as cited in Blavatsky's Theosophical Glossary and in The Secret Doctrine:
"Adam, as the supposed great 'Progenitor of the human race' is, as Adam-Kadmon, made in the image of God - a priapic image, therefore. The Hebrew words Zãkhãr and Nëqebãh are, literally translated, linga (phallus) and yoni, notwithstanding their transliteration in the Bible as 'male and female.' As said there: 'God creates 'Man in his own image'...in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them,' *the androgyne Adam-Kadmon. Now this Kabbalistic name is not that of a living man, nor even of a human or divine Being, but of the two sexes or organs of procreation, called in Hebrew Zãkhãr and nëqebãh; these two being, therefore, the image under which the 'Lord God' appeared usually to his chosen people. That this is so, is now undeniably proven by almost all the symbologists and Hebrew scholars as well as by the Kabala. Therefore Adam is in one sense Jehovah." (The Secret Doctrine, Vol. II, p. 467) 25.
In his book, The Rod of an Almond Tree in God's Master Plan, Peter Michas states that Adam as he was first created contained a balance of male and female.
"Adam was created as a whole being, complete in form, containing a balance of male-female and a balance of logic-emotion." 26.
Mr. Michas then mentions two Adams, "Then God separated from Adam another Adam as a helpmate (Genesis 2:2-22; Genesis 5:2)." 27.
This is reminiscent of the concept of the Hasidic Adam in the phsyical realm whose spiritual counterpart Adam-Kadmon inhabited the celestial realm. "As above, so below" is the esoteric philosophy which implies a correspondence between the forces of nature and the movement of the stars in the celestial realm. The ancient mystery religions viewed the cosmos as being bound together in perfect duality with the earth. It may be that Peter learned the concept of occult correspondence through the Hasidic Chabbad Lubavich, where he studied the Hebrew Roots of Christianity, as stated in the Preface of his book:
"I ended up going into a place call Chabbad House which was run by the Lubavich, the ultra-orthodox rabbis. This was the beginning of my education in the Hebraic roots of the Bible. As my knowledge of the Hebraic context of Scripture grew, my God was being revealed to me in ways that cannot even be explained. I realize that if God had not preserved the Jewish people and their books (including the Bible), most spiritual truth and surely all of the culture of Scripture would have been lost to tradtions of men." 28.
Returning to Peter's account of Creation, the reason for the Fall is explained as a lack of male/female unity:
"Adam named her Eve and they were designed to work together as one complete being... Because Adam and Eve failed to act as a unit, they became vulnerable and succumbed to darkness and disobedience to God." 29.
Every student of Scripture knows that in the Genesis account, God did not fault Adam and Eve for failing to "act as a unit" but precisely for their unity in rebellion against Him. However, Jacob Boehme, whose contribution to theosophy is universally recognized, repopularized the theory that the androgynous primal Adam experienced an internal rebellion, the feminine against the masculine...
"The Judeo-Christian myth and theology of the androgyny of the primal man were successfully reinterpreted and revalorized by Jakob Boehme (1575-1624). For this great mystic and theosophist, Adam's sleep represents the first fall: Adam separated himself from the divine world and 'imagined himself' immersed in nature, by which act he lowered himself and became earthly. The appearance of the sexes is a direct consequence of this first fall...Another fundamental idea of Boehme, Gichtel, and other theosophists was that Sophia, the divine virgin, was originally part of the primal man. When he attempted to dominate her, the virgin separated herself from him." 30.
All of history is viewed by the esoteric schools as the return of mankind to the condition of Adam-Kadmon -- the perfect androgynous state. As the archetype of Adam-Kadmon, so is the concept of male and female being one soul -- it is taught that each soul and spirit start as a united male/female, which splits, and when a couple unites in marriage, it is the reuniting of that male/female soul.
From The Hebrew Zohar, we see the Kabbalah concept of androgyny:
"Each soul and spirit prior to its entering into this world, consists of a male and female united into one being. When it descends on this earth the two parts separate and animate two different bodies. At the time of marriage, the Holy One, blessed be He, who knows all souls and spirits, unites them again as they were before, and they again constitute one body and one soul, forming as it were the right and left of one individual." 31.
Gershom Scholem stated in Zohar the Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah:
"It behooves a man to be 'male and female', always, so that his faith may remain stable, and in order that the Presence may never leave him." 32.
The Kabbalah Unveiled explains the androgyne teaching by referring to the unification of the masculine and feminine side of God.
"And when They are conjoined together, They appear to be only one body.
"Hence we learn that the Masculine, taken alone appeareth to be only half the body, so that all the mercies are half; and thus also is it with the Feminine. 'But when They are joined together, the (two together) appear to form only one whole body. And it is so.' So also here. When the Male is joined with the Female, They both constitute one complete body, and all the Universe is in a state of happiness, because all things receive blessing from Their perfect body. And this is an Arcanum." 33.
McGregor Mathers' Introduction to Kabbalah Unveiled states: "41. Now, we find that before the Deity conformed Himself thus, i.e., as male and female that the worlds of the universe could not subsist…" 34.
Mathers explains that the Sephiroth contain the development and attributes of God, with some being male while other are female. The Holy Spirit is referred to as Ruach or the Spirit meaning "feminine" or Mother." Kabbalists believe that it was the union of the Father (masculine) and Mother (feminine) union of God that "begat the Son".
"Among these Sephiroth, jointly and severally, we find the development of the persons and attributes of God. Of these some are male and some are female. Now, for some reason or other best known to themselves, the translators of the Bible have carefully crowded out of existence and smothered up every reference to the fact that the Deity is both masculine and feminine. They have translated a feminine plural by a masculine singular in the case of the word Elohim. They have, however, left an inadvertent admission of their knowledge that it was plural in Gen. iv. 26; 'And Elohim said: Let Us make man.' Again (v. 27), how could Adam be made in the image of the Elohim, male and female, unless the Elohim were male and female also? The word Elohim is a plural formed from the feminine singular ALH, Eloh, by adding IM to the word. But inasmuch as IM is usually the termination of the masculine plural, and is here added to a feminine noun, it gives the word Elohim the sense of a female potency united to a masculine idea, and thereby capable of producing an offspring. Now, we hear much of the Father and Son, but we hear nothing of the Mother in the ordinary religions of the day. But in the Qabalah we find that the Ancient of Days conforms Himself simultaneously into the Father and the Mother, and thus begets the Son. Now, this Mother is Elohim. Again, we are usually told that the Holy Spirit is masculine. But the word RVCh, Ruach, Spirit, is feminine, as appears from the following passage of the Sepher Yetzirah: 'AChTh RVCh ALHIM ChIIM, Achath (feminine, not Achad, masculine) Ruach Elohim Chiim: One is She the Spirit of the Elohim of Life.'" 35.
The Sefirot
We turn again to McGregor Mathers for an introduction to the very important Sefirot of the Kabbalah and "Tree of Life".
"39. I must now explain the real meaning of the terms Sephira and Sephiroth. The first is singular, the second is plural. The best rendering of the word is "numerical emanation." There are ten sephiroth, which are the most abstract forms of the ten numbers of the decimal scale, i.e., the abstract forms of the ten numbers 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Therefore, as in the higher mathematics we reason of numbers in their abstract senses, so in the Qabalah we reason of the Deity by the abstract forms of the numbers; in other words, by the SPIRVTh, Sephiroth. It was from this ancient Oriental theory that Pythagoras derived his numerical symbolic ideas." 36.
A brief review of the Sefirots and Tiferot is found on the web site "The Ten Sefirot of the Kabbalah. 37. The ten sefirot or emanations are interrelated, generally one sefirot linking to the next. There is of course, much more to the Talmudic and Kaballastic teachings of the Ten Sefirot. Part of the concept of the sefiroth and the ascent through the gates or ladders of wisdom refers to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life that matches the Sufi mystic teachings. Due to space limitations the following list does not encompass all the sefirot and relationships, but presents comparisons between certain of the Kabbalistic sefirot and the Kundalini chakras on the Tree of Life.
The parallels with Kundalini are found in A Kabbalistic View of the Chakras, by Rebekah Kenton, who explains the chakras in terms of Jacob's ladder:
"…The chakras are connections between the physical and psychological bodies… their reflections can also be perceived as whirling discs in front of the body…The reference for the parallels comes from 'Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati' and all quotations are from this book…" 38.
"…from the Kabbalistic point of view it is more interesting to concentrate on the psychological aspect and evolving consciousness, and as such the chakras should be seen on the Jacob's Ladder on the psychological or Yeziratic Tree of Life." 39.
Very briefly, and without showing all the Sefirot, nor all the deep, secret meanings of these emanations of the Kabbalists' god, we may arrive at some understanding of Avi ben Mordechai's use of these terms.
"Tiferet represents the ideal balance of Justice and Mercy needed for proper running of the universe. This Sefirah unites all the upper nine powers…."
"Tif'eret is the offspring of Hokhmah and Binah.;
"It is often symbolized as a bridegroom or prince who strives to be united with the Shekhinah. Their union produces the human soul." 40.
The analogy to the stated Tiferet refers to the unification of Hokmah and Binah which means, "… their union produces the human soul" according to A Kabbalistic View of the Chakras by Rebekah Kenton. 41.
"Manipura Chakra (Navel or Solar Plexus); Tiferet. In the same way that the sun continually radiates energy to the Planets…Manipura or Tiferet is the Self, the midpoint of the psyche…"
"'When the consciousness evolves to Manipura, one acquires a spiritual perspective.' This refers to the position of Tiferet as the Kingdom of Heaven. In Mooladhara and Swadhisthana the consciousness is still preoccupied with personal matters and resolving old karmas, but in Manipura one starts to realize the possibilities in becoming truly human…" 42.
From the Ten Sefirot the initiate attains to God's wisdom:
"Hokhmah: Wisdom
"Hokhmah represents the contemplative, synthetic aspects of God's thought.
"It is the primordial point of creation from which all knowable reality originates."
"There are 32 ways of Wisdom." 43.
The Binah of the sefirot is said to unite with Hokhmah and give birth to the seven lower Sefirot, mentioned also by Avi ben Mordechai.
"Binah: "Understanding, Discernment "
"Binah refers to the analytic, distinguishing aspects of God's thought."
"It is the uppermost feminine element in the Godhead, and is symbolized as the mother of the Shekhinah. Many of the symbols associated with Binah are therefore identical to those of the Shekhinah."
"Having received the seed from Hokhmah, Binah conceived and gave birth to the seven lower Sefirot. "; "There are fifty "Gates of Understanding."
"…Supernal Mother, Supernal Shekhinah…Palace…Womb…Repentance ("Return," Teshuvah)…A river branching out into seven streams…Supernal Jubilee…The Hebrew Alphabet…" 44.
According to Rebekah Kenton. Binah-Hokhmah refers to the opening of the Third Eye.
"Ajna Chakra (The Third Eye); Binah-Hokhmah Ajna is the chakra of higher intellect. 'Ajna is the witnessing centre where one becomes the detached observer of all events, including those within the body and mind. Here the level of awareness is developed whereby one begins to 'see' the hidden essence underlying all visible appearances. When Ajna is awakened, the meaning and significance of symbols flashes into one's conscious perception and intuitive knowledge arises effortlessly."
"Up until Ajna chakra awakens, we are under delusions. It is only after awakening of Ajna chakra that the laws of cause and effect can be known. Thereafter your whole philosophical attitude and approach to life changes... As said, it is very important to develop the qualities of Binah and Hokhmah already at the very beginning of one's spiritual journey. "Only those who have reason and understanding are able to cope." 45.
"Paradoxically, the awakening of the chakras should start as high as Ajna or the Third Eye. One needs a degree of Wisdom and Understanding, a certain philosophical outlook and detachment, to be able to cope with the psychic phenomena that follow the awakening of the lower chakras.
"It would seem that the awakening of the Ajna chakra follows the sequence of the Lightning Flash, activating first the Binah and then the Hokhmah aspect of this level. It is said that from Ajna there is only a short way to Sahasrara or enlightenment; from Hokhmah we would see how to get there." 45.
in Masonic and Occult Symbols, Dr. Cathy Burns explains how the proper alignment and awakening of the chakras leads to spiritual enlightenment - the opening of the third eye - or advanced psychical powers:
"In the Hindu/yoga world of 'reality', they believe, as do much of the occult and New Age meditators, that the body contains seven basic energy centers, known as chakras. When these centers are properly aligned by practicing yoga and meditation, there will then occur a 'merging' of the spinal chakra (the serpent of Kundalini) together with Shiva, located in the frontal chakra (psychic third eye) and this 'spiritual union' is believed to increase extrasensory and psychic powers.75." 46.
The Lightening Flash which accompanies the opening of the Third Eye has occult meaning referring to Lucifer, and is also found in Scripture...
"And [Jesus] said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightening fall from heaven." Luke 10:18
The Yesod sefirot is the equivalent of the male phallus or organ of reproduction:
"Yesod is the channel through which Tiferet strives to unite with the Shekhinah and pass on the creative and benevolent divine forces."
"This Sefirahis symbolized as the male phallus, sanctified through the covenant of circumcision. " 48.
The explanation of the Kundalini parallels what has been presented above for the sefirot Yesod.
"Mooladhara Chakra (Base); Yesod "…Mooladhara is at the root of the chakra system and its influences are at the root of our whole existence. In tantra, Mooladhara is the seat of kundalini, the basis from which the possibility of higher realization arises…"
"All the passions are stored in Mooladhara, all the guilt, every complex and every agony has its root in Mooladhara chakra. It is so important for everybody to awaken this chakra and get out of it. Our lower karmas are embedded there, as in lower incarnations, one's whole being is founded on the sexual personality…" 49.
The Shekhinah, also in the Talmud, is often referred to as the feminine side to God and speaks of the longing of the male and female elements of the Godhead to be united.
"The Shekhinah is a Talmudic concept representing God's dwelling and immanence in the created world. It was equated with the "Keneset Yisrael," the personified spirit of the People of Israel."
"According to a Rabbinic tradition, the Shekhinah shares in the exiles of the Jewish people.
"Therefore, the redemption of the people of Israel is inextricably linked to the remedying of an alienation within God him/herself, introducing a bold new element into traditional Jewish Messianic eschatology."
"It is through the Shekhinah that humans can experience the Divine."
"The passivity of the Shekhinah is often emphasized (equated with its femininity), as the recipient of forces from the higher Sefirot."
"The Shekhinah is often portrayed as a bride or princess whose male lover is the composite of the nine upper sefirot, represented by the prince/bridegroom Tiferet.
The erotic and romantic phrases of the Song of Songs and Prophetic imagery is evoked to represent the longing of the male and female elements of the Godhead." 50.
Isaac Meyer states in The Qabbalah, regarding the male and female elements of the sefirot, that King Solomon's idolatry involved the worship of such deities:
"Early Hebrew prophecy and Bacchism are similar in some aspects. The Qabbalists called the Holy Spirit, the mother, and the Church of Israel, the daughter. Solomon engraved on the walls of his Temple, likenesses of the male and female principles, to adumbrate this mystery; such it is said, were the figures of the cherubim. This was, however, not in obedience to the words of the Torah. They were symbolical of the Upper, the spiritual, the former or maker, positive or male, and the Lower, the passive, the negative or female, formed or made by the first." 51.
Also on the Tree of Life is found, "The Anahata Chakra (Heart); Gevurah-Hesed" which involves the "ability to determine one's own destiny, and escape a preordained fate" 52. and each upward move on this ladder evokes a Lightning Flash on the Tree of Life.
Psalm 37:23 states otherwise: "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way."
The Vishuddhi is paralleled to the knowledge aspect in Kabbalah.
"The more abstract aspect of Vishuddhi is the faculty of higher discrimination… any communication received telepathically can be tested here for its correctness and accuracy…allows us to differentiate between realization coming into our consciousness from the higher levels of knowledge, and the mere babblings of our unconscious mind and wishful thinking…When Vishuddhi is awakened the divine fluid is retained and utilized, becoming the nectar of immortality. The secret of youth and regeneration of the body lies in the awakening of Vishuddhi chakra. At this state of awareness the poisonous aspects and experiences of life are absorbed and transformed into a state of bliss." 53.
Of interest regarding the ascent of the ladder of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life is Rebekah Kenton's statement:
"…In Kabbalah, an individual whose all chakras have fully and permanently awakened would be called the Messiah." 54.
Daniel 8:23-25 prophesies that such an individual will become the world dictator in the last days:
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up aginst the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
OF SAGES & SCHOLARS
Footnotes
1. Benjamin Creme, The Reappearance of the Christ & The Masters of Wisdom, Tara Center, 1980, p. 84.
2. Alice Bailey, Initiation: Human & Solar, Lucis Pub., 1922, p. 9.
3. Kabbalah, A Brief History, Michael Sidlofsky; www.shamash.org/kavannah/kabbalah.html
4. Kabbalah: The Misunderstood Doctrine; http://baptist1.com/judaism/kabbalah.htm
5. Colin Low; Kabbalah Faq; February 1996; www.digital-brilliance.com/Kab/index.htm
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Torah and Halachic Authority (3/12) - What is "Halacha?" How is it determined?; http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/text/faq/usenet-faqs/html/judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha/faq-doc-45.html
9. Hypertext Halacha; http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha/
10. Ibid., Siman 75, http://www.torah.org/learning/halacha/s75.htm
11. Ibid.
12. Zos Imos, Jewish Mystical Traditions;1995; http://140.190.128.190/merton/zos/jewish.html
13. Hyam Maccoby, op. cit., p.281.
14. Peter Michas, http://www.ez/com/~peterm/HB.GK.RF.HTML
15. Dance of the Seven Veils-Jewish Astrology; http://ggms.com/asherah/veils.htm
16. Gershom Scholem, "On The Kabbalah And Its Symbolism," Schocken Books, 1965, p.133.
17. Colin Low, "cabalah.cln"; Kabbalah, http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
18. Avi ben Mordechai, email to Mr. Ed Tarkowski, dated May 8, 1998:
19. Gershom Scholem,On The Kabbalah And Its Symbolism; op.cit., p.123-124.
20. McGregor Mathers, "Introduction to Kabbalah Unveiled", www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
21. Encyclopedia of Hasidism, editor, Rabinowicz, Tzbvi M., p. 8.
22. Gershom Scholem, "On The Kabbalah And Its Symbolism," p.104, Schocken Books, 1965/1996
23. Ibid., p.112.
24. Ibid., p.114.
25. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine, Vol. II, p. 467
26. Peter Michas, p. 48, The Rod of an Almond Tree in God's Master Plan, WinePress Pub., 1997.
27. Ibid., p. 48.
28. Ibid., p. 19.
29. Ibid., pp. 48-9.
30. Mircea Eliade, Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. I, NY: Simon & Schuster MacMillan, 1995, p. 279.
31. The Hebrew Zohar; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
32. Gershom Scholem, Zohar, the Book of Splendor: Basic Readings from the Kabbalah, Schocken Books, 1995, p. 10.
33. The Kabbalah Unveiled; www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
34. S. L. McGregor Mathers;, "Introduction to Kabbalah Unveiled", www.webvs.com/hogd/kabalah_unveiled.html
35. Ibid.
36. Ibid.
37. The Ten Sefirot; www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Sefirot.html
38. A Kabbalistic View of the Chakras by Rebekah Kenton; http://www.kabbalahsociety.org/chakras.htm
39. Ibid.
40. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Tiferet.html
41. Rebekah Kenton; op.cit.
42. Ibid.
43. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Hokhmah.html
44. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Binah.html
45. Rebekah Kenton; op.cit.
46. Ibid.
47. Dr. Cathy Burns, Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, Sharing, 1998, p. 128.
48. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Yesod.html
49. Rebekah Kenton; op.cit; http://www.kabbalahsociety.org/chakras.htm
50. www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Sefirot/Shekhinah.html
51. Isaac Myer, The Qabbalah ; http://marlowe.wimsey.com/rshand/streams/thera/canaan.html
52. Rebekah Kenton; op.cit; http://www.kabbalahsociety.org/chakras.htm
53. Ibid.
54. Ibid.
Gnosticism
Gnosticism
Above:
Illustration of Gnosticism representing the spiritual circles (eons) as
described in the Gnostic philosophy of Basilides. The Creature in the
center is the Abraxas Demiurge, creator of the underworld. (Author
unknown)
————————————
What is Gnosticism?
Gnosticism is a form of spiritual
perversion. Its main teaching is focus on self salvation through
knowledge only. Gnosticism comes from the mixing of the ancient
teachings of the Kabbalah with the teachings of Christianity. The end
result of this mixture is a systematic distortion of the teachings of
Jesus.
- The Gnostics claimed to have in possession the true versions of the Gospels and by doing this they reject the true doctrine. (Matter, op. cit., II. 115, III. 14; S. Baring-Gould, The Lost and Hostile Gospels, 1874)
- “Gnosticism, like the Ancient Mysteries, was founded on Spiritism, their mediums giving instructions purporting to come from the Gods or Spirits.“ (Edith Star Miller, Occult Theocrasy, p. 118, 1933).
Origins of Gnosticism:
One of the oldest forms of Gnosticism
comes from Judaism, and not from Christianity as commonly thought. As
the Jewish Encyclopedia points out “Gnosticism was Jewish in
Character long before it became Christian.” Source: (See Jewish Encyclopedia article on Cabala)
Jewish gnosticism unquestionably antedates Christianity, for Biblical exegesis had already reached an age of five hundred years by the first century C.E. Judaism had been in close contact with Babylonian-Persian ideas for at least that length of time, and for nearly as long a period with Hellenistic ideas. Magic, also, which, as will be shown further on, was an important part of the doctrines and manifestations of gnosticism, largely occupied Jewish thinkers. There is, in general, no circle of ideas to which elements of gnosticism have been traced, and with which the Jews were not acquainted. It is a noteworthy fact that heads of gnostic schools and founders of gnostic systems are designated as Jews by the Church Fathers. Some derive all heresies, including those of gnosticism, from Judaism.” (Hegesippus in Eusebius, “Hist. Eccl.” iv. 22; comp. Harnack, “Dogmengesch.” 3d ed. i. 232, note 1), (See Jewish Encyclopedia article on Gnosticism)
Gnosticism comes from the word gnôsis,
the Greek word for “knowledge” or “insight”. According to the Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Gnosticism can be traced back to the Second
and First Centuries BCE. (See the Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on Gnosticism.)
The Apostles
Paul and Peter confront Simon Magus before Nero, as painted by Filippino
Lippi.
The book of Acts 8:9-24 relates the
story of a man known as Simon Magus. This man described
in the epistle of Acts as a sorcerer or magician is also mentioned by
historical sources as one of the founders of Gnosticism.
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, ‘This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.’ They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.” (Acts 8:9-11 NIV 1984)
Nesta Webster (1876-1960), a
controversial British historian well-known for exposing occultism,
conspiracies and secret societies, describes Simon Magus in one of her
books:
“Indeed, the man generally recognized as the founder of Gnosticism, a Jew commonly known as Simon Magus, was not only a Cabalist mystic but avowedly a magician, who with a band of Jews, including his master Dositheus and his disciples Manender and Cerinthus, instituted a priesthood of the Mysteries and practiced occult arts and exorcisms.” (Nesta H. Webster, Secret Societies and Subversive Movements, p.29, 1924) (John Yarker, The Arcane Schools, p.167; Matter, op. cit., II.365, quoting Irenaeus) Bolds added
Edith
Starr Miller, Lady Queenborough (1887-1933), elaborates in
her book “Occult Theocracy” about Simon Magus and his
diciples:
In the Christian era, one of the earliest prominent Gnostics was Simon Magus, a Jew and an adept of the sect of Dosithians.” “Among the successive disciples of Simon Magus were; Basilides, Valentinius, Carpocrates, Marcus, Marcion, Cerdo, Epiphanes, Montanus, etc., and according to Bishop Lavington, ‘these were Herecics, and that they were Heretics of the worst Kind that ever defiled and disgraced the Christian Name, is allowed by all Denominations of Christians’.” (Edith Star Miller, Occult Theocrasy, p. 118, 1933), (Lavington, The Moravians Compared and Detected, see pages XIII, 59, 105 to 109 and 133)
ELIPHAS LEVI
(1810-1875)
Eliphas
Levi (1810-1875), a French occultist and magician expands
on the biblical story from the book of Acts 8 about Simon Magus:
Bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, this man is the great power from God”… (Eliphas Lévi, Histoire de la Magie, p. 189)
In the Book of Secret Societies and
Subversive Movements, p.29, Nesta Webster quotes Eliphas Levi:
Simon, indeed, crazed by his incantations and ecstasies, developed megalomania in an acute form, arrogating to himself divine honours and aspiring to the adoration of the whole World. According to a contemporary legend, he eventually became sorcerer to Nero and ended his life in Rome.” (Nesta H. Webster, Secret Societies and Subversive Movements, p.29, 1924)
Nesta H. Webster
also identifies Gnosticism as “Perversion”.
Perversion is the keynote of all the debased forms of Gnosticism.” (ibid., pp. 29,30)
CABALIST
ILUSTRATION OF GNOSTICISM
The Cabala is the key of the occult sciences. The Gnostics were born of the Cabalists.” (Jean Marie Ragon, La Maçonnerie Occulte, p.78, 1853) Bolds added
Gnosticism goes hand in hand with Cabala
(Kabbalah or
Qabbala), which is the esoteric or mystic religion of Rabbinic
Judaism. These occult teachings deal with magic, hypnotism, sorcery and
all sorts of pagan practices collected by the Jews throughout centuries
of spiritual borrowing from different cultures. The mixing of all these
pagan traditions with the teachings of the Gospel of Christ gave birth
to a whole new kind of Gnostic religion called Jewish-Christianity,
which is nothing else than a third religion between Judaism and
Christianity. As a result, modern “Christianity” was turned into a gamma
of Gnostic teachings with all sorts of perverted doctrines introduced
throughout the centuries in most of the “Christian” denominations around
the world.
“The result of Gnosticism was thus not to christianize the Cabala, but to cabalize Christianity by mingling its pure and simple teaching with theosophy and even magic.” (Nesta H. Webster, Secret Societies and Subversive Movements, p.29, 1924)
According to the Jewish historian,
Flavius Josephus, as cited in the Jewish Encyclopedia, the Essenes were
guardians of the secret writings of the Cabala:
“In fact, the apocalyptic literature
belonging to the second and first pre-Christian centuries contained the
chief elements of the Cabala; and as, according to Josephus (l.c.),
such writings were in the possession of the Essenes, and were jealously
guarded by them against disclosure, for which they claimed a hoary
antiquity (see Philo, ‘De Vita Contemplativa,’ iii., and Hippolytus,
‘Refutation of all Heresies,’ ix. 27)
BERNARD DE MONTFOUCON’S DEPICTION OF GNOSTIC
DEMIURGE
Demiurge: The evil creator god of
Gnostic myth. Derived form the philosophy of Plato
Manly P. Hall explains in his
book The Secret Teachings of All Ages how the Essenes were among those Jews that
for some reason became the teachers of the children of many Roman
military officers. The same Essenes were later considered as the fathers
of Modern Freemasonry.The Essenes were regarded as among the better educated class of Jews and there are accounts of their having been chosen as tutors for the children of Roman officers stationed in Syria. The fact that so many artificers werel listed amont their number is resposible for the order’s being considered as a progenitor of modern Freemasonry. The symbols of the Essenes include a number of builders’ tools, and they were secretly engaged in the erection of a spiritual and philosophical temple to serve as a dwelling place for the living God.It would thus follow that the Essenes were Qabbalists and like several other contemporary sects flourishing in Syria, were awaiting the advent of the Messiah promised in the early Biblical writings. (Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, p. 585, 1928, edition 2003) bolds added
GNOSTIC SYMBOLISM
The Essenes played a very important role
in spreading their Gnostic “secret knowledge” throughout the west
and polluting the purity of the Gospel of Christ. The perversion of the
gospel with the teachings of Cabala did not finish with the Essenes, it
actually continued for many centuries. A clear example can be seen at
the end of the 15th century with Pico di Mirandola:
But it was Pico di Mirandola (1463-94) who introduced the Cabala into the Christian world. The Cabalais, for him, the sum of those revealed religious doctrines of the Jews which were not originally written down, but were transmitted by oral tradition. At the instance of Ezra they were written down during his time so that they might not be lost (compare II Esdras xiv. 45). Pico, of course, holds that the Cabala contains all the doctrines of Christianity, so that “the Jews can be refuted by their own books” (“De Hom. Dignit.” pp. 329 et seq.). He therefore made free use of cabalistic ideas in his philosophy, or, rather, his philosophy consists of Neoplatonic-cabalistic doctrines in Christian garb. Through Reuchlin (1455-1522) the Cabala became an important factor in leavening the religious movements of the time of the Reformation.”(Jewish Encyclopedia, see: The Cabala in the Christian World) Note: bolds were added by this blog.
Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis
describes two kinds of Gnosticism in his book The Encyclopedia of
Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism. According to him the two types
are: Mesopotamian Gnosticism, which includes (Zoroastrianism and
Minchaeism), and Mediterranean Gnosticism from the Greco-Roman era.
Whatever the case, Judaism and Gnosticism are linked together in the ancient world because many Gnostic traditions are dependant of the Hebrew Scriptures and their traditions, especially through Gnostic-flavored interpretations of Genesis and Ezekiel.” (Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis, The encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism, p. 109, 2007) (Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, 112-46, 237)
If you click on the illustration above
from the Ecclesia Gnostica Occulta you will notice a great deal of
symbolism including the pyramid or triangle, the Egyptian sun winged
disk, a bright All-seeing eye on top of the flower, a Six pointed star
and many others. These symbols are commonly used today by “Christian”
religions like SDA’s, Mormons, Jehovah Witness, Catholics,
Presbyterians, etc…
A very popular and well-known vehicle
for spreading and introducing Gnosticism into Protestantism was
Freemasonry and the secret purpose of this was the corruption of
Christianity through the corruption of the church.
“It is corruption en masse that we have undertaken; the corruption of the people by the clergy, and the corruption of the clergy by ourselves; the corruption which ought, one day, to enable us to put the Church in her tomb.” (George E. Dillon, D.D., Grand Orient Freemasonry Unmasked as the Secret Power Behind Communism, [Metairie, LA: Sons of Liberty revised edition 1950; original edition New York: Burns and Oats, 1885], p.64).
Quotes like the previous one should help
us understand why many of the founders of the first and second Advent
Religious Movements in America and Europe were of masonic origins. The
end result of all this masonic infiltration was a vast gamma of
“Protestantism” all teaching a different doctrine but at the same time
all supposedly preaching the “truth” in a different distorted way.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 NIV 1984)
In modern Days Gnostic elements can be
traced in many cults and religions. These organized groups are growing
today in a very alarming way and some of the things they all have in
common are:
- They have their own doctrines, prophets and teachers
- They write their own books and according to them these books are needed to interpret the Bible.
- They focus their religion on lifestyles
- They usually call themselves chosen ones or the remnant.
- Their teachings are based on legalism and they can be traced from Rabbinic Judaism
- There is no salvation outside their group
Besides the cults already mentioned,
other polluted religions are the Roman Catholics and also all the common
protestant Calvinists. It is almost hard to find a religious
denomination today that hasn’t been contaminated with Gnostic teachings.
They have introduced Gnostic spiritualism in many different ways but
the most impressive one is in the form of symbolism. If you do careful
research, you will find their websites, magazines, religious propaganda,
temples and buildings all marked with masonic or cabalistic symbols.
According to Manly P. Hall Freemasonry
and religion have been interacting and helping each other for a long
time.
The sanctum sanctorum of Freemasonry is ornamented with the gnostic jewels of a thousand ages; its rituals ring with the divinely inspired words of seers and sages. A hundred religions have brought their gifts of wisdom to its altar; arts and sciences unnumbered have contributed to its symbolism. Freemasonry is a world-wide university, teaching the liberal arts and sciences of the soul to all who will hearken to its words. (Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, pp. 577-578, 1928, edition 2003)
Gnostic Elements in Cults
The following is a very interesting
Gnostic illustration from the Seventh Day Adventist Ministry Magazine
cover of August 1990. Masonic, Cabalalist or Gnostic symbolism is very
common in SDA magazines but for some reason their congregations have
gotten so used to this sort of thing that now for them it has become
something completely acceptable. Usually, cult followers tend not to
question anything and accept their leaders teachings as if they were
coming from God.
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST MINISTRY MAGAZINE FRONT
COVER AUGUST 1990
Observe all the cabalistic Gnosticism
involved in this rare portrait (above). The Masonic Christ is performing
the hermetic symbolism of “as
above, so below“ with his hands. Notice how the “Christ” is holding his right hand up while at the same time he points
down with his left hand. According to the SDA Church, Ministry
Magazine commissioned Mark Stutzman to paint this
distinctive portrayal of Christ’s Second Advent. The painting is based
upon the descriptions of Christ and His literal, personal return
contained “in the Bible” and in Ellen G. White’s book, The Great
Controversy. Mark Stutzman is a very well-known artist
who has dedicated himself to paint all kinds of illustrations including
nature, patriotism, demonic, violence, nudity and sensuality and all
sorts of indecent and immoral portraits. Some of his works
include illustrations for Mad Magazine, DC Comics, Warner Brothers,
Stephen King horror novels, etc…
To see the original magazine issue of
August 1990 on PDF, click on the following link to the Ministry Magazine
Archives:
http://www.ministrymagazine.org/archives/1990/MIN1990-08.pdf
http://www.ministrymagazine.org/archives/1990/MIN1990-08.pdf
FOREST LAKE 7th-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH, APOPKA FL
If you pay close attention to
the picture above you will find many Gnostic elements in the altar of
this Seventh Day Adventist temple. There is a Masonic Christ coming out
of an obelisk in flames which is also inside of a tetragrammaton. Look
at the right side of the picture and you will also find an Egyptian ankh
cross hanging on the wall. The Ankh or Gnostic Ankh is an ancient Egyptian
symbol of life borrowed and introduced in early Christianity by Coptic
Christians.
ANKH CROSS OR
GNOSTIC ANKH
The ankh is an ancient Egyptian symbol of life. Also known as an Ansata (latin; handle) cross, it is a visual representation of a sandal strap. The horizontal and vertical bars of the lower tau cross represent the feminine and masculine energy, respectively. This combination of male and female symbols (the cross and circle) in the ankh suggest fertility and creative power. The top loop also symbolises the sun on the horizon, and suggests reincarnation and rebirth. The ankh appears frequently in Egyptian writings about rebirth, and this symbolism was adopted by Coptic Christians, especially gnostic sects, to symbolize the resurrection of Christ and the heavenly marriage. The ankh was an earlier form of the cross than the better known “Latin” cross.” (See Symbol Dictionary online article on Ankh Cross)
Egyptian Winged Sun-Disk Jehovah Witness
(Watchtower) Publications
The Masonic Egyptian symbol of the
winged Sun-Disk or Sky god covers many early Watchtower publications.
This Pagan esoteric symbol represents the mythological Egyptian god Ra (Horus) and it was used in ancient Gnostic rituals.
The Wikipedia elaborated on how the
Winged Sun-Disk is being used by secret societies and religions as well.
The symbol was used on the cover of Charles Taze Russell’s textbook series Studies in the Scriptures beginning with the 1911 editions. Various groups such as Freemasonry, Theosophy, Rosicrucians and Unity Church have also used it. Variations of the symbol are used as a trademark logo on vehicles produced by the Chrysler Corporation, and Harley Davidson.” (Wikipedia article on Winged Sun) Emphasis added
Jehovah Witness
(Watchtower) showing Masonic Symbols
The cross and crown symbol shown here is
the exact symbol of the Knights Templar logo of Freemasonry. After
being under criticism the Watchtower discontinued the use of these
symbols regarding them as ”Babylonish”. (Yearbook of Jehovah’s
Witnesses, 1975) Compare the Jehovah Witness old publication to the
following Masonic symbol of the Grand Commandery of Nights Templar.
The Grand Commandery of Nights Templar
Masonic Cross and Crown of the
Grand Commandery of Nights Templar
The Gnostic elements used by these
religious cults can come in many shapes and colors. The first way to
identify Gnosticism is in their distorted doctrines. Commonly they
usually follow their own “inspired” books and writings.
- The Catholics follow their teachings called Catechism
- Rabbinical Judaism follow their distorted and invented anti-biblical Talmudic writings based on myths, sorcery, spiritualism or mysticism, racism, bigotry and hatred. These Rabbinical writings include the Talmud, the Zohar, the Mishna, etc…
- Protestants and other “evangelical” movements follow their fundamental Calvinist doctrines based on distortion, confusion and legalism.
- Other false protestant movements follow the gospel of prosperity, the more money you give them the more blessings you’ll get.
- Jehovah Witness (Watchtower) follow their Helping Hand Books based on Charles T. Ruzell’s cabalist doctrines.
- The Later Day Saints or Mormons follow the Book of Mormon written by their delusional Prophet Joseph Smith. The origin of the LDS cult is merely masonic.
- Seventh-day Adventist and other Millerites Sabbatical Cults follow their own invented version of the Gospel called “The Spirit of Prophecy”. They have a total of 45 books written and many of them plagiarized by their self-appointed prophet Ellen G. White. Their teachings are based on Judaism including legalism, sabbatism and lifestyles.
MORMON SUN STONE, 1844
One of the many esoteric elements found
in Gnosticism is “Sun Worship“. According to the
Smithsonian Institution Press, the Mormons built an image to the Sun
following a dream their own Prophet Joseph Smith had.
Drawn from a dream vision of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, sun stones and other celestial carvings adorned the Mormon Temple built at Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1844. But the elaborate temple was destroyed soon after by people opposed to Mormons and their religious beliefs. To escape further persecution, the Mormon community moved west and settled in Utah. This sun stone, salvaged from the ruined Nauvoo temple and preserved by a local historical society since 1913, was offered to the Smithsonian in 1989. To Richard Ahlborn, the Smithsonian’s religious history curator, it represented a chance to explore “the complexity of our nation’s spiritual origins.” (Smithsonian Institution Press in Association with the National Museum of American History, 2001)
STATUE OF ANGEL MORONI AT THE BERN SWITZERLAND
TEMPLE
Another common element in Gnosticism is
mysticism and idolatry. The worship of angels and other images is a
clear example of idolatry. An image of the Angel
Moroni blowing a trumpet is used as an unofficial symbol of The
Church of the Latter-day Saints. This idol or image can be found in many
of their temples.
________________________________________________________
Rejoice - reject falsehood and evil
But
beware of the evil one
Vatican II
was known ahead of time for the Apostasy it would be | The final
persecution will be from apparitional Apostate Roman Babylonian
Antichrist non-authorities who will claim the "apparitions" supposedly
from heaven demand it. These are the final innovators.
The
Naasseni
are the Satan worshipping apostate Perfidious Deicidal Pharisee Jews who
are the Babylonian base for the Marian apparitions and the false
goddess worship of Mary as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption
of Mary.
See:
Beware, have
NOTHING do to with it.
THE EARLY CHURCH HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HERETICS
The Early Church
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I
ANTE-NICENE FATHERS
VOLUME I
St. Irenaeus.
Book III.
Chapter III.-A Refutation of the Heretics
4. But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried [on earth] a very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time, a man who was of much greater weight, and a more stedfast witness of truth, than Valentinus, and Marcion, and the rest of the heretics. He it was who, coming to Rome in the time of Anicetus caused many to turn away from the aforesaid heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received this one and sole truth from the apostles,-that, namely, which is handed down by the Church. There are also those who heard from him that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, "Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within." And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, "Dost thou know me? ""I do know thee, the first-born of Satan." Such was the horror which the apostles and their disciples had against holding even verbal communication with any corrupters of the truth; as Paul also says, "A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." There is also a very powerful Epistle of Polycarp written to the Philippians, from which those who choose to do so, and are anxious about their salvation, can learn the character of his faith, and the preaching of the truth. Then, again, the Church in
"So, sedevacantists do
not even reject the pope,
but profess they need one and want one. This means with "greater
reason" their consecrations are recognized as valid."
That is the whole game of Apostate Babylon, both
traditionalist recognize and resist (i.e. SSPX)
and the Sedevacantist (there is no valid Pope since the Apostate
Antipope John XXIII, but we have to have one) in regard to presenting
the "Universal
earthly head over the non-church." i.e. - The Ecumenical Church,
see: Οικουμένα
in Greek Isopsephia is exactly 666
Real
Tradition was and is much simpler.
True
Tradition is to be observed.
True Tradition
is parádosis.
House
Churches are to preserve True Tradition.
No comments:
Post a Comment