by Jeremy McDonald, April 11, 2017
The bible not intended to be taken literally!!!
I grew up in a church of fire and brimstone – constantly teaching about God’s world tomorrow of which only the few could pass into. The rest would die unless they repented of their sins and if they didn’t they were doomed to burn in a lake of fire for all of eternity. So I’ve spent most of my adult life looking for the answers and finding my own truth. I encourage you all to do the same!
Our world is filled with tons of social and religious programing that we are faced with every day and unraveling my programming has been a bumpy and also wonderful journey of many years.
One major misconception of modern day spiritual leaders and followers is the idea that we are supposed to follow the bible and other spiritual text by the literal word. I too used to be one of these people and because of this belief I spent years in depression, living a life of self-hatred based on my misguided beliefs about the bible and what it said. When these texts are read in the literal sense then they will make no sense what so ever. However, when you open your mind to the spiritual ideas of these texts then they will awaken and become a living word.
The bible even says to us in its teachings that it will not open itself up to the unawake in short it will not come alive to those who are not ready to receive it’s teachings.
First let’s take a look at Psalms 78:2 where the Psalmist is stating:
“I will open my mouth with Parable, I will utter things from old…”
Key word here is “Parable” and what is a parable? According to dictionary.com it is:
A short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson. A statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.
Right here in the Old Testament the bible is stating that the lessons are going to come in stories that have indirect meanings.
Going on Galatians 4:24 it’s talking about Abraham and his children that are born from Hagar the slave and Sara the free woman. This leads into the bible stating this:
“These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.”
The word “figuratively” being the key word here is defined by dictionary.com as:
The nature of or involving a figure of speech, especially a metaphor; metaphorical and not literal..
In 2 Corinthians 3:6 it really spells it out for us when Paul writes:
“He has made us competent as ministers of a new coven
ant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
This scripture the first time I read it, I admittedly had to read it over and over again because I was in such disbelief. I remember thinking to myself how have these pastors, ministers and spiritual leaders missed this very scripture all of these centuries? Then I remembered Revelations 2:29 where it says:
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
This very plainly states whoever, has the ears to hear then they will hear and they will see but if they do not they will not see it. They will only read the literal word and will not understand the spirit of what is being said. They will not see the metaphors being spoken they will see only the words.
This leads one to think about how many wars have been fought over the literal word and how many families have been ruined by the literal word. How many parents have shunned their children because they were gay or lesbian because of what they read literally in the bible?
In Mark 4:11 it is written:
“The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables”
Again the Kingdom of heaven is right there for all of us not just a select few but is a birthright for all of us to take when we are open to receive it.
In Luke 17:21 it is written:
“nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
In the King James Version it states:
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
So most are constantly searching and constantly looking for the kingdom of heaven they are looking for the one thing that will make them happy but the truth is that it’s right in front of you and it’s within you. Why have we missed it? Because our eyes and ears have been veiled so we cannot see …
You have been convinced you need something outside of you to make you happy, you have been convinced you need a government to take care of you and you have been deceived and lead by leaders who have no clue of themselves either… We have a world of the unawake leading the unawake. The blind leading the blind…
So how do we change this? Where is the hope? Well in Matthew 6:22 it is written:
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.”
This is interesting because the lamp of the body is the pineal gland (third eye) of the body when it is filled with light it will secrete what the ancients referred to as Christos which illuminates the body and gives a nirvana sensation and allows for the kundalini to be full activated.
How is this done?
Well it states in Ezekiel 8:3:
And he put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looks toward the north…
This passage talks about something very important because it talks about being lifted up in spirit between the earth and heaven. This means you are full balanced within all of your body, mind and soul… fully grounded to the earth and full connected to God (Source) … This happens when you are balanced. It is obvious when it states that he was brought into the visions of the God of Jerusalem.
Interesting because the root of the name Jerusalem is Shalom (Shalem) which means basically: completeness, wholeness and soundness.
Which leads me to the point that in order for the kundalini to rise the individual would have to be whole, complete, and sound. Meaning they would have had to face all of who they are.. The darkness of who they are and the light side of themselves.
All the things they did not want others to see, All things they were not at peace with themselves they would need to find peace within for these things in order to find that wholeness. It’s apparent in our culture we have a culture of the avoidance of pain, hiding things we do not want others to see because we are ashamed or we are not sure others will understand where we are coming from. However, to find that Kingdom of Heaven within, one will have to end the struggle going on inside of themselves.
This can be done with:
- Daily meditation
- When you are afraid, face your fears and do what is necessary to face them (this does not mean endangering yourself, I am talking about inner emotional fears not running into oncoming traffic…)
- Practice Self Awareness and do the best you can everyday
- When something new comes up emotional face it, speak your truth and then move on
- Love yourself and others
- Hold yourself accountable
This world is changing and remember you have access to peace, love and harmony it is not a special privilege given to just a few.
Be good to yourself!
Love,
Jeremy
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About The Author
Jeremy McDonald has had a deep passion for human dynamics and has spent his adult life studying concepts of healing, mindfulness, consciousness and many other subjects. He was formally trained in Adult Learning Theories and has worked as a Corporate Trainer for a number of years. He has also been a public speaker for the past 20 years helping others find their full potential. He strives to be the constant student realizing life is only happening to it’s fullest when we are expanding our growth and knowledge. We are all teachers and students and this relationship is a flow between the two. Follow him on – Facebook: @JeremyMcDonaldLLG, Twitter: @Lamplightgroup.
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