Back in the Wilderness: the Rough Places, PlainYesod:The Church at SmyrnaTake my yoke upon thee, and learn of me. And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things
saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy
works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the
blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the
synagogue of Satan. The location in the flesh of the church at Smyrna is not so apparent as for the church at Ephesus; it is inferred from the text of other messages to the churches of Asia by searching this way a little and that way a little-- in scripture, in the flesh, in experience in the Spirit, and in the traditions of kabbalah. As pertains to the first Adam, I found Smyrna to be symbolic of the abdominal region. "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask Elohénu, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not." The fullness of the stature of Messiah Yahushúa comes in the unity of the faith by the aggregation of affirmations. Malkuth is often signified by the key words "stones" and "Rock," as used in the King James version of "The Book." The order of authority in the Kingdom of Elohim is conveyed by such words in Yahushúa's teaching to Peter about the keys to the Kingdom: "Cephas" (Kepa/), Peter's Hebrew name, means "hollow rock" or "stone"; the name "Peter" (Petros) means "rock": larger than a stone, but connoting a piece of a larger rock. The word for "Rock" (petra) means "massive boulder," suggesting the mass from which the "petros" was extracted. We therefore say that the keys to the Kingdom are in this understanding: "A little, hollow stone can become a rock, but the Boulder is boss upon the Mountain of Elohim." Yesod, or Foundation, also has its key words in the King James, among them "reins" and "foundation." The abdomen, as traditional location of the reins, is also the location of the beginning of life-- of its foundational moments-- in human reproduction. Not only is the abdomen the general location of the mother's womb: the egg, having been fertilized and beginning to divide and multiply, is transformed into the new tabernacle of flesh by means of the navel. When the body has been formed and emerges as a whole organism, furthermore, it is the functions of the reins that predominate the early, foundational days of the child's life-- the taking of nourishment and the elimination of wastes. As life continues, the faculties of the reins extend their foundational functions under the influence of other faculties-- the appetites broadening beyond their basic attachments, to lead the organism into one activity for growth and another for balance, and so forth. It is significant that the spheres Malkuth and Yesod are located on the same path line, the center path: the relationship of the two is both sequential and uniquely direct. In Malkuth the bride and groom are united; in Yesod are unveiled the parameters of the partnership: the progression is from faith during espousal and exchange of vows to knowledge of the significance of unification upon consummation of the marriage. In addressing the angel of the church at Smyrna, Yahushúa confirms at once his identity and authority and proceeds with a message containing no rebuke, but only words of encouragement, recalling the image of the bridegroom preparing his bride for the long walk they will share together. It is not that there remains no more to be overcome, as the crown of life (Kether) has yet to be bestowed. There is yet reason for rebuke, which is indeed forthcoming in the next message to the churches; but in Yesod, Yahushúa is busy strengthening trust, or faith, and laying a foundational understanding for the trials yet to come on the path to spiritual maturation. The proper foundation is laid by removing things movable and coming to bedrock. Spiritually, this is achieved by affliction of soul-- by digging deep in relentless examination of self to discover what is superfluous in one's life-- those things that are contrary to the measurement of Messiah. This work is full of tribulation, and its immediate end is a sense of impoverishment at having shed physical, emotional, and psychological frills and dainties. The loss of the various forms of the mammon of unrighteousness, however, shall be compensated by ten-fold gain of righteous mammon-- of enduring treasure, both now and in the life to come. As one nears freedom from vanity, however, he is distracted by the realization that not all who are nominally walking the same path are making the same sacrifices. This realization is a great stumbling block, moving focus from the motes remaining in one's own eye to the beams in the eyes of others; and a dual focus, Y'shúa taught in his ministry upon Earth, is the beginning of great darkness that only seems as light. Yahushúa affirms progress and redirects the mind of the angel at Smyrna precisely to that focus of faith which will consecrate its travail unto fruition. The devil, that fallen angel of the carnal
mind, will cast some who have progressed thus far into prison for trial
and tribulation lasting ten days: he will sift them into portions to try
their purity. If the ten spheres, or sephiroth, are symbolic of stages
or levels or days of spiritual reality, it is likely that every pilgrim
will either pass through them or become entrapped within them. |
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