The Four Levels/Worlds

The Black Text-- the literal sense of the letter-- is for pilgrims hoping to find relief from personal confusion or troubles. Whatever translation such students examine, they encounter apparent inconsistencies within the text, even obvious contradictions. For example, the prophet instructs that HaShem says, in one context, not to kill/murder, and then orders what appears to be merciless genocide in another, without reference to the enduring mercy of YHWH. Resolutions to such enigmas exist, but early struggle with the intricacies of the letter is likely to lead a student to one of two outcomes: either the individual will reject the entire text as nonsense, or else he will forego judgment and begin to ask the questions that will put him on the path to recovery of those dimensions of life lost through error.

No student is alone when reading scripture. HaShem is the Watcher and is jealous for the welfare of all who inquire at words first planted in the hearts of men to whom He gave eyes to see and ears to hear. Study of holy writ is a subtle dance between the human and divine spirits; and if HaShem leads in the circling of life, the issues of the Black Text ultimately trigger a questioning of the meaning of the Names it contains-- a desire to establish real definitions, rather than an acquiescence to lazy acceptance of first impressions that meant very little.

Persevering in study, realization of the importance of Names in biblical accounts is inevitable; because the "Kingdom of Heaven" is better understood from the Hebrew as the "Kingdom of Names." The prayer, "thy kingdom come," is equivalent to the prayer, "that they may be One, as we are One"; for all of us who struggle in the dimensions of earthly names are also known by the heavenly Names by which we were fashioned before our incarnations into earthly bodies, and as we walk the path leading to our celestial bodies, the mortal dimensions to which we adhere will be swallowed up in the emergence and confirmation of our heavenly Names.

As Yahushúa is the Word of HaShem from the beginning, we are the Words of HaShem that fell to the ground; and none of us shall have fallen in vain. All Names invested in the flesh/ground shall experience the Salvation of Yah as the will of HaShem is accomplished in its time: that will being that none should perish, rather that his Word will ultimately accomplish what is intended and required within each of us. The body of Yahushúa HaMashiyach-- the composite Temple of the Spirit of YHWH, which is comprised of all humanity, in its perfection: the holy nation of Y'Shar-AL, the firstborn, will be filled with the glory of HaShem/The Name, as YHWH takes His rest upon the mercy seats we carry within our hearts.

The unfolding meanings of biblical Names open the sub-texts that are embedded as hidden stories within the letter of scripture. Layer upon layer as the sub-texts reveal themselves, the impacts of Names lead to increasingly astonishing allegorical understandings. Students who discover the sub-textual layers of scripture are reading what is called the White Text. The allegorical understandings derived from this level of study are a door to the hidden manna of which Y'Shúa spoke; and as the White Text is understood, the process of interiorizing what is truly written begins in earnest.

At the first level of study, the Black Text admonishes and corrects, driving human sensibilities with the questions it provokes. The second level is approached through faith, and its White Text opens doors leading to enormous spiritual benefits. It is at the third level of scriptural study, however, that the faces of YHWH truly begin to reveal themselves. The third level is the Inward Text and consists of the conscious interplay between the Black and White Texts that occurs within the heart and mind during the processes of interiorization. The Inward Text is characterized by interpretations and transformations, for it is the operation of HaShem's handiwork in the process of personal salvation. This third level is an intensely dynamic interplay between mankind and the Creator, as HaShem fulfills the role of Fatherhood: the Inward Text is the level of the written word's interior relevance and application, and its purposes are healing and regeneration.

 So long as the zeal engendered by progress in previous levels does not interfere by puffing up imaginations inordinately, there is yet another level of scriptural understanding. The fourth level is the Invisible Text, which is unveiled by no other means than Ruach HaQodesh, the Holy Spirit. Intellect cannot approach it. The Invisible Text is written upon the heart by the hand of HaShem, and study will not reveal what is written there; for its lessons reside in the realm of inspiration. As the literal and allegorical understandings exert their perfect influence and effects within the souls of students, therefore, the mystical understandings of the Invisible Text begin to be administered by the outstretched hand of HaShem, beckoning the Children of Light to follow.

Teachers should be able to minister to their charges appropriately, as need requires, not denying the validity of any level; for, in truth, all levels are active in concurrence: as White Text expands understandings, the Black Text may need to reassert itself to restore balance. Further, it is written, "Let no man despise thy youth," because prophecy may issue from the mouths of babes. All is subject to the will of HaShem. May none of us quench the Spirit as we speak of these things among ourselves, that the Word of HaShem may accomplish divine intent without the inexpedient burden of human interference. Let none of us challenge another with contradiction simply because his understandings have yet to reach the level at which we, ourselves, are being fed. We must strive to honor all faces of Truth. These words apply to understanding and discussion of all holy writ. We are brothers, all of us; and none of us has anything that he has not first received. We are to feed, not lead; and rightly so: for HaShem, alone, has the perspective to answer any need at every level.