05-28-2011, 12:00 AM
Nu Lang wrote:
Nice Bob!
Would you elaborate on this one...
[/tr]
Ec 3:11
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
There seems to be a gap, or leap in understanding from the first statement of sentence to the second half.
also he hath set the world in their heart (part 1)
so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. (part 2)
There seems to be a missing qualifier. Why does setting the world in man's heart make him not find out the work from beginning to end?
Hi Nu Lang,
To me this picture says it all. This world is not where it is at. A mystic is always looking beyond the obvious. Appearances decieve.
Solomon was said to be wiser than any man. He was renoun for his wisdom.
The book of Ecclesiastes starts out with the statement that all is vanity. That word means "for nothing." Then he goes on to speak about all his travels in search of wisdom and understanding. He says that he sees the work of man's hands is all that is worth anything and then in the end he says that this too is vanity. All for nothing.
Solomon was indeed wiser than any man on earth but his wisdom was earthly wisdom. He did not break through that veil to the eternal.
Lu 11:31
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Mt 11:11
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Mt 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Solomon's fame was so great that the queen of Sheba came to hear him. John the baptist was the greatest of the old testament prophets, and in fact the greatest man born. But he came to tell of one greater than him.
Jesus came with a new message. The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.
It is not gained by violence or by effort like Solomon thought. Not by the work of our own hands. Or the effort of our minds.
The least of us that make it to the Kingdom of Heaven are greater than either Solomon or John. But it is not by building a tower to God or by climbing some ladder. Jesus is the ladder. The Kingdom is available here and now.
In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus tells Thomas that what men are seeking is all around them but they do not see it.
God has set the world in our hearts. Do we look at the world or look through the world to see what lies beyond it?
Solomon got to the point of seeing the world of illusion. All is for nothing. Everything dies or is worn away to nothing over time. Even rocks.
Great effort brought him to this point. But he did not see past this.
Unlike Don Juan and many other seers from various schools of thought I do not see the world being illusion. Rather it is analogy. God wrote the book of this world in the same way He wrote this universe we are caught up in. By allegory.
There are 4 levels of interpreting scripture according to Hebrew scholars. Literal, implied, allegorical and mystical.
Each is an excercise that leads us to the next level of interpretation.
This would also apply to "reading" the world around us.
The stories of the Old Testament are stories that pertain to our spiritual progression. Same goes for the stories we find ourselves caught up in in this world. This is the third level of interpretation.
But there is a fourth level. Paul, in the New Testament referred to the scriptures as the "Oracles of God." Oracles speak directly to us.
Solomon was troubled. We are not supposed to stop there because what was not available to him is available to us.
We are to become astonished.
The man in the woodcut is seeking by looking behind the scenes of everything this world has to offer. He has found and is astonished.
There is a saying in the Western Mystic tradition that says "The veil that conceals also reveals."
Keeping the attitude of "I don't understand this" and "what does this mean?" in seeking what lies behind the veils, whether in reading scripture or the world around us, helps us to stay in this seeking state of mind. Praying for Wisdom and Understanding which are gifts of the Spirit is of paramount importance.
1co 2:12
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1co 2:13
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1co 2:14
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1co 2:15
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1co 2:16
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
The spirit of the world reigns in man because of the fall. Because of this as Solomon said we cannot find out the work of God from beginning to end.
And you are perfectly correct there is "a gap or leap in understanding." And that gap must be bridged in order to find out that "work of God."
Joh 6:28
Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
It is by belief that we recieve this spiritual level of understanding. Then it is not effort anymore. It is a gift. This does not compute with our natural understanding. We must be lifted across this gap.
In Revelations Jesus refers to himself as Alpha and Omega. The beginning and end.
Solomon said no man can find out the work of God from beginning to end. He was right.
We must recieve the Spirit of God in order to reach across the abyss. To go from troubled to astonished.
Until then we are operating from the spirit and mind of man.
After that we are operating from the mind of Christ and the Spirit of God.
In the Qabalah, that abyss is called Daath, (Knowledge)
This is knowledge that is experiential in it's character. Becoming "one with" something as a man and wife become one body during intercourse.
But to cross that abyss is not possible for "Natural Man."
Joh 12:32
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33
This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Joh 3:13
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Joh 3:14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
So what is impossible with man is possible with God.
This is the abyss that Solomon came to. But what was not yet available to him is available to us.
We are surrounded by the Kingdom of Heaven.
Nice Bob!
Would you elaborate on this one...
[/tr]
Ec 3:11
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
There seems to be a gap, or leap in understanding from the first statement of sentence to the second half.
also he hath set the world in their heart (part 1)
so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. (part 2)
There seems to be a missing qualifier. Why does setting the world in man's heart make him not find out the work from beginning to end?
Hi Nu Lang,
To me this picture says it all. This world is not where it is at. A mystic is always looking beyond the obvious. Appearances decieve.
Solomon was said to be wiser than any man. He was renoun for his wisdom.
The book of Ecclesiastes starts out with the statement that all is vanity. That word means "for nothing." Then he goes on to speak about all his travels in search of wisdom and understanding. He says that he sees the work of man's hands is all that is worth anything and then in the end he says that this too is vanity. All for nothing.
Solomon was indeed wiser than any man on earth but his wisdom was earthly wisdom. He did not break through that veil to the eternal.
Lu 11:31
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Mt 11:11
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Mt 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Solomon's fame was so great that the queen of Sheba came to hear him. John the baptist was the greatest of the old testament prophets, and in fact the greatest man born. But he came to tell of one greater than him.
Jesus came with a new message. The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.
It is not gained by violence or by effort like Solomon thought. Not by the work of our own hands. Or the effort of our minds.
The least of us that make it to the Kingdom of Heaven are greater than either Solomon or John. But it is not by building a tower to God or by climbing some ladder. Jesus is the ladder. The Kingdom is available here and now.
In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus tells Thomas that what men are seeking is all around them but they do not see it.
God has set the world in our hearts. Do we look at the world or look through the world to see what lies beyond it?
Solomon got to the point of seeing the world of illusion. All is for nothing. Everything dies or is worn away to nothing over time. Even rocks.
Great effort brought him to this point. But he did not see past this.
Unlike Don Juan and many other seers from various schools of thought I do not see the world being illusion. Rather it is analogy. God wrote the book of this world in the same way He wrote this universe we are caught up in. By allegory.
There are 4 levels of interpreting scripture according to Hebrew scholars. Literal, implied, allegorical and mystical.
Each is an excercise that leads us to the next level of interpretation.
This would also apply to "reading" the world around us.
The stories of the Old Testament are stories that pertain to our spiritual progression. Same goes for the stories we find ourselves caught up in in this world. This is the third level of interpretation.
But there is a fourth level. Paul, in the New Testament referred to the scriptures as the "Oracles of God." Oracles speak directly to us.
Solomon was troubled. We are not supposed to stop there because what was not available to him is available to us.
We are to become astonished.
The man in the woodcut is seeking by looking behind the scenes of everything this world has to offer. He has found and is astonished.
There is a saying in the Western Mystic tradition that says "The veil that conceals also reveals."
Keeping the attitude of "I don't understand this" and "what does this mean?" in seeking what lies behind the veils, whether in reading scripture or the world around us, helps us to stay in this seeking state of mind. Praying for Wisdom and Understanding which are gifts of the Spirit is of paramount importance.
1co 2:12
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1co 2:13
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1co 2:14
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1co 2:15
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1co 2:16
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
The spirit of the world reigns in man because of the fall. Because of this as Solomon said we cannot find out the work of God from beginning to end.
And you are perfectly correct there is "a gap or leap in understanding." And that gap must be bridged in order to find out that "work of God."
Joh 6:28
Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
It is by belief that we recieve this spiritual level of understanding. Then it is not effort anymore. It is a gift. This does not compute with our natural understanding. We must be lifted across this gap.
In Revelations Jesus refers to himself as Alpha and Omega. The beginning and end.
Solomon said no man can find out the work of God from beginning to end. He was right.
We must recieve the Spirit of God in order to reach across the abyss. To go from troubled to astonished.
Until then we are operating from the spirit and mind of man.
After that we are operating from the mind of Christ and the Spirit of God.
In the Qabalah, that abyss is called Daath, (Knowledge)
This is knowledge that is experiential in it's character. Becoming "one with" something as a man and wife become one body during intercourse.
But to cross that abyss is not possible for "Natural Man."
Joh 12:32
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Joh 12:33
This he said, signifying what death he should die.
Joh 3:13
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Joh 3:14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
So what is impossible with man is possible with God.
This is the abyss that Solomon came to. But what was not yet available to him is available to us.
We are surrounded by the Kingdom of Heaven.