Post by Djedi Maaur on Dec 29, 2007 10:48:30 GMT -5
The Book of Revelation presents an amazing picture of a dance of great horror and great beauty. The Greek word APOKALYPSIS literally means: the lifting of the veil, is a term applied to the disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from the mass of humankind. Today the term is often used to mean "end of the world", which may be a shortening of the phrase apokalupsis eschaton which literally means "revelation at the end of the world" It is interesting that the term Apocalypse, has come to be associated almost exclusively with doom and gloom.
It is also interesting that the Chaos, which also originates from a Greek word; Chaos is from the Greek word Khaos. The word χάος did not mean "disorder" in the classical-period of ancient Greece. It meant "the primal emptiness, space", or "gaping void". It was the void from which all things developed into a distinctive entity. In other words Chaos is or was "no-nothingness." which is known in the Kabbalah known as Ain. From this creation came into being. So that which was before the “Big Bang”, appears as nothingness, yet is no-nothing since every thing radiates, or is born from it. If we observe our thoughts we will see that they too emerge from this no-nothingness, this primordial void, that is called chaos.
Thus what we see as nothingness, is purely a perceptual error just as chaos is relating to disorder. There is in reality no such thing as nothingness or chaos. Nothingness and chaos is a label that we give to that which we do not understand, or cannot see the purpose of, and thus represents the unknown, or the unmanifest. In scientific developments we see this reflected in Lorentz's Chaos Theory, which shows that there is no proof of absolute chance of unrestrained randomness.
Just the same our understanding of the Apocalypse is purely a perceptual error, as is our understanding of Judgement. Now the interpretations of Revelations among the orthodox and fundamental Christians are largely based on the idea of a fixed or static creation, or what scientists calls a one stage evolution. Yet, even amongst scientists today, according to most theorists, shadow matter can survive a singularity, with the memory intact of the previous evolutionary stage.
In the Gospel of St. Thomas saying 18;
The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us how our end will be.”
Jesus said, “Have you discovered, then,the beginning, that you might look for the end? For where the beginning is, there will be the end. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will not experience death.”
According to Gnostic tradition, the deeper meaning of this verse illuminates that countless universes were created, existed, and ceased to exist in the process of this present universe coming into being – hence there is no beginning to creation, and also no end to creation. How indeed will the divine potential of the infinite and eternal ever be exhausted? The same fundamental idea is found in Eastern traditions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, and of course a similar idea has been proposed in modern physics,which theorizes a connection between black holes and Big Bangs. Essentially, the theory suggests, that if a black hole draws in sufficient matter, energy, and light, it could translate into a Big Bang that constitutes the beginning of another universe in a different dimension.
Many are inclined to talk about the Judgment, the Apocalypse, and the fate of the world, fearing the eventual End-Of-Days; but they do not look and see that the End-Of-Days is inevitable in their own lifetime, for everyone who is born into this world eventually dies, and for that person it is the End-Of-Days. The question is not if the End-Of-Days will come, but rather when it will come, for such is the natural climax of this life – we depart this body-world some day, eventually. The real question is: Are we prepared for the coming of the Lord, the day we go out of the body and meet the Lord “in the air”? Have we recognized and realized the Light-presence (Christ) and Light-power (Holy Spirit) in us so that we might experience a conscious and rapturous union with the True Light, entering into repose in the Light-continuum?
Of course, what is meant by “judgment” in our teachings is a principle within our own consciousness, not something imposed upon us from outside of ourselves – it is the darkness and violence that goes unresolved inwardly that becomes externalized as “the Judgment.”
The progression of the Great Aeons reflects this process of Self-realization in Christ – the Great Resurrection and Ascension.
Around the turn of the previous century the Aeon of St. Michael dawned, and with around the turn of the millennia we began the entrance into the Age of Aquarius; in terms of the world we have entered into the Age of the Apocalypse, the Aeon of Divine Revelation. Far from doomful, it is a time of spiritual hope with great potential, for it is a push towards dawn of Supernal or Supramental Consciousness, and the development of consciousness beyond the body – like the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, the Risen Christ is the symbol of this hope among Gnostic Christians.
In terms of the "great beast" we seem to be talking about a partial or imperfect humanity, and an admixture of truth and falsehood, yet specifically a backward and downward pull against the evolution of a true and full humanity.
Given the power of the great beast to enchant and dominate humankind, at least in terms of mass consciousness, the nature of "error" must necessarily be more subtle and sublime - the idea of a near-perfection that is mistaken for a true perfection would certainly seem to apply. It seems to me in terms of something "antichrist" it is not so much "black" versus "white," but rather shades of grey or admixture that taints, more or less, and thus distorts, perverts or obstructs Divine revelation. In terms of 666 as a near-perfect image I'm reminded of the tendency to mistake state of cosmic consciousness for actual Christ consciousness; hence a premature assumption of enlightenment and liberation before it is actually realized. In other words, the mistaking of a near-complete attainment for the full attainment of supernal or Messianic consciousness. This would seem to be reflected in your interpretation of improper initiatory procedures.
Typically speaking in the mystical language and symbolism of our tradition the number of the microcosm is five and the number of the macrocosm is six - 666 taking on an interpretation of a false prophet or false perception of God, specifically through its reference to a "solar spirit," which implies a false god. The secular viewed as a "spiritual attainment" could certainly qualify, just as higher states of mental consciousness mistaken for actual attainment of supernal or supramental states could qualify.
I am drawn to this contemplation of three and six as you are speaking of it, however, based on the idea of the interior stars or centers in the subtle body, three as the ordinary condition of the present humanity and six as a near-perfection. Three is the solar plexus center, and six is the brow center; seven the crown center and eight the supernal center above the head. Even apart from this model there seems to be something to this play of three and six, but this model is how I would access the contemplation within the language of the Sophian teachings - and it is extremely interesting when considered this way.
It seems we might get to the same basic idea differently, perhaps even view it from a bit different angle, but the points you have made seem quite true to me. In fact it draws the contemplation further and brings it into more subtle layers - quite delightful!
On a certain level Revelation is speaking about the Roman Empire and 666 directly alludes to the Roman Emperors, for it is the number of a "solar spirit" and the cult of the emperor was a solar cult. As it turns out, Rome did take over the Christian stream of the Light-transmission and corrupt it, much as Revelation suggests.
But the number 666 goes deeper - this number of the "spirit of the sun" in the magical Kabbalah. The archons are associated with the planetary spheres and the "spirit" of a planet is considered klippotic (impure or evil) in the Kabbalah. One might associate the chief of the archons (demiurge) with the 666, as well as the principle power of the klippot (husks of darkness). This seems to be how the number is originally intended in the Book of Revelation.
Of the sun in this context we may say that it represents the domination of the exterior and material life over the interior and spiritual life in a state of dualistic consciousness; hence the nature of the unenlightened condition. Here we may also comment on the "great beast" which represents herd consciousness dominated by dualism or the unenlightened condition - the "beast" whose number is 666.
In connection with this I can't help but return to the contemplation of the message of the preacher in Ecclesiastes, the vanity of everything under the dominion of the sun or dominion of the demiurgos (ignorance). The number 666 and the events of Revelation seem to play upon this theme.
The Great Beast is not a man, but unenlightened manhood; just the same the sleeper of Babylon is not a woman, but unenlightened womanhood – basically speaking, the Great Beast and sleeper are the masculine and feminine energies in an imbalanced condition, distorted and perverted, or else in their immaturity. If the Great Beast is our unregenerated nature, then the sleeper is the misdirection of our desire-energy, our desire-energy that has yet to be sublimated and uplifted, directed inward, Godward.
Here we are, in Babylon, in Egypt, in the midst of a Dark Age, and the Great Beast and sleeper hold dominion in the unenlightened society – not as something separate and apart from us, but as us, for we are society and society is us. It is not “we” and “them,” it is us. What are we to do?
Frankly speaking, we are not going to change society, we are not going to change the world; but if there is any change to be brought about, then it must be a change in us, a change in our own consciousness. If and when a sufficient number of peoples bring about a radical change in consciousness, only then will society or the world change; but still that change would be far less significant than the change brought about in individuals at the peak of Conscious Evolution, for the development of the individual is always greater than the present manifestation of the collective from which the individual arises.
Indeed, in the non-dual realization there is no conflict or contradiction between Christ and the Anti-Christ, or between the Woman of Light and sleeper of Babylon – all is the energetic display of the One Life-Power, of the One Being-Consciousness-Force, the Divine Mind; recognizing the essence and nature of mind, and the reality of our experience as the energetic display of mind, all that arises naturally and spontaneously self-liberates: there is nothing to do! How wonderful!
Yet, if we become bound up in dualism, in the Ignorance, and negativity arises, then embracing it, restoring ourselves to the non-dual view, we shall transform it – all based upon this recognition of the essence, nature and energetic display of mind. All we need do is look into the Ain Nature of what arises, and if what arises does not self-liberate, then we shall be empowered to transform it – there is nothing to reject or cut off, but all may be embraced and included, all in this Presence of Awareness.
What is the worship of the Beast? It is the loss of the Presence of Awareness, the fall into the Ignorance, the Forgetfulness; it is the fall into the unconscious oblivion in which we are compelled by the karmic continuum, and this gives rise to the sleeper, misdirected desire-energy.
If we must be consumers, then let us be *conscious consumers*; if we must live and work in Babylon, then as we do so let us abide in the Presence of Awareness – living in the world, let us be aware that we are not of the world, and thus entertain the Divine Play in the world. It is simple, as simple as awareness.
If there is a poison, then let us take that venom and make from it the anti-venom; if the poison is already in us, what else shall we do? This is the Sophian philosophy, Sophian wisdom, as with our Tantric sisters and brothers in Eastern traditions.
As radical consumers, we are the sleeper, our society is the sleeper – if we must be consumers, then let us seek to experience the fullness of enjoyment in our consumerism, let us enjoy ourselves deeply, very deeply, and be fully in our experience. Interestingly enough, radical consumerism relies on the lack of enjoyment, for when we are enjoying ourselves we do not need to consume so much, quality replaces quantity, and when we are satisfied and fulfilled, enjoying, we have enough and need no more. Such is the result of enjoyment, of conscious consumerism, and in so doing the poison becomes the elixir of life!
This Great Beast whose number is 666, represents living only in the surface consciousness, only in the unreal. It is the number of the “solar spirit.” According to the Magical Kabbalah, the “spirit” of a planet is the klippotic or impure manifestation of the planetary energy, but the “intelligence” of the planet is the divine or pure emanation of its energy. The sun, of course, is the light and life of the planets and of the world – the solar spirit is that life in bondage to the Ignorance, not accessing the Divine or Fiery Intelligence that is in us – the Spiritual Sun, Christ.
If I go within and live within, no longer living on the surface, then the Fiery Intelligence is awakened in me and I abide in the Spiritual Sun – the Presence of Awareness.
The number 666 tells us that it is all a question of how we use the Life-Power, of how we live this life, whether in the real or the unreal. Quite naturally, the unreal shall not be taken up in the Great Resurrection and Ascension – how can it be, after all it is not real? Only through the real can we come to the Real; only through the Light-presence (Christ) and Light-power (Holy Spirit) can we be reintegrated into the Light Realm, the Pleroma of Light.
The number 666 is also interesting in terms of the interior stars (“chakras”) within the subtle body and the generation of the Body of Light, the Solar Body of the Resurrection. There are six centers in the subtle body proper, from root to brow, the seventh being on top of the head, beyond the body; thus, the message of 666 is that until the Serpent Power (desire-energy) is sublimated and directed up the central channel-way into repose in the crown, the center of the Divine I Am, we remain in the dominion of the Great Beast, the Demiurge, the Ignorance. Seven is the number of completion, perfection, wholeness of being, and eight is the number of Christ and number of transcendence; therefore six implies something incomplete, something partial and immature.
The number 666 implies something more – it is the number corresponding to cosmic consciousness, the peak of the mental being. Although it is a very lofty attainment, it is not true Christ or Messianic Consciousness, it is not full enlightenment and liberation; as in the peak of the mental consciousness, though it is very subtle and sublime, dualism remains, and therefore the karmic continuum remains at play, bondage to the law – in cosmic consciousness the individual disappears in the universal, but reappearing the karmic continuum remains just the same. It’s rather like the suggestion that reanimation of a corpse represents the true resurrection, as though returning to the old life unchanged is enlightenment and liberation. No indeed! Christ or Messianic Consciousness is not cosmic consciousness, though surely the experience of cosmic consciousness is a step along the Way; Messianic Consciousness is Supernal, Supramental, completely beyond the mental consciousness, and through it the mental, vital and physical are transformed. In other words, the number of the Beast represents an assumption of enlightenment prematurely, the great trap of cosmic consciousness – the most deceptive and subtle form of the Ignorance, the Demiurge.
We may also say that to the extent that religion teaches that the Divine is something completely separate and apart from us, or that the Christ or Buddha (Spirit of Truth) is something other than the very nature of our mind, consciousness or soul, to the extent that it preaches and encourages dualism, the god of religion is the Demiurge, is the Great Beast, and the religious establishment is the sleeper riding upon the Great Beast.
In this we may say something of the mystery of the crucifixion: The appearance of Jesus Christ as something external to ourselves must be slain for Christ to be recognized and realized within us. This is a key message found in the Gnostic Gospel of Judas – the very reason the Master asks his disciple to help facilitate the crucifixion so that the Christ might be realized in the disciples. In this one is reminded of a Zen Buddhist saying, “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!”
This may well point to a deeper mystery within and behind the death and resurrection of the two witnesses…
Two Witnesses & The Great Beast
If Genesis is the process of involution, a descent from grade to grade by an increased restriction of the Divine Light from the supernal to the material, then Revelation is the opposite movement, the process of evolution, an ascent from grade to grade moving to the Highest of Life, Supernal or Messianic Consciousness. Essentially, revelation represents the process of reintegration into the Pleroma of Light, the Supernal Abode or Light Realm – Divine Sovereignty.
After praising and blessing their works, the Great angel of the Risen Savior, Hua, says, “…you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and found them to be false” (Rev 2:2).
The seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven bowls – these are the dissolution of the Seven Sefirot of Construction of Asiyah, Yetzirah and Beriyah, respectively, in the ascension of consciousness, the lower world or universe (olam) being reintegrated to the upper, until the final reintegration of Beriyah into Atzilut, the Supernal World or Universe. The two witnesses correspond to the sixth trumpet, Gevurah-Judgment at the level of Yetzirah-Formation, as the powers attributed to them reflect.
Understanding this attribute and looking into the eleventh chapter of Revelations, there is much that we can look and see, listen and hear – there is much that can be said, as there are many different layers of teachings present, from the outermost teachings to the inmost secret teachings. As much as being understood on a collective or macrocosmic level, as the great ascension or great transformation of the world, it may also be understood on an individual or microcosmic level, as the process of the individual receiving Initiation, the Light Transmission. According to masters of the tradition Revelation is a “Book of Initiation” – the Supernal Light Transmission, whether understood in the context of an individual human or the collective of humanity.
This idea is reflected in these two witnesses, who according to tradition are Enoch and Elijah, the two individuals who are taken up in ascension, in divine rapture, without experiencing death. They represent two aspects of the Light Transmission that became divided by Moses who refused to embody the twin currents, demanding that Aaron embody one of them, but which were reunited in the Messiah, Adonai Yeshua: Ruach Ha-Enoch, the “spirit of the prophets,” and Ruach Ha-Elijah, the “spirit of the initiates.” These are two manifestations of Ruach Ha-Kodesh, the Holy Spirit, which when joined become Ruach Ha-Messiah, the “spirit of the anointed” (or Ruach Ha-Melchizedek).
According to one teaching, these correspond to two forces of the Serpent Power (“kundalini”) in us, the descending and ascending force, which when fully awakened and joined bring about the influx of the Supernal Force, the Supernal Light.
In Rosicrucian teachings, Gevurah is the sphere of the greater adept and corresponds to the ordeal of power or ordeal of initiation, as spoken about in “Gnosis of the Cosmic Christ.” Generally speaking, when we hear of the possibility of Initiation, the possibility of an actual Light Transmission, and we gain an intuitive sense of its reality as something far more than the vain external ceremonies so often called “initiations” or “ordinations,” we become zealous in our desire to receive it, zealous in our desire to enter into direct spiritual and mystical experience, the Gnostic experience. We believe that we want to enter and abide in Divine Light, the Divine Presence and Power, and in part that is true; there are parts of us that desire the Divine Light, but there are also parts in us that do not desire the Divine Light. Essentially, we have a concept of what Initiation is, a concept of what the Divine Light is, and we seek to experience that concept; however, Initiation, the experience of Light Transmission, is different than we think, different than our concept of it – quite naturally, the actual experience swiftly shatters our concepts, our illusions.
southafricansophiangnosticcircle.blog-city.com/the_apocalypserevelations.htm
It is also interesting that the Chaos, which also originates from a Greek word; Chaos is from the Greek word Khaos. The word χάος did not mean "disorder" in the classical-period of ancient Greece. It meant "the primal emptiness, space", or "gaping void". It was the void from which all things developed into a distinctive entity. In other words Chaos is or was "no-nothingness." which is known in the Kabbalah known as Ain. From this creation came into being. So that which was before the “Big Bang”, appears as nothingness, yet is no-nothing since every thing radiates, or is born from it. If we observe our thoughts we will see that they too emerge from this no-nothingness, this primordial void, that is called chaos.
Thus what we see as nothingness, is purely a perceptual error just as chaos is relating to disorder. There is in reality no such thing as nothingness or chaos. Nothingness and chaos is a label that we give to that which we do not understand, or cannot see the purpose of, and thus represents the unknown, or the unmanifest. In scientific developments we see this reflected in Lorentz's Chaos Theory, which shows that there is no proof of absolute chance of unrestrained randomness.
Just the same our understanding of the Apocalypse is purely a perceptual error, as is our understanding of Judgement. Now the interpretations of Revelations among the orthodox and fundamental Christians are largely based on the idea of a fixed or static creation, or what scientists calls a one stage evolution. Yet, even amongst scientists today, according to most theorists, shadow matter can survive a singularity, with the memory intact of the previous evolutionary stage.
In the Gospel of St. Thomas saying 18;
The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us how our end will be.”
Jesus said, “Have you discovered, then,the beginning, that you might look for the end? For where the beginning is, there will be the end. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will not experience death.”
According to Gnostic tradition, the deeper meaning of this verse illuminates that countless universes were created, existed, and ceased to exist in the process of this present universe coming into being – hence there is no beginning to creation, and also no end to creation. How indeed will the divine potential of the infinite and eternal ever be exhausted? The same fundamental idea is found in Eastern traditions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, and of course a similar idea has been proposed in modern physics,which theorizes a connection between black holes and Big Bangs. Essentially, the theory suggests, that if a black hole draws in sufficient matter, energy, and light, it could translate into a Big Bang that constitutes the beginning of another universe in a different dimension.
Many are inclined to talk about the Judgment, the Apocalypse, and the fate of the world, fearing the eventual End-Of-Days; but they do not look and see that the End-Of-Days is inevitable in their own lifetime, for everyone who is born into this world eventually dies, and for that person it is the End-Of-Days. The question is not if the End-Of-Days will come, but rather when it will come, for such is the natural climax of this life – we depart this body-world some day, eventually. The real question is: Are we prepared for the coming of the Lord, the day we go out of the body and meet the Lord “in the air”? Have we recognized and realized the Light-presence (Christ) and Light-power (Holy Spirit) in us so that we might experience a conscious and rapturous union with the True Light, entering into repose in the Light-continuum?
Of course, what is meant by “judgment” in our teachings is a principle within our own consciousness, not something imposed upon us from outside of ourselves – it is the darkness and violence that goes unresolved inwardly that becomes externalized as “the Judgment.”
The progression of the Great Aeons reflects this process of Self-realization in Christ – the Great Resurrection and Ascension.
Around the turn of the previous century the Aeon of St. Michael dawned, and with around the turn of the millennia we began the entrance into the Age of Aquarius; in terms of the world we have entered into the Age of the Apocalypse, the Aeon of Divine Revelation. Far from doomful, it is a time of spiritual hope with great potential, for it is a push towards dawn of Supernal or Supramental Consciousness, and the development of consciousness beyond the body – like the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, the Risen Christ is the symbol of this hope among Gnostic Christians.
In terms of the "great beast" we seem to be talking about a partial or imperfect humanity, and an admixture of truth and falsehood, yet specifically a backward and downward pull against the evolution of a true and full humanity.
Given the power of the great beast to enchant and dominate humankind, at least in terms of mass consciousness, the nature of "error" must necessarily be more subtle and sublime - the idea of a near-perfection that is mistaken for a true perfection would certainly seem to apply. It seems to me in terms of something "antichrist" it is not so much "black" versus "white," but rather shades of grey or admixture that taints, more or less, and thus distorts, perverts or obstructs Divine revelation. In terms of 666 as a near-perfect image I'm reminded of the tendency to mistake state of cosmic consciousness for actual Christ consciousness; hence a premature assumption of enlightenment and liberation before it is actually realized. In other words, the mistaking of a near-complete attainment for the full attainment of supernal or Messianic consciousness. This would seem to be reflected in your interpretation of improper initiatory procedures.
Typically speaking in the mystical language and symbolism of our tradition the number of the microcosm is five and the number of the macrocosm is six - 666 taking on an interpretation of a false prophet or false perception of God, specifically through its reference to a "solar spirit," which implies a false god. The secular viewed as a "spiritual attainment" could certainly qualify, just as higher states of mental consciousness mistaken for actual attainment of supernal or supramental states could qualify.
I am drawn to this contemplation of three and six as you are speaking of it, however, based on the idea of the interior stars or centers in the subtle body, three as the ordinary condition of the present humanity and six as a near-perfection. Three is the solar plexus center, and six is the brow center; seven the crown center and eight the supernal center above the head. Even apart from this model there seems to be something to this play of three and six, but this model is how I would access the contemplation within the language of the Sophian teachings - and it is extremely interesting when considered this way.
It seems we might get to the same basic idea differently, perhaps even view it from a bit different angle, but the points you have made seem quite true to me. In fact it draws the contemplation further and brings it into more subtle layers - quite delightful!
On a certain level Revelation is speaking about the Roman Empire and 666 directly alludes to the Roman Emperors, for it is the number of a "solar spirit" and the cult of the emperor was a solar cult. As it turns out, Rome did take over the Christian stream of the Light-transmission and corrupt it, much as Revelation suggests.
But the number 666 goes deeper - this number of the "spirit of the sun" in the magical Kabbalah. The archons are associated with the planetary spheres and the "spirit" of a planet is considered klippotic (impure or evil) in the Kabbalah. One might associate the chief of the archons (demiurge) with the 666, as well as the principle power of the klippot (husks of darkness). This seems to be how the number is originally intended in the Book of Revelation.
Of the sun in this context we may say that it represents the domination of the exterior and material life over the interior and spiritual life in a state of dualistic consciousness; hence the nature of the unenlightened condition. Here we may also comment on the "great beast" which represents herd consciousness dominated by dualism or the unenlightened condition - the "beast" whose number is 666.
In connection with this I can't help but return to the contemplation of the message of the preacher in Ecclesiastes, the vanity of everything under the dominion of the sun or dominion of the demiurgos (ignorance). The number 666 and the events of Revelation seem to play upon this theme.
The Great Beast is not a man, but unenlightened manhood; just the same the sleeper of Babylon is not a woman, but unenlightened womanhood – basically speaking, the Great Beast and sleeper are the masculine and feminine energies in an imbalanced condition, distorted and perverted, or else in their immaturity. If the Great Beast is our unregenerated nature, then the sleeper is the misdirection of our desire-energy, our desire-energy that has yet to be sublimated and uplifted, directed inward, Godward.
Here we are, in Babylon, in Egypt, in the midst of a Dark Age, and the Great Beast and sleeper hold dominion in the unenlightened society – not as something separate and apart from us, but as us, for we are society and society is us. It is not “we” and “them,” it is us. What are we to do?
Frankly speaking, we are not going to change society, we are not going to change the world; but if there is any change to be brought about, then it must be a change in us, a change in our own consciousness. If and when a sufficient number of peoples bring about a radical change in consciousness, only then will society or the world change; but still that change would be far less significant than the change brought about in individuals at the peak of Conscious Evolution, for the development of the individual is always greater than the present manifestation of the collective from which the individual arises.
Indeed, in the non-dual realization there is no conflict or contradiction between Christ and the Anti-Christ, or between the Woman of Light and sleeper of Babylon – all is the energetic display of the One Life-Power, of the One Being-Consciousness-Force, the Divine Mind; recognizing the essence and nature of mind, and the reality of our experience as the energetic display of mind, all that arises naturally and spontaneously self-liberates: there is nothing to do! How wonderful!
Yet, if we become bound up in dualism, in the Ignorance, and negativity arises, then embracing it, restoring ourselves to the non-dual view, we shall transform it – all based upon this recognition of the essence, nature and energetic display of mind. All we need do is look into the Ain Nature of what arises, and if what arises does not self-liberate, then we shall be empowered to transform it – there is nothing to reject or cut off, but all may be embraced and included, all in this Presence of Awareness.
What is the worship of the Beast? It is the loss of the Presence of Awareness, the fall into the Ignorance, the Forgetfulness; it is the fall into the unconscious oblivion in which we are compelled by the karmic continuum, and this gives rise to the sleeper, misdirected desire-energy.
If we must be consumers, then let us be *conscious consumers*; if we must live and work in Babylon, then as we do so let us abide in the Presence of Awareness – living in the world, let us be aware that we are not of the world, and thus entertain the Divine Play in the world. It is simple, as simple as awareness.
If there is a poison, then let us take that venom and make from it the anti-venom; if the poison is already in us, what else shall we do? This is the Sophian philosophy, Sophian wisdom, as with our Tantric sisters and brothers in Eastern traditions.
As radical consumers, we are the sleeper, our society is the sleeper – if we must be consumers, then let us seek to experience the fullness of enjoyment in our consumerism, let us enjoy ourselves deeply, very deeply, and be fully in our experience. Interestingly enough, radical consumerism relies on the lack of enjoyment, for when we are enjoying ourselves we do not need to consume so much, quality replaces quantity, and when we are satisfied and fulfilled, enjoying, we have enough and need no more. Such is the result of enjoyment, of conscious consumerism, and in so doing the poison becomes the elixir of life!
This Great Beast whose number is 666, represents living only in the surface consciousness, only in the unreal. It is the number of the “solar spirit.” According to the Magical Kabbalah, the “spirit” of a planet is the klippotic or impure manifestation of the planetary energy, but the “intelligence” of the planet is the divine or pure emanation of its energy. The sun, of course, is the light and life of the planets and of the world – the solar spirit is that life in bondage to the Ignorance, not accessing the Divine or Fiery Intelligence that is in us – the Spiritual Sun, Christ.
If I go within and live within, no longer living on the surface, then the Fiery Intelligence is awakened in me and I abide in the Spiritual Sun – the Presence of Awareness.
The number 666 tells us that it is all a question of how we use the Life-Power, of how we live this life, whether in the real or the unreal. Quite naturally, the unreal shall not be taken up in the Great Resurrection and Ascension – how can it be, after all it is not real? Only through the real can we come to the Real; only through the Light-presence (Christ) and Light-power (Holy Spirit) can we be reintegrated into the Light Realm, the Pleroma of Light.
The number 666 is also interesting in terms of the interior stars (“chakras”) within the subtle body and the generation of the Body of Light, the Solar Body of the Resurrection. There are six centers in the subtle body proper, from root to brow, the seventh being on top of the head, beyond the body; thus, the message of 666 is that until the Serpent Power (desire-energy) is sublimated and directed up the central channel-way into repose in the crown, the center of the Divine I Am, we remain in the dominion of the Great Beast, the Demiurge, the Ignorance. Seven is the number of completion, perfection, wholeness of being, and eight is the number of Christ and number of transcendence; therefore six implies something incomplete, something partial and immature.
The number 666 implies something more – it is the number corresponding to cosmic consciousness, the peak of the mental being. Although it is a very lofty attainment, it is not true Christ or Messianic Consciousness, it is not full enlightenment and liberation; as in the peak of the mental consciousness, though it is very subtle and sublime, dualism remains, and therefore the karmic continuum remains at play, bondage to the law – in cosmic consciousness the individual disappears in the universal, but reappearing the karmic continuum remains just the same. It’s rather like the suggestion that reanimation of a corpse represents the true resurrection, as though returning to the old life unchanged is enlightenment and liberation. No indeed! Christ or Messianic Consciousness is not cosmic consciousness, though surely the experience of cosmic consciousness is a step along the Way; Messianic Consciousness is Supernal, Supramental, completely beyond the mental consciousness, and through it the mental, vital and physical are transformed. In other words, the number of the Beast represents an assumption of enlightenment prematurely, the great trap of cosmic consciousness – the most deceptive and subtle form of the Ignorance, the Demiurge.
We may also say that to the extent that religion teaches that the Divine is something completely separate and apart from us, or that the Christ or Buddha (Spirit of Truth) is something other than the very nature of our mind, consciousness or soul, to the extent that it preaches and encourages dualism, the god of religion is the Demiurge, is the Great Beast, and the religious establishment is the sleeper riding upon the Great Beast.
In this we may say something of the mystery of the crucifixion: The appearance of Jesus Christ as something external to ourselves must be slain for Christ to be recognized and realized within us. This is a key message found in the Gnostic Gospel of Judas – the very reason the Master asks his disciple to help facilitate the crucifixion so that the Christ might be realized in the disciples. In this one is reminded of a Zen Buddhist saying, “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!”
This may well point to a deeper mystery within and behind the death and resurrection of the two witnesses…
Two Witnesses & The Great Beast
If Genesis is the process of involution, a descent from grade to grade by an increased restriction of the Divine Light from the supernal to the material, then Revelation is the opposite movement, the process of evolution, an ascent from grade to grade moving to the Highest of Life, Supernal or Messianic Consciousness. Essentially, revelation represents the process of reintegration into the Pleroma of Light, the Supernal Abode or Light Realm – Divine Sovereignty.
After praising and blessing their works, the Great angel of the Risen Savior, Hua, says, “…you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and found them to be false” (Rev 2:2).
The seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven bowls – these are the dissolution of the Seven Sefirot of Construction of Asiyah, Yetzirah and Beriyah, respectively, in the ascension of consciousness, the lower world or universe (olam) being reintegrated to the upper, until the final reintegration of Beriyah into Atzilut, the Supernal World or Universe. The two witnesses correspond to the sixth trumpet, Gevurah-Judgment at the level of Yetzirah-Formation, as the powers attributed to them reflect.
Understanding this attribute and looking into the eleventh chapter of Revelations, there is much that we can look and see, listen and hear – there is much that can be said, as there are many different layers of teachings present, from the outermost teachings to the inmost secret teachings. As much as being understood on a collective or macrocosmic level, as the great ascension or great transformation of the world, it may also be understood on an individual or microcosmic level, as the process of the individual receiving Initiation, the Light Transmission. According to masters of the tradition Revelation is a “Book of Initiation” – the Supernal Light Transmission, whether understood in the context of an individual human or the collective of humanity.
This idea is reflected in these two witnesses, who according to tradition are Enoch and Elijah, the two individuals who are taken up in ascension, in divine rapture, without experiencing death. They represent two aspects of the Light Transmission that became divided by Moses who refused to embody the twin currents, demanding that Aaron embody one of them, but which were reunited in the Messiah, Adonai Yeshua: Ruach Ha-Enoch, the “spirit of the prophets,” and Ruach Ha-Elijah, the “spirit of the initiates.” These are two manifestations of Ruach Ha-Kodesh, the Holy Spirit, which when joined become Ruach Ha-Messiah, the “spirit of the anointed” (or Ruach Ha-Melchizedek).
According to one teaching, these correspond to two forces of the Serpent Power (“kundalini”) in us, the descending and ascending force, which when fully awakened and joined bring about the influx of the Supernal Force, the Supernal Light.
In Rosicrucian teachings, Gevurah is the sphere of the greater adept and corresponds to the ordeal of power or ordeal of initiation, as spoken about in “Gnosis of the Cosmic Christ.” Generally speaking, when we hear of the possibility of Initiation, the possibility of an actual Light Transmission, and we gain an intuitive sense of its reality as something far more than the vain external ceremonies so often called “initiations” or “ordinations,” we become zealous in our desire to receive it, zealous in our desire to enter into direct spiritual and mystical experience, the Gnostic experience. We believe that we want to enter and abide in Divine Light, the Divine Presence and Power, and in part that is true; there are parts of us that desire the Divine Light, but there are also parts in us that do not desire the Divine Light. Essentially, we have a concept of what Initiation is, a concept of what the Divine Light is, and we seek to experience that concept; however, Initiation, the experience of Light Transmission, is different than we think, different than our concept of it – quite naturally, the actual experience swiftly shatters our concepts, our illusions.
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