Aberamentho
Gnosis
Salaam.
I thought I would open discussing what I feel is a most overlooked Spiritual teaching, "Born again" and what I believe to be the esoteric significance of "Virgin birth" or birth resulting from the intervention of the Holy Spirit and not through procreation's process, sex.
Jesus (pbwh) was born this way literally if you interpret it so, or you can believe both interpretations are true but one is for us and the other unique to the Messiah (pbwh).
Let's consult the most esoteric of the Gospels, some say Gnostic, the Gospel of John.
John 3:3
2...you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and disciple in the making here, has just acknowledged that the Shekhina or Presence (in English) of God, identified with the Holy Spirit in Rabbinical writings, descendants of the Pharisees, works through Jesus (pbwh).
3. Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no on can see the Kingdom of God without being born from above."* 4. Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can anyone enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?
*Later MSS. have "born anew" but "from above" is used in the NRSV, it matters a little because "from above" is probably what is original and the slight difference is significant as I will show.
This born again from above is a birth, pure, and metaphorically "virgin." A virgin birth for disciples.
5. Jesus answered, "Very Truly, I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.
Here we have the revealing of the Way to being born from above. The Baptism of water (forgiveness) and Spirit (connected to John's mention of Baptism of fire) which descends upon the immersed and blesses and purifies the individual upon emergence from the living water. Fire burns, purifies from chaff, which all have unless perfect. And is a symbol of Wisdom such as at Pentacost when the languages or tongues of fire descended to reveal the language each disciple would be speaking and where he would be proselytizing. This is a theme in the Dead Sea Scrolls too, tongues of fire (side note).
6. What is born of flesh is flesh, what is born of Spirit is spirit.
13." No one has ascended into Heaven except the one who descended from Heaven, the son of man.
This requires explanation. Enoch and Elijah SEEM to contradict this statement but it is not so. The "one who descended from Heaven (above, was born from above and descended, ie Baptized with water and Spirit).
Son of man is a Hebrew idiom for the son of a man, dispute it all you like it is a fact and means it isn't being applied to Jesus (pbwh) here, though Mary is human and he is her son so that qualifies him as a son of man, meaning mankind, a human.
14. "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."
The serpent is a symbol of Wisdom. It is possible it means that Wisdom was lifted up in the and so must be the son of man, mankind itself, and whoever believes this is possible, believes in his or her self in addition to what and because of what Jesus (pbwh) taught.
At this point it is debated whether the quotation ends here or not according to the footnote in the NRSV. It goes on to say how God loved the world so much he gave them his only son (no mention of death) so that people could have a chance to hear him and believe him and learn from him (pbwh). Not how they should rely on his murder/execution for salvation but believe him to gain eternal life which pleases God. God loves those who love light and are good.
19. And this is the Judgement, the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because THEIR DEEDS WERE EVIL. 20. All who do evil hate the light and don't come to the light, so their deeds can not be exposed.
I thought I would open discussing what I feel is a most overlooked Spiritual teaching, "Born again" and what I believe to be the esoteric significance of "Virgin birth" or birth resulting from the intervention of the Holy Spirit and not through procreation's process, sex.
Jesus (pbwh) was born this way literally if you interpret it so, or you can believe both interpretations are true but one is for us and the other unique to the Messiah (pbwh).
Let's consult the most esoteric of the Gospels, some say Gnostic, the Gospel of John.
John 3:3
2...you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and disciple in the making here, has just acknowledged that the Shekhina or Presence (in English) of God, identified with the Holy Spirit in Rabbinical writings, descendants of the Pharisees, works through Jesus (pbwh).
3. Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no on can see the Kingdom of God without being born from above."* 4. Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can anyone enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?
*Later MSS. have "born anew" but "from above" is used in the NRSV, it matters a little because "from above" is probably what is original and the slight difference is significant as I will show.
This born again from above is a birth, pure, and metaphorically "virgin." A virgin birth for disciples.
5. Jesus answered, "Very Truly, I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.
Here we have the revealing of the Way to being born from above. The Baptism of water (forgiveness) and Spirit (connected to John's mention of Baptism of fire) which descends upon the immersed and blesses and purifies the individual upon emergence from the living water. Fire burns, purifies from chaff, which all have unless perfect. And is a symbol of Wisdom such as at Pentacost when the languages or tongues of fire descended to reveal the language each disciple would be speaking and where he would be proselytizing. This is a theme in the Dead Sea Scrolls too, tongues of fire (side note).
6. What is born of flesh is flesh, what is born of Spirit is spirit.
13." No one has ascended into Heaven except the one who descended from Heaven, the son of man.
This requires explanation. Enoch and Elijah SEEM to contradict this statement but it is not so. The "one who descended from Heaven (above, was born from above and descended, ie Baptized with water and Spirit).
Son of man is a Hebrew idiom for the son of a man, dispute it all you like it is a fact and means it isn't being applied to Jesus (pbwh) here, though Mary is human and he is her son so that qualifies him as a son of man, meaning mankind, a human.
14. "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."
The serpent is a symbol of Wisdom. It is possible it means that Wisdom was lifted up in the and so must be the son of man, mankind itself, and whoever believes this is possible, believes in his or her self in addition to what and because of what Jesus (pbwh) taught.
At this point it is debated whether the quotation ends here or not according to the footnote in the NRSV. It goes on to say how God loved the world so much he gave them his only son (no mention of death) so that people could have a chance to hear him and believe him and learn from him (pbwh). Not how they should rely on his murder/execution for salvation but believe him to gain eternal life which pleases God. God loves those who love light and are good.
19. And this is the Judgement, the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because THEIR DEEDS WERE EVIL. 20. All who do evil hate the light and don't come to the light, so their deeds can not be exposed.
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