The curse of the fruit

The Lord said to Adam, "Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for you will certainly die". But when the snake seduces Eve to take from the tree, he says to her, "Of course you will not die! You will be like gods". When the Lord discovers what man has done, he says, "Now they will be like one of us, knowing good from evil".

I assert that when Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they possessed carnal knowledge - they became aware of their nakedness, and began to lust; when the Lord found them, they were ashamed. Though chapters one and two seem to be convoluted chronologically, it is nevertheless recorded in the first chapter that the Lord blessed Adam and the animals, and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply". Not only does this indicated that man needed not engage in intercourse to reproduce, but this also show the consequence of disobedience: sex. Only eight verses after the Lord sentenced Adam and Eve to exile, he slept with his wife. The Secret Book of John shows that Adam was able to multiply by connecting with his higher self.

After man knew intercourse, the greatest sin became the reproduction of the Nephilim, more commonly known as "Giant": the half-breed offspring of the Watchers (angels), and human. The result of this transgression was destruction of the earth and man, for the earth could not sustain the Giants, and so they began consuming men. The Lord lamented, and brought forth a great flood to eliminate the evil and start again. Without carnal knowledge, the humans would not have engaged in intercourse with the angels, causing the evil that still exists in this world.

The consequences of carnal knowledge have been severe, and it is possible that the reason why some religious orders practice celibacy is because in actuality, we were not created with the intention to lust and multiply through sex, and that not only are we usually controlled by our lust, but also by our names that might be connected to it.

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While picking away at the Book of Genesis chapters one through four, trying to make sense of the Fall, I realized that no where does the Lord name Adam. Adam's name appears without word of the Lord's doing, and when his name appears in the chapters, there is a footnote that it can also be read as "man".

Adam names the animals, though, and Adam was given domination over the animals. Adam also named Eve after their fall, and woman has been like animal: subordinate.

When the Lord appeared before Moses, he was asked, "What is your name?" The Lord replied, "I AM WHO I AM". This is because when a person knew a god's name, he could control him. Moses tried to trick the Lord into disclosing his name, but the Lord would not fall for it. 

Jesus also does not have a name. He refers to himself as the Son of Man, Son of God, or "I Am". Even when Jesus stood on trial, neither the Sanhedrin nor Pilate ask him to identify himself by name; they either ask, "Are you the Son of God", or "Are you the king of the Jews".

Names are full of pretense. Some religions spend their existence meditating on the Lord's name, some say his name is unknown, and still others believe it is too holy to utter. Some, such as myself, believe that using any name is dangerous, for demons invariably have the same names: even with the best of intent, the wrong spirit can be summoned.

It seems to be that sex and the name are a curse. Evil was begat of unholy unions, and Eve was named after her fall. Eve means "Mother of all", and it does not appear that woman was meant to bear children before her transgressions, "In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children".

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to not recognize God. More accurately, it is to believe that the Lord has rejected his creation, and this is why it is "the one unforgivable sin". How can the Lord heal what to the cursed does not believe for him to exist? God is Love. John warns us that to not love will causes eternal separation from God (hell). 

It is a common misinterpretation that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the accusation that God uses the devil to heal people, according to this verse when Jesus healed a man who could not see or speak, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons." (Matthew 12.24) I find this to be an intellectually dishonest teaching of the verse, because Jesus tells us that "Every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12.31-2). It was the Son of Man who was performing the miracle.

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is deliberately refusing to accept God's mercy, and to believe that we cannot be forgiven. So ironically, it is in believing that we are not saved, in which we are not saved. 

The incredible prophecy

Just under two thousand years ago, when the Christ walked in the Middle East, he said to his disciples that Rome would overpower the Temple and the nation. 

Jesus told his followers that the Roman army would flood Jerusalem, and he said to flee to the mountains at that time.

It is within these mountains, that some of the Gnostic texts were found, right at the end of the Second World War.

This article claims that the Gnostics were the real Christians, and I believe this to be true. I postulate that it was the nation of Israel in the spiritual context that would be overthrown. The Israel that Jesus came to claim, which would become known as the "Followers of the Way": the Gnostics.

In 70 AD the Romans brutally took hold of the Temple; less than three centuries later, it had sanctioned and instituted Catholicism, after waging war on the Gnostics and feeding them to the lions. With the Council of Nicea, the Bible had been deliberated over, and without input from the Christians, the elite Roman officials decided what would constitute the faith: using one of their own to be the teacher - "Apostle" Paul.

I considered myself to be a Gnostic before I was baptized two and a half years ago, but something was missing. As I broke bread and drank wine by myself at Easter, I knew it wasn't enough. I needed real blessing and consecration, a tradition that has been lost in time and space in the current Gnostic path.

Despite that I have troubles with Roman Catholicism, I need the Eucharist, I need to be at that altar. No matter the concerns with its violent and manipulative past, the glamorous pope, or its idolatry, I stick with what is true and what was recorded by Justin the Martyr hundreds of years before the fragmented New Testament was even compiled.

Jesus told us that this would happen, we simply haven't realized it yet. But all that is hidden will be revealed, and we will come to recognize the dragon and his beasts.

"Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will be troubled, when he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All." - The Gospel of Thomas.

Sing a new song unto the Lord

From my "Insights for Students" subscription email today, using song when preaching and exemplifying the Salvation Army's use of popular songs that all could partake in, especially the poor. A real marching band including military rank, this group was rambunctious. Just as King David hired some 4,000 musicians, along with all the congregation partaking, it was in all likelihood, not too soft sounding! 

The email closes with, "Every generation of Christians renews the discovery of this 'new song,' sometimes through the music of its forebears." Yes, and for me, that would be Jay-Z.

""Getch'all fatigues on...It's the return of THE God. Peace God."