12. LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING, FIRST RAY

Note to reader:  If you're reading straight through, you're going to see some repetition as I explain things.  The first 8 postings were a rough chronology of my "bizarre experience" and need to be read in sequence.  I'm now writing stand alone postings and I want them to be understood by someone reading just that posting.  I know from my previous blog that after enough hits, the individual postings will come up if someone enters keywords in a search engine.
     To qualify myself, I'm just a layperson with no seminary training but I've had an unusually high number of God encounters and have studied the Bible thoroughly and read a fair amount of related literature.  I feel God is calling me to write this because I am getting many affirmations as I do it. I encourage you to think for yourself and study for yourself.

     There's much I don't know about this topic, just want to share some interesting things I've learned from some other sources and insights I've gained for myself from my study.
    I've heard there are 4 levels of understanding the Bible.  With a little research, I see many different opinions, 3 levels, 4 levels, 7 levels, with different opinions on what each of these levels are so I'm going to define levels based on my research and experience.
     Level 1 is literal interpretation of Jesus's parables, which of course he didn't intend.  That will put most of us at level 2 right from the start.
     In Matthew 13, sowing the seed with some falling on the path where the birds came and ate it,  landing on rocky ground which sprouted quickly but was scorched by the sun, some being choked out by weeds and thorns and some landing on fertile soil which produced a thirty, sixty or hundred fold gain obviously isn't about planting wheat but about productivity from Jesus's word.
     Level 2 then seems to be understanding the meaning of the parables.
     I believe that level 3 is gaining understanding of symbolism to a much deeper level and will expound on this.
     Level 4 according to one source brings us to face to face communion with God.

 
     As I wrote in the Encounter with a Demon posting, I'm suspecting that some of our understanding must come with outside study and God's help.  As I wrote that last posting, I seemed to be being led by God in some of what I wrote and researched.
     In writing that I think we let in demons not only by sin but also by emotions not in keeping with the christian walk such as fear, when researching fear, I was led to the source of my own major issue, obsessive disorder.  I had a huge God experience writing that posting.
     Part of my reason for writing this blog is a search for personal healing from some deeply ingrained issues from childhood.  I think many of the maladies many of us have are spiritual in nature and won't be healed by drugs, masked a bit maybe but the drugs can often create new problems as I experienced.  The healing must come from accepting God's love and overcoming the enemy.  It's all about love, this is the most important thing.
     1 Peter 4:8  "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sin."  Jesus tells us over and over that love is the most important thing, Matthew 22:37 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself."  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
     It would seem that if we learn to love God and others deeply, everything else will fall into place.   Maybe we need to "Let the Word do the work," instead of identifying the specific demons and fallen angels causing our problems and get them exorcised. (I've carried that phrase, "Let the Word do the work" around for about 3 1/2 years being puzzled by it and that's the first time I got to use it.)  Maybe either approach will work but I suspect the first is the best.  Let Jesus do the work.  For many of us including a natural introvert like me, it's not an easy order to love others and we have to make an effort to do it.
     Back to levels of understanding, by intense Bible reading, over and over, different translations, a chronological Bible etc., I started noticing patterns or levels.  In my opinion, some sin seems to be more important to God than other.  Yes we can find the verse that tells us sin is sin and all unrepentant sin deserves the wrath of God, but with the new covenant, God seems to have become merciful and just, the Father Jesus was created in the image of.
     Think for yourself please but I choose not to believe all sin will be punished equally if not repented for.  For instance consider the husband who gives his wife the only correct answer when she asks if the dress makes her look fat, "No honey, you're beautiful in that dress," while secretly thinking, "It's all the flab that makes you look fat."  Will a loving and merciful God give Him the same punishment as a murderer or rapist?  I hope not.
     In the lists of behaviors that will keep us out of heaven, murder always comes first, followed, unfortunately by sex sin, then lesser sins such as theft, idolatry and others.  1 Cor 6:18 tells us "Flee from sexual immorality.  All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually sins against their own body. 19:Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have received from God."
     I've had trouble understanding this sin against the body phrase. Maybe it means it's an insult to the Holy Spirit indwelling our bodies.  The world's view of course is,"If you're single and both parties are consenting, if it feels good, do it," but the Bible is very clear on this.
     From sources outside the Bible I've learned that soul ties are created during sex, great in a marriage but not so with multiple partners.  A piece of our soul breaks off and is shared with our sex partner.  There's supposedly also a transfer of demons during sex.
     It would seem to me that there's some importance to God in the way sin is listed.
     In writing the last post, I gained a greater understanding of fear.  It's not just an emotion, Fear is the name of one of satan's chief princes or fallen angels that entered man in the garden after the fall.  Gen 3:10 I heard you in the garden and I was AFRAID because I was naked; so I hid."  Now, whenever I come across the word fear as in 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love.  But perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment," I'll have the understanding that it's not just the emotion being cast out but the fallen angel that causes the emotion as well.
     It took outside research for me to understand Mat 12:29 "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man?  Then he can plunder his house."  The context here was that Jesus had just been accused of driving out demons by the prince of demons and knew their thoughts and was giving an analogy to explain it.  To many readers though, it appears he's giving instruction on how to rob a strong man.  Actually though, the strong man is another name for satan and He's giving instructions on how to drive out satan or his demons, not how to rob someone with muscles.
     I think there's something I don't yet understand about the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16.  Jesus is commending the manager for making friends with worldly wealth, not his own though.  The manager is reducing all of his boss's bills for a quick payoff from the debtors.  It seems to me the boss is being cheated here.  I have much to learn.
     During my intense Bible study, I also noticed what seems to be levels of hell.  We have darkness, outer darkness, blackest darkness, death with no knowledge, there's the lake of fire, probably synonymous with lake of burning sulfur, and bottomless pit or abyss, perhaps synonymous also.  I'd hope someone like Hitler would have a worse hell than someone who lived a normal life but didn't believe.
     I saw a program that said there's scripture to support the ideas that we all end up in heaven, or some will have death with nothingness and some will end up in heaven while most will end up in hell.  One of my sons believes we all end up in heaven and a pastor in a mega church he attended was asked to leave because he preached this way.  I haven't found scripture that convinces me of this though.  I've seen that God desires we all come to Him, 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  But I haven't seen anything that says we all will end up in heaven.
    An online source suggests that around the third level of understanding, we see a greater depth in the symbolism.  For instance the cities of Canaan, while to be taken literally may also represent our own defects.
     One source says the 4 levels of understanding are related to length, width, depth and height.  Some of this gets academic and doesn't make sense to me.
     Many spirits, good and bad get their names form their first appearance in the Bible.  The spirit of Korah, or rebellion was so named because he entered humanity when Korah led the first rebellion against Moses.  There are the Jezebel, Ahab and Elijah spirits according to Dr. Keyton, I assume because that's when they first entered humanity in those forms and they've been with us since.


     I feel I'm in God's will as I'm writng this because he's bringing information and understanding to me just as I need it.  From this paragraph on I've just gotten a bit of understanding about levels of Christianity.
     I bought all of Dr. Keyton's work and was fascinated by Stripes Nails Thorns and the Blood, her piece de resistance as she calls it.  It's a bit dry, doesn't read like a novel but more like a textbook which it is and comprises 2 college courses in some seminary schools.  Most people I've given it to haven't read much of it but I'm going through it for the third time.
     I thought the seminary schools must not be mainsteam because I've never heard of most of what's in this book in the churches I've attended.  The book is described as "A Manual for Spiritual Warfare, Healing and Deliverance."  It's broken into 4 sections, Stripes, Nails, Thorn and Blood.  Stripes describes the specific healing available to us from each of Jesus lashes.  Nail is a code name for satan and this section describes in detail the difference between fallen angels and demons, their names, functions and methods of fighting them.  Thorns is a brief section describing the significance and meaning of Jesus's crown of thorns.  Blood goes into the meaning of the blood Jesus shed for us and its power.
     I've been puzzled by all this information I knew nothing about.  I wondered if she was in her own world but now know there's a world hidden to most of us but all around us where the supernatural, good and bad, is very common.  I recently had a brief conversation with a third world missionary who does similar work to Dr. Keyton and she spoke the same language.  At a recent crusade for Christ I just attended, the evangelist touched on the spirits of Jezebel and Elijah.  He didn't go into detail but I caught a glimpse of this same language again.
     I wrote in a previous posting that something about the western culture seems to insulate us from both good and bad, but I thought it was still there, that we have the same angels, demons and of course, Jesus.  The missionary confirmed this for me.  She said America has been overcome by a "spirit of slumber, love of mammon, pride, power, etc.".  The supernatural world of the Bible is all around us, we just don't see it and therefore have trouble believing it.
     In my christian walk until in my 50's, I never saw any clear supernatural good or bad other than my grandmother's knowledge something bad had happened to me when I briefly died in a car wreck while drunk driving.  I thought that interesting at the time and it's stayed in my memory as some proof of God.  My grandmother didn't know what it was called, just that "the good lord" told her something. As I wrote in Intoduction, she had word of knowledge, maybe other gifts too she didn't know about. I wasn't going to have blind faith, I was too smart for that I thought, God had to prove Himself to me and He certainly has.
     So most of us christians go to church and try to believe but I don't think we're really convinced.  Much of that Bible stuff sounds like greek mythology.  We want fire insurance just in case though but we never see God or evil clearly in action.  We pray and nothing much ever seems to happen but we keep trying.  It's a good clean lifestyle if nothing else.  I saw some happy coincidences now and then that I attributed to God but little else.
     Jesus tells us in John 20:29, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  In my case I was a doubting Thomas but once I saw a bit of convincing proof, I was able to believe much more.  Most won't be able to believe Dr. Keyton raises dead pygmies but after seeing God use her for healing, laying on hands and "slaying" women in the spirit, I could believe she did much more.  If people on the fence were to see the occasional miracle in their church, most would believe in much more.  At the recent crusade where I served as a counselor, I sat next to a young man in a wheel chair, a paraplegic.  I thought, if one of us were able to heal him, every unbeliever or fence sitter in the stands would come down for the altar call.
     We don't see possessed little girls throwing grown men around or zombies and such, nor do we see God's miracles like arms sprouting and the dead being raised in Jesus's name as Dr. Keyton has done. We need some sort of breakthrough but I don't have any answers....yet.
     On edit, I think I see obvious answers that would lead to a revival in this country.  If we just developed existing gifts and didn't hide them, many would come to Christ.  I've been told that the power of the gifts can grow if we spend time with others who have stronger gifts, there's a rubbing off effect with the Holy Spirit.
     My companion the Sad Lady hid her gift of tongues due to skepticism.  She could have been using the gift for God's glory. When I first saw tongues, in my mountain mentor, I was amazed.  For me this was convincing proof the Bible is real.  Show people something unexplainable and many will be convinced.  It would have worked for me.
     Today I reflected back to my first visit to the Healing House prophets and the awesomeness of it sunk in again, much as my recent message from the woman with the gift of word of knowledge at Wiley Church of God, "Keep seeking Him, a big issue will be resolved for you and you'll find your purpose."
     John 16:13 The Holy spirit "...will not speak on His own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."  The prophets were careful not to let me tell them anything about my life or why I was there.  Jesus, behind a multi dimensional curtain, was giving me a personal message at each of these sessions by way of the Holy Spirit through his people with gifts of prophesy.  They spoke right into my life every time I visited.
     My concept of God is evolving.  I remember the old testament God who fried Aaron's sons for not following directions with the fire during a sacrifice, and then there was Uzzah.  He was doing a good thing when he reached up to stabilize the arc, when the oxen stumbled while the Israelites were returning it from the Philistines.  It might have crashed to the ground but God fried him too.  I've gone through life feeling like one sin too many, and I've had a weakness in that area that's ok with society but not God, and I'm going to be fried too, for eternity.  I think I'm finding a loving God.
     On one trip to the prophets, I was living with the Sad Lady in adultery.  She'd left her husband and they weren't divorcing for tax reasons, which might make it ok with society, but we were living in adultery.
     Thank you Jesus, you're back in my life. I was afraid I was guilty of Heb 6:4-6 and was hoping to work my way back up to death with nothingness.  Are you absolutely certain your pastor's right about "once saved, always saved?"  You might end up with a lot of time in a dark lonely place to be regretting this if he's wrong.
     As I'm writing this I pulled out my notes from the session I went into expecting chastisement, but received mercy.  This is the only set of notes I can find though I went in 3 to 5 times.  Here's what Jesus or God told me that trip as best as I can decipher my notes, I was scribbling furiously trying to keep up.   I didn't remember this, maybe because it didn't make any sense to me at the time.

"I see you at the foot of a big mountain with amazing tools, moving earth and rock, looking for hidden treasure.
Sometimes we move much dirt and rock.
Wait on the Lord.
Keep digging and moving.
Faith will rise.
Going further and further.
Rest, drinking, building strength, vitality, focus.
Plans, maps, etc.
Instructions from God.
Just a matter of time.
New tools put in hands.
Digging deeper and deeper.
Motherlode, deep in heart of mountain.
One ray, then another.
I knew it! I knew it!
God has good plans.
Breaking through and sitting in treasure..
Gift of drawing out treasure.
Communication and consultation, humor.
Communicator, consultant.
Electric saw, God drawing out creativity, carving ice and snow.
All forms of tools used in creative ways.
Invention, building trades.   Note -  that's the second time I've seen "invention"
Good sense of humor beaks ice, makes people feel relaxed.
Wisdom - a lot - experiential knowledge.
I've been strengthened, fortified.
Joseph never lost track, became Lord of land.
satan (???)
I've been pursuing the Lord, greater depth coming.
Stop and look into his face, healing.
His eyes are so full of compassion.
This is my precious son.
Let Him pour into me feelings and compassion.
Night vision.  don't look at circumstances.
Don't look at circumstances, look at stars.
Greater revelation of His grace, perfect, complete, holy.
Treadmill of questioning.
Inner wounds to be healed.
Totally accepted and loved.
Ask for greater revelation of grace.
God's grace for Joseph.
Being perfected like Joseph, grace, grace.
I am forgiven.
Wholeness and forgiveness, what was completed at the cross.
Joseph, prince.
There is no condemnation.
Free from the law.
Not guilty.

I see a ray.