Know Thyself Biblical or Pagan

know thyself biblical or pagan

The Gospel of Thomas Saying 3 

(3) Jesus said, "[If] those who lead you [say to you, 'See], the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky [will precede you. If they say that] it is under the earth, then the fish of the sea [will enter it, preceding] you. And, the [kingdom of God] is inside of you, [and it is outside of you. Whoever] knows [himself] will discover this. [And when you] come to know yourselves, [you will realize that] you are [sons] of the [living] father. [But if you] will [not] know yourselves, [you dwell] in [poverty] and it is you who are that poverty."
The first part of this saying is about the location of the Kingdom the second part of this saying is about how to find the kingdom by self knowledge:

“Whoever] knows [himself] will discover this. [And when you] come to know yourselves, [you will realize that] you are [sons] of the [living] father. [But if you] will [not] know yourselves, [you dwell] in [poverty] and it is you who are that poverty.” 

Funk and Hoover write: "This phrase ['know yourselves'] is a secular proverb often attributed to Socrates.

it comes from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi "know thyself" is one of the Delphic maxims and was the first of three maxims inscribed in the pronaos (forecourt) of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi according to the Greek writer Pausanias (10.24.1).[1]

Other sources attribute it to Phemonoe, a mythical Greek poetess. In a discussion of moderation and self-awareness, the Roman poet Juvenal quotes the phrase in Greek and states that the precept descended de caelo (from heaven) (Satire 11.27).

However, as I will show below this part of the saying is adapted from the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. I believe that the Lord Jesus adapted this saying from the Hebrew Scriptures the phrases "Take heed to Thyself" "know, thou, for thyself" "If thou know not of thyself" occur many times in both the Hebrew Scriptures and Septuagint.

"Know thyself" was the wisest maxim of the wisest philospher of the wisest pagan nation of antiquity. "Know thyself" is inculcated by all the prophets and Apostles of all the ages of Revelation. And while the wisest man of the wisest nation in theology taught as his first maxim that "the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom"and while the Saviour of the world taught that "it is eternal life to know the only true God and his son Jesus Christ whom he commissioned" both concur in inculcating the excellence and in teaching the utility and importance of self-knowledge (The Christian Baptist, Volumes 5-6 1827-1828 Edited by Alexander Campbell)

In Greek the phrase "know thyself" is "γνῶθι σεαυτόν" these two Greek words are used in the bible they are given Strong's concordance numbers G1097 G4572 γνῶθι σεαυτόν these two words are used together in the Septuagint (see below)

Septuagint

In Greek the phrase "know thyself" is "γνῶθι σεαυτόν" these two Greek words are used in the Septuagint translation of Job 5:27 and Song of Songs 1:8 

Job 5:27 Lo! As for this, we have searched it out––so, it is, Hear it, and know, thou, for thyself. Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible 

Job 5:27Behold, we have thus sought out these matters; these are what we have heard: but do thou reflect with thyself, if thou hast done anything wrong. (Brenton Septuagint Translation)

So 1:8 If thou know not of thyself, most beautiful among women! get thee forth in the footsteps of the flock, and pasture thy kids by the huts of the shepherds (Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible.)

8  If thou know not thyself, thou fair one among women, go thou forth by the footsteps of the flocks, and feed thy kids by the shepherd’s tents. (Brenton Septuagint Translation)

She should realise of herself where the place of shelter and rest is to be found, for it has been revealed unto her, and there is no need for her to wander blindly.


 {Ge 31:24 Ge 31:29 Ex 10:28 Ex 23:13 Ex 34:12 De 8:11 De 12:13 De 12:19 De 12:30 Cp. 1Sa 19:2 


LXX, Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible, or look at the King James Bible (1611) Ex 10:28 Ex 34:12 De 4:9 De 12:13 De 12:19 De 12:30). 


All of this shows that the ancient Greek philosophers must have read the Hebrew Scriptures and taken the phrase "Know yourself" from the Hebrew Scriptures.

Philo of Alexandria

Philo of Alexandria attributes the phrase "know yourself" or "know thyself" to Moses

Philo of Alexandria defines self knowledge or knowing yourself as "Take heed to Thyself."

Philo On the Migration of Abraham:

know yourself all your life, as Moses teaches us in many passages where he says, "Take heed to Thyself."{4}{#ex 34:12.}

"Dwell, therefore," says she, "O my child, with him," not all thy life, but "certain days;" that is to say, learn to be acquainted with the country of the external senses; know thyself and thy own parts, and what each is, and for what end it was made

Come, and at once abandoning all other things, learn to know yourselves, and tell us plainly what ye yourselves are in respect of your bodies, in respect of your souls, in respect of your external senses, and in respect of your reason

Philo's interpretation to know oneself is neither purely positive (as in Plato we must know ourselves as parts of the divine intelligible) nor purely neative (as in the tragedies we must know our own limitations) but a combination of both aspects we must recognize ourselves as non-being through which shines the true being of the Cause

Take Heed to Thyself

Deut 4:9  Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;

De 11:16  Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

Take heed to Thyself this is another re-occurring phrase throughout Deuteronomy, emphasising the personal responsibility (See Deut. 2:4; 4:9,15,23; 11:16; 12:13,19,30; 27:9.)

"Take heed to yourselves"— A personal instruction to every individual. In similar manner, on following the Lord's ascension into heaven, the apostles urged the people:

"Save yourselves from this untoward generation" (Acts 2:40). Earlier the Lord had

impressed the apostles with the fact of personal responsibility by an exhortation that

reaches down to our day: 'Take heed to yourselves..." (Luke 21:34).

set down in Scripture as an exhortation to all to take heed to their own individual conduct (1 Cor. 10:11).

Prov 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.

The Lord Jesus himself in the New Testament use the phrase “Take heed to yourselves” or  "pay attention to yourselves" see: 

Luke 21:34 “But pay attention to yourselves that YOUR hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon YOU (NWT)

And so does Paul: Acts 20: 28 Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed YOU overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own [Son]. (NWT)

(1 Timothy 4:16) Pay constant attention to yourself and to your teaching. Stay by these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who listen to you. (NWT)

Tit 2:7  In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, (KJ)

And John use the phrase as well: 2Jo 1:8  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. (KJ)

All of this shows that this part of the saying does not come from Pagan Greek philosophers but from the Hebrew Scriptures and the words of Jesus and the apostles. 

The phrase "Whoever knows [himself] will discover this" this teaching should not be foreign to you if you have been given the eyes to see it. Consider how this passage from Thomas spiritually aligns with what Paul wrote to the Corinthians. (1Cor 13:9)

For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

  

We must come to know our true self. Our true self is not the person of this world, but the one who was born of God. We are spiritually maturing and growing in knowledge of who we are. We may not be clearly seeing our true self (who is Christ) right now, but we will once we come to fully know and be our True self. We are God’s image that must become perfect like our heavenly Father this is our purpose to reflect the identity, character and glory and become the image of Christ, who is the true image of God. We can only do this in Christ where our true self (life) will be kept hidden in Christ Col 3:3, 4. So in this light real poverty is when we do not know our true self in Christ. The use of the term 'poverty' is meant for life outside of true knowledge This is spiritual poverty where our minds are lost in deception and our hearts feel homeless because we have not returned to our Father’s house 1Cor 3:16 6:19 Eph 2:20-22 1Pet 2:5. 

Finally, Jesus says, “you are that poverty” Paul says that nothing good could come from him Rom 7:18 He said that “Paul” had died and Christ now lived in and through him Gal 2:20. Paul knew that his true life was found when he had the spirit of Christ, which is the mind of Christ and not the natural or worldly Paul.

Paul rebuked Corinth for their inability to know whether they had the Christ-man developed within them: "Know ye not...that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1Cor. 3:16). We must reckon ourselves dead to sin (Rom. 6:11). The Greek for "reckon" is that translated "impute" or "count", and which often appears in the surrounding chapters in Romans, speaking of how God "counts" us to be perfect. We must reckon ourselves as God reckons us. 

The Christ-man is first born at baptism, but it is quite possible for it to lie dormant or even die unless it is nurtured. Almost all of us have discovered the presence of our real spiritual man some time after baptism. The spiritual self is begotten by the word, leading to the birth at baptism (2Cor 5:17; James 1:18; 1Pet. 1:23); yet it is the word which makes the " man of God" perfect or mature (2Tim. 3:16,17). Note that the " man of God" here probably refers to our inner spiritual self, rather than just being an epithet for a believer. In this case, 1Tim. 6:11 records Paul speaking to Timothy's spiritual man: " Thou, O man of God, flee these things". "Man of God" was a term used to describe the Old Testament prophets; it is as if Paul is addressing himself to the word-developed man within Timothy. We must likewise relate to the spiritual man within our brethren.

Moreover, this is how we become “sons of the living Father” (compare Thomas 49-50), which is to become like Jesus himself our example. We must have the same faith as Jesus as well as the same self-control just as Jesus needed it to be saved, so do we Heb 5:7, 8 also in the gospel of John it is Jesus who empowered true believers, so #Ec 5:19, 6:2. He gave them the privilege, the liberty, the dignity, which refers to the legitimate entitlement to the position of being called and becoming the sons of God. Israel was once the son and the first-born, #Ex 4:22: but now the adoption of sons to God was open and free to all nations whatever. By believing, undeserving sinners can become full members of God's family.

Covenant Relationship With God

Covenant Relationship With God

A Personal Relationship With God

covenant--A solemn agreement or compact between two or more parties. "My covenant shall stand fast with him" (Psalms 89:28).


Gen 17:1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 17:2And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly

What is the significance of God’s covenant with Abraham? This covenant represents the development of faith from so-called “blind” faith to faith that becomes great through spiritual understanding.


The most oft repeated feature of the promises to Abraham can be easily overlooked. Notice how the personal pronouns are the key words: " I will establish my covenant…between me and you and your descendants…to be your God…I will be their God" (Gen. 17:6-8).

God Almighty is committing Himself to Abraham and Abraham's seed in a way so insistent and so awesome that only contemplation of it can invoke the true sense of wonder which we ought to have at being in covenant relationship with God Almighty.

The fact that the basis of our relationship with God is an eternal covenant means that we do not drift in and out of fellowship with God according to our awareness of Him. We are His people. Every hour of every day.


What is indispensable to the proper observance of a covenant? A substantial understanding and a willingness to observe the terms and provisions of the covenant. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”


Gen 17:9 And God said unto Abraham, And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised.

What significance to us has the rite of circumcision? “Circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit not in the letter.” It signifies clean, upright, unselfish, faith-centered life, with everything that would interfere with its proper functioning eliminated.

53. His disciples asked him: "Is circumcision useful or not?" He replied: "If it were useful then they would be born already circumcised. On the other hand, true circumcision in the spirit is entirely beneficial.' (The Gospel of Thomas Saying 53)


Jeremiah, one of the greatest of the Prophets has the vision of God making a covenant with man. And he says, “I will put my law in their inward parts and in their heart while I write it, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.” It was probably the first awareness of the law of consciousness, the law of mind action, the law of cause and effect.




Jeremiah, for example, prophesized that the new covenant will not be written on tablets of stone (externally recorded) but rather on the heart, meaning within the mind. See Eph 1:18 Note S. "Jeremiah sees the terms of the new covenant written not on tables of stone, i.e., promulgated externally, but written upon the heart, i.e., understood by the mind of each member of the restored Israel (31:22f)." (244)

“I WILL BE WITH YOU”

There are two other things promised to Abraham and his descendants: “I will be their God…I will be with you” (Gen. 17:8; 26:3; 28:15 cf. Ex. 6:7). The Lord Jesus Christ is ‘God with us’ (Emmanuel, Is. 7:14).




In what way did Jesus Christ become the “mediator of a new covenant”? Jesus proved anew that, by loving the things of spiritual significance and seeking to express them, man enters into a vital relation with God and finds the satisfaction that is “life indeed.” This bringing of life and immortality to light gave men a new understanding of God and led them to enter into a new relation with him.



Third, Paul illustrates that an oath of God stands behind Jesus' priesthood. "Another distinctive mark of the new covenant is that an oath (of God) accompanied its establishment. Priests in the Levitican order took their office without an oath. The high priest of the new covenant was addressed with an oath. Through the prophetic scriptures PS 110:4, God assured him [Jesus] that his appointment was firm and unchangeable. God is not going to change his mind [Paul concluded]. Jesus is, therefore, the surety of a better covenant because behind him and his mission stands the determination of God himself, who has bound himself with an oath and thereby firmly established his promise to men" GEN 7:20-22

The knowledge of the Son

WAKING UP AND COMING TO KNOWLEDGE

The knowledge of the Son :

For many years many of us sought to find out knowledge of the father through ignorance, thinking that through some ritual, magical spells, ancient artifacts, drinks from roots, some have even sought out knowledge of the father through physics, or some mathematical formula.


But I say to those that do so are asleep and have not awaken to the truth, sadly they sleep the sleep of ignorance and have need of being awakening.


And this awakening only comes through the son of the preexisting one, the virginal sport that begets all things and has appointed his first begotten son to reveal the knowledge of him to all beings, from the infinite realms to mortal men, understand my brothers even the knowledge of one's self is hidden in the son.


WAKING UP AND COMING TO KNOWLEDGE


What, then, is that which he wants such a one to think? “I am like the shadows and phantoms of the night.” When morning comes, this one knows that the fear that had been experienced was nothing.


Thus they were ignorant of the father; he is the one whom they did not see. Since there had been fear and confusion and a lack of confidence and double-mindedness and division, there were many illusions that were conceived by them, as well as empty ignorance—as if they were fast asleep and found themselves a prey to troubled dreams.


Either they are fleeing somewhere, or they lack strength to escape when pursued. They are involved in inflicting blows, or they themselves receive bruises. They are falling from high places, or they fly through the air with no wings at all. Other times, it is as if certain people were trying to kill them, even though there is no one pursuing them; or they themselves are killing those beside them, and they are stained by their blood. Until the moment when they who are passing through all these things—I mean they who have experienced all these confusions—awaken, they see nothing because the dreams were nothing. It is thus that they who cast ignorance from them like sleep do not consider it to be anything, nor regard its properties to be something real, but they renounce them like a dream in the night and they consider the knowledge of the father to be the dawn. It is thus that each one has acted, as if asleep, during the time of ignorance, and thus a person comes to understand, as if awakening. And happy is the one who comes to himself and awakens. Indeed, blessings on one who has opened the eyes of the blind.


The spirit came to this person in haste when the person was awakened. Having given its hand to the one lying prone on the ground, it placed him firmly on his feet, for he had not yet stood up. This gave them the means of knowing the knowledge of the father and the revelation of his son. For when they saw it and listened to it, he permitted them to take a taste of and to smell and to grasp the beloved son.

Brothers and Sisters Know Your Selves

Brothers and Sisters.........

You have heard me say know your selves, and that no man can teach you any thing. In these sayings I find that I am more correct than I had supposed.

All are but fragmentary parts of a lager whole and of it's total sum I have not obtained as of yet, but for your sake as well as mine I shall continue to do so, this is the will of the father, so I share with you this thing.

Brothers and sisters do not put to much thought into your bodies nor in it's features and it's similarities even of it's memories, but rather be concerned with your eternal bodies of which most of you have no idea of what they look like.


For this reason I have said to you " Know Your Selves " this is why our Brother has said this to you........ James 1:22-24 ►..... 22Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. 23For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, 24and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.…


Brothers and sisters before we came to this place we spoke with our lord but most of you have forgotten what was said to you, you have become blind of yourselves and what you truly look like, the clothes you have on have dulled your senses, and you have wondered off the path that was set before you.

And this text have come to pass in you you stood before a mirror and that mirror was Christ, you beheld yourselves in that mirror but you turned and came down here and have forgotten the image you saw when you beheld yourselves in the face of Christ.


But I have good news for you all, in him is our eternal image and as often as you need or desire to do so come back to that mirror behold yourselves again and again, and again, as often as you may need not only would you not forget the true face of Christ but you will remember who you are as you see your true selves in him.

This is what I was told to tell you my brothers and to you all of my sisters, you must know yourselves..........

The True Self the Gospel of Thomas Saying 67

(67) Jesus said: He who knows the all, (but) fails (to know) himself, misses everything.


The Lord Jesus teaches that we must know our (true) self. Your true self and life is Christ, God’s only son, and by him we can do all things. Our true self is in God and God is in you Rom 8:9 than we cannot be lacking in our self God is raising our consciousness so that we can realize he is all in all 1Cor 12:6 15:28 Eph 1:23. But if one knows everything but does not have love than you are completely deficient if we have knowledge of every mystery but not love we are nothing 1Cor 13:2. The kingdom is being built upon love and knowledge it is nothing useful without the love of God. Knowledge is like sand and love is like mortar, together they are a strong substance but without love our knowledge will not support anything 1Cor 8:1 13:2,8 2Cor 6:6b8:7 Eph 3:19 Phil 1:9.

And if you do not actively engoige in prayer and meditation on the bible dally, and worship Yahweh your Elohim in spirit and truth victory over oneself. The Lord is speaking about the necessity of direct spiritual practices and spiritual living that bring it about. This is accomplished when you know yourself if you know not yourself then you neither know your enemy and you will always endanger yourself know your enemy the devil that is sin in the flesh. So you must suspend the egoistic self, silencing the mental being and calming the vital-emotional

Thus allowing the Christ-consciousness to act without obstruction. If you know yourself connected to the oneness of what the Deity is, The Christ-self in union with the heavenly father and Christ Jesus no longer do you suffer from the delusion of lack and separation therefore the sorrows of personal deficiency have vanished. Do you believe with understanding that is to say, do you have genuine faith? Through faith and the good works of faith do you labour for true knowledge? Do you have faith in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus and the knowledge of the indwelling Christ-self that enlightens the mind and liberates you from the thinking of the flesh and death. Then for you the resurrection is now and the advent of Christ is nearer for you. Praise Yah.

Jesus is 'the All,' and 'everywhere' is where Jesus is, as in Saying 77

67) Jesus said, "Whoever believes that the All itself is deficient is (himself) completely deficient [how can that which is created by He who is perfect in all His ways possibly be deficient? - we are all part of a grand plan of His and not our own]."

Knowledge and Love the gospel of Philip

Knowledge and Love

Whoever knows the truth is free, and a free person does not sin, for “one who sins is a slave of sin.” Truth is the mother, knowledge is the father. Those who do not allow themselves to sin the world calls free. They do not allow themselves to sin, and knowledge of the truth lifts them up—that is, it makes them free and superior to all. But “love builds up.” Whoever is free through knowledge is a slave because of love for those who do not yet have freedom of knowledge. Knowledge enables them to be free.

Love [never says] it owns something, [though] it owns [everything]. Love does not [say, “This is mine]” or “That is mine,” but rather, “[All that is mine] is yours.”

He who has knowledge of the truth [comprehends who He truly is and where he came from and why Christ was sent etc…] is a free man [a spirit son of God who has been redeemed], but the free man does not sin [“..he cannot sin for he is born of God”], for "He who sins is the slave of sin [our flesh is still a slave of sin though our spirit is not – See Romans 7]". Truth is the mother [the holy spirit guides us into all truth - the universal spirit or subconscious mind (awareness)], knowledge the father [our sub-conscious mind (soul) created in His image yet is heavily influenced by the flesh (conscious mind) to oppose the Father at every turn]. Those who think that sinning does not apply to them are called "free" by the world [this is nominal Christo-paganism today who think they can continue to let sin lord it over them without penalty as long as they eat a cookie and put a penny in the plate]. Knowledge of the truth merely makes such people [who are wise in their own eyes] arrogant, which is what the words, "it makes them free" mean [to them]. It even gives them a sense of superiority over the whole world [a form of haughtiness that they are already saved because their sins have been forgiven]. But "Love builds up" (1 Co 8:1) [the Father chastises those He loves and these grow in stature and wisdom and learn self-control]. In fact, he who is really free, through [true] knowledge, is a slave, because of love for those who have not yet been able to attain to the freedom of knowledge [he becomes ministerial servant to these]. Knowledge makes them capable of becoming free [for “to them gave he power to become sons” - this capability comes from transformation as we become as our Master we lose our "selves" and become One with the Father to obey and do His will and act righteously towards others]. Love never calls something its own, [...] it [...] possess [...]. It never says, "This is yours" or "This is mine," but "All these are yours".

Those who are freed through gnosis remain as though they were slaves because of Love. Their Love for others binds them to the mortal plane so that they can help them ascend to freedom. Their essence is freedom but their appearance is slavery. They have ceased to be slaves of darkness, but they make themselves slaves in Light. They are redeemed, so they become redeemers of others. They are anointed, so they minister as christs on the mortal plane.

Psychology the Science of the Soul

"Psychology, the Science of the Soul, of the Conscious Self or Ego.

Modern Psychology has regrettably lot its raison d'etre and direct contact with its true origin and meaning, to the extent that, nowadays, it is not only impossible to clearly define the word 'Psychology' but, in addition, scholars are really ignorant of the fundamental subjects it studies

The word psychology derives from Greek roots meaning study of the psyche, or soul (ψυχή psychē, "breath, spirit, soul" and -λογία -logia, "study of" or "research").^[8] The Latin word psychologia was first used by the Croatian humanist and Latinist Marko Marulić in his book, Psichiologia de ratione animae humanae in the late 15th century or early 16th century.^[9] The earliest known reference to the word psychology in English was by Steven Blankaart in 1694 in The Physical Dictionary which refers to "Anatomy, which treats the Body, and Psychology, which treats of the Soul.

there was no separation between psychology and faith

an understanding of psychology and does not stop with an analysis of the mind but goes on to the highest phase of mind's possibilities, unity with Spirit.

What is Repentance?

What is Repentance?

Repent is, in the original Greek, "change your mind."

repentance can mean a reformation from within see Mt 3:8  bear, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation, Young's Literal Translation

Young's Literal Translation Mt 3:1 ¶  And in those days cometh John the Baptist, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea,
2  and saying, ‘Reform, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens,’
3  for this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, ‘A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths.’
4  And this John had his clothing of camel’s hair, and a girdle of skin round his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and honey of the field.
5  Then were going forth unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about the Jordan,
6  and they were baptized in the Jordan by him, confessing their sins.
7 ¶  And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming about his baptism, he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers! who did shew you to flee from the coming wrath?
8  bear, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation,

Reformation The act of reforming, or the state of being reformed; change from worse to better; correction or amendment of life, manners, or of anything vicious or corrupt; as, the reformation of manners; reformation of the age; reformation of abuses. 

Jesus himself knew the heart of men and he knew that the revolution must come from within because defilement comes from within

Mark 7:17 When he had entered a house away from the crowd, his disciples began to question him about respecting this illustration.18 So he said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and then goes out into the sewer.” 20 And he said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man." 

The Greek word found in strong’s 3341 metanoia is translated "repentance," does not mean an admission to God of sorrow for past sin and a resolve to be good in the future. literally means is after-knowing (in contrast to foreknowing) and signifies a change in one’s mind, attitude, or purpose.

In Greek, two verbs are used in connection with repentance: me·ta·no·e´o and me·ta·me´lo·mai. The first is composed of me·ta´, meaning “after,” and no·e´o (related to nous, the mind, disposition, or moral consciousness), meaning “perceive, discern, mentally grasp, or be aware.” Hence, me·ta·no·e´o literally means afterknowing (in contrast to foreknowing) and signifies a change in one’s mind, attitude, or purpose. Me·ta·me´lo·mai, on the other hand, comes from me´lo, meaning “care for or have interest in.” The prefix me·ta´ (after) gives the verb the sense of ‘regretting’ (Mt 21:30; 2Co 7:8), or ‘repenting.’

Thus, repentance stresses the changed viewpoint or disposition, a rejecting of the past or intended course or action as undesirable. It is clear that the mission of John the baptist was to bring about a change of mind. The fundamental idea taught by the Scriptures is not that man must know sorrow, but rather that he must undergo a change, a change not merely of conduct but of the thinking and attitude.

Repentance means change of mind, transformation of the mind, change of thought and purpose.

A proper translation of the mission of John the baptist is: He came into all the region around the Jordan preaching submersion of reformation into a forgiveness of sins;





The Revolution of Consciousness is the FIFTH GOSPEL, we urgently need a radical, total and definitive change, and this is only possible through the Revolution of Consciousness. Intimate Self-Realization is only possible in isolated individuals with the help of adequate knowledge and methods. Such an intimate revolution can only occur within the individual and is in fact against the interests of Nature.

Know Thyself and the Devil Romans 7:18-21

Know Thyself and the Devil 

or 

Self Knowledge and the Devil 

Romans 7:18-21

Romans 7:18-21 New King James Version (NKJV)

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.

In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus tells us that finding the Kingdom is done by a person who "knows himself will discover this"

Gospel of Thomas Saying (3) Jesus said, "[If] those who lead you [say to you, 'See], the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky [will precede you. If they say that] it is under the earth, then the fish of the sea [will enter it, preceding] you. And, the [kingdom of God] is inside of you, [and it is outside of you. Whoever] knows [himself] will discover this. [And when you] come to know yourselves, [you will realize that] you are [sons] of the [living] father. [But if you] will [not] know yourselves, [you dwell] in [poverty] and it is you who are that poverty."

Knowing yourself is part of self examination when We examine ourselves we come to an understanding that our natural self is unclean or full of sin it is referred to as sinful flesh our natural self is our real adversary or Satan. Satan or the Devil is our Ego or the natural propensities of the flesh, that is "that physical principle of the animal nature, which is the cause of all its diseases, death, and resolution into dust. It is that in the flesh "which has the power of death;" (Hebrews 2:14) and it is called sin, because the development, or fixation, of this evil in the flesh, was the result of transgression." (Elpis Israel) 

The Devil is limitation of mind. The Devil in flesh is the rationalist or uncomprised intellectual who sees the universe as a blind mechanical force, acting in an arbitrary fashion imposing upon mankind an infinite variety of hardships and dis- eases. The Devil is that agency within us which sows seeds of fear and confusion and declares in no uncertain terms that – this is how life is! The Devil is a speaker of lies. (Man Know Thyself: Hermetic Qabalistic Keys to the Bible)

Ecclesiastes 10:2 A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart at his left I have suggested on :1 and :3 that Solomon has himself in view, dissecting his own spiritual collapse as he does in the preceding verses of Ecc. 9. So I suggest this too is him stating that he was not really the true "wise man" but the fool, because wisdom had been "far from me" (Ecc. 7:23). Here he puts it another way, in saying that a truly wise man has his heart at his right hand, under his control, with his wisdom in his heart. 

Whereas Solomon sees himself as the fool whose heart was not under his control, spiritual mindedness and psychological self discipline had not been practiced by him at all. And despite realizing that, he still doesn't repent. The Old Testament frequently speaks of man as having two "sides" to his character; one that wished to serve God, and the other which was rebellious. Ecc. 10:2 shows how that the spiritual man is not only aware of this, but he consciously acts to control these two sides: "A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left". 

This kind of self-knowledge is sadly lacking in most human beings, and Solomon is admitting it had been lacking in himself. Proverbs 7,8 likewise has the picture of two women, personifying the flesh and spirit (Prov. 7:12 cp. 8:2,3). Against this Old Testament background, there developed a strong Jewish tradition that the right hand side of a man was his spiritual side, and the left hand side was the equivalent of the New Testament 'devil'. The Lord Jesus referred to this understanding when He warned: "Let not your left hand know what your right hand does" (Mt. 6:3)- implying that the good deeds of the spiritual man would be misused by the 'devil', e.g. in using them as grounds for spiritual pride.

“The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left” (Ecc. 10:2 NIV) has been understood as referring not so much to right and wrong, good and evil, as to the highest good and lesser good (cp. how the left hand can stand for simply lesser blessing rather than outright evil, e.g. Gen. 48:13-20). The fool inclines to lower commitment. The wise will always incline to the maximum, wholehearted level. And Solomon realizes that this is how he has been.  

Paul laments: "In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing...for the good that I would I do not...if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (Rom.7:18-21). Now he does not blame his sinning on an external being called the devil. He located his own evil nature as the real source of sin: "It is not I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law (within me), that, when I would do good, evil is present with (i.e. within) me". So he says that the opposition to being spiritual comes from something that he calls "sin dwelling in me". Every thoughtful, spiritually minded person will come to the same kind of self-knowledge. It should be noted that even a supreme Christian like Paul did not experience a change of nature after conversion, nor was he placed in a position whereby he did not and could not sin. The modern 'evangelical' movement claims that they are in such a position, and thereby place Paul well within the ranks of the 'unsaved' because of his statement here in Rom.7:15-21. These verses have proved a major difficulty for their claims. David, another undoubtedly righteous man,likewise commented upon the constant sinfulness of his very nature: "I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Ps.51:5).

Realizing who ‘the Devil’ really is inspires us to more concretely fight against him. 

For we are our own worst enemy our own devil and an enemy against God. If  we follow the thinking of the flesh, (). So to “know yourself” is to know that it is our own evil heart that is the devil. ()

Our ego catapults self-interest to the forefront of our attention. Daily readings, Bible study and prayer suppress the power of the ego. Over a period of time the reflective mind, remembering the pain of past ego-driven mistakes, will grow in wisdom. But ego never disappears. It can only be suppressed and its power limited by the constant reintroduction of spiritual thinking.

The doctrine of the fallen angel devil tells us that we are not truly to blame. The evil in the world comes from outside us and in reality it is God who is to blame, since He can’t control His own angels. We are told God either doesn’t have the power or the will to stop this fallen angel, and therefore we suffer. This doctrine elevates the flesh and degrades the spirit.

If we wish to partake of God’s nature, we have to recognize the uncleanness of our own nature and reject it.

We must come to know our true self. Our true self is not the person of this world, but the one who was born of God. We are spiritually maturing and growing in knowledge of who we are. We may not be clearly seeing our true self (who is Christ) right now, but we will once we come to fully know and be our True self. We are God’s image that must become perfect like our heavenly Father this is our purpose to reflect the identity, character and glory and become the image of Christ, who is the true image of God. We can only do this in Christ where our true self (life) will be kept hidden in Christ Col 3:3, 4.

So in this light real poverty is when we do not know our true self in Christ. The use of the term 'poverty' is meant for life outside of true knowledge This is spiritual poverty where our minds are lost in deception and our hearts feel homeless because we have not returned to our Father’s house 1Cor 3:16 6:19 Eph 2:20-22 1Pet 2:5. Finally, Jesus says, “you are that poverty” Paul says that nothing good could come from him Rom 7:18 He said that “Paul” had died and Christ now lived in and through him Gal 2:20. Paul knew that his true life was found when he had the spirit of Christ, which is the mind of Christ and not the natural or worldly Paul.

Paul rebuked Corinth for their inability to know whether they had the christ-consciousness developed within them: "Know ye not...that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1Cor. 3:16). We must reckon ourselves dead to sin (Rom. 6:11). The Greek for "reckon" is that translated "impute" or "count", and which often appears in the surrounding chapters in Romans, speaking of how God "counts" us to be perfect. We must reckon ourselves as God reckons us.

the christ-consciousness is first born at baptism, but it is quite possible for it to lie dormant or even die unless it is nurtured. Almost all of us have discovered the presence of our real spiritual man some time after baptism. The spiritual self is begotten by the word, leading to the birth at baptism (2Cor 5:17; James 1:18; 1Pet. 1:23); yet it is the word which makes the " man of God" perfect or mature (2Tim. 3:16,17). Note that the " man of God" here probably refers to our inner spiritual self, rather than just being an description for the believer. In this case, 1Tim. 6:11 records Paul speaking to Timothy's spiritual man: " Thou, O man of God, flee these things". "Man of God" was a term used to describe the Old Testament prophets; it is as if Paul is addressing himself to the word-developed man within Timothy. We must likewise relate to the spiritual man within our brethren.

Moreover, this is how we become “sons of the living Father” (compare Thomas 49-50), which is to become like Jesus himself our example. We must have the same faith as Jesus as well as the same self-control just as Jesus needed it to be saved, so do we Heb 5:7, 8 also in the gospel of John it is Jesus who empowered true believers, so #Ec 5:19, 6:2. He gave them the privilege, the liberty, the dignity, which refers to the legitimate entitlement to the position of being called and becoming the sons of God. Israel was once the son and the first-born, #Ex 4:22: but now the adoption of sons to God was open and free to all nations whatever. By believing, undeserving sinners can become full members of God's family.