What is Enlightenment Ephesians 1:18

What is Enlightenment?

In this study we will look at the biblical (resembling the language or style of the Bible) understanding of enlightenment using both the Bible and apocryphal gospels

The Savior said, "The lamp of the body is the mind. As long as the things inside you are set in order, that is, the soul, your bodies are enlightened. (The Dialogue of the Savior)

The word Enlightenment is often linked to the Age of Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason or simply the Enlightenment) was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th to 19th century.

For Enlightenment thinkers themselves, however, the Enlightenment is not an historical period, but a process of social, psychological or spiritual development, unbound to time or place.

There is a natural and spiritual enlightenment. natural enlightenment is to except who you are having good self-esteem.

Spiritual enlightenment is very different it is first self knowledge (self examination) and second a union with the Deity the Great "Uncreated and Eternal Spirit" a gnosis which illuminates us within and shines out to the world. "For Christ is all, and in all, and in Christ we live and move and have our Being"

In Christianity, the word "enlightenment" is rarely used, except to refer to the Age of Enlightenment and its influence on Christianity. Roughly equivalent terms in Christianity may be metanoia, revelation, salvation and conversion.

Perennialists and Universalists view enlightenment and mysticism as equivalent terms for religious or spiritual insight.

The word translated as “repent” is metanoia, which means a transformation of mind. in Young's literal translation the word metanoia is translated ‘Reform, reformation, in Phanerosis Dr John Thomas translates metanoia as enlightenment

"Him hath Theos exalted to His right hand, a Prince and SAVIOUR; to give enlightenment (metanoian) to Israel, and remission of sins" (Acts 5:31). Phanerosis Page 57

Luke 2:32 

a Light of Nations for enlightenment, and a Glory of thy People Israel (Emphatic Diaglott)
A light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Webster's Bible Translation) 

In Luke 2:32 the word rendered enlighten or enlightenment is the Greek word for revelation

a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (English Standard Version)

602. ἀποκάλυψις apokalupsis [ap-ok-al’-oop-sis]; from 601; disclosure: —  appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, be revealed, revelation.

a disclosure of truth, instruction concerning things before unknown

The Greek word photizo (5461 φωτίζω) is used 11 times in the New Testament

AV-give light 2, bring to light 2, lighten 2, enlighten 2, light 1, illuminate 1, make to see 1; 11

5461 φωτίζω photizo fo-tid’-zo

from 5457; v; TDNT-9:310,1293; {See TDNT 839 }

1) to give light, to shine
2) to enlighten, light up, illumine
3) to bring to light, render evident
3a) to cause something to exist and thus come to light and become clear to all
4) to enlighten, spiritually, imbue with saving knowledge

5461. φωτίζω photizo fo-tid’-zo; from 5457; to shed rays, i.e. to shine or (transitively) to brighten up (literally or figuratively): — enlighten, illuminate, (bring to, give) light, make to see.

Another Greek word that can be translated as Enlightenment is φωτισμός photismos

5462. φωτισμός photismos [fo-tis-mos’]; from 5461; illumination (figuratively): — light.

phótismos: illumination
Usage: light, luster, illumination, enlightenment.
1) the act of enlightening, illumination
2) brightness, bright light

light itself, the embodiment of the source (beginning) of the illumination. 

2cor 4:6  because [it is] God who said, Out of darkness light [is] to shine, who did shine in our hearts, for the enlightening of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (Young's)

2cor 4:6 For God is he who said: “Let the light shine out of darkness,” and he has shone on our hearts to illuminate [them] with the glorious knowledge of God by the face of Christ. (NWT)

From these Greek words used in the New Testament we can see that Enlightenment or illumination is a biblical concept.

The Hebrew word for Enlightenment is השׂכּלה Haskalah. The term Haskalah is from the Hebrew word sekhel (שׂכּל) “the intellect.

Daniel 12:3 And the intelligent (07919. שׂכל) shall shine brilliantly like the brilliance of the expanse; and they that bring many to righteousness shall be like the stars, for ever and ever.

The intelligent or “the wise,” the men of wisdom shall shine brilliantly because they have been enlightened

The Hebrew verb sakhal´ means “to look at; to be prudent, circumspect; to act prudently, to be intelligent.”  Thus, sakhal´ is rendered ‘have insight’ (Psa 14:2), ‘act with discretion’ (Prov 10:19), “act prudently” (1Sam 18:5), ‘have success’ (Pr 17:8), ‘cause to show insight’ (Prov 16:23). The noun sekhel is translated “insight” (Psa 111:10) and “discretion.”—1Sam 25:3.

The illuminator of Knowledge

For there to be Enlightenment or illumination there has to be an illuminator of knowledge, a revealer, a teacher of righteousness this person is the Messiah Jesus

John 8:12 Therefore Jesus spoke again to them, saying: “I am the light of the world. He that follows me will by no means walk in darkness, but will possess the light of life.

In Early Christian Documents Jesus is referred to as the Illuminate or illuminator of knowledge

odes of solomon ode 36 1 I rested in the Spirit of the Lord: and the Spirit raised me on high: 2 And made me stand on my feet in the height of the Lord, before His perfection and His glory, while I was praising Him by the composition of His songs. 3 The Spirit brought me forth before the face of the Lord: and, although a son of man, I was named the Illuminate, the Son of God: 4 While I praised amongst the praising ones, and great was I amongst the mighty ones.

For you are not the redeemer nor a helper of strangers.
You are an illuminator and a redeemer of those who are mine,
and now of those who are yours.
You shall reveal (to them); you shall bring good among them all. (The Apocryphon of James)

"Father, Father, Father of the light, who possesses the incorruptions, hear us just as thou hast taken pleasure in thy holy child Jesus Christ. For he became for us an illuminator in the darkness. Yea hear us!"  (The Letter of Peter to Philip)

The Process of Enlightenment 

We must be transformed in mind and enlightened in heart a purification of mind and body

As I have said above the beginning of Enlightenment is self knowledge, to come to know oneself, your world. and place in it

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

the Bible says, we are saved by “the renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). It also says, we are renewed by knowledge” (Col. 3:10). In this, however, it does not contradict its self, but rather makes the one phrase explanatory of the other; as if he had said, “we are renewed by the Holy Spirit through knowledge.” The Holy Spirit renews or regenerates a person intellectually and morally by putting faith in the truth. “Sanctify them by thy truth,” says Jesus; “thy word, O Father, is truth” (John 17:17).

“Ye are clean,” said he to his apostles, “through the word which I have spoken to you” (John 15:3). God’s power is manifested through agencies. His Spirit is His power by which He effects intellectual, moral, and physical results. When He wills to produce intellectual and moral effects, it is by knowledge revealed by His Spirit through the prophets and apostles.

This knowledge becomes power when received into “good and honest hearts”; and because God is the author of it, it is styled “the Knowledge of God” (2 Pet. 1:2), or “the word of truth” (James 1:18), by which He begets sinners to Himself as His sons and daughters. “The word of the truth of the gospel,”" the gospel of the kingdom.” “the incorruptible seed,” “the word,” “the truth as it is in Jesus,”" the word of the kingdom,”" the word of reconciliation,” “the law and the testimony,” “the word of faith,” “the sword of the spirit which is the word of God,” “the word of Christ,” “the perfection of liberty,” etc.-are all phrases richly demonstrating "the power of God” by which He saves His people from their sins, and translates them into the Hope of the kingdom and glory to which He invites them. The truth is the power that makes men free indeed (John 8:32, 36).

Enlightenment a gift of the Spirit

Eph 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give YOU a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the accurate knowledge of him;
Eph 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, for your knowing what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

The enlightening is by the gift of the Spirit (:17); it is an internal mental operation. 

"Enlightenment" is associated with being partakers in the Holy Spirit and tasting the Heavenly gift [i.e. the Spirit] in Heb. 6:4. 

And Heb. 10:32 speaks as if this "enlightenment" was a standard part of the Christian path ("... after you were enlightened...").

The same word for "enlightened" is found in Jn. 1:9- the Lord Jesus is the light of our world and enlightens every man who comes into that world. Once we take the step in faith of entering His world, then the gift of the Spirit enlightens us. He is therefore not passively sitting in Heaven awaiting the time of His return; He is busy enlightening believers, and He does this through the operation of His Spirit. 

God is “the Father of lights.” (Jas 1:17) Not only is he the “Giver of the sun for light by day, the statutes of the moon and the stars for light by night” (Jer 31:35) but he is also the Source of all spiritual enlightenment. (2Co 4:6)

Light is a symbol of intelligence. The understanding faculty in the mind. Light is a symbol of wisdom. When Jesus said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12), He meant that He was the expresser of Truth in all its aspects.

The love of Christ was shown in His cross; and through the Spirit's enlightenment we can know the height, length, breadth of that love (Eph. 3:18,19).

Our eyes have been enlightened, now we see (Eph. 1:18; 5:8; Col. 1:13; 1 Pet. 2:9).

ode 34 1 No way is hard where there is a simple heart. 2 Nor is there any wound where the thoughts are upright: 3 Nor is there any storm in the depth of the illuminated thought (Mind): 4 Where one is surrounded on every side by beauty, there is nothing that is divided. 5 The likeness of what is below is that which is above; for everything is above: what is below is nothing but the imagination of those that are without knowledge. 6 Grace has been revealed for your salvation. Believe and live and be saved. Hallelujah.

Conscience must be enlightened; if not, it can mislead

E=MC2 vs C=FP2

E=MC2- vs C=FP2

Well, I am no Einstein, not even a physicist, but I believe there is spiritual wisdom hidden in this natural law. Let’s consider the divine equation revealed to Einstein: E=MC². Why divine? As mentioned before, it is because all truths support The Truth. All the truths from math, science, chemistry, etc exist because they shadow a higher Truth.
So back to E=MC² where E is energy, M is mass, and C is the speed of light in a vacuum. One thing we know from this equation is that energy and mass are directly related. In fact, one could really think of all matter as condensed light! Hard to even imagine how much light is stored in our small, frail bodies. Converting this natural equation into a spiritual one is difficult, but here is my understanding.
It seems clear that C (speed of Light and a constant) is the shadow of God’s glory, power and will because they are both constants. Some “science sticklers” may bring up the point that the speed of light is not constant except in the vacuum of space and is slower in other mediums. Well, I think this fact also relates to a spiritual truth. If the speed of light {C} is the shadow of God’s will or power then let’s consider if it is the same at every level of existence. It seems clear that God’s will is not always done here on Earth. On the other hand, God’s will before time and space in the void was done at that moment called “here and now.” In that moment God’s will or power is constant and there is nothing greater. This is like the speed of light. In the void, the speed of light {C} is a constant. Like God’s will and power, “C” only becomes lessened, in a sense, in lower mediums like our world. So now, back to the equation at hand.
I believe that E (energy) is a shadow of our consciousness, or spiritual energy if you like. Our spiritual energy is our “light” that Jesus said we should not keep hidden. I think then M (mass) represents our faith in God. Faith is the substance of our spiritual life like mass is the substance of all things. Things exist in this world because they have mass. God exists in our consciousness because we have faith. Faith has spiritual weight like mass has weight. So, the equation for this is spiritual law then would be as follows:
Consciousness of God {C} = Faith in God {F} x Power of God² {P²} or C=FP².
Let’s consider this spiritual theory. The first question that might arise is why P²? Well, again in this world we have the Holy Spirit and the Son helping us to the Father, so this would be P x P or P². The power of God {P} “squared” sounds a bit absurd, but man cannot even fathom a single P. Can you imagine God’s power? Wouldn’t trying to grasp God’s power {P} be like counting to infinity? If we can agree that God has power that cannot be measured, why then would it be any different for P x P? See my point? So let’s test this theory as best we can.
When our Consciousness of God {C} increases then does our Faith {F}, or closeness to God also increases? Yes, I believe this true. Our awareness of God is directly proportional to our faith and closeness to God.
JAS 4:7 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.
As our faith grows, we grow closer to God and our understanding and knowledge of him and life increases. Einstein was certainly no dummy! What he discovered in the natural has its meaning in the spiritual just as every shadow has its higher reality. Perhaps in “heaven” we will have P³- the power of Father, Son and Holy Spirit available to our consciousness! We can’t even imagine! Talk about being able to fly high! Until they then though, it seems we are to remain a bit “grounded” by the earthly forces that be.

GRAVITY-
1COR 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Gravity may be my favorite force of nature. Why? This is because without a doubt it represents God’s love. As Paul alludes to, love is the greatest “force” in the spiritual universe! Gravity, like God’s love, is a complete mystification. Man cannot explain the force of gravity, but simply labels it a “law” that just is the way it is. We have no earthly idea why objects attract one another, but without gravity (and certainly God's love), life as we know it could not exist.
If one examines the law of gravity closely and then looks up to find the higher law or force it represents, we must come to the conclusion that God’s love is the spiritual form of gravity. They seem to parallel each other in every way imaginable. Like God, gravity is ever present, ever active, ever lasting. It doesn’t run out, run down and it is everywhere there is mass. The greater that mass of an object is the greater is the force of gravity. Again, spiritual mass would represent our faith or nearness to God. The closer we get to God, the stronger our love (spiritual gravity) becomes. This is the higher law of Love.

GAL 5:14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
It is written that God is love, and any that love are born of God. What a profound mystery that Love has created. It seems clear that the will of gravity and the will of God are the same- to be ONE. Both are constant, unyielding and dominating in their kingdoms. Gravity and God’s love affects all things at all times. It is unwavering no matter the circumstances. What is really interesting is what happens when gravity is taken to extreme limits.
The notion of “black holes” was at first mere speculation. Then later they became theoretical, but today they are all but accepted as fact. The black hole is all about extreme gravity. It is a sinkhole for all mass and energy- even light. The force of gravity becomes so strong that it overpowers all other forces of the universe! Now, that sounds like God’s love! It seems that within a black hole, the laws of physics are superseded by a higher order of “laws” just as Christ supersedes the Law of Moses.
As discussed in the article The Meaning of Life, matter and consciousness are inversely related in that as matter decreases in the universe, overall consciousness increases. So in the black hole, matter is taken from this world and consciousness is given into the spiritual realm. Again recall the spiritual equation of consciousness:
Consciousness {C} = Faith in God {F} x Power of God² {P²}
As our faith grows, our consciousness (or awareness) of God’s will also increases. This is the same relationship we see with gravity within the black hole. The black hole is drawing all things together just as God is drawing us all back so that God is all in all. The closer the mass becomes the greater the force of gravity. God’s love increases as we come together as well. We are called to love our neighbor as our self, but do we realize why? It is because we are all part of the Body of Christ. As we come together because of the overpowering force of God’s love, we become ONE body! And like the mass transformed in the black hole, we are also transformed into a higher state of being in Christ!
What I also find interesting is a black hole is likely formed when a large star goes super nova. In other words, once a star has surrendered a critical amount of mass through the process of fusion, it then explodes and collapses upon itself. It gives all that it can, and then it begins to take EVERYTHING back! This is the nature of God and the “Cycle of Life,”. If all has come from God and all is returning to God, then love is the gravity making this possible.

The True Bible Code

The Real Bible Code

The real bible code 5 simple rules

By Code we mean: ( 1 A systematically arranged and comprehensive collection of laws. 2. A systematic collection of regulations)


1 how each passage of the bible is to be understood historically


2 how each passage applies to us as a person individually


3 how each passage applies to Israel both the natural and the spiritual Israel (the Israel of god)


4 how each passage applies to the Lord Jesus Christ


5 how each passage has an allegorical understand applied to the second coming



This is the REAL BIBLE CODE