Strength and Weakness The Gospel of Philip

Strength and Weakness

In this world, where strength and weakness are to be found, there is union of male and female, but in the eternal realm there is a different kind of union.

Although we refer to these things with the same words, there are also other words that are superior to every word that is pronounced.
These are above strength. For there is strength and there are those superior to strength, and they are not different but the same. This is incomprehensible to hearts of flesh.

Whereas in this world the union is one of [a physical] husband with [a physical] wife [a union of flesh] - a case of strength complemented by weakness - in the Aeon (eternal realm), the form of the union is different, although we refer to them by the same names [i.e. husband and wife - the union of our individual spirit consciousness with His Christ Consciousness within our hearts – a spirit to spirit (thought to thought union)]. There are other names, however; they are superior to every other name that is named and are stronger than the strong. For where there is a show of strength [faith], there those who excel in strength appear. These are not separate things, but both of them are this one single thing [Life]. This is the one which will not be able to rise above the heart of flesh [for flesh cannot discern it]. (Philip 81)

In the Bridal Chamber we learn the mystery of total union with the Divine. We must become one with all who have preceded us into the Divine. Division is a product of darkness; union is a product of Light.

Mortal marriage is a marriage of division. Each side, by nature, is led to try to dominate the other. Spiritual marriage is a marriage of unity. All sides are strong in the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no domination, but only pure Love. The ones in the marriage who are more powerful lift up the others to be equal with them. These are the mysteries of the Bridal Chamber.

atonement

atonement

atonement--Reconciliation between God and man through Christ; the uniting of our consciousness with the higher consciousness. Jesus became the way by which all who accept Him may "pass over" to the higher consciousness. We have atonement through Him.

To comprehend the atonement requires a deeper insight into creative processes than the average man and the average woman have attained; not because they lack the ability to understand, but because they have submerged their thinking power in a grosser thought stratum. So only those who study Being from the standpoint of pure mind can come into an understanding of the atonement and the part that Jesus played in opening the way for humanity to enter into the glory that was theirs before the world was formed.

By reading the letter of the Bible and accepting it as authority, men have formed erroneous ideas regarding the atonement. The Spirit of truth alone can reveal the true meaning of Jesus Christ's mission and work. The atonement as it has been understood by Christian people in the past has not taken sin, suffering, and death from the world; therefore it must be that their understanding has fallen short of the Truth. Spiritual understanding of the atonement shows the way to deliverance from sin and consequently from all the effects of sin. In proportion as people understand and have faith in Jesus Christ as their actual Savior from sin, they are set free from appetite, passion, jealousy, prejudice, and all selfishness; wholeness of mind and body is the result. The ultimate of this knowledge and of daily practice in overcoming (even as Jesus Himself overcame) will be a new race that will demonstrate eternal life--the lifting up of the whole man--spirit, soul, and body--into the Christ consciousness of oneness with the Father. By means of the atonement--reconciliation, or atone-ment--that Jesus Christ reestablished between God and man, we can regain our original estate as sons of God, here upon earth. "Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).

atonement can mean at-one-ment 

Knowing oneness with what is, the eternal present. In oneness, actor, act and acted upon is experienced as the same. Perceiver, perceived and perceiving as well

The basic principle of Truth is that the mind of each individual may be consciously unified with Divine Mind through the indwelling Christ. By affirming at-one-ment with God-Mind, we eventually realize that perfect mind which was in Christ Jesus.

Truth, source of--God is a special, personal Father to all His children, and from no other source can they get absolute Truth.

truth, Spirit of--God's thought projecting into our mind ideas that will build spiritual consciousness like that of Jesus. The Spirit of truth watches every detail of our life. When we ask and by affirmation proclaim its presence, it brings new life into both mind and body and moves us to observe spiritual and physical laws that restore health.

God Plants Paradise

God Plants Paradise

[God planted] a garden, and humans [lived in the] garden. There are some [who dwell] with…God….
This garden [is where] it will be said to me, “…[eat] this and do not eat that, [as you] [74] wish.” This is where I shall eat everything, where the tree of knowledge is.

That tree killed Adam, but here the tree of knowledge has brought people back to life. That tree was the law. It can give knowledge of good and evil, but it neither freed Adam from evil nor made him good, and it brought death to those who ate of it. For when it was said, “Eat this and do not eat that,” death began.

God [...created a] garden [Paradise]. Man [...created a] garden [the world]. There are [...two gardens, a garden of man] and [...the garden of] of God. [...] The things which are in [...] I wish. This garden is the place where they will say to me, "[...Go and] eat this or do not eat that, just as you wish." In the place where I will eat all things is the Tree of Knowledge. That one killed Adam [in the garden of Eden man had life (Oneness with the Father) until free will got the better of Him and he chose to eat from that tree – this was the beginning of man’s trek into double mindedness and the animal nature (flawed reasoning)], but here the Tree of Knowledge made men alive [It was the teachings in types and images throughout the Old Testament (the Law) that pointed those who could comprehend it to the Messiah and the resurrection from the dead]. The law was the tree. It has power to give the knowledge of good and evil [for without it we would not know sin nor could we become "as gods" setting ourselves up as gods in the temple of god (our bodies)]. It neither removed him from evil, nor did it set him in the good, but it created death for those who ate of it [there is no salvation available from the works of the law according to the “letter” but the “spirit” of the law was life for those who discerned it as an allegory pointing to the Savior and the power of sonship]. For when he said, "Eat this, do not eat that", it became the beginning of death [This Command was the groundwork for the great task of creating sons.  Shortly after the precept Adam was given his first taste of free will and his conscience failed him and as a result construction could now begin on the greatest temple (not made with hands) ever created!]. (Philip 75)

The Elohim placed mankind in a Garden. They said, "Eat all these fruits, but don't eat the fruit of the Tree of Gnosis, or you will die." The Aadamah ate the fruit of the Tree of Gnosis, and death was introduced to mankind. This was the beginning of the mortal plane. When we enter Jehovah's Garden as seekers of gnosis, we are again presented with the Tree of Gnosis, but now the Elohim say, "Eat the fruit of this tree and you will live." The same tree brings Life and death, for the knowledge of good and evil puts us in a position to choose darkness and death, but it also enables us to transcend darkness and death to grasp Eternal Life

This World Eats Corpses

This World Eats Corpses
This world eats corpses, and everything eaten in this world also dies. Truth eats life, and no one nourished by [truth] will die. Jesus came from that realm and brought food from there, and he gave [life] to all who wanted it, that they might not die.

This world is a corpse-eater [people of the world all start out in the first death as slaves to sarx (sin) – the world gets its strength from this as it allows the rulers thereof to maintain authority over them through fear and lusts of the flesh]. All the things eaten in it themselves die also [“they do not go in and hinder those who are” –“let the dead bury the dead”]. Truth is a life-eater [the truth kills the carnal nature (sarx) and gets its strength from those who have found it]. Therefore no one nourished by truth will die. It was from that place [the heavenly realm] that Jesus came and brought food [the bread of life]. To those who so desired [were drawn to Him], he gave life [His seed], that they might not die. (Philip 74)

Life on the mortal plane is sustained by death. Everything here maintains life by consuming that which has died. Eternal Life is sustained by Life. Those who are nourished by Truth will never die, for Truth does not die in order to impart Life to us. It was Truth that Jesus brought from the heavenly plane to nourish us. He feeds those who desire Life on the elements of Truth, and they never die.

Joseph the Carpenter Gospel of Philip

Joseph the Carpenter

Philip the apostle said, “Joseph the carpenter planted a garden, for he needed wood for his trade. He is the one who made the cross from the trees he planted, and his own offspring hung on what he planted. His offspring was Jesus and what he planted was the cross.”

The tree of life, however, is in the middle of the garden. It is an olive tree, and from it comes chrism, and from chrism comes resurrection.

Philip the apostle said, "Joseph the carpenter [representing the Father] planted a garden [to cultivate] because he needed wood [raw material Natural men] for his trade [making sons]. It was he who made the cross [crucifixion (the process of sonship)] from the trees which he planted [the archons, later Pharisees and scribes who did not know their left from their right]. His own offspring [“the firstborn in many brothers”] hung on that which he planted. His offspring was Jesus, and the planting was the cross [the process sacrificing your flesh to sonship]." But the Tree of Life is in the middle of the Garden [it is within each one of us but hidden from our senses]. However, it is from the olive tree [the holy spirit] that we got the chrism [anointing], and from the chrism, the resurrection [by having Christ sealed in us]. (Philip 73)

Philip the Apostle said, "Joseph the Carpenter planted a garden because he needed wood for building. It was from one of these trees that the cross was made on which his son was hung. The rulers of the religious world often warp the good things we do so that they produce evil fruit. The final result is not with darkness, however. The rulers thought they were producing evil when they crucified the Redeemer, but they were his instruments, enabling him to generate the power of salvation in behalf of all mankind."

Resurrection and Baptism the gospel of philip

Resurrection and Baptism

People who say they will first die and then arise are wrong. If they do not receive the resurrection first, while they are alive, they will receive nothing when they die. So it is said of baptism, “Great is baptism,” for if people receive it, they will live.

Those who say they will die [physically] first and then rise [as spirit beings] are in error. If they do not first receive the resurrection [receive “Christ in them”] while they live, when they die they will receive nothing [one must attain the first resurrection while in the physical body through Christ]. So also when speaking about baptism they say, "Baptism is a great thing," because if people receive it they will live [these do not apprehend the Father nor His Son nor do they comprehend the mystery of sonship – they only see the “letter” and not the “spirit” of the law, these think that the baptism is a physical “outward” act and do not understand what it really is even though they say it is symbolic, they still dwell on its tradition in ignorance]. (Philip 72)

Slaves and the Free the gospel of philip

Slaves and the Free

In this world slaves serve the free. In heaven’s kingdom the free will serve the slaves and the attendants of the bridal chamber will serve the wedding guests.

The attendants of the bridal chamber have only one name, and that is rest. When they are together, they need no other form, [for they are in] contemplation…perception. They are superior…among those in…the glories of glories….

In this world, the slaves [debtors] serve the free [creditors]. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the free will minister to the slaves: the children of the bridal chamber will minister to the children of the marriage [all of those who have become “sons” and are doing according to His will do this inherently without being told]. The children of the bridal chamber [the firstfruits] have [.a new..] name: rest [the rest comes when you find the Kingdom inside of you and eat from the tree of Life]. Altogether, they need take no other form [although these are still in the physical body, they are walking in accord with the spirit], because they have contemplation [their thoughts continually seek righteousness and the will of the Father] , [...]. They are numerous [...] in the things [...] the glories [...] 

Accomplishments The Gospel of Philip

Accomplishments

The truth is, a person’s accomplishments depend on that person’s abilities, and for this reason we refer to accomplishments as abilities. Among such accomplishments are a person’s children, and they come into being from a time of rest.Now, one’s abilities come to expression in what one accomplishes, and rest is clearly found in children. You will find this also applies to the image. These are the people made after the image, who accomplish things through their strength and bring forth children through rest.

[in other words it is not through physical strength that physical children are created in the world thus it is not through intellectual strength that spiritual children are created but it is at a moment of ease (i.e. stop analyzing and let the spirit guide you into all truth)]. (Philip 70)

Two Trees in Paradise The Gospel of Philip

Two Trees in Paradise

There are two trees growing in paradise. One produces [animals] and the other produces people. Adam [ate] of the tree that produces animals, and [he] became an animal and brought forth animals. As a result Adam’s children worship animals. The tree [whose] fruit [he ate] is the [tree of knowledge, and because of this, sins] increased. [If he had] eaten the [fruit of the other tree], the fruit of [the tree of life, which] produces people, [gods would] worship people. As [in paradise] God created people [that people] [72] might create God, so also in this world people make gods and worship what they have created. It would be more fitting for gods to worship people.

There are two trees growing in Paradise. The one bears animals [the tree of knowledge of good and evil which leads to death], the other bears men [the tree of life]. Adam ate from the tree which bore animals. He became an animal [after going according to his own will] and he brought forth animals [all of his sons are brought forth in the same condition of separation from the Father and eat from this tree (this is the first death]. For this reason the children of Adam worship animals [who continue to “lord it over them” in their unreasoning minds]. The tree [...] fruit is [...] increased. [...] ate the [...] fruit of the [...] bears men, [...] man. [...] God created man. [...] men create God. That is the way it is in the world - men make gods [by choosing for themselves kings and/or governments or men to rule over them; also by setting up selfishness as ruler over their own temple] and worship their creation [bow down to their own man-made constitutions]. It would be fitting for the gods to worship men [all men are created in the image of God and are “sons of the Most High” with all power of creation that the Father has bestowed upon them if they would just turn to Him, but in ignorance they keep following those that are not gods – this is idolatry whether it be government, idealism, religion etc. for they all result in spiritual thievery]! (Philip 69) 

The Inner and the Outer The gospel of philip

The Inner and the Outer

[For this reason] he said, “I have come to make [the lower] like the [upper and the] outer like the [inner, and to unite] them in that place.” [He spoke] here in symbols [and images].

Those who say [there is a heavenly person and] one that is higher are wrong, for they call the visible heavenly person [68] “lower” and the one to whom the hidden realm belongs “higher.” It would be better for them to speak of the inner, the outer, and the outermost. For the master called corruption “the outermost darkness,” and there is nothing outside it. He said, “My father who is in secret.” He said, “Go into your room, shut the door behind you, and pray to your father who is in secret”—that is, the one who is innermost. What is innermost is the fullness, and there is nothing further within. And this is what they call uppermost.

The heavenly person above is the Eternal Father Above. The one who is innermost is The Son who fills us with the fullness or Divine quality. 

The Lord did everything in a mystery, a baptism [which comes by “hearing the Word”] and a chrism [the conflict in your conscience, the war in your members] and a Eucharist [the death of the “old man” while “conforming to Christ”] and a redemption [the release from past sins] and a bridal chamber [the heart where “Christ in you” is conceived]. [...] he said, "I came to make the things below [the thoughts of natural man – chaos and double mindedness] like the things above [the thoughts of spiritual man –One in spirit and single eyed], and the things outside [the physical] like those inside [the spiritual]. I came to unite them in the place " [...] here through types [...]and images. (Philip 55)

Those who say, "There is a heavenly man and there is one above him" are wrong. For it is the first of these two heavenly, the one who is revealed [all men are created in God’s image and likeness so they too are heavenly, just a little lower in stature], that they call "the one who is below"; and he [the Father] to whom the hidden belongs [“the owner of the house”] is that one who is above him. For it would be better for them to say, "The inner [the Christ Consciousness (the kingdom inside you)] and outer [the individual spirit consciousness in man], and what is outside the outer" [the flesh - evil desires and intentions]. Because of this, the Lord called destruction the "the outer darkness" [which is the “flesh which is good for nothing at all”]: there is not another outside of it. He said, "My Father who is in secret". He said, "Go into your chamber [your heart – where the spirit of truth dwells] and shut the door behind you [shut out all worldly distractions], and pray to your Father who is in secret" (Mt 6:6) [this is not a group thing but a close personal pleading in “spirit and in truth” for those who comprehend it for this is the only way you can pray to the Father], the one who is within them all [the Christ Consciousness which is within all true believers]. But that which is within them all is the fullness [the fullness is Christ, the “I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE” or better termed “He will be Mighty Ones (Yahweh Elohim)” for we are all in Him and He in us]. Beyond it, there is nothing else within it. This is that of which they say, "That which is above them" [so what they say is above them is in reality the fullness of the Father within them – we are told that what is above is also “the “inner” hence another witness to the statement; “the kingdom is inside of you”] (Philip 56)

What is Heaven?

What is Heaven? 

Literal meaning 

The usual Hebrew word for "heavens" is _shamayim_, a plural form meaning "heights," "elevations" #Ge 1:1 2:1

The heavens can be considered "a natural phenomena and not [always] as the dwelling of the deity." (131) (See Mat 10:29)

The heaven(s)” may apply to the full range of earth’s atmosphere in which dew and frost form (Ge 27:28; Job 38:29), the birds fly (De 4:17; Pr 30:19; Mt 6:26), the winds blow (Ps 78:26), lightning flashes (Lu 17:24), and the clouds float and drop their rain, snow, or hailstones (Jos 10:11; 1Ki 18:45; Isa 55:10; Ac 14:17).

 “The sky” is sometimes meant, that is, the apparent or visual dome or vault arching over the earth.—Mt 16:1-3; Ac 1:10, 11.

The physical “heavens” extend through earth’s atmosphere and beyond to the regions of outer space with their stellar bodies, “all the army of the heavens”—sun, moon, stars, and constellations. (De 4:19; Isa 13:10; 1Co 15:40, 41; Heb 11:12) The first verse of the Bible describes the creation of such starry heavens prior to the development of earth for human habitation. (Ge 1:1)

And these have a firmament corresponding to each aeon-heaven. They were given names according to the glory which belongs to heaven for the destruction of the powers. (apocryphon of John)

And a voice came forth from the exalted aeon-heaven: '

This is the hebdomad

 For these are those who have a firmament corresponding to each aeon.

These are the ones who have a firmament corresponding to each heaven and aeon according to the likeness of the Aeon which exists from the beginning, in the model of the indestructible ones.

Symbolic meaning

In the Old and New Testament, "the phrase 'heavens and earth' signifies, in analogy the whole political world. The aspects of the political world, the focus of the bible prophecy, are related to aspects we understand of the natural world. In the political world some are elevated above others into ruling positions. Those great ones that rule are 'high' above the ordinary person and are said to be in 'the heavens'. The Hebrew for 'heaven'(shâmayim) is from a word for 'lofty', or 'high'. One can rise in power into the political heavens, and likewise descend. The ordinary person is said to be of the earth. In Hebrew a word for 'earth' (ădâmâh) is related to the name Adam.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. (Psalm 96:11) 
Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: (Isaiah 1:2) 
Sing, you heavens, for Yahweh has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! (Isaiah 44:23)

In all of these instances the heavens and earth have human emotions, and skills, which inanimate nature cannot have. They are poetry and prophecy are analogy. Isaiah particularly uses this analogy

Sing, heavens; and be joyful, earth; 
for Yahweh has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted. (Isaiah 49:13)

Isaiah is both poetry and prophecy. Note the poetic pairs: heavens - people, earth - afflicted.
In any instance when you read 'heavens' in a prophetic book, or a prophetic song, where it is speaking of the fate of nations, think first it means political heavens. There may be some instances where prophets speak of the natural world, but they will be rarer.

Daniel 8:9-12, where what has previously been shown to represent a political power is spoken of as “getting greater all the way to the army of the heavens,” and even causing some of that army and of the stars to fall to the earth

3772 ouranos οὐρανός, οὐρανοῦ, ὁ (from a root meaning 'to cover,' 'encompass'; cf. Vanicek, p. 895; Curtius, § 509),

Perhaps from the same as oros (through the idea of elevation); the sky; by extension, heaven (as the abode of God); by implication, happiness, power, eternity; specially, the Gospel (Christianity) -- air, heaven(-ly), sky.

3772 ouranós – heaven (singular), and nearly as often used in the plural ("heavens"). "The singular and plural have distinct overtones and therefore should be distinguished in translation (though unfortunately they rarely are)" (G. Archer).

The incorporeal world then was already completed, having its seat in the Divine Reason; and the world, perceptible by the external senses, was made on the model of it; and the first portion of it, being also the most excellent of all made by the Creator, was the heaven, which he truly called the firmament, as being corporeal; for the body is by nature firm, inasmuch as it is divisible into three parts; and what other idea of solidity and of body can there be, except that it is something which may be measured in every direction? therefore he, very naturally contrasting that which was perceptible to the external senses, and corporeal with that which was perceptible only by the intellect and incorporeal, called this the firmament. (37) Immediately afterwards he, with great propriety and entire correctness, called it the heaven, either because it was already the Boundary{2} of everything, or because it was the first of all visible things which was created; and after its second rising he called the time day, referring the entire space and measure of a day to the heaven, on account of its dignity and honour among the things perceptible to the external senses.

{2} {philo means that ouranos was derived either from horos, a boundary, or from horaoµ, to see, horatos, visible.}

Gen 1:6 ¶  And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. [{firmament: Heb. expansion }
Gen 1:8  And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

In the King James marginal reading gives the alternate reading “expansion,” and the American Standard Version gives “expanse” in its footnote. Other translations support such rendering—“expanse” (Ro; Fn; Yg; An; NW); “expansión” (VM [Spanish]); “étendue [extent or expanse]”

Heaven in the Greek is ouranos, which can mean expansion. Therefore, that is a way of understanding what heaven is being a beyond somewhere up there in a cloud with some angels and some harps. Which I personally do not think that is what is happening anyway. However, heaven really is about the expansion of consciousness. 

God visioned two planes of consciousness, the heaven and the earth, or more properly, "the heavens and the earth." One is the realm of pure ideas; the other, of thought forms. Heaven is the orderly realization of divine ideas. Earth is the manifestation of these ideas.

heaven and earth--Two states of mind, the ideal and the manifestation. According to Revelation 21:1 we are to have new ideals with manifestations in the earth to correspond.

The kingdom of heaven is an expanding consciousness of truth or, we might say, an expanding awareness. To be consistent in our interpretation we should keep in mind that heaven always relates to consciousness and consciousness is relative. Not everyone is at the same point of development in consciousness. Jesus represents the highest development of spiritual consciousness.

heaven--The Christ consciousness; the realm of Divine Mind; a state of consciousness in harmony with the thoughts of God. Heaven is everywhere present. It is the orderly, lawful adjustment of God's kingdom in man's mind, body, and affairs.

heaven, firmament of--The consciousness of Truth that has been formulated and established.

heaven, restoration to--Faith in Spirit and the ultimate dominance of the good in all men will finally restore man to the heavenly consciousness from which he descended.

What is the Sabbath

What is the Sabbath

Luke Chapter 6:5 And he said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." The same day, observing someone working on the Sabbath, he told him, "My good man, if you know what you are doing you are blessed, but if you do not know you are accursed and a violator of the Law.

Gospel of Thomas Saying 27. "If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the (Father's) kingdom. If you do not observe the sabbath as a sabbath you will not see the Father."

The Gospel of Truth

He (Jesus) labored even on the Sabbath for the sheep which he found fallen into the pit. He saved the life of that sheep, bringing it up from the pit in order that you may understand fully what that Sabbath is, you who possess full understanding. It is a day in which it is not fitting that salvation be idle, so that you may speak of that heavenly day which has no night and of the sun which does not set because it is perfect. Say then in your heart that you are this perfect day and that in you the light which does not fail dwells.


The Interpretation of Knowledge

From being counted with the female, sleep brought labor and the sabbath, which is the world. For from being counted with the Father, sleep brought the sabbath and the exodus from the world of the beasts. For the world is from beasts and it is a beast. Therefore he that is lost has been reckoned to the crafty one, and that one is from the beasts that came forth. They put upon him a garment of condemnation, for the female had no other garment for clothing her seed except the one she brought on the sabbath. For no beast exists in the Aeon. For the Father does not keep the sabbath, but (rather) actuates the Son, and through the Son he continued to provide himself with the Aeons. The Father has living rational elements from which he puts on my members as garments. The man ... (11 lines missing)... this is the name. The [...] he emitted himself and he emitted the reproached one. The one who was reproached changed (his) name and, along with that which would be like the reproach, he appeared as flesh. And the humiliated one has no equipment. He has no need of the glory that is not his; he has his own glory with the name, which is the Son. Now he came that we might become glorious through the humiliated one that dwells in the places of humiliation. And through him who was reproached we receive the forgiveness of sins. And through the one who was reproached and the one who was redeemed we receive grace.

Sabbath observance required only of ancient Israel. The Sabbath first observed after Exodus. Ex 16:26, 27, 29, 30 Unique to natural Israel as sign. Ex 31:16, 17; Ps 147:19, 20
Sabbath years also required under Law. Ex 23:10, 11; Le 25:3, 4 Sabbath not necessary thing for Christians. Ro 14:5, 10; Ga 4:9-11


The Law abolished on basis of Jesus’ death. Eph 2:15 Therefore the Sabbath is not binding on Christians. Col 2:16, 17; Ro 14:5, 10 Some Christians were Reproved for observing Sabbath, etc. Ga 4:9-11; Ro 10:2-4 Believers Enter God’s rest by faith and obedience. Heb 4:9-11

God’s Sabbath rest (7th day of creative “week”) Began at close of earthly creation. Ge 2:2, 3; Heb 4:3-5 Continued past Jesus’ day on earth. Heb 4:6-8; Ps 95:7-9, 11 Christians rest from works of self-interest. Heb 4:9, 10 Ends when Kingdom completes work toward earth. 1Co 15:24, 28

The Sabbath of the Lord has nothing to do with any day of the week. God does not rest from His works every seventh day, and there is no evidence that there ever has been a moment's cessation in the activity of the universe.Those who stickle most for Sabbath day observance are met on every hand by the evidence of perpetual activity on the part of Him whom they claim to champion.

philo of alexandria 

And on this account too Moses calls the sabbath, which name being interpreted means "rest," "the sabbath of God."{25}{#le 23:2.} Touching upon the necessary principles of natural philosophy, not of the philosophy of men, in many parts of his law, for that among existing things which rests, if one must tell the truth, is one thing only, God. And by "rest" I do not mean "inaction" (since that which is by its nature energetic, that which is the cause of all things, can never desist from doing what is most excellent), but I mean an energy completely free from labour, without any feeling of suffering, and with the most perfect ease; (88) for one may say, without impropriety, that the sun and the moon, and the entire heaven, and the whole world labour, inasmuch as they are not endowed with independent power, and are continually in a state of motion and agitation, and the most undeniable proofs of their labour are the yearly seasons; for these things, which have the greatest tendency in the whole heaven to keep things together, vary their motions, making their revolutions at one time northern, at another time southern, and at other times different from both. (89) The air, again, being sometimes warmed and sometimes cooled, and being capable of every sort of change, is easily proved to labour by the variations to which we feel that it is subject, since the most general cause of change is fatigue, and it would be folly to enter into any long detail about terrestrial or aquatic animals, dwelling at any length upon their general or particular changes; for these animals very naturally are liable to weakness in a much greater degree than those sublime objects, inasmuch as they partake to the greatest extent of the lowest, that is of earthly essence. (90) Since therefore it is naturally the case that things, which are changed, are changed in consequence of fatigue, and since God is subject to no variation and to no change, he must also by nature be free from fatigue, and that, which has no participation in weakness, even though it moves everything, cannot possibly cease to enjoy rest for ever. So that rest is the appropriate attribute of God alone. 

The fact is that Divine Mind rests in a perpetual Sabbath and that which seems work is not work at all. When man becomes so at one with the Father-Mind as to feel it consciously he also recognizes this eternal peace in which all things are accomplished. He then knows that he is not subject to any condition whatsoever, but is "lord of the sabbath."

The Sabbath is the consciousness that we have fulfilled the divine law in both thought and act.


The Sabbath is a very certain, definite thing. It is a state of mind that man enters or acquires when he goes into the silence of his own soul, into the realm of Spirit. There he finds true rest and peace. The seventh day means the seventh or perfect stage of one's spiritual unfoldment. Man had become so lost in the darkness of sense consciousness that he could not save himself, so a Savior came. When man lays hold of the indwelling Christ, the Savior, he is raised out of the Adam consciousness into the Christ consciousness. He then enters the seventh stage of his unfoldment, where he finds rest and peace. The Sabbath can be enjoyed at any hour. Man shows his ignoranceand limits his happiness by confining the Sabbath to any one of the days of the week. He should learn to read theBible in the spirit, and pay less attention to the letter of it.



We are not to quarrel with our brother over observance of the Sabbath. If he insists that the Lord should be worshiped on the seventh day, let us joyfully join him on that day; and if he holds that the first day is the holy day, let us again acquiesce. Not only do we do God's service in praise, song, and thanksgiving on the seventh day and the first day, but every day. In the true Sabbath our souls are turned upward to God every moment, and we are ever ready to acknowledge His holy presence in our heart and life; we are ever praising the holy Omnipresence that burns its lamp of love perpetually in our heart and keeps the light of life before us on our way. This is the observance of God's holyday that the divinely wise soul a}ways recognizes. The true church is the heaven within one, where one meets theFather face to face, where one goes to Him at will, in closest fellowship.



On the other hand, the observance of every seventh day as a day of rest, or Sabbath, has its source deep in the constitution of things. Among nearly all peoples similar rest days have been instituted, and history proves that Moses was not the originator of the system. The observance of a weekly rest day is now very widely held to prove a natural basis in the needs of man. The consistency with which such an institution has been maintained for many centuries among Jews, Christians, Mohammedans, and some of the so-called pagan nations amply supports this view. It bast been found by experience that one day of rest in seven is the right proportion. During the French Revolution, when a ten-day period was substituted for the week, one day's rest in ten was found insufficient.



"And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." This quotation from Genesis presentsin concise words a law that pervades the universe. According to some geologists the rock-ribbed earth beneath ourfeet bears record of six great creative periods, with a seventh in process of completion. Seven movements of thecreative law are found at the foundation of the world about us. The seven colors of the spectrum, the seven principal tones of music, the seven senses of man (two not yet universally used)--all point to these degrees or days of action and rest.



When man in his wisdom unites his thought with Divine Mind, as did Jesus, he has power to use the same creativelaw that God uses in bringing forth the universe. The seven elements of the body are found everywhere, and throughunderstanding that they are not fixed, material things, but forms of thought, man gains entrance to a realm where he can speak words that will give him the obedience of those elements, according to his power.



When you have gained power to still the stormy, undisciplined thoughts in your own mind you can speak to the winds and they will obey you. When you have arrested the scorching currents of anger that burn up your body cells you can quench the fire in a burning building. When you have ceased to drop into the weak, watery mental states called discouragement, despondency, and fear, you can command the waves and walk upon the waters, as did Jesus.



Before man can rise into his natural dominion, however, he must understand and realize that God's whole plan ofcreation is to bring forth the perfect man. This means that man is the supreme thing in creation and that all laws are for his convenience. The universal tendency of great men to manifest this inherent excellency proves that it is natural. Most of them miss the mark by seeking to dominate other men and nations before they have mastered themselves.



When men set up a law and make its observance burdensome they are slaves of their own creation. The Jews had become burdened with the observance of the letter of the Sabbath commandment, and had a multitude of ridiculous prohibitions and formalities, from which Jesus sought to rescue them by His example of bold freedom and disregard of certain man-made laws.



The Sabbath was instituted for man, not man for the Sabbath. It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, whether it be preaching in a pulpit, healing the sick, or in any other way saving men from ignorance and its results. Luther said of the Sabbath: "Keep it holy for its use's sake both to body and soul. But if anywhere the day is made holy for the mere day's sake, if anywhere any one sets up its observance upon a Jewish foundation, then I order you to work on it, to ride on it, to dance on it, to feast on it, to do anything that shall reprove this encroachment on the Christian spirit and liberty."



To repeat, the true Sabbath is not the observance of an outer day; the outer is but the symbol. The true Sabbath is that state of mind in which we rest from outer thought and doings, and give ourselves up to meditation or to the study of things spiritual; it is when we enter into the stillness of our inner consciousness, think about God and His law, and commune with Him.