The Divinely Sinful Saints

By ITOTKO

Generally, Christians believe that the scriptures in the Bible-both the Old and the New Testaments-are the words of God. They believe God resides in heaven and human beings live on the planet Earth. Then the question is, in the beginning, before the Bible says God created the heaven and the earth, where had God lived? Had he been homeless before he created heaven? In the Old Testament, humans were required to offer some burnt offerings "of a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire," and drink offerings. Should we say, "God was homeless, hungry, and thirsty, and that was why he created heaven, humans, and animals, and required humans to offer burnt animals and drinks"? Many Bible readers believe Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, paradise, and on the planet Earth. But is that true? Let us try to locate where the paradise is. Revelation 2:7 tells us, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Now we know "the tree of life" is in the midst of the paradise of God. Where else can we find "the tree of life" in the scripture? Genesis 2:9 tells us, "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden." Through these scriptures, we can see that "the tree of life" is in the midst of the garden, in the midst of the paradise of God, not on the planet Earth. The scriptures also tell us that Adam and Eve were there. Could they be in physical human bodies in paradise on the planet Earth?

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:2–4: "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." Could a person be “caught up into paradise” if the paradise was on the planet Earth?

It was written in Luke 23:43, “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” The “him” in this verse was one of the thieves crucified with Jesus. Does any scripture tell us Jesus’s resurrected physical body took the hand of the thief, also in a physical human body (Jesus must have resurrected the thief’s physical human body, too), and led him into paradise, someplace on this planet Earth? No, it does not. Through all these verses, do we still believe paradise is on this planet Earth?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Aug 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9781977268402

ITOTKO

The Divinely Sinful Saints by ITOTKO is a product of over 40 years of study and research in metaphysics, religions, and spirituality. The book is an expanded and revised version of Truthful Misconceptions by the same author but with a different name. In these books, he shares his knowledge and insight with those who would like to gain a deeper spiritual understanding of the scriptures in the Bible. 

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The Divinely Sinful Saints

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2023 ITOTKO

v3.0

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Scripture is taken from: The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769;

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Table of Contents

Introduction

1: Faith, Facts, Fantasies, or Falsities

2: Reincarnation: Fact or Fallacy?

3: Should We Interpret the Scriptures in the Bible Literally?

4: Symbols, Parables, and Analogies: Why They Are Indispensable

5: Introduction to the Birth of Spiritual Human Beings

6: Lessons from Scripture: Info Vault

7: A Brief History of the Spiritual Journey of Mankind: The Round Trip

Epilogue

Introduction

Suppose a person had a complex mathematical problem that took him weeks to solve. To his disappointment, his answer differed from the textbook. After checking over two total pages of equations and calculations, he finally discovered that the analysis of the first math equation on the first page had been wrong. What grade would he have received if he had turned in that work?

On a larger scale, what would happen if, far along in building the tallest building or launching a spacecraft to some distant planet, a mistake was found in the first step of such a big project? Would the building still be fit for habitation? Would the spacecraft find the planet it was searching for?

What would happen if the first step in one’s belief were wrong or overlooked? The worst mistake would be an erroneous fundamental belief about religious literature or scripture. Consider these examples of moments when readers of the Bible might go astray:

1. Many who follow the Bible believe God lives in heaven. And scripture says, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1). Should we ask where God lived before he created heaven? Had he been homeless, and was that why he created heaven? How do we know the God mentioned in Genesis 1:1 is fundamental if we believe he lived in heaven when heaven was not even there yet?

2. Genesis, chapter 2, tells us the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Most, if not all, Christians believe this man was in the physical human body we have now. Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Most Christians believe the him in this verse is Jesus’s physical body. The question is whether it is easier to form a body out of the dust of the ground and bring it to life or to resurrect a dead physical human body that probably died of blood loss. Why does anyone need faith to believe that God could resurrect Jesus’s physical body when they already believe the LORD God could form a physical human body of the dust of the ground and bring it to life?

Was Paul wrong? Or did he know more than we do? As he wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:13–14, "And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. What is that vail in the reading of the Old Testament? Is the vail" some misinformation intended to deceive the children of Israel, or is it an indication that we should not interpret and understand the Old Testament literally because it is veiled heavily with many symbols?

3. Was Paul also telling us about the New Testament when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:6, Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life? Is there any difference between the letter and the spirit? Jesus said in John 6:63, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Are the words that Jesus spoke to us spirit and life? Or are they letters of human language? Notice the word spirit in this verse and 2 Corinthians 3:6. Should we interpret and understand scriptures literally, to the letter? Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:3, Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. Does the Epistle of Christ, written not with ink, but with the Spirit, have the same meaning as the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life? It surely does. In another place, Paul wrote, For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect (1 Cor. 1:17). Can we see how Paul evaluated the wisdom of words," or to be precise, human wisdom in human words? Did he preach the Gospel with wisdom in human words? We do not think so.

It is written in 2 Peter 3:16, "As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Notice the words unlearned and unstable and the other scriptures. This Peter’s writing warns us about Paul’s epistles. It is written in Luke 8:9–10, And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Notice the word mysteries in this verse. What are the mysteries, and why did Jesus say they were not given to others? Who were the others? Did those disciples (who, afterward, became the apostles) give the mysteries to the masses in their writings? We do not think so. It is written in Mark 4:34, But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. Should we ask why the masses were not given the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God? Do we understand that symbols are used extensively in parables? Can the unlearned" come to know the meaning of those symbols?

The scriptures quoted in examples 2 and 3 warn all Bible readers. If we need to take some medication to heal ourselves, we must take heed of the warnings about that medication, or we could cause more harm than good to ourselves. Should we not take heed of all those warnings listed above before we believe in the scriptures literally? It is an unfortunate irony to see how many people value their souls. We are all familiar with the investigation we make when buying an old, used car, a house, or a computer, choosing a school for our children, or deciding what profession to pursue. Yet, when we choose a religion that deals directly with our souls, we do fewer investigations, giving it less consideration than when we go out to buy furniture, kitchen appliances, etc. Is this how we should value our souls?

Should we say, Religion is not like an old, used car because we have faith in religion, not in an old, used car? Does faith mean we should recklessly throw our souls into the hands of someone or some people, telling them they can have our souls and do whatever they want with them? We are willing to spend more time and research for a material thing we need than for the salvation of our souls. We readily accept whatever others would implant in our minds regarding religion. We do this by ignoring or rejecting all the warnings that the scripture writers give us. Then when we become victims of some sinister spiritual leaders or religious imposters, whom do we blame?

This book is not just for open-minded veteran Christians. It is mainly for those who know little about Christianity or are unfamiliar with the Bible’s scriptures. They might not even know about Christianity but want to find out what Christianity is. Thus, our explanations and interpretations must be as fundamental as possible. Readers will find many of the same scriptures repeated several times—not to bore them, but because newcomers might not remember a scripture after reading it only a few times. Moreover, we recite scripture when we believe it is crucial to discuss the subject. Additionally, more information is provided after each repetition; thus, scripture can be considered more deeply.

We will review many scriptures to examine the beliefs that most Christians have. This examination will show many Christians’ misconceptions about the scriptures. Briefly and generally stated, most Bible believers accept the doctrine that God created a couple named Adam and Eve. They were naked and were in physical human bodies as we are now. They were supposed to be immortal in their naked physical human bodies and would procreate to fill the planet Earth with people. God forbade them to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because they would lose their immortality and die the day they did so. Their partaking of the fruit is called the original sin. Their disobedience brought God’s condemnation to humankind. Humans have been without immortality ever since. All these events happened in a physical paradise located somewhere on the planet Earth. Then Jesus Christ, God in human physical flesh—also called the Son of God or the Son of man—came down and suffered the crucifixion to redeem humankind. The blood of Jesus’s physical body washes away all our sins, including the original sin passed down to us from our ancestors, Adam and Eve. Jesus’s blood also brought humans back to God the Father, as he demanded blood to be shed before he would forgive man’s sin—the original sin. Through the blood of Jesus’s physical body, humans can regain immortality through resurrection, should their bodies die before his second coming.

This book does not concern itself with any particular denomination, faith, or belief. There are many denominations, and each has its own doctrine, dogma, and belief. In the free world, we all have the freedom to believe in whatever we want and to follow any dogma or doctrine we like. This book will address some misconceptions about the abovementioned general belief and doctrine. It will also present Christianity based on scriptures and not on any particular dogma or belief. Thus, veteran Christians will need to be open-minded, and those who are not familiar with the scriptures in the Bible—or who do not have any preconceived ideas of what Christianity is—will have a chance to see Christ’s teaching based on scriptures and make their judgment whether the general belief stated above is real Christianity. By real Christianity, we mean scripture-based Christianity.

There are as many versions of the scriptures as Christian faiths. We will use the King James Version¹ because it is relatively independent of doctrines and denominations. Having chosen the King James Version as our framework, we will not compare our framework with any others. Nor do we claim our framework is the best or the most correct of all frameworks. Instead, we see it as the most practical framework, which is neither at the highest end of esotericism nor at the lowest end of exotericism. In other words, the King James Version still holds a lot of veiled secrets but is plain enough for those who know very little about Esoteric Christianity.

1

Faith, Facts, Fantasies, or Falsities

Is faith the instrument that allows us to accept fantasies and falsities as facts? If someone has faith, must that person also believe equally in fallacies and misconceptions? In other words, must one take misconceptions and falsehoods as facts to be faithful to God? Is seeing no difference between these and the truth and accepting all scriptures in the Bible literally, to the letter, a prerequisite for having faith?

Let us consider a few examples of scripture that some believers take literally:

1. Genesis, chapter 1, describes the work of God during the first six days of creation. In Genesis, chapter 2, we learn that God rested and that the LORD God began his creations. Then, in Genesis, chapter 4, the LORD is introduced. Many readers of Genesis consider God, the LORD God, and the LORD to be the same Existence. But are they? Is it a falsity to believe that these three are the same Existence? In some versions of the Bible, the LORD God is called Yahweh God, and the LORD is called Yahweh. Regardless of which version one is reading, many still consider all three as the same Existence. Is faith a blinder that can make a person accept—believe in—anything without thinking?

2. Was the garden of Eden on the planet Earth? And does it still exist? Can scientists find the garden of Eden? Or was the garden of Eden just a fictional place, some human fantasy?

3. Genesis, chapter 1, tells us that God created the heaven, the Earth (the dry land), and the Seas (the waters); herbs, grass, and fruit trees; the two great lights and the stars; creatures of the waters, such as whales; fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven; creatures of the earth like cattle, creeping things, and beasts; and finally, man in his own image: male and female.

However, Genesis, chapter 2, relates that God rested on the seventh day. Then it describes the creations of the LORD God: he made the earth and the heavens; formed man of the dust of the ground and named him Adam; grew trees, including the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; and formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air. And finally, made a woman using a rib from Adam.

Look at the sequence of these works of God and the LORD God. Could they be the creations of the same being, the same Existence? Which creation might be fiction? Notice that the LORD God did not create any creatures of the waters, such as the whales, which God created. Hence, the sea would not have any creatures if we believed that there was only one God and that God was the LORD God. The creation of the LORD God does not have the two great lights and the stars that God’s creation has.

Genesis, chapter 3, tells us that after Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were opened, and they felt ashamed of their nakedness; the LORD God then made coats of skins to clothe them. He then sent the man forth from the garden of Eden. The story continues with Genesis 4:1, which says, And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain. Here we see another being is introduced, as Eve says, I have gotten a man from the LORD. This LORD has nothing to do with the creation of the trees, the animals, and Adam. Is he, this LORD, the same being, Existence, mentioned in chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis as God and the LORD God? Did the writer of these chapters in Genesis understand what he was writing? Are there any facts in these chapters, or are they all fantasies and falsities?

4. In Genesis, chapter 1, on the first day, God said, Let there be light: and there was light, then he divided the light from the darkness, and he called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. But, also according to the Genesis writer, it was not until the fourth day that God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years (Gen. 1:14). Are the days in this verse different from the day mentioned in Genesis 1:5, which says, And the evening and the morning were the first day? Did faith enable the Genesis writer to record whatever he wanted, regardless of whether the account was logical, illogical, factual, fantastical, or even fallacious?

5. In Genesis, chapter 2, after the LORD God made a woman from Adam’s rib, he brought her to the man: "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man (Gen. 2:23). If someone says, I just took the meat out of the freezer, then where had that meat been? It must have been in the freezer, right? Then, who was inside Adam? Was Adam a man" as we understand what a man is today? And what was taken out of Adam? An actual, literal rib? I once met a person who believed that men have one fewer ribs than women. Is this belief a travesty of truth—or is it genuine faith that moves mountains?

6. Genesis 1:27–28 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 2:21 says, And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. Then, the LORD God used this rib to make a woman—Adam’s wife. Genesis 2:25 says, And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Perhaps these verses, combined with verses 27 and 28 of Genesis 1, have led many readers of Genesis to believe that when God created human beings in his image, the male and female were in physical human bodies and naked, as we understand the words literally. And that they were created to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it" has also been understood literally as meaning they should procreate to fill the planet Earth with people.

7. Genesis 20:12 tells us that Abraham told King Abimelech that Sarah "is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife." This would be incest and thus would be illegal and condemned in most societies today. However, Abraham is a man of God, and his action is not condemned. On the contrary, he is highly respected by Jews, Christians, and Muslims today. Does faith enable human beings to do moral and immoral things, good and evil things, and still be immune from the sins they commit? Does faith justify all sins a human being commits? And if a person has faith, are all their sins considered righteous? Does the morality of human beings surpass God’s righteousness? Is this why many human societies condemn incest, but God does not?

8. In Exodus 20:5, we read, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. Human justice does not punish children if their parents commit a crime. Still, alas! God would. And he is believed to be not only the God of mercy but also the God of justice! Who are the fathers" in this verse?

9. In John 3:16, we read, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. But Genesis 5:24 says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. Do we have to be Christians to be saved? What about the belief that because Adam and Eve sinned, humanity, descended from" Adam and Eve, is condemned? Was Enoch a human being, part of what we call humanity? Yes, he was. But God took or saved him, even before Jesus Christ died for his sins. Is Jesus’s physical body God’s only begotten Son?

10. It is written in Matthew 11:11, 14–15, "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he . . . . And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Then, Matthew 17:10–13 says, And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist." Why did the disciples jump from Elias to John the Baptist? We should pay close attention whenever we see a jump in the scriptures.

It is written in John 8:56–58, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then, in John 16:28–29, Jesus said, I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. What does speakest thou plainly" mean?

Do these verses point us toward what is called reincarnation? Did Jesus’s disciples know about reincarnation? Why do Christian churches today not mention reincarnation, much less teach about it? Is reincarnation a fact or a falsity?

11. It is written in John 3:13, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. It is written in 2 Kings 2:11, And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." [It should be noted that Elijah and Elias from item 10, mentioned in Matthew 11:14, are the same person. The names are different because they were written in other languages. Elias is the Greek form of the name, and Elijah is the Hebrew form.] Who is Elijah? So, if the verse John 3:13 is true, is the story about Elijah going to heaven just a fantasy? Is heaven the same sky that we see birds and airplanes flying in? Was Elijah saved because he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior? Did Elijah believe in the only begotten Son of God," as it is said in John 3:16, and was that why he was saved?

12. In Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, he wrote, That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Rom. 10:9). If a murderer, with the mouth of his physical body, says that Jesus is the Lord and that he believes in his heart that God has resurrected Jesus’s physical body, will the murderer be saved and go to heaven? Or is what Paul wrote in this verse a falsity? Was Paul an advocate for evildoers? Jesus said in Matthew 7:13–14, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." If one literally does what is said in Romans 10:9, does that mean one has entered the strait gate and the narrow way? How easily can we find the strait gate and the narrow way?

13. John 6:53–56 says, Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. Consider the reaction of his disciples: "Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" (John 6:60). It is undoubtedly a very hard saying if we take the flesh and blood in these verses to be of Jesus’s physical body.

It is written in Matthew 26:26–28, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Why did Jesus, apparently, make even his disciples believe that the flesh and blood he was talking about were of his physical body and then reveal to them at the last minute that his flesh and blood are just the blessed, manufactured bread and wine? In other words, are the flesh and blood, which Jesus said during the Last Supper were of his body, just fake? Does that make Jesus a fraud? Or have we, as Bible readers, missed something in what Jesus said in John 6:53–56?

Many Christians today believe that blessed, manufactured bread and wine turn into Christ’s flesh and blood after they eat and drink it, and that by eating the blessed bread and drinking the consecrated wine, all their sins are forgiven, and they are saved and will go to heaven. If the manufactured bread and wine are imagined to be the flesh and blood of the Son of man, are our salvation, the resurrection, and eternal life in heaven also imagined and not real? Some even believe they will live in their physical bodies forever on this planet Earth. They believe that if they die before Christ’s Second Coming, their physical bodies in their graves will be resurrected, and they will live again with their families. Is this belief rooted in Matthew 27:52–53, which says, And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many?

14. It is written in Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Many believe all letters in the Holy Bible consist of the word of God. Can letters in human language discern the thoughts and intents of the heart? Or is this just one of many fantasies we see in the scriptures?

All the examples mentioned above warn us that we should not believe the scriptures literally, to the letter, in the way that we believe the information we read in a history book. Secrets and mysteries usually are hidden behind masks. And these masks are the obvious fantasies or falsities we see in the scriptures. In other words, does having faith mean we have to accept these masks as truth? Is it the same as taking the veil over Moses’s face as truth? It surely is.

There are many more questions to consider, but these are some of the most critical issues we will address in this book.

2

Reincarnation: Fact or Fallacy?

We now come to the concept that most Christians reject because they believe the Bible never talks about it, nor did Jesus ever teach it: reincarnation, which is the return of a soul to this physical world in a different body. Did Jesus teach his disciples reincarnation? We will find the answer to this question very soon.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17–19, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. What is the law that Jesus spoke of in these verses? Many of us would think Jesus already fulfilled that law when he died on the cross and that we, as Jesus’s followers, do not have to worry about it. This means we are not subject to the law now but to grace. If Jesus had already fulfilled the law, as it is interpreted and believed, then why did he still say, Till heaven and earth pass . . . . Whosoever therefore shall break . . . in the kingdom of heaven"? We will address this issue in chapter 6 when we talk about the law of cause and effect.

Jesus also said in Luke 16:17, And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Is the law in this verse the same as the one written in Matthew 5:17–19? We believe so. Is this law the reason that Christ had to die for us if he is to fulfill it?

Paul wrote in Romans 3:31, Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. Is this the same law that Jesus said that he came to fulfill? There is grace, and there are laws. By the laws, we would all be dead. We are saved by grace. But does that mean we can now dismiss the laws? Paul wrote in Romans 6:1, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? In Romans 2:12–15, he also wrote, "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) Last but the foremost are what Paul wrote in Romans 7:8–9, But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. These verses are very important because, without the law, there was no sin: sin was dead." But because there is the law, is it why Christ had to come to fulfill it to save humans?

A criminal was on his way to the execution, but his life was saved by grace. Does this mean from then on, he did not have to worry about any laws anymore because he was under grace? If this is not a misconception, then what is?

In Galatians 6:7–9, Paul wrote, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. If a crooked and evil person does not of the flesh reap corruption but lives to old age and dies in riches, does that prove that Saint Paul was wrong when he wrote these verses? What law involves the sowing and reaping that Paul was talking about? Is it the law of cause and effect, the same law called karma by many people in the East? We will talk about this law extensively later.

Recall Exodus 20:5: "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." If a father, as this word is literally understood, sinned, and his children were punished for the iniquity of the father, then the being that passed such judgment would not be even as just as most human beings are now since we do not condemn children for the evil committed by their fathers. Ironically, many who believe the soul is created at the time a baby is born are the very ones who interpret this verse literally. Is it justice if a grandfather commits a murder and his children or grandchildren are punished for the crime? The children or grandchildren who suffer from that iniquity might not even know what their father or grandfather did. They might not even know what their grandfather looks like. And to have faith, must we believe that the verse in Exodus 20:5 is God’s justice?

However, if the word father implies that which is active, then a person who causes, creates, or commits an act is the father of that act. Also, if we understand the word father to imply a person’s previous generation or incarnation, we can see that God is truly just. For what they sow, they shall surely reap. Some transgressions are so terrible that a person who commits them needs more than one life or incarnation to make up for them. Thus, we have the writing in Exodus 20:5. Paul was right when he wrote, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Gal. 6:9).

The words father, son, man, male, husband, brother, and he are often used symbolically in the scriptures. And when they are symbols, they symbolize whatever is active—the agent that sets up a cause. For example, in the story about the prodigal son in Luke, chapter 15, does a woman, a female physical human being, have nothing to do with the story because she is not a son? Also, effects or results are often symbolized by the words fruits and children. If we remember the meanings of these symbols, we can see the scriptures more deeply and what they are trying to convey. We will discuss the story about the prodigal son and these symbols later in the book.

In 2 Timothy 1:3, Paul wrote, "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day." Notice the plural of the word "forefathers. Each incarnation before the present one can be counted as one forefather. How could Paul serve God from his forefathers if the word forefathers" is interpreted literally? Imagine someone insisting to a judge that he has served his country in the armed forces even though he has never been in the military. But because his grandfather had served in the military, he believes his claim is truthful. And then imagine that the judge agrees!

It is written in Luke 19:8–9, "And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. Why did Jesus say, This day is salvation come to this house? Is it because Jesus came to Zacchaeus’s house? Why did Jesus not say, Salvation will come to this house after my physical body is crucified and resurrected? Is salvation come to this house because Zacchaeus said he would restore fourfold any man he wronged? Does it relate to the words, for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me? Is the word generation related to the word forefather? It indeed is. By restoring fourfold any man he wronged, Zacchaeus, in one stroke, paid off four generations, from the first to the fourth. For such a person, salvation did indeed come to this house. What is the significance of the word me in the phrase hate me? Does it suggest a transgressor must first know the LORD before he can hate the LORD? We do not think so. The word Lord in the Bible often symbolizes compassion, intelligence, justice, kindness, love, mercy, morality, truthfulness, wisdom, and other noble qualities. In the Bible, noble qualities are often symbolized by the words Lord and God. Therefore, hate me" is used in the Bible to mean engaging in actions that oppose or disregard these noble qualities.

With our five senses, physical human beings cannot know God or the Lord. We can know only God’s emanations. We often believe we know people because we have seen, touched, talked to, or even lived with them. But if we suffer a tragic incident at that person’s hands, we may be shocked to find out that the person was so wicked and feel disbelief that we had dealt with such a psychopath without knowing it. Why? Because a physical body is just an instrument for a personality to manifest through. It is the personality that is the actual emanation of a person. Conceiving a person’s appearance as their emanation has made many the victims of sinister criminals. Often, we love or hate a person based on their outward appearance. That is why we err. And we do no better when we read hate me and believe a person hates an individual whose title or label is Lord. Taking an imaginary outward appearance as the real person and rejecting all the emanations of an unseen deity, we imbue the title of the Lord or God—the label—with all our temperaments and characteristics. In other words, we create God, or the Lord, in our own image. Is it any wonder our God always loves and rewards us but punishes and destroys those we hate?

Let us talk a little more about emanations. When speaking about someone’s past, especially at eulogies, do we hear descriptions of the late person’s appearance, such as their hair color, height, weight, etc.? Or do we hear about their characteristics, works, achievements, likes, dislikes, etc.? Why do we talk about a late person’s personality but not about their physical appearance? Is it because it is the emanation of the late person? Yes, it is. The appearance of a person, or even a thing, is never real. We certainly do not mean a person’s height, weight, etc., are not real. The reality we want to emphasize here is illuminated by what is written in Hebrews 11:3, Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. The seen in this verse is not related to the eyes of a physical human being. Instead, it has the same meaning as in Luke 10:23, "And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see. The key words in this verse are said privately. And therefore, the words eyes and see in this verse should not be understood literally. What brings us to this conclusion? Notice the verses before verse 23, in which Jesus said, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him (Luke 10:21-22). Why did Jesus rejoice in spirit? Is it because God is a Spirit (John 4:24)? It surely is. The word babes" in this verse is a symbol and should not be understood literally.

Briefly stated, the author tells us in Hebrews 11:3 that the world of appearance, which we know and see with the eyes of our physical body, is but an illusion. Mixing up appearances with the sources of emanations will lead to self-destruction. Let us now return to our discussion about reincarnation.

All the scriptures quoted above—Matthew 5:17–19, Galatians 6:7–9, Exodus 20:5, and 2 Timothy 1:3—lead us to wonder whether those writers were familiar with the concept of reincarnation. That is, whether they understood the law of cause and effect, which is called karma by some Eastern religions. Are there any places in the Bible that talk about reincarnation? We can look at a few here:

1. It is written in Luke 1:17 that the angel Gabriel said to Zacharias, John’s father, And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias. Notice the words in the spirit and power of Elias. The he in this verse means John the Baptist, and the him means Jesus.

2. It is written in Matthew 11:13–15 that Jesus said, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. In 17:11–13 of the same Gospel, we read, And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist." Why did Jesus’s disciples understand that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist when Jesus was talking about Elias? Surely, they must have known that Elias reincarnated as John the Baptist. Are these verses congruous with what is written in Luke 1:17? They surely are. Notice the phrase, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. These words are used to emphasize the importance of what was just said. Wise readers will pay attention to verses followed by words like these.

3. In Matthew 11:11, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. This verse was written before Jesus said, "And if ye will