Originally posted by harryhaller Right at the end of Revelation is a warning, about adding ... ? It's also where you become utterly
discredited.
Well, first of all, you might want to take up this issue with any one of the hundreds or thousands of Christian ministers or theologians who have
written books (a theologian by the name of Elizabeth Schussler-Fiorenza, for example, actually received a $50,000 grant to study the
Revelation of
John and write a book), published video tapes, written journal articles, etc. etc. etc. about their interpretations of the
Revelation of
John; because, if what you are saying is accurate, then every single red cent of the millions or tens of millions of dollars that they have made
through their interpretation constitutes "theft by deception".
Needless to say, however, they are
much too busy making all of their money with such interpretations than to get on a discussion group like
this to open themselves up to such accusations.
But, secondly, and not surprisingly, this does not mean what the consciousness of the 'thinker' speculates that it means:
The Vision of the "Son of man", which was received by John in order to write the
Revelation of John in the first place, is referred to as the
Vision of Knowledge in the
Thanksgiving Hymns of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Someone who receives the "Vision of Knowledge" and, on the basis of that Vision, describes the symbols of the
Revelation of John in the
terminology of different dimensions of consciousness is not "adding" anything which was not already inherent to the Vision in the first place. Their
Source is precisely the same.
"Adding" refers to the attempts by the consciousness of the '
thinker'--a consciousness which cannot
possibly have access to the same
Knowledge as is Revealed through the Revelation of the "resurrection" or the Vision of the "Son of man"--to interpret that Revelation in
accordance with the thoughts of the consciousness of the 'thinker'.
And, just as there is no middle ground between "cold" and "hot"--or Jesus will VOMIT you out of his mouth--there is also no middle ground between
the consciousness 'Created by and in the image of God' and the 'fallen' consciousness consisting of the consciousness of the "self" and the
'thinker'...
No matter how much you may
wish that there were.
Mi cha el