There is much Truth contained in the Bible … IF you understand it was written metaphorically and allegorically. The Bible was never meant to be an historic document about people and places. It is not HIStory … but OURstory. My friend Joshua Tilghman breaks it down quite nicely so, today, I will post his explanation of these deep Inner Mysteries … as they were originally meant to be understood.
An Esoteric Interpretation of Genesis Chapter 1
We should all be aware that the ultimate answer to the mystery of the universe probably isn’t available. I seriously doubt there is a definitive answer because a definitive answer is only a concept that exists in the conscious experience of matter where all things become concrete. What if I told you that ultimate reality is devoid of concreteness and cannot be limited to a definitive answer? Wouldn’t a definitive answer just be a limitation anyway? In this post I am going to show you how Genesis chapter 1, the very first book of the Bible, opens us to the possibility of something greater than a definitive answer.
Genesis chapter 1 is a very fascinating way to explain the creation of the universe. But is it a literal interpretation of how things came to be? I can’t remember how many articles I devoured as a kid trying to reconcile verses that didn’t seem to make sense in the very first chapter of the Bible. For example, how could light have been created on the first day if the stars like our sun weren’t created until the fourth day. What’s more, the herbs and trees and shrubs of the earth were created on the third day; we clearly understand that all the plant life on earth would die without starlight. So how can we expect this to be literal?
Obviously the light discussed in the first few verses in the Bible is not starlight. So what kind of light is it? Is it even light as we know it?
I will admit that some of the articles I read trying to reconcile theses impossible creation scenarios were well-written and conveyed some interesting ideas, but none of them put it all together in a way that made Genesis chapter 1 seem viable as a literal story.
Let’s face it: if you believe Genesis is literal, then you have to concede to the fact that it just doesn’t make any sense. And if you admit to that, then have to be honest with yourself and ask another important question:
Why would God include it in the first chapter of His book in the first place?
While I am going to say that there is no definitive answer that explains the universe, I am going to say that Genesis 1 makes perfect sense because it was never meant to be literal. It all comes down to consciousness in the end, and I believe the very first chapter in the entire Bible makes this clear.
As you know, the first chapter of Genesis discusses the completion of creation in 7 days. But the Bible is not speaking of 7 literal days. I have heard a lot of people explain these 7 days as creation happening over thousands of years because of 2 Peter 3: 8 which states:
“…one day is with the Lord as a 1000 years, and a 1000 years as one day.”
The argument goes that these 7 days could be thousands of years. This scripture has nothing to do with Genesis 1; it is simply stating that in God there is no such concept as time.
Likewise, the creation account in Genesis 1 has nothing at all to do with a length of time. As we break down the first chapter you’ll see why I make that statement. Let’s look at the first verse of the Bible.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
The ancients understood these concepts to be polar opposites. The concept of heaven and earth can be likened to the male/female principle, light/dark, higher/lower nature, etc. The Hebrew word for “heaven” simply means to be lofty, or something that is elevated in nature or style. The Hebrew word for “earth” simply means to be firm. In other words, something with substance, as in the matter that makes up the physical plane.
The Genesis author has just brilliantly explained how things come to be from nothing by the way (which science has been trying to do for a long time). Since earth is just another way of conveying the concept of matter, and heaven is a way of conveying spirit, we have in both of these concepts the potential for the consciousness of God to become form. The polar opposites of spirit and matter are the divine masculine and the divine feminine, and because of these possibilities, self aware consciousness can be born through the limited expression of concrete, linear consciousness.
Let’s ponder the next verse in Genesis:
“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2).
In other words potential matter had not been formed into anything as of yet. It was simply a void, but it was also ready to burst forth with form in the conscious experience.
The next part of verse 2 states: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
Here is our potential in action; this verse is charged with procreation. You could call this verse the divine intercourse between the gods, a divine dance of cosmic proportions. As even Strong’s Concordance points out, the Hebrew word for “water” in the above verse can be used as a euphemism for semen.
But the most interesting part about this divine union is the byproduct that is mentioned in the next verse:
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).
Light! Wow! Did the Bible just give us an answer for consciousness itself? I believe it did. God’s consciousness is the light of men. In fact, it is the light of everything. God himself is light. The Bible makes this clear.
Now you have the secret to why the wise ancient American Indians said that everything was divine because God’s spirit (consciousness) dwelled in everything that had Being. And yes, that means even a rock!
Think about the fact that consciousness has no size, no shape, no form, and no substance. Yet from that no-thing which consciousness is (BEING) comes the concept and idea of form, shape, substance, and size (physical creation).
The next two verses state:
“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called night. And the evening and morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:4-5).
I want to bring your attention to the fact that you cannot have an evening and a morning (a day) without the sun. And the sun isn’t created until the fourth day! The evening and morning here cannot be a literal day. Instead these verses are simply emphasizing the polarity that is responsible for creation. The light is good because it is everywhere, just like consciousness. Matter is simply spirit in form. Ultimately, it is the arrangement and experience of information, which eventually brings self-awareness into existence. And the self-aware man is the pinnacle of God’s creation. This is the reason Adam was created last. Adam is not a literal man. He is the product of consciousness evolution (notice I didn’t say Darwinian Evolution), and the crowning achievement of the divine dance between heaven and earth.
Perhaps the Christian might not judge the pagan who believes in mother earth so harshly anymore? Is the Biblical explanation of creation really so different? The answer is a resounding no, but every spiritual text eventually gets interpreted literally and therefore becomes the true idolatry spoken of in scripture. Why? Because when you interpret the Bible literally, you have just made God consciousness, which is beyond any image, into an image. And all images or physical matter is simply an illusion anyway.
Let’s turn back to Genesis chapter 1 briefly and then wrap this post up.
Once you understand Genesis 1:1-5, the rest isn’t so difficult. Within each day is created all the fish, birds, and mammals in existence. Humans are created on day six because as we have already said, the human is the crowning creation of God. Ultimately, this is because—according to the Bible—a human has advanced to a stage of consciousness where a mystical union can be experienced with God through consciousness again. With that being said let me quote the Apostle Paul so that you can understand this concept from its deepest implications:
“And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”
Paul speaks of the above verse in reference to Jesus. But as anyone versed in the art of esoteric interpretation—the highest calling to Biblical understanding—knows, the Christ must be formed “within” you, and he is definitely not something to worship outside of yourselves. As Paul further said:
“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19).
Why do you think God rested on the seventh day? Seven is the number of completion. On the seventh day the creator rests and this is the opportunity for man to enter into that rest with God. And that is the Christ in you!
How Does The Knowledge Help You?
Do you want to go home? Do you want to be with source again beyond the cycle of birth and death? Although I know this is the ultimate message of the Bible, I cannot say what it is like to fully experience being home. I have my struggles every week like all of us involved in spirituality. But I can say that I have had glimpses of being home through deep meditation and experiencing the joy of the present moment. Many of us are not ready to go home after death. Maybe I am one of them. Maybe I have more to learn until the Christ be formed in me. That is the beauty of life though. The choice is up to me in how deeply I want to pursue going home. The choice is also up to you! At any rate, please understand that Genesis chapter 1 does not give a definitive answer to creation, but it surely makes sense and it is surely a beautiful description of creation, life, and the birth of consciousness on the physical plane! This is a much better alternative to a definitive answer. Why? Because consciousness needs no answer. It just is. An its potential is infinite!
by JOSHUA TILGHMAN on AUGUST 17, 2012
We should all be aware that the ultimate answer to the mystery of the universe probably isn’t available. I seriously doubt there is a definitive answer because a definitive answer is only a concept that exists in the conscious experience of matter where all things become concrete. What if I told you that ultimate reality is devoid of concreteness and cannot be limited to a definitive answer? Wouldn’t a definitive answer just be a limitation anyway? In this post I am going to show you how Genesis chapter 1, the very first book of the Bible, opens us to the possibility of something greater than a definitive answer.
Genesis chapter 1 is a very fascinating way to explain the creation of the universe. But is it a literal interpretation of how things came to be? I can’t remember how many articles I devoured as a kid trying to reconcile verses that didn’t seem to make sense in the very first chapter of the Bible. For example, how could light have been created on the first day if the stars like our sun weren’t created until the fourth day. What’s more, the herbs and trees and shrubs of the earth were created on the third day; we clearly understand that all the plant life on earth would die without starlight. So how can we expect this to be literal?
Obviously the light discussed in the first few verses in the Bible is not starlight. So what kind of light is it? Is it even light as we know it?
I will admit that some of the articles I read trying to reconcile theses impossible creation scenarios were well-written and conveyed some interesting ideas, but none of them put it all together in a way that made Genesis chapter 1 seem viable as a literal story.
Let’s face it: if you believe Genesis is literal, then you have to concede to the fact that it just doesn’t make any sense. And if you admit to that, then have to be honest with yourself and ask another important question:
Why would God include it in the first chapter of His book in the first place?
While I am going to say that there is no definitive answer that explains the universe, I am going to say that Genesis 1 makes perfect sense because it was never meant to be literal. It all comes down to consciousness in the end, and I believe the very first chapter in the entire Bible makes this clear.
As you know, the first chapter of Genesis discusses the completion of creation in 7 days. But the Bible is not speaking of 7 literal days. I have heard a lot of people explain these 7 days as creation happening over thousands of years because of 2 Peter 3: 8 which states:
“…one day is with the Lord as a 1000 years, and a 1000 years as one day.”
The argument goes that these 7 days could be thousands of years. This scripture has nothing to do with Genesis 1; it is simply stating that in God there is no such concept as time.
Likewise, the creation account in Genesis 1 has nothing at all to do with a length of time. As we break down the first chapter you’ll see why I make that statement. Let’s look at the first verse of the Bible.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
The ancients understood these concepts to be polar opposites. The concept of heaven and earth can be likened to the male/female principle, light/dark, higher/lower nature, etc. The Hebrew word for “heaven” simply means to be lofty, or something that is elevated in nature or style. The Hebrew word for “earth” simply means to be firm. In other words, something with substance, as in the matter that makes up the physical plane.
The Genesis author has just brilliantly explained how things come to be from nothing by the way (which science has been trying to do for a long time). Since earth is just another way of conveying the concept of matter, and heaven is a way of conveying spirit, we have in both of these concepts the potential for the consciousness of God to become form. The polar opposites of spirit and matter are the divine masculine and the divine feminine, and because of these possibilities, self aware consciousness can be born through the limited expression of concrete, linear consciousness.
Let’s ponder the next verse in Genesis:
“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2).
In other words potential matter had not been formed into anything as of yet. It was simply a void, but it was also ready to burst forth with form in the conscious experience.
The next part of verse 2 states: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
Here is our potential in action; this verse is charged with procreation. You could call this verse the divine intercourse between the gods, a divine dance of cosmic proportions. As even Strong’s Concordance points out, the Hebrew word for “water” in the above verse can be used as a euphemism for semen.
But the most interesting part about this divine union is the byproduct that is mentioned in the next verse:
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).
Light! Wow! Did the Bible just give us an answer for consciousness itself? I believe it did. God’s consciousness is the light of men. In fact, it is the light of everything. God himself is light. The Bible makes this clear.
Now you have the secret to why the wise ancient American Indians said that everything was divine because God’s spirit (consciousness) dwelled in everything that had Being. And yes, that means even a rock!
Think about the fact that consciousness has no size, no shape, no form, and no substance. Yet from that no-thing which consciousness is (BEING) comes the concept and idea of form, shape, substance, and size (physical creation).
The next two verses state:
“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called night. And the evening and morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:4-5).
I want to bring your attention to the fact that you cannot have an evening and a morning (a day) without the sun. And the sun isn’t created until the fourth day! The evening and morning here cannot be a literal day. Instead these verses are simply emphasizing the polarity that is responsible for creation. The light is good because it is everywhere, just like consciousness. Matter is simply spirit in form. Ultimately, it is the arrangement and experience of information, which eventually brings self-awareness into existence. And the self-aware man is the pinnacle of God’s creation. This is the reason Adam was created last. Adam is not a literal man. He is the product of consciousness evolution (notice I didn’t say Darwinian Evolution), and the crowning achievement of the divine dance between heaven and earth.
Perhaps the Christian might not judge the pagan who believes in mother earth so harshly anymore? Is the Biblical explanation of creation really so different? The answer is a resounding no, but every spiritual text eventually gets interpreted literally and therefore becomes the true idolatry spoken of in scripture. Why? Because when you interpret the Bible literally, you have just made God consciousness, which is beyond any image, into an image. And all images or physical matter is simply an illusion anyway.
Let’s turn back to Genesis chapter 1 briefly and then wrap this post up.
Once you understand Genesis 1:1-5, the rest isn’t so difficult. Within each day is created all the fish, birds, and mammals in existence. Humans are created on day six because as we have already said, the human is the crowning creation of God. Ultimately, this is because—according to the Bible—a human has advanced to a stage of consciousness where a mystical union can be experienced with God through consciousness again. With that being said let me quote the Apostle Paul so that you can understand this concept from its deepest implications:
“And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”
Paul speaks of the above verse in reference to Jesus. But as anyone versed in the art of esoteric interpretation—the highest calling to Biblical understanding—knows, the Christ must be formed “within” you, and he is definitely not something to worship outside of yourselves. As Paul further said:
“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19).
Why do you think God rested on the seventh day? Seven is the number of completion. On the seventh day the creator rests and this is the opportunity for man to enter into that rest with God. And that is the Christ in you!
How Does The Knowledge Help You?
Do you want to go home? Do you want to be with source again beyond the cycle of birth and death? Although I know this is the ultimate message of the Bible, I cannot say what it is like to fully experience being home. I have my struggles every week like all of us involved in spirituality. But I can say that I have had glimpses of being home through deep meditation and experiencing the joy of the present moment. Many of us are not ready to go home after death. Maybe I am one of them. Maybe I have more to learn until the Christ be formed in me. That is the beauty of life though. The choice is up to me in how deeply I want to pursue going home. The choice is also up to you! At any rate, please understand that Genesis chapter 1 does not give a definitive answer to creation, but it surely makes sense and it is surely a beautiful description of creation, life, and the birth of consciousness on the physical plane! This is a much better alternative to a definitive answer. Why? Because consciousness needs no answer. It just is. An its potential is infinite!
by JOSHUA TILGHMAN on AUGUST 17, 2012