Gospel of Thomas - Class notes on sensus plenior

[goatguy-too]

(76) Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a merchant who had a consignment of merchandise and who discovered a pearl. That merchant was shrewd. He sold the merchandise and bought the pearl alone for himself. You too, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure where no moth comes near to devour and no worm destroys."

 

The kingdom of heaven is the new teaching of peace. In this saying the merchant rids himself of the burden which is not his in order to obtain the wisdom of the pearl.

 

The Greek word μαργαρίτης 'pearl' is a linguistic pun. This is the same kind of cross-language pun as Nazarite and Nazarene that Matthew uses (Mt 2:23 ).

 

מר - myrrh, bitter רג – kill גר – sojourner, he stirs up All the two-letter sub-roots are related to imagery of the cross, which Jesus said is the key to the kingdom; the key to teaching the wisdom of God.

 

Some are bothered by the apparent theft of stuff to purchase the pearl. However, all stuff belongs to God whether it is in our possession or the possession of another. He puts it in our possession to use to gain wisdom. How do we do that? By not clinging to stuff.

[goatguy-too]

(77) Jesus said, "It is I who am the light which is above them all. It is I who am the all. From me did the all come forth, and unto me did the all extend. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."

 

Light represents the Holiness of God. As seen previously the all is what can be known in the flesh about God, the perfect is what can be known in the flesh and the spirit.

 

The word עץ wood is two letters, when you split it, you find the blank page. God said that we are not to make any graven image of him. The blank page is the hieroglyphic symbol that we don't engrave. It is not polluted by the hand of man. It represents God himself; the perfect. The blank page is what you would find if you could lift the word stone off it. Jesus is the perfect, as represented by the blank page.

 

This is the same teaching as:

 

Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Edited November 29, 2013 by goatguy

[deci belle]

What theft? The merchant sold the consignment and used his percentage to pay for the pearl that he discovered.

 

Some are bothered by the apparent theft of stuff to purchase the pearl.

 

When you discover what you already have, you still gotta want it to pay for it with the potential inherent in the situation itself. The consignee was paid for the pearl by the merchant who discovered it.

 

This is a wonderful body of teaching goatguy is laying bare for us.❤

Edited November 29, 2013 by deci belle

[goatguy-too]

I apologize that I am often only doing half of what I said I would do, so I may have to go back and fill in. Not only is the GOT orthodox, but it reveals the methods used in the mysteries of the Bible. I should be showing how the same methods are used by the Biblical authors.

 

In fact, I could use some help developing a taxonomy for the various forms of riddle. It would make it easier to map the Bible and discuss the mysteries there. Some of them map into the 32 rules of Rabbi Eliezer, but there is more than he knew. GOT is a great enumeration of many of them.

Edited November 29, 2013 by goatguy

[goatguy-too]

(78) Jesus said, "Why have you come out into the desert? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a man clothed in fine garments like your kings and your great men? Upon them are the fine garments, and they are unable to discern the truth."

 

First we'll look at the individual elements, then put it all together.

 

Desert

 

מדבר Desert also means south. It represents the desolate earth. The points of the compass: North - heaven, South - earth, East - eternity, West - filthy time. מ - as a prefix means 'from' דבר - word

 

If one has come South, they have come from the North. They came from their 'heaven' south to a place that is outside of their 'heaven'. They have left their religion to see John.

 

Reed

 

'Reed' is also 'straw'. It is the stubble which will be burnt up in the fire of judgement. (1Co 3:12)

 

Shaken

 

'Shaken' is also 'cast out'.

 

Reed shaken by the wind

 

Compare with:

 

1Ki 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.

 

The first reed is shaken by the word/water, the second by the Spirit/wind. Recall God's promise that he would not destroy the world by water, but the next round would be by fire/spirit. When one is living by the Spirit, the flesh is no longer in control. It has been destroyed.

 

Garment

 

Ever since Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin with garments/works of their own hands, garment have symbolized works. Their sin was eventually covered by the work of God when he provided garments of skins.

 

Summary

 

Jesus said, "Why have you left your religion and come to a place away from what you think is the kingdom of heaven? To see one who has been cast out to be burned in judgement? And to see a man of good works like those whom you adulate? (See the incongruity of the saying, they expect he is being judged, yet believe he is doing a good work.) You think your leaders do good work, yet they cannot even discern what 'good' is.

[goatguy-too]

 

(79) A woman from the crowd said to him, "Blessed are the womb which bore you and the breasts which nourished you."

He said to her, "Blessed are those who have heard the word of the father and have truly kept it. For there will be days when you will say, 'Blessed are the womb which has not conceived and the breasts which have not given milk."

 

This saying shows a reversal;

 

At first it is "Blessed is the womb that conceived..." which euphemistically is changed to :

 

"Cursed is the womb that conceived..."

 

Though this is fallacious reasoning to the Greek mind, Thomas is teaching that in the method of riddle, it is perfectly acceptable logic. The Hebrew would have understood this since it was part and parcel to their culture, but Thomas is explaining it to the Greek.

 

The woman was enamored with Jesus's teaching, but he predicted the day that the very same woman would be shouting "Crucify him".

Edited November 29, 2013 by goatguy

[goatguy-too]

(80) Jesus said, "He who has recognized the world has found the body, but he who has found the body is superior to the world."

 

In saying 78, the religious leaders were unable to discern the truth. Speaking of the Ninevites, the symbols of left and right are used to say they cannot discern between the flesh and the spirit:

 

Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and [also] much cattle?

 

One who has found the body is one who now discerns the flesh and the spirit, and is one step closer to knowing the truth.

[goatguy-too]

(81) Jesus said, "Let him who has grown rich be king, and let him who possesses power renounce it."

 

This riddle is teaching that parallel proverbs teach the same thing.

 

Let him who has grown rich be king

let him who possesses power renounce it.

 

The first saying says the same as the second. Jesus taught continually about rernouncing the flesh and the things of this world. It would be incongruous to believe that he would tease the flesh into life by promising earthly kingship.

 

Re 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

 

As kings we rule over the flesh. As priests we intercede for others. We are invited to be kings and priests now, in this life.

[goatguy-too]

(82) Jesus said, "He who is near me is near the fire, and he who is far from me is far from the kingdom."

 

The fire is the Spirit. The kingdom is the new teaching of peace. Jesus said, "You have heard... but I say".

[goatguy-too]

• (83) Jesus said, "The images are manifest to man, but the light in them remains concealed in the image of the light of the father. He will become manifest, but his image will remain concealed by his light."

   

Image - form

Light - Holiness, separateness

• The forms (symbols) are manifest to man.
• But the holiness that the symbols contain are concealed in Christ
• Christ is The image of the holiness of the Father.
• He will be made known (He was made known in the resurrection)
• but his form (body) will remain concealed by his holiness. (His body will remain separate from those whom he indwells).

Joh 7:36 What [manner of] saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find [me]: and where I am, [thither] ye cannot come?

Edited November 29, 2013 by goatguy

[goatguy-too]

(84) Jesus said, "When you see your likeness, you rejoice. But when you see your images which came into being before you, and which neither die not become manifest, how much you will have to bear!"

 

1Jo 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

 

When we see that we have become like him, we rejoice. But the images, the prophecies, the hidden pictures in the scripture paint the bride of Christ as the prostitute that the Father chose to be a bride for the Son. The Son shares all the heartbreak that his bride gave him, all the anguish she caused. But he worked for her and wooed her, and made her into a virgin bride, casting her sins away and remembering them no more.

 

Though the subtle prophecies speak of the great love of the Son for his bride, they confront us with our sin, which is a great burden to bear.

Edited November 29, 2013 by goatguy

[h.uriahr]

Goat guy it's nice having you on the bums!

[goatguy-too]

Thanks h.

 

(85) Jesus said, "Adam came into being from a great power and a great wealth, but he did not become worthy of you. For had he been worthy, he would not have experienced death."

 

Mt 11:11 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.
Joh 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
2Co 5:8 We are confident, [i say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

 

This is a simple teaching. The one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest who lived before the kingdom. Those who are in the kingdom will never die, since being absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

[goatguy-too]

(86) Jesus said, "The foxes have their holes and the birds have their nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head and rest."

 

There are two things:the foxes and the birds, and we expect one (foxes) to represent something earthly (they have holes in the earth/ a grave), and the other (birds) to represent something heavenly (nests in tree/cross).

 

This saying emphasizes the riddling rule that things which appear to be contradictory are just views of something from different angles. Both refer to his death. He would be placed in a grave and lifted to heaven.

 

שועל 'Fox' comes from the same root as שעל 'hollow of the hand'. The hand always represents works, and in this case, the hollow is the grave. It is his work to face the grave. The Psalmist says it in a different way:

 

Ps 46:8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

 

Most of us 'rest' in the grave, but the grave is the work of Christ.

 

The idea of contradictory statements both being true can be seen in the letters כ kof and נ nun. In the square text, where letters are built around a square, the upper horizontal of the template represents heavenly things, the lower represents earthly things. The right vertical represents things coming from heaven to earth, and the left vertical the response. The kof is composed of the full length of both the upper and lower horizontals. joined by the right vertical, it represents the Son of God who was fully God and fully man. The nun is composed of short strokes on the upper and lower horizontals and represents the Son of Man, and suggests he was partially God and partially man.

 

To the Western mind this sounds like a contradiction. It is not. They are a riddle. How can the Son of God be fully God yet only partially God? How can the Son of Man be fully man yet only partially man?

 

By nature Christ was God. But he emptied himself of the attributes of deity to be found in the form of man. This is the doctrine of kenosis. He chose not to use omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, etc.

 

Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled [emptied] himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

 

As a man, he did not do the things that make man fully man. He did not marry and have children. He did not engage in the affairs of men. Both the kof and the nun accurately describe the Messiah, but give different views of him.

 

Out of the 22 letters only five have final forms. They have a different morphology when found at the end of a word. Both the kof and the nun have final forms which descend below the lower horizontal (though the font may not show it well) suggesting that the Son of God and the Son of Man had to die. ךן

 

[goatguy-too]

(87) Jesus said, "Wretched is the body that is dependant upon a body, and wretched is the soul that is dependent on these two."

 

This is parallel to :

 

Jer 17:5 ¶ Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

 

 

Wretched is the man who depends on another man, and wretched is his soul if he depends on his own flesh, or the flesh of another.

 

Since Christians are dependent upon the body of Christ (eating his flesh) they are wretched. In fact, it is the confession of sin that makes one able to eat his flesh.

[deci belle]

Since Christians are dependent upon the body of Christ (eating his flesh) they are wretched. In fact, it is the confession of sin that makes one able to eat his flesh.

 

Is the dependent wretchedness of christians a beneficial developmental state in the sense of the teaching of Thomas, goatguy?

 

Is realization for christians of Christ-like affinity in the Lord appear in Thomas' Gospel?

 

Christians as a whole don't seem too keen on realizing any kind of affinity in the Lord.

 

Perhaps I speak too soon?

 

I love your posts, goatguy…❤

[goatguy-too]

Is the dependent wretchedness of christians a beneficial developmental state in the sense of the teaching of Thomas, goatguy?

 

Is realization for christians of Christ-like affinity in the Lord appear in Thomas' Gospel?

 

Christians as a whole don't seem too keen on realizing any kind of affinity in the Lord.

 

Perhaps I speak too soon?

 

I love your posts, goatguy…❤

If I understand you, I would say it is 'developmental' in the life of the Christian in the sense that one is not truly Christian without a true confessional of being wretched. So it is the first TRUE realization of their state.

 

1Jo 1:8 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Ro 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Edited December 7, 2013 by goatguy

[deci belle]

Ok, yes— as this would be arriving at the realization and admission of acknowledging the true state of being one's ignorance— if this is what works in terms of christian tradition (not sure)? Please clarify if necessary, gg❤

 

On the other hand I now see where this aspect of the teaching falls, so yes, I see where it is.

 

Merciiiiiii❤❤

[goatguy-too]

In one sense, changing the word from 'sin' to 'ignorance' is is a comfortable diversion. None of us like the word 'sin'. It implies that there is someone or something outside of ourselves which defines good and evil. But lets use the methods of Thomas and see what the real nature of sin is.

 

The primary duality of the scriptures is not between good and evil, but between holiness and love. Holiness is an attribute which is made plain by distinction. The letter vav ו represents the idea of making a distinction. It is translated 'and' which distinguishes between two, and also joins them. It is called the sword, and represents the word of God.

 

Heb 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.

 

His holiness is revealed through his judgement, and the law. The law is not something we would devise for ourselves. Thinking that the law constrains us, we prefer to be 'free'. The law does constrain us if we read it literally. But when read in the spirit, it sets us free to love.

 

Isa 55:8 For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

 

2Co 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.

 

The second half of the duality is love. Darkness is the symbol of love, not evil as so many have misunderstood. The trinity existed in darkness before creation. They did not dwell in evil, but in love. There was no light to represent holiness because there was no distinction between the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. There was no separation; only unity.

 

As soon as there was a creation, there was something from which to be distinguished, so God said, "Let there be light". All of the other attributes of holiness existed in God before the creation. Elohim has a pun, 'a lo khoom' meaning 'not dark'. The light was hidden in his name.

 

Things which are not Holy cannot exist in the presence of He who is holy. The very nature of holiness is that of separateness. But there is a problem, there is no place to put the new creation outside of God, since it was created within God. So immediately it is bathed in grace. It is treated as though it was holy, even though it was not. The darkness covers the unholiness. So men are in darkness/grace because they have not been destroyed by the holiness of God.

 

It is God's desire to dwell with men, and he accomplishes this by extending his grace to man, even while man is in ignorance that He is doing it. So far, there is no mention of sin or evil. Already man requires grace in order to exist in the presence of God. "He first loved us"

 

Men in darkness need to "see the light". Seeing means to understand. They don't need to discover God, he is manifest in the very things that are made. They need to see/unsderstand that He is holy/separate. He is different from us. He is not our peer. He is the creator and we are the creation.

 

Adam's sin was not that he ate the fruit of the tree. It was that he made God a peer, and chose to determine good and evil for himself. In Genesis 3:22 'to know' also means 'to declare'. Adam declared for himself what was good and evil. It is not that he knew what God knew. He thought of himself as an equal to God with the capability to declare his own law. He did not acknowledge God as God (Romans 1:21).

 

The nature of my flesh is to declare me as god. I measure the universe by me, I choose to do what I want, I plan things for the future as though I had control of the times.

 

The result of Adam's rebellion was not so much a punishment as a lesson...more separation. God placed him in a world where there is cause and effect. He said that he created evil/calamity. This is the system of cause and effect. When we do something for which we were not created, we are the cause of suffering. It's like we are all in a pool jumping up and down doing stuff we weren't created for, and the waves we cause are the suffering as a result.

 

Sometimes we get hit by a wave of our own creation, sometimes we get hit by someone else's wave. And sometimes the wave add together and slap us, and we have no idea where it came from. The purpose of all that is to teach us not to do the things which we weren't created for. Since we think we can make our own rules, the consequences are designed to teach us otherwise.

 

We like to blame God for all the evil, pain and suffering, but his only culpability is that he created a system of cause and effect. We choose the suffering.

 

How do we get out of it? By acknowedging God as God. God walked in the garden with Adam, and he walked among us as Jesus. Our choice is the same as his. Since the original infraction was a failure to acknowledge God, by pretending to be a peer to God, we can now pose a Thomas-like riddle of our own:

 

Mary chose to feed the poor to her own destruction. Mahalaleel fed them and lived.

 

'Mary means 'rebellious'. Mahalaleel means 'praises God'. Two people can do the same work. The first does it because she has decided that it is a good work, the second because God says it is a good work. The first has committed the same sin as Adam. She has decided what is good and evil for herself, so she will die. the second acknowledges that God alone defines good and evil and lives according to what God has determined, and he will live.

 

It is not an ignorance so much as a rebellion that keeps us from life. The sinner does not so much realize or gain a knowledge that they are a sinner, as much as they actively put aside the pride of life and acknowledge that it is God that gives life to them.

Edited December 7, 2013 by goatguy

[deci belle]

It is so wonderful to hear your opening up of this teaching, goatguy…❤

[Apech]

I like the word sin.

[Captain Mar-Vell]

...

 

It is excellent work, I concur.

 

I shall have to study it in more detail later, but thank you very much goat guy.

 

Multiple word meanings, ie puns are abundant in mystical writing.

 

I suppose it is an attempt to condense material into a shorter and more effective form.

 

Also material that is difficult to render in language.

 

I would like to contribute more, and will if I have time.

 

But would you be able to clarify who or what is meant by the term "The Most Ancient of Days?"

 

....

[goatguy-too]

Sorry I have been away for a while. It is THAT season. In keeping with the thread and the season, I have gone to Genesis 38 and used the methods which we have been using in Thomas, to interpret the narrative concerning Judah and Tamar. Hidden in the narrative is a prophecy of the birth of Christ. I cannot find this prophecy documented anywhere in the history of the church, yet it is easily revealed using the methods of Thomas. Even if you do not celebrate the Christian holiday, I hope you can enjoy the unpacking of the esoteric Christmas story and I wish you and yours the best for the season.

 

Tamar's mystery revealed

Tamar and Mary were in a similar predicament. Tamar has been discovered to be with child and was going to be killed. (Ge 38:24) Mary was discovered with child and was going to be put away. (Mt 1:18-19) When the true father of each child was discovered, they both were honored. (Ge 38:26, Lk 1:42) Such a coincidence.

Each had wanted an assurance of a promise. Tamar had received three things from Judah (Ge 38:18) and Mary had received three saying from the angel that announced her pregnancy. (Lk 1:35) These are easy parallels to understand, but they are easy to dismiss as accidents of history until we examine the whole story:

The appointment

Tamar met Judah before Timnath which means the appointment. (Ge 38:14). I will suggest that Mary met God before the appointed time of Christ. Since “It is appointed unto man once to die…” (Heb 9:27) Christ’s appointment was with the cross, and Mary was available to God just before that time.

The scapegoat

Tamar was offered a goat by Judah. (Ge 38:17) And Mary was offered THE scapegoat, since the angel told her “He will save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1:21) In the ritual of the scapegoat, two goats are presented. They represent Jesus before and after the cross. One is killed for a burnt offering. In the burnt offering, the priest do not get to eat any part of it since it is completely consumed by fire. It represents the Son’s total devotion to the Father which we cannot participate in, but only stand and watch in awe. The smell of the burnt offering is a sweet savor unto the Lord since there is not hint of sin involved in it. You can see the first instance of a burnt offering is when Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac AND Isaac was willing to be obedient to his father. (Ge 22:2 )

The second goat is released into the wilderness to carry away the sins of the people. It represents Christ’s resurrection, which demonstrates that his sacrifice for us was accepted.

Since Jesus is the fulfillment of the scapegoat images, Mary had also been promised a goat.

The virgin birth

Mary was told that she would conceive miraculously by the Holy Ghost. (Lk 1:35) And when Judah told Tamar he would send a goat, the word he used also means ‘sow’. Since Judah represents God in the imagery, and Tamar represents Mary, we have a parallel passage that God would sow the goat.

The need for assurance

Tamar wanted an assurance that she would receive the goat, (Ge 38:17) and Mary also asked for an assuring word of explanation. (Lk 1:34)

Three assurances

Tamar was given the staff or rod which represents the power of God in discipline. (Pr 22:15, Pr 23:13, Pr 29:15) and Mary was told the power of the Highest would overshadow her. (Lk 1:35) She was not being disciplined, but God’s discipline upon mankind as borne by His Son and her son, overshadowed her life.

Tamar was given the signet ring. (Ge 38:18) And Mary was told that he would be called the Son of God. (Lk 1:35) A signet ring declares the wearer to be a son.

Tamar was given bracelets. (Ge 38:18) In a very literal sense, bracelets were given to signify a marriage, much like we now give rings. But the real clue to the hidden meaning comes from the law of cleanliness:

Nu 19:15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering [bracelets] bound upon it, is unclean.

Paul was called a chosen vessel (Ac 9:15) and in other images we find that we are vessels as well. Since Tamar was a vessel that had bracelets, she was not unclean. Likewise Mary was told that she was not unclean because although she was with child, it was by the Holy Ghost. (Lk 1:35)
Twins

Tamar bore twins (Ge 38:27) and Mary bore the dual-natured God-Man. (Joh 8:58)

The names of the twins mean 'breaking forth' and 'rising sun' while Jesus was called Dayspring.(Lu 1:78)
Usurping second son

Have you ever wondered why so many second sons in the Bible got the inheritance rather than the first sons as tradition demands? It is a prophecy that Christ will be the second man, the second Adam. (1Co 15:47, 1Co 15:22)

The image of Tamar’s twin sons would be incomplete if the second son did not get the inheritance, and sure enough, they wrestle in the womb, and the second son emerges first and receives pre-eminence. (Ge 38:28-29)

And so it is with Jesus. In the flesh he died desolate. As God’s only begotten son, he did not succeed in being fruitful and multiplying. Only in his resurrection, as the mystery second son, did he receive the full blessing and inheritance given to Abraham. (Ge 12:2)

Three chances to get it right

God wants living children, not children dead in trespass and sin.

Judah had three sons: Er, Onan and Shelah representing Adam, Israel and Joseph.

Er

Er represents Adam. Adam was alive until he ate the forbidden fruit and he died. (Ge 2:17) (Be careful… he died the day he ate the fruit or you call God a liar). Since he had children in his image and likeness, (Ge 5:3) all his children were also dead. (1Co 15:22, Ro 5:14)

But in riddle Er means ‘awake’. Awake is the opposite of asleep… and if you are asleep, you are dead and in the dust… so Er was called “Alive from the dust” as was Adam.

Adam blew it. And God killed Er because of sin. (Ge 38:7)

Onan

Onan was mistakenly called ‘vigorous’. We say it was a mistake because he was named by his mother and all the females of the Bible represent those who do not see clearly (for Eve was deceived). It was a mistake to call him vigorous because he too was dead as was Israel; God’s son who was supposed to fulfill the Leverate law on behalf of Adam.

God chose Israel through Abraham to bear living children (Jer 7:22-23) But Israel pursued the flesh and refused to do their duty to God in bearing living children, instead wasting their seed in the earth… (Dt 1:26, Dt 1:43, Dt 8:20, Jud 2:17, 2Ki 17:14, 2Ch 24:19, 2Ch 33:10, Ne 9:29, Ps 81:11, Isa 28:12, Isa 30:15, Isa 42:24, Jer 13:11, Jer 29:1, Eze 20:8, Mt 23:37, Lu 13:34)

…just as Onan did. (Ge 38:9)

Israel blew it.

Shelah

Shelah wasn't given a chance. The genealogy in Matthew tells us that Joseph, the husband of Mary, is the rightful heir to the throne of David. But he is not given the chance to bear living children. When it is his turn, God himself steps in to bear the first fruits of living children. (1Co 15:20) Likewise, Shelah is not given the chance to bear a son when the time was right. (Ge 38:11, 14)

Smite the earth with a curse

John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy of the returning Elijah. Elijah had made the rain stop until he spoke. (1Ki 17:1) Since water represents the word of God, there was no word of God for four hundred years until John spoke. His task in fulfilling the prophecy was to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and of the children to the fathers. (Lu 1:17) The consequence of failure was that the earth would be smited with a curse. (Mal 4:6)

Timnath

In the narrative of Tamar, Judah was going to Timnath. But why?

Gen 38:12 … and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.

The word for shear is cut off . Hirah means noble family and Adulamite means justice of the people. God was going to the appointed time to cut off his sheep.

God threw Adam out of the garden, killed all but eight in a flood, killed a whole generation of Israel in the desert and now was going up to the appointed time to cut off the sheep. You may be looking forward to some future judgment, but the time of the cross was the time of the final judgment where God would have cut off all the sheep had it not been for Christ, the Lamb of God. When he bore all our sin on the cross what more could be judged?

God was ready to give men justice, and He did in Christ who reconciled grace and law.

Desolate women

Have you ever wondered why there were so many desolate, barren women mentioned in the Bible? It’s prophecy! The world was full of dead children, dead in trespass and sin. It was long waiting for the fulfillment of the prophecy given to Eve. (Ge 3:15) The time was right as Tamar removed her widows garments. (Ge 38:14) And the time was right as Mary was selected to be the mother of Jesus. (Lk 1:69-70)

The clift of the rock

When Moses was in the physical presence of God he was hidden in the clift of the rock. (Ex 33:22) Tamar hid herself with a veil. The word is pronounced tsaw-eef. Is it an accident that there is a word pronounced saw-eef that means clift?

The rock is Christ. In sensus plenior, all the rocks are Christ and they are all one rock. In this reasoning, the rock that was split in the desert, (Ex 17:6) is the same rock that Moses was hidden in. It was split by being smitten by the rod (of discipline of God). The real horror of the cross was not the physical agony of death. God, himself, was split as the Father removed himself from His Son on the cross. When Moses was hidden in the clift of the rock, it represented trusting in the cross to preserve you in the face of God.

As Tamar covered herself with the veil, it tells us that Mary was covered with the grace of the cross in the presence of God.
The death of Christ

Gen 38:19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

Mary would be a barren mother again before she would see the first fruits. Jesus had to die before he would be fruitful. (Joh 12:24)

Did not possess the goat.

Tamar did not take possession of the promised goat. (Ge 38:20) Just as Mary knew that Jesus had to be about his Father’s business. (Lk 2:49)

God’s only begotten son

Gen 38:26 And he knew her again no more.

He bore our sin

The two sons together represent Christ. The first son represents Jesus in the flesh who bore our sin. The narrative identifies the first son as the one who wore the scarlet thread. Many may debate it, but with all the evidence presented thus far, the scarlet thread represents our sin. (Isa 1:18) The resurrected Christ, the Son who was fruitful and multiplied, does not have the scarlet thread because Christ died once for our sin. (Heb 9:27, Heb 6:6)

 

There can be no doubt that the human author of Genesis would not have known anything about the birth of Christ and that the hidden story had to have been put there by someone else.

Edited December 20, 2013 by goatguy

[goatguy-too]

(88) Jesus said, "The angels and the prophets will come to you and give to you those things you (already) have. And you too, give them those things which you have, and say to yourselves, 'When will they come and take what is theirs?'"

 

The manner in which the Messiah had come was a mystery to angels and prophets. They knew the event would come, but could not discern how and when. The salvation of man was revealed in Christ through the apostles which caused the prophets and angels to marvel.

 

 

Mt 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

 

Heb 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope [did]; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

 

Heb 9:9 Which [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

 

Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

 

1Pe 1:10 ¶ Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

 

1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

[goatguy-too]

(89) Jesus said, "Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not realize that he who made the inside is the same one who made the outside?"

 

Mt 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Mt 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

 

 

Lu 11:39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness.

Lu 11:40 [Ye] fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?

Lu 11:41 But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.

Lu 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Lu 11:43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.

Lu 11:44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over [them] are not aware [of them].

 

 

Whenever there are two things they are two aspects of the same thing. The one thing is the person, who has an inside or 'spiritual' aspect and an outside or 'flesh'.

 

Cleaning the flesh; doing works or changing behavior, does not clean the spirit. But if the spirit is clean, physical dirtiness does not matter. Some had mistakenly tried to apply the physical dirtiness to spiritual things and say that if you are pure inside, you can indulge in sins of the flesh without affecting your spiritual status. This is an error of interpretation.

 

The moral things are spiritual in nature which work out into fleshly behaviors. The one who is spiritually pure turns away from sinful things.

Edited January 8, 2014 by goatguy