Elijah: Divine Seal, High Priest, And Messiah
Elijah
On their way down the mountain, following the transfiguration, the disciples asked Jesus why the Scribes claimed Elijah must come again (before the Judgment Day). He responded:
Elijah truly shall first come and restore all things. But I say unto you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him . . . (Matthew 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13).
At the time Jesus made this statement, John the Baptist had already been executed by Herod. Consequently, Jesus was not referring to him in His use of the future tense. Rather, He was signifying that Elijah will come again, for the third time, before the Judgment Day.
Elijah was sent the first time, in order to identify him with the Messianic Insignia, the Seal of God, and the Divine Fire from Heaven—the Holy Spirit. In addition to being taken up into Heaven in a fiery chariot, Elijah also called down Fire from Heaven on three occasions, signifying his role as the forerunner of the Judgment Fire (Sirach 48:3; 1 Kings 18:36-39; 2 Kings 1:9-12).
Elijah was sent the second time as John the Baptist, in order to prepare the way for Jesus’s coming, and to testify to the Baptism of Fire, the Holy Spirit, whom the world was about to receive through Jesus. Note that Jesus is not the Divine Flame, for He Himself testified: “I have come to light a Fire on Earth. How I wish the Flame were kindled” (Luke 12:49). Although Jesus described John as a burning flame, he was only a portion of the Main Flame, which is the Holy Spirit (John 5:35). Elijah—John the Baptist—was, again, identified with the Divine Flame. The Scriptures prophesied Elijah’s second coming:
Behold I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me: and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple, and even the messenger of the Covenant, whom you delight in behold he will come, says the Lord of Hosts (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 11:10-14).
As the Ultimate Torchbearer, Elijah comes for the third time, in His consummate form, to reveal the mystery of this Divine Flame, and to prepare for the Judgment Day in fulfillment of the Scriptures. On previous occasions, Elijah’s identity and testimony were supported by visible signs: the destructive fire from Heaven, and the anointing fire on Pentecost. In this final appearance, His Testimony is manifested in Spirit and Truth through the revelation of the Cryptogram. Formerly, Elijah called down the divine fire in a physical sense, but now He invokes it mystically, within the spiritual realm, with the aim of bringing Jacob back, and restoring the house of Spiritual Israel before the Day of the Lord, as prophesied by Isaiah:
You are my Servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified . . . says the Lord that formed me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, so that [greater] Israel might be gathered to Him; for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. And He said, it is a light thing that you should be my Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will also make you a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the Earth . . . (Isaiah 49:3-7).
The Servant is titled Israel here, and yet distinguished from the tribes of Jacob* (v. 3). Indeed, His name affirms this title: Obiaya (pronounced AUb-yAH-yAH): One who has come to make war or struggle (against [the Evil in] God): Israel. In contrast to the former occasions when the Divine Fire was called down, ostensibly and temporarily for destruction and restoration, in this final age, it is made manifest eternally and subtly for destruction and development also.
In another passage, the Scriptures also alluded to Elijah’s third coming before the Judgment Day, thus affirming Elijah’s uniqueness not only as the last, but also as The Ultimate Prophet:
Behold, I will send you Elijah, the Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord: and He will turn the heart of the fathers to their children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the Earth with a curse (Malachi 4:5-6).
In essence, Elijah is a Deliverer. Hence, Simon Peter was moved to say:
Lord, it is good for us to be here: if you will, let us make three tabernacles: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah (Matthew 17:4).
As Deliverers, each of these Personages, Moses, Jesus, and Elijah was identified with a sanctuary, a place of refuge. But, in the following passage, “Elijah” alone was portrayed coming from Heaven Itself—the Ultimate Sanctuary—at the head of heavenly armies, and armed with an Emblem of War, while rushing at the Evil One with its hosts, thus distinguishing Him as The Protagonist and Standard-bearer:
And I saw Heaven [Ahaba] revealed and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon it [Elijah]** was called Faithful and True. Justice [i.e., the Cryptogram] is His “Standard” for passing judgment and waging war [Obiaya]. His eyes [i.e., visions] were as a Flame of Fire, and on His head were many diadems. Inscribed on Him was a name known to no one but Himself . . . And His name was the Word of God [Olisadumkwu].*** And the armies of Heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure followed Him upon white horses. Out of His mouth came a sharp Sword for striking down the nations♠. He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. He had on His vesture and on His thigh a name written: King of kings, and Lord of lords . . . And I saw the beast, and the kings of the Earth, and their armies gathered to make war against Him that sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was taken and with him the false prophet that wrought prodigies in its presence that led men astray . . . These were both cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone (Revelation 19:11-21).
Notice that Elijah’s weapon for war is the Sword of the Spirit (or the Word of God)—that is, the Cryptogram (c.f., Sirach 48:1-2). Hence, the Scriptures remarked above: “Out of His mouth came a sharp Sword for striking down the nations.” Indeed, the Cryptogram is Elijah’s “Standard” for passing judgment, and waging war against the anti-Christs. And as the “Standard-bearer”, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Elijah fulfills these war declarations against “Babylon” (Rome):
Raise up a Banner upon [Mount Zion] . . . I have commanded my sacred soldiers . . . to execute my anger . . . Listen! A tumult on [Mount Zion] . . . An uproar of kingdoms, of nations assembled! The Lord of Hosts is rallying an army for battle: They come from a distant land [Ahaba], from the end of Heaven, the Lord and the [weapon] of His wrath [the Cryptogram], to destroy the whole Earth. Wail, for the Day of the Lord is near . . . (Isaiah 13:2ff).
Set up a Standard against the walls of Babylon, make strong the watch, post sentries, prepare ambushes . . . (Jeremiah 51:12).
In anticipation of this Divine Manifestation, the Scriptures exhorted further:
. . . Lift up a Standard over the peoples . . . Say to the daughter of Zion: ‘Behold your Savior comes’ . . . (Isaiah 62:10-12).
Elijah’s Cryptonyms, acknowledged and revealed here, identify His Person and reflect His Mission—Olisadumkwu (may God help me speak), the Word of God; Obiaya (One who has come to war [against (the Evil in) God]), Israel. (Compare Rev. 19:14-15 with Isa. 13:4c-5.) Notice that the armies of Heaven join in Elijah’s battle, signaling His consecration to war. Hence:
The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand [even here on Earth], until I make your enemies your footstool. The Scepter of your Strength the Lord will send out of Zion [Ahaba: The Dwelling of the Most High]; Rule in the midst of your enemies [here on Earth implied] . . . The Lord at your right hand shall strike through kings in the Day of His wrath (Psalms 110:2; 1 Enoch 54:5).
The foregoing passage evinces the Lord’s partnership with (Elijah), the Messianic King: As the Lord’s Alter Ego, they are mutually at each other’s right hand (as highlighted above). Indeed, they are inseparable, Complementary Standards signified by the two, gilded, identically carved cherubim in the transitory throne of God. Thus, the Complementary Standards are transverse.
In the past, Moses made a pilgrimage, in the company of witnesses—the seventy elders and the young, free nation of Israel—to the (natural) Mountain, the Divine Insignia, where he received the Word of God, the Ten Commandments (Ex. 24 and 19). Jesus, likewise, led witnesses—the twelve apostles, together with a (smaller) group of followers—also to this Divine Insignia, a (natural) Mountain—from where He proclaimed the Word of God, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). In this final age however, Elijah, that is, Olisadumkwu (the Word of God), the Ultimate Lawgiver, now comes, alone, to bring instead this Divine Signature—the Spiritual Mountain, the Laconic Word of God—directly (not through witnesses) to all people. Thus, this Testament, unlike the prior ones, is holographic. The Scriptures said of the Servant of the Lord: “He shall bring forth Justice [that is, the Holy Mountain] to the nations” (Isaiah 42:1; c.f., Jeremiah 31:23c; Psalms 36:6).
Whereas the Law was first given to humanity, through Moses, in a crude form, it was later modified by Jesus, and ultimately refined and codified by Elijah according to Divine Justice.
Moses is identified with the archetypal mini structure, the mirage version of it. Note that he did not enter into “God’s Rest”; that is, reach the natural promised land, the symbol of the Heavenly Sanctuary, where the true mini structures are. Jesus, on the other hand is associated superficially with the Cornerstone of the Structure, the symbolic Heavenly Sanctuary, the Old Jerusalem. It is Elijah who is identified with the entire Structure, Mount Zion and the New Jerusalem. Thus, the last is first, and the first is last. This Structure is the subject of the Hidden Code in the Scriptures, and Elijah is the Revelator of this Code together with Its Keys. (Matthew 16:16-19).
While Moses symbolizes the nascent Revelation, Jesus represents its penultimate, and Elijah signifies its denouement. Indeed, the Scriptures acclaimed Elijah’s honor: “Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies” (Sirach 48:11).
God the Father, as the Supreme Healer, confirmed Jesus’s Mission on Earth by the miraculous cures that were wrought through Him. God the Mother, Onishe Ahaba, as the Supreme Architect and Builder also bears witness to Elijah’s Mission through the revelation of the Blueprint of Her Kingdom. (The Standard Spirit is hermaphroditical.)
In rejecting Jesus’s Mission from God the Father, some cite among other reasons the lack of fulfillment of Jesus’s prediction that the Final Judgment would occur, and the glory of God’s Kingdom ushered in, in the lifetime of His listeners (Mark 13:30; Matthew 24:34). However, they fail to acknowledge His admission of His lack of knowledge of God’s Complete Plan: “As for the exact day or hour, no one knows it—neither the Angels in Heaven nor the Son—only the Father” (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7). Clearly, Jesus was unsure of the final leg of the process for the whole Salvific Scheme: the evolvement of the latter significant stage.
It is through Elijah that the Apparent Peak of the Structure merges with the Potential Peak—the renewal of the Supreme Throne—thus signifying the consummation of the growth process: the ultimate renewal. Elijah is the Holy Spirit of the Most High. It is the Spirit that is important; the flesh is illusory.
Just as Elijah was sent in his first Mission to a foreigner, the widow of Zarephat (1 Kings 17:7-16), to care for his physical needs, so in His Consummate Form He is united with one of a different race, Barbara, to provide for His temporal needs. It is to Barbara that this scriptural passage is ultimately addressed:
Hear O Daughter and consider . . . forget your people and your father’s house; so shall the King greatly desire your beauty; for He is your Lord and worship Him (Psalms 45:10-11).
Because of this circumstance of the Servant-Elect, many stereotype and despise Him even more, but as noted in the Scriptures:
I did not hide my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help me . . . (Isaiah 50:6-7).
The Divine Seal: The Messianic Insignia
The Holy Spirit—the Mystic Rock—symbolized by by the Divine Fire is the Master Seal of the Messianic Kingdom. It is composed of miniature seals of identical form as the Master Seal: members of God’s household.
It is written:
Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed against the Day of Redemption (Ephesians 4:30).
The Divine Seal is, as such, the Insignia of Redemption, and hence the real Messianic Insignia not the cross. The Scriptures further testified:
Now, He who establishes us in Christ and has anointed us is God, who has also sealed us and thereby giving the first payment, the Spirit, in our hearts (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).
. . . In whom also after you believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit who had been promised (Ephesians 1:13).
Clearly, from the above passages, the Holy Spirit is the Divine Seal: His present Manifestation and accompanying Insignia, the Cryptogram, affirm this. The abstract idea that it is on Jesus that the Father has set His Seal, is so only insofar as the Son, the Apparent Cornerstone, is in the Holy Spirit, the Consummate Rock and Matrix of the Divine Seal (John 6:27).
Indeed, John’s mystical visions pointed to these Events:
And I saw another Angel ascending from the east, having the Seal of the living God . . . saying: do not hurt the Earth, or the sea, or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of those who were sealed: and there were one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed out of every tribe of the sons of [Spiritual] Israel . . . (Revelation 7:2-8).
(Receive, therefore, the Divine Seal and be saved.) John observed further:
Then from the smoke came locusts upon the Earth, and they were given power like the scorpions of the Earth have power. And they were commanded not to hurt the grass of the Earth, or any green growth, or any tree, but only those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads (Revelation 9:3-4).
The foregoing references affirm that only those who bear the mark of the Divine Seal will be saved, further attesting to the Divine Seal, the Cryptogram (instead of the cross), as the real Insignia of Salvation: The Messianic Insignia.
While the miniature seals of the Heavenly Sanctuary are made of precious stones, the rest of the Master Seal are formed from less rugged materials. On Judgment Day, the Master Seal shall be ablaze, and the survival of each person will depend on the nature of its seal. Everyone should procure for itself now a seal (a personal god) of diamond quality, and not one of wax.
Whoever has ears should listen to the Spirit’s words to the churches: He that surmounts [Mount Zion] will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows except he that receives it (Revelation 2:17. See! the prize of God’s upward calling [Philippians 3:14]).
The circumcision of Abraham was a prelude to the Seal of the Spirit:
He received the sign of circumcision as a seal attesting to the righteousness he received by faith while he was still uncircumcised; that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, who thus have righteousness credited to them also. (Romans 4:11).
Just as physical pain accompanies circumcision, the natural seal of the Old Order, so tribulation and distress accompany the Baptism of Fire, the Spiritual Seal of the New Order. It is through perseverance in trial, in attestation of faith, that one receives the actual spirit, and becomes transformed: in essence born again. In nature also gemstones have their origin in magma, deep within the furnace of the Earth. Hence, the true spirits are correlated with gemstones. Thus, to acquire a true personal god is to acquire a true divine seal, in the Heavenly Sanctuary: The Divine Furnace. Indeed, the Lord’s Fire is in [Mount] Zion, and His Furnace in Jerusalem (Isaiah 31:9).
Just as a seal is customarily affixed to a document after its completion, so the Cryptogram, as the Divine Seal, attests to this document as the Definitive Revelation, and Elijah as the Seal of the Great Prophets.
The High Priest According to The Order of Melchizedek
Aaron and his descendants, as temporary high priests, were commanded to keep lamps burning in the sanctuary (Exodus 27:20-21). Thus, they prefigured Elijah, who, as the Eternal, High Priest, is the keeper of the Eternal Flame, as attested by Elijah’s historical association with the Mystical Fire, now epitomized by His Manifestation with this Metaphysical Fire: The Cryptogram.
The spiritual significance of the breastpiece worn by Aaron and his descendants is realized, in a cosmic sense, in the Master Seal: The Rock. Just as the names of the Natural Children of Israel were inscribed on twelve precious stones, as on seals, constituting the breastpiece of judgment (Ex. 28:15-30), so the miniature, personal seals bear the names of the Spiritual Children of Israel on a Rock-Matrix, forming the Master Seal (i.e., the Determinant of fate). Behold, the twelve types of gemstones that constitute the Cornerstone of the Structure! The Urim and the Thumim that were placed inside the breastpiece (to form a unit), symbolized polar opposites; pro and con, obverse and reverse, yes and no, positive and negative, good and evil, true and false, and so, surfaces-a and-b of the Spiritual Structure (Ex. 28:30). Aaron and his descendants, as transitory high priests of the human order, were decked out in the breastpiece whenever they entered the man-made sanctuary, thus signifying Elijah, who embodies Mount Zion as Royal, High Priest, Standard-bearer and Keeper of the Heavenly Seal. In this role, Elijah is adorned with the Divine Signet Ring♣: The Standard Seal of the Personal Absolute or Supreme God. All the other personal seals—constituents of the Master Seal—are either approximations to, or deviations from, this Standard Seal.
The ark of the Covenant was another emblem, the general emblem, for the community of Natural Israel, which foreshadowed the Structure. In it was placed, among other items, the two Stone Tablets of the Ten Commandments.
Together, the ark and the breastpiece, the insignia of the Aaronic priesthood, prefigured more completely, the Messianic Standard, that is, Mount Zion: The Consummate Law. While the breastpiece portrayed the Chance element, by virtue of the Urim and Thumim, the ark depicted the Choice element, by virtue of the Stone Tablets. Thus, the breastpiece and the ark foreshadowed the Complementary Standards: the former symbolized the Standard without the faithful, and the latter that within. Both emblems were also charges of the Aaronic priesthood. The breastpiece of judgment was worn by the high priest over his heart, whenever he entered the sanctuary, and so he was as one with it. Thus, he portrayed Elijah as the Cosmic Law—the Embodiment of Fate—the Chance Matrix upon whom the community of Spiritual Israel is necessarily being formed, individually, on the basis of a Personal Choice: to abide by the Grand Law, as signified by the ark with its contents (Heb. 9:4; Deut. 10:1-2). As such, the ark of the Covenant reflected another facet of the same Seal embodied by Elijah: The Seal as Standard (Personal) Seal. Therefore, the Aaronic high priest adorned with the breastpiece, foreshadowed Elijah as the Consummate Standard Spirit: The Personal Absolute and the Impersonal (or Cosmic) Absolute; God the Father and God the Mother; the Standard Seal and Master Seal.
Like the Aaronic priesthood, their keeper, the complementary emblems of the old order: the breastpiece and the ark, were transient. Hence, Jeremiah prophesied:
And it shall come to pass, when you become multiplied and increase in the land, says the Lord, in those days they will no longer say: ‘the ark of the Covenant of the Lord’; it will no longer come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they visit it, nor will it be made (Jeremiah 3:16).
Thus, the Aaronic priesthood with its emblems and charges—the ark, the breastpiece, and the burning lamp—necessarily prepared the way for the Eternal, High Priest: The Consummate Elijah.
As the Eternal, Heavenly High Priest, Elijah is distinct from Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb. And like Melchizedek—the priest of the “Supreme God”, who was tithed by Abraham—He is a foreigner to Abraham’s clan:
The Lord has sworn, and He will not repent, you are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4)
Although Abraham was first to be chosen, and acknowledged by God for his righteousness, he deferred to, and was blessed by Melchizedek, another chosen one. Similarly, to inaugurate His Mission, Jesus, who descended from Abraham in the flesh, submitted to, and was baptized by, John the Baptist: a type of Elijah that was to come. Jesus explained it thus: “Allow it now for thus it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). Note that chief among Elijah’s duties in his first Mission was his priestly function on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18); hence this Personage was associated with Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb.
While God’s blessing on Abraham and his descendants which culminated in Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb, is well known, Her blessing on Nnebisi, which peaked in the Eternal, High Priest, the Consummate Elijah, remained hidden until now. It is, indeed, as the Scriptures testified: “[S]he concealed me in the shadow of H[er] arm . . . In H[er] quiver [S]he hid me” (Isaiah 49:2). The secrecy and quietude surrounding this Covenant extends even to the vocational bearing of the Servant-Elect:
He shall not cry out, or lift up, or cause His voice to be heard in the street . . . until He establishes justice. (Isaiah 42:2-4).
The excerpt: ” . . . until He establishes justice” refers to the revelation of Mount Zion. The Scriptures indeed identified this Mystical Mountain with Justice, further confirming the identity of the Lord’s Servant who has revealed it:
. . . The Lord blesses you, O habitation of Justice, and Mountain of Holiness (Jeremiah 31:23c).
Your Justice is like the [Mountain] of God [Zion] (Psalms 36:6).
The Cosmic Atonement Sacrifices
The mystical Cosmic (human) Sacrifice recapitulated in Asaba—the source of the Cosmic Spirit, the origin of the Consummate Elijah—call attention, ultimately, to Elijah’s priestly office.
In the first Cosmic Event at Calvary, Jesus was a type of spotless Sin-offering Goat for the ordinary community of Spiritual Israel (Lev. 16:15). Whereas in the later Cosmic Event in Asaba, a Young Man—not of Abraham’s stock—also a spotless one (an albino whose name was not even noted) was offered as a Sin-offering Bullock for the Royal, Heavenly High Priest: The Consummate Elijah with His priestly clan in the Heavenly Sanctuary. While the community Sacrifice at Calvary occurred outside the symbolic Sanctuary, the priestly Sacrifice in Asaba was offered inside the true Holy of Holies, the New Jerusalem. Both Mystical Events resulted in the opening of the floodgates of the Holy Spirit: In the prior Event this was marked by the Divine Fire that parted and rested on each of the apostles; in the later, it was signified by the increased flow from a Rock-Fountainhead in Asaba, the Dwelling of “God Most High” (Onishe), resulting in the acknowledged overflow of her riverbanks. The mystical objects associated with both Events—the Divine Fire, and the Rock-Fountain—are equally symbols of the Holy Spirit; the former appeared ephemerally, while the latter endures. Hence the Scriptures prophesied:
For that which has not been told them they shall see, and that which they have not heard they shall understand (Isaiah 52:15).
Since the prior Event at Calvary was for the atonement of the larger community of Spiritual Israel—those on surface-b of the Spiritual Structure—knowledge of the Event was disseminated soon after. However, the Sin-offering in Asaba was for the atonement of the Chosen—the Royal, Heavenly High Priest—the Consummate Elijah with His priestly clan in the Heavenly Sanctuary. And so, knowledge and purpose of the Event were kept veiled until now.
In the atonement sacrifices of the Old Order, the High Priest would elevate the blood of the sin offering bullock and goat to the Temple Mount, passed them through a veil into the Holy of Holies, as propitiatory for the Convergent Force (surface-b). Those mystic acts foreshadowed Cosmic Events: The sacrificial death♥ and manifest ascension of Jesus: from the earthly plane of the Old Jerusalem to the Heavenly High Throne, Zion, in the New through the Carnal Veil (Heb. 10:20; 6:19-20). By entering this “Veil” with His blood, Jesus transformed into a different, “Concealed” Personage, Nnebisi (cf., 1 Enoch 48:5): “I myself have set up my King on [New] Zion [Ahaba], my Holy Mountain (Ps. 2:6). The cosmic, Priestly Sacrifice offered before this Throne, ratified this entry into the Holy of Holies, consummated the Spiritual Transition and affirmed the Priestly Messianic Age. The Veil thus demarcated the Eternal State from the Transitory; the New Covenant from the Old; the Exalted Messiah from the Pre-Exalted; the Enlightened Era from the Dark Ages; and the Holy of Holies from All Else. It epitomized the mystery surrounding the Heavenly Sanctuary, as foreshadowed by the shrouding of the phantom throne with the clouds of incense (Lev. 16:12-13). Thus, in intangibles—secrecy—Essence Abides.
In contrast to the sin-offering bullock and goat of old, the tertiary sacrifice—the scapegoat—was rejected by God as the High Priest would laden its head with iniquities, escorted it east out of the Temple Mount, pushed it off a cliff, into the wilderness-valley for Azazel: The Divergent Force (surface-a). Ishmael, who was banished by Abraham to roam the wilderness with his mother, was a type of scapegoat for Azazel: an event reenacted vicariously by Muslims at hajj. It is no coincidence that a shrine, simulating a high place, was erected to Satan at Mina: the base camp for hajj. Removed from Kaaba, it is where a pilgrim offers the scapegoat vicariously in memory of Ishmael. The nature and location of the shrine relate to Satan as Pillar and Goal of Ishmael as scapegoat. (The veiled Kaaba signifies the forbidden desire of Satan and the Scapegoat: The Heavenly Sanctuary.)
Like Ishmael, who was cast out of his father Abraham’s house, Muhammad, the Cosmic Scapegoat, was driven out of his home also, hence the significance of Hegira to Islam. Ishmael prefigured Muhammad, just as Isaac—another son of Abraham, and a type of sin-offering goat—foreshadowed Jesus. As Sin-offering Goat for the Lord, Jesus descended shortly into Hell—by His suffering, death and burial—before ascending to the Lord in Heaven (surface-b). Conversely, as Scapegoat for Azazel, Muhammad ascended—alive—to Heaven briefly, prior to his fall and banishment to Azazel in Hell: The Wilderness-Pit (surface-a). Aspects of these Mystic Acts were dramatized for emphasis: Jesus’s public Ascension marked His glorious Resurrection from Hell, whereas Muhammad’s communal banishment, the Hegira, spotlighted his shameful Expulsion and Fall from Heaven. So, the Ascension is to Jesus, as the Hegira is to Muhammad. The former Event evidenced exaltation, just as the latter exemplified damnation. Hence, the Ascension is celebrated with joyous songs on Sundays, while the Hegira is commemorated with mournful cries on Fridays. Both camps embody opposing Spiritual Kingdoms: The Kingdoms of Light and Darkness. Like Israel, Ishmael is the progenitor of twelve tribes (Gen. 17:20; 25:12-16; 21:13, 18).
In summary, the Cosmic Atonement Sacrifices were a Tripartite Agency: The Sin-offering Bullock, the Sin-offering Goat, and the Scapegoat. The Sin-offering Goat was the initial Positive Agent of Atonement for the New Mount Zion; the Scapegoat, the oblique Negative Agent; and the Sin-offering Bullock, the higher Melchizedek-like, Priestly Agent. As Cosmic Sin-offering Goat, Jesus ascended Mount Zion, through the loss of His body (i.e., with His blood) in order to establish the ordinary community of New Zion. And by passing into another body, a Veil, He entered Ahaba, the Holy of Holies, transformed into a quasi High Priest, Nnebisi, the “forerunner” of the Exalted One (cf., Heb. 6:20). Thereafter, atonement was made in Ahaba with the Bullock’s blood for the Royal Heavenly High Priest, Elijah, His Priestly clan and the renewal of the Heavenly Sanctuary. In contrast, Muhammad ascended Mount Zion with an escort (in a bodily vision) to the Gate of the Heavenly Sanctuary, where Heaven imposed iniquities on his head as Cosmic Scapegoat. He was banished from there carrying away the iniquities to Satan, and so became the Negative Agent of Atonement for New Mount Zion. (And by shaving their heads at hajj, Muslims identify with the Scapegoat’s agency, while marking the end of its journey.) Muhammad’s ‘excursion’ is notably known in Islam as the “Night’s Journey”. The adoption of all Three Agents is essential to the priestly class, and to stem the encroachment of evil. Though for righteous pilgrims, recognition of the Cosmic Scapegoat is backhanded, it is necessary if one is to guard against depravity. This revelation of the Cosmic Sacrifices relates to Elijah’s High Priestly Role of atoning for the Kingdom of Light, through the invocation of the Tripartite, Atonement Agency on the Cosmic Day of Atonement.
The Cosmic River Crossing
After their liberation from slavery, the natural Israelites under Joshua crossed the Jordan River westward to a promised land, bearing twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel (Joshua 4:1-11); each stone depicting the miniature seals that constituted the breastpiece of the Aaronic priesthood. The High priest, as surrogate, also crossed the Jordan River bearing instead the phantom ark: the symbol of the Heavenly One.
However, following His freedom from slavery, “Nnebisi”, as quasi High Priest (of the “Supreme God”) according to the order of Melchizedek, crossed the Niger River (from Nteje), alone, also westward to a promised land, Ahaba, bearing but a single Table Stone, the Standard Seal/Master Seal. Thus, He prefigured the Royal, Heavenly High Priest and Standard-Ark-bearer: the Consummate Elijah. This Table Rock—the Mystical Ark of the New Covenant—is the Eternal Throne of God, the symbol of the Grand Law, and the Seal of the Unspoken Bond of kinship between God the Mother, Onishe, and Nnebisi. It is presently evident in Ahaba (by the Niger River): the Dwelling of the “Most High”.
* (Isa. 49:5-6) Behold the Judaic legend at Passover (which recalls a saving act): Elijah would return as an unknown guest (a stranger) to the house of Jacob: to bring Jacob back (to God), and so to deliver New Israel (Jews and Gentiles) from danger in a manner reminiscent of His victory over Baal and his prophets. Thus, Elijah is the Ultimate Messiah. For His tacit identification with Israel, see 1 Kings 18:31.
**Just as Elijah defended the cause of Righteousness against Baal for the sake of Israel by calling down the Divine Fire from Heaven, so too this Heavenly Personage champions the cause of Justice against the Anti-Christs in the interest of Heaven (the New Israel) through the use of the same “Emblem”; hence, He is identified with Elijah (cf., 4 Ezra 13:10-11 with Rev. 19:15,21; and Sirach 48:1).
***Olisadumkwu literally means: May God help me speak. The Word of God is inferred from it. Hence, His name was known to no one but Himself, even though His name was given in the same passage. In essence, the association of His name with the “Word of God” would not have been obvious.
♠The Sword of the Spirit is indeed identified with the Word of God in Ephesians 6:17. In the second Book of Esdras, Fire issued from the mouth of the Elect One instead of a Sword ( 2 Esdras 13:10-11). There, Fire (much like the Sword) was identified with the Law [or the Word of God] (2 Esdras 13:38). These war implements relate to the same Emblem, the Cryptogram. For the identification of the Cryptogram with the Mystical Sword, see “Evidence For the Structural Shape” in Blog Post 12.
♣The personal attribute of the “Standard Seal” was foreshadowed in the Scriptures by the gemstones which constituted the breastpiece; the personalized gemstones were indeed likened to signets (Ex. 28:21).
♥By His death and burial, Jesus disposed of His body outside the old sanctuary to assume Another (His Corporal Disguise—cf., 1 Enoch 48:5) in a New and Heavenly Sanctuary on Earth: The New Jerusalem. Behold the Cosmic Migration and Renewal!