Further Evidence for The Ultimate Messiah Continued
This is the continuation of a topic that was introduced in Blog Post 3. The subject of this discussion also relates to the fulfillment of other Messianic passages in Scriptures in connection with an Exalted Messiah (other than Jesus): Such passages as those in Isaiah that pertain to the “Servant of the Lord” and His likely identity; how Aaron’s Divine “election” with his staff foreshadowed the ancestral home of the Exalted Messiah—the New Zion; how Jacob’s prophecy concerning Shiloh—a non-Jew—helps to recognize Judah’s successor to the Divine Authority (transfer of the Divine Scepter); how a Flaming-Sword-bearer—the Exalted Messiah—championed the Ultimate War against the anti-Christs led by Lucifer. Isaiah also prophesied this Final Combat between Good and Evil, but as a contest featuring the ascensions of Mount Zion by these Opponents—the Exalted Messiah and Lucifer; Isaiah’s take on the form of the contest is explained here.
The Servant is the Lord: Elijah
Note that Jesus was feared and grudgingly respected by the then leaders of Natural Israel, rather than being despised, because of their perceived threat from Him to the nation of Israel. For they reasoned that it was more expedient for them that one man should die for the people, than for the whole nation to perish (John 11:49-50). The actions of the leaders, even after Jesus’s death, of procuring guards to watch Jesus’s tomb, is further evidence of this. As a Jew among other Jews, no one despised Jesus because of His social status. While envy applied to how the leaders felt toward Jesus (because of His large number of followers), despise did not. Thus, He could not have been described as “the Slave or Servant of rulers”. Note that Jesus’s Mission was to His fellow Jews, and that He preached essentially to Jews (Matt. 15:24; 10:6). Jesus was mocked only for His views and primarily towards the end of His Mission. Even so, it was only on the instigation of the leaders. For the majority of His Mission on Earth, Jesus attracted a large following of admirers who regarded Him as a prophet equal to any of the prophets (Matt. 16:14). Of the Servant, however, the Scriptures testified:
Like a [lowly] root out of dry ground, He had no stately bearing in Him to make us look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him [in short: no charisma] (Isaiah 53:2)
Therefore, Jesus is not the Despised Servant of reference in the Scriptures.
In keeping with the paradoxical characteristics of the Divine, the first is last and the last is first (Matt. 20:16; Luke 13:30). The Servant is, indeed, the Supreme Lord—Adonai; Adonai is Yahweh; and Yahweh is God—Elijah. “Behold, my Servant . . . shall be lifted up and greatly exalted.” (Isaiah 52:13). Thus, “Elijah” is a cryptic title of the “Exalted” Servant. By His insignia, the Rock, you shall know Him: “For who is God save the Lord? And who is a Rock save our God? (Samuel 22:32; Psalms 18:31). Take heed, therefore, for the Lord your God is a Consuming Fire (Deuteronomy 4:23-24).
What I tell you in darkness, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops (Matthew 10:27).
The Messianic Scepter
The Agbono Tree (Irvingia Barteri) is the Scepter of the Consummate Messiah; forbidden to Asaba people, it bears almond-like seeds and grows on both sides of the Niger River in the Holy Dwelling of God the Highest (cf., Revelation 22:1-2). This tree is akin to Aaron’s staff, which uniquely sprouted, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds overnight among the staffs of the sons of Israel, affirming his divine selection (Numbers 17:5). By tagging Aaron’s staff while it bore ripe almonds for the confirmation of his divine election, Heavens foreshadowed the origin of The Chosen One, who is the eternal, heavenly, High Priest in the order of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4). Aaron’s rod was, as such, a prophetic type of this Agbono Tree.
During Nnebisi’s era, the archetype of this tree stood near the Shrine of Onishe, the Throne of God, beside the Niger River. Close as the tree was to the river, its leaves would only fall on the nearby land, never into the river itself. Awestruck by what he observed at this most Holy Site, Nnebisi vowed to abstain from the fruit of Agbono tree. His descendants were, likewise, bound by the same oath. As the Forbidden Tree, it is reminiscent of the Mythical Tree in the primeval Garden of Eden, thus identifying Asaba as the real Garden of Eden. All are now invited to eat of this Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, to gain wisdom and eternal life through productive faith (see Gen. 2:9). This Agbono Tree, the Messianic Scepter, which grows abundantly in Asaba, is another Emblem of the Holy Spirit, the Exalted Christ. Accordingly, the Scriptures said of the Messiah (as King and High Priest): “The Scepter of your strength the Lord will extend from [New] Zion [Ahaba]: Rule in the midst of your enemies” (Psalms 110:2).
Once more, all this is in keeping with the testimony in Scriptures:
For that which has not been told them they shall see, and that which they have not heard they shall understand (Isaiah 52:15).
The Agbono Tree (often found near riverbanks) reflects the Exalted Messiah as the Model Spirit: And so, the Scriptures likened the Blessed One to this “[Ideal] Tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in due season, whose leaves never wither (Psalms 1:1-3; Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Again, the Exalted Christ is identified concretely with this Messianic Emblem—the Mystical Tree—while the Pre-Exalted Christ was associated with the mythical stump of Jesse.
The bud (Jesus) that sprouted on the stump of Jesse in the Old Jerusalem has evolved into this now-mature Agbono Tree in Asaba: The New Jerusalem. (For the nature of this transformation, see the last section of Blog Post 1—“The Tree of Life”). Thus, a mystical Transplantation was realized, in concert with Jacob’s prophecy:
The Scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet [that is, from his seed], until Shiloh* comes, to whom the nations shall render obedience (Genesis 49:10).
This Transplantation, the Transmigration of Jesus into Heaven, and the Transition of the Rock-Fountain to Asaba are all one and the same phenomenon: The renewal and relocation of the Primal Spirit. (Regarding this Transition and Transmigration, see Blog Post 2). The completion of this relocation, and subsequent effusion of the Spirit, ratified by the cosmic, Priestly Sacrifice offered in Asaba, marked the beginning of the New Covenant. The stump signalized the transitory nature of the Spirit among the Jews, epitomized by Jesus, the Pre-Exalted Christ. As to this Evolved-Tree (from the Lone Seed of Jesse’s stump), and Its designated Site in the New City (relative to God’s Throne), the Scriptures attested:
And he showed me a river of life-giving water, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the Throne of God [the Rock-Source] and of the Lamb. In the midst of the streets of the City [Asaba: The New Garden of Eden], and on either side of the river, grew the Tree of Life, which produce twelve kinds of fruit, and yields Her fruit every month . . . for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:1-2; cf., “The Consummate Messiah and the Messianic Capital” in Blog Post 2).
This Mystical Tree has attributes in common with Mount Zion: As the Tree of Life, it shares twelve categories with Mount Zion, that is, to the extent that it bears “twelve kinds” of life-giving fruit, and yields her fruit “every month” for the healing of the “nations” (i.e., for the healing of the “twelve Dominions of Light” in Mount Zion); and as the Tree of Knowledge, it exhibits “Good and Evil” qualities: again, much like Mount Zion. And so, this Mystical Tree is emblematic of the Holy Spirit, the Exalted Christ. As the Tree of Knowledge, the Holy Spirit’s wisdom encompasses cosmic “Good and Evil”; as such, He is the Final Arbiter of Divine Justice, with Divine Authority to judge “what is Good” and “what is Evil”.
Moreover, the above citation accords with the following presentation of a scriptural passage on the Consummate Christ: “He grew up before [His Throne] like a Young Plant . . .” (Isa. 53:2). Indeed, after the confirmation of Aaron’s anointment with his staff, the Lord directed Moses to put Aaron’s staff back in front of the phantom throne, where it had sprouted shoots and blossoms, echoing the foregoing scriptural presentation of the Consummate Christ, further confirming this version of the scriptural distinction. By linking the throne with Aaron’s staff which also bore ripe almonds, the Lord transformed the staff-turned-sapling into a scepter, and thereby bestowed Aaron’s priesthood with royal stature, as the harbinger of the Exalted Messiah. The Cherubim had also been shown in close association with each of these royal emblems—the Phantom Throne (Ex. 25:18-20, 22; Ps. 80:1) and the Tree of Life (Gen. 3:24) — thus reinforcing the Sovereignty of the Flaming-Sword Bearer: the Exalted Messiah. And so, the Heavenly Throne and the Royal Scepter are together emblematic of the Exalted Christ as the King of kings and reflect another facet of the Complementary Standards (cf., last ¶ in Blog Post 4). As a Complementary Standard, the Throne depicts His Personal attributes, whereas the Scepter—as the Tree of Life, a fruit-bearer, and the award of Justice for the many—portrays His impersonal, Cosmic Complement. Accordingly, the Psalmist would intone:
Your Throne, O God, endures forever and ever; your Royal Scepter is a Scepter for Justice (Psalms 45:6-7; Hebrews 1:8-9).
Therefore:
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 Tree of Life [an award], which is in the midst of the Paradise of God [Ahaba] (Revelation 2:7; 22:14) ⊗. (See Footnote ⊗)
Behold, Paul’s life goal: “. . . The prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
The distribution of this (forbidden) Mystical Tree: often found near riverbanks, its almond-like seed, and the Table-Rock-Fountain Throne of God, The Onishe Shrine, are all together revelatory of the Celestial City, Asaba.
The True Messianic Emblem
The Rock-Fountain, that is, the Source, the River, and the springlets—as well as the Mystical Tree, and the Cryptogram—are all tangible, Messianic Symbols which also serve to identify the Consummate Messiah, and the Messianic Capital: Asaba. These various depictions of the Heavenly Kingdom are essentially different aspects of the same Spiritual Structure: The Messianic Emblem. And as copiously affirmed here, it is this Emblem—the Cryptogram—that is the real Messianic Insignia not the cross.
What I tell you in darkness, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops (Matthew 10:27).
The Mystical Warrior and His Sword
As reflected by the Spiritual Mountain, one’s progression at goodness, justice, and truth inherently implies a struggle or war: overcoming the downhill resistance of evil, in this mystical uphill climb. The Holy Spirit, who embodies this Cosmic Mountain, comes in a personal sense as Elijah—the Most High—to ascend to the Absolute Peak of the Structure**. And so, the Holy Spirit’s Mission on Earth, Elijah, is the Supreme Mystical Warrior. (It is through this Messianic Mission that the Apparent Peak of the Structure merges with the Potential Peak: the renewal of the Supreme Throne.) Hence also, the Holy Spirit is identified with Israel (One who struggles or wars against [the Evil in] God); and pilgrims who ascend the Mountain are known as the Spiritual Children of Israel.
Again, while Jesus is also a Mystical Warrior, as reflected in His saying that He has come not to bring peace on Earth but a Sword, He is merely a mythical Sword-bearer, being the Penultimate Warrior. It is Elijah who is the Ultimate Warrior and Sword-bearer, as witnessed by His Manifestation with this Mystical Sword: The Cryptogram, that is, the Consummate Word of God♠.
In his first Mission, Elijah struggled against, and overcame, the prophets of Baal, by literally calling down Fire from Heaven. Thus, he delivered the Natural Israelites from evil (and executed the enemies of God). So now, in His Consummate Form, as the Defender of the new Heavenly Sanctuary, Ahaba, He comes to war against the Evil in God, the anti-Christs, by calling down this Mystical Fire, and so to deliver the Spiritual Children of Israel, hence Elijah’s Cryptonym, Israel. (Thus, the pseudonymous identification of the Servant-Elect, a Gentile, with Elijah, Jacob, and Israel in the Scriptures, bespeaks His Title, Role and Mission, consummately.)
Paul, indeed, prophesied this Manifestation of the Lord, and His triumph over the Chief Anti-Christ:
And then the Lawless One will be revealed, whom the Lord will slay with the Breath of His Mouth [that is, with the Fiery Sword] and destroy by the Manifestation of His [Presence] (2 Thessalonians 2:8; Isaiah 11:4; 4 Ezra 13:10-11).
The Scriptures further prophesied this coming of the Lord (in the Spirit of Elijah, that is) in mystical fire, chariots and whirlwind (His former mystical mode of departure) to judge all mankind with the Fiery Sword (Isaiah 66:15-16); thus, fulfilling consummately the scriptural prophecy of Elijah’s return to Earth. As the bearer of this Sword, Elijah is the Eschatological Prophet (Revelation 19:11-21). With this Fiery Sword of the Spirit, the Laconic Word of God, He bars the way to the Tree of Life (and the Supreme Throne) for the anti-Christs, thereby safeguarding it for the Spiritual Children of Israel♥.
Indeed, His name affirms all this: Olisadumkwu Obiaya: the Mystical Sword-(bearing)-Warrior. Again, whereas the “Word of God” was used, remotely, to designate Jesus—only after His Mission (John 1:1, 14) —the Scriptures, however, prophesied the bestowal of this Glorious Name—the Mystical Sword-(bearing)-Warrior—on the Exalted One by birth (Isaiah 49:1-2; Rev. 19:13; Ephesians 6:17).
In the Garden City of God, where the life-giving fruit is grown, the bearings of the Sovereign Throne, for the Sword-bearing One, was specified:
At the east of the Garden of Eden . . . settled the Cherubim [that is, the Standard Spirit] and a Flaming Sword [the Standard] which turned every way to guard the way to the Tree of Life [and the Supreme Throne] (Genesis 3:24).
So also, is the bearings of the Shrine of Onishe, the Throne of the Sovereign Lord, in the New Garden of Eden, Asaba. (Hence Moses was instructed to build the tabernacle to face east, after the manner of this Heavenly Sanctuary—Hebrew 8:5; Exodus 26:22, 27:30). Indeed, the “Fiery Sword” has here turned every way” addressing all significant, contentious, spiritual issues and, hitherto, unsettled theological problems; thereby “guarding the way to the Tree of Life [and the Supreme Throne]”
Chuang Tsu, a later disciple of Lao-Tsu, also espied this Mystical Warrior, His attributes and role, and the concomitant Events of His earthly life:
A lone brave soldier may conquer nine armies for the sake of recognition. If so, how much more can be done by the [Warrior] who rules Heaven and Earth, the All-embracing Spirit who is embodied only for a time, whose ears and eyes are just for conceptualizing images, who synthesizes all knowledge and never experiences death? He will soon . . .leave the dusty world and rise to another level. The world will naturally follow Him. Why should He be concerned with the affairs of the world? (Chapter 5 of the Seven Inner Chapters).
If all this astounds you, it was anticipated in the Scriptures: “As many were amazed at Him . . . Who would believe our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (Isaiah 52:14-53:1).
(Again, these Blogs are excerpts from the Book: “Mount Zion: The Mystery of God”. The current Blog Post will be found in the Book between Pages 206-213 (of the pdf numbering system), and between Pages [186-193] of the text.)
* As in Footnote ♥ in Blog Post 3, this passage also relates to the transfer of Divine Authority—the Scepter—from Judah to a non-Jew, from the Pre-Exalted Christ to the Exalted One. Shiloh (He to whom it belongs), the Ultimate Messiah, refers not to Jesus, who descended from Judah, but to one like Melchizedek: And so, Heavens revealed to Ezra: “One shall reign whom those who dwell on Earth do not expect . . . and One whom the many do not know shall make His voice heard by night” (4 Ezra 5:6-7 or 2 Esdras 5:6-7). It is this Exalted One, whom Paul foresaw as the (Ultimate) Deliverer in Romans (11:25-27); Isaiah identified as: “One of those [a race] from whom men hide their faces” (Isaiah 53:3; cf., Isa. 49:3-6 where the Servant is titled Israel and yet distinguished from the tribes of Jacob); the Book of Daniel and the first Book of Enoch designated the “Most Holy One” (1 Enoch 46:2). Footnote ♥ in Blog Post 3 calls attention to the milestones in the succession-process to this Divine Authority. And from the above passage, the Coming of Shiloh marked the start of the Succession era. As noted too in Daniel, the Protagonist of this Succession is from another (chosen) race. And accompanying the shift of Authority is the relocation of the Messianic Capital, New Jerusalem. Ezra even espied the phantom transfer of the Seal of Zion (4 Ezra 10: 23 or 2 Esdras 10:23). In anticipation of Judah’s successor to this Divine Authority, Moses prophesied the envy of the Jews towards (Ahaba) people (Deuteronomy 32:21). It was prophesied: “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised . . . to bring to nothing the things that are; that no flesh might boast in His Presence” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).
** When viewed from another perspective, Elijah’s ascension of Mount Zion will be seen alternatively in terms of His progression from the Darkness of ignorance and superstition to the Light of Wisdom and Truth. At the Peak of Mount Zion, Elijah attained Supreme Enlightenment, having surmounted the Dark Dominion of Satan. Hitherto, under the spell of “darkness”, Satan kept many souls in spiritual bondage. And so, from His renewed Heavenly Throne, Elijah comes with the Torch of Truth and Justice to dispel darkness and proclaim liberty to the captives.
How beautiful on [Mount Zion] are the feet of [Elijah] who brings good tidings: announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion: “Your God reigns” (Isaiah 52:7)
I, the Lord, have called [Elijah] for the cause of Justice . . . I have formed you and set you as a covenant for the people, a Light for the nations; to open the eyes of the blind; to bring out prisoners from detention; and from the dungeon those who live in darkness (Isaiah 42:6-7).
Indeed:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; [She] has sent me to bring good tidings to the lowly; to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to announce a year of favor from the Lord, and the day of vindication by our God (Isaiah 61:1-2).
Although the goal of pilgrims is also ascension to God Most High, none can draw near to the Supreme Throne except the Elect One, “who existed in [Her] Presence before the world was created, and forever” (1 Enoch 14:24; 48:5; 1 Timothy 6:15-16).
♠ See Footnote ♠ in Blog Post 5. According to the Gospel of Thomas (16), Jesus said that He came to bring “Fire”, “Sword” and “War”; however, that saying found its ultimate fulfillment in Elijah, the Eschatological Warrior.
♥ (Genesis 3:24). The Word of God has come full circle: from the mythical Flaming-Sword-bearer of the Forbidden Garden in Its “Genesis” to His Co-Manifestation with the true Forbidden Garden in Its “Denouement; from Alpha to Omega, Beginning to End, First to Last. Behold, the Cherubim!
⊗ While the Tree of Life grows within the Garden of God as correctly expressed in this passage, the river of life-giving water does not flow in the middle of the City as the passage cited above generally portrays it (Revelation 22:1-2); that would mean that the river divides the City. As indicated in the Book of Genesis, the Cherubim (usually associated with the Supreme Throne) settled east of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:24). Other Scriptural passages also indicated that the Tabernacle was built to face east, according to the pattern of the Real One shown to Moses on the mountain. Furthermore, the Book of Ezekiel indicated that the Rock-Fountain (i.e., the Throne) marks the threshold of the Temple [i.e., the City], and as indicated in the Book of Revelation (22:1-2) where the Rock-source also flows into the river. Taken together, the Throne [that is, the Rock-Source] and the river should and actually bounds the City on the eastern side. Additionally, Ezekiel described the river as flowing down south of the Altar, clearly excluding the possibility of the river flowing in the middle of the City [Ezekiel 47:1]. And so, the correct translation for Revelation 22:2 should be: “In the midst of the street of the City and on either side of the river grew the Tree of Life . . .” similar to the portrayal in Revelations 2:7.