All-Encompassing Shekinah
Uranda June 18, 1953 Class
We have been considering the basic principles of heavenly magic in relationship to the Shekinah Pattern of Being. We have noted that the old Hebrew word Shekinah is supposed to carry the significance of the trinity aspect which reveals the presence of the One Who Dwells. It is a strange and sad thing, one of the tragedies extending back through the centuries, that the New Testament language should have been caused to appear to be at such variance from the portrayal as it was made manifest in relationship to the children of Israel. This was not of course the Master's intent and insofar as His own expression was concerned He constantly made reference to the scriptures—what we speak of as the Old Testament Bible at the present time—and He undertook to bring the ancient Hebrew wordings into a level where they could be comprehended by the people of His day. One of the sad aspects of this problem is to be found in the fact that Judaism established many fixed patterns and many narrow attitudes in relationship to what might be classified as the Hebraic revelation of things Divine. Shekinah, in recognizing the vibratory factors carrying over from the Motherland Tongue, is the evidence of the presence of the One Who Dwells.
Our Master spoke of the One Who Dwells as the Father, meaning exactly the same thing. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He was speaking the words of the Father; that is, the Word of the Lord, or the One Who Dwells, as He Himself stated, for He spoke not of Himself. And the presence of the One Who Dwells is revealed in the Old Testament pattern as being manifest by the Fire—the fire which appeared in the form of a ball of fire between the cherubims upon the altar; that is, above the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant—and the Light that glows: the Fire, the Light that glows, and the Cloud or the Glory, the reality of the expression of the One Who Dwells in life. The Way is obviously the way of Love, symbolized by fire. The Shekinah Fire is that which we speak of as the Fire of Love in the sense of the Divine Pattern. The Light of Truth must be recognized as being identical with the Light that glows. And the Cloud that fills the temple and shines round about is Life in active expression as it is born from the union of Love and Truth.
The Way, the Truth and the Life of the Master's Word, the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit—the Fire of the presence of the One Who Dwells; the Son, the Light that glows; and the Holy Spirit, the Cloud of the Shekinah—are two particular patterns of wording in Divine revelation revealing identically the same thing. Mistranslations, misinterpretations, miscomprehensions, of the significance of the New Testament wording have produced concepts and ideas and attitudes which seem, both to so-called Jews and so-called Gentiles, to be at variance, when in actual fact the basic truths contained in both the Old Testament and the New Testament are absolutely identical—one and the same. Not until the seeming variations, contradictions and conflicts have been removed insofar as the consciousness of individuals is concerned can we begin to hope to experience the fulfilment of that which is promised on the basis of the Divine revelation either in the Old Testament or the New. Conflict patterns, resentments, maintained in any individual exclude that individual from the Shekinah Pattern of Being, no matter how well justified the resentment may seem to be. The fact of resentment, the fact of conflict attitudes, precludes the experience of coming to know the trinity of the Shekinah, the manifest evidence of the presence of the One Who Dwells.
In the New Testament terminology there is not as much distinction, generally speaking, between the Father and the Fire as there is in the Old Testament. The One Who Dwells was conceived to be definitely distinct from the Fire that revealed the presence of the One Who Dwells; but at the same time, that Fire was accepted as the evidence of the immediate presence of the One Who Dwells. And if a priest or spiritual leader had the experience of talking to God through the Shekinah Fire on a basis which allowed the priests to see the Shekinah Fire, it was said that he had talked with God face-to-face. This one point, which actually does not cause any break in the pattern, has seemed to be a cause for conflict in the development of religious ideas. However, when we begin to see the truth, “we soar to high neglect of what's denied or said, this way or that,” in the supposedly holy tomes conceived to be holy writ. Holy writ is in fact limited to the actual revelation of the Divine Essences of the trinity of manifestation—that which is revealed through the Cloud, through the Light that glows, and through the Fire. As we begin to consider the reality of the Shekinah Pattern we realize that all creative function, whatsoever that creative function may be, regardless of the level of life or being, is achieved in relationship to what we speak of—in this manifestation, in this world, or in relationship to heaven and earth—as Shekinah.
All creative activity, the creation of this world and of all the things that are therein,
is achieved through the reality of the Shekinah.
In order to amplify this, let us consider the first part of the Gospel according to John. We must recognize that wherever the Greek word Logos was translated as Word, exactly the same meaning was contained in the Old Testament pattern by Shekinah. The Word, as it is expressed here in the English language, Logos of the Greek language, and Shekinah of the Hebrew language, all carry exactly the same significance, the same meaning. The Hebrew, which was translated into the Greek, reveals this, for that which was translated from Hebrew as Logos—that is, originally Shekinah, translated into the Greek it became Logos, and into the English language, the Word. “In the beginning was the Word”—in the beginning was the Logos; in the beginning was the Shekinah. “And the Shekinah was with God, and the Shekinah was God.”
Now many have wondered how it could be that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Here you can begin to see, when we use the word Shekinah; because the word Word to your consciousness tends to have a limited meaning. We are too accustomed to thinking of a word simply meaning some specific pattern of letters, vowels and consonants put together in a specific form to symbolize a specific sound to which we have given a specific meaning. But once we begin to see how the pattern has evolved from out of the past, this particular passage, about which so much nonsense has been written, begins to take on some very vital meaning: “In the beginning was the Shekinah, and the Shekinah was with God, and the Shekinah was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Shekinah; and without Shekinah was not any thing made that was made. In the Shekinah was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light [of the Shekinah] shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” What a marvellous portrayal—the first five verses of the Gospel according to John, giving a complete, accurate outline of the basic principles of Shekinah, translated to us as the Word but actually derived from and meaning in significance Shekinah.
Now we have noted the Shekinah trinity—the Fire, the Light that Glows, and the Cloud of Glory. We recognize of course that it was the Shekinah Cloud which enfolded our Master's form so that He ceased to be visible to men—not a cloud up in the sky. He ascended in the Shekinah Cloud. How did Elijah leave this sphere of things? A chariot of fire, or a fiery chariot? What was it? The Shekinah Fire, which was in the center of the Light that Glows, which in turn was in the center of the Cloud of Glory. What is the word that was written with respect to Enoch? “And Enoch talked with God: and he was not; for God took him. Enoch talked—the Word. It was not in New Testament times that the word Word was used to symbolize Shekinah for the first time. It is not in relationship to our translation that the word Word was used to signify Shekinah for the first time. “And Enoch talked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”
Why was the word Word used in Hebraic times to signify Shekinah? Because those who recognized the heavenly magic of the names of God and the name of that which signified God's presence wished to keep those words holy and sacred, that they might be used only where there was understanding and appreciation. And so, what was more natural than to say Word—just Word—and anyone reading with any understanding would recognize that the word Word used in such fashion signified the secret Word, the Word that was not to be spoken by profane lips, the word that was not to be bandied about, the Word that carries special significance and power. And what word was it? What was the word? Shekinah. So even in Old Testament times those who were writing did on occasion use the word Word to signify Shekinah. They used all kinds of evasions. The word glory for instance. Wherever we find the word glory in the Bible, if you are aware of the true significance you will read Shekinah. In the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer we have the three divisions of Shekinah indicated by the words kingdom, power, and glory. “For thine is the Shekinah” means exactly the same thing as “Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.”
Once we begin to realize the fact that these ancient writers knew something about the reality of Divine things and that they were justified in undertaking to keep these sacred words from being bandied about by profane lips, we can thank them for their understanding, their foresight, yea, their consideration, so that the substitute words might be used to entrap and ensnare and mislead profane minds and impure hearts. What is the significance of the text in the closing part of the Book of Revelation, where mention is made warning against taking away from the word of this prophecy or adding to the word of this prophecy? Human beings have utilized that in a peculiar attempt to develop what they call the literal belief in the Bible. Literal belief in what? They do not know. They call themselves literalists, but they have never stopped to find out what the literal words meant, warning against taking away from the word of this prophecy or adding to the word of this prophecy.
And what is prophecy? Prophecy is the expression of the Word of God; prophecy is the expression of Shekinah. To take away from Shekinah, the revelation Divine, or to add to Shekinah by the self-active function of the mind, brings a penalty; and yet human beings, with the obvious facts before them if they were to stop to think and meditate in the current of the spirit, have imagined that adding a word like “is,” “at,” “was” or “for,” anywhere in here, would bring damnation; or if you took out “then,” “what”, “if,” or something, it would likewise bring damnation. Obviously the author of Revelation knew and understood the principles of Shekinah. He wrote in symbolical language, but he plainly said, “the words of this prophecy,” the Logos, the Shekinah. If the human mind of man attempts to add anything to that which is revealed from God through Shekinah to man it will bring distortion, destruction and failure. If the human mind attempts to take anything away from Shekinah it will lead to destruction. The Word. What word? There is only one word, known to all the scholars of all the languages, that fits. And how many of the scholars have discovered it? They have not. They know the word but they do not know that it is the Word: Shekinah. But once you know the Word, you see how it fits, how it belongs.
From the beginning of the Book of Genesis, we read, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The first pattern portrayed is of motion: “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” God here is supposed to be translated Shekinah—“Spirit,” the Light that Glows, “moved upon the face of the waters.” The face of the waters? Water is the symbol of truth. We have recognized that. And you thought I had exhausted the text, did you? There was nothing more to learn in those few words? The face of the waters is what? The face of the water of truth is Life, is it not? The portrayal of Logos—in the Greek it was not understood quite so completely; but, Shekinah. “In the beginning, Shekinah,” shown in the trinity in action, moving, and there is the beginning of creation. “And God said, Let there be light”—God, the center, the Fire; Light, the Light that Glows—“and there was light.” What was the next step, after the evening and the morning were the first day? What about the firmament? The Cloud—the Fire, the Light, the Cloud—and we begin to see the unfolding of the reality of Shekinah.
We read in the Gospel—we could pause and consider various steps in the story of the children of Israel of course—but here is the beginning of the Gospel of our Lord and King on earth, as written by John: “In the beginning was the Shekinah, and the Shekinah was with God, and the Shekinah was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Shekinah; and without Shekinah was not any thing made that was made. In Shekinah was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
You turn to the last chapter in the Bible in the Book of Revelation and damnation is pronounced upon those who take away from Shekinah, or who try to, or those who attempt to add to Shekinah. And all the way through, we begin to realize, everything of God that man has known has appeared through Shekinah. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost of the New Testament are simply a restatement of the trinity of Shekinah—the Fire, the Light and the Cloud of Glory. If we strip away the shell of Judaism from the Hebraic revelations of Deity, and if we strip away the crystallizations of so-called Christianity from the teachings of Jesus Christ, we find that they are one and the same—no break anywhere, no violation of the basic laws and principles of Being, no controversy, no conflict, no cause for resentment. And when the revelation of Shekinah made manifest by Jesus Christ was rejected by men it was revealed again in the portrayal that comes to us as the Book of Revelation, that man might have no excuse for failing to know Shekinah.
Once we begin to realize that the basic principles of the One Law rest in Shekinah we can begin to accept that Law; once we truly look at the solar system we see that the blinded eyes of human beings have failed to see the revelation of Shekinah, for the solar system is Shekinah—the Fire of Shekinah that is called the sun, the Light that Glows that issues forth from the Fire, which carries out into the Cloud of planets. The design of the solar system is the design of Shekinah, brought forth by Shekinah, a revelation of itself; for the design of the planets and of the sun—that is, of the solar system—is in the image and likeness of Shekinah. And whether we speak of the Word, where God said, “Let us make man in our image,” or whether we recognize the reality of the Elohim, or whether we simply say, “And Shekinah said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, to have dominion over the earth and all of the things that are therein." And so Shekinah did, "male and female created he them”—the Shekinah Pattern is revealed over and over again in life all around us. Father, mother and child for instance—Shekinah. Within the individual; spirit, mind and body, Shekinah—the trinity of man, a manifestation of Shekinah, a revelation of the presence of the One Who Dwells. And if the fire goes out of the heart the body decays, the mind ceases to be a light on earth, and the grave receives what is left.
Blessed Ones, we need to begin to realize that until we know the significance, the beauty, the wonder, the magnificence, yea and the Glory, of Shekinah, we really know nothing, for whatever any human being may think he knows, if it be not oriented with and in Shekinah it is nothing—the image and likeness of Shekinah. When you speak and call upon the Name of the Lord, by what means shall your call reach the Lord? No man, no woman, can approach the Lord except through Shekinah. The Lord cannot be found anywhere except by reason of Shekinah.
When Samuel was a boy and Eli was the instrument of Divine expression, the Divine Word, the instrument of Shekinah on earth—we recall that Eli had reached a ripe old age; he knew that his days were numbered, and Samuel had as a boy been serving Eli. Samuel heard his name called and he answered, “Here am I,” and he supposed that it was Eli calling. But Eli did not hear the call. What was happening? Eli had been the means for the manifestation of the Word, of Shekinah, but here Samuel the boy began to hear the Word which Eli did not hear. The mantle was being transferred. Again Samuel's name was called, and again he went to Eli and said, “What is it? What do you wish?” And Eli said, “I didn't call you.” But Eli began to perceive something. He himself had heard the Word issue forth from Shekinah, and since he had not heard the Word and the boy had, he knew that the time was at hand, that his days were numbered, and that a new voice for Shekinah had been lifted up on earth; and he instructed the boy, “Next time you hear the voice, answer, Here am I. Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth.” Samuel the boy was a little excited. He did not repeat it just as he was told to, but it was all right, his spirit was in it. And Samuel became the voice of Shekinah.
Every true prophet the world has known has been the voice of Shekinah. Moses, in the days of the children of Israel and their deliverance from slavery, was the voice of Shekinah. Other prophets followed—Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel—each manifesting as the voice of Shekinah, to reveal on earth to the children of men the reality of God. And you can share the privilege, the expression of the Word, of Shekinah, when you are centered in the Fire. For can you know God except by the Fire of Love, the centering of Shekinah? And when you let the Light, the Light that glows, the symbol of truth, be the design and the control of your life and your words, of heart and mind and deeds, and when you let your life be a revelation of the garment of God, you are sharing in the revelation of Shekinah. Not the Centering of Shekinah, not the center of the whole, but a part of the whole.
Our Master came. He revealed the Centering of Shekinah, the revelation of Deity,
Shekinah as it relates to the invisible realm and the visible.
But there is a Centering of Shekinah relating to the focalization of the outer world.
All cannot be the Central Focalization of the essence of Shekinah, but all can share in the revelation of Shekinah; for you were made in the image and likeness of Shekinah. Whether you look at the atom, which is built in the image of Shekinah, or the solar system, which was made in the image of Shekinah, whether you look at a man or a woman, which were made in the image of Shekinah, you cannot escape from the Pattern; for it is truly true, as it is written, “In the beginning was Shekinah, and Shekinah was with God, and Shekinah was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Shekinah; and without Shekinah was not any thing made that was made. In Shekinah was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” For human beings have lost their contact with Shekinah.
But there is a Way, there is the Truth and there is the Life by which you may know Shekinah, for today Shekinah is, and the voice of Shekinah declares the former things of the unreal realm are passing away. “Behold, I make all things new.” And that which will not let itself be made new according to the Shekinah design, that which will not yield to the Shekinah control, shall be no more. But all which yields and comes under control and accepts the Shekinah design, centered in the Shekinah Fire, shall be made new in the resurrection and the life, for this is the victory.
© emissaries of divine light
