The Shekinah Fire
Uranda June 14, 1953 p.m.
And so we gather this lovely Sunday evening of June 14 to have our Sunday evening service. Let us have a moment of devotion. “Our gracious LORD, we thank Thee for the privilege we have of yielding to the spirit of Thy Presence, that Thy Presence in us and with us may be made evident to all who have eyes to see, that there may be in the living of life the manifestation of Thy Temple on earth and the evidence of Thy Presence in the Temple; for Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever, in the Christ. Aum-en.
This morning our pattern of meditation introduced the significance of the Ark of the Covenant, sometimes spoken of as the Ark of the Testament, and tonight, as we begin our meditation, let us pause to examine something of the significance to be found in this particular pattern of portrayal as it comes to us from out of the past. This morning we spoke of the Fire that appeared over the mercy seat between the cherubim above the Ark of the Covenant. This Fire did not appear as a flame but more as a glowing ball of Fire surrounded by what is spoken of as a Cloud. There are many evidences, from the standpoint of the story, the historical pattern, to show that there was a great focalization of power present in relationship to this glowing ball of Fire, surrounded by the Cloud, between the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. There were those not properly attuned vibrationally who came before the Ark, or touched it, and died as a result of their actions. This particular outworking tended to fill the people, who were somewhat superstitious in many ways in any case, with a superstitious fear. As a result there was not an adequate development of the true meaning and significance of the Ark as a connecting link between man and God.
The Ark was designed as a means of establishing a connecting link between man and God. We may say that in the fulness of the Divine Pattern such a connecting link should not be necessary, and yet man has, since the dawn of history, utilized some particular object or place or building as having special significance in providing that connecting link. In history we can find the report of many such instances, but the Ark of the Covenant in relationship to the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, or what is often called Solomon's Temple, provides us with perhaps the most outstanding of such instances—the actual focalization of power, the Cloud of Glory.
This morning I mentioned the Shekinah Fire. I might mention here that according to the scholars the accepted pronunciation is She-ki-nah (long i sound), and within the scope of that particular pattern of use it is perhaps permissible to say She-ki-nah. But as with many of the words in the Hebrew language, there is a very close relationship to the Motherland Tongue and, even though from the standpoint of Hebrew, or the view of the scholars, the pronunciation is accepted as She-ki-nah [eye sound], I like to use She-ki-nah [ee sound], because it carries more of the Motherland vibration of the word from which this word originally came, from which it was derived.
The Shekinah Fire is something which we here today need to begin to understand. The word basically signifies the Presence of One Who Dwells, or, since the reference is to the Ark or the Tabernacle or the Temple, the inference is the Presence of One Who Dwells in this particular place. In many of the passages in the Old Testament which are translated as containing the word “glory”—as, “The Glory of the Lord filled the temple and shone round about”—the word is found in the original as Shekinah: the Glory of the Lord, the Cloud surrounding the Shekinah Fire. And as we consider the Glory of the LORD, we must recognize that that Glory, whatever it is, however it may be perceived, is certainly evidence of the Presence of God; but from the standpoint of the meaning of the term as it is used in the Hebrew it is not to be taken as a name of God, although it was often substituted for the name of God.
In the true patterns of Heavenly Magic the name or names of God are not used lightly, and there are those names that are not supposed to be spoken audibly. All of this should impress us with the vital importance of correct function in relationship to that which signifies the Presence of the One Who Dwells. Where? In heaven? Yes. On earth? Yes. In those human beings who yield to God's will? Yes. The evidence of the Presence—a Cloud and a Fire, or a glowing Light. In some respects the centering of the Cloud might be better described as a glowing Light, but a glowing Light indicates a source which is spoken of as Fire, and Fire is one of the four basic forces. The manifestation of this particular focalization of force as it relates to Deity always appears in relationship to a Cloud, or within a Cloud. And what is the Cloud? We have recognized that a shadow is the evidence of the presence of something; so likewise is the Cloud, in its spiritual sense.
The Cloud is the focalized essence of the substance of Truth—the focalized essence of the substance of Truth which gives body to the Fire. The Cloud is the essence of this substance undifferentiated with respect to design, because man, with his physical vision, could not stand the spectacle, the majesty, the glory, of the Unveiled Reality of Deity. So, with respect to the manifestation of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells there is the projection of the essences of the Spirit of Deity. It is not necessary for man to see beyond these essences of the Spirit insofar as his physical vision is concerned, but it is necessary, if we are to accomplish our heavenly purpose, our high calling on earth, that we should begin to more fully realize and experience the reality of the essence of the spirit in focalization, which makes possible our clear perception of the Presence of the One Who Dwells.
Let us note for a moment the manner in which this particular pattern worked out in the New Testament period. In one of our periods of meditation we noted that the story of the day of Pentecost clearly signifies each of the four fundamental forces in the cycle of manifestation. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.”
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come…” And why did it come? Because they were all with one accord in one place. The manifestation of the essence of the spirit which reveals the Presence of the One Who Dwells eternally cannot appear where there is any discord, where there is any vibratory inharmony, where there is any conflict, where there are patterns of opposition or distorted vibratory factors, such as with fear. “They were all with one accord in one place.” We cannot overemphasize the vital importance of these few words. “They were all with one accord in one place”—nine words upon which you might well meditate much. “They were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” There we see the manifestation of the Cloud. And within the Cloud where they were sitting there appeared unto them “cloven tongues like as of fire.” But the statement clearly indicates that it was not fire as fire might be thought of in the ordinary sense. The Cloud and the Fire.
Now the day of Pentecost was not the first time this manifestation of the Holy Spirit, or the spirit of God, was known to men. It was known many, many times during the Old Testament period, and when it was known, where it was known, the blessings of God were made abundantly evident. We have the story, for instance, of the time when David determined to move the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and he undertook to use appropriate measures. They were taking the Ark on a cart, and as the cart was passing over a rough place the Ark was badly jolted upon the cart, and one of the men present thought to steady the Ark, to see if he could prevent any possibility of the cart overturning. And when the man in question stretched forth his hand and touched the Ark he died instantly, and David was much troubled. So he arranged to leave the Ark in the home of a man nearby and David returned to Jerusalem. But it was reported to him after three months that the man in whose home the Ark had been left had been very greatly blessed of the LORD, and so David determined to go and get the Ark and bring it to Jerusalem, which he did.
I mention this incident because the factors involved apply with great importance to the subject of our meditations. The blessings of the LORD were made manifest in the home of the man who accepted the Ark to care for it or protect it, to give it a resting place. He was greatly blessed. Wherever the Shekinah Fire is allowed to actually manifest and to be maintained in manifestation, the blessings of the LORD are abundant. If one attempts to so function that he may cause the manifestation of the Shekinah Fire in order to get such blessings, he will of course fail. It is not to get the blessings, but the blessings are mentioned as further evidence of the reality of the Presence of One Who Dwells. And we would allow the manifestation of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, so that there may be evidence of the reality of His Kingdom on earth, that there may be evidence of the reality of His Power, that there may be evidence of the reality of His Glory.
The Cloud of His Presence is the Glory. We have noted that Glory relates to Life, which is, as it were, the child of the Fire of Love and the essence of Truth. In the expression of Life, the revelation of Life, we have actually the expression, or revelation, of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells—the One who Dwells in your body, the One who Dwells insofar as the Unit or group pattern is concerned, the One who Dwells insofar as the whole earth is concerned, and the One who Dwells insofar as heaven and earth are concerned. The significance of the One Who Dwells, whom our Master on earth spoke of as the Father, is that there is no limitation to the realm of His dwelling—the One who Dwells in all, through all, and above all. Recognizing these things, we can begin to see that our Master on earth utilized the Heavenly Magic, giving evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
Let us consider for a moment the particular pattern or design which was utilized in relationship to the Ark of the Covenant: the two cherubim, one standing at each end of the Ark, and between them the mercy seat, manifesting as the top of the Ark of the Covenant. Individually we can readily recognize that the formation of the brain in the skull is upon exactly the same pattern. And individually we have that which is spoken of as the pineal gland, which forms the centering in the human body of the Shekinah Fire, the central place of Light, surrounded by the Cloud. Brain substance has in its physical appearance characteristics which suggest to our consciousness that it is more or less the condensed substance of the Cloud, although the two halves of the brain symbolize the cherubim, or are symbolized by the cherubim, depending upon the way you look at it. But brain substance has an appearance as if it were the condensed substance of the Cloud. And in the midst of the Cloud there is the glowing Light, or the Shekinah Fire; and to the degree that the body yields to the Presence of the One Who Dwells, the reality of the manifestation of the Fire and the Cloud increases.
We can on occasion, even in the distorted level of man's function, see evidence of this. You have seen it perhaps in a young girl who, coming to the age of maturity, begins to know the reality of Love, and her whole body and being begins to reveal the glowing of the Light. We say it is the Light of Love. It shows in her eyes and it manifests as a glow of health in her whole body, and one can sense in and round about her a Cloud, a Cloud not of something dark and forbidding but of something of the heavenly atmosphere.
So whenever the Law is fulfilled, to whatever degree it is fulfilled, so long as life remains and the functional processes are possible, we have the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. But we are supposed to let this evidence appear in relationship to the fulness of being on a higher or spiritual scale, as well as in body and mind and heart.
We begin to see, then, how the body itself reveals the pattern of the Ark of the Covenant. The spine in the individual sense is symbolized by Aaron's rod that budded, and there are many other patterns of application, which we will not take time for at the moment. But we wish to emphasize the fact that the body, of the man or the woman, or of the child, is supposed to be an Ark of the Covenant, an Ark of the Testament, a manifestation of the Temple of the Living God, a specific place that is supposed to be holy and sacred, within which no ill vibrational pattern may be found; for wherever there are stress patterns in the vibrational factor, at any level, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells is withdrawn, and only when the patterns of accord and true peace are again made evident can there begin to be the restoration of the manifestation of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells.
This manifestation is something which must be allowed to grow. It is something which appears in a creative field and does not manifest in its fulness in the instant. When it begins to appear, when the glowing Light is first seen, we have evidence that the Presence has been there for a considerable period, that the creative field has been maintained, that there have been no adverse vibrational factors, no discords, no resentments, no critical attitudes, no conflicts, no fear; for where these things rule we never see the beautiful Glowing Light or the Cloud of Glory revealing the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. As we meditate upon these basic factors we can begin to appreciate the great significance of the simple words: “Be still, and know that I am God.”
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Generally speaking, human beings are not still enough long enough to permit any real beginning manifestation of the Shekinah Fire. Human reactions, patterns of attitude such as resentment, and the whirring of the endless rounds of meaningless thoughts, or so-called thoughts, maintain a condition which prevents the manifestation of the Light That Glows and the Cloud that forms, that in season the Cloud may become still more dense and the glowing Light begin to appear as if it were a Fire. As long as human beings are more concerned about the expression and manifestation of their own ideas and concepts and desires, their own patterns of thought and word and action, yea and of feeling, than they are about the manifestation of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, they will have their reward: the privilege of expressing that which they think they think, which they think they feel, which they think they believe, which they think they wish to do; but none of these things bring peace or satisfaction or the glory of living, only the futility and the emptiness of the processes of dying.
So it is that sooner or later, somewhere, somehow, we shall surely find among you, or among some people somewhere, those who are willing, yea eagerly willing, to be more concerned about the manifestation of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells than they are concerned about making evident the expression of their own thoughts and feelings and words and deeds. And when at last there are those who are willing, yea eagerly willing, to be with one accord in one place, and to remain so, there shall surely be the beginnings of the manifestation of the Cloud; and within the Cloud, finally the beginning of the glowing of the Light; and within the Light, finally the reality of the Fire. And these reveal the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells.
We note that in the structure of the Ark of the Testament there were two cherubim, one at each end of the Ark, establishing the points of polarity in a creative field. And the appearance of the glowing Light, or of the Fire within the Light That Glows, was between these two poles in the creative field. When it shall be that human beings, yielding to the spirit of God, shall reach a place where they begin to be in place as angels of God on earth there begins to be established a pattern of polarity, the beginning of the manifestation of a creative field. And under the working of the Law there is the beginning of a glow of the Light That Glows between these two poles within the creative field. When human beings first begin to feel the glow of the Light That Glows they imagine they have attained to something great and wonderful, and they have, in the sense of the beginning of things; but generally they do not let it go beyond that point, for at once they begin, as Peter did, to want to use the glow, and the power that they feel in the Light That Glows, for their own purposes, for their own desires. And they may have a little power for a little time, but soon self-centeredness and misuse causes the glow to vanish and the Light to disappear. And when the glow is gone and the Light is no more, there is a coldness and a hardness and a darkness, that tells of the tomb that is at hand. For it is not only the Kingdom of the KING of Heaven and Earth that is at hand. Likewise there is the darkness of the tomb that is at hand.
So each must choose for himself or herself the direction in which he shall go, the place to which he shall come: to accept the privilege of learning to be still, ceasing all self-activity, letting the heart be made pure. What was it the Master said? “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” It is written that Moses saw God and talked with Him. What did Moses see? He saw the Shekinah Fire. He saw the Fire within the Light That Glows, and he was enfolded in the Cloud, the Cloud that reveals the Presence of the One Who Dwells. So it was, and so shall it be for those who are willing to let it be so, those who are willing to sacrifice the ox of their own stubborn minds and the lamb of their own patterns of life, yea and the doves of their own thoughts, that their hearts may be made pure, so that they may come at last to the place where all are with one accord in one place, the place of being still, the place where the human mind and heart are no longer concerned about expressing that which they think they are. For then the human being has but one concern: that he may share in the revelation on earth, the revelation of the manifestation of the Presence of the One Who Dwells.
So shall it be for those who truly respond. And for those who respond not, the joys and the wonders of the Kingdom of Heaven shall not be known; or if they be known, if they be touched upon and seen, and such an one does not remain faithful and true, that which was known shall be taken away and such an one shall never know the Kingdom of Heaven that is at hand. Blessed are they who are willing to relinquish the meaninglessness of human expression, that they may come at last to see the Cloud, and within the Cloud the Light That Glows, and within the Light the Shekinah Fire, the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. And from within the Fire, the Shekinah Fire, we hear the words: “Be still. Be still, and know that I am God.”
O LORD, I thank Thee for those who now respond, whosoever, wheresoever they may be, that they may be enfolded in the Cloud and begin to see the Light, the glowing of the Light That Glows; and yielding, they may come to know the Fire, the Fire of Thy Everlasting Presence, that all who will, of every nation and kindred and tongue and people, may of a truth be drawn with the irresistible cords of Thy Love to enter the gates of Thy Kingdom that is at hand, that they may be citizens of Thy Kingdom now and forever, acknowledging with joy and with thanksgiving the truth, the enduring truth, that Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the Glory forever. Aum-en.
© emissaries of divine light
