First Week of February

Babel

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Numbers 21:8

Rounds of creation and their destruction caused the panic of society at the time of Abraham. Stories passed down, including the latest flood story, were very real to them. Thus, when they began again to see signs of impending destruction, they built the Tower of Babel to attempt to use science to stop the cataclysms. When the tower was destroyed, science was thrown aside for ancient idols and rituals to attempt to stop what was coming. Abraham was God’s instrument to bring order again to the earth. As in the days of Noah, so in the days of Abraham, and, most pertinent to us, so it will be in our day. First science will be tried, then in spite of all they can do, many will turn to idols.

That time has already started to a large extent but it will grow until the people of the earth have chosen either good or evil. This does not necessarily mean that all who choose good will join our church. We have been told that many good people will gather with the Saints. This article will show the above process and then attempt to give clues to the false priesthood that will rival the true one as the last days progress.

A Modern BABEL

I have a story to tell you. After I share the story, I will then go over some of the major points again with supporting quotes and scripture but for the sake of fluidity and coherency, I will first simply give the narrative.

In the days of Abraham, the world was going through fierce challenges with nature out of control. Harsh winds were intensifying a drought and blowing away top soil, creating an intense famine. The earth’s crust was moving and occasionally large gouts of fire would erupt from the ground, swallowing everything near its withering heat.

Fear gripped mankind who well remembered the accounts of the not too distant flood that almost destroyed the world. Sacrifices were offered to the gods in an attempt to appease their anger and calm the upheaval. It was for this reason that Abraham’s father attempted to offer up his son for sacrifice. It was also for this reason that the decision was made to build a tower to reach to heaven and usurp God’s power, make themselves equal to God, and use the Creator’s science to control the elements and save their lives.

These ancient civilizations almost all taught that the Tree of Life was the gate to Heaven. The Druids believed the oak tree to be the door. The Tibetans believe an enlightened man can spin his body into a vortex that will create a gate to travel to celestial realms. Muslim whirling dervishes, believed that their ecstatic spinning, if done with proper preparation, could bring a man to a state of ascension. Seti, the pharaoh who was as a father to Moses, was believed to be such a master magician that he could mimic the sacred geometrical signs shown on the walls of his temple and teleport himself at will.

It is debatable whether the tower of Babel was expected to literally reach Heaven, but it does seem highly likely that the people believed they could create the conditions to pass through a spiritual gateway that would bring them to their goal. According to researcher William Henry, the word Babel meant stairway to heaven and gate to God, but after its fall, the meaning was changed to confusion and nonsense. Babel is a very good example of a temple counterfeit. Egyptians believed their temples were resurrection machines. In past articles, we have discussed that there is first a spiritual ascension that could be thought of as a spiritual resurrection that precedes the later physical resurrection. This is just terminology, different names placed on spiritual progression.

A serpent is usually depicted curling around the Tree of Life. The kundalini teachings of the serpents twining up the human spine, its energy lifting man to a higher state of consciousness portrays the idea of spiral energy creating a vortex or worm hole that will overcome the telestial limits of time and space. In the center of Facsimile 2, there are small serpents showing the clockwise spinning principles of energy around the center. Mythology shows the reborn initiate coming forth from the serpent’s mouth at the end of the upward journey.  Like the plumed serpent Quetzalcoatl, or the dove that waits in the top of the Tree of Life, the Caduceus wings fly the reborn initiate from the mountain top into the heavens. Finding an alternate way to Heaven or at least to the discovery of all knowledge has ever been the way of natural man who refuses to take the narrow path that requires obedience to God’s commandments.

The ancients told of the rebellious son of heaven who stole the Tablets of Destiny which held the secrets of the Gods. They believed the body to be a temple and they understood in general, something Einstein taught centuries later. E=mc2. If mass could be brought to a state of spin that was equivalent to the speed of light, then it could transform to bodies of light. If conscious direction was then given to that body of energy, it could travel through time and space. A body cannot spin at the speed of light, but if it was enhanced with powers beyond itself, the electromagnetic spin could be increased and conditions met to perform the transformation into a being of light. Quantum physics bears this theory out. When water in a bucket is spun around rapidly, a vortex is created in the middle. This is the theory behind the possibility of time travel in quantum mechanics. Energy is not subjected to the limits of time and space.

William Henry, who has studied these theories for twenty years, assures us that no one can achieve this condition unless they are a person of complete love and benign intention. Moses learned differently when Satan appeared to him as an angel of light.  The devil and his angels can appear as beings of light and often do to fool all they can. They do have a false priesthood that mimics the true one to a certain limited degree. When people go beyond the bounds that are set, there are unpleasant consequences, like with the Tower of Babel.

Now we come to what is being called a modern Tower of Babel and let’s see if the conditions fit. It is not our intention of judging the science behind the project that Stephen Hawking said will bring about the conditions to mirror the universe immediately after the big bang. What we are interested in is the attitude of some who are a part of the effort.

In CERN, Switzerland, the switch was going to be flipped in May 2008 on the Large Hadron Collider. It is the world’s largest energy particle accelerator, the creation of 2,000 scientists from 34 countries. The seventeen mile long, circular, spiraling pipes will carry two proton beams going in opposite direction at almost the speed of light, which reminds us of the kundalini serpents or the Caduceus. This is being called the 2,100 ton Tower of Babel. One of its major purposes is to discover what is called “the God particle”, the building block for all nature, the gateway to the answer of the eternal question”. Yet there are some, including scientists from Russia who have warned of the possibility of opening a worm hole with unknown consequences. The experiment is likely to be postponed now because of a lawsuit in federal court over concerns that the collider could create black holes or new strains of matter. The suit seeks a temporary restraining order. We will be watching this with interest.

A Scientific Prayer Circle

New Age practitioners are excited about the theory behind the particle accelerator. The concept works along the same theory as their ascension doctrine. Many believe that sacred geometry can be used to create conditions for the human body to be transformed into a being of light. They teach that the great white god of the Mayans, Quetzalcuatl, was half human, half god and was able to move through space and time in his light body, which the Mayans called a diamond body, or a celestial body. This is believed to be the way people become transfigured  beings of light. There are many world wide reports of people having visitations by beings of light.

Here is where we speak as strongly as we can. Sherem and Korihor were deceived by a false angel of light in The Book of Mormon. We know that the very elect will be fooled. Satan is abroad in the land and working hard to usurp power and fool us. These things are real. In our modern world these things sound strange but why is that? Do we or do we not believe the scriptures? There is truth and against the truth is error, lying in wait to deceive.

Many new age adherents believe this CERN machine to be the fulfillment of the return of Elijah, bringing the knowledge for us to be like God. They believe the sharing of this knowledge in a global way can transform the world into a higher state of consciousness, saving it from instability and danger. Shades of Babel of old are strong and this attitude is dangerous. Many hope to use this knowledge to heal the sick, manipulate matter and predict the future by overcoming time and space. Why do we feel this is dangerous? Do we fear knowledge? Not in the least but we should be wary of trying to usurp God’s powers. We know the consequences of trying to enter Heaven by the wrong path and without the proper wedding garment (of light). Certain things should be done only by the authorized power of the priesthood, and not the false priesthood that is spreading in influence and power and even seeping into the attitudes of some Church members.

There has been a lot of concern about the wobble in the axis of the earth that occurs every time the 26 thousand year cycle is completed as it will do in the year 2012. New Age believers hope to ease the world through what is normally a turbulent time by helping large numbers of people achieve a higher state of consciousness. There are hopes that the knowledge that comes from the CERN project can help achieve this.

We theorize that usurpation of unauthorized powers will weaken the electromagnetic grid around the earth by siphoning off its energy and interrupting the flow. This can have the effect of weakening the grid’s attraction to the magnetic core of the earth and interrupting the spin of the earth’s crust, causing a variety of natural disasters.

The Hindu chakra system is also being used to correlate with the particle accelerator. The chakra at the pineal gland is associated with the ring of the accelerator, a circlet, a crown to bring forth creation, jewels in the crown, fruits from the laurel crown, but what kind of fruits?

The Mayans, as we have already discussed, called the elliptical crossing of the sun through the Milky Way in 2012, the Tree of Life, the Cross, and the Door. We know we have to be spiritually born of Christ. It is interesting that the Hebrew word for door is feminine and is closely related to; bring out, reveal, and drawing water.

We have discussed at length in other articles how we believe the spreading of temples will greatly help to ease the world through this time when we begin a new cycle. Millions of others believe a higher state of consciousness brought about through ecstatic means will be what is necessary to ease that passage. We have explained above how we feel that instead of helping, usurpation of energy actually increases instability. So we will be having a showdown as happened in Abraham’s time between God and the devil.                                                                         

LEHI’S DREAM

In Lehi’s Dream of the Tree of Life, there are two fountains of water, one pure and one filthy. Some people miss the fact that there are two fountains:

25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God. (1 Nephi 11:25)

and

16 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell. (1 Nephi 12:16)

Nephi describes the pure fountain as ‘living waters OR ‘the tree of life’. We have discussed in other articles about the Tree of Life being a representation of Christ, which is also what the temple represents. The filthy waters is the antithesis of the good. These two fountains illustrate the saving powers of the true priesthood versus the counterfeit offer from the false priesthood.

After the Lord appeared to Moses, Satan appeared as an angel of light. He does have the power to try and lure us away from Christ and in the last days his ministers will fool many, both inside and outside of the Church.

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (Corinthians11:14-15).

Those who use the process of ascension but without the Lord, gain nothing but destruction if they do not repent. This is priestcraft, the false priesthood.

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction  (2 Peter 2:1).

In 2 Peter, chapter two, Peter describes those who offer the counterfeit salvation as wells without water. They promise liberty but being the servants of corruption, their way brings man into bondage. According to Peter, those who have been born of God but then allowed the pollution of false teachings to creep in would have been better not to have known the way of righteousness. 2 Peter 2:17-22

In apocryphal writings, we can read about Simon Peter, the true prophet, who had an experience that parallels this showdown between the true and false priesthood with a man whose name is the same as Peter before his name was changed. Simon was a powerful false prophet who was able to perform miracle and deceived many people both in Israel and later in Rome. In both places, Peter’s priesthood proved more powerful.

Destruction in the Time of Abraham

Hugh Nibley’s book Abraham in Egypt is filled with information about world wide natural disasters at the time of Abraham. The fierce winds and upheavals of the earth had mankind terrified. Nibley explains that the actions of man affect nature:

The great insecurity of life accompanying major natural upheavals when men can no longer count on the stability of the earth itself, is not without marked psychological effect. A basic teaching of the Talmud is that there is a definite correlation between the behavior of man and the behavior of nature. The universe is so organized, according to this, that when man revolts against God’s plan of operations, to which all other creatures conform, he finds himself in the position of one going the wrong way on a freeway during rush hour; the very stars in their course fight against him. The blight of nature follows the wickedness of man in every age. Thus, when Adam fell, an angel cut down all the trees of the garden but one;…¹

So only the Tree of Life, the great mother olive tree was left in the garden and was the one path back to the Father. For us to return, we must be grafted in to that mother tree.

If there is a geologic polar shift and not just a magnetic one, catastrophic events would occur because that means the earth’s crust would slip around the molten inner core. Tremendous tsunamis would occur, winds beyond hurricane force, earthquakes, tornadoes, and severe climatic changes.

The inner core of the earth is made out of solid iron and rotates at a different rate than the outer molten core. The movement of the outer core around the inner creates a magnetic field called the geodynamo. The lines of magnetic force that surround the earth loop out into space from one pole and curve around and into the other pole. This magnetic field protects us from solar radiation and harmful particles. The poles reverse themselves in a cycle of approximately every 100 thousand years.

Not only are we coming to the end of a 500 year cycle and a 26 thousand year cycle in the next few years, we are also coming to the end of the 100 thousand year cycle. Such a convergence of events is unprecedented. We believe that convergence will be heralded in the heavens by the sounding of the seventh trump but that will need to be expounded on in another article. The new cycles or periods of times were often described as a new day or the opening of a seal.

When the magnetic field around the earth is disturbed, it can create geological disturbances. Many scientists believe rogue waves may be created by disturbances in the electro-magnetic grid. "And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds." (D&C 88:90) 

Some of the New Age practitioners teach how to use sacred geometry to draw upon the energy of nature. Druids, shamans, both white and black magic, and many other similar crafts tap into the earth’s energy grid. People usurping energy from the natural electro-magnetic grid that surrounds the earth, would cause a disruption in the smooth flow of energy and a weakening in the grid. The strength of the flow determines the frequency. When the frequency changes, in addition to geometric changes, it can mess with wildlife, especially species that are especially sensitive to frequency like birds, bees and fish.

So what does Heavenly Father do when the wickedness of His children has put the earth in commotion and there is an imbalance toward chaos? What did He do in Abraham’s day with the Babel mentality or Moses’ day with the powerful magicians of Pharaoh? He established a prophet to begin again the process of using the priesthood to bring together and order (ordain) the righteous. In unified covenant keeping and prayer, they would again reestablish the stability of the earth.

Winter Solstice and Saving Christmas helps explain this process. One of the quotes from Brother Nibley that also assists us here is as follows:

Let's not forget the Shabako Stone there. Let's not forget the Enuma Elish, but especially the Memphite Theology where the oldest record of the human race tells us about this Council in Heaven. And here we have it again. "He thought he saw God sitting upon his throne surrounded with numerous concourses of angels." A concourse is a circle. Of course "numerous concourses" means circles within circles and reminds you of dancing. And what were they doing? Surrounded means "all around." It's the angel chorus "in the attitude of singing and praising their God." It was a choral dance. "And it came to pass that he saw one descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day."²

GRAFTING

Anciently the people of God were organized by a king and a high priest. Occasionally one man held both offices. In these Latter Days, for the first time we know of in history, we are living in a day in which there is a spiritual nation of kings and priests, the spiritual seed of Abraham. This organization will be the difference in stopping the complete destruction of this round of creation and will take us into the great Millennial Day. The counterfeit priesthood (some participate knowingly, some through ignorance) is trying to do the same except they are marshalling under the usurper who is trying to implement his original plan. The final outcome of this is separateness on Satan’s part and unity on the Lord’s side. The counterfeit has no glue, no sealing power.
 
Jacob chapter five describes the grafting of Israel back into the original tree. The modern day seed of Abraham are those who are gathered back to Christ, symbolized by the mother olive tree. The first fruit represents the righteous who were part of the original council that helped Michael, under the direction of the Lord, to create the earth. Bringing that counsel of kings and priests back together (regardless on which side of the veil), in a Zion unity, is the key to defeating Babel and making the Lord’s paths straight for the Second Coming when the vineyard will be burned.

The Atonement (at-one-ment) is the means of bringing us back to our original state. We are born, washed clean, anointed, given a name, then grafted in, reaching out to hold tight to the branch that is extended to us. If the graft takes, (if we keep our temple covenants) then we ripen. If we are true and faithful, the dove will take the olive branch to the master of the vineyard and bear witness that we are good fruit, ready to be harvested. We have been true and faithful. In most ancient pictures of the Tree of Life, a dove waits in the upper branches of the tree as the dove rested upon the Savior after His baptism to witness that He was the Tree of Life, the olive tree at the center of the garden, both Eden and Gethsemane as shown here in Jacob 5:

60 And because that I have preserved the natural branches and the roots thereof, and that I have grafted in the natural branches again into their mother tree, and have preserved the roots of their mother tree, that, perhaps, the trees of my vineyard may bring forth again good fruit; and that I may have joy again in the fruit of my vineyard, and, perhaps, that I may rejoice exceedingly that I have preserved the roots and the branches of the first fruit— .

The counterfeit, led by Satan, will also become more organized to try and implement his plan. As written above, since they have no sealing power, it will be a temporary unity that cannot stand. They will end up fractured and single as is described in Jacob 6:

2 And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh.
3 And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own place! And the world shall be burned with fire.

TWO TEMPLES

We read in the Abraham traditions that the prototemple of Babylonia, the tower of Babel, was built as a place in which to accumulate date and master the knowledge necessary to counteract-to meet, to check, to soften – any major world catastrophe. The Babylonians were scared to death – they had vivid memories of the flood – and desperately determined to avoid involvement in another debacle; they thought that technical know-how could save them.³

Nibley wrote that: “The basic rite of the temple was sacrifice.”⁴ It still is although the form has changed. The symbols of that sacrifice have great significance. Nibley goes on: “The mind can do astonishing things just by thought. It is a matter of concentrating and ordering it. This principle is illustrated in the ancient prayer circle in the temples. Concentration of thoughts in a single structure has a definite significance. For the Egyptians and the Babylonians, as for us, the temple represents the principle of ordering the universe. It is the hierocentric point around which all things are organized.⁵ “Each dispensation is marked by the return of the temple and its ordinances. The temple lies at the center of apocalyptic literature. Without a temple, there is no true Israel. For there alone is the priesthood; with the destruction of the temple, the Jews also lost the priesthood.”⁶

The head of each new dispensation is rooted in, just like Lehi’s Tree of Life is rooted in. Standing as a representative of Christ and His name, Lehi stands in the center spot and beckons to all who will come. He organizes them under the priesthood as represented by Israel being grafted into the original olive tree.

Pharaoh lost his Babel but still attempted to use the sacred temple rights (without authority) to control nature. He attempted to appease the gods by sacrificing Abraham. Was there any efficacy in this act since neither Pharaoh nor the high priest had the priesthood? Yes, because Abraham did, as did the help that was sent to him at the penultimate  moment. Facsimile one shows Abraham on the Lion Couch, being rooted in as the center spot of his dispensation. His arrested sacrifice symbolizes the Atonement. The sacrificial couch is positioned above the Nile River. Just as we rise from the waters of baptism into a new birth, the Egyptian’s sacred Nile represents Abraham coming forth from the womb into a spiritual rebirth. In the year 2012, the sun will rise from the elliptic center of what the Egyptians called the Celestial Nile, the dark line that cuts through the Milky Way. All of those stars, concentrated in that center place in the Galaxy, surround the river that brings forth the sun. Remembering that the Mayans called this event The Tree of Life, the cross, and the door, shows the establishment of the new dispensation. The key is turned, the door is opened, and the path to return to the Father is again established through the power of the Atonement and represented in the temple ordinances. The rebirth is brought about by the priesthood.

Ra, the sun or the glorious Christ figure in Egyptology rises from the water of Nu, the milkyway or Celestial sea. The Hebrew words “Messianic Age’ and sea are closely related. Also related are ‘milkyway’ and Sabbath and seventh day.

Kerry Shirts wrote about the fascinating parallel of Babel with the temple:

Facsimile No. 1 in the Book of Abraham shows that the "priest of Pharaoh" is clearly against Abraham, even to the point of sacrificing him. Abrahamic lore describes just such opposing encounters between the two rivals, with Abraham battling Pharaoh who is usually depicted as Nimrod. A perfect situation to illustrate the opposing priesthoods, Nimrod and everything about him is the direct antithesis of Abraham. It is Nimrod who built Babylon, which is, of course, the very antithesis of Zion, as well as the famous Tower of Babel, which is the antithesis of the true temples of God, of which, more below[1] "Nimrod exhibits a number connected with Antichrist… The beginning of his kingdom indeed was Babel… As the antithesis of Zion, Nimrod is also credited with the construction of the temple (Ziggurat, tower of Babel) which was considered a cosmic institution, typifying the universe no less, as the cosmic mountain.⁷

The above paragraph mentions the cosmic mountain which is compared to Isaiah 2:2 which is about the Mountain of the Lord’s House which is the temple. The temple is symbolized by a mountain, a tree, and a fountain, among other things. When a temple is begun, it is by digging into the earth and establishing the foundation. Abraham was the root, that foundation that the Lord used to begin organizing his seed that would become the hope of the world. As the organization grew, the door up through that foundation and into the temple was surrounded and supported by his grandson’s twelve sons typified by oxen.

THE GARMENT

We have often quoted Matt 22:11-13 about the man who tried to come to the wedding without the proper wedding garment and was cast into outer darkness. Being clothed upon with authority is a key to our successful return to God and our participation in the wedding of the bridegroom. In Facsimile 1, Abraham has on the proper garment. In other depictions similar to Facsimile 1, the sacrifice on the couch does not have on a garment. He is either a mummy or is nude.

Everything orbits around that center place of sacrifice or as Nibley called it, the hierocentric point.  The Hebrew word for ‘baptism’ is closely related to hub of a wheel. When a prophet stands as a representative of Christ, or the Tree of Life, he also represents incorruptibility, the wholeness that means perfection. With no corruption in him, his skirts are cleaned from the blood and sins of his generation and he symbolically has a sweet fragrance like a flower that attracts birds and feeds them the pure nectar of the gods. In fact, the regenerative powers of the priesthood that gives rebirth through the Atonement can be equated to a queen bee that organizes her workers and builds a hive in which to hide the sweet incorruptible honey. Sometimes ancient kings were buried in honey, symbolizing that through the Atonement, they will come forth sweet and incorruptible in the resurrection.

There are close and important connections in the Hebrew Dictionary to the words; lion couch, benefactor, midwife, substitution, deliver, save, speak, and mouth (as in opening of the mouth ceremony).

Nibley wrote: “They breathed his fragrance and orbited about him and bowed anew and worshipped him.’ They came into organization and started to orbit about him as he had determined. This is the ‘thought of life’ working with the elements, which brings about creation.”⁸

Isaac breathed the fragrance of the clothing Jacob had on. Jacob was a type for Adam, beginning a new spiritual family as Israel. Adam’s robes taken back from the usurper is a type for Lucifer attempting to steal Adam’s rights. That robe had the fragrance of paradise which is why Nimrod became such a great hunter. The animals recognized the robe by its fragrance and knew this came from the king. Nibley believed that this made it easier for Noah to bring the animals to the ark. Legend has it that Ham stole the garments from Noah. As a result, Noah cursed Ham. It was through his son Cush that Nimrod gained the garment of light. This was the garment of Adam, the priesthood robe that was handed down from Seth to Noah and was worn by Noah when he sacrificed on the altar.

Some stories tell how Esau acquired the garments by lying in wait and killing Nimrod. It was this garment that Esau later sold to Jacob as his birthright and that blind Jacob used to identify him as his eldest son because of the fragrance of Paradise that clung to it. This was the coat (the coat of many colors) handed down to Joseph who would be the rightful heir to the robes of the priesthood.

Nibley wrote that: “the tradition is that Ham, the father of Cainan, saw the skin garment of his father, showed it to his brothers outside, made copies of it, and claimed it for himself…He fooled everybody into thinking he had the priesthood because he had the garment…The garments enabled him to conquer the world and proclaim himself its ruler, so that mankind offered him worship.⁹

According to the research of Kerry A. Shirts, “the garment had its origin in the celestial realms, hence garment of light, another tie in with the cosmos, and as such indicated the authority of the wearer. Nimrod, it is said, apparently had this garment at one time. It is most interesting that nimrah according to Jacob of Serug means "tiger," "crown," and "striped garment."” Abraham wore a striped garment on the lion couch.¹⁰

Shirts continues the theme that from Cain and Abel there are stories of battles over possession of the garment. This garment shows who has the true priesthood, who has kept the covenants that gives the right of kingship and priesthood.  Alma P. Burton wrote: "The words "to endow" (from the Greek enduein), as used in the New Testament, mean to dress, clothe, put on garments, put on attributes, or receive virtue."¹¹ So this is the idea in facsimile 1. The authority over the entire earth as well as sky was at stake, as the garments had stars sewn onto them, especially of the late Assyrian kings, these nalbas  were literally "garment(s) of the sky."

Once again we see the illustration of the starry milkyway giving birth to the true king. The stars are those who have completed the process of rebirth. They have been rooted in as a tree of life, or a pillar. They support, assist and sustain the rebirth process for their brethren and sisters. Notice the pillars of heaven in Facsimile 1:11.

So the themes play themselves out in our Book of Abraham, with Abraham as wearer of the true garment of the Priesthood, in which he is depicted in Facsimile 1, being opposed in darkness by the false priesthood as is also depicted in the same facsimile.

Brother Nibley wrote that both Pharaoh and Abraham “[claim] to possess the only true priesthood and with it the only true kingship.¹²

If we tie in the lion couch with the garment of the king which was usually a lion skin, when we think of ascending the Tree of Life, or going through a door, then it is very interesting to read this next quote by Brother Nibley:

…the Papyrus of Ani shows Horus conducting an awed Ani into the presence of Osiris, who is seated on a maat-platform…representing a green mound of earth…in front of him hangs the mshn.t, the skin garment of resurrection which, as we have noted, has the same significance as the veil.¹³

TWO PRIESTHOODS

The battle for the garment is tied in with sacrificial rites as Nibley writes:

Since the sacrificial victims were enemies taken in combat, the battle itself is a sacrificial rite. Various stations of the Amduat are marked by sacrificial gestures…Thoth as “Lord of the Sacrifice” (Anubis) with his moon-shaped knife slaughters all who oppose the king on his way to Osiris” and so provides sacrificial offering.”¹⁴

The two priesthoods (good and evil) with their rivalry and combat will intensify in our day. So often it is two brothers and in the battle of Armageddon it will again be between the descendants of the two brothers, Abraham and Ishmael; the House of Israel and the Arab nations.

The Caesars of this world want possession of this earth. Christ who said His kingdom was not of this earth, wants to return all things to their paradisiacal state. Making His paths straight, standing in holy places means lifting ourselves to a terrestrial level that is free of the fall through covenant keeping. Thus, we become part of His kingdom which is of a higher order and will pave the road for His return. Then He will lift us up, cleanse the earth, then bring it to its terrestrial, Millennial state.

We have to awake and learn these things and become aware that we are fighting at a disadvantage if we do not even recognize that we are in the midst of a terrible battle where the enemy retains their memories of the past and the things we were involved in. Their rancor and enmity is raging and we are left vulnerable if we do not put on the armor of God and gain all the spiritual blessings we can for protection and power.

The bottom line to Truth Against Error, is the true priesthood versus the false priesthood. Those priestcrafts used by secret combinations, those seeking power, and also the confused and misled will bring about tremendous upheaval in the earth and in society and as we know, even the very elect will be deceived. Some of these things are seeping into the Church, as we have been warned so it is good to be aware of the pitfalls. We each need to see that we are part of something grand and eternal and we can help, even through small means, to finish the battle and help our Savior establish Zion.

5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (1 Peter 2: 5, 6-9).

CONCLUSION                                                                     

As we make ready to be called to wedding feast, we must be engaged in winning and keeping the true wedding garment so we will be able to endure eternal burnings where our Father resides. If we do not keep the law of chastity toward the King, then we, as the Church of the Firstborn, the bride of Christ, will not be worthy to be called to the wedding. When we allow ourselves to be lured away by New Age counterfeits, we are not being chaste. We are whoring after other gods, as did ancient Israel at times.

If we progress and ripen as good fruit to be gathered in, as Jacob’s olive tree, then we will be filled with the oil of gladness. Think of the olive as the candles on the Christmas Tree of Life that will burn to be a light to the world, a city set on a hill. We become the lamps filled with olive oil, the Church of the Firstborn, living the law of Zion and prepared for the bridegroom.

Even the very elect will be fooled by the enticing excitement promised by a clever counterfeit. Babel is impressive. The great and spacious building from Lehi’s dream is ornate and stands in the air for the power of the counterfeit is real. It is not humble like the tree. Yet the building has no fruit and therefore no power to change us. It is standing in the air both because of pride and because it has no foundation. It is rooted into nothing. It has no ability to grow with branches reaching into the heavens to return us to our Father. Only through humility can we hope to endure and remain faithful to our espoused king.

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2).

Ye Elders of Israel Hymn 319 - Cyrus H. Wheelock Ye elders of Israel, come join now with me And seek out the righteous, where'er they may be-- In desert, on mountain, on land, or on sea --And bring them to Zion, the pure and the free. Chorus: O Babylon, O Babylon, we bid thee farewell; We're going to the mountains of Ephraim to dwell. The harvest is great, and the lab'rers are few; But if we're united, we all things can do. We'll gather the wheat from the midst of the tares And bring them from bondage, from sorrows and snares.

END

 

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Footnotes

¹A in E p. 178
²Hugh Nibley, Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price, edited by Robert Smith and Robert Smythe, p. 6
³T&C p. 13
⁴Ibid p. 14
⁵Ibid pp. 14-15
⁶Ibid p. 32
⁷http://www2.ida.net/graphics/shirtail/godly.htm
⁸T&C 275
⁹Ibid pp. 129-30
¹⁰http://www2.ida.net/graphics/shirtail/godly.htm
¹¹Alma P. Burton
¹²A in E p. 254
¹³JSP pp. 447-8
¹⁴Ibid pp 399-400