43. The Israelite Church

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Having established the ultimate in the celestial husband (13) and the ultimate in the celestial wife (14), this can be taken further when viewing the lineage of Israel's children to his four wives. For although he intended to marry Rachel, his first and only true love (14), he was given Leah first, and Rachel shortly thereafter: "And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years." Genesis 29:25-30

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"And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing." Genesis 29:31-35

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So in terms of his first four sons, Leah becomes his first wife (1). While it follows that Rachel become his second wife (2), and yet, she was barren: "And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali." Genesis 30:1-8

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Therefore Israel's fifth and sixth sons were born by proxy of Rachel's maid, Bilhah, and Bilhah becomes his second wife (2). Whereby Rachel, his first and true love (14), lowers herself in order to come to terms with him. And thus portrayed by his fifth and sixth sons, which signify the bridegroom (5), and the bride (6); where the number 56 corresponds to Rachel and to true love as well. Yet Rachel is still barren, and, "When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher." Genesis 30:9-13

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And so Israel's seventh and eighth sons were born by proxy of Leah's maid, Zilpah, and Zilpah becomes his third wife (3). Whereby Leah the hated one and, persecuted one, ascends to meet him at his level: the number "1-2-3." And hence portrayed by his seventh and eighth sons, which signify the marriage (7), and the honeymoon (8). Yet Rachel is still barren, allowing Leah the opportunity to bare Israel a ninth son, Issachar (Leah's fifth), and a tenth son, Zebulun (Leah's sixth), and finally his first and only daughter, Dinah (01). Genesis 30:14-21  While it's funny how the bridegroom (5), the bride (6), the marriage (7), and the honeymoon (8), all occur during the period Leah is not actively bearing children, between the births of Judah (4) and Issachar (9): as corresponds to the number 49 and, the name Dennis.

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Thus signifying the completion of the woman in the man or, the man himself (Israel), it follows Leah should give rise to Israel's ninth and tenth sons, which portray the true relationship (9) and, the height of man as man (10): before being completed by that which is feminine and reciprocative (11). Hence it is Dinah is Israel's first daughter (01) and, being the eleventh child, signifies the joining of these two minds (10 + 01 = 11). Dinah is also Leah's seventh child, signifying the marriage itself, and so reiterates the marriage of both minds specifically.

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"And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another son." Finally Rachel conceives and bares Israel his eleventh son, Joseph, and so becomes his fourth wife (4) in succession. Genesis 30:22-24  And, while it may seem unfair, for she truly was the chosen one (his wife by choice), it coincides with the idea that the man's intellect or father (1), falls in love with the woman's will or mother (4) which, is what Rachel represents (14). And here the four wives are actually the four degrees of femininity of which Rachel is the only one truly feminine. While she later bares Israel his twelfth son, Benjamin, before dying in the wilderness:

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"And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day." Genesis 35:16-20  Sound similar to the birth of Dionysus and Jesus? Luke 2:1-14  And how about Revelation chapter 12?

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"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne." Revelation 12:1-5

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Yet Benjamin was only the twelfth son, and to further the idea of the base fourteen system, it seems fitting that Israel adopt the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, hence the thirteenth and fourteenth sons. And here, Israel stipulates his choice of Ephraim the younger (14) over Manasseh the older (13), thus reiterating his choice of Rachel (14) over Leah (13). Genesis 48:5-20  Thus the masculine (1) is completed with the feminine (4), through Rachel (14), and the cycle begins anew, giving rise to the 15th aspect: the proper understanding of the feminine by the masculine, which is to say, the feminine becomes animated through the masculine. And, much in the way Eve was born of Adam, and in effect became his daughter, Dinah (01), the only begotten daughter of Israel and, the 15th child (with respect to the fourteen sons), represents something similar—the next generation.

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In a similar way, the numbers 1, 15 and 29 all correspond to Daphne (01), as does the number 43 which, is the woman herself: the woman's mother (4) in accord with the woman's father (3). And, much in the way Daphne (43) was the beloved of Apollo (as Eve was the beloved of Adam), who as withheld from Apollo's embrace, Rachel is also the beloved of Israel, and was withheld from Israel's embrace (the fulfillment of a son). In which way Rachel is also the woman herself and corresponds to the number 43. (Her actual numbers are 14, 28 and 42.) Therefore, is it any wonder there were 42 generations between Abraham and the birth of Christ? Matthew 1:1-17  Meaning, we are all born of the 43rd generation: which is of the Father (1), through The Son (2) and, the Holy Ghost (3). See a connection to Abraham (1), Isaac (2) and Jacob (3) here?

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And what of Jacob, who was born of the Father (Abraham), through The Son (Isaac), and the Holy Ghost? (where his name is changed to Israel). And, much in the way Rachel becomes the woman herself (43), Jacob becomes the man himself (12): which is the man's father (1) in accord with the man's mother (2). Thus having established their correspondence, is it just another coincidence that the New Church appears in Revelation 12 (above), in the 43rd month following the 42 months of prophecy by the two witnesses in Revelation 11:1-13?  It's quite a marvel. While it's equally curious how the Christian Church (4) in accord with the Israelite Church (3), correspond to the woman herself as well (43) and, to the bride to be (34). See the connection to the Virgin Mary? Similarly, the Church of Adam (1) and the Church of Noah (2) correspond to the man himself (12).

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Then there's the relationship between Judah the 4th son and Levi the 3rd son, which signify the state of the Jewish Church (43) after its release from Babylon: established by the prophet Ezekiel, who's aptly called The Father of Judaism. Since then it's been called the Jewish State (4) and ruled over by the high priest or descendents of Levi (3). While before there was a similar relationship, except done in accord with the kingdoms of Israel (3) and Judah (4), which coexisted together (34). And, much as Jerusalem was built by and is called the City of David, it portrays the Israelite Church (3) looking towards the Christian Church (4), hence the bride to be (34). It's therefore fitting that Christ be called the Root of David, which is the Christian Church (4) looking back at the Israelite Church (3), hence the woman herself (43) or, the Virgin Mary.

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Having established the order of the four wives, hence the four degrees of femininity, it brings to mind the numbers 123 and 432. As I said, Leah (1), the hated one, ascends to meet her husband at his level, through her maid Zilpah (3), to which the number 123 applies: from Leah (1) to Bilhah (2) to Zilpah (3). Similarly, Rachel (4), Israel's beloved, lowers herself through her maid Bilhah (2), to which the number 432 applies: from Rachel (4) to Zilpah (3) to Bilhah (2). Hence it is Israel (12), by proxy of Zilpah (3), ascends to the level of the woman's father (3), whereas Rachel (43), by proxy of Bilhah (2), descends to the level of the man's mother (2), to which the numbers 32 and 23 apply—i.e., Israel towards Rachel (32) and Rachel towards Israel (23). Which is very strange, for these are the same qualities I refer to in Sybil (4) and Jennifer (2) which go into the celestial marriage (32). And, when adding its two reciprocals, 32 + 23 (320 + 023), you get 343—which, is 7 x 7 x 7 and signifies the marriage itself (7).

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What's even more unusual is that these two numbers, 123 and 432, portray the two witnesses as outlined in chapter 6: Roy Masters and Joseph Campbell. And here the name R.O.Y. portrays the first three colors proceeding from the sun, red (1), orange (2) and yellow (3), hence the number 123; and the number 432, which indeed was popularized by Joseph Campbell, is used to describe the rythm of the universe. While it's curious how Roy Masters' first name used to be Reuben (before he changed it), hence the first son of Leah (10); whereas Joseph was the first son of Rachel (01), and together they portray this joining of two minds (10 + 01 = 11). Also, in relation to Dinah and Joseph, the eleventh and twelfth children, the numbers 123 and 432 correspond to the numbers 11 and 12, respectively. Need I say more?

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Having fully elaborated on the woman's will, and drawn the correlation to The Church, it's time to expand things further. And although the fourteen Gerarai weren't developed until after the experience related in the next chapter, it seems fitting that it begin with the Gerarai in mind. I'm speaking of The Advent of the New Church, and the Gerarai best exemplify what it means.