More thoughts

     Most people who believe God exists believe He is a being superior to us in knowledge and wisdom. Yet too many either don't believe or ignore His promptings to all of us to seek gaining that knowledge and wisdom for ourselves. He knows that for us to truly integrate knowledge into our beings, we have to want it. I, for one, really love to learn new things. I have always loved learning but for my first couple of decades of life, I didn't really understand that not all learning is the same. There is a ton of information available but not all of it is of the same worth. I am not at all interested in hearing (or spreading) rumors that aren't true. I am also not really interested in acquiring trivia in hopes of being a winning Jeopardy contestant. I want to learn and understand what GOD knows and hopes I will learn. Most recently this has involved figuring out more about symbolism. I know the Lord uses it because it is an effective way for mortals to comprehend principles. For instance, Jesus Christ is often referred to as the "Lamb" because He is meek, mild, and without blemishes. He is referred to as "Living Water" or the "Bread of Life" because we can understand how necessary food and water are for survival. He sometimes refers to mortal relationships with Him using the symbol of a woman. Those who believe in Him and want to follow Him are His "bride". Those who don't are Babylon, referred to as a whore or fornicator- meaning untrue to Him.
     One symbol that He has defined for us is "glory". Painters for centuries have depicted it as a halo or ring of light. He gives us this definition: The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth. I have been reading in Revelations, a very difficult section of scripture for most of us. In it John talks about his vision of the heavenly future: And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. Further on he says: And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. To me, this becomes even more beautiful and exciting to comprehend that when we have all light and truth, we can see everything. Too often we are so entrenched in our physical cellular structure that we simply cannot fathom a higher existence. I have explained in previous posts that God has said that all spirit is matter, just finer matter. Movies depict ghosts as semi-transparent, nearly shapeless creatures. That is fiction. Spirits are shaped like what we see through our corneas and lenses to our retinas which image travels along our optic nerves and is interpreted by firing electrons in our cerebral tissue. That is all very physical and "coarse" so we can't perceive anything that is finer matter. Some day we will "see", or actually remember, a more exalted, advanced perspective of all of God's creations, including His children.
     In Revelations, John refers to 144,000 beings. There are some who believe that refers to an exact number of persons who will be "saved" in His kingdom. I don't know exactly who those 144,000 will be but John describes them as they which were not defiled with women; they are virgins. To me, that pretty much tells me they are not going to be the sole inhabitants of the Lord's kingdom to say nothing of the fact that His children are way more numerous than that so why would He have created so many of us just to destroy or cast us all out in the end? Even more intriguing is John's references to having names written in foreheads. He makes several mentions of the mark or name of the "beast" (which most people agree to be connected to Satan) on the forehead or hand: See Revelations 13:16,17; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4. Many people picture some kind of tattoo, especially of the number 666 which John says is the number of a man and without it no man might buy or sell. I don't really understand the part about being the number of a man but John also mentions in Revelations 21:17 a part of the city being measured according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. So, obviously there is something more there than just 3 sixes being tattooed on a person's head or hand. There is a new computer chip application involving implanting a chip under someone's skin in your hand or wrist as a credit card. That sure makes one wonder. On the other hand, John also talks in Revelations 14:1 and 22:4 about having the Father's name written in foreheads. Having spent quite a bit of time learning about our brains, I understand that the section of our brains that involves thought and decision making is the prefrontal cortex- the area just behind our forehead. This is referred to as the "seat" of who we are. So I wonder if the name in the forehead is all symbolic as to who we think about, who we focus on or decide to listen to. It may not be the simple case of avoiding a tattoo or even a computer chip. It may just be further warnings as to who we worship. Who do we spend most of our time and energy trying to appease? Babylon/the natural man who is an enemy to God---- or God, our Father?