{"id":85,"date":"2018-04-14T11:49:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-14T16:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/?page_id=85"},"modified":"2018-09-03T07:44:06","modified_gmt":"2018-09-03T12:44:06","slug":"ask-questions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/hear\/study\/ask-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The process of being <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/place-where-god-will-place-his-name\/5\">created in God\u2019s image<\/a> is a matter of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=romans+12:1-2;+ephesians+4:17-24;+titus+3:1-5\">transformation of the mind<\/a>. Transformation is possible only when we do the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Stop thinking we know all that we need to know about God.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Ask God to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+29:1-4;+ezekiel+12:1-3;+ezekiel+40:1-4;+mark+8:14-20;+luke+10:21-24;+romans+11:1-10;+isaiah+6:1-10;+isaiah+43:1-8;+jeremiah+5:20-21;+matthew+13:13-18;+mark+4:8-18;+luke+8:1-10;+john+9:39-41;+john+12:37-40;+acts+28:17-28\">open our spiritual eyes and ears<\/a> to understand the parts of the Bible that do not make sense to our intellectual minds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Stop listening to <a href=\"https:\/\/website-03399378.phw.pfz.mybluehost.me\/hear\/competing-voices\/false-prophets\/\">false prophets<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Stop using intellect and reasoning (i.e. flesh) to understand the literal words (i.e. parables) of the Bible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Start asking questions about the <a href=\"https:\/\/website-03399378.phw.pfz.mybluehost.me\/hear\/study\/hidden-mysteries\/\">mysteries<\/a> of the Bible that only God can answer.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Begin studying the Bible while <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">listening for God<\/a> to answer our questions by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=jeremiah+31:31-34;+1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11\">writing his laws on our hearts.<br \/>\n<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">We see these principles in the following stories:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=Matthew+13:10-17\">Matthew 13:10-17<\/a>:<span class=\"verse\"> <span id=\"verse-10\">The disciples came to him and asked, \u201cWhy do you speak to the people in parables?\u201d<\/span> <\/span> 11 <span id=\"verse-11\">He replied, \u201cThe knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: The secrets of the kingdom of heaven are the revelations that God only gives to New Covenant disciples. They qualify themselves as disciples when they disengage from their religious system \u2014 especially its religious leaders \u2014 and tune their spiritual ears to listen only to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">God\u2019s voice<\/a>. It can be said that when they read the Bible, they listen for the meanings between the lines of the written words<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">This attitude contrasts with Old\/First Covenant religionists who interpret the Bible literally and look to religious leaders to teach them. Even though they are reading the same words that New Covenant disciples read, they interpret the Bible as parables and mystery because they do not have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+29:1-4;+isaiah+6:8-10;+ezekiel+12:2;+matthew+13:14;+acts+28:23-28\">spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears to hear God\u2019s spoken voice<\/a>. There are three main reason why they do not understand the secrets:<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 10px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 11px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 30px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 405px;\">\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">They practice idolatry.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">They choose to interpret the Bible literally.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">They do not listen to God\u2019s voice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">12 <span id=\"verse-12\">Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Only New Covenant disciples have the ability to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Because they no longer waste their time listening to false prophets\u00a0 and reading their Bibles for literal understanding, they have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice#howtoheargodsvoice\">learned how to hear God\u2019s voice<\/a>. The more they listen, the more they hear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Old\/First Covenant religionists do not have the ability to hear God\u2019s voice. All they have is their literal, intellectual knowledge of scripture. They may not actually lose what they know, but, in comparison to New Covenant disciples, who are growing in understanding, they appear to be losing what little understanding they do have.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">13 <span id=\"verse-13\">This is why I speak to them in parables: \u201cThough seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.<\/span> 14 <span id=\"verse-14\">In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: \u201d \u2018You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Old\/First Covenant religionists are diligent in their efforts to see the literal meanings of scripture and hear the literal interpretations of scriptures spoken by false prophets, but they do not hear God\u2019s voice or understand the secrets he has planted in scripture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">15 <span id=\"verse-15\">For this people\u2019s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Old\/First Covenant religionists have spent so much time trying to interpret the Bible literally that their ability to hear God\u2019s voice has been greatly limited. They are so preoccupied with trying to understand the literal Bible using their intellect that they do not understand symbolic, spiritual meanings with their hearts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">16 <span id=\"verse-16\">But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.<\/span> 17 <span id=\"verse-17\">For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Blessing is code language for being a New Covenant disciple. They <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+13:10-17;+isaiah+6:1-10\">see and hear (i.e. understand) with their spiritual eyes and ears (i.e. hearts).<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The prophets and righteous men are Old\/First Covenant religionists who have studied long and hard to find meaning in the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\">mysteries <\/a>of the Bible. Their righteousness is self-righteousness based on their fleshly efforts to connect to God through physical, intellectual effort.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=Matthew+13:33-35\">Matthew 13:33-35<\/a>:<span class=\"verse\"> <span id=\"verse-33\">He told the<\/span><\/span><span id=\"verse-33\">m still another parable: \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.\u201d<\/span> 34 <span id=\"verse-34\">Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.<\/span> 35 <span id=\"verse-35\">So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: \u201cI will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the <\/span><span class=\"verse\"><span id=\"verse-35\">world.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Jesus was not just trying to be artistic, or literary, or cute, or challenging, or even deceptive when he spoke parables. As verse 35 says, he was uttering things hidden since the creation of the world. He was in fact speaking truth, the understanding of which was only accessible to New Covenant disciples.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">These parables are not understandable to Old\/First Covenant religionists who can only grasp the meanings of the literal words. New Covenant disciples, on the other hand, grasp the deeper, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\">mysterious<\/a>, spiritual meanings of the story (i.e. parable) which convey much more than simple words can convey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">These <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11;+jeremiah+31:31-34\">spiritual meanings are communicated by the spirit of God speaking to the hearts<\/a> of New Covenant disciples whose <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/matthew\/18-4.html\">hearts are open and humble like little children <\/a>who are not afraid to ask questions that might make them look ignorant. On the other hand, deep spiritual meanings are hidden from Old\/First Covenant religionists who are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=proverbs+3:7;+proverbs+12:15;+proverbs+26:5;+proverbs+26:12;+proverbs+28:11;+isaiah+5:21\">wise in their own eyes. <\/a>Their knowledge of God comes from the literal words of the Bible and human teachers who repackage their personal interpretations of the literal words for others to hear. This is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/gnosis.html\">knowledge for sure, but it is human knowledge,<\/a> not the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/kjv\/epiginosko.html\">deep, intimate, precise, thorough kind of knowledge<\/a> that comes as a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/1-corinthians\/12-8.html\">spiritual gift to those who listen to God\u2019s spoken word<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=Mark+4:30-34\">Mark 4:30-34<\/a>:<span class=\"verse\"> <span id=\"verse-30\">Again he said, \u201cWhat shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?<\/span> <\/span> 31 <span id=\"verse-31\">It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.<\/span> 32 <span id=\"verse-32\">Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.\u201d<\/span> 33 <span id=\"verse-33\">With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.<\/span> 34 <span id=\"verse-34\">He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: The Bible is full of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\">mysterious parables<\/a> that can also be described as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\">symbolic language<\/a> in which God uses natural things to represent spiritual truths.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Religion promises to teach the meanings of the Bible to people who gather together to hear the teachings of false prophets. God, on the other hand speaks to his disciples when he is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=psalm+27:5;+psalm+31:20;+song+of+solomon+2:14;+ezekiel+7:22;+proverbs+9:17;+matthew+6:4;+matthew+6:6;+matthew+6:17-18;+john+7:10\">alone with them in their secret place (i.e. heart<\/a>) and when they study with one another. It is only while alone with God that people have opportunity to ask questions. And it is only when people <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=matthew+7:7-11;luke+11:5-13;proverbs+8:17;jeremiah+29:12-13\">ask God for understanding<\/a> that he explains deep mysteries to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Deep mysteries are not all explained at one time. Revelation is usually a slow process. We see this principle in the statement about the mustard seed maturing into a great tree. Faith that God will speak to his people directly is very small when they first leave religion where they previously put their faith and trust in false prophets to teach them. If they stay disconnected from religion, however, and if they are faithful to ask, seek and knock with the faith of a little child, they will sooner or later <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice#howtoheargodsvoice\">hear Gods voice speak and reveal mysteries to them<\/a>. Their faith will grow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=exponentially&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8\">exponentially<\/a> with each succeeding revelation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=John+10:1-6\">John 10:1-6<\/a>:\u00a0 <span class=\"verse\"><span id=\"verse-1\">\u201c<\/span><\/span><span id=\"verse-1\">I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.<\/span> 2 <span id=\"verse-2\">The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.<\/span> 3 <span id=\"verse-3\">The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.<\/span> 4 <span id=\"verse-4\">When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.<\/span> 5 <span id=\"verse-5\">But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger\u2019s voice.\u201d<\/span> 6 <span id=\"verse-6\">Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them<\/span><span class=\"verse\"><span id=\"verse-6\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: The gate to understanding is the spoken word of God. The sheep pen is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-injustice-and-slavery\">religion that enslaves people. <\/a>That is why they need to be led out. New Covenant disciples who speak for God are shepherds who lead them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Watchmen are New Covenant disciples who open the gate so that the sheep can understand that they must listen to God\u2019s voice themselves. After they learn to hear God\u2019s voice, they will never again listen to strangers (i.e. false prophets) who try to lead them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/luke\/passage\/?q=luke+10:17-24\">Luke 10:17-24<\/a>: <span class=\"verse-17\">The seventy returned w<\/span>ith joy, saying, \u201cLord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.\u201d 18 And He said to them, \u201cI was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 \u201cBehold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 \u201cNevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, \u201cI praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 22 \u201cAll things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.\u201d\u00a0 23 Turning to the disciples, He said privately *, \u201cBlessed are the eyes which see the things you see, 24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: The wise and intelligent people are those who interpret the Bible literally. But they are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+5:21;+proverbs+3:7;+proverbs+28:11;+proverbs+26:12;+proverbs+26:5;+proverbs+12:15\">wise an intelligent only in their own eyes <\/a>and in the eyes of those who trust them. They are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/kings-queens-and-princes\">Kings, Queens and Princes<\/a> and False Prophets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Infants, on the other hand, are New Covenant disciples who, are like little children who do not pretend to know anything and are eager to learn. They are full of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-1\/8#askquestions\">questions\u00a0 which they do not hesitate to ask <\/a>because they have no fear of looking stupid or unintelligent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">These infants always read the same words in the Bible that Old\/First Covenant religionists do but they never assume that they understand the literally words. They constantly question what the mysterious, confusing parts mean and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\">listen for God\u2019s voice<\/a> to explain those parts to them. They do not listen to false prophets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/rsv\/john\/passage\/?q=john+6:1-69\">John 6:1-69:\u00a0 <\/a>After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiber\u2019i-as. 2 And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased.\u00a0 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.\u00a0 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, \u201cHow are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?\u201d 6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Jews and Christians think God evaluates them according to the extent of their religious activity. The truth is that he does not look at outward appearances but looks at the heart to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=exodus+16:4;+exodus+15:25;+exodus+20:20;+2+chronicles+32:31;+deuteronomy+8:16\"> tests what is in the hearts.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It is hard for Jews and Christians, therefore, to understand when they are\u00a0 being tested because they are generally unaware\u00a0 of the true conditions of their hearts. They are unaware because of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-deception\">deceptions<\/a> foisted upon them by generations of false prophets who emphasize religious activity rather than the heart.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The testings are all forecast by the choice Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden: Eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or the Tree of Life. This\u00a0 choice is the essence of temptation. Putting this in Biblical language, the choice is between Old\/First Covenant religion and the New Covenant. It is also the choice between interpreting the Bible literally or symbolically.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">7 <span class=\"verse-7\"> Philip answered him, \u201cTwo hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little<\/span>.\u201d 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter\u2019s brother, said to him, 9 \u201cThere is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?\u201d 10 Jesus said, \u201cMake the people sit down.\u201d Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, \u201cGather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost.\u201d 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Philip and Andrew failed the test by looking at the situation in a purely natural way. All they could think about was a multitude of physically hungry people with only a small amount of natural food for them to eat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Most people who read and interpret these verses literally will relate to Philip and Andrew. They see a natural problem and look for natural ways to solve the problem. This is what religionists do. They cannot see the spiritual side of a situation. They fail the test.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Jesus, on the other hand, understood the spiritual context of the situation. He did not see physically hungry people. Rather he saw spiritually hungry people and he knew how to feed them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The miracle that Jesus did was not a natural miracle. It was a spiritual miracle. The bread and fish that he gave to the people was spiritual food \u2014 not natural food.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The test for Jews and Christians is to interpret the story as a spiritual miracle. Anyone who interprets the story in literal terms fails the test.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">14 When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, \u201cThis is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!\u201d 15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: It is interesting to notice that Jesus resisted the possibility that the people who were following him would make him king over him. Jews who are strictly monotheistic will find this commendable, but Jesus\u2019 actions should be incomprehensible to Christians who like to think of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1+timothy+6:15;+revelation+1:5;+revelation+17:14;+revelation+19:16\">Jesus as their king<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Verse 15 should also be a caution for religious leaders who, in God\u2019s view, are<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/religion-is-the-kingdom-of-false-prophets\/kings-queens-and-princes\"> kings<\/a> of their own <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/nations\">religious kingdoms.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Caper\u2019na-um. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea rose because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, 20 but he said to them, \u201cIt is I; do not be afraid.\u201d 21 Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Christians who like to quote the miracle of Jesus walking on water totally miss that the story is a picture of God overcoming evil in the form of religion. All through the Bible, water has two meanings that must be understood if the imagery of the picture is to be understood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">On the one hand, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+32:45-47;+john+6:63;+revelation+22:1-2;+jeremiah+2:13;+jeremiah+17:13;+john+4:10-14;+john+7:38;+psalm+36:9;+proverbs+4:10;+1+john+1:1-2;+philippians+2:12-16;+john+6:68\">water symbolizes spiritual life that comes from God\u2019s word<\/a> spoken to the hearts of New Covenant disciples. And on the other hand, water symbolizes the destructive power of religion that God heaped on the world of religion in the time of Noah.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Applying the symbolic of water as religion, we see a picture of Jesus the living word of God overcoming religion. The disciples were tossed about and frightened by religion until they welcomed the living word into their lives. It is a picture of the New Covenant succeeding Old\/Covenant religion. It is the same imagery found in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/genesis\/passage\/?q=genesis+1:1-5\">Genesis 1:1-5 where we see the spirit hovering over the water and bringing forth light from darkness.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">22 On the next day the people who remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 However, boats from Tiber\u2019i-as came near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Caper\u2019na-um, seeking Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, \u201cRabbi, when did you come here?\u201d 26 Jesus answered them, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: The people who followed Jesus in boats did not do so because they had observed the miracle of multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Rather, they sought Jesus because they had eaten the spiritual bread that only Jesus provides. They had tasted this spiritual bread and wanted more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: The message here is that religious food based on literal interpretations of the written Bible perishes, and that spiritual food gives eternal life. We find this principle <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/exodus\/16.html\">in the wilderness story where Israel was compelled to work to acquire perishable food by physically picking it up every day except the seventh day. <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">This story of Israel in the wilderness is a parable of the Old\/First Covenant when people work to learn about God by reading the literal Bible. It is a more or less daily process in which what is learned spoils and does not last. But on the seventh day (i.e. Sabbath) they did not have to work for spiritual food. It was a day of rest. Instead of doing religious work, all they need to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+exodus+15:26;+exodus+23:21;+exodus+19:5;+jeremiah+7:23\">listen to the God\u2019s voice<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">This story is a parable of the transition from Old\/First Covenant to New Covenant. Old\/First Covenant religionists feed themselves more or less daily by performing religious work \u2014 including reading the Bible. This <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=exodus+16:35;+joshua+5:12\">daily gathering of manna ended, however, when Israel made the transition from the wilderness to the promised land<\/a> (i.e. New Covenant).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">After entering the promised land, New Covenant disciples live in a perpetual, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/the-law\/fourth-commandment\">seventh day Sabbath<\/a> in which they do no religious work because they are fed spiritual food by the spirit of God. God feeds them by his spirit when they <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+exodus+15:26;+exodus+23:21;+exodus+19:5;+jeremiah+7:23\">listen to his voice<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The wilderness period of working for religious food that does not last represents written, Old\/First Covenant laws given by Moses to Israel. This is a parable of all religious laws and traditions created by religious leaders who use the written words of the Bible as their guides. God contrasts this wilderness experience with the promised land which in which people listen to<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\"> God\u2019s spoken voice and do not depend on the literal, written words of the Bible<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The seventh day (i.e. Sabbath) represents the Promised Land which is the New Covenant. No religious work is necessary for New Covenant people and they do not follow a law-giver (i.e. religious leader) like Moses. They do follow a spiritual leader in the form of Joshua who is a type of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/jesus\">Jesus \u00a0<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">\u00a0and a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">model warrior<\/a> who fulfilled God\u2019s spiritual laws by leading Israel into battles to overcome the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-the-enemy\">religious enemies<\/a> that represent<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/nations\"> religious cities, kingdoms and nations<\/a> that occupied the promised land.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">28 Then they said to him, \u201cWhat must we do, to be doing the works of God?\u201d 29 Jesus answered them, \u201cThis is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">30 So they said to him, \u201cThen what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, \u2018He gave them bread from heaven to eat.&#8217;\u201d 32 Jesus then said to them, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: In the Bible, bread, like water, has two kinds of symbolic meanings. It can mean religious food which does not give life or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+8:1-3;+exodus+15:26;+exodus+23:21;+exodus+19:5;+jeremiah+7:23\">spiritual food from the mouth of God which does give life.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Moses gave Israel religious food in the form of written laws given on Mt. Sinai. These written laws are the basis for religion. They are equated with manna which perishes, and are contrasted with true, life-giving bread which comes directly from God when he speaks from heaven.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Since <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=psalm+11:1-4;+psalm+103:19;+isaiah+66:1;+matthew+5:34\">God\u2019s throne is in heaven<\/a>, and since <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=numbers+35:34;+zechariah+2:10;+exodus+29:45;+exodus+25:8\">God dwells in the midst (i.e. in the inner man\/spirit) of his people<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=luke+17:20-21;+isaiah+66:1;+1+kings+8:27\">heaven is within the spirit of people<\/a> \u2014 not up in the sky. Thus, the<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+6:45;+jeremiah+31:31-34;+1+thessalonians+4:9;+1+john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1+corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11;+philippians+3:15\"> bread of life comes from God when he speaks to New Covenant disciples through the holy spirit to the spirit of man<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">34 They said to him, \u201cLord, give us this bread always.\u201d 35 Jesus said to them, \u201cI am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me;\u00a0 39 and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Jesus\u2019 statement that he is the bread of life must be reconciled with God\u2019s statement that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4\">man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God<\/a>. To understand this, we must first understand the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\">Biblical symbolism of bread<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The only conclusion we can take from Jesus\u2019 response is that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+12:49;+john+14:10;+john+5:19;+matthew+26:39;+john+5:30;+john+6:38;+john+8:28\">whatever he says is the spiritual equivalent of words spoken by God<\/a>. This is possible not only for Jesus but for all New Covenant disciples who embody Jesus name\/character. That is why he says elsewhere that his follower will do even greater things than he has done.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, \u201cI am the bread which came down from heaven.\u201d 42 They said, \u201cIs not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, \u2018I have come down from heaven\u2019?\u201d 43 Jesus answered them, \u201cDo not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, \u2018And they shall all be taught by God.\u2019 Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: The statement \u2018And <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=1-thessalonians+4:9;+1-john+2:27;+john+14:11-17;+john+14:26;+1-corinthians+2:12;+hebrews+8:10-11;+jeremiah+31:31-34\">they shall all be taught by God\u2019 is a reference to the New Covenant which provides that God will teach his people directly by his mouth through his spirit.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: To understand this verse, we must first accept that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4\">man does not live by natural bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God<\/a>. Belief, then, must refer to belief in the spoken word of God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">We must conclude then that Jesus, the one speaking, was speaking on God\u2019s behalf and not speaking for himself. This is consistent with Jesus\u2019 statements elsewhere that he <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+5:19;+john+5:30;+john+6:38;+john+8:28;+john+12:49;+john+14:10-11\">speaks for God. <\/a>That qualifies Jesus as a true prophet. We conclude, therefore, that all true prophets speak words that are the bread of life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.\u00a0 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: In <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\">Bread, Food and Wine<\/a> we report that manna is symbolic language for the written word of God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">In verse 49 we read that those who ate the manna died in the wilderness. This is hard to understand until we remember that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4\">only God\u2019s spoken word gives spiritual life<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Verse 50 refers to the spiritual, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/breadfood-and-wine\/4#hiddenmanna\">hidden manna<\/a> that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=isaiah+66:1-3;+psalm+11:4;+matthew+5:34-35;+matthew+23:22\">God speaks from his throne in heaven<\/a> (i.e. the hearts of New Covenant disciples.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Because <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=john+12:49;+john+14:10;+john+5:19;+matthew+26:39;+john+5:30;+john+6:38;+john+8:28\">Jesus spoke for God<\/a>, his words gave spiritual life just like God\u2019s words. These spiritual, life-giving words (i.e. bread) are also symbolically called flesh.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Religion unnecessarily and wrongly converts spiritual bread\/flesh to physical bread that is used for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eucharist\">religious ceremonies (e.g. Eucharist, communion). <\/a>This is wrong because the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/john\/passage\/?q=john+3:6-8\">nature of spirit is that it cannot be seen or handled in any way<\/a>. If a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\">religious activity can be seen, it is not a matter of faith because faith cannot be seen<\/a>. These religious ceremonies, therefore, are unclean food.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, \u201cHow can this man give us his flesh to eat?\u201d\u00a0 53 So Jesus said to them, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;\u00a0 54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.\u00a0 56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.\u00a0 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.\u201d 59 This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper\u2019na-um.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: This is a very difficult passage for people who interpret the Bible literally to understand and apply. Understanding depends on belief that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4\">spiritual life comes only from the spoken word of God.<\/a> Eternal life, therefore, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4\">is only available to people who listen to and obey God\u2019s voice.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">These verses make sense only when interpreted symbolically:<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 49px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 10px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 446px;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4\">Life-giving bread is the spoken word of God<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/leviticus\/17-11.html\">Life-giving blood is the spoken word of God<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Eating flesh and drinking blood is equated with hearing and obeying the spoken word of God.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Jesus\u2019 flesh is the spoken word of God.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Eating Jesus\u2019 flesh and drinking Jesus\u2019 blood is equated with hearing and obeying the spoken word of God.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a id=\"eternallife\"><\/a>COMMENTARY ABOUT BLOOD AND ETERNAL LIFE: As was reported above, religion wrongly associates flesh with Eucharist\/communion bread, and blood with Eucharist\/communion wine. This attempt to apply symbolism to scripture is wrong because it associates two natural objects (i.e. bread with bread and blood with wine). This is not the intent of Biblical symbolism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The intent of Biblical symbolism is to associate a physical\/natural object with a spiritual concept as provided in the \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice\/literal-or-symbolic-interpretation-part-2\/3\">first the natural and then the spiritual<\/a>\u201d principle. Associating physical bread with physical bread and physical blood with physical wine is meaningless religion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Bread and blood are the natural objects used throughout the Bible to symbolize God\u2019s voice.That is why we read so many scriptures in the Old Testament about blood sprinkled on the people. The imagery of being covered with the blood always symbolizes being covered with the spoken word of God. See\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/blood\/2\">Blood, Swords and Arrows<\/a> for more about this symbolism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Religion always makes\u00a0 the mistake of wrongly applying <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\">symbolism<\/a> to its rituals and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=artifact&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8\">artifacts. <\/a>This is why God is so opposed to religion: It substitutes natural objects and activities for spiritual truth. Thus, as religion focuses on natural things (i.e. rituals and artifacts), it successfully diverts people from spiritual truth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">This problem especially relates to the issue of eternal life in the following way:<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 72px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 10px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 9px;\"><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 446px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">In religion, eternal life is perceived as a positive extension of the religious life that people enjoy while they are physically alive. The only difference is that eternal life is thought to exist somewhere in heaven above instead of on earth. In religion, eternal life is perceived as the positive opposite of a negative eternity spent in hell by people who are not suitably religious.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">There are at least five problems with this theology:<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It ignores what <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/lexicons\/greek\/nas\/aionios.html\">eternal life means: Life with out beginning and without end. <\/a>Thus, for religious people who desire to go to heaven after they physically die, the life to which they aspire begins only after they die. Thus, by definition, that life is not eternal (i.e. without beginning or end).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It ignores the spiritual <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=deuteronomy+8:1-3;+deuteronomy+30:15-20;+john+6:63-68;+matthew+4:1-4;+luke+4:1-4;+john+5:24;+deuteronomy+32:45-47;+1-peter+1:22-25;+hebrews+4:12;+1-john+1:1-3;+john+1:1-4\">life that is available to people who hear and obey God\u2019s spoken voice<\/a> while physically alive on earth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It allows people to continue <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-sin\">sinning by practicing religion<\/a> while they are physically alive.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It deflects people from obeying God\u2019s commands to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-sin\/religion-is-idolatry\/4\">tear down idols and high places<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It deflects people from engaging with the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-the-enemy\">enemy<\/a> as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/symbols-signs-types-copies-shadows-and-patterns\/people\/true-prophets\/model-warriors\">warriors<\/a> who desire to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-not-faith\/religion-is-injustice-and-slavery\">set people free from religion.<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">60 Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, \u201cThis is a hard saying; who can listen to it?\u201d 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, \u201cDo you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: Verse 63 affirms that religious activity has no spiritual value. Only spiritual words spoken by God or his true prophets (i.e. New Covenant disciples) are able to impart spiritual life because they are the only people who have God\u2019s spiritual laws written on their hearts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">64 But there are some of you that do not believe.\u201d For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him.\u00a0 65 And he said, \u201cThis is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.\u201d 66 After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. 67 Jesus said to the twelve, \u201cDo you also wish to go away?\u201d 68 Simon Peter answered him, \u201cLord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: The context of verse 66 following verses 60-61 suggests that the ones who drew back from Jesus were bothered by his teaching about eating flesh and drinking blood. Looking only at the literal meaning of eating flesh and drinking blood, it is easy to understand why they were repelled at such teaching.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">If we assume that those who drew back from Jesus understood the spiritual meaning of what Jesus said, it is also easy to understand why they were repelled. If they understood that eating Jesus\u2019 flesh and drinking his blood meant that God wanted them to stop listening to religious leaders and start listening to God\u2019s voice spoken through Jesus, this interpretation would also be difficult for them to accept. Making such a break from religion is very hard to do. Not everyone is willing to suffer the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+10:16-39;+psalm+55;+job+19:14-22;+psalm+41;+micah+7:1-6\">backlash from friends and family that the Bible promises. <\/a>See<a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/nas\/passage\/?q=matthew+10:16-39;+psalm+55;+job+19:14-22;+psalm+41;+micah+7:1-6\">\u00a0<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-the-enemy\">Religion is the Enemy <\/a>and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/religion\/religion-is-the-enemy\/sibling-warfare\">Sibling Conflict<\/a> for more about the conflict that people who leave religion can expect to experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It appears that Jesus\u2019 disciples understood the difference between religion and the New Covenant. They were willing to suffer the consequences of leaving religion for the sake of obtaining eternal life with God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/passage\/?q=John+16:16-29\">John 16:16-29<\/a>: 16 <span id=\"verse-16\">\u201cIn a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.\u201d<\/span> 17 <span id=\"verse-17\">Some of his disciples said to one another, \u201cWhat does he mean by saying, \u2018In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,\u2019 and \u2018Because I am going to the Father\u2019?\u201d<\/span> 18 <span id=\"verse-18\">They kept asking, \u201cWhat does he mean by \u2018a little while\u2019? We don\u2019t understand what he is saying.\u201d<\/span> 19 <span id=\"verse-19\">Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, \u201cAre you asking one another what I meant when I said, \u2018In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me\u2019?<\/span> 20 <span id=\"verse-20\">I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.<\/span> 21 <span id=\"verse-21\">A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.<\/span> 22 <span id=\"verse-22\">So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.<\/span> 23 <span id=\"verse-23\">In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.<\/span> 24 <span id=\"verse-24\">Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.<\/span> 25 <span id=\"verse-25\">\u201cThough I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.<\/span> 26 <span id=\"verse-26\">In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.<\/span> 27 <span id=\"verse-27\">No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.<\/span> 28 <span id=\"verse-28\">I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.\u201d<\/span> 29 <span id=\"verse-29\">Then Jesus\u2019 disciples said, \u201cNow you are speaking clearly a<\/span><span class=\"verse\"><span id=\"verse-29\">nd without figures of speech. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">COMMENTARY: This story make the point about asking questions when you do not understand the meaning of the parables. Since the Bible is mainly parables (i.e. figures of speech), it is critical to ask questions all the time while reading \u2014 especially when encountering passages that do not make sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">The time that is coming to which Jesus refers is the time when people become New Covenant disciples. These are people who have Jesus\u2019 name (i.e. spiritual character). They understand the figures of speech without Jesus\u2019 help because they can <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thewaywesee.com\/religiondetoxnetwork\/mystery\/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice#howtoheargodsvoice\">hear God\u2019s voice <\/a>for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 The process of being created in God\u2019s image is a matter of transformation of the mind. Transformation is possible only when we do the following: Stop thinking we know all that we need to know about God. Ask God <span class=\"excerpt-dots\">&hellip;<\/span> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/hear\/study\/ask-questions\/\"><span class=\"more-msg\">Continue reading &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":52,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-85","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":691,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85\/revisions\/691"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewaywesee.com\/godsvoice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}