Grace
Grace
Do not throw your pearls before Swine.
Grace and the Soul.
In the previous lessons, grace was defined and the soul was explained. But to better understand how grace and the soul work together, we must study the concept of clean and unclean animals. A clean animal, like a deer, represents a person who has a strong desire to know God's will. Since God's thoughts and ways are "high above the earth", a clean person will climb the heights too know God's thoughts and ways.
Is 55:8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the LORD.
55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
A person symbolized as an unclean animal is happy with their knowledge of God and uses little effort in seeking His thoughts. They are most likely going through the motions when training with grace. For example when people attend Mass and fail to use the three parts of their soul, God likens them to the pig.
From the Book of Isaiah it says:
Is 29:13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment of men learned by rote; (routine or repetition, often without full attention or comprehension.)
29:14 therefore, behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people, wonderful and marvelous; (Refers to the following punishment.) and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid.”
If a person is a "clean animal", that person is using the three parts of his soul and is concerned with climbing the heights to know God's thoughts and ways. But an unclean person has allowed the 5 smaller gates of his soul to be unguarded and thus are used to entertain him with worldly things.
Our goal should be like the deer that can climb the heights. In the same way that the deer can climb, our souls must use the graces God has given us to know Him. Such an attitude has a huge desire to know God's will and to appreciate Jesus Passion. Let's take a look at the verses that speak about clean and unclean animals.
The Hoof.
Why does Jesus made the statement about pearls and swine? What do the pearls represent? What does the swine (pig) represent?
In the Book of Leviticus, God speaks to Moses and informs him of animals that are unclean and must not be eaten.
Lev 11:1 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
11:2 “Say to the people of Israel, these are the living things which you may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
11:3 Whatever has a hoof that is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat.
11:4 Nevertheless among those that chew the cud and has a hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not have a hoof that is cloven-footed, is unclean to you.
11:5 And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not have a hoof that is cloven-footed, is unclean to you.
11:6 And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have a hoof that is cloven-footed, is unclean to you.
11:7 And the swine, because it has a hoof that is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.
In the Book of Psalms and Wisdom it says that men can become unclean by their actions. Ps (106:36) and Wisdom (2:16) By eating unclean animals, we become what we eat. In the same way, if our food is sinful actions, we become what we do. Let's consider how these unclean and clean animals represent the actions of people.
Climb upon the heights.
Hb 3:19 GOD, my Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet swift as those of YOUNG DEER and enables me to go upon the heights.
Why does Jesus make the statement about pearls and swine?
Mt (7:1) "Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you".
Men have no idea they need a Saviour and thus play in the mud of their passions and pleasures.
What do the pearls represent?
Questions
1) Is an animal with cloven hoofs and chews the cud clean or unclean?
2) A camel's hoof allows the animal to climb hills and mountains. Is this true?
3) What type of hoof allows an animal to climb rocks?
4) The swine has a hoof that can climb mountains but it chooses to play in the _______.
5) Chewing the cud symbolizes how men must ________ on God's laws, promises, and wondrous works day and night.
6) The ______ is the best symbol of a man climbing the heights?
7) We become clean when we _______ on God's wisdom and ponder God's secrets.
8) What is the symbol that Scripture uses to represent a man that repeats his sins over and over again?
9) Man has the power to ponder the sciences and thus man has countless advances in making life so much easier than in the past. But man has made no advances in revealing the ________ of God.
10) Jesus likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a ______?
11) God' thoughts and ways are high above the earth, and thus we must climb the heights. What animal must we be symbolized as to know God's thoughts and ways?
12) Paul says in his Epistle that he is elevated to the _______ _________.
13) Paul heard things when he was in the third heaven that can't be _______.
14) God requires us to seek Him in the same way a merchant seeks a ________ of great wealth.
15) If we seek God's mysteries first and not money, we enter the Kingdom of _______. A _____ man can't enter because he is not using the three ________ of his _______.
16) Do not throw pearls before swine because such men will not value such mysteries and actually will become ________.
17) Define Kingdom of God. Define Kingdom of Heaven.
18) He who practices virtue and speaks honestly, who rejects what is gained by oppression, shakes his hands free of contact with a bribe, refuses to listen to plans involving bloodshed, closing his eyes lest he look on evil can be symbolized as a _______ climbing the heights.
19) Praising God for our salvation doesn't automatically happen. Our hearts, symbolized as the feet of the deer, must climb the heights. This can only be done by the trainer called ______.
20) When we chose dopamine instead seeking the face of God, we are likened as _______ rolling in the ______.
21) If a person pays lips service to God and their hearts are far from God, God defines such people as ______ animals.
22) Climbing the heights is the symbol of a person that desires to know God's _______ and to _______ Jesus' Passion.
23) By eating unclean animals, we become what we eat. Thus if our food is _______ actions, we become what we do.
24) Looking at the map, how many miles is it from Siena to Rome? Is Siena north or south of Rome?
25) The camel represents what kind of person?
26) Grace is given to us by God and He expects us to use grace as a trainer. It is our souls that train with grace, using the soul's three parts named _______, _________ and _______. But we desire to know God's ways and thoughts when using our souls to train with grace. This positive attitude is represented as a deer that must ________ the heights. When a soul climbs the heights its goal is to find pearls of great price. What do the pearls represent?
What does the swine (pig) represent?
Cloven hoofs. Great for climbing hills and mountains.
Hoofs. Horses and camels are not good climbers.
The pearls represent God revealing the beauty of His thoughts and ways.
Email
mercermark@att.net
Microsoft document.
Ps 18:32 Truly, who is God except the LORD? Who but our God is the rock?
18:33 This God who girded me with might, kept my way without error,
18:34 Who made my feet swift as a deer’s, set me safe on the heights,
18:35 Who trained my hands for war, my arms to bend even a bow of bronze.
The Psalms verses above are speaking about events after death. Scripture is filled with verses that reveal events that occur after physical death and it's impossible not to speak about them. If reader has not read the lessons on the events after death, the following will be confusing. But for the reader that has studied the 4 Kingdoms, the explanations are great in understanding the future.
The safety of the heights is referring to The Final Test. Scripture is describing the 144,000 because they are represented as the deer. The Psalms reveal that their hands will be trained for war because they will be an army for Jesus, which is the cloud that Jesus will ride, when He takes His revenge against our accusers at the Second Woe, the first event in the Fourth Kingdom.
Is 33:15 He who practices virtue and speaks honestly, who rejects what is gained by oppression, shakes his hands free of contact with a bribe, refuses to listen to plans involving bloodshed, closing his eyes lest he look on evil—
33:16 He shall dwell on the heights, his stronghold shall be the fortresses of rocks, his bread will be given him, his water will be sure.
Scripture again is speaking about the 144,000. At their Final Tests they will be protected by God from their accusers. As bread is food for the body, peace will be food for the soul. As water sustains the body, the word of God sustains the soul. Thus the 144,000 will be at peace and comforted with God's words when they are accused by hell's armies. The elect who are rescued in the second and third watches will also have similar protections. But the elect rescued in the fourth, they will be like men who are on a boat being tossed about by a terrible storm.
Is 58:13 If you hold back your foot on the Sabbath from following your own pursuits on My holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’S holy day honorable; if you honor it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice (hatred)—
58:14 Then you shall delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
It's now time to introduce a new definition pertaining to the word "heavens". The "heavens" refer to the different spiritual levels of understanding. Visualize a deer climbing a mountain. In the same way, a person using his soul by training with grace is ascending into spiritual things. God's thoughts are high above the earth and we must climb into the heights to understand the mind of God. See the lesson on High above the Earth.
Always remember that God's thoughts are high above the earth and if you want to know God's thoughts you must use your soul and its three parts (using grace to know God) to ascend into the heavens.
Praise the Lord in the heights.
Ps 148:1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights!
148:2 Praise Him, all His Angels, praise Him, all His host!
148:3 Praise Him, Sun (Jesus) and Moon (Mary), praise Him, all you shining stars! (The 144,000)
148:4 Praise Him, you highest heavens, (Angels) and you waters above the heavens! (Refers to the 144,000 as rain from above at Noah's flood, the Second Woe, also called the Second Coming of Christ.)
Why do we praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? This question can only be answered if we understand salvation. Until we come to understand that the only emotions that last forever, that never grows old or boring, are the emotions of compassion, mercy and charity, not knowing this, we can't praise God. The plan of God has been created for us to experience these emotions by creating us with souls so we can train with graces to achieve this goal. If we train with God's graces in a clean way by climbing the heights, Jesus will reveal Himself to us. What happens to us when Jesus reveals Himself to us? We will understand God's thoughts and emotions. Because God has created the emotions of boredom and suicidal depression which automatically occur when we sin, we need to be saved from them. Until this is fully understood, our praise of God will be dull and lacking. The purpose of the Final Test is for us to see how gross and deadly sin is so we can clearly see the beauty of compassion, mercy and charity.
Ps 9:1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.
The wonderful deeds of the Jesus are spoken about by Apostle John when He writes:
Jn 21:25 But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
The glory of God is that Jesus who is Man and the Second Person of the Holy Trinity experienced every man's sorrows and depressions. He felt each persons pain and anguish as if occurred to Him. All the books in the world couldn't record the total sum of man's pains.
Ps 13:4 But I have trusted in Your immoveable love; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
13:5 I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with Me.
Praising God for our salvation doesn't automatically happen. Why? Because God gave mankind spirits much different than His own. Our human spirits are strongly attracted to the 5 five human senses. (Eyes, ears, taste, smell and touching.) The five senses are also called the soul's smaller gates. Dopamine is released through the eyes, ears, taste, smell and touching. God has made sin fun, but hidden behind the "red wine" of fun and drunkenness is the sting of death.
Prv 23:31 Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
23:32 At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder.
In order to be "clean animals", our souls, symbolized as the feet of the deer, must climb the heights. But how is this done you ask? The answer is by the graces God has given us in which our souls must use as trainers. But where do we find God's graces? God has given mankind through the Catholic Church many trainers. The Scriptures are a great place to climb the heights. The Mass, Seven Sacraments, Stations of the Cross, Rosary, and Devine Chaplet are other examples of grace.
Ps 27:7 Come,” says my heart, “seek God’s face”; your face, LORD, do I seek!
27:8 Hide not Your face from me. Turn not Your servant away in anger, You who has been my help. Cast me not off, forsake me not, O God of my salvation!
We are commanded by God to seek His face which means His Seven Spirits. We need to use the feet of the deer to climb the heights.
Swine (pig).
By being baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we are given the graces in order to climb the heights. But since Catholics and Protestants have chosen not to guard the 5 smaller gates of their souls (The five senses.) dopamine is released from their brains and they find themselves rolling in the mud like the pig. Instead of climbing to seek the face of the Lord by using the three parts of their soul, men seek the mud of the earth. What is the mud? The "mud" is the symbol of our passions and pleasures.
Chews the cud.
Cud is a portion of food that returns from the animal's stomach back into the mouth to be chewed for the second time. In the same way as clean animals digest their food, we as Christians must ponder, contemplate and meditate upon God's words. This can only be achieved if we train with the graces God has given our souls.
Jos 1:58 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.
Ps 119.148 My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate upon Your promise.
Ps 145.5 On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works, I will meditate.
Sir 6.37 Reflect on the statutes of the Lord, and meditate at all times on His commandments. It is He who will give insight to your mind, and your desire for wisdom will be granted.
Sir 3.29 The mind of the intelligent man will ponder a parable, and listening carefully is the wise man’s desire.
Sir 14.20 Blessed is the man who meditates on wisdom and who reasons intelligently.
14.21 He who reflects in his mind on Wisdom's ways will also ponder Her secrets.
Mediating, contemplating, and pondering can only be done through the soul's three parts memory, understanding and will. By reading the Scriptures using our souls we can understand the meaning of words like "dog". Dog" is the symbol of a man that goes back to his sins over and over again.
Prv 26:11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool that repeats his folly.
God's graces are not limited to the Scriptures. Because of the keys of Peter, we can rely with confidence when we study the writings of the 35 doctors of the Church, Ecumenical Councils, Papal Encyclicals, Bulls and Briefs, and the "City of God" written by Mary of Agreda. (For greater clarification read the keys".)
Saint Catherine from Siena Italy died in 1380. Her book the Dialogue has been around for 631 years. Sadly, no one has recognizes her writings about death as directly related to many of the stories, parables and verses in the Bible. Catherine's description of what happens after death can be found in the lesson named death.
No one has written or preached about Catherine's description of death and seen the connection of her description with the entire Bible. Thus it can be said that no one has climbed the heights like a clean deer and seen the events after death. Without this knowledge, we are not able to understand how Jesus tasted death. Thus we are unable to understand the meaning of our salvation. And the Mother of Jesus is not understood because we do not understand Jesus and His Passion. It seems we have no clean animals chewing the cud. Saint Catherine's writings on the events that take place after death, written in 1380, have opened the door to recognizing how the Scriptures are speaking about the same thing.
Through the 5 smaller gates of our souls, mankind has powerful contemplating and pondering abilities; look at the advances in the sciences, medicine and manufacturing. But what advances in climbing the heights? Catholic clergy from Popes, Bishops priests and lay persons, as each of them dies, will see their shame. Purgatory is the place that unclean people must go to understand how serious their sins are. But serious sins like those listed below will be forever in hell.
Rev 22:5 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters (worship idols), and every one who loves and practices falsehood.
We climb the heights to obtain Pearls.
Mt 13:45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
13:46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
In the verse above, Jesus' defines the pearl as the Kingdom of Heaven. But what is the Kingdom of Heaven? The answer can be found in the verses below.
Mt 19:23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
19:24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”
Apostle Matthew says there is a Kingdom of Heaven and a Kingdom of God. Because these titles are grouped together, we can say they are different. In the next verse Paul spoke about being elevated to the third heaven and we can use this knowledge to understand the Kingdom of Heaven.
2 Cor 12:1 I (Paul) must boast; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows
12:3 And I know that this man (Paul) was caught up into Paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—
12:4 and he (Paul) heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.
The third heaven in which Paul speaks about is directly relate to the Kingdom of Heaven. It was in the third heaven in which Paul heard things that couldn't be spoken about. The question is why couldn't Paul reveal what he saw and what was it that he learned? It will be shown in future lessons Paul knew about events after death and the deep mysteries of the Mother of Jesus named Mary. The reason why Paul couldn't reveal what he saw and knew because he hadn't use his soul to climb the heights. God took Paul's soul and lifted Paul up into the heavens into God's graces. In God's Plan, God has given mankind the means to climb the heights and see the most beautiful pearls that represent the deep thoughts of God. God's Plan requires mankind to make the journey with their souls and the graces He has given them. As for Paul, God performed a miracle on Paul. If Paul had made the journey using the powers of his soul, Paul would had permission to reveal what he saw. It will be shown in future lessons that Paul knew much and he hid what he knew in riddles found in his Epistles.
No Doctor of the Church, or Papal writings or Papal Council reveals a definition about the third heaven. This subject is "unchartered territory" and thus no proof can be brought forward. But a reasonable definition can be brought to the table to discuss. Because Paul heard things in the third heaven, let's propose that the heavens are different levels of spiritual understanding that pertains to God's mysteries. Since Scripture has revealed that there is a third heaven, this implies that a second and first heaven exists. These three heavens will be discussed in a future lesson.
Let's define the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is Paul's third heaven in which he says he was lifted up, and also includes the second and first heaven. Thus the Kingdom of Heaven is the three different levels called the first, second and third heavens. As mentioned earlier, a lesson will be devoted to explaining the three heavens.
Paul veils his knowledge of the events after death because he is commanded to keep them a mystery. This also applies to Peter, John, James and Jude because they received their knowledge at Pentecost and didn't use their souls to climb the heights. Each of the Apostles are aware of heavenly mysteries but they are commanded not to speak clearly as well. Many will find it difficult to believe God hides His mysteries. But God and His Plan requires us to seek God in the same way a merchant seeks out pearls of great price. Thus it can be proposed that the Kingdom of Heaven is a man that seeks out the mysteries of God. Each mystery revealed can be likened to a pearl of great wealth.
Could there be a 4th heaven or 5th? If a 4th heaven were to be defined, we could say that the four Gospels, Catholic theology and the Sacraments be a part of the fourth heaven. In other words, the 4th heaven could be the spiritual things we know in the 21st century. Maybe the 5th heaven would pertain to the rest of the Scriptures. The word "heavens" are found in many verses found in Scripture and we can think of these words as referring to the different levels of God's mysteries.
What is the Kingdom God? No Doctor of the Church, or Papal writings or Papal Council reveals a definition about the Kingdom of God. This subject is "unchartered territory" and thus no proof can be brought forward. But a reasonable definition can be brought to the table to discuss. The Kingdom of God pertains to those souls who are rescued at their Final Tests. The Kingdom of God represents the elect who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
What does the Camel represent? The camel is defined by Scripture as an unclean animal. The camel has hoofs and thus can't climb the heights. However, it does not roll in the mud like a pig, but the camel does chew the cud. Thus the camel represents an unclean person because they use their souls to think about God, but they don't apply what they learn in their actions. If they do apply God's words, they do it with great imperfection.
Jesus speaks about how hard it is for the rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. Who is the rich man? The rich man is any person who uses only the 5 smaller gates of their soul. (Eyes, ears, smell, taste and touching.) Such people do not use the three powers of their soul, memory, understanding and will. In other words, it's impossible for such people to climb the heights during life and after death Jesus will not protect them at their Final Tests. A miracle will occur where some unclean people represented as camels will be saved at their Final Tests. Passing a huge camel through the eye of a needle would be a miracle indeed, and in the same way it's a great act of mercy to rescue an unclean person symbolized as a camel at their Final Tests.
Jesus tells us not to throw pearls before swine, what does this mean? Since many people wallow in the mud of their passions and appetite, these people will not value God's pearls and even scoff at Catholic theology. Such people might even attack us. In the next lesson called hardened hearts it will be shown why such people grow angry confronted with the truth.
When we train with grace, our goal every time is to find a new pearl. Each pearl represents something new we have learned about the emotions of Jesus or the Father's will. Be warned, if you are not receiving pearls of understanding, then you must realize you are not placing the proper focus on training with grace.
