Acts 1-12 and the (less) Near Future

Lorin Friesen, December 2021

This is the second part of a two-part essay on Acts 1-12. The book of Acts appears to be a prophetic sequence. I do not know if the entire book is prophetic and I do not know if I am capable of deciphering the entire book. That is because Acts appears to start with the present time and then extend into the future. The future tends to be more difficult to analyze than the past or the present.

I warned at the beginning of this essay that we will be examining an ancient religious text in a detailed manner that reads like science fiction. I think that my analysis is accurate, but it is very important to remain mentally grounded when thinking about a future that is so radically different than the present. The material that is covered in the first six chapters talks about angels and a spiritual economy. This is strange but it is also still somewhat familiar because there are other books that talk about angels as well as books on economics. This second part will discuss topics that I have not encountered elsewhere.

Chapter 7 will actually be familiar because Stephen’s sermon appears to be a recapitulation of his past—which is our near future. Thus, chapter 7 could be described as future history. In chapter 8 there will be a blurring of the division between religion and culture. Religion will extend to the subjective realms of culture and entertainment and the new spiritual economy will swallow up a mysticism that has moved from heaven down to earth.

Chapter 9 will introduce primal beings, based in the hypothesis that the DNA of life was originally designed by such beings, guided by God in Teacher thought. This may initially seem like a bizarre hypothesis, but I am not aware of any rational alternative to this hypothesis. This will lead to a rethinking of the spiritual economy. Chapter 10 appears to describe revitalized religion meeting genetic manipulation. This leads in chapter 11 to religious questions and the conclusion that physical and spiritual have become alternative paths of equivalent value. This leads to a total rethinking of government. Chapter 12 appears to describe a recapitulation of the ‘mighty men’ of Genesis 6, but in this case, there is a positive alternative and the negative alternative ends up being ‘eaten by worms’. The essay finishes with an attempt to place all of this strange content into a theological picture that includes other relevant scriptural passages. Please do not read this essay as escapist fantasy. My personal goal is to see if there is any way out from the political, religious, economic, and environmental mess of current society. We are very close to reaching the point where no natural solution will suffice. The only option that remains is to explore supernatural solutions, which means plunging into an analysis of a possible future while attempting to remain sane and grounded.

Table of Contents

Part 1

7:1-4 Abraham and the Enlightenment

7:5-7 Modern Technological Society

7:8-10 ‘Circumcising’ Technological Thought

7:11-16 The Domination of Secular Technical Thought

7:17-19 Postmodern Thought

7:20-23 Moses and Mental Symmetry

7:24-29 Moses Fails to Save his People

7:30-34 Moses Sees the Angel on Holy Ground

7:35-40 Moses Leads Israel out of Egypt

7:41-43 Israelites Worship an Alien Host

7:44-50 The Tabernacle of Testimony

7:51-56 Stephen Confronts his Audience

7:57-60 Stephen is Stoned

8:1-4 Saul Persecutes the Church

8:5-8 Philip Proclaims in Samaria

8:9-13 Simon the Sorcerer

8:14-18 Subsidiary Spiritual Economies

8:19-25 Delegated Spiritual Authority

8:26-28 Philip Meets the Ethiopian Eunuch

8:29-35 Bringing Understanding to Mystical Worship

8:36-40 The Eunuch is Baptized

9:1-2 Extending Religious Control

9:3-8 Blinded by Divine Light

9:9 Primal Beings and Protein Folding

9:10-12 Ananias is Called

9:13-16 Ananias Protests

9:17 Ananias Obeys

9:18-22 Saul is Transformed

9:23-25 A New Form of Absolute Truth

9:26-31 Saul Joins the other Disciples

9:32-35 Aeneas of Lydda

9:36-37 The Death of Dorcas

9:38-39 Peter is Called to Help

9:40-43 Dorcas is Resurrected

10:1-4 The Vision of Cornelius

10:5-8 Cornelius sends to Joppa

10:9-16 Peter’s Vision

10:17-23 Cornelius’ Servants meet Peter

10:24-28 Peter Arrives at Cornelius

10:29-33 Cornelius Explains

10:34-39 Peter Describes the Character of God

10:40-43 A Resurrected Message

10:44-48 The Holy Spirit Falls

11:1-10 Religious Apprehension

11:11-18 Peter Summarizes the Visit

11:19-25 The Church at Antioch

11:26-30 A Reformulation of Christianity

12:1-4 Herod Kills James and Imprisons Peter

12:5-8 An Angel Frees Peter from Prison

12:9-11 Peter is Uncertain about Reality

12:12-16 Peter Rejoins Human Society

12:17-19 Peter’s Escape becomes Known

12:20-23 Herod is Worshipped and Dies

12:24-25 The Word of God Multiplies

Summary The BIG Picture

Abraham and the Enlightenment 7:1-4

Chapter 7 contains a 53 verse long sermon by Stephen to the Sanhedrin. The topic of this sermon is God intervening step-by-step in Jewish history. This places normal society within the plan of God. This is different than the ‘synagogue of freedmen’, which thinks in terms of being saved from evil and then regards normal society as something special that needs to be preserved.

Verse 1 begins with a question. “Now the high priest said, ‘Are these things so?’” So means ‘in this way, thus’. This is remarkable, for the high priest is asking Stephen a question rather than merely giving him an order. In 4:16 the council ordered Peter and John not to speak in the name of Jesus. In 5:28 the high priest asked why they weren’t obeying this order. In verse 1, the high priest is asking a legitimate question and Stephen responds with a long answer. Going further, the high priest asks an open-ended question based upon similarity. Cognitively speaking, this indicates the use of normal thought to build bridges between various specializations.

Stephen begins in verse 2. “And he said, ‘Listen to me, men, brothers and fathers!’” This also is a remarkable introduction. In both 4:19 and 5:29 Peter answered by saying that he had to choose between obeying God or the council. In verse 2, Stephen is addressing the council as brothers and fathers. Men indicates a focus upon male technical thought. Brother literally means ‘from the same womb’ and is typically used to describe a fellow Christian. This statement would be technically correct at this time in the future. On the one side, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and some of the freedmen have gone through a resurrection in thinking. On the other side, Stephen, unlike the apostles, is applying angelic principles while living within normal human thought. Thus, both sides now use similar male technical thought. However, we just saw that Stephen has a different set of core mental networks. This is similar to the relationship that I have with academic research. I find that the technical thinking of academia can usually be trusted. However, I am motivated by a different set of core mental networks than the average academic person or institution. Finally, the term fathers suggests that Stephen is actually learning from the male technical thinking of the resurrected priesthood. Similarly, I have learned a lot from academic research. And the word listen means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. Thus, Stephen assumes that he will be able to communicate intelligently with the priesthood.

The word said was used once previously in Acts in 2:38 and means to ‘bring to light by asserting one statement over another’. This describes emphasizing various Perceiver facts in order to bring the light of Teacher understanding. One can do this when interacting with people who are brothers.

Verse 2 continues, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.” Glory was discussed before and it was mentioned that most scriptural passages portray glory as a visible expression of invisible character. A ‘God of glory’ describes Stephen’s fundamental assumption, which is that God expresses himself in physical reality. Appear means ‘to see with the mind’. Abraham describes the first stage of the path of personal transformation, in which one leaves the status quo in order to follow an internal concept of God. Live means to ‘settle down as a permanent resident’. The name Haran means ‘parched’ in Hebrew but also means ‘road’ in Assyrian. Both of these describe the second stage of transformation in which one leaves the water of Mercy experiences and follows the road of Server righteousness.

Putting this together, God didn’t save Abraham out of bondage and deliver him to the status quo of civilization, but rather called Abraham out of the status quo of civilization in order to follow an internal vision from God. Historically speaking, Mesopotamia was a center of civilization during the time of Abraham. Symbolically, Mesopotamia means ‘between the rivers’, which represents a civilization that exists in the midst of the waters of Mercy experiences. Abraham then lived apart from Mercy experiences and Perceiver places. Applying this to the birth of Christianity, Christianity began as an attempt to move beyond the Roman civilization, guided by the internal vision of a better city.

Verse 3 describes this leaving civilization more clearly. “And He said to him, ‘Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.’” Country means ‘the physical earth’ and represents human rational thought. Kindred means ‘kinship, kinfolk, relatives’. Go means ‘to go or come out of’ but is followed by a preposition that specifically means ‘from out of’. Thus, God tells Abraham to leave existing rational thought and existing culture, as opposed to being saved from bondage by embracing existing rational thought and returning to existing culture. Come is an exclamatory that means ‘come!’ It is used twice in Acts, both times in this chapter. To means ‘to or into’ and ‘land’ is the same word as country. (If the same Greek word is used twice in one verse, then why does the NASB translates this as two different English words?) This is the first use in Acts of the word show which means ‘to show’. Notice that God isn’t calling Abraham out of rational thought to something different or holy. Instead, God is calling Abraham out of the rational thinking of society into a different form of rational thinking. However, this new rational thinking is something ‘which to you I will show’. Thus, Abraham will become capable of a higher form of rational thinking that is guided by God in Teacher thought, a form of thinking that goes beyond the normal thinking of society.

Verse 4 describes what Abraham did. “Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.” Leave is the same combination of ‘go’ and ‘from out of’ that was used in verse 3. Chaldean is used once in the New Testament. I cannot find any clear meaning of the word, but the region of Chaldea was located in the marshy land of the far southeastern corner of Mesopotamia. A marshland would represent the existing culture with its combination of Mercy experiences and semisolid Perceiver facts. Abraham left this culture rather than embracing it. Haran means ‘crossroads’, which is where the roads of Server sequences come together to form Perceiver connections. Settle means to ‘settle down as a permanent resident’. Thus, Abraham left the MMNs of existing society and made a permanent home in a land of Perceiver facts and Server sequences. This is similar to the way that objective science leaves subjective MMNs and makes its home in a realm of facts and processes.

But that was not Abraham’s final destination. Instead, “From there, after his father died, [God] had him move to this country in which you are now living.” Die means to ‘die off, focusing on the separation that goes with the dying off’. This is the first use of this word in Acts. Looking at this cognitively, Abraham had to move out of his existing culture until his existing system of male rational thought died off in his mind. Thus, instead of being saved out of bondage into society, Abraham had to leave society until he no longer thought in terms of his existing society. ‘God’ is implied by the Greek but is not explicitly mentioned. This is similar to the way that objective science has developed a form of rational thought that is different than the common sense of normal society.

Move is used twice in the New Testament, both times in this chapter and means ‘to cause to migrate’. This describes a major cultural shift. This cultural shift was ‘into this land’, and land represents rational thought. Thus, God did not call Abraham from rational thought to something irrational, but rather from one form of rational thinking to a higher form of rational thinking. Stephen then points out that this higher rational thinking is the land in which his audience has settled down as permanent residents. In other words, what the freedmen are regarding as a culture to embrace is actually the result of a mindset that left the current culture, lived in pure rational thinking long enough to die to the current culture, and then migrated to a new form of rational thought. This could also be interpreted as the scientific revolution followed by the Enlightenment which culminated in today’s technological society. This would interpret objective science as a sort of ‘Haran’ that is between Mesopotamia of traditional culture and the Promised Land of modern technology. (Remember that Stephen is looking back at his past from our future.)

Modern Technological Society 7:5-7

Verse 5 points out that Abraham moving to the land of Israel was not the final step. “But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground.” Inheritance is based upon who one is, and not upon what one has done. A true spiritual economy goes beyond having to being. Stephen is saying that Abraham did not function at the level of being. Looking at this cognitively, the first stage of personal transformation leaves MMNs of culture in order to construct a concept of God. But in this first stage one does not become like God in character. Instead, one uses personal honesty to construct a concept of God regardless of personal character.

Foot is the normal word for ‘foot’. ‘Foot’ occurs in 96 times in the New Testament and is never translated as a unit of measurement except in this one verse. The word ground appears 12 times in the New Testament and means ‘a platform to which someone walked up to receive judgment’. It is always translated as some form of judgment seat except in this one case. Abstract technical thought is based in precise definitions. One of the principles of interpretation that is being used in these essays is to apply the same definition to the same Greek word every time it occurs.

The combination of feet and personal authority has appeared several times in Acts. For instance, ‘foot’ was used several times in chapters 4-5 to talk about laying gifts at the feet of the apostles. That was interpreted as submitting some gift to the general theory of the apostle in order to receive a spiritual reward. That principle was a basic characteristic of the spiritual economy, because the apostle made some spiritual breakthrough and then this acquired spiritual generality as followers submitted to this breakthrough. Thus, verse 5 would indicate that Abraham did not reach the level of functioning as a spiritual economy. And one can state this to be a valid conclusion because the very concept of a spiritual economy seems bizarre in today’s technological society.

These two words are preceded by a Greek word which indicates that if the previous statement is invalid then this statement is also invalid. Therefore, if Abraham did not receive an inheritance—if he did not reach the level of ‘being’, then it follows that he also could not birth a spiritual economy. That is because inheritance and being are prerequisites for a spiritual economy.

Verse 5 clarifies what Abraham did receive. “And yet, He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.” Promise is used once in Acts and means ‘to declare promise that is fitting’. Possession is used twice in the New Testament, both times in this chapter, and means ‘a holding fast’. This describes ‘having’ rather than ‘being’, and the promise of having is described as an appropriate promise. Looking at this historically, current science and theology are theories of having. Science ignores personal identity by remaining objective, and theology is regarded largely as something that one believes regardless of personal character. Current science and Christianity have led to the development and accumulation of unprecedented wealth. This is a promise of having but not one of being.

Descendant means ‘that which is sown’. It can refer either to descendants or to some form of grain. Grain is interpreted as intellectual food. Thus, the ‘having’ of objective science has been passed on to succeeding generations through the intellectual food of academic thought and research. Saying this more carefully, the average scientist today could not invent science if it did not exist, but is capable of continuing a science that does exist. Child means ‘a child living in willing dependence’. And the word had is actually ‘to be’. The last phrase is more literally, ‘not being to him a child in willing dependence’. In other words, Abraham was unable to pass on what he was doing at the level of ‘being’. Instead, he was stuck at the level of ‘having’.

Verse 6 continues, “But God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs.” Spoke means to chatter. To this effect means ‘in this way’ which indicates a similarity. The word ‘seed’ and ‘be’ are repeated. In other words, an explicit promise is made regarding the ‘having’ of the descendants. But this is accompanied by a more vague statement regarding the ‘being’ of the descendants. Stranger means ‘someone living close to others as a temporary dweller’. Land refers to rational thought. That was not theirs is a single word that means ‘belonging to another’ and comes from a word that means ‘another of the same kind’. In other words, the descendants of Abraham will feel as if they don’t quite belong in existing society, but they will not feel disconnected from existing society. Similarly, Protestant Christianity can generally be described as having been ‘of the world but not in the world’, and the flipping of terms is deliberate. Christians have been heavily influenced by the surrounding culture but they have also felt as if they are living in secular society as temporary dwellers. Similarly, objective science acquires most of its motivation from surrounding society but also leads to the feeling of an academic society that is different than normal society. These feelings are seldom stated explicitly but rather experienced in the way of similarities described in normal conversation.

Verse 6 describes where this leads. “And they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years.” ‘They’ is implied but not explicitly mentioned. Enslave is used once in Acts and ‘stresses the results of enslavement’. Slavery treats people as property; it reduces being down to the level of having. Mistreat is a verb that comes from an adjective that means ‘inwardly foul, rotten’. In other words, objective science will be manipulated by foul mental networks. ‘Having’ will increase while ‘being’ will remain primitive. Going further, the primitive drives of ‘being’ will enslave the advanced thinking of ‘having’. One can see this illustrated by the development of modern warfare in which modern technology is used to kill people more efficiently. One can also see this more subtly in the way that modern technology is used to provide more effective entertainment for childish minds.

I am not sure what 400 represents, but this number occurred once previously in 5:36 to describe the followers of Theudas, which was interpreted as Pentecostalism. Pentecostalism starts by promising great things but invariably ends up using emotional methods to manipulate the crowds. Similarly, most wars function in a similar way, starting with great enthusiasm and ending up with blatant control of the population.

Verse 7 describes where God is in the middle of this. “‘And whatever nation to which they are enslaved I Myself will judge,’ said God.” Nation means ‘people joined by practicing similar customs’, which describes MMNs of culture. Enslaved is the normal word for slave, which means ‘someone who belongs to another’. Judge means ‘to pick out by separating’. The word ‘I’ is explicitly mentioned. Thus, a concept of God in Teacher thought will express itself through the picking out and separating of abstract technical thought. Saying this in more detail, when objective science and technology are misused by crowd-manipulating, amoral demagogues, then the use of scientific thought will itself have a personal impact, because individuals will have to choose whether to use objective science in a moral or an immoral manner. Similarly, when Christian belief becomes control by dominating church leaders, then individual believers will have to choose whether to obey God or submit to humans.

Verse 7 describes the personal outcome. “And after that they will come out and serve Me in this place.” ‘That’ is actually in the plural, which suggests that it will take several rounds of dictatorship to achieve the desired results. Come out is the same verb that was used in verses 3-4 to describe Abraham leaving civilization but is not accompanied by the word ‘from out of’. Thus, people will gradually make a personal shift out of their current culture but not as radical a shift as was initially taken by Abraham. Applying this to the larger context of the freedmen, notice that people are being enslaved until they reach the point of being willing to leave their current culture in order to follow some new master.

Serve means ‘someone hired to accomplish a technical task because qualified’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. This describes Server actions guided by technical thought. Going further, ‘serving me’ means performing technical Server actions that are consistent with general Teacher understanding. The phrase ‘this place’ was previously used in 6:14 by the freedmen when they accused Stephen of dismantling ‘this place’. Thus, Stephen is pointing out that the Perceiver concept of a holy place is actually determined by the Server actions that are being performed in that place. For instance, academia is not a set of buildings or a group of people. Instead, it describes a methodology that is designed to gain rational Teacher understanding. What ultimately defines science is the scientific method. Similarly, Christianity is not a church or a group of believers. Instead, Christianity describes the path of personal transformation by which one construct and follows an adequate concept of God.

‘Circumcising’ Technological Thought 7:8-10

Verse 8 mentions circumcision. “And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day.” A covenant is ‘a covenant between two parties’ and combines the word ‘thoroughly’ with ‘place, set’. Stated cognitively, a covenant provides a solid reference point in Perceiver thought that guides the interaction between people. This word is used one other time in Acts in 3:25. Circumcision literally means to ‘cut around’ and biblehub explains that ‘The sign of physical circumcision relates to the Seed’. Seed, the source of the English word ‘sperm’, was mentioned back in verse 6.

This suggests a possible cognitive interpretation for circumcision. The ultimate goal is for male technical thought to be ‘married’ to female mental networks. Normally, the mental networks of female thought civilize the technical thinking of male thought. But the society of verse 8 combines advanced male technical thought with the immature female mental networks of demagogues. Whether these demagogues are physically men or women, they are still using and manipulating immature female mental networks. The temporary solution is to put a restriction upon the desires of male thought, as illustrated physically by the ‘cutting around’ of the source of male seed. Thus, ‘modern’ society places restrictions upon the goals and motivations of male technical thought.

I am NOT suggesting that women are inherently stupid. Instead, I am suggesting that current society enables childish female thought. A spiritual economy would empower female thought far beyond any current attempts at female empowerment. One can see a glimpse of what this means in current women who are educated while remaining feminine. In contrast, I suggest that most current female empowerment actually reduces female thought to the level of childish arrogance.

So means ‘in this way’. Abraham is described as begetting Isaac ‘in this way’. Isaac means ‘he will laugh’ and represents the discovery of Teacher pleasure, because one is discovering a form of emotion that makes it possible to let go emotionally of Mercy experiences. This emotional letting go of experiences happens in laughter. ‘In this way’ means cognitively that Teacher emotion was discovered as a byproduct of placing restrictions upon the ‘seed’ of male thought. Saying this more crudely, savage little boys need to have boundaries in order to turn into educated men. As I am writing this, the Taliban has just taken over Afghanistan. The Taliban place severe restrictions upon women and upon mental networks of culture while allowing men to remain savages with modern weapons. This is precisely the opposite of circumcision. Instead, the men should be placing restrictions upon their own primitive drives so that women can be given the freedom to live normal lives.

Begetting refers to the male side of procreation. I suggest that the female side is not being ignored because God is a ‘male chauvinist pig’, but rather because male technical thought has acquired the ability to reproduce while female mental networks are still stuck in cultural preservation. This again illustrates the point that being saved from bondage into the existing culture is not enough. Stephen himself illustrates how to deal with the mental networks of culture because Stephen was appointed a deacon in order to address the problem of ‘widow’ mental networks of religious and scientific culture. That is quite different than current society, which uses advertising to manipulate mental networks of consumerism in order to pursue male technical thought in an unfettered manner. But the male warriors of the stock market and the advertising industry are emotionally more circumcised than the male warriors of Afghanistan. Saying this more carefully, we currently live in a society with highly developed male technical thought and childish mental networks. This leads to oxymorons such as smart weapons and consumer gadgets. Male technical thought needs to be circumcised, which means placing societal limits upon the ways in which male technical thought can be expressed. This needs to continue until male technical thought reaches the level of being able to transform childish mental networks. That transformation will happen in the theoretical return of Jesus which will lead to the transformed mental networks of spiritual technology. When spiritual technology emerges, then society will start to see female thought with its mental networks functioning at a high level. And that will automatically solve the current problem of gender inequality.

If a day represents an era of society, then ‘the eighth day’ means that the circumcision is done after society has gone through several eras. There are two possible reasons for this. On the one hand, the initial steps of emerging from traditional culture involve hard work and intimate contact with the physical world. Stated simply, pioneering and homesteading require vigorous manhood—rugged men who have not been emotionally circumcised. Once nature becomes sufficiently civilized, then such frontier men are no longer needed or wanted. On the other hand, as male technical thought develops, using male technical thought to pursue childish mental networks leads to ever increasing painful consequences. For instance, researching a better rifle will kill some people, while researching a better atomic bomb will kill everyone. Going further, Teacher emotion will motivate male technical thought to develop something to its full potential just because it can be done. For instance, if it is possible to spy on everybody in the entire world, then Teacher emotion will feel that this should be done. This Teacher-driven expansion will initially be limited by physical impossibilities. But as Teacher-driven technology grows in power, the ‘Isaac’ of Teacher-driven male technical thought will have to be circumcised in order to prevent civilization from destroying itself.

Verse 8 finishes, “and Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs.” Jacob means ‘heel’. Genesis 25:26 says that Jacob was given this name because he held on to Esau’s heel with his hand when he was being born. Jacob represents the third stage of returning from abstract thought back to concrete experiences in order to receive an inheritance. Stephen represents a fuller expression of this third stage. Cognitively speaking, the abstract thinking of Isaac can develop in two directions. The first and obvious direction is expressed by Esau, who despised his birthright in order to gain a meal of intellectual food. Thus, Esau represents theoretical research that does research for its own sake. Personal identity rests its weight upon the feet. Therefore, the heel of Esau would represent the aftermath of resting one’s personal identity upon abstract theory. Jacob is clinging to Esau’s heel with his hand, suggesting that technical manipulation is following a personal resting upon abstract theory. This describes modern technology which starts with an abstract understanding in Teacher thought and then applies this to reality using technical thinking in order to gain an inheritance.

Patriarch means ‘head or founder of a family’ and was used once previously to refer to David in 2:29. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob appear to represent the three-stage path of transformation at a personal level. Patriarch indicates going beyond the individual to the group. Begetting and circumcising were mentioned explicitly with Isaac. Neither are mentioned with Jacob or the twelve patriarchs. Looking at this cognitively, when one is using abstract theory to pursue some birthright, then male technical thought is being guided by mental networks, and this birthright will civilize male thought, which goes beyond merely restricting male thought. Similarly, when applied research goes beyond the individual to a group, then the group will form mental networks of culture that will tend to have a civilizing impact upon male technical thought. For instance, war becomes increasingly unthinkable as technology develops infrastructure and modern cities. That is because too much would be lost as a result of armed conflict.

When personal transformation reaches the group level, then a split between religious and secular emerges. “The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him” (v. 9). Jealous means ‘to burn with zeal’. And Joseph means ‘he increases’. This describes a fundamental shortcoming of absolute truth. Abraham has discovered a concept of God in Teacher thought, but this verbal understanding will be taught to succeeding generations as absolute truth. And absolute truth survives only as long as the source of truth has much more emotional status than personal identity. The increase of Joseph threatens the zeal of absolute truth, because this increase takes people’s attention away from a fixation upon absolute truth. This leads to a split between those who pursue absolute truth by suppressing personal desires in a religious manner and those who pursue personal desires guided by absolute truth in a secular manner.

Sell means ‘to return, especially as a payment’. And Egypt represents the secular world. Looking at this cognitively, incremental growth will be shunted off to the secular realm of Egypt. The religious realm will then provide spirituality for the secular world while the secular world will financially support the religious system. ‘God was with him’ means that this secularization of absolute truth will discover general Teacher order. The implication is that God is not with the other patriarchs. Applying this to Western society, secular science has become the source of universal Teacher understanding while theology has languished.

Verse 10 describes Joseph’s path to prominence. “And rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.” Rescue means to ‘remove completely’ and this is the first time that this word is used in Acts. Affliction actually means ‘internal pressure that causes someone to feel confined’. Joseph is ‘removed completely out of all of his pressure of confinement’. This describes what happened to science when it left the religious realm with its absolute truth and religious self-denial and became part of the secular world. Science was able to grow and develop without restriction in all areas.

Favor means ‘grace’. Notice that God in Teacher thought is giving grace to secular science. Wisdom means ‘clarity’ and secular science excels at bringing clarity to various subjects. In fact, one of the key initial aspects of scientific thought is to clarify terms and definitions. This clarity comes as a result of being driven by Teacher understanding to bring order to the complexity of some subject.

Before means ‘in the presence of’. Pharaoh means ‘great house’. A king is a secular ruler and Egypt represents the secular world. Looking at Western society, science has brought great benefits from Teacher thought as well as clarity of abstract thought to the great house of secular existence, especially to its rulers and upper class.

Verse 10 describes the resulting reward. “And he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.” Made means ‘to set down in place’. Governor means ‘what goes before, in front’. Thus, ‘governor over Egypt’ would mean that secular science leads the way for secular society which accurately describes the situation today. Entire means ‘wholly, where all the parts are present and working as a whole’. House means ‘a house, a dwelling’. This describes the consumer society, in which science causes all the various parts of personal existence to function in an integrated manner.

The Domination of Secular Technical Thought 7:11-16

Verse 11 appears to describe postmodernism and the ‘great tribulation’. “Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers were not finding food.” Looking first at postmodernism, famine means ‘hunger, famine’ and would represent a lack of intellectual food. All means ‘wholly’ which was used in the previous verses to describe the Teacher order of the consumer society. This famine is happening to the secular world of Egypt as well as Canaan. This is the first of two times that Canaan is mentioned in the New Testament, and the word probably means ‘to be low, humble’ and could refer either to being subjugated or else refer to the lowlands. Egypt refers to the secular world. Canaan probably represents a mindset of religious self-denial in which one views the source of absolute truth (in Jerusalem which is on a mountain) as much higher than the lowlands of Canaan. Applying this to postmodernism, postmodernism has led to an intellectual famine in the secular world by rejecting all Teacher theories as personal opinions backed up by emotional status, and it has also led to a famine in the realm of absolute truth by calling into question traditional feelings of respect for academic and religious authority.

Turning now to the Great Tribulation, great means ‘large, great, in the widest sense’ and affliction means squeezing or narrowness. These same two Greek words are used to describe the ‘great tribulation’ in Matthew 24:21 and Revelation 7:14. (This term occurs one other time in the New Testament in Revelation 2:22, which may also refer to the same period. I have managed to decipher most of Revelation but not the letters to the seven churches.) This needs to be repeated because of the emphasis that current prophecy gives to the term ‘Great Tribulation’. These two Greek words are found together four times in the New Testament: Matthew 24:21, Acts 7:11, Revelation 2:22, and Revelation 7:14. Matthew 24 and Revelation 7 both refer to the same period of time. Our analysis of Stephen’s sermon suggests that Acts 7 is also referring to this period of time. And I suspect that Revelation 2 is also referring to this same period of time.

The phrase ‘great tribulation’ does not mean a time of great suffering. Instead it refers to a great Teacher generality of narrowness and squeezing. This needs to be repeated. The word tribulation does not mean suffering. Instead, it is ‘used of a narrow place that hems someone in; tribulation, especially internal pressure that causes someone to feel confined (restricted, without options)’. In fact, I suggest that we in 2021 are currently in the great tribulation. In order to perform a job, one must first go through the narrowness of technical training and one then enters the narrowness of a technical profession in which one is only permitted to perform a limited set of actions. Political correctness has put extreme limitations upon what one is permitted to say or do in social company. The explosive growth of population has also squeezed the life of the average person into small apartments. Going further, the covid pandemic has put extreme limitations upon social interaction. Putting this all together, I cannot think of any other period of history where squeezing has been experienced to such a wide extent. Saying this another way, male technical thought has been successfully circumcised.

Finding means to ‘discover, especially after searching’. Food is used once as a noun in the New Testament and comes from a verb that means ‘feed, satisfy, fatten’. Applying this to today’s postmodern world, academic research continues unabated, but those who are inflicted by postmodern thought are not making new discoveries. Instead, they keep rehashing the same basic concept of questioning authority and are never intellectually satisfied or fed. But this postmodern questioning is also the father of a new form of thinking. That is because postmodern thought often raises legitimate issues and questions authorities that need to be questioned. What postmodern questioning regards as deconstructionism, I regard as raw material for cognitive analysis. In other words, mental symmetry makes it possible to rebuild after the deconstructionism of postmodernism.

Verse 12 describes the response. “But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time.” Heard means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. Grain is ‘a generic term for any edible grain’. Grain represents intellectual food. This describes a failure of religion to come up with new information. Instead, religion is turning to secular psychology for intellectual food. And ‘heard’ implies that this is driven by a desire for rational understanding. Sent combines ‘out from’ with ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’. In other words, on this first quest for intellectual food, religious thought is still a coherent entity that is sending out for secular information. Secular psychology is being added to religious entities. This describes what happened in the 1970s and 1980s in Protestant Christianity.

The situation is different on the second visit. “And on the second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh” (v. 13). Made known is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘upward’ with ‘experiential knowledge’. Looking at this cognitively, the ‘Joseph’ of personal development is becoming apparent to the other facets of Christian development. Christian thinkers are realizing that cognitive and social growth are a fundamental aspect of Christianity. This awareness is happening both at the Mercy experiential level and as an ‘upward’ theoretical realization in Teacher thought.

Revealed means ‘to bring to light’. Pharaoh means ‘great house’. Going the other way, the ‘great house’ of secular society is realizing that prosperity has certain spiritual and cognitive preconditions; it is part of a family. And this is a theoretical realization that involves the light of Teacher understanding. This secular realization can be seen in the rise of pop psychology. I know that pop psychology tends to be regarded as shallow, but it does contain a number of significant principles. What matters is that secular society is actually approaching the topic of personal development from a Teacher perspective. The family of Joseph has brought light to the great house of secular Egypt.

This is followed in verse 14 by a wholesale move to Egypt. “Then Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five souls in all.” Sent means ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’. Invite is being used for the first time in Acts and means ‘to call from one place to another’. In verse 12, Jacob sent out to Egypt from Canaan. In verse 14, Joseph is sending to Jacob from Egypt. Cognitively speaking, personal growth is becoming the defining feature of Christianity. This involves a shift in thinking, a calling from one place to another. That is because interpreting Christianity as personal growth is a totally different perspective than interpreting it as religious self-denial to some source of absolute truth. Jacob represents the third stage of returning from theory back to personal experience in order to receive an inheritance. Joseph is recognizing that this new focus upon personal growth is a development of applying Christian doctrine in real life. Stated more simply, ‘God wants you to experience a fuller life. God has an inheritance for you.’

Kindred was previously used in verse 3 where Abraham was told to leave his kindred. In verse 14, all the kindred of Christianity are being ‘called from one place to another’ into Egypt. The soul refers to the integrated mind. I am not sure what 75 represents, but it does imply many different concepts of mental integration. In other words, all the various facets of Christian mental wholeness are being translated into secular language. For instance, it is now considered standard practice even in evangelical churches for counseling to be done by licensed psychologists who have been taught psychology in secular universities. That was not the case fifty years ago.

In verse 15, Jacob dies. “And Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there.” Went down means to go down and is interpreted as heading away from general Teacher theory. Jacob represents moving from Teacher understanding to personal application. Stephen embodies the mindset of Jacob. Jacob is heading away from the realm of Teacher thought and descending toward the concrete experiences of Egypt. This was a byproduct of the secularization of Christian doctrine described in verse 14. For instance, the average church today no longer emphasizes abstract doctrine. Instead, the focus is upon practical principles. The very idea that abstract doctrine could have practical benefits has became something of the past. And this focus upon practical principles has also led to the death of ‘our fathers’ which means that the average Christian no longer looks to the church fathers to interpret Christian doctrine.

Die ‘focuses on reaching the necessary end point’. Jacob dies in Egypt and also the fathers. The secularization of Christian doctrine is viewed by fundamentalists as a fatal end that must be fought at all cost. However, verse 15 is portraying this as reaching a goal. The humility of Canaan is not the end point. Instead, the third stage of Jacob is supposed to return in a transformed manner to secular existence. And when one examines the fundamentalists who are currently attempting to defend the absolute truth of the Bible one notices that a transformation has occurred here as well. What is being defended is the concept of absolute truth while the actual content of the Bible is being largely ignored. The concept of Jacob is no longer present. There is no longer any idea of taking Christian principles and applying them in real life. That kind of application happened in the Victorian era. It is not happening today in 2021. Instead, the primary focus is either upon controlling society through secular, political means or in escaping earth to go back to heaven. Any idea of struggling with angels for an earthly inheritance is gone.

In verse 16, Jacob and the fathers are buried. “And they were brought back from there to Shechem and laid in the tomb.” Brought back means to ‘carry over, change, translate’. Shechem means ‘ridge’. Laid means ‘to place, lay, set’. And tomb comes from a word that means ‘to remember’. In other words, theology becomes primarily a historical topic studied with a secular mindset. It becomes translated from religious fervor to academic scholarship. It is recognized as a high point or ridge in the history of religion. But it is no longer regarded as anything that has a living relationship to current existence.

Verse 16 describes the origin of this tomb. ‘Which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.” Purchase is only used once in the New Testament and comes from a word that means ‘price’. Sum is the standard word for ‘value’. And silver means ‘money, piece of silver’ and was interpreted earlier as referring to money in general. It was mentioned earlier that Abraham represents the first stage of leaving social mental networks in order to construct a concept of God in Teacher thought. The result of this is to purchase a ‘ridge’ of theology. A mindset of absolute truth will regard theology as ‘the Queen of sciences’. Theology is no longer perceived this way. But it is still regarded within secular academia as a legitimate discipline of study—no longer THE mountain of Jerusalem, but still a legitimate ridge. For instance one 2019 paper suggests that “The view that theology represents the highest level of academic learning and the summit of human knowledge has a long history... theology lost this special status in modernity... it is suggested that, under certain conditions, theology can still be conceived as a proper university discipline in contemporary pluralistic societies.”

Hamor is mentioned once in the New Testament and means ‘to be red’. Red represents blood and the spilling of human life. Christian theology did not emerge out of a vacuum. Instead, it developed as individuals and societies struggled with deep issues under great personal pressure accompanied by the spilling of both psychological and physical blood. This was a legitimate cognitive purchasing of truth. The ridge of theology was purchased from the sons of this redness. This becomes obvious when one reads the biographies of those who developed Christian theology.

Postmodern Thought 7:17-19

In verse 17, the focus shifts forward to the next step. “But as the time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt.” As means ‘according to the manner in which’. Approaching means ‘has drawn close’. And time means physical, clock time. This suggests that the next verses take place over a short period of time. It also suggests that the pattern of what is about to emerge will become increasingly clear. Promise means ‘appropriate promise’. This word was previously used in 2:39 which described the promise as the gift of the Holy Spirit being given at that time. This suggests that verse 17 is referring to 2:39. For us in 2021 that is in the future. For the symbolic future audience of Stephen, it would be in the past. This is described as a promise by God to Abraham. What happens cognitively is that building a general Teacher theory upon absolute truth will create Platonic forms of heavenly perfection. But these will be viewed as disconnected from physical reality because they are based in words that have no connection with physical reality. However, absolute truth has been turning into universal truth. And universal truth will cause these Platonic forms to reemerge, but heavenly perfection will now be seen as a more perfect version of existing human imperfection.

Increase means ‘to make to grow, to grow’. Multiply means to be ‘made full’. The laity is growing and being made full, and this is happening in Egypt. In other words, the average secular person is increasingly thinking about cognitive principles of personal development. Consistent with this, I have noted recently that it is increasingly possible to discuss what used to be regarded as Christian topics by referring to academic papers and using academic language. In addition, I often find significant psychological principles being described in popular Internet articles. I do not know how widespread this growth is. But amidst all of the postmodernism, there is also a growing trend towards discovering psychological and neuropsychological principles. This is happening primarily in the secular world of Egypt and most of the Christian discussion now refers to these secular principles.

Verse 18 describes a transition. “Until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.” Until means ‘until, as far as’, which means that the secular growth of the previous verse will be brought to an end. Arose is the standard word for resurrection, which is being interpreted as the rebirth or transformation of some movement. King refers to a secular ruler. And another means ‘another of a different kind’. In other words, there is a transformation in government mindset. In Canada, this can be seen in the transition from Stephen Harper as Prime Minister of Canada to Justin Trudeau. Stephen Harper was a Christian conservative who attempted to maintain traditional Christian values while also appealing to the postmodern individual. Justin Trudeau, in contrast, is a postmodern individual who feels that it is his moral duty to impose postmodern values upon the nation.

Know means ‘seeing that becomes knowing’ and refers to empirical evidence. And Joseph refers to growth. Not knowing Joseph describes a new generation that did not experience the growth of the modern era but rather grew up in a Postmodern world that was starting to question the concept of growth. The freedmen are like the new Pharaoh because they grew up in their current situation and do not comprehend how it came into being.

Verse 19 describes the policies of this new leader. “It was he who shrewdly took advantage of our nation and mistreated our fathers in order that they would abandon their infants in the Nile, so that they would not survive.” Shrewdly take advantage of is found once in the New Testament and combines ‘against’ with ‘to make wise’. Race means ‘family, offspring’. This describes an agenda that is specifically designed to eliminate any remnant of historical culture or morality. This accurately describes what is currently happening in Canada.

Mistreat means to inflict what is ‘inwardly foul, rotten’. This inward foulness is being imposed upon the fathers. This also can be seen in the current government policy of many Western nations, which is replacing traditional morality with the personal fixations of the marginalized, because the underlying assumption is that if anyone is experiencing bad consequences, then it is because they have been oppressed by traditional sources of authority. Any suggestion that painful consequences could be the result of inward rottenness is rejected as forbidden to say or even think. Thus, traditional morality is being replaced by government imposed inward rottenness.

In order that means ‘to make, do’. Thus, this is not a matter of theoretical understanding but rather a matter of pragmatic action. Infant means ‘an unborn or a newborn child’. Abandon is used once in the New Testament as a verb and means to ‘cast out’. Survive is used once in Acts and means ‘to preserve alive’. Putting this together, the government is making people behave in a way that prevents any mental networks of traditional morality or custom from remaining alive. Instead, such mental networks are being stifled as soon as they come into being. That is because it is possible to successfully suppress a mental network for a short while after it comes into being. This is not being done through any form of logic or understanding but rather by controlling public behavior. One must never act or behave in any way that reflects traditional morality and if one does so one must immediately apologize profusely or else one will be cancelled. Many examples can be found in current Canadian news. And I am quite certain that similar examples can be found in other ‘progressive’ countries.

Moses and Mental Symmetry 7:20-23

Verse 20 describes the birth of Moses. “At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s home.” Time means ‘opportune time’ rather than clock time. Born is the same word translated as beget in verse 8 and could refer to either the male or female side of procreation. Moses means ‘to draw’. Thus, this societal atmosphere provides the ideal opportunity for a Moses to emerge from the waters of Mercy experiences. The reason why this is an opportune time is that there is still a memory of traditional Christian morality, secular thought is developing psychological principles and these are commonly known, and all of the government supported lifestyles of ‘inward rottenness’ provide vivid illustrations of the moral consequences of making foolish choices. It is as if one lives in the middle of a laboratory filled with human specimens who are publicly experimenting with moral choices and then flaunting the results of their moral choices.

Beautiful is found twice in the New Testament. In both instances it is used to describe the baby Moses. It actually means ‘belonging to the city’. The implication is that it is civilized. In Roman times, the city was the center of Greco-Roman civilization. And a major distinction between city and country can also be made today. City dwellers tend to be more liberal, more educated, more post-Christian, and more questioning of traditional morality. Rural areas, in contrast, are usually more conservative, less academic, more fundamentalist, and more defensive of traditional morality. This urban/rural divide currently defines politics in the US and Canada. Thus, ‘belonging to the city’ is a fairly reliable indicator today that one is not ‘to God’. However, the baby Moses is being described as ‘belonging to the city’ AND ‘to God’. This indicates a new concept of God that is consistent with the rational thinking of the postmodern intellectual city dweller while incompatible with fundamentalist, traditional thinking. This describes the fundamental essence of mental symmetry. In my experience, fundamentalists gag at mental symmetry because it smells like ‘belonging to the city’ with its rejection of absolute truth. But for most secular thought, mental symmetry makes the unforgivable ‘mistake’ of building upon a general theory in Teacher thought. In other words, mental symmetry is ‘of the city’ but it is also ‘to God’.

Continuing with verse 20, nurtured means to ‘bring up’. A month is determined by the moon and the moon is a reflected light in the sky, which represents the external light of civilization. And home means ‘a house, a dwelling’. Putting this all together, this new way of thinking that is drawn from the water of Mercy experience begins within a traditional mindset and it continues there for three cycles of civilization. Applying this to mental symmetry, I grew up in a conservative Mennonite household and I initially developed mental symmetry from that perspective. My initial research occurred during the introduction of the personal computer and my initial thinking was influenced by early thinking in AI and computer development. (My Master’s degree is in electrical engineering.) This was followed by a second moon of growing international telecommunications accompanied by the development of the PC. The third moon may involve the introduction of the Internet in the 1990s.

A shift to secular thinking happens in verse 21. “And after he had been put outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son.” Put outside is the verb form of the word ‘cast out’ used in verse 19. Take away means ‘to take up, take away’. It is usually translated as ‘kill’ and was translated as ‘killed’ the previous time it was used in 5:36 as well as the next two times it is used in verse 28. However, we interpreted 5:36 as using Teacher thought to take something over. Daughter would refer to female mental networks. And Pharaoh means ‘great house’. Thus, this new way of thinking is being abandoned by the fundamentalist Christianity in which it was raised and is being taken over by a culture of secular Teacher generality. For instance, this ‘taking over’ happened to me when I taught math and physics for several years at an International Christian high school in Seoul, Korea. Before this, I had been abandoned by Christianity as being fatally ‘of the city’. The last seminar I gave in a Christian church was in 1994 and after the seminar I received a letter from a lady asking if I was really a Christian. (The booklet for that seminar can be downloaded.) In contrast, the Christian school in Korea was supposedly Christian and talked about Christianity, but the ultimate goal for all the students was to get into a good, secular (hopefully American) university. That was my introduction to the great house of Pharoah. It was not a theoretical introduction but rather a cultural introduction.

Nurtured is the same word ‘bring up’ that was used in verse 20. And son implies a focus upon male technical thought. For instance, I went through a steep learning curve during my time in Korea, reviewing the technical thinking of math and physics that I was teaching, struggling to acquire the skill of classroom management, and experiencing the culture of secular education.

Verse 22 describes the breadth of the education of Moses. “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in his words and actions.” Educated means ‘to train children, to chasten’. All means ‘each part of a totality’ and wisdom means ‘clarity’. Clarity is a basic characteristic of abstract technical thought which is based upon clear definitions. This indicates a broad, interdisciplinary technical understanding. And this education includes personal punishment. For instance, my research in mental symmetry is highly interdisciplinary and I have had to become competent in a number of unrelated technical fields, which has involved learning the concepts and vocabulary of these various technical fields. This education has also been accompanied by extensive, painful, personal consequences.

Proficient means ‘powerful’ and indicates the use of Perceiver thought to multiply Server actions.

I just realized that I have been quoting from the 2020 version of the NASB. I do not know how much of this essay is from that version. But the 1995 version uses the word ‘power’ which is accurate, while the 2020 version uses the word ‘proficient’, which is inaccurate. In other words, not only is the NASB slightly inaccurate, but it appears that it is being edited to make it more inaccurate rather than less inaccurate. I do not know if this is a general statement but I am sufficiently annoyed that from here on I will stop using the NASB and start using the Berean Literal Bible. This essay will now be quoting from the Berean Literal Bible (BLB) rather than the new American Standard Bible (NASB). As with the NASB, the BLB puts English words in italics when they are not in the original Greek text. These italics will be reproduced in the quotes and are present in the original BLB translation.

Verse 22 says in the BLB, “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.” (Notice that ‘the’ is in italics which means that it is not in the original Greek text.) ‘Mighty’ is a possible translation of δυνατός. This essay has been interpreting this word ‘power’ as a reference to active Perceiver thought. Words is the plural of logos, which is being interpreted as the paradigm behind some technical specialization. A deed is ‘a deed that carries out an inner desire’. For instance, I have not attempted to become an expert in every field, because that is impossible today. Instead, I have focused upon learning the vocabulary and then understanding the Teacher theory that motivates a specialization. Similarly, when it comes to concrete thought, then I try to go beyond behavior to determine the mental networks that are motivating this behavior. The goal of this is to use Perceiver thought to find connections of similarity between various fields of thought and behavior. This could be summarized as being ‘powerful in words and deeds’. Looking at this more generally, this kind of interdisciplinary research which goes beyond thinking and behavior to underlying motivation is required to recover from postmodernism.

Verse 23 refers to a period of training. “Now when his period of forty years was fulfilled, it came into his mind to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel” (BLB). Fulfilled means ‘to make full’ and period refers to physical clock time. And this is specifically described as ‘his period’. There is a curious personal connection here. My brother Lane began the research into mental symmetry while attending Trinity Christian Center in Victoria BC, which was being pastored at that time by Harald Bredesen. The Wikipedia article says that “Bredesen was often called the father of the charismatic movement.” In 2019, I wrote an essay on the history of Pentecostalism. Quoting from that essay, “My brother Lane showed an initial 50 page draft on Romans 12 spiritual gifts to Bredesen, and his response was ‘Hm, interesting, but in order to develop this idea it’s going to take at least 40 years.’ That was forty years ago. Ironically, Bredesen was right.” Bredesen made that comment in 1977 (or possibly a year or two earlier). Curious.

Came means ‘to go up, ascend’ and was used in 2:34 to say that David did not ascend into heaven. Mind actually means ‘heart’. (And the NASB provides ‘heart’ as the literal meaning in a footnote.) This describes a subjective Mercy feeling ascending to the level of Teacher generality. Visit means ‘to inspect, to go to see’. Brother means ‘from the same womb’. And this is the first reference in Stephen’s sermon to Israel, which is being interpreted as the group of people through whom God interacts with humanity. For instance, my summer project of 2013 was to examine various branches of Christianity in order to try to analyze them from a cognitive perspective. I had been taught Christianity as a child from a Mercy perspective of sincerity and devotion. However, as I was researching mental symmetry, I kept encountering Biblical principles emerging from my study of the mind. Eventually, I realized that it was possible to reformulate all of Christianity from the perspective of mental wholeness and cognitive development. That motivated me to examine the various branches of Christianity from a Teacher perspective, partially because I was raised in a Christian home and I felt a bond of kinship with other Christians.

Moses Fails to Save his People 7:24-29

Verse 24 describes a specific incident. “And having seen a certain one being wronged, he defended him and did vengeance for the one being oppressed, having struck down the Egyptian.” See means ‘to see with the mind’. Wronged means ‘unrighteousness’, ‘acting contrary to what is divinely approved’. Righteousness is being interpreted as Server actions that are consistent with a Teacher understanding of God. Unrighteousness occurred once previously as a noun in Acts in 1:18 to describe the unrighteousness of Judas. Defended is used once in the New Testament and means ‘to ward off, keep off’. Do refers to Server actions. Vengeance is used once in Acts and means ‘judgment which fully executes the core values of the particular judge’. Being oppressed is used twice in the New Testament and means ‘to wear down’. Strike down means ‘to strike’. And Egyptian would refer to a secular person. Putting this all together, a mental concept of righteousness is being violated. The response is to attack the secular unrighteousness that is wearing down Christians motivated by an internal understanding of the character of God. There are two flaws in this response. The first flaw is to assume that Christians are righteous while secular individuals are not. The second flaw is to try to defend righteousness in an unrighteous manner.

Applying this to my personal experience, I became aware of the concept of righteousness when writing God, Theology & Cognitive Modules in 2012. I assumed that Christians would be attracted to this concept of righteousness. And I also assumed that a Christian understanding of righteousness could be used to ward off the secular oppression that was wearing everyone down. Looking at this more generally, this type of response applies the concept of righteousness, which is an expression of the second stage of personal transformation, to the mindset of the first stage of personal transformation, which is based in absolute truth and thinks in terms of religious and secular.

Verse 25 describes Moses’ assumption. “And he was supposing his brothers to understand that God is giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.” Supposing means ‘to assume a prevailing custom, law, practice’. This goes beyond personal opinion to assuming that some system of rules applies. Understand means to ‘put facts together’. This is the first use of this word in Acts and it appears twice in this verse. And brother means ‘from the same womb’. For instance, I was assuming that people who had grown up with my Christian background would be able to use Perceiver thought to put the facts together, because I had been doing that for most of my life. This assumption has guided much of my thinking over the years, because I have kept assuming that people from my Christian background would appreciate Perceiver thought and would be able to use Perceiver thought and I kept finding this assumption being violated. (Why am I different? One reason is that I am a Perceiver person. Another reason is that I experienced the emotional hell of living at home with a schizophrenic brother (not Lane) and I distinctly remember vowing to myself that I would never allow emotions to overrule facts. That was because my brother’s schizophrenic thinking was continually using Mercy emotions to override Perceiver facts.)

Hand represents the use of technical thought. And salvation means to ‘deliver out of danger and into safety’. Putting this together, God in Teacher thought is using the technical thinking of Moses to bring salvation. For instance, I was doing my technical analysis of cognitive styles and theology in Teacher thought because I wanted to bring salvation to my fellow Christians. But they did not understand. And understand means to ‘put facts together’. I assumed that if Christians would put the facts together in Perceiver thought then this would lead to an understanding of God in Teacher thought and this would lead to salvation for the church, rather than the church continuing to fall apart and going apostate. But I discovered that even theologically trained Christians were incapable of putting critical facts together. Instead, they regarded all of my technical analysis as worthless and meaningless.

Verse 26 describes the next stage. “And on the following day, he appeared to those who were quarreling and urged them to peace.” A day represents an era in society. The following day would indicate the next era of society. Appear means ‘to see with the mind’. Quarreling is used once in Acts and means ‘to fight’. Urge is used once in the New Testament and means ‘to reconcile’. (The NASB accurately translates this as ‘reconcile’.) This is the first use of peace in Acts, which means ‘wholeness’. Looking at this cognitively, MMNs of culture and personal identity will naturally lead to fighting and strife. In contrast, the TMN of an integrated understanding will promote reconciliation and wholeness. Applying this to current society, ‘the following day’ could be interpreted as the rise of Trumpism, because much of evangelical Christianity adopted a new mindset of fighting that had not existed previously. (It could also be interpreted more generally as the rise of the religious right in the 1980s.) Most generally, ‘the following day’ would refer to a recognition in the average Christian that the era of Christendom is over. These concepts are related, because much of the fighting is an attempt to return to the era of Christendom and Trumpism represents a desperate, final battle in this fighting. On the one hand, I found that this new desperation makes Christians open to the concept of mental symmetry. The problem arises when one attempts to build upon this new awareness in order to promote a Teacher-driven mindset of reconciliation and wholeness.

Verse 26 continues, “having said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong one another?’” Men specifically refers to male thought. ‘You are brothers’ indicates common mental networks. Wrong again means ‘unrighteousness’. One another is related to the word ‘another of the same kind’. In other words, male technical thought is being used to point out that Server actions are not being guided by Teacher understanding. Looking at this personally, I have tried very hard to convey the concept of righteousness that became apparent to me, emphasizing that Christians should behave in a manner that expresses the character of God. But righteousness assumes that one has a mental concept of a God who behaves.

Verse 27 describes the response. “But the one mistreating the neighbor pushed him away, having said, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us?’” Mistreating again means ‘unrighteousness’. Neighbor means ‘near, neighboring’. Push away means ‘to thrust away’. Constructing an understanding of God starts by using Perceiver thought to connect neighboring mental networks. God’s plan of righteousness typically involves juxtaposing mental networks that don’t fit together. For instance, one can see God’s righteousness in the juxtaposition of postmodern liberalism and fading fundamentalism. God is neither liberal nor conservative. Instead, God is using the interaction between liberal and conservative to carry out his righteousness. That has become increasingly clear to me and I have attempted to point this out to fellow Christians.

Appoint means to ‘put in charge’. Ruler means ‘a commander with authority’. Judge means ‘a judge’ and is only used twice in the New Testament, both times in this chapter. Looking at this personally, when I attempt to discuss righteousness guided by Teacher thought, the common response is to think in terms of Mercy status and authority. In other words, who gave me authority over my audience to make authoritative statements about the Bible? Going through half of the New Testament in the original Greek means nothing because I am not an accepted authority. Showing that the entire book of Matthew is a detailed prophecy of Western history means nothing, because nobody put me in charge.

The response becomes more personal in verse 28. “Do you desire to kill me, the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” Kill means ‘to take up, take away’ and is being interpreted as using Teacher thought to eliminate some threat. Desire means ‘to desire, wish’. Way is ‘way, manner, fashion’. Yesterday would presumably refer to the previous era. Putting this together, when cognitive analysis is applied to secular systems, then much of the content usually becomes explained away, because one can show that the structure of the mind is warping secular thought to think in a certain manner. Strangely enough, when this same cognitive analysis is applied to the Bible, then the Bible survives intact. And the core doctrines of Christianity also survive intact. For instance, it is cognitively natural and cognitively beneficial to ‘ask Jesus in your heart’. But I have discovered that most Christians are afraid that explaining their Christianity will explain it away, leaving them with nothing. They are afraid that cognitive analysis will ‘take up’ Christianity, the same way it has ‘taken up’ secular systems. For them, cognitive analysis equals postmodern deconstruction.

Applying this to the synagogue of freedmen, Moses’ attempt to use force to impose his concept of God upon the people failed. Going the other way, those who were focusing upon established authority ended up opposing Moses, the icon whom the freedmen claim to represent. Thus, the synagogue of freedman is actually playing the role of the Israelites who opposed Moses, while Stephen is playing the role of Moses.

Moses flees in verse 29. “Now at this remark, Moses fled, and became exiled in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.” Flee means ‘to flee’. Remark is actually logos, which indicates a technical paradigm. In other words, the feeling that cognitive analysis will explain Christianity away is not just a random remark being made by Christians. Instead, it is a paradigm that guides the technical thinking of most Christians.

Exiled means ‘someone living close to others as a temporary dweller’. Midian is mentioned once in the New Testament. It comes from the noun ‘strife’ which is derived from the verb ‘judge, govern’. In other words, Moses becomes close to a mindset of strife based in judgment, but he lives there as a temporary resident. Applying this to myself, I now find myself living with a deep conviction that many potent forces are battling it out in judgment. I have also been experiencing strife as a result of judgment. (I am executor of my father’s estate and I was sued by the Saskatchewan Public Trustee because my father did not leave enough of the estate in trust to my schizophrenic brother Tim, who is living in a senior’s home in Saskatchewan. The court case has finally been settled after two years but the Saskatchewan Public Trustee has consistently behaved in a manner that my lawyer described as unusually difficult and hostile. Plus, the very idea of having to go to court deeply violates my sense of morality as a Mennonite.) During this same period of time, the entire world appears to have gone crazy, largely as a result of the covid pandemic. I have managed—barely—to maintain a positive attitude of hope. In this atmosphere of global and personal conflict, two forms of male thought are developing in my mind. One is a deeper technical understanding of how societal forces interact. Another is a deepening technical understanding of how the physical, the spiritual, and the supernatural interact.

Moses Sees the Angel on Holy Ground 7:30-34

Verse 30 refers again to a time period of forty years. “And forty years having been passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire of a bush.” The first phrase is almost identical to verse 23, except in verse 23 the forty years are being fulfilled to him, whereas in verse 30 the forty years are having been fulfilled. In addition, verse 30 is in the aorist (simple past) whereas verse 23 is in the imperfect (continuing past). Looking at this personally, I cannot live for another forty years, because I am now sixty years old. But it might be possible to interpret verse 30 as referring to something that happens after the period of 40 years mentioned in verse 23 is finished. Historically speaking, Moses lived for 40 years in the wilderness after living for 40 years in Egypt. Prophetically, these two verses may be referring to different aspects of the same 40 year period. Consistent with this, there is no mention of clock time in verse 30 as there was in verse 23.

Appear means ‘to see with the mind’. Wilderness refers to ‘an uncultivated, unpopulated place’. A mountain was mentioned once previously in Acts in 1:12 to describe the Mount of Olives. And a mountain represents a pragmatic general theory. Sinai could mean ‘hatred’ or it could refer to the ‘moon’. The meaning is uncertain. ‘Angel’ was previously mentioned in 6:15, where Stephen had a face like that of an angel. And angels will be mentioned four times in this chapter. Looking at this personally, my social interaction during the past few years has been minimal. I have felt rather alone. I no longer feel a close kinship with most Christians because I now realize that our thinking is dissimilar at a fundamental level. This has become abundantly clear to me as a result of the conspiracy thinking being adopted by many who are close to me. But this lack of social MMNs has been accompanied by a feeling of social interaction with the mountain of cognitive theory. And when one has social interaction with theories, then one is entering the realm of angels. Thus, I have increasingly felt over the past few years that I am working together with angelic beings. This is purely a ‘seeing with the mind’ and has not been accompanied by any physical evidence. But I find myself emotionally drawn to even this mental possibility of angelic interaction because I feel so distant from most of my fellow humans.

Flame comes from a word that means ‘to burn’ and is used once in Acts. Fire means ‘fire’ and is interpreted as a frustrated motivation that consumes. In other words, one is motivated by Exhorter thought to pursue some goal but cannot reach this goal, and this frustration consumes the substance of mental content. A bush is a ‘bramble bush’. Normally, frustration cannot continue but eventually leads to giving up, especially when associated with some sort of prickly bramble bush. But this burning bush keeps burning without being consumed. Similarly, I continually find myself at the edge of giving up because of my extreme frustration, but for some reason I keep finding that I can keep on going. What is happening cognitively is that my natural human motivation is falling apart and being replaced by something more spiritual and angelic. In fact, I can actually sense my spirit as an independent, intelligent being living alongside my soul which is giving me energy to continue.

Verse 31 describes Moses’ reaction. “And Moses having seen it, marveled at the vision.” See again means ‘to see with the mind’. Marvel means ‘to regard with amazement, and with a suggestion of beginning to speculate on the matter’. It was previously used in 4:13 to describe the initial response of the Sanhedrin to Peter and John. Vision means ‘to see, spiritually and mentally’. For instance, the prophecy being described in this essay is an example of mental and spiritual seeing that is amazing and leading to speculation. And the succeeding chapters will lead to speculation that is even more amazing.

This attracts the attention of Moses. “And of him coming near to behold it, there was the voice of the Lord.” Coming near means ‘to approach, to draw near’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Behold means ‘to understand fully, consider closely’. For instance, I am writing this essay on Acts because it appears to be a prophetic description that begins with our current era and I want to understand more fully the nature of my internal vision of supernatural cooperation. A similar drive has motivated me to analyze other biblical books that appear to be prophetic. The end result is a detailed understanding of prophecy to the point where I now think of prophecy as future history; one studies past history and one studies future history.

Was means ‘to come into being’. Voice means ‘voice, sound’. Lord means ‘lord, master’. Looking at this personally, studying history and prophecy in detail has given me the concept of a Lord of human society who manipulates and controls the course of human history. Similarly, the internal awareness of angelic and spiritual beings has added gravity to my words, deepening my feeling of responsibility. I am not just writing essays and coming up with theories about prophecy. Instead, I am attempting to stay alive while maneuvering through a realm that is full of potent beings.

In verse 32, this voice speaks. “I am the God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.” ‘The God’ is mentioned twice in this verse. The first mention equates the voice coming out of the burning bush with the God of historical Christianity. Similarly, I have found that attempting to understand prophecy and the supernatural leads to the same concept of God in Teacher thought that one sees when analyzing historical Christianity. Likewise, I have found that the three stages of personal transformation, represented by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, also remain present when interacting with the spiritual and the supernatural.

Verse 32 finishes, “And Moses, having become terrified, did not dare to look.” Terrified means ‘trembling with fear’. Dare means ‘putting it all on the line’. And look is the word used in verse 31 which means ‘to understand fully’. Speaking from personal experience, the more I grasp the nature of the current spiritual crisis and the prophetic plan for dealing with this crisis, the more I tremble inside, and it becomes increasingly difficult for me to pull out of my shell of human existence in order to understand the topic more closely. One primary reason why I keep looking more closely is because I am surrounded by forces that are attempting to destroy me and I have no choice but to take a closer look at the supernatural for possible assistance.

The Lord responds in verse 33. “And the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandal of your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.’” Take off means ‘to loose, to release’. A sandal is ‘a sole bound under the foot’. Feet are being interpreted as support for personal identity. Sandals protect the feet from the ground. They are a way of putting some distance between personal identity and the support for personal identity. Taking off one sandals means emotionally embracing the current situation without any emotional distance. Place refers to a Perceiver location and the freedmen referred in Acts 6:13-14 to a holy place. Stand is interpreted as maintaining Perceiver confidence. Ground refers to rational thought. And holy means ‘different from the world because like the Lord’. In other words, the current location where one is attempting to make a stand feels very ungodly and very nasty and very inhuman. But one can emotionally embrace it because it is actually connected with God in Teacher thought and not with human nastiness in Mercy thought. Applying this to my personal experience, I find that I can ‘take off my sandals’ and emotionally accept the current situation if I regard it as ‘holy ground’ in which God is manipulating circumstances to carry out his plan.

Applying this to the synagogue of freedmen, the holy ground of Moses did not result from defending the status quo but rather emerged when Moses was forced to flee the status quo because of his focus upon righteousness.

In verse 34, God addresses the current situation. “Having seen, I saw the oppression of My people in Egypt, and I have heard their groans.” Having seen and ‘saw’ are both the same verb, which means ‘to see with the mind’. Oppression is used once as a noun in the New Testament and is related to the verb used in verse 19 that means ‘inwardly foul’. The repetition of ‘seen’ is cognitively interesting. A general theory in Teacher thought does not normally ‘see’ specific Mercy experiences but rather thinks in terms of general theories. Mercy experiences will only reach the level of being seen by general Teacher theories when they become sufficiently universal. The previous verses described a universalization of frustration because government turned against cognitive development in verse 18, and Christians became incapable of putting things together in verse 25. In verse 29 Moses fled civilization because the rejection and hopelessness was too universal. Becoming aware of the angelic dimension in verse 30 only made the feeling of hopelessness more universal, because it became clear that no angelic ‘cavalry’ would show up in a ‘rapture’ to instantly solve the situation. But I have discovered that it takes such a universal frustration and hopelessness to reach the universal seeing of God in Teacher thought. And what God then sees is universal chaos and foulness in Mercy thought. Saying this another way, Teacher thought is aware of generalities, but Teacher thought is also aware of personal crises that have universal consequences. Notice that verse 34 is the flip side of verse 33. In verse 33, Moses recognized that his personal experiences have universal implications. In verse 34, God in universal thought intervenes in the personal experiences of Moses.

This foulness is being imposed upon the laity of God in Egypt. There is no mention here of priesthood or of holy rituals. Instead, God is seeing the plight of the laity directly. Looking at this cognitively, universality in Teacher thought can be either described or constructed. The verbal concept of God that is formed during the first stage of personal transformation describes universality based upon universal principles of mind and matter. In order to personally experience help from such a God, personal experiences must reach a similar level of universality, because it is only possible to connect universality with universality. Groan means ‘groaning, especially brought on by circumstances creating great pressure’. It is used one other time as a noun in the New Testament in Romans 8:26 which talks about the Holy Spirit interceding with groanings too deep for words. A Holy Spirit is related to a concept of universality in Mercy thought. The ‘groaning of the Holy Spirit’ relates to the concept of having to reach a level of universality in order to connect fully with God at an emotional level. Heard means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. A universal being truly comprehends when one speaks the language of universality.

Verse 34 then describes the response of God. “And I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” Come down means ‘to go down’ and is being interpreted as moving away from Teacher generality. But how can a universal being descend from universality? The social requirement is for specific situations to have universal implications, as was discussed in the previous paragraphs. This happens during pivotal moments in human history. The personal requirement can be met by recognizing that a concept of universality is relative. .A concept is universal if it covers everything within my mind. Therefore, a universal God can come down through a person if everything within that person is held together by the concept of a universal God. Speaking from personal experience, I have found that divine providence has been eliminating from my mind every human mental network as a support, forcing me to look to a concept of God in Teacher thought for everything. This does not mean that I have lost everything or am experiencing deep suffering, but rather that in every area I have experienced sufficient shaking to remove that area as a source of solid support.

Deliver ‘emphasizes total removal’. This is a universal movement. When a universal being moves, then this leads to universal change and total removal. This verb was used back in verse 10 to describe Joseph being rescued from his narrowness. That was interpreted as the development of scientific thought, which became a total removal from MMNs of culture and personal opinion in order to embrace Teacher theories of rational scientific thought.

Now means ‘now, the present’. My guess is that God’s total removal corresponds to the theoretical return of Jesus, often referred to as the second coming. Come is the same verb that was used in verse 3 to call Abraham into a new land. Thus, what began at the individual level will now be repeated at the group level. Send means ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’. This sending is into Egypt. In other words, this is not a rapture of the church. Instead, it is a sending of Moses into the secular world. Thus, it appears that the theoretical return of Jesus will be followed by spiritual technology that adds a spiritual element to the technology of the secular world.

Moses Leads Israel out of Egypt 7:35-40

Verse 35 compares human authority with divine authority. “This Moses whom they rejected, having said, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge?’—him whom God sent and as ruler and redeemer.” Rejected means ‘to deny, say no’ and is used to describe Peter denying Jesus. The phrase ‘who appointed you ruler and judge?’ is precisely the same as the phrase in verse 27. In other words, those who focused upon official status in Mercy thought actually denied Moses, the same Moses that is being sent by God in verse 35. The second phrase also includes the word ruler, which means a ‘commander with authority’. But ‘judge’ is replaced with redeemer, a word that means ‘one who liberates, releases a captive’. This directly addresses the synagogue of freedmen. Looking at this cognitively, true liberation comes from a concept of God in Teacher thought. Those who focus upon official status in Mercy thought may give personal status to heroes such as Moses, but their Mercy focus opposes the Teacher understanding that is required to achieve freedom. Sent means ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’ and was used in verse 34 to describe God sending Moses. A mission, by definition, will disrupt the status quo.

Verse 35 describes the authority of Moses. “by the hand of the angel having appeared to him in the bush.” By actually means ‘with, together with’. (The NASB translates this as ‘with’.) Hand represents the application of technical thought. A hand of an angel would refer to angelic technical thought. This goes beyond feelings of supernatural presence to a detailed plan being carried out by angelic powers. ‘With’ indicates that human and angelic technical thought are cooperating. This can be seen in the ten plagues that preceded the Exodus described in the book of Exodus. It is also consistent with the idea of spiritual technology, in which supernatural power is being added to existing technical thought.

Having appeared means ‘to see with the mind’. This mental appearing happened previously in the realm of the bramble bush. The cognitive principle is that one will only reach out to the supernatural realm if the physical realm is in some way prickly. Going further, when one breaks through to the supernatural, then one finds that the other side is not empty the way that standard technology is empty. Instead, one meets intelligent beings on the other side. And one then establishes a relationship with these beings, because the same angel that Moses met in the bush is cooperating with him to carry out the task. Another principle is that angels are Server-based, which means that they inherently carry out tasks. An angel does not occupy some place as humans do. Instead, whenever an angel shows up it is always to carry out some task.

Verse 36 describes this task. “This one led them out, having done wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.” Led out means ‘to lead out’. Thus, the angel is carrying out the task of leading Israel out of Egypt. ‘Leading out’ implies going beyond the status quo, which again supports the idea that angelic power takes a person out of the status quo rather than preserving the status quo.

Do is the standard word for Server actions. And ‘wonders and signs’ is the phrase that keeps showing up in Acts. This is interesting because ‘signs and wonders’ are interpreted by humans as something magical that transcends human rationality. Verse 36 describes signs and wonders as the doing of angels, implying that what humans regard as miracles are actually human expressions of normal angelic power. (I just noticed that some verses in Acts mention ‘signs’ first while other verses mention ‘wonders’ first. This may be significant, because signs provide stability while wonders challenge existing structure.)

This angelic power does not remain in one place but rather leads through places. The first place is the secular realm of Egypt. The second place is in the Red Sea. Red means ‘red’ and the color red represents blood. A sea represents the realm of Mercy experiences. Wilderness means ‘an uncultivated, unpopulated place’. This describes the nature of the first stage of personal transformation when carried out by a group of people. First, a display of supernatural power indicates the inadequacy of current society. Second, leaving current society is accompanied by the massive falling apart of cultural and personal MMNs. Third, a new way of thinking has to be developed apart from existing societal mental networks. This third stage lasts forty years, which is the same as the length of time that was required by Moses to initially develop this message. Applying this to the freedmen, not only does following God mean dying to existing culture, but it means living apart from existing culture long enough to forget about that culture.

In verse 37, Moses makes a prediction. “This is the Moses having said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me out from your brothers.’” Stephen now looks at what Moses actually said to the ‘sons’ of the official church. It was mentioned earlier that prophecy means ‘asserting one idea over another’. And raise up is the normal word for resurrection, which is being interpreted as some transformed mindset coming to birth. Moses is saying that he is not unique in Mercy thought, but rather is establishing a pattern in Teacher thought that will be repeated in the future. Moses came out of the water of Mercy experiences. The future prophet will come from out of the brothers. In both cases there will be a similar coming out from Mercy experiences to a concept of God in Teacher thought. Moses did this as an individual apart from the group, laying the groundwork for societal transformation. The future individual will do it within a group, laying the groundwork for something further.

The standard interpretation is that this coming prophet refers to Jesus. And this is a reasonable interpretation if one thinks in terms of the original prophecy made by Moses several thousand years ago. But we are looking here at a future fulfillment that has not yet happened. I think that a reasonable case can be made for mental symmetry fulfilling the role of Moses as described in this chapter. For one thing, I do not know of anyone else in the world who suggests that the Second Coming will take the form of a theoretical return of Jesus followed by spiritual technology. Therefore, if this comes into being, then mental symmetry is literally the only valid option. However, it is possible that the coming prophet refers to something and/or someone else who will follow the breakthrough initiated by mental symmetry. Notice that verse 37 does not refer to the fulfillment of this prophecy but rather refers to the saying of this prophecy, implying that it is future to the prophetic fulfillment of Acts 7. Thus, Moses might represent a breakthrough related to mental symmetry while the prophet who comes after Moses would represent a future breakthrough. (At this point my head is starting to spin because of comparing the real Moses with what Moses represents prophetically as well as looking prophetically at Moses’ prophecy of a future prophet and what that might represent. What matters is that all of these various entities will function in a similar manner.)

Verse 38 describes the leadership of Moses in the wilderness, which would correspond to the second stage of personal transformation carried out as a group. “This is the one having been in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel speaking to him in Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers.” Congregation is the word for ‘church’ and means ‘people called out from the world’. It was used once previously in Acts in 5:11. Wilderness is an ‘unpopulated place’. And speaking refers to chatter. On the one hand, Moses is part of the group that has been called out from the world to live apart from human society. On the other hand, Moses is having normal conversation with an angel on Mount Sinai. This may sound like something inconsequential because talk is cheap for humans. But for a being who lives within messages (angel means messenger), having a normal conversation with a human would be personal interaction.

It is unclear what Sinai means, but Mount Sinai is the same location where Moses originally encountered the burning bush and the angel. In verse 30, Moses was in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, whereas in verse 38 he is speaking with the angel in Mount Sinai. The implication is that the angelic vision that Moses saw in verse 30 is now being discussed and starting to be implemented in verse 38. This heavenly source of information is of ‘our fathers’. Looking at this personally, we are discussing this in the context of analyzing the book of Acts, a book of the Bible that came from ‘our fathers’. Looking forward, when the freedmen talk about preserving the customs of Moses, they are referring to words that came from a supernatural source, which, by definition, goes beyond preserving the status quo of society. Stated more simply, the freedmen are complaining that Stephen is being guided by angelic forces to disrupt human society, but the law of Moses started with angelic forces disrupting human society.

This is mentioned in the rest of verse 38. “He received living oracles to give to us.” Receive means ‘to receive in a welcoming way’ and was previously used in 3:21 about heaven receiving Jesus. Oracle is derived from the word ‘logos’. It occurs four times in the New Testament and always refers to a supernaturally given message. If a logos refers to the Teacher theory behind some technical specialization, then an oracle would presumably refer to the Teacher theory behind some angelic system of existence. Verse 38 refers to living oracles, strongly implying that Moses is interacting with angelic paradigms associated with angelic life. This is similar to the way that MMNs are associated with life in humans. Living in a physical body will generate experiences with physical sensations that lead to the development of strong MMNs, and these MMNs must be preserved in order to protect human life. Presumably, angels would be similarly personally sensitive to the preservation of certain ‘living oracles’. Receiving this in a welcoming way would mean accepting these angelic mental networks rather than clinging to mental networks of human, materialistic existence.

Analyzing Acts 7 from a prophetic perspective is naturally confusing. That is because one must distinguish between the actual angelic intervention of the real Moses referred to by the real Stephen of the past and a future angelic intervention of the prophetic Moses to which the future Stephen is referring to as his past (but our future). Relating these two, my hypothesis is that the real Moses was supposed to lead the real children in Israel to a spiritual breakthrough. But this failed because the real Israelites were unable to go beyond thinking in terms of being saved from Egypt to being saved to the Promised Land. That will be described in the next verses. And when the real Israelites failed, then God was unable to start again with the real Moses because Moses clung with all of his might to the status quo of the people of Israel. Thus, this controversy with the synagogue of freedmen is not a trivial issue but rather the primary sticking point which caused the original Exodus from Egypt to fall short of its divine goal. In other words, both a real historical interpretation and a prophetic interpretation involve similar cognitive struggles and similar cognitive mechanisms.

Verse 39 describes the response of the Israelites to this angelic message. “To whom our fathers were not willing to be obedient, but thrust away, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt.” Willing means ‘to desire, wish’. Obedient combines ‘under’ with ‘comprehend by hearing’. Thus, ‘not willing to be obedient’ would mean having no emotional desire to place personal identity under verbal comprehension. For instance, this can be seen in most current philosophy, which emphasizes comprehending by hearing but regards it as naïve to actually place personal identity under this rational comprehension. Applying this to an angelic oracle, a human can choose not to submit self to paradigms of technical thought. An angel has no choice, just as humans are forced by their physical bodies to submit to MMNs of personal existence. Thus, humans who were not willing to be obedient to angelic oracles would inflict ‘physical’ pain upon angels. This summarizes what the freedmen are doing to the angels that have just become revealed.

Thrust away means ‘to thrust away’. And turned back means ‘to turn, to change’. This is happening ‘in the realm of their hearts’ and the heart refers to personal identity in Mercy thought. This turning back is towards Egypt, which represents the secular world. In other words, religious humans who comprehend angelic oracles in Teacher thought are refusing to submit to these oracles, but rather are thrusting them away and turning back to human mental networks in Mercy thought. Presumably, this is happening in the initial stage of spiritual technology, as the excitement of encountering real miracles is followed by the culture shock of rejecting the supernatural and clinging to naturalistic, secular existence.

Verse 40 mentions Aaron. “Having said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us.’” The name Aaron probably means ‘high mountain’ or ‘mountain of strength’. This leads to the distinction between a mountain and an oracle. A mountain is a high ground from which one can see the surrounding area, which corresponds to a general theory of rational human existence. An oracle, in contrast, is a general theory that has its starting point outside of human existence. Such a theory may apply also to human existence but it does not start with human existence. For instance, mental symmetry is compatible with empirical evidence about the mind and the brain. But it does not start with this empirical evidence. Instead, it starts with a system of cognitive styles described in the Bible. I have discovered over the years that academic thought is very leery of starting with a general theory. Saying this another way, a mountain views Christ an extrapolation of the Jesus of the Gospels, while an oracle views Jesus as an expression of the divine Christ.

Make means ‘to make, do’ and refers to human Server actions. God is the normal word for ‘God’ but is in the plural. Making gods would mean using human Server actions as the basis for a universal understanding in Teacher thought. Saying this another way, the methodology of some human group is being extrapolated to form Teacher generality. Go before is used twice in the New Testament and combines ‘before’ with ‘transport’. Transport indicates a movement that is accompanied by a transformation. Thus, humans want to transform, but they want this transformation to be guided by a human methodology. For instance, studying the bizarreness of quantum mechanics is accepted as fine if one does so using the methodology of the scientific method with all of its materialistic presuppositions. Or looking for alien life is fine as long as one does so by scanning the physical skies for physical beings.

Verse 40 also downplays Moses. “As for this Moses who brought us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.” Brought out means ‘to lead out’ and was previously used in verse 36 to describe Moses leading out the Israelites in the Exodus. From means ‘from out of’, land refers to rational human thought, and Egypt represents secular existence. Thus, the reference point is secular, materialistic, human, rational thought, and Moses is regarded as bringing the people out from there. This is an example of ‘saving from’ rather than ‘saving to’. Know means ‘seeing that becomes knowing’, which refers to empirical evidence. Happened means ‘to come into being’. In other words, the ‘saving to’ is leading to some place that goes beyond the empirical evidence of physical science. The Israelites are not willing to let go of their human mental networks of materialistic, scientific existence. They are not willing to be saved to something that actually lets go of human mental networks.

Israelites Worship an Alien Host 7:41-43

Verse 41 describes the alternative. “And in those days they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol.” Made a calf is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘offspring’ with ‘make’. ‘In those days’ would refer to a series of societal eras. Offered means ‘to lead up, bring up’. It is also used to describe setting sail. Bringing has been interpreted as functioning in an economy in a way that avoids personal involvement. ‘Bringing up’ would mean heading towards Teacher generality in a way that lacks personal involvement. This could also be interpreted as ‘setting sail’ because in both cases one is attempting to take advantage of the air of Teacher thought while remaining personally within the sea of human Mercy experiences. Putting this all together, a spiritual economy is being developed that involves novelty in Teacher thought rather than general understanding. A calf is alive, but it is young and barely intelligent. This is much more limited than an angel who is fully intelligent and has lived for many human eras. This type of spiritual economy is ‘safe’ for humans, because it never allows the angelic side to reach the level of independent, intelligent existence.

Sacrifice means ‘an offering the Lord accepts because offered on his terms’. It is used twice in Acts, in this verse and the next. The same word is used in Romans 12:1 to describe ‘presenting your bodies a living and holy sacrifice’. In other words, this limited spiritual economy of ‘worshipping the calf’ follows the rules; it uses the right technical methodology. Idol is used twice in Acts and comes from a word that means ‘that which is seen’. Again one sees the emphasis upon empirical evidence. This indicates that the calf that is worshiped is never allowed to go beyond the human realm of the seen. In contrast, my growing interaction with the spiritual and supernatural has never extended to the seen but rather has always been limited to subtle sensations, internal images, and mental conversations. However, even though I cannot see this interaction, I find that if I treat it in an intelligent manner, then it responds by behaving intelligently. In fact, I am sensing this right now. For instance, I just found out yesterday that my sister and brother-in-law got covid because they did not want to take the vaccine and I found out about this from someone else. My brother-in-law had to be hospitalized. This is emotionally difficult because we all taught at the same international school in Korea for several years and I also helped my sister take care of my aging parents. (Note when editing: Both have recovered but they still have not taken the vaccine.) I sense that angelic manipulation is asking me to let go emotionally of human connections that I can see in order to embrace angelic connections that I cannot see. This illustrates what it means for personal identity to be under verbal comprehension. Angelic words have power. Real power.

Verse 41 continues, “And were rejoicing in the works of their hands.” Rejoicing is used twice in Acts and combines ‘good’ with ‘how we size things up, reflecting our personal, visceral opinions’. Gut feeling relates to physical well-being. I have discovered when following a process of personal transformation that my gut is the last part to change. When my gut feeling becomes transformed, then I know that change has reached the level of my physical body. ‘Rejoicing’ would mean pursuing the supernatural in a limited way that never threatens gut feelings of human existence. Work means ‘a deed that carries out an inner desire’. And hands represent the application of technical thought. Thus, technical thought is being used to pursue supernatural power in order to express internal human desires, But this is being done in a way that leads to good human gut feelings. Saying this another way, spiritual is the adjective while technology remains the noun.

Verse 42 describes God’s response. “But God turned away and delivered them to worship the host of heaven.” Turned away is the same word that was used in verse 39 to describe the Israelites turning away from the angelic oracles. Deliver means ‘to deliver over with a sense of close involvement’ and is the word used to describe betrayal. As mentioned earlier, this indicates a person enabling some major transformation and can be done positively as a handing over or negatively as a betrayal. Worship means ‘someone hired to accomplish a technical task because qualified’. It was previously used once in Acts in verse 7 to describe the service that God promised to Abraham and this promise is now being fulfilled. Such ‘worship’ describes technical expertise. Thus, the limited, human-safe version of the spiritual economy enabled a transformation into a new kind of technical expertise. Abraham represents the first stage of personal transformation in which one uses facts to construct a concept of God. This initial stage is at the level of having rather than being. And the technical expertise described in verse 42 is also at the level of having rather than being.

Host is mentioned twice in the New Testament and means ‘an army, or any organized host’. Heaven refers to the realm of Teacher thought. The other reference to ‘host of heaven’ is in Luke 2:13 where it talks about the heavenly host praising at the birth of Jesus. I have suggested that angels have Server-like bodies that embody Teacher messages. This lends itself naturally to a military-like structure in which each messenger embodies some order or command given through a chain of command. This could be described as an ‘organized host of heaven’. It makes sense that such a host would sing at the birth of Jesus because Jesus started with Server thought and developed Perceiver thought during his lifetime. Saying this another way, Jesus always did what he saw the Father doing, but he had to learn what it meant to live as a human within physical reality. Similarly, aliens can also be interpreted as a host of heaven, because they appear to function in an extremely organized manner with a military-like structure. And if hearsay is to be believed, then these aliens are interacting with human armies with their organizational structure. Thus, verse 42 seems to be saying that this limited spiritual economy ends up interacting with aliens in a structured, military-like manner. This implies that the interaction that is supposedly currently being done in secret will become open.

I would not like to interact with aliens and my spiritual quest over the years has been strongly motivated by a deep desire to avoid interacting with aliens. This does not mean that all aliens are demons destined for eternal damnation. Instead, Colossians 1:20 makes it clear that the salvation of Jesus extends beyond humanity to angels and aliens. When the host of heaven sang at the birth of Jesus, then this represented the cutting edge of God’s plan of salvation. Verse 42, in contrast, would refer to aliens of the future who are rejecting God’s plan of salvation interacting with humans who also are rejecting God’s plan of salvation.

Verse 42 emphasizes that this has been predicted. “As it has been written in the book of the prophets.” As means ‘just as’ and indicates a similarity. Thus, what is written in the prophets is not exactly the same but it is structurally and functionally the same. The words written and book appeared once previously in Acts in 1:20 where the same phrase ‘it has been written in the book’ was used. In 1:20 it was written in the book of Psalms that the habitation of Judas would become desolate. In verse 42, it is written in the book of the prophets. Chapter 1 described the result of following some system of worship. Verse 42 describes the result of following some system of knowledge.

Verse 42 asks, “Did you offer slain beasts and sacrifices to Me forty years in the wilderness, o house of Israel?” Slain beast is found once in the New Testament and comes from a verb that means ‘slaughter’. Sacrifice was used in verse 41 and means ‘an official sacrifice prescribed by God’. This is the first of two times that offer is used in Acts, which means ‘to bring to’. The Greek sentence begins with a word that means ‘no, not’ and is translated as ‘no’ or ‘not’ in the vast majority of cases. And the commentaries indicate that grammatically verse 42 should be interpreted as ‘You did not offer slain beasts and sacrifices to me...’ Obviously, these sacrifices did happen. The implication is that they were not being offered to God. This is consistent with the passage in Amos 5:25 that is being quoted. Verse 24 talks about the need for righteousness, which is Server action guided by a Teacher understanding of God, while verse 26 talks about bearing the tabernacles of other gods.

Putting this together, the right methodology is being used in technical thought. But spiritual life is not being allowed to grow to the point where it transforms physical reality. Instead, supernatural life is continually being slaughtered, ensuring that it stays novel and exciting and never grows to the point of requiring accountability. Thus, the sacrifice is never done to God, because God is a universal being, and the spiritual interaction is never being allowed to grow to the level of universality. This describes a form of spiritual consumer society which focuses upon the new-and-improved while throwing things away once they lose their novelty. Forty years is then mentioned again. Biblehub suggests that forty has the symbolic sense of ‘a full testing period’ and that does fit the context.

This is addressed to the ‘house of Israel’. House means ‘a house, a dwelling’. This refers to the personal culture that is constructed by the people through whom God interacts with the world. How did these representatives of God actually live? They followed the divine rules, but they did not allow their careful worship of God to reach the level of following God in Teacher thought. Instead, they interpreted following God properly as continually sacrificing young life to God. This describes two characteristics of absolute truth. First, absolute truth will feel that it is presallumptuous for humanity to attempt to fully describe the nature of God. Statements will be made about God. But if some person is able to describe God using human thought, then this raises the emotional status of the thinking of that person relative to the emotional status given to God, which will cause that person’s belief in absolute truth to fall into doubt. For instance, a phrase that I commonly hear from others is that ‘If we understood God, then we would be God.’ This is like saying, ‘If I understood the universe, then I would be the universe.’ This statement does not make logical sense, because the universe is infinite and I am finite. But it does make cognitive sense for a mindset of absolute truth, because understanding the nature of God would replace MMNs of divine authority with MMNs of personal identity. Second, we have seen that absolute truth is naturally accompanied by religious self-denial. This leads to an inherent contradiction. On the one hand, studying the Bible as absolute truth will naturally lead to substantial rational understanding, which will help me to improve my world. On the other hand, the religious self-denial that accompanies an attitude of absolute truth will make me feel that I should not experience too much personal success. The result is that the ‘calves’ of personal benefit that result from the content of absolute truth will continually be sacrificed in order to maintain an attitude of absolute truth. This leads to the ironic conclusion that a mindset of absolute truth will lead to a lifestyle that continually aborts young spiritual life.

It was mentioned earlier the verse 42 contains an ‘as’. This means that the partial success followed by self-denial of absolute truth is similar to the kind of crippled spiritual economy that the future Stephen is referring to in verse 42. Prophecy means ‘elevating one idea over another’. What has just been described can be interpreted as prophecy, because the ideas of religious self-denial and intellectual humility are being elevated over the actual content of the Bible. It appears that something similar will happen with the future spiritual economy.

Verse 43 describes where this leads. “And you took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship them.” Took up means ‘to take up’ and was previously used in 1:11 and 1:22 to describe the ascension of Jesus. That was interpreted as transforming a human concept of Jesus into a divine concept of Christ. Similarly, we have been seeing how the human concept of absolute truth with its Mercy feelings of personal inferiority has been ‘lifted up’ to form a general theory that colors all Christian doctrine. Tabernacle means ‘a tent’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Moloch is mentioned once in the New Testament and was ‘a heathen God to whom Israelites sacrificed children’. The Hebrew word Moloch comes from a word that means ‘to be or become king or queen’. This describes precisely what has just been discussed. Studying absolute truth is leading to mental ‘children’ of possibility, but these are being sacrificed in order to maintain a mindset of absolute truth. This is being driven by the Mercy feeling of God as a king or queen that rules. Any attempt to build a permanent home for personal identity is viewed as an affront to the requirement for religious self-denial. What remains is sacrificing one’s children while living in a tent in the wilderness. The real children of Israel sacrificed their real children probably motivated by such feelings. Similarly, believers in absolute truth currently sacrifice their mental ‘children’, killing mental networks of possibility while they remain young and fresh in order to satisfy the absolute monarchy of absolute truth. And the future Stephen is talking about a similar form of behavior emerging within spiritual technology. Applying this to the freedmen, the ones who are doing the real blasphemy are those who are sacrificing their children to a god of Moloch in order to ensure that angelic influence does not grow to the point of overturning the preservation of existing human society. I do not think that the future worship of Moloch will involve the sacrifice of actual children, because the goal will be to preserve existing humanity. Instead, I think that spiritual life will be sacrificed whenever it reaches the point of acquiring intelligence.

Star means ‘a single star’ and this is the first of two times that it is used in Acts. Rephan is mentioned once in the New Testament. The original passage in Amos 5:26 referred to Kiyyun. Thus, the meaning of Rephan is controversial. However, biblehub suggests that it comes from a similar word that means ‘an imposing sword, synonymous with finality’. A star is a light in the sky. However, stars can only be seen at night when the sun is not shining. Therefore, a star would be some theory in Teacher thought that achieves prominence in the absence of a more general theory. What has been described in these paragraphs is the general theory of a ‘sword of finality’ which kills any spiritual life that dares to reach a certain level of maturity.

An image is ‘a model forged by repetition’. This is the first of three times that it is used in Acts and it is repeated in the next verse. Made means ‘to make, do’ and refers to Server actions. This is also the first use of the word worship in Acts, which means ‘to kiss the ground when prostrating before a superior’. Putting this together, the attitude of religious self-denial has expressed itself so many times through Server actions that it has created a model forged by repetition. Using cognitive language, when Server actions are repeated, then the resulting Server confidence will impose an implicit general theory upon Teacher thought. The Israelites did not choose to worship Moloch. Instead, the attitude of religious self-denial pervaded their actions of worship, leading to the implicit concept of ‘a star of a sword of finality’. This principle apply to the original children of Israel, it applies today to absolute truth, and presumably it will apply to a future partial spiritual economy. Notice again that this is a form of prophecy, because the attitude of religious self-denial is being lifted up above other concepts.

Verse 43 finishes, “And I will remove you beyond Babylon.” Removed means ‘to cause to migrate’ and is used one other time in the New Testament in 7:4 to describe Abraham migrating after his father died in Haran. Beyond is used once in the New Testament and means ‘on the further side of—beyond’. This is the only reference to Babylon in Acts, which was ‘a large city situated astride the Euphrates river’. The name means ‘gate of gods’. The Euphrates River separates the rational West from the mystical East. Thus, Babylon is interpreted as a mindset that straddles objective rational thought and subjective mysticism, which describes modern Western society. Beyond Babylon suggests an even more extreme version of this split. One can guess what this might mean. On the one hand, an incomplete spiritual economy is being followed which involves the continual slaughter of developing spiritual life. On the other hand, this is being done to preserve mental networks of human existence, which themselves are being reinforced by spiritual power. Thus, the spiritual realm is being turned upon itself; spiritual life is being killed in order to preserve spiritual life. That describes a split that goes beyond Babylon, and it would be a migrating from the existing partial spiritual economy.

Summarizing, it is possible to create a partial spiritual economy that preserves human society by sacrificing spiritual life whenever it reaches sufficient maturity. That is because this sacrifice will meet the requirement for letting go of one form of life in order to gain a higher form of life. But the repetition of this sacrifice will implicitly create the star of a sword of finality—a Teacher mental network that reinforces the act of sacrifice. This will lead to a mental split that is like the current split between objective and subjective but even deeper. Saying this another way, the healing of the lame man indicated religious self-denial being taken up as an element of the new spiritual economy. This is different than treating self-denial as the defining component of a spiritual economy.

The Tabernacle of Testimony 7:44-50

Verse 44 then turns to the real tabernacle. “The tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the wilderness.” Tabernacle is the same word for ‘tent’ that was used in verse 43. Testimony as a noun was previously used once in Acts in 4:33 to describe the apostles giving testimony with great power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The previous verses described the fathers in the wilderness not being willing to accept the angelic message. But there was also a tabernacle of the testimony which accompanied the fathers in the wilderness. Testimony indicates personal participation, and one of the features of the incomplete spiritual economy is a lack of personal involvement.

Verse 44 continues, “Just as the One speaking to Moses had commanded to make it according to the pattern that he had seen.” Verse 42 contained a just as, indicating that a comparison was being made. Verse 44 also has a ‘just as’, indicating another similarity. This is the first use of command in Acts which means ‘to command with detailed instructions’. Speaking refers to chatter and this normal conversation is being directed to Moses. Thus, the angelic message is not just a verbal overgeneralization but rather contains significant Teacher structure.

Make is the normal word that refers to Server actions. Pattern means ‘a model forged by repetition’ and was used in the previous verse. See means ‘to see with the mind’. In verse 43, there was an implicit relationship between Server actions in Teacher understanding, because repeating the action of offering a slaughtered sacrifice was creating an implicit model that led to the Teacher ‘star’ of a ‘sword of finality’. In verse 42, detailed instructions are coming from conversation with the angelic source. The Server repetition of this conversation is leading to a pattern that is being applied by human Server actions and leading to the tent of a personal testimony. Saying this another way, the methodology is coming from the angelic supernatural realm, this is leading to an internal image rather than a visible idol, and this internal structure is being applied through Server actions.

Verse 45 adds that this applied angelic understanding is being passed on. “Also which, having received by succession, our fathers brought in with Joshua.” Brought means ‘to bring in’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. ‘Bring’ without ‘in’ has been used several times and is interpreted as avoiding personal interaction. ‘Bring in’ implies adding personal interaction. This is backed up by the verb having received by succession which is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘through’ with ‘to receive in a welcoming way’. In other words, what began as objective technology modified by the spirit is turning into a spiritual existence that includes technology, because the angelic voice to Moses includes detailed, ordered instructions that are consistent with the structure of technology. This is happening with Joshua, and Joshua is the same word as Jesus in Greek. The incomplete spiritual economy of verse 42 was preserving human society, whereas the growing spiritual economy of verse 45 is saving human society.

This is happening “in taking possession of the nations whom God drove out.” Taking possession is used twice as a noun in the New Testament and means ‘a holding fast’. It was previously used in verse 5 where God promised to give Abraham a possession within the Promised Land. It was mentioned in verse 5 that Abraham was still functioning at the level of ‘having’ rather than ‘being’. And taking possession is at the level of ‘having’. Nation means ‘people joined by practicing similar customs or common culture’ and refers to MMNs of society and culture. This word was previously used in verse 7, which said that God will judge any nation to which the Israelites are in bondage. And bondage means ‘having all personal ownership-rights assigned to the owner’. Notice the relationship between having and being. Slavery reduces being to the level of having; people are being treated as personal property. And this ownership is to the MMNs of some culture. In other words, being is being reduced to having and is being regarded as a property of culture. Looking at a modern parallel, my personal worth is determined by my possessions and my personal worth, measured in terms of possessions, is being determined by my culture.

Verse 45 describes something different, which is MMNs of culture being treated as something that one has. That is because culture is incapable of providing a basis for being, because culture is a result of social interaction which happens between people as objects. Being is something internal which is more fundamental. Notice that the slavery of verse 5 did not include any being because Abraham did not receive any inheritance—and inheritance is based upon being. Instead, people were being reduced from being to having and then being ruled by the implicit having of cultural mental networks.

Drove out means ‘to thrust out’ and is found twice in the New Testament. Verse 39 used the verb ‘to thrust away’ to describe the Israelites pushing away the angelic oracles. In verse 45, God is ‘thrusting out’ cultural MMNs. Looking at this cognitively, in verse 39 the angelic TMNs were being pushed away because they were incompatible with MMNs of human existence. In verse 45, cultural MMNs of human existence are being pushed out because they are incompatible with the TMN of a concept of God.

This thrusting away happens “From the face of our fathers, until the days of David.” Face represents mental networks of personal interaction. What is being described is an antagonistic relationship between a concept of God in Teacher thought and MMNs of culture within Mercy thought. The MMNs of the fathers are being driven by their TMN of submission to the angelic message to thrust away MMNs of culture. For instance, such an attitude can also be seen in the original Israelites in the time of the judges. In Judges 12, Jephthah promised that if he won over the Ammonites, then he would sacrifice to God whatever came first out of the door of his house, and when his daughter welcomed him, he was forced to kill his daughter.

This attitude continues ‘until the days of David’. David means ‘beloved’, implying that God in Teacher thought cares for personal identity in Mercy thought. A day represents an era in society. Therefore, ‘days of David’ would mean a change in societal thinking which no longer views the supernatural as intrinsically opposed to the natural. The future Stephen illustrates this kind of thinking, because Stephen is living in human reality in a manner that expresses the angelic message.

Verse 46 describes the attitude of David. “Who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.” Found means to ‘discover, especially after searching’. Favor is related to the word ‘grace’ which indicates help from God in Teacher thought. Before means ‘in the eye of’ and was previously used in 6:6 to describe bringing the deacons, including Stephen, before the apostles. The eyes are used to scan the environment to build up an entire picture. Thus, ‘in the eye of’ implies allowing someone to build a big picture of knowledge based upon detailed examination. Saying this more simply, David went beyond ‘going to church on Sunday’ to allowing God to illuminate all of his actions and behavior. This attitude can be seen in Psalm 139:23, where David says “Search me, God, and know my heart.”

Ask means ‘to ask, request’. This was previously used in 3:2 to describe the lame man asking for alms and in 3:14 to describe the crowd at the trial of Jesus asking for a murderer. In each case, the asking is anticipated but it is also being done by an inferior to a superior. Dwelling place is used three times in the New Testament and means a ‘pitched tent’. It is related to the word ‘tent’ used in verses 43-44. Peter uses the word ‘pitched tent’ twice in 2 Peter 1 to describe his physical body. This ‘pitched tent’ is ‘for the God of Jacob’. That is interesting because Jacob represents the third stage of returning from the heaven of Teacher thought to the earth of some inheritance. Thus, David is specifically searching for a way of physically representing this descent from Teacher thought to Mercy thought.

But Solomon builds something more permanent in verse 47. “But Solomon built Him the house.” Solomon means ‘to be complete or sound’. Build means ‘to build a house’ and house is also explicitly mentioned. A house is a place for personal identity. It is a having that is designed to contain being. The mention of house in both a verb and a noun suggests that both the goal and the methodology used to reach this goal treat personal identity as more fundamental than possessions. The name ‘Solomon’ suggests that this can be done by searching for completeness and wholeness. For instance, the goal of mental symmetry is to pursue mental wholeness, and I have found that a comprehensive comprehension of Christianity and theology emerge from pursuing this goal of mental wholeness.

But God is bigger than any finite system that represents God, even one that represents God adequately. This is mentioned in verse 48. “Yet the Most High does not dwell in hand-made houses.” Most high means ‘highest, most high’ and this is the first of two times that this word is used in Acts. The emphasis here is upon God being more universal and more general than anything in in finite human activity. Dwell means to ‘settle down as a permanent resident’. Handmade means ‘made by hand’ and combines the ‘hand’ with ‘make, do’. It is used one other time in Acts. This can be interpreted several ways. First, a universal being cannot be placed within a finite container. The finite container of wholeness can provide a reasonably good ‘house’ for the universal God, but God in Teacher thought is always bigger than any finite home in Mercy thought. Second, one can never adopt the attitude of preserving some culture in Mercy thought even if this culture is an adequate expression of God in Teacher thought. God is always bigger than any culture. Third, hands represent technical thought and doing involves Server actions. Combining technical thought with Server actions will never lead to an adequate concept of God. Instead, it will lead to a false god of methodology based upon how we do things.

Verse 49 elaborates, “As the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth a footstool of My feet.” As means ‘according to the matter in which’ which indicates that the following description is an analogy. Prophet means ‘elevating one idea for another’, and verse 49 clarifies which idea should be elevated.

Heaven refer to the realm of Teacher thought. Earth refers to the realm of human rational thought. Heaven is described as ‘my throne’. This is different than the traditional view of God sitting on a throne in heaven. Here, all of heaven is being described as a throne of God. Looking at this cognitively, a concept of God emerges when a sufficiently general theory in Teacher thought applies to personal identity in Mercy thought. Heaven is a realm based in Teacher thought that it is inhabited by intelligent beings who function within Teacher thought. The result of interacting with heaven is a very potent, implicit concept of God. But heaven is still a finite realm. However, it is a finite representation that is reasonably consistent with the character of the infinite God. Going further, such a finite representation provides a source of stability upon which the infinite God can rest without threatening his character. This concept of divine rest combined with the rest of the people of God is discussed in Hebrews and my guess is that the description of entering this rest in Hebrews 4 corresponds prophetically to the interaction of Stephen with the angelic realm in Acts 6-7. Note that this is different than saying that God is incomprehensible. Mysticism says that God transcends rational human thought. Verse 47 says that heaven provides a reasonable good understanding of what God is like but God is an infinite being who is bigger than heaven.

Earth is described as ‘a footstool of my feet’. Footstool literally means ‘under the feet’ and feet are also explicitly mentioned. This phrase was previously used in 2:35 to describe ‘making your enemies a footstool for your feet’. We saw previously that followers were laying gifts at the feet of the apostles. This was interpreted cognitively (and spiritually) as giving up material wealth in order to gain spiritual power. Thus, the apostles are living within a heaven-like realm of Teacher thought, but their heavenly breakthroughs acquire real power when followers within the rational realm of earth submit to these heavenly breakthroughs. Saying this more simply, a verbal Teacher theory is merely a description of generality. A theory acquires actual generality when specific individuals and situations in Mercy thought submit to this theory. And individuals submit to this theory in order to gain access to the order-within-complexity of that theory. For instance, a constitution is merely a set of words unless it applies to some country and the citizens of that country submit to a constitution in order to experience the benefits of living within that constitution.

Applying this to the real heaven and earth, the physical universe already expresses the universal law of God at an atomic level. Humans function at a much higher level. (Avogadro’s number, which is 6.01 x 10²³, indicates how much higher the human level is than the atomic level.) Humans can choose to submit to the universal cognitive law of God at the human level. Thus, the miracles of a spiritual economy are not a violation of natural law, but rather an expression of divine law functioning at a higher level as illustrated by followers laying their gifts at the feet of the apostles.

Verse 49 continues, “What kind of house will you build Me, says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest?” What kind means ‘of what sort’. House means ‘a house, a dwelling’, and build means ‘to build a house’. Heaven is a realm of Server sequences (A message is a sequence of words and angels are messengers.) Earth is a realm of Perceiver objects. Thus, building a house for God involves both the sequences of heaven and the objects of earth. A house for God includes both the heavenly realm of angels and the earthly realm of humans. Any human culture would be woefully inadequate. But heaven by itself would also be incomplete.

Place means ‘place’ and refers to locations within Perceiver thought. This word was previously used in verse 33 where the Lord told Moses that the place where he was standing was holy ground. In verse 49, the Lord is again talking about a place. In verse 33, the Perceiver place within human reality was holy because it was a place of angelic encounter combined with prickly human experiences apart from mental networks of human society that pushed the human mind through a fire of frustration in the angelic direction.

Rest means ‘to cause to cease’. This word is used nine times in the New Testament, once here in Acts, and eight times in Hebrews 3-4 to describe entering God’s rest. This suggests that Acts 9 corresponds prophetically to Hebrews 3-4. I suggest in the essay on Hebrews that the initial success of the spiritual economy is followed by a backlash that corresponds to the kingdom of the beast described in Revelation 13. That backlash will be seen in Acts 8. (The essay on Hebrews suggests that the kingdom of the beast happens in Hebrews 2. My current guess is that Hebrews 2 refers to an earlier backlash from religious authority, possibly the one described in Acts 5.) My best guess is that Stephen himself is not entering the rest, but rather is laying the foundation for the final push into entering the rest, and that the backlash of the kingdom of the beast will push the spiritual economy through that final transition. Thus, the final rest happens after the kingdom of the beast. A word that means ‘to give rest after the needed task is completed’ is used in Revelation 14. It is used one other time in Revelation in 6:11 to describe the saints under the altar being told to rest for a while. That was interpreted as laying the foundation for the European Renaissance.

Verse 50 summarizes. “Has not My hand made all these things.” Hand refers to the application of technical thought. Made means ‘to make, do’. These things means ‘this’ and all means ‘each part of a totality’. In other words, the Lord functions at the level of generality. When the Lord uses technical thought within the human realm, then this affects everything. Stated bluntly, to think that preserving some culture has anything to do with the holiness of God is a category mistake.

Stephen Confronts his Audience 7:51-56

In verse 51, Stephen finishes his review of future history and turns to his audience. “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears always resist the Holy Spirit.” Stiff-necked is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘hard because dried out’ with ‘neck’. The neck connects the head with the body. The previous verses have described connecting the ‘head’ of angelic words with the ‘body’ of human application. ‘Dried’ implies Perceiver facts that lack the ‘water’ of Mercy experiences. This describes objective thought, which embraces Perceiver facts by avoiding Mercy emotions. The previous verses have described a form of spiritual economy that attempts to remain objective without transforming personal identity in Mercy thought.

Uncircumcised is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘without’ with ‘circumcise’. Circumcision was interpreted earlier as placing restrictions upon the fundamental desires of male thought. The heart refers to personal identity in Mercy thought. Putting this together, male thought is not allowing any restrictions to be placed upon personal desires within Mercy thought. For instance, one can see this in entertainment. Technical gadgets are used extensively to create, record, store, broadcast, and reproduce entertainment. But this advanced technical thought is used to entertain childish Mercy mental networks. This is the first mention of the ear in Acts. ‘Uncircumcised in ears’ suggests that hearing within Teacher thought is being colored by childish Mercy mental networks. For instance, science may claim to be objective, but when one looks past surface appearance, one finds that the interpretation of science is heavily colored by personal feelings. Similarly, the ‘synagogue of freedmen’ was offended by angelic words that questioned existing culture and identity in Mercy thought.

Resist is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘against’ with ‘fall’. Falling was interpreted as moving away from Teacher generality to Mercy specifics. ‘Falling against’ would mean moving towards Mercy specifics in a way that attacks Teacher generality. Stated simply, ‘I don’t like your theory because it offends me’. Always means ‘ever, unceasingly’. In 6:13 the freedmen complained that Stephen did not stop speaking against the holy place. In verse 51, Stephen accuses his audience of always falling against the Holy Spirit. A concept of the Holy Spirit forms within Mercy thought as a result of universal Teacher understanding. Falling against the Holy Spirit means refusing to rise to this level of Teacher universality but rather clinging to specific MMNs of culture and identity. That summarizes the flaw of those who offered slaughter in the wilderness. Any mental networks of the spirit which grew too large were slaughtered in order to protect mental networks of human existence.

Verse 51 finishes with another comparison. “As your fathers did, also do you.” Stephen is saying that his audience is behaving like the fathers under absolute truth. Absolute truth avoids constructing a universal concept of God in Teacher thought in order to preserve Mercy feelings of respect for the source of truth, which is ultimately based in human rituals of holiness. Similarly, an incomplete spiritual economy avoids constructing a universal concept of God in Teacher thought in order to preserve Mercy feelings of respect for materialistic human existence.

Verse 52 compares these two similar responses. “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?” Prophet means ‘asserting one idea over another’. Persecute means to ‘aggressively chase, like a hunter pursuing a catch’. This is the first use of this word in Acts and it has both positive and negative connotations. In both cases, the emphasis is upon taking something and making it a captive of personal mental networks. For instance, this would apply to absolute truth, because a mindset of absolute truth takes the words of the Bible and ‘earnestly desires to overtake’ these Teacher words with Mercy feelings of religious ritual and status. Verse 52 is saying that whenever the prophets tried to use Teacher understanding to arrange words and ideas in the right Teacher order, the fathers responded by trying to put these words into some sort of Mercy box.

Verse 52 continues, “And they killed those having foretold about the coming of the Righteous One.” Kill means ‘to kill’ and was previously used in 3:15 when Peter accused the people of disowning the holy and righteous one and putting to death the Prince of life. Foretold means to ‘decisively announce beforehand’. It is used one other time in the New Testament in Acts 3:18. Cognitively speaking, whenever a clear understanding reaches the level of forming a TMN, then this mental network is killed in order to ensure that it does not threaten existing MMNs. This is similar to the slaughtering of the incomplete spiritual economy described earlier. For instance, the overwhelming response to mental symmetry over the years has been initial excitement, followed by suppressing the subject as soon as it starts to turn into a mental network. This response is now starting to change, but that is because existing mental networks of human society are increasingly going insane.

In verse 52, what is being foretold is ‘the coming of the righteous one’. Coming is used once in the New Testament and means ‘a coming’. Righteous ‘describes what is in conformity to God’s own being’ and is interpreted as Server actions that are consistent with a Teacher understanding of God. The word ‘one’ is implied and is not in the original Greek. Thus, what is coming is not necessarily a specific person but rather a specific mindset. And allowing human behavior to be shaped by a Teacher understanding of God has been the focus of this section. This essay is an example of ‘foretelling the coming of the righteous’. It is a verbal description of this coming. I myself have been going through deep personal experiences that have forced me to apply these words as I have been writing this essay. Thus, for me as a person the message is associated with righteousness. But for the average reader, these words are merely a foretelling of the coming of the righteous, unless that reader is also going through experiences that resonate with these words.

Verse 52 returns from the fathers (our present day) to the time of the future Stephen. “Of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers.” Become means ‘to come into being’. Thus, Stephen’s audience probably did not choose to become what they are. Instead, their choices caused them to become that sort of person. Betrayer is used once in Acts and comes from a word that means ‘to give before’. Murderer means ‘committing unjustified, intentional homicide’. Looking at this cognitively, the existing partial spiritual economy wants to experience supernatural benefits within the natural world. In order to experience these benefits, it must interact in a friendly manner with the supernatural. But in order to preserve existing human mental networks, it betrays this friendly interaction and kills any spiritual life that has grown from this friendly interaction. This was described in verse 43 as a worship of Moloch.

Looking at this briefly from the perspective of spiritual life, humans have enacted laws against cruelty to animals. My best guess is that a spiritual economy will lead to the emergence of spiritual life forms, at least at the level of spiritual ‘animals’. Killing spiritual life is very dangerous. Among other things it will lead to a spirit of killing spirits, which was referred to in verse 43 as a star of Rephan.

Verse 53 summarizes this flawed thinking. “You who received the Law by the ordination of angels, and have not kept it.” Who means ‘whoever, anyone who’. Thus, Stephen is not attacking a group of people in Mercy thought but rather stating a general law in Teacher thought. Receive means to ‘actively lay hold of to take or receive’. Law refers to ‘any system of religious thinking’. We have seen that the partial spiritual economy functions according to the rules within the religious domain. It has actively taken hold of a system of religious thinking. Ordination was used as a verb in verse 44 where Moses was ‘commanded with detailed instructions’. These detailed instructions came from angelic messengers. Thus, the system of technical thought that came from angelic messengers is being aggressively received, but submitting personal identity to this angelic message is being rejected. This is a personal betrayal and an attempt to kill angels because angels have to submit their personal identities to their personal messages, just as humans have to submit their personal identities to their physical bodies. (I do not think that angels can be killed, but any mental networks within human minds that represent angelic life are being killed, as well as any spiritual life that is growing in that direction.)

Keep means ‘to guard, watch’. ‘It’ is implied. Thus, the focus is not upon keeping some thing in human existence the rather upon the mindset of keeping. I know from personal experience that it is disturbing to hold on to an angelic message when one starts to sense that intelligent life is behind this message. That is a natural human response. But one needs to keep the angelic message despite these uncomfortable feelings. If one pursues an angelic message of mental and spiritual wholeness, then the content of the angelic message is totally pro-human. However, the unfamiliarity of the presentation will make the message feel threatening. One has to hold to the message despite the unfamiliarity. The situation is like an animal running away from a human who is trying to help. The presence of the human feels threatening. But the animal needs to accept these threatening feelings knowing that the human is trying to help the animal. If animals are capable of doing this, then surely so-called intelligent humans can do it as well.

Summarizing, Stephen’s sermon has been interpreted as a prophecy of a future spiritual movement responding to the attack of a partial spiritual economy by looking at the development of the spiritual economy. I am quite sure that the original Stephen had none of this in mind. However, what the original Stephen had in mind as well as the thinking of the original Sanhedrin would have been cognitively similar to the interpretation provided in this essay. That is because the original Stephen was being motivated by the Holy Spirit to provide an alternative to existing Jewish religion, which was being motivated by feelings of nationalism and proto-mysticism to follow Jewish law in a manner that was technically correct but spiritually stunted. The divine author of the Bible caused this original incident to be recorded in a manner that prophesies a future fulfillment.

In verse 54, Stephen’s audience snarls at him in response. “Now hearing these things, they were cut to their hearts and began gnashing the teeth at him.” Hearing means ‘to comprehend by hearing’. Cut combines ‘through with ‘cut with a saw’ and is used one other time in the New Testament in Acts 5:33. That described the response of the council to Peter’s second message. Verse 54 adds ‘to their hearts’ which was not mentioned in chapter 5. In both cases, a mental split is being instigated.

In chapter 5, the split was between the spiritual economy and the existing priesthood. The choice there was between spiritual mental networks and mental networks of religious status. Notice that both of those choices involved some form of preservation. Therefore, a positive response is likely. In chapter 7, both sides of the split involve spiritual mental networks. On the one hand, using the spiritual economy is supported by potent mental networks. On the other hand, ensuring that this use remains incomplete is also supported by potent mental networks of spiritual slaughter. Because both sides of the split involve the spiritual realm, the sawing in two extends to the heart with its mental networks of personal identity. And because one of these splits involves spiritual slaughter, the slaughter of Stephen becomes a viable response. Stephen represents a spiritual mental network that has grown too far which needs to be slaughtered in order to protect mental networks of human identity.

‘Gnashing of teeth’ occurs seven times in the New Testament as a noun, but verse 54 is the only time that it appears as a verb. And this is the only mention of teeth in Acts. The teeth are used to break food into bite-sized chunks. If food represents intellectual food, then the teeth represent the process of breaking knowledge down into chunks that can be mentally ‘chewed on and digested’. Gnashing of teeth implies that this process is no longer functioning. The use of a verb implies that some spiritual force is motivating this ineffective chewing and digesting to continue. In simple terms, Stephen has managed to jam the functioning of the partial spiritual economy. That is because he has not just given a logical argument. Instead, he has taken the extended angelic message of the development of the spiritual economy and has shown that it fundamentally opposes the functioning of the partial spiritual economy. Saying this another way, Stephen has taken the functioning loop of the partial spiritual economy and sawn it in two.

This gnashing of teeth is happening ‘at Stephen’. On the one hand, the council is being spiritually driven to slaughter Stephen as an offering. On the other hand, the message of Stephen has disabled the functioning of the spiritual economy for the council.

Verse 55 describes a transformation of Stephen. “But he being full of the Holy Spirit, having looked intently into heaven.” Being means ‘what exists, especially what pre-exists’. Thus, the character of Stephen provides evidence based upon his past behavior. Full was previously used in 6:5 to describe Stephen as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and in 6:8 to describe Stephen as full of grace and power. Thus, what exists in verse 55 already pre-existed back in chapter 6. A concept of the Holy Spirit emerges as a universal Teacher understanding of the character of God causes Platonic forms in Mercy thought to come together to create a Form of the Good.

Having looked intently means ‘to stare at because fully occupied with’. It was previously used in 6:15 to describe the council staring at Stephen at the beginning of his lecture. But in this case Stephen is doing the staring ‘into the heaven’. In other words, the opposition of the Council is causing Stephen to break through to a higher level of spiritual functioning.

The rest of verse 55 describes the breakthrough: “saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” Saw means ‘to see with the mind’. This is the second use of glory as a noun in Acts. In 7:2 the God of glory appeared mentally to Abraham. In verse 55, Stephen is mentally seeing the glory of God. Notice the reversal of the two terms. Abraham, starting this process, had a mental concept of the God who is capable of generating glory. Stephen, completing this process, has a mental concept of the glory that comes from such a God.

Jesus means ‘the salvation of Yah’ and represents the finite, concrete side of incarnation. Standing means ‘to make to stand, to stand’ and is being interpreted as a stable reference point that has become capable of standing amidst emotional pressure. At actually means ‘from out of’. As far as I can tell, it is only translated as ‘at’ when occurring in the phrase ‘at the right hand’, which is quite common. Right hand means ‘the right hand or side’ and ‘hand’ is implied. ‘Standing from out of the right of God’ would mean achieving a Perceiver stability that is able to follow a concept of God in Teacher thought at the level of Server sequences.

For instance, something similar can be seen in modern computers. A computer reflects the Teacher order of the physical world at a deep level of quantum mechanics. It does so in a way that expresses extensive Teacher order-within-complexity. (A current high-end CPU in 2020 contains about ten billion transistors.) This order-within-complexity is reflected in the Server sequences carried out by the CPU. But a CPU is also an object that ‘stands’. Thus, a CPU stands from out of the Server sequences that result from the Teacher order-within-complexity of ten billion transistors.

What is significant is that the human salvation of Jesus is standing in heaven at the level of the God. A similar combination can be seen in Hebrews 4:14-16, which talks about Jesus the Son of God passing through the heavens as well as approaching the throne of grace with confidence. (The essay on Hebrews suggested that Hebrews 2:10-15 corresponds to the kingdom of the beast in Revelation 13. However, the correspondence mentioned here suggests that the persecution mentioned in Hebrews 2 actually corresponds to Acts 5, because in both cases a spiritual economy is extending to the physical realm.)

Stephen describes his breakthrough in verse 56. “And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens having been opened.’” Behold is explicitly mentioned and comes from a word that refers to ‘visible appearance’. This goes beyond seeing with the mind to actually seeing, implying a real spiritual breakthrough. ‘The heavens’ refers to the realm of Teacher thought. Opened means to ‘open fully by completing the process necessary to do so’, and this is the first time this word is used in Acts. This is consistent with the suggestion that Stephen is completing a process of opening the door to the supernatural realm.

Verse 56 describes what he sees. “And the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” This phrase is almost identical to the phrase in verse 55, except ‘Jesus’ is replaced with ‘the Son of Man’. Man is the generic word for ‘mankind’. Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man in the Gospels. I have not made a detailed study of this term. But verse 56 describes a cognitive transition from verse 55. Jesus brings salvation to humanity. In verse 55, this salvation for humanity has reached the level of a mental awareness of the Teacher generality of God. In verse 56 this is replaced by a physical awareness of the essence of what it means to be human.

The primary purpose of the partial spiritual economy was to gain supernatural in spiritual benefits while still clinging to mental networks of human existence. Thus, spiritual life was slaughtered whenever it reached the level of potentially threatening mental networks of human existence. Stephen is seeing that if these mental networks of human salvation are allowed to grow to the level of the Teacher generality of God, then the end result is not the annihilation of humanity but instead an expression of the essence of humanity. Human DNA provides a partial illustration of what this means. The angelic realm of messages is instinctively regarded as being opposed to human physical existence. But every fragment of the three-dimensional physical structure of every living body starts off as a string of copied messages which is turned into a string of amino acids which then falls in on itself to form a three-dimensional structure. This is known as protein folding. (I cannot find a single reference on Google that mentions any similarity between ‘the word made flesh’ and protein folding. For me, the parallel is blindingly obvious, because in both cases words are being made flesh. My only conclusion is that a mindset of absolute truth has blinded scholars from noticing such connections. Looking at this in more detail, the genetic alphabet has four ‘letters’ and each ‘word’ is composed of three letters. Genetic messages composed of strings of three letter DNA words (or codons) are transcribed into strings of RNA. These are then translated into sequences of amino acids which fold in on themselves to become literal blood, flesh, and bones. Viewing protein folding from this perspective may seem like a strange idea, but what I have just stated is basic biochemistry. It is not an analogy and not an overgeneralization.)

In verse 56, Stephen is seeing that human existence really has its source in the Teacher words and sequences of God. This is already true at a physical level, not just symbolically true, but literally true based upon the actual messages of DNA. This seeing of Stephen demonstrates that the basic premise of the partial spiritual economy is invalid. What the council is viewing as an existential threat to humanity is actually the ultimate source of life for humanity. Stated simply, they have damned their souls for a lie. And this language is not at all too strong.

Stephen is Stoned 7:57-60

In verse 57 they cannot listen any more. “And having cried out with a loud voice, they held their ears and rushed upon him with one accord.” Cried out means ‘inarticulate shouts that express deep emotion’. This is the first use of this verb in Acts and it will be used to describe the response of Stephen in verse 60. In other words, the situation has gone beyond rational thought and both parties are being driven irresistibly by core mental networks. Voice means ‘a voice, sound’. Loud means ‘large, great, in the widest sense’ and is interpreted as Teacher generality. Thus, the council is being driven by core mental networks to impose a general theory upon Teacher thought.

Held means ‘to hold together’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Holding together implies Teacher order-within-complexity. But what is being held together is not understanding but rather the ear. This describes rationalization, in which one interprets what one hears in such a way that preserves one’s Teacher theory. This is selective hearing. Applied to the supernatural, it means blocking off any supernatural messengers that do not resonate with this message of the partial spiritual economy. Stated succinctly, the council is damning itself to hell with the alien ‘host of heaven’ mentioned in verse 42. I mean this literally, because hell can be interpreted as a realm within the supernatural that functions in a way that does not recognize the order-within-complexity of God.

Rush means ‘to set in motion’ and is used primarily of the herd of pigs rushing down over the cliff in the Gospels. With one accord means ‘with one passion’ and has appeared several times in Acts. Thus, the members of the council find unity in their opposition to Stephen. This opposition to the ‘Stephen’ of human salvation that comes from God becomes the general Teacher theory that guides their behavior in a unified and ‘righteous’ manner. This is, by definition, satanic, because Satan means ‘adversary’.

This is followed in verse 58 by actions. “And having cast him out of the city, began to stone him.” Literally speaking, the Sanhedrin was prohibited by Roman law from carrying out capital punishment. This restriction is mentioned in John 18:31 in the trial of Jesus. A city represents civilized life with its social interaction and specializations. Cast means ‘to cast out’. Throwing indicates movement through the air of Teacher thought. Thus, casting out would represent using Teacher thought to get rid of something. Putting this into the prophetic context, Teacher thought is being used to throw out of civilized interaction any form of the spiritual economy that starts with God. A partial illustration can be seen in modern society, because talking about God is regarded in many circles as something irrational that has nothing to do with civilized discourse. More specifically, any suggestion that biological life starts with the word of God in Teacher thought has being thrown out of modern society as something irrational that has nothing to do with academic discourse.

Began to stone is a single word that means ‘to pelt with stones’. ‘Cast out’ combined ‘out’ with ‘throw’. ‘Begin to stone’ combines ‘stone’ with ‘throw’. Thus, once the concept of Stephen has been eliminated from civilized discourse, then Perceiver facts are being used as stones to theoretically attack Stephen. Again, a partial illustration can be seen in modern society because facts are marshaled to try to demolish any concept of God guiding human society.

Verse 58 mentions Saul for the first time. “And the witnesses laid aside their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.” Saul means ‘asked’. Notice the contrast between the behavior of the council and Saul. The Council is using force to eliminate the unwanted message of Stephen. This is the precise opposite of asking. One is the robber who points a gun at your head, while the other is the customer who offers to pay. Requesting is a key aspect of both a normal economy and the spiritual economy.

Looking at this in more detail, the participants are described as witnesses, a word that indicates personal involvement. Lay aside means ‘to put off, lay aside’ and is used once in Acts. Paul uses this word to talk about putting off the old nature. What is being laid aside in verse 58 is ‘the outer garment’. Clothing represents the ‘fabric’ of social interaction, and the outer garment would represent public social interaction. These are being laid at the feet of Saul. This is very similar to the language of 4:35 in which followers were ‘laying at the feet of the apostles’. In verse 58, the stoners are ‘laying away from at the feet of Saul’. Stated cognitively, the social interaction of the council is becoming separate from the council members and is going through a spiritual transition. This may sound trivial, but modern science is defined primarily by its methodology. The ‘outer garment’ of science has become all-important. Similarly, verse 58 appears to describe a separation of spiritual methodology from the murderous and godless motivation driving this methodology.

Saul is described as ‘a young man named Saul’. Young man means ‘a young man’ and would refer to male technical thought in its prime. Named means ‘to call’ and indicates a focus upon Teacher words. In other words, spiritual methodology acquires a life of its own which embodies male technical thought. This methodology becomes the way by which people ‘ask of God’ in Teacher thought. Similarly, scientific methodology has become the approved method by which science acquires Teacher understanding.

Verse 59 describes the response of Stephen. “And as they were stoning Stephen, he was calling out and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’” Stoning means ‘to pelt with stones’. Stephen means ‘a wreath, awarded to a victor’. Perceiver facts are being used to attack the idea that God would reward a human who completes some race in human existence. For instance, the average person would consider it absurd for me to continue pursuing mental symmetry in order to break through to some spiritual realm.

Stephen gained a new vision of Jesus in verse 56 where he realized that God in Teacher thought is the ultimate source of the personal salvation of Jesus. (I know that most Christians would say these words, but there is little substance behind what is being said.) He is now calling upon this Jesus as Lord. Receive means ‘to receive in a welcoming way’. Stephen has received the angelic message in a welcoming way, unlike the council members that are stoning him. He is now asking the angelic realm to receive his spirit in a welcoming way. Stephen is referring to his spirit as a representative of himself. The partial spiritual economy has been slaughtering any spiritual life that acquires power over personal identity. Stephen, in contrast, is calling upon the Jesus who is standing at the right hand of God in heaven to receive his spirit in a welcoming way. In other words, Stephen has allowed his own spirit to grow and develop to the point of providing an alternate source for personal identity. Speaking from personal experience, I have recently become increasingly aware of my spirit as an independent, intelligent being that interacts within the heavenly realm in a way that affects my personal existence on earth.

Verse 60 describes the death of Stephen. “And having fallen on his knees, he cried in a loud voice.” Fall means ‘to place, lay, set’. This does not describe a falling but rather a placing. This is not a losing of personal stability but rather an establishing of stability. This phrase ‘placing the knees’ can be found elsewhere in the New Testament, such as where Jesus kneels in the garden to pray. Kneeling usually indicates an attitude of subservience. In verse 60, Stephen is acquiring an attitude of subservience to his spirit and to the Lord Jesus. The phrase ‘cried in a loud voice’ is the same as in verse 57. In both cases, a gut response is ascending to the level of Teacher generality. The council was also driven at a gut level to treat their opposition to Stephen as their most general Teacher theory.

Verse 60 describes what Stephen is being driven at a gut level to generalize. “Lord, do not place this sin to them.” Place means ‘to make to stand, to stand’. Sin means ‘to miss the mark’. In other words, Stephen does not want Jesus in heaven to regard the sin of the council as a source of stability. Stated simply, Stephen does not want to be caught in an attitude of being ‘saved from’. He does not want his Lord in heaven to adopt the adversarial attitude of the council. Instead, he wants to be ‘saved to’. I have tried repeatedly to follow a similar pathway by viewing the extensive injustices that I have experienced as gateways to a better world and not as crimes to be punished by God. I would far rather be blessed by God than have God punish my enemies.

Verse 60 finishes, “And having said this, he fell asleep.” This is the first time that falling asleep is mentioned in Acts, indicating a new way of viewing physical death. I am not suggesting any doctrine of soul sleep, because that suggests that the spirit falls asleep. In contrast, the spirit of Stephen appears to be very much alive and awake. The fundamental principle is that Stephen has become so aware of the supernatural being the source of the natural and letting go of the present in order to embrace the future that death itself has been reduced to the level of sleep. Looking at this prophetically, Stephen represents human prosperity descending from God through the supernatural. This mindset will now fall asleep because an opposing spiritual force has risen in opposition to it.

The author of Acts also wrote the Gospel of Luke. Luke records Jesus making two similar statements during his crucifixion. In Luke 23:34, Jesus says “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And in Luke 23:46, Jesus says, “Father, into Your hands I commit my My spirit.” It is interesting that only Luke mentions these two statements. The logic for these statements would be similar. Jesus does not want God the Father to use the flawed actions of the crowd as a source of Server stability. And Jesus is making a transition from the physical back to the spiritual.

My current guess is that the death of Stephen indicates the beginning of the kingdom of the beast. I am not sure at the moment how the detailed chronology of Acts lines up with the detailed chronology of other New Testament books. There is a general consistency between these books, but I have not matched them up in detail when looking at the distant future.

Saul Persecutes the Church 8:1-4

In chapter 8, a persecution of the church starts. Verse 1 begins, “And Saul was there consenting to his killing. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem.” Consenting means ‘to join in approving’. Killing is the noun form of ‘to take up, take away’, which was interpreted as getting rid of something by the use of Teacher generality. It was suggested that Saul represents a methodology that is emerging from a social interaction based in asking. Verse 1 suggests that a methodology is being lifted up in Teacher thought and is being used to suppress dissenting opinion. For instance, one sees something similar in academia, because the methodologies of the scientific method and peer-review have been lifted up in Teacher generality to the point of defining science and functioning as effective tools for ignoring voices and facts that are uncomfortable. I have discovered with mental symmetry that it is possible for academia to totally ignore a comprehensive cognitive theory if it is not developed and published using proper methodology. I should add that there is a place for methodology, statistically significant evidence, rigorous thought, and careful language. The problem is that this emphasizes technical thought to the exclusion of other forms of thinking. Mental symmetry uses the analogies and patterns of normal thought and not the rigorous thinking of technical thought. It is possible to use analogies in a semi-rigorous manner that is compatible with scientific thought, but the resulting papers are generally too long, too interdisciplinary, and not ‘rigorous enough’ to publish. However, I have just managed to publish a short article on the methodology used by mental symmetry and that article is currently sitting at the top 1% of academia letters with about 2000 views.

Continuing with verse 1, arose means ‘to come into being’. ‘On that day’ represents a certain era in society. Persecution means ‘the hunt to bring someone down like an animal’. The same word is used in 2 Thessalonians 1:4, and 2 Thessalonians 2 refers to the antichrist who comes to power in the kingdom of the beast. This persecution is described as great, which is interpreted as Teacher generality. This word is also found once in Revelation in verb form in 12:13 which talks about the dragon persecuting the woman after he is thrown down to earth. Revelation 13, of course, describes the kingdom of the beast. This persecution is directed ‘against the church in Jerusalem’. Church means ‘called out from the world’. In other words, the very existence of the church is a threat to the existing religious establishment.

The symbolism of Revelation 12 provides a possible explanation. The dragon is referred to in verse 9 as ‘the serpent of old’. A serpent is interpreted as representing the overgeneralized theory of mysticism. It was suggested earlier that the partial spiritual economy will be given over to aliens. (I do not think that all aliens are demons. I think that many aliens are demonic. However, Colossians 1:20 says that the death of Jesus on the cross applies to both earth and heaven, indicating that it is possible for angels and aliens to ‘become saved’. Thus, I think that in the early stages of the spiritual economy, many demons will become angels and angels will become demons based upon their personal response to the developing salvation of Jesus. This suggests that there will be substantial overlap between the aliens of today and the aliens of Acts 7, but these two groups will not be identical.) My best guess from reading stories about aliens is that they acquire their energy from a system of mysticism that is parasitic upon human existence. Teacher emotion comes from order-within-complexity. The mystic overgeneralization that ‘all is one’ contains order but no complexity. It is possible to create implicit order-within-complexity by turning one’s back upon the complexity of human society in order to embrace the order of mystic unity with God. However, this only works if a strict boundary is placed between the order and the complexity. Humans do this by mentally asserting that God transcends human rational thought. Aliens appear to do this by maintaining a strict separation between aliens and humans. Thus, aliens interact with humans and then turn their back upon humanity in order to worship God in mystical manner. One additional factor can be seen in Zen Buddhism. Zen has learned that it is possible to maintain the overgeneralization of mysticism if one performs spontaneous Server action and identifies personally with this action. For instance, one ‘is the arrow as it travels through the air’. A Zen Buddhist mindset would be mentally compatible with an alien host of heaven in which every member performs Server sequences in a spontaneous manner based upon total submission to a military-like system of order.

Stephen violates this assumption by integrating the order of God with the complexity of human society. And at the end of chapter 7, the integration of Stephen reached the throne of God in heaven. The result would be that the serpent of mysticism would be cast out of heaven as described in Revelation 12 and be forced to descend to earth. The alien split between mystical worship and human society would then have to be re-created on earth, which would mean that any integration between these two would have to be eliminated from Jerusalem. In other words, the ‘church in Jerusalem’ would have to be hunted down and forced to flee.

Verse 1 continues, “And all except the apostles were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.” Scattered means ‘to sow throughout’ and is used three times in the New Testament, all in the book of Acts. Region means ‘country-land’. Grain is interpreted as intellectual food. Thus, verse 1 can be interpreted as the widespread sowing of knowledge. What started out as religious knowledge becomes spread to other realms. Judea means ‘praise’ and was the region around Jerusalem. Judea would represent various systems of art and entertainment that are related to religion but not directly part of the religion of Jerusalem. Samaria means ‘to keep, watch, preserve’. It was mentioned once previously in Acts in 1:8 where Jesus said that his disciples would be witnesses in all Judea and Samaria. Samaria would represent those who hold onto various cultural and religious traditions, because the Samaritans held to a partial version of Judaism.

Verse 1 adds that the apostles remained in Jerusalem. This is strange because normally the leaders would try to flee in order to avoid being caught. Looking at this prophetically, I have suggested that the primary goal is to maintain a split between aliens and humans. The apostles have crossed over to the angelic side; they are functioning as angels and acting as sources of power to those who bring items to lay at their feet. As sources of power, they cannot be directly attacked. But they can be separated from their followers, consistent with the split of mysticism. What is left for the followers is secular entertainment and culture that has been separated from any religious connection with God in heaven. Similarly, Revelation 12:16-17 says that the dragon attempts to attack the woman, fails because of the rational thinking of the earth, and then leaves the woman in order to make war on ‘her seed’.

Stephen is buried in verse 2. “Now devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.” Bury is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘together’ with ‘to bear, carry’. This is a different word than the word ‘to bear’ used elsewhere in Acts. However, it still implies personal involvement, while the ‘together’ suggests the addition of Teacher order. Mysticism combines Teacher overgeneralization with Mercy identification. ‘Bury’ describes something similar that includes content, which is Teacher cooperation with Mercy involvement. Men refers specifically to male thought. Devout means ‘Taking hold of what is good’. Mysticism suppresses male technical thought in order to fully embrace female mental networks. (This principle applies even when the priests who practice mysticism are all men. They are still using female mental networks.) In contrast, male technical thought is being used to examine the heavenly blessing of Stephen in order to hold on to what is good. This relates to the idea of the Jesus of salvation being the Son of Man of human existence.

Lamentation is used once as a noun in the New Testament and comes from a verb that means ‘to cut; be incised, resulting in severance, being cut off’. And great is being interpreted as Teacher generality. This indicates that the path of Stephen from supernatural to natural has been successfully cut off at the heavenly level of Teacher generality. It no longer functions. (In Revelation 13:4, the kingdom of the beast is worshipped, in 13:7 it overcomes the saints, in 13:13 it enables an alternate spiritual economy, and in 13:17 it shuts down any independent spiritual economies.)

This breakdown in legitimate spiritual power enables Saul. “But Saul was destroying the church.” Destroy is used once in the New Testament and means ‘to outrage, to corrupt’. This is happening to ‘the church’. The legitimate connection from God has become disabled in verse 1. This makes it possible for the incomplete spiritual economy to outrage and corrupt those who are following God legitimately. Both of these terms are emotional. Outrage commits emotional experiences that violate existing mental networks, while corruption commits emotional experiences that degrade existing mental networks. Saul is interpreted as a methodology of asking. Thus, polite methodology is violating legitimate interaction. This already happens to some extent today, with academic methodology suppressing a lot of legitimate research. It would happen to a much greater extent in a future academia that added the spiritual element to the science and technology of today. Imagine what would happen if religious worship had to submit to standards of academic acceptability.

Verse 3 describes a frontal attack by methodology upon personal mental networks. “Entering houses after houses and dragging off men and women, he was delivering them to prison.” A house is a dwelling for personal identity. Enter means ‘to enter’. Drag means ‘to draw, drag’. Men and women are both explicitly mentioned. Deliver has the dual meaning of ‘betray’ or ‘hand over’. And prison means ‘a guarding’. Looking at this cognitively, the idea of a private subjective realm is being eliminated. Instead, multiple subjective realms are being entered by the ‘Saul’ of methodology and are being dragged out into official supervision. This describes what would happen if real aliens came down to earth and attempted to maintain their split of mysticism. Aliens communicate with humans telepathically. Therefore, aliens would be mentally aware of any private mental networks that contradicted their mindset. They would respond by invading those personal realms in order to impose their personality upon the subjective. This already happens in alien abductions, because aliens invade homes, use their force of personality to paralyze humans lying in their beds, and then abduct these individuals to perform their ‘experiments’. Apparently, only humans that can be trusted to behave in an obedient manner are given freedom. This is described as a betraying, which indicates that a major shift is being enabled. What is being enabled is that supernatural intervention will leave the realm of the religious and enter the Judea and Samaria of art, entertainment, and culture.

Verse 4 describes this spreading message. “Therefore indeed those having been scattered went about preaching the word.” Scattered was used in verse 1 and means ‘to sow throughout’. Went about means ‘to go through’. Sowing involves the ‘food’ of knowledge. Going implies personal involvement. Thus, the spread of information is being accompanied by a spread of personal involvement. Preaching means ‘to announce good news’ and this is the second use of this word in Acts. Word is logos. In 5:42 the apostles were preaching Jesus as the Christ. In verse 4, the followers are preaching the logos. One of the steps of moving from absolute truth to universal truth is to separate the source of truth from the followers of truth. For instance, a book separates the author from the reader, because a book can be read away from the physical presence of the author. Similarly, verse 1 separated the apostles from their followers.

Philip Proclaims in Samaria 8:5-8

Verse 5 mentions Philip. “Now Philip, having gone down to a city of Samaria, was proclaiming the Christ to them.” The general consensus is that this is Philip the evangelist who was made a deacon in Acts 6:5 and not the apostle Philip who was a disciple of Jesus. However, that is secondary to a prophetic analysis because we are looking at the meanings of the names and Philip means ‘horse-loving’. It may also be significant that Philip is second in the list of seven deacons given in 6:5 after Stephen. Philip is interpreted as government and military organization, because horses were an expression of military might and required extensive organization to maintain. Government organization has just turned on the believers through officially sanctioned persecution. Thus, a new form organization is required that has sufficient structure to be able to withstand government might.

Having gone down means ‘to come down’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Speaking literally, Jerusalem is on high ground; therefore, one goes down when leaving Jerusalem. Symbolically, coming down represents moving from Teacher generality to Mercy specifics. Philip moving down would mean that organization is dealing with more specific matters. The initial laying at the feet of the apostles established the general framework of a spiritual economy. Details are now being added to that general framework.

This focus upon organization is expressed by Philip going down ‘to or into the city’, because a city is an organized community with an organized economy governed at a detailed level. Samaria means ‘to keep, watch, preserve’ and is interpreted as religious and cultural tradition. This would refer today to various religions and cultures with their ethical systems. Fundamentalist Christians tend to be leery of interacting with ‘Samaritans’ for fear that absolute truth will be contaminated. I no longer feel this way because I have learned that mental symmetry has enough Teacher order to stand on its own without having to be defended by me. I have also learned that many so-called evangelical Christians hold on to beliefs that contradict fundamental biblical doctrines. Similarly, the fundamental principles of the spiritual economy have now been established. Therefore, it can survive contact with various religious and cultural systems without being contaminated or corrupted. But notice that Philip is not going just anywhere. Instead he is going to an organized city with a system of morality.

Proclaim means ‘to be a herald, proclaim’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. And ‘the Christ’ refers to the abstract side of incarnation. Thus, Philip is proclaiming the abstract side of incarnation to those who live within the concrete thinking of culture and religion. This is consistent with the idea of adding specifics to the general framework of the spiritual economy. Notice that Philip is not arguing with the experts or imposing some government authority but rather proclaiming a general system.

In verse 6, this proclaiming gets a positive response. “And the crowds with one accord were giving heed to the things being spoken by Philip.” Giving heed means to ‘have towards’. This word was used once previously in Acts 5:35 in Galamiel’s warning to the council. ‘Having’ means functioning at the level of having rather than doing. But ‘having towards’ suggests moving beyond having to something deeper. Crowds means ‘a crowd’ and is in the plural. This word was previously used in 6:7 to describe a great crowd of priests following the new spiritual economy and was only used once before that in 1:15 to describe the crowd of names in the room where Peter was speaking. Instead, the normal word is ‘laity’. Laity implies followers and believers. Crowd refers to people with whom one has no special connection. This again is consistent with the idea of the message spreading to other religions and cultures. These crowds are ‘having towards’ the speaking of Philip. In other words, they are listening to his words of organization.

One accord means ‘the same passion’ and was previously used in 7:57 to describe the council turning on Stephen. Thus, the message of Philip is resonating with his audience. This relates to the suggestion that the spiritual economy has now reached a level of being able to survive contact with the masses. When the logos of the spiritual economy is proclaimed to the masses, then they are resonating with this message in a unified manner.

Verse 6 continues, “In the time for them to hear and to see the signs that he was performing.” In actually means ‘in the realm of’ and ‘time’ is not mentioned. Thus, this phrase is more literally ‘in the realm of the to hear them and to see the signs’. (I should mention in passing that it appears that we are having to do significantly less re-translating of the English text with the BLB than was required with the NASB.) Hear means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. See means ‘to see something physical, with spiritual results’. A sign is ‘a sign given especially to confirm, corroborate or authenticate’. Normally, signs are accompanied by wonders in Acts. However, in this case there are signs but no mention of wonders. These terms all indicate an intelligent response. Hearing means that there is comprehension. Seeing means that people are looking beyond the visible to what the visible represents. And a sign without a wonder means that the focus it is upon establishing stability rather than upon violating common sense. And the signs are being performed, which refers to Server actions. There is no mention of angelic power.

Verse 7 describes the spiritual result. “For from many of those having unclean spirits, they were coming out, crying in a loud voice.” The phrase ‘having a spirit’ is found elsewhere in the New Testament and is cognitively interesting. Having indicates the non-personal realm of possession. Spirits, in contrast, interact with the personal realm of mental networks. Having a spirit implies that there is some emotional distance between personal identity and the spirit. Unclean means ‘not pure because mixed’. The phrase ‘unclean spirits’ was mentioned previously in Acts in 5:16 to refer to people from surrounding cities coming to Jerusalem for help. But in 5:16 people were being ‘mobbed’ by unclean spirits and did not just ‘have’ them.

Mental networks are driven by consistency, because a mental network generates positive emotion when experiencing information that is consistent with its structure. For instance, mental networks of culture cause people of similar culture to be attracted to one another while repelled from those with different cultures. An unclean spirit contradicts itself and is therefore unstable. Compare this with the way in which the crowds are responding to Philip ‘with the same passion’. Thus, the reason that the message of the spiritual economy can survive contact with the masses is that the message is integrated while the spirits of the masses are fragmented. Notice that this is not happening to everyone but only to ‘many’. However, it is happening to a large enough group to establish a societal consensus.

Crying means ‘to make an urgent distress-call’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Voice means ‘voice, sound’ and does not necessarily mean intelligent conversation. Loud is interpreted as Teacher generality. Coming out means to ‘come out of’. This describes what is happening when the integrated message of the spiritual economy meets the spirits of various cultures and religions. The mixed spirits are coming out. And they are coming out in a way that broadcasts the general Teacher message of needing help. This is not a case of some foreign power imposing itself upon the population. Instead, the local population is recognizing at a spiritual level that it needs help and it is letting go of its mixed motivations in order to embrace this help.

Verse 7 continues, “And many having been paralyzed and lame were healed.” As before, this is happening to many. Paralyzed means ‘to loose from the side’ and is used twice in Acts. Lame means ‘lame, deprived of a foot’. This word was used to describe the lame man in chapter 3 and is interpreted as lacking one of the two ‘feet’ of Mercy and Teacher thought. In this case, the Samaritans have a Mercy ‘foot’ of tradition and culture, but they do not have a Teacher ‘foot’ of integrated understanding. Paralyzed implies that the Samaritans are functioning in a lopsided manner, lacking the ability to hold together major aspects of thought. Heal ‘usually involves natural elements in the process of healing’ and is the source of the English word ‘therapy’. This again indicates a focus upon wholeness and integration rather than the imposition of some outside miraculous force.

In verse 8, this changes the emotional flavor of the city. “So there was great joy in that city.” Was means ‘to come into being’. Great ‘emphasizes the quantity involved’. This does not describe Teacher generality but rather describes affecting many people. Joy means ‘the awareness of God’s grace, favor, joy’ and is one of a family of words that all relate to God in Teacher thought. This is the first occurrence of this word in Acts. This Teacher pleasure is happening ‘in the realm of that city’. Looking at this cognitively, the spiritual economy has been developing until now within the context of the religious priesthood in Jerusalem. Thus, it has not been possible to experience pure Teacher emotions. The spiritual economy is now being applied in a new city that is untroubled by the spiritual hangups and presuppositions of the existing priesthood, encountering instead the fragmented mental networks of local culture and religion.

Simon the Sorcerer 8:9-13

In verse 9, the spiritual economy meets the local religion. “Now a certain man named Simon had formerly been practicing sorcery in the city and amazing the people of Samaria.” Man refers to male technical thought, and name indicates that technical thought is being approached from the Teacher perspective of names, professions, and paradigms. Simon means ‘to hear’. Formerly is used twice in the New Testament and combines ‘before’ with ‘already have’. In other words, Simon represents part of the existing tradition that is guided by words and functions at the peripheral level of having. This exists ‘in the realm of the city’ which means that it is part of the theoretical structure of civilized life.

Practicing sorcery is used once in the New Testament as a verb. The noun of this word is used to describe the Magi who visited Jesus. The Magi were guided by the stars to search for the infant Jesus. Studying the stars suggests approaching abstract thought in a fragmented manner. Amazing means ‘to remove from a standing position’. ‘Standing’ has been interpreted as finding some source of stability in Perceiver thought. ‘Removing from a standing position’ would mean overwhelming Perceiver thought. This word was previously used back in 2:7 and 2:12 to describe the initial response to the Day of Pentecost when the new spiritual empowering violated existing Perceiver facts of common sense. People means ‘people joined by practicing similar customs or common culture’. And these are specifically the people of Samaria. In other words, traditional MMNs of culture and religion are being maintained by fragmented rational thought that is designed to overwhelm Perceiver thought in order to revitalize cultural and religious MMNs. Stated more simply, such a culture maintains itself through awe-inspiring moments and events.

Verse 9 adds that Simon was “declaring himself to be someone great.” Declare is the normal word for talking which means ‘bringing a message to closure’. Great refers to Teacher generality. And ‘to be’ is explicitly mentioned. Thus, Simon is using his theoretical abilities regarding having to verbally claim to possess Teacher generality in the realm of being. This describes many within academia who use the fact that they have made specific discoveries within Teacher thought to claim that they have a personal insight into Teacher generality. For instance, ‘I am a scientist who has published some papers. Therefore, I am qualified to make statements about God based upon my personal experience.’

Verse 10 says that the Samaritans were believing this. “To whom all were giving heed, from small to great, saying, ‘This one is the power of God that is called Great.’” Giving heed means ‘to hold to, turn to’ and was previously used in verse 6 to describe the response of the Samaritans to Philip. This fixation upon Simon is happening all the way from the small of Mercy specifics to the great of Teacher generality. A similar statement can be made about current academia because the average person regards the scientist who has published some academic papers as personally qualified to make personal assessments about every topic no matter how specific or how general. ‘A scientist has spoken. We must listen.’ This attitude seems to be even more extreme with those who distrust ‘mainstream media’ because they also quote their famous scientists, no matter what the specialization or qualification of that scientist.

Power refers to using Perceiver thought to multiply the effectiveness of Server actions. There was no mention of power when discussing Philip. This power is verbally referred to as having Teacher generality and coming from God. Notice that there is no evidence that Simon actually has great power that comes from God. Instead, this power is being called great by the people. This illustrates two different ways of achieving Teacher generality. Something will be regarded as general in Teacher thought if it applies to many situations. But it will also be regarded as general if it is talked about by many people. Thus, the very fact that many people are saying that Simon has Teacher generality is creating feelings of Teacher generality. (This will be emotionally reinforced by awe-inspiring events involving crowds of people.) Notice also that there is no God of absolute truth to guide or twist peoples’ thinking. Instead, whatever everybody is talking about is being viewed as a concept of God in Teacher thought.

Verse 11 describes Simon’s basis for recognition. “Now they were giving heed to him because for a long time he had amazed them with the magic arts.” Giving heed is again the word that means ‘to give full attention’. Magic art is used once in the New Testament and is related to the word Magi. And amazed again means ‘to remove from a standing position’. Thus, Simon can use his interpretation of the stars of fragmented theories to generate awe-inspiring experiences that overwhelm Perceiver thought. This has happened for a long time. Long means ‘sufficient’ and time refers to clock time. Thus, Simon is the force that reinforces the MMNs of religion and culture. For instance, one can see something similar in modern entertainment, which uses scientific know-how to generate experiences that overwhelm the audience with special effects and greater-than-life events, or in the electronics industry with its continual flow of new-and-improved gadgets that overwhelm. Both entertainment and consumer electronics have been overwhelming the consumer for so long that they are now expected to fill this function. (One can see a similar adulation by the crowds in Revelation 13:4. Revelation 13 describes what is happening with the kingdom of the beast. Acts 8 appears to be describing how believers are responding to the kingdom of the beast, similar to the way that Acts 8 describes how the early Christians responded to the official religious persecution in Jerusalem.)

Verse 12 describes the impact of Philip. “But when they believed Philip, proclaiming the gospel concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.” Believe means to ‘be persuaded’. And they are believing Philip, which means that they are being rationally convinced by the organizational expression of the spiritual economy. Exactly the opposite happens today, because the average Christian maintains his so-called faith through a clergy that has the job of creating emotional experiences that will overwhelm Perceiver thought in order to revitalize feelings of emotional fervor. However, these same so-called believers are usually susceptible to being persuaded by the organizational improvements of scientific progress. This suggests that much of the current Christian church functions at the level of Simon the Sorcerer.

Proclaiming the gospel is a single word that combines ‘good’ with ‘announce’ and is the source of the English word ‘evangelical’. (These days, the average person does not view evangelical Christianity as an announcing of good news.) It was previously used in verse 4 to describe persecuted followers proclaiming the word. In verse 12, Philip is proclaiming the good news about ‘the kingdom of God’. ‘The kingdom of God’ was mentioned once previously in Acts in 1:3 where Jesus was talking about the kingdom of God. In verse 12, this kingdom of God is being proclaimed. The implication is that the spiritual economy has finally matured to the level of affecting physical society and government. The disciples in chapter 1 wanted to go directly from absolute truth to the kingdom of God. But that does not work. Instead, a long process of transforming absolute truth into a mature kingdom of spiritual power and benefit had to be completed before it was possible to apply the message of incarnation to secular society. This foundation is implied by the phrase ‘the name of Jesus Christ’. That describes a fully integrated concept of incarnation approached from the perspective of Teacher understanding.

Verse 12 describes the response. “They were baptized, both men and women.” Baptize means to ‘dip under’. Baptism becomes possible when there are two competing streams of society because one can go through a ‘dipping under’ into the water of Mercy experiences in order to move from one stream to another. For instance, physical baptism currently has real significance in countries where baptism is regarded as abandoning the existing, dominant religion. Similarly, baptism would mean something in verse 12 because Philip is announcing an alternative to the existing religion and culture. ‘Both men and women’ indicates that this transformation affects both male technical thought and female mental networks. Simon is using some male technical know-how to generate mental networks that overwhelm rational male thinking. For instance, that is how the average person today views Christian belief. In contrast, Philip is presenting an integrated system that combines male rational thought with transformed female mental networks. Current society does not know what it means for female mental networks to reach this level of transformation, and it will take extensive experience with a spiritual economy to demonstrate what this means. I have a partial internal vision of the awesomeness of such mental networks.

In verse 13 Simon is also convinced. “And Simon himself also believed, and having been baptized, was steadfastly continuing with Philip.” In other words, the method of recreating religious and cultural experiences was itself persuaded by the integrated message of Philip. Again one sees that the integrated message not only survived contact with the local religion and culture but became the rational framework for local religion and culture. Evangelical Christianity attempted to perform such an integration in the 1980s with the seven mountains of culture, but evangelical Christianity played the role of the Samaritans who were swallowed up by the integrated system of secular society. Being baptized implies personal transformation. Similarly, history has indicated that those who participated in these seven mountains of culture have tended to become ‘baptized’ in the wrong direction—by learning how to think and behave naturally like the secular world.

Steadfastly continuing means ‘showing strength which prevails in spite of difficulties’. A current illustration can be found in the Third World student who perseveres in getting a university education. The reference to Philip indicates that this perseverance is with the organization of the spiritual economy, similar to the way that Third World scholars persevere within the institutions of academia.

Simon’s education continues in verse 13. “And beholding the signs and great miracles being performed, he was amazed.” Beholding means to ‘gaze on for the purpose of analyzing’. A sign is a confirming sign and was mentioned back in verse 6 when Philip arrived. But power is now mentioned in connection with Philip rather than Simon. And this power is described as great. Performed is not ‘do’ but rather ‘to come into being’. On the one hand, the people said that Simon had great power. On the other hand, great power is coming into being with Philip. Looking at this cognitively, as the organization develops, a spiritual economy based upon the principle of ‘laying at the apostles’ feet’ starts to emerge, leading to actual power and not just spiritual integration.

Amazed means to ‘stand aside from’ which is interpreted as replacing Perceiver confidence with defining Mercy experiences. Simon manipulated his audience by causing them ‘to stand aside from’. In verse 13, this response is happening to Simon. Cognitively speaking, Simon is trying to make sense of what is happening and is interpreting the events in the light of his current paradigm. He thinks in terms of a split between Perceiver facts and Mercy experiences. Therefore, he naturally interprets what he is experiencing in terms of a Perceiver/Mercy split.

Subsidiary Spiritual Economies 8:14-18

In verse 14 the leadership in Jerusalem comes to visit. “Now the apostles in Jerusalem, having heard that Samaria had received the word of God, sent to them Peter and John.” The apostles are in Jerusalem, which means that the spiritual economy is still being treated as religious at the highest level. Receive means ‘to receive in a welcoming way’. What is being received is ‘the logos of the God’. This describes a legitimate concept of Christ. It was suggested earlier that the council had managed to shut down the functioning of the new spiritual economy by cutting the link between the apostles with their Teacher generality and their followers living in Mercy specifics. The alternative cultural and religious expression in Samaria has developed to the point of creating an alternative connection between human mental networks and a concept of God and incarnation in Teacher thought.

Saying this another way, a concept of Christ uses general terms that can be translated into other languages. Similarly, the spiritual economy is being translated into other languages, such as the languages of entertainment and art. I am not suggesting that current entertainment and art are an adequate substitute for Christianity. That is because current Christianity is not integrated by a Teacher understanding and therefore lacks the ability to integrate other forms of emotional expression to form a legitimate concept of God in Christ. In contrast, the message of Acts 8 is sufficient to take the fragments of art, culture, and religion and integrate them into a legitimate concept of God and Christ.

Sent means ‘sent on a defined admission by a superior’, which is consistent with the idea of the higher echelons of the spiritual economy residing with the apostles in Jerusalem. What is new is that Peter and John are being sent. Until now, Peter and John have been functioning on their own initiative. Now they are functioning under the authority of someone else. Peter represents Perceiver thought and John represents Mercy experiences. Looking at this cognitively, a system has emerged that is larger than that started by Peter and John in Jerusalem. Peter and John have been the driving force in Jerusalem. But their followers were taken away from them and an independent movement started outside of Jerusalem that was not under the control of Peter and John. When that independent movement became connected at a theoretical level with the original movement, then both movements became expressions of something even more general, making it possible for Peter and John to be sent. The end result is a broadening and generalizing of the spiritual economy. Integrating this alternative economy requires the Perceiver connections of Peter as well as the Mercy experiences of John. This is similar to the way that a physical economy can be expanded by adding new connections as well as new items for trade.

Verse 15 mentions the Holy Spirit. “Who having come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.” Come down implies moving from Teacher generality to Mercy specifics. Pray means ‘to exchange wishes’. This praying is being done for the Samaritan believers. Receive means to ‘accept with initiative’ indicating that there is active involvement. A concept of the Holy Spirit emerges when a universal understanding of God in Teacher thought ties together various Platonic forms in Mercy thought.

Looking at this cognitively, a concept of God is fractal, which means that similar features appear at different scales. A theologian can develop a concept of God, but so can an employee working within some job. That is because the same general cognitive principles apply to both the theologian and the employee. On the one hand, the employee is dealing with specific experiences while the theologian is handling general concepts. But on the other hand, both the employee and the theologian are learning similar cognitive lessons. However, an employee living within specific experiences will not recognize this similarity unless Perceiver thought points out the similarity between general principles of theology and specific situations. In addition, Mercy thought has to respond to these similar situations in a way that involves a similar intensity of Mercy feelings. Hence, Peter and John have to come down to the Samaritans and ‘exchange wishes’ on their behalf in order to create a concept of the Holy Spirit. This happens at a cognitive level today. Presumably it would happen at a spiritual level in the future. (And presumably something similar happened in the past when the real Peter and John visited the real city in Samaria.)

Verse 16 explains, “For He was not yet fallen upon any of them, but they had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” Fallen means ‘to fall upon’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. The same verb will be used in 10:44 and 11:15 to describe the Holy Spirit falling. Falling moves through the air of Teacher thought and heads in the direction of Mercy specifics. This is consistent with the idea of recognizing specific experiences as a valid expression of the Holy Spirit. Notice exactly what is falling. The theologian still works with Mercy generalities and the employee with Mercy specifics. That does not change. The similarity occurs in the way that both of these individuals are responding to their environment; it is happening at the level of choices and behavior rather than at the level of experiences. Thus, the Holy Spirit is falling away from Teacher generality but remains a legitimate concept of the Holy Spirit while falling. Had been means to ‘already have’ and implies functioning at the more peripheral level of having rather than being. Jesus refers to the concrete side of incarnation. Being ‘baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus’ would mean functioning at the more specific level of submitting to some concept of Jesus, consistent with the interpretation being suggested.

The transition happens in verse 17. “Then they began laying the hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Laying means ‘to lay upon’ and combines ‘upon’ with ‘to place, lay’. It was used once previously in Acts in 6:6 when the apostles laid hands on the deacons. That also described a movement from the abstract realm of the apostles to the concrete realm of the deacons. But ‘to place’ is being interpreted as a point of Perceiver stability. Thus, abstract theory is finding stability in the concrete expression of this theory, similar to the way that the electronic gadgets of the consumer society act as a source of stability for the abstract thinking of science. Hands represent the application of technical thought. Similarly, moving from the abstract theory of science to the gadgets of concrete thought does not happen automatically but rather requires the application of technical thought. This technical thought is possible because of the organization established by Philip, similar to the way that the organization of the university makes it possible to apply abstract theory. The end result is to receive the Holy Spirit.

Simon responds to this in verse 18. “Now of Simon having seen that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered to them money.” (I am not sure why the ‘of’ is there because ‘Simon’ is in the nominative case. It is also in the interlinear but does not make grammatical sense.) Seen means ‘to see with the mind’. Laying on is the same word used in verse 17 but is in noun form, which only appears once in Acts. Thus, Simon observes the process and interprets it as an event. He has an internal understanding because he is ‘seeing with the mind’. And he notices that it comes from the hands of the apostles, so recognizes the process and the source of this process. But he is viewing it as a giving in which ownership is being transferred from one person to another. He thinks in terms of an event rather than a process. And he only notices the spirit rather than the Holy Spirit.

Offer means ‘to bring to’. It was used once previously in Acts in 7:42 to describe the offering of slaughtered victims and sacrifices in the wilderness. And that was interpreted as an incomplete form of offering. Money means ‘a thing that one uses or needs’. It is usually translated as money but actually comes from a word that means ‘to use, make use of’. Thus, Simon is not necessarily offering them cash but instead is focusing upon the peripheral level of needing things. A similar word is used in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:32 where peripheral needs are described and Jesus says that “your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of them all” and then instructs to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”. This deeper understanding of God’s righteous processes is not present with Simon. That is because he is still thinking in terms of normal Mercy experiences and special Mercy experiences, whereas righteousness crosses this boundary. The special events are the result of applied righteousness and are not the source of culture or religion.

Delegated Spiritual Authority 8:19-25

In verse 19 Simon asks to be able to be a source of this power. “Give also to me this authority, that on whomever I may lay the hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit.” Authority means ‘authority, conferred power, delegated empowerment’. Simon is thinking in terms of normal government, in which people with authority are giving authority to those under them. The phrase ‘lay the hands’ is the same as was used in verse 17 to describe what the apostles did and in verse 18 to describe what Simon saw. Simon describes this as a verb in verse 19, implying that he thinks that ‘laying the hands’ is an action with inherent power that one can choose to perform. Thus, if someone with authority lays on the hands, then the Holy Spirit will be given. Notice how the human person with authority is controlling the giving of the Holy Spirit.

For instance, this describes how the Catholic Church interprets the laying on of hands. Quoting from Wikipedia, “In the Catholic Church, the laying on of hands is performed in the sacrament of Holy Orders and is the means by which one is included in one of the three major orders: bishop, priest, or deacon. Ordination can be administered only by a bishop in Apostolic Succession, and should only be accomplished by a bishop who is properly authorized by the Holy See. The laying on of hands to the priesthood enables a person so ordained to act in persona Christi; i.e., ‘in the person of Christ.’ Ordination allows a priest validly to administer sacraments, most notably giving that individual the authority to celebrate the Eucharist.” Note that all significant religious authority within the Catholic Church depends upon this interpretation of delegating authority through the laying on of hands. Saying this more simply, it appears that the Catholic Church has built its legitimacy upon a view of the laying on of hands that is similar to that held by Simon the Magi. Thus, this is not a trivial issue.

It is possible to maintain such a view of the laying on of hands if spiritual power from God is something that is talked about by the people rather than something that is actually experienced. This describes the current church. One can find legitimate examples of actual spiritual power, but there is far more talking about power than actual experiencing of power.

Peter responds in verse 20. “But Peter said to him, ‘Your silver, may it perish with you, because you thought the gift of God to be obtained by money!’” Peter refers specifically in this verse to silver which represents money as a medium of exchange. When healing the lame man, Peter specifically said in 3:6 that he did not have silver. Perish ‘does not imply annihilation... but instead loss of well-being’. In other words, Peter is recognizing that it is possible to interpret the laying on hands in terms of delegated authority, but he wants this method, as well as those who apply this method, to lose well-being.

Gift means ‘a gift, freely given’. And this is a gift of God. Thought means ‘to assume a prevailing custom’. By means ‘through the instrumentality of’ when followed by the genitive. Money means ‘a thing that one uses or needs’. And obtain means ‘to acquire’ which relates to the realm of having rather than doing. Putting this together, the driving force is personal need in Mercy thought. Simon is assuming based upon traditional practice that the Holy Spirit is something that one receives as a possession based upon personal need. One can see this assumption also illustrated in the typical Pentecostal event, in which leaders with supposed spiritual authority lay hands on people so that they can receive the Holy Spirit. This passage seems to be saying that it is possible to function in this manner; it is a valid spiritual mechanism.

But verse 21 clarifies that this will disqualify a person from functioning at a higher level. “To you there is no part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.” Part means ‘part, portion’. Lot means ‘a lot, cast to distribute’ and was previously used in chapter 1 when choosing between Joseph and Matthias. Inheritance was traditionally distributed through the casting of lots. Matter is the word ‘logos’. In other words, what guides the laying on of hands is not personal authority in Mercy thought but rather a paradigm in Teacher thought. Viewing this from the Mercy perspective of delegated authority disqualifies a person from participating in the paradigm at a personal level.

Heart refers to personal identity in Mercy thought. Right means ‘straight, without unnecessary zig-zags’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Before is used twice in the New Testament and combines ‘in the realm of’ with ‘over against’. In other words, personal identity in Mercy thought is being placed alongside a concept of God in Teacher thought and the order-within-complexity of personal identity is being evaluated. Teacher thought looks for simple explanations that define the essence of complicated situations. Does personal identity appear simple when viewed by a Teacher-based concept of God or does it appear complicated?

The simplicity of personal identity is independent of delegated authority. Delegated authority places people into a military-like hierarchy, in which those who are higher up in the hierarchy have authority over those who are lower down. For instance, delegated authority would view a theologian as closer to God than an employee, or treat an ordained bishop as having greater spiritual authority than a priest, and a priest as greater in authority than a member of the laity. Peter is describing a completely different form of Teacher generality. One’s pecking order is irrelevant. Instead, what matters is the similarity between personal character and a concept of God. For instance, I keep finding when writing these essays that the biblical text is resonating with my personal experience. I have attempted during my life to be a pure person, in the sense of allowing my personal life to be guided by general principles of character development, often at great personal cost. As I walk this path, I find that the Platonic forms of possible perfection within my mind form a unity and simplicity leading to the internal concept of a better world—a Form of the Good that portrays a possible paradise of human existence. Notice that one cannot simultaneously maintain both of these concepts of Teacher generality. Either hierarchy within some organization takes precedence or else similarity to a concept of God takes precedence.

Looking at this more generally, a fractal system of similarity is inherently more simple than a hierarchical system. That is because hierarchy buries complexity within layers of gradually increasing generality. A priest is more general than the laity; a bishop is more general than a priest; and the pope is more general than a bishop. With similarity of character, then all levels can have a direct relationship with a concept of God. This simplicity can be seen mathematically in the Mandelbrot set. Incredibly detailed visual beauty can be derived from the simple equation z_new = z_old² + c, where z is a complex number and c is the coordinate of the pixel being examined.

In verse 22, Peter does not condemn Simon, but rather tells him to seek an alternative. “Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours.” Repent means to ‘think differently afterwards’. This describes a paradigm shift. Wickedness comes from an adjective that means ‘inwardly foul, rotten’. Delegated authority is inwardly foul because it reinforces Mercy feelings of personal superiority over other individuals. This is described as ‘wickedness of you’ which goes beyond having to being. One may have delegated authority, but one is a person who thinks in terms of personal status.

Verse 22 continues, “And pray earnestly to the Lord, if indeed the intent of your heart will be forgiven you.” Pray earnestly means ‘to feel pressing need because of lack’. This prayer is directed to ‘the Lord’. Delegated authority regards people as being sources of authority which they then dispense to others. Such an attitude needs to realize that it is in pressing need because it lacks the right mindset. The solution is to recognize something else as Lord. For instance, this happened to the apostles when an independent spiritual economy emerged within Samaria. It then became possible for the apostles to submit to something else as Lord rather than to view themselves as the sources of spiritual authority.

Forgiven means ‘to send away, leave alone’. This is not a matter of some person with spiritual authority pronouncing ‘your sins are forgiven’, which is how this is often interpreted. Instead, this is a matter of being able to emotionally let go of some incident or mindset. Saying this cognitively, forgiveness means that a situation or mindset no longer acts as a mental network that imposes its structure upon the mind. Intent is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘on, fitting’ with ‘mind, understanding, reason’. This intent is ‘of the heart of you’. In other words, mental networks of personal identity are shaping rational thought; they are ensuring that rational thought fits the mental networks of identity.

Notice the two forms of emotional shaping. On the one hand, MMNs of personal identity are shaping the structure of rational thought. On the other hand, the TMN of a concept of God is evaluating this structure for simplicity and order-within-complexity. The giving of the Holy Spirit happens when the structure imposed by personal identity reflects the Teacher elegance of a concept of God. However, this giving does not occur automatically. Instead, technical thought (the laying on of hands) needs to be applied in order to recognize this similarity. And this similarity begins from the general and descends to the specific. One forms a concept of the Holy Spirit by constructing an integrated concept of God in Teacher thought, and that requires dealing with general concepts. However, it is then possible to recognize a similar set of concepts in more specific circumstances. For instance, constructing a concept of the Holy Spirit starts with the theologian. But it is then possible to recognize that the employee is experiencing a similar set of experiences. And if the goal is for everyone to reach mental wholeness, then the experience of an employee (or someone else) reaching mental wholeness will be similar to the experience of a theologian reaching mental wholeness. First one has to construct a legitimate concept of the Holy Spirit. Then one can notice that other people have constructed similar concepts. However, the laying on of hands is not delegating personal authority. Instead, it is recognizing similarity to a concept of God.

Verse 23 describes where delegated authority leads. “For I see you being in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity.” Gall is used twice in the New Testament and refers to a ‘bitter herb’. The other occurrence is in Matthew 27:34 where Jesus was given wine mixed with gall. Bitterness is used once in Acts and comes from a word that means ‘to cut, prick’. Delegated authority is by its very nature a bitter herb that pricks. That is because one is always subservient to others, hoping to be promoted, and feeling slighted when others get promoted.

Bond comes from a verb that means ‘to bind closely together’ and is used once in Acts. And iniquity means ‘unrighteousness’. Righteousness means behaving in a manner that is similar to a concept of God in Teacher thought. The receiving of the Holy Spirit described by Peter is based in righteousness. A system of delegated authority binds people closely together in a way that is inconsistent with righteousness.

See means ‘to see with the mind’. Peter mentally sees that this describes the ‘being’ of Simon. He may have delegated authority from God in Teacher thought, but he is locked in an organizational structure that promotes bitterness and opposes righteousness.

In verse 24, Simon responds positively. “And Simon answering said, ‘You pray earnestly to the Lord on behalf of me, so that nothing of which you have spoken may come upon me.’” Pray earnestly is the same word used in verse 22 which means ‘to make urgent appeal’. Notice that Simon cannot pray for himself, but he can ask Peter to pray ‘on behalf of me’. In other words, someone who is caught in a hierarchical structure of delegated authority lacks the emotional power to escape the system. Instead, he has to be pulled out emotionally by a competing system. Until Peter comes along with a better alternative, Simon is locked in his delegated authority. But Simon is recognizing that Peter is not a source of authority. Instead, Peter is able to connect with the Lord, who is the source of authority.

So that ‘emphasizes the method involved to accomplish the objective’ and was previously used in 8:15 to describe Peter praying so that that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit. May come ‘stresses the fitting results of the coming’. It was used once previously in Acts in 1:8 where Jesus predicted the future coming of the Holy Spirit. In both cases, the event is generating its own consequences without having to be imposed by any source of delegated authority. Spoken means ‘call, say, speak of’. It also was used once previously in Acts in 2:16 to describe Pentecost as that which has been spoken by the prophet Joel. In both cases, words are being viewed as predictions of future reality.

In verse 25, Peter and John return to Jerusalem. “Therefore they indeed, having earnestly testified and having spoken the word of the Lord, traveled back to Jerusalem.” Earnestly testify combines ‘thoroughly’ with ‘witness, testify’. Spoken is the word for ‘chatter’ and word is logos. We have interpreted the laying on of hands as using technical thought to recognize that one person’s concept of ideal perfection is similar to another person’s legitimate concept of the Holy Spirit. This is not just a matter of some apostle noticing some similarities and mentioning them in passing. Instead, it has a Mercy requirement and a Teacher requirement. The Mercy requirement is ‘thorough witness’ on the part of the apostle, which means backing up theory with personal application. The Teacher requirement is being willing to chatter about a logos of God. A theologian will use abstract technical thought to come up with a ‘logos of the Lord’. However, abstract technical thought is based upon precise definitions. Therefore, the apostle will think that this ‘logos of the Lord’ needs to be conveyed to an audience using rigorous, theologically-correct language. But the Holy Spirit is being passed on through analogical thinking. The lessons learned within one context are similar to the lessons learned within another context. But they are not identical. Instead, an analogy has to be described using the less rigorous connections of normal thought. The apostle may have used fairly rigorous thinking when constructing this analogy. But the person receiving the Holy Spirit will not fully comprehend the precise terminology of the apostle. Thus, the apostle has to be willing to chatter about the logos of God: ‘Let me say it this way. It is like this. It is similar to that. Have you experienced something similar?’ The natural tendency will be for the apostle to teach theology using rigorous language in an ivory castle. But that will not spread the Holy Spirit.

Travel back means ‘to turn back, return’. Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. Thus, the apostle does not live in the more specific situations of Samaria. The apostle works with general concepts within the religious realm of Jerusalem. “And they were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.” A village is ‘a village or country town’. And preaching the gospel means ‘to announce good news’. Looking at this cognitively, when the apostle returns from the more specific realm of a city in Samaria to the more general and core realm of Jerusalem, the more specific realm then becomes viewed as one possible example of many similar situations. The result is that it becomes possible for the apostle to preach the good news to many villages in Samaria. For instance, whenever I analyze some specific book or system, I find that when I return to general theory I notice that there are many other similar books or systems to which the same principles apply.

Philip Meets the Ethiopian Eunuch 8:26-28

Chapter 8 finishes with the well-known story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Verse 26 sets the scene. “Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying...” Spoke means ‘chatter’. Acts 7:38 talked about an angel chattering to Moses on Mount Sinai. In verse 26, an angel of the Lord is chattering to Philip. In 7:42 God turned away from those sacrificing to idols and delivered them to worship the host of heaven. That was interpreted as interacting with aliens who function in a rigid, hierarchical manner. For such angels, the message (angel means messenger) is rigid and inflexible. Preaching to the Samaritans has just introduced a new flexibility to the message, making it possible to translate this message into many situations that are similar but not identical. This also brings a flexibility to the angelic message, making it possible for an angel to chatter with a human rather than deliver some command (or paralyze the human, abduct him, and then put him through some sort of rigid alien procedure). This is still an angel of the Lord, which means that an angelic command is being delivered. But it is being delivered in a flexible manner to a cooperative human. This is significant because Philip represents government organization. Alien-controlled, human government organization is not nice. Angel-guided, flexible, human government organization is much nicer. Saying is the normal word for talking, which means ‘moving to a conclusion’. Thus, the angel does not just chatter about the weather with Philip. The angel makes a clear statement. But this is still happening within a reasonably flexible environment. I am not just speaking theoretically here. Instead, I have been sensing lately a form of interaction with angelic powers that is both closer and more flexible than what I have sensed before.

Verse 26 continues by stating the angelic message. “Rise up and go toward the south, to the road going down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” Rise up is the word normally used for resurrection, which is being interpreted as the rebirth of some mindset or system. Go means ‘to transport’, which is interpreted as a movement that is accompanied by transformation. Cognitively speaking, the new, more flexible angelic message is leading to a transformation in the organization of Philip. The word translated ‘south’ is not the normal word for south. Instead, it combines ‘middle’ with ‘day’. And the other time that it is used in the New Testament in Acts 22:6 it is translated as ‘noontime’. Literally speaking, it makes sense to translate it as south, because the sun is in the south of the sky in the middle of the day (in the northern hemisphere). Cognitively speaking, the middle of the day represents the high point of some societal era. Thus, the organization of ‘Philip’ is being instructed to develop this new flexible form of angelic/human interaction into a fully developed societal system. In other words, in the same way that the message of Philip was sufficiently powerful to shape the culture and religion of a city of Samaria, so the new flexible system of Philip is sufficiently powerful to shape all culture and religion. This will be experienced as a resurrection that transports to the middle of the day.

Road means ‘way, road’ and refers cognitively to a Server path. It was previously used in Acts in 2:28 where David talked about God making known to him the ways of life. Going down means ‘to go down’ and is interpreted as descending from generality to specifics. This road leads from Jerusalem, which represents the center of religious thought. It goes to Gaza, a word that is used once in the New Testament and means ‘strong, mighty, fierce’. Verse 26 finishes by saying that “This is the desert road.” As the italics indicate, the only Greek word is desert, which means ‘an uncultivated, unpopulated place’. Strength and might are characteristics of government and Philip represents government organization. Philip is being told to follow a path from the religion of Jerusalem to the government of Gaza. However, Philip is not being told to go to Gaza but rather to go to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This meeting point does not involve mental networks of culture but rather is a region free of human MMNs. Humans deal with locations. Angels deal with roads. As far as I can tell, for an angel a road is a ‘location’. This describes a different kind of ‘host of heaven’. It is a heavenly army, but it is one that descends from the general principles of religion down to human processes.

I have suggested that the persecution of Acts 8 corresponds prophetically to the kingdom of the beast in Revelation 13. This provides a possible reason for the angelic instruction to go to the road that leads from religion to fierce strength. Revelation 13 talks about the kingdom of the beast. The word ‘authority’ is used four times in the first seven verses of Revelation 13, each time as a giving of authority. The giving of authority was just described as an inadequate organizational system. This suggests that a new form of angelic protection and power is emerging to overcome an angelic (or more accurately an alien) system based in the giving of authority.

Philip obeys in verse 27. “And having risen up, he went. And behold, an Ethiopian eunuch.” Risen up is again the word used for resurrection. And went means ‘to transport’. As far as I can tell, the only other time in the New Testament where these two words appear together is in Luke 15:18 in the parable of the Prodigal Son, when the son decides to leave his pigpen and return to the father. That too was a major transformation and cognitive resurrection. The fact that these two transformative words are repeated in verse 26 and verse 27 suggests that a major transformation is happening. The road from Jerusalem to Gaza suggests that this transformation involves moving from the religious domain to physical reality.

Behold means ‘look, behold’ and indicates that something new has emerged as a result of this transformation. Man is explicitly mentioned, which would refer to male technical thought. Ethiopian combines ‘to scorch’ with ‘the face’. Literally speaking, this would refer to a black person. Symbolically, scorching presumably comes from the heat of the sun. And face refers to personal interaction. Thus, this would represent a mindset that has had excessive personal exposure to the ‘sun’ of a general Teacher theory. This does not happen today. The physical body naturally teaches human minds about Mercy emotions. But the human mind has to learn how to appreciate Teacher emotions. (I just published a short article on Teacher emotions that mentions the need for education.) In contrast, angels would naturally know about Teacher emotions but have to learn about Mercy emotions. Revelation 13:13-14 talks about worshiping an image that is able to make fire come out of heaven. This implies that humans are encountering potent supernatural Teacher emotions, especially at the personal level of worship. The cognitive result would be to become ‘scorched in the face’.

Looking at this further, the dragon is described in Revelation 12 as the ancient serpent, and a serpent represents mysticism. Mysticism is a pure interaction between an overgeneralized concept of God in Teacher thought and personal identity in Mercy thought. If this descended to earth then it would result in a very powerful female expression. I should clarify that the battle in Revelation 12 is not between female thought and male thought but rather between the serpent and the woman. A serpent bases female mental networks in Teacher overgeneralization and Mercy identification. A dragon is a serpent with legs. It adds just enough content to the mystical mindset to be able to function within human reality. For instance, one could see this in Louis XIV and his concept of ‘l’état, c’est moi’ (I am the state). Louis XIV personally identified with the universality of the French nation. The entire government system ran through him as an individual. A woman, in contrast, uses mental networks that include the content of male technical thought.

A eunuch is a castrated man. Circumcision places restrictions upon the fundamental drives of male thought. Castration blocks these fundamental drives. If supernatural Teacher emotions became evident at the level of mental networks, then this would effectively castrate male technical thought. Looking at this cognitively, female thought exhibits both Teacher qualities of beauty and Mercy qualities of sensitivity and vulnerability. The beauty attracts male thought while the vulnerability needs male thought. The beast in Revelation 13:11 juxtaposes the voice of a dragon with the horns of a lamb, which also suggests a combination of Teacher generality and Mercy vulnerability. But what is being combined is Teacher mysticism and Mercy sacrifice, which brings to mind the worship of Moloch mentioned in Acts 7:43.

Verse 27 continues by describing the Ethiopian eunuch as “a potentate of Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship.” Potentate is used once in Acts and means ‘someone mighty in power’. Power has been interpreted as a multiplication of human strength, but it can also be interpreted as an expression of angelic power. Candace is mentioned once in the New Testament. I cannot find any consistent meaning for this term but it actually was a title for Queen or Queen Mother in the kingdom of Kush. ‘Power from a queen’ is consistent with the idea of a supernatural female entity being worshiped and being a source of power. And verse 27 emphasizes this relationship, because Candace is described as ‘queen of the Ethiopians’. Cognitively speaking, the Teacher mental networks of a supernatural queen are scorching the faces of her followers, giving them supernatural power but also rendering them impotent.

Treasure is used once in the New Testament and means ‘treasure’. It is also spelled the same in Greek as the word ‘Gaza’. Treasure indicates a strong focus upon having rather than being. This is different than the city of Gaza in which people live. The cognitive principle is that mysticism requires content but cannot handle content. Content is required because Teacher emotion comes from order-within-complexity. But content cannot be handled because the Teacher order is being created by overgeneralization that ignores complexity. The solution is to live within complexity and then turn one’s back upon this complexity in order to embrace Teacher order. It was suggested earlier that aliens do this by having humans live within complexity, making it possible for the aliens to worship God in a mystical manner in Teacher thought. A similar division can be seen in verse 27, because the queen is the source of power while the impotent male human who serves the queen handles all the treasure of the queen. (This would also implicitly teach human servants the skill of dealing with supernatural treasure.)

Worship means ‘to kiss the ground when prostrating before a superior’. This word was used once previously in Acts in 7:43 to describe the worship of Moloch. This term is consistent with the idea of male thought bowing before some awesome female deity. We saw that the worship of Jerusalem has been taken over by the official priesthood. This male servant has come to the officially controlled Jerusalem to worship. In other words, the content that is being ignored by Teacher overgeneralization is looking for a legitimate theory. This naturally happens after a mystical encounter when one descends from Jerusalem back down to physical reality.

One can tell that there is a focus upon understanding the content of religion because a biblical scroll is being read. “And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah” (v. 28). Return means ‘to turn back’ and was previously used in verse 25 to describe the apostles returning to Jerusalem. That was interpreted as returning from the more specific situation of the Samaritan city back to generality in Jerusalem. In verse 28, the eunuch is returning from a religious experience in Jerusalem back to the content of handling the ‘treasure of Candace’.

A chariot is mentioned four times in the New Testament, three times in this chapter. A chariot is pulled by horses. A ship represents some organization that sails on the sea of Mercy experiences. A chariot could be interpreted as a ship of the land, pulled by the horses of government organization. The word chariot is derived from a word that means ‘a joining’. This implies some sort of organization that uses male thought to translate the power of the mystical Queen into human reality.

This is the first use of the word reading in Acts, which actually combines ‘up, again’ with ‘experiential knowledge’, leading to the idea of ‘to know again through reading’. Mystical worship occurs in episodes; one temporarily leaves the realm of human complexity in order to have the mystical experience of being overwhelmed by divine transcendence. Reading could be interpreted as attempting to bring back those feelings of worship while living within human reality. However, reading about a transcendent event is not the same cognitively as having that transcendent event. That is because a book separates the content of the author from the person of the author. This is a major problem in mysticism, because mysticism drives the mystic to write words about mysticism. However, reading these words will lead to a rational understanding which actually stands in the way of having a mystical encounter. Thus, mystical experts will continually emphasize that one needs to let go of words about mysticism in order to experience mysticism. The eunuch is reading words about worship.

Prophet means ‘asserting one idea over another, especially through the spoken-word’. Isaiah means ‘salvation of Yah’ and this is the first mention of Isaiah in Acts. Thus, two different ways of applying the angelic message are meeting. On the one hand, there is the kingdom of the beast which worships a supernaturally enhanced form of mysticism in order to overwhelm the mind so that it becomes capable of utilizing supernatural power. On the other hand, there is the organization of ‘Philip’ which is interacting with angels in a cooperative manner in order to protect humans. Both are claiming to bring salvation from Yah—a God of Teacher universality. These two meet when Philip is forced to leave human society and mysticism returns from a mystical episode. There is also the commonality of the horses of government organization. The eunuch is being pulled by horses, while Philip is a lover of horses. For the eunuch, organization is distinct from personal identity, similar to the way that mysticism regards God as transcendent from human existence. Philip, in contrast, is approaching organization from an emotional perspective, wanting to organize because of the inherent benefits of organizing.

Bringing Understanding to Mystical Worship 8:29-35

These two mindsets meet in verse 29. “And the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near and join yourself to this chariot.’” Notice that this instruction comes from the spirit and not from an angel. A spirit represents Platonic forms (and real spirits would interact with mental Platonic forms). The spirit speaking to Philip indicates that government organization is being guided by Platonic forms of the spirit. A distinction is often made between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. In this case, the spirit is guiding the organization of the law. One of the primary distinctions between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law is that the letter of the law is inflexible and ignores personal existence. In contrast, the spirit of the law is flexible and leaves room for personal existence. The encounter with the Samaritan city has caused organization to become more flexible which leaves room for Platonic forms of personal existence.

Go near means ‘to approach, to draw near’. It was used once previously in Acts in 7:31 to describe Moses approaching the burning bush. Join means ‘glued together’. It was previously used in Acts in 5:13 after the death of Ananias and Sapphira to say that no one dared to join the new movement. That was because the average person feared that joining the new movement would have fatal consequences. In verse 29 Philip is being told to glue himself to ‘this chariot’. Notice that Philip is not being told to join the movement, to worship the beast, or to glue himself to the Ethiopian eunuch. Instead, he is supposed to approach and join the chariot. The chariot separates the organization that holds the humans from the horses that pull the chariot. Philip with his personal love of organization is supposed to join the impersonal chariot. This is similar to the joining that happened with the Samaritan city. In both cases, the assumption is that the true message has sufficient integrity and potency to swallow up and convert the incomplete message. As was mentioned before, this is not true today, because a Christianity of absolute truth does not have sufficient integrity and potency to swallow up and convert a scientific society. However, I am discovering that mental symmetry appears to have sufficient integrity and potency to swallow up significant portions of current society.

Philip joins in verse 30. “And Philip having run up, heard him reading Isaiah the prophet.” Having run up is used once in Acts and means ‘to run to’. Heard means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. And the word reading is repeated. Running implies that personal identity has to make significant effort to become aligned with the chariot. Notice that these two are not meeting in some Perceiver location but rather are matching Server actions. This describes an angelic form of meeting, because for angels Server actions define ‘location’. Humans are somewhere; angels do somewhen. The best way I know of comparing these two is the wave/particle duality of physics.

Having matched the actions of the eunuch, Philip understands what the eunuch is reading. The eunuch is trying to use words to examine his experience of mysticism. Philip understands the mechanisms behind this experience. For instance, mental symmetry can be used to explain the description that mystics give of the mystical experience, even though the mystic insists with extreme vigor that these experiences are incomprehensible. The eunuch is reading ‘Isaiah the prophet’. Isaiah means ‘salvation of Yah’ and a prophet elevates one concept about another. Thus, this is a question of a paradigm. What general concept will one raise above other concepts in order to interpret the salvation of Yah? Will one regard mysticism as the ultimate concept or a God of content who interacts with humanity in an intelligent and organized manner through the help of angels?

Philip then asks the obvious question. “Do you then understand what you are reading?” Understand means to ‘experientially know’ and it is preceded by a word that emphasizes this word ‘understand’. Read means literally ‘to experientially know again through reading’. This leads to a slightly different interpretation. The obvious interpretation is whether the eunuch has a rational understanding of the biblical text and that interpretation could also be applied to the prophetic situation. But the Greek text suggests a slightly different interpretation: Can reading words about the experiential knowledge of a mystical encounter re-create the experiential knowledge of a mystical encounter? And any genuine expert in mysticism will answer ‘no’. On the one hand, a mystical encounter creates a TMN which drives the mind to write about the mystical encounter. On the other hand, these words impose content upon Teacher thought making it difficult to have a mystical encounter.

The eunuch responds in verse 31. “And he said, ‘How indeed could I be able, unless someone will guide me?’” Someone means either someone or something. Able means ‘power’, which would refer in this context to angelic power. Guide means ‘to show the way’ and combines ‘to lead’ with ‘way, road’. This word is used once in Acts as a verb and was used once as a noun in 1:16 to describe Judas guiding those who arrested Jesus. Humans exist in Perceiver locations and use Server actions to move from one location to another. Angels, in contrast, ‘exist’ in Server sequences and use Perceiver power to ‘move’ from one sequence to another. The eunuch is saying that he cannot use Perceiver power unless someone else leads him along a Server sequence. Philip has an angelic Server sequence, because the angel told him to go to the road that leads from to Jerusalem to Gaza—the same road that the eunuch is traveling. Applying this to the idea of recreating a mystical experience, Zen demonstrates that mystical experiences can be encouraged by identifying with Server actions. This suggests that the goal of the eunuch is to recreate his mystical experience and Philip is taking advantage of this desire to initiate contact.

Verse 31 continues, “And he invited Philip, having come up, to sit with him.” Invite means to ‘make a call from being close-up and personal’ and the noun of this verb is used to describe the Holy Spirit in John 14-16. Philip then sits with the eunuch. Notice that the two are not joining in some static location but rather finding commonality by resting in the same Server sequence of traveling along the same road in the same vehicle. This describes angelic closeness which is based in Server sequences. For instance, the name Satan means adversary. Therefore, if one behaves in an adversarial manner, one will find oneself seated beside Satan traveling along the same angelic Server sequence. The sequence in this case is following the road from Jerusalem to Gaza, returning from an emotional encounter with God to human activity. For Philip, Gaza is a city of strength filled with the being of people. For the eunuch, gaza is a treasure of personal possessions. (These two words are the same in Greek.)

Verse 32 explains, “Now the passage of Scripture that he was reading was this.” Passage is used once in the New Testament and means ‘circumference’. This may be significant because the circle has historically been regarded by philosophers in an overgeneralized manner as the most perfect shape. This can be seen in the concept of celestial spheres. And scripture means ‘writing’. This word was used once previously in Acts in 1:16 where Peter said that the scripture concerning the fate of Judas had to be fulfilled. It was suggested that the praise of Judas turned into mysticism. Mysticism asserts that God transcends all written content. But in both 1:16 and verse 32, the written content is taking precedence over feelings of mysticism. And reading again conveys the impression of trying to use words to re-create experiential knowledge.

Verse 32 continues by quoting this passage. “He was led as a sheep to slaughter, and as a lamb before the one shearing him is silent, so He does not open His mouth.” As has been pointed out by many scholars, this is the well-known passage in Isaiah 53 that refers to the sacrifice of Jesus. But this passage is also significant in the light of the prophetic context. Slaughter is the verb form of the noun ‘slain beasts’ that occurred in 7:42. And this is the only mention of a sheep in Acts, which means ‘sheep’. This implies that the sacrificial system of slaughtering living beings mentioned in 7:42 is being applied by the kingdom of the beast. (This might involve the rebuilding of a temple in Jerusalem.) Lead means ‘to lead, bring’ and is being interpreted as a form of economic behavior that avoids personal involvement. Sheep are being led to slaughter, which means that a spiritual economy is functioning in a way that avoids personal involvement and leads life in the direction of slaughter. The phrase begins with the word as, which indicates similarity. Thus, what is being described in verse 32 may not be identical to what was happening in 7:42, but it is similar.

A lamb is ‘a young sheep’ and before means ‘in the presence of, in the eyes of’, which indicates a personal interaction at the level of mental networks. (The beast in Revelation 13:11 has two horns like a lamb.) The emphasis here is upon innocence and young life, which was also mentioned as an attribute in chapter 7. Shearing means to ‘shear’. Hair is interpreted as intuitive thought. That is because hair is a string that grows from the head, just as intuitive thought generates Teacher strings of theory from ‘the head’. And Luke 21:14-19 connects the intuitive thinking of not preparing beforehand to defend oneself with no hair on the head perishing. In contrast, the hair of the lamb is being sheared and not being preserved. And instead of making a verbal defense, the lamb is without voice. This phrase also begins with an as indicating similarity. Looking at this cognitively, there is no room for intuition when serving a host of heaven. Instead, everything follows a dictated plan in an inflexible manner.

The final so means ‘in this way’. Thus, the slaughter of sheep and the shearing of innocent lambs functions like ‘not opening his mouth’. Open means ‘to open’. And mouth refers to ‘the mouth’. The idea is that one is choosing not to defend oneself verbally. The ‘so’ means that this functions in a similar manner to the slaughter of sheep and the sharing of lambs. In other words, keeping quiet is a way of reaching a higher level that does not require the sacrifice of life or the giving up of intuition. This is not generally true today. That is because talk is cheap today. However, the passage is describing a future time in which people are ‘scorched in the face’. The sun of Teacher light is so bright that it is ‘scorching the face’ of communication. In such an environment, talk is powerful, it is weighty, words can scorch. Now imagine that one experiences injustice in this environment and chooses not to to retaliate or set things right with some verbal blast of supernatural energy. That will have a transformative impact. It is like Jesus being able to call upon legions of angels and choosing not to.

I know from deep personal experience what this means. That is because mental symmetry can be used at several levels to scorch people. It is hard to be in a situation, understand the people and the situation from a cognitive perspective, and be able to say nothing because the people are either ignorant, unwilling to face themselves, have the power of organization, or have the backing of government force. I have experienced all of these for years. It hurts bloody murder—enough to be a legitimate alternative to the bloody murder of slaughtering innocent spiritual life. One of the reasons that one keeps one’s mouth shut is that one does not want to slaughter innocent spiritual life. Another reason is that one wants to solve the underlying problem and not just the immediate situation. I have felt at a gut level that I did not want to waste my spiritual money on the trivial pleasure of verbally blasting someone. Instead, I want to spend that spiritual currency on the lasting benefit of breaking through into the spiritual economy being described in this essay. I do not always manage to keep my mouth shut. And there is a place for talking. What I normally do is say something and then gauge the response. If the response is positive then I continue talking. If the response is negative, then I try to keep my mouth shut.

Verse 33 continues. “In His humiliation, justice was taken away from Him.” Humiliation means ‘lowliness’ and is used once in Acts. This is not persecution or suffering but rather being low in the hierarchy of delegated authority. It means being a priest instead of a bishop, or even a member of the laity who has no delegated right to minister the grace of God through the sacraments.

Justice comes from a word that means ‘to separate, distinguish, judge’. Taken away means ‘to raise, take up, lift’. Separating and distinguishing are characteristics of abstract technical thought. Whenever some new subject is being studied, then a significant portion of acquiring understanding is being able to distinguish the various aspects of the subject. Raising and lifting are being interpreted as heading in the direction of Teacher generality.

Putting this together, mysticism is based upon overgeneralization and any form of separating and distinguishing threatens the vague overgeneralization of mysticism. But Teacher emotion comes from order-within-complexity. Therefore, mysticism will acquire its complexity from some system and then generalize away from this to a Teacher feeling of cosmic order. Separating and distinguishing are characteristics of abstract technical thought. Normally one uses abstract technical thought to clarify general Teacher theories. But in this case, the clarifying of abstract technical thought is only being permitted when one is low in the pecking order—living in the complexity of Mercy specifics away from the burning sun of Teacher overgeneralization. And ascending the pecking order will mean letting go of distinguishing in order to embrace sweeping statements. Thus, the separating and distinguishing in humiliation will be lifted away.

Verse 33 finishes, “Who will describe His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.” Generation means ‘race, family, generation’. Describe combines ‘thoroughly’ with ‘lead’, leading to the meaning ‘to lead (narrate) fully to make plain what has the highest priority’. This phrase may not make sense in today’s environment. But it does make sense within the context of a spiritual economy. If some system is to continue, then it has to be developed in technical detail, lifted up to Teacher generality, and then applied by followers. For instance, suppose that one wants to found a country. One writes a constitution, this constitution is regarded as a general document, and then this general document is applied to citizens. Verse 33 is saying that a generation cannot come into being if it is prevented from being lifted up to the level of Teacher generality. Saying this another way, the host of heaven has monopolized the spiritual economy by controlling the process of delegating authority.

Posing this another way, how can a Catholic believer become regarded as a source of grace from God if the existing church hierarchy controls the process of delegating spiritual authority through the laying on of hands? Such a question is basically irrelevant today, but it was very pertinent in the Middle Ages and it would also become a significant question if a real spiritual economy developed with real supernatural power. Such a stranglehold upon the spiritual economy is suggested by Revelation 13:17 which indicates that no one can buy or sell without the mark of the beast. Notice that this statement is being made at the end of Revelation 13 when the kingdom of the beast is almost finished.

Removed is the same word used earlier in the verse which means ‘to raise, take up, lift’. Earth refers to the realm of human rational thought. And life describes either natural or spiritual life. From means ‘from, away from’. Putting this together, the life of supernatural power is being lifted away in Teacher generality from the rational content of human thought. This describes the system of mysticism mentioned earlier, in which supernatural power is being achieved through a mindset of mysticism in which alien beings are turning their back upon human complexity in order to embrace the supernatural order of God. One might think that this has nothing to do with Christianity, but Orthodox Christianity can be summarized theologically as mysticism in Christian garb—and Orthodox Christianity claims to be the true, genuine, original Christianity. (It may be the original, but significant cognitive and societal growth has occurred since then. However, a mindset of absolute truth will view the original as the truest because it is closest to the emotional source of truth.) This type of worship is portrayed in Revelation 4, which is treated by many Christians as the Christian ideal. This is replaced in Revelation 5 by the appearance of incarnation, which is described in verse 6 as ‘a lamb standing as having been slain, and slain is the same verb ‘slaughter’ that we have seen in Acts. Revelation 5:6 does not say that the lamb has been slaughtered, but rather says that the lamb is standing as if having been slaughtered. This is something that is similar to the slaughter of the incomplete spiritual economy but it leaves the sacrifice lamb alive and standing in the presence of God. Compare this with the worship of Revelation 4 that turns its back upon the content of creation in order to worship God in an overgeneralized manner.

In verse 35, the eunuch asks a question. “And the eunuch answering said to Philip, ‘I beseech you, concerning whom does the prophet say this?’” The eunuch represents male technical thought functioning within this environment of female mystical power. Philip represents a flexible form of government organization. Beseech means ‘to make urgent appeal’ and was previously used in verse 24 when Simon asked Philip to pray on his behalf. A prophet ‘asserts one idea over another’. The Eunuch’s request may sound strange. Why would the eunuch want to make such an urgent appeal regarding the subject of the conversation? Who cares?

The answer becomes apparent if one understands the nature of the interaction between the Teacher generality of heavenly messages and the specific realm of human Mercy experiences. Philip and the eunuch are meeting on a desert road, which represents a common Server sequence apart from human MMNs. The sovereignty of God takes the form of general sequences that can be applied in many different specific ways. The general sequences of heaven are being imposed blindingly upon humanity by the imposition of the alien heavenly host. These sequences have become inescapable, just as the sovereign plan of God is irresistible. But heavenly imposed sequences are always expressed as general equations with variables that can be filled by different specific humans. For instance, this has been the guiding principle motivating my research of prophecy. I have come to the conclusion that the prophetic sequences of the Bible cannot be altered. But these sequences can be fulfilled in a way that involves different specific human Mercy experiences. Stated simply, can the divine plan be implemented in a way that is much less painful for humanity? That summarizes the question being asked by the eunuch. The prophet is lifting up certain statements in Teacher generality. But the human impact of these statements can be profoundly altered by changing who these statements are about. However, the eunuch cannot do this questioning because he is locked within a rigid structure. Instead, he has to ask Philip to do this questioning because Philip lives within a more flexible angelic structure that is capable of considering alternate human interpretations.

The eunuch mentions two alternatives in verse 34. “Concerning himself, or concerning some other?” One alternative is the prophet himself. Other means ‘another of a different kind’. In other words, do divine pronouncements apply only to those making those announcements, or can they be applied by some totally different group? Stated another way, is the angelic power of the hierarchy of delegated authority only available to that system of delegated authority, or can that power be accessible to another system that functions in a different manner? The first section of Acts 8 provides the answer to this question because the message of the apostles was successfully applied to the different culture and religion of the Samaritans.

And in verse 35, Philip provides an answer. “And Philip, having opened his mouth and having begun from this Scripture, proclaimed the good news to him—Jesus.” ‘Opened his mouth’ uses the same Greek words as were used in verse 32 to describe the Lamb not opening his mouth. Thus, the purpose of not opening one’s mouth is not to remain silent forever, but rather to be able to open one’s mouth in a more effective way.

Having begun means to ‘commence, rule’. Scripture means ‘writing’. Writing is a natural byproduct of mystical experiences but has to be denied in order to have a mystical experience. Similarly, an episode of worship in the center of Jerusalem leads naturally to human content when one heads down from Jerusalem back to human reality. Philip starts with the writing that has just been discussed. Looking at this cognitively, the system of mystical worship that has been discussed makes a sharp distinction between Teacher overgeneralization and human content. But this separation is violated whenever a person moves from one of these to the other. This violation will not be noticed when going towards the mystical experience because the emotions of the mystical encounter will overwhelm rational thought. However, crossing the separation between these two will be noticed when moving from the mystical encounter back to rational thought. That provides a starting point for an integrated rational analysis of the mystical system. One can then add details to this rational analysis and examine other writings. This transforms the alien system of imposed power into an angelic proclamation of good news. And this good news is a form of Jesus, because Jesus means ‘salvation of Yah’. Jesus descends from the God in Teacher thought to bring salvation to humans living in physical reality.

Verse 36 describes the concrete result. “And as they were going along the road they came upon some water.” Going means ‘to transport’ which is interpreted as movement that is accompanied by transformation. This going is ‘along the road’, emphasizing that this conversation is happening within the context of some Server sequence. This is an important distinction because the same angelic Server sequences are being applied to a different set of Perceiver facts within human existence. Water represents Mercy experiences. Coming upon some water would mean adding human experiences to the angelic realm of Server sequences.

The Eunuch is Baptized 8:36-40

Verse 36 continues, “And the eunuch says, ‘Behold, water! What prevents me to be baptized?’” Says means to ‘bring to light by asserting one statement over another’. The eunuch has been blinded by the light of Teacher mysticism. He suddenly acquires the Teacher light of understanding by rearranging the Teacher generality of existing knowledge. In other words, he has a paradigm shift. This paradigm shift is expressed by the phrase ‘Behold, water!’ In other words, the eunuch is noticing some set of nearby human Mercy experiences. The specific location is not mentioned, only the fact that there is water. The illumination comes from realizing that any water will do. Angelic sequences can be applied to the water of human experience in many different ways. For instance, one does not have to be a theologian to be filled with the Holy Spirit. One can also be an employee. Prevent means ‘to hinder’ and is related to a word that is ‘used of punishing slaves to incapacitate them’. The alien hierarchy is treating humans as slaves in order to incapacitate them so that they provide the content that aliens require to have continued access to the divine energy of mystical worship. And baptize means to ‘dip under’. In other words, the alien system cannot prevent humans from applying angelic equations to the water of their current situation. That water is sufficient to drive the transformation of baptism.

Stated more simply, an employee can experience personal transformation by responding in an appropriate manner in his current situation. This is not always the case because an accurate message needs to be combined with sufficient human frustration. That combination would exist in Acts 8.

Verse 37 is not included in the early manuscripts. It says, “And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptized.” The eunuch replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” This verse explicitly states the content that is being implicitly provided by the context of the story. Such content has to be explicitly added today, but would be implicitly present in the future. (Thus, it is possible that some scribe felt it necessary to add this theological content explicitly to the story.)

In verse 38, the chariot stops. “And he commanded the chariot to stop.” Command means ‘to command’ and has been used twice in Acts to describe the commands of the council. Stop means ‘to make to stand’, which is being interpreted as using Perceiver thought to hold to some source of stability. The entire story is taking place as the chariot is moving along some Server sequence. The eunuch is using his delegated authority to stop the Server sequence and he is using his human existence to assert Perceiver facts. He is simply asserting that he is a human and not an angel. Using the language of physics, he is collapsing the wave function by appearing in some location rather than continuing to travel along some wave.

This is followed by baptism. “And they both went down to the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.” Went down means ‘to go down’ and is interpreted as heading towards Mercy specifics. Both means ‘both’. To means ‘to or into’. And it is explicitly stated that this is being done by both Philip and the eunuch. The cognitive point is that free will becomes maximal when faced by competing mental networks. The eunuch by himself cannot choose to escape the old system. But if the old system and the new system are laid alongside one another, then it becomes possible to use free will to choose one alternative over the other. Following the flexible organization of Philip will then lead to the baptism of the eunuch. For instance, free will was maximal in the second half of the 20^th century as rising postmodern thought existed alongside the fading modern thought of Western Christendom. It is the juxtaposition of these two that made free will possible.

This is followed in verse 39 by the teleporting of Philip. “Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no longer.” Came up means ‘to go up, ascend’, which means heading in the direction of Teacher generality. Out of means ‘from, from out of’. This would mean leaving the human realm of Mercy experiences. Carried away means ‘to seize, catch up, snatch away’. This is being done by a ‘spirit of Lord’. Philip represents government organization. Philip being snatched away indicates that government organization is being removed from alien control. This is happening by a ‘spirit of Lord’. A spirit is a concept of perfection in Mercy thought that emerges as a result of Teacher understanding. It is a human interpretation of an angelic message, because it translates the messages and sequences of Teacher thought into the objects and images of Mercy thought.

This is the first mention of teleporting in Acts. Teleporting happens in physics at the atomic level and is known as quantum tunneling. In essence, a particle turns into a wave, this wave impinges upon many locations, and the wave then turns back into a particle at one of those locations. Such movement between angelic Server sequences and human Perceiver locations has been a feature of this passage. What is needed to teleport is some Platonic ideal of the spirit that can hold a human together while existing within the waves of angelic messages. For instance, I have spent most of the last few years focusing upon the words and messages of mental symmetry. This has been a desert, because I have had some social interaction but not enough to maintain normal humanity. Instead, what has kept me sane as a human is my internal Platonic forms of ideal human existence and interaction. They are also making it possible for me to mentally teleport from the Mercy experiences of current society to the Mercy experiences of a spiritual economy. I have done so much reading and writing about this spiritual economy that it is starting to feel like a foreign country to which I could actually teleport. The story of the Ethiopian Eunuch happened within a context of moving from spiritual power to physical power. I suspect that one of the byproducts of this would be physical teleportation. Notice also that Philip is teleported and not the eunuch.

Saw means ‘to see with the mind’. The story began with the spirit telling Philip in verse 29 to glue himself to the chariot. The fear would be that this gluing would end up corrupting Philip. However, a snatching away happens instinctively and naturally as a result of the spirit. What happens is that those who are following similar Server sequences recognize that they are being guided by totally different Platonic forms of the spirit. There is no longer a mental connection between these two, because the eunuch can no longer mentally see Philip.

However, the eunuch also experiences a positive benefit. “For he went his way rejoicing.” Went means ‘to transport’, telling us that the eunuch experiences a transformation. He is still going along the same Server path. His way has not changed. But he has new emotions. Rejoicing is one of the family of words that refer to help from God in Teacher thought. Rejoicing means experiencing positive Teacher emotions. The eunuch does not have to travel to Jerusalem to have a mystical experience which then fades as he returns to physical reality. Instead, he can experience Teacher joy while following his current Server path. This describes righteousness, which is Server sequences guided by a Teacher understanding of God. This joy would undermine the stranglehold that an alien host of heaven would have upon its human servants. That is because the humans would be able to experience help from God in Teacher thought while performing human actions without having to go through any aliens. Similarly, righteousness makes it possible to experience grace from God in any situation by behaving in that situation in a manner that is consistent with the character of God. For instance, if one can receive grace from God in the actions of daily life, then one no longer needs to receive grace from God through an officially sanctioned administration of the Eucharist.

Verse 40 describes where Philip arrives. “But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through...” Found means to ‘discover, especially after searching’. The implication is that Philip finds himself in an unfamiliar situation in which some searching is required to determine Perceiver facts. Azotus is mentioned once in the New Testament and refers to the city of Ashdod. Ashdod means ‘to deal violently with, to spoil, devastate’. Passing through means ‘to go through’ and was previously used in verse 4 to describe the persecuted followers passing through and proclaiming the gospel. The implication is that Philip’s teleportation sets off a violent reaction. One could interpret this as individual humans escaping alien domination. One could also interpret it as the alien host of heaven losing control of its human organization. And one could also interpret this cognitively as the chaos that results whenever there is any major shift in government organization.

Whatever the case, Philip responds in a positive manner. “He was proclaiming the gospel to all the towns until his coming to Caesarea.” Proclaiming the gospel is a single word that means ‘to announce good news’. That is consistent with the idea of a regime change. One cannot just step into some country and announce a new government. Instead, a new government can only emerge when the existing government falls apart. And a new government will only be embraced as a liberator if it announces good news. This announcing of good news is happening to ‘all the towns’ and town actually means ‘city’. A city is a center of civilization. Therefore, announcing good news to all the cities strongly suggests a major regime shift. A new government is being announced. In other words, this describes the end of the kingdom of the beast of Revelation 13.

Until means ‘till, until’. Coming is the normal word for ‘to come’. This is the first mention of Caesarea in Acts. It comes from the word Caesar, which was the title given to the Roman Emperor. This strongly implies a regime change, because society is going through a period of violence, spoil and devastation and good news is being announced by the Philip of a new organization until reaching the level of Caesar. The order suggests that the regime change is happening from the bottom up. One center of civilization is being transformed after another until reaching Caesar and the center of government.

Extending Religious Control 9:1-2

In chapter 9 the methodology of Saul is hit by a blinding light. The implication is that the barrier between mystical brightness and human content breaks down, causing human methodology to come into direct contact with mystical light.

Verse 1 begins. “Meanwhile, Saul still breathing out threats and murder toward the disciples of the Lord, having gone to the high priest.” I cannot find any word in the original Greek that corresponds to ‘meanwhile’ and the NASB says ‘now’. (The BLB seems to be doing better than the NASB, because I am not having to make comments such as this very often.) Still means to ‘continue, remain’. The implication is that the methodology is continuing to function, similar to the way that scientific methodology continues to function in today’s postmodern environment. There has been a change of government, but the methodology of the old system continues.

Breathing out is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘in the realm’ of with ‘to blow’. Threat means ‘threat’ and murder refers to ‘intentional, unjustified homicide’. This is being directed to the disciples of the Lord. Disciples were previously mentioned at the beginning of chapter 6 when the number of followers grew to the point where additional organization was needed. A disciple would refer to a follower within such an organizational system. Thus, verse 1 appears to be describing a fight over methodology and official curriculum.

Normally, Teacher thought is used to build general theories. In verse 1, Teacher thought is being used to eliminate opponents. Air represents Teacher thought. Blowing indicates Teacher thought coming from an individual person. This is not theory, but rather my theory. And my theory is being used to threaten others and eliminate competing mental networks. Being a disciple of the Lord is the opposite of breathing out threats. A disciple of the Lord submits personal identity to Teacher understanding, whereas breathing out threats treats Teacher understanding as the servant of personal identity.

Looking at this further, each technical specialization is driven by a paradigm in Teacher thought. Going further, continuing to use technical thought within some specialization will cause the paradigm behind that specialization to turn into a TMN. Rational thinking will be used within a specialization as long as the paradigm is accepted—because the TMN is receiving consistent input. But the TMN will cause technical specialists to respond emotionally when the underlying paradigm is challenged. Notice the inherent contradiction between breathing out threats and the name Saul, which means ‘asked’.

For instance, the continued practice of objective science will lead to a paradigm of ‘objective science’ which will turn into a TMN as a result of repeating the practice of being objective. This leads to the inherent contradiction of being emotionally driven to insist that one is being objective. I mentioned earlier that I just published a short article on Teacher emotion. One of the readers was persisting in pursuing the argument that science is objective and was belittling my scientific status to the point of being obsessive. (This belittling finally stopped when I looked at his research, noted that it did not meet the standards of scientific rigor that he was demanding, and then pointed out this discrepancy to him.) One can imagine that a similar obsession would emerge in the future when the successful interaction of Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch revealed fundamental contradictions in the paradigms of the methodology of Saul. If supposedly rational individuals defend objective science with such emotional vigor today, it is reasonable to predict that a future partial spiritual economy would be defended with intense vigor, and that the initial response to those who pointed out such contradictions would not not be to fix the problem but rather to eliminate the offending voice that dared to point out the underlying contradiction.

This mindset extends to the high priest. Go means ‘to approach, to draw near’. The high priest was previously mentioned in 7:1 where he asked Stephen if the charges against him were valid. In verse 1, the mindset of the high priest is being corrupted by professional jealousy. Looking at this cognitively, the overgeneralization of mysticism cannot handle any rational content. That is because content threatens the sweeping statements of overgeneralization. Mysticism cannot use rational thought to eliminate rational content, because that would be self-defeating. Therefore, mysticism must use emotional methods to eliminate content, which means threatening and personally attacking anyone who dares to hold on to mental content. Tying this in with the previous paragraph, emotional attempts to protect specific paradigms are having a ripple effect upon the interaction between technical methodology and mysticism. Normally, technical thought provides the complexity and mysticism then transcends this complexity in order to contemplate the ‘order of the cosmos’. But the emotional response of Saul to the disciples is breaking down the rational thinking of technical thought and causing it to be replaced with emotional responses.

This becomes official policy in verse 2, because Saul “requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus.” Request means ‘to ask, request’. A letter is an ‘an epistle, a letter’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. This illustrates the strange contradiction that is found in mysticism. On the one hand, mysticism must eliminate rational content. On the other hand, mysticism leads to the formation of a TMN which will motivate the mystic to write epistles about mysticism—using words that have rational meanings.

The meaning of Damascus is uncertain but could be ‘a sack full of blood’. What is certain is that Damascus is the oldest capital city on earth. Thus, Damascus would represent an ancient source of spiritual power. Blood represents the fragmentation of personal identity. A sack full of blood implies placing the killing of life within some objective container. This describes what Saul is doing, because a ‘sack’ of methodology and official writing is being filled with the ‘blood’ of destroyed opponents. This would have spiritual potency, because human mental networks are being sacrificed in order to gain heavenly power. This is happening ‘to or into’ Damascus, which suggests that this is heading in the direction of ancient spiritual power.

A similar movement could be seen in the ahnenerbe of the Nazi regime, which attempted to find ancient secrets that would give justification to Nazi dogma about Aryan purity. The resulting pseudo-scholarship was sufficiently strange to repel even fellow Nazi scholars. But imagine that real spiritual power existed. The dragon is described in Revelation 12:9 as ‘the ancient serpent’, suggesting a connection with ancient mystical power.

Letters are addressed to the synagogues, and a synagogue was last mentioned in 6:9 which referred to the synagogue of freedmen. Historically speaking, Christians were still meeting in Jewish synagogues at this time. However, Acts has referred to churches as distinct from synagogues. Judaism views law as halacha, which means a system of doing or walking. Thus, a synagogue can be interpreted as a system of religious ritual that focuses upon Server actions. Methodology describes what is done. It is based upon Server sequences. If Saul represents the methodology of the incomplete spiritual economy, then sending letters to the synagogues in Damascus would mean turning official scholarship to a study of ancient rituals. The implication is that Philip’s conversation with the Eunuch has had an impact; the human focus has turned from worship to scholarship.

Verse 2 describes the purpose. “So that if he found any being of the way, both men and women, having bound them, he might bring them to Jerusalem.” Found means to ‘discover, especially after searching’. Way means ‘a way, road’, which refers to a Server sequence along which one travels. The interaction between Philip and the eunuch happened while traveling on a road. This is the first reference in Acts to the disciples as ‘the way’, indicating that Philip has successfully assimilated the Server methods followed by the Ethiopian eunuch. This is referred to as ‘the way’, implying that it has become the standard accepted method. This mention of ‘the way’ supports the suggestion that this is a battle over methodology, because methodology describes the way that a technical group behaves.

The Greek says explicitly ‘being both men and women’. Thus, the emphasis is upon being rather than having and both male technical thought and female mental networks are included. Bound means ‘to tie, bind’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. In other words, all legitimate Server sequences of worship are being brought under the control of official methodology. Saying this another way, ‘How things work’ is being made the servant of ‘how we do things’. Bring means ‘to lead, bring’ and is being interpreted as a form of economic offering that avoids personal involvement. These bound disciples are being brought to Jerusalem and Jerusalem represents the center of religion. Thus, religion is being redefined by taking control of any Server sequences of righteousness.

Righteousness gives stability to a concept of God by reinforcing Teacher words with the confidence of Server sequences. This means behaving in a manner that is consistent with a general understanding of ‘how things work’. Verse 2 is going the opposite way by taking control of any Server sequences that reinforce Teacher words. Saying this more simply, when those who follow ‘the way’ are bound, then the end result is ‘my way’. ‘How things work’ becomes completely replaced by ‘how we do things’. This kind of replacement can only be done partially today because physical reality has a way of punishing those who ignore ‘how things work’. However, the society of Acts 9 has reached the level of being able to use ‘how we do things’ to substantially override the natural laws of ‘how things work’. When disciples lay their possessions at the feet of apostles, then this is setting up a new system of general laws based upon ‘how we do things’. Aliens and angels would be unable to follow this path to its conclusion because they inhabit ‘bodies’ that are based in the Server sequences of messages. And the Server ‘message’ of a messenger would make it possible for a messenger to approach the Teacher light of God without being blinded. However, humans are based in the Perceiver objects of physical bodies and are not inherently limited by any built-in Server sequences. If humans acquired the ability to use ‘how we do things’ to overcome the limitations of the human body, then it would be possible to question all existing Server sequences. In the short term, this would probably lead to substantial spiritual power. But in the long term, it would bring humans directly into contact with the divine light.

This brings up a topic that is discussed in an essay on God and aliens which was introduced earlier when discussing protein folding and will be examined in more detail in a few pages. Using protein folding as an analogy, all living matter starts out as strings of amino acids, defined by the words of DNA. These strings then collapse in themselves to form the three-dimensional proteins of biological matter. If biological matter is heated above about 50 degrees Celsius, then the three-dimensional structures of living matter come apart and turn back into strings. This is known as denaturation. Denaturation is fatal for biological life that lives within three-dimensional matter. Presumably this would not be fatal for angels and aliens who functioned at the level of Server sequences. The beginning of Acts 9 appears to be describing something that is akin to denaturation.

Blinded by Divine Light 9:3-8

This happens to Saul in verse 3. “Now in proceeding, it came to pass as he draws near to Damascus, suddenly also a light from heaven flashed around him.” Proceeding means ‘to transport’, implying that this attempt to control Server sequences has an implicit transformative impact, and the previous paragraphs have attempted to describe this impact. It came to pass means ‘to come into being’ indicating an unintended consequence. Draw near means to ‘come near’. Saul is drawing near to Damascus. Looking at this cognitively, the official control of methodology is getting closer to the ancient source of power of Damascus. Using the analogy of protein folding, this would be like human researchers attempting to decipher the structure of DNA by heating biological matter so that it denatures. This can be done when studying physical DNA, because it is possible to heat the DNA of the biological specimen without also heating the DNA of the researcher. But one of the basic principles of the angelic realm is that opening a door for one group opens it up for everyone. Using the analogy, heating the DNA of the specimen would automatically also heat the DNA of the researcher. The flash of the light from heaven could be interpreted as the researcher’s DNA starting to denature.

Suddenly means ‘suddenly, unexpectedly’. It is used twice in Acts, once in this verse and once in 22:6 where Paul relates this event. Flash around combines ‘around’ with ‘to lighten, flash forth’. It is used twice in the New Testament, once in this verse and once in 22:6 where this event is retold. Light means ‘light’, and this light is ‘out from the heaven’.

This describes how it would feel for a finite human to catch a glimpse of the divine light of Teacher energy. It would be a universal light of supernatural energy that would simultaneously flash upon everything. Saying this more carefully, mysticism describes the mystical encounter as a feeling of oneness with either God or the cosmos. That is what it feels like when humans are shielded from divine power by living in physical reality. This shielding has just been removed. Saying this more bluntly, mysticism can only be practiced by humans if it barely works. In verse 3, mysticism is actually working, blinding the human mystic.

Looking at the bigger picture, a religious system based in a hierarchy can coexist with mysticism, because God will be defined as the ultimate authority in Teacher thought who transcends all other authorities. This is a reasonably stable system that can continue to exist over time. In contrast, a religious system that is based in righteousness cannot coexist with mysticism because righteousness assumes that God behaves, and a mystical god that transcends creation does not behave. Methodology is a form of righteousness but it replaces the righteousness of God with human righteousness. Instead of being guided by God’s universal principles of how things work, it is guided by by an understanding of how some group of people behaves. This provides a temporary bubble that is capable of generating substantial destruction. For example, during the Second World War millions of soldiers together with entire economies were organized into systems of ‘how we do things’. This human organization was able to achieve incredible goals but also wreaked havoc upon the physical environment. In a similar manner, the ‘how we do things’ of military structure was was able to convince millions of World War I soldiers to leave the relative shelter of their trenches, ‘go over the top’, and attack the enemy. However, the forward physical progress typically came to a dead end—literally—when the ‘how we do things’ of military command came into contact with the ‘how things work’ of machine gun bullets meeting human flesh.

Verse 4 describes what happens next. “And having fallen on the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’” Fallen means ‘to fall’ and was previously used in Acts 5 to describe both Ananias and Sapphira falling down. In other words, methodology loses its underlying confidence. Looking at this cognitively, technical thought applies a limited set of Server sequences and Perceiver facts within some specialization. Technical thought assumes that these facts and sequences have sufficient confidence if they are known beyond a certain threshold. But if this underlying confidence falls below the threshold, then the whole system of technical thought will collapse. This collapse is ‘upon the ground’ and ground refers to human rational thought. Thus, what survives is the facts of physical reality. When ‘how we do things’ collapses, then one comes into close contact with the facts of ‘how things work’. Looking at the bigger picture, the spiritual economy is still happening within the facts of physical reality. People are able to use the partial spiritual economy to modify natural law, but when this modification falls apart, then physical reality reasserts itself. Something similar happened with the Central American civilizations that built cities in the middle of the jungle. When these civilizations fell apart, then these cities were reclaimed by the jungle.

This is followed by rational communication. Voice means ‘a voice, sound’. Heard means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. And saying is the normal word for speech. Thus, what started as the ultimate mystical experience turns into rational communication. This violates the fundamental assumption of mysticism, which is that God transcends all rational communication. The reason that Saul encounters rational communication is because the dragon has been cast out of heaven. The ‘great sign in heaven’ is no longer the serpent of mysticism but rather an intelligent woman. Revelation 12:5 describes this woman giving birth to a child who will rule the nations. Notice that the problem exists alongside the solution. On the one hand, the methodology of ‘how we do things’ makes it possible to break down walls separating humanity from divine energy. On the other hand, the righteousness of ‘how things work’ makes it possible for everyone to approach God directly in an intuitive manner, as expressed by the ‘woman in heaven’. This is similar to the way that modern technology enables both the military-industrial complex and the consumer society. A similar juxtaposition can be seen in Revelation 14:6-11. On the one hand, angels flying in mid-heaven are declaring the end of the kingdom of the beast. On the other hand, their warning indicates that many humans are still worshiping the beast.

This voice from heaven complains emotionally and personally. Saul’s name is mentioned twice, indicating a personal focus. Persecute means to ‘aggressively chase, like a hunter’. The Greek is literally ‘Saul, Saul, why me persecute?’ This reveals an inherent characteristic of mysticism. Mysticism claims to worship God in Teacher thought. But in actual fact, mysticism will hunt down any intelligent voices in Teacher thought. That is because mysticism cannot handle rational content. Going further, because the mystical God transcends all rational content, the mystic is able to impose his own rational content upon his concept of God, effectively making God the slave of personal identity. This will become apparent when a rational concept of God is constructed in Teacher thought.

This relationship changes in verse 5. “And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Notice that Paul is now calling the voice ‘Lord’, indicating that the voice in Teacher thought rules over personal identity in Mercy thought. Who is more literally ‘who? which? What?’. Paul’s question is more literally ‘What exists, Lord?’, which indicates a more generic movement from the transcendence of mystical overgeneralization to the content of a general theory.

The voice responds, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (v. 5). In 8:35, Philip proclaimed the good news to the eunuch and this good news was Jesus. Revelation 12:5 describes the child of the woman as being caught up to God and to his throne. Thus, when Saul breaks through to the flash of divine light, what he encounters at the level of the throne of God is not mystical worship but rather the child of the woman. However, Saul does not recognize this right away. And he hears a voice in Teacher thought but does not see anything in Mercy thought.

Summarizing, the spiritual economy began by adding a spiritual component to objective technology. The subjective became increasingly involved and those who limited participation to the objective experienced painful consequences. Eventually this progress reached the point where the serpent of mysticism was cast out of heaven. We are now at the point where victory has been achieved in the realm of the subjective and the salvation of Jesus is able to reach from God in heaven to humans on earth. This victory is described by three angels in Revelation 14.

But this subjective victory is still happening within a context of normal physical reality. Thus, when Saul experiences a surrounding flash of divine light, this is followed by the voice of Jesus. And when Saul falls, he falls to the ground of physical reality. Other passages suggest that this subjective victory will now be extended to physical reality. Saying this another way, we currently live in the physical universe where matter rules over mind. Suffering is inevitable in such a universe because physical matter can impose itself upon the mind. But matter-over-mind also allows physical reality to provide stability for the mind, making it possible for Saul to fall upon physical reality when his mind is blown by mysticism. This will eventually be replaced by mind-over-matter. This will make it possible for the transformed mind to escape physical suffering. But it will also remove any source of stability. This does not mean that the entire universe will turn to jelly. Instead, my best guess is that the physical universe will continue to function as before but humans will acquire the ability to use their minds to overrule physical law wherever they are present. Therefore, as far as humans are concerned, mind will rule over matter.

Some manuscripts include additional content in verse 5, but the general consensus is that this was added later. Some of this additional content is mentioned in the retelling of this event in Acts 26:14.

Saul is given instructions in verse 6. “But rise up and enter into the city, and it will be told you that which it behooves you to do.” Rise up is the normal word for resurrection which is being interpreted as the birth of a new movement. Enter means ‘to go in’ and a city is a center of civilization. Saul’s initial purpose was to bind people and take them to the religious center of Jerusalem. He is now being instructed to enter the city, suggesting that his focus has shifted from religion to normal human existence.

Told is the word for chatter. Thus, the methodology of Saul is being told to listen to the chatter of normal civilization. I can state with some certainty that academic thought with its rigorous methodology and academic publications does not normally listen to the chatter of everyday life. Saying this more simply, a real academic does not quote from Wikipedia. In contrast, I have found the semi-rigorous information of Wikipedia to be extremely useful, because it covers a far broader range of topics than the more rigorous papers of academia.

Behooves means ‘it is necessary’ and do refers to Server actions. Methodology describes the behavior of some group of people. This is being replaced by how the world functions, expressed by what is necessary to do. When dealing with the personal realm, one learns what it is necessary to do by observing many people within normal life in order to discover cognitive principles. And the focus of this section is upon the mental networks of personal existence. Thus, if one wants to learn how MMNs of personal identity interact with the TMN of a general structure, then one needs to study civilization. But that means moving from the rigorous technical thinking and writing of academia to the chatter of normal life. Saying this another way, Saul has just realized that the divine light is intelligent and does not transcend rational thought. Instead, one learns about God by studying the reality of normal human existence.

Verse 7 describes the impact on those who are with Saul. “And the men traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice indeed, but seeing no one.” Men is being interpreted as male technical thought. Traveling with is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘together with’ and ‘road’ as a verb. This would indicate male technical thought guided by a similar methodology. For instance, different branches of science are fellow ‘male’ travelers who practice a similar methodology of academia. Stand is being interpreted as Perceiver stability. Speechless is found once in the New Testament and comes from a verb that means ‘to nod at, beckon or communicate by gesture’. Thus, the emphasis is not so much upon not being able to speak but rather upon communicating through gestures. This relates to the interaction between words in Teacher thought and actions in Server thought. Human speech is not associated with strong emotions, while angels presumably live in a realm of emotional Teacher words, just as humans live in a realm of emotional Mercy experiences. In the previous section, Saul was binding the Server sequences of ‘the way’. But these Server sequences shield humans from the divine light in Teacher thought. Eventually, this shielding gave way causing the divine light to break through. If communication is through gesture, then this means that words in Teacher thought now have to be explicitly accompanied by the shielding of Server actions. Saying this more simply, it now becomes imperative to recognize that actions speak louder than words.

Hearing means to ‘comprehend by hearing’, indicating that rational comprehension is still possible. Voice means ‘voice, sound’ and is the same word that was used back in verse 4. Seeing means to ‘gaze on for the purpose of analyzing’ and was previously used in 8:13 to describe Simon observing the signs of Philip. No one means either no one or nothing. This suggests that comprehension is happening at the Teacher level but not at the human level of Mercy experiences. A similar situation exists today in quantum mechanics because the physics can be calculated using mathematical equations but the precise physical meaning of these equations is still controversial. In fact, one of the schools of thought is known colloquially as shut up and calculate.

In verse 8, Saul tries to recover from the flash of light. “And Saul rose up from the ground, but of his eyes having been opened, he could see nothing.” Rose up means ‘to waken, to raise up’. It was previously used in 5:30 where Peter told the council that the God of our fathers raised up Jesus. The idea is that an existing mindset is being restored. In other words, the methodology of Saul has not changed. But it now has a different basis, because Saul has risen from the ground, and the ground represents the rational thinking of human existence. In other words, the methodology of Saul has changed from ‘how we do things’ to ‘how the world functions’. For instance, the methodology of science was developed in order to understand how the natural world functions. However, scientific methodology now takes precedence over understanding the natural world. If information about the world is not discovered or presented using the correct methodology, then this information will tend to be rejected. When Saul arises, then ‘how things work’ once again takes precedence over ‘how we do things’.

Opened simply means ‘to open’ and eye means ‘the eye’. The eye was previously mentioned in 1:9 when Jesus ascended into heaven out of the eye of the disciples. Saul is opening his eyes, indicating that he is attempting to make sense of physical reality, similar to the way that Christians now form a concept of Christ by extrapolating from the historical Jesus. See means ‘to see something physical, with spiritual results’. It was previously used in 8:6 to describe the crowds in Samaria seeing the signs of Philip. The methodology of Saul explores the spiritual realm but starts from the physical human realm. This path is no longer working because it has been overwhelmed by a blast of supernatural light from the Teacher realm of heaven.

Verse 8 continues, “And leading him by the hand, they brought him to Damascus.” Leading by the hand means ‘to lead by the hand’. Hands represent the application of technical thought. Therefore, leading by the hand would mean blindly following technical thought without understanding. This is like using mathematical equations without understanding what they mean. For instance, this happened in the discovery of antimatter, because it was first predicted mathematically by Paul Dirac in a 1928 paper before being discovered in 1932. Brought means ‘to bring in, to introduce’. It was used once previously in Acts in 7:45 to talk about the fathers bringing the tabernacle into the promised land with Joshua. And Saul is being brought into Damascus. Therefore, the goal still is to use methodology to explore ancient spiritual power. But this is being done through the application of technical thought without comprehension.

Primal Beings and Protein Folding 9:9

This next section will be introducing a hypothesis that I have not read anywhere else. Whenever a new idea is encountered then Facilitator thought will evaluate it for reasonableness. One way of determining reasonableness is how frequently one has encountered something. My hypothesis fails that test. Another way to determine reasonableness is by comparing an idea with what the experts say. My hypothesis also fails that test. It is also possible to determine reasonableness by comparing an idea with known processes and known facts. I suggest that my hypothesis passes this test while the alternatives fail massively. Going further, whenever a new theory is encountered, then this will generate Teacher emotions. I just wrote a short academic article saying precisely this and a number of readers responded in an emotionally dismissive manner—ironically demonstrating the validity of the article. Thus, the instinctive reaction will be to emotionally reject my hypothesis as garbage. And because I am proposing a theological theory of human origins, additional Teacher and Mercy emotions will be triggered. I also felt strong Teacher emotions when writing this section, because I felt driven to denounce the alternatives in the strongest possible language. I have tried to dial back the emotional intensity and focus upon the facts.

My general hypothesis is that God created angelic life who live within Server sequences before creating physical life with the help of these angels. Thus, when one reaches primal supernatural power, one leaves the realm of physical reality with its Perceiver objects and enters a more primal realm of Server sequences interacting with the Teacher light of God. Saying this another way, the theory of evolution suggests that the starting point for life was a primal soup—a realm of primitive Mercy experiences. Mental symmetry suggests that this is a category mistake, because no existing life starts with a soup of Mercy experiences. Instead, all biological matter begins with the Teacher realm of the messages of DNA. These Teacher messages are then turned into Server sequences of amino acids, which then fold in upon themselves to form the three dimensional objects of physical life. The primal soup is actually the third stage in the four stage process of protein folding; During this third stage, protein folding is guided by attraction or repulsion to the water in which the proteins are immersed.

Saying this in more detail, I suggest that the various functions of biological life were designed by primal heavenly beings outside of physical space and time. These biological functions were then assembled into functioning living beings within a short period of physical time. Job 38:7 may be referring to this when it talks about the morning stars singing together when laying the foundation of the earth. This essay has suggested that angels live within Server sequences. I am suggesting that primal beings exist which are even more basic than angels, which function at the interface between the divine energy in Teacher thought and the Server sequences of angels. It is possible that the four living creatures of Revelation are a kind of primal being. This hypothesis is explored in another essay.

This may sound like a strange hypothesis, but it is the only answer I can come up with that satisfies the various constraints without involving either magic or impossibility: 1) It is absurd to talk about biological evolution functioning in physical time. The idea of irreducible complexity may be belittled, but as an engineer I can state with total confidence that a partially constructed machine cannot function. No amount of academic belittling changes this fundamental principle. 2) It is possible to separate the elements of biological life into different functions, just as it is possible to separate a machine into parts with different functions. 3) It is reasonable to suggest that each part of a machine was designed and manufactured by some intelligent person or group of individuals, because that is how things work in real life. 4) Biological mechanisms are very, very complicated machines. 5) The only reasonable hypothesis is to suggest that the various parts of the biological machines were designed and constructed by beings who live outside of physical reality within a realm of sequences. Hence, primal angelic beings. 6) These biological parts were then assembled to form physical life within physical reality within a short period of physical time. The physical time had to be short because partially assembled biological entities will die. That is an incontrovertible fact. 7) The alternative is to suggest that God snapped his fingers and did everything by magic. But that answer shuts down rational human thought. 8) Conclusion: The only choices appear to be the utter impossibility of biological evolution, the total magic of divine fiat, or else the hypothesis that I am suggesting. I am not aware of any other alternative. Given a choice between insanity, blind faith, and a rational hypothesis, I choose a rational hypothesis—even if the average person will instinctively reject this hypothesis as unreasonable.

I should add that the Big Bang theory and the evolution of the physical universe are plausible theories that can be mathematically examined. These theories have major flaws, such as appealing to the existence of dark matter and dark energy, and I have attempted to analyze these flaws in another essay. Thus, a distinction needs to be made between the evolution of the physical universe and the evolution of biological life. The idea that the physical universe evolved is plausible. It assumes that only physical reality exists, but it can be analyzed mathematically using known principles of physics. The idea that biological life evolved is utterly absurd, it leads to theorizing that can accurately be described as either religious mythology or juvenile fantasy, and it has led to genocide and mass murder when taken seriously by politicians and military leaders. However, the plausibility of the evolution of the physical universe is used to lend plausibility to the idea that life evolved. That is because the average person makes no distinction between the evolution of the universe and the evolution of life, regarding both as aspects of the same theory.

Going further, the theory of biological evolution extrapolates from legitimate research regarding DNA, inheritance, and mutations. But any scientist will tell you that extrapolating from limited data can lead to major errors. For instance, suppose that a teenager is physically growing six centimeters a year. Extrapolation says that in 100 years that person will be over six meters tall. Obviously, this will not happen because human growth is limited by the existing genetic code. Similarly, evolving from one species to another is also limited by the existing genetic code.

Returning to Acts 9, verse 3 describes Saul being blinded by the divine light. I suggest that one of the byproducts would be encountering primal beings, as suggested by the reference to the city of Damascus. This would go beyond a theoretical crisis to an existential crisis involving biological existence itself. Verse 9 summarizes Saul’s predicament. “And he was three days without seeing, and neither did he eat nor drink.” A day represents an era of society. Three days suggests three eras of society. Seeing means ‘to see something physical, with spiritual results’. This suggests that the method of starting with human experiences and extending to the supernatural ceases to function for three eras of society. Eat means to ‘partake of food’ and drink means ‘to drink’. Eating is interpreted as consuming intellectual food, while drinking is interpreted as participating in Mercy experiences. Not eating and drinking would mean no interaction with either theory or experience. In other words, the methodology of Saul goes through an existential crisis in which it ceases being used as a tool and it focuses upon analyzing itself. Many branches of science have currently been experiencing a similar existential crisis as a result of postmodern questioning. The methodology with its technical thinking continues, but it now becomes internally focused, attempting to understand itself in order to build itself upon a more lasting foundation.

Ananias is Called 9:10-12

The turning point comes in verse 10. “Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias.” Ananias means ‘Yah has been gracious’ and is the same name as the Ananias of chapter 5. A disciple is being interpreted as a student within the educational system of the spiritual economy. This disciple is in Damascus, which is being interpreted as primal supernatural power. The idea of God using primordial beings to design biological life is an example of ‘Yah has been gracious’, because God in Teacher thought is a source of grace for biological existence.

Verse 10 continues, “And the Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias!’ And he said, ‘Behold me, Lord.’” The word vision is derived from ‘to see with the mind’. Notice the juxtaposition of Teacher words and Mercy visions. The Lord is speaking using the words of Teacher thought. But this is happening within the context of a mental picture in Mercy thought. Within this mental picture, the Lord is calling the Teacher name of ‘Yah has been gracious’. For instance, when a human thinks about primordial beings functioning at the level of Teacher words, the human is forming an imaginary Mercy picture of such beings. But such beings were not originally created at the level of Mercy images because they are primordial beings who existed before the realm of Mercy thought with its images. A similar dilemma arises when attempting to form a mental picture of quantum mechanics, because one is trying to picture something that does not function at the level of pictures but rather is the source of pictures. At the moment, this is primarily a philosophical debate. In the future time of Acts 9 it would become an existential question. What matters is that this topic is being approached with the mindset of God in Teacher thought being gracious to humans in Mercy thought. Looking at protein folding, it was mentioned before that if biological matter becomes too hot, then the folded strings unfold and turn back into strings of amino acid ‘spaghetti’. This is known as denaturation and leads to biological death. Thus, coming into personal contact with primordial beings would be by its very nature life-threatening.

Behold means ‘look, behold’ and indicates that something is coming into existence. Within this context, that would mean something appearing within the human realm of Mercy experiences. Ananias says literally ‘behold me Lord’. This could be interpreted as a recognition that human existence is an expression of God in Teacher thought. For instance, the ‘me’ of biological life emerges as a ‘behold’ from the Teacher information of DNA.

Ananias is given instructions in verse 11. “And the Lord said to him, ‘Having risen up, go into the street called Straight.’” The word ‘said’ is actually not in the original Greek. Instead, the original phrase is ‘and Lord toward him’. We are seeing in this section that words have become inadequate. This response goes beyond speech to a more fundamental turning. The implication is that these primordial beings are turning their attention away from the creation of biological life to the structure of human thought. Saying this another way, the soul that is living in a physical body which starts with information is recognizing that human existence starts with information, and this recognition is attracting the attention of the heavenly beings who live within information and move forward from information. This can be viewed as a form of spiritual economy because a loop is being formed that leads from the work of primordial beings to human DNA through human thought back to the minds of these primordial beings.

Risen up is the normal word for resurrection, which is being interpreted as a rebirth of thinking. The previous paragraph described this rebirth of thinking. For instance, the idea that the words of Teacher thought are more fundamental than personal existence in Mercy thought came to me fairly recently and this was a transformative concept. Go means ‘to transport’ which is being interpreted as a movement that is transformative. This is the first use of the word street in Acts, which means ‘the rush of a moving body’. This describes Server sequences at a more primal and personal level. A road is a Server sequence that exists independently of people. The word street defines a Server sequence as the path followed by a group of living beings. Such a mindset would provide a new form of Server stability to primordial beings, changing this from ‘how we behave as the designers of biological life’ to ‘how the stream of biological life functions’. I should emphasize in passing that I am not talking about evolution, because the fundamental assumption of evolution is that there are no designers of biological life. But I am also not referring to a concept of creation in which God snaps his fingers and life magically appears. Instead, God is creating primordial beings and they are doing the designing of life outside of physical space and time guided by the divine mind. I have not encountered this precise concept anywhere. However, it appears to be consistent with the data of science as well as the content of Scripture.

Called means ‘to call’ and indicates that one is using words in Teacher thought. Straight means ‘straight, without unnecessary zig-zags’. It was used once before in Acts in 8:21 where Philip said that Simon’s heart was not straight before God. In verse 11, Ananias is being told to transport into a Server sequence of life that is uncomplicated from a Teacher perspective. My hypothesis of primal beings is a Server sequence of life that is uncomplicated from a Teacher perspective. A theory of biological evolution, in contrast, contains numerous zigzags and unnecessary complications. For instance, one (supposedly Christian) researcher in the cognitive science of religion informed me that children have to be taught that evolution is a person. They are then taught later that evolution is impersonal. The impersonal theory of evolution provides the basis for the cognitive science of religion, but one of the basic premises of this field is that the human mind naturally views impersonal forces as personal beings. That contains enough zigzags to tie the mind in a knot. Going the other way, saying that God created everything ends up divorcing rational thought from a concept of God in Teacher thought, because the pronouncement that ‘God created everything’ shuts down human thought, forcing science to survive by being anti-religious. When one declares in such a manner that God transcends rational thought, then one is actually following the mysticism of the dragon.

Verse 11 continues, “And seek in the house of Judas the one of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying.” Seek means ‘to seek by inquiring’, which means that intelligent thought will have to be used instead of merely proclaiming that ‘God did it all!’ This is the first use of this word as a verb in Acts. This seeking is supposed to be done ‘in the realm of a house’ A person lives in a house. This is significant because humans can only explore primordial topics by living in some sort of house that preserves human existence. This is a house of Judas, which means ‘praised’. This implies that worship is being used as a mechanism to protect personal identity when approaching the primordial God in Teacher thought. For instance, one often notices scientific authors making statements of praise to Nature (with a capital ‘N’). If one didn’t know better, one would interpret this as religious worship to the deity that designed biological life.

Saul is being interpreted as a human methodology for approaching the supernatural. However, Saul is being given a name in Teacher thought. Tarsus and Damascus both claim to be the oldest city in the world still in existence. The name Tarsus may be derived from the name for the Hittite storm god. Another source gives a related meaning of ‘winged, feathered’. Wings allow a being to move through the air of Teacher thought. Thus, ‘winged’ is consistent with the idea of beings who reside within Teacher thought. A storm is a movement of air within Teacher thought that affects physical reality. Thus, one could refer to primal beings as storm gods, because they move within Teacher thought in a manner that impacts physical reality. And the idea of Tarsus being possibly the oldest city is consistent with the idea of primal beings. If Saul is named ‘of Tarsus’, then a transition has been made. Damascus means ‘sac of blood’ which takes the Mercy perspective of a primordial soup of biological existence. ‘Of Tarsus’ changes this to the perspective of Teacher thought being the primal source.

Behold indicates something new coming into existence. What is new is that Saul is praying. Prayer means ‘to exchange wishes’. The scientist who talks in worshipful tones about Nature does not pray. There is no exchange of wishes. Instead, any suggestion that Nature is a personal being will be denied in the strongest terms possible, even though Nature is repeatedly and intuitively being treated as a personal being. That type of mental zigzagging is an example of not being on the ‘street called straight’. In verse 11, Saul is exchanging wishes. He is recognizing the existence of primordial beings and interacting with them at the level of personal desire. The content of such prayer is easy to determine. When some gadget stops functioning, then one goes to the designers of these gadgets for assistance. Similarly, when one is trapped in a physical body that is falling apart and dying, then it makes sense to exchange wishes with the primal beings that originally designed the mechanisms of the physical body. Going the other way, primal beings are stuck existing at a primal level and would want to function in a more complete manner. Using a physics analogy, this is like inhabitants of Flatland wanting to experience the potential of living in three-dimensional reality.

In verse 12, Saul has a vision. “And he saw in a vision a man named Ananias, having come and having put the hands on him, so that he might see again.” Saw means ‘to see with the mind’ and vision is derived from the same word. Seeing a man in a vision would mean imagination guided by male technical thought. This man is ‘named Ananias’. Thus, the methodology of Saul is internally seeing an image based upon the Teacher approach of moving from Teacher thought to Mercy experiences. Saul is internally seeing that the starting point is not a primordial soup but rather the word of God spoken through primordial beings.

‘Put the hands on him’ uses the same words that were used in 8:17 to describe the laying on of hands in order to receive the Holy Spirit. A similar problem exists here because the challenge is to move from the Teacher words of God to the Mercy experiences of the Holy Spirit. Saying this more clearly, the Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee to creation that the embodied words of created matter will not be denatured. This is not an idle threat, because quantum field theory suggests that there is a finite, though very small, probability that physical existence could snuff out because of false vacuum decay. I strongly suspect that if humans gained the power to manipulate physical reality, then this would massively increase the probability of triggering a false vacuum decay. And 2 Peter 3:7 could be interpreted as creation going through an episode of recovering from a false vacuum decay because it talks about the very elements burning with heat.

Laying on of hands implies the application of technical thought. Thus, Saul is incapable of escaping from his mental and spiritual prison. But he is capable of receiving technical help from Ananias. See again combines ‘again’ with ‘to see something physical, with spiritual results’. This is the first use of this word in Acts and it is repeated two times in the next few verses. Saul has lost the ability to move from physical reality to the spiritual realm. That is because doing so removes the shielding that protects him from the primal Teacher light of God. Thus, Saul has to approach this from the new perspective of returning back to the primal light of God in an attitude of prayer. Looking at a similar situation, Pentecostalism destroys itself because it starts with the Holy Spirit without having a foundation in Teacher understanding. The solution is to realize that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and not the first person. One starts with God the Father in Teacher thought and then moves to the Holy Spirit in Mercy thought. This perspective makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to intercede with the Father as described in Romans 8:26.

Ananias Protests 9:13-16

Ananias protests in verse 13. “But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many concerning this man, how many evils he did to Your saints in Jerusalem.’” Ananias means ‘Yah has been gracious’. Ananias addresses the voice as Lord but questions the statement because it appears to be inconsistent with the idea of Yah being gracious. This is cognitively significant because self-preservation has to remain a bottom line when dealing with primal beings. Saying this another way, primal beings who designed the DNA of life function naturally at the level of denatured DNA. But a human being can only stay alive if DNA remains folded. Stated bluntly, such primal beings function in an environment that is inherently fatal to human life.

Heard means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. Thus, this is a rational concern but it is based upon Teacher words and not upon Mercy experiences. ‘From many’ means that this fear is based upon repeated statements and not just some random conversation. ‘Concerning this man’ would refer to a specific form of male technical thought. Using a current example, university professors acquired the reputation of being anti-Christian during the end of the 20^th century because many of these professors deliberately used scientific thought to attack the absolute truth of the Bible.

Evil means ‘inwardly foul’ and holy means ‘set apart and therefore different’. Applying this to current society, the university campus in the 1970s and 80s was a hotbed of amorality. Conservative Christians wanted their children to follow a higher standard that was different from this educated amorality. Ananias refers to ‘your saints’, indicating that these followers have tried to submit to the Teacher understanding of the Lord to which he is speaking. However, this is implicitly a Mercy perspective, because Ananias is distinguishing in Mercy thought between those who follow Teacher understanding and those who do not. Teacher thought follows processes that cross Mercy categories.

This evil was done in Jerusalem, which indicates the realm of religion. However, religion also is based in a Mercy division between those who are close to God and those are not as close. This Mercy division no longer exists when one encounters the primal forces of ‘Damascus’. Instead, one encounters an even deeper dichotomy of functioning versus not functioning. Stated another way, the existence of Mercy thought is more fundamental than any labels of good or bad placed upon experiences within Mercy thought.

Ananias continues in verse 14. “And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all those calling on Your name.” Authority means ‘delegated power’ which describes the structure of organized religion. This authority comes from the chief priests, who are the source of delegated power. This concept of delegated power was discussed when looking at Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. Bind was used in 9:2 to describe what Saul was doing to the followers of the way. Thus, delegated authority was being used to restrict the actions of those who are trying to follow righteous Server sequences.

‘Calling on your name’ would mean asking for help from God in Teacher thought. Thus, a system of delegated authority from God in Teacher thought is being used to restrict those who try to appeal directly to God. However, notice that Ananias is still thinking in terms of delegated authority. He is calling upon God to bypass delegated authority while still scared of delegated authority. Ananias’ apprehension is understandable. For instance, writing these essays has convinced me that God’s kingdom will eventually prevail. But I am also very aware that I am a vulnerable human being who can be destroyed by the death throes of the current system.

Lord answers in verse 15. “Go, for this man is My vessel of choice to carry My name before the Gentiles, and also kings, and the sons of Israel.” Go means ‘to transport’, which suggests that the going will help Ananias to deal with his apprehensions. This is the first use of the word vessel in Acts, which means ‘a vessel to contain liquid’. Choice means ‘election out of and to a given outcome’. It is used once as a noun in Acts. The idea of a vessel is appropriate, because physical life by its very nature shapes the messages of DNA to create vessels that can contain the liquid of Mercy experiences. Thus, the Lord answers using the language of existence rather than good and evil. But there is still a divinely ordained sequence, because the container of Mercy life has been chosen by God to follow a certain path. Thus, God is choosing Saul in a way that will preserve the existence of life in Mercy thought. Saul is not being chosen as clay that is shaped into some vessel and then can be arbitrarily reshaped. Instead, he is being chosen as a vessel.

Carry means ‘to take up, carry’. Until now, this has been an inferior form of economics that avoids personal involvement. But when one is called as a vessel, then whatever one does includes personal vulnerability. The goal of this vessel is not to be filled with Mercy experiences but rather to carry the name of the Lord. Thus, the focus is is still upon God in Teacher thought. However, this Teacher focus is now exhibiting itself at a different level. Every biological cell already is an expression of God in Teacher thought in the sense that it starts with the Teacher words of DNA and is then shaped to exist within Mercy experiences. But a human who lives in a physical body can exhibit Teacher order at a different level by functioning in a way that exhibits wholeness and simplicity.

Before means ‘in the eye’. This goes beyond personal status to a personal example that is being observed by others. Saul will have three audiences. Gentiles refers to the MMNs of ‘similar customs or common culture’. Thus, existing as a human is more fundamental than following mental networks of custom or culture. Any cultural MMNs that violate principles of existence are doomed to failure. A king gives orders to people based upon delegated authority. Human existence is also more fundamental than delegated authority. Any delegated command that violates principles of existence is doomed to failure. The term son means ‘son, descendent’ and can refer to both genders. A son of Israel would be a descendent of the group through which God interacts with humanity. When significant principles are passed on to the next generation, they will naturally be treated as absolute truth, and absolute truth will lead naturally to an attitude of religious self-denial. Human existence is more fundamental than any ideas of religious fervor that result from being a descendent of a religious group, even if this is a legitimate religious group.

The Lord continues in verse 16. “For I will show to him how much it behooves him to suffer for My name.” Show means ‘to show secretly’ and this is the first of two times that this word is used in Acts. When one is functioning at the level of existence, then one becomes naturally aware of fundamental issues of which the average person is unaware, because the average person assumes existence. The Greek specifically says both ‘I’ and ‘him’, indicating that this personal identity is existing in the presence of God. Behooves means ‘it is necessary’. Thus, God is not telling Saul to suffer, but rather showing what suffering is necessary because of how things work. Existence itself depends upon this suffering. For means ‘in behalf of’ when followed by the genitive. Saul is not suffering for God but rather ‘in behalf of the name of the Lord’. Saul experienced what it was like when the shield that protected human existence from divine power was eliminated. As a result, Saul knows the importance of maintaining this shield. The suffering is necessary in order to maintain this barrier, in order to ensure that human existence does not become ‘denatured’ through direct exposure to divine light. The word suffer actually means ‘to feel heavy emotion’. It does not necessarily mean that one is being physically tortured. Instead, it refers more precisely to ‘the capacity to feel suffering’. These paragraphs have been describing precisely such a vulnerability, because humans are dealing with primal beings that have the capacity to impose destruction upon human life. This is like working in outer space. One is safe as long as one is inside the ‘vessel’ of a spacesuit. But if this spacesuit were to fail, then one would die. This is an example of ‘the capacity to feel suffering’ because one is functioning in a vulnerable state. One feels this vulnerability not because of being in the presence of great authority but because of how things work.

Ananias Obeys 9:17

Ananias acts in verse 17. “And Ananias went away and entered into the house; and having laid the hands upon him.” Went away means ‘to go away’ and entered means ‘to go in’. These are the same word with different prefixes. Ananias enters into the house. In other words, Ananias is leaving his existing location and finding a new home for personal identity. This describes what it would feel like to interact with primal beings because one is changing the way that one regards the physical body. Notice that Ananias is changing his house and not himself, consistent with the idea of approaching the physical body from a new perspective. Verse 11 referred to the house of Judas, suggesting that these primal beings and their activity are being regarded as something to be worshiped. In verse 17, Ananias enters the house, suggesting a new attitude based upon ‘Yah has been gracious’. In other words, these primal beings are not to be worshiped. Instead, they can actually help me. Nature is not just some force that one waxes eloquent about. Instead, Nature is an expression of God and the primal beings who scientists refer to as Nature can actually help us.

Looking at this more carefully, personal identity can be formed from two different directions. Living in a physical body will cause mental networks of personal identity to form as expressed by the concept of embodiment. Following a path of personal transformation will also lead to the formation of mental networks of personal identity, ultimately leading to the recognition of being a spiritual person. This is a three-stage process that uses a Teacher understanding to rebuild Mercy mental networks of personal identity. Going through this process leads to a deep realization of what it means to be word-made-flesh. One then realizes that the physical body is also literally a case of word-made-flesh. But instead of viewing this merely as a biological fact, one approaches it from a spiritual perspective because following the path of mental symmetry has constructed a spiritual self-image that is also an example of word-made-flesh. This leads naturally to the sense that the physical word-made-flesh was originally designed by spiritual beings who live with God within Teacher thought. And when one examines the physical evidence, one concludes that this is the only rational alternative. One might wonder why such a roundabout path is required and why no one else has come up with such an idea. I just finished an academic paper on mental networks and how they interact with Teacher theories. One of the principles described in this paper is that using the mind to develop theories about how the mind develops theories is a very risky business. If one is following the TMN (Teacher mental network) of a theory that does not explicitly recognize TMNs, then one will be emotionally driven by Teacher thought to reject the idea that one is being emotionally driven by Teacher thought. For example, Thomas Kuhn came up with the idea of paradigms and paradigm shifts and is one of the most famous philosophers of the 20^th century. But after Kuhn wrote the second edition of his book in 1970, he stopped talking about paradigms and paradigm shifts. Imagine coming up with a scientific discovery, becoming world-famous for that discovery, and then turning your back upon that discovery.

Ananias then ‘lays the hands upon him’. This is being interpreted as someone with a concept of God applying technical thought in order to show that something else is similar. This is different than delegated authority, because the laying on of hands points out an inherent similarity. In other words, one can take statements about Nature and reinterpret them as characteristics of God working through primal beings. This is true to some extent today and would be true at a much deeper level in the future society of Acts 9.

Ananias says, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, the One having appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me.” Brother literally means ‘from the same womb’. Thus, Ananias is recognizing that there are fundamental similarities between his approach and the methodology of Saul. These similarities exist at the level of origins, because both are from the same womb. This is typically interpreted today as meaning that Christians can comfortably fit their Christianity into the theory of evolution. That is not a valid conclusion, because ‘survival of the fittest’ damns the individual in order to save the species while Jesus saves the individual and then uses the individual to save the species. Similarly, evolution regards death and suffering as normal while Jesus regard death and suffering as an abnormality from which one needs to be saved. And evolution only saves humanity out of the primordial soup into present semi-sanity while heading nowhere. In contrast, Jesus uses the Word to save humanity to Paradise and total sanity. Acts 9, in contrast, is referring to a future worship of Nature that acknowledges the supernatural, tries to improve the individual, realizes that human death and suffering are abnormal, and has been blinded by the divine light of God. In addition, the laying on of hands is coming from a fully developed spiritual economy and not from some human religious organization.

Sent means ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’. The Greek says ‘Brother Saul, the Lord has sent me, Jesus’. Thus, Ananias begins by recognizing the connection, he acknowledges the true Lord, he recognizes that this Lord delegates missions, and he defines the identity of this Lord as the ‘salvation of Yah’. We have been comparing delegated authority with similarity of character. This does not mean that there is no place for delegation. In verse 17, the Lord is delegating a mission to Ananias. But a mission is a Server sequence, it does not define personal status in Mercy thought. Thus, there is room for delegated authority within an overall structure of similarity. But the delegated authority is temporary and based upon tasks rather than upon personal status.

Ananias then defines Jesus to Saul as ‘the one having appeared to you on the road by which you are coming’. Appeared means ‘to see with the mind’. ‘On the road’ indicates a focus upon Server sequences. A Server sequence has been delegated to Ananias, and Saul was also carrying out a Server sequence. Coming means ‘to come, go’. Thus, a Server sequence affects humans as they travel along this sequence. Angels (and presumably primal beings) live within Server sequences. For them, a road is a ‘place’. Humans live in Perceiver locations but can interact with heavenly sequences by traveling along a road.

Ananias adds that he has come so “that you may see again and be filled of the Holy Spirit” (v. 17). See again combines ‘again’ with ‘to see something physical, with spiritual results’. This word was previously used in verse 12 in the Lord’s instructions to Ananias. Saul cannot go from the physical to the spiritual because when he attempted to do so he was blinded by divine light. The solution is not to abandon the methodology but rather to be filled of Holy Spirit. Acts 2:4, 4:8, and 4:31 all talked about disciples being filled with the Holy Spirit. But in 8:15 the Samaritans only received the Holy Spirit, indicating something less complete. This incompleteness of the Samaritan experience made it possible for Simon to interpret the Holy Spirit as a delegating of authority. Saul, in contrast, has become blinded at the deeper level of existence and divine light. Therefore, receiving the Holy Spirit is insufficient. Instead, he requires a filling of the Holy Spirit. Looking at this from a different perspective, the Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that creation will continue to exist. When one personally encounters primal beings at the level of personal existence, then one requires such a guarantee.

For instance, Ephesians 1:13-14 says that “You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.” A seal ‘signifies ownership and the full security carried by the backing of the owner’. A promise is ‘an appropriate promise’. Thus, the Holy Spirit provides full security of an appropriate promise. A guarantee is an ‘advance payment that guarantees the rest will be given’. And an inheritance is based upon ‘being’. This is typically interpreted as an internal concept of the Holy Spirit providing the feeling that God will ultimately reward me. But there is a deeper sense in which the Holy Spirit provides a guarantee that God the Father will deal with me as a created being in an appropriate way based upon who I am within Mercy thought.

Saul is Transformed 9:18-22

Verse 18 describes the result. “And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight.” Fell is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘fall’ with ‘away from’. This is followed by an explicit ‘away from’. This falling away is from his eyes. The mind uses the eyes to construct a Perceiver map of the visual environment. Scale is used once in the New Testament and refers to ‘a scale of a fish’. Putting this together, we have talked about humans being shielded from the Teacher light of God. Verse 18 describes one form of shielding, which is to put a barrier upon the way that one perceives one’s environment. This could be interpreted as sticking one’s head in the sand in order to pretend the problem has gone away. For instance, the problem of being blinded by divine light is generally ignored.

Looking at this further, Buddhism says that the goal is to achieve nirvana, a word that means ‘blown out as in an oil lamp’. But what is left of personal identity after the light is blown out through personal identification with the universal? Buddhism has no answer for that question. One option is to ‘cover the eyes’ so that one does not think too deeply about this question. A fish represents a human who is mentally submersed within the sea of human experiences. Being blinded by the scale of a fish would represent the underlying assumption that one can continue to exist as a human submersed within the sea of human experiences. For instance, the incomplete spiritual economy started by assuming the existence of humanity, just as current science is based in the assumption of materialism and the theory of evolution assumes that the starting point is a primordial soup. After encountering the divine light, this turned into a gut-level preservation of humanity, making it impossible to continue studying the supernatural. Something like scales is falling from Saul’s eyes.

These scales are immediately falling from Saul’s eyes. In other words, a gut-level repulsion is being replaced by a gut-level attraction. Cognitively speaking, the shield of assuming and protecting humanity is being replaced by the shield of behaving in a righteous manner. This takes the same mental content and views it from a different perspective. One can behave as a human in a manner that is similar to the character of God in Teacher thought. And that Server similarity provides a shield that is similar to the Server shield that is inherently possessed by angels. The result of this paradigm shift is that Saul can again move from the physical to the spiritual.

This leads to the transformation of Saul. “And having risen up, he was baptized.” And baptism means to ‘dip under’ which indicates a transformation provoked by encountering Mercy experiences. Notice that the divine Teacher light is still an existential threat to personal identity in Mercy thought. But experiencing the divine light as a human now has a transformative effect because the light of God in Teacher thought has become a source of salvation rather than a source of annihilation.

And this transformation also restores natural thought. “And having taken food, he was strengthened” (v. 19). Taken means ‘to actively lay hold of’. Food means ‘nourishment, food’ and was used once previously in Acts in 2:46 to describe the disciples eating together. The cognitive principle is that existence trumps sustenance. A specialization—or individual—that is dealing with existential questions is not interested in learning. Using a current example, when someone is in the hospital with covid struggling to breathe, then that is not the time to lecture them about getting vaccinated. If Saul is able to take nourishment, then this means that his existential crisis has been overcome. Strengthened is used twice in the New Testament and means ‘being strong enough to face necessary confrontation’. Strength refers to the Server actions of human existence. Strengthened implies being able to act as a human being while being aware of the divine light of God in Teacher thought. That is because the acting itself provides a shield from the brilliance of the divine light.

Verse 19 finishes, “And he was some days with the disciples in Damascus.” A disciple is a follower of the system of the spiritual economy. These disciples are in Damascus, which means that they are following the fundamental principles of existence. Saul is with these disciples for ‘some days’, which suggests that several eras of society pass with the methodology of Saul cooperating with the mindset of Ananias.

Paul starts preaching in verse 20. “And immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” Proclaim means ‘to be a herald, proclaim’. It was used once previously in Acts in 8:5 to describe Philip proclaiming Christ in Samaria. In both cases, a more general Teacher understanding is being proclaimed. This is not a matter of telling an audience to forget what they know and accept a new message by blind faith. Instead, what the audience already knows is being placed within a more comprehensive package. That is why Saul can start preaching right away. He does not have to learn new content but only has to approach his existing content in a new way. This describes a paradigm shift in which the same content is approached from a different direction.

Notice that Paul is proclaiming in the synagogues. A synagogue was mentioned once previously in Acts in 6:9 when referring to the synagogue of the freedmen. A synagogue approaches religion from the Server perspective of doing religious rituals and practicing divinely ordained Torah. The spiritual economy has now been translated into a form that can be applied within a synagogue with its focus upon Server sequences. Saul is proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus means ‘salvation of Yah’. This is the first time in Acts that Jesus is called the Son of God. Acts 8:37 contains the phrase ‘believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God’ but this is not in the earliest manuscripts. Saul heard the voice of Jesus when he encountered the divine light. Thus, he is making a connection between these two. Notice that this is a connection of similarity, because son ‘emphasizes likeness of the believer to the heavenly Father’. Jesus refers to the human side of incarnation who lives within physical reality. If Jesus is the Son of God, then human existence within physical reality depends upon a savior who directly resembles God in Teacher thought. That describes the essence of the shield that was just discussed, which is that behaving within physical reality in a manner that is similar to the character of God the Father can act as a shield to protect humanity, allowing physical existence to walk within the divine light without being blinded.

Saul’s audience is amazed at the transformation. “And all those hearing were amazed and were saying, ‘Is this not the one having ravaged those in Jerusalem calling on this name?’” Amazed means ‘to remove from a standing position’ and was previously used in 8:11 to describe Simon amazing his audience with his magic tricks and in 8:13 to describe Simon being amazed by the signs and wonders of Philip. Standing is being interpreted as acquiring Perceiver confidence in some set of facts. Thus, removed from a standing position means to overwhelm someone’s Perceiver confidence. In verse 21, the amazement is happening as a result of hearing, which means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. In the original story, this amazement happened as a result of Saul’s dramatic conversion. But for the prophetic interpretation, the implication is that rational words have acquired spiritual overtones. This would happen if normal human behavior had the ability to either cover or uncover supernatural Teacher light. Mere words would acquire the ability to overwhelm Perceiver confidence.

Ravaged is used once in Acts and means ‘to destroy’. This ravaging is happening ‘to Jerusalem’. Thus, Saul was attempting to eliminate any independent spiritual existence and bring it to the religious center of Jerusalem. One possible interpretation is that aliens and humans are practicing mysticism in the religious center represented by Jerusalem. This type of worship is described in Revelation 13. Aliens are universally described as being telepathic. Therefore, practicing effective mysticism on earth would require a thought control of any independent practice of worship. That is because the overgeneralization of mysticism cannot handle any content.

Call upon was previously used in 9:14 where Ananias said that Saul was ‘binding all who call on your name’. Verse 21 uses a similar phrase. This is consistent with the idea of a mystical religion restricting any independent voice, because the emphasis is upon calling on the name, which means approaching Teacher thought in a certain manner.

Verse 21 goes on to describe Saul’s initial purpose. “And he had come here for this, that he might bring them, having been bound, to the chief priests.” This basically repeats what was originally mentioned in verse 2. The fact that Saul’s listeners are repeating this statement indicates that they are thinking in terms of the hierarchical religious system of Jerusalem. If Paul represents methodology, then using the same methodology guided by a totally different paradigm will naturally shift the ‘standing’ of existing Perceiver confidence. For instance, mental symmetry teaches the same theology as current Christianity, but approaching Christian theology from the viewpoint of mental symmetry will lead to a major paradigm shift. That is because a Christianity of absolute truth assumes that God ultimately transcends human comprehension, while a mindset of righteousness treats Scripture as a description of the general sequences that God uses to guide human individuals and human society.

In verse 22, the power shifts to Saul. “But Saul was empowered all the more and kept confounding the Jews dwelling in Damascus, proving that this is the Christ.” Empowered is used once in Acts and combines ‘in the realm of’ with ‘empowered’. Humans perform Server actions. Angels exhibit Perceiver power. Being ‘empowered all the more’ implies that the transformed methodology of Saul is increasingly able to tap into the energy of the divine light and harness it.

Confounding means ‘to pour together’. It was used once before in Acts in 2:6 to describe the people being confounded by hearing the participants of Pentecost speak in their own language. Liquid represents Mercy experiences. Therefore, pouring together would mean bringing together Mercy experiences that are normally kept apart. In the initial Pentecost, this happened as a result of the common message of the Holy Spirit being translated into many different languages. In verse 22, the harnessing of the divine Teacher light would have the ability to dismantle existing barriers. Saying this another way, a mind that starts from Mercy identity is complicated. It is not straight but rather zigzags. The divine light of God, in contrast, is straight and pure. When the straight light of God hits the zigzags of humanity, then the zigzags fall apart, causing Mercy experiences to pour together. I am not sure what this would mean in practice because I am trying to stretch forward into a future that is totally different than the present. All I can do is describe what this would be like based upon the structure of the mind. And if spiritual power is ultimately based upon similarity to the character of God, then an explanation that is based in similarity is sufficient.

Jews were last mentioned in Chapter 2 during the Day of Pentecost. The word Jew means ‘praised’ and was interpreted previously as religious believers based in absolute truth. The original Day of Pentecost overturned the absolute truth of current Christianity. Absolute truth arises whenever the words of some great expert become written down and are passed on to the next generation. The reference to the Jews implies that enough generations have passed for the principles of the spiritual economy to become codified into written form and followed as absolute truth. This can be seen in Saul’s request for an epistle from the chief priests. Absolute truth can coexist with a core of mysticism as well as a religious system of delegated authority. Thus, the average person would approach the spiritual economy similar to the way that a technician approaches technology today. Accepted rules and procedures are written down and everything is done according to code.

These Jews are dwelling in Damascus. Dwelling means to ‘settle down as a permanent resident’. This would refer to those who regard religion as practicing something that has been revealed in written form by the original experts. This written revelation could also be interpreted as the original DNA code of life being revealed by primal beings. That too is a form of absolute truth.

Proving combines ‘identified with’ and ‘to board a ship’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. A ship is interpreted as some social structure or organization that makes it possible to sail on the sea of Mercy experiences. ‘Proving’ suggests that personal identity is finding stability in some type of social structure. But this social structure also involves Teacher thought because Saul is proving ‘that this is the Christ’. Notice the shift from Jesus to Christ. How does one demonstrate Christ when Jesus is being viewed as the Son of God? If Christ is the generalization of the specific form of Jesus, then how can one get more general than Jesus the Son of God? The answer lies in recognizing that human activity can be similar to the character of Jesus the Son of God. One can then form a concept of Christ by organizing this human activity. This normally does not work because the principle of righteousness means that one must obey God rather than men. However, in verse 22, existing MMNs are ‘pouring together’. Therefore, any organization of righteous people will end up creating a concept of Christ that is a generalization of Jesus.

This may seem like a strange argument, but I first encountered this type of thinking when going through Hebrews. Concepts of Jesus and concepts of Christ are being massively rebuilt throughout that book. The essay on Hebrews is probably somewhat lacking because it was written a few years before writing this essay and I have learned a lot since then. However, what has stuck with me is the general flavor and progression of the book of Hebrews and that is providing a reasonableness for interpreting the book of Acts.

A New Form of Absolute Truth 9:23-25

In verse 23 the Jews strike back. “Now when many days had passed, the Jews plotted together to kill him.” ‘Many days’ would be interpreted as several cycles of society. Passed means ‘to make full’. And many comes from a word that means to ‘arrive, come to’. Thus, this plot is not happening after a certain time but rather when a certain level of competence has been reached by the ‘Jews’ of absolute truth. Plot together is a single word used once in Acts that combines ‘identify with’ and ‘a resolute plan’. This indicates Teacher organization, just as ‘proving’ implied a form of Teacher organization in verse 22. Kill means ‘to take up, take away’. This word has occurred several times in Acts and is being interpreted as eliminating something by exceeding it in Teacher generality. One can see how this would naturally happen. All written truth naturally turns into absolute truth as it is passed from one generation to the next. Eventually, a tipping point will be reached and the structure of absolute truth will be regarded as more general in Teacher thought than the structure of actual research.

In verse 24, Saul finds out. “But their plot became known to Saul. And now they were closely watching the gates day and also night, so that they might kill him.” Became known refers to experiential knowledge. And plot combines ‘against’ with ‘a resolved plan’. This same word ‘resolved plan’ occurred in verse 23 together with ‘with’. One of the characteristics of absolute truth is that it leads to a sense of duty, because the source of absolute truth will emotionally impose truth upon personal identity. These Mercy feelings of emotional respect for the source of truth are a fundamental characteristic of absolute truth and will be reflected in experiential knowledge. Stated more simply, absolute truth may state the same facts but it will have different feelings in Mercy thought. It will ‘smell wrong’ to a mindset of universal truth. Thus, one will experientially know when absolute truth has become dominant. For instance, one can see this currently in the conflict between scientific methodology and political correctness. Scientific methodology wants to study every topic, while political correctness insists that certain topics are off-limits.

Closely watch is used once in Acts and combines ‘from close beside’ with ‘carefully watch’. A gate is ‘a large door; an entrance gate to a city or fortress’. One of the characteristics of absolute truth is that a wall will be erected between the sources of absolute truth and those who apply absolute truth. One can see this, for instance, in the division between clergy and laity, or between academia and the common man. Movement through the gates that separate insiders from outsiders will be carefully monitored. That is because the integrity of absolute truth depends upon this careful gatekeeping. If the wrong person is allowed inside, then unapproved opinion will be accepted by the laity as absolute truth. This is happening ‘day and also night’. A day represents a period of time lit by the sun of some general theory. Such a general understanding would be absent during the night. If the gatekeeping occurs also at night, then this means that maintaining the separation between clergy and laity is more important than having a general understanding, because it will continue to be done in the absence of understanding. Kill again means ‘to take up, take away’ which is being interpreted as eliminating a competitor through the use of Teacher generality. Looking at this cognitively, the imposition of gatekeeping will be interpreted as the preservation of Teacher thought. For instance, ‘We don’t want any heresy to come in that leads to bad theology’, or ‘We want to make sure that science continues to be practiced properly.’

Saul escapes in verse 25. “But having taken him by night, his disciples let him down through the wall, having lowered him in a basket.” Taken means to ‘actively lay hold of’. This is the only mention of a wall in Acts. ‘Through the wall’ would mean making the transition from religious to secular, or from professor to disciple. This is being done by ‘his disciples at night’. A disciple of Saul would be someone who still believes in practicing methodology rather than submitting to absolute truth. This is being done at night when general understanding is absent. In the daytime the professors would have Teacher understanding to offer the students. At night, the professors would have nothing except their status. The students would then take what they had learned and go elsewhere.

Let down means ‘to let down’, which would mean heading towards Mercy specifics. This is the first use of this word in Acts. A sun is a Teacher light that shines on all of society. Absolute truth turns into night when the theories of written understanding become divorced from reality because theory no longer shines upon reality. The solution is to descend from abstract theory down to reality. This will have to be done by the disciples because it will not be done by the professors. Note that this is something impersonal. The students are not descending themselves. Rather, truth exists apart from the students and is being let down from general theory to specific application. This is another attribute of absolute truth.

Lower means ‘to lower as into a void’ and is related to the word ‘chasm’. A basket is a ‘large, flexible basket for carrying provisions’. A basket for provisions would mean some sort of container that is normally used to contain intellectual food. This is being used to hold a person and that person is being lowered as into a void. The cognitive interpretation of this is interesting. Absolute truth leads to Platonic forms of possible perfection. But these Platonic forms have nothing to do with reality because they are based in facts that are disconnected from reality. This characteristic of absolute truth was just discussed. For instance, studying the Bible leads to a concept of heaven, but this heaven has nothing to do with earth. Suppose that one tried to take the Christian concept of heaven and bring it down to earth. That would be like lowering a basket outside of the wall ‘as into a void’ because one would have no idea how the heavenly perfection of absolute truth would fit within human reality. This sort of descending from heaven would be impossible with current Christian absolute truth. But suppose that one came into contact with the primal beings who were responsible for originally designing biological life and that one taught the resulting knowledge as absolute truth. Such a ‘heaven’ of absolute truth would be capable of being let down to earth because it already was successively let down to earth during the origin of biological life. This would be effectively letting a person down in a basket.

But why would it be necessary to wait for absolute truth to emerge? One is dealing here with another case of a legislator living within the law. When Saul directly encountered the divine light he was blinded. Similarly, directly encountering beings who manipulated the Teacher messages that existed before biological life would be life-threatening. This would be like encountering beings who are naturally radioactive. The resulting radiation would be fatal to any form of life that assumed the existence of stable atoms. Absolute truth places a shield between the primal designers of life and living creatures, and that shield would make it possible for living creatures to interact with the designers of life without being fried. This is cognitively similar to the way that a book places an emotional shield between the author of the book and the person who is reading that book.

Saul Joins the other Disciples 9:26-31

In verse 26, Saul tries to join the other disciples. “And having arrived in Jerusalem, he was attempting to join the disciples, and all were afraid of him, not believing that he is a disciple.” Having arrived means ‘to become near’. If Jerusalem represents organized religion, then this would mean attempting to treat interaction with primal beings in a religious fashion. One might wonder why this is not already the case, but treating the physical body is regarded as medicine and not religion. Saying this another way, what we have just talked about in the previous paragraphs would not fall within the normal category of Christian theology. That is because theology deals with spiritual topics while dealing with primal beings would involve the flesh.

Attempting means ‘to tempt’. There is ‘tempt’ and there is test. The goal of testing is to prove that something is genuine. The goal of temptation is to cause something to fail, but temptation can have a positive outcome if this item or person does not fail. Biblehub suggests that the meaning of ‘tempt’ depends upon the context. However, one of the principles of interpretation being followed in these essays is that every Greek word has the same meaning wherever it appears. This is a requirement of abstract technical thought. Thus, ‘attempt’ will be interpreted in verse 26 as attempting to make something fail. Join means ‘to glue’. Verse 25 referred to ‘his disciples’, meaning the disciples of Saul. Verse 26 refers to ‘the disciples’, which would be the main body of disciples in Jerusalem. Historically speaking, ‘the disciples’ would refer to the followers of the twelve apostles. Prophetically speaking, I suspect that this new interaction with primal beings would be regarded as quite different than the normal spiritual economy. Going the other way, the phrase ‘attempting to join’ combines two opposing concepts, because joining is trying to glue things together while attempting is trying to prevent a connection from happening. This sort of dilemma would naturally arise if primal beings attempted to connect with humans. The possibility of get ‘new and improved’ human DNA from the original designers would be very attractive, while the very act of joining closely together would attack human physical integrity. Similarly, any attempt to join a focus upon the physical body with a focus upon the spirit would, by its very nature, take attention away from the spiritual realm.

Looking at this from a different perspective, physical need trumps emotional growth. For instance, if a person has a heart attack in the middle of a class, the lesson stops and the physical crisis takes over the agenda. Saying this another way, hardware is more fundamental than software because software runs on hardware. But these two can also be seen as the boundaries of identity. In order to become a competent individual, one must develop both mentally and physically. A person who develops only mentally or only physically has a rather narrow world. A person with both mental and physical skills has a much larger world.

Afraid means ‘to fear, withdraw from’. And all means ‘each part of a totality’. This would be the natural response to some entity that tried to get close but was inherently threatening. Everyone would run away. Believe means to ‘be persuaded’. The disciples in Jerusalem are not being persuaded that Saul is a disciple. This lack of belief provides a possible explanation for the fear. The disciples in Damascus have been dealing with existential issues, and great mental confidence is required when handling core issues of personal existence itself. The disciples of the normal spiritual economy in Jerusalem would lack this deep level of confidence making them unable to be persuaded. Going the other way, the disciples in Damascus might view the normal spiritual economy as an inferior way of functioning which needed to be replaced by their deeper level of confidence.

Speaking from personal experience, I have struggled as an individual under great stress for many years to examine questions of personal existence. When I talk about deep theological issues such as the nature of God, the average Christian finds this discussion to be threatening, feeling that I am attacking the foundations of their religion. Going the other way, it is easy for me to see the normal Christian walk almost as something inherently hypocritical because it avoids dealing with the deeper issues.

Barnabas bridges the gap in verse 27. “But Barnabas having taken him, brought him to the apostles.” Barnabas was mentioned once previously in Acts 4:36 as having sold a field and bringing it to the apostles’ feet. The name Barnabas was translated in that verse as ‘son of encouragement’. Barnabas actually means ‘son of a prophet’. Cognitively speaking, Barnabas had sufficient confidence to jumpstart the original spiritual economy in Acts 4. This would give him sufficient confidence to expand the spiritual economy in Acts 9. In verse 27, Barnabas ‘aggressively takes’ Saul and ‘brings’ him to the apostles. Bring is interpreted as participation in the spiritual economy in a way that avoids personal involvement. Normally that is a bad thing. But in this case some emotional distance is warranted. Looking at the meaning of Barnabas, he would represent a mindset that follows in the footsteps of prediction and hope. This looks past the current situation to focus upon future benefits. The apostles were previously mentioned in 8:18 where they laid hands on the Samaritans so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. In verse 27, the apostles are encountering a movement that stretches their ability to incorporate. There is a cognitive reason for this. Samaria still involved the emotional realm of mental networks. Saul and Damascus, in contrast, are dealing with the physical realm of DNA and physical life. This functions like the cognitive realm but the information is being transmitted through molecular means rather than through human writing or angelic message.

Barnabas convinces the apostles with two statements, because he “related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.” Related means ‘to lead thoroughly’. It was used once previously in Acts in 8:33 to ask how one could lead thoroughly the generation of a lamb being sent to slaughter. The question was how spiritual life can reach maturity in a system that slaughters spiritual life whenever it reaches a certain level. If Saul represents an interaction with primal beings, then relating this to the apostles would require leading them thoroughly along a process that went further than they had gone so far. This idea of a process is emphasized by the phrase ‘in the realm of the road’. Thus, one is dealing with Server sequences. See means ‘to see with the mind’. And speak means ‘chatter’. This combination refers to righteousness. One is traveling along a path in Server thought, one is mentally seeing a concept of a Lord who rules, and one is interacting using words in a familiar manner. This may be a strange form of righteousness, but it is righteousness. Similarly, interacting with primal beings is not normally associated with religion, but it is similar at the level of righteousness. This would be literally true with primal beings, because the fundamental premise is that they function at the level of Server sequences before these Server sequences are turned into the Perceiver facts and Mercy experiences of physical existence.

Damascus means ‘sack full of blood’ and is the oldest capital city in the world. This is being interpreted as the essence of Mercy life at a primordial level. Saul is functioning in the realm of Damascus. Speak boldly means ‘to speak freely or boldly’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. It is repeated in the next verse. One can imagine what level of confidence would be required to use Teacher words in the presence of primordial beings who have the power to make and unmake the words from which one’s physical being is derived. However, this speaking is being done in the name of Jesus. Jesus means ‘salvation of Yah’. Thus, Saul is not using this interaction to create strange lifeforms or do meaningless research. Instead, Saul is interacting with these beings at the level of Teacher words in order to bring the salvation of Yah to humans. For example, researchers today are currently attempting to expand the four letter alphabet of the DNA, just because it can be done. I suggest that this is an example of interacting with the message of life in a way that does not reflect the name of Jesus.

Saul joins the disciples in verse 28. “And he was coming in and going out with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of Lord.” The Greek begins with the phrase ‘and he was with them’, and with means ‘with, in company with’ when followed by the genitive. The idea is that these two concepts are being treated in an integrated manner rather than one versus the other. In other words, this is no longer a matter of body versus spirit but rather one of body and spirit. Paul combines these two words in 1 Corinthians 15:44 by saying that the soulish body will be replaced by a spiritual body, and the word body refers specifically to the physical body. I think that 1 Corinthians 15 lies far into the future of Acts 9. However, a spiritual body is only possible if one is capable of treating body and spirit as compatible rather than as enemies of one another.

Coming in adds the prefix ‘into’ to ‘transport’ while going out adds the prefix ‘from out of’ to ‘transport’. In actually means ‘to or into’ and is not the normal word that means ‘in the realm of’. If Jerusalem represents organized religion, then ‘coming in and going out’ would mean making a transition into religion and out of religion. ‘Transport’ indicates that some form of transformation is accompanying this entering and leaving of religion. Compare this with Damascus, where a mindset of absolute truth was closely watching any transition between professor and student. What verse 28 appears to be describing is quite different than the situation today. Generally speaking, one leaves the body and embraces the spirit when going into the Jerusalem of religion while forgetting about the spirit and embracing the body when leaving the Jerusalem of religion. In other words, spirit is equated with religious while body is equated with secular. In verse 28, the physical and the spiritual remain connected when moving between religious and secular. This is only possible if one views both the spiritual and the physical as expressions of God in Teacher thought. And I do not mean verbally asserting that God created biological life while acting most of the time as if God has nothing to do with the biological. That describes the attitude of many Christian fundamentalists today: ‘Let climate change and environmental abuse destroy the physical world. I am going to be raptured to the spiritual realm of heaven.’ Instead, I mean having gut feelings that express spiritual loves. And getting one’s gut to be consistent with one’s spirit is not a straightforward task. This is quite different than the embodiment of submitting one’s spirit to one’s gut. Instead, both spiritual sense and physical gut feeling become expressions of the same God in Teacher thought.

Speaking boldly means ‘to speak freely or boldly’ and was first used in verse 27. When both spirit and body become subject to an integrated message, then one can speak freely and boldly because one now has a message that covers both primary facets of created existence. Notice that this is not an arrogance of ‘Listen to what I say you snivelling mortals. I am untouchable and nothing can hurt me’. Instead the bold speaking is happening ‘in the name of the Lord’. One is submitted to a system and one’s words in Teacher thought are an expression of this submission. Without such an attitude of submission to a higher authority, a combined message of body and spirit would revert back to verse 3 where Saul was blinded by the divine light.

Saul’s audience spreads in verse 29. “And he was speaking and was debating with the Hellenists.” Speaking means ‘chatter’, which is being interpreted as normal, non-rigorous speech. Debate combines ‘together’ with ‘to seek by inquiring’. This word was previously used in 6:9 to describe the synagogue of freedmen debating with Stephen. The idea is that one is doing collaborative research with those who have different bottom lines. This describes much of the interaction that I have with academic research. Most researchers are driven by different fundamental mental networks than I am. However, I find that the vast majority of academic research is trustworthy and that much of this research is also significant.

A Hellenist is a ‘Greek speaking Jew’. Historically speaking, this was someone who practiced Jewish religion while speaking the Greek language and being part of the Greek culture. This term was used once previously in Acts in 6:1 where the Hellenistic believers grumbled against the Hebrew believers. Hellenism was interpreted as scientific culture. Science deals with physical existence, and medicine is considered to be related to science because medicine deals with the physical body. If Damascus represents interacting with primal beings of physical existence, then it would make sense that studying this would include interacting with scientific research. However, this interaction is happening in Jerusalem. This implies that the interaction is actually happening with religious scientists. These currently exist, but I have found that they tend to follow a strange version of Christianity in which Christianity adds a moral core to objective science while the theories of science, such as evolution and cosmology, provide the framework of Teacher understanding. Or scientific research adds a shell of rational thought to a core of blind faith in absolute truth. This is not an integrated mindset but rather a hybrid, and one often finds Christian scientists attempting to follow secular worldviews more strongly than secular scientists in order to prove that they are ‘real scientists’. This is a generalization, but I am trying to gain an understanding of the flavor of the interaction being described in verse 29.

Verse 29 adds “But they were seeking to kill him.” Seeking is used three times in the New Testament and means ‘to put one’s hand to’. This would represent the active use of technical thought. ‘Seeking’ uses the same verb tense as ‘speaking’ and ‘debating’ which suggests that all three are happening at the same time. Kill means ‘to take up’ which is being interpreted as eliminating something by becoming more general in Teacher thought. In other words, Saul is interacting with scientific thought at a technical level but at the same time scientific thought is continually attempting to use technical thought to demonstrate that it has the valid paradigm. A similar situation exists today. On the one hand, I can interact extensively with academic thought at a technical level. On the other hand, the scientific philosophy of materialism is diametrically opposed to any concept of the supernatural and the spiritual.

This is resolved in verse 30. “But the brothers having known it, brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.” Having known means ‘apt experientially knowing’. This describes Mercy feelings that are accurate. Brother was previously used in 9:17 where Ananias referred to Saul as his brother. The previous verses have been talking about the disciples of Saul and the disciples in Jerusalem. In verse 28 Saul was going in and out of Jerusalem with the disciples. The result of these common transformative experiences is a sense of brothership. In other words, one cannot just proclaim that body is connected with spirit. Instead, it takes a number of transformative experiences involving a combination of body and spirit in order to truly feel that these are brothers and not foes. This integrated combination of body and spirit will accurately sense the motivation of a scientific mindset that tries to separate body from spirit.

Brought down means ‘to bring down’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. ‘Bringing’ is being interpreted as economic activity that avoids personal involvement while moving ‘down’ is interpreted as heading away from Teacher generality. Caesarea was named after Caesar and would represent secular government. Thus, bringing down to Caesarea would mean moving from the Teacher theories of religion in academia to the specific rules of government. Thus, the government is getting involved in Saul’s realm of the physical body. On the one hand, this is natural, because government uses official force applied to the physical body to enforce its rules. Government also establishes social programs to deal with physical health. On the other hand, this is a different form of government, because the primal beings who are the source of physical life have now been revealed, which would result in a form of government that is quite different than the government today. Today’s government uses physical force upon citizens who cannot fight back. The government of verse 30 would be dealing with citizens who are interacting personally with the primal sources of physical life. But this interaction would require some sort of shielding to prevent humans from becoming blinded by divine light. The structure of government would provide this shielding. Thus, the government is not imposing its will upon the people but rather helping to preserve the existence of the people. This would lead to a sense of government being the servant of its citizens not just in name but at a deep emotional level.

Sent away combines out from with ‘commission, send forth’. Tarsus was the hometown of Saul. Tarsus is also an ancient city. As was mentioned before, the name Tarsus may be derived from the name for the Hittite storm god, while another source gives a related meaning of ‘winged, feathered’. Damascus means ‘a sack full of blood’, implying that one is approaching these primal beings from the Mercy perspective of the origins of life. Saying this another way, one is thinking in terms of a primordial soup. Tarsus deals with the same beings at the level of Teacher thought, regarding them as ‘winged, feathered’ beings who exist within Teacher words at a primal level. In order to interact with such beings at a Teacher level, one must also function at the level of Teacher thought. But in order to survive this interaction without being ‘denatured’, one must submit personally to some system of Teacher order that rules over physical existence. That describes the essence of government. Summarizing, government is placing humans within a Teacher structure that rules over their physical bodies and the interaction with primal beings is happening as official commissions being sent forth out from the Teacher organization of government.

This is quite different than current government. However, a partial illustration can be seen in the interaction between government and medicine. Government enforces medical knowledge in order to ensure that people receive the benefit of medical knowledge. A current example is governments mandating that their citizens receive the covid vaccine. The goal of this mandate is not to impose government control upon citizens but rather to protect the citizens from a biological threat that is independent of government.

Verse 31 says that this system remains stable for a while. “Then indeed the churches throughout all of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified.” Church means ‘called out from the world’ and was previously mentioned in 8:3 where Saul was ravaging the church. Synagogues have been mentioned since then but not the church. ‘Called out from the world’ implies a form of holiness, but this is a different kind of holiness than a normal priesthood. A normal priesthood is regarded as different because it is connected to the source of absolute truth, leading to a concept of holiness based in the concept of delegated authority. In contrast, a church is different because it is composed of people who behave in a way that is similar to the character of God in Teacher thought as opposed to the average person who is guided by Mercy feelings of human existence. The average person can be righteous, but there is a difference between being righteous and being emotionally driven by a concept of God in Teacher thought. The distinction is more one of optimization. Does one choose to behave in a way that optimizes personal experiences in Mercy thought or that optimizes a concept of God in Teacher thought? Following one will mean that one ends up being non-optimal in the other.

This church is described as being ‘Throughout all of Judah and Galilee and Samaria’. Judah means ‘praised’, which would describe a mindset of recognizing God in Teacher thought as greater than personal identity in Mercy thought. Absolute truth leads to the feeling that I am nothing in Mercy thought compared to God in Teacher thought. But there is also a form of praise that recognizes that God is infinite and has the big picture while I am finite and have only a sketchy understanding. There are advantages to being finite, because finite creatures can explore something within some limited realm. In addition, the sketchy understanding of finite existence means that a finite creature can follow something completely without requiring a comprehensive understanding.

Galilee comes from a word that means ‘to roll’ and is being interpreted as the cycles of society. These cycles naturally arise as one moves between absolute truth and application. One can see such cycles currently in the alternation between Pentecostal and doctrinal churches. A doctrinal church teaches doctrine but stifles spiritual life. A Pentecostal movement emphasizes spiritual life while bypassing doctrine. That type of cycle involves one extreme trampling upon the other. However, a more beneficial cycle is also possible in which education is taught as absolute truth and then applied in the real world. The contrast there is between school and work. Alternating between focusing upon the spiritual and focusing upon the physical would also results in cycles of religious behavior.

Samaria comes from a word that means ‘to keep, watch, preserve’ and was interpreted as traditional mental networks of religion and culture. Here too one currently sees an adversarial relationship with the conservative opposing progress and progress attacking conservatism. However, we have been seeing a more cooperative interaction between these two in the phrase ‘signs and wonders’. A sign builds stability. It preserves in order to provide a solid reference point. A wonder introduces something new which creates instability. Thus, preservation occurs within the context of growing and consolidating.

Summarizing, Judea focuses upon God in Teacher thought. Galilee is driven by the plans of Jesus Christ. Samaria, in contrast, thinks in terms of the experiences of the Holy Spirit. Each of these could lead to valid ways of being called out from the world.

Peace means ‘to join, tied together into a whole’. The three methods that we have just discussed are all forms of wholeness that join together different ways of functioning. ‘Peace’ was mentioned once previously in Acts in 7:26 where Moses unsuccessfully tried to bring peace to his brethren. Verse 31, in contrast, describes the successful application of peace. Verse 31 talks about ‘having’ peace, which suggests that this peace is still functioning at a somewhat objective level. Acts 16:36 uses the phrase ‘in peace’, implying that a higher form of peace may be possible.

Edified means ‘to build a house’. (The NASB uses the phrase ‘being built up’.) A house is a container for personal identity but it is not personal identity itself. This suggests a spiritual economy that focuses upon providing for personal identity. This is far deeper than a spiritual economy that focuses upon spiritually enhanced gadgets, because it is taking into account the subjective emotions of personal identity. It was previously used in Acts 7:47-49 to talk about Solomon building a house for God. Building a house suggests a combination of cognitive and physical. On the one hand, one is building a physical structure. On the other hand, the purpose of this physical structure is to provide for the needs and desires of personal identity.

Verse 31 finishes, “And going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” Going on means ‘to transport’. This means that the church does not become stagnant but rather continues to go through transformations. This is happening ‘in the realm of the fear of the Lord’. Stated bluntly, nobody plays church or uses church to further personal gains because everyone knows that there is real authority behind the church. A similar mindset can be found in electricity. Those who work with electric power do so in the fear of the Lord, because everyone knows that they are working with a power that has the ability to strike and kill. This power would be inescapable because both spiritual and physical realms would involve close contact with potent supernatural beings.

Comfort means ‘a call done by someone close beside’. This word was used once previously in Acts in 4:36 to describe Barnabas as a son of encouragement. This comfort comes from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was described previously as God’s ultimate guarantee of the continued existence of creation. The Holy Spirit is functioning in a similar way here to balance the fear of the Lord. For instance, electric power is frightening because it can kill. But electric power is also comforting because it can keep a home warm, light a room, and run all sorts of useful gadgets.

Multiplied means ‘made full, especially to maximum capacity’. This describes a system of growth. We who are living in the modern era have become accustomed to a society of continual economic and technological growth. Verse 31 says that the churches are continuing to grow. This is not the case today. What typically happens is that one church makes some breakthrough, experiences temporary growth, and then starts to decay as it follows this breakthrough in an unbalanced manner. Growth then passes to some other church which experiences a temporary period of success. In verse 31 all the churches are growing.

Aeneas of Lydda 9:32-35

Verse 32 describes some event during this period. “Now it came to pass that Peter, passing through all quarters, also went down to the saints inhabiting Lydda.” It came to pass means ‘to come into being’. Thus, verse 32 is describing some side effect of the society of verse 31. Passing through means ‘to go through’. This was previously used in 8:40 to describe Philip preaching the gospel in all the cities on his way to Caesarea. That was interpreted as a regime change that affected all aspects of civilization. Similarly, verse 32 can be interpreted as the spread of the government of verse 30. Verse 32 adds that this passing through is happening ‘through each part of a totality’. The passing through in 8:40 was done by Philip and Philip represents government organization. The passing through in verse 32 is being done by Peter who represents Perceiver thought. This indicates a rethinking of the facts and connections of all of society. Our interpretation of verse 30 provides a possible explanation for why this would occur. Government rules over the physical realm by protecting citizens from physical attack as well as from natural disaster. Government also provides the laws and infrastructure that are required for the economy. In verse 30, government took on a new role of interacting with the primal beings who were the original designers of biological life. This would require a total re-thinking of all the facts of normal human life. I am a Perceiver person who has been thinking about this topic for years and I can barely get my head around what this would entail. That is because my thinking has been transformed while my physical body has remained unaltered. In verse 38 a fundamental shift happened in the realm of the physical body.

Went down means ‘to come down’ and is interpreted as heading from Teacher generality to Mercy specifics. That summarizes what I as a Perceiver person am attempting to do right now. I am trying to to descend from a general theoretical discussion about this verse down to the practical implications. Saint means ‘different from the world’. Inhabit means to ‘settle down as a permanent resident’. Lydda is only mentioned in the New Testament in this passage and means ‘travail’. The transition of verse 30 provides a possible explanation why the saints would be living in travail. Something has been revealed that is more fundamental than the normal supernatural realm. The saints thought that they were dealing with God at the highest level of generality. But what is even more fundamental than the functioning of some system is the existence of that system. For instance, theologians for millennia have attempted to come up with a theodicy that explains why a good God allows suffering in the world. It seems to me that the solution is to recognize that the existence is more fundamental than pain and pleasure. Thus, before God can remove suffering from the human realm, God first has to ensure that humanity continues to exist. This is not a comfortable answer, but as far as I can tell it is a legitimate answer. However, I am not aware of anyone else who has proposed this as a possible theodicy—probably because mysticism blinds the mind to questions of existence. This illustrates that coming face-to-face with human existence would force ‘holy ones’ to deal with issues that they had never considered. These would be long-term issues that would not go away, because existence really is more fundamental than pain and pleasure. This principle needs to be repeated in capital letters: EXISTENCE IS MORE FUNDAMENTAL THAN PAIN OR PLEASURE. Today’s typical ‘holy person’ will hear these words, smile beatifically, and then return to his quest to achieve unity with God, not realizing that he is FOLLOWING A PATH THAT LEADS TO PERSONAL ANNIHILATION. But then, today’s typical secular thinker also talks in cheerful terms about physical death being followed by personal annihilation. Both of these illustrate the utter insanity that the TMN of a theory is capable of supporting. The result of facing this existential question would be living in travail. This travail would not be felt by the average person, because the average citizen would be shielded from interacting with these beings through the system of government. A ‘holy one’, in contrast, functions in a realm that is apart from systems of human government.

Peter encounters a disabled person in verse 33. “And he found there a certain man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed, lying on a bed for eight years.” Found means to ‘discover, especially after searching’. And man is the generic word for mankind. Aeneas is the name of a Greek hero who was the son of a human father and the goddess Aphrodite. In Greek legend, he survives the fall of Troy and is one of the founders of the Roman people. The name Aeneas means ‘praise’. This idea of being part mortal and part goddess is consistent with the concept of interacting with the primal beings of life, because this interaction would start to question underlying concepts of physical mortality. The resurrection of the dead described in Revelation 19 is a general resurrection. Acts 9 would be more a matter of experimenting with elements of immortality while still living within mortal bodies. Something similar is described in 2 Corinthians 5, which happens shortly after the defeating of the kingdom of the beast in chapter 4.

Lying means ‘to lie down, recline’. And a bed is ‘a small bed used by the poor’. Paralyzed means ‘to loose from the side’ and was previously used in 8:7 to describe those being healed by Philip in Samaria. This was interpreted previously as functioning in a lopsided manner. Looking at this cognitively, the big problem of interacting with primal beings is maintaining enough distance to shield humanity from these beings. This shield would naturally be thinner for those who are attempting to be holy. Saying this another way, being close to God has become a handicap rather than an advantage. Looking at this from a different perspective, a holy person turns away from physical involvement in order to approach God spiritually. But it has just become apparent that one can also approach God while focusing upon the physical realm. The end result is that holiness would become travail and would function in a lopsided manner, unable to move properly because it was focusing upon the spiritual rather than the physical. I do not know what eight years represent, but they would definitely indicate a considerable length of time.

Peter addresses the situation in verse 34. “And Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.’” Heal means ‘healing, particularly as supernatural’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. The implication is that those who are living in holiness require a supernatural solution. However, this is not a magical solution but rather an expression of Jesus Christ, an integrated concept of incarnation. The Server sequence here does not come from physical action, because the man is paralyzed. Instead, it comes from the passage of time, because dealing with a personal handicap through time is also a form of Server sequence that involve personal Mercy experiences.

Looking at this more carefully, doing theoretical research does not automatically translate into the Server sequence of a personal path. What is needed is the element of travail combined with some form of paralysis in concrete thought. The travail takes the theorizing and adds Mercy emotions to it; one is not just discovering a theory but also going through a personal struggle. This is different than taking one’s personal struggle and turning it into a theory. The paralysis means that one cannot translate this theory into the normal actions of life. One does not necessarily have to be paralyzed in bed, but in some way action has to be stymied. What happens is that one acquires a more internal concept of Server sequences. One is travailing to perform internal Server steps. The lying on a bed means that one has to think in terms of building an internal landscape and making internal progress. Lying on a bed does not involve suffering in Mercy thought. Instead, it means that in some way one is experientially stuck. The end result is that one acquires an internal concept of what it means to exist as a human being.

The name Aeneas suggests that one is also dealing with a form of life that is part natural and part supernatural. This is significant because a focus upon spiritual life that has become a physical handicap is going to be transformed into a physical renewal. The word ‘heal’ indicates that a supernatural solution is required while Jesus Christ indicates that this supernatural solution is consistent with the character of incarnation. However, this similarity has to be pointed out by Perceiver thought, as indicated by Peter talking to Aeneas. Thus, Perceiver thought is translating the renewed spiritual life into a rejuvenated physical life, which requires a personal identity that extends beyond the natural to include the supernatural.

This supernatural healing is followed by natural action. “‘Rise up and make the bed for yourself.’ And immediately he rose up” (v. 34). Rise up is the word that means ‘resurrection’ which indicates the emergence of a new form of personal existence. Make the bed means ‘to spread’. It is used six times in the New Testament and is translated as either ‘spread’ or ‘furnish’ the other times. The idea is that living on a bed for this period of time has created experiences of personal existence that can now be used to spread or furnish a home for personal identity. Saying this another way, the internal concept of existing as a human being is being externalized. The focus upon personal identity is brought out by the word ‘for yourself’ which indicates a shift from being holy and focusing upon God in Teacher thought to having a personal identity in Mercy thought. A similar thing happens in academia where the process of doing research in a certain environment eventually creates a culture of academia. Looking at this predicament more generally, how does a person who focuses upon theory in Teacher thought descend to the personal realm of Mercy thought? The solution is to start by living within the Mercy experiences that have accompanied this search for Teacher thought. The Ethiopian Eunuch took a similar step in 8:36 when he decided to be baptized in his current location.

Rose up is the word for resurrection, and immediately indicates this happens right away. Thus, the required mental content has been gained during the period of paralysis and all that is needed is an internal factual reconnecting.

This leads in verse 35 to a general conversion. “And all those inhabiting Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.” Saw means ‘to see with the mind’, which is the type of mental seeing that happens when facts are internally reconnected. In many situations in Acts, only some people were affected. In this case, all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon turn. Inhabit means to ‘settle down as a permanent resident’. Sharon means ‘to be smooth, straight, or right’. This concept was introduced earlier in verse 11 when comparing the ‘street called straight’ with those who are zigzagging. A person who is straight will naturally be attracted to God in Teacher thought, because Teacher thought looks for general explanations that are smooth, simple, and uncomplicated. Verse 32 talked about the saints inhabiting Lydda, and one major aspect of becoming ‘different from the world and like the Lord’ is to pursue simplicity and straightness in Teacher thought. However, in verse 35 this straightness has become a travail, because people are inhabiting Lydda and Sharon. This explains why the supernatural healing of Aeneas is followed by a universal turning to the Lord. Scientific paradigm shifts often take a while to spread. But in this case there is the additional factor of ‘travail’, because the existing paradigm has become increasingly difficult to maintain. Therefore, when a new paradigm arrives, then there is a strong tendency to adopt this solution. And one is not dealing here just with a theoretical paradigm but rather with a paradigm of existence in which people are actually living to some extent within Teacher thought. This is suggested by the name Aeneas, which refers to a hero of Greek mythology.

Turned means ‘to turn, to return’. It was used once previously in Acts in 3:19 after the healing of the lame man where Peter told the crowd to repent and return in order that their sins may be wiped away. That incident was also a re-thinking of religious fervor in which feelings of religious self-denial were placed within a spiritual economy. In verse 35, there is a turning ‘to the Lord’. A ‘lord’ provides a system of authority that shields a person from coming into direct contact with Teacher light. The common person now has the shield of government to protect from the Teacher light of primal beings. Those who are holy would require another form of shield, and turning to the Lord indicates that such a shield has been formed. This also explains why everyone inhabiting this region would turn.

The Death of Dorcas 9:36-37

Chapter 9 finishes with another story, this time involving a resurrection. Verse 36 begins, “Now in Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which translated is called Dorcas.” Joppa means ‘fair or beautiful’. Joppa is mentioned ten times in the New Testament and all of these occurrences are between Acts 9:36 and Acts 11:13. Thus, beauty forms the underlying theme for the next one and a half chapters. This is quite different than Lydda which means ‘travail’. This is the only time in the New Testament that the word disciple occurs in a feminine form. This does not mean that the other references to disciples exclude women. That is because Greek, like many languages, uses the male plural when referring to a group of men and women. However, in verse 36, the emphasis is definitely upon female thought. Tabitha means ‘gazelle’ in Hebrew and a gazelle is a graceful animal. Dorcas comes from a word that means ‘to see clearly’ which would refer to ‘an animal with large bright eyes’, and this word only occurs in this passage. The word translated is used once in Acts and means ‘to explain thoroughly’. It combines ‘thoroughly across’ with ‘interpret’. (The word translate in 4:36 combined ‘meta’ with ‘interpret’.) This means that making the mental connection from Tabitha to Dorcas requires a thorough explanation; crossing from one to the other requires a thorough interpretation. Tabitha would refer to biological beauty. Seeing clearly how this functions requires thorough explanation. This becomes obvious when reading a biochemistry textbook. I am not just saying this as a figure of speech. I read through a biochemistry textbook and gained a partial understanding of the numerous, intricate, DNA-driven biological mechanisms that make up a functioning living body.

We have looked at the relationship between simplicity and Teacher thought; Teacher thought looks for a simple statement that can bring order to a complexity of situations. This is usually referred to in mathematics as beauty. And beauty is a natural expression of female thought, as illustrated by the beauty of the female physical form. Chapter 9 has been interpreted as interaction with primal beings that were responsible for designing biological life. One of the implications is that there would be a rethinking of the concepts of beauty and grace. The suggestion that biological life was originally designed by beings who live in Teacher thought is actually a concept of beauty, because it suggests that all biological life was shaped by Teacher thought—and that describes the essence of beauty.

The eyes are used to scan the environment in order to construct a mental map. A mental map uses Perceiver facts to bring Teacher order to the complexity of the environment. Thus, large bright eyes would represent using Perceiver thought to construct a general Teacher theory of the physical environment. Verse 36 says that the female disciple is named Tabitha, indicating a focus upon Teacher thought. Notice that this returns from Mercy experiences to Teacher understanding. The original primal beings moved from the clear thinking of Dorcas to the biological beauty of Tabitha. Interacting with such beings would require using a thorough explanation to go back from Tabitha to Dorcas. By definition, one must interact at the level of the messages of life if one wants to interact with primal beings who live within the realm of the messages of life. This is like saying that one must go to Japan if one wants to interact with people who live in Japan.

Looking further at the translation from Tabitha to Dorcas, a gazelle is naturally graceful but is not conscious of its Teacher order-within-complexity. Wikipedia explains that “Appreciated for its grace, it is a symbol most commonly associated in Arabic literature with female beauty.” ‘Large bright eyes’ indicates a mental focus upon viewing Mercy experiences from a Teacher perspective of order-within-complexity. Such a re-thinking would be a natural byproduct of interacting with primal beings. For instance, this leads to the idea that the female body is beautiful because it was designed by beings that live in Teacher thought who inherently appreciate the concept of beauty. This is the polar opposite of evolution, which interprets human beauty in terms of evolutionary advantages involving personal survival in Mercy thought. Stated bluntly, the evolutionary perspective brings human beauty down to the level of animal competition. In contrast, the idea of Teacher-based primal beings lifts human beauty—in all its forms—up to the level of heavenly perfection.

Looking further at the ways in which evolution drags down human thought and activity, Social Darwinism drove the eugenics and genocide of World War II and was a guiding philosophy for Conrad von Hötzendorf, one of the primary driving forces behind World War I, as well as justifying German participation. Eugenics, genocide, holocaust, and WWI trench warfare all examples of pure animal competition. Looking at this from a theoretical perspective, evolution states that life evolved through mutations. In the words of one article, “Mutations are essential to evolution. Every genetic feature in every organism was, initially, the result of a mutation.” But a mutation is a mistake; it is an exception to the general rule; it violates existing order-within-complexity; it is the opposite of beautiful. In addition, “All cancer is the result of gene mutations.” And “Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and is responsible for 28.2% of all deaths.” Suggesting that the beauty of human life emerged through a form of genetic ugliness which is currently the leading cause of human death is slander of the highest sort, and the word devil means ‘to slander, accuse, defame’. Going further, Satan means ‘adversary’ and the concept of ‘survival of the fittest’ is adversarial, especially when expressed as ‘red in tooth and claw’. Acts 9 is not talking about the regeneration of the physical world. Instead, it appears to be discussing the regeneration of biological life within a physical world that continues to function normally. All of the deep emotions and all of the spiritual implications mentioned in this paragraph would come to the fore if humans attempted to interact with such primal beings.

Notice that this ‘thorough explanation’ is happening within the city of Joppa, which means ‘beautiful’. In other words, human life and human society are being reconsidered from the perspective of beauty: God is beautiful. Biological life was designed by beings who love beauty. People can have beautiful minds. Humans can ask the designers of biological life to repair and improve their physical bodies so that they once again behave in a beautiful manner. People can make their world more beautiful. People can live in a beautiful city of Joppa.

Verse 36 continues. “She was full of good works and of alms that she continually did.” A work is ‘a deed that carries out an inner desire’. Good means ‘intrinsically good’, and this is the first use of this word in Acts. In other words, intrinsically good behavior is flowing out of an inward character that is full of this intrinsic goodness. In today’s world, spiritual and mental goodness have to contend with evil that results primarily from the limitations and vulnerabilities of the physical body. These physical constraints impose content upon the mind which must be obeyed. As was mentioned earlier, when a student in class has a heart attack, then the learning stops in order to deal with the heart attack. But such physical limitations are starting to be addressed in chapter 9. Physical limitations that were unchangeable could now start to be altered. The result is that one could pursue intrinsic goodness with all of one’s being: mentally, spiritually, supernaturally, and physically. Going further, intrinsic goodness is an expression of the Holy Spirit and a concept of the Holy Spirit emerges indirectly within Mercy thought from an integrated concept of God in Teacher thought. And something in Mercy thought that expresses Teacher order-within-complexity is beautiful. Thus, being full of intrinsic goodness is deeply related to living in a city of beauty and could only be fully realized if physical constraints could also be made subject to intrinsic goodness and beauty. That describes what it would be like to be a female disciple in ‘Joppa’ during this period. It would be possible to be full of intrinsically good, internally motivated works. But this would not happen automatically. Instead, one would have to choose to become such a person rather than perform genetic experimentation for the sake of performing genetic experimentation—or worse. If people today perform gross body modification (I am not providing a link because the images are so gross), one can imagine what genetic abominations would be emerging within other cities where beauty and intrinsic goodness did not rule. In a similar vein, one of the over-the-air television channels that I can receive broadcasts Star Trek reruns. I have noticed when watching the various Star Trek series that almost all of the ‘alien species’ look uglier than humans.

Alms means ‘mercy, pity’ and was previously used in Acts 3 to describe the lame man begging for alms. Do refers to Server actions. In Acts 3 these alms were being given as an expression of religious self-denial while entering the temple. In verse 36, this mercy and pity is being done as an expression of a city that expresses the Teacher beauty of God; those who live in Teacher beauty are being driven emotionally to extend this order-within-complexity to those who are around them. Such application would involve both male and female thought, but it would be motivated by the mental networks of female thought functioning at a high level. I mentioned earlier in the essay that today’s expression of female thought is a mere shadow of what female thought could achieve. I think that verse 36 is describing female thought reaching its true potential.

In verse 37, this reaches a dead end. “But in those days it came to pass that, having become sick, she died.” Came to pass means ‘to come into being’, suggesting the existence of an inherent flaw that is now becoming apparent. This is happening ‘in those days’, and days represent certain eras of society. Thus, interacting with primal Teacher beings is causing this problem to arise. Sick means ‘to be weak, feeble’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Die means to ‘die off, focusing on the separation that goes with the dying off’. This word was used once previously in Acts in 7:4 to describe Abraham’s father dying after he left Mesopotamia.

Cognitively speaking, the mental foundation for beauty is becoming questioned. That is because beauty assumes the existence of Mercy experiences. One is arranging Mercy experiences in a way that reflects Teacher order-within-complexity. But what if Mercy experiences are not the ultimate starting point? What if Mercy thought itself is an emergent property that is derived from Teacher thought? Realizing this would undermine the very foundation for the ‘good works of Dorcas’. In other words, continuing to optimize beauty would eventually bring human activity into contact with primal beings and any further pursuit of beauty would lead to personal annihilation, similar to the way that Saul came into direct contact with the divine light.

Verse 37 continues. “And having washed her, they put her in an upper room.” This is strange because she is not being buried. But burial itself assumes the existence of Mercy experiences that can be organized into Perceiver facts. Wash means ‘a complete bathing to cleanse the entire person’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Put means ‘to place, lay, set’. Upper room means ‘the upper story’ and was previously used in 1:13 to describe the upper room in which the disciples met before Pentecost. As the italics indicate, the original Greek says, ‘having washed, they put in an upper room’.

Something similar has happened to the concept of beauty as a result of the development of objective science. The idea of beauty as order-within-complexity has been a fundamental concept since classic Greek times. But it is not discussed today. (The short article that I just published on this topic has gone semi-viral.) I think that this is because technical thought does not want to recognize that it is driven by the Teacher emotions of a paradigm. Similarly, studying the DNA of human life as design would cause fundamental concepts of beauty to be analyzed using technical thought. The concept of beauty is still discussed today, but it is discussed as a philosophical concept that has been been washed clean of the dirt of normal human existence. And it has been placed in an upper room of philosophical discussion and mathematical analysis, apart from the rational analysis of pragmatic science. In other words, science tries to be objective in order to wash the emotional ‘muck’ of subjective feeling from the facts of reality. But this emphasis upon objectivity causes scientists to avoid recognizing that scientific theories themselves generate emotion. The philosopher and mathematician, in contrast, do not work with empirical evidence. Thus, they are free to recognize the existence of abstract Teacher emotions. That describes the situation today. I suspect that something similar would apply to the future.

Peter is Called to Help 9:38-39

Verse 38 connects with the previous story. “Now Lydda being near Joppa, the disciples having heard that Peter is in it.” Near means ‘near in place or time’. Lydda means ‘travail’ while Joppa means ‘beautiful’. Teacher emotion comes from order-within-complexity. One feels Teacher emotion when one struggles with complexity and then breaks through to order. Saying this more generally, learning to appreciate Teacher emotion requires education, and education is a form of ‘travail’. Thus, mentally speaking, Lydda is near Joppa. The need for education is implied by the next phrase. Disciples in Joppa are hearing. A disciple learns, while hearing means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. These disciples are in Joppa, which suggests a mindset that is thinking in terms of beauty. Saying this more simply, in order to recognize beauty, one has to think in terms of beauty; the first step in developing a Teacher theory is to get Teacher thought to function. The Perceiver thinking of ‘Peter’ plays a major role. That is because Teacher feelings of beauty become much more prominent when Peter thought discovers similarities between various situations and specializations.

Verse 38 says that the disciples in Joppa “sent two men to him, imploring, ‘Do not to delay coming to us.’” Sent means ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’ and was previously used in verse 17 to describe Ananias being sent to the blind Saul. Cognitively speaking, beauty leads inherently to Teacher structure because the behavior within specific situations will be guided by general Teacher feelings of beauty. Men refers specifically to male technical thought. The reference to two men suggests that beauty is being approached by two forms of male technical thought. This can be seen in science. There is the beauty of mathematical analysis, and there is also the beauty of the order of natural processes. These two beauties complement one another. But because these two beauties come from totally different domains, Perceiver thought is required to connect these two through the use of analogies and patterns. For instance, there is no similarity between throwing a ball through the air and the mathematical equation describing movement within gravity. One involves the movement of a physical object and the other involves making marks on a piece of paper. However, these two behave in similar ways, allowing one to predict the behavior of the other. Similarly, encountering primal beings would uncover two vastly different forms of beauty. There would be the beauty of DNA code and protein formation, and there would also be the beauty of behaving as an individual within the biological world. The death of Dorcas suggests that the unveiling of the first form of beauty would eventually cause the demise of the second form of beauty.

Saying this another way, being a human means attempting to serve two masters. There is the master of the spirit which one serves by becoming mentally transformed. And there is the master of the flesh which one serves by submitting to natural law. These two are currently regarded as fundamentally distinct: mind versus body; church versus state; religious versus secular; spirit versus flesh. Keeping these two distinct leads to mental conflict, but it also preserves human identity because being a human means straddling these two opposites. This straddling would eventually collapse if the physical also became an expression of the spiritual. In these chapters, we have been seeing the division between church and state being eliminated as well as the distinction between religious and secular. The division between spirit and flesh is now being removed. When that division is removed, then a different basis for human existence has to be found.

I think that two concepts are essential for discovering such a basis: First, achieving beauty requires travail. Second, one must search for Perceiver similarities rather than attempt to place everything within a single system of technical thought. For instance, moral beauty and the beauty of biological mechanisms can both be described by Teacher thought. But they function at different scales. Biological beauty functions at the cellular level whereas moral beauty functions at the human level. Moving from one level of beauty to another requires travail and this travail leaves room for human identity. I noticed a similar principle when looking at macroeconomics. Modern economies use fiat money, which means money based in nothing except consumer confidence. Fiat money works because the process of creating money out of nothing involves going through official procedures carried out by official institutions—leading to the concept of travail. One is not just printing money but rather creating money through a process. The second principle is that Perceiver thought has to make connections of similarity. Technical specialization is motivated by optimization which means pursuing some single goal. If the entire process falls within a single technical specialization, then optimization will eventually cause the system to eat itself up. This can also be seen in economics. That is because the most optimal way to make money is by bending the rules. But the end result of everyone bending the rules is to destroy the system that makes it possible to make money. The solution is to have an economic system governed or limited by another system that follows a different set of rules. But how can Teacher order-within-complexity be maintained when independent systems are required? The solution is for these various systems to function in a similar manner. These systems must function in a manner that is sufficiently different to ensure that they cannot be bridged by a single system of technical thought. Thus, as far as technical thought is concerned, they are distinct. But they must also function in a manner that is sufficiently similar to ensure that they can be bridged by the analogies and metaphors of Perceiver and Server thought. In the case of Acts 9, the spiritual economy with its angels and spirits is distinct from the system of biological mechanisms with its primal beings. (And we saw earlier that the realm of angels appears to be distinct from the realm of spirits. Acts 23:8-9 refers to angels and spirits as distinct from one another.) But both serve the same God in Teacher thought in a similar manner. Understanding this relationship would symbolically mean sending men from Joppa to Peter in Lydda.

Implore means to ‘make a call from being close-up and personal’. It was previously used in 8:31 to describe the Ethiopian imploring Philip to sit with him in his chariot. This same word is used in noun form in John 14-16 to describe the Holy Spirit. Beauty is an expression of the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, a concept of the Holy Spirit emerges when Platonic forms of perfection within Mercy thought are integrated by a universal concept of God in Teacher thought. On the other hand, beauty is a generic form of Platonic perfection that results from viewing Mercy experiences from a Teacher perspective. If expressions of beauty faded, then one would be emotionally driven to try to restore feelings of beauty.

Delay is used once in the New Testament and means ‘to shrink, to hesitate’. Come means ‘to go through’ and this version of ‘come’ was previously used in 8:40 to describe Philip passing through the cities after leaving the Ethiopian. To means ‘till, until’. This was also used previously in 8:40 to describe Philip going through the cities until he came to Caesarea. That was interpreted as changing civilized activity until it led to a regime change. Such a ‘going through until’ is required because one is using Perceiver analogies to move from one technical realm to another.

The problem is that Teacher emotion has become scary. Science tends to ignore Teacher emotion today because science tries to be objective. A recognition of primal Teacher-based beings would make Teacher emotion personally threatening. Thus, there would be a natural tendency to ‘shrink or hesitate’ from exploring Teacher thought. This also explains why Teacher emotion would cease to become a motivating factor, causing ‘Dorcas’ to die. Building a general Teacher theory is hard work. For instance, I have spent most of my life working on the theory of mental symmetry. This means that a sufficiently general Teacher theory will only be constructed if Joppa is near Lydda—if the motivation of beauty connects closely with the necessity for travail. And constructing such a theory means ‘going through until’ one reaches a city of beauty, a ‘Joppa’ in which a group of people can live. I know from personal experience what this means because for years Teacher feelings of beauty have felt sufficiently close by to motivate my intellectual travail.

Performing such a task requires Perceiver confidence. “And Peter having risen up, went with them, who having arrived, brought him into the upper room” (v. 39). Risen up is the word for resurrection. Perceiver thought being resurrected indicates a new way of using Perceiver thought coming to life. Went with means ‘to come together’. ‘Them’ refers to the two men who came from Joppa to Lydda. Coming together with them implies using Perceiver thought to connect these two forms of male technical thought. With current science, that means using Perceiver thought to point out which mathematical equations have the same Perceiver meaning as physical processes. A similar pointing out would be required in the future to bridge the primordial beauty of human physical existence with human concepts of beauty. The symbolism used in these essays illustrates the type of Perceiver thought that would be required, because we are connecting the physical descriptions of the Biblical text with cognitive mechanisms. This is a way of connecting the body with the mind in an analogical manner.

Having arrived combines ‘beside’ with ‘come into being’. It was previously used in verse 26 to describe Saul arriving in Jerusalem. That was interpreted as the new interaction with primal beings coming alongside the existing interaction with spirits and angels. The question there was whether interacting with primal beings qualified as religion. The question here is how human concepts of beauty can exist in the presence of interaction with primal beings. Brought means ‘to lead up’ and combines ‘up’ with ‘bring’. It was used once previously in Acts in 7:41 to describe bringing a sacrifice to the calf in the wilderness. That was interpreted as a kind of economic activity that avoids personal involvement and stops heading too far in the direction of Teacher generality. Similarly, those who are motivated by human concepts of beauty can head in the direction of Teacher generality, but they cannot become personally involved in the primal design of human life because the design of human life precedes the functioning of human life. Using an analogy, I cannot become personally involved in experiences that happened before I was born. Peter is brought into the upper room. This represents using Perceiver thought to think about abstract concepts of beauty. For instance, mental symmetry takes traditional concepts of beauty and extends the idea of order-within-complexity to apply to many topics.

Verse 39 describes the work of Dorcas. “And all the widows stood by him, weeping and showing the tunics and garments that Dorcas had made, being with them.” Stood by means ‘to place beside’. Standing is being interpreted as gaining Perceiver confidence in some solid fact. In verse 39, many facts are being placed beside the thinking of Perceiver thought. Widow was used once previously in 6:1 to describe who was being neglected in the distribution of food. A widow represents a mental network of personal existence that is no longer supported by male thought. This is the first use of the word weep in Acts, which means to ‘weep aloud, expressing uncontainable, audible grief’. This description relates to the two principles mentioned earlier. When human existence is governed by competing technical systems, then mental networks of human experience will become widowed as they move from one system of male technical thought to another. And the travail of existing within the realm of human mental networks will lead to weeping. All means ‘each part of a totality’. The implication is that MMNs of of human existence are experiencing an existential crisis because the idea of using Teacher feelings of beauty to improve human existence has died. That is because human existence is collapsing in upon itself as spirit and flesh are becoming interrelated.

This the first use of show in Acts which combines ‘fitting’ with ‘to show’. Thus, this weeping is not a mindless emotional outburst. Instead, the emotions are combined with an appropriate showing that lends substance to the feeling. A tunic is an inner garment, while a garment is an outer garment. An outer garment was mentioned once previously in Acts in 7:58 when the stoners of Stephen laid their garments at the feet of Saul. This is the only reference to an inner garment in Acts. A garment represents the fabric of social interaction. In 7:58 only public social interaction was involved, leading to a concept of methodology. Interacting with primal beings of physical existence would, by definition, also involve the inner garment of more intimate social interaction.

These were all made by Dorcas ‘being with them’. ‘Being’ is explicitly mentioned, indicating that Dorcas is functioning at the fundamental level of ‘being’ and not just ‘having’. In other words, Dorcas has been using Teacher feelings of beauty to build an appropriate social fabric, both at the public and the intimate level. What is left is the social fabric and the MMNs of human existence without any male technical thought or ‘clear seeing’ of Dorcas to support this social fabric. This is probably because male technical thought has placed its clear thinking regarding Teacher feelings of beauty within some ‘upper room’ of academic discussion and is shrinking back from extending all the way to Teacher feelings. I know what this means because I have spent most of my life trying to pursue a Teacher understanding that is capable of clothing human society. Meanwhile, most philosophers and mathematicians walk around with their noses in the air, deliberately using technical language that no one can understand, discussing great insights about beauty and order that they refuse to apply to the real world. Merely talking and writing about beauty and order is a mind game. Using complicated language to obfuscate simple concepts of beauty is a contradiction in terms.

Dorcas is Resurrected 9:40-43

Peter responds in verse 40. “And Peter having put all outside and having bowed the knees, prayed.” Having put means ‘to cast out’. Something that is thrown moves through the air of Teacher thought. Throwing out would mean using Teacher thought to eliminate something. For instance, the previous paragraph is an example of theoretically throwing out mathematicians and analytic philosophers. (Notice that what is being thrown out is not the fields themselves but rather the improper practice of these fields.) Outside is then repeated explicitly. More literally, Peter is ‘throwing out everything outside’. This would include throwing out the various MMNs of existential crisis. ‘Bow the knees’ is the same phrase that was used in 7:60 when Stephen died. It is more literally ‘to place the knees’. Thus, an attitude of submission is being consciously adopted. Stephen was consciously submitting the application of divine power to the Jesus that he saw standing by the side of God. A similar choice happened in Acts 1 when Matthias was chosen over Joseph, because focusing upon God in Teacher thought was chosen above experiencing growth in Mercy thought. Here too, Peter is choosing not to focus upon MMNs of human need. Instead, he is praying, which means ‘to exchange wishes’. He is accepting the Teacher feelings of God in heaven and expressing the Mercy feelings of humanity on earth. God wants things to fit together. Humans need to survive. These two desires can coexist. Facing the essence of these two fundamental emotional needs involves throwing out a lot of philosophical, religious, and existential crud.

Peter then turns to the dead body. “And having turned to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise!” Turned means ‘to turn, to return’ and was previously used in verse 35 to describe the people of Lydda and Sharon turning to the Lord after the healing of Aeneas. Body is the normal word for ‘the physical body’ and this is the only use of this word in Acts. This is significant because this passage is being interpreted as approaching the bodies of physical existence in a new manner. In verse 35, the turning to the Lord provided a shield from the primordial Teacher light. The turning in verse 40 implies that the physical body can also act as a shield from the primordial light. However, this turning is not exactly the same because in verse 35 it was ‘on, upon’ the Lord, whereas in verse 40 it is ‘towards’ the body.

Peter then tells Tabitha to resurrect. In verse 39, the widows showed all the garments that Dorcas had made, but in verse 40 Peter tells Tabitha to arise. In verse 36, the disciple was introduced as Tabitha, and this name was translated as Dorcas. This suggests that the order of these two is being reversed. Initially, the physical grace of Tabitha encouraged the behavior of Dorcas to develop. This behavior of Dorcas was remembered and is now providing the context for the resurrection of Tabitha. Looking at this cognitively, there are two kinds of self-image. There is the self-image that derives from my physical appearance and abilities and this provides the starting point for self-image. But self-image can expand based upon my skills and my behavior. In verse 40, this secondary self-image is providing the basis for resurrecting the initial physical self-image. In other words, I stop being a physical human being who has skills and knowledge and become a person with skills and knowledge who inhabits a physical human body. It is possible to make such a shift to some extent today, but the mind only becomes independent of the physical body at physical death. Interacting with primal beings of physical existence would make it possible to make such a shift in self-image at a more fundamental level. Notice that the physical body does not disappear in this transformation. It is still present through the whole process.

Tabitha responds in verse 40. “And she opened her eyes, and having seen Peter, she sat up.” This phrase ‘opened her eyes’ uses the same Greek words as when Saul ‘opened his eyes’ in verse 8. However, when Saul opened his eyes, he was unable ‘to see something physical with spiritual results’. In contrast, Tabitha is able ‘to see with the mind’ Peter. Saul’s encounter with the Teacher light made him unable to go beyond the material to the spiritual. In contrast, the Tabitha of natural grace is able to mentally see Perceiver facts. That is because Tabitha developed a self-image of Dorcas that was capable of ‘seeing brightly’. Stated more simply, the ‘seeing brightly’ of Dorcas was an internal ‘seeing with the mind’. Saying this another way, Dorcas had constructed both outer and inner social garments, whereas Saul was an ‘asking’ that involved only the outer garments. Saul was blinded because he lacked the internal content possessed by Dorcas. But because Dorcas lived in this internal world, she experienced the transformation more deeply as a personal resurrection. This is related to Dorcas being a female disciple, because feminine thought lives within mental networks of personal existence whereas male thought works with mental networks of personal existence. Sit up is used twice in the New Testament. The other time is in Luke 7:15 where it is also used to describe a person ‘sitting up’ from the dead.

This is followed in verse 41 by a more complete resurrection. “And having given her his hand, he raised her up.” A hand represents the use of technical thought. As the italics indicate, ‘his’ is not in the original Greek. Instead, Peter is giving her a hand. Cognitively speaking, he is providing the mental networks of female existence with male technical thought. Dorcas was placed in an upper room apart from the Perceiver facts of reality. She was surrounded by the weeping widows of mental networks that lacked a ‘husband’ of male technical thought. Peter is giving her the framework of a cognitive husband by providing her with ‘a hand’. This is followed by raising up, which is the normal word for resurrection. The idea here is that female mental networks by themselves are insufficient to separate MMNs of human identity from TMNs of divine light. In fact, female thought by its very nature mixes these two kinds of mental networks, combining Teacher grace and beauty with Mercy sensitivity and vulnerability. Thus, a complete resurrection of female thought requires sufficient male technical content to place these various mental networks within a framework. One can see this in the three stages of learning. The beginner uses raw mental networks, the technician uses male technical thought, and the expert uses mental networks that have been trained by male technical thought. Tabitha is being resurrected at the level of the expert.

Verse 41 continues. “And having called the saints and the widows, he presented her living.” Called means to ‘give forth a sound’ and does not necessarily imply Teacher thought. This is the first use of this word in Acts. This verb implies a mixing of Mercy experiences with Teacher words, consistent with the functioning of female thought. Peter calls the holy, which are the people in Mercy thought who focus upon God in Teacher thought. Peter also calls the widows, who live within mental networks and lack a ‘husband’ of male technical thought. This is a more organic calling that is functioning at the level of mental networks. The important thing is that the internal content acquired by the seeing and behaving of Dorcas is providing the framework for the resurrection of the physical grace of Tabitha.

Present means ‘to place beside’ and was previously used in verse 39 to describe the widows standing beside Peter. Living refers to both physical and spiritual life. This verb was previously used in 7:38 to describe Moses receiving the living oracles from the angels. Similarly, what is being resurrected here is a form of life that goes beyond just physical life. How far beyond, I do not know, and it is better not to speculate. Notice how Peter is acting as a connection from one form of life to another. In verse 39, the widows were standing by Peter next to the dead body of Tabitha, whereas in verse 41 the living Tabitha is standing alongside Peter. This is a form of translation that involves the mental networks of existence.

Verse 42 concludes, “And it became known throughout all of Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.” Know means ‘experientially known’. Became means ‘to come into being’. Joppa means ‘beautiful’. Thus, everyone became aware of a new way of approaching Teacher feelings of beauty. In verse 35, everyone saw and turned to the Lord. In verse 42, everyone knows experientially, but only many believe on the Lord. The implication is that there is a distinction between having MMNs of personal experience and being willing to ‘be persuaded’ by the rational TMNs of theory. Saying this another way, feminine intuition can be trained to be compatible with rational thought, but it is also possible to use intuition to jump from personal experience in a way that resists being persuaded by rational arguments.

In verse 43, Peter changes his location. “And it came to pass, he stayed many days in Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner.” Came to pass means ‘to come into being’ which indicates a natural transition. Many comes from a word that means ‘arrive, come to’. And many days would refer to several cycles of society. This describes a cognitive progression that is happening naturally to Perceiver thought.

Peter was staying in Jerusalem. He then went around to all areas in verse 32. Now he is staying in Joppa. Thus, the absolute truth of religion provides the initial reference points for Perceiver thought. This changes when Perceiver thought moves from one location to another in order to search for repeated Perceiver connections. This leads to a new concept of truth as universal truth, based in Perceiver connections that are universally repeated. But universal truth will naturally form a sense of beauty in Teacher thought, because Teacher thought will see these universal Perceiver facts as descriptions of Mercy experiences that exhibit the Teacher beauty of order-within-complexity. Perceiver thought will then be guided by Teacher emotion until the understanding is sufficiently complete and the need to apply this understanding becomes dominant.

Notice that Peter is not living in Joppa. When Perceiver thought is guided by a Teacher feelings of beauty, then this does not create a home for personal identity. Instead, it describes a staying, which means ‘to stay, abide, remain’. Perceiver thought stays in this location not because it is a home in Mercy thought but rather because the focus is upon exploring Teacher theory rather than upon exploring new experiences in Mercy thought. For instance, the apartment in which I currently live is within a building that was constructed by my father. However, the primary reason I am living here is not because my dad built this building, but rather because it is convenient and inexpensive to do research and writing in this location. This focus upon Teacher understanding is brought out by the name Simon, which means ‘a hearing’. A tanner works with hides, and a hide is the skin from an animal. The skin is the primary source of the physical feelings that are responsible for forming many of the mental networks of physical existence. Thus, a tanner would represent an analysis and preservation of many of the MMNs of personal existence. For instance, most of the insights of mental symmetry came from analyzing MMNs of personal existence. Similarly, if physical existence began to be changed at a fundamental level, then it would be important to preserve and analyze MMNs of physical existence before they faded away. This may relate to the end of Revelation 14, which describes the harvest of the earth being gathered.

The Vision of Cornelius 10:1-4

The next chapter and a half deals with the visit to Cornelius and the repercussions of this visit. Historically speaking, this was a major event because it indicated the birth of the Gentile church. Prophetically speaking, it seems that this section is also indicating a major shift.

Verse 1 sets the scene. “Now a certain man in Caesarea named Cornelius was a centurion of the Cohort that is called Italian.” Man indicates that one is dealing with male technical thought. This man is ‘in the realm of’ Caesarea, a city named after Caesar. This is interpreted as secular government. Caesarea has been mentioned before in Acts, but this is the first time that someone is living in Caesarea. Thus, this passage is focusing upon secular government. The name Cornelius probably means ‘horn’, and a horn is a symbol of strength and force. Going further, this man is a centurion, which was a hardened Roman military officer. The word cohort means ‘anything wound up or coiled’. And this cohort is called Italian, a word used only once in the New Testament, which probably means ‘land of bulls’. As a Mennonite, this description presses all the wrong buttons for me, because Mennonites have historically been pacifists who have avoided participating in government and who attempted to be ‘quiet in the land’.

The previous reference to Caesarea in 9:30 provides a possible reason for the involvement of Cornelius. That was interpreted as government becoming the shield to protect citizens from the raw Teacher light of primal beings. This makes sense because both deal with the realm of physical existence, and government provides an organization through which humans and primal beings could interact. It was suggested that this was a radical new role for government. And chapter 10 supports this suggestion, because a government official living in Caesarea will be making a religious breakthrough.

Verse 2 makes it clear that this is a new form of government, describing Cornelius as “devout and fearing God with all his household, doing many alms to the people and praying to God continually.” Devout means ‘showing due reverence’. Fear means ‘to fear, withdraw from’. Normally, citizens are supposed to show due reverence to military officers, especially foreign occupying military officers. Similarly, a foreign military officer must not fear or withdraw from physical opposition. Wikipedia quotes a Roman author describing the requirements of a Roman centurion. “The centurion in the infantry is chosen for his size, strength and dexterity in throwing his missile weapons and for his skill in the use of his sword and shield... He is to be vigilant, temperate, active and readier to execute the orders he receives than to talk; Strict in exercising and keeping up proper discipline among his soldiers, in obliging them to appear clean and well-dressed and to have their weapons constantly rubbed and bright.” Notice the emphasis upon physical warfare, concrete action, emotional distance, following orders, imposing discipline, and maintaining appearance.

In this case, the foreign military officer is showing due reverence to God as well as fear of God. This provides a strong indication that government is interacting with a powerful force from God in Teacher thought, consistent with the interpretation of 9:30. A partial example can be seen in the role of military during disaster relief. When there is a flood, for instance, then the military will step in to render assistance. (While I was editing this essay, my home city of Abbotsford experienced extensive flooding and is currently being assisted by the military.)

This is happening ‘with all his household’. A house is a home for personal identity. Normally, the military avoids working together with vulnerable civilians and is not supposed to be encumbered by subjective and personal emotions. In this case, the military officer has a family and the attitude of the officer is shared by his family. This is consistent with the idea of secular government interacting with beings that provide for human physical existence. In this case, the family of the officer provides a shield for the officer by placing interaction within a larger context. (Roman officers did often have families, but this happened unofficially.)

Alms means ‘mercy, pity’, and people means laity. This word was previously used in 7:34 to describe God seeing the oppression of the laity in Egypt. In verse 2, the secular power is showing much mercy and pity upon the laity. A foreign military occupying officer seldom shows mercy and pity to the surrounding ‘laity’. Instead, this behavior sounds much more like a religious minister. However, when one is dealing with Teacher thought, then one of the general principles is that God will treat me the way that I treat the vulnerable. Thus, showing mercy on the laity is a way of protecting oneself when dealing with primal beings in Teacher thought. (Similarly, some foreign occupying forces have learned that maintaining good relations with the local population is an effective way to avoid armed conflict.)

Praying is not the normal word ‘to exchange wishes’ but rather means ‘to have deep personal need causing one to beseech’. It was previously used in Acts 8 to describe Simon the sorceror praying to God and the Ethiopian requesting of Philip. In each case, a non-Jewish person is making a personal request. ‘Continually’ is the two words ‘throughout’ and ‘each part of the totality’. It is said that there are no atheists in foxholes, but this goes far beyond praying when one is in mortal danger. Instead, this praying is a method that is being used to deal with all situations. A military officer does not show deep personal need at all times. Instead, a military officer exudes confidence in order to maintain the morale of his troops. However, if one were dealing with primal beings who had the ability to remake physical life, then it would be essential to be continually aware of one’s personal vulnerability. This is similar to working with high voltage electricity. If one wants to stay alive, then one must always be aware of personal vulnerability. This is not because electricity is evil, but rather because it has inherent power.

In verse 3, Cornelius has a vision. “About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God having come to him and having said to him, ‘Cornelius!’” See means ‘to see with the mind’ and vision is derived from this same word ‘see’. Clearly is used once in Acts and means to ‘come to light’. Both of these adjectives are uncharacteristic for the military, because we saw earlier that a centurion was supposed to follow orders without having to see with the mind. Turning to the present, one of the primary attributes of a modern military is need to know, which means that each person is only given sufficient knowledge to carry out their task. The goal is to prevent people from ‘seeing with a mind’. And such ‘need to know’ is most prevalent when dealing with top secret topics such as interactions with aliens. In contrast, seeing with the mind would provide a shield when dealing with primal beings. This principle was seen in the resurrection of Tabitha because her internally generated self-image provided the basis for her resurrection. Similarly, ‘need to know’ is precisely the opposite of ‘coming to light’, because the prime purpose of ‘need to know’ is to ensure that nothing ever comes to light. However, a ‘seeing with the mind that comes to the light’ of Teacher thought is precisely what is needed to provide a counterbalance to the raw Teacher energy of primal beings. I am emphasizing all these contrasts in order to point out that the military being described in these verses is functioning very differently than a typical military today. And the reference to the specific person of Cornelius suggests that only some of the military will be behaving in this manner in the future.

The ninth hour of the day is about 3 PM. If a day represents an era of society, then 3 PM would represent a mature society that has gone beyond growth to stability. Applying this to government, systems and programs have been set up to interact with primal beings and they are functioning in a mature manner. Angel was last mentioned in 8:26 where an angel spoke to Philip. But the angel did not speak to the Ethiopian eunuch. In chapter 10, angels are coordinating both sides of the encounter. The angel in 8:26 was referred to as an angel of the Lord. Verse 3 mentions an angel of God. This suggests that verse 3 is functioning at a greater level of Teacher universality than 8:26. That is consistent with a form of interaction that transcends religious and secular.

Come means ‘to go in, enter’. It is interesting that the angel does not come to a location but rather comes to the person of Cornelius. This is consistent with the hypothesis that angels and aliens do not live within Perceiver locations. Going further, it appears that the connection between the human and angelic realm has a personal nature. That is because it appears that one moves between the human and the angelic by going through the spiritual, the spiritual realm relates to mental networks, and the mind uses mental networks to represent people. This angel calls Cornelius by name. Angels do not live in Mercy experiences. Instead, they live in a realm of Teacher names. Thus, the angel is focusing upon the name of Cornelius in Teacher thought. Notice that the angel does not refer to the rank or cohort of Cornelius but rather to his personal name. Thus, what matters is the character of Cornelius as a person.

Cornelius responds in verse 4. “And having looked intently on him, and having become afraid, he said, ‘What is it, Lord?’” Looking intently means ‘to stare at because fully occupied with’. It was previously used in 7:55 to describe Stephen looking into heaven at the end of his trial. This causes fear to come into being. Notice that Cornelius has significant strength of character, as suggested by the name ‘horn’. Cornelius does not run away at first or regard the angel as some miraculous being but instead attempts to examine further. The fear comes into being after this detailed examination.

Cornelius’ response to this fear is also interesting. He does not run away or worship the angel. Instead he asks ‘What is it, Lord?’ The word ‘is’ is explicitly used, indicating an emphasis upon ‘being’. The implication is that the detailed examination leads to a realization at the level of ‘being’, this realization is frightening, and Cornelius is trying to come to terms with this realization by bringing it into the known.

The angel answers, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God” (v. 4). Prayer here means an ‘exchange of wishes’. For Cornelius, these prayers were deep personal requests, but the angel is viewing them as an exchange of wishes. The angel also refers to the ‘mercy, pity’ of Cornelius.

The phrase ‘ascended as a memorial before God’ is typically interpreted in poetic terms, but it is actually describing the nature of the spiritual economy. The general principle is that one receives a higher reward by choosing not to function at a lower level. The mercy and pity of Cornelius are functioning like religious self-denial, because in both cases one is choosing not to assert MMNs of personal identity in order to receive benefits from God in Teacher thought. This self-denial can be seen in the contrast between the way a centurion normally behaves and the way that Cornelius is behaving.

Ascend means ‘to go up, ascend’ and is interpreted as heading in the direction of Teacher generality. Memorial is used once in Acts and comes from a verb that means ‘to recall by memory’. Before means ‘in front of’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Previous passages have talked about being before the face of God, but ‘before’ is an objective word that combines ‘in’ and ‘toward’. ‘Memorial’ is also an objective word because it indicates that one is being reminded of some memory. What is being described here is Teacher theory as concentration rather than Teacher theory as emotional generalization. A general Teacher theory can be viewed as a statement upon which one continues to concentrate. The behavior of Cornelius is rising in Teacher generality and being repeatedly noticed by God in Teacher thought. It is true that God notices everything, but it is also true that God regards certain people and situations as more general in Teacher thought than other people or situations.

Cornelius sends to Joppa 10:5-8

Cornelius is given instructions in verse 5. “And now send men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon who is called Peter.” Send means ‘to send’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. This is also the first occurrence of the word summon in Acts which means ‘to send after’. Men refers to male technical thought. And Joppa means ‘beautiful’. Normally, military officers do not think in terms of beauty. But Cornelius has been behaving as a human in a way that attracts the attention of God in Teacher thought. Thus, Cornelius is being told to treat his human organization in a manner that focuses upon the concept of beauty. This is cognitively similar to the way that religious hierarchy was replaced by similarity to the character of God in the previous chapter. Here, military hierarchy is being superseded by the concept of beauty. This happens to some extent in a professionally trained modern army, because professional training is required to perform many tasks and not military rank.

Simon means ‘a hearing’, indicating a focus upon words in Teacher thought. Peter means ‘a stone’. There have been several Simons in the book of Acts and Peter has been mentioned numerous times, but this is the first mention of Simon Peter. Simon Peter represents using Perceiver thought to analyze Teacher words. This is easy to do when one is dealing with the words of some book. But a spiritual economy would mess up the human ability to analyze words by introducing heavenly Teacher emotions. However, government has been learning to deal with a new level of words, namely the genetic words of biological life. This suggests that the angel is telling Cornelius to analyze these words using the Perceiver facts of human existence. The primal beings originally designed life from the perspective of Server sequences of Teacher words and then stretched forward to place these messages within the Perceiver facts of physical existence. What is being described here is an analyzing of these Teacher words from the human perspective of Perceiver thought in the light of Teacher beauty. Cornelius is supposed to send to Joppa and summon Simon who is also called Peter.

This is a significant principle that needs to be repeated. The original designers of biological life looked forward from their realm of biological messages to life in three-dimensional physical matter. Humans are now looking back from biological life to the designers of this life. But they are looking back in a different manner. The forward path involved physical DNA. The backward path involves mental sight and internal character. This relates to the idea that any loop from Teacher thought back to Teacher thought has to involve some sort of translation so that it returns in a different way. Otherwise, the loop will eventually collapse in on itself. Going further, it appears that a created being will only maintain a translation if the existence of that created being depends upon that translation. For example, human existence depends upon maintaining a connection between body and spirit.

Verse 6 gives the current location of Peter. “He lodges with a certain Simon, a tanner whose house is by the sea.” Lodge means to ‘entertain a stranger’ and comes from a word that means ‘foreign, a foreigner’. This is the first use of this word in Acts and it is used four times in this chapter. The idea is that Peter is not in his normal location but rather staying with someone foreign. For instance, I am a Perceiver person and I feel like a foreigner in my home town and my home country. Simon Peter is lodging with another Simon, indicating a focus upon words in Teacher thought. But this other Simon is a tanner, and a tanner works with the skins of physical Mercy sensation. One can tell that Simon the tanner is focusing upon Mercy sensations because his ‘house is by sea’ and the sea represents the realm of human Mercy experiences.

Putting this together, ‘Peter’ has been focusing upon the messages of human existence from a human Mercy perspective within a general context of Teacher beauty. But this is a foreign perspective and Peter is about to experience a vision that will tell him to adopt a new perspective. I think that this foreignness has to do with recognizing that the biological realm can be approached from a religious perspective. Peter has been pursuing a spiritual economy that is based in mental and spiritual transformation. Acts 9 led to the realization that there are deep similarities between the biological realm and the spiritual economy. I only realized these deep similarities quite recently, and exploring these similarities as a Perceiver person felt as if I was adopting a foreign perspective—so foreign that I was not sure whether it was appropriate to post a public essay on this topic. However, I have thought above the alternatives and have concluded that there is no choice. A religious alternative to the theory of evolution is required.

I suspect that the typical evangelical Christian will instinctively reject the idea of God using primal beings to design biological DNA. But I no longer care. That is because too many of my friends and family have adopted conspiracy thinking, rejected the covid vaccine, ended up sick in the hospital, and refused to change their thinking. Thus, a significant portion of evangelical Christians have demonstrated that they are incapable of thinking rationally when it comes to the topic of physical well-being and DNA. (The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines work at the level of DNA. However, they do not change human DNA but rather teach cells how to recognize the covid virus by providing RNA instructions.) I should add that discussing genetic manipulation in the context of Acts 10 is quite different than discussing genetic manipulation within current society. Most current genetic manipulation is not being guided by a mindset of Cornelius. The profit motive tends to overshadow feelings of mercy for the laity, while investors are feared more than any concept of God. But it does seem to be a general principle that God eventually delegates all responsibility over to creation. This relates to the idea mentioned earlier that everything that flows from God must go through some sort of translation before returning to God. This is a requirement for continued existence independent of God.

Cornelius acts in verse 7. “And when the angel speaking to him had departed, having called two of the servants and a devout soldier of those who are attending him.” In verse 3, the angel came. In verse 7 the angel departs. This appears to be normal operating procedure, in which an angel enters the physical realm for some task, performs this task, and then leaves the physical realm. These verses suggest that even in the future, human-angelic interaction would not be continuous but rather composed of episodes of interaction interspersed by parallel existence. Relating this to physics, the relationship between human and angel appears to be like the relationship between particle and wave. An atomic particle functions either as a wave or as a particle, but not as both at the same time. Similarly, one notices in these verses that angelic interaction is followed by human interaction and the two do not occur simultaneously. The implication is that interacting with angels would not lead to the end of human behavior. Instead, one would have to learn to continue behaving within the human world without being emotionally overwhelmed by an angelic encounter. This is the opposite of the typical Pentecostal Christian who tries to revitalize the emotional intensity of spiritual experiences.

Servant means ‘a household servant working for a family’ and this word is used once in Acts. This is also the first use of the word soldier in Acts. Cornelius calls two household servants and one soldier. Sending household servants would be interpreted today as recognizing that religion is a personal matter which does not relate to one’s official duty. However, Cornelius combines personal religion with official duty by also sending a soldier. These men are described as ‘showing due reverence’. This is the same word that was used in verse 2 describe Cornelius. It occurs several times as a noun and is usually translated as ‘godliness’. This indicates that these men are showing reverence towards God and not just obeying the orders of Cornelius. This is different than the current situation in which officers prefer soldiers who will follow orders. However, one can see the type of attitude that is required by looking at the example of electricity. A good electrical technician is not one that will follow orders without question, but rather one who has a healthy respect for the power of electricity.

Attending means ‘to consistently show strength which prevails’. This word was previously used in 8:13 to describe Simon the sorcerer staying with Philip. The word Cornelius means ‘horn’ which implies strength. A soldier normally has strength to overcome physical hardship. In the future, strength would be needed to perform Server actions amidst the emotional pressure of supernatural and primal beings. One can tell that Cornelius has this strength because he initially responded to the angel with intense attention before eventually developing fear. Keeping up with such a leader would require ‘consistent strength that prevails’ from a household.

Cornelius sends these people in verse 8. “And having related all things to them, he sent them to Joppa.” Related means to ‘lead out completely; thoroughly bring forth’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. This is the opposite of ‘need to know’, in which one gives the minimum of required information. Instead, a proper mental shield requires detailed understanding, in which one is ‘thoroughly brought forth’. Sent means to ‘send away’ and was previously used in 9:38 to describe the disciples in Joppa sending for Peter. That was interpreted as someone with some supernatural expertise sending to another person who has greater expertise. This same interpretation would apply in verse 8. In the previous incident, the sending was from Joppa while here the sending is to Joppa. Joppa means ‘beautiful’, which means that Cornelius is looking for a new strategy that is guided by Teacher feelings of beauty. This would mean superseding the hierarchical structure of an army with the intrinsic characteristics of beauty.

Peter’s Vision 10:9-16

Verse 9 describes the journey. “Now on the next day as these are journeying and are approaching the city.” A day represents an era of society. Thus, the next day would imply a new era in society. Presumably, this re-thinking in terms of Teacher feelings of beauty leads to a shift in society. Journeying is only used once in the New Testament and comes from a word that means ‘traveler’. Approaching means ‘to make near’ and was previously used in 9:3 to describe Saul coming near to Damascus. What is being approached is the city and a city represents a center of civilization. The interaction between Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch all happened while traveling on a road and that was interpreted as a similar angelic Server ‘location’. In other words, if one wants to interact with angels or interact in an angelic manner, then one must be performing the same Server sequence. A similar logic applies to verse 9 because Peter’s angelic encounter happens as the three men are journeying. They are not in the same physical Perceiver location, but they are linked angelically in Server thought. Approaching the city would mean making a transition from angelic ‘wave’ to human ‘particle’. I do not know exactly what this means, but a current interpretation would be making a transition from research to development, from theory to application.

Meanwhile in Joppa, “Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray” (v. 9). Go up means ‘to go up, ascend’ and is interpreted as heading towards Teacher generality. This is the only use of the word housetop in Acts. The difference between an upper room and a housetop is that a housetop is open to the sky. People have ascended to upper rooms several times in Acts but this is the only ascension to a housetop. The implication is that this movement to Teacher generality opens one up to interaction with the ‘air’ of Teacher thought. And that is what happens in this case. Praying means ‘to exchange wishes’, which means interacting emotionally between personal identity in Mercy thought and a concept of God in Teacher thought. The sixth hour would be high noon which would represent the peak of an era when the light of Teacher understanding is at its greatest.

This prayer is interrupted in verse 10. “And he became hungry and desired to eat, but as they were preparing, a trance fell upon him.” Hungry is used once in the New Testament and adds the prefix ‘towards’ to the normal word ‘hungry’. Food is being interpreted as intellectual food. Praying functions at an emotional level. Eating adds intellectual content to these emotions. Eat means ‘to taste, eat’ and is usually translated as taste. Desire means ‘to desire, wish’. These are unusual words. Cognitively speaking, what is being described is a shift in emotional focus from exchanging emotions with the heavenly realm of Teacher thought to wanting the taste of intellectual food. The general principle being described is similar to the relationship between signs and wonders. A sign provides stability whereas a wonder is a novel experience. A sign consolidates whereas a wonder expands. Presumably, praying on the housetop would lead to strong emotional interaction in the society of Acts 10. Eventually, this would create a need for stability, reflected as a growing hunger and a desire to taste food.

For instance, I find that it is important to alternate between writing biblical essays and either writing academic articles or studying some aspect of science. The biblical essays exchange emotional wishes but too much emotional exchange destabilizes the mind. Secular research with its rigorous thought and empirical evidence helps to ground the mind and provides mental stability.

Preparing is used once in Acts and means ‘to prepare, make ready’. The implication is that the research is taking time; the emotional need for stability is outpacing the ability to provide this stability. Fell means ‘to come into being’. Trance means to ‘take out of regular position’ and adds the prefix ‘out from’ to the word ‘stand’ which is being interpreted as acquiring Perceiver confidence. This word was used once previously in Acts in 3:10 to describe the response of the crowd after the healing of the lame man. What happened there was that religious self-denial was starting to function within the spiritual economy, totally altering existing Perceiver facts. In verse 10 the loss of the mental stability has reached a breaking point where existing Perceiver facts are no longer adequate.

This is followed in verse 11 by a vision. “And he beholds heaven opening, and a certain vessel as a great sheet descending.” Behold means to ‘gaze on for the purpose of analyzing’ and is the source of the English word ‘theatre’. Thus, Peter is attempting to make sense of some spectacle that he is observing. Heaven refers to the realm of Teacher thought. Open simply means ‘to open’. Several things have opened in Acts including eyes, mouths, and doors. Stephen looked intently into heaven in 7:55, but this is the first time that heaven has opened. Descend means ‘to descend’ and is interpreted as heading down from Teacher generality. A vessel is ‘a vessel to contain liquid’. It was used once previously in Acts in 9:15 where God described Saul as his vessel. Liquid represents Mercy experiences. Therefore, what is coming down from heaven in Teacher thought is something that is compatible with the human realm of Mercy experiences. Going further, a vessel is meant to be filled with Mercy experiences. This is similar to the way that proteins which start out as chains of amino acids based in the Teacher words of DNA acquire their final shape by being immersed with the liquid of water. As is a comparison word which means that an analogy is being used. Sheet means ‘fine linen’. It is only used in the New Testament in this verse and in the description of this verse in 11:5. In Revelation 19:8, fine linen is used to describe ‘the righteous acts of the saints’. That is a different Greek word, but presumably similar logic would apply. Righteousness describes Server actions that reflect Teacher understanding. A fabric represents the fabric of society. The fabric in verse 11 is described as great, which refers to Teacher generality. Thus, this would represent some general fabric of society that is based in righteousness. Similarly, 2 Peter 3:13 describes ‘awaiting new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells’. 2 Peter 3 is probably talking about the physical universe, whereas the various creatures mentioned in verse 12 indicates that Acts 10 is referring to the more limited realm of biological life. In both cases an existing realm of physical reality is being replaced by something new that inherently requires righteousness.

This sheet is “being let down upon the earth by four corners.” The word corner means ‘what comes first and therefore is chief’. It is used 56 times in the New Testament and is only translated as ‘corner’ in this verse and in the description of this verse in 11:5. The other occurrences are translated as either ‘beginning’ or ‘ruler’. This same word is translated as principalities in Romans 8:38 where Paul refers to angels and principalities, suggesting that principalities are related to angels. (It is also used several times in Ephesians and Colossians to refer to a kind of angel.) Combining the two meanings of ‘beginning’ and ‘ruler’ leads to the concept of primal beings. Since the sheet in Acts 10 is being let down out of heaven, this strongly suggests that ‘four corners’ are actually referring to four kinds of angelic primal beings. Thus, the phrase is more accurately ‘a great sheet being let down by four principalities’.

This might relate to the four living creatures of Revelation. It may also be connected in some way with the four simple styles of Teacher, Mercy, Perceiver, and Server. Let down means ‘to let down’. It is used in Acts in this verse, in the description of this verse in 11:5, and in 9:25 to describe Saul being let down in the basket. That was interpreted as heading from Teacher generality to some unknown Mercy specifics in a human-compatible container. Similarly, a Mercy-experience-compatible container is being let down in verse 11. My hypothesis is that primal beings originally designed the mechanisms of biological life in the Teacher realm of heaven and then let this down to physical reality where it was assembled in a short period of physical time in order to function as living organisms. Verse 11 appears to be describing something similar.

That is because verse 12 says that the sheet is filled with all forms of biological life. “In which were all the quadrupeds and creeping things of the earth, and birds of heaven.” Were combines ‘under’ with ‘to rule, to begin’. It is normally translated as ‘possessions’. However, ‘to rule, to begin’ is the verb form of the word ‘corner’ used in verse 11, suggesting that this biological life is under the possession of the primal beings. Quadruped means ‘four-footed’. Feet represent the foundations for personal identity. Therefore, four-footed would signify a mind that totally identifies with its environment. For instance, a rat is capable of concrete technical thought, but the planning and acting of a rat are guided solely by its physical environment. In other words, there is no separation between personal identity and physical reality in the mind of a rat.

Creeping comes from the word ‘to crawl’. And earth represents the realm of rational human thought. This describes a materialistic mindset that is incapable of going beyond the facts of physical reality. Bird means ‘winged’ and heaven represents the air of Teacher thought. It is interesting that fish are not mentioned. Instead, only land and air creatures are mentioned. So far, this essay has been placing a cognitive interpretation upon real beings, such as interpreting quadruped as being mentally dependent upon the facts of physical reality. For instance, the materialistic scientist is a mental quadruped. But we have just seen that biological life can also be interpreted from a cognitive perspective and that biological life is literally word-made-flesh and not just symbolically. This suggests that verse 12 may include analyzing various forms of biological life from the perspective of DNA. One of the byproducts of connecting the spiritual economy with primal beings is that cognitive and biological would become intertwined. In fact, viewing the biological from a cognitive perspective would include using the type of analogical reasoning that is being used in these essays. If this type of thinking feels non-rigorous, then please compare it with the sort of reasoning being used by evolutionary theory. The type of symbolism that we are using is cognitively natural—the human mind will naturally come up with such analogies. The explanations provided by evolutionary theory, in contrast, are the modern equivalent of religious myth.

Verse 13 tells Peter what to do. “And a voice came to him: ‘Having risen up, Peter, kill and eat!’” The word voice means ‘voice, sound’ and came means ‘to come into being’. In other words, the starting point is not words in Teacher thought. Instead, verbal communication emerges after the image.

Kill means ‘to kill as a sacrifice and offer on an altar’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. This is preceded by the word for resurrection, indicating that Perceiver thought has to go through some sort of rebirth in order to carry out this command. For instance, I been doing something similar in my research by intellectually ‘eating’ various theories and systems in order to offer them on an altar to a general understanding of the character of God in Teacher thought. I have not been analyzing systems that live purely in the sea of Mercy experiences. But I have been analyzing systems that either plod across or crawl over the land of rational human thought. And I have been looking at intellectual systems that reside within the air of human Teacher thought. This has involved analyzing and dissecting a number of systems that I as a Perceiver person would not normally study. I have been doing this because of the intellectual hunger that results from attempting to deal with core emotional personal and religious topics. I need content and others claim to be preparing this content but it is not forthcoming.

I do not know what form of ‘sacrificing and offering on an altar’ is being described in verse 13. I suspect that it would include analyzing existing DNA research in order to make it compatible with a concept of God, similar to the way that I have been attempting to analyze existing psychological, cognitive, and neurological research in order to make it compatible with a concept of God. Peter responds with horror in verse 14. “But Peter said, ‘In no way, Lord! For never have I eaten anything common or unclean.’” In no way combines ‘but not’ with ‘somebody’ and is only used in the New Testament here and when the story is repeated in 11:8. This suggests a more personal focus than the impersonal ‘in no way’. This strong refusal is followed by the word ‘Lord’, indicating conflicting core mental networks. Perceiver thought is being led in a direction that it would not normally go. Eating is being interpreted as consuming intellectual food.

Common ‘describes the result of a person reducing what God calls special (holy, set apart) – to what is mundane’. It is used five times in Acts, three times in the context of the story, and it was also used two times in 2:44 and 4:32 to describe having everything in common. It was pointed out earlier that two different meanings are being used, and we are trying to stick with a single meaning for every Greek word. Unclean means ‘not pure because mixed’. ‘Or’ is actually ‘and’ in the original Greek. Thus, Peter is mentally connecting common with unclean.

In verse 15, this connection is challenged. “And a voice came again to him for the second time: ‘What God has cleansed, you do not call common.’” In this case, the voice does not come into being but rather repeats itself. Cleanse means to ‘make pure, removing all admixture’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. This cleansing is coming from God, which means that Teacher thought is imposing some form of unity and purity upon specific situations. For instance, when I examine various books and systems, I do so in the light of the general theory of mental symmetry, and this Teacher theory imposes a purity upon the interpretation. And I have found that pursuing mental symmetry leads to a concept of God that corresponds in detail to the Trinitarian God of the Bible. (In contrast, a mindset of absolute truth declares that the Trinitarian God of the Bible is incomprehensible.) The word ‘called’ is not in the original Greek. Instead the word ‘common’ is repeated. Thus, this goes beyond mere words to underlying behavior. Notice that the contrast is again between purity and commonness. This contrast does not make sense if one defines common as ‘having all things in common’ because when everyone has the same thing, then that is a form of purity. This suggests that the earlier reference to having things in common needs to be interpreted as no person regarding their own possessions or experiences as special and different.

Looking at this in more detail, two methods of defining holiness are being contrasted. The first method separates some aspect of human existence in Mercy thought and dedicates it to God in Teacher thought, leading to concepts such as holy places, holy people, holy rituals, and holy items. The second method regards something as holy if it is an unusually pure example of a general Teacher law. For instance, bread and wine are used in the Eucharist because they are pure illustrations of general cognitive principles. A mind that is following the first method will tend to confuse the second method with being common. The first method separates holy items from the typical item. The second method derives its holiness from typical-ness, because the holy item is an archetype that contains the essence of what it represents. This is related to the idea of defining a general Teacher theory as an item upon which one can concentrate. Teacher thought can concentrate upon archetypes that represent the purified essence of some set of situations. It is also related to the concept of beauty, because there is a purity to beauty. When an object or process is beautiful, then all of the elements of that item point in a similar direction, resulting in purity. Purity is not something that is pointed out by Mercy thought, because Mercy thought defines purity in an exclusive manner as containing only one thing and not anything else. Instead, purity needs to be pointed out by Teacher thought, because Teacher thought will define purity as all the elements heading in a similar direction. For instance, a single crystal of silicon is pure from a Mercy perspective, because it contains only silicon in a single crystalline form. A computer chip would not be regarded by Mercy thought as pure, because all sorts of impurities have literally been added to the pure silicon. This adding is known as doping. However, a functioning computer chip will be regarded by Teacher thought as pure, because all the parts are functioning together in a unified and harmonious manner; there is no exception to the general rule in Teacher thought.

Verse 16 finishes, “Now this took place for three times, and immediately the vessel was taken up into heaven.” Took place means ‘to come into being’, suggesting that this dilemma will naturally come up in three different contexts. Taken up means ‘to take up, raise’ and was used in chapter 1 to describe the ascension of Jesus. Immediately means ‘at once, directly’. This taking up suggests that Teacher thought in heaven is rethinking its concept of holiness guided by human Perceiver thought.

Speaking from personal experience, I have had to rethink Mercy concepts of holiness in three major areas. The first was the Christian idea of regarding the words of the Bible as special and different than normal words. This concept of absolute truth had to be replaced by universal truth. The temptation here is to treat universal truth as merely common sense. The challenge is to develop a Teacher concept of holiness that takes certain universal concepts and regards them as more significant than other concepts.

The second is the scientific idea of regarding physical evidence that is acquired in a scientific manner as holier than other evidence. The temptation is to treat all evidence as equally valid as illustrated by the current tendency to question scientific truth and to replace this with social media. The solution is to place all evidence, including scientific evidence, within the structure of a general theory in Teacher thought. Thus, physical evidence is treated as holy to the extent that it illustrates general concepts of science.

The third is to regard spiritual experience as separate and different from normal experience. But both normal experiences and spiritual experiences appear to be guided by core mental networks. The commonness here comes in attempting to contact the spiritual world while living within the common experiences of society. That drags the spiritual down to the level of the common. The challenge is to emphasize spiritual content that reflects fundamental principles of existence and wholeness, leading to a Teacher-based concept of holiness.

This is immediately followed by the new concept of holiness being applied in heaven. Vessel is the same word that was used in verse 11, which means ‘a vessel to contain liquid’. Notice again that there is a temporary direct interaction between heaven and earth. Heaven opens, something descends, there is an interaction, and then that something is taken back up.

Cornelius’ Servants meet Peter 10:17-23

In verse 17, these two threads come together. “And while Peter was perplexed in himself what the vision that he had seen might be...” Perplexed describes ‘one who goes through the whole list of possible ways, and finds no way out ’. While is actually a comparison word that means ‘as, like as’. Thus, Perceiver thought has reached a dead end, and a similar dead-end is happening with the servants of Cornelius. Speaking from personal experience, Perceiver thought is guided by a sense of reasonableness. (Reasonableness is actually being provided by Facilitator thought based upon Perceiver principles.) This means that Perceiver thought will naturally try to stick with facts that are reasonable. However, if all reasonable options fail, then all that is left is what is unreasonable. This is conveyed by the term ‘perplexed’. Similarly, the mission by the servants of Cornelius suggests that normal solutions are not working, causing a radical path to be pursued.

Vision is derived from the word ‘to see with the mind’ and see means ‘to see with the mind’. Thus, Perceiver thought is internally seeing new possibilities, but they are not reasonable. For instance, the material in these essays is not socially reasonable because I am not aware of anyone else who is proposing something similar. But I have gone through ‘the whole list of possible ways’ and I can ‘find no way out’. On the positive side, I have an increasingly clear internal vision of what could be, and that internal vision provides the motivation for pursuing these socially unreasonable solutions. The word ‘be’ is specifically mentioned, suggesting that this vision involves the core aspect of being rather than merely having. Similarly, these essays go beyond the normal ‘having’ of typical biblical prophecy to a far deeper level of ‘being’. This is not just a matter of events happening but rather people being transformed.

Verse 17 continues, “Behold, the men having been sent from Cornelius, having inquired for the house of Simon, stood at the gate.” Behold means that something new has appeared. Sent means ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’. Men refers to male technical thought and Cornelius means ‘horn’. Cornelius is a military officer and a horn represents military strength. However, Cornelius represents a new way of approaching military strength. One can see this to some extent when military forces are used either for peacekeeping or for disaster relief. On the one hand, Perceiver thought is coming up with radical new ideas, while on the other hand secular force is being used in radically new ways.

Inquire is used once in the New Testament. It means ‘to question throughout’ and combines ‘through’ with ‘to ask on special footing’. Thus, in the same way that Perceiver thought is considering radical possibilities because there is no other alternative, so the new functioning of the military is searching for a new factual basis and it is eventually coming to the ideas of Peter after considering many options.

House means ‘house, dwelling’ and is a home for personal identity and Simon means ‘hearing’. This is a strange combination because the Teacher words of hearing are not normally associated with personal identity in Mercy thought. However, this is consistent with the idea of beauty, in which personal identity in Mercy thought acquires Teacher attributes.

Stood combines ‘stand’ with ‘upon’ and at is actually ‘upon’. This is the first use of the word gate in Acts, which means ‘the passage which led from the street through the front part of the house to the inner court’. This implies that the gate is not just a transition from one location to another but a location upon which it is possible to stand. Cognitively speaking, this describes a form of cause-and-effect, which emerges when Perceiver facts become connected with Server actions. Peter represents the Perceiver side of this connection, whereas the ‘horn’ of Cornelius represents the Server side. Cognitively speaking, the radical facts of Perceiver thought are being viewed as transitions—ways of escaping the current predicament. For instance, these essays interpret the New Testament using radical Perceiver facts. But at the same time, the secular world is facing major crises to which there increasingly appears to be no way out. These two are coming together in my mind, causing the prophetic interpretation of these essays to be interpreted as a possible way for existing society to escape its predicament.

Notice that this is not just the gate to a building rather the entrance way to a house, indicating that the focus is upon a house for personal identity. This is consistent with the idea of genetic manipulation, which alters the physical house for the personal identity of the soul. I know that this is a radical interpretation, but it fits the context of primal beings and we have just seen that people are being drawn to radical interpretations.

These two sides interact verbally in verse 18. “And having called out, they were asking if Simon who is called Peter is lodged here.” Call out means to ‘give forth a sound’. Thus, Teacher thought is being used to attract attention rather than to communicate. Asking means ‘to inquire’ and was previously used in 4:7 to describe the Sanhedrin asking Peter and John about healing the lame man. This goes beyond a search for information to an official inquiry. The inquiry uses the same language as the angel gave in verse 5: ‘Simon called Peter’ and ‘lodges’. ‘Simon called Peter’ indicates words that have stability and lodge comes from the word ‘foreign’. This describes words with content that do not fit their current Mercy context. For instance, these essays are studying the words of the Bible in order to derive solid Perceiver contact. But this verbal content does not fit the Mercy context of evangelical Christianity, even though evangelical Christianity claims to regard the words of the Bible as solid Perceiver content in which one places one’s faith. I currently attend a small evangelical church, but I feel as if I am lodging there as a stranger. That is because the mindset resembles that of Simon the tanner; the words of the Bible are applied in my church in a meaningful way to the Mercy experiences of life. A sense of beauty is also present because the services are liturgical, which means that they are formulated in a way that reflects Teacher order-within-complexity. However, there is no appreciation for the theory of mental symmetry. But it is precisely that foreignness which makes it possible to connect the Perceiver thinking of Peter with the Server actions of Cornelius. Similarly, my feeling of foreignness is encouraging me to connect my Perceiver thinking with the Server sequences of scientific methodology.

Peter is given further instructions in verse 19. “And of Peter thinking over the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘Behold, three men are seeking you.’” Thinking is used once in Acts and means ‘in a passionate frame of mind, easily agitated or quickly moved by strong, provoking impulses’. In other words, Perceiver thought is comparing options that have strong emotional implications. This word is also used in Matthew 1:20 where Joseph is thinking about divorcing Mary after she becomes pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Imagine the emotions that would roil through the mind if one’s fiancé announced ‘I am pregnant and the Holy Spirit did it’. Similarly, these essays are not just discussing whether one should have tea or coffee for breakfast. Instead, we are attempting to use Perceiver thought to analyze various forms of alien disclosure as well as attempt to reformulate Christianity. This is not being done as an intellectual exercise but rather as an attempt to maneuver forces and situations of epic proportion.

Vision is the normal word derived from ‘seeing with the mind’. Until now the instructions to Peter have come from a voice, and the letting down of the sheet was associated with primal beings. In verse 19, the spirit speaks to Peter, and a concept of the spirit emerges from Platonic forms in Mercy thought. This is a significant transition, because my general hypothesis is that the messages of biological life were initially designed by primal beings who live entirely in Teacher thought and have no direct connection with the human experiences of Mercy thought. In verse 11, four primal beings (or kinds of primal beings) are letting down a sheet with biological life into the human realm of Mercy experiences. Presumably a similar ‘letting down’ happened during the initial design of biological life. What is different is that intelligent human life is now present, and this new letting down is specifically happening in the presence of intelligent human life. And this presence of intelligent human life is being represented by the voice of the spirit. Saying this another way, in the original letting down, the Teacher messages of the primal beings were expressed in Mercy thought without anything existing within Mercy thought. The Teacher messages are now being expressed in Mercy thought guided by Platonic forms of the spirit. A Platonic form is an image within Mercy thought that reflects Teacher feelings of simplicity, order, and beauty. These internal Mercy images of Teacher perfection are motivating Peter to pursue a path of Teacher words descending down to Mercy life.

Behold indicates an awareness of something new. Men refers to male technical thought and seeking means ‘to seek by inquiring’. Thus, Peter has been using for Perceiver thought to pursue new possibilities from a theoretical and personal perspective but he does not have any practical techniques for implementing this vision. He suddenly realizes that there are aspects of male technical thought that are searching for the type of Perceiver content that he has been developing.

The three men may be related to the three presentations of the vision. For instance, in my case there was the transition from absolute religious truth to universal truth, from empirical scientific evidence to consistency with scientific understanding, and from spiritual to spiritual being reflected in the physical. Each of these transitions gave me wider understanding in Teacher thought and vastly expanded my Platonic forms of the spirit in Mercy thought.

Peter is told to act in verse 20. “But having risen, go down and proceed with them, doubting nothing, because I have sent them.” Having risen is the word for resurrection, indicating that Peter will have to become reborn to a new way of functioning. Go down implies heading down from Teacher theory to specific implementations in Mercy thought. Proceed means ‘to transport’, which indicates movement that involves transformation. ‘With them’ means that this Server path will accompany the new expression of the military represented by Cornelius. Doubting means ‘to separate throughout or wholly’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Thus, Peter is not supposed to use Perceiver thought to make distinctions or separations. Perceiver facts can focus either upon separating one concept or experience from another or upon building bridges of similarity. The goal here is to build bridges and not walls.

Sent means ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’. Verse 17 described the men as being sent ‘under the Cornelius’ indicating that they are under his authority. In verse 20, the spirit claims to be the sender. Speaking cognitively, the motivation is coming from Platonic forms of perfection within Mercy thought. When biological life was initially designed, then there was nothing in Mercy thought. Instead, Teacher words were being let down into a void. In verse 20, this second descending of biological life is being supported by Platonic forms within Mercy thought. But this support from Mercy thought is happening within the ‘city of Joppa’ which represents a mindset of beauty.

Peter meets the men in verse 21. “And Peter, having gone down to the men, said, ‘Behold, I am whom you seek; what is the cause for which you are here?’” Going down is the same word used in verse 20 which represents moving from Teacher generality to Mercy specifics. Peter goes down to the men, which means that general principles in Perceiver thought are being applied to more specific Server actions. The ultimate purpose of a military is to perform physical actions. Physical action is more specific than general ideas.

Behold suggests that this specific set of facts is something new which military action has not yet considered. Seek means ‘to seek by inquiring’, indicating that Peter has a larger grasp of the situation than his visitors. For instance, it is rumored that the military is currently interacting with aliens, and the study of alien phenomenon has recently become an officially accepted topic. However, everything that I have read about this interaction presupposes an underlying mindset of mysticism combined with alien beings that inherently appear in various forms, including gray aliens, praying mantises, and reptilians. Mental symmetry suggests a new set of facts which none of these contacts appear to have considered. Mental symmetry interprets both human and alien mysticism as a symptom of childish thought, and suggests that aliens are temporarily inhabiting ‘bodies’ that resonate with their level of mental maturity. Thus, a reptilian alien is not inherently reptilian but rather feels comfortable in a reptilian body because of having a mind that functions morally at the level of a reptile. This concept is explored further in the linked essay. I too am attempting to break through to the spiritual and supernatural realms. But I am following a path that is quite different than the normal path and I appear to be interacting with beings who are quite different—and nicer—than the aliens of UFO literature. In addition, it feels as if these beings are interacting with my spirit, and I often have vivid dreams. But I do not have ANY sense that I have been physically abducted or physically violated.

Cause means ‘cause, reason’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. You are here means ‘to be near’ and this is also being used for the first time in Acts. This brings up the question of nonphysical ‘location’. It appears that spiritual location does not function like physical location. Instead, spiritual distance appears to be determined by resonance. In other words, I am close to people and locations that resonate with my core mental networks, while being distant from locations that violate my core mental networks. Thus, Peter is noticing something new resonating with his core mental networks. And Peter is trying to clarify this closeness by determining the true nature of what appears to be similar mental networks. Peter is asking this question because he is descending from general theories and wants to make sure that he gets involved with people who share the same general theories.

The answer is given in verse 22. “And they said, ‘Cornelius a centurion, a righteous and God fearing man—and being well testified to by the whole nation of the Jews.’” They start by describing the personal character of Cornelius, indicating that they too are focusing upon core mental networks, but they are starting from mental networks of personal character in Mercy thought, while Peter is starting from mental networks of generality in Teacher thought.

Cornelius means horn and a centurion is a military rank. This indicates that the starting point is the military. They then turn to a description of Cornelius as a man. Righteous describes Server actions that reflect Teacher understanding. In other words, Cornelius does not just follow orders. Instead, his actions are guided by understanding. Fearing God indicates that his personal mental networks are ultimately guided by a concept of God in Teacher thought. Compare this with the First World War, in which the primary fear of the soldier was his commanding officer. A soldier who disobeyed orders to go out of the trench could be shot by his own army. A soldier is only capable of truly fearing God if God in Teacher thought is capable of inflicting greater physical harm upon the soldier than any human in Mercy thought. This would be the case if human soldiers had to interact with primal beings.

Well testify is the normal word for ‘bear witness, testify’. Nation refers to MMNs of culture. But this culture is not Greek or Roman but rather Jewish. Jewish means ‘praised’ and is being interpreted as religious believers in absolute truth. This is no longer the absolute truth of the Bible, though if these essays are accurate, then the Bible will continue to be studied. Instead, it would be the absolute truth of interacting with the spiritual realm following procedures that were discovered by previous generations and then written down. This has created a culture of the Jews, similar to the way that the absolute truth of the Bible created the culture of Christendom. Cornelius is behaving in a manner that is consistent with this culture of absolute truth. (This new form of absolute truth will become dominant in Acts 12.)

Verse 22 continues by saying that Cornelius “was divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to his house and to hear a message from you.” Divinely instructed actually refers to ‘a legal agreement for transacting business’. (This is an example of the BLB incorrectly translating the original Greek. The NASB, in contrast, puts the word ‘divine’ in italics. In general, we are finding that the BLB is significantly more consistent with the original Greek than the NASB.) By often means ‘under authority of someone’. And this someone is a holy angel. Angels are mentioned 21 times in Acts, but this is the only reference to a ‘holy angel’. The implication is that there are other angels who are not as holy. For instance, I mentioned earlier that I sense that I am interacting with angelic beings who are different and more holy than the aliens/angels that interact with the military and ufologists. I also sense that unholy angels are nearby and that sense helps to motivate me to continue following a path of holiness. Verse 22 emphasizes that Cornelius is interacting with a holy angel. This essay has referred numerous times to a spiritual economy. The word translated ‘divinely instructed’ is an economic term indicating that one aspect of interacting with holy angels is that one functions within a structure of formal agreements. Saying this another way, holy angels do not abduct humans in the middle of the night, paralyze them, do experiments on them, and then suppress their memories.

Send for means ‘to send from elsewhere’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. In other words, this ‘sending for’ involves the crossing of boundaries and the connecting of contexts that have been considered as different. For instance, my research has involved a lot of ‘sending from elsewhere’, using the structure of one field to help analyze the content of other fields. And in many cases, these are novel connections that have not been considered before. Notice also what is being connected. On the one side is the house of Cornelius. This is not the cohort of Cornelius or the army of Cornelius but rather his house. This involves subjective Mercy experiences. On the other side is the message of Peter. Hear means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. And message means ‘a spoken word, made by the living voice’. This word was last used in 6:13 where Stephen was accused of speaking words against the holy place and the law. This word ‘rhema’ is cognitively interesting because it has played a major role in the Pentecostal movement. A mindset of absolute truth believes that God spoke in the past and that these words were recorded in the Bible. One of the premises of the Pentecostal movement is that God also speaks to individuals today through the rhema of prophecy. It has been suggested that Acts 10 is taking place in a future era of revitalized absolute truth. Thus, the request from Cornelius could be interpreted as asking for a prophetic word from a real person that applies today. Saying this another way, most of the behavior of a military is guided by procedures, manuals, regulations, and official training. These are all forms of absolute truth. Cornelius is looking for a verbal understanding that will allow him to go beyond the bounds of absolute truth while remaining consistent with a character of righteousness. In contrast, the Pentecostal embrace of rhema has typically been accompanied by a lack of righteousness and a loss of respect for Scripture.

The interaction starts in verse 23 with Peter. “Therefore having called them in, he lodged them.” Call in is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘to or into’ with ‘call’. Lodge comes from the word ‘stranger’ and was previously used in verses 6 and 18 to apply to Peter. ‘Call’ implies approaching a subject from Teacher thought. ‘Calling in’ would mean that Peter is setting the context for the interaction with the visitors. Stated cognitively, when abstract thought interacts with concrete thought, then this interaction needs to start with abstract thought setting the context for concrete thought. ‘Them’ is not in the original Greek. Thus, ‘lodging’ indicates that Peter continues to stay in his present context even though it feels strange. However, it still provides a context for integrating Perceiver facts of abstract understanding with Server actions of secular application. For instance, I attend an evangelical church and I also live in an apartment building in which most of the residents are evangelical Christians. I am friends with my neighbors even though I do not feel like I fit in. Nevertheless, I feel that this is the best environment for me as I am doing my research. And even as I increasingly interact with secular scientific thought, I still feel that it is helpful to stay within my current church and home context.

Verse 23 continues, “And on the next day having risen up, he went forth with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him.” ‘On the next day’ implies that this relationship continues until there is a shift in society. In other words, the whole concept of a military needs to be re-thought within a moral context before attempting to apply moral principles within a military context. Having risen is again the word for resurrection, indicating that the next day involves a rebirth of thinking for Perceiver thought. Went forth means ‘to go or come out of’. Thus, once the rethinking has occurred and a new era is starting, then a deliberate decision is being made to leave the existing context. For instance, I feel that the time will come when it is appropriate to leave my current environment. However, I feel that this can only be done after there is a shift in current society. That is because my current evangelical Christian environment has shielded me from most of the stupidities of the postmodern world. ‘With them’ indicates that Perceiver facts and Server sequences are now integrated. This is no longer a case of religious theory cooperating with secular application. Instead, there is now an integrated understanding of moral cause-and-effect.

Peter is accompanied by some brothers from Joppa. Joppa means ‘beauty’. Thus, Peter is not leaving the religious in order to embrace the secular military but rather going with the military accompanied by a group of civilian advisers who understand Teacher feelings of beauty. Similarly, current stories about alien interaction often mention civilians interacting with aliens within some military context. There may be a cognitive reason for this. Looking at this more generally, Peter is descending from generality to specifics, and when one does so, it is easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Therefore, it is important to be accompanied by ‘brothers from Joppa’ who will maintain a focus upon Teacher feelings of beauty. We saw earlier that, unlike a hierarchical system of delegated authority, a feeling of beauty can maintain Teacher emotions while descending from generality to specifics.

Peter Arrives at Cornelius 10:24-28

In verse 24, the group arrives. “And on the next day, he entered into Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them, having called together his relatives and close friends.” ‘On the next day’ gives the impression that the journey of verse 23 happened during some era of society. The general principle is that a Server sequence is also a ‘location’. Being on a journey means that one is focusing upon the angelic side of existence which thinks in terms of Server sequences. In other words, the concept of beauty is not just static. Objects and people can be beautiful. But processes and actions can also be beautiful, and an adequate concept of beauty requires both Perceiver objects and Server sequences. Saying this yet another way, when the starting point is Teacher thought, then Server actions come before Perceiver objects. Learning to act in a beautiful and elegant manner is more basic than looking beautiful. This principle is illustrated by nouveau riche who may have elegant possessions but are not elegant people. And it should be emphasized that we are not looking here merely at material beauty but rather a sense of beauty that starts from fundamental concepts of existence in Teacher thought.

Entered means ‘to go in, enter’ and was previously used in verse 3 to describe an angel entering towards Cornelius. In verse 23, the three men were called into the house of Peter. Peter is functioning at the level of abstract thought and one is ‘called into’ abstract thought. Cornelius is functioning at a concrete level, and one ‘enters into’ concrete thought. The angel in verse 3 was descending from abstract thought to enter into the concrete realm of Cornelius. In verse 24, the group is entering into Caesarea. Caesarea represents secular government. This is happening on the next day which implies that the collaboration that began on the previous day as a cooperation between abstract research and an aspect of the military is now affecting government.

Expecting combines ‘toward’ with ‘to watch’. It was used once previously in Acts in 3:5 to describe the beggar expecting alms. In both cases, behavior in concrete thought is being motivated by a desire to receive some sort of religious reward. Called together means ‘to call together’ and was used once previously in Acts in 5:21 to describe the high priest calling the council together. Calling people together is an organizational way of searching for Teacher generality, because one is hoping that a discussion between technical specializations will lead to a more general understanding. This is the only mention of relatives in Acts. Normally, a military officer would call together fellow officers. In this case, relatives are being called together, indicating a focus upon similarity of being rather than similarity of military structure. This kind of similarity would be essential when dealing with fundamental questions of existence.

This is the first reference in Acts to a friend, which means ‘a trusted confidant, held dear in a close bond of personal affection’. Close means ‘necessary’ and not ‘close’ (The NASB also uses the word ‘close’ but this word is translated as ‘necessary’ the other times it occurs in the New Testament.) A friend is someone with whom one shares similar interests, knowledge, and expertise. One normally chooses friends on the basis of comfortableness. In contrast, these friends are described as necessary. When one is dealing with questions of existence, then one chooses friends based upon necessity and not upon comfort.

Verse 25 describes the initial reaction of Cornelius. “And as Peter was entering, Cornelius, having met him, having fallen at the feet, worshiped him.” ‘Enter’ is the same word that was used in verse 24 to describe entering Caesarea. The phrase is more literally, ‘as came into being the entering of Peter’. Peter represents Perceiver thought. Thus, verse 25 describes the response that is being triggered by the connections of Perceiver thought. Having met is used twice in Acts and combines ‘together’ with ‘to come opposite, meet face-to-face’. Thus, Perceiver connections are bridging two different personal mindsets. The concrete mindset of Cornelius is coming into direct contact with Peter’s focus upon abstract beauty.

The phrase ‘fell at his feet’ was previously used in 5:10 to describe Sapphira falling dead at the feet of Peter. That is an interesting comparison because Sapphira means ‘sapphire’ and a sapphire is an object of beauty. In Acts 5, focusing upon beauty in an objective manner was a fatal mistake. In verse 25, the practical approach of Cornelius is falling at the feet of the beauty of Peter and the men from Joppa. What has happened is that beauty has acquired a much deeper significance. In chapter 5, the goal was to acquire beautiful things in human existence. In chapter 10, the goal is to pursue divine beauty at the deepest level of personal existence. Cornelius has been attempting to behave in a beautiful manner at this deeper level. But he has not realized that he is searching for beauty. When he comes face to face with the divinely inspired beauty of Joppa through the Perceiver connections of Peter, he loses his ability to stand. This is brought out by the word worship, which means ‘to kiss the ground when prostrating before a superior’. One could interpret worship from a Mercy perspective as bowing before someone who has greater Mercy status, but what is happening here is that Cornelius is bowing in Teacher thought before the greater Teacher generality of Peter.

Peter responds in verse 26. “But Peter lifted him up, saying, ‘Rise up, I myself am also a man.’” Rise up means ‘to waken, to raise up’ and was previously used in 9:8 to describe Saul rising up from the earth after encountering the light from heaven. In verse 25, Cornelius has been struck down by a form of divine light. In 9:8, the rational thinking of the earth restored the thinking of Saul. In verse 26, Peter is restoring Cornelius. Rise up is the normal word for resurrection. Man is the generic term for mankind. Thus, Perceiver thought is pointing out that the ideal of beauty also takes the form of a human. In other words, when one approaches the ultimate concept of divine beauty, one is not blinded by some mystical light as Saul was. Instead, one realizes that the ultimate form of beauty is compatible with human existence. Saying this from the perspective of primal beings designing life, their goal in letting down the sheet is not to destroy human life but rather to generate a more ideal form of life that is compatible with humanity. Peter’s words are quite personal. A literal translation would be ‘and I myself human am’. Notice the repeated references to identity and existence.

Peter enters in verse 27. “And talking with him, he entered, and he finds many having gathered together.” The word talking is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘with’ with ‘to be in company with’. This describes a form of interaction that may include words but is more practical, consistent with the practical focus of Cornelius. During the previous ‘entering’ in verse 25, Cornelius worshiped Peter and Peter responded by saying that he was also human. The entering in verse 27 follows the ‘talking’. In other words, Cornelius is taking the advice of Peter and they are interacting at a human level. Thus, worshiping Peter is being replaced by interacting at a human level.

Gathered together combines ‘with’ and ‘to come, go’. It was previously used in verse 23 to describe the journey from Joppa to Caesarea. Find means to ‘to discover, especially after searching’. Looking at this cognitively, many similar practical Server sequences are being discovered when Perceiver thought enters the context from a human perspective. For instance, mental symmetry studies what it means to behave as a human. But this study of behavior is being done from a Perceiver perspective. The result is that many similar Server sequences have been discovered; mental symmetry can be used as a meta-theory to tie together many different disciplines.

Peter begins by describing the mindset of absolute truth. “And he was saying to them, ‘You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to unite himself or to come near to a foreigner.’” A Jew is being interpreted as a believer in absolute truth. Saying means to ‘bring to light by asserting one statement over another’. This describes focusing upon certain Perceiver facts in order to build Teacher understanding. These words are being directed ‘toward them’, suggesting that Peter is telling them about a certain way of thinking. This is the first use of the word know in Acts which combines ‘fitting on’ with ‘standing upon’. In other words, the mindset of absolute truth has acted as an appropriate reference point for Perceiver thought. Unlawful is used twice in the New Testament and combines ‘not’ with ‘a custom, what is acceptable because accepted’. Thus, Peter is not talking about abstract law but rather about accepted cultural norms. The word man is explicitly mentioned in the Greek, indicating a focus upon male technical thought. . Unite himself means ‘glued together’. Come near means ‘to approach, to draw near’. Foreigner is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘another of the same kind’ with ‘race, tribe’. Thus, a more literal translation would be, ‘A reference point for you is that it is not accepted for the facts of absolute truth to be glued together or come too close to other cultures that are similar’.

This describes a fundamental attribute of absolute truth. Absolute truth is based in Mercy sources that are different than normal Mercy experiences. Absolute truth will only survive if the facts of absolute truth are kept separate from normal facts and if absolute truth is based in a culture that remains separate from normal culture. For instance, academia makes a distinction between normal words and words that have been peer-reviewed. And academia functions within university campuses that are different than normal neighborhoods. That is because academia acts as a source of absolute truth to its students and these separations help to preserve the mindset of absolute truth. A similar principle functions in the military, because officers live apart from enlisted men and military orders are regarded as distinct from normal speech. That is because officers are a source of absolute truth for enlisted men.

Verse 28 continues, “But God has shown me not to call any man common or unclean.” Show means ‘to show’ and this is the second use of this word in Acts. The first use was in 7:3 where God told Abraham to go to a land that he would show him. In both cases, God in Teacher thought is the source of the showing. Not means ‘not even one’. ‘Any’ is in italics because it is not in the original Greek. Instead the reference is to mankind, similar to the way that Peter in verse 26 referred to mankind. Common was previously used in verse 14 and means ‘defiled because treated as ordinary’. The idea is that absolute truth is losing its specialness by being treated as universal truth. This happens when the principles for preserving absolute truth mentioned at the beginning of the verse are not followed. For instance, universal truth would conclude that ‘That table is not holy because it is like any table that you can buy in the store’. Unclean means ‘not pure because mixed’. For instance, making a distinction between religious worship and physical pleasure treats humanity as impure. In verse 28 a new form of holiness is coming verbally from God in Teacher thought. One is supposed to regard humanity as an expression of universal principles in Teacher thought. And one is not supposed to divide one aspect of humanity from another.

For instance, mental symmetry started as a study of the human mind. But as was just mentioned, it has grown to become a meta-theory. Thus, Teacher thought is showing that the universal principles of cognition are not common but rather are expressions of Teacher generality. Similarly, it is becoming increasingly evident to me that one cannot regard the human mind as distinct from the human body. Angels and humans appear to have the same minds. But living in a human body causes the human mind to develop in a certain manner that is more general than the mind of an angel. This can be seen in descriptions of aliens, because aliens behave like robots who are only barely alive, acting like workaholic professionals who have no social or personal life and never take any vacations.

This is an appropriate interpretation because the context is interacting with primal beings. On the one hand, these primal beings are the designers of the DNA of biological life and they function at a level that is closest to the light of God in Teacher thought. But on the other hand, these primal beings are mentally incomplete. One could almost refer to them as flatlanders who live within a realm of Server sequences and Teacher messages (or maybe even worms living within a realm of message strings). Thus, humanity is more general in Teacher thought than primal beings when viewed from the viewpoint of a meta-theory. Saying this another way, if one studied the behavior of primal beings, this would not lead to a meta-theory that was capable of explaining many topics. The end result is that both primal beings and humanity possess Teacher generality, making it possible for interaction to occur on a level of mutual benefit. Primal beings can repair and improve human DNA, while humans can show primal beings what it means to be a whole person.

Cornelius Explains 10:29-33

Peter describes his response in verse 29. “So also without objection I came, having been summoned.” Without objection is used once as an adverb in the New Testament (and also once as an adjective) and combines ‘not’, ‘anti’, and ‘stated, specified’, leading to the meaning ‘not to be contradicted’. Came simply means ‘to come, go’. In other words, Perceiver thought does not want to assert any facts that will fragment this Teacher understanding. Looking at this personally, these essays are connecting many subjects that are currently regarded as wildly different. Social convention says that these concepts should not be connected. But I am choosing to connect them in order to build Teacher understanding.

Summoned means ‘to send after or for’ and was previously used in verse 5 to describe Cornelius sending for Peter and in verse 22 to describe an angel telling Cornelius to send for Peter. In other words, humans are not acting on their own initiative. Instead, they are being given instructions by angels. This is important because any human interaction with primal beings requires some sort of shielding. In this case, the shielding is coming from angels who are giving the instructions to humans.

One can speculate why angels would do this. My hypothesis is that aliens interact with the primal light of God in Teacher thought, and this type of energy worship is often described in alien stories. However, that type of worship reinforces mysticism. And it appears that this sort of mysticism only works as long as aliens do not reveal themselves to humans. If angels are to go beyond this implicit mysticism, then the Teacher light of God has to be translated (transformed?) into a form that is compatible with humanity. This will happen if humanity is regarded as a source of Teacher generality for primal beings. Saying this more simply, the only way to defeat mysticism is by changing it at its source. Revelation 4 describes such mysticism at the throne of God, because the living creatures are bowing down before God in endless worship.

Consistent with this, Revelation 14:3 describes a group that “are singing as a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders. And no one was able to learn the song.” Notice that humans are singing this song before the living creatures who in Revelation 4 were performing the endless worship. Notice also that this is a new song that nobody else can learn except for those ‘redeemed from the earth’, implying that this new song is based upon human existence. This group is also described in verse 4 as ‘not besmeared with mud’, ‘purchased out from mankind’, and as ‘from the primal’. In other words, they come out of humanity but they have a source in the primal. Mud is half liquid and half solid, implying a mixing of Mercy experiences and Perceiver facts. The kingdom of the beast was ‘besmeared’ with a blending of Perceiver truth and Mercy worship. Dealing with primal beings would require total personal integrity.

Peter then asks, “Therefore I inquire, for what reason did you summon me?” (v. 29). Inquire means ‘to inquire, by implication to learn’. It was previously used in verse 18 by the men to ask if Simon Peter was living in a certain house. In both cases, those who possess part of the picture are trying to fill in the missing pieces. Reason is the word ‘logos’, which is being interpreted as a paradigm for technical thought. Summon is the same verb that was used earlier in the verse. Thus, Peter is not coming as an expert who is the source of absolute truth but rather in submission to those who are experts in dealing with human existence. And the military does have expertise in this area. However, Peter is not just asking for practical expertise, but rather asking for a paradigm in Teacher thought that explains this expertise. This is vital, because the interaction has to be guided by rational Teacher understanding.

Cornelius answers in verse 30. “And Cornelius was saying, ‘Four days ago, until this hour, the ninth hour, I was praying in my house; and behold, a man in bright apparel stood before me.’” This recounting can be compared with the original event in verse 3. There have been three ‘the next days’ in verses 9, 23, and 24. Thus, four days ago is accurate. In other words, people are aware that society has gone through several shifts, similar to the way that we refer today to baby boomers, Generation X, and millennials. ‘Until this hour’ implies that the conversation in verse 30 is happening at a similar stage of society as the original vision. Pray means ‘to exchange wishes’. Thus, Cornelius, the military officer, is focusing upon his emotional and subjective interaction with God.

Cornelius adds that he is praying ‘in my house’. This emphasizes that Cornelius is focusing upon personal identity in Mercy thought. He is not just ‘praying for the missionaries in the foreign fields’ but rather exchanging wishes between personal identity and God. Verse 3 referred to an angel. In verse 30, a ‘man in bright apparel’ is mentioned. Man is the word for ‘man’ and not the generic word for mankind. Stood means ‘to make to stand, to stand’. Humans stand, but an angel does not normally stand. That is because angels live within Server sequences while standing implies Perceiver facts. This is significant because the previous verse has just stated that mankind needs to be treated as general in Teacher thought. The reference to a man standing indicates that this principle is being applied by angelic messengers. They are willing to take human form.

Before means ‘in sight of, before’. One of the primary characteristics of current alien interaction is that aliens are not willing to stand before humans. My hypothesis is that alien mysticism would become hampered if aliens stood before humans. Apparel means ‘clothing’ and clothing represents social interaction. In Acts 1:10, ‘two men stood by in white apparel’ after the ascension of Jesus. In other words, when one moves from Jesus to Christ, then one will implicitly interpret Christ using the human experiences of Jesus. This will lead to clothing that is ‘bright, white’. In contrast, the word bright means ‘to shine’ and is used once as an adjective in Acts. Shining implies that some of the divine light is now appearing, but notice that it is now appearing as an adjective that modifies the human form. In other words, it is now possible for angels to appear in human form while still being clothed in divine light. This is different than mysticism which can only access the divine light by mentally turning away from human existence.

Summarizing, a mindset of absolute truth prevents humans from combining heaven with earth because the heavenly source of absolute truth must remain separate from the earthly living of common existence. In a similar manner, the practice of mystical worship would prevent angels and aliens from appearing openly upon earth because angelic mysticism must distinguish between the complexity of human society and the order of angelic worship. This would also keep alien society simplistic and workaholic.

The angel speaks in verse 31. “And said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.’” Said means to ‘bring to light’ and was used in verse 28 to describe the words of Peter as well as in verse 30 to describe the words of Cornelius. In each case, the speech is leading to new understanding in Teacher thought. Heard is used once in Acts and adds ‘into’ to ‘comprehend by hearing’. In verse 3, the prayers were ascending as a memorial before God. Thus, they were attracting attention within the divine realm of God in Teacher thought, but they were not necessarily being understood. In verse 31, these prayers have moved into the realm of comprehension. More generally, it appears that the Perceiver facts of human existence are extending the Server messages of angelic existence, making it possible for angels to comprehend. Saying this another way, it appears that aliens (and angels) really are limited by their ‘bodies’ into functioning and thinking as workaholic professionals.

Alms means ‘mercy, pity’. In verse 3, the alms ascended as a memorial, which means ‘to remember, recollect’. In verse 31 this word is being used as a verb. In verse 3, the memorial was ‘in front of’ God, whereas in verse 31 the remembering is ‘in the face of’ God. Looking at this cognitively, the alms in verse 3 were functioning as something intrusive that did not go away—something that did not fit the existing pattern of divine worship. In verse 31 they are being treated as an aspect of the Server actions of angels as they interact personally with God—something that is an essential part of divine worship. We saw when looking at the lame man that alms play a major role in the spiritual economy. In verse 3 the spiritual economy reached the level of intruding into divine worship. In verse 31, the spiritual economy is now an aspect of divine worship.

The angel gives instructions in verse 32. “Therefore send to Joppa and call for Simon, who is called Peter.” This sentence is quite similar to verse 5, except for two differences. Verse 5 talked about sending men to Joppa. Verse 32 does not mention men. In verse 5, the angelic sending had to happen through human men. In verse 32, the angels appear to be capable of doing their own sending. Verse 5 talked about summoning Peter, which was interpreted as an angel telling the human what to do. Verse 32 uses the word call, which means ‘to call from one place to another’. This was used once previously in Acts in 7:14 to describe Joseph calling his family from Canaan to Egypt. This type of calling means moving from one context to another. Perceiver thought is required to connect one context with another. Perceiver thought has just been used to expand the Server sequences of angelic functioning. Thus, an angel can now think in terms of more than one context. This would be like a professional being able to conceive of behavior outside of that profession by comparing other behavior to the behavior of the profession.

Verse 32 continues, “He lodges in the house of Simon, a tanner by the sea.” This is also slightly different than the original account in verse 6. In verse 6, the lodging was with Simon a tanner by [the] sea, whereas in verse 32, the lodging is in a house of Simon, a tanner by [the] sea. Simon has not changed, because he is still a tanner by the sea. In other words, the mindset of using Teacher understanding to analyze MMNs of culture has not changed. But the relationship of Peter to Simon has changed. What is being derived from Simon is no longer personal identity but rather a house for personal identity. Personal identity is now an expression of humanity, and humanity is being viewed as something general in Teacher thought and not just a characteristic of living in Mercy experiences.

Cornelius acts in verse 33. “Therefore I sent to you at once, and you did well, having come.” Sent means ‘to send’ and we have seen this word twice in this chapter. The idea is that when one is dealing with primal beings one cannot interact directly but rather has to connect through some form of shielding. ‘At once’ indicates that Cornelius did not consult first with military authority. Instead, he recognized that he was dealing with a higher authority that takes precedence over human authority.

Well means ‘attractively good, good that inspires’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. And did refers to Server actions. Notice that Cornelius is evaluating the situation from a concrete perspective. Peter has done Server actions that lead to good Mercy results. Notice also that a military normally does not think in terms of goodness, unless it is performing actions such as disaster relief or search and rescue. Having come combines ‘beside’ with ‘to come into being’. Stated cognitively, when the abstract thinking of Peter descends to the concrete actions of Cornelius and comes into being beside it, then the actions lead to attractive results. This is like saying that if there was alien disclosure and aliens started to walk among humans, then humans would find aliens attractive and not repulsive. (One reads stories of aliens temporarily appearing as humans and moving within human society, but this is done incognito and seems to involve temporary excursions.)

Cornelius continues, “Now therefore, we are all present before God to hear all the things having been commanded you by the Lord” (v. 33). The therefore indicates that this follows from the previous statement. The reason that Cornelius is willing to listen to the words of Peter is because Cornelius finds the behavior of Peter attractive. Before means ‘in the eye’. It was previously used in verse 31 to describe the alms of Cornelius being remembered before God. Present means ‘am present, am near’ and was used once previously in Acts in verse 21 where Peter asked the visitors from Cornelius why they were present. That was interpreted as Peter in abstract religious thought suddenly realizing that something from military concrete thought was present. ‘Present before God’ is quite different than worshiping God or praying to God. Normally encountering ‘the eye of God’ is an overwhelming experience which cannot be maintained. However, not only is Cornelius present before God but ‘all we’ are present. This is what it means for humanity to be lifted up to the level of Teacher generality. Humanity as a group can be present before God. This is not a case of feeling forgiven of one’s sins. Instead, it goes deeper to the level of existence. It is okay to exist as a human because existence as a human has inherent Teacher generality. This does not mean that all human behavior has inherent Teacher generality. Humans still behave as sinners who need salvation. But existing as a human is inherently righteous and not inherently sinful. This is the opposite of gnosticism which views material existence as inherently flawed or evil.

Hear means to ‘comprehend by hearing’ which implies that rational thought can be used. ‘Hearing all the things’ means that rational thought can be used as a general strategy. Looking at this from a different perspective, if Jesus was both fully man and fully God, then this means that all of the essential characteristics of God are compatible with rational human existence. Using the language of this passage, humanity is a universal concept. This logic seems obvious to me, but whenever I have mentioned this to others I have found almost always that the argument means nothing. When that happens, I smile, shut my mouth, turn away, and conclude that Christians are merely mouthing the essential doctrines of Christianity. Therefore, it needs to be restated. Christianity teaches as a fundamental doctrine that Jesus is the incarnation of God. But incarnation is only possible if the essential character of God can be placed within the package of a rational human being. Acts 10 takes this the other way, saying that existence as humanity has sufficient Teacher generality to be able to stand in the presence of God. Again, I am not saying that a human is sufficiently sinless to stand in the presence of God, but rather that human existence can stand in the presence of God.

Commanded combines ‘move towards’ with ‘to place, arrange’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. By means ‘under, often meaning under authority’. Putting this together, Peter is functioning under the authority of the Lord. But this authority expresses itself as a rational understanding that leads to Teacher structure. For instance, this is like technology saying to science, ‘We want to rationally understand all the laws of science that you will teach us which you have formulated in submission to natural processes.’

Peter Describes the Character of God 10:34-39

Peter starts talking in verse 34. “And Peter, having opened the mouth, said, ‘Of a truth I understand that God is not One who shows partiality.’” Open means ‘to open up’ and was previously used in verse 11 to describe the heavens opening up when the sheet descended. In 8:35 Philip opened his mouth to the eunuch. In 8:32 the lamb being led to slaughter did not open its mouth. The point is that words have to be used with the right audience. The lamb was not speaking in order to seek a higher solution. But once this solution has been achieved, then there is a time for speaking with the right audience.

Truth means ‘true to fact’ and this is the second use of this word in Acts. Server sequences have been emphasized in the preceding sections, indicating a focus upon angelic existence. Perceiver facts of human reality are now being asserted. Understand combines ‘according to’ with ‘aggressively take’ and means to ‘take hold of exactly, with decisive initiative’. It was used once previously in Acts in 4:13 where the council understood that Peter and John were uneducated. This goes beyond merely understanding to making use of information. It has just been established that human existence has Teacher generality. On the basis of this, Peter is asserting Perceiver facts of human existence. This goes beyond standing up for human rights in the presence of aliens to realizing that human existence is the archetype for all created beings.

Show partiality is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘the face’ with ‘aggressively take’. Looking at this from a cultural perspective, God does not pursue ‘saving face’. God does not look for personal status. Saying this another way, a search for Teacher understanding does not seek personal status or try to ‘save face’. Applying this to the context, God does not pursue a hierarchical arrangement in which angels are above humans and primal beings are above angels.

Verse 35 describes the true nature of God. “But in every nation, the one fearing Him and working righteousness is acceptable to Him.” Nation refers to MMNs of ‘common culture’. Fear means ‘to fear, withdraw from’. Acceptable means ‘what is welcomed because pleasing’ and this is the only use of this word in Acts. In other words, Peter is describing what makes God happy. Peter is not saying that every culture is acceptable to God. That describes the mindset of universal tolerance that is often preached in the name of God today but is actually based in Teacher overgeneralization. Instead, Peter is saying that it is possible to become acceptable to God in every culture by allowing the TMN of a concept of God to shape behavior. Working refers to ‘a deed that carries out an inner desire’. Righteousness ‘refers to what is deemed a right by the Lord’ and is interpreted as Server actions that are guided by a Teacher understanding of God. For instance, soldiers carry out Server actions that reflect the Teacher words of commanding officers. But this is not righteousness because it is not being internally motivated by a concept of God in Teacher thought. However, Cornelius has been placing his internal understanding of God above his military structure. Notice that this is a standard that applies equally to humans, angels, spirits, and primal beings. Even though primal beings are restricted to the realm of sequences of Teacher words, they can still be guided by an internal concept of ‘how God does things’ rather than submitting to a culture of ‘how we do things’. And humans face a similar choice. This kind of righteousness was discussed earlier as an alternative to a hierarchy of delegated authority.

Peter summarizes the gospel in verse 36. “The word that He sent to the sons of Israel, proclaiming the gospel, peace by Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all.” Word is ‘logos’ which is interpreted as a paradigm of technical thought. Sent means ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’ and has been used several times in this chapter. Thus, the ultimate sending is by God through paradigms. Or using religious language, God in Teacher thought reveals himself through the logos of Christ. Israel is interpreted as the people through whom God reveals himself to humanity. A son of Israel would be a descendent of the group through which God interacts with humanity. When significant principles are passed on to the next generation, they will naturally be treated as absolute truth. Proclaiming the gospel means ‘to announce good news’. Peace means ‘to join, tie together into a whole’. And ‘Jesus Christ’ refers to an integrated concept of incarnation.

Verse 35 took a concrete perspective. Verse 36 views this from an abstract perspective. Verse 35 described the type of people that God likes. Verse 36 describes how God helps people. God sends Teacher understanding to those who follow the right absolute truth. The right absolute truth has the characteristics of bringing good results to personal existence in Mercy thought, leading to mental and societal wholeness—and resulting in an integrated concept of incarnation.

Saying this more generally, true absolute truth has four characteristics. First, it can be analyzed using technical paradigms in Teacher thought. Second, it can be applied to benefit humanity. Third, it leads to integration rather than fragmentation. Fourth, it integrates abstract and concrete technical thought rather than dividing one from the other. Applying this to a future time, human existence can also be viewed as a form of true absolute truth from God, because the messages of DNA have been written down and these written words form the basis for physical existence. Human DNA is a true message because it has four characteristics: First, human physical existence can be studied using abstract technical thought. Second, human physical existence enables good Mercy experiences. It can actually be pleasant to live as a human. Third, it is possible to exist as a physical human being in a way that supports mental and social wholeness. Fourth, physical human existence is not intrinsically opposed to angelic existence but it is possible to integrate these two.

Peter finishes by saying that ‘He is Lord of all’. This can be interpreted as saying that God rules over all human cultures, both Jewish and Gentile. But culture is not mentioned here. Thus, it can also be interpreted more generally as God being Lord over all created beings.

In verse 37, Peter describes the source of this message. “You yourselves know the declaration having come through all Judea, having begun from Galilee, after the baptism that John proclaimed.” Know means ‘seeing that becomes knowing’ which refers to empirical evidence. Having come means ‘to come into being’. And declaration means ‘a spoken word, made by the living voice’. The distinction between the ‘logos’ of the written word and the ‘rhema’ of verbal revelation was discussed earlier in the context of Pentecostalism. Judea means ‘praised’ and would refer to respect for the source of absolute truth. In other words, verse 37 is describing a form of charismatic renewal in which the existing written word is being supplemented by new and living words. However, this charismatic renewal is leading to empirical evidence, as opposed to the typical Pentecostal movement today where searching for solid evidence usually comes up with nothing. In the context of primal beings, this could be interpreted as the revealed written DNA of existing biological life being supplemented by new life based in new DNA. This is not a matter of humans manipulating DNA guided by incomplete human understanding and inadequate human motives. That would be another, deadlier, version of current Pentacostalism. Instead, the original designers of DNA are making modifications. (It is possible that humans might be assisting.)

Having begun means to ‘commence, rule’ and is related to the word translated ‘corners’ of the sheets in verse 11. Galilee means ‘to roll’ and is interpreted as the cycles of society. For instance, the charismatic movement was an expression of the cycles of society in which there is an alternation between doctrine and freedom. These kind of cycles occur naturally under absolute truth because a mindset of absolute truth by its very nature suppresses personal identity while the right absolute truth enables personal identity. Thus, one has to break free of the mindset of absolute truth in order to experience the benefits of absolute truth, but experiencing the benefits causes one to doubt the content of absolute truth. These type of cycles will provide a natural starting point for moving beyond absolute truth. For instance, I mentioned earlier that mental symmetry began in a church that was being pastored by Harald Bredesen, who was regarded by many as the father of the charismatic movement. However, mental symmetry was eventually rejected by this church because it went too far in the direction of rational understanding.

Baptism means ‘a dipping or sinking’ and indicates a personal transformation provoked by being immersed within Mercy experiences. Proclaim means ‘to herald, proclaim’. Absolute truth is proclaimed because some source of truth is declaring what is true. This happens both with religious absolute truth and with education. John means ‘the Lord has been gracious’. This is the first reference to the baptism of John since Acts 1. John the Baptist is interpreted as a religion of absolute truth. The implication is that society has returned to a mindset of absolute truth. ‘The Lord has been gracious’ is different than ‘God is gracious’. ‘The Lord’ refers to words and rules to which one submits. ‘God’ refers to a universal understanding in Teacher thought. Absolute truth submits to ‘the Lord’ but the right absolute truth can lead to a concept of God in Teacher thought which can replace the Lord with God.

Jesus functions within this system in verse 38. “Jesus from Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power.” Jesus means ‘Yah is salvation’ and the word Nazareth probably comes from a Hebrew word for ‘branch’. Acts refers several times to Jesus the Nazarene, but this is the only reference in Acts to ‘Jesus from the Nazareth’. This suggests that the salvation being discussed here is related more to a place than a person. This is consistent with the idea of the physical body being emphasized, because the body is the home for personal identity. Anoint is the verb form of Christ which means ‘anointed’. It is used one other time in Acts in 4:27 after the healing of the lame man and the denouncement from the official priesthood. The idea there was that God was anointing a new priesthood to replace the official priesthood. Here too, a new way of interacting with primal beings is being anointed that replaces the existing method of government. The shift in chapter 4 happened because the new spiritual economy was able to deliver spiritual benefits that the existing priesthood claimed to deliver but could not. The shift in verse 38 is happening because interaction with primal beings is delivering physical benefits that transcend what government can provide. This does not mean that government will disappear. There will always be some need for organization. But the ultimate basis for government is physical force and the military. A government is a government because it can back up its words with physical force. When aspects of the physical force of government turn to primal beings for physical assistance, then this indicates a fundamental shift in the very nature of government.

God is doing the anointing and the anointing is ‘with Holy Spirit and power’. A concept of the Holy Spirit is related to a form of the Good, when all Platonic forms are united by an integrated concept of God in Teacher thought. Human existence has just been lifted up to the level of Teacher generality. This would unite all Platonic forms of better human existence into a concept of the Holy Spirit. And this Holy Spirit would have power to change physical existence for people.

Verse 38 continues, “who went about doing good and healing all those being oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.” Went about means ‘to go through, go about, to spread’. It was previously interpreted as some new movement spreading throughout society. Doing good is used once as a verb in the New Testament (and also once as a noun) and means ‘to do good deeds, perform kind service’. Notice the focus upon physical activity rather than personal being, indicating that this transition involves people at the physical level. This word combines ‘good’ with ‘a deed that carries out an inner desire’. Thus, this is not simply a matter of meeting physical needs but rather externalizing internal images of possible perfection. The word heal means ‘healing, particularly as supernatural’. It was used once previously in Acts in 9:34 to describe Aeneas being healed. This indicates that supernatural power is being applied to physical health. Oppressed is used twice in the New Testament and combines ‘according to’ with ‘exercise rulership’. The idea is that physical limitations are exercising rulership over humanity and these limitations are being supernaturally eliminated. Devil means ‘to slander’ and this is the first mention of the devil in Acts. Slander uses words to attack a person. This would become especially potent if people were being attacked using the words of DNA. One might think that this is a strange interpretation, but how else could one describe manipulating DNA in a harmful way using the language of the Roman Empire?

‘Because God was with him’ means that God is ensuring that everything works together in Teacher thought. What scares me about current genetic manipulation is that specialists with limited knowledge, inadequate moral compasses, and no respect for the initial designers are tinkering with a genetic system in which everything is interrelated. For instance, the way that histones affect the expression of DNA through epigenetics is mind blowing. Going further, I mentioned earlier that current genetic manipulation is being guided by a general theory which asserts that all of the information of DNA is the result of random mistakes. In the words of one article, “Mutations are essential to evolution. Every genetic feature in every organism was, initially, the result of a mutation.” Compare this with chip manufacturing, which goes to extreme lengths to try to reduce mistakes or defects. A chip manufacturing company would never hire an employee who thought that mistakes were a good thing. And yet, DNA research is being guided by the theory that mistakes are not just a good thing but are responsible for all of the structure of DNA. But DNA is THE MESSAGE OF BIOLOGICAL LIFE. If a genetic researcher really thought that genetic mistakes are bad, then that researcher would reject the theory of biological evolution. Insanity in this area is literally life-threatening on a global scale. Thus, it is possible that the slander of verse 38 could be referring to genetic manipulation being performed by infantile human (and alien) minds with incomplete knowledge.

Verse 39 continues, “And we are witnesses of all things that He did, both in the region of the Jews and in Jerusalem.” Witness means ‘an eye- or ear-witness’. Did refers to Server actions. Region means ‘space, place, land’ and Jew means ‘praised’, which is being interpreted as believers in absolute truth. Jerusalem refers to the religious center. Region was used once previously in Acts in 8:1 which referred to the regions of Judea. In 8:1 believers were being scattered through this region. In verse 39, Jesus is doing positive things to people who follow absolute truth as well as those who are the sources of religious truth. Notice that this first part of verse 39 talks about a religion of absolute truth in positive terms, which is something new in the book of Acts.

The rest of verse 39 describes a negative response. “Whom they also put to death, having hanged Him on a tree.” Put to death means ‘to take up, take away’, which is being interpreted as getting rid of an opponent through the use of Teacher generality. Hang means ‘to hang’ and tree means ‘wood’. Both of these words are used once previously in Acts in 5:30 where the same Greek phrase ‘hanging on a tree’ was used. That phrase happened in Peter’s speech to the council after the death of Ananias and Sapphira.

It was suggested previously that a tree is being interpreted as some form of academic structure in which the ‘birds of the air’ of academic thought can find a nesting place. Something that hangs is immobilized within the air of Teacher thought. It resides within Teacher thought but cannot move as an individual. This describes academic control, in which technical thought is used to try to control ideas. This describes a ‘friendly’ kind of crucifixion in which followers are stifling the life out of incarnation by treating it as rigid, academic, absolute truth. They are focusing so much upon written ‘logos’ that there is no room for living ‘rhema’. Absolute truth is by definition inflexible because it regards certain specific words as special, leading to the feeling that one should quote official authorities rather than restate concepts using one’s own words. Cornelius has been going against this rigidity by focusing upon personal behavior.

A Resurrected Message 10:40-43

This is followed in verse 40 by resurrection. “This One God raised up on the third day, and gave Him to become manifest.” Raised up means ‘to waken, to raise up’ and is not the word that is normally used for resurrection. However, it is used several times in Acts to describe the raising of Jesus from the dead. This may imply that an existing form of thought is being brought back to life rather than a new form of life being resurrected. This is the only reference in Acts to Jesus being raised on the third day. The implication is that society had to go through a series of transformations in order to enable this resurrection. This focus upon going through various days was also seen when describing the mission from Cornelius to Peter. This focus upon days would be significant when dealing with primal beings because human society would have to go through sufficient stages in order to create an adequate shield for dealing with primal beings.

Manifest is used once in Acts and combines ‘in the realm of’ with ‘to bring to light, to cause to appear’. Become means ‘to come into being’ and this is being given. In other words, a system is being given to humanity that makes it possible for the light and appearance of primal beings to come into being. The blinding of Saul demonstrated what happens when such a system is not in place. Notice that God is not giving primal beings to people but rather giving a system that makes such interaction possible.

Verse 41 adds that this is not a universal appearing. “Not to all the people, but to the witnesses having been chosen beforehand by God.” People means laity. It has been suggested that a shield is needed to interact with primal beings. The laity are shielded from divine light by the clergy, but the first phrase indicates that this is an inadequate shielding. Witness means that personal involvement is also required. Chosen beforehand is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘before’ with ‘stretch of the hand’. Thus, ‘chosen beforehand’ is actually a bad translation (both the NASB and the KJV give the same translation). And by means ‘under something higher’ when followed by the genitive. The hands represent the use of technical thought. So, what matters is having a personal involvement in performing technical thought beforehand under God. That describes what Cornelius has been doing. He has been functioning in a technical system. But he has been doing so under God, he has been personally involved, and he was doing this before experiencing anything from God.

For instance, I have been analyzing the mind and Scripture from the technical perspective of academic thought. But I have been doing so guided by my concept of God rather than functioning within a system of academia. And my personal life is a witness of my research. And I have been doing this for years without seeing any physical benefits.

Verse 41 continues, “To us who did eat with and drink with Him after His rising out from the dead.” Eat with is used twice in Acts and combines ‘with’ with ‘eat’. Drink with is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘with’ with ‘drink’. Food represents the intellectual food of abstract thought while drink represents the experiences of concrete thought. This is happening after his rising out from the dead. Rising is the normal word for resurrection. And dead means ‘what lacks life’. Looking at this cognitively, studying some strange topic is not too threatening when it is lifeless theory. But when it becomes resurrected as something new and different and alive, then the tendency will be to stop eating and drinking with this new living entity, either by treating it as some strange and different topic, or by abandoning the subject altogether. Thus, one must choose to continue to ‘eat with and drink with Him’. This resurrection is ‘out from’ the dead, which means that the lifelessness is a prerequisite for the resurrection. This is because the solution ceased working at the existing level so that it could start to function at a higher level.

For instance, these essays began as a cognitive analysis of scriptural principles but have turned into prophetic descriptions of topics that read more like science fiction than traditional theology. The natural tendency would be for me to remain academically respectable by avoiding such strange implications. However, I have chosen to continue ‘eating with’ even after the ‘resurrection from lifelessness’ as well as continuing to mentally connect these strange visions with my current experiences of reality. Every time I start an essay like this, I know that it will bring me personally further from the status quo of current society. This type of struggle will naturally happen with absolute truth, because studying absolute truth that is accurate will lead to implications that violate the mindset of absolute truth. Saying this another way, studying absolute truth leads to mental visions of a possible heaven on earth, while a mindset of absolute truth insists that heaven remain separate from personal identity. ‘Eating with’ and ‘drinking with’ after the resurrection from lifelessness means that one pursues the vision of possible heaven on earth even if this means leaving the mindset of absolute truth and becoming personally distant from those who follow absolute truth. This has not been a trivial challenge for me, because I was raised in a Mennonite home that placed great emphasis upon respecting the absolute truth of the Bible. My hypothesis is that Acts 10 is talking about going beyond the absolute truth of existing DNA because DNA is literally a form of absolute truth that has been revealed to mankind. This is not an analogy but is literally true. However, this literal truth still relates analogically to the spiritual and cognitive realms.

Verse 42 describes how followers should interact socially. “And He instructed us to proclaim to the people and to testify fully.” Instructed means to ‘give a command that is fully authorized because it has gone through all the proper channels’. In other words, one must interact with heavenly beings in a manner that preserves a shield of structure. This explains why God would be working through the military in this stage because a professional military works through proper channels. This word has been used four times previously in Acts. The first time was in 1:4 where Jesus commanded his disciples before the Ascension. The next three times were all commands given by the council to suppress the followers of Jesus. This indicates that the ‘proper channels’ have now been transformed to function in a godly manner.

Proclaim means ‘to be a herald, proclaim’. It has been used twice before in Acts, in 8:5 where Philip proclaimed in Samaria and in 9:20 where Saul proclaimed in Jerusalem. In both cases, an established system is announcing its existence to something that is more specific. This proclaiming is to the laity. However, it does not say that this proclamation is being opposed by an official priesthood. Instead, one is dealing with the cognitive principle that a law has to be applied by the citizens before the sources of this law can also participate as fellow citizens. Testify fully combines ‘thoroughly’ with ‘witness’. This implies that one has to personally experience the entire process and not just part of the process. Summarizing, there are three primary groups: The laity can accept the message before the priesthood because they are already governed by a mindset of submitting to structure. The sources of absolute truth can only accept the message later, because others have to submit to truth before they themselves can participate. The thorough witnesses can participate first because the structure of their personal experience provides the necessary shielding. This principle was mentioned when looking at the healing of Aeneas in chapter 9.

Verse 42 continues by describing the message. “That He is the One having been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.” Having been appointed means ‘to set boundaries’. (This again is a mistranslation, but both the NASB and KJV make similar mistranslations. Generally speaking, it appears that when the topic is predestination, then the original Greek will probably be mistranslated. This is a significant point, because the theme of this passage is human existence standing in the presence of God. In contrast, the traditional Christian interpretation of predestination declares that human existence cannot stand in the presence of God.) If God sets boundaries, then this means that human will is functioning but it is being prevented from going beyond certain fences.

For instance, the development of mental symmetry has involved personal initiative and research on my part. But I have also repeatedly experienced opportunities emerging and then being shut in some strange way in order to prevent me from going further in that direction. This describes what it feels like for God to set boundaries.

This is the first use of the word judge in Acts and the word comes from a verb that means ‘to pick out by separating’. This is not a matter of some authority imposing decisions upon others but rather a matter of judging through clarification. For instance, I have found that mental symmetry is very effective at judging systems by clarifying their concepts. It then becomes obvious what is valid and what is invalid. Living refers to either physical or spiritual life. And dead is the word ‘what lacks life’ that was used in verse 41. For instance, I have found that mental symmetry is capable of analyzing both living systems from the present and dead systems from the past. Presumably a similar separating and choosing would be happening in the future with genetic research. And DNA manipulation can be done using either dead or living biological material.

Verse 43 concludes, “To Him all the prophets bear witness that everyone believing in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” Him means either him or it. A prophet means ‘elevating one idea over another, especially through the spoken word’. In John 4:44, Jesus testifies about a prophet not receiving honor in his own hometown, but as far as I can tell, verse 43 is the only time that it talks about a prophet bearing witness. That is because a prophet looks forward to the future while a witness lives in the present. Forgiveness means ‘something sent away’. And sin means to miss the mark. Sending sins away means that the mental networks that motivate the sin are being reprogrammed.

Receive means to ‘actively lay hold of to take or receive’. Thus, one must actively follow a certain path in order to send sins away. This happens ‘through the name of him’, which means that one must approach the problem from the perspective of the words of Teacher thought. Believing means to ‘be persuaded’. Thus, one must not just use words in Teacher thought but also be persuaded by these words. This is a general principle that has always applied. Using cognitive language, if one wants to become free of MMNs of childish existence, then one must follow TMNs of rational understanding. This has always been true. Thus, it has applied to all of the prophets at all times. And all of the prophets have also learned through personal experience that those who submit to MMNs of culture will oppose a message that emphasizes Teacher understanding. This explains how ‘prophet’ and ‘witness’ can be used at the same time. For instance, this essay is analyzing Acts from the perspective of a prophet who is looking forward to the future. But because this analysis is being done in a religious context of absolute truth that is intrinsically opposed to such analysis, I am also being forced to become a witness of the message.

Applying this to the time of Acts 10, experiences of pain and pleasure from the physical body cause the childish mind to build upon MMNs rather than TMNs. Every child knows about Mercy thought and Mercy emotions. In contrast, humans only learn about Teacher emotion during Piaget’s formal operational stage, which happens in the teen years. In fact, the average academic is so unaware of Teacher emotion that one literally has to write a paper telling them that it exists. But why does a human become aware of Mercy emotions in childhood while only being aware of Teacher emotions much later? Because that is how the DNA programs the physical body. Thus, the only way to send this problem away is by addressing it at the Teacher level of the words of DNA. But I am not convinced that human manipulation of DNA would provide a sufficient solution. Instead, the solution would have to be provided by the original designers of human DNA. This would not mean that everyone would automatically go to heaven, because humans would still have to choose to internalize the content that they received as children from their physical bodies. However, it would mean that humanity would no longer be automatically driven to descend into tribalism and warfare.

The Holy Spirit Falls 10:44-48

In verse 44, the Holy Spirit arrives. “Of Peter still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those hearing the word.” Speaking means ‘to chatter’. Thus, Peter is not necessarily using technical language. And word is ‘rhema’, which refers to the spoken word. Fell upon means ‘to fall upon’ and was previously used once in Acts in 8:16 to say that the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon the Samaritans. In both cases, Perceiver thought is pointing out that something that appears to be different from general principles actually contains the same kind of structure as the general principles. In fact, I have never connected changing DNA with the path of personal transformation until I read verse 43 a few minutes earlier. Even though I have talked endlessly about the path of personal transformation and have emphasized the fact that biological life comes from the messages of DNA, I have never put these concepts together until now. And right now I do not have a gut feeling of the implications of what this means.

Peter may be ‘chattering the rhema’, but ‘hearing the word’ means ‘to comprehend by hearing the logos’. Thus, what is mere conversation for Peter is actually technical thought to his trained audience. The implication is that the group of Cornelius has more expertise in DNA, while Peter knows more about the spiritual economy. The general principle is that spirituality starts with mental networks and becomes more technical whereas manipulating the physical world inherently requires technical thought. For instance, the research that I do as a Perceiver person uses Perceiver connections at a semi-rigorous level and the rigor comes from studying technical subjects that are based in empirical science.

Previously, the audience has been amazed, but in verse 45 those who came with Peter are amazed. “And the believers from the circumcision, as many as had come with Peter, were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit has been poured out even upon the Gentiles.” Amazed means ‘to remove from a standing position’ and is at the beginning of the verse in Greek. Circumcision is being interpreted as placing a limitation upon fundamental male desire. Those who follow a path of personal transformation assume that the raw desires of male humans need to be restricted. Stated crudely, violence and rape are not acceptable solutions, and the first step in civilizing little human savages is to place limits upon brawling and rutting. Looking at this more generically, the basic premise of personal transformation is that one postpone pursuing physical goals in order to pursue spiritual goals. That is why it refers to ‘believers from the circumcision’. Merely restricting physical desire is not enough. Instead, one must also be willing to be persuaded. Circumcision is done to a male and not a female. (Female circumcision is barbaric.) This does not mean that women are sinless. But it does seem that restricting male urges is a fundamental prerequisite for building a civilized society. (Societies such as the Taliban show what happens when females are restricted while males are given free reign. This leads to barbarism rather than civilization.)

The idea that pursuing physical goals could actually be associated with the Holy Spirit would remove from a standing position a mindset of following the spiritual rather than the physical. This may seem like a radical interpretation, but Peter is talking to a military officer who uses violence to pursue physical goals. I need to emphasize—again—that we are looking here at genetic modification being done by the primal beings who originally designed human life. This type of future is so distant from the present that it is almost impossible to visualize what it would be like. Notice that Peter is not amazed. Instead, it is the believers from the circumcision who came with Peter who are amazed.

Gentile means ‘people joined by practicing similar customs or common culture’. This refers to being guided by the mental networks that are acquired through childish experience. Poured out means to ‘gush forth, pour out’. Pouring refers to the liquid of Mercy experiences. One of the basic principles of personal transformation is that there is a difference between the spirit of the age and the Holy Spirit. Those who live within their environment are guided by the spirit of the age. The Holy Spirit is only poured out upon those who go beyond the spirit of the age. Altering this basic premise would require changing the structure of the physical body. My guess is that this would involve making physical life less intimately connected with the physical environment. Saying this another way, the mind would become less embodied as well as more spiritually aware.

Verse 46 provides the evidence. “For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and magnifying God.” Hearing means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. Speaking means to chatter. And a tongue is ‘used of flowing speech’. Tongues were previously mentioned in Acts 2 and have not been mentioned since. In both cases, there is a movement beyond the rigidity of absolute truth to the multilingual fluency of universal truth. Magnify comes from the word ‘mega’ which is interpreted as Teacher generality. Magnifying God would mean increasing the order-within-complexity of a concept of God. Using an analogy, one is adding to the richness of harmony rather than creating cacophony. In other words, building theoretically upon physical existence is leading to rational thinking that adds to a concept of God rather than rationalizations that attack a concept of God. That would be a radical change from today.

Peter responds in verse 47. “Then Peter answered, ‘Is anyone able to withhold the water to baptize these who have received the Holy Spirit, just as we also have?’” Acts 1:5 compared baptism with water with baptism in the Holy Spirit. Water baptism was interpreted as being transformed as a result of being inundated by experiences from the environment. Baptism by the Holy Spirit was interpreted as being transformed by the attraction of internal images of perfection. Withhold means ‘to hinder’ and was used once previously in Acts in 8:36 where the Ethiopian asked what hindered him from being baptized. In verse 47, the language is stronger: ‘Who has the power to hinder water’. Stated cognitively, who will be able to prevent theory from turning into practice? Applying this to the situation, if it becomes clear that genetic manipulation is truly capable of improving human existence, then nothing will be able to stop this from being applied in reality. And any application of genetic manipulation will lead to a baptism of water, because one will have to be able to learn how to interact with the physical environment in a new manner.

Notice that we are not talking about the current situation in which semi-moral human experts are doing genetic experiments just because they can be done. Given such an environment, there will be many contrary voices opposing further experimentation. Instead, the concept of the Holy Spirit that comes from genetic improvement through primal beings is similar to the concept of the Holy Spirit that has emerged from a fully developed spiritual economy. And because angels are playing a major role, power refers to angelic power. In other words, how can the angelic system of spiritual transformation hold back the primal system of physical transformation once it becomes clear that they are both following a similar Holy Spirit? This is not the case today. Angels appear to be pursuing spiritual transformation, while aliens are supposedly following a genetic agenda. It is quite clear that these two do not share a similar concept of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 48 concludes, “And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain some days.” Command combines ‘move towards’ with ‘to place, arrange’. It was used once previously in Acts in verse 33 where Cornelius told Peter to say what he had been commanded by the Lord. Thus, Peter is placing this genetic manipulation within the structure of spiritual transformation. The name of Jesus Christ refers to an integrated concept of incarnation viewed from Teacher thought. Baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ would mean placing any genetic manipulation within a process of personal transformation. Using today’s language that would be like expecting alien hybrids to follow the Christian path of personal transformation. I do not think that this is currently possible.

Ask means ‘to ask on special footing’. Remain means to ‘continue on with persistence that suits the objective’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Thus, integrating the spiritual and the physical is not trivial, and the physical will require significant guidance from the spiritual to ensure that people really are helped. The term ‘some days’ suggests that it will take several cycles of society to adequately integrate these two. Again, I am not suggesting that such integration should happen today. Most of those who are manipulating the physical do not give a damn about the spiritual. And that is not too strong a word, because following the wrong path when one is doing genetic manipulation would lead to personal damnation because one would be driven by one’s physical body to develop the mind in a way that is incompatible with God and heaven. (A similar logic would apply to tattoos and body modification. The multiple tattoos and face piercings of Todd Bentley provide a current example of someone who claims to be a Christian damning his mind and spirit through physical modification.) In addition, it is quite clear that the original designers of biological life are playing a critical role in this redesign. In contrast, most genetic manipulation today is a case of fools rushing in where angels fear to tread. And I have interacted with academia sufficiently to conclude that the average academic expert is a fool. Many are not fools, but the system itself is designed to create specialists who are locally rational while remaining emotionally stunted. This matches up with the meaning of the Greek word ἄφρων which the Bible translates as ‘fool’: ‘lacking perspective because short-sighted, i.e. lacking the over-all picture (perspective) needed to act prudently’.

Religious Apprehension 11:1-10

In chapter 11, the report of this gets back to the religious establishment. The council is not mentioned in chapter 11, implying that there is a new religious establishment. What appears to have happened is that the previous religious priesthood was overthrown, a new religious system emerged based upon the spiritual economy, and this new religious system then became transformed over time into a system of absolute truth. That religious establishment that is responding to Peter in chapter 11.

Verse 1 begins, “Now the apostles and the brothers being in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.” Heard means to ‘comprehend by hearing’. Thus, people are understanding what is happening. An apostle is someone who makes a breakthrough in some fundamental area. Brothers refer to those who are part of this community. These are ‘in Judea’ and Judea means ‘praised’. This is being interpreted as a system of absolute truth in which experts in truth are being praised. This is like current academia in which one studies existing knowledge as absolute truth and then eventually reaches the level of an expert who is capable of advancing the field. Except verse 1 is talking about a religious academia in which progress is being made in the spiritual realm.

Gentile refers to common MMNs of culture, which are acquired from growing up in a physical body in the physical environment. These are the mental networks that need to be transformed by following a path of personal transformation. Receive means ‘to receive in a welcoming way’. Word is ‘logos’ and this is the word of God. One of the basic principles of personal transformation is that those who follow MMNs of culture and upbringing do not receive the logos of God in a welcoming matter. This fundamental tenet has now been overturned. This suggests that genetic manipulation is causing people to be receptive to Teacher understanding. I have no idea what this would involve, but it is possible that this might include undoing genetic manipulation that was done to Adam and Eve after the fall.

The discussion begins in verse 2. “And when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision began contending with him.” Went up means ‘to go up, ascend’ and is interpreted as heading towards Teacher generality. Jerusalem represents the religious center. Therefore, going up to Jerusalem would mean looking at the theological implications of what is happening. But this is not just a theology that deals with words but rather one that impacts spiritual power and one’s interaction with God in Teacher thought.

Contend means ‘to separate throughout or wholly’. It was used once previously in Acts in 10:20 to describe what Peter should not do when visiting Cornelius. In verse 2, the religious experts are doing what Peter was told not to do. Peter represents Perceiver thought. Contending describes the careful parsing of technical thought. When one is bridging one realm with another, then one must use the analogies of Perceiver thought and not the rigorous thinking of technical thought. For instance, it is possible to find significant analogical similarities between the functioning of the mind and the structure of the physical universe, but those who use only technical thought will regard such analogies as insufficiently rigorous. Similarly, the spiritual and the physical are totally different realms. But they can be connected analogically, which explains why Peter is doing the connecting. It was suggested earlier that creation can only remain distinct from God if it is subdivided into different specializations that are analogically related to one another. The ‘separating throughout’ is creating different specializations while the bridging of Peter is analogically connecting these together.

This contending is coming from ‘the out of circumcision’. Circumcision is interpreted as placing physical restrictions upon the expression of core male childish mental networks. In other words, technical arguments are being made based upon the assumption that growing up in a physical body leads to childish mental networks that need to be curtailed in order to experience personal transformation. That is a valid assumption given the current physical body and how it interacts with the mind.

The complaint is made in verse 3: “saying, ‘You went to men having uncircumcision, and ate with them.’” Went means ‘to go in’. Men refers to ‘men’. Uncircumcised is used once in Acts. Biblehub describes this as ‘figuratively a person outside of God’s covenant’. The term ‘uncircumcised’ is somewhat like referring to a two-eyed Cyclops. The underlying assumption is that it is normal to curtail male human impulses. (This does not mean that women are free from sin. But as was suggested before, it appears that putting limits on male aggression is a prerequisite for building civilization.) Having means ‘to have, hold’ and refers to ‘having’ rather than ‘being’. The assumption is that those who follow physical freedom are functioning at the lesser level of having and are ignoring the deeper realm of being. And that is a valid conclusion given the current physical body. Ate with means ‘to eat with’. It is used one other time in Acts in 10:41 where Peter talked about being willing to eat and drink with the resurrected vision, which was interpreted as being willing to accept the implications of this new reality. ‘Eating with’ would mean interacting intellectually with tainted sources. In current academia, this would mean accepting information that has not been peer-reviewed.

Peter responds in verse 4. “Now Peter having begun, set forth to them in order, saying...” Begun means to ‘commence, rule’ and is related to the word for ‘primal’. Set forth combines ‘out from’ with ‘to place’ and was used once previously in Acts in 7:21 to describe the baby Moses being set outside. In order means ‘one after another, successively, in order’. This implies that Peter is starting with primal beings and then examining the role that the physical body plays in those who are mentally ‘uncircumised’. I should emphasize that I am not promoting a theory of embodiment, in which the mind is viewed as an expression of the physical body. The childish mind is currently an expression of the physical body and this childish thinking needs to be transformed. However, one also cannot regard the mind as divorced from the body because these two interact extensively.

Peter then repeats the story of the sheet, and one can see what is happening cognitively by comparing Peter’s account with the original story in chapter 10. “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision.” The original account described Peter’s personal attitude and his personal feelings. In verse 4, Peter merely says that he was praying in the city of Joppa. Joppa means ‘beautiful’. It is mentioned ten times in the New Testament with all of these occurrences in Acts 9-11. However, this is the only time that Joppa is referred to as a city. A city is a center of civilization. Jerusalem is mentioned about 36 times in Acts, but it is never referred to as a city in Acts. In other words, a mindset of absolute truth will regard religion as based upon emotional experiences that are different than the normal experiences of civilization. For instance, academia exists primarily within the ivory towers of physical universities. Similarly, religions with absolute truth are anchored in places of worship. In contrast, it is possible to have a beautiful city, because one is arranging civilization in a way that reflects Teacher order-within-complexity. Peter starts by saying that he was interacting emotionally with God from the context of the Teacher beauty of civilization. For instance, what motivates me internally is images of a better society peopled by more mature individuals. That is a city of Joppa. I am then discovering as I go through various New Testament books that my internal image of a better society seems to be consistent with the message of the Bible. Trance is the same word that was used in 10:10 which means to ‘take out of regular position’. Saw and vision as before both mean ‘to see with the mind’. Thus, what is different about Peter’s recount is that he is emphasizing his context of praying in a city of Joppa.

Verse 5 continues by describing the vision: “A certain vessel like a great sheet descending, being let down out of heaven by four corners, and it came down as far as me.” The phrase ‘a certain vessel like a great sheet descending, being let down by corners’ is precisely the same as in chapter 10. In both cases, the same word corners that is translated as principalities in Romans 8:38 is used. However, in 10:11 the sheet was being let down ‘upon the earth’, whereas in verse 5 it is being let down ‘out of heaven’. In chapter 10, landing upon the ‘earth’ of rational human thought was being emphasized. In verse 5, descending from the heaven of Teacher thought is being emphasized. In chapter 10, Peter was extending into the rational human thought of Cornelius. In verse 5, Peter is connecting with the Teacher source of the religious establishment. In addition, verse 5 says that the sheet ‘came down as far as me’. Came down means ‘to come, go’ and no direction of up or down is explicitly mentioned. As far as means ‘until, as far as’. Thus, Peter is not saying that his vision became more specific but rather that it became more subjective. As the sheet was being let down, it was not moving from general to specific. Instead, it remained a general concept that became more personal. This is important for two reasons. First, the human form has been lifted up to the level of Teacher generality. Does this generality apply only to the human mind and spirit, or does it also apply to the physical body? Peter is implying that the generality remained even when moving from the spiritual to the physical. Second, the physical body is typically regarded as less subjective than the spirit and the mind. In contrast, Peter is finding himself focusing more upon the subjective when he thinks about the physical. This will happen when one views physical bodies as another form of absolute truth from which one needs to move towards universal truth. One is only capable of truly contemplating this perspective to the extent that one has a mature and developed personal identity. Otherwise, losing the physical body will be interpreted as annihilation, and that is how the average secular person currently defines physical death.

Verse 6 begins, “Having looked intently on it, I was observing it.” This phrase was not in chapter 10. Look intently means ‘to stare at because fully occupied with’ and was previously used in 10:4 to describe Cornelius looking at the angel. Observing means ‘to think from up to down’ and was used in 7:31 to describe Moses looking at the burning bush. In other words, Peter is not just having a mystical experience. Instead, he is analyzing what he is seeing and using his mind to think about it both generally and specifically. Thus, Peter is telling religious academia that he has used sufficiently rigorous thought to analyze the topic in detail.

Verse 6 continues, “And I saw the quadrupeds of the earth and the wild beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air.” This is not quite the same as chapter 10. In chapter 10 there were quadrupeds, while verse 6 describes these as quadrupeds of the earth. In chapter 10, there were creeping things of the earth, while verse 6 talks about wild beasts and creeping things. This is the first mention of a wild beast in Acts. A wild beast would represent untamed childish behavior based upon the physical body. The term ‘birds of the air’ is the same in both cases. Looking at this cognitively, the recounting of the incident has greater internal content. The quadrupeds are being placed within the rational environment of the physical earth. Both wild beasts and creeping things are driven by childish MMNs, but a wild beast has achieved some mental distance from the ground of physical reality. Notice also that these creatures are all expressions of physical biological existence; they represent mindsets that emerge from growing up in a physical body in physical reality. Thus, both the literal and the symbolic interpretations lead to the conclusion that the focus is upon biological life.

A voice speaks in verse 7. “And also I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Having risen up, Peter, kill and eat.’” The phrase ‘having risen up, Peter, kill and eat’ is the same in both cases. Kill means ‘to kill as a sacrifice and offer on an altar’. This instruction is strange because the definition for wild beast explains that it ‘never refers to animals used for sacrifice’. Thus, verses 6-7 indicate that Peter is being told to offer as a sacrifice something that is never offered as a sacrifice. Offering as a sacrifice is also interesting because it is similar to the slaughtering that was happening in the wilderness in 7:42. However, these are different Greek words and also represent different mindsets. Slaughtering eliminates spiritual life before it has a chance to form TMNs of generality. Offering as a sacrifice submits spiritual life to the TMN of a concept of God. What is being offered in verses 6-7 is all the life that currently struggles against God in Teacher thought. A quadruped is firmly anchored to the earth of physical rational thought, whereas a biped lifts up two hands within the air of Teacher thought. A wild beast is driven by MMNs of personal conflict and dominance rather than TMNs of structure. A creeping thing identifies emotionally with the ground of physical existence. One might think that a bird of the air lives within Teacher theories, but abstract theory is being treated as an alternate reality that does not affect or transform physical reality. These all describe various aspects of the sinful nature that results from growing up in a physical body in the physical world. These are now being killed and offered to God in Teacher thought. I do not think that this means wiping out most animal species and retaining only animals that can be domesticated. However, Isaiah 11:6-9 describes a natural environment that is no longer characterized by terror: the wolf is living with the lamb, the leopard is lying down with the kid, the calf, the lion, and the fatling are together, and a little child is leading them. Notice how childish human nature is being connected with friendly animal behavior. In summary, it appears that genetic material is being tweaked in some way to eliminate the natural biological tendency for animal behavior. Thus, the underlying assumption of current evolutionary theory is being eliminated, which is that humans are animals and that the animal kingdom is driven by survival of the fittest. This system is being killed and being offered to God in Teacher thought.

In 10:13 a voice came to Peter. In verse 7 a voice is being heard and it is saying. This indicates that there is greater verbal comprehension when the story is being retold.

Peter responds in verse 8. “But I said, ‘In no way, Lord. For nothing ever common or unclean has entered into my mouth.’” This is fairly similar to 10:14 but verse 8 is stronger. In chapter 10, Peter said that he had never eaten anything common or unclean. In verse 8, Peter says that nothing common or unclean has ever entered his mouth. Enter means ‘to go in’. Using academic language, in chapter 10, Peter said that he had never built intellectually upon unapproved or contradictory information. In verse 8, Peter is saying that he has never even considered unapproved or contradictory information.

The message is repeated in verse 9. “But for a second time the voice answered out of heaven, ‘What God has cleansed, you do not call unholy.’” The quote is the same both times. Cleansed means ‘to make pure, removing all admixture’. Cognitively speaking, when one moves from absolute truth to universal truth, then any truth that has unity and simplicity should be regarded as general in Teacher thought. What is different is that in verse 9 the voice is described as answering out of heaven, whereas in 10:15 the voice merely repeated itself. Thus, it has been learned that this voice has its source in the heaven of Teacher thought. In other words, the message has been applied. In chapter 10, the voice was being viewed as something unholy and common. Verse 9 is recognizing that the voice has heavenly purity.

Verse 10 summarizes, “Now this happened on three times, and all was drawn up into heaven again.” The first phrase is the same in both cases, and in both cases the movement is into heaven. Drawn up is used once in Acts and combines ‘up’ with ‘to draw out’. (‘Draw out’ is used twice in the New Testament in combination with the word ‘sword’.) In chapter 10, the verb ‘to take up’ was used. In verse 10, ‘all’ is drawn up, whereas in Chapter 10, the vessel was taken up. ‘All’ indicates that the focus has shifted to Teacher generality and ‘draw out’ suggests that something that was covered is now being revealed. In contrast, ‘taken up’ in chapter 10 implied that something was being given Teacher generality and a ‘vessel’ indicated a focus upon specific Perceiver facts and Mercy experiences. Summarizing, in chapter 10 Teacher generality was being considered, whereas in verse 10, Teacher generality is being demonstrated.

Peter Summarizes the Visit 11:11-18

In verse 11, the story shifts to the three visitors. “And behold, immediately three men having been sent to me from Caesarea stood at the house in which I was.” Acts 10:17 said that “Behold, the men having been sent from Cornelius, having inquired for the house of Simon, stood at the gate.” The same word ‘sent’ is used in both cases. But in chapter 10, the men were sent from Cornelius, indicating a personal focus. In verse 17 the men are described as sent from Caesarea, indicating an official government focus. Thus, what began as a personal initiative by an aspect of the military has become official government policy. In verse 11, three men appear immediately. The number ‘three’ suggests that three streams of thought have been identified. In chapter 10, these men appeared while Peter was perplexed, whereas in verse 11 they appear immediately. Thus, in chapter 10, Perceiver thought was confused and the men were searching, whereas in verse 11 Perceiver thought is stating a connection. In both cases, the men are standing. But in chapter 10, they were standing at the entrance way to the house, while in verse 11 they are standing at the house. Chapter 10 described this as the house of Simon, but there is no mention of Simon in verse 11. Simon was approaching the topic from the Mercy perspective of ‘tanning skins’. This previous Mercy perspective is no longer part of the equation. This is a sign that the past is being reinterpreted in terms of the new, current paradigm in Teacher thought.

Verse 12 skips over the intervening journey. “Now the Spirit told me to go with them, not having discriminated. Now these six brothers also went with me, and we entered into the man’s house.” Go with means ‘to come together’ and was also used in 10:23 to describe the journey. But the entire process of the journey is not mentioned. This is also a symptom of a new paradigm. Thomas Kuhn says that the process of acquiring a new paradigm is generally ignored when using that new paradigm. Discriminated means to ‘investigate thoroughly’ and was previously mentioned in 10:20. Thus, Peter is emphasizing two critical aspects of the methodology that he used. First, he ‘went with’ which means that he was looking for similar Server sequences. Second, he was not ‘investigating thoroughly’, which meant that he was not using technical thought. This, summarizes the methodology that I have been using in mental symmetry, which is to compare sequences of behavior and look for analogical similarities rather than use technical thought. In both cases, this is being motivated by the spirit. Thus, the goal is not just to find similarities for the sake of finding similarities, but rather to find similarities that lead toward Platonic forms of perfection.

Verse 12 also adds that there were six brothers who accompanied Peter. This could be interpreted as Perceiver thought being accompanied by the six other cognitive styles. In other words, this was not just a matter of Perceiver thought finding analogical connections, but discovering other relationships as well. More specifically, treating biological life as a form of absolute truth has major implications for all seven cognitive styles because all seven styles are deeply affected by the structure of the brain and body.

Cornelius was mentioned several times in chapter 10 but there was no reference to entering a house. He is not mentioned in chapter 11 but verse 12 refers to ‘the house of the man’ and man refers specifically to a male. ‘House’ is mentioned 114 times and ‘man’ occurs 216 times in the New Testament, but I cannot find any other reference to a ‘house of the man’. One could interpret this as a generic reference to the male physical body, because the body is the home for the mind. It has been suggested several times that taming male thought is a prerequisite for civilization. And the behavior of Cornelius does not match the behavior of a Roman centurion in a foreign country with a name like Cornelius. Thus, the story of Cornelius is clearly an example of male aggressiveness being re-channeled. (This section is focusing upon transforming male thought. The previous discussion about mysticism involved the transformation of female thought.)

The angel’s instructions to Cornelius are mentioned in verse 13. “And [he] related to us how [he] had seen the angel having stood in his house and having said, ‘Send forth to Joppa, and send for Simon who is called Peter.’” I put the two ‘he’s’ in square brackets because they are implied by the conjugation of the verb and are not explicitly present. Notice how Peter’s name is mentioned but not Cornelius. In contrast, Cornelius was mentioned nine times in chapter 10. This implies that the ‘horn’ of male courage was required to make this breakthrough but the result of this breakthrough leads to a de-emphasis of male courage. This does not mean that male thought would no longer be required. Looking at this in more detail, male strength and courage are required when conquering some new physical frontier. Such strength and physical courage do not fit within today’s information age—as illustrated by all the wanabee male heroes driving around in pickup trucks, brandishing their guns, and pretending to be macho. However, male technical thought is still very much required—just not male aggression. That mismatch is the result of today’s information society. Imagine the mismatch that would result if the focus turned to the information of biological DNA.

Relate means ‘to declare from, which focuses on the original source’. This was previously used in 5:22 and 5:25 where people were reporting on Peter and John escaping from prison. Similarly, in verse 13 Cornelius is not acting as a source of authority but rather as a transmitter of higher authority. In 10:3 the angel came to Cornelius and called him by his name, but there was no mention of a house. In verse 13, the angel is ‘standing in his house’. Standing is interpreted as acquiring Perceiver confidence in some set of facts. Angels stand in important places in the New Testament, such as the four winds, the throne of God, or the sun. But in verse 13 an angel is standing in the house of a man. This suggests that the house of a man has become an important place, moving from being the specific house of Cornelius to being the generic house of the generic man. This is consistent with the suggestion that the form of humanity has acquired new generality.

The phrase ‘Send for Simon who is called Peter’ is almost the same in both cases. Thus, the emphasis upon using Perceiver thought to evaluate Teacher words has not changed. And in both cases, Joppa is mentioned, indicating that the focus upon Teacher beauty has not changed. However, in 10:5 men were being sent to Joppa to summon the man Simon, whereas in verse 13 the word ‘man’ is not used. This suggests again that male thought was needed to make this breakthrough but becomes less important once a breakthrough has been established. Finally, in chapter 10, Cornelius sent men to Joppa, whereas in verse 13 they are ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’. Thus, what started as a personal initiative has become an official movement.

Verse 14 continues, “Who will speak words to you in which will be saved, you and all your household.” In contrast, chapter 10 did not say anything about what would happen. ‘Speak words’ means to ‘chatter rhema’, which means that Peter will go beyond the recorded words of absolute truth. And these words are specifically being spoken ‘to you’. Absolute truth is not directed towards any audience but rather comes from some source. The ‘chatter’ of ‘rhema’, in contrast, will be customized to suit the particular audience. Saved means to ‘deliver out of danger into safety’ and this word was last used in 4:12 which described Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the name of salvation. (Salvation as a noun was used in 7:25 to describe how Moses was attempting to help his Jewish brothers.) This implies that people have retroactively come to the conclusion that what happened in Acts 10 was salvation. And this salvation is described as extending to all of the household of Cornelius.

Verse 15 describes the coming of the Holy Spirit. “And in my beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, even as also upon us in the beginning.” Beginning means ‘commence, rule’ and is related to the word translated as the ‘corner’ of the sheet. In chapter 10, the Holy Spirit fell after Peter had been talking for several verses. This seems inconsistent with verse 15 saying that the Holy Spirit fell at the beginning. However, ‘beginning’ may be an indirect reference to primal beings, implying that the Holy Spirit fell when the topic turned to primal beings. In chapter 10, the Holy Spirit fell when a connection was made between prophesying and bearing witness and it was pointed out that sending sins away always requires believing in some name. In other words, the message of the prophets has consistently been ignored by an audience that has imposed MMNs acquired from the physical body, and the only solution is to turn from MMNs to Teacher thought.

Looking at the bigger picture, such opposition is required to force a prophet to apply his own message. Without this opposition, a prophet would not also be a witness. However, if the ultimate goal is for human existence to be lifted up to the generality of God, then this goal has now been reached, making it possible to change the inherent antagonism of humanity to abstract understanding. The book of Hebrews also gives the impression that human history is leading to a certain high point and that society functions in a new way after this high point is reached.

In 10:44 the Holy Spirit fell upon all those ‘comprehending the logos’. In verse 15, the Holy Spirit is falling upon them. Even as is a comparison word that means ‘just as, even as’ and this word is only used three times in Acts. Looking at the final phrase ‘in the beginning’, in means ‘in the realm of’, ‘the’ is not in the original Greek, and beginning is exactly the same word that was translated as ‘corner’ with the sheet and as ‘principalities’ in Romans 8:38. Thus, the phrase could also be translated as ‘in the realm of a principality’. In other words, primal beings have been interacted with from a religious perspective, epitomized by Saul in Damascus and Tarsus. But they are now being dealt with from a secular, military perspective and a similar concept of the Holy Spirit is emerging. (And in the next section Saul will be retrieved from Tarsus.)

In verse 16, Peter remembers something. “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said.” Remember is used twice in Acts. It was used in 10:31 to describe the prayer and alms of Cornelius being remembered before God. And it is used in verse 16 to describe Peter remembering the word of the Lord. Peter’s remembering happens after the falling of the Holy Spirit. And the similarity in verse 15 was not a similarity of God in Teacher thought but rather a similarity of the falling of the Holy Spirit. Looking at this more carefully, Peter has been following a path of spiritual development whereas Cornelius is focusing upon physical development. The spiritual and physical realms are governed by different general laws in Teacher thought. But these dissimilar realms are leading to similar concepts of the Holy Spirit through a similar process of personal transformation. That is why they are being connected by similar rememberings. This is an indirect form of integration that goes through the Holy Spirit. This may explain why one has to go through the spiritual in order to move between the supernatural and the natural. Word is ‘rhema’ which refers to the living word. But this is a word of the Lord. Thus, even though it is not a ‘logos’ in Teacher thought, it is still authoritative because it is backed up by the Holy Spirit.

Verse 16 describes the similarity more precisely. “John indeed baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Baptism means to ‘immerse, dip under’ and water represents the realm of Mercy experiences. Baptism is a personal transformation that is caused by being immersed in Mercy experiences. Water baptism means being submerged in Mercy experiences from the environment, while baptism of the Holy Spirit means being submerged in Platonic forms of perfection. Looking at this today, one can be transformed by being submerged within unpleasant Mercy experiences imposed either by the social or physical environment. The personal transformation comes from the struggle to return from this unpleasant situation back to normal. Or one can be transformed by developing an internal vision of how things could be. The personal transformation comes from going through the long process that is required to turn this internal vision into reality. That interpretation applies to Acts 1:5 and the wording of that verse was identical to verse 16 except for word order. In Acts 1:5, spirit came before baptized. In verse 16, baptized comes before spirit. Acts 1:5 was emphasizing that there is a new source of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Verse 16 is emphasizing that this new path of the spirit also leads to baptism.

Applying this to a future period of genetic manipulation, this manipulation is coming from primal beings through the spiritual realm. This would lead to a new form of baptism by the Holy Spirit, because one’s physical body is being baptized through the spiritual realm from primal beings who live within the holiness of God. Hence, Peter noticing the similarity of baptism. I suspect that the baptism would come from trying to reconcile an awareness of the spiritual realm with living within physical reality. This kind of stress is described in 2 Corinthians 5:1-7 in which a partial experience of heavenly perfection is being combined with living in mortal bodies on earth.

Peter summarizes in verse 17, “If then God has given to them the same gift as also to us having believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, how was I able to forbid God?” Same means ‘having the same level or value’ and is used once in Acts. Gift is the noun form of given. The idea is that something is being given by God to people without strings attached. People have freedom to use this gift as they wish. The spiritual economy is a form of gift giving because people are taking ownership of spiritually enhanced powers or items. A supernaturally enhanced body would also be a gift of which a person could take ownership. The path that Peter has followed is “having believed on the Lord Jesus Christ”, which means constructing an internal concept of incarnation and then choosing to apply this internal concept. The path of Cornelius is not the same gift but it is of equivalent value. Cornelius is following an implicit concept of the Lord Jesus Christ. This equivalence is not true today because the human body is not aware of spiritual reality. Thus, following an implicit concept of Jesus Christ today will lead to science and technology but it will not lead to personal salvation. Verse 17 seems to be saying that following an implicit concept of Jesus Christ in a spiritually enhanced physical body within a spiritual economy would be of equivalent value to believing explicitly in the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the various prerequisites.

Peter concludes, ‘How was I able to forbid God?’ Forbid means ‘to hinder’ and this word was previously used in 10:47 where it was also combined with the word ‘power’. In 10:47 there was no power to hinder water from the path of Cornelius after the Holy Spirit had come. In verse 17, there is no power to forbid God. Thus, what started as an inability to stop vision from being turned into reality has now become an inability to stop a concept of God from functioning in Teacher thought.

In verse 18, the leadership is convinced. “And having heard these things, they were silent and glorified God.” It should be emphasized that this does not refer to the current religious system that is based in the absolute truth of a written book backed up by the emotional status of religious institutions and leaders. Instead, it refers historically to the transition from Judaism to Christianity and it would refer prophetically to a future religious system of absolute truth that is educating believers so that they can function fully in a spiritual economy.

Heard means to ‘comprehend by hearing’, indicating that this listening is followed by understanding. Silent means ‘to be still, be silent’ and is used twice in Acts. Christians today are not silent. Instead, they are always preaching, motivated by the underlying assumption that people have to hear and believe the message of Jesus Christ in order to be saved from hell. This drive to preach would vanish if a secular path led to a baptism of equivalent value. Again, I need to emphasize that this is not possible today. Instead, it would only become possible if human bodies were genetically modified in the right way to become aware of spiritual existence. What would be required is not just genetic modification but rather the right kind of genetic modification. And the only beings who could be trusted to provide the right kind of genetic modification is the primal beings who live with God in Teacher thought who were responsible for the original genetic design. Stated bluntly, any human driven genetic modification would probably lead to further damnation rather than a legitimate path of personal transformation. Glory was discussed previously as an external representation of internal character. Thus, being silent and glorifying God would mean no longer being motivated to talk about the message of internal transformation but rather being driven to apply this message in order to generate external results. Stated simply, there would no longer be a struggle between preaching the message and applying the message.

Verse 18 describes the conclusions of the religious leadership. “Saying, ‘Then indeed God has given also to the Gentiles repentance unto life.’” Then indeed means ‘it follows that...’ and is used once in Acts. Gentile means ‘people joined by practicing similar customs or common culture’ and refers to the mental networks that are acquired as a result of living as a group of humans within physical bodies in the physical world. The basic premise of Christianity is that one has to be saved from these mental networks by submitting to the TMN of a concept of God.

Repentance means ‘a change of mind’ and life means both physical and spiritual life. The general principle that humans living in Mercy experiences need to be mentally transformed by God in Teacher thought would still remain. However, it would now be a transformation to life rather than a transformation from childish identity. We saw earlier when looking at the synagogue of freedmen the danger of defining salvation as salvation from rather than salvation to. The nature of the current physical body means that all salvation is implicitly defined as salvation from physical reality.

If salvation from physical reality is inherently limited, then why does it exist? The answer is that there currently exists nothing to be saved to that is sufficiently complete because mysticism is still the dominant religious strategy. The primal beings originally designed biological life by moving forward from the divine light of God in Teacher thought. This has to be replaced by the form of humanity being lifted up to the presence of God in Teacher thought. This then provides something to which all created beings can be saved, including primal beings. Once the problem of being saved from has been dealt with at the divine level of the throne of God in Teacher thought, then it is also possible to deal with this problem at the human level.

The Church at Antioch 11:19-25

The next section discusses the practical impact of this breakthrough. “So indeed those having been scattered by the tribulation having taken place over Stephen passed through to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone” (v. 19). Scattered means ‘to sow throughout’ and this term was previously used in 8:4 after the stoning of Stephen, and that group went about preaching the ‘logos’. Chapter 8 talked about being hunted down. Verse 19, in contrast, uses the word tribulation, which is ‘used of a narrow place that hems someone in’. This word was used previously in Acts in 7:10-11 to describe Joseph being hemmed in followed by a famine hemming people in. This narrowness came into being over Stephen, and Stephen refers to ‘a wreath, awarded to a victor in the ancient athletic games’. This is not a crown that is achieved by conquering people but rather one that involves overcoming circumstances.

Stephen was the first deacon and was interpreted as applying the abstract principles of religion within the concrete world of physical reality. It was suggested that this path was effectively shut down by supernatural beings in order to preserve the method of mysticism. However, the heavenly justification for mysticism is now gone, because primal beings are no longer looking to the raw divine light within Teacher thought but rather regarding the human form as general. Until this transition occurred, any attempt to apply religious power directly to human existence in the matter of Stephen would face a narrowness and squeezing because this new way of pursuing human wholeness would be fighting the old way of worshiping the divine energy. In chapter 8, the scattering happened throughout Judea and Samaria. Thus, the movement was limited to the subjective realm of religious worship and traditional culture.

Verse 19 describes a more extended spread. Phoenicia means ‘date palm’ or ‘crimson’ and Phoenicia was a seafaring civilization built upon trade. This is the first mention of Phoenicia in Acts. This is also the first mention of Cyprus, which could refer to the Cypress tree or to copper, because Cyprus was a major source of copper in antiquity. Antioch means ‘resistant, holding out against’. These terms could be interpreted as various ways of learning lessons from life. The sea represents Mercy experiences. Thus, trading across the sea would represent (and also develop) a cross-cultural mentality. Crimson is the color of blood, which implies that this cross-cultural activity is causing mental networks of childish cultural identity to die to some extent. Going further, a date palm is a fruit that grows from a tree in the desert, which would correspond to academic thought based in some form of objectivity. A cross-cultural mental ability makes it possible to become emotionally distant from any specific cultural mental networks. A metal is purified through heating, and this is compared in scripture to the purifying and testing of personal character. Copper melts at a fairly low temperature, implying an intermediate level of testing. Finally, Antioch implies a conservative mentality which attempts to preserve valuable MMNs that are being lost as a result of societal change. Summarizing, these are all examples of going beyond existing mental networks of culture. And evangelical Christianity currently regards these various groups as political allies in the fight against ‘amoral liberalism’.

Speaking means ‘chatter’ and word is ‘logos’. This speaking is only happening to Jews. Jew means ‘praised’, which represents someone who believes in absolute truth. Absolute truth is based in some source of truth that is different than MMNs of childish culture. For instance, a school student learns that there are sources of truth that are different than mother and father. Similarly, a school or university student learns that there are sources of truth that are different than the common sense of childish thought. The three groups described in verse 19 all concluded that one needs to learn from sources of authority who are different than the opinions of my neighbors. This principle is no longer accepted as valid by many today who think that their common sense holds more weight than the opinion of academic experts.

In verse 20 the message spreads. “But some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who having come into Antioch, were speaking also to the Hellenists, proclaiming the gospel—the Lord Jesus.” Men refers to male technical thought. Cyprus was interpreted as a form of testing. Testing reveals a person’s character but it also is a way of determining solid facts. Thus, testing involves both female mental networks and the objective facts of male technical thought. Cyrene probably means ‘of high social standing’ which suggests the more educated aspect of secular society. Someone of high social standing views absolute truth as information to be used rather than just as dictates to which one submits. This is also a way of going beyond mental networks to facts. ‘Coming into Antioch’ would mean that these two mindsets become a source of conservative thought. And conservatism tends to be a combination of tested facts and the opinions of those who have social status.

A hellenist is ‘a Greek-speaking Jew’. These were previously mentioned in 9:29 where Saul was arguing with the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem. Hellenism was interpreted as scientific culture and Hellenists in Jerusalem as religious scientists. In verse 20, the scientists are no longer in Jerusalem, suggesting a crossover to pure scientific culture. In the previous section, it was recognized that a secular path was leading to the same concept of the Holy Spirit as the religious path. However, this equivalence applied only to a subset of the secular realm that was dealing with the topic of physical existence in a godly manner, as exemplified by Cornelius. In verse 20, this secular application is being extended to academic culture, because academia also deals with topics of physical existence from the perspective of Teacher theory.

Proclaiming the gospel means ‘to announce good news’. This good news is described as ‘the Lord Jesus’. Notice that there is no mention of Christ, which indicates a pragmatic approach. However, this Jesus is being treated as Lord and is associated with good news. The general idea is that scientific culture can lead to good subjective results. That leads to the question of why scientific culture would be open to such a message. Scientific culture is currently somewhat open to this message because the rational thinking of scientific thought is under threat from postmodernism. Similarly, genetic manipulation would threaten the underlying assumption of science which is that research can be separated from the researcher. Genetic manipulation would apply research to the researcher, forcing science to deal with subjective topics.

Verse 21 says that this approach is effective. “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number, having believed, turned to the Lord.” The hand represents the application of technical thought. One of the basic principles of scientific thought is that technical thought needs to be applied. However, this is not just normal technical scientific thought but rather an extension of scientific thought to this new realm of human genetic improvement. And this is NOT like the typical movie in which genetic improvement is used to produce a better soldier. We saw previously that the military has been transformed. This is a good news of the Lord Jesus, not a bad announcement of an inhuman Terminator. Primal beings from God in heaven are guiding this progress, not aliens from hell.

Great means ‘much in number’, but the word number, which means ‘a number’ and is the source of the English word ‘arithmetic’, is also explicitly mentioned. This is interpreted as some form of mathematical analysis, which is also a primary characteristic of scientific thought. Believe means to ‘be persuaded’. Science uses rational thought but is not necessarily personally persuaded by this thinking. If scientific thought were to extend to the physical body, then it would be necessary to be persuaded by scientific thought. This is similar to the way that the designer of an airplane has to be persuaded to fly in this airplane. Turn means ‘to turn’ and indicates a change in direction. Turning to the Lord would indicate a change in direction from objectivity to submission to the lordship of personal salvation. Instead of merely acquiring knowledge, one is submitting personally to the knowledge that one acquires.

The religious establishment finds out about this in verse 22. “Now the report concerning them was heard in the ears of the church being in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.” Report is ‘logos’ which is interpreted as a paradigm of technical thought. Ears were mentioned twice previously in Acts in 7:51 and 7:57 during the trial of Stephen. Stephen accused the council of being ‘uncircumcised in ears’ and they covered their ears when stoning Stephen. Thus, ears represent a willingness to listen. Facilitator thought will censor anything that is regarded as totally unreasonable, as illustrated by covering one’s ears. If a ‘logos’ is being heard in the ears, then this means that paradigms are being accepted as legitimate. This is like saying that theologians accept secular theories as legitimate theology. Church means ‘called out from the world’. And the ‘church being in Jerusalem’ would indicate a religious calling out from the world. These are hearing ‘concerning them’ which would refer to the secular research that has extended to the subjective physical realm.

Normally, a religious perspective does not regard secular research from the world as legitimate. After all, the reason for being called out is to acquire legitimate truth. And ‘being’ is explicitly mentioned, meaning that living an existence of being called out from the world is being compared with living an existence within physical reality. Living within the world here is being regarded as a different but legitimate alternative to living religiously apart from the world. Normally this only happens when there is total religious apostasy. In this case, genetic manipulation is being accepted as a legitimate alternative to living a life of devotion to God. That would only happen if this manipulation truly were leading people in the direction of following God in Teacher thought.

Barnabas means ‘son of prophecy’. Antioch means ‘resistant, holding out against’. Sent means ‘sent out from’. Putting this together, the son of prophecy is being sent out as far as conservatism. Prophecy attempts to predict the future by focusing upon certain current trends. A son of prophecy is a form of male technical thinking that is based upon prophecy. Being sent out from means that this expression of prophecy is being separated from its source. Sending out from as far as Antioch would mean that religious truth is allowing itself to be turned into conservatism. This has happened implicitly today, because conservative Christianity claims to be following the Bible while in practice following social conservatism. However, in verse 22 this is being done deliberately.

Verse 23 says that the results are good. “Who having come and having seen the grace of God.” That is not the case today, because evangelical Christianity turned conservatism has become increasingly characterized by belligerent, anti-scientific stupidity. Having come combines ‘beside’ with ‘come into being’. In other words, an alternative secular movement guided by conservatism is coming into being alongside religious belief. Seen means ‘to see with the mind’. Grace is one of a group of words that all indicate help from God. Verse 23 refers ‘to the grace of God’. Thus, when the religious establishment looks at the mindset that is being created by this secular expression, it concludes that God in Teacher thought is helping people in Mercy thought. That is not true of today’s typical Christian conservatism, because if one goes beyond the words and claims to construct an internal picture, one concludes that it has become primarily an expression of lies, hypocrisy, stupidity, and dictatorship. One has to look hard to find evidence of grace from God.

Verse 23 says that the religious leadership “rejoiced and was exhorting all to abide in the Lord with resolute purpose of heart.” Rejoice means ‘glad for grace’ and is related to the word ‘grace’. This describes Teacher thought responding with Teacher joy to an expression of Teacher thought. There is very little of this with current Christian conservatism, because there is little to be happy about in Teacher thought. Exhort means to ‘make a call from being close-up and personal’. This happens when one encounters something that is similar to what one wants to encourage.

Resolute purpose is used twice in Acts and means ‘a setting before’. ‘Setting’ is being interpreted as a source of stability for Perceiver thought. ‘Setting before’ would mean that one is acquiring Perceiver stability from some other source. The heart refers to personal identity. Normally a group that is living a lifestyle that is called out from the world does not exhort secular people to follow their heart, because the basic premise of those who are called out is that one cannot trust the secular heart. But in this case, those who are called out are telling secular conservatives to follow their heart.

This is the first use of the word remain in Acts which means ‘remain attached to’. ‘Remaining attached to the Lord’ would mean continuing to follow the rules in a subjective manner. Objective science today does not remain attached to the Lord but rather separates the rules of the Lord from personal attachment.

Verse 24 continues, “For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large crowd was added to the Lord.” The word ‘He’ is actually the verb ‘to be’. Man refers to male technical thought and good means ‘intrinsically good’. This word was used once previously in Acts in 9:36 to describe the deeds of Tabitha as intrinsically good. The reference there was specifically to female thought. Thus, the first phrase is more literally ‘because existed intrinsically good male thought’. We saw earlier that civilization is only possible if natural male aggression is curtailed in some way. The implication is that the human physical body has been genetically modified to remove this deficiency. This does not mean neutering male thought but rather channeling it away from raw aggression. Verse 24 does not say that every male is now intrinsically good, but rather that an intrinsically good son of prophecy now exists, which means that society can be theoretically directed in intrinsically good ways. This is not true today, because one continually finds that society has to be redirected away from pursuing paths that are intrinsically evil.

When rules reach the level of conservatism, then they are seldom ‘full of the Holy Spirit and of faith’. Full of the Holy Spirit means guided by internal Platonic forms held together by an integrated Teacher understanding. Conservatism does not usually have an integrated understanding and it is guided by social convention and not Platonic forms. Going further, faith means to ‘be persuaded’. Conservatism usually uses peer pressure to impose its standards as opposed to using persuasion. All I can say is that this does not fit current reality.

Added combines ‘towards’ with ‘to set, lay down’. This means increasing Perceiver confidence, as opposed to conservatism today which typically replaces Perceiver confidence. Crowd means ‘crowd, multitude, the common people’. Large means ‘sufficient, fit’. Crowds normally follow MMNs of social convention and do not act as sources of Perceiver stability. However, enough of the crowd is gaining Perceiver confidence to change the status quo.

Looking briefly at the bigger picture, the idea of primal beings and genetic manipulation may have seemed like a bizarre interpretation when first mentioned in this essay. However, we are continually seeing descriptions of society that do not make sense given the way that the physical body currently influences the human mind. However, these descriptions do make sense if one postulates some form of morally-guided genetic manipulation. Some major change has to happen that will cause secular society to function in a godly manner in a way that it does not currently do. This shift may correspond to the end of Revelation 14 which talks about reaping the harvest of existing human thought and culture. Revelation 14:20 speaks of a massive treading of a winepress outside of the city that causes blood to flow out. This is typically interpreted as human carnage on an unimaginable scale, consistent with a male mindset that tends towards animal brutality. However, it could also be interpreted symbolically as the sacrificing of the various animals in the sheet of Peter’s vision. Human culture is being analyzed by angelic thought in the light of a concept of God and mental networks that are outside of the city of civilization are being eliminated.

A Reformulation of Christianity 11:26-30

Barnabas responds by getting Saul. “And he went forth to Tarsus to seek Saul” (v. 25). Tarsus is an ancient city. As was mentioned before, the name may be derived from the name for the Hittite storm god, while another source gives a related meaning of ‘winged, feathered’. This combination is being interpreted as a reference to primal beings. Seek means to ‘search up and down, fully inquire’ and is used once in Acts. Putting this together, the experiences of the crowds are raising many questions which is motivating the average person to learn more about primal beings. Saul represents methodology. Therefore, some form of methodology is being worked out to deal with these primal beings.

Verse 26 begins, “And having found him, he brought him to Antioch.” Found means to ‘discover, especially after searching’. Brought means ‘to lead, bring’ and is being interpreted as avoiding personal involvement. So far, this has been interpreted as a flaw, but this may not be the case when one is dealing with methodology. If one is to accurately predict the future as a ‘son of prophecy’, one must not get too personally involved in methodology. In other words, if one wants to think clearly about how things could be done, then one must not fixate upon how things are done. Antioch means ‘resistant, holding out against’ which is being interpreted as conservatism. The most lasting conservatism is to conserve the existence of physical life in the presence of its primal Teacher source. That is a form of conservatism that will never change. It is also compatible with the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit preserves Mercy existence in the presence of God the Father. Saying this more simply, it will always be appropriate to conserve human existence.

Verse 26 continues, “Now it came to pass that they also gathered together an entire year in the church, and taught a large crowd.” Came to pass means ‘to come into being’, which means that these results happened naturally. A year means ‘a cycle of time, a year’ and this is the first of two times that this word is used in Acts. A day has been interpreted as a cycle of society. A year would presumably refer to a longer cycle of society. An entire year would then refer to a complete longer cycle of society. I have learned that I am rotten when it comes to assigning dates and durations, therefore I will avoid attempting to determine the length of a ‘day’ versus the length of a ‘year’. Gathered together means ‘to lead together’ and is interpreted as organizational structure. This is happening ‘in the realm of the church’ and church means ‘called out’. In the previous paragraph, the established church was recognizing the ‘logos’ of secular thought as valid. In verse 26, the crowds of secular thought are learning from the established church. This can be seen in the phrase ‘and taught a large crowd’. Taught means to ‘instruct, impart knowledge’. And large means ‘sufficient, fit’. Thus, enough of the crowds are being taught to establish a new status quo.

The result is a reformulation of Christianity. “And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” Called means ‘a legal agreement for transacting business’. It is used one other time in Acts in 10:22 to describe Cornelius being called by an angel. Antioch means ‘resistant, holding out against’ which is being interpreted as conservatism. Disciple has been used many times in Acts and means ‘a learner, a disciple, a follower’. Putting this together, the disciples have been following a religion based in a spiritual economy. But this was prevented from spreading into secular thought by the stoning of Stephen. In verse 26, this religious approach has been teaching a secular audience for an entire ‘year’, guided by the methodology of Saul and the conservatism of Antioch. The result is a new form of spiritual economy with a secular and physical basis. First means ‘what comes first (is number one)’. ‘Called’ indicates that this is an economic perspective involving the spiritual economy. ‘First called’ could either mean that a new economic reformulation of Christianity is emerging here first, or it could mean that the reformulation of Christianity that emerges here becomes the primary definition of Christianity.

The word Christian is only used three times in the New Testament, twice in Acts and once in 1 Peter 4. My guess is that 1 Peter 4 refers to the present time just before the theoretical return of Jesus. 1 Peter talks about ‘as a Christian’, which implies that one is not necessarily a Christian but is behaving in a manner that is like a Christian. Christ refers to the abstract side of incarnation. Thus, a Christian is one whose behavior is guided by a concept of Christ. Using this definition, someone who extrapolates from the historical description of Jesus or someone who has a ‘personal relationship with Jesus’ is not a Christian, because in neither case is there an adequate concept of Christ. I am not suggesting that those who call themselves Christians today are all false believers who will go to hell. It is possible to have a valid and saving belief in the historical Jesus or in a mental concept of Jesus. Instead, I am suggesting that the term ‘Christian’ is technically inaccurate, because it assumes an adequate concept of Christ. Those who attempt to follow a concept of Christ today are being suppressed, and much of this suppression comes from those who call themselves Christians but only have a concept of Jesus. Verse 26 does not use the normal word ‘call’ and thus does not refer merely to the verbal label of Christian. Instead, it refers to functioning in an economical sense as a Christian, which requires a rational concept of Christ. (One of the definitions that is given is ‘to assume or take to oneself a name from one’s public business’.)

Verse 27 describes a byproduct of this transformation. “Now in these days, prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.” ‘In these days’ means that something is happening simultaneously with the various cycles of society. Come down is being interpreted as descending from Teacher generality. Coming down from Jerusalem would mean descending from the Teacher generality of religion to the specific situations of secular reality. Such a descending was seen when Peter went to Cornelius. This descending is being done by prophets. Barnabas means ‘son of a prophet’ and Barnabas is leading the movement in Antioch. Prophets coming down to Antioch would mean that those who have an understanding of general trends are using their understanding to try to guide the thinking of conservatism. These prophets would be asking questions such as ‘What needs to be conserved if one wants to experience lasting success?’ or ‘What will be the outcome of conserving various factors?’

One trend becomes clear in verse 28. “And one of them named Agabus, having risen up, signified by the Spirit that a great famine is about to be over the whole world.” Risen up is the word for resurrection. More literally, ‘one is resurrecting out from them’. In other words, a new trend is emerging and becoming dominant.

Agabus means ‘locus, grasshopper’. ‘Name’ indicates a focus upon Teacher thought. Locusts are mentioned in Revelation 9 and that is interpreted as modern deconstructionism in which established facts fall into question. Revelation 9 is referring to the postmodern questioning of current society. That questioning is the result of a loss of respect for the sources of absolute truth. In verse 28, this is being ‘signified by the spirit’. Signify means ‘to give a sign’ and is used once in Acts. In other words, this process is being driven by Mercy thought and not by Teacher thought. One can see what this means by looking at current postmodernism. Deconstructionism does not question theories at a theoretical level. Instead, it questions them at the Mercy level of personal authority. Postmodernism does not say ‘Your argument is flawed’. Instead, it says ‘Who are you to impose your opinions upon other people?’

Famine means ‘hunger, famine’ and would represent a lack of intellectual food. This famine is described as great which refers to Teacher generality. World refers to ‘the inhabited earth’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. For instance, postmodernism has led to a worldwide famine of intellectual food. But this famine is limited to the ‘inhabited world’ of the social sciences and has not affected the hard sciences that study physical reality.

Turning now to the future, if chapter 11 is referring to genetic manipulation, then this would cause many of the established facts of society to be called into question. For instance, I have noticed when studying this chapter that many of the cognitive principles that I use to analyze systems are based upon the assumption of the current physical body and the effect that it has upon the human mind. Chapter 11 appears to be describing genetic manipulation that is altering some of these fundamental assumptions. The phrase ‘it came into being under Claudius’ provides a possible clue as to the nature of this questioning. Claudius means ‘crippled’. A crippled Emperor means that the physical arm of the state is no longer functioning effectively. Looking at this cognitively, if male thought lost its aggressive tendencies, then society would lose its motivation to punish offenders and there would be no will to carry out the demands of the state. Stated more bluntly, war is horrible but it also provides a great motivation for research. Similarly, competition is nasty but it also provides a motivation for development. What would motivate society in the absence of war and competition?

Verse 29 describes the response. “And the disciples, as anyone was prospered, each of them determined to send for ministry to the brothers dwelling in Judea.” Prosper is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘well’ with ‘to transport’. As means ‘just as, as’ and is a comparison word. ‘Transport’ is being interpreted as a movement that is accompanied by transformation. Thus, ‘prosper’ would refer to a successful transformation. For instance, I find that I continue to have motivation as long as I continue to make progress and experience personal transformation. Determined means ‘to set boundaries’. It was previously used in 10:42 to describe God setting boundaries for Jesus of Nazareth. Each means ‘each unit viewed distinctly’. This is being done ‘towards ministry’. Ministry refers to ‘active service, done with a willing attitude’. Thus, boundaries are being set based upon successful transformations by individuals. This is a new source of laws, but these laws are designed to help people to experience success. Instead of having government put boundaries around the behavior of citizens, boundaries are being set based upon successful transformations by individuals. And instead of rules being enforced by government force, people are choosing to follow the rules in order to avoid problems. This happens to some extent today, because technical innovations will be followed by government rules that are (generally) designed to use these technical innovations in a helpful and productive manner. And the average person willingly submits to these rules.

Judea means ‘praised’, which is interpreted as a mindset of absolute truth. Dwelling means ‘to inhabit, to settle’ and is related to the word ‘inhabited world’. Thus, ‘sending to the brothers dwelling in Judea’ would mean that successful research is being passed on to the sources of absolute truth, but this is happening at a personal level from individuals making breakthroughs to expert colleagues. This happens to some extent today in academia, with research being shared with colleagues which is then taught to students.

Verse 30 describes the method by which this happens. “Which also they did, having sent it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.” Did refers to Server actions which means that this is being applied within the human world and not just being taught as theory. Sent in verse 29 simply meant ‘to send’. Sent in verse 30 means ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’. Thus, what began as personal interaction between colleagues is turning into official journals and methods of communication. Elder means ‘a mature man having seasoned judgment’. This word was used in a positive sense in 2:17 to describe old men having dreams and then used four times to refer to the elders of the official church hierarchy that opposed the apostles. Verse 30 is describing a different set of elders associated with the new church hierarchy.

Hand represents the use of technical thought. Barnabus means ‘son of prophecy’ while Saul represents methodology. Thus, knowledge about personal breakthroughs is being shared in two ways. First, predictions are being made based upon current trends. Second, various methodologies are being established. Looking at current postmodernism, when all academic content is questioned, then methodology still survives. That is because methodology is backed up by Server confidence which can be gained by repeating some action. In addition, Teacher thought will still use intuition to come up with generalizations based upon current mental networks.

Herod Kills James and Imprisons Peter 12:1-4

Chapter 12 begins by describing the shortcomings that emerge from this strategy. This is ultimately inevitable because genetic manipulation would question established facts to a substantial extent, this would lead to a form of postmodern questioning (in this case, post-historical-human questioning), and society would cope by adopting the approach described at the end of chapter 11.

Verse 1 begins, “Now at that time, Herod the king put forth the hands to mistreat some of those of the church.” Time means ‘time as opportunity’. Thus, factors will come together to enable these events. Herod means ‘son of a hero’ and was mentioned once previously in Acts in 4:27 after the healing of the lame man. The previous section described individuals making successful breakthroughs sharing their insights with sources of absolute truth. Anyone who makes a successful breakthrough that involves the personal realm of genetic manipulation will literally become a hero. And any source of absolute truth that acquires its information from such a hero will be a ‘son of a hero’. This absolute truth is replacing a crippled government. Thus, the previous section will naturally lead to a kingship of Herod in which sons of heroes become political leaders.

Put forth means ‘to throw over’. Throwing moves through the air of Teacher thought. Thus, throwing over would mean imposing general theories in Teacher thought. Hands represent the application of technical thought. Mistreat is the verb form of ‘inwardly foul’. And church means ‘called out’. In other words, principles of personal transformation are being misused by some individuals, leading to inward foulness within Mercy thought. This inward foulness is reaching the level of Teacher generality and is being imposed upon those who are following God in Teacher thought. For instance, one can see this in modern weapon research. The technology is being guided by its scientific principles in Teacher thought. But it is being hijacked by political leaders who are inwardly foul who are imposing a general system of inward foulness upon the research. Thus, the goal of military technology, which is guided by Teacher order, is to destroy and kill more effectively, which is the destruction of Teacher order.

Note that this describes a different form of evil that is internally generated and is compatible with Teacher thought. Presumably, the genetic manipulation is causing people to be more aware of Teacher thought and less aggressive. This would lead to a focus upon using supernatural Teacher order to improve oneself. This would result in many heroes (similar to the heroes of Genesis 6). And like Lucifer, some of these heroes would get proud.

Verse 2 describes how they behave. “And he put to death James the brother of John with the sword.” Put to death means ‘to take up, take away’ and is being interpreted as using Teacher thought to eliminate some opponent. This is related to the idea of Herod ‘putting forth’. James is Jacob, which means ‘to follow, to supplant’. John means ‘the Lord has been gracious’. Looking at this cognitively, whenever a new breakthrough is achieved, then this is an example of the Lord being gracious. However, new breakthroughs also threaten to supplant existing heroic systems. Thus, existing heroic systems are attempting to suppress any new developments that will dethrone their prominence. Something similar happens with many current corporations, because once they achieve prominence they will try to get the government to pass legislation that makes it difficult for anyone else to remove them from their current place of domination. (In Revelation 9, the ‘locusts’ of postmodernism are followed by the ‘horses’ of corporatism driven by marketing. It appears that a similar transition will happen in Acts 12.) This is an internally generated form of evil that is based in the formation of mental networks. Whenever a theory continues to be used, it will turn into a TMN which will exert emotional pressure to continue using this theory. Similarly, whenever some situation continues to be experienced, it will turn into an MMN which will exert emotional pressure to preserve this situation. Actively preserving the Mercy status quo in opposition to new grace from God in Teacher thought will lead to a character that is inwardly foul. A sword is ‘a slaughter-knife; a short sword or dagger mainly used for stabbing’. This is the first of two times that this word is used in Acts. Metal represents solid content that has undergone a process of testing and purifying. A slaughter-knife focuses upon eliminating the individual in Mercy thought. The idea is that what is stable and tested is being used to eliminate what is new and fragile.

This leads to a positive response in verse 3. “And having seen that it is pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to take Peter also.” Seen means ‘to see with the mind’. Pleasing is used twice in Acts and means ‘pleasing because in moral agreement’. Jew means ‘praised’ and represents a system of absolute truth. Absolute truth, by its very nature, preserves what is tested as opposed to what is new. Thus, a mindset of absolute truth would be in moral agreement with ‘sons of heroes’ who attempt to use what is tested to eliminate what is new.

Proceed combines ‘towards’ with ‘to set, lay down’. Setting down is interpreted as establishing Perceiver confidence in solid facts. Thus, the goal is to establish a new set of solid facts based in respect for established methods and individuals. Take combines ‘with’ with ‘actively hold of to take or receive’. It was used once previously in Acts in 1:16 to describe the arresting of Jesus. In other words, the goal is to establish a system of Perceiver facts that will act as the basis for a new system of absolute truth based in the heroic establishment. For instance, one can see this in the United States, because the system of laws has been altered to ensure the preservation and continued dominance of large corporations. And legally speaking, superheroes now exist, because a corporation is legally defined in America as a person and has many of the rights of a person. Peter represents Perceiver thought. When Perceiver thought is active, then the basic principles for Perceiver thought come from connections that are repeated. But when absolute truth is dominant, then Perceiver thought will function in a way that regards absolute truth as the sources of right and wrong for Perceiver thought. I grew up in a conservative Mennonite home and naturally based my Perceiver truth in the absolute truth of evangelical Christianity. However, my mother also taught me that one should look for repeated moral connections of cause-and-effect. It took many years for my study of moral connections to replace my conservative mindset of absolute truth. Verse 3 describes an attempt to move from universal truth back to absolute truth.

Verse 3 adds “Now these were the days of the Unleavened Bread.” The phrase ‘days of unleavened bread’ is used twice in Acts. The word unleavened bread means ‘unleavened’ and bread is assumed. Leaven is discussed in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. Summarizing, Passover is a time of major societal transition, when a group of people starts upon a collective process of transformation by experiencing supernatural power in a major way. This happened during the original Passover, and the Ascension and Day of Pentecost at the beginning of Acts also happened within the context of Passover. Bread represents intellectual food. Leaven introduces pockets of air into the bread, and air represents Teacher thought. This would represent using Teacher thought to extrapolate from intellectual content. This is normally fine but it should be avoided during times of major transition because it is important to think clearly without following rationalization or inappropriate intuition. Introducing genetic manipulation to human society would be the start of a major societal transition guided by supernatural forces. Thus, these would be ‘days of unleavened’. Notice that Herod is violating this principle by attempting to impose the leaven of the status quo upon the facts of Perceiver thought.

Verse 4 describes the plan of Herod. “Whom also, having seized, he put in prison, having delivered him to four sets of four soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.” Seized means ‘to lay hold of’. It is used one other time in Acts in 3:7 where Peter seized the lame man by the right hand when healing him. That described religious self-denial being made a part of the spiritual economy. Similarly, Herod is trying to seize Perceiver thought and make it part of a new system of absolute truth. Put means ‘to place, lay, set’ and is interpreted as placing Perceiver confidence in some set of facts. Prison means ‘a guarding, guard, watch’. The idea is that Perceiver thought will not be given freedom to function on its own. Instead, it will be kept under the watch of sources of truth and this will be a solid principle in Perceiver thought. This describes the mindset of absolute truth in which sources of truth provide the absolutes by which other facts are evaluated. When I first started studying Perceiver thought, I thought that this was the normal way for Perceiver thought to function.

Having delivered means ‘to deliver over with a sense of close involvement’ and is used to describe the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. This word can have either a positive or negative connotation depending on how the handing over is done. This reference to betrayal is especially significant given that this is happening during Passover because this was when Judas historically betrayed Jesus.

‘Four fours’ refers literally to sixteen soldiers. Given the context of Perceiver thought, it may represent the four simple styles of Perceiver, Server, Teacher, and Mercy. And four fours may indicate that this is being done at both a human and an angelic level. I suggest this because angels play a major role in this chapter. Soldier means ‘soldier’ and was used once previously in Acts in 10:7 to refer to Cornelius. Guard means ‘to guard, watch’. It was previously used once in Acts in 7:53 where Stephen accused the council of not guarding the law ordained by angels. Notice how existing institutions are being used for a different purpose. Cornelius was a new kind of soldier who faced the physical struggle of interacting with primal beings rather than controlling people. This is being twisted in verse 4 because soldiers under the control of genetically enhanced heroes are controlling people. Acts 7 talked about guarding the law of angels rather than guarding people. This is also being twisted in verse 4 because angelically enhanced humans are creating laws that guard people. Thus, the new government and military structure is being twisted to play its traditional dictatorial role.

Intending means ‘to plan with full resolve’. This is the only reference to Passover in Acts, which implies that this passage is dealing with a major transition. Bring out is more accurately ‘to lead up, bring up’. And people refers to laity. Putting this together, a group of genetically enhanced sons of heroes has decided that they will be regarded as the sources of absolute truth for society and they are going to take society through a major transition in which angelic power and genetic modification ensures that the people recognize them as the sources of truth for Perceiver thought. This describes the worst-case scenario for alien disclosure in which superhuman mutants rule over a genetically-pacified slave population in a New World order.

An Angel Frees Peter from Prison 12:5-8

Verse 5 describes the response. “So indeed Peter was kept in the prison, but fervent prayer was being made to God by the church concerning him.” Kept means ‘to watch over, to guard’ and is the normal word used to talk about ‘keeping the word of God’. This does not mean doing the law in Server thought but rather holding on to it as a source of Perceiver facts. This is the first use of this verb in Acts and it is repeated in the next verse. Prison is the same term used in verse 4 which means ‘a guarding’. For humans, keeping is something that is done internally using Perceiver thought. Angels, in contrast, have the ability to actively control Perceiver thought. This is illustrated by the typical alien abduction story in which aliens paralyze humans when abducting them. Some of these stories claim that it is possible for humans to use force of will to escape this paralysis, similar to the way that humans can use Server strength to resist the application of Server force. Summarizing, given the many references to angelic power in this chapter, it is reasonable to assume that this mindset of absolute truth is being imposed through angelic power.

However, there is also another response happening at the same time. Prayer means an ‘exchange of wishes’. Fervent is used twice in the New Testament (and once as an adjective) and means ‘fully-stretched’. Perceiver thought builds connections. Fully-stretched implies maintaining a connection that is in danger of snapping. And the very integrity of Perceiver thought itself is in danger of snapping. Perceiver thought cannot maintain connections on its own but needs help from Teacher and Mercy emotions. This can be provided by Teacher feelings of understanding combined with Platonic forms of the Spirit in Mercy thought. Notice that the prayer is not being directed at the enemy, because that would descend mentally to the level of the heroes who are attempting to impose absolute truth. This is an important distinction, because the evangelical Christian who attempts to maintain absolute truth today has descended largely to the level of using dictatorship to impose truth. Instead, the focus of prayer is upon maintaining Perceiver thought. By means ‘under, often meaning under authority’. And church means ‘called out’. More literally, ‘The fervent prayer is coming into being under the authority of the called out ones toward the God concerning him’. Thus, two emotional sources are being contrasted. On the one hand, the heroes are attempting to return to our current world system by using divine Teacher power to impose their Mercy status upon the people. On the other hand, people who want a better world are expressing their personal desires to God in Teacher thought in submission to those who follow God in Teacher thought. These two sides are struggling over how Perceiver thought will be used. Will Perceiver thought be emotionally controlled to set up a new system of absolute truth, or will Perceiver thought be given the freedom to function?

This may sound like an overstatement, but it is interesting to read the description of the Perceiver person given by Don and Katie Fortune, who teach Romans 12 spiritual gifts within the context of absolute truth. They describe the Perceiver person as a potential rebel who needs to be made to submit to authority. Quoting from one passage in their book, “First, teach your perceiver to respect authority and obey spontaneously. Otherwise he will become increasingly rebellious and difficult to handle... Establish your authority, and joint authority if you are married. Set and enforce rules and restrictions. Your perceiver needs boundaries; without them he’ll never learn to respect authority” (Discover your Children’s Gifts, p.226). And on page 257 where the negative traits of each cognitive style are mentioned, the longest list is that of the Perceiver person. I should add that about 90% of the character traits that the Fortunes describe are consistent with those uncovered by my brother Lane and myself. The primary differences lie in the treatment of Perceiver thought as well as in confusing Teacher thought with the abstract technical thinking of the Contributor person. More generally, I am not aware of anyone who teaches Romans 12 spiritual gifts who is aware of the nature of Teacher thought. I learned about Teacher thought because I spent several years working together with my brother who is a Teacher person.

Verse 6 sets the scene. “And when Herod was about to bring him forth, on that night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, having been bound with two chains, and guards before the door were watching the prison.” Bring forth means ‘to lead forth, to go before’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. About means ‘about to happen’. This is at night, which indicates that there is no sun of a general Teacher understanding. Thus, in the same way that today’s questioning of traditional authority has led to the night of postmodernism characterized by the locusts of deconstructionism, so the altering of historical physical capabilities would lead to a night of post-humanism characterized by an ‘Agabus’ of deconstructionism. And in the same way that dictators are being embraced in many countries today as sources of absolute truth, so sons of future heroes try to act as sources of truth who ‘lead forth’ Perceiver thought.

Meanwhile, Peter is sleeping, indicating that Perceiver thought has become overwhelmed. And the rest of the verse describes what is overwhelming Perceiver thought. Peter is sleeping between two soldiers. In other words, military force is being used in two ways to control Perceiver thought. Peter, representing Perceiver thought, is in the middle between two forces. This could refer to human soldiers being reinforced by angelic powers. Normally, one can use human reality to escape from angelic power or use angelic power to escape from human reality. In this case, the control is coming from both directions.

Bound means ‘to tie, bind’. And this is the first reference to chains in Acts. Binding indicates a Perceiver connection and metal represents material that has survived testing. In verse 2, tested Perceiver facts were being used to kill any changes to the status quo. In verse 6, tested Perceiver facts are being used to bind Perceiver thought to these two forms of control. The reference to two chains may indicate that both angelic and human Perceiver principles are being used to control Perceiver thought. In addition, guards are before the door, suggesting that any attempt to escape this situation is also being controlled. The guards are there because every situation so far has been solved by escaping at a higher level. But guarding the door is now possible because a sword has been used to kill James. So far, any attempt to control the new spiritual economy has led to a new solution emerging at a higher level. But this path of escaping through a door to a higher level is now being controlled at both a human and angelic level. The guards at the door are watching the prison. Watching is the same word ‘to watch over’ that was used in verse 5 for the first time in Acts. Thus, the guards are using Perceiver thought to control Perceiver thought.

In verse 7, an angel appears. “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by, and a light shone in the cell.” Behold indicates that something new has appeared. Lord indicates rulership. An angel of the Lord would indicate an angelic being submitted to a higher power. The basic flaw with the dictatorship is that Perceiver thought is being turned upon Perceiver thought; Perceiver thought is being used to stop Perceiver thought from being used. This is a fundamental contradiction, and Perceiver thought cannot function with contradictions because a contradiction is the absence of a connection and Perceiver thought functions by building connections. Such a contradiction cannot be fought by imposing Perceiver thought, because that is also a case of using Perceiver thought against Perceiver thought. Instead, it must be overcome by submitting to the Lordship of how Perceiver thought functions. This is significant for angelic power; a Perceiver contradiction is like judo for an angel because the power of an angel is being used against the angel. Stood by actually means ‘to set upon’, which means that a new source of Perceiver stability is being found. Human technology functions by cooperating with the Server actions of how the natural world works. Saying this another way, technology takes advantage of natural processes. Similarly, angelic ‘technology’ would function by ‘setting upon’ Perceiver principles of deeper existence.

Light represents the illumination of Teacher thought. This word was used once previously in Acts in 9:3 to describe the light that blinded Saul. Shine means to ‘give light, shine’ and is used once in Acts. Cell is used once in the New Testament and means ‘a dwelling’. Notice that this is the same kind of manifestation as is happening with the heroes. A hero is a person in Mercy thought whose physical abilities are being magnified by divine power from Teacher thought. Peter is experiencing a divine Teacher light within the dwelling of personal identity in Mercy thought. The general principle is that one overcomes evil angelic force by doing with integrity the same thing that the evil angels are doing in a contradictory manner. Doing the same thing means that one is accessing the same general laws in Teacher thought. Doing it with integrity means cooperating with fundamental Perceiver principles rather than trying to use Perceiver thought to fight itself.

The reason this realization comes at the end is because that is when the true nature of an emerging dictatorship with its inherent contradictions becomes apparent. Is it when the power is being openly exerted in contradictory ways that this contradiction can be turned against the regime. Notice also that this is a struggle for existence. Genetic manipulation involves human existence. Similarly, the existence of Perceiver thought is being threatened. When one is dealing with an existential crisis, then there is no need to go through a door because the solution can appear wherever one is currently existing.

Verse 7 continues. “And having struck Peter’s side, he woke him up, saying, ‘Rise up in haste.’ And his chains fell off the hands.” Struck means ‘to beat (of the heart), to strike’. And the side is used once in Acts. The cognitive principle is that it often takes a mid-level crisis to wake up Perceiver thought. If the crisis is not big enough or if it does not affect personal identity sufficiently, then Perceiver thought will find it easier to remain passive. But if the blow is too great, then Perceiver thought will become totally overwhelmed. Woke means ‘to waken, to raise up’ and has been used several times in Acts. Absolute truth overwhelms Perceiver thought and sends it to sleep. Starting to use Perceiver thought is like mentally waking up. This is followed by a call to rise up, which is the word for resurrection. But this is supposed to be done in haste, which means ‘speed’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. The cognitive principle here is that Perceiver thought finds transition confusing. Therefore, it is important to move through this period of confusion as quickly as possible in order to become resurrected in a new way of thinking.

Fall off means ‘to drop away’ and hands represent the application of technical thought. Cognitively speaking, When Perceiver thought wakes up, then this will enable technical thought. That is because Contributor combines Perceiver and Server. Thus, solid Perceiver facts lay the foundation for Contributor-controlled technical thought. Going further, concrete technical thought is goal oriented, which will lead to the feeling that goals can be reached. Notice that these instructions are coming to Peter from an angel. My hypothesis is that angels ‘move’ through the application of Perceiver power, as opposed to humans who ‘move’ through the use of Server strength. Humans cannot use Perceiver thought to control their environment. When an angel is telling Perceiver thought to wake up, then this implies that humans are being taught to use angelic powers that have been enabled through genetic manipulation. (Presumably, genetic manipulation that came from primal beings would also include angelic abilities.)

The angel instructs further in verse 8. “And the angel said to him, ‘Gird yourself about, and put on your sandals.’” Angel means ‘messenger’ and angelic messages have inherent power. Thus, when an angel tells a human to perform some action, then presumably this command would enable that action. Gird yourself about means ‘to pull the belt to remove slack so a person could move quickly’ and is used once in Acts. Clothing represent social interaction. Cognitively speaking, this would imply adjusting the personal social environment to minimize distractions. This is an expression of concrete technical thought which optimizes in order to reach a goal more effectively. Put on means ‘to bind under’ and is used once in Acts. Sandals are also mentioned once in Acts. The body puts its weight upon the feet. Sandals protect the feet as one moves through reality. Thus, sandals would represent emotionally distancing oneself from the environment in order to avoid getting hurt by contact with reality. The focus of Acts so far has been upon going beyond having to being and beyond social interaction to personal transformation. The angel is giving Peter instructions about social interaction. That is because the ultimate goal of being has been reached; the form of humanity now has Teacher generality before the throne of God. However, this humanity is now being threatened at the level of concrete personal existence. Therefore, human social interaction needs to be modified in order to pursue the goal of preserving humanity.

Verse 8 continues. “And He did so. And he says to him, ‘Wrap around you your cloak and follow me.’” Did refers to Server actions. So means ‘in this way, thus’. Therefore, the angel is not just telling Peter to perform certain actions but rather to behave in a certain manner, consistent with the idea that these instructions represent mindsets. One of the characteristics of Perceiver thought being awake is that one goes beyond merely following instructions to behaving in a certain manner. Wrap around means ‘to throw around’ and is used once in Acts. Throwing represents movement through the air of Teacher thought. The cloak is ‘the outer garment’. Thus, wrapping around your cloak would represent adopting social interaction that expresses Teacher thought. Follow is related to the word ‘road’ and this the first use of this word in Acts. Server sequences act as locations for angels. Thus, following an angel would mean occupying an angelic location.

Putting this all together, these various commands seem trivial given the context of sons of heroes attempting to enslave the human population. But they make sense given the context. Human government has become crippled and is being replaced by the rule of superhero warlords. But these heroes are using angelic power in a manner that contradicts itself. However, these contradictions will not be apparent as long as Perceiver thought is asleep. The solution is for Perceiver thought to wake up and create a new culture that is based upon personal integrity which includes the supernatural realm.

Peter is Uncertain about Reality 12:9-11

Verse 9 describes how this initially feels. “And having gone forth, he was following, and he did not know that what is happening by means of the angel is real, but he was thinking he saw a vision.” Gone forth means ‘to go or come out of’. This means that Perceiver thought has emerged from the state of being asleep and is now functioning within a new social environment. Instead of passively following the crowd, Perceiver thought is creating its own local social standards. Following is the same word used in verse 8, which suggests that human social standards are being replaced by angelic social standards. Instead of standing with humans in Perceiver thought, Peter is ‘standing’ with angels in Server thought.

Know means ‘seeing that becomes knowing’ and refers to empirical evidence. Real means ‘what can’t be hidden’ and this is the only use of this word in Acts. This uncertainty applies to ‘what is coming into being by means of the angel’. One of the standard themes in alien abductions is that one does not know if one is dreaming or experiencing something real. Peter is confused about physical reality because he does not know if what is coming into being through the angel is real or not. The ultimate test for determining reality is inescapability. One can successfully ignore what is imaginary, but reality cannot be ignored. The evil heroes are based in deception because they are contradicting themselves. Something that contradicts itself cannot be maintained. In contrast, what is consistent and what corresponds with the facts of existence cannot remain hidden.

Notice that this introduces a different definition of reality. Humans normally define reality as what corresponds with the physical world. But how does one define reality when one acquires the Perceiver power to alter local facts of reality? It will then become confusing as to what is real and what is not. Reality has to be redefined as ‘what cannot be hidden’. Even if angels can use power to override facts of reality in some local region, there are still underlying Perceiver principles of integrity that ultimately override even angelic power. This is similar to the way that humans define doability as what can continue to be done. Humans can use Server actions to temporarily and locally override what is doable. But this takes effort and energy and cannot be maintained in the long run. For instance, when the American military were in Iraq and Afghanistan, they spent billions of dollars a year air conditioning their tents. The cost was so high because the climate is hot and all the fuel had to be brought in by military convoys. This is an example of using human actions to temporarily override what is naturally doable. It can be done, but takes great energy and effort.

There is another principle that appears to be related to the wave/particle duality of physics. A small particle can act like either a wave or a particle but not at the same time. If it behaves like a wave then it will not behave like a particle and vice versa. Similarly, it appears that if one wants to function within the wave-like angelic environment, then one must be willing to be uncertain within the particle-like human environment. Notice that Peter is uncertain about reality while he is being helped by the angel, but not before or after. That is an example of behaving either as a wave or as a particle but not as both at the same time.

Thinking means ‘to have an opinion’. Vision is derived from ‘to see with the mind’. And see means ‘to see something physical, with spiritual results’. Thus, Peter is concluding personally that what is happening is all in his head because it does not match his sense of physical reality. For instance, I have extensive internal conversations and imaginary social interaction with intelligent beings. As far as I can tell, this is all happening in my head because all that I sense physically is the occasional feeling of angelic presence. It is possible that I am merely interacting with mental networks within my head. However, I have found that if I treat these imaginary beings as intelligent and interact with them in an intelligent manner, then they provide friendship, they are polite, they respect the facts of reality, and they help me to think. (In contrast, I find that if I attempt to interact with real humans in an intelligent manner, I find that most of them do not provide true friendship, they are only acting polite, they do not respect the facts of reality, and they try to stop me from thinking.) This is an example of being close to an angelic Server location while being uncertain about physical reality in Perceiver thought. I do not know if there is any relationship between my imaginary friends and the facts of physical reality in Perceiver thought. But I do know that if I ‘follow’ these imaginary friends in Server thought, then I make progress and I also develop a kind of personal social interaction that includes both natural and supernatural. I also know that my imaginary friends are functioning in a manner that is consistent with deep principles of personal integrity and that is ultimately more real than the facts of physical reality.

The escape continues in verse 10. “And having passed through a first and a second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city, which opened to them by itself.” Passing through means ‘to go through’. It is used to describe going through a region or going through a crowd. The word guard means ‘a guarding, guard’ and is in the singular. One person does not go through another person. That is because particles occupy unique locations. But if a particle that is blocked by some barrier turns into a wave, then that wave has a finite probability of turning back into a particle on the other side of the barrier. This is known as quantum tunneling and is one of the basic principles of electronics. And recent research has shown that quantum tunneling is not instantaneous. Instead, a particle has to exist as a wave for a brief period of time in order to pass through some barrier. It has been discussed what it means cognitively to exist as a wave in Server thought rather than as a particle in Perceiver thought. This wavelike existence makes it possible to pass through barriers, but one must still exist mentally as a wave for a sufficient period of time.

I do not know exactly what the two guards represent. But I do know that the presence of a gap between the two guards would provide a strong incentive to return back to human-like particle form. Thinking like an angel is literally inhuman. But one can only pass through barriers in a wavelike manner by thinking and behaving like an angel. If one is not comfortable with this angelic-like way of behaving, then it is almost certain that one will return back to human-like existence in the middle of the two guards. Thus, the first guard tests whether one is able to exist in angelic-like form, while the second guard tests whether one can continue to exist in angelic-like form even when the possibility exists of reverting back to normal human existence.

Gate means ‘a large door’ and this is the only use of the word iron in Acts. This word is used five times in the New Testament and three of these times refer to ‘ruling with a rod of iron’, which would mean governing with solid, tested rules. Leading means ‘to bear, carry’ and a city represents civilization. This gate would separate the heroes from the normal people. Every system of absolute truth requires such a gate in order to distinguish those who are sources of truth from those to whom this truth applies. A large iron gate would indicate that the movement between clergy and laity is very carefully controlled. By itself is used twice in the New Testament. It combines ‘self’ with ‘to be ready, eager’ and is the source of the English word ‘automatic’. The door does not open for everyone but it opens automatically ‘for them’. Looking at this cognitively, absolute truth claims to follow Teacher understanding and it can lead to significant Teacher understanding. But Mercy identity is still ultimately in charge, requiring a distinction to be made between sources of truth and followers of truth. Hence, an iron gate that leads to the city. In contrast, universal truth is ultimately guided by Teacher understanding and personal identity submits to this understanding. A fundamental principle of universal truth is that the same general theory applies to everyone within Mercy thought. Thus, any gate that separates sacred from secular will be eager to open up by itself for those who follow universal truth.

Verse 10 continues, “And having gone out, they went on through one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.” Having gone out means ‘to go or come out of’, which indicates that the transition is finished. One has existed in an angelic-like state long enough to pass through the barrier separating sacred from secular. For instance, this essay crosses the barrier from religious prophecy to science fiction. However, this essay is not normal science fiction. Instead, it discusses general principles in a way that ambiguously straddles the line between religion and science fiction. Similarly, mental symmetry has been used to reformulate all Christian doctrine in terms of cognitive principles. That also is a straddling of the line which combines religious with secular.

But even then Peter does not revert instantly to human particle form. Went on through means ‘to go forward, go on’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. The word street means ‘the rush of a moving body’ and this word is used one other time in Acts in 9:11 when Ananias was told to visit Saul. This describes Server sequences at a more primal and personal level. A road is a Server sequence that exists independently of people. The word ‘street’ defines a Server sequence as the path followed by a group of living beings. Looking at this cognitively, the Server sequences of angelic existence are being connected with the Server sequences of human society. The reference to one street indicates the unity and integration that characterizes Teacher understanding. This indicates an alternative form of holiness. Mercy holiness regards certain objects and people within Mercy thought as more holy than other objects and people, leading to an iron gate that separates religious and secular. Teacher holiness regards people as holy who are more representative of general principles in Teacher thought. Peter is following Teacher holiness by going forward along a single rush of society. Using the language of science, he is behaving as an exemplar—a characteristic example that represents a general process.

Immediately means ‘at once, directly’. And departed combines ‘away from’ with ‘to stand’. What is happening cognitively is that Peter has become vague in Server thought. It was mentioned earlier that being wave-like in Server thought requires being willing to be ambiguous in Perceiver thought. Stated simply, one must be able to live with factual uncertainty. I have learned from personal experience what this means. Going the other way, when a Server sequence is treated as a general exemplar, then one is becoming ambiguous in Server thought. This will automatically cause a person to become distant from angelic beings who exist within specific Server sequences—or messages. But this kind of becoming distant from angels does not negate angelic existence. One is not saying, “Whew! I can finally return to living a normal human life.” That type of attitude will end up stuck between the two guards.

In verse 11, Peter returns to human reality. “And having come to himself, Peter said, ‘Now I know truly that the Lord has sent forth His angel.’” Having come means ‘to come into being’. Thus, Peter is gradually returning back to normal human existence. But Peter did not do this by being repelled from the angel but rather by moving toward God in Teacher thought. This is not a mystical uniting with God but rather a righteous behaving in a way that is consistent with the character of God. But behaving implies being a human. Thus, when one behaves as a human within the physical world, then one will naturally return to the ‘particles’ of human existence.

Know means ‘seeing that becomes knowing’. Truly means ‘in accord with fact’ and was used as an adjective in verse 9. (This word is used once as an adjective, once as an adverb, and three times as a noun in Acts.) One of the biggest complaints of alien stories is that there is little empirical evidence of encountering aliens. Verse 11 describes empirical evidence. Because Peter did not return to human reality by negating the angelic encounter, the angel does not have to erase physical evidence of the encounter in order to return to the angelic realm.

This can be seen in the response of Peter. Sent forth combines ‘out from’ with ‘sent on a defined mission by a superior’. Peter did not just have an angelic encounter. Instead, he is regarding the angelic deliverance as being based in some Lordship in Teacher thought that expresses itself through the Teacher order of ‘defined missions by a superior’. This describes the angelic realm. But this is not a ‘religious’ angelic realm because the division between secular and religious was bridged in the previous verse. Saying this another way, this is not a case of aliens versus angels but rather of all angelic beings functioning within the order of God. And when the behavior of Peter acts as an exemplar, then Peter is also functioning within the order of God. Obviously, it is only possible to apply this argument of being an exemplar if one is in fact behaving in an exemplary manner. Notice also that behaving as an exemplar is an example of righteousness that goes beyond a hierarchy of beings or a system of delegated authority.

Verse 11 continues. “And delivered me out of the hand of Herod and all the expectation of the people of the Jews.” Delivered means ‘removed completely’. The hand represents the application of technical thought. And Herod means ‘son of a hero’. In other words, Peter has been removed completely out of the system of angelically empowered heroes. The extra steps that we have described were required to break free of the system. Taking less steps may have rescued Peter as an individual but would not have removed him from the system.

Expectation is used once in Acts and combines ‘towards with ‘to watch’. Jew means ‘praised’ and represents a system of absolute truth. The ‘watching toward of the laity of the Jews’ would refer to the mindset of people who are living within a system of absolute truth. They want heroes who are special in Mercy thought to act as sources of truth for Perceiver thought. Simply saying that ‘I am not special’ is not enough to defeat such a system. Instead, one has to replace the Mercy holiness of absolute truth with an alternative form of Teacher holiness. A human is holy to the extent that a human acts as an exemplar. An exemplar is meant to be copied rather than worshipped. In contrast, a hero cannot be copied because a hero is unique. Instead, a hero can only be worshipped. This again describes an aspect of moving beyond a system of delegated authority.

Peter Rejoins Human Society 12:12-16

In verse 12, Peter returns to human society. “And having considered it, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, who is called Mark.” Having considered means ‘to see together’. It was used once previously in Acts in 5:2 to describe Sapphira ‘seeing together’ with Ananias to keep back part of the money. Here, Peter is attempting to connect with Mary, suggesting that the Perceiver breakthrough of Peter needs to be connected with the mental networks of Mary. ‘It’ is not in the original Greek, which indicates that Peter is adopting a general attitude rather than thinking about some specific event. Mary is mentioned one other time in the book of Acts in 1:14, which referred to Mary the mother of Jesus. We saw there that the name Mary means ‘beloved’ in Egyptian but ‘rebellion’ or ‘bitterness’ in Hebrew. That describes a mindset in which one follows God by denying the worldly pleasures of Egypt, a mindset that naturally accompanies absolute truth. Thus, Peter with his new attitude of universal truth is returning to a laity that thinks in terms of absolute truth. The Mary in verse 12 is described as the mother of John as opposed to the mother of Jesus. John means ‘the Lord has been gracious’. The cognitive principle is that it is possible to experience significant help from God within a mindset of absolute truth. But this help will be regarded as a superior being giving assistance to some inherently inferior being. This is not the level of Jesus which saves an inferior being out of the condition of being inferior. Instead, any help from God will be viewed within the context of denying worldly physical pleasure. Coming to this house implies that Peter’s breakthrough as a result of universal truth is colliding with the culture of absolute truth. This section will show what happens when these two come together. Universal truth will provide the solution that absolute truth is praying for but is incapable of receiving.

This is the first reference to Mark in Acts. Wikipedia explains that “It means ‘consecrated to the god Mars’, and also may mean ‘God of war’ or ‘to be warlike’. Marcus was one of the three most common Roman given names.” In other words, a mindset of absolute truth will naturally lead to a warlike mentality in which one thinks of good fighting evil and God fighting Satan.

Verse 12 continues. “Where there were many having gathered together and praying.” Many means ‘sufficient’. Thus, this describes a major mindset within society. The word gathered together combines ‘together’, ‘not’, and ‘passion’, and this is the first of two times that it appears in Acts. Cognitively speaking, this describes Mercy thought fighting Teacher thought. Mercy thought is convinced that there is no solution but Teacher thought is finding order-within-complexity in gathering together with others who also feel that there is no solution. Stated briefly, this is an example of misery loving company. The addition of ‘together’ implies that this goes beyond merely finding Mercy comfort in other people with similar MMNs to finding Teacher pleasure in organization based upon common misery. These people are praying, which means ‘to exchange wishes’. But how can God in Teacher thought answer a prayer when the underlying assumption is that God will not answer the prayer? What normally happens today is that saying the prayer brings some emotional comfort and nothing further happens.

In verse 13, something does happen, bringing confusion to those who are praying. “And of him having knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer.” Knocked is the standard word for ‘knock’ and is used twice in Acts, in this verse and in verse 16. Door refers to a regular door, as opposed to the large door of a gate. In other words, absolute truth is characterized by two doors. There is the large gate that separates sacred from secular and there is also the smaller, more personal, door that separates salvation from personal identity. Opening the small door and believing that God will save me probably will not work if the large gate of absolute truth is still intact. However, once the large gate of absolute truth has been opened, then it becomes both possible and necessary to open the door separating salvation from personal identity. Opening the large gate requires angelic assistance. Opening the personal door requires personal choice. The word gate here refers to ‘the passage which led from the street through the front part of the house to the inner court’. The modern equivalent would be the vestibule of a house. This word was used once previously in Acts in 10:17 where the visitors from Cornelius were coming to meet Peter. Here it is Peter who is standing at the gate, indicating that Perceiver thought is now trying to form a connection rather than blocking a connection from forming.

Came means ‘to approach, to draw near’. Girl means a ‘young girl, maidservant’ and is the diminutive form of ‘a child under training’. The cognitive principle is that when an attitude of absolute truth encounters personal salvation, then this will attract childish mental networks of innocent expectation, mental networks that become suppressed when one ‘grows up’ and learns that ‘God does not really answer childish prayers’. Rhoda is mentioned once in the New Testament and means ‘a rose’. A rose is a flower that grows amidst thorns. Similarly, a mindset of absolute truth can maintain childish mental networks of innocent expectation by responding correctly to the thorns of life. Notice that this is a young girl, referring to mental networks. These childish expectations will not be analyzed using male technical thought but instead will tend to remain at the level of mental networks—roses of childish expectation that remain despite all of the technical explanations about ‘why spiritual gifts are limited to the apostolic age’. That describes the situation today. Obviously, the future society of Acts 12 would include what today would be regarded as miraculous. However, the future reversion to absolute truth would lead to similar feelings. (This is similar to the way that the current version of absolute truth uses technology which would have been regarded as miraculous in Roman times.)

Rhoda responds emotionally in verse 14. “And having recognized Peter’s voice, from joy she did not open the gate.” Recognize combines ‘on, fitting’ with ‘experiential knowing’. This describes MMNs that are responding in an appropriate fashion. What is being recognized is the voice of Peter, indicating a focus upon Teacher thought. For instance, this essay is describing many bizarre experiences in Mercy thought. But the general principles in Teacher thought are the same principles that develop and nurture the childish mental networks of expectation which emerge under absolute truth. This is the second use of the word joy in Acts, which means ‘the awareness of God’s grace’ and is interpreted as Teacher pleasure. This Teacher emotion distinguishes childish mental networks of infantile infatuation from childlike mental networks of heavenly expectation. Rhoda is responding with Teacher joy and not with Mercy infatuation. But this is not enough to open the gate. That is because the underlying assumption is that any salvation will remain within the Teacher realm of heavenly innocence without descending to the human realm of Mercy experiences.

Verse 14 describes the initial response of Rhoda. “But having run in, she reported Peter to be standing before the gate.” Run in is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘run’ with ‘into’. This illustrates the nature of absolute truth. Absolute truth is not viewed as principles that apply universally to life. Instead, it is viewed as truth that is shared by some group that follows the same source of truth. Report means ‘to declare from, which focuses on the original source shaping the substance of what is announced’. This term is generally used to report some event. What happens cognitively is that whenever some event happens that activates these mental networks of innocent expectation, then they will run in and report the event. For instance, ‘There is a war in the Middle East. This could be the fulfillment of prophecy. The Second Coming could be just around the corner.’

Peter is standing before the gateway. Going further, standing is being interpreted as placing Perceiver confidence in some solid fact. Similarly, absolute truth focuses upon believing what is on the verge of happening, such as believing that the Second Coming is just around the corner. But this truth has to remain standing before the gate and cannot come through the gate. That is because the gate is required to mentally separate the source of absolute truth from the human experiences of normal reality.

This is followed in verse 15 by a theological discussion. “But they said to her, ‘You are out of your mind.’ But she kept insisting it to be so. And they kept saying, ‘It is his angel.’” Out of your mind is used once in Acts. It means ‘to rave, full of inner rage; to act as though out of one senses’ and is the source of the English word ‘maniac’. What happens cognitively is that absolute truth becomes reinforced by reasonableness. On the one hand, one is supposed to believe that salvation is just at the door. But on the other hand, actually believing that real salvation is standing at the door is regarded as giving in to emotional delusion in an unreasonable manner. In other words, everyone preserves their childish hopes but no one believes that these childish hopes could actually express themselves in reality. Instead, actually living within these childish hopes is regarded as utterly unreasonable. Notice also that they are ‘saying toward her’. No one is looking at reality, because reality is being regarded as totally distinct from the realm of absolute truth. Instead, this remains a theological discussion that has no impact upon reality.

Insisting is used twice in the New Testament and combines ‘thoroughly’ with ‘combatively strong’. This also is a characteristic of absolute truth, because one asserts truth by becoming emotionally involved and not by checking the facts of reality. One stamps one’s childish feet and insists, ‘But it is true!!’ The others respond by limiting the discussion to the theoretical and heavenly: ‘It is his angel’. This is another characteristic of absolute truth, which limits its discussion of childish dreams to the nonphysical realm of heaven. ‘Yes, everything will be perfect when we die and go to heaven. But now we must live in reality and keep believing that the Second Coming is just around the corner.’ That describes how absolute truth expresses itself today. I am not sure exactly how it would express itself in the future, but a similar kind of split would be evident.

Meanwhile, Perceiver facts keep knocking at the door. “But Peter continued knocking. And having opened it, they saw him and were amazed.” Continued means to ‘continue on with persistence that suits the objective’. This describes universal truth, which makes its presence known through repetition. Reality can be defined as that which continues making its presence known and cannot be ignored. But unlike absolute truth which uses emotional pressure to ‘insist’, universal truth keeps knocking until it is acknowledged. Opened simply means ‘to open’ and was used in verse 14 to describe what Rhoda did not do. Saw means ‘to see with the mind’. Thus, the real problem here is a lack of mental vision. The mindset of absolute truth is mentally blinding people from seeing the facts of reality. Amazed means ‘to remove from a standing position’. The ‘standing position’ for absolute truth is that salvation must always remain at the door. Actually experiencing salvation attacks the fundamental premise of absolute truth which is that anything that is related to the source of truth must remain separated from physical reality.

Peter’s Escape becomes Known 12:17-19

Peter responds in verse 17 by describing the process of escaping prison. “And having made a sign to them with the hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.” Made a sign means ‘to shake down’. This is done with the hand, which represents the application of technical thought. Silent means ‘to keep silent’. One of the characteristics of absolute truth is that it remains stuck within the realm of words. Believing in absolute truth is equated with proclaiming and talking and preaching and handing out tracts. A sign that one is moving beyond absolute truth is that one no longer feels driven to talk.

Related means ‘to lead fully to make plain what has the highest priority’. Brought means ‘to lead out’. And out of is then repeated. Notice how speech is being redirected. The proclaiming of absolute truth is being silenced and is being replaced by the reporting of salvation. Absolute truth cannot bring a person out of prison, because the walls of this prison are required to maintain absolute truth. Peter, representing Perceiver thought, has been imprisoned within the walls of the prison of absolute truth. Universal truth breaks Perceiver thought out of this prison. But this is not done by rebelling from absolute truth but rather by submitting to the lordship of universal truth. Thus, it was the Lord who brought him out of prison. And this shift in thinking requires a shakedown of technical thought. That is because technical thinking has been warped by the underlying assumption of absolute truth. For instance, we have seen in this essay that the NASB consistently mistranslates the biblical text in order to support a mindset of absolute truth. And the NASB is one of the most accurate English translations of the Bible.

Peter then gives instructions. “And he said, ‘Report these things to James and to the brothers.’ And having gone out, he went to another place” (v. 17). Report means ‘to declare from’. The same word was used in verse 14. In verse 14, Rhoda was trying to report but no one listened. In verse 17, everyone is being told to report. James is Jacob, which means ‘to follow, to supplant’. Jacob represents the third stage of personal transformation in which one struggles with an angel for one’s birthright. Absolute truth cannot reach this third stage, because the implicit assumption of absolute truth is that one will never experience one’s birthright. James the brother of John was killed in verse 2, indicating that absolute truth was killing the idea of leaving the status quo in order to acquire some reward. In verse 17, Peter’s breakout from the prison of absolute truth is being related to (a different) James. In other words, when Perceiver thought breaks free of the prison of absolute truth and discovers universal truth, then this needs to be followed by reviving the belief that it is possible to receive a reward from God on this earth in normal life. This also needs to be reported to the other brothers. That is because, as we have seen repeatedly in this essay, a mindset of absolute truth will subtly distort all thinking and behavior. When a reward is received, then all of this distorted thinking needs to be rethought.

Having gone out means ‘to go or come out to’. Went means ‘to transport’, which is being interpreted as a movement that involves transformation. Another means ‘another of a different kind’. And place is the generic word for a Perceiver location. Looking at this cognitively, absolute truth conflates Perceiver truth with Mercy emotions. Feeling strongly about some book or person implies that Perceiver thought will be overwhelmed into believing the facts of that book or person. Universal truth separates Perceiver facts from Mercy emotions. When a breakthrough happens into universal truth, then Perceiver thought will go through a transformation that involves moving to another place that is of a different kind. Stated more simply, one will realize that facts are independent of feelings. Loving or hating some fact does not make it more or less true. As a Perceiver person who grew up with absolute truth, I can say that recognizing this is a real transformation.

In verse 18, the escape is noticed. “Now day having come, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers what then has become of Peter.” Having come means ‘to come into being’. A day having come implies that some new general theory is illuminating society. The chapter opened with the sons of the heroes of society planning to take advantage of a major transition in order to establish a permanent hold upon power. In verse 18, this new day arrives. Disturbance means ‘to agitate back and forth’. Small means ‘few, little, small’ and is usually translated as ‘few’. This is happening in the realm of the soldiers. Soldiers enforce truth. But what truth should be enforced? Should the absolute truth of the heroes be imposed upon the people, or should universal truth be imposed upon everyone. Using more familiar language, should the soldiers defend the leaders or should they defend the Constitution? This type of confusion would lead to an agitating back and forth between these two alternatives. And not a few indicates that many soldiers would be troubled by this questioning. Looking at this historically, many regimes have fallen when soldiers vacillated in defending the existing leadership. This vacillation is seen in the question, ‘What then has become the Peter?’ In other words, what kind of Perceiver thought has come into being? This would become evident as day came into being because the Teacher emotion of a general understanding will support universal Perceiver truth. If society becomes lit by the sun of a general Teacher understanding, then it makes sense to use Perceiver thought to search for universal principles that can support this understanding.

Herod responds in verse 19. “And Herod having sought after him and not having found him, having examined the guards, commanded them to be led away to death.” Sought means ‘seeking that follows through on the personal objective of the seeker’ and this is the first use of this word in Acts. Herod means ‘son of a hero’. Found is the normal word that means to ‘discover, especially after searching’. Stated cognitively, the sources of truth are looking for Perceiver truth that will help them in Mercy thought. But truth now resides in a location that is different from the subjective ‘houses’ of religious devotion. Therefore, this subjective truth is not being found. Saying this another way, the dictators are trying to manipulate people by pushing the familiar hot buttons and it is not working.

Examined means ‘to distinguish by vigorously judging down to up’. It was used once previously in Acts in 4:9 to describe Peter and John being examined by the council after healing the lame man. In verse 19, the guards are being examined. In other words, the whole process of enforcing absolute truth is being carefully thought through. Command means ‘to command’ and indicates a source of absolute truth delivering absolute truth. Led away means ‘to lead away’. This is the first use of this word in Acts and it is used in the Gospels to describe Jesus being led away under arrest. ‘To death’ is implied but not mentioned in the original Greek. Presumably the original Roman soldiers were executed, but this is not part of the symbolic interpretation. What is happening cognitively is that the crude application of absolute truth is now counterproductive and so it is being led away from public notice. For instance, something similar happened during the second half of the 20^th century, because those who were in control of society found that crude propaganda no longer worked. Therefore, more subtle means had to be found of controlling the population.

Verse 19 finishes by describing Herod’s change in approach. “And having gone down from Judea to Caesarea, he stayed there.” Gone down means ‘to come down’. Literally speaking, going from Judea to Caesarea means moving from the mountains to the seaside. Symbolically speaking, this means descending in Teacher generality. Judea means ‘praised’, while Caesarea was named after Caesar. In other words, Herod is moving from the realm of religious absolute truth to the secular realm of government. This also implies descending in Teacher generality. The sons of heroes are now enforcing the law rather than acting as sources of the law. Stay means ‘to rub hard’ or ‘to wear through’. The idea is that a rut is forming through constant use. This means that the sons of heroes are not consciously choosing to remain at the secular level. Instead, they are finding themselves functioning at this level. Notice that this is referring to the sons of heroes. Presumably, new heroes are still making breakthroughs and emerging. The sons of heroes are those who ride on the coattails of those who made the initial breakthroughs. In essence, they have inherited their wealth from their parents.

Herod is Worshipped and Dies 12:20-23

In verse 20 a new problem arises involving Herod. “Now he had been furiously angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians, and they came to him with one accord.” Furiously angry is used once in the New Testament and combines ‘passion-driven behavior’ with ‘to fight’. Tyre means ‘rock’. Sidon probably means ‘fishery or fishing town’. Both were Phoenician port cities that specialized in trade. In essence, Herod has descended to the level of marketing. Instead of manipulating religion by pressing emotional hot buttons, Herod is now trying to manipulate the economy through marketing. A marketing-driven economy could be described as fighting through passion-driven behavior, because one is fighting with competitors by attempting to create passionate responses in consumers. This type of marketing would collide with the ‘Tyre’ of solid facts, and it would also attempt to control the ‘fishing town’ of appealing to the average consumer who lives within the sea of Mercy experiences. This collision exists to some extent today. But it would be much more significant in a future economy in which the ‘sons of heroes’ were attempting to market the breakthroughs of their ‘parents’. Marketers in the 19^th century often made grandiose claims that were not backed up by reality. One could imagine that the marketers of Acts 12 would also be making grandiose claims, with many of these claims being backed up by real results.

With one accord combines ‘same’ with ‘passion’ and has been used several times in Acts. Came means ‘am present, am near’. In other words, those who are attempting to run an economy are finding themselves in common opposition to marketing, because both are attempting to influence the decisions of the consumer. One can see this conflict by comparing two kinds of advertising. There is advertising that states facts and attempts to meet needs. And there is marketing that attempts to push emotional hot buttons and create desires. One appeals to Perceiver thought while the other uses emotional pressure to attempt to overwhelm Perceiver thought. In today’s society, marketing has become dominant when selling non-technical items, because we live in a postmodern era that questions the use of Perceiver thought. In Acts 12, a new day has arisen which emphasizes the use of Perceiver thought. Thus, the situation would be more like using marketing to attempt to sell medical cures. Such a user is not impressed when the product does not live up to its marketing hype.

Verse 20 describes how this conflict proceeds. “And having gained Blastus, who was over the bedchamber of the king, they were seeking peace because of their region being nourished by the king’s.” Blastus means ‘to sprout, produce’. And gained means ‘to persuade’. In other words, the results are speaking for themselves. Advertising based in facts is producing results. We have hypothesized that Acts 12 is referring to a future era in which genetic manipulation exists. Thus, people are not just experiencing better gadgets but are experiencing better subjective life that is sprouting from the products. Marketing hype can be tolerated when dealing with consumer gadgets, but it is intolerable when dealing with personal and physical well-being.

Bedchamber is used once in the New Testament and comes from the word ‘bed’. A bedchamber is the room for core activities of personal identity, including sleep, rest, and sex. This is consistent with the idea that one is not just dealing with better consumer gadgets for the kitchen and bathroom, but rather personal and physical well-being. On the one hand, the king is the source of absolute truth for the people. On the other hand, the king is also a vulnerable individual who cares about his own well-being. Being an absolute monarch is no fun if one is not experiencing personal well-being.

Seeking means ‘to ask, request’. And peace means ‘to join, tie together into a whole’. In other words, fact-based trade is coming to marketing and saying, ‘Your personal well-being depends upon factual trade. You should become personally whole by applying fact-based trade to your marketing.’ This would be like saying to a marketer today, ‘Your online advertising depends upon an Internet that functions with total factual certainty. Why are you spreading misinformation on a medium that cannot handle misinformation? Why not pursue wholeness by making the message consistent with the medium?’ That type of argument does not work today because the medium is objective and continues to function regardless of any lack of integrity in the marketer. Stated simply, the Internet will truthfully convey both truth and lies. (Thus, a better example might be marketing computer viruses or zero-day exploits on the Internet.) However, such an argument would not hold in a future economy in which the products being sold affected physical and personal well-being. Those who marketed through emotional manipulation would experience personal and physical harmful consequences because the various parts of their person would not be tied together into a whole.

Verse 20 gives the reason ‘because of their region being nourished by the king’s’. Nourished means ‘to make to grow, to nourish, feed’. This relates to the name Blastus. Region means ‘space, place, land’. In other words, the region of trade is nourished by the marketing of sources of truth. Merely coming up with a new product is not enough. Instead, this product has to be marketed. But how do marketing and development coexist? What happens today is that these two tend to be separated. Development comes up with a product and then marketing sells it. Such a separation is possible when marketing objects and gadgets. But this separation would no longer be possible if what was being sold had an impact upon personal well-being. On the one hand, people would be more influenced by marketing claims, similar to the announcement of some medical breakthrough. On the other hand, people would also be more affected by the results of using products, similar to the side effects that accompany using some medical product.

Verse 21 describes some special event. “Now on the appointed day Herod, having put on the royal apparel and having sat on the throne, was making an address to them.” Appointed is used once in the New Testament and comes from a word that means ‘to arrange, put in order’. There is no ‘the’ in the original Greek. Thus a more literal translation would be ‘now arranged day’. A day represents an era lit by the sun of some Teacher understanding. An arranged day would represent an era in which one is using Teacher understanding to bring order to this interaction between trade and marketing.

Put on is used once in Acts and means ‘to clothe or be clothed with, in the sense of sinking into a garment’. A garment represent social interaction. Thus, sinking into a garment would mean settling into some form of social interaction and regarding it as customary. Apparel means ‘clothing’ and royal means ‘befitting a king’. Herod is putting on this clothing, which means that the sons of heroes are regarding it as socially normal for them to be in charge. This describes the mindset of a nobility or upper class which assumes that it has a natural right to be in charge. Throne means ‘a platform to which someone walked up to receive judgment’. Sitting on a throne would mean resting in the position of being more general in Teacher thought. Making an address is used once in the New Testament and means ‘to address a public assembly’. These various items describe the method by which some leader becomes a source of absolute truth. This is not just a case of someone saying ‘I am important in Mercy thought, listen to me’. Instead, a person is attempting to demonstrate that he is general in Teacher thought. He is adopting the social conventions of being a source of truth. He is proclaiming truth from the vantage point of Teacher generality. And he is addressing a large group of people, ensuring that his words affect many people simultaneously at the level of Teacher generality.

In verse 22, the people get the message. “And the people were crying out, ‘This is the voice of a god and not of a man!’” The word people means ‘the people assembled’ and is not the normal word ‘laity’. This is the first use of this word in Acts and this word is only used in Acts. This is also the first use of the word cry out in Acts, which means ‘to call at something’. Thus, this is not just a normal crowd. Instead, it is a political assembly, in which the leaders are attempting to move the crowds into adopting certain social conventions.

Voice means ‘voice, sound’. God is the word for ‘God’ and man refers to humankind. The people are not saying that the leader is making statements from God but rather that whatever he says is inherently the word of a god and not the word of a human. In other words, marketing has turned into propaganda and propaganda has reached the ultimate height of regarding the words of the leader as inherently divine. The Nuremberg rallies of Nazi Germany came close to this but Hitler was still a short and dumpy looking individual who idolized Aryan purity while not looking very Aryan himself. Acts 12 is happening in a context of genetic modification. Any sons of heroes would be taking full advantage of their heritage in order to look and act heroic. And these uber-Aryans would have supernatural powers.

The judgment in verse 23 is immediate. “And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him in return for that he did not give the glory to God.” Immediately means ‘instantly, immediately, on the spot’. Struck is the same word that was used in verse 7 to describe an angel striking Peter, and that striking was also done by an angel of the Lord. This suggests that Herod is being punished by treating him the same way that Peter was treated. Both are being struck by an angel of the Lord. And in both cases this is being accompanied by Teacher illumination upon personal identity. In verse 7, a light shone upon the cell of Peter. In verse 22, the adulation of divinity shone upon the person of Herod. However, what saved Peter slays Herod. The general principle is that God appears to punish the wicked by treating them the same way that he treats the righteous. What blesses a person with integrity will destroy a person who lacks integrity. This equal treatment by God is described in Matthew 5:45, which says that God “makes His sun rise on evil and good, and He sends rain on righteous and unrighteous.”

In return is the word ‘anti’ and this word is used once in Acts. This is followed by explaining ‘that he did not give the glory to God’. This is traditionally interpreted as not verbally acknowledging God. But glory goes far beyond verbal praise. Give means ‘to give something to someone’. Glory is the external manifestation of internal character. A ‘son of a hero’ is living within the glory that expresses the internal character of the original hero. This glory does not belong to the human individual, but rather needs to be given back to God. In other words, it needs to be reinvested into the realm of Teacher thought in order to bring some new dividend. Using a current example, those who inherit great wealth need to use this money to bring about some general breakthrough or benefit to mankind. That is what it means cognitively to ‘give the glory to God’. Applying this to Acts 12, the goal of being a hero is to be a super hero who ‘gives glory to God’ by bringing benefits to society, like the comic hero Superman who saves people.

The result for Herod is fatal. “And having been eaten by worms, he breathed his last” (v. 23). Eaten by worms is used once in the New Testament and means exactly that. Having been mean to ‘come into being’, which suggests that being eaten by worms is a natural progression. And breathed his last means ‘to expire, breathe one’s last’. It is used three times in the New Testament. The other two times were in Acts 5 to describe the death of Ananias and Sapphira. A worm is a small snake in the sense that both are ‘living strings’. A snake represents mysticism which combines Mercy identification with Teacher overgeneralization. Thus, being eaten by worms would mean providing food for mysticism. Mysticism has to turn its back upon some complexity in order to embrace the cosmic unity of God. Stated cognitively, living within reality creates some ‘body’ of experience and practicing mysticism uses worms to feed off this body. Thus, mysticism has to be interspersed by living within reality. The blinding of Saul showed what happens when human identity directly encounters the divine light. Since then, society has been building several shields that make it possible to harness this divine light to improve the human body. Herod is behaving in a way that assumes that these shields will continue to hold regardless of personal behavior. This is similar to the way that many in the United States today are assuming that their behavior will never destroy the fabric of American democracy. When a Herod officially accepts being regarded as the voice of a god, then a direct connection is being made between personal identity and the divine light. This would cause Herod to become food for mysticism. And because mysticism is based in overgeneralization, this eating by worms would by its very nature attack the content of existing as a human being. I do not know how extensive and literal this eaten by worms would be. All I know is that the judgment would match the ability. To the extent that a hero depended upon divine light for heroic abilities, to that extent a hero would be susceptible to being eaten by worms by accepting divine worship. Notice that this punishment is happening to the sons of heroes and not to the heroes themselves. That is because becoming a hero usually develops sufficient content to protect oneself from being worshipped as a hero.

Looking at this from a biological perspective, all biological matter starts out as strings of DNA words which are then translated into linear chains of amino acids. These linear chains then fold in on themselves to form the three-dimensional structures of various proteins through the process of protein folding. This implies that the primal beings who initially designed the DNA of biological life themselves function at the level of linear chains or strings. A living string is a worm. Thus, being eaten by worms would indicate being consumed by primal beings. Presumably, God created primal beings as an initial step in forming the complexity of life out of divine energy. And presumably these primal beings gain their sustenance by feeding off of divine energy. Thus, any human that was regarded as a god would be considered a legitimate source of sustenance by these primal beings. But being merely the son of a hero, Herod would lack the integrity required to survive this feeding. Saying this more clearly, any marketing of genetic manipulation by primal beings that was not backed up by content would end up being consumed by primal beings.

Looking at this more generally, one of the primary themes of this essay has been overcoming mysticism. Mysticism attempts to return to the primal energy of God. I have often wondered what provides the ultimate motivation for mysticism, because I have found that the resistance of humans who practice mysticism to the rational analysis of mental symmetry transcends all reasonableness. Such insistent, entrenched ignorance must have a spiritual source. My best guess is that mysticism is ultimately backed up by primal beings who are acquiring their sustenance from the divine energy. What humans regard as mysticism, these primal beings would regard as normal nourishment. If aliens are carrying out a plan of genetic manipulation, then it makes sense that (some? all?) primal beings are behind this plan in some way. And if primal beings require mystical worship for their sustenance, then it makes sense that the alien plan of genetic manipulation is being carried out in a way that preserves mystical worship. And if aliens have the power to exhibit mental control over humans, then they would be corporately reinforcing a human mindset of mystical worship. Thus, the only way to defeat mysticism is to find another source of sustenance for primal beings. It was suggested earlier that the human form has been lifted up to the level of Teacher generality, allowing it to provide an alternative source of worship for primal beings. One implication of lifting up the human form to the level of God is that primal beings would start looking to humans for their sustenance. This means that they would naturally feed off any humans—such as Herod—who claimed to be gods.

In verse 10 it was suggested that Peter did not return immediately back to human existence but rather returned in a manner that regarded his personal experience as an exemplar to be followed. This would save a Peter from being consumed by the worms of primal beings. Saying this as clearly as possible, Herod is saying ‘Look at what I have done as a person. I myself am a god.’ Peter, in contrast, is saying ‘Look at the general pattern that is illustrated by what I have done as a person. I myself am following the universal principles of God. The Lord has sent his angel to deliver me.’ In verses 21-22, Herod was acting like a god and the people were treating his words as the voice of a god. The person of Herod was being treated as a god. In verse 11, Peter recognized that the Lord sent an angel to deliver him from Herod and from the expectations of the people. The person of Peter was being treated as a specific example of the Platonic form of human existence. What was being lifted up was not the specific person of Peter but rather the Platonic form of a human as illustrated by the exemplar of Peter.

Notice that in both cases the people have the power to destroy heroes through worship. In verse 11, Peter said that he was ‘removed completely from the expectations of the people of the Jews’. This was because he could point to God as his source of rescue. Herod, in contrast, could not point away from himself to any divine source because he was merely the son of a hero who was using marketing to pretend to be a hero. Herod did not call himself a god. He was called a god by the people. He was then eaten by worms because he did not return glory to God when being struck by the angel.

The Word of God Multiplies 12:24-25

Verse 24 provides a contrast. “But the word of God continued to grow and to multiply.” Word means ‘logos’ and ‘the word of the God’ would mean technical understanding illuminated by paradigms held together by a universal understanding of God. Continue to grow means ‘to make to grow, to grow’. Multiply means ‘made full, especially to maximum capacity’. Thus, at the same time that marketing is being consumed, legitimate understanding is also growing and maturing. On the one hand, the success of marketing is causing marketing to self-destruct. Getting the people to regarding some son of a hero as the voice of a god would be the ultimate achievement of marketing. On the other hand, a legitimate understanding is reaching its full capacity. The word ‘but’ suggests that this growth of legitimate understanding is happening despite the hubris-atis of uber-marketing.

We looked at this passage from the perspective of worship and primal beings. It is also possible to examine the passage cognitively from the perspective of Perceiver thought. This cognitive perspective describes what would be happening to Perceiver thought within the minds of the followers who are doing the worshipping and the leaders who are being worshipped. A mindset of absolute truth is unstable because Perceiver thought is both asleep and awake. When it comes to the source of truth, then Perceiver thought is asleep, represented by Peter sleeping between the guards in the prison. When it comes to applying the truth, then Perceiver thought is awake, represented by Peter outside the prison knocking on the door of personal experience. In between these two alternatives lies an iron gate separating the sources of truth from normal society. When Perceiver thought wakes up, then it goes through a threshold of confusion of being semi-awake, represented by Peter not knowing if he was dreaming or actually experiencing his escape from prison. This transition from asleep to awake can be seen in education which begins with instructors revealing absolute truth to students and then hopefully ends with students understanding this material for themselves.

However, it is also possible for absolute truth to solidify into blind faith. This happens when the source of truth is regarded as more important than any other source. The source of absolute truth will then be regarded as the voice of God. This looks like universal truth because the same absolute truth is being followed everywhere, and this truth is being regarded as an expression of God who is a universal being. However, what is really happening is that Perceiver thought remains asleep in all contexts, which makes it possible for absolute truth to impose itself upon the facts of reality.

Being regarded as the voice of God is mentally corrosive for a leader. That is because the content of absolute truth will only continue to be believed as long as the source of absolute truth has much greater emotional status than personal identity. This requirement will be present for followers of blind faith but it will not be true for the priests of blind faith. Instead, the personal status that they receive from their followers will make them feel that they are somebody, causing them to doubt the absolute truth that they are proclaiming. Absolute truth will become viewed as something that applies to the people but not to leaders. This will naturally lead to bold hypocrisy and immorality by the leaders. The leaders will pretend to believe in absolute truth when speaking to the followers, because the emotional status of the leaders depends upon being regarded as interpreters of absolute truth. And the leaders will pretend to follow the moral dictates of absolute truth when behaving in public while secretly acting as if these rules are meaningless. A leader who acquires his position through some development of personal character will be able to survive being a leader without being corrupted. That is because fading belief in absolute truth will be replaced by a knowledge of personal character. However, that option will not be available to the son of a hero, because such a person acquired a position of leadership without having to develop the required character. For instance, this combination of blind faith and corrupt leadership could be seen in the medieval Christian Church.

The hypocrisy of pretending to be a religious leader will lead naturally in the direction of mysticism. On the one hand, the leader is claiming to be a special person who speaks for God. On the other hand, the leader does not believe the Perceiver facts that he is proclaiming. Mysticism is discovered whenever Teacher thought overgeneralizes, Mercy thought identifies, and Perceiver thought steps out of the way. These mental requirements are being met. Thus, the hypocritical priest will eventually break through to mysticism. These mental requirements can also be seen in the ultimate marketing of Herod. He is the son of a hero who lacks character. He is being regarded as the voice of a god by his followers. He deliberately attempts to encourage this attitude. And he is attempting to use his personal status to overwhelm economic facts through marketing.

These principles all function cognitively. But suppose that such a leader has a legitimate encounter with an angel. Now there will be supernatural substance to the claims, but these two paths still exist. The path of corruption degrades back into mystical worship of primal divine light. This path will be successful as long as a memory of human substance remains. But the worms of mysticism will eat through this human substance leading eventually to a direct encounter with the divine light. In contrast, the path of integrity moves forward into an increasing understanding of the logos of God. This path will be more difficult in the short term but it will continue to build the content that is required to interact as a human with the divine light. Thus, the same kind of angelic encounter that causes Peter to escape from prison will cause Herod to be eaten by worms.

In verse 25, sanity returns. “And Barnabas and Saul returned, having fulfilled the mission to Jerusalem, having taken with them John the one having been called Mark.” Barnabas means ‘son of a prophet’. This describes a mindset that uses an understanding of Teacher generality to analyze processes, because prophecy predicts the future by lifting up one statement above another. Saul means ‘asked’. Saul is being interpreted as methodology because methodology goes through a process that asks for answers rather than demanding them, and also because all the religious leaders laid their garments at the feet of Saul when he first appeared. Barnabas and Saul were last mentioned in 11:30 where they were bringing a collection to Jerusalem because of a predicted famine. Chapter 12 describes the kind of famine that will occur because absolute truth will degrade into marketing and this marketing will overwhelm people’s ability to determine the facts. The solution is to examine facts at a more basic level because here marketing is vulnerable; those who market are also finite humans with personal needs. This personal need was mentioned in verse 20 which referred to Blastus and the king’s bedchamber. And this personal need is being met by interacting with primal beings in Antioch.

Return means ‘to turn back, return’. Saul and Barnabas are returning to Jerusalem, which represents organized religion. What has happened is that the insanity driven by alternate marketing has caused the average person to realize that core issues cannot be assumed. This is similar to the way that Germans had to deal with deep issues after the collapse of Nazism. Fulfilled means ‘to make full, to complete’. Mission means ‘service, ministry’ and is the source of the English word ‘deacon’. Thus, while Herod is using his powers to market himself, Saul and Barnabas are using their powers to help the people of Judea, enabled by the gifts from the people of Tarsus.

(The Interlinear Bible gives the phrase ‘Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem having fulfilled the mission. The BLB and NASB quote other manuscripts which say ‘having fulfilled the mission to Jerusalem’. What has happened could also be interpreted as a mission to Jerusalem in the sense of performing service that restores a proper religious system.)

Having taken with combines ‘with’, ‘from close-alongside’, and ‘aggressively take’. In other words, one finds oneself beside some similar path and chooses to combine efforts with that path. Saying this another way, one encounters a person with whom one resonates and one decides to combine efforts with that person. John means ‘the Lord has been gracious’. In other words, submitting to the lordship of truth leads to beneficial results from God. This summarizes the mindset illustrated by Peter in chapter 12. We saw earlier that Mark “means ‘consecrated to the god Mars’ and also may mean ‘God of war’ or ‘to be warlike’.” In verse 12, the people were praying at the mother of John Mark. ‘John also called Mark’ implies that graciousness from the Lord is being viewed as an effective way of defeating the opposition. Instead of forcing oneself upon the opposition, one demonstrates to the opposition that there are personal benefits to submission. Saying this more carefully, breaking through to the supernatural in a new way will lead to new blessings for those who have personal integrity, but it will also cause those who lack personal integrity to be consumed and destroyed by this new level of power. This goes beyond human warfare to a ‘God of war’. It should be emphasized that the word Satan means ‘adversary’. Thus, most of what humans call the ‘the divine warfare of God’ actually submits to the adversarial behavior of Satan while pretending to follow God. A legitimate ‘God of war’ only emerges when the positive benefits of a supernatural breakthrough outweigh any possible negative impact that this will have upon those who lack character. The self-destruction of various Herods then becomes viewed as an aspect of the process of experiencing the blessing of God more fully and more purely.

The next chapters describe the journeys of Paul. If chapter 12 involves a struggle over the impact of genetic manipulation, then it becomes difficult to imagine what the journeys of Paul would represent. One could even view them as being similar to the missions of Star Trek, in which humans go exploring where no man has gone before. At this point, I think that it is better for me not to speculate. What matters is achieving the kind of integrated human/angelic existence that would make these kinds of journeys possible. I suspect that the epistles of Paul (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians) provide a theological and possibly prophetic description of what will happen during these journeys.

The BIG Picture

This essay has introduced some strange concepts involving primal beings and genetic manipulation. It is possible to place these concepts upon a more solid theological foundation. This final section will look at other relevant passages of the Bible in the light of primal beings and genetic manipulation.

The phrase ‘word made flesh’ has been mentioned several times and is found in John 1:14. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Beginning is the same word that is translated as ‘corner’ in Acts 10:5 in the letting down of the sheet, which is being interpreted as primal being. This word is found 56 times in the New Testament and is translated 11 times by the NASB as ‘ruler’ with several of these times explicitly referring to heavenly rulers. This word is usually translated as ‘beginning’. Therefore, it makes sense to view this word as a reference to primal angelic beings. John 1:1 could be translated as ‘in the realm of the primal beings was the logos’. Logos is interpreted as the paradigm behind some system of abstract technical thought. Designing the DNA of life would have involved extensive abstract technical thought by primal beings. And DNA is literally the word of life. Thus, it makes sense that a logos would have existed in the realm of primal beings. The next phrase is more literally ‘and the logos was towards the God’. In other words, the genetic design being done by primal beings was not random experimentation. Instead, it was being guided by a paradigm that was heading in the direction of God in Teacher thought. This can be seen by looking at DNA, because it is obvious that there is an order and structure to the complexity of the DNA of various biological beings. This is typically interpreted as meaning that all DNA evolved from the same biological soup, but that hypothesis does not survive rational thought. A more logical interpretation is that all of the development of DNA was being done within a single ‘design bureau’ guided by God in Teacher thought. The final phrase in verse 1 is actually ‘And God was the logos’. This suggests that God in Teacher thought is adopting the order-within-complexity of this primal design as a universal theory. I am NOT suggesting that the second person of the Trinity is a created being. Jesus Christ existed as God before creation and carried out the timeless function of bridging God the Father with God the Spirit. However, this essay has described several examples of concepts of Christ being formulated and then being chosen by God. John 1:1 suggests that something similar happened in the past involving ‘the word’ and primal beings.

John 1 continues, “He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (v. 2 – 4). Verse 2 could be translated as ‘he was in the realm of the primal beings towards the God’. The final phrase of verse 1 said that God in Teacher thought adopted the concept of Christ developed by primal beings. Verse 2 says that this concept of Christ is being guided by God in Teacher thought. Verse 3 then says that everything, without exception, became created through this concept of Christ. Curiously, verse 3 does not say that everything was created by the logos. Instead, it says that everything came into being, and the verb ‘came into being’ is repeated three times in this verse. This is consistent with the suggestion that God guided primal beings in their design of the DNA of life. ‘All things’ would refer to both physical creation and biological life. There is an extensive relationship between physical existence and a concept of incarnation which has been discussed in another essay. It is possible that something like the Big Bang theory describes the evolution of the physical universe. (However, my guess is that the timing is way off because clocks appear to run at different rates when the supernatural and physical realms interrelate.) It is impossible that biological life evolved. Verse 4 then focuses upon life, using a word that refers to both biological and spiritual life. Summarizing, the opening verses of John 1 support the hypothesis of God creating biological life through primal beings.

This same word ‘beginning’ is found in Jude 6, where it is translated as domain. “And the angels not having kept their own domain, but having abandoned the own dwelling, He keeps in eternal chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day.” (BLB). This is generally regarded as a reference to the angels of Genesis 6, and Jude 14 refers to the prophesying of Enoch who lived during this time. The first phrase of Jude 6 could be translated as ‘the angels not having preserved their own primal beings’. In other words, some angelic beings stopped holding on to the primal beings of John 1. Instead, they ‘left behind their own homes’. We saw in Acts that angels are leaving their original home in order to stop holding on to mystical worship involving primal beings in order to embrace something new. But we also saw in the comparison between Peter and Herod that taking this step without having a sufficiently developed alternative leads to being eaten by worms. In Acts, the human form is being lifted up to the level of God as a result of human growth and maturity. God is then recognizing this human form as universal, similar to the way that God recognized the logos of the primal beings as universal in John 1. This makes it possible for angels to make the transition away from their original home without leaving the divine light of God. In Jude 6, angels are leaving their home without having a divinely approved alternative and they end up chained in darkness. Darkness means a ‘darkness so dense and foreboding it is felt’. And the word keep is the same word ‘kept’ used earlier in the verse. ‘He’ is not in the original Greek but implied by the conjugation of the verb. Thus, these angels exchanged ‘choosing to keep’ for ‘being kept’. The chains under darkness are described as eternal, which implies that the bonds are based in eternal principles. The idea of creation remaining separate from the creator is an eternal principle.

Looking at these bonds cognitively, imagine some group of professionals adopting a methodology that violated the laws of nature. Now imagine that these professionals are angels who live totally within the messages of their professions. If this profession violated natural law, then there would be no light of Teacher understanding to lead these angels further. But these angels also would not be able to abandon their unnatural professions because that would lead to personal annihilation through collapse into the divine light. Continuing to practice these unnatural professions would lead to a sort of corporate culture that was somewhat personal but ultimately deeply threatening.

Jude 6 finishes by saying that there will be a future ‘the day of great judgment’, and ‘a great day’ is being interpreted as an era of Teacher generality. The idea is that the error of the angels involving primal beings will ultimately be addressed. This is typically interpreted as God automatically damning these angels, because absolute truth has no salvation for such beings. But the name Jesus means ‘salvation of Yah’. And if Jesus really is God, then the ultimate nature of God is not ‘Damn you!’ but rather ‘Save you!’ I know that ‘damn’ is a strong word, but I am using it in the technically correct sense of God damning a created being to eternal damnation. I am not suggesting that all of these beings will experience automatic salvation in the coming judgment. Instead, I suspect that the destiny of these beings will be determined at an individual level by how each being has responded and behaved during this period of being held by eternal chains. We have seen throughout Acts that it is a general principle that when one is imprisoned at some level, then it is possible to escape a higher level. If this is a universal principle that applies to all created beings, then it would also apply to the beings of Jude 6.

This idea is backed up by 1 Peter 3:18-20. Verse 18 says, “Because Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring you to God, having been put to death indeed in the flesh, but having been made alive in the spirit.” This refers specifically to a concept of Christ, the concept which the angels of Jude 6 abandoned. Christ was righteous, which means performing Server actions that are consistent with the character of God in Teacher thought. We just saw that these angels were chained into darkness because they were unrighteous and stopped following Server sequences that reflect the Teacher order of God. The righteousness that Christ followed made it possible to bring others to God in Teacher thought. That happens when Server actions express some exemplar that can be treated as a general pattern to follow. Jesus was put to death in flesh, which means that the path of DNA leading to biological matter came to a dead end with him. The angels of Jude 6 violated the righteousness of this path of DNA that began with primal beings. But Jesus became alive to a higher strategy—the strategy of the spirit.

Verses 19-20 of 1 Peter 3 then specifically refer to these angels of Jude 6. “In which also having gone, He preached to the spirits in prison at one time having disobeyed, when the longsuffering of God was waiting in the days of Noah, of the ark being prepared, in which a few—that is, eight souls—were saved through water.” Verse 20 specifically states that Christ preached to beings imprisoned as a result of their behavior before the flood. But there is no mention of angels. Instead, Christ is preaching to spirits. Jesus has died to the flesh and come alive to the spirit. Thus, he can now preach a message of salvation to spirits. But who are these spirits? They could be rebellious angels that have developed a spiritual side as a result of responding in a positive manner to their imprisonment. Notice that these spirits are still imprisoned; the chains are eternal; developing a spirit does not remove the chains. These spirits could also be rebellious humans who died in the flood that have developed a spiritual side as a result of responding in a positive manner to their imprisonment. Both of these interpretations are probably true, because Genesis 6 talks about angelic-human hybrids. This preaching of Christ is typically interpreted as Jesus going to hell and loudly proclaiming ‘Damn you!’ (or by some as being released from purgatory). However, the name Jesus does NOT mean ‘Damn you!’. I think the key is recognizing the comparison between flesh and spirit. The primal beings began the path of flesh by designing DNA. Jesus reached a dead end in the flesh and became reborn at the higher level of spirit. He is then announcing this higher level to any beings who have developed a spirit as a result of their imprisonment. This possibility of developing a spirit is suggested by the word darkness in Jude 6 which combines a lack of light with a sense of personal presence. The imprisoned angels cannot follow the original path because they are separated from the divine light. They sense in the darkness that there is something more within Mercy thought but they cannot break through to the level of the spirit until Christ comes and announces his spiritual breakthrough. It was suggested earlier that existing in Mercy thought apart from God in Teacher thought has the two requirements of travail and distinct technical specializations. The period of imprisonment in darkness would satisfy the requirement of travail. The transition from flesh to spirit would satisfy the requirement of distinct technical specializations.

We will now look at Genesis 6 and we will use the NASB because the BLB only translates the New Testament. Verse 1 says, “Now it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them.” Notice that the starting point is when humanity reaches a sufficient level of Teacher order-within-complexity. We saw this principle when looking at Acts. The apostles make breakthroughs but these breakthroughs achieve spiritual power as some group of people submits to the discoveries of the apostles. ‘Multiplying on the face of the land’ implies the development of rational thought while ‘daughters being born’ indicates that this rational technical thinking is expressing itself in the mental networks of female thought. In verse 2, this human culture attracts the attention of heavenly beings. “The sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful.” The NASB indicates in a footnote that the word translated ‘beautiful’ is actually ‘good’ in the original Hebrew. We saw in Acts that Peter’s vision of the sheet occurred within the city named ‘beautiful’. Something similar is happening in verse 2 because female ‘goodness’ is attracting male attention and this usually means that men are appreciating female beauty. But the word ‘goodness’ implies an incomplete understanding of the Teacher quality of beauty. This is followed in verse 2 by what could be interpreted as alien abductions. “And they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.” ‘Took wives’ could be translated as getting married but it can also be translated as ‘grabbing women’. Notice that the women have no choice in the matter. Instead, the ‘sons of God’ are making all the choices, which describes what happens in an abduction.

Verse 3 describes a struggle between spirit and flesh. “Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he is also flesh; therefore his days shall be 120 years.’” 1 Peter 3:18 also described a striving between spirit and flesh. On the one hand, God is attempting to interact with humans on a spiritual level. On the other hand, humans are revealing themselves to be flesh. (The second phrase is more literally, ‘indeed flesh he will be’.) God responds by limiting the duration of fleshly existence. When one human generation becomes replaced by another more quickly, then it becomes more possible for human society to change direction. If worshiping one’s dead ancestors leads to societal ossification, imagine how rigid society would become if one’s ancestors refused to die.

This is followed by another problem in verse 4. “The fallen ones were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them.” The word Nephilim literally means ‘fallen ones’. In verse 3, heavenly beings were abducting human women. In verse 4, heavenly beings are starting to live on earth, which means that they are going beyond angelic messages to inhabiting humanoid forms. A similar transition from angels helping humans living on earth to angels interacting with humans living on earth was seen in Acts. Looking at this biologically, a minimum of mental and/or spiritual content is required for angelic messengers to have sex with human women. The angel only has to provide the message of DNA. Presumably, a living messenger would find it easy to provide the message of life. And the physical body of a human woman contains all the biological equipment that is required to bring a human baby to birth. The point is that such interaction can be done almost purely at the level of the flesh, both for the male angel and also for the human female. But the result will be hybrid children who are biologically part angel and part human. Thus, current alien abduction stories can be seen as a recapitulation of Genesis 6 because in both cases the goal appears to be to produce hybrid offspring. Going further, what has just been suggested is similar to how many UFOlogists interpret Genesis 6. However, everything that I have read about this topic focuses purely upon the flesh and DNA manipulation while ignoring the spiritual dimension. This section attempts to place Genesis 6 within a larger perspective of God guiding human history through cognitive and spiritual transformation.

Acts also appears to be talking about angels genetically modifying human DNA, but the goal is for humans to be more compatible with God in Teacher thought. And Acts also talks about humans interacting with angels in a godly manner. The difference is that the process in Acts is being led by the Spirit of God whereas the process in Genesis 6 was fighting the Spirit of God. In Jude 15 - 16, Enoch describes the ungodliness of his generation. “The Lord has come amidst myriads of His holy ones, to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the works of ungodliness which they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” The word ungodly or ungodliness occurs four times in verse 16 and means ‘failing to honor what is sacred’. They are ungodly, they are carrying out inner desires of ungodliness in ungodly actions, and they are speaking harsh words prompted by ungodliness. Stated cognitively, their ungodliness is a Perceiver fact, they have ungodly Mercy desires, they perform ungodly Server actions, and their Teacher words are ungodly. This is being expressed at the emotional level of refusing to recognize the preeminence of God.

Returning to Genesis 6, verse 4 finishes “Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” Mighty men means ‘strong, mighty’ and could refer to either men or women. Old means ‘long duration, antiquity’. This implies that they have superior DNA that allows them to be superhuman beings who live longer. ‘Men of renown’ is more literally ‘humankind of name’, which suggests that the average human is finding a Teacher name in this superhuman heroes. This is spiritually similar to a spiritual economy emerging within followers lay their possessions at the feet of the disciples. However, in this case, angel/human hybrids are finding spiritual power by being regarded as names by the common people.

Verse 5 describes the society that emerges using language that resembles that of Enoch. “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Looking at this cognitively, the physical and societal corruption is leading to internal corruption driven by evil Mercy mental networks that function upon the rational earth. And there is no exception to this internal corruption. Normally, physical feedback forces a person to recognize the laws of nature. But in this case, genetically enhanced superheroes are using worship to spiritually reinforce their rebellion against God in Teacher thought.

In verse 6, this affects God in Mercy thought. “So the LORD was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved to His heart.” Sorry means to ‘be sorry, console’. Grieve is the reflexive form of ‘hurt, pain, grieve’. In other words, this system has created a ‘spirit of this world’ in Mercy thought that is sufficiently universal to bring pain to God in Teacher thought. The problem is that God created a mankind who could exist independently of God in Mercy thought and a sufficient number of angelic beings have left God in Teacher thought to work with humans in Mercy thought. The end result is a stable human/angelic/hybrid system that opposes God in Teacher thought.

Something similar tries to emerge in Acts 12, but the followers of God are able to make a spiritual breakthrough that overcomes this genetically modified abomination. However, in Genesis 6 there are no followers of God apart from a few lonely individuals such as Enoch and Noah. Thus, God decides in verse 7 that he will respond by resetting the biological clock. “Then the LORD said, ‘I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.’” Wipe out is an accurate translation. God specifically says that he will undo what he has created. What is being undone is the physical existence of humans on the earth. Animal means ‘a beast, animal, cattle’, Crawling thing means ‘creeping thing’, and birds of the sky is more accurately ‘flying things of the heavens’. The same three kinds of beings were mentioned in Acts 10:12 as being within the sheet that was let down by the four primal beings. Thus, it makes sense to connect these two. In Genesis 6:7 God has to wipe out these creatures. In Acts 10:12 God has the other option of having Peter ‘kill and eat’ them. Thus, what God would have wanted to do in Genesis 6, God can do in Acts 10.

Notice that God has to respond in a way that preserves the independence of creation. That is why he tells Peter to kill and eat in Acts 10. This also suggests that keeping the rebellious humans and angels in chains of darkness preserves their independence until the great day of judgment. Presumably, Peter in Acts 10 is enabling this ‘great day of judgment’ and the consuming of Herod by worms is a start of this judgment. The seven bowls of wrath of Revelation 16 describe such a great day of judgment. Curiously, these bowls are filled by one of the four living creatures in Revelation 15:7, suggesting the involvement of primal beings. Living creatures are mentioned 23 times in the New Testament, but this is the only time that a living creature gives something.

In verse 8 God finds a positive alternative in Noah. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” The word Noah means ‘rest’ which brings to mind the extended discussion in Hebrews about entering God’s rest. One rests by resting oneself upon something else that is solid. Thus, God can rest when something exists that is independent of God which reflects the character of God. In Genesis 6 something exists that is independent of God but it does not reflect the character of God.

Noah is described in verse 9. “These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, complete in his generation. Noah walked with God.” Generations means ‘generations’ and comes from the word ‘to beget’. Complete means ‘complete, sound’. And the second word generation means ‘generation, dwelling’. The 1977 NASB translates this word as ‘time’ but the latest NASB uses the word ‘generation’. The implication is that Noah is genetically pure; he has not been contaminated by alien DNA. What about Noah’s wife and the wives of Noah’s sons? If male angels were having sex with female humans, then the genetic corruption would involve male DNA (and presumably would alter primarily male behavior). Thus, it would be sufficient for Noah to have uncontaminated DNA, because then his sons would also have pure DNA. Genesis 7:7 says that Noah and his sons, his wife and their wives entered the ark. I should emphasize that I am not attempting to introduce some sort of doctrine of pure bloodlines. Instead, what matters is the impact that breeding has upon behavior. Humans can breed animals to be either more friendly or more violent. Genesis 6 appears to be describing humans being genetically modified to be naturally more rebellious against God and it is possible that this genetic modification extended to the animal world as well, as illustrated by dinosaurs. The only way to recover from this sort of situation is to physically wipe out most of the population of the earth and start again.

That brings us finally to the really big picture. God wants created beings who are both whole in spirit and whole in flesh. Acts began by extending the internal content of modern technological society to the realm of the spirit. This spiritual modification of technology grew until spirit became the noun and technology the adjective. This led to a spiritual economy in which people became spiritually transformed. Eventually, this spiritual transformation reached the generality of God in Teacher thought. At that point it became possible to redirect the focus of primal beings away from their mystical worship of God to a focus upon the human form. This was not a focus upon human DNA or upon human flesh but rather a focus upon the complete human as a spiritual being. This then became the basis for rethinking human fleshly existence from a spiritual perspective. This transition is illustrated by the sheet with its various creatures descending out of heaven to Peter while Peter is praying. Such a spiritual perspective would make it possible to do genetic manipulation the right way, in which primal beings who live in the light of God in Teacher thought cooperate with humans who have become spiritually whole. This eventually resulted in a physical path of personal transformation that was regarded as of equivalent value to the spiritual path of personal transformation being followed by the apostles in Jerusalem. Putting these two together would generate a spiritual economy of existence facilitated by the angelic realm, in which humans help primal beings to become spiritually whole while primal beings help humans to become physically whole. That is as far as our analysis of Acts goes. Using the book of Revelation to look forward to what happens next, it appears that the remaining steps include moving out from the ‘whore of Babylon’ to the new spiritual economy, experiencing the Great White Throne of complete physical resurrection, and then culminating in the transformed heaven and earth of the new Jerusalem. That has been analyzed to some extent in earlier essays on Revelation.

Looking back now at Genesis, 2:7 says that God formed humans from the dust of the earth but breathed life into Adam so that he became a living soul. Notice how the human soul is based upon a combination of physical matter and the breath of God. God tried to develop technical thought in Adam by giving him the job of caring for the garden and naming the animals, and God attempted to develop Adam spiritually by walking and talking with him in the garden. However, this was interrupted by the snake of mysticism. God responded in Genesis 3 by making physical life more difficult for both men and women, forcing them to develop internal character and knowledge through the travail of physical existence. This worked for a while, leading to the development of civilization as described at the end of Genesis 4. However, it eventually ended in the disaster of Genesis 6. The problem in Genesis 6 began when humanity reached a critical mass of organization. A similar situation occurred in the beginning of Genesis 11:4 when mankind again organized itself so that it could make a name that would reach heaven. This may have involved building a physical tower of Babel but the spiritual result would have been the development of a human spiritual economy that would have been able to recreate the spiritual power of Genesis 6. God responded to that by separating humanity into different languages, ensuring that humanity could no longer form an integrated Teacher structure. Since then, God has been manipulating human history primarily by playing one human society against another.

As soon as human society reached a sufficient level of civilization, God called Abraham out of his city in order to develop him spiritually as an individual. This led to the three stages of personal transformation exemplified by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Notice that this is an example of the specific life of three individuals being regarded as exemplars that transcend their physical lives, similar to the idea of the life of Peter being regarded as an exemplar that transcends his specific life. God wanted this to be followed by the corporate transformation of Israel going through the wilderness to the Promised Land, but the Israelites kept looking back to the physical pleasure of Egypt rather than looking forward to the spiritual pleasure of God. And Moses was unwilling to have God start again with him. Therefore, God had to work with a people of Israel that was only partially spiritually developed while still substantially connected to mental networks based in physical actions, physical geneology, and physical location. Eventually, God exiled the Jews from their ‘holy land’ and forced them to develop a more spiritual form of Judaism. But the Jews refused to follow the path of intelligent spirituality to its conclusion. Instead, the Macabees protected the physical location and physical rites of the temple while the Jewish priesthood headed in the direction of mysticism. This stymied God’s plan which was for Jews and Greeks to discover science in Alexandria. Therefore, when Jesus came to earth he was dealing with a Jewish audience who had no scientific understanding of the natural world. Therefore, he could not extend from this natural understanding to the spiritual. Jesus expresses this frustration in John 3. God then instituted the new theologically-based religion of Christianity and forced Judaism to develop into its current form by expelling them from their country and destroying their temple. Christendom eventually gave birth to scientific thought and science has produced modern technology. But scientific thought had to rebel from the absolute truth of Christianity and scientific thought suppresses subjective feelings. Therefore, current scientific thought has to be extended to the subjective and the absolute truth of Christianity has to be translated into universal understanding. Doing that lays the foundation for the theoretical return of Jesus which is then followed by spiritual technology, which brings us back to the content of this essay. That is the really big picture as I currently understand it.

Part 1