Real Taking Up

'...as Moses lifted-up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up...' (JOHN3:14)

Jesus sometimes really lit into the Pharisee's mind-set for being so unattentive to the spiritual definiteness of every line of Scripture. Indeed what might the Pharisee's have thought of that little outburst about Moses and the serpent? "He hath a devil ..." they did say; but for all they could say, they played-out the Pharaoh's side of that famous scripture. Recall Moses' story: entreated by God [divine Love], Moses was led to cast down his (sheep) rod, and to his horror, watch it become a lithesome writhing snake-like serpent; and Moses fled from before it. Okay, so he returned also, and took it by the tail, and it became (his) rod again.

The story doesn't quit there though: he pulled the same feat in front of the Pharaoh's very person. Amusing surely, thought the Pharaoh, who called upon his counsellors to rid the floor of this horrid belly-bottom-crawler. His counsellors being wise to all manner of sorcerors' hypnotic trickery and treachery, responded in like fashion by casting their own rods onto the floor, and behold, the place was crawling with winding, coiling, sibilant snakes. For the Pharaoh's little boy half-hiding at the flank of the throne this was absolutely fascinating. At least the Pharaoh was moderately content with the situation: snakes weren't the worst problem, and his counsellors had proven their craft equal to Moses' challenge ... making it, no big challenge ... maybe a nuisance.

But then something happened. The Bible says Moses' snake ate theirs. Actually we know the hypnotists had expected this next improvement - they may have even helped - their snakes began to one-at-a-time disappear - that is, they returned to being just rods again - the mesmerism was breaking: they fully expected Moses' snake to act likewise, and disappear (become a rod again). This was the counsellors' responsibility to the Pharaoh: to snap the little illusions cast at the Pharaoh, that might hinder him from making the big responsible decisions or taking actions against adversaries. But, Moses' snake just refused to give-up the ghost: lying on the floor were half-a-dozen rods ... and one live slithering snake. The Pharaoh was suitable impressed of course with this non-disappearing serpentine 'hallucination', compliments of one former royal appointee, Moses: it was something to deal wisely with, or at least circumspectly about, lest he seem unwise or inhibited, but he was not convinced that his wisemen could not ultimately deal with it. So, again Moses took (his) serpent by the tail, and it became his rod in his hand again. Well that must have roiled the Pharaoh's ire: just take up the serpent by the tail, and it becomes a rod: his wisemen would stew over that a long while. One trick though, thought Pharaoh, was not enough to demand court appearances, so he dismissed them all, Moses, too, as sufficient amusement for the day.

Centuries later the Pharisees too would have liked to have rid themselves of one daily persistent nuisance, the Son of man, and his disciple-promoters: this they felt self-assuredly was all that kept them from enjoying Heaven-on-Earth right then-and-there. And they poured over every Scripture on this subject, and poured-out every vile complaint to despatch if it were possible this one last seemingly anointed contention against their creeds and doctrines, their rule over Judea in troubled times. But he persevered, and they grew wearied and distressed; Finally they got down to doing what Pharaoh hadn't bothered himself to do: just kill the snake - that seemed normal enough, as old as Cain's technique in a slow year. Or, in their inner circle they reminded themselves of the parable of the unyielding fig tree: after three years, dung it about, and if it still yields nought, cut it down.

So they made their common commotion, and pleaded with the local Roman hierarchy to implement an earlier death decree against Jewish children of Jesus' age, along with a couple of sure kills, just in case Jesus didn't go quickly enough: and that should have concluded the display of wits ... but it didn't. While all other messiahs had disappeared under that terror called, death, this one did not: it just popped up again, right out of the sealed tomb, after two days, and it hung around just long enough to reassure all watching that this was no simple spell of hypnoses and ghostly second-sights. This was first-sight to be dealt-with seriously. Nevertheless the Pharisees agreed to dismiss it as sufficient amusement for their century: they couldn't match it anyway. The Christ on the other hand had an exodus to lead, and, taking the Son of man firmly by the tail (the feet, which Jesus held attention to wash) lifted him up (ascended) from the Earth, and he (his life-work demonstrations and commandments) became again the 'rod-of-iron' by which to rule and lead his sheepfold out to better pasture, home to the promised land ... by the rather long way of nearly two millennia ... home to the Father's divine Science and Health.

[We must note here in closing that the plausible actual would become speculative if we merely imagine what persons may have done, said, meant ... the importance is in the demonstration of the Christ Science: not to rediscover that which is today abundant, but discern and live it]

The teachings hereïn are not secularized nor classified: Sunday School pupils, Primary Class students, Normal Class graduates, scholars, researchers, astronomers, scientists, governments, find this coursework timely, modern, global, historical, democratic. The syllabus is the ALMS Program: Astronomics, Linguistics, Mathematics, Systematics: Scientific inferentiation on Holy Biblical Scripture: What actually happened.

FUNDAMENTAL CONTROVERSES: Christian Science Class Instruction * RKPetry

The theory of measurement propounded in this work is not to be cited (as) considering contraband or corpses; Nor are the intellectual appurtenances hereïn to be used for or in the commission of crimes against persons, peoples, properties, or powers (States). May your tabernacle measure true.

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Copyright © 1996 Mr. Raymond Kenneth Petry lambhorn@ChristScience.US
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