Jesus' Body

[Lefein]

If the visible is for all intents and purposes "imaginary"...then it stands to reason that the invisible is twice as imaginary as the visible.

[Molly]

41And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.

44And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."

--Daniel 2



3How great are his signs,
  how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
  and his dominion endures from generation to generation.
--Dan 4



27 And the kingdom and the dominion
  and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
  shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
  and all dominions shall serve and obey them.'

--Daniel 7

[Molly]

27 And the kingdom and the dominion
   and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
   shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
   and all dominions shall serve and obey them.'
--Daniel 7


"dominions"

H7985
שׁלטן
sholṭân
shol-tawn'
(Chaldee); from H7981; empire (abstractly or concretely.): - dominion.


H7981
שׁלט
shelêṭ
shel-ate'
(Chaldee); corresponding to H7980: - have the mastery, have power, bear rule, be (make) ruler.


H7980
שׁלט
shâlaṭ
shaw-lat'
A primitive root; to dominate, that is, govern; by implication to permit: - (bear, have) rule, have dominion, give (have) power.



Mat 3

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

[Nathan]

I do believe there may often be some deeper 2nd, 3rd, or 4th level layer of spiritual application within the scriptures besides the primary application, and I for one OFTEN miss them or have no idea they're there until someone shares their revelation on it.  I just don't think we should rush into those deeper layers to the exclusion of the primary application of the scriptures, even to the point of saying they don't exist.

I wonder if the deeper layers can be truely understood if the 1st layer isn't understood.
It's like skipping primary school and then claiming you fully understood the lecture at uni.... :dontknow:

I really don't think that can happen.  I think it's all a combination of progression of maturity and openness.  The high priest couldn't enter into the Holy of Holies without first addressing the altar of sacrifice leading into the outer court.  Jesus stated that anyone who tries to enter through any other way other than the gate (which is Christ himself) they are  a thief and a robber.  

I think it's the same thing here.  Before we enter into the depths we first must experience the shallows.

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: Exactly.....one must first be in the boat, before He can call you out of it......

PARDES....