The Creation that we live in is a marvelous and mysterious place. In its original form it must have been far more so, for now we also have a second world, being created by the adversary, that is fast being overlaid on top of God’s Creation. Yet it cannot overpower it or cover it completely, for God’s Creation is His original Word to us. Have you ever wondered how Abraham knew God’s laws long before they were written down by Moses? It is because there was a written record in the created things that filled the world in which he lived. These things were understood spiritually by those who sought after the Kingdom of God. The amazing thing is that little has changed. We still have access to the Creation surrounding us, but for various reasons, we have gotten lazy. We assume that the written word (Bible) is the entire Word of God, when it is only one tool we have.
The written word is extremely helpful, but it can sometimes get us into trouble because it has itself been somewhat corrupted through well-intentioned translation and deliberate twisting, additions and omissions. How then are we to know the Truth? We have two other very important tools, both of which are mentioned in the Bible. One is mentioned in 1 John 2: 27,
But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
This anointing is the Holy Spirit, which was poured out on all flesh in Acts 2. It says that we do not need any human to teach us. This does not mean that teachers cannot be helpful, but it does mean that we should not rely on them only. The Spirit we are anointed with will teach us. This can come in various ways, from dreams and visions to prophesying to discernment of truth found in other places (including other teachers).
The second tool is nature, or the Creation, and is what my studies primarily concern. Nature cannot lie. It simply is what it is. It’s yes is yes and its no is no. Each created thing has its own way of being, its own “nature,” and from that nature certain truths can be ascertained. When the Bible talks of a natural thing, we need to think of the properties of that thing in order to gain a fuller understanding.
I’ll give one example of how neglecting to look at nature has caused unsound doctrine to be spread: the Biblical idea of leaven. It has been said by many teachers that leaven equals sin, and I personally know people who have been kicked out of certain church groups for questioning that doctrine. Yet the Bible never actually says leaven is sin, nor does it support the idea. The Feast of Unleavened Bread in Exodus 12 and 13 speaks of taking leaven out of our homes so that we will not eat of it during that week, with the consequence of being cut off from His people. Jesus/Yeshua also said to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (Matthew 16: 6). Thinking of leaven as sin in both of these contexts seems to work. But if we look at Matthew 13: 33, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened,” it would seem strange to liken the Kingdom of Heaven to sin. In Leviticus 23 :17 there was also a wave offering offered at the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) that was two loaves baked with leaven. Why would anything with sin be commanded to offer to Yahweh? It becomes obvious that leaven cannot equal sin in scripture. Yet I have seen people do great contortions with their interpretations of Matthew and Leviticus to try to make them fit with their preconceptions of leaven. But it should not be necessary to do such mental gymnastics. But how are we then to reconcile all of these passages consistently?
All we need to do is look at the nature of leaven to find an answer that fits in all of these contexts. Leaven makes bread rise, making the loaf loftier than it would otherwise be. That’s it. It does not make the bread go bad or give it any sinful nature. If we take that thought and then ponder the difference in contexts for when leaven is used in a negative vs. a positive way, something starts to take shape. When we leaven ourselves, it is always a negative thing. When leaven refers to God or Heavenly things, it is positive. The solution is this: We are not to raise ourselves up, making us more than we are, because that is pride and arrogance. Yet if we raise up God/Yahweh, that is giving Him glory! It is all in the context. The Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew is all about glory and raising others (the lump) up. If we are raised up by God, what grace He has shown! It is His glory to do so! But we are never to attempt to lift ourselves up. Pride was the sin that caused Satan to fall from heaven, and is the basis for all other sin that man contends with. That is the theme for the Feast of Unleavened Bread: Humility in, Pride out.
This to me is a far more complete and satisfying answer to what God is teaching us through leaven, than “leaven equals sin,” and it came about simply by looking at the nature of what leaven is and does. One reason it feels satisfying is that the Spirit of discernment says this is a true thing. It brings me peace. I now have three legs to stand on for my belief in the doctrine of leaven. The Bible, the Spirit, and the Creation. “Leaven equals sin” relies on one leg, hand-picked verses from the Bible, and as a result gets into conflicts that it cannot answer. When we cannot answer something adequately that we hold as true, anger at the questioner is often the result, which is simply putting someone else down in order to raise ourselves up, which is how brethren have been shunned for holding the wrong doctrines. If the answer we have is fully adequate, peace is the result.
I hope to share many other “invisible things of Him from the creation of the world.” I also look forward to hearing the ones that you have learned, for I know I am not the only one whom God is revealing His truth to in these last days!
