The Seven Levels of Creation Part II

The Seven Levels of Creation

Part II

Summary: The seven days of creation are rich in symbolism. The Seven Levels of Creation articles will demonstrate how the seven days of creation clearly represent each of the seven dispensation patriarchs, the laws of God each represents, and the seven levels of mankind who align to each dispensation and law. Knowing who we are and where we are on our eternal journey is a critical step to understanding what we must do to become more like God. In Part II, I will focus exclusively on the fourth day of creation and the symbols of this day.

Disclaimer: This article is not official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, I do believe there are important considerations in this article in gaining a fuller understanding of the creation and how this understanding illuminates who we are on our eternal journey. Please pray before reading as the Spirit is the teacher of all truth. The Spirit may personalize any message, and I would rather the reader learn from the Spirit of Truth than from me.

Introduction: This is the ninth article dedicated to the Seven Levels of Mankind, and the second article of The Seven Levels of Creation. In the first article titled, "The Seven Levels of Creation Part I," the overall concept as well as the first three days of creation were covered. These three days of creation were aligned to the last three dispensations of Moses, Peter, and Joseph Smith. In this article, I will align the dispensation of Abraham to the fourth day of creation along with the Law of Sacrifice and the promised rewards.

Remember, the 7 creation days align to the dispensations in reverse order - a true chiasms. 

Creation Days - Dispensation level

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These numbers are again inverted in the end times where the last shall be first and the first last. In fact, that saying pertains directly to this truth. The gentiles were last and were the first to receive the Gospel. I may cover this in a future article, but the last three levels of mankind unfold sequentially building up to the second coming of Jesus Christ. The time of the gospel to the gentiles is executed by level 5, the building of ZION is executed by the high priests of level 6, and then Adam returns to the world along with the Lord Jesus Christ to consecrate the world.

The alignment of the days of creation to the dispensations illuminates the truth that there are seven spiritual classes of mankind. Each dispensation head rules over one of these orders of mankind. There is so much rich symbolism to be found in making these connections. For example, since publishing the first article, I realized that the third day of creation which aligns to the dispensation of Moses and the law of obedience has a powerful symbol with the Exodus from Egypt. Though I alluded to the parting of the red sea as an intentional symbol of the third day of creation where the water is separated from the land, I realized that the path through the red sea was likely straight and narrow.

Exodus 14:22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

In a tribute to Joseph Knight, Sr. as printed in section 12 of the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith used a symbol that sharpens this symbol of the sea wall to the right and left of the children of Israel:

“For fifteen years he has been faithful and true, and even-handed and exemplary, and virtuous and kind, never deviating to the right hand or to the left. Behold he is a righteous man … and it shall be said of him, by the sons of Zion, while there is one of them remaining, that this man was a faithful man in Israel; therefore his name shall never be forgotten.” (History of the Church, 5:124–25.)

So, while the Law of Obedience aligns to the third day of creation and the dispensation of Moses (third counting back from Joseph Smith,) the parting of the red sea itself is a demonstration of the straight and narrow path of Obedience. Obedience leads to .. the Promised Land.

In the Holy Temple, we learn that the Laws of Obedience and Sacrifice were given to Adam and Eve as they departed the Garden. The Law of Obedience is given first, and then they are given the Law of Sacrifice. The officiator then explains the Law of Sacrifice and centers the explanation on the law as it existed before Christ to point to His great and last sacrifice. Though the Law of Sacrifice continues today as an internal sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit, this explanation is left out of the temple? Why?

The answer is twofold. First, the Laws of Obedience and Sacrifice align to the times and seasons before Jesus Christ. Second, think of the name of the sign of the first token given in the temple. Now, think of the name of the second token. These two names are a critical clue of sequence. Our temple endowment now aligns to the time and season of the Law of the Gospel. This is who we are now. The Laws of Obedience and Sacrifice align to times and seasons that have already been overcome. Let's take a closer look at Abraham and see how this all underscores the times, seasons, and orders of mankind.

The Fourth Day of Creation, Sacrifice, Increase, and Abraham

The Fourth Day: Moses 2:14 And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years;

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.

16 And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon; and the stars also were made even according to my word.

17 And I, God, set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And the sun to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

The Fourth Promise of Overcoming: Revelation 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

28 And I will give him the morning star.

In this section we will align the fourth day of creation to the dispensation of Abraham, to the Law of Sacrifice, and to the reward of Increase. As a review, the seven promises of overcoming are provided sequentially in the Book of Revelation to the seven churches of Asia. These are actually the seven rewards promised to each of The Seven Levels of Mankind. Each of these levels aligns to the days of creation sequentially and to the dispensations inversely as demonstrated in the introduction. However, the number four is the center number of seven whether one is counting up or down.

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Is this a coincidence, or is Abraham's dispensation a center point? Have a read of the fourth promise of overcoming above as given to the fourth church of Asia. This is the first promised reward of increase or rule. We also have the term "morning star" which I believe means the reward for this level (which is received upon entering the fifth order of mankind) is to join the order of noble and great ones that assist the Lord in ruling and administering a created world. Let's see, where is that scripture found ... ah yes .. Abraham.

Abraham 3:22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

Let's take a step back for a moment and look at the obvious clues that links the fourth day of creation to Abraham. As I said in the prior article, you could take an image of each day of creation and an image of the seven patriarchs and match them up. It's that obvious! Let's see, the sun, moon, and stars. That's easy! Abraham! Here's why it's easy:

Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Abraham 3:2 And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it;

Stars is the obvious link to the fourth day of creation, but what about the sun and the moon? If Abraham truly is linked to the fourth day of creation, surely the Lord will include these two heavenly bodies in the scriptures as clues for us to discover.

Abraham 3:13 And he said unto me: This is Shinehah, which is the sun. And he said unto me: Kokob, which is star. And he said unto me: Olea, which is the moon. And he said unto me: Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven.

There it is - Sun, Moon, and Stars. Let's take a look at the Law of Sacrifice for a moment and see how it connects to this dispensation. First of all, the reward for level four is increase and rule or "power over nations." Doesn't it make perfect sense that sacrifice would precede rule? Jesus Christ Himself descended below all and sacrificed Himself and wrought the Atonement before receiving all the father hath - He descended below all before inheriting all.

I believe the Levites are the illustration of the Law of Sacrifice. Clearly, they executed this law as it is explained in the Holy Temple! They literally sacrificed animals, but there is so much more to their order. These are the priests of the lesser Priesthood just as there is a lesser light and a greater light on the fourth day of creation (more on this in a moment.) The Levites had no land and no inheritance! That seems rather cruel, don't you think? They had to leach off the other tribes' in the promised land. Why? Because they were living the Law of Sacrifice. This isn't even the Law of Consecration. This is the law of "you've got no inheritance at all." 

And what is the promised reward for this order of mankind? Power, rule, and posterity. The Law of Sacrifice also hails back to the time of Abraham. Obviously Abraham epitomized this law during his mortal ministry. Not only did Abraham (almost) execute the sacrifice of Isaac faithfully, Abraham was rewarded with, rule, lands, and posterity. Boom. Since this time and season aligns to the Law of Sacrifice, what other symbols where there during this time of The Law of Sacrifice?

Well, Joseph of Egypt takes up more real estate in the Book of Genesis than any other prophet, and for good reason. Joseph lost everything - his inheritance, his freedom, and his name. Joseph then gained rule over nations becoming second only to Pharoah. He regained his freedom and his name and he was blessed with not only posterity but the birthright.

The Law of Sacrifice does not end there! What happened for the remainder of this time and season up until the dispensation of Moses. For about 400 years, the Israelites were enslaved. They had lost their freedom and their inheritance. The time and season of Abraham aligns to sacrifice, and sacrifice brings rich rewards from heaven, including lands, posterity, and rule.

Abraham 2:9 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;

Through Abraham's seed are all the nations of the earth blessed. The noble and great ones, and the bearers of the Priesthood are the seed of Abraham - the rulers. There are lands promised to them. They administer the Gospel to the nations, and their rewards in heaven will be rich!

So far in this section, links have been made from the fourth day of creation to Abraham, to his dispensation, to the Law of Sacrifice, and to the fourth reward of overcoming as given in the Book of Revelation. There is one more extremely important symbol here that has been hiding in plain sight.

Moses 2:14 And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years;

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.

16 And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon; and the stars also were made even according to my word.

Why now? You'd think the sun, moon, and stars could just have been part of the first day of creation when light and dark is divided. Even the language above in Moses 2 sounds much like the first day where light and dark are divided. 

These two great lights represent the two Priesthoods of God. The greater light points to the High Priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the lesser light points to the High Priest of the Aaronic Priesthood. In fact, the dominion of the High Priest of the Aaronic Priesthood begins with Abraham. The Lord Jesus Christ represents the Sun and the Holy Ghost represents the moon. 

The case for the dominion of the Holy Ghost beginning with Abraham is made here in the article titled, "The Name of the Angel of the Lord." The case for the Angel of the Lord being the Holy Ghost is made in the article titled, "The Davidic Servant is The Holy Ghost is The Angel of the Lord." Please refer to these articles for more information. Additionally, I have created a thread to log my impressions while reading 3 Enoch, where the Angel Metatron, who is clearly The Angel of the Lord, describes his crowning and dominion as a post-flood event. Eventually, I will publish my findings here on this site. 

In the meantime, let's continue to dive into this symbol of the lesser light appearing at the fourth day or the fourth, central, dispensation.

Abraham 1:15 And as they lifted up their hands upon me, that they might offer me up and take away my life, behold, I lifted up my voice unto the Lord my God, and the Lord hearkened and heard, and he filled me with the vision of the Almighty, and the angel of his presence stood by me, and immediately unloosed my bands;

Abraham 2:13 Thou didst send thine angel to deliver me from the gods of Elkenah, and I will do well to hearken unto thy voice, therefore let thy servant rise up and depart in peace.

Abraham 3:20 The Lord thy God sent his angel to deliver thee from the hands of the priest of Elkenah.

The Angel of the Lord delivers Abraham from Elkenah and is referred to in a possessive manner as belonging to the Lord. The language, "my angel" and "thine angel" denotes a special title of a unique angel, but this language isn't so strong that such a special meaning can't remain hidden as it has. Listen to how the Angel speaks to Abraham when this same angel stops the sacrifice of Isaac. 

Genesis 22:11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

15 ¶ And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

So the angel of the Lord speaks for himself in verse 12 and then for hte Lord in verse 15. The link to the symbolism of the fourth day of creation is present in verse 17 as well as a link to the fourth reward of overcoming in verses 17 and 18. In the article, "Awake, O Sword - The Holy Ghost and The Atonement" I make the case that perhaps there is another layer of symbolism here where the Angel of the Lord stops the sacrifice of Isaac because it is the angel's role to be the executor of the Great and Last Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I strongly recommend reading these linked articles as this symbolism of the greater light and lesser light is just way too "coincidental" for me. The division of the greater and lesser light on the fourth day is a symbol of the beginning of the dominion of the Holy Ghost who is the lesser God. Consider that all the covenants being fulfilled in the end times trace back to Abraham. Why not Noah? Why not Enoch or Adam? The answer is because the Angel of the Lord is central to these covenants. He is the executor of the covenant and will fulfill the fall festivals in the end times.

Isaiah 49:8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

Isaiah 49:8 is a message from the Lord to the servant of Isaiah who is the Davidic Servant / Angel of the Lord. Notice how the land and inheritance is referenced here in addition to "a day of salvation." The Angel of the Lord is central to the Abrahamic Covenant - though I cover this more in the linked articles, consider the fulfillment of Yom Kippur by the Angel of the Lord is central to the fulfilling the Abrahamic Covenant as Israel is made "at one" again with their God.

In closing, consider this scripture pointed out to me by a friend (who goes by Robbinius on ldsfreedomforum.com) while discussing these truths:

Abraham 3:16 If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them;

This grand truth as laid out in Abraham 3 while Abraham unveils the truths represented by the heavenly bodies of light, is further expounded upon:

17 Now, if there be two things, one above the other, and the moon be above the earth, then it may be that a planet or a star may exist above it; and there is nothing that the Lord thy God shall take in his heart to do but what he will do it.

18 Howbeit that he made the greater star; as, also, if there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal.

19 And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.

Notice how the Lord specifically brings in the moon into these truth. The moon clearly has a greater light, especially while considering the word choice of the fourth day of creation - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser ligth to rule the night. Though the Lord states he is more intelligent than they all, what is the unspoken question here but, "Who then is the lesser light?"

Consider this truth in context of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. We members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tend to immediately think on the degrees of glory. However, considering all these other symbols that tie the fourth day to Abraham to the fourth promise in Revelation to the Law of Sacrifice, what then do these three orders of light represent but the noble and great ones themselves! Consider there are twelve grand constellations that may in fact point to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Matthew 28:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Next, we will review the fifth day of creation which aligns to the fifth level of mankind or the first level of dominion / rule.