Part I.—Tue Oxup TESTAMENT

Study : Esoteric Christianity, Chapter XIV
Tue further the advance made in theosophical knowledge the greater is the revelation obtained from the Christian Scriptures, ‘The importance of this study cannot be overestimated, for wherever the teachings of esoteric science find confirmation from such familiar and authoritative source they are at once possessed of a greatly added power of appeal. This necessitates, however, a knowledge of the esotericism of those Scriptures, a subject that demands a far greater measure of attention than it has as yet received. The claim has been made for the Bible that it is one of the most occult books in the world, yet its treasure still remains hidden for the most part, and the rich store of wisdom contained within its pages must be sought by patient and reverent study.
H. P. B. declared that there were seven keys to the Scriptures,* but at present only a few of these
* “ Secret Doctrine,”’ IL., p. 517.
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are in our possession, and even those have only been applied as yet in fragmentary fashion. Given the requisite knowledge, the keys employed might be the following :—
Historical,
Ethical,
Cosmological,
Anthroposophical,
Astrological,
Psychological,
Physiological.
During the materialistic age through which the Western world has passed, literalism has held sway in orthodox circles, yet the inner teachings have been preserved in some measure as the tradition of the esoteric schools. They have been handed down from one generation to another until in our day, the time for a fuller revelation having come, they are gradually being disclosed through various agencies. To the many problems of thought arising out of this new or restored knowledge Theosophy presents a master-key. It interprets the Biblical teachings, as occultly understood, in the light of the Ancient Wisdom, and in so doing it provides a co-ordinating factor by which many seemingly separated elements are brought together into harmonious relationship.
To turn first to the Old Testament. In the
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ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY
realm of pure scholarship a work of immense value was accomplished over a hundred years ago by the French savant Fabre d’Olivet. In his book “ The Hebraic Tongue Restored” (only recently made available in an English translation) he traces the roots of the Hebrew language to their origins in the Egyptian, and claims that the Hebrew contained in Genesis is the pure idiom of the ancient Egyptians. He further asserts that the priests of that time had three ways of expressing their thought, imparting to the word used at once a literal, a figurative and a hieroglyphic sense, corresponding to the natural, psychic and Divine worlds, and designated by Heraclitus spoken, significant and hidden. ‘This is upheld by the Essenian tradition, which declared that every word in this book (Sepher) contained three meanings : the positive or simple, the compara- tive or figurative, the superlative or hieratic.* It is again confirmed by Origen, who spoke of the Scriptures as threefold, consisting of body, soul, and spirit. According to Fabre d’Olivet, Moses “ made use of these three ways with unbounded skill ;_ his phrase is almost invariably constituted in such a manner as to present three meanings.” ¢ In his translation of the first ten chapters of Genesis,
* “The Hebraic Tongue Restored.” (Translator’s Foreword.) + Ibid., Part IL, p. 24. (footnote).
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obtained from this root examination of the text, profound occult teachings are disclosed, revealing a highly abstruse philosophy hitherto unsuspected, because entirely without indication in our modern Biblical versions, Fabre d’Olivet’s work is a life study in itself, but even if only resorted to for reference it will be found of the greatest possible assistance. Following these lines, the work of Mr. Leonard Bosman will be found very illuminating in the explanations given of the meaning of Hebrew letters and the deeper meanings disclosed by that knowledge.*
Outside the domain of strictly scholastic research are the more mystical methods of exegesis enu- merated in our text-book (p. 370). There are various traditional “ keys ” to Scriptural allegory, a knowledge of which is essential to the art of myth- reading. ‘The seers of old were well acquainted with these methods, as is clearly shown by Philo, and later in the writings of some of the early Church Fathers, particularly Origen, St. Clement of Alexandria and St. Augustine. (The last three books of St. Augustine’s “ Confessions,” not included in the modern editions, are concerned with the allegorism of the first chapter of the book of Genesis.)
The knowledge required for the methods of
* See appended list of books.
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ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY
interpretation preserved by the esoteric schools includes (1) The Meaning of Names. Indications of the inner meaning of the narrative are disclosed by an examination of the proper names that occur, both of people and places. (2) The Meaning of Numbers. An accepted number symbolism forms part of the universal occult tradition, and its applica- tion to myth-writing and myth interpretation is , Teadily discovered. The work of the Gnostic \ Marcion is probably the earliest in this field.* \ Whereas mames, generally speaking, indicate stages \ of soul development or states of consciousness, \ numbers denote qualities or universal principles. \ Closely connected with this last method is (3) The Art of Gemetria, the translation of words into their corresponding numerical value, and vice. versd. (Both in Hebrew and Greek each letter of the alphabet is also a number.) ‘This device is largely made use of in the Apocalyptic literature of the Hebrews. (4) The Meaning of Symbols. ‘There is a universal language of symbols, by which not only the Bible, but the world’s Scriptures, may be eluci- dated. It is the sacred language of antiquity, by which complex and often cryptic terminology the teachers of humanity have concealed the truths of esoteric science from the multitude, while revealing * See Mead’s “ Fragments of a Faith Forgotten.”
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them to those who are prepared to receive that illumination.
Among the additional books recommended for this section, “The Mystery Teaching of the Bible ” gives a general introduction to these several traditional methods of interpretation.
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