The
path between Malkuth and Yesod: The tarot card associated with this path is The
World card. This path leads you out of the world of sin, and starts you on your
journey up the Middle Pillar, as you begin to work out your salvation. At the sphere of Yesod, we will discuss the Holy Spirit – whom you receive at baptism. As you overcome the world and begin your Christian walk, you will need to be baptized into Christ’s death (for the forgiveness of your sins), and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (who will act as a conscience for you). The Holy Spirit will guide you on the rest of your journey.
All of the spheres in the Qabalah are important to your salvation. Everything flows back-and-forth and up-and-down the Qabalah. At Kether, you have God the Father, the creator of Heaven and Earth. The next sphere down is Tiphareth, which represents Christ – who sacrificed himself for the sins of the world in order to reunite us with the Father (following the fall of man). The next sphere down is Yesod, which represents the Holy Spirit who exists as a mediator between Christ and His followers on earth (Tiphareth and Malkuth).
One of the images on the World tarot card is of a naked woman. This represents Eve. Adam and Eve are the ones responsible for the curse of Original Sin. They ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in direct defiance of the commandment of God. The World is cursed because of them. The Women on the card is naked to represent the World after the fall of man and where evil now exists.
It is only after Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that they realized that they were naked. Around the woman is a green wreath, but it seems to have the scales of a serpent; a serpent without beginning or end – representing the bonds of sin that is all around those who dwell on the Earth. The Serpent represents the Devil who took the form of a serpent to tempt Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. Outside of the circle are four beasts. These are the four beasts spoken of in the Book of Revelations 4:6 and represent the four books of the Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
Revelations 4:6-8 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
In the Book of Matthew, Christ is called the Lion of Judah, in Mark He was a sacrifice for sin (a calf was a sacrificial animal), in Luke He is referred to as the Son of Man, and a flying eagle ties him to Heaven, as does the Book of John. The message of this path is that the first step in overcoming the sin of the World (Malkuth) lies in the gospel of Christ.
The four books of the Gospel are where Christ first makes his appearance and the steps to salvation are outlined in their pages. Once you have heard the good news of the Gospel, the next step is to get baptized into Christ’s death and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. From there the Holy Spirit will be your guide to assist you in purifying your soul (Yesod); it is only through Christ’s sacrifice (Tiphareth) that you are able to enter into Heaven (Kether).
One of the main attributes of this path is overcoming the sin of the world, which is the work you started in Malkuth. We will start out by looking at how the world became corrupted in the first place.
Genesis 2:17-18 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help mate for him.
Genesis 2:24-25 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
After God had created the world He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God gave them only one rule; that they not eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. At this point Adam and Eve were naked yet they were not ashamed.
Genesis 3:1-3 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
In the above set of verses the Serpent begins to tempt Eve into eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is clear by the verses above that Eve knew that she was not supposed to eat of it. I bring this point up, because when God commanded Adam not to eat of it (Genesis 2:17) Eve had not yet been created.
Genesis 3:4-7 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
The Serpent deceived and enticed Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, and Eve shared the fruit with her husband. They obtained the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and now realized that they were naked; the first thing they tried to do is hide their sin.
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Adam and Eve were now caught in their act of sin, and God asked them directly if they had eaten of the forbidden fruit.
Genesis 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Adam admits that he ate of the forbidden fruit, but he tries blaming it on someone else. You can see that sin is already at work in him. He tries passing the blame onto his wife, and even goes so far as to blame God for giving her to him in the first place.
Genesis 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Eve does the same thing as Adam and blames the serpent for the trespass.
Genesis 3:14-19 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Above represents the curse of Original Sin and the fall of man. Women have pains during childbirth as a result, and they will be ruled by man. Because Adam listened to Eve, the ground is cursed, thrones and thistles now exist, man will have to work and sweat for his meals, and now death is a reality for all humans. Thorns did not exist until sin entered the world, and it was a crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29) that was placed on Jesus’ head before He was crucified and took on the sins of the world. Since women were cursed with pain during childbirth, it is fitting that Christ the Redeemer was also born of a woman (Galatians 4:4).
Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Genesis 3:21 represents the first sacrifice. Now that man had knowledge of sin and knew that he was naked, an animal was sacrificed to cover their sins, in this instance literally, because the sacrificed animal became clothes to cover their nakedness.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Romans 5:14-19 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous
Through Adam, sin and death were brought into the world. Animals were sacrificed as atonement or a covering for sins. Jesus Christ was the final sacrifice for the sins of the world. Through Christ’s sacrifice sin could be forgiven, and death could be overcome.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Those who accept Christ’s sacrifice can have their sins forgiven. Christ did not remove the curse of original sin from the face of the Earth, but His sacrifice now allows sinners to be forgiven of their sins so they might go to Heaven. The world that we live in continues to be full of sin, but Christ offers you away to overcome your sins.
1 Timothy 2:11-15 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
Another result of the curse of Original Sin is that women are not permitted to be church leaders. Women were considered easier to deceive than men, because Eve was deceived by the serpent. The Bible also states the wives are to be subject to their husbands (Ephesians 5:24). Eve led her husband into sin, and as a result, the responsibility to lead has been transferred to the husband.
1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Women are not permitted to be church leaders, but that does not prevent them from sharing in the work of the gospel.
Philippians 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
The above verse states that women can labor for the gospel, they are just not supposed to assume a position of authority over a man in the church. Now we will take a look at what a good Christian woman should be like.
1 Timothy 5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
Women are to raise children and be the leaders of their households. Husbands are cursed under Original Sin to work, and women are cursed to bare and raise children. Women are subjected to their husbands, and should raise the children according to their husband’s wishes. However, if the couple truly has a good marriage, this hierarchy in the marriage is irrelevant, because the two would be of one flesh and would act with one accord. The husband would sacrifice himself for the needs of his wife, and would place her wellbeing above his own (as Jesus did for the church). The wife would love her husband, and would willingly follow the example he is setting (assuming the husband is living under Christian precepts, and is behaving as Christ would).
Titus 2:3-5 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
The above verses state that women have a lot of responsibility. Men work and are the leaders of the church, but women support their husbands, children, and run their households. They are helpmates for the husbands, instructors for their children, and managers of the household.
Once you have become a Christian, you must spend the rest of your life living for God. Jesus has paid the price for our sins with His life, and now it is up to us to spend the rest of our lives following Him. We must overcome the sinful life we lived before we became Christians and must try to walk in God's ways, so that we will be holy and blameless upon Jesus' return. Now we will examine some verses that have to do with how to overcome our sins.
1 John 1:6-9 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
The above set of verses tells us that we must walk in the light and follow His ways. We all fall short and sin, but we must try our best not to. If we do sin, we need to repent. The key ingredient in the above verses is that will attempt to live in accordance with the scriptures, and if we slip up, we need to repent and keep working at it.
1 Peter 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
1 Peter 4:1-5 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do- living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We must avoid sin in our fleshly bodies, and keep ourselves holy. This is our spiritual service of worship; to avoid sin, and renew our minds and obey God's will. Doing so will require us to suffer. We will be at war against our own sinful desires. We must overcome sin, renew our minds and start over. We are to purify our souls out of reverence for God.
2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Galatians 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Ephesians 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Colossians 3:1-9 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Once you start the Great Work of purifying your soul, there will be many obstacles for you to overcome. You must avoid sin and focus on God. God is working in us each and everyday to perfect us. He helps us to not sin, we only need to follow Him and trust in his precepts.
Proverbs 2:6-11 For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair-every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.
The Lord will be there for you; he will give you wisdom, and protect and assist those who walk in his ways.
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
God will be there for you. He will not allow you to be tempted more then you can handle, and He will also provide you with a way out. Take courage and press on; a Crown of Life awaits you at the end of your journey.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.