The Messianic Consciousness in Jewish Prophecy (XLI) Isaiah

“The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides upon a swift cloud, and comes unto Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt within it.” (Isaiah 19:1)

The Prophet continues referring to the burden of the nations as negative traits and trends in consciousness. Egypt represents the most abject tendencies in passions and instincts triggered by ego's fantasies and illusions. Hence Egypt is the worst of slavery from which our ancestors needed God's direct deliverance. As we have mentioned often in the commentaries of our blog, Egypt was the most depraved nation in ancient times and we were slaves amid that corrupted environment. Through the Prophet, the Creator promises to remove such burden from our consciousness.

“And I will spur Egypt against Egypt; and they shall fight every one against his brother, and everyone against his neighbor; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.” (19:2)

God's ways and means to remove negative traits as idols we create out of ego's lust, greed and coveting are particularly peculiar. Again we assimilate that wickedness destroys the wicked as the result of the confrontation between the cause of evil and the effect of evil. Thus we understand Egypt against Egypt, brother against brother, etc. This is a complex metaphor that sounds more like a paradox. We basically fight against ourselves.

Our envy fights our greed, and our coveting fights our lust. These suppose to be part of the same team! How come are they fighting each other? Let's take a closer look at this. Again, the warning echoes in our consciousness: the wicked is killed by his wickedness. In this scenario there is no free will, for there is nothing positive in what we think, feel or experience. The Creator wants to us to learn the lessons from living the negative trends in consciousness out of ego's fantasies and illusions.

“And the spirit of Egypt shall be made empty within it; and I will make void the counsel thereof; and they shall seek unto the idols, and to the whisperers, and to the ghosts, and to the familiar spirits.” (19:3)

It is quite evident that we can't get rid of our obsessions, attachments, and bad habits, simply because we are addicted to them. The Prophet speaks of God emptying the vessel of what we have filled with traits that keep us captive under lower passions and instincts. Though in that process our addictions again fight back looking for more fantasies and illusions as idols, whisperers, ghosts and spirits. In the following verses (19:4-16) the Prophet speaks metaphorically about the destruction of the negative traits Egypt represents.

“And the land of Judah shall become a terror onto Egypt, whensoever one makes mention thereof to it; it shall be afraid, because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts, which He purposes against it [Egypt].” (19:17)

It takes our higher consciousness to fight our battles against lower thoughts, emotions, feelings, passions and instincts. That is the land of Judah as the terror onto Egypt. In the context of our Final Redemption, terror means the reverence Judah will inspire onto Egypt to become a cooperative trait instead of a destructive one. Our higher consciousness will perceive, think, feel, speak and do in harmonic consonance with the ways and attributes of God's purpose for His Final Redemption.

“In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a savior, and a defender, who will deliver them.” (19:19-20)

An altar implies offerings. In this sense the altar is the means by which we connect with God. Egypt will make offerings to Him, meaning that what once was the trigger of a negative action will become the motivation of a positive deed. All aspects, levels and dimensions in consciousness with the potential to express wickedness or goodness will be harmonically united toward being and doing goodness as the common denominator in the Final Redemption. In sum, our lives will become altars by which we elevate the goodness in us to the goodness of our Creator.

The Messianic Consciousness -- as the means to deliver God's Plan for the Final Redemption -- is the savior and defender, by which we transform all negative traits and trends in consciousness into positive qualities and expressions of life.

“And the Lord shall make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day; yea, they shall worship with sacrifice and offering, and shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and shall perform it. And the Lord will smite Egypt, smiting and healing; and they shall return unto the Lord, and He will be entreated of them, and will heal them.” (19:21-22)

The Prophet tells us that God is our only Redeemer, for He is our Creator. All dimensions of consciousness, including “the burden of Egypt”, will know Him when we begin to embrace His ways and attributes as our Essence and true identity. In this redeeming awareness we will fulfill His will. He will ease and loosen our negative addictions and attachments in a process we will experience as beating and healing at the same time. In our connection with God's Love through His ways, He will heal us from our own inventions out of ego's fantasies and illusions.

“In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth.” (19:23-24)

One of the qualities of the Messianic Consciousness is its ability to integrate all facets and dimensions of life, as well as all traits and trends in consciousness, into a harmonic functional unity with the common purpose of fulfilling God's will through Love's ways and attributes. Thus we realize that Love is what unites, integrates and harmonizes all. In this realization we all become blessings in the midst of the earth. Here Israel represents Love's ways and attributes as God's Love inheritance to human consciousness. Thus we understand that God's inheritance for the world are Love's ways and attributes as the material blessings of His Love.

“For that the Lord of hosts has blessed him, saying: 'Blessed be Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance'.” (19:25)