Vile Bodies or Bright Young Things
or Plagues, Plunder and Platoons
“And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” Isaiah 6:4
“The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” Revelation 15:8
Step 5 in the Bible matrix appears to be the trickiest. Out of the seven points, it was the last one James Jordan figured out (see his article Re-Creation in the Ascension Offering.)
This step concerns the Covenant “body.” It is fundamentally “plural.” It concerns armies, or “hosts.” The symbols all picture multitudes, so some unlikely companions are tied together here: birds and fish, incense clouds, brothers, soldiers, and cold, hard cash.
This step fills the firmament formed on Day 2 (Adam builds the house; Eve fills it), so the concept behind all of these symbols is an abundance of plunder filling the Tabernacle. Money shines. Soldiers’ swords and shields shine.[1] Fish are shiny. Birds also reflect the sun. [2]
It is also the forming of an “Eve” body for the Adam “head.” Adam is singular, but Eve, the mother of all living, is plural. Maturity is a cloud ascending to God, a shining entity that acts as one, a “collective noun” unified by the Spirit under the Covenant head and reflecting His glory. Flocks of birds and schools of fish all behave as though the individual creatures are linked together with invisible strings. In the church, this is the unity of the Spirit.
At Maturity, faithless Adam covered himself and his wife with fig leaves. At Maturity, faithful Daniel was given a robe by Nebuchadnezzar. At Maturity, Esther put on her best robes to approach the Emperor. At Maturity, a new generation of Israel was summoned to Moses to hear the Law. At Maturity, Jesus told His disciples they would now need swords and moneybags.
Step 4, Testing under the governing lights of the Law, the Covenant sanctions, sifts us. Step 5 is thus the beginning of the Covenant sanctions, blessings or curses, plunder or plagues. [3]
It is about the “filling” of the body. Whether this ends up being plunder or plagues, bright young things or vile bodies, depends upon Covenant faithfulness. In reference to Lizzie Gardiner’s spectacular Credit Card dress above, it all depends on whether your account is in Jesus’ name.
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[1] This reminds me of the chariots seen racing through the clouds above Jerusalem in the AD60′s, as reported by Josephus.
[2] I just noticed this week that the plunder-plagues the Philistines sent back, 5 gold tumors and 5 rats, make ten plagues. And the Philistines were descendants of the Egyptians. See Golden Emerods.
[3] See A Jaw Dropping Book.
