Book Description

This book helps us to understand the parables and things of the spirit as discerned by the spirit. Mr. Addington's goal is to show us that the Bible is a storehouse of inspiration designed to fit every human need, a treasure trove of usable ideas, an infinite souce of wisdom, and most of all, a book of life. It is the compilation of Mr. Addington's years of work in which he uses his extensive knowlege acquired through years of Bible teaching and studies. You follow him through his discovery of a code existing in the Bible in which one is able to follow the 'path of enlightenment'. This path of enlightenment is the same path which the 'mystics' used.



This book is not an attempt to interpret the entire Bible, but to show through examples how a secret code unlocks the hid­den meaning throughout the writings of the Bible
.
In trying to understand the seemingly meaningless portions of the Bible, it became apparent to me that certain words, about one hundred to be exact, had been used over and over in identically the same way, often making no sense in or out of context, as one would use a secret code to hide a meaning that he did not wish exposed to the public. I tested this again and again and found it to be true. I found that once these code words were translated a door was opened to a whole new area of understanding.

The Bible is really an anthology, a collection of choice lit­erary extracts from different authors, some relating to the spiritual side of life; some seeming to be written on the mental and physical. There is something of value for every­one at every level.
The material contained in the Bible is but a fraction of the original writings from which it was selected. The Biblical writings are revealed Truth which was preserved by word of mouth and gradually became written literature, the work of many spiritually minded authors. Later, groups of theolo­gians made the selections which we think of as the Bible, deciding, according to their individual prejudices, what they judged worthy of keeping, what they would discard. For example, the Apocrypha, which is incorporated in the Vulgate, is generally omitted in Protestant versions of the Bible. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls also gives evidence that much material was omitted from the Bible as we know it.

Various Bible concordances, encyclopedias, and diction­aries were used in researching the original meanings of the proper names. The secret code was revealed to me as a grad­ual unfoldment during twenty years of Bible teaching. I am particularly indebted to the Unity School of Christianity at Lee’s Summit, Missouri, for their excellent Metaphysical Bible Dictionary.

Great credit goes to my wife, Cornelia, whose enthusiasm and persistence in pursuing this idea kept us working for the twelve years that it took to write this book. Without her end­less work on the manuscript, it would not have been accom­plished. I am also indebted to my many students who, year after year, begged for copies of the material presented in my classes and for a book on the subject, thus prompting me to put the material down in written form.

I wish to express grateful appreciation to Frances Brown who has been tireless in typing and retyping this manuscript and to Stella Terrill Mann whose encouragement, after care­fully studying the manuscript, gave us a new incentive. Others who read the manuscript and gave helpful suggestions were Cornelia W. Sherman and Suzanne Huntzinger.

J.E.A



This book had to be written. The need compelled it. The largest selling book in the English language is the Bible; and, yet, few people understand what it has to say. Because of this need, various translations have altered the original King James Version published in 1611. Some were helpful in cer­tain areas, but mostly they tended to lose the beautiful mys­tical feeling underlying the words of the King James Version. In each generation there have been those who felt that the language of the Bible was archaic, that it should be modern­ized. Modernizing the language helped some to better under­stand the Bible in a literal, or historic, way, but left large areas completely misunderstood, especially those areas where an understanding of symbols, parables, allegories and such are required.

The Bible is a compilation of treatises on nearly every facet of man’s life. Within its covers modern psychology will find all that it has to teach. It is the ultimate philosophy. It shows us how to commune with the unseen Power within each one of us. It shows us how to take dominion in our lives through the use of the Power. It is the story of every man in his journey through life, his mental and spiritual growth. The obstacles and problems he meets are presented in an under­standable way.
The mystics of the ages have rather sensed than interpreted the deep esoteric meanings hidden within certain words of the Bible. Never before has a usable, workable key been pre­sented. I humbly offer it here that the Bible may become a more understandable book, not just a book for the religious but a guidebook for every man. It may ultimately become man’s greatest possession, the answer book for every problem that can ever come into his experience.

That which I have to offer began with the discovery that modern-day readers were completely overlooking the mean­ings behind certain proper names of people and places, con­tinually featured in Biblical writing, meanings that the an­cient writers had taken for granted and assumed would always be understood. I found that certain numbers and common words had a repetitious use and that when their symbolic or esoteric meaning was understood, they opened up entirely new avenues of wisdom and understanding. Herein lies the key to the hidden mysteries that have been concealed in the Bible for so many years.

The first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah or Pentateuch, contain the foundation for the teaching of the entire Book. Once a basis of understanding is found for these five books, the balance of the Bible can be understood easily.
I have felt absolutely driven to write this book. For years I had attempted to come to grips with the Bible. While I gained inspiration and insight from reading it, it was not un­til I found the key to the inner meaning that I began to grasp the wisdom contained there. I did not attempt to become a stu­dent of the Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic, because I found that interpretations in Bible concordances, in Bible indexes, and Bible dictionaries, available to everyone, made this unneces­sary. Once certain key words were understood, I found them to be used in the same way consistently throughout the books of the Bible. Thus, the interpretation for one story provided a backlog of understanding for others.

The Bible is presented on three levels. There is something for everyone. On the obvious level there is history, rules of conduct, and beautiful literature; on the mental level there is enough philosophy to challenge the student forever; but on the spiritual level there is a whole new world of discovery awaiting the reader. Once the key to the deeper meaning is understood, one is able to enjoy the Bible without frustra­tion. The stories of Job and Jehoshaphat interpreted in this book are found to be great psychological dramas.

I would not disturb anyone’s thinking about the Bible, only open up new avenues for fresh discovery of the great Truths that lie therein. The Bible basically is a book of spirit­ual Truth. The things of the spirit are discerned by the spirit. There is something within each one that responds to the in­ner meaning, even though he may not know just what it is
.
We cannot remove the mysteries from the Bible any more than we can remove the mystery of life. The Bible is the book of life—your life and my life. It exudes a beauty and vitality that cannot be explained in mere words. The mystery of the Spirit will always bring its power into those who are seeking Truth through the Bible. By understanding the true mean­ing of the words and symbols, this power becomes more read­ily available. The great Invisible gives us a strength and an understanding beyond our knowing. Who can ever explain completely the mystery of God under-girding the life in which we live? The Bible, once the deeper meanings are understood, even in a measure, shows us how the mystery of God unfolds in the life and experience of each one of us.                               

Jack Ensign Addington
.


The Bible is the most important book that has ever been published. It has had more influence on history and has af­fected more people’s lives than any other book. It was not written by one person but, through divine Inspiration, it is the compilation of the thoughts and ideas of many whose words were passed down from generation to generation by mouth and by scroll. It did not receive publication for hun­dreds of years after the original words were conceived. Today we think of the Bible as being a part of the household of the Christian world. It is printed in many languages and each year more Bibles are sold than any other book, but few are read in comparison to the numbers sold. Many people feel that they ought to read it and try, but they give up because they do not understand it. Many of those who do read it take it literally, without knowing the inner meaning, and miss the best part.

How Some Have Studied the Bible

There are many people who devote their lives to studying the Bible. Some study it as history. Some try to prove its authenticity from an archeological viewpoint. Others can tell you just how many times a word appears in the Bible. Some have found certain passages that seem to foretell the modern free­ways, automobiles, airplanes, and even space travel. To many, the end of the world is clearly foretold and modern wars pre­dicted. As Jesus said about the Pharisees of his day who were also meticulous students, “verily . . . They have their re­ward.” Their interest and their complete absorption in the subject is, in itself, a reward. But there are richer and greater rewards for those who are willing to seek them.

An Open Mind Is Necessary

Have you shied away from the Bible, considering it a series of genealogies, bloodthirsty battles, and “thou shall nots” for the morally self-righteous? Have you considered that much of it was too colorful to be read aloud to the children? Do you have a casual acquaintance with the Psalms and a speak­ing acquaintance with the New Testament, but frankly never get around to reading the rest? Then, I would like to intro­duce you to the best guidebook to modern-day living that has ever been written. If you have thought that the Bible was dull, bewildering, contradictory, difficult and antiquated, I hope to show you in this book that the Bible is a storehouse of inspiration designed to fit every human need, a treasure trove of usable ideas, an infinite source of wisdom; most of all, a book of life, your life and my life.

Some of the Prejudices

It is important that we put aside all of our prejudices, our preconceived notions. Let’s see what some of them are.
Some have thought that since the Bible was written many years ago, everything that needs to be said about it has already been said—and should be respected. This prejudice should be set aside immediately if we wish to gain an understanding of the greatest of all books. We have just as much right as anyone to dig into the true meanings in the Bible, letting our own inner Wisdom guide us into right understanding.

Another preconceived notion is that the Bible is old-fashioned, having no application to today’s problems. Any­thing based on Truth is forever timely or applicable. Truth was revealed to the prophets of old just as it is revealed to us today and will always be revealed to all whose minds are open to receive it. The Bible is the best self-help textbook that has ever been written and its teaching applies to us today as if it were written for each one individually.

Another fallacy is that the Bible is contradictory. It is only contradictory on the exoteric side. To those who go beyond the physical and even the mental meaning into the hidden or esoteric meaning, there will be no contradiction. On the con­trary, it will all be drawn together, interrelated as basic Truth always is.

There are those who say it is dull and bewildering. So would we if we were to read a letter written in a secret code. It would not make very much sense to us, would it? Once we are given the secret code, the clues that open to us the hid­den meanings in the Bible, it becomes fascinating, an excit­ing adventure in self-discovery
.
Some dispose of the Bible in one fell swoop. It couldn’t have been written by God, they think, so there’s nothing of Truth there at all.

The Bible has been written by God, through man. The men who brought us the inspiration contained in the Bible were men who were willing to let themselves be used by the Spirit within for this purpose. Thus, there were many scribes but only one Author—one Author writing about Himself as Creator, Creative Medium and Creation. As one understands this, the Bible turns out to be an autobiography, the Life of God in each one of us.

There are those, brought up in religions not acceptable to their intelligence, who became completely prejudiced. These people might even feel guilty about studying the Bible, in the light of discovering new meaning beyond that given by the parents, lest they somehow damage the image of the parents.

Let us put aside all of these prejudices. Take the Bible as if it were completely new to us. Pretend that we have never heard of it before and start from there.

What the Bible Actually Is

Actually, the Bible is the story of YOUR LIFE AND MY LIFE. It is the unfolding of the spiritual life of every man. As one grows in spiritual perception, he grows into a deeper under­standing of the Bible. Each time he reads it, it contains a new and richer meaning. It is as if the pages come to life. What was once a gory battle becomes an allegory, giving the reader an insight into his own spiritual unfoldment. Jesus said that the enemies are all those of our own household. They are enemy thoughts of our own mental households which can be overcome by Truth. The Bible is the story of man’s journey from Paradise to Paradise. Along the way he meets all of the temptations and problems of everyday living. To quote from Judge Troward, a man with a deep understand­ing of the Bible:

The Bible is the Book of the Emancipation of Man. The emancipation of man means his deliverance from sorrow and sickness, from poverty, struggle, and uncertainty, from ignorance and limitation, and finally from death itself. This may appear to be what the euphuistic colloquialism of the day would call “a tall order,” but nevertheless it is im­possible to read the Bible with a mind unwrapped by antece­dent conceptions derived from traditional interpretation without seeing that this is exactly what it promises, and that it professes to contain the secret whereby this happy condi­tion of perfect liberty may be attained.

The Bible, which literally means THE BOOK, contains sixty-six books which tell in allegory, prophecy, epistle, parable and poem, man’s generation, degeneration and regeneration. Over and over again, from every conceivable approach, we read of the experience of each one of us as he seeks to dis­cover the Truth about himself and his relationship to Life
.
The first two chapters of Genesis (meaning the beginning) and the last two chapters of Revelation, the final book, tell of the will of God for man. In the beginning we find man created in the “image” and “likeness” of God and given do­minion “. . . over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” In Revelation we again have the vision of that perfection which rightfully belongs to man.

All the rest of the Bible is concerned with the journey of the soul back to its original awareness of perfection, man as a child of God. It is the story of the struggle of man who, cheated by the senses into thinking that satisfaction comes from without, struggles to exert his will against God, the infinite Goodness and Perfection within him.

Story after story describes man’s voluntary journey into bondage, the thing that happens to man when he chooses to become established in a consciousness apart from God. It is the story of the prodigal son; it is the story of the children of Israel, leaving their own lands, going down into Egypt into bondage and their great desire to get back to the promised land. This story is repeated over and over, like the theme in a symphony, in many different settings and circumstances so that each one wandering in the wilderness of unenlightened thought can find himself and his particular problem.

Through it all the Love of God seeks to reconcile man to Himself. God speaks through the prophets and all those who have ears to hear, offering to reclaim rebellious man and re­store him to the Kingdom of Heaven, that divine order of perfection, that dominion which is man’s rightful heritage as a child of God. This is the regeneration. It is not that man has really ever been lost; it is only that he has chosen to think of himself as separated from his Maker. It has seemed easier to him to trust in the evidence of his senses rather than the Truth of his Being.

Man’s Divinity

The gift of God has already been given to man—absolute per­fection, dominion over life. Made in the image and likeness of God, he has all of the attributes of God inherent within him—infinite Intelligence, omnipotent Power and omnipres­ent Love; but, given the power of choice, it is up to him to accept it for himself.

In the twenty-first chapter of Revelation the true state o£ bliss intended for man is revealed to John.

And I saw a new heaven [within] and a new earth [with­out]: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea [former consciousness].

And I John saw the holy city [awareness of wholeness], new Jerusalem [inner peace], coming down from God out of heaven [within], prepared as a bride adorned for her hus­band
.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men [God lives in men], and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people [thought], and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things [state of halfness and imperfection] are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne [the God Self within ‘that has dominion] said, Behold, I make all things new. . . .
—Revelation 21:1–5

Spiritual rebirth makes all things new. Never again will anything seem the same. Through the dominion of God, the true Self within, man is given dominion, that dominion which is his birthright.

The Principal Character Throughout

Who do you think is the principal character in this marvelous Book to end all books; It is God. But how can that be when it is the story of my life? you ask. It is the story of God in you. The mountain tops, the wilderness, the Egypt, the flowering in the desert are all in you. To explain, we must start as the Book of Genesis starts, “In the beginning God. . . .” God is all there is, the only Cause, the only Creator, the only Sub­stance, the only Intelligence. It was all made by God out of God, “. . . and without him was not any thing made that was made.” So let’s start where everything starts, with God.

An Old Legend

There is an old legend that explains man’s confusion regard­ing his divinity. It begins by asserting that mankind was created according to a divine pattern, a very special creation unlike any other; upright, endowed with Mind, given to understand and know the goodness, the perfection of Life and all created things; with eyes to perceive the good, the true, and the beau­tiful; with ears to hear the gorgeous symphony of the planets as they spin in their orbits, the songs of the birds and the sighing of the wind and the still small voice of his Maker; with speech to command and sing the praises of his God; with emotion and rapturous feelings of love and compassion; en­dowed with admiration for the marvelous beauty of the manifest universe and all it contains. The power of right action and unlimited accomplishments are his. All of these magnificent gifts were combined and many others were in­stalled in a beautiful body temple of intricate and perfect design
.
This masterpiece finished, the old legend goes, it remained to hide the eternal spark of divine Life. Should God hide the spark of life eternal in the outermost star of the universe, or in the uttermost depths of the ocean? And God decided that the place where man would be least likely to look, until he had grown in Grace to the stage where he could be trusted, was within the heart of himself. For when he would be wise enough to look within, he would be ready to receive the Im­minence of God within himself.

Understanding the Meaning of the Christ

This is the meaning of the prophecy of Isaiah as quoted in Matthew:

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being in­terpreted is, God with us —Matthew 1:23; see also Isaiah 7:14

This is the Christ, God in us, Spirit individualized in and through man. In the Old Testament, God in man is called Jehovah God; in the New Testament, the Christ.

God and I in space alone
And nobody else in view.
“And where are the people, O Lord?” I said.
“The earth below and the sky o’erhead
And the dead whom once I knew?”

“That was a dream,” God smiled and said,
“A dream that seemed to be true,
There were no people, living or dead,
There was no earth and no sky o’erhead
There was only myself—and you.”
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “Illusion”

God in You Is Personal to You

If God is all in all, over all, and through all, the only Cause, the only Intelligence and, of necessity, the only Substance, then God at your point of awareness must be personal to you. Each person, each country, each battle is a state of conscious­ness which you encounter in Mind
.
You will be hearing more about the nature of God in you, at your point of awareness, as we go along. You will come to know Him so intimately that you will at last understand why the personal pronoun is used to describe the Omnipresence.

At our house we read the Bible, not because it is the pious thing to do, but because we consider it the most interesting reading we have ever found. Once one discovers that God in YOU is the principal character in every one of the Bible stories, once one discovers the key to the hidden meaning of the Bible, he embarks on a treasure hunt. You will enjoy this treas­ure hunt more if you will look up the references given in your Bible so that we may explore them together. You will find it is like unscrambling exciting instructions leading to buried treasure.

Once we have found the secret, something happens. All of a sudden the Bible is not just a series of disjointed writings, but an integrated study of man’s spiritual journey from Para­dise to Paradise. Man, created perfect in the beginning; seem­ingly dispossessed through his own ignorance; now, step by step, finding his own way back to his original perfection. At last he finds the New Jerusalem, the possession of Peace, or what we would call the awareness of Peace. The Bible comes to life when it is discovered that it is the story of our own individual spiritual growth here and now.