Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!usc!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: root@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (System Manager) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: "... and upon this rock ..." Message-ID: Date: 29 Oct 90 07:00:20 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: School of Chemical Sciences, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Lines: 38 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu As far as the meaning of the words: "... and upon this rock I shall build my church!", we must first pause to consider the fact that the Mission of Jesus was of a *spiritual* nature, and that His words therefore can best be grasped in their spiritual meaning. For example, "Unless a man be born again ...", "My kingdom is not of this world", "This generation shall not pass ...", "I am the resurrection ...", "Take up the cross (of truth) ...", as well as the meaning of many of His parables are all best understood in the spiritual sense. Thus, when Jesus spoke of the "rock", He was making simple reference to the *spiritual* form of the *conviction* which Peter expressed with his words: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!" It was the conviction that was and is the rock, and not Peter himself in a personal sense, a was *interpreted* by Matthew, for instance. Peter was simply the first one to declare his conviction, and the response of Jesus was to indicate that the foundation for His Church *in the spiritual sense* was just this strong conviction about Jesus and His Message. Obviously, someone attaining to such a conviction would naturally then try to understand and live solely in accordance with the Word of Jesus, and thus receive the *key* to the Kingdom of Heaven. And those to whom Peter could later on mediate his conviction, would also therewith receive the same key. This process is a simple and natural spiritual happening, which is neither bound up with Peter, nor dependent upon him! He was simply the first one to state his conviction, and thereby elicit the explanation from Jesus. Thus, it is not correct to claim that a particular earthly church had been therewith founded by Jesus. Take His words in the spiritual sense, and you will find the right meaning, and not otherwise! The source of my knowledge is the Grail Message, "In the Light of Truth", by Abd-ru-shin, which is available to all serious seekers, and which is the sole authority for all questions of a spiritual nature! Best regards, Mark Sandrock