Biblical Alchemy: Distillation (Stage 6)

"May God give you the dew of heaven and the fertile richness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine." Genesis 27: 28

After the spiritual awakening in the alchemical stage of conjunction, we may find ourselves disoriented in the world during the fermentation process as our consciousness experiences death and resurrection into new life. In our parallel biblical narratives, Israel crossed the Jordan River into the promised land without their leader, and Jesus' death left his disciples with crushed expectations. These deaths opened the door to a new reality, but a dark night of the soul followed as heaven and earth collided together. Now our old divided way of seeing the world no longer exists. Just as Jesus prayed, we are now seeing "thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." In the next stage of distillation, we learn how to live in both aspects of reality at once. We learn to see the kingdom of heaven while walking upon the earth.

For the Israelites, their entrance into the promised land was met with opposition. Giants and opposing armies would challenge their claim to this land. The Israelites' conquest of Canaan represents a purification of the land where heaven and earth were meant to exist as one - in a sort of microcosm of God's cosmic temple. This land is intended to serve as a shining city on a hill and be an example to the world of humans living as God's image-bearers. But first the Israelites are learning to trust their purpose and identity as they move towards their inheritance of the land. Before the land is eventually unified under the proto-messiah figure of King David, Israel will be distilled in the heat of battle and conflict.

In the story of Jesus following his crucifixion, Jesus appears to his disciples in resurrected form. He is not immediately recognizable to those who followed him during his life. A new way of seeing is now required to recognize the Christ standing before them. Jesus stands among his disciples with one foot in heaven and one foot on earth. He instructs them to go into the whole world and proclaim the good news that the kingdom of heaven is here on earth, that what was true for Israel is true for the entire world. They are sent out to invite all of humanity to have one foot in heaven and one foot on earth. In Christ, humanity and divinity are joined together as true divine image-bearers. Despite great opposition and persecution, they preach the message of the kingdom and perform the baptism ritual modeling death and resurrection into a new life. As they do this, many experience the divine spirit indwelling their bodies as humanity and divinity become one. This conquest is not for an earthly kingdom obtained through acts of violence, but rather to usher in the kingdom of heaven on earth through acts of love.

The idea behind this distillation process is that enlightenment is not an escape from life. The death of the individual ego isn't the end of life, but rather the beginning. Once we see the unified and inclusive nature of reality, we then have the task of living our lives in a way that reflects this truth. There will be opposition and struggle, but that resistance will help us to see those areas where we might still cling to old ego-centric patterns. Jesus tells Mary Magdalene after his resurrection, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended." In order to live in the nexus of heaven and earth, we can cling to neither. Jesus did not cling to his divinity and Mary could not cling to his humanity. Once we are ready to accept this, then the final stage of alchemy begins. Then the pure gold of consciousness, the so-called philosophers' stone, is found.

"Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common." Acts 4:32