Three Scripture passages that suggest divine union

I wrote previously about a potential view of Christianity's "original sin" as referring to estrangement from The Divine. Alternately, there are some passages in the Gospels that suggests Christ was suggesting the possibility of divine union through participation in his cultus.

1. Matthew 16:28: "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till the see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

This is sometimes interpreted as Jesus believing that his reign as the Messiah of Israel--that is, his physical kingdom in the real world--was imminent, and the expectation by some of his disciples that they would live (or at least some of them would) to partake in that new kingdom. This expectation, of course, was turned on its head by the death of Jesus. Thus, then, this prophecy was unfulfilled.

Alternately, we could conceivably eke out an esoteric meaning to this passage: namely that it is possible for followers of the cultus (even those today) to obtain a glimpse into the divine kingdom, even prior to their physical death. That is, they will witness "the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

But what is this kingdom, then, if it is not physical? Consider Jesus's reply to Pilate, when asked if he is a king. "My kingdom is not of this world."

2. Luke 17:21. "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." 

This passage comes from one of Jesus's responses to the Pharisees, who question when the kingdom of God should arrive. Perhaps they were trying to bait him into confessing his designs on being the Messiah. This same expectation, however, is woven throughout Christianity, as if Jesus was anticipating the Harold Campings of the world, namely those sects that would make precise predictions about the end days.

Don't buy this jive, Jesus seems to say. Because the kingdom is not a physical place. It is not in spacetime. Rather, it is state of being. Couple with the saying above, this implies that divine union is both achievable, at least partially, in this life, and that this state, "the kingdom," is within the soul.

3. John 1:12. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."

That's a bold claim. Followers of the cultus, then, are to become sons of God. But isn't it only Jesus that is the son of God, according to some doctrines? I'm not clear as to the exact original words in this passage (Greek), but it calls to mind the "Bene Elohim," or other divine or semi-divine beings that are arrayed around the most high. Angels, maybe? Is this the same convocation found meeting in the book of Job of the Old Testament, where the Enemy busts in on the party? At any rate, there's support for this passage can be found in Luke 20:36, where followers of the cultus are "equal to the angels." Either way, a powerful claim, namely that they are transformed into a semi-divine status.

None of this is to say for certain that these esoteric interpretations were what Jesus or his followers had in mind, but rather that there are some interesting passages hinting at divine union not entirely unlike that found in the later Neoplatonists such as Iamblichus.

All references KJV. 

Wolfsblood

I dreamed a former colleague who now lives in South Carolina called me up. His parents, who still lived up here, were apparently going to be giving him a substantial sum of money each month. But there was one catch: He and his young family would be compelled to live under the same roof as his sister and her family in a particular house. He was calling to ask my advice. Should he do it?

He mentioned that when he and his sister were young, they were so close and were called by neighbors on the block "The Wolfsblood." He kept mentioning that word to me: Wolfsblood, Wolfsblood.