Mary was a young, pure, chaste Jewish girl. While she was still a young virgin, Simon, a Pharisee and church leader, had seduced her and corrupted her purity. As she tried to recover from this unspeakable incident she grew up with confused and mixed feelings toward men, especially those that were of the clergy. Her hatred toward such hypocrites led her into a life of rebellion and sin, becoming a nymphomaniac. Eventually, she was possessed with seven devils. She saw herself as a complete failure and was unable to control her tendency to gratify the lust of the flesh. She fell deeper into sin and despair.

When we see Mary as a type of the Church, we can see how the pure unadulterated truth the Church had in her beginning was corrupted by the very men that were her leaders. The priesthood became corrupt in their dealings with the Church (congregation) and seduced her with their lies, fulfilling their own fleshly lust for power and gain. The Spirit of Prophecy was no longer heeded and the works of the Shekhinah were profaned by the ideas and interpretations of men who strive for power and wealthy gain. The woman's purity was corrupted by the unsatiable lust of her spiritual leaders.

MARY WAS POSSESSED OF SEVEN DEVILS

The counsel that is given to the seven churches in Revelation are seven different devils or sins that the growing Church had experienced, mainly through her leadership. These sins can be listed as follows:

1) Ephesus -- "I have this against you that you have left your first love." -- Revelation 2:4

2) Smyrna -- "I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan." -- Revelation 2:9

3) Pergamos -- "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication." -- Revelation 2:14

4) Thyatira -- "Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols." -- Revelation 2:20

5) Sardis -- " Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." -- Revelation 3:2-3

6) Philadelphia -- Here we see that the Lord has made a way for her to be redeemed; He rebukes those leaders that are not of God, but of the synagogue of Satan. " I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." -- Revelation 3:8-9

7) Laodicea -- "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." -- Revelation 3:15-18

When the Saviour came into Mary's life He forgave her her sins and prayed for her seven times that the seven devils controlling her life would leave her alone. His prayers empowered her with the indwelling of His Spirit and her purity and dignity were restored.

Mary saw the power of His love resurrect her brother Lazarus from the grave and heal Simon the leper from a living death. She recognized her life of sin and death and cried out in repentance unto her Saviour to take away her sin and guilt and mend her heart broken with the distrust of the leading men and the despair of her hopelessness. With His Spirit of Grace and His Righteous Love He raised her to newness of life, renewing her mind and washing her heart in the stream of living waters flowing from the Seat of Mercy in His very being; baptizing her in His Righteousness with His Spirit.

THE ALABASTER BOX CONTAINED A MOST PRECIOUS OINTMENT

Mary (the Church) recognized what a wonderfully glorious unselfish act her Saviour had come to earth to perform on her behalf. Her spirit was overwhelmed with love and gratitude toward the Source of Life and her heart was constrained to show her affection for Him. But what do you give to the Creator and Redeemer of your soul? Mary willed to do what she could in love and gratitude for her Lord and Master. She was inspired to buy a costly alabaster box containing "a most precious ointment".

The American Heritage Dictionary states: "al-a-bas-ter noun. A dense, translucent, white or tinted fine-grained gypsum. [Egypt 'a-la-Baste, " vessel of (the goddess) Baste"].

Smith's Bible Dictionary states: "Alabaster, from the Arabic al bastraton, a whitish stone, or from Alabastron, the place in Egypt where it is found.... The ancients considered alabaster to be the best material in which to preserve their ointments. The Oriental alabaster (referred to in the Bible) is a translucent carbonate of lime formed on the floor of limestone caves by the percolation of water."

The alabaster box was made of a white earthen material. It symbolized the Saviour's pure righteous humanity. Within this vessel was contained the "precious ointment" signifying His indwelling Divinity, the Shekhinah -- the indwelling Goddess. The Second Adam, Yeshua the Messiah was the alabaster box, "the vessel of the Goddess."

Inspiration states:

"As the alabaster box was broken, and filled the whole house with its fragrance, so Christ was to die, His body was to be broken; but He was to rise from the tomb, and the FRAGRANCE OF HIS LIFE (THE SHEKHINAH) was to FILL the EARTH (lighten the whole earth with His Glory). Christ 'hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.' Ephesians 5:2." -- Desire of Ages, p 563

THE HOLY SPIRIT'S SUBLIME ACT

Mary, acting under the direction of the Holy Spirit took the alabaster box and broke it, pouring its precious contents upon the head and feet of her Saviour; then, as she knelt weeping, moistening them with her tears, she wiped His feet with her long, flowing hair. This act of anointing the Messiah and washing His feet pointed forward to not only His death and burial but also His resurrection. Mary acted out the part the Shekhinah was to play in cleansing the Lamb from all the sins humanity (the church) placed upon Him and caused His eternal death. After the Second Adam finished His sacrificial act and gave up His Spirit, the Shekhinah, His Divine Presence offered His blood before the Father and Mother in Heaven as a sweet smelling savor, "a most precious ointment" Whose fragrance filled the Most Holy Place in the Heavenly Sanctuary. On the morrow after the weekly Sabbath the Shekhinah returned to His earthly tomb (alabaster box) to break it and release His anointed body from the prison house of sin and death.

The tears that Mary shed represented the love of the Holy Spirit, an everflowing stream of living water that flows from Her Heart of Mercy on behalf of Her children to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. The Shekhinah wept over Yeshua, the Lover of Her Soul, Who was separated from Her because of the sins of humanity. She wept with Him as He died of a broken heart. He believed that our sins would separate Them for all eternity. Our Creator took the second death on our behalf. What manner of love is this? The human mind cannot fathom its depth and beauty. This is the mystery of godliness, the plan for our salvation; the Story of Redemption; the Story of the Re-Creation, mankind At-One-Ment with God. Only a love for the Saviour as was expressed by Mary Magdalene can bring us to even begin to understand the price that was paid by the Godhead to redeem and restore mankind in Their Image and Likeness.

THE BRIDEGROOM AND HIS BRIDE

When we realize how great was the sacrifice the Creator made to restore to the Woman (Church) her purity and dignity, we will see the fullness of the Gospel and the finishing of the Atonement as a beautiful Love Story of the Bridegroom and His Bride. Yeshua came to cleanse the Church (Jewish) of her fornications and idolatry (seven devils) that She might be purified and receive Him as the Lover of Her Soul.

The Church leaders up until the Saviour's time had used and abused Her for their own gain and She was under their control. Yeshua released Her from this bondage of sin and barrenness and took the reins of leadership into His Own hands, setting up the pure Apostolic Church at His resurrection with the Wavesheaf. The Shekhinah raised Him and the other witnesses from death, thereby, re-establishing Her purity and taking the responsibility of Her own future.

Since then the Church experienced the sins (seven devils) brought out in Revelation and we find ourselves plagued with the last devil in the church of Laodicea.

We find that the leadership rejected the sublime demonstration of Mary's love for her Lord and said it was an extravagant display and that she was wasting that "most precious ointment".

History is repeating itself. Is this not what the leadership of Laodicea said in 1888 when "a most precious message" came to a woman disciple, Ellen White, about the Healing Grace of the Saviour? When she endorsed this message and saw the purity and beauty of her Lord's character she was ridiculed and criticized by the majority in the leadership at that time.

Since this message is to be repeated by the Revelation 18:1 Angel and is to fill the whole earth with His Glorious Fragrance, let us pray that the Simons and Judases of today realize Who this Woman is of Whom Mary was a type and what Her work is in the finishing up of the gospel message, the good news of the Atonement. Let us pray that they see this Woman as the Shekhinah, His Divine Presence, Who comes to impart the robe of His Righteous Character to a repentant and appreciative body of believers. If the leaders criticize this Woman -- the Shekhinah -- for Her sublime act of cleansing and glorifying the Body of His Believers, Yeshua as Judge and King will not only spew them out of His mouth, but the Holy Spirit will surely take their life from them as She did to Annanias ans Saphira when they lied to Her. Thus the Church, the Woman, will purify Herself from sinners and the unclean.

Woe unto the leaders who trust in their own reasoning and hear not what the Spirit of Prophecy is saying unto them. Simon humbled himself and he did repent of his pride. And so did all the disciples saving one, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed his Lord and sinned against the Holy Ghost. Woe unto those who would rather be clothed with worldly riches and honor than the glorious robe of Righteousness.

May the Lords of Hosts renew our minds and regenerate our hearts that we might corporately repent of the abominations done in our own lives and have our sin and uncleanness removed, so that our Father and Mother, the Creator, Yeshua and His Shekhinah, will be united with Their righteous children. Amen and Amen!

THE BRIDE MAKES HERSELF READY

On the Day of Pentecost the Other Comforter was sent down to earth to complete the work that Yeshua began in His followers. The Shekhinah, His Divine Presence, was now engaged with Him in the work of the purification and the restoration of Their creation. The Bride of the Creator was separated from Him until Their work of cleansing and purification is complete. In Revelation chapter 19 we read:

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." -- Revelation 19:7-9

Here we see that the marriage of the Lamb has come and that His Wife has made Herself ready. She is wearing fine linen clean and white which is the righteousness of the saints. Notice that it does not say that His bride has made Herself ready, but that His wife has prepared Herself for marriage. A woman is not called a wife until she is married. A man can marry his wife when he remarries her after a divorce or separation or if they wish to rededicate themselves to one another publicly. When a king who has already married a woman takes his throne, it was the custom in ancient times that he marry his wife before his subjects as part of the enthronement ceremony. Here we have an implication that the King of kings is to remarry His wife, the Shekhinah, publicly and that She was granted or given the right to wear clean white linen (as Her veil or train) which symbolizes the righteousness of the saints, Their subjects. Can this be substantiated from Scripture, or is it a cunningly devised fable? Let us read in Isaiah chapter 50 for the irrefutable answer:

"Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away." -- Isaiah 50:1

What an incredible revelation as to who we are, and yet more so, Who They are!! Here the Lord is asking us where is the divorcement contract of our Mother (the Shekhinah)? In other words, there was no divorcement between Them. There is no divorcement paper! The Lord says, "It is not I that sold you, but you have sold yourselves to Satan and are his slaves to sin. And because you are sold unto sin you have put your Mother, My wife away from My Presence." Since humanity was still sinning after Our Lord was resurrected and had ascended into heaven to represent us before His Father, our Mother, the Shekhinah, the Other Comforter (Parent) was sent to this sin sick earth to care for and comfort Her children. She sits on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant which has been secreted in a cave from which She directs the work of restoration and purification, through Her ministering spirits, the angelic host who are the guardians and protectors of mankind. The Shekhinah is in Her secret chamber, as a bride hides in her closet, to prepare herself for her groom through the various forms of purification and cleansing rites the law requires she must undertake.

The Shekhinah was sent down to earth on the Day of Pentecost, and it was announced that She had come to engage with the Saviour in the work of purifying His earthly Temple, the Body of believers He died to ransom. As the Spirit of Prophecy leads us into all Truth, convicts us of sin and gives us the power to overcome its curse and uncleanness in our hearts and minds, She will also be cleansing Her earthly Sanctuary or dwelling place made up of lively stones.

Each one of us is bought with a price and our body is not our own. We are a temple of the Holy Spirit, an alabaster box, an earthly sanctuary in which the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence and fragrance of the Saviour is to dwell. She sits on the mercy seat of our mind and heart and governs our body temple. As our sinful characters are cleansed and we are clothed with the righteous character of our Saviour, She simultaneously cleanses the veil in our body temple and Her own stained garments which She will wear at Her wedding. When She has cleansed us, by the renewing of our minds and hearts, She is granted or given the right "to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of saints" (Rev 19:8).

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." --- Malachi 4:5,6 (NIV)

ELIJAH -- the Spirit and Power of the Almighty -- turns the heart of Yeshua toward His children. Through obedience to Her the Shekhinah turns the rebellious hearts of Her children toward their Father. Only a Mother, the Mother of All the Living, Who has given us spiritual life through our spiritual birth, could accomplish such an act of love and mercy. She renews our stoney hearts to hearts of flesh, thereby restoring us to the perfect and holy Image of our Everlasting Father and Creator. Her mercy and compassion covers our unrighteous behavior. With Her own robe of righteousness She covers Her disobedient children as a mother hides her children behind her skirt or apron from their father's deserved punishment. The Father then only sees the Mother's mercy and love covering His disobedient children.

Our Father can see the mercy and love of the Holy Ghost only when His children choose to hide behind Her righteous covering. Thus, She justifies Her children before their Father, the righteous Judge, Who only sees Her Glory when He looks down from His Throne of Judgment. His heart is turned towards them, for they know and acknowledge their Mother as their only Intercessor and as the Father's Helpmate. The Father is so moved by the respect and obedience given by the children to their Mother that He grants them pardon. They have met the requirements of His law and have been justified and restored to His good graces through the Intercession of the Angel of Mercy, the Shekhinah.

Here again is demonstrated to us the dual work of the Atonement with its two sacrifices -- the sin offering and the live offering (two turtle doves, two goats); two intercessors -- Yeshua and Yeshuw'ah; two priests -- one of the order and one after the order of Melchizedek; two sanctuaries -- the heavenly and the earthly made of lively stones; two laws -- the moral and the ceremonial, the Decalogue and the Gospel; and the two Arks of the Covenant -- the one in heaven and the one in the earth, the replica made by Moses. Through the At-One-Ment humanity and divinity will be made One again. The heavenly and the earthly Family are to be united in harmonious praise and exaltation of Their Creators and Redeemers forever more. Amen and Amen!