1 After these things the word of YHVH came to Abram in a vision, "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."
Once the lower consciousness and the higher consciousness are united, the individual is capable of communicating with the divine.
2 But Abram said, "O Lord YHVH, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
3 And Abram said, "Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir."
The initial ability to communicate does not mean that the individual can understand all the workings of the spiritual forces, however.
4 And behold, the word of YHVH came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir."
This communication is meant to teach the individual to have faith in the invisible, which is the things that are created in the mind that have not yet manifested. Having faith in them means being confident that those mental creations will manifest.
5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
Learning this lesson increases the individual’s spiritual power and through that, the ability to control his\her own life. This increase in power is symbolized by the large number of descendants promised to Abram.
6 And he believed YHVH; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.
By understanding this truth, the individual learns to have faith in the invisible. This gives him\her the strength of will to see the mental creations through to physical manifestation.
7 And he said to him, "I am YHVH who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess."
At this point, the collective spiritual forces within are able to explain that they were able to increase the individual’s spiritual power because of his/her understanding of them (Ur). From this understanding, the consciousness expands into other parts of the mind which enables these areas to also be governed.
8 But he said, "O Lord YHVH, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"
The individual may still not understand how this whole process works. This is symbolized by Abram’s questioning.
9 He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
The animals (accept the birds) symbolize the remaining animal tendencies in the consciousness of the individual.
10 And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
The birds symbolize the desire to seek higher states of understanding. These should not be harmed by the individual because they are needed for continued enlightenment.
11 And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
The birds of prey symbolize the desire to again indulge in the lower animal habits, which are dead by this time. They are symbolized by the dead animals. This practice should be avoided, which is symbolized by Abram driving away the birds of prey.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him.
The sun going down symbolizes the focus shifting from the waking world to the activity of the subconscious…dreams.
13 Then YHVH said to Abram, "Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years;
Through the dream the individual learns that the soul is growing in power because of the focus placed on Spirit. The descendants spoken of hear are the vital forces of the body. These forces are kept in the state of feeding the animal consciousness (slaves) by that state of mind.
14 but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
This state, however, will be purified by Spirit, once the focus is again placed on the pure spiritual consciousness. The judgment spoken of here is the negative manifestations in the body (illness) caused by the trapping of the spiritual forces and keeping them from flowing freely throughout the body. Once these are freed, allowing them to reach higher states of being, the spiritual powers of the individual (great possessions) will be strengthened.
15 As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
Once this is done, the individual will have peace of mind and a lengthened life span.
16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
The spiritual forces returning to this place symbolizes the continued purification of them that is needed because of the constant recreation of lower thought patterns which are focused on the desires of the flesh. These continue to need purification throughout the life of the individual. This is symbolized by the ordeal of the Amorites not yet being complete.
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
The smoking fire pot and flaming torch symbolize the purification of the spiritual forces which at first manifest as sexual desires and illumination of the mind produced by this purification.
18 On that day YHVH made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
The entire domain of the mind, from the seat of the vital forces (Egypt), fed by the Divine Mind (Euphrates),
19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
the part of the subconscious that contains the animalistic thoughts which contain the measure of judgment and higher impulse needed to purify them (Kenites), the thoughts having to do with the animal nature (Kenizzites), the thoughts about life that are incorrect and animalistic (Kadmonites),
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
fearful opposing thoughts (Hittites), the thoughts that seem to be opposed to Spirit but are capable of being redeemed (Perizzites), the seeming strength of the binding, fear-producing, opposing thoughts (Raphaim),
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."
Thoughts focused on sexual reproduction (Amorites), the urges of the body (Canaanites), the materialistic thought patterns held by those who are ignorant of their spiritual nature (Girgashites), and the spiritual center in consciousness subjected to carnal thoughts, beliefs, and desires (Jebusites). All of these will eventually be transmuted and purified (belong to Abram).