The Gospel of Matthew
It is perhaps appropriate for us to examine the Words of Jesus from an objective standpoint and through that glean an idea of the real reason for His Coming. It is reasonable to assume that by examining His Words ourselves we will be able to arrive at a reasonable conclusion as to the true nature of His Mission. As mentioned earlier, Jesus went into the wilderness at a particular point in His Life to gain more clarification as to the nature of His Mission and also as to the nature of His origin. After gaining clarification, He went among the people to fulfil His Mission. It is however this Mission and its nature that most people have not understood. The true Mission of Jesus many have asserted was just to come to earth, die and carry the sins of mankind on Himself without further ado. In fact, this is the prevailing conception and no one has thought for thousands of years to challenge this notion. It has been accepted as the norm in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. It is better if we take nothing for granted but make the effort to examine Jesus’ Word to see if perhaps His sole intention was to die and carry humanity’s sin on His shoulders. This calls for a sentence by sentence examination of the Word of Jesus something akin to a commentary.
Gospel of MatthewThe Beginning of Jesus’ MissionFrom Matthew 4:17 we read “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” From the first words that He uttered, He set the tone that was to characterize His mission. It was to be a mission to teach people, to admonish and adjure them to change for the better. Here He was telling the people of Israel and for that matter anyone who cared to listen to change for the better. To become better human beings because the Kingdom of God, which is akin to a Judgement was at hand, was near. This was like a warning to the people to make haste before a terrible Judgement overtakes them. Nowhere here do you hear anything even close to the taking of anyone’s sins. We were to repent and change for the better if we wanted to see the new Kingdom of God. Matthew 4:23-25, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people….” This paragraph speaks for itself; Jesus taught in synagogues and was preaching the good news of the Kingdom. He complemented these teachings with the healing of the sick. Here we must realise that the miracles that Jesus performed were an adjunct and in fact a necessary adjunct to His Teaching. It was meant to instil belief and faith in the power of God still further in the people. Seeing the miracles, the people were meant to ponder over these events and come to a conclusion that only He who worked in Divine Power could accomplish such deeds. So He walked among the people taught them and healed the ailing. He announced to them that the new Kingdom of God was to be established on earth, but that in order for them to see this Kingdom, they would have to change for the better. They would have to be pure at heart. They would have to make the efforts themselves if they were to make it. The miracles that He performed and the Power in His words attracted people from diverse areas from the north of the country which is Galilee to the east comprising the Decapolis which is a region of ten Hellenistic cities; to the south as far as Jerusalem and also to other countries as far as Syria. top The BeatitudesMatthew 5: 3-12
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven. The Beatitudes show the overriding Message of Jesus. They are words of encouragement for those who are already on the right path. A word of encouragement for the poor in spirit, those perhaps who are about to give up the spiritual struggle. A word for those who are spiritually alive enough to feel the suffering of others and also who possess enough love within them to actually feel the loss of a loved one. He also offered a word of encouragement for the meek, those who have retained the simplicity of their spirits. These are actually the ones who will remain when all the arrogant and proud have passed away. If you show mercy, mercy will also be shown to you. This is reminiscent of the Lord’s Prayer “Lord forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. This is a prerequisite. We must show mercy to others if we are expected to receive any merciful dispensations from God. This is actually a Law that we must learn to obey. He who fulfils this Law is on the right path. Those who seek after righteousness are those who seek to know the Laws of God and adjust their lives to those Laws. To be righteous has nothing to do with arrogance or vaingloriously looking down on your neighbour, thinking that you are better than him. It is the condition of consciously making the spiritual effort to be a better human being through the knowledge of the Laws of God. It is the conscious decision to adhere to the Laws of God through the deed. Those who are too indolent to seek after righteousness will never come to know these Laws of God and as a result will never come to know how to adjust themselves in this Creation. Through the beatitudes Jesus gave us directions as to how to live from then on in order to be pleasing to God. We have to be simple (meek); we have to be merciful and we must hunger and thirst after righteousness. We must seek knowledge but not the hitherto intellectual knowledge that mankind has enslaved itself to but a different kind of knowledge. We must seek spiritual knowledge. It is this knowledge that is wholly lacking in mankind of today and has led to the disaster that we see before us. top The pure in heart are those people who have made the effort to keep their intuitions pure. Those who have refused to engage in evil thoughts, words or deeds. To be pure in heart as we also know is to be pure within, to be pure in spirit. This has nothing to do with physical chastity. What good will it do if we keep the physical body chaste by avoiding sexual intercourse but engage in evil thoughts, words or actions. We will obviously never be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven in such a state. This therefore is another commandment from Jesus adjuring us to keep our hearts, our spirits pure by making the effort to be good, to avoid evil in our thoughts words or deeds. He said that blessed be those who are pure in heart and as such this blessing is the reward for those who obey this commandment. This is similar to what Jesus later told the disciples about the fact that what defilleth a man is not what he consumes but what comes out of him in the form of his thoughts, words or deeds. We get defiled because our thoughts, words and deeds are realities which shape themselves according to the nature of the thought or deed. If evil they are ugly and dark and are attached to our spirits thereby burdening the spirit and dragging it down. If good, the are light and they beautify the garment of the spirit. Because God is Purity, such pure persons are admitted to His vicinity and will be permitted to witness things which will forever be closed to those not so pure. It is obvious then from this that if our goal is to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we must make the effort to be pure in heart. No other route leads to the proximity of God. The impure are confined to the lower regions corresponding to their natures and will never be able to participate in the purity that animates Paradise. Given the situation prevalent in the world today it is inconceivable that war or conflict is the solution to anything. The blessings of God can only flourish in a peaceful environment and those who work to promote this peace shall be adopted as children of God. In fact the ultimate goal of the human spirit is this adoption. Working so that peace reigns for all mankind in small and in great things is one of the most important duties that we can be engaged in; because by so doing we promote and provide a suitable soil for the gradual establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. The blessings of God will not be anchored on a soil riddled with terror and ravaged by conflict. We must see to it that peace reigns. It is our duty. Again the importance of seeking after righteousness, that seeking to improve oneself spiritually is pointed out by Jesus. Not only that but we must not allow ourselves to be diverted from the chosen path. Even when persecuted because of our beliefs and because of our efforts to be different from others in our willingness to adhere ourselves to the Laws of God. There will be detractors and there will be persecutors but we are adjured to persevere and bear it all. It is nothing new. It is always the case that those who cannot bring themselves to make the effort to adhere to the Laws of God will scoff and will try to hurt in ways often unexpected. It is our duty not to let ourselves weaken as a result of their attacks. The reward is great, what is a short time on earth compared to the eternal life, which adherence to the Laws of God bestows. top Warning to believersHe went further Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men….” Those who adhere to the Laws of God are the best of mankind. Because of their closeness to spiritual heights they will be given abilities which only they can have. These abilities sets them apart and allows them to accomplish great things among men. People are meant to take notice of such men who are meant to be examples for all mankind. God accomplishes great deeds through them and men are to learn to recognise God through their actions. Through their activities, these gifted ones are to bring men to God. Men will come to see the greatness of God through them. Such people should also proclaim God boldly. They should never hide their talents. They should be conscious of it and use it for the benefit of mankind while at the same time recognising that all blessings come from God. There is also a note of warning to these blessed ones. They must exert themselves to maintain their positions. The slightest deviation from a continued adherence to the Laws of God will lead to a downfall whereby they lose all that they were privy to. They lose all their privileges and they no longer stand before mankind as examples. In fact they become useless with no more role to play in the further upliftment of mankind. Such people will be cast out. top Fulfilment of the Laws of GodMatthew 5: 17-20 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till Heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Many people have misinterpreted the first two lines as meaning that here Jesus was saying that He had come to fulfil the prediction concerning His death when He said that he had not come to overthrow but to fulfil the laws. This however, is not the case. The laws that Jesus was referring to was the Laws of God as they manifest in this Creation. He who enters Creation be it even a Son of God has to place himself voluntarily under these Laws. Nothing can go beyond the ambit of the Laws of God. Jesus by incarnating on earth voluntarily submitted to the Laws of God as they manifest here. He was part of these Laws and it would not even have occurred to Him to think of going beyond or against them. The question of the prediction of His death is an entirely different matter to which we shall come presently. He who takes on a physical body is subject to all the Laws to which this body is subject. It will hunger, thirst, tire and feel pain. It will also not be able to descend from the cross without physical assistance. If we have wrong expectations as to the operability of the Laws of God then the blame must lie with us for we have never really concerned ourselves with knowing them. The Laws of God will not adjust themselves to our ignorance. The Laws of God as they operate in the Universe will not be contravened by Jesus as He was a part of these Laws. He went further in what can be seen as a warning to mankind in that the Laws of God do not allow of any omissions. We will account for everything and every evil that we have put into the machinery of Creation. We will receive every retribution no matter how small. Every careless word, thought or deed will have to be accounted for by the individuals responsible for committing these deeds. There can be no exception. What then is this theory of a propitiatory sacrifice that without further ado simply washes away mankind’s sins. It is time to wake up. There is no such thing. Jesus Himself testifies to the impossibility of such a happening. He went further to threaten that any one who breaks the Commandments and teaches men to do the same shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Shall suffer the consequences but whoever adheres to the Commandments shall have their reward. These are clear words. Why have we never bothered to read them? They do not even require any interpretations. top He went further to say that unless the effort that we make as regards our salvation exceeds those of the Pharisees and scribes we will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. No clearer words could be uttered as to the importance of making personal efforts, constant, unwavering efforts, otherwise we will never make it into the Kingdom of Heaven. No stricter rule could have been laid. Here it is not just a question of the external observance of the Laws of God which actually is of no consequence, it is the inward spiritual absorption of the Word of God into our hearts and the resolution to adhere and adjust our lives accordingly. The scribes and Pharisees paid more attention to externals and observances which in reality had nothing to do with the ascent of the spirit. Jesus called it “the weightier matters of the law”. These weightier matters were ignored by these scholars and instead rigorous external practices were introduced which bore no relation to what will advance the people spiritually. The simplicity in the laws of Moses had been replaced by oral interpretative laws, which no one but themselves could understand. Through this, the cheerfulness and the mobility of spirit of the people had been debased. The laws consisted of a set of rigid dos and don’ts which no one could adhere to. More is demanded of the human spirit by the Laws of Creation than adhering to a set of rules. We are to live vitally in this Creation, seeking to understand our God. There is no room for blind adherence. We must do more. This is why Jesus said that we will never be able to get by through such blind rules and regulations. Such observances never touches the core of man which is the spirit. The latter never participates in such rigid observances. The spirit demands constant movement. We can only serve God and as such enter the Kingdom of Heaven through the activity of our spirits. This means through exercising good thoughts, words and deeds. Working vitally in Creation and always seeking to bring harmony to our environments through our deeds. A series of dos and don’ts will not suffice. top The New LawMatthew 5: 21-26 “you have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgments.’ But I say unto you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment;… So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift….” Here it was just not a question of paying attention to the great sins but we are advised also to pay attention to the small things. The little things that we do that inconvenience our neighbours but have never really paid attention to. We must learn tolerance and get into the habit of forgiving those who offend us. These are all words that point to the absolute importance of righteousness, a constant working on ourselves to become better human beings. These are Commandments that we have been told to follow. If we fail to pay attention to the little things we run the risk of perdition. The little things can accumulate and weigh our spirits down especially when there are so many of them. Only the observance of all these guarantee entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no mention of His carrying our sins on His shoulders, giving us a letter of safe conduct without our working on ourselves. No such imbalance and imperfections exist in the Laws that proceed from the Godhead. top Matthew 5: 27-30 “You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall not commit adultery’. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” Every single thought or feeling that we generate takes on a form that corresponds to the nature of the thought. Lust being a feeling is no exception. It takes on a form and moves towards the object in this case the woman. This thought is capable of tainting the spiritual surroundings of the woman. Nothing physical may have been done but a desire has already been sent in the direction of the woman. Such thought forms, depending on how powerful they are, are capable of attracting similar forms. These thoughts are impure and in the final analysis soil the ethereal garment of the person concerned and can even confuse the intuitive perceptions of those who have become the object of their attentions. In this Creation, the spiritual always precedes the physical in their manifestations. It is therefore the case that a sexual intercourse with a woman first of takes place through the generated thoughts and feelings even before the physical act itself. Any physical action, no matter how trivial is always preceded by either a spiritual volition or a thought process and has already become a deed spiritually or ethereally. The physical manifestations are nothing but a consequence of the preceding thought process. If I intend to do evil, I would have initially thought about it or felt it within before I carry out the action. I may indeed decide not to proceed with the action but the generated thought is there, has been brought into being and continues to be active. The action has already become deed in the ethereal, even though the effects are not yet manifest on earth. They may never manifest but more often than not they do. These thought forms seek to attach themselves to other people who generate similar thoughts and they can attach to the brains of these people and goad them to act in ways desired by these thought forms. We all at one time or the other have felt waves of thoughts approaching our brains whether lust or something else and have often wondered where these thoughts come from. So if I lust after a woman and desire to have a physical relation with her, then I have indeed already had that relation with her ethereally. If I make further efforts I may indeed work towards bringing it about physically. I have thought about it, I have imagined it and the deed has been done. Whether it manifests physically or not is immaterial. The principle that every single earthly action is always first preceded by a creative thought process is applicable in all cases even in the so called impulse actions. Something stronger is even at play here; whereby the force of some intuitive volition seizes the individual and entirely bypasses the conscious intellectual brain. Some forms of impulse actions can also seize the brain and then consequently recruit muscle groups for some action of the other. No matter in which category, the action has been preceded by some form of thought action or spiritual volition. The other sentences of Jesus about severing members of the body if they cause us to sin emphasizes the temporal nature of our earthly existence and forces us to begin to acknowledge what is important in our earthly life for spiritual ascent and what only serves earthly purposes. Jesus here is not asking us to literally remove our physical eyes and cut off our hands. What He was saying was that nothing, no matter what it is should be deemed so important that it stands in the way of our spiritual progress. No earthly matter, family, friends, loved ones, wealth, no matter what it is should ever be placed on the same pedestal as the pure worship of God and the desire to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In this Jesus was saying that we must obey the First Commandment utterly, which in any case He declared to be the greatest of the Commandments “I am the Lord thy God, thou shall have no other gods but Me”. If loved ones or whatever else, no matter how important they are to us stand in the way of the true worship of God and the desire to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, then these things must be done away with. No matter how important we deem these things to be whether family, spouses or friends, the gods of love of money and so on; if they prevent us from obeying the First Commandment to the fullest extent then we must cut them off. Earthly relationships are only temporary, very rarely do they last into the Beyond, but here it is a question of the eternal existence of the spirit. Therefore, Jesus with these few words tried to bring us to the realisation of what is truly important for a human being while he is here on this earth. There are things on earth that only serve to facilitate life on earth. We can never take these things with us into the Beyond. There are other things however that can be taken with us into the Beyond. It is the latter that we must pay more attention to. We only have to think a little to realise what these things are and be able to easily differentiate. He emphasised that it was better to cut off these things now even if they cause us enormous pain than to have to face the pain of eternal torment in hell. The pain that we will feel on earth when we do away with our propensities will only be felt for a short period of time compared the much greater pain caused by running the risk of spiritual death which is eternal. These words are not to be taken lightly. top Matthew 5:31-32 “It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce '. But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” It is obvious here that unless there are genuine reasons, it would be difficult to justify a separation from a spouse. Separation however, can be inevitable if for some reason or the other genuine love no longer exists between the two. In such a case it would even be immoral to continue such a relationship. Such relationships more often than not are kept going only for the sake of appearances. Here Jesus was referring to situations where one or the other person uses one excuse or the other to do away with other person without adequate spiritual grounds. It was to prevent a situation which existed during His time and which still exists today in some cultures where husbands would simply declare that they no longer wanted to be married to their wives and that was it. On a whim the husband could declare that he wanted a divorce and there was really nothing that the woman could do about it. There are obviously no adequate spiritual grounds for the separation and such a man forces the woman out alone on her own and leaves her with no choice but to look for another partner in often very unhealthy circumstances. This is the situation where he forces the woman to become an adulteress. This applies to both sexes however, because unless there are real spiritual grounds for a demand for a divorce or separation either by a man or woman then it is difficult to justify it. top Matthew 5:33-37 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord’…Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’, and your ‘No,’ be ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” It is inconceivable that in spite of these clear words, states which purport to be Christian still require that we swear oaths, whether it be in a court of law or in allegiance to some head of state or to the state itself. The conclusion can be drawn that as human beings we can choose to ignore the Words of Jesus when these do not suit us and selectively apply the ones that we find agreeable. No human being should be required to swear an oath whether that of an allegiance or in any court of law. His words stating that he will perform his duties to the best of his abilities or that he will speak the truth in a court of law should be sufficient. If it is then found out that he had uttered a lie then he could be made responsible for this. We should hallow God’s Name in such a way that prevents us from ever dragging It down into earthly insignificant affairs. The reference to “Let your ‘Yea’ be sufficient” is an adjuration to keep our speech simple. We should not indulge in loquaciousness. He who works with his intuition will never be able to make many words. Loquaciousness is an indication that the individual is a slave of the intellect and that that individual has a distorted intellect which has choked up the spirit and prevents it from truly functioning as it should. Lucifer uses the intellect as his tool and as such all those who submit unconditionally to the intellect in the making of all their decisions are only using what to Lucifer is the keenest weapon. Since everything that goes beyond the simple in speech comes from the intellect and the intellect is Lucifer’s tool, it stands to reason that such speech merely proceeds in reality from him. We should therefore guide against loquaciousness as the words never proceeds from our spirits. They come from the intellect and all that is earthly. They shape forms which do not uplift. They weigh us down. Besides loquaciousness does not allow enough reflection which is an activity of the intuition. We thereby never really receive anything from our spirits. We are never quiet enough within ourselves to listen to the voice of the spirit. We rule out spiritual activity for ourselves. Lucifer has chained us down through inducing us to overdevelop the intellect at the expense of the spirit. In this way, he has ruled out spiritual activity for this mankind. The way to God therefore has been cut off. The way to God requires that we use our spirits since we can never understand God through intellectual activity. God lies beyond the capacity of the intellect and as such attempting to use the intellect to discover God is bound to fail for this simple reason. The intellect is an earthly instrument suitable for all earthly activity. Whatever goes beyond the earthly requires that we use a similar, homogenous instrument to investigate it. It is exactly in this that mankind has consistently failed. Attempting to investigate the spiritual world with intellectual studies will not get us very far. Therefore we have been earthbound through the intellect. It is in this that we must change first if we want to understand God. top Matthew 5:38-42 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’. But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also;….” This is a reaffirmation of the Commandment in the Old Testament which states that “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay”. The Laws of God are responsible for meting out reward and punishment for any action. By not taking revenge we may even help in changing the other person for the better. Not taking revenge is not a sign of weakness; it is a demonstration of the confidence in the Laws of God. The desire for revenge forms a thread which binds the two persons to each other. It is impossible to proceed spiritually until this thread has been severed. We retard our spiritual development and we actually go to where the other person had been drawn to in the Beyond. If the other person is an evil person and has been drawn to an evil place in the Beyond as a result of his nature, our desire for revenge will drag us with him to his nether region, which otherwise we would have avoided. And we could run the risk of perdition as a result of this. This Commandment from Jesus is therefore given out of love as a protection against such happenings. In addition, in taking revenge we perform an evil deed, which we will have to account for in any case. The Laws of God do not see the action as an act of revenge or justice. It is simply another evil act which must be fully redeemed. The “eye for an eye” in the Old Testament does not refer to human to human interaction at all as some might believe. It applies only to the activity of one of the Laws of God called the Law of Reciprocal Action. This Law returns to every individual the results and the fruits of all their activities. Therefore this law returns an eye for an eye. After all we can not sow rice and receive rye. It returns the same fruit as the seed. It does not direct that we should take revenge on our fellow human beings. It simply states that it will return to same kind of fruit as the seed to each individual. But as always we human beings have distorted the concept and have as a result burdened ourselves with enormous guilt by always trying to seek revenge thinking that we are doing the Will of God as a result. top Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,… You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” More is demanded from those who want to follow the Laws of God. Perfection of spirit is demanded of them, perfection of being. They must have absolutely no fault of character and no weaknesses. These are all clear from Jesus’ words. The prerequisite to entrance into the Kingdom of God is this perfection of being and the effort required to achieve this. It is just this effort that the religious representatives of today fight against. It is clear from Jesus’ words that we have to make constant and considerable efforts to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. These efforts are geared towards perfecting our spirits. All His words point in this direction and it is difficult to imagine where the current teaching of a letter of safe conduct whereby God without further ado forgives everything and Jesus carries all the sins of mankind on His shoulders. He clearly states that not only must we be prepared to forgive all who trespass against us, we must go further in such a way to see if we could influence the other person to change for the better. We must go the extra mile in caring for the well-being of the soul of our neighbours even if in our judgment they are bad. He went on to say that of what use is it to do the minimum, what reward have we if we greet those who are friendly to us; even sinners and thieves do that. We are meant to be different. We are meant to be examples for humanity. This requires the efforts to perfect our spirits. Here we are not talking about intellectual perfection because there is nothing of the sort; we are talking about not having any spiritual faults or weaknesses. top Avoiding conceit, hypocrisy and spiritual arroganceMatthew 6:1-4 “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven….” This speaks for itself. All good actions are to be done for their sakes and not with any ulterior motives. Helping people should be done without the thought any reward. All reward comes from God through His Laws. Deliberately doing good with the expectation of gain is nothing but the result of intellectual activity. The spirit takes no part in such actions. It is all earthly and the reward can only be earthly. These deeds are not sufficient to raise the spirit higher to the level in the Beyond to which it should belong if the deeds had resulted from the activity of the spirit. All deeds as mentioned above take on form. If a deed has arisen through the calculation of the intellect and the spirit had not vibrated in the coming into being of such deeds, though the deed may have been a good one, the returning radiation will not be able to attach to the spirit of the doer. It will find no suitable anchor within him as his spirit did not participate in the coming into being of the deed because it had not furnished any spiritual threads as starting points for the deed. Of course men may praise the individual for all his deeds and he may indeed receive a lot of benefits of an earthly nature because of the deeds. He may become very popular and famous. Those are the only rewards that he will receive. For those whose goal is not spiritual and who have no intention of entering the Kingdom of Heaven, these earthly benefits and rewards may be sufficient. In fact it is what they crave. For those however, whose goal is of a spiritual nature and whose ultimate desire is to attain to the Kingdom of Heaven, then they should take heed to let their spirits vibrate in their good actions. They should never need to broadcast their good deeds. The vibrations of their spirits and the joy that they feel as they accomplish these deeds should be reward enough. On passing into the Beyond, it would be easy for such people to take flight into the Luminous Heights because through their activities, their ethereal bodies have been made light and they will journey to those heights that is rightly their due. The returning radiation of their goods deeds will beautify their spiritual environment, making it brighter and lighter and carrying them on high. The results of such good deeds are eternal and go far beyond this earth. The decision to do good should be anchored deep in the spirit and those who feel this way never have a desire to broadcast their actions. Those who feel the need to let others know of their good deeds are using once again that tool which has led to the downfall of mankind. It is only the intellect in its scheming nature that makes such things possible. Those who submit to it unconditionally will act in this matter and will as a result mark themselves out as Lucifer’s slaves. They are intellectuals and they are unable to understand anything that goes beyond the boundary of this earth. They understand only matter. They understand only the material and are thus branded materialists. They do not understand the spiritual and as such can not be expected to act in any other manner. He who is spiritual will act in a spiritual way and in the same way those who are out and out intellectuals will act only in the way their intellects dictate. Hence the division of mankind into two camps. The intellect is Lucifer’s tool and it is the only way that he can reach us. Those who unconditionally use their intellects for all their decisions run the risk of being in contact only with Lucifer. They will only hear Lucifer’s voice and unconditionally follow his directions. In following Lucifer’s direction, they follow the anti-spiritual path which leads downwards. If these do not wake up in time and change the basic distortion within themselves, it would be too late and they will have to face the consequences which is the lot of those who oppose the spirit. top The proper way to pray and the Lord’s PrayerMatthew 6:5-15 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” The craving for recognition is a particular characteristic of the distorted intellect. Along the same lines as the previous passage, Jesus warned us to guard against this temptation that always wants us to crave for earthly recognition. In the same way these men have their full reward in the satisfaction they get from being admired by men. But that is all they get. They crave admiration but this will never bring them one step closer to the Luminous Heights which should be the goal of every human being. Here and in so many other passages Jesus warned against the evil of vanity which is one of the excrescences of the intellect. The full meaning of the Lord’s Prayer has been discussed by Abd-ru-shin in his book “The Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer”, it suffices to say here that the first two lines of the Lord’s Prayer already exposes the fact that this mankind will only pay lip service to the fact that they are Christians and followers of Christ when in reality we worship ourselves and are followers of our own vanity. The line “Hallowed Be Thy Name” means that the Name of God should be hallowed in such a way that it does not become the everyday sound that It has become with mankind of today. We should not swear oaths with it nor should we utter the Name in a careless manner. But we are guilty of this every single minute. Every court of law requires that we take an oath in the Name of God and the use of the Name of God is an everyday occurrence in today’s language. “Thy Kingdom come” is our asking that God establish His Kingdom on earth and that we are ready to create the conditions for the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. It is our duty to create these conditions. The terror and conflict and suffering which predominate today are all man-made and these are not the conditions that will lead to the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. We hold back any true blossoming for this Creation through our wrong activities. God’s Kingdom can only be established on soil free from war, death and conflict. We have failed so far to create these conditions and as such have held back the establishment of this Kingdom on earth. The Will of God are His Laws which He has woven into this Creation as the guardians of the order. They proceed from Him and are perfect. The perfect spiritual beings in Paradise consciously obey this Will. They know that It is good for them, It is perfect and just. It is our duty to learn to know this Will while here on earth and seek to adjust ourselves to It. We must adjust ourselves to this Will just like the spiritual beings in Paradise adjust to the same Will in their Realm. There is only one Will that permeates the entire Creation. It is impossible for us to be happy and to belong fully to this Creation without adjusting ourselves. It is like living in a country without knowing the laws that operate therein. Sooner or later we will come into conflict with the law. We cannot live in peace in this Creation unless we know of the Laws and adjust ourselves. When we say this Prayer, we are promising that we will learn of the Laws of Creation and adjust ourselves voluntarily to them just like the perfect human spirits do in Paradise. After we have fulfilled the condition of upholding the Will of God, then we can ask for His Blessings on our activities but not before. We deserve to be given nothing if we do not learn to know the Laws and adhere ourselves to them. We become directly harmful and obstructive in this Creation and we deserve to be cast out. The precondition for the forgiveness of our sins is that we have previously forgiven our neighbours. God does not lead any one into temptation but here Jesus was saying that God should deliver us from evil by whatever means necessary. Even at the cost of some pain to us. He should forcibly restrain us from falling into temptation and evil. It should read “Let us not fall into temptation”. top Matthew 6:16-18 “And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward….” Whatever trials one is going through should be borne with the assurance and knowledge that it is for the best. One should never demand sympathy. One should face all difficulties, trials with a cheerful disposition. Otherwise one becomes unjust to one’s surroundings. If also we voluntarily decide to undertake a spiritual task, it should be taken up with joy, not calling attention to one-self and demanding that one be recognised for it. These are spiritual decisions and tasks and it is only between the individual and his Creator. top The Spiritual comes firstMatthew 6:19-24 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.” As mentioned earlier, each spiritual volition takes on a form that corresponds to the nature of the form. If good, the form is beautiful and if evil, it is ugly. This is an adjuration to turn away for materialism, from the materialist orientation which makes us forget the spiritual and the real purpose of our existence on earth. Obviously, if we ignore the spiritual, that is if we do not do spiritual works, then there will be nothing spiritual whatsoever awaiting us when we pass on into the Beyond. We arrive there as paupers. We may have the greatest wealth on earth but it is no longer of any use to us once we pass on. Good spiritual works lead to spiritual wealth and this is reality. The more spiritual works we do the richer we are spiritually. The same law applies as they do on earth. If we however ignore the spiritual and pay all attention solely to the accumulation of earthly wealth, then it is obvious that we must arrive in the Beyond with absolutely nothing to show for our earthly existence. This is not to say that we must ignore the earthly, no but in tending to the earthly, we must not forget what is far more important, which is the spiritual and that the earthly only lasts for a short while. The existence of human beings moves mainly in the spiritual and ethereal realms. The service to God encompasses everything and we will also not be allowed to want for anything in the earthly sense if we obey His Laws. So we gain both ways. Not only will we be rich in the earthly sense, we will also be rich in the spiritual sense. The spirit is the lamp of the body. The core of man is spirit. That is what he is. The physical body is nothing but a covering that he needs on this earth in order for him to live here. When his time here is done, he drops it and continues with his journeys in the Beyond. If the human being is corrupted, then the ethereal covering around his spirit becomes darkened and then all that proceeds from him will be evil. All the thoughts, intuitive perceptions and so on will be evil. How great then is that darkness! If the spirit (eye) is good, then it is brighter and lighter and shines forth. People around even notice this. If the human being is evil, his ethereal garment is dark and heavy. Those who are slaves to the intellect and are such materialists are in reality as mentioned earlier Lucifer’s servants and must obey Lucifer’s promptings and will be used as tools in the warfare that he wages against the Will of God. Such people without knowing it have become enemies of God. They have enthroned another master in their hearts through their decision to become out and out materialists. They will never be able to serve God without first dethroning Lucifer, changing their materialistic outlook and embracing the spirit. It is simply one or the other. It is either or. Nothing in between. top Matthew 6:25-26 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Here Jesus advises us to do first things first. The spiritual comes first. We should make the effort to seek to understand the Laws of God. Seek first of all to adhere to these Laws. That is the most important Commandment of “Thou shall have no other gods but Me”. Our goals should primarily be spiritual, then other things which are material will be given to us by God Himself without too much toil on our part. He gave the example of the lilies that are very beautiful and cared for through the grace of God and these plants do not even gather or sow. Why do we spend so much time on matters that do not really count. The Almighty is the custodian of all blessings in this Creation. As long as we adhere to His Laws, He will let us have what we need for our lives on earth. What each individual needs will come on his path automatically. Many of us in our attempts to become materially comfortable not only retard our spiritual development but spending too much time on such matters, but we also harm others in the process. If we only have the spiritual as our goal, then it would be impossible for these aberrations to occur. Then there can be no question of being burdened with guilt. We will attain to the height that we are meant to be spiritually and we will also be cared for materially without having to harm anyone. We have everything to gain and absolutely nothing to lose. It is a shame that the whole of mankind to a man has ignored this Commandment. The result of this we see before us. We have held back any true blossoming. It is the material first for mankind of today. We have no time for spiritual things. We have done exactly the opposite of what Jesus commanded. And yet many of us are Christians. As in all things, it is that intellect which stands in the way, always asking the question “Are you sure?” Just like we transposed the order within ourselves by overdeveloping the intellectual brain at the expense of the spiritual one, we have managed to contravene every single commandment of Jesus. We did and still do exactly the opposite of what He desires. Is there a pattern in this? Of course there is. There is an inherent distortion in the human being brought about by the condition mentioned above. As a result he must simply follow the order as dictated by his inner condition. If his inner condition is of a particular order, then he must simply follow that order. He is simply acting according to how he has become through his own fault. Man has become wholly intellectual. He is intellectual man, not spiritual man. Is it then surprising that we find a pattern in his behaviour? He takes a purely spiritual Commandment from God and adapts this Commandment to his nature. He transposes it. He does exactly the opposite. He is simply obeying the distortion that lies within him. We have therefore reached the core of the problem. Why has mankind always done the opposite of what he is asked to do for his own good? Why has he always failed to listen to the voice of the spirit? Until he changes himself, that is until he recognises the distortion that he carries within, it will be impossible for him to find his way back to Paradise, his origin. He must be destroyed as he cannot be used for any up building in his present distorted state. He must be cast out so as to prevent him from disturbing those newly born who will now carry the mantle for the further advancement of mankind. top The importance of self examination before criticizing othersMatthew 7:1-5 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” It is easy to judge. The level of intolerance that we have for others and the strictness by which we measure and judge other people will be used as criteria for us by the Laws of God. If we are lenient towards our neighbours and if we easily forgive them their trespasses against us then the Laws of God will be lenient towards us and we will get all measure of help from these Laws. When we notice the mote that is in the other person’s eye and rave and criticise this blemish in his personality, we often fail to see the same fault which is present to a far greater degree in ourselves. This is the beam that we fail to notice. It is convenient to criticise one insignificant fault or the other in our neighbours but we will notice that if we examine ourselves keenly enough, we possess these same faults to a far greater degree within ourselves. We should first of all make the effort to be rid of the faults that we have before we can dare to point out the faults in other people. If we notice the faults that we have then it would be very difficult indeed to criticise others since the keen awareness of the fact that we carry similar faults within will prevent us from doing so. Leniency towards our neighbours will then come of its own accord. Advice upon advice is what we will find in Christ’s words. Exaltations, adjurations to become better, to change our old ways of living and to let peace reign characterise His words. It is a pity that we have made something else out of this most important Mission. top Matthew 7:6 “Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.” The Word of God may be offered only to those who are deserving of hearing about It. This has come out from the steps of the Throne of God and must not be offered to those who would play with It and perhaps scoff at It. It is pitiable that the Love of God has been misrepresented by well meaning preachers who teach that God is all forgiving and lenient to the extreme. This is nothing but weakness which has never been nor will ever be an attribute of God. The Word of God should only be offered to those who are deserving and it is very easy to differentiate between genuine seekers and those who are not so genuine. It is often better to allow someone to ask for It before offering It and even then one has to make sure that it is truly the genuine seeking for the Truth that prompts him to ask. Offering the Word of God to those who have not asked for It or to those who are perhaps hostile to It will do no good at all. On the contrary they may turn on you in anger and try to destroy you. top Matthew 7:7-12 “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Jesus here did not refer to the relationship among human beings. He was referring to the relation between human beings and the Laws of God. If through the exercise of our intuitive perception, we pray in the right manner and we act in this Creation in a manner pleasing to God, then we receive all that we need for our earthly existence. If we seek the Creator in humble petition and if we ask God in humble petition, we will receive whatever is necessary for the continued development of our spirits. Jesus here was not one-sidedly referring to the granting of our earthly desires. He was speaking in an all embracing way. In a way that benefits the spirit even after we shall have left this earth. He also emphasised the great Goodness of God in saying that if we who are deemed evil know how to give good things to our children, how much more so God. All we have to do really is concentrate mainly on spiritual works. If we do the spiritual, then the material will follow as a matter of course. We should ask the Almighty for help, for strength in fulfilling our promise as human beings. Strength in overcoming our faults, strength in the love that we offer our neighbours, then we would never need to offer any special petitions for material needs. We will simply be given all these things through the workings of the Divine Laws. That is the kind of asking that Jesus was talking about. Asking for help in the development of our spiritual abilities. Then we will be happy. Nothing is more joyful than the ability to be able to put our talents to work in the upliftment of our environments. Then we would no longer have to ask for petty earthly things. top Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” The adherence to the Laws of God requires that we do not give in to temptations and this can often be very difficult. Letting oneself go, which is tantamount to giving in to temptations is the broad way that leads to destruction. Mankind over millennia have ignored the path that leads to salvation and as a result this path has become very thorny and difficult indeed. It was not always so. When mankind adhered to the Laws of God or at least when the majority did, the intuitive volitions surrounding the earth was of a light nature and it was very easy indeed for mankind to find their ways to the Light. As mankind turned to the darkness, good and light thought forms became a rarity and these days it is much easier to be influenced by evil than it is by good, making it especially hard for those who desire good to find any encouragement and strength for their activities. This is why those who wish to follow this road find it especially difficult. They are in the minority and would often be misunderstood by others and would often be deliberately hindered in their progress by those whose goals are different. These good people feel isolated and lonely. Surrounded as they are by evil thoughts forms and deeds and also by evil human beings who do not share the same goals, it would be more difficult indeed for this people to follow this path. They would have to be doubly careful and would have to always redouble their efforts to keep to the chosen path. The road to Salvation would have been broad if mankind had always walked on it. It has become narrow and thorny because very few walk on it. The same physical laws apply. If a road is not used, in time it becomes overgrown by thorns and bushes and becomes narrower, but on the contrary if used all the time, it is smooth wide and easier to walk on. What Jesus was describing was and is still is the condition of the abandoned road to salvation for mankind. It will remain narrow and difficult until more and more people walk on it, which in the final analysis will make it broader and easier to walk on again. top Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits.” By their spiritual fruits, ye shall know them. Those who belong to God shall act in ways which are desired by Him. It cannot be otherwise. Those who belong to the devil, even if they appear in the most resplendent earthly garments cannot but act in ways desired by their master. Through their activities, which is their fruit, we will be able to recognise every single one of them. It is not by outward appearance but the nature of their being that they will be recognised. If the nature of an individual’s spirit is evil, then his thoughts, deeds and words will also be evil and at a point we will able to recognise these people even if they try to hide and pretend to be something else. A warning here that the evil at the time of harvest will be done away with. Anyone who at the time of reckoning is found not to belong to God will henceforth not be allowed to continue to enjoy the blessings of this Creation which only God bestows. They will be cast off and be forced to go to their master whom they have insisted on serving even after the unbelievable mercies and forbearance shown to them by God. It is a question of the continual opposition to the taking root of the Will of God on earth. These people through whatever influence or position that they hold on earth have always acted in ways which oppose the Will of God and also prevent those who would do this Will from doing so, usually through acts of force and violence. If they would only have this effect on themselves, it would not be so bad, but they are like poison which destroy all around them. This they will not be allowed to do in future. top The overwhelming importance of righteousnessMatthew 7:21-23 “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’” This is one of the most important indictments against those people who preach against the importance of personal effort in our attempts to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Here it is not just a question of saying that we declare our beliefs in Jesus and then that is it. No! It is not just a question of going to church and be seen to go to church. It is just not a question of uttering prayers by the hundred everyday. Here it is a question of actually knowing of the Will and doing this Will. We must learn to know the Laws of God and then adjust ourselves to them. That is what is demanded of us as human beings. There is no letter of safe conduct into Heaven. We must walk there. It is the present state of the human spirit that counts, not what he may have achieved in the past. For the human spirit, there is only the present. Not only that, he must be seen by the Light to really be living aright. His opinions of himself count for nothing. He may have cast out a thousand demons in the Name of Jesus, but if he lacks humility and genuine desire for the Kingdom of God and if he rests on his laurels and refuses to constantly exert himself, then he faces the risks of being disavowed by Jesus on the Day of Atonement. We cannot do the Laws of God unless we first learn It. We must seek to know these Laws. The explanation of these Laws are available to us. If we seek them we will find them. After knowing the Laws, the onus now rests on us to adjust our lives to them. No other way leads to the proximity of the Almighty. Easy and agreeable to most human spirits is the road that those who would like to increase the number of adherents to their churches paint. They lull us to sleep. We are meant to wake up before it is too late. There is no such thing as an easy blindly believing way to the proximity of God. The words of Christ point to the contrary. It is these words that must be used as a yardstick for how we organize our lives, not anyone else’s interpretations. top Matthew 7:24-27 “"Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock;….” Continuing in the same vein, He advised as to the benefits of doing, of acting. No other way leads to the Light. Those who tell us otherwise do not have our well-being at heart. They do not love us. All they want is to paint an agreeable, easy, sweet picture, thereby exploiting the spiritual indolence which still ails all mankind. They only want us to add to the numbers of Church goers with earthly expansion and wealth as their ultimate aim. These people are the false prophets who deliberately misinterpret the Word of God for their own purposes and ends. They are the ones who come to us in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. They do not have as their goal the salvation of their own souls and as a result do not care, would not care about what happens to ours. It must be said that they exploit what to mankind has been one of our greatest weaknesses; our spiritual indolence. Our unwillingness to work on ourselves for our own salvation. Oh how we wish that someone would come and offer us an easy way out! And they come, in droves in answer to these our inner wishes. How we would love someone else to do the work for us, think for us and even say our prayers for us and all we have to do is pay, attend the services, nothing more. Obviously, we are not building a good spiritual foundation with this attitude and when we are asked to reveal our hands in the Beyond we would discover that there is virtually nothing in them. We cannot blame the churches for misleading us as it is our desires for an easy way out that led to the proliferation of these churches. We created a milieu in which they could flourish. Once we all make a decision to examine the Word of the Lord ourselves and not always ask for interpretations, then these so-called mediators would disappear. It is after all in the final analysis, the personal interpretations of the Word of the Lord that matters. How we understand this Word is what determines the level to which we ascend to in the Beyond, nothing more. The more we understand the Word and the more we apply It to our lives, the more we are able to ascend. Third party interpretations count for nothing. We have now examined the great sermon on the mount. Nowhere here have we discovered it said that Jesus would carry anyone’s sins on His shoulders. What we found are exactly the opposite of what conventional interpreters would have us believe. We will however continue to explore the Words of Jesus and it is hoped that at the end of this examination we would have convinced ourselves of what Jesus really demands of us and what He wanted us to do if we are to attain to the Kingdom of Heaven. top Matthew 7:28-29 “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” It has already been mentioned that the scribes had through intellectual sophistry turned the simple Commandments that Moses received into a rigid form, so much so that no one knew what to do with it. More attention was placed on externals which had nothing to do with the real ascent of the human spirit. The people were downcast and there was no way out of their spiritual lethargy. Jesus’ words was like a breath of fresh air. He brought back the mobility of spirit which was like a memory of a bygone era. He freed them and liberated them from the rigid and impossible observances set up by the scholars and interpreters of the law. He spoke like one who knew what He was talking about and not the ramblings of those who thought that they knew the Laws of God. The people suddenly realised that all that they had to do to enter the Kingdom of God was to act naturally, to love their neighbours and to just be simple natural human beings. That God demanded nothing more from them than to be simple normal human beings. No spiritual contortions was necessary. No rigorous fasting and the so many demands placed on the common people. It was revolutionary. No one had ever taught them like that. Not only the assurance with which Jesus uttered these words, but the power that emanated from Him and the words themselves. Suddenly the simplicity of the law of Moses had been revealed in an entirely new light and much more. top Matthew 8:1-4 “When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; and behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.”” This passage shows that Jesus, quite aside from the fact that He had no intention of overthrowing the Laws of God also wished to follow the earthly laws. He did not wish to set Himself against the authorities and wished to observe the ancient religious customs of the Jewish people. His aim was to address His teaching to man himself, to the individual and then allow the individual to voluntarily make a decision as to the truth of His Teaching. It was meant to be a gradual transformation of man into a better being through first hearing His Teaching, weighing them up within himself, seeing that they are true and then finally making a decision to follow them. His aim was the spiritual change in man. It was this that was His priority and in fact was the most important. If man could be healed spiritually, then all else will follow, since the earthly conditions that we have before us are but consequences of our spiritual lives. He would therefore never concern Himself with the overthrow of earthly order or authority. The change in the earthly order will come of itself when mankind had done the first things which is spiritual. He therefore ordered the leper that He had just healed to go to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded. top Matthew 8:5-13 “As he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress. And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion answered him, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.’….. ‘Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; be it done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment.” Israelites were regarded as a stiff-necked people, arrogant, vain and very stubborn. It is this that Jesus referred to when He said that those to whom He had been sent have rejected Him and it will be outsiders who will inherit the glory of this people. The centurion is a classic example of this. A Roman who perhaps still worshipped his pagan gods had become so advanced spiritually as to recognise Jesus whereas those who considered themselves so great and spiritually advanced failed to recognise Him, even though they had been prepared for centuries for His coming. This was a bitter blow and an indictment of this people who dared to reject the Son of God and the Messiah Who had been promised and instead dared to demand a Messiah that corresponded to their wishes and expectations. They who came first would now be last. This is actually the fate of the conceited and the vain. They always asserted that they had Abraham as their father and as such their entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven was guaranteed. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no such thing as an inherited right to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. With this paragraph, He already passed a judgement on that generation and the fate that awaits them in their rejection of the Word of God. This rejection will never go unpunished and to make matters worse, the atonement for the crime of the crucifixion. top Power over the forces of NatureMatthew 8:23-27 “And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. (24) And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep…..” The natural environment is maintained by beings which have been variously referred to as nature beings, fairies and so on and so forth. These are beings of which every culture on earth have stories about. Many have seen them and are convinced that they exist. Of course they remain hidden to these deceitful eyes of men of the intellect. They will never be able to see them because they do not deserve such honour. There are nature beings that maintain the wind known commonly as sylphs; those that are involved with fire known as salamanders; those involved with the earth called gnomes and those involved with the water element known as water-sprites. Storms and the like are brought into being through the activity of such beings. They carry out such activity in accordance only with the Will of God as these beings are unable to do otherwise. Obviously such a One as Jesus being directly descended from the Father could see these beings, could understand their activity and more importantly could command them. Therefore when He ordered that the sea be calm, these beings had to obey their Master. There is nothing arbitrary in this. It is the most natural phenomenon. All creatures in this Creation come under the influence of the Power of God and they must obey the Divine Command. The same happened in the case of Lazarus and the youth of Nain when Jesus commanded their souls to re-enter their physical bodies. This event should have induced reflection in those who observed it. It probably fortified the faiths of some of them as it should be the case in all good willing people. top Power over evil spiritsMatthew 8:28-34 “And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. (29) And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?.....” Under the pressure of the Light that Jesus carried with Him, even unclean souls were compelled to acknowledge His presence and His Nature. When they saw Him fear seized them as they knew that their time had come to leave the body that they had occupied. In the same way these had to obey the Divine call. Earthbound, evil human spirits could from time to time or even permanently occupy the bodies of earthmen and use it including the brain. There are many in the lunatic asylums with really nothing wrong with them but this. They crowd out the rightful owner of the physical body. top The Divine Power to forgive sinsMatthew 9:1-8 “And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. (2) And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven…..’” As mentioned earlier, the healings of Jesus apart from being acts of mercy were meant also to help fortify the faiths of those who had these miracles performed on them and also those who witnessed these miracles. It was also meant to bring people to Him because in following up these stories of miracles, they would come upon the saving Word. It is inconceivable that anyone or any ordinary person could have performed these miracles and the people knew it. Such works had never been done before. The raising of the dead, the healing of paralytics and so on and He was now forgiving sins. This was unheard of. The forgiving of sins by Jesus has been taken over by the church as proof that they could also do the same since they considered themselves to be envoys of God or of Jesus. They however err as they are neither envoys of Jesus or of God. Envoys of God are those with the same inner Nature as God. This from the outset rules out any human beings. The fact that they claim to be envoys does not in reality make them so. All we have are their claims. If Jesus can forgive sins, the questions we should ask is how. It is not however difficult if one realises that Jesus was the Son of God and as such had the power to see into the souls of the petitioner and to determine the exact state of that soul in relation to its threads of fate. He was able to judge whether indeed this soul had become so good and so penitent that he had indeed reached a point where he had redeemed all his guilt. Jesus was able to see this and as such He could say that their sins were forgiven. Remember, He did not say this to every Tom, Dick and Harry. He said this to certain people. Some churches however took this as a letter of safe conduct and went about forgiving sins. They could not even see into the souls of these people thus having not the foggiest idea what they were doing. They could not tell whether the individual was truly penitent or whether the person had reached a stage in his maturity that he had truly redeemed his guilt. Jesus did not act arbitrarily. He did not forgive sins that had not already been forgiven through the actions of the inflexible Laws of God. He had seen ethereally that the threads of fate attached to these individuals had already been caught off or were about to be cut off by the elemental beings. He was using those words as an earthly anchor to inform those concerned that they could now start a new life and that their former trespasses had fallen off. He was only conveying what He saw ethereally to those concerned. All this the church knew nothing about. They simply went about forgiving sins and leading the masses to believe that their sins indeed had been forgiven. These masses were forgiven nothing. It was all an utter deception and delusion which has led many millions to waste valuable time. Instead of working on themselves so that their sins are truly forgiven through the inflexible Laws, they simply went to sleep and even added more in the assurance that all they had to do was to pay some money and that prayer for the forgiveness of sins will be said on their behalf and that the church father in any case had the power to forgive sins since he was an envoy of God. It is time to wake up. top Matthew 9:10-13 “And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. (11) And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" (12) But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (13) Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” The exclusive nature of the religion of Israel was brought into sharp focus here. Those who thought themselves better than the others felt that it was in God’s Law not to mix with these. Those whom society had regarded as sinners were not to be mixed with. They were to be ostracized, ignored and looked down upon. They were even to be pitied. How was anything healthy blossom in such circumstances. It was scandalous. These were people who claimed that they knew the Laws of God. They claimed that they knew about the Love of God yet they never practiced it. They appointed themselves guardians of the Laws of Moses yet they showed by their actions that they had not the faintest idea of his message. The cold calculating intellect with which these people worked exposed them the more to the searching gaze. They were not called ones; they could not be called ones as they did not possess that quality of spirit which is a characteristic of those who had been chosen by God: love. These were self appointed teachers, who basked in their own glory and the respect paid to them by the people. They regarded others as unclean and would never suffer themselves to sit with them much less talk to them. How then were they meant to guide the people to the right path? They wanted Jesus to use the same yardstick, to apply the rule of exclusion. They decided who was and who was not a sinner. Jesus rebuffed them by saying that He had not come for the self righteous. He had not come to save those who already thought themselves to be saved. Those who thought that they had a right to demand an entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. He had come among the people of Israel to save those who wanted to be saved, those who knew that they were sinners, those who were humble enough to know that they were sinners and were prepared to make the efforts to change themselves. top Matthew 9:14-17 Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (15) And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast…” For the first time Jesus alluded to the fact that He might not be around on earth for much longer. This is one of the verses that people quote to back their assertions that Jesus came to die and that the real purpose of His Mission was this death. Foreknowledge that He was going to die is not proof that He came primarily to die. In fact Isaiah 53 is devoted to this. His death was definitely predicted, but this is not to say that it was in the Will of God or that Jesus was happy with it. There are verses that we shall come to presently which point to the fact that Jesus did not come for the sole purpose of dying and carrying our sins on His shoulders. All that He had said so far points to the contrary. He knew the controversy that His Teaching brought with the religious authority, it was only a question of time before they would think of ways of getting rid of Him and that also it would only be a question of time before they would be able to convince someone to betray Him. It was all a question of a race for time whereby Jesus would complete as much of His Mission as possible before the people who had presented themselves as Lucifer’s servants would use the earthly authority that they had against Him to thwart His Mission. The prevailing evil almost made this outcome inevitable. The fact that it was predicted had nothing to do with it. A prophecy is always to be regarded as a warning of impending events. They are given so that those concerned may take heed and change their ways. If the prophecy is an unfavourable one like in the case of Jesus, then those concerned were meant to take this to heart and change their ways. Isaiah saw what could happen to the Son of God if the prevailing evil still reigned in Israel by the time He had to come. It was seen that if mankind did not change their ways then their hatred for anything from the Light would prompt them to offer themselves to Lucifer as executioners of the Divine Word. It was given as a warning to the people of Israel that they would be murderers of the Word of God if they continued in their evil ways. The prophecy would come to be fulfilled if they did not change their ways. The people of Israel should have taken a harder look at this prophecy and should have examined themselves. If they had changed for the better then definitely this prophecy would never have been fulfilled. No prophecy is inevitably fulfilled. They depend entirely on the conditions of the souls of those involved. If the souls change then the fulfilment of the prophecy also changes as a matter of course. There can be no subterfuge. These people did not heed the warnings sent to them centuries before and still in spite of these warnings allowed themselves to be used by the hate-filled darkness. To even assert that in was in God’s Will that He had to die makes us guilty of a double murder, of an indolence which prevents us from thinking matters through for ourselves. The consequences will be terrible. top The raising of Jairus’ daughterMatthew 9:18-26 While he was thus speaking to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” (19) And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples….” Man is not just the physical body. His core is spirit and surrounding this core are the various layers representing each realm of Creation. Without the physical body then, what we have is the spirit as core and the various coverings around this core taken from the various layers of Creation through which this spirit has passed. Right from the Spiritual realm, which is the highest part of Creation, we have in descending order: the realm of the Animistic where the animal souls and the nature beings have their origin; then the Ethereal realm, which is part of the material world but lighter and of a different consistency than the lower lying World of Gross Matter to which the earth and the other planets that we can observe with our physical eyes and the with the help of earthly aids belong. The World of Gross Matter, like the Ethereal world is divided into three main subsections: the World of Fine Gross Matter, which is the finest part of the World of Gross Matter; the World of Medium Gross Matter, which lies between the former and the World of Heavy Gross Matter to which the earth belongs. We as human beings on earth bear each and every one of these layers within us as we have had to pass through them on our journey to the earth for an incarnation. When we leave the earth on our physical death, the region in which we find ourselves in the Beyond will correspond to the nature of our inner being. If we have been good, then we will find ourselves in a region corresponding to the weight of our bodies. Our nature determines how heavy our ethereal bodies will be. If we are evil, then we are heavy because the nature of evil is dark and heavy as a natural phenomenon. If we are good, then we are bright and lighter and as a result we rise to a corresponding lighter region in the Beyond. Our ethereal bodies are made lighter as a consequence of our good volition. The physical body therefore is nothing but a temporary vessel which we need on this earth for the purposes of experiencing this place. It is soon discarded at our physical death whereby we are set free to journey to those areas to which we are drawn through our natures as a natural consequence. Therefore on earth, we bear the ethereal body coming from the Ethereal world; the body of Fine Gross Matter, which we took on when we passed through that world; the body of Medium Gross Matter and then finally the physical body. If one could imagine an onion, then we come a little bit closer in our imagination and in our understanding of the nature of man on earth. The closest body therefore to the physical one on earth is that of medium gross matter which some people have already given the name of Astral body. This body is connected to the physical one through a silver cord attached to the solar plexus. At death, there is loosening and detachment of this cord from the physical body and after some time this cord completely degenerates. When Jesus commanded that this young girl should rise, it was simply a question of this young girl’s soul being drawn back into the physical body through the elastic silver cord. Since the animator of the physical body is the soul, then it is not surprising that all the girl’s organs will start to function as before. The physical body is lifeless without the animating influence of the spirit. Without this animating influence, it would be lifeless. The animation of the body is not due to the brain. The brain itself takes instructions from the spirit. The brain too is lifeless without this animating influence. When the soul re-enters the physical body, all the organs, including the brain as mentioned earlier will start functioning again. Every movement of the body is indeed first spiritually willed. The impulse is then passed through the solar plexus to the cerebellum and then from there to the frontal and other parts of the brain responsible for carrying out these instructions. It is now that scientists have noticed that there is an initiating factor that precedes the frontal and motor areas of the brain for the initiation of movements. Before it was thought that everything resulted through the will of the frontal brain. The scientists are already in the right direction but they will have to look beyond the physical for them to be able to fully elucidate this initiating factor. It was the same with Lazarus and the youth of Nain. It was all a question of the drawing back of the soul into the physical body or in some cases the reattachment of the silver cord to the physical body. top Matthew 9:27-31 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” (28) When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”……” Humility, faith and a deep conviction in the Power of God allows this Power to stream through us and work miracles. Without simple belief and conviction it is impossible for us to receive any help from God. This condition of faith has the quality of opening our souls and allowing the ever present help from God to reach us. We are the ones who have over the millennia closed ourselves to this help. The Power has always been there and the help always available but because we thought that we knew everything better we could never really develop the humility necessary for the receipt of this Power. If these blind men had not had the trusting faith in the Power of God, it would have been impossible for Jesus to help them. His Power would not have been able to penetrate into their souls and consequently into their bodies because they would have been undeserving of this help. The Power of God does not reach those undeserving of it. It will only work on soil which is open to It never on soil hostile to It. Mankind receives exactly according to the level of conviction in the Power of God, no more. The sending out of the TwelveMatthew 10:5-10 These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, (6) but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel….” Jesus was sent primarily to the people of Israel because these people through their advanced spiritual development possessed the ability to fully understand Him. Later the people of Israel were to take the Message of Jesus and spread It among the Gentiles. This is the reason why Jesus would not be diverted from His insistence that the lost sheep of Israel were to hear His Message first. He directed His disciples to go to the lost sheep of Israel and to avoid going to the other peoples. This should not be taken to mean that the Word of God was not for these other people but that at that moment the focus of attention should be on the people who had for centuries been spiritually prepared to receive and to understand much more readily the Message of God. When the Israelites failed in general, the Message of course went elsewhere but we must note that the Message in any case still primarily spread through the works and efforts of Jews like Paul and the other Apostles. Jesus incarnated in the midst of the people who were the most spiritually advanced at that time as could not otherwise be the case, as One like Him who was the Son of God needed to incarnate in the midst of people whose degree of understanding of the Laws of God would make it easier to work among them. He instructed His disciples to say that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. Meaning that the time for the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth was at hand. The establishment of the Kingdom of God ushers in a time when only those human beings who voluntarily adjust to the Will of God will be allowed to live on this earth. Before the establishment of this Kingdom however, the Judgement must take place. This Judgement removes all those human beings who have been evil and who have no intention of adjusting their ways along with their works from this earth. These people are removed to where they properly belong which is the realm of darkness. They will be prevented from incarnating again on earth unless in the meantime while in the realm of darkness they had become better and have been able to rise through the results of their intentions to do better, to a level where they can again incarnate. Jesus was trying to warn the people of Israel and also others to make haste and change now before they are overtaken by a terrible Judgement. If we do not make use of the allotted time now, we would not be able to free ourselves in time and we will pass away in the flames of the Judgment and will not be allowed to witness the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. The evil that we do is dark, heavy and clings to our spirit bodies. This body is the body that we are left with when we depart this earth. It is the body of medium or fine gross matter. It is still a material body. This body becomes heavy and weighed down by this impurity and the concerned soul is dragged to the region in the Beyond of likewise weight. There comes a time in this Creation when every part of material Creation will have to go through its purification. When that time comes for the earth , its inhabitants and the surrounding ethereal regions of the earth and their inhabitants, we have to be so pure and light as to find ourselves in lighter regions that do not have to face this purification. Those who are left behind in these darker regions because they could not free themselves from matter will have their fine or medium gross material bodies destroyed with the destruction which naturally occurs when the cycles closes for the realm in which they find themselves. We should therefore work hard now so that when we pass into the Beyond, we do not find ourselves in places which are marked out for dissolution because we run the risk of also going through dissolution with the rest of these environments. When Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, obviously He was not referring to it in earthly time concepts. In spiritual terms, a thousand years are as one day, which means that what takes a thousand years to accomplish on earth takes only one day to accomplish in the spiritual realm. But we must remember that that was two thousands years ago and that what He meant by “at hand” is being enacted at the present time. He gave His disciples the spiritual power to heal diseases and to perform all kinds of miracles so that in the same way as with Him, the people’s faith may be fortified. He now felt that He could let His disciples be on their own after they had been understudying Him for a while. He advised them not to take any gold or silver or food with them and that on their ways they would be cared for. They were not to preoccupy themselves about what they would wear or eat or drink. These needs as He had already mentioned with the lilies in the field will be taken care of. This is what He meant by “the workman is worthy of his food”. They have done what was spiritually required of them and that God seeing this will provide for them in ways that they could not even imagine. top Jesus’ moral strength and severityMatthew 10:11-16 “And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. (12) As you enter the house, salute it. (13) And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. (14) And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. (15) Truly, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. (16) Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” The pride with which followers of Jesus should act is revealed here. They should show confidence and assurance in God but they are not to cast pearls before swine. If any one refuses to accept them they are to depart in dignity and go elsewhere. They are never to go round begging people to listen to the Word of God. It is man’s responsibility to seek out his God and not the other way round. Some preachers, over the centuries have perverted this notion and have fostered the erroneous beliefs among human beings that God needs them and has to run after them. Nothing is further from the truth. God will calmly abandon to the darkness all those who would refuse to turn to Him and all those who expect Him to run after them instead of at last recognising that after all it is a question of their own personal salvation and they should see to it that they are not condemned. There is no such thing as an all forgiving weak God, forgiving everything and even allowing sinners to go unpunished. That must not be. We must wake up and realise that the picture hitherto painted of Jesus as weak and yielding are false and nothing but the desires of those who are weak in themselves and who would rather avoid making any efforts towards their own salvation to represent Him as such. He also advised His disciples to keep their eyes open, to be keenly observant. To be ready to defend themselves but never harm any one on that account. They must not act like fools or simpletons but to be always keenly on their guards. They will be attacked, there will be enemies who would be rid of them. They are on hostile ground and the darkness would always find those who are willing to be used as tools against the messengers of the Light. They must be strong also in the earthly sense so as not to make it easy for their detractors to attack them and even if they are attacked make it difficult for them to succeed. The difficult road for believersMatthew 10:17-20 “Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, (18) and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. (19) When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; (20) for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” In the same vein, there are many people who are always willing to oppose the Light and the religious representatives are no exception. These are people who have devised earthly intellectual ordinances for people to follow and if someone comes to oppose what they have built up even if this person speaks the truth, they would use whatever means is at their disposal to be rid of such a one. In this way they act as tools of Lucifer whose goal and mission is to oppose the Will of God. These human beings willingly offer themselves up to be used by this fallen Archangel in his fight against our salvation in God’s Message. There are also other human beings who have from the outset made a spiritual decision never to be for the Light. They would have nothing to do with anything spiritual and would oppose bitterly those who have made a decision for the Light. The numbers of these people are quite considerable and they often occupy positions of power. So under such conditions it is inevitable that those who follow the Light would be persecuted, tortured and even killed. Jesus advised His disciples not to worry about what to say because the answer to the questions that these people will pose can only come from the Wisdom of God. The cunning of these people’s intellect would make it difficult for an ordinary human being to answer them in such a way as to escape from their traps. The disciples are advised to keep their spirits open to receive answers and solutions to every problem that may be posed. top Matthew 10:21-23 “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; (22) and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. (23) When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes.” The true Word of Jesus, contrary to popular belief will cause a deep division among mankind. It will divide mankind into two opposing camps. Family relationships have nothing to do with it. It is now a question of how one stands spiritually. There will be those who will be for Jesus and those who would be bitterly against His Word. It is meant to be so. People are meant to judge themselves through the Word of God. The Word of God is the Judge for mankind. Exactly as one reacts to this true Word either accepting or rejecting it, we judge ourselves. Just because of this very fact, those who are unable to adhere or accept this Word would have a boundless hatred for those who use this Word with vigour. They may be family members, friends and the like. What matters before God are human spirits nothing more. The boundless hatred they have can be taken so far as to want to kill those who have accepted the Word if they find no other way to help themselves in terms of discouraging them or attacks in some other form. Just because they see something in these people which they can never possess; their feeling of inferiority and their acute awareness of it turns into rage and anger. He further advised His disciples not to face the hatred head on. They were to preserve their lives and continue their appointed tasks elsewhere. They would not have completed their tasks before the Son of Man comes. They would not have finished spreading the Word of the Lord before the necessary extension of knowledge to be brought by the Son of Man commences. We will touch on the issue of the Son of Man presently but here what Jesus was saying was that the Word of Christ would not have taken root among all races by the end of time. Jesus was only trying to indicate that the time of the Son of Man is not too far off and in fact that His Coming is to be expected in the not too distant future. Meanwhile we are meant to work in the sense that He had given us. We must be firm in our faiths and be steadfast to the very end. top Reassurance for believersMatthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master; (25) it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household.?” If they had already labelled Jesus as belonging to the Devil, then it must be obvious that His followers and disciples are not in for a better treatment. They will be branded and hated in the same way. The disciples must be made aware of this and be inwardly prepared for the hardships ahead. They will be ostracised, persecuted because people will believe that they had a right to. After all they belonged to the devil. Away with them! In the way of most human beings, it is much easier to attack and persecute and even kill once they have justified to themselves the sub-humanity of others. If their master was of the devil, they too who are his children must also be and in that case in their thinking they are justified in putting them in prison. This was a warning to His disciples to be aware of the very difficult road ahead and to not to let it take them too much by surprise. top Matthew 10:26-27 “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. (27) What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.” The effect of the Power of the Light is to expose human beings in such a way that their true colours becomes known. All that clings to an individual in the way of faults and weaknesses, even if the individual or others are not aware of it will come to light once exposed to the Power of God. These characteristics are strengthened and must manifest in an active form. An individual who harbours a murderous tendency within his soul and has so far not committed this crime because in one way or the other the earthy circumstances have favoured him will be placed in situations where indeed he will show his true colours. These faults had been hidden in the past but are now for all to see. This is the effect of this Power. This is the effect that the Word of Jesus has. Those who had hitherto considered themselves to be your friends and whom perhaps you trusted implicitly will because of your allegiance to the Word reveal how they truly stand towards you and indeed in regard to the Word of Jesus. If they are true friends, then they will wish you well but if on the contrary have never really loved you, their hatred against you will be intensified. It will be impossible for them to hide their true feelings anymore or indeed to hide their faults and weaknesses. This effect actually applies to everyone and it will first have its effect on those who are followers of Jesus’ Message so that these learn to know themselves and purify themselves in time. top Matthew 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” The consequences of not adhering to the Laws of God are those of spiritual death. What this means is that one’s personality is torn to pieces and one ceases to be. This is the most horrible thing to befall a human spirit and should be avoided at all costs. It is better to continue to adjust to the Will of God than to allow ourselves to deviate from the path due to threats from our adversaries. The worst that these people can do is kill the physical body. They will never be able to touch the soul. If however, one allows oneself to be deviated from the right path then we would have allowed ourselves to serve the darkness and we will share in the fate of evil doers, which is spiritual destruction. We should never allow a short brief span on earth to determine our entire existence, which goes far beyond this. We should never allow the threats of physical sufferings or death push us into making decisions that must lead to the far greater suffering of an eternal damnation. We should remember that Jesus did not deny His origin and His Teaching when He was threatened with the same. It is always the last trump card of the darkness but we should never allow it to triumph. The consequences of giving in are far more disastrous and longer lasting. top Matthew 10:29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will. (30) But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. (31) Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” The values that God places on every human life is revealed here. Just like the lilies in the fields, no one will be allowed to harm us as long as we have faith in God. If God could care for apparently smaller things like lilies and sparrows, how much more then will He care for us human beings. It is our lack of faith that makes us doubt His Omnipotence. Our ignorance of the Laws in this Creation and how they really operate has further made matters worse. Matthew 10:32-33 “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; (33) but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” In the face of all trials we should never deny God. Even at the threat of physical suffering, which is the ultimate weapon that can be used against one. As Jesus mentioned in the earlier verses, it is better to fear God who is capable of destroying both body and spirit than to fear those who can only destroy the body. The sufferings will only be temporary and release comes with physical death. The suffering brought on by the process of disintegration however, which is the lot of those who do not follow the Laws of God are far more severe and longer lasting culminating in the loss of the personality. To deny God is one of the gravest sins that we can commit. There is only an either or with God. We are either for Him or we are not. We deny Him through acting in ways that are not in accordance with His Will. Other people will want to see examples in us and expect that we act in ways that they have come to expect of children of God. To act contrary is to confuse these people and to deny God and His Will. We pay lip service to God but we do not act in ways pleasing to Him. Refusing to acknowledge the Almighty in public is not the only way that we can deny Him. Not acting according to what is expected of children of God is as mentioned above another way. top The Word of God as a two-edged SwordMatthew 10:34-36 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household." The Word of God is like a double edged sword and as mentioned earlier, it will cause discord in many ranks because by its nature it confronts each individual with the reality about himself and the decision of his life. Is it going to be acceptance of the Word of God and the granting of eternal life or the rejection of it leading to unbelievable torments? Each individual’s soul is faced with this decision and depending on how the individual stands spiritually, he must decide one way or the other. If he is inwardly evil, the odds are that he will decide to continue in his evil ways and if good he would welcome the opportunity offered by the Word of God to develop himself further. Earthly relationships do not come into it. As explained earlier, the real nature of each individual is what will be exposed by this process. For those who have decided for the Light, the reaction of the others towards him will often be a lesson in human nature. More often than not attempts will be made to hinder him and if their persuasive efforts do not work they would resort to stronger measures which could be anything from coercion to violence. top Matthew 10:37-39 “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” This is the Law of the First Commandment. These are the arms that must be cut off, the eyes that must be plucked out if they stand in the way of the realization of the Word of God. The Word of God is what should be most paramount in our lives. All else is transitory. Therefore to place earthly relationships above God is to place these things before Life Itself. These are then the gods we now worship. They now replace the real God who is the Creator and the Sustainer of our lives. The cross that Jesus is referring to here is not the cross of Suffering of the Christian Church but the true Cross of Truth. Thus he who does not take the Cross of Truth offered to him in the Word is not worthy of It. Jesus offered each one of us a Cross of Truth which is His Word. We are meant to accept It by taking It up and acting accordingly. If we fail to do this then we are not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. The cross that the Christians have adopted as a symbol is not the true Cross of Truth. It was simply the form that the Romans used in those days to execute people. The Cross of Truth is not unknown to those who are open and alert. It is the equal armed Cross and has been known since the time of antiquity, even before the advent of Christianity. This Cross is the visible form of Truth and where this Cross is to be found, there Truth also is to be found. Jesus through His Word has offered every one of us a symbolic form of Truth. We must take it up, in other words, accept it and live accordingly. In fact, Jesus Christ is inseparably linked to this true Cross. He embodies It and personifies It. He who therefore follows Jesus, follows the Truth. But the Word of Jesus, which He embodies is this Truth. It is not just a question of one’s personal opinion in declaring to oneself that ‘I am a follower of Jesus’. No, we must be seen by the Light to be acting according to what the Cross demands, according to what the Truth demands, according to the Word of Jesus. This Cross, this Truth embodies the Will of God and it is the adherence to this that will guarantee an entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. So it is “Those who do the Will of My Father not those who say Lord, Lord”. top Mathew 10:40-42 “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward,…..” In contrast to the picture that contemporary preachers would like to paint of Jesus, He has revealed Himself to be strong and unyielding. He was strict and proud. He has warned us against casting our pearls before swine and has also told His disciples to dust their feet from under them if their words are not accepted in any town. It is difficult to see where this picture of an all-forgiving Jesus so bandied about by these preachers comes from. Even the tone of His speech reveals a steadfast and an unwavering attitude that does not fail to impress. There is no sign at all of any weakness in the tone of His speech. It is strict, just and fair. He who would have it otherwise only tries to reveal his own weakness thereby in his inability to make the effort to bring forth the good volition which is the only way forward for everyone. top Reassuring John’s disciples about the genuineness of His MissionMatthew 11:2-6 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?........” The works of Jesus are the proof of His origin and His genuine Mission. By their works ye shall know them. This He tried to convey to the disciples of John. Jesus will not look outwardly different from other human beings. The only proof of His origin and genuineness are the force of His Words and the miracles which He performed. The simple Truth which emanated from Him had never before been revealed and it is only One with connection to God who could teach in the way that He did and perform the miracles that He performed. His miracles could only be performed by One with a direct connection to God and as mentioned earlier these were meant to help seekers and make it easier for them to believe in Him. Therefore making the road to salvation a little bit easier for these people. John knew that He was the Messiah but he wanted his own disciples to gain conviction for themselves. Jesus helped them in this direction by saying that His works speak for themselves. These works that I perform are the proof of my origin and my connection with God. The words that proceed from my mouth in their power also give testimony to my direct connection to the Light. That is the good news. The news that liberated people from their spiritual bondage. The news that showed people the way one more time. Liberated them from the bondage of rigid religious practices. The people were exulted and for the first time in their lives could breath freely because the dogmatic restrictions had been lifted off their shoulders. top About John the BaptistMatthew 11:7-11 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in kings’ houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet…..” Jesus here confirmed the status of John as His Forerunner. It is usual for Divine Envoys to have Forerunners who prepare the way for them in terms of loosening the soil of the souls of the people for the receipt of the Message of the Divine Messenger. They are meant in advance to tell the people about God and His Messenger so that the generality of the people will more easily recognize the Envoy when He comes. John was on a pure spiritual mission and he had no time for anything superfluous. He took only what he needed for his earthly existence as anything more would distract him and make the fulfillment of his mission more difficult. Among those born of women refers to we earthmen; human beings. Jesus again here confirms something hitherto unknown about John. He was not an ordinary human being. His origin goes beyond that realm from which human beings have their origin. So among those normally born of women which would refer to earthmen, none is greater than John. That is indeed literally true if John’s spiritual origin goes beyond those of earthmen. top Arrogant and disgruntled generationMatthew 11:16-19 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates, (17) ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ (18) For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; (19) the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” Those who will never accept the Word will never accept It. They will always have excuses to reject It. It is of no use to be more accommodating towards these people. Jesus considered them childish. Even if these people were given the clearest proof of the existence of God and of the truth of His Word, they still would not believe. They will always have one thing or the other to say. John came to them strictly living his life and denying himself like all prophets of old in Israel had done and they still thought that he was possessed. Jesus came and lived a normal life and they said that it was too normal; He mixed with sinners and so on and so forth. If He did some other thing in order to make Himself appealing to them, they would still criticize in one way of the other. All this in order to continue to foster that spiritual indolence which prevents personal exertions. They would never want to exert themselves and if in the Judgment, they are cast out, they would still never accept that this was a justifiable retribution for their spiritual indolence. They would think of themselves as victims instead of sinners. Corrupt to the core, rotten fruit who are a danger to those around them. It would never indeed be possible to save such people and it is better if they are left alone to their designs. Jesus however was not unduly concerned about these people. The response that He was receiving among the people justified His Mission and the way that He was going about it. His Work was bearing fruit and the people were beginning to change their ways. top Upbraiding the citiesMatthew 11:20-24 Then he began to upbraid the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. (21) “Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Beth-sa'ida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes……” Again the strictness and severity which are characteristic of Jesus. He was not grieving and lamenting here. He was not perhaps feeling sorry for Himself here. He was chastising these people and telling them about the just consequences of not listening to His words. The miracles and mighty works which were meant even further to help these people, to make it easier for them to believe in Him and change for the better did not help. What then will work to change these people? Probably nothing. Even the greatest works and power did not induce them to change. These works did not penetrate into their souls. With these words, He passed judgment on those who would not listen to the only Word that would prevent them from destruction under the just Laws of God. There is probably nothing anymore that can be done for the inhabitants of these cities. If these mighty works of miracles was not enough to wake them up from their spiritual lethargy, then nothing will. Those who had been chosen by God had rejected Him and Jesus was certain that if the works that He had accomplished in these Jewish cities had been accomplished in non Jewish ones, the inhabitants would have since changed for the better. From then on, the Word was now to be allowed to be spread among all nations. The Israelites had lost their spiritual supremacy and abandoned. With this realization, Jesus had now to let His Word be spread and the mantle of leadership be taken up by some other people. He concluded by saying that the fates of the inhabitants of these Jewish cities and the cities themselves would be so unbearably grievous at the time of reckoning. A fate worse than that of Sodom and Gomorrah could hardly be imagined and could hardly be more terrible. It is tantamount to a complete spiritual destruction of those who had rejected the only Word that could save them. The inhabitants of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah perhaps would still have a second chance to reconsider and change for the better but those who so brazenly rejected the Son of God in spite of the great works He accomplished amongst them were to be given no further opportunities. To whom much is given, much is not only expected, but demanded and this is the case with those who had been chosen as hearers of the Word of Jesus at that time in Israel. The peoples of Sodom and Gomorrah had no opportunity to witness such great works, nor did they have the privilege of the Word of God brought to them. Now if such had had to suffer such a fate as they did, then it is not difficult to imagine the fate awaiting those of Israel. The rejection of the Word of God is one of the worst crimes that could be committed and to make it worse, the murder of the Son of God. It is difficult to believe that people expect mercy from God when He had already so many times made His Word available to mankind only to be persecuted every single time. There indeed must come a time when His forbearance will be over. Jesus said that not a dot shall be unaccounted for and the longer it takes for mankind’s trespasses against the Laws of God to accumulate, the more terrible the effects will be. top Simplicity and HumilityMatthew 11:25-30 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; (26) yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will…..” The understanding of Christ’s Words requires the use of the intuitive perception. It requires that the hearer exercise his intuition which is tantamount to saying that he must listen with an open spirit. It is impossible to understand Christ’s Words with the intellect and this is the reason that the men of intellect, the scribes and lawyers really could not grasp His Words. Those who still retain within themselves some degree of spiritual activity strangely enough were the simple people and these were the people who understood Jesus and it was from their ranks that the disciples came. In fact it is only the simple at heart who will always understand the Word of God because this Word in Itself is simple. The Word of God does not require that we first go to University in order for us to understand Him. God speaks to our spirits and it is the quality of our spirits which determine how well we understand Him. The intellect has absolutely nothing to do with this. It would be a contradiction to expect that God Who stands above the earthly conception of time and space to communicate with His creatures through an implement with no mobility or life of its own. An implement which is unable to reach beyond the earthly limits. The simpler we are the more our understanding for God’s Word increases. This simplicity is brought about because the confusion brought about through intellectual pondering is eliminated. Intellectual sagacity is not a sign of greatness. It may be important for earthly matters, but when it comes to questions that really matter, then it must indeed take a back seat. The greatest human beings have been the ones who have used their intuitions and have received great things from the Creative Power that surrounds us. They are able to make great discoveries not through the intellect as have been widely believed but by the exercise of the intuition and the humility which is associated with it. In fact the intellectual sophistry of the would-be great ones would never allow God to reveal Himself to them. They always doubt and will never be able to receive in all naturalness and simplicity. It is for this reason that they are now cut off from the greatest revelation of all time. The Word of God through Jesus. Jesus went further to say that it was indeed the Will of God that it be so. The Will of God are the Laws of Creation and the Laws in their activities which are never arbitrary determines the place given to the intellect only as an earthly tool and adjunct to the spirit. God did not have to deliberately prevent any of the scholars in the understanding of His Words. They prevented themselves from this through themselves. Through their own wrong activities, they so distorted themselves that they placed their own intellects above their intuitions. In so doing they prevented themselves through their own hands from understanding the Word of God. God is just and whatever happens to a man is a result or a consequence of his own wrong doing. If these people are incapable of understanding Christ’s words, then it is their fault and theirs alone in having so distorted themselves in such a way that they have rendered themselves incapable of doing so. The Laws then takes effect naturally in them. Through their own activities, their spiritual aspects wither and degenerate because they failed to use it. It is a natural law that a part which one fails to use withers whereas those parts that are kept in constant use become stronger and stronger. These people having for centuries ignored their spiritual parts and paid attention only to their intellectual parts have had to watch as others who had not been so guilty found it easier to understand Christ’s words. It is simply their own fault that they have allowed this spiritual part to become so weakened as to be no longer of much use. They have therefore through their own wrong activity been bypassed by God. God has bypassed them as He could no longer communicate with them. They are now spiritually blind and deaf. It suffices to note here that most of us would have noticed differences in human beings and for good reason. There are those who have a strong conscience and intuition and there are those with not so strong an intuition. There are those who are spiritual and there are those who are not. There are those who find it easy to understand spiritual things and there are those who do not find it so easy. There are of course reasons for this and often are the consequences of the ways that we have chosen through our free wills to develop ourselves. It is a shame that those with a spiritual part are now been ridiculed more and more by the not so spiritual. The spiritual are afraid of being ridiculed and more often than not do not like to make it known that they are spiritual. It is unfortunate that the great majority of mankind choose to ridicule the best human beings that are left and these mockers would very soon have to be the smallest on this earth. Those with a substantial spiritual part should take heart. The time is now at hand. The time for the victory of the spirit. They do not have to hide anymore. It is time for them to show their hands. To raise their heads high and look the other man in the eye. It is those who have so distorted themselves that they do not concern themselves anymore with the great questions of this Creation that should be ashamed of themselves. They do not ask about God yet they would take of His bounties on this earth. They would enjoy the benefits that life on earth bestows without asking about Who made all these possible. They are the ones who very soon will have to hang their heads in shame. Being spiritually bankrupt it would be impossible for them to raise themselves for full activity when the time comes. I will digress a little here. There are two parts to the brain: a spiritual part which is the cerebellum (back brain) and an intellectual one called the cerebrum (frontal brain). The back brain through the solar plexus communicates with the spirit. It receives from the spirit and transmits what it receives to the frontal brain for further processing. Many of us would by now have seen a brain, whether on television or in biology classes at school. What will strike some of us is the huge size of the frontal brain as compared to other parts of the brain. It has been explained that the greater intellect of mankind was the reason for the development of the massive frontal brain. That the need for a greater intellect for man led to this. The back brain on the other hand is so small in comparison even though it looks very similar to the frontal brain in appearance. The spiritually receptive part of the brain is much smaller than the intellectual part of the brain. That is the general story with mankind. All the brains that are examined have this characteristic. Is it then surprising to see that mankind of today is an intellectual one? All have developed the brain in the same way. The spiritual part of their brain is very small. Are we then surprised that there is no spiritual activity as far as this mankind is concerned? The tool that he was meant to use for spiritual activity lies within him small, degenerate and shrivelled. This is a natural consequence of millennia of one sided overuse of the intellectual brain by the whole of mankind. Through the law of adaptation, that part which was more often exerted became bigger and consequently stronger. Whereas that part which has been ignored never got to develop at all. This condition eliminated spiritual activity but strengthened intellectual activity. Man of today therefore is an intellectual man not a spiritual one. Both parts of the brain should have been developed absolutely equally for joint activity, the back brain receiving from the spirit and the intellect carrying out the instructions from the spirit here on earth. This distortion however became the normal condition of the physical bodies of earthmen since all human beings took part in this decision to follow the intellect. This condition of the earthly brain therefore became hereditary passing this characteristic from one generation to the other. This is therefore the hereditary sin which followed the fall of man, which fall was the momentous decision to follow the dictates of the intellect rather than the spirit. top The back brain is more or less active in various people and it is more active in some than others. Those in whom it is more active are better able to understand spiritual concepts and are the ones with the quality of “deep inner feeling”. These are also the people with the inner mobility to understand the Word of God. These human beings are very few indeed and are even getting smaller as materialism becomes more and more popular. The pursuit of only earthly ends without any thought for what comes after this. Those who have stayed behind however, and have retained their spiritual parts and have kept their back brains active are the simple and the babes that Jesus referred to here. They will receive the greatest gifts and witness the greatest miracles as they have retained their connection with God. All over the centuries, these are the people who have been persecuted, murdered and marginalized by those who are of the intellect. History proves this. Human kind from time immemorial has divided itself into two. Those who belong to God through the quality of the possession of the intuitive perception and those who do not. The latter have always used force against the former, have killed, tortured and persecuted them. This is the proof that these people do not belong to God. Those who belong to God would never use these horrible means against others. Those who belong to God would never kill or torture other human beings. It does not matter under what guise they do all these. Whether they are members of a Church or even heads of these Churches. “By their actions ye shall know them”. The very fact that they used and are still using means which have been censured by Jesus proves that indeed they do not belong to Him. The earthly authorities have often been on the side of these people as these authorities themselves were formulated through the earthly intellect. Do not then expect real justice from any earthly organization. Real Justice is to be expected only from God through His Laws. There would have been justice on earth if these Laws had been harmonised with the Divine Laws but they are not. The laws were written by the intellect and have been used over thousands of years against those who hold a contrary opinion and who choose to live their lives differently. The narrowness of the intellect would rather have everyone live uniform lives, sanctioned by men who do not know the first thing about real life. We must therefore look about us more keenly in order to recognize who the enemy really is. We should look within ourselves and recognize that it is not our neighbours who are to blame for anything. It is the individual himself who must change first. If we change our own intellectual outlook and begin to live a spiritual life, then perhaps we may be able also to induce the same change in our neighbour. We are all uniformly bound. Until this is done, until we recognize that change starts with us, with each individual, there can be no question of any hope for mankind. To continue with the next verse, Jesus said that all things had been given to Him by the Father. Jesus was the Son of God. He was an Envoy of God. Since He was an Envoy, He had been given all authority of a Regent. When a regent sends an envoy on a mission, he grants this envoy full powers of negotiation on his behalf. The same is true here. Jesus had been granted all Powers and all Authority by God as the representative of God. If we wanted to see God we have to go through Jesus. If we wanted to communicate with God we had to go through Him. He had full authority in this Creation to act on behalf of God. There is nothing that would not yield to Jesus in the whole of Creation; there is nothing that would not be brought into line with His Name. There is nothing that Jesus would not be able to accomplish. With the greatest Love in His heart, He asked those who would listen to Him to come to Him for succour and relief. To come to Him so as to lighten their spiritual burden through the Teachings that He expounded. He asked them to learn from Him and realize that it is not that difficult to know God as long as they trust Him and are willing to adjust themselves. They should throw off all earthly learnedness and wanting to know better. They should throw off all intellectual pondering and learn to be simple human beings. The burden that the people carried with themselves are husks which they had learned in their religious schools and which hitherto had been deemed necessary for an entrance in to the Kingdom of God. Jesus promised to make their burdens light by telling them to shake off these preconceived ideas which weighed like heavy pressure upon these people. The Pharisees, through their strict religious rule put a very heavy yoke on the people indeed and many of them were made to believe that they had to adhere to so many of these rules before they could enter the Kingdom of Heaven. These rules were often mundane earthly externals which had nothing to do with real spiritual ascent. This realization was what Jesus wanted to bring to the people. top Jesus reveals His true identityMatthew 12:1-14 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. (2) But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath……” It is often affirmed in places that Jesus was poor and probably unlettered. Nothing could be further from the truth. One coming out of God only needed to take what is necessary for His earthly life and Mission nothing more. The quotes here proofs that not only was He well informed and educated, He was very articulate in the way He rebuffed His adversaries using the law that these people thought they knew best against them. “Something greater than the Temple is here”. How many of us have thought about the significance of this statement. With this statement, He revealed His identity. While the scribes would quibble about mundane things; the Son of God Himself is here amongst them. What is the Sabbath or a Temple when a Part of the Creator Himself was in their midst. In any case it would have required spiritual insight to understand these words and of course these people possessed nothing of the sort. They were perched men of intellect whose radiation out of their spirits had been completely choked off through excessive intellectual activity. They would rather pay attention to unimportant details of the Sabbath and the Temple than listen to the Word of God with their spirits. In the way of all intellectuals, the attention and obsessive clinging to details obstructs the broader view of life. The free comprehensive view which they lacked. They were so small in mind that in the presence of greatness all they saw was the Sabbath. The Lord Who instituted the Sabbath, which they thought they understood stood in their midst, but they were so blind that they could not see Him. Even the greatest tribulation is still not enough to wake up people who had so gone under that they could only turn their gaze downwards, squatting about dejected on the ground. They would go so far as to prevent Him from performing an act of mercy to another human being because it was on the Sabbath. If indeed God has instituted and decreed that we should never do anything at all on the Sabbath, then it would have been alright. But there was no such decree. This decree of not undertaking any activity whatsoever on the Sabbath was man-made. It was written by man and had not originated from God. They would use what they had thought out and what they had devised with their own brains against the Son of God, passing off such laws as coming from Him. At this stage, as far as they were concerned, He had broken the ultimate law. He had to go. He had to be destroyed. They had their excuse because He was meant to have broken one of their sacred laws. They now would seek council and begin to plot ways to destroy Him. They would from now on look for opportunities to entrap and at the first opportunity kill Him. top Matthew 12:22-32 Then a blind and dumb demoniac was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw. (23) And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” (24) But when the Pharisees heard it they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons…… (32) And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” In spite of all the mighty Works by Jesus and the casting out of demons, His enemies still had something to say against Him. They would never be satisfied. And Jesus knew exactly how to answer them. It would be impossible for Satan to cast out Satan. What would he achieve by trying to do so. What would he achieve by working against himself. Jesus here alluded to the fact that He first had to conquer Lucifer before He could carry out His work. He alluded to the strong man who first had to be bound before his house could be robbed. Meaning that in the final analysis Lucifer would have to be rendered powerless before his servants and his effects could be defeated. If Jesus was using the Power of God in His activity and His detractors had indeed intended to mislead the others into believing that He was not, then they would have to take responsibility for such an untruth. Not only would they have to pay for the blasphemous offence of denying the Power of God, they would also have to account for every soul that they tried to mislead. Then He went on to say that sins against Him personally could be forgiven but never those against the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit activates the Laws of this creation and if these Laws are contravened, then it is a sin against the Holy Spirit. Sins against individuals can be forgiven by those individuals, even those personally against the Son of God, the Son of God could forgive because it is a personal sin against Him. A sin however, which acts generally contrary to the Laws of God would have to carry the full retribution against the perpetrators. An intentional trying to mislead the people into not taking the Word of God seriously and attacking this Word falls under this category of sins against the Holy Spirit. God through His Laws had allowed Jesus to come for the sake of an extension of knowledge for mankind through the Teaching of these Laws. Knowledge of these Laws would allow us to change our ways and attain to salvation. Anyone who fights against this God given activity which had been brought about through the Will of God as revealed in the Holy Spirit sins against this Holy Spirit and would have to bear the consequences unconditionally. No individual will be able to forgive him his sins until he has passed through the mills of the Laws of God and has come to realize what he had done and atoned for these sins. There can be no subterfuge. He has obstructed the Will of God and would have to face the retribution which is the lot of those who do this. He warned that those who are not with Him are against Him. There can be no in between with the Laws of God. It is either or. There can be no sitting on the fence with His Word. It is either we accept it and as such we are counted as belonging to Him or we reject it and are counted as belonging to Lucifer. It is said that even the lukewarm shall be spewed out. That is how it is with God. This is the reason for Jesus saying that he who is not with Him is against Him and he who does not gather with Him scatters. The Laws of God make it impossible to sit on the fence, indifferent. Indifference is tantamount to a rejection, a negation. It is simply impossible. One is categorized automatically, either as belonging or not. One indeed may see oneself as neutral but the opinions of one of oneself do not count as far as the Laws of God are concerned. It is how the Light sees us that counts. top The origin and consequences of thoughtsMatthew 12:33-37 "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. (34) You brood of vipers! how can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (35) The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. (36) I tell you, on the day of judgment men will render account for every careless word they utter; (37) for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Nothing is more clear in the way Jesus explains one of the cornerstones of the Divine Will; the Law of Reciprocal Action. The Law of Sowing and Reaping. Also the nature of men is made abundantly clear. A man who is good, pure in heart can only produce thoughts which are in accordance with his nature and vice versa. The good man through his nature can only speak good words, produce good thoughts and also only do good deeds. It is simply the lawful consequences that everyone knows about. It simply cannot be otherwise. Every word that we utter, every thought that we produce and every action that we perform are our responsibility. These are our works and we must bear the consequences for these works. There is no indication here of His carrying the sins of anyone on His shoulders. The Laws are there from all eternity, why should Jesus Who had said that He had not come to overthrow the Laws of God go against them. The Laws have always since the beginning of Creation taken care of reward and punishment for all mankind. Why should they suddenly change with the coming of Jesus. These Laws are inflexible, eternal and perfect. They would not be deemed so if they changed their nature all the time. Jesus being out of God also was perfect and would not go against the Laws that He was part of. Some will say that if we believe in Jesus then that is when He can carry our sins on His shoulders. Well, no. If we believe in Jesus and we truly follow His Word then we will become better human beings and we will produce better thoughts, better words and better deeds. These good works will cling to us and gradually will nullify our previous evil works. That way our previous sins will be forgiven because through the Laws of God our good works now counteract our previous evil works. There is no carrying of sins on anyone’s shoulders. We have to do all the work ourselves. This is the effect of Christ’s words. This is the reason He spent so much time trying to exhort us to change for the better. Changing for the better leads to the forgiveness of sins only in the way mentioned above. Christ knew this and this explains His emphasis on righteousness and good works. Of course belief in Jesus is a first step but we must do what He asks of us and this is the reason He said that “Not all those who say Lord, Lord but those who do the Will of God will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” His Words are meant to induce a change for the better in us. This change then leads us to produce good works, which works backwards to nullify the old. We pay back our debts in this way. There is no other way out. If we do not do this, then we bear a double guilt of first, ignoring the Word from the Light which was meant to help us and secondly we not only fail to eliminate the old evil, we even add to them. We are all judged by our works. The spiritual standing of every human being is determined by his works which are the forms of his thoughts, words and deeds. If our works are good, we rise higher and if evil, we descend lower. The Judge sees our works because they are attached to us and through the Laws, He allows the consequences of our works to return to us in retribution, no matter how small. Everything is accounted for and recorded, nothing is lost in this Creation. This is why Jesus said that not a word, not a jot will escape being accounted for. Through our activities, we will be judged. If our works had been predominantly evil, then we go to places which correspond to our natures and vice versa. Another Law comes into effect here: the Law of Spiritual Gravity. Our works are either heavier or lighter depending on their nature. If they are dark and evil, then as a natural consequence, they are heavier and if they are good, then they are lighter. These works are attached to our spirit bodies and they make them lighter or heavier as mentioned above. Those whose works have been predominantly evil will have heavy spiritual bodies and those who have been good will have light spiritual bodies. The effect of this is that those with light spiritual bodies will be able to rise in the Beyond to places corresponding to their weight through the activity of this Law of Spiritual Gravity. On the other hand those whose works have been predominantly evil will sink to regions which correspond to their weights. This process is entirely natural and automatic. In the places where they find themselves, they will meet human spirits of like nature and also the forms which they have produced through the exercise of their free wills. So we are judged and segregated through our works. top Matthew 12:38-42 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” (39) But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. (40) For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (41) The men of Nin'eveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (42) The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. In spite of all the signs that Jesus had wrought, these people still asked for signs. The Son of God was amongst them and had performed signs never before seen, yet they ask for more signs. If He complied, they will ask for still more. Tribes which had lesser prophets incarnate amongst them listened to these prophets and repented, but the Israelites, who had the ultimate asked for more signs. Here we are not talking of some obscure prophet or perhaps an earthly king. Here it was a question of a gift of God to an ungrateful generation. Jesus had already with this passed judgment on those who were present at that time and who refused to heed His Word. top Matthew 12:43-45 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none. (44) Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. (45) Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.” The lot of those who hear the Word and do not use it is explained here. Those who hear the Word and do nothing with It are ten times worse than those who have never heard It. The Power in the Word which has been given to those who receive It must be put to use to make them change for the better. If not used, then this Power Itself will turn against them and destroy them. It would help push them back into their former faults and in a much more serious way. This is what is meant by this parable. The man in question heard the Word, was happy, got rid of his former faults but with time he failed to continue to exert himself. When his former faults returned, he allowed these faults room to come in and backslided. His former faults grew stronger in him because it was now able to attract similar forms to itself. He would now be forced to make far greater efforts to free himself than he initially did and he runs the risk of further sliding downwards and the faults may prove too strong for him to overcome. The reason he got worse was that the Power of God that he rejected will now work against him instead of in his favour. It will become a curse to him instead of a blessing. It is like any talent that is not well used becomes the downfall of those who fail to use them properly. Since that generation had rejected the Word of Jesus, the Power in this Word will now be a curse to them, It would now act against them and help push them into the abyss. The darkness will seize them since the Light will no longer raise Its Hand to help anymore. They had rejected the help that the Light had offered. Their fall will be swift and decisive. Let this be a warning to all of us. top Jesus’ brothers and sistersMatthew 12:46-50 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him….. (48) But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? (49) And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! (50) For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Only those who would listen to Jesus and had committed themselves to the living of His Word proved themselves as belonging to God and as belonging to Jesus. These became His spiritual children, his spiritual brothers and sisters. Earthly kinship holds no grounds here. It is only temporary. It is those who share the same spiritual values and homogeneity that are truly brothers and sisters. These are brethren in the real sense of the word. Of what use is it to have an earthly brother who does not share the same spiritual values with you and on the contrary works in the opposite direction. Here I do not mean religion or in the superficial way we tend to judge other human beings. I mean in the true spiritual sense, which we human beings are not to decide. It is only God who decides who a brethren is not human beings. It is only he who sees the soul. It is only the quality of soul that matters and through the inflexible workings of His Laws He may bring us together to work to achieve some great task in His Name. Here is not the question of a membership of the some church or even holding the same political views. It is nothing earthly and as mentioned above human beings are not to be the judge of this. Those who failed to accept the Word of Jesus obviously could not have any claims of kinship on Him. His mother did not initially accept Him and as such at that time could not have any claims on Him. The yardstick for laying claims on Jesus depended solely on how we stand in regard to His Word. As He explained, it is only those who do the Will of God who can have this claim of kinship on Him. top The consequences of spiritual lassitudeMatthew 13:11-12 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. (12) For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. This is one of the least understood sayings of Jesus. Through Abd-ru-shin however in his book “In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message”, we understand that he who is given a particular talent but fails to use it runs the risk of losing it. It will devolve to other people. The stronger always attracts whatever is similar to itself and as such those who are weak and those who refuse to will in the correct manner will lose whatever abilities they have to those who use these abilities and it could even be so bad that those who are weak will at a particular point not be able to generate thoughts of their own and consequently became servile to these others who are stronger. All that man has to do is to will in the right manner and will be protected from this Law of Creation and will then have nothing to fear. top The tares and the good seedsMatthew 13:24-30 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: (25) But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way…..” God is the One Who sows the good seeds. These good seeds are the human beings who act according to His Will. The Devil, Satan, Lucifer is one who sows the bad seeds or the tares which refers to human spirits who have decided through their own free will to serve him. They are human beings like us and at the end of time just like us, will have to face the Judgment. This answers the questions of why God did not just eliminate Lucifer and all those human beings who serve him? There is a cycle in Creation which has as its beginning the creation and the entering into the world of matter of human spirits. The end of this cycle is the time when some part of this Creation would have come to the end of its allotted time. In order words there is a beginning and an end to all materially created globes. A time comes at the end of their life cycles when these globes have to undergo disintegration followed by a reforming through different combinations. This is the final judgment for these globes. Human beings who live on these globes too will go through this final judgment. Human beings are allowed to make a choice as to how they develop themselves through the use of their free wills. The time allotted to us in our cycles is sufficient for the completion of our development and the full development of our abilities. All human beings are allowed to use their free wills to make a decision as to the direction of their destinies. Those who in the meantime have become bad are not destroyed immediately but are allowed just like those who are good to remain until the end of the cycle when all shall render account. At the end however, through the inflexible Will of God a separation takes place between the sheep and the goats. Between the weed and the grain. Through the effect of the Judgment, all human beings are to become conscious of the effect of Lucifer’s activity and as a result learn a lasting lesson never to allow such a thing to happen again. All the weed, which here refers to those who have been rejected are destroyed. This is the final Judgment at the end time, which is accompanied by spiritual death, the loss of the personality of those rejected. Our works are like seeds which had to be allowed to go through the full cycle of germination, ripening, growth, the bearing of fruit and decay. The same goes for the works of Lucifer. Anything in Creation has to go through this same cycle so that at the time of harvest it will reveal itself for what it is. Evil works will reveal their fruit and good works likewise will reveal what they are made of. The evil fruit will be destroyed at the end of time while the good will be retained. Anything at all once introduced into Creation must follow its cycle to the very end. Lucifer therefore, when he introduced his principles into Creation could not just be eliminated arbitrarily just like that, his principles like everything else in Creation had to follow this self same cycle of development whereby at the time of harvest it will show itself to all mankind for what it really is. The effects and the consequences of these principles and the effects on mankind in our adhering to them will be shown for all to see. The fruits of these principles will reveal itself just like what happens when seeds are planted. It is the same Law of Creation that controls these happenings. For once mankind will see on themselves what effects these principles have had on them. How they have been held from the right path for millennia on end and how these principles have always been directed away from the true Will of God and how these principles have fought to prevent our redemption through the Word of God. Nothing will escape us as we realize with horror that all that we had held to be great was nothing more than a tool with no life of its own and that this tool was fashioned from nothing but dust but that it had held sway over the eternal spirit due to our voluntary submission to it. top The grain of mustard seedMatthew 13:31-32 Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; (32) it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Christ here referred to the gradual growth that will characterize the spread of the Word of God. At the beginning it was always going to be difficult because of the prevailing darkness but in spite of all the darkness and the opposition to the Word of God, this Word must still be spread and must take root on earth. In spite of all the fight against It, It will grow and finally the Kingdom of God will come to be established. Only a very few people initially will accept the Word but unstoppable, It will become so strong through the support of the Power of God that finally all human beings will come to acknowledge It and come to nest in its fold. All fighting will of no avail, all opposition will prove to be as nothing. It will crush all opposition in Its path. Like an unstoppable juggernaut, it will force Its way into the consciousness of mankind. All those who would accept It will be allowed to enjoy of this Kingdom but all those who dare to oppose It will be crushed under It so that those at last who accept It might work in peace without the detraction brought about by those who oppose the Light. top Matthew 13:33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to small yeast hidden in a large measure of flour. The yeast however gradually worked its way through the whole flour. Here He described the gradual taking root of the Word in the souls of people. As many people thought about the Word of Jesus within themselves It grew stronger and stronger within them and the darkness surrounding them had to give way. As this phenomenon occurred with individuals, so did it occur with the populace in general. As the Word of God spread among the people, the darkness that surrounded the people had to loosen its grip on them. This way the Light penetrated the darkness more and more and gradually the entire land would be suffused by this Light until there would be nothing left any more of the darkness. This is how it will be. It could not be completed at that time because Christ’s Mission was violently cut short. The darkness seeing itself losing ground roused all its supporters in its violent struggle against the Mission of Jesus and goaded them to commit such deeds as could hardly be imagined against the Son of God. The Word of God will gradually take hold of the entire earth and all the human beings in it. We all must open ourselves at last to this Word to allow It to penetrate into our spirits and by so doing disperse the darkness within us. Working this way in every human being, the darkness will be forced to retreat and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth draws nearer. The darkness then will be forced to lose ground on the entire earth as rays upon rays of Light penetrate the darkness of the souls of mankind. Just like the yeast parable, the yeast of the Word of God will gradually take over the whole bread of mankind. The decision however rests with us. It depends entirely on us if we want the Word of God to succeed on earth or if we want to darkness to continue to dictate our destinies. If we all open ourselves to the rays of the Word of God, then it will be impossible for the darkness to have any foothold here. We could decide to either open our spirits to God and His Word or to continue to give in to the darkness. The fate of the earth and all its inhabitants rests on our decision to either allow the Light to flow through opening our spirits to It or allow the darkness to flow through in the same manner. Through opening ourselves to the inflow of spiritual power, we allow God to establish His Kingdom here now. If we fail to do this we allow Lucifer instead to set his foot here and declare this place to be his kingdom which he already has. I have described here how it has been in the past. Now it is different. Whether we like it or not, the Kingdom of God must now be established here. Hitherto it had depended on mankind’s will to determine the fate of this earth through the exercise of their free wills and the process described above. Mankind however never voluntarily chose the path leading to God. Over and over again we chose the path leading to the darkness making the road to destruction wider and wider. In spite of all the prophets sent to mankind to induce them voluntarily to change and finally with the Son of God, nothing happened. The ultimate crime was finally committed: the murder of the Word of God. With this deed we set the seal to our fates. With this deed there was to be no second chance for those who behaved in such a dastardly way. It is from then on retribution in the most terrible way for these people who would dare to imagine that they could treat the Word of God with such disdain and expect to get away with it. Now our free wills in terms of its ability to decide whether the Light or the darkness controls the earth has henceforth been suspended. It has been of no use anyway. It has brought nothing but disaster to this part of Creation. It has brought suffering upon suffering on those other creatures that have had the misfortune of sharing this earth with us. Like the germinating mustard seed, unstoppable but not dependent on anything but the Will of God for its sustenance, the Word and the Will of God must now be forcibly established here and human beings demanded to adhere to It. Those who would not will be destroyed and removed from this earth. All those remaining will be forced to relentlessly adhere to this new Kingdom. The Millennium therefore is not going to be as rosy as many of us have preferred to picture it. It will be a time of the strictest demand for the adherence to the Will of God so that at last peace is established. As the germinating mustard seed forcibly made its way to become a tree, so will be the establishment of the Kingdom of God. top Matthew 13:36-43 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. (37) He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; (38) The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; (39) The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. (40) As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. (41) The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; (42) And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (43) Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. This is self explanatory and has been discussed above. Everything will be allowed to grow and go through its life cycle so that it will germinate, develop and show its fruits for all to see. At the end of time, which is comparable to the harvest time on earth, the bad fruits are destroyed and the good ones retained. The Son of Man, Whom Jesus referred to here will be discussed more fully by Him later. The seeds are the human spirits who have been planted by this Son of Man and the field into which He planted the human spirits is the world. Jesus here painted a picture of the activity in Creation that no one until now has been able to fully grasp. This is the vast survey of the origin, the development and evolution of the human spirits. With a few words, He described the entrance of the human spirit into this material world and how this entrance took place and also here alluded to the great cycle of development that each human spirit and indeed the material world is subject to. The cycle of development of the germination, ripening, growth and the harvest. Human spirits have their origin in the spiritual part of Creation called Paradise. They originated as unconscious spirit seeds or germs. With the coming into being of the vast spiritual Creation, the human spirits could not come directly into consciousness under the great pressure of the Power of God in the Spiritual Realm, while within this same Realm were other spirits who could already come into consciousness. The urge to come into consciousness however, resided in the human spirit and it was this urge which arose like a prayer to God to grant the possibility of coming into consciousness. It is only through coming into full consciousness that the human spirit could attain to its full value and contribute to the further development of Creation. In Paradise, it was impossible for these human spirits to come into consciousness because the pressure existing therein was too great to permit the unfolding of their abilities. This pressure was due to the proximity of the Almighty. The urge within the human spirits however as mentioned earlier rose like a prayer to God and He yielded and granted that these human spirit seeds also be allowed to develop and realize the potential which they carried within them. Only in lower lying regions of Creation, where the pressure was not so great because of the greater distance of these regions from the Almighty could these spirit seeds be able to unfold and perhaps over a long period of time develop their abilities to perfection. God allowed the formation of material creation (the world) into which these spirit seeds could descend. In this material creation laid the possibility for the unfolding of the human spirit because it was so far away from God that the pressure here allowed this unfolding. The pressure had slackened so greatly that it permitted the human beings to come in to consciousness, something absolutely impossible in Paradise due to the enormous pressure therein. With the formation of this material realm; the world, the road was open for the human spirits also to gradually come to self consciousness through the development of the abilities that they carried within. There was therefore to be no further ado than for them to make their descent into this vast material field that had now been opened to them. The formation of this material field, of this material world had been carried out under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God allowed the formation of this realm. Under His Command also these seeds descended into this vast field. It was like the Hand of the Holy Spirit was sowing these seeds in the world of matter, the material world. Under His Gaze and scrutiny, these seeds made their way from the Spiritual Realm from which they could not unfold to the lower lying world or field that had been prepared for them. It was this great event in Creation that Jesus rendered in such a stupendous pictorial form. The very beginning of our journey and its very end is what Jesus so described. Nothing takes place in Creation without the authority of the Holy Spirit. Such a stupendous event therefore as the beginning of the cycle of development of mankind could not have occurred without His Permission or Sanction. It is this sanction that could be described as that He with His own Hand sowed these seeds. With our entrance into this world, it was like we had been buried in matter. Sowed into the ground. In the world, within the field, in matter, we were to gradually awaken to the recognition of ourselves. While in matter, we were to awaken the free will and use it for the development of our abilities. All the seeds that the Holy Spirit planted were good but with the passing of time, some of the good seeds became bad through the use of their free will to choose what is evil. Some human spirits at the very outset chose evil. Each one would follow his self chosen path. Each one had started on his journey, which was meant to develop his abilities, perfect his personality and return to Paradise his home at the completion of the development of these abilities. By which time he would have been strong enough spiritually to withstand the power of the pressure brought about by the proximity of God. During our sojourn in matter however, we came across Lucifer’s principles and some of us succumb to his enticements. The abilities which we were meant to develop were never developed but instead we acquired new abilities from Lucifer which abilities were never part of the original make up of human spirits. The sower of the seeds was the Holy Spirit and the reaper will also have to be the Holy Spirit since the sower always reaps whatever he sows. Since He did not sow the evil spirit seeds, He will not accept these as His but will reject them as not belonging to Him. Why should He reap a harvest that is not His. He planted only the good and if some had returned as bad then it is the fault of these human spirit seeds who had not seen to it that they remained good. It is the duty of these spirit seeds through the gift of the free will to make certain the goodness of their heart. The Angels are His messengers who will help in the preparation and the execution of the Judgment. top Matthew 13:44-46 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (45) "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, (46) who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Any human being who finds the Word of God and knows the value of It leaves all the old behind. He leaves all that may hinder him and pursues only that which he knows will profit him forever. He who loves God and has discovered Him will give up everything else and pursue that which He has commanded him to do. This is not to say that we should live in material poverty but what Jesus was saying here is that if we have discovered God and His purpose for our lives, then we should then pursue this purpose with all our vigour neither looking right or left. We must make every sacrifice to make sure that we fulfill this purpose. We must make every effort to guarantee that we do the Will of God because as has been mentioned earlier, our earthly lives and conditions are temporary but the attainment of the Kingdom of God is eternal. This decision will often involve renunciation of our old ways of doing things. It is simply the renunciation of the materialistic way of life and the building anew of a spiritual one. The selling of everything in the parable indicates the discarding of all that is old associated with this man and his willingness to make a fresh start. The same could be said of the merchant who discarded the old. The old value system and habits and his former ways of doing things he was ready to sacrifice for the new, which he found in the Word of God. top Matthew 13:47-52 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; (48) when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. (49) So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, (50) and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. (51) "Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes." (52) And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." The same process of separation at the close of age is emphasized by Jesus. We should ask ourselves why these emphases. Jesus has already painted several pictures of the same event to His disciples and followers. It is obvious that this event is so important that He explained it over and over again using different modes of expression painting different pictures of the same event. With these explanations He wished to emphasize how important it was that we understand the mechanism of Creation and also the coming Judgment so that we do not have to be lost at the end time. The Judgment is the Last or Final Judgment and the consequences of being found wanting at this time was what made Jesus spend so much time explaining this event to us. The consequences are disastrous in the extreme. It is only through the understanding of the impending events in the Judgment that we can escape the consequences. Without understanding it is impossible to free ourselves in time from the world of matter and escape the terrible disintegration which must engulf the part of the world in which we live. As explained earlier, we find ourselves in this material world because of our inability to come to full consciousness in the Spiritual realm. We needed to descend down here so that through the experiences that we acquire we might unfold our abilities, perfect our personalities and go back to Paradise. This is the great cycle of development of a human spirit. In the process of this cycle, through the activity of Lucifer, some human spirits do not follow this course outlined by the Divine Will. They follow an entirely different course set out by the fallen one, Lucifer. Therefore in material creation good and evil human spirits live side by side. Hence the great picture of the weed and the seeds. The field that we descended into was the finest part of the material creation called the Fine Ethereal realm. The uppermost part of the World of Matter. It must suffice to explain here that Creation itself is divided into two large parts: the Spiritual realm which has nothing material about it and represents the origin of all human spirits, and the Material part which is further divided into the 1.) the World of Ethereal Matter 2.) the World of Gross Matter. the former lies higher, it is lighter than the latter. Between Spiritual world and the Material world is that world where the animals and the nature beings have their origin called the Animistic world. On descending into fine ethereal matter, the seeds then made their way gradually downwards through the medium ethereal and heavy ethereal realms until they reach the gross material world. Now this realm is subdivided like the ethereal world into fine, medium and heavy. Each of this is a distinct layer. On passing through each of this layer, they acquire the covering of these layers as bodies or coverings much like we acquire the body or covering of the earth at incarnation. Gradually then we make our way downwards. In doing this we experience every one of these layers as we descend and pass through them. In experiencing each layer, we get to know them and our knowledge as a result increase. We become more and more aware of our environments and as such become more and more aware of ourselves and our abilities. This is the beginning of self consciousness which must gradually continue until we have fully achieved full self consciousness through the experiencing of all the layers of Creation. So we acquire the body of fine, then medium and then finally with our incarnation on earth the body of heavy gross matter. We also experience the earth, we awaken more. We return to the Ethereal realm or to areas in fine or medium gross matter depending on how we have lived on earth. There is a going back and forth between the ethereal, fine gross material or medium gross material and the earth in repeated incarnations until we have fully developed all our abilities. Each time we go through this mini-cycle we learn more, we atone for our guilt, we know that little more about Creation and we become more aware of our abilities. It finally reaches that point where we would have known and learnt enough that we do not need any more to incarnate on earth; then a mini-cycle of reincarnation is completed and then what is left is our journey within the ethereal realm. This is a vast realm where most of the maturing takes place. We gradually rise through this realm in the opposite way that we came; progressing from heavy ethereal, then medium ethereal and then fine ethereal until we reach the Spiritual Realm again at the end of a long journey of self awareness and discovery. This is then the true end of our cycles. These are the fortunate seeds that have followed a straight line and have not wasted too much time in reincarnation upon reincarnation on earth brought about by guilt, which they must atone for through these reincarnations. Those who are not so fortunate, are caught up in the world of fine and medium gross matter and on earth. They have not been so pure as to be able to completely leave gross matter behind. They still cling to all their faults and weaknesses, which really are to be found only in these realms. Here they stay until the Judgment Day. The allotted time for the development of their abilities has not been well spent. It has been frittered away. Among these of course are many good souls who have been prevented from seeking the Will of God through pressure from the evil ones and those who only need a little guidance for a total change. Then of course there are the evil ones. This is the great picture as the Holy Spirit looks down on the field. Just before the final Judgment, these good ones who still need some guidance will be helped so that they can in a very short time complete their development. The Word will be offered once more to mankind so that these good ones will not be lost without any good reason, through no fault of their own but through the disturbance brought on by those who are heading for perdition. Those who make use of this new Word will be harvested into the basket by the Holy Spirit while those who still reject It will finally prove themselves as being utterly depraved and destroyed. Many of us did not take full advantage of the Word and Mission of Jesus either through spiritual indolence or through the wilful prevention of the spread of this true Word by the distortion of the intellect. In any case this Word has not until now been understood by mankind because of the false interpretation given to it in the desire of those who had the opportunity. They used this Word for their own earthly ends and not for the salvation of mankind. Otherwise it would have been easy to find the right interpretation of Christ’s words if we had looked for it. Because of all this and also because the Justice of God would never allow the minority of people who still longed for Him to perish with the undeserving ones, He would still allow His Message to be once more spread among all mankind. This is the completion of the Message of Jesus which was so violently cut short and also the necessary extension of knowledge for all mankind which is so important at this time. It is the duty of all human spirits at this time to look out for this new Teaching. It will be impossible for us to complete our development without this new Teaching. We should look for It lest we be weeded out with the evil ones. The Teaching of Jesus is like a new treasure that enhances the old Mosaic teachings. He who is well grounded in the religion of the Jews will be in a unique position to understand Christ best. Not in the manner of the scribes and Pharisees but in the examination of these laws with open spirits. They would welcome the Word of Christ and indeed would understand Him best. He would be best prepared spiritually to receive of this Word. His old treasures which are what he had imbibed in his spirit through absorption in the Mosaic law would be revitalized by the new Word of Jesus. It would complement it and would make many things which had not hitherto been clear understandable. Rejection in His own CountryMatthew 13:53-58 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, (54) and coming to his own country he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? (55) Is not this the carpenter's son?......” It is characteristic of those who worship the intellect first to regard the person and his personal appearance before they consider whether it is worth it to listen to his words. These people thought that they knew Jesus’ family. How come one who came from a family that we all know be doing the works that He was doing? It is not the personal appearance that matters but what the person is saying or doing. All who would come to the earth are obliged to use a physical body, even the Son of God. This physical body will not be different from those of other human beings. Outwardly a man among men but His core will be different. His core is that of God’s. That is what makes all the difference. All His Words and Works He drew from this core. All human beings are of spiritual nature but the difference between them is the degree to which they have refined this spirit. That will manifest in their behaviours and in the works that they do. The same applies to Jesus but in a different way because His core was not spirit but of God. As such the Works that He will accomplish will be very different from the most developed human being and the words that He will say will be drawn from a Wisdom that human beings do not have access to. With the same strictness to which we have alluded, He refused to perform many works in His home town not out of vindictiveness, but more out of sadness for the hopeless condition and perched nature of some of the human beings. top Earthly tradition against the Laws of GodMatthew 15:1-9 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, (2) “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” (3) He answered them, “And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?......” Jesus confirmed here that the scribes and Pharisees teach the people of Israel doctrines which they have devised with their own brains. These people have devised traditions which are now meant to pass as the Word of God. It is quite possible that history has repeated itself in the development of many religions whereby men interwove their own thoughts into the words of their Teachers and these words are now meant to pass as inviolable truth. In this they seek to mislead people and indeed have misled many people by bringing them under their own influence when they should have set them free by telling them to serve God only with the activity of their own spirits. In this way, they thrust themselves between the upward gaze of the seeker and God. They wanted to be considered as intermediaries and interpreters of the Word when all they in reality wanted was to bind the people to themselves whereby their power over the people would be unquestioned. The history of religion has been unfortunately the same whereby the custodians of the words of the Teacher saw an advantage only for themselves and would not shrink from altering the teaching of the Teacher if this would win adherents to the faith and strengthen the earthly empire that they were trying to build up. Initially these people exploited spiritual indolence by promising an easy way into Heaven but as their earthly power increased they shed their mask and resorted to using force against those who would not accept their interpretations of the Word. They used the threats of torture and murder to maintain their hold on the people. In so doing, they showed that they really never served their master and had never intended to follow the word that he gave. No genuine spiritual teacher ever taught the means that they used against their adversaries. They were but serving only one master, Lucifer who would use any means in his subjugation of the whole of mankind. top Matthew 15:10-11 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: (11) not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” What comes out of the mouth of a man are his words. If these are evil then they are capable of defiling. They come from within him and they take on form as they leave him that corresponds to the nature of the words. Being evil, they are dark and heavy. And being dark, they are capable of soiling the ethereal cloak of the producer. This is the defilement that Jesus spoke about. These forms being dark are also capable of soiling the ethereal cloak of those for whom they are intended. They attach to these people or person and sully his cloak in the same way as they sully the cloak of their producers. These forms are capable of attracting similar forms to themselves thereby becoming stronger around the person for whom the forms are intended and in the final analysis poison the thoughts of these people. These are the processes of defilement that Jesus talked about but which no one have been able to understand until now through the explanations given in the book “In the Light of Truth” the Grail Message by Abd-ru-shin. As for words so also for thoughts and deeds. These in the same manner take on forms corresponding to their natures. They act in a similar way and can poison in the same way. top Matthew 15:12-20 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” (13) He answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. (14) Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit……..” The scribes and Pharisees do not possess any spiritual insight and they would propose to lead people spiritually. Obviously this would be impossible for them. Lacking any spiritual insight, it would be impossible for them to show the people the true spiritual path that these are to take. Being spiritually blind they will not see the spiritual way that the people are to follow. It is obvious that they will give wrong explanations of the Will of God because they do not know this Will. They will lead the people onto the wrong paths which will lead them to spiritual destruction. How could they even imagine themselves to be spiritual guides when they do not know this path themselves? They thought that they knew the path and this is the result of the restriction placed upon them by the intellect with the wanting to know better that accompanies this. Slaves of the intellect always think that they know everything better because they are supposed to have thought things out. For them they are standing at the highest level and it is inconceivable for them that there would be those who could stand above them. Of course they are standing at the highest level. The highest level that the intellect is able to reach, which is at the boundary where gross matter abuts on the ethereal world. It is lowly and the lowest point in Creation. The real happenings in this Creation are well beyond this because they happen at a spiritual level and it is only those who are capable of swinging themselves beyond this intellect who will have access to the knowledge that will forever be closed to the intellectuals. The disciples here in spite of all the explanations still do not understand their Master. As we have seen many times, they sometimes ask Him to give them further explanations. They often caused Jesus great suffering in their lack of understanding of sometimes apparently simple matters. top Matthew 16:1-4 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. (2) He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.’…….” The scribes and Pharisees can interpret mundane signs but have not been able to recognize the most important ones. All the signs and great works that Jesus had performed, they had remained blind to. They still wanted more and more signs. It is obvious that these people will never be satisfied no matter what signs Jesus gave. They have been asking for signs since the beginning of His Mission. They had witnessed miracles upon miracles but they still wanted Him to give them a performance. They wanted to be entertained by the Son of God so that they might believe Him. They who should be the ones serving God but they wanted God to serve them. They make demands on God. Arrogant and ungrateful servants, self complacent and lazy. They would rather sit in their armchairs and demand that a Son of God give them a performance only to still ask for more signs. These people really will never be able to attain to the Kingdom of God with this attitude. top Matthew 16:5-12 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. (6) Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees…….” Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees that can spread slowly but surely amongst you. The doubts and questioning which is characteristic of the men of intellect was already beginning to take hold among the disciples. They, in the midst of all this greatness could only think of bread. All that Jesus had taught them and accomplished in their midst they had forgotten. That all they had to do was concentrate on the great task ahead and that they will be provided for. Again and again intellectual doubts crept up on them and concerns about what to eat and what to drink came to preoccupy them. They were beginning to yield to the intellect and against this Jesus warned them. Unless we become childlike in our faith it would be impossible to progress. We will only make things more difficult for ourselves. We even run the risks that if things are not going the way that we expected quickly enough, we might change our minds about continuing on the right path. These are intellectual thoughts that start in the mind and if allowed can take over completely with all the attendant consequences. Against this Jesus warned His disciples. It is only through simplicity and the knowledge that God is the dispenser of all things that we can progress. top Jesus’ real identity and Peter’s declarationMatthew 16:13-20 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" (14) And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." (15) He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" (16) Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (17) And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (18) And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. (19) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (20) Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. This has been misinterpreted by so many people and some hardly credulous practices have sprung up as a result of this misinterpretation. When Peter issued this declaration, it was issued through the conviction he had arrived at through his intuitive perception and this is the reason Jesus said that flesh and blood had not revealed the answer to him. Meaning it is not the intellect or the pondering therefrom which have allowed him to arrive at this conclusion. Spiritual insight is what gave him the answer to this. Peter’s simplicity of intuitive perception allowed him to receive the enlightenment as to the identity of the Son of God. Nothing else. Not the greatest intellect could have achieved this and just this would have been an obstacle. Peter’s refined intuition allowed him to achieve this. The rock that Jesus mentioned had nothing to do with Peter personally. The simplicity of intuitive perception which Peter demonstrated and which allowed him to recognize the Son of God is the rock that Jesus was talking about. It is on this kind of simple and refined intuitive faculty that the future is to be based. In fact the future Kingdom of God would be impossible without it or to put it differently anyone without this simplicity of intuitive perception would not be able to experience the Kingdom of God. It boils down to what Jesus had been saying all along. The pure intuition, the simplicity and the avoidance of intellectual sophistry is so powerful that there is nothing that we will not be able to achieve if we have it. Nothing will be closed to ones who have kept their intuitions pure. The intuition, as has been mentioned is the instrument of the spirit. If this intuition is pure then the human being concerned is directly connected to the Kingdom of Heaven in Paradise, to the purity that animates this highest Kingdom. He may still be on earth but through the quality of a pure intuition, this radiation that streams from it is able to reach all the way to the Spiritual realm. Whereby such a one has the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. He has access to it through the quality of his pure intuition. Anyone with this quality will never have to suffer from spiritual death because he is always connected to his home Paradise therefore avoiding the disintegration in the world of matter which brings disintegration of the spirit and spiritual death in its wake. He need not fear spiritual death or hell because the purity of his intuition allows him to avoid such dark regions. He need not fear physical death either as this brings him release and he is then free to go back home from whence he came. Jesus always spoke in a comprehensive manner and it would never have been His intention to make the human being Peter into what have become the general and accepted belief of so many people. Jesus, Who is the Son of God could see things in a wider perspective and spoke also in such a manner. The simplicity and the purity of intuitive perception shown by Peter will be the rock of which Jesus will now build His Kingdom. We could also say this in another way that only those who possess this quality will be allowed to see this Kingdom. It is not open to people who do not possess this childlike quality. This childlike quality is the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. This quality is the weapon against going to hell and spiritual death. top Matthew 16:21-23 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (22) And Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you." (23) But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men." It is doubtful whether Jesus would have issued this statement. He would never have called one of His disciples by this name. Jesus was never known for sharp temper and it is inconceivable that He could be angry in this way but we will explore this later. Matthew 16:24-28 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (25) For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (26) For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? (27) For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. (28) Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." In the same vein as before, Jesus tells His disciples of the struggle ahead. He hinted that the struggle might involve the possibility of their losing their lives. Then He gave the assurance that losing their earthly lives is nothing compared to losing their spiritual lives. As He said before it is better to fear He Who can destroy both body and spirit than those who can only destroy the body. Of what use will it be to value one’s earthly life more than the spiritual one, which is the real life. The loss of the spiritual life is accompanied by torments that are unimaginable and ultimately involves the erasure from the Book of Life tantamount to the loss of all personal conscious existence. Even if we gain all that is material, if we control all the material wealth on this earth, it will only be temporary and we will have to leave it behind one day. There is no question of an eternal life on earth. He referred again to the Son of Man and that this Son of Man is to come to repay every man his debts. We would have noticed that Jesus always mentioned the Son of Man in connection with the end time and the Judgment. He also as we saw earlier mentioned the Son of Man in connection with planting of spiritual seeds. The time has not yet come to discuss the Son of Man and I will reserve it for a later time when Jesus spoke more fully about Him. top The fate of prophets and Jesus’ prediction of His own deathMatthew 17:10-13 And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that first Eli'jah must come?" (11) He replied, "Eli'jah does come, and he is to restore all things; (12) but I tell you that Eli'jah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands." (13) Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. Just like the prophets before him in Israel, John the Baptist did not fare better. He was thought to have a demon just because he was strict in his attire and meals. Jesus Himself was not to fare better either. He knew this and He began to prepare His disciples for His imminent departure. He was to be torn so violently from then and He wanted to prepare then inwardly to expect this. He started talking more often about His impending death so that it would not be a surprise to the disciples when it happened. This takes us to the issue whether Jesus knew beforehand about His death and if He knew why did He not do something about it. Why did the Almighty not do something and save His Son from all this. I would say that they are probably legitimate questions and many believers have often racked their brains about this. Yes, God knew about it and God sees everything. Jesus knew about it as He was descended from God. It did not mean however that God sanctioned it. As mentioned earlier, the sufferings and the death of Jesus was already predicted centuries before the event. The prophet Isaiah used the whole of the chapter 53 to describe this event and how Jesus was to fair among mankind. Prophecies are given as a warning to people so that those concerned would change for the better and prevent the fulfillment of such visions or prophecies. The same was the case here. At the time that the prophecy was revealed, the spiritual conditions of the inhabitants of Israel was so dark that they had become servants of the darkness instead of what they ought to be; servants of the Light. They had sunk so low that they now served the darkness and could easily be used by the darkness against some messenger from the Light. It was already the case in Israel that prophets had been stoned to death or tortured. Given this dark spiritual state in which all were in opposition to the Light, it was then not surprising that a Messenger out of God would be furiously opposed by these same people and ultimately do away with this Messenger. The darkness had enough followers in the household of Israel that it could call this household its own and could call on his troops in opposition to anyone who would oppose his reign over this people. The prophecy therefore which concerned Jesus was revealed to Isaiah, one of their prophets, detailing the events that would surround Jesus when His time comes. Prophecies are not given without a purpose. They are not given for informational purposes only. They are given to be acted upon. Those that these prophecies concerned should have seen this prophecy as a great indictment on their spiritual state and should have changed their ways as a result. It was ignored however and by the time Jesus came, Lucifer’s minions had increased even more. They had increased greatly in number and were now to be found in positions of prominence in the society, including the clergy. How ironic. Since the people of Israel did not use the time to change spiritually before the coming of Jesus, the die was cast and Jesus knew that what had been feared some centuries earlier and against which a warning had been given was now a distinct possibility. The reason why He still came in spite of the dangers goes to show the desperate spiritual plight of the human beings who were still good and longed for God. In the midst of all the darkness, there were still a minority who in spite of the persecutions of those who do not long for the Light still sought God and His Kingdom. These people would have had to go down into perdition with the others under the actions of the Divine Wrath. They would have had to go down in spite of their pure volition if no way was shown to them about how to adjust their lives to God. The prophets of old had tried but failed in this. They were always persecuted and in fact their words were no longer strong enough to awaken mankind from the sleep of death which had gripped many a soul. The darkness surrounding man was so great that it would have been impossible for any earthly prophet to make any impact. Someone stronger was needed. Someone so powerful that He could burst asunder the dark night of the soul. It was God Himself through His undimmed Word Who offered this possibility. The darkness surrounding the spirits was that desperate and perdition would have followed irretrievably. But good human beings would have been lost in the process. This the Justice of God would never permit. So for the sake of this few who were still longing for God, Jesus still came down with His Word. This is the reason He came and this is the sacrifice that He gave. To now assert the contrary and still cling to contemporary opinions only reveals that many of us have given ourselves up as lost. Only the Love of God is capable of accomplishing such a deed. Instead of acknowledging these facts and thanking God for His inexpressible Love and Mercy, many will hold forth to their taught beliefs. Even the most terrible tribulation is still not enough to awaken these people. So in spite of all the dangers, He still came. It was now left to the people of Israel to use their free wills to either accept or reject Him. They will however have to account for the use of their free will in this manner however. God placed His Laws in Creation. Jesus will fulfill His Mission in spite of all earthly dangers. Jesus in incarnating accepted to place Himself under all the Laws of His Father. These Laws also are operative on this earth. If the people of Israel decided to reject Him and even plot to kill Him, so be it. God does not intervene to change the wills of men. He will never interfere with the decisions of men. Men have a free will but they must bear all the consequences resulting from the use of this will. God will not suddenly change the wills of the people of Israel or perhaps bring Jesus from the cross. That would be an arbitrary act. There was no question of Jesus coming down from the Cross unless He had physical help. That is the Law of Creation and God will never act contrary to His Own Laws. He is Perfect and perfection means immutability. No change. The physical laws state that it would be impossible to come down from a cross in a crucifixion unless there is physical help available to the crucified person. Jesus also had to obey this law since it was one of the Laws in Creation of which He is a Part. top If the people of Israel had taken that prophecy to heart and changed for the better, then their religion would have developed in such a way that people with spiritual insight would be the ones in the clergy and not the intellectuals which happened to be the case. These people with spiritual insight would immediately have recognized Jesus as the prophesied Messiah and Jesus’ Life and Mission would have had a different outcome. In fact many people recognized Him as the Messiah but not among the generality of the ruling classes who held both political and religious power. Why did He not flee some will ask? Why did He not tell the priests what they wanted to hear? Make peace and be done with it? Let it be said that a confrontation was inevitable. To have fled would have defeated the purposes of His Mission. First He was sent to accomplish His Mission among the people of Israel because still in spite of their stiff necked nature, they still bore the greatest possibility for the understanding of His Words. Secondly, He had achieved so much in the souls of the people that to flee would have undermined the purpose of it all. The people would have begun to doubt Him and that would have completely undermined the Work of Redemption. Also when the confrontation came and he was asked about His Origin, to have denied this would have been disastrous. Everything He had worked for and all the beliefs of His followers rested on this very fact. It was then not surprising that that was what the darkness wanted to use most against Him. When He refused to deny His Origin and even reaffirmed it, the priest tore his clothes and declared a verdict of death. He could have saved Himself by denying His Origin but this would have been going against His Own teaching where He said that we should never fear those who can only destroy the body but fear Him Who can destroy body and spirit. It was the last trump card played by the darkness hoping that Jesus, at the threat of physical suffering and death would deny His Origin. This would have completely destroyed His Work and the seeds of Salvation that He had already planted in the souls of the believers would have been destroyed. He however vanquished the darkness completely. He was prepared to die for what He believed in and laid down His Life so that His Message might be preserved for posterity. His Teaching would have disappeared completely and He would have been a footnote in history if He had fled or denied His Origin. He died so that the way to Salvation might be open to us through His Word. He died so that we might continue to have His Word and if we act accordingly Salvation will be ours. His Word will be the germinating mustard seed or the yeast in the large body of dough, which if acted upon will spread within us and force the darkness to loosen its grip on us. This is what He died for. In the hope that mankind might adhere to His Word. What then do we have today? Have mankind adhered to His Word? Only a very few people used the Message of Jesus for the salvation of their own souls. The vast majority, including the leaders simply followed in the example of Israel. They formed a religion out of the Word of Jesus. top Simplicity, Childlikeness and HumilityMatthew 18:1-6 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (2) And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, (3) and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (4) Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven…..” The person who is childlike is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the quality of childlikeness not the child itself that Jesus was referring to. This quality of childlikeness is the representation of purity for mankind. A human being who is childlike in the real sense of the word has attained to purity. This purity links him to the Luminous Heights. The more childlike we are the purer we are and the purer we are the higher we rise and as such the greater we are and as such the more powerful. The quality of purity is therefore the most important because it links us in the most direct way to the Purity of God from Whom we receive the greatest power. We should therefore as human beings pursue this purity which is the most important. The purer we are the purer our intuitions. This has the effect of keeping us linked with the Paradise which is our home. Occasionally we feel protected by the Power of God just like the perfect human spirits in Paradise continuously feels this protective Power. Again Jesus speaking comprehensively and symbolically could not be referring to a specific child. He was saying that we should be like them in their simple unassuming nature. This is however difficult for the man of today because of his intellectual sagacity. Yet he can achieve nothing for his spirit without this childlikeness. The lack of understanding here has led many to believe that all children are innocent. There is nothing further from the truth. Certainly we know of children who are definitely not innocent. How do we account for this discrepancy. This once more proves that Jesus was not speaking about children or a particular child but was as usual speaking in a broad form about the quality of childlikeness. Children are nothing but souls who have reincarnated either as a result of their own fault or forced to do so because of one karmaic burden or the other. Or because they need to complete their development. No child is innocent in the way that we like to ascribe innocence. Children often come with very heavy karma which as maturity sets in they have to start making the efforts to cast off. We should already have arrived at this conclusion with our experiences. top Unconditional and limitless forgivenessMatthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (22) Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven…..” We have been commanded to always forgive those who sin against us. It is a Commandment and we must obey it. The consequences of not obeying it are that we are retarded in our spiritual development in the way already discussed. Also in our relationship to the Almighty, the measure of mercy we use against our fellow human beings will be used against us. The level of leniency we give is what we will receive from the Lord. There is to be no limit to the number of times we forgive our fellow men. We are to be patient and forgiving always. That way we do not carry any baggage with us in our hearts when we have to cross into the Beyond. We cross freely with nothing that would hinder our free movement towards the Light. top Matthew 19:3-9 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” (4) He answered, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,…….” What God has joined together let not man put asunder here refers to marriages made in heaven. If two people bring complementary qualities with them and they find each other and have decided to marry, such a union is made in Heaven because of the complementary qualities of these two people. They are meant for each other and the permanence of their relationship is guaranteed through the complementary qualities that they have. Their marriage will bring blessings into Creation. If then an outsider, whether the parents or someone else tries to break up this relationship, then they are going against this Commandment by Jesus. They are breaking up a relationship which would bring happiness and blessing in Creation and are therefore contravening what God had already joined together through His Laws. It will never be the wish for such people to separate because their union is permanent due to their complementary qualities. Those who break up such a union must bear heavy responsibility for preventing a union that would have brought immense blessing to Creation. It will be very difficult indeed to free themselves from this guilt. top The advice to the rich young manMatthew 19:16-21 And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” (17) And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments…… (21) Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” The advise to the rich young man as always has been misunderstood and many people have taken up this advice without any modification whatsoever and as such have brought tremendous suffering upon themselves. The advice given to the rich young man was for him personally. First Jesus told him to obey all the Commandments, then he said that he had obeyed all the Commandments, yet he felt that there was still something lacking, something that he had to do if he wanted to attain to the Kingdom of Heaven. This young man after examining his own soul was troubled enough to ask Jesus persistently about what he had to do. Jesus looked at him and knew exactly what the weaknesses of this young man were and gave him advice as to what he needed to do to address his peculiar condition. He was to give up all his wealth because these had become an obstacle to him personally. They had become a hindrance. He had become so spiritually indolent as not to be able to rouse himself to do anything about his spiritual salvation. If then this was the case with this young man, then the best advice that Jesus could give was to get rid of what had become an obstacle to him which was his wealth. After all nothing is more important than the attainment of the Kingdom of Heaven. This young man and perhaps all those like him are the only ones to follow this advice. If one is able to control one’s wealth and use it in such a way that it brings blessing to mankind, then by all means they should be used that way. Why give away wealth when it can be used to good purpose in capable hands? top Matthew 19:22-26 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. (23) And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven…...” The eye of the needle does not mean literally an eye of a needle. Once more mankind has misunderstood one of Christ’s great sayings. It was a picture meant to show how difficult it would be for those who are not able to control their wealth like this young man to attain to the Kingdom of Heaven. They are so besotted with their wealth that it is this that they worship. It would indeed be very hard for them to bring forth the volition necessary for progress towards the Luminous Heights. It is indeed the same with all those who are slaves to their wealth. The problem is their inability to arouse the will for something better. There are those of course who are able to do this and it would be unjust to ask these to give up their wealth when it could be put to good use in their capable hands. top Eternal life: The same reward for allMatthew 20:1-16 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. (2) After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard…..” The reward for all human beings who make it back to Paradise is the attainment to eternal life. The reward is the same either for those who were the first to attain to these or for those who were the last to get there. They all attain the same status of eternal life. As mentioned earlier, there are those who completed their cycles of development much quicker and are already in Paradise, even though they set out at about the same time as we did. They took a straight course and did not waste any time at all. They have already achieved the status of eternal existence. When finally we complete our cycles and find our way into Paradise, we will also achieve the same status. Exactly the same. Those who got there first will not be more than us because they got there first. The status is exactly the same, the goal is exactly the same. This is what this parable meant to indicate. Everyone receives the same wage no matter for how long he or she has been working. That is the promise made to every human spirit when he left Paradise at the beginning of his cycle of development. There is nothing unjust about it. It is not a race or a competition as to who gets to Paradise first. The only thing is that we must make sure that we get there through harmonising our lives with the Laws of God. top Matthew 20:20-23 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. (21) And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” (22) But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” (23) He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” Zebedee’s sons are human spirits and have asked that they sit by the side of Jesus in His Kingdom. Jesus is a Part out of God and as such His origin is completely different from those of human beings. Human beings can never be Divine. Even in their highest maturity they will always be of the spirit. A species can never go beyond its origin. Here Zebedee’s sons, being ignorant of the Laws of God asked that they be made Divine. Asked that they also share in the Nature of the Creator which is impossible for them. This is the reason that Jesus asked them if they could drink from His cup. He did not mean a physical cup nor did He mean cup of suffering as people have tried to interpret this; He asked them whether they would be able to bear the Power of Radiation, which those who are able to live in the proximity of God must be able to bear. Zebedee’s sons being human spirits would not be able to bear this Radiation and as such it would be impossible for them to sit beside Jesus in His Divine Kingdom. It is those who at the very outset have been created Divine who can share in Jesus’ Divine Kingdom. This is why He said that it was not for Him to grant but for those for whom it has been prepared. These are the Divine Beings Who have been created at the outset as Divine by God. Through this, they already earn the right to sit by Jesus through the nature of their being. No human being can be made into a Divine Being. He has his origin in a specific realm, the Spiritual and it is impossible to add the nature of the Divine to his nature. This is the reason Jesus answered the mother that she did not know what she was asking. She was asking the impossible. top Matthew 20:24-28 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. (25) But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. (26) It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, (27) and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; (28) even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus here exhorted His disciples to be humble. Never ask to be great. Their purpose was to serve and never to seek to be masters. They were to follow His examples whereby He served with His entire Being. He served God and in this process also helped human beings. It is only in serving God that we become great. In serving we put our abilities to use, which become stronger and stronger and we also as a result obey the Law of necessary movement in this Creation. Also in serving we practice what to the human being is absolutely vital: humility. Without this he can never achieve anything for his spirit. Of what use is it to sit in an armchair and indolently expect to lord it over others. In demanding that others serve us something unsound and unnatural is created whereby we will have to resort to force to ensure that this happens if those that we demand to serve us refuse to do so. This is actually the bane of mankind of today. The reasons for some of the ills in society is this demand that others serve us while we sun ourselves in glorified indolence. There is bound to be a one-sidedness and resentment which will breed conflict. If everyone wished to serve then there would be that voluntary exchange of services whereby peace and harmony would reign. There would be no slaves and masters and therefore no need to resort to force to compel the wills of others. The wish of many however never to lift a hand in service through the domination of the intellect has led to this unnatural aberration. They would rather be served than to serve and they insist on maintaining this position and in fact could only maintain this position through the use of violence. It is an unnatural position and this is the reason that it demands the use of force for it to survive. Through the domination of the intellect these people having debased and lost their human nature would stop at nothing to maintain the status quo. They would kill, maim, torture, whatever it takes. This goes to prove that they lack even the slightest vibrations of their spirits which would normally feel the sufferings of their fellow men and which also has a natural sense of justice built within. They are therefore dehumanized. They do not know this however, they think that they are the best of humanity and it is not so surprising that they should think so. Through the distorted intellect they have already reached the limits which they can never cross which is earthly. They will never know that beyond this boundary lies all Life. Arrogantly looking down upon others who are not so limited it would not be long before they are made to beg to be allowed to continue to exist. Spiritually impoverished, they will soon be made to be the least in the entire Creation. top The importance of real, genuine faithMatthew 21:18-22 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. (19) And seeing a fig tree by the wayside he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once. (20) When the disciples saw it they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" (21) And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will be done. (22) And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." Faith can move mountains! Through an ardent longing and belief in God, a connection is made with His Power. It is the access to this spiritual power that allows believers to achieve what to intellectuals are impossible. Jesus did not mean here the movement of physical mountains, but the achievement of such great things that indeed they must be considered miraculous. The disciples demonstrated this after they had received the Power from the Holy Spirit and were able to accomplish deeds which confounded their critics. It is the openness to this Power and the ability of believers to allow this Power to pass through them that achieves this effect. The Power simply flows through those who have opened themselves properly for It and takes effect according to Its nature. The human being is able to guide the direction of flow of this spiritual power through his will. This however requires that we be pure of heart. It is only purity of the intuitive perception which allows a connection to this pure power. It will never flow to a human being whose inner being does not already offer an anchorage through the nature of his pure intuition. It is only granted to the simple and the pure in heart as Jesus have made known through His declaration on Peter. It is such a rock of simplicity and faith that allows a connection to the spiritual power which flows from On High. Here of course we must avoid the expression Divine Power. It is impossible for quite natural reasons for Divine Power to flow through human beings. Human beings have a spiritual nature and it is a gradation of this Divine Power which flows through us. This is spiritual power. It is however still so powerful that it can achieve the miraculous as demonstrated through the work of the disciples. Jesus here talks about the importance of prayer. With prayer the human spirit is able to unfold itself before its Creator and can often gain connection with His Power through this. But it is not the conventional type of prayer that can achieve this. We are too used to offering mundane prayers. We say prayers by the hundred which prevents the participation of our intuitions in this process. Without the intuition, a prayer is but an empty sound. As Abd-ru-shin explains in his book “In the Light of Truth” the Grail Message, for prayers to be so effective as to rise to the Feet of the Creator it really must be that which has been pushed all the way there through the purity of the intuition. Words may indicate a direction but they can weaken the power of prayers especially if we have to think too much about the words, even if they are formed prayers memorized and recited. When Jesus said that we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer if we have faith, He meant that through our faiths, we do not even have to ask for anything anymore. Our prayers when we have faith will be prayers of gratitude to the Creator for the wonderful Creation and for being allowed to participate in its further development. To have faith means to live aright. To have faith means that the individual has so absorbed the knowledge of the Laws of God that it has become second nature to him. Such a one in his thoughts, words or deeds is pleasing to God because he serves God through the activity of his spirit. The goods works carried out by him through the retroactive effect of the Laws of God will automatically bring rich blessings upon him. He does not have to specially ask for anything. The Laws of God returns to him the rich harvests of his rightful activity. He knows this through his faith in God and he knows that he will be protected and cared for. He does not have to specially ask for this or for that. His works are his prayers. top Matthew 21:28-32 "What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' (29) And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he repented and went. (30) And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go. (31) Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. (32) For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him. The pretence towards God of the religious leaders of Israel has been exposed by Jesus here. They pretend that they serve Him. They accepted their charge and agreed that they would serve God but they do not as shown through their attitude to His Son. Others however who are regarded as sinners accepted the charge of God. In spite of their status as great religious representatives, they will now run the risks of being rejected by the Almighty because of their hostile attitude. Their cunning and the hardness of their heart was exposed by Jesus. They accepted that they would do the bidding of God but their hearts were set on disobeying Him. They never had any plans on carrying out the Almighty’s charge. They only had their own ends at heart. top Parable about the fate of prophets and His own deathMatthew 21:33-44 “Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: (34) And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. (35) And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another…….” The parable of the wicked husbandmen is one of the most poignant in the Bible. Here Jesus Christ painted the picture of His earthly Life and Activity and the fate to befall the perpetrators for what was to befall Him. He painted the whole picture of the history of mankind with their penchant for killing the prophets sent to them. The vineyard is the World of Matter. The husbandmen are human beings and the householder was the Lord. His servants are the prophets and the son is Jesus, the Son of God. It is one of the most moving parables and it depicted the picture of God letting out the world of matter for human spirits to use for their development and this is exactly what it is. We are nothing but guests in material creation. It has temporarily been let to us for use for the development of our abilities. The Almighty sent in prophets to teach us of His Laws but instead of listening to these prophets, we tortured and killed and in the final analysis when God sent His Own Son, we did exactly the same. The fate of mankind is already obvious through this deed in that those who perpetrated this dastardly crime would be destroyed and the Kingdom of God given to those who are now prepared to serve Him in truth. It is difficult to see the role for a propitiatory sacrifice in all this. It was clearly not in the will of the vineyard owner to have his son killed. He sent his son in the expectation that perhaps through the moral authority that this son has, he might be able to persuade these people to pay their rents. In the same way through the moral authority of Jesus as the Son of God, we were expected to receive Him and obey Him. But as the case with the vineyard owner’s son we killed the Son of God. In the same way that the inheritance that was to be that of the workers in the vineyard was taken away from them because of their wicked act, the inheritance that was to be Israel’s as first amongst nations has been taken away through this dastardly crime against the Love of God. With this crime, the calling of the people of Israel was revoked and given to other peoples. The opinions of men are of no consequence in this matter. What men think of themselves has nothing to do with what the Almighty thinks of them. These are completely different issues. For a long time now these have been two different worlds in which mankind have through their arrogance tried to create a world that is totally divorced from reality and the spiritual. Mankind for a long time has been living in a dream. The reality of how things really stand will soon be made known to them. He who would set himself against this Word of the Almighty and His Will would be crushed to pieces. He who would dare to set Himself against the Power of the Almighty will be crushed. top Matthew 21:45-46 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. (46) But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. Enraged, the clerics would like to do nothing better than to arrest Jesus right then and there and have Him executed. His accusation of them was becoming unbearable and the feeling of powerlessness that this engenders can only fan their hatred the more. They planned and schemed His destruction. He was too troublesome. He now even had the people by His side and it would not be long before they would no longer feel the need to follow the traditions of their fathers of which they were self appointed custodians. top The abandonment of the called people of Israel and the giving away of the Kingdom to othersMatthew 22:1-14 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, (2) The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, (3) And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. (4) Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. (5) But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:…” A sad picture because it showed that the called ones, the chosen ones are the very ones who would choose to follow their own desires and ignore the Word of the Creator. Those who had been given all the talents that they needed to grasp His Word would be the very ones to ignore this Word. There is nothing more tragic in its manifestations. Of what use then was all the preparations, all the talents and gifts bestowed on these people if they were not going to use them. In spite of the very many attempts by God to help us by sending teachers we never changed but as usual persecuted these teachers. In this case those who were invited were the called people of Israel who rejected, persecuted the prophets and servants of the Lord. In the end their cities was ravaged and destroyed as a consequence and the Word of God was given to other peoples (the people in the highway in this parable). Again the fate to befall those who dared to act in this way was revealed. It is inconceivable to expect that God after the murder of His Son would not mete out justice to those who were responsible. He will mete out the most severe justice against these people who dared not only to ignore His Word but went so far as to allow themselves to be used as tools for the execution of the Son of God. As indicated by this parable, these people will be destroyed and others who hitherto had been deemed unworthy will be given the Kingdom. The emphasis of Jesus on this very event through the telling of many parables about it shows the importance of this. There is to be no loving forgiveness for the wicked. They will receive exactly what they have sown. The fact that Jesus used different words to essentially paint the same picture showed His attempt to impress this on His disciples. Many called ones were given the opportunity to work but few when the time came made themselves available for duty. Many had in the meantime forgotten their duties or got involved in so many earthly material pursuits that they could not rouse the inner spiritual strength necessary for the fulfillment of their promised duties. The few that are chosen are the few who have preserved themselves and were able to hear the call when it came. They were the ones who presented themselves for duty. The phrase “many are called few are chosen” does not mean that the Almighty arbitrarily chooses but that the choosing here is done by human beings themselves through their ability to hear the call of the Lord and answer it. After all they gave the promise that they would fulfill their duties when the time comes. It was therefore their duty to listen for this call. Those who answered for their duties are therefore the ones who through the inflexible Laws of God had chosen themselves as ready for duty. Nothing more. No injustice is possible here. Human beings receive exactly what they put into Creation in relation to the efforts that they are willing to put into their own development. It is therefore wrong to think that God would arbitrarily choose some human beings and ignore others even if these were ready to serve Him and had been previously called by Him. top The separation of the spiritual from the materialMatthew 22:15-22 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. (16) And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. (17) Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? (18) But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites…..” The die was cast and His enemies had finally made up their minds to destroy Him. They set about their plans then. They wanted an opportunity. If only Jesus could speak out of turn? Then they would have their excuse to arrest Him and would be able to justify this to their people and also to the Roman authorities. They set about then to try to entrap Him in His words. Because Jewish religious law carried no weight with the Roman authorities, they tried to see whether He would say something against Roman law. Jesus would not oblige however and He rebuffed them. Render unto God’s what are God’s. This is a clear separation of the spiritual from the material. If they would enjoy the protection which the Roman empire bestows, then they had the obligation to pay their taxes. At the same time since they were creatures of the Almighty, they must also conduct their lives in such a way that was pleasing to Him. They could raise no argument against this Wisdom and they left in shame. top No marriage in the hereafterMatthew 22:23-33 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, (24) Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. (25) Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: (26) Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh……” Marriage in the way that we know it only exists on earth. In the Beyond each stands in service in this Creation with his or her abilities. Those in the Beyond therefore, through homogeneity in the nature of their abilities come together for the achievement of particular tasks. The coming together of two people of opposite sex on earth also should since have had the same high goal. Procreation should have taken a second place. The perversion of the sexual instinct however made this impossible. In the Beyond, there is no procreation as this is only necessary on earth for the coming into being of the physical bodies of earthmen. Hence no need for marriage in the accepted sense. Each person stands for himself over there. This just goes to show that these so called religious leaders really had nothing further in their minds than the upholding of traditions that they had devised with their brains. They placed their earthly intellectual precepts above the Will of the Creator. In this way these precepts were meant to pass as God’s Law. At least they made the people believe this. When Jesus began to expose this hollow structure however, showing the flimsy structure on which the authority of these religious leaders was based, there was no other alternative than for them to hate Him and plan for His elimination. When people die, contrary to contemporary Christian teaching there is no question of lying in there in suspended animation and then waiting until the return of the Saviour. This teaching is so defective that anyone giving it the most basic thought would dismiss it as ridiculous, even stupid. So we are meant to lie in suspended animation; where they do not say; some say purgatory wherever that is meant to be. Then what happens to our physical bodies that would have decayed? Well we will get it back. But how? Through some magic wand all the physical bodies of all those who have died are given back. These are the good remember. What about the evil? They go to hell. It is refreshing that at least they can envisage a kind of life after death for the evil but none whatsoever for the good. They have gone to sleep. They rest in peace. Nothing can be further from the truth and this teaching obviously from what we have been examining so far was not taken from Jesus. Where then did this teaching come from? It is the same story all over again is it not? The introduction of precepts woven by the human mind into the pure Word of God which are now meant to pass as inviolable Truth. They simply in this followed the examples of the scribes of Israel. Traditions with nothing to do with the real Teaching of Jesus have been interwoven into Christianity over the centuries and are now passed on as Word of Jesus. This is false. Jesus never said anything of the sort and this proof we have. In His Teaching here He said that God was not a God of the dead but of the living. There is no resting in peace for anyone! Active life is what awaits every single human being either good or bad that passes into the Beyond through the process that we call death. Joyous activity for the good and suffering for the evil. No lying down in some suspended animation. No such thing! There is no giving back of any physical bodies. If these people are to come to the earth and they need physical bodies then they would have to go through the same process that everyone else must go through, which process was laid down by God from the beginning of time. They must incarnate and become children again and follow the same cycle. No other way is available for the coming to earth of human beings. These people really would have to show us where in the Word of Jesus we find things like the giving back of physical bodies and suspended animations and so much else. Those who are good will continue to work on themselves in the Beyond until they are so perfect that they can return to Paradise their home. Those who are evil have to go through such terrible experiences that may induce some of them to change for the better and rise in the Beyond. Those who do not change for the better remain in their dark realm partaking of the sufferings and horror that they helped create through the nature of the activities. At the end of time, those who have progressed so much in their adherence to the Laws of God will be permitted to see the new day whereas the wicked will be swept away. Where are the dead in all these? Where is to be found the concept of suspended animation and the giving back of physical bodies in all these? What I have stated here is the gist of Christ’s Message. What He spent His lifetime teaching His disciples and what He hoped will be passed on to posterity. His Teachings obviously have not been properly explained and have not borne the fruits that they should have borne due to their lack of application by mankind. top The greatest CommandmentMatthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. (35) Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, (36) Master, which is the great commandment in the law? (37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) This is the first and great commandment. (39) And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (40) On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. With the same consistency that have marked His Teachings, Jesus reiterated that it is the First Commandment that is the most important because he who loves God will through the love that he has for his Creator always be willing to fulfill the other Commandments. If however he did not love his Creator, then he will not fulfill any of the Commandments. The fulfillment of any of the Commandments rested on the love that the creature has for his Creator. It is very much the same with earthly relationships between a father and a son. If the son loves his father, then he is more than likely to obey him in all that his father asks of him. Jesus went further and demands that we love our neighbours like ourselves. Not until now through the book “In the Light of Truth” the Grail Message of Abd-ru-shin have we understood what this meant. What we do for our neighbours, we do in reality only for ourselves. If we think good thoughts towards our neighbours, then as has been explained earlier, these good thoughts are like seeds planted in a garden which will bring an abundance of harvest. We reap whatever we sow. If we sow good thoughts as regards our neighbours, then we reap back good rewards through the workings of the Laws of God. We will have what people have variously described as good fortune, good karma or good luck. If however, we persist in showering our neighbours with unkind thoughts, then we reap these same evil in what has also been described as bad luck, evil fate, evil karma or evil fortune. Jesus meant this as a lifebelt for us so that in spite of everything, we would have something simple enough to cling to so that we do not have to become lost unnecessarily. Matthew 22:41-46 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, (42) Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. (43) He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord,…” This is self explanatory but in their blindness, the Pharisees did not see this. If Christ was the Son of God, then He would have to be Lord to David and indeed to all creatures. Since He was a Part of God, He shared the same Essence as God. His physical body may have been descended from the line of David but here it is a question of the real person not the covering. This error unfortunately still persists until today whereby the prevailing conception is that the physical body is the man, but it will not be long before this enlightenment is spread among the whole of mankind. The Pharisees saw it the same way since just like today they lacked spiritual insight and the ability to see beyond the physical and material. top Denunciation against conceit, hypocrisy and spiritual arroganceMatthew 23:1-12 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, (2) “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; (3) so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. (4) They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger….” The scribes and Pharisees have usurped Moses’ seat and control the earthly religious power so the disciples are advised to avoid conflict with them. They are to do whatever is asked of them but are not to follow their examples because these leaders themselves do not practice what they preach. They institute laws that are meant to be followed by others. They are vain and all they do they do to earn the respect of the people. They love to appear important and want to be served instead of serving. The examples set by the scribes and Pharisees is that of vain self glorification, conceit, craving for importance and spiritual arrogance. This example and this precedent, Jesus warned against. His disciples are not to be like these people. His disciples are to serve rather than be served. His disciples are to be humble and not set themselves apart from the generality of the people. The example of the Pharisees and the scribes are the excrescences of the over-development of the intellect. It is only the intellect that craves for importance and honour. It is the intellect that clings to external values and appearance and wanting to set itself above others. Jesus’ disciples are not to become slaves of the intellect. They are to use the spirit instead with its quality of humility and love and mercy. In using their spirits in the fulfillment of the duty that Jesus bids them, they are not to confront the religious authorities. They are to work among the common people. They are not to destroy but build up. They are not to waste energy in confrontations but in useful activity among the populace. If attacked they are to bear everything calmly and turn their gazes only to the Lord. He has sent them among the people and it is among these that they are to accomplish their tasks. If they work truly among the people, then the Teaching of Jesus will take hold among the grassroots and work its way up. These leaders write laws that are very difficult indeed to adhere to and these are the heavy burdens that Jesus refers to. These are nothing but masses of external laws which as mentioned before have nothing to do with real ascent. Furthermore, for a mobile human spirit, they constitute a burden, a hindrance to free unfolding. These laws are rigid, but the mobile spirit will find it difficult to adjust itself to them hence the conflict within. For those who are totally spiritually dead and have nothing more in them but the intellect, then it would be easy for these to adjust since these laws are written by and ultimately for the intellect. Those however who still have some degree of spiritual mobility will never be able to adjust to rigid laws of do’s and don’ts. He also warned His disciples against intentionally exalting themselves, as this is often followed by a downfall. The reason for this is that those who do this deny the gift given to them by God. In becoming arrogant they make themselves and others believe that their abilities and talents and the works that they accomplish are the results of their own cleverness and greatness. Nothing is further from the truth. He has been able to achieve these works because of the connection that he had to the Source of all Knowledge. By so doing He denies His God. No human being can accomplish anything without the Power of the Almighty. To state otherwise is to delude oneself. The justified result of such arrogance is that the individual loses his connection with the Light and is therefore not able anymore to accomplish such great deeds as before. This is the downfall that Jesus warned against. To compound his problems because he is no longer able to receive, he will have to render account for the loss of the blessings that his deeds would have brought to humanity. He would have to account for the non use of his talents. The consequences therefore are grave and such a one may run the risk of spiritual perdition because he may not have enough time to redeem his guilt before the closing of the cycle. On the other hand he who humbles himself will continue to be connected to the Light and will grow stronger and stronger in his recognitions and will even achieve greater works than before. As a result he will rise higher and higher in the spiritual sense. top Matthew 23:13-15 Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who would enter to go in….” The teachings of these teachers of the law as has been mentioned before are nothing but intellectual ordinances that people are meant to adhere to. These ordinances have nothing to do with real spirituality. The sole practice of these ordinances on their own without due regard to the real spiritual Laws will not guarantee an entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Through the institution of these practices and the demand that the people do just this and nothing more or the teaching that this is all that they had to do is tantamount to shutting the door of the Kingdom of Heaven against the people. Through these they have thrust their teachings and indeed themselves between the people and the Kingdom of God. By not giving the people what they really needed for the Kingdom of Heaven and by indeed preventing them from listening to the Teachings of Jesus, they have effectively barred the peoples’ way thereto. No other way leads into the Kingdom of God but the one that Jesus pointed out in the exercise of the volition of the spirit and the obeying of God’s Will. In preventing the people from listening to Jesus and in the non presentation of a teaching which demands the obedience to the real Will of God, they have denied the people their inheritance and indeed their rights through the nature of their spiritual origin to return back to Paradise their home. It is the same today. In instituting ordinances and teachings which have never been sanctioned and which are even contrary to what Jesus wanted, we like the scribes and Pharisees have thrust ourselves between the people and God and His Kingdom. In failing to explain the true Will of God and in failing to demand that the true way to God was the proper understanding of Jesus’ Words in the adherence to the Will of God, we have proven ourselves to be doing just that which Jesus two thousands years ago spoke against and censured. There is absolutely no difference today in the development of religions from what the scribes and Pharisees built up at that time and the way in which they acted against the Will of God. The Church or organized religion, has through instituting practices which have been shown to be contrary to God’s Will and in its failure to show people what they really must do if they really wanted to enter Heaven, have shut the Kingdom of Heaven from the people. They failed to tell the people that it is the obedience to God’s Will through the exercise of their volition to do good that matters not the saying of prayers by the hundred. We have shown that they have gone contrary to every single Word of Jesus. They did not even understand Him and instead of openly admitting to this, they used force and replaced His misunderstood Words and Teachings with explanations and practices which will never open the way to the Kingdom of God. History has repeated itself. Every single Word of Jesus puts a hole in this hollow structure and if only people would examine these Words themselves they would be amazed that they had for centuries been led by the nose by people who had not the faintest idea of what Jesus was saying. But we are too busy dancing around the golden calf of materialism. It was never the intention of most of these people to enter the Kingdom of Heaven even though ironically they are meant to be priests and custodians of that very Word meant to show us the way. The aim has always been for the majority earthly influence, wealth and fame just like Jesus pointed out in the penchant and love to be addressed as Rabbi on the streets. In the same way today these people enjoy the prominence that their position affords them. So they occupy this position and fail to use it for the purpose for which it was created but for exactly the opposite. They bar the way. They would not go in themselves but through their teachings they never allow others to. top Matthew 23:16-22 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If any one swears by the temple, it is nothing; but if any one swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' (17) You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?.....” No clearer words could be stated of the difference between what man has introduced with his brain and the true Wisdom of God. The far seeing and comprehensive view which is characteristic of everything spiritual is revealed here. The narrow minded outlook of intellectuals is also demonstrated for all to see. The intellect can only see things in a one sided rigid manner. Its characteristics make it imperative that it sees only one aspect of a subject at a time. It lacks a free survey because being a product itself it can not do otherwise. But it is this very product which mankind now depends on for clarification on matters which obviously goes beyond its origin and ambit. Is it then surprising that it falls short? It is the fault of mankind. We place demands on a tool that obviously lacks the ability to resolve or handle the demands. Is it surprising that finding itself confounded it will be forced to express itself using obscure terms and expressions. It is bound to come up with ridiculous conclusions such as the verses quoted above. It is bound to press everything into obscure limits and narrow down to its level what are meant to be great things that go beyond it. It is all in its attempt to offer an explanation that it does this. No one can blame the intellect. It only offers explanations according to its nature. It is those human beings who ask the intellect for enlightenment on matters that obviously go beyond it that are to blame. If they are misled then it is their own fault and they must bear the full consequences for their decisions. If they are misled in such a way that they are condemned to perdition, then they have only themselves to blame for this. After all they also have within themselves the tool that was to bring them enlightenment. The tool which was made for this purpose. But they choose to ignore this tool. They cannot blame God for this because God did not create this distortion in the human brain. If we have distorted our bodies in such a way that we fail to hear the Voice of God, is the Latter then to blame for this? If I pluck out my own eyes or deliberately destroy my hearing then is it the fault of others that I cannot hear or see them? It is time to wake up. top Matthew 23:23-24 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (24) You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! The human aspects of religion. Love for our neighbours, forgiveness, tolerance, mercy and justice for our neighbours have been neglected and attention placed solely on externals that do not take anyone anywhere. The weightier matters of the law are these human aspects. Matthew 23:25-28 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. (26) You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean…..” The teachers of the law ask the people to uphold external practices but do not teach them to improve themselves as human beings. They do not show them how to think, speak and act in ways which are pleasing to God. Which alone guarantees that their spiritual garments are bright and clean which corresponds to the inside. They would rather teach the people of Israel to wash their hands before meals and bathe their physical bodies several times a day than tell them that bathing the spiritual body is of more importance through thinking good thoughts. They did not know this hence are blind guides. They could know however but this they elected to ignore and they would oppose Him Who was meant to bring enlightenment. Of what use is it to bathe the physical body a thousand times a day or wash your hands hundreds of times if one is evil within. This evil soils the spirit which is the inside of the bowl that Jesus mentions. It is the condition of this inside that is relevant to how we are judged not the temporary physical body. Even the most materialistic person understands this. One can put on the cleanest of clothes but this has nothing to do with the nature of the individual. This is what Jesus was trying to point out here. top Matthew 23:29-39 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, (30) saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' (31) Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. (32) Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers......” This is one of the reasons why it would be difficult to justify the teachings of a propitiatory sacrifice as an explanation for the death of Jesus. He has made His Will clear here that it is wrong. The history of mankind is replete with this tragedy and this clearly shows that Jesus was not in favour of the persecutions which have been the fates of all those sent by God for the enlightenment of the peoples. The question as to why this is always the case is not so far fetched. Why is it that prophets and those who are sent by God to bring enlightenment are always without exception persecuted? It is not as if it is written in the stars that they indeed must always go through this. The generality of mankind is to blame for this. The decision of mankind always to follow the darkness creates a condition whereby it would be difficult for those who have decided for the Light to unfold. The vast majority of the people and those in authority through the dominion of the intellect have turned their backs on the Almighty. They serve the darkness and it is as such not surprising that these can easily be used by Lucifer to oppose those who strive for the Light. They would use whatever is in their power even murder to ensure that the status quo is maintained, that the spiritual never have any foothold on this earth. In so doing they do not know that they are simply following a larger plan by Lucifer to ensure the continuation of his reign and the prevention of the establishment of the Will of God on earth. Mankind therefore is to blame for this ugly situation because we let ourselves be used as pawns of Lucifer in his violent struggle against the Will of God. He wants to avoid destruction and as such must fight with all his might to ensure that his principles reign on earth. The time would be up for him if mankind would chose to align their wills with that of God’s. He would then be brought to justice for the confusion that he has been able to sow among mankind. He is however trying to avoid this justice by ensuring that there are still people who still revere him and his principles. His fight therefore against the Will of God and also for his own self preservation are therefore the reasons for this ugly recurrence of martyrdom amongst the prophets and followers of God. If mankind changes and decide for the Light then this ugly happening will change and prophets will no longer be persecuted but welcomed by the majority of the people. We can see here that Jesus did not lament or grieve but He threw out the gauntlet to these people. ‘Fill up the measures of your fathers’. He summed up the terrible fate that is to befall this people who have always acted in this Light opposing way. There is to be no mercy or forgiveness for them. They will drink the cup of retribution and no help shall be extended to them in their sufferings. top Matthew 24:1-2 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. (2) But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down." Jesus here predicted the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem that was to occur about 150 years later. Signs of the End TimeMatthew 24:3-8 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" (4) And Jesus answered them, "Take heed that no one leads you astray. (5) For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. (6) And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. (7) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: (8) all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs. The signs of the beginning of the Judgment of God. As explained in the book “In the Light of Truth”, the Grail Message by Abd-ru-shin, the Judgment is characterized by an immense influx of the Radiation of God into the entire Creation. This Radiation affects everything and brings movement into everything. That which had hitherto been dormant and inactive is brought to life. That in human beings which they had tried to hide from others or perhaps unaware of themselves will show itself. All faults and weaknesses will show themselves in the worst possible manner for all to see. This will lead to an unrestrained raging that will lead to great destruction. False prophets will arise to try to explain what they themselves do not understand to people. People will follow these people out of fear. They will however not be able to offer the peace of mind that people desire. This is the proof that indeed they are nothing but false prophets. The people themselves will recognize them as such. Natural disasters are due to the fact that over millennia we human beings through our wrong volitions have led the development of the natural environment in the wrong direction. Through the influx of the Power of God however, all that has been wrongly led will be torn apart and replaced by what should have been. top Matthew 24:9-14 "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. (10) And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. (11) And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. (12) And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold. (13) But he who endures to the end will be saved. (14) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come. Because of the condition described above through the entrance in an unprecedented way of the Power of God into Creation, the faults and all the evil within human beings will come out. Human beings under this immense pressure will act out their wickedness. The effect on the environment and on other people is not difficult to imagine. Obviously Jesus here was not referring to the teachings of the present day churches which have more or less been made earthly. He was talking about the teaching of His true Word. His Word without the added interpretations of anyone. His Word restored to Its original form. His Word returned to Its original luster. It is this new Word which is the same as Jesus’ Word that will now be preached at the end time. We have already touched upon this earlier. The Word of Jesus in Its form will be revealed again in all Its vitality so that for the last time those who had been held back by the additions which over the centuries had covered the true Word may save themselves. This new Word as was mentioned earlier will be preached just before the end. There will therefore be very little time for us to make up our minds as to which direction to take. Hesitation is tantamount to a rejection. We should therefore be on the look out for this new Word. top The great TribulationMatthew 24:15-22 "So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), (16) then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; (17) let him who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house......” The terrifying effect of the Judgment has here been described by Jesus. The catastrophic natural disasters and the sufferings are beyond words. It will be so terrible that if it should last for much longer every single human being and animal will die. However, those who have remained true to God will be allowed to see the new day. It is obvious here that only those who have adjusted their wills to that of the Almighty will survive, no one else. We should see to it that we are numbered among these. top The Coming of the Son of ManMatthew 24:23-27 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. (24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (25) Behold, I have told you before. (26) Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. (27) For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. We have been told to be on our guard against false teachings and false expectations. There will be those who for the sake of earthly gain will institute teachings designed to appeal to that greatest of man’s faults. His spiritual indolence. Teachings designed to take the effort away from human beings. As before, they will exploit this weakness to paint a broad easy road to salvation for mankind. This is however contrary to what Jesus Himself has described. Jesus demanded spiritual activity from those who would inherit the Kingdom and this is the only way. But false Christs will appear who will try to pervert the Teachings of Jesus in telling people that there is another way. In doing this they divert the peoples attention away from looking for the last Word and Teaching which Christ promised. Some of these false Christs will even be so powerful that they will be able to perform some wonders and in so doing convince people even those who have the Truth of the genuineness of their activity. Of all these Jesus has warned us beforehand. We are meant to keep our spirits alert and if we do this then it would be impossible for us to be led astray. The Coming of the Son of Man shall be accompanied by a travail of a great tribulation. The effect of His Coming will make itself felt all over the world. top Matthew 24:29-35 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; (30) then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory….” As has now become customary with Jesus, He again associated the Son of Man with the Judgment. The Son of Man then Whom many have mistaken for Jesus is inseparably linked with the Judgment. Note here that Jesus spoke in the third person. He could easily have spoken in the first person but He did not which indicates that He was not referring to Himself at all but to Another, otherwise why speak in the third person. From what we have seen so far He was not accustomed to referring to Himself in the third person but only in those instances where He had been confused with the Son of Man. This generation shall not pass does not mean that those people who lived in Israel at the time of Jesus will not taste earthly death before the time of Judgment as of course this is impossible. With this Jesus was alluding to the fact that these people will reincarnate again to witness the Judgment. Those who persecuted Him and those who did not listen to His Word will have to incarnate on earth again at the time of Judgment to settle accounts. This is what He meant by ‘this generation shall not pass’. His Words are eternal. It is the Truth out of the Creator and as such It will for ever stand even if all that has been created pass away. If the Creator were to limit His Radiation to Its unavoidable minimum then the end of all that has been created will be at hand. Only the Almighty will remain and in Him His Word. top The separationMatthew 24:36-51 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. (37) As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. (38) For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, (39) and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man…..” We are advised to keep our spirits alert lest we be caught off guards by the sudden appearance of the Son of Man. As human beings if we keep to all the Laws of the Almighty, then we are ready when He comes. His Coming will find us in our places keeping to His Will. If however, we forget our tasks and in the meantime we indulged in all kinds of wicked acts, obviously His Coming will surprise us. To keep watch is to keep our spirits alert. To keep our intuitions awake and alive. If we do then it would not be difficult for us to recognize the Coming of the Son of Man. If our intuitions are alert also it would be easy to keep to the Laws and as such keep ourselves pure. If we do this then, when the Son of Man comes we will be chosen whereas those who have not kept their intuitions alert will be rejected. We will be the faithful and wise servant who has administered the household of the Lord with care, kindness and mercy. Our reward will be great indeed as we will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Keep the lamps of the spirit burningMatthew 25:1-13 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. (2) Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. (3) For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; (4) but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps…..” Those who fail to keep the lamps of the spirits alive which is their intuitions have to face the fate that Jesus described here. Again Jesus has used many pictures just like He did earlier in describing the Kingdom of Heaven with so many parables. It is to stress the importance of this event which is the Last Judgment that He spent so much time on it so that His disciples will understand it. Those who fail in this way and have allowed their intuitions to become dull will not notice when the Son of Man comes. They will be either absent or asleep, whereas those whose lamps of their spirits are alive will recognize the Son of Man when He comes. Those who allowed their lamps to go out will not recognize the Son of Man because one needs the lamp of the intuition to be able to do so. Without the intuition it becomes impossible to recognize Him. Men of the intellect therefore who have no vibrations of the spirit however run the risk of missing the most important event. It is this intellect which dulls all noble spiritual vibrations and will prevent the proper recognition which depends solely on the proper vibration of the intuitive faculty. We have to watch out therefore to make certain that in the meantime while we await the Son of Man we have not allowed our spirits to fall asleep. It is not the keenness of the intellect that matters. On the contrary, it is just this which is the obstacle. It is impossible to recognize the Word of the Son of Man with the intellect just like it is was impossible then for men of the intellect to recognize the Word of Jesus, Son of God. These are spiritual Words and they do not speak to the intellect. They appeal to the spirit and it is only those who still have some degree of spiritual vibration left that will be able to recognize this new Word. The foolish virgins allowed the lamps of their intuitions to go off, they therefore relied solely on the intellect. In doing this they missed their opportunity when it came. We should watch out lest we face the same fate. top Do not bury your spiritual talentsMatthew 25:14-30 "For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; (15) to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. (16) He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. (17) So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. (18) But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money…..” This is a picture of our relationship with our Creator. We have been given talents or abilities which we are meant to develop in this Creation. The development of our talents and their use is meant to bring many blessings to Creation. We are meant to use our talents to further Creation. There are many who would develop their talents and use it for just this purpose but there are those who would not. Some will bury their talents and will acquire other abilities which are not part of the natural make up of the human spirit. We are all given the same talents in an undeveloped form but the variation that we see among human beings is but the way each has chosen to develop. Through the use of their free will human beings will always develop at different rates and this explains the variation in the level of spiritual development among mankind. Some indeed develop very quickly and have an abundance of spiritual talents because of the way that they have chosen to develop. Others are much slower. As long as one continues to work in the right direction even if slow we will be accepted because variation in the speed of spiritual development is always taken into account in Creation and provided for. If however we choose not to develop out talents at all, then it will be taken from us and then we will then cease to be. We will lose whatever personality we had developed up till then and face up to the fate of the lazy virgins. top The Judgment by the Son of ManMatthew 25:31-46 "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. (32) Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, (33) and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left….” Before the final end, there will be a preceding separation into sheep and goats. This means that all human beings will be divided up into two camps. Those who are for the Almighty and those who are not. This separation is automatic and mankind will separate themselves through the nature of their activities and behaviours. The Radiation of God mentioned earlier streams into Creation with an unprecedented force and affects human beings in such a way as to allow them to show their true colours. Those who have good seeds within them will be encouraged to continue to do so whereas those who have evil within will be forced through this Power to continue to nourish this evil. Through this, it will be clear to the Light who is for It and who is not. This is an automatic spiritual separation that must precede the eventual destruction. Those who have now separated themselves through the nature of their evil behaviours will be hit by the blows of the Judgment and they will perish whereas those who are good will be strengthened and preserved. Each one of us will therefore have to watch ourselves and make certain that we do not allow evil to gain a foothold and make us separate ourselves as the goats from the sheep.
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