T
Teacher
Guest
SECTION XVI
AIN
The Second Annual Epoch of the Christine Ministry of Jesus
(first third | second third | last third)
Chapter 102
The Christines at the home of Jesus. Jesus unfolds to them the secret doctrine. They go through all Galilee and teach and heal. Jesus brings to life the son of a widow at Nain. They return to Capernaum.
1. The twelve apostles went with Jesus to his home, and there abode for certain days.
2. And Jesus told them many things about the inner life that may not now be written in a book.
3. Now, in Capernaum, there lived a man of wealth, a Roman captain of a hundred men, who loved the Jews and who had built for them a synagogue.
4. A servant of this man was paralysed, and he was sick nigh unto death.
5. The captain knew of Jesus and had heard that by the Sacred Word he healed the sick, and he had faith in him.
6. He sent a message by the elders of the Jews to Jesus, and he pled for help.
7. and Jesus recognised the captain's faith and went at once to heal the sick; the captain met him on the way and said to him,
8. Lo, Lord, it is not well that you should come unto my house; I am not worthy of the presence of a man of God.
9. I am a man of war, my life is spent with those who ofttimes take the lives of fellow men.
10. And surely he who comes to save would be dishonoured if he came beneath my roof.
11. If you will speak the Word I know my servant will be well.
12. And Jesus turned and said to those who followed him,
13. Behold the captain's faith; I have not seen such faith, no, not in Israel.
14. Behold, the feast is spread for you; but while you doubt and wait, the alien comes in faith and takes the bread of life.
15. Then turning to the man he said, Go on your way; according to your faith so shall it be; your servant lives.
16. It came to pass that at the time that Jesus spoke the Word the palsied man arose, and he was well.
17. And then the Christines went abroad to teach. And as they came to Nain, a city on the Hermon way, they saw a multitude about the gates.
18. It was a funeral train; a widow's son was dead, and friends were bearing out the body to the tomb.
19. It was the widow's only son, and she was wild with grief. And Jesus said to her, Weep not, I am the life; your son shall live.
20. And Jesus raised his hand; the bearers of the dead stood still.
21. And Jesus touched the bier and said, Young man, return.
22. The soul returned; the body of the dead was filled with life; the man sat up and spoke.
23. The people were astonished at the scene, and every one exclaimed, Praise God.
24. A Jewish priest stood forth and said, Behold a mighty prophet has appeared; and all the people said, Amen.
25. The Christines journeyed on; they taught, and healed the sick in many towns of Galilee, and then they came again unto Capernaum.
Chapter 103
The Christines in Jesus' home. Jesus teaches the twelve and the foreign masters every morning. Jesus receives messengers from John, the harbinger, and sends him words of encouragement. He eulogies the character of John.
1. The home of Jesus was a school where in the early morning hours the twelve apostles and the foreign priests were taught the secret things of God.
2. And there were present priests from China, India, and from Babylon; from Persia, Egypt and from Greece,
3. Who came to sit at Jesus' feet to learn the wisdom that he brought to men, that they might teach their people how to live the holy life.
4. And Jesus taught them how to teach; he told them of the trials of the way, and how to make these trials serve the race.
5. He taught them how to live the holy life that they might conquer death;
6. He taught them what the end of mortal life will be, when man has reached the consciousness that he and God are one.
7. The after midday hours were given to the multitudes who came to learn the way of life and to be healed; and many did believe and were baptised.
8. Now, in his prison by the Bitter Sea the harbinger had heard of all the mighty works that Jesus did.
9. His prison life was hard, and he was sore distressed, and he began to doubt.
10. And to himself he said, I wonder if this Jesus is the Christ of whom the prophets wrote!
11. Was I mistaken in my work? Was I, indeed, one sent from God to pave the way for him who shall redeem our people, Israel?
12. And then he sent some of his friends, who came to see him in his prison cell, up to Capernaum that they might learn about this man, and bring him word.
13. The men found Jesus in his home, and said, Behold the harbinger sent us to ask, Are you the Christ? or is he yet to come?
14. But Jesus answered not; he simply bade the men to tarry certain days that they might see and hear.
15. They saw him heal the sick, and cause the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see;
16. They saw him cast the evil spirits out of those obsessed; they saw him raise the dead.
17. They heard him preach the gospel to the poor.
18. Then Jesus said to them, Go on your way; return to John and tell him all that you have seen and heard; then he will know. They went their way.
19. The multitudes were there, and Jesus said to them, Once you were crowding Jordan's fords; you filled the wilderness.
20. What did you go to see? The trees of Juda, and the flowers of Heth? Or did you go to see a man in kingly garb? Or did you go to see a prophet and a seer?
21. I tell you, men, you know not whom you saw. A prophet? Yea, and more; a messenger whom God had sent to pave the way for what you see and hear this day.
22. Among the men of earth a greater man has never lived than John.
23. Behold I say, This man whom Herod bound in chains and cast into a prison cell is God's Elijah come again to earth.
24. Elijah, who did not pass the gate of death, whose body of this flesh was changed, and he awoke in Paradise.
25. When John came forth and preached the gospel of repentance for the cleansing of the soul, the common folks believed and were baptised.
26. The lawyers and the Pharisees accepted not the teachings of this man; were not baptised.
27. Behold, neglected opportunities will never come again.
28. Behold, the people are unstable as the waters of the sea; they seek to be excused from righteousness.
29. John came and ate no bread, and drank no wine. He lived the simplest life apart from men, and people said, He is obsessed.
30. Another comes who eats and drinks and lives in homes like other men, and people say, He is a glutton, an inegriate, a friend of publicans and those who sin.
31. Woe unto you, you cities of the vale of Galilee, where all the mighty works of God are done! Woe to Chorazan and Bethsaida!
32. If half the mighty works that have been done in you were done in Tyre and in Sidon they would have long ago repented of their sins, and sought the way of right.
33. And when the judgement day shall come, lo, Tyre and Sidon will be called more worthy than will you.
34. Because they slighted not their gifts, while you have thrown away the pearl of greatest price.
35. Woe unto you Capernaum! Behold, you are exalted now, but you shall be abased;
36. For if the mighty works that have been done in you had but been done within the cities of the plain--of Sodom and Zeboim--they would have heard and turned to God; would not have been destroyed.
37. They perished in their ignorance; they had no light; but you have heard; you have the evidence.
38. The light of life has shown above your hills and all the shores of Galilee have been ablaze with light;
39. The glory of the Lord has shown in evry street and syna gogue and home; but you have spurned the light.
40. And, lo, I say, The judgment day will come and God will deal in greater mercy with the cities of the plains than he will deal with you.
Chapter 104
Jesus teaches the multitudes. Attends a feast in Simon's house. A wealthy courtesan anoints him with precious balm. Simon rebukes him and he preaches a sermon on false respectability.
1. And Jesus looked upon the multitudes who pressed about for selfish gain.
2. The men of learning and of wealth, of reputation and of power, were there; but they knew not the Christ.
3. Their eyes were blinded by the tinselled glitter of their selfish selves; they could not see the king.
4. And though they walked within the light, they groped about in dark--a darkness like the night of death.
5. And Jesus cast his eyes to heaven and said,
6. I thank thee, Holy One of heaven and earth, that while the light is hidden from the wise and great, it is revealed to babes.
7. Then turning to the multitudes he said, I come to you not in the name of man, nor in a strength my own;
8. The wisdom and the virtue that I bring to you are from above; they are the wisdom and the virtue of the God whom we adore.
9. The words I speak are not my words; I give to you what I receive.
10. Come unto me all you who labour and pull heavy loads and I will give you aid.
11. Put on the yoke of Christ with me; it does not chafe; it is an easy yoke.
12. Together we will pull the load of life with ease; and so rejoice.
13. A Pharisee, whose name was Simon, made a feast, and Jesus was the honoured guest.
14. And as they sat about the board, a coutesan who had been cured of her desire to sin by what she had received and seen in Jesus' ministry, came uninvited to the feast.
15. She brought an alabaster box of costly balm and as the guests reclined she came to Jesus in her joy, because she been freed from sin.
16. Her tears fell fast, she kissed his feet, and dried them with her hair, and she anointed them with balm.
17. And Simon thought, he did not speak alous, This man is not a prophet or he would know the kind of woman that approaches him, and would drive her away.
18. But Jesus knew his thoughts, and said to him, My host, I have a word to say to you.
19. And Simon said, Say on.
20. And Jesus said, Sin is a monster of iniquity; it may be small; it may be large; it may be something left undone.
21. Behold, one person leads a life of sin and is at last redeemed; another, in a careless mood, forgets to do the things hs ought to do but he reforms and is forgiven. Now, which of these has merited the higher praise? 22 And Simon said, The one who overcame the error of alife.
23. And Jesus said, You speak the truth.
24. Behold this woman who has bathed my feet with tears and dried them with her hair and covered them with balm!
25. For years she led a life of sin, but when she heard the words of life she sought forgiveness and she found.
26. But when I came into your house as guest you gave me not a bowl of water that I might wash my hands and feet, which every loyal Jew must do before he feasts.
27. Now, tell me, Simon, which of these, this woman or yourself, is worthy of most praise?
28. But Simon answered not.
29. Then to the woman Jesus said, Your sins are all forgiven; your faith has saved you; go in peace.
30. And then the guests who sat around the board, began to say within themselves, What manner of a man is this who says, Thy sins are all forgiven?
Chapter 105
Under the patronage of a number of wealthy woman, the Christines make a grand missionary tour. In his teaching Jesus lauds sincerity and rebukes hypocrisy. He speaks concerning the sin against the Holy Breath.
1. Now, many women who possessed much wealth, and abode in other towns of Galilee, implored that Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from the foreign lands, would thither go and preach and heal.
2. Among these anxious ones were Mary Magdalene, who was obsessed by seven homeless spirits of the air, which had been driven out by the Omnific Word which Jesus spoke;
3. Susanna, who owned vast estates at Caesarea-Philippi;
4. Johanna, wife of Chuza, one of Herod's court;
5. And Rachel from the coast of Tyre;
6. And other from beyond the Jordan and the sea of Galilee.
7. And they provided ample means and three times seven men went forth.
8. They preached the gospel of the Christ and they baptised the multitudes who made confession of their faith; they healed the sick and raised the dead.
9. And Jesus wrought and taught from early morn until the day had gone, and then into the night, he did not stop to eat.
10. His friends became alarmed lest he should fail from loss of strength, and they laid hold of him and would, by force, have taken him away to a place of rest.
11. But he rebuked them not; he said, Have you not read that God will give his angels charge concerning me?
12. That they would hold me fast and suffer not that I should come to want?
13. I tell you, men, while I am giving out my strength unto these anxious, waiting throngs I find myself at rest within the arms of God,
14. Whose blessed messengers bring down to me the bread of life.
15. There is a tide just once in human life.
16. These people now are willing to receive the truth; their opportunity is now; our opportunity is now,
17. And if we do not teach them while we may, the tide will ebb;
18. They may not care again to hear the truth; then tell me, Who will bear the guilt?
19. And so he taught and healed.
20. Among the multitudes were men of every shade of thought. They were divided in their views concernong everything that Jesus said.
21. Some saw in him a God, and would have worshipped him; and others saw in him a devil of the nether world and would have cast him in a pit.
22. And some were trying hard to lead a double life; like little lions of the ground that take upon themselves the colour of the thing they rest upon.
23. These people without anchorage of any sort, are friends or foes as seemed to serve them best.
24. And Jesus said, No man can serve two masters at a time. No man can be a friend and foe at once.
25. All men are rising up, or sinking down; are building up, or tearing down.
26. If you are gathering not the precious grain, then you are throwing it away.
27. He is a coward who would feign to be a friend, or foe, to please another man.
28. You men, do not deceice yourselves inthought; your hearts are known;
29. Hypocrisy will blight a soul as surely as the breath of Beelzebul. An honest evil man is more esteemed by guardians of the soul than a dishonest pious man.
30. If you would curse the son of man, just curse him out aloud.
31. A curse is poison to the inner man, and if you hold and swallow down a curse it never will digest; lo, it will poison every atom of your soul.
32. And if you sin against a son of man, you may be pardoned and your guilt be cleansed by acts of kindness and of love;
33. But if you sin against the Holy Breath by disregarding her when she would open up the doors of life for you;
34. By closing up the windows of the soul when she would pour the light of love into your hearts, and cleanse them with the fires of God;
35. Your guilt shall not be blotted out in this, nor in the life to come.
36. An opportunity has gone to come no more, and you must wait until the ages roll again.
37. Then will the Holy Breath again breathe on your fires of life, and fan them to a living flame.
38. Then she will open up the doors again, and you may let her in to sup with you for evermore, or you may slight her once again, and then again.
39. You men of Israel, your opportunity is now.
40. Your tree of life is an illusive tree; it has a generous crop of leaves; its boughs hang low with fruit.
41. Behold, your words are leaves; your deeds the fruit.
42. Behold, for men have plucked the apples of your tree of life, and found them full of bitterness; and worms have eaten to the core.
43. Behold that fig tree by the way so full of leaves and worthless fruit!
44. Then Jesus spoke a word that nature spirits know, and lo, the fig tree stood a mass of withered leaves.
45. And then he spoke again, Behold, for God will speak the Word, and you will stand a withered fig tree in the setting sun.
46. You men of Galilee, send forth and call the pruner in before it is too late, and let him prune away your worthless branches and illusive leaves, and let the sunshine in.
47. The sun is life, and it can change your worthlessness to worth.
48. Your tree of life is good; but you have nurtured it solong with dews of self, and mists of carnal things that you have shut the sunshine out.
49. I tell you, men, that you must give account to God for every idle word you speak and every evil deed you do.
Chapter 106
The Christines are in Magdala. Jesus heals a man who was blind, dumb and obsessed. He teaches the people. While he speaks his mother, brothers and Miriam come to him. He teaches a lesson on family relationship. He introduces Miriam to the people and she sings her songs of victory.
1. Magdala is beside the sea, and here the teachers taught.
2. A man obsessed, and who was blind and dumb was brought, and Jesus spoke the Word, and lo, the evil spirits went away; the man spoke out, his eyes were opened and he saw.
3. This was the greatest work that men had seen the master do, and they were all amazed.
4. The Pharisees were there, and they were full of jealous rage; they sought a cause whereby they might condemn.
5. They said, Yes, it is true that Jesus does a multitude of mighty works; but men should know that he is leagued with Beelzebul.
6. He is a sorcerer, a black magician of the Simon Cerus type; he works as Jannes and as Jambres did in Moses' day.
7. For Satan, prince of evil spirits, is his stay by night and day and in the name of Satan he casts the demons out, and in his name he heals the sick and raises up the dead.
8. But Jesus knew their thoughts; he said to them, You men are masters, and you know the law; whatever is arrayed against itself must fall; a house divided cannot stand;
9. A kingdom warring with itself is brought to naught.
10. If Satan casts the devil out, how can his kingdom stand?
11. If I, by Beelzebul, cast devils out, by whom do you cast devils out?
12. But if I, in the holy name of God, cast devils out, and make the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the dumb to speak, has not God's kingdom come to you?
13. The Pharisees were dumb; they answered not.
14. As Jesus spoke a messenger approached and said to him, Your mother and your brothers wish to speak with you.
15. And Jesus said, Who is my mother? and my brothers, who are they?
16. And then he spoke a word aside unto the foreign masters and the twelve; he said,
17. Behold, men recognise their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers here in flesh; but when the veil is rent and men walk in the realms of soul,
18. The tender lines of love that bind the groups of fleshly kin in families will fade away.
19. Not that the love for anyone will be the less; but men will see in all the motherhood, the fatherhood, the sisterhood, the brotherhood of man.
20. The family groups of earth will all be lost in universal love and fellowship divine.
21. Then to the multitudes he said, Whoever lives the life and does the will of God is child of God and is my mother, father, sister, friend.
22. And then he went aside to speak to mother and his other kindred in the flesh.
23. But he saw more than these. The maiden who once thrilled his very soul with love. a love beyond the love of any fleshly kin;
24. Who was the sorest tempter in the temple Heliopolis beside the Nile, who sung for him the sacred songs, was there.
25. The recognition was of kindred souls, and Jesus said,
26. Behold, for God has brought to us a power men cannot comprehend, a power of purity and love;
27. To make more light the burdens of the hour, to be a balm for wounded souls;
28. To win the multitude to better ways by sacred song and holy life.
29. Behold, for Miriam who stood beside the sea and sung the song of victory when Moses led the way, will sing again.
30. And all the choirs of heaven will join and sing the glad refrain:
31. Peace, peace on earth; good will to men!
32. And Miriam stood before the waiting throngs and sung again the songs of victory, and all the people said, Amen.
Chapter 107
A Pharisee demands of Jesus signs of his messiahship. Jesus rebukes him, because he does not recognise the signs that are being continually given. Jesus exhorts the people to receive the light that they may become the light.
1. A Pharisee elated with himself stood forth among the multitudes and said to Jesus,
2. Sir, we would have you demonstrate. If you are truly Christ who was to come, then you can surely do what black magicians cannot do.
3. Lo, they can talk, and hold the multitudes with words of power; and they can heal the sick and drive the demons out of those obsessed;
4. They can control the storms; and fire and earth and air will hear and answer when they speak.
5. Now, if you will ascend and from that tower fly across the sea, we will believe that you are sent from God.
6. And Jesus said, No black magician ever lived a holy life; you have a demonstration of the Christ-life every day.
7. But lo, you evil and adulterous scribes and Pharisees, you cannot see a spirit sign, because your spirit eyes are full of carnal self.
8. You seek a sign to please your curoisity. You walk the very lowest planes of carnal life and cry, Phenomena! show us a sign and then we will believe.
9. I was not sent to earth to buy up faith as men buy fish and fruit and rubbish in the streets.
10. Men seem to think it quite a favour done to me when they confess their faith in me and in the holy Christ.
11. What does it matter unto me as man if you believe or disbelieve?
12. Faith is not something you can buy with coin; it is not something you can sell for gold.
13. Once Mart, abeggar, followed me and cried, Give me a silver piece; then I will believe in you.
14. And you are like this beggar man; you offer to exchange your faith for signs.
15. But I will give to all the world one sign as surety that the Christ abides with me.
16. You all have read the parable of Jonah and the fish, wherein it is recorded that the prophet spent three days and nights within the stomach of the mighty fish, and then came forth.
17. The son of man will spend three days and nights within the heart of earth and then come forth again, and men will see and know.
18. Behold, the light may be so bright that men cannot see anything.
19. The Spirit light has shown so brightly over Galilee that you who hear me now are blind.
20. You may have read the words of prophet Azrael; he said, The light shall shine out brightly in the darkness of the night, and men shall comprehend it not.
21. That time has come; the light shines forth; you see it not.
22. The Queen of Sheba sat in darkest night and still she yearned for light.
23. She came to hear the words of wisdom from the lips of Solomon, and she believed;
24. And she became a living torch, and when she reached her home, lo, all Arabia was filled with light.
25. A greater far than Solomon is here; the Christ is here; the Day Star had risen, and you reject the light.
26. And you remember Nineveh, the wicked city of Assyria, which God had marked to be destroyed by shock and flame unless the people turned and walked in ways of right.
27. And Jonah raised his voice and said, In forty days shall Nineveh be razed, and her wealth shall be destroyed.
28. The people heard and they believed; and they reformed and turned to ways of right, and lo, their city was not razed; was not destroyed.
29. You men of Galilee, I tell you that Arabia and Nineveh will testify against you in the judgment day.
30. Behold, for every one to whom I speak has in him all the fires of God; but they are lying dead.
31. The will is bridled by the flesh desires, and it brings not the ethers of the fires to vibrate into light.
32. Look, therefore, to your soul and note, Is not the light within you dark as night?
33. There is no breath but Holy Breath that e'er can fan your fires of life into a living flame and make them light.
34. And Holy Breath can raise the ethers of the fires to light in none but hearts of purity and love.
35. Hear, then, you men of Galilee, Make pure the heart, admit the Holy Breath, and then your bodies will be full of light.
36. And like a city on a hill, your light will shine afar, and thus your light may light the way for other men.
Chapter 108
Jesus rebukes the people for selfishness. The Christines attend a feast and Jesus is censured by the Pharisee because he washed not before he ate. Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of the ruling classes and pronounces upon them many woes.
1. The multitudes were wild with selfish thought; none recognised the rights and needs of any other one.
2. The stronger pushed the weak aside, and trampled on them in their haste to be the first to get a blassing for himself.
3. And Jesus said, Behold the cage of beasts untamed; a den of stinging vipers, maddened by their fiendish greed of selfish gain!
4. I tell you, men, the benefits that come to men who see no further than themselves are baubles in the morning light;
5. They are unreal; they pass away. The selfish soul is fed today; the food does not assimilate; the soul grows not, and then it must be fed again, and then again.
6. Behold, a selfish man obsessed by just one spirit of the air; by the Omnific Word the spirit is cast out;
7. It wanders through dry places, seeking rest and finding none.
8. And then it comes again; the selfish man has failed to close and lock the door;
9. The unclean spirit finds the house all swept and cleaned; it enters in and takes with it full seven other spirits more unclean than is itself; and there they dwell.
10. The last state of the man is more than sevenfold more wretched than the first.
11. And so it is with you who snatch the blessings that belong to other men.
12. While Jesus spoke a certain woman who stood near exclaimed, Most blessed is the mother of this man of God!
13. And Jesus said, Yes, blest is she; but doubly blest are they who hear, receive and live the word of God.
14. A Pharisee of wealth prepared a feast, and Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from afar, were guests.
15. And Jesus did not wash his hands according to the strictest Pharisaic rules, before he ate; when this the Pharisee observed he marvelled much.
16. And Jesus said, My host, why do you marvel that I did not wash my hands?
17. The Pharisees wash well their hands and feet; they cleanse the body every day when, lo, within is every form of filth.
18. Their hearts are full of wickedness, extortions and deceit.
19. Did not the God who made the outside of the body make the inside, too?
20. And then he said, Woe unto you, you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue, and every herb, and pass by judgment and the love of God.
21. Woe unto you, you Pharisees! you love the highest seats in synagogues and courts, and bid for salutations in the market place.
22. Woe unto you, you tinselled gentry of the land! no man would ever think you servants of the Lord of hosts by what you do.
23. A lawyer sitting near remarked, Rabboni, your words are harsh, and then in what you say you censure us; and why?
24. And Jesus said, Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you heap great burdens on the sons of men, yea, loads by far too great for them to bear, and you will never help to bear a feather's weight yourselves.
25. Woe unto you! you build the tombs of prophets and of seers; they whom your fathers killed; and you are parties to the crimes.
26. And now behold, for God has sent again to you his holy men-apostles, prophets, seers; and you are persecuting them.
27. The time is near when you will plead against them in the courts; will spurn them into prison cells, and kill them with a fiend's delight.
28. I tell you, men, the blood of all the holy men of God that has been shed from righteous Abel down to that of Zacharias, father of holy John,
29. Who was struck down beside the altar in the Holy Place--
30. The blood of all these holy men has made more red the hands of this ungodly generation.
31. Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you snatch the keys of knowledge from the hands of men;
32. You close the doors; you enter not yourselves, and suffer not the willing ones to enter in.
33. His words provoked the Pharisees, the lawyers and the scribes, and they, resenting, poured upon him torrents of abuse.
34. The truths he spoke came like a thunderbolt from heaven; the rulers counselled how they might ensnare him by his words; they sought a legal way to shed his blood.
Chapter 109
The Christines go to a place apart to pray. Jesus warns them against the leaven of the Pharisees and reveals the fact that all thoughts and deeds are recorded in God's Book of Remembrance. Man's responsibility and God's care.
1. Now, when the feast was finished Jesus with the foreign masters and the twelve, with Mary, Miriam and a band of loyal women who believed in Christ, went to a place apart to pray.
2. And when their silence ended Jesus said, Be on your guard; the leaven of the Pharisees is being thrown in every measure of the meal of life.
3. It is a poison that will taint whatever it may touch; and it will blight the soul as sure as fumes of the Diabolos; it is hypocrisy.
4. The Pharisees seem fair in speech, but they are diabolical in heart.
5. And then they seem to think that thought is something they can lock within themselves.
6. They do not seem to know that every thought and wish is photographed and then preserved within the Book of Life to be revealed at any time the masters will.
7. That which is thought, or wished, or done in darkest night shall be proclaimed in brightest day;
8. That which is whispered in the ear within the secret place shall be made known upon the streets.
9. And in the judgment day when all the books are opened up, these men, and every other man, shall be a-judged, not by what they've said or done,
10. But by the ways in which they used the thoughts of God, and how the ethers of eternal love were made to serve;
11. For men may make these ethers serve the carnal self, or serve the holy self within.
12. Behold, these men may kill the body of this flesh; but what of that? the flesh is but a transitory thing, and soon, by natural law, will pass;
13. Their slaughter only hastens nature's work a little time.
14. And when they kill the flesh they reach their bounds of power; they cannot kill the soul.
15. But nature is the keeper of the soul as of the flesh, and in the harvest time of soul, the trees of life are all inspected by the judge;
16. And every tree that bears no fruit of good is plucked up by the roots and cast into the flames.
17. Who then shall you regard? Not him who has the power to kill the flesh, and nothing more.
18. Regard the mighty one who has the power to dissolve both soul and body in the flames of nature's fire.
19. But man is king; he may direct his thoughts, his loves, his life, and gain the prize of everlasting life.
20. And you are not abandoned in your struggle for the crown of life. Your Father lives, and you shall live.
21. God has a care for every living thing. He numbers stars, and suns, and moons;
22. He numbers angels, men and every thing below; the birds, the flowers, the trees;
23. The very petals of the rose he knows by name, and every one is numbered in his Book of Life;
24. And every hair upon your head, and every drop of blood within your veins, he knows by number and by rhythm.
25. He hears the birdling's call, the cricket's chirp, the glow worm's song; and not a sparrow falls to earth without his knowledge and consent.
26. A sparrow seems a thing of little worth; yea, five of them are worth two farthings in the market place, and yet God cares for every one of them.
27. Will he not care much more for you who bear his image in your soul?
28. Fear not to make confession of the Christ before the sons of men, and God will own you as his sons and daughters in the presence of the host of heaven.
29. If you deny the Christ before the sons of men, then God will not receive you as his own before the hosts of heaven.
30. And more I say, Fear not when men shall bring you up before the rulers of the land to answer for your faith.
31. Behold, the Holy Breath shall teach you in your hour of need what you should say, and what is best leave unsaid.
32. And then the Christines went again to teach the multitudes.
Chapter 110
Miriam sings a song of victory. The song. Jesus reveals the symbolic character of the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaam.
1. And Miriam stood before the surging crowd, and casting up her eyes to heaven she sung anew the song of victory:
2. Bring forth the harp, the vina and the lyre; bring forth the highest sounding cymbal, all ye choirs of heaven. Join in the song, the new, new song.
3. The Lord of hosts has stooped to hear the cries of men, and lo, the citadel of Beelzebul is shaking as a leaf before the wind.
4. The sword of Gideon is again unsheathed.
5. The Lord, with his own hand has pulled far back the curtains of the night; the sun of truth is flooding heaven and earth;
6. The demons of the dark, of ignorance and death, are fleeing fast; are disappearing as the dew beneath the morning sun.
7. God is our strength and song; is our salvation and our hope, and we will build anew ahouse for him;
8. Will cleanse our hearts, and purify their chambers, every one. We are the temple of the Holy Breath.
9. We need no more a tent within the wilderness; no more a temple built with hands.
10. We do not seek the Holy Land, nor yet Jerusalem.
11. We are the tent of God; we are his temple built without the sound of edged tools.
12. We are the Holy Land; we are the New Jerusalem; Allelujah, praise the Lord!
13. And when the song was done the multitudes exclaimed, Praise God.
14. And Jesus said, Behold the way!
15. The sons of men have groped for ages in the darkness of Egyptian night.
16. The Pharaohs of sense have bound them with their chains.
17. But God has whispered through the mists of time and told them of a land of liberty and love.
18. And he has sent his Logos forth to light the way.
19. The Red Sea rolls between the promised land and Egypt's sands.
20. The Red Sea is the carnal mind.
21. Behold, the Logos reaches out his hand; the sea divides; the carnal mind is reft in twain; the sons of men walk through dry shod.
22. The Pharaohs of sense would stay them in their flight; the waters of the sea return; the Pharaohs of sense are lost and men are free.
23. For just a little while men tread the wilderness of Sin; the Logos leads the way;
24. And when at last men stand upon the Jordan's brink, these waters stay, and men step forth into their own.
Chapter 111
Jesus teaches. A man requests him to compel his brother to deal justly. Jesus reveals the divine law, the power of truth and the universality of possessions. Relates the parable of the rich man and his abundant harvest.
1. And Jesus taught the multitudes; and while he spoke a man stood forth and said,
2. Rabboni, hear my plea: My father died and left a large estate; my brother seized it all, and now refuses me my share.
3. I pray that you will bid him do the right, and give what is mine.
4. And Jesus said, I am not come to be a judge in such affairs; I am no henchman of the court.
5. God sent me not to force a man to do the right.
6. In every man there is a sense of right; but many men regard it not.
7. The fumes that rise from selfishness have formed a crust about their sense of right that veils their inner light, so that they cannot comprehend nor recognise the rights of other men.
8. This veil you cannot tear away by force of arms, and there is naught that can dissolve this crust but knowledge and love of God.
9. While men are in the mire, the skies seem far away; when men are on the mountain top, the skies are near, and they can almost touch the stars.
10. Then Jesus turned and to the twelve he said, Behold the many in the mire of carnal life!
11. The leaven of truth will change the miry clay to solid rock, and men can walk and find the path that leads up to the mountain top.
12. You cannot haste; but you can scatter forth this leaven with a generous hand.
13. When men have learned the truth that bears upon its face the law of right, then they will haste to every man his dues.
14. Then to the people Jesus said, Take heed, and covet not. The wealth of men does not consist in what they seem to have--in lands, in silver and in gold.
15. These things are only borrowed wealth. No man can corner up the gifts of God.
16. The things of nature are the things of God, and what is God's belongs to every man alike.
17. The wealth of soul lies in the purity of life, and in the wisdom that descends from heaven.
18. Behold, a rich man's ground brought forth abundantly; his barns were far too small to hold his grain, and to himself he said,
19. What shall I do? I must not give my grain away; I must not let it go to waste; and then he said,
20. This will I do; I will tear down these little barns and built up larger ones; there I will store away my grain and I will say,
21. My soul take now your ease; you have enough for many years; eat, drink and fill yourself and be content.
22. But God looked down and saw the man; he saw his selfish heart and said,
23. You foolish man, this night your soul will quit its house of flesh; then who will have your garnered wealth?
24. You men of Galilee, lay not up treasures in the vaults of earth; accumulated wealth will blight your soul.
25. God does not give men wealth to hoard away in secret vaults. Men are but stewards of God's wealth, and they must use it for the common good.
26. To every steward who is true to self, to other men, to every thing that is, the Lord will say, Well done.
Chapter 112
The Christines in the home of Mary of Magdala. Jesus calls his disciples, "Little Flock," and charges them to place their affections on divine things. He teaches them regarding the inner life.
1. And Jesus left the multitudes and went with his disciples up to Mary's home; and as they sat about the board to dine he said,
2. My little flock, fear not; it is your Father's will that you shall rule the kingdom of the soul.
3. A ruler in the house of God is servant of the Lord of Hosts, and man cannot serve God except by serving men.
4. A servant in the house of God cannot be servant in the house of wealth; nor in the synagogue of sense.
5. If you are tied to lands, or bonds, or wealth of earth, your hearts are knit to things of earth; for where your treasures are there are your hearts.
6. Dispose of all your wealth, distribute it among the poor, and put your trust in God, and you nor yours will ever come to want.
7. This is a test of faith, and God will not accept the service of faithless one.
8. The time is ripe; your Master comes upon the clouds; the eastern sky is glowing with his presence now.
9. Put on reception robes; gird up your loins; trim up your lamps and fill them well with oil, and be prepared to meet your Lord; when you are ready, he will come.
10. Thrice blessed are the servants who are ready to receive their Lord.
11. Behold, for he will gird himself, and will prepare a sumptuous feast for every one, and he himself will serve.
12. It matters not when he shall come; it may be at the second watch; it may be at the third; but blessed are the servants who are ready to receive.
13. You cannot leave your door ajar and go to sleep, and wait in blissful ignorance of the fleeting time;
14. For thieves will surely come and take away your goods and bind and carry you away to robbers' dens.
15. And if you are not carried forth, the Master when he comes will not regard a sleeping guard as friend, but as a foe.
16. Beloved, these are times when every man must be awake and at his post, for none can tell the hour nor the day when man shall be revealed.
17. And Peter said, Lord is this parable for us, or for the multitudes?
18. And Jesus, Why need you ask? God is not a man that he should show respect for one and cast another off.
19. Whoever will may come and gird himself, and trim his lamp, and find a turret in the tower of life where he may watch, and be prepared to meet the Lord.
20. But you, as children of the light, have come, and you have learned the language of the court, and may stand forth and lead the way.
21. But you may wait, and think that you are ready to receive the Lord, and still he does not come.
22. And you may grow impatient and begin to long for carnal ways again, and may begin to exercise your rule;
23. To beat, and otherwise maltreat the servants of the house, and fill yourselves with wine and meat.
24. And what will say the Lord when he shall come?
25. Behold, for he will cast the faithless servant from his house; and many years will come and go before he can be cleansed, and be thought worthy to receive his Lord.
26. The servant who has come into the light, who knows the Master's will and does it not; the trusted guard who goes to sleep within the turret of the tower of life,
27. Shall feel the lash of justice many times, while he who does not know his Master's will and does it not, will not receive the graver punishment.
28. The man who comes and stands before the open door of opportunity and does not enter in, but goes his way,
29. Will come again and find the door made fast, and when he calls, the door will open not,
30. The guard will say, you had the pass-word once, but you threw it away and now the Master knows you not; depart.
31. And verily I say to you, To whom much has been given, much is required; to whom a little has been given, a little only is required.
AIN
The Second Annual Epoch of the Christine Ministry of Jesus
(first third | second third | last third)
Chapter 102
The Christines at the home of Jesus. Jesus unfolds to them the secret doctrine. They go through all Galilee and teach and heal. Jesus brings to life the son of a widow at Nain. They return to Capernaum.
1. The twelve apostles went with Jesus to his home, and there abode for certain days.
2. And Jesus told them many things about the inner life that may not now be written in a book.
3. Now, in Capernaum, there lived a man of wealth, a Roman captain of a hundred men, who loved the Jews and who had built for them a synagogue.
4. A servant of this man was paralysed, and he was sick nigh unto death.
5. The captain knew of Jesus and had heard that by the Sacred Word he healed the sick, and he had faith in him.
6. He sent a message by the elders of the Jews to Jesus, and he pled for help.
7. and Jesus recognised the captain's faith and went at once to heal the sick; the captain met him on the way and said to him,
8. Lo, Lord, it is not well that you should come unto my house; I am not worthy of the presence of a man of God.
9. I am a man of war, my life is spent with those who ofttimes take the lives of fellow men.
10. And surely he who comes to save would be dishonoured if he came beneath my roof.
11. If you will speak the Word I know my servant will be well.
12. And Jesus turned and said to those who followed him,
13. Behold the captain's faith; I have not seen such faith, no, not in Israel.
14. Behold, the feast is spread for you; but while you doubt and wait, the alien comes in faith and takes the bread of life.
15. Then turning to the man he said, Go on your way; according to your faith so shall it be; your servant lives.
16. It came to pass that at the time that Jesus spoke the Word the palsied man arose, and he was well.
17. And then the Christines went abroad to teach. And as they came to Nain, a city on the Hermon way, they saw a multitude about the gates.
18. It was a funeral train; a widow's son was dead, and friends were bearing out the body to the tomb.
19. It was the widow's only son, and she was wild with grief. And Jesus said to her, Weep not, I am the life; your son shall live.
20. And Jesus raised his hand; the bearers of the dead stood still.
21. And Jesus touched the bier and said, Young man, return.
22. The soul returned; the body of the dead was filled with life; the man sat up and spoke.
23. The people were astonished at the scene, and every one exclaimed, Praise God.
24. A Jewish priest stood forth and said, Behold a mighty prophet has appeared; and all the people said, Amen.
25. The Christines journeyed on; they taught, and healed the sick in many towns of Galilee, and then they came again unto Capernaum.
Chapter 103
The Christines in Jesus' home. Jesus teaches the twelve and the foreign masters every morning. Jesus receives messengers from John, the harbinger, and sends him words of encouragement. He eulogies the character of John.
1. The home of Jesus was a school where in the early morning hours the twelve apostles and the foreign priests were taught the secret things of God.
2. And there were present priests from China, India, and from Babylon; from Persia, Egypt and from Greece,
3. Who came to sit at Jesus' feet to learn the wisdom that he brought to men, that they might teach their people how to live the holy life.
4. And Jesus taught them how to teach; he told them of the trials of the way, and how to make these trials serve the race.
5. He taught them how to live the holy life that they might conquer death;
6. He taught them what the end of mortal life will be, when man has reached the consciousness that he and God are one.
7. The after midday hours were given to the multitudes who came to learn the way of life and to be healed; and many did believe and were baptised.
8. Now, in his prison by the Bitter Sea the harbinger had heard of all the mighty works that Jesus did.
9. His prison life was hard, and he was sore distressed, and he began to doubt.
10. And to himself he said, I wonder if this Jesus is the Christ of whom the prophets wrote!
11. Was I mistaken in my work? Was I, indeed, one sent from God to pave the way for him who shall redeem our people, Israel?
12. And then he sent some of his friends, who came to see him in his prison cell, up to Capernaum that they might learn about this man, and bring him word.
13. The men found Jesus in his home, and said, Behold the harbinger sent us to ask, Are you the Christ? or is he yet to come?
14. But Jesus answered not; he simply bade the men to tarry certain days that they might see and hear.
15. They saw him heal the sick, and cause the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see;
16. They saw him cast the evil spirits out of those obsessed; they saw him raise the dead.
17. They heard him preach the gospel to the poor.
18. Then Jesus said to them, Go on your way; return to John and tell him all that you have seen and heard; then he will know. They went their way.
19. The multitudes were there, and Jesus said to them, Once you were crowding Jordan's fords; you filled the wilderness.
20. What did you go to see? The trees of Juda, and the flowers of Heth? Or did you go to see a man in kingly garb? Or did you go to see a prophet and a seer?
21. I tell you, men, you know not whom you saw. A prophet? Yea, and more; a messenger whom God had sent to pave the way for what you see and hear this day.
22. Among the men of earth a greater man has never lived than John.
23. Behold I say, This man whom Herod bound in chains and cast into a prison cell is God's Elijah come again to earth.
24. Elijah, who did not pass the gate of death, whose body of this flesh was changed, and he awoke in Paradise.
25. When John came forth and preached the gospel of repentance for the cleansing of the soul, the common folks believed and were baptised.
26. The lawyers and the Pharisees accepted not the teachings of this man; were not baptised.
27. Behold, neglected opportunities will never come again.
28. Behold, the people are unstable as the waters of the sea; they seek to be excused from righteousness.
29. John came and ate no bread, and drank no wine. He lived the simplest life apart from men, and people said, He is obsessed.
30. Another comes who eats and drinks and lives in homes like other men, and people say, He is a glutton, an inegriate, a friend of publicans and those who sin.
31. Woe unto you, you cities of the vale of Galilee, where all the mighty works of God are done! Woe to Chorazan and Bethsaida!
32. If half the mighty works that have been done in you were done in Tyre and in Sidon they would have long ago repented of their sins, and sought the way of right.
33. And when the judgement day shall come, lo, Tyre and Sidon will be called more worthy than will you.
34. Because they slighted not their gifts, while you have thrown away the pearl of greatest price.
35. Woe unto you Capernaum! Behold, you are exalted now, but you shall be abased;
36. For if the mighty works that have been done in you had but been done within the cities of the plain--of Sodom and Zeboim--they would have heard and turned to God; would not have been destroyed.
37. They perished in their ignorance; they had no light; but you have heard; you have the evidence.
38. The light of life has shown above your hills and all the shores of Galilee have been ablaze with light;
39. The glory of the Lord has shown in evry street and syna gogue and home; but you have spurned the light.
40. And, lo, I say, The judgment day will come and God will deal in greater mercy with the cities of the plains than he will deal with you.
Chapter 104
Jesus teaches the multitudes. Attends a feast in Simon's house. A wealthy courtesan anoints him with precious balm. Simon rebukes him and he preaches a sermon on false respectability.
1. And Jesus looked upon the multitudes who pressed about for selfish gain.
2. The men of learning and of wealth, of reputation and of power, were there; but they knew not the Christ.
3. Their eyes were blinded by the tinselled glitter of their selfish selves; they could not see the king.
4. And though they walked within the light, they groped about in dark--a darkness like the night of death.
5. And Jesus cast his eyes to heaven and said,
6. I thank thee, Holy One of heaven and earth, that while the light is hidden from the wise and great, it is revealed to babes.
7. Then turning to the multitudes he said, I come to you not in the name of man, nor in a strength my own;
8. The wisdom and the virtue that I bring to you are from above; they are the wisdom and the virtue of the God whom we adore.
9. The words I speak are not my words; I give to you what I receive.
10. Come unto me all you who labour and pull heavy loads and I will give you aid.
11. Put on the yoke of Christ with me; it does not chafe; it is an easy yoke.
12. Together we will pull the load of life with ease; and so rejoice.
13. A Pharisee, whose name was Simon, made a feast, and Jesus was the honoured guest.
14. And as they sat about the board, a coutesan who had been cured of her desire to sin by what she had received and seen in Jesus' ministry, came uninvited to the feast.
15. She brought an alabaster box of costly balm and as the guests reclined she came to Jesus in her joy, because she been freed from sin.
16. Her tears fell fast, she kissed his feet, and dried them with her hair, and she anointed them with balm.
17. And Simon thought, he did not speak alous, This man is not a prophet or he would know the kind of woman that approaches him, and would drive her away.
18. But Jesus knew his thoughts, and said to him, My host, I have a word to say to you.
19. And Simon said, Say on.
20. And Jesus said, Sin is a monster of iniquity; it may be small; it may be large; it may be something left undone.
21. Behold, one person leads a life of sin and is at last redeemed; another, in a careless mood, forgets to do the things hs ought to do but he reforms and is forgiven. Now, which of these has merited the higher praise? 22 And Simon said, The one who overcame the error of alife.
23. And Jesus said, You speak the truth.
24. Behold this woman who has bathed my feet with tears and dried them with her hair and covered them with balm!
25. For years she led a life of sin, but when she heard the words of life she sought forgiveness and she found.
26. But when I came into your house as guest you gave me not a bowl of water that I might wash my hands and feet, which every loyal Jew must do before he feasts.
27. Now, tell me, Simon, which of these, this woman or yourself, is worthy of most praise?
28. But Simon answered not.
29. Then to the woman Jesus said, Your sins are all forgiven; your faith has saved you; go in peace.
30. And then the guests who sat around the board, began to say within themselves, What manner of a man is this who says, Thy sins are all forgiven?
Chapter 105
Under the patronage of a number of wealthy woman, the Christines make a grand missionary tour. In his teaching Jesus lauds sincerity and rebukes hypocrisy. He speaks concerning the sin against the Holy Breath.
1. Now, many women who possessed much wealth, and abode in other towns of Galilee, implored that Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from the foreign lands, would thither go and preach and heal.
2. Among these anxious ones were Mary Magdalene, who was obsessed by seven homeless spirits of the air, which had been driven out by the Omnific Word which Jesus spoke;
3. Susanna, who owned vast estates at Caesarea-Philippi;
4. Johanna, wife of Chuza, one of Herod's court;
5. And Rachel from the coast of Tyre;
6. And other from beyond the Jordan and the sea of Galilee.
7. And they provided ample means and three times seven men went forth.
8. They preached the gospel of the Christ and they baptised the multitudes who made confession of their faith; they healed the sick and raised the dead.
9. And Jesus wrought and taught from early morn until the day had gone, and then into the night, he did not stop to eat.
10. His friends became alarmed lest he should fail from loss of strength, and they laid hold of him and would, by force, have taken him away to a place of rest.
11. But he rebuked them not; he said, Have you not read that God will give his angels charge concerning me?
12. That they would hold me fast and suffer not that I should come to want?
13. I tell you, men, while I am giving out my strength unto these anxious, waiting throngs I find myself at rest within the arms of God,
14. Whose blessed messengers bring down to me the bread of life.
15. There is a tide just once in human life.
16. These people now are willing to receive the truth; their opportunity is now; our opportunity is now,
17. And if we do not teach them while we may, the tide will ebb;
18. They may not care again to hear the truth; then tell me, Who will bear the guilt?
19. And so he taught and healed.
20. Among the multitudes were men of every shade of thought. They were divided in their views concernong everything that Jesus said.
21. Some saw in him a God, and would have worshipped him; and others saw in him a devil of the nether world and would have cast him in a pit.
22. And some were trying hard to lead a double life; like little lions of the ground that take upon themselves the colour of the thing they rest upon.
23. These people without anchorage of any sort, are friends or foes as seemed to serve them best.
24. And Jesus said, No man can serve two masters at a time. No man can be a friend and foe at once.
25. All men are rising up, or sinking down; are building up, or tearing down.
26. If you are gathering not the precious grain, then you are throwing it away.
27. He is a coward who would feign to be a friend, or foe, to please another man.
28. You men, do not deceice yourselves inthought; your hearts are known;
29. Hypocrisy will blight a soul as surely as the breath of Beelzebul. An honest evil man is more esteemed by guardians of the soul than a dishonest pious man.
30. If you would curse the son of man, just curse him out aloud.
31. A curse is poison to the inner man, and if you hold and swallow down a curse it never will digest; lo, it will poison every atom of your soul.
32. And if you sin against a son of man, you may be pardoned and your guilt be cleansed by acts of kindness and of love;
33. But if you sin against the Holy Breath by disregarding her when she would open up the doors of life for you;
34. By closing up the windows of the soul when she would pour the light of love into your hearts, and cleanse them with the fires of God;
35. Your guilt shall not be blotted out in this, nor in the life to come.
36. An opportunity has gone to come no more, and you must wait until the ages roll again.
37. Then will the Holy Breath again breathe on your fires of life, and fan them to a living flame.
38. Then she will open up the doors again, and you may let her in to sup with you for evermore, or you may slight her once again, and then again.
39. You men of Israel, your opportunity is now.
40. Your tree of life is an illusive tree; it has a generous crop of leaves; its boughs hang low with fruit.
41. Behold, your words are leaves; your deeds the fruit.
42. Behold, for men have plucked the apples of your tree of life, and found them full of bitterness; and worms have eaten to the core.
43. Behold that fig tree by the way so full of leaves and worthless fruit!
44. Then Jesus spoke a word that nature spirits know, and lo, the fig tree stood a mass of withered leaves.
45. And then he spoke again, Behold, for God will speak the Word, and you will stand a withered fig tree in the setting sun.
46. You men of Galilee, send forth and call the pruner in before it is too late, and let him prune away your worthless branches and illusive leaves, and let the sunshine in.
47. The sun is life, and it can change your worthlessness to worth.
48. Your tree of life is good; but you have nurtured it solong with dews of self, and mists of carnal things that you have shut the sunshine out.
49. I tell you, men, that you must give account to God for every idle word you speak and every evil deed you do.
Chapter 106
The Christines are in Magdala. Jesus heals a man who was blind, dumb and obsessed. He teaches the people. While he speaks his mother, brothers and Miriam come to him. He teaches a lesson on family relationship. He introduces Miriam to the people and she sings her songs of victory.
1. Magdala is beside the sea, and here the teachers taught.
2. A man obsessed, and who was blind and dumb was brought, and Jesus spoke the Word, and lo, the evil spirits went away; the man spoke out, his eyes were opened and he saw.
3. This was the greatest work that men had seen the master do, and they were all amazed.
4. The Pharisees were there, and they were full of jealous rage; they sought a cause whereby they might condemn.
5. They said, Yes, it is true that Jesus does a multitude of mighty works; but men should know that he is leagued with Beelzebul.
6. He is a sorcerer, a black magician of the Simon Cerus type; he works as Jannes and as Jambres did in Moses' day.
7. For Satan, prince of evil spirits, is his stay by night and day and in the name of Satan he casts the demons out, and in his name he heals the sick and raises up the dead.
8. But Jesus knew their thoughts; he said to them, You men are masters, and you know the law; whatever is arrayed against itself must fall; a house divided cannot stand;
9. A kingdom warring with itself is brought to naught.
10. If Satan casts the devil out, how can his kingdom stand?
11. If I, by Beelzebul, cast devils out, by whom do you cast devils out?
12. But if I, in the holy name of God, cast devils out, and make the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the dumb to speak, has not God's kingdom come to you?
13. The Pharisees were dumb; they answered not.
14. As Jesus spoke a messenger approached and said to him, Your mother and your brothers wish to speak with you.
15. And Jesus said, Who is my mother? and my brothers, who are they?
16. And then he spoke a word aside unto the foreign masters and the twelve; he said,
17. Behold, men recognise their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers here in flesh; but when the veil is rent and men walk in the realms of soul,
18. The tender lines of love that bind the groups of fleshly kin in families will fade away.
19. Not that the love for anyone will be the less; but men will see in all the motherhood, the fatherhood, the sisterhood, the brotherhood of man.
20. The family groups of earth will all be lost in universal love and fellowship divine.
21. Then to the multitudes he said, Whoever lives the life and does the will of God is child of God and is my mother, father, sister, friend.
22. And then he went aside to speak to mother and his other kindred in the flesh.
23. But he saw more than these. The maiden who once thrilled his very soul with love. a love beyond the love of any fleshly kin;
24. Who was the sorest tempter in the temple Heliopolis beside the Nile, who sung for him the sacred songs, was there.
25. The recognition was of kindred souls, and Jesus said,
26. Behold, for God has brought to us a power men cannot comprehend, a power of purity and love;
27. To make more light the burdens of the hour, to be a balm for wounded souls;
28. To win the multitude to better ways by sacred song and holy life.
29. Behold, for Miriam who stood beside the sea and sung the song of victory when Moses led the way, will sing again.
30. And all the choirs of heaven will join and sing the glad refrain:
31. Peace, peace on earth; good will to men!
32. And Miriam stood before the waiting throngs and sung again the songs of victory, and all the people said, Amen.
Chapter 107
A Pharisee demands of Jesus signs of his messiahship. Jesus rebukes him, because he does not recognise the signs that are being continually given. Jesus exhorts the people to receive the light that they may become the light.
1. A Pharisee elated with himself stood forth among the multitudes and said to Jesus,
2. Sir, we would have you demonstrate. If you are truly Christ who was to come, then you can surely do what black magicians cannot do.
3. Lo, they can talk, and hold the multitudes with words of power; and they can heal the sick and drive the demons out of those obsessed;
4. They can control the storms; and fire and earth and air will hear and answer when they speak.
5. Now, if you will ascend and from that tower fly across the sea, we will believe that you are sent from God.
6. And Jesus said, No black magician ever lived a holy life; you have a demonstration of the Christ-life every day.
7. But lo, you evil and adulterous scribes and Pharisees, you cannot see a spirit sign, because your spirit eyes are full of carnal self.
8. You seek a sign to please your curoisity. You walk the very lowest planes of carnal life and cry, Phenomena! show us a sign and then we will believe.
9. I was not sent to earth to buy up faith as men buy fish and fruit and rubbish in the streets.
10. Men seem to think it quite a favour done to me when they confess their faith in me and in the holy Christ.
11. What does it matter unto me as man if you believe or disbelieve?
12. Faith is not something you can buy with coin; it is not something you can sell for gold.
13. Once Mart, abeggar, followed me and cried, Give me a silver piece; then I will believe in you.
14. And you are like this beggar man; you offer to exchange your faith for signs.
15. But I will give to all the world one sign as surety that the Christ abides with me.
16. You all have read the parable of Jonah and the fish, wherein it is recorded that the prophet spent three days and nights within the stomach of the mighty fish, and then came forth.
17. The son of man will spend three days and nights within the heart of earth and then come forth again, and men will see and know.
18. Behold, the light may be so bright that men cannot see anything.
19. The Spirit light has shown so brightly over Galilee that you who hear me now are blind.
20. You may have read the words of prophet Azrael; he said, The light shall shine out brightly in the darkness of the night, and men shall comprehend it not.
21. That time has come; the light shines forth; you see it not.
22. The Queen of Sheba sat in darkest night and still she yearned for light.
23. She came to hear the words of wisdom from the lips of Solomon, and she believed;
24. And she became a living torch, and when she reached her home, lo, all Arabia was filled with light.
25. A greater far than Solomon is here; the Christ is here; the Day Star had risen, and you reject the light.
26. And you remember Nineveh, the wicked city of Assyria, which God had marked to be destroyed by shock and flame unless the people turned and walked in ways of right.
27. And Jonah raised his voice and said, In forty days shall Nineveh be razed, and her wealth shall be destroyed.
28. The people heard and they believed; and they reformed and turned to ways of right, and lo, their city was not razed; was not destroyed.
29. You men of Galilee, I tell you that Arabia and Nineveh will testify against you in the judgment day.
30. Behold, for every one to whom I speak has in him all the fires of God; but they are lying dead.
31. The will is bridled by the flesh desires, and it brings not the ethers of the fires to vibrate into light.
32. Look, therefore, to your soul and note, Is not the light within you dark as night?
33. There is no breath but Holy Breath that e'er can fan your fires of life into a living flame and make them light.
34. And Holy Breath can raise the ethers of the fires to light in none but hearts of purity and love.
35. Hear, then, you men of Galilee, Make pure the heart, admit the Holy Breath, and then your bodies will be full of light.
36. And like a city on a hill, your light will shine afar, and thus your light may light the way for other men.
Chapter 108
Jesus rebukes the people for selfishness. The Christines attend a feast and Jesus is censured by the Pharisee because he washed not before he ate. Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of the ruling classes and pronounces upon them many woes.
1. The multitudes were wild with selfish thought; none recognised the rights and needs of any other one.
2. The stronger pushed the weak aside, and trampled on them in their haste to be the first to get a blassing for himself.
3. And Jesus said, Behold the cage of beasts untamed; a den of stinging vipers, maddened by their fiendish greed of selfish gain!
4. I tell you, men, the benefits that come to men who see no further than themselves are baubles in the morning light;
5. They are unreal; they pass away. The selfish soul is fed today; the food does not assimilate; the soul grows not, and then it must be fed again, and then again.
6. Behold, a selfish man obsessed by just one spirit of the air; by the Omnific Word the spirit is cast out;
7. It wanders through dry places, seeking rest and finding none.
8. And then it comes again; the selfish man has failed to close and lock the door;
9. The unclean spirit finds the house all swept and cleaned; it enters in and takes with it full seven other spirits more unclean than is itself; and there they dwell.
10. The last state of the man is more than sevenfold more wretched than the first.
11. And so it is with you who snatch the blessings that belong to other men.
12. While Jesus spoke a certain woman who stood near exclaimed, Most blessed is the mother of this man of God!
13. And Jesus said, Yes, blest is she; but doubly blest are they who hear, receive and live the word of God.
14. A Pharisee of wealth prepared a feast, and Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from afar, were guests.
15. And Jesus did not wash his hands according to the strictest Pharisaic rules, before he ate; when this the Pharisee observed he marvelled much.
16. And Jesus said, My host, why do you marvel that I did not wash my hands?
17. The Pharisees wash well their hands and feet; they cleanse the body every day when, lo, within is every form of filth.
18. Their hearts are full of wickedness, extortions and deceit.
19. Did not the God who made the outside of the body make the inside, too?
20. And then he said, Woe unto you, you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue, and every herb, and pass by judgment and the love of God.
21. Woe unto you, you Pharisees! you love the highest seats in synagogues and courts, and bid for salutations in the market place.
22. Woe unto you, you tinselled gentry of the land! no man would ever think you servants of the Lord of hosts by what you do.
23. A lawyer sitting near remarked, Rabboni, your words are harsh, and then in what you say you censure us; and why?
24. And Jesus said, Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you heap great burdens on the sons of men, yea, loads by far too great for them to bear, and you will never help to bear a feather's weight yourselves.
25. Woe unto you! you build the tombs of prophets and of seers; they whom your fathers killed; and you are parties to the crimes.
26. And now behold, for God has sent again to you his holy men-apostles, prophets, seers; and you are persecuting them.
27. The time is near when you will plead against them in the courts; will spurn them into prison cells, and kill them with a fiend's delight.
28. I tell you, men, the blood of all the holy men of God that has been shed from righteous Abel down to that of Zacharias, father of holy John,
29. Who was struck down beside the altar in the Holy Place--
30. The blood of all these holy men has made more red the hands of this ungodly generation.
31. Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you snatch the keys of knowledge from the hands of men;
32. You close the doors; you enter not yourselves, and suffer not the willing ones to enter in.
33. His words provoked the Pharisees, the lawyers and the scribes, and they, resenting, poured upon him torrents of abuse.
34. The truths he spoke came like a thunderbolt from heaven; the rulers counselled how they might ensnare him by his words; they sought a legal way to shed his blood.
Chapter 109
The Christines go to a place apart to pray. Jesus warns them against the leaven of the Pharisees and reveals the fact that all thoughts and deeds are recorded in God's Book of Remembrance. Man's responsibility and God's care.
1. Now, when the feast was finished Jesus with the foreign masters and the twelve, with Mary, Miriam and a band of loyal women who believed in Christ, went to a place apart to pray.
2. And when their silence ended Jesus said, Be on your guard; the leaven of the Pharisees is being thrown in every measure of the meal of life.
3. It is a poison that will taint whatever it may touch; and it will blight the soul as sure as fumes of the Diabolos; it is hypocrisy.
4. The Pharisees seem fair in speech, but they are diabolical in heart.
5. And then they seem to think that thought is something they can lock within themselves.
6. They do not seem to know that every thought and wish is photographed and then preserved within the Book of Life to be revealed at any time the masters will.
7. That which is thought, or wished, or done in darkest night shall be proclaimed in brightest day;
8. That which is whispered in the ear within the secret place shall be made known upon the streets.
9. And in the judgment day when all the books are opened up, these men, and every other man, shall be a-judged, not by what they've said or done,
10. But by the ways in which they used the thoughts of God, and how the ethers of eternal love were made to serve;
11. For men may make these ethers serve the carnal self, or serve the holy self within.
12. Behold, these men may kill the body of this flesh; but what of that? the flesh is but a transitory thing, and soon, by natural law, will pass;
13. Their slaughter only hastens nature's work a little time.
14. And when they kill the flesh they reach their bounds of power; they cannot kill the soul.
15. But nature is the keeper of the soul as of the flesh, and in the harvest time of soul, the trees of life are all inspected by the judge;
16. And every tree that bears no fruit of good is plucked up by the roots and cast into the flames.
17. Who then shall you regard? Not him who has the power to kill the flesh, and nothing more.
18. Regard the mighty one who has the power to dissolve both soul and body in the flames of nature's fire.
19. But man is king; he may direct his thoughts, his loves, his life, and gain the prize of everlasting life.
20. And you are not abandoned in your struggle for the crown of life. Your Father lives, and you shall live.
21. God has a care for every living thing. He numbers stars, and suns, and moons;
22. He numbers angels, men and every thing below; the birds, the flowers, the trees;
23. The very petals of the rose he knows by name, and every one is numbered in his Book of Life;
24. And every hair upon your head, and every drop of blood within your veins, he knows by number and by rhythm.
25. He hears the birdling's call, the cricket's chirp, the glow worm's song; and not a sparrow falls to earth without his knowledge and consent.
26. A sparrow seems a thing of little worth; yea, five of them are worth two farthings in the market place, and yet God cares for every one of them.
27. Will he not care much more for you who bear his image in your soul?
28. Fear not to make confession of the Christ before the sons of men, and God will own you as his sons and daughters in the presence of the host of heaven.
29. If you deny the Christ before the sons of men, then God will not receive you as his own before the hosts of heaven.
30. And more I say, Fear not when men shall bring you up before the rulers of the land to answer for your faith.
31. Behold, the Holy Breath shall teach you in your hour of need what you should say, and what is best leave unsaid.
32. And then the Christines went again to teach the multitudes.
Chapter 110
Miriam sings a song of victory. The song. Jesus reveals the symbolic character of the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaam.
1. And Miriam stood before the surging crowd, and casting up her eyes to heaven she sung anew the song of victory:
2. Bring forth the harp, the vina and the lyre; bring forth the highest sounding cymbal, all ye choirs of heaven. Join in the song, the new, new song.
3. The Lord of hosts has stooped to hear the cries of men, and lo, the citadel of Beelzebul is shaking as a leaf before the wind.
4. The sword of Gideon is again unsheathed.
5. The Lord, with his own hand has pulled far back the curtains of the night; the sun of truth is flooding heaven and earth;
6. The demons of the dark, of ignorance and death, are fleeing fast; are disappearing as the dew beneath the morning sun.
7. God is our strength and song; is our salvation and our hope, and we will build anew ahouse for him;
8. Will cleanse our hearts, and purify their chambers, every one. We are the temple of the Holy Breath.
9. We need no more a tent within the wilderness; no more a temple built with hands.
10. We do not seek the Holy Land, nor yet Jerusalem.
11. We are the tent of God; we are his temple built without the sound of edged tools.
12. We are the Holy Land; we are the New Jerusalem; Allelujah, praise the Lord!
13. And when the song was done the multitudes exclaimed, Praise God.
14. And Jesus said, Behold the way!
15. The sons of men have groped for ages in the darkness of Egyptian night.
16. The Pharaohs of sense have bound them with their chains.
17. But God has whispered through the mists of time and told them of a land of liberty and love.
18. And he has sent his Logos forth to light the way.
19. The Red Sea rolls between the promised land and Egypt's sands.
20. The Red Sea is the carnal mind.
21. Behold, the Logos reaches out his hand; the sea divides; the carnal mind is reft in twain; the sons of men walk through dry shod.
22. The Pharaohs of sense would stay them in their flight; the waters of the sea return; the Pharaohs of sense are lost and men are free.
23. For just a little while men tread the wilderness of Sin; the Logos leads the way;
24. And when at last men stand upon the Jordan's brink, these waters stay, and men step forth into their own.
Chapter 111
Jesus teaches. A man requests him to compel his brother to deal justly. Jesus reveals the divine law, the power of truth and the universality of possessions. Relates the parable of the rich man and his abundant harvest.
1. And Jesus taught the multitudes; and while he spoke a man stood forth and said,
2. Rabboni, hear my plea: My father died and left a large estate; my brother seized it all, and now refuses me my share.
3. I pray that you will bid him do the right, and give what is mine.
4. And Jesus said, I am not come to be a judge in such affairs; I am no henchman of the court.
5. God sent me not to force a man to do the right.
6. In every man there is a sense of right; but many men regard it not.
7. The fumes that rise from selfishness have formed a crust about their sense of right that veils their inner light, so that they cannot comprehend nor recognise the rights of other men.
8. This veil you cannot tear away by force of arms, and there is naught that can dissolve this crust but knowledge and love of God.
9. While men are in the mire, the skies seem far away; when men are on the mountain top, the skies are near, and they can almost touch the stars.
10. Then Jesus turned and to the twelve he said, Behold the many in the mire of carnal life!
11. The leaven of truth will change the miry clay to solid rock, and men can walk and find the path that leads up to the mountain top.
12. You cannot haste; but you can scatter forth this leaven with a generous hand.
13. When men have learned the truth that bears upon its face the law of right, then they will haste to every man his dues.
14. Then to the people Jesus said, Take heed, and covet not. The wealth of men does not consist in what they seem to have--in lands, in silver and in gold.
15. These things are only borrowed wealth. No man can corner up the gifts of God.
16. The things of nature are the things of God, and what is God's belongs to every man alike.
17. The wealth of soul lies in the purity of life, and in the wisdom that descends from heaven.
18. Behold, a rich man's ground brought forth abundantly; his barns were far too small to hold his grain, and to himself he said,
19. What shall I do? I must not give my grain away; I must not let it go to waste; and then he said,
20. This will I do; I will tear down these little barns and built up larger ones; there I will store away my grain and I will say,
21. My soul take now your ease; you have enough for many years; eat, drink and fill yourself and be content.
22. But God looked down and saw the man; he saw his selfish heart and said,
23. You foolish man, this night your soul will quit its house of flesh; then who will have your garnered wealth?
24. You men of Galilee, lay not up treasures in the vaults of earth; accumulated wealth will blight your soul.
25. God does not give men wealth to hoard away in secret vaults. Men are but stewards of God's wealth, and they must use it for the common good.
26. To every steward who is true to self, to other men, to every thing that is, the Lord will say, Well done.
Chapter 112
The Christines in the home of Mary of Magdala. Jesus calls his disciples, "Little Flock," and charges them to place their affections on divine things. He teaches them regarding the inner life.
1. And Jesus left the multitudes and went with his disciples up to Mary's home; and as they sat about the board to dine he said,
2. My little flock, fear not; it is your Father's will that you shall rule the kingdom of the soul.
3. A ruler in the house of God is servant of the Lord of Hosts, and man cannot serve God except by serving men.
4. A servant in the house of God cannot be servant in the house of wealth; nor in the synagogue of sense.
5. If you are tied to lands, or bonds, or wealth of earth, your hearts are knit to things of earth; for where your treasures are there are your hearts.
6. Dispose of all your wealth, distribute it among the poor, and put your trust in God, and you nor yours will ever come to want.
7. This is a test of faith, and God will not accept the service of faithless one.
8. The time is ripe; your Master comes upon the clouds; the eastern sky is glowing with his presence now.
9. Put on reception robes; gird up your loins; trim up your lamps and fill them well with oil, and be prepared to meet your Lord; when you are ready, he will come.
10. Thrice blessed are the servants who are ready to receive their Lord.
11. Behold, for he will gird himself, and will prepare a sumptuous feast for every one, and he himself will serve.
12. It matters not when he shall come; it may be at the second watch; it may be at the third; but blessed are the servants who are ready to receive.
13. You cannot leave your door ajar and go to sleep, and wait in blissful ignorance of the fleeting time;
14. For thieves will surely come and take away your goods and bind and carry you away to robbers' dens.
15. And if you are not carried forth, the Master when he comes will not regard a sleeping guard as friend, but as a foe.
16. Beloved, these are times when every man must be awake and at his post, for none can tell the hour nor the day when man shall be revealed.
17. And Peter said, Lord is this parable for us, or for the multitudes?
18. And Jesus, Why need you ask? God is not a man that he should show respect for one and cast another off.
19. Whoever will may come and gird himself, and trim his lamp, and find a turret in the tower of life where he may watch, and be prepared to meet the Lord.
20. But you, as children of the light, have come, and you have learned the language of the court, and may stand forth and lead the way.
21. But you may wait, and think that you are ready to receive the Lord, and still he does not come.
22. And you may grow impatient and begin to long for carnal ways again, and may begin to exercise your rule;
23. To beat, and otherwise maltreat the servants of the house, and fill yourselves with wine and meat.
24. And what will say the Lord when he shall come?
25. Behold, for he will cast the faithless servant from his house; and many years will come and go before he can be cleansed, and be thought worthy to receive his Lord.
26. The servant who has come into the light, who knows the Master's will and does it not; the trusted guard who goes to sleep within the turret of the tower of life,
27. Shall feel the lash of justice many times, while he who does not know his Master's will and does it not, will not receive the graver punishment.
28. The man who comes and stands before the open door of opportunity and does not enter in, but goes his way,
29. Will come again and find the door made fast, and when he calls, the door will open not,
30. The guard will say, you had the pass-word once, but you threw it away and now the Master knows you not; depart.
31. And verily I say to you, To whom much has been given, much is required; to whom a little has been given, a little only is required.