Tuesday 27 March 2012

John 1:32 TheSpiritDescendingFromHeavenLikeADove

32And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. -John 1:32 Bible, King James Version


 
"At Pentacost when the Lord the Maha Chohan sent down the Assistance to the Disciples, who were to carry on and use These Greater Powers which We had explained to them, there had to be Tongues of Flame come from the Lord Maha Chohan, directly into the brain structure of those who were to stand against the destructive forces of the outer world! ...The Beloved Lord the Maha Chohan... HE IS THE AUTHORITY AND THE PRESENCE WHICH PROJECTS THAT FLAME INTO THE BRAIN STRUCTURE OF THOSE IN THIS WORLD! I received It from Him, at the moment of baptism; and the Disciples received It from Him, just before they were to go to the outer world. It is the Gift of the Greater Powers of the Sacred Fire, which enables the outer self to be FREE from many and all limitations. It is the release of the Fire Element necessary to consume the human; and give the Greater Strengh to the outer self of others, to do that which sets each Life Stream FREE." -Beloved Master Jesus ('The Voice of the I AM' July 1948 p15) 

Sunday 25 March 2012

John 1:29 Jesus taketh away the sin of the world




29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. -John 1:29 King James Version (KJV)



It is believed by mainstream Christians that Jesus atoned for the sins of all mankind past, present and future. This does not appear to be supported by the Teachings of the Ascended Masters although there is a degree of Truth in this concept. Beloved Jesus teaches us: "I came in those centuries long ago to take away a certain proportion of the hatred of the world. I consumed that hatred. I have poured Love to take its place." ('The I AM Discourses' p225) This Divine Gift in Jesus' day does not cleanse us from our past mistakes in this day and age. In order to do so we must use the Violet Consuming Flame. The Beloved Master Jesus teaches what He meant by Grace: "Now because of the Great Master Saint Germain's Use and Release of the Violet Consuming Flame, which was the "Grace" that I taught, mankind have been given the Way and Means of consuming their mistakes. If an individual has created discord thru mistakes of the past and in the Full Acceptance and Authority of the "Mighty I AM Presence," will call on the Law of Forgiveness, use the Violet Consuming Flame to dissolve and consume all that has been less than Perfection, then Life once again opens the Pathway into the Realm of Perfection!" ('The Voice of the I AM' 1946 April p7)

John 1:17 Truth came by Jesus Christ

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
-John 1:17 Bible, King James Version



The Ascended Masters Saint Germain and Jesus

 
Jesus did not teach that Religion or Churches or even the scriptures would set you free. What He did teach was that; "the truth shall make you free." By following the Teachings of Jesus and the other Ascended Masters we can learn the Truths necessary to gain our freedom from the cycle of birth and death and become one of the Ascended Masters.

The Beloved Mighty Cyclopia teaches regarding the Truth:"You see many people in some of the Religious channels of the World, have a Fragment of the Truth; but they do not understand the Cosmic Law enough, to show mankind the Application necessary, to set That Truth into Service for themselves and for the World. So, We have to come again, and again, and again." ('The Voice of the I AM' August 1948 p12)

Beloved Mighty Helios teaches us: "I trust I may elucidate one of those Magnificent Statements of the Mighty Master Jesus... When He said: "Know the Truth and the Truth shall set you Free," that Statement contains tremendous Wisdom, and few know what It means. Every little fragment of Truth which individuals have contemplated they have imagined He meant by that Statement; but until they know This Truth concerning the Master Authority of the Fire Element thruout all Creation- they do not have the Way and Means of dissolving that which keeps them bound... The Sacred Fire from the Higher Mental Body! There is no Freedom to Life other than thru That Sacred Fire! If you want to know the Truth that sets you Free, then you will have to know, that the DIVINE DESIRES OF YOUR HIGHER MENTAL BODY, are the Master Authority in all your physical conditions. Then That Fire burns out the limitations which have been created by your human desires... The Divine Desire of your Higher Mental Body, is to Expand the Unfed Flame in your Heart into a Greater Unfed Flame... Mankind have gone on century after century, gratifying their own desires of the physical body! Hence have bound themselves in chains, that forever are drawn tighter and tighter about them... The Only Way provided by Life, for the consuming of human mistakes and the frightful torture they have created in this world, is by the Use of the Cosmic Fire... UNTIL MANKIND KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE SACRED FIRE THEY CAN NEVER be Free. Individuals in your churches and philosophers all thru the centuries, have referred occasionally to the Sacred Fire, but the masses of the people know not what is meant. Your Beloved Saint Germain brought you the detailed Explanation and Use of the Violet Consuming Flame which is One Ray, or One Flame, that I direct from My Thousand Petal Lotus, which appears to you as the Physical Sun! That is the only Way and Means which the Cosmic Law of the whole Universe, provides to This System of Worlds to change outer manifestations that are less than Perfection into Perfection, and then ever expand that Perfection." ('The Voice of the I AM' 1949 January p9-11)

John 1:12 Power to become the Sons of God

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: -John 1:12 Bible, King James Version 

All mankind have the potential to become Sons of God just as Jesus became a Son of God by becoming one with His Higher Mental Body which is the Christ.

John 1:1-14 The Word was made flesh





















 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
 2The same was in the beginning with God.
 3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
 4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
 5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
 7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
 9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
 10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
 11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God... 
 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us... -John 1:1-14 Bible, King James Version

In the beginning there was the Mighty I AM Presence of all mankind including the Master Jesus. Here in Heaven we all were, and are still, gods in the presence of God. All things were created by our I AM Presence which is the Light that gives us all life. Because Jesus represented His I AM Presence He was the Great Creative Word "I AM" made flesh. As we follow His example and become Sons of God also, we too will become the Word "I AM" made flesh.



The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ
Transcribed From the Book of God’s Remembrances, Known as the Akashic Records
                                     by Levi H. Dowling (1844-1911)

CHAPTER 176.

Jesus appears, fully materialized, to the magian priests in Persia.
22The magian priests were in the silence in Persepolis, and Kas­par, and the magian masters who were first to greet the child of prom­ise in the shepherd’s home in Beth­lehem, were with the priests.
23And Jesus came and sat with them; a crown of light was on his head...
26And Jesus said...
27The problem of the ages has been solved; a son of man has risen from the dead; has shown that hu­man flesh can be transmuted into flesh divine.
28Before the eyes of men this flesh in which I come to you was changed with speed of light from human flesh. And so I am the message that I bring to you.
29To you I come, the first of all the race to be transmuted to the image of the AM.
30What I have done, all men will do; and what I am, all men will be.
31But Jesus said no more. In one short breath he told the story of his mission to the sons of men, and then he disappeared.

John 1:9 All mankind have the Light of Christ



That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
-John 1:9 King James Version (KJV)

The Light of Christ, which is the Light of God's Heavenly Love, resides in all mankind's Heart center and the other higher centers. In the Inner Worlds life acts as a giant spiritual mirror reflecting back to us an outer reflection of our inner state of consciousness. God and Heaven is made up of Divine Love therefore unless we are filled with this Heavenly Love, Heaven will not appear before us. By opening up our Heart center we will be filled with this Heavenly Love and the Lord of Heaven will appear before us as a blazing Sun because Heavenly Love is symbolized by fire. Those who are not filled with the Love of God are therefore filled with a degree of darkness and will find themselves in hell or another spiritual level which reflects their state of consciousness somewhere in between heaven and hell.

Heaven and Hell, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1758], tr. by John C. Ager [1900] at sacred-texts.com

428.
As 
the world of spirits is an intermediate state between heaven and hell with man, so it is an intermediate place with the hells below and the heavens above...
430.
With every man there are two gates; one that leads to hell and that is open to evils and their falsities; while the other leads to heaven and is open to goods and their truths. Those that are in evil and its falsity have the gate to hell opened in them, and only through chinks from above does something of light from heaven flow into them, and by that inflowing they are able to think, to reason, and to speak; but the gate to heaven is opened in those that are in good and its truth...


Arcana Coelestia, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1749-56], tr. by John F. Potts [1905-10], at sacred-texts.com

981.
...the Lord is present solely in charity [or heavenly love,] ...The Lord is indeed present with every man, but in proportion as a man is distant from charity, in the same proportion the presence of the Lord is-so to speak-more absent, that is, the Lord is more remote...


Beloved Master Lanto teaches: "Beloved Children of Earth, you stand upon the Threshold of the Ages. [Golden Age] ...The cycle changes and we enter a New Dispensation... In this New Order the discipline for the neophyte [a new convert] will be the focusing and the maintaining of his attention entirely upon the three highest centers [chakras] of the body, and he will do all his work at these points. Only the centers in the heart, throat, and head will receive conscious consideration and attention. The entire effort of the aspirant will be to hold his attention upon these, for only by looking away from the lower centers will he ever be able to rise out of misery and limitation. The center at the top of the head is the highest focus in the human body, and there the Silver Cord of Liquid White Light from the Great Source of Creation enters. When the attention of the mind is held fast upon this, the Door of the Soul is opened and the Threefold Activity of the Pure White Light encircles the waist just below the solar plexus, cutting off forever the destructive activities of the animal nature in man. This permits his soul to leap forth into its Complete Divine Activity, united once more with the Perfection of Its Source, and Eternally thereafter Master of all human creation - which means the discords of earth. Sincere students should meditate frequently upon the Perfect Action of the Golden Light within the head, for It will illumine and teach the outer mind all good things. This is the Light of the God Within. One should feel It filling his entire consciousness, his body and world. This is the 'Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world,' and there is no human being in existence who has not some of this Light within him..." ('Unveiled Mysteries' by Godfre Ray King, p255-256) 

John 1:1-3 In the Beginning was the Word


1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2The same was in the beginning with God.  3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. -John 1:1-3 Bible, King James Version



In the beginning was the Word “I AM,” “AM,” “A” or as those in the East prefer to use “A-U-M.” All light emits sound. The Holy Name of God “I AM” is based on the Sacred Sound or Word which flows forth from the Light of our Mighty I AM Presence. Therefore the Word was with God and the Word was God. All things were made by our Mighty I AM Presence and those who represent It, such as Jesus, through the use of the Great Creative Word “I AM.”



Beloved Saint Germain teaches us: "The Word- "I AM," as you speak It in English today, is the Full Activity of God... Within that one phrase is what We speak of as the Great Creative Word. It is in that sound!... It is the Word by which the Universe came into Being!" ('The Voice of the I AM' 1947 August p18)

John 1:1 Are there scriptures in the heavens?




In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God... -John 1:1 King James Version (KJV)

Doctrine of Sacred Scriptures, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1763], tr. by John F. Potts [1904] at sacred-texts.com




70.
VII THE WORD IS IN ALL THE HEAVENS, AND IS THE SOURCE OF ANGELIC WISDOM Hitherto it has not been known that the Word is in the heavens, nor could it be made known so long as the church was ignorant that angels and spirits are men like the men in this world, and that they possess in every respect like things to those possessed by men, with the sole difference that they themselves are spiritual, and that all things they possess are from a spiritual origin; while men in this world are natural, and all things they possess are from a natural origin. So long as this fact was hidden it could not be known that the Word exists in the heavens also, and is read by angels there, and also by spirits who are beneath the heavens. But that this might not be forever hidden, it has been granted me to be in company with angels and spirits, to converse with them, see what exists with them, and afterwards relate many things that I have heard and seen. This has been done in Heaven and Hell, published in London in 1758; in which work it may be seen that angels and spirits are men, and that they possess in abundance all things that men possess in this world. That angels and spirits are men, may be seen in that work (n. 73-77, and 453-456). That they possess like things to those possessed by men in this world (n. 170-190); also that they have Divine worship, and preachings in places of worship (n. 221-227); that they have writings and also books (n. 258-264); and that they have the Word (n. 259).
71.
As regards the Word in heaven, it is written in a spiritual style, which differs entirely from a natural style. The spiritual style consists solely of letters, each of which contains a meaning, and there are points above the letters which exalt the meaning. With the angels of the spiritual kingdom the letters resemble printed letters in our world; and with the angels of the celestial kingdom the letters (each of which also contains a complete meaning) resemble the ancient Hebrew letters, curved in various ways, and with marks above and within. Such being the style of their writing, there are no names of persons and places in their Word such as there are in ours, but instead of the names there are the things which they signify. Thus instead of Moses there is the historical Word, instead of Elijah, the prophetical Word; instead of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Lord as to His Divinity and Divine Human; instead of Aaron, the priestly office; instead of David, the kingly office, each of the Lord; instead of the names of the twelve sons of Jacob, or of the tribes of Israel, various things of heaven and the church; and like things instead of the names of the Lord's twelve disciples; instead of Zion and Jerusalem, the church in respect to the Word and doctrine from the Word; instead of the land of Canaan, the church itself; instead of the cities therein on this side and beyond Jordan, various things of the church and of its doctrine; and so with all the other names. It is the same with the numbers; neither do these appear in the Word that is in heaven, but instead of them the things to which the numbers that are in our Word correspond. It is evident from these examples that the Word in heaven is a Word that corresponds to our Word, and thus that the two are a one, for correspondences make a one.
72.
It is a wonderful thing that the Word in the heavens is so written that the simple understand it in simplicity, and the wise in wisdom, for there are many points and marks over the letters, which as has been said exalt the meaning, and to these the simple do not attend, nor are they even aware of them; whereas the wise pay attention to them, each one according to his wisdom, even to the highest wisdom. In every larger society of heaven, a copy of the Word, written by angels inspired by the Lord, is kept in its sanctuary, lest being elsewhere it should be altered in some point. In respect to the fact that the simple understand it in simplicity and the wise in wisdom, our Word is indeed like that in heaven, but this is effected in a different way.
73.
The angels acknowledge that all their wisdom comes through the Word, for they are in light in proportion to their understanding of the Word. The light of heaven is Divine wisdom, which to their eyes is light. In the sanctuary where the copy of the Word is kept, there is a flaming and bright light that surpasses every degree of light in heaven that is outside of it. The cause is the same as above mentioned; it is that the Lord is in the Word.
74.
The wisdom of the celestial angels surpasses that of the spiritual angels almost as much as this surpasses the wisdom of men, and the reason is that the celestial angels are in the good of love from the Lord, while the spiritual angels are in truths of wisdom from him, and wherever there is the good of love there resides at the same time wisdom; but where there are truths there resides no more of wisdom than there is good of love together with it. This is the reason why the Word in the celestial kingdom is written differently from that in the spiritual kingdom; for goods of love are expressed in the Word of the celestial kingdom, and the marks denote affections, whereas truths of wisdom are expressed in the Word of the spiritual kingdom, and the marks denote perceptions.
75.
From what has been said may be inferred the nature of the wisdom that lies hidden in the Word that is in this world. In fact all angelic wisdom, which is unutterable, lies hidden in it, for it is the container of the same, and after death a man who is being made an angel by the Lord by means of the Word comes into that wisdom.









Luke 24:53 Amen


And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. -Luke 24:53 Bible, King James Version



                           
                                                                                                                                   

Eastern religions believe that amen shares roots with the Hindu Sanskrit word, Aum. See 'Autobiography of a Yoga' by Yogananda Paramahansa 1946, chapter 26: Kriya Yoga is mentioned twice by the ancient sage Patanjali, foremost exponent of yoga, who wrote: "Kriya Yoga consists of body discipline, mental control, and meditating on Aum." Patanjali speaks of God as the actual Cosmic Sound of Aum heard in meditation. Aum is the Creative Word, the sound of the Vibratory Motor. Even the yoga-beginner soon inwardly hears the wondrous sound of Aum. Receiving this blissful spiritual encouragement, the devotee becomes assured that he is in actual touch with divine realms. [Reference 8: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."-John 1:1-3. Aum (Om) of the Vedas became the sacred word Amin of the Moslems, Hum of the Tibetans, and Amen of the Christians (its meaning in Hebrew being sure, faithful). "These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God."-Revelations 3:14.] 

I believe the Sacred Name of God is hidden in the Word "AMen." The Name of God is "I AM" or "AM." I also believe It is hidden in the Eastern Creative Word "AUM." This is several Mantras in one which can be used as the individual Sounds A-U-M or combine the first and second letters with the Sound "M" giving us the Name of God "AM" or in other words "I AM."

Luke 24:36-43,51 Jesus proves He is Resurrected

        jesus-appears-to-the-disciples-after-resurrection

 36And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
 37But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
 38And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
 39Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
 40And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
 42And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
 43And he took it, and did eat before them...
 51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.
-Luke 24:36-43,51 Bible, King James Version
 
After Jesus raises His physical body from the dead He appears to His disciples who are terrified because they think He is appearing to them as a ghost or spirit. He then proves to them that He is not a spirit by allowing them to handle His Resurrected Body of flesh and bones as well as eating some food. You may have noted that He does not say He has a body of flesh and blood but a Body of flesh and bones. "In the case of the Ascended Masters' Bodies, the blood stream is a Liquid Golden Light." ('The Voice of the I AM' 1937 August p19-24) During the Resurrection, Jesus united His physical body with His Higher Mental Body. As a Resurrected Master Jesus was then able to raise or lower His Higher Mental Body up and down between the Higher Mental Plane and the Physical Plane.

Beloved Jesus teaches us in this day and age: "Do you know when an Ascended Master comes into the physical octave of Earth in the Visible Tangible Ascended Master Body... the Master always has to shut off His Light? Because He must govern His Feelings of Love, which at the Inner Level are allowed to flow without limitation. In Our Great Octaves of Light We know not what it is to ever have to shut off Our Love nor Our Light, but when We come into the physical octave We have to govern That. You could not stand the Full Pressure of My Love or My Light, were I to suddenly come into a room. If I were to come like that you would think a cyclone had struck you. The Light would be so Bright and the Pressure of that Energy so Great, most of you would just step out of the body for a few moments, until I could get you back in... That is why there has to come an Adjustment in both the quality of Energy We pour forth as We step into the Octave of the physical world; and there has to be an adjustment in your own atomic structure that is raised gradually just as high as is the part of wisdom to vibrate the atomic structure of your bodies to the point where you could see Us with the physical sight." ('The Voice of the I AM' 1972 December p11)
 

Saturday 24 March 2012

Luke 24:32 Did not our heart burn within us?


32And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? -Luke 24:32 Bible, King James Version

When we open up our Heart chakra it fills us with the fiery Spirit of Divine Love and Happiness. This is a secret Key which opens up a Doorway to Heaven. As a younger man while Jesus is in Nepal in the Himalayan Mountains and as an older man in Jerusalem He teaches the people about the importance of the Heart: 

The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ
Transcribed From the Book of God’s Remembrances, Known as the Akashic Records
by Levi H. Dowling (1844-1911)
CHAPTER 31.

Jesus travels from India to Nepal.

23And after many days he reached the mighty Himalayas, and in the city Kapivastu he abode.
24The priests of Buddha opened wide their temple doors for him.

CHAPTER 33.

1In silent meditation Jesus sat beside a flowing spring. It was a holy day, and many people of the servant caste were near the place...
5And Jesus’ heart was stirred with pity and with love for these poor toilers, and he said,
6Toil should not make a per­son sad; men should be happiest when they toil. When hope and love are back of toil, then all of life is filled with joy and peace, and this is heaven. Do you not know that such a heaven is for you?
7The man replied, Of heaven we have heard; but then it is so far away, and we must live so many lives before we reach that place!
8And Jesus said, My brother, man, your thoughts are wrong; your heaven is not far away; and it is not a place of metes and bounds, is not a country to be reached; it is a state of mind...
10Now, cease to seek for heav­en in the sky; just open up the windows of your hearts, and, like a flood of light, a heaven will come and bring a boundless joy; then toil will be no cruel task.
11The people were amazed, and gathered close to hear this strange young master speak...
21And Jesus said...
23That in the heart the richest gems abound; that he who wills may open up the door and find them all.
24And then the people said, Make known to us the way that we may find the wealth that lies within the heart.
25And Jesus opened up the way; the toilers saw another side of life, and toil became a joy.

CHAPTER 73.

Jesus back in Jerusalem.

1Next day the multitudes were surging through the temple courts, intent on hearing Jesus speak...
15A lawyer came and asked, What does messiah mean? and who has right to make messiah of a man?
16And Jesus said, Messiah is one sent from God to seek and save the lost. Messiahs are not made by men.
17In first of every age Messiah comes to light the way; to heal up broken hearts; to set the prisoners free. Messiah and the Christ are one...
21The head gives not the proof of true messiahship, for man by means of intellect, can never know of God, nor bring himself to walk in light.
22Messiah lives not in the head, but in the heart, the seat of mercy and of love.




Luke 24:13-16,30-31 JesusNotRecognizedByDisciples

13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him... 30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. -Luke 24:13-16,30-31 Bible, King James Version

The Beloved Master Jesus teaches us: "I move among the world today, as We must many times in Our Tangible Bodies, which We must change in order to avoid attracting attention." ('The Voice of the I AM' November 1939 p10) "Do you know when an Ascended Master comes into the physical octave of Earth in the Visible Tangible Ascended Master Body... the Master always has to shut off His Light? Because He must govern His Feelings of Love, which at the Inner Level are allowed to flow without limitation. In Our Great Octaves of Light We know not what it is to ever have to shut off Our Love nor Our Light, but when We come into the physical octave We have to govern That. You could not stand the Full Pressure of My Love or My Light, were I to suddenly come into a room. If I were to come like that you would think a cyclone had struck you. The Light would be so Bright and the Pressure of that Energy so Great, most of you would just step out of the body for a few moments, until I could get you back in... That is why there has to come an Adjustment in both the quality of Energy We pour forth as We step into the Octave of the physical world; and there has to be an adjustment in your own atomic structure that is raised gradually just as high as is the part of wisdom to vibrate the atomic structure of your bodies to the point where you could see Us with the physical sight." ('The Voice of the I AM' 1972 December p11)

Luke 24:4 Two men stood in shining garments

4And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: -Luke 24:4 Bible, King James Version

photo

                Sun Rays By Thad Roan - Bridgepix

                                        Sun Rays over icy Chatfield Lake, Littleton, Colorado.

In order to enter into the Celestial Kingdom of Heaven, which is like a blazing sun in It's glory, we must also learn to shine forth as the sun.

Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen by Emanuel Swedenborg. (First published, in Latin, 1758)

177. XX. THE GARMENTS WITH WHICH ANGELS APPEAR CLOTHED.

Since angels are men, and live among themselves as men do on the earth, they have garments and dwellings and other such things, with the difference, however, that as they are in a more perfect state all things with them are in greater perfection.... 178. The garments with which angels are clothed, like all other things with them, correspond; and because they correspond they have real existence. Their garments correspond to their intelligence, and therefore all in the heavens appear clothed in accordance with their intelligence; and as one is more intelligent than another so the garments of one surpass those of another. The most intelligent have garments that blaze as if with flame, others have garments that glisten as if with light; the less intelligent have garments that are glistening white or white without the effulgence; and the still less intelligent have garments of various colors...
182. ...Everyone in the spiritual world has garments in accordance with his intelligence, that is, in accordance with truths which are the source of intelligence...

Luke 24:1-3 Resurrection on 1st day of the Week

1Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. -Luke 24:1-3 Bible, King James Version



As I understand it, the Sabbath Day in the Old Testament, before the Resurrection of Jesus, was on Saturday the 7th day of the week. After Jesus' Resurrection on Sunday the 1st day of the week most Christian Churches have their Sabbath Day on Sunday.   

Luke 23:39-46 Thief enters into Paradise


39And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
 40But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
 41And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
 42And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
 43And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
 44And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
 45And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
 46And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. -Luke 23:39-46 Bible, King James Version

In verse 43 Jesus points out to the man dying on the cross near Him that after his death his spirit body would travel with Him to Paradise in the Spirit World. In verse 46 Jesus dies and gives up the ghost or in other words at the death of Jesus' physical body His ghost or spirit body is released into the Spirit World. In 1918 the Mormon prophet President Joseph F. Smith received this vision concerning the Savior’s visit to the spirits of the dead while His body was in the tomb:

The Doctrine and Covenants (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

Section 138
A vision given to President Joseph F. Smith in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 3 October 1918. 
 On the third of October, in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, I sat in my room pondering over the scriptures...
 I opened the Bible and read the third and fourth chapters of the first epistle of Peter, and as I read I was greatly impressed, more than I had ever been before, with the following passages:
 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
 “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
 “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” (1 Peter 3:18–20.)
 10 “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (1 Peter 4:6.)
 11 As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great.
 12 And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality...
 16 They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world...
 18 While this vast multitude waited and conversed... the Son of God appeared...
 19 And there he preached to them the everlasting gospel...
 20 But unto the wicked he did not go, and among the ungodly and the unrepentant who had defiled themselves while in the flesh, his voice was not raised;
 21 Neither did the rebellious who rejected the testimonies and the warnings of the ancient prophets behold his presence, nor look upon his face...
 24 Their countenances shone, and the radiance from the presence of the Lord rested upon them...
 25 I marveled, for...
 27...his ministry among those who were dead was limited to the brief time intervening between the crucifixion and his resurrection;
 28 And I wondered at the words of Peter—wherein he said that the Son of God preached unto the spirits in prison, who sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah—and how it was possible for him to preach to those spirits and perform the necessary labor among them in so short a time.
 29 And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them;
 30 But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.
 31 And the chosen messengers went forth to... proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and receive the gospel.
 32 Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets...
 33 These were taught faith in God...
 34 And all other principles of the gospel that were necessary for them to know in order to qualify themselves that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit...
 36 Thus was it made known that our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh;
 37 That they might carry the message of redemption unto all the dead, unto whom he could not go personally, because of their rebellion and transgression, that they through the ministration of his servants might also hear his words...
 38...the great and mighty ones who were assembled in this vast congregation of the righteous...
 56 Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.

The Spirit World consists of many Planes of a higher or lower frequency. The highest spiritual levels in the inner worlds are referred to as Heaven and Paradise. The lower levels are referred to as hell. The levels in between are referred to as Purgatory. Emanuel Swedenborg, who was shown by angels the Spirit World, has this to say:

Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen. Heaven and Hell is the common English title of the book written by Emanuel Swedenborg in Latin, published in 1758.

421. XLIV. WHAT THE WORLD OF SPIRITS IS.



The world of spirits is not heaven, nor is it hell, but it is the intermediate place or state between the two; for it is the place that man first enters after death; and from which after a suitable time he is either raised up into heaven or cast down into hell in accord with his life in the world.
422. The world of spirits is an intermediate place between heaven and hell and also an intermediate state of the man after death. It has been shown to me not only that it is an intermediate place, having the hells below it and the heavens above it, but also that it is in an intermediate state... The state of heaven in man is the conjunction of good and truth in him; and the state of hell is the conjunction of evil and falsity in him. Whenever [there is] good in a man− [his] spirit is conjoined to truth [and] he comes into heaven, because that conjunction, as just said, is heaven in him; but whenever evil [is] in a man− [his] spirit is conjoined with falsity [and] he comes into hell, because that conjunction is hell in him...
425  Neither in heaven nor in hell is any one permitted to have a divided mind, that is, to understand one thing and to will another...
426. In the world of spirits there are vast numbers, because the first meeting of all is there, and all are there explored and prepared. The time of their stay in that world is not fixed; some merely enter it, and are soon either taken into heaven or are cast down into hell; some remain only a few weeks, some several years, but not more than thirty. These differences in the time they remain depend on the correspondence or lack of correspondence of man's interiors with his exteriors...
427. As soon as men after death enter the world of spirits the Lord clearly discriminates between them; and the evil are at once attached to the infernal society in which they were, as to their ruling love while in the world; and the good are at once attached to the heavenly society in which they were as to their love, charity and faith while in the world. But although they are thus divided, all that have been friends and acquaintances in the life of the body, especially wives and husbands, and also brothers and sisters, meet and converse together whenever they so desire. I have seen a father talking with six sons, whom he recognized, and have seen many others with their relatives and friends; but having from their life in the world diverse dispositions, after a short time they separate. But those who have passed from the world of spirits into heaven or into hell, unless they have a like disposition from a like love, no longer see or know each other. The reason that they see each other in the world of spirits, but not in heaven or in hell, is that... then similarity joins and dissimilarity disjoins.
428. As the world of spirits is an intermediate state between heaven and hell with man, so it is an intermediate place with the hells below and the heavens above. All the hells are shut towards that world, being open only through holes and clefts like those in rocks and through wide openings that are so guarded that no one can come out except by permission... Heaven, too, is enclosed on all sides; and there is no passage open to any heavenly society except by a narrow way, the entrance to which is also guarded. These outlets and entrances are what are called in the Word the gates and doors of hell and of heaven.
429. The world of spirits appears like a valley between mountains and rocks, with windings and elevations here and there. The gates and doors of the heavenly societies are visible to those only who are prepared for heaven; others cannot find them. There is one entrance from the world of spirits to each heavenly society, opening through a single path which branches out in its ascent into several. The gates and doors of the hells also are visible only to those who are about to enter, to whom they are then opened. When these are opened gloomy and seemingly sooty caverns are seen tending obliquely downwards to the abyss, where again there are many doors. Through these caverns nauseous and fetid stenches exhale, which good spirits flee from because they abominate them, but evil spirits seek for them because they delight in them. For as everyone in the world has been delighted with his own evil, so after death he is delighted with the stench to which his evil corresponds...  
430. With every man there are two gates; one that leads to hell and that is open to evils and their falsities; while the other leads to heaven and is open to goods and their truths. Those that are in evil and its falsity have the gate to hell opened in them...


I believe the two gates referred to here are the two main chakras within the human body. The lower Solar-plexus chakra, which is where we feel  human emotions, is the gateway to the Astral Plane where some of the hells are located. The higher Heart chakra, which is where we feel Divine Love, is the gateway to Heaven on the Soul Plane.

Sunday 18 March 2012

Luke 23:39-43 Today shalt thou be in Paradise






39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
-Luke 23:39-43 King James Version (KJV) 

Here Jesus points out to the thief on the cross that he would be with Him in Paradise that same day indicating that we all go directly to the Spirit World at the time of death. In reality we are all already there however when we drop the outer physical body, like an old worn out garment, we then experience our outer consciousness in our spirit body in the Spirit World.
 
Last Judgment, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1758], tr. by John Whitehead [1892], at sacred-texts.com 

19. 
That heaven and hell are from the human race, the church moreover might have known from the Word, and made it a part of its doctrine, if it had admitted enlightenment from heaven, and had attended to the Lord's words to the robber, that: Today he should be with Him in paradise (Luke 23:43); and to those which the Lord spake concerning the rich man and Lazarus, that: The one went to hell, and spoke thence with Abraham, and that the other went to heaven (Luke 16:19-31). Also to what the Lord told the Sadducees respecting the resurrection, that: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matt. 22:32). And furthermore they might have known it from the common faith of all who live well, especially from their faith in the hour of death, when they are no longer in worldly and corporeal things, in that they believe they will go to heaven, as soon as the life of their body departs. This faith prevails with all, so long as they do not think, from the doctrine of the church, of a resurrection at the time of the Last Judgment. Inquire into the subject and you will be confirmed that it is so.

Arcana Coelestia, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1749-56], tr. by John F. Potts [1905-10], at sacred-texts.com

1622 
As regards the paradisal scenes, they are amazing. Paradisal gardens are presented to view of immense extent, consisting of trees of every kind, and of beauty and pleasantness so great as to surpass every idea of thought; and these gardens are presented with such life before the external sight that those who are there not only see them, but perceive every particular much more vividly than the sight of the eye perceives such things on earth. That I might not be in doubt respecting this, I was brought to the region where those are who live a paradisal life, and I saw it; it is in front of and a little above the corner of the right eye [of heaven which is in the form of a Grand Man.] Each and all things there appear in their most beautiful springtime and flower, with a magnificence and variety that are amazing; and they are living, each and all, because they are representatives; for there is nothing that does not represent and signify something celestial and spiritual. Thus they not only affect the sight with pleasantness, but also the mind with happiness. [2] Certain souls, newcomers from the world-who from principles received while they lived, doubted the possibility of such things existing in the other life...-being taken up thither and speaking thence with me, said in their amazement that it was beyond words, and that they could in no way represent the unutterableness of what they saw by any idea, and that joys and delights shone forth from every single thing, and this with successive varieties. The souls that are being introduced into heaven are for the most part carried first of all to the paradisal regions. But the angels look upon these things with different eyes; the paradises do not delight them, but the representatives; thus the celestial and spiritual things from which these come. It was from these representatives that the Most Ancient Church [which was a celestial church before the flood] had what related to paradise. 
1626
Besides these paradisal scenes, cities are also presented to view, with magnificent palaces, contiguous [next or together in sequence] to one another, resplendent in their coloring, beyond all the art of the architect. Nor is this to be wondered at; cities of similar appearance were seen also by the prophets, when their interior sight was opened, and this so clearly that nothing in the world could be more distinct. Thus was the New Jerusalem seen by John, which is also described by him in these words: And he carried me away in the spirit upon a mountain great and high, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem; having a wall great and high, having twelve gates; and the building of the wall thereof was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto golden glass. The foundations of the wall there adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprasus, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst (Rev. 21:10, 12, 18-20). Such things were seen also by the prophets. Similar things, beyond number, are seen by angels and angelic spirits in clear day; and wonderful to say, they are perceived with all fullness of sense. These things cannot be credited by one who has extinguished spiritual ideas by the terms and definitions of human philosophy, and by reasonings; and yet they are most true. That they are true might have been apprehended from the fact that they have been seen so frequently by the saints.  
1628.
All the angels have their own dwellings in the places where they are, and they are magnificent. I have been there, and have sometimes seen and marveled at them, and have there spoken with the angels. They are so distinct and clearly seen that nothing can be more so. In comparison with these, the habitations on earth amount to scarcely anything. They also call those which are on the earth dead, and not real; but their own, living and true, because from the Lord. The architecture is such that the art itself is derived from it, with a variety that knows no limit. They have said that if all the palaces in the whole world should be given them, they would not receive them in exchange for their own. What is made of stone, clay, and wood is to them dead; but what is from the Lord, and from life itself and light itself, is living; and this is the more the case that they enjoy them with all fullness of sense. For the things that are there are perfectly adapted to the senses of spirits and angels; for spirits cannot see at all by their sight the things that are in the light of the [physical] solar world; but... are adapted to the senses of men in the [physical] body. Spiritual things are in correspondence with those who are spiritual, and corporeal things with those who are corporeal [relating to a person's body, especially as opposed to their spirit.] 
1630 
Spirits are very indignant [disturbed] that men have no conception of the life of spirits and angels, and that they suppose them to be in an obscure state, which cannot but be most sad, and as it were in vacuity and emptiness; when yet they are in the greatest light, and in the enjoyment of all good things as to all the senses, and this with an inmost perception of them. There have also been souls who had lately come from the world, and who had brought with them, from the principles there accepted, the idea that there were no such things in the other life. They were therefore introduced into the homes of angels, and spoke with those who were there, and saw these things. When they returned, they said that they had perceived that it was so, and that the things were real; but that they had not at all believed this in the life of the body, and could not believe it; also that these must of necessity be among those wonderful things that are not believed because they are not comprehended. But as the experience is a thing of sense, but of the interior sense, this also was said to them-that still they are not to doubt because they do not apprehend; for if nothing were believed except that which is apprehended, nothing would be believed respecting the things of interior nature; still less concerning the things that are of eternal life. Hence comes the insanity of our [day and] age.   
1633 
I have likewise been fully informed concerning the nature of the influx into the lives of animals, all of which are dissipated after death; but concerning this subject, of the Lord's Divine mercy hereafter.
   

Luke 23:39-43 Thieves on right & left hand

39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
-Luke 23:39-43 King James Version (KJV) 

Apocalypse Explained, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1757-9], tr. by John Whitehead [1911], at sacred-texts.com 

600 
...[3] As "right and left" are mentioned in many passages in the Word, and in some places "right" alone, or "left" alone, I will explain in a few words what is signified by each of them, and by the two together. This can be known from the quarters in the spiritual world, where the south is to the right, and the north to the left, and the east in front, and the west behind. An angel perpetually faces the Lord as a sun, therefore before him is the Lord as the east, and behind him the Lord as the west, and at his right hand is the south, and at his left hand the north. It is from this way of facing that the "right" signifies truth in light, and the "left" truth in shade; or what is the same, that the "right" signifies spiritual good which is truth in light, and the "left" signifies spiritual truth which is truth in shade; so, too, the "right" signifies good which is a source of truth, and the "left" truth from good. Such is the signification of all the right and left parts of the body, and also of the head; as the right and left eye, the right and left hand, the right and left foot, and so on, the proper signification of each member or part being preserved. From these few statements it can be known what "right" and "left" signify, in general and in particular, in the Word of both the New and the Old Testaments, as in the following passages... [5] In the same: And the King shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left; and He shall say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess as inheritance the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And He shall say unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:33, 34, 41). He who does not know what is signified in the proper sense by "sheep" and what by "goats," might suppose that "sheep" mean all who are good, and "goats" all who are evil; but in the proper sense "sheep" mean those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbor, and thence in faith, and "goats" mean those who are in faith separated from charity; thus all upon whom the judgment in the last time of the church will come; for all who were in the good of love to the Lord, and thence in the good of charity and faith, had been taken up into heaven before the Last Judgment; while all who were in no good of charity, and in no faith therefrom, consequently all who were inwardly and at the same time outwardly evil, had been cast down into hell before the Last Judgment; but those who were inwardly good and not equally so outwardly, also those who were inwardly evil but outwardly in good, were all left until the Last Judgment, when those who were inwardly good were taken up into heaven, and those who were inwardly evil were cast into hell (respecting this see what has been said from things seen and heard, in the little work on The Last Judgment). From this it can be seen that "goats" mean those who have been in faith separated from charity; as for instance: The he-goat in Daniel (8:5-25), and in Ezekiel (34:17). This makes evident that the "right hand," where the "sheep" are, means the good of charity and of faith therefrom, and the "left hand," where the "goats" are, means faith separated from charity. It was said to the sheep that they should "possess as inheritance the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world," because in the heavens at the right is the south, where all those are who are in truths from good; for in the southern part the Divine proceeding itself is such as is meant by "the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world." So, too, they are called "the blessed of My Father," the "Father" meaning the Divine good, from which are all things of heaven. But respecting the "goats," that are on the left hand, it is not said "prepared from the foundation of the world," but "the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels," because the evil prepare their hell for themselves. They are called "cursed" because by the "cursed" in the Word are meant all who turn themselves away from the Lord, for such reject the charity and faith of the church. What the "eternal fire" signifies may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell (n. 566-575). [6] The "two robbers who were crucified one of them on the right hand and the other on the left hand of the Lord" (Matt. 27:38; Mark 15:27; Luke 23:39-43), have a similar signification as the "sheep" and the "goats;" therefore to the one who acknowledged the Lord it was said that he should be with Him in paradise...