Luke 18:18-27 Sell all that thou hast!

 

^{18And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?}

 ^{19And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.}

 ^{20Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.}

 ^{21And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.}

 ^{22Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.}

 ^{23And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.}

 ^{24And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!}

 ^{25For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.}

 ^{26And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?}

 ^{27And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. -Luke 18:18-27 Bible, King James Version}

The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ

by Levi H. Dowling

(Transcribed From the Book of God’s Remembrances, Known as the Akashic Records)

CHAPTER 142.

¹Now, Jesus and the twelve went to another town, and as they entered it they said, Peace be to all; good will to all.

²A multitude of people fol­lowed and the master said to them, Behold, for you are followers for selfish gain.

³If you would follow me in love, and be disciples of the Holy Breath, and gain at last the crown of life, you must leave all there is of carnal life behind...

⁸Count well the cost before you start to follow me; it means the giving up of life, and all you have.

⁹If you love father, mother, wife, or child, more than you love the Christ, you cannot follow me.

¹⁰If you love wealth or honor more than you love the Christ, you cannot follow me.

¹¹The paths of carnal life do not run up the mountain side to­wards the top; they run around the mount of life, and if you go straight to the upper gate of consciousness you cross the paths of carnal life; tread in them not...

¹⁶Now, there were present, scribes and Pharisees of wealth who loved their money, and their bonds and lands, and they laughed loud to scorn what Jesus said.

¹⁷Then Jesus spoke to them and said, You are the men who justify yourselves in sight of men; God knows your wickedness of heart;

¹⁸And you must know, O men, that whatsoever is revered and is exalted by the carnal mind, is an abomination in the sight of God.

¹⁹And Jesus went his way, and as he went a young man ran and knelt down at his feet and said, Good master, tell me what to do that I may have eternal life.

²⁰And Jesus said, Why do you call me good? No one is truly good but God himself.

²¹And God has said, If you would enter into life, keep the Commandments of the law.

²²The young man asked, To which commands did he refer?

²³And Jesus said, You shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not do adulterous things; you shall not falsely testify;

²⁴And you shall love your God with all your heart, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

²⁵The man replied, These things I have observed from youth; what lack I yet?

²⁶And Jesus said, One thing you lack; your heart is fixed on things of earth; you are not free.

²⁷Go forth and sell all that you have, and give your money to the poor, and come and follow me, and you shall have eternal life.

²⁸The man was grieved at what the master said; for he was rich; he hid his face and went in sorrow on his way.

²⁹And Jesus looked upon the sorrowing man and said, It is so hard for men with hoarded wealth to enter through the door into the kingdom of the soul.

³⁰And his disciples were amazed at what he said.

³¹He answered them and said, I tell you, men, that they who trust in riches cannot trust in God and cannot come into the kingdom of the soul;

³²Yea, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a man with hoarded wealth to find the way of life. And his disciples said, Who then can find the way? Who can be saved?

³³And Jesus said, The rich may give his gold away; the high may kiss the dust, and God will save...

⁴⁹And Peter said, Lord, we have left our all to follow you; and what is our reward?

⁵⁰And Jesus said, Most verily I say to you, that you who have left all to follow me shall come into a newness of a life hid deep with Christ in God.

⁵¹And you shall sit with me upon the throne of power, and judge with me the tribes of Israel.

⁵²And he who conquers carnal self, and follows me through Christ shall have a hundred fold of that which is the wealth of life on earth, and in the world to come, eternal life.

In order to gain Eternal Life we must be willing to sacrifice everything in this world to attain it. I do not believe we all need to sell everything we own and become monks or nuns in order to become disciples of Christ. An example of this is found in the very next chapter where a man lets Jesus know he has given away only half his goods to the poor: ⁸And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. ⁹And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house... -Luke 19:8-9 Bible, King James Version.

The Ascended Master Lanto teaches us: The Law of Life is abundance of every good thing for right use... No one should wish to have or hoard that which he or she cannot use... This does not mean, you should not have beautiful homes and abundance with which to take care of them, so far as money and such requirements are concerned; but the feeling, beloved ones, in you, the motive in your consciousness, is the important thing. (The Voice of the I AM 1941 June p6)

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

1189. ...(Continuation) [3] As the love of rule and the love of riches prevail universally in the Christian world, and these loves at this day are so deeply rooted that it is not known that they in any wise lead astray, it is important that their quality should be set forth. They lead every man astray who does not shun evils because they are sins; for he who does not thus shun evils does not fear God, and therefore remains natural. And as the love of ruling and the love of riches are the natural man's own loves, he does not see with any interior acknowledgment what the quality of those loves are in him. This he does not see unless he is reformed, and he can be reformed only by combat against evils. It is believed that he can be reformed by faith; but there can be no faith of God in man until he fights against evils. When man has thus been reformed light flows in from the Lord through heaven and gives him the affection of seeing and the ability to see what those loves are, and whether they rule or serve in him... If they rule... they lead astray and become curses; but if they serve... they do not lead astray but become blessings. [4] I can assert that all in whom the love of rule is in the first place are inwardly devils... It is continually exhaled from hell, and the exhalation appears like the fire of a great furnace, kindling the hearts of men whom the Lord does not protect from it. The Lord protects all who are reformed. Nevertheless, the former although in hell, are led by the Lord but only by means of external bonds, which are fears on account of the penalties of the law and the loss of reputation, honor, gain, and consequently pleasures. He leads them also by means of worldly rewards. He cannot lead them out of hell because the love of rule does not admit of internal bonds, which are the fear of God and affections of good and truth, by means of which the Lord leads all who will follow Him to heaven and in heaven.

1190. ...(Continuation) [2] Something shall now be said about man's being led by the Divine providence to such things as do not lead astray, but are serviceable to eternal life. These things also have reference to eminence and wealth. It is made clear that this is so by what I have seen in the heavens. The heavens are divided into societies, and those who are eminent and rich are to be found in every society. The eminent there are in such glory, and the rich in such abundance, that the glory and abundance of the world are almost nothing in comparison. But all the eminent there are wise, and all the rich abound in knowledge; thus eminence there is wisdom and wealth there is knowledge. Such eminence and wealth can be acquired in this world, both by those who are eminent and rich and by those who are not, for they are acquired here by all who love wisdom and knowledge... When uses are loved more than self and the world, and the cognitions of good and truth are loved for the sake of uses, uses have the first place and eminence and wealth the second place; and this is the case with all who are eminent and rich in the heavens. They look upon the eminence they have from wisdom, and the wealth they have from knowledge, just as a man looks upon his garments.

 

1191. ...(Continuation) [2] The eminence and wealth of the angels of heaven shall also be described. In the societies of heaven there are higher and lower governors, all arranged by the Lord and subordinated according to their wisdom and intelligence. Their chief, who excels the rest in wisdom, dwells in the midst in a palace so magnificent that nothing in the whole world can be compared with it. Its architecture is so wonderful that I can truthfully assert that not a hundredth part of it can be described by natural language... Within the palace are rooms and bed-chambers, in which all the furniture and decorations are resplendent with gold and various precious stones in such forms as no artist in the world can imitate either in painting or sculpture. And what is wonderful, the particulars, even to the minutest particulars, are for use; and everyone who enters sees their use, perceiving it... But no wise person who enters keeps his eyes fixed very long on the images, but his mind attends to the uses, since these delight his wisdom. Round about the palace are colonnades, pleasure gardens, and smaller palaces, each in the form of its own beauty a heavenly delight. Besides these magnificent objects there are attendant guards, all clad in shining garments, and many other things. The subordinate governors enjoy similar luxuries, which are magnificent and splendid according to the degrees of their wisdom, and their wisdom is according to the degrees of their love of uses. And not only do the rulers have such things, but also the inhabitants, all of whom love uses and perform them by various employments. [3] But few of these things can be described; those that cannot be described are innumerable, for as they are in their origin spiritual they do not fall into the ideas of the natural man, and consequently not into the expressions of His language... These things have been written to make known that all things in the heavens also have reference to eminence and wealth, but that eminence there pertains to wisdom and wealth to knowledge, and that such are the things to which man is led by the Lord through His Divine providence.