Sunday 29 July 2012

John 14:26;16:7 The Holy Ghost

                                                                    C.W. Leadbeater

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. -John 14:26;16:7 Bible, King James Version

According to the Goddess of Music; When Jesus said, "It is expedient that I go away, but I will send you the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, who will bring My Words to your remembrance," He referred to the Lord the Maha Chohan, whose Protection to the Disciples enfolded them. (The Voice of the I AM, March 1944 p32) In his book; The Masters and the Path, C. W. Leadbeater mentions the position of the Maha Chohan in the spiritual Hierarchy of this world: As the Logos [the manifested unity at the head of the hierarchy] is a Trinity [Father, Son and the Holy Ghost] so the Occult [hidden or secret] Government of the world [known as the spiritual Hierarchy or Great White Brotherhood] is in three great departments, ruled by three mighty Officials... They are the Lord of the World [Sanat Kumara,] the Lord Buddha [Gautama] and the Mahachohan. (p284)

Saturday 28 July 2012

John 14:21-23 I will manifest Myself

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. -John 14:21-23 Bible, King James Version



The Ascended Master Jesus can raise or lower the frequency of His Body enabling Him to be able to appear physically or disappear at will. Godfre and Lotus Ray King from the Saint Germain Foundation in 1940 claimed that Jesus the Christ stood in their home many times in his Visible Tangible Ascended Master Body, held them in his arms and they kissed his hands. Through the Saint Germain Foundation the Beloved Master Jesus teaches us: "Use My Transfiguring Flame of the Victorious Cosmic Christ, and, you will find My Presence abiding with you often in your daily activities. It will come as a Flame which I project within which is My Luminous Presence; and then as Those Flames expand will that reach the hour, when you will see Me face to face in My Visible, Tangible Ascended Master Body- when you can stand the Radiation of My Love, and I will not have to withhold It." ('The Voice of the I AM' 1948 February p17)

Friday 27 July 2012

John 14:12 GreaterWorks than these shall others do

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. -John 14:12 Bible, King James Version


Those who believe in the Teachings of the Ascended Masters and follow them will become Masters also, then they may perform miracles even greater than those performed by the Master Jesus.


The book Unveiled Mysteries by Godfré Ray King reveals: "When Jesus said, 'All these things I have done, ye shall do and even greater things shall ye do,' he knew whereof he spoke," continued Saint Germain. "He came forth to reveal the Conscious Dominion and Mastery that it is possible for every human being to attain and express while still here on Earth."


Beloved Jesus teaches us what He meant by those words: "...what I meant when I said: "The things I do all men shall do and greater things than these shall ye do!" Life is ever expanding Its Perfection. I knew that Life ever contains Greater Perfection and Perfect Manifestation, and as time goes on That Greater Perfection must manifest in this world. Therefore, you were obligated to do greater and greater things than I had done." ('The Voice of the I AM' 1952 December p7)


 

John 14:10 I am in the Father and the Father in me



The middle figure in the Chart represents the "Holy Christ Self," who is also called the Higher Self or the Higher Mental Body.

10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. -John 14:10 Bible, King James Version

Jesus would have been just like most other human beings however because His mental body, or His mind, had become one with His Higher Mental Body in Heaven, or His Higher Self, He was a Mastermind, or Godman, and could do the works of a god.  

The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ by Levi H. Dowling


CHAPTER 8.


Elihu’s lessons to Jesus' mother in Egypt

1Again Elihu met his pupils in the sacred grove and said,
5There are two selfs; the higher and the lower self.
6The higher self is human spirit clothed with soul, made in the form of God.
7The lower self, the carnal self, the body of desires, is a reflexion of the higher self, distorted by the murky ethers of the flesh.
8The lower self is an illusion, and will pass away; the higher self is God in man, and will not pass away.
9The higher self is the embodi­ment of truth; the lower self is truth reversed, and so is falsehood manifest.
10The higher self is justice, mercy, love and right; the lower self is what the higher self is not.
11The lower self breeds hatred, slander, lewdness, murders, theft, and everything that harms; the higher self is mother of the virtues and the harmonies of life.
12The lower self is rich in prom­ises, but poor in blessedness and peace; it offers pleasure, joy and sat­isfying gains; but gives unrest and misery and death.
13It gives men apples that are lovely to the eye and pleasant to the smell; their cores are full of bit­terness and gall.
14If you would ask me what to study I would say, yourselfs; and when you well had studied them, and then would ask me what to study next, I would reply, your­selfs.
15He who knows well his lower self, knows the illusions of the world, knows of the things that pass away; and he who knows his higher self, knows God; knows well the things that cannot pass away.
16Thrice blessed is the man who has made purity and love his very own; he has been ransomed from the perils of the lower self and is himself his higher self.

John 14:6 I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. -John 14:6 Bible, King James Version


“I AM the Way, The Truth, and The Life” Painting by Leslie Young Marks
I know orthodox or mainstream Christians believe Jesus is the only way to Heaven however this is not true. Here I believe Jesus is actually saying unto His disciples; I AM, or the Mighty I AM Presence, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, or the Mighty I AM Presence, but by Jesus and the other Masters who are one with Their I AM Presence.

The word Christ is an official title which means, The Master of Love. When we say "Jesus, the Christ" we refer to the man and to his office. The only Way to God the Father, or our I AM Presence, is through Divine Love which is the Christ.

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 68.


1The news soon spread abroad that Jesus, king of Israel, had come to Bethany, and all the people of the town came forth to greet the king.

2And Jesus, standing in the midst of them, exclaimed, Behold, indeed, the king has come, but Jesus is not king.

3The kingdom truly is at hand; but men can see it not with carnal eyes; they cannot see the king upon the throne.
4This is the kingdom of the soul; its throne is not an earthly throne; its king is not a man...
11Men call me Christ, and God has recognized the name; but Christ is not a man. The Christ is univer­sal love, and Love is king.
12This Jesus is but man who has been fitted by temptations over­come, by trials multiform, to be the temple through which Christ can manifest to men.
13Then hear, you men of Israel, hear! Look not upon the flesh; it is not king. Look to the Christ within, who shall be formed in every one of you, as he is formed in me.
14When you have purified your hearts by faith, the king will enter in, and you will see his face.
15And then the people asked, What must we do that we may make our bodies fit abiding places for the king?
16And Jesus said, Whatever tends to purity in thought, and word, and deed will cleanse the temple of the flesh.
 

CHAPTER 79.

 John explains to the multitude the mis­sion of Jesus.

7I have performed the work that I was sent to do; the work of Jesus just begins.
8Then turning to the multi­tudes he said, Christ is the king of righteousness; Christ is the love of God; yea, he is God; one of the holy persons of the Triune God.
9Christ lives in every heart of purity.
10Now, Jesus who is preaching at the Jordan ford, has been sub­jected to the hardest tests of human life, and he has conquered all the ap­petites and passions of the carnal man.
11And by the highest court of heaven, has been declared a man of such superior purity and holiness that he can demonstrate the pres­ence of the Christ on earth.
12Lo, love divine, which is the Christ, abides in him, and he is pat­tern for the race.
13And every man can see in him what every man will be when he has conquered all the passions of the selfish self.
14In water I have washed the bodies of the people who have turned from sin, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul;
15But Jesus bathes forever in the living waters of the Holy Breath.
16And Jesus comes to bring the savior of the world to men; Love is the savior of the world.
17And all who put their trust in Christ, and follow Jesus as a pat­tern and a guide, have everlasting life.
18But they who do not trust the Christ, and will not purify their hearts so that the Christ can dwell within, can never enter life.

CHAPTER 128.

16...Jesus told the twelve about the inner light that cannot fail;
17About the kingdom of the Christ within the soul...

CHAPTER 129.

6Where is your profit if you gain the world and lose your soul? What would you take in payment for your soul?
7If you would find the spirit life, the life of man in God, then you must walk a narrow way and enter through a narrow gate.
8The way is Christ, the gate is Christ, and you must come up by the way of Christ. No man comes unto God but by the Christ.

Thursday 26 July 2012

John 14:2-3 In my Father's house are many mansions

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:2-3 Bible, King James Version





That there are in fact many Planes in the Spirit World is I believe taught symbolically by Jesus in the Bible where He says: In my Father’s House are many Mansions. (John 14:2) Also in the Bible (Luke 16:19-31) Jesus tells the story of Lazarus and the Rich man. Lazarus is a beggar, full of sores, begging at the gate of a rich man. Lazarus dies and is carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom, or Paradise, and the rich man dies and goes to hell. From hell the rich man cries out to Abraham for help but he is unable to help him. Abraham points out that between them there is a great gulf fixed. Realizing the predicament he has got himself into the rich man is then concerned for his family back on earth so they don’t end up in hell also. He asks if one from the dead could be sent to warn them. Abraham points out that even if one rose from the dead they still wouldn’t be persuaded. There are a series of Higher and lower Planes. For most people these represent great gulfs which they cannot easily cross because of their varying states of consciousness or higher and lower frequencies.

Concerning the divisions between the heavens Emanuel Swedenborg teaches: Chapter 5 vs. 29. There are three heavens, entirely distinct from each other, an inmost or third, a middle or second, and an outmost or first… 34. …Because in the angels of the inmost heaven the interiors have been opened in the third degree their perfection immeasurably surpasses the perfection of angels in the middle heaven, whose interiors have been opened in the second degree. So the perfection of these angels exceeds in like measure the perfection of angels of the outmost heaven. 35. Because of this distinction an angel of one heaven cannot go among the angels of another heaven, that is, no one can ascend from a lower heaven and no one can descend from a higher heaven… There were some from the outmost heaven who had not yet been taught that the interiors of angels are what constitute heaven, and who believed that they might come into a higher heavenly happiness by simply gaining access to a heaven where higher angels are. These were permitted to enter among such angels. But when they were there they could see no one, however much they searched, although there was a great multitude present; for the interiors of the newcomers not having been opened in the same degree as the interiors of the angels there, their sight was not so opened… Therefore they hastily betook themselves to the heaven from which they came, glad to get back among their like, and pledging themselves that they would no longer covet higher things than were in agreement with their life… It is otherwise when, as is often done, angels are raised up by the Lord out of a lower heaven into a higher that they may behold its glory; for then they are prepared beforehand, and are encompassed by intermediate angels, through whom they have communication with those they come among. From all this it is plain that the three heavens are entirely distinct from each other. Footnotes to Chapter 14: …The hells are at a distance from the heavens because they cannot bear the presence of Divine love from the Lord. For this reason the hells are very far away from the heavens, and this is the “great gulf.” (Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen by Emanuel Swedenborg)

It is however possible to cross these great gulfs so long as we are taught how, which means that no one needs to stay in hell or a lower Plane. Everyone eventually spiritually progresses up from the lower Planes to the higher Planes.


There is a Creative Commons license attached to this image. AttributionNo Derivative Works
Come Together by  h.koppdelaney


These huge gulfs are symbolized by seeing a Sun, Moon, Star or Planet in the inner sky which creates the illusion of there being a huge gulf or distance between you and the higher World or higher Plane. Within the individual Planes I believe the angels, or more spiritually advanced spirits, dwell on higher ground symbolizing a higher Plane while less spiritually advanced spirits dwell on the lower ground, symbolizing the lower Planes. On this subject Emanuel Swedenborg teaches: Chapter 21 vs. 188. The angels of whom the Lord’s celestial kingdom consists dwell for the most part in elevated places that appear as mountains… the angels of whom the Lord’s spiritual kingdom consists dwell in less elevated places that appear like hills; while the angels in the lowest parts of heaven dwell in places that appear like ledges of stone. These things spring from correspondence, for interior things correspond to higher things, and exterior things to lower things. (Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen by Emanuel Swedenborg) Therefore a basic rule is; travelling upwards leads towards Heaven, travelling downwards leads towards hell.

"In my Father's house are many mansions" can also be taken literally: 

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

183.
THE PLACES OF ABODE AND DWELLINGS OF ANGELS. As there are societies in heaven and the angels live as men, they have also places of abode, and these differ in accordance with each one's state of life. They are magnificent for those in higher dignity, and less magnificent for those in lower condition. I have frequently talked with angels about the places of abode in heaven, saying that scarcely any one will believe at the present day that they have places of abode and dwellings; some because they do not see them, some because they do not know that angels are men, and some because they believe that the angelic heaven is the heaven that they see with their eyes around them, and as this appears empty and they suppose that angels are ethereal forms, they conclude that they live in ether. Moreover, they do not comprehend how there can be such things in the spiritual world as there are in the natural world, because they know nothing about the spiritual. [2] The angels replied that they are aware that such ignorance prevails at this day in the world, and to their astonishment, chiefly within the church, and more with the intelligent than with those whom they call simple. They said also that it might be known from the Word that angels are men, since those that have been seen have been seen as men; and the Lord, who took all His Human with Him, appeared in like manner. It might be known also that as angels are men they have dwellings and places of abode, and do not fly about in air, as some think in their ignorance, which the angels call insanity, and that although they are called spirits they are not winds. This they said might be apprehended if men would only think independently of their acquired notions about angels and spirits... For everyone has a general idea that angels are in the human form, and have homes which are called the mansions of heaven, which surpass in magnificence earthly dwellings; but this general idea, which flows in from heaven, at once falls to nothing when it is brought under direct scrutiny and inquiry whether it is so, as happens especially with the learned, who by their own intelligence have closed up heaven to themselves and the entrance of heavenly light. [3] The like is true of the belief in the life of man after death. When one speaks of it, not thinking at the same time about the soul from the light of worldly learning or from the doctrine of its reunion with the body, he believes that after death he is to live a man, and among angels if he has lived well, and that he will then see magnificent things and perceive joys; but as soon as he turns his thoughts to the doctrine of reunion with the body, or to his theory about the soul, and the question arises whether the soul be such, and thus whether this can be true, his former idea is dissipated.
184.
But it is better to present the evidence of experience. Whenever I have talked with angels face to face, I have been with them in their abodes. These abodes are precisely like abodes on the earth which we call houses, but more beautiful. In them there are chambers, parlors, and bedrooms in great number; there are also courts, and there are gardens and flower beds and lawns round about. Where they live together their houses are near each other, arranged one next to the other in the form of a city, with avenues, streets, and public squares, exactly like cities on the earth. I have been permitted to pass through them, looking about on every side, and sometimes entering the houses. This occurred when my inner sight was opened, and I was fully awake. [184-1 Angels have cities, palaces and houses (n. 940-942, 1116, 1626-1631, 4622).] 
185.
I have seen palaces in heaven of such magnificence as cannot be described. Above they glittered as if made of pure gold, and below as if made of precious stones, some more splendid than others. It was the same within. Both words and knowledge are inadequate to describe the decorations that adorned the rooms. On the side looking to the south there were parks, where, too, everything shone, in some places the leaves glistening as if made of silver, and fruit as if made of gold; while the flowers in their beds formed rainbows with their colors. Beyond the borders, where the view terminated, were seen other palaces. Such is the architecture of heaven that... the art itself is from heaven. The angels said that such things and innumerable others still more perfect are presented before their eyes by the Lord; and yet these things are more pleasing to their minds than to their eyes, because in everyone of them they see a correspondence, and through the correspondences what is Divine.
186.
As to these correspondences I have also been told that not only the palaces and houses, but all things and each thing, both inside and outside of them, correspond to the interior things which they have from the Lord, the house itself in general corresponding to their good, the particular things inside of a house to the various things of which their good consists, [186-1 "Houses," with their contents, signify the things in man that belong to his mind, thus his interiors (n. 710, 2233, 2331, 2559, 3128, 3538, 4973, 5023, 6639, 6690, 7353, 7848, 7910, 7929, 9150); consequently the things relating to good and truth (n. 2233, 2331, 2559, 4982, 7848, 7929). "Rooms" and "bed-chambers" signify interior things there (n. 3900, 5694, 7353). The "roof of a house" signifies what is inmost (n. 3652, 10184). A "house of wood" signifies what relates to good, and a "house of stone" what relates to truth (n. 3720).] and the things outside to truths derived from good, and also to their perceptions and knowledges  [186-2 A "garden" or "park" signifies intelligence and wisdom (n. 100, 108, 3220). What is meant by "the garden of Eden" and "the garden of Jehovah" (n. 99, 100, 1588). How magnificent the things seen in parks are in the other life (n. 1122, 1622, 2296, 4528, 4529). "Trees" signify perceptions and knowledges, from which wisdom and intelligence are derived (n. 103, 2163, 2682, 2722, 2972, 7692). "Fruits" signify goods of love and goods of charity (n. 3146, 7690, 9337).] and as these things correspond to the goods and truths they have from the Lord they correspond to their love, and to their wisdom and intelligence from love, since love belongs to good, wisdom to good and truth together, and intelligence to truth from good. These are what the angels perceive when they behold what is around them, and thus their minds are more delighted and moved by them than their eyes...
188.
The angels of whom the Lord's celestial kingdom consists dwell for the most part in elevated places that appear as mountains of soil; the angels of whom the Lord's spiritual kingdom consists dwell in less elevated places that appear like hills; while the angels in the lowest parts of heaven dwell in places that appear like ledges of stone. These things spring from correspondence, for interior things correspond to higher things, and exterior things to lower things; and this is why in the Word "mountains" signify celestial love, "hills" spiritual love, and "rocks" faith. [188-2 In the Word what is interior is expressed by what is higher and what is higher signifies what is interior (n. 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146, 8325). What is "high" signifies what is internal, and likewise heaven (n. 1735, 2148, 4210, 4599, 8153). In heaven, mountains, hills, rocks, valleys, and lands are seen exactly the same as in the world (n. 10608). On the mountains angels who are in the good of love dwell, on the hills those who are in the good of charity, on the rocks those who are in the good of faith (n. 10438). Therefore in the Word "mountains" signify the good of love (n. 795, 4210, 6435, 8327, 8758, 10438, 10608). "Hills" signify the good of charity (n. 6435, 10438). "Rocks" signify the good and truth of faith (n. 8581, 10580). "Stone," of which rock consists, in like manner signifies the truth of faith (n. 114, 643, 1298, 3720, 6426, 8609, 10376). This is why "mountains" signify heaven (n. 8327, 8805, 9420). And "the summit of a mountain" signifies the highest part of heaven (n. 9422, 9434, 10608). Also why the ancients had their holy worship on mountains (n. 796, 2722).]
189.
There are also angels who do not live associated together, but apart, house by house. These dwell in the midst of heaven, since they are the best of angels.
190.
The houses in which angels dwell are not erected, as houses in the world are, but are given to them gratuitously by the Lord, to everyone in accordance with his reception of good and truth. They also change a little in accordance with changes of the state of interiors of the angels (of which above, n. 154-160). Everything whatsoever that the angels possess they hold as received from the Lord; and everything they have need of is given them.




 


Wednesday 25 July 2012

John 13:20 He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth Me

20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. -John 13:20 Bible, King James Version

Those who receive the representatives of the Ascended Masters effectively receive the Ascended Masters including Jesus and thus receive God.




Monday 23 July 2012

John 13:13 Ye call me Master for so I am



13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. -John 13:13 Bible, King James Version

                                                       Ascended Masters

Jesus was one of the Master minds at this time. After His Resurrection from the dead He became a Resurrected Master and after His Ascension He became one of the Ascended Masters. Before Jesus' mission in Jerusalem He spent some time in the Himalayas in the city of Kapivastu where the priests of Buddha opened wide their temple doors for Him:

The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ
by Levi H. Dowling (1844-1911)

CHAPTER 32.

1Among the Buddhist priests was one who saw a lofty wisdom in the words that Jesus spoke. It was Barata Arabo.
2Together Jesus and Barata read the Jewish Psalms and Proph­ets; read the Vedas, the Avesta and the wisdom of Guatama...
12And Jesus said, Enlightened Arabo, are you a master mind...
40Barata was amazed; the wisdom of the Jewish sage was rev­elation unto him.
41Now, Vidyapati, wisest of the Indian sages, chief of temple Kapavistu, heard Barata speak to Jesus of the origin of man, and heard the answer of the Hebrew prophet, and he said,
42You priests of Kapavistu, hear me speak: We stand today upon a crest of time. Six times ago a master soul was born who gave a glory light to man, and now a mas­ter sage stands here in temple Kap­avistu.
43This Hebrew prophet is the rising star of wisdom, deified. He brings to us a knowledge of the se­cret things of God; and all the world will hear his words, will heed his words, and glorify his name.
44You priests of temple Kap­avistu, stay! be still and listen when he speaks; he is the Living Oracle of God.
45And all the priests gave thanks, and praised the Buddha of enlightenment.

John 13:1-17 Jesus began to wash the disciples' feet


13 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. -John 13:1-17 King James Version (KJV)

Divine Providence, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1764], tr. by William Frederic Wunsch [1851] at sacred-texts.com

But something should be said here on how the internal man is reformed and by it the external. The internal man is not reformed solely by knowing, understanding and being wise, consequently not by thinking only; but by willing what these teach. When a person knows, understands and has the wisdom to see that heaven and hell exist and that all evil is from hell and all good from heaven, and if he then does not will evil because it is from hell but good because it is from heaven, he has taken the first step in reformation and is on the threshold from hell to heaven. When he advances farther and resolves to desist from evils, he is at the second step in reformation and is out of hell but not yet in heaven; this he beholds above him. There must be this internal for man to be reformed, but he is not reformed unless the external is reformed as well as the internal. The external is reformed by the internal when the external desists from the evils which the internal sets its will against because they are infernal, [or hellish] and still further reformed when the external shuns and fights against the evils. Thus the internal provides the will, the external the deed. For unless a man does the deed he wills, inwardly he does not will it, and finally he wills not to do it. [2] One can see from these few considerations how the external man is reformed by the internal. This is also meant by the Lord's words to Peter: Jesus said, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. Peter said to Him, not my feet only but my hands and head. Jesus said to him, he who has been washed has no need except to have his feet washed, and is entirely clean (John 13:8-10). By "washing" spiritual washing is meant, which is purification from evils; by "washing head and hands" purifying the internal man is meant, and by "washing the feet" purifying the external. That when the internal man has been purified, the external must be, is meant by this: "He who has been washed has no need except to have his feet washed." That all purification from evils is the Lord's doing, is meant by this, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."...
152
Since man has an internal and an external and each must be reformed for the man to be reformed, and since no one can be reformed unless he examines himself, sees and admits his evils, and then quits them, not only the external is to be examined, but the internal as well. If a man examines only the external he sees only what he has committed to deed, and that he has not murdered or committed adultery or stolen or borne false witness, and so on. He examines bodily evils and not those in his spirit; yet evils of the spirit are to be examined if one is to be capable of reformation. Man lives as a spirit after death and all the evils in his spirit persist. The spirit is examined only when a man attends to his thoughts, above all to his intentions, for these are thoughts from the will. There the evils exist at their source and roots, that is, in their lusts and enjoyments. Unless they are seen and acknowledged, a man is still in evils though he may not have committed them outwardly. That to think with intention is to will and do, is plain from the Lord's words: If any one has looked on another's woman to lust after her, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). Such self-examination is of the internal man, and from it the external man is truly examined.
153.
I have often marveled that although all Christendom knows that evils must be shunned as sins and otherwise are not forgiven, and that if they are not forgiven there is no salvation, yet scarcely one person among thousands understands this. Inquiry was made about this in the spiritual world, and it was found to be so. Anyone in Christendom knows it from the exhortations, read out to those who attend the Holy Supper, in which it is publicly stated; and yet when asked whether they know it, they reply that they do not know it and have not known it. The reason is that they have paid no attention to it, and most say they have thought only about faith and salvation by faith alone. I have also marveled that "faith alone" has closed their eyes so that those who have confirmed themselves in it do not see anything in the Word when they read it about love, charity and works. It is as though they spread "faith" all over the Word...

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

3147 
And water to wash his feet. That this signifies purification there, is evident from the signification of "water for washing," or of washing with water, as being to purify... and from the signification of "feet," as being natural things, or what is the same, the things in the natural man (see n. 2162). In the representative church it was customary to wash the feet with water, and thereby to signify that the unclean things of the natural man were washed away. The unclean things of the natural man are all those things which are of the love of self and of the love of the world; and when these unclean things have been washed away, then goods and truths flow in, for it is solely these unclean things that hinder the influx of good and truth from the Lord. [2] For good is continually flowing in from the Lord, but when it comes through the internal or spiritual man to his external or natural man, it is there either perverted, turned back, or suffocated. But when the things which are of the love of self and of the love of the world are removed, then good is received there and is made fruitful; for then man practices the works of charity... [7] For the better understanding of how these things are circumstanced, namely, that external things are to be purified, take as an example and illustration good works, or what is the same, the goods of charity which at this day are called the fruits of faith; these are external things, because they are the exercises of charity. Good works are evil works unless those things are removed which are of the love of self and of the world; for when works are done before these have been removed, they indeed appear good outwardly, but are inwardly evil; for they are done either for the sake of reputation, or for gain, or for the sake of one's honor, or for recompense, thus they are either self-meritorious or hypocritical; for that which is of the love of self and the world causes the works to be such. But when these evils are removed, the works then become good; and they are goods of charity; that is, in them there is not regard to self, to the world, to reputation, to recompense; thus they are neither self-meritorious nor hypocritical; for then celestial love and spiritual love flow in from the Lord into the works and cause them to be love and charity in act; and then the Lord through these loves also purifies the natural or external man, and disposes it into order, so as to receive correspondently the celestial and spiritual things that flow in. [8] This is clearly evident from what the Lord taught when He washed the feet of the disciples, as we read in John: Then cometh He to Simon Peter; and Peter saith unto Him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto Him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me. Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that hath been washed, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit; ye are clean already, but not all (John 13:4-17). "He that hath been washed, needeth not save to wash his feet" signifies that he who has been reformed, has need only to be cleansed as to natural things, that is, has need that evils and falsities should be removed from them; and then all things are disposed into order by the influx of spiritual things from the Lord. Moreover to wash the feet was an office of charity, as meaning not to reflect on the evils of another; and it was also an office of humility, as meaning to cleanse another from evils as from impurities; as also is evident from the Lord's words in the passage just quoted (verses 12-17; also Luke 7:37, 38, 44, 46; John 11:2; 1 Sam. 25:41). [9] Everybody can see that washing himself does not purify anyone from evils and falsities, but only from the impurities that cling to him; nevertheless, as washing was among the rites commanded in the church, it follows that it involves something special, namely, spiritual washing, that is, purification from the uncleannesses which inwardly adhere to man. Therefore they who knew these things in that church, and thought about the purification of the heart, or the removal of the evils of the love of self and of the love of the world from the natural man, and who endeavored to effect this with all diligence, observed the rite of washing as external worship according to commandment; but those who did not know this and did not desire to know it, but thought that the mere rite of washing their garments, skin, hands, and feet, would purify them, and that provided they did these things they might be allowed to live in avarice, hatreds, revenge, unmercifulness, and cruelties, which are spiritual impurity, practiced this rite as an idolatrous one. Nevertheless they could represent by it, and by representation exhibit something of the church, whereby there might be some conjunction of heaven with man before the Lord's advent; yet such conjunction as affected the man of the church little or not at all. [10] The Jews and Israelites were such that they had no thought about the internal man, nor willingness to know anything about it; thus none at all concerning celestial and spiritual things, relating to the life after death. But yet lest all communication with heaven and thus with the Lord should perish, they were bound to external rites, whereby internal things were signified. All their captivities and plagues were in general for the end that external rites might be strictly observed for the sake of the representation... From these things it may be seen that no one was made clean or pure as to internal things by the rite of washing, but only represented one pure or spiritually clean, for the reason given above. That this is so, the Lord teaches plainly in Matthew (15:1-2, 20), and in Mark (7:1-23).




 



Tuesday 17 July 2012

John 12:38 Who hath believed our report?

 
38...Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? -John 12:38 Bible, King James Version
 
Those who represent the Teachings of the Ascended Masters may well ask, Who hath believed our report?
 
 

John 12:36 Believe in the Light

 
36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. -John 12:36 Bible, King James Version
 
Jesus represented the Light of Truth. The Light of Truth may only be available for a limited time so it is important to believe in the Truth while it is accessible so we may be the children of Light and permanently enter into the Heavenly Kingdoms of Light.