Acts 15:28-29 Abstain from meats offered to idols

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²⁸ For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; ²⁹ That ye abstain from meats offered to idols... -Acts 15:28-29 Bible, King James Version

The Ascended Master Saint Germain teaches us why the Ascended Masters, including Beloved Jesus, do not eat meat and why we should not eat meat either: There is a definite reason why We never eat meat, and why human beings should not eat it either. This is because the atoms of which it is composed are the condensation into substance of this world of mankind’s own vicious thoughts and feelings of the past. (The Magic Presence by Godre Ray King p149) 

The Beloved Goddess of Light teaches: A person who continues to use intoxicants, tobacco, meat and all those things which bring depravity upon mankind, is not a [real I AM] student and never will be so long as that one continues to do such things! (The Voice of the I AM 1940 February p11)

Acts 15:11 What did Jesus mean when He spoke of Grace?

                "The Violet Consuming Flame... was the "Grace" that I taught..." Beloved Jesus
                       
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. -Acts 15:11 Bible, King James Version 

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)

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

Chart of Your Divine Self - Spiritual Art | The Summit Lighthouse

Mighty Victory teaches us: "...the masses of mankind, until they are taught this Law, do not have permanent Victory! ...Like a pendulum they swing and swing and swing, and never stabilize anywhere; because they cannot, until they know That Glorious Word "I AM"; understand where the "Mighty I AM Presence" is; what It is and what It can do for them. Only then can they see, know and accept the Reality of the Mighty Ascended Masters; the Great Cosmic Beings... Until they know the "Beloved Mighty I AM Presence" and Its Cosmic Law, they are not stabilized within Permanent Happiness nor Perfection." ('The Voice of the I AM' 1951 June p28-29)

Acts 14:13 The Sacrifice of Animals

The Tabernacle alter | Bible Art

¹³ Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people. -Acts 14:13 Bible, King James Version

The Sacrifice of Animals

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

CHAPTER 13.

³Now in the hills were many caves. The cave of David was a-near in which the Hermit of En­gedi lived. ⁴This hermit was Matheno, priest of Egypt, master from the temple of Sakara. ⁵When John [the Baptist] was seven years of age Matheno took him to the wil­derness and in the cave of David they abode. ⁶Matheno taught, and John was thrilled with what the master said, and day by day Matheno opened up to him the mysteries of life. ⁷John loved the wilderness; he loved his master and his simple fare. Their food was fruits, and nuts, wild honey and the carob bread. ⁸Matheno was an Israelite, and he attended all the Jewish feasts. ⁹When John was nine years old Matheno took him to a great feast in Jerusalem. ¹⁰The wicked Archelaus had been deposed and exiled to a distant land because of selfishness and cru­elty, and John was not afraid. ¹¹John was delighted with his visit to Jerusalem. Matheno told him all about the service of the Jews; the meaning of their sacrifices and their rites. ¹²John could not understand how sin could be forgiven by killing animals and birds and burning them before the Lord. ¹³Matheno said, The God of heaven and earth does not require sacrifice. This custom with its cruel rites was borrowed from the idol worshippers of other lands. ¹⁴No sin was ever blotted out by sacrifice of animal, of bird, or man. ¹⁵Sin is the rushing forth of man into the fens of wickedness. If one would get away from sin he must retrace his steps, and find his way out of the fens of wickedness. ¹⁶Return and purify your hearts by love and righteousness and you shall be forgiven.

Acts 14:2 Unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles

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² But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. -Acts 14:2 Bible, King James Version

Just as there were unbelieving Jews in Jesus' day who stirred up the Gentiles and made their minds evil affected against the brethren, in this day and age there will be unbelieving mainstream Christian Ministers who will stir up their congregations against having anything to do with the the Teachings of the Ascended Masters.

                               Ascended Masters

Acts 13:48 Eternal Life

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. -Acts 13:48 Bible, King James Version

 

 

                                           Artwork by Amoraea Dreamseed

 

We all basically have a Higher Self and a lower self. Our Higher Self is eternal therefore It already enjoys Eternal Life. On the other hand our lower self is not eternal therefore it continues to re-embody over and over again until it literally becomes one with our Higher Self thereby entering into Heaven permanently rather than only on a temporary basis.


Mighty Victory teaches us: "...the masses of mankind, until they are taught this Law, do not have permanent Victory! ...Like a pendulum they swing and swing and swing, and never stabilize anywhere; because they cannot, until they know That Glorious Word "I AM"; understand where the "Mighty I AM Presence" is; what It is and what It can do for them. Only then can they see, know and accept the Reality of the Mighty Ascended Masters; the Great Cosmic Beings... Until they know the "Beloved Mighty I AM Presence" and Its Cosmic Law, they are not stabilized within Permanent Happiness nor Perfection." ('The Voice of the I AM' 1951 June p28-29)

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.

Acts 12:23 He gave up the ghost

²³ And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. -Acts 12:23 Bible, King James Version

A ghost is another name for a spirit. There are the spirits of mankind who have a physical body and those who do not. When a person gives up the ghost this simply means he discards his outer body and continues to live as a spirit in the Spirit World.

Acts 12:11-16 It is his angel

Acts 12:15 Artwork | Bible Art

¹¹ And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
¹² And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
¹⁴ And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
¹⁵ And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. -Acts 12:11-16 King James Version (KJV)

It appears to me that when Peter was knocking at the gate they said "It is his angel" because they thought he must have been killed and was appearing in his angelic spirit body.

Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg spent roughly thirty years—from his spiritual awakening around 1741–1743 until his death in 1772—claiming he could consciously travel into the spirit world, heaven, and hell while his physical body remained in the natural world. [3, 4]

Key Aspects of Swedenborg's Spiritual Journey

• The Spiritual Awakening: In 1743–1744, at the age of 55, Swedenborg experienced a profound spiritual awakening. He claimed that the Lord opened his "spiritual eyes," allowing his consciousness to enter the afterlife while his physical body remained on Earth. [1]
• The Company of Angels: Swedenborg noted that his experience was unique because he didn't just have a brief glimpse of the afterlife like a modern near-death experience. Instead, he spent decades fully immersed in their realm, being guided by angels through the heavens, hells, and the intermediate "world of spirits" to document its exact structure. [1, 3]

"Almost all the people who arrive from this world are as astonished as they can be to find that they are alive and that they are just as human as ever, that they are seeing and hearing and talking, that their bodies are still endowed with the sense of touch, and that nothing at all has changed." Heaven and Hell §456 By Emanuel Swedenborg

Eighteenth-century spiritual teacher Emanuel Swedenborg describes the life-after-death process as an orderly, painless awakening into the spiritual world, where a person's core identity, memory, and consciousness remain completely intact. [1, 3, 4]

1. The Moment of Physical Death

• Separation: The spirit separates from the physical body immediately when the heart and lungs stop functioning. [1, 2]
• Continuation: The person does not lose consciousness or experience a void; instead, they wake up in a spiritual body that mirrors the shape and form of their human spirit. [1, 2]
• Sensory Reality: Sight, hearing, thought, and memory continue just as they were in the physical world, often causing newcomers not to realize initially that they have died. [1, 2, 3]

2. Arrival and Angelic Guidance

• Angelic Care: Heavenly angels from the highest sphere approach the newly transitioned spirit. They emit a sense of unconditional love, protection, and peace to shield the spirit from fear or confusion. [2, 3]
• Awakening the Mind: A second group of spiritual angels helps open the spirit's higher mental and sensory perceptions, assisting them in transitioning from natural-world thinking to spiritual thinking. [1, 2]
• Reunion: People are frequently greeted by loved ones who crossed over before them. [1]

3. The World of Spirits (The Midway State)

• The Middle Realm: Every person first enters the world of spirits, which is an intermediate state located between heaven and hell. It is a place of preparation and self-discovery. [1]

• Shedding Pretense: On Earth, people can hide their true character behind social masks. In the spiritual world, those external layers fall away. A person's face and outer demeanor gradually reflect their true inner affections, desires, and ruling love. [1, 2]
• Three Stages of Transition:
1. Outer State: Continuing to think and act much like they did on Earth.
2. Inner State: The real internal character, motivations, and hidden thoughts become exposed.
3. Preparation: The spirit aligns with what they truly love and value. [1, 2]

4. Final Destination (Heaven or Hell)

• By Attraction, Not Sentence: No external deity hands down a random or arbitrary judgment. Instead, every individual naturally gravitates toward the spiritual community or society that matches their ruling love—whether that leads toward heaven or hell.

• Self-Selection: Those governed by genuine love, charity, and service move into heavenly societies, while those consumed by destructive or malicious loves find resonance in hell.