The Aquarian Age Gospel
of Jesus, the Christ of the Piscean Age transcribed by Levi H. Dowling
The bio-sketch below appears in most publications of the Aquarian Gospel
"Levi H. Dowling was born on Friday morning, May 18th, 1844 at Bellview,
Ohio. His father, of Scotch-Welch descent, was a pioneer preacher among
the Disciples of Christ. Levi was always a student of the deeper things
of life. At the age of 13, in his first public debate, he took the
negative side against a Presbyterian Elder on ‘The Everlasting
Punishment of the Wicked.’
"He began preaching at the age of sixteen; and at the age of eighteen
was a pastor of a small church. He entered the United States Army at
the age of twenty as a Chaplain, and served in this capacity to the end
of the Civil War. In 1866-7 he was a student at Northwestern Christian
University at Indianapolis, Indiana. The next year he began publishing
Sunday School Literature, issuing Sunday School Lesson Papers, Song
Books, and a children's Sunday School Paper. Much of his time was
devoted to the cause of Prohibition. He was a graduate of two medical
colleges, and practiced medicine for a number of years. He finally
retired from the medical profession to resume literary work.
"Early in life, when but a mere lad, he had a vision in which he was
told that he was to 'build a white city.' This vision was repeated
three times with years intervening. The building of the 'white city'
was 'The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus, The Christ.” This book was
transcribed between the early morning hours of 2:00am and 6:00am - the
absolutely 'quiet hours.'
“Levi passed from Earth-life August 13, 1911.”
(From The
Publishers of The Aquarian Gospel.)
Introduction to The Aquarian Gospel,
by Eva S. Dowling, Ph.D.
(Scribe to Levi, the
Messenger)
THE BOOK
The
full title of this book is "The Aquarian Age Gospel of Jesus, the Christ
of the Piscean Age," and the critical reader is apt to ask a number of
pertinent questions concerning it. Among the many anticipated questions
these are perhaps the most important:
●What is an Age? ●What is the Piscean Age?
●What is the Aquarian
Age? ●What is meant by the
Christ as the word is used in this book? ●What relationship
existed between Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ? ●Who is Levi, the
transcriber of this book? ●What are the Akashic
Records?
What is an Age?
Astronomers tell us that our sun and his family of planets revolve
around a central sun, which is millions of miles distant, and that it
requires something less than 26,000 years to make one revolution. His
orbit is called the Zodiac, which is divided into twelve signs,
familiarly known as Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra,
Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. It requires our
Solar System a little more than 2,100 years to pass through one of these
signs, and this time is the measurement of an Age or Dispensation.
Because of what Astronomers call "the precession of the Equinoxes" the
movement of the sun through the signs of the Zodiac is in order reverse
from that given above.
Exact Time of the Beginning of an Age.
Regarding this matter there is a disagreement among astronomers; but in
this Introduction we are not called upon to give the reasons of the
various investigators for their opinions; there are enough well
authenticated facts for our present purposes. It is conceded by all
critical students that the sun entered the zodiacal sign Taurus in the
days of our historic Adam when the Taurian Age began; that Abraham lived
not far from the beginning of the Arian Age, when the sun entered the
sign Aries. About the time of the rise of the Roman empire the sun
entered the sign Pisces, the Fishes, and the Piscean Age began, so that
early in this Age Jesus of Nazareth lived.
What is the
Piscean Age? This question requires further consideration. The
Piscean Age is identical with the Christian Dispensation. The word
Pisces means fish. The sign is known as a water sign, and the Piscean
Age has been distinctly the age of the fish and its element, water. In
the establishment of their great institutions John the Harbinger and
Jesus both introduced the rite of water baptism, which has been used in
some form in all the so-called Christian Churches and cults, even to the
present time.
Water is the true symbol of purification.
Jesus himself said to the Harbinger before he was baptized: "All the men
must be washed, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul."(Aquarian Gospel
64: 7.) Fish was a Christian Symbol. In the earlier centuries of the
Christian Dispensation the fish was everywhere used as a symbol. In his
remarkable book, "Christian Iconography," Didron says: "The fish, in the
opinion of antiquarians generally, is the symbol of Jesus Christ.
The fish is sculptured upon a number of
Christian monuments, and more particularly upon the ancient sarcophagi.
It is also upon medals, bearing the name of our Savior and also upon
engraved stones, cameos and intaglios. The fish is also to be remarked
upon the amulets worn suspended from the necks by children, and upon
ancient glasses and sculptured lamps. "Baptismal fonts are more
particularly ornamented with the fish.
The fish is constantly exhibited placed
upon a dish in the middle of the table, at the Last Supper, among the
loaves, knives and cups used at the banquet." In the writings of
Tertullian we find this statement:” We are little fishes in Christ our
great fish." The last two thousand years, comprising the Piscean Age,
has certainly been one of water and the many uses of that element have
been emphasized, and sea and lake and river navigation has been brought
to a high degree of efficiency.
What is the
Aquarian Age? The human race is to-day standing upon the cusp of the
Piscean-Aquarian Ages. Aquarius is an air sign and the New Age is
already noted for remarkable inventions for the use of air, electricity,
magnetism, etc. Men navigate the air as fish do the sea, and send their
thoughts spinning around the world with the speed of lightning. The word
Aquarius is derived from the Latin word aqua, meaning water. Aquarius is
however, the water bearer, and the symbol of the sign, which is the
eleventh sign of the Zodiac, is a man carrying in his right hand a
pitcher of water.
Jesus referred to the beginning of the
Aquarian Age in these words: "And then the man who bears the pitcher
will walk forth across an arc of heaven; the sign and signet of the Son
of Man will stand forth in the eastern sky. The wise will then lift up
their heads and know that the redemption of the earth is near."
(Aquarian Gospel 157: 29, 30.) The Aquarian Age is pre-eminently a
spiritual age, and the spiritual side of the great lessons that Jesus
gave to the world may now be comprehended by multitudes of people, for
the many are now coming into an advanced stage of spiritual
consciousness; so with much propriety this book is called "The Aquarian
(or Spiritual) Gospel of Jesus, the Christ." An Important Event.
The transfer of dominion from one Age to
another is an important event in the world of Cherubim and Seraphim.
Among the manuscripts of Levi we have found a most remarkable paper
describing the transfer of dominion from the Piscean Age to the Aquarian
Age, but it is difficult to determine whether it is a recital of facts
or a prophetic statement. We reproduce the paper in full.
THE CUSP OF THE AGES
"In
Spirit I was caught away into the realms of Akasha; I stood alone within
the circle of the sun. And there I found the secret spring that opens up
the door to Wisdom and an understanding heart. I entered in and then I
knew. I saw the four and twenty Cherubim and Seraphim that guard the
circle of the sun, the mighty ones who were proclaimed by masters long
ago `the four and twenty ancient ones.'
"I
heard the names of every Cherubim and Seraphim, and learned that every
sign in all the Zodiac is ruled by two--a Cherubim and Seraphim. And
then I stood upon the cusp where Ages meet. The Piscean Age had passed;
the Aquarian Age had just begun. I saw the guardian Spirits of the
Piscean Age; Ramasa is the Cherubim; Vacabiel is Seraphim. I saw the
guardian Spirits of the Aquarian Age, and Archer is the Cherubim;
Sakmaquil is the Seraphim. These four great spirits of the Triune God
stood close together on the cusp, and in the presence of the sacred
Three--the God of Might, the God of Wisdom, and the God of Love--the
sceptre of Domain, of Might, of Wisdom and of Love was there
transferred.
"I
heard the charges of the Triune God; but these I may not now reveal. I
heard the history of the Piscean Age from Piscean Cherubim and Seraphim,
and when I took my pen to write Ramasa: Not now, my son, not now; but
you may write it down for men when men have learned the sacred laws of
Brotherhood, of Peace on earth, good-will to every living thing. And
then I heard the Aquarian Cherubim and Seraphim proclaim the Gospel of
the coming Age, the Age of Wisdom, of the Son of Man.
"And when the crown was lifted from the head of Ramasa and placed upon
the head of Archer of the Aquarian Age; and when the royal sceptre was
transferred from Seraphim Vacabiel to Seraphim Sakmaquil there was deep
silence in the courts of heaven. And then the goddess Wisdom spoke, and
with her hands outstretched she poured the benedictions of the Holy
Breath upon the rulers of Aquarius. I may not write the words she spoke,
but I may tell the Gospel of the coming age that Archer told when he
received the crown. And I may breathe to men the song of praise that
Seraphim Sakmaquil sung when she received the royal sceptre of the
newborn age. This Gospel I will tell, and I will sing this song in every
land, to all the people, tribes and tongues of earth."
What is
Meant by "the Christ", as the Word is Used in This Book? The word
Christ is derived from the Greek word Kristos and means anointed. It is
identical with the Hebrew word Messiah. The word Christ, per se, does
not refer to any particular person; every anointed person is Christed.
When the definite article "the" is placed before the word Christ a
definite personality is indicated, and this personality is none other
than a member of the Trinity, the Son who had a glory with the
Father-Mother before the worlds were formed. According to the teachings
of all ancient masters this Son is Love; so the Christ is Love, and Love
is God, since God is Love. Another remarkable manuscript found in Levi's
Akashic portfolio gives the clearest possible ideal of the Christ, or
Love of God. It is presumed that this manuscript is a direct
transcription from the Akashic Records and its importance demands its
reproduction here in full.
THE CHRIST
"Before creation was the Christ walked with the Father God and Mother
God in Akasha. The Christ is son, the only son begotten by Almighty God,
the God of Force and God omniscient, God of thought; and Christ is God,
the God of Love. Without the Christ there was no light. Through Christ
all life was manifest; and so through him all things were done, and so
through him all things were done, and naught was done in forming worlds
or peopling worlds without the Christ.
"Christ is the Logos of Infinities and through the word alone are
Thought and Force made manifest. The Son is called the Christ, because
the Son, the Love, universal Love, was set apart, ordained to be
creator, Lord, preserver and redeemer of all things, of everything that
is, or evermore will be. Through Christ, the protoplast, the earth, the
plant, the beast, the man, the angel and the cherubim took up their
stations on their planes of life. Through Christ they are preserved; and
if they fall it is the Christ who lifts them up; and if they sell
themselves to sin the Christ redeems.
"Now Christ, the universal Love, pervades all spaces of infinity, and so
there is no end to love. From the greater heart of Love unnumbered
spirits were sent forth to demonstrate the height, the depth, the width,
the boundlessness of Love. To every world and star and moon and sun a
master spirit of this Love divine was sent; and all were full anointed
with the oil of helpfulness, and each became a Christ. All glorious in
his majesty is Christ, who spreads the pure white robe of Love o'er all
the planes of earth--The Christ of earth, its heaven, its graves.
"In
course of time the protoplast, the earth, the plant, the beast, the man
sold out their birthrights unto sin; but Christ was present to redeem.
Hid in the holiest place in all infinities is locked the scroll that
bears the record of the purposes of God, the Triune God, and there we
read: Perfection is the ultimate of life. A seed is perfect in its
embryotic life, but it is destined to unfold, to grow. Into the soil of
every plane these seeds, which were the Thoughts of God, were cast--The
seeds of protoplast, of earth, of beast, of man, of angel and of
cherubim, and they who sowed the seeds, through Christ, ordained that
they should grow, and should return at last, by effort of unnumbered
years, to the great granary of thought, and each to be a perfection of
its kind.
“And in the boundless blessed of
Love the man was made the Lord of protoplast of earth, of plant, of
beast; and Christ proclaimed: Man shall have full dominion over
everything that is upon these planes of life; and it was so. And he who
gave the lordship unto man declared that he must rule by Love. But men
grew cruel and they lost their power to rule, and protoplast, and earth,
and plant and beast became at enmity with man; he lost his heritage; but
Christ was present to redeem.
"But man had lost his consciousness of right; he could no longer
comprehend the boundlessness of Love; he could see naught but self, and
things of self; but Christ was there to seek the lost and save. So that
he might be close to man in all the ways of life, that man might
comprehend the mighty spirit of the Love, the Christ of earth made
manifest to human eyes and ears by taking his abode in some pure person,
well prepared by many lives to be fit abiding place of Love. Thus Christ
made manifest Love's power to save; but men forget so soon, and so
Christ must manifest again, and then again. And ever since man took his
place in form of flesh the Christ has been manifest in flesh at first of
every age."
What
relationship existed between Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ?
Orthodox Christian ecclesiastics tell us that Jesus of Nazareth and the
Christ were one; that the true name of this remarkable person was Jesus
Christ. They tell us that this man of Galilee was the very eternal God
clothed in flesh of man that men might see his glory. Of course this
doctrine is wholly at variance with the teachings of Jesus himself and
of his apostles. The Aquarian Masters in council have formulated an
answer to this question that so well covers all the information required
that we give it in full:
"Jesus was an ideal Jew, born in Bethlehem
of Judea. His mother a beautiful Jewish girl named Mary. As a child
Jesus differed but little from other children only that in past lives he
had overcome carnal propensities to such an extent that he could be
tempted like others and not yield. Paul was right when to the Hebrews he
said: `He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.'--
Hebrews 4: 15.
"Jesus suffered as other men suffer, and
was made perfect through suffering; for this is the only way to
perfection. His life was an example of attainment by the way of crosses
and cruel treatment. Paul was right again when he said: `It became him,
for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many
sons into glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
suffering.'- -Hebrews 2: 10.
"In many respects Jesus was a remarkable
child, for by ages of strenuous preparation he was qualified to be an
avatar, a savior of the world, and from childhood he was endowed with
superior wisdom and was conscious of the fact that he was competent to
lead the race into the higher ways of spiritual living. But he was
conscious also of the fact that he must attain the mastery by trials,
buffetings, temptations and sufferings. And all his life was spent in
attaining. After his death, burial and resurrection he appeared in
materialized form before the Silent Brothers in the temple of
Heliopolis, in Egypt, and said: "`My human life was wholly given to
bring my will to tune with the deific will; when this was done my
earth-tasks all were done. "`You know that all my life was one great
drama for the sons of men; a pattern for the sons of men. I lived to
show the possibilities of man. "`What I have done all men can do, and
what I am all men shall be.'"--Aquarian Gospel 178: 43, 46.
"Jesus was the name of the man and it was
the only appropriate name for this kind of a man. The word means Savior,
and Jesus was in more senses than one a savior. The word Christ means
"the anointed one," and then it is an official title. It means, The
Master of Love. When we say "Jesus the Christ" we refer to the man and
to his office; just as we do when we say Edward, the King, or Lincoln,
the president. Edward was not always King, and Lincoln was not always
President, and Jesus was not always Christ. Jesus won his Christship by
a strenuous life, and in the Aquarian Gospel, chapter 55, we have a
record of the events of his Christing, or receiving the degree Christ.
Here is where he was coronated by the highest earth authorities as the
Christ-King; properly speaking, `The Master of Love'; and after this was
done he entered at once upon his Judean and Galilean ministry.
"We recognize the facts that Jesus was man
and that Christ was God, so that in very truth Jesus the Christ was the
God-man of the ages." The Nazarene's Testimony. Jesus himself made the
matter clear. Once when he was speaking to a congregation in Bethany the
people called him King and he stood forth and said: "`I am not sent to
sit upon a throne to rule as Caesar rules; and you may tell the ruler of
the Jews that I am not a claimant for his throne. "`Men call me Christ,
and God has recognized the name; but Christ is not a man. The Christ is
universal Love, and Love is King. "`This Jesus is but man who has been
fitted by temptations overcome, by trials multiform, to be the temple
through which the Christ can manifest to men. "`Then 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. "`When you have purified your hearts by faith, the king will
enter in and you will see his face.'"--Aquarian Gospel 68: 10-14.
“Surely this question has been answered.
Jesus was man; Christ was Divine Love--the Love of God, and after thirty
years of strenuous life the man had made his body fit to be the temple
of the holy breath and Love took full possession, and John well said
when he declared: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we
beheld the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth.”
Who was Levi,
the Transcriber of this Book? Regarding the personality of Levi we
are permitted to write but little. Suffice it to say that he is an
American citizen, and has been a close student of the religions of the
world from childhood. When but a boy he was impressed with the
sensitiveness of the finer ethers and believed that in some manner they
were sensitized plates on which sounds, even thoughts, were recorded.
With avidity he entered into the deeper studies of etheric vibration,
determined to solve the great mysteries of the heavens for himself.
Forty years he spent in study and silent
meditation, and then he found himself in that stage of spiritual
consciousness that permitted him to enter the domain of these superfine
ethers and become familiar with their mysteries. He then learned that
the imaginings of his boyhood days were founded upon veritable facts,
and that every thought of every living thing is there recorded. In his
manuscript entitled "The Cusp of the Ages," a part of which we have
already reproduced in this Introduction, we find the following copy of
the Commission, which Levi received from Visel, the Goddess of Wisdom,
or the Holy Breath.
LEVI'S COMMISSION
"And then Visel the holy one stood forth and said: O Levi, son of
man, behold, for you are called to be the message bearer of the coming
age-- the age of spirit blessedness. Give heed, O son of man, for men
must know the Christ, the Love of God; for Love is sovereign balm for
all the wounds of men, the remedy for every ill. And man must be endowed
with Wisdom and with Power and with an Understanding heart. Behold the
Record Galleries of Visel where every thought and word and deed of every
living thing is written down.
“The needs of men are
manifold, and men must know their needs. "Now, Levi, hearken to my
words: go forth into these mystic Galleries and read. There you will
find a message for the world; for every man; for every living thing. I
breathe upon you now the Holy Breath; you will discriminate, and you
will know the lessons that these Record Books of God are keeping now for
men of this new age. This age will be an age of splendor and of light,
because it is the home age of the Holy Breath; and Holy Breath will
testify anew for Christ, the Logos of eternal Love.
"At first of every age this Logos is made manifest in flesh so man can
see and know and comprehend a Love that is not narrow, circumscribed.
Twelve times in every revolution of the sun this Christed Love of God is
made full manifest in flesh upon the planes of earth, and you may read
in Akasha the wondrous lessons that these Christs have taught to men;
but you shall publish not to men the lessons of the Christs of ancient
times.
"Now, Levi, message bearer of the Spirit Age, take up your pen and
write. Write full the story of The Christ who built upon the Solid Rock
of yonder circle of the sun-- the Christ who men have known as Enoch the
Initiate. Write of his works as prophet, priest and seer; write of his
life of purity and love, and how he changed his carnal flesh to flesh
divine without descending through the gates of death. And you may write
the story of Melchizedec, the Christ who lived when Abram lived, and
pointed out to men the way of life through sacrifice; who gave his life
a willing sacrifice for men.
"And you may write the story of the Prince of Peace, The Christ who came
as babe in Bethlehem, and traveled every way of life that man must
tread. He was despised, rejected and abused; was spit upon, was
crucified, was buried in a tomb; but he revived and rose a conqueror
over death that he might show the possibilities of man. A thousand times
he said to men: I came to show the possibilities of man; what I have
done all men may do, and what I am all men shall be.'
"These stories of The Christ will be enough, for they contain the true
philosophy of life, of death and of the resurrection of the dead. "They
show the spiral journey of the soul until the man of earth and God are
one for evermore."
Levi in Prophecy. About two thousand years ago Elihu, who conducted
a school of the prophets in Zoan, Egypt, referred to Levi thus: "This
age will comprehend but little of the works of Purity and Love; but not
a word is lost, for in the Book of God's Remembrance a registry is made
of every thought and word and deed; And when the world is ready to
receive, lo, God will send a messenger to open up the book and copy from
its sacred pages all the messages of Purity and Love. Then every man of
earth will read the words of life in the language of his native land,
and men will see the light. And man again will be at one with
God."--Aquarian Gospel 7: 25- 28.
Further references to the personality of Levi are, seemingly,
unnecessary. It matters but little who he is; his work in the
transcription of the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus, the Christ, stands
unimpeachable. The lessons of this book all bear the stamp of the
Nazarene, for no man except the world's greatest master could have
touched the high chords of divine Love and Wisdom which characterize the
pages of this marvelous book.
What are
the Akashic Records? Akasha is a Sanskrit word, and means "Primary
substance," that out of which all things are formed. According to
Aquarian philosophy, it is the first stage of the crystallization of
spirit. This philosophy recognizes the fact that all primordial
substance is spirit; that matter is spirit moving at a lower rate of
vibration, becoming, as one master expressed it, a coagulum. This
Akashic, or primary substance, is of exquisite fineness and is so
sensitive that the slightest vibration of an ether any place in the
universe registers an indelible impression upon it. This primal
substance is not relegated to any particular part of the universe, but
is everywhere present. It is in very fact the "Universal Mind" of which
our metaphysicians speak.
When the mind of man is in exact accord
with the Universal Mind man enters into a conscious recognition of these
Akashic impressions, and may collect them and translate them into any
language of earth with which he is familiar. In the infinite One
manifest we note the attributes of Force, Intelligence and Love, and a
person may be in full accord with one of these attributes and not with
the others. One may enter fully into the spirit of the God of Force and
not be imbued with the spirit of Intelligence; or one may be wholly
absorbed with the spirit of Divine Love and be far removed from both
Intelligence and Force.
Furthermore, a person may enter fully into
the consciousness of Holy Breath, or Supreme Intelligence, and be not at
all in rapport with either Love or Force. Knowledge is not gained
through the spirit of either Force or Love. It is only from Universal
Mind. which is Supreme Intelligence, called by Oriental scholars the
Akashic Records, and by Hebrew masters, the Book of God's Remembrance,
that knowledge of any kind can be obtained. Consciousness; we note three
phases of it:
· 1 Consciousness of the
omnipotence of God and man.
· 2 Christ consciousness, or
consciousness of Divine Love.
· 3 Consciousness of the Holy
Breath, or of Supreme Intelligence. We must bear in mind that one of
these phases of consciousness does not necessarily imply either of the
others. People are frequently found who are completely filled with the
Love of God, are far advanced in the science of Christ consciousness,
who are absolutely ignorant; have not the slightest conception of the
laws of natural things or of spiritual things; are not in rapport with
the great Teacher which is the Holy Spirit. The Akashic Records.
The imperishable records of life, known as the
Akashic Records, are wholly in the domain of Supreme Intelligence, or
Universal Mind, and the Akashic record reader must be in such close
touch with the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Breath, as the ancient masters
call this spirit of Supreme Intelligence, that every vibration is
instantly felt in every fiber of his being.
Differentiation. Since all space is charged with vibrations of
thoughts of all kinds, how may the Akashic Record reader differentiate
and gather only the thoughts and life events of a particular person or
group of persons? Every person has his own distinct vibration and when
the reader fully understands the law of discrimination his whole being
is tuned for the reception of the one particular tone and rhythm, and it
is impossible for any other tone or rhythm to make the slightest
impression upon him.
This principle is demonstrated in wireless telegraphy. It required many
years for Levi to learn the Law of Differentiation, and to come in
rapport with the tones and rhythms of Jesus of Nazareth, Enoch and
Melchizedec and their co-laborers. But under the direction of the Spirit
of Supreme Intelligence, he has attained unto this accomplishment, and
now he instantly feels in all his being the slightest vibrations that
come from any of these great centers and, of course, all of his
transcriptions are true to the letter.
MAN
"What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou
visiteth him?" This was the earnest question of David, the Hebrew
Psalmist, and the 8th Psalm is given wholly to the contemplation of
man--the crowning work of manifest creation. Among the many great
lessons, that Levi has been permitted to gather from the Akashic
Records, or the Universal Mind, we find one on Man in which his descent
into physical matter and his final ascent into an eternal oneness with
God is so graphically described that it certainly merits a place in this
Introduction, and give it in full:
"Time never was when man was not. If life
of man at any time began a time would come when it would end. The
thoughts of God cannot be circumscribed. No finite mind can comprehend
things infinite. All finite things are subject unto change. All finite
things will cease to be, because there was a time when they were not.
The bodies and the soul of men are finite things, and they will change,
yea, from the finite point of view the time will come when they will be
no more.
"But man himself is not the body, nor the
soul; he is a spirit and is part of God. Creative Fiat gave to man, to
spirit man, a soul that he might function on the plane of soul; gave him
a body of the flesh, that he might function on the plane of things made
manifest. Why did creative Fiat give to spirit man a soul that he might
function on the plane of soul? Why did creative Fiat give to soul a body
of the flesh that it might function on the plane of things that are made
manifest?
"Hear, now, ye worlds, dominions, powers
and thrones! "Hear, mow, ye cherubim, ye seraphim, ye angels and ye men!
Hear, now, O protoplast, and earth, and plant and beast! Hear, now, ye
creeping things of earth, ye fish that swim, ye birds that fly! Hear,
now, ye winds that blow, ye thunders and ye lightnings of the sky! Hear,
now, ye spirits of the fire, of water, earth, and air! Hear, now, O
everything that is, or was, or evermore will be, for Wisdom speaks from
out of the highest plane of spirit life:
"Man is a thought of God; all thoughts of
God are infinite; they are not measured up by time, for things that are
concerned with begin and end. The thoughts of God are from the
everlasting of the past unto the never ending days to come--And so is
man, the Spirit-man. But man, like every other thought of God, was but a
seed, a seed that held within itself the potencies of God, just as the
seed of any plant of earth holds deep within itself the attributes of
every part of that especial plant. So spirit-man, as seed of God, held
deep within himself the attributes of every part of God. Now, seed are
perfect, yea, as perfect as the source from which they come; but they
are not unfolded into life made manifest. The child in utero is perfect
as the mother is. So man, the seed, must be deep planted in a soil that
he might grow, unfold, as does the bud unfold to show the flower.
"The human seed that came forth from the
heart of God was full ordained to be the lord of plane of soul, and of
the plane of things made manifest. So God, the husbandman of every thing
that is, threw forth this human seed into the soil of soul; it grew
apace, and man became a living soul; and he became the lord of all the
kingdom of the soul. Hark, now, let every creature hear, The plane of
soul is but the ether of the spirit plane vibrating not so fast, and in
the slower rhythm of this plane the essences of life are manifest; the
perfumes and odors, the true sensations and the all of love are
manifest. And these soul attributes become a body beautiful.
"A multitude of lessons man must learn upon
the plane of soul; and here he tarries many ages until his lessons are
all learned. Upon the boundary of the plane of soul the ether began to
vibrate slower still, and then the essences took on a garb; the perfumes
and the odors and the true sensations and the all of love were clothed
in flesh; and man was clothed in flesh. Perfected man must pass through
all the ways of life, and so a carnal nature was full manifest, a nature
that sprang forth from fleshly things.
"Without a foe a soldier never knows his
strength, and thought must be developed by the exercise of strength. And
so this carnal nature soon became a foe that man must fight, that he
might be the strength of God made manifest. Let every living thing stand
still and hear! "Man is the Lord of all the plane of manifests; of
protoplast, of mineral, of plant, of beast; but he has given up his
birthright, just to gratify his lower self, his carnal self.
"But man will full regain his lost estate,
his heritage; but he must do it in a conflict that cannot be told in
words. Yea, he must suffer trials and temptations manifold; but let him
know that cherubim and seraphim that rule the stations of the sun, and
spirits of the mighty God who rule the solar stars are his protectors
and his guides, and they will lead to victory. Man will be fully saved,
redeemed, perfected by the things he suffers on the plane of flesh, and
on the plane of soul.
"When man has conquered carnal things his
garb of flesh will then have served its purpose well and it will fall,
will be no more. Then he will stand untrammeled on the plane of soul
where he must full complete his victories. "Unnumbered foes will stand
before the man upon the plane of soul; there he must overcome, yea,
overcome them every one. Thus hope will ever be his beacon light; there
is no failure for the human soul, for God is leading on and victory is
sure.
"Man cannot die; the spirit man is one with
God, and while God lives man cannot die. "When man has conquered every
foe upon the plane of soul the seed will have full opened out, will have
unfolded in the Holy Breath. "The garb of soul will then have served its
purpose well, and man will need it never more, and it will pass and be
no more. "And man will then attain unto the blessedness of perfectness
and be at one with God."