CHAPTER 105
Under the patronage of a number of wealthy women, the Christines make a grand missionary tour. In his teaching Jesus lauds sincerity and rebukes hypocrisy. He speaks concerning the sin against the Holy Breath.
Now, many women who possessed much wealth, and who abode in other towns of Galilee, implored that Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from the foreign lands, would thither go and preach and heal.
2 Among these anxious ones were Mary Magdalene, who was obsessed by seven homeless spirits of the air, which had been driven out by the Omnific Word which Jesus spoke;
3 Susanna, who owned vast estates at Cæsarea-Philippi;
4 Johanna, wife of Chuza, one of Herod’s court;
5 And Rachel from the coast of Tyre;
6 And others from beyond the Jordan and the sea of Galilee.
7 And they provided ample means and three times seven men went forth.
8 They preached the gospel of the Christ, and they baptized the multitudes who made confession of their faith; they healed the sick and raised the dead.
9 And Jesus wrought and taught from early morn until the day had gone, and then into the night; he did not stop to eat.
10 His friends became alarmed lest he should fail from loss of strength, and they laid hold of him and would, by force, have taken him away to place of rest.
11 But he rebuked them not; he said, Have you not read that God will give his angels charge concerning me?
12 That they would hold me fast and suffer not that I should come to want?
13 I tell you, men, while I am giving out my strength unto these anxious, waiting throngs I find myself at rest within the arms of God,
14 Whose blessed messengers bring down to me the bread of life.
15 There is a tide just once in human life.
16 These people now are willing to receive the truth; their opportunity is now: our opportunity is now.
17 And if we do not teach them while we may, the tide will ebb;
18 They may not care again to hear the truth; then tell me, Who will bear the guilt?
19 And so he taught and healed.
20 Among the multitudes were men of every shade of thought. They were divided in their views concerning everything that Jesus said.
21 Some saw in him a God, and would have worshipped him; and others saw in him a devil of the nether world and would have cast him in a pit.
22 And some were trying hard to lead a double life; like little lions of the ground that take upon themselves the color of the thing they rest upon.
23 These people without anchorage of any sort, are friends or foes as seemed to serve them best.
24 And Jesus said, No man can serve two masters at a time. No man can be a friend and foe at once.
25 All men are rising up, or sinking down; are building up, or tearing down.
26 If you are gathering not the precious grain, then you are throwing it away.
27 He is a coward who would feign to be a friend, or foe, to please another man.
28 You men, do not deceive yourselves in thought; your hearts are known;
29 Hypocrisy will blight a soul as surely as the breath of Beelzebul. An honest evil man is more esteemed by guardians of the soul than a dishonest pious man.
30 If you would curse the son of man, just curse him out aloud.
31 A curse is poison to the inner man, and if you hold and swallow down a curse it never will digest; lo, it will poison every atom of your soul.
32 And if you sin against a son of man, you may be pardoned and your guilt be cleansed by acts of kindness and of love;
33 But if you sin against the Holy Breath by disregarding her when she would open up the doors of life for you;
34 By closing up the windows of the soul when she would pour the light of love into your hearts, and cleanse them with the fires of God;
35 Your guilt shall not be blotted out in this, nor in the life to come.
36 An opportunity has gone to come no more, and you must wait until the ages roll again.
37 Then will the Holy Breath again breathe on your fires of life, and fan them to a living flame.
38 Then she will open up the doors again, and you may let her in to sup with you forevermore, or you may slight her once again, and then again.
39 You men of Israel, your opportunity is now.
40 Your tree of life is an illusive tree; it has a generous crop of leaves; its boughs hang low with fruit.
41 Behold, your words are leaves; your deeds the fruit.
42 Behold, for men have plucked the apples of your tree of life, and found them full of bitterness; and worms have eaten to the core.
43 Behold that fig tree by the way so full of leaves and worthless fruit!
44 Then Jesus spoke a word that nature spirits know, and lo, the fig tree stood a mass of withered leaves.
45 And then he spoke again, Behold, for God will speak the Word, and you will stand a withered fig tree in the setting sun.
46 You men of Galilee, send forth and call the pruner in before it is too late, and let him prune away your worthless branches and illusive leaves, and let the sunshine in.
47 The sun is life, and it can change your worthlessness to worth.
48 Your tree of life is good; but you have nurtured it so long with dews of self, and mists of carnal things that you have shut the sunshine out.
49 I tell you, men, that you must give account to God for every idle word you speak and every evil deed you do.
CHAPTER 106
The Christines are in Magdala. Jesus heals a man who was blind, dumb and obsessed. He teaches the people. While he speaks his mother, brothers and Miriam come to him. He teaches a lesson on family relationship. He introduces Miriam to the people and she sings her songs of victory.
Magdala is beside the sea, and here the teachers taught.
2 A man obsessed, and who was blind and dumb was brought, and Jesus spoke the Word, and lo, the evil spirits went away; the man spoke out, his eyes were opened and he saw.
3 This was the greatest work that men had seen the master do, and they were all amazed.
4 The Pharisees were there, and they were full of jealous rage; they sought a cause whereby they might condemn.
5 They said, Yes, it is true that Jesus does a multitude of mighty works; but men should know that he is leagued with Beelzebul.
6 He is a sorcerer, a black magician of the Simon Cerus type; he works as Jannes and as Jambres did in Moses’ day.
7 For Satan, prince of evil spirits, is his stay by night and day, and in the name of Satan he casts the demons out, and in his name he heals the sick and raises up the dead.
8 But Jesus knew their thoughts; he said to them, You men are masters, and you know the law; whatever is arrayed against itself must fall; a house divided cannot stand;
9 A kingdom warring with itself is brought to naught.
10 If Satan casts the devil out, how can his kingdom stand?
11 If I, by Beelzebul, cast devils out, by whom do you cast devils out?
12 But if I, in the holy name of God, cast devils out, and make the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the dumb to speak, has not God’s kingdom come to you?
13 The Pharisees were dumb; they answered not.
14 As Jesus spoke a messenger approached and said to him, Your mother and your brothers wish to speak with you.
15 And Jesus said, Who is my mother? and my brothers, who are they?
16 And then he spoke a word aside unto the foreign masters and the twelve; he said,
17 Behold, men recognize their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers here in flesh; but when the veil is rent and men walk in the realms of soul,
18 The tender lines of love that bind the groups of fleshy kin in families will fade away.
19 Not that the love for anyone will be the less; but men will see in all the motherhood, the fatherhood, the sisterhood, the brotherhood of man.
20 The family groups of earth will all be lost in universal love and fellowship divine.
21 Then to the multitudes he said, Whoever lives the life and does the will of God is child of God and is my mother, father, sister, friend.
22 And then he went aside to speak to mother and his other kindred in the flesh.
23 But he saw more than these. The maiden who once thrilled his very soul with love, a love beyond the love of any fleshly kin;
24 Who was the sorest tempter in the temple Heliopolis beside the Nile, who sung for him the sacred songs, was there.
25 The recognition was of kindred souls, and Jesus said,
26 Behold, for God has brought to us a power men cannot comprehend, a power of purity and love;
27 To make more light the burdens of the hour, to be a balm for wounded souls;
28 To win the multitude to better ways by sacred song and holy life.
29 Behold, for Miriam who stood beside the sea and sung the song of victory when Moses led the way, will sing again.
30 And all the choirs of heaven will join and sing the glad refrain:
31 Peace, peace on earth; good will to men!
32 And Miriam stood before the waiting throngs and sung again the songs of victory, and all the people said, Amen.
CHAPTER 107
A Pharisee demands of Jesus signs of his messiahship. Jesus rebukes him, because he does not recognize the signs that are being continually given. Jesus exhorts the people to receive the light that they may become the light.
A Pharisee elated with himself stood forth among the multitudes and said to Jesus,
2 Sir, we would have you demonstrate. If you are truly Christ who was to come, then you can surely do what black magicians cannot do.
3 Lo, they can talk, and hold the multitudes with words of power; and they can heal the sick and drive the demons out of those obsessed;
4 They can control the storms; and fire and earth and air will hear and answer when they speak.
5 Now, if you will ascend and from that tower fly across the sea, we will believe that you are sent from God.
6 And Jesus said, No black magician ever lived a holy life; you have a demonstration of the Christ-life every day.
7 But lo, you evil and adulterous scribes and Pharisees, you cannot see a spirit-sign, because your spirit eyes are full of carnal self.
8 You seek a sign to please your curiosity. You walk the very lowest planes of carnal life and cry, Phenomena! show us a sign and then we will believe.
9 I was not sent to earth to buy up faith as men buy fish and fruit and rubbish in the streets.
10 Men seem to think it quite a favor done to me when they confess their faith in me and in the holy Christ.
11 What does it matter unto me as man if you believe or disbelieve?
12 Faith is not something you can buy with coin; it is not something you can sell for gold.
13 Once Mart, a beggar, followed me and cried, Give me a silver piece; then I will believe in you.
14 And you are like this beggar man; you offer to exchange your faith for signs.
15 But I will give to all the world one sign as surety that the Christ abides with me.
16 You all have read the parable of Jonah and the fish, wherein it is recorded that the prophet spent three days and nights within the stomach of the mighty fish, and then came forth.
17 The son of man will spend three days and nights within the heart of earth and then come forth again, and men will see and know.
18 Behold, the light may be so bright that men cannot see anything.
19 The Spirit light has shown so brightly over Galilee that you who hear me now are blind.
20 You may have read the words of prophet Azrael; he said, The light shall shine out brightly in the darkness of the night, and men shall comprehend it not.
21 That time has come; the light shines forth; you see it not.
22 The Queen of Sheba sat in darkest night and still she yearned for light.
23 She came to hear the words of wisdom from the lips of Solomon, and she believed;
24 And she became a living torch, and when she reached her home, lo, all Arabia was filled with light.
25 A greater far than Solomon is here; the Christ is here; the Day Star has arisen, and you reject the light.
26 And you remember Nineveh, the wicked city of Assyria, which God had marked to be destroyed by shock and flame unless the people turned and walked in ways of right.
27 And Jonah raised his voice and said, In forty days shall Nineveh be razed, and all her wealth shall be destroyed.
28 The people heard and they believed; and they reformed and turned to ways of right, and lo, their city was not razed; was not destroyed.
29 You men of Galilee, I tell you that Arabia and Nineveh will testify against you in the judgment day.
30 Behold, for every one to whom I speak has in him all the fires of God; but they are lying dead.
31 The will is bridled by the flesh desires, and it brings not the ethers of the fires to vibrate into light.
32 Look, therefore, to your soul and note, Is not the light within you dark as night?
33 There is no breath but Holy Breath that e’er can fan your fires of life into a living flame and make them light.
34 And Holy Breath can raise the ethers of the fires to light in none but hearts of purity and love.
35 Hear, then, you men of Galilee, Make pure the heart, admit the Holy Breath, and then your bodies will be full of light,
36 And like a city on a hill, your light will shine afar, and thus your light may light the way for other men.
CHAPTER 108
Jesus rebukes the people for selfishness. The Christines attend a feast and Jesus is censured by the Pharisee because he washed not before he eat. Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of the ruling classes and pronounces upon them many woes.
The multitudes were wild with selfish thought; none recognized the rights and needs of any other one.
2 The stronger pushed the weak aside, and trampled on them in their haste to be the first to get a blessing for himself.
3 And Jesus said, Behold the cage of beasts untamed; a den of stinging vipers, maddened by their fiendish greed of selfish gain!
4 I tell you, men, the benefits that come to men who see no further than themselves are baubles in the morning light;
5 They are unreal; they pass away. The selfish soul is fed today; the food does not assimilate; the soul grows not, and then it must be fed again, and then again.
6 Behold, a selfish man obsessed by just one spirit of the air; by the Omnific Word the spirit is cast out;
7 It wanders through dry places, seeking rest and finding none.
8 And then it comes again; the selfish man has failed to close and lock the door;
9 The unclean spirit finds the house all swept and cleaned; it enters in and takes with it full seven other spirits more unclean than is itself; and there they dwell.
10 The last state of the man is more than sevenfold more wretched than the first.
11 And so it is with you who snatch the blessings that belong to other men.
12 While Jesus spoke a certain woman who stood near exclaimed, Most blessed is the mother of this man of God!
13 And Jesus said, Yes, blest is she; but doubly blest are they who hear, receive and live the word of God.
14 A Pharisee of wealth prepared a feast, and Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from afar, were guests.
15 And Jesus did not wash his hands according to the strictest Pharisaic rules, before he ate; when this the Pharisee observed he marveled much.
16 And Jesus said, My host, why do you marvel that I did not wash my hands?
17 The Pharisees wash well their hands and feet; they cleanse the body every day when, lo, within is every form of filth.
18 Their hearts are full of wickedness, extortions and deceit.
19 Did not the God who made the outside of the body make the inside, too?
20 And then he said, Woe unto you, you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue, and every herb, and pass by judgment and the love of God.
21 Woe unto you, you Pharisees! you love the highest seats in synagogues and courts, and bid for salutations in the market place.
22 Woe unto you, you tinseled gentry of the land! no man would ever think you servants of the Lord of hosts by what you do.
23 A lawyer sitting near remarked, Rabboni, your words are harsh, and then in what you say you censure us; and why?
24 And Jesus said, Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you heap great burdens on the sons of men, yea, loads by far too great for them to bear, and you will never help to bear a feather’s weight yourselves.
25 Woe unto you! you build the tombs of prophets and of seers; they whom your fathers killed; and you are parties to the crimes.
26 And now behold, for God has sent again to you his holy men-apostles, prophets, seers; and you are persecuting them.
27 The time is near when you will plead against them in the courts; will spurn them on the streets; will cast them into prison cells, and kill them with a fiend’s delight.
28 I tell you, men, the blood of all the holy men of God that has been shed from righteous Abel down to that of Zacharias, father of the holy John,
29 Who was struck down beside the altar in the Holy Place —
30 The blood of all these holy men has made more red the hands of this ungodly generation.
31 Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you snatch the keys of knowledge from the hands of men;
32 You close the doors; you enter not yourselves, and suffer not the willing ones to enter in.
33 His words provoked the Pharisees, the lawyers and the scribes, and they, resenting, poured upon him torrents of abuse.
34 The truths he spoke came like a thunderbolt from heaven; the rulers counseled how they might ensnare him by his words; they sought a legal way to shed his blood.
CHAPTER 109
The Christines go to a place apart to pray. Jesus warns them against the leaven of the Pharisees and reveals the fact that all thoughts and deeds are recorded in God’s Book of Remembrance. Man’s responsibility and God’s care.
Now, when the feast was finished Jesus with the foreign masters and the twelve, with Mary, Miriam and a band of loyal women who believed in Christ, went to a place apart to pray.
2 And when their silence ended Jesus said, Be on your guard; the leaven of the Pharisees is being thrown in every measure of the meal of life.
3 It is a poison that will taint whatever it may touch; and it will blight the soul as sure as fumes of the Diabolos; it is hypocrisy.
4 The Pharisees seem fair in speech, but they are diabolical in heart.
5 And then they seem to think that thought is something they can lock within themselves.
6 They do not seem to know that every thought and wish is photographed and then preserved within the Book of Life to be revealed at any time the masters will.
7 That which is thought, or wished, or done in darkest night shall be proclaimed in brightest day;
8 That which is whispered in the ear within the secret place shall be made known upon the streets.
9 And in the judgment day when all the books are opened up, these men, and every other man, shall be a-judged, not by what they’ve said or