CHAPTER 41
Jesus stands by a healing fountain. Reveals the fact that faith is the potent factor in healing and many are healed by faith. A little child teaches a great lesson of faith.
A flowing spring that people called the Healing Fount, was near Persepolis.
2 And all the people thought that at a certain time of year their deity came down and gave a virtue to the waters of the fount, and that the sick who then would plunge into the fount and wash would be made whole.
3 About the fount a multitude of people were in waiting for the Holy One to come and potentize the waters of the fount.
4 The blind, the lame, the deaf, the dumb, and those obsessed were there.
5 And Jesus, standing in the midst of them, exclaimed, Behold the spring of life! These waters that will fail are honored as the special blessing of your God.
6 From whence do healing virtues come? Why is your God so partial with his gifts? Why does he bless this spring today, and then tomorrow take his blessings all away?
7 A deity of power could fill these waters full of healing virtue every day.
8 Hear me, you sick, disconsolate: The virtue of this fount is not a special gift of God.
9 Faith is the healing power of every drop of all the waters of this spring.
10 He who believes with all his heart that he will be made whole by washing in this fount will be made whole when he has washed; and he may wash at any time.
11 Let every one who has this faith in God and in himself plunge in these waters now and wash.
12 And many of the people plunged into the crystal fount; and they were healed.
13 And then there was a rush, for all the people were inspired with faith, and each one strove to be among the first to wash, lest all the virtue be absorbed.
14 And Jesus saw a little child, weak, faint and helpless, sitting all alone beyond the surging crowd; and there was none to help her to the fount.
15 And Jesus said, My little one, why do you sit and wait? Why not arise and hasten to the fount and wash, and be made well?
16 The child replied, I need not haste; the blessings of my Father in the sky are measured not in tiny cups; they never fail; their virtues are the same forevermore.
17 When these whose faith is weak must haste to wash for fear their faith will fail, have all been cured, these waters will be just as powerful for me.
18 Then I can go and stay a long, long time within the blessed waters of the spring.
19 And Jesus said, Behold a master soul! She came to earth to teach to men the power of faith.
20 And then he lifted up the child and said, Why wait for anything? The very air we breathe is filled with balm of life. Breathe in this balm of life in faith and be made whole.
21 The child breathed in the balm of life in faith, and she was well.
22 The people marveled much at what they heard and saw; they said, This man must surely be the god of health made flesh.
23 And Jesus said, The fount of life is not a little pool; it is as wide as are the spaces of the heavens.
24 The waters of the fount are love; the potency is faith, and he who plunges deep into the living springs, in living faith, may wash away his guilt and be made whole, and freed from sin.
SECTION IX
TETH
Life and Works of Jesus in Assyria
CHAPTER 42
Jesus bids the magians farewell. Goes to Assyria. Teaches the people in Ur of Chaldea. Meets Ashbina, with whom he visits many towns and cities, teaching and healing the sick.
In Persia Jesus’ work was done and he resumed his journey towards his native land.
2 The Persian sage went with him to the Euphrates; then with a pledge that they would meet again in Egypt land the masters said, Farewell.
3 And Kaspar went his way unto his home beside the Caspian Sea; and Jesus soon was in Chaldea, cradle land of Israel.
4 In Ur, where Abraham was born, he tarried for a time; and when he told the people who he was, and why he came, they came from near and far to speak to him.
5 He said to them, We all are kin. Two thousand years and more ago, our Father Abraham lived here in Ur, and then he worshipped God the One, and taught the people in these sacred groves.
6 And he was greatly blessed; becoming father of the mighty hosts of Israel.
7 Although so many years have passed since Abraham and Sarah walked these ways, a remnant of their kindred still abide in Ur.
8 And in their hearts the God of Abraham is still adored, and faith and justice are the rocks on which they build.
9 Behold this land! It is no more the fruitful land that Abraham loved so well; the rains come not as in the former times; the vine is not productive now, and withered are the figs.
10 But this shall not forever be; the time will come when all your deserts will rejoice; when flowers will bloom; when all your vines will bend their heads with luscious fruit; your shepherds will again be glad.
11 And Jesus preached to them the gospel of good will, and peace on earth. He told them of the brotherhood of life, and of the inborn powers of man, and of the kingdom of the soul.
12 And as he spoke, Ashbina, greatest sage of all Assyria, stood before his face.
13 The people knew the sage, for he had often taught them in their sacred halls and groves, and they rejoiced to see his face.
14 Ashbina said, My children of Chaldea, hear! Behold, for you are greatly blest today, because a prophet of the living God has come to you.
15 Take heed to what this master says, for he gives forth the words that God has given him.
16 And Jesus and the sage went through the towns and cities of Chaldea and of the lands between the Tigris and the Euphrates;
17 And Jesus healed a multitude of people who were sick.
CHAPTER 43
Jesus and Ashbina visit Babylon and remark its desolation. The two masters remain in company seven days; then Jesus resumes his homeward journey. Arrives in Nazareth. His mother gives a feast in his honor. His brothers are displeased. Jesus tells his mother and aunt the story of his journeys.
The ruined Babylon was near, and Jesus and the sage went through her gates and walked among her fallen palaces.
2 They trod the streets where Israel once was held in base captivity.
3 They saw where Judah’s sons and daughters hung their harps upon the willows, and refused to sing.
4 They saw where Daniel and the Hebrew children stood as living witnesses of faith.
5 And Jesus lifted up his hands and said, Behold the grandeur of the works of man!
6 The king of Babylon destroyed the temple of the Lord in old Jerusalem; he burned the holy city, bound in chains my people and my kin, and brought them here as slaves.
7 But retribution comes; for whatsoever men shall do to other men the righteous Judge will do to them.
8 The sun of Babylon has gone down; the songs of pleasure will be heard no more within her walls.
9 And every kind of creeping thing and unclean bird will, in these ruins, find their homes.
10 And in the temple Belus, Jesus and Ashbina stood in silent thought.
11 Then Jesus spoke and said, Behold this monument of folly and of shame.
12 Man tried to shake the very throne of God, and he assayed to build a tower to reach to heaven, when, lo, his very speech was snatched away, because in lofty words he boasted of his power.
13 And on these heights the heathen Baal stood – the god wrought out by hands of man.
14 Upon yon altar, birds, and beasts, and men, yea children have been burned in awful sacrifice to Baal.
15 But now the gory priests are dead; the very rocks have shuddered and have fallen down; the place is desolate.
16 Now, in the plains of Shinar Jesus tarried yet for seven days, and, with Ashbina, meditated long upon the needs of men, and how the sages could best serve the coming age.
17 Then Jesus went his way, and after many days he crossed the Jordan to his native land. At once he sought his home in Nazareth.
18 His mother’s heart was filled with joy; she made a feast for him, inviting all her kindred and her friends.
19 But Jesus’ brothers were not pleased that such attention should be paid to one they deemed a sheer adventurer, and they went not in to the feast.
20 They laughed their brother’s claims to scorn; they called him indolent, ambitious, vain; a worthless fortune hunter; searcher of the world for fame, who, after many years returns to mother’s home with neither gold, nor any other wealth.
21 And Jesus called aside his mother and her sister, Miriam, and told them of his journey to the East.
22 He told them of the lessons he had learned, and of the works that he had done. To others he told not the story of his life.
SECTION X
JOD
Life and Works of Jesus in Greece
CHAPTER 44
Jesus visits Greece and is welcomed by the Athenians. Meets Apollo. Addresses the Grecian masters in the Amphitheater. The address.
The Greek philosophy was full of pungent truth, and Jesus longed to study with the masters in the schools of Greece.
2 And so he left his home in Nazareth and crossed the Carmel hills, and at the port took ship, and soon was in the Grecian capital.
3 Now, the Athenians had heard of him as teacher and philosopher, and they were glad to have him come to them that they might hear his words of truth.
4 Among the masters of the Greeks was one, Apollo, who was called, Defender of the Oracle, and recognized in many lands as Grecian sage.
5 Apollo opened up for Jesus all the doors of Grecian lore, and in the Areopagus he heard the wisest masters speak.
6 But Jesus brought to them a wisdom greater far than theirs; and so he taught.
7 Once in the Amphitheater he stood, and when Apollo bade him speak he said,
8 Athenian masters, hear! In ages long ago, men, wise in nature’s laws, sought out and found the place on which your city stands.
9 Full well you know that there are parts of earth where its great beating heart throws heavenward etheric waves that meet the ethers from above;
10 Where spirit-light and understanding, like the stars of night, shine forth.
11 Of all the parts of earth there is no place more sensitized, more truly spirit-blest, than that where Athens stands.
12 Yea, all of Greece is blest. No other land has been the homeland of such mighty men of thought as grace your scrolls of fame.
13 A host of sturdy giants of philosophy, of poetry, of science, and of art, were born upon the soil of Greece, and rocked to manhood in your cradle of pure thought.
14 I come not here to speak of science, of philosophy, or art; of these you are the world’s best masters now.
15 But all your high accomplishments are but stepping stones to worlds beyond the realm of sense; are but illusive shadows flitting on the walls of time.
16 But I would tell you of a life beyond, within; a real life that can not pass away.
17 In science and philosophy there is no power strong enough to fit a soul to recognize itself, or to commune with God.
18 I would not stay the flow of your great streams of thought; but I would turn them to the channels of the soul.
19 Unaided by the Spirit-breath, the work of intellection tends to solve the problems of the things we see, and nothing more.
20 The senses were ordained to bring into the mind mere pictures of the things that pass away; they do not deal with real things; they do not comprehend eternal law.
21 But man has something in his soul, a something that will tear the veil apart that he may see the world of real things.
22 We call this something, spirit consciousness; it sleeps in every soul, and cannot be awakened till the Holy Breath becomes a welcome guest.
23 This Holy Breath knocks at the door of every soul, but cannot enter in until the will of man throws wide the door.
24 There is no power in intellect to turn the key; philosophy and science both have toiled to get a glimpse behind the veil; but they have failed.
25 The secret spring that throws ajar the door of soul is touched by nothing else than purity in life, by prayer and holy thought.
26 Return, O mystic stream of Grecian thought, and mingle your clear waters with the flood of Spirit-life; and then the spirit consciousness will sleep no more, and man will know, and God will bless.
27 When Jesus had thus said he stepped aside. The Grecian masters were astonished at the wisdom of his words; they answered not.
CHAPTER 45
Jesus teaches the Greek masters. Goes with Apollo to Delphi and hears the Oracle speak. It testifies for him. He abides with Apollo, and is recognized as the Living Oracle of God. Explains to Apollo the phenomenon of oracular speech.
For many days the Grecian masters listened to the clear incisive words that Jesus spoke, and while they could not fully comprehend the things he said, they were delighted and accepted his philosophy.
2 One day as Jesus and Apollo walked beside the sea, a Delphic courier came in haste and said, Apollo, master, come; the Oracle would speak with you.
3 Apollo said to Jesus, Sir, if you would see the Delphic Oracle, and hear it speak, you may accompany me. And Jesus did accompany him.
4 The masters went in haste; and when they came to Delphi, great excitement reigned.
5 And when Apollo stood before the Oracle it spoke and said:
6 Apollo, sage of Greece, the bell strikes twelve; the midnight of the ages now has come.
7 Within the womb of nature ages are conceived; they gestate and are born in glory with the rising sun, and when the agic sun goes down the age disintegrates and dies.
8 The Delphic age has been an age of glory and renown; the gods have spoken to the sons of men through oracles of wood, and gold, and precious stone.
9 The Delphic sun has set; the Oracle will go into decline; the time is near when men will hear its voice no more.
10 The gods will speak to man by man. The Living Oracle now stands within these sacred groves; the Logos from on high has come.
11 From henceforth will decrease my wisdom and my power; from henceforth will increase the wisdom and the power of him, Immanuel.
12 Let all the masters stay; let every creature hear and honor him, Immanuel.
13 And then the Oracle spoke not again for forty days, and priests and people were amazed. They came from near and far to hear the Living Oracle speak forth the wisdom of the gods.
14 And Jesus and the Grecian sage returned; and in Apollo’s home the Living Oracle spoke forth for forty days.
15 One day Apollo said to Jesus as they sat alone, This sacred Delphic Oracle has spoken many a helpful word for Greece.
16 Pray tell me what it is that speaks. Is it an angel, man, or living god?
17 And Jesus said, It is not angel, man, nor god that speaks. It is the matchless wisdom of the master minds of Greece, united in a master mind.
18 This giant mind has taken to itself the substances of soul, and thinks, and hears, and speaks.
19 It will remain a living soul while master minds feed it with thought, with wisdom and with faith and hope.
20 But when the master minds of Greece shall perish from the land, this giant master mind will cease to be, and then the Delphic Oracle will speak no more.
CHAPTER 46
A storm on the sea. Jesus rescues many drowning men. The Athenians pray to idols. Jesus rebukes their idolatry and tells how God helps. His last meeting with the Greeks. Sails on the vessel Mars.
It was a holy day and Jesus walked upon the Athens’ beach.
2 A storm was on and ships were being tossed about like toys upon the bosom of the sea.
3 The sailors and the fishermen were going down to watery graves; the shores were strewn with bodies of the dead.
4 And Jesus halted not, but with a mighty power he rescued many a helpless one, oft bringing back to life the seeming dead.
5 Now, on these shores were altars sacred to the gods supposed to rule the seas.
6 And men and women, heedless of the cries of drowning men, were crowding all about these altars, calling on their gods for help.
7 At length the storm was done, and all the sea was calm, and men could think again; and Jesus said,
8 You worshippers of wooden gods, how has the fury of this storm been lessened by your frantic prayers?
9 Where is the strength of these poor, weather-beaten gods with painted swords and crowns?
10 A god that could abide in such a little house could hardly hold a frantic fly, and who could hope that he could hold at bay the Lords of winds and waves?
11 The mighty powers of worlds unseen do not give forth their help till men have done their best; they only help when man can do no more.
12 And you have agonized and prayed around these shrines, and let men sink to death who might have been, by your assistance, saved.
13 The God that saves dwells in your souls, and manifests by making use of your own feet, and legs, and arms, and hands.
14 Strength never comes through idleness; nor through a waiting for another one to bear your loads, or do the work that you are called to do.
15 But when you do your best to bear your loads, and do your work, you offer unto God a sacrifice well-pleasing in his sight.
16 And then the Holy One breathes deep upon your glowing sacrificial coals, and makes them blaze aloft to fill your souls with light, and strength and helpfulness.
17 The most efficient prayer that men can offer to a god of any kind is helpfulness to those in need of help; for what you do for other men the Holy One will do for you.
18 And thus God helps.
19 His work in Greece was done, and Jesus must go on his way to Egypt in the South. Apollo, with the highest masters of the land and many people from the varied walks of life, stood on the shore to see the Hebrew sage depart; and Jesus said,
20 The son of man has been in many lands; has stood in temples of a multitude of foreign gods; has preached the gospel of good will and peace on earth to many people, tribes and tongues;
21 Has been received with favor in a multitude of homes; but Greece is, of them all, the royal host.
22 The breadth of Grecian thought; the depth of her philosophy; the height of her unselfish aspirations have well fitted her to be the champion of the cause of human liberty and right.
23 The fates of war have subjugated Greece, because she trusted in the strength of flesh, and bone and intellect, forgetful of the spirit-life that binds a nation to its source of power,
24 But Greece will not forever sit within the darkness of the shadowland as vassal of a foreign king.
25 Lift up your heads, you men of Greece; the time will come when Greece will breathe the ethers of the Holy Breath, and be a main spring of the spirit power of earth.
26 But God must be your shield, your buckler, and your tower of strength.
27 And then he said, Farewell. Apollo raised his hand in silent benediction, and the people wept.
28 Upon the Cretan vessel, Mars, the Hebrew sage sailed from the Grecian port.
SECTION XI
CAPH
Life and Works of Jesus in Egypt
CHAPTER 47
Jesus with Elihu and Salome in Egypt. Tells the story of his journeys. Elihu and Salome praise God. Jesus goes to the temple in Heliopolis and is received as a pupil.
And Jesus came to Egypt land, and all was well. He tarried not upon the coast; he went at once to Zoan, home of Elihu and Salome, who five and twenty years before had taught his mother in their sacred school.
2 And there was joy when met these three. When last the son of Mary saw these sacred groves he was a babe;
3 And now a man grown strong by buffetings of every kind; a teacher who had stirred the multitudes in many lands.
4 And Jesus told the aged teachers all about his life; about his journeyings in foreign lands; about the meetings with the masters and about his kind receptions by the multitudes.
5 Elihu and Salome heard his story with delight; they lifted up their eyes to heaven and said,
6 Our Father-God, let now thy servants go in peace, for we have seen the glory of the Lord;
7 And we have talked with him, the messenger of love, and of the covenant of peace on earth, good will to men.
8 Through him shall all the nations of the earth be blest; through him, Immanuel.
9 And Jesus staid in Zoan many days; and then went forth unto the city of the sun, that men call Heliopolis, and sought admission to the temple of the sacred brotherhood.
10 The council of the brotherhood convened, and Jesus stood before the hierophant; he answered all the questions that were asked with clearness and with power.
11 The hierophant exclaimed, Rabboni of the rabbinate, why come you here? Your wisdom is the wisdom of the gods; why seek for wisdom in the halls of men?
12 And Jesus said, In every way of earth-life I would walk; in every hall of learning I would sit; the heights that any man has gained, these I would gain;
13 What any man has suffered I would meet, that I may know the griefs, the disappointments and the sore temptations of my brother man; that I may know just how to succor those in need.
14 I pray you, brothers, let me go into your dismal crypts; and I would pass the hardest of your tests.
15 The master said, Take then the vow of secret brotherhood. And Jesus took the vow of secret brotherhood.
16 Again the master spoke; he said, The greatest heights are gained by those who reach the greatest depths; and you shall reach the greatest depths.
17 The guide then led the way and in the fountain Jesus bathed; and when he had been clothed in proper garb he stood again before the hierophant.