The Ministry Of Seth
Martin Cecil June 9, 1974 pm
Subsequent to our service this morning [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/thank-god-for-lonliness.html] I had, as is usually the case, a number of letters of response. One of these also posed a question: “What I hunger to know is: What about Seth? And are we not of Seth and Noah?” Reference, of course, was here being made to something that occurred subsequently, after the record of all those begats: “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare him a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.” Then follows a verse and a whole chapter of further begats after Seth; the last one of these mentioned is Noah.
This evening Grace also handed me a letter which touches upon this same matter: “The story of Cain and Abel! This fall of man, depicted in this story, seems to mark the time of drastic change (as you strongly emphasized this morning). Subsequent man (descended from Cain and with that characterizing ‘mark’) is unrecognizable as he was (is) with his brother Abel. Not until ‘another seed instead of Abel’ appeared on earth, did men begin ‘to call upon the Name of the Lord.’ I find it interesting that it was not Abel — man suddenly, miraculously, as before the fall (Abel) — but ‘another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.’ Here is the means whereby men could call upon the name of the Lord, the provision in the fallen state whereby the connection can again be made and Abel be resurrected from ‘another seed.’ This brings home, to me, the vast loss which man brought upon himself, and all that has transpired to let this ‘seed’ open and unfold and come to flower, in the consciousness of man.”
It was because of Seth, who came instead of Abel — another seed — that, as Grace said, the way was opened for men to call again upon the name of the Lord. In other words, here is indication of the first opportunity by reason of which man could have been restored. The provision was made way back there. We have considered the opportunities of more recent history, the initial one starting with Abraham, but let us not imagine that there was nothing available to man before that. The way this is outlined seems to give indication that almost immediately provision was made for the restoration of man. That provision has been offered all down through the ages of prehistory, before the history as human beings think of it now. Those who sprang from Seth were the means by which this provision was made, in various ways, for the restoration of man in generations subsequent to Seth. The last in the line of these was Noah. The provision that was made through Noah is rather obvious from the standpoint of the story of the flood.
So Seth represents the means by which the essential provision has been made all down through the ages for the restoration of man, to restore man to a state of wholeness, the two brothers alive on earth and united. This constitutes whole man, the spiritual aspect with the material aspect — whole man, holy man, man as he truly is. So the provision has always been made in this regard. It isn't as though material man has been left without any possibility of experiencing the resurrection of his spiritual brother. We can't, therefore, feel particularly sorry for what has been the unpleasant experience of the human race down through the ages. Self-centered human beings are inclined to bewail their troubles, their difficulties, their problems, their sufferings, their miseries, their poverty, all the rest of it, looking for sympathy, looking for someone to say, “Poor you, it's too bad. You have been unjustly treated.” Man has not been unjustly treated. He has sown his own seeds and harvested them.
So we may begin to have a clear approach in this regard, so that we are not extending false sympathy, although there is a natural attitude of compassion, rightly so. Compassion is the expression natural to spiritual man. Compassion is an attitude which does not weaken people; sympathy usually weakens people. Compassion offers strength, assists human beings to face up to their responsibilities and, in facing up to their responsibilities, to begin to experience a new state consequent upon the resurrection of Abel. Cain killed Abel. Material man has slain spiritual man. This is true of material man to this very hour. Most human beings don't think of themselves as murderers but it is the fact of the matter, and if, having murdered Abel, the results of so doing are experienced, there is nothing wrong with that, is there? So there is no sympathy, but compassion — an understanding of the state of affairs, so that there may be encouragement to material man to be willing to permit the resurrection of Abel. That resurrection is not going to take place merely because material man would like it to happen. The fact of the matter is that material man, heretofore, has not been interested in it happening; he didn't want it to happen. He wanted to stay the way he was, and in that condition to so apply himself that he might make a state of affairs that wouldn't miss Abel.
This has been the attitude of people, no doubt ourselves included; but provision has been made, over and over and over again, through what was represented by Seth, by which Cain might allow the resurrection of Abel within the range of his own experience. Seth, or what is portrayed by Seth, is essential for this experience of restoration, the restoration of man. We have noted in more recent history that that provision has been made in various ways. We see it with respect to a few outstanding characters who came upon the scene to provide what was needed at specific points in the unfoldment of the opportunities made available to the children of men. The first cycle in this regard was initiated through Abraham and moved through various people in a specific sense down to the time of Moses. Here was a giant, a man of true stature, capable of providing the sort of leadership that was needed at that point. Except in principle, that same sort of leadership has never again been required. There have been those who have attempted to emulate that type of leadership but of course without necessarily being of the line of Seth; in other words, it was simply an aspect of Cain in operation.
We know that that first opportunity disintegrated, didn't carry through. This is the first opportunity in what we would presumably call historical times. There were many opportunities before that, all of them obviously rejected. The second opportunity occurred when our Master came on earth in the form of Jesus. Initially He came, one might say, in the name of Seth, to provide the opportunity for human beings to respond and to allow the creative cycle to begin to move by which the resurrection of Abel would have been made possible in season. So this which He offered in the initial stages of His ministry on earth was in the name of Seth. He provided the means by which the restoration could have occurred then, but what He brought in that regard was rejected by reason of inadequate response, and as we have noted, He wept over Jerusalem. He wept over the children of men because they had refused the easy way. So what He then offered was no longer in the name of Seth. He Himself assumed the responsibility of Abel and insofar as He personally was concerned, without regard to anybody else, He carried through, so that Abel was resurrected in essence within the scope of the consciousness of Cain, of mankind. It is this actual happening, not the beliefs about it and the doctrines which have subsequently ensued, that was the important thing.
The resurrection of Abel took place within the range of human consciousness, thereby rending the veil, thereby allowing for that experience in essence to be the experience of Abel in actual fact — or perhaps I should say the experience of Cain in his relationship with Abel. Just because the resurrection was a fact insofar as Jesus was concerned did not in itself get the job done insofar as mankind was concerned. It merely made the job possible. There have been those who have tried to ride into the promised land, so to speak, on His coattails. It doesn't work that way. He opened the door, the veil was rent; there was the means established for the resurrection of Abel as an actual experience within the range of the consciousness of Cain. This was perceived, to some extent at least, as happening to Jesus; but the significance of that happening has never penetrated adequately into the consciousness of Cain. Here was the opportunity for human beings on earth to experience the resurrection of spiritual man in their own lives. Obviously, there has been a refusal to let that happen — it never has. Because it hasn't happened various beliefs have been developed which postponed the experience, hopefully, until after everybody was dead. But that certainly wasn't the point at all. The point is to restore man on earth. This is where he belongs; he doesn't belong anywhere else. For man to be restored on earth the ministry of Seth is required. Cain is not going to permit it to happen all on his own; he gives no sign of being interested in it happening.
So there was the necessity for Seth to reappear — not Abel yet, but Seth — because without Seth there will be no resurrection of Abel in the experience of Cain. We need to recognize that Cain is mankind — let's find no excuses! “Well, there's a good person over there, and that's a man of real quality somewhere else.” Perhaps, but it's still Cain; it's still included in this state of material man. Material man, no matter how fine people may be, has no awareness whatsoever, no consciousness at all, of what True Man is. Abel was slain. The true state vanished; it's gone. There may have been some considerable imagination in relationship to it, but that is all a figment of fancy, even though, possibly, some aspects of that figment may have a relationship to the truth. But fancy is not truth. Truth is something of actual experience. As we already recognize, truth cannot be conveyed intellectually. It isn't increase of knowledge. Increase of knowledge never brings truth, because truth is experience. It's living experience; it's the living experience of what is true. Most of what human beings experience is not what is true; it's a false state, and as long as that false state of Cain persists, it is impossible for Cain to know the truth. No matter how much knowledge he gets he can never know the truth. The truth is known by man, and man is composed of the two aspects of his being: Abel and Cain, the breath of life and the form of the dust of the ground. These two aspects compose the living soul — MAN. So the requirement is that Abel should be resurrected in Cain's consciousness. But that resurrection is not going to take place without the ministrations of Seth, because some people, within the range of the Cain state, must be brought to the point of calling upon the name of the Lord.
Now, of course, this gives indication of the need for a Priesthood, a true Priesthood. I suppose in this sense we should say the Priesthood of Seth. The Priesthood after the Order of Levi should have been the Priesthood of Seth but it didn't prove out to be. It must be the true Priesthood to be of any value, to make possible the resurrection of Abel. At this present time the resurrection of Abel is, in a sense, inevitable, something that it wasn't before. It is inevitable now because of what was done by reason of the resurrection of the essences of Abel through our Master on earth. The die is set, so to speak. The only question that arises is: “To what extent, within the scope of the body of Cain, shall Abel be resurrected?” In any case, to provide what is needful there must be the Ministry of Seth; that is, provision from the divine standpoint which makes available the means by which human beings can be caused to call upon the name of the Lord. This has been the concern, incidentally, of this ministry — to persuade human beings to call upon the name of the Lord.
Some may say that there have been a lot of religions, a lot of churches, a lot of denominations, and a lot of schools of thought, and philosophies, and so on, that have been attempting to do this. The question arises as to whether there was true representation of Seth, because it can only be done on this basis. It can't be done by just anyone who gets a bright idea of what he imagines it would be to call upon the name of the Lord. There are all kinds of concepts in this regard, aren't there? all kinds of beliefs, even just within the scope of what is called Christianity — denomination upon denomination, all with their ideas of what it would mean to call upon the name of the Lord. Are any of them getting the job done, of resurrecting Abel in the consciousness of Cain? I haven't observed it. If anyone else has I'd like to know about it.
The approach almost invariably relates to the future, doesn't it? — the future, some other time, later on, after we're dead maybe. Now is the accepted time. We know that because, in fact, there is no other moment, ever. I have made the statement: “Nothing ever occurred in the past, and nothing will ever occur in the future.” That's true, isn't it, because whatever occurs, occurs now! Right? Nothing has ever occurred in the past, nothing will ever occur in the future; we just have the present moment for any occurrence. Human beings have hopefully looked to the future — Christians, for instance, have looked for the second coming of Christ, one day. If there is a day, the only one, it's today; and if there is a real moment in this day it is now. Anything that is to occur must occur now; there isn't any other time.
So provision, as usual, has been made for the presence of Seth,
what is necessary to allow the resurrection of Abel in the consciousness of Cain.
That does not take place on an arbitrary basis, as though Seth came around and waved his magic wand and said, “Abel, rise up in the consciousness of Cain” — and all mankind suddenly sees Abel. No. There must be those who are inspired by some means to call upon the name of the Lord. And what is the name of the Lord? The name of the Lord insofar as man is concerned may be seen as centering in spiritual man. Spiritual man represents the Lord in expression through material man. Man, whole man, holy man, was made in the image and likeness of God to represent God on earth. A name represents the person. Man represents God on earth, rightly. This is True Man — not Cain: he just represents himself, a murderer and a liar from the beginning. That was Satan, wasn't it? There's another name for material man. Material man has always been afraid of something going to be imposed upon him somehow, by some evil entity called Satan. But there are no evil entities anywhere, in this sense, other than man. If we really wanted to get rid of evil entities all we would have to do is get rid of man and they'd be gone. But, as we recognized, there is a reason for Cain, there is a reason for material man. It's necessary that he stick around for a while, until Abel can be resurrected in the consciousness of Cain. This is the responsibility of Seth. This is the true responsibility of the Priesthood.
There are those who talk about the body of God on earth. They say the church is the body of God on earth. Which one? I suppose the Roman Catholics have priority in this matter, because they — or what has become the Roman Catholic Church — were first on the scene, so to speak. The Protestants, on the other hand, were Johnny-come-lately, and all they did was protest. They protested against the Roman Catholics, didn't like them, and then denominations have subsequently proliferated in various ways. But there is no evidence whatsoever of the body of God on earth insofar as the churches are concerned. There may be some sort of aspiration in this regard but no fact.
The concern of what has been provided through this ministry has been entirely that the name of the Lord might be restored on earth, that human beings might be interested in letting it happen, in letting Abel be resurrected in their own consciousness, so that there might be those on earth who become aware of being spiritual man. We were talking of the name of the Lord. We have seen that name as being summarized by the two words I Am. I Am is the name of spiritual man. Mind you, material man has been calling himself I am, too, but usually qualified in some way: from the Christian standpoint, “I am a sinner”; from the stand-point of many human beings, “I am sick”; and we can find a host of words to describe the things with which man identifies himself, maintaining the state of Cain. But spiritual man represents the Lord; therefore the name of spiritual Man is I Am. We could say the name of the Lord is I Am That I Am. I Am: to call upon this name, that this name might be restored into human experience as it really is — just I Am, unqualified. As long as it seems that there are two brothers separate, one alive, one dead, there is a duality in human consciousness. But if we come again to the truth of man, there is simply man. Man is not two men; he is one man. It only seems that he is two men, one of them dead, because he is not man. To have the experience of man is to be restored to the state where what seemed to be two brothers are again one. Then there is just one person — Man! And there is no sense of a duality. This is the resurrection of man by reason of the resurrection of Abel, by reason of the essential ministry of Seth.
Human beings, earnestly and sincerely many of them, have been seeking to call upon the name of the Lord. All over the place there have been people in every generation, certainly no less sincere and earnest than we have been, seeking to call upon the name of the Lord. But nothing very much has happened, has it? The world remains a rather unfortunate place, and getting more unfortunate, because Cain can't resurrect Abel by any method he can devise. But under the hand of Seth, Abel may be resurrected in the consciousness of those material human beings who call upon the name of the Lord. But Seth is essential.
There must be provision in this regard, not humanly appointed, certainly not humanly elected, but present nevertheless, because, as has been emphasized, no one is going to experience the resurrection of spiritual man for him-or herself unless spiritual man is represented externally to the person. A lot of people don't like that idea — which is understandable, I suppose, because they have been fooled so often, and the Priesthood has been, at best, so ineffective, and a lot of other things as well. So most people tend to have the attitude, “Well, you show me.” And we realize this; gullible people are not of much value; if a person will swallow one kind of pill, he is liable to swallow another kind. Nevertheless, without Seth the job is not done, cannot be done.
In actual fact, there has been provision in every generation all down through the ages in this regard. It only became obvious at certain points where there was a specific creative focalization emerging — something was beginning to come to the surface, so to speak, in the outworking of the opportunity for the restoration of man. In between those particular points provision was also there but it was of a little different nature because the situation was of a little different nature. But now it begins to come to point again, doesn't it? It begins to emphasize itself, come to the surface. We see disintegration on every hand and we also begin to become aware of the reality of integration that is occurring, occurring within the scope of our own experience, not merely on the basis of some observation. We know, if we know, by reason of what has been happening in our own experience, in relationship to ourselves; and because of this there is no requirement to believe on something. Where people are urged to believe on something it is an indication, usually, of the fact that they don't. Those concerned may say, “I must believe this.” Well, if they say that, obviously they don't. They're trying desperately to believe it. Some approach on the basis of belief may be helpful for those who are moving toward the experience of calling upon the name of the Lord but it never is adequate. The only adequate thing is the actual experience by reason of something that happens in one's own experience. If it doesn't happen there one doesn't know, and if one doesn't know, one has desperately to try to believe, presumably. But if it happens, we don't need to believe anything; we know it, and it is that that has meaning.
The concern of Seth has ever been to assist people, to encourage people, to inspire people, to experience something — not on the basis of some happenstance: “Only believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” Who knows if that has actually happened? Nobody, because it isn't a matter of belief anyway, in that sense. Salvation is an experience right here on earth. The experience is the resurrection of Abel in the consciousness of Cain. That's salvation, and it doesn’t happen in the future; it doesn't happen somewhere else. It happens right here, now, or it doesn't happen. We can only have the experience now. If we are just hoping for something in the future, we can never have the experience. This is why the second coming of Christ has seemed to be like a real slow train, hasn't it? — because it never comes; it's always in the future. But the fact of the matter is that it is now. It only seems to Cain like it's coming. Nothing's coming, in fact, except the awareness for Cain, for material man. The Christ isn't coming; the Christ is here now! Just because human beings are so dumb they don't know it, doesn't change the fact. But we stop being dumb when there is a willingness to yield to the ministry of Seth, by which Abel is resurrected in human consciousness, by which spiritual man is known as the person's true identity once again.
Is this not what our concern has been, over these many months and years? It surely is, and there has been a certain experience in this regard. Sometimes a person doesn't realize what he really knows. Sometimes it takes going out into the realm of Cain particularly and experiencing what is happening there, to become aware of what has really been known in one's own experience. But we can rejoice in what we know, without having to experience the contrast. So here we have the picture within the range of present experience, a picture which includes Cain, Abel, Seth — everything, right here, now. What may have happened in the past is of no concern whatsoever. It's what happens now that counts, and we find that all that is needful is present now for the restoration of man, specifically related to our own present experience and the present experience of many others who likewise share it. The Lord has provided everything that is needful. Let us accept it — something that thus far human beings have never really done.
The attitudes which Cain knows, the state which Cain knows, gives scarcely a hint of what the state of restored man is. All of Cain's efforts, therefore, are directed toward improving his present state. There is no consciousness at all that there is a real state, which transcends his present state as high as the stars are above the earth. In other words, there's no comparison. Human beings tend to try to make comparisons; they're always odious. How can you compare disintegration with integration? Let us accept the Ministry of Seth, that there may be the experience of the resurrection of Abel.
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The Third And Last Call: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-third-and-last-call.html
The Way Of The Master: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-way-of-master.html
Where Your Treasure Is There Will Your Heart Be Also: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2026/04/where-your-treasure-is-there-will-your.html
Evening Meditation: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2025/06/evening-meditation.html
Material Man And Spiritual Man: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2025/08/material-man-and-spiritual-man.html
Be Spiritual Man: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2025/08/be-spiritual-man.html
Birth Into The Forth Sacred School From Out Of The Womb Of The Third: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2025/11/birth-into-fourth-sacred-school-from.html
Into The Presence Of The Lord: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2025/12/into-presence-of-lord.html
Thank God For Loneliness: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2026/04/thank-god-for-lonliness.html
The Ministry Of Seth: greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-ministry-of-seth.html
