June 05, 2017

The Third And Last Call

The  Third  and  Last  Call





Martin Cecil   April 28, 1974



We might well remind ourselves once more this morning that we are not gathered here in the Chapel primarily for our own benefit but rather that we might share in true service. As we move together in the current of the spirit, each one may allow the unfoldment of understanding to occur in consciousness. While I have the particular responsibility of finding the right and fitting words, what is being conveyed by reason of the movement of the spirit unfolds in a unique manner in your consciousness as individuals, so that our individual understanding is of a specific nature and what is consequently offered into the consciousness of mankind has been, because of our presence here, differentiated in a meaningful fashion. The Word is spoken in many tongues consequently. What occurs in your consciousness as an individual is different from what is occurring in the consciousness of your neighbor. Here is the differentiation of the spirit of God, the Word of God released as the sound of many waters, that those who are ready to awaken may awaken and those who are moving toward the point of awakening may be further moved toward that point. This awakening permits a new state of consciousness and understanding unknown in the world for as long as recorded history goes back, except in certain specific instances; such, for instance, as through the man called Moses and the man called Jesus. However, in the general pattern of human experience the true state of consciousness has remained obscure, unknown, until there is awakening.


The awakening comes as there is sufficient space in the heart to accommodate the sound of many waters. The space in the heart that is needful that this might occur is the extent to which the heart is pure. Purity indicates the capacity to accommodate the pure spirit of God. To the extent that the pure spirit of God is so accommodated then impurities of heart may be dissolved, dissolved by the Tone that is sounding in the heart. The heart is never purified by any humanly devised methods or efforts, because human beings who are subject to their impure hearts have no awareness at all of what a pure heart is. They are incapable of making their hearts pure. All such efforts are futile. It certainly isn't a matter of trying to be good, as some people suppose.  What would be the pattern of goodness?  Goodness according to some human doctrine, idea, code of ethics, what have you? These are all human inventions, although some of them may be based in the truth. By the time that truth has been translated in human consciousness it has become false. It is false because the hearts of human beings are impure.


There is a passage in the Gospel according to Matthew which outlines the situation rather accurately. This indicates why it is that the heart is impure, and gives rather specific instruction as to what is necessary in order to let the heart be purified: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”


“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The heart is impure simply because the treasure, insofar as human beings are concerned, has been laid up on earth. Now this doesn't merely mean that human beings are primarily concerned about amassing wealth, which may be true with many people, but relates to what has been true of all people: that they are primarily moved by the things of the earth. We have some recognition of what this means with respect to what we have called the dimensional world.


“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” It seems to have been supposed by many that the heaven was put one place and the earth another, whereas here are in fact two aspects of one thing. These aspects of the one thing were and are created by God; they come from nowhere dimensionally speaking. They come from a dimensionless state and emerge into a dimensional state. The dimensional state which is now here, rather than nowhere, is composed of two aspects — the heaven and the earth, the earth coming after the heaven apparently. Here is the right order anyway; for what first emerges from the nowhere into the now here, into the substance of consciousness, is of a heavenly nature; there is a sufficiently refined substance of consciousness capable of accommodating what has been referred to as the spirit of God. When it is so accommodated in the dimensional world, it was referred to in the Old Testament as Shekinah and in the New as Christ; neither Shekinah nor Christ refers to a person, although a person may reveal the reality of Shekinah or the reality of Christ. In fact if Shekinah or Christ is to be known there must be a person to reveal it.



The two I had reference to in the beginning of this service were Moses and Jesus. Moses was responsible for revealing Shekinah. Usually when this is considered, the glory of the Lord which filled the tabernacle and shone round about is thought of as being separate from Moses and from the people, as though by some magic it suddenly appeared without regard to anything, except that there happened to be a tabernacle on hand through which it appeared.  If there was Shekinah it was because of Moses. We may remind ourselves as to how the Lord spoke to Moses apparently. Moses inquired of the Lord as to what His name was, and the reply came: “I am”; in other words Moses recognized the responsibility which he himself carried. If the Lord who is nowhere is to be known now here it must be because of human beings. If this weren't so there would be no point or purpose to human beings.  If there were no point or purpose to human beings I doubt whether they would exist. The point and purpose has been forgotten, that is true, but the potential is still present; and because of this, human beings have continued to exist — perchance someone somewhere would awaken to the truth.


Most have been firmly asleep, dreaming their dreams, or nightmares, as the case might be; and this dream state or nightmare state is the state that human beings suppose is reality — the world as they know it, the world of slumber or, in the eyes of God, of death, which is maintained by reason of the fact that human beings have their treasures on earth; their values relate to earthly things. Sometimes their values relate primarily to the physical level of consciousness, material things, so called. Sometimes their values are more particularly centered at the mental level of consciousness; knowledge is greatly valued by human beings. So some value material things, some value intellectual things, and some value what they suppose are spiritual things. These three levels of value are all earthly values, and human beings have their treasures here where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break through and steal. This is obviously the case insofar as material things are concerned — robbery is a popular sport in the world of man — but it applies equally to the mental level of consciousness and the supposedly spiritual level of consciousness. Every so often knowledge does some sort of a flip-flop; it changes. Someone takes away someone's concept from them; they lose it and they feel bereft.  But of course most people fight desperately either to maintain their material things or their mental things. Mentally speaking, these are usually called prejudices, and human beings hang on to these things desperately because they are their treasures. And if these treasures were taken away they would be in a state of poverty, they think. They lay up for themselves treasures on earth at the physical level of consciousness, at the mental level of consciousness, and at the supposedly spiritual level of consciousness.


There are all kinds of beliefs and doctrines and philosophies in this regard.  Someone comes along with a better belief and doctrine and maybe snatches away someone else's belief or doctrine. There is more prejudice, I suppose, in this realm than anywhere else. And human beings hang on to their beliefs desperately. Why?  Because they are afraid that if they lost them they would be nothing. And under the circumstances in which they do finally lose them it is true: they are nothing. How foolish to establish value in this fashion. It is because values are established in this fashion that human beings have impure hearts.


The heart is the emotional level of consciousness, the feeling level of consciousness. As we have noted before, each finer or more delicate level of consciousness permeates the coarser level of consciousness. The coarsest level of consciousness is the physical level of consciousness, insofar as human beings are concerned. The mental level of consciousness permeates the physical level of consciousness, and the spiritual level of consciousness permeates both the physical and the mental levels of consciousness, but the heart level of consciousness permeates all three. Now if the heart is pure the heavenly levels of consciousness permeate without interruption, without distortion, the earthly levels of consciousness; and heaven and earth are found to be one in consequence.  In such case the heart level of consciousness is as an open window of heaven, and heaven is known in experience on earth; the Shekinah is a reality; the Christ is a reality in expression on earth at the physical level of consciousness, at the mental level of consciousness, and at the level of spiritual expression.





If the heart is impure, however, it isn't a window of heaven; it's more in the nature of a mirror, a mirror of the treasures of earth: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” And whatever the values are in the human attitude, they will be reflected in his heart, in his feelings, in his emotions. And so in the present human state the earthly values bounce back out of the heart into the earth again, and there is what may well be described as a vicious circle. Human beings have their values in the earth; they amass their values and the values are reflected in their hearts.  And so their whole outlook is influenced and colored and distorted by these earthly values, earthly values which are bereft of heavenly values, because the heart is a veil between what should be a holy place on earth and the Holy of Holies in heaven. The Holy of Holies relates to the refined aspects of consciousness present in man which are capable of accommodating, and do accommodate, Shekinah or Christ. There is the triune heaven, just as there is the triune earth. And Shekinah is of a triune nature, as also is Christ. In Shekinah there is the fire that bums, the light that glows, and the cloud of glory. In Christ these are called love, truth and life.


We might recall the story of man when he was first created. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” So there is the dust of the ground on the one hand, the earth aspect; and the breath of life on the other hand, the heaven aspect. And when they're put together properly we have a living soul. If, on the other hand, they are not put together properly because there is an impure heart in between, a veil in between, then the result is a dying soul. The breath of life is triune in nature (Shekinah, Christ), the dust of the ground is triune in nature (body, mind and spiritual expression), and the heart in between. So how shall the heart be purified?  Only by Shekinah, or the Christ; only by the spirit of God in action through these refined levels of consciousness in the dimensional world. But as long as a person insists that the real values are out here, the real values are of an earthly nature—the real values are the things of the material world, or the real values are the things of the mental world, or the real values are the things of the religious world—then the treasures are laid up on earth; the heart is impure, because where the treasures are, the heart is also. Only when the treasure is laid up in heaven can the heart be pure; because the purity is on that side of the veil, not on the earthly side of the veil, as long as the heart is impure. As long as the heart is impure the earthly side of the veil is impure.  The place where human beings lay up their treasures is impure. That is the current state of human consciousness: an earthly consciousness below the veil of the impure heart.


Sometimes, particularly in the Old Testament, mention was made of the hardening of the heart. Pharaoh repeatedly hardened his heart at the time that Moses was in the process of leading the children of Israel out of Egypt. But the hardening of the heart wasn't limited to Pharaoh by any manner of means. The children of Israel were constantly hardening their hearts later. The hardening of the heart occurs, like the hardening of the arteries, because treasure is laid up on earth; the values are placed on the wrong side of the veil. The real values are in the Holy of Holies, not in the so-called holy place which isn't at all holy when it's the wrong side of the veil or when the veil obscures what should be in the holy place. The outer court is not holy and the encampment is not holy as long as the veil obscures, as long as there is an impure heart. And human beings everywhere on earth have impure hearts, and that impurity is based in the fact that they lay up for themselves treasures on earth; their values relate to the material realm, the mental realm, and what they suppose is the spiritual realm — the religious realm, in other words. Their values are in these levels of consciousness, which are all earthly levels of consciousness. And where your treasure is, there is your heart also. So the heart is impure; it can't help but be impure on that basis. And it will never change, no matter what human beings try to do about it, no matter how sincere and earnest they are in their religious beliefs, in their intellectual beliefs, in their material beliefs. Now in the outworking of opportunity by which human beings might be restored to the awakened state from the dead or sleeping state, something was and has been collectively provided. We recognize the first instance, which was initiated at the time of Abram and came to a particular point of focus through Moses in the development of the pattern, the opportunity for the first step to be made in the cycle of awakening, in the cycle of restoration, of recreation. And that first step required approach upon the first level of consciousness, the physical level of consciousness. This was most clearly demonstrated in the manner in which the pattern unfolded.


A lot of people understand that physical level of approach; it seems to be popular even today. There are those who are so enlightened that they say, “You shouldn't fight to achieve the things which are supposed to be good, by physical means. War is bad.” But not everybody believes that. War is looked upon as useful to achieve certain righteous purposes. That was fine at the time of Moses, because that was the approach, the first plane approach, the first level of consciousness approach. But human beings still imagine that if you want to set something to right you knock the bad guy down. That's proof positive that you're right, if you're able to knock him down! Isn't that the way it works? The hero has to be able to do this, one way or another — karate or kung fu or what have you, to make sure he can prevail physically speaking. So a lot of people understand that, although it's useless. It's a useless approach now; it doesn't achieve anything. But others who are more enlightened, of course, say, “Well it's better to discuss these things and argue, and we'll do battle with words.” That's what it is, isn't it? — it's still a battle, but it's more civilized to do it with words.


Well there was an opportunity for an approach at that level, the mental level of consciousness, at the time when Jesus was on earth. The physical approach could have worked under the hand of Moses, but by the time of Solomon it was all dissipated, it was all lost. The mental approach could have worked under the hand of Jesus, but that was lost in very short order. He came to offer that approach, but the response was completely inadequate, because human beings at that time were so set in their ways — not that it's a very different condition right now, but it was set in a little different way then from what it is now. Because the previous cycle had been dissipated it all had to be refocalized again. And so the approach that Jesus made emerged out of what had gone before. It emerged out of the remains of what had gone before, the Jewish pattern at that time. And Jesus used the scriptures to permit that refocalization, but it was a new approach. “It is written thus and so, but I say unto you…” So the new approach was offered, and He came to offer it, to provide the way, the leadership, the guidance, the instruction, by which this approach might have led through to victory. But it was rejected in rather short order; and there came a point in His ministry where it is recorded that He wept over Jerusalem. That was the point of failure of the second opportunity offered to the children of men. But it wasn't failure merely insofar as the Jewish people were concerned; it was failure insofar as everybody was concerned. Jerusalem does not apply only to the Jewish people but indicates the state of consciousness that is present in mankind, the state of consciousness when the treasure is of an earthly nature, when the heart is impure. And so, that opportunity having been lost at that point, He provided the open door by which a third opportunity might be made available. Everything succeeding that point when He wept over Jerusalem was designed to establish the pattern for the third opportunity.





That particular occasion when He wept over Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Gospel according to John, but something else is. There is the shortest verse in the Bible there: “Jesus wept” — two words. That was on the occasion when Lazarus was in the tomb and everybody was fussing about it, including Mary and Martha, who should have known better. But because it was their brother they were emotionally involved and they were centered in what they presumed was death, rather than what in fact was life, the life revealed through Jesus. They on that occasion let their polarity be reversed. And that was it insofar as the second opportunity was concerned. They broke the pattern, the pattern upon which our Master at that point was depending. So there is the occasion of the conclusion of the second opportunity, as recorded in the Gospel according to John. But it's exactly the same thing. “They would not.” So, in relationship to Himself, He initiated the third opportunity, the opportunity of approach at the spiritual expression level. Of course this was subsequently interpreted, after He had departed, as meaning that the world should be converted to Christianity.  But Christianity is not the third opportunity. Christianity is the evidence of the failure of the second opportunity, just as Judaism is the evidence of the failure of the first opportunity.


However, out of the failure of the second opportunity, Christianity, could emerge the third opportunity at the level of the spiritual expression plane approach. And so we share this now — a new approach, at a new level. In order to permit this approach to be meaningful the first two opportunities had to be refocalized: a refocalization of the first opportunity at the time of the children of Israel, a refocalization of the second opportunity at the time of Jesus, so that there might be an understanding of what that first opportunity was and there might be an understanding of what that second opportunity was. This has been made apparent, hasn't it? This is the refocalization not of the failure but of the victory which was inherent in those opportunities. It has been refocalized in your consciousness so that you needn't fuss about the failure but you see what the opportunity really is, and letting that be cleared in consciousness we have the basis for the spiritual expression approach, a new approach. And that new approach tends to be found at what human beings call the level of religion. The first approach was the physical approach — “You come into line or else!” The second approach was a mental approach, a reasonable approach, so called, because it was reasonable insofar as our Master was concerned. But it hasn't been very reasonable since. And the third approach, the approach at the spiritual expression level of consciousness, has by human beings been thought of as a religious approach, so that if approach is made at that level everybody is inclined to interpret it as a religious approach. That's right too, isn't it? You have found that to be so. It isn't a religious approach, at least not the way human beings understand that word. It is a spiritual expression plane approach, which they don't understand at all. But human beings have the habit of trying to make something out of whatever it is, so they compare it with this and they compare it with that; but it is in fact incomparable. It is something new, a new level of approach.


It isn't a physical approach, it isn't a mental approach, and it isn't the religious approach, although it may appear to people to be any of these three things. There are those who like to have what they call an Ontological approach. This presumably relates to the mental aspect more particularly. And others of course are all hung up on organic foods and such things, which seem to be required physically speaking, with maybe a little yoga thrown in and what have you. But the approach is at the spiritual expression level of consciousness, and that's the only one that works. But just as it was at the time of Moses with the physical approach, just as it was at the time of Jesus with the mental approach, so is it now at the time of the spiritual expression plane approach. It can only work on the basis of the focalization provided: Moses, Jesus, and such focalization as we have now — that's the only way it can work. Human beings like to be independent. “Oh, we're going to come into the kingdom of heaven and we're going to attain; we're going to go to heaven after we're dead perhaps — all on our own. Won't it be nice?” But it doesn't work that way.



There is always a point of focus to provide the essential direction, the essential Tone,

by which the achievement may come.



So this spiritual expression plane approach requires that the treasure should be in heaven, the values should be seen as relating to Shekinah, to the Christ, to the quality and the character of God. There is the value, not in the fleshpots of Egypt, which would include all the wisdom of Egypt, the wisdom contained in the Book of the Dead for instance. And the treasure is not in the creeds, the doctrines, the beliefs, of worldly religions. All this is what human beings have made out of something which they didn't understand, and they didn't understand it because their hearts were impure. Only when treasure is again put in heaven, so that the value is there, can the heart begin to be purified, because then the tone begins to sound; the tone out of heaven begins to sound in the heart and it is that that dissolves the impurities, so that the Shekinah may shine through into the earth, revealing the truth that heaven and earth are one.


We are in position to make this spiritual expression plane approach now. It's the only approach that works now. Another approach would have worked thirty-five hundred years ago; another approach would have worked nineteen hundred years ago; but neither of those approaches will work now. What works now is this approach. Human beings have been very good at seeing value in relationship to the past. They have all their traditions because of this. They see the value as it relates to the past. They look back and they say,”Oh that was a tremendous value back there. Let's bring it up here.” No! It was of tremendous value back there, not up here. It can't be brought up here. Human beings drag along these corpses after them, placing their value in what is actually dead, what's passed away, and failing on each occasion thus far to recognize the value that is now. The value that was now at the time of the children of Israel was not recognized by them. The value that was now at the time of Jesus was not recognized by those who were present then. The question is, What of the value that is now? Is anybody going to recognize it? Well we praise the Lord that there are some who are beginning to sense the tone and to awaken to the fact that there is the value, the treasure, in heaven right now! It isn't a secondhand treasure. It's brand new, of the moment. In the acceptance of this treasure now, the purification of the heart can occur, so that because the heart becomes pure the fourth level of approach may be made. But the only basis for that approach is a pure heart, and the only way by which the heart may be purified now is to make the third level approach, the approach of the spiritual expression plane level. If there are not those who are willing to make this approach then the door will slam shut and there will be no other approach for human beings ever, and this being the case, there would be no more human beings ever





The only way by which the heart may be purified, enabling the fourth level approach to be made, is as there is the right approach at the third level. Of course it could have been done if there had been the right approach at the first and that had carried through, or if there had been the right approach at the second and that had carried through. But neither of them did, and people still have their treasure in relationship to such things, instead of the treasure in heaven now, in relationship to the breath of life now, that man may be restored to the state of being a living soul instead of a dying soul. So the third level approach is the last call, the last opportunity. We, and all who would let it be so, are here to make that approach, that the heart may be purified. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”


© Emissaries of Divine Light