Hosts of Heaven and Hosts of Earth

from

Hosts  of  Heaven  and  Hosts  of  Earth

Martin Cecil   December 24, 1978

Our gathering this morning follows the Music Service which we shared in this same Chapel last evening. This was a Service, or at least the opportunity of serving, in a particular way. Some were inclined to take the attitude that it was a concert but this would be an interpretation by the mind on the basis of some already existing structures of consciousness. We need to be able to see things freshly so that we do not lay upon our experiences what we have known out of the past. If we impose upon our momentary experience the forms that are already present in our consciousness then the newness of what properly should come forth is prevented. The tendency then is to keep going around in a more or less meaningless circle. This has happened of course in human experience in every field. Is there not something new to be brought forth by the spirit in this hour, and in each moment, as we move together?

So the gathering here in the Chapel last evening was not to share a concert but to participate in a Service. We all had our proper roles to play in this. But what was experienced yesterday evening was properly describable as a Service. We use that word because it is a matter of serving. We have the constant responsibility of serving, serving in the sense that as angels we are incarnate on earth for a particular purpose in serving our Lord and King—who is not here in person. We have the responsibility of assuming the position of representing Him and consequently of doing whatever it is that is necessary to achieve the purpose for which we have been commissioned. This relates not only to such occasions as the present one, or the one last night, but concerns every aspect of our living constantly. There is no moment, rightly, when we cease to be who we are. If we really did cease to be who we are we wouldn’t be here anymore; but we may forget at times, I suppose, in the human state of consciousness, thereby obscuring the reason for our presence on earth.

If we are alert in spiritual expression then there is spiritual discernment and we do not translate, or interpret, what is occurring in human nature terms, in the terms of the structures that are already present in human consciousness. So we would not interpret an occasion such as occurred last evening as a concert, for instance. This is a structure of human consciousness which rather firmly prevents what is supposed to be happening from the angelic standpoint from doing so. We tend to try to channel what is happening into the old forms of this structured state of consciousness. If we do that then we are responsible for preventing any adequate fulfilment of what might have taken place.

Of course there are occasions when maybe it is wise that, mentally speaking, we do not know exactly what it is that is happening, because if we did begin to understand, mentally speaking, we might interfere with it. So there are many occasions when from the mental standpoint we do not know really what is going on, and that is fortunate. But if we do not know what is going on, let’s not lay on it some interpretation which we have gleaned out of the past. Let’s let it be free. Let us be willing to admit that we don’t know what is going on, therefore we do not wish to encase it in some structured concept or other, trying to figure it out, because it is none of the mind’s business anyway. But as there is the development of spiritual discernment because there is an increasing consistency of spiritual expression in our living, then we do perceive something of what is occurring. It is unlikely that at this point we will perceive all that is occurring, or all that might occur, but we may see something.

For instance, last evening, as I say, we participated rightly in a Service, a Service which was brought to focus by reason of musical expression. The music was in some respects incidental. Now that is a terrible thing, I suppose, to say in the hearing of those who sang and performed on their instruments, because they had worked at it over quite a period of time. To have it all swept away in a moment by saying that it was altogether incidental might engender in human nature consciousness some disappointment. However this is not so if there was any real recognition of what was happening, for the choir and the instrumentalists provided a particular pattern of representation, just as those who were in the audience or the congregation also provided a particular pattern of representation.

The representation from the standpoint of the performers might be described in terms of the Hosts of Heaven. Here was a small body of human beings on earth in the position of providing representation for the invisible Hosts of Heaven, these Hosts being made visible by reason of this representation. On this basis then, something heavenly could be brought into form and expression on earth. It was done in a special configuration by reason of those who were also present in the Chapel as the audience or congregation. Here was another pattern of representation. The representation could be said to be the Hosts of Earth. The Hosts of Earth include the body of mankind as a whole but actually go beyond that—there is more on the face of this earth than human beings. But in any case here are two patterns of representation, brought to focus by reason of those who were actually present in the Chapel last evening—the Hosts of Heaven on the one hand, and the Hosts of Earth on the other.

We are well aware of the fact that heaven and earth have been separated in human consciousness. There has been a veil between. Our concern is to let that veil be dissolved so that the truth might be known. The truth is that heaven and earth are one, and so in this pattern of representation the Hosts of Heaven were brought to the Hosts of Earth. Because of such consciousness of these things which may have been present in those concerned, the blending of the two might take place. That blending of course would be a revelation of the fact that there was no veil between heaven and earth actually: heaven and earth are indeed one. Here was an opportunity of experiencing this truth and to some extent it was experienced. Maybe most didn’t see it that way, mentally speaking, but from the standpoint of the experience itself there was a certain blending between those who were onstage and those who were in the body of the audience. It wasn’t as though the audience was separated from what was going on on the stage. There was participation on the part of both aspects on the basis of the roles that were being played.

Representation of the Hosts of Heaven is properly a representation of something that is absolute. This could be correlated with what is describable as clear radiation—undistorted, clear radiation. I am sure those who did play a part in these roles on the stage had in mind something of the necessity of providing a perfect performance. However, what would a perfect performance be? The mind doesn’t really know. It has an ideal in concept perhaps but this certainly is not the truth. It is simply a mental idea of what should be offered. Sometimes when there are performances of this nature in the world that we know, it may be indicated as being a very polished performance. This presumably means that it conforms pretty well to the ideals somebody had in mind. The mere fact of a polished performance does not indicate that it is what it should be. It merely indicates that it conforms to some idea somebody has as to what it should be. And of course there has, over the years, been the building up of structures of various sorts which are supposed to define the nature of excellence in these various fields. When a performance comes along in the world these structures tend to be imposed in order to produce a polished performance. But what would the spirit bring forth? This has very little to do with the ideal that may be present in the human mind, because there are many factors to be taken into account of which the human mind is totally ignorant.

If we see the situation as it was last night, where there was a representation of the Hosts of Earth, then obviously we are keenly aware of the fact that insofar as the Hosts of Earth are concerned there are a multitude of distortions present. The state of affairs in the world is not the way it should be. The condition of human consciousness is not the way it should be. Of course the responsibility of the audience, the congregation, last evening, was not to bring to focus all the things that should not be. The responsibility was to provide a representation of what might well be described as response—response upward. We rejoice that there is something in this regard to be represented but I am sure we are very well aware, not only from the standpoint of our observation of others but because of our own experience, of the inadequacy of response upward insofar as the human state of consciousness is concerned. So what might be described as the perfect response is not really available to be represented, is it? All that can be represented is what the fact is, and that fact is far from what it ultimately must be; nevertheless it is the fact and we can only deal sensibly when we deal with the facts.

So there was last evening, from the standpoint of the representation of the Hosts of Earth, a representation of something that was somewhat inadequate. The responsibility of those who represent the Hosts of Heaven is to handle that inadequacy, recognizing the facts as adequately as may be possible. This produces an interesting situation because what are called mistakes may come into the picture. If a performer makes a mistake, that may seem to ruin a polished performance; but if a polished performance is not what is required it hasn’t ruined anything. I am not suggesting a casual attitude on the part of those who are offering, in song or on their instruments, as to what should appear. Of course the greatest care is taken to allow the spirit to bring forth something beautiful and something right, but there are other factors which are impinging upon the situation when we are functioning in service. Our purpose is Service—not to produce a polished performance—to bring forth nevertheless what is fitting, what is right, in handling the focus of the Hosts of Earth in the representation which is actually present. In handling this it may seem as though a mistake is made, but the basis for assuming that a mistake is made is the human concept of what should have appeared; whereas the human concept of what should have appeared is based in ignorance. It is based in non-perception of what the facts actually are.

I am not suggesting that, as I say, there should be a casual attitude on the part of those who perform. They are seeking to allow the greatest possible expression of the spirit in action, accurately; but what that greatest possible expression will be is found out on the occasion. It cannot be known beforehand and it cannot rightly be judged in the moment of experience, nor on the basis of some sort of postmortem, where people say, “Well, you should have done this. If you had done the other thing, then you should have done this.” Well there may be something to be learned from the standpoint of developing more efficient facilities to permit a greater expression of spirit but the expression of spirit always fits the situation—the facts that are present. It is not an arbitrary thing.

Some seem to imagine that if there was the true expression of the Lord on earth it would just appear, regardless of human beings, bang into the middle of everything! Well if it did that I doubt if there would be many human beings left, and God is not willing that any should perish. We have to choose to perish. It is not God’s will. So He doesn’t come on in that way. He seeks to develop a facility on earth which He may use to deal with the facts as they are, not according to some human ideal—and we share Services on this basis, whether a Musical Service or a Service such as this, or any other. We are responsible for handling the facts as they are. We see clearly enough that perfection is an ongoing thing and that it relates to circumstances as they are—it relates to the facts the way they are.

We find ourselves playing various roles continuously, roles which are in representation of the Hosts of Heaven and roles which are in representation of the Hosts of Earth. We all have this dual responsibility. But insofar as particular configurations of angels are concerned, then certain specific roles come into the picture, just as they did last evening—the representation, on the one hand, of the Hosts of Heaven, and on the other hand, of the Hosts of Earth. Where there is spiritual perception we discern these things, not merely in hindsight. Certainly if we look at these things now it is simply to make us more keenly alert spiritually speaking. We cannot go back to last evening and do it all over again.

If we can begin to see that a circumstance such as was present last evening in the Chapel here provides a means of particular Service, we may see that there is not a moment in our daily living that does not also provide a means of service. If we have accepted the responsibility of angelic expression on earth we do not do it on the basis of a forty-hour week. We do not do it on the basis of nine-to-five. No, from the standpoint of our service as angels on earth—which is Service to the Lord, incidentally—we are serving Him—we are serving Him in the achievement of His purposes on earth. So we are concerned with those purposes and we are alert in our momentary experience spiritually speaking, and we are not translating everything on the basis of already established mental concepts. We do not interpret all our experiences as though they were simply a repeat of what was already present in the structured human nature state of consciousness. How could anything new possibly come forth on that basis? It is remarkable how much has been allowed to come forth in our own experience spiritually speaking, in spite of the fact that there was a constant tendency to bind it up in the graveclothes of prior structures of consciousness, instead of letting it be born as something that was fresh and new and had never before put in an appearance.

So in our momentary living we have this same responsibility. If it isn’t an ongoing experience, which leads up to the point of the Service and continues thereafter, there is no basis for anything to happen at the Service. We share this ongoing experience rightly. Moving together, one of the elements related to such spiritual discernment as may be developed is the generation of spiritual substance, spiritual substance which is describable in other ways. It has been described in various ways in the Bible for instance. There is a passage here in the Book of Revelation: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” How does a wife make herself ready? By covering herself with structures of various sorts? We have just been speaking about the dissolution of such structures so that the spirit may bring forth what is fitting in the moment. Then the form which clothes the spirit is what should clothe the spirit at that point on the basis of the situation as it factually is. The bride here of course relates to this matter of the form of things. It relates to what is represented of the Hosts of Earth in the way of response. There is a yielding of this to what represents the Hosts of Heaven, so that there may be a blending and the transformation that is required in the Hosts of Earth may be set in motion and maintained in motion.

“For the marriage of the Lamb is come.” This is the blending— the experience of the fact that heaven and earth are one. This needs to be experienced individually because we are accepting the responsibility of angels incarnate and in expression on earth, and also collectively in the various collective configurations that properly put in an appearance. “The marriage of the Lamb is come,” the blending of that which represents the Hosts of Heaven with that which represents the Hosts of Earth. We are in position to experience this, aren’t we? Who else is? We have been moving toward this experience and have known something of it for quite some time, but there needs to be a vivid consciousness of the fact that we do serve as angels and that we cannot take even a moment off from serving.

“And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.’’ A saint is in evidence when the angel is in expression through human form. Then what emerges on that basis is describable as a saint but it certainly doesn’t conform with the human concept of a saint. A saint is not a dead person! Saints refer to living people, not dead people, and it doesn’t require any human mind to determine as to whether a saint is on hand or not. The human mind doesn’t know. When the angel is in clear expression through human form on earth, that is the condition of a saint, and it is a very practical, down-to-earth, sensible sort of thing. It handles things, it is capable of handling things, the way they are, the factual state. Saints are right here on earth doing what is needed to be done, but they are doing it consistently—not an on-again, off-again thing. They are clothed with fine linen. This is the spiritual substance which is the righteousness of saints, which is present by reason of the fact that there has been the expression of right living—right living in the circumstances the way they are; not trying to live rightly in some supposed Edenic state but right living with respect to the circumstances the way they are now. When there is such right-use-ness of everything, there is the clothing, the generation of the substance, described here as fine linen, clean and white. This is the true spiritual substance, isn’t it, uncontaminated.

“For the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” It is based in right living. Here is what is offered to enable the spirit of God to find right expression, both in the individual circumstance and collectively speaking in the world. There is something much more than our individual affairs for which we are responsible. We have something of a consciousness of a Body. We may speak of this at times in terms of a family but it is in fact a Body; the Body of the Archangel has been one description. And always, regardless of individual responsibilities in the immediate sense, there is primary concern for this Body as a whole.

So we share the responsibility of doing it—on the basis of the fact that there is an angel in expression in our momentary living consistently. We do not require anyone to make us ourselves. We are ourselves and when we give expression to ourselves in that angelic sense we know it. We don’t need anyone to explain it to us. We don’t need anyone to keep us toeing the mark, because the mark, when it seems that we are required to toe it, is simply a human endeavor. It has nothing to do with the angelic expression. There is no consideration given to toeing any marks. One just simply reveals the expression that is natural to oneself as an angel—that’s all. One doesn’t have to be prodded into that expression. One doesn’t have to be inspired somehow. It is the natural experience when it is accepted. When it is accepted the human nature condition of our consciousness no longer is permitted to go off on its own. So we share this matter of responsibility in Service constantly and are willing to experience that greater spiritual discernment in our human consciousness that makes us aware of the nature of the Service that is natural to us in any given moment, in any given situation, in any given configuration of association with other angels. We are very capable of doing what is required in this regard, as there is an acceptance of the natural responsibility of being oneself.

© Emissaries of Divine Light