This Generation
Martin Cecil December 26, 1962
I have emphasized the fact before that the change must come in one generation. It could be, presumably, any generation, as long as human beings exist on earth. If they leave it too long, of course, there will not be any generations left. But it must come in one generation, though human beings have a comfortable idea that somehow or other the next generation may be more successful. That which has to be experienced is what has been defined as a change of polarity. Fallen human beings are polarized with respect to the mass consciousness of humanity; Divine Man is polarized in Divine consciousness. If we take just one person and consider this changeover, we recognize that there must be a transition. Everyone starts off with the wrong polarity. There must be movement through a period of experience to right polarity. It is not something that is done instantly; but unless it is done in that person while he lives, it is not done. Isn't that right? After he is dead there is no more chance for that person.
As we multiply one person by whatever number is required—say 144,000—then it must happen to those 144,000 individuals during the course of their life; otherwise it does not happen. If the attitude is taken, “Well we'll do it just so far; we couldn't possibly go all the way; but our children will then carry on from there,” we delude ourselves, because the children only receive a blessing if the generation who are the parents carry through. Otherwise they are left betwixt and between; they are neither one thing nor the other. They do not have the evidence made manifest of the Divine State and they do not have the experience, to the same degree, of the fallen state. There is perhaps a tendency to consequently take things for granted and to lack appreciation for that which is, to the extent that it is. They have not been through the harsh—I was going to say reality; it should be unreality—of the fallen state, and they have not been offered the experience of the Divine State, if those of the previous generation have not carried through.
It must be done in one generation, because if the generation who were in the process of carrying through do not, then the children, or succeeding generation, have to start all over again. The idea that the hope is in the children is nonsense. The idea that the succeeding generation offers the hope is foolishness. It is the generation that is here now that offers the hope. It is now that is the appointed time. It is the only time we have. If in one generation there are those who do carry through, and there are children associated with that generation, then that is a different matter, because they have the manifest experience of the Divine State at that point, and they know what it is then. But if it has not been made manifest they do not know what it is, and they will find that they have to go down into Egypt again and come clear all over again—if they are going to do it, that is. There has always been a block with respect to the fulfilment of the Divine Plan, and that block has been just one generation—never any more, just one generation. We can take the attitude, “Well we'll do our best. We'll go as far as we can,” but it will not get the job done, and another generation—if one is on hand—will have to start all over again.
You have been through some experience to bring you to this point, to enable you to emerge from the fallen state to the extent that you have. It has been quite a journey, hasn't it, to bring you to this point. You have had many experiences, passed through many things. You have known clearings of various sorts. All that has been put into you, so to speak—this is the Lord's investment in you. We cannot bequeath it to someone else, can we? It is something that happened to us, not to anyone else. We cannot just take it out of ourselves and put it in our children. If they are going to share it they must experience it too. There isn't anything vicarious in this process; we have to know it for ourselves, and therefore we must come all the way through if our lives are to have the meaning which is the Divine Purpose. If we do not come all the way through we fall short. That is what is called sin, by the way—falling short of the mark. If there is a falling short it is so much waste, isn't it? There has been development, and development working out through us—we just didn't make it. Well if we didn't make it we didn't make it, and what might have been on the basis of our restoration was not experienced—gone—and all that went into our lives to make it possible for us to experience the restoration is wasted because we are gone.
This is something that must work out in one generation; otherwise it doesn't. It will not evolve there, because it is not a matter of evolving through human self-activity. Human beings have been doing that, but that never achieves the goal, never gets anywhere except to ultimate annihilation. It is something new. Our Master Himself revealed this when He came. He let it be done in thirty years—one generation insofar as He was concerned. So He revealed that it could be done in one generation. He also, incidentally, revealed that it must be done in one generation, although that has not been so clearly seen. Look at all the generations we have had since, and still it is not done insofar as human beings generally are concerned, because there has not been a recognition of this one fundamental principle.
It is not a matter of evolving in human self-activity so that we become better self-active human beings. That is not the goal at all. The goal is to become Divine Beings, and we cannot become Divine Beings as long as we remain self-active. It is a matter of moving through the transition from the control of the devil to the control of God, and when God controls, when the Divine consciousness is accepted, then the Divine State can begin to appear as a result. As long as the devil controls, then the fallen state must appear as a result. No matter how much progress may be made in self-activity, the fallen state must remain; conflicts will continue until the final conflict, somewhere along the way.
The statement was made by our Master to the effect that except the days should be shortened no flesh should be saved. Now that has generally been translated to mean that there was going to be such an appalling state of destructiveness on earth that unless that were curtailed everybody would destroy everybody else; so this period of awful destructiveness, when human beings were in such tribulation, would have to be shortened so that somebody survived. Well there might be some application in that sense, but we may also see that the days must be shortened in the sense of one generation. Unless the days are shortened in that sense, no flesh shall be saved; unless the change, the transition, the restoration, comes with respect to an adequate body of human beings in one generation—wherever that generation may be—no flesh shall be saved, because there isn't any other way by which flesh may be saved.
It is the acceptance of the Divine control, in actual fact, of a sufficient number of responding ones which allows the Divine control to begin to manifest as a reality on earth—something which human beings have not experienced. They do not know what it would be. They have no idea that such a thing is even possible, for the most part. They certainly have no comprehension of what would happen if Divine action began to appear on earth because there was a form through which it could appear. There simply has not been such a form, except here and there on an individual basis, since man fell; so human beings have no awareness of what it would be, and the results which would be the natural result, the natural consequence of the Divine control working, are therefore considered as being fantastic. From the standpoint of human self-activity such results could never appear in a million years, but from the standpoint of Divine activity they could appear in one generation. But there could be no Divine activity in this sense, no transfer of the Divine control, until there are those who are willing to accept it. Because there have been no adequate instruments of such acceptance, there has been no experience of what the consequences would be.
If we are letting our lives be dedicated to this Divine purpose of the restoration, we must experience it within ourselves first. It is not as though we could say, “Well we have a vision of this—the restoration, the goal. We see how wonderful it would be. God's power is adequate; we believe that; therefore somehow or other, because we have this vision and understanding, it is all going to work out successfully.” It is not. If it works out successfully it has to work out through someone, and if our dedication is genuine, we are saying, “It must work out through us.” And in that actual experience the reality begins to be known: Divine activity, the power of God manifesting on earth to make possible that which naturally appears in consequence. We do not have to concern ourselves with that which is to appear. That takes care of itself. All we have to concern ourselves with is letting the experience be known to us under the dominion of God.
Because man has been functioning in the fallen state there has been no available instrument for the Divine use; the power of God has been entirely excluded in the truly creative sense, but such as has been able to appear has had to appear through the fallen consciousness of human beings. The life force that is moving through people—that is, the power of God—is under the control of the fallen consciousness of human beings, and consequently it has kept everything in a turmoil. The very moment there begins to be something which is under God's control the power of God can begin to move through that in a creative sense—there begins to be a shift, and we are here to share in letting that shift take place actually. But unless we ourselves experience what it means to be under the dominion of God, unless we ourselves begin to discover, and consequently experience, what it means to function on the basis of Divine consciousness, we cannot share in that which needs to be done. Shall that which has been experienced through us and through others over these past years, bringing us all to this point, be allowed to go for nothing?
It is not just a matter of the number of years a person may have been associated with this Ministry in the conscious sense—it is the number of years a person has been on earth moving toward this point of conscious recognition of these things, for all experiences have been used. Each one of you has come through cycles which are distinct and individual to you, and all these things have brought you together here—not only you who are here present tonight but all who are here in our Ministry in actual fact—to this hour. How much investment the Lord has in us, then, investment which can either come to fruition or be written off. The Lord is pretty accustomed to writing it off. It might be a change for Him if it was allowed to come to fruition, if there was an actual willingness to carry through to the point of fulfilment; not personal fulfilment in the sense of something which the individual thinks would be pleasing to himself, but fulfilment in the sense of being absolutely under the dominion of the spirit of God, whatever might occur thereafter. To what extent is that true of you now? How free are we? How much dominion does the truth have in us actually? All of you know that it should be so, all of you feel that you are dedicated to this purpose; but does it go beyond the theory, really? Sometimes a human being will have something in mind that he would like to do, and if that is suggested, “Oh yes! I'll go right into it! Wonderful!” but if it is something else that he had not considered as being too desirable, and it meant that he was not moving into what he wanted to move into, what then? Is it what we ourselves personally want to do that is important? Or is the need in the Ministry of the Lord important? What needs to be done? That is the important thing. Whether we want to do it or not is beside the point, and if we have such wants anymore it is obvious that we are not yet sufficiently under the control of the Divine consciousness.
We are here to fill the needs of the moment. We are not in the Divine state in the external sense—of course not, because there has been no cause for it to be here yet. We have to establish the cause first, and thereafter the Divine Estate will appear and that no doubt will be wonderful. But in the meantime it is not here and we have to function on the basis of the things that are here, filling the needs that are here without question as to whether it is personally pleasing or not. “Is this the thing that is needed in the Lord's ministry, in the fulfilment of the Divine purposes?”—that is the question. And it is in the filling of the needs in the Lord's service, no matter what they are, that we find our joy. That is where the joy is. The joy is not in doing what we like to do, but in doing that which is needful in the fulfilment of the Divine purposes. And when we begin to do that consistently we begin to find the secret of joy.
Our Master said that He would give His joy, didn't He? And what was His joy? To do the will of Him that sent Him; to do what was necessary in the fulfilment of the Divine purposes, even if, as it worked out, it was necessary for Him to go through what He did. It is in that that we find true joy, because we begin to find ourselves under the dominion of God, we begin to find ourselves participating in the instrument for Divine activity, so that the power of God may work creatively on earth to bring forth fruit—Divine fruit. It will not restore the world to the Divine state in a moment. How many years do you think it might take? We will not question that; but the very moment that the power of God begins to work creatively on earth because there is a means for its manifestation, the issue begins to be forced, and consequently the days are shortened.
The answer comes quickly. Human beings are forced to make their choices. In one generation the restoration can become a reality; not in the sense of its final manifestation necessarily, but the restoration nevertheless, because the cause is established. How long it will take for that to work itself out so as to cover the earth is something which need not particularly concern us. Our concern is to let the cause be established, because we know that when it is there the results are sure, in the cycles and the seasons of the Lord. And the cause is established as we ourselves have the experience—in no other way. Only as we ourselves know what it means to be under the dominion of God in the expression of our lives do we share in allowing any creative expression of God's power. Thinking about it, theorizing about it, imagining things, accomplishes nothing; it is only when it is done that the fulfilment comes.
Our Master spoke some words when He was hanging on the cross. He said, “It is finished.” It was done insofar as He was concerned; and the fulfilment came, didn't it, for Him. We need to be able to say, “It is finished.” There is no adequate group of human beings in any generation since the fall of man that has been in position to say that—a lot of things left undone, half done. Well here we are in the world as it is. Can it be said of our generation—there is quite a scope to a generation—shall it be said of our generation that they finished the work which had been given them to do? When that can be said the restoration will be a reality, the cause will have been established, and the results will appear.
Return On Archangelic Investment
David Barnes and John Gray September 16, 2018
David Barnes — Even in the midst of the noisy and troublesome events occurring in the world there are joyful events occurring as well, and this is one of them. It is a particular joy for me to be teamed up with John Gray and to have this opportunity to speak with all of you. We speak together; we’ve learned how to do this over the years. Perhaps, like me, over the last few days you have been able to feel the quiet intensity building as we move toward the balance point in the seasonal cycle. We also move toward the balance point in the cosmic cycles which bring about a rebalancing of the whole earth, sometime in the days to come. We don't know the day or the hour, but we’re ready.
This is the rhythm of the Word in motion. The spirit of the Archangel moving in the vast creative processes—coming to focus right now. In the midst of everything, this morning we have another golden opportunity to say, together: Here I am, Lord, present to speak the Word of truth. By the Word all things are made. The Word is with God and the Word is God. The Archangel is the Word and the angels who compose His Body are His Words made flesh. This is us, and many others. He is the Supreme One, the Master of the Temple of the Archangelic Body.
We know that we are not here for our own personal satisfaction as mere human beings, although we relish being here as human beings, awake or awakening, and expressing all these things. We know that we are His Words in expression, representing the spirit of the Master of the Temple. He is the One who sent each of us into the world to express His spirit, His Word differentiated in unique and fitting ways through each angel incarnate, and to sustain that expression through everything we do each day. This is uppermost in consciousness always. Except the Lord build the Body Temple, they labor in vain that build it.
Last June 18th John Gray spoke these words: “From a high place we may know that a really big wedding is taking place, taking form now.” ‘And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.’ The event of truly cosmic import is the marriage of the Prince of Peace with his body of many members on earth.” The Prince of Peace, the Supreme One, the Archangel and His Body of many members—these names and images are hallowed to us, representing what is most sacred and joyous—filling our consciousness with grace, and with a quiet but burning and passionate enthusiasm, with ease, and a calm assurance that is natural when we live in His presence. And we are always, whether consciously aware of it or not, we are always in His presence. We may increasingly be conscious of that fact.
Recently, in Oregon, Anne and I had a creative conversation with John Gray and a few other friends, including Don Hynes and Jonathan Shanker. Jonathan used the phrase, “the Upper Room,” suggesting to us all that there is something significant here that we might well pay attention to. Here are some words by the Master from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 22. “And He said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ... the goodman of the house ... shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.” These words are related to past events, but they also refer to this Age and this time. We have met the man bearing the pitcher of water, and we have followed him into the House. And the goodman of the House has shown us the furnished Upper Room and instructed us on the preparations necessary.
And so, this is a joyous day, realizing these things. This is the anniversary of the announcement that was made by the man bearing the pitcher of water—this 87th anniversary of the vibrational proclamation that was made on September 16, 1932 announcing the proceedings which would lead to the consummation of this Cosmic Marriage, that John Gray referred to. And today we mark the outer announcement of that inner engagement that was long ago confirmed, leading in the creative process to the full incarnation of the Archangel in His Body on earth. Looking back just a few years ago, who would have thought that we would be among the ones here to acknowledge what is emerging, taking responsibility for our part in it now, as movement toward this Cosmic Marriage proceeds with absolute assurance, as the Archangel comes forth through His Body. Behold, I come quickly—and in a cosmic sense it is quickly—and My coming changes everything, continually. And nothing on earth can stop this Archangelic action. This is a joyous day for those who are aligned with what is happening.
The Archangelic Body is composed of many working parts—just as in the individual human body—and each part has its place and its function. But a consciousness of what is occurring in the life of the Body first dawns in the head. Being conscious we play our part in the head pattern of the Archangelic Body, a specific part analogous to a Vibrational Gateway in the head of the Body. Other angels play other parts in the whole Body—we know this. But we enter the earth and the world through this particular Vibrational Gateway—part of the whole Body—this Upper Room, through this Vibrational Gateway. We know the implications of this through our experience in attunement. Through this Vibrational Gateway, by reason of this Upper Room, we are here to allow a greater outpouring of radiation now, and in the days to come. Within the spirit and the substance of this radiation are the essences of the blueprint for the formation of the Body in this cycle now. In every phase of development there is considerable flexibility—there must be—in the implementation of the blueprint, under the Law. And there are also patterns that are fixed.
Considering this 87th anniversary that opened this new year, ours is a joyous cosmology and this is a joyous day—as we enter this 3rd year of the 13th seven-year cycle since that announcement made on September 16, 1932. This 3rd year is on an earth vibration. This current seven-year cycle, which began in 2016, is characterized by water, the spirit and substance of truth, wherein the design for this specific part of the Archangelic Body, this Vibrational Gateway, is being re-focalized under the hand of the Master—as must occur with every generational change if spiritual continuity is to be sustained by the angels incarnate at the moment of every change. Human beings take so long to wake up, if they ever do; and they die so young, really; and it all needs to be re-focalized frequently as the cycle proceeds. This is such a time of change. So, very close to us we have a water-earth field—within a much vaster cosmic pneumaplasmic field—but emphasizing new and delicate patterns emerging now.
So, this is a joyous day, when we rightly acknowledge and quietly celebrate the Victory Pattern of the Ages—the continuum of victory that is with us. The yoke is easy and the burden is light, when we have no personal ambitions as human beings that we inject into this very clear pattern and precisely orchestrated creative cycle. How vital that we remain in vibrant, openhearted love-union, responsive to the Word of the Master of the Temple of the Archangelic Body. Such open and mature angelic response to Him provides assurance, a calming factor within the whole awakening Body—assurance that we are present and active within this cycle of the Great Marriage. And that we can be absolutely counted upon as His instruments, always available for the radiation of His coming forth.
A large Upper Room furnished: there make ready—prepare the space of accord. Let there be no discords in the atmosphere of this Upper Room: no ill spirits expressed, no harshness of tone, no striving, no off-key vibrations, no judgments one of another, no jockeying, no power struggles, no competitions. All of these elements lead to failure and sorrow. We could have examined a litany of such failures today—we can face such facts too, as necessary. But today we acknowledge and celebrate the Victory Pattern, an unbroken continuum. Let there be a sea of glass clear as crystal in hearts yielded and open to Him, and to one another, that there may be a substantial Upper Room, a sanctuary made ready, a setting sustained for the cycles of outpouring that are essential to the fulfillment which comes at His appointed times.
I am very thankful for all who have held this focus clear over the past many years, bringing us to this point now. And with this, John—over to you, with thanksgiving for the Word that you are, a good friend of us all, and a man after God's own heart.
John Gray — The upper room you spoke of, David, has been established forever. It's been lost to human experience for the most part, but it is nevertheless present. In moments like this we sense the atmosphere of this upper room and the power that moves through it as the Word finds expression. Indeed, this is a joyous time, and there's big stuff happening! We don't try to have it all figured out in our heads, but just accept it in our hearts.
Life is God's gift to every human being. Many, many people would nod in general agreement with that statement, perhaps with little or no examination into what it really means. The fact is, a person is alive only because there is an individual, personal source of that life present. This means the giver of the gift is right here, present, now. Contrary to what some believe, human beings neither make nor own their own lives. The animating life energy is a gift constantly emerging and emanating from the divine being, the angel, incarnate in each human body, mind and heart. Though freely and liberally bestowed, the gift of life is not intended to be used for self-serving purposes. It is a gift, yes, but also an investment.
In the original Latin invest means “to clothe”. A human being is invisible spirit clothed in human flesh. The verb incarnate literally means “to make flesh.” From the human perspective it's true to say that God is invested in you and me and everyone, and all of us together. In everyday usage investment usually refers to something financial, as in the acquisition of property with the expectation that its value will go up over time. A dictionary definition reads “to put money to use, by purchase or expenditure, in something offering potential profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.” That's the first definition I found in an online dictionary, but there were several others with it: “To use give or devote (as time, talent etc.) for a purpose or to achieve something;” “To furnish or endow with power and authority;” “To endow with a quality or virtue;” “To infuse or belong to.”
When I read the word investment so defined, I was still for some minutes, letting these meanings flow through my mind and heart. Then I wrote these words: “I, this incarnate angel, am invested in this man called John. I give him light and life, and I devote my loving presence to the purpose of manifesting on earth through him. To this end I endow him with power and authority in my name, infusing him with the qualities of my spirit. He belongs to me and we are one.”
In the human world, investing involves some risk. From the angelic perspective this is so as well. What are the chances that a given human mind and heart will awaken at all to the presence of the incarnating angel? Beyond that, what is the probability that the awakening consciousness will become responsive and yielded enough to orient in and to the Lord within? And further yet, will that heart and mind become so centered in, so receptive to, so filled with spirit, that angelic identity is accepted and known? From the angelic viewpoint, incarnating on earth is a risky investment.
You probably know that the origin of the English word angel is the Greek angelos meaning “messenger, envoy, one that announces.” Those who start to hear the divine message perceive it at first to be coming from a source external, from someone else. But that voice of another gradually finds such resonance in our own hearts that we turn to see the inner voice that is announcing his or her presence, and come face-to-face with the one I Am.
In poetic language from the Old Testament of the Bible, “The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.” We see this applies to the personal “earth”—each physical body with its mind and heart—as well as to planet Earth, our solar system, and all of creation. From the individual angel to the greatest Archangel of Archangels, everything is His.
In the human world of finance, the term return on investment is one way of relating profits to capital invested. Without getting overly technical about it, return on investment is a performance measure used by businesses to identify the efficiency of an investment. The measurement is in terms of money, often expressed as a percentage or rate of return.
God invests in human flesh. What is the return on this angelic investment? It's not money, but a different substance altogether, the coin of another realm. Many of us call it spiritual substance, the substance that connects invisible spirit and visible material form. It is heavenly substance. This extensive range of substance is generated or spiritualized from earthly substance, to the degree that the earthly substance is responsive to spirit in expression. The more that response is attuned to spirit, the more heavenly substance is generated and the more completely the incarnate angel manifests.
The problem here on earth is that this small piece of the Father's business has been performing poorly, indeed failing. Without an acceptable return on investment, human investors tend to pull their money out of an underperforming business and move it into something more promising. Well, the Lord could pull the plug on the humanity venture any time, but hasn’t. What patience and divine grace!
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise [we might substitute investment for promise] but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9) To repent is to turn—to turn in the direction of response away from the material world and to the incarnate angel. In the world the way it is, money is the means of manipulating material things, of influencing people, of making things happen. It serves as a substitute for spiritual substance. The world that is thus produced is a substitute also—it's not the real one. Socially, economically, ecologically, politically, you name it, the man-made world is very tenuous and fragile.
