Let light increase. It always is a matter of letting it be so. No struggle, no human effort. The increase of light permits the increase of vision. There certainly is need for that increase of vision. Without vision, the people perish. But the increase of light is the increase of creative power by which essential changes are wrought, so that all might be included in the creative processes of restoration. Individually we have the ability to let the light shine and increase in its shining because responsibility is taken for one’s world.
It might be useful to consider something in this connection which relates to the dissolution of the veil of human nature, so that the light might increase. This morning we were considering again the matter of judgment. We may be inclined to think of this in terms of our association with other people and circumstances. I trust we do think of it that way and are exercised in the matter of relinquishing judgment, one of another and of our circumstances. This is essential if the light is to shine. When we speak of these things, the elementary ABC (Accusation, Blame, Criticism), it means little until it becomes specific in our living experience. We are all experts, I’m sure, in describing what is necessary. We can all talk at length about it. But here is the road to failure unless we specifically see the fact of our own specific judgments in daily experience.
So there is much to be looked at, which is brought to us moment by moment — we don’t have to go searching for it — because anything that is brought to you will, according to old habits, be judged. But anything that comes, whatever it may be — and it will come in specific ways day by day — is there to determine as to whether one still is in the kindergarten capacity, learning ABC. Presumably when we learn that, we can go on to higher learning. But if we don’t know our ABCs we’re stuck in kindergarten, and I’m sure no one is anxious to spend the rest of their days in kindergarten. No wonder things seem so dull and routine-like, if one has never gotten out of kindergarten. Of course to a young child first going in, that’s very exciting. And, I'm sure, entering into the experience of life on earth seemed, back along the way, to be a very exciting thing. But then somehow or other we got sidetracked, never having learned our ABCs. So the excitement tends to pall, and we have to hype it up somehow. At least this is the usual human view. As I mentioned this morning, there are matters of danger that excite people. They do all sorts of crazy things because it’s dangerous and they get a thrill out of it — that is, if they survive! That’s a very unnatural state of affairs and gives no indication of the true fulfilment that may be known once judgment is left behind.
As human beings we all fell pretty low. Many people talk about the fall. And it’s a fact. We got down into the muck and the mire where we don’t belong. We find ourselves somewhat stuck in the muck and the mire, wondering how to get out of it. This is a common experience to many people. They would like to shake it off somehow but cannot do so because of their own attitudes of judgment; that keeps them at the level where they don’t belong. What was it that brought people to that level? The eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of judgment. This is done in very specific ways; and we have to meet those specific ways and let them clear, so that when something comes to us and the habit of judgment arises we are there consciously to deal with this event. It may be a jerky experience to start with. We have to stop and say, “No, I shouldn’t be judging here. It doesn’t matter how justified I am in the reasons for this judgment, it is the judgment itself that keeps me embedded in this fallen condition.” Why should one try to justify oneself for staying in the fallen condition? That seems rather foolish. Well every time one justifies one’s judgments one is doing that, taking another lease on the fallen condition and staying where one doesn’t belong. There are many implications to this. We necessarily think of it in terms of our daily experience. But there are many background factors that are present with us that also hold us from coming clear so that we may rise above this human condition.
I was thinking a little about our use of the Bible, and particularly of that portion of the Bible which purportedly describes to us the Master’s presence and experience on earth. We have something here which has come alive for us so that it is no longer merely a story in a book. It has come alive to a certain degree.
Christians talk about Jesus Christ. We may speak of our KING. When it comes right down to it, what’s the difference? There is a character described here in the Gospels. This is a story. No one really knows where it came from. There has been a certain amount of effort to find what might be referred to as the historical Jesus, rather than the Jesus of the Gospels. I think it is fairly safe to say that no one has been very successful in this. Many ideas have been put forward as to the nature of the Jesus of the Gospels. Where did this character come from? Was it a real character? If you’re trying to make it so by looking at the form of things you will come up with an image. And human beings, obviously, have come up with an image. I’m thinking of this particularly in the Christian world; and I suppose most of us have had some sort of a background of Christianity, certainly from the standpoint of heredity in many ways, of generations and generations of people who read this story in the Bible and assumed that it was true and that it had reference to some certain particular character. However, as I say, when you start looking for that character, historically speaking, you don’t find him.
There are those who have postulated the idea that the Jesus of the Gospels was invented out of the characters of certain historical personages, maybe a couple of them or more. Well, someone was quite bright, evidently, if this was done. Of course it is true that the Jesus of the Gospels largely supports the building of the Christian religion. So presumably the things that are there were there because they did support this human effort. More recently of course there have been what are called the Dead Sea Scrolls, which have described another character. No doubt there has been a suppression back along the way of certain aspects of what it was that appeared on earth, in order to make possible the building of the doctrine of Christianity. This is not exceptional, mind you. You can look into this from the standpoint of other religions too.
But all I am saying here is that, insofar as we are concerned, we have seen Jesus very largely through the eyes of the Gospels. However we have also seen something which went beyond that, because there has been some sort of a living experience, something that we have had in our own experience which transcends the form. We don’t need the form, really, to tell us what the experience is. It’s something that springs forth into expression in our living if we will let it, let the light shine. The idea has been, for the most part, in the Christian world at least, “Look at the light.” The light was Jesus, Jesus of the Gospels. The statement has been made a number of times that all history is fiction. Are we to exclude this?
We have all, I’m sure, established images in consciousness relative to Jesus. There are those who not only established them in consciousness but let them come out in the form of wood or stone or the painting of a picture, whatever. Is there anything much different between having an image only in consciousness and letting that image externalize itself in some artistic expression? You have to have the image in consciousness first; and I think virtually everyone has had the image in consciousness, an image which was largely based in the story of the Gospels. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” Oh, well we didn’t get around to doing it in stone, or in wood, or painting a picture. Actually some have painted pictures of the image they had in consciousness. But everybody had the image in consciousness, in whatever measure and whatever it seemed to be. I am suggesting that this must be relinquished. It must dissolve.
We find ourselves in a situation somewhat like what was spoken of in this story when Mary Magdalene was in the garden — again according to the Gospel — and couldn’t find the body of Jesus. There was someone there whom she questioned: “They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.” I would suggest that everybody needs to come to that point. Here is an image which people cling to; it’s very precious to them. We have stories in the Old Testament about people who had very precious images. One lady sat on them in her tent. But one cannot experience the truth if one clings to an image, even the image of Jesus. How then can the truth be known? Well we are aware of the way. But fundamentally it is taking the same position in one’s own world as Jesus was purported to have done in His. That’s the only way you could find out what the truth is. There are those perhaps who have tried in various ways to get back two thousand years to the events of that day, but no one was very successful — this, in order to find out what it was that really happened. We don’t need to go back there because all that is real is here now. The truth can be known now.
An aspect of judgment is this business of setting up an image. Thou shalt not make unto thee any image or a likeness of anything, even in the heaven above, certainly not in the earth beneath, though everybody has done that. Everybody has worshipped their external idols and been largely governed by what is present in the water under the earth, in other words the subconscious elements that come out of the past through heredity and in various ways. But there has been a deliberate setting up of an image of Jesus Christ in the Christian world, and other images in various ways in other religious doctrines. The view is: “There is the light” — the image is the light. One may feel rather self-righteous by reason of the fact that one may not have externalized one’s image, but you still have it. If you are an artist perhaps you could externalize it. And there are people of course who seek to externalize it in their living. This would require a very, very good person, if we are considering the Jesus of the Gospels. A lot of people don’t like that idea too much because they think it might end in crucifixion anyway. It isn’t a matter of trying to imitate Jesus according to one’s image of Him. Immense numbers of people have endeavored to do this, to make a facsimile of Jesus. What blasphemy!
The only way to discover what the truth is is to be it. You can’t be it if you think it’s over there somewhere, even if it’s over there simply in consciousness. So there is something to be relinquished here, simply because one assumes the responsibility of standing in the place where we have an awareness that He stood relative to the world. It is said in the Gospel that He wasn’t sent into the world to condemn the world. Well we weren’t sent into the world to condemn the world. That’s a pretty straightforward statement. Certainly in order to condemn the world we would have to judge it first presumably. Then, having satisfied ourselves with our judgment, we could hand out the sentence: condemn the world, condemn people — involvement with ABC. Let it dissolve, that we may relinquish the image and accept the responsibility.
The image has always been valuable to people because it helped them to feel right about not accepting the responsibility. If one can have an image to worship, well, provided that image is at the very peak — and in the Christian world that would be Jesus Christ, presumably — then one doesn’t need to assume the responsibility that He, even in the story, suggested that we should. As long as we have an image, there is something separate from us, and we remain in the identity of human nature. Human-nature identity is the identity that is separate from the truth; and if we see an image, obviously we have an identity still which is separate from the truth. So I think it is well due that we should realize that “they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.” We don’t need to know, because each individual assumes the responsibility of being the truth.
Nobody can ever assume that responsibility and identity as long as the human-nature identity persists. So, clearly, one must come to that point, somewhere along the line. I think most of us have been sidling up to it a little. But the truth is now. It’s not in the past. It’s not in any image that we could create in consciousness. There are those who have tried desperately to do this. They have read the Bible with such care and application, seeking to find that truth. Well of course it isn’t there. The truth is here. The truth is in the individual himself or herself. Only when it comes out can he know it or she know it. Let the light increase.
Grace Van Duzen — Martin, what is being taken away is the graven image and not the Lord. Surely to see this is the greatest thing that has ever happened, and to see it at this time of year when a lie is celebrated. And we can actually say that and not be struck dead. Maybe the crucifixion and the ascension can be included in all of this which has been perpetrated deliberately, so that the monstrous hoax that has covered the face of the earth has allowed this thing to grow on earth that is called the body of man, and the world. I thank God that the Word is invisible. The Word is here; thank God it has remained and is here. We know that Word. But we are not afraid to call a lie a lie. And the Word can only find flesh and be clothed by each one of us as that lie is allowed to dissolve. I thank God for this.
YouTube Video
Lord Exeter — Each individual may say for him- or herself, “I only can know the truth for myself.” And one knows the truth for oneself when one assumes the stance exactly where the truth is. We come to this particular season of the year which emphasizes the possibility of being the truth. This is not the usual emphasis: the truth was over there somewhere, in the past, a little baby. Oh how delightful, how romantic, how precious! A precious image. And that precious image comes out, takes form, doesn’t it? — usually through children who are inveigled into this. It may be all right for a child, but adults have been trapped in a lie, worshipping a lie, never accepting the responsibility to be the truth and therefore know it. It is presumed that someone else knows the truth, or knew the truth — in this instance, Jesus — therefore “He can tell me the truth; He can acquaint me with the truth.” Never. The human identity can never know the truth because the human identity is a lie in the first place. But we can relinquish that lie and accept the responsibility for our worlds, individually, in exactly the same way that we have discovered, through association with the experience of it, that whoever Jesus was did.
But we are not concerned with that now; we are concerned with this now, and what is done now, what I do now, where my identity is now. If it is still human-nature identity I will judge, I will condemn, I will justify this stand because it supports my human identity. But it is necessary to come to the point where there is no concern in relinquishing the human identity. Somewhere along the way the human identity is forcibly relinquished, at that point with no means of preventing it. But it may be done now because the assumption of the identity of the truth is taken: I was not sent into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through me, might be saved — not through half a dozen other people, but through me. Of course the human view then would say, “Well that’s arrogance.” No, it requires the utmost humility, the complete relinquishment of one’s human identity.
Have we not been moving toward this point? Is it a point ever to be reached, do you think? Or is it just always a little over the horizon? We see these things because there has been some experience of them. We have been associated in letting the light shine, at least to some extent. And so we begin to know. But finally we cease our reluctance and stand where we belong, as individuals, not looking to someone else to do it. To the extent that we do take a stand we may know that others will do it, and that we find ourselves together as one, in one body with one mind and one heart. It isn’t quite that way yet, is it? What have we been doing? Let the light increase in me because I assume the responsibility of letting it be so.
In this hour, if you will, I should like very much to give you an opportunity to have a deeper knowing, a clearer vision, of my KING. I have presented you before Him, and according to your response He has received you; and now I would let you know something more about Him.
In the world it is considered to be a great honor to have a moment in which to meet the president of our great country and perhaps to shake his hand, or to be presented at court before some king or queen. And I would not detract from that. But if that be an honor, then the privilege of presentation before the KING of Kings is far greater still. And perhaps one of the greatest impressions of this hour is, and will be, a deep spirit of thankfulness for the reality of eternity; for it will take that long to come to know all that He has in store for you. There may be many wonderful and great impressions to begin with, but he who sees and knows enough to have any real impression will not have the impression that he knows Him fully. I have served our KING for many, many thousands of years and more. I have served with Him, in the particular capacity which I have at the present moment in His Court, since long before the beginning of the creation of this earth. He was gracious enough, and kind enough, to grant me the privilege of serving in a responsible position in His Court, long, long ago. There is no need for the mind to speculate as to what the pattern was before that. You could not comprehend it, in any case. But some of you have sometimes wondered, perhaps marveled a little, at my personal attitude in relationship to my KING. Every sort of human pressure in circumstance and in loss has been brought to bear to make me, or try to make me, violate my agreement with Him. When I talk to you about creation I may be using Biblical texts to help you to understand, but I was there. I remember it and know it as you remember the things of yesterday. And I came into the world at this time to offer assistance to any man or any woman [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/establishing-control-pattern.html] anywhere, of any race or color or creed, who might be inspired to want to know and serve my KING.
Yes, to know Him is to love Him, and to love Him is to begin to know Him. But the human mind tends to run into certain patterns of limitation in consciousness, in concept, idea. If you try to picture Him as you would a man, the vision will fall short, and yet we saw Him on earth a little while ago as a man, and in our hours of togetherness we have meditated often and much upon the words He spoke, upon the life He lived, the things He did. We can see Him to some degree as He was made manifest in the form of a man, and the life He lived engendered a very great love response in the world, and even though it be on a distorted pattern, the influence of His presence on earth is extended into all countries, all places. And to some degree there is love for Him, but all too often it is love that is easily forgotten under the pressure of the circumstance of some moment in life, something that for the moment is crowded out of consciousness, and the individual may in such a circumstance speak or act without regard to that love, without regard for the KING. But as we learn to truly love Him we find that there is nothing that can make us forget. No pressure of circumstance, no pain, no sorrow, no loss that can come to man on earth, can make us forget, not even for a moment.
When I approach such a presentation as this I feel very keenly the limitations of words, the limitation of the symbolical means of portrayal. I have heard it said, more or less facetiously, with respect to the possibility when I may run out of words and wonder just how to say it, “That will be the day.” Well this is the day. This is the day, because no words of mine can adequately portray. So we must be in communion in spirit, that through the Spirit of the Word you may perceive to some degree that which I would portray for you in this brief hour. There is one thing to remember: One cannot live and move and have his being on the basis of a citizen of a Kingdom unless one is keenly conscious of the King. If you are a citizen of a Kingdom and you are not conscious of the King of the Kingdom, having love, loyalty—not just admiration, not just respect, but deep devotion—you cannot possibly function in relationship to a kingdom; for there is no Kingdom without a King. And the meaningfulness of a Kingdom depends upon the King, and if there be no awareness of the King there is no awareness of the Kingdom. Our concern in this hour is that there should be, now and forevermore, an awareness of the KING of the Kingdom. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/passion-for-king-martin-exeter-june-7.html]
YouTube Audio
It is not that I would attempt to describe Him to you. I could describe perhaps, in limited words, the manner of His appearance when He walked among men nearly two thousand years ago. Some of the pictures give some little idea, but none of them are true. They are the imaginations of human beings. But He carried not a pompousness but a simple dignity which portrayed, for those eyes which could see, a true greatness. He never acted, even when man was rejecting Him, as if He was less than Himself. He had no need to try to exaggerate the appearance of Himself, but He never depreciated it: His bearing—not as of a King according to the concepts of men, but always the KING as revealed from the standpoint of heavenly things—a ruggedness, a gentleness; unassuming but powerful. I have seen strong men wilt before a single glance of His eye, and I have seen those who seemed to be weak thrill and be uplifted by a look. I have seen patterns of attunement established in a few seconds, in an instant it might seem, whereby one word in form meant more than could ever be spoken in words—by reason of the Spirit of the Word, by what was conveyed in just a word or two.
So often human beings are inclined to try to analyze the words He spoke according to the record on the basis of simply thinking of them as words that any man might have spoken, just as one might read a story; but it does not work. The words have meaning as one finds attunement with His Spirit, and then one begins to have a feeling as if the words were almost unnecessary; just a gentle, gracious touch to make it easier for finite human minds to grasp. Over and over again certain of His disciples tried to establish, with their talk to others, an idea, an attitude, which would promote Him as a King according to human concepts, and it always grieved Him. And He would by some gesture, some word, make all the talk seem to be as chaff before the wind, to be blown away. Over and over again certain of His disciples tried to establish an environment, a pattern, which would show Him off to advantage according to their ideas, and by a gesture or a word He would make it seem to be as nothing, and Oh they would be hurt. They were trying to do something for Him because they loved Him, they said; but they were trying to decide what the setting would be, trying to shape it according to their ideas, and over and over again, because they did not learn easily—some of them never learned—He made all their labors to be as nothing. And they could not understand why He should be so heartless, so cruel, why He would hurt them so, because, after all, they were trying to do something for Him. Some of them never got the idea that He was not concerned about trying to be a King of some little earthly Kingdom, that He was KING of Kings and that His Kingdom included all the Kingdoms of this World.
Sometimes human ideas have pictured somehow that He had a whole host of angels, and faithful saints, and one thing and another, trailing around behind Him in heaven, and everywhere He went in heaven He would be followed by this vast host of angels and saints, all shouting continually some sort of praise, or the idea of glory. I can think of nothing that would tend to turn heaven into hell for Him more quickly than that. It is developed out of a misunderstanding, a misinterpretation of something, it is true. Follow Him, follow His lead, follow out the vibrational pattern; but not a physical following, to be crowding around Him every minute, as if He just could not be left by Himself. Well probably He is not too much by Himself, but following Him in that heavenly sense does not mean just tagging along like a puppy dog, just to be physically there. It means functioning in their place in the Pattern of the Kingdom, so that if the cycle be initiated through Him, if something is opening up, then they are with Him, they follow His lead whithersoever He goeth; which is to say, in the cycles of the unfolding of time, in the determination of the patterns of creation in the processes of living. The coordination, the harmony, is being pictured, not of a vast group of saints or angels hovering about and trying to crowd in close and hoping, just hoping, that Angel So-and-So would get out “so I could get up there. Oh, Saint So-and-So, when will you ever move? You've been there such a long time; I'd like to get over there.” No, no crowding; no need of it; no pushing, no shoving—to follow Him as the KING because He is the KKING.
And how did He become the KING? Oh I could tell you something about it, but not too much of it can be put into human words. But I will tell you this. He became the KING for two reasons. We all wanted Him to be the KING, and His KING, His point of Focalization in Deity on beyond, selected Him—not just arbitrarily, but He selected Him; for He in turn has a KING, you know. In any case, from above and from below He was selected. Why? Because we all loved Him. Because it was His right and His place. From the standpoint of the Divine Design there isn't any question about “Well now, how long is He going to be KING? Maybe I can be KING someday. Maybe we'll depose Him and put somebody else in.” No, from that standpoint we might say that it is completely autocratic—completely autocratic. We do not cast votes in heaven and say, “Well now, I'd like to have a new KING.” He is there, and from the standpoint of those who know Him there is never any question about wishing someone else could be KING for a while. Why? Because He fits; because it is a perfect place for Him.
The vastness of His love, the wonder of His patience, all of the things that enter into it—I cannot begin to describe them all. But He is a KING of Kings. Those who serve with Him never wonder, “Now do you suppose that He'll back me up, that He'll help me see this through, meet this situation?” There is stability. We never think, “Perhaps the KING will have some vagrant fancy this morning and turn things upside down.” No, we can depend upon Him, and He acts as if—in relationship to some, at least—He can depend upon them. It is a good feeling. If we can depend upon Him, then He should be able to depend upon us; and if we are ever to know how true it is that we can depend upon Him we must reach a point where He can depend upon us, and make it stick. We never wonder if He will have power enough to do what needs to be done, if He will be patient enough, or if He will love enough. Those who serve with Him and are aware of Him know that He has the power; there is no question but what it is His Kingdom. They know the power is there. They do not go forth from His Court wondering, “Now do you suppose it can be done?”
If He gives a commission, as He has given one to me, for instance, it never occurs to me to waste any time wondering, “Do you suppose it can be done?” If the KING said to do it, well then we just do it. That is all. And no ifs, maybes about it. We just do it. How? Well then, that is our business; it is my business. Do you think He tells me every turn to make? No, if He gives a commission it is given, and then, in this instance, it is my business. If someone thinks that he or she would have done it in some other way, probably that person doesn't know anything about nine-tenths of the factors involved. But when it comes down to it, it is my business, a commission, a job to do. So we do not question and say among ourselves, “Do you suppose it can be done?”—argue the thing pro and con. We don't have that kind of a King. We would not have a commission unless it could be done. And for those who know Him truly there is just simply never any thought of possibly disobeying Him. He doesn't make life miserable, setting up a lot of dos and don'ts, trying to tell you how to turn around, what to do on every occasion. No, His commands are simple, His expectations just; and if we really know Him it simply never occurs to us that we might disobey. Disobey? What would that be, to disappoint Him? Well, for myself, I would rather cease to be for the rest of eternity than to disappoint Him. No. Some of you have seen it put to the test. There is never any question that enters the minds of those who know Him, “I wonder if I can get out of it? Do you suppose I just have to do that? I don't want to do that, but I guess I'll have to; it's my duty. I'm serving the King, so it's my duty now; I'll have to go out and do that, but I'd rather not.” No, any person who talks like that has not come to know Him, because if we know Him there isn't anything that we would rather do than what He wants us to. It doesn't make any difference.
You may say, “Well, then, His slightest wish would be command?” Well, as far as I am concerned it would—His slightest wish an absolute command. And it would never occur to me to wish something else. “But what about this matter of free choice? What about living an individual life? That must mean, then, that you're just sort of an automaton. If He wishes that, why, without any questioning, without any anything, you just go do it?” Wait till you start to do it and then see if you don't have plenty of chance to live, plenty of chance to use all your intelligence, plenty of chance to express your individuality. We do not try to express our individuality in the sense of arguing with the KING. If He gives a commission, well then that is the commission, and it is not a matter of “I'd rather do that”; because if it were, you would not have the commission. And as long as you have a case of “I'd rathers,” you will never have a real commission. You may begin to move toward it, but one of the most devastating things is a peculiar disease that tends to show up around the Borders of the Kingdom—you know, sort of a no-man's-land there where you are coming across the Border. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/the-work-is-not-finishedborderland.html] People very often get an attack of “I'd rathers.” “I'd rather do that, I'd rather do the other, I'd rather do something else.” It is a funny thing, there is an absolute quarantine at the Border, and those who have “I'd rathers” cannot get in. It is an absolute quarantine, and anyone afflicted with “I'd rathers” has to stay out until he gets well—or dies, and then he stays out of course.
Once we begin to be citizens of the Kingdom, servants of the KING, there is just one thing. We have found that the greatest pleasure that we can know, the deepest satisfaction, the highest ecstasy, the greatest fulfilment, comes as we serve with Him—not against Him. And if you think He doesn't give us plenty of chance to exercise all of our capacities and to prove ourselves as individuals you are very wrong. No, He doesn't try to think for us, He doesn't try to act for us. He gives us a chance to be and to do, if we are ready—if we are ready. But in this we have learned, speaking from the outer standpoint of consciousness, that man's idea about opposites is so false. So many people have the idea that you cannot have pleasure without some pain. Self-active pleasure does bring some pain, that is true; but heavenly pleasure, the joy, the satisfaction, does not have an aftermath of pain. And there is no joy that a human being can know, or think that he can know, in disregarding the things of God but what he can know fulfilling the things of God. God made the body and all of its parts. God gave us our various capacities. There is not one single thing that man might call pleasure, that he wants to do self-actively, but what he could do creatively in the Kingdom. He does not have to lose. God does not take away the pleasures. He gives us an opportunity to have pleasure without pain, joy without sadness, life without death, victory without defeat. You do have to have defeat before you can have victory, but He does not rub it in. You find that the moment you let yourself be defeated in a contest with Him, you share His victory, because He is that kind of a KING. The moment you let Him win, you become the honored guest. You may say, “Well I'd like to be the honored guest without letting Him win.” It will not work, I might as well tell you. It just will not work. And it doesn't mean that you have to have some of that characteristic that emerges in the patterns of distortion, of licking someone's boots, so to speak. No. Human beings sometimes assume that that is what it is. But you see, my attitude is taken from my KING's attitude; I have the same pattern to go by. And when you acknowledge defeat you have won, and then you do not have to be defeated anymore.
But there isn't anything more futile than trying to defeat my KING. He lives in an absolutely impregnable place where human beings cannot get to Him. Their guns and their bombs cannot reach His castle; they cannot fly there in an airplane; they cannot die and go there to try to get the job done. They cannot reach Him—impregnable. And another thing about it is that trying to wait until He dies, so that you can work out a change of situation, will not work either, because you will die first. Trying to defeat my KING is absolutely the most futile, foolish and senseless business I can possibly think of. He is that kind of a KING. If you destroy yourself—no matter how much misery you put yourself in and say, “Well if I suffer enough maybe He'll yield then”—oh no, He won't. I don't care what you do. Millions and billions of human beings have tried it before you and never succeeded. He is that kind of a KING. It doesn't make any difference how much you make yourself suffer, how much of a martyr you make of yourself, or how sorry you are for yourself. You either do it His way or not at all. And He will not change one tiny, little law for you. It is absolute. He will not change one tiny, little law, no matter how much you suffer, no matter how you try to persuade Him, begging or anything else. It makes absolutely no difference. You can go through a life of misery and die, or millions like you, or billions like you, and He still would not change a single law. Sometimes people imagine that He had one set of laws a long time ago and He has a different set of laws now. No, that is not true—exactly the same set of laws that were established in the beginning when man was first created. And they are at work now, the same laws, the same circumstances, the same situation. We either obey or we do not; and if we do not, well then we bring the consequences on ourselves. And we can suffer as long as we can continue to exist and He would not change one tiny, little law to get you to stop suffering. No, you will have to change to fit the law, because He will not change the law to fit you. He is that kind of a KING. If that were not so, the rest of us would not have anything to depend on.
Suppose you did petition Him to change the law a little bit to fit you, and the rest of us woke up the next morning and we were going to do it this way, but now, “Oh that law is changed, is it? How come it's changed?” “So-and-so prayed to have that law changed and I thought I'd just let so-and-so have his way.” Oh, who is KING, after all? Who is? We know where our KING is, and we do not have to wonder if He is going to change the laws overnight because someone thought they prayed a prayer and asked Him to. So you can wear yourself out contending with Him if it pleases you, but it will not do you any good. No matter how much you suffer, no matter how much you wail, no matter how much you fuss and fume, you know it will not make Him change anything—not anything. That is why He is dependable, because the rest of us know that we can depend on His laws to work. And as soon as you realize that, you can let yourself change, stop fighting with Him, and begin to enjoy the blessings of those laws. And you will not say, “Well why does God permit war? Why does He permit the other thing?” “Oh, because human beings are contending with His laws. They refuse to let His law control, so let them suffer.” He does not want them to suffer. He is offering the love; but no matter how much, how many people suffer, He will not change His laws one iota. They are absolute, and there is nothing more futile than trying to get Him to change a law or to contend with Him or fight with Him in any way. He is that kind of a KING. He is my KING, and I would advise strongly that you begin to realize that working with His laws you can have every blessing in heaven and earth. Work against Him and you will make yourself miserable, until your body turns to a corpse, and you will gain nothing.
You see, actually, when there was war in heaven and man's consciousness was cast out of heaven here on earth, I had something to do with it. [greatcosmicstory.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-one-great-intercessor.html] And my KING did not have to fight, He did not have to raise a hand, He did not have to brandish a sword. He did not even have to say, “Get out of here,” to the dragon and his angels. It was all done for Him, absolutely. He did not have to turn a hand over. He doesn't have to fight, He doesn't have to contend. And in fact He does not—He is that kind of a KING—because whatever needs to be done someone does it for Him. And it wouldn't make any difference if it took the death of ten billion people, or any other number! No, or any other number. No! A hundred billion—let them die if they refuse to learn. God has no pleasure in the death of them that die. My KING doesn't. But your suffering and your dying, your doing anything, your complaining, your fretting, your stewing, will not change Him. But you can let yourself be changed and begin to enjoy His Kingdom. And it is a wonderful place and He is a wonderful kING. What I have said cannot be anything more than just the faintest of a suggestion. I cannot tell you what a wonderful KING He is. But if you stop fighting with Him and begin to work with Him, after enough time in the cycles of eternity has gone by, you will begin to know. And I thank God for the privilege of serving Him by serving you who turn toward Him.
So let us serve together. As we truly serve together here on earth, serving our LORD and KING no matter what the limitations, no matter what seems to be against us, we know that it will be done. We can afford to wait. Of course we have plenty to do, but it doesn't have to be just so today. If someone has not learned a lesson yet, let them suffer it out a little more. Let it be stirred; perhaps they will wake up. We can wait. The human being in self-activity cannot. He cannot afford it, so he tries to rush things. But you cannot rush heaven and you cannot rush my KING. It will not work. But there are plenty of things waiting to be received by you, and by all who will become worthy, dependable, loyal citizens of His Kingdom. God bless you and keep you in the Way, and let us serve our KING forever. Aum-en.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
We all have the opportunity of sharing this service this morning, bringing a Gift to the LORD, and also a Gift to the children of men. It is well and fitting that we should take time in this day to be together in Oneness of Spirit, aware of purpose and in position to provide what is right and needful now. This day has dawned over the earth. Perhaps we here on the west coast of North America are about the last to have come to that dawning. I am thinking particularly of those who are consciously aware of True Purpose and who share this day on that basis. Most of those who are consciously aware of True Purpose, the Reality of Being, having a certain measure of experience in this regard, have awakened and are present with us in these moments.
In oneness of spirit we are assembled in the Presence of the LORD to present the Gift of ourselves in manifest form to Him. We have awakened to an increased awareness of the reality of the Presence of the One whose birth is this day celebrated around the world. We recognize that original birth as a point of conception. That One is present in the Body which He has been forming over the centuries. He is present in that Body in this hour. We share whatever awareness of this to the extent of our own awakening. Certainly we do not look back, any more than as individuals we particularly look back to the point of our conception. We know there was a conception or we wouldn’t be here. But we are here; that would seem to be the point. Exactly the same thing is true with respect to this larger Body in which the LORD, as we have known Him, is incarnate.
No one needs to look for the day of His coming, because the fact of the matter is that He never left. According to the story He was taken up into heaven, and this is assumed to mean that He went someplace else. But we proclaim with our lips at times that heaven and earth are one. His Presence has been constant. As He said, “There am I in the midst.” It has always been so, up to this very hour, and His Body forms in consequence. Because of the Spirit that has been present individually with us we are here. Because of the Spirit which has been present in this larger Body He is here. We may have taken the attitude that He is here; we may be inclined to take that attitude now; but if it is His Body and we are a part of that composition, both in form and in consciousness, then the word is naturally spoken by reason of that Body, “I am here.”
We share this awareness to the extent that we are awake. Those who still slumber may say, “He is here,” or perhaps, “He is at hand,” or “He may be here one day”—there are various levels of understanding—but the truth is to be known, and the truth is that “I am here," and each one of us can say that. Because we can say that, the truth is proclaimed; the Body is present of the One who brings peace, peace on earth, goodwill to men.
Most human beings are not awake; they slumber on. There are those on earth now who are awakening or are awake and who are in position therefore to proclaim the truth. We rejoice this particular day because it is a reminder for all people that conception did take place, that there has been gestation and birth since, and there is One on earth incarnate in His Body who says, “I am here,” and so the Gift is offered to the children of men. Because there are those who have brought the Gift of themselves to the point of awakening, then the Gift which the LORD would give is given to the world, and we find this to be increasingly so. It is given that others also may awaken to the truth. The Word is spoken on earth, in living, not merely in words, although words are spoken.
We all speak words. Do these words that we speak ring true always? What are our words day by day? Is the Word present by reason of our words? What of our attitudes day by day? Is the Word present by reason of our attitudes? What of all aspects of our living, in every detail? Is the Word present because of this? If we are awake it is so. If we are not awake then dreams persist, words are spoken, deeds are done, that do not ring true. Today is the Day when we may well rejoice to be aware of the truth and to be very sure that all that finds release this Day shall be true to the truth, ring true, that it may be so henceforth forever.
There are those who have cried unto the LORD, “O Lord, how long, O Lord.” I would suggest that probably the Lord’s word is, “O human beings, how long, human beings!” Why drag it out? Why not let the truth be known? Why not let the reality of the power of love be the expression of living? What better day is there to experience this in the fulness of our oneness in the Spirit of the Word? Let the Word be spoken this day and in all the days to come because we, with many more, provide a Body and a Consciousness, a facility, by which this may be so, to the Glory of God, to bring the experience of peace on earth and goodwill to men.
Our most gracious LORD, it is our most thankful privilege to be together in these moments here in this Chapel. While we are together in person we have a keen awareness of those who share these moments with us in spirit the world around. We ourselves as human beings have experienced rich blessing, but now Thy Spirit comes forth. We no longer stand merely as human beings on earth but as the angels of the Lord who proclaim in their living the truth of Thy Presence, that all things may be under Thine hand, that Thy dominion may be restored to Thee, and that thereby all things may work together to perfection as the newness of Thy Kingdom is made known, to Thy Glory, in the Christ. Aum-en. Glory to God in the Highest.
We have been studying together the basic theme of Heavenly Magic, and we’ve been going through a process of connecting up, not Truth, but the Vision of Truth, so that you could begin to see it as it has been revealed and recorded from the beginning of history up until this present time. We have noted that the first part of the First Chapter of John carries a particularized key. If the key is understood then what is contained in the Gospel can be understood; but if the key is not understood, there cannot be a true comprehension of that which the Master taught, as it was recorded for us by John.
We remember that two of the Gospel authors were not disciples in the usually accepted sense; they were not with the Master through His Ministry, and Matthew had a considerable ability to record, and in some passages particularly the current of the Spirit was contained in it very effectively. That is very noticeable in at least parts of the Sermon on the Mount; in parts of that record the recording was incomplete, which is not surprising—they didn’t take shorthand in those days, and it was written quite a long time after the events that are recorded there. So we are very appreciative of the fact that Matthew did get as much of it down as he did, but when we wish to begin to understand the Spirit of the Master’s life and teaching, it is necessary to return to the Gospel as John recorded it, because he was the only one of the disciples who had any real comprehension of the Master’s mission and any real understanding of His teaching. And in the beginning of his Gospel he established or gave the key to an understanding of it, so that there would be no necessity of failing to comprehend. We have given a little attention to that key, but there will be a great deal more consideration of it, and we might just note something of the nature of that key a little more deeply or fully at the moment.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; the same was in the beginning with God.” There we have the key—and once that key is comprehended it is very easy to understand the supposed mysteries. We have recognized that the Word spoken of, was and is Shekinah. There has not yet been an adequate comprehension of Shekinah here in this Class, so we might go back a little and review, and perhaps see if we can find a little deeper comprehension, because until we see the Christos of the New Testament—not the man, but that which was focalized in the man and revealed through the man Jesus—until we see the Christos of the New Testament and the Shekinah of the Old Testament as being absolutely identical, we cannot comprehend either the Old or the New Testaments; and we cannot perceive without that, the real expression of the Word.
Now people talk about the Word of God, and they say the Bible is the Word of God; and I very often use the expression which is more or less common place: “… the Bible says so and so; or in the Bible we find this.” Now what do I mean when I say, “In the Bible”? Do I simply mean this Book as such? No. This book can be a Bible, but it is not necessarily a Bible; not necessarily the Bible. If we are talking about the Bible, we must recognize that the term includes all, or every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Do you think that this Book records all the words that have ever proceeded out of the mouth of God? Certainly not. It contains a portion, a small portion, of the words that have proceeded out of the mouth of God.
Now the Master said that man shall live, and we are interested in living, turning from death to life. We're interested in the Magic of Life and the Magic of Living. The Master said, “It is written, man shall live not by bread alone but by every word—every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Obviously only a few of the words that proceeded out of the mouth of God are here; and there are many words in this Book which did not proceed out of the mouth of God. There is history here. There's the record of a lot of things that human beings said and did, important to an understanding, yes. I do not object to that. But I wish you to begin to have the correct attitude toward the Bible, because the Bible has never been written. Part of it has; part of the Bible has been written, but the Bible has never been written and never will be. The meaning of the human being in life is realized only to the degree that he or she becomes a Bible—a chapter in the Bible. Only as the Word of God proceeds through you—and it is written that man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
And when in Revelation, for instance, we have the expression that we should not add-to or take-from the words of the prophecy of this Book, does that mean just what is contained either in the Book of Revelation or the Bible as it stands here. You are aware that from the standpoint of historical facts this collection of holy writings which is ordinarily called the Bible was gathered together and decided upon by a group of sincere, earnest men several hundred years ago; and then it was finally, the further selection, and a further centering of what is called the Bible under King James in England.
Now those were men who, no doubt, had something of the spirit of God working through them; they did their best, without any question, to make the right selections in relationship to the available literature, the holy writings. There were many parts of what had been the Bible that were set aside at the time that King James arranged for this particular program, which established our Bible in its present form. But it is not to say that they managed to get all the recorded words of God put together. And if we were to exclude from this Book all the words that were not the Words of God it wouldn't be nearly so thick, would it, because there are many words here that are not the Words of God. There is a recording of the words of evil men; there historical incidents, allegorical portrayals of various kinds, which cannot properly be classified as the Words of God.
So the Master said, and we assume that He wouldn't have quoted this text if He hadn't been assured of its accuracy. We're going to follow Him if He is our KING, if His life on earth has any meaning. We don't have to just assume, do we? We can take the attitude we know, if we trust Him, if we believe in Him. We can take the attitude that He knew what He was talking about, and He quoted a text from the Bible saying, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Well now, human beings have had awareness of only a few of the Words that have proceeded out of the mouth of God. A few of them have been recorded, so this contains a part of the Bible. And in a broad, general sense we can say this is the Holy Bible, because in it we have something of the revealed Word of God. But it is not in a complete sense the Bible. And the caution against adding-to or taking-from did not have any reference to this as a book; it did not have any reference merely to Revelation as a book. It did include the Book of Revelation, for instance, and it could be conceived to include something of the rest of this record. But we are not to add-to or take-from the Word of God. We cannot, if we are intelligent, or if we stop to think, if we recognize anything of the reality of the spirit of God, we cannot say that this is the complete Bible.
When I say the Bible, regardless of what my hearers think I mean, I don't mean just this book. I mean the Bible, the complete Bible, the words proceeding out of the mouth of God. Now God has a good many words yet to say that have never been said as yet. He has said a good many words that have not been recorded by man, about which man knows nothing. So the Bible is something far greater than this little part of the record. And we are not to detract from the Word, or the words that proceed from the mouth of God, nor are we to add-to. Now, if we are going to begin to understand how to function so that we do not detract from the Words of God, we must begin to understand the significance in this key in the first part of the Book of John.
And let us note, particularly here, from the standpoint of your own consciousness, and to help equip you to meet the questionings, the attitudes, the wonderings of human beings whom you may contact in days to come. You may not need, or it may not be wise, for you to try to explain that this is only a part of the Bible. Certainly do not undertake any such thing unless you have a real pattern of response—and you can go a long, long ways without ever suggesting any such thing, so don't start on any such subject as that—but that you may know, and be in position to express it if there be need.
Remember that if we limit our concept of the Words of God to this book we are taking away, we are violating the Commandment. This is only a part, and if we insist this is all then we are taking away from the Words of the Book of this prophecy. What is this prophecy? Merely the Book of Revelation? Certainly not! What is prophecy? It is the expression of that which is from God, at any time, under any circumstance. This prophecy. That which is written in the Book of Revelation is a part of this prophecy; that is, the prophecy of the Word of God, the expression, the revelation of the Word of God to the children of men. But anyone who takes the attitude that this is the entire, complete Bible, “That's the Word of God; it's all that there is, or all that we might ever need”, is taking-from. and every time you add a human concept or a belief. and we have noted that in the religions of the world there are many human beliefs, assumptions, concepts. All those things are adding-to the Words of this prophecy.
We see that the so-called Christian churches today—all of them—that we find popularly known in the world—all of them, without a single exception—do two things. They add to the words of the prophecy of this Book and they take-from the words of the prophecy of this Book. The literalists as well as the liberals, up-and-down-the-line, they all add-to on the basis of their own opinions, beliefs and assumptions, and they all take-from. How? Because generally speaking they take the attitude that this is the Word of God, and it's all complete right here. And if you have any such feeling or attitude then you are detracting, subtracting, taking-from the word of the prophecy of this Book. What book? The Book—the real Bible, the Bible, the Bible which is in process of expression, which includes all the Words of God, and shall include all the Words of God that shall ever be expressed. So the Bible is not complete, and never will be. The Bible is not complete. and never will be.
Now, in our consideration of these things in this Class we must remember that we have been having a play upon the word Word. “Words proceeding out of the mouth of God.” We can apply that quite properly to the words that have been revealed from God through His prophets—our Master as the Supreme One—and all the true prophets that have been on earth of whom we have any record. So to the degree that prophets have made the words of God known by speaking them or writing them we have a record of them, but every Word of God that is recorded here [in the Bible] came into manifestation because some man, some human being, was a prophet, letting something of the words of God appear—there is nothing recorded here except what did come through a prophet. You say, “Well, the prophets spoke face-to-face with God. We know what God said on a direct basis.” Who heard the words of God and told you so? The prophet. The prophet—they came through the prophets, and man knows nothing of the words of God except by reason of the prophets, of whom our LORD and KING, manifest on earth, was and is Chief. So, the words of God which reach man come through prophets, and to the degree that you become a means by which the words of God can be conveyed to the children of men, you are a prophet. If you do not recognize me as a prophet, there is precious little value in your being here. My function is that of a prophet. And so, we need to realize that the Word of God, in the sense of the Bible, in the overall sense, is not complete and never will be.
How shall man live? Man shall live by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Now it is obviously impossible for any human being to be consciously aware of all the words that God has ever spoken, all the words that He is speaking—so is this impossible? Not at all. It is not impossible. Man shall live by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God—man, in the sense of humanity—not just the individual; it includes the individual—but in the sense of humanity. It is written: Humanity shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Who are the beings through whom the Word of God is revealed? They are human beings—men and women—and our function has meaning only as we become a means by which the things of God are conveyed into the world to the children of men. You are a Word of God. If you are having any meaning, if you are living in a true sense, and if you are causing others to live, you are a Word of God. The words of God appear through the Word of God, and if you are a Word of God then through you some of the words of God will appear.
The relationship of the Centering of Being, and that which expresses from the Centering of Being, is something which is of vital importance at this point. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; the same was in the beginning with God.” Now we notice something here that’s like a sandwich—something on each side and some filling in the middle—a heavenly sandwich. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God”—one side of the sandwich; “and the Word was God”—the filling; “the same was in the beginning with God.” with God … was God … with God. Do you see that? There are three statements—“and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; the same was in the beginning with God.” The filling—the centering, in other words—is God. But the manifestation, both in the higher vibrational realms and in the realm of physical things, the manifestation was with God. And the manifestation of the Presence of God is what? We recognize the Master described it as “the way, the truth and the Life.” And the way is what? Love, as we have seen. And Love is the Fire of God—God’s creative Fire. And when we go back to the time of the children of Israel, and the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, we find that between the Cherubim, above the Mercy Seat, there was the manifestation of the Shekinah, which is described as the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells—or simply, the Presence of the One Who Dwells.
There is no indication that God, as such, was seen; anywhere in the record, there is no evidence that God, as such, could be seen. It is said with respect to Moses, when he was on Mount Sinai, that he said “the hinder parts of God”—that is, that which gave evidence of His Presence—a little something of God, but not the wholeness or the fullness of God. And there is no indication here, anywhere in the record, that any human being ever saw the wholeness of God. We know, of course, that such a thing would be impossible. But it’s necessary that we stop to recognize this point. That which we know of God has been made evident, has been revealed and made manifest by reason of that which was the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells. Now note the expression, the One Who Dwells—going back into the Old Testament pattern—the Presence of the One Who Dwells.
Now we know that God is a term which is properly used in relationship to Deity on exactly the same basis as we use the word humanity in relationship to mankind. God has the same significance in relationship to the patterns of Deity that humanity has in relationship to the pattern of mankind. When we say humanity we do not imagine that it means just one man or one woman, or just one man and one woman. We recognize that it includes every man, woman and child upon the face of the earth. So, likewise, remember that the word God, in the sense of the suggestion of the overall Deity, has the same meaning; and we do not think of God ever, at any time, as being just one single being; but is, rather, the complete pattern of all the God Beings everywhere.
So, the One Who Dwells is a term which can be used with great facility. The One Who Dwells can apply to any focalization of Deity at any level, at any place—all the way from your own focalization of Deity within you, your own Lord, to the highest focalization of Deity in all the Cosmos. Therefore, God includes all God Beings, and is never to be thought of as a single Being, as if God were a particularized, separate personality. Now we can use the word God—the central focalization of Deity in relationship to this world—as applying to our LORD and KING. There is absolutely nothing wrong with speaking of the One who manifested through the body of Jesus Christ as God. It is quite permissible. But if we imagine that one Being is all that is included when we say God—referring to Him—we are wrong. If He is a GOD, He must be a GOD of something; if He is a LORD, He must be a LORD of something; if He is a KING, He must be a KING of something—and so He is the KING of Kings, or LORD of Lords; or GOD, the Central Focalization of all the God Beings in this particular pattern or part of the universe. So, if we use the word God in relationship to our KING, meaning Him, we automatically include every God Being over whom He is LORD and KING, every God Being in the whole pattern; but it centralizes in Him, and we can think of Him as that centering and be perfectly right.
So, there is the recognition that the word God may mean these things. But if you assume that every time the Bible here, the record as we have it, uses the word God it means that which we have just outlined, you are wrong—it doesn’t. The word God was used by translators who did not know what they were doing really; they didn’t understand what they were translating; they didn’t understand what they were writing. So, we must be considerate of the limitations of the translators and realize that, for instance, in the beginning of the book of Genesis, the word that is there translated as God was translated from the Elohim, which means a Focalization of God Beings. It’s a recognition of plurality. Actually there are seven insofar as this Whole Holy World is concerned—there were seven God Beings. And the Eloihim is a term relating to deity which signifies these seven, and those seven only—not some others; just those seven. It is within the range of what we might conceive to be right to translate that as God, and yet if we assume that the word God, used to signify the Eloihim, means exactly the same things as it does in some other place we are going to be misled. So, there, we recognize the specific pattern of focalization in relationship to which many God Beings were in operation in the beginning of the creation of the world.
Here we have the word, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” This is indeed a marvelous key; a wonderful privilege we have, having these few words so that we may understand the rest of the record. The Word—“In the beginning was the Word.” What Word? It depends upon the level that we are going to consider. What level do we see? “In the beginning was the Word.” If we say that the Word here is supposed to signify the Pattern of Shekinah made manifest by the Eloihim, it’s quite true; but this Pattern of Shekinah so established was with God, in the pattern of the whole of God Being, and “was God; the same was in the beginning with God.”
Now notice the pattern. If you look at it truly you will see that there are two triangles evident in that particular wording. “The Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” Two triangles—their apices together. The apices of the upper triangle pointing downward and that of the lower triangle pointing upward, and the point of union between the two is God. That is the point that is God for all that appears below. That is the point of focalization, centralization, for the manifestation of all creation as we know it in relationship to this world.
But there is the focalization of Deity in relationship to the solar system, and the universe, and on to the Cosmos. Then, that which was with God, which was the manifestation of God, the focalization of Deity that provided the beginning of the pattern of creation was with God, the higher aspect of Deity—whatever that focalization may have been. It extended on out into the universe and the Cosmos, in other words, and God in the higher, overall sense was recognized. “And the Word was with God.” So that which was the beginning of the Shekinah Fire, and Light, and Cloud, by which this earth was brought forth was “with God”—with the higher aspects of God extending out into the solar system, and the universe and the Cosmos—a perfect pattern of relatedness and harmony. Then, that which was with God, was God—the focalization of Deity in relationship to this particular pattern of creation. Thereafter then, those God Beings who were working with that focalization of Deity that was, and is, centered in our LORD and KING became the means by which the Shekinah could begin to expand and manifest. And so the Word, the Shekinah, was with God—the manifestation of Shekinah above the particular point of focalization where we would establish the position of the LORD of Lords and KING of Kings.
So, He was the Word in relationship to the higher point of Being—“the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The same was in the beginning of the creation, “with God”. And you begin to see that the God Beings working with the focalization in our LORD and KING were the means by which the expanding expression of Shekinah could appear, out of which, or through which, the creative processes might be developed. Now, “In the beginning was the Word”—In the beginning was the Shekinah. In the beginning was the Shekinah, and the Shekinah was with God, and the Shekinah was God. The same was in the beginning with God. Now these patterns of relationship must be understood if we are to understand the relationship of the manifest form of Jesus in relationship to the Father. He said, “The Father and I are one.” Then we must see that the same pattern was holding which is here established—was with God, was God, and was with God. The patterns of focalization must be comprehended.
Now there is something else here that we should note in this connection. To say that the Shekinah is not God would be wrong, wouldn’t it? If you saw the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, whatever One that One may be, and you said, “This is not God”—you would be wrong, wouldn’t you? Very wrong! And yet if you said, “This is all God is”—you would be equally wrong. The Shekinah at any level of its manifestation is a revelation of the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells, and the One Who Dwells is always the point of focalization at that particular level in relationship to that particular pattern. It could relate to any God Being anywhere; but generally speaking it relates to primary points of focalization. So we see the Shekinah. We can see—some of you have already seen—the reality of the Shekinah and, having seen, you could not say this is not God, but if you spoke of it as if that were all of God you would be wrong.
This pattern of distinction is something that the human mind has not been able to comprehend in its self-activity. Until you begin to understand the principles, and see with the eye of the spirit, see with the eye of the heart as well as with the mind so that you have a single eye, you cannot understand it. But it becomes very simple and very plain once there is a true pattern of comprehension. You do not expect, then, to ever see, insofar as the fallen world is concerned—certainly not until after the restoration has been completed—you do not ever expect to see the whole form of the Primary Focalization of Deity in relationship to ourselves, except through the reality of Shekinah.
As Shekinah is made manifest increasingly through human beings, the reality of the Pattern is established and the time approaches when He may be seen in the Center of the Fire. But there must be a great deal of purification take place first and ultimately when that is about to manifest in relationship to the world—if you want to know something about the so-called Second Coming of our LORD—it will not be until after the world has been cleansed of all evil. It will not be until all of those who remain on the face of the earth are a part of this Divine Pattern. And a great conclave of those then living, men and women who have become Divine Men and Women, will be gathered at the appointed place and the appointed time to receive the KING into this part of His Kingdom. And under the circumstances which will be developed on the basis of these laws and principles, there will be first the manifestation of the Cloud, in the pattern of the circle; and within the circle there will be the square and the triangle. But in any case, after the vibrational factors have been properly set up to receive the KING—and consider how much human beings do for an earthly king or queen, how much more will we do for our Heavenly. Having so established the pattern to receive Him properly into this part of His Kingdom, so that it may be turned over to Him in the proper ceremony, there will first be the manifestation of the Cloud. And then those present, those seeing, will begin to see the glowing of the Light, or the Light that Glows within the Cloud. And the Cloud as such will begin to dissipate insofar as seeing is concerned, not actually; you simply become attuned to something inside of the Cloud so you cease to see the Cloud. You see first the Cloud, then as you become attuned to that which is inside of the Cloud you can see through the Cloud and the Cloud is still there but you do not see it. And then as you become aware of the Light that Glows you see only the Light that Glows. But finally you become aware of something inside of the Light that Glows and the Fire begins to be that which you see. And so you can see through the Light that Glows to the Fire. And at first all you will see is the Fire, and then you will become aware of something inside of the Fire, and you will be enabled to see through the Fire. And within the Fire you will begin to see the form of the LORD of Lords and KING of Kings. But this is the pattern of His appearing, and the time of His appearing shall be when we are ready to turn this earth, this world, over to Him as a part of His already established Kingdom. Not that He shall have to come and try to take it, but it will be prepared for Him—everything ready and every human being living on the face of the earth at that time will be a citizen of that Kingdom. And it will be a great and glorious ceremony—yes, more than that—to receive our KING back into the realm from whence He was banished by the self-activity of man. And that is the pattern of His appearing. But you need not try to understand all of that at the present time, although you see that it does work and will work on the basis of Shekinah, and until you understand Shekinah you cannot understand His appearing.
Let us then begin to realize that the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells can manifest in relationship to any God Being—in relationship to your God Being. That will manifest in one of two ways. It must manifest in only one of those two ways first, or it cannot manifest in the second way. The pattern of Shekinah must manifest in relationship to your higher point of focalization first.
If I, speaking from an outer standpoint, had not responded to the inner factor of Being in relationship to myself in such a way that I allowed the establishment of Shekinah between myself and the LORD of Lords, at the time of the beginning of my official ministry, I would not have been in position to so function as to allow the Shekinah Pattern to manifest between you and me. And if at any moment I were to violate that pattern, and cause it to cease to be, it would be utterly impossible for me to establish the Shekinah Pattern between you and me. The only reason that I can establish the Shekinah Pattern between you as individuals, or as a group, and myself is because there is a Shekinah Pattern established between me and the LORD of Lords. It is not your responsibility to establish a pattern between yourself and the LORD of Lords. You couldn’t do it if you tried. Human beings have tried it and failed; but it doesn’t work that way. But because I let that pattern be established first, I was in position to so function that a pattern could be established between you and me—the Shekinah Pattern.
And when you begin to let that Shekinah Pattern be established between yourself and me, as the centering here, in outer form, so that you do not violate it, so that you do not cause it to vanish, you do not destroy its manifestation—it is the evidence of the Presence of the One Who Dwells—then you in turn are in position to let a Shekinah Pattern begin to develop between you and those who shall respond to you.
You can work as a teacher, you can do certain things in the world that are good, that are helpful, that may be a blessing to others, without actually establishing in the real sense a Shekinah Pattern extending out from you to others; and you may not have the reality of the Shekinah Pattern between yourself and Center, and still do a certain amount of good, but it will be the kind of good that you see accomplished by innumerable good people all over the world, all doing good things—good men, good women. But it doesn’t rise to the point of power. It doesn’t rise to the point of real creative accomplishment.
So, by reason of the fact that there is a Shekinah Pattern established between me and our LORD and KING, I am in position to let a Shekinah Pattern take form between you and myself. And so are the borders of the tent caused to expand and, once you are included in that pattern of Shekinah that is established through centering in our LORD and KING, you in turn can so function that the Shekinah Pattern may extend through you and be established in relationship to others. And so must it grow and continue, on-and-on until it enfolds the whole earth.
And remember that the Shekinah Pattern, without any exception, manifests in its trinity—the manifestation of the evidence of the One Who Dwells. There is the Cloud, and to the human eye which does not have any comprehension of the Light, the Cloud seems to be something that isn’t, or it seems to be darkness, and the human being never sees through it. But once you begin to realize something is inside of it, you begin to see what is inside of it, because you can see through it—and your eye is single in such a case. When you have reached the point of letting your eye be single your whole body is full of Light. Why? Because you begin to comprehend, to see and to receive, the Light that is within the Cloud, and you can see through the Cloud, and you behold the Light. And truly perceiving the Light, and functioning according to the Truth, which is the essence of the Light, you can begin to be aware of what is contained within the Light That Glows. And finally you begin to see the Fire, and seeing the Fire you may think that that is all there is, as so many have. Even reaching that point of spiritual perception and understanding one might simply see the Fire and assume that that is all. But if you realize there is something inside of the Fire you will be enabled to see through the Fire, and you will be able to walk in the Fire, you will be able to step forth into the Fire and not be burned. There will be no fear of the Fire. You will not only be able to see into it, you will be able to walk into it; you will be able to live in it. And walking into the Fire, you will find One like unto the Son of Man; One like unto the Son of God. And the first time you see into the Fire, and walk into the Fire, it will not be our LORD and KING whom you see. It will be One who represents Him.
And so, you begin to realize the working of the pattern of Shekinah, and you begin to see here that at all levels, with respect to all focalizations, this key works. In the beginning was the Word. In the beginning was the Shekinah, and the Shekinah was with God, and the Shekinah was God. The same—that is the Shekinah—was in the beginning with God. And without this pattern there is no creative action, there is no fulfillment, nothing really worthwhile. Without this pattern we cannot overcome the evil in the world, we cannot accomplish that which is necessary, we cannot restore this world to the Kingdom of our KING. Remember these things.
All things were made by Shekinah, and without Shekinah was not anything made that was made. In Shekinah was Life; and the Life of Shekinah was the Light of men—and the Life of Shekinah was the Light of men. And what is the Life of Shekinah? The Cloud—the essences of the Cloud. The Life of Shekinah becomes the Light of men. All things were made by Shekinah, and without Shekinah was not anything made that was made. In Shekinah was Life—LIFE—that which makes you live. And the Life of Shekinah was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.
