Stand In The Holy Place

Stand  In  The  Holy  Place

Uranda   September 21, 1943

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

And now we come to a text that should mean a very great deal to every Emissary, to every individual in the Third Sacred School. It is a text that stands as the keynote of the proper function now. It reveals the way of meeting the situations in this present time. It is impossible to over-emphasize the importance of this statement. It stands close to being the most marvellous thing that Jesus said while He walked the earth.

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the Holy Place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)" Where else in the expression does He pause to give a parenthetical explanation? "Whoso readeth, let him understand." That is the only place. He knew He was giving one of the most important statements He could ever give to man. He knew there was a possibility of it being overlooked, so He paused to give a parenthetical statement. Do not overlook this statement because here I give you a key that is of utmost value. Since we recognize that He Himself drew attention to the value of this statement, let us see wherein its value may be.

First, He placed something as to time. "The abomination of desolation..." spoken of by Daniel, the prophet. What is the cause of desolation? Why the abomination of desolation in the hearts today? Because the hearts and lives of men and women are desolate of the love and understanding of the things of God. If it were not so, the desolation could not manifest so abundantly out here in the world. And it is all the miserable things of a miserable, suffering world. And so as we consider the importance from the standpoint of this text, it is obvious that He is talking about the present day in which we live, because we are in the days of abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet.

While the abomination of desolation is in the world, we immediately recognize that it behooves us to be certain that the abomination of desolation must not be in our hearts and minds and lives. Our lives must not be desolate, but rather filled with the good news of the Kingdom—our lives radiant with the glad tidings. And then what does He say? He gives five words of instruction. First, He places it, and then gives five words of instruction. Isn't that a remarkable thing? "Whoso readeth let him understand." The value of the text depends on the value of these five words of instruction.

What does He say? Stand in the Holy Place! In the temple as in the tabernacle there is the Holy Place. Does that mean just to be sure that you keep your life righteous, or to be good, or something? It means far more than that. The spiritual expression was the third plane—the Holy Place. Approach the problems of the life of that day from the standpoint of the spiritual expression plane, from the standpoint of the Third Sacred School. It is here, in this text that Jesus prophesied the manifestation of the Third Sacred School. Approach to an understanding of life, solution of problems and to the victory in that day.

The Third Sacred School is based on that fundamental principle. There have been two other Schools, as you know. We have the temple symbol, the human body, the physical body, and the approach in the First Sacred School was in this physical plane, and was under Melchizedek. Then we have the outer court, the mental plane, which was the approach in the Second Sacred School and this was under our Great Master. Now we have the Third Sacred School which is the Holy Place approach or spiritual expression approach. They all inter-blend. You cannot divide them, but it is the dominant note that I am speaking of. We have the Master's words that the Third Sacred School should manifest in the earth in this text.

It is only as we stand in the Holy Place, which means to function from the spiritual expression plane, or to function in the Third Sacred School, that we should be able to experience the victory and to accomplish that for which we are sent on the earth. Any other approach, although it may accomplish much good, will prove more or less futile in the end. Jesus told us on what basis we should function in that day and only as we function on that basis shall we carry through as we should. Let the inspiration of God come forth in your spiritual natures and govern your mind and body, that the Will of God may be in you and that the service of God may be rendered through you.

Do you agree that this is a wonderful text? It gives a marvellous key and a key that all must use if they are to be able to endure unto the end—to stand in the Holy Place, to live and serve and function from the standpoint of the spiritual expression plane, the third plane.

The Third Sacred School is the term simply signifying the School where the individual learns to function from the standpoint of the third or spiritual expression plane. How many of you find something new and something very encouraging in this text? When the strain may seem a little too great, remember that the Master gave some instruction for you for this day, pointing out the only way to function in this time. Stand in the Holy Place. Let that be your key to understanding—your motto of life. Let it be your victory song.

If you really realize the importance of this text, if you feel it going home in your hearts and minds the way it should, and if you let it take hold of you and stay with you in the days to come, so that you obey its injunction, there is one sure thing. No matter what troubles or difficulties appear, you are prepared. It will not be a matter of too little or too late. You are already prepared for anything and everything that the days can possibly bring. There in that one text we have the sum and substance of what the Third Sacred School stands for, of its purpose in individual lives.

"Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house." What mountains? The mountains of consciousness, not some geographical place. He dwelleth close to God. We have instruction that the Angel gave Lot and his wife at the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Angel said, "Do not look back but keep going." Here the instruction is that if you are on the housetop, that is on the spiritual plane, do not come down out of your spiritual state of being and give way to that which is below you. "And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days." There may, of course, he exceptions to this rule and any child that is coming into the world should be welcomed in love and understanding. It cannot be expected that all young people find it pleasing or possible to avoid bringing children into the world at this time, and so let us remember that although it is a difficult time and a time when uncertainties may bring added suffering, let no Emissary ever be guilty of making any prospective parent feel that a child be unwanted. Any child that is coming must certainly be welcomed in all love and understanding.

"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened." We are in the beginning of these sorrows and that tribulation—the greatest the world has ever known. But the Master says that those days shall be shortened. What does that mean? How can a day be shortened—changed from twenty-four hours to twenty? No. It is a matter of speeding things up.

We look back over the last thirty years, at the time of the turn of the century and see how things have been intensified, see how things have been speeded up, time shortened, distances shortened. A few years ago it took quite a while to cross the Atlantic. In fact, it was only early in this century that the Wright Brothers were able to fly a couple of blocks, and thought it was wonderful. You could not say that in two or three centuries as much has been accomplished as in the last forty years. We have not yet reached the limit of our speed.

Intensification of things, shortening of the days, speeds up the destruction of evil so that the whole thing is intensified. It places a strain on those who respond to the Lord, but sufficient unto the day is the strength of the Lord for those who serve Him. If we stand steadfast enough, there will be strength enough to with stand the intensification of the days. People are so sure that suffering, sickness, sorrow and death are going to last as long as things exist. But here we have an intensification of the vibrations of every phase of life, of good things and of bad, constructive and destructive. Only that which has a foundation upon the Rock of Reality will stand. That which is built upon the sands, to which man clings so tenaciously, must surely crumble away, fall and be done. And so we have there a wonderful promise, another indication of the fact that Jesus was talking about our time, because He said that the days would be shortened, and we can see how the days have been shortened by the process of speeding things up. The days are shortened, whether you cut some of it off or whether you fill it full of things more than previously.

"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." One of the most remarkable things that I have experienced in my ministry is the fact that so many so-called Christian people, when they come into contact with this Church, begin to say: "Show me great signs and wonders and I will believe. If you will promise me great things I will believe." And yet when Jesus was warning against this time, He warned against the false prophets, people who were trying to establish their authenticity through signs and wonders. "Behold I have told you before."

It applies to the false prophets and it applies just as much to the 15th verse of the 24th Chapter of Matthew, which means so much to us. "So shall the coming of the Son of man be." There have been so many ideas, concepts and teachings concerning the second coming of Jesus, and all of these ideas have been built up by placing certain more or less fantastic interpretations on the texts of the Bible, Here, Jesus spoke of the coming of the Son of man. He very often spoke about Himself as the Son of man, so we have no objection to considering that as having reference to Himself.

"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Time does not permit going into it extensively. I shall present a brief picture. Jesus spoke earlier in this passage about the Kingdom that should be preached in all the world and that then the end of evil should come, and after the end of evil His manifestation before the world can be anticipated. We have to remember the various confusing concepts that have been built up in this connection by reason of various ideas about the so-called millenium. The general idea seems to be that some day there is going to be a sound of a trumpet in the sky, Jesus will appear in a cloud somewhere, and the righteous dead will pop up out of the ground, the living righteous will go floating up into the air, and they will disappear into the sky and so on. That is far enough to go for the moment. They think that the millenium is yet to come, that it is still something ahead of us. And how it is connected up with the thousand years of peace is a little difficult to tell. One wonders just exactly how the concept developed.

This is the only place in the Bible where it talks about the thousand years. (Reading from the 20th chapter of Revelation): "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the First Resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth; Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."

There is no statement of a thousand years peace. It is just an arbitrary process of taking some text from some other part of the Bible and putting it with that. This text does not say a thing about a thousand years of peace on the earth. People study the Bible and they preach about the Bible for years and they do not even see what it says. This thousand years was over about 1300 A.D. This thousand years is past and for centuries, up to the beginning of this century, there was a gradual speeding up of things until now we are living in the time when the days shall be shortened. Satan is certainly loosed out of his prison and he is going places fast, "And he shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth."

At that time the whole known earth did not include the American continents. But here He talks about the whole earth. How many years ago could you say that the whole earth was bound together? What was the then known world? Transportation and communication have brought things closer together—the world has become bound as one unit. The text says that he went out to deceive the nations of the four corners of the earth. He has succeeded. I have often thought if people would apply themselves just as diligently as Satan does, they could learn a lesson from him.

"And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." In such a statement as that, we have to look for the symbolical, don't we? The fire that comes down is the Fire of God's Love, intensifying things, speeding things up, making possible this outer mind activity that man prides himself on. And so the outpouring of God's Love into the earth does what? It devours them. We find it a pleasure to let God's Love devour us. We are perfectly willing to let God's power devour us, absorb us and receive us into the function of the Divine Estate. So we have no concern about this Fire coming down into the earth and devouring it. That is what we are praying for.

But what about the other individual? The statement includes all people. How about those who are afraid of God and fight against Him? What happens? Their evil tendencies are intensified and they are also devoured but not in the same way, because in the destruction of evil by itself, they are simply eliminated from the face of the earth. Now in considering such a matter like this, I would like to pause and point out this important fact, should the matter arise sometime when I am not here.

All of us have loved ones in the various far flung fronts of the earth. We have, as a family, and you have. We know that some of those boys are not coming back. To the degree that they respond to the blessing of the Lord, and we stay with them in prayer and radiation, they will surely be protected but in any case where one does not come back, no one must jump to the conclusion that it is in any way necessarily a reflection against that individual. It should not be any additional cause for sorrow or heartache by those who are left behind. I mean that fact in relationship to what I am talking about here. We understand the matter of death. The loved one would certainly be missed but we know about that and we sorrow not.

When I am talking about the world as a whole, do not arbitrarily try to pin it down to one individual. We are talking about the world as a unit and we have to remember to consider it that way. Consider it as a mass because whether that young man waits at home or goes on the field of battle, we know that the God Being is safe and is perfect and according to his response there is ascension. That Soul cannot be slain or hurt or killed. That which was left, in such a case, was received by the Lord and was taken by Him just the same. The important thing for us to remember is that by this process evil by evil is being destroyed.

So often we hear the question asked: "If God is a God of Love, why does He let innocent people suffer? "It is not a matter of complete innocence. It is comparative. Comparatively innocent people have been suffering for a long time. If comparatively innocent people have to suffer, it is paying a pretty small price. Would you quite agree that there should be intensification of the suffering of comparatively innocent people, so that evil should be taken from the face of the earth? It is not that we do not sympathize with those people and do all we can to alleviate their suffering, but we refuse to be blinded by the things as they are.

We recognize that God's way is the best way, and we do not resent it. Jesus died on the cross. Let us remember what we stand for. So if we, men, women and children, have to suffer a bit in this process of this world being shaken up, evil being eliminated, we should be willing to let it be so and there should be no fussing about it. It is for us to be tranquil and serene and render what service we can and stand in the Holy Place. If we do that, we will find that after all of this evil is destroyed from the face of the earth—not necessarily completely, that is, it will be in the process of finishing up—then our Beloved Lord and Master will manifest to the world.

He will not be borne again in the form of a babe or something but will manifest when the world is thrown back into its true polarity. After that, the harmonization of this outer world with the Inner World will be such that the veil between the two will be rent in twain as the veil in the Temple. It will not be a matter of Jesus coming; it will be seeing things as they exist. It is perfectly simple, no necessity of stretching your imagination or figuring out how Jesus is going to ride on a cloud. And so, recognizing that that is something which is going to come quite a while from now, our business is to serve where we are and Stand in the Holy Place.

© Emissaries of Divine Light

See That Ye Be Not Troubled

See  That  Ye  Be  Not  Troubled

from  Stand in the Holy Place

Uranda   September 21, 1943   Winnipeg, Canada

 

In our last Service we approached a consideration of the Truths of Reality from the standpoint of individual effectiveness in living day by day, that in the more or less hum-drum affairs of life we may not become discouraged or uncertain. It is in the little things that we prove that worthiness for the greater tasks which will come in the days ahead. If we cannot be steadfast enough, worthy and strong enough, to stand and wait when those are the orders and instructions from our King, we cannot hope to be strong enough and worthy enough and enduring to withstand a greater pressure in a time of still greater need and uncertainty.

We talk about having faith in God and sometimes when we do some little thing that indicates our faith, we are inclined to feel proud of ourselves. But did you ever stop to consider about the faith God has in you? Down through the ages He sent His prophets to reveal the Truths of Being and He prepared the Way for man. Why? Because He had faith that there would be those, somewhere, somehow, worthy enough of His Love to receive what He offered so graciously and so fully—and then speaking of faith, the faith God has in you, Jesus Himself came into the world. Talk about the faith we have in God, how about God’s faith in us? God will be worthy of our faith in Him but who among us is going to prove worthy of God's faith in us? Did you ever stop to think about it?

The Master called the disciples and through them there is record of His Life, His Works, and of His Victory. What greater evidence of God's faith in us could we ask for? But that is not all. Blessings innumerable all down through the ages all speak eloquently of God's faith in us and now as a further evidence of that faith He has granted us the privilege of looking still more deeply into the hidden things of life—having a still greater understanding, a still greater opportunity of learning the Way, the Truth and the Life. Until finally we have the privilege of this hour—evidence of God's faith in us. If you are ever tempted to waver, tempted to say, O well, it doesn't make any difference about me, someone else can carry the burden, remember—what about God's faith in you? How many of you have ever really started to think about this point before, about God's faith in you, instead of thinking about that little thing we may have done for Him? It is a good point, isn't it? Let us measure the measure of our works, our service, by the measure of His faith in us, by the measure of His service to us, of His Love for us.

In our first Service, we spoke and considered matters more of the physical expression of a successful Christ Life. The mental and spiritual were there but the daily living of life was the dominant note. Tonight, while in the living of life the physical phase and the spiritual expression phase are both closely bound in, our Service now is more on the mental plane, requiring perception, thought, and alertness of mind.

Of all recorded words which Jesus spoke, giving teaching, instruction and admonition, we have only one outstanding passage, although it may appear in more than one Gospel record—I am talking from the standpoint of His Life—wherein He dwelt, in a prophetic manner, on the days and times to come. This passage is most marvellous and worthy of our deepest consideration. And so tonight I would like to consider with you the 24th Chapter of Matthew. "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple." That statement always carries great significance for me.

It was nearing the close of His earthly Ministry and Jesus went out and departed from the temple. In those few words we have a symbolical picture of His departure from the world. "...and His disciples came to Him for to shew him the buildings of the temple..." Pride, we would call it—civic pride today, pointing out the beautiful structure of the buildings. Can you picture in your own mind what the Master's feelings must have been at that moment—how much interest He had in that? He listened for a little time and made His way thence. He had seen these buildings before. It was not an appropriate time for Him to be feeling much interest in the civic pride of Jerusalem or in architecture.

And so Jesus, taking this attitude which showed a lack of perception on the part of the disciples, a thing which might have been an irritant, used it for a purpose. He made that His starting point in "bringing out what He wished to say. Consider the attitude of the disciples, their national pride—pride in the architecture, construction, and so on. How startling are the words of Jesus! "And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you. There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." That was very comforting to the civic pride, was it not? What a startling statement.

"And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" You will note there are three questions. "When shall these things be? What shall he the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Jesus said, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ: and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled."

How often have you thought about the Master's instruction about this time in which we live? He says, see that ye be not troubled. How many have been absolutely obedient to that instruction? Of course He recognized that there would be things to be concerned about, but He also recognized that those who know the Way, the Truth and the Life—those who would be living the Christ Life—would have a foundation that was sure and certain. They would have an understanding vision of that which was being accomplished and of that which was to be thereafter, and since this is true, such individuals would have no need to be troubled as the world is troubled, fearful as the world is fearful, resentful as the world is resentful.

We have no pleasure in or desire for war, but we know, human beings being what they are, it cannot work out any other way. God did not send the war. Human beings brought it on themselves because they forgot God. Human beings forget God; God hears their cry; He delivers them; their way becomes easier; and what do they do then? Straightway they forget Him again. Why has this old world had a history full of tragedies? Why do tragedies keep recurring? Because human beings have refused to learn to remember God.

If our life in the world has any meaning at all from the standpoint of the fulfillment of God's Will and Plan it must—that is, our lives—must give evidence of the fact that there are those who can remember God, whether it be in good times or in poor, whether it be in joy or in sorrow—to remember God always, to have continued faith, to have serenity of outlook, to have perseverance in accomplishment.

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

There is a period of outworking. We have seen nation rise against nation, and there have been famines, pestilences and earthquakes, and there will be more. What does He say about these things? He says all these are the beginning of sorrows. It is one of the most amazing things to me, and something that strains my credulity, when I hear so-called Christian people talking and praying and so on, as if they thought that some kind of peace pact might be signed by the warring nations which would bring peace and everything would be alright again, as if that is all there would be to it. O, yes, the war has to be won. I am not questioning that. But when that is over, people think we can get back to normal times.

Have there ever been any normal times within the earthly memory of any of us? Have we ever had any normal times? Not for some 20,000 years since man fell, we have had no normal times. The only normal time to Christians should be the time of the New Earth State—a time when it shall truly be said that, "They shall not hurt or destroy in all My Holy mountain." In Revelation we read of a great promise. "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away."

So for Christians who have any understanding of what Christianity means from the standpoint of what Christ taught and lived, it is not a matter of just looking forward to the end of a war, as if that would solve everything. It is a matter of recognizing that this war and the tumult in it, and what is growing out of it, and will follow after it—all these things man has brought and will continue to bring upon himself because of his refusal to walk in the Way, the Truth and the Life. All these things are the beginning of sorrows.

"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." I do not think that needs a great deal of comment. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

Again, we must stop and consider the activities of the modern church in relationship to that instruction or statement of Jesus. The missionary activities that have been carried on with such tremendous labour and struggle have fallen far short of fulfilling that which Jesus spoke of here. He never told his followers to go out and force, or nearly force, people to just change their beliefs, to say they would accept Him or believe on Him, and so on. He said this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world. What does gospel mean? Good News. The good news of the Christ Kingdom shall be preached. Just spoken in words? No. It indicates much more than that—the expression in life, the radiation in spirit, so that it might manifest in the lives of men and women.

What did Jesus Christ Himself say about the Kingdom? He said the Kingdom is within you. The Kingdom of Heaven is obviously where the God Being is, where the Lord is. He said, "The words I speak unto you I speak not of myself but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." The good news of the Christ Kingdom relates to the way that men and women may live in the Christ Kingdom here and now, today, the principles of life as exemplified and taught by Jesus Christ, not just to go out and have people say that they have been "washed in the blood, etc." The only way we can be washed in the blood is to live in it, in the Christ Life. And so, the good news of the Kingdom is not the ordinary so-called Christian gospel, as it has been preached, but it is the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus Christ preached.

When well intentioned people (I am not making any reflection against missionaries. I am merely pointing to the facts) went into the Orient, without any understanding of the Orient, and started talking about the blood, the crucifixion and other things, they were called believers in a bloody religion. Those Oriental people could not understand what they meant. They finally found they had to make a new approach to get anywhere at all. Much is revealed in the Crucifixion, but just to stress the death of Jesus as if that, His dying on the Cross—were the good news of the Kingdom is such a short-sighted policy that it is one of the most pitiful and most tragic things in our so-called modern world. "And then shall the end come." The end of what? The end of evil.

As soon as this Gospel of the Kingdom is preached—the Christ way of life—the end of evil shall come. This is a simple and beautiful statement and it means exactly what it says.

© Emissaries of Divine Light

The Passing of the Former Things

The  Passing  of  the  Former  Things

Martin Cecil   April 16, 1972

Vast changes must come in attitudes, understanding, in the total consciousness of human beings, if there is to be survival. These changes are coming. There are reasons of course as to why this is occurring. Specific causes are at work. But the changes that are coming in the consciousness and experience of human beings may be seen as the coming of the Son of man, the coming of a new state in human experience. These changes are occurring everywhere, not just in a group of people here and another one there, but throughout the whole body of mankind. The lightning shines out of the east even unto the west.

The changes take two forms: one disintegrative and the other integrative. There is an immense amount of turmoil in the consciousness of human beings on earth and there no doubt will be more, simply because the causative factors of change are at work. Where there is a resilience of consciousness the changes may tend to be integrative; where there is resistance, disintegrative. We have this occurring throughout the world and within individual human beings. Those who have subscribed to what they think of as Christianity have presumably been looking toward this day, but most are not too happy about its arrival. And of course there is no general recognition as to what it is that is really happening. But regardless of what anyone believes, what anyone thinks, what anyone does, the changes are coming.

These changes permit movement out of an old state into a new one. This new state may be a most glorious experience on earth or it may be nothing, according to the individual choice in the matter. When I use the word “nothing” I mean nothing—a blank. So we have the opportunity of participating in the changes that are now occurring and will occur, either in a movement toward fulfilment in our own experience or in a movement toward emptiness in our own experience. Presumably there is an interest in the creative movement toward fulfilment. Of course if this is merely a self-centered desire on our part we will find that the movement in our own experience is not toward fulfilment but toward emptiness. But if we recognize that this fulfilment relates to God and is the return of the world to Him, the restoration, the resurrection of the body of the Son of God on earth, and this is our interest and concern, then we may share in whatever that fulfilment is. But of course we cannot rightly have any prejudices, preconceived notions as to what would constitute that fulfilment. However it is quite obvious that a new state of consciousness must be experienced in those who survive. This means also that the old state of consciousness must pass away. There is a great deal to be left behind insofar as what has been present in our consciousness is concerned.

In the Book of Revelation mention is made of the passing of the former things. Usually when such ideas are presented the individual imagines that God gets busy and throws the former things out. But the way the former things pass away is either because human beings are willing to let them go or because human beings decide to go with them. In either case the outworking is successful, but the experience is different for the people concerned. We might be reminded of the beautiful passage in the Song of Solomon: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Obviously there must be some place to come to, but also there is a place to come from. Unless there is a willingness to let go of the place from which we are to come we cannot come from it. Perhaps many here present have already emerged to some degree out of that state.

If the former things are to pass away the individual must assume the responsibility of letting them go. If the former things are to pass away they will do so only when the individual concerned lets them go. It is not required that human beings should bring all their troubles to the Lord. What is anticipated is that they bring themselves to the Lord and leave their troubles behind, because the Lord is not particularly interested in their troubles. The Lord is not particularly interested in your troubles, if you have any. He is interested in you, and He can't have you as long as you hold on to your troubles.

In this process of change in consciousness which is coming, responsibility must be taken, by those who are to survive, for letting go of the trouble. As servers we assist people to let go of their troubles, but we have some of our own. Perhaps sometimes a server will become so preoccupied with seeking to help others with their troubles that he forgets that he has some to relinquish too. He has his own hang-ups. There is nothing wrong with this as long as he is willing to relinquish them. There is no condemnation in the fact, no judgment. It only begins to become a bone of contention if there is an unwillingness to let go of them.

This process of letting go of the former things, the things that are considered to be so natural and normal in this unnatural and unnormal world, involves a successive experience in this regard—a movement from level to level. We might use an analogy here, relative to what was portrayed by the encampment of the children of Israel. There was the encampment itself of the twelve tribes, and in the midst of those twelve tribes there was the thirteenth tribe, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of the priesthood; and in the midst of the priesthood was the tabernacle. Now the tabernacle itself consisted of the outer court, the holy place and the Holy of Holies. There must be movement in consciousness out of the old state into the new. The ultimate point of the new state is represented by the Holy of Holies. There is a need, therefore, to begin to emerge out of the encampment, moving toward the tabernacle, leaving the former things behind—a movement out of the outer court into the holy place, and finally through the holy place into the Holy of Holies.

This is something for each individual to experience in relationship to himself or herself. The same picture will be true if we should consider the whole body of mankind. Now we can see this in terms of a movement inward, so to speak—a movement away from externals, a movement away from the control of the material world, out of that old encampment. Of course there needs to be a recognition of the fact that the material world is far more than physical things. Physical things are present, of course, and loom very large in the consciousness of most, but there are the things of the mind and the things of the heart. There are the things of the psychic realm, shall we say. Now people are constantly being bugged by the ghosts which roam in the psychic realm, although generally speaking they do not translate them in terms of spiritualism, for instance. But we well know that there is much present in the levels below the level of self-consciousness which is constantly being triggered. There are telepathic connections between people the world around, and there is all kinds of distortion present, which exerts an influence and a control in the lives of people everywhere. There are those who become particularly intrigued by such things, and others of course become particularly intrigued by physical things. It makes little difference in which direction a person goes; it's all the same thing—the material realm. And while sometimes the spiritualistic aspects of it may be dressed up in fancy clothing, it's all part of what needs to be left behind. It's all part of the former things—the things of sorrow and pain, tragedy, disaster. If the former things are to pass away they will only do so because we let them go. If we imagine that they carry weight, then we'll carry that weight around with us.

It's not at all hard for a person to see a lot of things that are wrong in the material realm, but as long as he is subject to that realm, as long as there is self-centeredness remaining, what he sees will be conditioned by what is present in himself. Most of the distortions that people think they see in the world are the distortions which are in themselves. This is not to say that they may not be out there too, but whatever is out there is seen through the colored spectacles of the individual's own self-centered consciousness. He doesn't really see the thing as it is. And some people take pride in their ability to discern all the things that are wrong. If there is a little bit of pride in such an ability it is plain indication of the fact that the individual is seeing what he sees through the distortions of his own self-centered consciousness, because when things begin to be seen clearly the individual has no particular interest in the distortions. They carry no weight insofar as he is concerned. He is not fussing about them, he is not concerned about trying to dispose of them somehow, because he knows very well he can't dispose of them; but they will dispose of themselves. The concern is that people should come out of that state. The concern is with people; not with the distortions, not with the disturbed and conflicting state of affairs in the self-centered world, but with the people who may emerge out of that, the people who exhibit a willingness to let the former things pass away.

Now if you will take an honest look at the state of affairs, you will find that there are very, very few people who are so willing. Lots of people profess to want things to change. They would like to have their consciousness cleared, they say, but their actions belie their words because they are always bringing their troubles with them, looking for someone in whose lap they may be dumped. No one can take care of anyone else's troubles, and it is a most futile thing to try to do it. The only assistance that is of value is that which will help the person to let go of his troubles. Each person must do it for himself. The usual idea is that the Lord is going to come along and He is going to lift your burdens off your shoulders. Not if you don't let them go! If you let them go He doesn't need to lift them off your shoulders; they have already gone. But if you hold on to them, with the changes that are coming, then you accompany your troubles into oblivion. That's the place for them, isn't it? But why go along with them? “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Whatever needs to be done by God is being done. It never has ceased to be done. It isn't as though God was going to get rid of man's troubles. Man alone can let his troubles go, and if he is willing to let the former things pass away they will.

All right then, there is movement, where there is such willingness, toward the Holy of Holies, and there are various levels of experience in that movement. It can be seen that from one standpoint there is a movement inwards. But the very moment you experience a new level of consciousness you find that it is a movement outwards, because here you are with a new level of consciousness. In other words the new level of consciousness has come to where you are. It may be seen in the light of your moving to a new level of consciousness, but when you get there you're not anyplace else than you were before and the new level of consciousness has come to where you are.

There are those who try turning within in order to find something remarkable, but they get lost in imagination unless they have the experience without—outside. The true experience is not only that of moving in but it's that of moving out at the same time, and this seems like a paradox. Whatever it seems like, it's the truth! However, in that movement there must be letting go. A person is inclined to think, “Well I'm going to let go now. Everything's going to be gone.” But it's not. You may let something go. And, it has to be quite a specific thing. It isn't just a generalized idea: “I'm going to let go of the former things.” What former things? It must be a letting go of this. People quite happily indulge in imagination in this regard. “Oh yes! I'm letting go of the former things.” They never let go of anything. It was all in imagination, because it must be specific. And there are specific things that will keep coming up to be let go of. Now when they come up there is no condemnation in this fact.

Our Master, when He was on earth, revealed the wonderful nature of Deity. This is very largely ignored in human consciousness. A much stronger idea in the consciousness of human beings relates to the God of the Old Testament: the God of anger, the God of wrath, the God of displeasure, the God who is always upset about His people. That isn't God at all. This is the human view of things. This is man's idea of a God made in his own image and likeness, and that isn't God, very fortunately. To have man the way he is in his self-centered state is bad enough. So that isn't God.

There is this movement toward the Holy of Holies, or the emergence of holiness through the person—it's all one and the same thing—and the consequent necessity of letting go of the former things at each level. There's no problem if the individual is willing to do that; and if something comes up—as it will inevitably—to provide the opportunity for letting go of it, it should be seen as an opportunity and it should not be looked upon as though it were something that the Lord had just thought up: He had just suddenly become aware, “Oh, there's something wrong with you. There's something that you need to let go of.” Well presumably the Lord knew that it was there all the time. His attitude hasn't changed one iota. His attitude has been the same all the way through.

If there seems to be a change of attitude on the part of the Lord, on the part of His representative, whoever he is, and that representative is a true representative, it is really a change of attitude in the person concerned. That person hadn't seen it before, but it begins to come within the range of his vision and he interprets that as being condemnation on the part of the Lord. The Lord hasn't changed His attitude at all; He saw it right along anyway; but it never came up before, never came up to be relinquished. When it comes up to be relinquished let's let it go. In order to let it go a good look must be taken at it. The individual can't avert his eyes and let it go. This is a deliberate thing, and there must be something of an admission on the part of a person that maybe the Lord sees something that he didn't. Obviously the person didn't see it before or presumably he would have happily let it go before.

When this process of movement from level to level occurs there is always an experience which has been described in various ways: the experience of the abyss of nothingness, or the pit of blackness or whatever, and no one should ever think that this is just a cross that he personally has to bear alone. No one can move into the experience of increased holiness without passing through these levels, which include the abyss of nothingness. The difference is that, to start with, we think it's a tragic experience when we find ourselves with a more or less blank state. “I thought I was doing so well and coming along so well and now look what's happened!” What's happening is what should happen. The point is, What is your attitude to what's happening? Are you going to keep coming? Or are you going to say, “Oh, well I don't like this,” and go running back into the encampment to pick up the former things?

Now many have done this, and they tend to just go back and forth. They come out of the encampment into the outer court and then back into the encampment again, and that of course, is a very discouraging experience. But it's a self-imposed experience, a self-imposed discouragement in other words. When a person complains about discouragement he is always blaming somebody else. But it never is somebody else. It always is oneself. After all, if you feel discouraged it's you who are feeling discouraged and nobody else. Oh others may be sharing the discouraged experience, but I'm thinking about your personal discouragement. That's the one that you're concerned about, isn't it? Let it go! That's one of the former things, isn't it? Let it go.

As we do keep moving consistently from level to level, and we don't keep dodging into the encampment, we may develop a certain technique, I suppose you could call it, for passing through these periods of blankness. They're not unexpected, they're not rebelled against, because you know very well that unless you pass through you're not coming to the next level; so you take it as it comes and there's no particular problem about it. The thing begins to fade into the background. It's not such an important matter, and we don't use it as a trouble to bring to the Lord. There's only one person who can let go of your trouble and that is you. There is this stubborn refusal to let go of the former things—nobody can move until they do it.

Far from being a matter—when we do come away with the Lord—of relinquishing responsibility, we find that we come away by accepting responsibility. Then the former things can be relinquished and pass away and we move into a new level of consciousness and it's beautiful. It's beautiful, but we don't imagine that we're going to stay at that new level of consciousness forever. We're going to move on, rightly so. The increased experience of holiness comes down from God out of heaven into the earth because we relinquish the old state of unholiness and accept the new state of holiness.

“My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” That's the truth of the matter, because a heavy burden relates to the former things. There is a constant invitation to come away from them, to let them go—not to try to drag them with you into the holy place, but to let them go. “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away,” come away from the former things, rejoicing in the fact that the Lord knows what's what, that we don't have to impose upon Him our self-centered attitudes as though they were His. What greater delight is there, really, than to have something brought out into the open so that we can look at it and let it go? When there is a longing to be holy, to be absolutely right, then there is a longing for this process to happen; and where there are needs, as there surely are present in everyone, for still-remaining former things to pass away, what a delight to become aware of it!

What freedom, what joy, in letting go of those former things, that the new state of consciousness may be experienced! It can't be experienced as long as the old state is there. That new state is coming with power and great glory. Nothing can stop it; it's coming! Why not let it come? Yes, it is a matter of accepting the new state of consciousness, but we don't know what that acceptance would be if we're holding on to the old. So out the old must go. And as we become aware of some of our attachments to it, how delightful to relinquish them. “Come out of her, my people.” “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

© Emissaries of Divine Light