Friday, April 7, 2023

Easter – the most important and sacred day in the traditional Christian calendar. This Sunday, hundreds of millions of Christians around the world – Catholic, Protestant and others – will celebrate the paschal feast. And the following Sunday, millions of Orthodox Christians will do the same. They will be celebrating one of the oldest beliefs of the Christian Church – the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Contrary to the popular churches, we of this Community observe Easter each year on a fixed date – April 18th – according to the solar, not the lunar, calendar. And, we do so in an entirely different way and with an entirely unique message. Most importantly, we do not recognize or teach the resurrection of the physical body, only the resurrection of the reborn spiritual Light Body.

Although the churches connect Easter to the Jewish Passover (erroneously), we know that it is not. We know this for a variety of reasons, which we will not get into here, but suffice it to say that the calendar plays a vital role – solar versus lunar – as well as the distinct traditions of the Essenes which, of course, Jesus was a part. Needless to say, the Essaei Community operated according to different and distinct sacred numbers in their calendar.

Because most of the Western traditions, cultures and languages connect Easter to the Passover, the word used for this time of the year is common, except in English. For example, in Greek, the Paschal feast is called Pascha; in Hebrew, it is Pasach; in Spanish, Pascua, and so on. But, in English we have the term Easter, which comes from the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) Eostre.

We can trace Eostre to a goddess – an important goddess – called Hausos. The goddess comes from the proto-Indo European religion. And she was known as the Goddess of the Dawn. Her name was reconstructed as Ausos. In India, she is referred to as Usas; in Greek Eos; and in Latin Aurora.

The name was derived from the root “To Shine,” thus, translating to “The Shining One.” The English word “East” is derived from this word, also the Latin “Aurum” meaning gold. The dawn goddess was also the Goddess of Spring. In the Anglo-Saxon world, and also in the Germanic world, this time – this Easter or Eostre – was called Eosturmonath, or Easter Month, which was celebrated for the entire month of April. This Goddess of Spring was involved in the mythology of the Indo-European new year where the Dawn Goddess was liberated by God from imprisonment. She is known in the Rigveda as Indra and in ancient Greek mythology as Dionysus. So we see that it has always been a very important time of the year.

But how do we in the Second Advent/Cosolargy Community reconcile ourselves with this ancient observance? How do we – who do not accept the physical resurrection of the body – harmonize ourselves with this “holy week” which emphasizes the pain, sorrow, and suffering of the man, Jesus? How do we – who do not teach that he was the sacrificial Passover lamb, an offering acceptable to God whose blood is shed daily on the altars of churches around the world everywhere and that the shedding of his blood, however ritualistically, was an atonement for the sins of the world? How do we come to terms with those many, many millions of people who do? And, how do we – who reject that Christ’s crucifixion was “good” or that it was the Will of God, holding instead that it was the murder of a Son of Light by the civil and religious authorities of the day – how do we bring that into accord with our own teaching and theology?

We do so by emphasizing what we know to be Christ’s true message: First, that we are all endowed by the Creator of our spiritual Beings with an eternal and immortal Soul if we but cause that Divine Generative Force – Christ or The Word – to penetrate into that spiritual Womb. Second, that once we consent to the Word of God – the Logos – being allowed to impregnate our Spirit, that Spirit becomes animated by the Thought and Will of God the Father and becomes a living, breathing, conscious Soul, able to reason on heavenly things. Third, that once imbued with Christ Consciousness, the Soul, released from the cycle of generated existence, recalls and remembers its history and origin and consciously participates in the Worlds of Light, continually partaking of a Divine Communion.

This was the message of Christ Jesus. And this is what was symbolized by the Last Supper – the act of the reborn, conscious Soul partaking of the True Communion, feeding off the Word of God – the Bread from Heaven – and drinking from the Cup filled with God’s Living Waters – which is Divine Light. And this is also the message of the Messianic Church of the Second Advent. The beauty of it all is that it can be done in the here and now – that our spiritual immortality and divinity can be realized while we exist and live in this world. And if that is accomplished, one has received the gift of the resurrection – not as something abstract to wonder about after death, but something one can experience and participate in while one lives in this world.

We know that Jesus – the Christ – not only received the Word of God, but that the Logos incarnated within his Spirit. He became the Living Word of God manifest in man. Yes, he was the Messiah of Aaron and of Israel, but he, like so many others of his Christ Brothers, received the mantle of the Office of Christ on Earth. But we also know that Jesus prophesied a future time – a time when Christ, the celestial and mediating force between God and Man, would appear not in human form but out of the heavens in great power and glory. And this prophecy echoed the older prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi.

Malachi is prophesying about the End of Times, when God would come again at the Second Advent, when the Sun of Righteousness would appear out of the heavens in splendor and with a Light which had never been bestowed on Earth before. And this Light would feed and nurture the Spirit at the great and final Messianic Banquet served from the true Temple of God. The message of Jesus is clear. The need for men and women to partake of the super-substantial Food that nourishes the Soul is found in the transubstantiated Sun – the sun of matter which is transfigured into Spirit.

Therefore, in commemorating the traditional Easter Season, we do so in anticipation of True Easter, which we celebrate in the Second Advent Church on April 18th each year, according to the solar calendar. We participate in the glorious communion of the Angels of Light, joining with Jesus and the Essaei and all those of other religions who have been reborn into the Community of Light, which is the Resurrection of the Spirit that comes about only through participation in the glorious and Messianic Communion with the Celestial Christ.

The Easter Season is a time of spiritual renewal, reflection, and rebirth. Communion with God begins here on Earth, for God’s Plan for the renewal and restoration of the Creation cannot be fulfilled without the unified Community and those disciplined who teach, preserve, and live the revealed and sacred Teachings of Light – a teaching which has been practiced and handed down throughout the centuries and restored in our modern times for a special and appointed few. Those who are the Servants of God and Light will receive the Gift of God, which is a blessing He bestows on those who assist Him in His Divine Plan. God reveals Himself to those in Light, and those who are resurrected to Light by means of Light during this life will dwell with Him forever.

Let me close today’s message with these beautiful lines from the Gnostic Gospel of Phillip. I love these words because I believe they describe the resurrection so well and embody the spiritual message not only of this time of year but of what this Community teaches.

These inspired and enlightened words express the message of Jesus and the essence of his teaching. Therefore, let us go from this place, our fellowship renewed and strengthened, and our love and joy for one another regenerated. What a symbolically beautiful time of year for this: Springtime, when all things are made new. And let us give thanks for the promise of the Second Advent, as prophesied by Jesus Christ, which has been fulfilled in our special age. What a blessing it is! For how many countless men and women over these past many centuries have longed for and awaited the Second Coming of God – this powerful and profound spiritual Consciousness that is manifesting in the world and permeating all things with an energy never before felt and experienced by the human Spirit. And we are privileged to be a part of it – to assist God in a new way as servants and workers in the New Covenant, which is destined to bring about a new Heaven and a new Earth. And this is my message to you this Easter Season.

Again, if I may be of any personal service to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Very truly yours in Light+,

Gene