“Upon hearing these words, the Companion who had spoken first said, ‘By bringing the ancient teachings up to date, that is, by using current terminology to present much of the mystical aspect of the spiritual life as carried forth from the old masters to the present time, we are given a living and dynamic teaching for our age. It is a repetition of the ancient teachings, and yet it is a renewal of the old and universal Truth and the desire for union with the Sun of Righteousness and the living of The Way.’

“The Teacher replied, ‘It is important for us to remember that whether Jesus was the prophesied Messiah of suffering in the Book of Isaiah or whether he was a world Messiah is not as important as the message he had to give to the world. And that message was an echo of that which had come before. Had it not been so, he would not have promised a return. Christians seem to be ignorant of this. They believe that before Jesus there was no immortality of the Soul which, of course, is not true. They also believe that unless a person uses Jesus as an intermediary, there is no immortality of Soul, which cannot be true either.

“‘If we put Jesus in the proper historical context, we see that he was trying to reveal knowledge to the world and the means by which humankind could gain access to God. God is the Father of All. God is the Head of His Church. And The Church must be the Body of the Ordained, the Body of the Immortals, whose spirits have been redeemed and form the living Body of God which is His Church. God is the Head, the Image, the High Priest, and The Word – the only Vicar. And I think Jesus would insist upon that if he were alive today.

“‘It is only through The Image and The Word of God that man and woman ascend. And if we see that this Image and Word is the true mediator between Man and God, and that knowledge of God can only come by and through God, not from any person, then we see that True Religion is universal, is representative of The Way – it has always existed, and even if it is lost, it continually returns and is restored to the world. We happen to be in the Final Age, an age of transition in the world. Therefore, knowledge of this religion is extremely important to us today.

“‘The Second Advent Church brings knowledge of olden things but in a new context inasmuch as God has revealed Himself in the Sun of Righteousness in a very meaningful and powerful manner. Humanity must needs take advantage of this manifestation in this New Church.’”

Now, speaking of the Second Advent, the Sun of Righteousness, and the New Church, these are some of the important topics we will be discussing at this year’s Community Convocation and Cosolargy Seminar in September as we celebrate 60 years since the dawn of the New Age. You can expect to be hearing from us soon to assure your attendance and participation at this very special time in the history of our Community. I am looking forward to seeing you as we fellowship together.

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

Very truly yours in Light+,

Gene

By now, you have been informed of the 2022 Community Convocation and Seminar to be held from Wednesday, September 7th through Monday, September 12th. The first two days (Wednesday and Thursday) will focus exclusively on Color and Sacred Imagery, as will the morning of Friday the 9th. The Color and Sacred Imagery Seminar is required for all Consociates in The Academy. However, it is open to anyone else who would like to listen to the material again. Unlike previous presentations of this seminar in the past, it will be given live by me.

Beginning the afternoon of Friday, September 9th, the General Convocation will begin and will continue through the afternoon of Monday, September 12th. You will receive additional agenda details, as well as lodging information, in the coming days.

I would like to emphasize that both the Color and Sacred Imagery Seminar and the General Convocation are open to all Community members, and I again encourage your participation.

And with that, let us continue with our review of the Twenty-second Saying of Jamil.

The Twenty-second Saying (Part 9)

“And the disciple amplified her question, saying, ‘When spirit meets matter – marries matter, so to speak – I wondered if that could be related, for example, to the image of the cross, especially to an Image in the Cross of Cosolargy?’

“And The Man answered, ‘The cross has always represented the sun because the sun often manifests a cross and the sun’s rays can manifest the spectrum or a rainbow. And those colors are the pure colors from light. Each color represents a particular frequency and each frequency radiates a particular kind of information. Thus, an individual of God – reborn – can receive knowledge and information from the spectrum of color in a rainbow through the force centers.

“‘The force centers are real. We know there are eight force centers of the archetypal Man or Woman and four force centers of the spiritual Man or Woman. The eight force centers correspond to the spectrum of light in a rainbow, just as the four upper force centers correspond to the Light in the Sun of Righteousness. So, when a person looks at a rainbow, that rainbow is really an image of oneself because the light of the sun creates that image of the rainbow and the colors are immediately linked to the force centers of the individual and information is received on each particular center beneath the level of the consciousness of the mind.

“‘The information has nothing to do with any practical application of knowledge that one would read by looking at a book with one’s eyes. This is knowledge that cannot be written. It is knowledge that comes from God. It comes from the sun. It comes from sources outside of this world. It is beyond physical practicality. It is something immortal. It is something Divine. It is something akin to the cosmos, which has always been represented by a cross – something away from this world.

“‘Man is representative not only of the planet. He is representative not only of a material body. A person has a pre-existent nature. That nature is symbolized by the rainbow, by the cross, by the sun, by the doors or the gateways to other worlds. And once individuals become aware of that, they are able to ascend from this planet into these other dimensional levels and have understanding and a Divine Knowledge of what they were before.

“‘When they understand who they were, what they are, and where they are going, they tend to lose interest in this world, yet they want to teach and instruct humankind. And that is what is meant by all the parables and the allegories of scripture. But unless one has a teacher, unless these things are explained, unless one becomes evolved and developed, unless one becomes reborn, these things are not understood and all the words and all the teachings are meaningless. Rebirth of spirit into a Soul goes beyond the laws of physics into a higher series of laws, a higher level of awareness. Once a person has access to that level, he or she becomes more than just a human person. One ascends back to one’s roots, origins, and the source of one’s being.

“‘That is what Jesus was trying to teach, and what the early Church was trying to teach, but the world always manages to take over and pollute and corrupt and adulterate great teachings for earthly power. But The Word always continues to manifest. And the knowledge that people can have today in this Church is the same knowledge and the same inspiration that was possessed by Jesus and the disciples of the original Church, for God has now come a second time into the world.

“‘This is not just another age during which the Sun of Righteousness has manifested. It is an age in which God is actually manifesting His Image and His Word in greater power than ever before – in the Final Age of the world. Therefore, this Church is the Second Advent Church which is destined to instruct the whole human family in the concepts of ancient religions.

“‘This is a tremendous task and, in a way, it means picking up our cross and following after Jesus. Jesus failed in his mission, in a manner of speaking, but he has left us an inheritance. And because of him, we are empowered in this Church through Jamil to carry on the work. Every great teacher always leaves something behind for further generations to pick up from. As Jesus failed, we each will fail because the salvation of the world is not the result of one person’s lifetime. It is something to be achieved in a continuous effort that can only end and be completed when the world is transformed into spirit.’”

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

Very truly yours in Light+,

Gene

The Twenty-second Saying (Part 8)

“Then a female Companion spoke, ‘I wish to return to the concept of the Sun of Righteousness as an Image of God. When the spirit is awakened, it becomes as a sun. Christ said, “Pick up your cross and follow me.” When you spoke about the meeting point of spirit and matter, I wondered if that meeting point could possibly have some symbolic connection with the cross.’

“In answer, The Man said, ‘The New Testament writings were written by men who never knew Jesus Christ but wrote from oral tradition, from ancient sources that were carried on by word of mouth, or from reviewing old scrolls that preserved an ancient tradition in allegory or symbology. The New Testament writings contain a great deal of truth if one knows how to interpret the writings properly. Once a person looks upon the Sun of Righteousness and receives The Word, once a person has been ordained of God and the spirit lives, that person remembers The Way, remembers The Teachings, and can interpret the New Testament very easily.

“‘It is very easy for any person who has been reborn through The Word and Image of God to understand the meaning of scripture that is a universal knowledge. And that is the meaning of The Word. Once you are reborn, once you are nurtured by The Image and The Word of God, you have understanding, which is secret knowledge of God. This is an ancient Gnostic concept. The Word of God does not deceive you, nor can you deceive it. It is only Truth.

“‘Concerning what Jesus was speaking about in the quotation “Pick up your cross and follow me,” I am not sure that is an exact quotation because he had not yet been crucified. That statement was included by the translator or editor later on. But it is of no consequence. What is important is the meaning. What he was saying was, once you are reborn, once you have been given Food by God, do not ever allow yourself to be separate from God again. Do not fall victim as did Adam and Eve. Do not listen to the world. Do not listen to the Powers of Darkness. Do not become interested in the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eat from the Tree of Life, which is God, and follow The Image and The Word. Live the rule of The Way. And that is a kind of cross.’”

Regarding Convocation, we have decided to move our June Convocation and combine it with the September seminar for Academy students and new Consociates. I am asking you personally to make every effort to attend. We have not convened in person for three years, and this year is a very special year, as it marks the 60th anniversary of the birth of the Sun of Righteousness and the announcement of God’s Second Advent. It is also a cosmically important 20-year cycle – the 3rd since 1962.

This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the passing out of the world of the Wondrous Child of Light, Jamil. In 1973, a compilation of several essays written by individuals who actually knew and met The Child was published. The essays have not been released since. We will be re-issuing these commentaries with a new foreword written by me, as I knew and met each of these individuals when I was a little boy. This new publication will be our gift to you for attending the September Convocation and Seminar, and we will also have readings of each essay during the event.

The Chancellery staff will be in touch with you very soon with details about the Convocation program and lodging information. Again, please do make every effort to attend. Thank you.

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

Very truly yours in Light+,

Gene

The Twenty-second Saying (Part 7)

And The Man continued addressing the Companions of The Way.

“‘To return, briefly, to the discussion concerning the earthly powers and earthly churches, during the days of Jesus there was national Judaism with a standing army under the rulers of the land. In this case, the ruler was Herod, who was in league with Rome. And they were caught up in the life of politics, society, the military, and, of course, economics. Jesus, being of the Essene Order, or the Nazarene Order, did not believe in any of these things of the world. In fact, he turned away from the world. He was not interested in politics or national Judaism except in reforming it into a spiritual religion. He was a peacemaker. There was a vast difference between the ordinary man and woman or the ordinary priest or rabbi – Pharisee or Sadducee – and the man Jesus and his followers.’

“And the same Companion of The Way asked yet another question. ‘Jesus turned away from the world but he did believe in his own accomplishments, did he not?’ The Man answered saying, ‘Yes, he did believe in those accomplishments achieved during his teaching career because in living The Way and in fulfilling prophecy, he was obeying God’s Will, not his own will.’

“And then he turned to the other Companions and said, ‘The high priests and the rabbis of the Sanhedrin believed that the sacrifice of a bull or a ram with the shedding of the blood on the altar was an atonement to God. They actually believed that blood gave access to God. Jesus taught that God is spirit. One must be reborn spirit and live The Way in order to see The Image and hear The Word. This idea was vastly different from that of a man or a woman participating in animal sacrifice, observing the sacrifice which atoned for their sins, without any effort on their part at all. This practice gave the priest a power to intercede for the race, and that priest was responsible for speaking for the people, in this case, the Jews, with God. The concept was completely foreign to the Teacher Jesus.

“‘The heresies of worshiping false gods, praying to human saviors, metaphysical speculations, pursuing violence in the Name of God, abstinence from flesh food, following strict dietary measures, invocations, rites, and ceremonies that imitate sacrifices to god or a savior should all be abandoned. Only by living The Way, imitating the eternal Goodness of God, and by having a pure heart – a spirit of Light – so that one’s Goodness and Light will spread to all the world for the benefit of humans everywhere, is the True One God exemplified. Jesus attempted to teach this. And many have endeavored to follow these teachings. But the world of religion, of polities, of economics and society will not tolerate it for a moment, because it glorifies God and exposes false religions and the ways of the world for what they are.

“‘If people of the world really understood the evil results of their actions, they would turn away in horror. Unless we of the regenerate Church instruct the human family in the Life of Righteousness and free them from worldliness, Evil will overcome the world. Love – love of God more than anything – is the salvation of the world. The evil and sorrow of the world are the result of the perpetuation of humanness with all its error, selfishness, ignorance, envy, and desire for worldly things. Above all things, the world loves to hate and to perpetuate this hatefulness by enforcing it upon others.

“‘Earthly man and woman are nurtured by the earth: they receive their food and water from the earth, they are made in the image of the earth, and they serve an earthly god. For example, the Jewish concept of a jealous god, a god that is wrathful, a god that destroys his enemies, a god that kills, is not that of a divine, spiritual God. That is one of the most pagan concepts that has ever been recorded, and yet the Christian Church, having borrowed scripture from the Jews, mistakenly believes that god to be the True God. That was not the God of Jesus, who was killed because he preached about a different God. Christians today are unable to believe this truth.

“‘The god of the earth, the god of nature, feeds on blood. It is the way of life on earth. But the God of Goodness, the God of Light, the God of Truth, the God of Justice, has nothing whatever to do with blood or flesh or animals of sacrifice. Nor does God need or want any other kind of intermediary or priest attempting to bribe Him. Therefore, there is nothing one could sacrifice to God that would be worthy, or that one could give God that could even be considered as a reasonable gift. The only thing God wants is Love and the only way one can show Love to God is by living The Way and looking upon The Image and hearing The Word of God. It is that simple, yet it is too complicated for humankind to understand. People want to worship a nature god, have a god of war, a god of power. That is the problem with worldly religion.

“‘And, if the people of the world do not change, they must reap the penalty for their actions, as did the Jews, for example. Where the Hebrews are concerned, the Jewish race is part of the past; that is, as a chosen people of God holding to the Covenant. The great danger for the world is to be found in the possibility of worldly religion being outlawed by the secular nations of the world, for the civil authorities are far better able to serve the material needs of the people than a secular religion. This possibility poses a danger for a True Religion of spirit, for it would not be able to exist if all religions were outlawed.’”

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

Very truly yours in Light+,

Gene