Origins of Light and Darkness

“There is no boundary for light. It was unknown when it began. Nothing was when light was not. Nothing was when radiance was not. Nothing was when life was not. There was never a boundary for light. Nothing was when water was not.

“Water is prior to darkness. Prior to darkness is water. Nothing is without an end. No number is before the uthras were. Light beings are prior to darkness. Prior to darkness are uthras and older than their inhabitants. Goodness is prior to the malice of the place of darkness. Gentleness is prior to the bitterness of the place of darkness. Living fire is prior to the consuming fires of the place of darkness. Praise is prior to the practice of sorcery and witchcraft. Hymns and books are prior to the sorcery of Hewath, the terrible woman.

“Darkness can’t be measured by light. The house of gloom isn’t lighted. The house of gloom isn’t lighted, and turbid waters have no sparkle. Darkness grew and creatures formed. Darkness formed, and when it formed it tested its force. It harbored malice in its mind. It imprisoned its own kanna, the place of the soul. It imprisoned its own kanna, and everything it did was nothing. The children of darkness are nothing, but the children of life stay. The house of evil is nothing, and its consuming fires die. Its sorcery dies and ends, since it has no place in eternity. It comes to nothing. The generations of life stay forever. The living instruction rises and illuminates a perishable living place.”

-The Ginza

No Boundary for Light

We know that there are boundaries for some types of physical light, so it should be obvious that what the Ginza is talking about is Spiritual Light. The traditional Bible has God creating Light before anything else, but that still gives people the idea that there was a time when the Light didn’t exist. That idea is false simply because everything that is purely spiritual exists outside of the limits of time and space, so it has no beginning and no end, no boundaries of any kind. And as the quote says, nothing existed before Light.

Nothing Before Life

The statement that nothing existed before Life means spiritual life. Spiritual Life, like Spiritual Light, exists outside of the limitations of space and time. But this means more than that. It tells us that Life is everywhere and everything is alive. Perhaps not in the physical sense, yet all things are alive on the spiritual level. Native Americans understood this and said all things have a spirit, even rocks, mountains, and rivers. Since a spirit is always alive, that means those things are alive as well.

Water Before Darkness

Since Darkness refers to the fallen realm of matter, this also cannot refer to physical water. It means the Word of God, which “flows” from the Godhead like water to enlighten those who attune themselves to it.

Nothing is Without an End

This one can be confusing because of the sudden shift. All of the previous lines of the quote talk about spiritual things. In this case, it means physical things. All physical things come to an end. Some will argue that they don’t come to an end; they just change form, but for the form that was, an end has happened.

No Number Before the Uthras

An odd way to word it, but what this is saying is that there were no beings existing before the high-level Spiritual Beings that are here called Uthras, but we would call them Angels or beings of Light. Since the physical realm was an offshoot of the spiritual realm, physical beings, which is what I think was meant by “no number,” could not have existed before spiritual beings.

Goodness Prior to Darkness

Since Spirit came before matter, goodness existed before Darkness. This doesn’t mean the kind of darkness you get when you turn out the lights in a room. The Darkness means the realm of the fallen angels, also called the Demiurge. Since that realm of matter was “created” by changing Spirit into something else, Spirit had to exist first, and true Goodness is found only in Spirit.

House of Gloom

This is obviously a reference to the lower dimension generally called Hell. There is no Spiritual Light in that lower dimension, so if one wishes to turn away from Hell and head toward Heaven, it must be done while still living physically in the third dimension where it is still possible to access the Spiritual Light from God, especially now that we have the Sun of Righteousness shining down on us.




Eighth and Ninth Dimensions

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“’My father, yesterday you promised me you would take my mind to the eighth heavenly sphere and after that you would take me to the ninth. You said this is the sequence of the tradition.’

‘Yes, my child, this is the sequence, but the promise was made about human nature. I said to you when I first made the promise, ‘If you remember each of the stages.’ After I received the spirit through the power, I established the action for you. Clearly understanding dwells within you. In me it is as if the power were pregnant, for when I conceived from the spring that flows to me, I gave birth.’

“’Father, you have spoken every word rightly to me, but I am amazed at what you say. You said, ‘The power in me.’’ He said, ‘I gave birth to it as children are born.’

“’Then, father, I have many siblings if I am to be counted among the generations.’

“’Right, child. This good thing is counted . . . always. So, child, you must know your siblings and honor them rightly, since they have come from the very same father. For each of the generations have I addressed. I have named them, since they are offspring like these children.’ ‘Then, father, do they have a day?’

“’Child, they are spiritual, for they exist as forces that nurture other souls. That is why I say they are immortal.’

“ ‘Your word is true. From now on it cannot be refuted. Father, begin the discourse on the eighth and the ninth, and count me also with my siblings.’

“’Let us pray, child, to the father of the universe, with your siblings, who are my children, that the father may grant the spirit of eloquence.’”

-The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth

The Eighth Heavenly Sphere

What the quote calls “the eighth heavenly sphere” is better referred to today as the eighth dimension. The dimension we live in as physical beings is the third. The second dimension is the one commonly called Hell or Hades. They are dimensions, not physical places. The speaker in the dialogue asks God to take his mind to the eighth and ninth dimensions. It must be understood that many people in the time this was written considered the soul to be part of the mind. Some still do, but they are wrong. The spirit and soul are independent of the physical brain and the mind associated with it.

Each of the Stages

The Father, God, tells the speaker to remember each of the stages he must go through if he is to reach the lofty heights of the eighth and ninth dimensions. The list of stages is not provided and never is. Certain facts about spiritual development were never put into writing in the past. Today, we know that the True Path is through awakening and developing the Spirit through the reception of the Light of the Spiritual Sun. So, God is telling him that enlightenment is not something simply granted on request. It must be worked for and developed gradually.

I Have Many Siblings

In a spiritual sense, all Souls are siblings as they are all Children of God, so that is why the person in the dialog has many siblings. That is why spiritual Masters such as Jesus and Buddha have always taught that we should treat each other as brothers and sisters, regardless of race, religion, nationality, or sexual identity. Those superficial physical attributes are irrelevant on the spiritual level. Sadly, we are today seeing many practicing the exact opposite of what the great Spiritual Master taught, yet many of them still claiming to be Christians, Buddhists, or Jews.

They are Immortal

Spirits are immortal. They don’t age, get sick and die, suffer from illnesses, etc. Yet many people show little concern for the Spirit and Soul. Fortunately, now that we are in the time of the Sun of Righteousness, that is changing. More and more people are awakening to the fact that they have a spirit as well as a body and mind, and the spirit is at least as important as the body. The numbers may be relatively small at this time, but they are growing. It has been prophesied that it will take only the development of twelve spiritual masters on Earth in order for the world to be changed back to the spiritual form that God always intended it to be.




Rise to the Challenge of a Time of Affliction

love

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“Men of no estate and landless men become the lords of men, and strangers become masters of slaves and servants. They stir up strife among the people and say, “This is because we are protected by gods of

power; by what are you protected?” The people know not that the power of gods is sustained by the spiritual devotion of the people, and their power flows from the strength and goodness of their worshipers. When a people fail their god, that god fails the people.

“I am a man instructed and know this is a time of strengthening affliction, but my heart troubles me. Will the people understand this? Will they rise to meet the challenge or go down the path of ease, the fair path of flowers and fragrance? Is this the Land of Leaders, wherein will be

erected the Temple of Truth and the Stairway to Heaven? Would that I could peer through the door of the unborn days!

“Strange bowmen have entered the redlands, and they spoil the people. They are men whose delight is in suffering. They are men whose pleasure is destruction; they tear down but do not build. The roads are covered, and the water channels opened. The craftsman no longer interests himself in his craft, for that which he makes is taken away. He who reaps does not store the corn, while he who is without a plow never lacks a full storehouse. The harvests go unrecorded, and he who toils not eats with he who has labored at the ingathering. The man without cattle eats meat, while the man who owns them eats herbs. The waters rise and fall away from the land, but none plows or sows, for men say, “The events of tomorrow are unknown, and who knows what man will reap where we have ploughed and sown?”

“The scribe is stricken and dies on his stool. His writings become a mystery and are disdainfully trodden underfoot. The fruit of many days’ labor become kindling, the wisdom and knowledge of generations become fuel for fires of destruction.”

-The Kolbrin Bible (Man:30:15-18)

Men of No Estate

What the quote says has little meaning today. There are many of us who are not landowners or owners of homes. But what this really means is that people who are not invested in society are still becoming leaders of those societies. A person who has never had to work a day in his life shouldn’t be running a corporation with thousands of employees. A person who has no background in politics shouldn’t be elected to a high office. More importantly, churches and spiritual schools are being led by materialistic people who have little spiritual knowledge.

Protected by the Gods of Power

Despots, dictators, false preachers, and Gurus are protected by the “gods of power”. What they don’t seem to realize is that the god of power, might, war, greed, etc., is not the true God but the false god, the Demiurge. In other words, these greedy despots are Satanists, even if they don’t know it. And we have seen in this age that when people turn away from God, God no longer helps them. God will help anyone who wants to develop their spiritual Self, but God doesn’t help the materialist who prays only for a new home, a new car, etc. Those are the gifts of Satan, not God.

Will People Rise to Meet the Challenge?

We are seeing people rising up against rampant materialism and greed and seeking a spiritual awakening and spiritual life. The numbers may be small, but growing all the time. Even the despots feel the Sun of Righteousness pulling them towards the spiritual, but they are so materialistic. They don’t know why. They know they are not satisfied with what they have, so instead of turning to something else, they keep grabbing up more and more physical wealth. In the end, though, God will win, and the world will change for the better.

Strange Bowmen in the Redlands

This is saying that foreigners are entering countries and taking over, turning people away from their traditions. In many cases, these foreigners are materialistic or atheists and turn the people away from God and spiritual matters. Such people often claim things that are not theirs as they have not worked to earn them. In the United States, we have corporate leaders earning three hundred or four hundred times what the average worker gets. Meanwhile, politicians line their pockets with money often gained illegally, or at least immorally.

The Future

Despite all these horrors, the authors of the Kolbrin Bible (Egyptian priests) saw happening, they were eventually overcome. We are now living in another age of rampant materialism, probably the worse ever, but this one will end with the dawning of a New Golden Age of Light and Wisdom. As the old saying goes, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” And for this new age to happen, the dark ones must be brought out of their hiding places and exposed to the light of day so they can be converted or eliminated. But the way we defeat evil is not by behaving like them. We do it by sending thoughts of peace, joy, and love into the world and practicing them in our lives.




Land of Lawlessness and Betrayal

“Even the halls of judgment are no longer inviolate; the decrees are cast forth to be stamped underfoot by ignorant men. Even things that sustain the spirit now serve to prepare sustenance for the belly. Records are falsified, so that no man knows the true from the false. The tallies of produce are no longer taken, and corn becomes the property of any man. He who lies readily gets the best; he who acts the deceiver gets most. Ignorant men have raised themselves to high estate by falsehood and deceit. None

raises hand or voice against them, and therefore their ways are acclaimed and emulated. Truth is mocked and justice vilified.

“A man fears his brother as a foe and his son as a betrayer. He plows his field bearing shield and sword. Men walk abroad girded for battle, but now the day has dawned when henceforth even manly defense is denied them. When a man is slain by the side of his own brother, he who lives flees to save his limbs. When a woman is ravished, they who see turn away. The screams of maidens fall on deaf ears.

“Spearmen gather in bands, but the standards they bear are not those of justice and Truth. Bowmen stand alert, and arrows are loosened in their quivers. The men of blood exult, for it is their day. If a man of high estate be unguarded, he is slain, and if rich he is robbed. If a highborn woman be unprotected through lack of kindred or gold, she becomes a harlot. In the marketplace men say, ‘Better a well fed harlot than a goddess dead from hunger.’”

-The Kolbrin Bible (MAN:30:12-14)

Stamped Underfoot

The quote above was written thousands of years ago, but we see many of the same problems today. Since these writings are all about spiritual matters, we can assume that the reference to judgment is not about civil judges but about those who were in charge of judging the students of the spiritual Mystery Schools of the day. In those times, such judges also made rules for the general population to follow if they wanted to remain in the good graces of God, but as the quote says, their decrees were ignored and stamped underfoot by those who were turning away from the spiritual and toward the material.

Records are Falsified

It has long been noted that history books, especially those about the history of wars, are written by the victors. While they may not be false, they are rarely accurate as they almost always vilify the losers. In addition, today we no longer have news media that sticks to simply telling the facts. Instead, they are full of opinion so depending on which newspaper you read, or news program you watch, you can get completely opposite views of an issue or event.

High Estate

We are certainly seeing in today’s world many instances of ignorant men and women being elected to high office, or putting themselves in those offices. Sadly, many ignorant and uneducated people think it is a good idea to have such people as their leaders.

It is also true, as it was at the time of the quote, that most men are afraid to say anything against these despots for fear of punishment for doing so.

Standards are not those of Justice and Truth

We are also seeing this today. People are once again wearing the swastika with impunity, as well as other symbols of white supremacy. In addition, flags that once flew to represent truth, justice, and equality, are now used to represent the opposite. And armies do march to do evil and protect the despots rather than protecting the innocent. Fortunately, a new age of Spirit is coming, and all of these horrors will end.

 




A Priest of the Lord

“I am a priest of the lord and serve him as priest. I offer him the offering of his thought. His thought is not like the world, not of the flesh or of those who serve in the flesh. The lord offers his goodness, his stainless heart and lips, his inner world that is faultless. Let hearts not oppress hearts, nor souls harm souls. Don’t bribe a stranger, because that stranger is you. Don’t trick your neighbor. Don’t take the clothing from him that hides his nakedness, but dress in the grace of the lord generously and walk in paradise and from his tree make a garland for your head. Loop it around your hair. Be happy and rest in his rest. His glory will go before you. You will inhabit his kindness and grace and be fat in truth with the praise of his holiness. Praise and honor his name. I raised my arms high to the grace of the lord, for he cast off my bonds. My helper had raised me to his grace and salvation. I discarded darkness and dressed in the clothing of light. My soul acquired a body free from sorrow, free from torture and mutilation. The lord’s thought restored me. I fed on his incorruptible fellowship. In the light he raised me. I went to him, near him, praising and shouting his name. He made my heart flood into my mouth. I was rescued from my chains and fled to you, my god. You are the right hand of my salvation and my helper. You held back those who rose against me and the disappeared. Your face was with me. I was saved by your grace. But in the eyes of many I was abhorred and excluded. In their eyes I was lead. I assumed strength from you and drank your help.”

-Songs of Solomon

I Serve God as a Priest

The function of a priest or minister is to serve God. We serve God by obeying His will and by doing His work on earth. We also serve God by sending thoughts of Peace, Love, Joy, and Truth to others. When we help the downtrodden, the rejects of the social system, and those who are ill or handicapped, we are serving God. Most of all, we help God when we help others turn away from materialism and toward the spiritual life that God wants all of us to have.

His World is Faultless

God’s World, also called the Kingdom of God or heaven, is faultless. It is a place where there is no death, no disease and no suffering. It is a place of Truth where no lies exist. It is also a place of Knowledge. Knowledge of all that is real. It is not a place of rest. The souls who have reached that level still continue to work helping others.

That Stranger is You

When you bribe a stranger, trick your neighbor, or cheat another person, you are only doing it to yourself. That is because, ultimately, we are all part of the One Whole creation of God. The modern science of Quantum Physics has shown that things can be connected together, even at a great distance. But in actual fact, all things are connected together in the great matrix of life. So, even when you harm an animal, you are hurting yourself.

Discard Darkness and Dress in Light

Some people who think they are spiritual believe we need to accept Darkness as a part of what we are just as much as Light. That philosophy is wrong. We do need to acknowledge that we have a dark side, but we don’t embrace it; we discard it as much as possible, as the quote says. There will always be some darkness in us, but we should not let it get its way. When we slip up and do something dark, we should forgive ourselves and embrace the Light. Don’t give up on yourself just because you slip a little. Keep moving forward to the Light. That is how you live as a priest of God.

 




The Physical Body cannot Ascend into Heaven

 

“Some are afraid that they will ascend from death naked, and they want to climb back to life in their flesh. They are unaware that those who wear their flesh are naked, and those who strip are not naked. ‘Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god.’ What will we not inherit? The flesh we wear on us. Then both are wrong. You say the flesh won’t ascend. Tell me, what will rise so I can honor you? You say spirit in the flesh and light in the flesh. What is the flesh? You say there is nothing outside the flesh. Then rise in the flesh, since everything exists in it. In this world those wearing garments are better than garments. In heaven the garments are better than the wearers.

“Through water and fire this wide realm is purified, and the visible cleaned by the visible, and the hidden by the hidden, but there are elements concealed in the visible. …

“The heavenly man has more children than a man on earth. If the offspring of Adam are many and die, how many more are the offspring of perfect beings who do not die and are born each second? The father makes a child. The child cannot make a son. He has not the power to make children. One recently born is not a parent. The son has brothers and sisters, not children. In this world there is a natural order to birth, and one is nourished by ordinary means. We are nourished by the promise of heaven, from the mouth of the word. If the word emanated from the mouth, it is perfect. By a kiss the perfect conceive and give birth. That is why we kiss. From the grace in others we conceive. …

“It is impossible to see anything in the real realm unless you become it. Not so in the world. You see the sun without being the sun, see sky and earth but are not them. This is the truth of the world. In the other truth you are what you see. If you see spirit, you are spirit. If you look at the anointed, you are the anointed. If you see the father, you will be father. In this world you see everything but yourself, but there, you look at yourself and are what you see.”

-The Gospel of Philip

Ascending Naked

You have to read and understand the entire sentence here to realize that what it means by “naked” is without the physical body. Those who believe they can ascend while still in the physical body need to read scripture more closely.

Nothing Outside the Flesh

Some people believe their physical body is all they have, so it must be able to ascend into Heaven, but they are wrong. Only the Soul ascends into Heaven, and then only if it has been properly prepared and nurtured.

Purified by Water and Fire

Yes, we are purified by water and fire, but not the physical elements bearing those names. This is an allegorical reference. We are purified by God’s Word and God’s Light. That is the water and fire that purifies the Soul.

More Children

How can a person in heaven have more children than a person on Earth? How can they have any children with no physical body? It is because when you have succeeded in ascending to Heaven, you become one with God, one with the All, therefore, all souls are your brothers and sisters, all are your children, all are your spouses because all are in the One.

Impossible to See

Philip says it is impossible to see anything in the real realm of spirit unless you become it. I think that may be an exaggeration. We can see spirits at times when we practice spiritual development techniques. Perhaps what Philip means is that we cannot really understand the spiritual until we are part of it. It’s like a primitive person seeing a car for the first time. They do see it in a limited way, but they don’t understand it.

 




Share Knowledge and Truth with Those Who Seek it

 

“Speak concerning the truth to those who seek it and of knowledge to those who, in their error, have committed sins. Make sure-footed those who stumble, and stretch forth your hands to the sick. Nourish the hungry, and set at ease those who are troubled. Raise up and awaken those who sleep. You are this understanding that seizes you. If the strong follow this course, they are even stronger. Turn your attention to yourselves. Do not be concerned with other things, namely, that which you have cast forth from yourselves, that which you have dismissed. Do not return to them to eat them. Do not be moth-eaten. Do not be worm-eaten, for you have already shaken it off. Do not be a place of the devil, for you have already destroyed him. Do not strengthen your last obstacles, because that is reprehensible. For the lawless one is nothing. He harms himself more than the law. For that one does his works because he is a lawless person. But this one, because he is a righteous person, does his works among others. Do the will of the father, then, for you are from him. For the father is sweet and his will is good. He knows the things that are yours, so that you may rest yourselves in them.”

-The Gospel of Peace

Speak to Those Who Seek

We should share our spiritual knowledge with others, but only to a point. Some spiritual knowledge can be shared with all, but some must be reserved only for those who are ready to comprehend the true meaning and who will use the knowledge to do God’s Will and not just whatever they want. As for those who have “committed sins,” we all have at some time so it applies to everyone.

Stretch Forth your Hands to the Sick

There are three kinds of illnesses: physical, mental, and spiritual. When people are physically sick, they may not be able to practice spiritual development. The same is true for the mentally sick. Most of all, however, those who are spiritually sick will not want to engage in spiritual development or may be engaging in a sort of spiritual development with the wrong kind of spirits. As a popular meme being shared on social media says, demons and devils are spirits too. So to stretch fort our hands to the sick primarily means that we should try to awaken them to the need for spiritual development and to have the proper attitude so they are communicating with Angels, not demons.

Awaken Those Who Sleep

This is similar to the sickness problem. Those who sleep are the ones who have the potential for significant spiritual growth but don’t know it. It would also include those who thing the time for spiritual development is after the death of the physical body. We need to awaken them to the fact that spiritual development needs to be done now and always. It isn’t something you can do for a week or two and then you are done.




Philosophy of the Tibetan Book of the Dead

big bang

 

“As we gracefully transition from the meditation and visualization practices that unravel the sublime Clear Light of Reality, it is time to gently steer our minds toward the profound philosophical doctrines embedded within the Chikhai Bardo1. One of the first doctrines we encounter illuminates the intrinsic purity and luminosity of the mind, often referred to as “Rigpa” in Tibetan Buddhism. This state, akin to the vastness of the clear sky unmarred by passing clouds, is the inherent nature of the mind. Recognizing and resting in this nature is key to liberation. We are guided through practices such as sky-gazing, where we allow our minds to merge with the vast openness, experiencing the unobstructed nature of Rigpa, and witnessing the transient nature of phenomena without attachment or aversion. We then delve into the transient nature of life, as vividly portrayed in the Chikhai Bardo. Here, we learn that embracing impermanence opens the heart to the infinite possibilities of each moment and fosters a deep appreciation for the preciousness of human life. Visualizing an ever-flowing river, we internalize the fluidity and transient nature of existence, fostering a deeper acceptance of change and loss.

“At the heart of the Chikhai Bardo’s philosophical wisdom is the teaching of liberation through recognition. The teachings resonate as a call to awaken to our intrinsic purity and to see through the illusions that veil our true selves. Meditating on a rainbow, practitioners explore the transient and ungraspable beauty of phenomena, inviting a non-dualistic perception of reality. The resonance of compassion and the cultivation of Bodhicitta play a significant role in guiding our journey. The melody of altruistic love and intention for enlightenment is enriched and emphasized, leading us through shadows and into the warm embrace of enlightenment.”

-Guide to the Tibetan Book of the Dead

Purity of Mind

Purity of Mind is important for spiritual development. What that means is that we practice thinking in terms of peace, love, tolerance, and joy while pushing away thoughts of anger, jealousy, and violence. There is also the idea of clearing the mind of all thought when engaging in spiritual practices, but that is easier said than done. Learning to avoid negative thinking is the first step.

Sky Gazing

The author of this book may not know what is being hinted at here, but spiritual development doesn’t come from randomly looking at things in the sky. You have to look at the sun in a proper way that is safe (never stare at the sun!) with the idea of eventually seeing beyond the physical sun to the Spiritual Sun. It is the Light from the Spiritual Sun that awakens and develops the spirit and soul.

Transient Nature of Phenomena

One thing materialists fail to grasp is that everything physical is transient. Some things may last only minutes, while others last for billions of years, yet nothing physical is eternal. Only the spiritual is eternal. That is why developing our spiritual Self is so important.

See Through Illusion

There are several levels of illusion (or veils) that we need to see through. Just within the physical realm we see people are distracted from the truth with pleasant things they are told are important when they are not. Trust me when I say that God doesn’t care one bit who wins the football game or the hockey game. We are told that such things are important so we allow ourselves to be distracted away from what is really important. Just on the physical level, the wealthy and powerful want to keep the rest of us distracted from their greedy activities.

Beyond the physical, we need to see the spiritual. It has been veiled from us for a long time, but the veils are now being lifted and slowly some people are awakening to the truth.

Altruistic Love

One other important thing that spiritual students need to develop is altruistic love or the love of all that God has created. It is difficult for some to grasp, but we need to learn that we can love a person even while disliking their behavior. God doesn’t like a lot of the things we do, but because he loves all of us, he can forgive wrong behavior (that doesn’t mean there won’t be a karmic debt to be paid). If you have a pet, sometimes the pet will misbehave by doing something like peeing in the house or chewing on the furniture. We don’t stop loving the pet because it occasionally misbehaves. That is how we must treat all people and all beings.

1Tibetan Book of the Dead




Completeness and Incompleteness

 

“Where there is envy and strife, there is an incompleteness; but where there is unity, there is completeness. Since this incompleteness came about because they did not know the father, from the moment when they know the father, incompleteness will cease to exist. As one’s ignorance disappears when one gains knowledge, and as darkness disappears when light appears, so also incompleteness is eliminated by completeness. Certainly, from that moment on, form is no longer manifest but will be dissolved in fusion with unity. Now their works lie scattered. In time unity will make the spaces complete. By means of unity each one will understand himself. By means of knowledge one will purify himself from multiplicity into unity, devouring matter within himself like fire and darkness by light, death by life.

“Certainly, if these things have happened to each one of us, it is fitting for us, surely, to think about all so that the house may be holy and silent for unity. Like people who have moved from a house, if they have some dishes around that are not good, they are broken. Nevertheless, the householder does not suffer a loss but rejoices, for in the place of these defective dishes there are those that are completely perfect. For this is the judgment that has come from above and that has judged every person, a drawn two-edged sword cutting on this side and that. When the word appeared, who is in the heart of those who pronounce it—it was not merely a sound but has become a body—a great disturbance occurred among the dishes, for some were emptied, others filled; some were provided for, others were removed; some were purified, still others were broken. All the spaces were shaken and disturbed for they had no composure nor stability. Error was disturbed, not knowing what she should do. She was troubled, she lamented, she was beside herself because she did not know anything. When knowledge, which is the abolishment of error, approached her with all her emanations, error was empty, since there was nothing in her. Truth appeared; all its emanations recognized it. They greeted the father in truth with a power which is complete and which joins them with the father.

“Each one loves truth because truth is the mouth of the father. His tongue is the holy spirit. Whoever touches truth touches the mouth of the father by his tongue at the time when one will receive the holy spirit.”

-Gospel of Truth

Envy and Strife

Envy and strife happen when greed abounds. We see much of this in the world today. The greedy who take far more than they need are considered by most to be heroes instead of sinners, but greed is still one of the seven deadly sins, and in one way or another, karma will catch up with the greedy. At a minimum, we know that those who choose the pleasures of the physical world, will not move on to the spiritual realm when they die.

Ignorance Disappears

Ignorance does disappear when one gains true Knowledge. There are, however, two kinds of ignorance. One can have ignorance of the physical world due to a lack of experience and education. However, even highly educated people regarding the physical realm can be ignorant of the spiritual, which is the worst kind of ignorance as it endangers the immortal Soul.

Purify with Knowledge

With Knowledge and Truth, we become purified, in the sense that we know right from wrong rather than just accepting the opinions of others on what is right and wrong. When we have true Knowledge, we also have universal Love, Love for all beings, love for all that God created. That doesn’t mean that we accept all kinds of horrid behavior, but it does mean that we separate the behavior from the person. Perhaps if more people practice this, we would have less evil behavior in the world. When a lot of people are sending negative thoughts and negative energy towards such people, that energy only makes them worse. If they were sent more love, at least some of them would start to change, and a few be completely changed into the loving beings God intended us to be.

Dishes

When The Word appears, as it has now in the Sun of Righteousness, some “dishes” will be filled, some left empty, some purified, others broken. This is an allegory. Dishes here represent the human spirit and soul. Those who seek and take in The Word found in the Light of the Spiritual Sun will be purified and saved. Those who cling to materialism will not be filled by the Light and will perish as do all material beings. So seek completeness by taking in the Light of the Spiritual Sun, don’t remain incomplete.




God is Everywhere, Including the Physical Universe

 

“Western civilization and religions are based on the belief that God, or gods, are external, anthropomorphic beings. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans had pantheons full of them. The Jews had Yahweh. Baal was a god worshiped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially that of the Canaanites. There were thought to be many other deities in the ancient Western world, and so when Jesus of Nazareth came along, the idea was taken for granted that God or gods existed outside of human beings and the physical universe. But, as will be explained, that is apparently not what Jesus believed or taught. I think it is safe to say that his teachings were misunderstood because of the cultural conditioning of the age in which he lived. Today, however, a major revolution in our understanding of the universe is occurring, and that is that consciousness, mind, and intelligence do not exist outside of or separate from creation. They are within, or immanent—if you prefer that terminology—and form the ground of being of all that is. John Samuel Hagelin, a summa cum laude graduate of Dartmouth with a Ph.D. from Harvard in Quantum Physics, has elaborated on such a theory, comparing the unified field, which many scientists believe is what existed before the Big Bang, to the field of pure consciousness known as “Veda,” a Sanskrit word meaning “to know” or “knowledge,” which is described in the ancient religious texts of India called the Vedas.

-Stephen Hawley Martin

Anthropomorphic God

We humans do have a tendency to think of God as being anthropomorphic, which is to say, very much like us. We take the statement that God created us “in His image” the wrong way. It doesn’t mean we look like God, at least on the physical level, it means that God created us by forming an image in His mind. Whenever He does that, the thing becomes real.

Another thing we do is turn the messengers of God into God. We do it with Jesus, Buddha, and other messengers or messiahs who very often stated quite clearly that they were messengers of God, not God Himself.

God Outside of the Physical Universe

Actually, God does exist outside of the physical universe, but to a degree, also exists in the physical universe. Even though the physical universe was created by the Demiurge, the false god, it was created from the original universe of spirit, so it still has some spirit in it, and therefore, has God in it. We need to stop thinking of God as a being in the same sense as a human or a dog or a bear. God is not a being, but all beings together.

Major Revolution of Consciousness

There is a major revolution going on with the understanding of consciousness. Something that most believed was something generated by the physical brain is now understood to exist without the brain, while the brain serves like an antenna or radio receiver to receive information from consciousness. As the quote says, some scientists are now relating consciousness to the unified field believed to have existed before the “big bang” that created the physical universe. This tells us that not only does consciousness exist outside of the brain, it existed long before the brain did. So more accurately, God is all Consciousness, all Truth, all Knowledge.