The Aquarian Age Gospel of Jesus, the Christ of the Piscean Age: Chapters 91 - 120

The Second Annual Epoch of the Christine Ministry of Jesus

Chapter 91

Jesus at the feast in Jerusalem. Heals an impotent man. Gives a practical lesson in healing. Affirms that all men are the sons of God.

THE feast time came and Jesus and the twelve went to Jerusalem. 2 Upon the day before the Sabbath day they reached Mount Olives and they tarried at an inn before Mount Olives on the north. 3 And in the early morning of the Sabbath day they went in through the sheep gate to Jerusalem. 4 The healing fountain of Bethesda, near the gate, was thronged about with people who were sick; 5 For they believed that at a certain time an angel came and poured a healing virtue in the pool, and those who entered first and bathed, would be made whole. 6 And Jesus and the twelve were standing near the pool. 7 And Jesus saw a man near by who had been stricken eight and thirty years; without a hand to help he could not move. 8 And Jesus said to him, My brother, man, would you be healed? 9 The man replied, I earnestly desire to be healed; but I am helpless and when the angel comes and pours the healing virtues in the pool, 10 Another who can walk, steps in the fountain first and I am left unhealed. 11 And Jesus said,Who sends an angel here to potentise this pool for just a favoured few? 12 I know it is not God, for he deals just the same with every one. 13 One has no better chance in heaven's healing fountain than another one. 14 The fount of health is in your soul; it has a door locked fast; the key is faith; 15 And every one can have this key and may unlock the door and plunge into the healing fount and be made whole. 16 And then the man looked up in hopeful mood and said, Give me this key of faith. 17 And Jesus said, Do you believe what I have said? According to your faith it shall be done. Arise, take up your bed and walk. 18 The man at once arose and walked away; he only said, Praise God. 19 And when the people asked, Who made you whole? the man replied, I do not know. A stranger at the pool just spoke a word and I was well. 20 The many did not see when Jesus healed the man, and with the twelve he went his way up to the temple courts. 21 And in the temple Jesus saw the man and said to him, Behold you are made whole; from henceforth guard your life aright; 22 Go on your way and sin no more, or something worse may fall on you. 23 And now the man knew who it was who made him whole. 24 He told the story to the priests and they were much enraged; they said, The law forbids a man to heal upon the Sabbath day. 25 But Jesus said, My Father works on sabbath days and may not I? 26 He sends his rain, his sunshine and his dew; he makes his grass to grow, his flowers to bloom; he speeds the harvests just the same on Sabbath days as on the other days. 27 If it is lawful for the grass to grow and flowers to bloom on Sabbath days it surely is not wrong to succour stricken men. 28 And then the priests were angered more and more because he claimed to be a son of God. 29 A leading priest, Abihu, said, This fellow is a menace to our nation and our laws; he makes himself to be a son of God; it is not meet that he should live. 30 But Jesus said, Abihu, Sir, you are a learned man; you surely know the law of life. Pray tell who were the sons of God we read about in Genesis, who took to wife the daughters of the sons of men? 31 Our father Adam; who was he? From whence came he? Had he a father? or did he fall from heaven as a star? 32 We read that Moses said, He came from God. If Adam came from God pray, was he offspring, was he son? 33 We are the children of this son of God; then tell me, learned priest, Who are we if not sons of God? 34 The priest had urgent business and he went his way. 35 And Jesus said, All men are sons of God and if they live a holy life they always are at home with God. 36 They see and understand the works of God, and in his sacred name they can perform these works. 37 The lightnings and the storms are messengers of God as well as the sunshine, rain and dew. 38 The virtue of the heavens are in God's hands, and every loyal son may use these virtues and these powers. 39 Man is the delegate of God to do his will on earth, and man can heal the sick, control the spirit of the air, and raise the dead. 40 Because I have the power to do these things is nothing strange. All men may gain the power to do these things; but they must conquer all passions of the lower self; and they can conquer if they will. 41 So man is God on earth, and he who honours God must honour man; for God and man are one, as father and the child are one. 42 Behold, I say, The hour has come; the dead will hear the voice of man, and live, because the son of man is son of God. 43 You men of Israel, hear! you live in death; you are locked up within the tomb. 44 (There is no deeper death than ignorance and unbelief.) 45 But all will some day hear the voice of God made plain by voice of man, and live. You all will know that you are sons of God, and by the sacred Word, may do the works of God. 46 When you have come to life, that is, have come to realise that you are sons of God, you who have lived the life of right, will open up your eyes on fields of life. 47 But you who love the ways of sin will, in this resurrection, stand before a judgment bar, and be condemned to pay the debts yoy owe to men and to yourselves. 48 For whatsoever you have done amiss must be performed again, and yet again, until you reach the stature of the perfect man. 49 But in due time the lowest and the highest will arise to walk in light. 50 Shall I accuse you unto God? No, for your prophet, Moses, has done that; and if you hear not Mose' words you will not hearken unto me, for Moses wrote of me.

Chapter 92

The Christines at a feast in Lazarus' home. A fire rages in the town. Jesus rescues a child from the flames and stays the fire by the Word. He gives a practical lesson on how to redeem a drunken man.

NOW, Lazarus was at the feast and Jesus and the twelve went with him to his home in Bethany. 2 And Lazarus and his sisters made a feast for Jesus and the twelve; and Ruth and Asher came from Jericho; for Asher was no longer hostile to the Christ. 3 And while the guests sat at the board behold a cry, The village is a-fire! and all rushed out into the streets, and, lo, the homes of many neighbours were in flames. 4 And in an upper room an enfant lay asleep, and none could pass the flames to save. The mother, wild with grief, was calling on the men to save her child. 5 Then, with a voice that made the spirits of the fire pale and tremble, Jesus said, Peace, peace, be still! 6 And then he walked through smoke and flame, climbed up the falling stair, and in a moment came again, and in his arms he brought the child. and not a trace of fire was on himself, his raiment, or the child. 7 Then Jesus raised his hand, rebuked the spirits of the fire, commanding them to cease their awful work, and be at rest. 8 And then, as though the waters of the sea were all at once poured on the flames, the fire ceased to burn. 9 And when the fury of the fire was spent the multitudes were wild to see the man who could control the fire, and Jesus said, 10 Man was not made for fire, but fire was made for man. 11 When man comes to himself and comprehends the fact that he is son of God, and knows that in himself lies all the powers of God, he is a master mind and all the elements will hear his voice and gladly do his will. 12 Two sturdy asses bind the will of man; their names are Fear and Unbelief. When these are caught and turned aside, the will of man will know no bounds; then man has but to speak and it is done. 13 And then the guests returned and sat about the board. A little child came in and stood by Jesus' side. 14 She laid her hand on Jesus' arm and said, Please, Master Jesus, hear! my father is a drunken man; my mother toils from morn till night and when she brings her wages home my father snatches them away and squanders every cent for drink, and mother and us little ones are hungry all the night. 15 Please, Master Jesus, come with me and touch my father's heart. He is so good and kind when he is just himself; I know it is the wine that makes another amn of him. 16 And Jesus went out with the child; he found the wretched home; he spoke in kindness to the mother and the little ones, and then upon a bed of straw he found the drunken man. 17 He took him by the hand and raised him up and said, My brother, man, made in the image of our Father-God, will you arise and come with me? 18 Your neighbours are in sore distress; they have lost all they had in this fierce fire, and men must build their homes again and you and I must lead the way. 19 And then the man arose; the two went arm in arm to view the wrecks. 20 They heard the mothers and the children crying in the streets; they saw their wretchedness. 21 And Jesus said, My friend, here is work for you to do. JUst lead the way in helpfulness; I'm sure the men of Bethany will furnish you the means and help. 22 The spark of hope that so long been smoldering in the man was fanned into a flame. He threw his ragged coat aside; he was himself again. 23 And then he called for help; not for himself, but for the homeless ones; and everybody helped. The ruined homes were built again. 24 And then he saw his own poor den; his heart was stirred into its depths. 25 The pride of manhood filled his soul; he said, This wretched den shall be a home. He worked as he had never wrought before, and everybody helped. 26 And in a little while the den became a home indeed; the flowers of love bloomed everywhere. 27 The mother and the little ones were filled with joy; the father never drank again. 28 A man was saved, and no one ever said a word about neglect or drunkenness, nor urged him to reform.

Chapter 93

The Christines go through a field of ripe wheat, and the disciples eat of the wheat. Jesus exonerates them. The Christines return to Capernaum. Jesus heals a withered hand on the Sabbath, and defends his deed.

ANOTHER Sabbath day had come and Jesus and the twelve walked through a field of ripened wheat. 2 And they were hungry and they took the heads of wheat and in their hands threshed out the grain and ate. 3 Among the men who followed them were Pharisees of strictest sect, and when they saw the twelve thresh out the wheat and eat, they said to Jesus, 4 Sir, why do the twelve do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day? 5 And Jesus said, Have you not heard what David did when he and those who followed him had need of food? 6 How he went to the house of God and from the table in the Holy Place took of the presence bread and ate, and gave to those who followed him? 7 I tell you, men, the needs of man are higher than the law of rites. 8 And in our sacred books we read how priests profane the Sabbath day in many ways while they are serving in the Holy Place, and still are free from guilt. 9 The Sabbath day was made for man; man was not made to fit the Sabbath day. 10 The man is son of God and under the eternal law of right, which is the highest law, he may annul the statute laws. 11 The law of sacrifice is but the law of man, and in our law we read that God desires mercy first; and mercy stands above all statute laws. 12 The son of man is Lord of every law. Did not a prophet sum the duties of the man when in the book he wrote: In mercy follow justice and walk humbly with your God? 13 Then Jesus and the twelve returned to Galilee, and on the day before the Sabbath day they reached the home of Jesus in Capernaum. 14 And on the Sabbath day they went up to the synagogue. The multitudes were there and Jesus taught. 15 Among the worshippers was one, a man who had a withered hand. The scribes and Pharisees observed that Jesus saw the man, and then they said, 16 What will he do? Will he attempt to heal upon the SAbbath day? 17 And Jesus knew their thoughts and he called to the man who had the withered hand and said, Arise, stand forth before these men. 18 And Jesus said, You scribes and Pharisees, speak out and answer me: Is it a crime to save a life upon the Sabbath day? 19 If you had sheep and one of them fell in a pit upon the Sabbath day would you do wrong to take it out? 20 Or would it please your God to let it suffer in the mire until another day? 21 But his accusers held their peace. 22 And then he said tho them, Are sheep of greater value than a man? 23 The law of God is written on the rock of Right; and Justice wrote the law, and Mercy was the pen. 24 And then he said, Man, raise your hand and stretch it forth. He raised his hand; it was restored. 25 The Pharisees were filled with rage. They called in secret council the Herodians, and they began to plot and plan how they might bring about his death. 26 They were afraid to publicly accuse, because the multitudes stood forth in his defence. 27 And Jesus and the twelve went down and walked beside the sea, and many people followed them.

Chapter 94

The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus reveals to the twelve the secret of prayer. The model prayer. The law of forgiveness. The holy fast. The evil of deceit. Almsgiving.

NEXT morning ere the sun had risen Jesus and the twelve went to a mountain near the sea to pray; and Jesus taught the twelve disciples how to pray. He said, 2 Prayer is the deep communion of the soul with God; 3 So when you pray do not deceive yourselves as do the hypocrites who love to stand upon the streets and in the synagogues and pour out many words to please the ears of men. 4 And they adorn themselves with pious airs that they may have the praise of men. They seek the praise of men and their reward is sure. 5 But when you pray, go to the closet of your soul; close all the doors, and in the holy silence, pray. 6 You need not speak a multitude of words, nor yet repeat the words again and then again, as heathen do. Just say, 7 Our Father-God who art in heaven; holy is thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. 8 Give us this day our needed bread; 9 Help us forget the debts that other people owe to us, that all our debts may be discharged. 10 And shield us from the tempter's snares that are too great for us to bear; 11 And when they come give us the strength to overcome. 12 If you would be discharged from all the debts you owe to God and man, the debts you have incurred by wilfully transgressing law, 13 You must pass by the debts of every man; for as you deal with other men your God will deal with you. 14 And when you fast you may not advertise the deed. 15 When fast the hypocrites they paint their faces, look demure, assume a pious pose, that they may seem to men to fast. 16 A fast is deed of soul, and like a prayer, it is a function of the silence of the soul. 17 God never passes by unnoticed any prayer, or fast. He walks within the silence, and his benedictions rest on every effort of the soul. 18 Deception is hypocrisy, and you shall not assume to be what you are not. 19 You may not clothe yourselves in special garb to advertise your piety, nor yet assume the tone of voice that men conceive to be a holy voice. 20 And when you give to aid the needy ones, blow not a trumpet in the street, nor a synagogue to advertise your gift. 21 He who does alms for praise of men has his reward from men; but God regardeth not. 22 In giving alms do not let the right hand know the secret of the left.

Chapter 95

The Sermon on the Mount, continued. Jesus pronounces the eight beatitudes and the eight woes. Speaks words of encouragement. Emphasises the exalted character of the apostolic work.

AND Jesus and the twelve went to the mountain top, and Jesus said, 2 Twelve pillars of the church, apostles of the Christ; light-bearers of the sun of life and ministers of God to men: 3 In just a little while you must go forth alone, and preach the gospel of the king, first to the Jews and then to all the world. 4 And you shall go, not with a scourge of cords to drive; you cannot drive men to the king; 5 But you shall go in love and helpfulness and lead the way to right and light. 6 Go forth and say, The kingdom is at hand. 7 Worthy are the strong in spirit; theirs the kingdom is. 8 Worthy are the meek; they shall possess the land. 9 Worthy they who hunger and thirst for right; they shall be satisfied. 10 Worthy are the merciful; and mercy shall be shown to them. 11 Worthy they who gain the mastery of self; they have the key of power. 12 Worthy are the pure in heart; and they shall see the king. 13 Worthy they who are maligned and wronged because they do the right; their percecutors they shall bless. 14 Worthy is the trustful child of faith; he shall sit in the throne of power. 15 Be not discouraged when the world shall persecute and call you curst; but rather be exceeding glad. 16 The prophets and the seers, and all the good of earth, have been maligned. 17 If you are worthy of the crown of life you will be slandered, vilified and curst on earth. 18 Rejoice when evil men shall drive you from their ways and cause your name to be a hiss and by-word in the street. 19 I say, rejoice; but deal in mercy with the doers of the wrong; they are but children at their play; they know not what they do. 20 Rejoice not over fallen foes. As you help men rise from the depth of sin, so God will help you on to greater heights. 21 Woe to the rich is gold and lands; they have temptations multiforms. 22 Woe unto men who walk at will in pleasure's paths; their ways are full of snares and dangerous pits. 23 Woe to the proud; they stand upon a precipice; destruction waits for them. 24 Woe to the man of greed; for what he has is not his own; and lo, another comes; wealth is gone. 25 Woe to the hypocrite; his form is fair to look upon; his heart is filled with carcasses and dead men's bones. 26 Woe to the cruel and relentless man; he is himself the victim of his deeds. 27 The evil he would do to other men rebounds; the scourger is the scourged. 28 Woe to the libertine who preys upon the virtues of the weak. The hour comes when he will be the weak, the victim of a libertine of greater power. 29 Woe unto you when all the world shall speak in praise of you. The world speaks not in praise of men who live within the Holy Breath; It speaks in praise of prophets false, and of illusions base. 30 You men who walk in Holy Breath are salt, the salt of earth; but if you lose your virtue you are salt in name alone, worth nothing more than dust. 31 And you are light; are called to light the world. 32 A city on a hill cannot be hid; its lights are seen afar; and while you stand upon the hills of life men see your light and imitate your works and honour God. 33 Men do not light a lamp and hide it in a cask; they put it on a stand that it may light the house. 34 You are the lamps of God; must not stand in the shade of earth illusions, but in the open, high upon the stand. 35 I am not come to nullify the law, nor to destroy; but to fulfil. 36 The Law, the Prophets and the Psalms were written in the wisdom of the Holy breath and cannot fail. 37 The heavens and earth that are will change and pass away; the word of God is sure; it cannot pass until it shall accomplish that where unto it hath been sent. 38 Whoever disregards the law of God and teaches men to do the same, becomes a debtor unto God and cannot see his face until he has returned and paid his debt by sacrifice of life. 39 But he who hearkens unto God and keeps his law and does his will on earth, shall rule with Christ. 40 The scribes and Pharisees regard the letter of the law; they cannot comprehend the spirit of the law; 41 And if your righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of scribe and Pharisee you cannot come into the kingdom of the soul. 42 It is not what man does that gives him right to enter through the gates; his pass word is his character and desire is his character. 43 The letter of the law deals with the acts of man; the spirit of the law takes note of his desires.

Chapter 96

The Sermon on the Mount, continued. Jesus considers the Ten Commandments. The philosophy of Christ the spirit of the Commandments. Jesus unfolds the spiritual aspects of the first four Commandments.

GOD gave the Ten Commandments unto men; upon the mountain Moses saw the words of God; he wrote them down on solid rock; they cannot be destroyed. 2 These Ten Commandments show the justice side of God; but now the love of God made manifest brings mercy on the wings of Holy Breath. 3 Upon the unity of God the law was built. In all the world there is one force; Jehovah is Almighty God. 4 Jehovah wrote uoun the heavens and Moses read, 5 I am Almighty God and you shall have no God but me. 6 There is one force, but many phases of that force; these phases men call powers. 7 All powers are of God; and they are manifests of God; they are Spirits of the God. 8 If men could seem to find another force and worship at its shrine, they would but court illusion, vain, 9 A shadow of the One, Jehovah, God, and they who worship shadows are but shadows on the wall; for men are what court. 10 And God would have all men to be the substance, and in mercy he commanded, You shall seek no God but me. 11 And finite men can never comprehend infinite things. Man cannot make an image of the Infinite in force. 12 And when men make a God of stone or wood or clay they make an image of a shade; and they who worship at the shrine of shades are shades. 13 So God in mercy said, You shall not carve out images of wood, or clay, or stone. 14 Such idols are ideals, abased ideals, and men can gain no higher plane than their ideals. 15 The God is Spirit men must worship if they would attain a consciousness of God. 16 But man can never make a picture or an image of the Holy Breath. 17 The name of God man may not speak with carnal lips; with Holy Breath alone can man pronounce the name. 18 In vanity men think they know the name of God; they speak it lightly and irreverently, and thus they are accursed. 19 If men did know the sacred name and spoke it with unholy lips, they would not live to speak it once again. 20 But God in mercy has not yet unveiled his name to those who cannot speak with Holy Breath. 21 But they who speak the substitute in idle way are guilty in the sight of God, who said, 22 You shall not take the name of God in vain. 23 The number of the Holy Breath is seven, and God holds in his hands the sevens of time. 24 In forming worlds he rested on the seventh day, and every seventh day is set apart as Sabbath day for men. God said, 25 The seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; remember it and keep it wholly set apart for works of holiness; that is, for works not for the selfish self, but for the universal self. 26 Men may do work for self upon the six days of the week; but on the Sabbath of the Lord they must do naught for self. 27 This day is consecrated unto God; but man serves God by serving man.

Chapter 97

The Sermon on the Mount, continued. Jesus unfolds to the twelve the spiritual aspects of the fifth and sixth Commandments.

GOD is not force alone; for wisdom is his counterpart. 2 When cherubim instructed man in wisdom's ways they said that wisdom is the Mother of the race, as force is Father of the race. 3 The man who honours the almighty and omniscient God is blessed, and in the tables of the law we read, 4 Pay homage to your Father and Mother of the race, that your days may be prolonged upon the land that they have given you. 5 The letter of the law commands; you shall not kill; and he who kills must stand before the judgement seat. 6 A person may desire to kill, yet if he does not kill he is not judged by law. 7 The spirit of the law avers that he who shall desire to kill, or seeks revenge, is angry with a man without suffient cause, must answer to the judge; 8 And he who calls his brother soulless vagabond shall answer to the council of the just; 9 And he who calls his brother a degenerate, a dog, fans into life the burning fires of hell within himself. 10 Now, in the higher law we read that if your brother is aggrieved by something you have done, before you offer unto God your gifts, go forth and find your brother and be reconciled to him. 11 It is not well to let the sun go down upon your wrath. 12 If he will not be reconciled when you have laid aside all selfish pleas, have waived all selfish rights, you will be guiltless in the sight of God; then go and offer unto God your gifts. 13 If you owe aught to any man and cannot pay; or if a man shall claim a greater sum than is his due it is not well that you dispute his claims. 14 Resistance is the sire of anger; there is no mercy and no reason in a wrathful man. 15 I tell you it is better far to suffer loss than go to law, or call upon the courts of men to judge of right and wrong. 16 The law of carnal man would say, Eye for eye and tooth for tooth; resist encroachment on your rights. 17 But this is not the law of God. The Holy Breath would say, Resist not him who would deprive you of your goods. 18 He who would take your coat by force is still a brother man and you should gain his heart, which by resistance cannot be done; 19 Give him your coat and offer him still more and more; in time the man will rise above the brute; you will have saved him from himself. 20 Refuse not him who calls for help and give to him who asks to borrow aught. 21 And if a man shall strike you in a fitful, or an angry way, it is not well to smite him in return. 22 Men call him coward who will not fight and thus defend his rights; but he is much the greater man who is assailed, is smitten and does not smite; 23 Who is maligned and answers not, than he who smites the smiter and reviles the one who slanders him. 24 It has been said in olden times that man shall love his friend and hate his foe; but, lo, I say, 25 Be merciful unto your foes; bless those who slander you; do good to those who do you harm and pray for those who trample on your rights. 26 Remember, you are children of the God who makes his sun to rise alike upon the evil and the good, who sends his rain upon the unjust and the just. 27 If you do unto other men as they do unto you, you are but slaves, but followers in the way to death. 28 But you, as children of the light, must lead the way. 29 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 30 When you do good to those who have done good to you, you do no more than other men; the publicans do that. 31 If you salute your friends and not your foes, you are like other men; the publicans ahve set the pace. 32 Be perfect as your Father-God in heaven is.

Chapter 98

The Sermon on the Mount, continued. Jesus reveals to the twelve the spiritual aspects of the seventh, eight and tenth Commandments.

THE law forbids adultery; but in the eyes of law adultery is an overt act, the satisfaction of the sensuous self outside the marriage bonds. 2 Now, marriage in the sight of law is but a promise made by man and woman, by the sanction of a priest, to live for aye in harmony and love. 3 No priest nor officer has power from God to bind two souls in wedded love. 4 What is the marriage tie? Is it comprised in what a priest or officer may say? 5 Is it the scroll on which the officer or priest has written the permission for the two to live in marriage bonds? 6 Is it the promise of the two that they will love each other until death? 7 Is love a passion that is subject to the will of man? 8 Can man pick up his love, as he would pick up precious gems, and lay it down, or give it out to any one? 9 Can love be bought and sold like sheep? 10 Love is the power of God that binds two souls and makes them one; there is no power on earth that can dissolve the bond. 11 The bodies may be forced apart by man or death for just a little time; but they will meet again. 12 Now, in this bond of God we find the marriage tie; all other unions are but bonds of straw, and they who live in them commit adultery. 13 The same as they who satisfy their lust without the sanction of an officer or priest. 14 But more than this; the man or woman who indulges lustful thoughts commits adultery. 15 Whom God has joined together man cannot part; whom man has joined together live in sin. 16 Upon a table of the law, the great lawgiver wrote, Thou shalt not steal. 17 Before the eyes of law a man to steal must take a thing that can be seen with eyes of flesh, without the knowledge or consent of him to whom the thing belongs. 18 But, lo, I say that he who in his heart desires to possess that which is not his own, and would deprive the owner of the thing without his knowledge or consent, is in the sight of God, a thief. 19 The things that men see not with eyesof flesh are of more worth than are the things that man can see. 20 A man's good name is worth a thousand mines of gold, and he who says a word or does a deed that injures or defames that name has taken what is not his own, and is a thief. 21 Upon a table of the law we also read: Thou shalt not covet anything. 22 To covet is an all-consuming wish to have what is not right for one to have. 23 And such a wish, within the spirit of the law, is theft.

Chapter 99

The Sermon on the Mount, continued. Jesus unfolds to the twelve the spiritual aspects of the ninth Commandment.

THE law has said: Thou shalt not lie; but in the eyes of law a man to lie must tell inwords what is not true. 2 Now, in the light of spirit law, deceit in any form is nothing but a lie. 3 A man may lie by look or act; yea, even by his silence may deceive, and thus be guilty in the eyes of Holy Breath. 4 It has been said in olden times: Thou shalt not swear by thine own life. 5 But, lo, I say, Swear not at all; not by the head, the heart, the eye, nor hand; not by the sun, the moon, nor stars; 6 Not by the name of God, nor by the name of any spirit, good or bad. 7 You shall not swear by anything; for in an oath there is no gain. 8 A man whose word must be propped up by oath of any kind is not trustworthy in the sight of God or man. 9 By oath you cannot make a leaf to fall, nor turn the colour of a hair. 10 The man of worth just speaks and men know that he speaks the truth. 11 The man who pours out many words to make think he speaks the truth, is simply making smoke to hide a lie. 12 And there are many men with seeming double hearts; men who would serve two masters at a time--two masters quite adverse. 13 Men feign to worship God upon the Sabbath day and then pay court to Beelzebul on every other day. 14 No man can serve two masters at a time no more than he can ride two asses at a time that go in different ways. 15 The man who feigns to worship God and Beelzebul is foe of God, a pious devil and a curse of men. 16 And men cannot lay treasures up in heaven and earth at once. 17 Then, lo, I say, Lift up your eyes and see the safety vaults of heaven, and there deposit every gem. 18 Where moth and rust cannot corrupt; where thieves cannot break in and steal. 19 There are no safety vaults on earth; no place secure from moth, and rust and thieves. 20 The treasures of the earth are but illusive things that pass away. 21 Be not deceived; your treasures are the anchor of the soul, and where your treasures are your heart will be. 22 Fix not your heart upon the things of earth; be anxious not about the things to eat, or drink or wear. 23 God cares for those who trust in him and serve the race. 24 Behold the birds! They praise God in their songs; the earth is made more glorious by their ministry of joy; God keeps them in the hollow of his hand, 25 And not a sparrow falls to earth without his care; and every one that falls shall rise again. 26 Behold the flowers of earth! they trust in God and grow; they make the earth resplendent with their beauty and perfume. 27 Look at the lilies of the field, the messengers of holy love. No son of man, not even Solomon in all his excellence, was ever clothed like one of these. 28 And yet they simply trust in God; they feed from out his hand; they lay their heads to rest upon his breast. 29 If God so clothes and feeds the flowers and birds that do his will, will he not feed and clothe his children when they trust in him? 30 Seek first the kingdom of the soul, the righteousness of God, the good of men, and feed, and clothe.

Chapter 100

The Sermon on the Mount, continued. Jesus formulates and presents to the twelve a practical code of spiritual ethics.

THERE is a rule that carnal man has made, and which he rigidly observes: 2 Do unto other men as they do unto you. As others judge, they judge; as others give, they give. 3 Now, while you walk with men as men, judge not, and you shall not be judged. 4 For as you judge you shall be judged, and as you give it shall be given to you. If you condemn, you are condemned. 5 When you show mercy, men are merciful to you, and if you love in such a way that carnal man can comprehend your love, you will be well beloved. 6 And so the wise man of this world does unto other men as he would have them do to him. 7 The carnal man does good to other men for selfish gain, for he expects to have his blessings multiplied and then returned; he does not stop to note the end. 8 Man is himself the field; his deeds are seeds, and what he does to others grows apace; the hearvest time is sure. 9 Behold the yield! If he has sown the wind, he reaps the wind; if he has sown the noxious seeds of scandal, theft and hate; of sensuality and crime, 10 The harvest is assured and he must reap what he has sown; yea, more; the seeds produce an hundred fold. 11 The fruit of righteousness and peace and love and joy can never spring from noxious seeds; the fruit is like the seed. 12 And when you sow, sow seeds of right, because it is the right, and not in the way of trade, expecting rich rewards. 13 The carnal man abhors the spirit law, because it takes away his liberty to live in sin; beneath its light he cannot satisfy his passions and desires. 14 He is at enmity with him who walks in Holy Breath. The carnal man has killed the holy men of old, the prophets and the seers. 15 And he will buffet you; will charge you falsely, scourge you and imprison you, and think he does the will of God to slay you in the streets. 16 But you may not prejudge nor cencure him who does you wrong. 17 Each one has problems to be solved, and he must solve them for himself. 18 The man who scourges you may have a load of sin to bear; but how about your own? 19 A little sin in one who walks in Holy Breath is greater in the sight of God than monster sins in him who never knew the way. 20 How can you see the splinter in your brother's eye while you have chunks within your own? 21 First take the chunks from out your eye and then you may behold the splinter in your brother's eye and help him take it out, 22 And while your eyes are full of foreign things you cannot see the way, for you are blind, 23 And when the blind lead forth the blind, both lose the way and fall into the slough. 24 If you would lead the way to God you must be clear in sight, as well as pure in heart.

Chapter 101

The Sermon on the Mount, concluded. The concluding part of the code of ethics. The Christines return to Capernaum.

THE fruitage of the tree of life is all too fine to feed the carnal mind. 2 If you would throw a diamond to a hungry dog, lo, he would turn away, or else attack you in a rage. 3 The incense that is sweet to God is quite offensive unto Beelzebul; the bread of heaven is but chaff to men who cannot comprehend the spirit life. 4 The master must be wise and feed the soul with what it can digest. 5 If you have not the food for every man, just ask and you shall have; seek earnestly and you shall find. 6 Just speak the Word and knock; the door will fly ajar. 7 No one has ever asked in faith and did not have; none ever sought in vain; no one who ever knocked aright has failed to find an open door. 8 When men shall ask you for the bread of heaven, turn not away, nor give to them the fruit of carnal trees. 9 If one, a son, would ask you for a loaf, would you give him a stone? If he would ask you for a fish, would you give him a serpent of the dust? 10 What you would have your God give unto you, give unto men. The Measure of your worth lies in your service unto men. 11 There is a way that leads unto the perfect life; few find it at a time. 12 It is a narrow way; it lies among the rocks and pitfalls of the carnal life; but in the way there are no pitfalls and no rocks. 13 There is a way that leads to wretchedness and want. It is a spacious way and many walk therein. It lies among the pleasure groves of carnal life. 14 Beware, for many claim to walk the way of life who walk the way of death. 15 But they are false in word and deed; false prophets they. They clothe themselves in skins of sheep, while they are vicious wolves. 16 They cannot long conceal themselves; men know them ny their fruits; 17 You cannot gather grapes from thorns, nor from the thistles, figs. 18 The fruit is daughter of the tree and, like the parent, so the child; and every tree that bears not wholesome fruit is plucked up by the roots and cast away, 19 Because a man prays long and loud is not a sign that he is saint. The praying men are not all in the kingdom of the soul. 20 The man who lives the holy life, who does the will of God, abides within the kingdom of the soul. 21 The good man from the treasures of his heart sends blessedness and peace to all the world. 22 The evil man sends thoughts that blight and wither hope and joy and fill the world with wretchedness and woe. 23 Men think and act and speak out of the abundance of the heart. 24 And when the judgement hour shall come a host of men will enter pleadings for themselves and think to buy the favour of the judge with words. 25 And they will say, Lo, we have wrought a multitude of works in the Omnific name, 26 Have we not prophesied? Have we not cured all manner of disease? Have we not cast the evil spirits out of those obsessed? 27 And then the judge will say, I know you not. You rendered service unto God in words when in your heart you worshipped Beelzebul. 28 The evil one may use the powers of life, and do a multitude of mighty works. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. 29 The man who hears the words of life and does them not is like the man who builds his house upon the sand, which when the floods come on, is washed away and all is lost. 30 But he who hears the words of life and in an honest, sincere heart receives and treasures them and lives the holy life, 31 Is like the man who builds the house upon the rock; the floods may come, the winds may blow, the storms may beat upon his house; it is not moved. 32 Go forth and build your life upon the solid rock of truth, and all the powers of the evil one will shake it not. 33 And Jesus finished all his sayings on the mount and then he, with the twelve, returned unto Capernaum.

Chapter 102

The Christines at the home of Jesus. Jesus unfolds to them the secret doctrine. They go through all Galilee and teach and heal. Jesus brings to life the son of a widow at Nain. They return to Capernaum.

THE twelve apostles went with Jesus to his home, and there abode for certain days. 2 And Jesus told them many things about the inner life that may not now be written in a book. 3 Now, in Capernaum, there lived a man of wealth, a Roman captain of a hundred men, who loved the Jews and who had built for them a synagogue. 4 A servant of this man was paralysed, and he was sick nigh unto death. 5 The captain knew of Jesus and had heard that by the Sacred Word he healed the sick, and he had faith in him. 6 He sent a message by the elders of the Jews to Jesus, and he pled for help. 7 and Jesus recognised the captain's faith and went at once to heal the sick; the captain met him on the way and said to him, 8 Lo, Lord, it is not well that you should come unto my house; I am not worthy of the presence of a man of God. 9 I am a man of war, my life is spent with those who ofttimes take the lives of fellow men. 10 And surely he who comes to save would be dishonoured if he came beneath my roof. 11 If you will speak the Word I know my servant will be well. 12 And Jesus turned and said to those who followed him, 13 Behold the captain's faith; I have not seen such faith, no, not in Israel. 14 Behold, the feast is spread for you; but while you doubt and wait, the alien comes in faith and takes the bread of life. 15 Then turning to the man he said, Go on your way; according to your faith so shall it be; your servant lives. 16 It came to pass that at the time that Jesus spoke the Word the palsied man arose, and he was well. 17 And then the Christines went abroad to teach. And as they came to Nain, a city on the Hermon way, they saw a multitude about the gates. 18 It was a funeral train; a widow's son was dead, and friends were bearing out the body to the tomb. 19 It was the widow's only son, and she was wild with grief. And Jesus said to her, Weep not, I am the life; your son shall live. 20 And Jesus raised his hand; the bearers of the dead stood still. 21 And Jesus touched the bier and said, Young man, return. 22 The soul returned; the body of the dead was filled with life; the man sat up and spoke. 23 The people were astonished at the scene, and every one exclaimed, Praise God. 24 A Jewish priest stood forth and said, Behold a mighty prophet has appeared; and all the people said, Amen. 25 The Christines journeyed on; they taught, and healed the sick in many towns of Galilee, and then they came again unto Capernaum.

Chapter 103

The Christines in Jesus' home. Jesus teaches the twelve and the foreign masters every morning. Jesus receives messengers from John, the harbinger, and sends him words of encouragement. He eulogies the character of John.

THE home of Jesus was a school where in the early morning hours the twelve apostles and the foreign priests were taught the secret things of God. 2 And there were present priests from China, India, and from Babylon; from Persia, Egypt and from Greece, 3 Who came to sit at Jesus' feet to learn the wisdom that he brought to men, that they might teach their people how to live the holy life. 4 And Jesus taught them how to teach; he told them of the trials of the way, and how to make these trials serve the race. 5 He taught them how to live the holy life that they might conquer death; 6 He taught them what the end of mortal life will be, when man has reached the consciousness that he and God are one. 7 The after midday hours were given to the multitudes who came to learn the way of life and to be healed; and many did believe and were baptised. 8 Now, in his prison by the Bitter Sea the harbinger had heard of all the mighty works that Jesus did. 9 His prison life was hard, and he was sore distressed, and he began to doubt. 10 And to himself he said, I wonder if this Jesus is the Christ of whom the prophets wrote! 11 Was I mistaken in my work? Was I, indeed, one sent from God to pave the way for him who shall redeem our people, Israel? 12 And then he sent some of his friends, who came to see him in his prison cell, up to Capernaum that they might learn about this man, and bring him word. 13 The men found Jesus in his home, and said, Behold the harbinger sent us to ask, Are you the Christ? or is he yet to come? 14 But Jesus answered not; he simply bade the men to tarry certain days that they might see and hear. 15 They saw him heal the sick, and cause the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see; 16 They saw him cast the evil spirits out of those obsessed; they saw him raise the dead. 17 They heard him preach the gospel to the poor. 18 Then Jesus said to them, Go on your way; return to John and tell him all that you have seen and heard; then he will know. They went their way. 19 The multitudes were there, and Jesus said to them, Once you were crowding Jordan's fords; you filled the wilderness. 20 What did you go to see? The trees of Juda, and the flowers of Heth? Or did you go to see a man in kingly garb? Or did you go to see a prophet and a seer? 21 I tell you, men, you know not whom you saw. A prophet? Yea, and more; a messenger whom God had sent to pave the way for what you see and hear this day. 22 Among the men of earth a greater man has never lived than John. 23 Behold I say, This man whom Herod bound in chains and cast into a prison cell is God's Elijah come again to earth. 24 Elijah, who did not pass the gate of death, whose body of this flesh was changed, and he awoke in Paradise. 25 When John came forth and preached the gospel of repentance for the cleansing of the soul, the common folks believed and were baptised. 26 The lawyers and the Pharisees accepted not the teachings of this man; were not baptised. 27 Behold, neglected opportunities will never come again. 28 Behold, the people are unstable as the waters of the sea; they seek to be excused from righteousness. 29 John came and ate no bread, and drank no wine. He lived the simplest life apart from men, and people said, He is obsessed. 30 Another comes who eats and drinks and lives in homes like other men, and people say, He is a glutton, an inegriate, a friend of publicans and those who sin. 31 Woe unto you, you cities of the vale of Galilee, where all the mighty works of God are done! Woe to Chorazan and Bethsaida! 32 If half the mighty works that have been done in you were done in Tyre and in Sidon they would have long ago repented of their sins, and sought the way of right. 33 And when the judgement day shall come, lo, Tyre and Sidon will be called more worthy than will you. 34 Because they slighted not their gifts, while you have thrown away the pearl of greatest price. 35 Woe unto you Capernaum! Behold, you are exalted now, but you shall be abased; 36 For if the mighty works that have been done in you had but been done within the cities of the plain--of Sodom and Zeboim--they would have heard and turned to God; would not have been destroyed. 37 They perished in their ignorance; they had no light; but you have heard; you have the evidence. 38 The light of life has shown above your hills and all the shores of Galilee have been ablaze with light; 39 The glory of the Lord has shown in evry street and syna gogue and home; but you have spurned the light. 40 And, lo, I say, The judgment day will come and God will deal in greater mercy with the cities of the plains than he will deal with you.

Chapter 104

Jesus teaches the multitudes. Attends a feast in Simon's house. A wealthy courtesan anoints him with precious balm. Simon rebukes him and he preaches a sermon on false respectability.

AND Jesus looked upon the multitudes who pressed about for selfish gain. 2 The men of learning and of wealth, of reputation and of power, were there; but they knew not the Christ. 3 Their eyes were blinded by the tinselled glitter of their selfish selves; they could not see the king. 4 And though they walked within the light, they groped about in dark--a darkness like the night of death. 5 And Jesus cast his eyes to heaven and said, 6 I thank thee, Holy One of heaven and earth, that while the light is hidden from the wise and great, it is revealed to babes. 7 Then turning to the multitudes he said, I come to you not in the name of man, nor in a strength my own; 8 The wisdom and the virtue that I bring to you are from above; they are the wisdom and the virtue of the God whom we adore. 9 The words I speak are not my words; I give to you what I receive. 10 Come unto me all you who labour and pull heavy loads and I will give you aid. 11 Put on the yoke of Christ with me; it does not chafe; it is an easy yoke. 12 Together we will pull the load of life with ease; and so rejoice. 13 A Pharisee, whose name was Simon, made a feast, and Jesus was the honoured guest. 14 And as they sat about the board, a coutesan who had been cured of her desire to sin by what she had received and seen in Jesus' ministry, came uninvited to the feast. 15 She brought an alabaster box of costly balm and as the guests reclined she came to Jesus in her joy, because she been freed from sin. 16 Her tears fell fast, she kissed his feet, and dried them with her hair, and she anointed them with balm. 17 And Simon thought, he did not speak alous, This man is not a prophet or he would know the kind of woman that approaches him, and would drive her away. 18 But Jesus knew his thoughts, and said to him, My host, I have a word to say to you. 19 And Simon said, Say on. 20 And Jesus said, Sin is a monster of iniquity; it may be small; it may be large; it may be something left undone. 21 Behold, one person leads a life of sin and is at last redeemed; another, in a careless mood, forgets to do the things hs ought to do but he reforms and is forgiven. Now, which of these has merited the higher praise? 22 And Simon said, The one who overcame the error of alife. 23 And Jesus said, You speak the truth. 24 Behold this woman who has bathed my feet with tears and dried them with her hair and covered them with balm! 25 For years she led a life of sin, but when she heard the words of life she sought forgiveness and she found. 26 But when I came into your house as guest you gave me not a bowl of water that I might wash my hands and feet, which every loyal Jew must do before he feasts. 27 Now, tell me, Simon, which of these, this woman or yourself, is worthy of most praise? 28 But Simon answered not. 29 Then to the woman Jesus said, Your sins are all forgiven; your faith has saved you; go in peace. 30 And then the guests who sat around the board, began to say within themselves, What manner of a man is this who says, Thy sins are all forgiven?

Chapter 105

Under the patronage of a number of wealthy woman, the Christines make a grand missionary tour. In his teaching Jesus lauds sincerity and rebukes hypocrisy. He speaks concerning the sin against the Holy Breath.

NOW, many women who possessed much wealth, and abode in other towns of Galilee, implored that Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from the foreign lands, would thither go and preach and heal. 2 Among these anxious ones were Mary Magdalene, who was obsessed by seven homeless spirits of the air, which had been driven out by the Omnific Word which Jesus spoke; 3 Susanna, who owned vast estates at Caesarea-Philippi; 4 Johanna, wife of Chuza, one of Herod's court; 5 And Rachel from the coast of Tyre; 6 And other from beyond the Jordan and the sea of Galilee. 7 And they provided ample means and three times seven men went forth. 8 They preached the gospel of the Christ and they baptised the multitudes who made confession of their faith; they healed the sick and raised the dead. 9 And Jesus wrought and taught from early morn until the day had gone, and then into the night, he did not stop to eat. 10 His friends became alarmed lest he should fail from loss of strength, and they laid hold of him and would, by force, have taken him away to a place of rest. 11 But he rebuked them not; he said, Have you not read that God will give his angels charge concerning me? 12 That they would hold me fast and suffer not that I should come to want? 13 I tell you, men, while I am giving out my strength unto these anxious, waiting throngs I find myself at rest within the arms of God, 14 Whose blessed messengers bring down to me the bread of life. 15 There is a tide just once in human life. 16 These people now are willing to receive the truth; their opportunity is now; our opportunity is now, 17 And if we do not teach them while we may, the tide will ebb; 18 They may not care again to hear the truth; then tell me, Who will bear the guilt? 19 And so he taught and healed. 20 Among the multitudes were men of every shade of thought. They were divided in their views concernong everything that Jesus said. 21 Some saw in him a God, and would have worshipped him; and others saw in him a devil of the nether world and would have cast him in a pit. 22 And some were trying hard to lead a double life; like little lions of the ground that take upon themselves the colour of the thing they rest upon. 23 These people without anchorage of any sort, are friends or foes as seemed to serve them best. 24 And Jesus said, No man can serve two masters at a time. No man can be a friend and foe at once. 25 All men are rising up, or sinking down; are building up, or tearing down. 26 If you are gathering not the precious grain, then you are throwing it away. 27 He is a coward who would feign to be a friend, or foe, to please another man. 28 You men, do not deceice yourselves inthought; your hearts are known; 29 Hypocrisy will blight a soul as surely as the breath of Beelzebul. An honest evil man is more esteemed by guardians of the soul than a dishonest pious man. 30 If you would curse the son of man, just curse him out aloud. 31 A curse is poison to the inner man, and if you hold and swallow down a curse it never will digest; lo, it will poison every atom of your soul. 32 And if you sin against a son of man, you may be pardoned and your guilt be cleansed by acts of kindness and of love; 33 But if you sin against the Holy Breath by disregarding her when she would open up the doors of life for you; 34 By closing up the windows of the soul when she would pour the light of love into your hearts, and cleanse them with the fires of God; 35 Your guilt shall not be blotted out in this, nor in the life to come. 36 An opportunity has gone to come no more, and you must wait until the ages roll again. 37 Then will the Holy Breath again breathe on your fires of life, and fan them to a living flame. 38 Then she will open up the doors again, and you may let her in to sup with you for evermore, or you may slight her once again, and then again. 39 You men of Israel, your opportunity is now. 40 Your tree of life is an illusive tree; it has a generous crop of leaves; its boughs hang low with fruit. 41 Behold, your words are leaves; your deeds the fruit. 42 Behold, for men have plucked the apples of your tree of life, and found them full of bitterness; and worms have eaten to the core. 43 Behold that fig tree by the way so full of leaves and worthless fruit! 44 Then Jesus spoke a word that nature spirits know, and lo, the fig tree stood a mass of withered leaves. 45 And then he spoke again, Behold, for God will speak the Word, and you will stand a withered fig tree in the setting sun. 46 You men of Galilee, send forth and call the pruner in before it is too late, and let him prune away your worthless branches and illusive leaves, and let the sunshine in. 47 The sun is life, and it can change your worthlessness to worth. 48 Your tree of life is good; but you have nurtured it solong with dews of self, and mists of carnal things that you have shut the sunshine out. 49 I tell you, men, that you must give account to God for every idle word you speak and every evil deed you do.

Chapter 106

The Christines are in Magdala. Jesus heals a man who was blind, dumb and obsessed. He teaches the people. While he speaks his mother, brothers and Miriam come to him. He teaches a lesson on family relationship. He introduces Miriam to the people and she sings her songs of victory.

MAGDALA is beside the sea, and here the teachers taught. 2 A man obsessed, and who was blind and dumb was brought, and Jesus spoke the Word, and lo, the evil spirits went away; the man spoke out, his eyes were opened and he saw. 3 This was the greatest work that men had seen the master do, and they were all amazed. 4 The Pharisees were there, and they were full of jealous rage; they sought a cause whereby they might condemn. 5 They said, Yes, it is true that Jesus does a multitude of mighty works; but men should know that he is leagued with Beelzebul. 6 He is a sorcerer, a black magician of the Simon Cerus type; he works as Jannes and as Jambres did in Moses' day. 7 For Satan, prince of evil spirits, is his stay by night and day and in the name of Satan he casts the demons out, and in his name he heals the sick and raises up the dead. 8 But Jesus knew their thoughts; he said to them, You men are masters, and you know the law; whatever is arrayed against itself must fall; a house divided cannot stand; 9 A kingdom warring with itself is brought to naught. 10 If Satan casts the devil out, how can his kingdom stand? 11 If I, by Beelzebul, cast devils out, by whom do you cast devils out? 12 But if I, in the holy name of God, cast devils out, and make the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the dumb to speak, has not God's kingdom come to you? 13 The Pharisees were dumb; they answered not. 14 As Jesus spoke a messenger approached and said to him, Your mother and your brothers wish to speak with you. 15 And Jesus said, Who is my mother? and my brothers, who are they? 16 And then he spoke a word aside unto the foreign masters and the twelve; he said, 17 Behold, men recognise their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers here in flesh; but when the veil is rent and men walk in the realms of soul, 18 The tender lines of love that bind the groups of fleshly kin in families will fade away. 19 Not that the love for anyone will be the less; but men will see in all the motherhood, the fatherhood, the sisterhood, the brotherhood of man. 20 The family groups of earth will all be lost in universal love and fellowship divine. 21 Then to the multitudes he said, Whoever lives the life and does the will of God is child of God and is my mother, father, sister, friend. 22 And then he went aside to speak to mother and his other kindred in the flesh. 23 But he saw more than these. The maiden who once thrilled his very soul with love. a love beyond the love of any fleshly kin; 24 Who was the sorest tempter in the temple Heliopolis beside the Nile, who sung for him the sacred songs, was there. 25 The recognition was of kindred souls, and Jesus said, 26 Behold, for God has brought to us a power men cannot comprehend, a power of purity and love; 27 To make more light the burdens of the hour, to be a balm for wounded souls; 28 To win the multitude to better ways by sacred song and holy life. 29 Behold, for Miriam who stood beside the sea and sung the song of victory when Moses led the way, will sing again. 30 And all the choirs of heaven will join and sing the glad refrain: 31 Peace, peace on earth; good will to men! 32 And Miriam stood before the waiting throngs and sung again the songs of victory, and all the people said, Amen.

Chapter 107

A Pharisee demands of Jesus signs of his messiahship. Jesus rebukes him, because he does not recognise the signs that are being continually given. Jesus exhorts the people to receive the light that they may become the light.

A PHARISEE elated with himself stood forth among the multitudes and said to Jesus, 2 Sir, we would have you demonstrate. If you are truly Christ who was to come, then you can surely do what black magicians cannot do. 3 Lo, they can talk, and hold the multitudes with words of power; and they can heal the sick and drive the demons out of those obsessed; 4 They can control the storms; and fire and earth and air will hear and answer when they speak. 5 Now, if you will ascend and from that tower fly across the sea, we will believe that you are sent from God. 6 And Jesus said, No black magician ever lived a holy life; you have a demonstration of the Christ-life every day. 7 But lo, you evil and adulterous scribes and Pharisees, you cannot see a spirit sign, because your spirit eyes are full of carnal self. 8 You seek a sign to please your curoisity. You walk the very lowest planes of carnal life and cry, Phenomena! show us a sign and then we will believe. 9 I was not sent to earth to buy up faith as men buy fish and fruit and rubbish in the streets. 10 Men seem to think it quite a favour done to me when they confess their faith in me and in the holy Christ. 11 What does it matter unto me as man if you believe or disbelieve? 12 Faith is not something you can buy with coin; it is not something you can sell for gold. 13 Once Mart, abeggar, followed me and cried, Give me a silver piece; then I will believe in you. 14 And you are like this beggar man; you offer to exchange your faith for signs. 15 But I will give to all the world one sign as surety that the Christ abides with me. 16 You all have read the parable of Jonah and the fish, wherein it is recorded that the prophet spent three days and nights within the stomach of the mighty fish, and then came forth. 17 The son of man will spend three days and nights within the heart of earth and then come forth again, and men will see and know. 18 Behold, the light may be so bright that men cannot see anything. 19 The Spirit light has shown so brightly over Galilee that you who hear me now are blind. 20 You may have read the words of prophet Azrael; he said, The light shall shine out brightly in the darkness of the night, and men shall comprehend it not. 21 That time has come; the light shines forth; you see it not. 22 The Queen of Sheba sat in darkest night and still she yearned for light. 23 She came to hear the words of wisdom from the lips of Solomon, and she believed; 24 And she became a living torch, and when she reached her home, lo, all Arabia was filled with light. 25 A greater far than Solomon is here; the Christ is here; the Day Star had risen, and you reject the light. 26 And you remember Nineveh, the wicked city of Assyria, which God had marked to be destroyed by shock and flame unless the people turned and walked in ways of right. 27 And Jonah raised his voice and said, In forty days shall Nineveh be razed, and her wealth shall be destroyed. 28 The people heard and they believed; and they reformed and turned to ways of right, and lo, their city was not razed; was not destroyed. 29 You men of Galilee, I tell you that Arabia and Nineveh will testify against you in the judgment day. 30 Behold, for every one to whom I speak has in him all the fires of God; but they are lying dead. 31 The will is bridled by the flesh desires, and it brings not the ethers of the fires to vibrate into light. 32 Look, therefore, to your soul and note, Is not the light within you dark as night? 33 There is no breath but Holy Breath that e'er can fan your fires of life into a living flame and make them light. 34 And Holy Breath can raise the ethers of the fires to light in none but hearts of purity and love. 35 Hear, then, you men of Galilee, Make pure the heart, admit the Holy Breath, and then your bodies will be full of light. 36 And like a city on a hill, your light will shine afar, and thus your light may light the way for other men.

Chapter 108

Jesus rebukes the people for selfishness. The Christines attend a feast and Jesus is censured by the Pharisee because he washed not before he ate. Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of the ruling classes and pronounces upon them many woes.

THE multitudes were wild with selfish thought; none recognised the rights and needs of any other one. 2 The stronger pushed the weak aside, and trampled on them in their haste to be the first to get a blassing for himself. 3 And Jesus said, Behold the cage of beasts untamed; a den of stinging vipers, maddened by their fiendish greed of selfish gain! 4 I tell you, men, the benefits that come to men who see no further than themselves are baubles in the morning light; 5 They are unreal; they pass away. The selfish soul is fed today; the food does not assimilate; the soul grows not, and then it must be fed again, and then again. 6 Behold, a selfish man obsessed by just one spirit of the air; by the Omnific Word the spirit is cast out; 7 It wanders through dry places, seeking rest and finding none. 8 And then it comes again; the selfish man has failed to close and lock the door; 9 The unclean spirit finds the house all swept and cleaned; it enters in and takes with it full seven other spirits more unclean than is itself; and there they dwell. 10 The last state of the man is more than sevenfold more wretched than the first. 11 And so it is with you who snatch the blessings that belong to other men. 12 While Jesus spoke a certain woman who stood near exclaimed, Most blessed is the mother of this man of God! 13 And Jesus said, Yes, blest is she; but doubly blest are they who hear, receive and live the word of God. 14 A Pharisee of wealth prepared a feast, and Jesus and the twelve, together with the masters from afar, were guests. 15 And Jesus did not wash his hands according to the strictest Pharisaic rules, before he ate; when this the Pharisee observed he marvelled much. 16 And Jesus said, My host, why do you marvel that I did not wash my hands? 17 The Pharisees wash well their hands and feet; they cleanse the body every day when, lo, within is every form of filth. 18 Their hearts are full of wickedness, extortions and deceit. 19 Did not the God who made the outside of the body make the inside, too? 20 And then he said, Woe unto you, you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue, and every herb, and pass by judgment and the love of God. 21 Woe unto you, you Pharisees! you love the highest seats in synagogues and courts, and bid for salutations in the market place. 22 Woe unto you, you tinselled gentry of the land! no man would ever think you servants of the Lord of hosts by what you do. 23 A lawyer sitting near remarked, Rabboni, your words are harsh, and then in what you say you censure us; and why? 24 And Jesus said, Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you heap great burdens on the sons of men, yea, loads by far too great for them to bear, and you will never help to bear a feather's weight yourselves. 25 Woe unto you! you build the tombs of prophets and of seers; they whom your fathers killed; and you are parties to the crimes. 26 And now behold, for God has sent again to you his holy men-apostles, prophets, seers; and you are persecuting them. 27 The time is near when you will plead against them in the courts; will spurn them into prison cells, and kill them with a fiend's delight. 28 I tell you, men, the blood of all the holy men of God that has been shed from righteous Abel down to that of Zacharias, father of holy John, 29 Who was struck down beside the altar in the Holy Place-- 30 The blood of all these holy men has made more red the hands of this ungodly generation. 31 Woe unto you, you masters of the law! you snatch the keys of knowledge from the hands of men; 32 You close the doors; you enter not yourselves, and suffer not the willing ones to enter in. 33 His words provoked the Pharisees, the lawyers and the scribes, and they, resenting, poured upon him torrents of abuse. 34 The truths he spoke came like a thunderbolt from heaven; the rulers counselled how they might ensnare him by his words; they sought a legal way to shed his blood.

Chapter 109

The Christines go to a place apart to pray. Jesus warns them against the leaven of the Pharisees and reveals the fact that all thoughts and deeds are recorded in God's Book of Remembrance. Man's responsibility and God's care.

NOW, when the feast was finished Jesus with the foreign masters and the twelve, with Mary, Miriam and a band of loyal women who believed in Christ, went to a place apart to pray. 2 And when their silence ended Jesus said, Be on your guard; the leaven of the Pharisees is being thrown in every measure of the meal of life. 3 It is a poison that will taint whatever it may touch; and it will blight the soul as sure as fumes of the Diabolos; it is hypocrisy. 4 The Pharisees seem fair in speech, but they are diabolical in heart. 5 And then they seem to think that thought is something they can lock within themselves. 6 They do not seem to know that every thought and wish is photographed and then preserved within the Book of Life to be revealed at any time the masters will. 7 That which is thought, or wished, or done in darkest night shall be proclaimed in brightest day; 8 That which is whispered in the ear within the secret place shall be made known upon the streets. 9 And in the judgment day when all the books are opened up, these men, and every other man, shall be a-judged, not by what they've said or done, 10 But by the ways in which they used the thoughts of God, and how the ethers of eternal love were made to serve; 11 For men may make these ethers serve the carnal self, or serve the holy self within. 12 Behold, these men may kill the body of this flesh; but what of that? the flesh is but a transitory thing, and soon, by natural law, will pass; 13 Their slaughter only hastens nature's work a little time. 14 And when they kill the flesh they reach their bounds of power; they cannot kill the soul. 15 But nature is the keeper of the soul as of the flesh, and in the harvest time of soul, the trees of life are all inspected by the judge; 16 And every tree that bears no fruit of good is plucked up by the roots and cast into the flames. 17 Who then shall you regard? Not him who has the power to kill the flesh, and nothing more. 18 Regard the mighty one who has the power to dissolve both soul and body in the flames of nature's fire. 19 But man is king; he may direct his thoughts, his loves, his life, and gain the prize of everlasting life. 20 And you are not abandoned in your struggle for the crown of life. Your Father lives, and you shall live. 21 God has a care for every living thing. He numbers stars, and suns, and moons; 22 He numbers angels, men and every thing below; the birds, the flowers, the trees; 23 The very petals of the rose he knows by name, and every one is numbered in his Book of Life; 24 And every hair upon your head, and every drop of blood within your veins, he knows by number and by rhythm. 25 He hears the birdling's call, the cricket's chirp, the glow worm's song; and not a sparrow falls to earth without his knowledge and consent. 26 A sparrow seems a thing of little worth; yea, five of them are worth two farthings in the market place, and yet God cares for every one of them. 27 Will he not care much more for you who bear his image in your soul? 28 Fear not to make confession of the Christ before the sons of men, and God will own you as his sons and daughters in the presence of the host of heaven. 29 If you deny the Christ before the sons of men, then God will not receive you as his own before the hosts of heaven. 30 And more I say, Fear not when men shall bring you up before the rulers of the land to answer for your faith. 31 Behold, the Holy Breath shall teach you in your hour of need what you should say, and what is best leave unsaid. 32 And then the Christines went again to teach the multitudes.

Chapter 110

Miriam sings a song of victory. The song. Jesus reveals the symbolic character of the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaam.

AND Miriam stood before the surging crowd, and casting up her eyes to heaven she sung anew the song of victory: 2 Bring forth the harp, the vina and the lyre; bring forth the highest sounding cymbal, all ye choirs of heaven. Join in the song, the new, new song. 3 The Lord of hosts has stooped to hear the cries of men, and lo, the citadel of Beelzebul is shaking as a leaf before the wind. 4 The sword of Gideon is again unsheathed. 5 The Lord, with his own hand has pulled far back the curtains of the night; the sun of truth is flooding heaven and earth; 6 The demons of the dark, of ignorance and death, are fleeing fast; are disappearing as the dew beneath the morning sun. 7 God is our strength and song; is our salvation and our hope, and we will build anew ahouse for him; 8 Will cleanse our hearts, and purify their chambers, every one. We are the temple of the Holy Breath. 9 We need no more a tent within the wilderness; no more a temple built with hands. 10 We do not seek the Holy Land, nor yet Jerusalem. 11 We are the tent of God; we are his temple built without the sound of edged tools. 12 We are the Holy Land; we are the New Jerusalem; Allelujah, praise the Lord! 13 And when the song was done the multitudes exclaimed, Praise God. 14 And Jesus said, Behold the way! 15 The sons of men have groped for ages in the darkness of Egyptian night. 16 The Pharaohs of sense have bound them with their chains. 17 But God has whispered through the mists of time and told them of a land of liberty and love. 18 And he has sent his Logos forth to light the way. 19 The Red Sea rolls between the promised land and Egypt's sands. 20 The Red Sea is the carnal mind. 21 Behold, the Logos reaches out his hand; the sea divides; the carnal mind is reft in twain; the sons of men walk through dry shod. 22 The Pharaohs of sense would stay them in their flight; the waters of the sea return; the Pharaohs of sense are lost and men are free. 23 For just a little while men tread the wilderness of Sin; the Logos leads the way; 24 And when at last men stand upon the Jordan's brink, these waters stay, and men step forth into their own.

Chapter 111

Jesus teaches. A man requests him to compel his brother to deal justly. Jesus reveals the divine law, the power of truth and the universality of possessions. Relates the parable of the rich man and his abundant harvest.

AND Jesus taught the multitudes; and while he spoke a man stood forth and said, 2 Rabboni, hear my plea: My father died and left a large estate; my brother seized it all, and now refuses me my share. 3 I pray that you will bid him do the right, and give what is mine. 4 And Jesus said, I am not come to be a judge in such affairs; I am no henchman of the court. 5 God sent me not to force a man to do the right. 6 In every man there is a sense of right; but many men regard it not. 7 The fumes that rise from selfishness have formed a crust about their sense of right that veils their inner light, so that they cannot comprehend nor recognise the rights of other men. 8 This veil you cannot tear away by force of arms, and there is naught that can dissolve this crust but knowledge and love of God. 9 While men are in the mire, the skies seem far away; when men are on the mountain top, the skies are near, and they can almost touch the stars. 10 Then Jesus turned and to the twelve he said, Behold the many in the mire of carnal life! 11 The leaven of truth will change the miry clay to solid rock, and men can walk and find the path that leads up to the mountain top. 12 You cannot haste; but you can scatter forth this leaven with a generous hand. 13 When men have learned the truth that bears upon its face the law of right, then they will haste to every man his dues. 14 Then to the people Jesus said, Take heed, and covet not. The wealth of men does not consist in what they seem to have--in lands, in silver and in gold. 15 These things are only borrowed wealth. No man can corner up the gifts of God. 16 The things of nature are the things of God, and what is God's belongs to every man alike. 17 The wealth of soul lies in the purity of life, and in the wisdom that descends from heaven. 18 Behold, a rich man's ground brought forth abundantly; his barns were far too small to hold his grain, and to himself he said, 19 What shall I do? I must not give my grain away; I must not let it go to waste; and then he said, 20 This will I do; I will tear down these little barns and built up larger ones; there I will store away my grain and I will say, 21 My soul take now your ease; you have enough for many years; eat, drink and fill yourself and be content. 22 But God looked down and saw the man; he saw his selfish heart and said, 23 You foolish man, this night your soul will quit its house of flesh; then who will have your garnered wealth? 24 You men of Galilee, lay not up treasures in the vaults of earth; accumulated wealth will blight your soul. 25 God does not give men wealth to hoard away in secret vaults. Men are but stewards of God's wealth, and they must use it for the common good. 26 To every steward who is true to self, to other men, to every thing that is, the Lord will say, Well done.

Chapter 112

The Christines in the home of Mary of Magdala. Jesus calls his disciples, "Little Flock," and charges them to place their affections on divine things. He teaches them regarding the inner life.

AND Jesus left the multitudes and went with his disciples up to Mary's home; and as they sat about the board to dine he said, 2 My little flock, fear not; it is your Father's will that you shall rule the kingdom of the soul. 3 A ruler in the house of God is servant of the Lord of Hosts, and man cannot serve God except by serving men. 4 A servant in the house of God cannot be servant in the house of wealth; nor in the synagogue of sense. 5 If you are tied to lands, or bonds, or wealth of earth, your hearts are knit to things of earth; for where your treasures are there are your hearts. 6 Dispose of all your wealth, distribute it among the poor, and put your trust in God, and you nor yours will ever come to want. 7 This is a test of faith, and God will not accept the service of faithless one. 8 The time is ripe; your Master comes upon the clouds; the eastern sky is glowing with his presence now. 9 Put on reception robes; gird up your loins; trim up your lamps and fill them well with oil, and be prepared to meet your Lord; when you are ready, he will come. 10 Thrice blessed are the servants who are ready to receive their Lord. 11 Behold, for he will gird himself, and will prepare a sumptuous feast for every one, and he himself will serve. 12 It matters not when he shall come; it may be at the second watch; it may be at the third; but blessed are the servants who are ready to receive. 13 You cannot leave your door ajar and go to sleep, and wait in blissful ignorance of the fleeting time; 14 For thieves will surely come and take away your goods and bind and carry you away to robbers' dens. 15 And if you are not carried forth, the Master when he comes will not regard a sleeping guard as friend, but as a foe. 16 Beloved, these are times when every man must be awake and at his post, for none can tell the hour nor the day when man shall be revealed. 17 And Peter said, Lord is this parable for us, or for the multitudes? 18 And Jesus, Why need you ask? God is not a man that he should show respect for one and cast another off. 19 Whoever will may come and gird himself, and trim his lamp, and find a turret in the tower of life where he may watch, and be prepared to meet the Lord. 20 But you, as children of the light, have come, and you have learned the language of the court, and may stand forth and lead the way. 21 But you may wait, and think that you are ready to receive the Lord, and still he does not come. 22 And you may grow impatient and begin to long for carnal ways again, and may begin to exercise your rule; 23 To beat, and otherwise maltreat the servants of the house, and fill yourselves with wine and meat. 24 And what will say the Lord when he shall come? 25 Behold, for he will cast the faithless servant from his house; and many years will come and go before he can be cleansed, and be thought worthy to receive his Lord. 26 The servant who has come into the light, who knows the Master's will and does it not; the trusted guard who goes to sleep within the turret of the tower of life, 27 Shall feel the lash of justice many times, while he who does not know his Master's will and does it not, will not receive the graver punishment. 28 The man who comes and stands before the open door of opportunity and does not enter in, but goes his way, 29 Will come again and find the door made fast, and when he calls, the door will open not, 30 The guard will say, you had the pass-word once, but you threw it away and now the Master knows you not; depart. 31 And verily I say to you, To whom much has been given, much is required; to whom a little has been given, a little only is required.

Chapter 113

In answer to a question of Lamaas Jesus teaches a lesson on the reign of peace and the way to it through antagonisms. The signs of the times. Guidance of the Holy Breath. The Christines go to Bethsaida.

NOW, after they had dined, the guests and Jesus all were in a spacious hall in Mary's home. 2 And then Lamaas said, Pray, tell us Lord, is this the dawn of peace? 3 Have we come forth unto the time when men will war no more? 4 Are you, indeed, the Prince of Peace that holy men said would come? 5 And Jesus said, Peace reigns to-day; it is the peace of death. 6 A stagnant pool abides in peace. When waters cease to move they soon are ladened with the seeds of death; corruption dwells in every drop. 7 The living waters always leap and skip about like lambs in spring. 8 The nations are corrupt; they sleep within the arms of death and they must be aroused before it is too late. 9 In life we find antagonists at work. God sent me here to stir unto its depths the waters of the sea of life. 10 Peace follows strife; I come to slay this peace of death. The prince of peace must first be prince of strife. 11 This leaven of truth which I have brought to men will stir the demons up, and nations, cities, families will be at war within themselves. 12 The five that have been dwelling in a home of peace will be divided now, and two shall war with three; 13 The son will stand against his sire; the mother and the daughter will contend; yea, strife will reign in every home. 14 The self and greed and doubt will rage into a fever heat, and then, because of me, the earth will be baptised in human blood. 15 But right is king; and when the smoke is cleared away the nations will learn war no more; the Prince of Peace will come to reign. 16 Behold, the signs of what I say are in the sky; but men can see them not. 17 When men behold a cloud rise in the west they say, A shower of rain will come, and so it does; and when the wind blows from the south they say, The weather will be hot; and it is so. 18 Lo, men can read the signs of earth and sky, but they cannot discern the signs of Holy Breath; but you shall know. 19 The storm of wrath comes on; the carnal man will seek a cause to hale you into court, and cast you into prison cells. 20 And when these times shall come let wisdom guide; do not resent. Resentment makes more strong the wrath of evil men. 21 There is a little sense of justice and of mercy in the vilest men of earth. 22 By taking heed to what you do and say and trusting in the guidance of the Holy Breath, you may inspire this sense to grow. 23 You thus may make the wrath of men to praise the Lord. 24 The Christines went their way, and came unto Bethsaida and taught.

Chapter 114

A great storm on the sea destroys many lives. Jesus makes an appeal for aid, and the people give with a generous hand. In answer to a lawyer's question, Jesus gives the philosophy of disasters.

AS Jesus taught, a man stood forth and said, Rabboni, may I speak? 2 And Jesus said, Say on. And then the man spoke out and said, 3 A storm upon the sea last night wrecked many fishing boats, and scores of men went down to death, and lo, their wives and children are in need; 4 What can be done to help them in their sore distress? 5 And Jesus said, A worthy plea. You men of Galilee, take heed. We may not bring again to live these men, but we can succour those who looked to them for daily bread. 6 You stewards of the wealth of God, an opportunity has come; unlock your vaults; bring forth your hoarded gold; bestow it with a lavish hand. 7 This wealth was laid aside for just times as these; when it was needed not, lo, it was yours to guard; 8 But now it is not yours, for it belongs to those who are in want, and if you give it not you simply bring upon your heads the wrath of God. 9 It is not charity to give to those who need; it is but honesty; it is but giving men their own. 10 Then Jesus turned to Judas, one of the twelve, who was the treasurer of the band, and said, 11 Bring forth our treasure box; the money is not ours now; turn every farthing to the help of those in such distress. 12 Now, Judas did not wish to give the money all to those in want, and so he talked with Peter, James and John. 13 He said, Lo, I will save a certain part and give the rest; that surely is enough for us, for we are strangers to the ones in want; we do not even know their names. 14 But Peter said, Why, Judas, man, how do you dare to think to trifle with the strength of right? 15 The Lord has spoken true; this wealth does not belong to us in face of this distress, and to refuse to give it is to steal. 16 You need not fear; we will not come to want. 17 Then Judas opened up the treasure box and gave the money all. 18 And there was gold and silver, food, and raiment in abundance for the needs of the bereaved. 19 A lawyer said, Rabboni, if God rules the worlds and all that in them is, did he not bring about this storm? did he not slay these men? 20 Has he not brought this sore distress upon these people here? and was it done to punish them for crimes? 21 And we remember well when once a band of earnest Jews from Galilee were in Jerusalem, and ata feast and were, for fancied crimes against the Roman law, 22 Cut down within the very temple court by Pontius Pilate; and their blood became their sacrifice. 23 Did God bring on this slaughter all because these men were doubly vile? 24 And then we bring to mind that once a tower called Siloam, graced the defences of Jerusalem, and, seemingly, without a cause it tottered and it fell to earth and eighteen men were killed. 25 Were these men vile? and were they slain as punishment for some great crime? 26 And Jesus said, We cannot look upon a single span of life and judge of anything. 27 There is a law that men must recognise: Result depends on cause. 28 Men are not motes to float about within the air of one short life, and then be lost in nothingness. 29 They are undying parts of the eternal whole that come and go, lo, many times into the air of earth and of the great beyond, just to unfold the God-like self. 30 A cause may be a part of one brief life; results may not be noted till another life. 31 The cause of your results cannot be found within my life, nor can the cause of my results be found in yours. 32 I cannot reap except I sow and I must reap whate'er I sow, 33 The law of all eternities is known to master minds: 34 Whatever men do unto other men the judge and executioner will do to them. 35 We do not note the execution of this law among the sons of men. 36 We note the weak dishonoured, trampled on and slain by those men call the strong. 37 We note that men with woodlike heads are seated in the chairs of state; 38 Are kings and judges, senators and priests, while men with giant intellects are scavengers about the streets. 39 We note that women with a moiety of common sense, and not a whit of any other kind, are painted up and dressed as queens, 40 Becoming ladies of the courts of puppet kings, because they have the form of something beautiful; while God'd own daughters are their slaves, or serve as common labourers in the field. 41 The sense of justice cries aloud: This is a travesty on right. 42 So when men see no further than one little span of life it is no wonder that they say, There is no God, or if there is a God he is a tyrant and should die. 43 If you would judge aright of human life, you must arise and stand upon the crest of time and note the thoughts and deeds of men as they have come up through the ages past; 44 For we must know that man is not a creature made of clay to turn again to clay and disappear. 45 He is a part of the eternal whole. There never was a time when he was not; a time will never come when he will not exist. 46 And now we look; the men who now are slaves were tyrants once; the men who now are tyrants have been slaves. 47 The men who suffer now once stood aloft and shouted with a fiend's delight while others suffered at their hands. 48 And men are sick, and halt, and lame, and blind because they once transgressed the laws of perfect life, and every law of God must be fulfilled. 49 Man may escape the punishment that seems but due for his mis-doings in this life; but every deed and word and thought has its own metes and bounds, 50 Is cause, and has its own results, and if a wrong be done, the doer of the wrong must make it right. 51 And when the wrongs have all been righted then will man arise and be at one with God.

Chapter 115

Jesus teaches by the sea. He relates the parable of the sower. Tells why he teaches in parables. Explains the parable of the sower. Relates the parable of the wheat and tares.

AND Jesus stood beside the sea and taught; the multitudes pressed close upon him and he went into a boat that was near by and put a little ways from shore, and then he spoke in parables; he said, 2 Behold, a sower took his seed and went into his field to sow. 3 With lavish hand he scattered forth the seed and some fell in the hardened paths that men had made, 4 And soon were crushed beneath the feet of other men; and birds came down and carried all the seeds away. 5 Some seed fell on rocky ground where there was little soil; they grew and soon the blades appeared and promised much; 6 But then there was no depth of soil, no chance for nourishment, and in the heat of noonday sun they withered up and died. 7 Some seed fell where thistles grew, and found no earth in which to grow and they were lost; 8 But other seed found lodgement in the rich and tender soil and grew apace, and in the harvest it was found that some brought forth a hundred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold. 9 They who have ears to hear may hear; they who hearts to understand may know. 10 Now, his disciples were beside him in the boat, and Thomas asked, Why do you speak in parables? 11 And Jesus said, My words, like every master's words, are dual in their sense. 12 To you who know the language of the soul, my words have meanings far too deep for other men to comprehend. 13 The other sense of what I say is all the multitude can understand; these words are food for them; the inner thoughts are food for you. 14 Let every one reach forth and take the food that he is ready to receive. 15 And then he spoke that all might hear; he said, Hear you the meaning of the parable: 16 Men hear my words and understand them not, and then the carnal self purloins the seed, and not a sign of spirit life appears. 17 This is the seed that fell within the beaten paths of men. 18 And others hear the words of life, and with a fiery zeal receive them all; they seem to comprehend the truth and promise well; 19 But troubles come; discouragements arise; there is no depth of thought; their good intentions wither up and die. 20 These are the seeds that fell in stony ground. 21 And others hear the words of truth and seem to know their worth; but love of pleasure, reputation, wealth and fame fill all the soil; the seeds are nourished not and they are lost. 22 These are the seeds that fell among the thistles and the thorns. 23 But others hear the words of truth and comprehend them well; they sink down deep into their souls; they live the holy life and all the world is blest. 24 These are the seeds that fell in fertile soil, that brought forth fruit abundantly. 25 You men of Galilee, take heed to how you hear and how you cultivate your fields; for if you slight the offers of this day, the sower may not come to you again in this or in the age to come. 26 Then Jesus spoke another parable; he said: 27 Then kingdom I may liken to a field in which a man sowed precious seed; 28 But while he slept an evil one went forth and sowed a measure full of darnel seed; then went his way. 29 The soil was good, and so the wheat and darnel grew; and when the servants saw the tares among the wheat, they found the owner of the field and said, 30 You surely sowed good seed; from whence these tares? 31 The owner said, Some evil one out has sown the seed of tares. 32 The servants said, Shall we go out and pull up by the roots the tares and burn them in the fire? 33 The owner said, No, that would not be well. The wheat and tares grow close together in the soil, and while you pull the tares you would destroy the wheat. 34 So we will let them grow together till the harvest time. Then to the reapers I will say, 35 Go forth and gather up the tares and bind them up and burn them in the fire, and gather all the wheat into my barns. 36 When he had spoken thus, he left the boat and went up to the house, and his disciples followed him.

Chapter 116

The Christines are in Philip's home. Jesus interprets the parable of the wheat and tares. He explains the unfoldment of the kingdom by parables: the good seed; the growth of the tree; the leaven; the hidden treasure. He goes to a mountain to pray.

THE Christines were in Philip's home and Peter said to Jesus, Lord, will you explain to us the meaning of the parables you spoke to-day? The one about the wheat and tares, especially? 2 And Jesus said, God's kingdom is a duality; it has an outer and an inner form. 3 As seen by man it is composed of men, of those who make confession of the name of Christ. 4 For various reasons various people crowd this outer kingdom of our God. 5 The inner kingdom is the kingdom of the soul, the kingdom of the pure in heart. 6 The outer kingdom I may well explain in parables. Behold, for I have seen you cast a great net out into the sea, 7 And when you hauled it in, lo, it was full of every kind of fish, some good, some bad, some great, some small; and I have seen you save the good and throw the bad away. 8 This outer kingdom is the net, and every kind of man is caught; but in the sorting day the bad will all be cast away, the good reserved. 9 Hear, then, the meaning of the parable of the wheat and tares: 10 The sower is the son of man; the field, the world; the good seed are the children of the light; the tares, the children of the dark; the enemy, the carnal self; the harvest day, the closing of the age; the reapers are the messengers of God. 11 The reckoning day will come to every man; then will the tares be gathered up, and cast into the fire and be burned. 12 Then will the good shine forth as suns in the kingdom of the soul. 13 And Philip said, Must men and women suffer in the flames because they have not found the way of life? 14 And Jesus said, The fire purifies. The chemist throws into the fire the ores that hold all kinds of dross. 15 The useless metal seems to be consumed; but not a grain of gold is lost. 16 There is no man that has not in him gold that cannot be destroyed. The evil things of men are all consumed in fire; the gold survives. 17 The inner kingdom of the soul I may explain in parables: 18 The son of man goes forth and scatters seeds of truth; God waters well the soil; the seeds show life and grow; first comes the blade, and then the stalk, and then the ear, and then the full wheat in the ear. 19 The harvest comes and, lo, the reapers bear the ripened sheaves into the garner of the Lord. 20 Again, this kingdom of the soul is like a little seed that men may plant in fertile soil. 21 (A thousand of these seeds would scarcely be a shekel's weight.) 22 The tiny seed begins to grow; it pushes through the earth, and after years of growth it is a mighty tree and birds rest in its leafy bowers and men find refuge 'neath its sheltering boughs from sun and storm. 23 Again, the truth, the spirit of the kingdom of the soul, is like a ball of leaven that a woman hid in measures, three, of flour and in a little time the whole was leavened. 24 Again, the kingdom of the soul is like a treasure hidden in a field which one has found, and straightway goes his way and sells all that he has and buys the field. 25 When Jesus had thus said he went alone into a mountain pass near by to pray.

Chapter 117

A royal feast is held in Machaerus. John, the harbinger, is beheaded. His body is buried in Hebron. His disciples mourn. The Christines cross the sea in the night. Jesus calms a raging storm.

A ROYAL feast was held in honour of the birthday of the tetrarch in fortified Machaerus, east of the Bitter Sea. 2 The tetrarch, Herod, and his wife, Herodias, together with Salome were there; and all the men and women of the royal court were there. 3 And when the feast was done, lo, all the guests and courtiers were drunk with wine; they danced and leaped about like children in their play. 4 Salome, daughter of Herodias, came in and danced before the king. The beauty of her form, her grace and winning ways entranced the silly Herod, then half drunk with wine. 5 He called the maiden to his side and said, Salome, you have won my heart, and you may ask and I will give you anything you wish. 6 The maiden ran in childish glee and told her mother what the ruler said. 7 Her mother said, Go back and say, Give me the head of John, the harbinger. 8 The maiden ran and told the ruler what she wished. 9 And Herod called his trusty executioner and said to him, Go to the tower and tell the keeper that by my authority you come to execute the prisoner known as John. 10 The man went forth and in a little while returned and on a platter bore the lifeless head of John, and Herod offered it unto the maiden in the presence of the guests. 11 The maiden stood aloof; her innocence was outraged when she saw the bloody gift, and she would touch it not. 12 Her mother, steeped and hardened well in crime, came up and took the head and held it up before the guests and said, 13 This is the fate of every man who dares to scorn, or criticise, the acts of him who reigns. 14 The drunken rabble gazed upon the gruesome sight with fiendish joy. 15 The head was taken back unto the tower. The body had been given unto holy men who had been friends of John; they placed it in a burial case and carried it away. 16 They bore it to the Jordan, which they crossed just at the ford where John first preached the word; 17 And through the passes of the Judean hills they carried it. 18 They reached the sacred grounds near Hebron, where the bodies of the parents of the harbinger lay in their tombs; 19 And there they buried it; and then they went their way. 20 Now, when the news reached Galilee that John was dead the people met to sing the sonnets of the dead. 21 And Jesus and the foreign masters and the twelve took ship to cross the sea of Galilee. 22 A scribe, a faithful friend of John, stood by the sea; he called to Jesus and hesaid, Rabboni, let me follow where you go. 23 And Jesus said, You seek a safe retreat from evil men. There is no safety for your life with me; 24 For evil men will take my life as they have taken John's. 25 The foxes of the earth have safe retreats; the birds have nests secure among the hidden rocks, but I have not a place where I may lay my head and rest secure. 26 Then an apostle said, Lord, suffer me to tarry here a while, that I may take my father, who is dead, and lay him in the tomb. 27 But Jesus said, The dead can care for those who die; the living wait for those who live; come, follow me. 28 The evening came; three boats put out to sea and Jesus rested in the foremost boat; he slept. 29 A storm came on; the boats were tossed about like toys upon the sea. 30 The waters swept the decks; the hardy boatmen were afraid lest all be lost. 31 And Thomas found the master fast asleep; he called, and Jesus woke. 32 And Thomas said, Behold the storm! have you no care for us? The boats are going down. 33 And Jesus stood; he raised his hand; he talked unto the spirits of the winds and waves as men would talk with men. 34 And, lo, the winds blew not; the waves came tremblingly and kissed his feet; the sea was calm. 35 And then he said, You men of faith, where is your faith? for you can speak and winds and waves will hear and will obey. 36 And the disciples were amazed. They said, Who is this man that even winds and waves obey his voice?

Chapter 118

The Christines are in Gadara. Jesus casts a legion of unclean spirits out of a man. The spirits go into vicious animals which run into the sea, and are drowned. The people are in fear and request Jesus to leave their coast. With his disciples, he returns to Capernaum.

THE morning came; the Christines landed in the country of the Geracenes. 2 They went to Gadara, chief city of the Peracans, and here for certain days they tarried and they taught. 3 Now, legends hold that Gadara is sacred to the dead, and all the hills about are known as holy ground. 4 These are the burial grounds of all the regions round about; the hills are full of tombs; and many dead from Galilee are here entombed. 5 Now, spirits of the lately dead that cannot rise to higher planes, remain about the tombs that hold the flesh and bones of what was once their mortal homes. 6 They sometimes take possession of the living, whom they torture in a hundred ways. 7 And all through Gadara were men obsessed, and there was no one strong enough to bring relief. 8 That they might meet these hidden foes and learn the way to dispossess the evil ones the master took the foreign masters and the twelve into the tombs. 9 And as they neared the gates they met a man obsessed. A legion of the unclean ones were in this man, and they had made him strong; 10 And none could bind him down, no, not with chains; for he could break the stoutest chains, and go his way. 11 Now, unclean spirits cannot live in light; they revel in the dark. 12 When Jesus came he brought the light of life, and all the evil spirits were disturbed. 13 The leader of the legion in the man called out, Thou Jesus, thou Immanuel, we beg that thou wilt not consign us to the depths. Torment us not before our time. 14 And Jesus said, What is your number and your name? 15 The evil spirit said, Our name is legion, and our number is the number of the beast. 16 And Jesus spoke; and with a voice that shook the very hills, he said, Come forth; possess this man no more. 17 Now, all the hills were filled with unclean animals that fed, and carried forth and spread the plague among the people of the land. 18 And when the evil spirits begged that they might not be driven forth without a home, the master said, 19 Go forth and take possession of the unclean quadrupeds. 20 And they, and all the evil spirits of the tombs went forth and took possession of the breeders of the plague, 21 Which, wild with rage, ran down the steeps into the sea, and all were drowned. 22 And all the land was freed of the contagion, and the unclean spirits came no more. 23 But when the people saw the mighty works that Jesus did they were alarmed. They said, 24 If he can free the country of the plague, and drive the unclean spirits out, he is a man of such transendent power that he can devastate our land at will. 25 And then they came and prayed that he would not remain in Gadara. 26 And Jesus did not tarry longer there, and with the other masters and the twelve, he went aboard the boats to go away. 27 The man who had been rescued from the unclean legion stood upon the shore and said, Lord let me go with you. 28 But Jesus said, It is not well; go forth unto your home and tell the news that men may know what man can do when he is tuned with God. 29 And then the man went forth through all Decapolis and told the news. 30 The Christines sailed away, re-crossed the sea and came again into Capernaum.

Chapter 119

The people of Capernaum welcome Jesus. Matthew gives a feast. The Pharisees rebuke Jesus for eating with sinners. He tells them that he is sent to save sinners. He gives lessons on fasting and on the philosophy of good and evil.

THE news soon spread through all the land that Jesus was at home and then the people came in throngs to welcome him. 2 And Matthew, one of the twelve, a man of wealth, whose home was in Capernaum, spread forth a sumptuous feast, and Jesus and the foreign masters and the twelve, and people of all shades of thought, were guests. 3 And when the Pharisees observed that Jesus sat and ate with publicans and those of ill repute they said, 4 For shame! This man who claims to be man of God, consorts with publicans and courtesans and with the common herd of men. For shame! 5 When Jesus knew their thoughts he said, They who are well cannot be healed; the pure need not be saved. 6 They who are well are whole; they who are pure are saved. 7 They who love justice and do right need not repent; I came not unto them, but to the sinner I am come. 8 A band of John's disciples who had heard that John was dead were wearing badges for their dead; 9 Were fasting and were praying in their hearts, which when the Pharisees observed they came to Jesus and they said, 10 Why fast the followers of John and your disciples do not fast? 11 And Jesus said, Lo, you are masters of the law; you ought to know; perhaps you will make known your knowledge to these men. 12 What are the benefits derived from fasts? The Pharisees were mute; they answered not. 13 Then Jesus said, The vital force of men depends on what they eat and drink. 14 Is spirit-life the stronger when the vital force is weak? Is sainthood reached by starving, self imposed? 15 A glutton is a sinner in the sight of God, and he is not a saint who makes himself a weakling and unfitted for the heavy tasks of life by scorning to make use of God's own means of strength. 16 Lo, John is dead, and his devoted followers are fasting in their grief. 17 Their love for him impels them on to show respect, for they have thought, and have been taught that it is sin to lightly treat the memory of the dead. 18 To them it is a sin, and it is well that they should fast. 19 When men defy their consciences and listen not to what they say, the heart is grieved and they become unfitted for the work of life; and thus they sin. 20 The conscience may be taught. One man may do in conscience what another cannot do. 21 What is a sin for me to do may not be sin for you to do. The place you occupy upon the way of life determines what is sin. 22 There is no changeless law of good; for good and evil both are judged by other things. 23 One man may fast and in his deep sincerity of heart is blest. 24 Another man may fast and in the faithlessness of such a task imposed is cursed. 25 You cannot make a bed to fit the form of every man. If you can make a bed to fit yourself you have done well. 26 Why should these men who follow me resort to fasting, or to anything that would impair their strength? They need it all to serve the race. 27 The time will come when God will let you have your way, and you will do to me what Herod did to John; 28 And in the awfulness of that sad hour these men will fast. 29 They who have ears to hear may hear; they who have hearts to feel may understand.

Chapter 120

Nicodemus is at the feast. He asks Jesus, Cannot the Christine religion be introduced more successfully by reforming the Jewish service? Jesus answers in the negative and gives his reasons. Jesus heals a woman with hemorrhages. Heals Jairus' daughter. Disappears when the people would worship him.

NOW, Nicodemus, who once came to Jesus in the night to learn the way of life, was one among the guests. 2 And standing forth he said, Rabboni, it is true that Jewish laws and Jewish practices do not agree. 3 The priesthood needs to be reformed; the rulers should become more merciful and kind; the lawyers should become more just; the common people should not bear such loads. 4 But could we not gain these reforms and not destroy the service of the Jews? 5 Could you not harmonise your mighty work with that of Pharisee and scribe? Might not the priesthood be a benefit to your divine philosophy? 6 But Jesus said, You cannot put new wine in ancient skins, for when it purfies itself, lo, it expands; the ancient bottles cannot bear the strain; they burst, and all the wine is lost. 7 Men do not mend a worn-out garment with a piece of cloth unworn, which cannot yield to suit the fabric, weak with age, and then a greater rent appears. 8 Old wine may be preserved in ancient skins; but new wine calls for bottles new. 9 This spirit-truth I bring is to this generation new, and if we put it in the ancient skins of Jewish forms, lo, it will all be lost. 10 It must expand; the ancient bottles cannot yield and they would burst. 11 Behold the kingdom of the Christ! it is as old as God himself, and yet it is as new as morning sun; it only can contain the truth of God. 12 And as he spoke a ruler of the synagogue, Jairus by name, came in and bowed at Jesus' feet and said, 13 My master, hear my prayer! My child is very sick, I fear that she will die; but this I know that if you will but come and speak the Word my child will live. 14 (She was an only child, a girl twelve years of age.) 15 And Jesus tarried not; he went out with the man, and many people followed them. 16 And as they went a woman who had been plagued with hemorrhage for many years, had been a subject of experiment of doctors near and far, and all had said, She cannot live, rose from her bed and rushed out in the way as Jesus passed. 17 She said within herself, If I can touch his garment, then I know I will be well. 18 She touched him, and at once the bleeding ceased and she was well. 19 And Jesus felt that healing power had gone from him, and speaking to the multitude, he said, 20 Who was it touched my coat? 21 And Peter said, No one can tell; the multitudes are pressing you; a score of people may have touched your coat. 22 But Jesus said, Some one in faith, with healing thought, did touch my coat, for healing virtues have gone forth from me. 23 And when the woman knew that what she did was known, she came and knelt at Jesus' feet and told it all. 24 And Jesus said, Your faith has made you whole, go on your way in peace. 25 Now, as he spoke, a servant from the home of Jairus came and said, My master, Jairus, trouble not the Lord to come; your child is dead. 26 But Jesus said, Jairus, man of faith, do not permit your faith to waver in this trying hour. 27 What is it that the servant said? The child is dead? Lo, what is death? 28 It is the passing of the soul out of the house of flesh. 29 Man is the master of the soul and of its house. When man has risen up from doubt and fear, lo, he can cleanse the empty house and bring the tenant back again. 30 Then taking with him Peter, James and John, Jairus and the mother of the child, he went into the chamber of the dead. 31 And when the doors were closed against the multitude, he spoke a word that souls can understand, and then he took the maiden by the hand and said, 32 Talith cumi, child, arise! The maiden's soul returned and she arose and asked for food. 33 And all the people of the city were amazed, and many would have worshipped Jesus as a God. 34 But, like a phantom of the night, he disappeared and went his way.

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