by friend of jesus
Friday, Jun. 12, 2009 at 9:37 AM
the life of Jesus Christ is everyone's spiritual
autobiography, this truth causes a conflict within the individual - and that is the battle of Armageddon. Neutrality is impossible. You cannot attach the new cloth to the old; it is all or nothing
Your true environment is in your imagination! All that you
behold, though it appears without, it is within, in your
imagination - of which this world of mortality is but a
shadow. No matter what is taking place on the outside, it is
but a symbol telling you what is taking place within; for the
world is nothing more than yourself pushed out. Its image,
alive in your imagination, overwhelms you.
Tonight let us turn to the greatest of all books, the Bible.
In it we are told that at the end of the world there would be
a great war whose final battle is called �Armageddon�. You may
have been taught that this battle will take place on the
outside, as races battle races, and nations battle nations. It
doesn't mean communism against democracy or socialism against
capitalism. There will always be wars and conflicts; but the
battle of Armageddon is the battle of ideology. This battle
does not take place on the outside, but within each and every
individual.
If you really understood what was taking place and knew your
scripture, you would rejoice at the unrest on the outside. "Do
not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I have
come not to bring peace but a sword; to set a man against his
father; a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, for a man's foes are those of his
own household." This certainly does not mean our children will
be pitted against us, but that the true understanding of the
Word of God is pitted against the traditions of men. Living by
structures built by tradition, we have believed that by them
we could earn the kingdom of heaven and acquire merit. But
when one who has experienced the story of God tells you that
the life of Jesus Christ is everyone's spiritual
autobiography, this truth causes a conflict within the
individual - and that is the battle of Armageddon.
Neutrality is impossible. You cannot attach the new cloth to
the old; it is all or nothing. You cannot put the new wine you
are receiving into the old bottle, by being willing to go
along with this new idea to a certain point, but not being
willing to give up your belief in an external God, to whom you
bend your knee and cross your body when you stand before what
represents him on the wall. So the battle rages until the
story of Jesus Christ unfolds within you; and then the war is
over, for from that moment on you will have no other god, only
he whose name is I AM. I tell you: the story of Jesus Christ
is your spiritual autobiography. One day his story will unfold
within you and you will know there is no other, only God.
Today when you see the disturbance the young people are
causing - not only in our country but all over the world - see
it as a symbol of the tremendous eruption of truth taking
place in the hearts of men. It is not just confined to this
platform, for the picture is worldwide. There is an enormous
eruption of truth against the entrenched traditions of men
going on right now, even in atheistic Russia and in lands
which are not considered Christian; but truth is not confined
to space or time. Truth is only confined to God.
Religion, in the true sense of the word, is devotion, and at
times an exalted reality for the one experiencing it. When you
have experienced scripture, you will never again return to
your little bottle. Our world is filled with men who are
supposed to speak the word of God, yet are deeply involved in
the shadow world. They are telling our government what to do
and how to do it, not telling the individual about God's
promise to give himself to the individual in a literal sense.
I tell you: God is going to give his son to you; and because
he and his son are one, he gives you himself. Believe me and
hope for your eruption now, for when it comes, you will
realize that everything which appears to be taking place on
the outside, is nothing more than a shadow, cast by God. So
when you see the young pitted against the old, rejoice, for
they are fulfilling scripture. We may resent being taxed to
rebuild the buildings the young burn down, but the eruption is
taking place in us as the new idea replaces the old.
No more will I be bound to an external God. I no longer
believe in an external Jesus Christ, for the Christ in me who
is my hope of glory, awoke and unfolded his story - not as
another for me to observe, but as myself. He redeemed me by
becoming me, to the point where everything said of him I have
experienced. That is the new idea which has replaced my old
concept that I learned from my mother, Sunday school, and
church. I lived by that structure until one day I knew it was
not truth. Then the battle between truth and error began. It
may seem to be on the outside, but it is all taking place
within.
He comes, not to bring peace but a sword, and he is followed
by the armies of heaven. From his mouth a sharp sword is
issued. It is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of
God. He does not bring a sword to chop people�s heads off
with. The sword is only a symbol. When John the Baptist was
beheaded, John - wearing everything that is external to man -
died, and the Lord Jesus Christ rose in his place. When your
head is symbolically removed, you have received the sign that
you no longer give power to external things. Then the inner
you will rise and supplant your outer self. The rising of this
inner you has a disturbing influence, for everything you
believed in and bowed to on the outside must die.
Formerly I worshiped a man because he was known, rich, or
intelligent; then I discovered that the one who is the Being
of beings, the God of gods, was my very self. Then He began to
awaken in me, as I learned to overcome everything external to
myself. And as I did, I realized that I was the cause of the
phenomena of my life. I accepted this fact one-hundred percent
and he fulfilled his promise: "To him who conquers I will give
the Morning Star." Then he identified himself as the morning
star, saying: "I am the root and the offspring of David. I am
the bright morning star," the symbol of the new day and
immortality. When God reveals himself to you, as you, your
world changes; and when your little garment which has housed
the old beliefs, is taken off, it will be for the last time.
Then you will be clothed in the new man, as the man who rose
from within and repeated the entire story of the Lord Jesus
Christ, in detail.
Armageddon is not a place in the battlefields of the world.
Battles are fought as the new supplants the old. America is a
new nation compared to Europe and has now supplanted the old
powers. That was one grand eruption. Today, America is the
mightiest power in the world of Caesar; but in the midst of it
we find the young pitted against the old. In the 10th chapter
of the Book of Matthew, he begins with a man against his
father, then a daughter against her mother, and a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, as the young try to
dislodge the old. As this happens in you, the world will
reflect your conflict.
Everything must be interpreted as a symbol, in this world as
well as in your dream world. A lady shared this dream with me
recently. In it she had a twin sister who died. Loving her
twin so much, she pretended she was her; thereby receiving her
mother's affection; yet she knew the role she had assumed.
This is a perfect story of scripture. Jacob supplanted his
brother Esau in the affection of his father. Coming second,
Jacob thought his father would love the first-born most, not
knowing (as the world does not know) that the first-born of
every creature is the same first-born, but the firstborn from
the dead is seen in the order of events, rather than in time.
Everyone within whom the story of Jesus Christ erupts is the
firstborn. No one comes before you, because Christ is first.
He is the head, and if Christ unfolds within you, he supplants
the body you wear, which came into the world first. The
physical is first. The spiritual comes second and supplants
Esau - the outer man. Jacob - the inner, smooth-skinned man -
is spirit. And the Lord loved Jacob and hated Esau. The outer
man must be discarded, because flesh and blood cannot enter
the kingdom; so the inner man must be born. And when he does,
he is the first-born from the dead in the order, rather than
in time.
The one who is to be born of the spirit must first be
awakened. Coming out, he is the one the lord loves, because he
is one with him and is given the bright morning star. God,
himself, is the bright morning star who gives it - so God
gives himself! And there is no one but God from then on, as
you control all; and when you take off this garment of flesh,
you are one with the God who runs the entire show. Seen from
above, this conflict is not disturbing; rather it is a time
for rejoicing, for the eruption of truth has begun in the
hearts of men. But on this level, as a tax payer, you may
resent the burning of buildings and the inability of those who
desire an education to get it, because of a small group who do
not know what they are doing.
They are only symbols, playing their little games; so Father
forgives them; they are only a symbol of the eruption which is
taking place in the hearts of men. There is always a remnant
erupting, and the symbol of this eruption appears on the
outside.
Now another lady wrote of a dream which disturbed her. In the
dream she was leaving her husband and moving to a new
apartment two miles away. Then the scene changed and she found
herself in the new apartment, completely furnished with all of
her possessions. As she awoke she realized that the apartment
- although having appeared to be three-dimensional and real -
was only a dream. This is a wonderful experience. The dream
does not mean you are going to leave the man you love here.
Take the symbolism of it: Your true husband is God. You are
told in the second [chapter] of Genesis: "A man shall leave
everything and cleave to his wife until they become one
flesh." That's what you did. You moved into an entirely
different state.
The first creative act was motion: "The Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the deep." As God moved, everything erupted,
and the world became visible. You moved into the awareness of
your true husband, which is the Lord God Almighty, whose
symbol is your earthly husband, who you love and share your
world with. You moved within yourself into the real union with
God, who is your husband - as told us in the Book of Isaiah:
"Your Maker is your husband, the Lord of Host is his name."
You have now moved into a real relationship with the God
within you, who left everything to cleave to you. And you have
discovered the great secret of moving from state to state. You
will find that your love for your earthly husband will grow
stronger. When you first met, you were fired by sex, and - if
the love has maintained as it was prior to the union - when
sex fades, you will find your relationship growing deeper. You
will be more concerned for each other, as a deeper love takes
over. Now, the motion took place within you, and you have
moved from what is a relationship in this world, to a
spiritual relationship, as the story of Jesus becomes your
spiritual autobiography.
Do not look at the conflict on the outside as terrible; rather
see it as a symbol. Rejoice when you see the youth pitted
against the old, as it signifies that the Word - which is the
sword of the Spirit - has erupted; and the armies of heaven
are on the march, as the Living Word which unfolds within man,
interprets the external word of the letter. The outer world -
like the letters in the Bible - is dead, and remains so until
something that is alive gives it life. Only when that which is
life itself erupts, does the Bible's dead letter become alive.
I have experienced scripture, and when I see the conflict, I
know that many have accepted my words and are experiencing
them. As long as I wear this mask I do not know where they
are, but I do know they are telling the story of salvation
from experience. That is the only thing that can inflame the
mind.
The traditions of men are only dead letters. Our clergy are
not telling the word of God, they are too involved in
politics, thinking they can buy off the eruption with money.
You can't stop ransom or blackmail, but you can tell the story
of Jesus Christ from experience - but the clergy do not know
it. If they heard what you have tonight, they would think my
words were blasphemy; yet I am telling you what I have
experienced, while they speak from theory. That is all right,
for they are part of the story. "For the sake of the
traditions of your fathers you have made void the word of
God." Religion has created saints out of nothing, for they
never existed. Now something is happening to force them to
confess to their nonexistence, even though they have made
hundreds of millions of dollars in the selling of these little
icons. They will still sell them, because there are people who
will still want their little so-called protection based upon
the outside. But you don't want them; that's why you are here.
You are willing to believe the drama is unfolding in you and
not on the outside. So when a horrible blow hits your heart,
try to see its symbolism, as everything in the outer world is
a symbol. Why and how did it happen and what does it mean?
What is the significance of the thing that happened? Just like
a dream, everything has some significance, for God is
speaking; therefore you would listen attentively and try to
understand what he is saying in symbolism.
I received another lovely letter with about twenty or
twenty-five dreams in it. I couldn't even summarize the dreams
because they differ, but I can tell her that they are
perfectly marvelous. They are all adumbrations, foreshadowings
of the story that will erupt within her when she discovers
that she is Jesus Christ. In her dreams, Jesus still seems to
be another, and that's an adumbration, like the story in 2
Kings concerning Elisha, who said: "Give me a double portion
of your spirit" and the Lord replied: "When I depart from you,
if you see me you will get what you ask for. If you do not,
you shall not have it." Then fire separated them and Elijah
went up in a whirlwind. That's an adumbration, for the Word
must erupt within you first, before you can understand the
story of Elijah. It is said that fire separated them. May I
tell you: it is a fire. In the 14th chapter of Zachariah we
read that the Lord stands on the Mount of Olives, as it is
split from east to west, with one-half moving northward and
the other half southward. You are the Mount of Olives the Lord
is standing on, when you are split to discover your true
identity as golden, liquid light. Fusing with that light, you
will go up into heaven in a whirlwind motion as a fiery
serpent. The fire that separates you is the bolt of lightening
which cuts you in two from your head to the base of your
spine; but who could understand this until it was experienced
and dramatized as the evangelists did.
It is still a closed book to those who have not experienced
scripture, but it will be understood by those who are drawn by
the one who had the experience. I have shared my experiences
with you, in the hope that in the not distant future you will
individually experience the entire story of Jesus Christ. So
when you see the unrest today, rejoice that the young is now
pitted against the old. And remember: the conflict is in your
imagination. Although I have overcome the world, as the drama
has proved, I may find myself listening to the radio or
watching television and get involved. I do it by forgetting
and coming down into the nonsense in this world. Then I must
get back up on the mountain and see it as symbolism, telling
me what is happening within.
The eruption will not go on forever. It only lasts for a
certain length of time and then the door to heaven is closed
once more. The door does not remain open, but only opens at
intervals of time. Blake says it is every two hundred years,
but how long it remains ajar he does not say. Now you see why
the conflict rages - because the door is still ajar.
What I am telling you tonight could not be printed in
tomorrow's paper as it doesn't make sense, but it is true.
People may doubt my words and say; "Why listen to him, the man
is mad and has a devil." But I say to you: "I am not mad and I
do not have a devil, for what I tell you is true. I speak not
of my own accord, but as the Father speaks to me." I have
actually experienced the entire drama recorded in scripture,
and have shared my experiences with you. With my limited
background, you may question how I have such learning; but the
words are not mine, they are the words of him who sent me -
and he who sent me is God. He is my Father. I know my Father
and you know not your God. I may be considered mad by some,
because my background can be checked; yet I dare to claim I am
the son of God and I and my Father are one. So when you see me
you see him who sent me. I was sent by my Father, and -
knowing the Old Testament - I have shared with you my
spiritual interpretation of its dead letter; for the entire
scripture has unfolded in me.
Armageddon is the battle of ideologies, where belief is pitted
against belief. I can't tell you how shocked I was to discover
that the Christ to whom I prayed was within me. Scripture
teaches, "Christ in you is the hope of glory," but I didn't
take that statement literally, for I was taught to look for
Christ on the outside. I could find no conflict in that
Christ.
I was seventeen when I left Barbados, and every night during
those seventeen years I did not have the guts to go to bed
without getting down on my knees and praying, as my mother had
taught me. I could not break that habit for quite a while
after I came to this country. Can you imagine the shock I
felt, having been trained to kneel and pray to an external
God, to find he was within me as me? I could hardly believe
it. I know my past and am well aware of how unlovely much of
it was. I knew the thoughts I had entertained, the emotions
that were mine, the words that I uttered; and to think that
all that could be the house in which the perfect one who was
never tarnished has unfolded, was a shock beyond measure. But
now I know I am He, although I still possess the memory of the
outer garment I wear, which clothes me while I am here.
I cannot tell you of the shock that comes when all of the
beliefs by which you have lived come tumbling down. You will
no longer be able to turn to anyone on the outside to praise
or blame for what is taking place in your world. If it is
unlovely, you are its cause. If it is lovely, you are its
cause. Everything unfolds within you, and you are detached
from what takes issue; yet you know you are its cause, for as
the word of truth erupts within you, it sets one against the
other. The word is not confined; but when it comes - as it has
in me - I bring the new wine which the old bottle cannot
contain. The old garment of belief is ripped and you cannot
put a new patch on an old garment. As the world erupts around
us, we may wonder what is taking place and ask ourselves if we
have lost control of our children, as they are so different
now.
We can say all kinds of things, justify our actions and
beliefs - that is our right. On occasion I find myself sucked
into the same stream and pass an opinion not based upon the
truth that has erupted within me; so I can't judge another. I
can only say; when you see these things, rejoice, for He has
come. His coming brings a new idea, which will disturb the
traditions of men; and - living by man's traditions - you will
see the disturbance on the outside, but it is in you.
The world reflects this disturbance, and those in the world
are being led like sheep to the slaughter. Yet in the hearts
of those who observe it from above, it is cause for rejoicing,
as they wait only for the eruption of God's immortal plan.
Jesus Christ is this immortal pattern of salvation. Its
eruption in man causes an eruption in the outer world, as the
young is set against the old, and the new conflicts with the
traditions of men.
In the meanwhile, take what you know of this law, and use it
towards your own personal good fortune in the world of Caesar.
It's simple. Go to the end and assume the feeling of the wish
fulfilled. Don't ask anyone to help you. Ask no one if it is
right. If you like it, assume you have it. Remain faithful to
your assumption, and that Being who is going to erupt in you
will take you to that end. If you find yourself moving from
your fulfilled desire, go back to it, and once more assume the
feeling of the wish fulfilled. Do this and your assumption
will harden into fact.
Now let us go into the silence.