The Scope of the Master’s Parables
On several occasions Jesus used parables to transmit teachings to human beings. In those sheer tales, which represent a third of the Synoptic Gospels, the laws of Creation were inserted in a way to permit human beings understand how to conform with the laws. Parables transmitted the Truth of God in a way that listeners could easily assimilate, as long as their hearts were open for them.
The Pharisees could not understand a word of what Jesus was talking about, precisely because they tried to dissect his words with the intellect instead of absorbing the concepts with the intuition. Jesus followers, on the contrary, grasped exactly what he was transmitting; "With many such parables he spoke the Word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples." (Mark 4:33,34).
Jesus exalted the practice of using parables. They where utilized by Plato and Aristotle, as well as in the ancient literature of the Rabbis. Parables became a sublime art capable to lead the human spirit to salvation, once enough effort is applied to understand the Parables aright.
This characteristic of the Savior surfaced when he was still young, living with his earthly family. The book "Jesus, the Love of God", published by OGT press, reveals that he used edifying tales to his brothers in that epoch. They heard the enlightened narration of the elder brother, which awakened in them the desire to act correctly in everything. Mary, his mother, heard with satisfaction those captivating tales which contributed significantly to maintain domestic harmony.
Now let’s try to unveil and grasp what Jesus hinted in his parables, reviewing the wonderful lessons of life they contain for all human beings.
"Behold, a sower went forth to sow. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside; and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon stony places where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold" (Matthew 13:3-8).
Jesus gave an explanation for this parable, immediately after he had uttered it. Concerning the seeds that fell by the wayside, the clarification is the following:
"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path." (Matthew 13:19).
The expression "sown in the heart" shows the wise person how the Word, which bears the explanations of the laws of Creation, must be assimilated. As stated before, heart has the same sense of the profound itself, the utmost core of the human being. The Word nurtures the spirit, not the body. Only the spirit can assimilate the Word and comprehend it in full. The Word cannot fructify in the arid soil of the human intellect’s rationalization, but solely in the spirit, in the heart. Concerning the generally deplorable state of people’s hearts, Jesus had warned just a bit before:
"For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn - and I would heal them" (Matt 13:15).
Jesus shows in this parable how human beings should assimilate the Word he brought. Understanding the Word with the heart means complete assimilation, which is only possible when the spirit is moving, in obedience to the law of Movement.
The term evil has to be understood as the wrong principle, inserted in the world of matter by Lucifer to divert those who where not sufficiently strong in themselves. This is the same as the "temptation principle". Because of this Peter warned: "Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour" (1Peter 5:8). The Hebraic word for temptation is "nasah", also meaning submit to a test or examine indicating a wrong precept, incompatible with the Love and kindness of the Omnipotent.
Therefore the warning from Jesus: "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." (Matthew 26:41). This exhortation does not mean that if someone prays one will not be tempted, instead one will not fall under the power of temptation. 1 Each person here in gross matter is protected in such a way that allowing himself or herself to be misled by the weaker force of temptation is a shame. Paul said to the Corinthians exactly this: "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it." (1Co 10:13).
The resistance against temptation should not be a miraculous exception among human beings but a general rule for a happy end. "Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12).
The Master’s exhortation to maintain maximum spiritual vigilance, to avoid falling in temptation, wasn’t directed only to the disciples but to all men. "And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake" (Mark 13:37). And "praying" must be the legitimate fruit of spiritual intuition. Not merely any mechanical recitation, full of grudge: "Do not grow weary when you pray" (Sirach 7:10). There is no value in praying without heart. Without the continuous commitment to comply with the Law of God no one can pray genuinely, for such conceals hypocrisy which is condemned: "When one will not listen to the law, even one’s prayers are an abomination." (Proverbs 28:9). This kind of prayer cannot go to any luminous region, cannot surpass even the roof of the hypocrite prayer’s shelter. Only the one that applies the Word in deeds in all aspects of his or her life, can maintain spiritual vigilance and pray with an open soul. This is the only way to maintain protection against the temptations of the darkness and be free from evil.
The Word given by the Son of God, who was himself incarnated, protects and guards the one who seeks to sin no more, because that one is reborn and starts to live according to the sense of this Word. This has the same meaning as " born from above" (John 3:3) or "born of God", in the first Letter of John:
"We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them. We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one." (1John 5:18,19).
The seeds fell by the wayside signifies the Word not inserted as deeds into one’s life. Therefore assimilation can not take place and will hamper the incorporation of the right behavior into each one. The Word is finally lost into pitfalls placed by Lucifer’s hordes. Let’s see the explanation of Jesus for the seed that fell in the rocky soil:
"As for what was sown on the rocky ground, this is the one who hear the Word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, that person immediately falls away." (Matt 13:20, 21).
Those are vacillating enthusiasts, like straw fire. They recognize the value of the Word, as they received it with joy, but because of their superficiality there is not anchorage inside them, it is not rooted into their spirits. These are the seeds that sprout fast but get withered soon. Like the first ones mentioned they do not effectively practice the Word in their lives, because this demands perseverance and collide inevitably with habits and concepts predominant throughout the world – "when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away
The explanation given by Jesus for the seeds fallen among thorns is the following
"As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing." (Matt 13:22).
The Word is directed to the spirit. It is a guide for the entire human existence, not just for the few years of the short existence of man on earth. All those ones that place the intellect above the spirit, rationalization above intuition - gets as a natural consequence - pleasures and material life above spiritual life, the ephemeral above the most valuable.
Jesus does not condemn those who possess wealth, but condemns those who are controlled by their wealth. For the feeble in spirit, the comfort of material wealth can easily choke the Word received as if it where thorns.
To avoid this situation Jesus counseled the rich young man to give away all his wealth and follow him. (See Luke 18:18-23). That advice referred just to that young man, and others like him, who let themselves, become overwhelmed by their wealth thus preventing their spiritual development. This is absolutely not a general rule for all humankind. For those who let themselves be absorbed by the richness of this world, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle"2 (Matt19:24) than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God, because "you cannot serve God and the wealth" (Matthew 6:24).
Jesus gives the following explanation for the last lot of seeds, the fourth, which fell over good soil:
"But for what was sown in good soil, this is the one who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." (Matthew 13:23).
We can see that only a quarter of all listeners comprehend and let the Word bear fruits in them. Jesus did not mention the ones who did not want to hear the Word from God. These constitute the immense majority of human beings.
Hear and understand the Word means in reality to assimilate the Word in the inner self and to make it into deeds. The lives of those who behave in such a manner become a blessing for the Creation in which they live. Through the correct way of living, capacities are awakened, becoming an overabundant reciprocal gift for the entire world. In some cases more (a hundred or sixty per one), in others less (thirty per one), depending on each one’s level of spiritual development, but all in absolute conformity with the law of continuous equilibrium: giving and receiving. The corresponding passage in Luke is slightly different, but the characteristic of good seeds - giving fruits by perseverance - remains:
"But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance" (Luke 8:15).
Unfortunately the good soil - purified souls questing for Light - so necessary for the plantation and full fructification of the Word, is increasingly scarce throughout the world. We can see nowadays just minor islands with good soil here and there, surrounded by a vast immensity of rocky soil and thick vegetation of thorns…
The possibility given to human beings to produce abundance of good fruits by the right development and persistent application of their capacities, is equally pictured in the parable of the Talents that we will see further ahead.
The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat
"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, "Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?" He answered, "An enemy has done this." The slaves said to him, "Then do you want us to go and gather them?" But he replied, "No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers; Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn." (Matthew 13:24-30)
Following that, Jesus tried to explain to the disciples the meaning of this parable:
"The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels." (Matthew 13:37-39).
The full meaning of this parable, together with Jesus’ explanations, is the following: The Son of Man sowed human spirit seeds into the world of matter. Because of this act the designation "Son of Man" appeared, meaning that the whole humanity has its origin from this sowing, as per the Will of God, who He is himself. Indeed, the Hebraic expression that translates Son of Man: "ben’adham", means in its essence "Son of humanity", i.e. the Son of the Almighty for humanity.
The creative act of the Son of Man is corroborated by the so called Book of Parables (included in the apocryphal Book of Enoch), indicates that the designation "Son of Man" was used before Creation came into being, indicating that this designation is not associated with Jesus. This Ethiop version of the book of Enoch contains the following:
"In this hour the Son of Man received a name in the presence of the Lord of the Spirits. And before the creation of the Sun and the two Signs, before the creation of the stars in the sky, he received a name in the presence of the Lord of the Spirits."
The phenomenon of human beings developing from spirit germs is a process that repeats itself regularly in Creation. Indeed human beings develop from "spiritual seeds" beginning in Paradise, and after complete maturity return to the same place of their origin. The influences determining the germination process of the seeds can be seen as a breath of life from the Creator, the origin of all life: "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." (Gn 2:7). After being created by the Will of God, "The Holly Spirit", the man is given life by the breath of God that animates him with his nourishment. Elihu, friend of Job, gave this sense when he testified: "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life."(Job 33:4).
About the return of
these seeds to
The human being, developed from the spirit germ, after repeated experiences following insertion into the world of matter, acquires very slowly self-consciousness and becomes a complete personality. This picture does not represent at all the belief of so many, that man is an image and likeness of God, created directly by Him. How can this be possible? Is it indeed possible that anyone, here on Earth, believes from the bottom of his heart, that he, a human being in the process of development, is really the image and likeness of the Almighty God?… Look at your self with deep insight and answer with honesty… A human, an earthly creature, as the image and likeness of the Almighty… Like Him but not enough to obey His Commandments and live according to His Will! Human beings that have given up all image and likeness and decree that the Lord must send to Earth his Son to bear and redeem their guilt, creatures that would be made as His image and likeness…There are no words to describe such tremendous arrogance. Only after death those with this wrong conception would recognize those presumptuous claims and then would have preferred not to have ever been born.
The Genesis description about the man made "in our image and according to our likeness" (Gn1:26) – God image – refers not to the human being, but to the insertion, in a broad sense, of the spiritual male and female into the Creation, emerged from the gate that is the departure point from the Divine. 4 Let us be reasonable…, honest and righteous! It is impossible that this reference is for the limited human creature, an entity that finally degenerated itself through its free will, neglecting completely the spiritual assignment, breaking away sinfully from the Creator. The beings created as images and likeness of God are the primordial spirits, free from error and sin, whose origin is well above the highest final goal that a human spirit can ever attain: the spiritual realm known as Paradise. If some day a human being could reach Paradise, his real fatherland, on the merit of becoming a complete and perfect spirit, then, he could be considered as a "copy" of the eternal primordial beings, which are the images and likeness of God. A copy! This can only be attained by someone that could reach that place… And even when there will continue always to be below celestial beings. "For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels" (Ps 8:5), which live in the divine sphere.
The starting point of human spirituality was Adam and Eve. They where created in the spiritual realm, but were never incarnated on Earth nor in any other material sphere. The fact that they had appeared already developed, without first being children, shows that this happening took place in a more developed plane, above Paradise, where human beings live as effectively created by Divine Will. They became immediately provided with self-consciousness, without the necessity to develop from seeds. The name "Eve" means simply "vivid". In the Sumerian language, the ideogram representing the term "vivid" is the same as the one that represents "rib".
Only human spirits that are already residing in Paradise can be referred to as images and likeness of God; "When God created humankind, he made them in the likeness of God." (Genesis 5:1) and this means copies of primordial image of God. The perfected human spirits are similar to the primordial spirits, who were created in the first place, in the heights of Creation. Therefore we, terrestrial human beings, are far away below, at an incomparable distance from them all.
The Creator does not need anybody, depends on nothing. On the other hand all beings, created or developed, are wholly dependent on Him.
The German Theologian and Philosopher Schleiermacher (1768 – 1834) grasped with his intuition this meaning when he affirmed "God is a Being on Whom all creatures depend while He depends on nothing".
The great Architect of the Universes needs not human creatures: "The God who made the world and everything in it, He is Lord of heaven and earth… does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is He served by human hands as though He needed anything…" (Acts 17:24, 25).
About earth and the beyond he said: "Who makes a separation between this world and the world beyond deceives himself." Schleiermacher was accused to be Gnostic and semi Pelagius at the same time, a badge that was in reality an honor, denoting himself as someone capable of using his intuition to understand and transmit concepts.
He fought Illuminism when he affirmed that what determines human value is not the spark of reason but instead that the heart is the foundation matrix of spiritual life. Friedrich Ernst Schleiermacher said the following: "What commonly is called belief i.e. the acceptance of what someone else did, trying to mimic other’s thoughts or feelings taking them as a superior behave toward religion, is in error. Instead one must renounce this behavior if he seeks to enter into the sanctuary (…) those who achieved an earth life so rich and absorbing, needs not eternity anymore. Those have created a universe for themselves and need not to think about the One who has created them."
Let’s get back to the parable. "… but while men slept, his enemy came…" When human beings where in the initial stages of their path through the world of matter, with their conscience not totally developed, therefore not entirely awakened as if they where still in the verge of getting into the spiritual teenage, Lucifer came with his mission to take care of human seeds to enhance their development. But instead of carrying out his task according to the Creator’s Will, he acted differently, making efforts to seek their destruction. Acting in this way he became the declared "enemy" of the Sower.
The principle of temptation inserted by Lucifer into the world of matter is absolutely contrary to the supporting love desired by the Creator because "He Himself tempts no one" (James 1:13). The ones subdued by the evil, i.e. the wrong principle, develop as weeds in the field of matter, therefore wrongfully. 5 In contrast to them there are the ones that develop in the right way, as per the Creator’s Will, dodging the pitfalls of darkness: Those are the "Sons of the Kingdom", the wheat. No weeds should appear in the Son of Man’s wheat field. This is crystal clear as the servants got perplexed by what germinated: "Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?"
Lucifer "withdrew" after disseminating the wrong principle into the world of matter, i.e. he did not remain in the material Creation but sunk into the abyss due to the effect of the Law of Gravity that pushes down below everything that becomes evil and heavy. In the Book of Isaiah there is a poem describing the fall of Lucifer where he is named "Day star" and "son of Dawn" (simply Lucifer in the Latin version). In ancient mythology the "morning star", the Venus planet, represents the fallen angel. In the Isaiah text the basic sense shows him originally as a luminous being, brilliant, that becomes vanquished and fell into the depths: "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day star, son of Dawn? How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your Heart, I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of Zaphon; I will ascend to the top of the clouds, I will make myself like the most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol (house of the dead), to the depths of the Pit!" (Isaiah 14:12-15).
The expression in the poem, is the current Hebraic’s original Saphon. The mount Saphon means Congregation Mount. Mythology poems dated 1200 - 1400 a.C. written over ancient clay bricks, discovered in excavation sites at Ugarit, a Syrian ancient city (today the city of Ras Shamra), indicates Saphon as the mountain where Baal lord of the Earth, the great Lucifer’s servant, lives. About this Saphon mount the writer Roselis von Sass says in her book The Final Judgment:
"Baal was entitled ‘the lord of Saphon mount’! The mount Saphon is an important center in the astral world (medium gross matter) surrounding our terrestrial planet. (…). The medium gross matter sphere surrounding the Earth is called ‘Saphon’. This mount is the most important nevertheless not the highest because even more elevated mountains exist there… In the mount Saphon there is a large building which has in its center a big Temple. (…) All forerunners of the Truth who came to carry out their missions on Earth, stayed for a time at the Saphon mount of the Temple to prepare themselves for their tasks and to contact human souls. They used that time wisely while the infant bodies linked to them developed to the maturity to serve as instruments for their spirits. (…) Also the human spirit of Jesus, prepared as an instrument for Jesus’s activity, the Son of God the bearer of Divine Love, stayed at mount Saphon. There he sensed all phases of sufferings because in that Saphon mount, the illuminated mount, he saw human souls bearing on their foreheads the bloody stigma of Baal, the sign of Lucifer."
Baal, the most powerful servant of Lucifer, is described several times in the Bible and is also present in its oldest books. His worship was introduced in Samaria during the Reign of Acab from Israel (874 – 853 a.C.), when the followers of Yahweh were persecuted. Nevertheless some Kings were enforcing old Commandments here and there and the Bible shows a deteriorating behavior from that epoch on. This happened evenly in the North and South Kingdoms, Israel and Judah. Two hundred years after the death of Acab, Jeremiah the prophet transmitted this message from the Lord: "Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, or walked in accordance with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baal’s" (Jeremiah 9;13). From the name Baal, that means lord, came the name Beelzebub, a condensed name Baal-Zebul – "Prince lord" – gave origin to the designation "Ruler of the Demons" as in (Matthew 9:34).
The city of Ugarit was in its historic highs, just before the Exodus epoch, probably the head quarter of Baal in that region. From other clay cuneiform writings the Supreme Being "El", known by that people as the "Father of humanity" had its position occupied by Baal.
In those writings Baal counted on his sister Anate to smash the inhabitants of two cities, deeds that provoked envy on Baal itself: "Anate combated at the valley and slashed the multitudes of the shores. The heads were as balls under her feet. With the beheaded heads hanged by her hips she walked, sunk by her knees over the blood of heroes. Anate inflicted wounds and laughed with her heart full of joy." The narration says that after the fight Anate demanded El to permit Baal raise a palace where she could reign. The instructions written over the clay bricks showing that those tales where to be read aloud… This Anate was probably Baalat, the first feminine servant of Lucifer, which Roselis von Saas describes in her book of Final Judgment in the chapter "The Baal cult".
Humans have free will; so it is up to them to decide if they want to develop themselves as weeds or wheat. If they are just inclined to the wrong, they still have the possibility to regain the right way for their own spiritual development. The teachings of the forerunners, the admonishing of the ancient prophets, and later the teachings of the Son of God Jesus had this primordial function. Also the tireless apostle Paul warned frequently in Ephesians:"Live as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8). Only after the end of the time allowed for the development of each spiritual germ can one affirm who developed as wheat or as weeds in Creation. Then the time of harvest begins.
This harvest, the Final Judgment, is closely connected with the Son of Man, and is clearly explained in the following explanation from Jesus:
"Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:40-42).
We ourselves are exactly into this epoch when the weeds are being separated from the wheat. The selection is automatic because each one is now forced to show himself how he really is, i.e. how he developed himself since his seed was sowed, if like wheat or weed. This must be conspicuously evident in this harvest epoch. The human being which still hears his intuition, the ones not completely clogged by the materialistic rationalization must move with all his strength and energy to ascend spiritually avoiding lack of weight in the process of selecting wheat from weed: "you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting" (Daniel 5:27).
We are experiencing the full execution of the Final Judgment, the so proclaimed Lord’s Day, the Judgment Day, conspicuously predicted in the scriptures:
"For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Eccl 12:14); and "On that day the Lord will thresh from the channel of the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you will be gathered one by one, Oh people of Israel" (Isaiah 27:12). The time given to humans expired; "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near" (Mark 1:15). Now one can awake and return to the right narrow path long ago abandoned or become lost in the Judgment, spiritually deceased as a useless weed. With horror and despair such a lost one would finally recognize that effectively "There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death" (proverbs14:12). In this case his destiny will be such that he will lose all his self-consciousness, suffering horrifying torments (weeping and gnashing of teeth) of spiritual death, the second death, because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
Finally Jesus explains that after the cleansing of all evil in the Judgment there will be the Reign of Peace:
"Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!!"(Matthew 13:43).
The Mustard Seed and the Yeast
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. (…) "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." (Matthew 13:31-33; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-21)
In those two parables Jesus spoke about the evolutionary process of Creation which obeys the Law of Movement. All Creation maintains continuous movement, growing more and more. New worlds are being continuously formed in the several planes of the gigantic masterpiece, and the process ensures that there will always be a place for the human creatures that develop in them to live.
Abdruschin says in the lecture "Come Down from the Cross!" of his Grail Message, In The Light of Truth, the following:
"Thus the Kingdom of God will become larger and larger, forever being developed and extended by the power of the pure human spirits, whose field of activity will be Subsequent Creation. This they will be able to direct from Paradise, having themselves already wandered through all its parts and thereby become thoroughly acquainted with them"
Human accomplishment is subjected to this development process or fermentation, in spite of their deeds whether good or evil. Intuitions and thoughts take form and become robust through the Law of Attraction of Similar Species. Jesus warned human beings: "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" (Mt 16:6-12; Mk 8:15). He explained that by leaven He meant "teaching" in this instance. He was thus advising everyone not to feed themselves with wrong teachings because like the good deeds, the evil and wrong teachings also would grow and deliver corresponding fruits.
When Jesus was on Earth his Words of Truth acted as a germinating seed of mustard: "So the Word of God grew mightily and prevailed" (Acts 19:20), illuminating the path of ascent for the human beings. If everyone had followed this way, without deviations through false detours due to dogmatic concepts, our Earth would be today a copy of the luminous fields (or planes) existing further above. Human beings on earth would have achieved their mission making from the material homestead provided them into God’s garden, which would be like a pearl incrusted into the immense masterpiece that is Creation.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:44-45).
Into these two parables in sequence Jesus shows that the kingdom of heaven has no comparison in value with earthly kingdoms. He also shows to humans the right disposition each one has to have in order to reach that kingdom. No effort can be too much for that purpose because the material kingdom is nothing compared with eternal life of the spiritual kingdom of Paradise.
Each human being must set as the ultimate target of his existence to reach one day this celestial kingdom. He has to show, through his own behavior, the seriousness with which he takes his own salvation, with permanent efforts to live in accordance with the laws of God.
Here again becomes implicit the error of attachments to low values, such as ephemeral material things. And if any of those material values become an addiction to those who possess them, as it was in the case of the rich young man, it would be better then to dispose them all to permit the possibility of attaining the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus warned not to collect treasures on earth but only in heaven:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth and rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19, 20).
Paul expressed the same with the words: "because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18). The great apostle lived with Greeks and their spiritual philosophy and this seems to have benefited this great apostle a lot…
The human being’s warehouse will be stuffed from where his heart, i.e. his intuitive volition, points. Therefore he has to direct his volition to the heights, towards spiritual improvement, in order to store treasures in heaven. Terrestrial treasures cannot save any one in the Final Judgment: "Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath; in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed" (Zeph 1:18). Only the one that oriented his life as per the laws of God in Creation will receive help, not the one that anchored his hope in earthly wealth or money: "Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High, and it will profit you more than gold" (Sirach 29:11).
People acting the other way around, laying up treasures on earth, must heed James’s severe warning: "Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasures for the last days" (James 5:3).
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The Angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." (Matthew 13:47-50)
In this parable Jesus presents another picture for the process of the Final Judgment. Here the analogy is the fisherman’s net which takes the place of the wheat and the weeds of the other parable. Again the allusion of the coexistence of the good ones with the evil ones until the end of times is present to enhance the terrible destiny for those who become useless. Jesus always made clear that in the end of the period granted for the development of humankind, a rigorous selection would take place separating the good from the evil, those who had become useful from the ones shown to have become harmful in the Lord’s vineyard.
Yet the core of these teachings is that the Free Will is always in the hands of each human being who can develop upward in the direction of the Light or downward to the darkness. There is no in-between. We know that Primordial Light is God Himself and darkness is a stranger to the Light: "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1John 1:5).
The teaching also explains that the human being must bear the consequences corresponding to his volition. He can make the choice but after he must reap the corresponding harvest. A detailed analysis of this parable leads to the conclusion that salvation absolutely cannot be achieved without the personal effort of the interested party.
A well ended venture is not a lottery ticket that could be bought in any of the countless seducing Christian kiosks that sell blind faith. The denomination "blind faith" is a synthesis of everything that is against the natural laws, as for example, lack of spiritual movement, hindered free will, believing without understanding, self indulgence and delusion. It is a delicious offer in exchange for spiritual liberty, like or worse than the Temple merchants who were expelled by Jesus. All of them are going to be definitely expelled from the Lord’s house, the Creation, by the effect of the Final Judgment. Only values acquired through personal conviction are real.
Only what one can "see", i.e. comprehend, can be valid for him and become a ladder to help him climb to the luminous kingdom of the spirit. All else is empty straw which can only be used as liturgy to cheat spiritually blind people and for the doctrines preached on pulpits by religious leaders who are equally blind.
Pharisees acting with hypocrisy circulated anti-Christ teachings because their dogmas were illusions which they thought would be pleasing to God. Because of this Jesus called them blind guides.
"You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!" (…) "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit." (Matthew 23:24;15:14)
The King and the Servant’s Debt
"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything." And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, "Pay what you owe." Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you." But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, "You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?" And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart"
This parable shows the shocking contrast between the divine forgiveness and the human being’s refusal to "forgive". It is an insult to give the same name for those two situations so opposite one from the other. To pay back his enormous debt the first servant would have to sell everything he owned as well as himself and his family. This situation shows the gravity of the karma, which is in proportion to the gravity of the fault.
However, the same Law of Reciprocity does not exclude pardon provided the human being inserts himself into the divine laws. Due to his initial humility the servant begged and was forgiven a debt of ten thousand talents, equivalent to approximately 60 million pence (a King’s ten-year income) but later on he was incapable of forgiving 100 pence owed to him by his fellow servant.
Because of this, his guilt became greater than before and as a consequence the retroactive effect became proportionally more intense. The divine pardon has no similarity with human pardon. A creature, forgiven through the natural laws of Creation, becomes clean and as pure as any one who had never ever committed any fault. No difference can be perceived, nothing can tell who of them had committed a fault! Imagine for example two twin brothers, absolutely identical, dressed with same garment. Let us suppose that one of them took care of his clothes, kept it impeccably clean, avoided places that could dirty him. The other, on the contrary, neglected that, paid no attention to dirt, which increasingly accumulated on him and he did not avoid places that would stain him. This way his garment became a stinky trash, bearing no relation to his brother’s clothes.
One day this brother perceived what he had done and decided to clean him self at any cost. After an enormous work, proportional to the size of his own previous indolence and neglect, he was able to clean entirely his clothes in a way that he became identical to his twin brother that was never stained. If one examined in extreme detail both brothers one could not distinguish who was formerly stained. And more: their former history has no importance at all! The work expended to cleanse him self, to expiate the former errors now makes him as clean and pure as his brother. This is the way of divine justice which really forgives any creature his fault if he recognizes his mistakes and makes diligent effort himself to repair them. After that, it is impossible to say which one sinned because the error was extinguished and no sign of this is inside Creation.
Indeed the pardon is a fact: "For I will be merciful towards their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more" (Heb 8:12). He can resume his spiritual ascent without fear of condemnation. The repentant person who redirects his life will not face spiritual death and his crimes would not be remembered:
"But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed and keep all My statutes and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live: he shall not die. All transgressions that he hath committed they shall not be mentioned unto him. In his righteousness that he hath done he shall live." (Ezekiel 18:21,22), because "righteousness delivered from death" (Proverbs10:2). The divine pardon will exclusively depend on his.
Normally with human beings the contrary is customary. Frequently with a magnanimous stand he pardons his fellow man a small fault but never stops to divulge everywhere: "Oh! That one did me this and that and I forgave him!" Hypocrisy resides in this false pardon, only hypocrisy. In his core he keeps snatching and suffocating his fellow man shouting: pay me what you owe! If the human being hears his inner voice then his manners would be completely different. Altruistic and more interested in his fellow man’s wellbeing, acting always in this direction would only deliver blessings through reciprocity. In his letter to Titus, Paul refers to this when he made an exhortation to the members of the community to "be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarrelling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone" (Titus 3:1,2). Everything would be different if human beings really "heed the counsel of your own heart, for no one is more faithful to you than it is" (Sirach 37:13).But unfortunately his rationalization, always directed to himself, finds swiftly sundry egocentric arguments to muffle the weak and faintly audible inner voice, the spiritual intuition, which manifests here and there through exhorting doubts.
The living spirit comprehends immediately the false in everything and through the intuition wants to make its will to prevail. However as it, the spirit, is subdued by the intellect, a dominion affected over millennia, it does not hear the timid warnings that cannot be a match to the violent rebuff of the intellect.
This way the human being accepts things as true but which do not exist, as in the case of an easy divine pardon, conveniently adapted to his spiritual inertia. Nobody can obtain pardon for sins through penitence, monetary contributions, fasting, a number of uttered prayers and other church tariffs. Contrary to the teachings of churches it is not the quantity of prayers that produces results. About this the Lord warned through Prophet Isaiah: "even though you make many prayers, I will not listen" (Isaiah 1:15).Without personal effort and inner perseverance one cannot become better, not even a millimeter can be progressed in the spiritual development and consequently nothing can be redeemed. Nothing can be improved if a human being thinks and believes things are different. If any one believes in arbitrary pardon, only because a blind guide said so, probably one of these that: "… strain out a gnat but swallow a camel" (Matthew 23:24). Ignorance is caused by personal guilt because nobody will be kept without help to understand correctly the laws of Creation.
"If you say, ‘Look we did not know this’, does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will He not repay all according to their deeds?" (Proverbs 24:12).
Fasting, penitence and other mortification practices are nothing but gross transgressions of the natural laws. Only one full of meanness and vanity can feel great by ill treating his body. The body is the most precious wealth for each one on earth. It is an indispensable tool for the spirit’s maturing. Here the sentence from the Book of Sirach fits: "No one is worse than one who is grudging to himself; this is the punishment for his meanness (Sirach 14:6). Nevertheless Pope Clement VI gave no importance to this Sirach book because in 1384 he personally sponsored a public flagellation in the city of Avignon…
A voluntarily ill treated and macerated body is a visible sign that the respective spirit is in the same condition. A "pious" penitent like that cannot anymore counterbalance the grace of life because the deplorable state of his spirit and the dirt imbued in his soul can only weave with his intellect a miserable material substitute, this grotesque compensation of the suffering of his body. Doing this doubles his guilt: first by abusing his body and second believing that this act is pleasing to God.
The belief that divine Love forgives everything arbitrarily, without taking into account the infallible Justice, contributes to the fall of human beings. With this belief any one can engage in all sorts of vices and passion, ill-treat his fellow man as much as he wants to satisfy his own greed and ambition and then with a simple wave of the hands toward the heights become an exemplar believer? "For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness." (Romans 10:3).
Humanity has complied with Lucifer’s basic command to live without refrain at exhaustion. The hedonist principle is in force on earth since seven thousand years. We can find the same principle mixed without mask in some Bible phrases:
"There is nothing better for the people under the sun, than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves" (Ecclesiastes 8:15).
The author of Wisdom and Isaiah denounced this principle in their own epoch with courage and strong irony in the words: "Our name will be forgotten in time and no one will remember our works. (…) Come therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist, let us take our fill of costly wines and perfumes. (…) let none of us fail to share in our revelry". (Wisdom 2:4,6,7,9); "But instead there are joy and festivity, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating meat and drinking wine, let us eat and drink, or tomorrow we die" (Isaiah 22:13). "Ah, you who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant at mixing drinks" (Isaiah 5:22). Isaiah was indeed ironical in his warnings about idolatry. (Check Isaiah 44:13-20).
Two centuries after Isaiah, Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, brought irony to an art level when in Athens it received a special name: Socratic irony which is studied until today in philosophy courses. We must not mistake the fine and competent irony of the Socratic kind, that demolish the most solid theories of the intellect, the most delusional fantasies of the sentiment, with any common ironical offense directed to a person just to cause suffering. The effect of the first kind is to shake the human soul stiffened by dogma; conversely the other kind will inflict severe pain into the inner most part of a person. The last kind is denominated sarcasm, mocking or scorn with which the priests and scribes frequently used against Jesus in any opportunity: "He saved others; he cannot save himself" (Matthew27:42).
Jesus himself used legitimate irony in some situations. As for example when he classified Pharisees as "righteous" (Matthew 23:28) or when Jesus after being accused of acting "by demons of Beelzebub" responded that in this case Satan would be "divided against itself" because he was just destroying demonic influences (check Luke 11:17,18). Paul was also ironical, indeed caustic, when comparing the complicated Corinthians and the apostles: "Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Quite apart from us you have become kings! Indeed, I wish that you had become kings, so that we might be kings with you! We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor but we in disrepute" (1Corinthians 4:8,10).No less ironical he was when he called them "super apostles" (2Corinthians 11:5) which false priests mislead members of their own community. The Book of James contains vigorous ironical warnings. In the Old Testament Amos, the prophet, shot off sharp ironies against his hypocritical listeners:
"Come along to Bethel and sin! And then to Gilgal and sin some more! Bring your sacrifices for morning worship. Every third day bring your tithe. Burn pure sacrifices - thank offerings." (Amos 4:4-5).
Another Old Testament example of mocking irony, that may cause one to laugh, was given by Elias when he exposed the failure of the prophets of Baal to invoke their gods:
"… a little louder - he is a god, after all. Maybe he's off meditating somewhere or other, or maybe he's gotten involved in a project, or maybe he's on vacation. You don't suppose he's overslept, do you? and needs to be woken up?" (1Kings 18:27).
Thucydides, who lived from 465 to 395 B.C., almost repeated Isaiah’s ironies about the sinful behavior of his people and criticized in his work, "Histories of Peloponnesian Wars", the promiscuous customs of ancient Greece: "They search for swift valued pleasures since their own lives were equally ephemeral (…) The pleasures and all means to reach them were accounted beautiful and useful. Nobody was arrested neither by fear of the Lord nor by human laws (…); besides nobody planned to live long enough to account for his faults."
Profound truth resides in the words of Thucydides. The human being has ever lived like this, vicious, unscrupulous, "do not be so confident of forgiveness that you add sin to sin" (Sirach 5:5).
Nevertheless not even one of their faults could be forgiven the way they thought; conversely they overburden themselves with a colossal guilt when accepting the childish concept that the Lord would be capable of an arbitrarily benevolent injustice. A basest blasphemy to think the Lord could let His Will become a cheap merchandize to be bargained…a few here and there ask themselves if this tale of a complacent forgiveness would be right. Unfortunately those admonishing thoughts were cast away by fear of touching something "sacred" or because this type of questioning would be incumbent only on religion and theology. If there are people in charge to study this sort of things and give right answers why care so much? If so many can accept this why question? But if a concept forms a central pillar, the main column of their faith, a dogma, then it would be a sin even to think that this could not be right! With this sluggish thinking the human being dives spiritually more and more. With this diving more errors are alike and one becomes less capable of recognizing one’s fall; neither can one recognize the last helping resources coming from Creation.
This situation becomes increasingly worse until such a human being becomes totally excluded from any spiritual help, and will be inexorably delivered to the executioners until every debt would be paid. Therefore as enemies of God they will stand without any possibility to turn back even if they were considered good persons, according to their religion, all the established duties of which they performed exemplarily. They are Pharisees as in the time of Christ.
"God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, 'Why are you standing around all day doing nothing'? They said, 'Because no one hired us.' "He told them to go to work in his vineyard. When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, 'Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.' Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, 'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.' He replied to the one speaking for the rest, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? 'Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first." (Matthew 20:1-16)
For thousand of years human beings where warned to modify, to comply with the Will of the Lord to become useful servants in His vineyard, the Creation. Many are called…Called are the ones that bear specific capacity. Chosen are the ones who effectively transform their capacities into action.
There is a time limit available for humans to develop (the five o’clock), where it will be possible for the human being to disentangle himself from his errors, overcome his inner laziness and undertake the path for spiritual ascent. However, ascent requires a conscious collaboration in perfecting the Creation, i.e. serving. Whoever ascends spiritually cooperates automatically in perfecting the craftwork because everything that emanates from him is harmonious and constructive. His intuitions and thoughts can only generate new and beneficial configurations.
Note that the owner of the vineyard was severe to the workers who were found at five o’clock: he asked "why are you standing here idle all day?" This "day" represents all previous existence of a human being covering several millennia, enough to include many terrestrial lives. The general sense is: "why did you not take any advantage of the time at your disposal until now, in your existence, to become useful in Creation?" The answer given was: "because no one has hired us" shows human beings seldom have enthusiasm to undertake voluntarily their spiritual ascent. This demands personal effort but the majority prefers to lay back comfortably on blind faith which demands no movement. Only when one is struck by external push (the call for hire) in the form of a significant experience, as pain or joy, can an awakening happen and a longing for spiritual ascent arise (to work at the vineyard).
Another teaching included in this parable is about the time needed for the spirit to develop which is different one from another. This must not give rise to any misunderstanding or envy as stated by the workers who labored for longer time. Otherwise they will harm themselves because "for where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind." (James 3:16).
It is not relevant if some started to develop later and reached the same spiritual level of the ones who did not delay. Human beings are not equals; each one has his specific evolutionary degree, depending on how he applied the faculties granted him: this is the "talent" of the other parable. Some ascend more swiftly, others slowly. What makes the difference is the start of the ascent and the perseverance in this course (Law of Movement), to finally obtain the prize of eternal life (check 1Corinth 3:8), which has the same value – one dollar - for any who have deserved it.
The landlord was generous with the last workers, but was not unfair to the first ones who were paid as promised and at the proper time. Nobody has the right to complain and consider unfair the longer time spent to ascend spiritually compared with his fellow man because this depends on each one’s personal rhythm, the way each one himself makes his effort to live in accordance with the laws of creation. This is a grudge complaint which the landlord reproaches severely: "are evil in your eyes because I am good?" Some take this parable as a proof that access to Paradise happens as a privilege not by merit. But the truth is just the contrary! As in other parables Jesus exhorts here human beings to move continually, to act as his Word advises, because only by one’s own effort would one someday find the entrance to Paradise.
It was not without a reason that the Master spoke several times about this personal effort as necessary condition to enter God’s reign: "The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it" (Luke16:16). The one who complies with the teachings coming from the Word of Salvation ascends securely, step by step, to the heavenly kingdom. Nevertheless here on earth, such a person may be despised by his fellow man because he rejects the dogma that could only be forged by the twisted rationalization of the religious leaders. On the other hand all modern Pharisees consider themselves as saved. They account themselves dearest viewed from above because they complied diligently the rules of their religions, created by other humans like them. They will never enter the Kingdom of God. They will be left behind and those ones with free will, those ones that today are the last ones, will become the first and with this finally, "Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high" (Ez 21:26).
"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today." He answered, "I will not"; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, "I go, sir"; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you." (Mt 21:28-31)
This parable complements the former. What really matters in a person’s life is the milestone with which he decides to live as per the Laws of Creation, that is, to comply with the Will of his Creator. The possible initial contradiction, based on any motive, is not decisive anymore because he himself gave another direction, as if a rod changed the railway track, altering his own destiny. Conversely, the other one definitely knows that he must change his ways, just proposes here and there but makes no definitive move to maintain permanently and securely the new direction. Here again it is clear the necessity to transform into action any good intention harbored by a human being. One’s previous good intention has no value unless one acts accordingly. Empty words have no value, deeds has all the value. John advised his community: "let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action" (1John 3:18). Promise alone brings no good. This is typical of Pharisees who "do not practice what they teach" (Matthew23:3), from where came the common saying "follow what I say but do not do what I do". Only when the intuitive will anchors firmly in the good then the thoughts, the words and acts will mold accordingly. This is the son that really went to work in the father’s vineyard, in late time, but accomplishing His will.
The Parable of the Evil Tenant
Farmers
Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, "They will respect my son." But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance." So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. (Mt 21:33-39; Mk 12:1-8; Lk 20:9-15)
The sense of this parable was clarified in chapter 1 – The necessity for the Coming of the Messiah. It deals with the coming of the Prophets of ancient times on earth, and lastly about the coming of the Son of God. The image of the landowner planting a vineyard with all facilities deployed shows the immense Love of the Creator for his creatures, offering everything needed in the material world which also constitutes the field for spiritual maturing. It is clear that those human beings (the Tenant farmers), did not behave as loyal administrators of the marvelous world standing at their disposal. They rejected the precursors and prophets of ancient times and lastly murdered the Son of God. Making a wrong use of the gift received, the free will, they acted against the order of the vineyard landowner. The assassination of the Son of God was a possibility known by the Light, due to the low spiritual level of humanity at that time. A possibility which could be averted if the Message of Jesus had been welcomed into men hearts. Startled would be the one who still maintain his spirit open when he reads the unanimous interpretations condemning assassinations of the ancient Prophets as brutal crimes but not the murder of Jesus. The parable makes no difference between the two cases: on the contrary it shows clearly that the killing of the son of the landowner was an evil and perverse act unplanned, never desired. This was an aggravation over the first crimes. The vineyard workers respected not even the son of the owner as was expected, but just killed him. The death of the son was a barbaric crime. This is clear when, after the end of the parable, Jesus asked the audience their opinion and received their unequivocal and logical answer:
Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’ (Mt 21:40,41)
Another outcome could not be expected. Following that, Jesus clarifies the consequences of the evil deeds: Jesus said unto them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes?6 Therefore I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people that produces the fruits of the Kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls." (Mt 21:42-44)
The Kingdom of God will only be accessed by those who produce good fruits, therefore the ones that have adjusted themselves to the Laws of Creation. Acting against those laws signifies falling over the corner stone 7 represented by Jesus, the Word incarnated (Check Acts 4:11); therefore "Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone" (Eph 2:20). He came from God to teach men how to comply with those laws. If these laws are disobeyed the respective person will just harm himself, break apart, because the stone will not shake at all. And if the stone falls over someone this will be reduced to dust, meaning that who acts against those laws will receive infallibly through the reciprocity his bad actions back. For those the cornerstone, the living law, will be "a rock one stumbles over" with which "many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken" (Isaiah 8:15). Therefore the word: "happy is he whoever may not be stumbled in me". (Luke 7:23).
On the other hand, the opposite effect, reserved for he who complies with the laws of Creation, was already noted by Isaiah: "A precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Who trusts it will not panic. And I will make the justice the line, the righteousness the plummet" (Isaiah 28:16, 17). "Trust the justice of the law". (Pv3:5).
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, "Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet." But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, "The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet." Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, "Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?" And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." For many are called, but few are chosen.’ (Matthew 22:2-14)
Many are called, but few are chosen…Called are the ones that have inside certain capabilities. Chosen are the called that effectively transformed in deeds their capabilities.
The narration of this parable is almost identical to the other of the great supper in the Luke gospel (Luke 14:16-24), where those invited gave several excuses for not accepting the invitation to the supper. Therefore, we will only go through this one because the core teaching is the same.
The Kingdom of Heaven is waiting for the human spirits who are coming. All of them where invited by the Lord but the majority did not want to. "… but they would not come" They used their capacity to make resolution, the free will, and decided not to ascend to Paradise…
Despite the immense efforts undertaken by the Light, through dedication and the love of the envoys, which urged them to seek the spiritual kingdom where they could benefit from the eternal happiness (the wedding banquet), they decided not to go, moved by feeble motives, merely terrestrial. They where obsessively attached to terrestrial interests, impairing the spiritual. The prophets, king envoys, attempted to show human spirits once more the path leading to the desired destination i.e. the celestial banquet.
For this happening all was prepared in the spiritual kingdom – "I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready" – all ready but the guests where missing. Human beings declined the invitation, "But they made light of it and went away" and each one preferred his own interests "one to his farm, and another to his business". This behavior shows that they where more interested in the terrestrial-material aspects of their existence than in the spiritual life. Due to the domination of the intellect over the spirit they considered it more reasonable taking care of these worldly matters than spiritual issues, seeking firstly to gather treasures on earth.
This wrong behavior is contrary to the Creator’s Will and would just lead to disastrous consequences through the Law of Reciprocal Action. The amplitude of this guilt shows complete disregard to the Will of the Lord and can be properly measured by the tragedy which engulfed them after they turned themselves into murderers: "The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city." In other words all have fallen together with their false deeds and terrestrial treasures. Nobody can refuse the invitation otherwise a definitive exclusion to participate on the banquet will be imposed. Whoever acts against the Will of the Creator and gives in to the false construction made by man’s hand has not any possibility to subsist eternally.
It lasts a certain time as per the universal gears motion that seems long under human chronology but in a sequence tumbles and buries the ones that helped edify that construction and others that, with confidence, found shelter inside it. This last sentence is difficult to understand and is not good English. I suggest you substitute the following: Man-made systems and constructions can only last for a certain time, which may seem long according to human reckoning; but they would eventually tumble and collapse and bury those who built them as well as those who shelter within them. This is true for wrong ways of life, economic doctrines, religious systems, political philosophies or regimes.
"The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy", said the King. This means that human beings, by their own guilt, could not become dignified enough to participate in the feast, showing themselves unworthy. All those who are indolent or indifferent shall be excluded from the Lord’s Supper.
The King made clear that the invitation is for all human beings and a great majority did not show up to participate. Moreover, all who came without nuptial vests i.e. those without adequate wedding clothes where thrown away to the darkness. This passage shows that the admission to the feast is only for those that took care and maintained their spiritual garment, their souls, impeccable. Only these will some day be able to enter in the heavenly kingdom, where their names will be recorded in the Book of Life. The Lord says in Apocalypse: "the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life". (Revelation 3:5). The indifferent persons, whose garments are not appropriate, will be spewed out as happens literally through the work of the Light: "They are thrust from light into darkness, and driven out of the world" (Job 18:18). These ones, who bear heavy and filthy vests, will be automatically separated from the others by the working of the Law of Spiritual Gravity which make them sink into the depths of darkness where they belong and "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth".
Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, "Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him." Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." But the wise replied, "No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves." And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, "Lord, lord, open to us." But he replied, "Truly I tell you, I do not know you." Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13)
This parable shows the fundamental characteristic of those who really observe the Law of Movement in Creation: spiritual vigilance! Only the one who is vigilant in spirit can keep the intuition alive, the "lamp oil". This liveliness cannot be transferred from one person to another; rather each one has to acquire it by himself through his own endeavor. This impossibility is indicated by the denial in transferring the oil from one lamp to another. This liveliness permits vigilant human beings immediately to recognize any hint about the bridegroom. This is the allegory used by Jesus indicating the coming of the Son of Man, the bearer of the Word of Truth.
All virgins ended up sleepy when the bridegroom delayed and became indolent; nevertheless the ones that preserved their intuitive capacity could in time encounter him. The bridegroom arrived unexpectedly at "mid night" but this fact was not enough of an obstacle to prevent him from being recognized by the prudent ones. They behaved as exemplary women "and her lamp never goes out at night" (Proverbs 31:18). Only much later the foolish virgins searched for the bridegroom but they could not even be considered once they had lost their intuitive faculty. This faculty is the only item that makes a human being really human. Once the final date for human development is overdue it is impossible to recover this faculty… It is not possible to acquire sufficient oil at the last hour anymore.
The reason Jews were exiled into slavery in Babylon was their apathy as the elected people in complying with divine directives; this same cause can be observed when Christians of today enslave themselves under the dogmas of blind beliefs, disobeying Christ’s exhortation in maintaining ready the oil of their spiritual vigilance.
In both cases slavery is the inevitable effect of spiritual indolence. In ancient times Babylon was the instrument of reciprocity to bind them to slavery; today this same role is played by the multiple Christian organizations making the believers incapable of assimilating anything different from learnt dogmas. These Christians may hear but they cannot understand; they may look but cannot see. Their behavior is identical to the Jews of Rome and his ancestors, which Saul have declared:
"The Holy Spirit correctly spoke through the prophet Isaiah to your forefathers when He said, Go to this people and say: 'You will listen and listen, yet never understand; and you will look and look, yet never perceive.(Acts 28:26)
All who since ancient times suffocate the voice of his spirit, the intuition, will not be able to recognize the Son of Man when presented to them. They will hear the words and comprehend it not, will look it all and see nothing. They prove that long ago they did not assimilate in their hearts the exhorting Words of the Son of God. Unlike the ones that are awake and conscientious in those Judgment Days they will pass by the Son of Man and His Word without notice, without any understanding: "none of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand" (Daniel 12:10). Those faulted: "They have eyes but don't see a thing they have ears but don't hear a thing. They're rebels all."(Ezekiel12:2).This rebel against the spirit vivacity confirmed Isaiah’s prophecy when the Master referred to it for his disciples:
"With them is indeed fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: You will indeed listen but never understand, and you will indeed look but never perceive" (Mt 13:14)
The sense is that their vigilance lamps would be totally extinguished in the epoch in which the Word of the Son of Man would be acting on Earth because there would be nothing else that could illuminate once the oil was not maintained ready i.e. the intuitive capacity. Unlike the oil of the virgins, the religious dogmas and convenient interpretations of Christ’s words are not oil but just muddy water.
For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, "Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents." His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master." And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, "Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents." His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master." Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, "Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours." But his master replied, "You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mt 25:14-30)
This parable is one of the most significant Jesus used. It shows unquestionably what is expected from human beings in Creation.
A man going on a journey and turning over his possessions to the workers is the image of the Creator giving the administration of the material part of the Creation into human hands. Every worker receives a specific quantity, each as per his own capacity. What is the meaning of this image? Firstly, as mentioned before, the level of development acquired by each human being is, in general, very distinct one from the other. Being so, each one of the three workers was in a specific degree of evolution. Secondly this fact indicates that the bigger the height of spiritual elevation of a person, the more gifted is he or she. Using correctly those gifts this person can produce better and bigger deeds contributing more significantly to the development and perfection of Creation. Consequently gifts are not arbitrarily distributed here and there for one and another. Before anything else it is a must for any person to be prepared accordingly to deserve them. The person that keeps in motion his spirit will not permit those gifts to stall on the contrary he or she must use them diligently in a way to produce fruits in abundance. The one that received five talents and the other that received two as well went out immediately to negotiate (work); they did not waste time to produce corresponding fruits. The quantity and magnificence of these fruits constitute a living gratitude to the One that gave them those precious gifts which form the most adequate expression of their praise and adoration of God. This sentence from the Master testifies that: "My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit" (John 15:8)
The master came to settle accounts with his workers after a "long time". This long time corresponds to the period granted for the spiritual development of the human being. That period was in fact very long, in the range of millions of years. By the actual epoch, that is, by the time to render final accounts, each one should have attained the expected level of development, ready to deliver to the Lord good results over the application of the talents, the gifts that were granted ages ago, i.e. the return on the investment made by the Light. Both, the one that received five talents and the other that received two made correct use of their gifts and delivered proudly to their master the multiplied result, product of their diligent activity. The third that had just one talent let his gift abeyant. He did not generate any benefit with it and for that reason the only one gift he had was taken from him.
The talent went back to the owner the same as delivered before, without producing anything useful from the hands of the indolent worker. It went back to the origin in the same fashion of a seed that did not sprout a spiritual germ that did not develop as it should have. The lazy servant acted against the will of his lord which expected his subordinate at least a minimum grade of spiritual development. The image of the sole talent being delivered to the other that had already ten talents shows, as explained before, the effect of the Law of Attraction of Homogeneous Species, which automatically ensures that new gift goes to whoever made adequate use of the gifts already received, reinforcing the disposition for good deeds producing good things. This way, "For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
"As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness." We can now ask how it is possible, after reading a phrase like this, to find someone that can say that it is enough to "accept" Jesus as his savior to be comfortably towed up to the heavens in the middle of angelical jubilant chants, free of all sins… Without personal effort in seeking his own development, without energetic continuous movement to the heights, no one can progress even a millimeter in the direction of Paradise. Be sure that the Kingdom of Heaven will not be forced to descend to the useless sluggish servant.
‘A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, "Do business with these until I come back." But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, "We do not want this man to rule over us." When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, "Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds." He said to him, "Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities." Then the second came, saying, "Lord, your pound has made five pounds." He said to him, "And you, rule over five cities." Then the other came, saying, "Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow" He said to him, "I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest." He said to the bystanders, "Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds." (And they said to him, "Lord, he has ten pounds!") "I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence." ’ (Lk 19:12-27)
This parable is almost a repetition of the previously discussed Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14-30). The main difference is that each servant received only one pound, which yielded different amounts from each of them. This shows that even persons on the same spiritual level can produce different fruits according to the manner in which they applied the same gifts they received. It could even happen that some would produce nothing, as with the evil one, which indicates retrogression in spiritual development. The lazy one was found guilty "by his own words" and this indicates that each one must judge himself in the Judgment time, as per the Will of the Light. The more appropriately a human being applies his gifts and the more his endeavor is focused on this, the more will be the corresponding fruits and, consequently, the more valuable will be the blessings which will come to him through the effect of the Law of Reciprocity - the "authority over five or ten cities". Once again we observe that everything is in the hands of each human being. As per his seriousness and relentlessness with which each applies his gifts in compliance with the Will of the Creator, the fruits will be correspondingly formed. The ones who do not want to comply with the Laws of Creation, the ones who do not want His Will to rule over them, will be exterminated.
A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, "Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend."(Lk 10:30-35)
Again Jesus points out clear differences between the exterior and the innermost aspects of human beings. At that time, Jericho was a dwelling village in which Levites and Priests resided after returning from the week’s service in the Temple. A Priest, expected to be an example of love for his fellowman, passed by avoiding the attacked man. The same did the Levite who had a respectable position and was highly regarded among his people. 8 Neither showed the smallest compassion for the semi dead fellow because their intuitions were obliterated by intellectual calculations helped by their rigid religion which affirmed that the spilled blood was an "impure liquid". The only one who had mercy on the unfortunate man was a Samaritan.
Samaritans were inhabitants of Samaria, a name derived from its original landlord, Semer. In the time of Christ, this region was located between Galilee in the North and Judea in the South. In 880 BC the King Onri of Israel founded a city with this same name, Samaria, actually Sabastya, located 56 kilometers from Jerusalem.
Samaritans were despised by Jews because they professed a different religion from the Israelis. They meddled with paganism and did not recognize the Temple of Jerusalem. They constructed their own Temple in Garizim around 400 BC; the Temple was destroyed by Jews later on. Besides they had a "half-coarse" blood due to breeding with strangers who had come in contact with the Assyrian conquerors. Because of that the Jews avoided contact with them: "For Jews do not associate with Samaritans" (John 4:9). The Samaritans were considered "the foolish people that live in Sechem it’s not even a people" (Sirach 50:25-26). The city of Sechem was the capital of Samaria’s northern Kingdom. When the Pharisees insulted Jesus, they called him Samaritan: "Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? (John 8:48). For Jews of that time, it was the worst insult to be compared to a Samaritan and the idea of a "good Samaritan" would be for them inconceivable. When they needed to visit the north they preferred to make an enormous detour instead of passing through Samaritan territory. Nevertheless the exteriors and preconceptions invented by men have no significance, no weight in the face of the laws of Creation. A good indication of the worth or unworthiness of a human creature is solely his or her innermost being, only and exclusively the intuitive or spiritual volition. About this fact Jesus gave various proofs as for example when he asked a Samaritan woman for a cup of water (check John 4:7), also when he cured leprosies and noticed that only one, a Samaritan, came back to thank him (check Luke 17:15-18)
When the Samaritan perceived the distress of the attacked victim, he suffered with him, "as though you yourselves were being tortured" (Hebrews 13:3). When he saw the man, he had compassion, or as literally written in the Greek: "he had a commotion into his guts".
The Samaritan realized perfectly the suffering of his fellow man and did everything to minimize it. He did not think about any gain, as for example, to be well considered among his acquaintance or hoping that a good action could be credited to him in heaven, not even to calm down his own conscience. He did that without any interest; simply for the sake of mitigating that suffering. He did not bother if that man was a Samaritan, Jew or Roman. He complied naturally with the law of Love; "Love others as much as you love yourself." (Matthew 22:39; Luke 10:27), because "When you love others, you complete what the law has been all along" (Roman 13:8); "Love is the fulfillment of the law." (Roman 13:10).
The Lord’s Commandments are automatically fulfilled by the human being who loves his fellow man as himself. A common and material happening, apparently not important, showed the greatness of the heart because in the small things the greatest is reflected: "Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much" (Luke 16:10). The Samaritan, considered a heretic and an outlaw by his neighbors, was exactly the one who unleashed the Law of Reciprocity in the sense desired by the Highest i.e. for his own sake.
"Imagine what would happen if you went to a friend in the middle of the night and said, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. An old friend traveling through just showed up, and I don't have a thing on hand.' "The friend answers from his bed 'Don’t bother me. The door is locked; my children are all down for the night; I can't get up to give you anything.' "But let me tell you, even if he won't get up because he's a friend, if you stand your ground, knocking and waking all the neighbors, he'll finally get up and get you whatever you need. (Luke 11:5-8)
In this parable the insistency is equivalent to perseverance. Jesus teaches that we have to have steadfastness to obtain what we are looking for even in transient unfavorable earthly conditions. We should not be dismayed finding locked doors here and there when facing successive denials from the ones who today have earthly power.
If the soliciting is for a just cause and useful for one’s development, one will end up getting what one is looking for, on account of the Law of Movement.
Creation always provides humans a bountiful table from which they can take if they move in the right direction, in accordance with the laws that sustain all. This right manner is not an egoistic and arrogant demand but taking with gratitude and appreciation as a welcome guest who makes use of his spiritual faculty. All who persevere in this correct manner of acting will always obtain everything wished, because those wishes are indeed born from their cores and the actuating laws will work in their favor.
Those values achieved in this way will bring the possibility of generating other beneficial gifts, when they are not acquired for selfish purposes encouraged by intellectual calculations but for the blessing of other human beings, that is, for altruistic reasons, as natural in any spirit that has not become atrophied.
Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?" Then he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry." But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’ (Luke 12:16-21)
Here is again a warning against foolishly collecting treasures on earth and, due to that, forgetting about spiritual life. They forget "One does not live by bread alone" (Luke 4:4). We are on earth "a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14). Our days are "like a passing shadow" (Psalms 144:4). Earth-life is too short and material goods are ephemeral; the cradle and the coffin can be made of the same tree wood.
As said before riches are not wrong per se. What is wrong is the application of riches in a generally egoistic way, searching only one’s own interests, "to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches" (Timothy 6:17), missing the fact that "a man’s life is not assured by its wealth" (Luke 12:15) and that "who trust in their riches will wither" (Proverbs 11:28). Such a person has no values in his imagination, on the contrary when devoting oneself to money one becomes literally possessed by it. The result is forgetting totally the necessary quest for spiritual richness, the only durable value that can be gathered in the path of self development. Bible scriptures do not condemn riches and recognize them as a goal for everyone. The riches, well used, spread benefit everywhere, providing employment and welfare. Riches are a useful element in Creation when used correctly, in accordance with the Law of Movement and Law of Equilibrium, retroactively contributing beneficial effects: "Lay up your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High, and it will profit more than gold" (Sirach 29:11).
Taking these Laws into consideration in the matter, a person will allow others to familiarize themselves with the Law of Reciprocal Action while working. The employee gives their work to the company to permit development and in exchange receives commensurate money, which facilitates the process of giving and taking in gross matter. In this simple manner should be the working relations between people living on earth. Each one giving as per his or her capacity obtained on the path of his development. All should have as the highest goal the spiritual perfecting through the recognition of the Laws of Creation and the wise and voluntary subjection to them, because earth-life constitutes a necessary school that has no substitute. The real profit coming from work is the living experiences which nurture the human spirit, making it mature and capable of ascent. Money is useful only on earth but the living experiences acquired follow one to the other side as a substrate of existence, the true soul treasure.
Moreover the satisfaction obtained by a well executed task fulfills the human spirit, giving it a feeling of fitness as a useful and necessary gear in the clockwork machinery which moves Creation. The field in which one works is not important. What has value is the manner in which a task is executed. The executed activity becomes alive, spiritualized, a source of constant happiness for the person and his or her environment; "to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil—this is the gift of God" (Eccl 5:19). "Rejoice always" (1Thessalonians 5:16) is a continuing hymn of gratitude to the Creator because gratitude is tied to happiness. The grateful human creature feels legitimate joy and inner peace. This happiness and peace impel people to execute their work with doubled interest and this action is an expressive form for thanking our Lord.
About that Paul exhorted the Colossians: "Whatever your task put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters" (Col 3:23)
I reproduce here again a passage from the Grail Message, In the Light of Truth by Abdruschin, lecture "Christmas":
"Make everything you think and do into a service to God! Then it will bring you that peace which you long for. And even if people harass you severely, be it through envy, malice or base habits, you bear peace within yourselves forever, and this finally helps you to overcome all difficulties!"
A healthy earth-life reciprocally makes life full of happiness and beauty. Joy means gratitude to the Creator, the recognition of the gifts He disposes to human creatures when Voluntarily they submit themselves to the rules of His perfect Will. Nevertheless this objective should not be the supreme goal to be achieved on earth.
But, unfortunately for the immense majority the purpose of life consists exactly in: take the most possible quantity of money and accumulate to the maximum degree earthly wealth. They spend all efforts on this during their entire life, doing literally the absolute opposite of the admonishment, "if riches increase, set not your heart on them." (Check Psalms 62:10). After years they tell themselves that "They have been successful in life" a modern version of "rejoice my soul". They do not care to have wasted the precious time on earth, which, in this epoch of the Final Judgment, is tantamount to be or not to be spiritually alive. The lost time cannot ever be restored.
Profit and profit….And profit! Above all! Never in history was "the greatest and first commandment" (Matthew 22:38) so criminally disrespected, so conspicuously ignored, so despised and mocked by any creature other than the actual human being: "But your eyes and heart are only on your dishonest gain" (Jeremiah 22:17). Profit as a goal does not in itself generate prosperity, does not bring the wellness of motion; on the contrary it produces only stagnation. To generate more and more profit again and again is an absurd illusion, like a financial Tower of Babel which will end in no less than catastrophe.
This convulsive effort to gain profit, targeting only more profit, is solely an effect of the exclusive dominion of the intellect in human life, opposing spiritual life. The intellect is a product of the brain which is nothing more than an organ belonging to matter. It is only capable of dealing with matter and things related to matter, due to its own constitution. It can never be used as an infallible guide for the human being. The human being is spirit, and it has higher obligations, duties, and goals. One should not waste all life by exclusively collecting earthly values, which are invariably ephemeral.
This tendency for material values is no more than a kind of idolatry. About the illness generated by money addiction, this passage from the apocryphal book of the twelve Patriarchs is significant: "The love of money leads to idolatry because when driven by money, men invoke as divinity what is not divinity and this leads such people to damnation."
Apostle Paul also warns Colossians that "…desire and greed is idolatry" (Check Colossian 3:5). The human being cannot buy his salvation with money but will lose it because he spent his earth-life solely to collect riches. When finally one wakes and perceives that "Better to be poor and walk in integrity than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich." (Proverbs 28:6), one will find that the most profound repentance and the most tearful supplication will serve for nothing, because it will be too late…
Why would any person waste his valuable time on earth to grow his bank account balance and use it egoistically in ephemeral, material goods, generally obtained by trickery and rationalization, if after death he would be forced to discover, with the most profound horror and despair that he had thrown away the last chance left for his own salvation? "For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?"(Mark 8:36). What is the value of a few years of material riches compared to the denial of eternal life? What is the significance of stocking money and wealth during all life at that very moment? Or said in a very well known business language: Was this indeed a good deal?
Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks. Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch! He'll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn't matter what time of the night he arrives; they're awake - and so blessed! "You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn't have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. So don't you be slovenly and careless. Just when you don't expect him, the Son of Man will show up." (Luke 12:36-40)
Jesus mentions here the period of the arrival of the Son of Man, which would bring the Judgment for humanity. He warns people of his time to be vigilant so that they could be "ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks". It is the same vigilance required of the virgins who where waiting for the bride.
Jesus was teaching those people to be prepared for a future happening, and this meant that all of them would be present when this happening would take place i.e. they would be incarnated again on earth at the time of the coming of the Son of Man.
The act of knocking on the door means that as happened with the Words of the Son of God, the Words of the Son of Man would also knock on the door of their souls. But not asking entrance but demanding access. Each person should prepare inwardly a table for that, that is, an altar in the innermost being. This happening is also described in the book of Revelation:
Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. (Revelation 3:20)
In other words: whoever absorbs the Word of the Son of Man, meaning an inner assimilation and practicing of His Word, will be prepared to take the Lord’s Supper. In the parable He'll put on an apron at the table and each one who complies with his Word will be seated and He will serve them a meal, through the laws of Creation, as established by the Will of God, which is the Son of Man Himself.
The exhortation Jesus makes to human beings is to maintain vigilance because they do not know the time of the coming of the Son of Man. If they had known with certainty the exact time, for sure they would be prepared beforehand as a family father would guard the house and protect the windows with bars if he could know the exact time the burglar would come. But we know by Jesus’ words that the coming of the Son of Man is absolutely certain.
If those people who heard the words of Jesus at that time changed, and lived according to them, they would become vigilant in a future time and would be apt to recognize the Son of Man when he knocks on the door through His Word. In the Parable of the Virgins Jesus made the same exhortation.
The words Jesus uttered two thousands years ago have been totally accomplished now in this epoch. The ones who assimilated the teachings of Jesus long ago, through Jesus Himself or from His apostles, preserved them with vigilance until now because these words were absorbed and branded into their souls.
These are the ones who now do not find any difficulty in recognizing the Son of Man and His Word and in opening joyfully the portal of their souls. They are those who listened to the words "So then, brothers and sisters stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter." (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Therefore they are also the prudent virgins to whom Jesus referred.
The Parable of the Unfruitful Fig Tree
"A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. He told the vineyard worker, 'Listen, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it even waste the soil?' But he replied to him, 'Sir, leave it this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. Perhaps it will bear fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down' ". (Luke 13:6-9)
This parable speaks about the contingencies which caused the coming of Jesus to the earth. The fig tree in the vineyard means humanity in Creation. Human beings did not yield the corresponding fruits as spiritual beings should. They where not collaborating with their share for the development and beautification of the immense vineyard of God. On the contrary they would become an illness inside Creation. This situation would provoke, by the inevitable consequence of the laws of Creation, a downfall of the entire humanity and as the sterile fig tree would need to be eliminated. Why should it be maintained in the vineyard?
The servant asking the owner of the vineyard if he could do a last trial implies an especial act of grace given by the Creator, not originally planned, conceding at least a last chance for a part of humanity to avoid total annihilation, which approached rapidly through those wrong doings. This act of love from the Creator consisted of sending His Son, as part of Himself to the site where the fig tree was planted with the objective to fertilize the soil so that fruits could be produced within the time granted.
The few people who have assimilated the teachings of Jesus started producing corresponding fruits. On the other hand, all the rest were just hanging on in the gigantic fig tree of humanity which now at the end of the granted period will be effectively cut off.
"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and won't be able once the homeowner gets up and shuts the door. Then you will stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Lord, open up for us!' He will answer you, 'I don't know you or where you're from.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!' But He will say, 'I tell you, I don't know you or where you're from. Get away from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness!' There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in that place, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but yourselves thrown out. They will come from east and west, from north and south, and recline at the table in the kingdom of God. Note this: some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." (Luke 13:24-30).
This parable complements the former indication of Jesus about the differences between the road that leads to eternal life and the road to perdition:
"Enter through the narrow gate; because the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life; and few find it. (Matthew 7:13-14).
Note that there are many who go through the broad road… the many, means the majority of the human beings. From this majority, all believers are from multifarious religions, whose faiths consist of blind trust and submission to rigid dogmas. Putting all those together, they are very many - A third of the world population! Two billons are Christians, from which one billion is Catholic. Does the reader suppose that this gigantic number is entering by the narrow entrance squeezing through the path to the heights?
In the parable Jesus says also that many would try to enter by the narrow door but won't be able. Only the one who lives according to the Truth, who effectively complies with the Word, will be able to pass through the narrow door and follow the path of ascent to eternal life. The others will not be able, even if they are convinced of the contrary.
Those ones standing at the closed door do not accept their situation, which in their understanding, they considered unjust. The argument presented by them was that they had eaten and drunk in the presence of the Lord or they where taught by Him. These argument shows that they are convinced that they complied with all precepts of their religious beliefs. Therefore, as per their own judgment, they where complying with the Will of God. Nevertheless, from the other side, the Lord answered harshly: "I don't know you or where you're from!"
Again it becomes clear that it is not the human exterior that counts but solely the inner part of each one; how people practice, - through their whole life- not only in their temple precincts, the teachings contained in the Message coming from above,. The teachings of Jesus were not given to be applied only on Sundays, Saturdays or Fridays but for all days of everyone’s life: "You shall love the Lord your God, therefore keep his charge, his decrees, his ordinances, and his commandments always." (Deut 11:1). Whoever observes the Commandments of God during all moments of his or her life can say that indeed he/she loves Him because "For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands." (1John 5:3) and the reciprocal effects will guard you because: "If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice." (Sirach 15:15). John repeats this exhortation from Deuteronomy in his second letter reinforcing "This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: you must walk in love". (2 John 6)
Whoever practices the Commandments with all his being gets, in a natural way, the crown of eternal life; the rest is illusion. It is no use following the rigid precepts of their religion if their hearts are full of iniquities. There is no value having a visible good standing if what moves the intuitions and thinking are based on envy, greed and hate. They think that they can commit all those abominations and then enter calmly in the House of the Lord to shout in chorus with others of the same kind: "We are safe!" (Check Jeremiah 7:10). They imagine, feeling good, and utter in chorus: "Isn’t the Lord among us? No calamity will overtake us" (Check Micah 3:11). They will be severed apart and thrown to the abyss where there is just weeping and gnashing of teeth, the eternal condemnation.
Eternal condemnation is the final destiny for those who went astray, the ones who lost their lives. Those condemned are those human creatures which during millennia acted systematically against the Will of their Creator, despite all the warnings they received and despite the retroactive effects that continuously hammered them. Because of the continued hostility against God they reached a point of total severance from the Kingdom of the Spirit. The weak liaison they could yet maintain with the spiritual plane was totally dissolved so that it will never again be possible for them to return to Paradise. The expected result is the so called spiritual death or eternal damnation, a process that extinguishes one’s self consciousness and frees the spiritual spark which maintained their glowing incandescence. They are the "dead who are in Hades, whose spirits have been taken from their bodies, will not ascribe glory or justice to the Lord" (Baruch 2:17) and for whom "the memory is lost". (Check Ecclesiastes 9:5).
About those who are spiritually dead, Jesus had already instructed that they should be allowed to commit self annihilation together with their ill will:
"But Jesus told him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:22)
All who bear the mark of Lucifer, the Antichrist on their foreheads are condemned to suffer spiritual death under great torments resulting from the millennial disintegration:
"And the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and his image, or anyone who receives the mark of his name… If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand he will also drink the wine of God's wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger. He will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb". (Rev 14:11, 9, 10).
Religious precepts cannot prevent so terrible a destiny but rather a simple change in the inner tuning, a spiritual redirection, as long as this is still possible.
This parable confirms that it is what is alive in the innermost being of a human being that has real value, not the rules of religions molded by members of the human species. The above passage; "They will come from east and west, from north and south, and recline at the table in the kingdom of God", means that neither the place where a person lives nor the religion he or she professes will make any difference but only those who comply with the injunctions of the Creator will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Apostle Peter repeated this truth when he affirmed that "God doesn't show favoritism, but in every nation the person who fears Him and does righteousness is acceptable to Him". (Acts 10:43, 35). This declaration of Peter shows he did not consider himself someone special, some distinguished apostle. It never could have crossed his mind to be a primordial "Pope". When the centurion, Cornelius, fell at his feet and worshiped him Peter helped him up and said: "Stand up! I myself am also a man." (Acts 10:26). Luther, after getting better acquainted with the contents of Pontifical decrees was in doubt if the Pope could be the Anti-Christ himself or just an apostle. This doubt would have disappeared completely when Cardinal Cajetano, named by Clement VII as "the lamp of the Church", taught that the pope was above the scriptures. Luther spoke to everyone without fear, to whom ever wished to hear, demonstrating uncommon courage at a time when the Church ruled without any restrictions throughout the entire world.
It is important to clarify that the words Jesus directed to Peter specifically "rock" and "keys of Kingdom of Heaven" (check Matthew 16:18,19) has absolutely not the meaning which has been widely disseminated and adopted as justification for the foundation of a religious community based on Jesus and the institution of Popes 9. Peter would be shocked if he knew that in the future he would be considered the first guardian of the "keys of the ministry" so ordained by Christ himself as the first Pope of a powerful Church where his successors would be considered infallible. He would be petrified by those ideas…
Jesus never said anything in a literal sense "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock…"(Matthew 16:18) because he was not making any personal allusion to Peter as if he would be a foundation rock but rather the rocky conviction which he gave his recognition when expressed "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!" (Matthew 16:16). This conviction which Peter expressed textually was the rock ("Kephas" in Aramaic) also written Peter ("Petrus" in Latin). Jesus did not mistake the confession as being "Peter" because at that time there was a city in the south of the Dead Sea called "Petra" edified over a valley formed by red rocky cliffs. With his frequent uncontrolled fury Peter would be a very unstable rock to edify anything over himself. He had a temper more inclined to a walking earthquake rather than of an immobile and serene rock. The Gospel records this apostle as being the most impetuous and eager when speaking and the most foolish, for example, when he got dressed and dived into the sea when he saw Jesus faraway at the beach. (Check John 21:7). Because of this temper he was also the most warned and censurable.
For Giuseppe Barbaglio, a catholic theologian, the concept of Peter over the other apostles was conceived by the primeval Church, interested in positioning Peter in that community. He is right but this was not predominant. More than three quarters of the first Church Fathers commented and rejected this part of Mathew in those ancient times the fallacy of establishing for the future a papal lineage through Peter. One of these, the most famous third century Greek theologian Origen affirmed with reason: If we also utter: "You are Christ, the living Son of God" then we would also become Peter because whoever unites with Christ become rock. "… and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4).
Apostle Paul did well when he clarified that his status came "neither by human commission nor from human authorities" (Galatians 1:1). It is symptomatic that Paul sent his letters to 26 people in his Roman Epistle (Check Roman 16:3-16) that there was no mention of "Pope Peter" who at that time should already have been holding the office of Pope in Rome…an inexplicable disrespect. About the concept that the Church was founded by Christ, it should be noted that from the four canonical Gospels the word – ekklêsia in Greek – translated as Church appears only in two passages of Matthew’s Gospel (Check Matt 16:18;18:17). He is the evangelist who sought interpretations, in a free form, of the words of Jesus in a way to conform to 29 direct citations he made from the Old Testament besides 79 other citations to which he made indirect allusions.
As confirmed by The Ecumenical Translation of the Bible "Matthew does not care making a meticulous translation of Jesus’ language." Indeed Matthew is always inclined to present various passages on the life of Jesus in order to make them fit with Old Testament prophecies, even forcing here and there. An example is the well known passage from Zechariah about the entrance of Jesus mounting a donkey: "Rejoice greatly Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph Jerusalem! See your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foul of a donkey."(Zechariah 9:9). Mark, Luke, and John understood correctly that Jesus asked for a donkey only. (Check Matt 11:2; Luke19:20; John 112:14) Matthew otherwise makes an effort to fulfill the prophecy (Check Matt 21:5), hence his recurrent chant: "This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled" Matt 21:2) and put words in Jesus’ mouth as if he requested a donkey and a colt with it. (Check Matt 21:4) Another example is the killing of the male children of two years old and under commanded by Herod in and around Bethlehem. (Matt 2:16) Matthew uses here the rabbinic tradition where magicians, sorcerers, and seers announced the birth of Moses and because of this the Pharaoh would have ordered the killing of all new born males. Also there is a parallel with the book of Exodus when the King of Egypt ordered all midwives to kill all males born but to save the females.
In the book "The Final Judgment" by Roselis von Sass she explains that Jesus was born in 12 before Annum Domini and this date was also confirmed by Dr. Jerry Varfaman director and religion professor of the Mississippi University of Archeology. In those times, Herod was not concerned with any messiah just born but was suspecting that both his sons were planning his assassination. In that year he went to Rome with both sons to ask the emperor Augustus to resolve this question but he saw no rebellion taking place and reconciled father and sons. Also during this year, he supported Olympic game and gave his own funds to ensure the success of this event. There was no trace of concern about any newly born messiah.
Getting back to the term ekklêsia, we know that it has been used since the fifth century B.C. always with the meaning an "assembly" as shown in the famous Greek writings of Herodotus, Plato, Euripides and Xenophanes. This word was used in Greece to indicate a reunion of free citizens, particularly in Athens. The sense is therefore of an assembly and not of a Church founded as a religious institution. This is the meaning of assembly appearing in the New Testament texts (gahal in Hebrew). This is also the meaning evangelist Luke gave for the Acts of the Apostles meeting of citizens in Ephesus theatre. (Check Acts 19:32) and for the "regular assembly" which deliberated public concerns. (Check Acts 19:39). In his letter James uses this same term in the synagogue sense to identify the community he was lecturing. (Check James 2:2). Therefore, Jesus did not establish any Church. Indeed, over the years, some courageous clerics affirmed this fact in writing, as Father of the Basilio di Cesarea Church did in the fourth century. In his treatise about the Holy Sprit Saint Basilio asked the following: Who told us in writing the sign of the Cross was made by those who believed in Jesus Christ? Which saints gave us legacy in writing the words and gesture of lifting the Eucharistic bread and the blessed Chalice? We bless baptism water and chrismal oil…Based on whose written authority do we do that? In which written word was the oil anointment taught?"… More recently in 1903 the daring Abbot Allain gave the following declaration to the Catholic news paper L’Univers, sold at French Churches on Sundays: "When we hear from church as per the Gospel, we do not get the truth; this deserves no credit neither trust. Where in the Gospel are the instructions our Lord gave us, He who founded a new religion? For sure He must have given to his apostles, here and there, instructions about the sacrament, liturgy, cult, the saints and to his Holy Mother?" Nobody knows what happened to Abbot Allain, but it probably was not calm and peaceful. Maybe he himself did not know but his intuitive non-conformism is supported by a sentence in the apocrypha gospel of Mary Magdalene: "I left not any order but the ones I commanded you." Also Jesus declared to his disciples:"Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them" (John 20:23), but this absolutely does not refer to a general and arbitrary right of forgiveness by future prelates. Those words mean that a person can only forgive another for the evil inflicted on him personally. Just that, nothing different! The Catholic and Orthodox Church traditions are that "the power to forgive is assigned to the members of the apostolic collegiate", but this imagination has nothing to do with the truth. "Recline at the table in the kingdom of God" has a close relation with the passage of The Wedding Banquet parable where it says; "The wedding banquet was filled with guests;" after every invitation was rebuffed by those who first received it, i.e. those who had had the Grace of hearing the Word of the Lord. Because of this, "some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."
This prophecy started to be fulfilled at the time of the apostles, e.g. when Paul and Barnabas answered the Jews, who taken by envy, uttered blasphemies; Then Paul and Barnabas boldly said: It was necessary that God's message be spoken to you first. But since you reject it, and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles!" (Acts 13:46) Here again Apostle Paul applies his fierce irony.
On the other side of life, in the place called the beyond, there is simply no more distinction or separation of believers of any kind, constructed by earthly reasoning. In the beyond no ideologies, no philosophies, no flags nor hymns, no more money and honorary distinctions nor diplomas, nor scholarly or curricular certificates exist. There are neither blind followers nor pagans. No Jews, Christians, Muslims, Spiritualists, Hindus, Buddhists, or Shinto; but just and simply human souls whose life-time encounters will be scrutinized to find out how the time granted them on earth was spent. All souls will be there allegorically before the tribunal bar to render explanations of all their deeds: For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God." (Roman 14:10), "so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad." (2Corinthians 5:10) because: "each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Roman 14:12).
There are no counter reasons, deferring maneuvers or habeas corpus in the Divine Justice Tribunal. It will also be irrelevant if Fridays or Saturdays or Sundays were dedicated to their preferred cults. Only what was done with the entire life, whether or not it was directed to righteousness at all moments and situations, will count. No blind faith which is mechanically learnt but only the true inner and personal belief, and if this was alive and pure in the spirit, will count. The content will count not the form.
The Christ Spirit will awaken in any person of any ethnic group or religion who permits the legitimate teachings of the Message, which came from the highest heights, to become naturally alive in his innermost being and who expresses such in his deeds and thinking. Peace in the soul, as good Christians customarily say, is true because they are good not because they are Christians. A good Muslim, a good Spiritualist, a good Buddhist will feel the same inner peace. All of them have accomplished in a simple and natural way the exhortation: "Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it" (Psalm 34:14). The endeavor for Truth is independent of religion. Only the access to the spirit of Christ, the Love of the Father, is the indispensable condition to recognize our mighty Father. This is why he said: "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). All the rest belongs not to Him: "But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." (Romans 8:9).
A passage of the lecture "The Redeemer" in the second volume of the book In the Light of Truth by Abdruschin says:
"He who strives earnestly after truth and purity will also not be lacking in love. Though sometimes beset with serious doubts and struggles he will be led upwards spiritually step by step and, regardless of what religion he may belong to, he will either here or later in the Ethereal World meet the Christ-Spirit, which in the final end will lead him on towards recognition of God the Father. Thus the Word will be fulfilled: "No man cometh unto the Father but by me."
"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don't recline at the best place, because a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by your host. The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give your place to this man,' and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place. "But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' You will then be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For everyone who exalts him self will be humbled and the one who humbles him self will be exalted." (Luke14:8-11)
The central teaching of this parable is evidently humility. Jesus gave clear indications about this aspect when earlier on the disciples started quarreling about who among them would be the greatest. He took a little boy and stood him by his side saying: "for the least among all of you is the greatest" (Luke 9:48). Then he narrated this parable giving an especial color to the same fact pictured in the book of Proverbs: "Don't work yourself into the spotlight; don't push your way into the place of prominence. It's better to be promoted to a place of honor than face humiliation by being demoted."(Proverbs 25:6-7). Humility is not a characteristic that can be obtained by force; on the contrary, it comes naturally when a person understands the right position he occupies in Creation. As a person becomes more and more conscious of the working of the natural laws, his vision of the gigantic mechanism at work in Creation becomes correspondingly sharper showing the exact functions that mesh into one another and his own real function inside it. He will see that he is but a tiny piece among the many creatures which adjust and lubricate the system allowing its perfect functioning. Therefore, he would never again "think of himself more highly than he should think" (Romans 12:3); he would try to avoid self delusion because "For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he is deceiving himself" (Galatians 6:3). One who achieves this recognition will never exalt himself. He will never feel any necessity to do so, besides such behavior would seem ridiculous to him, a product of ignorance from those who could not grasp the true role humans have to play in Creation. True humility sprouts from the heart. It is not a product to be offered to consumers. Without true humility one cannot do anything valuable.
The coming of Jesus is not a proof, as most people supposes, that humanity is so important to God that He sent His own son to the earth to redeem every one from his or her guilt. The coming of Jesus proves, indeed, the immense Love of the Almighty, Love which is well above the human capacity to comprehend. Only the immensity of this Love could send a part of Himself to help human beings, who were on the verge of destruction, creatures that became incapable of fulfilling their minimal tasks in the gigantic mosaic of Creation. The majority of the believers are arrogant, like the Pharisees of the Biblical times who were so eager to take "the front seat in the synagogues and to be greeted in marketplaces." (Luke 11:43) They are like those running to the first seats at the party, believing that they are much more important than they really are. Now they are going to be forced to the last places and the majority will be finally expelled as unworthy of the invitation.
"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12) said the Master. Only a minimal fraction of the invitees will be among "those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!" (Rev 19:9).
"A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.' So he distributed the assets to them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from the carob pods the pigs were eating, and no one would give him any. But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! I'll get up, go to my father, and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired hands." 'So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.' "But the father told his slaves, 'Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let's celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:11-24).
This parable synthesizes all human history. It shows the initial spotless human development, the fall into sin, and finally the possibility of deliverance.
The younger son requested from his father his share of the estate and departed for a distant country. This symbolizes the spiritual germ’s departure from Paradise taking with it all the gifts necessary to develop in the material world - "a distant country" – eager to obtain consciousness through experiencing until its return to Paradise as a completely developed and matured spirit.
In Paradise there are created spiritual beings whose are eternally there without the need to descend into the World of Matter in order to develop. These created beings are represented by the elder son who always lived in the House of the Father. The younger son represents the human spirit-germ which, like seeds, needs to grow and develop through external stimulus, which can only be found in the great cultivation field of the world of matter. The experiences of life on earth stimulate the germs as the sun and rain stimulate plant seeds. A small seed carries inside it the capacity to become a full fledged tree under the continuous influences of climate and other factors. Similarly, the spirit germ through multiple exposures to experiences received during earth-lives has the opportunity to transform itself into a complete self-conscious spiritual being, able to produce fruits in abundance in the spiritual homeland, Paradise, from where it originally departed. For this reason one must take these opportunities courageously seeking improvement and getting stronger as a clad brick under the solar rays and not as a piece of wax dissolving itself under the same rays. This process is built into the seed and as a normal tendency the quality of those capacities are latent in the spirit germs - "the estate I have coming to me" - mentioned in the parable. Nevertheless the story indicates that the spirit germ planted on earth did not sprout those capacities; it developed but not spiritually. On the contrary, he "squandered his estate" and preferred "foolish living". As a consequence, he did not develop his spiritual faculties that are latent in him but gave value only to material and perishable things. Because of this negligent behavior, his sin, he experienced great difficulties and the reciprocal effects of his errors and the errors of others like him led to the situation described as "a severe famine struck that country". Then he started "to feed pigs" a very minor activity compared to his original mission as a human spirit in material Creation. At this point the son began seeking the "carob pods" to mitigate his starvation but got none.
This unbearable suffering awoke in him the longing for his Father’s House, where many of his father's hired hands "…have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger". In the spiritual kingdom only happiness exists, permanently enjoyed by the servants living there in a continuous giving and receiving. All receive in abundance because suffering and misery is an exclusive consequence of sin and error and cannot ever exist there. Only in very far away regions from the spiritual kingdom, such as the material world, is the occurrence of a conscious fault of a creature possible and such sins, bring as a consequence inevitable suffering and pain. The instruments provoking the sufferings can be present in multiple forms but the guilt comes always from the victim i.e. pain, misery, illness… "for we are suffering these things on our own account, because of our sins against our own God. Therefore astonishing things have happened. For we are suffering because of our own sins" (2 Macc 7:18,32).
King Antioco IV (Epifanes) recounted all that the seven brothers said, when they were being tortured by him (check Macc 7.1-17 and 7.18-42). The Prodigal Son realized all his errors, as the brothers under torture realized their own errors when they said – "we are suffering because of our own sins." Similarly, it is written in the parable "he came to his senses"; meaning that he made a firm resolution to give up wrongdoing and to act aright from then on, in accordance with his God’s Will. This implies a pardon plea before his father; "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight" and "I'm no longer worthy to be called your son". Because of this, his father forgave him and rejoiced celebrating "with a feast, because his son…was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!" In other words the son was in the verge of suffering spiritual death but was reborn in time to gain eternal life. The new robe and the ring and sandals show that his soul (the spirit garment) will be purified when he stands before the threshold of the spiritual kingdom. This vivid experience proved that "It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22).
Pelagius, our noble friend a theologian of the fifth century, observed keenly that the prodigal son could alone and by himself repent and found the way to his father without mediation. This means that all of us can do the same without any Church mediation.
The second part of the parable, not reproduced here, describes an elder son supposedly unhappy because of the reception which the younger son received from his father (Check Luke 15:25-32). It is impossible to have any unhappiness in Paradise, where only pure joy reigns. This narration is there only to show that after his return the younger son will be as valuable as the elder; therefore, there will be no significant difference between both. After the necessary development the gifts of both sons, one in the spiritual kingdom and the other from the world of matter, will have the same capacities and the same value. This fact is indicated in the parable’s beginning when the father divided his heritage equally among them.
Any human being on the verge of getting lost in the world of matter due to errors that have become manifest can, if he redirects his inner gaze to a more elevated goal, become as the son that resolved to return to his Father’s House. Therefore, suffering can also be a blessing if it helps a person to change, to abandon previous wrongdoings.
Indeed, in many cases only the harshest suffering which the Law of Reciprocal Action brings automatically can shift the innermost self to a right direction. Any one who by himself returns to the House of the Father will be a cause for great happiness among the inhabitants of Paradise. It will always be a renewed joy when a son finds the road and returns to his House.
"For which of you wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to make fun of him, saying, "This man started to build and wasn't able to finish." Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with 10,000 to oppose the one who comes against him with 20,000? If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace." (Luke 14:28-32).
In these two narratives, the protagonists tried to act with a great sense of responsibility so the result of the actions would not become unfavorable. In one, a careful accounting is done to verify if the tower will be finished and in the other the zeal is applied to check if a war should be declared. In both cases the seriousness is evident so the mission can be carried out and the desired result can be achieved. We do the same when, for example, we read carefully a contract before signing it. Of course, nobody would sign any contract without examining thoroughly if he could comply with all the terms and covenants. Why then should this same approach not be taken when dealing with spiritual subjects? Why should people hold on to any belief without thinking and analyzing it carefully with the intuition to check if the belief resonates with his or her innermost senses? A contract in default on earth brings damages to the signer as a logical consequence; entering in default after choosing any faith without a thorough examination could cost eternal life. As we utilize our full capacities in our earthly activities, there is more reason to do at least the same in subjects pertaining to our spiritual life. Acting this way is nothing wrong but a necessity of maximum importance. To follow any faith simply because it is the family custom that cannot be changed without causing disapproval shows only indolence of the spirit. This is exactly the case with majority of believers. A keen intuition in continuous vigilance and spiritual movement constitute the sole warranty to get spiritual fruits out of spiritual development.
The Lost Sheep and the Lost Silver
Coin
"What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!' I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need repentance. "Or what woman, who has 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin does not light a lamp sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her women friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!' I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:4-10).
The two parables reinforce the central idea contained in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In both, it is clearly an image of a straying human being who later corrects his mistakes i.e. a lost one was found with joy. The biggest shepherd’s joy was to save just one out of the 100 sheep. Similarly, the woman did not pay attention to the 9 silver coins she had but exulted finding just the tenth. Great is the joy in heaven for each sinner that repents. It does not matter if only one among millions is rescued. The joy will always be the same. Because of this, no effort can be excessive in giving true help to any fellowman who is suffering and who deserves assistance. Suffering paves the way for help to reach the soul. Note that it is always the sinner himself who repents, and this implies a radical change in behavior with respect to the past errors. This requirement is far from the idea of obtaining pardon for sins through the acceptance of a blind faith or through the compulsory compliance with invented penitence.
The Unscrupulous Judge and the
Persistent Widow
"There was a judge in one town that didn't fear God or respect man. And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' "For a while he was unwilling; but later he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or respect man, yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so she doesn't wear me out by her persistent coming."(Luke18:2-5.)
After narrating this parable, Jesus gives the audience the following explanation:
"Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God grant justice to His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay to help them? ((Luke 18:6-7).
The parable together with the explanation Jesus gave in sequence shows the abysmal difference between human justice and Divine Justice. Men practice their justice arbitrarily, whenever they want and in the way they want. This is the reason human justice is full of flaws and embedded in arbitrary acts. However Judges who put aside humanitarian sense in the illusion that by so doing they comply with their duties, it would be better for them if they had never been born…Divine Justice is completely different; it is inexorable and immutable. It never fails even if not recognized as such by humankind at the appropriate time, it takes effect. It never fails because it is woven into the effects of the automatic working of the perfect laws of Creation. Those laws ultimately target the human spirit and consequently reach the respective person regardless in which place, epoch, or body it is found. Divine Justice is not limited by time and space. To human beings Divine Justice can sometimes appear as a slow process because they take into account only the space and time of one terrestrial life. However the execution is done inexorably in the closing of the cycle of reciprocity; "The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the Lord by no means clears the guilty" (Nahum 1-3)
"I assure you: Anyone who doesn't enter the sheep pen by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don't recognize the voice of strangers." (John 10:1-5).
Jesus is the Truth incarnated. Because of this any person who still had a spark of truth deep within him experienced an immediate resonance with the words Jesus brought. They followed him with a clear and audible connection as sheep follow with confidence their shepherd. With this connection the small truth they possessed within them gathers force as light of burning ash glows stronger when blown by the wind. Jesus said: "Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice" (John 18:37). Whoever does not have this spark of Truth deep inside cannot recognize anymore the shepherd’s voice and will be misled and captured by thieves. The good shepherd calls sheep by name and conducts them through the gate. Everyone that crosses the gate to life i.e. who assimilates Jesus’ Words and begins to live according to their content is automatically guided out of the labyrinth to find eternal life. Jesus clarifies the difference between the good shepherd and the thief as follows:
"A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:10,11)
And He shows that whoever lives according to His words will obtain eternal life:
"My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:27,28)
With His Word Jesus showed the road for his
sheep to attain eternal life. When He says that "the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" this means that
this good shepherd is putting his life at stake so his sheep do not go astray
from the right path showed to them, making them understand the profound
necessity to live in compliance with the Will of God so that they could finally
find their own salvation. This is also stated in the phrase: "Greater love hath
no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). The shepherd’s death itself will never redeem any sheep.
On the contrary, if they are not firmly on the road showed by him who died,
they will indeed be lost and will be driven by false shepherds, the thieves,
whose intent is only to rob, destroy and kill.
1. See, in the book "In the Light of Truth, The Grail Message" by Abdruschin, the lecture in the third volume "Do not fall in Temptation!" return
2. Some researchers affirm that the correct term is "threaded rope" not "camel", but the understanding is the same. return
3. Those who wish to know the sowing process of spirit germs, and
about their development in the world of matter until attaining
self-consciousness may read the following lectures in the book In The Light of
Truth, The Grail Message, by Abdruschin:
4. In the Bible there are two descriptions about the Creation: the
first goes from Gen1 to Gen 2:3 and the second from Gen 2:4 to Gen 2:25. In the
first it is said that God created the human being as "male" and "female" (Gen
5. The weed is a sort of grass that appears in the midst of cereals
destroying other plants. In Greek this word is zizanion, which means lack of harmony. Until the middle of XVI
century weed was known in
6. Jesus mention here psalm 118, verses 22 and 23. return
7. The corner stone, mainly on the base, maintain united two wall of the construction. Was used as a guide for other stones so all of them must to align with the corner stone of the foundation in a way the building could be erected. return
8. Levites where members of "Levi tribe", descendants of Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob the Patriarch (check Gn 29:34). They traditionally where in charge of the Temple service. They assisted the sacerdotal class of Sadducees in the exercise of their functions. They had the right to receive a tenth for themselves and lived in Levite cities. return
9. For a complete understanding of these words uttered by Jesus to Peter, read the lecture "Christ said…!" in the volume III of the book In the Light of Truth by Abdruschin. return
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Roberto C. P. Junior is a spiritualist, Master of Science and author of the on-line books: “We Live in the Final Judgement´s Last Years” and “Holy Writ Restored View” (only available in portuguese).
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