2002-8-29 06:18:00
JohnZ writes:
"JJ, a question for you, please.
"Much has been said recently about the concept of a 'Dweller.' For instance, in a recent post, a member wrote:
"'There cannot be a 'one size fits all' description of the dweller, because it isn't THE dweller, it's YOUR dweller. You created it, wittingly or unwittingly, out of your own negative energy. It knows your buttons and how to push them.'
"There also has been much written about the devil, and the 1/3 of the hosts of heaven who sided with him, and with him were cast out of heaven to this earth -- commonly referred to as 'angels of the devil.' Supposedly it is they who are ready and willing to encourage us to stray from the path (if you will), knowing as they do, all our weak points; i.e., they 'know our buttons and how to push them.'
"These two concepts sound all too similar.
"Questions:"Are they the same? Did Lucifer have a large number of followers that (with him) came to earth? And, ARE they the ones who we receive tempting, or anger-inciting, or lust-encouraging (etc.) thoughts/promptings from? And if they are, what (if any) connection is there between them and the 'Dweller" concept. Or, are they both valid concepts, and co-exist (perhaps like tag-team wrestling)?
"All I know is that there ARE promptings of a negative nature -- I receive them regularly. They seem to have a high degree of intelligence to them -- that is to say, it is my perception that they are an organized life form -- not just some past personal negative energy of mine that has continued to float around me like a swarm of gnats. Having said that, I also could see how such negative personal energy emissions, over a period of time, could congeal and begin (conceptually) to take on a life of its own and become a life form. At any rate, I will thank you in advance for your help to clarify these things."
JJ:
Since JohnZ is coming from a Mormon background, I thought I would briefly sum up the Mormon view on this concept. It goes something like this.
In the beginning of creation God put together a plan for created Spirits to come to the earth to receive experience, physical bodies and redemption. A
council was called and two plans emerged. The first supposed by Jesus was to allow people to have free agency, but because of their agency, sin and risk
would come into the world. Jesus volunteered to come as the savior to redeem humanity from sin.
Lucifer supported a different idea which was to take away free agency and make it impossible to sin thus not a single soul would become entrenched in
sin because such a deviation would not be allowed.
God chose the plan of freedom presented by Jesus and one third of the hosts of heaven rebelled.
"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. " And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Rev 12:7-9)
The belief is that Satan and a third of the souls intended for birth were cast out of heaven to the earth and as punishment were not allowed to be born or
obtain physical bodies. They are said to wander the earth and whisper in people's ears tempting them to do evil.
The Ancient/Ageless Wisdom presents similar concepts but with interesting differences. It goes like this:
In the beginning of creation there were 90 billion monads that were commanded by God to take bodies and evolve through a series of lives upon the earth.
One third, or 30 billion refused. They preferred to remain in "pralayic peace" until the "seventh aeon."
In other words, this rebellious third wanted the others go do the hard work, and then when peaceful enlightened conditions were achieved on the earth
they would come down and enjoy the fruits of the labor of others.
This did not harmonize with the Great Plan and instead of granting the will of the rebels it is written:
"But the seven great Lords called to the greater Chohans, and with the eternal Lhas of the third cosmic heaven entered into debate.
"The dictum then went forth. The laggards in the highest sphere heard it echo through the scheme. "Not till the seventh aeon, but at the fourteenth seventh will the chance again come round. The first shall be the last and time be lost for aeons."
"The obedient Sons of Mind connected with the Sons of Heart, and evolution spiraled on its way." (Treatise on Cosmic Fire, by Alice A. Bailey, Page 26)
So instead of not participating for seven aeons, these 30 billion souls were denied bodies for 14 times 7 or 98 aeons. This will be billions of years in our
time.
Whereas Mormons present the idea that there are 10 billion or so fallen angels who have never incarnated and roaming the earth whispering in our ears, the
Ancient Wisdom tells us that most of what religious people think are evil spirits are our own thought forms, or our Dweller as we have been discussing. There are
also people of low vibration who have died and either dwell in or left behind astral shells which can gravitate to people of similar vibration. For instance a
dead alcoholic may hover around an alcoholic on the earth seeking to experience again the physical addiction.
The Ancient [or Ageless] Wisdom also teaches about the Dark Brotherhood, but most of these have once had bodies upon the earth and have chosen the path of extreme selfishness.
Instead of numbering in the billions these wayward souls, these are few in number, but powerful and work mainly through the corrupt in the circles of the rich
and powerful. Because many people mindlessly fall for their deceptions the Dark Brotherhood often seems to have greater power than the Brotherhood of Light, but
this is temporary.
[Editor's Note: The following paragraph was re-written by JJ Dewey.]
One thing that does correspond is this. The Mormons teach that the great controversy between good and evil is over the principle of free agency. The Ancient Wisdom also teaches this, but with a difference. Instead of being the controversy separating the third that fell and the two-thirds that did not, it is the controversy between the Brotherhood of Light and the Dark Brotherhood as they currently exist on the earth.
The pilgrim who seeks to take away the agency of others is in danger of the Dark Path whereas he who seeks to expand the Principle of Freedom is taking a
most important step to tread the Path of Light.
Concerning the name Lucifer there are many misunderstandings about the word. Below is part of a previous article I wrote on the subject.
The Bible itself uses the name in a positive light. Here are some words from none other than Peter: "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do
well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." (2 Peter 1:19)
The words "day star" is taken from the Greek word for Lucifer which is PHOSPHOROS.
Now let us retranslate:
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and Lucifer arise in your hearts."
If Lucifer refers to the devil himself maybe the Christian world should burn their Bibles.
Another variation of Lucifer is "morning star." Note the actual promise of Jesus to the faithful: "And I will give him the morning
star." (Rev 2:28) Evidently Jesus will give us the power of Lucifer.
Even more shocking Jesus calls himself a Lucifer:
"I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." (Rev 22:16)
Let us retranslate this:
"I am the root and the offspring of David, and Lucifer." (Rev 22:16)
"Morning Star" is only translated as "Lucifer" once in most Bibles as follows:
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (Isaiah 14:13)
Even here: "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north." (Isaiah 14:12) -- most Bible scholars believe Lucifer refers to the king of Babylon which was addressed by Isaiah. Nevertheless, Isaiah often spoke with dual meaning and this has a definite correspondence to a fallen being.
Lucifer is a Roman word applied to the Hebrew HEYLEL and the Greek PHOSPHOROS which literally means "One who brings or carries forth light." It could also be translated as "one who is able to hold light." Now let us see what the Mormon scriptures tell us about this name. Outside of Isaiah the name is only used once here:
25 "And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son.
26 "And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him--he was Lucifer, a son of the morning.
27 "And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning!"
(Doctrine & Covenants 76:25-27)
Notice here that Lucifer was "a" son of the Morning -- NOT "the" Son of the Morning." Also notice that it says he "was" Lucifer not "is." He is fallen and no longer can be called a "Son of the Morning."
What is a son of the morning?
It is a being who was with God at the beginning, or morning, of time as we know it.
The name, Lucifer, which refers to a son of the morning, is not the name of one evil being, but is a reference to pristine and holy ancient beings who were
conscious creators before this earth rolled into existence.
Here is another reference to the Lucifers:
4 "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5 "Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6 "Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7 "When the morning stars (Lucifers) sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
(Job 38:4-7)
Now, here is a thought. If the Lucifer that fell lost his status and there is more than one Lucifer (or bringer of light) -- that means there may be some good
ones out there somewhere.
Lucifer also refers to Venus and for good reason. It has been called "the bright and morning star" for thousands of years. When it is visible it will
often be the only star (or planet) visible in the early morning light.
Brigham Young made the interesting statement that the first man (the first Adam) came from another planet and that he had already passed through human existence
and had overcome all things and became exalted. After he came here he took upon himself mortality to father the race of mankind.
Then he also made the statement that Adam was our God, "the only God with whom we have to do." This harmonizes well with the writings of Bailey and Blavatsky
who also teach that the first man came from another planet. They tell us that the Ancient of Days [See Dan 7:13], Sanat Kumara, came here from Venus
(the morning star) 23 million years ago.
They also teach that he once lived as a mortal man like ourselves in another system eons ago and came here to be a father and God to the human race.
When the Ancient of Days came here, he arrived with a number of morning stars called Kumaras. Here are Alice A. Bailey's writings about the one who we call the
fallen Lucifer: "In every grouping,-whether in heaven or on earth-there is always evidenced a tendency by some units in the group to revolt, to rebel and to
show some form of initiative different to that of the other units in the same grouping. When our solar universe came into being, we are told in the allegorical
language of the ancient scriptures, there "was war in Heaven"; "the sun and his seven brothers" did not function with true unanimity; hence (and herein lies a
hint) our Earth is not one of the seven sacred planets. There is, as we know, the ancient legend of the lost Pleiade, and there are many such stories.
"Again, in the council chamber of the Most High, there has not always been peace and understanding, but at times, war and disruption; this is made abundantly
clear by several of the stories in the Old Testament. Symbolically speaking, some of the sons of God fell from their high estate, led, at one time, by
"Lucifer, Son of the Morning." This "fall of the angels" was a tremendous event in the history of our planet, but was nevertheless only a passing and interesting
phenomenon in the history of the solar system, and a trifling incident in the affairs of the seven constellations, of which our solar system is but one. Pause
and consider this statement for a moment, and so readjust your sense of values. The standard of happenings varies in importance according to the angle of vision,
and what (from the angle of our Earth's unfoldment in consciousness) may be a factor of prime importance and of determining value may (from the angle of the
universe) be of trifling moment." Because the name Lucifer is now so rigidly associated with evil instead of light few dare use the term openly, but originally
Lucifer was a glorious title.
Even now it is a glorious thing to bring light to others. This principle is behind the entire concept of salvation as we covered earlier.
Copyright 2002 by J.J. Dewey, All Rights Reserved