2003-9-18 03:57:00
Larry writes:
You have answered most of the questions re why we should question the writings of AAB/DK. However there is one that I have not seen you address on the list. If you would that would be greatly appreciated.
In John 16:25-33 Jesus the man (not Christ speaking through him) says:
"I have overcome the world."
All Christian tradition holds that after the Resurrection that Jesus had overcome death. You have previously stated your high regard for the Bible and the New Testament.
Then how is it that you take the word of AAB/DK over the Bible and claim that Jesus had to take one more initiation after that to achieve eternal life and become a "master"?
JJ:
I don't see any competition between the two or the taking of one over another. I treat everything I read the same in that if it registers with my soul then I accept it. Both DK and the Bible are earned authorities with me and if something does not register with my soul then I put it on the shelf and continue to contemplate rather than discarding the words.
Actually the Bible has some of the same problems as the AAB material. Just as AAB could have made a wrong choice of words in some of her transcriptions, even so did some of the writers of the scriptures. In addition to this, we do not have original manuscripts of the gospels. I believe the best one is about the 13th copy. Sometimes when the scribes made their copies, they placed little notes, adding their own words. Then when the next scribe made his copy he adds in the notes as original text.
If you take a phrase and whisper it around a circle of 13 people you'll get an idea of the distortion possible.
One of the problems with the words of Jesus which crept in was an alteration of how Jesus actually spoke. When he was speaking to the apostles he would often say something like "come unto Christ all ye who labor and are heavy laden..."
Then when the scripture was written the writer felt he had to be talking about himself since he was the Christ so they changed it to read: "Come unto ME all ye who labor and are heavy laden..."
Another example: "For where two or three are gathered together in God's name, Christ is in the midst of them
Changed to "For where two or three are gathered together in MY name, there am I in the midst of them"
Jesus taught the apostles about the principle of Christ rather than presenting himself as an all powerful one, yet the apostles and those who followed later liked the idea of a more personal Christ and altered numerous phrases to conform to the idea of an all powerful, all present Jesus. Only Peter and John really grasped how the divine possession worked even though it was explained to them all. This caused some distortion related to the powers and place of Jesus in the scheme of things by numerous writers and scribes.
Larry quotes the scripture "I have overcome the world."
The original wording here could have been different but we'll accept it at face value.
A quite literal interpretation if read in the Greek is:
"I have beaten the system."
A hint as to the meaning is given a few verses later:
"And now I am no more in the world, but these (the disciples) are in the world..." John 17:11
This was spoken before the crucifixion and indicates that he beat the system (KOSMOS) by withdrawing from it. The world had no effect on him because his attention was on a higher reality.
Then after the resurrection he stated: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Matt 28:18
Obviously this does not mean all power as the orthodox understand it. Notice that in the next verse he needs the apostles to go forth and preach the message. Why would Jesus even need them to do work for him if he had all power?"
Does Jesus then have all power so he could snap his fingers and have the whole earth understand the message without the aid of the apostles? Could he snap his fingers and end all suffering and evil? Could he cause the universe to disappear by the power of his thought?
The answer that occurs to every reasonable thinking person is no. If he then does not have all power as orthodoxy presents, what does the statement mean?
Answer: It means that his consciousness has shifted away from the carnal world (system) to the world of spirit and in the realm of spirit resides "all power" which has created all things and is the power behind all things. Jesus was saying that he has tapped into the source of real power and thus has it available.
But tapping into power and using it to fulfill purpose are two different things. The sun is very powerful and has always been there available for us, but even now we are finding new ways to use its energy to fulfill our wills.
Even so was all the power of the Spirit available to Jesus, but even today he is learning new ways to harness the energy.
We are told that overcoming the world is not limited to Jesus:
"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? I John 5:4-5
Here we are told that all that is necessary to overcome the world is to believe on Jesus and be "born of God."
Is overcoming the world the last thing we do in our progression? No. There is no end to our progression. After we overcome the world (shift attention to spirit) then there a next step and then a next and then another still, world without end.
Because Jesus overcame the world, does this mean he is through with incarnating?
No.
Because Jesus was raised from the dead does this mean that he cannot take another body if he so chooses?
No.
If he has "all power" then he can choose to be born again as a babe if he desires.
Because the entity who holds the office of Christ is even higher than Jesus, does this mean that he will never take another initiation or be born again as a babe?
No. Again he has to power to fulfill his will in this matter and if a mission requires that he be born again as a babe, overshadow another or change bodies all this can be done.
It is amazing how the standard Christian, in one breath, will say that Jesus can do anything, but then, in the next, deny that he could be born again or numerous other things as taught in the Ancient Wisdom.
Even the Ancient of Days will be born again near the end of the race of man. He was the first man and will be the last.
At present he is preparing for what is called a cosmic initiation where the point of tension is humanity itself. It is written:
"This initiation requires the reorganisation of the energies flowing through and composing that "centre which we call the race of men"; this creates a rearrangement within the centre itself, and thus brings into manifested expression certain aspects and qualities-always inherent in those energies-which have not hitherto been recognised."
Jesus was a fourth degree initiate after the crucifixion and the Christ passed his sixth and began his seventh. To finish his seventh will require him to successfully make his second coming and move humanity ahead so the Ancient of Days can take his own initiation. Christ thus not only serves humanity but advances his own consciousness.
If you were going to shoot a mime, would you use a silencer?
Steven Wright
Copyright 2003 by J.J. Dewey, All Rights Reserved