If you desire to know what I know
If you hunger for the Truth that confounds all of mankind
Then you must do what I have done
And then -- only then -- can you know the Mysteries of God and Creation
While most men will claim that they desire to know the Truth and the Mysteries of God and Creation -- once the path is revealed, few are willing to actually walk the path of the Mystic, and seek Divine Union with the Most High. While many Christians and Jews will be offended by what I write -- and non-believers who lack a sense of man's spiritual nature will immediately question the source of the revelation -- the reality of the situation is that each man and woman reading these words has the innate ability to know the Truth by virtue of their own Spiritual Experiences. To know the Truth, though, means that man must be willing to draw nearer to the Source of all Truth. This process is called TheWay -- and is the essence of the teachings that Yeshua/Jesus revealed to mankind. But to know the Truth, one must be willing to embrace the Truth -- live the Truth -- and become the Truth! For in the same way that in a marriage between man and woman the Ultimate Reality can only be realized when the Two become One on all levels of their being, the Truth can only be revealed and known to those who become ONE with GOD. This Oneness has nothing in common with the superficial relationship of faith-based systems of belief which are championed by most of our Churches today! For this Oneness can never be realized in a distant relationship -- but rather, only when the Disciple of TheWay desires to become One with God.
The
great truth that has been continually expressed by both Jewish and Christian
Mystics and Visionaries is that the knowledge
of the mysteries of God and the Divine Plan begins with the knowledge of
ourselves as the Prodigal Sons of our Heavenly Father.
It is for this reason that the second-century Church Father Clement of
Alexandria said that it is “…the
greatest of all lessons to know one's self.
For if one knows himself, he will know God; and knowing God, he will be
made like God… and that man becomes God, since God so wills”.
In his treaties on The Soul and the Resurrection, St Gregory
writes that “...the Resurrection is no other thing than 'the
re-constitution of our nature in its original form’”, and states
that there will come a time “…when the complete whole of our race
shall have been perfected from the first man to the last”.
The reason these great truths are no longer the focus of the modern church is best captured in the words of A. Powell Davies: “Biblical scholars”, he writes, ”were not disturbed by what they found in the Dead Sea Scrolls because they had known all along that the origin of Christianity was not what was commonly supposed to have been” (quoted by Millar Burrows in More Light on the Dead Sea Scrolls). What Davies was referring to was the fact that the Church of Constantine so altered the focus of the teachings of the New Covenant, that what we call Christianity today has its doctrinal legacy of birth in the fourth century, and has little in common with the religion that the Son of God revealed to man at the beginning of our Common Era.
What many believers today fail to realize is that the
answer to the dilemma is found implanted on their own lips as they gather
together for prayer and worship. Further,
the answer is again found in the words of the Apostle Peter, as contained in an
obscure writing of his disciple Clement, where he said that the genuine
Christian must learn only from the True Prophet as to the correct meaning of the
scriptures and the revelation of the Word.
“Hence, O beloved Clement", proclaims Peter, “if
you would know the things pertaining to God, you have to learn them from Him
alone, because He alone knows the truth. For if any one else knows anything, he
has received it from Him or from His disciples”.
These profound words that most believers ignore reveal the essence of New Covenant thought in the reality that you cannot learn the Truth in a Church -- in a school -- in a religious or philosophical group of seekers -- because the Truth can only be learned directly from God. These words -- i.e., that you not only can, but you MUST learn the things of God from Him alone, or be guided into TheWay from one of his genuine disciples -- are as true today as when Peter originally spoke them to Clement in the first century. They are based upon the New Covenant teaching that Yeshua/Jesus came to teach the Truth, and this Truth cannot be altered or defiled by either an impostor church, or the doctrines of men. Therefore, built into the essence of the Word is a means by which the truly faithful disciple throughout any and every age in the history of man is able to learn the Truth directly from the Lord Himself. What this further means is that even during that timeframe when the church was plundered into the very depths of darkness and despair, the truly faithful followers of the Light were taught the truth directly from the One Source of all Truth.
The genuine Christian doctrine is easy to confirm.
Jesus never ordained a class of priests whose job it was to perform
rituals and prayers on behalf of the people.
The religious principles that Jesus taught were purely spiritual -- i.e.,
his disciples were to go forth and proclaim to the people that if they changed
their direction, and walked in The Way, they could enter into the Kingdom of
God, and be saved from the fate of death that this world holds.
The disciples and apostles were not to teach, as our religious
authorities teach today -- but rather, they were to lead the people to the One
Teacher -- the True Prophet -- that is the only Genuine Source of Knowledge for
the disciple of the Light.
In addition to the scriptures where Jesus commands the
disciples not to be called teacher, for there is only One Teacher (Mt 23:8),
this same Truth can be demonstrated using the first century witness known as the
Recognitions of Clement, where St. Clement quotes the teachings of the
Apostle Peter. In chapter 59,
under the heading of The True Prophet, Clement writes: “But I would not
have you think, that in saying this I take away the power of judging concerning
things; but I give counsel that no one walk through devious places, and rush
into errors without end. And therefore I advise not only wise men, but indeed
all men who have a desire of knowing what is advantageous to them, that they
seek after the true Prophet; for it is He alone who knoweth all things, and who
knoweth what and how every man is seeking. For He is within the mind of every
one of us, but in those who have no desire of the knowledge of God and His
righteousness, He is inoperative; but He works in those who seek after that
which is profitable to their souls, and kindles in them the light of knowledge.
Wherefore seek Him first of all; and if you do not find Him, expect not that you
shall learn anything from any other. But He is soon found by those who
diligently seek Him through love of the truth, and whose souls are not taken
possession of by wickedness. For He is present with those who desire Him in the
innocence of their spirits, who bear patiently, and draw sighs from the bottom
of their hearts through love of the truth; but He deserts malevolent minds,
because as a prophet He knows the thoughts of every one. And therefore let no
one think that he can find Him by his own wisdom, unless, as we have said, he
empty his mind of all wickedness, and conceive a pure and faithful desire to
know Him. For when any one has so prepared himself, He Himself as a prophet,
seeing a mind prepared for Him, of His own accord offers Himself to his
knowledge”.
What does Peter say to us in these words? That the True
Prophet “is within the mind of every one of us”.
This concept is Spiritual -- and is the foundation of the Living Church
that the Lord inaugurated. Jesus
warned his followers not to go to a teacher or religious authority in this world
-- even when that teacher or authority says that he knows the Christ.
What is very clear in these words which are parallel and in harmony with
the Bible, is the followers of Jesus were not to learn from men -- who
themselves do not know -- and in true Spiritual-Gnostic fashion, they were only
to go to the Source of all Knowledge, the True Prophet.
The Apostle Paul wrote that the baptized believers at
Corinith did not know the Gospel of God, and could not be taught the Mysteries
and true Christian teachings because they were too carnal to receive them.
This great dilemma that Paul wrote about -- and has been continually
ignored by the majority of Christians throughout history -- was explained by
Peter when his disciple Clement wrote his warning to believers: “…and if
you do not find Him, expect not that you shall learn anything from any other”.
From a first century Christian perspective, there is only
one way that you can learn and know the truth, and that is through your own
dormant spiritual nature. “Expect
not that you shall learn anything”, says Peter, if you attempt to learn
from the doctrines of men -- even when these men are the leaders of your church,
synagogue, mosque, or temple. Why?
Because Jesus himself commanded: “But you, do not be called 'Rabbi';
for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren” (Matt 23:8
NKJ). Therefore, whoever will
teach you -- except by example and the manifestation of the Light in their own
lives -- from the perspective of the New Covenant, is a disciple of the
antichrist.
Peter embodies the very essence of the genuine teachings
of The Way in the words: “But He is soon found by those who diligently seek
Him through love of the truth, and whose souls are not taken possession of by
wickedness. For He is present with those who desire Him in the innocence of
their spirits, who bear patiently, and draw sighs from the bottom of their
hearts through love of the truth”.
In this statement you will find the dividing line between
the genuine Christian and the Christian of the flesh -- i.e., the genuine
Christians are those who are willing to embrace the Light, and learn only from
the True Prophet which they manifest in their lives by only doing what is of the
Light -- whereas, the Christians of the flesh calls upon the name of the Lord,
but they adhere to the teachings of men, and live in accordance with the culture
of this world. Once these
words of Peter are realized in the life of the believer, only then is it
comprehended that it is the desire for the Truth -- and the Truth alone -- that
will turn you in the direction of The Way.
It is this desire that must rule your hearts and minds in such an all
encompassing manner, that the believer rejoices in the labors of clearing the
rubble of this world out of our lives, and strives to make themselves the good
ground that is the only consecrated environment which the Lord will recognize as
being genuine. In this
respect, the True Prophet can only be found by those who cultivate and prepare
themselves -- physically, mentally and spiritually, for the coming of the Lord.
All the confusion and conflict of religious doctrine that
is present in the world today can be attributed to one dominant cause -- i.e.,
for the believer to prepare themselves does not mean that the True Prophet can
be found by those who search for him holding firm to the doctrines of men, or
the lifestyle and culture of this world -- but rather, one must prepare
themselves to make their life so it will be in conformity with the Will of God.
Peter warns that those who do not become disciples of the Light, and fail
to cleanse themselves from the defilements of this world, the True Prophet
remains “inoperative” -- they cannot see him, hear him, or even
conceive of his existence, even though he dwells in the spiritual kingdom within
each and every one of us. The True Prophet can only be revealed to those
who truly desire the knowledge of God, and reject everything else. But what is the knowledge of God? The knowledge of God is Truth and Light, and can be
possessed only by those who are prepared to move beyond this world of carnal
opinion and dogma.
In chapter 62, Clement then goes on in his quotation of
the Apostle's teachings: “And, therefore, since amongst these philosophers
are things uncertain, we must come to the true Prophet. Him God the Father
wished to be loved by all, and accordingly He has been pleased wholly to
extinguish those opinions which have originated with men, and in regard to which
there is nothing like certainty - that He the true Prophet might be the more
sought after, and that He whom they had obscured should show to men the way of
truth. For on this account also God made the world, and by Him the world is
filled; whence also He is everywhere near to them who seek Him, though He be
sought in the remotest ends of the earth. But if any one seek Him not purely,
nor holily, nor faithfully, He is indeed within him, because He is everywhere,
and is found within the minds of all men; but, as we have said before, He is
dormant to the unbelieving, and is held to be absent from those by whom His
existence is not believed”.
The importance of this statement to the people of the
simple faith is the very essence of the New Covenant promise! What Clement is stating is that you -- you the reader
of this book -- regardless of who you are, or your present station in this life
-- has the ability to find the True Prophet and know the Truth -- but, so long
as we continue to cling to the doctrines of men, and the philosophy and
materialism of this world, the True Prophet will remain dormant as to an
unbeliever. A believer in
Christ, then, cannot be defined as someone who believes in the manner of their
choosing -- in what is culturally correct -- or in the doctrines of their church
-- but rather, genuine belief in Christ means that the person believes that if
they incorporate the teachings of Christ in their life -- and then live them in
word, thought and deed -- that they will begin the process of opening the inner
door to the Kingdom and learn directly from the True Prophet.
What we must therefore recognize is the fact that, many
who call upon the name of the Lord are in reality unbelievers, because they
attempt to call upon the Lord while holding fast to the doctrines of
Constantine, Justinian, Darwin, and a whole host of other prophets and servants
of the anti-christ. It is in
reference to these false teachers and their flocks that the Lord spoke of when
he said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with
their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matt 15:8 NKJ). Why? It
is because the doors to the Kingdom are only opened with the desires of the
purified heart, and not with the lips.
What you say means little -- but what you do and accomplish with your
life is of paramount importance in the eyes of the Lord.
If one truly loves the Lord, then they will rid
themselves of all falseness, and cling only to the Truth.
Whoever is therefore not willing to surrender to the truth, are the
unrighteous people that the Apostle speaks about: “And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not
the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall
send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might
be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness”
(2 Th 2:10-12 KJV).
What the Apostle is here stating is that only those who
rid themselves of the baggage of this world, and truly walk in The Way, will
perceive the reality of Life -- all others, regardless of how well-meaning they
are, regardless of how they praise the Lord with their lips, will be given a “strong
delusion”. In our
analysis of this great truth it is important for us to comprehend the flaw that
the authors of the scriptures saw in the people of the Nations -- i.e., they
called upon the name of the Lord, but they lived their lives in accordance with
their culture -- and thus, they denied God their actions and deeds.
In recognition of this often repeated biblical fact, we
must pose the question: Was the King James Bible written by God, or is this a “strong
delusion”? Was Jesus
God, in accordance with the doctrines of Constantine, or is this just another “strong
delusion”? Does man
have a pre-existent soul in the manner of the parable of the prodigal son, or is
the present modern-day church doctrine that opposes this biblical teaching a “strong
delusion” that is based upon the philosophy of the Emperor Justinian, and
his disciple Darwin? Did God
abandon His Laws, and permit the Gentile followers of Jesus to be sanctified,
even though they often dwell in enmity against the very foundation of spiritual
precepts that the Lord spoke, or is this again a “strong delusion”.
Is what you believe the Truth, or is it just another “strong
delusion”?
It is congenitally inherent in man to defend his position
and cling to the idea that he is on the winning side. It is a part of his genetic makeup. Yet, what the Bible clearly warns the reader is to
beware of the reality of the prince of darkness -- and to understand that all
but a very few will dwell under the “strong delusion” of this world.
One of the great seductions that has been continually employed to lead
the people of faith astray, has been the idea that one can merely believe, and
does not have to live in strict conformity with the precepts of the Word.
If, then, you desire to see clearly, and know the
difference between “strong delusion” and the Truth, then the Bible
states that there is only one safeguard -- which safeguard is to come to Christ,
and Christ alone. The first
century disciples of Christ who knew the Lord when he physically walked this
earth, uniformly proclaim that you must seek the Truth only from the Hand of God
-- as revealed through personal interaction with the True Prophet -- and reject
all others. We no longer
possess this foundational message because it is Gnostic, and embraces the path
of Mysticism -- which in essence is the manifestation of man's Spiritual Nature.
In much the same way as in the first century, we live
today in a world of confusion. There
are many philosophers and men we consider authorities -- religious and secular
-- who preach and teach many things that conflict with the Truth.
They teach in schools and educational institutions -- in our vast media
-- they speak and preach their doctrines using every modality conceivable --
they open their arms and say: I know the truth -- come and listen, and I will
teach you. The great truth which the Bible continually warns you
of, is that if you follow the doctrines of these men, you will walk upon the
broadway that leads to darkness and despair.
Regardless of what version of the Bible you choose, a
very clear alert to all readers is seen in the warning that we dwell in a world
of confusion -- i.e., that it is impossible for us to know the truth by virtue
of our own very limited carnal wisdom, and we need a much wider scope of vision
and understanding in order to comprehend the reality of Life and Creation.
What the Bible conveys to all who open its pages for guidance, is that we
need Divine guidance and assistance if we are to know what is right and wrong --
and ultimately, the Truth. Let
us therefore embrace the wisdom of the Light, take the words of Clement and
Peter to heart, and seek this guidance from the only True Source of Knowledge,
God's True Prophet. This is
the promise of the New Covenant: That whosoever should seek the Lord with a holy
and pure life, the True Prophet will be found dwelling within the very spiritual
depths of the disciple's own heart and mind.
The acquisition of Truth, then, is not a matter of belief and faith in
unproven philosophy that sounds good to our carnal ears and understanding -- but
rather, the process of overcoming our own disconnection from the Source of all
Knowledge that lies within us.
With regard to the doctrine of faith in relation to sure
spiritual knowledge, quoting Clement of Alexandria in Smith & Wace's Bible
dictionary: “Faith is the
foundation; knowledge the superstructure, by knowledge faith is perfected, for
to know is more than to believe. Faith
is a summary knowledge of urgent truths; knowledge a sure demonstration of what
has been received through faith, being itself reared upon faith through the
teachings of the Lord. Thus the
Gnostic grasps the complete truth of all revelation from the beginning of the
world to the end, piercing to the depths of scripture, of which the believer
tastes the surface only. As a
consequence of this intelligent sympathy with the Divine Will, the Gnostic
becomes in perfect unity in himself, and as far as possible like God.
Definite outward observances cease to have any value for one whose being
is brought into abiding harmony with that which is eternal; he has no wants, no
passions; he rests in the contemplation of God, which is and will be his
unfailing blessedness.”
When Clement portrays the Gnostic Christian as being in “…unity
in himself”, and developing to where they have become “…like God”
and “…brought into abiding harmony with that which is eternal”, it
is at that time when the disciple becomes the True Christian by entering the
final stage of spiritual development, and fulfills the biblical requirement as
set forth by Jesus in the words: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48 RSV)
With respect to the Gospel, what Clement is stating in
the above quotation is that faith is the foundation, or the beginning of one’s
walk with the Lord. This is
as true in the first century, as it remain true in our present time. Without faith in the validity of the Word, there can be
no growth and salvation. What
we must understand is that, from the perspective of the Gentile converts to whom
Paul was writing his Epistles to, faith was the essence of their religious
experience. In Romans 11:24,
Paul speaks of the Gentiles as branches of a wild olive that was in the process
of being “grafted into a cultivated olive tree” (NIV).
It is important that we take note that in his words, there is no
suggestion that there was a flaw in the cultivated olive tree -- which he
defines as Israel. Only that
God wanted to bring this same level of spiritual cultivation to the Gentiles who
in Paul’s words were “wild by nature”, in order that the Gentiles
would be given the opportunity to turn from their Pagan and Heathen ways, and
enter into the Kingdom. The
problem was that in not being a part of the cultivated spiritual foundation of
Israel, they had to be a people of faith -- faith that God would look kindly
upon them, and graft them into the cultivated olive tree of Israel.
In the same way that a fetus is not born into adulthood,
the road to spiritual birth is a process -- and as one progresses in the journey
along The Way, faith is superseded by Knowledge -- and if it is not, then one's
faith is not only misdirected and in vain, but is spiritually sterile.
In the same way that it is an expression of faith that people invest in
the stock market in the hope that they will receive a return on their
investment, faith in the Lord means that you believe in the teachings of the New
Covenant, and are willing to invest your life in the Word, in the hope that you
will be found worthy to enter the Kingdom.
Like the stock market, you would not have invested your money if you were
told that some time after death you might receive a return on your money.
Thus, in like manner, there is nothing in the Gospels that suggest that
you will enter into the Kingdom after you die.
Which means that, if you have not yet gained access -- or at the least
opened a direct line of communication with the Lord -- then something is wrong
with the manner in which you are putting your faith.
In the words of Clement which are quoted above, the
Gnostic -- or the Christian who has developed that spiritual root within himself
that connects his outer person to the Divine Tabernacle within his being --
finds himself being nourished by the Word in the manner of a fetus through the
umbilical cord of it’s mother. It
is these disciples who have begun to move beyond the simple faith, who are those
who develop spiritually, and as a faithful infant in Christ, begin to “grasp
the complete truth of all revelation from the beginning of the world to the
end”. The Gnostic, or
spiritual Christian, has the ability to pierce “to the depths of scripture”
because he has himself pierced to the depths of his own being while walking in
The Way.
As a warning to those who read God's Word, and see only
the body, Clement writes of the scriptures that “the believer tastes the
surface only”. Thus,
the “genuine disciple” of the Christ understands that, in the same
way he must go beyond the body of the written narrative to uncover the essence
of truth, so must he go beyond his own physical and carnal nature.
Clement then says of the Gnostic, or spiritual Christian that, “as a
consequence of this intelligent sympathy with the Divine Will, the Gnostic
becomes in perfect unity in himself, and as far as possible like God”.
If we truly have faith in Jesus and the early church, then we must
believe that Clement is speaking from his own personal experiences -- which
means that the true Christian definition of faith must be understood with the
promise that if we follow in The Way, that we will experience these same
Mysteries of God within ourselves.
tes