My Dream Character
What is my dream “Who and What am I or shall be”?
Well, I’d like to be the “who and what I am made to be” according to Him who said, “Let us make man after Our own LIKENESS and IMAGE”.[1]
In short, I would like to become like God, not just in outward appearance, but in both appearance and character (image).
He is the Creator and Eternal Father Who wants to beget and reared His children after His likeness and image.
The PHYSICAL LIKENESS has been finished, more or less. We look like Him. Although sin has reduced us into a caricature of the perfect beauty and comeliness that we were meant to be, we still have the form and the shape of God. We have hands like God; we have eyes as God has; we have similar form and shape of head, face, arms, hands, body, feet like that of God.
Although made a little ugly or deformed by disease and disabilities, we have retained the likeness in form and shape of God.
But it is in the inner substance or IMAGE or CHARACTER that we had had suffered so much distortion or perversion.
Character is the sum total of ‘neutrals’ which we call thinking-and-feeling pattern, attitudes, habits, traits, qualities, behavior,
As well as of the polar opposites: virtues versus vices, beatitudes versus sins, beautitudes versus badtitudes, righteousness versus wickedness, foolishness versus wisdom, love versus apathy-hate, etc.
I dream that we can raise ourselves with the help of the able Savior from the Standard of Perfect Character, God-Christ Himself.
For as Paul said, We have fallen short from the glory (or perfection) of God.
As the prophet says, Our righteousness is like filthy rags.[2] And that “No, not one is righteous in the eyes of God.”[3]
Too mediocre and too degenerate have we become that “we cannot anymore distinguish right from wrong, and beauty from ugliness, real beauty from false beauty, real treasure from false treasure, real gospel from false gospel, truth from falsehood, true apostles from false ones, but call white black, and black white -- who call evil good and good evil, darkness light and light darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter - who consider wickedness as righteousness and righteousness wickedness.”[4]
I want to become the PERFECT IMAGE OF GOD.
As He goaled, “Let us make man after our own likeness and image.”
What is God’s image? How does He look like and what is His character?
I already look like Him. You already look like Him. We have nose as He has; we have eyes as He has, we have all organs of our body placed in the same way His are in His body,
But in His spiritual image or character, we are not yet made like Him.
Due to our sins or resistance to His training and teachings, we
Become deformed spiritually –mere caricatures instead of the beautiful beings He has intended us to become.
According to His revelations, God’s image or character is composed of 7 spiritual traits or qualities, to wit:
Love,
Wisdom,
Will,
Order,
Earnest,
Patience,
and
Meekness which is also Humility and Mercy.
***
I dream myself and my brethren to become men of love. For God is love. Not that myopic love, which knows to love only the self and the self’s. But that all-encompassing and all-embracing love of Christ – that love that loves God above all and the neighbor as one’s self.
That is my vision of love.
I also dream of myself and my fellow countrymen and
also all men in the whole world to be men of wisdom,
not the world’s version of wisdom which is blind of the spiritual realm beyond,
and is concentrated in making the present life pleasant,
and satiating personal lust, greed, covetousness and pride,
No, not that wisdom that makes only few rich
While rendering the vast majority poor and oppressed,
But the wisdom that gives blessings and freedom to all,
And not that one which makes the few free in some aspects
by putting others inside the cage of slavery and hard task and poverty.
Not that wisdom that prevents man from coming to love God above all,
And his neighbor as himself,
Not that wisdom that leaves you penniless or resource-less
And not be able to carry out your love for God and your compassion for the poor,
But that one which makes you feel love for God above all and your neighbor as yourself
And at the same time, carry out this love,
Thus, a both willing and able men and women of love –
Willing to love, willing in love
And able to love,
And able to carry out love’s desires and dreams.
I envision myself and my fellowmen become men of WILL –
that is, of power, of decision, of strength
and of energy and willingness.
But not directing our strong will against the superior and more intelligent Will of God,
But rather, to submit to It
And carry It out,
To will (decide) to obey His laws which are His will
And willingly carry them out.
To be His obedient servant.
That is how we will use our Will
And to be EARNEST -- diligent -- hot in this, not cold never lukewarm!
In order to be wise, I need to know God’s ORDER.
And in order to carry out His will perfectly and successfully, I also need to understand His ORDER –
The ways He has arranged all things –
The laws that govern their relationships –
And the ways He would like us to follow as we work with His creation
According to His Will.
ORDER ensures success, creates peace and harmony.
Living according to God’s Order makes living happy and sorrow-free.
Of all these – I want myself and us all to be EARNEST –
That is, sincere, fervent, serious,
And not complacent,
But burning hot,
Not lukewarm nor like the fading flame.
But burning hot.
So, in love, I want us to be FERVENT AND HOT!
In wisdom, I want us not to be half-cooked,
Or half-instructed.
I want us to be perfect and full of wisdom.
In WILL,
I dream of us to be FULL BLAST,
Not like the man who looked back after he had put his hand on the plow!
I want to define EARNEST as COMMITMENT
To wit:
EARNESTNESS IS NOT INDOLENCE
“One who is slack in his work is a brother to one who destroys.”[5]
EARNEST MEANS COMMITMENT
Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speaks boldly of one’s intention and the action which speaks louder than words. It is making the time when there is none, coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. It is the stuff that character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism or doubt.
EARNEST MEANS FULL COMMITMENT
He who has put his hand on the plow and looks back is not fit to the Kingdom!
Remarks: That is why we need to be sure that a decision, project or an activity is according to the Will of God so that it is worth doing, worth doing well and also worth completing. For it is worth stopping if it is not according to God’s will.
EARNEST MEANS TO BE HOT NOT COLD NOT LUKEWARM
“Do not imagine that I have come to bring peace to mankind on this earth. Oh no, only the sword and war instead. For, men must be impelled to all kinds of activity through distress and hardships or they would become lazy, fatted oxen that fatten themselves for eternal death.
“Distress and hardship bring about fermentation upon fermentation in man from which in the end something spiritual could develop.
“One could, of course, say: ‘Through distress and hardship also anger, vengeance, murder and manslaughter arise, also envy, hardheartedness and persecution. That is indeed true, but bad as all that is, the result is nevertheless better than from idle rest which is dead and brings neither good nor bad results.
“Therefore, I tell you: Let a person be really warm or completely cold where I am concerned; but a lukewarm one I will spit out from My mouth.
“I prefer an energetic enemy to a lukewarm friend, for the energetic enemy will challenge Me to full activity, so that I may either win or make provision to permanently prevent him from harming Me. Beside a lukewarm friend, however, I become lukewarm Myself and if I should get into difficulties, will the lukewarm friend be of any use to Me?
“Therefore, also a lukewarm ruler is a pest for his people, for then the nation’s spirit decays and the people all turn into voracious oxen and beasts of burden. But a severe and even tyrannical ruler causes the people to be alive and there is activity everywhere so as not to incur punishment. And if a tyrant goes too far the people will rise in great numbers and rid themselves of their tormentor.
“I think I have now said enough about the value of activity [or works of love in particular] and am convinced that all of you have understood this lesson.”[6]
To the angel of the church of Laodicea write:
“These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither cold nor hot – I am about to spit you out of My mouth.
“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be EARNEST and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.
“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”[7]
EARNEST MEANS FULL FORCE
“Whatever your hands finds to do, do it with your whole might.”
“Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.”
The Kingdom of God comes with much force.
That is my dream of A CHARACTER OF DILIGENCE.
A DILIGENCE fired up three-loves:
Love for God, love for neighbor
and love for self.
I am told repeatedly that
When a man
Or a woman
Or a nation
Is motivated,
Fired up,
And inspired
By this 3-love force,
Then no greater power,
No greater productivity,
No greater profitability,
No greater diligence
Can ever be found nor can happen
Anywhere else in the whole of the universe!
At any known time - past, present and future!
Now, I want also to have the trait of PATIENCE,
To balance the full charge of earnest.
For among imperfect things and beings,
There is a time for everything
And it often means that you have to wait for the proper time for everything
Rush breaks.
Haste is waste.
And it was the lack of patience that cause Eve and Adam commit fornication, the original sin.
They could not wait the return of the Father
When they could have been blessed in a divine wedding.
And so, they brought forth children of sin.
And sins bred all kinds of sufferings
The end of which is death.
Without the intervention of our Savior-God,
We have no other fate except to pay our sins with our lives.
Hence, death.
Behold, here is how important is the sacrifice of Christ.
For without Him,
We have no hope for eternal life!
And finally, I envision of us having the very important trait of
MEEKNESS
Which at some other times,
Expresses itself as HUMILITY and MERCY.
I will not define further each of these seven spiritual qualities and traits,
but quote our Lord Jesus Christ’s definition and statements about these all-important 7 traits
which make up the whole perfect IMAGE OF GOD,
for which we are to become.
To quote:
A. The Seven Spirits of God
And their Importance
Quoted from: Great Gospel of John VII/18
The great primordial spirits are really the thoughts in God and the ideas going forth from them. They are His spiritual Attributes, Qualities and Powers.
1st Spirit: LOVE.
This is found in all created things; for without it nothing would have been created.
Comment: Love is the vibration and warmth we call Life. Jesus repeatedly mentioned in the NR that love is actually the life. Take love, then, life is gone. That is why, no matter how selfish (narrow or small) such love is, the Father-Creator of all life forbids that such life be killed or destroyed. His eternal decree: To preserve life and next, to develop it into higher level giving it a new form (body). As a throbbing, LOVE is the MOTIVE, intention, desire and dream. Hence, it is the beginning of everything, every action, every accomplishment. No love, no intention to move or to act, no activity, no accomplishment.
2nd Spirit: WISDOM.
Wisdom, as the light going forth from love. This, too, you can see in the form of every being; for, to the more light a being responds, the more developed , definite and beautiful will also be its form.
Comment: Wisdom is in the mind, while love is in the heart. In work, project or business, it is the PLAN – both the strategy (general plan) and the tactic (the detailed plan). In engineering it is the design with emphasis on the strength of materials or durability of the building. In addition, it is also the capability to lace or cover the creation or invention or work with aesthetics or beauty. Thus, by wisdom, love’s vision is made strong-lasting and beautiful.
3rd Spirit: WILL.
Going forth from Love and Wisdom is the effective Will of God through which the envisaged beings become a reality, so that they can really be and exist. Otherwise all the thoughts and ideas of God would be the same as your empty thoughts and ideas, which are never put into action.
Comment: Will is the decision to act, and the ACTION itself, the execution, the implementation, the pursuit, the carrying out and the realization of the LOVE-MOTIVE and the WISDOM-PLAN. Decision met and jointly made by the Heart in love and the Mind in wisdom is the greatest power in the world!
There’s a truism: Where love and wisdom combine, expect a masterpiece!
4th Spirit: ORDER.
Issuing in turn from the three is ORDER. Without this Order, no being could have a permanent and lasting form and, therefore, never have a definite purpose.
For if your harnessed an ox to a plough and it changed its form and shape, say, into a fish or a bird, would you ever achieve a purpose with it? Or suppose you wanted to eat a fruit and it turned into a stone before your mouth, — what good would the fruit be to you?
Or you walked somewhere on a firm road, and the road turned into water under your feet, — could even the firmest road be of any use to you? Look, all this — and inexpressively more — is prevented through the divine order, as the Fourth Spirit in God.
Comment: The Chinese and Japanese who are more observant to the ways of Nature and who live their lives and manage their business accordingly often get good results. For example, the Japanese, when they want to transplant a tree, do not rashly pull up the tree from the soil and transfer it to another hole; rather, the Japanese first gently tied the roots one by one, so that it will not be hurt when uprooted and no roots as much as possible would die when the tree is transferred.
5th Spirit: EARNEST
The 5th spirit of god is called Divine Earnest, without which nothing can exist permanently, for it corresponds to the eternal truth in God and it gives all beings true endurance, reproduction, growth and the final completion.
Without that spirit in God things would look bad for all beings. They would be like a forming of a fata morgana that seems to be something as long as it can be seen. But the conditions by which it was caused change quickly because there is no earnest in it [no sense of permanency or stability, even at least temporary], and then the beautiful and wonderful forms disappear into nothing. They also look very ordered, but since there is no earnest in the cause that made them exist, they are nothing else but empty, very transitory forms that can impossibly have any durability.
Comments: For humans, earnest is: staying put in the present form or conditions where he finds himself, never allowing a letting down or degeneration, a backsliding or any form of corruption or decrease in quality and state of perfection, while at the same time reaching out, hastening, for the higher level of perfection or for improvement. But the emphasis is not on staying on the status quo as it is also much less in the return or slide back to former lower level of (im-)perfection; rather, the focal struggle (or shall we say, the contest) is in the advancing towards higher level of perfection. That is earnest.
Going down, in the sense of degradation or deterioration, is never an earnest. In fact, it is the opposite of earnest. Only one type of ‘going down’ is allowed: humility as in God’s condescending to His wretched children on earth. Also humility in accepting a lowly job for the sake of love, or humility to admit one’s wrong. This quality of humility does not conflict with the attitude of earnest, but its kin.
“Earnest” ensures that you hold onto your present level of perfection or standard, without letting down, falling short or falling down, but all the more intensely striving for the higher level of perfection – for improvement. That is the spirit of earnest.
If we have earnest, quality will not suffer, it will not let down but either stays the same or soon keeps up. Quality in relationship, quality of works or products or quality of service. Whatsoever. So, also quality of happiness or satisfaction is sustained. That is the beauty of earnest. Not allowing any deterioration, decay, degradation or degeneration.
Thus, earnest is not only an excellent quality maintenance officer but also an excellent perfecter!
6th Spirit: PATIENCE.
Where supreme love, supreme wisdom, the almighty will, the most perfect order, and the firmest unchangeable earnest are present, there must be also supreme and eternally incomparable Patience. For without this, everything would be precipitated and, finally, end in the inextricable chaos of the ancient sages.
When an architect builds a house, he must, besides all his qualifications, have patience, too; for if he lacks this — believe me — he will never succeed in building that house.
I tell you: If God did not possess this Spirit, no sun would have been shining to an earth in infinite space for eons and in the world of spirits it would look most peculiar, — quite unreal. Patience is the mother of God’s eternal mercy. And were it not for this sixth Spirit of God, where and what would all beings be before Almighty God?
If we do wrong in some way and thereby obviously expose ourselves to the devastating curse of divine love, wisdom and divine will, followed — evidently because of the preceding order — by His earnest, we are confronted with divine patience which must — and does — gradually restore the balance once more; for without this, all ever so perfect beings would be subjected to the eternal judgment of doom.
7th Spirit: MERCY.
Divine patience, together with the preceding five Spirits in God, would, indeed, create on the heavenly bodies one or even countless human beings and also maintain them; but in that case an individual, or untold numbers of human beings, would live on for eons in the heavy flesh, and there would never be a final liberation of the soul from the shackles of matter.
At the same time, animals and plants, as well as men, would continue to multiply and in the end would populate the limited space on a globe so densely that no one would be able to make way for another. This is assuming that a heavenly body under the control of infinite, divine patience, ever did mature to a state in which it could carry and keep plants, animals and human beings. Indeed, even the creation of a material world would be an infinitely slow process if it depended solely on the six already mentioned Spirits, and it would be very doubtful if a world would ever materialize.
However, patience, as said before, is the mother of divine mercy and, thus, the Seventh Spirit in God is the very Mercy which we may also call Meekness. This accomplishes everything. It directs all the preceding Spirits and within the proper time brings about the maturing of a world with all its creatures. It allocates a certain life-span to everything, and the matured spirits can look forward to an easy and complete deliverance and will be able to enter into their eternal freedom and the fullest independence.
It is this Seventh Spirit in God that made God Himself take on the human flesh, thereby to deliver, in the shortest possible time, all the impoverished spirits from the hard bonds imposed by the necessary judgment of matter. This is why His act of salvation — the new creation of heavens and worlds — can be called God’s greatest act because therein all the Seven Spirits of God play an equal part, which prior to it had not quite been the case nor could it have been due to the Spirit of Order
in God.
Formerly, this Seventh Spirit in God, now introduced to you, cooperated with the other Spirits only to the extent that thereby all the thoughts and ideas of God became realities; but from now on it works more powerfully, and the results is complete salvation.
These are the Seven Spirits in God and all that was created out of the Seven Spirits in God corresponds in each and everything to these Seven Spirits and contains them within.
B. The Seven Spirits of God
Supporting Each Other
Quoted from: Great Gospel of John VII/19
The angel Raphael: “Just as the Seven Spirits, or special attributes, in God are continually in conflict because one always provokes the other to activity, thus you can easily observe the same conflict more or less in all God’s creatures.
1st Spirit: LOVE.
“Love by itself is blind, and it always strives to draw everything to itself. But in this striving it ignites,
2nd Spirit: WISDOM.
and now there is light within it and, therefore, understanding and cognition.
“Can you see how the light fights against the solitary effort of pure love and calls it to order and to its senses?
3rd Spirit: WILL.
“From this conflict — or war — there arises at the same time the WILL, as the active arm of love and light, putting into practice what the light has wisely arranged.
4th Spirit: ORDER.
“At the same time, through love’s understanding thanks to its light and through the combined power of the two, ORDER is called forth and, henceforth, fights against any DISORDER through the light and the will of love. And there you have again a forever continuing war of Jehovah within Him and within all created beings.
“All this would be quite in order if one could only be sure that what the four Spirits have brought about so nicely arranged would thereby already have permanence. But the ever so magnificent works of the first four Spirits still resemble the plays of children, who with great pleasure and joy build something very efficiently, yet soon after no longer enjoy their work and destroy it more eagerly than they originally created it. And truly, friend, there it would still look very bad regarding the permanency of all created beings.
5th Spirit: EARNEST.
“To prevent this from happening, there arises out of the four Spirits - actually because it like the perfection of the works - the EARNEST, as a Fifth Spirit in God and His created beings, and this Spirit then fights against destruction and annihilation of the once created works, much as a sensible and serious man who has, for instance, built himself a house and laid out a vineyard will do everything to maintain and make use of the house and the vineyard and not destroy them soon after, as I have shown you in the example of the contrived playthings of the children.
“And look, this is – as said before – again a War of Jehovah.
6th Spirit: PATIENCE.
“However, as time goes by, the erected house shows faults and the vineyard still does not yield the expected harvest. Then the builder regrets having taken so much trouble and spent so much effort due to his EARNEST. Therefore, he would like to destroy the whole project and replace it with something quite new and different; but then the Sixth Spirit which – as already shown – is called PATIENCE, stands up to such an earnest and, look, this then preserves house and vineyard. And that is again another War of Jehovah.
7th Spirit: MERCY.
“Well, patience, by itself, or also combined with the preceding Spirits, would hardly undertake any improvements to either house or vineyard and would let things slide along. But there comes the Seventh Spirit, namely: MERCY, which encompasses gentleness, concern, industry, active love and generosity and, look, now the man repairs his house so well that it no longer shows any fault worth mentioning, and he cultivates and manures the vineyard so that it soon yields a good harvest. And this is once more a conflict or a War of Jehovah in man as well as in God and in angel.
“Thus, the true, perfect life in God, in the angel, and in man, is a continuous conflict of the Seven Spirits described to you.
“Now this conflict is in God and the angel not such as if one or the other of the Seven Spirits would try to suppress and inactivate the other Spirits, but the conflict is forever aimed at one spirit supporting the other with all its might so that each spirit is then fully contained in the other. Thus, love is within the other six spirits and light or wisdom is within love and the other five spirits and so forth, so that in each individual spirit all the others are present, forever supporting each other in complete harmony.”
C. Harmony or Disharmony of the Seven Spirits of God
In Man
Quoted from: Great Gospel of John VII/20
“In man it should also be the same, (that is, each individual spirit should be contained in the other spirits and each should support each other, thus, a perfect harmony); but, unfortunately, is not. This ability has been given every human being, without ever being fully developed and practiced. Only few people activate the seven spirits within them to a full and equal activity thereby becoming truly like God and us angels of God; but – as I said – many have turned away from it and do not bother much and, therefore, do not recognize the true secret life within them at all. Such blind and half-dead people are then unable to recognize the underlying purpose of life because they let themselves be guided and dominated only by one or the other of the seven spirits.
“Thus, one lives purely out of the spirit of love and completely ignores the other spirits. Such a man is then nothing but a voracious beast of prey that is never satisfied. People like that are always full of self-love, full of envy and greed and are hard of heart toward all their fellowmen. Again, others possess an enlightened love, are therefore rather wise and able to teach their fellowmen good things; but they have a weak will and are unable to really accomplish something.
“Then, there are others in whom the spirits of love, wisdom and will are quite active; but without the spirit of ORDER and proper EARNEST, it does not look too good. This kind of people will be able to talk intelligently, sometimes even rather wisely, and here and there they may also be able to accomplish something; but the person who is truly wise through all seven spirits will soon gather from their words, talk and acts that these lack order and coherence.
“And there are also people who possess love, light, will and order, but they lack the spirit of earnest. As a result, they are timid and faint-hearted and seldom able to make their works fully effective.
“Others again are also full of earnest and courage, but do not have much patience. Such people usually act too rashly and often spoil with their impatient zeal more than they do good. Yes, friend, without proper patience there is no achievement; for he who lacks patience pronounces his own death sentence. Man has to wait until the grape is completely ripe if he wants to reap a good harvest. If he does not want to wait, he has but himself to blame if instead of a delicious wine he has produced only a sour, undrinkable one.
“Thus, patience is a necessary spirit in everything: Firstly, in controlling and giving direction to the spirit I called EARNEST that often is inclined to overstep its boundaries, because it may, combined with love, wisdom and will, degenerate into extreme pride which, as you know, tends to become unlimited in a person; and secondly, because patience is above all, as I have already explained to you, the mother of the spirit of mercy, and it is this latter spirit that affects all the preceding ones by giving them the divine-spiritual perfection and also helps the human soul to attain to the full and true rebirth in the spirit.
“This is the reason why the Lord Himself urged all of you to love God and your neighbor, adding: ‘Be merciful, as also your Father in heaven is merciful, and be meek and humble, as also I am meek and humble with all My heart!”
“Thus, the Lord bade you, men, to develop above all the Seventh Spirit because in this last spirit all the preceding ones are contained and being developed. Therefore, he who zealously develops and strengthens this last spirit develops and strengthens also the preceding ones and has taken the shortest and surest road to perfection. However, he who begins his development with one or several of the preceding spirits will attain to the full perfection of life only with great effort, or not at all, because these earlier spirits do not contain the Seventh Spirit, whereas the latter does contain all the ones preceding it.
“And behold, therein consists continuously the fall of the angels or the thoughts and ideas out of God – which we may call the forces constantly flowing from God -, so long as they in their entirety in man’s nature have failed to develop the Seventh Spirit within them to true and supreme perfection. For all the preceding spirits have been partly given, more or less freely, to almost all created beings, whereas the Seventh Spirit must be won by man himself with much diligence and zeal.
“As only by acquiring this spirit do all the preceding six gain their life’s true significance and true purpose, the whole man does only through it win the fullest freedom and independence of life.”
The Bird Cranes
Teaching us Lessons
of a Perfect Organization
NEW REVELATIONS OF JESUS CHRIST
VOLUME 19
[13] And I said: “Shortly after sunrise, since after that I will go to a place from where we will only come back this evening. What kind of place we will visit, you surely will hear later on.”
[14] When Lazarus heard that, he went away to arrange everything, but I went with the few disciples immediately outside, and Lazarus soon followed Me.
49. The flight of the cranes
| A |
t a distance of about 1,000 steps from the little city Bethany there was a separate hill that was also part of the possession of Lazarus. That is where we went to and we soon climbed on it easily, for it was not so high, and since it was located completely separately, it gave us a beautiful view all around, and from there we had a view completely unto Jerusalem.
[2] When we were completely on top of the hill, we saw a big flight of cranes in the air coming from the northwest, and Lazarus thought that this was a rare phenomenon to see these birds fly by so early in the morning, for usually they fly by only around midday, but most of the time in the afternoon. This meant something very special according to him, for these birds have a very sharp instinct and can feel already days beforehand when there is a danger for them in the nature where they used to live for the sake of their survival. Then they prepare for the trip and when their leader gives a sign, they all fly at the same time and migrate to another safe place.
[3] I said: “You have observed the nature of these birds really very well. This is indeed given to these birds. However, here they also indicate something else. If you would be well acquainted with the old teaching of correspondences between the spirit world and the sense perceptive world – what you still will become – then you would understand completely the actual meaning of this morning flight of cranes, but now you only understand what you have deducted by experience from the nature of these birds.
[4] Be very careful now what these birds, which otherwise are very careful, will do when they will fly precisely above us.”
[5] Upon this, we sharply watched the flight of these birds as they approached in a very fine order. There were 100 birds in a long row, and precisely 7 of them formed the short angle row, which is always made up of the old, strong and in a certain way experienced male leaders.
[6] When the flight of cranes flew above our heads, at least 400 men heights, they stopped, broke up the row, and 107 cranes started to fly in circles and descended lower and lower, and this as long until they were circling hardly 7 men heights above us and were expressing in a certain way their honor to us with their not so well sounding singing. This lasted a few minutes and then the birds descended downhill to the plain below where there was a fairly big pond where Lazarus breaded the fishes before his house, which were however only of the common kind. The birds drank water in this pond, as much as they needed for their further flight. When all of them were obviously provided with it, the 7 oldest ones gave the well-known sign to break up, and all the birds ascended suddenly in a few circles in the air, but before their definite departure they made again a few circles around the hill upon which we were staying. Then they quickly flew in circles until they reached their original height, formed immediately again the former formation and flew then to the northeast. Only at a fairly great distance they changed their northeastern flight direction into a southeastern one and vanished from our range of vision.
[7] Now Lazarus said again: “Lord and Master, when one looks at this with the right attention, it is a perfect wonder.”
[8] I said: “How would you explain that, simply out of feeling?”
[9] Lazarus said: “Lord and Master. Seen from a natural point of view it was already a wonder in view of their natural behavior, because these birds are really very smart and seem to know very well or to feel strongly that we men, and namely we Jews, are not exactly considered as their friends, and therefore it is unheard of that these birds approached a few men so friendly.
[10] With the Greeks, who express some kind of godly worship for these birds, it must have happened once that these birds approached them in perhaps the same friendly manner as this was the case here, but, as said, with us Jews it has never happened, at least not as far as I know or have heard of. And therefore I consider this a true wonder. Because these smart birds have noticed, who was present now on this hill – namely also their Lord and Creator – and this has made them to descend from that very great height to very close to this hill in order to – as said, according to their instinct and their feeling – greet their Creator and Lord and to give Him honor.
[11] Besides, my pond has never had the honor that cranes, which only drink pure water, quenched their thirst with its slightly unclear water. So they had to feel that You with Your holy and almighty will had quietly blessed and strengthened the water of the pond for them. They definitely must have experienced that. That is why they ascended after the drinking of the water to circle once more around this hill to thank You in a certain way for the blessing of the water, and only after they had brought You these thanks they ascended jubilating to their former flight height, and strengthened in this manner by You, they proceeded their ordered flight.
[12] The fact that from here they did not directly continue their flight in the direction of the southeast was probably because of their sharp instinct that is almost equivalent to our mind. For in that direction they perhaps would have come too close to the Dead Sea of which the far-reaching evil emanation could have easily harmed them. That is why they took at first – very wisely one could say – the direction of the northeast, and only when they were out of danger that perhaps would have threatened them coming closer to the bad sea, they took the direction along which they certainly without danger could reach the place of their destination.
[13] And this is now according to my completely natural observation and opinion certainly a true wonder in the eyes of every human being who from his youth was used to observe with a sharper look and also with a more awakened mind all phenomena in the natural world than the common philosophers used to do and in fact are capable of doing. Did I speak correctly, o Lord and Master?”
[14] I said: “Yes, yes, My dear friend and brother, you have understood this case very correctly and well, for this is how it was indeed, at least from a natural point of view. But behind this, there is still an incredibly much deeper wisdom, which however can only be seen by the one who can see and feel from his inner spirit and has overcome the death of his matter as far as this had still an influence on the soul and which made him afraid.
[15] But in order that everyone of you who are only few, can receive beforehand, without the presence of the others, also about this some indication, I want to give it to you before the others will find us. So listen to Me.”
50. The spiritual correspondences of the migration of the cranes
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ook, everything in the natural world – that which is in each of its 3 kingdoms – and all ever so insignificant phenomena are script and language for the enlightened soul of man. And so was and is also the flight of cranes which we have observed. The fact that these birds gave Me here a certain honor, is very true, but it would be unwise to believe that these animals recognized Me in one way or another. The matter is quite different, and what appears to you as completely miraculous is reduced to something perfectly natural.
[2] Look, every person is a being that lives in his spirit, in his soul and in a natural body, and has also an outer life atmosphere around him, just as every celestial body, every individual stone in its own specific manner, and also every tree and every plant according to its nature, and so also every animal, for without such outer life atmosphere no planet nor stone, nor any other mineral, nor plant or an animal living being could exist.
[3] The fact that this is so you can simply conclude from your own experience when for instance in an oak forest you clearly are seized with different feelings than in a cedar forest. A totally different feeling comes over man when he stays on a limestone rock, again a different feeling on a granite rock, and in a vineyard, the observant person has another feeling than in a garden with fig trees, and that same changeable feeling is coming over man when he comes near to different animals, and even stronger when he comes near to different people. A very sensitive person can experience it already at quite a great distance and then he can feel if a good or a bad person will meet him.
[4] Well now, also the animals are experiencing that, and many of them much sharper than one or the other materialistic man who thinks little about what is good and true.
[5] When the nature of a person is completely good, and in his soul he is filled with the godly Spirit, his outer life atmosphere will be ever stronger reaching unto great distances. When then the most savage animals will come near such a person, they become permeated of his outer life atmosphere and become more gentle. They will approach him very kindly and do him no harm, and he will even be able to command them with his will, upon which they will obey him.
[6] Examples of the truth of what I am telling you now you can find with the first fathers of the Earth, with the patriarchs and with the prophets, and in this time you have often experienced it yourself at My side.
[7] Well now, surely I Myself most of all and all of you together also with Me, have surely the most extensive outer life atmosphere of very high power, goodness and perfection that is reaching out above us.
[8] For the cranes that we saw, which have stayed during the summer in the more northern swamps and little lakes of Greece, their time now in the autumn has come for their migration, which their sharp instinct indicates to them. These cranes, which we have seen coming out of the nearest swamps, have felt our outer life atmosphere the very first and the very most and have followed their inner urge. When they came closer, a mighty feeling of well being took hold of them, in such a way that they did not continue their flight but descended close to us, and circling here around us they were swallowing a great bliss. They became as it were totally saturated and took therefore also water, firstly to quench their thirst and secondly to have a provision for their further flight, since their travel destiny is the great plains of India.
[9] Thus, what you thought to have observed as something miraculous about the cranes, was in fact something very natural, which of course only He can know who is very well acquainted with the whole arrangement of all creatures.
[10] Indeed, all this is also a wonder, but not such a wonder as blind mankind think, namely a wonder that would be a kind of godly magic, but it is a wonder which is of a very natural nature for the person who is awakened in the spirit.
[11] Now if for instance in an hour a second flight of cranes would follow, you will experience exactly the same phenomenon, but will also better understand it than the first time.
[12] But what is actually the meaning of such a flight of cranes in the script and the language of the inner spiritual correspondence? Who can read the image and put it reliably and truly and understandably into words? Look, this is a totally different question that is certainly more difficult to answer than what you thought that the phenomenon was a real wonder.
[13] These birds inhabit only clean swamps close by the lakes that have clean water. They hardly can be found in stinking and dirty pools. Their food consists of healthy and living little fishes and also other clean worms from the lake.
[14] Well now, the clean water means in the spiritual analogy the clean knowledge of the full truth from the Heavens and which has not been made unclear by anything anymore.
[15] Thus, these animals represent the people who continuously strive for pure knowledge, and saturate their soul with the living clean fishes (the living Word from God) and clean worms (pure knowledge from the nature out of experience).
[16] As a consequence of the fact that the animals, of which we now are talking about, are only concerned about that which is clean, we can see with them a remarkable intelligence and order in everything, what we know from their actions. Where they dwell, they place attentive watchers, which by means of a certain sound have to warn the whole community when an enemy is coming near, who is infallibly detected by the sharp feeling of the guard that was placed, because his outer life atmosphere is far reaching before him. So these animals also precisely perceive when it is time to migrate. And when they start for it, it always happens with the greatest caution and order of which you were all too often able to convince yourselves.
[17] Look, so will also man, and finally a whole big congregation, place everything in the best possible order in all his doings and actions by his pure knowledge, practice the right caution and wisdom and consequently obtain also from that the best and safest results for the whole life and forever.
[18] The flight in a straight line of the cranes means the firm and earnest character to never deviate from the once recognized truth, because by this clear very straight line of the spiritual direction and way, man uses the fastest way to reach the goal that is most germinating for life.
[19] As these birds were continuing their flight, you all have noticed those leaders at the head of the whole long line. Look, also this is the result of the clean food.
[20] Now when the souls of men of a congregation are fed with the pure food of truth, they will soon find without difficulty the most wise ones among them and will give the guidance and the organization into their hands and entrust it to them completely, and these will then also remain their guides and organizers as long as they live on this Earth. And if one of them has crossed over, then he soon is replaced by one of the most worthy from the congregation. The spirit who has crossed over, will also from the beyond watch as a true protective spirit over the congregation that was left behind and will have the most blissful fellowship with them and will influence them instructively, as this was also the case with the first fathers, patriarchs and many prophets. And so, such a good organized congregation will certainly already here on this Earth continue to be in a true heavenly bliss.
[21] Because only man who is in this life already in the full possession of the inner life of light – because he himself clearly perceive God and His very loving and wise purposes with men, and does not see death before him, but only an eternal, most happy life – can also already here on Earth be happy in a very heavenly manner. On the other hand, another person who does not live in such an order of life, will fall from one doubt into another, frightens himself with all kinds of dark thoughts, and in order to chase these away and to anesthetize them he finally throws himself into the arms of all sensual pleasures, and so he becomes instead of a child of Heaven only but a child of Hell and its old judgment.
[22] The 7 guides also represent the complete number of that which is good and true of the Heavens from God, because with that complete number the 7 Spirits of God, of which you already know, are pointed out as working and acting in the right order. Therefore, also for every congregation, 7 heads in the order of the 7 Spirits from God are sufficient, yet in each one of them, those 7 Spirits should be completely working, but nevertheless, in the guidance of the congregation they should represent 1 head spirit.
[23] Such a congregation will then be a perfect being in the eyes of God, as this is the case in the Heavens, which consists of numberless many communities and where every community represents in a certain way a perfect being. The differences between the communities consist only in the fact that in every separate community the numberless different proportions are more or less, in one or the other Spirit of God richer and stronger represented.
[24] From the now indicated proportions, which are more or less reaching to infinity, also the endless many and different forms in the material creation exist, just as from 7 singular basic colors an endless variety of all possible colors, and from the 7 singular tones in the pure music a never ending variety of melodies and delightful harmonies can be created.
[25] And as I have now shown you in a brief outline of the nature and of the flight of the cranes a corresponding spiritual and heavenly image, so there is also a corresponding image of everything what this Earth is offering you to see, hear, smell, taste and feel. But not the body, nor your fearful soul, but only the living and eternal Spirit from God in the heart of your soul can give you the key for that. Therefore, strive for the rebirth of your spirit in your soul, then the whole creation with all its numberless many appearances will be as a big opened book before you, in which you very well will be able to see the foundation of divine love, wisdom and might and be able to understand it very clearly. Have all of you well understood this now?”
[26] All of them said: “Yes, Lord, great God and Master of eternity, because this time You have again spoken very clearly and openly. He who will not become good, enlightened and wise in Your school, will certainly never achieve it anywhere else.”
EPILOGUE:
These completely express my dream
of a wonderful, beautiful, and strong character –
for me, for you, and for all --
one which gives happiness for all,
joy for all,
freedom for all,
and eternal life for all!
May the Father succeed in this His sublime most-wonderful GOAL of all!
His will be done!
Amen.
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