Revelation to Zacharias
“Near Hebron in the hills of Judah, Zacharias and Elizabeth abode. They were devout and just, and every day they read the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms which told of one to come, strong to redeem; and they were waiting for the king.
“Now, Zacharias was a priest, and in his turn he led the temple service in Jerusalem. It came to pass as Zacharias stood before the Lord and burned the incense in the Holy Place, that Gabriel came and stood before his face. And Zacharias was afraid; he thought that some great evil was about to come upon the Jews.
“But Gabriel said, O man of God, fear not; I bring to you and all the world, a message of good will, and peace on earth. Behold, the Prince of Peace, the king you seek, will quickly come.
“Your wife will bear to you a son, a holy son, of whom the prophet wrote, Behold, I send Elijah unto you again before the coming of the Lord; and he will level down the hills and fill the valleys up, and pave the way for him who shall redeem.
“From the beginning of the age your son has borne the name of John, the mercy of the Lord; his name is John. He will be honored in the sight of God, and he will drink no wine, and from his birth he will be filled with Holy Breath” (Aquarian Gospel 2:1-11).
Elijah the prophet is returning to earth to prepare the way of his former disciple Elisha who, about to be born as Jesus, has become the Christ–the Messiah. How will he prepare? “He will level down the hills and fill the valleys up, and pave the way for him who shall redeem.” These three actions are spiritual symbols. Leveling down the hills is removing all that is unnecessary in our lives, and filling up the valleys is supplying all that is lacking to us. Paving the way is making the process of ascent to Christhood as smooth, straight, and clear as possible. All in all, Gabriel is talking about a complete overhaul of our life that is required for intelligent and effective spiritual endeavor.
The holy prophet’s name, Yohanan, meant “God has been gracious.”
To prepare himself to herald the Messiah, John had to be pure in every way, including physically. Therefore he never ate meat or drank wine. This is not much of a surprise because Essenes never did. Because of his past as the holy Elijah who never died but was translated into heaven (II Kings 2:11), he was filled with the Holy Spirit even in the womb.
Revelation to Elizabeth
“And Gabriel stood before Elizabeth as she was in the silence of her home, and told her all the words that he had said to Zacharias in Jerusalem. When he had done the service of his course, the priest went home, and with Elizabeth rejoiced” (Aquarian Gospel 2:12, 13).
Revelation to Mary
“Five months passed by and Gabriel came to Mary in her home in Nazareth and said, Hail Mary, hail! Once blessed in the name of God; twice blessed in the name of Holy Breath; thrice blessed in the name of Christ; for you are worthy, and will bear a son who shall be called Immanuel. His name is Jesus, for he saves his people from their sins” (Aquarian Gospel 2:14-16).
The Archangel of the Lord salutes Mary not once but twice, for she is doubly worthy of respect. More than that she is thrice blessed in the Name of God.
God is not an object that can be labelled or named. Thus all “names” of God are really descriptive titles expressing the divine attributes. But there is more. “Name” means perception. We see something and then we “name” it. So in the case of God “name” also means the state of God-awareness. God is Triune: Father, Mother (Holy Breath), and Son (Christ). The Father is Transcendental Divine Consciousness, the Son is Immanent Divine Consciousness, and the Mother is Divine Power (which is essentially consciousness). To be blessed in the “name” of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit means to be in possession of the fullness of those modes of God Consciousness. To no longer be a human, but a god. This was the status of Mary.
In the Gospel of Saint Luke the word “blessed” used by Gabriel is translated from the Greek word eulogeo, which means to be praised: glorified. Thus Saint Gabriel is saying that the Holy Trinity Itself praises Mary. Since God praises her, so also will the godly. Eulogeo comes from two roots, eu and logos, that mean to call something or someone good. At the time of Jesus this meant to declare someone to possess the goodness of God. They also mean to declare something well done. In short, Gabriel is telling Mary that she is good in the sight of God and declared to be pleasing to God.
This is no simple thing. Only a supremely evolved being could give birth to the Christ–in fact would have to virtually be a Christ herself. We know this from the fact that it was Mary and not Joseph or anyone else that was designated to be the spiritual teacher of Jesus. In the seventh chapter of the Aquarian Gospel we find her commission stated by the Essene master Elihu. Only a great soul could undertake this task. Saint John the Baptist prepared the way of Jesus, but Mary prepared Jesus Himself. The very nature of Jesus glorifies Mary. His title, Immanuel, means “God with us”–the Presence of the Divine. Another meaning of Immanuel is Bringing to God, or even just Unto God. How great is Jesus; and therefore how great is His mother.
His name is Jesus, for he saves his people from their sins. Very few Christians know that “Jesus” is a Hellenized (Greek) version of the Old Testament name Joshua, and they are often shocked to hear of someone–especially in Spanish-speaking countries–being named Jesus (Joshua). But so it is. The actual name is Yehoshua (in Aramaic: Yeshua). It means “God will save.” It can, a bit obliquely, be translated “Divine Deliverer.” Yasha, its Hebrew root, means to open wide or set free. “Sins” are the bonds of evil karmas and ignorance that constrict our lives and darken our consciousness. But Jesus opens our conscious and expands it, breaking all those bonds and thereby setting us free. Jesus is Liberator in the fullest sense. This makes Him Savior.
Rejoicing
“When Joseph’s daily task was done he came, and Mary told him all the words that Gabriel spoke to her, and they rejoiced; for they believed that he, the man of God, had spoken words of truth. And Mary went with haste to tell Elizabeth about the promises of Gabriel; together they rejoiced. And in the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth did Mary tarry ninety days; then she returned to Nazareth” (Aquarian Gospel 2:17-19).
The birth of John the Baptist
“To Zacharias and Elizabeth a son was born, and Zacharias said, Most blessed be the name of God, for he has opened up the fount of blessings for his people, Israel. His promises are verified; for he has brought to pass the words which holy prophets spoke in olden times.
“And Zacharias looked upon infant John, and said, You shall be called the prophet of the Holy One; and you will go before his face, and will prepare his way. And you will give a knowledge of salvation unto Israel; and you will preach the gospel of repentance and the blotting out of sins. Behold, for soon the Day Star from on high will visit us, to light the way for those who sit within the darkness of the shadow-land, and guide our feet unto the ways of peace” (Aquarian Gospel 2:20-26).
Through the prophet Malachi nearly five centuries before the birth of Jesus God said: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:1). Isaiah spoke in more detail about the Baptist seven centuries before his birth, saying:
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it” (Isaiah 40:1-5).
Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis: Birth of Jesus