The harvest feast drew near; the twelve went to Jerusalem, but Jesus did not go with them; he tarried in Capernaum. Among the multitudes that followed him were many who went not up to the feast; they were not Jews. And Jesus called three-score-and-ten of these disciples unto him and said, The kingdom of the Christ is not for Jews alone; it is for every man. Lo, I have chosen twelve to preach the gospel, first unto the Jews; and they are Jews. Twelve is the number of the Jew and seven the number of the all, including every man. God is the ten, the holy Jod. When God and man are multiplied we have three-score-and-ten, the number of the brotherhood of man. (Aquarian Gospel 133:1-7)
Here we see that there is a sacred Christian numerology and may assume that there is sacred measurement, as well. Western and Eastern Christians differ somewhat in those things. For example, in the East numbers that relate to years in Jesus’ life or events from his life are considered sacred, but I have not found this to be so in the West even among esoteric Christians. Altars in the East are traditionally thirty-eight-inch cubes. These are considered to be formed of four nineteen-inch cubes. This is based on the fact that there are nineteen possible dates for Pascha (Easter). The four cubes represent the four grosser elements, excluding ether. In the West, on the other hand, there is no special measurement for the width or depth of an altar, but forty inches is by far the most usual height, and the number forty occurs very many times in the Bible.
And now I send you forth by twos and twos; not to the Jews alone, but unto every nation under heaven; to Greek and to Assyrian; to the Samaritan; to those beyond the seas; to every man. You need not go afar, for men of every land are here and in Samaria. Arise and go your way; but go in faith; and take no gold nor silver in your purse; no extra coat or shoes. Go in the sacred name; trust God and you will never come to want. And let this be your salutation everywhere, Peace be to all; good will to all. And if the son of peace be in the house, the door will open wide and you will enter in; and then the holy peace will rest upon that house. (Aquarian Gospel 133:8-13)
Go in the sacred name; trust God and you will never come to want. Those who invoke the Holy Name of God (Om) with faith will always come through ultimately, even if there are tests and setbacks along the way.
And let this be your salutation everywhere, Peace be to all; good will to all. And if the son of peace be in the house, the door will open wide and you will enter in; and then the holy peace will rest upon that house. This makes me think of the number of times I have seen preachers in church and on street corners shouting and threatening judgment on their hearers. But Jesus’ message is peace and good will to all. Respect for all their hearers and not aggressiveness is required of those who would truly represent him.
There is no place for coercion in Christ’s Gospel, for the exercise of free (not frightened, bamboozled or brainwashed) will is necessary every step of the way. If someone has not awakened to the need for spiritual life, they should be blessed, treated kindly and allowed to go on their way. We all passed through that condition in the past and they will do so in the future. Literally it is All In Good Time: in God’s Time.
Those who are able to receive the wisdom of God will do so. Those who do not, are not ready, and it is unjust to demand anything of them. Freedom is an essential in spiritual life.
The seventy in twos went forth; they went into Samaria, and as they went they said, Peace be to all; good will to all! Repent and turn from sin, and set your house in order, for a son of man who bears the image of the Christ, will come, and you may see his face. They entered every village of Samaria; they preached in Tyre and in Sidon by the sea. Some went to Crete, and others into Greece, and others went to Gilead and taught. (Aquarian Gospel 133:14-16)
The seventy in twos went forth. This is a matter of practical wisdom. If no one accepts their message at least one person is there to support them, and if any problems develop are there to help them.
Repent and turn from sin, and set your house in order, for a son of man who bears the image of the Christ, will come, and you may see his face. This is of extraordinary importance for it shows the basis for the observance of all the rules of spiritual life: the purification needed for refinement of the aspirant’s bodies so he can directly experience truth for himself. If it takes one to know one, then it takes one to recognize a saint or avatar. Anyone who is attracted to a holy person is themselves holy, otherwise there would be no attraction. It is a matter of magnetism, and magnetism is a matter of sympathetic vibration. “Hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5) presupposes an affinity (even an identity) of nature with the divine messenger.
And Jesus, all alone, went to the feast by the Samaria way; and as he went through Sychar on the way, the lepers saw him and a company of ten called from afar and said, Lord Jesus, stay and speak the Word for us that we may be made clean. And Jesus said, Go forth and show yourselves unto the priests. They went, and as they went their leprosy was healed. One of the ten, a native of Samaria, returned to thank the master and to praise the Lord. And Jesus said to him, Lo, ten were cleansed; where are the nine? Arise, and go your way; your faith has made you whole. You have revealed your heart and shown that you are worthy of the power; behold the nine will find again their leprous hands and feet. (Aquarian Gospel 133:17-22)
Virtue is its own reward in a manner not usually comprehended by people. Gratitude is not just a noble response, it is a locking in of benefit received, without which the benefit will be eventually lost. It is totally pragmatic, though certainly virtuous. For Jesus was not censuring or cursing the ungrateful lepers when he said: “The nine will find again their leprous hands and feet.” He is just stating a simple law of the universe, of relative existence itself.
So those who seek healing or any other benefit must cultivate the virtue of gratitude if they wish to receive and retain what they desire.
And Jesus went his way, and while the feast was on he came into Jerusalem, and went into the temple courts. And he rebuked the scribes and Pharisees, the priests and doctors of the law for their hypocrisy and selfishness. The common people were amazed; they said, From whence has come the wisdom of this man? he speaks as speaks a sage. And Jesus said, I did not learn the wisdom of the Holy One within the schools of men; my teaching is not mine; I speak the words of him who sent me here to do his will. If any man would know whereof I speak, lo, he must do the will of God. No man can know except he enters into life and does the will of God. Now, Moses gave the law; but none of you have kept the law; how can you judge the worthiness of any man? Once in these courts I healed a man upon a Sabbath day, and in a rage you sought to take my life; and now because I tell the truth you seek again to take my life. A scribe spoke out and said, You foolish man, you are obsessed; who wants to take your life? The common people said, Is this not Jesus whom the rulers long have sought to kill? and now he comes and teaches in the temple courts. If he is guilty of such monstrous crimes, why do they not take him away in chains? And Jesus said, You all know me, and know from whence I came; but you know not the God who sent me here, whose words I speak. (Aquarian Gospel 133:23-33)
I did not learn the wisdom of the Holy One within the schools of men; my teaching is not mine; I speak the words of him who sent me here to do his will. And this would not be possible if I were not like him in nature, having uncovered that divine essence within myself by inner evolution of consciousness.
If any man would know whereof I speak, lo, he must do the will of God. No man can know except he enters into life and does the will of God. The holy life spoken of by Buddha so often is absolutely necessary. Such a life is a perfect extension of our own holiness and perfection. The great masters have found liberation through practical means and have passed them on to us. If we do not apply them as they did, nothing of value will result. It is all in our hands.
You all know me, and know from whence I came; but you know not the God who sent me here, whose words I speak. But to truly follow Jesus we must start refining and elevating our consciousness so we, too, can know the Father. For Jesus cannot convey the truth of the Father by words or emotions. We must gain direct experience of God ourselves. Only by discovering our own Christhood will we recognize, know and follow the Christ in any other great soul (mahatma).
The multitudes again stood forth in his defense; they said, if this is not the Christ whom God has promised to reveal to men, will he do greater works when he shall come than does this man? The Pharisees and ruling priests were angered and they sent their officers to take him e’er he went away. The officers were filled with fear; they seized him not. And Jesus said, lo, I am here but for a little time and then I go my way to him who sent me here to do his will. You seek me now and you can find me now; the time will come when you will seek and will not find, for where I go you cannot come. The people said, Where will he go that men can find him not? Will he go forth to Greece and teach the Greeks? or will he go to Egypt or Assyria to teach? But Jesus answered not; unnoticed by the multitudes he left the temple courts and went his way. (Aquarian Gospel 133:34-38)
So it always is.
Read the next section in the Aquarian Gospel for Yogis