3rd Trinity IV 2022, Enduring Form

November Trinity

Revelation 21:1-27 

And I beheld the events in the spirit out of which a new heaven and a new earth proceeded. For the earlier heaven and the earlier earth were gone, and the billowing ocean is no more. 

Maronite

And further, I saw the Holy City, untouched by the Briearthly, coming forth out of the being of God, descending out of the spiritual worlds: the New Jerusalem. She appeared in her beauty like a bride who has adorned herself for the bridegroom. 

And I heard a powerful voice coming from the throne that said: "Behold the dwelling of God in the midst of humanity. He will indeed dwell in your midst, and the people will be His people.

God himself will be with them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eye. There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain for the old world is gone." 

And He who was seated on the throne said: "Behold: I am creating all anew." 

And He said, "Write, for it is these words that shall make faith and knowledge into true reality." 

And He said to me: "It is accomplished! I AM the Alpha and the Omega, World Beginning and World Goal. To the thirsty, I will give from the springs of the waters of life, outside the workings of destiny, as grace. Whoever overcomes shall inherit all this. 'I will be His God, and to me, He will be like a son.' 

And there came to me one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls filled with the last seven plagues of the world, and he spoke with me and said, "Come, I will show you the eternal Feminine, the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 

But as for the fearful souls, those who have no faith, who pervert the image of the human being, those who spread death around them, who tread impure paths of soul, make use of dark magic forces and serve demonic powers, as well as all frauds—the fiery swamp of the abyss opens for them and flames of sulfur blaze. That is the second death. 

 And he carried me in spirit-form up to a great high mountain, and let me see how the Holy City, Jerusalem, the City of Peace, descended out of the spiritual worlds, coming forth from the being of God, wrapped in the most intimate splendor of the revelation of God. 

Her shining [or, gleaming] is like that of a precious gemstone, like the stone jasper, clear as crystal. 

Her walls are of mighty size and height; she has twelve gates and at the gates stand twelve angels. On the gates are written the names of the twelve sons of Israel: three gates from the East, three gates from the North, three gates from the South, and three gates from the West. 

And the wall of the City rests on twelve sacred foundations, and the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb work in them. 

Ottheinrich Apocalypse

And he who spoke with me carried a golden
measuring rod to measure the City and her gates and her walls. 

And the City is spread out in a square; her length is the same as her width. And he measured the City with the measuring rod. It measured twelve thousand miles; the length and breadth and height were alike. And he measured her walls at one hundred forty-four cubits [ells], the measure of a human, which now the angel was using. 

The covering of her walls was of jasper, and the City herself of purified gold, clear as glass. And the sacred foundations of the walls were adorned with every precious stone: 

the first, a jasper,

the second, a sapphire,

the third, a chalcedony,

the fourth, emerald,

the fifth sardonyx,

the sixth, carnelian,

the seventh, chrysolite,

the eighth, beryl,

the ninth, topaz,

the tenth, chrysoprase

the eleventh, hyacinth,

the twelfth, an amethyst. 

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, and each of the gates made of a single pearl. And the City was of purified gold, like a transparent crystal. 

I did not see a temple in the City, for the Lord God, Ruler of All, is her sanctuary, and the Lamb. 

And the City needs neither sun nor moon, for she shines from within; for the shining revelation of God is streaming brightness in her, and her light is the Lamb. 

And all nations shall walk in her light, and the rulers of the earth will carry their spiritual treasures into her. And her gates will never be closed by day, for there, the night will be no more. 

And all the shining treasures of the revelations of the world, and all the spiritual worth of the nations and all achievements of the soul will be brought into her. 

And nothing can enter that is not spiritualized [or, is not consecrated], nothing that perverts the image of the human, nothing that remains under the power of the Lie, but rather only those who are written into the Book of Life of the Lamb.

3^rd Trinity IV

November 13, 2022

Revelation 21:1–27 

“The wall of the city rests on twelve sacred foundations, and the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb work in them.” Rev. 21:14 

The heavenly Jerusalem, a city of peace, is the future residence of humanity. It rests upon the working of the twelve apostles, on human efforts. Even today, human virtues flowing into and from Christ are creating the basis, the foundation of our future residence. 

Patient self-control, enduring courage, compassionate and courteous unselfishness are some of the virtues that sustain our future. Our efforts in these areas are born out of our love for humanity and for the world of the spirit. In this work toward the future, we join Christ’s apostles, the ones He sends out to do His work. 

In every effort to create virtue, Christ joins His power to ours. We offer Him our best efforts, and however imperfect they may be, Christ adds the power of his strength and endurance to them. Through Him, they are solidified and become enduring foundation stones. 

In consecrating the human being, we are given
the opportunity, week by week, to offer Him our endeavors. In the offering, a fire is enkindled in which human love and divine love intermingle. This love-fire is not destructive; it is creative. The flames of this love give vitality to what we offer. Our offerings of the work of virtue are kiln-fired at the altar to give them strength and holding power so that their goodness endures. They become living gemstones. 

We bring our inner materials to the altar. There we offer them into Christ’s flame of love. Our raw efforts are given a finish and fired, transforming them into an enduring form, into the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem, the city of Peace. 

www.thechristiancommunity.org

 

4th November Trinity 2017, Wounded Divine Human

4th or 5th November Trinity

The end of Revelations 22: 12-21

“Watch, I am coming soon, and I will have my rewards with me so as to give to each person what his deeds amount to. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the goal.”

Blessed are those who cleanse their garments so that they will have power in the realm of the Tree of Life, which overcomes death, and may go through the gates into the Holy City. Outside shall remain those who are bound to low senses, those who serve evil powers, who walk impure paths of soul, who spread death around them, who give themselves up to demonic forces, and who, through their ways and deeds, falsify their true being.

“I, Jesus, sent my angel to report these things to your assembled communities. I AM the root and stock of David, the star who unfolds his brightness in the morning”.

And the Spirit and the Bride, the Holy City, say, “Come!

And may he who hears also say, “Come!” And may the thirsty come, and may everyone who wants it get to drink the Water of Life freely, as grace.

Everyone who hears can find his inmost being strengthened in the prophetic words of this book. Whoever does not yet sense its greatness and truth, God will lead him to full knowledge through the trials of destiny which are written in this book.

And whoever diminishes the words of this prophecy, God will remove from him his share in the Tree of Life that overcomes death, and his share in the Holy City written about in this book.

He who lends these words their power says:

“Yes, I am coming quickly!”

Yea, so be it. Amen:

Come, Jesus our Lord

The grace of the Lord Jesus, be with you all!

4th November Trinity

November 19, 2017

Rev. 22: 12 – 21

Life on earth unfolds itself in cyclic rhythms. In the fall, just where the leaf is attached to the branch, the new buds for next year’s growth are already formed. The new life pushes the old leaves off the branch. They fall to earth to help form the soil. The buds, still tightly closed, over-winter and unfold the following spring. This is a cycle of apparent destruction, but also the expression of an eternal hope. New life forms within the destruction of the old.

Today’s gospel reading from the end of the entire Apocalypse, stresses this same pattern in cosmic time: the destruction of what is no longer capable of life, in service of what is moving into the future.

The picture is given of a crowd of people in white. They are in a monumental realm in the world of spirit, a city, wherein stands a living tree that overcomes the death process. One can imagine this as the World Tree. Some myths picture it with leaves of sun-gold and moon silver, sparkling with star-diamond fruit. In the midst of this radiant tree, we may discern the human form of the wounded Sun-God, he who overcame death, arms outspread in a universal embrace of love.

The Selfless Self, the I AM, through His blood flowing from the tree of the cross,

rid human blood of the excess of selfish human egotism. He resurrected the diamond of Divine Self as pure sacrificial love for all. He invites us to join him in the creation of cosmic fruit.

Just as last year’s leaves fall away, so also must our leaves and layers of egotism be shed. They had their necessary time in human evolution, but now no longer serve. To join Him, we strip ourselves of the negative aspects of having an ego. We work to free ourselves from our enslavement to the lower senses. We struggle to rid ourselves of the desire to exercise power over others through self-assertion. We struggle to rid ourselves of the killing impulses contained in the aggression and hatred in our words and deeds. We turn to the world in interest and love.

This is the work of cleansing the garment of selfhood. This is the work that overcomes the cross of the death-force that we are all obliged to carry. It takes some effort to turn our interest and attention outward, away from ourselves. It takes creativity to put ourselves lovingly in service to others. This creativity around the good is what generates the budding new life for the next cycle. This creativity cleanses the garment of our egohood, and helps the wounded Divine Human create the diamond fruit of the future on the cosmic Tree of Life.