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May 16th, 2002
Received by H.R.
Cuenca, Ecuador.
Hello, my dear friends. I would like to carry on with my speech
on false beliefs and the spreading of Truth.
It is very characteristic of mortals that they always seek the
differences between them, and later venture into endless —
and senseless, as I dare say it — disputes that provoke uneasiness
on both sides. But as a matter of fact, always, in religion as well
as in politics, the parties have much in common. And this common
interest or these common ideas should comprise the basis for a better
understanding.
Applying this principle to our cause, we may say that the central
Truth in Jesus' gospel is the fact that God does exist. Even more,
God is Love and is willing to share this Love with all His children,
that is to say, with all humanity. Jesus also underscored, and is
still underscoring, man's free will. God has established a law,
which He submits Himself to, ensuring the exercise of spirits and
mortals’ free will. As I have said, God respects our decisions,
and unquestionably, we have to assume responsibility for what we
do or omit in thoughts as well as in actual deeds. But the respect
of free will also implies that God does not impose upon us anything
by force, but rather always requires our invitation to be able to
impart what He wants to impart us. Lastly, mortal and spirit life
develops within a framework of laws on the material and spiritual
level.
There is much missing, without doubt, in this short construct,
for example that God’s Love has unique characteristics, which
are very different from purely human love, such as Its unconditional
character. Also, that the Heavenly Father's Love is not a simple
feeling, but rather it is His Substance, or the Essence of Divinity,
that distinguishes itself by attributes, as any substance does,
and what we call "unconditional love" is but one of these
attributes. However, we will continue using this name, because the
human language lacks words that would be better fit to describe
"the indescribable."
If we concentrate now on other religions perhaps it will be best
to limit ourselves now to the Christian denominations which you
will usually be in contact with. We may now start to look for a
common base.
It is not difficult to find it, is it?
- All Christians believe that God exists.
- They also believe that God is good, and when we
say that God is more than good, that He is absolute Love, unconditional
and unlimited, there will be few who will contradict us.
- It is also commonly accepted that man enjoys free
will.
As you see, we have already found a solid foundation for setting
in motion a productive dialogue.
Now, good Christians always struggle to be as Jesus was on earth.
He is their role model, and they think that when they copy his demeanor,
they will do well. This is true. This is why it is worthwhile to
analyze how Jesus imparted his teachings in the first century Palestine.
Did he have an easier life than you do at the present time, when
he started to share his truths with others? I don't think so. He
lived in a world full of superstitions, and probably much more dangerous
world than it is today.
Among those false beliefs that prevailed amongst his own people,
the Jews, we may examine a few examples.
- The Jews believed that the sacrifice of animals
appeased the wrath of God, and actually, the pagans thought the
same of their gods. Now I ask you: Did Jesus attack this belief
one single time? The answer is, indeed, no. Categorically, the
Master never attacked the rites and deeply ingrained ceremonies.
Can you imagine why he did not? Would it have been useful for
his mission to condemn rites that did not have any importance
for him, and which did not just represent a symbolism for others,
but were a vital part of their religious life? Jesus sought dialogue
and not confrontation. An attack against these formalities would
have been considered a serious insult, even a blasphemy, and under
such circumstances any dialogue ends, doesn’t it?
- Another example is Sabbath observance. Is it indispensable
to reserve a specific day for God? It is not, rather, that we
should reserve every day for Him? However, for the Jews it was
and still is of extreme importance. Of course, the Master was
accused on several occasions of having "transgressed"
the Sabbath law, but this was not true and formed only part of
a strategy of slander or was the result of the incomprehension
of the very religious principles on the part of certain self-declared
religious teachers.
- In addition, we could mention the rules on pure
and impure food, circumcision, Jewish feasts, etc.
Jesus was born a Jew and he lived as a Jew. As he himself declares,
he had not come to establish a new religion or a new church —
forgive me the anachronism — his teachings were fully compatible
with Judaism, and they are compatible with present-day Christianity.
The question, then, is: What did Jesus teach?
First, he preached the existence of a personal God, whom he called
"Father," something very revolutionary at that time. Then,
he taught that the Father was unconditional Love, and that He was
desirous of sharing that Love with His beloved children. In a typical
example, Jesus said:
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“Some of you are fathers, and if
your son asks you for some fish, would you give him a snake
instead, or if he asks you for an egg, would you make him
a present of a scorpion? So, if you, for all your evil, know
how to give good things to your children, how much more likely
is it that your Heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him!”
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However, Jesus' teaching went beyond this. He explained to his
listeners that in order to be able to receive the Father's Love,
it was necessary to ask for it. Because the Father always respects
the free will of His children, waiting for their invitation to grant
His blessings and benefits. And the way to communicate with the
Father, for simply being in communion with Him, or for asking His
advice and help, is prayer. Jesus even delivered a prayer, a clear
indication that this was a central part of his "educational
campaign." In addition, there are several quotations in the
Bible, where one may readily see that Jesus highlighted the immense
importance of prayer, that is to say, the quest for God.
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“Set your heart first on His kingdom and His goodness,
and all these things will come to you as a matter of course.”
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
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And these, my dear brothers, are the fundamental principles, how
mortals and spirits may find their way to God.
I am aware that there are many beliefs in the churches that do
not correspond to the truth. But of course, it is not the correct
procedure, neither is it an effective course of action, to attack
what people so much appreciate and hold in esteem as central points
of their religious life. Jesus did not do this, why do you want
to do it?
A long time ago, Jesus explained the following
in a message:
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“As you are aware, there will be many people who will
continue to believe that I walked upon the water because I
was a “divine man”, because I was able to perform
other feats which defied reason, and I would suggest that
you do not put too much time or energy into trying to convince
them otherwise, but instead emphasize the Divine Love, as
you see that we do; for It is what will save their souls.
If they believe I walked upon the water or that I am God,
this is an error in judgment or a misunderstanding about the
facts of what is the truth, but will not interfere with the
reception of the saving Love, when It is prayed for with sincerity
and humility. There are many erroneous conceptions which are
in the minds of millions of people throughout the world. Some
of these are more detrimental to the acceptance of truth than
others, but God's Love and Mercy in a person's soul will eventually
allow the person to erase all erroneous concepts, and they
will not even be aware of when these “ideas” (which
they had held so dear and held onto so tenaciously) had left
them, leaving only clear understanding of truth to guide them
on and upward in their spiritual development.
But here I would like to add that, without a sincere and
prolonged desire for truth from a humble soul, the mind can
stay in ascendancy, and erroneous beliefs will cling to the
mind into the 6th sphere, and will never leave as long as
the person wants to believe in them. So, without the power
of God's Love in a soul, and the power of truth residing there,
the mind can remain in ascendancy, and the truth will be overridden
by free will.”
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Do you see what he wrote here?
If you really have faith in Divine Love, the very Substance of
God, to take possession of that soul which goes to the Father by
means of its longings, and that with the reception of this Love
also faith, knowledge and thirst for more always come to it, then
the central point of your activity should focus on the knowledge
that God wants to share His Love with all people, and on prayer.
You have to teach them how to pray, because there it is, where the
greatest problem lies: people in general believe that praying is
synonymous with reciting pre-fabricated words. People have to understand
that this is not so, rather that prayer is conversation with God,
from soul to Soul, prayer is the burning desire of the soul to be
with God and to receive His answer, as many people only experience
it in situations of extreme despair. But it is a desire that one
may cultivate, an internal pressure of love, and a spiritual necessity.
When you have managed that people understand this, then God’s
Love will take care of all the rest. Remember, “set your heart
first on His kingdom and His goodness, and all these things will
come to you as a matter of course.” All will come as a consequence
of this wonderful Love in our soul, also knowledge.
Does it really matter if somebody believes in the trinity? Does
it really matter if somebody believes in Jesus' virgin birth? Does
it really matter if somebody believes that Jesus had brothers or
did not have siblings? Does it really matter even if somebody believes
that Jesus is God?
All, despite their beliefs, will have the opportunity of receiving
the Love of God, and with It, wisdom and knowledge. It is not so
difficult to advance ever more in the development of our souls,
what is truly difficult is to get this process started, you know
this, and in this you have to offer a helping hand. This is your
task. All the other discussions are useless and counterproductive.
At times, there are sentences such as "truth and untruth cannot
compromise," which motivate these undesirable conflicts. The
sentence is correct, because at long last, truth will prevail, and
untruth will disappear. But on earth as well as in the spiritual
spheres of the spirit world, truth and falsehood live side by side
in an apparent compromise. I say apparent, because this coexistence
is not definitive and will be resolved, as all that which engenders
tensions will be resolved. God’s world does not admit of tensions,
and freedom from tensions is one of the definitions of happiness.
God respects our free will and its manifestations, such as wrong
opinions. He respects them and waits patiently, until man becomes
aware and rectifies. God offers His Love and His help, and with
supreme patience accepts rejection, saying: “I honor your will
of not listening to me. I only tell you that I will always wait
for you. When you need me, call me, and I will be there." God
knows no pride, He only knows Love.
So, dear brothers, let us learn to respect as God respects. Let
us learn to love in spite of rejection, let us learn to always be
ready to help and never feel hurt. But in the first place, let us
learn that we cannot indoctrinate. We can only show the way, we
can only teach how to pray. However, to walk and to pray, this is
what all have to do for themselves, because it is a manifestation
of their free will, the principle consecrated by God.
I consider that the moment has come for saying goodbye. It has
been a long message, and I hope that it may help you as guidance
in your actions and to constrain the fervent desire of some for
attacking with guns and cannons anything they consider false beliefs.
This is not the way. Jesus' message is Love, and Jesus' method is
Love. If the Master is your ideal, then go and do the same. I have
more to tell you on the subject, but this we will postpone until
our next meeting.
God bless you all.
Your brother and guide in the Love of God,
Judas
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