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October 11th, 1916
Received by James Padgett
Washington D.C.
I am here, Elias. (Elijah, Prophet to the Hebrews.) I will write
a short message tonight as I promised.
While on earth I was a prophet to the Hebrews and tried to warn
them that God was not pleased with the manner in which they were
living, especially in not obeying the commandments as to their worship
and the individual lives they were leading. I was not a man who
knew the attributes of God as I now know them, for then, to me,
He was more a God of wrath and jealousy than of love and mercy,
and the most of my teachings were to warn the Hebrews of the wrath
that would certainly fall upon them unless they were more obedient
and followed the laws of Moses.
I now know that the wrath of God is not a thing to be feared, and
that His wrath is not a thing of reality. That when men disobey
His laws and neglect to worship Him in truth and in spirit, His
feeling towards them is one more of pity and sorrow than of wrath,
and that instead of punishment He extends to them His Mercy and
Love.
In my time the God of Love was not known to the people in any practical
way although He was written of as a God of Love, and the people
were not looking so much for love as the fearing His wrath; and
it was only by threatening them with His wrath could they be made
to realize that they were disobedient and aliens from Him.
They had not that soul development that comes with love, and their
aspirations were almost wholly for the possession of the things
of life and for a happiness that such possession could give to them,
as they thought. They expected a Kingdom of God on earth and such
Kingdom was to be one that should rule and govern the earthly affairs
of men. Of course they believed that when such Kingdom should be
established, sin and the troubles of life would be eradicated, and
all the world would be subject to the dominion of such Kingdom.
Their hopes and aspirations were in the nature of national hopes
and aspirations and not in those of the individual. The individual
was swallowed up in the nation and happiness was to be a national
one instead of an individual one, except so far as the national
happiness might be reflected upon and partaken of by the individuals.
I, myself, knew nothing of the Divine Love, and could not possibly
have known, for then it was not open to man's seeking, as it had
not been restored by the Father. But I knew of a higher development
of the natural love than did most of the people, and realized what
increased happiness such development would give to the individual
who might possess it. I also knew that prosperity and power of the
nation, as such, would not bring the happiness of love, but only
the pleasures and satisfaction which increased possessions would
naturally create.
The Jews were a carnally minded race and the development of the
spiritual side of their natures was very slight. Their acquisitiveness
was large both as individuals and as a nation, and when they were
prosperous they lost their sense of dependence on God, and resorted
to those practices and that manner of living that would enable them,
as they thought, to get the most enjoyment out of their possessions.
The future, that is the future after death, did not enter very much
into their consideration of existence, and they lived emphatically
for the present. If you will read the Biblical history of those
times you will find that most of the warnings of the prophets came
to them when they as a nation were most prosperous, and, as they
thought, independent of God, or at least, of not being compelled
to call upon Him for help and succor.
What I have said showed the characteristics of the Jews, and they
still have these characteristics although since the coming of Christ
and the teachings of his doctrines that have become so widely known,
the spirituality of the Jews have been increased and broadened.
At times they would heed my warnings and at other times they would
not. Sometimes they considered me as a friend, and sometimes as
an enemy.
Well, I was psychic and frequently heard voices of instruction
and admonition from the unseen world, and, as was our knowledge
in those days, supposed that such voices was the voice of God, and
so proclaimed to the people. But now I know that such voices were
those of spirits that were trying to help the people, and bring
them to a realization of the moral truths which Moses had taught.
When Jesus was born into the flesh, there came with him a rebestowal
of the Divine Love, and through his teachings that fact became known
to men. We who were in the higher spirit spheres also came to know
of that gift, and while none of us received it to the degree that
Jesus did, yet we received it and became pure and holy spirits,
free from sin and error, and partakers of the Divine Essence of
the Father and possessors of immortality.
And so, at the time of the transfiguration on the mount, some of
us possessed that Love to such a degree that our appearances were
shining and bright, as described in the Bible. But Jesus was brighter
than Moses or myself, for he had more of this Divine Love in his
soul and could manifest it to the wonderful degree that he did,
notwithstanding his physical body.
Our appearance and his appearance on the mount were to show to
the mortals and spirits that the Divine Love had been rebestowed
and received by both mortals and spirits, and this was the cause
of our meeting. And while accounts of that event have been disseminated
in the mortal world ever since its occurrence, so also, had that
fact became known in portions of the spirit world, and many spirits
as well as mortals, have sought for and found that love to their
eternal happiness.
Its existence was a fact then and it is a fact now, and the Love
is open to all mankind as well as spirits.The voice that the apostles
heard proclaiming that Jesus was the well beloved son was not the
voice of God, but that of one of the Divine spirits whose mission
it was to make the proclamation.This incident was not a myth but
an actual fact that formed a part of the Plan of the Father to assure
man of his salvation.
I will not write more now, but will come later and write you further
on this subject of the rebestowal of the love and of my experience
in receiving it. So with my love and blessings, I will say good
night.
Your brother in Christ,
Elias
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