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== Jesus’ resurrection == | == Jesus’ resurrection == | ||
The first biblical records of | The first biblical records of Jesus’ use of the flame of resurrection to restore life to the physical body were the raising of the widow’s son and Jairus’ daughter. Subsequently, with the raising of Lazarus<ref>Luke 7:12–16; 8:49–56; John 11:1–44.</ref> and ultimately with his own resurrection, Jesus proved for all time the superiority of divine science over the laws of death and decay. | ||
During the three-day initiatic period following his crucifixion, Jesus drew the resurrection flame into his four lower bodies, where it quickened the action of the threefold flame of life that forms the nucleus of every cell. The resuscitation of his physical body was made possible by the overpowering radiance of his eternally conscious, immortal spirit, which was transferred to his form through the impelling currents of the resurrection flame. | During the three-day initiatic period following his crucifixion, Jesus drew the resurrection flame into his four lower bodies, where it quickened the action of the threefold flame of life that forms the nucleus of every cell. The resuscitation of his physical body was made possible by the overpowering radiance of his eternally conscious, immortal spirit, which was transferred to his form through the impelling currents of the resurrection flame. | ||
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As Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, the [[angel]]s of Alpha and Omega stood at the head and the feet. Jesus came in his [[etheric body]] and his [[Christ Self]]. He stood before his physical body. He commanded the energies to reenter the body. He called forth the threefold flame to reignite within the physical temple to start the beating of the heart once again. | As Jesus’ body lay in the tomb, the [[angel]]s of Alpha and Omega stood at the head and the feet. Jesus came in his [[etheric body]] and his [[Christ Self]]. He stood before his physical body. He commanded the energies to reenter the body. He called forth the threefold flame to reignite within the physical temple to start the beating of the heart once again. | ||
The flame of life, magnified by the Holy Spirit and the ministering angelic hosts, was thus breathed into his form | The flame of life, magnified by the Holy Spirit and the ministering angelic hosts, was thus breathed into his form. The ritual of the resurrection, reenacted in the nature kingdom each spring, was fulfilled in the Son of God on behalf of the Son of man on that first Easter. | ||
For a prescribed period of forty days following his resurrection, Jesus instructed his disciples in | For a prescribed period of forty days following his resurrection, Jesus instructed his disciples in cosmic law. At the same time, sustaining the momentum of the resurrection flame within his being, he was able to anchor the hope of the resurrection in the four lower bodies of the planet and in the evolving consciousness of humanity. | ||
== Gnostic teachings == | |||
The resurrection as an essential element in Gnostic theology. But like other Gnostic beliefs, it developed along different lines than the evolving orthodox view of the early Church. To the Gnostics, the resurrection was not just the unique event of Jesus arising from the dead on Easter morning: it became the springboard for understanding the process of their own personal salvation. | |||
The starting point in a study of the resurrection in Gnosticism is an understanding of what they called the Call. This is based on the fundamental Gnostic belief that a spark of light, identical in nature with God, which we call the threefold flame, resides within man, and the soul, embroiled in this world and unaware of its divine nature, must be awakened from its state of slumber or drunkenness. | |||
This Gnostic theme is also found in the New Testament Epistle to the Ephesians by the apostle Paul,<ref>Some of the Gnostics revered Paul as a Gnostic initiate of Jesus Christ. They taught that it was Paul who had handed down to them the secret teachings and inner mysteries he had learned from Jesus.</ref> where he addresses the “saints which are at Ephesus” and “the faithful in Christ” with the words: “Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”<ref>Eph 5:14.</ref> This “rising from the dead,” or “resurrection,” to which the soul is being summoned had a dual meaning for the Gnostics. | |||
First, the Gnostics believed that resurrection occurred at death when the soul, released from the body, begins the ascent back to its heavenly home, clothed in a transformed “spiritual” body. This resurrection could only occur if that one had walked in holiness, in light, and was weaving the wedding garment, the deathless solar body. | |||
The second instance of the resurrection is that of the daily rebirth and renewal, as when Paul writes to the Colossians: “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge.”<ref>Col. 3:9, 10.</ref> | |||
Generally speaking, the Gnostics did not share the orthodox belief in the resurrection of the flesh because they believed that the body is destined to perish. This is the teaching of the ascended masters and it is the lost teaching of Jesus Christ. The Gnostics refuted the literalists of their day. They taught there is no resurrection of the flesh but only of the soul, and in support of this belief they cited Paul’s teaching that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”<ref>I Cor. 15:50.</ref> | |||
Passages from Gnostic scriptures point to the all-important aspect of the resurrection missing from orthodox theology: that it was an experience to be realized in the here and now. Contrary to the orthodox view—then and now—of the resurrection, the Gnostics did not limit the resurrection to a one-time event that took place on Easter morning to Jesus and would occur at some future date at the end of the world for all believers all at once. | |||
For the Gnostic, the resurrection is the glorious liberation of the soul from a state of forgetfulness and ignorance to self-knowledge in God—gnosis today. It is the resuscitation of the divine spark of light, or spirit, within man, whereby that spirit can and does increase. It is the initiation of spiritual self-transformation and self-transcendence. | |||
== Your resurrection == | == Your resurrection == | ||
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{{PUC}}, chapter 3. | {{PUC}}, chapter 3. | ||
Lecture by Elizabeth Clare Prophet, April 14, 1987, “Christ’s Resurrection in You.” Available from [http://www.ascendedmasterlibrary.org/ Ascended Master Library]. | |||
== Sources == | == Sources == | ||
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{{RML}}, pp. 170–71, 316. | {{RML}}, pp. 170–71, 316. | ||
Lecture by Elizabeth Clare Prophet, April 14, 1987. | |||
<references /> | <references /> |