Joseph of Arimathea

I AM HERE. Joseph of Arimathea.
 
I desire merely to write a few lines to let you know that I really did exist as a mortal, and that I am the same man who laid the body of Jesus in the tomb where never before had any body been laid. 

I was with him at his death, and I was with his body when it was laid in the tomb and sealed, and I know and testify that no man or men or society of men, as it has been said, stole his body from the tomb. 

His body was entombed as was the custom of my time, and he was wrapped in cerements and fitted for the long sleep in the tomb, as we supposed. 

While I was not a full Christian, yet his doctrines appealed to me as containing the truth, having about them a living inspiration, which I did not find in the teachings of the Jewish theology, for l was a Pharisee.

I never thought that his death was justifiable or approved it, but I was not able to prevent it; and feeling that a great crime had been committed by the people of whom I was one, I tried to make small atonement for the great crime by giving him burial in my new tomb. 

Of course, I did not believe that he would rise again in the way that he had made known to some of his disciples, and when we buried him, I only thought that that tomb would be his sepulchre until nature had destroyed the body as it had done in the cases of all others who had been entombed. 

As you may realize, I was interested in the proceedings taken by the Jewish leaders in their efforts to prove that he, Jesus, would not arise from the tomb on the third day, and I kept watch as well as did the soldiers, and I can testify that no mortal ever removed the stones from the mouth of the tomb. 

I was there when the angel came and the soldiers were put in the sleep that the Bible speaks of, and I Joseph say this, knowing that it may not be believed and the Bible makes no mention of it, that I saw the stones rolled away and the shining one standing guard at the entrance of the tomb.

I was frightened and I left the place, and was so overcome that I did not return there until the early morning, and then I saw Mary and heard her inquiring for the whereabouts of her beloved Master, and more wonderful, I saw the man of whom she inquired suddenly reveal himself to her, and I can testify also, that it was the same Jesus whom I had helped lay his body in my tomb. 

He was not of flesh and blood, as they say, for he suddenly appeared, and his appearance was not the same as that of the Jesus whose body had been entombed; but when he revealed himself to Mary, there was the same countenance and the same wonderful eyes of love that I was familiar with, and the same voice of love and affection. I know this and I want to tell the world that it is true. 

Before Peter came, I went into the tomb, and it was empty and when Peter came I was with him in the tomb and saw his astonishment, and heard his words of wonder and amazement, for notwithstanding what the Master had told him prior to the crucifixion, he did not believe or comprehend, and he was astonished and bewildered as were all of us.
Jesus of Nazareth arose from that tomb, and his fleshly body was de-materialized. 

As to his disappearance, I could not then explain, as could none who saw him after he had arisen, but now I know that because of his great psychic powers, as you would call them, he caused the disintegration of that body into its elements, as can be done now by many spirits who have that power. 

Yes, Jesus arose from the tomb, but not from the dead, for he never died, as you will never die, only the physical vestment that enveloped his soul. 

I am now in the Celestial Heaven and am with him a great deal, and know that he is the greatest and most wonderful of all the spirits in the Celestial Spheres, and the nearest to the fountainhead of God's Love. He is truly His best beloved Son. 

I also want to say that he writes to you his messages of truth, and was with you to-night for a short time. Listen to him and know that you have in him a friend who is closer than a brother, or father or mother. 

My brother, I will stop now, and in leaving, say, that you have my love and blessings.

Your brother in Christ,

JOSEPH.

Elameros, a Greek who lived on earth at the time of Jesus

I am here. Elameros.

I am a Greek, or rather the spirit of a mortal who was a Greek, and I lived in the days when Jesus walked the hills and plains of Palestine, teaching his new doctrines of the Divine Love and the Kingdom of Heaven.

I was not a follower of him or a believer in his teachings, for I was a disciple of Plato and Socrates, and was satisfied of the truth of their philosophy and did not believe that there were other truths than what it contained.

I was a traveler, and at times visited Palestine, and on several occasions heard Jesus teaching the multitudes of people who seemed to be so interested in his discourses.

I must confess that I was startled at times by his doctrines, and recognized that while they treated of subjects similar to those contained in my philosophy, yet they were different, and gave to these subjects a new and spiritual meaning that I had never before thought of.

I could see that he was not a student of philosophy, or yet, an educated man, as we understood men to be educated, yet he dealt with these questions in such an enlightening and authoritative way that caused me to wonder at the source of his information; and when, at times, he said that he was not speaking of his own knowledge, but that his Father was speaking through him, I was almost ready to believe that such was the fact.

You must remember that I believed in God and in the lesser gods or demons who executed His will, and when Jesus spoke of his Father, meaning God, it was not unnatural for me, in a way, to accept what he declared.

And then I recollect, that I was impressed with the fact that he was not speaking from a mind that had been developed by the study of the philosophies, but from a mind that seemed to have in it that which had been lodged there by some great outside intelligence. 

He spoke, as he said, with knowledge, and speculations seemed to be no part of his conclusions or the cause of any of his deductions.

Notwithstanding these impressions on me, I was too wise, in my own conceit that my philosophy was the only true one, and that my knowledge of it was without defect, to attempt to give serious consideration to what I had heard Jesus say, and consequently, let the truths which he uttered pass from me.

I saw and heard him teach only a few times, and then I heard of his crucifixion and death as a malefactor, and forgot about him.

When next I saw him, it was in the spirit world and this continued after I became a spirit; and then he was teaching the same doctrines that I had heard him teach on earth; but he was a wonderfully bright and glorious spirit.

I don't think that I can write more tonight. I will come again.

Your brother in Christ,
 Elameros

In the Garden at Gethsemane

I am here, Jesus:

I am here tonight to continue my messages regarding the truths of the New Testament which is so sadly in need of a purge of the erroneous statements and beliefs found therein, and so I shall not write you on the subject of reincarnation tonight, although I have been listening to your conversation* and your statements showing the absurdities of this ancient superstition.

However, from the tenor and substance of the messages you have received from me thus far, you realize this superstition is not confined to the East but unfortunately appears in various ways in the writings of the New Testament, not precisely regarding reincarnation, although this is touched upon briefly in connection with the ministry of John, the Baptist, who was considered by some as a reincarnation of Elijah, the prophet, but in many other statements and interpretations of a tendentious character as well.

Tonight, I am going to write to you about one of these tendentious statements, and this deals with the occasion of my arrest by the hirelings of the high priest in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Now, the Gospels mention that a youth who was present at the time of my betrayal was seized and that he had to tear himself away from the clutches of the hirelings, and in the process he lost his outer garment of linen which left him stripped; and he subsequently escaped.

Now, originally, the apostle who wrote this statement, and he was Mark, had given the name of this youth, who was my younger brother James, known as "the lesser."

My brother loved me very much, and at this time had begun to believe in my message to the extent of his capabilities, and he also followed them when I was arrested, his heart breaking with grief and anxiety.

Now, the copyists of the original Gospel of Mark eliminated the name of my brother and inserted the words "and a certain youth" because they did not want to use the word "brother," for it denoted what is really a fact, as you know, and that is, that my mother was the mother of eight children in the flesh.

And also, the writer sought to enhance my prestige with readers of the New Testament by showing them to what a great degree I inspired the love and loyalty of strangers.

The reason why the hirelings of the high priest seized James was because he resembled me so much in face and figure that sometimes he was mistaken for me, and some of the group thought that he was really me and that I was really him, and they sought to arrest him also, to make certain that they had been able to apprehend the right man.

No, Peter nor any one of my followers ever cut off the ear of Malchus, the servant of the high priest, for Peter did not wear a sword but simply a fishing knife -- that is, a blade used in cutting fish to remove their entrails.

And furthermore, a hostile blow might have meant that the hirelings and servants might retaliate and club our followers unmercifully as a consequence, a fact which Peter knew, as did we all at the time.

There is no truth to this supposed anecdote, but it was interpolated in order to have me remark, which is also not true, that God would come to my aid with many legions of Angels if it were required, to emphasize the belief that I was destined to be betrayed and that it was all a part of God's plan of salvation that included betrayal and death on the cross.

The next incident that I wish to refer to deals with my being sent by Pilate, after my arrest, to Herod, who was then in Jerusalem to observe the festivities of the Jewish Passover. Now, this incident is true, and the explanation is as follows.

Some time before, Pilate had ordered to be killed a number of Galileans, and this had caused enmity between him and Herod, who claimed that Pilate had no authority to execute the men since they, being Galileans, were under his (Herod's) jurisdiction.

This coolness was patched up on the occasion of my arrest, for Pilate used this opportunity to send me to Herod to ascertain whether I was under his jurisdiction as a Galilean; and when Herod, through inquiry, discovered that I was born in Bethlehem in Judea, and not Galilee, he returned me to Pilate and was pleased that Pilate had extended him the courtesy of consulting him to establish under whose jurisdiction my condemnation and punishment was to be meted out.

This is the explanation for the healing of the breach between Pilate and Herod and the reason for the latter's appearance on the scene at the time of my arrest.

I think I shall stop now, for I believe I have said enough for tonight. I shall continue to come and provide the truths necessary for you to write the true New Testament and shall suggest the ideas and help you locate the material that you need to obtain them.

So be encouraged in your work as the medium through whom I am revealing my messages of truth, and pray to the Father that He will bestow upon you and the Doctor wonderful portions of the Divine love. And I will sign myself as usual,

Your friend and elder brother,

Jesus of the Bible
and
Master of the Celestial Heavens
which will soon close, and mankind must have the truth
before they do.

Who and what is God

May 25th, 1917

Received by James Padgett.

Washington D.C.

I am here, Jesus.

I have been with you as you prayed, and joined in your prayer to the Father for the inflowing of His Great Love into your soul in great abundance; and I know that His Holy Spirit is present and that His love is flowing into your soul, and that you are becoming in at-onement with the Father.

 His love will always come to you when you pray as you have tonight, and His listening ear is always open to the earnest aspirations of His children who come to him with the true longings of the soul. You have the secret of reaching the Father's love, and on all occasions, when you feel that you need that Love or desire a nearness to the Father, use the secret and you will not be disappointed.

You are in better condition tonight in your soul development and perceptions and can receive my message which I have desired for some time to communicate, and to do which I was waiting only for you to be in a complete rapport with me.

Well, you will remember, that in the early stages of our writings, I communicated to you my knowledge and conception of "who and what God is," and that I have recently told you that I desired to rewrite the message, as your condition is now so much better to receive these truths than it was when the message was written; and so, tonight, I will deliver the message, and will take a more complete possession of your brain and control of your hand than I was able to do at the time mentioned.

Then the question is: Who and What is God?

 

In dealing with this question, you must realize that it is not so easy to describe in language that mortals can comprehend the Essence and Attributes of God, and I feel the limitations that I am under in endeavoring to give you a satisfactory description of the only and true God; not because of the paucity of knowledge and conception on my part, but because of the fact that you have not the required soul development to enable me to form the necessary rapport with you, in order that through your brain, may be expressed the exact truth as to who the Father is.

Well, to begin, God is Soul, and Soul is God. Not the soul that is in the created man, but the Soul that is Deity and self-existent, without beginning or ending, and whose entity is the one great fact in the universe of being.

God is without form, such as has been conceived of by man in nearly all ages, and especially by those who believe in the Bible of the Hebrews as well as in that of the Christians.

But nevertheless, He is of form, which only the soul perceptions of the soul of a man which has arrived at a certain degree of development, that is taken on the Divine nature of the Father and thus become a part of the Soul of God, can discern and realize as an entity.

There is nothing in all nature with which men are acquainted or have knowledge of, that can be used to make a comparison, even in the spirit perceptions, with this Great Soul; and hence, for men to conceive of God as having a form in any manner resembling that of man, is all erroneous; and those who, in their beliefs and teachings, deny the anthropomorphic God, are correct.

But, nevertheless, God is of form such as to give him an entity and Substance and seat of habitation, in contradistinction to that God which, in the teachings of some men, is said to be everywhere in this Substance and entity - in the trees and rocks, and thunder and lightning, and in men and beasts, and in all created things, and in whom men are said to live and move and have their being. No, this concept of God is not in accord with the truth, and it is vital to the knowledge and salvation of men that such conception of God be not entertained or believed in.

To believe that God is without form is to believe that he is a mere force or principle or nebulous power, and, as some say, the resultant of laws; which laws, as a fact, He has established for the controlling of His universe of creation, and which are expressed to men by these very powers and principles, that to some extent, they can comprehend.

The child has asked: "Who made God?" And because the wise men cannot answer that question, in their wisdom, they conclude and assert that there can be no real God of personality or soul form, and, hence, only force, principle or evolved laws can be God; and in their own conceit think that they have solved the question.

But the child may not be satisfied with the answer, and may ask the wise men: "Who made principle and force and laws that must be accepted as the only God?" And then, the wise men cannot answer, unless they answer: "God," which they do not believe, but which let me say, is the true and only answer.

God is back of force and principle and law, which are only expressions of His being, and which without Him could not exist; and they are only existences, changeable, dependent and subject to the will of God, who only, is Being.

God then, is Soul, and that Soul has its form, perceptible only to Itself, or that of man, which, by reason of the sufficient possession of the very Substance of the Great Soul has become like unto God, not in image only, but in very Essence.

We spirits of the highest soul progression are enabled by our soul perceptions to see God and His form. But here, I use the words "see" and "form," as being the only words that I can use to give mortals a comparative conception of what I am endeavoring to describe.

When it is remembered that mortals can scarcely conceive of the form of the spirit body of a man, which is composed or formed of the material of the universe, though not usually accepted to be of the material, it will be readily seen that it is hardly possible for me to convey to them a faint idea even of the Soul form of God, which is composed of that which is purely spiritual - that is, not of the material, even though to the highest degree sublimated.

And although I am not able because of the limitations mentioned, to describe to men that form which they may glean a conception of the Soul's form - as such form can be seen only with the soul's eye, which eyes men do not possess - it must not be believed that because men cannot understand or perceive the truth of the Soul's form, therefore, it is not a truth.

A truth, though not conceived or perceived by men, spirits or angels, is still a truth, and its existence does not depend upon its being known; and even though all the mortals of earth, and the spirits and angels of heaven, save one, could not perceive the existence of that truth, yet its existence perceived by that one irrefutably proves its reality.

But, as I have said, the truth of God's form - the Soul's form can be testified to by more than one of the celestial spirits of men passed from earth; and the possibility is before mortals of the present life, in the great future, if their souls have become possessed of the Divine Substance of God's Love in sufficient abundance to perceive God as I have attempted to explain.

The created soul of man has its form, it being made in the image of God, yet man cannot see that form, although it is a fact and can be testified to by many in the spirit realms. And here it needs to be said, that when in our message we speak of God as being without form, we mean any such form as men have or think they have conceived of, and our expressions must not be considered as contradictory to what I have tried to explain as the form of God.

Well, in addition to the form, God has a personality, and this is expressed and made known to man by certain attributes, which to the consciousness of man is existent in the universe; and to some philosophers and scientists and wise men these attributes are their impersonal God himself, and to them the only God. They make the created, the Creator, not realizing that behind the expression must be the Cause; and that greater than the attribute must be That from which the expression of the attribute is projected, or, as they better like to say, evolved.

And here, I, who know, desire to say that these manifested attributes or forces and powers and principles and laws and expressions do not, all together, constitute or be that from which they flow or in which they have their source. God is Himself, alone. His Attributes or expressions manifested to mortals or spirits, are only the results or effects of the workings of His Spirit, which Spirit is only the active energy of His Soul - Himself. And hence, the form of God is not distributed over the whole universe of creation where His attributes may be, or because they are everywhere manifested.

No, as was said by Moses of old, and as was said by me when on earth: God is in His Heavens. And although it may be surprising and startling to mortals to hear, God has His habitation, and God the Substance, the Self-existing and Soul form, has His locality, and men do not live and move and have their existence in God; but in His emanations and expressions and spirit they do.

As you are somewhat exhausted, I think this a good place to stop. I am pleased that you are in such good condition. So be prepared for an early resumption of the message.

With my love and blessings, I will say, good night.

Your brother and friend,

Jesus