Once again, to continue my messages on the New Testament, which is to be purged of its errors and the truth regarding my real teachings and meaning as the Messiah established. And the first thing I wish to do tonight is to show the relationship between the Old Testament and how the guidance and revelation of the Heavenly Father showed me the way to the Messiahship.
The Old Testament, as you know, is the book that reveals God as the Divinity that rules the universe and, in the narrower sense, the physical world of the earth and of man, not only as an individual Being but as the Arbiter between man and his fellow beings. This was the earliest revelation of God to man, through Abraham, to whom, through his spiritual condition, it was given to gain insight into the existence of the unseen God -- the God of Eternity whose manifestations were the rules of conduct for man to follow in his relations with his neighbors.
Abraham perceived this spiritual Presence made for him through Divine messengers of the Heavenly Father and he showed his faith in the unseen spiritual Father by leaving his home and family relations to live his life in accordance with these new conceptions of God; for his people had not this condition of soul and could not understand his spiritual insight. He was not called upon, as it is written in the Old Testament, to show his faith in God by sacrificing his son, for this description was used by later writers concerning Abraham to show his faith at a period of civilization when faith in God was expressed by sacrifice, and, indeed, in his day and in much later times by various tribes and peoples of Asia Minor, and elsewhere, by sacrifice of human beings.
Abraham's supposed sacrifice, therefore, is simply a story to illustrate this faith in God, and here is where we have the beginnings of a knowledge of the Heavenly Father in that area of the world. This is not to state that in no other lands were there manifestations of an understanding of the existence of God, if only through conviction in the truth revealed by God for the right conduct of man in his dealings with other men, for this is not so; and, in fact, earlier examples of this discovery of the attributes of God are to be found in other peoples than the Jews, and earlier in point of time.
But I wish to concentrate on the evolution of those principles of righteousness, mercy, justice and consideration that eventually found their culmination in the descent of the Divine Love to humanity through the Holy Spirit, as manifested first in me at the time of my appearance in Palestine.
I may point out that the development of the concept of the Heavenly Father through an understanding of His laws of conduct towards men was brought to a higher level through Moses, who led the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt; and this liberation was brought about through the knowledge that the Jewish people, as a result of their great sufferings and inheritance of God as a religious concept, were in a state in which they could be used as a whole people as witnesses of the existence of God. And thus it was that they were led to freedom by Moses and the law of righteousness of conduct and love for the unseen, eternal God given to them as law; not that the Hebrews were more virtuous as a people than others but that they were simply chosen as a means of bringing to other people the knowledge of the Father. And this they were able to do to a certain extent, and only after many, many centuries.
Yet they, instead of pushing their knowledge of things spiritual into the consciousness of other people; had to fight to preserve their own religion and not to adopt the worship of pagan deities. In this they were not exempt from great errors and iniquities, for they failed to understand that real religion consisted in righteousness of conduct and not in the form of worship or in the exactitude of carrying out prescribed ceremonies.
Moses, as the lawgiver, gave to the Hebrews the way to the perfect natural man, as later I brought the Way to the Divine Love of the Father. But my mission was not a political or national one, although it would have been had it not been for the incomprehensions and lack of spirituality on the part of the high priests who were interested in politics and the formal side of religion, barren at best, whereas Moses' mission was national and was successful because he had no opposition of a materialistic and powerful group to contend with, except the ignorance and naivety of the people.
I am not interested in providing you with a summary of the history of the Jews which, as history, is devoid of real religion, even though it is included as part of the Old Testament. But I would prefer to relate the doings of the prophets of Israel, as they contributed to the elevation of the spiritual concepts of the nation and gave the people and their leaders a deeper insight into the real nature of the Heavenly Father. And this is to be found in the prophet Nathan, who appears fearlessly before David, the King to accuse him of murder and adultery in his relations with Bathsheba; and Elijah, or Elias, who braved the haughty Jezebel and showed the power provided especially for him by angel spirits to show the power of the unseen, eternal Father, and in contest with the priests of Baal; and Amos, who came to the priests at Gilead to warn the Israelites to repent of their sins, mainly the sins of the rich and powerful who abused the poor and brought them to misery and slavery.
From these prophets, the people were able to understand that God wanted righteousness and mercy in dealing with other human beings, not only amongst their own people but for all people -- including the stranger within their gates, for they, too, had been strangers and, indeed, slaves, in Egypt. And the people were taught to trust in the one unseen and eternal God and to know Him through His attributes, which were the guides the Jews were to follow in their relations with others and in conducting all their affairs. The Jews were also given to understand that God was Ruler, not only of the Jews but of all human beings, and that punishment would be meted out for injustice in behavior as a result of inharmony against God, which would cause the operation of circumstances that would work against them.
I think I have written enough for tonight and I will come again to show how subsequent prophets revealed higher conceptions of God's Goodness and Mercy and eventually led to a period in which a New Covenant would be made with Israel through a law higher than that of righteousness in conduct for human beings -- the law of Divine Love, or Grace, as it is called by the Christian churches.
I will stop now, and I urge you and the Doctor* to seek with all earnestness for the Divine Love through earnest prayer. So with my blessings and love, I will say good night and sign myself,
Your friend and elder brother,
Jesus of the Bible,
Who urges you to keep praying and have more and more faith in me and trust in the Heavenly Father and continue to acquaint yourself with the Scriptures so that I can then more easily convey my thoughts on them through your brain.
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