Sermon in Capharsalama

CHAPTER 33

Yeshua explains to his disciples the difference between the laws of Heaven and the laws of the natural world. He tells them that he will teach them the secrets of Heaven, which will be known by no others and by which all things are possible.

 1 And it came to pass that on the first day of the feast, the disciples of Yeshua arrived from Lake Gennesaret, and they were sore distressed upon learning that Yeshua had taken Martha as a wife and that they had not been invited to attend the wedding.

 2 But Yeshua, knowing their thoughts, came to them, saying, “My brothers of light, do not despair that you were not present for our marriage. Know that my days upon the Earth are numbered and they are not many. Therefore, each one is precious, and we could not wait for your arrival, for already the days following the feast and all the days to come have been assigned for greater tasks and of those things, you are very much a part.”

 3 Upon hearing his words, his disciples were mollified and apologized to Yeshua for their weakness of understanding.

 4 Without speaking of it again, Yeshua bade them to enjoy the first day of the feast and then meet with him in council upon the sunrise at the hill near the house of Martha’s father.

 5 The following day, the five disciples that had come from Lake Gennesaret came at daybreak to the top of the hill, along with Lazarus, the brother of Miriam and Martha, and found Yeshua and Miriam already there, kneeling in prayer facing one another, with hands held and heads touching.

 6 The disciples of Gennesaret and Lazarus stood aside quietly with their heads bowed, honoring the sacredness of the prayer until they were finished, and then they approached.

 7 Yeshua and Miriam rose to meet them, and Yeshua embraced each one with various greetings, while Miriam put her hands together upon her chest and, holding their eyes, bowed her head slightly toward each as they came before her, calling them by name and greeting them with “Namaste.”

 8 Yeshua bade them all to sit upon the ground in a circle with Miriam at his right hand, and he said unto them, “You think that your lives have changed since you became my disciples, but the change has been only like the Jordan after a small rain. Like the river that swelled for a time with new water, you have grown with new knowledge.

 9 But your lives have been affected only a bit. In the coming days, if you will follow me, you must be prepared to have them affected greatly.

 10 I will tell you now of some of the things that shall come to pass in the lives of those who walk with me and are my disciples. You will sacrifice much, and I will understand if the burden is too great and you desire simply to return to the life you have always lived.

 11 You know I teach the true Celestine Light of Heaven and that it is oftentimes at odds with the laws of men and the falsehoods taught by men in the name of God. Because of this, as word of my teachings spread, the opposition against me, from Caesar and Herod and the Sanhedrin, shall grow.

 12 I shall be opposed openly and in secret even unto my death, and those that follow me shall be cast into the same storm, and many will suffer similar woes.

 13 Even should you live to old age, you will be away from your wives and children many more days than you are with them.

 14 You will find no reward of money, and though you will always have enough to eat, you will never grow fat from having too much.

 15 Many of you shall be arrested and thrown into prison, and some shall be persecuted unto death at the hands of those angry at you for preaching my words, unless you gain the full knowledge and power of Celestine Adepts.

 16 Despite the dedication of your life to preaching the Celestine Light of Elohim, you will find precious few who will heed your words and will be saddened by the many who will pervert them for their own ends.

 17 After all you have sacrificed to bring forth the Celestine Light, you will see false churches spring up in my name that teach not my teachings, and they shall draw many to them, for their path is easy.

 18 In the generations to come, these churches shall grow mighty and wealthy. They shall have a form of godliness, but will be empty of the true spirit of Elohim and barren of the fullness of truth.

 19 Of the things that you shall teach, the very words and truth you heard from my lips, you will find few who will listen and embrace the light for fear of what others will think of them or the persecutions they might invite or from their own weakness to give up the comfort of the sandals they have always worn.

 20 The few Children of Light that gather in my name, faithfully living my truth that you have shared, shall not have temples of gold and precious gems, but will be thankful just to have a roof over their heads.

 21 Knowing all this, what do you say?”

 22 Amram raised his right index finger and said, “First, know that I will follow you through any storm and count the endurance of any pain as evidence to Elohim of my faithfulness to the true light.

 23 But I would like to understand why it is that Elohim would allow all the things you have said will befall us to come to pass? Why would Elohim allow the true Celestine Light to be perverted by men and your faithful disciples to be persecuted even to death?

 24 How can it be that those who would follow the Celestine Light of Elohim would only have the means to worship in simplicity, while those who teach a perversion of your words would find prosperity and be able to build grand temples in which to worship Elohim?

 25 I am just a simple fisherman and know my understanding is slow, but it would seem to me that everything would be the opposite of this; that God would reward those who are faithful to the Celestine Light and make difficult the paths of those who teach perversions.”

 26 Yeshua smiled at the words of Amram and said unto him, “Your questions show a depth of understanding greater than you give yourself in your humility, and it is important that you comprehend the answers.

 27 Know that there are laws of Heaven, and there are laws of Earth. I speak not of laws made by men, but of immutable laws of existence.

 28 There is the law of the Sun. If you go outside on a cloudless day, you will see the Sun in the sky and feel its warmth upon your shoulder. If you are righteous, you will see and feel the Sun, and if you are wicked, you will see and feel the Sun.

 29 To see the light and feel the warmth of the Sun is a law of Earth that comes to all and makes no qualms about who it rewards with its light and warmth. Regardless of who you are, if you stand outside at midday beneath a cloudless sky, you will receive the reward of the light and warmth of the Sun.

 30 So too, there is the law of the storm. When the clouds darken and the wind blows and the rain comes in torrents, you know that if you choose to be outside, uncovered, you will quickly become wet and uncomfortable. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, wicked or righteous, if you stand outside, uncovered in a storm, you will suffer the consequences.

 31 So too, there are several laws pertaining to fire. If you build it correctly and strike a good flint, you will create a fire. If you do not get too close, it will warm you on a cold night, but if you step into it, you will get burned. Whether you are rich or poor, wicked or righteous, the laws of the fire treat all men equally, except for Celestine Adepts that have mastered control of the natural world.

 32 I have spoken to you only about laws of the natural world, which are easy for all men to understand. But there are many other laws that are more subtle, and the consequences from obeying or disobeying these laws can be far greater.

 33 I speak of the laws of interaction from one person to another, from a man to a man, and a man to a woman, and a woman to a woman, and a parent to a child, and a child to a child.

 34 And I speak also of the laws of blessing and consequence, some of which are easy to know and others which require insight and understanding.

 35 If you needed to dig a well and you and your brothers applied yourselves with diligence throughout the day, at the end of the day, you would have dug deep enough to be blessed and rewarded for your efforts with cold, clear water.

 36 But if you desired a well and were slothful, working for a short while, then taking a long break, working a bit more, then taking a longer break, as nightfall descended, the consequence of your lack of diligence would only be a small dry hole.

 37 These are the blessings and consequences of obeying or disobeying the law of diligence.

 38 Remember, the laws of life have no favorites among men. Without passion, they reward only those who follow the path they dictate.

 39 If wicked brothers apply the law of diligence to dig a well, they will be rewarded for their efforts with the water they seek.

 40 Even as the righteous brothers, if they are slothful, will suffer the consequence of their disobedience of this law.

 41 Therefore, when you ask how it is that those who teach the false truth might have prosperity, while those who teach the true Celestine Light may not, understand that it is not by their worthiness that they manifest their situations, but by their understanding and obedience to immutable laws of Heaven and Earth.

 42 Those who love ease and comfort and power heed the call of priests of falsehood because they have itching ears, seeking those who will tell them what they wish to hear, and so they hear, ‘Pay generous alms, say your prayers, and listen to the scriptures on the Sabbath, and all is well every other day of your life.’

 43 These doctrines are delightful to those who love the ways of the world, for then they suppose to themselves that they can forget about Elohim and the ways of God and do as they will except on the Sabbath.

 44 Therefore, each of the other days, they devote to acquiring the spoils of the world, and in the ways of the world, they become great.

 45 But the Children of Light understand that the path of Elohim is a way of life each and every day, not just on the Sabbath, and that the steps they take each day bring them abiding joy, not just in this world, but also in the world to come.

 46 While the foolish and worldly are spending their days making money and immersing themselves in the pleasures of the world, the Children of Light are investing their days playing with their children, loving and comforting one another in word and deed, helping the poor, giving their time to serve Elohim, honoring the temples of their bodies, helping their community, and building qualities of good character and all manner of virtue in their hearts and the actions of their lives.

 47 That which you pursue with focus, you are likely to obtain.

 48 Those who love the ways of the world obtain the fruits of the world because that is what they seek, while giving just a passing nod to the ways of God.

 49 Those who love the ways of Elohim obtain the fruits of God because that is what they seek, while giving just a passing nod to the ways of the world.

 50 Therefore, each gains that which they seek and lacks that which they acknowledge only sufficiently to appease the necessities.

 51 Understand too that there are laws of wickedness as well as laws of righteousness, for if a robber accosts a lone traveler and holds a dagger to his throat, demanding his coins, he has a great certainty from his past experience that the man so attacked will yield up his coins. He has employed the law of intimidation, a wicked law, but a law nonetheless.

 52 But for every law, there is an opposite law that will oppose it and overcome it, if applied sufficiently.

 53 In the days to come, you will be learning much about these many laws and how to utilize them and how to counter evil when it is cast upon you. Therefore, take heed to be astute students, for your very lives and livelihood will be at stake in the future.

 54 When a false priesthood teaches a path of ease and the true priesthood teaches a more difficult way, which do you think more people will embrace?

 55 If a false priesthood says, ‘Sacrifice a lamb or two turtledoves and all will be well between you and God regardless of how you live or what you eat or drink or take to befuddle your mind,’ but the true priesthood says, ‘Honor the temple of your body, eat only living foods that grow upon the Earth, drink only pure drinks, and take nothing that befuddles your mind,’ which priesthood will draw more followers?

 56 If a false priesthood says, ‘Pay great alms that we may build a temple of gold and your sins will be forgotten,’ but the true priesthood says, ‘Only a sincere and contrite repentance and restitution will wash away the sins of men,’ which priesthood will draw more followers?

 57 If a false priesthood says, ‘Become rich, live in a grand manor, but give generously to the church, and you will be loved of God,’ but the true priesthood says, ‘Live in simplicity and give your excess to the poor;’ which priesthood will draw more followers?

 58 If the false priesthood says, ‘Give your intimate affections to whoever you desire, just continue to show your devotion to the church with your alms, and all will be well between you and God,’ but the true priesthood says, ‘Honor the sacredness of intimacy only within the union of marriage,’ which priesthood will draw more followers?

 59 If the false priesthood says, ‘Only men may hold the priesthood or speak in council,’ but the true priesthood says, ‘Men and women are equal before God,’ which priesthood will draw more followers?

 60 If the false priesthood says, ‘Men who lay with men and women who lay with women must be shunned and even stoned,’ but the true priesthood says, ‘The choice of intimate relationship is not important as long as it is a union in marriage and virtue,’ which priesthood will draw more followers?

 61 If the false priesthood in collusion with Caesar says, ‘Obey the laws of the land, and you shall find peace and security and be in God’s favor,’ but the true priesthood says, ‘Obey not the laws of men that are in opposition to the teachings of Heaven, even if it brings the wrath of Caesar upon you,’ which priesthood will draw more followers?

 62 If the false priesthood says, ‘Believe only in Yeshua of Nazareth and by this alone, you shall go to Heaven for all your sins will be forgiven,’ but the true priesthood says, ‘Believe in the teachings of Yeshua of Nazareth and demonstrate the truth of your belief by doing good works, having virtue and good character, and obeying the Great Commandment and the commandments of Sinai,’ which priesthood will draw more followers?

 63 If the false priesthood says, ‘Whatever sins you do, just give alms and confess them to a priest and they will be forgiven,’ but the true priesthood says, ‘Repentance comes only after remorse, confession, restitution, forsaking of the sin, and humbly asking Elohim and those that have been wronged for forgiveness,’ which priesthood will draw more followers?

 64 Verily I say unto you: Straight and narrow is the way that leads to the Celestine Kingdom of Elohim, and very few will be those who are willing to walk the virtuous path that leads to physical resurrection and immortal exaltation.

 65 But wide and easy is the path upon the Earth that leads to misery and separation of the body and the soul in the worlds to come, and many are those that shall go that way.

 66 Therefore, understand that the false priesthood uses laws of persuasion that allow men to imagine that they can be wicked and still be welcomed into Heaven.

 67 But no unclean thing can enter into the presence of Elohim in the Celestine Kingdom on high. And those who live their lives in wickedness, thinking they will inherit glory, have deluded themselves into eternal misery.

 68 The seeds you plant in life blossom in eternity. That which you sow, so shall you reap.

 69 In the days to come, there will be many who will profess to follow me, but only a few who will live their lives as I have shown and taught them to live, that they may become more than they are.

 70 When those who have been faithful to the Celestine Light knock upon my door in the world to come, I shall welcome them to their glory, even those who professed me not in life but nevertheless lived my teachings by the light of God that was within their heart.

 71 But those who professed me, even loudly from the rooftops, but did not do the things which I taught, will not see me or my kingdom.

 72 Be mindful of the things I have revealed to you this day. As we go into the world to preach the Gospel of Celestine Light, remember that many will come to it, some because of the miracles, some because of rebellion against Caesar, some because of the welcome of the community, some because their noble soul pulls them toward the light.

 73 But when those who seek only miracles find none forthcoming when they desire, they shall fall away.

 74 When those who seek only rebellion find we are not trying to overthrow the government, they will fall away.

 75 When those who seek only the embrace of community but find they must give as well as receive, they shall fall away.

 76 When those who are pulled to a brighter light are unwilling to hold it because it requires them to change too much, they will fall away.

 77 In the end, the refiner’s fire will take away the dross, leaving only the pure in heart.

 78 Look diligently therefore for those precious few of pure light. Among the crowds, look for those whose countenance shines above all others, for the Celestine Light will shine in the face of all true Children of Light, even those who have never heard of me or my teachings.

 79 Teach to them what I have taught to you by my words and deeds.

 80 Know that there shall be great grief upon the people of this land in the next generations. The people think they suffer now under the yoke of the Romans, but their suffering shall be greater in the days to come.

 81 We are making a Community of Light at the delta of Gennesaret, but know it will be abandoned in the days to come and not one stone will be left upon another that is not overturned.

 82 The faithful shall scatter across the world, a few here, a dozen there, another beyond. So shall the seeds of the Celestine Light of Elohim, which you will plant, settle upon many lands until the time of their maturation comes and the flowers of truth and light planted in the dust of yesterday’s bones blossom in fullness and glory.

 83 Therefore, do not concern yourselves with riches or grand temples or gathering great numbers of believers. Instead, concern yourself with finding and teaching the chosen few who are true, royal Children of Light.

 84 Know that Elohim will give a great blessing to all those of noble heart that you find and cherish. The resonance of truth will pass through their loins from one generation until the next.

 85 In the Epoch of Promise, when the fullness of the Celestine Light shall be given again among men, the descendants of the chosen shall feel the resonance that burned in the hearts of their ancestors. And the seeds sown by their progenitors shall grow and bear fruit within their hearts.”

 86 Then Cephas asked of Yeshua, “You are here and have the power of Heaven upon you. We are few in numbers, but mighty in our faith and our willingness to spread the Celestine Light you give us. How is it that we can fail to establish a torch of truth that is never extinguished? Why must we suffer so and why must the Children of Light be scattered? I still do not fully understand why that which is false would be allowed by Elohim to rise, while that which is true would be allowed to vanish from the sight of men.”

 87 Yeshua answered, “Though I walk among you, I do not compel you or anyone to follow me. Those who walk my path despite the challenges do so because they desire to feel the love and Celestine power of God, burning in their bosom greater than they desire a life of conformity and ease or enticing words of emptiness.

 88 Nor should you think that suffering must be your lot. Among the Children of Light, let there always be love and support for one another, and may the sweetness of this comfort and the sure knowledge of your eternity ever shield you from the pain and inflictions of the world.

 89 Nor is the scattering of the Children of Light in the days to come a curse, but a blessing, for it is in distant lands and upon distant shores that they will find sanctuary and a peace they could never know in the lands of Rome.

 90 Nor should you wish to give more command upon the affairs of men to Elohim than Elohim would take. For each man and woman to grow beyond their birth, they must be free to choose their course in life; they must be free to make mistakes and amends.

 91 Even though they may be slaves, bound to a master who controls their days, their eternal fate is still in their own hands by the choices of virtue and character they make every day.

 92 There was a sower that sowed his seeds, and some fell upon the road and was walked upon and eaten by birds; some fell upon rock, and as soon as it sprouted, it withered away because it could find no moisture; some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it, cutting it off from the light of life; some fell in a marsh and sprouted but could find no soil of substance and also perished; but some fell upon a cultivated field of fertile ground and sprang up and bore fruit that fed the cultivators and all whom they called family.

 93 You are the sowers, and so it shall be with the seeds of Celestine Light which you sow.

 94 Some will be sown in the byways of the world; it will be crushed and taken away by those who will pervert it, that they might teach their version of truth without the fullness of light in evidence for men to compare.

 95 Some of your seeds will fall upon people who are like the rocky ground; they are closed tightly like a clam and are afraid to even consider any light other than the little candle they have.

 96 Some of your seeds will be cast among thorns; they will begin to sprout in the hearts of those who want to know and believe, but will wither when they are shunned by their friends and family and will fall away in their desire to please others instead of God.

 97 Some will be sown in the swamp of zealots, who, lacking a foundation of balance, will grow furiously for a time only to fall away when their narrow-minded zeal finds no support among the Children of Light.

 98 But take heart, some of your seeds will be sown among those who will live and support one another in Communities of Light. As long as true believers gather to the fertile field of community and live the light they have been given in fullness, they will always grow and prosper.

 99 If they do not choose to live it in fullness and their community falters, it is by their own choices and actions; and Elohim would have it be no other way, for only by allowing each person to make their own choices can each person be given an eternal reward according to their faithfulness and their deeds.

 100 Never forget that many are called, but few are chosen. Nor is it Elohim who chooses, but each of those that have been called choose whether they will heed the call and walk in the Celestine Light that their heart tells them is true, or follow the enticing words of conformity and ease spoken to them in the world.

 101 Therefore, I say unto you: follow me, do as I do, speak as I speak, live as I live. Let those who would inherit the blessings of the Children of Light in this world and the next do likewise, and Heaven shall pour forth blessings upon you greater than you can imagine.

 102 You shall become Celestine Adepts and have the power to control your destiny. You will be given the secrets of Heaven by which all things are possible; such secrets as shall be known to no others of this generation. The challenges of these early days are your growing pains. And it is not until you are fully grown that all things will be understood in fullness.”