Progressive
revelation is essential to survival
How can change come
about? As stated earlier, many churches tend to become rigid and dogmatic,
thereby effectively closing the door to change. Another discourse states
that all churches originated from the need for progressive revelation.
If there was no need for progressive revelation, why did Jesus appear
on Earth?
After an orthodox church has been formed, it often begins to deny the
need for progressive revelation. The official church will now claim
that its rituals and doctrines give people everything they need to be
saved.
The logical consequence is that the church, which originated from the
need for progressive revelation, has now brought an end to progressive
revelation. This is an interesting idea, considering that the very reason
for the founding of any church is the need for progressive revelation.
Therefore, it is necessary to consider the question: “Will progressive
revelation ever stop?”
What is
the essence of progressive revelation?
The basic fact of life is that human beings are trapped in a lower state
of consciousness. To remind them of their spiritual origin, God created
the Christ consciousness, which can be conceived as a stream of living
truth that continually flows from God into the material universe. It
is this stream of living truth, this Living Word, which has the potential
to cut through the density of the carnal mind and set the soul free
to pursue Christhood.
Throughout the ages, many different organizations and many different
messengers have served as the open door for the Living Word. The problem
is that no outer teaching can fully capture or do justice to the Living
Word. The Living Word is a continuous stream of God’s energy and
consciousness.
When you fashion that energy into an outer teaching, it is like taking
a snapshot of a river. The snapshot pictures the river as standing still,
but in reality the river is continually flowing. Can you truly know
a river by looking at a snapshot?
It is an eternal truth that to know the Living Word, you must look beyond
the outer teaching.
Look beyond the outer message
The basic law of spiritual growth could be stated as follows: “Don’t
let the messenger obscure the message, and don’t let the message
obscure the source.”
The source of any true spiritual teaching is the Living Word of God.
Because of the density of the carnal mind, it has been necessary to
bring forth a snapshot of the Living Word in the form of an outer teaching.
Unfortunately, every such teaching has caused some people to focus their
attention on either the messenger or the teaching itself.
These people have reasoned that if only they study the outer teachings
and follow all of the outer rules defined in those teachings, they will
automatically be saved. This is not true.
There is no such thing as automatic salvation. No teaching and no organization
can guarantee your salvation. To qualify for your salvation, you must
absorb the Living Word of God.
God does not stand still
God is continually transcending itself.
Therefore, you must continue to transcend yourself.
If you allow yourself to become attached to a specific outer messenger
or teaching, you run the risk of forgetting the source. This is the
main reason why there is an ongoing need for progressive revelation
on this planet. Every time God brings forth a new spiritual teaching,
some people become entrapped by the outer teaching and forget the source.
They turn the outer teaching into an idol, and they start the old dance
around the golden calf. At inner levels, the soul says to God: “Leave
me alone. I have everything I need, and I am comfortable here.”
In an attempt to prevent people from falling into this trap, God patiently
continues to bring forth new teachings. The other side of the coin is
that as humankind progresses, God can reveal more of himself and give
forth a higher teaching.
If there was no need for progressive revelation, then everybody would
still be living according to the Law of Moses. If there was no need
for progressive revelation, then Jesus would have written down his teachings
as an outer doctrine. Instead, he told his disciples to preach the Living
Word by the Holy Spirit.
If there was no need for progressive revelation, then why would the
Ascended Host continue to sponsor new organizations? Why do most of
these organizations become rigid and claim that they have ended the
need for progressive revelation.
Therefore, the question is: “What is most important to you personally?
Is it the outer teaching? Is it the outer messenger? Or is it the source,
namely the Living Word?”
Many religions have wonderful teachings, and they do indeed contain
outer knowledge that can help people attain salvation. However, you
cannot be saved without attaining Christ consciousness. The key to attaining
this state of consciousness is to absorb the Living Word. Can you absorb
the Living Word if you do not let it stream through you? Can it stream
through you, if you believe it can only stream through someone else?
The leaders and members of any church have a right to say to the Ascended
Host: “We don’t need you anymore. We are perfectly happy
with the teachings you have given us through this organization, and
we will focus all of our attention on applying those teachings.”
The Ascended Host will respect that choice.
However, what if the Ascended Host desired to bring forth new ideas
or teachings through a particular organization. Could they still do
so?
If the answer is no, then the Ascended Host will obviously go elsewhere,
as they have done numerous times in the past. However, if the answer
is yes, then the leaders and members of a church need to consider how
they could possibly find a way to let the Ascended Host speak through
the members of the organization. How could the organization evaluate
and act upon new ideas?
The truth of God is a living truth and it is continually streaming from
the mind of God. It is a river of living waters, a river of the Living
Word. A religious doctrine is only a snapshot of the river. You must
choose whether you want the snapshot, or whether you want to look for
the river. If you want the river, look for it in your own heart.
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Copyright
© 2003 by Kim Michaels |
