23. We believe that the kingdom of heaven or harmony is within man, and
that, through man, the law and order existing in Divine Mind are to be established on the
earth.
"The kingdom of heaven is in
reality Christ consciousness, the home of the Son of God. It does not depend on location
in space but is a mental state that may be attained in any place....The kingdom of God is
Absolute, universal Truth, a consciousness that is subject to the will of God....The
kingdom of heaven is relative, individual truth, a consciousness that is subject to the
will of the individual.... ‘For the kingdom of heaven is at hand,’ said Jesus
(Matt. 3:2). ‘At hand’ does not necessarily mean that it will immediately appear
but rather that nothing can intervene to prevent its ultimate revelation to every human
being." (Correspondence School course material Series 2, Lesson 1, Annotation 17)
Christ consciousness,
super-consciousness within you, is the arm, the extension of Divine Mind and its ideas.
There is a difference between the two concepts "kingdom of heaven" and
"kingdom of God." The latter represents absolute Truth, the all-ness of God-mind
while the former represents those ideas as they are incorporated in consciousness. God
ideates; man thinks. God is the source of ideas; the movement of those ideas in our minds
we call thinking. We do not generate ideas but we do give them expression. Our work is to
be receptive to divine ideas in their wholeness and express them in this world. From
heaven to earth is the movement of ideas from mind into manifestation or expression. Jesus
gave the world the essence of his teaching early in his ministry when he said, "The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the
gospel." (Mark 1:15) In other words, now is the time; there is no need to wait any
longer and you can’t begin any sooner so re-think and be receptive to divine ideas
and grasp the Truth I have to teach you.
"The widespread belief in heaven
and hell as actual places to which souls are consigned for eternal bliss or punishment is
due, first, to the influence of Greek mythology and Oriental mysticism and, secondly, to
the fact that most people have thought of God as a person. As long as this belief is held
it is natural to believe in heaven and hell as actual places, one the abode of God, the
other the abode of His adversary." (Correspondence School course material Series 2,
Lesson 11, pg. 7)
The Anglo-Saxon root of hell is helan
which means, "to conceal." Hell is when our good seems to be concealed and false
concepts cause us to feel separate from God. We don’t wait for heaven to happen to
us; we re-think, become receptive to inspiration and revelation of Truth, and let heaven
happen.
24. We believe that the "second coming" of Jesus Christ is
now being fulfilled, that His Spirit is quickening the whole world. For as the
lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even in the west; so shall be the coming
of the Son of man. Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord
cometh." (Matthew 24:27)
The word parousia which means
"presence" or "arrival" in Greek is the technical term for the
traditional Christian concept of Jesus’ future return to earth in glory to judge the
living and the dead and end the present world order. This idea is drawn from a few select
passages from the Gospels with strong influence by Paul and the powerful imagery of
Revelation. Jesus never gave us a date for this "arrival" though many early
Christians believed it was imminent. "Truly I tell you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
(Matthew 16:28)
Believing that Jesus’ return would
occur any day, some primitive Christians chose to wait in idleness, doing no work thinking
it was not necessary. After all, Jesus was coming and would overturn their whole way of
life. This was prevalent enough that the second letter to the Thessalonians addressed this
issue. Though the authorship has been disputed over the years, many current scholars
believe that this letter was written by Paul who said, "Now we command you, brethren,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in
idleness.... For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If any one will not
work, let him not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere
busybodies, not doing any work." (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 10, 11)
Myth and metaphor has formed the
foundation of many fundamental beliefs. The rich, symbolic language of the East has been
interpreted through the literal consciousness of the West. The Unity Correspondence School
course material says, "His SECOND COMING has been a matter of controversy, always
because the letter was read instead of the spirit. All the symbols that are given in the
description of his second coming have a spiritual application. He comes when He is
received into your consciousness and revealed to you as your own Lord." (Series 1,
Lesson 4, page 6, paragraph 3).
In the previous installments of this
series, we have discussed the concept of the Christ as God individualized within everyone.
That divine spirit is in you, your neighbor, those you love and those who seem difficult
to love. It is within the greatest of human beings and in the most loathsome. The
different ways of being in the world are due to varying degrees of awareness of that
presence as well as the willingness to respond to it. The Christ is here now and has
always been. It has never left and cannot as long as God and we are in the universe. This
is a fundamental principle of Being. However, it remains a potential power in our lives
until we awaken to its presence and give it expression.
When that happens–when
enlightenment dawns–it seems to descend, as if from heaven through the clouds of
human confusion and error thinking, from the superconscious phase of mind into the
subconscious. From there, a new revelation bubbles up into the conscious phase of
mind–an "aha" experience. I AM the Christ, God’s beloved child.
The second coming is not something that
happens outside ourselves; it is the awakening of spiritual awareness within ourselves. It
does not happen to us, but through us. We don’t know what day it will happen but it
cannot be any sooner and there is no need to wait any longer. Raise your vision above the
appearances of the physical world by going beyond sight to insight through prayer and
meditation and you will find the "kingdom is at hand!"
To Be Continued Next Month
Copyright © 2001 by Greg W. Neteler
Used with permission.
Messages from previous months