Settlement,
Immersion And Confirmations
By
The
Twelve Apostles
Jesus Settles A Family Crisis
With three disciples Jesus went to Hebron, where He
tarried seven days and taught. And then He went to Bethany and in the home of
Lazarus He taught. The evening came, the multitudes were gone. And Jesus,
Lazarus and his sisters, Martha, Ruth and Mary, were alone. And Ruth was sore
distressed. Her home was down in
Now, Asher was a Pharisee of strictest mien and thought, and he regarded Jesus
with disdain. And when his wife confessed her faith in Christ, he drove her
from his home. But Ruth resisted not; she said, “If Jesus is the Christ he
knows the way, and I am sure He is the Christ. My husband may become enraged
and slay my human form; he cannot kill the soul, and in the many mansions of my
Fatherland I have a dwelling-place.”
And Ruth told Jesus all; and then she said, “What shall I do?”
And Jesus said, “Your husband is not willingly at fault; he is devout; he prays
to God, our Father-God. His zeal for his religion is intense; in this he is
sincere; but it has driven him insane, and he believes it right to keep his
home unsullied by the heresy of Christ. He feels assured that he has done the
will of God in driving you away. Intolerance is ignorance matured. The light
will come to him some day, and then he will repay for all your heartaches, griefs and tears.
“And Ruth, you must not think that you are free from blame. If you had
walked in ways of wisdom, and been content to hold your peace, this grief would
not have come to you. It takes a long, long time for light to break into the
shell of prejudice, and patience is the lesson you need to learn. The constant
dropping of the water wears away the hardest stone. The sweet and holy incense
of a godly life will melt intolerance much quicker than the hottest flame, or
hardest blow – gentle words are better than harsh voice. Just wait a little
time, and then go home with sympathy and love. Talk not of Christ, nor of the
kingdom of the Holy One. Just live a godly life; refrain from harshness in your
speech, and you will lead your husband to the light.” And it was so.
If the women first
know the truth before their husbands do, the women must remain humble and
peaceful with their husbands, and pray God to send the Holy Spirit to make
their husbands understand the truth. This is necessary, because many have being
convinced and hardened of what they believe in by many years of experiences.
Jesus Establishes Immersion
Baptism As A Pledge Of Discipleship
And Jesus went to Jericho, and at the inn of Asher He abode. A servant at
the inn was sick, near unto death; the healers could not cure. And Jesus came
and touched the dying girl, and said, “Malone, arise!” And in a moment, pain
was gone; the fever ceased; the maid was well. And then the people brought
their sick, and they were healed.
But Jesus did not tarry long in Jericho; He went down to the Jordan ford where
John stay to teach. The multitudes were there and Jesus said to them, “Behold,
the time has come; the kingdom is at hand. None but the true in heart can come
into the kingdom of the Holy One; but every son and daughter of the human race
is called upon to turn from evil and become the pure in heart. The resolution
to attain and enter through the Christine gate
into the kingdom of the Holy One will constitute discipleship, and every one
must make a pledge of his discipleship.
“John washed your bodies in the stream, symbolic of the cleansing of the
soul, in preparation for the coming of the king, the opening of the Christine
gate into the kingdom of the Holy One.
“John did a mighty work; but now the Christine gate is opened up, and
washing is established as the pledge of your discipleship. This pledge shall be
a rite, and shall be called, the Rite of Immersion Baptism, until this age shall close. And it shall be a sign to
men, and seal to God of men's discipleship.
“You men of every nation, hear! Come unto me; the Christine gate is
opened up; turn from your sins and be baptized, and you shall enter through the
gate and see the king.”
The six disciples who had followed Jesus stood near, and Jesus led them forth
and in the Jordan he baptized them in the name of Christ; and then He said to
them,
“My friends, you are the first to enter through the Christine gate into
the kingdom of the Holy One. As I baptized you in the name of Christ, so you
shall, in that sacred name, baptize all men and women who will confess their
faith in Christ, and shall renounce their sins.” And, lo, the multitudes came
down, renounced the sins, confessed their faith in Christ, and were baptized.
The implication of
the immersion baptism is that every baptized Christian is free to spread the
Gospel of Truth and Salvation, in any ways possible. The work in the Lord’s
vineyard is not for the ministers of God only to do. And in doing the works of
God in various ways, people must not break the rites of holiness.
John Explains To The Multitude The Mission Of Jesus
Now, John the harbinger, was at
the Salim Springs where water was abundant, and
washed the bodies of the people who confessed their sins. A
Israelite lawyer went to John and said, “Has not this man from Galilee, he whom
you washed and called the Christ, become your foe?
They say that He is at the Jordan ford; that he is building up a church, or
something else, and that He washes people just as you have done.”
And John replied, “This Jesus is indeed the Christ whose way I came to pave. He
is not a foe of mine. The bridegroom has the bride;
his friends are near, and when they hear his voice, they all rejoice. The
kingdom of the Holy One is bride, and Christ the groom; and I, the harbinger,
am full of joy because they prosper so abundantly. I have performed the work
that I was sent to do; the work of Jesus just begins.”
Then turning to the multitudes he said, “Christ is the king of righteousness;
Christ is the love of God. Yes, He is God; one of the holy persons of the
Triune God. Christ lives in every heart of purity.”
“Now, Jesus who is preaching at the Jordan ford, has been subjected to
the hardest tests of human life, and He has conquered all the appetites and
passions of the carnal man. And by the highest court of heaven, He has been
declared a man of such superior purity and holiness that He can demonstrate the
presence of the Christ on earth. Lo, Love Divine, which is the Christ, abides
in Him and as Him, and He is pattern, a model, for humanity, in the race of
life. And every man can see in Him what every man will be, when the man has
conquered all the passions of the selfish self.
“In water, I have washed the bodies of the people who have turned from
sin, symbolic of the cleansing of the soul. But Jesus bathes forever in the
living waters of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus comes, as Love, to bring the
salvation to the world to humanity. Love is the saviour
of the world. And all who put their trust in Christ, and follow Jesus as a
pattern and a guide, have everlasting life. But they, who do not trust the
Christ, and will not purify their hearts so that the Christ can dwell within
them, can never enter life.”
Lamaas Visit And Follow Jesus.
Lamaas, a priest of
Brahm (Hinduism), who was a friend of Jesus when He
was in the temple of Jagannath, had heard of Jesus
and His mighty works in many lands. Lamaas had left his home and come to
Palestine in search of him. And as he journeyed towards Jerusalem he heard of
John, the harbinger, who was esteemed a prophet of the living God. Lamaas found
the harbinger at Salim Springs; for many days he was
a silent listener to the pungent truths John taught.
And he was present when the Pharisee told John of Jesus and his mighty works
He heard the answer of the harbinger; heard him bless the name of Jesus; whom he
called the Christ. And then he spoke to John; he said, “Pray tell me more about
this Jesus whom you call the Christ.”
And John replied, “This Jesus is the love of God made manifest. Lo, men are
living on the lower planes - the planes of greed and selfishness; for self they
fight; they conquer with the sword. In every land the strong enslave and kill
the weak. All kingdoms rise by force of arms; for force is king.
“This Jesus comes to overthrow this
iron rule of force, and seat Love on the throne of power. And Jesus fears no
man. He preaches boldly in the courts of kings, and everywhere, that victories
won by force of arms are crimes. That every worthy end may be attained by
gentleness and love just as the Prince of Peace, Melchisedec (Melchizedek), the priest of God, won gallant
victories in war without the shedding of a drop of blood.
“You ask where the temples of the
Christ are? He does not minister at shrines made with
hands. His temples are the hearts of holy men who are prepared to see the king.
The groves of nature are His synagogues. His forum is the world. He has no
priests dressed up in puppet style to be admired by men; for every son of man
is priest of Love.
“When man has purified his heart by faith, he needs no middle man to
intercede. He is on friendly terms with God, and is not afraid of God, and he
is able, and is bold enough, to lay his body on the altar of the Lord – because useful to both God and
man. Thus every man is priest, and is himself a living sacrifice. You need not
seek the Christ, for when your heart is purified the Christ will come, and will
abide with you for evermore.”
And then Lamaas journeyed on; he came to Jesus as He taught beside the ford.
And Jesus said, “Behold the Star of India!”
Lamaas said, “Behold the Sun of Righteousness!” And Lamaas confessed his faith
in Christ, and followed Him.