Death, Where Is Thy Victory?

Stick with this post, it will pay off in the end - g

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We quote Corinthians 15: 35-49:

"But someone will ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?' You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is alike, but there is one kind for men, another kind for animals, another for birds, another for fish. There are celestial bodies and there are terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon , and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown in a physical body, it is raised in a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

Thus it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual. 

The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven."

Having read this you will certainly not ask the question pre-supposed in the letter to the Corinthians: 'But some one will ask 'How are the dead raised?'  For now you know that it is absolutely impossible to raise a dualistic soul, a dualistic ego and a dualistic personality imperishably.

Every living entity in these realms of the nature of death, every living organism, be it plant, animal or human being, obeys one and the same law, namely that the fluid which ensouls it is a certain state of the magnetic forces of duality. And not one of these entities, irrespective of the situation in which it might be, can be compared in any respect whatsoever to manifestations in, out of and by the Gnosis. Whatever awakens out of the Gnosis can manifest itself only when all that was, has first been crucified, has died, has been buried, and can never be brought to life again.

When Paul says that one day we shall bear the image of the heavenly human being, he doesn't mean that you, as a dualistic ego, will one day enter that state of renewal. No, he means that after the rebirth of the soul, i.e. after the rebirth of the ego -- the three-fold "I" of thinking, willing and feeling -- your personality, your vehicles, will temporarily bear the new soul and the new I, just as Jesus the Lord did after his resurrection. In that phase you will have lain aside the image of the physical human being, and you, i.e. your vehicles, will then bear the image of the heavenly man.

This is why Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 15:50 by emphasizing that 'flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God'. What is sown is perishable, dishonourable and weak, but what is raised is the soul truly living in the Gnosis. That is the Great Mystery of Salvation: your dualistic personality can be the basis for the tremendous initial process of transfiguration. The main thing is that the pupil understands this Mystery of Salvation, that he enters into the process, and that he breaks through to the The Goal.

Whoever starts off on The Path, very seriously and with great dedication, is linked to the Gnosis, as you know, and something of the immortal state will immediately manifest itself in him.

If the personality of such a brother or sister dies during this process of preparation, they will lay down their physical body in the usual way. Yet there is a mystery connected with such a pupil, for the seed of immortality was already active and had already started making progress. Therefore this deceased pupil will not be totally dissolved like all the phenomena of ordinary nature, but will continue the process of salvation in that part of the Magnetic Body of the Spiritual School that we can call the sanctified soul-ether field. Hence, all our dead ones, who die in the Lord in this way, will one day be raised imperishably.

You still have your personality, and although it is one of dishonour, weakness and perishability, you can already partake in the rebirth of the soul, and you can gain all the advantages of this.

And so there is a two-fold mystery. Whoever commences The Path can completely rest assured. Either he will die naturally and awaken later in the soul-liberating Field of Life, or he will already be resurrected in the new soul-state in the present. In both situations, the resurrection is certain and absolute.

Therefore there is a glorious certainty for all who truly walk The Path of the Mysteries that the real death of absolute termination is vanquished right from the start. And so every pupil can joyfully exclaim:

Death is swallowed up in Victory. O death, where is thy sting? The sting of the living death of nature has been removed.

O, death, where is thy victory? The victory of death has been rescinded.

Therefore be steadfast, unwavering, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not and never will be in vain

From The Living Word -- Catharose de Pietri

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Does a seed always remain a seed? Only if it is not cared for. The physical human being carries a divine seed. It is the spirit-spark atom, the Rosebud, the divine spark. This divine seed must be brought forth, it must germinate and bloom. When it does, the physical human being, just as the husk of any seed, will no longer be. In its place will be The Other One, the Spirit-Soul-Body tri-unity. The perishable shall have put on the imperishable.

There is a Great Purpose to this common life, which appears to be pointless to so many. It is to give birth to the Heavenly Man! We do this by yearning for salvation, gaining insight, opening the Rose of the Heart and surrendering the self.

The human being is a Great Mystery. However, now, at the end of this major world-cycle, the Key to this Mystery is being revealed to all who have ears to hear, so that the Harvest may be abundant. All of you, no matter what your station in life, or your past transgressions and failures, can qualify for this rebirth and resurrection. As we leave the Piscean Age and enter the Age of Aquarius,  the Great Mercy of the Logos is now being poured over mankind. That is the true, symbolic meaning of Aquarius, the Water-Bearer.

The Call is being resounded, the Ark is now boarding! Hearken and respond! Shake off your delusion, throw off your shackles! Take up your responsibility and begin to fulfill your divine Destiny. Victory is assured, for Death is no match for the Gnosis.

Immortality beckons. We pray that you will answer its Call.

~ g
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