A God Who Speaks Again At The Right Time

A god who speaks again at the right time
Painting of the prophet Jeremiah by Michaelangelo

The writings of the Hebrew prophet Jeremiah (probably after 650 – c. 570 BC) appear in both the Jewish and Christian scriptures. His prophecies were often directed towards particular people. But there is a particular prophecy in Jeremiah 31 addressed to the people of Israel and the people of Judah.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband to them,]
declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
    and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.”
(Jeremiah 31:31-34, New International Version)

A God who speaks again at the right time

No declaration was made as to when this would happen, only that it would happen. But hundreds of years later, the author of the letter to the Hebrews declared that this very thing had happened. How had this happened? In the teachings and demonstrations of Jesus. The author describes this further in Hebrews 8.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews forthrightly declared that God had spoken again in the life and work of Jesus:

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. (Hebrews 1:1-2, New International Version)

But to me, the author is saying even more. The author is saying that in the prophesy of Jeremiah, God is promising to speak again at the right time. Furthermore, in the person and work of Jesus, God is fulfilling the promises made in Jeremiah 31. God is demonstrating speaking again at the right time. The God of the Bible is a god who speaks again at the right time.

The revelation “The Great Turning Point for Humanity” declares:

At this great turning point, Heaven has sent a New Revelation into the world, a Revelation unlike anything that has been given to the world since the days of Muhammad. For these Revelations are only given at great turning points, representing a response to a great need and a great opportunity to uplift humanity, to prepare it for its next great stage of development.

We face our greatest challenge now. But God has spoken again. Because God is a god who speaks again at the right time.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

Ready, Willing, Capable, Permitted

Woman-Priest Ready, willing, capable, permittedThis post is my contribution to the 2015 observance of International Women’s Day. I also wish to share that the New Message from God has a number of things to say about women’s roles in a society. Furthermore, the New Message from God has some things to say on the subject that aren’t being said by very many other voices. These things appear in the revelation “The Age of Women,” received by Marshall Vian Summers in November of 2007. The New Message offers, shall we say, a larger perspective:

“It will be interesting, perhaps, for you to consider that in advanced nations in the universe—advanced nations in the Greater Community of intelligent life in which you live—that where there is a distinction between men and women, or male and female, in those particular races, the races that are not androgynous in nature, that the female is usually given priority in matters of conscience and spirituality.”

Ready, willing, capable, permitted

It’s not like women have never held these roles. Deborah judged Israel in the Old Testament book of Judges. Huldah was a prophetess in the days of Jeremiah. Priscilla was called by Paul as “one of his fellow workers in Christ Jesus.” Rabia Basri was a Sufi saint and poet.

“Clearly, if you look in the past century, you have seen in all of society’s evolution, in many places in the world, the rise of women to roles of prominence that were previously only assumed by men. This is a natural evolution and should be continued. There are now heads of state who are women, but they are still blocked from becoming religious leaders in many, many traditions and in many cultures. They can become the president of a nation, but not a priest or a rabbi or an imam, in many circumstances.”

Ready, willing, capable, permitted. I therefore wish to modify this well-known quote from the book Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein:

A man or woman should be ready, willing, capable, and permitted to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Ready, willing, capable, permitted. Furthermore, I wish to add a few things to Robert Heinlein’s list. A certain man or woman should be ready, willing, capable and permitted to celebrate mass, to lead Friday prayers in the mosque, initiate Buddhists as monks, say or sing the Kol Nidrei, pastor a church, prophesy, heal the sick, raise the dead, cure people with AIDS, cast out devils, display profound intuition, inexplicable knowing, wise perception of the present and future, wise understanding of the past.

Ready, willing, capable, permitted. I realize this may take a while to happen. That’s all right. It has to start somewhere.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

What Of The Wounds My Brothers Gave To Me?

What of the wounds my brothers gave to me?When the same passage appears twice in the space of three chapters in the Bible, I consider it to be a dead giveaway that that passage is something to which I’m supposed to pay particular attention. In chapter 6 of the book of Jeremiah, the prophet brought an indictment against the kingdom of Judah, a corrupt nation living on borrowed virtue and borrowed time. This indictment is repeated in chapter 8:

“From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.
They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
    when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:13-14, New International Version)

I share this as I think about Step 86 “I honor those who have given to me” in Steps to Knowledge. Any student who has come this far has already received an answer for the question “How shall I deal with my self-inflicted wounds, the painful consequences of my own errors?” That answer was introduced in Step 26 “My errors give birth to my Knowledge,” and developed in Step 73 “I will allow my errors to teach me.” The answer is something to the effect of “Don’t kid yourself into thinking that error doesn’t exist. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that error doesn’t hurt. Make the decision to learn from your errors so as not to repeat them, thus avoiding the pain and suffering they bring.” I found that to be a satisfactory answer, a satisfactory dressing of my self-inflicted wounds.

What of the wounds my brothers gave to me?

But there is another side of the coin that must be addressed. Many people have difficulty dealing with wounds which are inflicted by others, the painful consequences of the errors of others. Many people question the justice of God, or the character of God, or even the very existence of God when they contemplated the actions of other people. I believe Step 86 provides an empowering context into which to place the evil that men do.

The people who have wounded me put my character, strength, courage and magnanimity to the test. Sometimes I passed the test, sometimes I didn’t. But they offered me a mirror in which I could plainly see myself. Maybe that’s what Rumi meant when he said “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

As I honor those who have given to me, I offer gratitude for the contributions of some people. What of the wounds my brothers gave to me? I thank them for the test they offered me, even if I didn’t pass. I am thankful that Steps to Knowledge is addressing this subject, and not saying “Peace, peace” when there is no peace.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.