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THE GREATER WORLD CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALIST CHURCH
THE ZODIAC MESSAGES
"BODIES TERRESTRIAL AND BODIES CELESTIAL"
An address by the celestial messenger 'Zodiac' (the
unnamed scribe of the Bible and a teacher in the Temple
of Jerusalem at the time of Christ), at the Zodiac
Circle on Saturday, 4th September, 1926
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"CHRIST, Beloved of our hearts, we thank Thee
for Thy great gift of service, and we ask Thee to accept
that little which we are able to lay at Thy feet.
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"O God, cleanse us and inspire us anew with the
faith which nothing can assail. Pour down upon us that
illumination which shall show the path in front, not
free from enemies, not free from difficulties, but
transformed by our faith and trust in Thee. Grant that
the consciousness may come to each of Thy children,
that they are not only fighting and conquering their
own enemies, but those who are arraigned against Thyself.
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"Christ, give us that valiant heart which will
not turn aside from persecution, which will not quail
before the criticism of others. Give us that holy aspiration
which shall lead us out of the unrealities of the physical
world, into the realities of the Life which lasts for
ever.
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"And, above all, grant that we may be suitable
tools, that our reluctance, our misgivings, all may
be laid aside, and that we, as disciples of the Holy
Master, may listen ever to the voice of the Spirit,
and obey, not as a child its stern parent, but as the
heirs of Everlasting Life.
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"Father, for all Thy many good gifts we thank
Thee. Amen.
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"MY LITTLE CHILDREN, I want you to commune within
yourselves, and to ask that which represents the greater,
stronger you within, whether that purpose can be forwarded
by effort on your part. This responsibility lies with
all; 'Am I doing my portion of the great Work?' And
in a little while to come, with a joy impossible to
describe, you shall look back over the past, and thank
your Heavenly Father that you were found fit vessels
for use, sufficiently purified, sufficiently tested,
to bring the revelation of the Truth to doubting humanity.
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"A great and glorious future lies in front of
all, but, dear children, only by the present, only
by your efforts now, by your prayers, by your dedication,
can to-morrow be glorious in the Spirit sense, and
in the sense which the real you desires.
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"And now, my little ones, I want you to give me
your full attention; to put aside preconceived ideas
on this and on that, and to come with me in thought,
for there is another inch of the long furrow of knowledge
which must be turned.
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"To-night the subject of our discussion is that
of BODIES SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL, BODIES CELESTIAL
AND TERRESTRIAL; and ere we part I want you all to
feel within yourselves that you have penetrated a step
further into Truth.
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"My children, the one you love so well, that same
Paul, is here, and he is lending me of his power because
I seek to explain just a little more regarding that
revelation which came to him and which, in turn, he
passed on to numbers beyond your power to count (1
Cor. 15, 40). Yet by his wish I remind you of this:
that in those ancient days we were held up by much.
In the first place the influence of traditional thought
sealed us, as it were, in an armour from which only
by anguish were we able to extricate ourselves. The
customs of the time and those terrible restrictions
imposed by creed and caste, all this shut us off; aye!
they were as countless gates which were barred between
us and the One True Light.
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"Therefore, in reading the Sacred Record, bear
this always in mind. The revelation which came through
the power of the Holy Spirit was poured down upon us,
but, alas! it was not possible to chronicle in words
the visions as they came - much time elapsed before
that which had been given us by God could be narrated
for the help and comfort of others. Think you how it
is with yourselves: some there are who have visions
of this and visions of that, and at the time these
are vivid, they are glorious, they are Truth itself.
Yet the domination of the physical mind is so strong
that as the days pass - aye! in some cases it is only
a question of hours - but as time passes so the brightness
fades, and so the misgivings and doubts and the misunderstandings
arise; and that which you have at your command to pass
on to others is but the shell of the gift which was
bestowed.
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"Children, in reading the Sacred Record the representatives
of the Most High perchance forget this: they forget
that these men, though inspired by the Holy Spirit,
were limited, were restricted by the casket of flesh
in which they lived. They were restricted, it is true,
but countless millions have thanked God for the revelation
which is there, and for the wonderful strength with
which it is presented to man. Still I must underline
this - that Paul is conscious even as the rest, even
as those nearest to the Holy Master - Paul is conscious
that what he passed on was but a fragment of that which
was given unto him as a trust.
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"Children, in regard to the coverings of that
which is Divine within us all, I want you to consider
this not in its narrow aspect, but in something of
that great wide area of Being which the Truth represents.
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"These bodies of flesh in which you function now
they are indeed able, in a measure, to express something
of the Self within. Had you consistently turned from
God through that long past, through those involutionary
stages of development, so to-night, dear children,
it would be impossible for me to say that the body
which you wear expresses in a degree something of that
Holiness which is enclosed within.
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"I want you to draw upon your imagination - that
imagination which I have explained before, is God's
gift of memory; memory of conditions which are beyond
your conception now, cabined as you are within the
flesh - to draw upon memory and to try and follow me
in thought while I explain things as they are, putting
aside things as they seem to you and to mankind at
this stage.
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"At creation you and I were made in the likeness
of God, gifted with the gifts which He possesses, aye!
in miniature those gifts were ours over a chain of
experiences which I cannot enter into to-night. Yet
through these you have passed and at this stage you
have arrived at the consciousness not only that God
is your Creator, but He is your Father and your Mother
God: that you belong to Him and that He belongs to
you for ever and for ever.
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"In those many intermediary stages of experience
between the present and the time when you were all-pure,
all-holy, all-love, you have functioned in many conditions
- call them planes or spheres as you will; you have
passed through experiences in a myriad different conditions,
surrounded by that which was necessary to promote the
next stage of growth. Yet once more I must affirm,
because it is Truth, that on this same plane - the
earth - in a physical body you have not functioned
before.
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"But listen while I speak, for this point has
caused much discussion, and discussion among the children
of the earth almost inevitably brings discord; and
harmony is of God.
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"That which is within - pure, undefiled - that
has brought with it many memories of the past, aye!
many memories of experiences which have provided for
it the tools which it so sorely needs. And there are
those who, drawing upon memory, are able to narrate
something of those experiences; but mark you this:
in regard to these experiences there is a point which
must be considered in its due import.
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"During the sleep stage, when the Spirit is free
from that which binds, you - your real self - travel
far and wide, aye! sometimes passing through in your
journeys not only places foreign, so-called, to the
physical mind, but also into other planes, other conditions
connected with the past, yes! penetrating into the
past as well as forging on into the future. And when
sleep has taken flight, so the Spirit, resuming the
tabernacle of flesh, is able sometimes to force through
to the mind of the body some remembrance of what it
has seen where it has been.
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"Another point is this: as I have explained before,
physical birth - birth into the earth plane - is but
one of our many experiences. There are those who have
done much work on this plane of sense before the physical
body was taken on, and thus it is you find amongst
those you know that some are nearer to God, nearer
to the Christ ideal than others.
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"You must remember, dear children, that the opportunity
for physical birth lies to a certain extent within
the province of those already on earth, and thus it
is that many aspiring souls have to wait long, aye!
over the centuries before they are able to make the
physical experience their own.
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"But because they are ready for that experience,
so the Father of us all had made due provision; and
those whom you call the 'unborn', they come and work
through the earth experiences of others, helping, relieving;
and while they help those they love, they are enabled,
by God's grace, to help themselves in a way impossible
to describe.
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"And so it is in the world to-day that there are
those who walk very near to Christ and their influence
casts a radiance over all within their vibrations.
They had to wait for the physical experience but the
compensation has come - the mighty Mind of God has
worked throughout.
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"Then, dear children, you will see from this how
again memory - that which man calls imagination - has
acted and reacted in regard not only to the individual
but to others, in this way: there are those within
the body to-day who are able to give details of a life
which bears no resemblance to their own life now. In
some cases they are able to describe the lives of others,
not as their lives are to-day but, perchance, as they
were in some past age.
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"The explanation is here: during those periods
before the physical body was donned they, as Spirits,
were functioning upon this little plane of sense and,
likewise, their brothers or their sisters.
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"And then, dear children, I bring you to this
thought and I want all your patience and concentration,
for we are talking of things which are beyond the range
of the physical mind, yet, by the grace of God, I am
calling upon that stronger mind which is within; and
in reading my words so the Truth shall penetrate into
the mind of the body.
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"Think you to yourselves like this: those who
have passed out of the cabin of flesh have come back
to you and again and again have described scenes which
bear some resemblance to the beauty of your little
world. Remember what I have told you before - that
the beauties of the earth are a pale reflection of
those conditions which are Spirit, a pale reflection
of that Home which awaits you when your lessons have
been learnt.
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"The returning of your loved ones who describe
scenes familiar as well as unfamiliar discloses a great
Truth: that God our Father, understanding the human
construction, leads His little ones by gradual stages
- out of darkness into dim twilight, out of twilight
into the dawn, out of the dawn into God's fair day.
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"That represents as nearly as I can portray in
the language of the world the journey of the spirit,
and the bodies which it wears during its changing experiences.
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"Oh, think you how the mighty mind of God has
overlooked all things not only for His children's comfort,
but also for the education of His little ones! Exactly
in the same way as you would write it down as folly
to take an infant and pass it into a class where the
teaching was totally beyond its comprehension, so the
Eternal Father leads us by gentle stages out of ignorance
into half-understanding, out of half-understanding
into full understanding, out of understanding into
Wisdom itself.
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"So, my little ones, think to yourselves like
this: that though the body you wear at this stage is
temporal, one day it will be spiritual in every sense
there could be. One day, though you may come back -
and you will come back to help the strugglers on the
earth plane - your setting will be that holiness, that
freedom which your Spirit desires.
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"Keep your vision clear and take the broad, wide
view. Familiar though parts of this little plane may
be to some they are strange to others, and this applies
exactly in the same way with the mind of the Spirit
within. Those on earth whom you call advanced - those
whom you love to gather with because they raise your
thoughts a stage beyond things material - these have
striven long, these have been through many experiences
upon this plane, but not before in a body of flesh.
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"The gift of physical birth is so precious, yet
it is a gift that has to be waited for. There are countless
thousands of souls waiting for physical birth.
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"What think you of these? Have they no being,
are they unconscious of what they are, of the journey
behind and the journey in front? Ten thousand times,
no! Their consciousness, if they are aspiring souls,
is infinitely greater than the consciousness of the
majority upon earth; and when the little earth story
is told, so, gifted with the sight which is sight indeed,
you will go back over the past and you will see the
explanation of the links with one here and another
there. Not chance, not only for this brief to-day.
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"Those links were forged in a time long past,
and in the working through of experiences so the wheel
has turned and so again you have contributed to each
other, if God is within your heart, that which is according
to the plan, the great constructive plan which our
Creator has brought into being for the raising up and
the freeing of His little ones.
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"My children, the one you name Paul was given
this vision and he understood it in part. The one you
name Paul, drawing upon that larger mind within, sought
to express in words something of the Truth, to put
it in its simplicity so that those around might understand;
sought to portray the Truth that life goes on for ever,
aye! and to indicate that before this little life was
commenced many experiences had taken place.
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"And then we come to this - pondering over our
responsibilities, feeling perhaps somewhat frail and
weak we turn to others for help; and in this room to-night,
gathered together through love for God and by the Love
of God, there are those who have worked over the ages,
not only on this little plane but in conditions which
are only partly understood by you at this stage.
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"They come for what purpose? They seek to follow
Christ; they come with good tidings, tidings which
should for ever cast aside that spectre of sorrow and
anxiety; they come to reassure you that you too, in
time, no more will be bound by the flesh and its restrictions,
that you no more will be tied to this plane of sense,
so far as the physical eyes and the physical mind are
concerned. But in the sweet by and by, in bodies no
longer temporal but spiritual, as celestial beings,
linked up to your Father and Mother God, you will come
back and grapple with the weaknesses of others; for
you will see then that without the stronger ones in
your own vibrations, without those early pioneers who
had come to grips with their lesser selves and conquered,
you would not only be imprisoned still in a temporal
body but in a body which was terrible to behold.
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"Remember this: that at no stage in the career
of any man or woman, at no period during those involutionary
and evolutionary stages did you remain at the same
point of development. A stationary aspect cannot exist;
it is either upward or downward, either stronger or
weaker, either purer or less like that which God intended
His children should represent.
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"Oh! think within yourselves and let not theories
regarding this nor ideas regarding that hold your minds.
These things are explained for those who wish to know,
but when in the mind of this one or that, knowledge,
or lack of knowledge, comes between them and the brotherhood
of man, in that measure is Christ crucified once again.
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"So, my little ones, I bring you back to the thought
which fills our whole being - that of the Beloved,
of our Heavenly Father, of our Saviour Christ. Aye,
and to the patience of the Lord God of all, Who waits
and waits for His little children to answer to His
Voice, to arouse themselves from sleep and to don their
armour; for only the warriors are able to climb, only
those who can find within the strength to battle for
their God, only those who have laid aside self and
the many deceptions of the physical mind, only such
as these can do the Master's work in His way.
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"I speak not of to-day, I speak of that time which
is coming, when the war between that which you call
good and evil must and will be fought. For this you,
little ones of my heart, are being trained. Think of
it, the honour which lies in front, when the call comes
for the valiant of heart, to be able to find within
yourselves that spiritual resource which shall not
only send you into the thick of the battle, but which
shall enclose you in a protection which can withstand
the fiercest onslaughts of the forces of darkness.
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"Evening by evening I seek to unfold those things
which are of God and I minister to the mind of the
body which raises queries as to this and as to that.
Yes, the mind of the body ever seeks to untie knots
regarding those subjects which attract, yet in the
untying, unconsciously to itself, has knotted the rope
a little further on. And so, by God's Will, I lend
my aid in the task of understanding those things which
create discussion; but never forget, dear children,
that this is secondary, this is not the prime motive
for my presence in your midst.
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"I speak on this and I speak of that, but always
I bring you back to simple things, to simple faith,
to simple trust and love - love for each other, love
for those who come into your presence in this way and,
above all, love for the One Who showers upon you a
Love impossible to portray.
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"That is my mission, for lo! when the body is
laid aside, you will step out of your misunderstandings
and you will marvel amongst yourselves how these little
questions had the power to tease and to distract. For
the past will lie open before you, and you will see
that the links of the past provided the links of the
present; and, again, as much as you can bear, the veil
of the future will be drawn apart and you will see
there what you worked in; how - blind, limited, restricted
in a thousand ways - you provided the essential links
for the glorious future.
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"Simple as all things are of God, man, because
he has sought knowledge from the earth and not from
the Great Source of Wisdom, man has taken those simple
things and made them so complicated that he can find
no solution to the riddle he has put together.
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"But the truths of God are within the reach of
all, yet one thing is needful and without that the
gates are closed. Children, the humble heart - that
laying aside of the furniture of the physical mind
and approaching the Source of Knowledge with faith,
with humility and with love. And to the children who
wish to know, because Truth is of God, so the gates
are thrown wide open, and not only understanding of
things physical but comprehension of things spiritual
is made their own.
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"Now, my children, I will leave you. Go forward
with joy within your hearts. Say to yourselves: From
tonight I shall be different; I shall be braver, stronger,
happier, wiser, for I have contacted with God.
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"God's Presence is here in a way you cannot understand;
His Love is poured upon you, His healing power is all
around. Take of these precious and priceless possessions
and make them your own. Christ has called you! Answer
from the real You within: 'Master, I come!'
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"God bless you all with understanding, with that
purer faith which will make all things clear. Resting
on His strength, so you will find from within the strength
to fight for progress; and in fighting for progress
to force on the progress of mankind at large. God bless
you with faith. Amen.
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"Goodnight, my little ones."
©GWCSA
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