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Emergence from the imprisoning
It has been repeatedly emphasized in the Bible that the
Christ's coming brings great joy to the world. It has been reiterated in great Christmas carols like ''Joy to
the World the Lord is Come.'' And in His own Messages the Christ himself repeatedly returns to this
element of joy. To quote just briefly:
''My Message at this time of joyous celebration is this: awaken anew the Love in the hearts of your
brothers and teach them to share.'' (Message No. 92)
Again, in Message No. 100 He states: Best of all, many of us can gladly testify to the joy which we already find surging through our hearts and
minds because of this transpiring 'event of events'. Some esotericists, because of the rigid thought-form that the reappearance was not to take place until the
21st century, seem unable to accept that it is happening now. Jews of the orthodox persuasion seem to expect
that the Messiah will come at some still future date, while many in the more liberal branches of Judaism hint
or affirm that the witness of Judaism itself constitutes a group Messiah. Adherents of the Christian churches also fall into differing categories regarding this matter. At least
some fundamentalists believe strongly that the second coming of Christ must be preceded by a superhuman,
satanic anti-Christ, and greater cataclysms of destruction than those that have now taken place. Is it any
wonder that some of them blindly mistake him for the anti-Christ? On the other hand, many so called liberal Christians, such as those I have encountered in churches I have
worked in, believe that He already has come the second time ---- either at Pentecost, in biblical times, or
through the development of Christ consciousness in human hearts. (This latter is, of course, one of three
important aspects of His coming.) But in spite of all the skepticism and the hindering thought-forms, the
great longing and massed insistence of a suffering humanity have succeeded in bringing Him forth. Remember
that it had been prophesied that His coming would be 'like a thief in the night'. Long ago Jesus described such cleavage as a situation wherein, ''a man is against his father, a daughter
against her mother...'' Quoting from chapter 2, ''The Joy of Christ's Coming'' (p. 10): Unfortunately, the same situation continues today. As the Christ has pointed out in His Messages: On reflection, since the cleavage 'clears the way for the New Light', perhaps it is fortunate, rather than
the opposite. So perhaps we can look beyond the misunderstandings and obstacles set up by some religionists
and others, and rejoice with him even now in the coming victory of His Plan. Time and again through His Messages He has assured us of this victory: And continuing in Message No. 78: One of the first important changes to take place, through His leadership and our help, is a new system of
international ex-change and sharing. This will have priority in order to bring about an end to the rampant
starvation and deprivation existing today among multiplied millions of our sisters and brothers, both in
Africa and in many other parts of the world. As rapidly as possible a new and wondrously efficient system of international co-operation ---- based on
goodwill and right human relations ---- will take place in political, economic, cultural and other fields of
human endeavor. Also, working through men, in the process of time, He will establish colleges for teaching the
Ageless Wisdom, re-establish the Ancient Mysteries, and make the first two of the major initiations available
right here on the physical plane. As rapidly as we can follow He will lead us out of our religious
divisiveness into one New World Religion (which is to include freedom for different approaches to divinity). A
new system of education will be evolved, preparing people for all aspects of the creative life, in contrast to
the narrow emphasis of today. Through Alice Bailey, the Master DK has summarized all this as: ''...the true resurrection ---- the
emergence of mankind from the imprisoning cave of materialism.'' (The Reappearance of the Christ, p. 101) Note how the writer of the New Testament's final book, Revelation, foresaw what is beginning to happen now: This article is a chapter from The Joy of Christ's Coming. This book by the late Rev. Howard Ray Carey was published by Share International Foundation in 1988. It is not currently available in hard copy form. Copyright © Share International Foundation. Biblical quotations are taken from the Revised Standard version unless otherwise indicated. Download a copy of this book:
Copyright © Share International Foundation
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