<2>Each message contains the meaning of one of
those churches, the pitfalls in that stage and how they should be
avoided, and eventually what is the reward of overcoming these
pitfalls.
"Unto the
angel of the church of
Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in
his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks;" (Rev. 2:1)
<3>The church of Ephesus can be viewed as the
first
chakra. <4>At
the same time, it refers to the first awakening of the consciousness
()
and latent spiritual forces ()
in the human (first step in the
Eternal
Divine Path).
<5>"Who walketh in the midst of the seven
golden candlesticks" shows that it is
Christ
who revealed all the truth of the religions to humanity. <6>Another
meaning is that each person is a consciousness in the middle of his
chakras, as Arjuna (Bhagavad-Gita)
struggling to overcome the lower nature, so becoming
Christ (Krishna).
"I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy
patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are
evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and
are not, and hast found them liars:" (Rev. 2:2)
<7>Who are these people that awaken their
consciousnesses which are in the first
chakra, or those who for the first time open their eyes more to
the realities of their environment and the goal of their lives?
These are the poor in
spirit
(Matthew 5:3) who have worked hard to obtain real satisfaction in
their lives. Instead they find more and more
evil going around them. They try to find real guidance
("apostles") in order to be led to the truth. Instead they find that
all those who consider themselves to be teachers and guides are
liars, or are as lost as themselves.
<8>That is why the person becomes
discouraged, as he sees all the plays people engage in to get by in
life. He or she sets out to search for the truth. That is the reason
the yogis left the regular life and isolated themselves in mountains
or jungles to find the truth within, because they felt the truth
could not be found by following men.
<9>Therefore, the first symbol in our
Sign ()
is related to the teachings of the Far East (Mystical
Paths), which work to awaken or raise the latent consciousness
from the first
chakra to higher
chakras.
<10>However, as long as man is lost in the
attraction of the external world and gets along with the plays of
society, he will not even search to find what the real truth is. When he finds that all the guidance he used to follow is as lost as
himself, then he will start to search his own
Soul in order to find
the truth.
"And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my
name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted." (Rev. 2:3)
<11>"And hast borne, and hast patience": Why
have these people borne? They have endured because they became
different. They stopped playing and became searchers of the truth. Society does not like those who are different. That is why they
become outcasts and will endure hardships in their search for
finding the truth. Their patience leads them to the truth.
<12>"For my name's sake": What is His
Name? His name is "the truth." So they will bear persecution for the sake
of the truth. Those who persist and do not faint will find it.
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,
because thou hast left thy first love." (Rev. 2:4)
<13>What was these people's first love? It
was the external world. It was the society that they were first in
love with. They tried to find the reality and the truth in it, but
they did not. So they leave their first love.
God is against it.
"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen,
and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee
quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except
thou repent." (Rev. 2:5)
<14>The sentence, "Remember therefore from
whence thou art fallen" completely shows what the "first love"
means. The first love is where the person has first fallen from: the
society. He or she has fallen from the society and became
discouraged about its teachings and plays.
<15>"Do the first works": The first works are
to bring others to this realization that the truth is only in
spirit and to try to
establish the
Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth. Otherwise, "I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place." You will not reach anywhere, you will
only become an escapist by leaving your first love, and you will
lose further realization of the spiritual life. That is exactly what
happened to the Far East. "Candlestick" means the
light
of guidance.
"But this thou hast, that thou hatest the
deeds of the
Nicolaitanes, which I also hate." (Rev. 2:6)
<16>The "deeds
of the Nicolaitanes" are the
evil things and false
guidance in society. People who are poor in
spirit are escapists and the Lord
God does not want them to be that way (poor in
spirit). Yet He likes them because they hate
evil things and false guides ("Nicolaitanes")
(refer to Rev. 2:2).
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give
to eat of the
tree of life,
which is in the midst of the paradise of
God." (Rev. 2:7)
<17>"He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches" means that those who have their
eyes (third eyes)
opened will understand when the truth behind these revelations is
explained, and what the message of the Spirit is to each church.
<18>"To him that overcometh will I give to
eat of the
tree of life"
means that whoever understands that life is a struggle, and that a
person should stay in society and perfect himself in order to set an
example for others, "I will help him to reach
Pure
Consciousness, which is life eternal." <19>The
tree of life is
the pattern in which a person progresses in spiritual understanding,
"which is in the midst of the paradise of
God" or the human body. It can be referred to as the raising of the kundalini through the
chakras.
<20>These people are the ones who were
mourning and will be comforted (Matthew 5:4). They will eat of the
tree of life
and are the conquerors of the Souls ("conquering, and to conquer,"
Rev. 6:2).
"And unto the
angel
of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the
last, which was dead, and is alive;" (Rev. 2:8)
<21>What is the church in Smyrna? It is the
second symbol in our Sign (),
the star of David (the seal of Solomon). It also refers to the
second chakra.
"I know thy works, and
tribulation, and
poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which
say they are
Jews, and are not, but
are the synagogue of Satan." (Rev. 2:9)
<22>"I know thy works, and
tribulation, and
poverty" means that those who had overcome escapism will start to
fight with evildoers and liars. They will go through
tribulation, become outcasts, and be struck with poverty.
<23>"But thou art rich" means, "But you are
rich in spirit and
life, because you have an ideology for which to fight and a goal for
which to strive." <24>However, those who lie, do
evil, and are lost in
Maya are rich in
material things but are poor in spiritual wealth.
<25>"And I know the blasphemy of them which
say they are Jews, and
are not, but are the synagogue of Satan":
Jews were supposed to be the
Children of
Israel (those who
struggle with
God, or
Elected Ones)
and should have shown humanity that the
Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth ()
is necessary for human progress. They should have tried to establish
it. Hence those who do not strive to bring this ideal are "the
synagogue of Satan."
"Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer: behold, the
devil shall cast some
of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have
tribulation
ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown
of life." (Rev. 2:10)
<26>"Fear none of those
things" refers to suffering and being persecuted. Be faithful
and do not fear death, because "I will give thee a crown of life."
There is not such a thing as death for a realized Soul. He dies of
knowledge and will gain eternal life. <27>It is true that in this state a person
is in his second chakra. However, if he is so sincere as to be ready to
sacrifice all,
even his life, for truth and his ideology, then he has overcome the
attraction of this external world. If a person who reaches this
point, where nothing can stop him from fighting for truth, is
killed, then he is martyred and becomes a martyr.
<28>Such a person will reach
Pure
Consciousness because he is worthy of it, "I will give thee a
crown of life." This is also promised in both the
Koran and Bhagavad-Gita. "A war to establish justice,
such as this one, opens the doors of
heaven.... Happy is
he who fights such a war. Not to fight such a righteous battle is to
disregard your sacred duty and honor, and that is
sin [transgression of the Law (Daharma)],
Arjuna" (B.G. 2:32-33). "Do not think of those who are slain in the
way of
God [righteous war] as
dead. No, indeed, they are with their Lord...." (Koran,
The Family of Imran, Ali 'Imran, 169).
"...He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the
second death." (Rev. 2:11)
<29>Those who overcome their fears and
attachments to this external life will gain everlasting life. They
will reach
Pure
Consciousness. These are the people who are meek, who will
inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5) and will gain eternal life (Rev.
2:11). The power will be given to them to take peace from the earth
(Rev. 6:4).