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5
Have human beings no right then to call themselves children of God?
When the human beings had been formed and brought to life, the Eldest chose lands and places that lay somewhat above the swamps and the waters.
And they brought the new beings to these places, that they might make themselves masters over the Earth and over the beasts.
But when the humans awoke to life and saw the huge beasts, they fled in terror. Some hid in the densely entwined growths; some dug caves, dug them with their hands in the steep slopes; others fled into the bleak mountains; and none dared come forth until hunger drove them out in search of food. Then they fell upon the smaller beasts, killed them and sucked their blood.
In this way they sustained life.
By their thought, the Eldest sought to influence and to guide their creatures. But the Eldest’s thoughts were evil, and incited the human beings to many wicked, many cruel actions.
The humans were not able to see their creators, but when they felt the evil currents that emanated from the Eldest’s thoughts they raised their hands fearfully toward the Earth’s sun which shone with a reddish glow through the fogs.
And the Eldest said to one another: "See! Our children turn to the light of the Earth for help; our children turn away from us, away from Darkness.
The humans looked on one another with evil in their eyes; they fought, they killed one another, and the living sucked the blood of the dead.
Then did the Eldest see the immaterial bodies of the dead rise slowly from the ground and move without aim among the living.
And they saw these drift about, without thought, without will. They saw them as faint shadows, animate and yet without life.
And some of the Eldest said: “The human spiritual bodies are not absorbed in the Darkness that is about them, but the earthly bodies disintegrate and return to that from which they were taken.
“Why does the Darkness not also absorb the spiritual bodies?”
And the Elder answered: “When we formed and created these beings from the emissions of the Darkness and of the Earth, we remembered not to withhold our own substance, and some of that from which we ourselves were formed flowed with the waves of the Darkness into the spiritual bodies of our creatures. And it matters not how faint the Light of our Father, it can never be quenched; and these shadows will continue to be through eternity.”
Then replied some of the Eldest: “This is terrible, this was not our will. Let us seek to withhold our own nature that no more shadows shall become animate and yet be without life.”
Much time passed.
The humans were as the animals, living like them, mating like them; and their offspring became abundant.
And the flowing waves of the Darkness carried spiritual vitality from the Eldest and imparted it to all the newborn children.
And the Eldest attempted to break the power of the Darkness, attempted to withhold their natures. But they could not, for Darkness bound them.
Then said some: “Truly we are become the servants of Darkness, for we are not able to free ourselves of our creatures; we are not able to withhold our own substance. Darkness pervades us, Darkness binds us, and the human shadows will continue to be through eternity.”
The Elder answered and said: “Let us persevere, until at last we become the masters of Darkness!”
But they who had spoken would not hear him, for they were not with him. And they said to one another: “Let us remain in our ruined kingdom, in our imperfect dwellings and nevermore venture onto the Earth; for we have no power to set straight this confusion.”
Much time passed.
The humans continued to multiply. And they went forth across the Earth; but their shadows followed them. And these grew ever greater in number.
Some of the shadows found their way to the ruined kingdom, attracted by the Eldest’s thoughts.
Then were the Eldest dismayed.
Many fell silent. And for them there was no joy, for they grieved much.
The shadows entered the imperfect dwellings and wandered about in the ruined kingdom without thought, without will, without aim; animate, yet devoid of life.
And the Eldest saw this.
But they had not the power to help them.
Then sounded God’s voice once more, for another eon had passed.
And the Eldest all listened.
But God's voice was distant.
And God said: “My children, I, your Father, speak to you that you may remember that which you have forsaken, and repent of that which you have done.”
Then some of the Eldest gave reply.
And they cried: “Father, Father, show pity for these wretched shadows, our creatures! Father, grant them the everlasting life of the Light that they shall not live forever and yet be without life! Father, show compassion! Forgive us our wicked deeds!”
When they had thus cried out, God's voice was heard once more, now clear and resonant.
“For the sake of your prayer shall I take your children into My care. For the sake of your prayer shall I make your creatures Mine and give them of My own nature, give them of eternal life. “My children, allow the remorse in your hearts to draw you to your rightful Home. I, your Father, forgive you; for my love is for you all!”
Then those who answered not when God spoke saw their brothers and sisters depart from the ruined kingdom, borne by the radiant waves of the Light.
And the Darkness closed around those who remained, and it became darker yet about them.
God gave His repentant children abodes in distant places of His great Kingdom, and He said: “Remain here in peace and rest until the Light has flowed through you and purified you; remain until I call upon you, that you may help your beings—help them to journey towards the Light until they reach My Kingdom!”
And God went to His youngest children.
And He said: “My children, some of your older brothers and sisters are returned. Welcome them, for they have suffered much.
“My children, I, your Father, have promised these, your brothers and sisters, to take their beings into My care and to make them My own. And behold! Upon each human shadow shall I bestow a spark of My own radiant Being, that each can thereby strive forward, through numerous lives on Earth, from the deepest Darkness onward to My Kingdom of Glory. My children, I know much time must pass before the last human being is delivered from the bondage of Darkness and from life upon the Earth. But I know also that you, My children, can lessen this time greatly will you but allow your radiant spirits to be bound to earthly bodies, will you live as humans live, and suffer as humans suffer, that you may bring the spiritual Light to the Earth, that your future brothers and sisters can the easier find the way to My Kingdom of Glory.
“My children, you shall not be constrained to go to the Earth; but would you of your own free will do this, then I, your Father, shall give you my thanks.”
The Youngest all kept silent. They dared not answer, for they remembered the evil they had seen.
But when they had been silent a time, the eldest of the Youngest stood forth.
And he said: “Father, I am ready. I shall bring the Light to the children of the Earth. I shall be like them, shall live among them and strive to help them—they who shall be my brothers and sisters. Father, send me to the Earth!”
And then it was that they all cried out: "Father, we are ready, we will help our future brothers and sisters that in time they may enter your Kingdom."
In fondness, God looked upon them all.
And He said: “My children, you have chosen that which is right. I, your Father, give you thanks. But I tell you that should human beings have struggled forward without your help, should they have fought alone against Darkness, through pain and sorrows, through sin and through death, until they had reached their rightful Home, then would their glory have become greater than yours, then would human beings have become the first, and you the last; for then would they themselves have had to strive forward to all that I, your Father, have given you. But are you able to keep your promise, to help your earthly brothers and sisters, then will you all be equal when in time you gather in My House, and I, your Father, will give to you all My love."
And God turned to the eldest of the Youngest.
And He said: “My son, you were the first who was willing and ready to bring the Light to the Earth. By you has this work of the Light begun. Through you shall it also be completed. To you I grant the authority to lead human beings forward through numerous earthly lives, until you release them that they may journey further along brighter ways. And your brothers and sisters shall all be with you in obedience. But I, your Father, shall be at your side that you weary not. And in the fullness of time shall you bring to humanity the greatest of all things, which is Love; for you shall teach them to love one another, teach them to do good to all who suffer. And I shall guide you in your journeying upon the Earth.”
And God spoke further to His children.
And He said: “Your Father’s blessing follows you all. Your sorrows shall be My sorrows, your suffering My suffering; and your sins shall I forgive and remove when you repent and when you pray; for the power of Darkness is great and you will all sin! My children, I say to you: go never against the good, against the true; never against love, against mercy. Turn never from the Light that is within you, for then will the Darkness bind you, then will you not remember your Father, and then will you delay your work, hinder your progress towards the high goal!
And all promised to obey, all promised to follow their brother.2
FOOTNOTES FOR THE ACCOUNT
2) The eldest of the Youngest is known to man by his earthly name, Jesus of Nazareth—the name he bore in his fifth and final incarnation.
Additional Commentary
From Question 5
When the Eldest decided to create intelligent beings, convinced of the impossibility of leading the beasts bred on Earth through the vitalizing influence of Darkness, it was rather with the intention that these, their own creatures, should assist them in the struggle against the gigantic monsters. Thus it was neither pure selfishness nor pure lust for power that motivated the Eldest during their attempts at creation. The spiritual counterparts of the first human beings were for this reason endowed with a faint element of spiritual life through that element of the Light that was in the thought that had formed the basis for their creation. Once given, this faint life-spark of spiritual Light could not be taken back, and it therefore had to be passed on from the first-created human beings to the progeny that they bore and bred. As new human bodies are formed during pregnancies, the astral counterparts are formed concurrently. They are given a faint element of spiritual life through the stream of Light that is carried by the waves of Darkness that constantly emanate from the Eldest, and is transferred from them to human beings who are infused by it. This heritage is thus given and received from generation to generation, and it will continue for as long as the Eldest are bound26 to the human race by the Darkness that circulates through them.
Since this spiritual life-element of the Light stemmed not directly from God but was given by beings acting against His Will, it had not sufficient strength to impart conscious, independent thought and will to the creatures of the Eldest—neither in the earthly nor in the transcendental world. The “human shadows”27—the astral counterparts—were therefore condemned in advance, after the cessation of earthly life, to exist for eternity without ever gaining conscious knowledge or understanding of their own existence or of the existence of their fellow creatures.
Some of the original human races have in the apes left visible traces suggestive of the primitive stage of development in which they remained for many millennia, before Light came to the Earth and ennobled mankind.
Through the many first ages, humans remained—bodily as well as spiritually—at about the same level as the animals, and since Darkness had reigned practically everywhere on Earth at the time of their creation, they also became related by blood to all the mammals then existing. Through mating of humans with various animal species28 the first forms of the ape came into existence.
Since no element of the Light was present in the act underlying the genesis of the apes, and which took place only to satisfy the human mating instinct, the astral counterparts of these creatures received none of the spiritual element of Light of their human ancestors. And so, the apes, like all other animals, are endowed not with spiritual life. After death, the astral counterparts of the apes are absorbed and pass into other forms in the same manner as are all other astral counterparts.
Through the inter-breeding of the early apes and their own and their offspring’s cross-breeding—partly with humans and partly with other mammals —there gradually developed the profusion of ape species now found spread over the Earth, and of which certain species are more or less directly descended from humans. Other species have through countless cross-breeding departed much from their human ancestors.
The regulating influence of Light and its ability to segregate the Darkness has removed human beings as well as most mammals far from their former common blood relationship. As is well known, however, some such relationship can still be shown between human beings and the so-called anthropoid apes, just as a similar relationship can be shown to exist between certain mammals that superficially appear to be unrelated. However, these traces of a common blood relationship will gradually disappear completely.
The low standing of original man is shown by the fact that even the most primitive races of today would be incapable of producing survivable offspring through sexual intercourse with animals.
When somewhat over a million years had passed since the creation of the first human beings, God called a second time upon the Eldest in hope of awakening remorse among them. Some of the Eldest had long grieved over the dreadful existence endured by their creatures on Earth, and in despair over what had happened they had come to understand the full extent of their evil conduct.
Their grief over their transgression was so profound that the moment they heard God’s calling voice their first request for help was for their hapless creatures, before they thought of obtaining any betterment of their own miserable existence.
When God saw the depth of their grief and remorse, He, in His infinite love and compassion, forgave them all that they had sinned against Him and promised at the same time to make their imperfect creatures His own children. Through the power of His Will, God then fulfilled His promise, partly by sending a stream of His own divine Being to each human creature—to the “shadows” as well as to those who lived on Earth—and partly by adopting these newly-formed human spirits into His Thought, and thus imparting eternal life to the entire human race. And from that moment, the divine stream has flowed through all in an unbreakable cycle and is imparted to every new human being at the time of conception.29
When God informed His youngest children of His adoption of the creatures of the Eldest and asked if they would help lead these wretched beings out of Darkness, all fell silent. They shrank before the enormous task they would have to take on if real help were to be afforded. And although they knew no one would exert pressure upon them, even should they give up before the work was completed, they dared not immediately accede to their Father’s request.
The thought of helping humanity according to God’s wish awoke first in the female dual of the eldest of the Youngest. And the instant she conceived compassion for mankind, this thought was seized upon by the male dual and with his will he turned her thought to action and came forward with the offer to support and to lead mankind. Through this voluntary act he gave life to the thought of his dual, thereby also assuming responsibility for its further execution.
Had the eldest of the Youngest not heeded the thought of his female helpmate, her thought would never have come to life—to action—since the male power to act, the will, was required for the realization of such an overwhelming task, for which reason he may rightfully be called the leader and savior of mankind.
From one of his incarnations, his last one, the eldest of the Youngest is known to human beings by the name Jesus of Nazareth—Christ.
As a reward for his voluntary offer, God not only placed in his hands the leadership of mankind but recognized him also as foremost among the Youngest—male as well as female.
The eldest of the Youngest’s dual has contributed her help in various ways through repeated incarnations, as have all of her younger brothers and sisters.
At the downfall of the Eldest—When God had confronted His children with Darkness—the thought that God’s choice must fall upon them arose first among the female Eldest; but through the will of the male, the female thought of lust for power brought all of them to downfall. The thought of creating living beings also first arose within the Elder’s female dual, but it was brought into action by his will. The Elder consequently became the foremost among the Eldest and rightfully bears the responsibility for the creation of the human race.
Thus a female thought of lust for power brought sin and downfall, and a female thought of compassion brought the necessary help for restoration.
FOOTNOTES FOR COMMENTARY
26) Concluding Summary, page 322.
27) Commentary to Ardor’s Account, page 189.
28) Through frequent and very diverse cross-breeding, a number of the animal species used in this way degenerated and became extinct. Careful research can show which prehistoric and contemporary animal species are related to some of the known apes.
29) Commentary to Ardor’s Account, pages 188-90.
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