Sermon in Bethany

CHAPTER 24

While Yeshua and Miriam are visiting her family and kinsfolk in Bethany, on their last night they all gather to hear Yeshua speak. Yeshua expounds upon the true nature of God: the Father, the Mother, and the Son. He also speaks about eternal marriage and what is meant by "keeping the inside of the cup clean as well as the outside."

  1 Yeshua and Miriam spent two more days in Bethany and after the evening meal on the last night, Miriam’s family and kinsfolk gathered to hear Yeshua speak, for many had heard stories of his teachings in Nazareth, and some thought he might be a Prophet.

  2 And Yeshua said unto them, “There are those that say the Kingdom of God is outside of you; that it is in the sky and in the sea and in the temple built by man of great stones and precious woods. But I say unto you, that the greater Kingdom is inside of you, for you are the temple of light, built by God.

  3 When you come to know yourselves in purity, forgetting the conceptions of the world and the teachings of men, then you will realize that you are true sons and daughters of the living Father and Mother in Heaven and are inheritors of all that your parents have, as you live worthy to receive your inheritance.

  4 In ignorance, some will say it is blasphemy to speak of God in the plural, as a male and a female, a husband and a wife co-creating; to them I say, have you not heard of the creation of the world where it is written in the sacred scrolls, let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and of when man was cast out of the garden God said, behold, the man has become as one of us; and of when God confounded the languages at Babel and said, let us go down and confound their language?

  5 The sacred texts teach that man was made in the image of God. How then do men claim that God is only a male, for does not the body of a man differ greatly from the body of a woman? Therefore, I say unto you, man is made in the image of the Father and woman is made in the image of the Mother.

  6 In fullness, a man is not without woman, nor husband without wife, neither parents without a child. And the perfection of God is the Father and the Mother and the Son; three lights each to their own, but they are one God, united in perfect spirit, understanding and purpose.

  7 Did not Isaiah see the parents speaking of the coming of the Son unto the children of men and of the rejection of the truth thereof? For it is written, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us?

  8 Then said I, here I am, send me.

  9 And he said, Go and tell this to the people: hear you indeed, but understand not; and see you indeed but perceive not.

  10 The hearts of this people are fat; they make their ears heavy and shut their eyes; lest they hear with their ears and see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and convert, and be healed.

  11 Again Isaiah spoke of the Father that is Lord, and of the Mother, the spirit that touches the hearts of men, and of the Son, who redeems the righteous, for it is written, from the beginning, from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God and his spirit has sent me.”

  12 And Yeshua said unto them, “He who has ears to hear and eyes to see; let him hear and see."

  13 Then Levi son of Phinehas, who had studied the law, said, “I have eyes and ears but I have not seen or heard of the God you describe taught in the sacred scrolls. If God is three divine individuals acting as one, and not one divine essence, then why is this not more plain? For there are thousands of places in the sacred scrolls that refer to God as one force, which is personalized in a masculine way, and only these few you have given to the contrary that may merely be errors of transcribing. What more can you say about this vital subject?”

  14 Yeshua answered him, saying, “Even among the honest of heart, it is the nature of man to see and hear that which he wishes to see and hear; and to the contrary, he is blind and deaf. How many times have you held the answer to your question in your hand, but have not seen the truth because you were not seeking it? Read again that which you have read, and look for the gems that speak of the plurality of God, and you shall find that which you seek.

  15 Verily I say unto you, Elohim is the name for God, and as used in the sacred books it is a word of both male and female nature and reflects the plural, not the individual; and of it, the holy scrolls speak thousands of times. Verily, it is the Father and the Mother, and through the Son they do all things.”

  16 Then Yeshua took a stick and wrote the letters YHVH on the ground and said unto them, “This is the sacred name of the Father, given unto the children of men; which name should not be spoken, but only written in reverence, and never defaced.

  17 Before the world was, the Elohim decided that which each of them should do to bring to pass the eternal progression and exaltation of the spirit children of the Father and the Mother.

  18 The Son said he would do whatsoever the Father and the Mother asked of him, and that through him their will would be manifested among the children of men.

  19 The Mother said she would be the spirit of Elohim that would reside within the hearts of every child upon the Earth, and stay with them for all of their days as they kept their temple worthy to have her, and sincerely lived for truth and righteousness.

  20 The Father said he would connect to every particle of existence that he might ever receive the supplications of the children of men that the Elohim could bless the righteous.

  21 Therefore, the Children of Light should pray to the Father and the Mother, who are one and over all; and ask in the name of the Son, through whom all good things occur, that they may be touched in wisdom and richly blessed, as they seek righteousness in harmony with the will of Elohim. And the humble shall be comforted with heavenly love by the Mother, who sends forth the Holy Spirit of Elohim to manifest sweet blessings unto the Children of Light.

  22 Among the Children of Israel this is not understood, but it is now known unto you.

  23 When you have a goodly need, and are humble and not proud, seek out God by calling on Elohim; for even as the word leaves your lips the love and attention of the Father and the Mother and the Son comes upon you in fullness and power.”

  24 Then said Levi, “How strange a doctrine you teach, but you speak as one with authority, therefore I will study upon the things you have said. But tell me this, for it is a mystery to me; if we are to ask of the Father in the name of the Son, what then is the name of the Son?

  25 Yeshua answered unto him, saying, “Look again in the sacred scriptures and you will find it there as it was spoken by your fathers; but verily I say unto you, that in your life, you will live to hear the name of the Son as it is known among the children of men, spoken on the lips of many people, some with great anger and some with great love.”

  26 Then Gideon, a cousin of Miriam, asked, “Speak to us of marriage and Heaven, for in our family it is a tangled web; we have marriages that have come after marriages, some with a man and a widow and some with a man married to several wives, some whom are widows. I have heard conflicting things from different Rabbis regarding this matter. What has God said to you of this?”

  27 And Yeshua said unto them, “When you marry, you have heard it said that at death the marriage is ended, be it a marriage of one man and one woman or one man and several women; and so it is for the marriages sanctified by man, for they have no force in Heaven.

  28 But I say unto you that if it is by God, with the man and the woman having asked together for the blessings of Elohim; and sealed with vows between them for it to be a sacred and eternal covenant, and this before the witness of family and friends; then it is not parted at death, but with the righteous, remains in force for time and all eternity, as long as both the man and the woman live worthy of the blessing.

  29 In the hereafter, everyone will have eternal life and come forth to their just and resonate reward, be it joyous or despairing, according to their faith in God and the paths they choose in life. But even among the most righteous, man cannot be without woman or woman without man if they desire to go forward into the greatest exaltation.

  30 But if a marriage is by the authority of man, or the rituals of men, or the governments of men, or the priesthoods of men, then it ends with death; for in the eternity God is not bound by the ordinances of man which have no power to bind in Heaven; they become as dust and are trampled under feet in the world to come.

  31 Nor can marriage be performed in Heaven, for it is an ordinance given to be fulfilled in the flesh, that it may be proven that the man will faithfully cleave unto the woman and the woman unto the man, despite all that evil may tempt.

  32 In fidelity to their marriage they magnify the gift of life God has given, and shall therefore have so much more reward in the world to come.

  33 But whosoever is married only by the authority of man, or of governments, or the priesthoods of men, shall not be married in Heaven, until their love is fulfilled by a resonant proxy of two in the flesh.

  34 Moreover, know that as a man is not without a woman, nor woman without a man, neither can either stand before Elohim without the other, for alone they are but half of a whole, and only in the wholeness and balance of love and commitment can the Celestine Light of God be fully manifested.”

  35 Then Gideon said, “But what of those who may love true, but pass from life unknowing of the way to secure their relationship for eternity?”

  36 And Yeshua said unto him, “The covenant that binds for eternity is forged in the love that endures and grows stronger through all the trials of life because it is lit by the Celestine Light of Elohim and the unselfish oneness of two. It is a beautiful flower nurtured with exceeding tenderness and consideration that upon life’s passing is most brilliant.

  37 Every day of life together is a witness to the world of their devotion to God and to each other. Such a love, after many years together to prove its truth, is dedicated to continue in eternity by the holy desire of those that love, and enshrined in the heart of Elohim from everlasting to everlasting.”

  38 And Gideon replied, “But is there not an exact way in which holy ordinances should be performed?”

  39 Yeshua answered him, saying, “With man, the letter of the law is so important, but with God it is the conviction of the heart, the righteousness of the life, and worthy desires of the soul that matters.

  40 And Yeshua, perceiving that some were confused by that which he spoke said, “Verily, if you will not listen to your heart, which speaks the truth your customary mind does not know, then you do not know yourselves, and you will dwell in poverty, and it is you who are that poverty, no matter the riches of the world which you may possess.”

  41 And the people were amazed for never before had they heard such teachings.

  42 Yeshua continued, saying, “Recognize what is in your sight, and the feeling that is in your heart. Pray to your Father and Mother in Heaven for the light of understanding to expand into the testimony of truth, and then that which is hidden from you will become plain to you, and there is nothing hidden which will not become illuminated by the Celestine Light of Elohim.”

  43 They understood that he spoke of his teachings, but only a few understood that he also spoke of himself; and some people nodded in agreement but others shook their heads in disbelief.

  44 And Yeshua spoke again, saying, “If you bring forth the light which is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth the light within you, if you allow yourself to be blinded by the darkness of the world and the teachings of men, then what you do not bring forth will condemn you at the last day.”

  45 Perceiving from their mumblings that some among his listeners were concerned with following the dictates of the law and their appearances before men, and desired to not quietly find the light within themselves, he said, “Why do you wash the outside of the temple but the inside leave dirty?

  46 If it is pleasing for the outside to be clean, which is only seen by men, how much more pleasing is it for the inside to be clean, wherein resides that which nourishes you and is seen by God? Do you not realize that he who made the inside is the same one who made the outside?

  47 If you would find favor with God, then be as concerned for the inside of your temple as for the outside, and let those that are high be like those that are low.”

  48 Then Nahor, son of Salathiel said, “All of these things you have said are strange doctrines that would seem to ridicule the law, and blasphemy the God of our fathers, and make women the equal of men.”

  49 Yeshua replied to him, saying, “The Celestine Light of the Kingdom is like a wise fisherman who one day was told by the king that he and all of the other fishermen of the village, could dive for pearls in the king’s reserve and keep all that they found; but they must open each one before they gathered another so that none were wasted.

  50 The other fishermen made haste to bring to shore and open as many oysters as they could harvest; and finding beds close to shore in shallow water, they soon had discovered a few small pearls; but the wise fisherman dove throughout the day in the deepest water, looking for the one large oyster that would have a pearl of great price; and he was ridiculed by his friends for the efforts he wasted in his faith.

  51 As the sun began to set, many of the fishermen had small piles of pearls while the wise fisherman rose from the water again with nothing; and he was laughed at again for his foolishness and faith.

  52 But the wise fisherman’s faith could not be shaken and with one last great breath he dove again to the deepest depth, and there he found an oyster of such size as men had never seen. And bringing it to the shore and opening it, he found the pearl of great price for his faith, and all the pearls of all of his friends put all together would not be a thousandth of the worth of his pearl.

  53 Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.

  54 Verily, I say unto you, only when you look into your heart and find the child of God, only when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, only when those who are high are like those that are low, and only when you make the male and the female equal, so that they are two halves of one whole; only then will you have the light.”

  55 Hearing his words some were upset with his teachings and departed in anger, but more were amazed and delighted and held him in awe.

  56 The following day, when the time came for them to depart, Lazarus asked his father if he might go with them to Egypt, as he was familiar with the trade routes and the caravan’s, having traveled them previously with his father, who was a notable merchant with varied interests.

  57 His father agreed that Lazarus should also journey to Egypt, but as a trader not just a visitor. He told him to go in the company of two servants, and entrusted him with two camels carrying fabric with gold thread and jewelry to trade with the Egyptians. And he gave Yeshua and Miriam a second donkey so they would have one to carry the children.

  58 Then he asked Lazarus to make a promise that he would return to Bethany by the time of six moons, lest they begin to fret about the fate of those that journeyed to the land of the Pharaohs.

  59 Martha was distressed because she also wanted to go to Egypt, but this her father forbade.