To Netnews Homepage Previous Next Index Table of Contents
The Reappearance of the Christ - Chapter VII - Preparation for the Reappearance of the Christ
People are prone to ask the question as to why the Christ does not come - in the pomp and ceremony which the churches ascribe to the event - and, by His coming, demonstrate His divine power, prove convincingly the authority and the potency of God, and thus end the cycle of agony and distress. The answers to this are many. It must be remembered that the main objective of the Christ will not be to demonstrate power but to make public the already existent Kingdom of God. Again, when He came before He was unrecognized, and is there any guarantee that this time it would be different? You may ask why would He not be recognized? Because men's eyes are blinded with the tears of self-pity and not of contrition; because the hearts of men are still corroded with [164] a selfishness which the agony of war has not cured; because the standards of value are the same as in the corrupt Roman Empire which saw His first appearance, only then these standards were localized and not universal as they are today; because those who could recognize Him and who hope and long for His coming are not willing to make the needed sacrifices, and thus ensure the success of His advent. The advanced thinking, the success of the many esoteric movements and above all, the marvels of science and the wonder of the many humanitarian movements, indicate no divine frustration but growth of spiritual understanding; the forces of the spirit are unconquered. These aspects of human behavior indicate the wonder of the divinity which is in man and the success of the divine plan for humanity. Divinity, however, awaits the expression of man's free will; his intelligence and his growth in goodwill are already being expressed. Therefore, another answer to the question posited is that Christ and the spiritual Hierarchy never - no matter how great the need or important the incentive - infringe upon the divine right of men to make their own decisions, to exert their own free will and to achieve freedom by fighting for freedom - individually, nationally and internationally. When true freedom covers the earth, we shall see the end of tyranny - politically, religiously and economically. I am not here referring to modern democracy as a condition which meets the need, for democracy is at present a philosophy of wishful thinking and an unachieved ideal. I refer to that period which will surely come in which an enlightened people will rule; these people will not tolerate authoritarianism in any church or totalitarianism in any political system; they will not accept or permit the rule of any body of men who undertake [165] to tell them what they must believe in order to be saved or what government they must accept. When the people are told the truth and when they can freely judge and decide for themselves, we shall then see a much better world. It is not essential or necessary that all these desirable objectives should be accomplished facts upon Earth before Christ again moves amongst us. It is, however, necessary that this attitude to religion and politics is generally regarded as desirable and that steps have been successfully taken in the direction of right human relations. It is along these lines that the New Group of World Servers and all men of goodwill are working, and their first effort must be to offset the widespread sense of frustration and individual futility. That which will offset the sense of frustration and futility and provide likewise the needed incentive towards the rebuilding of the new world will be the belief in the essential divinity of humanity, in the evolutionary proof (which a little study quickly provides) that mankind has steadily moved onward in wisdom and knowledge, and a wide inclusiveness, plus the development of that state of mind which will base itself upon belief in the veracity of the historical records which bear witness to the many advents at crucial times in human affairs, and to the many world Saviors - of Whom the Christ was the greatest. A right and constructive attitude must also be based on an innate recognition of the existence of the Christ and of His Presence with us at all times; it must be grounded in the knowledge that the war - with all its unspeakable horrors, its cruelties and its cataclysmic disasters - was but the broom of the Father of all, sweeping away all obstructions in the path of His returning Son. It would have been well-nigh impossible to prepare [166] for the coming in the face of the pre-war conditions. Upon these facts the New Group of World Servers must, today, take their stand. They must recognize the obstructing factors, but must also refuse to be frustrated by them; they must be aware of the hindrances (many of them financial and based on material greed, on ancient tradition and national prejudices). They must then employ such skill in action and such business acumen that these hindrances will be overcome; they must walk clear-eyed through world difficulties and pass unscathed and successful through the midst of all frustrating factors. There are two major factors which condition the present opportunity; these can be regarded as so completely hindering that unless they are removed, there will be a long delay before Christ can return. They are: The inertia of the average Christian or spiritually-minded man in every country - Eastern or Western. The lack of money for the work of preparation. We will keep these themes simple and down on the level at which most people work and think today. Let us be intensely practical and force ourselves to look at conditions as they are, thus arriving at a better knowledge of ourselves and of our motives.
To Netnews Homepage Previous Next Index Table of Contents
Last updated Monday, July 6, 1998 © 1998 Netnews Association. All rights reserved.