THE GREATER WORLD CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALIST CHURCH

THE ZODIAC MESSAGES

"BODIES TERRESTRIAL AND BODIES CELESTIAL"

An address by the celestial messenger 'Zodiac' (the unnamed scribe of the Bible and a teacher in the Temple of Jerusalem at the time of Christ), at the Zodiac Circle on Saturday, 4th September, 1926

1. "CHRIST, Beloved of our hearts, we thank Thee for Thy great gift of service, and we ask Thee to accept that little which we are able to lay at Thy feet.

2. "O God, cleanse us and inspire us anew with the faith which nothing can assail. Pour down upon us that illumination which shall show the path in front, not free from enemies, not free from difficulties, but transformed by our faith and trust in Thee. Grant that the consciousness may come to each of Thy children, that they are not only fighting and conquering their own enemies, but those who are arraigned against Thyself.

3. "Christ, give us that valiant heart which will not turn aside from persecution, which will not quail before the criticism of others. Give us that holy aspiration which shall lead us out of the unrealities of the physical world, into the realities of the Life which lasts for ever.

4. "And, above all, grant that we may be suitable tools, that our reluctance, our misgivings, all may be laid aside, and that we, as disciples of the Holy Master, may listen ever to the voice of the Spirit, and obey, not as a child its stern parent, but as the heirs of Everlasting Life.

5. "Father, for all Thy many good gifts we thank Thee. Amen.

6. "MY LITTLE CHILDREN, I want you to commune within yourselves, and to ask that which represents the greater, stronger you within, whether that purpose can be forwarded by effort on your part. This responsibility lies with all; 'Am I doing my portion of the great Work?' And in a little while to come, with a joy impossible to describe, you shall look back over the past, and thank your Heavenly Father that you were found fit vessels for use, sufficiently purified, sufficiently tested, to bring the revelation of the Truth to doubting humanity.

7. "A great and glorious future lies in front of all, but, dear children, only by the present, only by your efforts now, by your prayers, by your dedication, can to-morrow be glorious in the Spirit sense, and in the sense which the real you desires.

8. "And now, my little ones, I want you to give me your full attention; to put aside preconceived ideas on this and on that, and to come with me in thought, for there is another inch of the long furrow of knowledge which must be turned.

9. "To-night the subject of our discussion is that of BODIES SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL, BODIES CELESTIAL AND TERRESTRIAL; and ere we part I want you all to feel within yourselves that you have penetrated a step further into Truth.

10. "My children, the one you love so well, that same Paul, is here, and he is lending me of his power because I seek to explain just a little more regarding that revelation which came to him and which, in turn, he passed on to numbers beyond your power to count (1 Cor. 15, 40). Yet by his wish I remind you of this: that in those ancient days we were held up by much. In the first place the influence of traditional thought sealed us, as it were, in an armour from which only by anguish were we able to extricate ourselves. The customs of the time and those terrible restrictions imposed by creed and caste, all this shut us off; aye! they were as countless gates which were barred between us and the One True Light.

11. "Therefore, in reading the Sacred Record, bear this always in mind. The revelation which came through the power of the Holy Spirit was poured down upon us, but, alas! it was not possible to chronicle in words the visions as they came - much time elapsed before that which had been given us by God could be narrated for the help and comfort of others. Think you how it is with yourselves: some there are who have visions of this and visions of that, and at the time these are vivid, they are glorious, they are Truth itself. Yet the domination of the physical mind is so strong that as the days pass - aye! in some cases it is only a question of hours - but as time passes so the brightness fades, and so the misgivings and doubts and the misunderstandings arise; and that which you have at your command to pass on to others is but the shell of the gift which was bestowed.

12. "Children, in reading the Sacred Record the representatives of the Most High perchance forget this: they forget that these men, though inspired by the Holy Spirit, were limited, were restricted by the casket of flesh in which they lived. They were restricted, it is true, but countless millions have thanked God for the revelation which is there, and for the wonderful strength with which it is presented to man. Still I must underline this - that Paul is conscious even as the rest, even as those nearest to the Holy Master - Paul is conscious that what he passed on was but a fragment of that which was given unto him as a trust.

13. "Children, in regard to the coverings of that which is Divine within us all, I want you to consider this not in its narrow aspect, but in something of that great wide area of Being which the Truth represents.

14. "These bodies of flesh in which you function now they are indeed able, in a measure, to express something of the Self within. Had you consistently turned from God through that long past, through those involutionary stages of development, so to-night, dear children, it would be impossible for me to say that the body which you wear expresses in a degree something of that Holiness which is enclosed within.

15. "I want you to draw upon your imagination - that imagination which I have explained before, is God's gift of memory; memory of conditions which are beyond your conception now, cabined as you are within the flesh - to draw upon memory and to try and follow me in thought while I explain things as they are, putting aside things as they seem to you and to mankind at this stage.

16. "At creation you and I were made in the likeness of God, gifted with the gifts which He possesses, aye! in miniature those gifts were ours over a chain of experiences which I cannot enter into to-night. Yet through these you have passed and at this stage you have arrived at the consciousness not only that God is your Creator, but He is your Father and your Mother God: that you belong to Him and that He belongs to you for ever and for ever.

17. "In those many intermediary stages of experience between the present and the time when you were all-pure, all-holy, all-love, you have functioned in many conditions - call them planes or spheres as you will; you have passed through experiences in a myriad different conditions, surrounded by that which was necessary to promote the next stage of growth. Yet once more I must affirm, because it is Truth, that on this same plane - the earth - in a physical body you have not functioned before.

18. "But listen while I speak, for this point has caused much discussion, and discussion among the children of the earth almost inevitably brings discord; and harmony is of God.

19. "That which is within - pure, undefiled - that has brought with it many memories of the past, aye! many memories of experiences which have provided for it the tools which it so sorely needs. And there are those who, drawing upon memory, are able to narrate something of those experiences; but mark you this: in regard to these experiences there is a point which must be considered in its due import.

20. "During the sleep stage, when the Spirit is free from that which binds, you - your real self - travel far and wide, aye! sometimes passing through in your journeys not only places foreign, so-called, to the physical mind, but also into other planes, other conditions connected with the past, yes! penetrating into the past as well as forging on into the future. And when sleep has taken flight, so the Spirit, resuming the tabernacle of flesh, is able sometimes to force through to the mind of the body some remembrance of what it has seen where it has been.

21. "Another point is this: as I have explained before, physical birth - birth into the earth plane - is but one of our many experiences. There are those who have done much work on this plane of sense before the physical body was taken on, and thus it is you find amongst those you know that some are nearer to God, nearer to the Christ ideal than others.

22. "You must remember, dear children, that the opportunity for physical birth lies to a certain extent within the province of those already on earth, and thus it is that many aspiring souls have to wait long, aye! over the centuries before they are able to make the physical experience their own.

23. "But because they are ready for that experience, so the Father of us all had made due provision; and those whom you call the 'unborn', they come and work through the earth experiences of others, helping, relieving; and while they help those they love, they are enabled, by God's grace, to help themselves in a way impossible to describe.

24. "And so it is in the world to-day that there are those who walk very near to Christ and their influence casts a radiance over all within their vibrations. They had to wait for the physical experience but the compensation has come - the mighty Mind of God has worked throughout.

25. "Then, dear children, you will see from this how again memory - that which man calls imagination - has acted and reacted in regard not only to the individual but to others, in this way: there are those within the body to-day who are able to give details of a life which bears no resemblance to their own life now. In some cases they are able to describe the lives of others, not as their lives are to-day but, perchance, as they were in some past age.

26. "The explanation is here: during those periods before the physical body was donned they, as Spirits, were functioning upon this little plane of sense and, likewise, their brothers or their sisters.

27. "And then, dear children, I bring you to this thought and I want all your patience and concentration, for we are talking of things which are beyond the range of the physical mind, yet, by the grace of God, I am calling upon that stronger mind which is within; and in reading my words so the Truth shall penetrate into the mind of the body.

28. "Think you to yourselves like this: those who have passed out of the cabin of flesh have come back to you and again and again have described scenes which bear some resemblance to the beauty of your little world. Remember what I have told you before - that the beauties of the earth are a pale reflection of those conditions which are Spirit, a pale reflection of that Home which awaits you when your lessons have been learnt.

29. "The returning of your loved ones who describe scenes familiar as well as unfamiliar discloses a great Truth: that God our Father, understanding the human construction, leads His little ones by gradual stages - out of darkness into dim twilight, out of twilight into the dawn, out of the dawn into God's fair day.

30. "That represents as nearly as I can portray in the language of the world the journey of the spirit, and the bodies which it wears during its changing experiences.

31. "Oh, think you how the mighty mind of God has overlooked all things not only for His children's comfort, but also for the education of His little ones! Exactly in the same way as you would write it down as folly to take an infant and pass it into a class where the teaching was totally beyond its comprehension, so the Eternal Father leads us by gentle stages out of ignorance into half-understanding, out of half-understanding into full understanding, out of understanding into Wisdom itself.

32. "So, my little ones, think to yourselves like this: that though the body you wear at this stage is temporal, one day it will be spiritual in every sense there could be. One day, though you may come back - and you will come back to help the strugglers on the earth plane - your setting will be that holiness, that freedom which your Spirit desires.

33. "Keep your vision clear and take the broad, wide view. Familiar though parts of this little plane may be to some they are strange to others, and this applies exactly in the same way with the mind of the Spirit within. Those on earth whom you call advanced - those whom you love to gather with because they raise your thoughts a stage beyond things material - these have striven long, these have been through many experiences upon this plane, but not before in a body of flesh.

34. "The gift of physical birth is so precious, yet it is a gift that has to be waited for. There are countless thousands of souls waiting for physical birth.

35. "What think you of these? Have they no being, are they unconscious of what they are, of the journey behind and the journey in front? Ten thousand times, no! Their consciousness, if they are aspiring souls, is infinitely greater than the consciousness of the majority upon earth; and when the little earth story is told, so, gifted with the sight which is sight indeed, you will go back over the past and you will see the explanation of the links with one here and another there. Not chance, not only for this brief to-day.

36. "Those links were forged in a time long past, and in the working through of experiences so the wheel has turned and so again you have contributed to each other, if God is within your heart, that which is according to the plan, the great constructive plan which our Creator has brought into being for the raising up and the freeing of His little ones.

37. "My children, the one you name Paul was given this vision and he understood it in part. The one you name Paul, drawing upon that larger mind within, sought to express in words something of the Truth, to put it in its simplicity so that those around might understand; sought to portray the Truth that life goes on for ever, aye! and to indicate that before this little life was commenced many experiences had taken place.

38. "And then we come to this - pondering over our responsibilities, feeling perhaps somewhat frail and weak we turn to others for help; and in this room to-night, gathered together through love for God and by the Love of God, there are those who have worked over the ages, not only on this little plane but in conditions which are only partly understood by you at this stage.

39. "They come for what purpose? They seek to follow Christ; they come with good tidings, tidings which should for ever cast aside that spectre of sorrow and anxiety; they come to reassure you that you too, in time, no more will be bound by the flesh and its restrictions, that you no more will be tied to this plane of sense, so far as the physical eyes and the physical mind are concerned. But in the sweet by and by, in bodies no longer temporal but spiritual, as celestial beings, linked up to your Father and Mother God, you will come back and grapple with the weaknesses of others; for you will see then that without the stronger ones in your own vibrations, without those early pioneers who had come to grips with their lesser selves and conquered, you would not only be imprisoned still in a temporal body but in a body which was terrible to behold.

40. "Remember this: that at no stage in the career of any man or woman, at no period during those involutionary and evolutionary stages did you remain at the same point of development. A stationary aspect cannot exist; it is either upward or downward, either stronger or weaker, either purer or less like that which God intended His children should represent.

41. "Oh! think within yourselves and let not theories regarding this nor ideas regarding that hold your minds. These things are explained for those who wish to know, but when in the mind of this one or that, knowledge, or lack of knowledge, comes between them and the brotherhood of man, in that measure is Christ crucified once again.

42. "So, my little ones, I bring you back to the thought which fills our whole being - that of the Beloved, of our Heavenly Father, of our Saviour Christ. Aye, and to the patience of the Lord God of all, Who waits and waits for His little children to answer to His Voice, to arouse themselves from sleep and to don their armour; for only the warriors are able to climb, only those who can find within the strength to battle for their God, only those who have laid aside self and the many deceptions of the physical mind, only such as these can do the Master's work in His way.

43. "I speak not of to-day, I speak of that time which is coming, when the war between that which you call good and evil must and will be fought. For this you, little ones of my heart, are being trained. Think of it, the honour which lies in front, when the call comes for the valiant of heart, to be able to find within yourselves that spiritual resource which shall not only send you into the thick of the battle, but which shall enclose you in a protection which can withstand the fiercest onslaughts of the forces of darkness.

44. "Evening by evening I seek to unfold those things which are of God and I minister to the mind of the body which raises queries as to this and as to that. Yes, the mind of the body ever seeks to untie knots regarding those subjects which attract, yet in the untying, unconsciously to itself, has knotted the rope a little further on. And so, by God's Will, I lend my aid in the task of understanding those things which create discussion; but never forget, dear children, that this is secondary, this is not the prime motive for my presence in your midst.

45. "I speak on this and I speak of that, but always I bring you back to simple things, to simple faith, to simple trust and love - love for each other, love for those who come into your presence in this way and, above all, love for the One Who showers upon you a Love impossible to portray.

46. "That is my mission, for lo! when the body is laid aside, you will step out of your misunderstandings and you will marvel amongst yourselves how these little questions had the power to tease and to distract. For the past will lie open before you, and you will see that the links of the past provided the links of the present; and, again, as much as you can bear, the veil of the future will be drawn apart and you will see there what you worked in; how - blind, limited, restricted in a thousand ways - you provided the essential links for the glorious future.

47. "Simple as all things are of God, man, because he has sought knowledge from the earth and not from the Great Source of Wisdom, man has taken those simple things and made them so complicated that he can find no solution to the riddle he has put together.

48. "But the truths of God are within the reach of all, yet one thing is needful and without that the gates are closed. Children, the humble heart - that laying aside of the furniture of the physical mind and approaching the Source of Knowledge with faith, with humility and with love. And to the children who wish to know, because Truth is of God, so the gates are thrown wide open, and not only understanding of things physical but comprehension of things spiritual is made their own.

49. "Now, my children, I will leave you. Go forward with joy within your hearts. Say to yourselves: From tonight I shall be different; I shall be braver, stronger, happier, wiser, for I have contacted with God.

50. "God's Presence is here in a way you cannot understand; His Love is poured upon you, His healing power is all around. Take of these precious and priceless possessions and make them your own. Christ has called you! Answer from the real You within: 'Master, I come!'

51. "God bless you all with understanding, with that purer faith which will make all things clear. Resting on His strength, so you will find from within the strength to fight for progress; and in fighting for progress to force on the progress of mankind at large. God bless you with faith. Amen.

52. "Goodnight, my little ones."

GIFT

Instead of having to connect to the Internet to read the wonderfully revealing Zodiac Messages on this site, it is possible to have them on your computer. A setup file installs the Messages in a folder of your choice, and can be given as a gift simply by clicking HERE. Then a message can be read at anytime giving immense inspiration, guidance, reassurance and spiritual renewal.

Other highly recommended reading...

“Life Beyond The Veil”
“Paul and Albert”
“Spiritual Realms”
“The Ministry of Angels”