The Resurrection of the dead - by Swami Nirmalananda Giri

[Guest guest]

The Resurrection of the dead - by Swami Nirmalananda Giri

 

Chapter Nineteen—And I look for the resurrection of the dead. And the

life of the age to come. Amen.

 

 

At last we have arrived at the crucial subject of resurrection.

 

The Goal of Human Life

 

What is the goal of the human being? Saint Clement of Alexandria and

Origen, his great pupil, divided Christians into two types: the

somatics, the " fleshly " , and the pneumatics, the " spiritual. " The

classification still holds today, though it may sound a bit snobbish.

 

The fleshly say that the goal of the human being is to live forever

in a perfect human body in a happy realm like the Elysian Fields of

the ancient Greeks and Romans (who forced this concept, along with

that of everlasting damnation, into Christianity after

the " conversion " of Constantine). There, they say, Jesus will be seen

seated upon a throne and be praised by " the saved " through endless

ages.

 

The spiritual, on the other hand, say that our goal is to transcend

the human condition altogether, rise to the Paradise level, evolve

from there to the angelic state, and keep on evolving until we are

united with God, becoming light in God's Light, passing beyond all

name and form and living God's own life–to be god with God. We and

God shall be ONE forever without possibility of separation or falling

away.1

 

The Great Gulf

 

There shall always be a great gulf between those for whom God is an

object to be perceived with " spiritualized " senses (but who never do

so perceive) and the mystics who directly and subjectively perceive

God within their spirits as part of their own life.

 

Christ came to deliver us from the world. He said that He had

overcome the world,2 and thereby was enabling us to reascend to

Paradise where He would Himself receive us.3 This is the true Gospel

of Christ. The goal is spiritual, not material. Indeed it cannot be

otherwise, however much we might desire a material embodiment, for

the Scriptures clearly state: " All the host of heaven shall be

dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a

scroll. " 4 " The heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the

elements will melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works

that are therein shall be burned up. " 5 Saint Peter goes on to exhort

us to shape our lives according to an acute awareness of the divinely-

ordained dissolution of the entire creation.6 Everything will be

melted down into the vast, original cosmic soup. Any other teaching

is simply not Christian.

 

Saint Gregory Of Nyssa

 

When the wording of the Creed was finalized, Saint Gregory of Nyssa,

one of the greatest mystics of the Church, almost single-handedly

settled what it would be. The original Nicene Creed said nothing at

all about any kind of " resurrection. " Fortunately, through the

influence of Saint Gregory, the expression " resurrection of the

body, " which had been put into earlier professions of faith by the

fleshly-minded, was changed to: " I look for the resurrection of the

dead. "

 

The Dead

 

But what exactly does it mean to be " dead " ? The Lord Jesus

said: " This is eternal life: to know " –not to go to heaven and play on

harps forever, but to know God. In other words, " life " is knowing, it

is being conscious. To be dead, on the other hand, is to be

unconscious. And the life which Christ came to bestow on us is the

consciousness of God which comes from our perfect union with Him, in

which we are no longer two but one. Until then we are dead, whether

on the earth or in the invisible worlds. And our bodies are tombs in

which our spirits lie asleep, awaiting the glory of spiritual

resurrection.

 

The " Christianity " of the flesh cannot impart the life of the spirit

and awaken in us the direct consciousness of spirit in union with

Spirit, so it promises us our body, instead. It tells us that the

body is to be resurrected to live forever, mistaking resuscitation

for resurrection.

 

Resurrection–Anastasis

 

The Greek term translated " resurrection " is anastasis, which

literally means " standing up " in the sense of rising up. This

particular term was used by the New Testament authors because of the

question in Ecclesiastes 3:21: " Who knoweth the spirit of man that

goeth upward? " That is, when the body dies it falls to earth and

becomes one with the earth, whereas the spirit, if unhampered, rises

upward to subtler worlds, usually to prepare for further earthly

incarnations.

 

It is stated in the Gospels that the Sadducees did not believe in the

resurrection, but that the Pharisees did. This is not referring to a

future condition of the body but to the question of the immortality

of the spirit. The Sadducees taught that physical death terminated

the existence of the individual person–nothing remained to live on.

The Pharisees, however, taught that when the body " died " the spirit

arose, " stood up, " out of the body and went before God for judgment.

And that is all it meant. Only in latter times did the fleshly ones

come up with the idea that we will all rise out of the grave in our

bodies at the end of time and be physical beings for eternity–for

ever and ever throughout the ages.

 

At the time the wording of the Creed was settled, the fleshly

believed in the resurrection of the body and the spiritual believed

in resurrection from the body. They are not the same!

 

True Resurrection

 

The " standing up of the dead, " the rising of the dead, is the

breaking of the bonds of time and space, becoming freed from the

prison of ego and alive to our true nature as spirit and to our

eternal relationship to Christ. For Christianity is not a religion

only, it is a state of consciousness. As Saint Paul says: " Awake thou

that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee

light. " 7

 

This is Saint Paul's concept of the resurrection. When he talks

elsewhere about the trumpet sounding and the dead rising,8 he is

speaking of mystical experiences. So also are the descriptions in the

book of Revelation of " things which must shortly come to pass. " 9 This

very phrase shows that the Evangelist was not speaking of long-range

world prophecies, although many exoterics with their " prophecy

charts " try to prove that virtually none of Revelation has been

fulfilled after nearly two thousand years, but that it is all going

to come about in the future as political predictions–not even dealing

with religion. The totally humanistic, material, and political nature

of their interpretations reflect their fleshly consciousness–a

consciousness at variance with that of Saint John. The Bible must be

read with the eyes of the spirit, not with the eyes of the flesh.

 

The " End "

 

We also have descriptions given by the Lord Jesus about the " coming "

of the Son of Man in glory when the Apostles asked: " What shall be

the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? " 10 The Greek

term translated " world " is actually " age " –aeon. Aeon has a double

meaning: a great span of time and a level of creation. This is

referred to in the Creed by " the life of the age to come. " Here aeon

means a realm of existence. According to original Christian

cosmology, God has emanated many aeons in which intelligent beings

dwell according to their state of evolution. Referring to this the

Lord said: " In my Father's house are many mansions. " Metaphysicians

speak of the " earth plane, " the " astral plane, " etc., which is also

correct.

 

Therefore the disciples were asking about when their sojourn in this

aeon would come to an end and they would rise (resurrect) to Paradise

from which Adam fell, leaving material bondage behind forever.11 They

wanted to know what the signs were which indicated their attainment

of the great freedom from earthly birth and death. The answer the

Lord gives them is, like that of Revelation, a symbolic description

of the transmutation of the human to the divine. It has absolutely

nothing to do with the history or the future of the world. This is

made clear by His statement: " Verily I say unto you, There be some

standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son

of man coming in his kingdom. " All those who heard His words have

certainly died, so we can only conclude that Jesus was either wrong

or that He was not making a prediction of an external coming to an

external world. (There is a theory that Saint John the beloved

Apostle never died and is still on the earth somewhere, but he

himself denied this.12)

 

The only sensible conclusion is that the Lord was speaking

mystically. This is further reinforced by His saying: " Verily I say

unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be

fulfilled. " 13 He confirmed that He was not speaking of an

external " coming " when He said: " Then if any man shall say unto you,

Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. " 14 Yet such nonsense is

being spoken today, and the fleshly flock to hear it and chew their

nails worrying over " The Antichrist " and " The Beast " instead of

working out their salvation.

 

The " Coming " Of Christ

 

" Coming " is a translation of the word parousia, which really

means " presence. " There are two " presences " of Jesus Christ. The

first Presence is external in the form of His physical, incarnate

presence in the world, two thousand years ago, and His second

Presence is His appearing in the depths of the individual spirit when

He becomes one with it. The entire purpose of His first Presence

was/is to accomplish this second Presence within us. And this is what

it is to be " resurrected unto life. " For this reason it is essential

to understand that being alive is the condition of being " god with

God, " and to be anything else is to be dead. Thus, St. Paul refers to

those who are striving to attain true resurrection as " all them that

love his appearing. " 15 The truly wise seek after union with God with

a loving heart, yearning to live in and unto God alone. That is

salvation, the goal of all conscious beings.

 

Enlightenment

 

The resurrection of the dead is the enlightenment of the spirit and

its consequent freedom from the bondage of death and sin–which are

conditions, not acts. The sensory and intellectual experiences which

we consider " life " are actually the barrier, the painted curtain

between us and real life. But we can arise from this like the

Prodigal Son and go back to the Father through the processes which

Christ and the Apostles gave us. This is particularly true of

meditation, for when we silence the senses, mind, and intellect–not

by controlling them, but by transcending them and going beyond them–

we will discover Christ and His Father already present within us.16

When we go beyond the false " knowing " of the mind we can enter into

the real knowing of the spirit. Then we can say: " I found Him Whom my

soul loveth. " 17

 

Deification

 

Resurrection of the dead is deification (theosis), attaining to

divinity. By this we do not mean that we become the Lord Himself, the

Source of life, but rather that we are reestablished in our original

status as parts or " rays " of His divine life. This is of course a

great mystery–the same as that of the Incarnation. It is totally

inconceivable as to how we can be a part of God Who is a perfectly

unitary Being without parts (through existing in Trinity!). Yet it is

so according to the Scriptures and the witness of two millennia of

saints. That we are meant to be " gods with God, " the Lord Jesus made

clear to His adversaries–who objected to His affirmation of His own

deification–when He quoted: " I have said, Ye are gods. " 18

 

The Lord wept at the tomb of Lazarus19 because He was Adam, the

Father of the human race in this creation cycle, who by his

transgression had brought death to Lazarus and us all.20 Therefore He

wept over the entire human race which He had plunged into death.

Beholding the results of His own disobedience, grief overwhelmed Him.

Not for Him was the false comfort of: " Well, it must be the will of

God. " He knew that indeed it was not the will of God but His own

disobedient will that had brought death into the world. It was an

awesome realization, terrible to His spirit.

 

A Significant Word

 

It is significant that the Creed does not say: " I believe in the

resurrection of the dead, " but: " I look for " it. It is not enough to

believe the propositions of the Creed. We must reach forward to the

practical realization and demonstration of them in our own

lives.21 " I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling

of God in Christ Jesus, " 22 said Saint Paul. To look for the

resurrection of the dead is to desire and strive for our resurrection

in–and into–Christ. Such a resurrection is a restoration back into

Paradise, as He told the Apostles: " I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and

receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. " 23

And He promised the thief: " Today shalt thou be with me in

paradise. " 24 It is a resurrection unto life, free forever from birth

and death and the bonds of limited physical embodiment, which was but

a stage in the process of our return to God.

 

How?

 

This is possible only through Christ, Who assured His disciples: " I

have overcome the world. " 25 That is, He had conquered the power of

the world which had bound human beings perpetually to the cycle of

recurrent birth and death. Just as a planet keeps its moons circling

around it through the pull of its gravitation, so the earth kept the

spirits of all beings trapped in its orbit, subject to constant

return through the law of " sowing and reaping, " 26 which is called

midah keneged midah ( " measure for measure " ) in Judaism and karma by

the Hindus and Buddhists.

 

Christ broke the bonds of " death, " of continual imprisonment in human

embodiment, and gave us the power to do the same. He did not do it

for us, but instead stated: " Him that overcometh will I make a pillar

in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out. " 27 That is, if

we receive Him into the depths of our being He shall empower us to

break the spiritual gravity of earth and earthly consciousness so

that we shall no longer " go out " from before the face of God through

reincarnation. Even clearer: " To him that overcometh will I grant to

sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down

with my Father in his throne. " We, too, must in our own flesh

conquer " the body of sin " 28 which is ignorance and evil. This cannot

be done on our own, of course, but must be done through Christ–

specifically through the inner life imparted and sustained by

meditation. But if we shall so do, then we shall sit with Him in His

throne.

 

The Throne Of Christ

 

In oriental countries kings did not sit on gilded chairs as in the

West, but sat cross-legged on thrones that were shallow, topless

boxes of gold or silver with cushions and ornate backs. Usually they

were quite large and could accommodate more than one person. If a

king wished to strongly affirm the succession to the throne he would

have his heir sit with him in the throne as he conducted state

business. This is why the original Greek says: " in My throne. " And

the throne of Christ is His Divinity, His own status and being as the

Only-begotten of the Father.

 

We shall literally participate in the omnipresence, omniscience, and

omnipotence of Jesus Christ. We, too, shall be Christs, as our

name " Christian " implies. And " then cometh the end, when he shall

have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;…that God may

be all in all. " 29 That is, we shall transcend even the state of

Christhood and pass into the state of Godhood, a state of ineffable

non-duality in which God will be ALL, and " in all " of us, as well.

There shall be perfect union, eternal unity, without annihilation of

our existence. In one sense, there shall be God alone, and in another

sense, " so shall we ever be with the Lord. " 30

 

Certainly this state is not to be confused with the concept

of " unity " set forth in contemporary monistic philosophy wherein the

individual ceases to exist at all, but undergoes a total merging and

cessation of individuality, the individuality having supposedly never

been anything more than an illusion. In Christian mysticism we say

that the experience of separation from God is an illusion,31 but our

existence as individual consciousnesses within the Bosom of the

Father has been from eternity in a way that can only be recognized as

a mystery to our earthbound understandings. But in eternity, back in

our Source, we shall know as we are known,32 with the totality of

knowledge and being.

 

We can see from all this that the ultimate meaning of " the

resurrection from the dead " is our reascension to Divinity. And it is

possible even in this life. " Behold, now is the accepted time;

behold, now is the day of salvation. " 33

 

The Final Phrase

 

The final phrase of the Creed is: " And the life of the age to come. "

We have already discussed the correct meaning of aeon, which is

translated " age, " as a realm of existence. And we have already seen

that in the Creed the term " life " means consciousness, the essential

state of being. When we resurrect from the dead, when our

consciousness is awakened by being illumined by Christ, we are

enabled to arise from the earthly aeon into the aeon of Paradise,

whose true life is that of conscious consciousness–that is, full self-

awareness of ourselves as individual, immortal, spiritual entities.

 

Higher Understanding

 

But there is a higher level, " The Aeon of aeons, " from Which all

aeons have emanated and Which is God Himself. We also call this state

of being " Eternity, " which is not time without end, but rather is the

actual Being of God. This is the Aeon Whose Life we must aspire

toward, even after regaining Paradise. In the seventeenth chapter of

Saint John, the Lord Jesus reveals the possibility of this higher,

divine life when He says: " And this is life eternal, that they might

know thee the only true God. "

 

Eternal life, " the life of the age to come, " is not an introverted

consciousness confined to awareness of our individual existence as a

seemingly separate entity from God–which is a delusion–but it is

awareness of God, within Whom we have our being.34 More: it is

intimate knowing of God in the Biblical sense of thorough knowledge

through total union with Him.

 

We shall not just know ourselves, we shall know God as the Self of

our self through active, conscious participation in the infinite Life

of the Divine. As the wave lives in the ocean and has no existence

apart from the ocean, so shall we be. Now the wave can neither

say: " I am different from the ocean, separate and independent,

another entity altogether, " nor can it say: " I am myself the ocean, "

in the sense of the totality. But it can indeed say: " I am a part of

the ocean from which I draw my existence, and with which I am

essentially and irrevocably one. "

 

A Clarification

 

The great non-dual philosopher of India, Adi Shankaracharya, wrote in

one of his hymns: " O Lord, though in essence there is no difference

between us, I cannot say that Thou belongest to me. Rather, I belong

to Thee. For the wave cannot say: `I am the ocean.' But the ocean can

say: `I am the wave.' " In this way God can say: " There is none else

beside Me, " 35 and yet not deny our existence which is encompassed by

His Existence. Such a truth can only be a mystery until we ascend to

that state where we shall know as we are known. In the depths of our

own beings we shall behold God Who beholds us in the depths of His

Being. We shall be at the heart of God, and God shall be at the heart

of us in unending vision. " My beloved is mine, and I am his. " 36 Or,

even more correctly: " My beloved is me, and I am Him. " A

 

Greater Goal

 

Though the Lord Jesus did indeed open Paradise to us, He has prepared

an even higher place for us–His throne of divinity which we have

already discussed. Our final resting place at the end of our

pilgrimage of traversing all the levels of Being and Consciousness

(aeons) that exist, shall be in the Bosom of the Father–nothing less.

For He told the Apostles: " Where I am, there ye may be also. " 37 He

did not say: " where I shall be, " but " where I am. " And where was

that? In the Bosom of the Father from eternity.38 Having ascended

back to the Divine Origin, making Himself " the firstfruits of them

that slept, " 39 the " firstborn from the dead, " 40 He returned to awaken

us, to resurrect us into His own Life which was also ours by nature

through divine grace.

 

The Christian Gnosis looks not to the fleeting, illusory life of this

world, " for the fashion of this world passeth away. " 41 Actually, the

word translated " fashion " here is schema, which in this context means

its English derivative " scene " –as in a play. A literal translation of

the verse is: " For the scene of this world is passing by, " in the

sense that a scene in a play is at every moment " going on, "

evaporating into the ether, having no abiding substance. For this

reason the Christian watches and waits for the Master's appearing,

keeping his lamp trimmed and burning, possessing his soul in

patience.42

 

Just as we cannot enter the ocean at whim and walk around on the

ocean floor breathing water, so we cannot enter into " the life of the

age to come " without preparation. While yet in this world we must

accustom ourselves to the ways of Paradise and Eternity. Even in this

life, we must be transmuted through our continuous practice of

meditation. Although we utilize some external means, that

transmutation must be a fundamentally interior process, for " the

kingdom of God is within. " 43 So also, then, must be " the life of the

age to come. "

 

Through meditation, especially, we learn to live both in this world

of time-space and in eternity, which transcends time and space. This

was the purpose of the Incarnation. In Christ Jesus time and eternity

were fused, and we become assumed unto Him and begin to live as He

lived, eventually becoming exactly What He was. Do we remain

ourselves, then? In truth, there is no other way to be ourselves than

this. This is why the Lord Jesus said that only if we would " lose "

our life would we be able to " find " it.44 For outside of God we have

no life.

 

The Last Word

 

We always conclude a recitation of the Creed with " Amen, " a Hebrew

term meaning both " this is true " and " so be it. " By using this word

in its first meaning we seal the Creed with our declaration that it

is indeed true for us, that our repetition has not been mindless

rote.

 

But the second meaning opens a new vista for us. Since everything

stated in the Creed is an established fact, rather than a hope or

speculation of the future, why would we say: " so be it, " as though it

were something yet to be fulfilled? Here, too, we have a dual

meaning. First, we express our aspiration that one day it may be so

to us, that we shall truly know all the propositions of the Creed as

true through our own direct spiritual experience. The second meaning

is more profound, expressing the hope that the propositions of the

Creed may be realized and manifested within us, the microcosm, as

they are within the universal macrocosm. Let us briefly consider the

Creedal statements in this context.

 

The Interior Creed

 

By reciting the Creed with full intent I affirm my aspiration that

one day I shall fully know both who and what this " I " is which has

been called to " believe. " That is, may I come to full self-knowledge

in the " one God " Whom I shall know as the " maker " of all within me,

both " of heaven and earth, and of all things " which comprise my

being, both the " visible and invisible. "

 

May this awakening come through my perfect communion with the " one

Lord, Jesus Christ " Who effects my union with " the Only-begotten Son

of God, " just as He Himself is one with the Only-begotten, revealing

to me that we were both " begotten of the Father before all ages, " and

are therefore His alone, eternal and immortal. That I myself, as is

He, am " light from Light, true God from true God. " I, too, am part of

the Father's transcendent Being, and therefore " begotten not made,

being of one substance with the Father. " And, reflecting the power of

the Father, there is no other force but my own will " by whom all

things were made " in my unfolding life.

 

Since I am now trapped in the illusion of human existence, the

forgotten knowledge of my own self as the Light of the World, the

Christ of God, must be " born again " 45 in me " by the Holy Spirit " to

effect my salvation. Not without struggle, without " crucifixion, "

suffering, and " burial " can this be done. But, when the process is

completed I shall in truth " rise again and ascend into heaven, "

taking my rightful place on the divine " right hand " from which I

shall indeed, with Christ Jesus, be revealed from the heaven of

illumined consciousness, purifying myself as He is pure through my

empowerment " to judge the living and the dead " within my own being.

Having done so, I shall enter into the " kingdom " which shall have " no

end. "

 

All this transmutation shall take place through the divine alchemy

of " the Holy Spirit, the Lady and Giver of Life, " Who, by me in my

inmost being, " together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and

glorified, " so that She " Who spoke by the prophets " may live and

speak in me, as the Lord Jesus promised.46 Through Her I am made a

living stone47 in the " one holy, catholic and apostolic Church, " and

enabled to be one, no longer at variance with myself and God, holy in

my thought, will, and life, and catholic (kata holos), containing the

whole of the divine life as my own.

 

Thereby I am enabled to attain the " one baptism for the remission of

sins " which is an unreserved plunging (baptizo) into the boundless

ocean of God's Light so that, dead forever unto ignorance and its

product, sin,48 I may rise unto " the resurrection of the dead " and be

established forever in God Who is Himself the Spirit of my

spirit " and the life of the age to come. "

 

" Amen! "

 

And now our esoteric consideration of the Creed is ended. As the

Apostles have counseled us in their Constitutions: " Meditate on these

things, brethren, and the Lord be with you upon earth and in the

kingdom of His Father, Who both sent Him and hath delivered us by Him

from the bondage of corruption into His glorious liberty, and hath

promised life to those who through Him have believed in the God of

the whole world. Amen. "

 

More chapters of the Gnosis of the Creed:

 

• Chapter One—The Nicene Creed

• Chapter Two—I believe

• Chapter Three—In one God, the Father almighty

• Chapter Four—Maker of heaven and earth, And of all things visible

and invisible

• Chapter Five—And in one Lord

• Chapter Six—Jesus Christ

• Chapter Seven—The Only-begotten Son of God, Begotten of the Father

before all ages. Light from Light, True God from true God. Begotten

not made, Being of one substance with the Father; By Whom all things

were made.

• Chapter Eight—Who for us men, and for our salvation

• Chapter Nine—Came down from heaven

• Chapter Ten—And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit

• Chapter Eleven—Of the Virgin Mary. And was made Man.

• Chapter Twelve—He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.

Suffered and was buried.

• Chapter Thirteen—And the third day He rose again according to the

Scriptures. And ascended into heaven. He sitteth at the right hand of

the Father.

• Chapter Fourteen—And He shall come again with glory to judge the

living and the dead.

• Chapter Fifteen—Of Whose kingdom there shall be no end.

• Chapter Sixteen—And in the Holy Spirit, the Lady and Giver of life:

Who proceedeth from the Father. Who together with the Father and the

Son Is worshipped and glorified. Who spoke by the prophets.

• Chapter Seventeen—And in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

• Chapter Eighteen—I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.

• Chapter Nineteen—And I look for the resurrection of the dead. And

the life of the age to come. Amen.

 

 

 

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1) " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed

remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. " (I

John 3:9) [Go back]

2) John 16:33; Revelation 3:21 [Go back]

 

3) John 14:3 [Go back]

 

4) Isaiah 34:4 [Go back]

 

5) II Peter 3:10 [Go back]

 

6) " Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner

of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. "

(II Peter 3:11) [Go back]

 

7) Ephesians 5:14 [Go back]

 

8) I Corinthians 15:52; I Thessalonians 4:16 [Go back]

 

9) Revelation 1:1 [Go back]

 

10) Matthew 24:3 [Go back]

 

11) Robe of Light considers these matters in detail. [Go back]

 

12) " Peter seeing him [saint John] saith to Jesus, Lord, and what

shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till

I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying

abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet

Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he

tarry till I come, what is that to thee? " (John 21:21-23) [Go back]

 

13) Matthew 24:34 [Go back]

 

14) Matthew 24:23 [Go back]

 

15) II Timothy 4:8 [Go back]

 

16) " Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep

my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and

make our abode with him. " (John 14:23) [Go back]

 

17) Song of Solomon 3:4 [Go back]

 

18) Psalm 82:6,7 [Go back]

 

19) John 11:35 [Go back]

 

20) See Robe of Light. [Go back]

 

21) Matthew 11:12; I Timothy 6:12,19 [Go back]

 

22) Philippians 3:14 [Go back]

 

23) John 14:2,3 [Go back]

 

24) Luke 23:43 [Go back]

 

25) John 16:33 [Go back]

 

26) Galatians 6:7 [Go back]

 

27) Revelation 3:12 [Go back]

 

28) Romans 6:6 [Go back]

 

29) I Corinthians 15:24,28 [Go back]

 

30) I Thessalonians 4:17 [Go back]

 

31) " Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from

thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make

my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the

morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there

shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say,

Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light

about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night

shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to

thee. " (Psalm 139:7-12) [Go back]

 

32) " For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:

now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. "

(I Corinthians 13:12) [Go back]

 

33) II Corinthians 6:2 [Go back]

 

34) " God…giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;…and hath

determined…that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel

after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of

your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. " (Acts 17:24-

28) [Go back]

 

35) Isaiah 47:8,10 [Go back]

 

36) Song of Solomon 2:16 [Go back]

 

37) John 14:3 [Go back]

 

38) " No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which

is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. " (John 1:18) [Go

back]

 

39) I Corinthians 15:20 [Go back]

 

40) Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5 [Go back]

 

41) I Corinthians 7:31 [Go back]

 

42) Luke 21:19 [Go back]

 

43) Luke 17:21 [Go back]

 

44) Luke 17:33 [Go back]

 

45) John 3:3. Another meaning is: " born from above. " [Go back]

 

46) " Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because

it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he

dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. " (John 14:17) [Go back]

 

47) " Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an

holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God

by Jesus Christ. " (I Peter 2:5) [Go back]

 

48) " How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? "

(Romans 6:2) [Go back]

 

The Resurrection of the dead - by Swami Nirmalananda Giri

http://www.atmajyoti.org/gc_gnosis_creed_ch_19.asp