There were special centres on the Earth during the period of the Egyptian Mysteries and whilst the existing temples received their instructions from these centres they were not necessarily part of the then official “set-up”. When the Egyptian temples were closed in the fourth century (Circa 384 AD by Theodosious) orthodox Christianity took over and the Higher Priesthood was severed from the church – and so is to this day.
The Mediterranean area provided much of the basic material used in the reorganised religion of Christianity. Plato and Pythagoras are said to have learned their knowledge from the Egyptian priests and much of our western thought is attributed to these great Greek “thinkers”.
The existing Roman Catholic Church has its system based on much the same lines as the ancient Egyptian system – with its journeys to stations and various festivals. It can be learned from existing historical data that little has changed except for the terminology.
Such symbols as the Bread and Wine, the Cross, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh are pre-Christian – therefore the present churches possess no right to claim them as unique to their own particular faith. The Gospel of St. John is also a restatement of the older teachings brought into line with the Christian doctrines – for example the God RA of the Egyptians is said to have created the world by speaking the “Word of Power”.
Melchisedek is the great initiate from whom we all receive the concept and possibility of attaining the status of perfection whilst still in the flesh. Thus it was that in the teachings of Jesus a system was hinted at wherein one might obtain this state – not by beliefs, doctrines and regular religious practices – but by total subjection to the Will of God.
St. Paul describes Jesus as being a priest “after the Order of Melchisedek” (see Epistle to the Hebrews) and he, Jesus, acted as the revealer of the way and guardian of its mysteries. St. Paul provided us with the keys to the subtler points and indicated the wide divisions between that which is doctrinal and that which is the reality itself. From the point of view of the Melchisedek teachings the doctrines and dogmas of religion are nothing more than continual reminders of our obligations and these often fall short of that which was originally intended so if this is understood we are able to keep them in their right perspective.
We should try to remember that this consciousness of perfection cannot be, in any way, manipulated or influenced to be any more than what it already is. What takes place during any ritual, religious or otherwise, is a work with the energies already released from the nucleus of every one of those present. The true experience of God actually stems from communion with the “nucleus” itself – and this is only possible when impressions through the senses are known for what they are worth.
This process must be maintained continually – or as far as is possible by the adherent – however, one does find that after a while this consciousness takes over and directs one’s life of itself.
Do not run away with the idea that the senses are not important – in truth they are very important. One does not have to “kill out” or deny the senses for these are your “sacred vessels” through which you give expression to the power radiating from within so as a priest of the higher consciousness it is your responsibility to keep them clean and pure. The purer we are able to maintain our senses the more can our inner life reveal itself and transform the other atoms and cells of our bodies. During this process our bodies become a more effective “filament” for the Light to dissolve the impurities produced, in the world of effects, by those who live in the “shadows”. In the light of this knowledge we fulfil our everyday responsibilities to our fellows, we do our jobs correctly, do honest business without becoming involved in the effects thus the power from our “inner sanctuary” radiates through every action without our personal intrusion into it.
A priest in a church is bound by the rules of his church and his thoughts and actions have to revolve solely around the doctrines and dogmas but a priest of this order is free from such obligations for he knows that That to which he belongs touches the hearts of all men and leaves him free to mix as the “spirit” moves him. We also know that That to which we contribute is That to which all men are seeking – and that which we know we are is that which all men must eventually become.
We have heard much talk as to what form the “new religion” will take. Some say it will come as a unification of all the present religions. Some are saying this and some are saying that and many are chasing unfruitful ends in work such as “church unity” to bring this about. Let us look at this differently. Since this Intelligent Light Energy, or what you will, has Its own inherent pattern – which eventually will take form – is aware of what It is Itself and what It is about – It will therefore give Its own expression to men and women who are in harmony with Its pattern. As we have mentioned before – this Intelligence cannot be moved or influenced to do anything that is apart from It fulfilling Its own Will. Therefore to attempt to create a channel, or way for expression for It, by human means is a waste of energy. If we want to share in Its plan it is we who have to deal with ourselves and place ourselves at Its disposal on Its terms. So also, a priest ordained by men is not necessarily a priest in the eyes of God – it is only the person who is directed by the Will of God who is one to be reckoned with.
That which is called Extra Sensory Perception, E.S.P. for short, from our point of view is another source of extraneous knowledge because it is only a means of gaining information from the higher or lower frequency ranges of the senses and information gained thus is unreliable in respect to the Truth of Reality. What one who has developed the ability of E.S.P. does is to get more insight into the world of effects and whilst this might be very interesting it still leads one away from the Source wherein the secret of life lies.
What has actually taken place in the development of E.S.P. is this: In a “normal” way our senses are receptive to only a limited range of the light, or life, spectrum. Our eyes are responsive to one octave of the light frequencies. Our ears are only responsive to a short range of sound waves and in like manner our feelings, or touch, are limited. Thus we are only aware of form and expression according to the receptive quality of our organs. By various exercises it is possible to “hot up” our sensual organs so as to make them acute to frequency ranges outside their “norm” and awareness of the rarer fields of matter is achieved. By this method one becomes more conscious of the expressive nature of the universal soul only and does not, as some believe, provide any clues to that which takes place at the Source or that centre from which the essence of life stems. Because impressions through the senses must take on some kind of form – or in sound, taste or smell etc the impressions gained through E.S.P. can only be thus.
The Divine Centre of things, in a manner of speaking, is abstract to the senses therefore cannot be perceived by them so we are limited to describing It by abstract descriptions only.
Power from the Source can only be allowed to flow when our attention is fixed on an abstract conception. This automatically bypasses the senses and the life from within reveals Itself in our experiences.
In the practice of pure religion this works out by maintaining an unwavering faith in the reality of the “Abstract Principles” under all circumstances in spite of what evidence the senses present – then, and only then, will the full glory of the truth be manifest.
To become a “Priest of the Most High God” is all a matter of fulfilling the principles laid down. It is in error to suppose that this priesthood, such as was achieved by Jesus, is an honour bestowed on certain individuals. No great Teacher has indicated that he was specially selected or a chosen instrument. The mistake, by students, lies in the fact that if they believe this attainment impossible it leaves room for a wide area of excuses for personal weaknesses and let themselves off from the many pitfalls by assuming “Well it is only human nature”.
This “human nature” attitude gets us nowhere and shows that a total misunderstanding exists of this so-called “human nature”. To argue that Adeptship, or Mastership, is only a calling of the “few” leaves, by our own will, the earth with precisely that amount – a few. Perfection is the goal of humanity and as long as we delay this we virtually hold creation in suspense – such is our responsibility. Man, by his falsity, actually draws across his own vision the temple veils to hide it from view and dares him who would tear them away to reveal the light.
This noble office of priesthood is offered freely from the inner sanctuary – to him who will walk in from the outer courtyard with a pure heart. He will take with him where-ever he goes the “Sacred Ark of God” and remain a priest forever. Becoming a priest in his own right he will only pay allegiance to the great central “temple of God” situated in that “city not built with hands” spoken of in Revelation. This is the realm of Reality and Truth.
Therefore, in the light of what has been said, to be “human” is a glorious thing and places upon us the responsibility of being true, sincere and pure vehicles of the power of God. Not seeking our answers in the sensual world but by KNOWING the truth about ourselves.