“There is only one thing in this universe that can surround you with limitation, and that is accepting the outer appearance instead of the mighty, active presence of God in you.”
The I AM Discourses, v 3 p 7
Tag Archive | true freedom
Does the Book of Revelation Mesh with Jesus’ Teachings?
Warning: My beliefs as guided by Jesus my Spiritual Mentor might be considered by some as heretical. This is where courage and faith comes in, when what the Divine communicates is the opposite of what many others believe as truth.
What is my reaction to the Book of Revelation claim that Jesus will come again on a horse, in battle, with vengeance, destroying and slaughtering?
I believe Jesus has already come again within each of our hearts. That heart-dwelling presence is so much more powerful than Jesus returning as a separate being ready to do battle. He has so much more influence when he works through each one of us. It’s Jesus multiplied! Of course, because of free will, we must give permission for Jesus to serve through us. But once we do, WOW!
According to Jesus through Divine messages to me, the Book of Revelation that claims Jesus will come again and in such horrific wrath is the opposite of what he taught us. The Revelation writing style is copied from the apocalyptic books that were written before Jesus was born.
At the time of Jesus’ birth, the Jewish people hoped the Messiah would come as an avenging angel bringing rebellion and death to their Roman enemies. Instead Jesus came as love, teaching that God is love not hate, forgiveness not revenge. Even his disciples struggled with this opposite shift to what they had been taught. The Book of Revelation returns to the old Jewish thinking, which is a misleading interpretation of Jesus’ true revelation.
I understand and sympathize with why this book was written – to give the persecuted Christians hope during the most brutal time in Christian history when they were being thrown to the lions and tortured in horrendous ways. The writings encouraged people to stay strong, that something better was coming for them – a true message for everyone for all time. The message that no matter what, “JESUS WINS!” Which means, we win.
What did Jesus really teach?
Simplified, Jesus taught us not only that we are love, but that our only and true power is within, with God, Jesus… not from outside of us. To share a Jesus quote he gave to me with the intent for me to share…
“You are One with the Source, and the Source is your unlimited supplier, not a human, which means you are to turn to the Source for all things.” Jesus. “Divine Messages from Jesus for a magnificent life. 2015. Cathey, Carolyne
That doesn’t mean good doesn’t come through others, it does, but we are to remember that their source is also God.
What does that good news mean for us?
- It means we are empowered. Our God-connection, which is our 24/7 continual interaction with the Greatest Power in the Universe, is wiser and stronger than anyone or anything outside of us.
- It means freedom. Do you realize how incredible that is? It means no one outside of us takes away our freedom to choose unless we allow it. It means that our wisdom and guidance as to what is best for us and our life is always within us. We don’t have to climb a mountain in a distant land to seek wisdom. We carry it around within us all the time. But first we must recognize it, accept it, and work with our Spiritual Partners such as Jesus, Guardian Angels., etc. Each of us is blessed with a spiritual team that is eager and willing to work with us for our most magnificent life.
What is the truth of that good news?
We don’t have to wait for Jesus to come again. He is already here. Right now. In your heart. Do you feel him? Hear him? He’s there whether or not you realize it. He’s eager to serve as your teammate. If you haven’t already done so…
Ask Jesus to be your co-partner. Then trust.
“You are One with the Source, and the Source is your unlimited supplier, not a human, which means you are to turn to the Source for all things.” Jesus. “Divine Messages from Jesus for a magnificent life. .2015. Cathey, Carolyne
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #8: Blessed are those who are persecuted…
The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?
5:10-12 #8 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
This final one might be the most difficult. What does it mean for us?
Note in this last beatitude where the wording shifts from blessed are those, to blessed are you, the only time this happens. It changes from Blessed are those who are persecuted – generic – to a very personal blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you. The reason is because this beatitude isn’t referring to the internal work you go through that you celebrate in the previous statements. This is a head’s up that refers to a potential rejection of you by others when you follow your spiritual path of truth and love; Jesus wants you to be aware of that possibility and not be discouraged or turned off your path, but to stay strong in your faith.
In the last sentence, He said “Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great.” The word for glad means to leap exceedingly. It is the leaping-for-joy runner who overcomes all obstacles in their path and crosses the finish line in truth and integrity.
Why the warning?
The truth is frightening to many people when it is different from what they believe. When frightened, people often persecute those who believe differently, call them names, slander them, try to destroy their reputations, ridicule, express hatred, and even kill. When we embody love no matter what is coming at us from other’s fear-caused reactions, we are strengthened with God-confidence while serving the world in honesty and integrity. Is that not what we all choose no matter the chaos and negativity around us? To stand solid in the Divine Truth?
Again, this is not something we try to do on our own. That is believing in separation, not Oneness. When we surrender to that Inner Authority that knows the truth, shares the truth, we are empowered. This is not something we earn. It is a gift. A gift from God.
So to paraphrase…
Oh the godlike joy when we are persecuted for embodying God’s truth, because when we surrender, emptying ourselves of fear and misperceptions, we open ourselves to receiving Divine Truth which strengthens us to be that which we truly are – love. And when we do, we inspire others to also express God’s love. This is joy.
I pray that the core of Jesus’ teachings expressed in The Beatitudes, touches you in new, inspiring and powerful ways. We are to emblazon these truths on our hearts, and live them.
To summarize…
We celebrate when we:
- Surrender and place our trust in God.
- Realize that despite our mistakes, God loves us anyway.
- Are teachable and open to God’s truth.
- Are filled with God’s goodness through surrender.
- See others as God sees them.
- See with pure intentions through God’s lens of love.
- Make peace within our own hearts.
- Are empowered by God when we live the Divine truth, which is love.
The Beatitudes are, in reality, about surrender. The only way we can follow these powerful life-changing truths is to merge our desires with God’s so that they are one desire – God’s will. Surrender is the answer to everything.
To share a quote that I received in a Divine message, Jesus said…
Once you get oneness, everything else falls in place.
- So, in closing, the distilled truth of The Beatitudes, is
We celebrate when we surrender everything we are to God that has all of the answers to all of our challenges, knowing that when we are emptied of self, we are filled with the Divine.
This post is the final in The Beatitudes. I hope you’ve enjoyed them. The previous seven are linked below.
Research Sources
- William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
- The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz
Next: #8: Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #8 Blessed are those who are persecuted…
Previous:
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #1: Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #2 Blessed are those who mourn…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #3 Blessed are the meek…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #4 Blessed are those who hunger…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #5 Blessed are the merciful…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #6 Blessed are the pure in heart…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #7 Blessed are the peacemakers…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #7: Blessed are the peacemakers…
The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?
5:9 #7 Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called sons of God.
In Hebrew peace is never only a negative state; it never means only the absence of trouble; in Hebrew peace always means everything that serves one’s highest good. But peace starts within us. So, we could say…
Oh the god-like joy when our own inner warfare is finally over and we make peace within our own heart and in our own soul. Then, along with the Source of Peace, we may serve as peacemakers to bless the world. This is joy!
Research Sources
- William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
- The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz
Next: #8: Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #8 Blessed are those who are persecuted…
Previous:
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #1: Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #2 Blessed are those who mourn…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #3 Blessed are the meek…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #4 Blessed are those who hunger…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #5 Blessed are the merciful…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #6 Blessed are the pure in heart…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #6: Blessed are the pure in heart…
The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?
5:8 #6 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
The Greek word for pure means unmixed, unadulterated, unalloyed. It requires self-examination. Is our work done from motives of service or from motives of pay or acknowledgment, from being self-less, or from self-display, from a feeling of unity, or of superiority? This is about intent, and perceptions.
It is difficult to see a purity beyond our own flawed perceptions, because we see everything through that flawed lens. The purer our sight, the purer the lens through which we view everything, the more purity we recognize. Total pureness recognizes total pureness.
The only way we can see with such clarity is when we surrender all we are to the Divine and see ourselves and others as God sees us, which is through the lens of love.
So, then, this sixth beatitude might read:
Oh the godlike joy of choosing from pure intentions because when we do, through surrender, we see everything as God sees, which is always through the lens of love. That is joy!
Research Sources
- William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
- The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz
Next: #7: Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #7 Blessed are the peacemakers…
Previous:
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #1: Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #2 Blessed are those who mourn…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #3 Blessed are the meek…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #4 Blessed are those who hunger…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #5 Blessed are the merciful…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #5: Blessed are the merciful…
The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?
5:7 #5 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
There is more to this beatitude than the obvious. The Hebrew word for mercy is one of several untranslatable words where our English is insufficient. It means to see others as God sees them. When we do that, like God, not only do we not judge them, but also we respond with compassion and understanding. Even more, it is seeing ourselves in others, like a reflection. It is being that which we choose to receive. We can only see as God sees through surrender.
So the translation of the fifth beatitude might read:
O the god-like joy when we get right inside other people until we can see with their eyes, think with their thoughts, feel with their feelings, see them as God sees them, for when we do, our hearts open with love and compassion. To be able to see as God sees is only possible through surrender. In doing so, we, too, receive mercy. That is joy!
Research Sources
- William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
- The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz
Next: #6: Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #6 Blessed are the pure in heart…
Previous:
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #1: Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #2 Blessed are those who mourn…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #3 Blessed are the meek…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #4 Blessed are those who hunger…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #4: Blessed are those who hunger…
The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?
5:6 #4 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
The hunger which this beatitude describes is no genteel hunger. It is the hunger of the person who is starving for food, and the thirst of one who will die unless they drink.
There is one further point which only emerges in the Greek. It could have said I want some of the bread, but not the whole loaf. I want some of the water, but not the entire container. The wording Jesus used means I want the whole loaf of bread. I want the entire container of water. I want it all.
I really struggled for days with the research on this beatitude because whatever I found, Jesus told me through prayer was inadequate for what he really said. That it lacked the total truth and the power of this message. So finally after several days, and still being told I was missing something important, I was guided to do an automatic writing exercise where I pray, ask the question, and then write whatever comes through to me. This is what I received:
Write what I tell you. Write of love. Write of longing for a right relationship with God. A loving relationship. A powerful relationship. That the only way we can be right with God is to surrender to God’s will, and allow God to direct our relationship. A right relationship with God is not from us directing the way, but God doing the Divine will through us, empowering us, empowering others. That is a right relationship with God.
I asked if there is anything else? He said,
It’s our hearts. The longing in our hearts. We have to really want a right relationship with God, not to be afraid of it, but to embrace it. Not a tepid desire, but an all or nothing quest, knowing that this is where lies our bliss and we won’t’ settle for anything less than the highest and best. He said talk about the Truth. The burning Truth. The purifying truth. A truth that challenges us to dare to live as God would have us live. How much, how badly do we want a right relationship with God? A loving relationship? A powerful relationship? An all-time 24/7 relationship, not just when we don’t have anything better to do. All or nothing.
What I finally realized:
It’s not that we must have goodness so that we can connect with God, it’s that we connect with God so that we can have goodness. God is our source for goodness. If we want all from God, then we must first surrender and give our all to God.
Wow. That really is a challenge. Like Jesus shared during the prayer message, there is only one way we can accomplish this directive, and it is with…
Surrender, for only through surrender do we have the total access to and fulfillment of goodness and right relationship with God for which we hunger. Do you sense the surrender pattern Jesus is teaching us in the first half of the beatitudes? When you really think about it, Surrender is the answer to everything. Surrender is the answer.
So…
O the godlike joy when we hunger and thirst for a right relationship with God as the highest priority in our lives because we want all that God offers. In our heart-longing desperation we surrender everything we are and do to the Divine, allowing the loving, purifying and powerful goodness to so fill us to overflowing that we can’t but live and share that goodness all of the time – God’s will flowing through us. Through surrender we are satisfied. This is joy
Research Sources
- William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
- The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz
Next: #5: Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #5 Blessed are the merciful…
Previous:
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #1: Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #2 Blessed are those who mourn…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #3 Blessed are those who hunger…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #3: Blessed are the meek…
The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?
5:5 #3 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Meek doesn’t mean weak, wimpy, shyly cowering in silence. In Aramaic, the word translated as “meek” means literally those who have softened what is rigid inside. That means when we are rigid about our thinking we are not open to any other viewpoint, even God’s. In our rigidity, we block ourselves from receiving and experiencing the Real Truth, the Eternal Truth. When we soften inside, we become teachable.
Restated:
Oh the god-like joy when we soften what is rigid inside and become teachable, opening to and accepting the Eternal Truth, freeing us to experience the highest and best physical life possible while on planet earth. This is joy.
Research Sources
- William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
- The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz
Next: #4: Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #3 Blessed are those who hunger…
Previous:
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #1: Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #2 Blessed are those who mourn…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #2: Blessed are those who mourn…
The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?
5:4 #2 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
The specific Greek word for ‘to mourn’ used originally, is the strongest word for mourning in the Greek language. It is the word which is used for mourning for the dead, for the passionate lament for one who was loved.
For what do we mourn as if it were a type of death? When we are spiritually destitute and finally surrender all to our Source, we realize what a mess we’ve made of our lives. We mourn for our regrets, our mistakes, things we said or did wrong, perhaps hurting ourselves, or others. Words and actions we wish we could retract but we can’t, regrets that tear us up inside. We mourn that, in our ignorance, we blunder our way through life, too often missing out on what might have been our bliss if we’d seen or understood more clearly. It is when we look back on our lives at the moment of death and regret what we didn’t have the courage to go for and that it is now too late.
So, paraphrased:
Oh the God-like joy when we finally admit and mourn for our mistakes, for the shambles we made of our lives, because we are comforted by the realization that, mistakes and all, we are loved by God anyway, unconditionally, without judgment, which is precisely how we are to love ourselves, and others. There is no greater comfort than this. To be loved anyway. This is joy.
Research Sources
- William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
- The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz
Next: #3: Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes: #3 Blessed are the meek…
Previous:
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #1: Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Powerful Life-Changing Beatitudes. #1: Blessed are the poor in spirit…
The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share.
What we often don’t realize is the power within the statements. To many of us they have become meaningless. So often when we read through the Beatitudes we skim over them without any realization of the power and depth of their meaning. For one, our lifestyle is so very different, and for another, many of the words either had no accurate translation in the English language, or often the meanings don’t make sense any more, or they come across ho-hum, or they’ve actually come to mean the opposite of the original language.
First, the phrase “blessed are,” when the original Greek word is translated accurately, it means “Oh, the godlike joy of…” The reason that is important is because they are not just wishes of what might be; they are not hopes for future blessings; they are celebrations of what exists right now, at this moment. They are exultant shouts of joy for the Divine blessings that nothing in this physical world can ever take away from us.
5:3 #1 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Poor in spirit, (not financially, but in spirit). The original meaning for poor spoken at the time describes absolute and abject poverty. it describes the poverty which is beaten to its knees, someone who is absolutely destitute. Why is that something to celebrate? Because it celebrates the person who is so spiritually destitute they realize their own utter lack of resources to meet life, and with nowhere else to turn, put their whole trust in God. It means surrender, the most significant choice we make. Surrender isn’t only about giving, it is mainly about receiving. We are to empty ourselves in surrender so that total love and Truth and guidance can flood into us and fill us to overflowing without restriction. That is when we truly celebrate the fullness of life that is ours to experience from that inner kingdom of heaven that is within us. Not from anything outside of us, but Inside of us always. That is freedom. That is true joy. To personalize this proclamation of triumph.
Oh, the godlike joy when we feel so spiritually destitute that we finally surrender our lives to God, putting all of our trust in our indwelling Unlimited Supplier, not a human. This is joy!
Research Sources
- William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
- The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz
Next: #2: Blessed are those who mourn…
Carolyne Cathey 