OF BIRDS TURNING TO WOMEN OR MEN TURNING TO GOATS.

Every now and then, news stories or village tales resurface about a man “turning into” a goat, a woman “turning into” a bird, or a thief “transforming” into a yam tuber. Such reports, while often thrilling to hear, collapse completely under the light of reason and truth.

In the physical, gross-material world, a human being cannot transform into another creature, not by ritual, or any so-called diabolical power. The laws of nature governing physical matter simply do not permit such a thing. A human cannot suddenly become a goat, nor can an animal become a human. To claim otherwise is as absurd as saying a tree could become a stone, or that a mobile phone could turn into a rat. Furthermore, the core of man and animal are different. While the spirit inhabits the human body, the animal has a core of substantiality.

However, it has been clearly explained in higher knowledge that outside the dense materiality of the earth, in the darker planes of existence, there exist curious forms that look like animals, each one born from the thoughts and inner life of men. These strange figures are not created by magic or some external power; they are simply the visible results of the thoughts people have nurtured over time. There, a person’s thoughts can shape visible forms around their spirit, producing images that reflect their inner condition.

When a person continually gives themselves over to hatred, envy, greed, or similar dark passions, they begin - beyond the physical realm - to form a body that mirrors those very qualities. Such a soul eventually loses every resemblance to the noble human form, because their inner nature no longer corresponds to it. Such have descended below humanity into a lower order of existence.

This, perhaps, is the origin of mankind’s tales of humans “turning into” animals. It is certainly not physical metamorphosis, but a beyond earthly reflection of a corrupted inner life.

So we may safely conclude: in the physical world, it is impossible for a man to turn into an animal or for an animal to become a man. What people may perceive in certain moments are not physical transformations, but glimpses of realities existing beyond the visible world, realities shaped by the thoughts and deeds of human beings themselves.

WHO IS A SERVANT OF GOD?

Many think that only the leaders of the various religious groups are servants of the Most High. On a closer look however, there is no justification for this assumption!

No one can claim that he has not come across the scandalous behaviour of many a religious leader. I have seen video clips of some self-acclaimed “men of god” jumping on people’s stomachs, who engage in the public floggings and unwholesome fondling of followers. There are also stories of sexual molestation of the young and vulnerable by some of these impostors. Some of them shamelessly take advantage of their blind followers at times relieving such careless followers of their earthly wealth and goods, leaving them in the delusion that what they do for the so-called servant of God is also done for God!

But who is a servant of God? The answer is this: Only those who live in accordance with the Will of God are His true servants. They must necessarily know of the Laws of the Lord and strive with all they have in order to live their lives accordingly. They stand bright and alert in this world and they understand with their delicate intuition the mechanisms of Creation and how to live in harmony with it. They are happy thereby and can navigate their way through life without harming other people in the pursuit of their own desires. Rather, they live by true service and contributing to the joy and welfare of their neighbours. Such persons are the true servants of God and it does not matter what they do on earth to sustain themselves in the material sense. It is the nature of their wholesome, joyful and beneficial activity that marks them out as God’s children and servants.

Perhaps we can also mention the tell-tale signs of those who are not servants of God. We have described a part of the signs at the start of this discussion. We must add one more sign which portends something serious and which also comes with serious consequences for those involved. Here is the sign: All those who take a stand against the Word of Truth which is now being disseminated to humanity at this time are not servants of God! This Word of Truth bears the sign of Truth, which is the equal armed cross! By opposing this Message from above, these so-called religious leaders have set themselves against God as opponents.  This is because they have set themselves against the sign of the Truth which is the equal armed cross! The author of the Grail Message warns us to be on our guard, lest we also be found among such!

WHERE DOES MAN GO AFTER DEATH?

Physical death is the passing from the earthly plane into the world beyond; a birth into the beyond. For the person who has lived a life based on obedience to the Will of God, fear of death is misplaced.

Those who should fear death are those who have lived wicked and careless lives. Such people have every reason to be afraid. What awaits them is so terrible that it is often better for them to continue living on earth - if that were possible!  

For the departed, there is help awaiting them as they arrive in the beyond. Let us rejoice with them inwardly and wish them well on their journey instead of lamenting their passing. In fact, if we express our grief too much, it might distract the departing one and make the transition more difficult. Also, there is no need to wish them eternal rest as there is no such phenomenon in Creation where everything is in constant motion! The departed are still living and have only shed the physical body!

Each man goes to the place he has prepared for himself through his thoughts, words and deeds while here on earth. The spiritual weight of the individual determines where he goes after leaving the flesh. Those of evil disposition who for instance always engage in deeds of anger or hatred become heavy in the spiritual sense. This heaviness attaches to their inner bodies and makes these wicked ones sink into the lower regions of the beyond as a natural consequence. These lower regions are of despair and damnation.

On the other hand, the human beings who strive for spiritual maturity and obey the Laws of God joyfully through the purity of their thoughts words and deeds become light spiritually. For example, when we help someone in difficulty, we feel happy and light within us. If we continue in this way, then, on leaving the flesh, we will ascend to the lighter parts of the beyond. In these light regions, human spirits of a similar nature work joyfully and continue to live in bliss! Their works are like hymns of praise to the Lord Who they serve by doing works that accord with His Laws!

Therefore, when we are faced with the departure of a loved one, let us send our loving thoughts to the departed and pray that their path onwards be blessed and that they recognise all the help that now surrounds them. We should also wish the close friends and family the strength to carry on courageously with life on earth.

WHAT IS GRACE?

Many think that grace is unmerited favour from the Almighty. Some also give it a meaning of a free gift from above. While these interpretations have some merits, we will now take this concept in a more objective way.

One of the greatest Graces granted to mankind was the coming of Jesus to this world to bring us the Word of Truth. Majority of men did not deserve this as they met this Act of Grace with scorn and hatred. The few who followed the path of righteousness shown them by Jesus however were able to save themselves from the bondage of sin and the darkness. Let us also note with shame that without exception, every helper great or small and even blessed Prophets all had to suffer mockery, scorn, persecution and attacks from men!

Other forms of Grace include our existence, our planet earth, the regular outpouring of power by the Holy Spirit for the renewal and maintenance of the entire Creation and many more! We simply cannot recount all the gifts granted us daily and hourly through the Grace of God!

Does Grace mean that the Laws of the Almighty Father are suspended for some special people and for some special reasons?

No! The Laws of the Almighty are irrevocable, cannot be waived and must be fulfilled as the Laws are synonymous with the Will, Love and Word of God. Just as the Word of God is always fulfilled, the same goes for His Laws! It is instructive that in the Yoruba language the same word “Ife” means Love and Will! Creation itself came into existence and is sustained strictly by God’s Laws!

The same Laws also encompass the Grace of the Almighty! Is it not grace as we observe in nature that a planted seed of corn yield ears of corn? Our words, thoughts and deeds too are like seeds and the Laws ensure that we reap what we sow with these in multiples. This is grace; and we can only be thankful if we sow good seeds as we will in turn reap in multiples.  If we sow what is bad, we also reap in multiples. The same Laws ensures that if we repent in time, we will experience the Grace of forgiveness! After all, a repentant person stops sowing evil and engages in that which is good thus bringing into effect results that will counteract the returning evil fruits. The repentant person is thus forgiven and he is free!

That is Grace pure and simple!

May we be able to live our lives such that we will remain worthy of the Grace of God which surrounds us all the time!

CAN WE “COMMAND” THE ALMIGHTY?

Many have the strong opinion that they can command the Almighty!

However, when we think about this matter carefully, we will come to an understanding that this opinion cannot stand!

We must first realise that the Almighty is Creator of all that exist and that we are creatures. We ought to be ever grateful that the Almighty in His Love had even permitted that the knowledge about He the Creator be carefully brought to us by helpers chosen for this purpose over a long period of time.

Just like the clay cannot question a potter as to the design of the pots the potter is making, we as creatures are not in a position to argue with our Maker.

Instead of this let us realise with thanks that the Almighty has placed into His Creation, the laws that guides, helps and protects us. In the operation of these laws, our welfare is assured and each of us can move about and enjoy the abundance in this wonderful creation as a child at play in a beautiful garden. If indeed we learn to recognise these laws, our lives will be beautiful and we will have all that we need for our spiritual benefit which is actually what is important. These laws indeed work out what is of spiritual benefit for us and not what satisfies our selfish interest which are usually very short-sighted demands of material advantages.

If instead of learning and obeying the Creation laws, we proceed along the lines of always demanding from the Almighty what we consider as important, then we act in arrogance and some of us carry it as far as wanting to command the Creator.  This attitude is not credible as it is an attempt to put oneself above the laws of the Creator which actually rules the universe regardless of our opinions in this regard! The Grail Message compared this ambitious attitude towards our Creator to that of a toad standing before a high rock and wanting to order it to move out of its way.  Can man command the ocean, the sun or the moon? No doubt, attempting to command the Creator of all is audacious, extremely bold and arrogant to say the least.

The right attitude is to fit ourselves willingly into how Creation works through the laws of God.

Let us endeavour to recognise the laws of God as the ever-present help that we need and seek to understand them in humility. Then we shall be happy, devoid of empty demands and we will be able to serve the Lord Who had mercifully permitted us to come into existence!

ARE WE SAVED BY GRACE ALONE?

The demands of walking the right path of salvation appears so difficult for many a man. Therefore, it is easy to subscribe to the belief that man can only be saved by the grace of the Almighty alone. Can this be true? Is this view an attempt by man to avoid the responsibilities of working relentlessly for his own salvation?

Yet, grace plays a part in our salvation. The grace here is that which is bestowed on us through the knowledge and adherence to the Laws of our Creator.  It is indeed GRACE that we are permitted to know of the laws of God which have been explained fully to us by many blessed Prophets of old and later by the Son of God Jesus.

In addition, our faith plays a role in that when we come across the Word of Truth and embrace it even if at first through faith and belief, our subsequent decision for what is good will establish the good in us leading us to a clear understanding of the Word of Truth. Thereafter follows full conviction. Our initial belief which has grown into CONVICTION then leads us to conscious, continuous and victorious adherence to the laws of God. This adherence to the Word of Truth are the deeds or the works which saves us!

Let us note carefully that we are not saved by deeds or works arising from a blind faith in the dogmas imposed by men and their religions! Such religious dogmas are familiar: we must fast, we must not celebrate birthdays nor eat certain types of food and so on. These types of work cannot save us and are not to be compared to the works of repentance and works based on an adherence to the Word of Truth. For example, obedience to the Law of Love as explained by Jesus is real work. However, such work will save us! Imagine giving so much love to our neighbour to the extent that such a neighbour then changes for the better. That is pure love and service. That is living in accordance with the Will of God. Such works of love redeems us, saves us and leads us back to our Creator, Who is Love!

Salvation and redemption will come to us only in the Word of God which we must absorb, so that by

living in accordance with It, we may release ourselves from the bonds of wrongdoing and false beliefs that holds us down through misunderstanding and distorting the true concepts. 

Let us therefore constantly stand in prayer to God to grant us the power to carry out ourselves the works that count towards our salvation and our redemption!