What can we learn from the two criminals that were crucified along with Jesus?

Most people are familiar with the biblical account of two criminals crucified along with Christ. One said to Christ, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” The other reprimanded him with the words: “Do you not fear God? ...we are receiving the due reward of our deeds, but Jesus has done nothing wrong.” This penitent thief then pleaded: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”.

We can liken the 2 thieves to the two types of believers on earth today.
Just like the unrepentant thief, a part of present day believers do not have the true faith. Such believers hold that Jesus can arbitrarily grant them “unmerited favour”. What they demand from their Saviour are arbitrary acts they call “miracles”. They expect to be delivered suddenly from all kinds of earthly difficulties which they themselves often times bring about through their stubbornness and reckless behaviour. These types of believers always approach the Most High with a shopping list whenever they pray to Him. Their faith is all about what they can get from the Lord in the material sense! Some have even stepped over all boundaries by attempting to “command” their Creator, asking Him to prove Himself by doing this or that for them! These attitudes remind one of the insults of the foolish thief who said “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us”. It is just like saying: “if you don’t save us, then you are not the Christ.”

The repentant thief on the other hand (epitomising the attitude of a true believer) recognised humbly that he was in the wrong and was paying for his wrongful behaviour. He did not demand any quick fix to his problem like the other thief. Instead, he pleaded for forgiveness and expressed a yearning for the Heavenly Kingdom. He reminds us of one of the admonitions of Jesus that we seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. Similarly, true believers recognising that they are responsible for their thoughts words and deeds tread the way of repentance and continue in their resolve to do only what accords with the Will of God.

In the end, the foolish thief got nothing while Jesus assured the penitent thief of a place in paradise! So, the decision is ours. There is the path of those who make self serving earthly demands and expect arbitrary actions from the Creator. There is also the path of repentance that pleads humbly for God's forgiveness and strength for spiritual ascent. My wish is that we choose the path of repentance which leads to salvation and redemption.

What is the meaning of the Parable of the wicked tenants given by Jesus?

“Without exception every Bringer of Truth, whether great or small has had to suffer mockery and scorn, persecution and attack by his dear fellow-men, who in just the same way today always like to consider themselves too clever and too wise to accept the explanations of the Will of their Creator from His Messengers, especially since these Messengers never in fact issued from any of mankind’s great institutions of learning!”

And so it was that even when the Love of the Almighty inclined to this earth in Jesus, mankind did not welcome Him. Despite all the good He did, He remained an annoyance to them and was totally rejected. By hating Jesus mankind sided with the Antichrist and it is a proof of their enmity to the Father Who sent Christ. The Son of God sums all these up when He spoke of the master who sent out his servants to collect what was due to him from his tenants. But instead of receiving the rents the servants were scoffed and beaten before they were scornfully sent back empty handed!

When this parable is pointed out today, men try to gloss over it by calling it a mere parable! They prefer to believe that the main mission of Christ to the earth was to come and suffer and die for their sins and that it is a distinction conferred by God on His Messengers if they have to suffer in this manner, instead of regarding it as a crime on the part of mankind which is not willed by God!

And as if to negate this position and to warn the people of the dire consequences of their decision to reject Jesus as their Lord, the account from the Bible tells us that the master later sent his beloved son thinking that the tenants will respect him. In the parable we were not told that the master expects that his son will be killed. Instead, he sent his son in the hope that the tenants will listen to him! Instead of this, the wicked tenants killed him. Subsequently, the master destroys the tenants and gives the vineyard to others. What this means in reality, however is that with the rejection and murder of Jesus, mankind became burdened with a terrible fate which is now being experienced in the World Judgement! The old covenant was annulled and now only those who pledge to serve the Almighty by living in accordance with the Truth will be partakers of the New Covenant with the Son of Man.

Is homosexuality a natural phenomenon?

Some people claim that they are born as homosexuals. Some countries have promulgated laws to permit homosexual marriages and some churches have permitted same in their fold.

But is homosexuality a natural phenomenon? The answer is a definite NO. A number of things can give rise to this unnatural state. Firstly, some have wilfully surrendered to Lucifer to the extent that they fall to levels far below that of the animal. So, they act in the most shameless of ways.

Secondly, it must be noted that mankind is not just the physical body. The inner core is spirit. The type of activity the spirit chooses on its very first incarnation into this world determines the outward cloak it gets. For those who work in a delicate and quiet manner, they feature as females and those whose activities are more coarse and energetic are incarnated in male forms.

But the form of the body can be changed as soon as the indwelling spirit changes its activity. This change does not happen immediately but happens in later incarnations. This is however unnatural and comes about due to a distortion of the souls involved. It is common these days to hear some women say: "it is a man's world. If I have to come to this world again, I will be a man!" If they persist, they are in danger of becoming distorted and may actually be forced later to live upon this earth in a male body!

Therefore, we see today a person who on the outward has a female form but the dweller inside is a weak/distorted male spirit who in his former lives has deviated too much from the pure male thinking and activity! The converse is also true in that we see a person who on the outward has a male form but the operating entity within is a distorted female spirit. It may happen that the distorted man who now walks the earth in a female body does not want to be with men but seeks companionship with women. So, on the surface it appears as if two females are attracted but in reality it is a distorted man in female cloak getting close to a woman. The same goes for the distorted woman who now parading as a man is drawn to men and it will appear as if two men are getting together.

In conclusion, those who are involved in homosexuality through their wilful misconduct and those living as distorted souls will learn through painful experiences. The way open for them is to repent of their stubbornness and redirect themselves to the right path lest they become eternally lost!

Is there such a thing as a perfect mate and is it possible to be in love with 2 persons at the same time?

Already at birth every human being brings along certain qualities which can be further developed through working together with others with matching qualities. These matching qualities are not identical but they complement each other and in completing each other they bring about the full value of the various qualities. So, when such persons that so complement each other get together in marriage it can be said they are suited for each other. They will live in harmony and the happiness and permanence of their marriage is assured from the very start. Such is the marriage which has been made in heaven!

In order to find this very special person with whom one can enter into a harmonious marriage, one needs to exercise the necessary seriousness, keeping eyes, ears and heart open and above all giving up all those conditions which have so far been demanded for a marriage. Mercifully for each person there are several others who possess the qualities to complement each other and so with care and looking up to the Will of God it is not necessary that one looks for too long to find that ideal match.
It must be noted however that working together and having the same high aims are indispensable for a sound marriage. I speak here of having as goal the spiritual development of the people in love and not merely coming together to start a joint rat race to acquire earthly wealth with a life of comfort as the crown of all the efforts.

We now address the second part of the question. Apart from being a result of lustful adventures, one may put oneself in such position if after mutual commitments before or after marriage, the partners continue looking around selfishly. Having found that person with complementing qualities, each must exercise necessary care and restraint.

Remember that there are several others with matching qualities as we mentioned earlier. So, if care is not taken, on meeting one of such, the careless wanderer may find himself or herself in the very awkward position of being entangled with more than one person! With such a happening however, three people might get hurt and afflicted with serious inner conflict. The person who started the dangerous adventure should blame his/her careless behaviour for bringing this about. Each person in a harmonious relationship should therefore remain faithful. This is how to ensure that no one does anything that will harm or later oppress the other. The reward for this is inner peace and happiness!

Post Script.

I must admit that it is an uphill task to just stick to the person beside you. There are a few hints however which we all can use.

1. Think of the result of the indiscretion. The harm to more than one person (sometimes indelible damage). Too many issues to deal with already in this world and not wishing to add more! Love life, be like a child, and don’t court trouble. Know your limits and don’t cross your boundaries.

2. We must realize that being alert is an everyday job. A bird can land on your head but cannot stay there unless you allow it stay! So, temptations can come but will only overwhelm us if we allow it to happen that way. If despite all caution, we fall, let us get up briskly and move on resolving to be better at it going forward. Not giving up but learning from each fall.

3. Look upwards in prayer for help. Remember the admonition to watch and pray.

We all shall succeed!

The Abraham & Isaac story

On Sunday 20 February 2011, I sent out the following question to a small group. Please find below the feedback I got. I have deliberately left out the names of the commentators for obvious reasons.

First the question:

Could the story that Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son refer to physically killing Isaac? Just food for thought. I'd appreciate your insights.


Now the answers:

1. I believe!

2. Well, so far I’ve seen the Abraham-Isaac story as mainly to show his implicit trust and obedience to The Almighty. It is not likely that The Almighty would demand human sacrifice.

3. Adam and Eve did not eat an apple and Abram saw no ram.

4. Obviously no. Not physical. The Lord would never ask such of anyone.

5. Hello Sola. It is a beautiful allegorical illustration of Test of Faith. The story went further to show how Abraham was shown the ram as the alternative for such an act! The case of serpent and apple in the Garden of Eden is also another spiritual illustration although for different situation. From what we know of the Lord in His Commandment through Moses, He will never permit or even demand such physical sacrifice. Thank you for sharing.

6. Who asked Abraham to offer the sacrifice? Certainly not the Almighty. Was it folk tale or reality? Methinks those are pertinent questions!

7. It was an ethereal experience for Abraham- not earthly!

What does the Cross represent?

The sign of the cross, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles, has been known to man before the introduction of Christianity. It goes back to a very remote period of human civilization.

There are different types and shapes of crosses. The type of cross used for torturing Jesus the Son of God many years ago for instance was the one used for executing offenders by the Roman authorities at that time. This cross of suffering remains an executioner’s tool and has nothing to do with the redemption of mankind.

The real Cross of Redemption is an equal armed cross. It is the sign and the living form of Divine Truth! The Cross of Truth stood behind Jesus radiantly during His life on earth. It clung to Him inwardly and outwardly in a living form because He was a Bringer of Divine Truth and came from the Truth. Even some of us have seen paintings that show the Son of God with the equal armed Cross shining around His head. Where this Radiant Cross is, there also is Truth, since the Cross and the Truth are one.

Furthermore, since man can only be saved and come to know about his Creator through the Truth, it follows that the Cross of Truth is also the Cross of Redemption. Truth comes from God, His Holy Word is Truth and if we adhere to this Word of God or this Truth, we will be redeemed out of our present derangement and error. The Truth frees us from the shackles of sin and leads us back to our Creator. Our salvation and redemption therefore lies solely in our accepting and abiding by the Truth.

For that reason the Son of God told men to take up the Cross and follow Him, which means to accept the Truth and to live accordingly! This simple and clear instruction has been wrongly interpreted to mean that following Christ also implies that we are to embrace suffering and that suffering is part of serving the Almighty. This doctrine of suffering is a fallacy desired neither by God nor the Son of God. In fact, in the scriptures we read words to the effect that Jesus called out to men who are heavy laden to come to him to find rest but not to add to their burden.

What is required from us therefore is to accept the Truth as it issues from Christ and adhere to His Teaching faithfully. We would then have taken up the Cross which will lead us to joy instead of suffering. Ultimately, the way of the Redeeming Cross of Truth leads to our salvation and redemption!

Is it good to be ambitious?

Ambition is the work of the intellect. Here man allows his brain to take the lead and this sets for him earthly goals, sometimes to the exclusion of all else. For men of ambition, no consideration is given to their spiritual lives or their neighbors since nothing else matters but their selfish aims. Such human beings do not consider what truly benefits them spiritually but can sacrifice anything or crush whatever or whoever stands in the path of the achievement of their goals.

This is in contrast to striving for spiritual ascent, refining one’s abilities, uplifting everything in one’s surrounding and seeking the welfare and advancement of mankind generally. To do these, we have to work with our intuition, seek guidance from our Creator and then we will be guided unto the paths we have to tread to reach our lofty goals. This way, no matter what our occupation is on earth, we will ennoble it and give it a wider goal. What will matter to us will not be the amount of money we make, neither will worldly greatness or fame be the motivating factor for our activities but we will be more mindful of the SPIRITUAL QUALITY of our work.

The goals thus set by our intuition can be translated to visible deeds while employing our intellect. So, the spirit leads and sets the goals while the intellect plays a secondary role of executing on earth that which one has perceived intuitively. When we follow this order which is ordained from above, the ensuing activities will bring us joy and give nothing but blessing to all that come in touch with us and our activities. This way we will learn new things each day, become clarified, gain maturity and rise ever higher.
Therefore, for the human spirit, ambition is like striving after the wind! It amounts to VANITY, and gives no spiritual benefit to man who himself is spiritual in his essence. Instead, it leads man to commit all kinds of evil; life seems meaningless; there is no fulfillment and all that ambitious and self seeking human beings experience is general unhappiness prevalent in the world today.

The ever constant longing within us is a gift from God which is not to be directed at temporary earthly achievements. In reality, we are obliged to channel this longing into spiritualizing the work of our hands, by dedicating same to God. By doing this we will in time learn to recognize our path and the purpose of our existence and this will in turn fill us with joy and the greatest happiness a human spirit is able to bear!