Arvindus

Contemplations

The Christ and the Antichrist

  • Title: Contemplations, The Christ and the Antichrist.
  • Author: Arvindus.
  • Publisher: Arvindus.
  • Copyright: Arvindus, 2023, all rights reserved.
  • Index: 202311081.
  • Edition: html, second edition.

Content

Introduction

Throughout the ages people have been fearing the antichrist as much as, and perhaps even more than, they have been loving the Christ. In this contemplation some of the aspects of the aforementioned shall be explored, guided by the ageless wisdom.

The Cycle of Involution and Evolution

In the ageless wisdom notion is made of the existence of so called 'globe rounds'.1 Technically seven planetary globes constitute a planetary chain, as seven of such chains constitute a planetary scheme.2 Such a planetary scheme is the body of manifestation of a planetary logos, very much like a human body is the body of manifestation of a human monad.3 And just like a human monad develops through bodily incarnations, being cycles of manifestation, so a planetary logos develops through his cycles of manifestation. A planetary logos develops through one scheme round, seven chain rounds and forty-nine globe rounds.4 And the earth on which we are living regards the fourth globe of the fourth chain.5

Above mention was made of cycles of manifestation. Such a cycle is twofold and consists of a period of involution and a period of evolution.6 During involution the spirit descends and is trapped into matter and during evolution the spirit escapes from the grasp of that matter by spiritualizing it. So such a cycle of manifestation can be symbolized by a full circle consisting of a descending half and an ascending half.7

The cycle of involution and evolution

Figure 1.

The Bible

Remarkably the above phases of involution and evolution are reflected in The Old Testament and The New Testament of The Bible. The Old Testament is rather materialistic oriented with its central theme of the 'chosen' people separating themselves from all other peoples while The New Testament is rather spiritually oriented with its central theme of the love that unites all people.8, 9, 10

Exemplary in The Old Testament for the phase of involution from spirit to matter regards the story of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were living in ignorant bliss in the Garden of Eden. In the middle of this garden a tree grew that gave fruits which when eaten would bestow the knowledge of good and evil, making the eater equal to God. God had forbidden to eat these fruits, but the serpent lured Eve into eating them, after which Eve also convinced Adam to do the same. This angered God, and Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden to live a painful life outside of this garden.11

In this myth Adam's and Eve's lives in the Garden of Eden symbolize the human spirit of before the commencing of physical incarnation, the cycle of envelopment and development, involution and evolution. The expelling of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden then symbolizes the descent of spirit into matter. And the gaining of the knowledge of good and evil then symbolizes the consciousness that arises when spirit descends into matter.12, 13 When the human spirit commences its incarnation into a human body self-consciousness arises.14 This self-consciousness is in the aforementioned myth symbolized by Adam and Eve becoming conscious of their nakedness.15

Exemplary in The New Testament for the phase of evolution from matter towards spirit regards basically the entire life of Jesus of Nazareth. Man's development runs through a series of demarcation points at which his level of attainment is affirmed. In the ageless wisdom these are called 'initiations'. The first initiation affirms man's control on the physical plane, the second on the astral or emotion plane, the third on the mental plane, the fourth on the buddhic or intuition plane and the fifth on the atmic or will plane.16 And these initiations then are symbolized in the life of Jesus by his birth, baptism, transfiguration, crucifixion and resurrection / ascension.17

Love and Hate

Above the phase of human ascension was described as running from the physical plane through the astral or emotion, manasic or thought, buddhic or intuition and atmic or will plane. There is however still one more plane to pass through before the divine plane of absolute spirit is reached, and this regards the monadic plane.18 Thus we get an overview as below.

The planes

Figure 2.

In this overview of the seven planes we see that the buddhic or intuition plane holds the middle position between the divine and physical plane, just like consciousness holds a middle position between spirit and matter, and it is therefore that human consciousness is the widest on the buddhic plane: consciousness stretches itself there from evil on the downward arc to good on the upward arc.19

It can be said that on the downward arc consciousness uses hate to move from the unity of spirit to the diversity of matter and on the upward arc love to move from the diversity of matter to the unity of spirit.20 And because we are in current times placed on the upward arc of evolution the diversifying hate is considered as evil and the unifying love as good, even though from the larger perspective, that of the entire cycle, both have their proper place.21, 22

The Christ and the Antichrist

Above it was mentioned that on the buddhic plane man's consciousness is the widest. On the upward arc the buddhic plane is also the plane where the intuition and love are found. In the ageless wisdom this principle is known as 'love-wisdom', but it is also called 'the Christ principle'.23 It is therefore that a being that embodies the principle of love can on his own level be called 'a Christ'. In the Earth hierarchy for instance the being embodying the love principle for the earth is called 'the Christ',24, 25 but there is also an even grander being embodying the love principle for the solar system, and this being is called 'the cosmic Christ'.26 The reason that Jesus of Nazareth is also called 'Jesus Christ' is because during his life he was overshadowed by the Christ of the Earth hierarchy.27

Now the antipole of the Christ principle is of course the antichrist principle, and beings embodying this principle can then be called 'antichrists'. They embody the principle of hate and involution.28 And along this line of thought the antichrist, mentioned in The New Testament,29 may for this earth indeed be equalled to the serpent of the above told myth of The Old Testament. Other names applied in The Bible are 'Satan', 'Lucifer', 'the beast' and 'the devil'.

The name 'Satan' is directly taken from the Hebrew word 'satan', which refers to an adversary or an opposition.30, 31 And indeed is the antichrist an adversary and an opposition of the Christ. The antichrist is also considered to be the referent when in The Old Testament the morning star is mentioned,32 which name regards 'Lucifer'.33, 34 'The morning star' refers in general however to the planet Venus,35 and according to the ageless wisdom individualisation, meaning the coming to being of self-consciousness,36 took place under the influence of Venus.37 Venus, Lucifer, the serpent, the antichrist, involution, gave humanity self-consciousness, the knowledge of good and evil. Before that man was no more than an animal,38 and this is where the name 'the beast' may refer to. The antichrist is the beast because as a principle it causes spirit to become trapped into material, animal bodies.39 And this antichrist is also known as 'the devil'.40 This name stems from the original Greek 'diabolos' of The New Testament, referring to a slanderer,41, 42 which the antichrist definitely is.

In the ageless wisdom this devilish antichrist is also called "The Dweller on the Threshold", who on an individual scale represents man's personality consisting of his lower faculties of body, emotion and concrete mind.43, 44 And this "Dweller of the Threshold" then is set against the so called "Angel of the Presence", a name referring to the soul or Christ principle.45, 46

Crosses

The Christ as Jesus Christ is of course famous for his crucifixion, and the cross has become the prime symbol of Christianity as a religion.47 Interestingly there is also a clear phonetic resemblance between the name 'Christ' and the word 'cross'. Etymologically the English word 'cross' is traced back to the Latin 'crux' or 'crucis', which again has similar phonetics as the Latin 'Christus', from which the English 'Christ' was derived.48, 49

Now many times it has already been contemplated that the cross in the circle or periphery splendidly symbolizes consciousness,50 and with consciousness on our upward arc emphasizing the Christ principle often this symbol is taken as representing simply this principle.51 We see such a symbol depicted below.

The cross in the circle

Figure 3.

As shown earlier in this contemplation consciousness contains however not just the Christ principle but also the antichrist principle. And these two principles can be depicted in two distinct symbols that are however based on the above synthetic symbol. This we see done below. The figure left symbolizes the antichrist principle. We see again a cross in a periphery however the figure finds its emphasis on the material side. Referring back to figure 2 of this contemplation it can be said that the consciousness of the antichrist is focused on the lower planes of existence.

The figure right then symbolizes the proper Christ principle. And with its emphasis on the spiritual side the Christ is focused on the higher planes of existence.52

The cross of the antichrist and the cross of the Christ

Figures 4, 5.

Now as indicated above is the symbol of the cross by Christians derived from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And this image of the crucified Christ adorns the Christian churches and homes. Below such an image is drawn.

The crucified Christ

Figure 6.

Now although on our upward arc the image of the crucified Christ is taken to symbolize only Christ, in the larger picture it contains symbols for both the Christ and the antichrist. For the Christ can be taken off the cross, and when this is done a separate cross and a separate Christ are seen. The bared cross then symbolizes the antichrist, for that cross is the adversary par excellence for the Christ. When the Christ is crucified the cross of the antichrist, being the cross of matter, holds the evolution of Christ towards spirit fixed to it.53 However when the Christ is released from the cross of matter he forms himself a heavenly cross, with his arms raised in blessing.54, 55

The cross of matter and the released Christ

Figures 7, 8.

666 and 777

Above several names for the antichrist were given, but he is of course also well known for his designated number, being 666.56 And this number is then contradistincted from the number 777. The number 7 is thereby considered as the number of (human and relative) perfection.57 Everything in nature can according to the ageless wisdom be considered as septenary.58 There are seven planes, seven human principles, seven chakra's, and so on.59 And in The Bible we can read that God blessed the seventh day, the day on which he rested after his creation.60 In this light the number 6 then can be seen as the number of imperfection and of work. The number 7 is that of spirit, of the beginning and the end,61 and the number 6 that of matter, of the cycle through the six sub-spiritual levels from spirit to spirit.62

We see this reflected in the numbers 777 and 666. In the ageless wisdom the number 777 is the symbol of the three phases that man traverses to reach perfection. These phases are symbolized by the numbers 700, 70 and 7.63 The numbers 600, 60 and 6, making together 666, then symbolize the imperfection of these phases and cycle. Basically 666 indicates an orientation on involution into matter and 777 on evolution towards spirit.64

Summary

We set out to contemplate (aspects of) the antichrist and the Christ and found that in the larger picture they regard principles, namely those of involution and evolution. But we also found that these principles may be embodied by beings on different levels. On the planetary level of the earth for instance 'the Christ' may refer to the major being wielding love and 'the antichrist' to the major being wielding hate. But this love and this hate are also present on an individual level where the first is represented by our own "Angel of the Presence" and the latter by our own "Dweller on the Threshold".

Symbolically these two energies are depicted with crosses in peripheries, that of the antichrist with its emphasis downwards and that of the Christ with its emphasis upwards. And we also saw how the Christian image of Jesus Christ on the cross symbolizes these two energies.

Numerologically we saw conclusively 666 stand for the imperfected antichrist with his orientation on matter and 777 for the perfected Christ with his orientation on spirit.

So to conclude: The antichrist is the hate principle of involution from the unity of spirit to the diversity of matter, and the Christ the love principle of evolution from the diversity of matter to the unity of spirit. But, and this must not be forgotten, they occur as opposites within one cycle of consciousness. And this is also why in The Bible the antichrist and the Christ can both be identified with the same morning star.65, 66 In the larger sense they are one.

Notes
  1. 'Ageless Wisdom, Cycles', Index: 201403131.
  2. Ibidem.
  3. 'Ageless Wisdom, Logoi', Index: 202304272. "Now the Earth scheme is the body of manifestation of a planetary logos, comparable with the way the body of a man is the manifestation of a human monad.".
  4. Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 382-383. "A scheme, in its totality, corresponds to the Monad, or to the monadic auric egg, in connection with a human being and his forty-nine cycles.
    A chain, in its totality corresponds to the body egoic of a human being, to the causal body with its seven great cycles mentioned elsewhere in these pages, and hinted at in certain occult books.
    A globe, with its seven races corresponds to a particular series of incarnations in connection with a man, incarnate or discarnate, for all globes are not on physical levels.
    A physical globe, in a chain corresponds to a particular physical incarnation of a man. The planetary Logos takes physical form in His planet and is its life and works out His purposes."
  5. Ibidem, p. 459. "It is of peculiar interest at this time that we are in the fourth round in a chain as well as in the fourth round as regards the scheme of seven chains."
  6. 'Cycles', The Law of Cycles / Figure 1: The Cycle of the Seven Globes / Figure 2: The Cycle of the Seven Root Races.
  7. 'Contemplations, The Quadrants of the Cross in the Circle and the Cycle of Manifestation and Obscuration', Index: 201705031.
  8. Alice A. Bailey, From Bethlehem to Calvary, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 106. "The Old Testament stands for the natural lower man, the virgin Mary aspect, carrying within itself the promise of the Messiah, of Him Who shall come. The New Testament stands for the spiritual man, for God made flesh, and for the birth of that which the material nature carried and veiled for so long. The Old Testament opens with the appearance of the raven at the time of the founding of the ancient world, as we can begin to know it. The New Testament opens with the appearance of a dove—one the symbol of the raging waters, the other the symbol of the waters of peace. Through Christ and the unfoldment of the Christ life in each human being will come "the peace which passeth understanding.""
  9. Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Healing, A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Volume IV, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 267-268. "Let me point out also that just as the Kabbalah and the Talmud are secondary lines of esoteric approach to truth, and materialistic in their technique (embodying much of the magical work of relating one grade of matter to the substance of another grade), so the Old Testament is emphatically a secondary Scripture, and spiritually does not rank with the Bhagavad-Gita, the ancient Scriptures of the East and the New Testament. Its emphasis is material and its effect is to impress a purely materialistic Jehovah upon world consciousness. The general theme of the Old Testament is the recovery of the highest expression of the divine wisdom in the first solar system; that system embodied the creative work of the third aspect of divinity—that of active intelligence, expressing itself through matter. In this solar system, the created world is intended to be the expression of the second aspect, of the love of God. This the Jew has never grasped, for the love expressed in the Old Testament is the separative, possessive love of Jehovah for a distinct unit within the fourth or human kingdom. St. Paul summed up the attitude which humanity should assume in the words: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile.""
  10. Alice A. Bailey, Education in the New Age, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 144. "The soul body is in process of being slowly constructed, and is that "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" to which the New Testament refers (II Cor. 5: l). It is interesting to note that the Old Testament refers to the etheric body (Ecc. 12:6-7) and its construction, and the New Testament deals with the building of the spiritual body."
  11. The American Standard Old Testament, (software), Version 1.0, Ages Software, Albany, 1996, Genesis, Ch. 3.
  12. 'Ageless Wisdom, Triplicities in Man', Index: 201308292.
  13. Alice A. Bailey, The Consciousness of the Atom, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 86-87. "We have, nearly all of us, been brought up in the belief in what is called "the fall of man." There are few these days who believe the story of the fall as it is given in the third chapter of Genesis, and we most of us credit it as having an allegorical interpretation. What is the occult truth underlying this curious story? Simply that the truth about the fall of the spirit into matter is conveyed by means of a picture to the infant mentality of man. The process of the converging of these lines is a twofold one. You have the descent into matter of the entity, of the central life, and the incarnation of spirit, and then you have the working up, out of matter, of that life or spirit, plus all that has been gained through the utilisation of form. By experimenting with matter, by dwelling within the form, by the energising of substance, by the going out of the Garden of Eden (the place where there is no scope for necessary development), and by the wandering of the Prodigal Son in the far country, you have the various stages which are pictured in the Christian Bible where man makes the discovery that he is not the form, but that he is the one who utilises it. He is intelligence, and therefore he is made in the image of the third Person of the Trinity; he is love, and through him the love aspect of the Deity will some day perfectly manifest, and he will be able to say with his elder Brother, the Christ, in reply to the demand "Lord, show us the Father," that "he that hath seen me, hath seen the Father," for God is Love; and finally, through him the highest aspect, the will of God will become manifest, and he will be perfect, even as his Father in heaven is perfect."
  14. 'Ageless Wisdom, The Egoic Lotus', Index: 201305241, The Egoic Lotus as Cause of Individuality.
  15. Note 11.
  16. Alice A. Bailey, The Rays and the Initiations, A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Volume V, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 340.
  17. From Bethlehem to Calvary.
  18. 'Ageless Wisdom, Man on the Planes', Index: 201212031.
  19. 'Contemplations, The Cross in the Circle: Consciousness and Duality', Index: 201510131.
  20. From Bethlehem to Calvary, p. 205. "Love is unity, at-one-ment and synthesis. Separateness is hatred, aloneness and division."
  21. 'Questions, How Can the Concepts of Black and White Magic Be Understood?', Index: 202304301.
  22. Geert Crevits, Morya Wijsheid 4: Vertrouwen in jezelf, Mayil Publishing House, 2007, H. 1, translated. "For hate can do as much as love, but it is a totally different power. It is a destoying power which even so also can be used by the Divine."
  23. Alice A. Bailey, Letters on Occult Meditation, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 0. "II. The Ego, Higher Self, or Individuality.
    This aspect is potentially :—
    1. Spiritual Will Atma
    2. Intuition Buddic, Love-Wisdom, the Christ principle.
    3. Higher or abstract Mind Higher Manas."
  24. Benjamin Creme, Maitreya's Mission, Volume I, Share International Foundation, London, 2010, p. 5. "The Lord Maitreya, who embodies the Christ Principle, is the Master of all the Masters, the head and leader of that group of enlightened men."
  25. Ibidem, p. 3. "The Christ is Maitreya, Who manifested Himself by overshadowing His disciple, Jesus, just as the Buddha overshadowed His disciple, the Prince Gautama."
  26. 'Ageless Wisdom, Logoi'.
  27. Note 25.
  28. Benjamin Creme, Maitreya's Mission, Volume Three, Share International, Foundation, London, 1997, p. 385-386. "The Antichrist is not a man, as Christians believe, who will come out before the Christ, and could even be mistaken for the Christ. The idea comes from the Revelation of St John: the Beast, 666, is unchained for a time, and then chained down for a time and half a time. This refers to the release of the energy we call the Antichrist. It is not a man but an energy, a destructive force which is deliberately released to break down the old order, the old civilization. It was released in John's own day, through the Emperor Nero, to bring about the end of the Roman dispensation, to prepare the way for Christendom. It was released again in our time through Hitler, a group of equally evil men around him in Nazi Germany, together with a group of militarists in Japan and a further group around Mussolini in Italy. These three groups, the Axis powers in the war from 1939 to 1945, embodied the energy we call the Antichrist."
  29. The American Standard New Testament, (software), Version 1.0, Ages Software, Albany, 1996, John 1, John 2.
  30. Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0), Oxford University Press, 2009, Satan.
  31. Encyclopædia Britannica, Ultimate Reference Suite, Version 2015, (software), Encyclopædia Britannica, 2015, Satan.
  32. The American Standard Old Testament, Isaiah, Ch. 14, v. 12. "How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning!"
  33. Oxford English Dictionary, Lucifer, 2.
  34. Encyclopædia Britannica, Lucifer (classical mythology). "in classical mythology, the morning star (i.e., the planet Venus at dawn); personified as a male figure bearing a torch, Lucifer had almost no legend, but in poetry he was often herald of the dawn. In Christian times Lucifer came to be regarded as the name of Satan before his fall."
  35. Ibidem.
  36. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 458. "3. During the third rootrace, animal individualisation took place, and the self-conscious unit, called Man, came into being."
  37. Ibidem, p. 1076. "This was what made it possible to utilise Venusian energy upon the Venus chain and the Venus globe of our scheme and thus cause the phenomenon of forced individualisation in Lemurian days."
  38. Alice A. Bailey, Esoteric Psychology, Volume I, A Treatise on the Seven Rays, Volume I, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 415. "3. The animal kingdom is the field of individualisation."
  39. Alice A. Bailey, A Treatise on White Magic, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 240. "It is interesting to note that the work of the Devil, the imprisoner of souls, […]."
  40. Oxford English Dictionary, devil, n., 1.
  41. Ibidem, devil, n.
  42. Henry George Liddell / Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996, p.390.
  43. From Bethlehem to Calvary, p. 119. "Thus He was confronted with the Dweller on the Threshold, which is only another name for the personal lower self, regarding it as a unified whole, as is only the case in advanced people, disciples and initiates. In these three words—maya, glamour and illusion—we have synonyms for the flesh, the world and the devil, which constitute the threefold test that confronts every son of God on the verge of liberation."
  44. Note 12.
  45. Alice A. Bailey, Glamour: A World Problem, in: Twenty-Four Books of Esoteric Philosophy, (CD-ROM, Release 3), Lucis Trust, London / New York, 2001, p. 163-164. "The work being done by those who see the world stage as the arena for the conflict between the Dweller on the Threshold and the Angel of the PRESENCE might be itemised as:
    1. The producing of those world conditions in which the Forces of Light can overcome the Forces of Evil. […].
    2. The educating of humanity in the distinction between:
    a. Spirituality and materialism, […].
    b. Sharing and greed, […].
    c. Light and dark, […].
    d. Fellowship and separation, […].
    e. The whole and the part, […]."
  46. The Rays and the Initiations, p. 176. "At the later initiations, the Angel of the Presence is the Christ Himself, one with the soul of the candidate (the individual Angel of the Presence)."
  47. Encyclopædia Britannica, cross. "the principal symbol of the Christian religion, recalling the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the redeeming benefits of his Passion and death. The cross is thus a sign both of Christ himself and of the faith of Christians.
  48. Oxford English Dictionary, cross, n.
  49. Ibidem, Christ.
  50. Note 19.
  51. 'Contemplations, Etymological and Esoteric Roots of 'Arch', 'Arc' and 'Ark'', Index: 201103261. "Through this fecundation the Christ principle is born, symbolized as the cross in the circle."
  52. Note how the periphery of this symbol brings about the visionary artistic eye perspective as contemplated in 'Contemplations, The Visionary Artistic Eye Perspective', Index: 201708081.
  53. From Bethlehem to Calvary, p. 184-185. "Christ can be seen crucified. Down the ages human beings have symbolised the cosmic Christ immolated upon the cross of matter, and thus have perpetuated in the consciousness of the race the knowledge of that event; so in a planetary sense, the four kingdoms of nature do the same, portraying the spirit of God stretched upon a cross of material form, in order eventually to make possible the appearance of the kingdom of God on Earth. This connotes the spiritualisation of matter and form, the assumption of matter into heaven, and the release of God from the cosmic crucifixion."
  54. Ibidem, p. 181. "The Crucifixion and the Cross of Christ are as old as humanity itself. Both are symbols of the eternal sacrifice of God as He immerses Himself in the form aspect of nature and thus becomes God immanent as well as God transcendent.
    We have seen that Christ must be recognised, first of all, in the cosmic sense. The cosmic Christ has existed from all eternity. This cosmic Christ is divinity, or spirit, crucified in space. He personifies the immolation or sacrifice of spirit upon the cross of matter, of form or substance, in order that all divine forms, including the human, may live. This has ever been recognised by the so-called pagan faiths. If the symbolism of the cross is traced far back, it will be found that it antedates Christianity by thousands of years, and that finally, the four arms of the cross will be seen to drop away, leaving only the picture of the living Heavenly Man, with His arms outspread in space. North, south, east and west stands the cosmic Christ upon what is called "the fixed cross of the heavens." Upon this cross God is eternally crucified."
  55. Jesus, in: Baird T. Spalding, Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East, Volume II, DeVorss & Co., Los Angeles, 1944, p. 55. "The cross was, in the beginning, the symbol of the greatest joy the world ever knew. The foundation of the cross is the place where man first trod the earth, therefore, the mark that symbolizes the dawn of a celestial day here on earth. If you will trace it back, you will find that the cross disappears entirely and that it is the man standing in the attitude of devotion, standing in space with arms upraised in blessing, sending out his gifts to humanity, pouring all his gifts forth freely in every direction."
  56. The American Standard New Testament, Revelation, Ch. 13, v. 18. "He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six."
  57. The Rays and the Initiations, p. 80-81. "The number 8 inaugurates ever a new cycle, following after the number 7, which is that of a relative perfection. It is the number of the Christ-consciousness; just as 7 is the number of man, 8 is the number of the Hierarchy, and 9 is the number of initiation or of Shamballa."
  58. Helena P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine, Volume I, in: Theosophical Classics, (CD-ROM), Theosophical Publishing House, Manilla, 2002, p. 152. "Moreover, the one eternal LAW unfolds everything in the (to be) manifested Nature on a sevenfold principle; […]."
  59. Letters on Occult Meditation, p. 229. "4. The seven rays or hierarchies.
    The seven colours.
    The seven planes of manifestation.
    The seven Kumaras.
    The seven principles of man.
    The seven centres.
    The seven sacred planets.
    The seven chains.
    The seven globes.
    The seven rounds.
    The seven root-races and subraces.
    The seven initiations."
  60. The American Standard Old Testament, (software), Version 1.0, Ages Software, Albany, 1996, Genesis, Ch. 2, v. 2-3.
  61. The American Standard New Testament, Revelation, Ch. 22, v. 13. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
  62. Note 57.
  63. A Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 825-829. "In these three circles of petals lies concealed another clue to the mystery of the 777 incarnations. The figures do not convey an exact number of years, but are figurative and symbolical; they are intended to convey the thought of three cycles of varying duration, based upon the septenary nature of the manifesting monad. […].
    First. The 700 incarnations. These concern the unfoldment of the outer circle. This is the longest period. […].
    Second. The 70 incarnations. These concern the unfoldment of the middle circle. […]. This cycle covers the period passed by the man in the Hall of Learning […].
    Third. The 7 incarnations. These are those passed upon the Probationary Path. […].
    At the termination of the 777 incarnations, a man passes through the door of initiation and enters upon a brief synthesising process, or a final period in which he garners the fruits of the experience in the two first halls, and transmutes knowledge into wisdom, transforms the shadow of things seen into the energy of that which is, and achieves the final liberation from all the lower forms which seek to hold him prisoner."
  64. The Rays and the Initiations, p. 79-80. "Like all other divine qualities, it has its material counterpart, and that is why 666 is regarded as the number of the Beast or of materialism, the number of the dominance of the three worlds prior to the process of reorientation and the expression of developed idealism and purpose. The third aspect expresses itself through pure materialism, and hence the three sixes."
  65. Note 32.
  66. The American Standard New Testament, Revelation, Ch. 22, v. 16. "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star."
Bibliography
  • 'Ageless Wisdom, Cycles', Index: 201403131.
  • 'Ageless Wisdom, Logoi' Index: 202304272.
  • 'Ageless Wisdom, Man on the Planes', Index: 201212031.
  • 'Ageless Wisdom, The Egoic Lotus, Index: 201305241'.
  • 'Ageless Wisdom, Triplicities in Man', Index: 201308292.
  • 'Contemplations, Etymological and Esoteric Roots of 'Arch', 'Arc' and 'Ark'', Index: 201103261.
  • 'Contemplations, The Quadrants of the Cross in the Circle and the Cycle of Manifestation and Obscuration', Index: 201705031.
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