14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.
Rev 14:14-20
On Day 36 we reflected on the perfection of souls within human evolution. One of the foundational spiritual laws is the law of karma. This is also known as the law of cause and effect. In physics it is described as “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” The Bible says, we reap what we sow.
In today’s reading, John sees “one like a son of man” seated on a white cloud with a golden crown on his head and holding a sharp sickle in his hand. The one like a son of man is Christ. It is Christ in his role as Lord of Karma.
Now karma operates within the astral sphere. In esoteric language this is the sphere of the Moon. The Lord of Karma works from the highest level of the astral, so he appears seated upon a cloud. A sickle has the shape of a new moon. It is sharp, so it represents the very beginning of the lunar cycle.
There is a stage in our evolution as souls where we are able to cooperate with the Lord of Karma. At this stage, “the harvest of the earth is ripe.” We are now able to choose which of our karmic debts we will balance in our next incarnation.
If we have not reached this stage in our own personal evolution, then our karma is chosen for us. The agent that chooses is described as an angel with a sickle. The grapes on the vine of earth represent that karma which has deceived us with the intoxication of the earthly senses. If we are to become free of this binding, sensual intoxication with the physical world, we will experience the soul pain that comes from this connection. Revelation describes this as crushing the grapes in the wine press of the wrath of God.
When we reach this stage of evolution, then each life crisis has the purpose of severing our attachment to the world of desire and pleasure. Our relationships may break apart. We may lose our financial security. A prominent public position may end in scandal. We may have to choose between success and morality.
What flows from such life traumas is blood. Blood is the vehicle of the etheric, and the flow of the blood from the wine press represents the purification of the etheric levels from the karma of deception, of pain, of betrayal.
The blood flows out for 1,600 stadia. 1600 = 40 x 40
Forty is the number of karma. Christ is in the wilderness for forty days and nights for the temptations. This is where he is offered earthly power and glory. The soul then has to first experience the circumstances that created their binding karma, the first forty, and then has the opportunity to break these chains, the second forty.
At present we are experiencing the two groups of souls very clearly. There are the souls who through uniting with the Christ impulse have freed themselves from the guilt of karma and deal with it in consciousness. The second group are the souls who have not yet become conscious of their own actions and deeds. These souls are being offered a second opportunity. If they observe their life events and detach themselves as actors, they become able to accept who they are as individuals. In this independent observation, they can commit to balancing their karmic account in their future lives.
Christ brings greater consciousness. There is no limit to the light of consciousness. It increases forever. Every incarnation provides the opportunity to increase the light within self, but the choice is with each of us. We can choose to be part of the consciousness of the angel with the sickle, in which case our lives remain unconscious and subject to the automatic actions of karma, or we can choose the “one like the son of man.” The son of man is the child of human evolution. Christ describes this as being like gods. If we make this choice, we become powerful, creative beings. We are reconnected with the spiritual worlds. We are beings that radiate light.
The image
This scene has its own name: “The Harvest of the World.”
It reminds us that we reap what we sow. If we really understood this at a deep level, we would become very conscious of every action we take, of every judgment we make and of every word we say.
Today, let us practise consciousness. When we do this, we create soul relationships. Karma is not always negative. We can create positive karma by creating relationships with other souls. Today we shall be conscious of every action we take, of every thought we experience, and especially of the words we say to others.
If there is karma between two people it is usually a soul karma not a physical karma. You do have to differentiate in many ways. The soul has an association with consciousness. If you find a person who is conscious on the thinking, feeling and willing levels then you can have a soul relationship. Then the karma between your souls will come into operation and find its finality, not necessarily in the physical, but where it belongs (and commenced), in the spirit world.
Rev Mario Schoenmaker, The Book of Revelation, 1984 Lecture Series