21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new."
Rev 21:1-5
The new consciousness, Christ consciousness, descends upon us from the spiritual worlds. Christ consciousness is a complete renewal of the soul. The old soul consciousness is represented by the old city of Babylon. Here the soul energies are directed towards the earth. We see this consciousness all around us. It dominates world news. It tells us that life is about money, comfort, luxury, possessions, pleasure and power. We may as well spend all our life energies pursuing these, because once this life is over, there is nothing more. Only darkness and non-existence. This is the story of Babylon, the story accepted by the majority of souls at present.
The Book of Revelation tells a different story. The narrative of Revelation is that our thinking and understanding have become permeated and entwined with spiritual energies that want to make us part of the earth. Their greatest weapon is forgetfulness. They have made us forget where we came from. Their greatest symptom is indifference. Most people are indifferent to the calling of spirit.
Revelation is a call to action. We see the call of Revelation in our world as well. Everywhere we witness compassion, care for others and the environment, voices that urge us to think of the consequences of our actions, and other calls for renewal of our selfish agendas, we are hearing the angelic voices of the Book of Revelation.
The old consciousness is a group consciousness. It says that I should think the way other people think and I think that everyone thinks exactly like me. The rise of “influencers” on social media is a perfect example of this. If we accept the misinformation and memes that the internet and distorted journalism put out, then we are abandoning our own gift of decision-making. We are living in a group consciousness, the city of Babylon.
The new consciousness is also a city. It is the city of Jerusalem, that is, the City of Peace. Christ consciousness is also a group consciousness. This may seem to oppose the very idea of “individuality”, for we have come to think of the individual as being separate from others. When the Beast is on the throne of our consciousness, we think that we have to compete and strive against one another. The beast promotes a world view that we are isolated from one another, islands in a vast ocean.
Christ consciousness says, “Yes, we are islands, but islands are connected.” The New Jerusalem is a consciousness of connection. We discover that every person we encounter is linked to us. We discover that we are connected with the earth, we are born out of the earth as the child is born out of the mother. The more the new consciousness descends upon us, the more we discover our unity with the whole of creation. This is the state of peace. Everywhere we look we see God, as the Sufi poem puts it, “Only God I saw”. When the Christ self sits upon the throne of consciousness, suffering ends, because the root of suffering is the delusion that we are separate, isolated beings.
As we enter more deeply into the city of the new Jerusalem we know that this is not the case. We look into the eyes of those we meet and see Christ there. We look out into the world and see Christ at work. We are not islands, we are joined and united through the continent of Christ.
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
John Donne
The image
The contemporary artist Alexander Sorsher shows us the New Jerusalem slowly descending; poised for a while above the old city.
For us also, the new consciousness is not present within us yet, but it is imminent.
It is so difficult for us to see everything as new. Psychologists think that as newly born babies we are blank slates, waiting for life to write its experiences upon us. Spiritual knowledge however, declares that we do not come into incarnation reborn anew; we bring with us the emotional pain of thousands and thousands of years of incarnation. It will take Christ to renew the soul, and to grant us renewed vision and understanding.
For today, take a moment to look around at the old world and see it as though for the very first time. Allow a sense of wonder and awe to enter in, as we embrace the creation with the love which first drew us from our spiritual home. Experience the truth of those words, “We are spiritual beings upon an earthly journey.”
All Things Are New: A totally new experience. When we say to one another that we must turn over a new leaf, have you noticed that it is difficult to do? We always have to build on the past, on that which has gone by. There is no such thing as a new slate. Your past experiences determine how you are going to act today. Every day will give you another experience which will make you wiser for the next time. On this earth there is no such thing as something new. We can say we forgive and forget but reality means that we have to carry on with the past experiences.
[In the new consciousness of spirit] everything is new.
Rev Mario Schoenmaker, The Book of Revelation, 1984 Lecture Series