22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Rev 22:1-5
In three years Christ experienced the whole of the past of the human condition. Through the crucifixion and resurrection he showed us what we could become, beings of pure spirit. He transformed the physical body into the resurrection body. In the 49 days of the path to Pentecost, Christ transforms what we know as our subtle bodies.
Our etheric body, the body of life and vitality which holds our memories since the commencement of incarnation, is purified of the old energies which have crept in and crippled us as spiritual beings. Christ restores our memory of who we are and where we came from.
Christ purifies the astral body, the body of desire, of emotion and the seat of thinking, from the negative energies which have crept in and made us self-centred, selfish beings.
The etheric and astral bodies are connected with the physical body through the spiritual centres. Much of the Book of Revelation records the opening and transformation of these centres through divine energies.
Finally, the soul body, the expression of the feminine within the human being is freed from the old corrupting energies which over so many life times have created the lie that we are creatures of the earth, and nothing more. When the old soul vehicle has been utterly purified, then the new soul vehicle descends from the spiritual worlds as the city of the new Jerusalem.
The old soul was closed to the renewing power of spirit. In the new soul, this renewing power, the “river of the water of life” flows directly into consciousness. We are constantly in communication with the power that flows from the throne of God.
This power flows into the ‘tree of life’ which is the totality of our subtle energy system. The tree of life bears twelve kinds of fruit, which includes the seven spiritual centres and the five transformed senses. Its branches are the energy system of the subtle bodies, known as nadis in the Indian tradition, and as meridians in the tradition of China.
At this point, our consciousness is completely filled with the consciousness of Christ. Like him, we have become the light of the world. No longer do we need external lights, for we are light. We will take our place, restored to our rightful position in the spiritual hierarchy. The purpose of the creation will be fulfilled. We shall become angels. The angels will become archangels, the archangels archai - every being evolves, even God...
This immense play of evolution will take its next step tomorrow, when on Pentecost Sunday we commemorate the gift of wind and fire to humanity. This is the gift of individuality. If we accept this gift then we also begin to walk the long path of the 49 days, prepared for us by Christ.
This is the most difficult and challenging path to walk, for on it we meet our greatest adversary, our old self. We also meet our greatest aid and support, our new self. Humanity is caught between the old and the new. We cannot stand still. Every incarnation is one of choice. Our choice decides our destiny. We can choose to descend into the earth and become bound to the earth forever, or we can choose the difficult path of ascent. The path of purification, of self-knowledge through self-reflection, the path which always moves to the light, the path of love, the path of renewal, the path of Christ.
The image...
We have arrived at the end point. Christ’s work of transformation is complete. Blake’s painting is full of this transformation. The transforming power of the River of Life; the transforming power of the Tree of Life, and the transforming power of the rising sun which is the “...true light coming into the world...”
Today, let us look back on our journey. Each day is a day of transformation. We have transformed the spiritual centres, the astral, the etheric and the soul. These transformations will be witnessed tomorrow, the Day of Pentecost, when the entry of Christ Consciousness is witnessed by the flame and the wind.
Just for this day, let us not strive for anything. Let us have a day of gratitude that we are embraced by the great work of the spiritual worlds. That a great spiritual being sacrificed himself for us, not because we deserved it - but because he loved us. Let us, on this day, remember, that “God so loved the world...”
The pattern for all this is the Christ. He indwelt a physical body which means that the physical body is important to the Hierarchy. He did not live in poverty as many people think. No, no, no! The twelve apostles were all wealthy men; they had their own boats which meant that they were good business men. Judas had the bag of money; an indication that they had money. Look at that Christ. He finally transformed His physical body through the act of death, pain and suffering. That body then became a transformed body, a resurrection body. And St John said, “We shall be like Him”. So Jesus Christ is the pattern. He gave us the blueprint in the Gospels and in Revelation.
Rev Mario Schoenmaker, The Book of Revelation, 1984 Lecture Series