fr-Chapter 37 - The correct Understanding of Biblical Texts

The Interpretation of Biblical Words and Promises

1. People have devoted themselves to the study of the Old Testaments, racking their brains in the examination and interpretation of the prophecies and promises. Those among them who have come closest to the truth are those who have found the spiritual meaning of my teachings. For those who stubbornly cling to the earthly, material interpretation and do not understand or refuse to find the spiritual meaning of My revelations will have to suffer confusion and disappointment, just as the Jewish people suffered when the Messiah came, whom they had imagined and expected in a different way than reality revealed Him. (13, 50)

2. The false conception that humanity formed of My justice in the early days will finally disappear, giving way to the true knowledge of it. Divine justice will ultimately be understood as the light that springs from the perfect love that exists in your Father.

3. That God whom people considered vengeful, cruel, resentful, and unforgiving will be felt from the depths of the heart as a Father who grants forgiveness for the offenses of His children, as a Father who lovingly persuades the sinner, as a Judge who, instead of condemning the one who has sinned gravely, offers him a new opportunity for salvation.

4. How many imperfections did people attribute to Me in their ignorance, because they considered Me capable of feeling anger, even though anger is merely a human weakness! When the prophets spoke to you of the "holy wrath of the Lord," I tell you now that you should interpret that expression as divine justice.

5. The people of the "First Era" would not have understood a different way of expressing it, nor would the unrestrained or the debauched have taken the prophets' warnings seriously if they had not spoken to them in that form. It was necessary for the inspiration of My messengers to be expressed in words that would impress the minds and hearts of those people with only a limited spiritual development. (104, 11-14)

6. The writings of the "Early Days" recorded the history of the people of Israel and preserved the names of its children, its successes and its mistakes, its acts of faith and its weaknesses, its glory and its downfalls, so that this book might speak to each new generation of the development of that people in its worship of God. That book handed down both the names of the patriarchs, who loved virtue and justice, the models of strength of faith, and the names of the prophets, the seers of the future, through whose mouths the Lord always spoke when He saw His people on the brink of danger. It also recorded the names of the corrupt, the traitors, and the disobedient, for every incident, every example, is a lesson and sometimes a symbol.

7. When I dwelt among men in Jesus, I made use of the essence of those writings, of the meaning of those works, to convey My teaching only when it was necessary; I never praised the material or the insubstantial. Do you not remember that I mentioned the righteous Abel, that I praised the patience of Job, and that I spoke of the wisdom and glory of Solomon? Did I not on many occasions recall Abraham and speak of the prophets, and did I not tell you, with reference to Moses, that I had not come to abolish the Law he had received, but to fulfill it? (102, 31-32)

8. You must study the divine revelations I have given you throughout the ages; you must understand the figurative language in which you were spoken to; you must in this way sensitize your spiritual senses so that you may discern what is the Word of God and what is the word of man, so that you may discover the meaning of My teachings.

9. Only from a spiritual perspective will you be able to find the correct and truthful interpretation of My Word—both that which I sent to you through the prophets, and that which I bequeathed to you through Jesus, or this Word that I am giving to you through the mouthpieces of the "Third Era."

10. Once this humanity has found the true meaning of the Law, the Teaching, the Prophecies, and the Revelations, it will have discovered the most beautiful and profound aspects of its existence.

11. Then people will come to know true justice, and their hearts will glimpse the true heaven; then you will also know what atonement, purification, and reparation are. (322, 39–42)

12. The writings of past times could reveal to you what I am repeating for you today; but man has dared to falsify My truths in order to spread them in a distorted form. And so you now have a spiritually sick, weary, and lonely humanity.

13. That is why My wake-up call is heard through the voice-bearer, because I do not want you to fall into confusion. (221, 14-15)

14. If the writings of My disciples, who bequeathed My Word to you in the "Second Era," reach your hands in a distorted form, I will cause you to recognize which are the true words of Jesus. Your spirit will recognize as false those that are not in harmony with the divine concert of My love. (24, 19)

15. Man has never been without My revelations, which are the light of the Spirit; yet he has feared to fathom them. Now I ask you: What can you know of the truth and the eternal if you stubbornly avoid the spiritual?

16. Consider the materialistic interpretation you have given to My revelations of the first and second "ages," even though they speak only of the Divine and the spiritual. See how you confuse material nature with the spiritual, with what lack of respect you transform the profound into the superficial and the high into the lowly. But why have you done this? Because, in your desire to do something in the work of God, you seek a way to adapt My teaching to your earthly life, to your human comforts, which are closest to your hearts. (281, 18-19)

17. In this time, I will ensure that the teaching I gave you in the "Second Era"—which many have not grasped and others have forgotten—is understood by all, and that it is also followed on the basis of My new teachings. (92, 12)

18. The light of My Holy Spirit descends upon you; yet why do you depict Me in the form of a dove? Those images and symbols must no longer be venerated by My new disciples.

19. Understand My teaching, people: In that "Second Era," My Holy Spirit manifested itself at the baptism of Jesus in the form of a dove, because this bird, in its flight, resembles the breath of the Spirit; its whiteness speaks of purity; and in its gentle and mild gaze lies a reflection of innocence.

20. How could one make the divine comprehensible to those uneducated people without resorting to the forms of beings familiar to them in the world?

21. Christ, who speaks to you at this moment, was represented by a lamb, and even John saw Me thus in his prophetic vision. All of this is because, if you seek Me in each of My works, you will always find an image of the Creator of life throughout all creation. (8:1–3) 22.

Once I told you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich miser to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Today I tell you that those hearts must free themselves from their selfishness and practice active charity toward their fellow human beings, so that their souls may pass through on the narrow path of salvation. It is not necessary to free oneself from possessions and wealth, but only from selfishness. (62, 65)

23. I am currently rebuilding the temple to which I referred when I said to my disciples, who were admiring Solomon's temple: "Truly, I tell you, not one stone of it will be left upon another, yet I will rebuild it in three days."

24. By this I meant that every external form of worship, however magnificent it may seem to people, will vanish from the hearts of men, and in its place I will erect the true, spiritual temple of My Divinity . Now is the "Third Age," that is, the third day on which I will complete the rebuilding of My temple. (79, 4)

25. God has no form, for if He did, He would be a limited being, like the human one, and then He would not be God.

26. His "Throne" is perfection, justice, love, wisdom, creative power, and eternity.

27. "Heaven" is the highest bliss a soul attains on its path to perfection when it rises so high in wisdom and love that it reaches a degree of purity beyond the reach of any sin or pain.

28. When my prophets spoke of spiritual life, they sometimes did so using human forms and objects familiar to you.

29. The prophets saw thrones like those of kings on earth—books, beings with human form, palaces with tapestries, candlesticks, the Lamb, and many other figures. But today you must understand that all of this was merely a metaphor, a symbol, encompassing a divine meaning, a revelation that had to be expressed to you in a pictorial form, since you were not capable of understanding another, higher one.

30. Now is the time for you to correctly interpret the meaning of all My parables and teachings, which I have revealed to you through symbols, so that the meaning may penetrate your spirit and the symbolic form may disappear.

31. When you come to this realization, your faith will be true, for you will then have founded it upon truth. (326, 37–42)

32. If all those who have been called were to hasten to the Lord's table, where the food that nourishes the soul is served, it would be filled to capacity; yet not all who have been invited have come.

33. It is human nature not to appreciate God's blessings, and therefore you have seen many of your fellow human beings turn you away when you extended the invitation to them.

34. Yet I tell you that these few who sit at My table and listen to Me intently to learn from Me will be the ones who make known to the multitudes the greatness of My Word, the meaning of this teaching, which calls upon humanity to rebuild a world that has come to an end and make way for a more radiant and higher one. (285, 33 35)

The Revelation of Jesus through the Apostle John

35. Everything is written in the Book of the Seven Seals, which is in God and whose existence was revealed to humanity through the Apostle and Prophet John.

36. Only the Divine Lamb has revealed the contents of that book to you, for neither on earth nor in the heavens was there a righteous spirit who could explain to you the profound mysteries of God's love, life, and justice. Yet the Divine Lamb, who is Christ, broke the seals that closed the Book of Life to reveal its contents to His children. (62, 30)

37. If the Book of the Revelations of John has been regarded by some as an impenetrable mystery and viewed by others through an erroneous interpretation, it is because humanity has not yet attained the necessary spiritualization to understand what is presented there; and I can also tell you that it was not even comprehended by the prophet to whom it was inspired.

38. John heard and saw, and when he was told to write it down, he obeyed immediately; yet he understood that that message was for the people who would come long after him. (27, 80-81)

39. When will people turn their attention to what my beloved disciple left in writing? Strange is the manner in which his Revelation is written, mysterious its meaning, profound to the point of the immeasurable his words. Who can possibly understand them?

40. Those who begin to take an interest in the Revelation of John immerse themselves in it, interpret, observe, and study. Some come a little closer to the truth; others believe they have discovered the meaning of the Revelation and proclaim it to the whole world; still others are confused or too weary to continue their search, and ultimately deny that message any divine meaning.

41. Disciples of the "Third Era," I now tell you that if you truly have the desire to enter this sanctuary and to know the true meaning of those revelations, you must familiarize yourselves with the prayer from spirit to spirit—the very one that John practiced during his exile.

42. You must first understand that divine revelation, though presented through earthly forms and images, deals entirely with the human soul—its development, its struggles, its temptations and falls, its desecrations and disobediences. It deals with My justice, My wisdom, My Kingdom, My proofs of love, and My communication with humanity; with their awakening, their renewal, and ultimately their spiritualization.

43. There I revealed to you the spiritual journey of humanity, divided into periods of time, so that you might better understand the development of the soul.

44. Therefore, disciples, since the revelation pertains to your spiritual life, it is fitting that you study and contemplate it from a spiritual perspective; for if you seek to interpret it solely through earthly events, you will fall into confusion like so many others.

45. It is true that many earthly events are related to the fulfillment of that revelation and will continue to be so in the future. But you should know that the events and signs contained therein are also figures, images, and examples meant to help you understand My truth and fulfill your destiny: to rise up to Me on the path of purity of soul, of which My disciple John left you a shining example, having preceded humanity by millennia in the spirit-to-spirit dialogue with his Lord. (309, 47-51)