fr-Chapter 38 - The Three Times of Revelation and the Seven Seal Epochs
The Dependence of God's Revelations on Development
1. In all three periods into which I have divided the development of humanity, I showed you with My light the same straight and narrow path for the ascent of the soul, the one way of love, truth, and justice.
2. I have guided you from teaching to teaching, from revelation to revelation, until this time has come when I tell you that you can already connect with Me from spirit to spirit. Could humanity have connected in this way during the "First Era"? — No, it was compelled to make do with material worship, with rites and ceremonies, with traditional festivals and symbols, so that it might feel close to the Divine and the Spiritual. Out of this inability to approach the spiritual, to rise to the Divine, to recognize what lies deeper, and to unravel the mysteries, the various religions arose, each corresponding to the degree of spiritual backwardness or spiritual progress of humanity, with some being more devoted to the truth than others, some more spiritual than others, yet all striving toward the same goal. It is the path that souls have traversed over the course of centuries and ages—the path to which the various religions point. Some have advanced only with the greatest slowness, others have stood still, and still others have gone astray and defiled themselves. (12, 92–93)
3. Today I come in the Spirit, and truly, I tell you: Some believe that I was closer to you in the early days than I am today. They are mistaken, for with each coming I have drawn ever closer to you.
4. Remember that in the "First Era" I settled on a mountain and from there sent down to you My Law carved in stone. In the "Second Era," I left the mountain heights and descended into your valleys, becoming human to live among you. And in the present era, to be even closer to you, I have made your heart My dwelling place, to reveal Myself there and speak to people from within it. (3, 31)
5. You now understand that I have divided My divine revelation into three great periods.
6. It was during humanity's spiritual childhood that the Father gave them the Law and promised them a Messiah who would open the gate to a new age.
7. The Messiah was Christ, who came to humanity when they were in their spiritual youth. He taught people a higher way to fulfill the Law they had previously received from the Father but had not known how to fulfill. The "Word" of God spoke through the lips of Jesus, which is why I tell you that through the Master's teachings of love, the world continued to hear the voice and commandment of its Father.
8. For his part, Jesus offered to send the "Spirit of Truth" to humanity, so that it might make clear to them all that they had not understood of his teaching.
9. Now then, beloved people—this simple, humble word that you are hearing at this moment is the voice of the Spirit of Truth; it is the Spiritual Light of God pouring into your being so that you may open your eyes to the New Age. This Light, which enables you to gradually grasp all your Master's revelations clearly, is the Light of your Father, the Holy Spirit, who surprises humanity at a higher stage of spiritual development—that is, as it approaches adulthood—so that it may understand God's revelations.
10. In all that this light reveals to you, you will receive the Father's instruction; for "The Word" is in Me, and the Holy Spirit is My own wisdom. (132, 10–15)
11. In times past, I did not speak to you in this way. In the "First Era," the Law enlightened the human soul; in the "Second Era," Christ enlightened the human heart through the light of love. Today, the light of the Holy Spirit enlightens your soul to raise it above all that is human.
12. You have received these three messages from one and the same God, and an age has passed between them all—the time necessary for the development of the soul so that it might be able to receive the new message or new teaching.
13. Now you can understand why I have called you "disciples of the Holy Spirit." (229, 50–52)
14. If I had told you everything in the first revelations, it would not have been necessary for the Master, the Messiah, to teach you new teachings, nor for the Holy Spirit to come at this time to show you the glories of spiritual life.
15. Therefore, I tell you that you should not cling to what was revealed to you in earlier times as if it were the final word of My teaching.
16. I have come once more to humanity, and for a long time I have made Myself known through their intellectual faculties; and I can still tell you that My final word has not yet been spoken.
17. Always seek in My Book of Wisdom the final word, the new page that reveals to you the meaning and content of what was given earlier, so that you may truly be My disciples. (149, 44-45)
The Three Testaments of God
18. Moses, Jesus, and Elijah—this is the path that the Lord has laid out for humanity to help them rise to the Kingdom of Peace, Light, and Perfection.
19. Feel the presence of the Lord's messengers in your lives. None of them has died; they all live to illuminate the path of those who have gone astray, to help them rise from their falls, and to strengthen them so that they may devote themselves with love to the trials of atoning for their sins.
20. Recognize the work that Moses accomplished on earth through the inspiration of Jehovah. Study in depth the teaching of Jesus, through whom the "Divine Word" spoke, and seek the spiritual meaning of My new revelation, whose age is represented by Elijah. (29, 20–22)
21. If in the "Second Era" my birth as a human was a miracle, and my spiritual resurrection after my physical death was another miracle—truly, I tell you—then my revelation in this era through a human mind is a spiritual miracle.
22. My prophecies will be fulfilled in this time until the very end. I leave you my three Testaments, which form a single one.
23. Whoever has known the Father in the past as love, sacrifice, and forgiveness shall come to know Him fully in this time, so that he may love and revere Him instead of fearing His justice.
24. If you adhered to the Law in the "First Age," it was out of fear that divine justice would chastise you; therefore, I sent you "My Word" so that you might recognize that God is love.
25. Today My light comes to you so that you may not go astray and may reach the end of the path in faithfulness to My law. (4, 43-47)
26. My new teachings are a confirmation of those I gave you in the "Second Era," but they are even more far-reaching. Consider this: Back then I spoke to the hearts of men; now, however, I speak to the spirit.
27. I do not deny any of the words I gave you in the past—on the contrary, I give them their due fulfillment and correct interpretation. Likewise, I said to the Pharisees at that time, who believed that Jesus wanted to destroy the Law: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets—on the contrary, I have come to fulfill them." How could I deny that Law and the Prophets, since they are the foundation of the temple that had to be built in the hearts of men over three ages, and the announcement of my coming into the world? (99, 24-25)
28. Today I say to you again: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," and if you seek the meaning of My Word in this time, you will find in it the eternal law of love, precisely that Way which I laid out for you on earth.
29. At that time, many believed that Christ had strayed from the path and distorted the law. Therefore, they fought against Him and persecuted Him. Yet the truth always prevails, like the light of the sun against the darkness. Now My Word will once again be opposed, for some believe they find contradictions, ambiguities, and errors in its meaning. But its light will once again shine into the darkness of this time, and humanity will recognize that the path and the law I have revealed to you are the same as in that time and always will be. (56, 69 70)
30. This teaching is the path to eternal life; everyone who discovers an uplifting power and perfection in this teaching will know how to unite it with the one I taught you when I was on earth, for their essence is the same.
31. Those who do not know how to find the truth contained in My teachings may even claim that this teaching does not lead to the same goal as the teachings of Jesus; souls blinded by misinterpretations or confused by religious fanaticism will not immediately be able to grasp the truth of these revelations. They must undergo a path of trials to be freed from the earthly mindset that prevents them from understanding and fulfilling My commandment, which teaches you to love one another. (83, 42-43)
32. In vain will many people say that this teaching is new or that it has no connection to the divine revelations given to you in times past. I assure you that everything I have told you in this age through human understanding has its roots and foundations in what was already prophetically proclaimed to you in the First and Second Ages.
33. Yet the confusion of which I speak to you will arise because those who interpreted those revelations imposed their interpretations upon people, and these were partly correct and partly erroneous. It will also happen because that spiritual light of My teachings was withheld from people and sometimes given in a distorted form. Therefore, today, now that the time has come when My light frees you from the darkness of your ignorance, many people have denied that this can be the light of truth, since, in their opinion, it does not correspond to what I taught you in the past.
34. I assure you that none of My words are lost, and that the people of this age will come to know what I actually told you in times past. When the world then comes to know Spiritualism, it will say: "Indeed, Jesus has already said all this!"
35. Indeed, I have already told you everything, even though regarding many of the revealed truths I proclaimed to you only the fundamentals thereof. I left them with you so that you might gradually learn to comprehend them, for at that time humanity was not yet capable of understanding all that I am now showing you in its full extent. (155, 24-27)
The Third Era
36. This is the "Third Era," in which I have taught you the lesson intended to unite humanity spiritually. For it is My will that languages, races, and various ideologies should no longer be an obstacle to their union. The spiritual essence from which I created a spirit is the same that all possess, and the substances of which the blood flowing through human veins is composed are the same in everyone. Therefore, all are equal and worthy of Me, and for all I have come anew. (95, 9)
37. The changes that human life will undergo will be so great that it will seem to you as if one world were coming to an end and another were being born.
38. Just as human life has always been divided into epochs or ages, and each of these has been distinguished by something—be it by its discoveries, by the divine revelations it has received, by its development in the realm of beauty, which humanity calls "art," or by its science — so the spiritual era now beginning, the age that is already dawning like a new daybreak, will be characterized by the unfolding of spiritual gifts—that aspect of your being which you should have cultivated to spare yourselves so many evils, but which you have always put off until later.
39. Do you not believe that human life can be completely transformed if it develops spirituality, unfolds the gifts of the spirit, and puts into effect the law dictated in this world by conscience?
40. Soon all peoples will understand that God has spoken to them in every age, that the divine revelations have been the ladder that the Lord has lowered to humanity so that they might ascend to Him.
41. Some will call this new era the Age of Light, others the Age of the Holy Spirit, and still others the Age of Truth. Yet I tell you that it will be the time of spiritual ascent, of spiritual restoration, of reclamation.
42. This is the era that I have long desired to dwell in the heart of man, yet which has been continually fought against and destroyed by man himself—a time whose brightness is seen by all, and under whose light all the children of the Lord are united: not into a religious community of people that accepts some and rejects others, that trumpets its own truth and denies it to others, that uses unworthy weapons to assert itself, or that offers darkness instead of light. (135, 53–54, 57–59)
43. This is the "Third Age," in which the human soul must free itself from the chains of materialism. This will bring about a clash of worldviews that will be more intense than anything known in the history of humanity.
44. Corruption, selfishness, pride, vice, lies, and everything that has cast a shadow over your lives will fall like shattered idols at the feet of those who worshipped them, to make way for humility. (295, 64-65)
The Seven Epochs of Salvation History
45. The first of these stages of spiritual development in the world is represented by Abel, the first servant of the Father, who offered his burnt offering to God. He is the symbol of sacrifice. Envy rose up against him.
46. The second stage is represented by Noah. He is the symbol of faith. He built the ark through divine inspiration and led people into it to save them. The crowd rose up against him with their doubt, mockery, and pagan mindset. Yet Noah left behind his seed of faith.
47. The third period is symbolized by Jacob. He embodies strength; he is Israel, the Strong One. He spiritually saw the ladder to heaven, upon which you will all ascend to "sit at the right hand of the Creator." The Angel of the Lord rose up against him to test his strength and his perseverance.
48. The fourth is symbolized by Moses; he embodies the Law. He holds up the tablets on which it is inscribed for people of all ages. It was he who, with his immeasurable faith, freed the people to lead them on the path of salvation to the Promised Land. He is the symbol of the Law.
49. The fifth era is represented by Jesus, "The Divine Word," the "Spotless Lamb," who has spoken to you throughout all ages and will continue to speak to you. He is love, for the sake of which He became human to live in the human world. He endured the pain of that world, showing humanity the path of sacrifice, love, and mercy, through which it may attain redemption from all its sins. He came as a Master to teach how to live in love despite humble origins, to go so far as to sacrifice oneself, and to die loving, forgiving, and blessing. He embodies the fifth stage, and his symbol is love.
50. The sixth era is represented by Elijah. He is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. He comes on his "chariot of fire" and brings light to all nations and all worlds, which are unknown to you but known to Me, for I am the Father of all worlds and all creatures. This is the stage in which you currently live—that of Elijah. It is his light that enlightens you. He is the representative of those teachings that were hidden and are being revealed to humanity in this time.
51. The seventh period is embodied by the Father Himself. It is the final goal, the culmination of development. In it lies the time of grace, the Seventh Seal.
52. With this, the mystery of the Seven Seals is solved. That is why I tell you that the present epoch contains the sixth seal. For five of them have already passed, the sixth is now unsealed, and the seventh remains sealed; its contents have not yet come, the time has not yet come for this stage to reach you. When it comes, grace, perfection, and peace will reign. But to attain them—how many tears must humanity still shed to purify its soul! (161, 54-61)
53. The Book of the Seven Seals is the story of your life, of your development on Earth, with all its struggles, sufferings, conflicts, and finally the victory of Good and Justice, of love and spiritualization over the passions of materialism.
54. Believe in truth that everything is directed toward a spiritual and eternal purpose, so that you may give each lesson the proper place it deserves.
55. As long as the light of the Sixth Seal illuminates you, it will be a time of conflict, renunciation, and purification; yet when this time has passed, you will have reached a new era in which the Seventh Seal will bring you new revelations. How content and happy will be the soul of the one who receives the new era, having been found pure and prepared. As long as the Sixth Seal illuminates you, body and soul will be purified. (13, 53–55)
56. The book that was sealed in heaven has opened in the sixth chapter. It is the Book of the Seven Seals, which contains wisdom and judgment and was unsealed because of My love for you, to reveal its profound teachings to you.
57. Man has lived on earth through five periods of time, encouraged by the divine breath of the Spirit. Nevertheless, he has not grasped the spiritual meaning of life, the purpose of his existence, his destiny, and the core of his being. Everything was an impenetrable mystery to his mind as well as to his soul, a sealed book whose contents he was unable to interpret.
58. He vaguely sensed spiritual life, but without truly knowing the ladder of development that brings beings closer to God. He did not know his very high mission on earth, nor the virtues and gifts that belong to his spirit to triumph in the struggles, rise above human hardships, and perfect himself spiritually in order to dwell in the Eternal Light.
59. It was necessary for the divine book to be opened, and for people to contemplate its contents, so that they might save themselves from the darkness of ignorance, which is the source of all the evils that exist in the world. Who could open this book? The theologian, the scientist, or the philosopher? No, no one—not even the righteous souls—could reveal its contents to you, for what the book guarded was the wisdom of God.
60. Only Christ, "The Word," He alone, Divine Love, could do it; but even then, it was necessary to wait until people were capable of receiving the divine message without being blinded by the radiance of My spiritual presence. Thus, humanity had to pass through five stages of trials, instruction, experience, and development to achieve the appropriate maturity that would allow it to come to know the mysteries that the Book of God's Wisdom preserved for humankind.
61. The Law of God, His divine Word given through Christ, and all the messages of prophets, messengers, and emissaries were the seed that sustained humanity's faith in a divine promise, which always heralded light, salvation, and justice for all people.
62. Now the long-awaited time for the Great Revelation has come, through which you shall understand all that I have revealed to you throughout the ages, and shall learn who your Father is, who you yourselves are, and what the purpose of your existence is.
63. Now is the time when, by virtue of the spiritual development you have attained, the trials you have endured, and the experience you have gathered, you can receive from My Spirit to yours the light of wisdom that has been kept in My treasuries in anticipation of your readiness. And since humanity has attained the necessary level of development to receive My message, I have sent it the first ray of My light, which is this one, that has caused the uneducated and simple people who serve as the voice of My message to speak in rapture.
64. This ray of light has been merely preparatory; it is like the light of dawn as it heralds the new day. Later, My light will fully reach you, illuminate your existence, and dispel even the last shadow of ignorance, sin, and misery.
65. This time, whose dawn you admire in the infinite, is the sixth epoch dawning in the spiritual life of humanity—the era of light, of revelations, of the fulfillment of ancient prophecies and forgotten promises. It is the Sixth Seal, which, upon being opened, pours forth its contents of wisdom into your soul, in a message full of justice, enlightenment, and revelation. (269, 10-18)
66. Disciples, I want the virtues of your hearts to be the garments that cover the nakedness of your souls. Thus speaks to you the Spirit of Comfort, who was promised in the "Second Era."
67. The Father already knew of the pain and trials that would afflict humanity, and the degree of depravity that people would reach. The coming of the Comforter signifies for you the opening of the Sixth Seal, that is, the beginning of a new stage in the development of humanity. From this moment on, a divine judgment is in effect for all people; every life, every deed, every step will be strictly judged. It is the end of an age, not the end of life.
68. It is the conclusion of the times of sin, and it is necessary that the entire content of this Sixth Seal of the Book of God be poured out upon souls and rouse them from their lethargy, so that humanity may rouse itself and experience the harmony of its soul with all creation, and that he prepare himself for the time when, through the Lamb, the Seventh Seal is broken, which will bring the final dregs of the cup of suffering, but also the triumph of truth, love, and divine justice. (107, 17–19)
69. I want humanity to prepare itself during this time so that, when the last seal is broken, people may become aware of it and hasten to hear and understand the content of the new revelations. I want the nations and peoples to grow strong so that they may endure the sufferings of those days.
70. I will call blessed those who know how to endure the trials of those times, and I will give them a reward for their perseverance and their faith in My power by leaving them as the progenitors of a new humanity. (111, 10-11)
71. When the Seventh Seal is sealed along with the other six, that book which has been God's judgment upon the works of men, from the first to the last, will also remain sealed. Then the Lord will open a new, blank book to record in it the resurrection of the dead, the liberation of the oppressed, the renewal of sinners, and the victory of good over evil. (107, 20)