GETTING TO KNOW JESUS AS A WAYSHOWER, PART 2 – THE JOURNEY OF THE SOUL
GETTING TO KNOW JESUS AS A WAYSHOWER
Part 2 of Series
“The Journey of the Soul”
Nancy B. Detweiler, M.Ed., M.Div.
In the early 2000s, I wrote a series of lessons to help Christians, and others who choose to use Jesus as an example of an individual demonstrating the Christ Consciousness, to get know him as a Wayshower.
As many know, whether or not Jesus was actually crucified has recently become a hot topic of discussion. Truth—in 2014–is pouring out, shocking many and pulling the rug out from under others’ worldview. However, for many, whether or not the Roman government actually crucified Jesus is of less importance than their rejection of the theological reason for that crucifixion as stated in orthodox Christian teachings. The orthodox reason is that God sent his Only Begotten Son to die on the cross to save a sinful people, whom He would otherwise sentence to eternal punishment in the fires of hell for their sins.
I, and countless others, rejected this theological viewpoint decades ago. Since Jesus is regularly proclaimed as Savior/Redeemer and therefore worshipped as such, many Christians were left in limbo without a Wayshower to guide them through the stormy waters in which they found themselves once they stepped outside the orthodox box.
It is for this reason that I am re-posting this series of lessons … one a day for the coming 10 to 12 days.
“If Jesus Is A Wayshower, What Did He Show Us?”
Part 2 of Series
“The Journey of the Soul”
BE SURE TO READ THE INTRODUCTION TO THIS SERIES FIRST.
If Jesus is a Wayshower, what did He show us? He revealed the journey of the soul through numerous incarnations. How do we know Jesus incarnated multiple times?
Throughout the Bible, reference is made to a Book of Life (Malachi 3:16 and Revelations 13:8 are examples). Metaphysicians call this book the Akashic Records, an energetic recording of life that could be considered the universal archives. We all tap into the Akashic Records on an unconscious level. Doing so is how we remember what we’ve learned in prior lifetimes. Some individuals, like Edgar Cayce (the most scientifically documented intuitive in the world), possess the conscious capacity to attune to the Akashic Records and share with us the information found there. Glenn Sanderfur, author of Lives of the Master: The Rest of the Jesus Story, took the information given through the Cayce Readings and researched it further. He studied ancient legends, historical records, and many of the earliest writings discovered during the past century. The information Sanderfur unveils, concerning the lives of Jesus, is correlated with stories that were widely accepted as true in the ancient world. The personalities assumed by the soul of Jesus are listed in accordance with the Edgar Cayce Readings and Sanderfur’s own research.
Since the biblical personalities who possessed the soul of Jesus can easily be researched in the Bible, we will focus on them. As stated in the 1st lesson of this series, Jesus was one of the Sons & Daughters that agreed to come to Earth millions of years ago as a spirit being. Our involution into the atmosphere of Earth is considered the 1st creation story in Genesis 1. Eons later, souls took on the physical bodies described in the 2nd creation story found in Genesis 2. Physical bodies allowed them to reside in the lower vibrations characterizing the 3rd dimension or physical plane. The narrative of Adam and Eve eating fruit from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil is the allegorical story of the Sons and Daughters of God choosing to sojourn on the plane of duality, where they would be conscious of making freewill choices and experiencing the consequences. With time, some of the Sons & Daughters of God forgot who they were and lost consciousness of their unity with all of creation. They believed themselves to be simply their physical bodies, separate from God, and powerless when confronting the challenges afforded by the plane of duality. Jesus, as one of the Sons of God, volunteered to return to Earth in an effort to awaken humanity to our true identity.
One of the earliest biblical personalities of Jesus was Enoch. Although the Bible says little about Enoch, three ancient books, Enoch I, II, and III are attributed to him. Jesus also incarnated as Melchizedek, the King of Salem who blessed Abram with the bread and wine upon his return from a victorious battle. Both Enoch and Melchizedek simply disappeared from Earth. Genesis 5:24 describes Enoch: “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.” In other words, Enoch ascended without experiencing death. In Hebrews 7:3, Melchizedek is described: “Without father, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” Enoch and Melchizedek remind us of the capacity that is ours—that of becoming so purified and filled with light that we can descend and ascend from Earth plane at will. They reveal the unity of the physical and spiritual dimensions. There is no need to experience death. We all possess the aptitude to ascend, by raising the vibrations of our physical bodies so high that they become invisible and move into the higher dimensions of consciousness.
According to Edgar Cayce, Jesus found that taking on a physical body at will—as Enoch and Melchizedek—did not give him the degree of rapport needed in order to guide humanity back home to full consciousness of ourselves as Sons & Daughters of God. He realized that he needed to experience life as we do. So he began to incarnate into physical bodies that vibrated at a much slower rate of speed. As he did so, he began to stumble and make mistakes too. Thus, we can trace his soul’s progress through a series of lifetimes as seen in the Bible.
As Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, he retained an ability to prophesy through his dreams and his interpretations of others’ dreams. However, Joseph angered his older brothers by sharing his dreams of being in a position of power over them. His brothers took revenge by selling him to a caravan of men traveling to Egypt. Joseph maintained a positive attitude through all the challenges he confronted, including years of unjust imprisonment. Finally, using his intuitive attunement to God’s instruction, Joseph interpreted correctly the Pharaoh’s prophetic dreams. As a result, he was released from prison and promoted to a position second only to the pharaoh of Egypt. Joseph’s wisdom enabled him to save the Israelites and Egyptians from starvation during the seven years of famine, prophesized by Pharaoh’s dreams. When Joseph’s brothers journeyed to Egypt to purchase grain, they were filled with fear when they realized he now had the power of life and death over them. Joseph’s comforting words to his brothers may also comfort us when we encounter challenges that turn our lives upside down. “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land for two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:4-8)
The life of Joseph teaches us that divine order underlies all of life—that divine order (or God) works out all things for the highest good. Joseph’s story reveals that God knows our needs before we do and makes arrangement for their fulfillment far in advance. All of creation moves naturally toward harmony and well-being, regardless of outer appearances in the present.
Years later, Jesus incarnated as Joshua, assistant to Moses. He traveled with the Israelites as they fled captivity in Egypt and remained with them throughout the forty years in the wilderness. Because Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, Joshua led the Israelites in the battles that allowed them to move into Palestine. The biblical narrative depicts God fighting on the side of Joshua and the Israelites. Even the sun and moon stood still in order to assist Joshua. Historical records of this period reveal few battles, other than with warring tribal lords—a common occurrence in the ancient Middle East. The total devastation described in the Bible is not found in the ancient secular records of this time. Most of the battles Joshua fought were the same battles we wage—with our lower selves. A vital part of our spiritual journey is the requirement to purify and conquer all lower desires and negativity within our energy field. These are the enemies that must be destroyed without mercy. When the Bible depicts God as fighting, it is revealing through the symbol of “battle” the way in which God’s loving presence enfolds us every step of our way back home. Often the people grew discouraged and turned to other gods, representing the various idols we have in our lives, such as money, power, and status. We often turn from God, as we place more importance on the acquiring of money, relationships, and whatever else distracts us from our spiritual path. Joshua taught: “… revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness …. If you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve …. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm.” (Joshua 24:14-15, 19-20) What does this mean?
We can walk on only one path: the narrow path our soul would choose OR the broad path our lower personality nature will choose. Spirit is very patient and allows us to meander along the broad path for as long as we choose. However, once we embark consciously on the narrow path back home to our true identity as Sons and Daughters of God, we suffer whenever we make a wrong turn. God is not punishing us. Instead, our soul is guiding us along a very narrow path, bordered on either side with the sharp rocks of the world and its glamour. To make a wrong turn entails pain, because we stumble over the rocks. Our soul’s guidance can take many forms and even appear extremely unjust. Take the example of the biblical Job and all the seemingly unjust suffering he endured. The end result was Job’s enlightenment. Humanity continues to make the choice to awaken spiritually through suffering as long as we fail to walk intentionally and consciously the narrow path to enlightenment.
Joshua reminded the people that God can be trusted. “You know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you, not one of them has failed.” (Joshua 23:14) We, too, can trust in the unfolding of divine order. As we live in accordance with divine law, we come to know perfect health and prosperity in all areas of our lives. Then we, too, enter the Promised Land that is the Kingdom of God within ourselves.
The soul of Jesus broadened his physical plane experiences by incarnating as Asaph, a musician appointed by King David to oversee music in worship. He sang at the dedication for Solomon’s Temple, the first to be erected in Jerusalem. Several of the Psalms are attributed to Asaph: Psalm 50, and Psalms 73 – 83. We can catch a glimpse into the mind of Asaph by reading these Psalms. According to the Cayce Readings, Asaph was also a scribe and wrote additional portions of the Old Testament. Wisdom literature was very popular during the time of Asaph.
The last Old Testament personality of the soul of Jesus was an incarnation as Jeshua, a high priest of the Temple who had been exiled to Babylon. When Cyrus of Persia captured Babylon, he allowed Jeshua to return to Jerusalem—accompanied by those Jewish exiles who chose to return home—and make plans for the reconstruction of the Temple destroyed by the Babylonian army. This lifetime, the soul of Jesus was a peaceful warrior leading his people back to Jerusalem.
We can see that the soul of Jesus sought variety in his earth plane experiences. We do the same. Diversity assists us in achieving wholeness. We incarnate as male and female, rich and poor, in leadership roles and in more creative, reclusive roles. Every lifetime offers us the opportunity to develop new skills, to recall and enhance prior lifetime talents, to experience the more intuitive, nourishing nature of a female and the more assertive, intellectual nature of a male. The ultimate goal is balance and a sense of wholeness within self—androgyny.
With each lifetime, we create future experiences. For example: Jesus, as Jeshua, refused to accept the offer of the Samaritans to assist in rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. This refusal resulted in lack of sufficient workers to do the job and the rebuilding project had to be postponed for another twenty years. Later, during his incarnation as Jesus, one of his parables tells the story of a kind Samaritan assisting a wounded man lying on the roadside, after two Jewish religious leaders ignored him. (Remember Jesus, as Jeshua, was a high priest.) Jesus also chose to travel through Samaria and to teach the Samaritan people. At that point in time, Jews did not speak to Samaritans and traveled around the territory of Samaria. When Jesus requested a drink of water from a Samaritan woman at the well, he broke the rules. Jesus had to transform the prejudices toward the Samaritans that he exhibited when incarnated as Jeshua. Our lives are also filled with opportunities to atone for past life mistakes.
Finally, during his lifetime as Jesus, he once more achieved the consciousness that allowed him to become a Wayshower back home to our true inheritance as Sons and Daughters of God. The soul of Jesus, incarnating in multiple physical bodies, gradually regained all that humanity lost when we chose to experience the plane of duality. Now, it is up to us to follow his example the rest of the way home.
UNITY’S PRAYER OF PROTECTION
The Light of God surrounds me,
The Love of God enfolds me,
The Power of God protects me,
The Presence of God watches over me.
Wherever I am, God is.
And, all is well.
BENEDICTION
Go forth, knowing that “from the beginning to the end, thou knowest me, O Lord, for thou hast formed and laid thy hand upon me.” (Psalm 139:5)
You are never alone!
