Transcription
All I'm offering is the truth. Nothing to unravel the mystery of Christ from all the interpretations put upon it is quite a difficult task we're up against. All kinds of misunderstanding of the mystery. Most people believe that it's secular history, but the story is something to do with some historical occasion, and it isn't. It's salvation history. The whole thing is taking place in you, the individual. It's not taking place on the outside at all.
But how to convince men that this is true? Or tonight, we will try. I'll try to explain what I know from my own experience. The story is told of Christ, and the term called Son of Man is a term used most to describe the Christ, the Messiah. We are told in the book of Daniel, "And one like a son of man came to the ancient of days and was presented before him."
And he was given dominion, and glory, and kingdom. Well, dominion means complete control of all human and non-human forces. Complete control. That's dominion. Glory is God himself. Told us in the book of Exodus, "I'll make my glory pass before you." And when I pass by. So he equates glory with "I." So here it is, God himself. And now, kingdom is simply the realm where a monarchical ruler dominates all things. The King. In the New Testament, it is said of him, which is the central figure, that he is the Son of Man. So he asks this question, "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" And they answered, "Well, some say John the Baptist come again, others Elijah, others Jeremiah, and still others, one of the prophets." Then he turned to them and said, "But who do you say that I am?" So he equates himself with the Son of Man. Then Peter answers, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." He accepts that definition. So here we find the Son of Man, the "I," and then Christ, all equal. They are one and the same. So here tonight, we speak of this in you.
And when the Son of Man, as we are told in the third of John, "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up." Now we have just seen that the Son of Man is the "I" of man, the pronoun "I." It means "I," or it means "one." So here we can say, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must I be lifted up," or "so must one be lifted up." I'm not speaking of anything outside of you. That "I" is the one spoken of in scripture. You must be lifted up. And "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."
This is the drama of scripture. Today, the world. I hear it on TV, I read in the papers, and these very prominent and very popular teachers from the pulpit and from the TV screen are speaking of the signs, and they tell you that we can see the signs of the end of the world. There aren't any signs. You're told in scripture that "of that day and hour no one knows but the Father." It is not for you to be given the time or the sign. When the sign comes, you'll understand it. Everything will happen in you just as described in the story of Christ. But earthquakes and convulsions of nature, cosmic catastrophes, have nothing to do with the end. This is a unique story all about you. It has nothing to do with the end of the world. It's the end of your journey through the tribulation of human experience. When you pass through the entire tribulation of human experience, that's the end. Then comes, with shocking sadness, the "I" awakening in you. And if not another, it is you. You are the Lord Jesus Christ. You are the Lord God Jehovah. You are the sinful figure of scripture. It has not a thing to do with another.
So catastrophes. Well, a year ago in San Francisco, I read in the New York Times that every 24 hours we have approximately 1800 what is called natural catastrophes in the world, like volcanoes, earthquakes, storms, typhoons, all kinds of horrible things. But every 24 hours, there are at least 1800 of these normal, natural convulsions of nature. And yet, here are our religious leaders interpreting an earthquake, interpreting some convulsion of a war, and you're told there are wars and rumors of wars. But that is not it. If anyone should ever come to you saying, "Look, here is the Christ," or "There is the Christ," believing not. There is no outside Christ. Christ is buried in you. And when he comes, he can only come by awakening in you. Even though one has actually had him completely awake within himself, don't believe he is the Christ. He has awakened in me, the speaker, but I am not the Christ that you're looking for. The Christ that you're looking for is out now, buried in you, and must awaken in you as you. It's the "I" of you, the personal pronoun "I," that is Christ. When man doesn't know it, and he's looking on the outside for Christ, and there is no other Christ.
So when anyone who tells you, because of an enormous following, that he can interpret the signs, there aren't any signs on the outside. Let me show you one simple little story. In the 13th chapter of Mark and the 24th chapter of Matthew, it is said that he turned after having heard from his disciples. They said, "Look at these buildings," speaking of the temple. "Aren't they wonderful?" Meaning that they are forever. And he said, "You see these buildings? I tell you, not one stone will be left standing upon another, but they will be thrown down. Not one stone." All will be thrown down. Then they asked, "When will it be?" Now, this is called the little apocalypse in scripture. Rather, these are words of the evangelists, or words of the central figure. But they're all words of the evangelist, anyway. They're only relating their own experience. These buildings are not on the outside. So when Blake says, "Cities, mountains, darlings, all are human," he meant it in your own wonderful imagination. These structures are erected. These are the beliefs by which you live, and they're powerful in your mind. The day will come, you will see it. There seem to be you external to yourself, and there are structures. They're buildings. In my own case, on the 21st day of December, 1960, I saw this city. There were not enormous buildings like the Empire State, say, 12, 15, 16-story buildings, but there seemed to be everlasting. At that very moment, I knew everyone is going to fall. And here came the first one. It all crumbled before my eye. I knew the next one. It crumbled. I knew the next one. It crumbled. Everything crumbled because prior to that day, which is the 21st day of December, 1916, I had had the experience of the birth from above and the discovery of the fatherhood of God and the Son of God, who actually called me Father, revealing who the Father really is. I had the experience of that ascent of the Son of Man. Then all of my previous beliefs by which I live, they all collapsed. I too believed, as the whole vast world of Christendom believed, in the historicity of Christ, in the secular history of Christ. And suddenly, the whole thing was not there at all. It's all about me. It is all about you. And when I rose from within myself, that all that I formerly believed in had to collapse. These are the structures spoken of. He is not speaking of these buildings falling. If the whole vast city that might tonight move into the Pacific, it is not the end. The end comes to the individual. It doesn't come to us collectively. It comes to us individually. And all the things that you, throughout the senses, have erected within you by which you live and believe, when it actually happens in you, and you realize you are the central being of scripture, you are the God spoken of, you are the Christ Jesus spoken of. For all the things on the outside that you turn to for comfort, they collapse. But they are now projected within you as buildings. Through to these buildings, not one stone will be left standing upon another. Not one. It should all come down. But it happens within you.
Now we are told, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up." Well, you just heard the Son of Man is the "I" of man, the personal pronoun "I." So it's not something on the outside. You are lifted up just in the same manner that Moses in the wilderness lifted up the serpent. And that is true. You actually find yourself. Now, we'll take the story. He was standing on the Mount of Olives, as you read it in the 13th of March on the 24th of Matthew. Now we go back to the 14th chapter of Zechariah. Zechariah means Jehovah remembers. This is the last chapter of Zechariah. And he was standing on the Mount of Olives. And this expression, Mount of Olives, is only used twice in the Old Testament. Here is the Mount of Olives. It is used first in Second Samuel concerning David. But here is the second use of it, in almost the end of the Old Testament, the 14th chapter of Zechariah. Remember, the word means Jehovah remembers. This is his pledge, his covenant. Now, the Lord is standing upon the Mount of Olives, and the Mount of Olives was split from east to west, forming a very wide valley. And one half of the Mount moved northward, and one half moved south. And then came out of Jerusalem, for the Mount of Olives faces Jerusalem, came living water. Came living water. Now, I tell you, the Mount is yourself. Everything about the story is already new. On the morning of the 8th of April, 1960, suddenly I am split from east to west, meaning my body from the top of my skull to the base of my spine. And it started about six inches. A vast valley between the two sections of my body. At the base, which would be the spine, is a pool of living, golden light, living water. Then I looked at it, and I could play with Blake. I knew it was myself. I am looking at it, and I not only knew it was myself, I knew it was my own creator and redeemer. And I am my own creator and redeemer. I fuse with it. And then, like a fiery serpent, I went up into my skull. That's heaven, for the kingdom of heaven is within you. That's where the kingdom is. It's all within you. And when I entered, I made every attempt. I can't tell you the force I used to get through my skull, but I couldn't get through my skull, for that is reality. It's within you. Don't get out of it. The whole thing takes place within. The best I can use on earth to illustrate it would be a rivet. Have you ever seen someone take a hot, hot rivet and throw it to the one who catches it, and then takes it and actually puts it into the steel to make it secure? It's a fascinating sight to see the rivets, these steel structures. Well, I actually felt myself being moved right into it. If I could just describe it, it's right here, a little left of the straight line down my forehead, just a tiny fraction left of this area. That's where I felt myself riveting. I made every effort to penetrate and go through, but I couldn't. I was stuck right there. So you're told in scripture, the 11th chapter of Matthew, "And the kingdom of heaven is taken by violence, and the violent take it by force." That's how you take the kingdom. The whole kingdom is in your skull. The whole thing is being constructed in your own wonderful human skull. So here I am talking only about you. I'm not talking about any conversion of nature. Let them have all their so-called enormous crowds telling people how they can read the signs. We are the end of the world. In what world? This is a unique reconstruction of the temple of God, and it is reconstructed out of living stones, not dead stones. But when the temple fell, it was made of simply living, but not life-giving stones. Now we are being turned into life-giving stones, and every stone must be fitted into that temple, and everyone will be called in order. Not one will be missing. May I tell you, not one in eternity can fail to be called. And he goes through the same identical process. You are called, and then you are raised from within yourself. And if not any outside Christ being raised, Christ is the "I" of man. You are raised. You are awakened. And when you are awakened, you see no one but yourself. You are all alone. That's the Christ entombed in your own skull. And you, and you alone, come out by an innate wisdom as to how to do it. It's built in within you, for Christ is not only the power of God, he's the wisdom of God. So there's an innate wisdom how to do it. I know exactly how to do it. And you push the base of your skull, and something moves, and you come out. When you come out, and I ask, "Who did it?" You said, "Ah, that's Christ. That is the Son of Man. That is the Son of God." Who can claim, "I and my Father are one." In the world, yes, I seem to be less than my Father, for I am now doing a job. I am in the world as one that is sin. But the sender and the sinned are one. I am only inferior to myself, the sender, when I am playing the part of the sinned. But I return to myself, the sender. I'll be one with myself, the sender. So I will leave the world and return to my Father, and I and my Father are one. But how to explain that to those who believe in a Christ on the outside? When throughout the centuries, they've been taught to believe in some external safety, and there is no external safety. You, and you alone, decided to do what you did. We collectively decided to do it, to come into the world of death and die, literally die, and then be victorious and overcome death. That's who we are. And everyone, in spite of what he's done, what he's doing, or what he may do, he is that Christ spoken of in scripture. And so, how to tell a man that although the imagery seems strange, it is actually true? You rise just like a fiery serpent. Who would believe that? Who would believe that the Mount of Olives is my own body? I stand on the Mount of Olives and I face Jerusalem, and then it splits from top to bottom, as told in the great 13th of March and the 24th of Matthew. "As the lightning comes from the east and shines towards the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man." It's a bolt of lightning, and you did it, and you split yourself right down the middle, and the mountain starts in two. So the Mount of Olives is now cut in two from east to west, and one half moves northward, and one half moves southward. And then out of Jerusalem, because you can view Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, comes living water. And I tell you, it is living water, is golden liquid, pulsing, living life. And as you look at it, you know it's yourself. How can I, a man, know? I am Nick Midnight, but I am. And I fuse with it. And as I fuse with him, like a fiery serpent, right up into my skull. So as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up in the same manner, after the Mount is split into from top to bottom. Now, when they're looking now, as they are, they go off to Jerusalem physically. They have these enormous productions where some nations give them millions to excavate all kinds of things to try to find where he was buried, where he was buried. The only place where Christ was ever buried is in the human skull. And it's called in scripture Golgotha. In the book of Luke, they actually call it by our name, skull. And when they're brought into the place called skull, there they bury them. Now, Golgotha means skull, but it's the Hebrew form of skull. We speak of Calvary. Well, Calvary is the Latin form of skull. And so the whole thing is simply your own wonderful human skull. That's where the whole drama takes place. It all takes place in the imagination of man. There is nothing but God, and God is the human imagination, and the drama of God is unfolding within us. So let no one tell you that they can see signs of the end of the world, the end of the age. But the end of the age is the end of the tribulation of human experience. That's the end. There is no other end. You and I have gone through hell. And when we come to the end of the tribulations of human experience, then suddenly, with shocking suddenness, the whole thing erupts within us. So your toes do not ask. It comes like a thief in the night when you least expect it. He will come. Therefore, be alert. But there shall be no signs. This generation seeks a sign, and there shall be no sign. I tell you, it will come. Just maybe tonight. I hope so. I know in my own case, I went to bed as innocent as I had in any previous day. I had a lovely day. I elected to an audience of maybe eleven hundred, twelve hundred. I went out to brunch because I didn't have breakfast with two friends, husband and wife. They went to a simple little place and had what I would call breakfast. There were, there was no liquor sales, and I didn't feel like a drink at the time. I had a normal, simple breakfast: orange juice, bacon and eggs, and coffee. Then we went riding all through San Francisco. And that night, a friend of mine who worked as a checker in the Fairmont Hotel, who had to be up early in the morning to check in the waiters and check in the produce that they came through, so he had to be on the job, I think between 4:30 and 5, to check in all the food coming in. And so we had a very early dinner, as early as the restaurant would allow, and we dined at the Francis Drake, where I was living. And here we had a roast beef dinner, simple dinner, roast beef and a baked potato. I did have a couple of martinis, but may I tell you that it's only a beginning with me. I can go many, it doesn't place me at all. I can take five or six, doesn't bother me. I had two martinis, that was simply wetting my little tongue. So I went upstairs because he had to go early. And then about nine o'clock, I called my wife, who was living in Beverly Hills, and then put him on the wire because we're all friends. And then he said goodbye. A little after nine, after he left, then I undressed and got ready to be. But it was too early. I read a little Blake, and then I turned to my Bible. And I must turn in about 11 and 4 in the morning, the strange, peculiar vibration in my head, something I never felt before. And my interpretation of what I felt was this: "Must be a massive hemorrhage." I never had anything wrong with me physically of that nature, but I thought, "This must be what they call a massive hemorrhage. This must be it, because I couldn't see how I could survive what I'm feeling." My head began to vibrate, and the whole thing is simply like an enormous vibration. Instead of blowing my brain, I began to awake. But instead of awakening on the base, as I thought I would, I awoke within my skull. And here I am, completely entombed in my skull. And I knew my skull to be a tomb. It was a separator, and I'm completely in tune within it, all alone. And then, from the horizontal position, I rose within my skull. And my one consuming urge was to get out. And I knew exactly what I ought to do, to push the base of my skull from within. But may I tell you, all things being relative, when I awoke within my skull, it was a place making up, say, well, a quarter of this room here. And it was my skull. And I stood up within my skull in a place, the area would be on the corner of this room. I knew exactly where the base was, and I pushed it from the inside, and something rolled away from the outside, as you told, "and the stone rolled away." When I knew what to do, I put my head through the little opening, and I pushed it, and then I squeezed myself out like a little child coming through the womb of a woman. Only instead of through the womb of a woman, it's out of my own skull. And when I was almost out, I pulled the remaining portion of me out of my skull. Then I stood up and looked back at this out of which I came, and it was ghastly pale. As told us in Jeremiah, "Can a man bear a child?" The obvious answer is no. Why then do I see every man drawing himself out of himself, just like a woman in labor? And why has every face turned ghastly pale? Well, the face was just as white as snow as I came out of it. And then the entire drama unfolded around me, the witnesses to the event. And they could not see me, because God was born that moment. The sign of my birth was there. The child, they could see, and I saw the child and could take it to my arm. But they could not see me, because God is spirit. I, a mortal, can see him. So they could not see the one that was born that moment. It is God in man that is born. It is God in man, which is the "I" of man, the personal pronoun "I," that God in man, and that is born. It awakens in man and comes out. And the pattern by which he does it all is told us in scripture, and it's recorded as the story of Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ refers to himself constantly as the Son of Man. "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" And when they entered concerning men, he did not answer. He asked another question, "But who do you say that I am?" So he equates himself with the Son of Man. Then one answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." "Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this unto you, but my Father who is in heaven." And "I and my Father are one." So I revealed it to you. I allowed you to know who I am. That's what he's saying. That same drama takes place in you. So I am telling you, everyone in this world is going to awaken, not only as the Lord Jesus Christ, but as God himself, for the Lord Jesus Christ is God. That is the story of scripture, but man has not understood it. And today, when you like Monday morning's paper, you'll read all this, all this nonsense concerning scripture, concerning the signs that are coming, because some rumor of war. This goes on forever. This is the conflict. It is after the tribulation of human experience that it happened. And if you could only now remember what you've gone through, you've gone through hell. You will have glimpses of it at the very end, because then you can stand it. But all the things you have suffered in this world, the things you have gone through, it is good and merciful that you cannot remember them. In the end, you can take it. What you had to pass through, all as you're told in scripture, "I have tried you in the furnaces of affliction for my own sake. I did it for my own sake, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another." And glory is himself. He cannot give himself to another. He has to make you himself to give himself to you, because there's only God in the end. There is only God. Everything at the end is God, and there is nothing but God. So here you are trained not to argue. That when someone brings up all the stories concerning scripture, you are trained to answer, and you can confront them, even though you have not had the complete experience. Many of you have had many of these experiences, not the complete. All right, you will have the complete.
I am not alone. I am only, at the moment, one who has been sent to tell it. I've been claimed to tell him. So that seventh chapter of Daniel, when this one like the Son of Man came before the Ancient of Days and was presented to him, that happened to me in 1929. I was taken in spirit into the divine assembly, and having gone before the recording angel, where my name was taken off, there was a huge lecture, as told you in the 12th chapter of Daniel, "Here, if your name be written in the book." When everyone's name is in that book, and she simply looked at me, this angelic being. Not one word was spoken between us. He just looked and just made a check against the name. That I was taken into the presence of the Ancient of Days. He is the Ancient of Days. Infinite love. Nothing but love. As I stood before him, you can't think of anything myself. And he asked me, "What is the greatest thing in the world?" And I answered, "Love." You have more of a handsome. How could you enter anything when you're actually looking at infinity of love? And it's man, just man. Then he embraced me, and that embrace fused. We became one body. And he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. One body, one spirit, one Lord, one God and Father of all. Then he sent me, tensing, into this world. But he didn't send me as love. The one who sent me was himself, because God is a protein being. He assumes every shape. And the one who sent me was infinite power. I could not feel in him compassion at all. I could not feel in that one love. But he sent me, and the words rang out in my ears, "Done with the blue blood." Doesn't mean those who call themselves prominent socially. No, all that's trivia, anyway. Done with all church protocol, all the trappings of the outside world. Mean nothing. They mean nothing. All the ceremonies, all the rituals, all the things on the outside. Done with it all. Don't tear it down, but do not become a part of it. Just completely ignore it. Well, I can tell you how many opportunities I have had from those who are entrenched in the protocol of churches to join them. I didn't have to go to any school. That I will now ordain you. Now, then you can do all the things that we do by law. You can marry, you can bury, you can do all these things. I said, "No, no part of it." These words ringing out in my ears, and I would simply disobey the order. "Down with the blue blood," which means church protocol. And accept the offer. One chap, yet an audience of over six thousand people, that is he had, they're all registered, all contributed every month, and he offered that entirely whole thing to me if I would take it. I said, "I'm sorry, I cannot take it." Give it to someone else, but I cannot take it. I have orders. I have orders I must obey. And it came from the Ancient of Days. But he couldn't understand that. Ancient of Days. These are just words to the average creature preacher. They mean nothing. They're simply idle words. And yet, every word is true in scripture. Pairs sends the Ancient of Days. No father, no mother, no beginning. The Ancient Debate. He has no origin. And you stand before him, and he actually embraces you, and you become one. Now, without father, because you are the Father. And I, Father, you have no Father. You are the Father. Now go. I'm done with the blue bloods, done with all churchianity or external things in this world. So no inducement whatsoever could get me to join any ism. Now, the end of my days. It doesn't really matter. At least I kept the faith. So I could say with Paul, "I have finished the race, I have fought the good fight, and I've kept the faith." Now this is laid for me the crown of righteousness, which means the crown and the faith. I've kept the faith. So when the little garment is taken off now, it is for the last time. So here I am, just as an example for you, because it's going to happen to you, whether you now are believing or not, it's still going to happen to you, because not one can be missing in the reconstruction of the temple. You are the smaller man spoken of in scripture, which is the title most often used as Christ. It simply means "I," the personal pronoun "I," or "one." So when "I" am lifted up, that's the Son of Man. And as the Son of Man must be lifted up like the serpent, you can say, "When I am lifted up like that fiery serpent, a new will just like it." It's a fiery serpent, and you enter violently into that skull of yours, and you're riveted into that area prepared for you. Everyone has a special, unique spot in the infinite brain of God, and you are not only that unique spot, you share the whole. Cut me here. All right, that's cut, and it hurts. But the whole body hurts. Don't tell me because the little finger is not my eye, the eye isn't suffering too. The whole body suffers when one little piece suffers. So everyone is fitted into the restored temple, and yet each is the whole temple, for God is one, and his name is one. So everyone in this universe is going to experience scripture. I can tell you the thrill in store for you when you experience scripture. Something changes. You see, we begin within history. That's the incarnation. When God becomes man. God became as I am, a man, weak and limited and restricted, that I may become as God. So here we begin within history. Then comes that moment in time when we go beyond history, and that's called Bethlehem. We begin. The incarnation is the birth of a child, and the birth of God is called Bethlehem. Saying from above, God awakes, and you are God. The "I," may I tell you, there is no one else. When you awake in that skull, you are not in eternity going to see Christ coming from without. He is within, buried within, and he rises, something as the "I" of you. And how would you know? What the imagery unfolds before you, all this pertains to Christ. Here is a child wrapped in swaddling clothes. And what are they? Tell, "Go and you will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes. This shall be a sign unto you." What sign? That God was born. This is a sign that the Savior was born. But the only Savior in the world is God. "I am the Lord your God, your Savior, and beside me there is no Savior." The 43rd, 45th of Isaiah. If the Savior is born, then God is born. And this shall be a sign unto you that our Savior was born this day. Where? In Bethlehem. And Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and Zion, and the city of David are one and the same. And there's the skull of man. That's where he was born, and that's where he was crucified, and that's where he was buried. It's right there. So I tell you, play your part fully. Whatever you're doing today, play it fully. Let no one scare you. Self-purification to get it. You can be as pure as all outdoors in your own mind's eye, means nothing. This salvation comes suddenly out of the northwest, just like a sneak in the night. When it comes, you're completely professed, and then it unfolds within you, and all you can do is share it. Whoever tells them about it, well, they may deny it as they will, because they know your physical background. They do not know your eternal being. So they know your father, mother, physically, your brothers and sisters. And they were asked the same questions, "Is he not Joseph's the carpenter's son?" And "How can he tell us how he came down from heaven? How can he tell us these things?" "That man is mad." And he has a spirit. I tell you, the same thing will happen to you. It doesn't mean that suddenly, in the world of Caesar, you're going to become a billionaire. You own the universe. What do you want with a billion when you own all? Thine are mine, and mine as I. You have no desire for the billions, or for glamour, or for recognition, none whatsoever. You're quite terrified to go through life telling your story to those who will listen until that moment in time when you take off the cross. For this is the only cross that Christ wears, the human form, and you take it off for the last time and rejoin those who preceded you into heaven and rejoice with them. And then you will know what dominion really is. The whole vast world in time. You have the power to stop time, change motivation, and then start time. That's what I mean by dominion. "To him was given dominion." You can actually stop it. And stopping time, everything stands still. When you change the motivation of that which is now frozen in time, then you release it within you, not on the outside. And they move forward, believing they initiated the change of heart to execute your command, because you have become God. Now, that's what I mean by how difficult it is to take the mystery of Christ and unravel it to those whose fixed ideas will deny. They simply get up and walk away. By his antichrist, they will say, "He is against my Christ," because they take their Christ, stick him on the wall, and cross themselves for luck. That's what they do. They go to church, and they can cross the aisle before they face the altar and genuflect. Like I tell you, leave them alone. What I told you, like every word is true. I am telling you what I know from my own personal experience. Now, let's go into this island. You.