1. Jesus on beholding the large
gathering of people (looking only for miracles) retreated to a private
spot with his disciples. He spoke to them with inspired words coming as
if from on high.
Only his disciples came to him so he was in a private spot. They desired
to know more about the Kingdom of Heaven. The statement “He went up into
the mountain …and sat” is a mythical allegory for speaking from a higher
place, state of consciousness or from inspiration.
2. And this is what he taught.
3. You will be blessed by entering
into the Kingdom of Heaven when you do not attempt to control (your
immediate) life or cling to desires.
The King James version of “poor in spirit” comes from
Ptochos meaning to
crouch, or to be powerless and Pneuma, meaning to breathe, or spirit of
life. The popular translation of “poor in spirit”, has a bad connotation
in the modern world, hence the original meaning is better expressed as a
negative statement.
4. In the Kingdom of Heaven, you will
have grief, but with that grief comes both relief and gain.
5. Accept life without judgment or
resistance and you will gain the (upper) world.
The popular translation is to be meek. The Greek word is
Praus that is
more closely allied with being gentle or non-resistive. The modern
concept of being meek is contrary to the original meaning of praus.
6. Seek for a balance within your
life, then you will be filled.
The word Dikaiosune is commonly translated as righteousness which
has the modern meaning of being or doing good. The original meaning of
the word is to be just, equitable or balanced. Therefore when you are
without false judgements about yourself and others or you are able to
fully see both sides of issues or able to see your self and others in
their own inner light, then you will be filled with Life.
7. In seeking to respond to the
needs of others, you will also find that your own needs are fully met.
The normal word merciful is obtained from the Greek
eleemosune which has
the meaning of responding to the needs of others.
8. When you cleanse your heart of
false desires and attractions then you can understand the highest union
of the heart with the Divine.
The key Greek words are katharos, fully cleansed,
and kardia, center of being or heart.
9. Blessed are the peacemakers for
they will be called sons of God.
10. When you find others reacting strongly against
you, then this, too, is the Kingdom of Heaven.
If you dedicate yourself to improving the world and self, then the next
three verses indicate that you are succeeding, since for you to manifest
the Kingdom of Heaven, you must find higher powers and this requires an
opposing force to stimulate them.
11. When there are those who would
harm you in any way and pervert your teachings and statements, then the
inner Spirit is strong.
12. When these happen, then rejoice
and know that you follow the path of ecstasy trodden by many saints
before you.
13. You have the potential for
changing the earth, but if you ignore the potential, then you indeed
find death.
14. You have an inner Light and you
must reach your summit so that it can shine from there and illuminate
the darkness and be seen.
15. Is this not the same as putting a
candle high on a holder so that it illuminates the whole room?
16. As you follow your inner
Knowledge, people will see your great works and marvel at the inner
creative power.
17. Do not consider that I oppose the
world of law or mammon, but rather that I teach of going beyond.
18. The outer laws of society must
remain until all can master them and then find the inner power.
19. Anyone who breaks or teaches
others to break any laws of society is far from the Kingdom of Heaven.
Who ever teaches and supports the Laws is opening to the Kingdom of
Heaven.
20. But for you who wish to enter the
Kingdom of Heaven, you must be able to obey every aspect of the required
Law even more so than those representing the Laws.
21. The Law states that no one may
kill and if one does he shall be held accountable in the courts of law.
22. But the requirements for those
residing in the Kingdom of Heaven are that you may not be angry without
cause or perceive foolishness in those close to you or you will find the
return to the judgmental state of the lower world. If you view others as
closed to the One then you are condemning yourself.
Foolishness is from the Hebrew word raca meaning to be empty. To
be “closed to the One” is from the Greek word Moros meaning
closed off, normally translated as a fool or stupid. Its usage here
would seem to imply being empty of the higher force or the One. If you
perceive others in your immediate world as being empty of God, then you
are in judgment and unable to find union or to react with others as
being in your own world. When others can be seen as being a part of the
whole then they are playing their role as do you and anger is
meaningless unless the role calls for anger (cause).
23. If you wish to find peace and
union, but have a remembrance that someone was hurt because of your
actions, you must first make amends and then find inner peace.
24-25. The adversarial statements
arising in your mind against others or the outer world must be addressed
instantly while you are able to resolve them and before they fester and
multiply, leading you to self-condemnation and imprisoning yourself from
your own Soul.
26. Once you fall into
self-condemnation, even the contributory remembrances must be resolved
and renounced.
27. You have been taught that it is
wrong to commit sexual violations,
28. But if you mentally satisfy your
lust, you have in fact experienced a sexual violation.
As
the Two become activated, you can create new worlds within the mind that
affect you even though they are not physically manifest. You must avoid
creating worlds that limit your mastery of the World of law.
29. You must renounce any single
observation of the outer world that binds you to self-judgment or else
your whole being remains bound to the lower world.
30. You must renounce any action that
you do or have done that binds you to continual self-judgment or else
your whole being remains locked in the lower world.
31-32. The Law states that you can be
legally separated from your spouse, but you are guilty of breaking the
purport of the Law if this is not done solely because the spouse finds
bondage to another.
This verse is an example of following the church laws and have little to
do with finding the Kingdom of Heaven and is an example of probable
additions by some editing monk.
33-36. The Law states you must not
perjure yourself and that any oath must be properly witnessed and
recorded, but you should not give an oath or promise based upon the will
of the Divine, nor upon the earth, or any place for they are all the
place of the Divine, nor should you swear upon your own will for you
cannot even control your own hairs.
This statement elaborates upon the fact that only the Divine controls
each step in life. You cannot assume that you can in any instance
control the Divine or the world of the Divine and certainly cannot evoke
the Divine to verify your statements.
37. You will rather simply state your intentions with a yes or a no.
This is the equivalent of giving
your word as discussed in Chapter Six of
Joy and Evolution.
38-39. The Law entitles you to seek
an eye for an eye or a tooth for tooth when damaged, but the Kingdom of Heaven requires
the acceptance of any action as being essential to your evolution and
that you fully support that which is occurring.
This can be compared to playing an imaginary child’s game. If you are
playing the victim of the villain in the game, then you must fully
become victimized to enrich your role and the game. This verse and the
following through 48 teach of allowing yourself to be possessed and
controlled by the role you have chosen. There cannot be any judgement
nor any attempt to change or control.
40. If someone in your upper world
has power to take one of your possessions, then you will offer your
other possessions.
41. If someone asks you to give them
the results of your effort, then you will give them more than what they
ask to fully comply with the demands of the upper Kingdom.
42. Respond fully to the requests of
those with you in the upper world and do not resist anything.
43.
Everyone is taught to love their
neighbor and hate their enemy,
44. but in the upper world, you will
love those who oppose or harm you and support them that speak against
you and encourage those who use you to further their own actions even if
they disparage you.
This is another method of saying that in the state of agapao, you cannot
judge nor see others with any preconceived concepts.
45. This is so that you may be as a
child responding fully to the game presided over by the inner power of
the Father. This inner power is coupled with the same power that
provides the setting for the game of life for everyone.
46. How can you only love those who
love you? Isn’t this what those in the lower World of law desire?
47. If you honor and support only
your close friends, is this not also a characteristic of the lower world
of suffering?
48. You must therefore become
outwardly as perfect as the Divine power dwelling within you.
1-3. When you do charity, don’t let
your left hand know what the right hand is doing.
This is what occurs as you give up judgment and simply play your role.
It is easy to say later, “I don’t know what came over me”.
4. When you do charity in secret, the
rewards from the inner power are open and seen.
5. Do not (state your desires or)
pray in public places as do those in the lower world, for that public
response is all of the reward that they will receive.
6. When you pray, enter into your
lower hidden room (deep in your bowels), and when you have shut the door
(to the thoughts of your mind), pray to the One within and the
One within that sees in secret shall reward you openly.
The roots of “pray” or proseuchomal in Greek is to move toward (pros)
the (source of) wishes or desire euche. The “lower hidden” comes
from Kruptos that has the meaning of being hidden, secret or
inner. This room from tameion which means dispensary or chamber
on the lower floor of a house is within your own self, located in your
bowels (your lower floor).
7. When you pray, don’t use vain
repetitions, as do the unbelievers: for they think that their collective
and loud prayers will be heard.
This is obviously a statement against church practices including the
group and repetitive recitation of the following verses.
8. Do not do as they do (don’t ask
for blessings or gifts): because the inner One knows what you
need even before you do.
This is Faith. You learn from experience that the things you attempt to
control, grasp or change are generally not in your long term interests.
The things that you find yourself doing without thought are as if
pre-planned from the inner One.
9-13. Do this instead:
Revere and honor the Power within our
highest center of being.
Let this Power flow forth,
Changing our manifested world to that
conceived by the inner Power,
That brings forth even our daily
food.
With the Power, judgments, guilt, and
remorse disappear,
There is no concern for that which we
do or say
As we are led into the Light.
This translation is based upon three critical words.
Aphiemi is
normally translated as forgive, but means to omit, cover up, or as used
herein to disappear. Opheilema, normally translated as debts has
a more general meaning of something owed to others. Peirazo,
normally rendered as temptation has the fundamental meaning to test or
prove that is expressed as judgement above.
14. If you can hold to that space
where there are no perceived transgressions of others, then you likewise
cannot transgress.
In
other words, you must find the non-judgmental space found in the upper
realm. In this realm all actions are toward the goals of life or toward
your dedication of purpose in life. Judgement interferes with the flow
of this life.
15. However, if you judge and condemn
others then you cannot find the inner source.
16-18. When you do practices to
improve yourself, do not do or modify them for others, but rather only
that which is required by the inner power (and need).
20-21. Increase that which is in your
inner lower heart or heaven, for that place is free from attack of rust
and moth and cannot be stolen.
22. The world is formed by the manner
in which it is viewed. If your vision is clear, then the whole world is
crystal clear.
23. However, if your view of the
world is that it is evil, then your whole world and body is evil. If
darkness is found within yourself, then your world is in absolute
darkness.
24. No man can serve two masters: for
either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to
the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
25. Take no thought for your life,
what you will eat or drink; nor yet for
your body, or what you will wear. Is
not the life more than the flesh and the body than its clothes?
26. Behold the fowls of the air: for
they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet their
inner Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?
27. Which of you by taking thought
can add even a fraction of an inch to your height?
28. And why do you worry about what
you should wear? Consider the lilies
of the field, how they grow; they
toil not, neither do they spin:
29. And yet I say unto you, that even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30. For if the inner power can color
the grass of today, can the power not also adorn you in the role to be
required? Have faith.
31. Therefore, take no thought as to
what you will eat, drink, or wear.
32. Remember that everyone in the
lower realms also has these same needs (that are also met) and that your
inner power knows of your needs.
33. But first seek the Kingdom of God
(the inner Father or the One), and then the balance of the Two;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
34. Take no thought of tomorrow, for
tomorrow will take care of its own needs. Today has sufficient problems
of its own (to keep you challenged and evolving).
Translations 