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Chapter 3

Christ Awakening: The Story of Jesus

A Pattern Written on the Soul …

… The power then is in the Christ. The pattern is in Jesus.

2533-7

The Cayce readings reiterate the true purpose of life as contained in one simple yet elegant phrase: To know our selves to be ourselves—yet one with God. (254-114) This is the motivational force behind humanity’s journey through the earth and the mystical heart of the story of a man, who in the relatively short span of thirty-three years, fully revealed his divine nature. His story is our story too. The Bible is a record of the history of humanity’s long journey homeward back to the Godhead with all of its adventures and massive challenges, incremental successes, petty squabbles, courageous steps forward, and tragic pitfalls. And the apotheosis of that saga is the appearance of a Christed one—a “savior” named Jesus of Nazareth born more than 2,100 years ago.

He was not always known by that name, nor did this soul appear on the human scene only once and in a single place. According to the Edgar Cayce information, since its debut in material form at the beginning of time, the Adam soul had descended from the higher realms to our planet on any number of occasions inhabiting various fleshly bodies and different areas of the globe. By preparing and working lifetime after lifetime the first soul had evolved in consciousness to the point that during its final incarnation as Jesus it would become the penultimate pattern for the human race. The firstborn Son of God would blaze a trail for his brothers and sisters hopelessly lost in a wilderness of their own making, guiding them on the arduous trek upward through the third dimension by helping them remember their long-forgotten past and innate divinity. Driven by this singular mission, he had arrived on earth to teach every “fallen” soul how to free itself from the irresistible pull and confines of matter.

The entrance of the Adam soul back into physicality in Judea twenty-one centuries ago was the apex of a Herculean, centuries-long process, which at its climax would alter the course of human history. This soul’s incarnation as Mary and Joseph’s son Jesus marked the juncture at which the first begotten of God, living as a man on earth, would flawlessly mirror in the outer world the divinity residing within the innermost recesses of the human heart. Through his efforts, men and women would be able to see firsthand how a single soul encased in a material body might use that vehicle as the tool to regain the awareness of itself as a limitless, unfettered being of light. The perceived barrier between spirit and flesh, God and man, had ceased to exist in the personhood of Jesus who became a Christ. His life and work confronted human beings with an inescapable truth: these two seemingly disparate aspects of themselves were never really separate. They were and are one.

The man from Galilee was able to succeed in his mission because consciousness had risen high enough on this plane so that a sufficient number of people were now able to grasp the message he imparted. Our destiny is to follow in the footsteps left behind by this master, the consummate spiritual teacher, and joyfully return to our Father’s house to dwell in a state of divine awareness just as he did. It was no fluke that this savior appeared in the remote corner of the Roman Empire that the Jewish people inhabited during this particular period in history. Those from around the known world in tune with the universal forces had been anticipating such a momentous occasion and laying the groundwork for his coming for a very long time.

Preparing the Way: The Essenes

Before that we find the entity was in what is now known as the Promised Land, during those periods when there were the preparations for the coming of the teacher, the lowly one, yet the Great I Am into the experience of flesh—that man might again have an advocate with the divine that had grown so far away to the hearts of those that were lost in the toils of the day.

1463-2

The Edgar Cayce readings describe the Essenes as a group of Jews who had come together to dedicate their minds and bodies to becoming the channels through which the body of the Messiah or “ … chosen vessel might enter—through choice—into materiality.” (5749-7) The community was committed to preparing for the time when “ … there might come that beloved Son, who would make the paths straight, who would bring then man out of darkness into light … ” (587-6) Cayce also refers to the unusual sect as “ … sincere in their purpose, and yet not orthodox as to the rabbis of that particular period … ”(2067-11), having separated themselves in body, mind, and spirit to accommodate the foretold deliverer and upcoming spiritual awakening. Expectancy was their watchword and the possibility of fulfilling the messianic promise by “ … offering themselves as channels through which there might come the new or divine origin … ” (254-109) formed the context for every aspect of their daily lives, even the most mundane activities. Members of the Essenes were devoted to creating the most auspicious setting for the entrance of that consciousness we know as the Son of Man.

The Essenes’ belief, fervent hope, and ideal was that through a stricter adherence to both the letter and the spirit of the law they might so purify themselves that it would be possible, through them, for the Promised One to come into the earth. And according to Edgar Cayce, this consecration of thought and activity led to the fulfillment of the law of like begetting like.

… Did the darkness bring the light? Did the wandering away from the thought of such bring the Christ into the earth? Is this idea not rather refuting the common law that is present in spirit, mind and body that “Like begets like?” As was asked oft, ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ …

262-61

While scholarly disagreements and heated debate continue over the significance and historic role of the Essene community, this pious sect was the group to which Jesus’ family belonged. Linked to the ruins found at Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, which comprised the sect’s spiritual literature and informed its social precepts, the Essenes never rose to great prominence in the ancient world. But it was within the context of the religious and cultural climate they engendered that John the Baptist conducted his mission and Jesus initially was reared.

Looked upon as rebels and radicals, especially by the Sadducees and Pharisees who held to a strict interpretation of the law of the prophets, members of the Essene community were considered outcasts at the time of Christ. While they sincerely held to the tenets of the Mosaic law, a separate set of rules, beliefs, and unusual rituals set them apart from Orthodox Jewish life. Adherents made use of astrology, numerology, and phrenology and also believed in reincarnation. In general, the community followed its own agenda, which put them in direct conflict with many of the wealthier aristocratic families, high priests, and temple officials vehemently opposed to their heretical ideas.

Central to the Essene philosophy was the conviction that it was possible to receive revelation and guidance directly from the Divine, not just through the prophets of old. The Cayce readings state that the Essenes “ … taught the mysteries of man and his relationship to those forces as might be manifested from within and without.” (2520-1) The community also kept detailed records of those occasions when individuals in their midst had been visited by supernatural beings or had reported extraordinary experiences coming in dreams, visions, and voices. As diligent students of the universal forces, the Essenes taught the mysteries of man and regarded such revelations as valid promises to humanity.

The sect occupied several areas—one of which was a community on Mount Carmel built on the original site of the school of the prophets established during the time of Elijah. According to the Cayce readings, Mount Carmel was the main headquarters of the Essene temple and its most important branch in terms of preparing for the arrival of the Messiah. Members from that location had studied the records of the early Egyptian period including the activities of the Temple Beautiful and Temple of Sacrifice and had incorporated those findings into their temple services. Cayce also reports that many Essenes or the “ … near adherents of same … ”(1602-4) were not part of the rigid, monastic order living in semi-seclusion in formal communities such as the ones established at Mount Carmel or near the Dead Sea. While holding to the sect’s beliefs and cooperating with the brotherhood’s stated purposes and objectives, this loose network of believers remained scattered throughout the countryside, maintaining private homes in various villages and towns.

Interestingly it was not just the Essenes who were engaged in special preparations for the entrance of the Messiah. In every land where man sought to understand and know his relationship with the Creative Forces there were “ … those who looked for the day, the hour, when that great purpose, that event, was to be in the earth a literal experience,” (1908-1) reports one reading. Through astrology and numerology the Essenes along with other clairvoyants hailing from the far corners of the world and advanced in the interpretation of signs and symbols kept watch, trying to ascertain the time when the great changes were to take place.

The Cayce information also mentions an extensive level of cooperation among groups from many lands who embodied the same high spiritual ideals and purposes as the Essenes. Not surprisingly, interactions among the different circles also involved an exchange of information. Members of the Essene community seeking knowledge about the promised events were able to study material handed over to them by other communities as well as to review the research generated by their own sect. Seers all over the world at that time had come to recognize the onset of the Piscean Age, which marked the start of another cycle, and understood the dawning of this new era portended a major transformation of the old order.

Unfortunately, though, for the majority who realized change was imminent and a new order at hand, including many inside the Essene community itself, the wait was still for a deliverer who might free the Israelites from their physical bondage by either setting up a separate government or creating an entirely new nation. The Jewish people, Essenes included, were under the thumb of Rome and paying heavy taxes to a hated conqueror. In addition, a corrupt and oppressive priesthood constantly demanded devotion and tribute. Cayce depicts these spiritual leaders as gormandizing themselves and their own interests through the sale of privileges associated with temple activities, which were steeped in the letter of the law without its spirit.

Choosing Mary

… the entity was in that now known as or called the Promised Land, during those periods when there were the preparations of the channels through which the Essenes looked for choice to be made of one, from those who had been consecrated for the service of being the channel, through which He, the Prince of Peace, might come.

1981-1

Through choice, the soul that would become the Son of Man was going to enter into materiality again. Preparing for that moment eventually led the Essenes to hand-pick twelve young maidens for special religious training. The hope was that with very strict discipline and concentrated effort this carefully selected sorority would be the group from which the mother of the Messiah might be chosen. Edgar Cayce’s rendition of the birth-of-Jesus story begins at this point with the description of a gathering on Mount Carmel when all the parents of young girls who were perfect in both body and mind—and wanted to dedicate their children for this unusual service—brought them to the temple school overseen by the Essene priests. The leaders eventually culled a dozen girls from the larger group of children brought forward because those twelve were regarded as the most fit to consecrate their minds and bodies in preparation for serving as the sacred vessel and becoming—

… the channel through which there might come that beloved Son … that there must be … through the very expression of that Being in the earth—the understanding that the law was written in the hearts of men, rather than on tables of stone; that the temple, the holy of holies was to be within …

587-6

The readings say the Essene priests chose according to the selection indicated by Spirit. Among the assembly was a child of four, Mary, the daughter of Elizabeth, an unmarried woman who alleged her daughter had been immaculately conceived. While the Cayce information asserts it was true, many in the community doubted Elizabeth’s claim and questions about Mary’s parentage caused divisions among the sect’s leadership. Some thought it was improper for the child to be among those set apart to potentially fulfill such a holy purpose. Others felt that because of her perfection in body and mind, Spirit had directed her inclusion within the group and should not be refused. In the end Mary and eleven other maidens were singled out “ … each as a representative of the twelve in the various phases that had been or that had made up Israel—or man.” (5749-8) Their training and preparation by the priests (similar in many ways to that of present-day novices in some Roman Catholic religious orders) began immediately and continued for several years until Mary reached the age of twelve or thirteen.

All the happenings at Mount Carmel are said to have drawn the first visits of the Wise Men of the East who hailed from Persia, India, and Egypt and who, according to the Edgar Cayce readings, visited the Holy Land on more than one occasion to better understand what was about to come to pass. The temple at Mount Carmel was widely considered a sacred place by those in tune with the impending spiritual transformation. So it is not too difficult to understand why this consecrated ground became the site where the mother of the Messiah was chosen from the initial group of twelve Essene girls. Edgar Cayce describes the scene this way—

The temple steps, or those that led to the altar—these were called the temple steps. These were those upon which the sun shone as it arose of a morning when there were the first periods of the chosen maidens going to the altar for prayer, as well as for the burning of the incense.

On this day, as they mounted the steps, all were bathed in the morning sun, which made a beautiful picture, clothing all as in purple and gold. As Mary reached the top step, then there were the thunder and lightning, and the angel led the way, taking the child by the hand before the altar. This was the manner of choice; this was the showing of the way; for she led the others on this particular day.

5749-8

After the selection of Mary to become the channel through which the Messiah would enter the earth, she was separated from the other girls and associated more closely with those in the community responsible for her further training and preparation, which lasted approximately four years.

Teacher in Training: Judy

During this period, a woman named Judy headed up the Essene community. Her appointment as its leader had been fraught with controversy too. Born approximately twenty-five years before the birth of Jesus, Judy had entered the world to fulfill a critical soul mission. Before her birth an angel had appeared at separate times to her parents, Hannah and Elkanah, to reveal the ministry and glorious work their child would perform. Due to the significance of the child’s future role in the life of the Messiah, everyone in the community had assumed Hannah’s baby would be a boy. When a girl was born, her gender “ … brought some disturbance, some confusion in the minds of many,” (1472-3) reports Cayce.

Holding onto their faith in the angelic messages and the promises they had received concerning their only child, Hannah and Elkanah dedicated Judy’s life to study. Cayce explains she learned about “ … those things that had been handed down as part of the experiences of those who had received visitation from the unseen, the unknown—or that worshipped as the Divine Spirit moving into the activities of man.” (1472-3) Judy is also credited with having the experience of hearing voices and much of her training was in disciplines the Essenes considered conducive to the development of psychic or prophetic abilities. In addition to the in-depth studies of the prophecies and traditions of her own people, she explored all the teachings of the East, including the traditions of India, Egypt, and “ … the conditions and traditions from many of the Persian lands and many of the borders about same … ” (1472-3) Impressed by the fact that numerous teachings and experiences related to her by these distant groups were handed down orally rather than through the written word, Judy made it a priority to devote a portion of her studies and time to the work of recording these oral traditions and discovering the best methods for preserving the information for future generations.

The Cayce material describes Judy as becoming not only a prophet and healer but also serving as a teacher and recorder, which boded well for her future work as one of Jesus’ primary instructors. After her appointment as head of the Essenes, she actively pushed to collect all the information concerning the advent of the promised Redeemer from groups in other lands and then compiled it with the records held by the Essenes. Select members of the Brotherhood were assigned to go gather this data from disparate gurus and communities by tapping “ … the teachings of those groups in Persia, India, Egypt, and even of the Hebrews and the activities in Olympus and the isles of the sea.” (2520-1) There were also individuals from far-flung regions of the world who traveled to Mount Carmel to consult with the Essenes and brought with them information received through their own research and study.

Conceiving the Christ

Then when the days were come that the prophecy might be fulfilled that had been given by Isaiah, Malachi, Joel and those of old, she, Mary, espoused to Joseph—a chosen vessel for the office among those of the priests, the sect or group who had separated and dedicated themselves in body, in mind, in spirit for this coming—became with child.

5749-7

The story in the New Testament about a man named Jesus begins with the tale of a young girl who is told by an angel, a messenger of the universal Creative Forces, that she will bear a son. The Cayce readings comport with the biblical account in confirming the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in the home of Elizabeth. Upon the appearance of this supernatural intermediary Mary is made aware of the presence of the Spirit within her. Similar to Abraham’s wife Sarah in the Old Testament who thought she was too old to bear a child, Mary finds the angel’s pronouncement hard to believe for she is still a virgin who has never been with a man. The divine emissary responds by remarking that nothing is impossible with God. “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God,” (Luke 1:35) recounts the Gospel of Luke. The life force spontaneously quickening within Mary had done so without any connection to a human father or material cause. That which was conceived within her had been implanted by the unseen forces and the holiest of spirits. Its origins were of God.

The debate over the Immaculate Conception has raged for centuries and likely will continue far into the future. But the Cayce readings say it was true and go even further to reveal that this event was in compliance with natural law. The conception of Jesus is a manifestation of the law underlying the projection of mind into matter—the very same process that marked humanity’s entrance into the earth plane at the beginning of time. The soul’s separation from its source and subsequent involvement in matter, which now encased it in a physical or bodily form, had started the journey through this dimension. And because this encasement had a beginning, “there must be an end” to it—a time when the powerful yoke binding man to materiality would be broken. Such was the process, says Cayce, which began during this particular period of human history. (5749-8)

When asked to explain the Immaculate Conception or the virgin birth of Jesus, the readings suggest the reason it was called forth was for the “ … manifestation in the earth of the holy influence necessary for the sustaining of a backsliding world … ” (5749-3), because “flesh is the activity of the mental being (or spiritual self and mental being) pushing itself into matter, and as spirit—as He {Jesus} gave—is neither male nor female, they are then both—or one.” (5749-7) Thus “ … the immaculate conception is the physical and mental so attuned to spirit as to be quickened by same.” (5749-7) This is how the spirit or soul of the Master was brought into being: “ … through the accord of the Mother in materiality that ye know in the earth as conception.” (5749-7) Elsewhere Cayce refers to the virgin birth as “ … the living influence of the Spirit through the body that became the child Jesus …,” adding that “ … the manifestation of the spirit of the oneness of the Father became a manifestation of the Christ Spirit in material surroundings.” (5749-3)

Cayce’s account also adds new details to the generally accepted historical record, stating that several years before the conception of the holy child, the Essenes had chosen from the sect a man named Joseph to become Mary’s husband. Yet when informed by the leaders of the sect that he was to be espoused to her, Joseph was not very happy about the plan. He was twenty years older than his prospective partner and Mary’s unconventional background put her at odds with a normal betrothal. Because her mother was unmarried, she was not considered a member of a credible Jewish family. But a dream and direct celestial voice finally convinced Joseph that these plans were the will of the divine, which allows him to accept the situation. New doubts and concerns arise, however, when after three or four years he goes to claim his bride only to find her already with child. Although his brethren assure him the unborn baby is of a divine origin, it was only the appearance of Gabriel—an experience recorded in the Gospel of Matthew—which ultimately reconciles Joseph to the idea of Mary’s pregnancy and convinces him to accept her as his wife.⁵

When their wedding finally occurs, it was pulled together somewhat hastily due to the Essenes’ wariness about the political turmoil then embroiling various sectors of the Jewish community. Part of the uproar was a byproduct of the issues surrounding the birth of Jesus’ cousin John (later called the Baptist) to Mary’s cousin Elizabeth who was also an Essene. Since Elizabeth’s husband, Zacharias, was an orthodox priest, he had kept his pregnant wife in the hills of Galilee for her own safety. But following an announcement in the orthodox temple about the birth of his son, Zacharias related experiences and visions he had had prior to the birth of baby John and subsequently proclaimed his own newfound belief in and adherence to the teachings of the Essene community. Sometime later, according to the biblical narrative, Zacharias was slain in the holy temple with his hands upon the horns of the altar. The Cayce readings explain that “ … those of his own school … ” (5749-8) had instigated his murder, which likely was carried out at the behest of the Pharisees. Jesus will call out this same group during his ministry for shedding “the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.” (Matt. 23:35)

Understandably, the horrific death of Zacharias in the temple causes the Essenes to fear for the life of Mary and other members of their community, especially if word got out that the child she carried was deemed to be of divine origin. Cayce states that Mary also spent a portion of her pregnancy in the hill country of Judea, and based on the record in Luke, it was likely with Elizabeth. (5749-8; Luke 1:39-40) When all was said and done, concerns about the safety of the Holy Family during those turbulent times would end up coloring the way the history of the nativity unfolded.

The Birth of Jesus

… He gave up heaven and entered physical being that ye might have access to the Father …

5081-1

From the biblical accounts of the nativity story, it appears Mary was living with Joseph in Nazareth after their marriage as the couple left from that town to go register in their ancestral city for the polling Rome had decreed necessary for tax purposes. Thus Joseph and Mary, who by that time was heavy with child, began the long journey to the city of David or Bethlehem—the cradle of their lineage and a critical element in the prophetic record about the coming Messiah. Any number of prophecies had identified Bethlehem with the arrival of the savior centuries before the couple began their journey south.

Crowds of other travelers also heading back to their ancestral environs jammed the small city, which was only a “Sabbath-day’s journey” from Jerusalem. It is easy to imagine the apprehension filtering through the Essene community considering the dangers inherent in such explosive circumstances: a young woman in a weakened state almost ready to give birth, hordes of strangers, and the possibility that this vulnerable couple—like everyone who belonged to the Essene sect—would be questioned not only by government officials but also by the religious authorities in the area. Luckily, Joseph and Mary were not alone on the road. Members of Joseph’s household along with many of his carpenters’ helpers accompanied them as did workers from the fields around Nazareth, shepherds, husbandmen, and others. Locally based Essenes no doubt also kept their eyes out for this special group of travelers as it approached the city. Delayed somewhat by Mary’s condition, husband and wife appear at the inn where they had hoped to stay at twilight long after the place must have already been filled for the evening. Met with more than a little laughter and the jeers of the rabble at the sight of a much older man and his very pregnant younger wife, the answer they received according to Edgar Cayce was, “ … ‘No room at the inn,’ especially for such an occasion … ” (5749-15)

The biblical account of the innkeeper turning Mary and Joseph away in spite of their desperate need deviates considerably from what the Cayce readings report actually happened. The innkeeper, Apsafar, was either a member of the Essene community or at least sympathetic to them, but kept his religious convictions secret in order to act as a go-between among those with authority in the “ … religious influences in the Roman and Jewish faith … ”(1196-2) He also happened to be serving as a counselor for people hoping to overcome political and religious oppression. The intolerance of the Pharisees and Sadducees toward any religious teachings other than their own was widely known and feared. These powerful religious leaders vehemently opposed sects such as the Essenes as well as all the other beliefs gradually being introduced by outside groups such as the Greeks, who were Apsafar’s own people. The fact that he was so closely associated with such “revolutionaries” placed Apsafar in a very dangerous position. He could not afford to become involved in any situation that might call any attention to himself and his unorthodox activities. (1196-2)

Yet because he held to the basic Essene beliefs, had experienced a vision, and had seen the star in the East, Apsafar had made every provision possible in keeping with what was foretold in order to care for the chosen ones when they finally arrived. In addition, his daughter named Sarapha, who herself was an Essene, had been keeping him apprised of everything that was supposed to occur. She had gone to great lengths to ready the quarters the new parents would be using with whatever they might need. Cayce commented that “ … the entity aided, so that all was in readiness … ” (1152-3) In the end, however, for Mary and Joseph’s safety and especially to shield them from the prying eyes of the authorities, Apsafar turns them away from his inn. “Disappointment was written on the face of Joseph,” states Cayce as well as on the face of Sarapha and the others who understood who they were. (5749-15) The Essenes who had heard the stories whispered among their community about Mary’s selection by the angel and what had happened during the visit to her cousin Elizabeth were gravely concerned the couple did not have a room and began looking for a place to shelter the family. Necessity demanded a site be found quickly and it was—“ … under the hill, in the stable above which the shepherds were gathering their flocks into the fold.” (5749-15)

The readings paint a picture of the glorious scene that day: “ … When in the evening—just before the sun in all its glory of the Palestine hills gave forth almost into the voice of nature, proclaiming the heralding of a new hope, a new birth to the earth, and the glorifying of man’s hope in God—the spectre of His Star in the evening sky brought awe and wonder to all that beheld.” (1152-3) The Child was born at midnight states Cayce—the one “ … who through the will and the life he manifested became the savior of the world … ” (5749-15) The readings target this date as “ … not as counted from the Roman time, nor that declared to Moses by God, not that same time which was in common usage in that land, but what would now represent January sixth.” (5749-15) Interestingly today we celebrate the sixth of January as the Epiphany, which means “manifestation” or “showing.” The birth of Mary’s child was indeed the revelation to human consciousness of the divine in man and as man.

The readings remind us not to become confused by considering just the physical birth of the baby Jesus. “ … While to you it may seem to be the first Christmas, if it were the first then there would be a last, and you would not worship nor hold to that which passes. Time never was when there was not a Christ, and not a Christ mass,” (262-103) they maintain. The Cayce material goes on to eloquently describe the extraordinary phenomena accompanying that fateful night when a new creation took hold. “All were in awe as the brightness of His star appeared and shone, as the music of the spheres brought that joyful choir, ‘Peace on earth! Good will to men of good faith.’ All felt the vibrations and saw a great light—not only the shepherds above that stable, but those in the Inn as well.” (5749-15) It is said the innkeeper’s daughter, Sarapha “ … felt a new light, a new vision, a new experience was being born in every atom of {her} being.” (1152-3)

As with most mystery laden, high-vibrational incidents observed by those not yet ready for or receptive to the spiritual impulse, doubters later would dispel their experiences that night by declaring they had been “ … overcome with wine or what not.” (5749-15) Cayce elaborates—

And the hour approaches when nature is to be fulfilled in the natural courses in the experience of the Mother, and His Star has appeared—and the angels’ choir, and the voices of those that give the great message! Who heard these, my children? Those that were seeking for the satisfying of their own desires or for the laudation of their own personality? Rather those close to nature, to the hours of meditation and prayer, and those that had given expression, “No room in the Inn!” For no inn, no room, could contain that as was being given in a manifested form! … Only then to those that sought could such a message come, or could there be heard the songs of the angels, or that music of the spheres that sang, “Peace on earth—Good will to men!”

262-103

Three Gifts

Many others in the immediate area were deeply touched by what had transpired and, sensing the truth and significance of the event, began to spread the word about what they had experienced. Their listeners in turn carried the news back home to the cities and towns from which they had originally traveled. The following day the Wise Men arrived “ … with their ladened beasts or camels … ” (1152-3) The readings explain that during those times there were men throughout the world who sought a closer understanding of the deeper mysteries and universal Creative Forces—individuals who had subdued the earthly influences within themselves. Holy in body and mind and wholly at one with the divine purpose, this priestly caste was known as the Wise Men. These seekers after truth also were recognized for counseling others “ … using the mathematical activities of the ages old, as well as the teachings of the Persians from the days of Zend and Og and Uhjltd, bringing for those people a better interpretation of the astrological as well as the natural laws.” (1908-1)

The gifts these sages carried into the lowly stable (symbol of Spirit encircled by the physical or animal form) represented the triune phases of man’s experience in this dimension: gold, the material; frankincense, the ethereal; and myrrh, the healing force—or body, mind, and soul. Along with the metaphysical meaning they carried, their offerings also brought “ … encouragement for the mother and those who had nourished, who had cherished this event in the experience of mankind.” (5749-7) The three sages worshipped the holy baby and praised everyone “ … who had kept the faith, in making and preserving, in keeping and helping those that were in need, that were alone—yet God with them!” (1152-3) The Cayce information also reports that although Sarapha was impressed by the glories of the exotic Magi and the precious things of the earth they had arrayed at the newborn’s feet, she was deeply touched that the lowly shepherds, who had come down into the cave from watching their flocks with nothing more than love to present, were just as acceptable to the child. “ … There was no respecter of persons in the face or heart of that Babe …,” remark the readings. (1152-3)

Circumcision

The Gospel of Luke reports that after eight days the infant was circumcised and given the name Jesus (Jeshua) as revealed by the angel before his conception. While central to the traditions and tenets his parents held sacred, the circumcision of the holy child unquestionably carries added significance when viewed through the filter of the messianic story. Passing references to circumcision scattered throughout the Bible belie its enormous significance in the spiritual history of human-kind. Steeped in mystery and regarded as one of the bedrock rituals of Judaism and other religious traditions, the practice of circumcision was instituted during the period of Abraham as a sign of his covenant with God. “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised,” (Gen. 17:10) recounts the Book of Genesis. The removal of a precious piece of flesh intimately connected with the male sex organ eight days after the birth of a baby boy (the male signifying the outward expression of spirit in matter) is a rite religious believers and nonbelievers alike have continued to perform generation after generation. Yet few have understood its deeper esoteric meaning.

The ancient rite of circumcision, established by a sacred directive as interpreted through the enlightened mind of Abraham, the father of the Israelites, represents an unbroken link between a people and their God. At some point during the primordial epoch when he walked the earth, Abraham’s consciousness had evolved to the level where he was able to grasp the idea of one God—a single force embodying all the power of heaven and earth. The patriarch’s highly developed understanding of the Spirit he venerated moved him to introduce a custom that would forever identify his offspring as belonging to this unseen deity. Set apart from other nations by their belief in the one God, the Hebrews would bear the mark of circumcision, which for generations has compelled the descendants of Abraham to remember they are a people wholly pledged to the same mysterious being their ancestor worshipped and as such comprise more than mere flesh and bone. Their heritage is divine.

The act of cutting off the foreskin of an infant is the mystical equivalent of announcing that man’s regard for the material dimension must diminish in order that he may pay homage to the omnipotent Spirit that created him—an invisible force which depends on nothing in the exterior realm for its existence. “Do not glorify matter over Spirit” is the message communicated through the rite of circumcision, for just as this piece of bodily tissue is discarded so, too, will all material form be cast off someday. Centuries after Abraham establishes his compact with heaven, a Jewish infant by the name of Jesus will be presented in the temple and marked with the sign of circumcision. But after growing into manhood and taking up his life’s work, this same child will annul every known religious doctrine and mandate, including the need for corporeal circumcision, by heralding a new covenant: God and man as one.

⁵Anne Read, Edgar Cayce on Jesus and His Church, ed. Hugh Lynn Cayce (New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1970), 38.