The Revelation of the Magi
Christian mystic Corinne Heline writes about the divine astrology of the incarnation of Jesus as the incarnate mystery of the Christ consciousness. In her book, The Mystery of the Christos, she describes the yearly activity of the Light of the universal Christ that dwelled bodily in Jesus. She explains how the light of the eternal Christos, that Saint Hildegard Von Bingen identified as the Cosmic Christ, cycles through the fall and spring equinoxes, through the winter and summer solstices, and through the twelve signs of the zodiac to replenish the earth and sanctify mankind. She further connects each of the signs of the zodiac with a parable or teaching from the life of Jesus.
The stained glass rosacea found in the Cathedral of Saint Denis in Paris was built during the Middle Ages and celebrates the twelve signs of the zodiac as an important and timeless element of Christian understanding. The ascended masters reveal that Jesus was not born at Christmas time but was born in the spring under the sign of Aries. His birthday celebration was moved in proximity to winter solstice, to celebrate the advent and descent of the Christ light in the darkest solar time of the year. Corinne Heline beautifully describes not only winter, but summer solstice, when the light of Christ in the earth is at its glorious zenith—and all of the personal and planetary initiations that take place month after month between the two—to prepare mankind to fulfill the path of discipleship and find the kingdom of God within themselves. This understanding was also imparted by C.S. Lewis in his magnificent statement, that: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become Sons of God.”
Mother Mary spoke of winter solstice in a dictation published by the Summit Lighthouse where she said, “As the cycle of the year draws toward its rhythmic close and the time of solstice, thoughts turn toward my son and his mission with increasing power and definition. Although in actuality he was born in the spring of the year, the decision was made long ago to celebrate his birth in concordance with the time of the winter solstice, the annual darkening phase of humanity’s existence being a most propitious time for the appearance of the brighter light.”
Rosacea from the Cathedral of Saint Denis, Paris
Notes from the Catholic Bible describe the three kings as astrologers who were the first gentiles that Jesus converted, but the story goes deeper than that. An ancient manuscript resurfaced and was translated, The Revelation of the Magi, that chronicles the spiritual experience and voyage of the three kings, in their own words.
The Revelation of the Magi tells us the magi were mystics in a faraway land of Shir, and descendants of Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve. It is unclear where the land of Shir was located. Some say it was a land of silk as far East as China. The teachings of the ascended masters, however, explain that the Magi were Zoroastrians. This would go hand in hand with a story from the First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ about the Magi returning to their homeland and throwing the Christ child's sacred swaddling garment, given to them by Mother Mary, into the fire as a divine ritual.
“But they produced the swaddling cloth which Saint Mary had given to them, on account whereof they kept a feast. And having, according to the custom of their country, made a fire, they worshiped it. And casting the swaddling cloth into it, the fire took it, and kept it. And when the fire was put out, they took forth the swaddling cloth unhurt, as much as if the fire had not touched it. And they began to kiss it saying, This is certainly an undoubted truth, and it is really surprising that the fire could not burn it and consume it. Then they took it, and with the greatest respect, laid it up among their treasures.”
The Revelation of the Magi seems to indicate that the three kings may have come from as far east as India, where the apostle Thomas was later sent. This ancient apocryphal manuscript speaks of the Magi having inherited a prophecy of supreme importance—that someday, a star of indescribable brightness would appear to herald the birth of God in human form. “And also command your sons, and our sons their sons, until the mystery of the star that shines forth from the exalted majesty appears to your generations.”
The manuscript says this star had hovered over the tree of life, before Adam's sin caused it to vanish. Every month of every year for thousands of years, the Magi had carried out ancient rituals in preparation for the star's appearing, ascending their country's most sacred mountain and entering the Cave of Treasures of Hidden mysteries. “And we knelt on our knees and stretched forth our hands to heaven, and we prayed and worshiped in silence, without a sound, to the Father of that heavenly majesty that is ineffable and infinite forever.”
One day suddenly, the promised star appeared in the mountains, indescribably bright—to the Magi—who had the spiritual fortitude to behold it. “And we saw in the form of an ineffable pillar of light descending.... And we were afraid and shook when we saw it. And we cannot speak about the brilliance of the star of light, since its radiance was many times greater than the sun, and the sun could not stand out before the light of its rays.”
The star descended to the peak of the mountain and entered the Cave of Treasures, beckoning the Magi to follow. The star's great light gradually dissipated, transforming into a luminous child, who revealed himself as the Son of God. “The entire mountain was filled by its light... and it comforted us... And a humble and kind voice made itself heard by us... And we entered... And when it had concentrated itself, it appeared to us in the bodily form of a small and humble human, and he said to us: 'Peace to you.'”
The Son of God invited the Magi to follow him to Jerusalem to witness his birth in human form and participate in the salvation God had planned for the entire world. Like John witnessed: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” so The Revelation of the Magi states:
“Because my Father has loved them that they should not perish by the error in which they have persisted... I will perfect the love of the Father, even unto the death of a cross. For the sake of their salvation I will descend to raise them up with me in love and indivisible peace if they shall believe in me without doubt, and give thanks, and glorify through me the glorious majesty who sent me for their salvation.”
Each Magi saw the star manifest in different forms, with each vision representing a different scene in the life of Christ. Thus, they prepared a caravan and supplies for a formidable journey during which the star removed all obstacles to their path in a miraculous way. “And I am going up with you and am a guide for you on the entire journey that you are traveling, seeing signs, glorious wonders, and great victories upon the entire earth. And you will see the completion of all mysteries in Jerusalem, and everything that was spoken with you will come true for you.”
The voice of the Father then spoke to the Magi: “And while we were praising these things, suddenly a voice with much light and with unspeakable kindness came to our ears from the heavenly height of majesty:... And by the voice and Word the heavenly worlds and the lower ones of the Father of Majesty came into being and were ordered—the angels and powers and princes and authorities, even this world in which you exist, and the height and depth and length and width. And there is otherwise nothing that exists outside the will of the Father of Majesty or that has come to be without the Voice of Life. For this is my beloved Son, being sent of perfect love... This is the only begotten Son, perfecting all the will of his Father.... This is the one who was humbled and became a human being for the salvation of human beings so that they would not perish. He put on, by his will, a body, a humble form, that with it he might slay death and take away the dominion of death, to give eternal life to those who love him and believe in him....This is the bread of life that comes down from me for believers; he is the sower of the word of life, and he is the shepherd of truth who gives himself as ransom for his flock.... We are one in unspeakable glory. ”
The manuscript describes that valleys and mountains were leveled, rivers were made passable and the caravan was protected from wild animals. The Star also relieved the Magi of their fatigue and replenished their food supply. Transcending time and space, the entire journey seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. “And we had no need of the light of the sun or of the moon, because their light diminished in its sight, and by night and by day we walked in its light, exalting and rejoicing, without distress or weariness.... And he filled our hearts with great joy, and all the stages in which we journeyed were short in our eyes, because our victorious sign and our powerful light, which is beyond every human mouth to speak, guided us with its victorious strength.”
The star-child led the Magi into Jerusalem, where the local people puzzled at these exotic foreigners, who kept looking up at the heavens. Because the star was invisible to the people, they presumed the Magi were astrologers of some kind. “And we said to them: We saw a sign of heavenly majesty in our land, as we were instructed by our fathers, that a king, and a messiah, and a life giver, and a savior who gives himself to death for the sake of the entire world has been born here. And we have come because we saw all his signs and the forms of his hidden divinity in the appearance of a human clothed with a body.”
The Star then led them to a cave close to Bethlehem and beckoned the Magi inside. Then the Star transformed itself into a luminous, talking infant. “And we knelt and worshiped before him upon the earth, because every knee that is in heaven and on earth bows to him and worships. And we opened our hidden treasures—and they being sealed—we took them and came near the treasure of salvation, who is sealed with heavenly majesty.... And the glorious infant and the ancient light perfecting the will of the Father of Majesty opened his mouth, and he said to us with a love of abundant and sweet mercy: 'Peace to you, sons of my hidden mysteries.'”
The Christ child then told them he would accompany them home. “I became your guide and leader to this place until you came in peace before me. And again, I shall be with you even until the end, and I am not separated from you nor from all those who believe in me with perfect love. And again, you will be witnesses for me in the land of the East together with my disciples, those who are chosen by me to preach my Gospel.”
The Magi could hear the voices of angels and seraphim in the cave. “And it became in our eyes like another world, since in this world there was no light like it.” And many voices of seraphs were speaking and singing innumerable praises. “And all the angels and the powers worship you. And yours is the place of salvation, which you will give to your chosen ones. And yours is the ancient light, because you are the beloved fruit of the thought of the Father....And you are all, and all is in you, and there is nothing outside of your will.”
The Magi were frightened by the glory of the angels, but the Christ child comforted them and blessed them and their return, telling them the ancient prophecies had been fulfilled, and commissioned them to preach the gospel to their people. “Therefore, rise and go in peace to your light-receiving land.... And when I have completed the will of my Father regarding everything that he commanded me and have ascended to him in glory, I shall send to you some of my chosen ones who have been chosen by me for your land. And they shall speak and witness the truth with you, that it may be your seal.” Like when Jesus tells his disciples that if they have seen him, they have seen the Father, so the infant Christ tells the Magi... “For the Father of Majesty does not have an image and form in this world, except I who am an epiphany from him, since I am his will and his power and his wisdom, since I am in my Father and my Father is in me.”
The Adoration of the Shepherds
The Magi witness to the beautiful relationship between the Christ child and his parents, and the beautiful gratitude for his Mother. “And Mary entered and found the child of light laughing about and glorifying all his great and amazing mysteries, proclaimed in the entire world from ancient times, and behold, all of them are fulfilled in his appearance today.... And Mary and Joseph worshiped him.”
For a moment, Mary is worried that her child might leave with the Magi because of his great love for them, and because she could “see his holy form going along with them,” but he comforts her. “Peace to you, my mother and upbringer, since you were deemed worthy to be blessed among women, since you were deemed worthy for the fruit of the voice of salvation, since you accepted and conceived with love in your mind and with faith without doubt, you shall receive the reward of your service and shall have blessing and remembrance in all generations, and in the new world you shall receive a good reward. And because of you, Eve and her offspring will have hope and salvation, since by your person you have made her pass beyond the spear that fenced in the Tree of Life.”
The Christ Child then tells the Magi not to return to Herod, because he was not worthy of the worship of the light that was born, and was dwelling of error. “It was said to us by our guide and our Light that we should not return to him, because he was not worthy to see the great Light of the world, because he was totally deaf and blind to its worship.”
The journey home for the Magi unfolds with even more blessings, and the collapsing of time and space. “Again, the sign of Light appeared to us in front of us, and we rejoiced and exulted greatly, and we knelt and worshiped upon the ground before it. And we glorified the vision, and we answered in our voice as one and said to it: We worship and give thanks for your kindness and your light, which accompanies our encampment everywhere. And he answered and said to us, I am everywhere, and there is no land in which I am not.”
The Christ Light refills their food supplies and when they eat of these provisions, they see their Savior Guide in manifest forms. When they reach their point of origin, crowds of their fellowmen greet them and marvel at the travelers' health and appearance.
The Magi tell of their story and witness to the star. “And we began to speak and narrate for them... about our journeying to Bethlehem, and about the glorious visions and revelations of the Father of heavenly majesty, which appeared to us in the cave, a great light and wondrous appearances in the bodily form of a humble human being, and about his Light of the Star, which went before us as a glorious guide. And when again, we entered and saw before us the unspeakable glory, we fell and worshiped the divine child of great light. Two angels were standing by and a pillar of cloud was standing by, like all the visions that we saw previously on the Mountain of Victories in the Cave of Treasures of Hidden Mysteries, which is in our land.”
The Magi then offered overflowing bags of this spiritually precipitated food to their kinspeople. “Everyone who wishes, receive without doubt, with a whole heart and true faith, and eat from these provisions which have come with us. And be deemed worthy, and you too join in his blessing, which accompanies us and is with us forever.” All who partook immediately saw visions of Christ, and accepted the faith proclaimed by the Magi. “And there was great joy in the entire land of the East, and the nobles and the poor and the women and children from the entire land were gathered together in the love of our Lord.”
Many years later, the Magi encounter the apostle Thomas who went to the East, and he relates to them stories of Jesus' ministry. When Thomas baptizes them, the heavenly Christ descends and gives them the Eucharist, and commissions them to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world. The Revelation of the Magi ends with the Magi performing miracles and preaching the Gospel of Christ, who is the underlying and eternal foundation of all of humanity's religious beliefs and practices throughout the world, and throughout all time. A prophecy for the future is given.
“And they preached the faith of truth, saying and teaching everyone: 'Flee from the darkness and come to the light that does not pass away, so that you may live and have refuge under the wings of our Lord Jesus, our savior and great refuge on the last day, from the fearsome judgment of fire that will come suddenly to purify the entire earth from error, which has ruled over it in its deceit. And you shall be delivered by faith from the heat of the fire and shall enter that rest that is prepared for all the chosen and the believers who have believed in the child of perfect light and in eternal life, in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Lord of All, in his heavenly majesty, in his new world, and in his heavenly and great and never-passing-away light and in his glorious rest. And you shall rest forever and ever, amen and amen. The story about the Magi and their gifts has finished.'”
The teachings of the ascended masters explain that the gifts of the three wise men represent the Order of Melchizedek. The Book of Psalms and the Book of Hebrews indicate that both David and Jesus were a part of this order of divine priesthood. The gifts correspond to the three plumes of divine energy ensconced in the heart, that the Hindus call the “Atman,”or “hidden man of the heart.” This tripartite focus of our divine self hidden in the deep spiritual recesses of our heart—the secret chamber of the heart—is what Jesus referred to when he said, “The kingdom of God is within.”
The Threefold Flame
Elizabeth Clare Prophet writes: “El Morya, Kuthumi and Dwal Kul represent the three plumes of the threefold flame of the heart—El Morya, the blue plume; Kuthumi, the yellow plume and Djwal Kul, the pink plume. They come to
bring our threefold flames into balance with theirs. If you follow the three kings and the star of the Christ Child, you will arrive at the manger scene of your own Christ potential and your own Christhood.”
The gift of myrrh represents divine power through sacrifice. According to some accounts, the myrrh was kept and used to anoint the body of Jesus taken down from the cross. The gift of gold represents divine wisdom and was used to bless the Holy Family's material needs. And the gift of frankincense represents divine love and the “sweet incense of prayer.”
The teachings also explain that the three wise men made their ascension in the last century of the Piscean Age as the masters El Morya, who was Melchior, bearer of myrrh; Kuthumi, who was Caspar, bearer of gold; and Dwal Kul, who was Balthazar, bearer of frankincense. These three masters –together with the master Saint Germain, who was embodied as Saint Joseph—have worked closely with the Theosophical Society, the I AM Movement, the Bridge to Freedom and the Summit Lighthouse for the dissemination of ascended master teachings, in preparation for the Age of Aquarius. As recently ascended masters, they allowed themselves to be photographed with Madame Blavatsky, by precipitating their ascended forms into the physical plane for the purpose of this picture.
In a dictation given through Elizabeth Clare Prophet in 1998, the three kings declared that they would teach us the keys to the path of the ascension and sponsor all who aspire to make their ascension in this life. They said they would help us balance our karma, and stay with us until certain key souls have made their ascension.
The premise integral to The Revelation of the Magi, that the Christ star—the eternal Christos—has appeared in various forms and throughout all times, dovetails with the understanding found in Hinduism, that Vishnu, the divine Son and second person of the divine Trinity, has had many incarnations, including Rama and Krishna. It also corresponds to the Mithraic, Greek, Indian and Egyptian mysteries of the divine Son incarnating as the Savior of mankind.
Nevertheless, even though we find profound similarities in the life of Jesus, with concepts and elements found in the lives and legends of other divine personages like Buddha, Orpheus, Zarathustra, Horus and Krishna—to name a few—Jesus was the only embodiment of the divine Son who was willing to be crucified for the sins of the world and who physically demonstrated the victory over death through the resurrection and the ascension.
Mother Mary explained in a dictation through the Summit Lighthouse that, “Had it not been for the avatar Jesus Christ stepping in to mitigate that karma of 25,800 years in the tradition of the adepts of the East, as Lord Maitreya, Gautama Buddha and Sanat Kumara had borne this karma before him, that karma would have descended in full at the beginning of the Piscean age.” This is the esoteric meaning of Jesus “dying for the sins of the world.”
The teachings of the ascended masters also explain that just like Mary and Joseph had incarnations before their lifetime with Jesus, so the soul of Jesus lived in previous personages found through the Old Testament. As we consider these previous embodiments, we begin to see that much of the Old Testament becomes not only a prophecy for the incarnation of Jesus as the promised Messiah, but also a testament to the soul of Jesus evolving towards full perfection and identification with Christ.
In the book The Masters and the Retreats, we read that Jesus was embodied as a golden age ruler on Atlantis twice before the sinking of that continent, recorded in the Bible as the Great Flood. Jesus later embodied as Abel, the son of Adam who found favor with God but was slain by his evil brother Cain. Abel then reincarnated to Eve as Seth, “For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”
Jesus embodied again as Joseph, the son of Jacob, who wore a coat of many colors, representing the divine rainbow spheres of his causal body of Light, the individuated Presence of the I AM that I AM—his I AM Presence. His brothers, who threw him in the well and sold him into slavery, later reembodied as his twelve disciples. And his most beloved brother Benjamin, also born of Rachel, reincarnated as John the Beloved. It is interesting to see how Jesus would often return to Jacob's well, where he met the Samaritan woman and offered her living water.
Next, the soul of Jesus returned as Joshua, who fought the Battle of Jericho and led the Israelites to the Promised Land in the footsteps of Moses. Joshua was met by a shining being bearing a flaming sword on the road to Jericho. The teachings of the ascended masters tell us this was Archangel Michael. Corinne Heline in The Mystery of the Christos describes the biblical encounter: “On the road to Jericho, Joshua was met by a shining Being bearing a sword. So impressed was he by its splendor that he prostrated himself to the ground before this Being. The celestial visitor, according to Joshua, was the captain of the host of the Lord, who bade him remove his shoes from off his feet for the place whereon he stood was holy ground.” Interestingly, Corinne Heline points out that the Hebrew equivalent for the Greek name Jesus is Joshua, or Yeshua.
Archangel Michael from the Cathedral in Ave Maria, Florida
Following that life, the soul Jesus incarnated as David, the shepherd boy, psalmist and king who built the temple in Jerusalem, where Jesus was found at age twelve and from where he later expulsed the merchants. Through this understanding of reincarnation, we can see that Jesus was from the house of David spiritually as well as genetically. Throughout the gnostic gospel Pistis Sophia, we see the disciples and the holy women referring again and again to the Psalms of David as a point of reference for their mystical understanding of Jesus' mystery teachings.
Speaking of the connection between David and Jesus, Mark Prophet writes in My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord: “And so it is not surprising that today in the Cenacle overlooking the city of Jerusalem, Christians pray in the Upper Room on the site where Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Last Supper, where Christ appeared after his resurrection, and where the descent of the Holy Spirit took place. And in the lower level of the same house, there is a temple where Jews worship at the Tomb of David. Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.”
The last incarnation of the soul of Jesus that prepared him for his final incarnation was his life as the prophet Elisha. His teacher Elijah, who ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire, chose to incarnate again as John the Baptist—though he had already ascended and fully integrated with the Godhead of his divinity. John the Baptist was an ascended master who left the heaven-world to take embodiment once again, in order to prepare the way for Jesus' final mission. This is why John the Baptist said, speaking of Jesus, “He must increase but I must decrease.” And this is why Jesus said of John the Baptist, “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
