 Jesus Christ! Who is he, and why is he such a big deal in the world today? Jesus might be one of the biggest mysteries. To some people, he is literally the embodiment of the fullness of God. And to others, he never existed. The historical evidence of him is also strange, with it both seeming self-evident and non-existent, which is paradoxical to say the least. Isn't it about time that these kinds of questions about Jesus were answered, especially when it comes to the question of relationship between Jesus Christ and Christ consciousness? For those who have followed Spirit Science for a time, way back in the beginning we created the original human history movie, and in it discussed the coming of Jesus, his birth, death, and resurrection. We explored the idea that his life was one which created a pathway for us to reach something called Christ consciousness, a state of embodying the divine qualities intrinsic to our being. However, even this idea today must be challenged, because the traditional Christian thinking is that Jesus alone is God. Naturally, as you might expect, this conversation is a very sensitive subject, which must be approached with great care, since we are addressing a precious belief system, which is a part of many religions today. Truth can be known, but it requires humility and surrender in the face of our own shortcomings in order to see it. We must all be careful here, for when anyone attaches themselves to a position or opinion without allowing for different ideas or perspectives, they limit their understanding. Some of the brightest minds and most successful people in the world are those who can hold multiple paradoxical ideas in their minds at the same time, and we would all be wise to practice this. Therefore, today we wish to extend an invitation. No matter where you may be coming from, let us together thoroughly discuss the nature of Christ, and not stop until we arrive at a higher understanding and a greater truth. This is a collective journey, and so along this adventure, which will be made in many parts, please share your experiences and wisdom in the comments below. Even for us, this series is a learning journey, and so let us each be mindful to carefully weigh all of the information against the metric of our own conscience and belief system. Have your own experience and decide for yourself what makes the most sense to believe in. And before we really jump in, one more disclaimer is needed. We have a ton of ground to cover here. Over the past 2,000 years, the words of Jesus Christ have been explored around the world by billions, and today there are over 45,000 denominations of Christianity globally. And while so many do their best to uphold the wisdom and teachings of Christ, not all of them agree, and some even seem to go against what Christ taught. Further, there are both Orthodox literal interpretations and mystical interpretations surrounding Jesus, and we want to appropriately explore both of these. Certainly, some might be offended that we'd cover one side or the other, but we really want to be respectful to all perspectives and reconcile them against each other. And so, this series is going to begin with a more Orthodox tone, starting on familiar territory to the story of Jesus, and as we continue to explore, we will break into mystical ground by discussing Gnostic Christianity and other mystical interpretations and seeing if and how these perspectives fit together in order to find the ultimate truth. Something to consider while we get started. It doesn't matter if we believe in a higher power unless we believe that we have access to it. It does not matter if we confess that God has come in the flesh unless we are willing to understand that we are that flesh. One could even identify as atheist if it is the false gods they are refusing to acknowledge. By viewing these ideas from multiple perspectives, instead of just our own, we may come to find that it's not who's right that's important, but who's righteous, those who are characterized by justice and act with virtue. As a collective, we are standing on the shoulders of spiritual and intellectual giants who have brought us to see as far as we can today. Our entire reality is built upon the minds, hearts, and hands of those who came before us. And so, may it be our intention here today to learn from our past, not from one exclusive perspective, but by weighing all perspectives with that which is pure and true. It is our hope that from this Christ series, regardless of where we stand in relation to the subject, we may all come a little bit closer to truth, and in doing so, come a little bit closer to each other. In the traditional Christian understanding, Jesus is seen as the incarnation and embodiment of God the Father in a mortal body. The very same absolute deity and creator of the universe who spoke to Moses through the burning bush. We might like to start with a question such as, is Jesus God? And in order to answer that question, let's begin with some defining terms so we can get on the same page together. Firstly, the word Christ is a word which means anointed, translated from the Hebrew word for messiah, which today has come to designate Jesus as the savior of the world. These words also intrinsically signify, heir to the throne of David, linking Jesus' personal genealogy to the greater biblical history and prophecies of the Jewish people. Before Jesus, the term anointed was used in the Jewish Torah to describe kings who would be anointed with oil. It was only then, after his coming, that the term was applied exclusively to him in Christianity, as not just anointed with physical oil, but the divine oil of God, meaning the essential Holy Spirit. As the messiah, Jesus was spiritually anointed to proclaim and fulfill the good news of salvation to humanity. However, the term Christ is only one of many which have been applied to the person of Jesus. All of these names must be addressed together to paint a picture that can be used as a framework of understanding. Anyone familiar with the story of Jesus might know him as the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Son of God, Son of Man, Unblemished, Lamb of God, Great Shepherd, Logos, and Light, as well as by many other names such as Hosanna, Emmanuel, Lord, Redeemer, and so on. Wow, we went a little Jesus Christ superstar there, didn't we? I hope that wasn't blasphemy. Blasphemy, the act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things. Profane talk. Huh, I guess we're good. All of these names seem to set Jesus apart from the other God's various religious pantheons, wherein other mythologies we see particular aspects of the supreme creative power manifesting itself to guide humanity, such as how Thoth is the God of Wisdom, or Krishna and Buddha were the embodiment of Vishnu, one part of the Trimerti. Jesus is believed to be the supreme ultimate power in totality manifested in the flesh. One way that this is often considered is through the opening of the book of John, which begins, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him, all things were made. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Then, later in the same chapter, John writes, The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. This opening of the book of John may rightly be considered the Genesis of the New Testament, since the opening lines are very similar to that of Genesis 1, which also describes how God created all things, and God said, Let there be light, and there was light. Let's consider that words are instruments in the creation of our reality. One can easily see that without words, our thoughts would remain isolated in the mind, and more complex and intricate patterns of thought would not be possible. Without words, there would be no language, no books, no sharing of ideas. Not only Jesus, but many philosophers, sages, ascended masters, and mystic teachings across history have expressed the absolute power that words have in the creation of our reality, and that through them we can create or destroy. But in principle, we also have to understand there is a difference between the word and mere words. Whereas we use words to influence and understand our reality through definition, it is said that God used the word to create and define all creation. It is through this understanding that we identify the word as the vibration of creation itself, and this vibration was illuminating by its nature. And so while God saying Let there be light is certainly a personification of the act of creation so that humans could comprehend it, the essential nature of sound and light being fundamental to the manifestation of reality is paramount. The word word in the Greek tongue is called logos, and is a term which is also considered to be the origin of mediation between the visible and invisible within reality. So although the spoken word cannot be seen with the eyes, the results are observed and felt. So too the word of God paradoxically exists in both visible and invisible forms, being the vibratory expression of God which continually brings forth all of reality and an expression of that which cannot be visibly seen in what otherwise might be called the mind of God. Words could be seen as the mediator between the thoughts that we think and the actions that we take, but words can exist in a multitude of ways, including invisibly as thoughts within the mind, audibly spoken, or even written down so as to last longer. Words are not just things that exist when we speak them, but are concepts and structures of thought that allow for the translation of energy and ideas from one dimension to another through us. To understand the logos better, let us know that the word itself is derivative of the Greek word for logic or reason. Scriptures suggest that it is the thing which pulls order out of chaos at the beginning of time and sets reality in motion. From this perspective, the word or logos then is the transformative agent which sits at the center between order and chaos, which may even be associated with articulated truth. Articulated truth for us may express our own ability to articulate that which we know, but from a God level perspective signifies the great power which sets forth the cosmic laws upon which reality exists in perfect order. We find this concept all the way down to our very DNA, where we find the syntactical structures of genes so logarithmically sound that we can read it like a book. That the logo sits at the boundary between the visible and invisible reality may also yield an understanding that it is in fact consciousness itself. One may surmise that experiences cannot be had without consciousness as it is the light of awareness which shines upon our reality and makes them real. It is through our consciousness that thoughts become words and the words which we hear are understood in the mind. By that logic, consciousness seems to be necessary for reality to exist, for without consciousness there would be no sense of time, space, or orientation wherein the matrix of reality could be explored. It may be said that the logos is necessary for existence because it gives structure to the absolute chaos of reality and makes way for self-awareness and comprehension. This is an amazing idea because it gives consciousness a constitutive role in the creation of reality. Therein, we may even wish to identify God and thus consciousness to be the equal sign between the E and the MC squared in Einstein's legendary formula, which demonstrated that all of matter and energy were equal to each other and could even cross the boundaries from one form to the other. But we should not jump to conclusions regarding the association of God with consciousness itself because God is also considered completely indescribable and beyond what we can know. But all of this probably makes sense until we bring the person of Jesus into the equation. As a general concept, the logos idea makes sense. But then how could Jesus be this word of God? How could one person be the embodiment of this vibration of creation if the vibration of creation permeates into all things? Well, the belief is that the supreme cosmic power would communicate with its creations best through direct contact with them and by living among them and guiding them personally. Certainly, one might presume that God would use all means available to connect with humans, whether through dreams, strokes of insight, or our very contemplations of the movements of the heavens. But reality is so intricate and if it was so easy to really understand everything in existence, surely we would all be enlightened by now. Wouldn't it make sense that the supreme spirit would also embody itself within flesh, so as to be the most directly relatable in a tangible way? And if we too are, as the Bible states, made in the image of God, could it not be then that the coming of Christ was a means to show us a way into awakening to our own divine nature too? Then again, John's words about the word becoming flesh can be interpreted in one other rather significant way. But that's a much larger exposition that we'll have to save to explore later. Nevertheless, if all of this is true, we must consider what Christ meant when he said, Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these. Jesus was a man who became known not only for his profound wisdom and undying love, but also many miracles that he performed. Could it be that one who is illuminated to such a degree could do the very same as he did? This is often given as a reason why faith or belief in Jesus is a good thing, even if we lack the material evidence before our eyes. Because if not him, then how us? His works, compassion, service, and ultimate sacrifice demonstrated to humanity what it means to come in service to all and embody the innate divine qualities that we are all intrinsically imbued with. And so when Jesus said that those who believe in him will become like him, he's saying that by believing in God's love, we will naturally begin to think, feel, and act according to that love. Compassion, forgiveness, generosity. These are a few of the foundational principles to living and co-creating a life with the intrinsic divinity that is our birthright. And does this not sound like a path to salvation? But wait a second, on that note, this last statement probably requires some more attention. Why do we need salvation at all? People say that he died for our sins, but what does that even mean? Especially since humanity today is, well, still pretty sinful. And actually, what even is sin anyways? Well, stay tuned, because that's where we're going to go next. We've had some difficulty keeping the lights on and getting the support that we need to continue spirit science regularly. And so, if the apocalypse of Jesus is something you'd like to see completed over the next few months, instead of over the next few years, today we're opening up a small crowdfunding campaign to help fund the project. All proceeds will go towards making this series the best spirit science series we've ever made, and any additional resources will go towards getting this movie and other spirit science videos translated into other languages. You can use the link below to put in a donation. If we reach our goal, we'll be publishing this series over the end of 2023 and the first month of 2024, so we can all start the New Year together with a higher understanding and the spirit of Christ alive in our hearts.