and loves, into harmony and oneness with God. Authority sets the hearts of humanity at variance, making one of Paul, another of Apollos, another of Cephas, and another of Christ. Christ, as the Spirit of Truth, breathes inspirations into the understanding, and becomes the Truth of God in the soul. Authority, seated upon its external throne of power, issues its de-/ cree, sends forth its syllabus, formulates a creed, and fills the soul with darkness, mystery, conflict and spiritual death. CHRIST Comes to the soul clothed in the habiliments of righteousness, and gives it to drink of the fountains of the water of life freely. AUTHORITY comes clothed in purple and fine linen, wrought into vestments of surplice, gown and other externals, which call the mind away from Christ, to that which pride, and fashion, and love of distinction have wrapped about the soul, and thus shut out from it the true light which lighteth the soul on its way to the Father. Peter, James and John, and their followers, have stopped to build tabernacles for Jesus and Moses and Elias, and are waiting for further external manifestations. The professed disciples of the Master are still hovering around the sepulchre of the risen Christ, and are searching for the cast-off body, and awaiting the revivification of the scattered ashes, and will probably continue thus until some recognized angel of the Lord shall tell them to seek no longer the living among the dead, that Christ is risen and is among them ready to sup with all who will put on the wedding garment and come to the feast prepared anew in the kingdom. of the Father-the sanctified soul.

CHAPTER XXV.

OF THE CAPACITY OF THE HUMAN MIND TO PERCEIVE THE TRUTH.

NOTWITHSTANDING Jesus had fulfilled his mission as Master or Teacher of the way to the Father, and had | finished the work given him to do, he left his disciples entirely ignorant of his character or mission, and of the nature of that kingdom which he came to establish in the heart of humanity. He had been with them for three years as their Teacher. During this time he had had their entire confidence and attention; and had uttered in their presence all that is known respecting his sayings, yet he had not corrected one false idea which they, as Jews, entertained; he had not enlarged their spiritual conceptions of God or of his requirements; and he left them, on questions pertaining to the ultimate destiny of the race, as ignorant as he found them.

This fact, when properly understood, becomes an important revelation of the divine method with humanity, and of the wisdom of the Master in confining his teachings to the way or means by which the disciples were to obtain true spiritual enlighteninent. His mission was to make known the way to the Father; that is, to instruct mankind how to seek and find those conditions of soul into which the Spirit of Truth could

come, and bring to remembrance his sayings, and interpret them, and thus lead humanity into a knowledge of all truth. He gave no spiritual instructions, except by parables; and these parables constituted the sayings which were to be interpreted by the Spirit, when the disciple should come to that condition in which his spiritual understanding could be opened, and the truth be revealed. Therefore, when speaking in parables, he often said, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Jesus did not correct the false ideas of his disciples while with them, because he could not; and he could not, because they were not in condition, spiritually, to perceive those truths which were necessary to enable them to comprehend His teachings as Christ. They were living in, and acting from, the plane of their natural understanding, and they had not within themselves those conscious conditions in which spiritual truths could be revealed. Hence, he said, I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now; that is, ye cannot receive them now; but when the Spirit of Truth is come, He will bring to your remembrance what I have said unto you, and He will guide you into a correct knowledge of the truths therein contained.

Spiritual truth cannot come into the natural understanding, but must be spiritually discerned. Therefore, it can enter into the mind only by means of spiritual inspiration. But spiritual inspiration can come only to those who have attained spiritual condi- ¦ tions of soul, which can respond to the degree of inspiration given; and the degrees are infinite, that is, embrace

every conceivable degree of advance from the dawn of consciousness of spiritual existence, to the perception, conception and comprehension of the infinite and absolute Father of all. Hence said Jesus, In my Father's house are many mansions; and I go to prepare a place for you; that is, I go from you externally that I may come to you internally or spiritually; I leave you as Master, that I may come to you as Christ; for if I go, I will come again, and receive you to myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know; that is, I go to the Father, and I have taught you the way to the Father. Keep my sayings, and walk therein as I have walked before you, and you will attain to such spiritual conditions, from time to time, as will enable you ultimately to find the Father.

Herein is manifest a fact which has been overlooked by the church and disciples from the days of Jesus until now; by which is meant that it has not been perceived and set forth as a doctrine of the church, that spiritual perception and understanding can only come through spiritual inspiration; and the inspiration to perceive and understand a truth, must be as absolute and infallible, as the inspiration to impart it or make it known. Whether any doctrine of the Bible be an infallible revelation from God can only be known to him who is infallible in his perception and comprehension of it, because there is no power or capacity in the fallible to determine the attributes or qualities of the infallible. That is, the fallible in perception and understanding cannot know whether it perceives the absolute truth of any statement, until it

is infallibly certain that it cannot be mistaken; and this it cannot know, while it is conscious of being liable to err in such respect. Therefore, the whole question of infallibility as received and taught by theologians is out of place, because they are neither competent to know whereof they affirm, nor to communicate infallible truth to those they attempt to teach. They can only follow in the footsteps of the Master, and teach the way to the attainment of those spiritual conditions in which those truths can be revealed, and leave God to inspire them with a perception and an understanding of the same.

Truth can be received only by a perception of it in the understanding, because it is such perception only which constitutes it a truth to the understanding. Hence, truth can exist to an individual, only as it exists in his understanding. If he does not perceive it in his understanding, he does not perceive it at all, and to him in his spiritual status, it is no truth. Hence, truth, as such, cannot be communicated by authority; nor can it be received upon authority. Nor is truth the subject of faith, because when perceived, as it must be, to become a truth, it has superseded the sphere of faith, and has become knowledge. Matters of fact only are the subjects of faith; as the fact that a certain course of living will produce certain results; certain practices will secure certain conditions; certain ends can be attained by certain efforts; and the like. Thus, Jesus astonished his hearers by his method of instruction; for he taught them as one having authority, speaking from personal knowledge, and not as the scribes, who quoted the authority of Moses and the

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