The Immortal - Book 1
-- by Joseph John (JJ) Dewey
Reunion - Chapter 11
It was a long wait until next Thursday. I had a million questions
to ask John, but the most important thing to me was just to see
him again. I wanted to share my dream with him, even though I
assumed he knew the story. Now the problem was that I wasn't sure
how to contact him. Just before noon on Thursday I went to Albertsons
to see if he was working there again. I was disappointed to find
that same substitute there again. Of course, the substitute did
not know anything about when John may come back.
I went back home and had lunch with Elizabeth and shared my
frustration with her.
"Are you sure you heard John right, that you would see
him in a week?"
"I'm sure," I said. "But who knows what all
things a 2000 year old man must attend to. Maybe he had to go
to Bosnia or something."
"Even so, if he is a man of his word he should contact
you today, shouldn't he?
"You would think so. Who knows! Maybe I'm not good student
material and he gave up on me."
"I don't think so," Elizabeth assured me "From
that dream you told me about, it sounded like you passed some
type of test."
"Maybe so," I said. "I suppose I'd better get
back to work. I' have to go show a house."
After showing my client the house I drove back to Albertsons
and several other bell ringer locations. I looked everywhere I
could think of just on the off chance that John was somewhere
in the area. Finally, when my workday was done, I headed home
with the thought that contact was John's responsibility. "If
it happens, it happens," I thought.
Elizabeth and I spent a quiet evening together. Finally, she
broke the ice. "Have you done any more thinking about the
first key?"
"I've done a lot of thinking, but don't think I can go
much further until John tells me about the man-God idea."
"What if he says that we're not gods? You've covered about
everything else. What's left?"
"I don't know. Maybe we're just animals," I said
sarcastically.
"You may be just joking," said Elizabeth, "but
I guess we have to be open to anything."
"I guess," I agreed.
We went to bed just before eleven (which was quite early for
me) and I lay on the bed trying to drift off to sleep, disappointed
that I had not seen or heard anything from John.
Then, as I drifted off to sleep, I heard bells.
Bells?
I woke up suddenly. "I heard bells!" I exclaimed
to Elizabeth.
She woke up. "Bells? It must be John."
"Yes. It must be John. But now I'm awake, I can't hear
them."
"You always hear them when you're close to sleep. Try
going back to sleep."
"You're right. I'll try that," I said. I tried to
go back to sleep, but sleep had fled from me. After a moment I
said, "I couldn't sleep right now if my life depended on
it."
Elizabeth sighed. "Why don't you just try laying still
and tuning in. Maybe John will send you something."
"I'll try," I said. I laid still and tried to tune
into my inner self. At first nothing happened, then faintly I
heard the bells again. I somehow knew I was supposed to focus
on the sound and did so. As I focused, the sound became clearer
and an image of John formed within my mind. I saw him drinking
a cup of coffee at Denny's at the exact same seat where we talked
before. Somehow I knew he was there waiting for me.
"He's at Denny's!" I exclaimed as I rose up out of
bed and headed for my clothes.
"Denny's?" Elizabeth asked sleepily.
"Denny's," I said firmly. "I'm going there now.
I may be a while, so don't worry about me."
Elizabeth turned to me and asked, "Sweetheart?"
"Yes?"
"Tell John thank you for giving me faith again. Even though
I've lost that extra strength, I now have hope I can be healed."
"I'll tell him," I said.
In a few minutes I was in my car approaching Denny's. I found
myself wondering if there was something special about Denny's
or if it was just a convenient place. Oh, well, that question
was far down the list. As I walked into the restaurant I noticed
the time on the wall clock was about one minute to midnight. I
hurriedly walked to the corner where we met before and there he
was drinking coffee looking exactly like I saw in my mind a few
moments before.
"John," I said reaching out my hand. "I've never
been so glad to see anyone before!"
John smiled as I sat down. "Not every beginning student
feels that way," he said. "Are you sure I am not a prince
of evil and deceit bent on leading you to some eternal hell?"
"You know all about the dream then?"
"Yes. It was not unexpected. He pulls a similar trick
on any student I have that shows promise."
"He? Who is he?"
"Who do you think?"
"Well, I do know this. Whoever he is was capable of disguising
himself as an agent of God; yet, when I sensed his true nature,
it was an evil vibration beyond anything I have imagined. If there
is a devil, this has got to be him."
John smiled. "In the days of Jesus we didn't use the silly-sounding
word devil. We called him The Adversary. The word
Satan in the Hebrew text means adversary. Today
we would call someone like Hitler, Saddam Hussein or a terrorist
an adversary or enemy, but it would sound silly to call them devils.
We didn't use bogeyman-like words, fluffy words or fairy tale-like
words back then. We were dealing with real energies, real beings
and real situations. The religious authorities of that day were
the ones who feared illusionary bogeymen."
I nodded. "I could certainly tell that being was an adversary.
I knew he wanted to destroy me when he learned I saw his real
self."
"He still wants to destroy you. You really made him mad
when you laughed at him." John laughed.
"You told me to do it!" I exclaimed. "I didn't
realize I was just making him mad. That's all I need - an enemy
of immense power from the underworld." I frowned. John paused
a moment and studied my face.
"As long as you side with light and truth he will be your
mortal enemy with all the force he has available." Then,
grinning, he said, "I figure you might as well get a dig
in when you can."
"That doesn't sound like turning the other cheek,"
I countered.
"As Solomon said, there is a time and place for everything.
Through his control of agents here on earth he has had me killed
and tortured about twenty times. The last time I was hung by piano
wire and the first time I was boiled in oil. That alone should
be enough to deserve the reward of laughing at his defeat. You'll
never realize the joy you gave me when you followed my instructions."
"I think we really pissed him off all right," I laughed
nervously.
"That's an unpious term," John scolded, "but
I couldn't express it better."
I took a sip of coffee. "It still makes me nervous. He
might try to take it out on me." God, as if I didn't have
enough problems in my life!
"From the moment you saw through the illusion and passed
the test you became a mortal enemy. But don't worry. He cannot
harm you if you follow the light of truth and the Holy Spirit
within you. At present you are following the highest you know
and you are completely protected. But there are energy points
in time and space like acupuncture points on the body. When one
of those points is arrived at, it provides an opportunity for
both good and evil. For instance, the other night you had a visit
from a strong evil force and also a powerful good force. The fire
you felt was what we used to call the baptism of fire.
If you go forward you must risk the chance of going backwards."
"What would have happened if I had fallen for the illusion?"
"I would have kept my word and saw you today, but because
you would not have felt the spiritual fire you would have rejected
me and the knowledge I have for you."
"Would I have been some servant of evil then?"
"Not in the sense you are thinking," John replied.
"That would only happen if you have very selfish intent within
your heart. What he seeks to do with basically good people is
to neutralize them. After they are neutralized he generally leaves
them alone and goes on to other work. Only if a person sinks to
great illusion and selfishness can he then be of conscious use
to the Dark Brothers."
"Who is this Adversary and who are the Dark
Brothers?"
"They are just like you and me," John replied. "They
are brothers of ours, but very wayward brothers. As you know,
there must be opposition in all things. If there is an appearance
of a positive force, then that appearance can only be held if
there exists the appearance of a negative force."
"Why do you use the term appearance?"
"Because positive and negative is real to you in this
world, but in a higher reality there is only one energy and that
is God. It is important for teaching sake that we always deal
with the reality we are in. If you try to solve the riddles of
a higher reality before you understand your own, you can get caught
in an illusion that will cause you to wind up far behind the simple
realist."
I nodded. "I do notice that many intelligent dreamers
do not seem to accomplish anything, whereas the dull-witted plodder
often achieves a surprising amount."
"Your statement deserves to be reflected upon," he
said evenly. I must have hit upon something important to my progression.
"So are these Dark Brothers burning in Hell like the preachers
tell us?"
"They live in a world with no glory but the illusion of
glory. To understand what that means you must solve a future key."
He shifted in his seat and clasped his hands. "Let me put
it this way. All of us have a spark of divinity within us. As
you follow this spark, your glory, light, truth and power of love
is increased. There are certain very selfish individuals who through
conscious effort shut themselves completely off from soul contact.
After this they completely deny all things that are good and true.
Because they are conscious beings with no true spiritual contact
their consciousness creates a world that is complete illusion,
with no real light or glory. They believe that the true spiritual
plane created by God is illusion and that they have discovered
or created the only true reality. Because this false belief is
so real there is no escape, and all that makes them personalities
is in a state of death or disintegration. This drawn-out death
often takes many years, but after it happens the spark that is
their true self will continue, and the person will be re-created
in a future opportunity on an earth that does not even exist yet."
"Heavy doctrine," I replied. "Does that mean
there is no burning in Hell?"
"There is in a sense," he replied. "When one
has rejected light, surrounds himself with illusion and then comes
into contact with real light, it produces a spiritual pain something
like a fire. Why do you think the Adversary fled so quickly when
the Spirit descended upon you the other night? The light and fire
of the Spirit was painful to him beyond anything you can imagine.
Even though he wanted more than anything to destroy you he was
forced to instantly leave."
"It was the most sudden exit I've ever seen," I nodded.
John continued. "When people die and go to the next world
they reside with others who have a similar light to their own.
Many are disappointed when they realize how little light they
have followed on this earth and desire to go higher. This desire
takes them near the presence of a greater light and it is very
painful to them. They want to move toward the light but the approach
is painful like a fire, so they are in hell two different ways.
They have to live with others who are of lesser light and not
very pleasant company, and secondly, a desire to escape leads
them to a fiery pain."
"Are they stuck in that situation forever?"
"No. A way is made for their progress, but we could spend
days on this subject. Let us move on." John nodded to a waitress
passing by for more coffee.
"I have one more question first," I pursued after
she left.
"Go ahead."
"Where have you been? I didn't expect you to disappear
like you did."
John frowned. "Actually, I didn't expect it either, but
my Master needed me."
"And that would be...?"
"Who do you think?"
"Jesus?" I asked in wonderment.
"Jesus' is the modern pronunciation of the name he went
by two thousand years ago in Palestine. Of course, the preachers
of this age have become attached to it, but those within His inner
circle just call Him "The Christ" when making a reference
to Him. When I get the opportunity to speak to Him on a personality
level as I am with you I just call Him Joshua. The original
pronunciation of the name Jesus was something like Yay-soose,
but that name is pretty obsolete now. He decided a couple hundred
years ago to use Joshua, the English translation of the Hebrew
equivalent of Jesus, because it is still a name in common use."
"Joshua Christ," I smiled. "That will take some
getting used to."
"He wouldn't think of using the name Jesus except for
purposes of identification. Every time He hears one of the preachers
speak or shout the name in that religious twang He cringes."
"You know, I always wondered what Jesus thought about
how the preachers massacre his name."
John reflected a moment: "There are many mysteries to
be revealed which are associated with Jesus, as you call him,
and the Christ. I know Him by two of His names and He has a third
which only He knows."
"What's the other name that you know?"
"I couldn't tell you that without His permission,"
he replied softly.
"What's the purpose of having more than one name?"
"I cannot tell you at present. That knowledge is contained
in one of the keys you will learn in the future. I can tell you
a little about the term The Christ. It is not part of His
name, but is the name of an office. The most enlightened teacher,
associated with mankind, on the planet has this office and is
called The Christ. Joshua will not always hold this office.
In about another thousand years He will leave this solar system
and the position of The Christ will be taken over by a close disciple.
The title Christ without the article the is used by many
disciples who share what has been called the Christ consciousness.
I am one who is free to use the name of Christ for myself as long
as the one being communicated to does not mistake me for the master
teacher. Those who bear the name of Christ are not permitted to
knowingly deceive, and the wrong use of the title could produce
deception. Self-deception, however, will often occur because of
wrong interpretation of doctrine transmitted by the teachers."
"So, why were you called away so suddenly?" I probed.
"There was an emergency," John looked serious.
"Can you tell me anything about it?"
"Not a lot. I can tell you that a situation developed
where some terrorists had an opportunity to obtain nuclear weapons
that would have been planted in Washington DC. This event was
not in the plan and had to be prevented."
"What did you do to prevent it?"
"Even if I could tell you I do not have time to go into
it. Joshua needed my assistance and fortunately I was there to
help. It was at great sacrifice that I was able to make this appointment
with you. There are still some details I have to return to attend
to."
"Is saving the world from nuclear attack something you
do often?" I quipped.
"The last time we had a crisis like this was back in the
early eighties when scientists were working on the neutron bomb.
It's perfection would have been too great a temptation for any
nation at this time, and this weapon and several others had to
be contained."
"So, do you control men's minds to avoid catastrophes?"
"The Disciples of Christ, or the Brotherhood of Light,
never force men's minds. We are obligated to honor free will.
The Dark Brothers, on the other hand, will use force whenever
they feel the need and have the opportunity. They often find that
all they have to do is create a little illusion to have their
way with the masses."
John paused a moment. "You've done a good job sidetracking
me, but we need to get on with your education. Do you at least
remember the question I posed to you last week?"
"I think I got that anyway. It is WHO OR WHAT AM I?"
"I am pleased you remembered the exact wording. Now can
you give me your answer?"
"Well," I said nervously, "with a little help
from my friends and the Gospel of John, which I assume you wrote,
I concluded that men are gods."
"So are you God with a capital G or a god with a small
G?"
I stumbled for a moment. "Well... the Mormons say we are
becoming a god with a small G and the New Agers say we are God
with a big G."
"What do you say?"
"Well," I stumbled again, clearing my throat, "if
I am one with God, then I must be God with a big G." It sounds
weird to say that, but that's my answer."
"Are you confident in that answer?"
"Sort of."
"What makes you sort of confident?"
"I've had several coincidences pointing me in that direction.
I figured they must have happened for a reason."
"So you had some signs leading you toward the answer?"
John smiled.
"I guess you could say that," I replied.
"Have you read what the Master said about signs?"
"I think he said several things, didn't he?"
John got out his old Bible again and turned to Matthew chapter
sixteen. "Read verse four," he said, pushing the book
toward me.
I carefully held the old book and read: "A wicked and
adulterous generation seeketh after a sign..."
I just about dropped the book. "I remember reading this
scripture, but I never thought about it in the context that is
now entering my head. I thought the answer may be that I am God
because of signs, but Jesus said the wicked seek signs."
"You were not actively seeking a sign," John assured
me, "but several appeared to you and you thought they meant
something."
"So are you telling me they didn't mean anything?"
I asked, somewhat disappointed.
"It is true that there is a reason or a cause behind each
happening," John replied, "but when people see coincidences
they often read much more into them than should be. Suppose you
roll dice hundreds of times. Sooner or later you will roll seven
three times in a row. Does that have any deep meaning or did it
happen just because you rolled the dice many times and the law
of averages tells us you will eventually roll three sevens?"
"So, you're saying that coincidences just happen now and
then?"
"Generally, that is the case, but then every once in a
while coincidences are contrived by a higher power. But what usually
happens when a coincidence happens to a superstitious person,
much more will be read into it than is based in reality."
"So the fact that both Wayne, Lance and that Dark Brother
mentioned man and gods was just coincidence and means nothing?"
"Not entirely," John replied. "You, Wayne, and
Lance have been friends for many years and as such tune into each
other's frequency and share many of the same thoughts. This greatly
increases the chances that you will all come up with similar conclusions
on various ideas. What happened with you three was not nearly
as much of a coincidence as you thought. You were looking for
an answer and you were happy that something finally seemed to
jump out at you. It was no coincidence, however, that the Dark
Brother jumped on this. It served his purpose."
"So, what about the answer, then," I asked. "Is
it right or wrong?"
"Let's regress just a moment," John said, putting
his fingers together. "Why do you suppose Joshua said a wicked
and adulterous generation seeks for a sign? Now in reality wicked
means mislead. So how is one misdirected who seeks for
a sign?"
"I've never thought of looking for a sign in a negative
light. Most people see signs as a positive thing." John was
silent, evidently waiting for a concise answer. I continued, "OK,
let me see. If we use a sign to guide our lives then we are using
something outside of ourselves. Perhaps we are supposed to look
within."
John smiled. "There is hope for you yet. I think your
light is increasing. Now what is adulterous about seeking a sign
for guidance?"
"That's a tough one. I don't see a lot of relation there."
"There is a lot of correspondence here, said John. "Answer
me this: What is adultery?"
"It's where a person betrays his marriage partner and
has a sexual relationship with someone else" I replied.
"And who is your spiritual marriage partner supposed to
be?"
"You mean someone other than my physical wife?"
"Yes."
"Could it be God?"
"You are correct. This is taught throughout the scriptures.
The Israelites are called the Bride of Jehovah throughout
the Old Testament and the Church is called the Bride of Christ
in the New. Both Israel and the Church are symbols of those who
have the light of the Spirit of God within them. So how does a
bride of Christ or God commit adultery?"
"Perhaps by leaving God and leaning on or uniting with
someone else, or another God."
"Very close," said John. "The brother of light
senses the Spirit of God within himself and has made a commitment
to follow it and be one with it, similar to a marriage relationship.
If he actively seeks a sign outside of himself for his main source
of guidance, this causes a shift of attention away from the Spirit.
So his God becomes a false God outside of himself and the inner
God is ignored and betrayed. He has committed adultery against
his only true source of guidance, which places a black wall between
his personality self and the God within."
"Fascinating," I said, feeling like Spock again.
"So the New Agers, who are always teaching about the God
within - yet at the same time are always seeking coincidences
and signs - are really teaching one thing and doing another?"
"They are not alone," John smiled. "On the other
side of the spectrum, the very religious also seek for signs rather
than an answer from God through prayer as they claim to teach."
"So, are we to look within for all answers?"
"Not exactly. That would mean the outside world has no
meaning or purpose. The purpose of the outside world is to stimulate
with experience and the purpose of the inner is to verify. Without
the outer world there is nothing to verify, and without the inner
there is no source to find the point of truth that exists in all
things."
"It would appear to me, then, the religious fundamentalists
look without for their answers and the New Agers try to look within;
but both are concentrating too much on one side of the pendulum,"
I said.
"Another good answer," John said smiling "Now,
you're going to want me to tell you if you have the right answer."
"I've been very curious all week." I leaned forward
eagerly.