Imprisoned Splendor

The Imprisoned Splendor in every man is IMMORTALITY, — so magnificently released by Jesus in His SELF-resurrection.

In order to show man the nothingness of the ‘thought world’, He used Himself as a human guinea-pig, — submitting to the ways of human thinking. Thus day by day He built the inevitable tomb which would one day encompass Him and from which He was to come forth. When the tomb was completed, Jesus was apparently killed and placed therein. When it was closed, He was beyond any and all help from without, — anything that was to transpire from then on had to take place from within.

And so on the third day we find the stone of the human mind rolled from the entrance of the tomb, — and He arose from all dead beliefs. The Imprisoned Splendor, — IMMORTALITY, — came forth!

From the moment of birth man builds his tomb, following the cruel, hateful FATE pattern until he accepts the teachings of Jesus, — thus setting aside events which would have produced inharmony in His life.

Easter might be called the “Triumph of the Egg”, — taken from an ancient Pagan Rite. The symbology is perfect, — within the egg the perfect manifestation lies, wholly unseen and undiscovered. The moment the warmth of the mother bird penetrates the egg, gestation takes place, and moves along orderly with the creation of a NEW body, — a NEW form, — which presently will emerge from the tomb.

The awakening soul may experience a thousand Easters. Time after time an idea imprisoned in a hard shell of belief is resurrected, — and is set free by the warmth of the Love of God. Within the shell of every problem lies the Imprisoned Splendour, which if given an opportunity, will build its NEW and WONDERFUL expression with sufficient strength to break through the “tomb”, — in spite of all those about you who profess with their lips to believe, but are always looking for a sign. You, knowing “the signs follow, — they do not precede”, — will “tell no man”, and be content to stay within your tomb for three days, — coming forth independent of all opinions and beliefs.

This is no longer a metaphysical experimentation. Jesus went through it all to prove that every man has within himself the POWER of SELF-resurrection, the releasing of the perfectly created SELF from the grave clothes of dead beliefs we have been winding around it since the beginning.

A thousand commands are given to substantiate this lovely revelation, — “Arise!”, — “Awake!”, — “Come forth!”, — “Be born!”, — and “Reborn!”, again and again. All this is as nothing to the mind still endeavoring to prove the law to see whether or not it works. It will not work, — and will only “prove” what he knows to be untrue.

There comes a time in the life of every man when he discovers he is within the tomb of his beliefs which have become much more real and defiant than the stones of an actual tomb. Then if he does not go within and discover this Imprisoned Splendour and release it through the recognition of a power outside all human findings, he finds himself in “desolate places as a dead man”.

But you can have your Easter when you are still as death, — when you tell no man, — when you place the coal of fire upon your lips, — and let something beyond all human figuration take place. Then you SHOW JOHN. And why JOHN? Because JOHN was the “other disciple” who understood IMMORTALITY.

At the time of Jesus most of the tombs were sealed, — but the stone in front of His tomb was round, and a guard of Roman Soldiers was placed in front of it. The rolling stone which obstructs the tomb indicates there is always a way out, — the Roman Soldiers of public opinion is the only guard placed there.

It is reported that the soldiers fled when they perceived the soft flush of LIGHT of the Imprisoned Splendour of Jesus, — and so the hard fast opinions and beliefs of others flee when you awaken within your tomb.

Those who came to the tomb later found the grave clothes of Jesus neatly laid aside in two piles. He had left everything, — even the memory of the human ordeal. “The former things are passed away, —Behold! ALL things become NEW !”

The “other disciple” was the first to come. He SAW and BELIEVED. It is of him Jesus said, “If I will that he tarry till I come again, — what is that to thee?”, — revealing his immortality, which he accepted.

A dozen “Thomases” came and argued at the tomb, — “Was it the gardener?” — “Was it an angel?” — “Have they taken Him away?” — “Where have they laid Him?” — not believing His WORDS nor His WORKS.

The reason Jesus descended to the level of human expression was to prove to EVERY MAN that he could, if he but believed, arise from his tomb of unbelief, — dissolving the human FATE patterns of karmic debt and the sins of the fathers, — into the DIVINE DESTINY OF IMMORTALITY, — revealing the WORD that was in the beginning with GOD, — the PERFECTLY CREATED IMAGE AND LIKENESS. In this Divine Destiny there is neither birth nor rebirth.

Are you “the other disciple”, “the man who was sent from God”, — or among the doubting. It is of no use trying to believe in Immortality so long as you bear witness to disease and mortality. But when you accept in its entirety the PURE REVELATION of Jesus, you release your Imprisoned Splendour, the transformation takes place, — and you are a BEING of LIGHT.

“And this is the record, — that God hath given to us Eternal Life.”

“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness IS righteous.”

“Our Lord Jesus Christ hath abolished death, and hath brought LIFE and IMMORTALITY to LIGHT.”

 

Walter C. Lanyon