(Posted on: May 27, 2013 by David McMillin)
Yet the view of the Christ in the readings offered a twist which was not in any modern theology. The trance counsel described past lives for Jesus just as it did for others. In this unusual account, the one called the Son had grown in grace by becoming flesh, learning obedience through suffering, not once but many times, and remaining faithful to the end. (Bro, 1990, p. 156)
As given, "I am determined to know nothing among men save Jesus, the Christ, and him crucified." So, He, with the Cross, represents something in the experience of every entity in their activities through the earth, and has led in all of the experiences of thought in ANY of the presented forms of truth in the earth, and comes at last to the Cross. (262-34)
As we have given, and as was given by Him, in the beginning He was the Son - MADE the Son - those of the Sons that went astray; and through the varying activities overcame the world through the EXPERIENCES, BEARING the cross in each and every experience, reaching the FINAL cross with ALL power, ALL knowledge in having overcome the world - and of Himself ACCEPTED the Cross. Hence doing away with that often termed karma, that must be met by all. (262-36)
The Cayce readings provide some fascinating information about the soul entity that incarnated as Jesus of Nazareth. This soul entity had numerous past lives in the earth plane with its own special karma to resolve. By living the exemplary life, Jesus met his karma and provided a model for those who would emulate his example.
Even in a worst-case scenario, subjected to a humiliating and painful death, Jesus followed the way of love and thus embodied the pattern of universal consciousness that lies dormant within each soul. The man Jesus became Christ – having attained Christ consciousness by way of the cross.
But just what was the karma of our “elder brother” who incarnated as Jesus? Three of the past lives of this extraordinary soul entity described in the Cayce readings are especially relevant to the karma of Jesus and will be explored in some detail. But first, here is an overview of the incarnations of that entity provided by Gladys Davis, the personal secretary of Edgar Cayce who transcribed most of this readings and who was also a member of the first study group who collectively created the ASFG books. This is a partial transcription of a recording for the ASFG study groups in which Ms. Davis comments on The Cross and the Crown lesson:
(Q) Why did He come into the world as a man that He might bear a cross?
(A) For me, the answer to why He came is found in the Edgar Cayce readings' explanation of the incarnations of the soul who became Jesus.
First, as Amilius, He led – or projected – souls into the earth as thought forms.
Then He came as Adam, the first physical man, who "fell" in the flesh and thus it became necessary for him to eventually come as the last Adam to show us the way.
Thirdly He came as Enoch, who walked with God and was not because God took him.
Then He came as Melchizedek, the prince of Salem, without father, without mother, without days; he was not born and he did not die. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. Many parallels can be found here with the life of Jesus.
According to the readings Melchizedek, as I understand it, had attained the state of mastership such as we find in the so-called Eastern masters. In order to save the souls who had become involved in the earth because of his example, he then realized he would have to start all over in the earth and really go through all the trials and tribulations just as every other soul. [As Melchizedek he wrote the Book of Job. See 5719-14, Par. 9-A; 262-55, Par. 14-A; and 3744-4, Par. 37-A.]
He came then as Joseph. We see many parallels here with Jesus.
Then He came as Joshua, the medium through which Moses obtained the laws on the mount.
Next He came as Jeshua, the scribe, who compiled and rewrote the Biblical record as we have it to that date.
Then He came into the earth as Zend [San - Zan?], father of the first Zoroaster, who wrote – the readings say – the Zend Avesta, sacred writings of the Persians.
Finally He came as Jesus, the last Adam, in whom we all may be made alive – or at one with our Creator.
Until He started over again as Joseph, he had not actually taken on the trials and tribulations of man. He chose, as Melchizedek, to come down into the depths of materiality, and He moved step by step back to the father. Having chosen to do this, it was not possible then for him to get out of the flesh without perfecting himself in the flesh.
Nothing is said in the story of the prodigal son about how long it took him to return to his father after he had decided he would return. Gradually, life after life, here a little, there a little, the soul perfected itself in the earth and, as Jesus, took his spiritualized body back to God, becoming the Christ. According to the Edgar Cayce readings each of us must do the same. (262-36 – Report, 5/9/60)
Now we will focus briefly on three of the most relevant of these past lives with regard to Jesus' karma.
… the first begotten of the Father that came as Amilius in the Atlantean land and allowed himself to be led in ways of selfishness … (364-8)
In the Cayce readings, the first incarnation of the soul that eventually incarnated as Jesus was Amilius. Amilius came as a teacher and leader and was probably responsible for the “law of one” in ancient Atlantis. But the readings insist that Amilius “allowed himself to be led in the ways of selfishness …”
The details of the failure of Amilius are not provided. Amilius avoided the ensnarement of sexual reproduction and carnal lust that was the standard for the other souls around him in Atlantis, but he did fall short in seeking to provide an alternative option for the creation of companions for the earth-bound souls. He projected thought forms from out of himself. In “The Coming of Man” Hugh Lynn Cayce put it this way:
Amilius was endowed with a free will and the creative urge of the Father. He began to create companions, thought forms, patterned after the creatures given life by God. These thought forms were projections from the soul mind. As they began to seek gratification of the senses, as did the physical creatures about them, they began to harden and seek physical forms through which to become more conscious of the activity of the physical senses. We understand today that one actually becomes that which he takes into the system as food, that which he breathes and absorbs from the elements about him; in like manner one becomes that which he holds continually as mental visions. Incomplete and unbalanced, these resulting creations and mixtures brought discord and inharmony. The magnification of any desire which seeks only selfish gratification must eventually bring upon its creator anguish and final destruction. (Hugh Lynn Cayce, “The Coming of Man” is included in the reports section of reading 364-13)
Thus the failure of Amilius to provide a spiritually suitable means of incarnation and reproduction to the earth-bound souls in Atlantis and the subsequent problems created by his actions may have been the basis for this explanation in reading 3579-1 where the “THINGS” (slaves) were said to have been somehow brought about by the “great teacher” (Amililus?) before the first destruction of Atlantis:
Before that the entity was in the Atlantean land during those periods when there were activities that brought about the questionings which arose between the two great forces [Law of One and Belials], the period before the first destruction of the land.
The entity was among the children of the Law of One, a princess, yea one who cared much for those THINGS that were parts of the activity having been brought about by the great teacher [Amilius?] in those experiences. The entity aided in helping those to overcome, when they became aware of the relationships of the individual entity to the universal consciousness or God.
These were periods of progression. For the entity then lived to be a thousand years old, in years as termed today, and saw great changes come about, not only in the earth but in those ways in which preparations were made for the advent of the souls of men to be brought to their relationships with the Creative Forces or God.
The name then was Eosme.” (3579-1)
Note the phrase “those ways in which preparations were made for the advent of the souls of men to be brought to their relationships with the Creative Forces or God.” This seems to be referring to the “five in one” projection associated with the incarnation of Amilius as Adam, the first truly human being on the planet.
For, know that He - who was lifted up on the Cross in Calvary - was … he that first walked among men at the beginning of man's advent into flesh! For He indeed was and is the first Adam, the last Adam; that is the way, the truth, the light! (2402-2)
We are all familiar with the Genesis account of creation and the first humans described in that biblical story. In essence, Adam and Eve got humanity off to a rocky start on this planet. The relevance to the story of Jesus is that the readings state that Adam was not only a past life of Jesus, but his failure in Eden set up a series of lifetimes that culminated in the life of Jesus to provide a means of getting humanity back on track.
(Q) When did the knowledge come to Jesus that he was to be the Savior of the world?
(A) When he fell in Eden. (2067-7)
And just what was the basis of that initial fall that created the karma for the soul that eventually incarnated as Jesus?
Do not gain knowledge only to thine undoing. Remember Adam. Do not obtain that which ye cannot make constructive in thine own experience and in the experience of those whom ye contact day by day. Do not attempt to force, impel or to even try to impress thy knowledge upon another. Remember what the serpent did to Eve. (5753-2)
As indicated, knowledge without the practical ability to apply same may become sin. For, it is knowledge misapplied that was the fall - or the confusion - in Eve. (281-63)
So Adam, having come into the earth in a specially created human form for the purpose of leading earth-bound souls back to the Creator, failed by gaining knowledge without putting it into practice. No need to blame Eve for this either. Eve was the female aspect of the same soul entity that was Amilius. The journey of the soul is complex, especially for that special soul who would have to experience many more earthly incarnations to work out his karma and fulfill his basic mission – to make a way for fellow souls to find their way back to the Source. In terms of the karmic aspect of this soul’s journey and eventual sacrifice on the cross, a lifetime as the Biblical Joshua may have been particularly influential.
… Joshua the prophet, the mystic, the leader, the incarnation of the Prince of Peace. (362-1)
For without Moses and his leader Joshua (that was bodily Jesus) there IS no Christ. CHRIST is not a man! JESUS was the man; Christ the messenger; Christ in all ages, Jesus in one, Joshua in another … (991-1)
The biblical story of Joshua places his birth in Egypt prior to the Exodus. As a young man, Joshua was the victorious commander at the first battle after the Exodus from Egypt, defeating the Amalekites in Rephidim (Exodus 17:8-16). Later, Joshua was one of the twelve spies of Israel sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan. (Numbers 13:1-16)
After the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelite tribes in the conquest of Canaan. As a warrior leader, Joshua was responsible for the deaths of many native residents of Canaan (now Palestine) in numerous battles. Considering the later incarnation as Jesus, the gentle lamb of Judea who was crucified by an occupying army, perhaps there was some karma being worked out from the previous incarnation as the warrior of the Hebrew faith who killed so many in the conquering and occupation of Canaan.
It is a little tricky judging the actions of others who lived at different times under different circumstances. Perhaps the aggressive warrior approach of Joseph is simply a matter of “holy war” – doing the will of God as ordered and directed. In his excellent book on The Lives of the Master, Glenn Sanderfur points out the possibility of some heavy karma faced by Jesus from his previous incarnation as Joshua:
There may be another significance for Jesus as a result of the wars waged by Joshua in Canaan. Jesus’ ministry was performed in the very location of the Canaanite cities which Joshua conquered. It may have been necessary for Jesus to heal and minister to the peoples of that area where he, as Joshua, had killed and destroyed the earlier inhabitants. God’s laws of karmic justice may have been at play here. (Sanderfur, pp. 110-111)
Sanderfur provides an interesting discussion of several specific locations where Joshua fought battles and Jesus ministered, culminating in the story of five kings that hid in a cave at Makkedah, where they were discovered by the Canaanites. Joshua directed that they be mocked, tortured and hung upon a tree till evening. Then the dead kings were taken down and put back into the cave that was sealed with large stones. Sound familiar?
Since the emphasis in this article focuses on karma as it pertains to the lesson The Cross and the Crown, the negative aspects of some of Jesus’ past lives have been accentuated. Certainly many other parallels can be noted, mostly in more positive vein. After all, karma is just cause and effect and can be positive or negative. One of the extremely important positive manifestations of karma in virtually all of the lifetimes of the Jesus soul in its varied past lives discussed in the Cayce readings, is the theme of Oneness.
There the entity was the priestess making overtures to those of other lands, - as in the Indo-China land, what is now the land of the setting sun in the Japanese and Chinese lands, that are so close at times in the inmost thoughts and being of the entity. For, ALL that ever was and ever is to be learned is that "The Lord thy God is one - ONE." O that it could and would be manifested as this entity can, - by word of mouth, by demonstration of the powers and the hopes within, - to bring to the consciousness of those it meets, that law "The Lord thy God is one." No matter in what clime, under what name, all must come to that as was from the beginning. For, know that He - who was lifted up on the Cross in Calvary - was also that Son in the land of the setting sun; also he that first walked among men at the beginning of man's advent into flesh! For He indeed was and is the first Adam, the last Adam; that is the way, the truth, the light! (2402-2)
… In all those periods that the basic principle was the Oneness of the Father, He has walked with men. (364-8)
Oneness is a common thread that runs through many of the lives of Jesus as described in the Cayce readings. Whether in the “law of One” in Atlantis or “the Lord thy God is One” in the various Hebrew incarnations (and even in the Gobi/Chinese incarnation cited above in reading 2402-2), or the Oneness preached by Jesus, (I and the Father are One: Christ Consciousness), this is certainly a positive karmic influence for this important soul entity.
Near the end of his incarnation in Palestine, after sweating blood in the garden of Gethsemane while asking whether the cross could be avoided, Jesus made the choice to do God’s will and fulfill his mission, even while realizing the pain and humiliation that he faced. Jesus met his karma on the cross gracefully and fulfilled his destiny by showing the way back to the Source. By living the "law of love" the soul entity that incarnated as Jesus was freed from the law of cause and effect (karma), exemplifying a graceful pattern that is available to each soul that seeks to become one with God.
By making his will one with God, he achieved the awareness of Oneness with God that is called Christ Consciousness. Thus the man Jesus became Christ, just as it is the destiny of each soul to become Christ.
Bro, H. H. (1990). A Seer Out of Season: The Life of Edgar Cayce. New York: Signet.
Sanderfur, G. (1988). Lives of the Master. Virginia Beach, VA: A.R.E. Press.