A Biblical Vision

Prologue

The sun was setting behind the valley of the Jordan, tingeing the west with the most dazzling game of colours. The yellows fought the purples, and here and there, thin stripes of rusty green insinuated themselves, giving a strange note to this sky of the Orient, whose blue at the zenith extended into the depths of the Infinite.

On the arid wild ground of Palestine. Nature seemed to be rapt in itself. She seemed to be expecting some great event, for Nature - the expression of God's thought - feels beforehand when one of His wishes is about to be fulfilled.

Everything looked golden in this brightness, which intensified the majesty of the landscape.

Two men were ascending Mount Osha to the east of the Jordan, on the borders of the desert of Arabia. From that point, Mount Nebo could be seen, its silhouette indistinct in the distant haze. A fervent disciple would be rapt in meditation before the waves of memories that these places evoked. Was the ABARIM, this range of mountains, then the last retreat of the Divine Messengers? Did not Moses ascend Mount Nebo in his retreat from the sublime life that he had led? And what about these two strange looking men climbing to the peak of Osha, what mysterious pursuit led them there?

The other person was much younger and shorter. His eyes were fixed on the ground and his face revealed great sadness. He was full of anxiety. He sighed in despair and said:

"Master, you reveal very sad news to me. It moves my heart and grieves my spirit! You tell me, Master, that the hour of death is at hand, and you ask me to be present at this terrible moment!"

One of them was tall and strong, but he was old and his face was pockmarked. Dressed like the Bedouin travellers, he wore a brown tunic over a long robe. He was wrapped in a wide checked mantle of coarse black wool with red stripes. He had a serene look and his whole person expressed perfect calm. He was certainly a Master.

"Yes, dear child," replied the Master. "The time has come when my God, my Lord, must call me to Him. But why all this grief, why all these tears? Don't you know that when we separate from those we love on Earth, it is only to be reunited with them forever in Heaven? Don't you know that death is a grace that God grants to us, that it is the call to intense conscience, that it is the recompense for the accomplished mission? Why then, you incredulous one, do you grieve upon hearing this news? Why does not silence cut short your self-interest that speaks through your words of regret? You are crying! But you are crying not because I am dying; you are crying because when I pass away, I shall leave an empty place in your spirit and in your soul. You are crying because a void is made within you, and it is the fear of this void that haunts and frightens you."

"Is this void not your punishment and that of the race of rebels? Can it be otherwise? Is it not fair that the perturbation brought on by yourself and your brothers should have its counterpart in this world of representations? And is it not fair that you should suffer due to the very strictness of the laws whose authors you are? Can you form an idea, can you have a concept in your being - blocked to memory - of the tragedy that Conscious Spirits perpetrated before all time? And you, darkened and obscured Spirit, compressed within Matter, can you have a flash of intuition about what had been and what ensued? We were all within the Unity, in Heaven, next to our common Father. It was Paradise; it was joy and happiness. The void never came to trouble and agitate our Essence. The void never came to haunt our Spirit. Trouble, terror and obsession were all unknown to us !

"Then the Spirit revolted. It melted into the elements and became Man. You left the Celestial Domains, drawn by the beauties of Matter. You lost yourselves within the worlds and, by your temerity, you created a void in Heaven. The heart of our God was mortified. He suffered from the separation of Entities that had issued from Him. And now, due to the implacability of Laws, since you created pain in the Heavens, now, you suffer on Earth. The grief of God pursues you and will do so for a long time to come. And the void, the hideous void, will always be your punishment!"

At that instant a flash of lightning tore across the sky, although it was still bright and serene, and a loud voice resounded:

"Elijah!……"

Lifting his eyes, the Master answered:

"I am coming, my Lord, my Master."

The disciple had fallen to the ground. He was hiding his face in his hands and sobbing bitterly. He kept saying:

"Master, do not leave me like this. Have pity on me who am innocent and bear the fault of my brothers. Have pity on one who suffers misery because they failed."

"Your brothers did not fail at all", replied the Master. "Each one carries his own share of the blame within him. Your tears and lamentations are nothing but the demonstration of your selfishness. You are crying! Why? Is it because I am returning to my God, where peace reigns? Are you crying because the favour of God overwhelms me? You egotist! If you really loved me, you should be happy for all these reasons. But no, you are sad before it all. You are crying over your own self. You are crying because I am about to leave you. You are crying because you will no longer hear my voice. You are crying because you will be left on your own. It is therefore not for me that you are crying, oh selfish being, but for yourself, always for yourself!"

While his Master was speaking in this severe manner, the disciple was prostrate in tears before him, holding the hem of his robe, just as a child does with its mother's dress.

The conversation was interrupted.

A second flash of lightning violated the skies, and in a rumble of thunder the Celestial Voice cried out:

"Elijah!……"

And the echoes resounded the name. The vibration persisted and blended with that of Nature.

"I am coming, my God, my Lord, my Master", replied Elijah, gazing towards infinity.

Then turning to the disciple lying prostrate at his feet, he said: "Stand up Elisha, and listen to my last instructions:"

"As soon as I die, you will leave this place and go to the holy city. You will take an armful of roses and summon the faithful to the square before the temple. These roses should not be more than 72, for to-day 72 years of my life have elapsed and this is the end of the cycle of my life. They must be 72 also because 72 is the number of the Guardians of the Law, and because 72 are the Angels that govern the surface of the Earth, and because the Kings are 7 and those who generated them are 2. You will give a rose to each of the faithful ones, and after these 72 chosen ones have smelled the fragrant perfume of the rose, you will transmit to them my last words.

"You will tell them:"

" 'Each one of you must prepare for a voyage. Wash your underwear and fold it into a pack, which you will carry on your back'.

"Then you, together with another 6 that God, my Master, has chosen so that you may be 7, will each take 9 faithful ones with him, and so form 7 groups of 10 men each.

"And 10, under one of them, wilt go to Syria.

"And 10, under one of them, will go to Egypt.

"And 10, under one of them, will go to Arabia.

"And 10, under one of them, will go to Hellas.

"And 10, under one of them, will go to Cyrenaica.

"And 10, under one of them, will go to Persia.

"And you, with yours, will remain in the sacred city for Intelligence (Contact) and Direction.

"You will guide them with Justice and Goodness.

"The last two, who are also chosen ones, Father and Daughter, you will keep near you, and they will also work for the Intelligence of the sacred goal.

"They will be ministers to you, like you and you plus one.

"When all the faithful are clean and ready to depart, you will gather them together one last time at the square before the Temple. You will take another armful of 72 roses, give one to each of them, and say:

   " 'Look at this flower. It is a rose; it is the symbol of our common idea. The rose is the flower that reigns among all plants, and it is under the auspices of this symbol that you will prepare the path for Him Who will come and Who, like the rose, is King of the World, and Whose perfume will spread all over the world.'

"Then the 72 will ask you: " 'Are you alluding to Elijah?'

"And you will answer: " 'I am not alluding to Elijah but Elijah will come back. It will not be he; it will be another, although that other will be he.'

"Then you will say to them: " 'You have enough Light within you to accomplish your mission, but if your Light should fail, smell the Rose, and the Light will return to you with greater strength and life. Keep this rose as it is, in bloom. It will not wither except in the hands of the one who has failed in his mission.

" 'Always walk ahead, never retrace your steps. Do not look back, even if you are insulted, even if you are beaten up. And if you are pursued so as to be killed, always walk ahead.

" 'Your symbol will be the Rose.

" 'Your aim will be to prepare the path for the Messiah.'

"This is what you will say to your brothers on my part. May you guide them with Justice."

The prophet's last words were covered by a formidable noise and the Celestial Voice thundered:

"Elijah!……"

"I am coming, my Master, my God. Here I am!..."

Two winged dragons, quick as lightning, swooped down from Heaven and landed on Earth before the prophet. Their linked wings formed a seat and Elijah knelt on it.

Desperately clinging to his Masters mantle, the disciple kept trying to hold him back with this powerless gesture.

"Why are you leaving me, venerable Master?" he sighed.

Then Elijah, loosening his mantle, which remained in the hands of Elisha, consecrated him with these words

"Race of revolt, cease your lamentations and keep this mantle as a sign of your dignity."

Then Elijah rose, carried by the winged chariot towards the Celestial Dwelling, where he would rest after the hard mission that he had proclaimed.

For a moment, Elisha stood as if petrified, looking up at the skies beyond which his Master, Elijah the Prophet, had disappeared.

The sun had set. Darkness reigned all around, as it did in the disciple's heart. Prostrate, and sunk in his sad thoughts, he wept in silence.

Gradually the idea of his duty returned to him. The high teachings of his Master took their place once again within him. He then prayed, asking Almighty God for the strength and the Wisdom to worthily pursue his mission as an Initiate.

Dawn caught him prostrate, but he was no longer weeping. He rose, radiant and dignified put on Elijah's mantle and climbed down the mountain.

He reached the Jordan, where his anxious brothers were waiting for him, and accomplished the work for which he had been sent.