“The kingdom of Heaven is within you. But the time comes when that which is within shall be made manifest in the without, for the sake of the world. Order indeed is good, and needful, but before all things is love. Love one another and all the creatures of God, and by this shall all men know that you are my disciples.”

The Gospel of the Holy Twelve 91: 3-4

In the previous seven reflections of this module ‘Spiritual Pentecost’ we have profoundly discussed many aspects of the influence of the Holy Spirit on those who follow the gnostic path. It may be clear that such a path can only be followed on the basis of insight and longing. We can now go more deeply into the gnostic meaning of the Pentecost narrative, as it has become known from Chapter 2 of the book of Acts of the Apostles, which is described in a slightly different way in chapter 182 of The Aquarian Gospel and chapter 96 of The Gospel of the Holy Twelve.

If a human being assimilates gnostic light forces and allows them to become active in him, he will find that they bring about a completely new order. After some time, this new order will begin to reflect itself outwardly, individually as well as in groups.The tree is always recognised by its fruit. It is virtually impossible for a single individual to fulfil his or her inner assignment of becoming a bridge between Creator and creation. Even though one ardently longs for this and is full of good intentions, it is very difficult to attract the required higher energies or light forces independently as an individual.

Moreover, time and again the suction power of the material world, and especially nowadays the virtual world, drowns out any awareness of the inner man. Especially at the beginning of the path it is extremely difficult to stay focused on all the changes that are going to take place. It is for this reason that mystery schools have been founded.

Light-messengers are heralds from the divine world who incarnate on earth. They accepted the assignment from the universal brotherhood to help humanity on its path from darkness to light. They bring like-minded people together in order to follow the gnostic spiritual path with their combined strength. They develop teachings and practices that fit the culture and the life circumstances in which they are working. Through the sacrifice and effort of the founders of mystery schools, their ‘pupils in the mysteries’ can develop themselves. While going their individual path of soul rebirth, these pupils can liberate light forces and contribute them to the increasingly powerful group. In this way, time after time and age after age, the Holy Spirit can pour itself out into a prepared gnostic community, thereby purifying and transforming all participants in the group. Moreover this outpouring contributes to the development of consciousness for all humankind.

With all this in mind we now approach the mysteries of Pentecost.

The atmospheric Christ Power is available for every human being, everywhere and at all times. We may call this power an extremely weakened form of the Holy Spirit. At first it is a gently touching and calling field that arouses a longing for higher life. This field, however, is not yet working in a purifying and transforming way. True sanctification or healing can only take place in a field in which the Holy Spirit is powerfully effective. And that is possible only when the calling power is recognised and accepted.

The Holy Spirit does not come upon an individual or a group by chance. It must be consciously received and invigorated. That is why it is related in the Pentecost narrative in the last chapter of The Gospel of the Holy Twelve that about one hundred and twenty disciples devoted themselves to prayer and supplication together. Praying in the gnostic sense is not asking for personal benefits or individual salvation, rather it is an intense inner orientation to the vertical. Real prayer is humbly begging to be allowed to receive the gnostic light power into our own system – breathing the holy breath. This force will then be gnostically converted so that it becomes both divine and human at the same time. With this quality it can be breathed out into the horizontal dimension for the benefit of seeking souls. Then the human being who prays in a gnostic sense will be of service to everything and everyone.

After the ascension the disciples turned into apostles. One of them, Peter is put in charge of the newly established community. This part of the Pentecost narrative describes no ordinary church but the universal invisible church, the indestructible building of light. Peter, a symbol for the will, is the new high priest. He has taken the place of the old high priest, the will of the outer man which is oriented toward the earth. Peter presides over the other apostles and distributes the tasks. The disciples and apostles symbolise the twelve pairs of cranial nerves which control the entire human body. The apostles on the spiritual path are continuously taught by Jesus and in this way prepared for their new task. Before the ascension they were guided by Jesus, the inner light-power. But after the ascension they became the bearers of an even higher force: the fiery power of the spirit.

The ministering work of the apostles begins. In The Gospel of the Holy Twelve, four functions are distinguished, each of which is required for the spiritual path, both in a human being as well as in a group: apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastors. These correspond respectively to the four elements of fire, air, water and earth. These roles can all be present simultaneously in one person.

The Apostles were given staffs to guide their steps in the ways of truth and crowns of glory; to the Prophets were given burning lamps to show light on the path and censers with fire; and to the Evangelists, the book of the holy law to recall the people to the first principles; and to the Pastors were given the cup and platter to feed and nourish the flock. But to none was given anything that was not given to all, for all were one priesthood under the Christ as their Master and Great High Priest in the Temple of God.

The Gospel of the Holy Twelve 96: 6-7

The primary task of the apostles is continuously maintaining the connection with the spirit. For this the new will, Peter, is indispensable. He is the new high priest. Peter is the mediator who has taken the place of Jesus as intermediary after the ascension. The Apostles are equipped with staffs and crowned with glory. We will now understand that these images are direct references to the renewed serpent fire system and the opened crown chakra, which makes this liberating work possible.

The task of a prophet is not only to observe how the grand goal can be achieved step by step, but also to consciously cooperate in its realisation. To this end every prophet receives a burning lamp. This lamp is the light of the new soul in the frontal sinus cavity, also called the ‘third eye’ or ‘the sign of the Son of man on the forehead.’ It is related to the renewed brow chakra. It is ‘a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ as Psalm 119:105 puts it. Each time a step is made, the light from the inner lamp will make clear what the next step will be.

The censers with fire refer to the purifying light-power, symbolically indicated as incense, which is extracted from the spiritual workshops of the human body. They are the 49 plexi-circles, the seven times seven nodes of the nervous system. In these small workshops – small temples as it were – the fire of the spirit meets the darkness of the earth. Every victory of this fire over matter liberates ‘incense’, or soul power. These streams of purifying light-power flow uninterruptedly into the world and purify both the individual as well as the collective human life-field. The streams of light keep the gates of the new life open and accessible as long as possible.

Evangelists possess the gift of new speech. Through their words they lead people to gnostic understanding based on their individual knowledge of the inner law, their love for the inner law and by their fulfilment of the inner law. That is why it is written that they receive the book of the holy law. The renewed throat chakra resumes its sacred function as a creative organ. The words of the evangelists bring the kingdom of the soul closer than ever and resound throughout the farthest reaches of the ‘world of good and evil.’ Pastors receive the cup and the platter with which they can feed and nourish others. It is the grail cup: the foot is standing in the heart while the chalice is formed by the opened head sanctuary. The basis for this cup is the renewed heart chakra.

Three stages of development can be distinguished in this process. These spiritual phases correspond to the Christian Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit and also to the Christian holidays of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. The apostle Paul calls these three mysteries the mysteries of faith, of hope and of love (1 Corinthians 13:13). The Rosicrucians of the seventeenth century formulated these same three mysteries into the phrase ‘born of God, died in Jesus, reborn by the Holy Spirit.’ As soon as the third mystery has been fulfilled, the day of Pentecost begins.

We read about this in The Gospel of the Holy Twelve:

When the third day had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and as they prayed there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and the room in which they were assembled was shaken, and it filled the place. There appeared cloven tongues of flame like fire that sat upon the head of each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Peter stood up and preached the Law of Christ to the multitude of all nations and tongues who were gathered together by the report of what had been seen and heard, each man hearing in his own language of where he was born.

The Gospel of the Holy Twelve 96: 8-9

Does this mean that the apostles suddenly started to speak in foreign languages they never learned? No! The Universal Love Power of the Holy Spirit, which the apostles received in the third mystery, touches the hearts of those who truly seek for true life. They will then understand the ‘language of Love’ of the apostles in their hearts. This universal language of soul-humanity can be understood anywhere in the world.

The sentence “Each man was hearing in his own language in which he was born” means that all types of people with an awakening spirit-spark are touched by the calling, liberated light-power. Thinkers, doers, helpers, persuaders, creators, organisers and many other types of people will immediately understand the language of Love. This language speaks to the inner being, the still unborn Jesus in everyone’s heart. But it may be that the head does not yet understand this language. It is even possible that the head rebels against it because the aspects of soul-rebirth are not in accordance with its current interests.

Therefore: “examine everything; hold fast to that which is good.” Be prepared to abandon what seems true today for the higher truth of tomorrow, but do this in full autonomy and only by authority of the Other-One-within-yourself. Every human being is called to discover himself as to his or her immortal Self.

We wish you a very successful journey.

In conclusion, some quotations from chapter 90 of The Gospel of the Holy Twelve.

That which is seen and received by one, is not seen and received by another. That which appears true to some, seems not true to others. They who are in the valley see not as those who are on the hilltop.

But to each, it is the Truth as the one mind sees it, and for that time, until a higher Truth shall be revealed to the same; and to the soul which receives higher light, shall be given more light.

Be faithful to the light you have, until a higher light is given to you. Seek more light, and you shall have abundantly; rest not, until you find.

God gives you all Truth, as a ladder with many steps, for the salvation and perfection of the soul, and what seems to be truth today, you will abandon for the higher truth of tomorrow. Press on to Perfection.

The Gospel of the Holy Twelve 90: 6, 7, 9, 10