Judas, the one in scripture who is the most condemned, is the true revealer of Christ. We call him Judas, but Judas and Judah are one.
In biblical thought, a man’s name reveals his character. The full significance of the name is understood only when it is manifested in him who is the Word made flesh. Tonight we will take the name “Judas” which is spelled “Yod He Vav Dalet He” [Ye-hu-da]. The Divine name “Lord” is “Yod He Vav He”, called “I AM”. So we have the Divine name, “I AM” with dalet inserted into it. Dalet, the fourth letter of Hebrew alphabet, carries the symbol of a door. So the central figure of the New Testament declares: “I AM the door.”
Judas is called the betrayer of the Lord Christ Jesus. The dictionary defines the word “betray” as “to reveal, to make known; or to deliver into the hands of the enemy.” Jesus Christ is called the Word of God, this Word is truth. So the one who reveals (betrays) the truth is Judas and those who do not understand recoil from his message. They are the enemy, although they know it not. Who could reveal the secret of God but God himself? Who could reveal your secret thoughts other than yourself? I could take you into my confidence regarding certain things in my life, but no one can ever know my thoughts but myself. So if anyone reveals Christ as the Lord it must be God himself. “He who dips with me into the dish.” Who could dip with me but myself?
The Word of God is planted in every being and all the blows of life stir and agitate the Word, causing it to take root and begin to unfold. Then the drama as first told in the Old Testament and explained in the New as the life of Jesus Christ, unfolds, and you . . an individual . . are cast in the starring role! You are that which is being revealed to yourself.
Now let me share an experience of mine that took place on the 10th day of October, 1966. I am in a room, say thirty feet square, teaching the Word of God to twelve men. We were all dressed in ancient robes and seated on the floor. Suddenly one man rose and quickly left the room. As he walked out the door I knew he was going to tell the authorities what he had heard. Then a tall, handsome man about forty years old and about 6’4″ in height, beautifully attired in costly robes, entered. We all rose and stood perfectly still as he walked in. Walking straight as an arrow to the end of the room, he turned at a right angle and walked to the end of the room, turned at a right angle and walked to the center, turned and approached me. Then he hammered a wooden peg into my shoulder and taking a sharp instrument, with one circular motion he severed the sleeve of my robe, pulled it off, and discarded it. Extending his arms to form the cross he embraced me, kissed me on the right side of my neck, as I kissed him on the right side of his neck. As we embraced and the scene began to fade, I saw the discarded sleeve. It was the bluest of blue.
Now let me turn to the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, the 41st to the 45th verses. Imagination is speaking, saying: “The hour has come.” (You will notice that everything is on time.) “The hour has come; the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” Then the evangelist speaks of the one who enters, saying: “The betrayer has given them a sign that the one he shall kiss is the man, seize him and lead him out safely.” Then comes the finale, as the story of the betrayer is repeated, beginning with the words: “My hour has come.”
This true story unfolds in man, for every man has the Word buried in him. One day that Word will burst the seed and expand into the tree of life. Judas was not the one that departed to tell what he had heard. Judas is the revealer. No one knew who the betrayer was, only that he was to enter quickly, go straight to the one who is being revealed, and kiss him. Walking as fast as a soldier does on a rapid march, Judas embraced me, called me “Master,” and revealed me as the one in authority . . fulfilling the 22nd and the 53rd chapters of Isaiah. Hammering the peg upon my shoulder, I was given complete authority over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the world until the end, when the peg will fall and I am relieved of its burden.
The question is asked in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah: “Who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” In this world the right arm is symbolized in the Mass, in that communion must be taken with the right, never the left hand. These fellows come down, clothed in their ecumenical costumes, with a cloth on their right arm. There was a Cardinal here who developed some kind of a clot in his right arm, and when they amputated it he was given special permission from the Pope to conduct the Mass with his left hand. All this is symbolism on this level, and on the higher level the sleeve is severed to reveal the arm of the Lord.
Now, “The hour has come when the son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Who are the sinners? Those who recoil from the revelation of the truth that the human imagination is God! Tonight one billion who say they believe in Christ will recoil from the thought that their human imagination is God, and do not know they are sinners, enemies of the truth; for the true Christ is God’s power and wisdom housed in Man as his own wonderful human imagination. Those who do not accept the truth but see only its embodiment would destroy him, but he who recognized the personification of truth embraces him with extended arms.
The word “Judas” means “to celebrate; the hand of power, to revere; to worship with extended hand.” That is exactly what he did . . he extended his hands to me. He was the celebrant conducting the Eucharist; putting into the shoulder that which would form the burden of Israel, he extended his arms, embraced me, and betrayed me with a kiss. Judas is he who reveals you to yourself! So, scriptural characters are known only as they are manifested in you who are the Word made flesh!
The whole vast world . . misunderstanding the story . . condemns the revealer, and anyone who reveals this truth is condemned. But Judas, the revealer of scriptural truth, is in you and when you arrive at a certain point, like a tree bearing fruit he will be made manifest. Judas is known in his full significance only when he is made manifest in you, the Man who is the Word made flesh.
Let me now share an experience of a lady who is tasting of the power of the age to come. She said: “One afternoon in May of 1965 I was lying on the floor with my eyes closed, claiming that I could get out of my body if I wanted to. Suddenly I am viewing a country scene, as a horse-drawn carriage appears to my left with two people in it. The road is unpaved, yet the dust does not stir. It is lined with trees in the act of motion, but not moving. Ladies in skirts to their ankles and men wearing period clothing were standing to my right, three abreast, all facing the carriage. Everything seemed to be in the process of motion, yet perfectly still. Then I intuitively knew that my presence made them inactive, and that when I left they would become animated again. Instantly I am back on the floor, and . . knowing I was there only a second ago and completely awake and aware . . I asked myself: ‘Where was I?’ and a voice within me answered: ‘Paris, 1778.'”
May I tell you: this world is a play. Like the first act of any play, nothing has passed away, but is reenacted over and over again. Man, totally unaware that the world is a play and the garments dated, animates a section of time until the buried Word of God hatches out and he is born from above. That Word housed in you must be born from above for you to inherit the kingdom of God. And when you do, you will discover this world which seems so alive, to be dead. Those who are having these experiences are tasting of the age to come, when one by one we are all united into a single being who is God.
One being buried himself in all! His buried self containing his plan of salvation is called the Word. Now, the words Judah, Judas, and Jew are one and the same in scripture and mean the creative hand of God. The word begins with the letter “Yod” meaning “hand”, then comes “He,” “Vav,” . . and in the word “Judas,” a “Dalet” (a door) is added. Are we not told: “I AM the door; anyone who enters by me is saved”? You can only come through the one door. It is through this door of awareness that he enters and embraces you. He betrays you by revealing you to yourself as the being upon whose shoulder the responsibility and authority of many are nailed.
Every one of us exercises the right to turn this wheel of recurrence, as we pass through the same scene over and over again. This lady saw a scene in the year 1778. I have entered scenes just as solid and real as this room, knowing that if I arrested an activity in my imagination everything will stand still. I have entered a restaurant and, observing people being served, I have arrested an activity within me and everything stills. Releasing it, everything continues as intended. The world is a play which has already been written. The players are merely actors on the stage, but getting carried away with the action you weep and laugh, for becoming involved in the emotions of the unfolding acts you do not realize it is only a play.
Imagination is buried in his predetermined play, from which he is born and dies over and over again until the Word buried with him awakens. That is God’s awakening and your extraction from the play, as told us in the Psalms: “To the Lord God belongs my redemption from death.” God doesn’t redeem you from the outside, for every character in scripture is in you! All things exist in the Human Imagination, which is the Divine Body!
The Word of God which was with God and is God, is the play. It takes experiences of this world to agitate it and get it in motion in order for God to awaken; and as he does, all the characters of scripture enter to play their part. Judas appears to betray the Son of man, yet the Son of man is Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who is one with God. Judas reveals you . . the Son of man . . to be one with God the Father. Then he delivers you into the hands of the enemy, for you are compelled to tell your experience and those who hear it will recoil, for they know it is not so. “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” They attack because they do not know God’s revelation unfolds from within!
Test your own wonderful human imagination this night and believe in the reality of Christ, your creative power. Believe that all things are possible to him. Imagine the state you desire to express in this world, and as you go about your business you will see how quickly it will come to pass. Then one day scripture will unfold in you, casting you in the central role, but in the interval you are free to choose whatever you want to be or do.
Have you ever seen “Hamlet”? I have seen it maybe a dozen times as different actors play the part, and no two interpret Hamlet alike. Each differs in his interpretations, as is their privilege. And so it is with the part you are now playing. You can change it and play it differently if you desire, but you will not go outside of the framework of God, because his framework is within you. His play will unfold in you, for the outer part doesn’t really matter . . it simply goes on forever.
The scene this lady saw in 1778 in Paris remains forever as a part of the play. When I shed this garment and it is burned, the garment is gone, but you cannot destroy the interval that it walked this earth. Someone will come upon a scene in this time slot, reanimate the character, and play the part or still it . . as my friend did . . and view the scene. This section of time never passes away, but the gospel, the Word of God, is buried in all who are present in the scene. And God’s Word will slowly unfold in you, as the immortal you cannot die. You cannot go into eternal death in that which cannot die, and your immortal self is the human imagination. I don’t care what you do to the body you wear. You can rub it out, dissolve it, or turn it into ashes . . but it cannot die. I AM a God of the living, not the dead; and everything which appears to die does not, but remains forever and forever and forever.
Blake, in his “Visions of the Last Judgment,” said so beautifully: “Eternity exists and all things in Eternity independent of creation which was an act of mercy.” The world and all within it exists, but buried in the world is God himself. That was his act of mercy. And when he extracts himself from this bondage to decay, he expands beyond what he was when he buried himself in us!
In the 6th chapter of John, we are told that it is the will of our Father that of all he has given us nothing shall be lost, but will be raised up on the last day. What did God give us? Every character in scripture. And you will raise them all at the last day, because the infinite God is buried in you!
Take my words and dwell upon them, for I am telling you what I know from experience. I can see it all unfold in my mind’s eye. In my vision we were all seated on the floor when authority entered the door. “Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.” We rose and stood at attention as the symbol of authority moved across the room. Here was God Himself transferring power to the one he betrays by a kiss. The world has condemned a man called Judas, yet he is the eternal character who reveals God in man, to the man in whom God fell. So to go back to Blake: “Why stand we here trembling around calling on God for help and not ourselves in whom God dwells? Return to self in whom God dwells and scripture will unfold in you!”
When Pilate asked: “Where do you come from?” and Jesus did not reply, Pilate continued: “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and power to crucify you?” Then Jesus said: “You would have no power over me unless it had been given to you from above; therefore he who delivered me into your hands has the greater sin.” This world is a play and you can do nothing, were it not part of the play created from above. In your blind state you think you have the power to release or crucify, but you can do nothing were it not given to you from within. You must be born from above to get that same power! Only then will you know the power to annex the play that is repeated over and over again, yet all taking place within.
From beginning to end, the story of scripture is true. Every word of it has been fulfilled in me, yet I am the same person I was as a child named Neville. My mother is just as dear to me, as is my father. They are gone from this world but not to me. My brothers, sister, and friends, my wife, my daughter and son are just as precious to me as they always were, so I am not a different person because of my experiences. I have experienced everything said of Jesus Christ in scripture, and yet there is no loss of identity.
I know from experience that Jesus Christ is your own wonderful human imagination where all things exist. Buried in you, the human imagination unfolds as scripture fulfills itself in you. Not knowing you are human imagination, you imagine all kinds of things and cause the blows of life. Unwilling to apply your imagination, you . . as the enemy of Christ . . recoil from what I am telling you. You would rather go to church, light your candle at Mass, and think that’s enough. I have letters from people who believe that I who make this statement am a devil. But I know that one day they will awaken and everything they have done will be forgotten and never brought to mind again. They are doing and saying these things because they are struggling within themselves. Unable to believe that their own wonderful human imagination is God, they are the sinner who is missing the mark in life . . the sinner Judas betrays Christ to.
Tell the sinners of the world that the cause of the phenomena of life is in them and they are going to resent it, for they cannot believe that God is in them as their own wonderful human imagination. They cannot believe that the only God so loved us He became us that we may be as He is. Unable to accept the truth, they will try to tear the revealer apart. That is why he was told to “Lead him away safely.” The violent simply leave your world. They depart because they cannot accept the truth.
When truth is revealed the majority will not believe it, as it is not what they are expecting. They are looking for some external God to deliver them, yet there is not any. Follow no external being . . and that goes for all teachers, all Popes, all governments, all everything. The minute you believe someone external to yourself is your great leader he will enslave you, as told us in the first chapter of the Book of Samuel. Find God within you or you will never find him. And when you do, scripture will unfold in you! You will find yourself in a room, clothed in robes of the ancient world. Then Judas will appear and betray you with a kiss. But you aren’t going to be crucified. The crucifixion is over, there is only resurrection. One after the other all are being resurrected.
Now, in the New Testament Judas is the only suicide. Another is implied in the tenth chapter of John, where Jesus said: “No one takes away my life, I lay it down myself. I have the power to lay it down and the power to lift it up again, for I and the Father are one.” So no one can take your life from you, but Judas commits suicide, knowing “Unless I die thou canst not live, but if I die I shall arise again and thou with me. Wouldst thou love one who had not died for thee, or ever die for one who had not died for thee? And if God giveth not himself to Man, Man could not exist, so God died.” (William. Blake) Because God is his own Word, which is buried in all and contains his plan of salvation, he died and reached the limit of contraction that you might live. Revealing himself to himself in the state of Judas, he expands as the story of Jesus unfolds within you, the individual in whom the seed bursts.
Everyone will experience this same story and no one will be lost. You can’t lose Judas! The world thinks he was the son of perdition, as told us in the 17th chapter of John: “Of all that thou hast given me I have lost none but the son of perdition”; but the “son of perdition” means “the belief of loss.” I can move in time tonight to the year 2000 and see it taking place now, or I can go back to the year 1778 as my friend did, so I know nothing is lost. I also know that in this fabulous world of ours there is something in us that awakens and shows us that we are God the Father.
In the 17th chapter of John, God is addressed as “Holy Father,” saying: “Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou gavest to me that they may be one as we are one.” Keep them in the name of Holy Father that they may be one as we are now one! The name Father is given to you not just as a name, but as an identity. When God’s only begotten Son calls you Father, your true Fatherhood is revealed. Then the same one that came to me will come to you. He will nail the peg upon your shoulder and sever your sleeve to reveal the arm of power. And you will say the words: “Who will believe my report” To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Then you will tell it because you cannot restrain the impulse.
“If I say I will not mention his name anymore, there is within me as it were a burning fire within my bones and I am weary with holding it in and I cannot.” I cannot restrain the impulse to talk about it while I still wear the garment of flesh, because I know it is the truth. So I tell it and some believe while others disbelieve. When it happens to you, don’t be surprised if no one in your family shows any interest in your experiences. They are simply not hungry for the Word of God. But the time will come when a hunger will come upon them, not for bread or water, but for hearing the Word of God. When the hunger comes the seed is about to burst, but until then they would rather have the orthodox concepts of God.
So Judas is the most maligned character in the New Testament. He was the only one who committed suicide there. In the Old Testament, Saul committed it as well as three others, yet none are condemned because the Lord himself said: “I take away my own life. No one takes it from me.” So in spite of what the churches teach there is no condemnation for suicide. In the beginning God committed it, saying: “No one takes my life, I lay it down myself. I have the power to lay it down and the power to take it up again.” Committing suicide to become as you are, in the end you will commit suicide to be as He is!
Now let us go into the Silence.