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Thou shalt not be burned

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Announcements Forums Reality — March 28th, 2021 Thou shalt not be burned

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    Ldshap
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    Isaiah 43:2: “. . . when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” (Responsive Reading)

    This citation recalls to me the story of how St. John was delivered from the cauldron of burning hot oil, which I never tire of reading and re-reading, as he demonstrated so magnificently that his joy could not be taken from him, even in the most dire of circumstances, as he sang hymns of praise throughout the entire ordeal!! Here is the story (from Dictionary of Miracles, by E. C. Brewer, p. 57):

    “When St. John the Evangelist was ninety years old, the Emperor Domitian commanded him to be cast into a cauldron of burning hot oil. The place appointed for the torture was a large open field before the Latin gate. A huge cauldron was prepared and filled with oil, pitch and resin, which melted over a fire of wood, and an enormous crowd assembled on the spot to see the spectacle. The evangelist, no doubt, was scourged first, according to the usual custom, and was then led forth into the field. More fire was piled up and the cauldron began to seethe and over-flow; then he was taken up and let down into the midst of the boiling mass.

    The flames were so fierce and high as wholly to conceal the martyr, but the crowd distinctly heard a voice singing in the cauldron. Everyone was amazed and waited impatiently to see the end. More and more fuel was piled on the fire, till the heat was unbearable for many yards distance, and still the voice was heard singing hymns of praise.

    At length the fire burnt out, and the multitude crowded round the cauldron, when lo! There sat the aged Apostle in the midst, wholly uninjured. The oil, the resin, and the pitch, had all boiled away, the cauldron was quite dry; but there sat the evangelist, not a hair of his head injured, but his face beaming like the sun, and his aged body actually invigorated. The officers lifted him out of the cauldron, and led him back to prison.”

    What a glorious example of the truth or our Leader’s statements on page 14 of our textbook, where the marginal heading is “Spiritualized consciousness”: “Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, – neither in nor of matter, – and the body will then utter no complaints. . . . Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love. . . . [because the Ego is absent from the body, and present with Truth and Love.]” (Lines 16-22)

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Love is the liberator.