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Evil, Devil, Judging

Posted on 30 October 2017, 12:45

In our convesations with the spirit of Stephen the Martyr, in the 1970s, we found him a wonderful spiritual counsellor.

Stephen: Michael, may I, before your questions, answer the question that you would have asked concerning evil, sin and other things which may trouble you from time to time. There is evil, unfortunately, and to tell what is evil is simplicity itself: anything that would put a barrier between yourself and your Lord, your God, is evil. This is evil in the true sense. Temptation to do a thing that you would wish not to do must be evil.

But let me give a word here in caution. Occupy your minds and thoughts with what is good, for that is to think positively. If you wish to find evil it takes less effort than to find good. This you probably recall from your own experience.

Michael: That was on my mind, and I am not surprised you knew it. Now would you confirm for me that I am correct in believing that there is no devil, in the sense of one head being, opposed to God?

Stephen:  This I will confirm, in the sense that you have stated. In reality the “Devil” or “Satan” is a collective state of mind, en masse, and has many manifestations. In groups large and small, devil can manifest. Your term “mob violence” is a manifestation of devil, but the opposite of devil can occur in groups, where there are manifestations of God. Therefore do not discount the devil, even though you should not think of him as an entity - the danger being that you will decide that Stephen is the devil!

Olive: I told someone about you Stephen and that was her immediate reaction. But I myself believe I know differently! Stephen, could you perhaps tell us what is meant by a body being possessed by the devil?

Stephen: Here we are dealing with certain entities. But firstly, at the time of history when this is mentioned mostly, it quite often referred to purely physical phenomena and sickness. But there is indeed possession by evil entities. Remember the guide to recognise evil: it is what would keep you and separate you and put a barrier between you and your God. Therefore, if there were a non-physical entity which possessed your mind, and used your mind and body for purposes of keeping you separate and stopping your development, or delaying your development towards your God, it would be demon-possession indeed.

In the Scriptures you will find that our Lord cast out these demons and even today many are possessed by demons.  Speak not ill of your brothers who cast out demons. Think not that it be their imaginings. Demon possession, which you enquire about, is more common than you would imagine. By their fruits shall you know them.

Section 40. Judging

Stephen: Be quite clear, your duty to God and your fellow man is simplicity in itself:

You should concern yourself only with your own actions towards others, and love sufficiently as did our Lord Jesus.

You will accept with love, as a gift, the actions that they would do unto you.

We must, for our own sakes, never decide for another what they should do to improve themselves.

We must forever be concerned only with what we must do, for we know what is right and what is wrong, that we do ourselves.

Someone speaks words that make us angry.

We would be wrong to think that the anger comes from those words. The words when they came from the other were just words. They were received and turned into anger by us.

If another speaks words that we judge as intolerance those words did not leave the mind or the heart of that other as intolerance; they were turned into intolerance by us.

We must say each time when we speak to another, “I must not sin. I must not judge. I must not anger. I must only love.”

To direct in physical things is not to judge, for the soldier who leads many men must, for the physical, make judgements for the physical by the physical.

Our Lord Jesus has said, “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” but in the judgement of the spiritual, this is the Father’s and we give you the judgement of the Father, for it is His to judge.

Our mind is but physical, therefore it may judge what is needed for the physical; our soul is of the Father and the Father judges the soul. Let not your physical mind judge the soul of another, for in doing so you are attempting to judge the Father.

Do not get confused between physical judgments and spiritual judgments. Separate them in your mind. For the spiritual, only ask through your heart for the Father to guide you yourself in the way that you must act. Never ask that He guide you to judge another in the way that they must act.

All of this that you have spoken tonight moved from one judgment to another judgment. Who was the lesser? Who was the greater? It is folly to ask the question, for you lack the necessary knowledge and judgment in any case gives no satisfaction to your heart.

The Father asks that you do not judge, for He loves you; for when you judge you take away the peace that He has given you. You lose the harmony that is His gift to you and you punish yourselves in your dissatisfaction.  For someone who is hungry cannot be filled by eating wood-dust, for he would not thrive and his throat would become dry.

Take only good grain that comes to you in truth, for this is the food of the Father.

Think of all these things that you have spoken this night, of the dissatisfaction that you have felt, of the confusion that has come to you, of the blindness and the shields that have come across your eyes.

The more that you have spoken the less you could see and the less was your understanding.

Had you instead looked inside yourselves and said, as you had done later in your prayers, “Am I giving love? How best can I love others?” I need not speak any more, for think of the two conversations - your previous one and the conversation of your prayers - what you felt in your heart - and then ask yourselves which was the chaff and which was the good grain? Feed yourselves only with this good grain and may God bless you.

41. More about Judging.

Olive: Perhaps you could go on a little further about judging.

Stephen: To truly judge is to act upon a decision.

Now I ask you this - have you indeed judged or perhaps, like a wise king, have you learned to seek advice before the final judgement is made?

For to judge is to act upon the decision or cause an action upon that decision.

Do not feel that you are guilty of judgement by listening to an opinion from yourself by reckoning the possibilities of what may, or may not, be so.

But once judged the decision is final.

Before the courts there are always two advocates and whilst in your mind the advocate for the defence still speaks then judgement has not been made, even upon you.

Fear not the argument or the case before the court, for each moment you must listen to arguments for and against all things, whether you should eat or not eat, move or stay where you are.
Until judgement is actually made on these things, no action is taken, therefore you have not yet judged. And as Thomas always likes a guideline that he may use, then I say this - you have not judged until you have acted.
Once more, now you think, you will also remember that you know.
 
At times my task is very satisfying in that I cannot be wrong in what I say to you; for these are things which, after I have said them, you know that you have known, and therefore I must always be right!

Olive: It is an enviable position!

Stephen: Have I to do a little more of my task? Call me, perhaps, your memory and you will understand me better and also the things that I must do.

Michael Webb.: Our memory spanning more than this incarnation

Stephen: You say “our memory” and this is the correct term, OUR memory.

Michael Webb: Thank you.

Stephen: At times, it would be confusing for all of our memory to be with us. So I listen to the argument for and against and I do not judge. Often there is neither refusal nor affirmation, but wonderful inaction only; my memory may be refreshed and the judgement passes from me. You are correct, I tease!

Michael Cocks edits the journal, The Ground of Faith.
Afterlife Teaching From Stephen the Martyr by Michael Cocks is published by White Crow Books and available from Amazon and other bookstores.

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For more on Stephen go to www.thegroundoffaith.net/issues/2017-02

 


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