FOREWORD

I send this little book out into the world as an humble tribute to the cause of truth, with heartfelt gratitude to the Master Jesus for the patient guidance and illuminations that have been given me during the years that I have been pondering over the pages of the Scriptures of the Aryan race, realizing fully that I have sensed but a very small part of the wonders that lie hidden beneath the wonderful symbolic utterances of that marvelous Mystic Book, but full of joy that I have found enough to reveal to me something of the wondrous beauty of God's plan for the evolution of man.

Mistakes, there are many, no doubt, that better scholarship, or greater spiritual perceptions may reveal, as time goes on, but I have tried to give it exactly as it was presented to my mind and what mistakes. there are, are the result of undeveloped faculties trying to grasp ideas too great for them to comprehend. These facts, however, came to me with such illuminative force, that I cannot but hope that they may prove equally helpful to others who are struggling in the bonds of mistaken conceptions of what the Bible really teaches.

We are standing upon but the threshold of the Temple of Truth, and can but glimpse the glories lying within, but each step we take forward brings us nearer to the vision celestial; and no effort made with the right motive will be lost. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of special interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man:

but man spake from God being moved by the Holy Spirit." II Peter I, 20 and 21. Here we are justified in searching out the hidden inner meaning, as, indeed, we are in many passages that refer to the "Mysteries of Jesus."

Occultists tell us that all Scripture has seven different meanings intended to assist man at each of the seven different planes of his evolution, and this seems to be true. At each step that we take, we find that the tale told is just what we most need to direct us along the path. To the writer they have ever spoken in no uncertain tone.

These illuminations have brought to me such unspeakable joy, and peace, such conviction and strength of inspiration, that to those at the same stage of progress I feel sure that they must of necessity come as a blessing. To those farther along upon the path, they will perhaps seem crude, while to those not so far advanced they may in some cases be unintelligible. They are sent out to those who need them, to those to whom they appeal. May the Master bless them as they start upon their long journey to hunt the hearts that need them; may they in some small way, help to make straight the way of the Great Master Christ, when He again comes to this sin-sick old world; and may they help, at least a few earnest souls to gain the token by which they may know Him when He appears.

HARRIET TUTTLE BARTLETT.

INTRODUCTION

It may be well to explain in a few words, something of the method by which these conclusions have been arrived at.

The Bible read in the literal way that is customary with the purely orthodox, fails to stand the test of historic and scientific research, because of the erroneous assumptions of the translators, who were misled by lack of the information that is now coming in such abundance to us. It is gratifying to see that the recent translators have discarded the foolish chronology which has caused so much trouble and while it is somewhat disconcerting to think of the many reckonings that are thrown into confusion as to time by this step, yet it was positively necessary to understand things as they are.

Scientific investigation has done much in giving us data upon which to calculate, in a general way, but to Oriental research, especially through philological lines, do we owe much of the information that is proving a golden key by which we may unlock the storehouses of ancient wisdom that throw light upon the obscure portions of our Sacred Book. To state it briefly, these investigations have brought out the fact that the most ancient Sacred MSS. give out the same great fundamental truths upon which our own religion is based. Many great natural laws are explained and about the same ethical standard is upheld as we have been accustomed to connect with the teachings of our own faith; the difference being, if any, rather in favor of the superiority of the standard upheld by the an

cients as being attainable. "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect" was to them an attainable ideal, while to us it seems a monstrous assumption.

As we study, we see that the weakness in our own system lies in the fact that the Christian Mysteries have been temporarily lost, due to the political aspirations of the church from the fourth century, but abundant evidence exists that they were a part of the Apostolic Church, and that the early Church Fathers owed their unusual spiritual strength to the influence of this special training.

We find there are certain symbols that are universal, to which the hidden truths have been confided during the ages, and that these symbols tell the same tale, no matter where they may be found, no matter what the language of the people may be. Then we look and find these same symbols telling the same story in our own Bible. The Hebrew language lent itself with unusual felicity to the veiled work of the Mysteries, as it was a purely consonantal language, each letter having a numerical value, and each number having an esoteric significance. It is not surprising that the message has remained hidden under the circumstances. It was perfectly safe until the time was ripe for its disclosure. Evidently the Master's will controlled the situation. Not until man's intuition develops will the secrets of the ages be revealed to him.

The translation of the personal nouns and geographical names, often gives the key to an allegory, but, in this line of work, one is often hindered by the fact that the meaning of the word has been lost in the course of the ages. By taking the root, however, trac

ing it back as nearly as possible to its mother tongue, one may often get a meaning that clearly dovetails with the obvious meaning of the text in such a way as to justify the inference that the right one has been found, or at least something very near to it.

In studying the allegorical meaning of the Bible the writer finds that it is wise to stick to the spiritual meaning consistently all the way through, not read one passage allegorically and the next literally which causes the garbled result so often obtained by Bibli cal scholars.

This line of study, however, demonstrates that the lower mind alone cannot give satisfactory results. To the intuition must we turn if the higher truths are to become ours. For that reason Scripture should always be studied in a prayerful spirit. Personally, the writer has always called directly upon the Master Jesus for guidance, and all that has been given at such times, when the flash of illumination has been accompanied by a sense of "The Presence" has withstood the test of the most careful investigation that she has been able to make from information available. The first glimpse has not always been complete, and additional information given later has made the matter clearer, but she has never yet been obliged to admit one of these glimpses of truth to be erroneous; invariably they have proven true, though perhaps in a much larger way than was at first perceived. Gradually she has learned that in the consciousness of at-one-ment of Spirit it is but necessary to touch the hem of His Spiritual garments, or His Spiritual vibrations, that virtue may flow from Him. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man