"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all." (1 Corinthians 12: 1-6, New King James Bible). "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." (1 Corinthians 12: 7-11, New King James Bible).
The history channels on TV have a lot to say, these days, about prophecies. They show ancient prophecies of Nostradamus and other mystics, as well as more current predictions from individuals who (may or may not) also have the 'gift' of prophecy. Many predictions have come true; others are still subject to interpretation. Yet, the ability to see future occurrences has been present with certain individuals throughout history. Some people really have that particular gift of the Spirit. They really can see probable future events. But, I'm a person who always tries to separate the truth from the non-truth, and the real from the unreal. So, a few years back (when all these prophecies about global disasters began to emerge and try to scare us) I turned to the Christ Consciousness (our link with God, that nestles within each of us) to reveal to me the truth about prophecies, and the individuals who actually have visions of the future. Then I waited to hear whatever unfolded in my thoughts on the subject. Within minutes, something in the form of a parable came forward in my thinking. So, I share this unfoldment with you, as it came to me a few years ago (and I paraphrase because I don't recall the exact words): 'The ability to See the material future is possible to all; yet, those who have already developed such spiritual sight are like one who stands on a high mountain, gazing at a wide valley below. The Seer is looking down, into the valley, seeing the whole of the valley spread out before him, while the people in the valley cannot see the length and width of it. So, this Seer has the advantage of a wider scope of sight; that is, because of his or her own elevation, there is a wider view of the valley scene than others enjoy. Now, say that such a Seer, peering into the valley, sees two trains coming toward each other from each side of the valley; but they are many miles away from each other. The Seer knows that, if both trains stay on the course they are on, they will collide and become a great disaster. The Seer's wider range of perception has the insight to see what will happen in the future, if the trains stay on their same courses. So, if possible, the Seer must find a way to warn the engineers of each train to stop their train, before the probable collision is upon them. If contact is made with the train travelers in the valley, the disaster can be avoided. If not, that is, if things stay on their same course, the event will occur as the Seer's perception predicts. Those who can TRULY predict future events can sometimes see many years into the material future ahead. These are those who have risen in spiritual height themselves, or have become cognizant of spiritual reality enough to perceive the greater picture, over and above their limited physical sense of sight. They see with their greater, spiritual mind, rather than material belief and their five physical senses. Thus, the human, physical drama becomes predictable to the Seers because their perception of things is no longer bounded by physical sight, but has developed back to a certain level of spiritual Sight. This spiritual Sight resides in the omnipresence of the divine Mind, to which we are connected. As spiritual awakening occurs, the function of mental Sight expands its abilities in all directions.' That's as much as I remember of the unfoldment that came to me about human prophecies and the individuals who have them. From it, I gleaned that all spiritual gifts are by-products of some degree of spiritual awakening in an individual. Seeing what lies ahead in time is just one gift of the Spirit, helping to perceive, mentally, what is still invisible to material sight. It goes beyond the limitations of material sight. Sometimes a prophecy points out a disaster in the making, but not always. Some prophecies foretell global change for good. Many prophets of old perceived and foretold the birth of Christ Jesus, as the Bringer of spiritual truth and salvation over our collectively false, material sense of identity and life. Hence, armed with this truth of spiritual being and the invisible Kingdom of God underlying the physical sense of things, Jesus the Christ became our 'savior' over the evils and destructions (ills) we encounter on this material level of thought and belief. He told us, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16: 33, New King James Bible). Perceiving our own Christly-Self (our spiritual, rather than fleshly identity) heals world beliefs and their effects. Spiritual prophecy and sight are an expanded view, perceiving what is not yet visible to human sight. True prophecy blesses humanity by bringing an expectation or forewarning of some global event. Seeing the material future often serves as a way to change something, so that the disaster does not occur. All spiritual gifts, like the gift of prophecy, should elevate and inform, bless and assist humanity. They are not given to produce fear, or leave us with no ability to make the right changes, if needed. Now, having said all that, I wish to point out that not all political parties have prophets! In fact, most political figures today, in both parties, CLAIM to be Seers of the future, but are not. Political prophecies abound, so be careful of the fear they each induce; for in most cases, real prophets aren't relying on material evidences for anything. Real prophets rely upon their spiritual perception and their spiritually mental elevation—not political agendas and limited, human theories based on the outer world of form. God's universe of Spirit keeps us safe, whole and sound, eternally; even after the false, material world of form translates back into spiritual reality. When material disasters (like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes) appear in our world, the divine Love of God has a way of showing us the way of deliverance from them, and human survival after them. God's resources are infinite in scope. A global event is not a problem for Spirit's intelligence. In the time of the great flood, Noah, who listened for God's voice within, was led to build an ark of safety for his family and all his animals. Yet, others around the globe also heard the voice of God, within their own Christ Consciousness, and found the way of safety in that same global flood. Had Noah's family been the only ones to be saved, the world wouldn't have gone on as it did, with the diversity of peoples and cultures that exist today. Stories of the great flood, and those delivered from it, abound in all cultures. Many were saved from that disaster. That's because the invisible realm of Spirit is always with us, even when we believe we're in the limited, material sense of life in matter. Just one prophecy making its way through the various media channels today is the belief that the world (at least our planet) will be destroyed in some way in 2012. Yet, in Mark, Chapter 13 of the Bible, it is recorded that Christ Jesus told his followers this fact concerning the end of the material universe: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Mark 13: 32, New King James Bible). What Jesus was telling us is that, when the material universe of form finally translates back to the spiritual dimension, causing the 'end of the world', there probably are no prophecies that can pin down the time. So, scary predictions of super-natural proportions are just that. It is wise to do whatever we can to make our human environment safe and sound; but we each have the divine Intelligence within our innate, spiritual Selfhood, to use the intelligence we are given. When I was a child in grade school, our house was located about ten blocks away from the Mississippi River. In the 1940's and 50's, the River flooded a few times. One morning our family awoke to a basement completely filled with water that was creeping into our bedrooms. The water had risen high in the night, and everyone on our city block was being taken, by boats, to higher ground. The whole city, on and near the water's edge, was flooded; so the aftermath of this event lasted many months. During this event, I heard people around town often referring to God as the culprit of the Mississippi's flooding—instead of realizing that water flows wherever a path is forged on the planet. So, many individuals seemed to think that the flooding was a super-natural disaster. Some would not move, even though there was a strong, logical probability that the river would flood again. One often heard, "If it is God's will, then we accept it; we're not moving from our homes." Well, a group of engineers came to our area and, after re-shaping the land and channels of the river, the flooding stopped. It had never been God's will to flood people's homes. But the natural, God-given Intelligence (that is within us all) was there to solve the problem. This memory of that particular flooding has stayed with me since childhood, because I remember how wrong I thought it was to say that God had 'caused' the flooding, driving so many from their homes, and even causing a few deaths in the process. God does not use the planet to wreak 'natural disasters' on Its own children! Yet, with a listening ear, we will hear the intelligence and wisdom within that tells us what to do and where to go, to escape such things, and even how to renew after they happen, if any loss occurred. There are no disasters in the Kingdom of God; and it is in Spirit's realm that we actually exist, "For in him we live, and move, and have our being;" (Acts 17: 28, 1st line, King James Bible). That's good news for us, because it means that, through God's ever-presence and guidance, disasters can be averted, losses restored, and homes rebuilt elsewhere, when necessary. The disasters and losses which appear in the outer world of form come from the collective beliefs of humanity, such as hateful acts, wars, and not getting out of the way of the natural functioning of this planet. Take, for example, Hurricane Katrina (we actually name our storms, to give them more seeming power and life after they've left): Meteorologists had logically 'predicted' (and still do) that the New Orleans area is too low in physical elevation and not a smart place to live. More hurricanes are likely to wipe out that area again, not due to God, nor bad-luck, nor karma, but due to the weather patterns of our planet and the low elevation of the place, which is quite a bit below sea-level. Yet, some people treat that one hurricane as a super-natural occurrence; and some act as though there is an unexplainable right to remain in a logically, dangerous place, when common sense says to move out of harm's way. This planet is what it is, unless we find a way to change it. Holding back the sea is possible, but not probable. A river's course can often be changed; the sea is another matter. It is wise to realize that the divine Intelligence has Its own Will that creates heaven and earth, on ways far higher than our own wills insist upon. Yet, we often try to get God to do OUR will, or we're not interested in the divine solution to things. When we start out our prayers for deliverance from earthly trials and tribulations, we often begin from the premise that we know what is Right, and we want God to do our bidding, in order to bring our own sense of right into the human scene—when, in actuality, we have neither the perception nor spiritual insight to know what is really the Right move for us to make. This is why we turn to the Christ Consciousness within; we need spiritual Sight to guide us, rather than our own, limited human knowledge. I always say that God can See around corners; we can't. Deliverance from earthly disasters and predictions of disasters come swiftly when we set aside our own sense of Right and allow the divine sense within to come forward in consciousness. Then we follow that. Then we learn, after each such experience, the truth of the saying, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalms 16: 11, King James Bible).
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