New Thought Archives

Questions to direct your study

(Be alert – find the answers)

1. What is revelation? Is revelation possible today?
2. How do you account for the fact that it is generally true that “eye hath not seen nor ear heard”?
3. How does man received a revelation of truth which seems new to him?
4. Will any truth newly “discovered” be contradictory to others previously realized?
5. Where is “the Kingdom” and how does one come to live in it?

Truth is eternal and changeless, but until every mystery of truth is made plain to the mind of man there must be revelation. Though “eye hath not seen, nor ear hear, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared,” 1 Cor. 2:9 man also has the promise that, “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.” Isa. 35:5

Revelation comes not at set times and places but to the individual when he is able to receive and make use of fuller knowledge. The Spirit of Truth will guide man into all truth. It is an indwelling Spirit of Divine Intelligence which never forsakes man but forever proclaims, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock:” Rev. 3:20 and “Lo, I am with you always.” Matt 28:20 When man is willing to hear the voice and open his consciousness to it, it will guide him into divine understanding and he will see all things in a new light.

“Revelation is an unveiling, but the veil is on the face of man and not on the face of God.” The veil is a fitting symbol of our ignorance; with every new revelation of truth the veil grows thinner. “Which veil is done away in Christ.” 2 Cor. 3:14 In the full understanding of truth all ignorance is done away. Revelation is not the making of new truth, it is the uncovering of the ever-present Truth as we are able to see and hear.

We speak of the discovery of a new star; we mean it is a new discovery of a star that belongs to the ages. It is something new to our understanding, but not new to truth. In the use of electricity today man has not made a new truth; he has but discovered the use of an eternal truth. The light of electricity that now brightens our homes might have illumined the Garden of Eden if man had then known its presence and the laws of its use.

Jesus discovered some truth that Moses had not seen “Clouds and darkness are around about him,” Ps. 97:2 is the Psalmist’s conception of God. With Jeremiah we have been willing to say, “Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.” Lam. 3:44 In a better understanding of God, John declares, “God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 That was the true “light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9 “Take heed that the light which is in thee be not darkness.” Luke 11:35 Take care that thou are not in the dark concerning the things of Truth.

The Psalmist and Jeremiah saw the darkness in their own conceptions and thought the “cloud” was around God. “Thou thoughtest that was altogether such an one as thyself.” Ps. 50:21 As well might we say on a cloudy day, “The sun has wrapped itself in clouds and darkness.” The clouds that hide the sun from us are around our earth and arise from the earth. Every sense of “cloud” – every fear, doubt, sorrow or pain comes from self and not from God; is around us and not near the Source of light and love. These are new discoveries that come as we open our eyes to see and our ears to hear that which forever was and is.

We cannot see by the light that lights another; yet we may get a spark that will set our lamp to burning, but that is all. There is in each soul an illumination – a radiance from the Inmost Soul, the Source – that is infinite in love and wisdom. When the consciousness of an individual is opened to this illumination and he hears, this is revelation. Truth perceived destroys ignorance and frees our thoughts. Truth never destroys any portion of truth, for the fuller knowledge includes all the fragments that have been previously perceived.

Jesus found men in this blind condition. He told them of Truth’s presence “within” and “at hand,” but knowing that time might be needed for the light of these truths to come he kindly said, “Seek and ye shall find.” Matt. 7:7 We search for a thing as long as we do not know where it is. Our search for heaven has proved that we knew not where to find it. For centuries we have prayed, “Thy kingdom come.” Since the kingdom is “within us” and “at hand,” from whence is it to come? We must come to a knowledge of its presence with us and must learn that the presence of the kingdom means the presence of peace and all good. As soon as we can understand his words and say, “Thy kingdom is come,” we cease our search and live in the joy of knowing that pure presence. “Ye shall find” means that some day we shall know and possess what we sought and then seeking shall end.

The promise is not that we shall be something we are not and so be freed, but that we shall learn the truth of what we are, the truth that is changeless. “As it was in the beginning it is now and ever shall be.” It is a matter then of seeing and of knowing what we did not know before. Let us not postpone the day of revelation, neither let us relegate it to the past. Whatever our forefathers perceived, we may see, and surely we should after these years of opportunities be able to receive the deeper, broader, higher vision.

A child in the process of education passes from grade to grade in school. In the higher grades he does not think or speak as he did in the lower grades. We say that a child receives his education but the word educate, comes from the Latin, e-ducere, which means to lead out, to develop the faculties and powers by means of teaching, instruction or schooling. This indicates that the faculties and powers are already inherent within the child and are to be brought out and put into use. Even as a child grows so does the race, and within each member is implanted “a right seed,” for God’s Spirit indwells man and God reveals to man by His Spirit the things He hath prepared for him. All development is from the perfect seed implanted in the beginning. Thought unfold from knowledge into fuller and fuller understanding of its own possibilities and powers.

As any seed contains the forms and potentialities of the complete plant before growth begins, so knowledge is the essence of man’s nature before his development in knowledge is started. The process of revelation of truths new to man comes from within rather than from without. The essence of all that is to be gained is forever within man’s consciousness.

Divine Science reveals everything as good in its rightful place, hence it has no prejudice against past teachings and beliefs. But it also claims “now is the accepted time;” now is the time of fulfillment because man’s understanding has expanded into the “ripe corn in the ear.” IT IS CONSCIOUSNESS NOT IN TIME, IN MIND NOT IN PLACE, THAT PERFECTION IS REALIZED.

When we understand that the infinite goodness of life is here now, we in the midst of it and it in the midst of us, we shall know how to let this great truth possess us, bringing realization of harmony to ourselves and others. May the light which was so clearly revealed to the founders of Divine Science be a spark to awaken the consciousness of the earnest student as he studies this logical presentation of a simple basic truth upon which the whole teaching rests – GOD IS EVERYWHERE.

Questions for Review and Discussion

1. Energy follows attention. To what does mankind give his attention that prevents his hearing the “voice of Spirit”?
2. In Jesus’ time it was said, “The common people heard him gladly.” Mark 12:37 Discuss this statement.
3. Man has two responsibilities if he is to unfold his spiritual possibilities. Explain.
4. What is the basic truth upon which Divine Science is founded?
5. Are you familiar with the early history of the Divine Science movement? Discuss it.