His disciples said to him, “When will the kingdom come?”
Jesus said, “It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying ‘here it is’ or ‘there it is’. Rather the kingdom of the father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it.”
Unenlightened humanity talks about longing for peace and yet is always preparing to go to war, talks about a desire for social justice and then oppresses the poor and favors the wealthy, talks about the need for more consciousness with regard to the environment but then continues to exploit and poison it, talks about an interest in a change in human consciousness and yet refuses to actually labor to bring about a change in consciousness—and so it is with so many things. It is as though we do not really understand that, if we want a greater good in the world, it is we who must bring it about. This is even reflected in many religious teachings concerning the kingdom of heaven and the Second Coming. We want to see the kingdom of heaven upon earth and are waiting for Jesus to bring it, but do little or nothing to bring forth the Divine kingdom from within ourselves!
Many good Christians actually believe that the kingdom of heaven will come without any effort on humanity’s part to manifest it, but this could not be further from the truth! All one has to do is study the prophets and the stories of attempts to bring about a more enlightened society in the form of the Promised Land and Jerusalem. While God had one thing in mind, humankind had something else in mind, and so Jerusalem (the City of Peace) could not stand. God had one intention; human beings had another. Therefore, God’s intention could not be fully manifest. Should we then assume that the kingdom of heaven and New Jerusalem will manifest without some human effort and cooperation? There is a saying, “Continuing to do the same thing, but expecting a different result, is insanity!”
“The kingdom of heaven is spread out upon the earth,” which is to say it is possible in this world. “But men do not see it,” which is to say that human beings do not envision it and labor to bring it into substantial being. “It will not come by waiting for it;” hence, unless the Divine vision is recognized as possible, envisioned, and enacted, it will not come to pass. On the literal level, the teaching could not be any clearer!
One cannot go out and change the world or save the world or heal the world all by oneself. Even Yeshua Messiah could not instantly transform the entire collective consciousness of humanity. However, the truth is that the collective consciousness can be and is influenced by individuals, and when it is transformed, it is through the transformation of the consciousness of the individuals that compose the collective. This means that, if you bring about a transformation within your own consciousness, it contributes to the transformation of the collective consciousness. When a sufficient number of individuals transform their own consciousness and labor together for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, the Divine kingdom is manifest among them. If this were to transpire in a larger segment of humanity, the collective human consciousness would be transformed. This is the aim of the great work in this world.
One cannot simply go out and change the world, but one can labor for a radical change in one’s own consciousness, and one can work with others to bring about such a change. Here, we find the need for both the spiritual individual and the spiritual community in the great work. There is a real power in the individual, and there is a greater power in a group of individuals. This verse suggests that it is important that we understand this creative power and consciously direct it according to a noble ideal, specifically, a Divine humanity and Divine kingdom.
There are layers of esoteric teachings behind this practical teaching. There is a clear statement that the kingdom of heaven exists and is present in the same space as this world—which suggests worlds within worlds, universes within universes, all existing in the same space at the same time, although in different dimensions. This is exactly what teachings of the four universes and inner planes in the Gnostic Kabbalah is proposing. The world or universe of Supernal Light is within and all around us, as are all universes, worlds, or realms of sentient existence. The heavens, the earths, and the hells are all right here, whether or not we are conscious of them! To experience a higher plane of existence, one merely needs to generate a body of consciousness that corresponds to it.
Lord Yeshua is essentially saying, “When you have a body of consciousness that corresponds to the Divine kingdom, you will see that the kingdom exists in the same space as this good earth.” In this regard, you will recall the sixth Beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). The experience of unification with God and the experience of the kingdom of heaven is a state of consciousness—a state of mind and heart and life. In terms of the world of Supernal Light, it is an experience of a state of consciousness beyond the physical, vital, or mental levels, hence, a metamind or supramental state.
Human society or the world directly reflect the state of consciousness of the individuals forming the collective. Thus, in effect, the world that we experience is the radiance of our own consciousness or is created by our state of consciousness. In truth, the reality we experience and our state of consciousness are completely interconnected. Therefore, to change the reality of our experience, we need to bring about a corresponding change in our consciousness. Mystical attainment means a conscious unification with God; magical attainment means a change in consciousness, which brings about a corresponding change in reality or manifestation. Obviously, one cannot exactly separate the mystical attainment from the magical attainment, or speak of divine acts of magic devoid of mystical aspiration. A divine magic is inherently mystical—the prophet or apostle is a Divine magician.
Here, in this saying, the Master is encouraging his disciples, not only in a mystical attainment, but also is teaching them fundamental principles of a divine magic and encouraging them in the magical act. He is essentially saying that, by nature, consciousness is magical and that, if one understands the principles of consciousness, which are the principles of magic, one will be empowered to transform the reality of one’s life into something of the Divine kingdom. One may wonder at the use of the terms “magic” or “magical,” yet one need only consider the various miracles performed by Yeshua Messiah and by his disciples. These miracles reflect the knowledge of a magical science or art in his teachings, and rather than belief in miracles, Gnostic initiates believe in a science and art of divine magic through which radical changes in the matrix of reality are possible. As much as a mystic or prophet, Yeshua was a highly skilled magician. Thus, Gnostics seek to develop a magical art as part of their process of self-realization. The power of the Holy Spirit is a magic-power!
What is the nature of a divine magic? It is having the same intention in one’s own mind as God, and thus an invocation of the Divine powers through which the Divine kingdom is manifest.