The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us how our end will be.”
Jesus said, “Have you discovered, then, the beginning, that you should look for the end? For where the beginning is, there will the end be. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will not experience death.”
What is the “beginning” in which the end will be found? Surely, it is the intention of God in Creation; for the beginning of Creation is the holy thought or intention from which everything emerges according to the Word and Wisdom of God Most High. Therefore, to understand the end or fruition of creation, you must realize the beginning; that is to say, the Will of God in Creation and the Will of God in your soul. For it is that Divine Will that will ultimately be your end.
Now our teachers tell us that the holy intention of God in Creation was and is the manifestation of the Divine human being, the whole of Creation having the aim of bringing into manifestation the soul of the Messiah. The first holy thought of God is the image of Godself in the form of Adam Kadmon, the primordial human being. From this holy thought and image, Adam Ha-Rishon, the first human being, was created. The first also being the last, the “end” is the Divine human being manifest in the image of the Lord in conscious unity with the Lord God; hence awakened.
There is involution in the process of Creation for the sake of evolution, involution proceeding by gradation and therefore evolution also proceeding by gradation. In the beginning, the first human being is unaware and unconscious of the Sacred Unity and thus must “fall from Grace,” or be involved in the process of Creation in order to consciously evolve individuality and self-awareness and realize a conscious unity with the Lord God; hence to awaken from primordial sleep or unconsciousness. Creation, then, having its source and issuance in God, is the progressive self-expression and actualization of the infinite and eternal potential of God, the Divine potential being exhaustless. Therefore, while we might speak of awakening as the “end,” in truth, the Divine potential is exhaustless or limitless (Ain Sof), and there is no end in sight. Quite simply, there is no end to creative evolution. For that matter, if you go seeking the beginning you will find no beginning.
In truth, Creation is a beginningless continuum of coming into being, the source and ground of which is the One-Without-End, the Holy One of Being. Such is the nature of the reality-truth-continuum; it is without beginning or end. It is this gnosis that constitutes the holy order of Melchizedek. Of the initiates of this holy order, it is said they are without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but abide in conscious union with God Most High as holy priest-kings forever. Hence, this verse contains the secret of entrance into the holy order of Melchizedek, indicating the central key to the mysteries the initiates of that order possess.
The Master is speaking of the inmost secret key of the mysteries. This key is reflected in the knowledge displayed by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, a letter written not to the outer assembly of the elect but to the inner assembly, so that, having entered into the sanctuary of the Rose Cross, they might also enter into the inmost secret assembly of the threefold holy order of Melchizedek. In association with this verse, the Epistle to the Hebrews provides a good source for contemplation.
Understand the beginning as the intention of God in Creation. Taking one’s place in the beginning means not only the attainment of self-realization, but also acting as a conscious agent of God’s Will in humanity and on earth. One who enters into the realization of the Christ-self, like Yeshua Messiah, becomes an embodiment of the Living Word and conscious co-creator with the Lord God. It is for this reason that the Master informs us that we will potentially do even greater things than we have seen him do. The Holy Spirit will manifest uniquely in each individual soul that awakens in Christ and she will accomplish far more than already accomplished. There is as yet the resurrection of the world to be accomplished and the Spirit of Truth in the apostolic succession labors to this end-which-is-naught. While, indeed, this is a teaching of entering into the perfect repose and delight of the bridal chamber, it is also a call to enlightened action.
Now gnostic masters speak of the beginning in another way, saying that the beginning is the clear Light that is the very nature of our consciousness and being, the very essence and presence of God in the inmost part of our soul. Reading Genesis, we hear the first utterance of God as the Holy Word: Let there be Light! This Light comes before all else, even the sun, moon, planets, and stars. It is not any light known, but rather is a hidden and transparent Light, the holy Light, as it were, before the point of the beginning. That Supernal Light is, in fact, the Spirit of the Messiah. Of this Light, the prophet tells us, the Lord formed the Light and created the Darkness. “Formed” means that this Light was revealed but not created. Hence, this Light is without beginning or end. Indeed, it is the bornless Spirit, the Spirit of Messiah.
This Light is the Light of awareness. It is the pure, pristine, primordial awareness that is the very nature of all consciousness-being, the inmost essence of your consciousness-being or soul on every level, even the ignorant and ordinary level of consciousness. To realize this clear Light nature of consciousness is to attain enlightenment and liberation; liberation from bondage to ignorance and death. Death is the devil of forgetfulness, which breaks the continuity of conscious existence. Remembering the Christ-self, you will awaken and never forget again.
In closing, I will tell you an open secret: That which holds you in bondage is that which will set you free!