Jesus said, “A grapevine has been planted outside of the father, but being unsound, it will be pulled up by its roots and destroyed.”
Lord Yeshua speaks of himself as a true vine, one that bears forth the holy wine of the Beloved. And rightly so, for one chosen by Divine authority and anointed with the Supernal Light bears a true message and transmission, having the direct spiritual experience, and therefore gnosis, of the Spirit and Truth. Such a prophet or apostle of God initiates a stream of the Light-transmission in the world, which in turn is passed from one generation to another, from an apostle to his or her disciples, forming a living lineage or “vine of transmission.” The holy root of this vine is in God and is the first prophet or apostle that embodied and initiated the current. A living lineage that continues to bear the fruit of the Divine presence and power is a grapevine rooted within the heavenly Father-Mother.
Frequently, there are offshoots of the authentic lineages. With the passage of time and generations, various aspects of the teachings and initiations are lost and corruption enters. Doctrines are formed and crystalized around fragments of the true Gnosis. Often, many doctrines are conjured up, not based upon any ground of the original teachings and transmission; in the process, what truth that might remain is typically gravely distorted. This is a natural function of ignorance. It gives way to the birth of exoteric and dogmatic forms of religion that present themselves as the only right interpreters and bearers of the original teachings and practices of the Master. In fact, they are far from any real knowledge of the Spirit and Truth. Such are grapevines planted outside of the heavenly Father-Mother that will not bear fruit and that will be pulled up by their roots and destroyed.
It must be understood that dogmatic religion itself tends to bring about its own demise. It tends to be self-destructive. It destroys its own members, and anyone doing injury to their own body undermines their own life. More so, by nature, dogmatic religion prevents and cuts off a direct Spirit-connectedness, without which it cannot endure.
Typically, exoteric religions speak of God outside of oneself and separate from oneself, and thus sorely limit the range of experience and growth of the soul. Anytime religion and state are combined, the result is an oppressive environment that places a stranglehold upon the activity of the Spirit and Truth, which will eventually come to a head in its own shattering. What can be said is that there are always spiritual revolutions and revivals when necessary, and God continues to send his messengers. The Holy Spirit will not allow herself to be silenced!
Here, the Lord is speaking of religious institutions of his own day, although we certainly have our own version in modern times. By such sayings, he not only warns us away from exoteric and dogmatic religion, he clearly states that he is a teacher of a spiritual path and not a religious teacher. Indeed, the authentic mystic and spiritual individual has no need for dogmatic doctrines or hollow practices that accomplish nothing in the way of actual spiritual growth and evolution. Rather, mystics are worshippers of God in Spirit and Truth, guided by the Holy Spirit of God, and seek teachings and practices that lead toward direct spiritual experience and union with God.
Perhaps there is a place for exoteric religion in that it may serve souls in their early states of development and evolution, yet those in whom a mystical inclination is emerging are called within themselves to seek out the esoteric and mystical path and to depart from exoteric religion and its dogmas. The dawn of the mystical inclination calls for a living spirituality that needs a far more spacious view and consciousness than dogmatic religion can allow. This is certainly the case with Yeshua and his disciples, including his disciples today.