of the parables of the talents and of the minæ, in spirit and in truth. The Lord never demands of any man more than what is just, having regard to your limited capacities and human weakness; but he wishes you to use all your efforts to advance, and has given you the germ which you ought to develop. Do not think, because you are less highly gifted than your brethren, that you may therefore rest in idleness. Do not argue that you are not clever; that you have been disinherited; that the Lord requires so much from his creatures that it would be impossible for you to satisfy him ; and that you would deserve even less by making useless efforts, because you would draw down upon you still more of what you call his wrath, but which is really his justice. The Lord is just and equitable, and although you have not all reached the same point, and although all do not appear to be gifted with the same number of talents, yet you may always succeed, by perseverance, in deserving more. You have all started from the same point, and will all arrive at the same goal; but some of you are more indolent than others. From these, the Lord takes away the "talent" or "mina" which they possess; for as their idleness and ignorance renders it impossible for them to keep up with the faithful servants, they will be cast into surroundings suited to their dispositions, under inferior conditions to those which they have enjoyed. They will then suffer both from the loss of their position, and from the more severe labour necessary to regain it. Jesus did not mean that the Lord who is just in all things would hand over to his active servants the small amount of virtue and activity possessed by his unprofitable servants; but only that the former who have deserved more will advance more rapidly, and receive more of the Master's favours.

In speaking of the third servant, Jesus alludes to those malevolent spirits who seek to screen their own misdeeds by accusing others of them. Far be it from the "Son" to accuse the "Father," and the reply put into the mouth of the Master, means, Since you consider me so harsh and exacting, gathering where I have not stored, and reaping

where I have not sown, how could you sleep thus, and make no efforts to satisfy me? Ought you not, on the contrary, if you did not feel strong enough to succeed by your own efforts, to have gone to those who could have assisted you, to return me the interest of what I gave you; that is, progress ?" The "bankers" spiritually signify those who could develop the love of progress in the third servant; and consequently are represented according to the letter, as those who would pay the interest which the master required from his servant. According to the hidden meaning of the parable, you must understand bankers to mean those who can aid others to advance, both on earth and in space, whether incarnate or errant spirits.

You should also understand the words of Jesus according to the material sense. The law of Moses forbade taking of interest, as well as slavery, among the Hebrews. Consequently it was a foreign practice; and according to perverted interpretations, it was maintained that the prohibition applied only to Hebrews among themselves, but not to a Hebrew in his dealings with foreigners; and that any exaction, though blameable when used towards a Hebrew, was just in the case of a foreigner. There is no question here about banking as understood in your own days, but exchange. This transaction allowed the man who received a sum on deposit, to traffic with it by exchanging it for some description of merchandise, and dividing the profits more or less equally with the owner of the money. Remember the thousand tricks invented by cupidity to evade the laws; look what passes around you, and you will understand that there were money-changers, receiving money, and paying interest, or giving value for it, according to the necessities of the age.

(Matth. xxv. 29; Luke xix. 26.)-These words are the same as those which Jesus had already spoken in the parable of the sower; you will find them explained at vol. ii. PP. 45-47.

We now pass on to the veiled and prophetic meaning of the talents and the minæ. The thought of Jesus included

the period of his earthly mission, his return to the higher regions at his Ascension, the period preparatory to his return to your planet, which is the new spiritual era of the Christianity of Christ, and the period of his own return. He warns men to pursue the development of their moral and intellectual progress with active, earnest, and sustained efforts, and that every one will be required to give an account of the faculties which he has received from the Lord. All can use and develope these faculties with the aid of the "bankers,” during their life on earth and in space; and this aid they ought to seek. God has given men time, expiation, and reincarnation to help them to fulfil their task, for the darnel must grow by the side of the good corn until the regeneration, of which no man knows the day and hour. At this period, the spirits who still remain guilty, rebellious, idle, ignorant, proud, or selfish, and are thus unable or unworthy to participate in the regeneration, will be removed from your earth, and cast down to the inferior planets. Their grief and remorse will be great, and their expiation will be long. The labour of regaining their lost position will be more severe ; but those who have laboured at their progress in proportion to their capacities, will be rewarded according to their works and the purity of their intentions, at the time of the classification which will take place during this period of regeneration and purification; and afterwards upon your purified and regenerated planet.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XXV.-VERSES 31-46.

Parable of the Last Fudgment.

(31) When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. (32) And all nations shall be assembled before him, and he shall separate them from each other, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the kids. (33) And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, and the kids on his left. (34) Then shall the King say to those on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit ye the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. (35) For I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; (36) Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came to me. (37 Then

shall the righteous answer him saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee; or thirsty, and gave thee drink? (38) And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in; or naked and clothed thee? (39) Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (40) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (41) Then shall he say also unto those on the left, Depart from me, ye accursed, into the age-lasting fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. (42) For I was hungry, and ye gave me not to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; (43) I was a stranger, and you received me not; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not. (44) Then shall these also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? (45) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have not done it unto one of the least of these, neither have ye done it unto me. (46) And these shall go away into age-lasting punishment, but the righteous into age-lasting life.

§ 279. These words have formed the foundation of many human opinions and interpretations. When taken literally, they have been misunderstood and falsely interpreted, but everything has its object in the course of progress, and contributes to the purification and progress of the worlds and their humanities; and they must now be explained to you in spirit and in truth.

Jesus desired to set before his disciples a vivid picture of the Last Judgment, which should make an indelible impression on their minds. Men who were accustomed to tremble before the judges, and could hardly be restrained by any laws, however severe, needed a vivid material illustration of the judgment to which they would be subjected, and of its consequences. The chief priests of the Temple were the judges in Israel, and they frequently passed terrible and arbitrary sentences, which yet were far from imposing respect for the laws.

(Verses 31, 32.)-Men have understood "the end," and have classed the events together. Jesus spoke of the successive periods which should run their course until the mild true light shall enlighten the world. The throne of the glory of Jesus is the period when the masses shall bow to his law. His throne will then be finally established in the hearts of all creatures, and the angels of the Lord will surround him, and will descend towards you. Has not this

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period already begun? Is not the Saviour's throne prepared to receive him, and do not the angels of the Most High descend to teach you to sing the glory of the Almighty, by preparing you for the advent of the Spirit by the practice of justice, charity, and love; and to open before you the sources of intellectual progress through moral progress, by teaching you to be meek and humble in heart, and disinterested and devoted to your brethren? Are not the nations all gathered under the eyes of the Saviour, and can you not perceive that the expression is materialized, like all others in the Gospels?

Has not the separation been going on from the beginning? Ever since the appearance of man upon your planet, those spirits who have deserved to inhabit superior portions of your earth, or higher worlds, have been promoted to these higher conditions, while guilty spirits, in proportion to their guilt and need of progress, have been sent by way of punishment and expiation, either into inferior conditions on your earth, or to planets inferior to yours. Up to your own days, the darnel has been allowed to grow with the wheat, and will be permitted to do so until the regeneration is about to be accomplished, and the purification of your earth is gradually effected. But at this period the separation will be complete, and the guilty spirits who are opposed to progress will no longer be permitted to reincarnate themselves upon your earth. Only those who have become capable and worthy of walking in the paths of the regeneration will be admitted, and will be placed under the necessary conditions. Jesus alludes here to this separation, which will be entirely accomplished when your planet enters upon its fluidic phases. The period of this separation has been falsely interpreted as a single and sudden event; but this is figurative. No definite period can be assigned for this progressive work; but it will be the age which will precede the complete purification of your earth. Jesus will return among you when your humanity is ready to attain to moral perfection, and his coming will be hailed with a unanimous cry of joy and homage: "Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord."