Lives of the Master: The Rest of the Jesus Story

Rating:
Summary: A Golden Cord connects the teachings of the Master Soul
Review: Glenn Sanderfur traces the Golden Cord that connects the many lives of the Master Soul who became the Christ. Sanderfur uses the psychic readings of Edgar Cayce to put the pieces of the great puzzle together, and to explain the mystical workings of the One God and the Holy Spirit. I had bits and pieces of this mystery presented to me through other works through many years of searching, but LIVES OF THE MASTER puts it all together in a concise well written work. Glenn Sanderfur does an excellent job of gracefully and insightfully telling the story that begins with Amilius and Adam and ends with Jesus who became the Christ. This is an exciting and easy read - the suspence of a mystery that keeps you turning pages and feeling that special feeling you only get when you discover great "truths".

Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting And Enlightening
Review: If you believe this information (I do) it explains mysteries about not only the Savior but all of human life. The author is knowledgeable about various translations of the bible plus a lot of other old documentation which did not make it into the bible. Cayce's comments are invaluable for filling in and correcting details from the scriptures such as the rumor that Christ may have been romantically involved with Mary Magdaline and what was the real reason that Judas turned Him over to the authorities. For example Cayce indicates the accusations against Christ were civil in nature such as telling people not to pay taxes. In His life experiences the Lord experienced all sorts of things including imprisonment, being a parent, and warfare. As Joshua the Christ entity killed some people. I suspect these souls were people who would later be involved in His crucifiction so maybe this was His revenge for events that would happen in the future. I believe a person can affect the past by things they do now or in the future since God exists outside of time. An important question is raised about why Christianity considered and continues to consider the idea of reincarnation heresy. Cayce indicates it was a short cut intended to simplify the information for the masses. Certainly something was lost there but at least this information is now available for those who want to explore the idea further. The art work on the cover of the book is nice also. The background is from the famous painting by Michaelangelo from the Cistine chapel I think and then at the bottom there are smaller pictures related to some of the life experiences of 'the Master'.

Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting And Enlightening
Review: If you believe this information (I do) it explains mysteries about not only the Savior but all of human life. The author is knowledgeable about various translations of the bible plus a lot of other old documentation which did not make it into the bible. Cayce's comments are invaluable for filling in and correcting details from the scriptures such as the rumor that Christ may have been romantically involved with Mary Magdaline and what was the real reason that Judas turned Him over to the authorities. For example Cayce indicates the accusations against Christ were civil in nature such as telling people not to pay taxes. In His life experiences the Lord experienced all sorts of things including imprisonment, being a parent, and warfare. As Joshua the Christ entity killed some people. I suspect these souls were people who would later be involved in His crucifiction so maybe this was His revenge for events that would happen in the future. I believe a person can affect the past by things they do now or in the future since God exists outside of time. An important question is raised about why Christianity considered and continues to consider the idea of reincarnation heresy. Cayce indicates it was a short cut intended to simplify the information for the masses. Certainly something was lost there but at least this information is now available for those who want to explore the idea further. The art work on the cover of the book is nice also. The background is from the famous painting by Michaelangelo from the Cistine chapel I think and then at the bottom there are smaller pictures related to some of the life experiences of 'the Master'.

Rating:
Summary: THE PATIENCE OF GOD IN ACTION
Review: Let's be clear about two things right from the start :
1) By REINCARNATION we mean the concept that a soul might activate more than one human body at different times. This is commonly confused with SOUL TRANSMIGRATION which theorizes that souls can inhabit animals and even ostensibly inanimate objects such as rocks and raindrops. There is much evidence to support the former belief and not a shred of evidence to support the latter.

2) Despite the vehement denouncing of it by contemporary Christian theologians, REINCARNATION is a Biblically-sound belief that is prevalent throughout both Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible. There are a great many Bible verses that allude to reincarnation, and some passages remain unintelligible until reincarnation is applied to them. In one of his books, the popular Christian writer, Chuck Missler, refers to the reincarnation concept as "satanic." This is the prevailing sentiment in contemporary Christian circles. The most pointed reference to reincarnation in the Bible, however, comes from Jesus Himself :

The Old Testament closes with a prophecy from God in Malachi 4:5 in which He states, "BEHOLD, I WILL SEND YOU ELIJAH THE PROPHET BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD..." Approximately 400 years later, Yeshua (Jesus) was born and began his Messianic ministry. When Yeshua's disciples became aware that He was alluding to Himself as the prophesied Messiah, they questioned Him as to why Elijah had not preceded Him, as foretold in Malachi 4:5. He responds, "...I SAY TO YOU THAT ELIJAH HAS COME ALREADY, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW HIM BUT DID TO HIM WHATEVER THEY WISHED (referring here to the beheading of John The Baptist)" The Bible informs us that "THEN THE DISCIPLES UNDERSTOOD THAT HE SPOKE TO THEM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST." (*See Matthew 11:12-15 & 17:10-13. Note: The reason these passages are worded oddly and seem to imply that Elijah had come and was yet to come is because Elijah/John The Baptist is also one of the two witnesses - along with Moses - who will arrive on the Earth just prior to the return of Jesus, as described in the 11th chapter of Revelation.) Yeshua made it abundantly clear that Elijah had reincarnated in the form of John The Baptist, and His disciples understood this.

Christians cannot accept this as it would force them to reconfigure their carefully designed dogmas. So how do they skirt around it? They rely on the verse in Luke 1:17 which refers to John The Baptist coming in the "spirit and power" of Elijah, as though this satisfied the Malachi prophecy without Elijah being bodily present. But of course, if John was the same soul as Elijah, naturally he would appear with commensurate "spirit and power." Christians also point out that John denied being Elijah. But few people do remember a prior lifetime, and if John had been made aware of the fact that he was indeed Elijah returned, and this truth had been revealed and then accepted, perhaps Jesus would not have been crucified, and this was a very significant aspect of His mission.

To refute reincarnation in general, Christians often quote Hebrews 9:27 which reads, "...it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." But a careful study of this passage in context reveals that it is a spiritual death to which it refers, not a physical one.

In order to deal with the literal connection Jesus made between John The Baptist and Elijah, some contemporary Christians twist the scripture, making hypocrites of themselves. In his otherwise excellent book, 'LEARN THE BIBLE IN 24 HOURS', Chuck Missler commits this transgression. In one place he writes, "I believe that (God) says what He means and means what He says." And in another place, "...I don't believe the words, 'God' and 'approximate' should be in the same sentence." And yet, in explaining the Malachi prophecy, Missler resorts to, "(Jesus) would be announced in advance by an Elijah-type herald." But read Malachi for yourself. God does not say anything about sending a "type" or a "substitute"; He says, "I will send you Elijah the prophet." Plain and simple! The bottom line is this : if John The Baptist was NOT Elijah reincarnated then either Jesus was not the Messiah, or else God lied and Jesus was mistaken. Both of these things I have determined to be impossibilities. (*Incidentally, I have reviewed the Missler book on Amazon. The review is titled, 'Saint Peter Sez...' and it was posted on 2004, Sept. 5th.)

The idea that Jesus Himself may have incarnated multiple times will seem a greater blasphemy to most Christians than reincarnation in general. And although I don't personally take a hard and fast position on this, I do lean heavily toward it. The idea seems to be implied in several Biblical passages. For instance : "Though He (Jesus) was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered." (Hebrews 5:8) This seems to hint at earlier lifetimes in which The Son suffered as a result of disobedience and from those sufferings He learned obedience. One could accurately say that Jesus suffered as a result of His obedience to God His Father, but it would NOT be correct to say that (in His story as presented in the Gospels) He learned obedience by suffering, because from His earliest Childhood we see Him being obedient to God's Will. ("Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" --Luke 2:49) He never transgressed God's Will.

It's hard not to appreciate the humility and simplicity of Glenn Sanderfur's writing in 'LIVES OF THE MASTER', and to appreciate the research that he shares. The book makes compelling arguments and the sheer amount of evidence that Sanderfur presents will surprise a great many readers. There is more than ample food for thought in these pages. There is also a downside. For many people the reincarnation concept becomes a stumbling block. Reincarnation is the patience of God in action (as I like to refer to it) and like all Divine Laws, the system works whether one is aware of its existence or not. Reincarnation is sometimes turned into a false idol by students who make too much of it and lose sight of the fact that what one does with their present circumstances is far more important than learning how they arrived at their present circumstances. Reincarnation can be very helpful, but it can also be misunderstood and misapplied, becoming detrimental to spiritually immature individuals.

Much of the information in 'LIVES OF THE MASTER' is derived from apocryphal writings. My limited study of the apocrypha leads me to believe that it was justifiably not canonized. Another source of information is the Edgar Cayce readings which have proven to be both accurate and (often) inaccurate.
I was once so dedicated to the Cayce readings that I even visited Edgar Cayce's hometown and gravesite in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. But decades of study led me to the conclusion that the readings sometimes originated from highly "questionable" sources. One reading actually admits this! (*See my review for 'The Edgar Cayce Companion' by Ernest Frejer, titled, 'Danger! You Skating On Thin Ice' and posted on 2004, July 25th.)

In a few chapters, Sanderfur quotes Manly Hall as an authority. Manly Hall was a prolific Masonic writer, and like other "adepts" in the Masonic Order, was a luciferian.
"When the Mason learns that the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mystery of his craft. The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands", Manly wrote in 'Lost Keys Of Freemasonry.' In his book, 'Twelve World Teachers', which is quoted several times in 'Lives Of The Master', Hall doubts the crucifixion of Jesus and states that, "in a sense the Last Supper concluded the ministry." This exhibits such a woefully inadequate understanding of (if not a deliberate deception about) the Messianic mission of Jesus that it casts Sanderfur's book in a very bad light! And whereas contemporary Christianity suffers from nearsightedness and a rigid, confining theology, the New Age movement is dangerously occultic at best, and downright luciferian at worst. For this reason, I recommend Glenn Sanderfur's, 'LIVES OF THE MASTER', but I do so very, very cautiously.

This book may be helpful to you "if you are willing to receive it" and have "ears to hear." But it could also be a hindrance to your spiritual development and lead you down a very dark path. Honestly, I strongly suggest that you pray about it. Too often I have used my "reasoning" ability to make decisions and later regretted them. But whenever I have gone to The Father or His Son, Yeshua, with a question, and then waited patiently for the answer, I have NEVER been led astray. Should you read 'LIVES OF THE MASTER'? Don't ask me; ask the ONE who knows!


Rating:
Summary: A challenge for the many.
Review: This book has been a personal favorite of mine for some years. I re-read it often and gain even more information as I study in the Bible and Edgar Cayce readings and other Ancient texts, about JESUS.

This book challenges you to study more, learn more, and create an even closer, more personal relationship with The MASTER.