Seasons spiritual and material

      April lilacs in Tacoma announce that spring has arrived.

The kingdom of Heaven resembles the year. As the year has four seasons, so also the kingdom
, and remember that the seasons are caused by
the movement of the earth, and not by the movement of the sun.

Before the coming of the spring, the earth looks as if dead and lifeless, but when it appears,
all the world seems to spring into life and brightness  — into a new existence of beauty and joy.
All nature is clad in fresh green, the grass springs up, the leaves bud, and the trees are
covered with blossoms. But the spring passes, and then comes the summer, in which the promise
of the spring is fulfilled; the spring blossoms ripen into fruit, and the fields are covered with
yellow grain; the result of the new life of the spring is manifested. Then comes the autumn,
in which the life of the spring and summer begins slowly to fade, and finally winter
comes round, and the life of the earth seems to be completely extinct — dead.

So it is also in the spiritual things. The cycle of every prophet has its period of spring, of
summer, of autumn and of winter. When Moses appeared, and the new Life and Light of
God shone on the earth through him, the people to whom he came were as dead souls — without
life. But when he gave his teaching, then began the spring time of souls, and they awoke
into life, full of joy and beauty. Afterwards came the period of their summertime when the
lives of these followers of Moses had become gradually fashioned and moulded by his teachings,
and the fruit of his labors appeared. But after a time, hearts became heavy, faith grew
slack, and the people gradually lost the truth and reality of the revelation of their great teacher,
and then presently the period of their winter came, when they grew corrupted by outer
influences, and were as dead, without fruits and without life.

Then came the spring time of the revelation of Jesus Christ, which also, in its cycle, passed
through the periods of rise, fullness, decline and fall, until, at the time of the appearance of Mohammed,
the people were as dead — given over to materialities and dogmas, having lost the truth of the revelation of the Manifested Word.

So too, with the revelation of Mohammed, it also passed through these same conditions, till,
when the Blessed Perfection appeared, again the time of spring came to this earth, and to souls
enveloped and shrouded in darkness, a new season of life and joy and gladness begin. (The
people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the
shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.)

That passage of the Old Testament in which it is said that Jerusalem shall go into the wilderness,
could not mean that the city of Palestine should be removed into the wilderness — no, it
means that a new Revelation of God should appear in the wilderness, which took place when
Mohammed preached to those wild tribes in the desert — savage, uncivilized people as they were.

But always, when the word of God is manifested, the eyes of the spiritually blind are
opened, the ears that were deaf to the Voice of the Holy Spirit, are at last unsealed; those who
were crippled in the powers of their soul, become strong; the lame man leaps as an hart, and
the tongue of the dumb shall sing the praises of God.

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