When the soul refuses all spiritual guidance, it invites the darkness of the "heathen," or ignorance of mortal thought. This brings about a gradual "pollution" of the "house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem." This "house of the Lord" is the body consciousness, which is "hallowed" or held in perfection by the Ego located at the heart-centre, called Jerusalem. This temple is polluted by passion, impurity, low ambitions, unworthy affections. Any thought or practice that is not high and holy desecrates the body temple. A point is reached where the law of Being is so transgressed that the man cannot retain his hold and disintegrating forces, both within and without, are engendered.

Chaldeans means demons.

These attack the man

from without, and finally capture him, and all his faculties fall under the destructive powers of personal egotism, the "adversary."

Lesson 11. September 10.

THE LIFE-GIVING STREAM.- Ezek. 47:1-12.

I. And he brought me back unto the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the forefront of the house was toward the east: and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.

2.

Then brought he me out by the way of the gate northward, and he led me round by the way without unto the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looketh toward the east; and behold, there ran out waters on the right side.

3. When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles.

4. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters waters that were to the loins.

5. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.

6. And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thon seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river.

7. Now when I had returned, behold, upon the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.

8.

Then said he unto me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah: and they

shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed.

9. And it shall come to pass, that every living creature which swarmeth, in every place whither the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish: for these waters are come thither, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and every thing shall live whithersoever the river cometh.

10. And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand by it: from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

II. But the miry places thereof, and the marishes thereof, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.

12. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not whither, neither shall the fruit thereof fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for food, and the leaf thereof for healing.

GOLDEN TEXT

Whosoever will, let him take the

water of life freely.- Rev. 22:17.

Ezekiel means "God strengthens." He shows how to demonstrate strength.

The "house" which he saw in his vision is the vital body. By this we mean the body of thought, of which the physical body is the shape. All shapes have their origin in thought-forms.

The "door of the house" is the I AM. "I am the door," said Jesus. The "East" is the within and the "West" the without, in all Scripture symbology. "Waters" represent the universal allpervading thought energy in its negative conscious

ness.

In the body this may be termed the vitality. This vital current flows out from under the threshold - that is, it is less or beneath the door, I AM. The house faces "East; " that is, when we vitalize from the spiritual we always look within. When we concentrate on the I AM within, and affirm, "I am strong with the strength of the Spirit," we open the inner or "East" door of the soul-body, and a vital flow sets in from the brain down the right side to a point under the heart (altar), where is located the solar plexus, the vital centre of the organism, and through which the soul connects with the outer or physical body.

There is in reality no such thing as matter-solid material forms, or physical substance. These are all concepts of ideas held by the mind and believed to be what they appear. When the "man," which is the Spiritual I AM, goes "forth eastward with the line in his hand" he is estimating or getting a comprehension of the real character and capacity of this life flow. "A thousand cubits" represents the unlimited idea, which grows greater in human concept the more it is dwelt upon. The first estimate of the Universal vitality is low-"waters to the ankles." The next measurement is higher-" to the knees," and the next to the "loins." The fourth measurement is the concept gained from all sides of comprehension, and it reveals a great river that cannot be passed through. 'In him we live, move and have our being." This ocean of vital life and energy is not only within, but without also. Yet we must have our attention called to it, and continually see it with the mind before we comprehend and realize that it really exists. "Son of man, hast thou seen this?" Having eyes we see not."

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Trees represent nerves, and nerves are thoughts of unity; they connect thought centres with one another. The "Arabah" is the desert, or places in the earthly, physical ideas of substance, which have been separated from the indwelling vitality. When this inner vitality is turned to the without new lifeforms spring up. Fish represent ideas of multiplication, fecundity.

The trees growing on both sides of the river represent the nerves radiating from the vital flow on each side of the spinal column, and connecting and unifying the whole organism. When we cultivate and conserve this inner vitality, it accumulates in the organism and about every four weeks over-flows and becomes a permanent part of the soul. This is the fount that is the "meat" or food of the soul. it goes down to the physical, it is the result of the sin of Eve. The leaf for healing is the sustaining, purifying, harmonizing power of this strength and vitality from the Spirit.

If

Lesson 12. September 17.

DANIEL IN BABYLON.- Daniel 1:8-20.

8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the officers that he might not defile himself.

9. Now God made Daniel to find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the officers.

10. And the prince of the officers said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the youths that are of your own age? so should ye endanger my head with the king. II. Then said Daniel to the steward, whom the prince of the officers had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

12. Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.

13. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the youths that eat of the king's food; and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.

14. So he hearkened unto them in this matter, and proved them ten days.

15.

And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh, than all the youths that did eat of the king's food.

16. So the steward took away their food, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse.

17. Now as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

18. And at the end of the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the officers brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

19. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.

20. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his realm.

GOLDEN TEXT-Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. Dan. 1:8.

This lesson is so beautifully true in its literal sense that it seems unnecessary to give it metaphysical interpretation. People everywhere are proving that a vegetarian diet "with water to drink," produces the very results here described. The victorious Japanese are giving us an object lesson in accomplishment, by a race supposed to be inferior, through wisdom in the choice of food and drink. All down the ages have been isolated cases of what man can do under a natural diet, but never before has a whole

nation demonstrated the superiority of the human body as a result thereof. Their wounds heal quickly without supperation. Consumption and the various blood impurities common among Caucasians are said to be almost unknown to these wise little Orientals. The cause usually assigned for all this is their vegetarian diet and freedom from intoxicants.

But a vegetarian diet and temperance will not make a man spiritual. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profits nothing." But whatever confuses or dwarts the mentality, blocks the way through which the Spirit manifests. "It is the Spirit that quickeneth," but it must have something to quicken. If that which it seeks to quicken is besotted and logy with the thought-atmosphere of swine and beer fumes, where is the point of contact?

All thinking people are agreed that plain living and high thinking go hand in hand, and the most pressing need with most of us is how to overcome appetite. One would naturally think that the great variety of food combinations and drinks would bring satisfaction to the appetite. But the opposite is evident. The hundreds of new drinks invented every year have not helped to quench thirst, but rather to make it inextinguishable. Then what is the remedy? Daniel gives it in the opening verse of this lesson"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food, nor with the wine which he drank."

When we "purpose in our heart," there is a complete reversal of thought-energies. Instead of regarding food and drink as the basis of life, we perceive that they are but the expression thereof, and that the real source is mental and spiritual. When we submit the food question to the Spirit, a wisdom comes to us right along that line, and we know what to put in our stomachs to get the best results.

So

If appetite is strong, purpose in your heart that you will master it, and there will come to you a power that will so quickly subdue the outer sense that you will think you were never under its dominion. with all the claims of the sense-man-put him in subjection to the Spirit, and prove him better than all the "magicians and enchanters" (mortal thoughts) of the king (personality), ruling in the outer realms.