Page 336 - Mystic Pathways through the Bible
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Mystic pathways through the bible
hath sent me unto you’, and they shall say to me, “What is his name?” What shall I say unto them?” And God said unto Moses, “I AM ThAT I AM.” And he said, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, ‘I Am hath sent me unto you.’”
(KJV Exodus 3:13-14)
The “I Am” of Lord Jesus is the “I Am” that was declared by God to Moses in the Old Testament. So when Jesus refers to Himself, He is not referring to His historical personality, although His historical personality is a wonderful symbol of that Absolute Self. “Before Abraham was, I Am.” (KJV John 8:58) This statement makes it clear that Jesus is not referring to His own personality as the son of Joseph and Mary, for how could He have existed before Mary and Abraham? That “I Am” in Him is the eternal “I Am”—one’s essential identity as Brahman the Absolute—which is known when one attains Enlightenment or what Lord Jesus refers to as the Kingdom of Heaven.
Although the Divine Incarnation of Jesus is very similar to the concept of Avatara (Divine Descent) in the Vedic culture, there is an interesting difference. In Christianity, Jesus appeared only once and will manifest again only on the nal Day of Judgment. In Vedic culture, the Divine Self, the Avatara, continues to manifest again and again in every yuga
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