"The teaching of Jesus is that all men shall, through Him, be made free from sin and be saved to the uttermost — spirit, soul, body. But until this salvation is attained, there is death. To give men opportunity to get the full benefit of salvation, life is necessary, and a body through which to express life is also necessary. So, when man loses his body by death, the law of expression works within him for re-embodiment, and he takes advantage of the Adam method of generation to regain a body. Divine mercy permits this process in order that man may have further opportunity to demonstrate Christ life. But generation and death must give place to regeneration and eternal life. The necessity of rebirth must, therefore, pass away with all other makeshifts of the mortal man. It will have no place when men take advantage of the redeeming, regenerating life of Christ and quit dying" (Keep a True Lent 93).
"To overcome the flesh one must spiritualize the five-sense man until material consciousness is raised to spiritual consciousness in feeling, tasting, seeing, hearing, and smelling. This change will ultimate in man's complete mastery of the body and in its final redemption from death" (The Twelve Powers of Man 69).
"This theory of continuous progressive life after death contradicts the teachings of the Bible. God did not create man to die; death is the result of a transgression of law" (The Twelve Powers of Man 171).
"If God created man to die and go on to a spirit land to get his education, then it would be better for him to die in infancy and escape the hardships of life. Also, if death is part of God's law, we are defeating the law every time we attempt to escape death by trying to heal the body" (The Twelve Powers of Man 172).
"If you want to know all the mysteries of life, study life and put out of your mind every thought about death or the condition of the dead. Then through the law of thought formation you will build up in yourself such a strong consciousness of life that its negative (or absence) will ever be to you nonexistent. Jesus meant this when He said, 'If a man keep my word, he shall never see death'" (The Twelve Powers of Man 173).
Charles Fillmore knew that death, experienced through pain, suffering, and disease, was not a part of the divine plan or the will of God. He was a pioneer in this teaching, and just because he was unable to demonstrate it doesn't mean the teaching is invalid. The following quotes from Jesus support Charles Fillmore, but I believe it would be more correct to say that Charles Fillmore was trying to support Jesus. Overcoming the pain of death is the final step in regeneration. It involves total purification of the soul. Once the soul is completely redeemed by the Christ mind, we will then, like Jesus, be able to lay the body down and pick it up again. We will be taught how to work with greater spiritual laws that will enable us to transform the molecular structure of the body, moving in and out of the third and fourth dimensions at will. We will eventually know, with Jesus, how to cooperate with the energy of love to the degree that manifestation in the flesh or transmutation into the spiritual body are all a part of the divine plan of co-creation.
QUOTES FROM JESUS
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die." (John 6:47-50)
"Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps my word, he will never see death." (John 8:51)
"I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)
CLOSING THOUGHTS FROM CHARLES FILLMORE
"How long it will take to transform the mortal into the immortal no man can tell. We do know, however, that once the mind receives the Christ quickening it will continue to grow in grace, incarnation after incarnation, until the rejuvenating life has overcome death and reincarnation is no longer necessary" (Keep a True Lent 28).
