170 ROSICRUCIANCOSMO-CONCEPTION
him whatsoever they listed.” And following this, it is said
that “they understood He spake of John the Baptist.” (Matt.
17:12-13). On this occasion, and also at the time when
Rebirth was discussed between Him and His disciples, they
told Him that some thought He was Elijah and others that He
was one of the prophets who had reincarnated. He
commanded them to “tell no man.” (Matt. 17:9; Luke 9:21).
This was to be, for thousands of years, an esoteric teaching,
to be known only among the few pioneers who fitted
themselves for the knowledge, pushing ahead to the stage of
development when these truths will again be known to man.
That Christ taught Rebirth and also the Law of
Consequence is perhaps shown in no other place as clearly
as in the case of the man who had been born blind, where
His disciples asked, “Who did sin, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?” (John 9:2).
Had Christ not taught Rebirth and the Law of
Consequence, the natural answer would have been,
“Nonsense! How could a man have sinnedbefore he was
born, and have brought blindness upon himself as a result?
But Christ does not answer in that way. He is not surprised
at the question, nor does He treat it as being at all unusual,
showing that it was quite in harmony with His teachings. He
explains, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but
that the works of (the) God should be made manifest in
him.”
The orthodox interpretation is that the man was born
blind in order that Christ might have the opportunity of
perfor ming a miracle to s how His power. It would have been
a strange way for a God to obtain glory—capriciously
condemning a man to many years of blindness and misery
that He might “show off” at a future time! We would