Exodus 13:21, 22
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

   As has been previously said, the first Initiation given to man under the guidance of the Hierarchy was that of Water. In this early day it was a prime necessity that man be taught how to control his emotional life, so the Initiations were correlated with the element of Water. As evolution proceeded and the link of mind was given to the human race, a further step in spiritual progress was fostered by the Great Ones. This is known as the Fire Initiation. During the ages of Lemuria and Atlantis the Water Initiation was paramount. With the new post-Atlantean, Fifth Epoch, Initiation by Fire was introduced, since it had become necessary for man to learn how to control his desire nature. (Desires are correlated with Fire.)

   Moses was the pioneer leader of the currrent Fifth Epoch. His mission was to guide the Israelites from the mists of Atlantis into the clear sunlit air of post-Atlantean Earth. The pillars of cloud and of fire are magnificent symbols of this great transition. The "pillar of cloud" represents the Water Initiation being left behind, while the "pillar of fire" represents the spiritual attainment toward which man was travelling. Hence, the two pillars signify a bridge between the Water and Fire Initiations. Transition from the Water Initiation was the main spiritual work of Atlantis. Initiation by Fire is the most prominent work of the present post-Atlantean Age. This is most interestingly described in the Apocryphal Book of II Esdras:

II Esdras 7:6-9
There is also another thing; A city is builded, and set upon a broad field, and is full of all good things:
The entrance thereof is narrow, and is set in a dangerous place to fall, like as if there were a fire on the right hand, and on the left deep water:
And only one path between them both, even between the fire and the water, so small that there could but one man go there at once.
If this city now were given unto a man for an inheritance, if he never shall pass the danger set before it, how shall he receive his inheritance.

II Esdras 14:38-40
And the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying, Esdras, open thy mouth, and drink that I give thee to drink.
Then opened I my mouth, and, behold, he reached me a full cup, which was full as it were with water, but the colour of it was like fire.
And I took it, and drank: and when I had drunk it, my heart uttered understanding, and wisdom grew in my breast, for my spirit strengthened my memory.

   As previously stated, Fire Initiation embraces the principal spiritual work given to the pioneers of the present Fifth Root Race. Hence, in the Bible, textbook of this Race, we find it most frequently mentioned and the work of its various stages most prominently depicted in the lives of its outstanding characters.

Exodus 8:3-5
And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush was not burnt.
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto hint out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

   Herein is recounted one of the most stupendous events that occurred in the life of the great pioneer Teacher. At this time he was inducted into the first Mysteries of the Fire Initiation. Truly, the bush burned but was not consumed, for this Initiation deals not with Fire as heat but as Light — a Light that does not burn, but exalts. The veils between different planes of being are dissolved in its splendor and an aspirant becomes one with the powers of spirit. Whatever he sees is infinite; whatever he hears is immortal; whatever be now cognizes is eternal. The glory of the Light enfolding Moses never yet lay on land or sea. He was caught up into the very presence of the mighty Sun Spirit, the Christ, whose Light then enfolded the earth preparatory to His descent as the Saviour of the world. It was to this divine Light that Moses made his life's dedication.

   Throughout the Bible fire is referred to as the great element of purification, since the purpose of Initiation by Fire is purification of man's carnal nature. In the day of Moses desire was — and it continues to be even today — the principal motive power actuating humanity. For this reason the Bible is largely concerned with Initiation by Fire.

   To repeat, there are three Degrees in this Initiation. The First is Calcination, the elimination of all dross in the aspirant's nature. All burnt offerings and sacrifices by fire mentioned in the Bible refer to the Degree of Calcination.

Leviticus 9:24
And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell upon their faces.

I Kings 18:38
Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

II Chronicles 7:1
Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.

Deuteronomy 5:5
I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the word of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount.

I Chronicles 21:26
And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offerings.

   The Second Degree is Transmutation. Through the First Degree an aspirant learns to cultivate the force of will power essential to self-mastery. In the Second Degree the essence of this force is transmuted into spiritual power and incorporated into the individual's ego, giving him abilities far beyond those of an ordinary person. He also learns to commune with Divinity.

Deuteronomy 4:12
And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.

II Samuel 22:13
Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.

   The recipient of this Degree develops power to read the Akashic Records (the Memory of Nature) and to contact various celestial Hierarchies.

Isaiah 6:6, 7
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Ezekiel 1:4, 5
And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

Daniel 7:9, 10
I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

Malachi 3:3
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Matthew 3:11
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize thee with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.

Revelation 1:14
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.

Revelation 4:5
And out of the throne proceeded lightning and thunders and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

   This Second Degree of Transmutation is referred to in the Twelve Labors of Hercules as slaying the Nemean Lion. When Hercules was unable to capture this fierce beast with the aid of weapons, he cast them aside and the final conquest was made with his bare hands. The lion symbolizes the fire force within man; its mastery and transmutation can be effected only by the aspirant himself. Hercules made a coat of the lion's skin, and when he wore it he was invulnerable to all external injuries. This coat represents the glorious aura of Love which the Second Degree weaves about a successful candidate — an attainment of St. Paul whereof he declared, "None of these things move me." And the Psalmist sings: "Be still and know that I am god."

   The Three Friends of Daniel passed through the Degree of Transmutation when they entered the fiery furnace unafraid and remained there for many hours unharmed.

Daniel 3:27
And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

   The Third Degree of the Fire Initiation is Sublimation. It was of this attainment that the Christ spoke when He said: "Many be called, but few chosen."

II Kings 2:11
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and parted them asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

   The translation of Elijah represents the highest phase of Fire Initiation, the supreme culmination of the Christian religion, for it depicts complete mastery over death. St. Paul states that the last enemy to be overcome is death. The victory over death does not mean perpetuation of a physical body; it means the development of a consciousness that will span the interval between so-called death and the awakening into a new and larger expression of life. Ability to bridge this interval in complete consciousness is the highest attainment of the Fire Initiation — described in the Old Testament by the translation of Elijah in a chariot of fire and in the New Testament in the blessing bestowed by the Christ upon His most advanced Disciple, St. John.

St. John 21:22, 23
Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.
Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die: but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?

Acts 2:1-4
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

   The highest phases of Fire Initiation belong essentially to the Christ Dispensation. This sublime work attained its culmination in the Transfiguration as manifested upon earth by the Christ, the most exalted Initiate of the Spirit of Fire (the archangelic Host). The religion of Christ and this Initiation center primarily in the heart. The religion of God the Father, the next step in spiritual progression, will usher in the highest phases of Initiation by Air. That work will center in the spiritualizing of man's mind. The Feast of Pentecost is a bridge connecting the Christ Dispensation with the Dispensation of the Father, conjoining the work of the two Initiations.

   Through His cosmic Sacrifice the Lord Christ passed into the glories of the Dispensation of the Father. He obtained liberation from the cross when He chanted in ecstasy: "My God, how Thou hast glorified me." His disciples touched the threshold of this attainment amid the Feast of Pentecost. It was there that the power of Fire (heart) mingled with the illumined mind (Air).

   Full spiritualizing of the mind lifts one into fields of endeavor past all human describing. The disciples knew this exalted experience and were transformed from mere mortal men into God-men possessing dominion over all things and over all eventualities they were to encounter, for with the spiritualizing of the mind is born a great sense of unity. A person then lives only in a sense of the Oneness of the All and the Allness of the One. This sublime experience gave the Disciples the ability to speak in all tongues and to read cosmic records of both past and future events.

   Full spiritualizing, or Christing, of the mind, the highest phase of Initiation by Air, places the aspirant into harmonious attunement with the Infinite. The illumined mind of such an one now takes wings and he is no longer bound by limitations of the earth plane. Nor is he circumscribed by the solar system. He is free to roam at will through an infinity of space and any of its multitudinous solar systems becomes his home at will.

   With inspired vision the great Psalmist sang of such glory:

Psalms 8:5-9
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Thou modest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
O Lord our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth! The Beloved Disciple writes:

I John 3:2
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

   The Path leads always from glory to added glory, from manhood to Godhood, from the finite to the infinite, from mortality to Immortality. There is no end. There is only eternal Beginning!

 — Corinne Heline