And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,and sat upon it, . . . And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

   And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him....And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All Hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped him.
 — Matthew 28:2-10

   A full comprehension of the cosmic nature of the Christ brings a new inspiration to the immortal words: "He is risen." They take on an infinitely deeper and more glorious meaning when we realize that the yearly infusion of Divine Life brought by the Christ Ray as the indwelling Planetary Spirit of the Earth brings at the Easter season a renewed growth and augmented activity to all the plant, animal, and human life upon the Earth. Hope and courage inspire mankind to master life's problems, and thus to loose the bonds of materiality.

   The Western Wisdom Teachings explain that at the Baptism, Jesus, a member of the human life wave, gave his dense and vital bodies for the Christ Spirit to use during His ministry upon Earth, and that at the Crucifixion the Christ Spirit was liberated from the body of Jesus and entered into the Earth by means of the flowing of the blood. Each year since that time, the Christ Ray spends a part of His time in the Earth, giving of Himself to the fullest, and a part of it in the higher Worlds being rejuvenated. Easter marks the beginning of His ascent into the higher realms.

   As Max Heindel puts it: "For those who have chosen to work knowingly and intelligently with Cosmic Law, Easter has a great significance. To them it means the annual liberation of the Christ Spirit from the cramping confines of the Earth and His joyful ascent into His true homeworld, there to remain for a season resting in the bosom of the Father. And if their eyes are truly open they behold angelic hosts waiting, ready to accompany Him on His heavenward journey; if their ears are attuned to heavenly sounds they hear celestial choirs chanting His praise in glad hosannas to the risen Lord.

   "To the enlightened ones Easter brings a keen realization of the fact that all humanity are pilgrims on the Earth, that the real home of the Spirit is in the heaven realm, and that to reach that realm all should endeavor to learn the lessons in life's school as quickly as possible so that they may be able to look for the dawn of a day that will permanently release them from the bondage of the Earth. Then like the liberated Christ they will come into a realization of that glorious immortality which is the reward of the perfected Spirit. To the illumined ones Easter symbolizes the dawning of a glad day when all mankind as well as the Christ will be permanently freed from the cramping confines of materiality, and will ascend to heavenly realms to become pillars of strength in the Father's house, from which they shall no more go out."
 — Rays from the Rose Cross Magazine, March, 1975, page 117