II. Revelation, Time and Miracles

T-1.II.1. Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension of doubt and fear. ² It reflects the original form of communication between God and His creations, involving the extremely personal sense of creation sometimes sought in physical relationships. ³ Physical closeness cannot achieve it. ⁴ Miracles, however, are genuinely interpersonal, and result in true closeness to others. ⁵ Revelation unites you directly with God. ⁶ Miracles unite you directly with your brother. ⁷ Neither emanates from consciousness, but both are experienced there. ⁸ Consciousness is the state that induces action, though it does not inspire it. ⁹ You are free to believe what you choose, and what you do attests to what you believe.

T-1.II.2. Revelation is intensely personal and cannot be meaningfully translated. ² That is why any attempt to describe it in words is impossible. ³ Revelation induces only experience. ⁴ Miracles, on the other hand, induce action. ⁵ They are more useful now because of their interpersonal nature. ⁶ In this phase of learning, working miracles is important because freedom from fear cannot be thrust upon you. ⁷ Revelation is literally unspeakable because it is an experience of unspeakable love.

T-1.II.3. Awe should be reserved for revelation, to which it is perfectly and correctly applicable. ² It is not appropriate for miracles because a state of awe is worshipful, implying that one of a lesser order stands before his Creator. ³ You are a perfect creation, and should experience awe only in the Presence of the Creator of perfection. ⁴ The miracle is therefore a sign of love among equals. ⁵ Equals should not be in awe of one another because awe implies inequality. ⁶ It is therefore an inappropriate reaction to me. ⁷ An elder brother is entitled to respect for his greater experience, and obedience for his greater wisdom. ⁸ He is also entitled to love because he is a brother, and to devotion if he is devoted. ⁹ It is only my devotion that entitles me to yours. ¹⁰ There is nothing about me that you cannot attain. ¹¹ I have nothing that does not come from God. ¹² The difference between us now is that I have nothing else. ¹³ This leaves me in a state which is only potential in you.

T-1.II.4. "No man cometh unto the Father but by me" does not mean that I am in any way separate or different from you except in time, and time does not really exist. ² The statement is more meaningful in terms of a vertical rather than a horizontal axis. ³ You stand below me and I stand below God. ⁴ In the process of "rising up," I am higher because without me the distance between God and man would be too great for you to encompass. ⁵ I bridge the distance as an elder brother to you on the one hand, and as a Son of God on the other. ⁶ My devotion to my brothers has placed me in charge of the Sonship, which I render complete because I share it. ⁷ This may appear to contradict the statement "I and my Father are one," but there are two parts to the statement in recognition that the Father is greater.

T-1.II.5. Revelations are indirectly inspired by me because I am close to the Holy Spirit, and alert to the revelation-readiness of my brothers. ² I can thus bring down to them more than they can draw down to themselves. ³ The Holy Spirit mediates higher to lower communication, keeping the direct channel from God to you open for revelation. ⁴ Revelation is not reciprocal. ⁵ It proceeds from God to you, but not from you to God.

T-1.II.6. The miracle minimizes the need for time. ² In the longitudinal or horizontal plane the recognition of the equality of the members of the Sonship appears to involve almost endless time. ³ However, the miracle entails a sudden shift from horizontal to vertical perception. ⁴ This introduces an interval from which the giver and receiver both emerge farther along in time than they would otherwise have been. ⁵ The miracle thus has the unique property of abolishing time to the extent that it renders the interval of time it spans unnecessary. ⁶ There is no relationship between the time a miracle takes and the time it covers. ⁷ The miracle substitutes for learning that might have taken thousands of years. ⁸ It does so by the underlying recognition of perfect equality of giver and receiver on which the miracle rests. ⁹ The miracle shortens time by collapsing it, thus eliminating certain intervals within it. ¹⁰ It does this, however, within the larger temporal sequence.