The mysterious, majestic beauties of Woodmont have been extolled to the highest -- its picturesque Grounds and its intriguing Buildings. These are obvious to any eye. But there is a deep, Spiritual Magnitude of Woodmont also, which is apparent only to the Inner Eye. Here are snippets in prose which tell of Woodmont's implicit beauties.
FATHER DIVINE often sat with His Cabinet, volitionally delivering His Words of Wisdom to those present. On one of these occasions at Circle Mission Church in Philadelphia, in the evening of June 24, 1953, three months before the Dedication of Woodmont, FATHER picked up his Bible, and it opened up randomly to II Chronicles 3:1, which stressed FATHER'S Mind. He requested that MOTHER DIVINE read it, and asked HER to read it a second time. This is the verse, followed by FATHER'S comment.
' Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.'
FATHER DIVINE:
'Then Solomon began to build the House of the LORD at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah.
Then the LORD began to build the House of the LORD in Philadelphia in Woodmont;
where the LORD appeared at the signing of the Declaration of Independence and
at the drafting of the Constitution and its Amendments; where the people proclaimed
Liberty throughout all the Land and the Pilgrim Fathers came in the name of the
Quakers and made Philadelphia, through the signing of the Declaration of Independence
and the drafting of the Constitution and its Amendments, the "City of Brotherly
Love."
"And the LORD came and made it in the latter days, confirming the City of Brotherly Love and the Cradle of Democracy, making it the Country Seat of the World! And thence HE starts to build the Temple of GOD not at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah, but at the New Jerusalem, better known as Philadelphia, at Woodmont!" New Day, September 13, 1986, p.4
Two of the prophets of old, Isaiah and Micah, predicted that the House of the LORD would be built in the Mountains.
'And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:2-3
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Micah 4:1-2
On one occasion, FATHER made this comment:
". . . The Mount Of The House Of The LORD has been lifted up . . . and we are the fulfillers and partakers of this Great Unfoldment of Righteousness. . . . The Law shall go out, and they shall say, 'Let us go up to the House of the LORD. That HE may teach us of His Ways.' "
Historically, three great and noble figures have gone upon the Mountain. There is something about the Heights that is supernaturally inspiring. FATHER DIVINE spoke these words at Pine Brook in New Jersey on September 8, 1953, just two days before the Woodmont Dedication, concerning the three Great Persons, Moses, Jesus and HIMSELF, who went upon the Mountain.
"Moses went upon the Mountain to get the Law, and I heard you say by reiteration and by the reading of the Message as printed, Jesus went upon the mountain to give the New Law the Law of the Spirit of Life that was and still is in CHRIST JESUS. Jesus gave that law, and I heard you say that I have gone upon the mountain and I am dispensing the MODEST CODE down to the people, that they might live Soberly, Righteous, Decently and Honestly, not only in words, but in Character and in your Characteristics, in your disposition and in your ways and in your actions and in your daily transactions." New Day, September 19, 1953, p.6
FATHER DIVINE served a Holy Communion Banquet at the Unity Mission Bible Institute in Philadelphia on September 12, 1954, just before HE motored to Woodmont in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. The Woodmont Estate has been set aside as "Holy Ground," and we are admonished to take off our shoes of materialism before we step on this Sacred Earth. In His Sermon, FATHER HIMSELF spoke of Woodmont as "Holy Ground."
"I wanted to go on up to The Mount Of The House Of The LORD and take you all up there once again, so that you might walk on the Holy Ground the Ground that was predestined to be for you and for ME as though it is for you and for ME because we are Universal and Absolutely Impersonal. It is for all of you, New Day, September 25, 1954, 1954. P.7
FATHER DIVINE presided over His Holy Banquet Table at Woodmont on September 11, 1954, during the Celebration of "Holy Days." In His Sermon, FATHER reverently talked about this Hallowed Ground. HE said:
"It has been actually rediscovered and brought into materialization even as I Am. . . . It has been predestined, and we are the fulfillers. The Ground you stand on is Holy! We have Blessed this Holy Mount of GOD in the Name of GOD, of Whom you say I AM." Ibid.
FATHER DIVINE dedicated the Woodmont Estate on September 10, 1953. In His Sermon delivered in the Chapel Dining Room, FATHER underscored His often repeated Statement that GOD is Real a Living Reality. Later in His Sermon, HE said that HE came to establish Brotherhood, and went on to cite William Penn's Holy Experiment in establishing Brotherhood. These are His Words:
"I AM proving to the world conclusively, once and forever, GOD is no longer a supposition, no longer an imagination, but GOD is Real! Real! Real! GOD is made Real, Tangible and Practical! GOD has made HIMSELF a Living Reality no longer something just imaginary, no longer a supposition, as aforesaid, but something that can be used in your daily affairs. . . .
"Honesty, Competence and Truth from a Moral and from an Economic point of view, I present to you, expressing from a Spiritual point of view the Morals that CHRIST brought down to the world. But yet, they are not confined to ME as a Person, My fellow citizens, hearers and friends. These Blessings are operative and expressive as much for you as they are for ME. They are Impersonal by Nature and Universal in Characteristics.
"Therefore, if any person will live the Life I AM advocating and exemplifying, no one need go around in lacks and wants and limitations. A Life of Celibacy, Morally, Spiritually and Physically, will produce the very Quality that will attract and draw and bring every desirable Blessing to you.
". . . I come to you, carrying out GOD'S Plan in the name of William Penn, to establish Brotherhood from shore to shore and from land to land. That is why Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love and the Cradle of Democracy, but now the Country Seat of the world. I AM carrying out his Plan.
"I AM carrying out His Plan to the letter! We shall have the establishment of the Universal Brotherhood of man from this, the Country Seat of the World, and from The Mount Of The LORD'S House in which we stand!" New Day, September 19, 1953, pp.3-4
GOD is absorbed constantly in His Work of changing the old into the new. FATHER brought out this point at the 126th Street Extension in New York City on August 19. 1940, When HE said:
"This is A.D.F.D., for it shall be stamped so vividly in the memory of humanity in the future, they will realize that which has been spoken and recognized and realized by you all!
"When Jesus in Person, the Son of GOD, was on earth among men, there were but a limited few with HIM. They did not know HE would change the Dispensation from that Dispensation as being termed the Jewish Dispensation to the Christian Dispensation in other words, A.D., but the very change of things did take place!
"So it is in this Dispensation concerning this Mystery. It is just as operative and expressive, for the Body was sacrificed for it! Then it must be a Memorial, it must be a Memorial, as a Living Reality, as the expression and unfoldment and the establishment of a New Dispensation . . . This Dispensation is to be considered, and it must come into consideration CALENDARLY!
"Because by the change of nature, the nature of humanity, the change of their minds and their disposition, the change of their character and their characteristics, they become to be New Creatures. Therefore, it is a great change, for this is as much a change from the Dispensation in which you have been living as the Dispensation A.D. as the Dispensation B.C. There was a change and even the governmental affairs changed, because GOD was among men. . . .
"Oh, how glorious it is to know that this Truth is Real, for it has been actually established, and it is established so vividly and so effectively, it shall be known universally and shall change the customs and the systems of men.
"Because it is a New Dispensation, it automatically changes men; it automatically changes systems; it automatically changes customs and rules and regulations. Because of the change in the Dispensation, it causes a New Inspiration and a New Spiritual Awakening to take place in the consciousness of humanity; and civilization from that angle of expression will make its advances by the Spirit as it is unfolding in a deeper unfoldment of this Dispensation from that of A.D.
"It has been established and it must be reckoned, and those who are in this reckoning will not be counted in anything else, for this is the Dispensation in which the Latter Day reckoning must be established and considered and recognized universally, for the Founder of this Dispensation and the Creator of it is GOD, Who liveth forever and FOREVER!" New Day, August 22, 1940, pp. 61-62
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