Divorce
In the New Testament we find a statement of laws concerning marriage and divorce during that particular period of history. Jesus told his disciples, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.”[1]
The moral disciplines enforced from without at that time are intended to be imposed from within in periods of accelerated personal and planetary initiation such as the one through which we are now passing. At the end of this two-thousand-year cycle, when souls are being brought together for the redemption of karma, it is sometimes necessary for individuals to be married more than once in an embodiment in order to expiate the karma created by involvements in past lives.
Therefore, divorce has been sanctioned by the Lords of Karma—providing certain requirements of the Law are met. Only those earthly marriages that coincide with the heavenly union of twin flames created by God are sealed for eternity. But no contract should be broken except by mutual consent and for just cause under the laws of Hierarchy, many of which are reflected in the laws of the land regarding divorce.
The Golden Rule for marriage
The Golden Rule for marriage is to give all in service to the Christ in one’s partner and not to surrender one’s vows unless every step has been taken to preserve the harmony of the home. Where there is no harmony, no bringing forth of the fruits of Christ, there is not the proper representation of the Father-Mother God, and there is, therefore, karma in maintaining such a union. A discordant situation should either be healed in love or dissolved in love, both parties going their separate ways.
But let each hear the solemn warning: unless he has given his all to preserve the union, he will be held accountable. The meeting of one’s twin flame or a sudden shift of interests should not be construed as reason for deserting one who has been loyal and loving and has done his or her part to preserve the marriage contract.
The dispensation of Aquarius
The ascended master Godfre has said:
Some law is unchanging, but there are rulings, there are dispensations, there are interpretations that come forth which, according to the times, may have an alteration. Take, for instance, the law that was given at the time of Jesus and Paul that there should be no divorce.[2] This was a very necessary law in that time because of the sensuality of the people, because of the need to establish the Holy Family matrix and for souls to work out their karma and not to be allured, one to the other. We do not advocate divorce in this day and age, but we recognize that two thousand years later there is a different situation on earth. That situation is the acceleration of the balance of karma.
With the acceleration of these cycles, therefore, it sometimes becomes necessary for individuals to change partners, as you say, for a higher purpose, for a higher calling and for the working out of that manifestation of light within them, especially in the case of lightbearers, where past associations do not lead to the victory of the soul or to the path of initiation. It becomes necessary, then, to cut those ties, to go on and to know that you can balance karma on a universal basis. And so you see, it was Jesus himself who gave this teaching; yet Jesus today standing before you would [in some cases] give you the opposite teaching.
Do you not understand, then, that the ascended masters are here because we must work with the needs of the hour? We must work with the current manifestations of free will. As free will responds to God’s will, then there is created a new dispensation and a new requirement for an interpretation of the law.[3]
Making a decision regarding divorce
The Brotherhood tells us that each one must search his soul and discover whether or not we have done all in our power to bring harmony to a marriage and a home, to make a go of it, and whether there is such disagreement and such discord that it would be more costly to the partners to remain together than it would be to go their separate ways.
The ascended masters are concerned that we do not walk out on our responsibilities and our karma. We have to beware of self-righteousness in marriage, of condemnation of the spouse. We have to beware of intolerance. Our spouses don’t have to be the same religion as we are. They may be very devout and holy people in their own vein. What is important is that there be harmony, and, if there are children in the family, that they see a unity of the parents, a proper and dignified representation of the Father-Mother God and not continual strife and self-degradation.
Sources
Mark L. Prophet and Elizabeth Clare Prophet, The Path to Attainment, pp. 25–26.
Elizabeth Clare Prophet, July 5, 1982.