The End of Karma

This age has been the Age of Karma. That has been the underlying purpose beneath all other human endeavors. Each one of us has been on a karmic journey over the course of many lifetimes, as we navigate the waters of consciousness evolution.

As descendants of Adam, we each inherited his awakened and active position on the scale of evolution—a well-defined state of consciousness that we are all very familiar with at this point. That was how our individual karmic journey began. Since then, we have each traversed across many lifetimes, little by little expanding in the light of consciousness realization. And it is our karma that has been our guide and mentor, doing its unseen work of bringing us the circumstances, situations, teachings, and revelations that would best facilitate our growth and evolutionary unfoldment.

And so, karma has been an integral part of human life during this age. This holds true whether we acknowledge its presence and work in our lives or not. Therefore, the predictable tone or character of human life for the past six thousand years has not only been partially attributable to karma’s influence; it has been intricately linked. In other words, there is no aspect of human life that we can say does not involve karma on some level. True, it is the Adamic state of dualities and separation that has largely defined the human experience during this age, but since karma’s role is one of relentless evolutionary prodding it too has had a highly definitive influence. In fact, it could be said that these two defining realities have been the two constants of human life from the beginning of the age until this very day.

Furthermore, these two aspects are what make human life, as we have come to know it, predictable and comfortable. And if one of them was suddenly removed from our experience, we would not merely feel a difference; we would be greatly upended and confounded. If the Adamic state of consciousness became a thing of the past, human life would go forward unrecognizably. Likewise, if karma suddenly disappeared or ended, human life would become completely rudderless and void of purpose.

Our universe is governed by law—law that was established in the beginning of creation and has never been removed. Intellectually sophisticated humans have imagined themselves to be free from the constraint of law (with the exception of localized civil laws that keep societies functioning without chaos), but this idea of individual freedom from law has been illusory. The laws that govern the universe most certainly govern individual human life. Moreover, the die is irrevocably cast when we come to understand that both consciousness evolution and karma are not individual pursuits or matters of choice; they are universal laws that impact all humans. So, even if we imagine ourselves to have gained freedom from certain other laws, we have definitely remained squarely under these two consciousness-related spiritual laws. How can we know this? Because consciousness evolution is still the underlying purpose of human life in this age, and karma is still doing what it does in the life of each and every human being on the evolutionary journey.

And so human life has become predictable and to some degree comfortable—not necessarily easy, but at least we know by now what to expect from life and what constitutes a life well-lived. Progress in the human ranks has also been constant but not in a way that makes us feel overwhelmed; rather in a steady manageable way. And all this speaks of the evolution of consciousness, which is an indomitable force to be sure but is usually not shocking in its intensity. In fact, often over the course of history humans have been completely unaware of this evolutionary movement. Sometimes it is only in hindsight that we can see how progress has been at work.

The problem is that this constancy aspect of human life has caused many to adopt a false sense of security. These have concluded that while human life is subject to ebbs and flows it is a relatively stable phenomenon overall. And they tend to scoff at some of the extreme doomsday scenarios that have circulated and gained traction in recent centuries. Many of these level-headed ones even base their calm assessment on the legal nature of our universe. This has been one of the great benefits of the advancements that have been made in the science of physics. For, not only does physics teach us that catastrophic upheaval is extremely rare; it proves its case through the apparent immutability of created universal law. Individual human life may be impacted by intellectual activity, temporal emotions, and physical sensations, but our planetary environment operates strictly according to immutable law. Therefore, we tend to take our survival as a species for granted based on the planet’s seasonal cycles and predictable yield. And this knowledge has always been a calming influence for us.

So why has the phenomenon of doomsday thinking been so persistent among us? Is it just a case of fringe fanaticism or extremism, or is there some rational basis to it? Often those who become obsessed with this outlook have little in the way of legal or scientific proof for their strong opinions. Rather they seem to be more feeling-driven than rational in their approach. Does this mean that we can completely disregard their rantings? Unfortunately, it does not.

The laws of physics argue that life on this planet is dependably constant. True, humans themselves can bring about a doomsday scenario through their own hatred, insanity, and environmental pollution. But when humans live lives that are grounded in a broader sane perspective, our survival as a species is rarely questioned. In this sense the law is on our side. And law, whatever else we may think about it, is actually a very good thing to be aligned with—a premise that also applies to the law of consciousness evolution. It is always better to live in harmony with law than to live in opposition to it. And the law of consciousness evolution is the primary law of our being. We do not need to know all about it; we only need to let it do what it was created to do. In this way the law of our being becomes the law of our well-being.

There is just one problem, and it’s a major one. While all universal law (including the law of consciousness evolution) can be counted upon to continue working without fail; there is one law impacting human life that operates without such guarantees. And that law is the law of karma. Seemingly all universal law, once set in motion, can be depended upon to never end. But karma is a law with a special modus operandi. It is a law that all humans feel and respond to, but it is one that very few among us have been able to trust and get too comfortable with. This is because the law of karma is its own kind of law—one that had a unique beginning and according to most religious scripture, has a temporal assignment that is slated to one day end. This is why the phenomenon of doomsday prediction has been so persistent among us. It comes from the intuitive sense that there is some important predictable influence over human life that is not operating according to immutable law in the same sense as the laws of physics—an influence that cannot be counted on to last forever. Life itself is not slated to end, but if the law of karma does indeed have an end human life is sure to be radically different after that end occurs.

Karma’s appearance on the human scene was not part of the act of creation. Rather it was like an addendum or amendment to universal law that came into effect at the beginning of this age. Moreover, it was a law with a very specific purpose, applying to human beings only. In other words, it was not a law of physics; it was neither environmental nor biological. Instead, it was a spiritual law that pertained exclusively to the human endowment of consciousness. And it even gets more specialized than that. It was a law that only came into effect after the man Adam awoke into the state of consciousness that we are presently moving in—an event that coincided not with the dawn of creation but rather with the beginning of this age. Prior to Adam’s awakening, consciousness was within human beings as an aspect of their created makeup, but it lay dormant and inactive. Thus, there was no need for a law such as karma to govern human experience. But after Adam awoke and became a conscious being (in the likeness of God), entering the state of consciousness that we now call Adamic, the law of karma suddenly appeared as an assigned agent to help men on their journey of consciousness evolution.

What this means is that in the same way that karma appeared for the specific task of facilitating human consciousness evolution it is slated to one day cease when that task has either been completed or simply scheduled to end. And since its beginning coincided with the beginning of the age, it is reasonable to assume that its ending will coincide with the end of the age.

This is one of the great thematic teachings of scripture. Why thematic? Because it appears in several different parabolic guises and settings—guises in which the details of the parable change but the overall theme of an age with a scheduled (albeit unknown to us) end is emphasized. Take for example the Parable of the Wedding Banquet recorded in the twenty-second chapter of the Book of Matthew. In this parable a king is preparing a wedding banquet for his son and sends his servants out into the human community to inform all those who are invited that the banquet is happening and is ready—that the king is desirous of filling the banquet hall with guests in order to honor his son. Eventually, the hall is filled and the banquet takes place, but not before a drama unfolds, in which a powerful moral lesson about the deserving condition of the guests is highlighted. But for our purposes here, it is not the moral teaching of worthiness that stands out. Rather it is simply that the wedding banquet was an event with a beginning and an end, after which it was too late for an invited guest who had once turned down the invitation to try to persuade the king that he has changed his mind and wants to come to the banquet after all. This same scenario is echoed in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, in which it actually states emphatically that at one point “the door was shut.” (Matthew 25:10). Then there are parables such as the Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11), the Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16:1), and the Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33), all of which speak similarly of situations that involve a lengthy time of worldly involvement and maneuvering that eventually comes to an end—an end that comes whether that outworking has resulted in one reaching the desired goal or not.

In all of these parables the time of maneuvering and decision-making is portrayed as extensive, so that it is reasonable to apply it to a period that seems long to us, such as a lifetime or even several lifetimes. This is clearly the tone of these teachings. The time aspect is unhurried. It is extensive, involving such life pursuits as family, career, financial trading and acquisition, etc. Then there is another common dynamic present in all of these parables: the role of a servant or servants, going forth into the human scene and trying to convince people that they need to respond to the instruction being put forth before that instruction becomes obsolete and meaningless. Who are these servants? Not surprisingly, their role lines up almost perfectly with the role of karma during this age.

It was karma that presented the invitation to the wedding banquet to all those who were invited (that is, all human beings), working non-stop to teach them righteous values and priorities. It was karma that urged the ten virgins to always be vigilant and ready because they could not know the exact time of the bridegroom’s appearance. It was karma that tried to influence those who received minas from the master to serve him faithfully with the wealth he had entrusted them with. It was karma that alerted the shrewd manager to the fact that his comfy position in this world was not to be taken for granted. And it was karma that warned the tenants that their stance of rebellion against the owner of the vineyard would have its day of reckoning. Yes, throughout this age the servant that we call karma has been working overtime to try to bring each one of us to our senses. It has been doing this by bringing to us the experiences and insights we need to evolve in consciousness. And it has not hid the fact that this extension of time that we have been given, while seemingly lengthy, will one day end.

That has been the thematic tone of human life during this Age of Adam, no matter how the details of a particular individual incarnation may differ. But just as in the parables, this age-long period of grace that has been extended to us is not forever. It had a beginning, and it will have an end. And when that end comes the fate of each one of us will be decided by only one of two outcomes. Either it will be shown that karma has successfully done its work in us and brought us to our senses, or it will be shown that we had effectually ignored karma’s influence, spurned the grace extended to us, repeatedly treated the servant (karma) with contempt, and not valued the goal of consciousness evolution. In the case of the former outcome, we will be gathered into the great barn of the resurrection, to be kept and preserved for the return of the Christ. And in the case of the second outcome, all of our progress on the karmic journey will be erased, while we ourselves will be cast out into a graceless destiny. The door will be shut, and nothing we do or say will convince the keeper to open it again.

This is the true nature of the doomsday that awaits us. It is a personal doomsday of missed opportunity and chronic mis-valuation. But it is also likely that since karma will end for everyone at the same time the world of man will be thrown into total chaos and even destruction. This is perhaps the fulfillment of scripture’s apocalyptic writing. Why is this? Because without karma undergirding our human experience, we will lose one of the main predictable and comfortable influences that has steadied us throughout this age. And it is difficult to say what will happen on the human scene after that.

One of the most famous and vivid apocalyptic discourses in scripture is recorded in the New Testament Book of Matthew, chapter twenty-four. But this passage has often frustrated prophecy students. Why? For one thing its timeline seems disjointed and sporadic. Only after we understand that the end of the age will not be a man-made event or events does it begin to make sense. For, the end of the age will come on the same day that karma ends. It is as simple as that. It will come when the door of grace (karma’s active working) that has been a fixture of this age shuts.

First, Jesus describes the signs leading up to this cataclysmic event: false Christs, deceptive teachings, wars and rumors of war, environmental upheaval, an overall increase in wickedness, because of which the love of many will grow cold, etc. Then he says, “These are the beginnings of birth pangs.” (verse 8). And, “It will be a time of unparalleled distress.” (verse 21). But he who stands firm will be saved. In other words, he who has allowed karma to do its work and has already embarked upon the journey of return to the Father’s house will be gathered into the barn of the resurrection and will rise again to participate in the New Age of the Christ. But for those who have scoffed at karma’s influence over the human scene and have lived under the arrogant assumption that this age (and correspondingly karma’s assignment) will never end, there will be a much different outcome. They will view these cataclysmic world events with an indescribable dread and foreboding. For, they will instinctively understand that while they repeatedly prospered under the conditions of this present world order, not only will that pattern of prosperity be in question but even their survival as an individual human life form will be uncertain. And so, the end of karma—an end that may very well have been scheduled six thousand years ago and will come about according to law—will bring about the end of the Age of Adam. It will also lead to the dawning of a new age—an age no longer governed by the law of karma, in which only those who have allowed karma to shape their destiny during this age and thereby experienced the evolution of consciousness out of Adam and into the Christ will come forth to repopulate the earth.