[8] After a while, when Simon recovered from his captivation and I reassuringly influenced his heart, Simon said: “My Lord and My God! What did I do, that You suddenly are so lenient and merciful towards me? See, I’m a sinful person; since my flesh is quite loose. The beautiful and attractive maiden leave a mighty impression on me and from time to time quite indecent thoughts are forcing themselves upon me. And quite often I willingly engage with a kind of lust and joy in these thoughts, although not in deed because of a lack of opportunity, but still in my heart, which behaves quite affirmative during such estrous stages.
[9] But then also quite bright moments appear in me and I have reasonable views and considerations about this point; but to what use? If I again see a beautiful maiden, all the brighter moments, all the reasonable views and considerations are gone in an instant, and the old scapegoat, armed with all its indecent intentions, is back in its place. Of course, I do nothing; but this doing-nothing is nevertheless not a true doing-nothing, but simply a doing which is prevented by a bad opportunity. The fear for temporary punishment and disgrace is preventing one thereof, but not so the own free will, who at such opportunities contains a lot of desire, and at a good opportunity surely will not reveal any negation! I know my loose flesh unfortunately just too well and therefore are a sinful person and not worthy of such a great mercy from You.”
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50. HOW TO SAFE MATERIALISTIC SOULS
[1] HOWEVER, if the soul, who received the pure teaching, who also understands the truth and thinks within himself: ‘Aha, now I know what I rightly should do for my salvation. But before I will completely work on it, I still want to enjoy for a while the charms and sweet things of this world, for they are offered to me, because now that I precisely know the ways to spiritual completion, it really will not matter as to when I earnestly will walk on it. And when I will go that way, I surely will also make progress.’ Look, friend, then the soul begins to taste of the charms and sweet things of the world, and also to fully enjoy it. By that, he will give a great overweight to the matter of his flesh that can hardly or not at all be completely conquered anymore with his clear understanding in the things of the spirit. [2] Since such a soul acted in the beginning against his better judgment, he slowly sinks ever deeper into matter. And also the original pure spiritual enlightenment becomes ever more opaque. The soul comes into all kinds of doubts, and in his material laziness it is for him really not that worthy anymore to stand up and to – at least for the short time of a few days or weeks – make a serious attempt, by denying himself, to convince himself whether there is still something true of the teaching that was revealed from the Heavens in order to receive the inner, true life. [3] Yes friend, once such a soul became lazy against his very own judgment, and sees people around him who have attained to the inner life’s completion because they did their best since the beginning, then this will still have no strong influence on him, and it will not bring about any activity in him. If he is in a good mood, he will let the wonders of the spiritual in man be told to him by the awakened fellowmen. And now and then, also the wish will be awakened in him to be like those completed men. But immediately after that, the enticements of this world, which he enjoyed and still wants to enjoy, act so mightily upon him that he cannot resist them, and he will think by that: ‘Well yes, I do not do anything wrong if I do not fully repent immediately. First I still want to see and try out this and that in the world, and then I still will have largely the time to walk in the footsteps of the completed ones.’ 4. "For in no matter can a man be more easily talked around than precisely in the one he does not understand himself.
5. "For in this case he either accepts the verdict out of ignorance or because he believes in the authority of the speaker, and will then never arrive at an opinion of his own. 6. "And this means nothing else but to shackle the independence of his own spirit and to become a mechanical spirit of another or set aside his own life in favor of an alien, spurious life. 7. "I am telling you this from my own experience so that you may not let yourself be talked around by me, but accept only that which makes sense to you; thus you shall not accept a single syllable which you merely had to believe without having grasped it beforehand firmly in your mind. 8. "There is no worse state for a free man than that of a blind faith; for such a faith engenders the true death of the spirit. 9. "Whoever believes blindly, is at the same time a spirit under judgment by some ambitious brother. 10. "If already a judgment of the living God is deadly, how much more must this be the case with the judgment of a dead man or one who himself possesses only a spurious life. 11. "Behold, for this reason a personal opinion - be it ever so poor - is much better than one adopted only through faith, for the veracity of which the spirit which must be free has no guarantee other than the authority of the preacher and the lukewarm complacency of its own foolishness. 12. "All of which is surely an abomination before God; for God created man for a free life and not that he might be an indolent mouthpiece of some ambitious preacher who is a selfish judge of the hearts of men who are meant to be free. Men are to become children of God, thus gods themselves "[5] For if men of this Earth want to become children of God, they must try in every way to be as perfect as the eternal and holy Father in Heaven who is in Himself the eternal truth, the eternal love and power, and all the endless good, righteous and wonderful that results from it. Therefore, it is also written in the Scripture: ‘God created man after His likeness, He made him after His image and blew His breath into him, so that he would become a living, free soul.’
[6] In this manner, men of this Earth are not simply and solely creatures of Jehovah’s almightiness, but children of His Spirit, and consequently of His love, and thus – as it is also written – gods themselves. [7] And if they are – and their completely free will that is not limited by anything clearly proves this to them – then they also are completely free lords and judges over themselves. But they only become perfect and lords who are completely equal to God, by making God’s will, that is faithfully revealed to them, as their own will by acting according to it, in which they also are completely free. [8] That is why God works only very seldom visibly among the people because already since the very beginning He has given them out of Himself the capability to slowly raise themselves, out of their own power, up to the highest level of life that is equal to God. [9] Thus, the one who, as soon as he uses his mind, begins to search for the truth and its goodness and will also act immediately according to what he has found, is already walking on the right way, and God will lighten that way for him more and more and lead him to his glory. But the one who, also by his own will, becomes lazy and who will attach himself to this world and its enticements – which are only present for the outer and perishable sense organs of the material or physical man for the test of his free will – will judge himself out of his free will and will make himself equal to death and judgment, and is consequently himself also as good as judged and dead." (90. About the destiny of men - THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN Book 20) [3] I alone know since eternity what is necessary to make from a thought out of Me a free being, and this with the fullest godly independence. Therefore, I am also the only One to know what is
necessary to entirely accomplish this supreme work. If it concerns death, judgment, human being or angel: in My eyes, all this is for the accomplishment of the main goal of My love and wisdom one and the same. Because, you know, the Eternal has always enough time for it. Surely, David said that a 1,000 years for God are hardly 1 day, but I say to you, who are now My scribe and friend: a 1,000 times a 1,000 years is for Me hardly 1 single moment. [4] Look, you are existing at this moment, and numerous times of myriads times myriads of creations like these are already finished behind us according to the natural chronology. How could you blame Me that I have allowed that you have come to birth only now during this youngest time? And further, what reproach could those make Me who I will allow to be born after eons times eons long times and eternities? [5] For I am Lord over My eternal thoughts and ideas, and I can bring them to a self-conscious life whenever I want. Because eternally I am under no law, for I am since primordial eternity the law Myself. And so, in moral matters I can issue a law that comes only from Me and which lies in My will, how and whenever I want to do this out of My love and My wisdom. [6] Who else except Me can foresee that? And who can force Me and make Me to act, except I Myself out of My eternal order? 26. SICKNESS AND EARLY DEATH
[1] Says a Greek Jew: “Lord and Master, this is now quite clear to us, but there is still something for which I have no true explanation. Why do so many children have to die at the most tender age while still undeveloped, and why must physical death almost always be preceded by a bad illness which weakens and kills the body? Once a man is mature, he could as a soul leave the body easily and painlessly, and children should never die before reaching a certain maturity. However, what happens all the time is this: Children die at any age, and the bad diseases are always there and are a continual plague for men. O Lord and Master, why must that be so on this earth?” [2] I said: “This need not be so at all and was not the case in the deep past, for do you ever read in a chronicle of bad illnesses amongst the men who were devoted to God and living according to His commandments!? They all lived to a ripe old age and their passing was a gentle, painless going to sleep. Also, no child ever died, for it was begotten by very healthy parents and nourished and raised according to sound and simple natural principles. [3] Only later, when arrogance and with it a whole legion of the grossest sins against God's commandments and laws of nature gained entrance among people, did all sorts of bad ailments occur among them through their own fault. The thus weakened people could then no longer beget healthy children. Such children, already crippled from the womb, gradually became prone to more and more attacks from all kinds of diseases and began to die at all ages. [4] Because this is now happening you must not think that God had ordained this for men for some inexplicable, secret reason. He allowed it, firstly, so that the people be prevented from too much sinning through their ailments and, secondly, that they through their painful suffering distance themselves from the world, go into themselves, recognize their sins, detest them and in patient submission to God's will attain eternal bliss. [5] This is also the case with children. What is on this earth to become of a child that is physically completely stunted, particularly if the parents have already been born in sin? Who will educate them and who heal them from their ailments? Is it not better to take them away from this world so that they can be raised by the angels in the specially created realm of children? 29. THE DARK SIDE OF NATURE
RELATIVE TO HUMAN LIFE 21 February 1877 IN My last (preceding) word I defended Myself against the criticism raised by some, or actually by many people, concerning the contradictions they believe to find My visible nature, when they compare them with My everywhere proclaimed words of love, of meekness and of the promised joys. As far as was possible, I have elucidated this dark side for you, explaining also that “it could be otherwise, but it must still be as it really is.” Now I still have to carry out an important scrutiny of your own life, where man-; a person says: “Just look at human life, from birth to grave it is nothing but conflict, suffering, disappointment, with very little love, joy and other promised things, unless man knows how to procure them himself. “What else is life on this earth but a vale of tears where one – not knowing any better – is referred to religious dogmas and other revelations always speaking of another life after death, of reward and recompense for sustained suffering while letting man battle here on earth with every misfortune. Why should I bother about another world beyond, of which I actually know nothing certain and in which I am expected to believe blindly! “Since I see this world surrounding me as so miserable, who guarantees that the future world is not just as contradictory as the real one here where, instead of joys, only physical or spiritual sufferings follow each other and even what is attained with effort does not afford the enjoyment some expected!” Thus, and in a thousand other forms, I am accused of having made promises to mankind, none of which I ever intended to keep! The man who only considers what is there, visible to him, not wanting to acknowledge any spiritual life apart from his rational life, has judged rightly. For he regards in advance only that as existing which he can grasp either with his hands or with his given senses. This is the very theory of all materialists, who say the entire visible world has originated through a chance mixing together of all elements, and who even consider the mental aspirations in their own brain merely as a product of such mixtures. It goes without saying that this theory easily finds many adherents, for it does not restrict man, who can then satisfy his passions as far as criminal laws allow it, for he thinks: “After this earthly life everything comes to an end anyway; so let us “live” (according to his concepts) as well as we can!” Thus he sees the dark side of human life only in so far as material losses, illnesses, discord and disappointment of every kind follow one another. [7] Yes, he who is old and seeks very seriously what he easily could have found with much less effort when he was young if the world with all its sensual pleasure and frivolity would not have
hindered him, will still find it, but only after he has cleansed his soul of all material dross and spots. [8] Suppose man – also when he is very old – would always feel as youthful and in perfect health, being joyful and cheerful, then, what you began to search already 20 years ago, would be, and stay, as indifferent to him as it was to you when you were young. But the age that becomes more and more difficult, and the end of life that comes ever closer, forces the soul, who loves life, to worry about the further nature of life, and will ask now and then about the things concerning the blind faith of the people. [9] The dark and doubtful answers that he receives during his seeking purify him by the fear for the death of the body that has awakened in him, which is caused by the love for the world that keeps him imprisoned and that makes him blind and deaf. He starts to despise and to escape the goods of this world, which were once so tasteful to him, and purifies himself by that of what imprisoned him in the judgment and the death of matter. [10] But if the soul, also when he is old, would be able to make the perishable matter of his body young again by one or the other secret healing medicine1, then he once more would very pleasantly continue to rest in his walking grave and would not be concerned about his own life. But God, out of His eternal love, has arranged this earthly life – which serves for the trial of the free will – exactly in such a way that man has to become older, weaker and more tired, and especially him who in his youth was too much attached to the matter of this timely world, so that finally also his soul, who was kept imprisoned by death, can lift himself up to the sure, eternal life. [11] Once the soul, with the help of his hidden Creator and Lord, has detached himself from the judgment of matter and has found himself in his inner light of life through his active striving, then he also has become lord over his matter and its death, which he does not fear as much as before, and he is not that much concerned anymore about the age and weakness of his body, for he himself has become healthy, strong, and full of comfort in himself. [12] This is what you have sought, and what you have also found here. For he who will seriously seek, will also find that which was sought. To him who knocks at the door, will be opened at the right time, and to him who asks, will also be given that which was asked. [13] But to know how you have now finally found here what you scarily have sought for so long, will only later become clear and understandable to you. Now it is again your turn to say openly to us how you have understood what I have told you. Because a house that has to be reconstructed cannot be finished before the ground, which must support the house, has received its full strength. If you want, you can speak now.” (GGJ Book 22, chap. 22) [6] I said: “On the one hand yes, but on the other hand not, for from now on until the end of times I will know how to protect and keep those who really confess Me, so that the power of Satan will do them little or no harm at all.
[7] But take care that after Me you will not disagree among each other because I also have to leave your free will and your free understanding. If you will disagree, and the one recommends this and the other that as being better, then you will put the first foundation stone yourselves for the false works of the prophets, and it will bring about multiple divisions in the teaching that I have proclaimed to you.” [8] Now the disciples said again: “Lord, this will, as far as we are concerned, never happen, since we are witnesses of Your teaching and Your deeds.” [9] I said: “That is what you are, nevertheless, counted from now on, not 1 year will pass before you will take offence at Me, will deny and betray Me. Truly I say to you furthermore: when I as Your Shepherd will soon be beaten, you will be scattered as My sheep. I will gather you again after My resurrection and will, providing you with everything, send you into the world to proclaim My gospel to all people about the coming of God’s Kingdom on this Earth. And you will have many adherents, and out of these adherents will soon arise followers who will follow your steps and will also teach in My name „01] But I fully got up and walked around a little with the disciples. Because of the beautiful view several benches and other seats have been installed. I stopped and sat down. From here one had the best view of Jerusalem.
02] The disciples looked at the beautiful city and John said in a somewhat wistful voice to Me: “Lord, You are my love, isn’t it forever a pity about this city, that it according to Your announcement will be wretchedly destroyed within the near future?” 03] Said I: “You, My dear John, has here for this point made quite a suitable remark and also see in My eyes tears. But what can one do more here to prevent it?! See, for the sake to maintain these walls to destroy all citizens by an angel of death, is surely not something very wise, but rather something very unfortunate; since there are still living several thousands within these walls, who in time still will believe in Me! And you see there the seventy and the many toll-collectors including the disguised pharisees and scribes; they will still today believe in Me fully, and there are still many among the nation, who subsequently will also be converted. Therefore this place should be spared as long as possible from any kind of too great a judgment . However, when all the good little fish has been saved from this pond, and nothing else is left than adders and revolting frogs to swim around, then the time has come to ruin the wretched marsh by fire and earthquakes. 04] O, look at this whole landscape! How did it looked like ten times thousand times thousand years ago?! There existed only very little mainland and from these in abundance covered mountains and valleys no trace existed. Only by later subsequent for your mind unthinkable greatest and nearly over the whole earth generally raving fire eruptions lasting for thousands of years, did the earth over time developed to such this landscape. |
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