THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 124 -
Knowing it all without implementing it in life.
1
(The Lord) "But if that is all so and cannot ever be otherwise, how petty your concerns seem about keeping pure a word that has been given to you! Only very little of that is necessary for a person, only a smallest mustard grain; if he plants it in the earth of life of his heart and then takes care of it arduously and actively, a tree will grow from it, under whose branches even the birds of the sky will make their home.
2
Have the Pharisees not kept the books of Moses and the Prophets in their purity to a jot?! But what use is this to them? They are still ravening wolves walking about in sheep's clothing and seeking to ravage the peaceful pastures of the lambs.
3
I tell you all: Everything external, even if pure in itself, kills; only the spirit is alive and quickens everything it permeates. You will therefore summarize My teaching very briefly and easily, in as far as it is necessary for mankind. Whoever will act accordingly will, proportionately to his activity, awaken the spirit out of God within him. This will enliven the soul in the light and fire of all truth, and the soul will be guided into all truth and wisdom out of God and will clearly, in and by itself, experience what I have shown you, and inexpressibly more.
4
Just consider now that I wanted to most wonderfully reveal My whole creation very analytically from the greatest thing to the smallest, so that I would call many thousands of My angels and order them to write down everything in the way that is possible for them, at lightning speed! Firstly we would need so much of the white parchment that truly there would not be enough space on the whole planet; but secondly, if all the endlessly many skins had been covered in tiny writing, tell Me, how far would you come with reading all these scripts to the end! I now hope that you are beginning to see your foolishness a little!
5
Go to Memphis, to Thebes, to Carnac and to Alexandria! Everywhere you will find libraries, all the most genuine and correct; but I guarantee you that nobody is capable of reading everything through even in five hundred years! You would truly need the age of Methuselah in order to scan all the scriptures and signs just once! And what's his benefit after making such most amazing effort? You would finally quite purely forget what had been read from day to day, yes, in the end, if you were really confused, from hour to hour and from minute to minute and not gain the smallest advantage for his life.
6
Now do you remember what sort of very different path I want to show you with this teaching of Mine, so that in the shortest time, if one only truly wants it, one can reach all wisdom of heaven?!
7
I am this way, and the truth and the life. Whoever has truly accepted Me into his soul with love, but not only simply in faith according to the words he has heard, but instead perfectly indeed, to him I will always come in spirit and will reveal Myself to him and will illuminate him like a bright rising sun illuminates the previously dark fields of the Earth.
8
With one inner spiritual glance he will grasp in its depth more than he could have done through reading in a million years, provided a man could live that long.
9
You yourselves have now heard and seen some things for several days, which I have performed constantly teaching and acting among you, whereby your souls were awakened, and in your hearts love, faith and full trust have entered; however, if you were to leave it at that, your souls would truly gain very little and your cognition and knowledge would remain at their present level.
10
You must from now on become independent according to My teaching, then your soul will become more alive and full of light. Only then will My spirit take up residence in your souls and will lead you into all wisdom.
11
The new school of true life also consists of this and the only true recognition of God and of oneself, and therefore My teaching is called a true gospel, because it teaches man to go on the only correct and true path to achieving true, eternal life and to achieve the only true love and wisdom from God.
12
The precepts are indeed few and, written in a book, can be read in a few hours by anyone who can read. However, the most eager reading alone will benefit a person only insofar as he will have acquainted himself with the external aspect of My teaching - which, of course, must be done first of all.
13
For this action is like the necessary first step on a journey; for if I should travel from here to Damascus, but never make the first step, then it goes without saying that I cannot take the second step and the many future ones even less so, which should bring Me to Damascus. But if I take the first step even very firmly and then the second, third and fourth, that is no use to Me at all if I then stop and find it of too much effort to continue the steps until I have reached Damascus.
14
I have now shown you all very most clearly what you have to do, in order to truly reach eternal life and all its righteousness. Therefore act accordingly and My promise will come to fulfillment in you all; for of all the things revealed to you so far, what I have just now told you and revealed is indeed the greatest and is of the highest importance for your life."
15
I have shown you and revealed to you very many miracles of My creation, and you have learnt extremely much from Me; but you now know only that which you have heard and what you have seen. Nevertheless you do not know anything further. But with the present revelation I have shown you very exactly and tangibly clearly what you and everyone have to do in order to reach the unlimited self-view of all the miracles of the endless great creation of God, which then cannot pass away, but which will last for eternity."