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 185 -
Hiram's reservations about the eternal continued existence of man.
Hiram, as the more talented speaker, says, "Dearest friend, there is still no talk among us of a clear insight in what you have just said "but we believe you as a result of your too great wisdom; for whoever has knowledge and insight which penetrate everything in all possible events on this Earth and even can read the most secret thoughts of man as if from an open book must also have been well-versed most deeply and truthfully in all possible spheres and ways of life, of which not the slightest doubt can possibly remain any longer.
2
We now believe what you have said as firmly as rock. Indeed the purely spiritual pre-existence and the present-worldly material existence of soul development and test according to your presentation does not allow any further questions any longer, because things can only be thought of thus and impossibly in any other way and likewise exist "for the designated and ever same effects must indeed also have the same causes; that is now decided among us! "but as far as the post-existence is concerned, there is indeed still a number of extremely important questions, whose basic answer must then be a little bit more difficult for you.
3
You see, I cannot imagine above all the reason for even an "as you have said "eternal existence after shedding the body! What should we do then throughout the never-ending eternity? What a terrible boredom will finally have to join, even in the enjoyment of the highest, indescribable bliss! And worst of all is a highly perfected spirit, who naturally will have nothing more to learn! For him a monotony in life will have to set in which we cannot imagine at all.
4
I would allow myself to remain ten thousand years of life under very favorable circumstances in life for my own sake, but physically on this Earth; for no one will learn everything and be able to say: Now there is nothing on the whole Earth anymore which is not fully familiar to me! But now I place a highly perfect spirit on this Earth, only equipped with your highly wonderful omniscience! With one sharp glance he will get to know all your secrets of all the future and the past! What happens afterwards, if he has to remain strictly on this Earth? He could gloat over the foolishness of man and spend his time using his power to chase peoples to and fro "otherwise he would have to become bored beyond imagination!
5
With my common sense I do not see the actual and above all blissful reason for an eternal after-life. In the end even the question of space begins to worry us very much. If for example on this Earth people are created for a hundred thousand times a hundred thousand years like now and everything that is sea does not become land, where "where then should all the people have space and find their food? And what space will all the eternally existing spirits need? For within any space the spirits must also live, because no existence is conceivable outside the space that is supposed to be infinite according to Plato.
6
Therefore it is in my opinion much more logical and appropriate for pure common sense to accept only a temporary after-life than an eternal one, which cannot be brought to any sort of beneficial relationship either with the feelings of life or with space. And at least if we observe things in the right light, the final annihilation of a temporally animated being still has the greatest advantage over any existence however profitable, and an inner feeling always tells me: Despite all even the highest human wisdom the physical death is and remains nonetheless the last line of all things! "What do you say to that now, noble and most wonderful friend?"