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 49 -
The difference between the wisdom of life and deceit.
Raphael says, "Dear friend, I must openly admit to you that it is truly somewhat difficult to speak with you; for you proceed from the basic principle that every means is sanctified only through the intention and the purpose, and I cannot possibly say to you anything other than that you are on the wrong path despite all your good will and all your sharpness of understanding, and that you have seen almost nothing of everything that I said to you despite all your common sense!
2
You see only the earthly advantages and the earthly happiness of man, because you still have no idea at all of the actual spiritual circumstances.
3
One can certainly make a person very happy in this world through all sorts of deceptions; but one has then done nothing good for his soul and his spirit, but instead in all seriousness only too often something very bad.
4
You have told me a few examples from your life, where I at the first have nothing to refute; for the treatment of the patient was basically no fraud, but only an intelligent move in life.
5
A fraud before God is every hidden action and enticement of man, through which they necessarily must come to physical and moral harm. But if you only hide a speech, an enticement or an action only in order to help your brother in this way morally and physically, who very often is afflicted with all sorts of weaknesses, and whom one cannot help at all or without difficulty along the straight path, that is only a good and very recommendable common sense and no deception at all.
6
Whenever you combine a truly noble intention with an action, speech or enticement, then you have practised nothing but common sense, for which the wages from heaven will not be withheld. And your first example belongs in this category; for through such cleverness of yours you did not want to achieve anything other than what you recognised to be perfectly good and useful for the patient.
7
But your second example, although it also has a similar well-meaning character, is of quite another type. In this way a false proof of the miraculous power of this monastery of yours has been delivered to the people for a long time to come, through which all the sources of gold of the whole Earth must open for this institute with the general blindness of the people and in not too long a time it must achieve fabulous wealth.
8
But what does earthly wealth do, and what does it always breed? It makes the people haughty and domineering and breeds hearts of stone, lovelessness and the most stinking arrogance and thereby contempt, hate and persecution of the fellow man.
9
You have already expressed yourself to Cyrenius about all the priesthoods and shown how they as representatives of a god torture the poor people often in the crassest idleness, but for that the lay man is forced with spiritual and physical torture to live, work and die for them! You have illuminated such circumstances of life obediently and brought their shamefulness to light.
10
But I say to you quite openly that all the priesthoods that now exist all over stand on much purer legs than your monastery; for their basis was firm and purely divine truth from heaven and was distorted by the people so that you now cannot see anything other than lies and all sorts of deception. What can then become of your institute, which now in principle is built on nothing but sheer lies and deception?!
11
Do you really think that your successors will always keep very strictly to your present norms? Already in fifty years everything will have quite a different face! The deceptions and all sorts of magical arts will be extended and refined. You will also dare to bring old people back to life, whereby some will succeed more, some less.
12
You will place the cruellest and most merciless punishments on the betrayal of your secrets; yes, you will even declare as punishable any question about how one or other miracle could be possible! Your statement will be: You, people, are not to ask about anything; only undoubting faith is your task! If you need something, come and you will be helped for a decreed sacrifice! Everything else should never worry you!
13
But through this, curious souls will secretly become bitter, make investigations and get behind your secrets. That will fill them with secret anger and revenge of the most fearful type will be sworn on the sinners of your sanctuary and wherever possible will be carried out fully without exception."