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 68 -
The priesthood as the strongest hindrance to the spreading of the Lord's teaching.
1
(Roklus) "You, as a most perfect prophet totally filled with all the divine spirits and talented with all power and strength like no other person on the Earth, will certainly see that in advance! But who can get around it? It is simply so, was already always so and will also remain so, and we will not change things!
2
As long as the people have command of their body and their free will, they will remain in general what they are, and will direct themselves with all sorts of circumstances according to the climate. The further away from us, the worse, as I have experienced only too often on my many travels! The further I had distanced myself from this now single spiritual point of light, the blinder and more foolish I found the people, even when I was an atheist, and it would have surely seemed even more noticeable to me then if I had known what I know now.
3
It is indeed very true that there can be no darkness which a corresponding light could not immediately destroy. In nature it is certainly so. But whether the spiritual light can also drive away the spiritual night so suddenly, that is of course a very different question! In a certain respect my spiritual night certainly could not be called insignificant, and the boy scared it away with few words of light; alone he had found in me even a person who in some scientific spheres cannot be called the least, and who has made very many experiences in the world.
4
Imagine a nation sunk into the most absurd and darkest superstition! Several words of even very great brightness and even some very striking signs will hardly bring forth any effect of light! Such a people will then become darker, angry and will present themselves as a great enemy of it in the presence of light, at which it will then become extremely dark for such a brutish nation.
5
We do not need to look very far at all. If we direct our gaze just to the temple in Jerusalem and observe the internal and external Pharisee hood, we have the spiritual night before us, so that we must be highly amazed about them! But try to come to them with a correct inner spiritual light just approximately as the boy came to me earlier, and in a short time that person is a child of death!
6
What did these true slaves and servants of the darkest night not undertake against our institute! If we had not been firmly established in every respect, and if they had been able to get to us from all sides, we would have ceased to exist a long time ago! If someone like Moses and Aaron should rise up now and teach the truth as they taught in their day, they would immediately be seized and stoned, or one would give them the accursed water to drink as enemies, and quite certainly the genuine water; for they have namely two of them, one that brings about a certain and unavoidable death, and a false one that cannot harm anyone because it does not contain any poison.
7
When they then wish a sinner against the being of their temple well out of some secret reason, they give him the unreal accursed water to drink. But whoever contradicts them too powerfully, he can extinguish his thirst for all eternity at the next and best opportunity with the genuine accursed water. But that the Pharisees do that in Jerusalem as well as in other places is also a well-known fact among all people of just a little education, so that it no longer amazes almost anyone. But I ask how then a correct light of truth can light up such a pharisaic night?
8
But the way that things stand among and with the Pharisees is the same everywhere where there is any priesthood. If all people accept a true light because they soon and easily recognize its benevolence, the priesthood will nonetheless still turn against them with all means and powers and not accept it because out of sheer arrogance and domineeringness it is so foolish and blind that it is not at all capable of recognizing the benevolence of the pure light of truth.
9
But as long as the priesthood is tolerated by God as well as by world rulers, there is as good as nothing that can be done with all spiritual light! For these ever highly selfish and domineering people will always strive to make every higher light suspicious and to praise their own old dung as pure gold and suppress the people who are subordinate.
10
Therefore in this respect it is my even significant opinion that above all one must fully get rid of everything that has even a whiff of the priesthood about it, and so muck out the old Augean stables and then only allow the true sun of the spirit rise over all nations at the same time; otherwise every good seed will die out before it has been able to put even half-firm roots into the soil of life.
11
I recognize in you, most noble master, the full power of God, without which it would be fully impossible for you to perform works that can only be possible for a god, because all the most numerous special powers unite in him and have their eternal support, from which point alone they are capable of an effect. And because I have found that in you, it is also certain that I respect and love you very unrestrictedly, which you will see even more clearly with the eyes of your spirit in my heart and mind than that boy over there.
12
But I say this without any shyness that this effort of yours and your certainly great sacrifice is as good as in vain, and will bring few blessings to the people as long as the foot of just one priest still walks the face of the Earth! You would have to then suddenly transform all the people and also all the many priests on this Earth like that old cliff in the sea only with your omnipotence, then perhaps things could become very commendable on the Earth! It is only an eternal shame about your efforts and work! If you were still a carpenter with saw and axe, the Pharisees would leave you untouched; but now they will hate you despite all the divinity in you that I do not doubt, and will persecute you furiously and wrathfully on all your paths! They will even try to destroy the most magnificent seed that you now sow with all the means they have at their disposal.
13
For on the Earth hardly anyone knows the Pharisees better than I, who had the most to do with them, fighting them for the sake of our institute! They were indeed totally beaten by us and defeated and can do nothing more against us with all their anger; for our circular walls are stronger than those around their temple, and all the sick from far and wide seek their healing with us now, because we make the people healthy again with genuine cures, while the templars heal using empty sayings and mystical signs and all sorts of relics "from God knows where "but the sick feel no effect at all of any sort of improvement.
14
That is now my naked admission before you, oh Lord and Master; but you will now do what pleases you "only do not overthrow our institute before the temple in Jerusalem! That is now my most imploring plea to you; we would all prefer it if you became our head and leader according to you wisdom!"