The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in two additional towns
- Chapter 150 -
The religious situation in the country of the 2 strangers.
When the 2 had eaten their fill, the innkeeper asked them what kind of gods were honored and worshipped in their country.
2
The one person said: "O dear friend, there is really not one specific deity, because our priests are continuously living in conflict among each other, and almost everyone of them has his own god, letting it perform wonders and shouting only about the power and glory of his god. But the king does not care much, because his gods are gold, silver and precious stones. All the other gods do not interest him.
3
However, both of us still belong to the Jewish tribe, which established itself here and there in our country since the captivity under king Nebuchadnezzar, and therefore we are secretly followers of Moses, but of course without Scripture, without Ark of Covenant and without temple. The sky with its stars is all we have.
4
We believe in the God whom Moses showed to our fathers, and we still keep the Sabbath and the other commandments, but the ancient Jehovah does not particularly seem to remember us anymore.
5
The innkeeper said: "I also am a Jew, and I can assure you that the ancient Jehovah has very much remembered you, because in your need He led you to this place. It will become almost completely clear to you tomorrow. But today you can rest and strengthen you further with bread and wine.
6
The innkeeper reassured the 2 strangers, because besides more bread and wine to strengthen themselves, he also gave them the assurance that they would be taken care of in all respects the next morning. He then came back to our table and could not find the words to express his great amazement about what he heard from the 2 strangers about the priests and the king of their country.
7
But I said: "Let it be so, for also among the Greeks, Romans and Jews in this time it is not any better. Also with them, the gods serve no other purpose than to blind the people through them as much as possible with the help of all kinds of magic, and to stir them on to make greater offerings. Although they do not have a ius gladii and no ius potioris et fortioris , but the present rulers over the people like to see when the priests make the people really blind and superstitious, so that they - namely the kings - can force the people more easily to obedience and would not need a great number of expensive soldiers to do this.
8
A ruler over the people is very little or not at all interested in whom God actually is. Although, now and then he outwardly plays along with the prescribed ceremonies to make the people believe how highly he worships their gods himself, but he himself stays, for what concerns his worldly life, an epicure, and for what concerns his faith a cynic or Sadducee who does not believe in the continuance of life of the soul after death. And as the ruler thinks within himself, so are also thinking the high priests.
9
If he wants to start a war against some neighboring country, then the high priests know what they have to do to influence his people beforehand by the lower priests, saying that the coming war is the will of the gods and that the king, as representative of his people before the gods, cannot avoid to zealously follow their will that was announced to the high priests.
10
Through this, the people are intimidated, so that they willingly and zealously pay the extra war taxes which the king needs, and they consider it as a great honor - if they are still strong - to join the war with the weapons in their hand.
11
Look, my dear innkeeper, this not only happens in the country from where our 2 strangers came in their great need, but on the whole Earth. And a very long time will be needed before the peoples will realize that - since the time of Moses and the judges who came after him - they were, are and still will be for a long time, the human pack animals of the great and mighty ones.