The Great Gospel of John
Volume 2
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
First journey of the Lord: Kis - landing place at Sibarah - Nazareth
- Chapter 72 -
About true divine worship in man's heart.
Outside Cyrenius says to Me: "Lord, if something like that would happen in Rome even the stones would fall at Your feet and worship You aloud: and we here do as if something quite ordinary had happened. Lord, do have patience with either our weakness or foolishness."
2
Say I: "If I had wanted that I would surely have come into the world in Rome instead of Nazareth. You shall do only what I demand of you. Everything in excess of that belongs to heathendom and is sin. Are you still not aware that to 'love God above all and ones neighbour as oneself' is indescribably more than to erect for the lord of the heavens and earth miserable temples of stone and timber?
3
If, as Solomon said, already heaven and earth are too small to comprehend the majesty of God, what uses is then a miserable stone shell of hewn or baked stones since the entire earth as well as the whole of infinity has been created by God?
4
Tell Me: What would a father say to his children if they were stupid enough to build from the father's excrements a fly-sized little house, or also a larger one, make an image of the father from his excrements and when all that is ready go down on their knees before the dirt-temple and in this way adore and worship their father? What would you do if your children did that to you and although you rebuked them, telling them this was stupid and dirty and quite unworthy of you, they would crawl all the more eagerly around the dirt-temple, worship your image of the same stuff and against your will would even force their sometimes maybe a little more enlightened brothers to do this on pain of death, in addition demanding a religious tax from them? Tell Me what would you do in that case? Could such an extremely beastly foolish worship by your children please you?
5
Behold, you emphatically deny this in your heart, and tell you that such a worship by the foolish children of their earthly father would still be better than men's worship of God in the temples. For the children used for the building of their temple at least that from which the father obtained his food, whereas men build temples from the excrements of Satan and worship their God and Father therein. Say, how do you like such a veneration and worship of God?"
6
Says Cyrenius: "Lord, then I would have all the temples on earth destroyed with a thousand flashes of lightning. Or it would take Your two angels but a moment, and all temples would have been reduced to dust."
7
Say I: "Friend, this has happened, is still happening and will frequently be happening also in the future, but men will nevertheless not cease to build temples, the one in Jerusalem will be devastated and the heathenish temples will have vanished. However, in place of the few, great numbers of temples will follow, and as long as there will be men living on earth they will be building temples - large and small - and seeking their salvation therein. But only few will be attempting to build for God a living temple in their heart in which alone He can and shall be recognised, revered and worshipped as He deserves because the soul's eternal life depends solely on this.
8
As long as men will be living in palaces and because of the palaces have others, who cannot have palaces, honour and praise them, also a temple will be built beside the palace to some god who will be worshipped therein, if not in truth so at least for enhancing the hounour of the builder of the palace or temple.
9
And so it will happen that men will be claiming for themselves the honour that is due to God, and in that case the reward for their works shall also be limited to what they have taken for themselves. In the beyond, they will not be recognised and will be thrust into outer darkness where they will be weeping and gnashing their teeth in an eternal strife and fight because of the great darkness. Therefore, we shall for the time being leave things as they are, for only in the beyond will all the knots be cut completely."