The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 134 -
Reason for the destruction of Caesarea Philippi.
After this conversation Mark announces that the breakfast stands at the ready and all the tables are already laid with food and drink. Then we head down from the mountain and towards the tables which are found in the same order in the morning, and none are missing.
2
Here Ouran says to Helena, "When you were down below, did you see whether our tents are still up and in order? And have our servants got enough to eat and drink - and are our beasts of burden all cared for?"
3
Mathael says to Ouran, "Friend and Father-in-law, in the presence of the Lord every worry is in vain! Now think about nothing other than the Lord; for He thinks for us and for the whole of infinity!"
4
When we headed down from the mountain towards the tables after this remark by Mathael to Ouran, Cyrenius asked Me on the way, "Lord, should I order a division of my soldiers to put out the fires in the city? For if we do not bring any help to the city, by tonight it will be a glowing pile of embers!"
5
I say, "Dear friend, if I wanted that, I would have sent My Raphael there long ago, and the fire in the city would have been extinguished in a moment; but I want this city, which is bad for both God and the emperor, to be humbled, and therefore I am allowing everything to be destroyed by fire except the homes of the poor and sober. But everything else shall be turned to ash! In the future better people shall settle here and the offspring of our old Mark shall rule over this city and area with a just scepter, with the emperor's permission, and it will remain their inheritance from child to child and from grandchild to grandchild; but if they forget about God, then the same thing will happen to them as has happened to the inhabitants of this city.
6
If the fire had happened to this city of whoring on a working day, it would have been put out long ago; but on the Sabbath, and particularly on the first Sabbath of a new moon, no arch-Jew moves even the tip of his little finger in fear of being soiled before God.
7
The conscience of the arch-Jews is very sensitive in this respect; but the neglect of good deeds does not disturb their conscience in the least, neither does material and spiritual adultery and all sorts of fraud.
8
They even are of the opinion that a sin against the commandment of God on a working day is hardly a sin, and one could purify oneself again before the evening; but on the Sabbath one would have to remain impure until the evening, during which time the prince of night would begin to rule. And then it would be easily possible that an envoy of Satan might come, meet someone unclean and in this way take possession of this unclean soul!
9
Sin harms people only at night, and then only until midnight, because in this time Satan is allowed to go on the hunt. By day he has no power, and one can then sin as one wants and it doesn't matter; only one should bear in mind that one should purify oneself before the going down of the sun according to method prescribed by Moses, and one then has nothing to fear in the night from the sins committed by day.
10
These blind people do nothing for the sake of God, even if they have committed very many sins against His commandments during the day! The only thing that matters is that they do not fall prey to Satan; and because such a thing can happen most easily on a Sabbath, when they are not allowed to kill a goat, a lamb or a calf, yes, they cannot even wash themselves seven times, they beware as far as possible to keep themselves pure during the Sabbath, so that the devil cannot take control of them once the sun has gone down!
11
You now have the reason why these sinister characters in all things prefer to let their houses become ash on the Sabbath than to move a hand and extinguish the fire. Therefore a Roman general, who will not be unfamiliar to such coarse and irremovable foolishness of this people, will one day have an easy game to drive this race apart with one blow if it becomes rebellious, particularly on a winter's Sabbath, and to transform their great city into a heap of rubble.
12
But now let us have breakfast, otherwise a number of not very cheerful visitors will come upon us, whom we will have a job getting rid of in some good way!"
13
At this everyone moved to the tables, and the excellent breakfast was consumed with great zeal this time, and there was no-one who did not give old Mark the fullest praise. Also Ouran and Helena remarked that they had never before eaten such well-prepared fish and such tasty bread. Mark however directed all praise to Me and said, "That is the salt and the best spices of all food, of all drink and of all things; to Him alone bring your just praise!"
14
But there was not one among the guests who had not understood what Mark had said, and everyone praised Me silently in their hearts. But Mathael said loudly, "Yes, yes, old Mark, where the Lord is the chef of all life and all in all, one can live incomparably well; for there spirit, soul and body must receive the best food! You have done very well, in that you directed the praise that you were given back to the Lord; but for this reason your name will not die in the hearts of those people who got to know you as a friend of the Lord!"
15
Mark thanks Me therefore that I had paid his house such an effusively great honor; then he thanks Mathael too for his good words and declares himself to be fully unworthy of everything.