The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 26 -
Speech about the conflict in nature.
The speaker says, "Which of the many spectators surrounding us is it then to whom we should bring our thanks? For we cannot offer him anything else in this situation!"
2
Mark says, "He has forbidden us for the sake of your salvation to reveal Him before the right time and so we are still silent before you; but the right time will come today in which you can get to know Him with a glad heart and through Him some of your mistakes!"
3
The speaker says, "Friend, the gladness of our hearts has had its eternal way on this Earth! For souls like ours can never be glad because of the great suffering we have been through on this stupid world! Perhaps in another more perfect state of life; but never in these small crumpled bodies!"
4
Cyrenius, now standing quite near, says, "Look, I am the Supreme Governor of Rome in all Asia and a part of Africa, as well as in Greece! I have now got to know you and found that you are no disreputable people. I will take you into my care and nothing will happen to you and a suitable occupation will be found for your spiritual powers.
5
But you must finally let yourselves be treated a little, so that you don't see us Romans across the board as devils, even of a better sort or call us good devils like my old honest Mark! We are people just as much as you. That you have been led into great temptations by some unknown reason of the divine resolution and thereby in great suffering, whereby your souls have been enlightened, as it seems to me, we, as for you supposed devils, have little or no responsibility at all; but you have to thank us for your healing and particularly one of us, who is a so-called all-powerful savior, and you probably see that we have not acted devilishly towards you at all!?
6
Therefore you must, as I said, let yourselves be treated along with your basically not totally wrong opinion, and soon you will be of a glad heart again."
7
The speaker, rising with new forces, says, "Friend, look at the ground of this Earth; you see nothing but good and uplifting things for your mind. The plants and the grass refresh your eyes, and the soft waves of the sea lighten your breast; for you don't see how under all these great things countless potential devils lift their death-bringing heads and push forward!
8
You probably see the beautiful waves of the sea, but you don't see the death-bringing monsters under the playing waves! You see life on all sides, but we see nothing but death and an incessant persecution of all good and noble life. You see nothing but friendship, and against your few enemies that you see, you have enough power to keep them harmless; on the other hand we see nothing but sheer, mostly unconquerable enemies!
9
O Friend, with such unmistakable vision it is difficult to be of a glad heart! Take this sad ability or give us a correct explanation of everything that we see and we will be happy and glad for you!
10
After unthinkably long times when a soul has fought and fought there must be a better fate; but where is the ironclad certainty? Which unheard-of battles and storms will the poor soul have to withstand until then? Will it proceed victorious or will it perish forever? What certainty do you have for all that?
11
You see, we see things and relationships that you have no idea about; but we never see anything about the certainty of a blessed condition after the death of the body - only a constant watching, worrying and fighting! We"ll tell you how we see it.
12
Every life is an ongoing battle with death, just as every movement is a constant battle with quietness. Quietness itself however fights movement because the constant tendency towards movement exists within it.
13
But in the end who will win? Quietness, which constantly seeks movement, or movement, which constantly seeks quietness?
14
Since your original seed of life you have done nothing but fight until this moment and will in the future constantly fight anew; and as long as you fight you will have a life, but no other than a constantly fighting one which is equipped only with sparse moments of holiness! When in this eternal fight will a true battle-free and conquering holiness come into being?
15
Thus it is easy to say, be of glad mind and cheerful heart; but the soul asks like you Romans: CUR, QUOMODO, QUANDO ET QUIBUS AUXILIIS? (Why, how, when and whereby will we be given help) Have you understood us even a little?"