The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the Mount of Olives (John Chapter 8)
- Chapter 237 -
Heaven and hell.
Here the Roman came to Me and said: "Lord and Master, that everything, from the biggest to the smallest, in the whole of infinity is known to You, I am fully convinced of, and nobody can take away from me this most blissful conviction! However, at several occasions there was mentioning of 'hell', and I must openly confess, that I not know in the slightest, what I should make of it. Is it any very dark and miserable place, where the perpetrators forever are tormented or tortured on end for their sins, or are all the great tortures in the end, judging according to Your everlasting love and goodness, only the external means, to finally guide even the most evil spirits after unthinkable long periods of time, back to the true recognition? Where is this unblessed place and how does it look like?"
2
Said I: "My esteemed friend, about this you can obtain all the most precise information from My disciples - since to them I have shown everything -; however, alongside there are nevertheless some issues within the everlasting love and wisdom of God, which you, even if I would tell you, could never understand. By the way, hell by itself is just as little a certain place as heaven itself, however, hell as well as heaven are depending completely on the innermost state of man.
3
As such an angel and the worst devil can stand or sit next to each other, but spiritually they are still endlessly far away from each other, and the angel is, unimpaired by the physically closeness to the devil, still in heaven, and thus also the devil is located in hell and does not know the least about the so extremely close by standing angel. Although, this you cannot understand that easily; since the spiritual circumstances are quite differently than those here on earth.
4
However, for a very attentive observer there also exist here some similar appearances, which are standing in precise correspondence with those of the beyond. For example you can be physically close but spiritually very far from a person who is internally your biggest enemy, who day and night studies, how he can harm you in the most sensitive manner. He cannot stand you in your high office, because he rather wants to hold the office himself; but he is earthly clever and knows to hide his inner disposition from you, so that you in no thinkable manner can anticipate it. If you come to him, he will receive you with the greatest politeness and show you all the honours, where in reality, when there would not be such austere penal laws, he rather would have killed you straight away. But he thinks by himself: 'You are now high up and I still down below! You still must help me to get up, and once I am high up, there will be opportunity enough to throw you into the abyss!' See, this is a complete devil and is already with body and soul in hell, while you as a always honest and upright man, are already located in heaven.
5
Now look, when you and your evil neighbour are standing next to each other, physically seen heaven and hell are next to each other; but hell can still cause no harm to you, because the law forms a gruff and impassible partition between you two. However, how sky high different is your moral state and how far away from each other!
6
See, here you have a picture of heaven and hell, how both differ and separated from each other! And now I will give to you another example how hell is constituted in itself; and thus pay attention!
7
Imagine two people, say two neighbouring, extremely proud and power-hungry kings! Externally they are the best of friends. If one visits the other, they outbidding each other with regard to respect and embrace and kiss each other as the best and most intimate friends; however, secretly each one thinks by himself: 'O, if I could soon see you crushed underneath my feet in the dust!' Each just lurks for a suitable and favourable opportunity, to be able to totally destroy his above all hated neighbour. Who is already very desirable to start a war with his neighbour, also soon finds a reason for it. In short, soon both attack each other in a war and the stronger conquers the weaker and he is left no other option than to flee.
8
After only saving his skin, he hastily goes to a third even more mightier neighbour, tells him his misfortune, betrays to the smallest detail his former friend and makes recommendations to the third, how he could very easily be conquered and offers himself as a leader to do so. Soon, for good money, mercenaries are hired, and the former conqueror is unexpectedly attacked and robbed of all his property and lands. If the second defeated king can still save himself by fleeing, he soon will find a fourth who will attack the third to possibly defeat him and the story then comes to an end for while. The defeated however do not rest in their inner, but each searching for an opportunity to take revenge in an unprecedented manner on his former conquerors. And see, in this way such a pure hellish soul is driven further and further by its inner evil worm, which never dies!
9
And as you have seen with the example of the two kings, the whole hell is constituted. How do you want to effectuate a betterment in their black beings?! - How do you like this matter?"