The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
At the Sea of Galilee (John 6)
- Chapter 96 -
On astrology.
Here the Minerva priest said: "Listen, God-man, we have above all the daily responsibility of time keeping, the ordering and counting of days, weeks, month and years, and we have to study and determine the planet ruling the year and the twelve signs of the sky! This is an occupation which requires a lot of knowledge, experience and work, and it is for all mankind highly necessary, for without such our awareness, care and work, mankind with its diverse activities could soon fall into the greatest disarray.
2
We therefore also make hourglasses and the sun watches according to the position of the twelve zodiac signs. Now, if we ourselves follow your new teaching of God and life and even teach it to the people, are we then not allowed to continue with this work alongside?"
3
Said I: "O yes, this occupation is quite in order and good; therefore you are allowed to carry on with it, except for your fortune-telling from the stars and also that you want to read the destinies of people from the stars, and also that you see all kinds of gods in the zodiac, worship them and bring them sacrifices. Thus, away with this and then you can calculate as much as you like, and count the days, weeks, month and years and you also can manufacture watches, as many as you like, for as long you abstain from idolatry and fortune telling! I do not discourage you to continue with this occupation, although I frankly must tell you, that with your timekeeping occupation the assigning of a planet to rule the year is a quite empty and very stupid matter. Since look and listen:
4
You also count the sun and the moon as one of your ruling planets. About the moon I don't want to say anything, since as a constant companion of this earth it is a co-planet. But the sun is certainly no planet, but is a fixed star, like there exist countless many in infinitive creation space. It is at least a thousand times bigger than this earth and forms for its orbiting planets a fixed, unmoveable light world, which My disciples will explain in more detail to you later on.
5
If however all this is an undeniable fact, how can you assign your planets as certain rulers to the one or other year?! See, therein already lies a quite well calculated idolatry by the old heathen priests! Since if for example Jupiter - or your Zeus - is your ruling planet for this year, as a god he must receive in this year particular many sacrifices, so that he remains in a good mood and allows the fruit to prosper abundantly. See, this is idolatry and cannot be where the people recognize the true, living and only God and should live and act according to His faithfully revealed will; for it is written in the old book of wisdom: "I am your only God and Lord; therefore you should not have and worship any trifling, foreign gods alongside Me!"
6
God is thus only One who has created everything out of Himself. In Him alone you should believe, keep His commandments which I will teach you and love Him above everything of this world!
7
If you do this, to receive what I have promised you, the ruling planets will disappear; since God alone is the ruler of all things, all elements and all times.
8
Who believes this and accepts this doubtlessly and firmly, and lives faithfully according to the recognized will of God, will soon become most clearly aware in himself, that these words which I now have spoken to you, are the words of God and will guide you to attain the promises I have made to you with the same certainty, as the certainty that I can achieve everything by only My will. - Do you have understood this?"
9
Said the five priests: "Lord, Master and entirely true God-person, we have understood this well now and say and confess it openly that you are fully right with everything and have spoken the purest truth! But regarding our occupation we are nevertheless of the opinion that the retainment of the ruling planets with our time- and year calculations should continue with respect to only keeping the old habitual names; we would instruct the people in anyway that these are pure names with which we refer to the certain moving stars. This is only done for the orderly ascertainment of the cycle of seven years, according to the system calculated by the old Egyptians. We are of the opinion that it will not harm the blossoming of your teaching."
10
Said I: "Yes, yes, it might do no damage but it also will be of no use; since for what is the cycle of seven years good? Already the cycle of seven weeks or even seven month has no significance at all, - how much less a cycle of seven years! But you have made the number seven into a magical and significant figure and assigned all kinds of effects to it and beguiled the whole nation by it, and the situation is now that you cannot get away from these most empty follies. But if according to your opinion it is worth the trouble to hold on to all this, then at least instruct the people that the old gods are nothing than vainly empty names of the certain moving stars!
11
I say it to you: All your teachings of the starry sky are pure lies and deception. My disciples can give you for that a full-valid testimony. I have also revealed this to them and they know what the sun, the moon and all the stars are. Later on ask them about it and they will give you a right light about it! But from this you will see how extremely false and ridiculous stupid all of your calculations and designations are.
12
As said, from your time calculations only the seven to seven days continuously changing moon quarters, the emerging week from it, the time of a moon and the duration of a year, are true and right, - everything else is the most empty blather. You now know what your calculations entails, and it is now up to you to do what you want!"
13
When the five heard such words about their seemingly so important time- and star calculations, their eyes widened and they said among each other: "From Egypt he did not obtained his wisdom and magical powers; otherwise he would be speaking differently about the old and best astronomy of Egypt! But he straight away rejects everything, except what every common person can quite easily count and calculate on his own fingers. He must have his reasons for this. We will have to talk about this with his disciples!"
14
Said thereupon the first Apollo priest who was the actual main astronomer: "I have studied with all diligence in Diathira in Upper-Egypt under the great zodiac in the temple of Chronos, the time calculations, astronomy and the wonderful astrology, and this according to the new system of the great Ptolemäus (Nota bene! This is neither Ptolemäus, the younger astronomer, nor one of the kings, but this for the world history completely forgotten Pdolomeuz "= surveyor" lived 400 years after Moses. He should also not be mistaken for Pdolomeus of Diathira, who calculated the zodiac. Pdolomeus means "surveyor" or "geo-meter". This should be considered well!), and now this is suddenly nothing?! What should one think when looking at the wonderful constellations of the sky? Should they really have no other and higher meaning than by their shimmering sending a sparse light to earth at night time?! Why then their so diverse groups, which always stay the same? Why their different sizes and colours? Truly this is a hard test for us! Alas, may it be as it wants, we will see what are the new things his disciples will tell us!"