The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 100 -
Manners and customs.
When everybody during that night had a good night sleep and rest, all of them stood up with Me 1 hour before sunrise, and they washed themselves according to the custom of the Jews, but the Romans washed themselves according to their custom with fragrant water and then rubbed themselves with also fragrant oil, which was of course spreading a very pleasant smell in the rooms of the house.
2
Then a few disciples came to Me and said: "Lord, They have indeed adopted our faith and our conviction, but they still seem to want to hold on to their gentile practices. That water, those oils and those ointments will certainly be very costly, and then it would be more useful also for them to wash just like us, only with clear and fresh water, and to use the big amount of money, which their water, their oils and their ointments will certainly cost, for the poor."
3
I said: "He who does for the poor what these Romans are doing has, if he has the means for it, also the right to take care of his body in the manner that he is already used to since he was a child, because for them this has become the same natural necessity as for you the clean fresh water. I do not pay attention if and with what someone cleanses and refreshes his skin, but only if he is washed and clean of heart before Me.
4
Therefore, when you will proclaim My gospel to the nations, you should not meddle with the manner on which they are used to take care of their body, because for everyone it is sufficient that he believes in Me and My name and lives accordingly, but he should feed and take care of his body just as he used to do since he was a child, so that he can remain fit and healthy in his own way.
5
In short, what you see that I tolerate, you also should tolerate. And what I have advised to you for everyone's salvation, you also should advise those to whom you will be guided by My Spirit, without being disturbed whether someone accepts it or not.
6
Also, you should eat and drink everything what they will set on the table before you, and make no fuss about the external material Jewry, which has no value for Me, but act in the spirit of the true, inner and living Jewry. Then you truly will be My disciples. Then I will be satisfied with you and your works, and I will stay with you in spirit until the end of times of this Earth. Did you understand Me?"
7
Now John said: "Lord, You always say: 'until the end of times of this Earth'. Good, but when these will be over, how will it go further in the whole of eternity, and will we then until the end of the times of this Earth have to stay here and continuously proclaim Your gospel to all the nations of the Earth?"
8
With a friendly face I said to My beloved disciple: "You still have such a childish spirit and childish reason. What your physical personality is concerned you also will not have to live longer on this Earth than any other normal healthy person, but you will continue to live and partly remain spiritually active in all those who will follow you in My name, but for another important part you will continue to live with Me in My Heavens forever and from there be able to act upon the people of this Earth, who, as you know, have above all the destination to become My children, just like all of you.
9
But it still will last for you an inconceivably long time before the actual end of times of this Earth will come. Because look, all matter of this Earth consists of judged souls who still need to be made free. Now count 1 atom of matter for the substance of 1 soul, and consider that per year only 10.000 times 10.000 of souls can be released by the means that I have already repeatedly shown you - because on the face of the Earth with such a great yearly increase of the number of people not more people can exist - then you surely will perceive that the Earth, although still over many changes, will also in material respect still exist for quite a long time.
10
On top of that, from the sun and the ether that is surrounding it, matter is continuously added to the Earth, of which the quantity is in fact smaller than the yearly quantity of released matter, and from that point of view you will understand moreover what kind of very long duration of existence there is still needed for this Earth until its last times. However, all this is determined by Me in this way since eternity, and that time seems to be long only for man who still carries the burden of the flesh, but in My Kingdom you will look at the time and its duration with completely different eyes and with a completely different insight and different wisdom. Look, this is how things are.
11
But now we will go outside again, because now all those who are present will soon come out of their rooms to this hall, and before that time comes I want to be with your small number already outside."
12
When I said that to those few old disciples of Mine, more precisely to Peter, John, Andrew, James and Matthew, our Lazarus came to us also, greeted Me and asked when I wanted to partake of the morning meal.
13
And I said: "Shortly after sunrise, since after that I will go to a place from where we will only come back this evening. What kind of place we will visit, you surely will hear later on."
14
When Lazarus heard that, he went away to arrange everything, but I went with the few disciples immediately outside, and Lazarus soon followed Me.