The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 189 -
About the location of the old city of Jericho.
Now Peter asked me: "Lord, the old Jericho was located to the morning of the river Jordan, and I do not know if and where we crossed the river yesterday on our trip to this place, because this new Jericho is certainly located more to the morning of the river than the old one, since You have now shown us the location of the old Jericho, which from here is located in the evening. It is true that we have crossed a very wide stone bridge, but according to me, down in the riverbed there was not enough water to think that it was the water of the Jordan.
2
Then Kado began to speak and said to Peter: "And still, that was the Jordan. During this time there is always very few water and on the place where a bridge was built, it is most small because of the narrowness of the valley, but half an hour further to the midday, the river becomes again much wider and in the environment of the Dead Sea, not far from here, it becomes even very wide."
3
After the words of Kado, Peter and also the other disciples who also did not notice where and when we crossed the Jordan were completely reassured.
4
Upon this, Peter and also the other disciples looked somehow more carefully at the stones on which I stood, and after thinking a little while he said: "But how could only those 12 priests lift up these big and very heavy stones from the river and then bring them here over such a long distance? Were those 12 priests maybe giants like a Samson?"
5
Now I said: "How can you still ask such question while at My side you still have seen so many signs of the power of God's Spirit? Have you forgotten about all the things you have seen with the old Marcus in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, and do you not know anymore how Raphael only a couple of days ago has lifted up that old iron pillar in the house of Lazarus, and still 1.000 other signs? Then how, after you have seen all these things, can you still ask how the 12 priests of Joshua were able to bring these stones out of the Jordan to this place? Was perhaps God's power at the time of Joshua smaller than now? Do think about this and do not ask Me anymore for things that already a willing child in the cradle can understand."
6
After My remark they all understood now how easily the 12 priests could bring theses stones here from the river.
7
Then Kado came to Me and said: "O good Lord and Master, if You would not become angry with me, my eagerness to learn has still a question - which You surely will know - regarding the old and this new Jericho."
8
I said: "Although I already know what you will ask, you can still speak out your question aloud for the sake of the others."
9
Upon this, Kado asked: "From the book of Joshua it is known - and also You Yourself have mentioned it now very briefly - that Joshua has, at God's command, threatened everyone with an inescapable hard punishment who would dare to rebuild the destroyed old city. And look, we live in the new Jericho. How come that there is still a city of Jericho in almost the same place where once the old Jericho stood? Did God perhaps withdraw His threat afterwards and has allowed a new Jericho to exist?"
10
I said: "You are mistaken. God did not withdraw His word, and thus on that spacious, desolate place, where once the old Jericho stood, stands until now not 1 house, not even a very poor hut. And why have you, new Jerichoers, never tried to build a house by using the ruins on the place of the old Jericho, or at least a hut for your sheep, goats or pigs?"
11
Kado said: "Yes, very good Lord and Master, this has its own reasons. That completely desolate place, which has a circumference of almost 2 hours of walking, is very similar to the Dead Sea. Not even a little moss plant grows there, not to mention anything else. Besides, this definitely very big desolate place has now and then such a bad and nauseous evaporation that it would kill people and every kind of animal, especially when they would stay there at night, and thus it would be very unwise to build a house or even a hut on that place.
12
But still, it is a remarkable and strange event that this terrible evaporation never extends itself outside the region of that desolate place, and thus we can live in the new Jericho quite healthy while someone who would stay on that desolate pace, even for a few hours, would lose his life. As far as I know, in earlier times they also have used this place for criminals who deserved death according to the laws by bringing them to that place during such terrible evaporation where they had to stay for more than 1 hour. Most of them must have died. However, of those who came back, it was said that the gods were merciful to them. But still, they remained sick and did not live long. And this is a reason, easy to understand, why until now not 1 person has build a house on that desolate place and will probably also never do that, just as it is also not good for anyone to stay for a long time in the vicinity of the Lake, at its very desolate shores, especially when the wind blows from the surface of the water towards you. But the good thing of this desolate place is that the wind can never spread its terrible evaporation outside its boundaries of stone.
13
Whether that terrible evaporation is the consequence of God's old threat of punishment or something else, that I really cannot explain. Nevertheless, it remains remarkable that nowadays not even snakes, vipers or other poisonous animals are able to keep their poor bit of live on the place where in ancient times such a big and mighty city of kings was located, which can be easily concluded from the many ruins, where people were living, doing business and practicing their profession. And thus it is also remarkable that, despite the old divine ban, after a very long time of a few 100 years, a second, new Jericho was build anyway.
14
O Lord and Master. Look, these are one of those strange things that many thinkers who are acquainted with the Jewish scripture regarding the time of Joshua, find undeniably somewhat doubtful, and it is also not so surprising that so many Jews have lost their faith and also their understanding about this. What is actually the reason why there is still a Jericho?"
15
I said: "That is because, friend, the name is not important but only the place. Why it is like that, I will give you some clarification right away.
16
Look, on this Earth there are certain places and often very extended plains, where it is not good to live, not for man nor for animals, because there, from the inside of the Earth - to speak understandably for you Greeks - there are at certain times nauseous vapors that drive upward to the surface. These vapors come from the subterranean layers of sulfur, coal and poisonous metal. And this old place that is located at about half an hour from here, is also such a place, and nowadays it is worse than during the time of Abraham and Lot when almost at the same time as Sodom and Gomorrah, also Jericho and still other cities were build, but of course by the ancestors of Lot who at that time were ruling over this region up to the sea.
17
Already the ancestors of Lot were warned that they should not establish themselves in this region and should not build any city. Since, despite the warning, they did it anyway, it was advised to them to live a life which is as chaste and clean as possible, for only a chaste and by that also lively-strong person with a strong soul that is filled with God's Spirit can resist all evil and coarse nature spirits, and they cannot harm his body. But the formerly mentioned people did also not follow this advice and within a very short time they proceeded to all kinds of lewdness, became servants of idols and lead an extremely licentious and unnatural gluttonous life.
18
Nevertheless, from time to time pure messengers who were filled with God's Spirit were send to them, who taught them and showed them the inescapable consequences that would result from their lack of atonement, but they did not listen to the messengers, threatened them, persecuted and rejected them.
19
At the time of Lot however, the place among the places, where the cities stood, became ripe to break out, on the one hand because in the interior of the Earth it was already ordered and determined that way, but on the other hand - and mainly - because those mentioned people lost all their spiritual power, and thus the evil spirits of the coarse and judged nature received unlimited play and were thus able to do more and more damage. And this they would not have been able to do so easily if in 1 of those cities there still were only 10 to 20 spiritually strong and pure people.
20
For truly, I say to you: a pure and spiritually strong person is lord over the nature spirits, as well as lord over the elements and also over all animals and all plants and minerals, no matter of what nature or kind they may be. For if his soul is filled with God's Spirit, wherein all might and power from God lives, he also can command the whole nature, and even mountains must then bow for the might of his will and his unshakable faith and trust in the one, true, almighty God.
21
However, at the time of Lot there was, apart from himself, not 1 more person like him, and that is why he received the warning to flee if he did not want to go to ruin together with all the others. And Lot fled and was saved, for on that same day the all-destroying outburst took place and the great Sodom and Gomorrah went to ruin on the place where now the Dead Sea is still oftentimes maliciously raging and will still do that for a long time.
22
And see now, things were not much better with the old Jericho during the time of Joshua, where - mind you - a harlot had still the purest soul. That is why she was saved, because she listened to the messengers that were sent by Joshua to the city, took their words at heart and protected them.
23
Joshua, who was, as well as his priests, a pure person, filled with God's Spirit, could have prevented the internal, destroying outburst of that place. He always banished the evil nature spirits forever ever farther away from this place, and for their activity he has assigned a place under the bottom of the water of the Dead Sea. But despite that, he had to forbid the people explicitly not ever to build a city again on that dangerous place, which has been observed until this day and will also be observed in future times.
24
And so I have now shown you the reason why Joshua has very explicitly commanded not ever to build a city on that place, of no matter what name. But this place, where now this Jericho is situated, is not evil, although it is located in the neighborhood of the old, evil place. And that is why a small city cannot be build there, but the name does not mean anything."