The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 44 -
The nature spirits of the air.
I said: "It is true that you have spoken very well now, and this teaching that has now been given to you will be kept in its purity by those who are pure until the end of times, but when you think that the Jewry would be different if Moses and the prophets had spoken to the people as clearly as I have spoken to you now, then I say that you are greatly mistaken in this. For if Moses and the prophets had spoken in the same manner as I have spoken to you now, then the people would not have understood Moses nor the prophets, because during that time the easiest way to express themselves was only by means of corresponding images.
2
During that time, even the very simple and common people possessed the science of correspondences. Their writing consisted of images and their language pointed at images that were well known by the people. However, when the people had come to a more earthly welfare and honor, it soon needed a great number of earthly necessaries, and in order to satisfy those, they had to acquire a great number of natural means. Well now, the many necessaries and the many means received also their very simple names, behind which there were no corresponding images. Then these simple names of the many necessities and the means to satisfy them that were invented by the people replaced later all too soon the symbolic scripture and its inner meaning. And so, it was neither the fault of Moses nor of the prophets that they are no more understood by the present-day Jews. But it was only the fault of the people themselves who by their increasing worldly attitude that was caused by them, lost completely the science of the old scripture and the old language that always contained deep spiritual things.
3
If you had spoken during the time of Moses as you are speaking now, then at that time nor Moses nor one of the other prophets would have understood you. However, since the old language has now in this time been entirely lost by you for the reasons that were made known to you, you should search therein the reason why now you cannot understand Moses or the prophets.
4
But now the first morning light is dawning, and our temple servants in the other hall are starting to move to leave soon for their houses and to make arrangements for their departure according to their firm resolution. As soon as they will leave, we will go outside in the open air and will make our observations.
5
And you, friend Lazarus, will do well when you will let a few of your helpers go with the temple servants as escort until the gate of the garden, for in their thoughts they can see the 3 lions lying in wait down there along the way, for which reason they are scared to move. Therefore, let a few of your helpers go to their room to tell them that not a single trace of the lions can be found anymore. If ever they still will have some objections, then the helpers should offer to escort them, what the temple servants will gladly accept, where after they will leave immediately, and then we soon will go outside."
6
Lazarus did so immediately, and within a few moments the helpers were ready, and within a little quarter of an hour the temple servants were already leaving.
7
Then I called My Raphael to Me and said because of those who were present aloud to him: "You take care now of our young people, and bring them to Bethany ahead of us on a not too commonly used way. Wait there for us, for 3 hours later we will be there also."
8
Then Raphael hurried to the youth and settled everything quickly.
9
In the mean time it became brighter, and we left the inn and went to the hill that was already described. In the sky the bigger stars were still glittering, the moon with an already small crescent, and the planet Venus, which all together gave a wonderful view.
10
However, the morning was rather cool, and the Romans said: "This special view would be really splendid if ever the morning would not be so terribly cold."
11
I said: "The fact that it is so cool, is for the skin indeed a little unpleasant, but it is surely strengthening for the body and soul, because now the purer spirits in the sky are passing by before us. But if it is too chilly for you, I surely can arrange it for you, so that you will feel a little warmer on the outside. We however will stay in this pure temperature."
12
Then the Romans said: "Oh, then we also will stay, because also for us Romans a greater strengthening for body and soul cannot be harmful."
13
And so, everything continued to be cheerful and satisfied, and nobody paid any more attention to the coolness.
14
Then Agricola said to Me: "Lord and Master, do the spirits who are now passing by before us also have a shape in itself, or do they flow without form into each other like one drop of water flows into the other in the sea?"
15
I said: "My friend, it will be a little difficult to give you in this respect a completely understandable answer, but we will try it in another way. I want to open for you Romans for a few moments again the inner sight, then you can give a right answer to yourselves by what you are seeing."
16
The Romans thought this to be a good idea, and I opened immediately their inner sight, also for Agrippa and Laius who followed us from Emmaus to this place and who were still with us.
17
Now they both saw the numerous shapes close to one another, floating before them, and Agrippa said: "Oh, this is really strange. What a great number of forms and shapes that is hard to describe. All kinds of herbs and plants can be seen, and also seeds between them. On the plants you also can see a great quantity of eggs of all kinds of insects, their larvae and also already fully-grown insects. Within these forms, in the plants as well as its seed, and also in the eggs of insects and in the larvae, but also in the forms of insects that are already fully grown out, you can see like bright points that are lightning up, and between the mentioned forms you can see an immense great number of very little bright spots that are floating with them. And all this is swarming between one another in a multicolored and lively manner, and nothing is mixing with anything else. So, are these the purer nature spirits?"
18
Then I closed the inner sight of the Romans again, and they saw again nothing else except the pure air.
19
Then Agricola said: "Lord and Master, what kind of special purpose do those spirits actually have? Does all that for which they apparently carry the natural ability in their forms, only exist in the material world out of them or are these in a certain way the souls of deceased plants and herbs and trees and insects?"
20
I said: "The second one not, but the first one yes, in the manner you have now seen it by way of the inner sight.
21
Their intelligence that revealed itself also in the form stimulates them to unite themselves with all that which is very closely related with their own form and which already exists on this Earth. Further, they become active in the plants, and on their number and the intensity of their activity depends the abundance of one or the other harvest, as also from the number of the most various little animals, which you call little mosquitoes, insects and worms. These however are always the first animals of an earth in development, and the uniting of their souls brings the greater animals of an earth to life."
22
Agricola said: "Lord and Master, but why could we not see any souls of people of this Earth who have already died?"
23
I said: "For 2 reasons. Firstly I have opened your inner sight to such extent that you were only able to see the nature spirits that were already passing over into matter, and this belongs to the lowest degree of the inner vision, which many simple people are possessing as a natural ability. With this degree of inner vision, the souls, especially those who are already more perfected, cannot be seen, because this kind of vision still belongs more to the material than to the pure spiritual vision.
24
However, in the second place, concerning the impure souls who you could have seen with the inner vision which was giving to you for a few moments by Me, not one of them was located on this place, and thus you also were not able to see nor observe any, because such souls can feel the place of My personal and full presence and are avoiding it very carefully. And now you know the 2 causes why at this occasion you were not able to see nor observe any deceased souls."
25
With this explanation all Romans were completely satisfied and did not ask Me any further about such things.