The Household of God
Volume 1
The early history of mankind
- Chapter 150 -
A GOSPEL OF LOVE
And Enoch still replied, as follows: "Yes, thus it is! I felt it like that deep in my spirit, but my tongue would not have dared to utter it. For here, too, my spirit told me: 'Let your weak tongue rest, for to speak of this so that it may work a blessing the tongue of a Mightier One has reserved for itself.'
2
"O great Abedam, hear me in the stillness of my heart, for here it exclaims: 'O Jehovah, how great and holy must Your love be! When You promise someone a grace on the following day then You, good and holy Father, without the blind recipient noticing it, gives him the grace already together with the promise itself.
3
"Therefore, O best, holy Father, the more I ponder in my heart Your boundless kindness the more my heart fails to find words to fittingly praise, glorify and worship You, O Father. And my heart becomes too tight for the mighty love for You and so this love which has no room in the heart must in all the parts and limbs into which it has overflowed take hold of You ardently and love You above all.'
4
"But when I once more ask my spirit: 'Can I not love the good, holy Father infinitely more with greater ardor?', it sounds back in the spirit: 'Can he whose heart is filled with love ever love as he desires? Behold, love is insatiable and can therefore never be appeased, except by the infinite love of the Holy Father.'
5
"And so, O Father, I love You with love's ever-growing ravenous hunger, and if it were possible, how I would long to love myself to death on You, O Father.
6
"O Father, my holy, dear Father, accept the dewdrop of my love as if it were something before You. Amen.
7
"And you, my beloved brother Abedam, tell me how your loving heart now feels after you have surely recognized which hour of the night it is?"
8
And the known Abedam said to Enoch: "Most beloved brother, look, you are more fortunate in your love than I, for you are still able to speak in the fire of your heart. Here I am again terribly stupid. When, as now, love seizes me very firmly I can only with difficulty manage just a few words, as you are now heaving from me, but I may not name the object of my love, that would instantly put on end to the poor art of my tongue.
9
"But this much I can still tell you, namely, that my infinite stupidity has at long last recognized, which it earlier had not done, although it thought it had, what time of the night it is. Now I know exactly what time it is. But you know also that we have to keep it to ourselves until tomorrow. Look, I am already silent."
10
The other Abedam showed both of them that He was pleased and said: "Listen, this is how it is! The right love must love itself to death, be it in spirit or in the act of the flesh and only this death is the true resurrection to true, everlasting life when this love will live in the supreme forever growing bliss and in the true, mightiest delight of its own life. But every love is destined for its respective release. Whoever loves the world will die in the constantly growing love of the world; and since the world has not life but only death, the one who has died in the love for the world will never arise to new life, but only to new death.
11
"He who loves the flesh will through this love die to the flesh; and since the flesh is dead, he will never arise to new life but, like the lover of the world, to new death of the flesh
12
"Whoever loves himself will also die in his own love; and since everyone in and for himself is dead, the one dying to himself will never arise to new life but also only to new death. And the one who is without any love and filled with hate for everything, with him the second death has already taken up its abode. And he, who has a heart full of anger, has the second death already knocking at his heart. And the one who is greedy and full of envy, the second death has already embraced with both arms.
13
"And finally he who will gather for himself treasures and riches of the world is the one who has established a permanent abode for the second death; and whoever loves the life of this earth, which is a passing death or a partial perpetual dying, will never cease to die.
14
"Although every love causes death, even the love for God, in no deadened love will life ever find itself again, except in the love for God, as He alone is the very everlasting life.
15
"Actually every love will consciously find itself again. However, friends, in this finding there will again be a vast difference, namely, whether in life or in death.
16
Thus, Enoch, has your love already died to all things and has found itself again in God, and as a result you are already newly alive for all Eternities of eternities. But only few will find the second Life as you have found it, for the mightiest inner fire of love for God can only win this grace. Do understand this well and keep it to yourselves till tomorrow."
17
After this speech they had all safely arrived at Adam's hut where they sat down on the ground and received from Adam the customary fatherly blessing.
18
Then they all rose, bowed respectfully to Adam and were dismissed to retire. But Adam asked Enoch, the two Abedams and Lamech in and reminded Seth to see to the evening meal. And Seth went to his hut where his wife and many of his children were awaiting him with longing. He sent them immediately to Adam's hut there to receive the blessing as the many other wives and children who had been waiting with great longing already for a long time for the arrival of Adam and the other patriarchs.
19
After all of them had received the blessing from Adam and respectfully and gratefully left the hut, Seth, soon followed by his wife, entered the hut loaded with plenty of food and drink.
20
It had already grown quite dark and with the approach of a great thunderstorm the evening became still darker.
21
Adam asked Seth for a good torch, made by Enoch, in order to illumine the dark hut.
22
But Abedam the stranger said to Adam and Seth: "Listen, friends, leave it at that! Why the extra work for the tired Seth who is no longer a youth either?
23
"As for lighting up the hut, I shall take care of that and there will immediately be light in here. For I am an expert with lighting up, better still than Enoch with his torches.
24
"I only have to say: Let there be light! and as you can all see we have sufficient light in the hut."
25
And instantly it grew light as day in the hut and no one knew where the light came from, for no illuminating body could be seen.
26
Enoch and Abedam did know where the light came from, and they knew its creator, but how it was done remained hidden from them. They all thanked the Lord after having overcome their astonishment and finally settled down to eat and drink cheerfully. And the other Abedam, too, without giving Himself away, joined happily in the meal.