The Household of God
Volume 2
Rise and spiritual prime of the first world empire Hanoch
- Chapter 41 -
THE BLESSED MEAL. ADAM'S AMBITOUS SELF-LOVE. THE LORD'S REPRIMAND
And all who had sat down around Abedam's basket once again thanked the Lord for having chosen them for His basket and thereby affording them the inestimable grace of eating with Him out of one basket such fruits of the glory of the Father's love and of drinking from one and the same vessel the sweetest juice of life eternal.
2
Thus they continued to praise for quite a while Abedam for His sublime grace; and, while the surrounding baskets were already emptied by almost more than a third, no one had as yet touched a fruit from Abedam's basket.
3
When the glorifying and praising did not seem to come to an end, Abedam looked at His guests telling them to eat of the fruits, just like the guests around the other baskets, whereupon they entreated Him to be the first to reach into the basket. When Abedam had complied with their wish they all put their hands in the basket partaking with great joy and respect of the fruits and emptying the vessels filled with juice.
4
Thus the meal lasted nearly a full hour. In spite of this, the baskets as well as the vessels did not become empty, while the fruits became more and more aromatic and the juice in the vessels progressively more delicious and sweeter, so that at the end of the meal it was exactly as at the beginning, when no one wanted to be the first to put his hand into the basket; now no one wanted to be the first to withdraw his hand from the basket. Since they saw Abedam Himself frequently reach into the basket, nobody thought of stopping; only Adam noticed that the sun was close to setting, and he asked the high Abedam what was to be done, since the time had come for the usual preliminary burning.
5
But the high Abedam in turn asked Adam, saying: "Adam, just tell Me in plain language in whose honor this burning is to take place, whether in Mine, or whether in honor of the blue sky and its later visible stars and the still visible sun and the moon, or maybe in honor of the people, or alone in your honor?
6
"Behold, I hardly know what meaning you have ever attached to it, wish to attach to it now, or are already attaching to it; therefore, I should like to know more about it from you.
7
"This idle concern can hardly be aimed at Me; for, if I wanted anything like that, I would have demanded it from you a long time ago. Therefore, since I do not want and intend anything like that at all, this being no concern of Mine, do tell Me honestly in whose honor this preliminary burning is to take place."
8
Here, Adam's tongue failed him, so much so that he could not utter a word.
9
But Abedam made the following remark to Adam: "Adam, is it not a fact that you had the greatest joy in this preliminary burning and secretly actually related it to yourself, wanting to indicate thereby that the road to the gate of life leads only through you? So the burning in your honor had to precede the burning in Mine and you attached more importance to the correct time of the preliminary burning than to the burning following it, destined to take place in My honor.
10
"Behold, for this secret reason I had the burnt offering meant for Me take place when it was still morning so as to free it from your great folly; nevertheless, you do not seem inclined to give up your old folly.
11
"Is the meal with Me maybe not worth more than the preliminary burning on your behalf? "Therefore, let all of you stay around the baskets and eat and drink as long as you like and as long as you enjoy it. This also you, Adam, can do. But, should you prefer the burning to this living meal, you can even indulge in that pleasure; however, doing so you would have to take great care lest the fire become all too strong, then easily seizing and consuming you! - Do you comprehend these words?
12
"I, however, tell you: Comprehend it well and consider that the earth's innermost is hollow and full of the most angry fire, - then do as you desire, either towards death - or towards life. Amen."
13
When Adam had heard these words by Abedam he became mightily alarmed and said to Him the following words, full of fear and trembling:
14
"O Abedam, You are holy, good and full of love, grace and mercy; but woe betide him who would trespass by merely a hair's breadth the boundaries of Your will, - for then he is already destined for death, for with You there is no golden mean, but only two extreme poles, namely, the pole of life and the pole of death.
15
"Thus also Your living Word is constituted which, knowing of no gentle admonition, either builds worlds through its all-surpassing gentleness or, vice versa, again just as speedily destroys the same.
16
"Therefore, I ask You to be gracious and merciful towards me who am weak; for what has once happened, cannot so easily be considered undone. Therefore, be gentle with me and do not drive me even lower than I am now anyway. Your holy will be done. Amen."
17
And Abedam replied briefly to Adam: "Adam, Adam, you talk much about yourself; but Me you have completely forgotten.
18
"Do you grasp what it means that I am here, on the most miserable spot in My infinite creation?
19
"What do you know of the eternally infinite holiness of God?
20
"Therefore, have a quick change of heart, and do not become immersed even more in the realm of death, but rather in My love and My now very great grace and mercy.
21
"If so far you have only discovered two poles in Me it is only your own fault; but ask these newcomers, - they will tell you great wonders about the third, intermediate pole. Amen."