THE GREAT GOSPEL OF JOHN
VOLUME 5
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi. (cont.) Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16
- Chapter 220 -
The purpose of the crucifixion of the Lord.
1
(The Lord) "I am, as far as My body is concerned, a mortal man like you, with the result that I, too, shall shed this body, namely, on the cross at Jerusalem as a witness against the evil Jews, high priests and Pharisees, and for their judgment. For this alone will break their power for all time, and the prince of spiritual darkness who now rules mankind will be weakened and no longer able to seduce and ruin the people to the same extent as up till now.
2
But the prince is called 'Satan', that is lie, deception, pride, greed, self-love, envy, hate, lust for power and murder and all sorts of prostitution.
3
The highest arrogance can only be destroyed through the deepest humility, and thus it is necessary that such will be done to Me. But do not be frightened when you hear this, for I shall not stay in the grave and decay, but rise on the third day and return to you, exactly as I am now with you. Only this will be the greatest and truest testimony in your soul to My divine mission and will greatly strengthen your faith. I have told you this in advance so that you will not take offence at Me and abandon My teaching when this event will happen. - How do you, My dear Epiphan, like this?"
4
Epiphan says, "Lord and Master, You are wiser and more powerful than all the wise and mighty of the whole Earth! If You allow such a thing to happen to You, then You must certainly have a good However, the greatest and most unheard-of humiliation and chastisement for some of the most depraved and evil people at Jerusalem and in the whole Jewish land generally would obviously be their inability to completely kill the man they hate most even at the most despicable cross, so that after three days he would be back, exactly the same he was before! I can already understand this quite well and clearly. Yet it seems to me as if Your wisdom and power could well decree otherwise.
5
Presuming the priests and others in authority at Jerusalem saw You work a sign like the one You just worked here, do You not think they would have to be blinded by all the furies of Tartarus not to recognize You as What and Who You are? Their hatred against You must immediately be transformed into the greatest reverence and the most ardent love for You, and it goes without saying that You then need not let Yourself be nailed to the degrading cross which is meant only for the worst criminals."
6
Say I: "Yes, if it were so, then you would be right; but unfortunately, it is not so, but immensely different! Believe Me: This nest of adders and the brood of snakes of the Templers of Jerusalem know exactly what I am teaching and what I perform; but that only increases their hate and they become only more and more bitter towards Me from hour to hour, a fact for which Aziona and Hiram can vouch with a faithful account of the events before midnight last night. They are all totally rotten, blind and deaf in their hearts, and at the same time full of the greatest and most limitless pride and full of greed and the greatest lust for power. And behold, no gospel is to be preached to such creatures nor a sign worked before their eyes! For My teaching and My signs destroy their ancient reputation and vast incomes, and this is the reason why the Templers do not want them and are My most implacable enemies.
7
] I would certainly have the power to destroy them instantaneously on the whole earth as has happened once before, decreed by My Father's Spirit that is dwelling within Me, at the time of Noah and, later, at the time of Abraham when Sodom and Gomorrah and their ten neighboring cities were wiped out, but what good did it achieve?
8
Today the vast Dead Sea still bears witness to that judgment and the Scriptures point their finger to it. Yet who takes heed and sees it as a just warning? If you now mention it to a true Pharisee, you are in danger of being derided, severely reprimanded, and even impressively threatened with a heavy penalty. In such a case there is nothing one can do but what I foretold you. This will be a most severe judgment for those obstinate ones and for My followers the culmination point of My love and, likewise, My resurrection will be a resurrection for all those who are of My intention and will."