The Great Gospel of John
Volume 1
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
In Cana in the valley
- Chapter 217 -
Warning against Satan's traps. The wicked one can influence only the senses, but not the will of the soul.
Philopold together with several Greeks steps over to me, saying, 'Lord, as far as was possible in the short time, we gratefully attended to Your request; but we shall not fail to attend to the minor details too. So far as my family is concerned I am now free to accompany You one or two or three years, if only I let my family know from time to time where I am and what You are doing. For behold, my entire household now believes and hopes in Your name. If You are pleased therewith oh Lord, then please communicate it, or any further request.
2
Say I, 'For the present you have done everything that is right before God and before all men who feel and think righteously; but be on your guard against all sorts of traps with which Satan enchants you and you then fall out into all kinds of quarreling and wrangling, where such future state would then be worse than was the present one from which I liberated you.
3
For the wicked spirit never rests, neither by day nor night; he runs to and fro and like a hungry lion, rapaciously falling upon anything at all coming his way.
4
Were he visible, then some men of courage would hazard a fight with him, yet be defeated even sooner than if visible; for he can transform his appearance to a beauty surpassing an angel of light, or on the other hand clothe himself with the shape of the most frightful fiery dragon. Who would dare then to take him on in that appearance? For Satan would then vanquish millions through either the beauty or petrifying hideousness of form alone. Where he cannot and must not reveal himself however, with every man nevertheless being capable of easily recognising his evil whisperings, which always make the soul hard-hearted, selfish, domineering, deceitful, mean, merciless, indifferent towards truthfulness and godliness, unfeeling towards the poor and suffering but attuned to all worldly indulgence; there man can openly confront these efforts on Satan's part, for Satan can affect only the soul's senses, but not its will.
5
I have now given you the signs which, when these insinuate your soul, you can easily recognise as to what spirit is bestalking you and with what motives.
6
Whenever you perceive such upon yourselves, then hearken back to this My teaching; lift up your souls and do the contrary to the initial enticements, to thus become master of the wicked one! And once you have defeated him in the aspects indicated, he shall leave you alone and you shall have no more fights with him. But if you allow yourselves to get caught in one or the other aspect, or relent in even a small way, then you shall not easily be rid of him again to the very end of your earth life.
7
Hence, heed all those aspects that I brought to your attention. Because once when the wicked one has achieved the acquiescence of the soul to one or the other of the above, something not too hard for him to effect, leading of course to sin, then it already takes a fierce fight to fully repair the damage to the soul.
8
But when someone is firmly determined to do all he can by himself, and spiritually hands his weakness over to Me, for such the full victory over Satan shall be easier; but note well, only after the calling upon My name in living faith.
9
Now you know everything you need to know; you know the One true God, and now His will.
10
Verily I say unto you; The Father in heaven has well-provided you with everything you have need of; now it is up to you as to how conscientiously you want to employ it for your true and everlasting benefit.
11
Out of your own doing or omission all effects shall proceed, and your words and deeds shall be your judges!
12
You, Philopold, tarry here three more days and try to order everything; then come out to Kis where you shall meet Me.'
13
Philopold promised to do so. Thereupon I blessed the locality, and we made our way back to Kis.