The Great Gospel of John
Volume 10
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in two additional towns
- Chapter 158 -
The history of the basalt city and its environment.
When he finally also wanted to claim that the hill upon which we were standing was the mountain Nebo where Moses' earthly life ended, I said to him: "Now, My dear friend, you go too far with your knowledge of this region, because the environment of the mountain Nebo, from where also the misty environment of Jericho can be completely seen, is still a short day's trip further away to the south. But since you are so familiar with this environment, then tell Me also who the builder was of this black basalt city in which you live. Do you know his name?"
2
The innkeeper said: "Lord and Master, I am not such an expert in history, but if I am not mistaken, it where the Gadites who build this city, for they say that from there, further to the north, the land belonged to the tribe of Gad, and further to the south, together with a part of happy Arabia towards the river of the Euphrates, everything must have belonged to the tribe of Ruben. However, the borders of these 2 lands seem to have greatly shifted during the evil time of the kings, and at the present time no one knows anymore exactly up to how far the tribe of Ruben possessed the land and up to how far the tribe of Gad. We still think that this city of ours is a work of that tribe."
3
I said: "My dear friend, then you are in error for almost 1.000 years, because the builder of this city, as well as several other cities, was Edon, who still lived before Abraham and who possessed these pieces of land and a great part of happy Arabia up to the Euphrates and also a great part of the present Syria up to far beyond Damascus. So this city and several other cities were build by Edon and his descendants and are therefore not much younger in years than Babylon.
4
Look, my dear friend, we are standing now on the hill where Abraham and Edon stood when they gave an offering in the faith of their heart and determined the borders of their lands. Everything to the west, as far as the eye can reach, belonged to Abraham, and the land to the east up to the Euphrates belonged to Edon and his descendants who later joined for the greatest part the descendants of Abraham. Look, now you know who the builder of these black cities was, which are strongly build, so much so that in more than 1.000 years from now on, the all destructing course of time will not really show.
5
However, the inhabitants will in the course of time greatly decrease and be very poor because now the land is still fertile but then it will become a desert, and poor shepherds will only find scanty feed in the wet wintertime for their meager flocks. And they will not be too choosy to live there for a certain time, one time in this, and another time in one of the many other cities.
6
Nevertheless, this already very waste region will, up to the Euphrates, become green again and will become a blessed place to live for people who are of good will in My name."
7
On this, the innkeeper said: "Yes, Lord and Master, I also read a similar prophecy in the book of the prophet Isaiah. But when will that time come? There is nothing in the book of the prophet about this. Can You, o Lord and Master, indicate a more precise time to me?"
8
I said: "Not the year, the day or the hour, for this depends on the doings of the people when they will again separate themselves from their worldly kings and will put themselves under My rulership, just like at the time of Moses and the judges. Nevertheless, I tell you with certainty that till then, not much more than 2.000 earthly years will pass.
9
But in the part of the world that is now still very waste, which you call Europe, and from which the nations are ruling over you, that happy condition will come sooner, for in this old part of the world are still a great number of - understand it well - very hard stones that will not change so quickly and easily into fertile land. However, those hard stones can be compared to the equally hard hearts of the people which also can be changed with difficulty into fertile fields to receive My word.
10
I say to you: before one tenth of the people of this big old part of the world will be in the full blessing of My teaching, the worst part of Europe will be more blessed in My teaching than the smallest and best part of this old part of the world, because a lot of fire will still be needed before the great number of people of this part of the world will feel the influence of the rays of My sun of life which will warm them up to eternal life."
11
The innkeeper said: "O Lord, then it looks very sad for us. That is why of course the great prophet could not tell anything with certainty about the time that this happy condition will return."
12
I said: "Yes, yes, My dear friend. Look, there in the faraway east, the sun comes up much sooner than in the faraway west. That is why, where the sun comes up much sooner, the night will also come much earlier, and this will be so till the sun comes up again. This is a very understandable, simply natural image for you, but there is also the spiritual behind it.
13
In Me, the spiritual sun came up for you as first and most early, but therefore it will also set for you the most early. And when it will come up again, it will not come up from the west for you, but again from a very faraway east, because with Me everything happens in a certain order, and nothing happens contrary to that order, not materially, neither spiritually.
14
You do not understand this matter yet, but soon the time will come that you will understand it."