The Great Gospel of John
Volume 3
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi
- Chapter 168 -
Guidance of the individuals and the peoples.
1
(The Lord) "I could certainly convert all people in an instant through My all-powerful will, of course; but where would that leave the power of sustenance and freedom of their spirit which can be gained on its own?!
2
You can now easily see from this that it is no easy task to deal with the mistakes that have crept into the nations effectively and without damaging the freedom of their will and its spiritually necessary self-determination.
3
But it is also just as difficult to prevent such mistakes returning again; for true and false, and good and bad must be presented to the spiritual part of a person for his free investigation, recognition and choice, otherwise he will never be brought to clear thinking.
4
He must find himself in an ongoing battle, otherwise he will fall asleep and his life must constantly have new opportunities to exert itself as such and thereby maintain itself, strengthen itself and in this way achieve its perfection.
5
If I did not allow mistakes to ever occur among the people, but only truth with its determined and fully necessary effects, people would resemble a very richest boaster and voluptuary, who finally take care of nothing other than dumbly ensuring that his belly receives its fill at the right time!
6
If we only provide what is best for a person's body, you can be completely sure that there will soon be no priests, no king, no soldiers, but also no townspeople, no peasants and no workers or artisans anymore; for why should he work or be active in anything, since he is already supplied anyway in abundance with the best of everything for all his life?!
7
Therefore there must be need and misery among the people, and pain and suffering, so that man does not die in a most inactive lethargy!
8
You now see from that why everything must be just so among the people, so that they are encouraged to take on all sorts of activities; and for this reason it is then just as impossible to prevent mistakes creeping in as it is to get rid of the mistakes at the end.
9
And the constantly bad consequences which follow the mistakes are finally the most useful means to drive out the mistakes and to spread the truth.
10
Man must begin to feel deeply and actively the screaming necessity of truth and seek it fully and seriously through affliction and misery, which stem from lies and from the various forms of deception, just as old Ouran from the Pontus sought it, then man will soon find the truth as Ouran found it, and only then will the truth, which has been sought under all sorts of necessary afflictions be truly useful to man; but if he (man) found it as easily as the eye finds the sun in the bright firmament, it would have all too soon no value for him any longer, and he would chase after a lie, in order to amuse himself, just as the wanderer seeks as much shade as possible during the day; and the denser he finds it, the dearer it is to him.
11
The people of this Earth are just as they must be in their foundations in order to finally become a human being; but then all their outer circumstances must come together so that the person, forced by these, will become a true person!
12
But the full, naked truth cannot be given to man in general not even by Me now, but only hidden in parables and images, so that he (man) can work it out from these images by seeking. I only speak to you few without retention; but those you tell it to should also not receive it completely naked, but also a little hidden, so that they will have the opportunity to think freely and act freely. And so that you yourselves do not become lukewarm, I also say to you:
13
I have a lot more to tell you, but you would not be able to bear it yet; but when the spirit of truth comes over you and your children, it will lead you into all truth. And so you will then do the same for this Earth in all truth and will then receive the key into your hands to the endless many truths of heaven, through which constantly new and deeper unfolding you will also receive more and more to do in eternity!
14
But now Mark is calling us to the table, and that is also a truth, and we want to follow it!"