The Great Gospel of John
Volume 4
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
Jesus near Caesarea Philippi (cont.)
- Chapter 92 -
Guidance in the world to come.
1
(The Lord:) "The spirit, who guides and leads such a soul, like from a certain distance, must take the greatest care, that she only finds on the search path, what furthers her life perfection.
2
In time she can also find a similar soul, who is pressed by the same needs, with whom she of course immediately starts to communicate, like two persons in this world who are pursued by one and the same fate. They mutually question each other, feel sorry for each other and in time council each other what they could do, to make their circumstances somewhat more tolerable.
3
It goes without saying that the second soul must only ostensibly resembles the first soul, who only recently left full isolation; otherwise a blind would be given to anther blind as a guide, whereby only too easily both could fall into a pit, and could find themselves in a worse state as it was during the earlier period of isolation.
4
The perfected spirit person meeting with the young searching soul as by chance, must be careful not to show anything about his perfection, but must in the beginning be completely what the young soul is. If she laughs, he laughs with her; if she cries, he cries with her! Only if the soul becomes annoyed and complains and curses about her fate, the spirit does not comply, by always plays the indifferent one, who doesn't care whether it goes this or that way with him! If it at all doesn't want to go better, now, it has to stay like it is! Thereby the young soul becomes more pliant and will be content with even a small advantage, which again, like by chance, will presents itself.
5
If such a soul has found a small place in the beyond, she is left there for as long she does not feel any desire to improve her fate; since such souls resemble such persons here, who are content with only a very small piece of land, which barely yields them enough, to make a scanty living. According to their desires they do not have a longing for anything higher and more perfect and better, and they are also not concerned by it. As long they have something to eat and have a good rest, they already are very happy and forever does not wish to have anything better.
6
It is similar with a soul in a second stage, who, as shown, has stepped out of her isolation and by her troubles is looked after in such a way, that she regards her circumstances as tolerable and is not further concerned by anything, yes, even has a fear and shies away from it, because she abhors everything which could bring her any form of trouble.
7
We now have provided for a soul in the beyond in such a way, that she for example has found employment with quite good people, who provide for her with what is necessary, or somewhere she got, or even better found, an abandoned property with a little house and a richly set fruit garden and a few goats with milk, perhaps even a male or female servant; the guiding spirit then for the time being has nothing else to do then leave such a soul unhindered with her property.
8
For some time he even is leaving her, and pretends, as if he is going to search for something better, but returns and talks about having found something better, - but this 'better' is much more difficult to obtain, and it can only be earned by a lot of trouble and hard work! The soul then surely will inquire what this trouble and work is all about; and the guide will explain this to the questioning soul. If the soul feels inclined to it, he will lead her there; to the contrary he will leave her there, but he will make sure that the garden will continuously yield less and less, until in the end it will not even yield what is absolute necessary to survive!
9
This soul will now apply all diligence, to make the garden to deliver a greater yield; but the guide must not allow that the soul reaches her goal, but must make it happen that the soul must recognise the fruitlessness of her troubles and expresses the desire, to give up the whole property and take on employment, where she, with surely not more trouble and work, can still be provided for.
10
If such a wish is sufficiently vividly expressed by the soul, she will be guided further and given employment with a lot of work. The guide will then leave her again with some excuse, as if he also found very hard but otherwise quite well endowed work at another location. The soul will now be given work, which she has to execute very precisely. It is said to her and impressed on her heart, that every neglect is punished with a cut of the negotiated wage, whereby a voluntary harder worker above the requirements, is substantially rewarded.
11
The soul now either will do what is required or even go more, or she will be unhappy about the work, will become sluggish and fall into even greater suffering. In the first case she will be elevated and placed in a freer and considerable more pleasant state, where she gets more to think and to feel about. In the second case the guide will leave her in significant suffering, let her return to her earlier meagre property, to find a little but by far not what is enough.
12
After a while when a state of urgent need occurred, the now already much better looking guide and already lord and owner of many properties, will come and ask the soul, what came over her to neglect the good and prosperous looking job. The soul will now make excuses about the hard and too heavy work which is beyond her strength; but it then will be shown to her that her troubles and efforts on this most meagre small plot is much greater and still there is no hope, to ever reach only the most necessary advantage.
13
In this manner a soul will be brought to recognition, will again take on a job and surely do more good then before. If she does well, soon she will be assisted to move forward, - but she is still left with the feeling that she has not yet died bodily; since material souls do not feel this for quite some time and must be educated about this in a suitable manner. The news about that becomes only tolerable to her, once she, as a complete naked soul, has reach a soul-bodily firmness dressed in already good clothes. In such a firmer state they are able to receive smaller revelations, because the spirit germ starts to stir within them.
14
Once a soul has progressed so far and has recognised that she now lives in the spirit world and that her everlasting lot solely depends on her, the only right way of love to Me and the neighbour will be shown to her, which she has to walk according to her absolutely free will and out of her completely free self-determination.
15
If this is shown to her, alongside what she in any case most certainly must achieve, the guide will leave her again and will only return if she most seriously calls for him in her heart. If she does not call him, she in anyway walks on the right path; if however, she deviated from it and went down a bad road, he will let her encounter a corresponding great suffering. If she recognises her misstep and wishes to see her guide, he comes and shows her the complete triviality of her efforts and endeavours.
16
If thereupon she expresses the wish to amend herself, she again is given employment, and if she fulfills her duties, she will be promoted again, but not as quickly as the first time, since she could easily fall back into her old, material lethargy, from which it will be much more difficult to free her than the very first time, because with every relapse she hardens more and more like a growing tree, and from year to year becomes more difficult to bend than during the early growth periods."