The Great Gospel of John
Volume 6
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the Mount of Olives (John Chapter 8)
- Chapter 179 -
The Antichrist.
Said Lazarus: "How should we understand the anti-Christ?"
2
Said I: "The anti-Christ will arise from the fact, that there are certain smart and work-shy people, who see that My teaching gains more and more followers, and that My disciples are increasingly better off, so also they will accept My teaching. And when they hear about the signs I effectuated and also about the signs which you will be effectuating at given opportunities, they will start to perform great signs of blind magic with absolutely natural means like the heathen magicians and the Essenians have done it. This will deceive the gullible and this in the end to such an extend, that many of your followers will regard you as false teachers and prophets and start to pursue you.
3
Therefore pay great attention to it that you only take from those who accept the gospel, what you require to live! For if the idlers see that the preaching and signs provide you with a lot money, they will do everything possible to oust you. Therefore you will earliest recognize the false prophets in their works. For the real prophets will always walk in My poverty and only accept from their congregations, what they need as basic life requirements; however the false will do like the pharisees are doing now - and in many cases a lot worse - and for everything they do in My name for the congregations, they are going to insist to be paid highly and expensively, and all people will regard them as servants of God and by punishment they had to believe that God listens only to their prayers and looks at their sacrifices with great pleasure. Like now for all Jews this one temple is standing there, the anti-Christ will build countless many temples with great splendour and therein they will perform magic and sacrifices, and make bad, selfish speeches before the people. They will pray in foreign languages to make the people believe that such their speech is the most purest and therefore also to God most pleasing.
4
This is sufficient for everybody to recognize a false prophet and to distinguish him from a true one. They will of course make a lot of noise and shout to all the world: 'All of you come to us since Christ is here and He is there where we are!' However, do not believe it, irrespective when shouting even so much harder and perform even greater miracles; since they are never ever My disciples, but deceived disciples of Beelzebub, from whom they also will harvest their reward in the mud pool with howling and crunching of teeth! Pay attention to it and perform as little miracles as possible, but keep to the word and its everlasting truth, the pure teaching will remain among many people until the end of the world! - But now lets go back into the house again, and you Lazarus, provide us with bread and wine; since now I am very thirsty!"
5
Thereupon we went into the house and Lazarus immediately asked for the right quantity of bread and wine. We sat at the table and strengthened ourselves.