The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 129 -
The immortality of the human soul.
But of the fact that the souls of all human beings, good or evil, continue to live after the death of the body, certain persons of all nations on Earth with a better insight have more than many thousand of thousands of times experienced the most vivid and convincing examples, because they often for years have had contact and an instructive relationship with the souls of people whose body had died.
2
But if merely and completely material worldly people do not want to believe that, because they never saw anything like it, can God be blamed for that? Indeed, these worldly people never search for it and thus do also never find it. But those who search for it will also find it among all nations on Earth.
3
These Romans related to Me about such appearances which they experienced themselves. Are they to you therefore untrue because you still have not seen and experienced anything like it?
4
Behind the highest mountains of Asia in the far east there is a big empire that is called Sihna or China. Does it maybe not exist because you have never seen it? And still further to the east, entirely surrounded by the big world sea, there is still another big empire with the name Jhipon (Japan). Does it maybe also not exist because until now you still have never heard anything about it? Yes, friend, on this Earth there are still very big empires and continents besides the 3 continents that you know. But, even if you do not know them, I know them and can tell you that they exist, and men will also discover them in the future.
5
Human beings live everywhere and they do not lack revelation from above and from the side of the spirits who have once also lived there in the flesh. However, that such souls of men, at the time of transition to the kingdom of spirits cannot come immediately in a perfect light of life is certainly easy to explain from the fact that also here the human beings whose souls have become very world-loving can difficultly and laboriously be brought on the right track of the light of life. The body of man cannot believe or will something. It only serves the soul for a short time as instrument for the activity to the outside, and consequently also for his development. The thinking, loving, willing and acting according to the truths that someone has come to know is a matter of the soul.
6
However, how difficult and laborious it often is for a world-loving soul who is inclined to laziness to understand the purely good and true and decides to act accordingly, you can notice in your own children. And a soul who is neglected here will surely fare still much worse in the great world in the beyond, because during the life in the body he has lived on the foundation of all kinds of wrong ideas, resulting in that which is false and evil. Such a foundation of life is however the same as a hardening of the love and of the will of the soul of which both actually constitute the life and the individual existence. If I then, from such a soul, would take away in one time his love and his will, then by that, also the whole soul would be taken away.
7
Therefore, such souls should be handled very cautiously to bring them gradually - without them noticing it - on the right track. But for this, surely a supreme godly love, wisdom and patience is needed, because such a soul has always to be only influenced, as it were from the outside, by bringing him by his willing, striving and acting into such situations in which he will become aware of the fact that he will find himself to be in great errors. Once a soul becomes aware of this in himself, then also the desire will be awakened in him to know why he in a way did not end up on green grass, but only on a rather dark and unfruitful wilderness.
8
Well now, in such a situation it is only then the moment to let such a soul meet a wise spirit who looks alike and who can then talk with him about one or the other thing. By that it will become light in such a soul who went astray, and now he perceives as if completely by himself that he ended up in great errors and he desires more and more for the true light.
9
You can see now quite easily that a soul who is in such an already better situation begins to think quite differently, and his love and his will, as his actual I, life and existence will take spontaneously another direction. Once this happens, a soul - even if he was still walking in the dark before - will also soon come without much trouble to the true light of life.
10
But according to you, a very sudden change of the soul would nearly mean his total destruction. I also could have acted - instead of here with the Jews - with you Romans or also with another gentile nation as the One who I am here, but what would be the result of that with the blind and very superstitious people against which also the most wise teaching would have no effect? Look, the people would take Me for one or the other god and would worship Me and bring Me great sacrifices, and My disciples, who also can do already a lot of things in My name, would be looked at by them with full of amazement as half gods and they also would have build offering altars and even temples for them, and so, with a pagan nation I would only have strengthened paganism instead of bringing it to ruin.
11
But the Jews who, especially in this time, have for the greatest part become totally unbelieving - although they have the Scripture and the promise of My coming to this Earth, and by tradition also know how God has guided the people, even if they doubt it - are still the most suitable to bear My personal presence, because they cannot commit idolatry with Me. Because those who know Me, know also from the right source who I am, but the unbelievers take Me for a magician, and the middle class take Me for a prophet. Consequently, by My presence, not a single soul's individuality and free will are endangered, and therefore the light has to go from the Jewish people to the whole world.
12
If you will examine carefully with your sharp intellect what I have said to you now, you surely will become aware that you have approached Me with a totally wrong opinion.
13
If God would not have needed mankind for an ever increasing satisfaction of His love, He also would never have created them, but since He has created them, He also cares about their eternal preservation and by that He shows that mankind is very important to Him. Therefore, also God should be very important to mankind. Have you, My friend, well understood this now?"
14
The captain, who was seized with deep respect and had listened to My lesson, said: "Lord and Master, as You have spoken now, no wise man has ever spoken to a human being. Only now You have shown to me who You are. I thank You for the great mercy that You have given me now, but I ask You also with all my heart to forgive me for the fact that I have dared to speak so brutally and foolishly to You."
15
I said: "For him who has spoken as you have spoken, the truth is a serious matter, and therefore I gladly give him a true light, but he who is neither cold nor warm, but lukewarm, he deserves not My light of life, and will also not receive it before he will not take it in full earnest seriously. However, I know that for many gentiles among you it was already considered serious for a long time, while the Jews have become more and more lukewarm. Therefore, the light will now also be taken away from the Jews and will be given to you gentiles in all abundance. But do take care and watch that later it will not turn into a new paganism, for that would be still worse than your present-day paganism. You will indeed take care of it, but you will not be able to prevent the appearance of false prophets. Thus, watch all of you and guard yourselves against the false prophets who you will easily recognize at their works."
16
Then there was a messenger who came from Bethany to tell us that everything was ready at home to receive us.
17
Upon this I said: "Our rest-break is now over and so we will continue the trip. Whoever wants to follow Me, let him follow Me."