The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 15 -
About the density of the population of the Earth. The difficulties with old age.
But one of the Indian magicians, who was still with us said: "Great Lord and Master, I still have a lot of things of which a brighter light would not harm me. If I thus would ask you something, would You find me worthy to give me an answer?"
2
I said: "You are as well a human being as any other, and this is sufficient. Do ask whatever you want, then I will answer you."
3
Then the magician thought about it for awhile if ever the question would perhaps not be too stupid and common, but he quickly pulled himself together and said: "Lord, there is something that, which according to my experiences that I have acquired on this Earth I do not find right for the survival of men. If You will not change that and improve it in one way or another, then in the course of time the survival of men will surely be in trouble.
4
Look, men and animals are multiplying day by day and they also need more and more food, but the soil of the Earth is never extended or enlarged. When this will continue for a couple of 1.000 years the survival of men will certainly give problems. What do You say, o Lord, about this opinion of mine?"
5
I said: "My dear friend, you could have spared yourself entirely this worry, because how many people can live on the now habitable part of the Earth, is already calculated very well by Me since eternal times. When the Earth - the area that has been dried up until this day to accommodate the people - will continue to exist another ten thousand years, and the human race would double or triple every year, then on this Earth ten times as many people as there are now will still very well be able to survive. And when in course of time there would indeed be so many people that the present big, dried up soil of the Earth would not be able to feed them anymore, well then we still have a lot of possibilities in store to rise up in one moment whole continents out of the sea in order to still feed another 100.000 times as many people as there are now living on the Earth. So, about this subject that is giving you so much worries, you can be completely at ease.
6
On this Earth there are living now such a great number of people that you do not know any figure that would be big enough to describe it, and still there are on Earth so many big pieces of uninhabited land that a 1.000 years would hardly be enough to travel through and view them. And still, certain rich people possess great pieces of land for themselves that are really more than a 100 times bigger than what they need for their food. If you assume that in due time the soil of the Earth will be divided somewhat more equally, then all the people - even if they would be 100 times more than now - will still have enough food and find a shelter for their body, and certainly when they will live according to My teaching. Are you now satisfied with this explanation?"
7
The magician said: "Lord and Master, entirely, and my heart is feeling lighter now. But I still have something else, about which I still would like to receive a little more light from You then what I was able to acquire so far in Your very exalted company. It is true that there was already a discussion about that, and from Your mouth there were also explanations that gave me much light. But there is something that has still remained dark for me. Now that I, together with my companions am staying by the source of the light, I would like to be enlightened a little more in everything that is still dark for me.
8
Look, Lord and Master, the existence and the life of a human being is really great and lovely. He is begotten, born, and from that moment on raised by his parents to become a human being who can think, speak and act according to the ideas that were conveyed through education and that he has discovered himself as a thinking human being by means of his thinking-faculty and by his reason that was formed by way of experience.
9
Then, when a person of good will has brought his spiritual strength to a for him as high as possible level through great effort and often bitter experiences, his physical and also his spiritual strength is decreasing. The body becomes tired, old and feeble, gets sick and consequently dies mostly in great pain and in great fright and fear for death.
10
Now I know indeed from Your mouth that death for human beings is nothing to be frightened of, and would also be completely painless if they would have stayed in the order that was revealed to them and if they would have lived and acted accordingly. However, now it is for the people, who are without fault, very regrettable that so many of them can impossibly know anything of the order for the human life that was revealed during ancient times, and are therefore forced to life in a totally opposite order that arose without their fault. Nevertheless, they must just as well bear the bad consequences of it as if they would have deserved it by their fault. Well now, honestly speaking, I consider this a strange arrangement from Your part in the mechanism of the human body.
11
It is a very good law that he who kills a human being will also be punished by death as a warning example for others who in their evil lusts are maybe also hindered by someone. But a law by which for instance when someone has fallen of the roof and by his fall would kill another human being, is punished by death, would be the greatest unrighteousness that exists in the world. And look, according to me this seems to be precisely the same as the godly arrangement that was mentioned just now in relation to the diseases and the very painful bodily death of most people. By that, they are enduring a punishment, which they in fact have never deserved by their fault. This You could arrange a little different in the future.
12
Although, it were precisely the Indians who often during many years have endured the greatest pains, because our religious doctrine tells them that God is having His greatest pleasure in those who firmly endure the worst pains with the greatest patience. But by seeing such often very cruel suffering and such pain, the mind of a friend of mankind who inwardly is objective and free from prejudice resists it and asks the Creator of Earth and men: 'Almighty and wise God, can You actually feel pleasure in the unnamable tormenting and pain of Your created beings? If the people are infatuated in their thinking and mind, You must have enough means to enlighten them again, just like You have enlightened the first created human beings of this Earth.
13
Why do You allow that thousands of mankind must first live during thousands of years in the most bitter tormenting before there is only a little spark of Your light that is spreading among them?
14
Look Lord, this is a very important question from us, very troubled people, to You, the Lord and Creator of Earth and human beings. Give us a true light about this."