The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 175 -
Purpose and meaning of ceremonies.
I said: "O surely. He who knows the laws of Moses and lives and acts accordingly, who abstains truly and seriously from the worthless heathenish polytheism, and then to love only the one true God above all and his fellowman as oneself - as I already have shown you - is then completely Jewish and does not need anything else.
2
What matters the temple in Jerusalem or all those empty ceremonies which only before My coming had a preparatory symbolic meaning, but which are now hallow, senseless and without meaning.
3
Instead of paying exemption money, think rather actively about the poor and make up for every injustice, then you will be in My eyes and in those of God more than complete Jews, and as such you will have a big part in My Kingdom.
4
When I say this to you, then you can surely believe Me, for the God who first spoke to Moses on the Sinai, speaks now through Me to you. And if I now declare something as being correct and valid, then who will proof the contrary to you? Did you understand Me?"
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The innkeeper and also his son Kado said full of joy: "Who would not understand that which is all too true according to the purest insight and the sharpest mind of man? We thank You also for this clarifying answer.
6
But since we are talking and asking anyway, we gladly would like to hear from Your wisdom why actually a ceremonial so-called religion has been introduced, and why God has allowed it. For in our opinion, this is always the reason for all kinds of superstition, polytheism, idolatry, and finally complete godlessness, as we can see with the philosophers who are adhering to the teaching of Diogenes. If immediately from the very beginning, a pure teaching of duties regarding God and men were given to man - just as simple and understandable as You, o Lord and Master, have presented to us - then certainly much disaster would not have come on this Earth.
7
Moses is incontestably the purest and most truthful religious teacher and most faithful announcer of God's will to men, but also his teaching is not without any ceremony, no matter how meaningful it may be, and precisely the ceremony is now the visible decline of the otherwise so exalted Jewry, and becomes ever worse in course of time. Why actually during the first times a ceremonial cult was always announced together with a godly teaching, and it was even commanded to practice it rigorously?"
8
I said: "Friend, according to human standards you have spoken very well, and in the very first beginning of men on this Earth, the godly teaching was also given as pure as I give it to you now, but men who discovered all too soon preceding ceremonies with everything that happens and exists in the nature of things and the phenomena on and above this Earth, fell back with all their actions to a preceding ceremony and so they also applied it in worshipping God.
9
So they claimed that one should only worship and honor God on certain clean places. Whoever would not do that, showed by that not to have any true esteem and respect for God. In order to make such places all the more respectable for men, they performed there a kind of sacrificing service, although in the beginning with really pure and well-considered good intentions, since men had to offer a part of the produce of their work and their efforts to the teachers who were awakened by God, so that the instructing teachers could provide for themselves.
10
When men slowly multiplied themselves more and more on the Earth and had spread ever further, there were also more and more teachers and religious places, prayer houses and offering places that were declared to be clean and worthy for God by the teachers. Now when men became richer and wealthier by their zeal, they were then no more satisfied with the places that were declared only to be clean and worthy for God, like certain hills, little forests, pure wells and here and there also gardens that were constructed with nice smelling flowers, but they built more distinguished huts, later houses and temples where the teachers could instruct the people, accept the offerings that were brought to them and they prayed there with the people to God with words, gestures and also with songs. And with the things, which they considered to be especially nice, beautiful and exalted they also honored God as Creator of such beautiful things and they consecrated these to Him.
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And look, this is how men, and more specifically their more and more richer but also more and more greedy and imperious teachers and predecessors, have slowly invented and introduced the ceremonial religion (which is actually only a religion in name), and from this all too soon true idolatry has resulted.
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Actually Moses did not introduce the ceremony but has only explained it and brought it back to the old, pure initial beginning. He destroyed the statues and temples, and only 1 hut was assigned for that in which the ark was. Therein were kept the laws and books of Moses, and later also the scriptures of the other prophets, besides still other objects, which reminded God's actions.
13
But Moses had always assigned a dual purpose to everything that looked like a ceremony, according to the instructions of God. The one thing was that the ceremony, as a sign-scripture, represented symbolically everything that is happening now during My time in full reality and which will still continue to happen, and secondly, he assigned political purposes to it, and also other things that were very beneficial for the maintenance of bodily health and for these regions of the Earth. He prescribed to them what they could eat and drink. And how, when and how often they had to wash and clean themselves, how their homes had to be constructed and arranged and which clothing the Jews had to wear.
14
So also circumcision served a dual purpose, for firstly, to every newly born Jew a name was given and the year and the day and even the time of his birth was written in the big book of circumcision - which was all necessary - and to the newly born Jew, the obligation was imposed to develop himself to become a perfect human being, to acknowledge God, to believe in Him, to respect and to love Him and to keep His commandments. Look, that was the spiritual-moral purpose of circumcision. The other purpose was however again of a political nature and had also an influence on the health and cleanness of the body.
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Now it is easy for you to clearly perceive that the old ceremony of the Jews was in fact not a religious one, but was simply and solely for the benefit of men. The fact that in time the ceremony changed into complete idolatry, that, every somehow clearer seeing and thinking gentile can see, not to mention a pure Jew who is enlightened by God.
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Besides, everything in this world happens over a certain ceremony, as I have already said before. Although a ceremony is in itself worthless, but will still always precede every event of importance and goes with and follows it as its worthless shadow.
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Just look carefully at a dawning day. The first forerunner is a light shimmering in the east and certain known stars that will rise up prior to the sun above the horizon. That first light shimmering is soon followed by a clearer morning shimmering, after that a morning red and still a lot more. All these events that precede the morning are in a certain way also ceremonies, which in itself have truly no value, and even less so once the sun has fully risen.
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So also, the spiritual sun has now risen in Me for all Jews and also for all gentiles, and consequently all statues, things and ceremonies, which indicated and proclaimed Me beforehand - no matter how richly in meaning they may be in themselves - have no more value for the true life of men, for in bright daylight no sensible human being will have in his mind to lighten a night lamp in order to give to the day a still stronger light.
19
And as I have now shown you the ceremony of the dawning of the day, without especially pointing out to you a same ceremony for the falling night, so you can consider the events of the coming summer or autumn, winter and also spring as a ceremony, and also the events during the development of for instance a fruit tree and still other vegetations and creatures on this Earth. Although they are absolutely necessary for the produce of a ripe and tasty fruit, what finally really matters is the ripe and good fruit.
20
And this is now the case here in the sphere of the spiritual life. Many ceremonies preceded this time of light, which now however have become worthless and senseless, because the sun of live has now risen and everyone can now pluck the completely ripe fruit of the tree of life and can saturate and strengthen himself for the benefit of the eternal life of the soul. And if he can do that, then how can all these preceding ceremonies have any value of life for him?
21
And so you can be a real and in My eyes legal Jew without circumcision and without paying for it. For he who walks during the day has no need to greet a morning shimmering as if it should be necessary for his life, and he who has plucked a completely ripe fruit and has it before him, should really not worry how the tree has set the buds and has then blossomed, or if it had carried many or few leaves, because the fruit is the main thing. Once it is there, then all the previous things have no more value.
22
I believe now that you and all the others who are present here have surely understood how the ceremonies came into existence among the people, and what value they had in their purity. And likewise you will now also understand how the ceremonies have slowly degenerated and have now no, and cannot have any, other value than the shadow that follows the walker if he directs his way of life to the direction and the position of the sun. Did you all well understand this now?"
23
All said: "Yes, Lord and Master, because this time You have spoken again clearly and completely understandable."
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Especially the disciples emphasized this.
25
On this I said: "Then do not allow yourselves to be captured again by one or the other worldly ceremony. Stay all of you with and in the truth, which only is the light of life and will make you free of every delusion and deception."