The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 183 -
The liberation of matter.
Notwithstanding all his feelings of mortality, no human soul can be considered as completely dead, but still, it is a real death of the soul if he lives in the constantly increasing fright to soon lose his life that became so pleasant to him, or to grievously have to spend his life eternally in a dark dungeon, without hope to ever be freed out of it.
2
But do you know what it is, that calls up such a feeling in the souls of the mostly material, selfish and proud heathens, and why they then also pursue all kinds of possible pleasures and diversions, only to get rid as much as possible of this feeling of mortality which displeases them above all?
3
Look, the love for the world and matter brings this about. As long as a soul clings to the possessions and riches of this world and considers them as his complete property by virtue of law, and therefore punishes every person who in case of need because of his poverty would violate it or has violated it once, he will not be able to completely ever get rid of this feeling, neither in this nor in the other world, for all matter is judged and thus death regarding the free spirit. But if a soul clings to dead matter, he can therefore also have no other feeling than only that of death.
4
However, if a soul by the true and living faith in the one God and by the active love for Him and fellowman will turn away from matter, then he soon will lose such a feeling completely, as this is now the case with you. And this is then also for every person a sure and unmistakable sign that judgment and death of the soul have gone.
5
But this is really no easy task for a soul, once he is filled with love for the world. And there are many rich and mighty people in the world for whom it is more difficult to separate themselves from matter and its imagined value than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But also this is possible with the help of God, as this happens now to you Greeks and will still happen more and more if you out of free will, will bring to action that which I have advised to you now.
6
If you only believe, but do not bring faith to action, then faith itself is still dead and cannot give real life to the soul, but by the action the faith becomes alive and therefore also the soul by his living faith. Therefore I say to you once more: do not believe only that what you hear from Me, but act according to it, willfully and zealously, then you will receive in yourselves true, eternal life.
7
I surely can see now that all of you acknowledge Me as Lord and Master, but this will still not awake the feeling of complete immortality in your souls. However, that which awakes the feeling of immortality in your souls is the fact that you, in full earnest, have taken the resolution in your heart to do always that which I have advised you.
8
Now from now on, keep on acting - according to this resolution - also in My name, then eternal life from Me will remain in you, and you will in eternity no more feel nor taste death.
9
What use is it for man if he would possess all treasures of the Earth and with these he could provide himself with all-imaginable kinds of pleasures but would by that harm his soul? Will all these treasures be able to free him from the hard chains of death?
10
Truly, death cannot give life to death. This can only be done by the living action according to My teaching, for I Myself am continuously love, action and life. Because everything that is in infinity, is indeed a work of My love and of My life. Do you believe that?"
11
They all said: "Yes, greatest Lord and Master from Yourself of eternity, we believe now everything, and we will also bring our faith to action by works according to Your very pure and true teaching of life, as truly as You may always help us if ever we would become weak.
12
But now, still a little question: has the old priest on Patmos heard this teaching, that You have extensively addressed to us, as entirely and completely in the spirit as we have heard it here?"
13
I said: "Most certainly, as I have already told you. What I have said here to you and will still say further to you, I put it in his heart, and he will take it out from there and will write it down for himself and for you and for still many others. And when you will come on Patmos, you will convince yourself of that.
14
And now I give the freedom to everyone of you to ask Me one or the other thing. Whoever wants to know something from Me for the sake of his salvation, come and ask, for him who seeks, will find."
15
When all heard that from Me, they became very joyful and cheerful, because they still had a lot of things about which they planned to ask Me. But when they wanted to ask Me, no one of them knew actually what he should actually ask Me mainly, and therefore they did not know so well who of them should ask Me a question first.
16
But I soon helped them out of this embarrassment by saying: "Well now, Kado, just you ask, if no one else dares to ask."