The Great Gospel of John
Volume 8
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord and His adversaries
- Chapter 82 -
The causes of pain which precedes death.
I said: "I cannot say that you are completely wrong, for also I do certainly not agree with the manner on which the people are usually dying. But what can I do about it when men procured themselves such a bitter and unpleasant manner of dying? If only men would live according to the order that already was very clearly revealed to them since the very beginning, then there would be not one human being who would complain about the bitterness of death.
2
The patriarchs all died an easy and soft death, because when the angel called them, their souls left with great joy their body, which did not have to suffer any pain since their childhood years until old age, but mostly remained powerful and healthy. The final bodily death was also not a result of heavy suffering and pain, but always happened when there was a desire for the call of the angel, after which the soul was leaving the body freely and without any compulsion, and the body was as it were falling to sleep without the least of pain.
3
But when men began to live more and more a sensual life and indulged more and more in fornication, harlotry and other reveling that dulled their senses, they spoiled even their health, became weak, miserable and sick, and their bodily death had to assume a different character.
4
If you take a knife, cut in your flesh and as a result you feel pain, can you then with your right senses blame the Creator, or would you maybe like to say: 'Yes, why has the Creator in fact not given a insensitive body to man?' But I say to you: if your body would be totally insensitive, how could it be alive? Only a totally dead body is also totally insensitive.
5
Now suppose that man, at least on the outside would have an insensitive body, more or less like his hair. What would be the consequence of that with thoughtless people? Self-mutilation of all kind, in such a way that finally people would not have a human appearance anymore and would also not be able to work anymore.
6
But in order to prevent that people would mutilate themselves - at least as far as their outer appearance is concerned - sensitivity has been given to them as a good watchman. Besides, it is obvious that if man cannot feel pain, he also cannot feel delight and bliss, because one thing depends on the other and one cannot exist without the other, and is even not conceivable.
7
I surely know that men because of their great blindness already since a long time have to suffer a lot of pain - that is to say when they are dying - and this firstly because they mostly have not a single certainty about the continuance of the life of the soul after the death of the body, and already many are followers of the belief of the Sadducees, and in the second place because men by their extreme disorderly way of life have filled their body with all kinds of impure spirits, which in course of time has inevitably to lead to all kinds of terrible and painful diseases resulting in early death. And therefore, I Myself have come in the flesh on this Earth in order to show man the ways that he should go, so that firstly he would be aware that and how his soul - which is his actual I - after the death of the body continues to live, and secondly to show how he, as long as he has to live on this Earth can stay healthy and strong until an old age and his going away would not be terrible and painful, but would make him glad and very happy. And so, I as Lord of life can give you the full assurance that the one who - according to the real meaning of the word - will eat My bread and drink My wine, will not see, feel or taste death. In other words: whoever will live according to My teaching, will also experience its ever blissful effect. I am of the opinion that you, My friend scribe will understand those things now differently than before."
8
The scribe said: "Lord and Master, now I understand it indeed quite differently and better than before, and I am also grateful to You with all my heart for the light that You have given to us all in this respect, for I consider this as something very important for man, that he knows and finally also really feels how things are concerning the death of the body and consequently how he can get rid of his old fears, pains and torments. For only when man will know all these things for sure and truly, he can feel lifted up from God to the real dignity of man by which the animal part of man sinks into the dust of insignificance.
9
But a very important question to You comes up now, because only You can answer this according to the living truth. Look, Lord and Master, we have now with a complete faith, which convinces our whole being, accepted Your teaching and we will also live and act according to its holy true foundation. But before, we have spend quite some years in all kinds of sins, which certainly was not according to Your order. At such occasions perhaps many impure spirits did also slip into our flesh and nested themselves there, which I clearly conclude from the many diseases that I already had to go through. Can those physical disease-spirits be completely removed by the actual eating of Your bread and by the drinking of Your heavenly wine, so that they will not torment me during dying, or will I somehow still have to feel and taste the bitterness of dead because of the sins that I committed?"
10
I said: "When you will live in such a way that your soul will be completely reborn in his spirit, that spirit will quickly and easily be able to settle with all impure spirits that are still in your flesh, and then you will die a blissful death, also what concerns the body. But someone who in general will indeed seriously live and act according to My teaching, but besides that will still secretly fall back into his old habits, yes, then he also will not be able to reach the complete rebirth of his soul in the spirit, and finally during his passing away, with all humility and patience, he will have to accept that he still will have to struggle with many sorrows. Because then, the suffering will be the fire which will purify the life's gold of men from many dross. Because that which is spiritually impure cannot enter Heaven, which is as much as saying the following: the pure Spirit from God cannot unite completely with the soul until this soul has completely and forever banned everything out of himself that belongs to matter and its judgment. Indeed, whoever wants to separate with a blissful bodily death from this world must take this well into account.
11
Besides that, you should be moderate in eating and drinking and not be eager for artificial delicacies, then you will keep the health of your body for a long time, and death will be as the pleasant falling asleep of a worker who became tired in the true vineyard of God. The soul will thereby float away happily and clear-sightedly from the bodily envelopment that has become frail, and will be lead into the indescribable happiness of the Heavens by many friends, and he will be endlessly happy and cheerful because he finally is delivered from this world and its misery.
12
Therefore, whoever will completely and entirely live and act according to My teaching will also entirely be blessed with its happy results. But whoever will not do this completely and entirely, will also receive the blessing accordingly. Have you, My friend, understood this now?"