The Great Gospel of John
Volume 9
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord in Jesaira
- Chapter 139 -
Explanation of the Lord about the planet Mars.
Then we continued viewing the surroundings, and our skipper, who had exceptionally sharp eyes, saw a ship at a certain distance that navigated into our direction, and he asked Me: "O Lord and Master, who can bring that ship so late in the evening to this place?"
2
I said: "It brings one of My disciples. But do not talk much with him when he will be with us, for he also is someone who prefers a pound of yellow earth, which they call gold, then the whole Heaven with the treasures of the spirit and of eternal life."
3
The disciples understood Me, as well as our Kisjona and Philopold, but the innkeeper and the 12 fishermen did not quite understand what I meant with that. However, no one asked Me anything further because a servant came now to us to tell us that the evening meal was ready.
4
We stood up immediately from our seats that were placed on the terrace, and we went home where the tables with bread, wine and excellently prepared fishes were waiting for us in a very spacious hall. So we went to sit down immediately at the table and partook of the meal.
5
After we had strengthened us with food and drink, and had talked with each other about all kinds of useful things, in which also Mary was very actively involved, our Judas Iscariot came to us in the hall and excused himself to Me that he had not been able to follow us earlier.
6
I said: "Your worldly businesses are of no concern to Me. Do you then still not know why I have come into this world? He who adheres to the world and loves it, will soon or later - but always certainly - receive the reward that the world keeps always ready for its friends, and that reward is called: death.
7
However, My Kingdom is not of this world, and he who adheres to Me will not receive death as reward but eternal life in My Kingdom. My other disciples, except of a few, have also woman and children at home, and still, they stayed with Me for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Then why did you go to your family, as if your concern for them is greater than that for Me? Write this into your worldly heart."
8
Although these words of Mine were not so pleasing to the worldly minded disciple, but he nevertheless controlled himself and thanked Me for the admonition. And I said to the innkeeper that he should give him something to eat and to drink at another table. The innkeeper did that immediately, and the disciple sat down and took bread and wine. However, he did not receive any fishes because there were no more available and the disciple had already had his fill with fishes in Kis.
9
Then we sat very cheerfully at our table, and I Myself instructed the 12 fishermen in My teaching about the Kingdom of God in man and made all this clear and understandable to them from the Scripture.
10
When I was busy like this for about 2 hours with the 12 fishermen, and had finished My teaching for that day and evening, a servant came almost out of breath from the house to us in the hall and said: "Dear lords, I was working on the terrace and looked into the direction of the sunrise. There I discovered an extremely big star that stands very close to the horizon. Its light is red like blood, but also so strong that you cannot look at it for a long time. I never saw this kind of star before. What will this star mean? The Lord and Savior of Nazareth, whose wisdom is, as they say, superior to that of Salomon, will certainly know best what that star means."
11
I said: "My dear friend, you have not been a servant of this house for a long time, since you have not come to know the Lord Savior of Nazareth better yet. But it is also understandable that you still do not know better your Lord Savior of Nazareth because before you were for a longer time a servant of a Pharisee in Capernaum. But where is your star that made you so afraid?"
12
Now the servant said somewhat shyly: "Yes, in that case the lords should come outside for a while, because from this hall you cannot see it because the windows are not directed to the sunrise, but are just towards the other side."
13
I said: "Then we will go outside for a while to see what kind of star made you so afraid."
14
Then we walked outside and saw the red, big star in the east at once, which was now standing already higher above the horizon, by which the red color had greatly changed, although the light was exceptionally strong.
15
Now I asked all those who were present and also looked at the star with somewhat anxious eyes: "Now, what do you think about this star? Do you know it or do you not know it? For you, My disciple Andreas, this star should truly not be strange because you are an astronomer."
16
Andreas said: "Truly, Lord and Master, the constellation wherein it stands I do know, it is the Lion, as this constellation is already called of old, but the star I do not know. The color looks like that of the planet Mars, as it is called by the gentiles, but the size does not correspond with the named planet."
17
I said: "And still, it is the planet that you just named. That it looks much bigger this year than usual is because it is now positioned the closest to the Earth. The changeable position of all the planets in relation to the sun and also in relation to each other has already been shown and explained to you on suitable occasions many times, and it also was shown to you that the planets can really come close to each other and also draw away from each other depending on how they were in a certain position through their orbit around the sun. And you still do not understand such completely natural phenomena, and by that you even become afraid in your mind, by which fear it very easily can become receptive to all kinds of superstition of the gentiles.
18
Look, as already said, this planet is now located the closest to the Earth, and also to the sun, for the reasons that have been explained to you. And for this reason it looks quite bigger than when it is located far from the Earth, like every object that is closer by will also express and show itself to be bigger than from a greater distance. Do you understand this now?"
19
Andreas said now: "Lord and Master, now this matter is again completely clear to me, and certainly also to all the others, and from now on we will no more break our head from a fearful mind on such occurrences.
20
But since this star has brought us outside anyway, I gladly would like to briefly hear from Your mouth how most of the nations that are known to us, have come to believe that this star inflicts war among the nations, especially when it shows itself bigger to the human eye, just like now because of its nearness, for which reason it then also received the name of the pagan god of war, and many gentiles are also considering him to be the god of war himself and therefore also fear him."
21
I said: "Do you still not know that all those extremely cunning priests of every people - who in their blindness, which is also a work of such priests, consider them servants and friends of the gods - know how to make use of all exceptional phenomena, and namely those at the firmament, to instill great fear and fright in them, partly through their words and partly through their deceitful arts in order to force them to bring greater offerings and other penances? Look, this also is a work of the priests, and in the course of time, also the kings of the Earth mostly originated from them.
22
This star, because of its stronger atmosphere as celestial body, has a somewhat redder color than a planet with a less strong atmosphere. And its alternate strong and weak light intensity - but always with a reddish light - brought the priests soon upon the idea to call it a star of war before the people. If it was seen bigger, then coming wars were predicted to the people, and they started to give offerings.
23
But if here and there among the people there was someone who told the people that the priests only wanted to exploit this opportunity and that the star as such was a completely harmless planet, and the people believed that wise man and brought little or no offerings at all to the priests, then the priests were very skilled to bring about enmities between the nations and let them inflame to war. These were then fought with the greatest bitterness and cruelty. Then the people ran massively to the priests in their temples and offered to the gods to make them milder. When at such malicious opportunities the priests had made a great profit, they tried to make the rulers milder again and the war was soon ended.
24
If you have understood this now, then you also will perceive how our planet was honored to be considered as the god of the wars. But now we will leave this star alone. We go home and there we will go to rest."