The Household of God
Volume 1
The early history of mankind
- Chapter 41 -
ENOCH'S CALLING AS A PREACHER
When Adam had ended this speech, which was specially allowed by Me, his innermost was closed once more for the sake of his salvation. But Seth, Enos and Enoch were amazed and unable to grasp the full purport of this speech and asked Adam what he had actually meant by it.
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However, Adam gazed at them in astonishment and was hardly aware that he had spoken and he asked them what he had actually said.
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And Seth said: "O father, behold, you have revealed to us your miraculous coming into existence from the very beginning and showed us the inconceivable guidance of eternal Love. We did not understand it and wanted to ask you for further elucidation. Therefore forgive us our inquisitiveness. Whoever would not be amazed at the things we have just heard from your mouth?"
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But Adam rose in agitation and said: "If you have now heard miraculous things, bear in mind that they do not come from me, but from the Lord. Thus you know also who must first be thanked and praised.
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"Therefore, praise the Lord Who is the very supreme love and wisdom in all holiness and bear in mind that man cannot give another anything, provided he has first received it from the love of the Lord Who alone is the Giver of all good gifts. If I have given you something good, it is not really I, but the Lord Who gave it to you. If you lack light, lift your eyes to the light of heaven and you will easily recognize where the Light of all lights is constantly streaming from, for wherever someone is given a gift the great, holy Giver is not far away. Therefore, seek Him and you will find Him, whereupon the understanding of the grace will come, too.
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"Do heed this, for Adam, the father of all of you, is telling you now, as before, of the transition into existence (i.e., the transition from Lucifer to Adam, the Ed.) thanks to the condescending great mercy of the eternal, exceedingly holy and good Father! Since the Holy, Loving One has done His part, you should do yours also and be obedient in everything! Amen."
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And behold, they bowed to Adam and left, on the way discussing what would have to be done. Enoch, the youngest of them, who because of his exceptional piety was a teacher in My name, said to the patriarchs:
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"Fathers! Adam, the earthly father of all of us, has spoken words full of wisdom and deep significance. We did not understand them, for he spoke not knowing that he had spoken like that. If that is so, we can well understand the depth of his words. Had he spoken as a man, why should we as men not have understood him? But since he spoke - although in human fashion- things out of God with the tongue of the spirit that was a witness of the love in and out of God, our physical being was naturally unable to understand any of that which is of God and the spirit of love.
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"Since this was spoken out of the spirit of love in accordance with the eternal decree of the holiness of Jehovah, this had to be said for the glorification of the most holy name. We do not understand it, short-sighted as we are, but there is One Who does understand it, and that is the eternal Love of the Lord, from which everything that exists has gone forth and, thus, our love for It, too. And I feel that if someone would let his love stream throughout all the parts of his being towards eternal Love out of and in God, he would then understand such words of wisdom, for love is the root of all wisdom and there is nowhere wisdom but in love for the love in God.
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"Therefore, O fathers, we have the root out of God. Let us allow it to sprout into all parts of our life, and my feeling tells me loud and clear, that we are still going to be offered many and great things from eternal Love's sea of grace, even greater and deeper and more sublime than what Adam has told us. As we were born out of Adam and Eve, we have much flesh, but little understanding of the heart. If one day it will be possible for men to be born out of the pure love of God, our understanding will be child's-play to them,"
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And behold, Seth and Enos liked this short instructive speech so much that Enos, turning to Seth, said: "Father Seth, Enoch has now spoken words so full of hidden significance that they penetrated to my very marrow like a stream of fire and my heart trembled at the hidden wisdom of divine love within him.
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"Listen father, his feeling is right as his whole being expresses itself through purest love and meekness. Therefore, he shall in future be for all our brothers and children a general teacher of the hidden wisdom of eternal Love. For although the Lord gave everyone love and understanding of the heart, purely as a grace out of Him, it is on the other hand unfortunately true that not every one of us is capable of lifting the same burden. One has stronger feet, another more strength in his hands, another in his chest or his back, again another in his intestines and, thus, one in this, another in that. Thus, everyone has a human face, but no one looks exactly like another. And so I think that Enoch has great strength and power in his heart and therein no one will be like him. One cannot possess love as one wishes, but only as much as the Lord has given one. Although He has given love to everyone, not all are equal in it. Consequently, the understanding must differ so that one brother is needed by another. Thereby all is evened out that the Lord in His great wisdom has allowed forming unevenly.
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"And you, my dear Enoch, having heard these my words, tell me whether this is not so or whether it can, shall or may be otherwise? Your heart is powerful, and your understanding baffles mine. Therefore, speak and teach the proper ways of the Lord and show all of us His incomprehensible footsteps and teach us to properly praise and glorify the most holy name of the Lord as befits us children of His eternal Love and thereby children of our old father. Amen."
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When the godly Enoch had heard these words full of dignity and sublimity from the mouth of Enos, he asked the two patriarchs: "Will a weak child be fit to preach to those from whom it still has to learn a great deal?"
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But Seth and Enos replied: "Dear Enoch, do you not know what Adam has repeatedly told us? Only with the blessing of the Lord have the patriarchs procreated in the bodies of their children abodes for our younger brothers. And we are only procreators of the bodies, but not also of the love, which is a living spirit out of God's love. We are in the love nothing but brothers and sisters among ourselves and, thus, children of one and the same most holy Father in the high heavens, the eternal abode of the holiness of God Who is a true Father of all of us. Therefore, do go on preaching in your love and be assured that we will well distinguish the tongue of the brother and that of the child with the grace of God. For he who preaches love, speaks as a brother out of the heart of eternal Love, and his word will be like a rising sun whose light with its warmth drives off the mists from the dark furrows of the earth. But if someone preached only out of the wisdom given to him, his teaching would be like the light of the sun at midday, which no longer warms, but burns mightily and unbearably, making one want to flee from its glaring rays and their burning heat into the densest shade.
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"You, dear Enoch, have within you only a great fountain of love but not of plain wisdom. So let your divine morning sun raise for us, your brothers in God!"
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And Enoch replied: "Dear fathers, if this is so, as my feeling out of God is telling me it is, you have spoken correctly. However, you have forgotten one thing, which is extremely important, namely, that everyone may freely speak, and act for the glory of God in whatever way and whenever he wishes; but only he can preach in His name that has been inspired from above. Only you have given me this, but not yet from above and therefore I preach only before you. But when I shall be given it from above too, only then can and may I preach the great power of the name of eternal Love to all brothers. Concerning the proper manner of praising the great Name, you, dear fathers, know anyway which kind of praise and glorification is most pleasing to the Lord, and you also know that neither words nor gestures, thoughts or ceremonial rites are of any value, but that only love and obedience are to Him the most pleasing offering we humans can bring Him. - He who is the God and Father of all of us knows exactly what He intends with us and therefore His holy will be done at all times. Amen."
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"Indeed," said Seth, "also these words of yours, dear Enoch, were full of wisdom out of the boundless love of the Lord and were like a beautiful morning, rising within you and gently illuminating our furrows. Look, Enoch, all truth is a light issuing from the gentle flame of eternal Love; and this most beautiful and glorious light is the true morning-sun of the heart. It is the only light, and except for this there is no light, and even the sunlight is only a faint reflection of this glorious, sole light of eternal Love. This light is shining ever so gently in your heart, and it always refreshes us and warms our hearts with great thoughts worthy of our holy Father. Yes, when you speak I feel as if I were hearing harmonies from a world, which will one day arise for our late descendants like a great stream of light from God's eternal morning. Behold, this is how much the speech of your heart refreshes us. So do not be silent, but speak allowing your heart free expression and show us what I and Enos desire."
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When Enoch had heard this, he raised his eyes towards heaven and spoke softly in his heart to Me: "Holy Father, look graciously down upon me, Your weak child. Behold, I am supposed to give, yet have nothing but my love for You. O Father, we are all worms in the dust before You, You almighty, eternal, holy Father. There is nothing good in us, except our love for You, which originally has come into us from You. O good, holy Father, let us love You with this Your love within us with all our heart and with all our strength. For what can I, who am so weak, say since my love for You always inhibits my tongue? As You know I am unable to praise and glorify You as my love for You paralyses my tongue.
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"Therefore, O Father, look graciously down upon me, a dusty worm, and loosen my tongue if it be Your holy will that I become able to speak before my fathers, brothers and children, for the glorification of Your name. - You know that Enos, Kenan, Mahalaleel and my father Jared have always proclaimed the great glory of Your holy name, so do not let me be an unworthy son of my devout fathers!"
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And behold, when Enoch had in his loving heart silently spoken this little prayer, which was a true prayer - the only kind that is pleasing to Me and will remain so forever since it is a proper prayer - I had an angel descend to earth to strengthen his brother Enoch and fully loosen his tongue. When this had happened, Enoch took courage from his love and began to speak, as follows:
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"O dear fathers and beloved of God, look, my love for God has for a short time rendered me blind, deaf and dumb. The Lord has looked at me in my love and in His boundless love strengthened me and loosened my feeble tongue. All this eternal Love has just now done for me. Only now can and may I speak, and so you shall hear the praise of the holy Father.
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"Behold, this is the will of God, Who is full of love, that man shall love Him with all his strength, for there is nowhere any other might or power but God alone. Thus all strength in man is nothing but strength of the love out of God. This strength was planted in our heart and is nothing else but love itself. Since we now have love we must not keep it to ourselves, but offer it to Him Who in such a wondrous way has in His grace planted it superabundantly in our hearts.
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"We possess nothing we could give the Lord which we have not first received from Him. And could we please Him if we were able to give Him even the whole earth, indeed, the entire world? He would say to us: 'Children, I do not need this in eternity, for if worlds could give me pleasure I could every moment create for Myself countless billions of them and would have for Eternities of eternities also sufficient room for them. Not your sacrifices prepared from matter, which is a house of death, please Me, but only a remorseful and penitent heart that loves Me. That is yours alone as a free gift from Me; you are its full owners. If you wish you might return it to Me and I will enter it with My grace. Then you will live forever with the grace in My eternal Love, and everything shall become dear like a drop of water. However, if you yourselves take possession of your heart and bolt the door against Me preventing My entering when I wish it, you will soon have consumed your bread of life within you; and since I, as the sole Giver of the bread of life, am no longer admitted with My gift of life, eternal death will be the necessary consequence of the self-love and selfconceit within you.
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'For behold,' continues the Lord, 'I do not enjoy the taking, but My greatest bliss consists solely in constant giving! Whoever wishes to receive, let him always accept willingly what I give him and let him fill his heart with My grace so that one day My love may fully enter it. For he whose heart is not completely filled with My love will never taste life within him, but death will hold him in bondage throughout. Now is the time to give first My grace to everyone and only then love out of Me until the great Time of times. Then love will be the first and all those who have no love will never receive the light of grace, but the light of the world will destroy them all'
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"And look, dear fathers, do listen to my speech and hear what more the Father has to say. And these are His words: 'Listen, children of My mercy, My grace is a great treasure and there is nothing on earth like it. My grace is a true light from the height of My holiness, as My love is a true food of life. Whoever has not received My grace cannot believe that it is I out of Whom all life keeps flowing forever and he who has no faith is like the animals and is subject to judgment wherever he is. However, if there were one who recognized Me in his love, over such a one streams of grace would be poured and he would then already in advance share in what one day in the great Time of times will be given to those men on earth who are of good will.
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"Therefore, believe so that one day you may attain to love and thereby to live. Love Me in your spirit and let all the works of your hands and your will bear witness to the life within you and let your tongue tell you that you are children of God. I shall judge people according to their faith, but My children I shall lead in My love and the light of My wisdom shall become an eternal light to them illuminating the most blissful life in Me, their most loving and holiest Father, now and in all Eternities of eternities. Amen.'
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"O dear fathers, have you heard what the Lord has spoken?" And Seth answered: "Yes, beloved Enoch, we have heard it clearly, but we do not fare much better with it than with Adam's story. For all of us do have grace, but too little love!"