The Household of God
Volume 2
Rise and spiritual prime of the first world empire Hanoch
- Chapter 147 -
THE CONTROVERSY CONCERNING THE EXISTENCE OF THE MAN UNDER JUDGMENT AND THAT OF THE FREE MAN. ENOCH'S EMBARRASSMENT
After these mutual remarks by Abedam and Enoch the unknown speaker turned again to Enoch asking him:
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"Listen, dear Enoch, you who were ordained as the Lord's chief servant: I and this brother beside me disagree in a certain point - that is, we do not disagree in the heart, but only a little in the light -; however, since you as a chief servant by virtue of your love for Him and out of this for all the brothers have been endowed with the most light, enlighten us on that on which we cannot agree.
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This is the point dividing us in the light: I say it within myself that also the man under judgment is alive; however, he lives a life under compulsion whereas the free, unjudged man lives an absolute, uncoerced life.
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"Thus a life under judgment is a life of sin, but an unjudged life a life of love; hence there is no death, but merely a difference in the quality of life.
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"Look, this is what I think; but the brother here says:
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"A life under judgment is by no means a life, but merely a crassest death! For a life under judgment is like a thrown stone which, though flying through the air like a bird, does this only as long as the projectile force carries it along. Once this ceases, it promptly falls down to earth completely inert, whereas the bird can move freely in all directions.'
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"Indeed, he even adds: 'Presuming the stone had been thrown with such force as to compel it to move on forever in the endlessness of space, the question arises as to whether the stone owing to this everlasting flight is alive - or nevertheless completely dead.'
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"Look, dear Enoch, this is therefore our crack of light which we ask you to rectify, but in a manner that it will be sufficiently clear to each of us what you want to tell us about it."
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Here Enoch pondered in his heart without, however, finding an answer to his question. For, probing one sentence he found it completely correct, - and doing it with the second, this one again was infallibly correct. And so despite his ruminations and comparisons he could find no answer.
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And when - as always on such occasions - he turned to Jehovah in the love of his heart, the answer sounded something like one statement being as correct as the other.
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Therefore, Enoch became greatly embarrassed, being unable to come to a conclusion.
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The stranger was calmly waiting for the answer which was not forthcoming. But Abedam drew Enoch to him and said to him in an aside: "Brother Enoch, if the high Abedam during the time of His presence among us has not let us run into trouble with the allotted offices, my name is not Abedam the Foolish.
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"Just take these two - of all things from the evening region! .. - and me as a supposedly most awakened leader among them.
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"For me, with all my supposed cleverness, half of such a question should be more than sufficient to silence my wisdom for all eternity.
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"Supposing they had turned to me with these two crucial questions, - O Lord, what would suddenly have become of me? Truly, I would have perished like a dirty drop of water falling into the fire of the sun.
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"And, as you have heard yourself, He has set me up as the main leader of the brothers from the evening.
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"Brother, - if this does not mean running into trouble, by my poor soul I do not know what to do to get someone into even more trouble!
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"Of course, He has told us all many times that everything depended on love; that with love we could do everything.
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"Brother, I love - and have loved - God always with all my strength, and I could eat all people out of sheer love, - yet with all that I am as ignorant as one could ever be!
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"What do you think? - I believe secretly that in Abedam, Jehovah gave us a new touchstone by which to maybe probe our steadfastness; otherwise my persistent foolishness in connection with my calling would be to me more incomprehensible than a star that has never risen. - What do you, dear brother, reckon in this respect?"
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Here Enoch became even more embarrassed and in the end could only utter these few words:
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"Brother, believe me, you in your simplicity are more fortunate than I with all my supposed wisdom;
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"Therefore, I will only proclaim love and at all times forget about such wisdom-tricks.
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"For in these two statements each is basically right, - yet there is a tremendous difference between them; however, it is a different question of how to make it apparent.
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"What is a life under compulsion - and what again is death?
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This decision let us postpone for better times. And in this sense let us also deal with these two; for I cannot talk about what I do not understand. - Surely you understand me?"