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The ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE | |
Book One | |
The Original Hebrew and Aramaic Texts | |
Translated and edited by | |
EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY | |
MCMLXXXI | |
INTERNATIONAL BIOGENIC SOCIETY | |
Book Design by Golondrina Graohics | |
Copyright @ 1981, by the International Biogenic Society | |
Printed In the United States of America-All Rights Reserved | |
And then many sick and maimed came to Jesus, asking him. "if you know all things, tell us, why | |
do we suffer with these grievous plagues? Why are we not whole like other men? Master, heal | |
us, that we too may be made strong, and need abide no longer in our misery. We know that you | |
have it in your power to heal all manner of disease. Free us from Satan and from all his great | |
afflictions. Master, have compassion on us." | |
And Jesus answered- "Happy are you that you hunger for the truth, for I will satisfy you with the | |
bread of wisdom. Happy are you, that you knock, for I will open to you the door of life. Happy | |
are you, that you would cast off the power of Satan, for I will lead you into the kingdom of our | |
Mother's angels, where the power of Satan cannot enter." | |
And they asked him in amazement: "Who is our Mother and which her angels? And where is her | |
kingdom?" | |
"Your Mother is in you, and you in her. She bore you she gives you life. it was she who gave to | |
you your body, and to her shall you one day give it back again. Happy are you when you come to | |
know her and her kingdom; if you receive your Mother's angels and if you do her laws. I tell you | |
truly, he who does these things shall never see disease. For the power of our Mother is above all. | |
And it destroys Satan and his kingdom, and has rule over all your bodies and all living things. | |
"The blood which runs in us is born of the blood of our Earthly Mother. Her blood falls from the | |
clouds; leaps from the womb of the earth; babbles in the brooks of the mountains; flows wide in | |
the rivers of the plains; sleeps in the lakes; rages mightily in tempestuous seas. | |
"The air which we breathe is born of the breath of our Earthly Mother. Her breath is azure in the | |
heights of t heavens; soughs in the tops of the mountains; whispers the leaves of the forest; | |
billows over the cornfields; slumbers in the deep valleys, burns hot in the desert. | |
"The hardness of our bones is born of the bones of our Earthly Mother, of the rocks and of the | |
stones. They stand naked to the heavens on the tops of mountains; are as giants that lie sleeping | |
on the sides of the mountains, as idols set in the desert, and are hidden in the deepness of the | |
earth. | |
"The tenderness of our flesh is born of the flesh of our Earthly Mother; whose flesh waxes | |
yellow and red in the fruits of the trees, and nurtures us in the furrows of the fields. | |
"Our bowels are born of the bowels of our Earthly Mother, and are hid from our eyes, like the | |
invisible depths of the earth. | |
"The light of our eyes, the hearing of our ears, both are born of the colors and the sounds of our | |
Earthly Mother; which enclose us about, as the waves of the sea a fish, as the eddying air a bird. | |
"T tell you in very truth, Man is the Son of the Earthly Mother, and from her did the Son of Man | |
receive his whole body, even as the body of the newborn babe is born of the womb of his | |
mother. I tell you truly, you are one with the Earthly Mother; she is in you, and you in her. Of | |
her were you born, in her do you live, and to her shall you return again. Keep, therefore, her | |
laws, for none can live long, neither be happy, but he who honors his Earthly Mother and | |
does her laws. For your breath is her breath; your blood her blood; your bone her bone; your | |
flesh her flesh; your bowels her bowels; your eyes and your ears are her eyes and her ears. | |
"T tell you truly, should you fail to keep but one only of all these laws, should you harm but one | |
only of all your body's members, you shall be utterly lost in your grievous sickness, and there | |
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I tell you, unless you follow the laws of your Mother, | |
you can in no wise escape death. And he who clings to the laws of his Mother, to him shall his | |
Mother cling also. She shall heal all his plagues, and he shall never become sick. She gives him | |
long life, and protects him from all afflictions; from fire, from water, from the bite of venomous | |
serpents. For your Mother bore you, keeps life within you. She has given you her body, and none | |
but she heals you. Happy is he who loves his Mother and lies quietly in her bosom. For your | |
Mother loves you, even when you turn away from her. And how much more shall she love you, | |
if you turn to her again? I tell you truly, very great is her love, greater than the greatest of | |
mountains, deeper than the deepest seas. And those who love their Mother, she never deserts | |
them. As the hen protects her chickens, as the lioness her cubs, as the mother her newborn babe, | |
so does the Earthly Mother protect the Son of Man from all danger and from all evils. | |
"For I tell you truly, evils and dangers innumerable lie in wait for the Sons of Men. Beelzebub, | |
the prince of all devils, the source of every evil, lies in wait in the body of all the Sons of Men. | |
He is death, the lord of every plague, and taking upon him a pleasing raiment, he tempts and | |
entices the Sons of Men. Riches does he promise, and power, and splendid palaces, and garments | |
of gold and silver, and a multitude of servants, all these; he promises renown and glory, | |
fornication and lustfulness, gluttony and wine-bibbing, riotous living, and slothfulness and idle | |
days. And he entices every one by that to which their heart is most inclined. And in the day that | |
the Sons of Men have already become the slaves of all these vanities and abominations, then in | |
payment thereof he snatches from the Sons of Men all those things which the Earthly Mother | |
gave them so abundantly. He takes from them their breath, their blood, their bone, their flesh, | |
their bowels, their eyes and their ears. And the breath of the Son of Man becomes short and | |
stifled, full of pain and evil-smelling, like the breath of unclean beasts. And his blood becomes | |
thick and evil-smelling, like the water of the swamps; it clots and blackens, like the night of | |
death. And his bone becomes hard and knotted; it melts away within and breaks asunder, as a | |
stone falling down upon a rock. And his flesh waxes fat and watery; it rots and putrefies, with | |
scabs and boils that are an abomination. | |
And his bowels become full with abominable filthiness, with oozing streams of decay; and | |
multitudes of abominable worms have their habitation there. And his eyes grow dim, till dark | |
night enshrouds them, and his ears become stopped, like the silence of the grave. And last of all | |
shall the erring Son of Man lose life. For he kept not the laws of his Mother, and added sin to sin. | |
Therefore, are taken from him all the gifts of the Earthly Mother: breath, blood, bone, flesh, | |
bowels, eyes and ears, and after all else, life, with which the Earthly Mother crowned his body. | |
"But if the erring Son of Man be sorry for his sins and undo them, and return again to his Earthly | |
Mother; and if he do his Earthly Mother's laws and free himself from Satan's clutches, resisting | |
his temptations, then does the Earthly Mother receive again her erring Son with love and sends | |
him her angels that they may serve him. I tell you truly, when the Son of Man resists the Satan | |
that dwells in him and does not his will, in the same hour are found the Mother's angels there, | |
that they may serve him with all their power and free utterly the Son of Man from the power of | |
Satan. | |
"For no man can serve two masters. For either he serves Beelzebub and his devils or else he | |
serves our Earthly Mother and her angels. Either he serves death or he serves life. I ten you truly, | |
happy are those that do the laws of life and wander not upon the paths of death. For in them the | |
forces of life wax strong and they escape the plagues of death." | |
And all those round about him listened to his words with amazement, for his word was with | |
power, and he taught quite otherwise than the priests and scribes. | |
And though the sun was now set, they departed not to their homes. They sat round about Jesus | |
and asked him: "Master, which are these laws of life? Rest with us awhile longer and teach us. | |
We would listen to your teaching that we may be healed and become righteous." | |
And Jesus himself sat down in their midst and said: "I tell you truly, none can be happy, except | |
he do the Law." | |
And the others answered: "We all do the laws of Moses, our lawgiver, even as they are written in | |
the holy scriptures." | |
And Jesus answered: "Seek not the law in your scriptures, for the law is life, whereas the | |
scripture is dead. I tell you truly, Moses received not his laws from God in writing, but through | |
the living word. The law is living word of living God to living prophets for living men. In | |
everything that is life is the law written. You find it in the grass, in the tree, in the river, in the | |
mountain, in the birds of heaven, in the fishes of the sea; but seek it chiefly in yourselves. For I | |
tell you truly, all living things are nearer to God than the scripture which is without life. God so | |
made life and all living things that they might by the everlasting word teach the laws of the true | |
God to man. God wrote not the laws in the pages of books, but in your heart and in your spirit. | |
They are in your breath, your blood, your bone; in your flesh, your bowels, your eyes, your ears, | |
and in every little part of your body. They are present in the air, in the water, in the earth, in the | |
plants, in th e sunbeams, in the depths and in the heights. They all speak to you that you may | |
understand the tongue and the will of the living God. But you shut your eyes that you may not | |
see, and you shut your ears that you may not hear. I tell you truly, that the scripture is the work | |
of man, but life and all its hosts are the work of our God. Wherefore do you not listen to the | |
words of God which are written in His works? And wherefore do you study the dead scriptures | |
which are the work of the hands of men?" | |
"How may we read the laws of God elsewhere than in the scriptures? Where are they written? | |
Read them to us from there where you see them, for we know nothing else but the scriptures | |
which we have inherited from our forefathers. Tell us the laws of which you speak, that hearing | |
them we may be healed and justified." | |
Jesus said: "You do not understand the words of life, because you are in death. Darkness darkens | |
your eyes and your ears are stopped with deafness. For I tell you, it profits you not at all that you | |
pore over dead scriptures if by your deeds you deny him who has given you the scriptures. | |
I tell you truly, God and his laws are not in that which you do. They are not in gluttony and in | |
wine-bibbing, neither in riotous living, nor in lustfulness, nor in seeking after riches, nor yet in | |
hatred of your enemies. For all these things are far from the true God and from his angels. But all | |
these things come from the kingdom of darkness and the lord of all evils. And all these things do | |
you carry in yourselves; and so the word and the power of God enter not into you, because all | |
manner of evil and all manner of abominations have their dwelling in your body and your spirit. | |
If you will that the living God's word and his power may enter you, defile not your body and | |
your spirit; for the body is the temple of the spirit, and the spirit is the temple of God. Purify, | |
therefore, the temple, that the Lord of the temple may dwell therein and occupy a place that is | |
worthy of him. | |
"And from all temptations of your body and your spirit, coming from Satan, withdraw beneath | |
the shadow of God's heaven. | |
"Renew yourselves and fast. For I tell you truly, that Satan and his plagues may only be cast out | |
by -fasting and by prayer. Go by yourself and fast alone, and show your fasting to no man. The | |
living God shall see it and great shall be your reward. And fast till Beelzebub and all his evils | |
depart from you, and all the angels of our Earthly Mother come and serve you. For I tell you | |
truly, except you fast, you shall never be freed from the power of Satan and from all diseases that | |
come from Satan. Fast and pray fervently, seeking the power of the living God for your healing. | |
While you fast, eschew the Sons of Men and seek our Earthly Mother's angels, for he that seeks | |
shall find. | |
"Seek the fresh air of the forest and of the fields, and there in the midst of them shall you find the | |
angel of air. Put off your shoes and your clothing and suffer the angel of air to embrace all your | |
body. Then breathe long and deeply, that the angel of air may be brought within you. I tell you | |
truly, the angel of air shall cast out of your body all uncleannesses which defiled it without and | |
within. And thus shall all evil-smelling and unclean things rise out of you, as the smoke of fire | |
curls upwards and is lost in the sea of the air. For I tell you truly, holy is the angel of air, who | |
cleanses all that is unclean and makes all evil-smelling things of a sweet odor. No man may | |
come before the face of God, whom the angel of air lets not pass. Truly, all must be born again | |
by air and by truth, for your body breathes the air of the Earthly Mother, and your spirit breathes | |
the truth of the Heavenly Father. | |
"After the angel of air, seek the angel of water. Put off your shoes and your clothing and | |
suffer the angel of water to embrace all your body. Cast yourselves wholly into his enfolding | |
arms, and as often as you move the air with your breath, move with your body the water also. I | |
tell you truly, the angel of water shall cast out of your body all uncleannesses which defiled it | |
without and within. And all unclean and evil-smelling things shall flow out of you, even as the | |
uncleannesses of garments washed in water flow away and are lost in the stream of the river. I | |
tell you truly, holy is the angel of water who cleanses all that is unclean and makes all evil- | |
smelling things of a sweet odor. No man may come before the face of God whom the angel of | |
water lets not pass. in very truth, all must be born again of water and of truth, for your | |
body bathes in the river of earthly life, and your spirit bathes in the river of life everlasting. | |
For you receive your blood from our Earthly Mother and the truth from our Heavenly Father. | |
"Think not that it is sufficient that the angel of water embrace you outwards only. I tell you truly, | |
the uncleanness within is greater by much than the uncleanness without. And he who cleanses | |
himself without, but within remains unclean, is like to tombs that outwards are painted fair, but | |
are within full of all manner of horrible uncleannesses and abominations. So I tell you truly, | |
suffer the angel of water to baptize you also within, that you may become free from all your | |
past sins, and that within likewise you may become as pure as the river's foam sporting in | |
the sunlight. | |
"Seek, therefore, a large trailing gourd, having a stalk the length of a man; take out its inwards | |
and fill it with water from the river which the sun has warmed. Hang it upon the branch of a tree, | |
and kneel upon the ground before the angel of water, and suffer the end of the stalk of the trailing | |
gourd to enter your hinder parts, that the water may flow through all your bowels. Afterwards | |
rest kneeling on the ground before the angel of water and pray to the living God that he will | |
forgive you all your past sins, and pray the angel of water that he will free your body from every | |
uncleanness and disease. Then let the water run out from your body, that it may carry away from | |
within it all the unclean and evil-smelling things of Satan. And you shall see with your eyes and | |
smell with your nose all the abominations, and uncleannesses which defiled the temple of your | |
body; even all the sins which abode in your body, tormenting you with all manner of pains. I tell | |
you truly, baptism with water frees you from all of these. Renew your baptizing with water | |
on every day of your fast, till the day when you see that the water which flows out of you is | |
as pure as the river's foam. Then betake your body to the coursing river, and there in the arms | |
of the angel of water render thanks to the living God that he has freed you from your sins. And | |
this holy baptizing by the angel of water is: Rebirth unto the new life. For your eyes shall | |
henceforth see, and your ears shall hear. Sin no more, therefore, after your baptism, that the | |
angels of air and of water may eternally abide in you and serve you evermore. | |
"And if afterward there remain within you aught of your past sins and uncleannesses, seek the | |
angel of sunlight. Put off your shoes and your clothing and suffer the angel of sunlight to | |
embrace all your body. Then breathe long and deeply, that the angel of sunlight may be brought | |
within you. And the angel of sunlight shall cast out of your body all evil-smelling and unclean | |
things which defiled it without and within. And all unclean and evil-smelling things shall rise | |
from you, even as the darkness of night fades before the brightness of the rising sun. For I tell | |
you truly, holy is the angel of sunlight who cleans out all uncleannesses and makes all evil- | |
smelling things of a sweet odor. None may come before the face of God, whom the angel of | |
sunlight lets not pass. Truly, all must be born again of sun and of truth, for your body basks in | |
the sunlight of the Earthly Mother, and your spirit basks in the sunlight of the truth of the | |
Heavenly Father. | |
"The angels of air and of water and of sunlight are brethren. They were given to the Son of Man | |
that they might serve him, and that he might go always from one to the other. | |
"Holy, likewise, is their embrace. They are indivisible children of the Earthly Mother, so do not | |
you put asunder those whom earth and heaven have made one. Let these three brother angels | |
enfold you every day and let them abide with you through all your fasting. | |
"For I tell you truly, the power of devils, all sins and uncleannesses shall depart in haste from | |
that body which is embraced by these three angels. As thieves flee from a deserted house at the | |
coming of the lord of the house, one by the door, one by the window, and the third by the roof, | |
each where he is found, and whither he is able, even so shall flee from your bodies all devils of | |
evil, all past sins, and all uncleannesses and diseases which defiled the temple of your bodies. | |
When the Earthly Mother's angels enter into your bodies, in such wise that the lords of the | |
temple repossess it again, then shall all evil smells depart in haste by your breath and by your | |
skin, corrupt waters by your mouth and by your skin, by your hinder and your privy parts. And | |
all these things you shall see with your eyes and smell with your nose and touch with your hands. | |
And when all sins and uncleannesses are gone from your body, your blood shall become as pure | |
as our Earthly Mother's blood and as the river's foam sporting in the sunlight. And your breath | |
shall become as pure as the breath of odorous flowers; your flesh as pure as the flesh of fruits | |
reddening upon the leaves of trees; the light of your eye as clear and bright as the brightness of | |
the sun shining upon the blue sky. And now shall all the angels of the Earthly Mother serve you. | |
And your breath, your blood, your flesh shall be one with the breath, the blood and the flesh of | |
the Earthly Mother, that your spirit also may become one with the spirit of your Heavenly Father. | |
For truly, no one can reach the Heavenly Father unless through the Earthly Mother. Even as no | |
newborn babe can understand the teaching of his father till his mother has suckled him, bathed | |
him, nursed him, put him to sleep and nurtured him. While the child is yet small, his place is | |
with his mother and he must obey his mother. When the child is grown up, his father takes him | |
to work at his side in the field, and the child comes back to his mother o nly when the hour of | |
dinner and supper is come. And now his father teaches him, that he may become skilled in the | |
works of his father. And when the father sees that his son understands his teaching and does his | |
work well, he gives him all his possessions, that they may belong to his beloved son, and that his | |
son may continue his father's work. I tell you truly, happy is that son who accepts the counsel of | |
his mother and walks therein. And a hundred times more happy is that son who accepts and | |
walks also in the counsel of his father, for it was said to you: 'Honor thy father and thy mother | |
that thy days may be long upon this earth.’ But I say to you, Sons of Man: Honor your Earthly | |
Mother and keep all her laws, that your days may be long on this earth, and honor your Heavenly | |
Father that Eternal Life may be yours in the heavens. For the Heavenly Father is a hundred times | |
greater than all fathers by seed and by blood, and greater is the Earthly Mother than all mothers | |
by the body. And d earer is the Son of Man in the eyes of his Heavenly Father and of his Earthly | |
Mother than are children in the eyes of their fathers by seed and by blood and of their mothers by | |
the body. And more wise are the words and laws of your Heavenly Father and of your Earthly | |
Mother than the words and the will of all fathers by seed and by blood, and of all mothers by the | |
body. And of more worth also is the inheritance of your Heavenly Father and of your Earthly | |
Mother, the everlasting kingdom of earthly and heavenly life, than all the inheritances of your | |
fathers by seed and by blood, and of your mothers by the body. | |
"And your true brothers are all those who do the will of your Heavenly Father and of your | |
Earthly Mother, and not your brothers by blood. I tell you truly, that your true brothers in the | |
will of the Heavenly Father and of the Earthly Mother will love you a thousand times more than | |
your brothers by blood. For since the days of Cain and Abel, when brothers by blood | |
transgressed the will of God, there is no true brotherhood by blood. And brothers do unto | |
brothers as do strangers. Therefore, I say to you, love your true brothers in the will of God a | |
thousand times more than your brothers by blood. | |
FOR YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS LOVE. | |
FOR YOUR EARTHLY MOTHER IS LOVE. | |
FOR THE SON OF MAN IS LOVE. | |
"It is by love, that the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother and the Son of Man become one. | |
For the spirit of the Son of Man was created from the spirit of the Heaven Father, and his body | |
from the body of the Earthly Mother. Become, therefore, perfect as the spirit of your Heavenly | |
Father and the body of your Earthly Mother are perfect. And so love your Heavenly Father, as he | |
loves your spirit. And so love your Earthly Mother, as she loves your body. And so love your | |
true brothers, as your Heavenly Father and your Earthly Mother love them. And then your | |
Heavenly Father shall give you his holy spirit, and your Earthly Mother shall give you her holy | |
body. And then shall the Sons of Men like true brothers give love one to another, the love which | |
they received from their Heavenly Father and from their Earthly Mother; and they shall all | |
become comforters one of another. And then shall disappear from the earth all evil and all | |
sorrow, and there shall be love and joy upon earth. And then shall the earth be like the heavens, | |
and the kingdom of God shall come. And then shall come the Son of Man in all his glory, to | |
inherit the kingdom of God. And then shall the Sons of Men divide their divine inheritance, the | |
kingdom of God. For the Sons of Men live in the Heavenly Father and in the Earthly Mother, and | |
the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother live in them. And then with the kingdom of God | |
shall come the end of the times. For the Heavenly Father's love gives to all life everlasting in the | |
kingdom of God. For love is eternal. Love is stronger than death. | |
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become as | |
sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Though I tell what is to come, and know all secrets, and all | |
wisdom; and though I have faith strong as the storm which lifts mountains from their seat, but | |
have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and give all my | |
fire that I have received from my Father, but have not love, I am in no wise profited. Love is | |
patient, love is kind. Love is not envious, works not evil, knows not pride; is not rude, neither | |
selfish; is slow to anger, imagines no mischief; rejoices not in injustice, but delights in justice. | |
Love defends all, love believes all, love hopes all, love bears all; never exhausts itself; but as for | |
tongues they shall cease, and, as for knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we have truth in part, | |
and error in part, but when the fullness of perfection is come, that which is in part shall be | |
blotted out. When a man was a child he spoke as a child, understood as a child, thought as a | |
child; but when he became a man he put away childish things. For now we see through a glass | |
and through dark sayings. Now we know in part, but when we are come before the face of God, | |
we shall not know in part, but even as we are taught by him. And now remain these three: faith | |
and hope and love; but the greatest of these is love. | |
"And now I speak to you in the living tongue of the living God, through the holy spirit of our | |
Heavenly Father. There is none yet among you that can understand all this of which I speak. He | |
who expounds to you the scriptures speaks to you in a dead tongue of dead men, through his | |
diseased and mortal body. Him, therefore, can all men understand, for all men are diseased and | |
all are in death. No one sees the light of life. Blind man leads blind on the dark paths of sins, | |
diseases and sufferings; and at the last all fall into the pit of death. | |
"I am sent to you by the Father, that I may make the light of life to shine before you. The light | |
lightens itself and the darkness, but the darkness knows only itself, and knows not the light. I | |
have still many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them yet. For your eyes are used to the | |
darkness, and the full light of the Heavenly Father would make you blind. Therefore, you cannot | |
yet understand that which I speak to you concerning the Heavenly Father who sent me to you. | |
Follow, therefore, first, only the laws of your Earthly Mother, of which I have told you. And | |
when her angels shall have cleansed and renewed your bodies and strengthened your eyes, you | |
will be able to bear the light of our Heavenly Father. When you can gaze on the brightness of the | |
noonday sun with unflinching eyes, you can then look upon the blinding light of your Heavenly | |
Father, which is a thousand times brighter than the brightness of a thousand suns. But how | |
should you look upon the blinding light of you r Heavenly Father, when you cannot even bear | |
the shining of the blazing sun? Believe me, the sun is as the flame of a candle beside the sun of | |
truth of the Heavenly Father. Have but faith, therefore, and hope, and love. I tell you truly, you | |
shall not want your reward. If you believe in my words, you believe in him who sent me, who is | |
the lord of all, and with whom all things are possible. For what is impossible with men, all these | |
things are possible with God. If you believe in the angels of the Earthly Mother and do her laws, | |
your faith shall sustain you and you shall never see disease. Have hope also in the love of your | |
Heavenly Father, for he who trusts in him shall never be deceived, nor shall he ever see death. | |
"Love one another, for God is love, and so shall his angels know that you walk in his paths. | |
And then shall all the angels come before your face and serve you. And Satan with all sins, | |
diseases and uncleannesses shall depart from your body. Go, eschew your sins; repent | |
yourselves; baptize yourselves; that you may be born again and sin no more." | |
Then Jesus rose. But all else remained sitting, for every man felt the power of his words. And | |
then the full moon appeared between the breaking clouds and folded Jesus in its brightness. And | |
sparks flew upward from his hair, and he stood among them in the moonlight, as though he | |
hovered in the air. And no man moved, neither was the voice of any heard. And no one knew | |
how long a time had passed, for time stood still. | |
Then Jesus stretched out his hands to them and said: "Peace be with you." And so he departed, as | |
a breath of wind sways the green of trees. | |
And for a long while yet the company sat still and then they woke in the silence, one man after | |
another, like as from a long dream. But none would go, as if the words of him who had left them | |
ever sounded in their ears. And they sat as though they listened to some wondrous music. | |
But at last one, as it were a little fearfully, said: "How good it is to be here." Another: "Would | |
that this night were everlasting." And others: "Would that he might be with us always." "Of a | |
truth he is God's messenger, for he planted hope within our hearts." And no man wished to go | |
home, saying: "I go not home where all is dark and joyless. Why should we go home where no | |
one loves us?" | |
And they spoke on this wise, for they were almost all poor, lame, blind, maimed, beggars, | |
homeless, despised in their wretchedness, who were only borne for pity's sake in the houses | |
where they found a few day's refuge. Even certain, who had both home and family, said: "We | |
also will stay with you." For every man felt that the words of him who was gone bound the little | |
company with threads invisible. And all felt that they were born again. They saw before them a | |
shining world, even when the moon was hidden in the clouds. And in the hearts of all blossomed | |
wondrous flowers of wondrous beauty, the flowers of joy. | |
And when the bright sunbeams appeared over the earth's rim, they all felt that it was the sun of | |
the coming kingdom of God. And with joyful countenances they went forth to meet God's | |
angels. | |
And many unclean and sick followed Jesus' words and sought the banks of the murmuring | |
streams. They put off their shoes and their clothing, they fasted, and they gave up their bodies to | |
the angels of air, of water, and of sunshine. And the Earthly Mother's angels embraced them, | |
possessing their bodies both inwards and outwards. And all of them saw all evils, sins and | |
uncleannesses depart in haste from them. | |
And the breath of some became as stinking as that which is loosed from the bowels, and some | |
had an issue of spittle, and evil-smelling and unclean vomit rose from their inward parts. All | |
these uncleannesses flowed by their mouths. In some, by the nose, in others by the eyes and ears. | |
And many did have a noisome and abominable sweat come from all their body, over all their | |
skin. And on many limbs great hot boils broke forth, from which carne out uncleannesses with an | |
evil smell, and urine flowed abundantly from their body; and in many their urine was all but | |
dried up and became thick as the honey of bees; that of others was almost red or black, and as | |
hard almost as the sand of rivers. And many belched stinking gases from their bowels, like the | |
breath of devils. And their stench became so great that none could bear it. | |
And when they baptized themselves, the angel of water entered their bodies, and from them | |
flowed out all the abominations and uncleannesses of their past sins, and like a falling mountain | |
stream gushed from their bodies a multitude of hard and soft abominations. And the ground | |
where their waters flowed was polluted, and so great became the stench that none could remain | |
there. And the devils left their bowels in the shape of multitudinous worms which writhed in | |
impotent rage after the angel of water had cast them out of the bowels of the Sons of Men. And | |
then descended upon them the power of the angel of sunshine, and they perished there in their | |
desperate writhings, trod underfoot by the angel of sunshine. And all were trembling with terror | |
when they looked upon all these abominations of Satan, from which the angels had saved them. | |
And they rendered thanks to God who had sent his angels for their deliverance. | |
And there were some whom great pains tormented, which would not depart from them; and | |
knowing not what they should do, they resolved to send one of them to Jesus, for they greatly | |
wished he should be with them. | |
And when two were gone to seek him, they saw Jesus himself approaching by the bank of the | |
river. And their hearts were filled with hope and joy when they heard his greeting, "Peace | |
be with you." And many were the questions that they desired to ask him, but in their | |
astonishment they could not begin, for nothing came into their minds. Then said Jesus to them: "I | |
come because you need me." And one cried out: "Master, we do indeed, come and free us from | |
our pains." | |
And Jesus spoke to them in parables: "You are like the prodigal son, who for many years did eat | |
and drink, and passed his days in riotousness and lechery with his friends. And every week | |
without his father's knowledge he incurred new debts, and squandered all in a few days. And the | |
moneylenders always lent to him, because his father possessed great riches and always paid | |
patiently the debts of his son. And in vain did he with fair words admonish his son, for he never | |
listened to the admonitions of his father, who besought him in vain that he would give up his | |
debaucheries which had no end, and that he would go to his fields to watch over the labor of his | |
servants. And the son always promised him everything if he would pay his old debts, but the next | |
day he began again. And for more than seven years the son continued in his riotous living. But, | |
at last, his father lost patience and no more paid to the moneylenders the debts of his son. "if I | |
continue always to pay," he said, "there will be no end to the sins of my son." Then the | |
moneylenders, who were deceived, in their wrath took the son into slavery that he might by his | |
daily toil pay back to them the money which he had borrowed. And then ceased the eating and | |
drinking and the daily excesses. From morning until night by the sweat of his face he watered the | |
fields, and all of his limbs ached with the unaccustomed labor. And he lived upon dry bread, and | |
had naught but his tears with which he could water it. And three days after he suffered so much | |
from the heat and from weariness that he said to his master: 'I can work no more, for all my | |
limbs do ache. How long would you torment me?’ "Till the day when by the labor of your hands | |
you pay me all your debts, and when seven years are passed, you will be free.' And the desperate | |
son answered weeping: ‘But I cannot bear so much as seven days. Have pity on me, for all my | |
limbs do burn and ache." And the wicked creditor cried out: 'Press on with the work; if you could | |
for seven years spend your days and your nights in riotousness, now must you work for seven | |
years. I will not forgive you till you pay back all your debts to the uttermost drachma.' And the | |
son, with his limbs racked with pain, went back despairing to the fields to continue his work. | |
Already he could hardly stand upon his feet because of his weariness and of his pains, when the | |
seventh day was come-the Sabbath day, in which no man works in the field. Then the son | |
gathered the remnant of his strength and staggered to the house of his father. And he cast himself | |
down at his father's feet and said: 'Father, believe me for the last time and forgive me all my | |
offenses against your swear to you that I will never again live riotously and that I will be your | |
obedient son in all things. Free me from the hands of my oppressor. Father, look upon me and | |
upon my sick limbs, and harden not your heart.' Then tears came into his father's eyes, and he | |
took his son in his arms, and said: 'Let us rejoic e, for today a great joy is given me, because I | |
have found again my beloved son, who was lost.' And he clothed him with his choicest raiment | |
and all the day long they made merry. And on the morning of the morrow he gave his son a bag | |
of silver that he might pay to his creditors all that he owed them. And when his son came back, | |
he said to him: 'My son, do you see that it is easy, through riotous living, to incur debts for seven | |
years, but their payment is difficult by the heavy labor of seven years." 'Father, it is indeed hard | |
to pay them, even for seven days.’ And his father admonished him, saying: 'For this once alone | |
has it been permitted you to pay your debts in seven days instead of seven years, the rest is | |
forgiven you. But take heed that in the time to come you do not incur more debts. For I tell you | |
truly, that none else but your father forgives you your debts, because you are his son. For with all | |
else you would have had to labor hard for seven years, as it is commanded in our laws.’ | |
My father, I will henceforth be your loving and obedient son, and I will not any more incur | |
debts, for I know that their payment is hard.’ | |
"And he went to his father's field and watched every day over the work of his father's laborers. | |
And he never made his laborers work hard, for he remembered his own heavy labor. And the | |
years passed, and his father's possession increased ever more and more beneath his hand, for the | |
blessing of his father was upon his labor. And slowly he gave back tenfold to his father all that | |
he had squandered in the seven years. And when his father saw that his son used well his | |
servants and all his possessions, he said to him: 'My son, I see that my possessions are in good | |
hands. I give you all my cattle, my house, my lands and my treasures. Let all this be your | |
heritage, continue increasing it that I may have delight in you.’ And when the son had received | |
his inheritance from his father, he forgave their debts to all his debtors who could not pay him, | |
for he did not forget that his debt also had been forgiven when he could not pay it. And God | |
blessed him with long life, with many children and with much riches, because he was kind to all | |
his servants and to all his cattle." | |
Then Jesus turned to the sick folk and said: "I speak to you in parables that you may better | |
understand God's word. The seven years of eating and drinking and of riotous living are the sins | |
of the past. The wicked creditor is Satan. The debts are diseases. The heavy labor is pains. The | |
prodigal son, he is yourselves. The payment of the debts is the casting from you of devils and | |
diseases, and the healing of your body. The bag of silver received from the father is the liberating | |
power of the angels. The father is God. The father's possessions are earth and heaven. The | |
servants of the father are the angels. The father's field is the world, which is changed into the | |
kingdom of the heavens, if the Sons of Man work thereon together with the angels of the | |
Heavenly Father. For I tell you, it is better that the son should obey his father and keep watch | |
over his father's servants in the field, than that he should become the debtor of the wicked | |
creditor and toil and sweat in serfdom to repa y all his debts. it is better, likewise, if the Sons of | |
Man also obey the laws of their Heavenly Father, and work together with his angels upon his | |
kingdom, than that they should become the debtors of Satan, the lord of death, of all sins and all | |
diseases, and that they should suffer with pains and sweat till they have repaid all their sins. I tell | |
you truly, great and many are your sins. Many years have you yielded to the enticings of Satan. | |
You have been gluttonous, wine-bibbers and gone a-whoring, and your past debts have | |
multiplied. And now you must repay them, and payment is difficult and hard. Be not, therefore, | |
already impatient after the third day, like the prodigal son, but wait patiently for the seventh day | |
which is sanctified by God, and then go with humble and obedient heart before the face of your | |
Heavenly Father, that he may forgive you your sins and all your past debts. I tell you truly, your | |
Heavenly Father loves you without end, for he also allows you to pay in seven days the debts of | |
seven years. Those that owe the sins and diseases of seven years, but pay honestly and persevere | |
till the seventh day, to them shall our Heavenly Father forgive the debts of all these seven years. | |
"If we sin for seven times seven years?" asked a sick man who suffered horribly. "Even in that | |
case the Heavenly Father forgives you all your debts in seven times seven days. | |
"Happy are those that persevere to the end, for the devils of Satan write all your evil deeds in a | |
book, in the book of your body and your spirit. I tell you truly, there is not one sinful deed, but it | |
is written, even from the beginning of the world, before our Heavenly Father. For you may | |
escape the laws made by kings, but the laws of your God, these may none of the Sons of Man | |
escape. And when you come before the face of God, the devils of Satan bear witness against | |
you with your deed, and God sees your sins written in the book of your body and of your | |
spirit and is sad in his heart. But if you repent of your sins, and by fasting and prayer you | |
seek the angels of God, then each day that you continue to fast and to pray, God's angels | |
blot out one year of your evil deeds from the book of your body and your spirit. And when | |
the last page is also blotted out and cleansed from all your sins, you stand before the face of God, | |
and God rejoices in his heart and forgets all your sins. He frees you from the clutches of Satan | |
and from suffering; he takes you within his house and commands that all his servants, all his | |
angels serve you. Long life does he give you, and you shall never see disease. And if, | |
thenceforward, instead of sinning, you pass your days in doing good deeds, then the angels | |
of God shall write all your good deeds in the book of your body and of your spirit. I tell you | |
truly, no good deed remains unwritten before God, not from the beginning of the world. | |
For from your kings and your governors you may wait in vain for your reward, but never do your | |
good deeds want their reward from God. | |
"And when you come before the face of God, his angels bear witness for you with your good | |
deeds. And God sees your good deeds written in your bodies and in your spirits, and rejoices in | |
his heart. He blesses your body and your spirit and all your deeds, and gives you for a heritage | |
his earthly and heavenly kingdom, that in it you may have life everlasting. Happy is he who can | |
enter into the kingdom of God, for he shall never see death." | |
And a great silence fell at his words. And those that were discouraged took new strength from his | |
words and continued to fast and to pray. And he who had spoken the first, said to him: "I will | |
persevere to the seventh day." And the second, likewise, said to him: "I also will persevere to the | |
seven times seventh day." | |
Jesus answered them: "Happy are those that persevere to the end, for they shall inherit the earth." | |
And there were many sick among them tormented with grievous pains, and they hardly crawled | |
to Jesus' feet. For they could no longer walk upon their feet. They said: "Master, we are | |
grievously tormented with pain; tell us what we shall do." And they showed Jesus their feet in | |
which the bones were twisted and knotted and said: "Neither the angel of air, nor of water, nor of | |
sunshine has assuaged our pains, notwithstanding that we baptized ourselves, and do fast and | |
pray, and follow your words in all things." | |
"T tell you truly, your bones will be healed. Be not discouraged, but seek for cure nigh the | |
healer of bones, the angel of earth. For thence were your bones taken, and thither will they | |
return." | |
And he pointed with his hand to where the running of the water and the sun's heat had softened | |
to clayey mud the earth by the edge of the water. "Sink your feet in the mire, that the embrace of | |
the angel of earth may draw out from your bones all uncleanness and all disease. And you will | |
see Satan and your pains fly from the embrace of the angel of earth. And the knots of your bones | |
will vanish away, and they will be straightened, and all your pains will disappear." | |
And the sick followed his words, for they knew that they would be healed. | |
And there were also other sick who suffered much from their pains, howbeit, they persisted in | |
their fasting. And their force was spent, and great heat tormented them. And when they would | |
have risen from their bed to go to Jesus, their heads began to turn, as if it were a gusty wind | |
which shook them, and as oft as they tried to stand upon their feet they fell back to the ground. | |
Then Jesus went to them and said: "You suffer, for Satan and his diseases torment your bodies. | |
But fear not, for their power over you will quickly end. For Satan is like a choleric neighbor who | |
entered his neighbor's house while he was absent, intending to take his goods away to his own | |
house. But some told the other that his enemy was ravaging within his house, and he came back | |
to his house, running. And when the wicked neighbor, having gathered together all that pleased | |
him, saw from afar the master of the house returning in haste, then he was very wroth that he | |
could not take all away, and set to breaking and spoiling all that was there, to destroy all. So that | |
even if the things might not be his, the other might have nothing. But immediately the lord of the | |
house came in, and before the wicked neighbor fulfilled his purpose, he took him and cast him | |
out of the house. I tell you truly, even so did Satan enter your bodies which are the habitation of | |
God. And he took in his power all that he wished to steal: your breath, your blood, your bone, | |
your flesh, your bowels, your eyes, and your ears. But by your fasting and your prayer, you have | |
called back the lord of your body and his angels. And now Satan sees that the true lord of | |
your body returns, and that it is the end of his power. Wherefore, in his wrath he gathers | |
his strength once again, that he may destroy your bodies before the coming of the lord. It is | |
for this that Satan torments you so grievously, for he feels that the end is come. But let not your | |
hearts tremble, for soon will the angels of God appear, to occupy again their abodes and | |
rededicate them as temples of God. And they will seize Satan and cast himn from your bodies | |
with all his diseases and all his uncleannesses. And happy will you be, for you will receive the | |
reward of your steadfastness, and you will never see disease." | |
And there was among the sick, one that was more tormented by Satan than all the others. And his | |
body was as parched as a skeleton, and his skin yellow as a falling leaf. He was so weak already | |
that he could not, even upon his hands, crawl to Jesus, and cried only to him from afar: "Master, | |
have pity on me, for never has man suffered, not from the beginning of the world, as I do suffer. | |
I know that you are indeed sent by God, and I know that if you will, you can straightway cast out | |
Satan from my body. Do not the angels of God obey God's messenger? Come, Master, and cast | |
out Satan from me now, for he rages angrily within me and grievous is his torment." | |
And Jesus answered him: "Satan torments you thus greatly because you have already fasted | |
many days, and you do not pay to him his tribute. You do not feed him with all the abominations | |
with which you hitherto defiled the temple of your spirit. You torment Satan with hunger, and so | |
in his anger he torments you also. Fear not, for I tell you, Satan will be destroyed before your | |
body is destroyed; for while you fast and pray, the angels of God protect your body, that Satan's | |
power may not destroy you. And the anger of Satan is impotent against the angels of God." | |
Then they all came to Jesus and with loud cries besought him saying: "Master, have compassion | |
on him, for he suffers more than we all, and if you do not at once cast Satan out of him, we fear | |
he will not live until tomorrow." | |
And Jesus answered them: "Great is your faith. Be it according to your faith, and you shall see | |
soon, face to face, the frightful countenance of Satan, and the power of the Son of Man. For I | |
will cast out from you the powerful Satan by the strength of the innocent lamb of God, the | |
weakest creature of the Lord. For the holy spirit of God makes more powerful the weakest than | |
the strongest." | |
And Jesus milked an ewe which was feeding among the grass. And he put the milk upon the sand | |
made hot by the sun, saying: "Lo, the power of the angel of water has entered this milk. And now | |
the power of the angel of sunshine will enter it also." | |
And the milk became hot by the strength of the sun. | |
"And now the angels of water and of sun will join with the angel of air." | |
And lo, the vapor of the hot milk began to rise slowly into the air. | |
."Come and breathe in by your mouth the strength of the angels of water, of sunshine, and of air, | |
that it may come into your body and cast out the Satan from you." | |
And the sick man whom Satan tormented did breathe within himself, deeply, the rising whitish | |
vapor. | |
"Straightway will Satan leave your body, since for three days he starves and finds no food within | |
you. He will come out of you to satisfy his hunger by the hot steaming milk, for this food finds | |
favor in his sight. He will smell its smell, and will not be able to resist the hunger which has | |
tormented him three days already. But the Son of Man will destroy his body, that he may torment | |
none else again." | |
Then the sick man's body was seized with an ague, and he retched as though he would vomit, but | |
he could not. And he gasped for air, for his breath was spent. And he fainted on the lap of Jesus. | |
"Now does Satan leave his body. See him." And Jesus pointed to the sick man's opened mouth. | |
And then they all saw with astonishment and terror that Satan was coming out from his mouth in | |
the shape of an abominable worm, straight towards the steaming milk. Then Jesus took two sharp | |
stones in his hands and crushed the head of Satan, and drew out from the sick man all the body | |
of the monster which was almost as long as the man. When the abominable worm came out of | |
the sick man's throat, he recovered at once his breath, and then all his pains ceased. And the | |
others looked with terror at the abominable body of Satan. | |
"See, what an abominable beast you carried and nourished in your body for long years. I have | |
cast it out of you and killed it that it may never again torment you. Give thanks to God that his | |
angels have made you free, and sin no more, lest Satan return to you again. Let your body be | |
henceforth a temple dedicated to your God." | |
And they were all amazed at his words and at his power. And they said: "Master, you are indeed | |
God's messenger, and do know all secrets." | |
"And you," answered Jesus, "be true Sons of God, that you also may partake in his power and in | |
the knowledge of all secrets. For wisdom and power can come only from the love of God. Love, | |
therefore, your Heavenly Father and your Earthly Mother with all your heart, and with all your | |
spirit. And serve them, that their angels may serve you also. Let all your deeds be sacrificed to | |
God. And feed not Satan, for the wages of sin is death. But with God lies the reward of the good, | |
his love, which is knowledge and power of eternal life." | |
And they all knelt down to give thanks to God for his love. | |
And Jesus departed, saying: "I will come again to all who persist in prayer and fasting tAl the | |
seventh day. Peace be with you." | |
And the sick man from whom Jesus had cast out the Satan, stood up, for the strength of life had | |
come back to him. He breathed out deeply, and his eyes became clear, for every pain had left | |
him. And he cast himself down upon the ground where Jesus had stood, and he kissed the print | |
of his feet and he wept. | |
And it was by the bed of a stream, many sick fasted and prayed with God's angels for seven days | |
and seven nights. And great was their reward, because they followed Jesus' words. And with the | |
passing of the seventh day, all their pains left them. And when the sun rose over the earth's rim | |
they saw Jesus coming towards them from the mountain, with the brightness of the rising sun | |
about his head. | |
"Peace be with you." | |
And they said no word at all, but only cast themselves down before him, and touched the hem of | |
his garment in token of their healing. | |
"Give thanks not to me, but to your Earthly Mother, who sent you her healing angels. Go, and sin | |
no more, that you may never again see disease. And let the healing angels become your | |
guardians." | |
But they answered him: "Whither should we go, Master, for with you are the words of eternal | |
life? Tell us, what are the sins which we must shun, that we may nevermore see disease?" | |
Jesus answered: "Be it so according to your faith," and he sat down among them, saying: | |
"It was said to them of old time, 'Honor thy Heavenly Father and thy Earthly Mother, and do | |
their commandments, that thy days may be long upon the earth.’ And next afterward was given | |
this commandment, "Thou shalt not kill,’ for life is given to all by God, and that which God has | |
given, let not man take away. For-I tell you truly, from one Mother proceeds all that lives upon | |
the earth. Therefore, he who kills, kills his brother. And from him will the Earthly Mother turn | |
away, and will pluck from him her quickening breasts. And he will be shunned by her angels, | |
and Satan will have his dwelling in his body. And the flesh of slain beasts in his body will | |
become his own tomb. For I tell you truly, he who kills, kills himself, and whoso eats the | |
flesh of slain beasts, eats of the body of death. For in his blood every drop of their blood turns | |
to poison; in his breath their breath to stink; in his flesh their flesh to boils; in his bones their | |
bones to chalk; in his bowels their bowels t 0 decay; in his eyes their eyes to scales; in his ears | |
their ears to waxy issue. And their death will become his death. For only in the service of your | |
Heavenly Father are your debts of seven years forgiven in seven clays. But Satan forgives you | |
nothing and you must pay him for all. 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot; | |
burning for burning, wound for wound; life for life, death for death.’ For the wages of sin is | |
death. Kill not, neither eat the flesh of your innocent prey, lest you become the slaves of Satan. | |
For that is the path of sufferings, and it leads unto death. But do the will of God, that his angels | |
may serve you on the way of life. Obey, therefore, the words of God: 'Behold, I have given you | |
every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is | |
the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to | |
every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon th e earth, wherein there is breath of | |
life, I give every green herb for meat. Also the milk of every thing that moveth and liveth upon | |
earth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given unto them, so I give their milk | |
unto you. But flesh, and the blood which quickens it, shall ye not eat. And, surely, your spurting | |
blood will I require, your blood wherein is your soul; I will require all slain beasts, and the souls | |
of all slain men. For I the Lord thy God am a God strong and jealous, visiting the iniquity of the | |
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing | |
mercy unto thousands -of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Love the Lord thy | |
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength: this is the first and greatest | |
commandment.’ And the second is like unto it: 'Love thy neighbor as thyself There is none other | |
commandment greater than these." | |
And after these words they all remained silent, save one, who called out: "What am I to do, | |
Master, if I see a wild beast rend my brother in the forest? Shall I let my brother perish, or kill | |
the wild beast? Shall not I thus transgress the law?" | |
And Jesus answered: "It was said to them of old time: "All beasts that move upon the earth, all | |
the fish of the sea, and all the fowl of the air are given into thy power." I tell you truly, of all | |
creatures living upon the earth, God created only man after his image. Wherefore beasts are for | |
man, and not man for beasts. You do not, therefore, transgress the law if you kill the wild | |
beast to save your brother's life. For I tell you truly, man is more than the beast. But he | |
who kills the beast without a cause, though the beast attack him not, through lust for | |
slaughter, or for its flesh, or for its hide, or yet for its tusks, evil is the deed which he does, | |
for he is turned into a wild beast himself. Wherefore is his end also as the end of the wild | |
beasts." | |
Then another said: "Moses, the greatest in Israel, suffered our forefathers to eat the flesh of clean | |
beasts, and forbade only the flesh of unclean beasts. Why, therefore, do you forbid us the flesh of | |
all beasts? Which law comes from God? That of Moses, or your law?" | |
And Jesus answered: "God gave, by Moses, ten commandments to your forefathers. "These | |
commandments are hard,' said your forefathers, and they could not keep them. When Moses saw | |
this, he had compassion on his people, and would not that they perish. And then he gave them | |
ten times ten commandments. For he whose feet are strong as the mountain of Zion, needs no | |
crutches; but he whose limbs do shake, gets further having crutches, than without them. And | |
Moses said to the Lord: 'My heart is filled with sorrow, for my people will be lost. For they are | |
without knowledge, and are not able to understand thy commandments. They are as little | |
children who cannot yet understand their father's words. Suffer, Lord, that I give them other | |
laws, that they may not perish. if they may not be with thee, Lord, let them not be against thee; | |
that they may sustain themselves, and when the time has come, and they are ripe for thy words, | |
reveal to hem thy laws.' For that did Moses break the two tablets of s tone whereon were written | |
the ten commandments, and he gave them ten times ten in their stead. And of these ten times ten | |
the Scribes and Pharisees have made a hundred times ten commandments. And they have laid | |
unbearable burdens on your shoulders, that they themselves do not carry. For the more nigh are | |
the commandments to God, the less do we need; and the farther they are from God, then the | |
more do we need. Wherefore are the laws of the Pharisees and Scribes innumerable; the | |
laws of the Son of Man seven; of the angels three; and of God one. | |
"Therefore, I teach you only those laws which you can understand, that you may become | |
men, and follow the seven laws of the Son of Man. Then will the unknown angels of the | |
Heavenly Father also reveal their laws to you, that God's holy spirit may descend upon you, and | |
lead you to his law." | |
And all were astonished at his wisdom, and asked him: "Continue, Master, and teach us all the | |
laws which we can receive." | |
And Jesus continued: "God commanded your forefathers: "Thou shalt not kill.’ But their heart | |
was hardened and they killed. Then Moses desired that at least they should not kill men, and he | |
suffered them to kill beasts. And then the heart of your forefathers was hardened yet more, and | |
they killed men and beasts likewise. But I do say to you: Kill neither men, nor beasts, nor yet the | |
food which goes into your mouth. For if you eat living food, the same will quicken you, but if | |
you kill your food, the dead food will kill you also. For life comes only from life, and from death | |
comes always death. For everything which kills your foods, kills your bodies also. And | |
everything which kills your bodies kills your souls also. And your bodies become what your | |
foods are, even as your spirits, likewise, become what your thoughts are. Therefore, eat not | |
anything which fire, or frost, or water has destroyed. For burned, frozen and rotted foods will | |
burn, freeze and rot your body also. Be not like the foolish husbandman who sowed in his | |
ground cooked, and frozen, and rotten seeds. And the autumn came, and his fields bore nothing. | |
And great was his distress. But be like that husbandman who sowed in his field living seed, and | |
whose field bore living ears of wheat, paying a hundredfold for the seeds which he planted. For I | |
tell you truly, live only by the fire of life, and prepare not your foods with the fire of death, | |
which kills your foods, your bodies and your souls also." | |
"Master, where is the fire of life?" asked some of them. | |
"In you, in your blood, and in your bodies." | |
"And the fire of death?" asked others. | |
"It is the fire which blazes outside your body, which is hotter than your blood. With that fire of | |
death you cook your foods in your homes and in your fields. I tell you truly, it is the same fire | |
which destroys your foods and your bodies, even as the fire of malice, which ravages your | |
thoughts, ravages your spirits. For your body is that which you eat, and your spirit is that which | |
you think. Eat nothing, therefore, which a stronger fire than the fire of life has killed. Wherefore, | |
prepare and eat all fruits of trees, and all grasses of the fields, and afl milk of beasts good for | |
eating. For all these are fed and ripened by the fire of life; all are the gift of the angels of our | |
Earthly Mother. But eat nothing to which only the fire of death gives savor, for such is of Satan." | |
"How should we cook our daily bread without fire, Master?" asked some with great | |
astonishment. | |
"Let the angels of God prepare your bread. Moisten your wheat, that the angel of water may | |
enter it. Then set it in the air, that the angel of air also may embrace it. And leave it from | |
morning to evening beneath the sun, that the angel of sunshine may descend upon it. And the | |
blessing of the three angels will soon make the germ of life to sprout in your wheat. Then crush | |
your grain, and make thin wafers, as did your forefathers when they departed out of Egypt, the | |
house of bondage. Put them back again beneath the sun from its appearing, and when it is risen | |
to its highest in the heavens, turn them over on the other side that they be embraced there also by | |
the angel of sunshine, and leave them there until the sun be set. For the angels of water, of air, | |
and of sunshine fed and ripened the wheat in the field, and they, likewise, must prepare also your | |
bread. And the same sun which, with the fire of life, made the wheat to grow and ripen, must | |
cook your bread with the same fire. For the fire of the sun gives life to the wheat, to the bread, | |
and to the body. But the fire of death kills the wheat, the bread, and the body. And the living | |
angels of the living God serve only living men. For God is the God of the living, and not the God | |
of the dead. | |
"So eat always from the table of God: the fruits of the trees, the grain and grasses of the field, the | |
milk of beasts, and the honey of bees. For everything beyond these is of Satan, and leads by the | |
way of sins and of diseases unto death. But the foods which you eat from the abundant table of | |
God give strength and youth to your body, and you will never see diseases For the table of God | |
fed Methuselah of old, and I tell you truly, if you live even as he lived, then will the God of the | |
living give you also long life upon the earth as was his. | |
"For I tell you truly, the God of the living is richer than all the rich of the earth, and his abundant | |
table is richer than the richest table of feasting of all the rich upon the earth. Eat, therefore, all | |
your life at the table of our Earthly Mother, and you will never see want. And when you eat at | |
her table, eat all things even as they are found on the table of the Earthly Mother. Cook not, | |
neither mix all things one with another, lest your bowels become as steaming bogs. For I tell you | |
truly, this is abominable in the eyes of the Lord. | |
"And be not like the greedy servant, who always ate up, at the table of his lord, the portions | |
of others. And he devoured everything himself, and mixed all together in his gluttony. And | |
seeing that, his lord was wroth with him, and drove him from the table. And when all had ended | |
their meal, he mixed together all that remained upon the table, and called the greedy servant to | |
him, and said: "Take and eat all this with the swine, for your place is with them, and not at my | |
table.' | |
"Take heed, therefore, and defile not with all kinds of abominations the temple of your | |
bodies. Be content with two or three sorts of food, which you will find always upon the | |
table of our Earthly Mother. And desire not to devour all things which you see around you. For | |
I tell you truly, if you mix together all sorts of food in your body, then the peace of your body | |
will cease, and endless war will rage in you. And it will be blotted out even as homes and | |
kingdoms divided against themselves work their own destruction. For your God is the God of | |
peace, and does never help division. Arouse not, therefore, against you the wrath of God, lest he | |
drive you from his table, and lest you be compelled to go to the table of Satan, where the fire of | |
sins, diseases, and death will corrupt your body. | |
"And when you eat, never eat unto fulness. Flee the temptations of Satan, and listen to the | |
voice of God's angels. For Satan and his power tempt you always to eat more and more. But live | |
by the spirit, and resist the desires of the body. And your fasting is always pleasing in the eyes of | |
the angels of God. So give heed to how much you have eaten when your body is sated, and | |
always eat less by a third. | |
"Let the weight of your daily food be not less than a mina, but mark that it go not beyond | |
two. Then will the angels of God serve you always, and you will never fall into the bondage of | |
Satan and of his diseases. Trouble not the work of the angels in your body by eating often. For I | |
tell you truly, he who eats more than twice in the clay does in him the work of Satan. And the | |
angels of God leave his body, and soon Satan will take possession of it. Eat only when the sun | |
is highest in the heavens, and again when it is set. And you will never see disease, for such | |
finds favor in the eyes of the Lord. And if you will that the angels of God rejoice in your | |
body, and that Satan shun you afar, then sit but once in the day at the table of God. And | |
then your days will be long upon the earth, for this is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. Eat | |
always when the table of God is served before you, and eat always of that which you find | |
upon the table of God. For I tell you truly, God knows well what your body needs, and when it | |
needs. | |
"From the coming of the month of Ijar, eat barley; from the month of Sivan, eat wheat, the most | |
perfect among all seed-bearing herbs. And let your daily bread be made of wheat, that the Lord | |
may take care of your bodies. From Tammuz, eat the sour grape, that your body may diminish | |
and Satan may depart from it. in the month of Elul, gather the grape that the juice may serve you | |
as drink. In the month of Marchesvan, gather the sweet grape, dried and sweetened by the angel | |
of sun, that your bodies may increase, for the angels of the Lord dwell in them. You should eat | |
figs rich in juice in the months of Ab and Shebat, and what remain, let the angel of sun keep | |
them for you; eat them with the meat of almonds in all the months when the trees bear no fruits. | |
And the herbs which come after rain, these eat in the month of Thebet, that your blood may be | |
cleansed of all your sins. And in the same month begin to eat also the milk of your beasts, | |
because for this did the Lord give the herbs of the fields to all the beasts which render milk, that | |
they might with their milk feed man. For I tell you truly, happy are they that eat only at the table | |
of God, and eschew all the abominations of Satan. Eat not unclean foods brought from far | |
countries, but eat always that which your trees bear. For your God knows well what is | |
needful for you, and where and when. And he gives to all peoples of all kingdoms for food | |
that which is best for each. Eat not as the heathen do, who stuff themselves in haste, defiling | |
their bodies with all manner of abominations. | |
"For the power of God's angels enters into you with the living food which the Lord gives you | |
from his royal table. And when you eat, have above you the angel of air, and below you the angel | |
of water. Breathe long and deeply at all your meals, that the angel of air may bless your repasts. | |
And chew well your food with your teeth, that it become water, and that the angel of water turn it | |
into blood in your body. And eat slowly, as it were a prayer you make to the Lord. For I tell you | |
truly, the power of God enters into you, if you eat after this manner at his table. But Satan turns | |
into a steaming bog the body of him upon whom the angels of air and water do not descend at his | |
repasts. And .the Lord suffers him no longer at his table. For the table of the Lord is an altar, and | |
he who eats at the table of God is in a temple. For I tell you truly, the body of the Son of Man is | |
turned into a temple, and his inwards into an altar, if he does the commandments of God. | |
Wherefore, put naught u pon the altar of the Lord when your spirit is vexed, neither think upon | |
any one with anger in the temple of God. And enter only into the Lord's sanctuary when you feel | |
in yourselves the call of his angels, for all that you eat in sorrow, or in anger, or without desire, | |
becomes a poison in your body. For the breath of Satan defiles aR these. Place with joy your | |
offerings upon the altar of your body, and let all evil thoughts depart from you when you receive | |
into your body the power of God from his table. And never sit at the table of God before he call | |
you by the angel of appetite. | |
"Rejoice, therefore, always with God's angels at their royal table, for this is pleasing to the heart | |
of the Lord. And your life will be long upon the earth, for the most precious of God's servants | |
will serve you all your days: the angel of joy. | |
"And forget not that every seventh day is holy and consecrated to God. On six days feed your | |
body with the gifts of the Earthly Mother, but on the seventh day sanctify your body for your | |
Heavenly Father. On the seventh day eat not any earthly food, but live only on the words of | |
God, and be all the day with the angels of the Lord in the kingdom of the Heavenly Father. | |
And on the seventh day let the angels of God build the kingdom of the heavens in your body, as | |
you labor for six days in the kingdom of the Earthly Mother. And let not food trouble the work of | |
the angels in your body throughout the seventh day. And God will give you long life upon earth, | |
that you may have life everlasting in the kingdom of the heavens. For I tell you truly, if you see | |
not diseases any more upon earth, you will live for ever in the kingdom of the heavens. | |
"And God will send you each morning the angel of sunshine to wake you from your sleep. | |
Therefore, obey your Heavenly Father's summons, and lie not idle in your beds, for the angels of | |
air and water await you already without. And labor all day long with the angels of the Earthly | |
Mother that you may come to know them and their works ever more and more well. But when | |
the sun is set, and your Heavenly Father sends you his most precious angel, sleep, then take your | |
rest, and be all the night with the angel of sleep. And then will your Heavenly Father send you | |
his unknown angels, that they may be with you the livelong night. And the Heavenly Father's | |
unknown angels will teach you many things concerning the kingdom of God, even as the angels | |
that you know of the Earthly Mother, instruct you in the things of her kingdom. For I tell you | |
truly, you will be every night the guests of the kingdom of your Heavenly Father, if you do his | |
commandments. And when you wake up upon the morrow, you will feel in you the power of the | |
unknown angels. And your Heavenly Father will send them to you every night, that they may | |
build your spirit, even as every day the Earthly Mother sends you her angels, that they may build | |
your body. For I tell you truly, if in the daytime your Earthly Mother folds you in her arms, and | |
in the night the Heavenly Father breathes his kiss upon you, then will the Sons of Men become | |
the Sons of God. | |
"Resist day and night the temptations of Satan. Wake not by night, neither sleep by day, | |
lest the angels of God depart from you. | |
"And take no delight in any drink, nor in any smoke from Satan, waking you by night and | |
making you to sleep by day. For I tell you truly, all the drinks and smokes of Satan are | |
abominations in the eyes of your God. | |
"Commit not whoredom, by night or by day, for the whoremonger is like a tree whose sap | |
runs out from its trunk. And that tree will be dried up before its time, nor will it ever bear fruit. | |
Therefore, go not a-whoring, lest Satan dry up your body, and the Lord make your seed | |
unfruitful. | |
"Shun all that is too hot and too cold. For it is the will of your Earthly Mother that neither heat | |
nor cold should harm your body. And let not your bodies become either hotter or colder than as | |
God's angels warm or cool them. And if you do the commandments of the Earthly Mother, then | |
as oft as your body becomes too hot, will she send the angel of coolness to cool you, and as oft | |
as your body becomes too cold, will she send you the angel of heat to warm you again. | |
"Follow the example of all the angels of the Heavenly Father and of the Earthly Mother, who | |
work day and night, without ceasing, upon the kingdoms of the heavens and of the earth. | |
Therefore, receive also into yourselves the strongest of God's angels, the angel of deeds, and | |
work all together upon the kingdom of God. Follow the example of the running water, the | |
wind as it blows, the rising and setting of the sun, the growing plants and trees, the beasts | |
as they run and gambol, the wane and waxing of the moon, the stars as they come and go | |
again; all these do move, and do perform their labors. For all which has life does move, and | |
only that which is dead is still. And God is the God of the living, and Satan that of the dead. | |
Serve, therefore, the living God, that the eternal movement of life may sustain you, and | |
that you may escape the eternal stillness of death. Work, therefore, without ceasing, to | |
build the kingdom of God, lest you be cast into the kingdom of Satan. For eternal joy | |
abounds in the living kingdom of God, but still sorrow darkens the kingdom of death of Satan. | |
Be, therefore, true Sons of your Earthly Mother and of your Heavenly Father, that you fall not as | |
slaves of Satan. And your Earthly Mother and Heavenly Father will send you their angels to | |
teach, to love, and to serve you. And their angels will write the commandments of God in | |
your head, in your heart, and in your hands, that you may know, feel, and do God's | |
commandments. | |
"And pray every day to your Heavenly Father and Earthly mother, that your soul become | |
as perfect as your Heavenly Father's holy spirit is perfect, and that your body become as | |
perfect as the body of your Earthly Mother is perfect. For if you understand, feel, and do the | |
commandments, then all for which you pray to your Heavenly Father and your Earthly Mother | |
will be given you. For the wisdom, the love, and the power of God are above all. | |
"After this manner, therefore, pray to your Heavenly Father: Our Father which art in heaven, | |
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | |
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And | |
lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, | |
and the glory, for ever. Amen. | |
"And after this manner pray to your Earthly Mother: Our Mother which art upon earth, | |
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, and thy will be done in us, as it is in thee. As | |
thou sendest every day thy angels, send them to us also. Forgive us our sins, as we atone all | |
our sins against thee. And lead us not into sickness, but deliver us from all evil, for thine is | |
the earth, the body, and the health. Amen. | |
And they all prayed together with Jesus to the Heavenly Father and to the Earthly Mother. | |
And afterwards Jesus spoke thus to them: "Even as your bodies have been reborn through the | |
Earthly Mother's angels, may your spirit, likewise, be reborn through the angels of the Heavenly | |
Father. Become, therefore, true Sons of your Father and of your Mother, and true Brothers of the | |
Sons of Men. Till now you were at war with your Father, with your Mother, and with your | |
Brothers. And you have served Satan. From today live at peace with your Heavenly Father, and | |
with your Earthly Mother, and with your Brothers, the Sons of Men. And fight only against | |
Satan, lest he rob you of your peace. I give the peace of your Earthly Mother to your body, and | |
the peace of your Heavenly Father to your spirit. And let the peace of both reign among the Sons | |
of Men. | |
"Come to me, all that are weary and that suffer in strife and affliction! For my peace will | |
strengthen you and comfort you. For my peace is exceeding full of joy. Wherefore do I always | |
greet you after this manner: 'Peace be with you!' Do you always, therefore, so greet one | |
another, that upon your body may descend the peace of your Earthly Mother, and upon | |
your spirit the peace of your Heavenly Father. And then you will find peace also among | |
yourselves, for the kingdom of God is within you. And now return to your Brothers with whom | |
hitherto you were at war, and give your peace to them also. For happy are they that strive for | |
peace, for they will find the peace of God. Go, and sin no more. And give to every one your | |
peace, even as I have given my peace unto you. For my peace is of God. Peace be with you." | |
And he left them. | |
And his peace descended upon them; and in their heart the angel of love, in their head the | |
wisdom of law, and in their hands the power of rebirth, they went forth among the Sons of Men, | |
to bring the light of peace to those that warred in darkness. | |
And they parted, wishing one to another: | |
"PEACE BE WITH YOU." | |
THE STORY OF THE ESSENE GOSPEL OF PEACE | |
Translated by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely | |
In Four Volumes | |
It was in 1928 that Edmond Bordeaux Szekely first published his translation of Book One of The | |
Essene Gospel of Peace, an ancient manuscript he had found in the Secret Archives of the | |
Vatican as the result of limitless patience, faultless scholarship, and unerring intuition. This story | |
is told in his book, The Discovery of the Essene Gospel of Peace, published in 1975. The English | |
version of Book One appcared in 1937, and ever since, the little volume has traveled over the | |
world, appearing in many different languages, gaining every year more and more readers, until | |
now, still with no commercial advertisement, over a million copies have been sold in the United | |
States alone. It was not until almost fifty years after the first French translation that Book Two | |
and Book Three appeared (The Unknown Books of the Essenes and Lost Scrolls of the Essene | |
Brotherhood), achieving rapidly the popularity of Book One. | |
In 1981, Book Four, The Teachings of the Elect, was published posthumously according to Dr. | |
Szekely's wishes, representing yet another fragment of the complete manuscript which exists in | |
Aramaic in the Secret Archives of the Vatican and in old Slavonic in the Royal Library of the | |
Habsburgs (now the property of the Austrian government). The poetic style of the translator | |
brings to vivid reality the exquisitely beautiful words of Jesus and the Elders of the Essene | |
Brotherhood. Some of the chapters: The Essene Communions. The Sevenfold Peace. The Holy | |
Streams of Life, Light, and Sound. The Gift of the Humble Grass. | |
EXCERPTS FROM The Essene Gospel of Peace, Book Two: | |
The Unknown Books of the Essenes | |
And one man spoke: "But, Master, we are but men, we are not angels. How then can we hope to | |
walk in their ways? Tell us what we must do." | |
And Jesus spoke: | |
As the son inherits the land of his father, So have we inherited a Holy Land From our Fathers. | |
This land is not a field to be ploughed, But a place within us Where we may build our Holy | |
Temple. -And even as a temple must be raised, Stone by stone, | |
So will I give to you those stones | |
For the building of the Holy Temple; | |
That which we have inherited | |
From our Fathers, | |
And their Fathers' Fathers. | |
And all the men gathered around Jesus, and their faces shone with desire to hear the words which | |
would come from his lips. And he lifted his face to the rising sun, and the radiance of its rays | |
filled his eyes as he spoke: | |
"The Holy Temple can be built Only with the ancient Communions, Those which are spoken, | |
Those which are thought, And those which are lived. | |
For if they are spoken only with the mouth, | |
They are as a dead hive | |
Which the bees have forsaken, | |
That gives no more honey. | |
The Communions are a bridge | |
Between man and the angels, | |
And like a bridge, | |
Can be built only with patience, | |
Yea, even as the bridge over the river | |
Is fashioned stone by stone, | |
As they are found by the water's edge. | |
And the Communions are fourteen in number, | |
As the Angels of the Heavenly Father | |
Number seven, | |
And the Angels of the Earthly Mother | |
Number seven. | |
And just as the roots of the tree | |
Sink into the earth and are nourished, | |
And the branches of the tree | |
Raise their arms to heaven, | |
So is man like the trunk of the tree, | |
With his roots deep | |
In the breast of his Earthly Mother, | |
And his soul ascending | |
To the bright stars of his Heavenly Father. | |
And the roots of the tree | |
Are the Angels of the Earthly Mother, | |
And the branches of the tree | |
Are the Angels of the Heavenly Father. | |
And this is the sacred Tree of Life | |
Which stands in the Sea of Eternity. | |
EXCERPTS FROM The Essene Gospel of Peace, Book Three: | |
Lost Scrolls of the Essene Brotherhood | |
For the earth shall be filled | |
with the Peace of the Heavenly Father, | |
as the waters cover the sea. | |
I will invoke the Angel of Peace, | |
Whose breath is friendly, | |
Whose hand is clothed in power. | |
In the reign of Peace, there is neither hunger nor thirst, | |
Neither cold wind nor hot wind, | |
Neither old age nor death. | |
In the reign of Peace, | |
Both animals and men shall be undying, | |
Waters and plants shall be undrying, | |
And the food of life shall be never-failing. | |
It is said that the mountains | |
Shall bring peace to the people, | |
And the little hills, righteousness. | |
There shall be peace | |
As long as the sun and moon endure, Throughout all generations. | |
Peace shall come down like rain upon mown grass, As showers that water the earth. | |
In the reign of Peace shall the Law grow strong, | |
And the Children of Light shall have dominion | |
From sea to sea, unto the ends of the earth. | |
T'he reign of Peace hath its source | |
In the Heavenly Father; | |
By his strength he setteth fast the mountains, | |
He maketh the outgoings of morning and evening To rejoice in the Light, | |
He bringeth to earth the river of the Law, To water and enrich it, | |
He maketh soft the earth with showers; | |
They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, | |
And the little hills rejoice on every side. | |
The pastures are clothed with flocks; | |
The valleys also are covered over with corn; | |
They shout for joy, they also sing. | |
O Heavenly Father! | |
Bring unto thy earth the reign of Peace! 7'hen shall we remember the words | |
Of him who taught of old the Children of Light: | |
I give the peace of thy Earthly Mother | |
To thy body, | |
And the peace of thy Heavenly Father To thy spirit. | |
And let the peace of both | |
Reign among the sons of men. | |
Come to me all that are weary, | |
And that suffer in strife and affliction! | |
For my peace will strengthen thee and comfort thee. For my peace is exceeding full of joy. | |
Wherefore do I always greet thee after this manner: Peace be with thee! | |
Do thou always, therefore, so greet one another, That upon thy body may descend The The Peace | |
of thy Earthly Mother, | |
And upon thy spirit | |
The Peace of thy Heavenly Father. | |
And then wilt thou find peace also among thyselves, | |
For the Kingdom of the Law is within thee. | |
And return to thy Brothers | |
And give thy peace to them also, | |
For happy are they that strive for peace, | |
For they will find the peace of the Heavenly Father. | |
And give to every one thy peace, | |
Even as I have given my peace unto thee. | |
For my peace is of God. | |
Peace be with thee! | |
EXCERPTS FROM The Essene Gospel of peace, Book Four: | |
The Teachings of the Elect | |
THE HOLY STREAMS | |
Into the innermost circle have you come, into the mystery of mysteries, that which was old when | |
our father Enoch was young and walked the earth. Around and around have you come on your | |
journey of many years, always following the path of righteousness, living according to the Holy | |
Law and the sacred vows of our Brotherhood, and you have made of your body a holy temple | |
wherein dwell the angels of God. Many years have you shared the daylight hours with the angels | |
of the Earthly Mother; many years have you slept in the arms of the Heavenly Father, taught by | |
his unknown angels. You have learned that the laws of the Son of Man are seven, of the angels | |
three, and of God, one. Now you shall know of the three laws of the angels, the mystery of the | |
three Holy Streams and the ancient way to traverse them; so shall you bathe in the light of | |
heaven and at last behold the revelation of the mystery of mysteries: the law of God, which is | |
One. | |
Now in the hour before the rising of the sun, just before the angels of the Earthly Mother breathe | |
life into the still sleeping earth, then do you enter into the Holy Stream of Life. It is your Brother | |
Tree who holds the mystery of this Holy Stream, and it is your Brother Tree that you will | |
embrace in your thought, even as by day you embrace him in greeting when you walk along the | |
lake shore. And you shall be one with the tree, for in the beginning of the times so did we all | |
share in the Holy Stream of Life that gave birth to all creation. And as you embrace your Brother | |
Tree, the power of the Holy Stream of Life will fill your whole body, and you will tremble | |
before its might. Then breathe deeply of the angel of air, and say the word "Life" with the | |
outgiving of breath. Then you will become in truth the Tree of Life which sinks its roots deep | |
into the Holy Stream of Life from an eternal source. And as the angel of sun warms the earth, | |
and all the creatures of land and water and ai r rejoice in the new day, so will your body and | |
spirit rejoice in the Holy Stream of life that flows to you through your Brother Tree. | |
And when the sun is high in the heavens, then shall you seek the Holy Stream of Sound. in the | |
heat of noontide, all creatures are still and seek the shade; the angels of the Earthly Mother are | |
silent for a space. Then it is that you shall let into your ears the Holy Stream of Sound; for it can | |
only be heard in the silence. Think on the streams that are born in the desert after a sudden storm, | |
and the roaring sound of the waters as they rush past. Truly, this is the voice of God, if you did | |
but know it. For as it is written, in the beginning was the Sound, and the Sound was with God, | |
and the Sound was God. I tell you truly, when we are born, we enter the world with the sound of | |
God in our ears, even the singing of the vast chorus of the sky, and the holy chant of the stars in | |
their fixed rounds; it is the Holy Stream of Sound that traverses the vault of stars and crosses the | |
endless kingdom of the Heavenly Father. It is ever in our ears, so do we hear it not. Listen for it, | |
then, in the silence of noontide; bathe in it, and let the rhythm of the music of God beat in your | |
ears untfl you are one with the Holy Stream of Sound. It was this Sound which formed the earth | |
and the world, and brought forth the mountains, and set the stars in their thrones of glory in the | |
highest heavens. | |
And you shall bathe in the Stream of Sound, and the music of its waters shall flow over you; for | |
in the beginning of the times so did we all share in the Holy Stream of Sound that gave birth to | |
all creation. And the mighty roaring of the Stream of Sound will fill your whole body, and you | |
will tremble before its might. Then breathe deeply of the angel of air, and become the sound | |
itself, that the Holy Stream of Sound may carry you to the endless kingdom of the Heavenly | |
Father, there where the rhythm of the world rises and falls. | |
And when darkness gently closes the eyes of the angels of the Earthly Mother, then shall you | |
also sleep, that your spirit may join the unknown angels of the Heavenly Father. And in the | |
moments before you sleep, then shall you think of the bright and glorious stars, the white, | |
shining, far-seen and far-piercing stars. For your thoughts before sleep are as the bow of the | |
skillful archer, that sends the arrow where he wills. Let your thoughts before sleep be with the | |
stars; for the stars are Light, and the Heavenly Father is Light, even that Light which is a | |
thousand times brighter than the brightness of a thousand suns. Enter the Holy Stream of Light, | |
that the shackles of death may loose their hold for ever, and breaking free from the bonds of | |
earth, ascend the Holy Stream of Light through the blazing radiance of the stars, into the endless | |
kingdom of the Heavenly Father. | |
Unfold your wings of light, and in the eye of your thought, soar with the stars into the farthest | |
reaches of heaven, where untold suns blaze with light. For at the beginning of the times, the Holy | |
Law said, let there be Light, and there was Light. And you shall be one with it, and the power of | |
the Holy Light Stream will fill your whole body, and you will tremble before its might. Say the | |
word "Light," as you breathe deeply of the angel of air, and you will become the Light itself; and | |
the Holy Stream will carry you to the endless kingdom of the Heavenly Father, there losing itself | |
in the eternal Sea of Light which gives birth to all creation. And you shall be one with the Holy | |
Stream of Light, always before you sleep in the arms of the Heavenly Father. | |
I tell you truly, your body was made not only to breathe, and eat, and think, but it was also made | |
to enter the Holy Stream of Life. And your ears were made not only to hear the words of men, | |
the song of birds, and the music of falling rain, but they were also made to hear the Holy Stream | |
of Sound. And your eyes were made not only to see the rising and setting of the sun, the ripple of | |
sheaves of grain, and the words of the Holy Scrolls, but they were also made to see the Holy | |
Stream of Light. One day your body will return to the Earthly Mother; even also your ears and | |
your eyes. But the Holy Stream of Life, the Holy Stream of Sound, and the Holy Stream of | |
Light, these were never born, and can never die. Enter the Holy Streams, even that Life, that | |
Sound, and that Light which gave you birth; that you may reach the kingdom of the Heavenly | |
Father and become one with him even as the river empties into the far-distant sea. | |
More than this cannot be told, for the Holy Streams will take you to that place where words are | |
no more, and even the Holy Scrolls cannot record the mysteries therein. | |